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news you can trust I **FRIDAY 24 AUGUST 2018 I vol. 15, no 125 I N300

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$-N 357.00 360.00 £-N 456.00 464.00 €-N 403.00 411.00

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Foreign Exchange

Market Spot ($/N) I&E FX Window 362.60 CBN Official Rate 306.10

3M 6M -0.14 -0.36 11.38 12.95

5Y -0.03

14.75

10 Y 20 Y 0.01 -0.07 14.89

DStv fees in Nigeria lowest in Africa

Endurance Okafor & Harrison Edeh, Abuja

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usiness owners are puzzled by a court injunction obtained by the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) seeking to stop a price increase implemented by cable television operator, MultiChoice for its DSTV service in Nigeria.

At the request of the CPC, a Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, on August 20 restrained MultiChoice Nigeria Limited from implementing a recent increase in DStv subscription rates that took effect on August 1. Justice Nnamdi Dimgba granted an injunction restraining the video entertainment and

CBN earmarks N10bn per project for agric, manufacturing under DCCR ... sets maximum interest rates at 9% per annum

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Nigerian oil exports to hit four-month high of 1.73mbpd in October …as vanished ship raises concern over piracy DIPO OLADEHINDE

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ith supply of several larger grades coming back online following series of pipeline outages in the last couple of months, Nigeria’s oil exports are expected to rise to their highest in four months in October. Loading plans seen by Reuters shows that the country will export 1.73 million barrels per day (bpd), compared to 1.41 million bpd in September.

According to Reuters, Africa’s largest oil producing country loading schedule for October will be the largest programme since June this year, although still smaller than last year’s average 1.768 million bpd and the 2018 budget projection of 2.3 million bpd.

The export plan for October Continues on page 34

Continues on page 2

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is set to release N10 billion per project financing in agriculture and manufacturing sectors of the economy by

NGUS OCT. NGUS JAN. NGUS JUL. 30, 2019 24, 2019 31, 2018

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Businesses puzzled by CPC’s move to control DStv prices

HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

Currency Futures ($/N)

fgn bonds

Treasury Bills

deposit money banks (DMBs), under the corporate bond and Differentiated Cash Reserves Requirement (DCRR) Regime.

The move underscored the Apex bank’s intention to increase the flow of credit to the real sector of the economy, in

order to consolidate and sustain the nation’s economic recovery.

Johnson Chukwu, managing directot/CEO, Cowry Asset Management limited, said last night that the N10 billion is quite substantial and sufficient for operators in the real sector of the

economy to leverage.

“It provides liquidity relief to operators in the manufacturing and agric sectors but does not completely de-risk the sectors,” Chukwu told BusinessDay by Continues on page 34

Inside Nigerian firms’ capex down, validates slow GDP growth

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Dolapo Badmus Unswerving allegiance to selfless service

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Earnings up in 2017 for Standard Alliance Insurance Sobechukwu Eze

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tandard Alliance Insurance Plc has finally released its 2017 audited financial statement to the Nigerian Stock Exchange. From the report it was seen that the insurance company had a stellar performance as its Profit after tax came out of the red with an increase of 104 percent, making the company return to a profit at the end of the year from its loss in 2016.

According to the 2017 financial statement, the company grew its profit after tax (PAT) to N586 million last year from a loss of N1.3 billion in the year 2016.

This was largely supported by an increase in revenue of 11 percent.

From N4.3 billion in 2016 it was able to grow it to N4.8 billion, which the company said was mainly attributable to its resolve for a reformed corporate strategy.

The company’s financials also showed that although the company’s insurance claims went up it was not enough to pull down the company’s underwriting profit lower than the preceding year. The company’s underwriting results (which reveals the efficiency of an insurer underwriting

activities) went up by 406 percent, going up from N271million at the end of 2016 to N1.4 billion 2017 year end.

On the outlook for the company, the company stated in their financials that “they expect their investment income to grow considerably in the coming years as it sets to take advantage of the investment opportunities in the money market and capital markets still maintaining its focus on highly liquid financial instrument such as term deposit, equity and debt instrument.”

“They also expect to see a number of significant adjustments in the year 2018, especially to the realities of vastly changed government revenue profile and the Naira exchange rates against foreign currencies. The private sector may see intensification of existing and new export initiatives.”

“Lastly the merger of the operations of the Company with that of its subsidiary, Standard Alliance Life Assurance Limited which has been concluded to leverage on the synergies derivable would result in the emerging composite company to take advantage of the huge potentials in both the General and Life segment of the insurance market.”

APC holds NEC Thursday, August 30 • Shuts National Secretariat for renovation James Kwen, Abuja

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he ruling All Progressives Congress, APC is to hold its National Executive Committee, NEC meeting Thursday, August 30, 2018. Business Day has gathered.

The NEC which is to be attended

by President Muhammadu Buhari is the first since the assumption of office by the Adams Oshiomhole led leadership of APC. Reliable sources in the APC National Secretariat confided in Business Day that the NEC would among other things consider the time table for the conduct of the party’s primaries to nominate candidates for the 2019 general elections as well as to determine the cost of nomination forms for all offices.

Meanwhile, the National Secretariat of APC in Abuja remained shut even as the two days Eid el Kabir break ended Wednesday and work resumed yesterday.

According to a circular signed by Abdullahi Gashu’a, Director of Ad-

ministration, APC National Secretariat has been partially closed from Friday, August 17 - Monday, August 27 to enable staff and party members to travel for the Eid el Kabir celebrations.

The circular read, “the National Working Committee ( NWC) has added additional days to allow members of staff to travel to their respective places for the celebration. To this end, the Secretariat will partially close for businesses as follows “ The National Chairman, H. E Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole and members of the NWC wishes all staff a hitch free Sallah celebration and safe trip while urging members to pray for the nation and our great party during the occasion”.

However, Business Day gathered that the week long break is not just for the Sallah celebration but it gave room for interior renovation works at the Secretariat.

This is coming barely one month after the John Oyegun led NWC did interior renovation in the National Secretariat days before handing over to the present leadership.

Businesses puzzled by CPC’s move to control...

Continued from page 1

Internet Company from imple-

menting the new rates. The court also restrained MultiChoice from any conduct capable of interfering with the regulatory process of CPC. In a press release stating why it approached the court to stop DSTV from implementing the new rates, the CPC argued that ‘it has a constitutional responsibility to protect the welfare and interest of consumers in Nigeria through the instrumentality of the “the Council.”

However, CPC claims that the court injunction it got did not intend to regulate price, or in any way interfere with the commercial interface between Multichoice and its customers in fixing price. ‘Essentially, the Council recognizes and respects the fidelity in the operation of free market forces in arriving at prices for goods or services.’

‘The Council understands and appreciates that price is an acceptable determination of transparent and undistorted market operations. However, it is the law, that operators can by conduct, distort the market and, or otherwise compromise the integrity or transparency of the market, thereby questioning the reliability of the pricing methodology or mechanism.’

The CPC also admitted that ‘these principles are better articulated in the context of a Competition or Antitrust legislation and regime, which Nigeria does not have’. The CPC however insists that ‘they are consumer protection principles that are generally express or sometimes derived from existing consumer protection legislation.’

The organisation quotes Section 2(i) CPC Act which expressly states

Continues on page 34

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Nigerian firms’ capex down, validates slow GDP growth BALA AUGIE

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igerian companies haven’t picked up the pace of their investments in property, plant and equipment, which means there hasn’t been a return to the level of nascent spending needed to drive economic growth.

Firms, weighed down by sluggish earnings, political uncertainties, weak consumer discretionary spend, high borrowing costs, delay in the passage of the budget, and rising inflation, hunkered down and put spending plans on hold over the past three years.

A glimpse of the financial statement of 42 largest firms quoted on the floor the bourse shows investment in property plant and equipment dipped by 21.32 percent to N112.86 billion in June 2018 from N143.45 billion the previous year.

Company’s unwillingness to spend big stem from uncertain times as they tend to embark on aggressive expansion when consumer confidence are restored and the economy have gathered momentum.

The economy is witnessing slow recovery and operators in the manufacturing sector are not generating enough internal cash flow for investment purpose, according to Johnson Chukwu, CEO and managing director of Cowry Asset Management.

It will be recalled that when the country exited its first recession in 25

years in 2017, investment in capital expenditure was down 3.81 percent to N292.25 billion in December 2017 from N303.83 billion the previous year, data gathered by BusinessDay shows.

Analysts say a lot of firms prefer to give cash back to shareholders in form of dividend than spend it on capex since household spending and construction activities have remained slow while unemployment rates continues to go south ward.

“A lot of them are taking cautious approach because consumer spending is weak and there is no need to increase capacity. They still have excess capacity and their objective at the moment is to retain market share,” said Fola Abimbola, FMCGs analyst at CSL Stock Brokers.

Consumer spending dipped by -0.99 percent in 2017, according to a recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

A breakdown of the capex spend shows upstream oil and gas major, Seplat Corporation Development Company did not acquire plants and equipment despite crude oil prices climbing above $70 a barrel in January for the first time in 3 years.

Seplat is awash with cash as its free cash flow from operating activities hit N197.60 billion as at June 2018, the highest since the last quarter of 2017 when the figure stood at N263.20 billion, according to data gathered from Bloomberg Dangote Cement Plc, the largest producer of the building material re-

corded a 38.08 percent reduction in capex to N24.86 billion in June 2018 from N40.16 billion as at June 2017.

Consumer goods firms have also scaled back on aggressive expansion.

Nigerian Breweries Plc’s investment in property plant and equipment declined by 29.10 percent to N8.80 billion in June 2018 from N3.62 billion the previous year.

Dangote Sugar Plc’s investment in property plant and equipment fell by 43.41 percent to N5.51 billion in June 2018 from N9.74 billion the previous year.

Julius Berger Plc, the largest construction firm by market value, did not purchase fixed assets last quarter; instead it is selling assets to realize cash.

Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) Plc investment in property plant and equipment reduced by 66.12 percent to N5.92 billion in the period under review from N17.50 billion the previous year.

Analysts are of the view that earnings outlook has to be bright, borrowing costs low, and the economy has to gather momentum while government has to be keen on infrastructure spend before firms start to take decisions on replacing machinery and plants.

“If the economic growth prospect is very strong and the lending rate is low, manufacturers will leverage to invest in capital goods with the expectation that they will generate enough cash flow to pay back interest on the loan,” summed Chukwu.

L-R: Juan Elegdo, vice chancellor, Pan Atlantic University; Ikechukwu Obiaya, dean School of Media and Communication Studies; Frank Aigbogun, publisher, BusinessDay; Chido Nwakanma, adjunct faculty, and Richard Ikiebe, director of the Centre for Leadership Excellence in Journalism, during a visit to the university yesterday by the publisher of BusinessDay.

More facilities as Pan Atlantic School of Media seeks greater collaboration with industry

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he School of Media and Communication, Pan Atlantic University has added more facilities in digital editing, broadcasting and graphics to enhance practical training of its students even as it seeks greater collaboration with industry.

Vice Chancellor of Pan Atlantic University Prof Juan Elegido disclosed to the visiting publisher of BusinessDay newspaper that the facilities include a dedicated newsroom, three editing suites for broadcasting and digital media as well as audio and visual studios. There is also a graphics studio equipped with

over 70 Mac PCs. Elegido conducted the publisher round the facilities of the school and sought greater collaboration with the media and communication industry in student internships, training of staff and other exchanges including research.

The BusinessDay publisher assured that the organisation was always in search of young people who would add value as it fully embraced digital publishing and the challenges of the new era of audience selectivity. He informed that BusinessDay was deepening its capacity to offer excellent insights and analyses to its

audience and thus seeks the best human capital. BusinessDay is steadily growing its paid subscriptions and offering more reviews, features and in-depth insights to readers.

Dean of the School of Media & Communication, Ikechukwu Obiaya, Director of the Centre for Leadership Excellence in Journalism Richard Ikiebe and Adjunct Faculty Chido Nwakanma joined the Vice Chancellor to guide the visiting publisher on tour.

Richard Ikiebe is Chairman of BusinessDay Media Limited while Chido Nwakanma is on the Editorial Board of BusinessDay.

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Adopting practical approach to tackling Nigeria’s education challenge KELECHI EWUZIE

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cursory look at Nigeria’s education system today, no doubt, reveals a worrisome situation in the process of knowledge impartation as most tertiary institutions award certificates to students who are ill equipped to perform optimally when faced with the harsh realities of life.

As youth unemployment increases on daily basis, not a few graduates are beginning to realise that job-hunting is a lot more difficult than schooling.

A few years ago, a good education was all it took to land a lucrative job. But that is no longer the case as today, a good number of graduates are forced to resort to crime and prostitution because they spend endless years waiting

for jobs that are hard to come by. This dire situation is worsened by the fact that their senior colleagues are also in the job market, for which reason there are little or no vacant spots that they can fill.

Recent surveys reveal that the curriculum used by most of the nation’s universities is not driven by entrepreneurship. Rather, they centre on producing graduates who employers describe as half-baked.

Unlike most developed nations that make huge budget allocations to their education sectors, successive governments in Africa’s largest economy have consistently and consciously denied this sector the funds required to groom globally competitive human capital.

Those who know in the education space opine that entrepreneurial training is es-

sential now more than ever before, if the intellectual and creative capacities of students must be given a boost.

Moreover, they add that professionals with industry experience should form the bulk of lecturers that take some practical-oriented courses in tertiary institutions.

Aderinkomi Akinsola an education resource person notes that it is sad that the policies establishing most tertiary institutions do not provide for entrepreneurial education.

This anomaly, he insists, can only be corrected if policymakers formulate procedures that incorporate entrepreneurial education into the school curriculum, beginning from primary school.

Akinsola insist that government should pay more attention to education. It should be interested in what is taught

in school by ensuring that the content of education is changed to meet present realities. Only then can our graduates and students across all levels of education derive the all-important benefits of education. For Harrison Nwanyanwu, an educationist, Universities’ curriculums today focus only on the theoretical aspect of education.

They fail to address the current issues that will meet the global needs of students in the international market.

While proffering suggestions on the way forward, Nwanyanwu states that an entrepreneurial angle should be employed in institutions of higher learning, where seasoned resource persons can share experiences and not necessarily teach: which will in turn strengthen the global outlook of the students.

MMIA: Halogen rewards guards, applauds FAAN over lost, found bag IFEOMA OKEKE

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anagement of Halogen Securities Limited yesterday rewarded two security guards: Achi Daniel and Francis Emepueaku with N250,000 each.

Achi Daniel and Francis Emepueaku had on August 18, 2018 found and returned a bag containing dollars and other valuables items to the owner, a lady who just arrived Nigeria from the United States.

The security firm at an event organised on Thursday to celebrate the guards for their honesty and exemplary conduct, also offered them scholarships that would enable them further acquire a diploma in Security Management.

Wale Olaoye, group managing director of Halogen Securities Limited, disclosed the rewards in an occasion to

honour the two security men at Halogen office in Ikeja GRA, Lagos.

Olaoye said the action of the guards was a pointer that light could come out of Nigeria, appealing to other professional to emulate the high level of integrity demonstrated

by Achi and Emepueaku.

Commending the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), he said, “Today, what we may see as inconsequential has caught global attention. It is work in progress and we are in the pursuit of excellence. If FAAN didn’t give opportunities to Nigerians who have caught their teeth in their professional endeavours, we will not be celebrating what we are celebrating today.”

He pointed out that, if the two guards could make this positive impact at this level, then Nigeria must have wasted that capability to make change.

Non-financial managers urged to leverage Cullwort training opportunity SEYI JOHN SALAU

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L-R: Oluwole Rawa, general manager, consumer marketing, MTN Nigeria; Adekunle Adebiyi, sales and distribution executive, MTN Nigeria; Omotayo George, senior manager, youth/teens segment, MTN Nigeria, and Henry Ojiokpota, zonal controller, Lagos division, NCC, at the MTN mPulse launch in Lagos.

Pic by Pius Okeosisi

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riven by the need to provide excellent financial knowledge for nonfinancial managers, especially those in marketing, sales, brand building and advertising, Cullwort Academy is organising a day knowledge-packed course tagged ‘Understanding Finance for Marketing, Sales and Brand Managers.’

The one-day course is designed to help nonfinancial managers in the above listed areas gain basic understanding of finance process and instil disciplined management of marketing and sales budget.

A statement signed by Victor Ikem, on behalf of Cullwort Nigeria Limited, said the training would help “marketing, brand and sales managers discover smart ways of reporting monthly and annual expenditure.”

The release added that the course would equip partici-

pants with the tools needed to “measure marketing, brand and sales investment in financial terms for use by senior management and at Board level.”

Ikem said that as part of the expected outcome after the course, “Participants will be able to negotiate well for a bigger marketing, brand and sales budget, interpret marketing input and contribution to financial growth of company, make convincing arguments in favour of incurring specific expenses, justify marketing decisions based on relevant financial information, measure returns on marketing investments and use relevant data to justify spend.”

According to Ikem, “It would also enable participants to gain understanding of the financial reporting process, interpret basic account statements and balance sheet”.

The training holds September 21, between 9am to 4pm at the LCCI Centre in Alausa - Ikeja, Lagos.

Fight Against Human Trafficking: Edo deepens campaign, urges residents to report traffickers US contributes $1bn annually on developing human capital in Nigeria - Envoy

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do State commissioner for justice/attorney general of the state and head of the State Taskforce Against Human Trafficking and Illegal Migration, Yinka Omorogbe, has urged Edo people and residents in Orhionmwon Local Government Area to report suspected human traffickers to the taskforce.

Governor Godwin Obaseki established the taskforce in August 2017, to check the high incidence of human trafficking and illegal migration in the state.

At an advocacy programme organised by the taskforce in Abudu, headquarters of Orhionmwon Local Government Area, Omorogbe said the state

government was fully committed to tackling human trafficking by creating jobs for youths in the state, urging residents in the area to report suspected traffickers to the taskforce for investigation and subsequent prosecution.

“Human trafficking is a bad business. Don’t get involved or allow yourself to be trafficked by those looking for young men and women to be exploited. We are informing you so that you won’t learn the hard way. Many others who have gone and returned are gnashing their teeth now.

“Our children undergo slavery there. We have records of thousands of Nigerians who were killed or missing in the Sahara Desert, Libya or Mediterranean Sea.

“But the traffickers don’t tell you the hard life your children undergo there; how they are kidnapped in connivance with them. Parents and other relations end up sending money from here to Libya. They only tell you their success stories that are not true. Beware of the antics of the traffickers,” she told guests at the event.

According to Omorogbe, the state has received over 3,883 Libya returnees between November 2017 and July 2018, adding that Governor Godwin Obaseki was worried that more than half of the returnees from Libya were from the state, with Orhionmwon Local Government Area taking the lead in the state.

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he US contributes $1 billion annually to develop Nigeria’s human capital, David Young, deputy head of US Embassy in Nigeria, says.

Young made this known during a courtesy visit to the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC) on Thursday in Jos. He said the US was investing in health, education and agriculture sectors among other as part of its efforts to improve Nigeria’s human capital to shore up development.

“We give Nigerian these interventions to develop these various sectors to enable them participate in the creative industry, which is a potential economic drive to the future of the country.

“We are also contributing towards improving primary education, small and medium enterprises, and the agriculture sector to help establish agro allied industries to create job opportunities for youths,“ he said.

The US Envoy said the country was also partnering with security agencies to train its personnel and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to strengthen it to conduct credible elections at all levels.

He pledged US support in collaborative productions, equipping Nigerian film practitioners and students with the requisite skills to thrive in the industry.

According to Young,

Nollywood is next to Bollywood in the quantity of films production. Nollywood is Nigerian movie industry; Bollywood is Indian movie industry, while Hollywood is American movie industry.

In his remarks, Chidia Maduewke, managing director of NFC, lauded the US for her collaborations and efforts towards developing the film industry, saying the action had already yielded positive impact.

“We had successful discussions with motion picture companies and business entities in the US. We are engaging Studio schools in California, Silicon Valley and other organisations to develop Nigeria’s film industry.

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Daystar Power to light up Nigeria’ agric bank branches with solar energy ISAAC ANYAOGU

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ank of Agriculture has signed agreement with Daystar Power, a pan-African electricity company specialising in the generation of solar energy, to light up its 158 branches in Nigeria with solar energy. The company has also entered a comprehensive cooperation for rural electrification in Nigeria, it said in a release sent to BusinessDay. Daystar Power will partner Sunray Ventures, a venture builder with locations in Frankfurt, Dubai and Lagos, founded to identify economically attractive and high impact opportunities that address core growth sectors with a focus on renewable energy and circular economy in Africa and the Middle East, to develop the project including solar projects in rural communities in Nigeria.

Established in 1972, the bank of agriculture a state-owned bank created

to lend support relevant activities in the agricultural production chain, will see all its branches in the country switch to renewables.

This follows the growing realisation that solar energy can help firms reduce energy cost which the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria say represents 40 percent of business cost. Sterling Bank is also powering some of its branches in the country with solar power.

“In Nigeria there is a large gap between electricity production and demand. The rural population in particular suffers from a lack of reliable electricity supply, which has a negative impact on agricultural productivity. By supplying Nigeria’s population with clean solar power, Daystar Power enables increased productivity and higher crop yields through better cooling. In this way we contribute to increasing prosperity for the local population,” Christian Wessels, managing director of Sunray Ventures, said.

The cooperation agreement was signed in the presence of the Regina Hess deputy ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Nigeria, and Ulrich Rieger, senior ministerial Council of the Internationalization Department of the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Energy and Technology.

“The recently agreed cooperation offers a great perspective for Nigeria and is a forward-looking signal for further projects of this kind. We very much welcome projects of private-sector cooperation to promote African development,” Hess said.

In remarks made the signing ceremony, Rieger said, ““The secure supply of electricity is central to Nigeria’s sustainable development. That is why we particularly support cooperation between Bavarian companies that are active in Africa and thus make a contribution to economic, social and ecological development”.

Edo’s tech revolution: EdoJobs, WeAreBits to commence 1-year training for 50 Edo youths

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s part of efforts to develop indigenous solutions to society’s problems, EdoJobs, in partnership with WeAreBits, a global Information Technology (IT) company, have completed a two-day cocreation workshop to map out the peculiar needs that will influence a one-year training for Edo youths on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

Speaking at the end of the two-day co-creation workshop organised at the Edo Innovation Hub in Benin City, head of EdoJobs, Ukinebo Dare, said the programme would afford the youths the opportunity to acquire practical skills in the use of ICT to improve their employability within and out-

side the country.

Dare, who is the senior special assistant to the Governor on Skills Development and Job Creation, noted, “The programme was designed by EdoJobs and WeAreBits for the training of youths who don’t have access to computer education. The beneficiaries fall within the age range of 15 to 35, who had little or no knowledge in using computers before now.”

She said the co-creation workshop was to create a sense of ownership among stakeholders including the community youths, civil society organisations, and the state government.

She said EdoBits was set up to benefit from the initiative of the We Are Bits, a

global organisation with programmes across African countries, aimed at availing the youths the opportunity to be part of the global tech movement.

She noted that co-creating with stakeholders in the education sector is to target people from different backgrounds and ensure that within the space of one year, different communities within the 18 local government areas in Edo State would have benefited.

Director, We Are Bits, lsmail Eltabrook, said the idea behind the initiative was to create an avenue for youths in Edo State to acquire training in the use of computer and assist the state reduce unemployment among youth.

NHGSFP: why 24 states instead of 36 states, citizens lament CYNTHIA IKWUETOGHU

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he National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP), which commenced in 2016, has only been beneficial to 24 out of 36 states of the federation, and the remaining 12 states feel they are being treated partially.

As of Wednesday, the programme was currently feeding 8.6 million pupils in 24 states across Nigeria, 4.9 percent growth from 8.3 million pupils in May 2018.

The states currently involved in the programme are Taraba, Plateau, Gombe, Bauchi, Borno, Jigawa, Kano, Niger, Kaduna,

Zamfara, Katsina, Osun, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Delta, Anambra, Enugu, Imo, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Ebonyi, Cross River, and Benue.

The states excluded are Rivers, Bayelsa, Sokoto, Kebbi, Yobe, Kogi, Nassarawa, Kwara, Lagos, Ekiti, Edo, and Adamawa.

“Why not 36 states,” a concerned citizen asked on social media. “How will I know why my state was not included? Is it only 24 states that voted for President Muhammadu Buhari?

Such selective approach is not befitting a man of his approach,” another citizen complained.

A citizen of Rivers State said for his state, “Buhari

and APC, what has Rivers State done to Nigeria, as it is always excluded in anything that may bring help to the people. The sharing of Abacha loot and the N5,000 for the aged were all excluded in Rivers State, and now feeding of school children.”

On the reason why Lagos is not included for now, deputy governor, Idiat Adebule, at a 2018 Ministerial Press Briefing of the Ministry of Education said they were planning properly to ensure no student was left out as the number of students in Lagos State schools was about the number of students in five or six states put together.

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Highlight of the news reports on our digital platforms this week

Best five stories this week Weber’s puzzle: Why is Nigeria so religious, yet so poor?

A few months ago, the popular American preacher TD Jakes came to the church I attend in London. Preaching on leadership and wealth, he said prayer is not leadership and won’t make anyone rich. “If prayers were enough”, he said, “Nigeria would be one of the richest countries in the world”.

Buying a car is, without a doubt, one of the most important decisions we have ever made in our lives. In order to afford a car, many Nigerians have to work hard and save up for years.

Defections in NASS: Buhari, APC doomed to fail in 2019, Nigerians react

that has dealt a blow to emerging market currencies, it will take something special for the Nigeria naira to weaken materially like in 2016.

For more visit our website at businessdayonline.com to catch up on full news stories.

POLL RESULTS:

Saraki: Oshiomhole’s impeachment plot hits the rocks The efforts being made by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to procure the impeachment and removal of the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki and his deputy Ike Ekweremadu, from office, suffered a terrible setback on Friday as some senators of the ruling party.

How & Where to buy cheap cars in Nigeria Video of the week

BusinessDay asked our digital audience how the INEC centres were treating them in light of the Voters Registration exercise currently happening at all centres daily (including Saturdays) in Nigeria, here is what they had to say.

12% say the process is seamless, 53% say it’s difficult while 35% say that give up.

Following the defection of some federal lawmakers from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and some to the African Democratic Congress (ADC)in the senate and the House of Representatives.

Write us with your opinion at digital@ businessdayonline.com to let us know what your preference is.

Poll of the week

Analysts forecast naira resilience amid offshore outflows It’s not a tale of dejavu for the most stable emerging market currency this yearthe naira.

Despite a sustained foreign sell-off

Tweet of the week

Cartoon of the week

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COMMENT

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Friday 24 August 2018

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How US trade war is spreading from goods to services

DAN STEINBOCK Dr Dan Steinbock is the founder of Difference Group and has served as research director at the India, China and America Institute (USA) and visiting fellow at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (China) and the EU Center (Singapore). For more, see https://www.differencegroup.net/

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fter months of trade t h re at s, t h e T r u mp a d m i n i s t ra t i o n a n nounced its 25% tariff on $34 billion of Chinese imports effective in early July, while threatening levies on another $16 billion of imports. To defend its sovereign interest, China responded with 25% tariffs on $34 billion of US imports and recently imposed an additional tariff of 25% on $16 billion of US imports effective on August 23.

As Trump is escalating his tariff war, a total of $50 billion of goods on each side will be taxed as of Thursday.

Not so long ago, there was still relatively serious talk about the USChina Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). After all, Chinese foreign direct investment soared to a record $46 billion in 2016. But that was in the pre-Trump era.

Last year, Trump threats caused Chinese investment in the US to plunge to $29 billion, partly due to

INWALOMHE DONALD Inwalomhe Donald writes from Osogbo via inwalomhe.donald@yahoo.com

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ension arrears are not peculiar to Osun state and most states in Nigeria are presently indebted to retirees.

There was accumulation of pension arrears between 1993 and 2011 in Osun State due to the non-payment of pensioners. I am worried over the huge pension and gratuity burden successive administrations had been battling with since the state’s creation. The effect of pension and gratuities on Osun is so high and more than any other state in the region. Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola had disclosed that 80 percent of the total income generated by the state in the past 7 years of his administration was spent on payment of salary of workers and pension of retirees in the state. Aregbesola said the insinuation by his opponents that his administration spent 80 percent of the state income on developmental projects ‎against welfare and salaries of workers as untrue and hogwash.

The Governor said over N220 billion Naira has been spent between November 2010 to October 2017 on payment of salaries and pensions.

He held that ‎more than 70 percent of the income of the state of Osun from whatever source has been spent on payment of workers salary and

deleveraging in China but mainly thanks to very stringent US regulatory reviews of inbound acquisitions. After months of trade war, Chinese investment in 2018, asset divestitures included, is negative in the US. In the coming weeks, things will go from bad to worse, as US tariffs are about to spread from goods to services. Ironically, that’s when much of the collateral damage will hit the US, however.

Collateral damage in services wars Historically, advanced economies tend to enjoy service surpluses but goods deficits in trade, thanks to higher productivity and valueadded. And US-Chinese trade ties are no exception.

According to most recent data (2017), US goods exports to China are $130 billion, whereas imports from China are to $506 billion.

As a result, US trade deficit with China amounts to $375 billion.

In contrast, US services exports to China are $54 billion, while services imports from China are $16 billion (2016 figures). Consequently, US trade services trade surplus with China is $38 billion.

As China exports far more goods to US than vice versa, Chinese retaliations already cover more US goods (85%) than US tariffs cover Chinese imports (50%).

So as the ongoing trade war shifts from goods tariffs to non-tariff actions in services, China is likely to target US services. But China will not be the first to do so.

A few weeks ago, when Trump unleashed a tweet storm against Germany and the European Union

‘

In the coming weeks, things will go from bad to worse, as US tariffs are about to spread from goods to services.

Ironically, that’s when much of the collateral damage will hit the US, however

’

(EU), German Chancellor Angela Merkel rightly pointed out that it is misleading to focus on goods trade, in which the US has deficit against the EU, when the US excels in services trade, in which it has a surplus against the EU. With other EU leaders, Merkel is backing a “digital tax” against US multinationals like Amazon, Facebook or Google, which have come under fire for shifting earnings around Europe to pay lower taxes.

Trump tariffs undermine U.S. highmargin services Ironically, Trump’s tariffs have potential to undermine America’s most important competitive advantage

in the postwar era – high-value, high-margin services, which range from the technology sector to big pharma.

Since 2001, US services surplus with China has increased ninefold. A major beneficiary of the surplus is Houston, Texas. Last fall, Mayor Sylvester Turner led a Houston business delegation to China with energy execs, hospital administrators, physicians, medical researchers and entrepreneurs. The visit fostered many collaborative projects, including a medical center based on imported technology and consulting services from Houston.

Much of US services trade surplus with China can be attributed to Chinese travelers’ spending on US business, medical treatment and education, as well as increasingly innovative Chinese companies spending on US licensing fees and royalties for intellectual property.

Yet, in Texas, Trump’s tariffs are now endangering major projects that took years to build.

A s c o l l a t e ra l d a m a g e w i l l spread, so will the costs. If US metropolitan centers will take severe hits, the stakes will be much higher with US states. Last year, California’s trade with China totaled $170 billion, covering electric cars, engines, auto parts and aluminum. “A trade war is stupid,” warns Governor Jerry Brown, and for a reason. Among the US states, California, which is already facing a $1.6 billion budget deficit, stands to suffer the greatest pain if Trump’s tariff wars worsen.

Yet, this could be only the beginning. If trade wars spill from goods to services, neither Silicon Valley nor Hollywood will remain

immune.

Global growth no longer immune By upping the stakes in its trade war, the Trump administration is endangering US services surpluses not just with China, but with its other “deficit targets.” Trump’s dream is to defeat China in the trade war and then use that “demonstration effect” to force others – EU, Canada and Mexico, Japan and South Korea – on their knees.

That’s the White House’s ultimate goal: First to shock and awe its trade adversaries, and then to negotiate the best terms for the US – America First.

However, the White House severely underestimates the resilience of the Chinese economy and its people. Moreover, US tariff wars against its partners in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific are not a matter of principle, just a matter of time.

This trade war will have no winners. Instead, expect an avalanche of defaults soon.

Dr. Dan Steinbock is the founder of Difference Group and has served as research director at the India, China and America Institute (USA) and visiting fellow at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (China) and the EU Center (Singapore). For more, see https://www. differencegroup.net/ • A shorter version of the commentary was published by China Daily on August 22, 2018.

Send reactions to: comment@businessdayonline.

Pension arrears and Osun state pensions and that less than N60 billion naira had been spent on developmental projects.

THE House of Representatives recently urged the Federal Government to intervene in the current crisis of unpaid pension arrears threatening the lives of Nigerians’ retired senior citizens.

The House resolution followed a motion moved by Hon. Toby Okechukwu and six others, entitled, “Urgent Need for Intervention in the Current Crises of Unpaid Pension Arrears Threatening the Lives of Nigeria’s Retired Senior Citizens.”

According to him, in annual budgetary appropriation exercises, no provision was made for accrued benefits of pensioners under the Contributory Pension Scheme and Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS). He averred that, under the Contributory Pension Scheme, retirees who retired since 2015 have not been paid their pensions due to the failure of the Federal Government to contribute its statutory share of 5% to the Pension Redemption Fund in line with the Pension Reform Act 2014 amounting to a total of N285,946,669,881.00 only.

The lawmaker also expressed worries that pensioners under the Defined Benefits Scheme (DBS) which include the Police, Pensions, the Nigerian Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Prisons Service, Civil Service and

other parastatals are yet to be paid their 33% accrued arrears amounting to about N174 billion. He said that, “the delay in payment of pension arrears has resulted in dire situations where pensioners are wallowing in penury, sickness, hopelessness and regret for serving their fatherland diligently only to be abandoned by government upon retirement,” he noted.

Some Osun Pensioners’ behaviour is business-as-usual in a group run by some Osun political “godfathers,” or political elites who sponsor people to run down the government. I am saddened by the mad (talking of madness) campaign of calumny raging against Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.Governor Rauf Aregbesola increased the amount being paid as pension by 500 per cent in 2011. The problem of regular payment of gratuity is not peculiar to Osun; it is a national problem and the government has shown its readiness to pay the gratuity as soon as the state’s finances improve. It is on record that this group of pensioners had, at one time or the other in the past, lied against the Government of the State of Osun; and in specific reference they had alleged that government collected a tranche of the Paris Club refund and diverted it, only for government to wait for a whole month before the actual release of the fund.

There has hardly been any month that his critics had spared him and his government even though no one can deny that he has from day one

remained very active. Across the state, a campaign of falsehood has reached a crescendo of late, from the laughable to the distracting; and everything is being thrown at it, from religion to national security.

The pensioners claim they are on a mission to rescue Osun State. It is important that the people begin to show serious interest not only in the party in power but the oppositions too who are using pensioners.

This is because the strength of a nation’s democracy is in how vibrant the opposition is. For many discerning minds, the greatest threat to Osun’s democratic culture and obstacle to a rapid socio-economic development is not the actions or inactions of the party in power.

It is clear that the so-called pensioners group is obvious liars who were hired to stage protest during Governor Aregbesola’s mother burial and few days to Osun West Senatorial by- election. Their incessant political protests are unbecoming of a retired civil servant who ought to be placed and respected as a senior citizen. We know the set of pensioners that are protesting, it is not the entire pensioners of the state. Pensioners are being used by political blackmailers.

Instead of engaging in dialogue with government on issues bothering their minds as to how their benefits would be paid, they resulted in militant approach known to be orchestrated by opposition; telling

lies and character assassination capable of destabilizing the peace of the state. The pensioners group is a fraction of those who retired from service in 2012 to avoid being part of the Contributory Pension Scheme.

They are the set of pensioners that are protesting, it is not the entire pensioners of the state, they are being used by political blackmailers.

It is disturbing and unfortunate that the acclaimed retires have chosen to be blackmailing the Osun State Government and persistently constituting nuisance on the streets of Osogbo to the detriment of the peace-loving citizens through sponsored protest on the payment of gratuity and not pension. I want to describe the protest by some pensioners in Osun state as politically motivated. It is connected with the forthcoming September 2018 governorship election in Osun. These senior citizens have be hoodwinked by the antics of those who want to play on their minds and emotions to make them appear like tools in the hands of desperate political gladiators.

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Friday 24 August 2018

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COMMENT LEKAN FADINA Prince Lekan Fadina is Chairman, Centre for Trade Practitioners, an independent think tank and policy centre for trade, diplomacy, strategic studies and sustainable development. cismevision@gmail.com

T

he Continental Africa Trade Area is a single Continental Market for goods and services with free movement of business, persons and investments.

The objectives are, among others, to pave the way for accelerating the establishment of the Continental Customs Union and the African Customs Union; expand Intra-Africa Trade through better harmonisation and co-ordination of trade liberation and facilitation regimes and instruments across Africa; resolve the challenges of multiple and overlapping membership and expedite the regional and continental markets; enhance competitiveness at the industry and enterprise levels through exploiting opportunities for scale production; and provide access and better reallocation of resources across the continental market.

Background The free trade started many years ago since the birth of African Union - in various discussions, comments and presentations at conferences such as the Abuja Declaration, among others.

The 18th ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in January 2012 adopted a decision to establish a Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA). The Summit also endorsed the Action Plan on Boosting Intra-Africa Trade Area (BIAT) which identifies seven clusters: trade policy, trade facilitation, productive capacity, trade related infrastructure, trade finance, trade information, and factor market integration. The CFTA is expected to bring together all the 55 African countries with a combined population of more than One Billion people and a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of more than $3.4 Trillion.

The CFTA was launched on Wednesday March 21, 2018 when the Agreement was signed by 44 Countries at an Extra-Ordinary Summit of the African Union in Kigali, Rwanda.

Nigeria was absent at the Summit as the Head of State, President Muhammadu Buhari, dropped the country’s decision at the last minute (three days before the date of the meeting) not to sign because Nigeria is not ready, and that there is need for more consultation and buy-in from Nigerians especially the organised private sector. At the 31st African Union Summit in Nouakchoth, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Lesotho and Burundi signed the Agreement.

The main objectives of the CFTA are to create a single continental market for goods and services with free movement of business, persons and investments. This is expected to pave the way for accelerating the establish-

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The Continental free trade area (CFTA) ment of the Customs Union; expand Intra-African Trade through better harmonisation and co-ordination of trade liberalisation; and facilitation of instruments across Africa in general. The CFTA is also expected to enhance competitiveness at the industry and enterprise levels through exploitation of opportunities for scale production, continental market access and better reallocation of resources. It is said that the establishment of the CFTA and the implementation of the Action Plan on Boosting Intra-African Trade (BIAT) provides a comprehensive framework to pursue African trade flows from 2012 and January 2022.

The Agreement requires members to remove tariffs from 90% of goods allowing free access to commodities, goods and services across the continent.

It is estimated, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), that the Agreement will boost Intra-African trade by 52% percent by 2022.

In Nigeria, there are arguments for and against signing the Agreement. It is useful to consider some of them but space will not permit us to deal extensively with the issues raised.

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), the Nigeria Labour Congress ,some academicians, some stakeholders opposed Nigeria joining just as the Nigeria Association of Chamber of Commerce industry ,Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) some academicians and other commentators supported. Their position can be summarised as follows: 1.

President Muhammadu Buhari, in refusing to sign the Agreement, said he was delaying signature to the Agreement to widen and deepen consultation among the stakeholders. He said, “Trading is important and the terms of trade are important. Therefore, there is a need to ensure that our national interest as well as our regional and international obligations are balanced.”

He further said that with a country as big as Nigeria, with a population of about 200 million people, there is need to carry all stakeholders along in the process of entering such agreement.

2. On the government side, the position appears to be that “There are advantages of our being there, but we must ensure to get the best possible terms for Nigeria. Our market could be a real target, our local manufacturing could become unprofitable and our agricultural advantage could be reversed” (Remarks by Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, at the quarterly meeting of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBE) in Abuja, 2018).

3. The Nigerian Traders Association (NTA), while agreeing that the Agreement has some advantages for Nigeria, however suggested that we should be mindful of legal, structural, operational and other implications.

4. The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) described the Agreement as “neo-liberal policy. A statement credited to the NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wubba, said, “the policy initiative, for instance, would make it possible for foreign airline to directly do local schedule flights without

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There is need for private sector involvement to explain their role and put their requests on the table. The private sector knows where the shoe pinches. It is evident that the success of the Agreement will, to a great extent, depend on the private sector as engine of growth and development

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employing Nigerians.” He also raised the issue of the Government not consulting the relevant stakeholders on the possible impact of the Trade Agreement.

5. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) rejected the government’s move to sign the Agreement until proper consultations and inputs from all interest groups have been received on issues concerning market access and enforcement of rules of origin were addressed.

6. Some argue that the treaty would negatively impact government revenue and social welfare as elimination of all tariffs among African countries would erode the treasury of the trading states by up to $4.1 Billion annually and deepen poverty with millions of Africans potentially exposed to starvation and death.

7. Others, particularly among the poorest economies, are afraid that the benefits in the free area may not be equitably distributed among economies.

8. The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) urged the Federal Government to sign the Agreement in order to maximise the economic benefits of the initiative.

9. The African Development Bank in a presentation by its President, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina said that the Bank fully back the Continental Free Trade for Africa and called for opening up of Africa. “Lets thrive together” he said.

Nigeria has its challenges including the state of our industrial base, infrastructure, non-competitive manufacturing activities, import, and leadership, among others.

The view of the writer is that we should note the following: 1. The Continental Market will make it possible to compete with the big emerging countries of the South.

These are the 2. The current Intra-Africa Trade is $128.25 Billion, up by 5.6% between 2016 and 2017. Its share in the total volume of the continent’s trade remains weak.

For 2017, this fell to less than 15% of all trade on the Continent, amounting to $907.63 Billion (Afrexim Bank 2018).

3. With CFTA, it is estimated that we can expect a growth of more than 50%

in the Intra-African trade by 2022.The CFTA is expected to increase GDP by between 1 and 6 percent, which is expected to broaden the tax base and boost revenue collection from other sources.

4. If Africa speaks with one voice, our influence will be stronger than 55 voices.

5. We can change the course of events and have more influence in the affairs of the world in the new block of One Africa Market 6. Nigeria cannot be an on-looker in a market of 1.2 Billion people with a combined Gross Domestic Product of more than $2 Trillion.

7. On January 23,2018 Africa countries signed the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) as one of the 12 projects to deepen African trade and integration.

8. There is an argument that until we get it right, we should not sign. But the question is when are we going to get it right? We must remember that he who fights and runs away, leaves to fight another day. We must realise that we have strength so we have weaknesses. We must do a through SWOT analysis to determine our (Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) There is need for driving inclusive growth and sustainable development. Africa is seen as the destination of the 4th Industrial Revolution and the next phase of Africa’s growth is expected to be driven by private sector investment, development, trade, innovation, technologies and knowledge that bring about broad based benefits to millions of its people. It is said that the days of aid are over and “Africa is now the highway to boosting Africa’s prosperity without borders among the African nations.”

In deciding to be or not to be a member, Nigeria should take cognisance of issues such as: 1. Industrialisation Industrialisation is key to the successful implementation of a Continental Free Trade Agreement. The Industrial policies that are needed to impact the Agreement must consider competition, diversification, productivity and economic issues.

2. Human capital The manufacturing sector needs skilled, capable, healthy workers.

Policy makers must bear in mind that we are in a world of knowledge, digital, technology, creativity, among others. We need to adjust our education curricula to ensure that skills are adapted to the market and should include special attention to the youths who constitute over 60 percent of Nigeria population.

There should be focus on skills acquisition, capacity building for entrepreneurship, skills upgrading through continuous education, promotion of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and entrepreneurship as well as vocational and on the job training. In short, we should develop human capital necessary for the industrialisation of Nigeria and Africa. We must know that “Youth Unemployment is Africa’s Greatest Leadership Challenge “(Tony Elumelu).

3. Cost of doing business It is necessary to bring the cost of doing business down – addressing infrastructural facilities – roads, power, security, financing, bureaucratic restrictions, corruption, dispute

settlement, property rights, land use, among others. We should also ensure effectiveness of our special economic zones.

4. Supply network There is need to ensure competitive networks, easing trade restrictions, integrating regional and continental trade networks, increasing our ability to develop sophisticated products, encouraging small and medium size business, enveloping, encouraging and addressing the informal sectors.

5. Domestic actions/demands The local market is very important in the scheme. We have a market of about 200 Million and a situation where what will see around are imported goods, manufactured from other countries thereby creating job opportunities for their citizens should concern us. There is urgent need to create jobs, increase individual and household incomes. Higher purchasing power for households will increase the size of the domestic market given the rapid growth of the demand of manufactured goods.

6.Knowledge and skilled gaps There are evidences of knowledge and skilled gaps in the areas of market access, regulations and requirements on global requirements on importation of food, product quality, assurance/ control-packaging, labelling, grading, standardization, traceability, competitiveness, among others. In short we must be ahead of what the markets want and realise the sovereignty of the consumer.

7. Investment in human capital We need to train officials from relevant ministries, agencies, private organizations, academia and nongovernmental organizations in the basic skills required for international negotiators and practitioners. Trade has become an important tool for economic growth and sustainable development. Our people must be knowledgeable on the trading and operational systems, learn the ropes and be masters of the game.

Trade issues must be properly addressed as the Agreement involves understanding and knowledge of the present and future issues. Trade can promote growth, reduce poverty and create vast opportunities especially in the professional and service areas.

There is need to develop capacity to take advantage of available market access and evidence-based trade analysis on specific commodities and sectors. Professional services will be an area that can benefit our people - lawyers, accountants, doctors etc.

8. Business engagement in continental integration We must take cognisance of business engagement in the Continental Integration and we must, in our overall action, consider the framework for business engagement in regional and continental Integration in the following areas: 1. Continental Business to Business 2. Advocacy for Trade within the Continent 3. Advocacy for Trade outside the Continent.

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Editorial

Friday 24 August 2018

Adding value to Nigerian agriculture

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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I

n various pronouncements, the Federal Government of President Muhammadu Buhari has projected itself as focused on the primacy of the development of agriculture. It makes the case with multiple claims of successes in crop production, often citing rice as number one.

The evidence says otherwise.

The Summit of Northern Groups in a communique on March 24, 2018, following a meeting at Arewa House, Kaduna disputed the claims of success in agriculture.

The sixteen groups stated, among other things, “Agriculture shows limited glimpses of recovery, but almost entirely through efforts of peasants and antiquated processes.”The National Bureau of Statistics states that“the agricultural sector in the first quarter of 2018 grew by 3.00% (year-on-year) in real terms, a decrease by 0.38% points from the corresponding period of 2017 and also a decrease by 1.23% points from the preceding quarter”. The contribution of agriculture to GDP also declined from 26.13% to 21.65% in Q4 2017. It fell by 3.0 per cent in 2018 compared to 4.2 percent in Q4 2017.

Beyond the issues of claims

that cannot stand scrutiny, agriculture must be a critical success factor for Nigeria.

The country must devise policies and actions to increase productivity in this vital area.

BusinessDay recommends that adding value to agriculture should be the policy direction and focus of the government to make up for lost ground and realise its potential.

Agriculture is a sector of prime importance in every economy. Its economic contributions flow from being a source of livelihood to the majority of workers to serving as a primary source for food and nutrition.

The agricultural sector held sway in Nigeria from pre-independence, independence up to the end of the civil war. Its contribution to GDP averaged 57% and fetched 64.5% of exports. Oil took over in 1970, and the country’s focus shifted off the farms.

Nigeria’s Top 5 agricultural products are cassava, yam, maize, sorghum and millet. The principal exports are cocoa, oil seeds and oleaginous fruits, fruits and nuts, milk, cream and milk products and spices.

In turn, the country imports fish, wheat sugar, molasses and honey, milk cream and milk products, fixed vegetables, fat and oil.

Our agricultural production is characterised by low yields and

growth mainly through expansion of land. Productivity suffers from the absence of the application of technology. The Agriculture Promotion Policy (APP) of the Federal Government focuses on resolving food production shortages and improving output quantity. The Economic Recovery and Growth Programme pushes this by specifying targets.

It projects self-sufficiency in tomato paste in 2017, rice in 2018 and wheat in 2019.

Nigeria needs more than buzz on agriculture. There must be a focused effort to enhance the value chain by moving into processing, marketing and other value-adding activities.

The business of agriculture involves farming, supplies and inputs, finance, markets and marketing, storage, logistics and processing. Nigeria still plays mainly in farming, a low returns area.

Nigeria is currently the sixth largest producer of cocoa, but the country processes only 30% of the 248, 000 tonnes of cocoa beans it generates. Experts say increased concentration on processing, creating and building brands, and other activities in the value chain would increase production by at least 70%. Ghana invested in better processing and moved up the ladder as global number two from the fourth position.

Research and development is necessary to increase the value of our foods. In the 80s and 90s, Nigerian firms such as Guinness and Nigerian Breweries invested in alternatives to barley while Cadbury Nigeria built a patented cereal conversion plant to convert sorghum for use in the production of Bournvita and its confectioneries. Greater collaboration is needed between industry and research.

Agriculture also needs the enabling environment of macroeconomic stability, controlled inflation and peace and public order. It requires stable exchange rates based on market fundamentals to enable the purchase of inputs. Infrastructure is critical. We expect that given the challenge of desertification and the search for land and water by herdsmen, the government would invest considerably in irrigation, roads and expansion of water routes.

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development committed to pursuing enabling legislation to boost domestic content for food so that there would be 10% cassava flour substitution for wheat in bread and blending of 10% ethanol with petrol. It has not happened three years later. So much to do in adding value to agriculture. Time is running out.

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Friday 24 August 2018

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MoneyInsight Personal Finance: Investing Retirement

Taxes

Credit Cards

Home Buying

Small Business Shopping

Financing

High PoS transactions failures keep merchants’ cashless apathy alive FRANK ELEANYA

P

ersistent rise in failed transactions involving Point of Sales (PoS) has many merchants on the wrong side of the cashless project being championed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Data from the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) found that PoS transactions carried out by retailers in the country recorded a high failure rate of 11.41 per cent representing about 278,966 failed electronic payment transactions on Tuesday, the first day of Eid-El-Kabir celebrations. The numbers did not change much on Wednesday, the second of the celebrations as failure rate dropped slightly to 10.53 per cent as at 2:20pm.

PoS transaction failures also hit 14.9 per cent in mid-December, 2017.

PoS should ordinarily be the preferred payment channel for many merchants in Nigeria. One major advantage it has is that unlike channels like ATM with withdrawal limit set at N100, 000, customers can pay more using PoS. Unlike ATMs also, it is portable and handy which means

it can easily be moved around.

NIBSS had noted in a report in 2015 that PoS is the most popular non-cash payment channel, preferred among the non-cash payment options by 93.6 per cent of merchants, and 38.8 per cent of consumers usage.

The CBN introduced the Point of Sale system in 2012 to drive home its cashless policy.

The volume of PoS transaction has grown since then at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 123 per cent between 2012 and 2016, according to NIBSS. The PoS system was used 146 million times representing a 130 per cent increase from 64 million prior to 2016.

It is believed that PoS transactions peaked when small businesses that already use their PoS machines to accept bank cards for payments of goods and services began to use it to debit customers’ account in exchange for the equivalent cash and a fee.

However, at a July 2018 fintech conference in Lagos organised by Epayment Plus, stakeholders observed the speed with which most merchants were rejecting usage of point of sales for their daily transactions. The problem did not just begin in 2018; in 2016, NIBSS

admitted that despite uptake in the adoption, barely half of the machines were in operation. Out of a total 120,000 PoS machines in Nigeria, only 62,000 were active, while a total of 100,000 terminals were registered with the company.

At the conference in July, top on the list of complaints was the high transaction failure rate, high cost of operation and the length of time it takes to effect settlement with payment pro-

viders.

There are several factors that could lead to a failed PoS transaction. One of the major culprits is poor network. Poor network could be a result of a bank having network issues, in which case the transaction will fail, or a malfunction on the NIBSS platform which will mean the platform will not function in all the banks.

A NIBSS representative said the later part is very rare.

Transaction failures have

led some proactive commercial banks such as the United Bank for Africa (UBA) to take measures aimed at reducing failure rates. The bank in 2017 collaborated with INETCO Insight to monitor multi-protocol payments and service transactions originating from mobile banking, online banking, ATM as well as PoS channels, and proactively identify transaction slowdowns and failures before they impact customers.

Nigeria’s 74m MSMEs can improve energy efficiency with renewable STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

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enewable energy solutions, such as the solar hybrid inverter systems for offices offer Nigeria’s startup entrepreneurs a leeway to overcome unreliable electricity supply from the national grid and rising cost of operating generator sets.

The total number of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) is put conservatively at 74 million businesses, which constitute 84 percent of the labour force, contribute 50 percent to GDP and 7 percent to export, according a report by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The CBN defines MSMEs in terms of their asset base and number of staff employed.

The criteria are an asset base between N5 million and N500 million, and staff strength between 11 and 300 employees.

Small companies outnumber large companies by a wide margin in Nigeria and employ a lot more people. While they

are the driver of innovation and competition in many economic sectors, they are also the highest employer of labour when aggregated.

However, the have chronic energy-hunger that is met with high energy costs and chronic unavailability. Each individual business is condemned to generating its own power and this can be done sustainably and efficiently with solar based renewable energy solutions.

“To keep my operations running requires huge energy costs. It is really tough starting and running a business in Nigeria” Majiri Otobo, founder and CEO of Kui Care, a Lagosbased cosmetic medium-sized business told BusinessDay in an earlier interview.

This is changing though with innovations in the deployment of renewable energy solutions. Recently in Osogbo, Osun state, a team of renewable energy experts installed a 4kw/48v solar hybrid inverter system at an office facility. They

have also been engaged with 2.5kw/36v solar hybrid inverter installations for an estate at Mende, Maryland, Lagos.

Other installations included the 2.5kw/36v solar hybrid inverter installation for a residence at Gbagada Phase 2, Lagos, 2.5kw/24v solar hybrid inverter installation at Obafemi Awolowo University Staff Quarters, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

In addition there were 6kw/48v solar hybrid inverter system installations at a 2-floor office in Lagos, off-grid solar security lighting system for an office at Surulere, Lagos and 6kw/48v hybrid solar inverter installation at an office in Mowe.

“These are the few installations, I can recall as recent for now. Before these, we have done quite a lot of installations at different Small and Medium offices to enhance their business and support their operations based on our engagements” Mustapha Alabi, head of systems operations, BTS Renewables Ltd said in

TweetChats with the Gridless Africa team on “Solar Office Solutions for SMEs.” MSMEs need to be cautious in considering the deployment of renewable energy solutions.

They need to be energy efficiency conscious, they need to consider the power consumption of their tools like a printer, fan, lighting device, and so on before they purchase these things.

“It is important, to minimise their power consumption, which in turn will reduce their kWh. In short, they should choose the right size systems for their needs” Alabi said.

This means start-up entrepreneurs need to engage the services of a company with track record of knowing and doing a good job. It may appear expensive, but far cheaper in the long run. The companies who know the job bring in experience and the right design for the business’ energy needs.

Nigeria, with a population approaching 200 million people, has been unable to provide

power to more than 90 million of its people. Even those connected to the national grid are mostly undersupplied, necessitating their recourse to alternative means, which include expensive fossil fuel generating sets.

Manufacturers in the country said in February that their peak electricity demand had gone up to 14,882 megawatts (MW). But the national grid is only able to generate and supply about 4500MW at the most.

The manufacturers do not get a good amount of the meagre 4500MW from the grid, so they rely on self-generated electricity to power their operations.

At the moment, the financial value of Nigeria’s off-grid power market, which is driven by solar, is about $9.2 billion, according to the Rural Electrification Agency (REA). Operators and investors are beginning to change the initial negative stories associated with solar power in Nigeria with judicious investments and sustainable projects.

14 BUSINESS DAY Policy

Investments

Market

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Insight

Friday 24 August 2018

Influencers

POLICY

3,000MW rural off grid projects look promising as REA secures ICRC certification ISAAC ANYAOGU

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he plan by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) to boost off grid energy generation in rural areas received a boost as the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), a government agency set up to bridge infrastructural gap and regulate Public Private Partnerships (PPP), is backing REA’s mini grid and solar home systems (SHS) projects, to increase electricity access for rural communities by 3000 megawatts (MW).

“We are glad to announce that the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) has issued the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) a Joint Outline and Full Business Case Compliance Certificate, having satisfied the provisions of the ICRC Act 2005 and the National Policy on Public Private Partnership (PPP) for the development of Hybrid Mini-Grids and Solar Home Systems in Rural Communities in Nigeria,” the REA said

Sanusi Ohiare executive director, Rural Electrification Fund receives the certification from Chidi Izuwah, acting director general, ICRC

in a statement on its website.

With the compliance certificate the organisation can commence the process of awarding successful bidders of its tender last year the funds required to commence their projects.

On its significance, Sanusi Ohiare executive director, Rural Electrification Fund said, “It implies that REA has followed due process and extant laws in selecting

private partners to benefit from grants offered by the REF, and we can go ahead and implement the pilot 12 mini-grids and 20,000 Solar home systems advertised for a few months ago.”

In his opening remarks at a short ceremony to present the certificate to REA, the Chidi Izuwah, acting director general, ICRC, said “this is the 2nd Joint OBC & FBC Compliance Certificate is-

Global hydropower growth strong in 2017, IHA’s survey says

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South and Central Asia (3.3 GW), Europe (2.3 GW), Africa (1.9 GW), and North and Central America (500 MW) followed.

Meanwhile, China maintained its position as the world’s largest producer of hydro with 9.1 GW-worth of installed capacity, followed

by Brazil (3.4 GW), India (1.9 GW), Portugal (1.1 GW) and Angola (1 GW).

IHA said hydro translated to the elimination of about 4 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions from coalfired sources in 2017, while avoiding a 10% rise in emissions from other fossil fuels.

Hydropower also prevented the introduction of 148 million tons of air polluting particulates, 62 million tons of sulphur dioxide and 8 million tons of nitrogen oxide.

Pumped storage also saw significant growth in 2017, with 3.2 GW of new capacity bringing the world’s total to 153 GW. “Hydropower offers storage services which support growth in other renewables

In June Enugu DisCo wrote the sector regulator the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), asking it to sanction companies supported

by REA, whom they say are distributing power without acquiring a distribution license for that franchise area.

NERC responded by issuing the organisations licenses and the matter has ended in court in a fight for right to serve the disputed franchise area.

Babatunde Fashola, on several occasions has said the DisCos are not granted exclusive rights to franchise areas and their license is subject to adequate distribution of power in those areas.

However, underserved communities would accept power from whoever can give them regular supply which is why traders at Sura market in Lagos are calling for off grid intervention due to poor supply. The REA who recently received a $350million loan from the World Bank may be poised to meet this need through mini grid developments with this ICRC certification.

Power stations of the future need to be hybrid and agile

MARKET

017 was a banner year for hydroelectric power, with a record 4,185 TWh generated worldwide, according to the International Hydropower Association’s most recent Hydropower Status Report.

The 2018 Hydropower Status Report, published in conjunction with the Beijing Forum on Hydropower and Future Energy Systems reveals the global capacity of commissioned hydro rose by 21.9 GW over the past year -- bringing the worldwide tally of installed capacity to 1,267 GW. “This report serves to highlight the vital contribution of hydropower to meeting the world’s energy needs, without which we could not hope to achieve the ambitious carbon reduction targets that underpin the Paris Climate Agreement,” said IHA Chief Executive Richard Taylor.

Leading the way in growth last year was the East Asia and Pacific region, with 9.8 GW of capacity added.

South America (4.1 GW),

sued to an organization”, as he pledged to support REA’s bid to provide access to reliable and renewable electric power supply for rural dwellers through appropriate tariff that is economically responsive and supportive of rural and unserved communities.

Ohiare, who received the certificate on behalf of Damilola Ogunbiyi, MDCEO of REA commended the

efforts of the ICRC for their support in ensuring that the pilot long term PPP focused projects for rural electrification remained successful through the observation of all legal regulatory frameworks.

“Based upon an assessment and review of the proposal and all information available, this certificate confirms that the submission is in substantial compliance with the ICRC Act 2005, and the National Policy on Public Private Partnership,” the ICRC said in a Twitter post.

“In view of the fact that the mitigating conditions for the project may change over time, this certificate is valid for 12 months,” said the document signed by Chidi Izuwa, ICRC acting director general.

The REA has been on a drive to ramp up energy access in rural areas and underserved communities in Nigeria, a move that electricity distribution companies (DisCos) have kicked against on the ground that it is infringing on their franchise areas.

such as wind and solar, as well as water management and protection from floods and drought,” Taylor said.

However Bloomberg energy research says investment in large hydro-electric projects of more than 50 megawatts came to $39.6 billion in 2017. This figure represents the final investment decisions made in the sector last year, and was dominated by a single project – the $28 billion committed by China Three Gorges Corp. to building the 16-gigawatt Baihetan dam on the Jinsha River.

Taking large and small hydro together, investment in new capacity last year was just under $43 billion, far behind the $154 billion committed to solar energy, and the $104 billion allocated to wind energy projects. However, the investment flows going into hydro dwarfed those going to other renewable energy sectors, such as biomass and waste-toenergy, biofuels, geothermal and wave and tidal.

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uropean utilities are seizing on the increasing importance of providing flexibility to the power grid.

Not to be left behind, they need to not only change their operating strategy, but also modernize their generation fleet so it can rapidly respond to volatile system conditions.

This means future large power stations – such as RWE AG’s Tilbury and Drax – will be hybrids, incorporating batteries and gas-fired peakers.

The change will make them more dynamic, both operationally and in terms of reinventing their business model as market needs and values shift.

These conventional generators have had a rough ten years in Western Europe’s wholesale power markets. And it is clear the need for flexible generation is not about to go away – on the contrary, it is only going to rise. Utilities are realizing that in today’s system it pays to be able to quickly ramp their own generation up or down in response to changes in demand or renewables coming online.

As a result, they are changing their strategy so their power plants can increasingly capture value from providing flexibility.

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

Wind and solar have changed the rules of the game.

Traditional large fossil generators, which have historically provided the bulk of balancing services, are no longer making the cut due to the need for steeper ramp-rates, shorter cold- start times and operation at lower minimum stable levels.

For example, a mooted update to frequency response services in Great Britain saw response time requirements go from ten or more seconds to less than one – a requirement that only the fastest technologies, like batteries, can meet.

To capture the value of flexibility, a new breed of power stations is being designed. RWE’s Tilbury Energy Centre will include a 2.5 gigawatt combinedcycle gas turbine with a 300 megawatt gas peaker and a 100 megawatt battery. Drax Group Plc has similar plans that aim to convert its two remaining coal units into a 3.6 gigawatt CCGT paired with 200 megawatts of battery storage. Not only will these new power stations be able to stack different revenue from, for example, frequency response and energy arbitrage but, more importantly, they will have the freedom to reinvent their business model as

market needs evolve and value is displaced. So the wholesale power market is having a bad year? No problem, focus on the balancing mechanism. If that stops working, switch to ancillary services – or why not try all three at the same time?

There are also other advantages. Placing all assets in the same site should streamline planning and permitting and reduce grid-connection costs.

Having a large generation asset, expected to run frequently, means you can charge batteries directly. This avoids having to modify existing generation licenses to allow bidirectional power flows – a process that is not straightforward and can be a barrier to deploying storage assets.

One big challenge for these jacks-of-all-trades will be to avoid not quite being competitive at any one particular application. These power stations will have to compete across different markets where there will be more specialized and cheaper generators. But on the other and, less flexible assets are already scrambling to find value across different markets. New flexible plants should have a field day competing against them.

Graphics: Joel Samson

Friday 24 August 2018

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COMPANIES & MARKETS

BUSINESS DAY

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Debitum Network to drive alternative financing options for SMEs worldwide

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

Shareholders jostle for Mutual Benefits rights issue, expresses confidence Modestus Anaesoronye

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roup of shareholders of Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc have expressed their readiness to take up their rights in the Company’s ongoing N2 billion right issues flagged off 6th August.

According to them, the potential of the company for growth is huge having invested for a long while in the retail space, which holds the growth pot of the industry.

They said they will take their rights with great optimisms, given that the company has promised to sustain dividend payouts.

The underwriting firm is offering to its existing shareholders 4,000,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at 50kobo per share on the basis of one new ordinary shares for every one held, targeted at raising N2 billion.

The fund when released will enable Mutual Benefits carry out its recapitalization and growth plan, provision of additional working capital and financing the expansion of IT facilities to support the Company’s enlarged operations.

Shareholders of the com-

pany had approved the Board of Directors’ proposal to raise additional equity at an Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Ibadan on June 27, 2018.

Acceptance List for the Rights Issue opens on Monday, 6, August 2018 and will

close Friday 14, September 2018. The Rights being offered are tradable on the floor of The Nigerian Stock Exchange for the duration of the Issue.

The insurance company, a general business and life insurer, has an authorised

share capital of N10billion with a paid up capital of N4 billion. The company provides insurance coverage across several sectors including aviation, oil and gas, marine cargo and hull business and other non-life insurance underwrit-

L-R: Olu Akanmu, executive director, retail banking, First City Monument Bank (FCMB); Bukola Smith, executive director, business development; Abdurrazaq Balogun, executive secretary/CEO, Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF); Yemisi Edun, executive director, finance, FCMB, and Adam Nuru, managing director of the Bank, during a courtesy visit to the Management of FCMB by LSSTF at the Bank’s head office in Lagos.

Ecobank takes digital banking proposition to tertiary institutions Hope Moses-Ashike

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cobank Nigeria, determined to deepen its digital banking proposition has gone to tertiary institutions across the country targeting the youths and the young at heart.

The Ecobank Xpress Campus Storm, which kicked off at Laspotech, Ikorodu campus has journeyed through 11 campuses including Unilag, Yabatech, UNN, UI, OAU etc.

In the words of Ikechukwu Kalu, head, Consumer Marketing “It has been a rich and rewarding engagement with youths in the campuses we have visited. The excitement and energy level have been indescribable. We have seen

ing, including motor, fire and special perils, goods-in-transit, engineering insurance, retail and micro insurance, amongst others.

Speaking at the completion board meeting held today, the chairman of the company

massive turnout at the different activations and high level of adoption including Xpress Account opening and banking transactions on campus via the Xpress Points (Agency Banking Agents).

Thousands of students who have embraced the bank’s digital products are able to achieve easy transfer of funds, cardless withdrawals at ATMs and the consummation of other banking activities using their mobile phones.

Kalu, who was responding to media questions in Lagos, stated that the campus activation project which is still in its first phase has taken officials of the bank to 11 tertiary institutions across Nigeria.

He further affirmed that “the Campus Storm avails students of tertiary institu-

tions the opportunity to open the Ecobank Xpress account, a digital account that requires no documentation, minimum balance or paperwork.

It is simply opened by downloading the Ecobank Mobile app or using the USSD code, *326#. In his words “with the Ecobank Xpress account, students will be able to access financial services such as airtime top up, transfer and receive funds as well as pay bills from their mobile devices. I call on parents and guardians to transfer money to their children’s Xpress accounts, which they can withdraw without a card at any Ecobank ATM (using Xpress Cash) or XpressPoint”.

“At the various campuses visited the bank had free WiFi centres tagged the ‘Xpress

Corner’ available for the students. This gave them internet access and also afforded them the opportunity to win exciting prizes during the activation. We are highly impressed with the number of students onboarded to the Ecobank Xpress account. This has again portrayed us as the choice bank for youths.

The campus activation is to empower young people by offering them convenient, affordable and accessible financial services anytime, anywhere from their mobile phones”, he stated. The campus storm pushes very strong and exciting value propositions - account opening with ease, banking on the go and ease of transaction at Xpress Points spread across neighbourhoods in the country.

Akin Ogunbiyi said that the proceeds of the offer will be used to fund the Company’s recapitalization and growth plan, provision of additional working capital and financing the expansion of IT facilities to support the Company’s enlarged operations.

On plans for 2018, he said “We will consolidate on the modest achievements recorded in 2017 by commencing our IT transformation blueprint in 2018.”

This he said will help to eliminate slack time in its processing and ultimately enable them to focus more on customer delights and satisfaction.

He further said “Our strategic aspiration is to become the number one insurance company in Nigeria in terms of growth and profitability.”

“Despite the tough business environment we have been able to bounce back to profitability and delight our shareholders. Dividend of N0.02kobo per share will be paid to our esteemed shareholders who have stood by us over the years” He assured that going forward dividend payment will be sustained, while urging shareholders to take up the right issue.

A.M. Best reaffirms IGI’s financial strength rating of A- (Excellent)

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ating agency A.M. Best has reaffirmed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) with a positive outlook for International General Insurance Co. Ltd (IGI Bermuda) and International General Insurance Company (UK) Limited (IGI UK), the global specialist commercial insurer and reinsurer.

A.M. Best said the positive outlook reflects “IGI’s record of strong operating results, driven by generally robust underwriting profitability and stable investment income”.

The rating agency also said IGI’s balance sheet strength assessment was underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalisation being at the strongest level, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR).

In addition, A.M. Best

praised IGI’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework, calling it “well-developed” and its risk management capabilities “aligned appropriately with its risk profile”.

A.M. Best also believes that “IGI’s capital buffer will sufficiently support its strategic initiatives over the next three years (2018-2020).”

“We are pleased to have received from A.M. Best the A- (Excellent) with a positive outlook rating,” said Mr Wasef Jabsheh, Chief Executive Officer of IGI. A.M. Best stated IGI has achieved strong underwriting profitability in challenging market conditions. “The positive outlooks reflect the expectation that the company will generate strong profitability, while maintaining its balance sheet strength at a very strong level,” A.M Best said.

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COMPANIES & MARKETS Debitum Network to drive alternative financing options for SMEs worldwide Endurance Okafor

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ebitum Netw o rk, a g l o b a l ecosystem that connects small businesses to international investors has announced plans to drive alternative finance options to support small businesses.

As obtaining finance from traditional banks for small businesses can be a struggle, particularly for startups and those with low credit scores, this move experts will help build capacity for small scale firms.

The innovative hybrid ecosystem for small business financing, therefore wants to lunch a platform that will help bridge the finance gap encountered by small businesses around the world.

Meanwhile, according to some estimates, banks reject more than 50 percent of loan applications from small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). While in developing economies, the picture is even worse: a 2017

report from the World Bank estimates that 70 percent of small, medium and microenterprises are unable to access the credit they need.

Even for those lucky enough to have their loans approved, the outdated practices of traditional banks can mean a mountain of paperwork and onerous requirements – leaving business owners with less time to do what they do best: run their business.

Slow approval times and a conservative attitude to risk are two more reasons why small business owners are turning their backs on conventional banking and opting for the convenience, speed and flexibility of alternative finance (AF).

“With the launch of Debitum Network on September 3rd, 2018, small businesses from all over the world will be able to access finance as part of a balanced ecosystem that will connect local infrastructure with global investors,” the company said in a statement.

Last year in the UK, for

example, business borrowing via AF rose 43 percent yearon-year, as compiled from Debitum Network.

Meanwhile, recent figures from the World Bank estimate that the global alternative finance market for small businesses could grow to as much as $90 billion USD in 2020, from its current figure of $34 billion.

“Challenges persist in SME access to finance, but this visible growth in financing alternatives is very positive news,” Secretary-General Angel Gurría of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said while welcoming the growth in AF. One of the most wellestablished forms of Alternative Finance is crowdfunding. Popularised by sites such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo, crowdfunding allows businesses to raise funds from a group of investors – with the offer of some kind of benefit in return.

This could be early access to a newly-developed product when it’s launched, or to

L-R: Head of human resources Seven Up Bottling Company Limited (SBC), Yinka Olufade; 7UP Harvard Business School MBA scholarship winner, Ulunma Izejiobi; Senior Brand Manager SBC, Segun Ogunleye; HR Business Partner SBC, Chinenye Irokwem at the unveiling of Ulunma Izejiobi as the winner of 7UP HBS 2018 in Lagos.

some form of discount.

Unlike other P2P lenders, Debitum Network is dedicated to serving the needs of small

NCRIB to publish annual gross premium generated by members

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he Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) says it will soon publish gross premium generated by its members annually Shola Tinubu, president NCRIB , says the council will take appropriate steps to ensure that the gross premium generated by brokers is published annually.

Tinubu, who made this known during a media parley in Lagos, said that the publication would start in 2019.

He said that the council has rough data for commission, but lacked data for gross

premium generated by the brokers annually.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the brokers’ gross premium is the total income on businesses attracted by brokers to insurance industry annually.

The NCRIB president said it was a challenge that the council would rise up to, adding that it should be able to submit what the brokers’ generated annually to the table.

“I think it is a challenge we can overcome, starting from next year,” he said.

Tinubu, however, said that the volume of business written

by insurance companies grew to N363 billion in 2017 from N315.96 billion in 2016.

According to him, but the amount generated by brokers cannot be ascertained due to paucity of data.

“Investigations revealed that underwriters paid over N33.6 billion to brokers and agents as commission for premium generated in 2016.

“Leadway Assurance Ltd. paid about N4 billion commissions; FBN Insurance Ltd. paid N1.93 billion; AIICO Insurance paid N1.80 billion; NEM Insurance paid N1.80 billion and Axa Mansard Insurance paid N1.49 billion.

“Others are: Custodian & Allied Insurance, N1.37 billion; WAPIC Insurance paid N1.30 billion and Zenith Insurance Company Ltd. paid N1.09 billion, among others.

“As we see in 2016, the commissions were paid to brokers and agents, not brokers alone; so, we cannot deduced the annual broker’s gross premium from the commissions,” he said.

Tinubu said that the council would henceforth keep track on necessary data in order to know the exact brokers’ gross premium annually to enable the council to deliver on its promise.

Don proffers solution to curbing plastic waste

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retired university don, Oladele Osibanjo, has said that the ultimate solution to curbing plastic waste is for firms generating them to switch from non-biodegradable polymers to biodegradable polymers.

Osibanjo, a retired Professor of Chemistry, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

He noted that food and beverages companies as well as packaging firms were the greatest culprits generating

single-use non-biodegradable polymers.

The don said that because switching to biodegradable polymers would take time, the firms could, in the interim, put in place a “takeback or collection system” for the waste generated by their products.

“Water sachets are the cheapest and handiest nonbiodegradable waste. Every minute daily about one million water sachets are thrown away to the environment.

“Companies should transit

from use of non-biodegradable polymers to biodegradable polymers.

“However, because they need to source for these polymers, they should put in place a take-back or collection system for the waste of their products rather than people throwing them anywhere.

“The plastic waste collected can now be re-used in making new products; that way, you are turning it over for recycling and re-using.

“That is one effective way of reducing nuisance and environmental pollution caused

by plastic wastes practiced all over the world.’’

Osibanjo said that if plastic wastes were taken away from the environment, they would not cause harm anymore.

He, however, stressed that the ultimate solution was for packaging companies and manufacturing firms to change to bio-degradable polymers.

According to him, this is because over a period, there will still be some that cannot be recycled anymore and one will have to look for other uses for those.

businesses. Uniquely, the service uses blockchain technology to automate its processes, while transactions are carried

out in traditional fiat currency – making it accessible to small traders inexperienced in the crypto-currency market.

Insurers could lose up to 119% of policyholder’s surplus on cyber risks

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new collaborative report by A.M. Best and Guidewire Software has estimated that three of the top 20 cyber insurers could generate significant gross losses to policyholder surplus of between 15 percent to 119 percent, from a single cyber catastrophe event occurring in 2022, according to reinsurance news.

A.M. Best and Guidewire’s Cyence Risk Analytics team extrapolated and modelled current cyber insurance market trends to 2022 in order to test and estimate the impact of future cyber-attacks on the industry’s capitalisation and ratings. This involved creating five typical policy profiles, each with specific attributes such as policy limits and line of business minimums, and applying Guidewire’s data listening application to the cyber portfolios of the top 20 insurance carriers to model their gross loss potential.

Two scenarios described in a Lloyd’s 2017 emerging risk report were used for the stress test: one in which numerous cloud-based customer servers fail and cause widespread service and business interruption, and one in which a common software application is compromised and exploited on a global scale.

Additionally, an assessment against both events occurring over a 12-month period found that at the 1-in-200 event level, five companies incurred gross

losses ranging from 11% to 233% of their estimated 2022 policyholder surplus.

Although the severity of loss potential was identified, A.M. Best noted that most carriers’ gross losses were manageable, and added that projections under the 1-in-50 and 1-in-200 scenarios did not consider ceded reinsurance arrangements that the companies may have.

However, the report also did not take into consideration the silent cyber exposure of these companies, which A.M. Best warned could also potentially be significant.

“For the majority of these companies, even the gross losses do not come close to the natural catastrophe probable maximum loss estimates used for stressing the balance sheet strength of the companies,” said Fred Eslami, an associate director at A.M. Best. “However, under these circumstances, a handful of companies could lose a significant amount of surplus, which potentially could create ratings pressure or even trigger a downgrade.”

Sridhar Manyem, director of Industry Research and Analytics, also commented: “Cyber risk inherently will span multiple functional skill domains, requiring expertise from claims, underwriting, actuarial and enterprise risk management, and making the process truly a team effort across an insurer.

Addressing the talent gap will be a critical aspect of risk management.”

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COMPANIES & MARKETS PenCom reaffirms commitment to best practice, ethical standard for industry Modestus Anaesoronye

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ension industry regulator, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) has said that one of the major achievements of the Pension Reform is the establishment of robust legal and institutional frameworks for the administration of pensions in Nigeria.

The Commission said the reform has instituted transparent processes in the operations of the Commission and the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) in the retirement benefits payment process, enforcement of compliance with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014 as well as other operations of the industry.

“Consistent with the above, the public is hereby invited to note that payment of retirement benefits under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) is made by the PFAs strictly from the Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA) of pension contributors. “ “The RSA has three (3) basic components, namely, the monthly pension contributions; the returns on investment earned for the contributors by the PFAs; and the retirement

benefits that accrued under the defunct Defined Benefits Scheme.”

“Section 7 of the Pension Reform Act 2014 and the Regulations on the Administration of Retirement & Terminal Benefits demand that the three (3) components of the retirement benefit must be consolidated in the RSA before any payment is made by the PFA. “ “Accordingly, payments of retirement benefits are made promptly into the bank accounts of the retirees except for cases where the employer delays in the release of funds to pay the accrued rights component of the retiree’s benefits.”

In the performance of its statutory mandate, the Commission issues Compliance Certificate to organizations wishing to bid for contracts with Federal Government institutions, pursuant to the requirement of the Public Procurement Act 2007.

Furthermore, as it is the case with all institutions, the Commission engages vendors and services providers from time to time. In addition to the legal safeguards and institutional checks and balances of the CPS, the Commission, as the regulator of all pension matters in Nigeria, has entrenched good corporate governance practices, high ethical stan-

dards and zero tolerance to any form of malpractice in the conduct of its staff and the PFAs that manage the pension assets.

“In this regard, the Management and staff of the Commission do not receive money or other forms of gratification to facilitate payment of retirement benefits, issuance of Compliance Certificates and engagement of vendors and service providers. “ “The Commission does not also give/accept kickbacks to/ from any individual or organization in the discharge of its responsibilities. The members of the public, particularly pensioners and pension contributors are, therefore, reminded that no financial or other form of inducement should be given to anybody to facilitate payment of retirement benefits, issuance of Compliance Certificate or engagement as vendor or service provider.”

“Indeed, members of the public are earnestly requested to immediately report to the Commission, anyone who makes any demand for any form of inducement in whatever form or disguise.”

The Commission remains totally dedicated to the safeguard of your rights and payment of your retirement benefits as and when due, PenCom said in a statement.

Business Event

L-R: Lanre Atobatele, commercial capability director, Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC); Abiodun Peters, compliance manager, Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC); Akintunde Oyebode, executive secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF); Amaka Onyemelukwe, public affairs and communications manager, Coca-Cola Nigeria, and Teju Abisoye, director, programs and coordination, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), at the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Empowerment of 1000 Women in Lagos State recently.

L-R: Tomi Ogulesi, corporate brand manager, Interswitch; Niyi Adeleke, unit head, enforcement & compliance, National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC); Joy Okuma, assistant director & head, regulation & monitoring department, NLRC; Omolola Allison, scientific officer, quality & assurance development, Consumer Protection Council; Boma Tai-Osagbemi, head digital commerce unit, Interswitch; Femi Olorunmaye, customer insight executive, Interswitch, and Adetayo Teluwo, group head digital payments, product and marketing management, Interswitch at the Quickteller Delight Promo Draws on in Lagos.

Agric firm seeks FG’s partnership to enhance standard in local production

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he Nigeria Certification Company (NICERT Ltd), says it is ready to collaborate with the Federal Government to develop best agricultural practices and standards for local farmers to curb food rejections.

Annabel Kamuche, managing director, NICERT told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the company was a conformity assessment and certification body working in partnership with ECOCERT Group.

ECOCERT is one of the leading conformity assessment and certification bodies globally and though based in France have various offices and subsidiaries in different countries.

Kamuche said that developing and domesticating best agricultural standards for farmers in the country has become necessary to save Nigeria from further international embarrassment due to agricultural produce rejections.

She said the move would also help to protect the lives and health of citizens.

According to her, we can

help the country to create agricultural standards that all stakeholders must comply with.

“We can work with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, the Nigerian Quarantine Service, NAFDAC, SON, farmers to set up these standards and then, it will apply to people who are importing into the country.

“Ghana has domesticated a good agricultural practice standard that their local farmers conform to even for the products being consumed in their country, but we don’t have any of those things operating currently in Nigeria.

“Nobody is checking what our farmers are doing, nobody is checking the pesticides they are using, nobody is checking their post-harvest handling; nobody is checking the kind of fertiliser they use.

“Nobody is checking the kind of seedlings they plant.

Even if we are not exporting anything, what we consume within our country can be dangerous to our health.

“Part of those products that were rejected in the international market must have been first sold

in our local markets and our country men and women must have consumed them,’’ she said.

Kamuche said that NICERT was offering free advisory services on international food production standards and market linkages for farmers to earn better living from agriculture as a business.

The managing director said the organisation in collaboration with ECOCERT had trained no fewer than 36 persons as consultants and inspectors and they are now the first Nigerians to be qualified to do conformity assessment and certification in accordance with international standards.

Kamuche said the certification was commercial and legal standards such as ISO, NOP, EU, JAS. She said that the company was offering certification services to exporters for different standards including Organic standards, Fair trade, UTZ, Cosmos, IFS, Global Gap. “Our target for NICERT is to become one of the leading third party conformity assessment and certification bodies in Nigeria.

L-R: Soji Fagbemi, human resources manager, SONA Group; KVS Murthy, managing director, Food, Agro & Allied industries Ltd; Arjan Mirchandani, chairman, SONA Group; Joseph Taiwo Oguniyi, legal adviser, SONA Group; Michael Olayiwola Ajagbonna, assistant chief standards officer, SON Ogun State Office; Ajai Musaddi, group managing director, SONA Group, and Adekanbi Williams; Devanshu Seth, group marketing head, during Food, Agro Allied Industries inauguration of malt extract exportation to New Zealand in Ogun State.

L-R: A cross section of Star United We Shine Millionaires Promo winners at a regional presentation in Enugu recently.

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FINTECH News

Products Review

Technology Review

Personality Review

BUSINESS DAY

19

Company Review

COMPANY REVIEW

What’s the future of physical bank branches?

Stories by FRANK ELEANYA

O

ne of the notable achievements of financial technology (Fintech) is the speed of adapting to the new location of the 21st century customer. The consequence of a social media boom is that people spend less time offline and more time online.

The growth of mobile phones has also contributed significantly to this migration from physical places to virtual platforms.

The number of mobile subscribers in Nigeria reached 150 million and internet users went up 97.2 million in 2017, according to a data from Jumia, Nigeria’s largest online retailer. Jumia said the growth was driven by the availability of lower point phones that enabled more Nigerians to own a mobile device. It also revealed that Nigeria has 21 million smartphones.

For Fintech businesses and players, the numbers repre-

sent immense opportunities for growth. A major staple of fintech is the development of new financial technology products and services that are not limited by physical spaces.

Fintech companies utilise technology as widely available as payment applications to more complex software

applications such as artificial intelligence and big data.

Unlike traditional financial institutions, fintech businesses are nimble, flexible and aim at providing the most convenient service to customers. These services have so revolutionised the way people perceive banking

that even banks are adapting and playing at the front end of fintech in Nigeria. As the banks embrace fintech, the physical branches that used to host a lot of people are thinning out.

“We are a digital bank, which means we don’t have physical branches (because

spectively.

The SEC’s decision on ProShares Bitcoin ETF and the ProsShares Short ETF is expected on Thursday, August 23. Coindesk explains that the ProShares ETF proposals – initially submitted to the SEC last December – are underpinned by bitcoin futures contracts, rather than any physical holdings of bitcoin itself. In essence, the ETF’s value will be determined by the bitcoin futures contracts trading on CME or the Cboe Futures Exchange, according

to the original filing.

you won’t need them),” ALAT, the fintech arm of the decades old bank Wema Bank Plc, boldly declared recently.

“You’ll be able to do everything (sign up, request and activate a debit card, pay and save), on your phone.”

AL AT’s sentiments on physical branches have also been echoed by GTBank’s CEO Segun Agbaje. At the Social Media Week in Lagos in 2017, he noted that the bank is already planning for a future where 90 per cent of customers’ needs will be done through mobile phones.

Nearly all the Nigerian banks now have financial digital strategy and are leveraging new social platforms to bring services closer to customers.

Safe to say each is making plans for a future where online controls the largest share of their revenue activities.

What does the future hold for physical branches then?

“By 2020, we expect to have physical branches handling no transactions but just advisory services to our custom-

ers,” James Mwangi, CEO of Equity Bank said at a recent conference in Kenya where it also launched its fintech subsidiary, Finserve Africa Limited in August.

While physical bank branches will continue to experience less and less customers, it might take a little longer time – if at all – for them to become a relic for the museum. While the threat of fintech is real, what may never change is the customers need for physical contact.

Financial advisory is a field that is getting more attention from financial institutions. Earlier this year, to the surprise of many analysts, JPMorgan Chase announced plans to open 400 new bank branches. The branches which will be rolling out in October, is aimed at offering advisory services to small businesses.

According to some experts entrepreneurs place more value on in-person advisory relationships they get when they visit bank representatives in person.

ited in it. But the ETF makes it possible for a people who do not want to own bitcoin to trade in bitcoin and make profit from it. Buying a share of an ETF means you do not actually own the underlying asset (bitcoin), rather you own a piece of the fund, how the fund is structured and where the money is going.

an ETF means a high level of regulation. In the case of bitcoin ETF, SEC will only be regulating a part of the highly volatile market they have control over but not the entire market which is still unregulated.

“If the bitcoin ETF is approved this week, the bear market will probably end,” Vinny Lingham, CEO of Civic Key said on Twitter. “I think there is a less than 20 per cent chance of the approval happening, but it certainly would be a very bullish signal.”

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

Bitcoin ETF: What it is and not

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nxiety over the outcome of two bitcoin-based exchange traded funds (ETFs) set to be decided by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has the entire virtual currency world on high alert.

Whatever the decision is could have a deep impact on the direction of the market going forward.

Investors who are anticipating a positive decision are already taking their positions, leading to a 15-day

surge in the price of bitcoin on Wednesday.

Back in Nigeria, the confidence in a favourable decision seem not so high as volume of transactions in the second and third week of August are yet to hit the highs they did on the first week according to the LocalBitcoin index. The first week saw transaction volume reach N1.6 billion from N1.5 billion the previous week. However, the second and third weeks have hovered around N1.3 billion and N1.44 billion re-

What Bitcoin ETF is An exchange traded fund (ETF) refers to a marketable security that tracks an index of funds, a commodity, or a basket of assets. An ETF trades like a stock on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for example, but not with the same degree of risk.

It is considered the future of virtual currencies like bitcoin. Prior to now, to trade bitcoin you must own a wallet with actual bitcoins depos-

What Bitcoin ETF is not It is not a regulation on the entire bitcoin market. This could be where the problem lies for the SEC. Approving

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How Nigeria can improve on tuberculosis treatment ANTHONIA OBOKOH

N

igeria has the seventh highest diseases burden among the 22 countries with the worst cases, according to World Health Organisation and tops Africa’s ranking. Tuberculosis is the ninth leading cause of death worldwide estimated at 10.4 million infections and 1.8 million deaths annually. In Nigeria the estimated incidence of TB is 322 per 100 000 population.

Despite significant progress over the last decades, TB continues to be the top infectious killer worldwide, claiming over 4,500 lives a day.

The emergence of multidrugresistant TB (MDR-TB) poses a major health security threat and could risk gains made in the fight against TB. Experts say more can be done to raise awareness about the effects of TB and adopting the World Health Organisation recommendations for treating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis would help the country improve outcomes of treatments.

MDR-TB is a major driver of antimicrobial resistance worldwide and threatens hardearned gains made in the global TB response over the past twenty years. Diagnosis and treatment of MDR-TB remain a major challenge, with only one in four affected people

currently being detected and even fewer being treated successfully.

According to Peters Etete, president, Nigerian Thoracic Society, TB is a medical disease has a lot of socio economic confounders; it affects the economically productive age group in the community, thereby affecting productivity.

“More worrisome is the fact that about one in three people with TB are never diagnosed and in Nigeria the proportion of missed cases is as high as 50 per cent. This means they will not be treated and they will continue to transmit the disease in the community,” “Nigerian has made some significant strides towards TB control, but we know we can do better and faster to achieve the End TB Goal,” said Etete.

Tuberculosis is a curable disease. TB is spread through the air from one person to

another. The TB bacteria are put into the air when a person with TB disease of the lungs or throat coughs, sneezes, speaks, or sings. People nearby may breathe in these bacteria and become infected.

Meanwhile major improvement in treatment outcomes and quality of life of patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) are expected, following key changes in MDR-TB treatment was announced on 17 August 2018 by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

According to the agency, the first important change is a new priority ranking of the available medicines for MDR-TB treatment, based on a careful balance between expected benefits and harms.

Treatment success for MDR-TB is currently low in many countries. This could be increased by improving access to the

Commentary

Costs and social impact of Asthma Chiwuike Uba highest-ranked medicines for all patients with MDR-TB. The second important change is a fully oral regimen as one of the preferred options for MDR-TB treatment, with injectable agents proposed to be replaced by more potent alternatives such as bed aquiline (the first-ever medicine to be developed specifically for the treatment of MDR-TB).

Injectable agents cause pain and distress to patients, with many experiencing serious adverse effects that often lead to treatment being interrupted.

“The treatment landscape for patients with MDR-TB will be dramatically transformed for the better with the announcement today,” said Soumya Swaminathan, WHO Deputy Director-General for Programmes.

Swaminathan added that “Building on the available new data, and with the involvement of a large number of stakeholders, WHO has moved forward in rapidly reviewing the evidence and communicating the key changes needed to improve the chances of survival of MDRTB patients worldwide. Political momentum now needs to urgently accelerate, if the global crisis of MDR-TB is to be contained.”

Analysts say there is a need to devote more funds to Nigerians TB centres and also political, social commitment for further progress towards eliminating the disease as a public health burden.

Eating mushrooms may help manage diabetes - study ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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new study has found that white button mushrooms, as a prebiotic food, could be used in future to manage diabetes, due to the role that they seem to play in glucogenesis.

The study looks at how eating a common type of mushroom can affect glucose, or blood sugar, regulation which notes that results may have associations for managing diabetes and other metabolic conditions, such as obesity.

The study was recently conducted in mice by researchers working in various departments of Pennsylvania State University; they wanted to investigate the effects of white button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) as prebiotics.

The researchers wanted to see whether white button mushrooms could influence the production of glucose in the body, and if so, how.

They report their findings in a paper now published in the Journal of Functional Foods.

Margherita Cantorna,

study co-author says “Managing glucose better has implications for diabetes, as well as other metabolic diseases,” she added that diabetes, our bodies do not produce enough of the hormone insulin, which helps regulate blood sugar levels.

Insulin helps transfer glucose from the blood and into

entists were able to map out how white button mushrooms modify the gut microbiota, ultimately leading to improved glucose regulation in the mice’s systems.

The researchers fed all the mice a daily serving of white button mushrooms, which is equivalent to about 3 ounces of mushrooms

the cells, to provide them with energy. It also places excess glucose “into storage,” so to speak, so that it can be converted into energy as it is needed.

According to the study, in a mouse model, the sci-

per day for humans. They found that the mice with gut microbiomes experienced changes in their populations of gut microbes. In particular, their guts produced more short-chain fatty acids, such as propionate synthesized

Friday 24 August 2018

from succinate.

The study was conducted in mice with a normal weight; the researchers explain that they are also interested in testing the effects of this prebiotic food in mice with obesity.

This, they noted, would be the first step toward eventually extending this research to human participants, in the hope that it will lead to a better understanding of how our daily diets impact metabolic processes and influence the prevention or development of certain health conditions.

Cantorna and her colleagues believe that eating white button mushrooms triggers reactions in the gut microbiome that lead to the growth of certain types of bacteria, such as Prevotella, which, in turn, boosts the production of propionate and succinate.

Moreover, their new study confirms the important link between the foods in our diet and the bacterial populations in our gut.

“It’s pretty clear that almost any change you make to the diet, changes the microbiota,” Cantorna.

A

sthma prevalence and incidence have been increasing worldwide in recent decades. This increase is not only attributable to genetic background but largely because of the effect of a wide number of environmental and lifestyle risk factors. Unfortunately, in many countries, asthma and other non-communicable diseases are yet to be considered a healthcare priority.

In Nigeria, more than 15m people are currently suffering from asthma with a projected increase to 100m in year 2025. Globally, more than 300m people are currently with asthma and this is expected to increase by over 100m in year 2015.

It is also estimated that 14 per cent and 8.6 per cent of the world’s children and young adults’ experience asthma symptoms, while 4.5per cent of young adults have been diagnosed with asthma and/ or are taking treatment for asthma.

T h e b u rd e n o f asthma is greatest for children aged 10-14 and the elderly aged 75-79. Currently, Asthma is the 14th most important disorder in the world in terms of the extent and duration of disability.

Given the well-known underdiagnosis of asthma, the above quoted numbers may be an underestimation.

As a globalized and significant public health problem, which oftentimes, requires use of emergency care, hospital admission and can cause early permanent disability and premature death, asthma requires urgent policy and government attention to enhance the management of asthma in Nigeria.

Asthma management comes with very huge costs.

These costs are direct, indirect and intangible costs.

Direct cost include cost of asthma management (visits to emergency services; hospital admissions; medications, including all types of medications, such as overthe counter and alternative medicines; outpatient visits, including all human resources involved, such as doctors, nurses, paramedics, psychologists), complementary investigations or treatments (imaging, skin and blood tests, lung function tests, pulmonary rehabilitation) and other costs (domestic or professional preventive measures, assistance in home care, transportation to medical visits, burial costs).

On the other hand, indirect costs include work-related losses (temporary disability in terms of partial or total lost-days; early disability; permanent disability,) and early mortality and finally, intangible costs are those related with unquantifiable losses, such as the decrease in quality of life, increases in pain or suffering, limitation of physical activities and job changes.

Asthma costs USA economy more than US$ 80 billion annually in medical expenses, days missed from work and school, and deaths.

The recent data from the USA indicates that medical expenditures attributable to asthma were significantly higher for those with markers of uncontrolled disease when compared with medical expenditures of those who did not have asthma.

The above cost is more than thrice the Nigeria’s 2018 budget.

In Nigeria, asthma care imposes economi c b u rd e n on affected patients; though, patients’ costs for asthma is not well documented in Nigeria and other African countries.

Notwithstanding the above weakness, in a crosssectional study conducted in three tertiary hospitals in Nigeria by Cajetan Onyedum in 2014, it was found that the annual out-of-pocket cost of asthma incurred by patients in Nigeria was US$368.4 per patient. Medication cost accounted for the majority (87 per cent) of this cost.

This cost does not include other direct, indirect and intangible costs and is not related to costs incurred by patients with exacerbation and differing severity of the disease. This shows that in Nigeria, the annual average out-of-pocket costs incurred my asthma patients is US$ 5.5 billion (N2trillion).

It is therefore important for Nigerian government, in addition to making asthma a health priority, should invest in asthma research, develop national strategies and guidelines and action plan to improve asthma management and reduce costs.

As a Foundation, the Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Foundation (ACUF) is working to carryout baseline study to determine the costs and social impact of asthma in Nigeria. It is our hope that other institutions would collaborate with the Foundation to conduct this survey as soon as the survey instruments are ready.

Friday 24 August 2018

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BUSINESS DAY

Excessive stress may increase to mental disorder

ven people without insomnia can have trouble getting a good night’s rest. Many things can interfere with restorative sleep — crazy work schedules, anxiety, trouble putting down the smartphone, even what you eat and drink.

The following three simple steps can help you sleep better.

E

ness when they are undergoing severe stress.

“Stress is one of the common causes of a relapse including drug and alcohol misuse, lack of sleep or irregular pattern of sleep, lack of social relationships and support, poor understanding of your mental disorder in general. Addressing these factors may help you to prevent a full-scale relapse” Adebayo said.

Adebayo added that understanding the psychological mechanisms of how stress can lead to depression and anxiety can help prevent it. This is especially important for people who have had an earlier episode of depression

or who have a genetic tendency of coming down with mental disorders and would like to prevent relapse.

“Stress is an everyday event that human being passes through due to excessive pressure and it can translate into deeper health implication on both physical and mental consequences either positively or negatively.

Adebayo further explained that when an individual is undergoing stress, the body metabolism could be affected and the hormones get disrupted making the alert system in the body, the adrenaline and non-adrenaline to be on the hyper level because the

person is always agitated.

He added that some people use wrong coping strategy, when they are stressed up, smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol. Many Nigerians falls in this category, thinking these wrong strategies will ease them of stress at home, work place.

“These are wrong coping strategies, taking alcohol will not solve the stress but some people believe that is an escape route to forget problems.

“Your kind of coping strategy when stressed is very important, but we should not adhere to wrong lifestyles.” Adebayo advised.

Six key issues health insurance market in Nigeria needs to address Tunde Ladele

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s Nigerians continue to react to the National Health Insurance Scheme operations and services in the country, there are pressing issues the regulatory body are expected to address in order to guarantee access to affordable, cost effective and qualitative health care for all is a consensus pathway agreed and embraced by the entire world over.

According to Tunde Ladele, Chairman Health and Managed Care Association of Nigeria (HMCAN), No doubt some progress has been made in the country, some lessons have been learnt and the system is more resilient now than when we started.

However, there are still some steps that need to be taken to ensure that we get to where we want to be.

The goal is universal health coverage. What are some the things that need to be done to ensure that the Health Insurance market covers the majority of Nigerians in the foreseeable future?

Here, Ladele take a look at six key issues health insurance market in Nigeria needs to address as a way forward for the scheme.

Mandatory participation Presently only about 5-6 million people out of the over 180 million Nigerian representing about 3 per cent of the populace are covered by health insurance. To make the pursuit of universal health coverage a reality and to bring about an appreciable positive shift in the health indices of the nation; participation in health insurance as a veritable

HBL Team

3 simple ways to get more restful sleep

E

ANTHONIA OBOKOH

xcessive stress may relapse to mental illness says an expert in psychology.

Stress is the body’s method of reacting to a condition such as a threat, challenge or physical and psychological barrier.

The Federal Neuro-Psychiatrist Hospital, Yaba, Lagos, witnessed a 111 per cent increase in overall patient attendance and 59 per cent increase in number of new patients from January –November 2016.

In absolute figures, according to the data, there was an overall 46 per cent increase in number of admissions in 2016 (867) compared to 594 in 2015, while the community clinic attendance went up from 1,793 to 3,510, a 95 per cent increase.

Richard Adebayo, a consultant psychiatric and clinical psychologist, at Federal neuropsychiatric hospital, Yaba, Lagos in an interview with BusinessDay said that relapses can have overwhelming consequences for people with mental disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, or an anxiety disorder.

“We know here that a patient can easily relapse into mental ill-

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means of health care financing to remove access barriers should be made mandatory. The NHIS Act 35 of 1999 regulating the practice of health insurance in the country needs to be amended to make participation in health insurance mandatory for the formal and informal sectors.

Participation by all three tiers of government In the view of the fact health is on the concurrent legislative list; all the three tiers of government should ensure that people within their political jurisdictions at the federal, state and local government levels are covered by health insurance. In enacting their health insurance laws they should make sure mandatory participation is a fundamental part of their legislation. So, that every Nigerian is covered by one form of insurance or the other. The three tiers of government should provide for the payment of the premiums of the vulnerable groups and indigent persons.

Robust information technology platform There is an urgent need to put in place a robust IT platform to interconnect Regulators, health maintenance organizations, health care providers, clients,

Stakeholders respect for service level agreements Contract fidelity – respect for and compliance with business relationship agreements is an imperative. All stakeholders in the health insurance industry MUST abide with the terms of the bilateral, tripartite and multilateral contracts they have signed unto. The health insurance business

is driven by reputational capital; therefore every stakeholder should ensure that they stay away from practices that will undermine the confidence of enrollees. For example, clients (public and private) should ensure that they pay their premiums in a timely fashion, so that HMOs can also pay their providers based on the claims turnaround times set forth in the contracts with providers. Health care providers should also avoid bad-mouthing, it is imperative that any gaps are discussed strictly with the relevant HMO and not to speak to enrollees.

The tariff for services at least should remain stable within the contract period. A situation where some providers increase the price of services in the middle of the contract and threaten not to threat enrollees if the new pricing is not taken should be corrected through the use of lock-in contracts, because HMOs are not able to vary the premium paid by clients in the middle of the contract year.

Discontinue usurpation of functions Each stakeholder in the health insurance value chain should face squarely their duties and obligations as stipulated by the law without crisscrossing into or usurping the functions of other stakeholders.

Regulators should regulate, Operators should operate, Providers should provide and Users (enrollees) should use (utilize) services. The Regulator - NHIS should not be seen to be marketing or selling health insurance products; just as the CBN is not seen running commercial, merchant, microfinance banks or Bureau de change outlets, or the NCC seen

marketing voice or data products as the Telecom providers, nor NAICOM seen selling life and general insurance policies. However, the Regulator may direct the industry players to pursue certain health insurance products it believes is in the best interest of all, i.e. after due consultation with all stakeholders.

Put an end to HMO hopping Ensure that organizations do not port from one HMO to the other without first clearing outstanding indebtedness. The Regulator should ensure that no corporate organization or individual having been a health insurance policy holder with one health maintenance organization cannot port or change patronage to another HMO under any guise without first of all making good any indebtedness to the previous insurer. In practical terms, the Regulator should demand that any HMO wishing to sign on a client who is under another HMO or has been under health insurance cover before should request a Letter of Good Standing in terms of financial obligations from the previous HMO. The present situation were some clients disengage from one HMO and sign on with another HMO without fully liquidating their indebtedness to the previous HMO should be stopped through effective regulatory oversight.

In conclusion, all hands should be on deck in the pursuit of universal health coverage for Nigeria as this is the only veritable means of securing the health asset of our populace and ensure a healthy and highly productive work force for nation building and achievement of individual prosperity.

Cut down on caffeine Caffeine drinkers may find it harder to fall asleep than people who don’t drink caffeine. Once they drift off, their sleep is shorter and lighter.

For some, a single cup of coffee in the morning means a sleepless night. That may be because caffeine blocks the effects of adenosine, a neurotransmitter thought to promote sleep. Caffeine can also interrupt sleep by increasing the need to urinate during the night.

People who suffer from insomnia should avoid caffeine as much as possible, since its effects can endure for many hours. Because caffeine withdrawal can cause headaches, irritability, and extreme fatigue, it may be easier to cut back gradually rather than to go cold turkey. Those who can’t or don’t want to give up caffeine should avoid it after 2 p.m., or noon if they are especially caffeine-sensitive.

Stop smoking or chewing tobacco Nicotine is a central nervous system stimulant that can cause insomnia. This potent drug makes it harder to fall asleep because it speeds your heart rate, raises blood pressure, and stimulates fast brainwave activity that indicates wakefulness. In people addicted to nicotine, a few hours without it is enough to induce withdrawal symptoms; the craving can even wake a smoker at night. People who kick the habit fall asleep more quickly and wake less often during the night. Sleep disturbance and daytime fatigue may occur during the initial withdrawal from nicotine, but even during this period, many former users report improvements in sleep. If you continue to use tobacco, avoid smoking or chewing it for at least one to two hours before bedtime.

Limit alcohol intake Alcohol depresses the nervous system, so a nightcap may seem to help some people fall asleep.

However, alcohol suppresses REM sleep, and the soporific effects disappear after a few hours.

Drinkers have frequent awakenings and sometimes frightening dreams. Alcohol may be responsible for up to 10 per cent of chronic insomnia cases. Also, alcohol can worsen snoring and other sleep breathing problems, sometimes to a dangerous extent. Even one drink can make a sleep-deprived person drowsy. In an automobile, the combination significantly increases a person’s chance of having an accident.

You can also improve the amount and quality of your sleep by getting regular physical activity and creating and sticking to a regular sleep schedule and routine.

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

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Harvard Business Review

Friday 24 August 2018

ManagementDigest

A closer look at how the opioid epidemic affects employment Janet Currie

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he toll that the opioid epidemic has taken on the United States is undeniable. On average, 115 Americans die every day from a drug overdose involving an opioid, and even more suffer the debilitating effects of addiction. Despite state and federal efforts to curb the crisis, there is no sign that the epidemic is letting up. Whichever way the data is sliced, things look bad and are getting worse.

Inevitably, the effects of this crisis touch multiple aspects of people’s lives: their families, their communities and, of course, their workplaces. One narrative suggests that addiction leads to job loss and lower labor force participation. In fact, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently stated that the opioid epidemic is responsible for recent declines in labor force participation in the U.S. The data, however, points to a different reality. As the epidemic continues to rage, unemployment is at its lowest level in decades. Furthermore, the numbers suggest that many people taking opioids are actually employed: Comprehensive prescription data reveals that nearly 85% of opioids prescribed for working age people are paid for by private health insurance, which is overwhelmingly employer provided. While not everyone who uses opioids gets them directly from a physician, the fact is that many people who take opioids either begin by using or continue to use legally prescribed medications that are paid for by employer-provided health insurance.

So what’s the actual connection between prescription opioids and the labor market?

To answer this question, we analyzed data on all opioid

prescriptions filled at pharmacies across the U.S. from 2006 to 2014. We aimed to identify the causal effect of opioid prescriptions on employment, which is a difficult task for at least two reasons.

First, the areas that have been hardest hit by the opioid epidemic are different from areas that have seen less dramatic rises in opioid abuse for many reasons other than employment opportunities.

For example, West Virginia has higher rates of both opioid abuse and unemployment than California. While opioid abuse and unemployment will therefore be correlated when comparing West Virginia to California, this does not mean that opioid use causes unemployment or vice versa. The two states are different for a variety of reasons, such as demographic composition and educational attainment. Any of these factors, or a combination of them, could be to blame for both high substance abuse and poor labor market conditions.

Since areas are different, we examined how employment within a given area changes as prescription rates fluctuate. That is, instead of comparing West Virginia to California at a given point in time, we compare West Virginia to West Virginia and California to California over time. This withinlocation analysis shows that changes in opioid prescrip-

tions per capita are not associated with changes in employment.

Second, while this kind of analysis controls for any timeinvariant differences across locations, another complication remains. Let’s say, for example, that Charleston, West Virginia, unveils a new public transportation system that safely and affordably connects the greater metropolitan area. This public transportation system allows those who were previously isolated to connect with employment opportunities, thereby increasing employment. It also reduces traffic accidents since fewer people opt to drive, thereby reducing opioids prescribed for post-accident pain.

In this case we would find that opioid use and employment are correlated within West Virginia over time, although this relationship is still not causal: There’s really a third factor — the opening of the new public transportation system — that is behind the correlation.

To identify what’s really going on, we need to find something that affects opioid prescribing but has no independent effect on employment. To understand how this might work, imagine a helicopter dropping a bunch of opioid prescriptions on a town. This would increase opioid consumption, but it wouldn’t have any effect on employment except through this channel. In

our analysis, we treat opioid prescriptions to adults 65 and older as this helicopter drop.

Doctors who have a high propensity to prescribe opioids to the elderly also on average have a high propensity to prescribe opioids to working age people — and opioid prescriptions to the elderly should have no direct effect on the employment of working age people. Even though some elderly people work, and opioids may have some impact on their employment, it is unlikely that competition from the elderly is a major factor affecting employment of prime age adults.

We can therefore use fluctuations in prescriptions to the elderly to isolate changes in opioid consumption that are driven by fluctuations in local prescribing practices rather than by changes in local economic conditions.

Our analysis demonstrates that there is no simple causal relationship between opioids and employment. While there is a positive, but small, relationship between changes in opioid prescribing and changes in employment for females in areas with low levels of education, this relationship disappears among women in counties with higher levels of education. Furthermore, regardless of local education, there is no systematic relationship between changes in opioid prescribing and changes in employment rates for men.

Many observers have noted that regions that experienced the largest increases in opioid use over the past decade, like Appalachia, have had persistently low employment. However, it is important to keep in mind that these areas had low employment for decades before the opioid epidemic. Our results indicate that the correlation between opioid use and low employment in these areas is largely a coincidence

2017 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp. Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate

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and could be due to other factors, such as the prescribing practice styles of physicians in those areas.

Similarly, some studies have found that a high fraction of people who are out of the labor force take pain medication.

However, this does not prove that taking pain medication causes people to drop out of the labor force. For example, someone with chronic back pain might drop out of the labor force because of his condition and then be prescribed opioids. In this case, it would be the patient’s back pain, not his opioid use, that caused him to leave the labor force.

In short, while the opioid epidemic has caused widereaching devastation, aggregate employment appears not to be one of its victims. Furthermore, evidence suggests that poor economic conditions cannot be blamed for the crisis itself. What this means is that we must look at the opioid epidemic for what it is: a self-inflicted perfect storm that arose from a combination of newly available opioids, new attitudes about the importance of pain management, loose prescribing practices and a lack of professional accountability.

The solution to the problem lies in addressing these root causes.

Janet Currie is the Henry Putnam professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University, the co-director of Princeton’s Center for Health and Wellbeing and the co-director of the Program on Families and Children at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Molly Schnell is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and will be joining Northwestern University as an assistant professor of economics in July 2019.

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BUSINESS DAY

Friday 24 August 2018

AgriBusinessInsight Market Insights

Analysis

Commentaries

Experts/Industry Views

Commodities watch

Policy Reviews

Send in Commentaries to caleb.ojewale@businessdayonline.com

Rice dilemma: Production ‘increasing’, but little to show for it (1) CALEB OJEWALE Twiiter: @calebtinolu

R

ice is undoubtedly Nigeria’s most consumed staple food, with some estimates as high as $5 million previously spent importing it daily. Unsurprisingly, the country could not cope with its continued importation (like many other food items) as foreign exchange became difficult, particularly in the months leading to the 2016 economic recession.

A local rice initiative since 2015 was supposed to see the country “flooded with locally produced rice”, but that shower of grains is yet to take place.

According to government’s projections, local rice sufficiency would, well, was to be attained this year, 2018. However, a random survey around Lagos for instance, will depict this as a pipe dream.

As BusinessDay findings across a numbers of states visited in the North and South have shown, rice production has increased, no doubt. More farmers across the country

Women sifting particles from local rice at the Abakaliki Rice Milling Cluster.

have gone into rice cultivation, acreage for cultivation has equally increased, and appears to be increasing further. Milling facilities are also springing up in different parts of the country, yet, the huge demand, and large appetite of Nigerians for rice, is yet to be satisfied.

A major challenge is that, while the Agriculture Promotion Policy, 2016 – 2020, shows Nigeria has a rice deficit of 4 million metric tons, it is difficult to accurately determine just how much increase has been recorded in

local rice production. The largely informal, uncoordinated rural agricultural farming system that depicts most of agricultural practice across the country makes it nearly impossible to determine; just how much progress has really been made, and what is left.

In Lagos, it is common to hear many people express doubt on the reality that rice is actually produced within the country.

Even when walking past some known brands such as Mama’s pride, Elephant, Labana, Unza, etc in supermarkets and open

Photo by Caleb Ojewale

markets, some still remain in doubt that rice is produced in Nigeria.

Beyond the doubts, not enough volume is seen in urban centres, particularly in the south.

The smuggled rice from neighbouring countries, especially Benin, adorns the shelves in supermarkets and market stalls.

“If you find one local rice displayed, you will find 20 brands of foreign rice on that display as well,” said Ajayi Adekunle, manager, Double Door Limited, a company that has imported

Market

Report on fertilizer market prices for July 2018

Summary of local fertilizer market prices rice into Nigeria when it was permitted, and now distributes for different local millers across the country.

Adekunle further explained that people want the local rice, but it is not available. For six months, he has ordered for four trucks of Lake rice, which should contain 2,400 bags, but it is yet to be delivered. In Lagos, Lake rice, which is promoted (and subsidized) by the state government is perhaps the most popular brand of local rice.

“I paid for this same lake rice February. My money has not been refunded, and I’ve not been able to get it. So it is not really readily available,” Adekunle said.

According to him, when there is pressure on a particular thing, no matter how strong rules government puts in place to stop it, people will still find their way to get it. Like in this case of rice importation from the borders which is banned, but we still find it across the markets.

People continue finding ways to smuggle rice into Nigeria, despite government’s supposed ban on it.

Continues next week...

Insight

The international cocoa agreement Nigeria signed, here is what it entails

I

n June 2010, the United Nations Cocoa Conference successfully concluded negotiations for the International Cocoa Agreement, following consensus reached between exporting and importing countries. The agreement was for the first time in the history of international cocoa agreements, to enter into force for a period of 10 years. This, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, was “a sign of clear recognition by all parties of the long-term value of the agreement, and of their commitment to it.”

The agreement took effect in 2012, succeeding the previous agreement, which went into force in 2003. That agreement, which was negotiated in 2001, lasted five initial years and was continued through two, twoyear extensions. The new pact will last 10 initial years and may be extended for two additional four-year periods.

Earlier this week, President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Instrument of Nigeria’s Accession to the 2010 International Cocoa Agreement.

Garba Shehu, the president’s spokesperson had in a statement, said, this was sequel to approval of the Federal Executive Council for Nigeria to accede to the Agreement.

Nigeria is coming late to the party, but then, it is better late than never. The 2010 agreement is meant to run through 10 years, taking effect from 2012, and Nigeria, which prides itself with a history of coca production only just acceded to this agreement, with at most, 4 years left to terminate.

The objectives of the International Cocoa Agreement signed by Nigeria are: (a) To promote international cooperation in the world cocoa economy; (b) To provide an appropriate framework for discussion on all cocoa matters among governments, and with the private sector; (c) To contribute to the strengthening of the national cocoa economies of Member c o u nt r i e s, t h ro u g h t h e preparation, development and evaluation of appropriate projects to be submitted to the relevant institutions for financing and implementation and seeking finance for projects that benefit Members and the world cocoa economy; (d) To strive towards obtaining fair prices leading to equitable economic returns to both producers and consumers in the cocoa value chain, and to contribute to a balanced development of the world cocoa economy in the interest of all

Members; (e) To promote a sustainable cocoa economy in economic, social and environmental terms; (f) To encourage research and the implementation of its findings through the promotion of training and information programmes leading to the transfer to Members of technologies suitable for cocoa; (g) To promote transparency in the world cocoa economy, and in particular in the cocoa trade, through the collection, analysis and dissemination of relevant statistics and the undertaking of appropriate studies, as well as to promote the elimination of trade barriers; (h) To promote and to encourage consumption of chocolate and cocoa-based products in order to increase demand for cocoa, inter alia through the promotion of the positive attributes of cocoa, including health benefits, in close cooperation with the private sector; (i) To encourage Members to promote cocoa quality and to develop appropriate food safety procedures in the cocoa sector; (j) To encourage Members to develop and implement strategies to enhance the capacity of local communities and small-scale farmers to benefit from cocoa production and thereby contribute to

poverty alleviation; (k) To facilitate the availability of information on financial tools and services that can assist cocoa producers, including access to credit and approaches to managing risk.

Some of the major innovations and changes to the International Cocoa Agreement 2010 as compared to the previous one include: • Elaboration of clearly defined definitions and objectives for a sustainable cocoa economy; • Enhancement of market transparency through the collecting, processing, and distribution of data from both private and public sources, and through increased cooperation between the ICCO and the private sector; • Reinforcement of a mandate for the development of projects relating to the cocoa economy, recognizing their role in strengthening national cocoa economies and allowing them to better respond to evolving demand; • Recognition of the need to strive towards fair cocoa prices leading to equitable returns for both producers and consumers; • Promotion of the quality of cocoa and recognition of the need to develop appropriate food-safety procedures in the sector;

• Clearly defined procedures for the establishment of fine or “flavour” cocoa; and • Codification of ICCO cooperation with nongovernmental organizations.

The International Cocoa Agreement 2010 is expected to result in a major strengthening of cooperation between exporting and importing member countries and in an improvement of their cocoa economies through active and better focused project development and strategies for capacity-building.

The new agreement will build on the success of the 2001 agreement, by implementing measures leading to an increase in the income of cocoa farmers and by supporting cocoa producers in improving the functioning of their cocoa economies. The new agreement also will deliver cocoa of better quality, take effective account of food-safety issues and help establish social, economic, and environmental sustainability, so that farmers are rewarded for producing cocoa that meets ethical and environmental considerations.

Nigeria may have signed the new agreement, but, it is yet to be seen if any practical steps will be taken in ensuring the country truly derives the benefits it should.

T

he average fertilizer prices across the states decreased by 1.24% for NPK, increased by 0.64% for Urea and 4.67% for SSP compared to average fertilizer prices of June, 2018. Average fertilizer price of NPK is now 8.50% lower; Urea is 10.58% lower, SSP is 6.21% lower compared to June, 2017.

• The available fertilizer brands in the market were Golden, Tak-Agro, Solar, Ebonyi fertilizer, Solar, Notore, Wacot, Elephant, Indorama, Bauchi Blend, Dan Lawal and Springfield.

• In the open market NPK sold between N5, 500 – N9, 350, Urea N6, 500 –N7, 750, SSP N5,775 – N7,000 Farmers and Agro dealers’ views on fertilizer market situation • Bauchi state agro dealers said increased patronage by farmers was as a result of stable rainfall • Benue state farmers have started harvesting early maturing maize variety, millet, vegetables and fruits.

• Ebonyi state agro dealers reported increase in patronage of fertilizers by farmers • Ekiti state agro dealers said demand of fertilizers by farmers is gradually increasing • Kaduna state farmers are in the second phase of fertilizer application to their crops • Niger state farmers said they buy fertilizer both from the open market and government stores, though the government fertilizer is cheaper but some farmers still prefer fertilizer from the open market because of transportation cost • Oyo state agro dealers said fertilizer sales have increased considerably • Rivers state farmers said measures should be put in place to regulate fertilizer prices in the state

by Agro-dealers, to avoid indiscriminate increase in fertilizer prices • Zamfara state agro dealers’ fertilizer reported increase in fertiliser sales as both retailers and farmers buy from them with regular stocking of their stores with fertilizer.

Source: Fertilizer Producers & Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN)

BUSINESS DAY

Friday 24 August 2018

25

Hotels Book ahead, save more …

OBINNA EMELIKE

H

otels always seem to account for the largest portion of travel funds. Even when you are not booking a four or five-star property, a few days stay in a hotel can easily empty your pocket if you are not financially disciplined or planned well ahead of your trip.

Of course, most travellers like good hotels, but when you are on a budget, especially now that the exchange rate is very high, it is best to make sure you have enough after airfare and lodging to actually enjoy your trip; have good meals, go sightseeing, and buy some souvenirs for your loved ones.

However, there a few tricks and tips on how to book cheaper hotel rates.

Use search engines The popularity of hotel metasearch engines is on the rise and for good reason: It is one of the most efficient ways to find affordable accommodations. If you are unfamiliar with this concept, a hotel metasearch engine is a website that searches multiple hotel booking sites at once. For example, instead of running a search on Expedia, Orbitz, Priceline, and the hotel’s website, you can use a

metasearch engine to search multiple sites at once to see which provider offers the lowest rates and best value.

Kayak, Hipmunk, Room 77, TripAdvisor, and Trivago are just a few of the options available.

Call the hotel directly If you have a particular hotel in mind, calling the hotel directly can often result in better rates. Since you are able to speak with someone in real time, the staff will often be privy to rates that are not advertised online or, at the very least, they will be able to give you insight as to what is affecting hotel room pricing.

Events like conferences, concerts, and conventions

can cause hotel room prices to skyrocket, and of course, certain times of year, such as the holidays, will see more expensive rates. If you are traveling and found out there is an event causing hotel rooms in the city center to be more expensive, then you need to research hotels away from the city center to find lower rates.

Book cancelable rates Room rates can fluctuate as quickly as minute to minute because a hotel’s inventory is always changing. It is simple supply and demand: the more people booking rooms at a hotel, the more the hotel can charge. One thing you can do if you are not flexible with your hotel

Top BusinessDay Partner Hotels choice is to book a cancelable rate. It should be fairly obvious which rates are actually cancelable; there is usually a call-out that states something like “FREE cancellation – PAY LATER,” as seen on Booking. com. You better book this rate (but cross check it is actually cancelable) and then monitor the price, as well as, prices of nearby, comparable hotels.

It may take a little bit of extra legwork, but this tactic can save you as much as $US100 per night.

Book last minute This is a trick best reserved for shorter trips, like romantic weekend getaways or impromptu get-togethers with friends in the city. But it is not good to wait till the last minute to book a hotel room for that expensive international trip you have been saving up for or leaving your lodging needs up to fate when there could be a major conference happening that results in a hotel room shortage. However, if you do a bit of research and are flexible, booking last minute can result in much cheaper rates. Last-minute booking apps like HotelTonight, which works with hotels to negotiate deep discounts on unsold rooms, are a great starting point, and many of the online booking sites, like Expedia and Priceline, have their own “Tonight” or “Deals Tonight” section.

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

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

Protea Hotel Apo Apartments Address: Ahmadu Bello Way, Apo, Abuja Tel: 09 480 1818

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

Tel: +234 9 4603900, +234 805 7522500

Chida Hotel International Address: Plot 224, Solomon Lar Way, Utako, Abuja Tel: 0810 871 8882

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

Sheraton Lagos Hotel goes beyond hospitality …enthralls with Femi Kuti live concert

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n an effort to further spice its entertainment options for discerning guests, Sheraton Lagos Hotel will be hosting the living legend, Femi Kuti live in concert on September 22, 2018. Curated in partnership with Chocolate City Group, media and entertainment company, the critically acclaimed singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, and fourtime Grammy Award nominee, is set to enthrall music lovers, Afrobeat enthusiasts and members of Marriott International’s award-winning loyalty programmes – Marriott Rewards, The Ritz-Carlton Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), with an exclusive live performance of his seventh studio album, One People One World.

Marriott International has been focused on stepping up its experiences game, creating exclusive Moments that help connect with members through their passions, be it culinary, music or sport. From Masterclasses with renowned chefs, mixologists, DJs and photographers to behind the scenes access to concerts, to experiences around your favorite sport or an immersive experience of the local cuisine or culture, there is a lot to ex-

plore and discover what makes travel more enriching.

“We are committed to creating unforgettable moments for our loyal members, and what better way to do that than to connect with them through their passions,” said Neal Jones, chief sales and marketing officer, Middle East and Africa, Marriott International. “This is an opportunity for us to engage with our loyal members and build a strong emotional connection with them by creating a once-ina lifetime experience while amplifying the benefits of our Loyalty Programmes.

Through this very special experience created by Sheraton Lagos Hotel, we want our members to carry back a memory that ties back to the destination and our brand.”

“Chocolate City is happy to collaborate with Marriot International and Sheraton Lagos to give its guests and Marriott International loyalty members an exclusive live music experience with its artiste and Afrobeat legend Femi Kuti. His music and brand embody Africa’s rich culture and we have tried to replicate that in the set up, management and curation of the event. We expect guests to remember the event for the energy and excitement that Femi’s music brings”, said Edward Israel-Ayide, senior marketing manager, Chocolate City Group.

Members of the various loyalty programmes can redeem their points for an experience package on the Moments platform which

includes; front row seats and access to special viewing area at the Femi Kuti concert at Sheraton Lagos, complimentary cocktails and hors d’oeuvres during the concert, VIP backstage passes, exclusive breakfast with Femi Kuti at the Club Lounge at Sheraton Lagos Hotel on September 23, 2018 with a photo opportunity with Femi Kuti.

The benefits also include; a one-night stay in the Sheraton Club Room for two people at the iconic Sheraton Lagos, airport transfers, and a goody bag and a bounce-back F&B voucher.

“As a city landmark hotel and a hotspot for the local community as well as the international traveler to Nigeria, we are excited to bring this concert to the hotel and create transformative moments for our guests and loyalty programme members, through the reverberating rhythm of Afrobeat” said Barry Curran, general manager, Sheraton Lagos Hotel.

In addition to Femi Kuti, there will be performances from five other popular artistes. Invited guests and loyalty members will be treated to an eclectic selection of expertly crafted cocktails and finger favorites.

206 Hotel Plot 206 Cadastral Zone B02 Opposite Kenuj 02 Mall, Oladipo Diya Road, Durumi District, Abuja Tel: 08119707993 Email: 206abuja@gmail.com

Protea Hotel (GRA Ikeja) GRA Ikeja

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

Gombe Jewel Hotel, 22, Njamena Street, off Aminu Kano crescent Wuse 2, Abuja.

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

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Friday 24 August 2018

All eyes on Trace In The City Stories by OBINNA EMELIKE

I

f you are youthful and lover of entertainment on the go, you need to be on the Trace-InThe-City train.

The train, which took since August 17, 2018 is on a fourweek tour to bring the best of life’s experiences to the Trace channel fans and youths on campuses and cinemas in seven cities across the country.

The tour will feature fusion of music, movies, a concert, and games such as an eating competition, Indomie and Pepsi product giveaways, NTA Content Festival and take over a Movie theatre in each city. The locations for the whirlwind campus and city tours include: Zaria, Abuja, Calabar, Port Harcourt, Benin, Lagos and Ibadan.

One reason to attend the event in a location nearer to you is the parade of the A-List artistes billed to perform on stage at the different locations. The artistes to rock the stage include; Ice Prince, Mayorkun, Reekado Banks, Harrysong, Falz, Dj

Fans at a campus music fiesta

Neptune, CDQ, MC Galaxy, Classiq, LAX, Teni Entertainer, Dremo, Peruzzi, Idowest, Yonda, Odunsi The Engine, Ceeza Milli, Tjan and many others.

Falana looks to start her Chapter One

F

alana has truly come of age with her kind of music and growing fan base.

Her electric performances infused with unique style and elements of afro-pop have created something different in the Nigerian music industry.

She is aware that her fans are always on the lookout for her new releases and is assiduously working to deliver quality content.

Recently, she hosted an exclusive album listening event for her upcoming extended play (EP). In her true fashion of sticking to her African roots and promoting her love for her Nigerian heritage, the artiste donned two outfits; she and her band wore custom made outfits by Orange Culture, while she ended her night in a Maki Oh piece from ALARA. The colour red was seemingly the artiste’s choice of

Falana performing at Alara

the night as both ‘homemade’ outfits were a fiery red which captivated the audience along with her statement shoes by Shekudo.

The genius sound of Falana is the perfect blend of the old and the new- high life guitar riffs, amazing harmonies, distinct afro rhythm and powerful refined vocals. Her music took audiences on a journey blending contemporary sounds and truly compelling lyrics that promises to resonate with audiences upon release.

She took the audience on a roller coaster ride, unearthing different emotions as she told her story of perseverance, love, patience and pain, giving listeners an insight into how she produced tracks from the EP; the recording and selection process.

In all, it was an expository experience transcending listeners to another dimension with her depth and versatility. Her performance left listeners craving more of her unique sound, which she delivered to thunderous applause.

From the ornately decorated vintage Mercedes Benz owned by the legendary painter Ben Enwonwu strategically placed at the entrance coupled with Falana’s powerful voice and mindblowing music, the event, which was supported by ALARA and Belvedere was a huge success and a night to remember.

But one highlight of the tour, especially for upcoming artistes on the many campuses hosting the tour, is the featuring of each university’s popular acts on same stage with

established artistes.

Aside the platform to showcase upcoming talents on campus, Trace is also giving young creatives a chance to connect with Trace,

meet the faces behind channel and submit videos or skits in a “Content Festival” in conjunction with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).

Speaking on the rationale for the tour and platform, said Sam Onyemelukwe, managing director for Trace in Anglophone Africa, said, “We decided to embark on this campus tour because the country’s entertainment scene is dominated and consumed by young people and they are eager for opportunities to have their creativity recognized.

To respond to their aspirations, we partnered with NTA so they can drop their videos and submit content to air on TV”.

The city tour, which started on August 17, 2018 will run until September 15, 2018. It is sponsored

by Indomie Nigeria, refreshed by Pepsi, supported by Infinix Mobile and Clorets.

However, interested students and adults alike are urged to follow the conversation on all Trace’s social media platforms using @tracenaija on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter or by using the Tag #TraceInTheCity.

Kemi Akindoju bares it all in Naked

O

n August 12, 29018, Naked, the one-woman play, had its last show for the second cycle.

First premièred at the Lagos Theatre Festival in March, the play tells the story of failure, pain, pushing the boundaries and the process to achieving success.

With an undertone that stardom is not what it seems, NAKED takes you on an intimate journey of the highs and lows of Kemi Akindoju, the lead and only character, her growing up and experiences as a green thumb in the entertainment industry.

From the first scene to the last, the character played by Kemi‘Lala’ Akindojutakes her audience on a journey, in and out of her memories without losing them ineither the present or the stories of her past that she tells.

Kenneth Uphopho, the director, says the vision of the production is to use NAKED as a medium that gives a voice and educates the younger generation of creatives, giving room for mentoring and empowering the young in the industry.The future of NAKED is, with adequate and proper funding is to go around and beyond the shores of Nigeria and Africa.

The vision was kick-started with the first showing of NAKED free for young female actors to encourage them to face their challenges and steer them in the right direction.

The play, which was hosted by Lamide Akintobi, begins with a starlet whose make-up artist and stylist have disappeared on her.

She takes matters into her own

Kemi Akindoju in Naked

hands, with every action triggering a period or situation in her past.

She keeps her audience glued to her every move, putting them at the forefront of her memories.

There is a shift in the ambience every time she loops in and out of her memories and secret tears are shed along with her as she unveils the abuse, pains and failures.

The play has moments of laughter and tears with something everyone can relate to. Lala wields the stage in a way that only a seasoned thespian can, piloting the play to victorious end.

“I just want to let everyone know that our challenges are not that different and we shouldn’t feel ashamed”, Kemi ‘Lala’Akindoju says.

The play also featured a question and answer session, which gave the audience an opportunity

to ask questions, share their views and define the impact of the show and how it can be extended to the general public.

The hour long one-woman play written by Titilope Sonuga, which had eight showings in total, teaches the values of self-worth, rediscovering self and self-esteem.

NAKED is a result of collaboration between PAWS Studios and The Make It Happen Productions.

The play is produced by Brenda Uphopho, Kemi ‘Lala’Akindoju and Oludara Egerton Shyngle as associate producer.

The August 12th staging of the play was attended by; Joke Silva, Olu Jacobs, Biola Alabi, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Shaffy Bello, Pastor Tony Rapu, Ini Dima-Okojie,IK Osakioduwa, Funke Bucknor Obruthe, Nancy Isime and many more.

Friday 24 August 2018

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Business Etiquette

Film Review – MOMS AT WAR

I

t’s with so much joy and excitement I bring to you this brand new movie Moms at war. Its quiet easy to predict from the title to predict what this movie would be about, yes it’s about two mothers who wanted to fight for their kids to achieve the best, they were willing to do anything to protect their kids.

It was so nice and interesting to see “Jennifer” Funke Akindele and Omoni Oboli together for the first time.

They did a very good job and they totally killed it, they had a perfect storyline and the cast were perfect for each role. The movie was absolutely hilarious but yet passed the message across properly with a nice ending. The hype and marketing for this movie was really good, they spent a lot in promoting the movie, and the movie preview was also awesome, with loads of stars, comedians, nice Dj, music and an awesome after party.

The movie was directed

by Omoni Oboli, written by Chinaza Onuzo. Although it had a simple nice story that one could associate and relate with, they also had loads of lessons to pass across. There was something just nice and unique about this movie. They kept everyone entertained and relaxed all through the 90mins, when it was over, we absolutely didn’t want to leave and could have asked for more. They paid attention to details and avoided the usual Nigerian syndrome of mistakes. The production was top-notch, the quality of the script was amazing and the cast killed their role totally, I felt they really couldn’t have gotten anyone better. In as much as they were hilarious, they didn’t still lose the value they wanted to pass across.

The locations chosen were so nice and the school scene looked really and well played.

So let me tell you a bit about the story, they told a story about two mothers who leaved as neighbours in a very high brow estate in Lekki. The first mother who was “Omoni Oboli” had only one daughter, while the second mother who happened to be “Jennifer” who is known as Funke Akindele had only one son. Omoni was a very hot and trendy mum, who felt she deserved to leave in that estate. To her she felt that Funke was one lucky

with Janet Adetu

Are you watching your Image?

W

Cast: Funke Akindele, Alvin Abayomi, Yul Edochie, Omoni Oboli, Michelle Dede, Eucharia Anunobi Ekwu, Sharon Ooja, Bukola Oladipupo, Director: Omoni Oboli Producer: Moses Babatope, Omoni Oboli, Kene Okwuosa, Chinaza Onuzo Written by: Chinaza Onuzo Casting: 90mins Genre: Drama & Comedy Ratings: 12 unfortunate lady, who mistakenly hit millions and decided to move in with the rich. She felt the estate and the people who leaved in it were too classy for Funke.

They hated each so much and didn’t want to talk to each other, nor allow their paths cross. The very funny part of the story was that their kids both attended the same school, yet each day they rode in separate cars.

Some months to their graduating from school they both wrote a special exam, which was meant for the very bright minds and only one person would be chosen to represent the school in the international conference. Unfortunately they both passed and this was when the major war now started. The principal spoke to both parents to agree and chose one child as only one child would be allowed from the school, the parents refused and started devising tactic and strategy to bring the other down and win.

Funke didn’t really bother or fight she was so confident that her son was very intelligent and would pass it easily again, so instead of choosing they opted into

writing the second time and this time Funkes son didn’t write well to allow for his new found friend to pass and go for the conference. The issues and plots just never came to an end as both parents were willing to do anything to make sure their kids went on this trip. You would need to see the movie, to see the length these mums went to and how their kids finally made a decision.

To my verdict I score this movie a 6.5/ 10, the movie was nice, they had a very good production, costumes were on point, set, location and the cast tried their best, it was a simple nice story, but there was just something missing at the end, the knots didn’t quiet add, I felt something was missing at the end that would have made it a perfect story.

For the lovers of music and romance, then you might want to try this out.

Feel free to review any movie of your choice in not more than 200 words, please send us a mail to linda@businessdayonline. com and stand a chance to win a free movie ticket.

Linda Ochugbua @lindaochugbua

“Your Image is everything” e all strive to be as normal as possible forgetting that image indeed is everything. Whether you are a professional or an entrepreneur, you will be perceived, approached and accepted based on what people see. If you consider your progress, level of success and career growth to be important then it is your duty to live up to expectation and value your image. Many people do not understand the protocol of maintaining a promising self-image or the importance it has in their life.

On numerous occasions during my seminars with professionals, I have found that the motivation to create an impressive first impression is wanting. Good work ethics have become a thing of the past as the 21st century ‘Generation Y’ and now the Millennials what I call Generation Z are ever on the go with little time for details.

This is worrying as employers become more concerned about those they send out to act as the face of the company and represent them. There is now a growing need to invest in building an acceptable self and corporate image that gives that panache advantage. It is easy not to be aware of actions, behaviors and attitude that truly diminish ones image until it becomes a habit that is easily noticed by others.

Below are some of the professional image breakers that I see on a regular basis.

Are you a victim? This is the time to acknowledge and fix it.

General Physiology 1. Sitting in an non elegant and awkward manner.

2. A woman who walks like a man 3 . Wa l k i ng f a s t a n d swinging arms rapidly 4. Walking too slow and sluggishly 5. Dragging feet on the ground while shoulders are humped 6. A fierce and inappropriate body language 7. Standing in an unattractive and distracted manner Overall Body 1. Constant bad breath 2. Offensive body odour 3. Visible sweat under the armpits 4. A man who keeps long nails 5. A woman with uncom-

fortably long nails 6. Dirty un-kept and chipped nails 7. A woman with smelly braided hair 8. Hair that appears untidy and unwashed 9. Maintaining an ungroomed full head of grey hair 10. An man with unshaven facial hair 11. A man with hair overdue for barbing Fragrance/Appearance 1. Overbearing perfume 2. Not wearing any deodorant or perfume 3. Smelly, unwashed and dirty clothing 4. Excessive and unattractive make-up 5. Lipstick on teeth Clothing 1. Ill- fitting clothes 2. Very short skirts 3. Transparent clothing 4. Revealing underwear

5. Unflattering coloured (uncoordinated) clothing 6. Old, outdated and worn out wear 7. Wrinkled and un ironed clothing 8. Dressing too old or too young 9. Sloppy business casual dressing 10. Unprofessional ensemble Fabulous Feet 1. Constantly worn out heels.

2. Paying little attention to the shine and polish of your shoes 3. Wearing boots with short dresses 4. Undone shoe laces 5. Wearing uncomfortably high heels that disrupt your walk 6. Shoes that reveal your un-kept toes 7. Wearing slippers, rubber crocs and sandals to work 8. You wear official shoes with jeans

Accessories 1. Carrying an everyday cheap pen 2. Old and worn briefcase or handbag 3. Cheap watch 4. Unsuitable and excessive jewelry 5. Worn out belts 6. Wearing unmatched socks or having holes.

7. Excessively big handbags for professional look 8. Bulky wallets 9. Wearing your pen in the breast pocket of your shirt 10. Ink stains on the shirt pocket 11. Not having a business card holder Language 1. Speaking too fast, low or loud 2. Talking while eating 3. Speaking aggressively 4. Talking to someone

while looking at the wall, sky or ground 5. Eating while talking on the phone 6. Poor diction and enunciation This extensive list though not exhaustive gives a simple and true indication of how we live our lives daily. It’s not about changing who you are but making a conscious attempt to improve your selfimage, with the aim of striving for success. The list offers an insight into the many ways our image can have a negative impact. Try to take them in your stride and identify your image breakers then make that extra effort to adjust yourself. You can only develop professionalism by learning to make a difference each day.

“Change surely does not come easy, but a step in the right direction lays the foundation for tomorrow” -Janet Adetu

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Friday 24 August 2018

INTERVIEW Spotlight Nigeria 2018 – highlighting business opportunities Unity Ivongbe is the director of projects for Friends of Nigeria (FON) and also the project manager for Spotlight Nigeria 2018. In this interview with BusinessDay, he discusses the upcoming Spotlight Nigeria 2018 in Paris, France, highlighting business opportunities in Nigeria potential investors can tap from. Excerpt: What is the mission of the Spotlight Nigeria event? igeria stands on the threshold of what could be the greatest transformation in the history of the African continent.

Currently the largest economy on the African continent, it is projected by the UN to become the third most populous country in the world by 2050, ahead of the United States of America.

Nigeria is a country that cannot be overlooked because of its demographic and economic potentials.

Spotlight Nigeria as the name goes was launched in order to beam a limelight on investment and business opportunities in Nigeria for foreign investors and companies. The Spotlight Nigeria event holds in Paris and offers a platform for French (and European) companies to access first-hand investment opportunities in Nigeria and to meet with decision-makers from the Nigerian economy, both private sector and public sector participants. These interactions will also foster bilateral economic relations between Nigeria and

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France.

Tell us more about the Spotlight Nigeria 2018 This year’s event, which is the third edition, is happening at a very auspicious time in the history of the relationship that France and Nigeria share.

With €3.6 billion in bilateral trade in 2017, Nigeria remains France’s leading trade partner in sub-Saharan Africa. The July 2018 visit of Monsieur Emmanuel Macron, President of France, to Nigeria underscores strong interest in promoting Franco-Nigerian trade, business, and social ties, through private sector involvement across strategic sectors.

Premised on this, Spotlight Nigeria 2018, the last major event this year in the series of France-Nigeria engagements will provide a platform for companies to close partnership deals. Spotlight Nigeria 2018 will feature government-backed incentives, access to funding and export credits, designed to support trade between the private sectors of both countries.

Spotlight Nigeria 2018 seeks to further consolidate the outcome of these interactions by en-

Unity Ivongbe

suring that the cordial bilateral relations between both countries snowball into concrete business transactions and projects between companies from both countries.

Is there any sector of focus at the Spotlight Nigeria 2018?

The event will spotlight on sectors in which the Nigerian economy is seeking for foreign investors and particular sectors in which French Companies and investors can add value and which is in line with the French Government’s export strategy.

The sectors of focus to be

covered during the plenary and panel sessions include Agribusiness, Manufacturing and Processing, Energy, Real Estate and Hospitality, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Digital Technology, Creative Industry, Education and Capacity Building.

The B2B meetings and match-making sessions will cover a larger spectrum of sectors and industries. These meetings will bring together companies and investors from both countries for the purpose of discussing concrete business

opportunities and partnerships.

Are there private sector and public sector participants to be expected from Nigeria?

Yes; our focus is to ensure that all stakeholders are well represented. You know, the business community needs the government just as much as the government needs the business community for these kinds of interactions, so we expect the government both from the executive arm as well as sectoral regulators at the event. We will also be expecting the local business community from mid-sized companies to fledging SMEs who are seeking international partnerships both for their local business development and also for export market prospects. We are working with a couple of umbrella organizations and trade groups to ensure that we are able to ensure the best representation that will lead to valuable exchanges at the event.

What can attendees expect to see that is different from previous editions?

The expectations for this year’s edition are very high and we are working towards more concrete outcomes from the event; con-

crete in terms of the signing of MoUs, partnership agreements, and preliminary and advanced discussions on concrete project and business opportunities.

The goal is to ensure that it’s not another gabfest, like some other conferences, but a forum where people meet and initiate new projects towards mutual benefits. That’s our running KPI for this year’s edition and we are working around the clock to ensure that we deliver on this promise.

A number of MoUs and Agreements are scheduled to be announced and signed during the Spotlight Nigeria 2018.

There will be a number of case studies presented of successful partnerships between French Companies and Nigerian Companies on concrete projects.

These companies will be participating to share their stories.

We will also have a session at the event that Spotlights on Nigerian entrepreneurs running successful businesses in France; businesses turning over several millions of Euros annually and creating employment opportunities for the working class here.

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Sports

Woods and Mickelson face off in $9m match Stories by Anthony Nlebem

L-R: Shehu Dikko, NFF’s 2nd Vice President/LMC Chairman; Gernot Rohr, Super Eagles’ Technical Adviser and Dayo Enebi Achor, Super Eagles’ Team Administrator on the turf of the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2018.

2019 AFCON: Rohr inspects Ahmadu Bello Stadium … to release squad list on Friday

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uper Eagles’ Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr, on has inspected the newly –renovated Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna as preparations begin in earnest for the remaining matches of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying series.

Nigeria play away to Seychelles in Victoria on Matchday 2 of the series on Friday, 7th September, 2018 and then entertain Libya’s Mediterranean Knights in Nigeria on Matchday 3 on 10th October, 2018.

Super Eagles Franco-German tactician checked out the facilities at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in company with NFF’s 2nd Vice President/LMC Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko and Super Eagles’ Team Administrator, Dayo Enebi Achor.

Officials confirmed that former Germany defender Rohr will on Friday this week release his list of invited players for the away clash with Seychelles.

After hosting Libya on 10th October, the three –time African champions will play away to the Knights three days later, before flying to South Africa for the return against the Bafana Bafana on 17th November. The last match of the series will see the Eagles hosting Seychelles on 22nd March 2019.

In the opener to the series in June 2017, the Eagles lost 0-2 to the Bafana Bafana in Uyo. The finals of the 32nd Africa Cup of Nations finals are scheduled to be staged in Cameroon in 2019.

Alonso says 2019 decision is goodbye to F1

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ernando Alonso says his decision to leave Formula 1 in 2019 is a goodbye in one of the biggest hints yet that he will not return in the future.

Alonso is expected to combine an IndyCar programme with his Toyota WEC commitments in 2019, having announced over the summer break that he would not continue in F1 with McLaren.

“Right now, I am thinking that it’s a goodbye,” he said. “But life changes very quickly.

“And life also taught me in the past how things may change, in a couple of months’ time, or years’ time.

“As I said also in the press release when we announced the retirement it is to leave the door open, because I

don’t have a crystal ball to know what is going to happen in the future.

“For me it is a bye-bye, but who knows what will happen?”

Alonso insisted that he wanted to leave F1 on his own terms, having wanted to see how McLaren’s changes for 2018 played out before committing to anything.

“It was a decision that probably I started thinking about last year, and then this year, there were a lot of changes into the team, with the engine manufacturer changes and things like that, so I thought that it was worth staying one more year,” he said.

“I enjoy driving these cars with these regulations, the big tyres. I was having fun.

“But at the same time I make some changes and some priorities into this year with the WEC championship and other things also towards this direction. “A couple of months ago I decided that it was the right time, I feel strong, driving a good level and I want to say bye-bye to this sport when I feel strong, not when I feel not competitive, or I don’t have any place to go or whatever.

Bayern begin title defence as new season kick off

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fascinating start to the season is in prospect in Germany and StarTimes is gearing up to deliver some of the most action-packed football from the best players in the world which would air on ST World Football Channels 244 and 254 and ST Sport Premium channel 246.

The new football season debuts with four games live across the opening weekend as the reigning champions, Bayern Munich battles

the and last season’s third-placed side Hoffenheim from 7.30pm at the Allianz Arena live on StarTimes Niko Kovac, who spent two years as a player for Bayern between 2001 and 2003, is the new man in the Bayern dug-out after taking over from Jupp Heynckes. The 46-year-old impressed by rejuvenating Eintract Frankfurt, the side Bayern demolished 5-0 in his opening match in charge to lift the Super Cup earlier this month.

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wo golf greats, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will go head-to-head in a winnertakes-all $9m exhibition match in Las Vegas.

The Americans, who have 19 major championship titles between them, will face off in the 18-hole event at Shadow Creek Golf Course on 23 or 24 November.

The contest, which coincides with Thanksgiving weekend in the US, will be screened on pay-per-view.

Woods confirmed “The Match” on social media, saying: “It’s on”.

Mickelson, who has attracted almost 100,000 followers in less than 24 hours on Twitter, replied to Woods, saying: “I bet you think this is the easiest $9million you will ever make.”

At present the US Open delivers the largest winning pay cheque of the four major championships at about $2.16m, though the winner of the FedExCup - awarded for an accumulation of points on the US PGA Tour - can expect to earn a bonus of $10m.

The possibility of a duel between the former Ryder Cup teammates has been mooted repeatedly down the years.

Woods, a 14-time major winner, has won over £88m prize money on the PGA Tour in comparison to Mickelson’s £68m.

“It’s an opportunity for us to bring golf to the masses in prime time during a period where we don’t have much going on in the world of golf,”

Mickelson told ESPN. Despite the good-natured approach, there is no chance of the duo sharing the purse, with Mickelson saying that the event had to be winner-takes-all.

“If you don’t do that, it undermines it,” Mickelson said. “The whole point is the winner-take-all thing.

That’s the exciting part about it.”

The money on offer for the fourhour long 18-hole round between Woods and Mickelson dwarfs the prize money available to an individual at any other golf tournament.

It is also larger than the £2.25m figure handed to the winners of the Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ Wimbledon singles titles in Tennis.

However, the winners of the Uefa Champions League in football, the World Series in baseball, American Football’s Superbowl and the Rugby Union World Cup could all expect

to earn more if they were victorious.

Real Madrid’s efforts in the Champions League last term for example, equated to in excess of €54m of performance-related money and a market pool share of over €35m (£31.4m) in prize money.

The distinction of course is that those competition are team events.

Whereas the Pegasus World Cup Invitational in Florida, the World’s richest horse race, offers a total prize fund of $16m (£12.4m).

The Woods versus Mickelson showdown does not though compare to Floyd Mayweather’s defeat of Conor McGregor in 2017, which ranks as one of the richest bouts in boxing history.

Mayweather, 40, who came out of retirement for the fight is reported to have earned around $300m (£230m) for stopping the Irishman in the 10th round.

LaLiga set for strike over deal to play matches in US

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ootballers in Spain have not ruled out strike action over a plan to stage a top-flight league match in the United States, says the players’ union.

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos and Barcelona vice-captain Sergio Busquets were among the highprofile players to attend a meeting to discuss their concern over the issue.

LaLiga agreed a 15-year deal with US media company Relevent on Friday.

The players’ union - the AFE - says LaLiga did not consult its members.

Players from all of the LaLiga sides met in Madrid on Wednesday to discuss the issue with AFE president David Aganzo.

Among those in attendance were

Ramos and Real Madrid team-mate Nacho, Barcelona duo Busquets and Sergi Roberto, Leo Baptistao from Espanyol, Bruno from Villarreal, and Atletico Madrid players Koke and Juanfran.

Aganzo said: “The problem is the lack of common sense, a schedule where only the export of soccer benefits - nobody counts on the fans.

“We need to fix it with the bosses.

The captains are outraged, they’re against it, they are unanimous.

“It does not make sense. We are talking about an agreement that has a validity of 15 years without consulting the players.”

On the possibility of strike action, he added: “We will try not to reach that extreme but we are willing to go to the end if necessary.”

Aganzo said the players would meet again in September.

The AFE said players “do not understand the unilateral decisions”, adding: “LaLiga is distancing the fans of the players, something that harms the show and the essence of football.”

After the meeting the league said in a statement: “LaLiga will meet with AFE in the appropriate forum to discuss the plans to play a match

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COMPLETE COVERAGE OF SOUTH-SOUTH / SOUTH-EAST

Abia Poly celebrates Nigeria’s culture, through food, music, dance …as institution holds 12th cultural festival GODFREY OFURUM, Aba

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ederation of Ngwa Students (FENS) emerged winners of the 2018 edition of the Abia State Polytechnic, Aba Cultural Festival, an annual event that showcases Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage. They were closely followed

by Anambra/ Enugu Students Association, while Bayelsa Students Association emerged third.

The annual event, which brings the student’s week to a close, affords the students and staff of the institution an opportunity to showcase the cultural heritage of their different ethnic nationalities.

Abia State Polytechnic is a multiethnic institution; consequently, the event has become an important programme in the calendar of the institution, which the students and management relish.

It has the trapping of the Calabar and Abuja carnivals; and this year’s event lived up to its billing, as the students, staff and friends of the institution, were fully clad in their different local attires, showcasing the rich culture of their different ethnic nationalities that make up Nigeria.

Ezionye Eboh, a professor and acting rector of the institution, who was the chief host of the event, explained that the Polytechnic community was celebrating its being and culture.

According to him, “Today in Abia State Polytechnic, we are displaying the cultural rainbow of different States and tribes of our country, Nigeria. We are celebrating our being and our culture. This day

A cross-section of Bayelsa State students at Abia Poly classroom activities must rest. Our friends are to be feasted with glittering spectacles that will fill their beings and show that we are serious with academics, no doubt, but that we do find time to play, dance and celebrate.”

He however urged the students not to be carried away by the thrills of the carnival, by going back to their classrooms to pursue their primary objective in the institution, saying, “We would have had sufficient rest and captured new energy to drive the academic year to successful conclusion”.

He thanked all guests, students,

judges, the dean and staff of student’s affairs division, who packaged this event, staff of public relations office for giving the pavilion-the venue of the event, a befitting look and the various units and directorates that worked harmoniously to deliver the beautiful event.

Chris Nkoro, dean, Students Affairs, Abia State Polytechnic in an interview with BusinessDay, attributed the success of this year’s event to synergy between the student affairs department, the organizing committee and the participating associations.

According to him, “for this year’s

event, we excluded masquerades and then told ourselves that we have to be better organized, so that we can use singing, dancing, attire and our various languages to showcase our cultures.

“Whether you are Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Izon, Ibibio or Efik, among other tribes, you must bring what you have in your own language and in your own way, to show that we are the same people,” Nkoro said.

Speaking on the theme of the 2018 event, “Culture as a Tool for Lasting Peace,” Nkoro observed that there is no culture in the world that teaches killing or violence. It is all

peace. I am happy that irrespective of the rain, we still had an enjoyable moment.”

He thanked the Abia State government, corporate organizations, especially 7UP Bottling Company, and the media for their support; and promised a more vibrant celebration in 2019.

Stella Nwakanma, desk officer/ chairman Abia Poly Cultural ceremony, described culture as the most durable fruit of the Black Race; and more so, Nigerians. She explained that Abia State Polytechnic Cultural Festival was the best known cultural carnival among higher institutions in Nigeria and the most celebrated programme in the community.

For Chinonso Alozie, president, student union government, Abia State Polytechnic, the cultural day celebration breeds in the students the spirit of unity and love, unity to work together and live together to make the country a better place for all.

He urged the students to hold on to their culture, stressing that culture is of great value to a people.

“Under no circumstance should anyone abandon his or her culture, because doing so, will amount to the person abandoning him or herself’.

He also appealed to the youths to protect the good aspects of their culture and do away with negative aspects, especially those that infringes on the rights of citizens.

In his words, “Culture is not static; it changes as the society evolves.

So, let us not to be prisoners of our culture”.

This year’s event, the 12th in the series, held on Friday, August 10, 2018, at the institution’s pavilion.

Champion Breweries rewards distributors ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

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hampion Breweries Plc, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State has rewarded its major distributors as part of efforts t o s pu r t h e m a n d e n s u re i t c a p t u re s a g re at e r s ha re o f the market for the company’s products.

More than 10 major distributors drawn from Uyo, Calabar and Aba districts went home with over 1,000 crates of Champion Beer and Champ Malta, among other items.

In addition, the highest total combined volume winner, Ini Francois Ventures got t w o Cha mp ion t r ic ycle machines, while the first runnerup, Chinons o Uba Ventures went home with one tricycle machine to help in distributing the products to customers and consumers.

At the event, which was also

meant to launch the rebranded Champion Beer, Patrick Ejidoh, managing director of the company, expressed gratitude to the distributors for standing with the company through thick and thin.

He said: “It is on record that we have had some of the most loyal and committed distributors and customers. That is why we design a day like this to say thank you.”

Ejidoh said the rebranded Champ i o n B e e r a n d Cha mp Ma l t a hav e b e e n b re w e d t o meet the globally acceptable standard since the Heineken group took over majority shares of the company.

According to him, Champion Breweries today is managed by a group of professionals from the Nigerian Breweries to ensure a complete turnaround of the products. He said a new Champion Breweries bottle was launched in June this year, with

a premium quality beer into the market as part of the rebranding exercise.

The MD, who also described the company’s Champ Malta as a food drink for nourishment disclosed that the product “is now the leading malt drink in the country.”

He announced that over 60 additional tricycles would be launched and distributed to enable distributors take them to rural areas to adequately serve the customers and consumers.

One of the distributors who spoke with BusinessDay after the event, expressed deep gratitude to the brewing company for the various gift items presented to them to boost their morale.

They assured the management of their resolve to redouble their efforts to ensure the progress and prosperity of the company through aggressive sales of the products.

Roasted yam, an Igbo traditional food

Cross-section of Igbo students, Abia Poly

Friday 24 August 2018

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32 BUSINESS DAY NEWS

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Tourist Company of Nigeria projects further losses ABIMBOLA HASSAN & SOBECHUKWU EZE

...59% decrease by year-end

aving recorded another loss this halfyear (H1), the Tourist Company of Nigeria listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has forecasted further loss in the second half of the year, projecting a year end decrease of 59 percent when compared with 2017 year-end loss of N3.2 billion.

From the 2018 H1 financial statement, it was seen that despite a 2 percent increase in revenue to N1.67 billion from N1.65 billion H1 2017, the firm recorded a loss after tax (PAT) of N622 million, a slight improvement as it was 16 percent lower than the loss of N791 million the firm recorded in 2017 H1, a loss

an analyst saw was largely due to the huge expenses the company incurs.

Over time, the company’s expenses have always taken a large chuck from its revenue. The 2018 H1 report showed that its expenses accounted for about 111 percent of the company’s revenue, although a decrease from the 119 percent that it was last year of the same period.

The company operates two business segments, which involves hotel and casino operations that make up the operating vehicle of the outfit.

The casino operations, especially the gaming segment, has continued to dwindle, revenue from the gaming segment in H1 2018 contributed about 39 per-

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cent to the total revenue, a reduction of 4 percentage points when compared with 43 percent in 2017 H1.

Anthony Idigbe, acting chairman of the company, said in its 2017 financial statement “that the revenue it gets from its casino operations remains under pressure affected by the macro economic factors affecting the Nigerian economy. On a pro rata basis, the casino experienced decreased revenue in both tables and slots games.”

The hospitality services of the company on the other hand have shown some degree of improvement, with a 9 percent growth in revenue with N1 billion reported in 2018 H1 from N932 million recorded in 2017 H1.

Edo civil service recruitment: Only best NIS arrests two impersonators, warns candidates will be employed – Inneh hairman of the asked people to apply online. expatriates to be wary Edo State Civil Ser- The test began from the movice Commission, ment you applied.” of fraudsters Ekiuwa Inneh, has Noting that the commisIFEOMA OKEKE

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igeria Immigration Services (NIS) has arrested two men parading themselves as officers of the service, attempting to defraud a Chinese company of huge sums of money using forged letterhead purportedly signed by a senior immigration officer.

The fraudsters, a 66-yearold, Emeka John, and 53-year-old James Ezeh, were arrested on August 20, 2018.

In a statement signed by Mohammed Alhaji Alfa, assistant comptroller general, zonal coordinator, it stated that the suspects were in the habit of going to companies to harass and extort money from expatriate workers.

After investigation, Alfa directed that both suspects be handed over to the police for further investigation.

He further advised members of the public, especially companies and organisations that employ the services of expatriates to be wary of such suspected fraudster and imitators as they were not sent by the NIS and their activities were a serious embarrassment to the service.

BATN Foundation empowers internally displaced farmers

L-R: Pieter van Den Groen, chief operating, Eland Oil and Gas plc; Jose Manzano, president, Integral Capital, Argentina; Emeka Offor, manager, Chrome, Environmental Remediation Holding Company, and Vice Presidnt Yemi Osinbajo, during a meeting with foreign investors at Presidential Villa in Abuja, yesterday. NAN

Osun 2019: Assembly member defects to PDP, as commission chairman resigns BOLADALE BAMIGBOLA, Osogbo

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ember representing Ila State Constituenc y in Osun State House of Assembly, Clement Akanni on Thursday, dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Also in a similar development, the chairman, Osun State Local Government Service Commission, Peter Babalola, has resigned his position.

Babalola, who was one of the aspirants that contested APC governorship, in a letter addressed to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, said he resigned to pursue other endeavours.

Speaking at the palace of Orangun of Ila, Akanni, said

he was forced out of the ruling party by some people that were uncomfortable with his approach to politics, adding that all promises made to Ila community

by APC were never fulfilled.

Akanni said: “Our College of Education used to have 33,000 students, it now has less than 2,000. APC promised to upgrade our institution to university.

“Rather than do that, the current government through it’s policies is gradually killing the institution.

When government wanted to downsize the workforce in the state-owned higher institutions, 73 names were selected from College of Education, Ila, while 38 names were pencilled down for retrenchment from Ilesha College of Education.

“I vehemently resisted this. I told my colleagues in the House of Assembly that Ilesha College has more staffers than lla, yet has lesser number of staffers that would be retrenched.

“Whenever I tried to positively influence government policies to favour my constituents, some people in APC would say, no. Two of my followers were killed through fetish means. I can’t continue with a party full of devilish individuals.”

Speaking on behalf of Ila community, Chief Ejemu of Ila, Paul Ogunrinade, demanded upgrade of Ila College of Education to university, urging Adeleke, if elected governor to also pay attention to all roads that link Ila to Ekiti and Kwara states.

Friday 24 August 2018

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ecently, the world marked the International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism. The British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) Foundation joined the global community in remembering and paying tribute to everyone – civilian or military – who is a victim of terrorism.

On the significance of the commemoration, the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, notes, in an official statement that, “We must lift up the voices of victims and survivors of terrorist attacks, who consistently call for accountability and results.

“When we respect the human rights of victims and provide them with support and information, we reduce the lasting damage done by terrorists to individuals, communities and societies. The primary responsibility to support victims of terrorism and uphold their rights rests with Member States.”

Reflecting on the occasion, the executive director BATN Foundation, Abimbola Okoya, remarked that, “Sometimes, we forget that our experience of security, peace and tranquillity is not shared by all.

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assured that the ongoing recruitment into the state’s civil service is being conducted in an open and transparent manner, to ensure that the best candidates are employed.

Inneh, who said this in an interview with journalists, noted that the commission allowed for a neutral body to conduct the examination to ensure that there was no interference and undue pressure on the commission.

According to Inneh, “We are in the process of recruiting now. We decided at the Commission to allow a neutral body conduct the examination. We listed the positions that are available and

sion will recruit the best for the jobs being advertised, she said, “If you applied wrongly, of course, you have failed. There is nothing anybody can do about that. By the nature of such failed application, you are weeded out. If the application is successful, then fine. After that, then you need to ask if you applied for a position you are qualified for. If you did not, that’s up to you.”

She stressed that she has rebuffed pleas for interference in the recruitment process, noting, “We asked a neutral body to conduct that part of the recruitment for us.

This is so that we can be free from pressure.

Firstmonie agent now in every neighbourhood

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n a bid to drive financial inclusion and deepen financial services across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria through cost effective channels, First Bank of Nigeria Limited re-launched its Firstmonie Agent network in July 2017, with a pilot of the Agent Banking scheme in six highly populated states - Lagos, Oyo, Kano, Abuja FCT, Anambra, Rivers.

After a six-month pilot that ended in December 2017, the Agent Banking scheme was extended nationwide in January 2018.

Within six months of its launch, the scheme has made appreciable progress with a pervasive network spread across every state.

Firstmonie Agents are positioned within rural and semi-urban locations across the country to provide basic financial services such as account opening, cash deposit,

cash withdrawals, airtime purchase, bill payments and much more to every Nigerian.

Through this channel, the bank is committed to providing convenient services that endear trust, provide ease of access to financial products, thereby saving time and travel costs. Transactions carried out through this channel are securely authenticated and safe.

The Firstmonie Agent network is succeeding in reducing the financial exclusion rate nationwide (a very critical objective of the Central Bank of Nigeria). In addition, the network has proven to be a reliable and efficient means of solving social welfare problems. The creation of extra jobs and sustainable income through the network has endeared Agents to the platform, while the ease of transacting has been a major factor in conserving customer loyalty.

Okowa decries ‘big gap’ in youth engagement MERCY ENOCH, ASABA

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overnor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State has decried what he described as “very big gap” existing in youths’ engagement in the country and called for efforts to fill the gap in order to check restiveness and criminality in the country.

“We thank the World Bank for the efforts, but, there are still very big gaps in our country and we know that partnering with the private sector as a state, we would be able to find other means to attend to the gaps that are still existing in the area of youths unemployment.

Once we are able to do that, we would be able to achieve and sustain the security and peace that we have in the state,” Okowa said yesterday.

He made the call in Asaba

when he received a team of World Bank, European Union and Federal Government officials who were in the state to assess the level of implementation of State Employment and Expenditure For Results (SEEFOR) projects.

The governor disclosed that getting the youths engaged was in line with his administration’s commitment to making the youths job creators through the different youths employment and wealth creation programmes of his administration.

“We are happy with the partnership between World Bank and the European Union, we are happy that the youth empowerment components is working in Delta State as over 700 youths have been trained and empowered through this partnership and they are on their own,” he said.

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Buhari re-election receives boost as SMASEDMAN backs second term bid JAMES KWEN, Abuja

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he re - election bid of President Mu h a m m a d u Buhari in the 2 0 1 9 g e n e ra l elections has received a major boost despite the mounted opposition against its realisation.

This is as the Surgical/ Medical, Laboratory, Allied and Scientific Equipment Dealers and Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, SMASEDMAN threw its weight behind Buhari’s second term in office.

SMASEDMAN noted that the President deserves a second term in office in view of the remarkable success achieved in the socioeconomic development of the country, particularly in the fight against corruption.

The group’s position was

Buhari

contained in a communiqué jointly issued by its National President and Secretary, Nwokeafor Worthyman

and Mohammed Idris, respectively at the end of its Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Abuja.

Osun 2019: Assembly member defects to PDP, as commission chairman resigns BOLADALE BAMIGBOLA, Osogbo

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he member representing Ila State Constituency in Osun State House of Assembly, Clement Akanni on Thursday, dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and defected to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Also in a similar development, the chairman, Osun State Local Government Service Commission, Peter Babalola, has resigned his position.

Babalola, who was one of the aspirants that contested APC governorship, in a letter addressed to Governor Rauf Aregbesola, said he resigned to pursue other endeavours.

Speaking at the palace of Orangun of Ila, Akanni, said he was forced out of the ruling party by some people that were uncomfortable

with his approach to politics, adding that all promises made to Ila community by APC were never fulfilled.

Akanni said: “Our College of Education used to have 33,000 students; it now has less than 2,000. APC promised to upgrade our institution to university.

“Rather than do that, the current government through its policies is gradually killing the institution.

When government wanted to downsize the workforce in the state-owned higher institutions, 73 names were

Clement Akanni

selected from College of Education, Ila, while 38 names were penciled down for retrenchment from Ilesha College of Education.

“I vehemently resisted this. I told my colleagues in the House of Assembly that Ilesha College has more staffers than lla, yet has lesser number of staffers that would be retrenched.

“Whenever I tried to positively influence government policies to favour my constituents, some people in APC would say no. Two of my followers were killed through fetish means. I can’t continue with a party full of devilish individuals.”

Speaking on behalf of Ila Community, Ejemu of Ila, Paul Ogunrinade, demanded upgrade of Ila College of Education to university, urging Adeleke, if elected governor to also pay attention to all roads that link Ila to Ekiti and Kwara States.

According to the communiqué, “all the registered members of the association should support the present

administration of APC and President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 forth coming general election.

“A call should be made on all patriotic Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora to also support President Muhammadu Buhari, come 2019.

“That President Muhammadu Buhari deserves a second term in office in view of the remarkable success achieved in the Socio-economic development of the country, viz: - Fight against corruption”, the communiqué read in parts.

The association observed that Buhari’s administration has witnessed improved security especially Boko Haram insurgency, education, agriculture, healthcare delivery supported by adequate funding through the basic healthcare provision

fund to the tune of N55.1 billion among others.

SMASEDMAN also stressed that in order to complete some of the ongoing projects and consolidate the gains so far achieved for the good of the entire Nigerian citizens, a second term in office becomes very necessary come 2019.

The AGM of the Association was convened in compliance with the relevant clauses in the Articles of the Association as provided

by Corporate Affairs Commission.

Various members from across the country attended the meeting in order to receive the annual reports/ accounts, deliberate on matters arising, including the political developments in the country as well as the overall progress of the association.

‘Why Governor Emmanuel is seeking re-election’ kwa Ibom State government, Udom Emmanuel is seeking a second term in office to enable him complete all the ongoing projects and to “concretise the industrialisation agenda he initiated.”

Emmanuel, who was first elected in 2015 is expected to make his formal declaration of intent on Friday at an event scheduled to hold at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.

Speaking in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, Onofiok Luke who is the chairman, central planning committe e of the governor’s second term declaration, said the first term of the governor has been marked with quality leadership and superior performance adding that the five-point agenda of the state government had been pursued vigorously.

“We have been fortunate

to have been led by people who envisioned, inspired, and worked assiduously towards the actualisation of our collective greatness and the leadership of Governor Udom Emmanuel is not an exception,” he said.

According to him, “three years ago, the people enthroned justice, fairness, equity and peace when they voted a candidate from Eket Senatorial District as the Governor of Akwa Ibom State”. He pointed out that they refused all insinuations to the contrary and unanimously “endorsed that a template of each elected governor completing two terms of eight years be maintained without any selfish alteration.”

Luke, who is also the speaker of the state House of Assembly, said the re-election bid has been fuelled by the massive support of the people across the different local governments and senatorial districts of the state,

maintaining that no one part of “our state, no one senatorial district, not even the political class alone can produce a governor singlehandedly.”

He called on the people to give their support by voting for the governor to enable him win a second term in office which according to him would usher in a new era of development in the state.

Speaking also, Idongesit Nkanga, former military governor of the state, said though the state government has embarked on many projects across the state, the 13 percent derivation being paid to oil producing states was not enough, saying for equity and fairness true federalism should be adopted in the governance of the country.

“We are asking for federalism, the governor is illequipped, he has created industries. We are pleading that he should go for a second term,’’ he said.

Essential Stakeholders: Towards Secured, Free, Fair and Credible Elections in Nigeria’ will be chaired and moderated

by Prof. Eyitope Ogunbodede, vice chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. Ojajuni further revealed that the event will be declared open by the Osun State Gov-

ernor, Rauf Aregbesola, while the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi will be the Royal father of the day.

He explained that the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Mahmood Yakubu is expected at the seminar and the representatives of

political parties, sister security agencies, interest groups and other stakeholders.

Ojajuni added that some foreign missions which include the United States, Britain, African Union, European Union, local and foreign election observers will also be part of the seminar.

ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

A

2019: Police hold seminar on violence-free elections YOMI AYELESO, Akure

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he Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris has organised a day seminar to sensitise stakeholders on the need to embrace peace and shun violence as the country

prepares for the 2019 general election.

The Principal Staff Officer to the IGP, ACP Bode Ojajuni in a statement made available to our correspondent disclosed that the one day seminar would hold on Thursday August 30th, 2018 in Oshogbo, the Osun State capital.

Ojajuni said: “It is meant to kick-start numerous security enlightenment programmes lined up to sensitise and enlist the support of essential stakeholders towards securing 2019 general elections.”

The seminar with the theme: ‘The Imperativeness of Police Collaboration with

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Nigerian oil exports to hit four-month high...

Continued from page 1

will comprised 57 cargoes which is

seven cargoes lower compared with 48 cargoes in September’s loading schedule as Agbami, Bonga, Escravos, Forcados Okono and Qua Iboe will load the highest in October with a combined 33 cargoes while several smaller streams like Amenam, Pennington, Okwori, okwuibome and Antan which had no export cargo in September will add at least one cargo in October while Brass River will add at least 5 cargoes.

“This is a natural consequence of three factors, I will say. There is relative peace in the Niger-Delta, that is, militancy has abated. A corollary of this is that there has been no major pipeline damage or declaration of force majeure. The third factor is pure market dynamics. Oil prices hover around $70 per barrel and this is driving supply” Ayodele Oni, Energy Partner at Lagos-based Bloomfield Law Practice said on a phone interview.

Over the past few years, Nigeria

has been hit by swarm of problems, predominantly decreased crude production and exports, oil theft and pipeline attacks, stalled economic reforms and recovery, and the threat of oil price volatility as the sector remain cautiously optimistic about overcoming these upheavals in 2018.

In May 2018, the Nigerian petroleum industry underwent production difficulties as outages at key pipelines supplying Forcados and Bonny light grade crudes were out of commission. In particular, the shutdown of the Nembe Creek Pipeline in mid-May, which transports 150,000 bpd of Bonny Light to the Forcados terminal, caused Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria to declare a force majeure on Bonny light crude exports. Although Shell declined to comment, there was speculation this shutdown was due to sabotage as Shell lifted the force majeure on July 13th, when repairs were completed.

The shutdown, in conjunction with the closure of the leaking Trans-

Forcados pipeline, which transports 200,000 to 240,000 bpd, led to further delays and an accumulation of unsold crude. According to S&P Global Platts, these factors caused Nigeria’s oil production to drop by 150,000 bpd from 1.88 mbpd in April, dropping it to 1.73 mbpd in May and 1.72 mbpd in June.

But analysts are already raising concerns over the sustainability of the current rise in production as the incidents of piracy spike on Nigerian water ways. It emerged yesterday that a tanker vessel with 19 crew members on board, most of them Georgians, has gone missing in pirate-plagued waters off Gabon in West Africa and no word has been heard from it for a week, the ship’s managers and the crew agency told the media on Wednesday.

Communication was lost with the Panama-registered Pantelena at about 2 a.m. local time on August 14, at which time it was about 17 miles from the port of Libreville, in Gabon, Athens-based Lotus Shipping said in a statement.

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com

L-R: Wale Olaoye, group managing director, Halogen Security Company; Salisu Daura, director, engineering services, FAAN; Francis Emepueaku, Halogen Security Hero Award recipient; Daniel Achie, Halogen Security Hero Award recipient; Wale Odufalu, deputy managing director, Alpha Mead Group, and Francis Ikenga, managing director/chief executive officer, Seymour Aviation, at the official reception and award ceremony for Halogen Hero Guards.

CBN earmarks N10bn per project in Agric...

Continued from page 1

phone.

He sees the financial sector still carrying much of the credit risk and suggests that the CBN or other arms of the government provide some risk sharing with the banks.

The facilities are to be administered at an all-in Interest rate/charge of nine per cent per annum and the tenor for the Differentiated CRR would be a minimum of seven years with a two-year moratorium.

The CBN Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), at its 119th meeting held on July 23 and 24, 2018, introduced its revised guidelines for Accessing Real Sector Support Facility (RSSDF) through Cash Reserves Requirement (CRR)/Corporate Bonds (CBs).

Uche Joe Uwaleke, professor of finance and capital markets/chair, banking and finance department, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, said, “Judging from the experiences of countries like China and Lebanon, the differentiated CRR promises to impact positively on the real sector of the economy. According to him, N10 billion per project financing in Agric and manufacturing sectors at single digit interest rates should help lower production costs and free up resources for research and development purposes leading to improved competitiveness. It will also lower inflation rate in the medium term and open up job opportunities. But all these depend on how the policy

is implemented.

“The CBN should put in place measures to check possible abuses such as diversion of funds to ineligible sectors. This is usually the major challenge with implementing a price discrimination strategy especially if it is difficult to clearly separate markets/sectors,” Uwaleke added.

Giving further clarifications on the guidelines on Thursday, August 23, 2018, Isaac Okorafor, the CBN’s acting director of corporate communications, said that the Bank hoped to achieve the flow of credit to the real sector of the economy as deposit money banks (DMBs) would henceforth be incentivized to direct affordable, longterm bank credit to the manufacturing, agriculture, as well as other sectors considered by the Bank as employment and growth stimulating.

Okorafor disclosed that Corporate/Triple-A rated companies would be encouraged to issue long-term Corporate Bonds (CBs), adding that Corporate Bonds (CB) Funding Programme had been put in place.

The programme, according to him, involves investment by the CBN and the general public in CBs issued by corporates subject to the intensified transparency requirements for participating corporates. He also noted that such requirements would include publishing through printing of an Information Memorandum spelling out the details of the projects for which the funds are required together with terms and conditions showing that

these are long term projects that are employment and growth stimulating.

Furthermore, he disclosed that the Bank had put in place a programme under the Differentiated Cash Reserves Requirement (DCRR) Regime whereby DMBs interested in providing Credit Financing to greenfield (new) and brownfield (expansion) projects in the real sector (Agriculture and Manufacturing) could request for the release of funds from their CRR to finance the projects; subject to DMBs providing verifiable evidence that the funds shall be directed at the approved projects by the CBN. Making further clarifications, he said that the tenor for the Differentiated CRR would be a minimum of seven years with a two-year moratorium. For the Corporate Bonds (CBs) Programme, he said the tenor and the moratorium would be specified in the prospectus by the issuing corporate. He added that the maximum facility shall be N10 billion per project and facilities are to be administered at an all-in Interest rate/charge of 9 per cent per annum.

Okorafor therefore advocated for a total compliance with the guidelines by stakeholders and also highlighted the eligibility criteria for participation in the facility/CP programme, as well as the responsibilities of the stakeholders; just as he reiterated the CBN’s determination towards the encouragement of projects that will further enhance Nigeria’s import substitution strategies.

Friday 24 August 2018

Businesses puzzled by CPC’s move to control...

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that ‘In any inquiry under the CPCA, the question must be whether any entity or individual has engaged in conduct that constitutes an “obnoxious practice”, or “unscrupulous exploitation”.

‘The Council in addressing the entire scope of complaints and House of Representatives resolution, proceeded in the investigation. Multichoice initially adopted a sensible industry approach to regulatory oversight, which was to preserve regulatory and company resources by making admissions of its own in certain areas and welcoming additional regulatory initiatives to improve services and customer experience over a period of time, and supervision.’

According to the Council,”Over a period of time, during which mutual concerns and reservations were addressed, the Council and MultiChoice agreed and adopted a Proposed Mutual Joint Consent Order.”

“The terms and obligations included an unopposed and undisputed requirement and understanding that Multichoice will not change, revise or modify any material term or conditions of service(s) for a period of 24 months. Multichoice never expressed any concerns or dissatisfaction with this clause of the Consent Order that required Multichoice to maintain status quo on its Terms and Conditions (which naturally includes pricing) for the 24-month period during which the company would have been under the Council’s supervision, to ensure that all necessary corrective measures were adequately implemented, and that consumers eventually get expected value for their money.”

Some consumers BusinessDay spoke to seemed to echo the CPC position.

A customer by the name Ola said “why does DSTv keep increasing prices every year, they should be able to explain to their customers the reason why.”

However, analysts disagree with the position by CPC that Multichoice agreed not to raise price for 24 months, noting that price is not something that any company can commit not to increase or reduce for that long considering that different variables go into the fixing of price.

“Inflation has remained at double digits for more than two years. Which company can guaranty fixed prices for that period’ an analyst asked.

Analysts have also noted that DSTV is not an essential commodity for which price should be fixed.

“Peoplehavechoiceswhenitcomes to Cable TV. There is Kwese TV, and TSTV just came back on stream. There are also different online versions. So why is CPC concerned about DSTV when the company is playing in a market that has competition. I thought DSTV should be worried more about the power sector where operators are using estimated billing to kill many Nigerianswhogenuinelyhavenooptions” Analysts also note that the CPC should have been more concerned if DSTV was reducing prices as that could have squeezed new entrants and constrained competition in the sector.

“DSTV increasing prices is actually good for competition in the cable TV sector, as it means that the new entrants like Kwese TV and TSTV could become attractive for consumers because they are cheaper.

Allowing them keep their low prices is actually not in the interest of consumers” said a player in the industry.

Bismarck Rewane, managing director at Financial Derivatives Limited also warns that “Any attempt to control price will always end up in a disaster because the regulator does

not know the cost structure involve in providing these technical services.”

“The only way to bring down price is to allow more competition and create an enabling environment for more operators to come in,” Rewane told BusinessDay by phone.

Similarly, Rafiq Raji senior macroeconomist at an Africa focused macro research investment firm Macroafricaintel Investment Limited said although government can raise concern about high price, it is a disservice for government regulators to attempt controlling prices for luxury goods in Nigeria.

“It won’t speak well of the government in the eyes of foreign private investors,” Raji said by phone.

Johnson Chukwu managing director of Crowy assets management limited also believes that the move by the CPC is ill-advised and not a market oriented approach by a government regulator.

“The government should have encouraged a competitive market space by allowing other operators to compete with DSTV. This will make it difficult for DSTV to charge economic rent rather force them to reduce price,” Chukwu told BusinessDay. But BusinessDay investigations actually show that DSTV and GoTV subscription rate paid by Nigerians, even after the rate hike, is the lowest when compared to other countries in which Multichoice has operations.

When BusinessDay analysed the subscription rate charged by the television and online content producing company, the rate given to Nigerians across its various packages on the platform was the least compared to what its African counterparts also pay for the same products.

In July, MultiChoice raised the subscription rate for the DSTV Premium package from N14,700 to N15,800.

This is lower than South Africa’s R809 (N21,228) and Ghana’s GHC368 (N27,360) for the same package.

The Compact Plus package was also increased in Nigeria from N9,900 to N10,650. South Africa and Ghana pays R509 (N13,670) and GH245 (N18,365) for the same product respectively.

The DSTv Compact package in the period under review was increased from N6,300 to N6,800, in Nigeria as against R385 (N10,340), GHc 149 (11,169) paid by both South Africa and Ghana.

The Family packaged which was increased from N3,800 to N4,000 in Nigeria is also lower than what South Africa and Ghana pays for the product at R249 (N6,687) and GHC85 (N6,371) respectively.

The Access package subscription rate in Nigeria which was up from N1,900 to N2,000 is less than South Africa’s R99 (N2,656) Speaking on the recent DSTV rate hike, Uche Eze, a Nigerian customer said “cost of doing business in Nigeria keeps increasing and you expect DSTV to just absorb the cost. Are they not in business to make profit?”

“DSTV is a business providing service to customers, while operating in a harsh environment, if their operating expenses increase, they have to raise prices. If as a customer you are dissatisfied, cancel your subscription and subscribe to Netflix or Startimes.”

CelestineOkeke,aLeadPartner,Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Advocacy and Support Initiative(MSMEASI) believes that the CPC action is capable of discouraging private sector investment in the country.

“I do not think it is right thing the CPC is doing. We are looking for foreign investors and we are now restraining them”

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com

Friday 24 August 2018

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35 NEWS

BUSINESS DAY

Pro-Dogara support group threatens APC Kofi Annan, a profile in leadership caucus against speaker’s impeachment plot Continued page

KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja

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arliamentary Democrats Group (PDG) in the House of Representatives on Thursday vowed to resist the purported plans

by All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers aimed at impeaching Speaker Yakubu Dogara The legislative pressure group, which has members drawn across party lines, also warned the anti-Dogara lawmakers to desist from all activities capable of distracting the House from carrying out its legislative functions with their 2019 ambitions.

Timothy Golu (PDPPlateau), who made public the position via a statement issued in Abuja, frowned at the series of accusations and counter accusations of various support groups among the APC caucus in the lower

chamber.

“We believe it is the aftermath of the gale of defections that had hit the party in recent times, of which more is being expected, in as much as we will not delve into their personal caucus matters.

“However, any issue that concerns the larger House will not cease to get our attention, especially the accusation by one group that another group is contemplating the impeachment of the Speaker,” he stated.

Golu, who chairs the House Committee on Legislative Budget and Research, said, “We want to warn that such discussions should start and end at the APC secretariat or the secretariats of the various APC house groups.

“We are keeping our eyes and ears wide open for any such eventuality and to restate our readiness to return fire for fire on anyone think-

ing of it. “If they claim that someone is thinking of becoming Speaker in 2019 when the tenure has not ended, it will not be out of place to suspect such motives especially when the same people have been talking strongly on the urgent need to address critical legislative issues.”

The group, which passed vote of confidence on the House leadership, maintained, “Speaker Yakubu Dogara is on top of his job.

“He has been doing excellently well, respecting his colleagues and leading with the fear of God and in accordance with the Constitution and our House rules.

“He has performed very well in providing the expected legislative leadership. If anyone someone is thinking of replacing him even when this tenure is not yet ended, then it means a lot may be happening underground.

L-R: Saidu Mohammed, director-general, National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA); Bitrus Nabasu, permanent secretary, ministry of science and technology; Ogbonnaya Onu, minister of science and technology, and Peter Ekweozoh, chairman, technical committee on methanol fuel technology, during the inauguration of the committee in Abuja, yesterday. NAN

The queen of soul is dead’: A tribute to Aretha Franklin Continued from back page struggle with cancer of the pancreas.

She was a preacher’s daughter who sang in the choir, and started off singing gospel music. She was no saint, and not your prototypical ‘choir girl’. She had her first baby at the age of twelve, and her second when she was fourteen.

She was twice married and twice divorced.

At the age of eighteen she began a professional career in a customized genre of secular music that was labelled at various time Rhythm and Blues, Pop, Rock, Soul and even Jazz.

Her father was a cross between motivational speaker and gospel preacher. He made a good living giving rousing speeches to black Christian congregations across the land. He often took

her on his travels. Through these, she was able to meet several celebrities in music and the civil rights struggle, including Martin Luther King.

But all of this was mere detail. The real story of Aretha’s life was that she recorded one hundred and twelve singles that found their way into the Billboard Charts. Out of these seventeen were Top-Ten pop singles and twenty were Number One R&B single.

She was the most charted female artist in history.

She won eighteen Grammy Awards, and sold more than seventy-five million records. ‘Respect’, ‘You make me feel like a natural woman’ ‘Spanish Harlem’, ‘Don’t play that song for me’ among others in her oeuvre have become part of the musical treasure of the whole of mankind. Even songs written by other peo-

ple such as Carol King were taken over by her persona, once she sang them, and made permanently into her own for all eternity. Rolling Stone magazine in 2010 named her the greatest singer of all time.

Without carrying placards or joining civil rights marches, her voice and the words of her songs became part of the civil rights struggle, and the struggle for female empowerment.

It was symbolic of the stature and meaning of her life that she sang at the funeral of Martin Luther King Junior – the emotional nadir of black -American experience, as well as at the inauguration of Barack Obama as the first black President of America – their emotional peak to date.

The world, surely, is poorer by the absence of Aretha Louise Franklin.

May her soul rest in peace.

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all-round leader.

Second, develop a thirst for leadership quite early.

As a first year student of Kumasi College of Science and Technology, Annan became Vice-President of the Ghana National Students Association. It brought him to the limelight. At a conference of West African students in Freetown, Sierra Leone, he was spotted by a talent scout who recommended him for a Ford Foundation award.

Third, get a good mentor. Ghana became independent in 1957 under the leadership of the great pan-Africanist statesman Kwame Nkrumah. A believer in the philosophy of African Personality, Nkrumah identified a crop of bright young men whom he nurtured and groomed.

He aimed to raise high royal princes who could hold their own at any court in the world. Kofi Annan not only benefitted from this early mentoring. He humbled himself before his bosses and sought opportunities to work under those from whom he could learn the ropes of the business. He served under no less than four secretaries-general: U Thant of Burma (1961-1971), Kurt Waldheim of Austria (1972-1981), Javier Perez de Cuellar de la Guerra of Peru (1982-1991), and Boutros Boutros-Ghalli of Egypt (1992-1996). He served a rather apprenticeship and it paid off.

Four, build a strong team. As a leader, Kofi Annan brought some of the best people to work in his kitchen cabinet. A great leader, it is said, is one who is confident enough to hire people that are smarter than he is. Annan brought in Mark Malloch Brown of Britain as Chief of Staff. He later promoted him to the rank of Deputy Secretary-General. He also sought the advice of brilliant minds such as Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University on complex issues relating to sustainable development and poverty alleviation. He also hired the brilliant Indian staffer Shashi Tharoor as his media spokesman. He also brought into the cabinet my esteemed former teacher Professor Ibrahim Gambari as the first nonWestern Under SecretaryGeneral of the powerful Department for Political Affairs. These men did not disappoint.

Fifthly, be an astute manager of people and resources. When Annan took over the helms of affairs

at the Secretariat in New York, the organisation was on the verge of bankruptcy. One of the biggest contributors to the budget, the United States, felt bitterly alienated and refused to contribute for years. It also withdrew from such bodies as UNESCO. His predecessor Egyptian Boutrous Boutrous-Ghali’s hectoring professorial style had alienated several Western powers. Annan used his personal influence and his humble approach to persuade the Americans to resume funding.

Sixthly, own up to your mistakes and learn from them. One of the first things he did as SecretaryGeneral was to institute a commission to investigate failure of the DPKO to prevent genocide in Rwanda and the massacres in Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina under his own leadership. It was a damning report. Annan could brutally be honest with others as he was with himself. With regards to his failure to prevent the Rwanda genocide as head of DPKO, he lamented: “I could and should have done more to sound the alarm and rally support.”

Seventh, master the context and adapt to new realities. Kofi Annan’s time as Secretary-General coincided with some of the most turbulent years in our post-Cold War era.

The war in Yugoslavia, the Iraq crisis and the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York tested the institutions of global governance to their ultimate limit. He had a firm grasp of the new realities and sought to reposition the UN to adapt to a more demanding global situation. He brought those insights to bear upon the far-reaching reforms that he implemented. No other scribe has done more to reform the Secretariat, with the possible exception of the remarkable Dag Hammarskjöld of Sweden. Annan promoted the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect, R2P; enshrining the principle of humanitarian intervention in the jurisprudence of International Law. He also implemented the “One Flag” policy of streamlining the motley of competing UN agencies to ensure that they worked more harmoniously. The Global Compact and the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, were his idea. He also created the Global Funds to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. A champion of peace, human rights and the rule of law, he set up the Peacebuilding Commission and the Human

Rights Council.

Eighth, be a good mentor. Kofi Annan, to those who worked closely with him, described him as “level-headed and approachable”. He encouraged those under him to flower and bloom. He also looked out for talent and made it a point to develop them to attain their highest potential. It is a wellknown fact that right during his first term in office he was already grooming Sergio Vieira de Mello of Brazil to be his successor as Secretary-General. One of the lowest moments in his illustrious career was in August 2003 when his protégé and friend Sergio Vieira de Mello and several colleagues were killed in a bomb blast in the UN mission building in Baghdad.

Ninth, have moral courage. Kofi Annan showed great moral courage when it mattered most. He opposed the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, condemning it as “illegal”. To punish him for his effrontery, the Bush administration instituted investigations into alleged corruption by UN officials in the Iraq “Oilfor-Food” Programme.

Although Annan was personally exonerated, his son Kojo was indicted for “unethical” dealings with one of the firms that had won the lucrative contracts.

Tenth, give back and nurture a legacy. Following retirement in 2006, Kofi Annan continued to champion several good causes.

He set up the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra and the Kofi Annan Foundation which played a key role in establishing the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

He was also Chair of The Elders, an organisation founded by Nelson Mandela to address some of the world’s most critical challenges. He also led several UN peace missions, notably to Syria, Kenya and Myanmar. He was on the boards of a major bank, a global private equity firm and several international agencies.

Kofi Annan was neither a perfect person nor a perfect leader. He acknowledged his mistakes and was ready to learn. With a soft, baritone voice, he was a level-headed leader and a great listener. He was master of his brief. The lot fell on him to steer the world community in times of upheaval. History will rate him among the more successful secretaries-general of the United Nations. His rest shall be among the righteous and the just.

Friday 24 August 2018

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FINANCIAL TIMES Businesses told to hire customs agents if there is no Brexit deal

Saudi Arabia to tap banks for $12bn in loans after Aramco IPO stalls Page A3

Page A4

World Business Newspaper

Donald Trump denies breaking campaign finance rules

US president says payments to 2 women ‘came from me’ rather than campaign funds Josh Noble

D

onald Trump has denied his presidential campaign violated election financing rules in his first interview since his personal lawyer struck a plea deal with federal prosecutors.

The US president, speaking to Fox News in a television interview that will air in full on Thursday, said he knew about payments made to two women — porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal — who alleged having affairs with Mr Trump more than a decade ago.

Michael Cohen, Mr Trump’s personal lawyer for many years, secured a plea deal earlier this week that implicated the president in a scheme to pay the women that could be in breach of campaign corporate contribution laws.

In April, Mr Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he did not know about the payments, nor did he know where the money for them had come from.

However, Mr Trump told Fox News that the payments had come from him, not from money raised to finance his 2016 campaign, and that he found out about them “later on”.

“They didn’t come out of the campaign. They came from me,” Mr Trump said. “In fact, my first question when I heard about it was did they come out of the campaign? Because that could be a little dicey. And they didn’t come out of the campaign, and that’s big.”

Mr Trump also attacked Mr Cohen’s decision agree a deal with federal prosecutors.

“I’ve had many friends involved in this stuff. It’s called flipping and it almost ought to be illegal,” he said. “They make up things and now they go from 10 years [in jail] to they’re a national hero. They have a statue erected in their honor.”

The president told Ainsley Ear-

hardt, co-host of Fox & Friends, that Mr Cohen was simply “one of many” lawyers rather than his chief “fixer” and close confidant.

“He’s been a lawyer for me. Didn’t do big deals, did small deals. Not somebody that was with me that much,” he said.

On Wednesday, Mr Trump accused Mr Cohen of lying to prosecutors, adding on Twitter: “If anyone is looking for a good lawyer, I would strongly suggest that you don’t retain the services of Michael Cohen!”

Lanny Davis, Mr Cohen’s lawyer, said his client could provide useful information to Robert Mueller, the special prosecutor investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential race. However, there are no signs that Mr Cohen is already co-operating with the investigation.

Mr Davis has signalled Mr Cohen would be able to testify that Mr Trump knew about Russian efforts to hack Democratic computer systems during the 2016 presidential campaign before the attacks had been disclosed publicly. Russian military intelligence agents have been charged with leading the cyber attacks.

Mr Trump’s criticisms of Mr Cohen contrast with his vocal support for Paul Manafort, his former campaign manager, who was found guilty on Tuesday of tax evasion, bank fraud and hiding foreign bank accounts.

Asked whether he was considering giving Mr Manafort a presidential pardon, Mr Trump said: “I have great respect for what he’s done, in terms of what he’s gone through.”

He added: “I would say what he did, some of the charges they threw against him, every consultant, every lobbyist in Washington probably does.”

The convictions of two of Mr Trump’s closest allies are likely to further complicate Republican efforts to keep control of both houses of Congress heading into November’s midterm elections.

Trump wades into South African land debate US president says there have been ‘large-scale’ killings of farmers without compensation.

Joseph Cotterill The ANC believes the policy, onald Trump waded into which may requite amending an emotional debate on the constitution, will accelerate land reform in South the black majority’s ownership Africa with claims about “large- of the economy after apartheid. scale killings” of farmers that Under white-minority rule, led to a diplomatic protest by blacks were forced off their land.

Mr Trump tweeted that Pretoria.

South Africa said on Thursday “South African Government is it was seeking clarification from now seizing land from white the US embassy about the late- farmers” after a segment on night tweet by Mr Trump, which Fox News. During the segment, followed Fox News coverage of host Tucker Carlson claimed incorrectly that South Africa’s the issue.

The US president said he had constitution has already been asked Mike Pompeo, the secre- changed and called Mr Ramatary of state, to “closely study” phosa a “racist”.

In a statement the South Afrimoves by Cyril Ramaphosa’s ruling African National Congress can government said it rejected to consider expropriation of land Continues on page A2

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Donald Trump, speaking on Fox News, described Michael Cohen as ‘one of many’ lawyers rather than his chief ‘fixer’

3,453 days and $18tn later, the US bull market hits record run From battered banks to tech titans, the historic milestone in seven charts Nicole Bullock and Brooke Fox

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he US bull market is now officially the longest ever.

From the depths of the financial crisis, revived by central bank stimulus, fuelled by technological innovation and finally given a shot of tax cuts, the S&P 500 has gone 3,453 days without a drop of 20 per cent, the decline typically associated with a bear market. That edges it past the 1990-2000 bull run that culminated in the dotcom boom.

Like the bull market it surpasses, the rally from March 9, 2009, has also coincided with a technological revolution; in this case the rise of the digital economy and reflected in the reshuffled leadership of the S&P 500.

In March 2009, the largest companies in the index by market capitalisation were ExxonMobil, Walmart and Microsoft, respectively. Now topping the

leaderboard are Apple, Amazon and Alphabet. Facebook, in the No 6 spot, was not even a public company when this bull run first got under way. Microsoft may have weathered the transition to the cloud to retain a top slot; IBM has not been so successful.

The stock market stars of the digital economy were even given a nickname as the bull market got longer in the tooth: the Faangs.

If you had dropped 99 per cent of the S&P 500 and focused on the behemoths that seem to have taken over consumers’ everyday lives — Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google’s parent Alphabet — you would have outperformed the bull market handsomely. Concerns about privacy, heightened regulation and growth prospects of these tech companies are not just important questions for the durability of their share price gains. They are now central to the prospects for the overall

bull market.

But 3,453 days ago, all eyes were on the banks. Brought low by excessive risk taking and then the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, they had only just been recapitalised with injections of taxpayer bailout cash and their futures were in doubt.

Investors who picked through the rubble wisely beat the S&P 500 on some of the biggest banks.

The market value of the S&P 500 is up 312 per cent from March 9, 2009, a thumping $18.4tn. But measured another way, the market is shrinking. The number of shares in the S&P 500 has fallen 3.1 per cent — a factor that some say creates a scarcity value that has added to the gains.

After a burst of equity issuance in the wake of the financial crisis, particularly by banks rebuilding balance sheets, the number of shares has been declining sharply.

The reason? A surge in companies buying back their own stock.

Australia bans China Huawei’s 5G rollout over security fears Telecoms equipment maker ZTE also prevented from providing the technology to local operators Jamie Smyth

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ustralia has banned Chinese telecoms equipment makers Huawei and ZTE from providing 5G technology to mobile phone operators due to concerns over national security.

The decision marks a big blow for Huawei, the world’s biggest telecoms equipment maker, which has lobbied hard to retain its role in providing equipment in the Australian market.

The company has previously warned that a ban would be unfair and severely impact its business in the country, where it commands about 55 per cent of the market for 4G — the current generation of mobile technology.

“We have been informed by the Govt that Huawei & ZTE have been banned from providing 5G technology to Australia,” said the Shenzhen-

based company in a short statement on social media.

“This is an extremely disappointing result for consumers. Huawei is a world leader in 5G. Has safely & securely delivered wireless technology in Aust for close to 15 yrs.”

5G technology delivers much faster speeds and lower latency, a measure of how fast networks respond to requests.

Australia is the first country in the world to ban Huawei from providing 5G equipment to mobile phone operators, although US security agencies have advised operators not to use the company’s equipment over national security concerns.

“This is a decision with global implications,” said Fergus Hanson, head of cyber policy at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, a think-tank.

“Australia concluded there is no way to mitigate the security risk from using Chinese companies’ equipment

in 5G, due to the technology’s critical role in the 21st century economy.

Other western countries are likely to review their own rules now,” he said.

The UK has set up an Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre in Oxfordshire, which works closely with GCHQ, the UK intelligence body, to evaluate equipment to ensure it does not present a security risk. Canada has a similar arrangement, although three former intelligence agency directors recently warned they share US security agencies concerns about Huawei.

Huawei was blocked from supplying equipment to Australia’s A$49bn National Broadband Network in 2012 over security concerns, prompting a diplomatic spat between the nations.

The ban on Huawei for 5G is expected to once again raise tensions between the two countries, which have been strained over a debate about alleged interference by Beijing in Australia’s internal affairs.

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NATIONAL NEWS

FT Trump wades into South African land...

Continued from page A1 “this narrow perception which only seeks to divide our nation and reminds us of our colonial past”.

The rand fell as much as 1.9 per cent against the dollar after Mr Trump’s tweet. South Africa is the biggest exporter on the continent, benefiting from duty-free legislation that was passed by the US Congress.

Studies have disproved claims of widespread farmer killings in South Africa, made by white nationalist groups in the US. Agri SA, a farmers’ organisation, said in May that farm murders were at their lowest level in two decades. There were 47 murders between 2017 and 2018 compared with 66 over the previous period, it said. South Africa, one of the world’s most unequal countries, has a high crime and murder rate.

Afriforum, a far-right Afrikaner group whose leaders have denied apartheid was a crime against humanity, has cultivated ties this year to US “alt-right” activists who often use the “WhiteGenocide” hashtag on social-media content about South Africa.

Kallie Kriel, Afriforum’s chief executive, said that the organisation welcomed Mr Trump’s tweet.

He thanked “Tucker Carlson and every other role-player in the USA that took a stand”.

Mr Ramaphosa, a business tycoon who became president after winning a power struggle to succeed the scandal-hit Jacob Zuma, is trying to balance efforts to revive investment in a stagnant economy against pressure in the ANC to pursue a more populist agenda.

Analysts say the ruling party is seeking to outflank the Economic Freedom Fighters, a radical leftist breakaway from the ANC that proposes state ownership of all land, before national elections next year.

Writing for the Financial Times on Thursday, Mr Ramaphosa said that land reform done soberly would unlock badly needed economic growth and redress historic oppression. “This is no land grab. Nor is it an assault on the private ownership of property,” he said.

Mr Ramaphosa has said that a constitutional amendment would set strict limits on use of expropriation without compensation such as proof it would not harm food security or agricultural productivity.

Some land reform activists say that the expropriation debate is a “red herring” given other thorny challenges such as failure to support black farmers, reform exploitative tenancy laws and tackle the abuse by traditional chiefs of land they own.

Mr Trump has shown little interest in Africa during his presidency. This year he referred to African states as “ shithole countries” in debate with US senators on immigration. He is yet to appoint a US ambassador to South Africa.

Friday 24 August 2018

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Facebook pulls security app from Apple store over privacy Onavo Protect said to violate iPhone maker’s new data collection rules

Hannah Kuchler

F Australia’s recent line-up of prime ministers, from left: Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Abbott, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard

‘Brutal’ Australian politics behind likely demise of PM Turnbull Instability fuelled by hyperpartisan culture, ideological spats and structural weakness Jamie Smyth

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ustralia is enjoying strong economic growth, record jobs growth and has not suffered an economic recession in almost three decades.

But the prosperous country is experiencing one of its greatest periods of political instability, with the Liberal party likely to dump Malcolm Turnbull in a leadership coup on Friday and ushering in the nation’s sixth prime minister in just over a decade.

Canberra’s descent into Italianstyle political instability is infuriating business and the public, who link it with the continuing gridlock on key policies, from tax to climate change. But there is little sign of an end to the dramatic upsurge in political upheaval over recent years, which has seen no prime minister serve a full three-year term since John Howard from 2004-07.

On Thursday Mr Turnbull blamed a rump of conservatives in the Liberal party and an aggressive rightwing media for bullying MPs into changing leaders in an attempt to shift the party to the right. This likely coup d’état echoes his own ousting of Tony Abbott in 2015 — a challenge that relied on

the support of Liberal moderates, who were concerned that Mr Abbott’s government was too rightwing to win public support.

The ideological battle within the Liberals and conservatives’ dislike of Mr Turnbull — a centrist who critics allege would be more suited to the Labor party — has played a role in destabilising the previous two Liberal-National coalitions. It also may explain why the leadership battle, with Mr Turnbull’s allegations of intimidation and claims of rival Peter Dutton’s ineligibility to sit in parliament, is being fought so bitterly.

“This spill is deeply ideological. It’s about the future direction of the party and that is why it is so brutal,” said Paul Williams, politics lecturer at Griffith University in Brisbane.

However, this ideological factor does not explain the extraordinary volatility in previous Labor administrations, where Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard swapped the leadership between 2010 and 2013. In these cases personality played a role and both individuals — and their supporters — believed they could govern more effectively than the other, who was faltering in opinion polls.

Rupert Murdoch’s stable of News Corp Australia titles wield immense power in the country, which some critics blame for destabilising Mr Turnbull and previous Labor governments. The rise of social media and the 24hour news cycle have ramped up the pressure on political leaders and intensified criticism, denting their image and undermining trust among the electorate.

“This can become a mutually reinforcing process, with heightened criticism of leaders leading to a revolving door leadership, which then further damages trust in politics,” said Mr Williams.

There are also structural weaknesses in Australian politics, which have contributed to the febrile atmosphere in Canberra in the past decade.

“The Westminster model in Australia hasn’t worked well over recent years and this makes it very difficult for governments and political leaders to succeed,” said Ian McAllister, politics professor at Australian National University.

He identifies three-year electoral cycles, a strong upper house, compulsory voting, strong political parties and the trend towards career politicians as factors making leadership more difficult.

Sweden’s Social Democrats fear once-in-a-century election setback Governing centre-left party under threat over response to crime and immigration Richard Milne

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he last time Sweden’s Social Democrats failed to come top in national elections, the first world war was just two months old.

No political force has dominated a European country quite like the centre-left party — but the era is coming to an end. In Sweden’s next election on September 9, the Social Democrats are almost certain to record their lowest share of the vote in more than a century and their record of heading the polls is under threat.

A visit to Trollhattan, an industrial town in western Sweden, shows why. Once home to the Saab car company, Trollhattan used to vote in droves for the Social Democrats. Now, Saab is bankrupt, taking with it many of the blue-collar jobs that were the bedrock of the party’s support, and the town of 49,000 has a different car problem to worry about: this month a gang of youths set fire to vehicles in Kronogarden, a suburb with a big immigrant population,

in part of a wave of such crimes across Sweden.

Stefan Lofven, Sweden’s Social Democrat prime minister, lashed out at the youths, saying: “What the hell are you doing?” But Trollhattan’s discontent with the government is palpable.

Julius Lundqvist, a Trollhattan resident who parks his car in a garage in the city centre, said: “The Social Democrats have not lived to what they have promised. They put more money into immigration than elderly care — they care more about people who have come to Sweden in the last two or three years than the people who built the system,” he said.

His friend Stefan Clare, who is thinking of voting for a centreright party, added: “The Social Democrats are not doing a good job. I’m working five days a week and some are just staying at home doing nothing. The Social Democrats are supporting a lazy lifestyle, and a lot of people are fed up with that.”

The Social Democrats in Swe-

den, like elsewhere in Europe, have been hurt by changes in society.

Rising prosperity means that fewer voters are interested in issues such as labour rights, while the centreleft has struggled to come up with answers to voters’ worries such as globalisation and immigration.

“Social democracy rose when industrial society was rising. Today, it’s a new society where so many of the old parties are doing badly with a rise of rightwing populists,” said Ulf Bjereld, a professor at Gothenburg University and an active Social Democrat.

The Social Democrats’ support stands at about 25 per cent in the opinion polls, still the largest party, but well below the 31 per cent they received in 2014. As recently as in 1994 they received 45 per cent.

The current Social Democrat-led government is widely viewed as one of the weakest in decades, unable to push through its policies. But the party still has a chance to cling to power because the main centreright Moderate party is also set to record a worse score than in 2014.

acebook has pulled its Onavo Protect security app from Apple’s app store after the iPhone maker changed its rules on data collection, in the latest sign of tension between the two technology companies over privacy.

The social network withdrew the virtual private network (VPN) app on Wednesday, while insisting that it had always been clear with users about what data it collected and how Facebook used it.

Users downloaded Onavo Protect to help keep their data safe online. The app would warn them when they were visiting potentially harmful websites and keep their personal information secure when using public Wi-Fi. But Facebook also used Onavo to track what other apps were popular with users, telling them: “Because we’re part of Facebook, we also use this info to improve Facebook products and services, gain insights into the products and services people value, and build better experiences.”

Apple’s new rules prohibit apps from monitoring which other apps are installed on a users’ device, saying it was to protect user privacy and data security.

“With the latest update to our guidelines, we made it explicitly clear that apps should not collect information about which other apps are installed on a user’s device for the purposes of analytics or advertising/marketing and must make it clear what user data will be collected and how it will be used,” a spokesman said.

Facebook added that it follows Apple’s rules. “We’ve always been clear when people download Onavo about the information that is collected and how it is used,” it said.

Onavo used to be integrated into Facebook’s main app, for users that turned on the “Protect” option, but it no longer does.

Apple has been critical of Facebook’s stance on privacy, hitting out as the social network copes with the political fallout from the massive data leak to Cambridge Analytica, the analytics firm, revealed earlier this year.

Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said there should be regulation to limit Facebook and other companies’ ability to use customer data.

He has repeatedly said that Apple makes the majority of its money by selling products to customers, not using them as a product to sell to advertisers, and has described privacy as a “human right”.Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, hit back, saying the accusation that Facebook did not care about its users was “extremely glib” and “not at all aligned with the truth”.

Facebook bought Tel Aviv-based Onavo in 2013 for $100m-$200m.

The acquisition was originally thought to be useful for Facebook because Onavo specialised in compressing data, making apps operate faster in emerging markets that are marred by slow internet connectivity.

Friday 24 August 2018

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BUSINESS DAY

FINANCIAL TIMES

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COMPANIES & MARKETS

@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED

Saudi Arabia to tap banks for $12bn in loans after Aramco IPO stalls Sovereign wealth fund aims to fill hole left by postponed blockbuster listing Arash Massoudi, Anjli Raval, Robert Smith and Simeon Kerr

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audi Arabia is primed to appoint international banks to lend its sovereign wealth fund up to $12bn, filling the hole left by the delayed listing of state energy group Saudi Aramco and providing financing for crown prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ambitious economic reforms.

The loans will be the first made to the Public Investment Fund, the vehicle used to drive the young prince’s vision for an economy less dependent on oil, which has placed bold bets on electric car maker Tesla, ride-hailing app Uber and space travel company Virgin Galactic.

The loan is particularly important for the fund as plans to list Saudi Aramco, from which it was due to receive proceeds, have been postponed indefinitely. Riyadh’s focus has shifted away from the blockbuster IPO, which had been expected to raise in the region of $100bn, in favour of other means of financing for the PIF. Some of the most senior names in international banking, including JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, Morgan Stanley’s Franck Petitgas and Goldman Sachs’s Dina Powell, the former official from the Trump administration, have been actively pitching for the deal.

Banks who have spent the last few years courting the kingdom and counting on fees from the Saudi Aramco IPO are jostling to secure favour for other transactions.

The PIF had originally hoped to raise up to $8bn from loans, but people with knowledge of the process said it was likely to reach as much as $12bn. “They should easily reach that target,” said one banker involved. “Everyone has

gone in fairly aggressively.”

As many as 16 banks are expected to participate in the loan with the lead banks to be selected later on Thursday, the people said.

Several senior bankers said it was critical to be seen as involved in the loans to the PIF because the state fund is also planning to sell a $70bn stake in Sabic, the Saudi chemicals group, to Saudi Aramco, in one of 2018’s largest deals. The deal, which moves money from one state coffer to another, will have implications for league table rankings that banks use to measure their performance against rivals.

While work on the Aramco IPO has dramatically slowed amid concerns about legal exposure and an inability to generate a $2tn valuation, some bankers have shifted their focus to the Sabic deal, said one adviser.

Banks are vying for a chance to participate in a potential $40bn$60bn debt financing that Saudi Aramco will need to finance any deal to buy the Sabic stake from the PIF. One adviser had previously told the FT that a large bond issuance for Saudi Aramco would achieve some of the same objectives as a listing, in terms of raising funds and requirements for disclosure.

Although it could be a substitute for a flotation, this person said, a decision to list later would raise “extra” PIF funds.

The PIF, led by Yasir Al-Rumayyan who is a close ally of Prince Mohammed, has more than $250bn of assets under management which it plans to expand to $400bn by 2020. To finance deals, the fund has received cash from the Saudi central bank, sought to sell stakes in companies it owns, issue debt and draw on proceeds from the privatisation of state assets.

Intesa to sell first senior bank bond since Italian sell-off Robert Smith

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ntesa Sanpaolo is set to become the first Italian bank to raise a senior bond since April, as it looks to reopen the country’s unsecured funding market after political turmoil drove a rout in Italy’s sovereign debt.

Italian government bond yields spiked dramatically in May when the country’s two populist Eurosceptic political parties formed a coalition government. Italy’s bond yields still remain elevated and recently released data showed that net sales of the country’s sovereign debt by foreign investors climbed to a record level in June.

Intesa, which is Italy’s largest domestic bank, on Thursday morning began marketing a new five-year senior unsecured bond.

The deal has so far drawn €1bn of orders at the initial marketing

level of 200 basis points (2 percentage points) over mid-swaps, a commonly used benchmark in the euro investment-grade bond market.

The deal will be Italy’s first senior bank bond since mid-April, when junk-rated lender Banca IFIS raised a small €300m deal. Intesa itself last raised euro senior debt in March, pricing a €1.25bn 10-year bond at 77 basis points over mid-swaps.

While unsecured funding markets have been shut to banks since Italy’s political upheaval, a number of Italian banks were able to raise covered bonds in July.

Covered bonds carry much higher credit ratings than senior bonds, as they are also secured on a pool of the bank’s mortgages.

Intesa also reopened this market to Italian banks, raising a €1bn covered bond at 63 basis points over mid-swaps at the start of July.

Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, is seeking an economy less dependent on oil © Bloomberg

Trade talks in focus as dollar and China stocks rise Washington talks set cautious tone; Wall Street set for steady start Michael Hunter and Alice Woodhouse

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nvestors are watching trade talks in Washington after China’s vice-commerce minister began two days of meetings in the US capital to revive negotiations between the world’s two biggest economies.

In the meantime, the dollar is strengthening after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last monetary policy meeting pointed to another rate rise next month. The index tracking the word’s reserve currency is up 0.3 per cent, ending a five-session retreat.

The renminbi’s advance over the same number of trading days is over, with China’s currency weaker by 0.4 per cent at Rmb6.8701 per dollar. Equity indices are higher in Shanghai and Hong Kong, while European stocks are steady.

There was little optimism from Beijing that US President Donald Trump was willing to compro-

mise. The talks were the first to take place between the two sides in more than two months.

The US imposed 25 per cent tariffs on an additional $16bn of Chinese goods on Thursday and China enacted similar measures in retaliation.

Investors are also looking ahead to the upcoming meeting at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, of central bankers from around the globe, at which Fed chair Jay Powell will speak.

Currencies Political developments are setting the pace.

Australia’s dollar is down 0.8 per cent to $0.7291 as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull faces another leadership challenge.

South Africa’s rand weakened by 1.5 per cent to R14.3475 after a diplomatic spat between the country and the White House.

President Trump said on Twitter he would ask the US State Department to look closely at land reform plans in the country, which

could involve the re-allocation of farms, with whites still owning most of the land after the end of apartheid.

Sterling is down 0.3 per cent at $1.2873 and is steady against the euro with £0.8986 required for a unit of the shared currency amid a sanguine response to the UK government’s statement on its Brexit planning .

The yen is 0.3 per cent weaker at ¥110.85 to the dollar. The euro is down 0.4 per cent to $1.1546.

Equities Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax 30 is down 0.1 per cent, while London’s FTSE 100 is flat, as is the Europewide Stoxx 600.

The run lower for resource stocks is continuing, as investors assess the impact of the fall in industrial metals prices that have tracked concerns from the trade dispute to economic growth. The Stoxx index tracking European miners is down 0.7 per cent on the session, taking its fall for the month to just over 10 per cent.

Qantas announces record profits driven by domestic business Australian airline points to higher fuel costs next year and flat capacity in first half of 2019 Josh Spero and Jamie Smyth

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ustralian airline Qantas has announced record profits as its domestic business flourished.

Full-year underlying pre-tax profit rose 14 per cent to A$1.6bn (US$1.2bn) compared with 2017.

This was at the top end of its guidance from May. Revenue rose 6.2 per cent to A$17.1bn and statutory earnings per share increased a fifth to A$0.56. It also announced a share buyback scheme worth up to A$332m. However, its shares closed down 2.8 per cent at A$6.53.

Alan Joyce, chief executive, said its domestic businesses, Qantas and Jetstar, “achieved a record underlying profit of A$1.1bn. That’s 25 per cent up on last year and it’s made up of record performances by both airlines.”

Mr Joyce added that Qantas would start paying tax again. “Qa-

ntas has always paid its fair share of various types of tax, and now that we’ve exhausted our available tax losses, we incurred company tax during the second half of the year,” he said.

In 2014, Qantas posted a A$2.8bn annual net loss after a massive writedown on the value of its fleet, tough competition and restructuring costs.

Revenue per available seat kilometre, a standard industry unit, rose 3.9 per cent, and cost per available seat kilometre grew 2.7 per cent, given a A$200m increase in fuel costs. Excluding fuel, unit costs still rose 2.4 per cent.

The company pointed to higher fuel costs next year, saying they would increase by about A$690m, or a fifth, to A$3.9bn, and said capacity would be flat in the first half of 2019.

Recommended Personal Finance Advice & Comment

Got the Ryanair blues? This is how to claim compensation Mr Joyce said the airline’s new 17-hour, 14,500km Perth to London route had been the highest rated service on its network since it launched in 2018.

At the time, the Financial Times wrote that Qantas was “pushing the boundaries of long-distance airline travel”.

“With this technology behind them, Qantas can become a disrupter in global aviation,” Anthony Moulder, analyst at broker CLSA, said. “Being able to overfly competitors and stopover hubs by providing direct services from Australia to European and US cities puts them in a stronger position.”

Mr Joyce said: “You need to make revenue out of these flights and you need a full passenger payload. We were significantly short last year but with the work done so far we are getting much closer.”

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BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 24 August 2018

ANALYSIS Businesses told to hire customs agents if there is no Brexit deal Government releases first set of contingency planning papers Jim Pickard and Adam Samson

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How the Hong Kong Jockey Club exaggerates its charity Group has a gambling monopoly thanks to its donations to good causes — but FT data show it overstates its largesse Hudson Lockett

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o important is horseracing to Hong Kong life that Deng Xiaoping once reassured the population that “the horses will still run” as the UK prepared to hand over sovereignty of the territory to China. For those crammed into the Happy Valley stadium every race night since 1997, the late Chinese leader has been true to his word.

Compact, noisy and filled with thousands of punters squeezed around the floodlit track, horseracing at Happy Valley is at the heart of Hong Kong island. It is also at the heart of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, the colonial-era institution whose members make up the city’s business and political elite, and which holds a government-granted gambling monopoly in the city.

In the year to June 2017 that monopoly generated revenues of nearly HK$34bn ($4.3bn) on record betting turnover of more than HK$216bn — that is almost HK$30,000 gambled for every man, woman and child in the city.

The monopoly is justified on the grounds that the club’s charity arm redistributes some of its profits to good causes — part of a deal dating back to 1952.

But a Financial Times analysis shows the club exaggerates its donations, paying out only a sliver of the charity funds that serve to justify its lucrative monopoly. For instance last year a press release from the club detailing its annual results recorded “total charity donations” of HK$7.6bn but that counted money “allocated” to charitable organisations and community projects and thus earmarked for potential payment. The annual donations — defined by Hong Kong law as payments made, not just pledged — were just HK$2bn, according to the annual report of the Jockey Club Charities Trust.

The gap between the two figures has the potential to become a flashpoint in a city where one in five people live below the poverty line — defined as half the median income of HK$8,000 per month for a single person. And income inequality has risen to a record level as real estate prices have soared.

“The charities trust is a fig leaf to justify having the monopoly rather than having competition

in that space,” says David Webb, a corporate governance expert and longtime critic of the Jockey Club.

“If they simply paid an extra 1 per cent of their revenue to the government instead and let the government do it, they wouldn’t have that moral high ground.”

Critics have been especially animated by the 2016 decision by the charity arm to bankroll a local branch of Beijing’s Palace Museum with a HK$3.5bn grant at the request of club patron and member Carrie Lam, now Hong Kong’s chief executive. The move, say critics, highlights the trust’s role as a piggy bank for pet projects that would struggle to win legislative support.

It also provides an insight into how the Hong Kong elite is managing its relationship with Beijing.

Coming after the tumultuous “Umbrella revolution” that saw thousands of protesters take to the streets to oppose moves by China to extend its influence in Hong Kong, the Palace Museum donation was seen by pro-democracy campaigners as an attempt by the Jockey Club to curry favour with the central government.

Supporters of the club prefer to emphasise its local philanthropy.

“The strong justification for the monopoly is the charitable status,” says Andrew Li, a former club steward and the first chief justice of Hong Kong, from 1997 to 2010.

“If you don’t understand what the club does, just look around you.”

From hospital wings to university buildings and middle schools, the Jockey Club logo — the same one that hangs outside its 102 neighbourhood betting shops — features on wall plaques across Hong Kong. It is a very visible sign of the money that has been raised and spent over the past six decades by a club whose members include the likes of Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s richest man.

Yet what the club calls “donations” in press releases is essentially grant funding that may not be paid out for years or, in some cases, ever. The FT analysis shows that the Jockey Club’s charity arm has donated HK$30.5bn since its creation in 1959, rather than the HK$51bn it has publicly claimed, a gap of HK$20.5bn.

Much of that is accounted for

by HK$17.4bn in outstanding donations still to be distributed.

Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, the club’s chief executive, insists

donations pledged are as good as money spent, as the club has never defaulted on its commitments.

But the club, Hong Kong’s biggest taxpayer, declined to provide a breakdown of where that money was pledged.

Leong Cheung, head of the charities arm and a former operating partner at Bain Capital, acknowledges that for almost every project supported by the club some money is never distributed. In 2016 it recognised HK$340m that would never be paid out, freeing up those funds for donation elsewhere.

Lusina Ho, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong who is an expert on trust and non-profit legislation, says that in the territory “a donation refers to an executed gratuitous transfer and hence strictly speaking does not include pledged donations”. By that measure donations did not double last year, as the club has said. They shrank 13 per cent, marking the first drop since the global financial crisis.

That left charity trust assets, net of payments due within a year, at HK$43.1bn. Asked why it held on to so much money, Mr Engelbrecht-Bresges says the club wants sufficient reserves to honour its commitments and not let donations drop, “even if we would have zero income coming from the club into the trust”.

Caroline Fiennes, director of Giving Evidence, which advises international clients on philanthropic best practices, says the quarter-century increase in trust net assets made no sense in light of its stable revenue from the club’s gambling operations. “That’s not hanging on to some additional assets waiting for a downturn,” Ms Fiennes says. “This is a pattern you might see only if a foundation thinks the economy goes in 30-year cycles.”

Many of those contacted by the FT — from club members to non-profit organisations and charities — were unaware of how much money the trust held, or that the club’s definition of “donations” includes payments not yet made.

Lam Cheuk-ting, a legislative councillor and former investigator with Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption, says the club’s positive public image is largely due to its charitable donations which have not, to his knowledge, ever been subjected to serious public scrutiny.

ritish companies exporting to the EU will face a blizzard of red tape if there is no Brexit deal, and should consider hiring customs agents to help them deal with it, the government said on Thursday.

In a series of technical notices on the consequences of a no-deal Brexit, the UK’s Department for Exiting the EU said trade with the bloc would revert to “non-preferential, World Trade Organization terms”.

Businesses should put steps in place to renegotiate contracts in the light of new tariffs, Dexeu said.

It added that exporters should think about engaging “the services of a customs broker, freight forwarder or logistics provider to help, or alternatively secure the appropriate software and authorisations”.

Dominic Raab, the Brexit secretary, conceded that there would be “some extra regulatory” changes, but these would be offset by the

on World Trade Organization rules is acceptable live in a world of fantasy, where facts are not allowed to challenge ideology,” he said.

There was no technical paper on the Northern Ireland border, but in the notice on trade, there was a warning that work still needs to be done to deal with “the very significant challenges” of trading across the border in the event of a hard Brexit.

A technical notice on financial services warned that the roughly 1m British citizens who live in the EU may suffer disruption to their banking services as the UK is severed from European payments infrastructure, such as Target2, the real-time settlement system for the eurozone, and the Single Euro Payments Area, is severed. At the same time, however, 30m European citizens use British financial services — giving Brussels an incentive to strike a deal, ministers believe.

The notice added that the cost of card payments is likely to increase for Britons buying from Europe because they will not be protected by an EU ban on credit card sur-

Dominic Raab explains the consequences of a no-deal Brexit on Thursday © Reuters

opportunities for companies looking beyond the EU. The technical documents go into great length about red tape, outlining the host of forms that will need to be filled in — such as customs declarations, safety declarations and export licences — and quangos to notify.

Earlier this year, Jon Thompson, the chief executive of HM Revenue & Customs, told a committee of MPs that the fourfold increase in customs declarations that would occur under a no-deal Brexit, to 205m a year, would cost UK and EU businesses up to £20bn a year. Around £6.5bn of the total would be borne by EU businesses, but this could be passed on to UK consumers in higher prices.

Mr Raab also revealed that 9,000 more civil servants would be hired just to deal with Brexit, on top of 7,000 already dealing Britain’s departure from the EU. The CBI business lobby said failing to reach a Brexit deal would “wreak havoc”.

Companies had already spent millions of pounds and thousands of hours on getting ready for no deal, but smaller companies simply did not have the resources to assess the potential impact, said Josh Hardie, the CBI’s deputy director-general.

“These papers show that those who claim crashing out of the EU

charges, which came into force in January. Credit card surcharges paid by British consumers at home and abroad amounted to £166m in 2015, according to the Treasury.

As he unveiled the technical papers, Mr Raab said he believes a deal is the “most likely outcome” of the negotiations, and that a no-deal scenario is “not want we want, not what we expect”.

But the 25 initial papers will be followed by dozens more, covering issues ranging from organic food to nuclear regulation.

Many of the documents stress London’s determination to ensure continuity after Brexit and to avoid any potential chaos from leaving with an agreement.

For example, the UK would seek to continue farm payments as per usual until 2022 and also ensure the continuation of passporting rights for financial services companies for three years.

Employment legislation and rules governing issues such as GM products would be kept as they are in the medium term.

However, the papers included several examples of esoteric changes that would be necessary in a no-deal situation. For example, the UK would need to introduce its own cigarette packet warnings because Brussels owns the copyright to those used at present.

BUSINESS DAY

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NEWS YOU CAN TRUST I FRIDAY 24 AUGUST 2018

Opinion Kofi Annan, a profile in leadership

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here has been an outpouring of eulogies from all over the world for Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat and former UN Secretary-General, who passed away on Saturday 18 August.

It behoves us in this column to reflect on the lessons in leadership that his career could teach us.

Kofi Atta Annan was born in Kumasi, Ghana, on 8 April 1938, from a long line of Ashanti tribal chiefs. He had a twin sister, Effua Atta, who predeceased him in 1991. He attended the famous Methodist boarding school, Mfantsipim, from 1954 to 1957. In 1958 he enrolled as an undergraduate student of economics at Kumasi College of Science and Technology before transferring to Macalester College in the United States, majoring in Economics.

In January 1997 Annan was sworn-in as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, taking over from the hapless Egyptian Boutrous Boutrous-Ghali whose hectoring professorial style had alienated the Americans. The organisation was on the verge of financial bankruptcy at the time. He was the first to have risen through the ranks, having joined the organisation as a lowly Budget Officer in 1962.

He served two consecutive terms from 1996 to 2006. We can garner valuable golden nuggets about his leadership style not only from UN reports, articles and publications, but also from his autobiography (Interventions: A Life in War and Peace, John Wiley 2012).

The exalted position of UN Secretary-General is one of the most influential jobs in the world. It is certainly the ultimate prize for any career diplomat or international civil servant. His decisions can save millions of lives or send them to an early grave. The other side of the coin is that it is pretty much a thankless job. The great conservative English politician Sir Enoch Powell -- perhaps the greatest Prime Minister Britain never had -- famously declared that “all political careers end in failure�. This is particularly true of the office of UN secretarygeneral. It has been described as “the most impossible job in the world�. The first incumbent, Trygve Halvdan Lie of Norway (1946-1952) resigned in disgust; describing it as “a job from hell�.

Writing in the London Guardian a few years ago, Rory Stewart noted: “It is difficult to think of anyone in public policy who has been more celebrated. He has already been given awards for “courage� (the JFK Memorial Museum),

for “freedomâ€? (University of St Gallen), and for “international justiceâ€? (the MacArthur Foundation); prizes for “security, and developmentâ€?, for “culture, science and educationâ€?, and even for the “protection of human rights‌The governments of Germany, Britain, Portugal, Austria, the Netherlands, Romania and Ghana have pinned medals on his chest.

And he has won the Nobel peace prize.�

But he has not been short of

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his critics. A British commentator noted that, “Some people are given a tough job and they work wonders. Some people are given a tough job and they suck at it. While it’s tragic that casualties are to be expected, the body count was too high under Kofi Annan.�

The UN is the first most successful organisation of mankind on a universal basis. The mandate of the organisation is

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he aficionados of black music would recognize a familiar ring in the title of this piece. It is a takeoff on the Nina Simone song‘Why? (The King of Love is Dead)’. ‘The King’ referred, of course, to Martin Luther King Junior, who had just been murdered on a hotel balcony when Nina sang the song. The tears were flowing freely in those dark days. Passions were running rife, and chaos and death were in the air all over the United States of America.

Nina Simone was an African-American diva, and something of a precursor for Aretha. She was weird, and she was larger than life.

There will be another time to talk about Nina Simone, whose voice was deep and dark, so much so that it put the fear of God in the people who heard her music and were enthralled

preservation of peace through collective security, international cooperation and preservation of a world governed by law and internationally accepted norms. It also aims to protect universal human rights and advance the cause of global welfare such that, in the words of the old Hebrew prophet Isaiah, the nations shall turn their “swords into ploughshares�.

The UN is the successor to the defunct League of Nations

which failed because it was neither universal in scope nor could it rise to the occasion when fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935 and Japan committed heinous crimes in Nanking, southern China. And Adolf Hitler scornfully worked out of the world body in his bid to carry out his dream of World Empire under the Third Reich.

The UN recently celebrated 70 years of its existence. It has

with their creations hit you in the eye. In your boarding house – Grier House, as in the rest of the school, the music of James Brown had everybody shaking their heads furiously on their necks as if they wanted to throw them off and gyrating their hips in something

The queen of soul is dead’: A tribute to Aretha Franklin by it, including those who did not like black people.

It’s not over, the common saying goes, to this day, until the fat lady sings.The fat black lady. And Nina was not even fat. Aretha was.

O – Aretha!

She was the quintessential ‘black’ voice. Her voice that defined – more than any other, your youthful consciousness and emerging artistic sensibilities, growing up.

Now that she is dead, you feel as though you have known her all your life. Getting into boarding school at Government College Ibadan as an eleven-yearold stripling, going away from home and parents for the first time, you were sud-

denly an individual, distinct from everyone else. You were expected to have – opinion.

It was a very liberating feeling. But it was also a scary feeling, with a lot of gaps in choices and preferences that you found y o u r s e l f h aving to fill, going forward. People you liked. People you could not stand. Music to dance to. Music to listen to. they called the ‘Boogaloo’. It was amusA welter of ing to watch the older boys dancing at c u l t u re i c o n s the House ‘Socials’ that held – was it

THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS a near-universal membership of 193 countries. Its Secretariat has a staff strength of nearly 40,000 and an annual operating budget of US$5.4 billion. This does not include thousands of blue beret peacekeepers and other field staff engaged in numerous peacekeeping missions that also attract humungous extrabudgetary resources.

The position of UN Secretary-General has been described as “the most impossible job in the world�. Whilst the permanent members expect the incumbent to be more of secretary than general, the demands of the job and the expectations of the international public require that he acts more as a general. The most successful have been those who managed to achieve an Aristotelian balance between the two opposing expectations.

Ten lessons, in my opinion, underpin Kofi Annan’s relative success as a global leader.

First, get a good education.

Kofi Annan was probably not the brightest young man of his generation. But he was a keen learner. He made it a point to grab every good educational opportunity. The opportunity of a Ford Foundation award enabled him to attend the prestigious Macalester College in the United States. He was an average student, but a keen

once in a month? The small boys would snigger in the corner at the seriousness with which some of the big boys practised the steps, especially the more studious ones who you might have sworn would have no truck with dancing. There was a fever especially when the end of year was approaching, with a date set for ‘Endo’ – the End of Year

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She was the most charted female artist in history.

She won eighteen Grammy Awards, and sold more than VHYHQW\ ÀYH PLOOLRQ records

,

party at which the big boys played host to girls from St Anne’s School in town. Beyond their sniggering, the little boys would practice the steps they copied from their seniors in the safety of the communal washroom, or even in class, during break.

But for you, Aretha’s was the real musical discovery

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learner and a good sportsman. An all-round education is extremely important. But it must be complemented with development of the human personality through sports and engagement in extracurricular activities. Annan also did a masters at the prestigious Geneva Graduate Institute of International Studies. He later did a mid-career masters in management at the MIT Sloan School. A broad general education is necessary for the Continues on page 35

of those early days. Her sharp, rasping voice belting out the notes and sentiments of ‘Respect’ made a powerful impression on you. You found the voice and the words reverberating inside your head, over and over again – in class, in lonely moments, playing on the field. Sometimes, inexplicably it brought you to tears.

You would understand the experience later, as you matured. You had discovered The Black Voice, and its spell would stay with you. It was a label on a door, and as you grew in years, other powerful black women - Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Billie Holliday would walk through that door and inhabit your life and space. But Aretha was your first taste of that world, and the sound of her voice would always evoke in you complex details of the past and the present in a bitter-sweet mix that was difficult to explain to anyone, not to speak of sharing. Even when they hit a joyful note, those women, they spoke of a primordial pain and passion that you automatically empathized withand could feel in your bone.

Aretha Franklin died on August 16, 2018, after a long Continues on page 35

Published  by  BusinessDAY  Media  Ltd.,  The  Brook,  6  Point  Road,  GRA,  Apapa,  Lagos.   Ghana OIÀFH Business  Day  Ghana  Ltd;͞  ABC  Junction,  near  Guinness  Ghana  Limited,  Achimota  –  Accra,  Ghana.  Tel:  +233243226596:  email:  PDLO#EXVLQHVVGD\RQOLQH FRP   Advert  Hotline:  08034743892.  Subscriptions   01-­2950687,  07045792677.  Newsroom:  08169609331 (GLWRU $QWKRQ\ 2VDH %URZQ.   All  correspondence  to  BusinessDAY  Media  Ltd.,  Box  1002,  Festac  Lagos.  ,661

Women’s Hub Friday 24 August 2018

BUSINESS DAY

Humans tend to learn the hard way

8 Tips

For Living With Depression

The things

I see in Apapa traffic

Dolapo BadmOs Unswerving allegiance to selfless service

It happened to me

I married a monster and I thought he was a man

2

BUSINESS DAY

Leading Woman

Friday 24 August 2018

Editor’s note

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Our cover personality and Leading Woman for this week is Ogun/Lagos zonal PPRO, Dolapo Badmos. She has been through tough times but it has only made her stronger. Her passion for service is indeed commendable.

Her story will be worth your time.

Is there a constant reorientation of the mindset of police officers? Are they well remunerated?

We share on the death of two great Icons, Aretha Franklin and Kofi Anan.

It really is amazing what people have to say about them. Read it up in this edition.

My daily experience plying Apapa route is what I shared and I trust you will enjoy it.

This week, Chinyere says humans often tend to only learn the hard way.

Find out how and why.

Spoon to help end forced marriage or female genital mutilation (FGM)?

Desmond shares information on this.

These are some of the stories we have for you this week.

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here it all began My growing up was like the normal community setting. We grew up in a community where one’s child is another’s child. I think it has helped to shape us because you don’t need to see your parents before you behave well. I think those communities helped us because we lived a communal life, it helped create a kind of competition among your age group because you don’t want to lag behind because you can always get someone that you would be compared to, and I think it actually helped us. It shaped us because you want to be the best among your peers and as such become a reference point in every home. That’s what helped our parents to be on their toes in ensuring we turn out good. I grew up in a modest home, we grew up not really rich, but at least, we could get what we wanted. We also grew up in an environment where we were trained that what you can’t get now, you don’t need it, and what you can get is what you actually need. It has really shaped us and made us fit into today’s society. Most of those communal values are lost right now that is why you see kids misbehaving and no one seems to be interested.

When and why did you decide to join the police?

Enjoy

Like I say all the time, my uncle forced me to join the police; I never wanted to be a police officer. But while growing up, there was one attribute that most of my friends tend to remind me of right now.

While we were growing up, I used to protect my peers against bullies. You know you will always have the ‘stronger girls’ against the ‘weaker ones’. But I’ve always been the in fore front of defending and ensuring that no one is punished unjustly, and I’ll also say I don’t like to see anyone go through pain or suffering. I thought saving lives was only the function of doctors, interestingly; we save and protect lives too. I have come to realize that this is my calling. I think I am fulfilling my own calling in the police because if what my friends are reminding me of now is what I have been doing, then I think I’m called for this, and I’m achieving it. I don’t regret it, and if there is another world, I’d still want to be a police officer.

Working in an environment like Lagos with diverse kind of challenges Just like you will ask a sitting governor ‘how do you cope being the governor of Lagos?’ and they will tell you it’s been interesting is also how you will ask an average police officer how it feels to be a police officer in Lagos where you have all manner of people. Lagos is a cosmopolitan state, in other words, it will be more challenging to be a police officer here, and for the fact that everyone wants to be in Lagos right now, it’s really challenging. I really salute the police officers working in Lagos, because you can see that Lagos is relatively peaceful. To achieve this, you know the officers are not sleeping. As a police officer in Lagos you face too much of complaints to deal with. Members of the public are complaining about the police, the police are also complaining about them. We need to strike a balance to ensure that we coexist peacefully. So, it’s challenging.

Kemi Ajumobi kemi@businessdayonline.com

Graphics by David Ogar

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We are not saying our men are not misbehaving, but I stand to be corrected, there is no organization in Nigeria, especially security organisations that bring its members to accountability like the Nigerian Police Force. If you misbehave, there are spelt out disciplinary measures to be taken –some dismissal, some reduction in ranks. Not that the police is not doing anything but when people want to press on their point, they bombard social media, some will even take pictures of an incident that happened three years ago and put it online.

Nowadays, before I talk about any SARS matter, you must have posted your picture with evidences, if you don’t post it with evidences, then I’ll treat it as one of those fake videos. So these are the things that are happening, but above it all, we’ve been able to partner with the Korede Bello Initiative, Segun Awosanya who is the spearhead of EndSARS, and as the Nigerian Police Force, we used youth day to have a round-table, and we have been able to sell to them that we can’t end SARS because the criminals will take over. We are able to have a communiqué which has been released. We’ll get better, it’s a gradual process. SARS is a very good outfit.

elcome to another edition of Women’s Hub.

Dr Agility U. Obi-Ihesie is the CEO of Ravishe Medical Skin & Haircare, she shares with us in details on Alopecia and what we must avoid to enjoy having healthy hair.

Women’s Hub

Delay in your promotion, was it biased?

There are three things that drive me as a police officer. One is passion for the job, the second thing is dedication to duty, and the third is the love for the country where patriotism now comes in because

Dolapo BadmOs, Unswerving allegiance to selfless service DOLAPO BADMOS is the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) responsible for Zone Two Command. Zone Two Command covers Lagos State and Ogun State. In her capacity, she maintains the balance between the police and the public. It hasn’t been rosy all the way however, her challenges have become stepping stones to greatness. She shares with KEMI AJUMOBI on her duties, her desire for the Nigerian Police Force, family and more. Excerpts. most times, even being a police officer alone is challenging. If you don’t have these three, you can’t get in because in Nigeria, you are defending the citizens against criminals; the criminals are targeting you while the citizens are not appreciating what you are doing. So it’s tasking and it’s frustrating. But if you have these things I have mentioned, it will keep you going.

Now let’s bring it back to the job itself. Let’s start with the welfare package and the take-home pay. Along the line, our policemen are trying to rescue lives and they get killed in the process and their families are left with nothing. What can be compared to that? Nothing! That’s why I’d say even if you pay five hundred thousand to a Constable, it does not match up to the risk that the job entails.

The issue of promotion, if the promotion is not coming, that does not deter you from doing what you are doing. So keep on at it. It’s not about being a woman alone, but because we are in a male dominated organisation, most times, women seem to be at a disadvantage. Nevertheless, what I tell young women out there is that, in any organisation you find yourself, strive to show the quality you’re made of because your quality and your ability will give chance to you. Strive to make yourself known for positivity. There might be challenges, but you should be able to prove a point that you can surmount the challenges and that you can be whatever you want to be.

If you are well remunerated, and everything is being well taken care of, and you have the vehicles that you should work with in good condition, you will go with a sense of pride and wouldn’t want to beg anybody for anything. If you see men doing that, what does that indicate? I want to say that the members of the public should really help talk to stakeholders to really look deep into security. It’s not about the police alone, because a nation that neglects security organization is going for a tough moment. But if they look for vehicles to use, or need fuel and there is none available, if they don’t get all of this it becomes tough. So where do you get all of these? Because nobody wants to listen to excuses, you must make it happen, and how do you do that? It’s either they go begging, or they go harassing. This is the bitter truth we must tell ourselves.

So if we can have what the Lagos State Security Trust Fund is doing at the federal level, we will relieve the government of the needed funds, and then you can demand for accountability. Look at what is happening with RRS; everyone wants to join them because they are well taken care of Another one is to control their psyche; some police officers are so full of pride that no matter what, they will never beg. But it is very tough to control their psyche, when the funding is absent.

How would you summarize your duties in Lagos State?

I’m PPRO for Zone Two Command. Zone Two Command covers Lagos State and Ogun State. As a public relations officer, I am a bridge builder between the members of the public and the Nigerian Police Force. I take the fillers of my office to the public and I bring the news of the public back to the organisation. I maintain balance between the two, that’s basically my duty.

Most people don’t look at what I say objectively, they just think I’m defending the police, that’s not me. The duty of a public relations officer, and as a member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, basically is beyond defending your organisation. You only defend your organisation when

it becomes necessary, but you also need to strike a balance between the public and the organisation you work for. That’s what I’ve been doing.

What future do you see for the Nigerian Police?

I see a beautiful future. I see that someday, the Police will conform with international standards of policing; that the police’s welfare would be paramount to each and every one within the country. And I see that one day; people will say “oh, have you checked out our police?” That’s the Nigerian police of our dream. But all of this will not happen without people trusting their police and the police delivering to the members of the public what is expected. Also, in the same spirit, I think we should do more of community policing to ensure that you can walk freely to me as a police officer, you talk to me, you don’t have anything to hide, and you don’t have anything to fear. I can relate with you as a member of the public, if for instance, a DPO approaches you, and you are a community leader, you should be able to tell the DPO the best way of policing your environment and have that safer environment that you desire. It’s not about state policing, or local government policing, it’s about trust and partnership.

To anyone who has a complaint or issues with the police, what do you advise they do?

What I tell people is that when you are in an area, get into the station and introduce yourself. What I’ve been able to do with my office is to break the barrier that police are not approachable or fashionable. I’ve been able to tell the whole world that I can be a police officer and be fashionable and enjoy my social life, and people can still approach me. So now I hear people say police are sociable, and even now the police officers are now getting to be social.

To relate this with the police, start with your community; get to know the DPO, and the officers in your area. If everyone can do that, then we will all have access to the officer manning our area because every police you see in your division is your own, they were created there for you.

How are you managing Lagos and Ogun States?

When my attention is needed in Ogun State I will go there.

Most times twice a week. It’s my duty, I’m dedicated to it, and I see it as building me up for the future.

In your years of service, what can you say you are genuinely grateful for?

Family and work life

I am grateful to God for everything. It’s just 16 years for me in the job and it’s been 16 years of series of challenges. Immediately I joined the Nigerian police force, my life shifted from being my normal self to a life of selfless service. So far, I’m grateful to God for his support and because I’ve not failed and I’ve not faltered.

It’s tough. But I have a fantastic husband, very supportive.

My kids are wonderful. They know when I’m not around it’s because mummy is busy. The only thing is that, that free moment I have, I dedicate it to them.

What is the truth about EndSARS, and what would you like people to know?

Let me say that people are permitted to agitate, people are allowed to bare their minds, but while doing all of that, they must be guided. If I ask you, ‘when last have you heard about bank robbery in Lagos?’ You’d say ‘it’s been a long time’. When you talk about the kidnapping that ravaged Lagos two years ago up to early last year and it suddenly disappeared. You think all of these happened because of a miracle? We have boys sleeping in the bush; we have boys moving around every time to ensure that these bad boys do not penetrate. So who are the boys doing all of these? It’s these boys that you call SARS. So when you are saying, end it, it means that we should take these boys away. Mind you, criminals are also propelling for SARS to be eradicated because these SARS boys are being a blockade to them.

Last words I want people to know that security is everyone’s business.

Inasmuch as you would not leave your door open when you want to sleep then it means you are security conscious. So you extend that to your community, then it will go in extension to Nigeria as a whole. So be security conscious. When you see something, you say something, and let’s see if our country will get better for it.

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BUSINESS DAY

Women’s Hub

Friday 24 August 2018

Condolences as two rominent figures “leave” world stage Stories by Desmond Okon

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t has been a week of grief as condolences spewed from across the world over the deaths of two prominent figures, Aretha Franklin, and Kofi Annan.

Aretha Franklin, the preacher’s daughter who was described by many Americans in her time as an inspiring symbol of Black equality is dead.

The singer whose powerful voice made her the “Queen of Soul” for decades died on Thursday, 16th August, at the age of 76 at her home in Detroit surrounded by family and loved ones after battling advanced pancreatic cancer.

On August 12, 2018, it was reported that a “gravely ill” Franklin was bedridden in her Detroit home, surrounded by family and friends. As news of her condition spread, more luminaries paid a visit to express their well wishes, including Stevie Wonder and Jesse Jackson.

With hit songs like “Respect” and “Chain of Fools,” she won 18 Grammys and had some 25 gold records.

Calling it one of the darkest moments of their lives, Franklin’s family said they were unable to find the appropriate words to express the pain in their hearts.

“We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family. The love she had for her children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins knew no bounds,” her family said in a statement.

Franklin’s father was a Baptist preacher in Detroit, and the gospel singing she heard in his church was her musical foundation. Her uniquely emotional and powerful voice put her at the forefront of 1960s soul music along with Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and Wilson Pickett.

On the other hand, Kofi Annan who was the former Secretary General of the United Nations and Nobel Peace Laureate also passed away on Saturday 18th August after a short illness.

Kofi Annan was a global statesman and a deeply committed internationalist who fought throughout his life for a fairer and more peaceful world. During his distinguished career and leadership of the United Nations, he was an ardent champion of peace, sustainable development, human rights and rule of law.

After stepping down from the United Nations, he continued to work in the cause of peace through his chairmanship of the Kofi Annan Foundation, and as chair of The Elders, the group founded by Nelson Mandela. He was an inspiration to the young and old alike.

“I haven’t gotten over losing Whitney Houston. In fact few days ago I felt so emotional just thinking about her and I’ve been watching her YouTube videos since then. I’ve missed her so much! Now ‘The Queen’ herself?

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t was a fun and emotional night somewhere in Victoria Island as youths from all backgrounds poured out their hearts on issues of both national and personal importance through music, poetry, and short stories at the African Artists’ Foundation, AAF, Open Mic. Tagged ‘Talk Your Own’, the event showcases art in its purest form as young artistes touched on topics like rape, suicide, governance and street life, and more.

Being the fourth edition since it began in April, the Open Mic is an innovation that aims to create a community of like-minded

Good music is slowly fading away, and quickly too. Such sweet voice.” – Maranatha Ngene, Singer.

Sadly this type of talent cannot be willed out, it goes to the grave with the vessel. Lesson: what we do with our God-given gifts while alive is so im-

AAF’s Open Mic: Young artistes shine light on societal ills young artistes who come together monthly to bare their minds on issues that are important to them, and of various degrees.

As the name suggests, Open Mic is open to art of whatever form, and the fact that it is traditionally staged at the backyard of the foundation’s building, it creates a serene and relaxed atmosphere to enjoy art in different forms as you enjoy the cool breeze in the open air.

“It started as our primary project for the year. So it basically started in April, the first edition. Since we deal mostly with visual art, we

portant to the giver and beneficial to us.

She utilized the gift and it was multiplied to her. I pray she is with the Giver.

– Beulah-Pat Odeh

Farewell Mama. Thank you for blessing the world with your voice. Rest with angels.

– Rita Dominic, actress

Aretha Franklin, Adieu. May your beautiful soul rest in perfect peace. May the peace of the Lord envelope your loved ones.

– Ola Coker, Chef

“One can only imagine the voice of an Angel listening to her, her voice without the lyrics relaxes the soul and causes the spirit to rejoice.”

– Peter Joseph

“I’ve been around long enough for people to know who I am and what my contributions are. They know me as more than just an artist. I think they know me as a woman as well.” - Aretha Franklin.Rest in peace Queen Of Soul” – Toyin Saraki, Founder/President of Wellbeing Foundation Africa.

Kofi Annan was a ‘purposeful optimist’ who spoke for the voiceless, a diplomat who worked for peace in a tumultuous world, and a leader who dedicated his life to advocating for the liberty and freedom of all mankind. We shall miss him.

– Bukola Saraki, Senate President

Kofi Anan. A true African Star that lightened the World stage.

– Nathaniel Bassey, Gospel Music Minister

“The world has indeed lost one of its most celebrated diplomats and a charismatic symbol of the United Nations who rose through its ranks to become the first black African Secretary-General for two terms, Mr Kofi Annan. He was an aristocratic style, cool-tempered, elegant and politically savvy person with enormous compassion and a great sense of responsibility to the world; no small wonder he and the UN were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001. My prayers and thoughts go out to the dear family members he has left behind. May God give you the fortitude to come through this season of bereavement” – Ifeanyi Adefarasin, Co-Pastor, House On The Rock

decided to incorporate performance art into it to be able to accommodate everybody. Because the aim of the African Artists’s Foundation is to create a space, like a culturally safe place for young artistes to relax and network” said Emebirido Ugochukwu “So very soon, we are going to incorporate visual art into it, and get people to speed-paint. So, it’s like a progression. Every month we check on our deficiencies, growth and work on them for the next edition.

“What inspired it was to create a cultural hub for art. This is like a small community of like minds because for you to show up for a literary event, you have to have a certain understanding of things, and it is for young artistes to come relax and enjoy art like literature,” he added.

Although he hinted that there are plans to take to the Open Mic project to a broader audience, he however expressed fear that making that move may impact on the intimacy effect it is intended to have.

“There are plans to take this a broader audience. It’s going to expand eventually but mainly by word-of-mouth, because if we get too many people to come in, it would lose the intimacy effect and we might have technicalities issues. We plan to expand but not to the largest of scale,” he stated.

One of the performances that stood out was ‘Scales’, a poem by Toluwanimi Ajiboye which narrates how easy it is for suicide to occur undetected because of the insensitivity of the society, or at times, close relations.

“It was about suicide and how people tend to kill themselves. But it was based more on the fact that the killings go unnoticed before it happens. The piece was just to call the attention of the masses on how important it is to know that not everyone is balanced, not everyone is stable. That everyone has an issue or the other, to love each other and understand that everyone has something they are working on, that no one is actually perfect even though it may seem that way,” Ajiboye told me.

Other works worthy of note include but not limited to: ‘Life’ a poem

by Philo highlighting issues that concern life using poetic devices to paint images that the youths related well to; and ‘Carry’ a song by Kiddo Flex, filled with emotions as it details the prayers of a young man ‘hustling’ and praying to God to bless him quickly.

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Women’s Hub 5

Friday 24 August 2018

The things I see in Apapa traffic

Spoon to help end forced marriage or FGM? Desmond Okon

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wedish city authorities have advised girls travelling in Gothenburg to tuck a spoon in their underwear if they fear being taken abroad for forced marriage or female genital mutilation (FGM).

This is because; girls putting a spoon in their underwear will raise the alarm in Gothenburg Airport.

The idea comes from British charity Karma Nirvana, which said the tactic had already saved a number of girls in Britain from forced marriage, and it is expected that activists in other cities will encourage the adoption of the spoon initiative to protect girls.

The spoon-in-the-underwear tactic is being used as a last-ditch effort to save girls from forced marriage. The Gothenburg Airport staff at Sweden’s second-

Kemi Ajumobi

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h Apapa! Wondering when the complaints about Apapa will end. Yes the road linking to the port is being fixed but I worry about the heavy containers and tankers that ply the route.

Though a separate lane has been made for cars to pass but can you imagine how our hearts beat when we drive by those heavy containers? Wobbling carelessly without anything holding it down? While driving, once you have the opportunity to drive away from it, you speed quickly like you are being chased by a robber only to meet another container in front. This time, you can’t drive quickly for too long because the gridlock in front of you is 9 months pregnant. So you are caught in between coming down to save your life and allowing the container pass or you stay in your car and pray nothing happens. This certainly happens consistently until you arrive at your destination. Let’s just say that if you missed your prayer time in the morning, you will fervently and compulsorily make up for it in Apapa gridlock.

For some reasons, people suddenly realise they are skilled in driving when on Apapa road, everyone struggling to overtake or avoid the tankers and containers, not wanting another car to come to their front “All of us wan reach house safe, me sef dey avoid trailer, no vex I no fit allow you pass” a driver said to a female driver who was trying to drive in front of him to avoid another trailer wobbling by her side. So I let her pass, I guess the driver behind her felt Christmas came early and Kemi was being Santa so he followed speedily but alas, his James Bond skills didn’t work, someone was faster and

Picture by Pius Okosisi

it certainly wasn’t him. I honestly do not have a problem allowing people drive in front of me, just ask, even if it’s the wave of hands to plead for space like the Danfo drivers do (quite annoying though) but just ask.

Back at the ranch, my daily Apapa experiences going to work is enough to start a series, I am here wondering like Alice in wonderland when the roads will be free, pot holes filled, containers and tanker drivers shown other routes and also ensuring they comply to following it, when people will hear Apapa and will want to come visit without fear of the unknown on the road. Talking about fear of the unknown, it includes robbery. The hoodlums love the idea of gridlocks so that they can carry out their impish acts and leave their victim in confusion. In this confused state, the victim can’t drive forward, can’t go back, being robbed and left with nothing, other drivers watching in horror and ‘minding their business’ while praying their cars are not the next, the list goes on.

Why celebrity fans like the LIKE button Desmond Okon

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s observed, the chances of hitting ‘like’ on a well-known figure’s post on social media are high, which explains why many celebrities in Nigeria, sometimes have a flood of likes, with little comments, and where there are comments, it could be requests of for ‘follow backs’ or help, or an opportunist who simply see it as a chance to advertise a celebrity’s wall, or fans bullying themselves.

What really drives these ‘likes’ by fans remains a debate which reveals some personal gratification a fan gets by just hitting ‘like’. Hence, fans have expressed their views and what could influence them into liking a post by a celebrity they follow on any social medium.

A fan who preferred to remain anonymous, said he could like a post because he wants to get updates from such celebrity, see the flamboyant life style the celebrity lives because he hopes to one day live like that, and not because the picture is actually likeable (fine) or meaningful (if it’s just a write up).

Singer, Adeniyi Adewoyin, also known as Neo Phlames told me that he likes Instagram posts because he feels that’s what everyone wants. “I just click like on every post I see on Instagram since it doesn’t cost me anything. Since most people only want likes on their posts I just click like because that’s why I post. It’s just a way of supporting. Most times I don’t even look at the post twice.”

According to Cynthia Nwosu, a fashion designer; “I click ‘like’ on posts when I think they say something I can relate with, whether it’s something I’m going through or that I know someone else is going through. A picture of a celebrity I will like to emulate, yeah maybe.

But some random celebrity I’ll just pass. See, people don’t do any-

I was on my way to work over the weekend and I thought it would be at least a bit free but I guess the wannabe ‘movie’ was merely existing in my head, and my wishful thinking disappeared when I got into the unforeseen gridlock (Yes, unforeseen… I wasn’t expecting it, it’s weekend for God sake!).

I had to find my way around it, luckily for me; it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

Oh, before I forget, I have to give you this gist. So while waiting for the gridlock to ease out, the second car after the one right in front of me, a Benz (can’t remember the class now), the driver came down to check his tyre, he was a young boy with spiky hair but I couldn’t see the others in the car. As he came down to check his tyre, immediately he bent down, his T-shirt moved a bit and behold a black and silver pistol.

By the time he rushed to cover it, the people behind him in

thing with the brain, it’s with the heart. We do what we feel is going to make us feel better inside, not what is going to teach us a lesson for the future”.

In the words of Priscilla Okechukwu, OAP, and entertainer; “I like some, because I truly like it and the caption that goes with it especially when it’s insightful and gets to me. For others, it could be because of the celebrity and not my like for it. For instance, I recently liked a celebrity’s picture even though I hated the outfit she had on. Thought it looked really stupid, but because it’s her, I liked it.”

“I rarely like celeb’s pictures because I’m not always on Instagram, but when I often log in and see good pictures, I do like them, but I don’t like them because others do. I like them because they appealed to me. Same applies to their tweets; I like their tweets only when they make sense.

Generally, I don’t like their posts on social media simply because they are celebrities. I like a post because I truly like a post”, said rising rapper, Chidiebere Kalu.

Adaeze Obi, a Corper said for her to click ‘like’ on a post means that she really likes it. “If I don’t, I just look and move on. But there are times where the bias of the person who is having the post comes to play. You like a post because you know the person, or because you like the person,” she adds.

While Uche Ukaegbu, writer, may like a celebrity’s picture or post because it either makes sense to her, it’s funny or the picture (dressing, make up and the likes) is truly beautiful, another fan, Ore Oluwatosin, caterer and CEO, Pearlfoodiez says it is just to get news. “Or probably if I’m satisfied by the caption of the story. Or the picture is appealing to me,” she added.

Another factor that could generate lots of likes based on responses is “if the posts is fascinating, fine or of interest” to a fan.

the other car had seen it. There were about 4 people in the car. I could tell they were arguing about what they saw, pointing fingers and alerting the others in the car on what they just saw. In the midst of all that, the guy with the pistol looked towards their direction and perhaps because they were caught unawares and didn’t know what to do; they all suddenly began to wave at him like they knew him before. I could tell it was a wave of fear, so he waved back, got into his car and you could tell he couldn’t wait to drive off.

Initially, the sudden and jittery wave was funny to me but as the gridlock took time to ease off, it was no longer funny…my mind began to wonder, “I hope he doesn’t get angry because he is in a hurry, hope he doesn’t try anything silly because he realised his gun was seen” I thought to myself…thankfully, the gridlock eased off…guess who sped off like a speed of light? Well, you know who…(Wasn’t me!). The things I see in Apapa traffic…hmn..God protect us o!

8 Tips for Living With Depression Nancy Schimelpfening 1, Build a Support Network One of the most important things you can do to help yourself with depression—other than medication and therapy is to develop strong social support. For some, this may mean forging stronger ties with friends or family. Knowing you can count on supportive loved ones to help can go a long way toward improving your depression.

2, Reduce Your Stress When you’re under stress, your body produces more of a hormone called cortisol.

In the short-term, this is a good thing because it helps you gear up to cope with whatever is causing the stress in your life.

3, Improve Your Sleep Hygiene Sleep and mood are intimately related.

A 2014 study found that 80 percent of people with major depressive disorder experience sleep disturbances.

But, you might feel like you just can’t fall asleep. Or perhaps you struggle to get out of bed because you feel exhausted all the time.

4, Improve Your Eating Habits Research continues to find clear links between diet and mental health. In fact, there have been so many studies that have shown improving nutrition can prevent and treat mental illness that nutritional psychiatry has become mainstream.

5, Learn How to Stop Negative Thoughts Depression doesn’t just make you feel bad, it can also cause you to think more negatively. Changing those negative thoughts, however, can improve your mood.

6, Beat Procrastination The symptoms of depression, such as fatigue and difficulty concentrating, make procrastination tempting. But putting things off fuels depression. It can lead to increased guilt, worry, and stress.

7, Get a Handle on Your Household Chores Depression can make it difficult to complete household chores, such as doing the dishes or paying bills. But a pile of paperwork, stack of dirty dishes, and floor covered in dirty clothes will only magnify your feelings of worthlessness.

8, Create a Wellness Toolbox A wellness toolbox is a set of tools that you can use to help soothe yourself when you are feeling down. The tools you find most helpful might not work for someone else so it’s important to carefully consider what things can help you feel your best.

largest city has been told how to respond in such circumstances.

‘The spoon will trigger metal detectors when you go through security checks,’ ‘You will be taken aside and you can then talk to staff in private.’ said Katarina Idegard, who tackles honour-based violence there.

Airport staff in Gothenburg have been trained to respond if the alarm is raised. “It is a last chance to sound the alarm,’ Idegard added.

The charity said hiding a spoon in their underwear was a safe way for girls to alert the authorities which can be difficult if they were surrounded by family.

Forced marriage and FGM are illegal in Sweden, even if carried out abroad, and punishable by prison terms.

Friday 17 August 2018 Introduction ne of the ‘gifts’ that being a doctor has bestowed on me is the ability to spot health disorders in people I meet everywhere outside the hospital. Alopecia commonly known as hair loss, has become one of the commonest medical disorders in the society today that is easily recognizable even to the untrained eye.

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What is alopecia?

It is the sudden or chronic abnormal loss of hair and can be precipitated by several hundred disease states or events.

Loss of scalp hair is considered abnormal in many societies including Nigeria.

Hair is perceived to be important for many reasons. It serves as a means for wealth display, beauty, desirability, social status, and youthfulness.

With that perception comes the reality that millions of naira are spent annually for hair care and its perceived abnormalities.

To help us better understand hair loss, I will classify it simply.

Classification of hair loss Clinically, hair loss is classified into: 1. Scarring: The hair follicle is destroyed leading to permanent hair loss and there is associated inflammation, shrinkage, and scarring of the scalp.

2. Non-scarring: There is loss of hair without destruction of the hair follicle, no sign of tissue inflammation, scarring, or shrinkage of the skin of the scalp.

Examples include Traction alopecia and Androgenetic alopecia.

The hair loss could be generalised or localised, complete (affecting the whole scalp) or partial, patterned (like in Female pattern hair loss) or nonpatterned.

CAUSES OF HAIR LOSS Non-scarring hair Loss

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can trigger hair loss.

Abnormal and imbalanced diets like Crash Diets, FAD Diets and Eating disorders (Anorexia nervosa, Bulimia) are also causes of hair loss.

Androgenetic (female -pattern) alopecia is common in postmenopausal women who may develop a receding hairline. Acne, excess facial or body hair, male-pattern escutcheon, irregular menses may be present in younger women.

Understanding hair loss Dr Agility U. Obi-Ihesie

Ravishe Medical Skin & Haircare

This is the commonest type of hair loss. Traction alopecia is caused primarily by unhealthy hair care practices.

It results from cosmetic stress due to poor knowledge of hair type, poor styling (untrained stylist, tight styles [braids, weaves, ponytails, rollers], repetition of styles, etc).

Prolonged traction alopecia can lead to scarring of the scalp and irreversible hair loss.

Other causes of non-scarring hair loss include chemical damage from relaxers and dyes, pressure-induced traction (from repetitive use of tight-fitting wigs, scarves/ turbans, and Trichotillomania (neuromechanical alopecia).

Telogen Effluvium is the rapid shedding of a large number of hairs throughout the scalp due to a variety

of physical or mental stressors such as: Hormonal imbalances after childbirth, around menopause or hypo/ hyperthyroidism, physical stress from anaemia, surgery, systemic illness, and psychological stress. The precipitating event precedes the telogen effluvium by 6 to 16 weeks and removal of inciting cause leads to resolution over the next few months as the number of hairs in telogen return to normal.

Some anti-hypertensive drugs, anticoagulants, anticancer agents, Anti-epilepsy drugs, Beta blockers, Cholesterol-lowering drugs, and so on have been connected to hair loss.

Systemic diseases like Systemic Lupus erythematosus, secondary syphilis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and adrenal diseases can cause hair loss.

Nutrient Deficiencies including Protein, Iron, Biotin, Zinc, Copper, Selenium, Iodine, Calcium, Essential Fatty Acids (Omega 3 & 6) and Vitamins (A, Bs, C, D, )

Scarring Hair Loss CENTRAL CENTRIFUGAL CICATRICIAL ALOPECIA This is commoner in blacks than whites and presents as an area of slowly expanding scarring alopecia on the vertex or crown. It may be asymptomatic or accompanied by itching, tenderness, redness or pustules. Chemical or mechanical processing of the hair may play a role. It is a common cause of permanent hair loss.

Management Healthy hair practices are advocated to prevent hair loss; incorporating the appropriate products, techniques and styling are beneficial.

A healthy lifestyle including appropriate nutrition, regular health checks and stress management are encouraged.

Hair loss may be a pointer to systemic illnesses and most cases of hair loss can be successfully managed with EARLY and ACCURATE diagnosis.

If within the first 2 weeks to 3 months of hair loss, there is no regrowth after commencing selftreatment, seek professional help from a doctor or Trichologist to avoid permanent hair loss.

It happened to me! I married a monster and I thought he was a man Eseosa PRincess

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t was NE who summarized my thoughts in a few words. I didn’t even know that it was what I’d been thinking, but the minute he said it, it hit straight home. “In 2016, I don’t know what is going on, if it’s more publicity or more women speaking out but our men are cowardly and weak and they are seriously misbehaving”. I agreed. But it was while lying down and watching TV with Jaden Lee sitting on my head (he loves to sit on my head; he probably thinks it’s his personal stool. Lol) did it occur to me that this was a man stating the obvious. Not making excuses, not justifying what cannot be justified and standing with them in confused solidarity. Men like these are not many, I tell you. I should know, it’s the first topic of discussion with male folks these days.

When my marriage collapsed, that was when I realized that most women were suffering in silence. It was amazing how confident women became to share marital issues with me. It was strange. Now they can tell you the shocking truths about their marriage. Previously, when I complained, they’d tell me that all men were the same. I strongly disagreed; still do. Mind you, I did not say men were perfect but they were not all the same. There are good men and they are bad men. Wrong is wrong and right is right, simple! Then they would utter some vague words and unsolicited advice, majoring bordering on ‘bearing it’ and praying about it and telling you to work on yourself. I have little patience for that these days. I usually just shut it down firmly. I don’t have time for nonsense. No more. I took it for 2 years. But no more. Hug me instead if you have nothing useful to say.

The last time I took such utterances lightly was at Iponri Police station where I had gone to lay a complaint and ask for the arrest of Imoh. I remember the woman.

Leaning lazily over the counter, she had this air of ‘I don’t care’ and threw condescending sideway looks at me while I complained to another officer behind the counter. I punctuated each complaint with tears. Imoh would have been shocked to see me cry. I never let him see me cry; I never gave him that satisfaction. I remained stoic through it all, defiant. I would break down and weep in the bathroom when he was done hitting me but never in front of him. It was not deliberate or a conscious action, I guess the essence of who I was refused to bow down to him or allow him break me. How he had hated that stoicism and dry eyes. Maybe I should have cried. Maybe that was my offence but I digress.

After a particularly lengthy pause in which I sobbed while my friend held my uncharacteristically quiet baby, she suddenly said, “My dear, better go back and beg your husband. Tell him to forgive you and forget. You are too young for divorce o. You don’t know what you are saying. Go back and beg my friend. All you young girls sef!” I looked at Omos and she looked at me. I asked “Am I also not too young to die?” “Na you know that one. Go and beg him. You will not die”.

I was shocked. I was stunned. I was speechless. Me, a hyper, talkative person just could not remember any sound. “Ehn? What? This is the reason men beat their wives! Is that what you’re telling me? You, a Police officer? How can you tell me that? For what?” I walked out of the station, shaking with anger and called the DPO. Hmmmmm! Imoh had been right. He had said “if you like, go to the Police. I will deny everything. Is it not money? Is it not money that the Police want? Bring them. Go and call the police. All my friends beat their wives; it’s not a big deal. The wives know not to do stuff that will get them a beating. It is not a new thing. Stupid woman”. If the Police ask you to go beg an abusive man, then what help is there

really? A police woman for that matter! Even as I write, I am still surprised. What was I expecting though? Compassion or sympathy? Did I expect them to swoop to the house and arrest him? Did I expect them to hug me and ask if I was okay? Should they have asked to see my bruises and injuries; old and new? What exactly did I expect them to do? In all honesty, I don’t know. I have never been beaten before now so I don’t know what I should have expected. I don’t know what I expected them to do but I sure did not expect them to ask me to go beg a man who had just beaten me till I passed out and continued hitting me as I laid on the floor, still and unmoving. A man who after I was revived by a friend brought a wire and wanted to flog me? The police asked me to go and beg him.

So yes! There’s a lot more publicity, thank God. There are a lot more women speaking out. A lot more people are involving themselves in issues like this, helping the woman and giving her a voice. In some cases, helping her find justice. For these, I am truly grateful. I am aware that a lot of women have died. I could have died actually. He told me he wanted to kill me; repeatedly and at different times! He’s squeezed my neck so hard I couldn’t breathe and had bruises round my neck. I thought I would when he shattered the glass window upstairs with my head and blood poured all over me and Jaden Lee whom I was carrying. He was just 4 months old then. He’d gotten angry that he’d been punching my head and that ‘it refused to break’. This my head! My head happily blocked and covered my precious infant son when it realised that some punches were falling on him too. Remembering Jaden’s screams and the blood all over him still brings tears to my eyes, even as I write this. Oh, my golden, precious boy, I am so sorry! But die, I did not. God knew the suffering that a motherless child passes through; I know because I am one. He loves Jaden Lee and I too much for that to happen.

I am aware that a lot of women are suffering same, not exactly sure who to contact or what to do. I didn’t either.

You are not supposed to talk about these things. You are expected to stay silent; don’t let people know your business or what goes on in your home. You are expected to pray. A lot. A lot of women who chose to exit these bondages and have found life to be hard and unyielding. Some being asked, “na me say make your husband dey beat you?’ A lot, begging for sustenance for themselves and their children (in cases where the children were not taken away from them). Too many! Sadly, too many!

It happened to me! I married a monster and I thought he was a man.

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Friday 24 August 2018

Women’s Hub

very student has a story to tell about their experience in the higher institution. Mine is still being written. Shade a friend of mine is one of those whose story was unending.

Recently, she just fed me one of her stories back then in school. “On this faithful day” she said, something usual happened, but with an unusual consequence. I had a roommate then whose name is Bisi. I had always warned her about her temper, but she never gave heed to me. That Monday morning, we woke up late and rushed off to the lecture room, but on getting there, the lecturer slammed the door to our faces and decided to give the class a test. Bisi, who easily gave in to anger turned to me with a smirk on her face. “This is all your fault.” She said. “Really? My fault? I wasn’t the one who stayed up all night receiving long calls” I replied, “Just shut up. You woke up almost 10 times to pee. That is enough to describe why I’m late and why I’m in this situation. You should have been out here alone.” I stared at her as she ranted.

She was so mean when she was angry, but can be so sweet when she wants to. I had never seen such a bitter-sweet person in my whole life. We walked home, exchanging words, until someone collided with her. She didn’t wait to see who it was before she lashed at the person. “How many more stupid people are out there? Can’t you look while you walk? Even if you are blind, are you as well foolish not to hear voices? I stared at her in astonishment. She was insulting a strong member of a cult group. Who she realised who it was, she wasn’t even the least bit concerned. “Oga just watch it. Be careful next time”. “Do you know who you are talking to? He asked? “Honestly, I don’t care.

I’m not afraid of anything and anyone. Besides I paid school fees just as you did.

There is freedom of speech. No one can take that from me.” He threw his head back and laughed. “This is not the end little girl, watch your back.” I quickly said, “She is joking. She meant none of it.” “Shut up” he screamed at me. “You both should watch your back” he said leaving me gaping at his back. Wait; did he just say you both? We both? “I did nothing” I screamed, but he obviously couldn’t hear me. I turned furiously at my roommate, “Bisi, you can go ahead and look for trouble for all I care, get beaten, raped and all, I don’t care, but don’t drag me into it.” I was practically shaken by what just happened. I was trembling with fear and anger. “When those guys threaten you, they make sure they fulfil it. Be silly for all I care, but do not drag me into your messed up life.” I said and walked out on her. We didn’t speak to each other for 3 days.

On the fourth night, I had a loud noise at the door. I heard a louder bang this time and that jerked me off the bed. I and my roommate stared at each other in fear. “Who is banging at the door” we both whispered to each other. The next bang jerked the door open. We looked at the faces of the guys, they weren’t masked. One of the faces was familiar and it struck me. The cult guys. They were here for revenge. The guy we ran into pointed his gun at me. In fear I said, “it’s not me ooo, it’s her.” Pointing to my roommate. Bisi in turn said, “it’s not me oo, it’s the devil.” This got the guys laughing. The guy she insulted wasn’t finding it funny.

He pulled her hair, which made her yelp in pain. He slapped her hard on her face; the effect sent her sprawling on the ground.

He went for her, hitting and kicking, while she screamed and

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at smaller portions. After significant weight loss, your smaller body needs fewer calories to function. If you’ve gone back to eating the same amounts of food that you ate before you were dieting, you may need to cut down on your portion size. Once you hit your goal weight, you’re still going to have a lower metabolic rate. As a result, you’ll need to eat significantly less to avoid gaining weight.

Check your protein consumption. When you move off a strict weight loss diet, you may not be getting enough protein. Having a lean protein such as chicken with every meal will help build muscle and you’ll feel full longer. Ideally, you want a diet that is low in fat and high in protein, particularly lean proteins. Make sure you eat breakfast every day, and include a good protein source such as eggs or yogurt in your breakfast.

Start cooking at home. Many diets are based around preportioned frozen dinners that you heat up in the microwave.

While they are convenient, eating microwaveable and pre-packaged meals can cause you to gain weight. Instead, the

Humans tend to learn the hard way Chinyere Okeke screamed until she had no strength left to scream. He came at me, as he did, I drew backwards.

There was anger in his eyes. As he was about to hit me, one of the guys held his hands. “She did nothing. Let her be”. He said. I shook my head in affirmation, “yes, please I did nothing” he looked hatefully at me and said, “Well, show me your friend and I will tell you who you are. She is your friend, so you must be like her.” I said hurriedly, “no, she is not my friend, she is just my roommate, infact, she is just squatting. She will leave today.” He turned to Bisi’s direction. He turned her over her face was covered with blood. He reached for her skirt yanking it off her waist. “Wait, what was he about to do? He wasn’t going to rape her…was he?” I thought. He took off his belt and that sent me sprawling on the floor pleading. “Please, you can’t. The beating is enough. Please don’t.” He pointed his gun at me, “would you rather, I do it to you?” he asked “Please, No” I said. I turned to his friends to beg them. “Please don’t let him do it” I begged. The leader intervened saying, “let’s leave. She has learnt her lesson. The bad guy wasn’t about to give in. He said, “I brought you all here, this is my deal, so it will be done my way”. The leader pointed the gun at him, and he in turn pointed his gun at him. I could hear my heart race. “This wasn’t about to turn bloody Oh Lord” I prayed. The last guy quickly got into their middle. “Guys we didn’t come here to waste our lives.” let’s just get out of here. They all left. Leaving me shaken, my friend battered and my room in a complete mess. I ran to Bisi’s side. I looked at her with so much pity.

She was beaten beyond recognition. “Just see where your bad mouth and bad temperament has landed you.” she moaned in agreement. She was in the hospital for days. When she was fully recovered, you could bet that there was a change in her attitude. People surely do like to learn the hard way.

How to avoid regaining weight after weight loss

majority of your meals should consist of whole foods, including lots of fruits and vegetables that you’ve prepared yourself.

Adjust your eating schedule. When you’ve lost significant weight, you may find that you feel hungry all the time. Eating a smaller meal every two or three hours rather than eating only three big meals a day will keep you from getting too hungry.

Remember that losing a significant amount of

weight has caused the hormones that tell you when you’re hungry to plummet. Without their help, you’re going to think you’re hungry all the time – even though your body doesn’t need any more fuel. This can make you regain the weight you lost in a hurry.

Avoid using food as a reward. If you were previously on a strict diet that required you to forego many of your favourite treats, reward-

ing yourself with your favourite sugary snack can be tempting.

However, these indulgences can contribute to weight gain.

Be aware of what you eat.

When you were on a strict diet, you may have watched what you eat like a hawk. Once you’ve met your goal, though, you may pay less attention, and mindless eating can contribute to weight loss. You might consider keeping a food journal.

Writing down what you eat each day keeps you honest, as well as making all of your eating conscious – since you have to write it down.

Do strength training to build muscle. If you were focused on losing weight, you may have neglected strength training because you were worried about building bulk. However, strong and healthy muscles will burn more calories and help you maintain your weight loss. Ideally, you want to dedicate two days per week to your upper body and another two days to your lower body, with days of rest in between.

Culled from WikiHow