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news you can trust I **FRIDAY 26 OCTOBER 2018 I vol. 15, no 170 I N300

Nigerians import over 700,000 used cars annually ... as brand new car sales drop from 100,000 to 10,000 MIKE OCHONMA, Abuja

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igerians import over 700,000 used cars into the country yearly as shrinking incomes undermine their ability to acquire new cars. These figures were disclosed at the ongoing 19th Abuja Motor Fair.

“As at my last check, Nigerians were importing over 700,000 used vehicles annually” Ademola AdeOjo, managing director of Elizade Autoland and representative of JAC Motors in Nigeria said, speaking at auto fair holding in the nation’s capital, Abuja.

Ade-Ojo said the influx of used vehicles has made it difficult for those who sell new cars to compete in the market. He observed that the Nigerian auto industry once sold over 100,000 new vehicles annually. He gave the current figures for new car Continues on page 34

Inside Study finds 74% of Nigerian household paints have high level of lead P. 2 Olu Fasan on Monday 2019: The world warms up for Nigeria’s next elections

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Diamond Bank jumps to 4-month high over acquisition rumours LOLADE AKINMURELE

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i a m o n d B a n k ’s share price has rallied to a fourmonth high over rumours that acquisition is on the cards for the tier-two lender.

The bank’s share price closed at N1.49, Thursday, the highest since June 22, when a share

sold for N1.53, according to data compiled by BusinessDay from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The closing price values the bank at N34.5 billion with a book value of 0.15x.

Diamond Bank on Wednesday announced the resignation of four of its directors for what the bank said were “personal reasons.” But news is making the rounds that the directors

resigned to pave way for new investors to nominate their representatives on the board.

“We think the resignation of the directors is an indication that an acquisition or recapitalisation is in the offing,” Tajudeen Ibrahim, head of research at Lagosbased investment bank, Chapel Hill Denham, said in an emailed note to clients, Thursday.

One of the directors who

resigned from the bank’s board Wednesday, spoke to BusinessDay but declined to say if he and other directors willingly resigned. He said the matter was still “unravelling.”

The four directors who resigned include Oluseyi Bickersteth, chairman of the board, as well as Rotimi Oyekanmi, Juliet Continues on page 34 Tony Elumelu, (r), founder, The Tony Elumelu Foundation, and Nana AkufoAddo, president, Republic of Ghana, at the TEF Entrepreneurship Forum 2018, the largest gathering of young African entrepreneurs, and the launch of TEF Connect, the world’s largest digital platform for African Entrepreneurs , organised by The Tony Elumelu Foundation in Lagos, yesterday.

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Friday 26 October 2018

Highlights of Electoral Act Amendment Bill passed by Senate OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja

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n Tuesday, the Senate passed the fourth version of the much-anticipated Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to improve the quality of elections in Nigeria.

This followed adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

If signed into law, it would be used for the conduct of the 2019 General Elections and other off-season polls in the country.

The amendment

penses The bill puts the maximum election expenses to be incurred by candidates of political parties as follow: * Presidential candidates - N5 billion * Governorship candidates - N1 billion * Senatorial candidates - N250 million * House of Reps candidates N100 million * State Assembly and Area Council Chairmanshipcandidates-N30million * Area Council Councillorship

Analysis

bill has been going back and forth between the Legislature and the Executive in the last eight months.

It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had declined assent to the bill on three occasions in 2018 due to some observed lacunas in some of the sections of the amendment bill and advised that those observations be addressed.

Below are the highlights of the passed Bill: Legalization of smart card reader Clause 14 of the bill amends Section 49 of the Act by legalising the use of smart card reader and any other similar technological devices and eliminates the use of analogue system of accrediting voters. The implication is that voters will now be accredited only through electronic means, as the issue of incident forms which is used in the event of failure of smart card reader, in the accreditation of voters was being confined to history.

However, in the event of failure of card reader, Section 49 (4) provides that: “Where a smart card reader deployed for accreditation of voters fails to function in a polling unit and a fresh card reader is not deployed three hours before the close of the election in that unit or units, then the election shall not hold but be rescheduled and conducted within 24 hours, provided that where the total possible votes from all the affected card readers in the units or unit does not affect the overall result in the constituency or election concerned”.

N5 million fine for INEC staff affiliated to any political party Section 8 (5) addresses the issue of INEC staff who conceal their membership of a political party in order to secure an appointment with the commission.

Consequently, the new subsection provides that any staff of the commission who is a card-carrying member of a political party is liable on conviction to five years imprisonment or a fine of N5 million or both.

Keeping of National Register of Voters in electronic and printed formats Section 9 of the bill mandates the electoral body to keep both electronic and manual register of voters.

It also provides that registration of voters shall stop not later than 60 days before any election.

Failure to display voters register The bill prescribes a fine of N100,000 or six months imprisonment (or both) to any official of the commission that fails to display voters’ register at each local government, area council, ward or its official website.

It provides that the voters’ register be displayed not later than 30 days to a General Election.

Limitation of election ex-

candidates - N5 million

In addition, the section provides that “No individual or entity shall donate to a candidate more than N10 billion.

Limitation of nomination fees by political parties In the same token, if the bill becomes law, it will put an end to arbitrary nomination fees payable by aspirants for all elective public offices, as it prescribes the maximum nomination fees political parties can charge their aspirants. The passed Bill prescribes limits for each elective office as follows: * Presidential aspirant - N10 million * Governorship aspirant - N5 million * Senatorial aspirant - N2 million * House of Reps aspirants - N1 million * House of Assembly aspirant N500,000 * Area Council Chairmanship aspirant - N250,000 * Area Council Councillorship aspirant - N150,000.

However, with the closure of nomination processes for the 2019 elections, this section will not take retroactive effect, once will only take effect once it is signed into law and for future elections.

Disqualification of aspirants No political party can impose qualification/disqualification conditions on any Nigerian for the purpose of nomination for elective offices, except as prescribed under Sections 65, 66, 106, 107, 131, 137, 177 and 187 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Disobeying tribunal order on inspection of electoral documents Any INEC official who disobeys a tribunal order for inspection of electoral materials shall be fined not less than N10 million or jailed for two years or both.

Sequence of party primaries Clause 24 amends Section 87 of the Act by fixing the sequence of party primaries as follow: (a) National Assembly (b) State Houses of Assembly (c) Governorship and (d) Presidential Death of a candidate A political party whose candidate dies after commencement of an election and before the declaration of the result of that election now has a seven-day window to conduct a fresh primary election in order for INEC to conduct a fresh election within 21 days of the demise of the party’s standard bearer.

Failure of Presiding Officer to allow party agents inspect original electoral materials A Presiding Officer who fails to allow political parties’ Polling Agents to inspect originals of electoral materials before commencement of election risks a fine of N1 million or one year imprisonment or both.

James Momoh, chairman/CEO, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), during his visit to BusinessDay head office (The Brook) in Lagos, yesterday.

Pic by Olawale Amoo

Oil production from Nigeria, Iraq, Libya could reshape global oil market – analysts ISAAC ANYAOGU

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igeria, Iraq and Libya look set to dictate the direction of global oil prices as capacity decline is expected from Iran following US sanctions billed to kick off November 4 and as Saudi Arabia continues to battle the fallouts from the killing of Washington Post columnist, Jamal Kashoggi.

A crude oil loading programme seen by Reuters indicates Nigeria’s Bonny Light crude oil stream will load 263,483 barrels per day in December, up from 169,467bpd originally scheduled for November, and Forcados crude oil have been set at 217,900bpd in December, versus 210,500bpd in November.

The announcement that Iraq’s oil production rate had hit a recordhigh of 4.78 million bpd has made the country, an OPEC member, the world’s fourth-largest oil producer, ahead of Canada, and a pointer of shift in global oil production.

While Libya has been plagued by crises, which have resulted in production outages, the country

has become a resilient producer and analysts believe these countries can swing oil prices higher or lower.

“If—and that’s a big if—both Libyan and Nigerian production is affected and it is as bad in Libya as the incident this summer, we could see 600-700,000bpd disappear from the market,” Vandana Hari, founder of Vanda Insights, a Singapore-based provider of research and analysis on the global oil markets, told S&P Global Platts.

Hari further said, “That would surely have OPEC running on fumes if it is already stretched covering the loss of barrels from Iran. However, if it is just Libya or Nigeria and the problem is it a prolonged one, OPEC may be able to compensate and we wouldn’t necessarily see a sustained spike in crude.”

Analysts say the risk of oil prices hitting $100 before the end of year could be hinged on what happens in these countries, as much as developments in Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Ole Hansen, Saxo Bank’s head of commodity strategy, told Oilprice there was no doubt that the outages, if materialised, would increase the mar-

ket volatility. “Additional uncertainty about supply on top of Iran,” Hansen said, “should support the price while reducing the current focus on a demand destructive global slowdown.”

Nigeria and Libya are preparing for general elections raising the spectre of crises. Following the 2015 elections, Niger Delta militants wiped off a third of Nigeria’s production helping oil markets experience a rebound.

There are concerns that if the elections do not produce peaceful outcomes next year, the risk to oil production may set in.

Helima Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets told CNBC this week that with elections pending in both Libya and Nigeria, supply could be threatened.

“If you’re going to have Venezuela continuing to decline, a million barrels of Iran off the market, you can’t afford to lose another big, major producer,” Croft said.

RBC also warned its clients that half a million barrels daily could be wiped out from the combined production of Nigeria and Libya after the elections.

Study finds 74% of Nigerian household paints have high level of lead ... Absence of strong regulation continues to elude sector ISAAC ANYAOGU

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illions of Nigerians, especially children, run the risk of retarded growth and brain development difficulties due to continued high exposure to lead in household and decorative paints.

In the same vein, it is becoming almost certain that the country will not meet the global deadline for eradication of lead in paints by 2020.

Oladele Osinbajo, an expert on environmentalgovernanceandchairman and CEO of Jawura Environmental Services Limited, said it is regrettable that Nigeria will miss the global deadline to eradicate lead in household paints.

Osinbajo said while delivering a speech at the World Health Organisation International Lead Poisoning

Week of Action which was celebrated in the office of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), on October 25.

“We are simply not prepared,” Osinbajo said.

Speaking in the same vein, Jude Maduka, president of Paint Manufacturers of Nigeria (PMAN) said his colleagues are complying with directive to reduce the quantity of lead in paints to 90 parts per million (ppm) but a lot would need to be done, even as he said it was doubtful the deadline would be met.

“We have to apply these reforms gradually because these are businesses, we can’t suddenly put a stop to it, it has to be gradual, even after 2020, we will still be working to remove it,” Maduka said.

AntonioAyodele,generalmanagerof

LASEPA in his address, identified funding as one of the challenges militating against the organisation’s efforts to enforceprovisionsofLagosenvironmental regulations guiding the practice, as well as other infractions by operators.

“Also when we applied to be at the ports to monitor how these chemicals comeintothecountry,therewasserious uproar, people were saying, NAFDAC is at the ports, SON is at the ports, it is too much,sowesteppedback,”Ayodelesaid.

Leslie Adogame, executive director of STRADev Nigeria, who convened the gathering and has conducted several environmental studies on lead and other dangerous chemicals said his study provide a strong justification to adopt and enforce a regulation that would ban the manufacture, import,

Continues on page 34

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Edo finalises audit of roads as contractors mobilise to site

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he Edo State government has finalised the audit of roads across the state to determine the areas and level of intervention needed to bring them to good shape, as part of efforts to fast-track improvement in road infrastructure across the state.

Special adviser to the governor on media and communication strategy, Crusoe Osagie, said the road audit was carried out to provide government with a reliable assessment of road infrastructure with a view to categorising the level of intervention and mobilising resources to fix the roads.

According to Osagie, “Governor Obaseki means business in Edo State. He is out to ensure that contracts awarded for road construction and reconstruction are carried out to specifications and are of the best quality.

“The data from the audit

carried out on the roads give details of roads that need intervention, outlining those that need serious or minimal work to put them in good shape. On a number of the roads, contractors are returning to site to commence work. This will give tax payers value for their money.”

He said, “In areas where construction or reconstruction work is still ongoing, the audit measures progress that has been made and the challenges, if any. Governor Obaseki is clear about the quality of work and expected dates for the completion. The road projects must meet the agreed terms.”

Roads are critical components of the Governor Obaseki-led administration’s vision for economic transformation and wealth creation for Edo people as the road projects will not only connect the different parts of the state but also open up more areas to economic activities, he said.

L-R: Kehinde Bamigbetan, president, Association of Political Consultants-Africa (APCA)/Lagos State commissioner for information and strategy; Kalonzo Musyoka, former vice president, Republic of Kenya; Kipngeno Kirui, APCA secretary-general, and Igor Mintusov, president, European Association of Political Consultants (EAPC), in a discussion, during the 3rd Africa Political Summit organised by APCA, in Nairobi, Kenya, recently.

FG disburses N300m to SMEs in Nasarawa KELECHI EWUZIE

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he Federal Government, under its Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), has commenced the disbursement of N300 million loan facility to about 30,000 beneficiaries in Nasarawa State.

The disbursement exercise, which took place at the Lafia Ultra-modern Market, was expected to last for five days and is part of the Federal Government Social Investment Programme aimed at assisting small-scale business entrepreneurs.

Chinyere Okoracha, the project officer of the GEEP while speaking with journalists shortly

after the commencement of the loan disbursement exercise, said they were in Lafia for market activation for traders’ money in order to disburse the monies and as well sensitise people of the state about the programme.

Okoracha said: “We have been to 15 states of the federation around the country, and today is scheduled for Nasarawa.

We are going to activate about 11,000 beneficiaries for today, however 30,000 beneficiaries would be captured at the end of the exercise in Nasarawa State.”

She said each of the 30,000 beneficiaries was expected to access the sum of N10,000, which will be repayable within a duration of six months.

Gloria Ogbona one of the beneficiaries commended the Federal Government foresight in assisting the petty traders in the state and appealed for the sustainability of the social investment programme.

She, however, called on other tiers of government to emulate the central government’s idea of empowering the less privilege members of the society.

Ahmed Adamu Zanuwa, a 400-level student of the Nasarawa State University, Keffi, thanked the Federal Government for coming to the aid of the petty traders in the state. According to him, “The loan facility will leverage the less privilege in the society.”

Global Fund targets $660m investment in Nigeria to tackle epidemics ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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he Global Fund, an international financing organisation, has announced it targets in the next three years to invest $660 million in order to tackle and end Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/ AIDS), Tuberculosis and Malaria epidemic in Nigeria.

This announcement was made at a press conference hosted by Federal Ministry of Health and National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA) as they welcome Peter Sands, who is on his first official visit to Nigeria in his new role as executive director at Global Fund.

“Nigeria has remained

a country in which Global Fund had invested tremendously in the past because of its highest burden of Malaria, Tuberculosis, HIV and AIDS,” Sands said.

According to Sands, Nigeria has the world’s fourthlargest tuberculosis burden, noting, “In general, there has been less progress on tuberculosis than HIV and malaria. We must do more.

“We have invested about $2.6 billion to tackle these epidemics in the past, in the next three years; Global Fund will invest $660 million in Nigeria to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria as epidemics.

“We also want to reduce malaria related deaths and also ensure that the percentage of people on tuberculosis treatment increases.

“Ultimately, the best way to run a health system is to depend on domestic resources and not donor funds.” Sani Aliyu, directorgeneral, NACA, appreciated the continuous support of Global Fund in the healthcare sector of the country.

“Nigeria is one of the biggest Global Fund investments. Since its launch in 2002, Global Fund has invested over $2 billion in Nigeria,” Aliyu said, saying as of 2017, Global Fund has put over 1 million Nigerians living with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy and treated over 100,000 tuberculosis patients.

“Presently, with support of grants as this, we have about 1.1 million people on treatment,” he said.

Alaghodaro 2018: Edo mobilises stakeholders in environment Nigerian Navy calls for godliness at Imams’ leadership confab sector, assures on policy to address climate change, flooding TELIAT SULE

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do State governor, Godwin Obaseki, says the state government is committed to harmonising environmental policies in the state to restore the state’s forest zones, combat climate change and curb practices that lead to environmental disasters such as flooding.

He said this much would form the rallying point for stakeholders in the environment sector, when they converge for the 2018 Alaghodaro Summit, which is focused on Edo people, and how policies and reforms are taking shape to make life better.

In a statement by special adviser to the governor on media and communication strategy, Crusoe Osagie, the

governor said his administration is mobilising stakeholders in the environment sector, including the United Nations Industrial Organisation (UNIDO), which is putting finishing touches to the state’s Environment Policy; business operators in the environment sector; authorities of forest reserves in the state as well as Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) focused on the environment for the summit.

According to Osagie, “The 2018 Alaghodaro Summit is a platform to engage with the people and showcase all the far-reaching reforms and policies we are implementing and designing to place them at the centre of development.

“In the last couple of months, we have been working to bring sanity to the sector through the Ministry of Environment and Sustainability. We are as concerned about the environment as we are about people’s lives and their wellbeing. This is why we have come hard on unscrupulous businessmen who violate extant laws and policies on environment in exchange for pecuniary gains in their operations.”

He said, “The state has been hard-hit by floods in the last few weeks. The summit presents a platform to tackle some of the perennial challenges that lead to flooding, and to agree on mutually beneficial action plans to assuage them.

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he Naval Directorate of Islamic Affairs (NDIA) of the Nigerian Navy has called on its members to embrace godliness in order to be successful leaders.

The call was made at the 2018 Imams’ Annual Training Conference holding at the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Auditorium at NNS Quorra Apapa.

The three-day workshop has as its team: Leadership in Spirituality-the Quintessence of an Imam and the ongoing programme is the ninth edition of its series.

Declaring the conference open, Ibok Ekwe Ibas, the Chief of Naval Staff, who was represented by Real Admiral Kamardeen Lawal, said the gathering was meant to en-

courage the balance between the physical and spiritual components of the personnel of the Nigerian Navy within and outside the service.

“I have the honour and the privilege to stand before you to represent the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok.

One cannot but agree that leadership is quintessential of an Imam as the imam has the responsibility to make life meaningful to people within and outside the service.

“This involves the application of spiritual values and principles to life meaning that the Nigerian Navy places high importance on the physical, moral, emotional and spiritual components of our personnel,” Lawal said.

Other important dignitaries at the event were the Flag Officer Commanding

Naval Training Command (FOC NAVTRAC), represented by Navy Captain U. Faruk; Commandant NNS Quorra, Commodore O. E. Nmoyen; Commander T.M. Gidado; and the guest speaker, Abdulhakeem Abdullateef who is the commissioner for home affairs in Lagos State.

In his lecture, the guest speaker, Abdulhakeem Abdullateef listed the qualities of an imam, which include having sincere intentions, knowledge, humility, honesty among others, and anyone found wanton in any of these qualities should not be regarded as a leader.

“For an imam to be quintessential, he must acquire knowledge and should be a role model to others in words and deeds”.

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Friday 26 October 2018

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Chinese prospects amid US trade wars 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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ccording to new data, China’s exports rose by 14.5% year-on-year in September, which is an acceleration from the previous month. However, growth in imports declined to 14.3%.

What about China-US trade?

Chinese exports to the US increased 14.0% on year-to-year basis; the most since February. But as Chinese imports from the US dropped 1.2% year-to-year, that pushed China’s exports to US to a new record high.

In turn, that’s why China’s trade surplus with the US rose to a new record high.

Damage is spreading Chinese retaliation is already causing red lights to blink in U.S. companies. Ford is a case in point. A month ago, the car maker bragged to President Trump it won’t make China-built car in the US. Now it faces an awakening.

While Ford’s sales remain relatively good at home, the US is no

ADAMS ADEIZA Dr Adeiza is of the Dangote Business School

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he confusion has gone on for long. Even some Professors of entrepreneurship have got it all wrong all along. Just google ‘who is an entrepreneur’ and the first set of results, including your go-to online dictionary, tell you that an entrepreneur is ‘a person who sets up business/businesses’. Nothing can be farther from the truth. At least, that definition is misleading.

Indeed, there are people who never set up businesses but who are more entrepreneurial than those who do.

So, when I had the opportunity to speak to young fashion and lifestyle entrepreneurs at the recently held Arewa Youth Convention, I brought home the point that entrepreneurs are not identified by what they do but by how they do what they do. What distinguishes entrepreneurs from non-entrepreneurs is how they think

longer a growth market unlike China. Yet, Ford’s sales in China tumbled 43% compared with 2017.

Moreover, its wholesale shipments also fell 26% in the second quarter, thus wiping out profit from its joint ventures with Chinese automakers. So Ford had to cut its full-year guidance on increasing concerns about its businesses in China (and Europe which Trump has also targeted in the tariff wars).

The robust performance of Chinese exports is likely to cool in the fourth quarter when more costly U.S. tariffs begin to bite and the momentum of the global economy will weaken; possibly more than currently expected.

The fluctuations of market expectations tell the story.

Elusive calm before a potential storm What we are witnessing is the elusive calm before the impending storm - if Trump’s trade wars cannot be contained.

In the Chinese markets, which are dominated by volatile retail investors, have been uneasy since the first trade war signals in early year. In the US markets, which are dominated by steadier institutional investors, the negative reaction has been more recent and disruptive.

But both signal the obvious: there are no winners in trade wars Despite Trump tariffs and bilateral uncertainty with the US, China’s exports have been growing robustly all year. These are mainly short-term gains, however. Companies have been front-loading

‘

In the Chinese markets, which are dominated by volatile retail investors, have been uneasy since the first trade war signals in early year. In the US markets, which are dominated by steadier institutional investors, the negative reaction has been more recent and disruptive.

But both signal the obvious: there are no winners in trade wars

’

trade to get ahead of the expected tariff increases, but that will wane if the US-Sino ties continue deteriorate.

Nevertheless, as concerns are mounting in the US, Trump continues to under-estimate the resilience of the Chinese economy.

When the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) recently cut banks’ reserve requirements, analysts saw the cut as an affirmation of Chinese government’s commitment to support the domestic economy. In the new, more challenging status quo, monetary accommodation is likely to continue, along with further fiscal easing.

Triple prospects In the short-term, China is responding and adjusting to US tariff wars.

In 2018, growth forecast is 6.5% to 6.6%, thanks to the strong first half of the year. Moderation in the second half will reflect US tariff wars and slower demand growth.

For now, solid service sector growth, supported by monetary and fiscal support, has kept the economy on track. Inflation is moderating and current account surplus could narrow more than expected. Trump tariffs will hurt export growth and thus the growth of manufacturing investment. Moreover, the White House’s sharpened tone suggests US trade hawks seek to instigate capital outflows from China.

In the medium-term, China is deleveraging, while reducing poverty and pollution, to sustain higherquality growth. A year ago, shadow banking still peaked at more than 15% year-on-year; now its growth has plunged. While substandard loans and actual bank losses have been relatively low, “special mention” loans - a category slightly above nonperforming loans - remain substantial, though they have been declining.

In the long-term, Chinese economy is rebalancing as the sources of growth are shifting from investment and exports to consumption and innovation. On the supply side, the economy continues to move away from industry and toward services.

On the demand side, consumption is increasingly fueling growth.

Meanwhile, global innovation hubs are expanding from Shenzhen to Shanghai and Beijing.

Derailing the global recovery Trump’s trade offensives complicate and defer Chinese reforms, but the direction of these reforms prevails. Ironically, over time US tariffs will accelerate China’s long-term rebalancing. This will be challenging in the near-term, but could make Chinese economy more resilient in the long-term.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has now cut its forecast on global economic growth to 3.7% percent for 2018-19, citing rising trade protection. But that is still too optimistic. It downplays the full impact of the effective US tariffs, the retaliations impact, the inclusion of new potential tariff targets and subsequent collateral damage.

What is needed is a united front of advanced, emerging and developing economies for global trade.

Otherwise, the alternative will be the kind of global depression that was barely avoided in 2008.

Time is running out.

Send reactions to: comment@businessdayonline.

An entrepreneur is not a person who sets up a business about and approach what they do.

Essentially, it’s about attitude and not about commercial venture.

By the above submission, entrepreneurs could be just about anyone - a governor, a president, a government bureaucrat, parent, a taxi driver, a teacher, a business owner/manager, a legislator etc.

- who exhibits entrepreneurial attitude. What are these attitudes?

I have divided entrepreneurial attitude into two: primary and secondary. The primary entrepreneurial attitudes are the roots and foundations of entrepreneurial/ individual success. When an individual possesses them, they usually, in most cases possess the secondary ones. Before i discuss three of the most critical primary entrepreneurial attitudes, let’s look at a few of the secondary ones. They run the gamut from being opportunityconscious, a risk-taker, excellence/ achievement-oriented, optimistic, persistent, adaptive, flexible, openminded etc.

From my experience as an entrepreneurial lecturer and businessman, and as one who has studied dozens of successful ‘entrepreneurs’, there are three critical attitudes, possession of which qualifies one to be called an entrepreneur.

These are: sense of responsibility, making contribution and being futureoriented.

Being Responsible: entrepreneurs take extreme ownership of their lives and that of assignments placed under their watch. They are proactive, they get right in front issues before those issues become emergencies. They see and act on possibilities before those possibilities become realities.

When they find themselves in tough situation, they don’t blame their ancestors and external forces, they roll up their sleeves, mobilize talented people and deal with it. In their work, entrepreneurs’ sense of responsibility is also demonstrated through the way they respond to physical, social and political ‘weather’. Their commitment to getting things done and achieving great results is not affected by ‘weather’.

As Stephen Covey would say, responsible people, entrepreneurs, carry along their own weather wherever they go. So that whether the weather is great or bad, whether it rains or shines, entrepreneurs responsibly do the needful and get the results they desire, for themselves personally and/or for the organization they work for. They achieve results through conscious action, not random occurrences. They are Great by Choice.

Attitude of contribution: When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die, so said Eleanor Roosevelt. Through shared sense of commitment to solving important problem, making a difference and leaving the world better than they meet it, some people make the world go round. These are the entrepreneurs. So, an entrepreneur is a governor, president, senator, parent, teacher, program manager and the likes who creates and delivers something of value to the people or community under his/her watch.

An entrepreneur is an individual who always asks: how do we move it from Good to Great?; how might we make it better, faster, cheaper, easier, richer and more convenient? So, if you set up a business to rip people off and make their lives miserable, you don’t deserve to be called an entrepreneur. But if you are a governor or president and you implement innovative policies and creatively allocate resources in such a way that leaves the generality of the people better off, economically and socially, you are an entrepreneur.

Future orientation: entrepreneurs are people, anyone, that Build to Last. When you contribute and create something with the future in mind, you are an entrepreneur. If

you care about lasting impact and don’t give in to short-term gains, fame or praise, you are an entrepreneur. If you are a politician and you implement policies that has potential to positively impact the next generation even when such may not be popular enough to win you votes in the next election, you are an entrepreneur. These special breeds of people work on something that outlives them. That’s why they are optimistic, persistent, achievementoriented and never afraid to take a flying leap on ideas they care about.

In a nutshell, businessmen and women are not necessarily entrepreneurs. But many who never open a shop are. To know if an individual is an entrepreneur or not, don’t look at what they do, look at the way they do it. It’s all about attitude. It’s all about attitude towards oneness, others and things. An entrepreneur is not an entrepreneur that you’ve always known. An entrepreneur is anyone who takes responsibility for results, takes action for a better result and has a work ethic that supports getting the best result in the future.

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How conflict competent is your organization?

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henever an organization employs the right employee; elect or appoint seasoned board of directors, successfully acquire or merge with another company, that organization is simply seeking for synergy and outstanding growth through people. However, the reality is that the expected synergy and desired growth can only be an illusion when organizations are battling with destructive internal conflicts and rancour.This is because team effectiveness, cohesion and open communication that are sine qua non for creating organization’s synergy and growth have been badly damaged by unresolved internal conflicts.

Come to think of it, having individuals or employees (sometimes from merger and acquisition) who probably have not worked together before, and are likely to have incompatible goals, interest, principles, feelings, values and (importantly) different ways of approaching prob-

BOLAJI ODUMADE Odumade is of the Features Unit, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja

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‘UJU ONWUZULIKE

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

ice, a staple food in most Nigerian homes ha s a l ways e n j oye d i n c re a s i n g d e m a n d across the country. As a staple that is easy to cook, there is hardly nowhere around the country that this grain is not consumed.

However, festivities and other social function, often place huge demand on the availability of this popular food item.

The wide acceptance of rice as a regular item on most families’ menu list in the country is responsible for the huge amount of money that has over the years been expended on its importation. For instance, the country imported about 17 million tonnes of rice in the five years preceding the current Buhari administration. As it is often said, necessity is the mother of invention; smugglers adopt various devices to illegally bring rice into the country.

The intervention of players such as Olam into local rice farm in 2012 as a response to government support for local players did not yield any noticeable dividend. This is a farm of 4,500 hectares with mill, very close to Benue River and is equipped

lems) - conflicts are bound to happen. One fundamental truth about conflict that I want leaders, managers, and the collective workforce to know is that conflicts are inevitable – no matter how you look at it. Being inevitable means that whether people or organizations pretend that conflict do not exist within them; it will still rear its ugly head out for them to see. It is something that cannot be avoided.

But one might say, if conflicts are inevitable (bound to happen) in organizations, why are we worrying ourselves about it – let it be seen as business as usual. As a matter of fact, some organizations have viewed conflicts to be a new normal. The sad truth is that most employees have not formally learnt how to handle conflict either in school or in their career. As a result, they lean on their instincts without having the required knowledge for optimal conflict management.

In order words they start out their careers unequipped on conflict

management issues. One might be tempted to ask: who is to be blamed when organizations lack synergy as a result of internal conflict? This question makes it imperative for leaders and managers to understand the dynamics of conflicts, how destructive and constructive conflicts can be to the organization - and the need to take conflict with all seriousness that it deserves.

Because some leaders, managers and organizations lack conflict competency, they are unaware of how to use conflict to generate great ideas and ultimately grow their organization. Instead, they have incurred heavy organizational cost associated with poorly managed conflict like: lowered employee morale, nonperformance, increased turnover, wasted management time, higher customer complaints, absenteeism, and even lawsuit. The pains of conflict in organizations can be enormous and stem from our “old” knowledge of viewing conflict as only destructive in nature. But that should not be the case in this dispensation. Why are some conflicts destructive? They are destructive because the focus is on finding out who is to be blamed for a problem instead of how to solve it, how to see your idea as the best, and how to outwit the other all to the detriment of the organization. Unlike, constructive conflicts where the focus is on idea, best approach, opportunity, and how to move the organization forward. An example of constructive conflict arises when two managers in

‘

The sad truth is that most employees have not formally learnt how to handle conflict either in school or in their career. As a result, they lean on their instincts without having the required knowledge for optimal conflict management

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the same organization despite their different viewpoints respects each other’s opinion and ultimately vote for the best idea – they do more of what is called “perspective taking”.

To drive it home, employees who are skilled in conflict management usually approach conflict by engaging with the other person using constructive approaches.

Points to ponder: • It is important for everyone to know that avoiding conflict at all cost will not be the solution in which to resolve conflict.

• Is your organization a conflict competent organization? In financial and growth terms, do you know

the cost of conflict to your organization? How has your organization try to eliminate the cost?

• Even with positive attitude and constructive approach, conflict is complex and challenging, how much more when not taken seriously?

Final note: The first and foremost role of a leader is to champion the process of creating a conflict competent organization. This conflict competence becomes effective the more when leaders serve as champions. This is because if leaders advocate for a change but do not model it in their own behaviours, there is little chance of achieving results. But when they live by example and make effort to respond to conflicts constructively, they become an inspiration to others. There is an urgent need to have in every organization a new culture where conflict competence is valued and pursued at all levels. When this happens, constructive responses are reinforced and the opportunities inherent within conflict are realized.

And then, the pain and frustration that come with destructive conflicts are prevented.

Would you want your managers to learn the skills and techniques required to become conflict competent? We can always be of help.

Happy reading and I look forward to hearing from you!

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Improving local rice production in Nigeria with silos that have capacity to store 228,000 tonnes of rice. Yet, the 50,000tonnes of rice grown by the company each year was of small fraction of Nigeria’s rice consumption demand.

Our reliance on importation of rice has been to the disadvantage of our local economy.

Resources that could have been spent to boost capacity of agroeconomy were channeled to the importation of rice which has lost its nutritional value due to years of preservation. In 2016, Nigeria rice importation stood at 2.3 million tonnes, with $5million averagely spent on each shipment. It is not by surprise then that Nigeria gradually worked her way into recession.

The abundance of arable land without capacity in terms of finance, necessary infrastructures and agricultural technology to maximize the potentials of farmers remains a serious setback to the growth of the industry. A once thriving sector that has fed the nation was abandoned to the whims and caprices of importing over processed products that add no value to our existence, other than malnutrition.

Much agriculturally vibrant manpower that is supposed to be on the farm is in the city in search of menial/casual work while the few left on the field keep struggling to produce the quantity that is barely enough to feed their family members and immediate community.

Consequently, so much energy and efforts are dissipated on farm without much meaningful results.

Sadly, Local Governments all over the country whose responsibility is to provide agricultural tractors and other essential farm tools at lease to farmers are now depending solely on federal allocation and rates for survival.

The state of the nation’s economy which went into recession at the inception of the present administration became an eye opener which eventually made the Federal Government to challenge all major stakeholders into looking inward to diversifying economy as a measure to reduce dependence on oil revenue. According to the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Audu Ogbeh, the culture of importing what could be locally produced has to stop. “Those who keep talking of imports either don’t mean Nigeria well or simply refused to recognize the fact that we can no longer afford the imports”. This was what, perhaps, ultimately informed the Federal Government’s decision to place a ban on the importation of rice, while providing facilities for local production.

Expectedly, the ban triggered the price of imported rice to about N20, 000 for a bag of 50kg.

However, the situation was seen by critical stakeholders as an avenue to invest and innovate in the sector. One of such stakeholders that frontally seized the opportunity are the Lagos and Kebbi

State Governments who explore the economic diversification in agro-economy to enhance food security in the country.

It is this innovative partnership that gave birth to the now popular Lake Rice which debut in 2016. This has, no doubt, been affording Lagos residents as well as those in neighbouring states the opportunity of getting quality rice at affordable price. The coming of Lake Rice eventually led to reduction in the price of imported rice. Packaged in different sizes of 50kg, 25kg, 12.5kg and 6kg, Lake Rice is really helping to give residents access to the staple commodity. The speculative buying or hoarding against festive period of Christmas, Eidkabir, Eid-fitri have been rested as the State government has vowed to continue to put structures in place for the product’s availability, in and out of season.

Today, Lake Rice has become a model for other states of the Federation to emulate. The partnership has attracted direct/ indirect investments in the introduction agricultural practice to maximize yields, mills to process harvest and silos to store products from wastage. The commitment of the Lagos and Kebbi State Governments towards the sustenance of the initiative has become a litmus test of the capacity of the nation to provide food for her citizenry as well as engaging the unemployed through numerous agricultural

value chain available.

With a growing population of over 200million, it is clearly wise and convenient for all tiers of governments to embrace food security. Aside hunger and malnutrition, food insecurity equally results in a wide range of other problems such as health, environmental degradation, and high rate of crime. Hence the need for governments at all levels to encourage young and unemployed school leavers to embrace farming through the provision of lands, seedlings, mechanized infrastructure and easy access to loan.

The Lagos State government is already doing something in this positive direction as it has empowered young rice farmers with inputs ranging from land preparation, seeds and fertilizer provision as well as access to irrigation. Equally, in order to boost productivity, farmers in parts of the country where scarcity of rain is usually experienced should embrace micro- irrigation. This technology enables farmers to enjoy water supply all year round and essentially it efficiently irrigate, grow crops and boost their farming income and outcome.

If we must boost food security in the country, this is the time to stop paying lip services to the issue of agriculture and walk the talk

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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 GENERAL MANAGER, ADVERT Adeola Ajewole ADVERT MANAGER Ijeoma Ude FINANCE MANAGER Emeka Ifeanyi MANAGER, CONFERENCES & EVENTS Obiora Onyeaso SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER Patrick Ijegbai CIRCULATION MANAGER John Okpaire DIGITAL SALES MANAGER Linda Ochugbua

Friday 26 October 2018

The promise of 24/7 power supply in Ikeja GRA

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nthony Youdeowei is a man of honour, an upcoming recipient of s ev eral national awards, including enlistment in the Nigerian Academy of Science and the hall of fame of the Nigerian Society of Engineers. Anthony Youdeowei. Mark this name down somewhere, dear reader, to remember him in the days ahead.

It is not a problem for those who never heard of Youdeowei before now. The Chief Executive Officer of Ikeja Electric, the largest distribution company in the new Nigerian power equation, is set for the stars. Mark the date and the promise.

On Monday, October 22, 2018, Youdeowei promised residents of Ikeja GRA that they should expect round the clock power supply soon.

Smart fellow. Youdeowei, unlike Chief Bola Ige of blessed memory, carefully avoided putting a date to his promise.

He sidestepped the booby trap that has trailed Power,

GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)

Works and Housing Minister Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN who boasted that any “serious” government would solve the power problem within six months. He has now done 30 months and the government he represents more than 36 months.

Speaking before stakeholders at the launch of an “ultram o d e r n P T C u n d e r t a ki n g office” in Ikeja GRA, the boss of Ikeja Electric said the Disco would soon give the area of high net-worth residents 24/7 power supply. “The promise of providing dedicated and premium power to GRA is already materialising. Customers in this vicinity will no doubt feel the positive impact of this state-of-the-art office which has come to complement our efforts to boost power supply in Ikeja GRA. As I speak with you, the quality of supply and service has improved tremendously as envisaged. Looking into the nearest future, we are working towards ensuring a 24-hour supply for residents of Ikeja GRA,” Youdeowei reportedly stated.

Reports say stakeholders present hailed the remarks by the boss of Ikeja Disco. We also applaud. However, we do so with caution. Considerable caution and even trepidation.

Promises of deliverance on the matter of power have often turned to non-performance.

From name changes and reorganisations of the power structure and processes in Nigeria over four decades, the power situation has remained relatively unchanged. Whether it is the Nigerian Electric Power Authority through the Power Holding Company and now various distribution companies, nothing has changed.

Distribution c ompanie s such as Ikeja Electric are products of the privatisation of the power system. It divided the system into power generation, distribution and transmission.

Not much changed.

Consumers still contend with power rationing, estimated billing, weeks of no supply, damaged transformers and more. Then there is the matter of meters. Ikeja Electric assures that it does not charge

N100,000 per meter and gives meters out free, as it should.

Five years since November 2013 when privatisation happened, successors of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) have yet to meet any of their key performance indicators. Metering is one of them, and Ikeja Electric claims to have done 95% in Ikeja GRA. Across the land, the Discos have failed to provide meters to all customers while the Gencos have not increased power generation much beyond where it was at between 4,500MW to 5,000MW. Ikeja GRA should be a reasonable laboratory for Ikeja Electric to test the viability of 24/7 power supply. The area it covers is small. Residents are high earners and should ordinarily be willing and able to settle their bills promptly. Metering should be easier to organise.

We wait expectantly for a date and actual activation of 24/7 power supply in Ikeja GRA , Lagos. We have fixed Anthony Youdeowei and Ikeja Electric on our radar. Onward to progress.

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

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

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Friday 26 October 2018

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MoneyInsight Personal Finance: Investing Retirement

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Social entrepreneurs seen solving Nigeria, Africa’s coming challenges STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

W L-R Bosun Tijani, CEO, Co-Creation Hub Nigeria(CcHUB); Rosa Doran, project coordinator-Nuclio; Fer Coenders, assistant professor, University of Twente and Adefunke Ekine, deputy director research and innovation at Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) at the training of 40 Science teachers for the GO-GA (Go-Lab goes Africa) project in Lagos.

science & technology, health, law and human rights.

Fellows are empowered through series of training sessions (physical and online), mentorship, provision of local and international funding and partnership opportunities.

These activities culminate into an award ceremony where outstanding fellows are rewarded with seed grants and showcased.

The Fellows “are catalysts needed to move Nigeria forward. We are more than sponsors of the SIP(A).

We believe in Nigeria. We believe education is the way to sustainability” Ogochukwu Sylvia Ekezie, head of corporate communications at Union Bank Plc. said.

BusinessDay interviewed four of the SIP Fellows, two graduating and two incoming, at the event and they recounted their journey.

Atinuke Lebile, co-founder Cato Foods & Agro-Allied Global Concepts, which owns over 30 hectares of cassava farm in Osun State said she was driven by the micronutrients deficiencies in children and pregnant women to start a social

enterprise. Cato Foods specialises in cassava fortified with vitamin A. “Since six out of every ten homes eat cassava in one form or the other every day, either as garri, fufu, eba, lafun, tapioca and etcetera. This is why cassava is our baseline crop.

We are the first producers of custard powder from cassava in Africa presently. It is called Castard. The other custards are made from corn” Lebile said.

Latest report from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on stunted growth among Nigerian children under five years old put the number of at 17.20 million.

Other social innovators who spoke to BusinessDay were Abraham Onoseni, founder and team lead of Young Breeds in Ogun State that specialises in equipping children with life-skills needed for successful adult life. Adegbile Mayowa, founder of Abuja-based Ashake Foundation dedicated to empowering widows and Chizaram Ucheaga, head, corporate strategy and operations at Mavis Education, experts in talking books.

Why Transsion sells millions of smartphones in Nigeria, Africa and zero in China FRANK ELEANYA

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henzhen-based company, Transsion widely known for its Tecno, Infinix and Itel phone brands, became the number one smartphone company by sales in Africa in 2017, overtaking global brands like Samsung.

However, a CNN report found that Transsion has never sold a single unit in China where the headquarters of the company is located.

A source at the company has revealed to BusinessDay that Transsion’s success in Nigeria and other African countries has been hinged on producing and selling quality of smarpthones that consumers on the continent can afford.

“Most of the smartphones won’t be bought in China. Tecno does not sell phones that are targeted at developed countries,” the source told BusinessDay. In 2017, a study by IDC showed that Transsion sold more than 50 million phones in Africa in the first half of the year, mainly feature models with physical keypads, and 11 million smartphones, putting

it ahead of Samsung. Transsion’s brands continued to lead the Africa smartphone space in 2018. In the second quarter, it accounted for 35.4 per cent of shipments with Samsung following behind with 23.2 per cent of market share. Tecno and Itel also lead the feature phone category in Q2 2018 with a combined unit share of 59.9 per cent.

Nigeria is the number one smartphone market on the African continent and be extension accounts for Transsion’s biggest share.

Arnold Ponela, a research analyst at IDC explains that Nigeria’s position is due to its “stable” economy which has shown signs of “steady improvement in terms of consumer demand for mobile phones.” Nigeria saw smartphone shipments of 2.7 million units in Q2 2018, up 15.8 per cent yearon-year, with strong marketing support from telecom operators for most brands proving instrumental.

In an interview with Financial Times, Transsion’s founder and CEO Zhu Zhaojiang explained that

the company does not target the highest-income consumers who are the major focus of brands like Samsung and Apple.

The company’s fixation on affordability also means consumers in Nigeria and other African countries may have to give up high quality for substandard devices.

“What Tecno did was to create a strategy that means making smartphones affordable. The more quality a phone is, the more price advanced it is,” the source said.

Company’s founder, according CNN report, George Zhu traveled throughout Africa as head of sales for another mobile phone company, gaining thorough insight into the continent’s smartphone needs, and realized that smartphones made for other developed markets aren’t the right choice for the continent.

He founded the company and defined the strategic course for its success in the mid 2000’s, right at the time when Chinese “Going Out” strategy was encouraging entrepreneurs to focus on export, with a special focus on Africa.

Financing

Go-Lab ecosystem positions to spur Nigeria’s economic prosperity STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

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igeria’s social enterprises and innovation have gathered steam as they solve intractable social problems and some young founders of businesses in this space recounted their journey at the LEAP Africa social innovators Award.

The social innovators programme and awards (SIPA) is Leadership, Effectiveness, Accountability & Professionalism (LEAP) Africa’s platform for showcasing, empowering and equipping young change makers with requisite skills and effective tools for building sustainable enterprises.

Over the past four years, LEAP Africa with the support of Union Bank Plc. and other corporate sponsors, have enabled these young change makers transition their change ideas into scalable social enterprises.

“Over the next 30 years we will have to run faster than we have ever done because by 2030 one out of every five people in the world will be African and by 2050, Africa’s population will have doubled from 1.20 billion to 2.5 billion people” Patrick Awuah, founder of Ashasi University, Ghana said at the 2018 SIPA ceremony. “This is going to stress everything food, infrastructure and education. Social entrepreneurs will have to have 15 lungs and resilience to deal with this.”

For the SIP, during a programme cycle, 20 social entrepreneurs are selected from a pool of applicants, who participate in activities outlined for the fellowship year. The initiatives of the fellows cover various aspects of the society, such as agriculture, youth empowerment, education,

Small Business Shopping

ith the world gone digital, next generation of entrepreneurs would need robust science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education but Nigerian schools will struggle to achieve this since the provision of physical science laboratories are few and far apart.

This is set to change because Co-creation Hub is transforming science education in Nigeria using 21st century learning through its GO-GA (Go-Lab goes Africa) project. Cocreation Hub is an innovation centre dedicated to the application of social capital and technology for economic prosperity.

“Nations that have developed high technological capacities understand the importance of world-class STEM education and are increasingly strengthening their scientists and STEM institutions” Bosun Tijani, chief executive officer of Co-creation Hub said during the launch of GOGA, recently.

These countries are also offering attractive opportunities, as employers worldwide are projected to face a shortage of over 85 million highand medium-skilled STEM workers by 2020.

The GO-GA project is focused on accelerating the adoption of richer learning environments and deployment of contextually engaging digital content to improve learning outcomes in STEM education in Africa.

A three year project, it is funded by the European Commission and being implemented in Benin Republic, Kenya and Nigeria by a consortium of partners made up of 7 European and African partners among which are Co-creation Hub Nigeria-CcHUB, eLIMU Learning Company, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne -EPFL, Etri Labs, Information Mul-

timedia Communication AG-IMC, Mito Technology, Nuclio and the University of Twente.

The project officially kicked off in Nigeria on October 19 with its Training of Trainers programme which is equipping 40 STEM teachers from public and private schools in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja to be Master Trainers.

“The GO-Lab operates on the principle of inquiry-based learning, which encourages curiosity and questioning. This is the natural state we were born into. We search to make meaning out of our environment but rote-learning and memorisation have dampened this mode of learning” Fer Coenders, assistant professor at University of Twente, Netherlands said at the launch. “With new technologies, you do not have to memorise anymore but need the ability to make sense of data before you.”

CcHUB has partnered with Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ijagun, Nigeria’s first university of education, to train teachers, who will in turn train other teachers, in order to efficiently and effectively use the GO-Lab learning environment.

“I use games and stories to teach children and the introduction of a game-like learning environment for STEM is clearly a step in the right direction and we are happy CcHUB has chosen to partner with us” Adefunke Ekine, faculty at TASUED said.

The pilot in schools will kick off February 2019 in schools across Nigeria, CcHUB hopes that this project will build a generation of young people across the continent who are excited about the possibilities of STEM, have in-depth understanding of STEM concepts, and go on to take up STEM careers, becoming experts in their fields and creating effective solutions to problems that plague the continent. Likewise, it will provide a pipeline and teachers who have what it takes to teach the future of Africa.

Double win for Tecno as it bags awards at NTITA 2018

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ecno mobile has won the most popular smartphone brand and smartphone of the year awards at the second edition of Nigeria Tech Innovation and Telecoms Award (NTITA).

The NTITA acknowledges the contribution of leading tech brands and innovators in Africa.

Tecno mobile won in these two categories for its innovation and contribution to the tech space in Africa, its popularity amongst smartphone users, its excellence and leadership status in the industry, and the undying dedication to mobile technological advancement in Africa.

“The nomination and awards left everyone in admiration as the brand had dominated the same categories in the 2017 edition. The awards are also a reflection of our commitment to quality and price sensitivity,” said Jesse Oguntimehin, the PR and strategic partnership manager at Tecno mobile.

Tecno’s camera-centric Camon series were crowned the smart-

phone of the year based on sales and popularity of the device, combined with its technology, design and user experience.

Similarly, Tecno has organised its #Bimmerfestng2018. The third edition featured super cars, power bikes and exhibitions. As with past editions, Tecno Mobile led by the lively mascot Tboy and its beautifully dressed cheerleaders, gave guests at the event, the opportunity to experience its various smartphone categories.

The BMW Club Nigeria 2018 Bimmerfest sponsored by Tecno Mobile featured a parade of classic and modern BMW cars and bikes with riders who displayed jaw dropping and hair-splitting stunts to the admiration of the audience.

With the success of Bimmerfest 2018 and the partnership between Tecno and the BMW Club, there is definitely a lot to look forward to at the next edition, maybe TBOY racing a Tecno branded BMW with a customised dashboard that replicates the awesome screen of Tecno smartphones.

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Friday 26 October 2018

Influencers

Our metric for success is how many lives we impact - Glin

Over the past 10 years, the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) has provided direct funding of almost $10million to Nigerian grassroots, small and medium sized enterprises in the off-grid and other sectors of the economy. CD Glin, the CEO and President of USADF, tells BusinessDay’s ISAAC ANYAOGU, what the foundation is trying to achieve with this funding.

Please give us a brief insight on the objectives of USADF he US African development Foundation is essentially the US government African enterprise development agency. We are focused on Africa as a continent around poverty alleviation through enterprise creation, particularly at the grassroots, small and medium sized business levels.

We provide direct investment into a 100 per cent owned and operated African early stage enterprises and entrepreneurs.

We do this to promote local economic development, to promote driven development, to move people and communities along what we refer to as the pathway to prosperity.

In Nigeria, we want to be involved in places and with the people who are in the highest areas of need so we work in the agriculture sector and in agribusiness areas to combat food insecurity. We focus around energy access to help Nigerian communities power up their lives. We support early stage entrepreneurs because of the challenges of youth employment. We feel these are the areas we can support Nigerian priorities and we believe that

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linking our funding to these initiatives, will improve the country and help it prosper.

How much funding have you given to these sectors since you started the programme?

The way our funding works is that we do direct grant financing into enterprises and that is a maximum of $250,000 directly to one entrepreneur or community based enterprise.

Over the past 10 years we have provided directly funding of almost $10million to Nigerian grassroots, small and medium sized enterprises and we have reached over a million lives directly in many communities throughout the country.

How do you carrying out monitoring to ensure that funding objectives are met?

We hold the monitoring, evaluation and mitigation efforts of our funding in the highest regard. We have a number of audits that take place with regards to individuals and entrepreneurs that receive the funding.

But mostly importantly we have an on the ground partner.

The partner in Nigeria is called Diamond Development Initiative (DDI). It is our local implementation partner. All the funds that

along the lines of, is it improving people’s lives, is it profitable and is it making things better for the planet and specifically for Nigeria.

DDI our local partner ensures that the funding that we get is linked with local technical assistance.

We invest in Nigerians and we link those we invest in to Nigerian real project management support. It is essentially a very Nigerian own and operated model.

CD Glin USADF invest in Nigeria and in Nigerians is managed, monitored and supported through business advisory and business development services of DDI. Their job is to help select the potential awards and design a project that has real outcomes.

We don’t just want to provide seed capital, we want to provide seed capital that will lead to real return on investment. It can be a social return, an economic return and may even be an environmental return.

In our off-grid work that is what you see- entrepreneurs that are creating businesses through renewable energy whether through solar, wind or biomass which

has environmental benefits.

Those businesses are generating revenues and we track revenue generation for those businesses and we track the economic returns and we also know that those businesses are improving people’s lives and creating jobs in communities without access to power, farming communities that were using diesel to power their equipment now are using solar powered irrigation schemes, solar powered maize mills and grinding machines and using solar powered cold storage facilities.

So we do look at income as a metric for success but we look more to impact

There are concerns about the sustainability of this programme with the coming President Trump administration and his perceived protectionist policies, do you get a sense that these initiatives will be sustained?

The USADF was created in the 1980s when President Reagan was in power and it has been sustained from Reagan to Clinton to Bush to Obama to Trump and it will go on because the US sees Africa as a true opportunity for our own success and also for the success of the continent.

A number of initiatives that was established by past presidents whether they be in the health sector like the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), whether they be Power Africa, whether they be Young African Leaders Initiative

(YALI), whether they be Feed the Future, a number of these US initiatives have been codified into laws.

So there are laws that talk about the global Food Security Act or the law that says Electrify Africa.

So we are very confident that as an agency we will continue to be able to, not only survive and to thrive, even under this current environment. This administration does have a commitment to Africa and that commitment is rested upon helping Nigeria on a journey to self-reliance. We are looking at our funding not to be a hand-out but to be a helping hand, to really help Nigerians to be able to help themselves.

There are very little concerns about the future of our funding as long as Nigerians are willing to be a partner, it can only lead to greater Nigerian businesses that are contributing to trade and investment with the US, where US goods and services are bought by Nigerian and Americans are buying Nigerian goods and services so trade and investment, development of your own communities and really looking at peace and security, these are tenets to our relation with Africa and I think they will be long lasting throughout various administrations.

Sura Shopping Complex off-grid project for launch today ISAAC ANYAOGU

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emi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s vice president, Babatunde Fashola, minister of Power, Works and Housing and Damilola Ogunbiyi, managing director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), an agency under the Ministry of Power are among dignitaries expected at today’s commissioning of the Sura Shopping Complex gas-sourced offgrid project in Lagos, developed as part of the Federal Government’s Energising Economies Initiative (EEI).

The EEI is a Federal Government of Nigeria programme implemented by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA). The project aims to support the rapid deployment of off-grid elec-

tricity solutions to MSME’s within economic clusters (such as markets, shopping complexes and agricultural/ industrial clusters) through private sector developers.

According to the REA, the project will create over 2,500 jobs, empower and transform over 200,000 MSMEs, improve access to stable electricity for over 80,000 shops this year in Sura Shopping Complex in Lagos, Sabon Gari market in Kano and Ariaria market, Abia state and reduce carbon emissions annually by 25,000 metric tonnes.

While conducting journalists round the 1.5MW capacity Independent Power Project facility in Lagos on October 23, Omotunde Hassan, head of operations at Solad Power Holdings who built the project told jour-

nalists that it had a 1 MW backup so that even if the Island IPP goes off, the complex will still be powered.

“The intention is to build our power plant here but there is no gas supply in this area so we built a transmission line from the Island IPP which has 12 MW,” Hassan

said.

Bunmi Anne Ajayi, managing director/CEO of Lusanna Apparels who specialises in making the school uniforms for children and also the chairman of the Market Association said the project at first sounded too good to be true, but since

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

it was installed for the past two months, they are faring better.

“In the past when you come into Sura, you are confronted with air and noise pollution because we switch on our individual generators, in my company we have two generators, now we are

looking for people to buy our generators.

“If you add the cost of fuelling and generator maintenance, securing diesel, you will be looking at tariff of over N120 per kilowatt hour but now our productivity has grown, we hire more people.

We used to have 32 staff members at the beginning of this year, now we are 50, now the constraint is space,” Sura shopping Complex comprises eleven different businesses ranging from printing and branding to financial services, equipment maintenance, catering and tailoring services.

According to the REA, the EEI has another 13 markets in Phase 1 at various stages of development and construction across the country leveraging solar home solutions and gas-to-power.

Graphics: Joel Samson

Friday 26 October 2018

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COMPANIES & MARKETS

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Phillips Consulting is diversifying operation to offer more quality services -New MD

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C O 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

Sterling Bank’s NPL ratio drops to 5.4%

…as 9-month earnings hit N114bn MICHEAL ANI

S

terling Bank Plc is maintaining a positive growth trajectory going by an improvement in the firm’s nine months earnings and a reduction in its Non-Performing Loans (NPL), analysts say.

The Tier 2 lender grew its gross earnings by 21.09 percent to N114.6 billion from N94.7 billion declared in the corresponding period of 2017, according to information obtained from its unaudited financial statement for nine month period ended September.

“Sterling Bank maintained its momentum in its recently released 9M 2018 as it reported a growth of 21 percent y/y, underpinned by an increase of 22 percent y/y in interest earned on loans and advances to customers”, Gbolahan Ologunro, an equity research analyst at LagosBased CSL Stockbrokers said.

“Noteworthy to mention is the fact that the bank grew its loan book, phenomena which we have not seen from most banks who have released their scorecards thus far in 2018, Ologunro added. That said, the growth of 6 percent y/y to N723.3bn in its customers deposits suggests that the bank’s retail strategy, which is

aimed at deepening its presence in the retail segment of the market is yielding results”.

Similarly, the firm reported a decline in NPL, with ratio improving to 5.38 percent from 6.20 percent in the same period last year, when banks saw a ballooning NPl owing to lending exposure to the oil and gas sector, a sector that suffered greatly from the lengthy recession that plagued the country in the wake of a collapse in global oil price and restiveness in the Niger Delta region. However, a 5.38 percent in NPL ratio signifies a 0.38bps increase from the amended Central bank threshold of 5 percent maximuminordertomakefulldividend payment to its shareholders.

The cursory analysis at the firms financials showed that the interest income went up to N93.6 billion from N78.6 billion, while the net interest income advanced to N39.8 billion from N36.9 billion, withtheoperatingincomeatN60.9 billion versus N53 billion in Q3 of last year.

Sterling Bank disclosed that it made N10.8 billion from fees and commission income in contrast to N9 billion last year, while interest expense gulped N53.8 billion against N41.7 billion 12 months earlier.

However, the profit before income tax increased to N8.5 billion from N6.6 billion, while the profit

L-R : Chiharu Yamamura, deputy trade commissioner, Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) ; Shigeyo Nishizawa , trade commissioner/ managing director, and Michael Anusa, general manager, during the JETRO press conference on the forthcoming trade fair in Lagos held in JETRO Office, Ikoyi , Lagos. Yesterday .

Pic by Pius Okeosisi

after tax advanced to N8.2 billion from N5.9 billion.

Sterling bank in August this year, had notified the exchange of an issuance of a N35 billion series 6 and 7 Commercial Paper (CP) out from the N100 billion CP programme it commenced on December 2016.

The proceeds of the CPs were intended to boost the working capitalfinancingneedsofthebank.

Ikeja Electric achieves 95% metering deployment DIPO OLADEHINDE

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igeria’s Electricity Distribution Company, Ikeja Electric plc (IE), says it has increased momentum in meter deployment across IE’s network and has achieved 95 percent metering deployment both on the distribution of transformers as well as for individual customers.

This is as it has revealed plans to provide 24-hour electricity to residents of IKeja GRA, Lagos.

Anthony Youdeowei, chief executive officer of Ikeja Electric made this disclosure at the launch of an ultra-modern PTC undertaking office in GRA Ikeja, which was attended by various stakeholders including the police, army, Lagos State government, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NECR), Ikeja GRA Residents Association amongst others.

“As I speak with you, the quality of supply and service has improved tremendously as envisaged, we are workingtowardsensuringa24-hour supply for residents of Ikeja GRA,” Ikeja Electric chief disclosed.

According to Youdeowei, “Ikeja Electrichasincreasemomentumin meter deployment across IE’s network and has achieved 95 percent metering deployment both on the Distribution of transformers as well as for individual customers.

Youdeoweiexpressedoptimism that the exercise will further bridge the metering gap and evidently reduce the incidence of estimated billing.

With this move, the DisCO is adding its quota in narrowing the metering gap. The recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed an increase of 1.59 percent in the number of prepaid meter customers, which is an indication that the meter gap is gradually closing.

The Federal Government has consistently enjoined the DisCo to provide meters to customers in a bid to narrow the gap, reduce complaints of high consumption charges and estimated billing, in line with the Electric Power Sector Reform (EPSR) Act, 2005 to ensure an efficiently managed electricity supply industry that meets the yearnings of Nigerians for stable, adequateandsafeelectricitysupply.

Also at the event, the CEO of IkejaElectricLimitedsaidthepromise of providing dedicated and premium power to GRA is already materializingascustomersinthevicinity will no doubt feel the positive impact of this state-of-the art office which has come to complement our efforts to boost power supply in Ikeja GRA. Youdeoweiexpressedoptimism that the PTC undertaking office will provide customers with improved access to quality service, explaining

that the newly unveiled office was anupgradedfacilitydesignedtodeliver positive experience to customersandofferingpromptattendance to clients’ queries with a highly effective Point-of-Sales self-service, fully automated Electronic Queue Management System (EQMS) and well-trained Executives Sales Representative.

Youdeoweirevealedthatadedicated team was created for prompt fault clearing and maintenance of Distribution Transformers, thereby reducing downtime and achieving optimization of installations. This, according to him, has also helped the company to sustain the efficiency required to boost service delivery in this community.

The Ikeja Electric also enumerated some of its ongoing projects and plans aimed at scaling up supply across our network, these include the Mushin 1x15MVA Injection Substation and the New Oworo 15 MVA Injection SubStation billed for commissioning by the end of October 2018.

It plans to replace 2 obsolete high voltage switchgears at Agege Injection Substation in the 1st week of November 2018 while it had flagged off the construction work on Transformer Repair Workshop for immediate repairs of failed distribution transformer and also set upaPreventiveMaintenanceTeam to prevent failure of equipment and guarantee stable power supply.

The series 6 CP was issued for a tenor of 177 days at a yield of 13.6300 percent, whilst the series 7 was issued for a 268 days tenor at a yield of 13.9699 percent, with ConstantCapitalandStanbicIBTC Capital Limited being the arrangers of the CP program.

According to the bank, the CP offersweretargetedatinstitutional investors such as pension and non-pension asset managers,

as well as eligible high net worth investors. These CP issuance the lendersaid,resultedinanexternal flow into the bank Inaddition,whiletheearnings per share (EPS) rose to 28 kobo in the period under review from 21 kobo, the Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratio reduced to 5.38 percent from 6.20 percent.

Sterling Bank Plc is currently trading at ₦1.50 at the end of trad-

ingsessiononTuesday23October 2018,puttingthefirm’smarketcap at 43.186 billion.

Ologunro noted that the result will set the bank on course for delivering a solid performance in FY 2018.“Despitethelullmoodinthe equitiesmarketoccasionedbythe heightened political uncertainty, we expect investors to take position in the firm’s stock considering its attractive valuation multiples”.

BASF expands operations in West Africa with new regional headquarters in Lagos

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o accommodate its growing operations and number of employees, the world’s leading chemical company, BASF, has recently opened a new regional headquarters for West Africa, situated in Lagos, Nigeria.

BASF began doing business on the African continent about 90 years ago focusing on the key industries of construction, textiles, automotive, agriculture, plastics, and healthcare sectors.

The expansion of the existing office and the construction chemical plant in Nigeria will now increase BASF’s footprint on the continent and will nurture partnerships and innovation geared towards sustainable growth.

Speaking at the office opening ceremony, Michael Gotsche, BASF vice-president and head of Market Area Africa said “In line with the company’s growth strategy in Africa to invest in local presence and local production, our expansion in Nigeria will allow us to respond to challenges arising from the competitive conditions in the market, while also extending our reach to more customers.” BASF has, in recent years, opened offices in Nigeria, Zambia, the Ivory Coast and Kenya.

Akinwumi Ambode, governor of Lagos State and special

guest of honour represented

by Olayinka Oladunjoye, commissioner for Commerce and Industry, who formally commissioned the new regional headquarters, expressed delight at the growth of BASF West Africa, commended the management of the organisation, and reiterated the commitment to making Lagos State a businessfriendly environment.

He encouraged other multinational organizations to follow in the steps of BASF by establishing new factories and expanding existing operations within the state. He said: “It is heartwarming that BASF is making progress in Nigeria and expanding its operations here in Lagos State, the commercial capital of Nigeria. We will continue to make Lagos State an investment haven, and we call on all organizations to make the best use of all we have on offer in as we continue to strive to make doing business a lot easier within the state”.

Jean Marc Ricca, managing director for BASF West Africa said that he was particularly glad this new regional headquarters was being launched as part of the activities during the week of the Africa Leadership Team meetings taking place in Nigeria. “This clearly

demonstrates the confidence that BASF has in Nigeria and speaks to the continuing investments of the company in Nigeria,” he said.

Ricca also took the opportunity to announce that an application laboratory for personal care is going to be opened at the beginning of 2019 in Lagos, Nigeria. With the establishment of local competence in application and formulation technology, BASF intends to broaden its technical service for Ethnic African hair and skin care applications.Located in one of the fastest growing beauty markets in the region, the laboratory will serve the needs of the personal care industry across all countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The personal care laboratory is the first of several laboratories that are in the pipeline from different Business Units. These laboratories are being built to allow our customers to take full advantage of the available expertise and solutions offered across BASF’s broad portfolio that ranges from performance products, plastics, chemicals, cosmetics, oil and gas as well as crop protection products.

BASF aims to ensure that new and existing customers get the service and support they need,” said Ricca.

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COMPANIES & MARKETS

Friday 26 October 2018

Business Event

Phillips Consulting is diversifying operation to offer more quality services-New MD MICHEAL ANI & DIPO OLADEHINDE

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hillips Consulting, Nigeria’s foremost indigenous management and consulting firm, is diversifying its operations beyond the traditional training and outsourcing services that will help in serving clients better, Robert Taiwo, new managing director of the firm said.

“What we are looking at is expanding our business beyond the historically thoughts of people who see us as just a training and outsourcing firm, to rendering a whole range of services that will serve our clients better”, Taiwo said at the unveiling of its new logo, Pcl., and promotion of Nigeria-South African Chamber of Commerce bi-lateral meeting in Lagos.

“We have a strategic division in operation, a digital technology

consulting division, a digital learning division, and a peoples transformation division, that will help distinct us from all our competitors”,he added.

Phillips Consulting is a 26 years old indigenous management consulting firm, founded by Foluso Phillips during the era of the new generation banks.

It was also during this launching of the firms new logo that the chairman of Phillips Consulting group, Foluso Phillips, presented, Taiwo, who has been overseeing its affairs since the beginning of the year, to the Business Community as the new Managing Director of the firm.

Whilst Phillips has rapidly stepped down from the operational activities of the firm, he will continue to see to the internal development of the company’s consultants and focusonexecutivecapacitybuilding and mentoring.

Phillips said: “We are quite ex-

cited at this new phase in the life of our 26 year old firm. It is personally refreshing for me, to see my vision of building a sustainable institution to outlive us all, becoming a reality.

With Rob at the helm of affairs and hisredefinitionofthefirmaspersonified by a simple but refreshed brand image, I feel that a new generation is being truly born at Phillips Consulting. I believe there are exciting times ahead for us and our innumerable clients.”

Speaking on the change of logo by the firm, Taiwo explained that the firm wanted to refresh its brand, whilst not taking away the strong reputation it has built over the years.

“Phillips wanted to create an identity thatwouldbegintoseparatehimfrom the institution he has built by de-emphasizinghisnameandchangingthe name to PCL, which also created the flexibility to do more exciting things beyond the label of consulting.”

L-R: Francis Osifo, chief technology officer, Diagnose Me Africa; Gatumi Aliyu, head of partnership and business development, Diagnose Me Africa, and Abasi Ene-Obong, chief execitve officer, Diagnose Me Africa, at the Diagnose Me Africa stakeholders meeting. in Lagos.

FBNQuest Merchant Bank lends voice to women in banking SEYI JOHN SALAU

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n furtherance of its commitment to enabling women in banking in Nigeria, FBNQuest Merchant Bank has supported the Association of Professional Women Bankers on its Corporate Dinner, themed “Funding Infrastructural Development in an Emerging Economy”.

The Association of Professional Women Bankers (APWB) is the female arm of the prestigious Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN). The event was organized to provide a platform for stakeholders in the banking sector to engage and strategize on methods that will enhance the business of bank-

ing in Nigeria, tackle financial illiteracy among SMEs, and position entrepreneurs on the path to economic growth.

While delivering a keynote address at the event on the scale of Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit, Kayode Akinkugbe, managing director/CEO, FBNQuest Merchant Bank, emphasized the importance of bridging the gap in Nigeria’s infrastructure in order to create a sustainable legacy for future generations. According to him, development of infrastructure assets has proven to be extremely capital intensive, requires substantial amounts of liquidity and takes time to complete. Also, in order to fund infrastructure in an emerging economy like Nigeria,we must

attract onshore and offshore investor appetite.

Speaking further, he said “Banking used to be largely dominated by men, but there has been a significant shift over the years, as more women have risen to influential positions within the industry. We need to support women in banking at all levels, as women bankers are a powerful forcing growing the economy. “At FBNQuest Merchant Bank, we are committed to reducing the gaps in professional gender equality, and this is why we continue to sponsor engagements that will explore ideas, gain knowledge and imbue the culture of integrity, transparency, accountability, high ethical values and professionalism”.

L-R: Nnenna Ndukwe, regional sales manager south east region, MTN Nigeria; Uchechukwu Okoroafor, senior manager operations eastern region, MTN Nigeria; Nkem Okeke, deputy governor Anambra State; Innocent Entonu, acting general manager eastern region, MTN Nigeria, and Emmanuel Okereke, sales and trade development manager South East 1 Region, during the MTN High Value Customer forum in Awka

OTL Africa downstream week seeks to foster synergy among operators ISAAC ANYAOGU

T

he 12th edition of the Oil Trading and Logistics (OTL) Africa Downstream Week will commence from 28 to 31 October 2018 and the organisers say this year will focus on the benefit of cooperation and industry synergy which it says will provide the opportunity to maximise resources and significantly improve returns on investments.

Widely regarded as the continent’s biggest downstream petroleum event, OTL congregates

operators in the value chain of oil and gas supply, comprising international traders, refining, shipping, marketing, logistics, storage, retail, professional services, government and civil society for its annual conference with the theme “Unlocking Value Through Industry Synergy”.

“Recent developments in today’s complex and competitive market have shown that across the value chain, opportunities are opening up with increasing demand, unexplored assets, underdeveloped infrastructure and the potential to expand refining and petrochemical capacities. These

opportunities increase the need for cooperation and coordination across sectors and borders in order to optimize the potential of the industry,” Emeka Akabogu, chairman, OTL Africa Downstream said in a release sent to BusinessDay. Akabogu said that participants will also deliberate on issues affecting Downstream Regulatory Compliance; Regional Cooperation for Sustainable Petroleum Infrastructure Projects; and strategies to Harness Opportunities in The West African Oil and Gas Shipping Cluster among others.

Officials of Trader Moni, doing mobile money transfer to some of the beneficiaries, during the activation of Trader Moni, a federal government enterprise and empowerment programme at Terminus Market in Jos, Plateau S yesterday

PZ Wilmar boosts Nigeria’s seasoning market with new brands DANIEL OBI

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n a bid to further tap into Nigeria’s multi-trillion Naira value seasoning market, PZ Wilmar, recently offered Nigerians more options of seasoning products with the launch of new brands in the Nigerian market.

The new products come under its existing brands, Mamador and Devon King’s.

At the trade launch event in Ibadan, Oyo State recently, Chioma Mbanugo, category marketing manager, reiterated that PZ Wilmar’s commitment to providing Nigerians with healthy and tasty cooking options at affordable prices through its new line of sea-

sonings would signal a seismic shift in the seasoning market category.

“We ventured into the seasoning category to offer Nigerians much healthier, valuable and affordable options, something different from the norm, as our seasoning cubes all come in 5 grams as opposed to the 4 grams currently available in today market. By studying and analyzing the needs of Nigerians as regards food products, we developed these seasoning variants to help fulfill our consumers’ nutrition needs by delivering on delicious and rich tastes. While both brands serve different purposes, they both deliver on the signature PZ Wilmar quality, and will certainly ensure that consumers can now create authentic

dishes that are rich in taste, flavor and nutritional value. More importantly, these seasoning brands will be available to Nigerians at competitive prizes, so everyone can taste the difference,” she said.

The Mamador seasoning debuts in three variants – Classic, Beef, and Chicken, while the Devon King’s seasoning comes in Classic Tomato, Beef, and Chicken variants – as they are set to compete in the Nigerian markets. Mamador 5g Seasoning Cubes boast health benefits as it contains 15 percent Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of Zinc and Iron, while Devon King’s 5g Seasoning Cubes gives provides Nigerians with tastier meals at a lower cost with its ‘added tomato’.

L-R: Paul Gbededo, GMD, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc; Sadiq A. Usman, head, corporate business development, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plcl; Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President of Nigeria, Udoma Udo Udoma, minister for budget & national planning, at the Flour Mills exhibition stand at the Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja.

BUSINESS DAY

Friday 26 October 2018

17

CityFile

FCTA partners NBC to recover encroached lands

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he Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) is collaborating with the National Boundary Commission (NBC) to ensure that all its boundary areas encroached upon are recovered and protected against future abuse.

Muhammad Musa Bello, the FCT minister who stated this while receiving a delegation from the commission said that the administration would work with the NBA to carry out projects within reasonable costs.

He said that the administration would ensure that boundary areas around the FCT were demarcated with concrete pillars that would be visible to even laymen.

The minister noted that structures that were already sitting on the boundary areas around the territory would be removed and compensation paid to deserving affected developers.

He said that the high rate at which the population of the territory was growing had necessitated that steps must be taken to stop further encroachments.

Bello decried that the FCTA had in the past unwittingly sited projects in parts of Kogi around the Abaji boundary areas, which was not part of the Abuja land mass.

He said that the Karshi Ara road that extends into Nasarawa State being done by the FCTA, as well as parts of the FCT that were already built up that were thought to be in Niger State.

Bello commended the relationship between the FCTA and the commission, saying it had enabled the administration to have a clearer picture of the boundary.

He said the FCT boundary committee had been repositioned with the permanent secretary as the chairman, the director, survey and mapping as the secretary, while respected eminent personalities had also been included.

“All areas that are built up on the border will have to move; with dialogue we can make arrangement for compensations.”

Robber re-arrested 5 days after release from jail

O

peratives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) in Lagos have re-arrested a robbery suspect days after he was released from Ikoyi Prison.

The suspect, Tunde Okunola, 26, was rearrested in Marwa Roundabout, Lekki with an accomplice, Segun Adigun, 27, while trying to rob one Gift Omini at around 4: 45 am on Wednesday.

While the duo of Okunola and Adigun were arrested in the morning, another robbery gang operating on Okada, Raimi fatai, 16 years and Yusuph Balogun, 22 years, was arrested Wednesday night at the National Stadium, Surulere after snatching a handbag from a lady.

Okunola, who was released from Ikoyi Prison on Friday October 5, 2018, was re- arrested early Wednesday morning after robbing Gift Omini of her mobile phone while riding Okada.

Okunola, in his statement to the police disclosed that he had spent six months and two weeks in Ikoyi prison before being released five days before he was re – arrested.

The suspect, while pleading with the police, stated that he is a trained barber and was looking for funds to do his freedom in Lagos.

He added that if released, “I will never step into Lagos again”.

The victim, Gift Omini had told the police that the suspects who were riding okada used a short axe to dispossess her of a mobile phone. “My shout for help attracted the attention of RRS officers at the roundabout and they chased and arrested them”.

Fatai and Balogun were arrested by RRS officers after a chase. They disclosed that they live in Boundary, Ajegunle, Lagos and that they were trying to raise money for freedom after undergoing training as barbers.

L-R: representative of the Minister, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Ifeoma Anyantawaku; Timothy Olawale, director-general designate, NECA; Timothy Olawale, managing director, NSITF; Adebayo Somefun, chairman, Committee Human Resources and Learning, Chuma Nwankwo-

7 arrested over illegal oil bunkering, adulteration in C’River MIKE ABANG with agency report

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even suspects linked to illegal oil bunkering and product adulteration have been arrested by the operatives of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Calabar, Cross River.

Stephen Lar, state commandant of NSCDC in Cross River, disclosed this while addressing newsmen in Calabar South on Wednesday. He said that the command had declared zero tolerance for illegal crude activities in the area, and added that the suspects would be prosecuted as soon as investigation was completed.

“In keeping with our core mandate of protecting Nigeria’s critical national asset, particularly the oil sector; we carried out an operation early this morning

following a tip-off. This channel is being used in carrying products into the town.

We came here this morning and found the illegality of transporting adulterated petroleum product through this channel.

“We were able to recover 200 drums of adulterated crude and we arrested seven suspects in connection with this economic sabotage. Some of the suspects escaped and we are trailing them.

“Cross River has no pipeline, but it is a route for bunkers. When they have gone to other places to carry out these illegal activities, they use Cross River to pass through,’’ he said.

The commandant said that NSCDC was determined in ensuring that the route was no longer used by bunkers for sabotage of the nation’s economic resources.

He said that the act portended a serious danger to the country’s economy,

while expressing dissatisfaction with individuals who create artificial refinery to refine adulterated products.

“This type of product causes a lot of damages to our vehicles and engines.

We must continue to monitor this route in other to prevent all forms of illegality.

“We shall not relent in our effort to make sure that this criminality on the maritime sector is stopped. We are also working with the Nigerian Navy to ensure a safer maritime domain,’’ he added.

The commandant warned those involved in the illegal act to desist from it, and added that the eagle eyes of the command were everywhere to curb all forms of illegality along the maritime domain.

He said that after proper investigation, the suspects would be charged to court and the product would be forfeited if the command wins the case in court.

Flood: Succour as Kogi donates relief materials to victims VICTORIA NNAKAIKE

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elief has come the way of victims of the recent flood in Ajaokuta local government area of Kogi as the state government on Tuesday donated foodstuffs and other relief materials to the victims in Ajaokuta local government area of the state.

Items donated to the victims included bags of rice, beans, flour, Guinea corn, maize, cartons of tomatoes, cartons of milk, milo, salt, semovita, soaps and detergent, matresses and mats, among others.

Speaking to newsmen at the distribution centre in Ajaokuta, Sanusi Yahaya, the state coordinator, Emergency Operation Centre (EOC), said that the items were meant to alleviate the suffering of the flood victims.

Represented by Dorcas Enehe, a director, Yahaya said that the items would be distributed to the flood victims in all the affected local governments across the state.

Yahaya, who doubles as the state commissioner for environment and natural resources, stated the commitment of government to meeting the needs of internally displaced persons and victims of the 2018 flood disaster in Kogi.

“We were in Bassa LGA last week to distribute items to victims under Bassa Nge District in Shintaku, and today, we are here in Ajaokuta to do same for Geregu, Native Town and Niger Bridge zones.

“We have many communities under each of the three zones with their representatives present at each zone to take delivery of those items on their behalf.”

He noted that donor agencies such as WHO, Unilever, Red Cross, ActionAid, and religious-based organisations had also donated relief items directly to flood victims in the state.

He added that the Federal Government, through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), had also donated brought relief materials to be distributed as soon as the logistics for

distribution was put in place.

The commissioner advised the victims to remain calm, receive the items in good faith and share them accordingly without victimising one another.

Jummai Mokobia, a director, dministration and Finance, State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), said that the agency had earlier visited the affected riverine communities for needs assessment and to document the details of the victims.

“Some communities were totally submerged while some were partially affected, but we were able to carry out rescue operations by moving the victims to high land,” she said.

One of the beneficiaries, Blessing Umar, from Oglo community, expressed gratitude to the state government for the gesture.

Mohammed Tijani from Ajaokuta Native town, thanked the state government for the initiative, and urged well-meaning Nigerians and organisations to come to their aid.

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BUSINESS DAY

Harvard Business Review

Friday 26 October 2018

ManagementDigest

How competition is driving AI’s rapid adoption JACQUES BUGHIN

A

rtificial intelligence is engendering all kinds of breathless headlines, from being able to play the Chinese board game Go to spotting rare cancer tumors. But how will AI affect the economy in broad terms?

New research from the McKinsey Global Institute simulates the potential global macroeconomic impact of five powerful technologies (computer vision, natural language, virtual assistants, robotic process automation and advanced machine learning). It finds that AI could deliver an additional $13 trillion to the global gross domestic product by 2030.

The average effect on GDP depends on multiple factors. At the industry level they include the extent of AI diffusion in economies, the buildup of corporate profit and labor-market dynamics.

The modeling and simulation rely on two important features. The first is high-quality data from two corporate surveys conducted by MGI and McKinsey in 2007, one of around 1,600 executives across industries globally on digital technologies and AI to ascertain the causes of economic impact and the likely pace of that impact, and one of more than 3,000 corporations in 14 sectors in 10 countries. The second feature of the simulation is microestimates of the pace of adoption and absorption of AI technologies.

We know that technologies often take a long time to diffuse and to deliver benefits. It took more than 30 years for electricity to diffuse and enable industrialplant design that could generate significant productivity growth.

It took several decades for steam to drive the rollout of railway services and create a large market of exchanges in the United States. Amazon.com, born 24 years ago, had captured about

45% of online retail commerce in the United States by 2017, but still stood for just about 5% of total U.S. retail gross merchandise volume in that year.

How does AI diffusion compare with the absorption of the early set of digital technologies such as web, mobile, cloud and big data? Those technologies started to be used about 10 to 25 years ago, and the average level of absorption of these technologies was about 37% in 2017.

Our simulation suggests that it may reach 70% by 2035. In comparison, absorption of AI might reach today’s level of digital absorption by 2027 — in roughly 10 years.

There are two standout reasons why AI adoption and absorption could be more rapid this time. One is the breadth of ways in which AI is used, including in areas where digitization is still underpenetrated, such as the automation of services and smart automation of manufacturing processes. Second is that returns for front-runners tend to be large. They will benefit from innovations enabling them to serve new markets and, at the same time, gain share from nonAI adopters in existing markets.

We simulate that about 70% of companies might adopt some AI technologies by 2030, up from today’s 33%, and about 35% of companies might have fully absorbed AI, compared with only 3% today. The econometrics demonstrate that peer competitive pressure is the largest influencer of the decision to adopt AI and make it work across all enterprise functions.

Even if a technology race develops, some companies will adopt rapidly, but others less so — and the benefits of AI will vary accordingly. The pace could be enhanced by sector dynamics and by characteristics of firms such as the size and extent of their globalization, but could also be held back by constraints such as early capabilities in digitization, or by organizational rigidities.

We simulated the economic impact of AI for three groups of companies: “front-runners,” “followers” and “laggards.” The first group experiences the largest benefits from AI, and the second benefits but only by a fraction of the general AI productivity uplift. Laggards (many of them nonadopters) may witness a shrinking market share,

and may have no choice but exit the market in the long term.

Regarding front-runners, our average simulation suggests that about 30% of companies might have absorbed the full set of AI technologies in their operations by 2030. About half of those will do so in half the time, and may more than double their operating cash flows by 2030. This is equivalent to sustaining a longterm growth rate of 6% per year through AI. These companies would typically be growing at the rate of high-growth performing firms. Cash generation is not linear as the impact of AI scales up over time — it might be negative in the early years and only becomes positive and accelerates after a period of five to seven years.

Followers are firms that are cautiously starting to adopt and absorb AI technologies, having seen the tangible impact enjoyed by front-runners and having realized the competitive threat of not adopting and absorbing. We simulated that 20% to 30% of firms would be in this group by 2030. For these companies, the pace and degree of change in cash flow are likely to be more moderate, and typically

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

below the average productivity uplift witnessed by their economy. On the one hand, frontrunners have already triggered some spillovers that spread some benefits to followers; on the other hand, followers lose market share to front-runners.

Laggards are companies that are not investing in AI seriously, or not at all. Why do laggards not jump into AI? The answer is that they may face short-term constraints and may bet — wrongly — that time is on their side. The cost of investment in and implementation of AI means that the divergence among firms on their stance toward AI adoption may only affect their economics after a few years. This may dissuade them from acting. These companies could lose around 20% of cash flow by 2030 compared with today. Laggards may have major capability issues that prevent them from joining the AI race, and therefore they may need to respond in other ways such as limiting costs and cutting investment. The drop in cash flow arrives last, but it is a major slide when it comes.

A fierce competitive race among companies appears to be in prospect with a widening gap between those investing in AI and those that are not. This divide can facilitate “creative destruction” and competition among firms so that the reallocation of resources toward higher-performing companies improves the vibrancy of overall economies. But there is no doubt that the transition may cause disruption and shock in the economy. These trade-offs need to be understood and managed appropriately in order to capture the potential of AI for the world economy.

Jacques Bughin is a director of the McKinsey Global Institute, based in Brussels. Jeongmin Seong is a senior fellow at the McKinsey Global Institute, based in Shanghai.

Friday 26 October 2018

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Experts link marital crises, economic hardship, stress to rising mental health disorders in Nigeria ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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reakdown in the ability to deal with relationship break-ups, higher rates of marital discord, separation and divorce, stress and economic hardship, are among the factors leading to higher rates mental cases in Nigerians, experts say.

Several studies have also shown that marital stress is associated with a range of psychiatric diagnoses.

Marriage is a social process demanding certain social abilities for it to be successful. Schizophrenia, which can lead to a reduction of such abilities, has been associated with lower marital rates and increased chances of adverse marital outcome.

Folashade Leke (not real name) a 44 years old civil servant who works in one of the ministries in the state, shared her ill luck experience as she under goes psychological therapy.

According to Folashade, “I have been married for the past 15 years with three beautiful children, one in senior secondary school, and another in junior secondary school, the last still in the primary school.

“I was married to Shina Leke my husband, with the mind-set that we both love each other. He works as an entrepreneur while, I am a civil servant in the ministry.

“I finance most of the needs in the family because I earn more income than he does. Shina came up with these odd attitudes when we had our last child because my three children are all girls.

“It became so though that in the evening as the close of work comes I become scared of going home. This has not only affected me psychologically I see it confront my daily activities on my desk at work, I lost concentration, thinking of what I could have done

that made my husband hate me such”.

“I have this fear whenever, I remember how he shouts at me and threatens to leave me and the girls, these life tortures have face off my real being of beauty,” she recounts.

Just like Folashade, more events keep unveiling in the society we are due to stress, depression and is leading to a surge in psychiatric cases due to broken marriages.

Health experts say that until Nigeria is able to enact the mental health bill, the country might not be able to properly tackle the depression scourge which is one of the reasons for suicide.

There is considerable neglect of mental health issues in the country.

The existing Mental Health Policy document in Nigeria was formulated in 1991. It is the first policy addressing mental health issues and its components include advocacy, promotion, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation.

Since its formulation, no revision has taken place and no formal assessment of how much it has been implemented has been conducted.

In general terms, several countries in Africa are better resourced in regard to mental health personnel. Countries such as South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya have more psychiatrists per 100,000 persons and also higher proportions of psychiatric beds.

Richard Adebayo, a consultant psychologist and clinical psychologist at Federal NeuroPsychiatric Hospital Yaba, Lagos, said marriage may be stressful for vulnerable people, which may lead to development of mentalhealth problems.

“Major mental-health disorders may be the cause or effect of marital discord and can also be traced to financial issues, stress and separation, which affects both men and women,” Adebayo said.

According to Adebayo, in case of women, after marriage, an early relapse causes uncertainty and doubt in the family of the partner, which in turn, threatens the success of the marriage and the outcome of the illness.

“Marriage is an important institution in our culture, it is almost compulsory for every individual to marry and “settle down.” Not being married is considered a stigma, particularly in case of women whereas being married converts into elevation in social status,” “There are bounds to be disappointments, but don’t be down or out your life at a point of no return.

No matter what happens, it is a bitter truth, you must learn to move with the challenges of life,” “For men, financial issues, jobless could be traced to the genesis of their problem and higher rate of divorce is seen in heavy drinkers which can result to family problem such as violence, marital conflict,

economic insecurity and divorce,” “Broken relationship or marriage is not the end of life, instead of adding to the number of people who are mentally ill,” Adebayo advised.

Depression is often linked with feelings of ending one’s life. While depression is more common in women, men are more likely to attempt suicide.

Similarly, an industry watcher says in Nigeria, suicide is more of a social and public health objective than a traditional exercise in the mental health sector.

“Mental health professionals, doctors and counsellors can be reached out to manage suicidal tendencies. The proactive steps taken by several such professionals in the capacity of leaders has helped and has the potential to help save thousands of lives.”

“Occurrence of suicide tends to be under-reported and misclassified due to both traditional and social pressures, and possibly completely unreported in some areas,” says an expert.

Experts say psychosis means a loss of contact with reality; it is a symptom of a number of mental illnesses rather than a medical condition in its own right.

Some estimates suggest that 14.7 to 18.5 per cent of people with major depression may experience psychotic features and that the prevalence rates may rise with age.

This form of depression is an underdiagnosed and undertreated condition.

People must remember that psychosis is a symptom of particular mental health conditions, not a disorder in itself.

Experiencing psychosis can be frightening and confusing, and psychosis can present in a variety of ways.

Symptoms of psychosis include delusions, also known as false beliefs or false perceptions, hallucinations, or seeing or hearing things that are not present paranoia.

Friday 26 October 2018

At 25, Nigeria Heart Foundation celebrates mile stones

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he Nigeria Heart Foundation (NHF) a non-governmental organisation promoting heart health, scientific research in cardiovascular health, healthy lifestyles and advocacy on heart issues celebrates mile stones as it turns 25 years old.

The event which took place on 23 October, in Lagos, also to celebrate the 85th birthday anniversary of the foundation’s past president Oladipo Akinkugbe to be held on 29 October.

“The foundation is a national charity inaugurated in July 1992 and is an affiliate of World Heart Federation, Geneva and a founding member of the African Heart Network,” Olufemi Mobolaji-Lawal chairman, executive council NHF said.

According to Mobolaji-Lawal, several research programmes have been conducted in the country in the last 25 years in collaboration with experts in cardiovascular health from Nigerian Universities and international organisations especially the World Health Organization, World Heart Federation, International Development Research Centre (IDRC), NCD Alliance Nigeria, International Council of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation, Active Healthy Kids, Choices International Foundation.

He said that the foundation has partnerships with the Federal Ministry of Health and Regulatory Agencies especially the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Consumer Protection Council (CPC) and Nutrition Council of Nigeria.

Mobolaji-Lawal also emphasised that the NHF has also contributed in the promotion of awareness in cardiovascular health, tobacco – World No Tobacco Day, physical activity, engagement with schools and nutrition – Nigerian Heart Foundation Heart Mark Food Labelling Programme.

Mobolaji-Lawal further spoke on the th85th Birthday Anniversary of the immediate past president, he said the occasion will be celebrated with a lecture in his honour under the chairmanship of Christopher Kolade, while the Keynote lecturer is Eldryd Parry, KCMG, who would be speaking on “Africa’s Cardiovascular Disease; looking back and looking forward.” and distinguished service awards will be presented to past presidents of Nigerian Heart Foundation.

Why do people feel tired after eating?

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any people feel sleepy after eating. This can be a natural result of digestion patterns and sleep cycles.

Some types of foods and the timing of meals can also make people feel especially tired after a meal. A decrease in energy levels after eating is called postprandial somnolence.

Researchers have different theories about the cause of tiredness after eating, but they generally agree that it is a natural response and not usually a cause for concern.

Feeling tired, or having difficulty concentrating, after a meal is relatively common. A person may feel particularly tired, depending on what, when, and how much they ate.

Below, we discuss some reasons why a person might feel tired after a meal, and how to prevent it.

The type of food you eat: Foods rich in protein and carbohydrates can make people feel sleepier than other foods.

Some researchers believe that a person feels tired after eating because their body is producing more serotonin.

Serotonin is a chemical that plays a role in regulating mood and sleep cycles.

An amino acid called tryptophan, which occurs in many protein-rich foods, helps the body produce serotonin. Carbohydrates help the body absorb tryptophan.

For these reasons, eating a meal rich in both protein and carbohydrates may make a person feel sleepy.

Tryptophan occurs in foods that are rich in protein. These include: salmon, poultry, eggs, spinach, seeds, milk, soy products and cheese Foods that contain high levels of carbohydrates include: pasta, rice, white bread and crackers, cakes, cookies, donuts, and muffins, corn cobs, milk, sugar and candy People often eat a combination

of protein and carbohydrates before bed, such as cereal with milk.

How much food you eat: A person may be likelier to experience postprandial somnolence after a large meal.

People who eat larger lunches may experience more of an afternoon slump than those who eat less at midday. Eating causes blood sugar to rise, and a dip in energy may follow.

Other factors can contribute to tiredness after eating: poor sleep at night, which can lead to tiredness throughout the day and drinking alcohol with a meal, especially during the daytime.

When you eat meals: A person’s natural body clock, or circadian rhythm, can affect how they feel after eating. The National Sleep Foundation report that people naturally have a lull in energy 2 a.m. and again at 2 p.m. This may explain the tradition of taking a nap, or siesta, after the midday meal.

Daylight and darkness are es-

sential in regulating the circadian rhythm, but the timing of meals may also have an effect.

How to stop feeling tired after eating Feeling tired after a meal can be frustrating, especially after lunch, when a person may need to be alert.

A drop in energy during the day can be particularly dangerous for people who work in risky conditions, such as those who operate machinery or vehicles.

A 2017 study of the effects of eating on the performance of night shift workers found that those who ate at night performed worse and were more sleepy at 4 a.m. than those who had not eaten.

The following strategies can help prevent tiredness after a meal: Eat little and often. Rather than eating big meals, eat smaller meals and snacks every few hours to keep up energy levels. A piece of fruit or a handful of nuts should be enough to cure an energy dip.

Get good-quality sleep. A person who gets enough sleep at night is less likely to experience a significant post-lunch energy dip.

Go for a walk. Getting light exercise during the day, especially after eating, can help people feel less tired.

Take a short nap during the day.

Try bright-light therapy. Authors of a 2015 study found that exposing people to bright light after lunch reduced tiredness.

Avoid drinking alcohol with meals. Alcohol can make people feel more tired.

When to see a doctor If a person is continually tired after eating, and it is affecting their quality of life, they should speak to a doctor.

The following medical conditions could contribute to excessive tiredness after eating food intolerances or allergies, celiac disease, anemia, diabetes.

Culled from Medical News Today

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Explainer Why global health bodies kick against virginity test ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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he World Health Organization and the United Nations Women and the Human Rights office say virginal test which it calls a “medically unnecessary” procedure have been documented in at least 20 countries across the world.

The testing which often involves inspecting the hymen or inserting fingers into the vagina cannot conclusively prove that a woman or a girl has vaginal intercourse, says the WHO.Princess Simelela, WHO’s assistant director-general for Family, Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, said with support from health systems and governments, people can recognise that ‘virginity testing’ has no medical or clinical bases, refuse to carry out the harmful practice and educate the public about this.The WHO official also said that, in doing so, they would be “upholding the Hippocratic Oath of ‘do no harm’ and safeguarding the human rights of girls and women in their care”.

Virginity testing is a gynaecological examination conducted under the belief that it determines whether a woman or girl has had vaginal intercourse.

The term “virginity” is not a medical or scientific term. Rather, the concept of “virginity” is a social, cultural and religious construct – one that reflects gender discrimination against women and girls.

Virginity testing is often performed by inspecting the hymen for tears or its size of opening, and/or inserting fingers into the vagina, often called the “two-finger” test. Both techniques are practiced under the belief that the appearance of the female genitalia can indicate a girl’s or woman’s history of sexual activity.

Privacy rights The UN bodies explained that, these examinations are not only a violation of women’s and girls’ human rights, but in cases of rape can

cause additional pain and mimic the original act of sexual violence, leading to re-experience, re-traumatization and re-victimization.

Many women suffer from adverse short- and long-term physical, psychological and social consequences of this practice. This includes anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress. In extreme cases, women or girls may attempt suicide or be killed in the name of “honour.

Per for ming this medically unnecessary and harmful test violates several human rights and ethical standards including the fundamental principle in medicine to ‘do no har m’.

WHO recommends that this test should not be performed under any circumstances and called on governments, health professionals and communities to act to eliminate the practice.

Growing trend Virginity testing is a longstanding tradition that has been documented in at least 20 countries spanning all regions of the world. Women and girls are subjected, and often forced, to undergo virginity testing for various reasons.

These include requests from parents or potential partners to establish marriage eligibility or from employers for employment

eligibility.

It is mostly performed by doctors, police officers, or community leaders on women and girls in order to assess their virtue, honour or social value. In some regions, it is common practice for health professionals to perform virginity testing on victims of rape, supposedly to ascertain whether or not rape occurred.

Global rights bodies say there is an urgent need to raise awareness among health professionals and communities of the detrimental effects of performing this test on women and girls as it lack of scientific validity, and the need to eliminate its use.

Some governments have banned virginity testing and enacted laws to criminally punish those who perform the examination. Many professional health associations and human rights organizations have condemned this practice as unscientific and a violation of women’s and girls’ rights.

The UN encourages governments to enact and enforce laws that ban virginity testing, communities and all relevant stakeholders are encouraged to implement awareness campaigns that challenge myths related to virginity and harmful gender norms that place emphasis on control of women’s and girls’ sexuality and bodies.

Security agencies, non-constituting MDCN board, frustrating our effort to tackle quackery - NMA AKINREMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan

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he Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) says security agencies are frustrating the efforts of Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), NMA and other associations in a bid to rid the medical profession of quackery in Nigeria.

NMA also added that failure of the federal government to constitute the MDCN board was another reason why it is still difficult to tackle quackery in the medical profession in the country.

Addressing newsmen to herald the 2018 Physician’s Week in Ibadan, the State capital, Akin Sodipo, Chairman NMA in Oyo State, who made this disclosure, said that, it was unfortunate that the security agencies that were saddled with the responsibilities to prosecute quacks have not been helping matters.

HBL TEAM

Sodipo while speaking said, “Relevant sections of the Medical and Dental Act prohibits quackery in whatever form. It is also on record that previous efforts by the MDCN to prosecute suspects have been frustrated by security agencies that are saddled with such responsibilities. We also have cases where some of our state branches have raised alarm on the activities of suspected quacks and impersonators but the state security apparatus has not helped matters.

“Another reason for the inability of the MDCN to tackle medical quackery related practices is the failure of the federal government to constitute the council. It is worthy of note that the act of setting up the MDCN pointed out that “the council shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession”, as clearly stated in the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act Cap M8.

“Despite efforts at eliminating or at least reduce quackery in the

medical profession in particular and the health sector in general, the perpetrators of this illicit and dangerous act have continued to proliferate with its attendant consequences on the health of Nigerians. This informed the choice of the 2nd sub-theme, “Medical Quackery, Professional Regulation and the Doctor’s Stamp”.

Sodipo urged the federal government to as a matter of urgency constitute the MDCN and the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria boards in the interest of Nigerians.

He said, “We hereby once again call on the Federal government to urgently constitute the council of MDCN and its sister profession, the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria.

“NMA as the custodian of the people’s health believes that a sector that is not well regulated is prone to quackery and this have debilitating effects on the health care of our citizens.

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More than 800 people benefit from Rotary’s free medical service in A/Ibom ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

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ore than 800 people have benefited from the free medical care provided by Rotary clubs in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state under the aegis of Rotary family health days programme.

The two-day event took place at Primary health centre, Mbak Etoi, Uyo local government area was meant to fill the yawning gap in healthcare delivery particularly for people in the rural areas.

The programme which attracted a sizeable crowd consisting of young, old, women, men and the elderly saw the health facility filled to its capacity.

Speaking in an interview, Francis Inyang, a medical doctor said the aim of the programme was to reach people in the rural areas who might not often have access to healthcare services.

Inyang who is also a Rotarian said the choice of the health centre was because of its location which according to him is easily accessible by the people.

Among the ailments treated by the health workers such as doctors, nurses, laboratory scientists tackled who were mostly Rotarians included Malaria, screening for hypertension, glucose level, HIV screening, eye diseases and the provision of free eye glasses to those in need.

Inyang who identified malaria, arthritis, hypertension, and diabetes as the prevalent ailments in the community said the programme was aimed at people in “the rural areas who might not have access to healthcare services.’’

He lauded partners that have donated medical consumables for the programme added that the exercise would complement the efforts of the state the Akwa Ibom State

Government in providing healthcare services to the people.

For Eka Etuk, the president of the Rotary club of Uyo, it was not surprising that Rotary was providing free medical service to the people noting that Rotary has been at the forefront in the campaign for the eradication of many diseases including polio and has been supporting immunisation over the years.

According to her, the group also engages in the funding of the treatment of patients who require medical attention pointing out in the exercise those who might need further treatment would be referred to general hospital or the teaching hospital.

Mayen Inwang, the coordinator of the programme also in her interview decried the lack of sufficient manpower in the health sector saying that the outreach which was proposed for three days had to be scaled down for two days because there were not enough resources to cover the three days.

She called on Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and individuals to partner with the group in the fight against health issues in the society.

Commenting on the benefit of the scheme, Bassey Umoh, who spoke at the venue of the exercise, thanked the Rotary Clubs for the medical assistance saying the organisation has a history of contributing to the development of the society He commended Governor Udom Emmanuel for providing an enabling environment for programmes like outreach programme provided by the Rotary International to be held in the area.

The free medical programme was jointly organised by the Rotary clubs of Uyo, Uyo metropolis and Uyo Shelter Afrique.

FMC boosts primary healthcare delivery in Ogun with N200m facility upgrade RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta

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rompted by the zeal to deepen primary healthcare delivery and clinical services within its jurisdiction in Ogun state, the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta has moved to resuscitate the moribund Comprehensive Health Centre located at Joga-Orile, Egbado North Local Government Area in Ogun West Senatorial District.

The Abeokuta-based 250-bedded regional specialist hospital is extending a N200 million lifeline to resuscitate and upgrade the moribund clinical facility which is located in the remote rural area of Joga-Orile in accordance with Federal Ministry of Health programmes on health which also falls under the community medical outreach initiative of the Centre.

BusinessDay also recalls that the clinical facility upgrade being undertaken at the Comprehensive Health Centre at Joga-Orile came barely some weeks after the foundation laying ceremony of a 170-hectare FMC University of Medicine and School of Preliminary Studies as part of fulfilments for the establishment of Teaching Hospital in Abeokuta.

Speaking shortly after the receipt of the humanitarian and philanthropic award from Abepa of Joga-

Orile, Oba Adeyemi Adeleye recently, Adewale Musa-Olomu, professor and medical director, Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta declared that “the gesture, which falls under the Community Medical Outreach Initiative of the Centre is aimed at facilitating access to quality and affordable medical and health care services at the grass roots.”

Musa-Olomu, who spoke through Segun Orisajo, head, Public Relations of the Centre, said the N200 million support had been included in the hospital’s 2019 budget, stressing that the Hospital was already assembling a team of Medical and Health workers that will be deployed to service the community health centre.

Responding, Abepa of Joga-land, Oba Adeyemi Adekeye lauded Adewale Musa-Olomu’s relentless efforts geared towards the repositioning of healthcare delivery services at the urban and rural areas since his assumption of office as the medical director of FMC, Abeokuta in July, 2018.

The monarch was particularly delighted with the arm of fellowship extended to his community by the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta in the area of health care delivery services, just as he pledges the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta a friendly and conducive working atmosphere at all times.

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

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FINTECH News

Products Review

Technology Review

Personality Review

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Friday 26 October 2018

Company Review

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

$25,000 up for grabs as TechCrunch Startup Battlefield returns to Lagos Stories by FRANK ELEANYA

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ne innovative tech startup stand the chance to boost its business with $25,000 plus a trip for two to compete in the global Startup Battlefield at Disrupt 2019, as the regional competition returns to Lagos, Nigeria on 11 December, 2018.

TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Africa is making a return after a successful outing in Nairobi, Kenya last year. The competition ran on the theme of how technology is optimizing supply chains, increasing access to education, strengthening farmers’ revenues and so much more.

A statement from the company to BusinessDay noted that the 2018 competition

seeks to identify sub-Saharan Africa’s best innovators, makers and technical entrepreneurs.

“The inaugural edition of TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Africa confirmed that sub-Saharan Africa is home

to a vibrant and growing technology startup ecosystem,” Mike Butcher, editor at large, TechCrunch said in the state-

ment. “We look forward to hearing about how this year’s competitors are disrupting their markets, providing innovative solutions to social and economic problems, and positioning themselves as global contenders.”

The panel session for the event explores the best tech in Africa and how the technology investment landscapes have changed. Former Nigerian minister of communication technology and senior partner at TLcom Capital, Omobola Johnson, and Lexi Novitske, a principal investment officer for Singularity Investments have been announced as speakers for the event.

TechCrunch is partnering with Facebook for the 2018 edition.

“Supporting the next generation and wave of African

start-ups is something that we at Facebook are passionate about,” Emeka Afigbo, head of developer programmes at Facebook said. “Our sponsorship of TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Africa, for the second year running highlights our commitment to the startup scene on the continent, and helping to provide a world stage to showcase the very best in African talent and solutions.”

Startups that have launched on TechCrunch’s global stage include Vurb, Trello, Mint, Dropbox, Yammer, Tripit, Redbeacon, Qwiki, Getaround, and Soluto. The 763 startups that have participated since the first competition, TC40 in 2007 have raised $8.2 billion, while 102 have been acquired or have gone public as of December 2017.

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

Techpoint Africa to train over 2000 aspiring programmers, stakes $10,000 for startups

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he 2019 edition of Techpoint Build will offer an opportunity for more than 2000 aspiring programmers in West to get the required training as well as give a funding lifeline of $10,000 to an innovative tech startup that wins its Pitch Storm competition.

A statement from Techpoint Africa the organizers of the event slated for 26 January, 2019 said the objective is to put the spotlight on startups that can create value and solve problems for the next billions users.

“The next billion users are already changing the internet

in three key ways: a mobileonly mindset, more interactive approach to computing, and more demand for localized content than ever before,” the statement noted.

For Techpoint Build the organizer is hoping to see startups come up with brilliant ideas to solve local problems and for the startups to get opportunities for mentorship and market for their innovations.

The maiden edition of the event held in January 2018 and attracted over 4000 participants from different industries.

Founded in 2015, Techpoint Africa provides data

driven updates on technology and how it affects business, industry and culture in Nigeria and Africa. Recently, the company expanded its

services to other African countries following a research it conducted which convinced it that the problems startups face in Nigeria was similar

everywhere on the continent.

“In chronicling the growth of startups in West Africa, we realized a need to educate many new business owners

on structure, business models and best practices. Techpoint Build 2019 will connect participants with professionals who will provide free expert advice in legal matters, marketing, accounting and other areas of business,” the statement noted.

Twelve startups are expected to compete in Pitch Storm, in front of potential local investors. The overall winner of the pitch will receive $10,000 in zero-equity prize money.

Other features of the event include an exhibition for businesses and conferences moderated by successful business CEOs and industry experts.

Friday 26 October 2018

AgriBusinessInsight Market Insights

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Commentaries

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Send in Commentaries to caleb.ojewale@businessdayonline.com

Are agriculture graduates up to the task of Nigeria’s economic diversification?

CALEB OJEWALE Twiiter: @calebtinolu

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hen law graduates complete their education, they are often expected to work in law firms, same for graduates of several disciplines whose graduates have what in many cases, appear to be a defined career path. For graduates of agriculture, however, this does not appear to be the case.

With thousands of agriculture graduates churned out of tertiary institutions every year, including three Universities of Agriculture, there is still a substantial skill/labour gap in the sector. It has even been suggested that many graduates of agriculture do now want to ‘get their hands dirty’.

An irony when the profession for which they were trained in the first place is considered. Still, an array of opportunities await young people who can venture into agribusiness, to fill the lucrative gap of Nigeria’s food security needs and industrial raw materials.

The desire (at least by oral declarations) of successive governments to focus substantially on agriculture, in diversifying the revenue base of the economy has so far been unmatched with provisions for requisite skills to grow the agric sector.

Without the needed skill sets to transform agriculture from being largely subsistent and into agribusiness, the aspirations for growth may remain a mirage.

Pieter Nel, general manager at Olam Nigeria’s 10, 000 hectare farm (with 4,400 cultivated for rice) in Nasarawa, once remarked that “besides the skills required, what we are finding out is that the people coming out of the universities require training. This is because the universities are not training mechanised agriculture, what they are teaching is basic agriculture.”

To address this, the company has to bring the graduates (and also students on industrial training) on board, while also getting external consultants from different countries to advice on crop

management and to provide training to Nigerians who have been employed. This also makes it more attractive to employ foreign-trained graduates over their Nigerian counterparts.

The trend of organisations operating in different sectors such as technology, finance, healthcare to mention a few, having to train and retrain Nigerian graduates has also become the norm in Agriculture. This, industry watchers say has been borne out of the inadequate training on mechanisation, which results in graduates being unable to operate basic machinery that would have served to prove the quality of their degrees and competence.

While it is not unusual for organisations to train staff before commencement of

work, experts have however suggested that it is unacceptable to continue accepting the retrogressive dogma, which is responsible for many graduates not being able to justify their education. It consumes additional resources, and wastes time that should be spent being productive.

It has been suggested by experts and stakeholders in the agric sector, that more often than not, graduates of agriculture lack the required knowledge on how to operate farm machinery, while in other cases; they are uninterested in engaging in practical work, considering it demeaning for their ‘graduate status’.

“This is the right time for us to make it abundantly clear to people that they need to sensitise our gradu-

ates that the era of sitting down in the office and holding on to computer alone is gone. They need to come out (to the field) and be able to apply practical knowledge of what they have learnt in the school,” said Gabriel Folaranmi, an engineer with the United Nations in South Sudan, credited with innovation of an Ultra-modern Rice Thresher while working with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan.

Adeniyi Olayanju, a professor of Agricultural Mechanisation, and vice chancellor, Landmark University, told BusinessDay that in as much as it is unacceptable for agriculture graduates to be incapable of delivering on the field, he explained there isn’t so much that could be done with the limited funding provided to academic institutions.

Olayanju, who was dean of student affairs, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta said at the time, “Without adequate funding, the universities can only make do with what they have. Mechanization is not a theoretical thing; it has to be practical in nature. For the institutions to have the facilities, then funds must be made available.”

He further explained that to alleviate the knowledge gap is why SIWES one and two which aim to achieve industrial work experience

were designed, but even at that, only few students are able to secure placements in organisations that have the facilities (and capacity) to provide required hands-on experience.

The investment in training Nigerian graduates, which most companies have to take up as their responsibility, appears to pay off in the long run as experience from at least Olam farms has shown.

Nel explained that those trained in using complex equipment have become very capable in operating world-class machinery. At the early stages, foreigners have to be employed to utilise these machines until their Nigerian counterparts get a hang of the operations.

“I’ve worked throughout Africa and the one thing that I am really impressed with is the ability of the Nigerian people to grasp this level of technology and to operate it.

This has been very pleasing for me,” said Nel. While the trained Nigerians appear to deliver invariably, this ought to have been offered during their period of schooling. This would have increased their competence, and overall “market value” when seeking for jobs.

Added to this, there has to be a readiness for graduates of agriculture to be prepared to roll up their sleeves, and fix farm machinery or till the soil when the need arises.

Proposed farmers’ bank in Ondo gets take-off capital Optimising livestock production could spur agricultural growth

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…Govt gives farming associations N15mn credit YOMI AYELESO, Akure

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he Ondo state government has reiterated its commitment towards providing a financing mechanism for farmers in the state through establishment of a micro finance bank, and provision of microcredit to support farming activities.

Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, Ondo State Governor, during an event to mark the 2018 World Food Day, presented a N15 million cheque to seven farming associations within the Ondo State Agricultural Commodities Association (OSACA). Also, the proposed Ondo State Farmers Micro Finance Bank got a major boost from the State Government as N20 million was made available for its take off.

Akeredolu called for more dedication and commitment to agricultural development with a view to

realizing the nation’s dream of self sufficiency in food production. He explained that the current food situation in the country needed collaborative efforts.

The governor maintained that food sufficiency and a zero-hunger world would be achievable, only when everyone embraces production of food crops.

Akeredolu regretted that despite Ondo State being widely acknowledged as an agrarian state, it was still not self sufficient in food production. According to him, in a bid to ensure food security, the present administration in the state has taken some giant strides at developing the agric sector to improve the nutritional intake of the state’s residents.

Some of the steps, according to him include: Procurement and distribution of 1,000 metric tons of fertilizer to various farm service cen-

ters in the state, and distribution of 500,000 Cocoa and 250,000 Cashew seedlings to farmers to boost Cocoa and Cashew production in the state among others.

Also speaking at the event, Akin Olotu, senior special assistant to the Governor on Agric and Agribusiness, identified some of the administration’s achievements in the sector, notably the collaboration with the Federal Government on National Egg Production Scheme with 64,000 layers, which has thirty-two of the state’s farmers participating.

Olotu added that the State Government has established a modern agricultural Village at Jugbere with the establishment of 2,000 hectares of Cocoa farm to be plotted on 4-hectare basis for youth empowerment and through which Cocoa Production in the state would be significantly increased.

ivestock remains a largely underperforming business in Nigeria, despite its potentials to improve the livelihoods of farmers, and food security in the country. For instance, poultry farmers often complain of inadequacies in penetrating the market fully like the ‘imported’ alternatives, and cattle is mostly associated with conflict (between farmers and herders).

However, a new FAO report has highlighted the multiple contributions made by the global livestock sector — especially to the lives of millions of poor, animal-dependent small-scale producers in developing countries — but also says that changes in policies and practices are needed in order to optimize those contributions.

According to World Livestock: Transforming the livestock sector through the Sustainable Development Goals, the debate around livestock production has so far been largely focused on how the sector can produce more to satisfy surging demand for animal products and feed

a growing global population while at the same time reducing its environmental footprint.

While that is a worthwhile objective, FAO’s new report argues for a broader and more ambitious approach.

By realigning the livestock sector to better support the UN’s 2030 sustainable development agenda, it says that a wider range of benefits can be achieved - these include improved food and nutritional security but also extend into other realms, including access to energy, gender equality, improved environmental management and spreading peace and stability.

Noting that “even the most modern post-industrial societies remain critically reliant on animals for food and nutrition security,” Jose Graziano da Silva, FAO DirectorGeneral said the livestock sector is of “enduring importance” and “can play a key role in improving the lives of millions” by providing food, jobs and income, resilience, and economic opportunities.

“Before all of this can hap-

pen, a number of complex interactions need to be addressed,” he noted, including that “competition over land for the production of feed can constrain the availability of resources to produce food” and that “promoting a more competitive sector through higher levels of market concentration will likely hamper the capacity of small-producers to participate in markets.”

“There is also an urgent need to stop the improper use of antimicrobials in animal rearing,” the FAO Director-General added, referencing the role of antibiotic use in the rise of dangerous antimicrobial resistant micro-organisms.

Meeting these challenges will require countries to look closely at their national livestock sectors and develop policies tailored to local circumstances and designed to promote equitable growth. In particular, measures will be needed to empower smaller-scale producers to ensure they are primary actors in and beneficiaries of the livestock sector’s continued growth.

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Hotels The chic Wheatbaker leads Nigerian boutique hotels

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

OBINNA EMELIKE

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o doubt, The Wheatbaker is Lagos’ premier luxury boutique hotel, located in the residential heart of Ikoyi. Situated close to the Lagos business districts of Ikoyi and Victoria Island, the well-appointed hotel offers the corporate traveller all the comfort and convenience of a luxury boutique hotel. The hotel is destined to become Lagos’ top lifestyle and entertainment address. It is truly luxurious and for discerning guests who take quality leisure offerings seriously.

The hotel’s 70 comfortable and well-equipped guestrooms offer homeaway-from-home experience.

All our rooms and suites have individually controlled air-conditioning, colour TV with 28 satellite channels, mini-bar, tea and nespresso coffee machine, direct-dial telephones, luxury private bathrooms, hairdryer and electronic safes. Business guests will appreciate wireless high-speed Internet access (complimentary).

Housekeeping services are also available.

Dining facilities at The Wheatbaker include two restaurants, while the best wine menu is served at the bar and lounges. There is also room service available. For leisure beyond the guestrooms, the amenities

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

include: an outdoor swimming pool, spa/wellness facilities, on site spa services, medical assistance available and tours/ticket assistance.

For the astute business traveller, there is a wellequipped business centre.

However, making your reservation in The Wheatbaker Hotel is easy and secure. Simply select your dates of stay and click on the “Check Rates” button to submit the form.

One good reason to visit the hotel is because it is managed by Legacy Group, known for its collection of exclusive and luxury hotels, resorts, lodges, golf, executive suites and residential estates. Legacy’s focus is to become Africa’s leading lifestyle brand, committed to enriching the dreams and lives of all with whom it is associated, driven by the simple adage to leave all who come into contact with its outfits, better off than before it met them.

With all these going for it, the hotel has been voted

Nigeria’s Leading Boutique Hotel by Travel Awards Africa & Indian Ocean on October 6, 2018 at the 2018 Gala awards ceremony in Durban, South Africa, which was attended by hundreds of leading travel and hospitality industry leaders from Africa.

World Travel Awards has been honouring excellence in the international travel and hospitality industry for 25 years. The Wheatbaker’s award recognises the hotel’s outstanding service as Nigeria’s leading boutique hotel.

The award rewards excellence across countries and regions and this year’s winners in various categories included the Saxon Hotel, Villas and Spa, the Fairmont Mount Kenya Safari Club, Thanda Ilsand, Tanzania, and Hilton Cabo Verde Sal Resort. Votes were cast by qualified executives working within the travel and tourism industry, as well as, consumer travel buyers.

“After seven years of operation, we are indeed

delighted to have received this important international recognition for our staff ’s unequivocal commitment to service,” said Simon Grindrod, the general manager of the Wheatbaker. “We are grateful for the loyalty and support from our esteemed client base, which is growing despite the challenges faced in running a world class operation.

The Wheatbaker is a full five-star service hotel with 65 rooms, two restaurants, a boutique spa and gym and with sought after banqueting services by Nigeria’s fortune five hundred.

The Wheatbaker also has a unique commitment to the arts, presenting specially curated exhibitions every quarter. The hotel has its own art collection which boasts some of the best Nigerian contemporary art.

Since opening its doors in 2011, the Wheatbaker has quickly become one of the preferred hotels in Nigeria, winning yearly awards by industry leaders.

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

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

Southern Sun spices culinary offerings with Efik-Ibibio menu

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n effort to spice its offerings with innovative packag es, S outhern Sun Ikoyi Hotel recently launched its Ethnic Saturday Theme Night.

Since then, the hotel has been redefining dining experience at its restaurant for discerning guests in Lagos with the theme night, which is a fusion of hospitality and culture.

So far, the innovative offering has satiated the tastes of guests, especially those from the eastern part of the country with Igbo Amaka, an Igbo themed night, and Faaji Repete, the Yoruba themed ethnic night for guests to appreciate menu from the western part of Nigeria.

Most recently, Southern Sun Ikoyi Hotel took the theme night to another level with the launch of the EfikIbibio offering. The night witnessed guests from the Efik-Ibibio speaking part of the country, their friends and in-house hotel guests who had wonderful dining

experience.

The night offered the hotel opportunity to promote tourism through the Efik-Ibibio culture as it excited guests with traditional cuisine designed to appeal to an array of palates while providing more exquisite options for guests to enhance their culinary experience.

The Efik-Ibibio theme night provided guests with a menu spoilt for choice as it showcased array of appetizing starter meal options ranging from; Abak Atama, Edikang Ikong, Ekpang Nkukwo, Afang, Oton, Abak fisherman soup among others including

local palm wine to complement the delicacies.

The unique thing about the night was the various culinary options on the menu including several dining and starter options from the EfikIbibio menu all offered by the award-winning Southern Sun kitchen.

For Keppy Ekpenyong Bassey, veteran Nigerian actor, who came with his wife, the menu took him home. “I had the local dishes the way they are prepared at home. I appreciate Southern Sun for taking out time to understudy the food ingredients and how each is combined to prepare

delicacies. I also witnessed food fusion that I never imagined could be possible and they taste well”, Bassey, who hails from the region, said.

Speaking on the impressive turnout at the event, Alex Mwaura, executive chef of the hotel, noted that guests thronged the hotel for the Efik-Ibibio theme night because the region is particularly noted for their rare local food types that are unique to them and prepared also in a very special manner.

“We worked as a team in the kitchen to ensure that every experience was an unforgettable one while truly satisfying the taste buds of guests”, Mwaura said.

As well, Ubong Nseobot, marketing manager of the hotel, who hails from the region, expressed her appreciation to the executive chef and his team of culinary experts at Southern Sun’s kitchen for delivering the best from the region to guests who were also appreciative of the innovative offerings.

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

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.

Friday 26 October 2018

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Friday 26 October 2018

Diaspora artistes look beyond the stage for 5th AFRIMA Hazel Mak with ‘Jaiva’ The Malawian songstress is one taking African music places outside the continent. Currently based in the United Kingdom, but not forgetting her Malawian roots, intends to achieve a career out of her music, make money and then return home and invest that money in her home and country. Her single Jaiva Ft. Roberto & Tay Grin has also been nominated for several awards.

Stories by OBINNA EMELIKE

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oing by the way music content from the African continent is being appreciated across the world, African musicians who are plying their trade in the Diasporas are now seeking to reconnect to their roots and also to meet and possible collaborate with their folks back home.

The All African Music Award (AFRIMA), the biggest music event on the African continent, is offering Diaspora acts the opportunity to reach out to continent-wide fans and further impact the music industry.

With that in mind, AFRIMA in its 5th edition created four new categories of awards, one of which is the Best African Act In Diaspora to reward artistes in the Diaspora with African roots/origin who have been producing music resonating the African sounds.

As well, the award was included due to yearnings from music stakeholders and music lovers across the continent. There eight strong contenders for the award, which holds in Accra, Ghana from November 21-24, 2018. They include: Afrotronix with his song titled ‘OyO Ft. Seydina’ The renowned music producer is one rare breed from the African music scene, born and raised in Chad, he moved to Montreal in Canada.

Afrotronix has given a new rhythm to the Afrobeat sound. His style of music is influenced by Chadian popular music called Sai, which he blends with Mbalakh rumba (Mba-

L’Algérino with ‘Va Bene’ Samir Djourhlel known as L’Algérino is a French Emcee from Marseille, with Algerian origin. The rapper was discovered at an early age. At 25, he became the first Marseille artiste to be signed on an independent Paris label, Six-O-Nine. With 8 studio albums and several hit single, L’Algérino is one African artiste with huge fan base among Anglo phone countries within and outside Africa. lax), Tuareg blues, and elements of dubstep and deep house.

Aya Nakamura with her song titled ‘Oumou Sangare’ Ayanabo Daniokoko, known as Aya Nakamura is a French R&B singer from Mali. She launched into music by publishing her music on-line with “Karma” and “J’ai mal” getting a lot of following. The tall dark-skinned diva brings a total African experience to her listeners locally and internationally. Her song ”Oumou Sangare” nominated for the category of Best African Act in Diaspora is about the Grammy Award-winning Malian Wassoulou artiste, popularly called the Songbird of Wassoulou- Oumou

Sangaré.

Chick Nick with ‘Contrôler’ Chick Nick is an Afropop and R&B singer, songwriter and instrumentalist from Bamenda, Cameroon.

He joins African acts in Diaspora with his hit single Contrôler. A song containing a mix of French, English and Pidgin English, relaying a lover guy’s interest in a lady and how far he is willing to go for her. The singer has previous smash singles Ekosse’ and ‘Call me back’ which received huge airplays across the continent.

Dadju with ‘Bob Marley’ Dadju is a French singer with Congolese origin. His father was a singer

in Papa Wemba’s Viva La Musica and the rapper Maître Gims is his brother, so music is definitely rooted in his DNA. The RnB singer pursued a solo career after he separated from his music duo/group called Shin Sekai in 2016. In 2017, he released his first single “Rein” which became a successful hit and certified diamond single, followed by an album titled “Gentleman 2.0” which also became platinum.

Franglish comes with ‘Elle’ The French RnB singer from DRC Congo made the list of African artiste making a difference in diaspora, using African sounds and beat.

Oudy 1er with ‘Tourner Kabato’ Oudy 1er is a French artiste from Guinea. In 2009, he created a new concept called Tchoumakaya that will go around the world and become number one in the hit of several channels both in Africa and Europe, which he won several awards for. The DJ who is also a captivating performer has sold out shows in France, Italy, London and parts of Africa. Despite his widely acclaimed success outside the continent, he still brings his music to Africa, having tours in Europe, America, Guinea, Cote D’ivoire and other parts of Africa.

However, you can vote for your favourite artiste for the Best Act in Diaspora on https://afrima.org/ voting2018/

Journey to another Carnival Calabar begins with first dry run

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o doubt, Carnival Calabar is the biggest street party in Africa. The carnival has also lived up and even surpassed spectators’ expectations every year.

However, one of the secrets of the success of the carnival in the last 14 years is the dry run, which prepares the five competing bands, non-competing bands, revelers, spectators and organisers ahead of the grand event in December.

This year, the clean city of Calabar witnessed the first dry run on Sunday October 21, 2018. As expected, members of the five competing bands; Seagull, Master Blaster, Passion 4, Freedom and Bayside gathered at the Millennium Park as part of the large entourage of participants including high profile personalities, revelers and residents to witness the flag off, which lingered due to persisting rainfall that Sunday afternoon.

Truly, the residents, revelers and the bands were resilient. They happily waited for the persisting rain, which they acclaimed to be blessing, to stop. The moment it stopped, the Millennium Park Calabar, venue of the ceremony, witnessed heavy human traffic of revelers who came to see the flag off and also join in the party.

After the opening ceremony performed by Ivara Esu, a professor and deputy governor of Cross River State, alongside other dignitaries, beautifully dressed ladies flew the corporate carnival float and flags representing the sponsors and organisers of the 2018 carnival.

Moments later, the competing bands followed, each dancing to its music played from a moving and well-decorated truck, singing, amid other acrobatic and cultural performance in line with the theme of this year’s edition, which is ‘Africanism’.

They bands kept dancing along the 12 kilometer carnival route, stopping for spectacular performance at adjudication points where judges assess their performances.

The fun was as usual as the main event with the bands doing everything to outperform others bearing in mind the theme of the carnival and also entertaining spectators, who often cheer to encourage good performances.

Beyond the bands, the crowd was good. Spectators lined up in thousands from the flag off point to

the finishing line, an indication that this year’s main event in December will surpass the over 1 million visitors’ mark of last year.

As well, the first dry run offered businesses opportunity to make money. From hawkers, restaurants, hotels among others, there were monetary exchanges for goods and services.

Security has never been an issue for the 14 years of the carnival and as expected, security during the first dry run was well-coordinated with no incident.

Speaking on the theme of this year’s edition, Ben Ayade, governor of Cross River State, said, “So much has been done to showcase what the theme is all about. The time has come for Africa to be of age where the black man is seen as a symbol of integrity. If Africans can get themselves together and shun fraud, drug peddling and other forms of heinous crimes and vices, we will win back our position and compete favourably with other colours in the world”.

In the same vein, Gabe Onah, chairman, Calabar Carnival Commission, said the carnival has promoted talent, creativity, created jobs and peace across the state for the 14 years it has held.

“We are going to make a difference in this year’s carnival with the theme `Africanism’. The dry run signifies the commencement of the carnival. It tracks the system on the 12-kilometre route and engages the community positively’’, he said.

While the Sunday event was the first dry run, other dry runs will follow in the coming weeks. But the Calabar Carnival Commission and their entire people of Cross River State invite you to a month-long fiesta in the December and to witness, especially the main carnival and the international version of the carnival.

Friday 26 October 2018

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Business Etiquette

Movie review of A SIMPLE FAVOR

with Janet Adetu

LINDA OCHUGBUA

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was absolutely amazed and thrilled by this so called simple movie. It didn’t have a lot of hype and buzz, yet turned out to be so intriguing. I had no idea what to expect from this movie, besides the reviews seen online and I decided to give it a shot.

To be sincere I was glad I did. It was also quite difficult to tell what the movie was going to be about considering the fact that the poster didn’t say much, but then it was worth the try. What started out as a very simple, plain, and basic story turned out to be a fantastic twist and storyline, at a point we were completely confused, and couldn’t tell who was playing the other anymore. I must commend the script writer for keeping spell bound till the very end, we also couldn’t leave when the movie was over, and we absolutely didn’t see the kind of twist they played at the end coming.

The movie was written by Jessica Sharzer & Darcey Bell and directed

by Paul Feig. The suspense and thrill all through the movie was totally awesome. At a point it was so hard to tell if the lead actor was dead or still alive, how they also set up her friend was unbelievable. I will say the end was remarkable and we didn’t want the movie to come to an end. I loved the costumes, makeup, locations and production. Having a very good storyline is always of essence to having a good movie if you must ask me.

A quick plot analysis is, Stephanie who was a single mum and a blogger who talked about different things to her fans daily. She had lost her husband and brother to a very bad motor accident some years back. So she had to blog, work and fend for her son. While at school her little son makes friends with Emily’s son and they became very good friends. Emily was a very busy worker in the city and needed help sometimes with picking up her son. So when they became friends she assigned that task of picking up her son every day to Stephanie. Anna was

The image of your workspace 2

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Cast: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding, Eric Johnson, Jean Smart, Sarah Baker etc Genre: Mystery & Suspense Director: Paul Feig Ratings: R (for sexual content and language throughout, some graphic nude images, drug use and violence) Written by: Jessica Sharzer, Darcey Bell Running: 116 minutes Studio: Lionsgate

more than happy to pick up Emiliy’s son every day to make her classy wealthy friend happy. Until one day Emily goes to work and doesn’t return back.

So Stephanie decided to talk about it on her vlog and blog hopefully someone will have useful information on her where about. Some weeks after her body was found dead under the river, everyone came around for her burial and we though this movie was over, that was when the movie started.

You will need to check it out to see the amazing end Cast: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding, Eric Johnson, Jean Smart, Sarah Baker etc Genre: Mystery & Suspense Director: Paul Feig Ratings: R (for sexual content and language throughout, some graphic nude images, drug use and violence)

Written by: Jessica Sharzer, Darcey Bell Running: 116 minutes Studio: Lionsgate To my verdict I would say an amazing 8.5/10 for A Simple Favor, for me nothing gets me more excited than a beautiful storyline, and they did in this movie, a movie where you cant really predict where it was going to and how they were going to end it, I was scared towards the tail end, but again the storyline was turned around totally. If you do enjoy movies with so much suspense and thrill, then I think this is absolutely for you.

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

ave you taken a look at your work space recently? Why not take a picture let’s access the image it portrays. Maybe you are a clean freak as they say and your space is spotless and immaculate, it means you are meticulous about many things especially your environs.

Do you thrive under pressure? Chances are your workspace may be a little clustered or very untidy. Only you can understand what is going on and where everything is in the midst of the chaos.

Are you so busy that the tendency is for you to pile up files upon files, books upon books and paper upon papers? Are you so busy that your coffee cup, water glass and even numerous sweet wrappers have littered your work space? How many pens do you own, do you need?

Plus the ones that are working well and those that have inked out; you see them all over your work space. Have you ever taken the time to stop audit and clear out your desk drawers in recent times?

The image of your work space can say so much about you, or the owner of that space. Personality, character, class, status, professionalism, educational level and much more are depicted in the image of you and your environment too. The work space is considered deeply because it is presumed that most of one’s time is spent around the workplace daily, weekly and monthly all year round.

Personally in spite of the pressure I may be facing I tend not to like an overcrowded desk, it only adds to the confusion that pressure when faces creates. I try as much as possible to reduce the work load gradually but eventually. At times it takes true dedication and adequate time allocation to achieve this. I have seen many people’s desks when I walk in and around offices where it appears like World War IV has just taken place.

Does your work space look inviting to sit in for a few minutes for decent discussion or does it say keep far away.

What does your workspace say about you?

Executive Presence.

This is the highest state your workspace can look like.

It says you are a senior executive or act like a c-suite executive. You are orderly and calculated, you appropriate structure around your work; and in making decisions. Appearance, behavior and conduct mean a lot to you to function well. Your environment will immediately command

respect along with a good first impression. This will set the tone for good business conversations. If your work space indicates executive presence this is seen all over you. Not all executives practice executive presence, unfortunately their work space indicates far from it. The impression they have communicates a wrong message of who they truly are.

Professionalism Your work space speaks professionalism around you only if is seen to be orderly; and clearly structured. This is inviting to others who will be impressed at your sense of hygiene and cleanliness.

Your workspace can easily drive others away if it falls below expectation of your status and position in some instances. Professionalism in your workspace is the making of a leader who should frown at the workspace of others that fail to meet high standards.

For your workspace to look professional is a choice that can be achieved by anyone

home you may find yourself repeatedly complaining about the discomfort that space. The space will look full depending on your career, nature of assignment and expected deliverables. You may just be drawing people away from you if your space appears confusing. It is surprising how a lot of experienced staff still operate with a work space that looks like it is fresh of a the mill ; a young graduate.

Image is everything; be conscious of the image you present to others so that you can be in full control of the perception you leave behind wherever you may go.

regardless of position or rank.

Millennial Our millennial today as we have seen have become totally paperless, It is all about the gadgets, the computer and high tech working conditions.

You will expect to see very little in the workspace of a millennial. At times you may wonder if these millennial are working in their individual work spaces, as signs of normal working are almost non- existent. As a millennial with no work experience you will need to understand the exiting work ethics of the organization and go with the work flow. Generally productivity is not based on how much work you see on the table, so long as the millennial is preoccupied you will experience good results, provided they are not distracted.

Fresh off the mill Our fresh graduates who have no prior work experience are torn between following the culture of the older generation and alternatively that of the new generation. Most times a lot of inexperience is seen among these youths as they struggle to find their feet, adapt to the new environment and follow the rules of the company. The workspace might not be so arranged; it may also not be inviting or attract respect to its owners.

Just like personal rooms at

begin to look around. Your next action step is to remove all unwanted baggage around you. This is my non conclusive list enjoy!! i. Papers, papers and more papers. ii. Irrelevant magazines. iii. Excessive and outdated newspapers. iv. Stationary v. Over flowing documents hanging letter tray. vi. Phone wires and cables. vii. Desktop Dining Tools viii. Files in abundance ix. A cup too many x. Extra pictures on the desk ix. Over flowing books/ dairies iix. Litters/rubbish.

Items that will sabotage the image of your workplace.

Anything can disrupt the work place the look, feel and image of your workspace, you may be keeping things there that you do not want or need.

What are you harboring that is sabotaging the image of your workspace. Look at this list carefully and consciously

Polish your Workspace with 1. A plant 2. Sweet container 3. File tray.

4. Tissue box 5. Phone 6. Stationary tray 7. Diary 8. Box of Tissue 9. Laptop 10. Ipad Please take a picture of your workplace let me tell you what your space says about you. I look forward to hearing from you. Kindly share your etiquette experience.

All the best!

Janet.adetu@jsketiquetteconsortium.com

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LegalPerspectives

With

Odunayo Oyasiji

Is selling a car financed by the bank without full repayment legal?

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his topic is a product of my recent experience when a friend contacted me on a similar issue. He bought a car from someone last year and he wants to sell it in order to buy another one barely a year after he bought it. At that point, he realized that he could not even do change of ownership as the purchase of the car was financed by a bank and the loan was yet to be fully repaid. He then observed that he had not taken a good look at the documents as the name of the bank that financed it is written in front of the name of the person that sold the car to him.

The above formed the basis of the topic and this led to my search of what the position of the law is about the situation. Banks (Motor Vehicle Loans) (Miscellaneous Provisions Act) 1979 deals with the issue. Section 1 of the Act makes it an offence to sell a car financed by a bank without fully repaying the loan. Section 1(1) states- “As from the commencement of this Act, it shall be an offence for any person to sell, dispose or otherwise part with the possession of a motor vehicle on which a loan obtained from a bank is still outstanding without first obtaining the consent in writing of the bank prior to the sale or disposal.”

Section 1(2) of the Act spells out the punishment for disposing such vehicle. It states- “Any person who fails to comply with the provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of N200 or six months’ imprisonment or to both such fine and imprisonment.” As stated, the punishment if a fine of 200 naira or six months imprisonment or both

fine and imprisonment.

It must be noted that a discharge certificate is to be issued by the bank upon the full repayment of the loan. This was stated in section 3(1) of the Act i.e. “Immediately after full settlement or repayment of a loan (including any interest thereon) is made by the borrower to the bank, the bank shall issue a discharge certificate to the person who obtained the loan and shall send a copy of the discharge certificate to the licensing authority.”

Selling of the car can only take place after obtaining a discharge certificate from the bank. Section 3(2) of the Act states that “On the receipt of the discharge certificate, the licensing authority shall make an entry in that behalf in the register relating to the motor vehicle and thereafter the owner of the motor vehicle shall be free to dispose of the motor vehicle

without having to comply with the requirements laid down in the foregoing provisions of this Act.” It must be noted that a careful look and interpretation of the provisions of the Act does not totally prohibit the sale of a car financed by a bank when you have not fully repaid the loan. It only becomes an offence under Section 1(1) if the written consent of the bank is not obtained prior to the sale.

The above simple shows that there can be an arrangement between the bank and the customer who obtained the loan. A bank is more interested in repayment of the loan with the interest charged.

Therefore, the sale can be packaged in a way where part of the money will go into full repayment of the loan and interest. Contact your bank to know the form the transaction will take if you intend to do such.

Differences between a business name and a company

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f recent, the federal government of Nigeria reduced the cost of registering a business name to five thousand naira. This led to the interest of more people in registering a business name. However, there seems to be a misconception that a business name is same as a company.

This subhead aims to put things in the right perspective by showing what the differences are1. A business name is not different from its owner. It is just the name and style under which the owner is trading. Therefore, there is no separate legal personality. A company on the other hand is a separate legal person. It is different from its owner. The company can sue and be sued in its own name.

2. A business name is okay if the interest is to form a one man business. However, there is need for at least two people if a company is

to be incorporated.

3. Your liability is limited when you register a limited liability company while your liability is not limited under a business name- it can extend beyond your investment in the business and affect your personal properties.

4. Companies have shareholders and can raise capital faster while business name in most cases is usually built around one person and thereby limiting access to capital.

5. People and organisations find it easier to deal with a company that is well structured than to deal with a business name that is just centred around one person and is less organised.

6. A company can exist perpetually and not be affected by the death of a shareholder while the death of the proprietor of a business name can simply mean the death of the business name itself.

Friday 26 October 2018

7. In a company, ownership and management can be different as the shareholders can appoint people to manage the business efficiently while ownership and management is usually vested in one person in the case of a business name.

8. Control of a company is usually through the decisions of the board while the proprietor of a business name controls its affairs.

9. The process of registration of a company is usually more demanding and more expensive while that of a business name is cheaper and less expensive.

The choice of which one to go for (whether business name or company) depends on the purpose, form and the structure you want the business to have. A lawyer is in the best place to advice on which one you should opt for after a detailed explanation of what you really want.

Registration of foreign companies in Nigeria under the companies and allied matters act

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ny company that is registered in another country and seeks to carry on business in Nigeria must go through the process of registration in Nigeria. This is the position under Section 54 (1) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act. The section reads- “Subject to sections 56 to 59 of this Act, every foreign company which before or afterthe commencement of this Act was incorporated outside Nigeria, and having the intention of carrying on business in Nigeria, shall take all steps necessary to obtain incorporation as a separate entity in Nigeria for that purpose, but until so incorporated, the foreign company shall not carryon business in Nigeria or exercise any of the powers of a registered company and shall not have a place of business or an address for service of documents or processes in Nigeria for any purpose other than the receipt of notices and other documents, as matters preliminary to incorporation under this Act.” Therefore, the normal process of incorporation at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) must be followed i.e.

1. Availability and reservation of name- this is a search conducted to ensure that the name of the company is not in use or does not fall within the category of names that are not to be used.

2. Obtaining incorporation forms and drafting of incorporation documents (like memorandum and article of association).

3. Payment and submission of the required documents and forms.

4. Issuance of certificate of incorporation which is an evidence that the company has been registered in Nigeria.

It must be noted that most of the process can now be completed online on CAC portal.

The implication of carrying on business without registration for a foreign company is spelt out in section 55 of CAMA. The section states that “If any foreign company fails to comply with the requirements of section 54 of this Act in so far as they may apply to the company, the company shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of not less than N2,500; and every officer or agent of the company who knowingly and wilfully authorises or permits the default or failure to comply shall, whether or not the company is also convicted of any offence, be liable on conviction to a fine of not less than N250 and where the offence is a continuing one to a further fine of N25 for every day during which the default continues.”

Despite the foregoing, some companies are exempted from registration. The categories of

companies that are exempted are listed under section 56 (1) (a)-(d) of CAMA. It expressly states“(1) A foreign company may apply to the President for exemption from the provisions of section 54 of this Act if that foreign company belongs to one of the following categories, that is: (a) foreign companies (other than those specified in paragraph (d) of this subsection) invited to Nigeria by or with the approval of the Federal Government to execute any specified individual project; (b) foreign companies which are in Nigeria for the execution of specific individual loan projects on behalf of a donor country or international organisation; (c) foreign government owned companies engaged solely in export promotion activities; and (d) engineering consultants and technical experts engaged on any individual specialist project under contract with any of the governments in the Federation or any of their agencies or with any other body or person, where such contract has been approved by the Federal Government.”

The procedure for applying for the exemption is well stated out under section 56 (2)(a)-(h) of CAMA. It states(2) An application for exemption under this section shall be in writing addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and shall set out: (a) the name and place of business of the foreign company outside Nigeria; (b) the name and place of business or the proposed name and place of business of the foreign company in Nigeria; (c) the name and address of each director, partner or other principal officer of the foreign company; (d) a certified copy of the charter, statutes, or memorandum and articles of association of the company, or other instrument constituting or defining the constitution of the company and if the instrument is not written in the English language, a certified translation thereof; (e) the names and addresses of some one or more persons resident in Nigeria authorised to accept on behalf of the foreign company services of process and any notices required to be served on the company; (f) the business or proposed business in Nigeria of the foreign company and the duration of such business; (g) particulars of any project previously carried out by the company as an exempted foreign company; and (h) such other particulars as may be required by the Secretary to the Federal Government.

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Sports Despite CR7 absence Real Madrid dominate Barcelona in kit sales ahead of El Clasico … El Clasico’s media revenue hits $40m Stories By ANTHONY NLEBEM

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head of this weekend El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Camp Nou, the derby which dominates the media landscape across the globe.

The Camp Nou will once again be the focus for a global TV audience of millions in what is sure to be another action packed and surprise filled El Clasico showdown.

Two biggest football sides aside Manchester United in terms of valuation, Real Madrid worth £1.127 billion and Barcelona £1.082 billion will square up this Sunday for the biggest football rivalry on the planet earth.

Four points separates them in the table; a win for Real Madrid will reduce the points to one and defeat to Barcelona could spell more doom for Julen Lopetegui who has faced severe pressure in the last one month.

While Barcelona are ahead in LaLiga table, Real Madrid dominate Barcelona in jersey merchandise.

According to data from Spain’s leading price comparison website regarding the demand for Barcelona and real Madrid merchandise.

The results showed Real Madrid as the side whose jerseys are more in demand than their rivals Barcelona, by a figure of 49.8 percent.

Real Madrid 13th European Cup trophy brought about a huge increase in demand in May, 2018 up 195 percent in sales.

Real Madrid suffered a big blow since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Italian Seria A side Juventus as jersey sale sales dropped significantly by 88.3 percentIn the

light of this, rivals Barcelona shirt sales jumped by 63 percent between July and August 2018.

Barcelona lead online sales with Madrid in second, followed by Atletico, Sevilla and Valencia.

2017 El Clásico matches generated over $40 million in media value for sponsors; TV broadcasts account for less than half of that figure.

Combined TV and social media value of the last El Clásico in December 2016 generated around $42.5 million for sponsors. Live TV broadcasts accounted for 43%

($18.5million) of the total figure, with social media making up 12%.

In Spain, social media delivered the same amount of media value ($5.1million) as the country’s TV news coverage of the match.

“With social media adding over $5 million in total value to sponsors, this shows just how critical a medium it has become,” said Max Barnett, Nielsen Sports’ head of digital.

Its value fluctuates depending on where a sponsor’s team is playing, so rights holders must be able to adapt from game-to-game. As the

18 schools set for PwC Chess4Change tourney

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ighteen Secondary Schools will vie for honours in the 5th edition of PwC Chess4Change competition in Lagos State.

This was disclosed at a press briefing held on Tuesday, 23rd October 2018 in Lagos to herald the kick off of the initiative.

The Country Operation Pa r tn er, P wC , Mr. Pe d ro Omontuemhen, emphasised that the initiative is aimed at significantly developing and impacting the underserved community.

“PWC is not interested in making money from the tournament,” he said.

S p e a k i n g f u r t h e r, Omontuemhen informed that the winner of this year’s edition will be sponsored for the international youth competition.

The Vice President, World Chess Federation, Mr. Adeyemi Lekan commended the sponsors for investing in the lives of the students.

In his words; “We are going to collaborate with Sponsors and the project consultants – MediaVision Limited with the aim to make the initiative better and rewarding for all stakeholders.

“For me, Chess is problemsolving and I believe with a programme like this our country stands to benefit in the long run.”

The Chief Operating Officer, MediaVision Ltd, Jimmy Sog-

bessn in his remarks informed that students will be mentored for three months in all the participating schools ahead of the grand slam.

Other dignitaries at the event are representatives of the Lagos State Sports Commission, Abiola Aregbesola; Ministry of Education District 6, Mrs. Abiodun Obajemu and the technical director, Nigeria Chess Federation, Bode Durotoye.

home team in the last fixture, with partner brands appearing throughout the Nou Camp, FC Barcelona generated 87% ($37.4 million) of the total sponsorship value while Real Madrid made-up 13% ($5.1million).

Barnett maintained the importance of social media for an away team as a tool to generate value for partners when there is no possibility for exposure through traditional in-stadium advertising inventory”.

Such was the case for Real Madrid last time out when 41% ($1.7m) of the total media generated for their

sponsors came from the club’s social platforms – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Between both teams the most valuable social media post was Barcelona’s ‘Full Time Final’ video on Facebook Live which was watched by over 4.3 million viewers and generated over $186,000 for sponsoring brands.

Facebook Live was leveraged extremely effectively in the buildup, during and after the El Clasico match, driving 27million views from over five hours of content broadcast by the two teams.

Social media’s growing and fluctuating worth to sponsors has fragmented the media landscape, something which Barnett argues has left brands and rights owners grappling to understand the value of their partnerships and highlights why a “unified measurement is so important”.

Barcelona’s director of digital, Russell Stopford, agreed with Barnett’s emphasis on the need for a better understanding around social media’s value.

“Being able to see the value our content provides fans and partners is essential to FC Barcelona and social media is a key part of that,” said Stopford. “Understanding what that value is and importantly which media channels it comes from is also vital and becoming more and more important for us as our global reach continues to grow.”

Even without Cristiano Ronaldo playing for the Santiago Bernabau side and the recent slump in performance since the start of the season, Real Madrid still remain the biggest side in jersey sales record of 84.9 percent and Barcelona second with 70.9 percent.

2018 Nigeria Bankers Games kick off in style

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he much-anticipated 2018 edition of the Nigeria Bankers Games finally kicked off at the Yaba Colledge of Technogy Sports Complex, Yaba on Saturday.

The games, which is in its 18th season, focus on achieving a healthier work-life-balance, bonding and networking within and between banks in a competitive and friendly competition.

The opening ceremony was graced by top dignitaries; Felicia Obozuwa – Division Head, Corporate Services, FCMB, Kolawole Amusa – Group Head of Human Resource Services, FCMB, Moshood Adelotan – Group Head, Continuous Improvement & Brand Services, FCMB, Evelyn Odukoya – Human Resource and Business Partner, Union Bank and Desmond Anumkua - Divisional Head, Internal Control Compliance, Fidelity Bank.

The opening ceremony included a novelty match between VDT Communications and Diamond FC and a Ceremonial march past of the participating contingents which Fidelity Bank won.

The day also featured three exciting matches, in first match, Stanbic IBTC Bank held the 2017 champions - Fidelity Bank to a one-all draw.

The second match saw FCMB take on UBA, with the match ended in favour of FCMB, while last season’s runners up, Union Bank upsets First Bank by a lone goal.

The spectators were also thrilled with raffle draws, free airtime, basketball challenges and freebies for all.

The Nigeria Bankers Games continues this weekend as UBA come up against Keystone Bank, First Bank trade tackles with Ecobank and Fidelity Bank face Sterling Bank.

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INTERVIEW ‘TERAWORK is helping solve humongous unemployment problem in Nigeria’ OLUTOLA MAJOLAGBE, head, Corporate Communications, TERAWORK in this interview with BusinessDay’s FRANK ELEANYA unveiled the world of freelancing in Nigeria and how the company is connecting both the providers and the people that need their services.

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here does the name T E R AWORK come from and what does it mean?

The name TERAWORK is a combination of two English words – “TERA” and “WORK”. TERA in computer language means a trillion of a given base unit of measurement. For example, “one terabyte” means one trillion bytes.

WORK in our context means freelance jobs. Combining the two words, TERAWORK simply refers to ‘trillion of freelance jobs’, and that’s essentially what we are all about. We create a platform where individuals and businesses can come to search and hire talented freelancers, and trillions of freelance jobs will exchange hands between the freelancers and people that engage them. The journey is long and promises to be interesting and we’ve already set out to embark on it.

Who is a freelancer?

A freelancer is a person that works on different projects or assignments with different companies or individuals instead of being an employee of a company; usually, a skilled self-employed person who get paid by the hour, day, job or per project instead of a monthly thirty-day salary cycle. Freelancers could work from home or any location of their choice and deliver their jobs remotely. Somethings, depending on the nature of the task or contract, they may be required to be physically present at the location of the person or company that hire them.

Freelancing is relatively a new field; how long have you been playing there?

Freelancing is not new per say.

What I can say is that we rarely use the word ‘freelancer’ to describe people that work in this manner.

For example, if you hire a creative designer to help design brochures, rollup banners or flyers for your company’s upcoming event, that creative designer is actually doing freelance job for your company, because s/he is not your employee, and once the task is completed s/he moves on to work for other clients. This sort of work nature aptly describes the definition of freelancer or freelancing.

However, the concept of gig economy is becoming more popular by the day, and so freelancing is getting more and more popular.

Gig economy is a situation or environment in which companies that have temporary positions contract independent workers or freelancers on short-term engagements – for hours, days, weeks or a few months. So, anyone with marketable skills in writing, creative designs, web designs, programming, multimedia, digital marketing,

limited or no such local freelance platforms they can use to engage professional freelancers. Often things get delayed because of this. Few people in Nigeria that know these U.S freelance sites do hire freelancers from these platforms for their projects. Also, skilled unemployed and not-sofully-engaged skilled individuals who want to consider freelancing to earn a living or get additional income do not have platforms that can effectively support them both in Nigeria and across the entire African continent.

You see, if we are not solving our problems, no one will solve them for us. Without compromising on quality, safety and convenience, TERAWORK is built primarily to be the freelance platform for Nigerians and Africans both at home and in the diaspora.

Olutola Majolagbe

event planning, photography etc. and does short-term jobs as I describe is freelancing.

TERAWORK freelance website was open to the public in December 2017. That’s like ten months ago.

From your experience, how viable is it for an individual who wants to take up freelancing in Nigeria?

As I stated earlier, there are lots of people already doing freelancing in one form or another, only that we don’t consciously call them freelancers. Also, the number is increasing by the day as the world embraces gig economy.

For example, we have a growing number of people today in Nigeria offering taxi service via various service marketplace platforms like Uber, Taxify, Lyft etc. and many companies are looking in the direction of using these services rather than spending a massive amount of money to buy cars and employ full-time staff as drivers.

Also, more companies and people are looking to outsource some of their core and non-core professional services like software development, call centres, hardware support, events management etc., and these jobs are gradually going away from people with regular employment to independent workers or freelancers.

However, it’s not as easy as it sounds though. Finding one’s feet in the freelancing space can be daunting. One of the challenges freelancers face is not getting paid at all for their works as friends, family members, religious organisations, want to use their services without paying a dime.

Another challenge is paying them far lower than the actual value of jobs or services they render. Some people that engage freelancers have devised means to pay them by promising to refer new clients or give them exposure that never exists.

These are part of the problems we solve at TERAWORK, by building a hub or ecosystem where freelancers are protected from the perils of the otherwise difficult path. And not just that, everyone that signs up as a freelancer on our platform, gets their own branded e-commerce site with access to control their backend free of charge. I mean, every freelancer receives their own branded ecommerce website hosted on terawork.com with friendly, easy to remember URLs. Freelancers can run their businesses from here, everyone sees them, clients can reach and patronise them through our platform. All the tools they need to manage their projects are built into the system made available to them, and our system ensures that they get paid for every job they successfully deliver.

All these give everyone who has marketable skills the opportunity to make a living. Freelancing is an alternative to full-time employment. In a way, you can see that TERAWORK is also helping solve the humongous unemployment problem in Nigeria.

But it’s not just the freelancers alone that we care about, we also design our system to protect the interests of the clients that hire them. We ensure that clients don’t pay for poor jobs.

What are the similarities you can draw from the market in Nigeria and elsewhere on the African continent?

Concerning freelancing, Nigeria and the entire African continent need robust online freelancing platforms to ease the processing of hiring and engaging freelancers. Many multinational companies in the U.S and Europe hire freelancers on platforms like Fiverr and Upwork, which are US based freelance sites to get some of their things done. Companies and individuals in Nigeria and the entire African continent have

Going through your website, it seems you have freelancers in just about every field, is that correct? What sets you apart from the competition?

Yes. We have freelancers signing up every day on our website and across all categories and services.

However, as I stated earlier, we are just starting the journey.

And, what sets us apart from the competition? First, signup as a freelancer or buyer is free, secure and intuitive. We don’t charge our freelancers before they are listed for potential clients to see. Unlike some competitors’ websites that merely provide list of services providers to potential clients, TERAWORK marketplace provides features that enable freelancers and buyers effectively manage their projects, communicate and share project files securely, handle payments efficiently etc. Besides, we have dedicated customer support for timely resolution of issues, excellent documentation, interesting and educative blog posts and helpful tips on our blog website.

Also, on a lighter note, I think people that have seen us like our website, they trust us, they know we mean business.

How do you ensure freelancers are constantly engaged with work?

We continuously innovate and invest in both digital and traditional marketing. Creatively promoting our brand and those of our freelancers, and of course giving people who visit our website great users’ experiences. Apart from these, we encourage and assist our freelancers when they signup in creating impressive profiles for themselves, make their profiles so easy to read and understood by potential buyers that visit their profile pages. We encourage our freelancers to upload pictures and videos that make people easily understand the services they offer. Also, to

increase our clients’ satisfaction after our freelancers work for them, we provide means and encourage our clients to rate our freelancers’ performance. On a continuous basis, we vet and review our freelancers’ public profiles to be sure they are very good at what they claim they do.

How do you prevent security breaches and safety online for freelancers and buyers’ information?

There are many measures we have in place to ensure security and safety of all our freelancers and buyers. First, we follow best practices in our implementation and deployment of security measures that prevent cyberattacks, and we keep improving on them every day. Also, we refine our processes to ensure that our users’ data and privacy are well protected. For example, every freelancer has a dedicated backend and wallet that keeps financial details of their jobs, and only them can see their wallets.

Equally, buyers have their dedicated dashboard at the backend to access details of their spending. No one else can see these except the buyer. We have highly secure payment channels for buyers to make payment for jobs they order and for freelancers to cash out money they earn while working on the TERAWORK platform. These channels use the highest level of data encryption technology to ensure the safety of their card or bank details.

We also have a very robust messaging solution that ensures that communication between buyers and freelancers is confidential and secure. We prevent any other means of interactions between buyers and freelancers to ensure that communication between buyers and freelancers can be trusted. While freelancers have their entire “e-commerce” site on the TERAWORK platform, they are not allowed to send unsolicited messages to our buyers. Buyers always initiate job requests; freelancers only reply to a request that come to them.

With the use of brand or screen names, buyers can mask their real names, thus protecting the identity of some famous or high net worth individuals that use our platform to hire freelancers.

Given that services are going mobile, are you planning for a mobile version of TERAWORK soon?

Yes. We are in the process of launching the Android and Apple IOS apps for TERAWORK. However, our website when viewed on web browsers on mobile devices is highly responsive. Users can easily access and enjoy viewing our website on their mobile phones, tablets, laptop and desktop PCs.

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Creating enabling government initiatives as catalyst for inclusive growth BALA AUGIE

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ith nearly half the w o r l d living on less than $5.50 a day, and most of this figure living on less than $1 a day in SubSahara Africa, there is surely a need for countries in Sub-Sahara Africa to better identify with the poor and implement policies to improve living standards.

To improve the living standards of its growing young population, African countries must come up with enabling government initiatives that would help its young population thrive. Therefore, it is crucial for Africa to invest in skills and adapt to the trends that are currently reshaping the global labour market.

Disruptive technologies like automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and digitization that deals on e-commerce and e-payment channels, create opportunities for development, especially for Sub-Sahara Africans with its young and growi n g p o p u l at i o n , e v e n though it portend some risk in itself for the goals.

A ver y critical precondition for sustainable development is good governance anchored on an enabling environment that allow for businesses to thrive, hence both private and public enterprise requires an operating environment conducive to growth and development.

Business has a critical role to play in accelerating progress towards sustainable development as catalyst of economic growth and employment, as a key contributor of government revenues, and as a driver of innovation, capacity building and technology development.

Creating the right conditions for private enterprise may require strategic reforms to longstanding regulatory prac-

Segun Agbaje, group MD/CEO, GTBank

tices to unlock the full potential of private enterprise and open markets in a way that can promote economic growth, hence there is a need to applaud the recent partnership initiative of GTBank, first with New Works Limited and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to deliver an end-to-end process for Nigerians to apply for their International Passports online and also make payments at the official rates online.

GTBank’s role in enabling government initiatives also involved an electronic tax payment campaig n in par tnership with the Lagos State G ove r n m e nt, s e e n by industry watchers and analysts as a step in the right direction, which is long overdue.

Under the NIS collaboration, the multi-channel payment system will enable Nigerians apply for all international passport types (new and renew-

als) online at https :// immigration.gov.ng and make payments on all GTBank’s e-channels using the reference ID generated at the application stage.

All the projects that have either been completed since the commencement of my administration or those that are underway have been done through taxes. Lagosians would henceforth be able to pay their taxes through GTBank branches; the mobile payment and internet banking platforms of all banks

In addition to these payment channels, GTBank also launched payment offices at six of the Nigerian Immigration Service Offices; starting with the passport office at Alagbon Close, Ikoyi, Lagos. Five other payment offices will be set up at Alausa, Festac, Port Harcourt, Kano and the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.

The GTBank payment offices will make paying for immigration services at NIS offices easy and seamless. “We are delighted to be at the forefront of digital banking solutions that is making banking faster, cheaper and simpler for ever y Nigerian. We believe that creating a multi-channel payment system for immigration ser vices reflects our commitment to driving digital banking solutions that not only drives financial inclusion, but also positions us at the center of an ecosystem that offers benefits

beyond banking,” Segun Agbaje, the bank’s managing director stated.

In a similar vein, GTBank took a noble effort seen at helping tax payers in Lagos make direct deposits to the government coffers seamlessly. “The e-tax payment campaign has shown the premium placed on electronic payment by the Lagos State G ove r n m e nt a n d t h i s would equally aid the financial inclusion program of the Central Bank of Nigeria,” Segun Agbaje, the managing director of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, said.

According to Agbaje, the elimination of middlemen in the tax payment structure in Lagos will reduce fraud in tax payment and government would be able to get immediate value for all tax remittance. He opined that GTBank is willing to support the government in the collection of all the different taxes payable to the Lagos State Government.

“The process in the payment of taxes has been simplified for the residents and citizens of Lagos State who are the direct beneficiaries of the productive utilization of taxes in the state.

All the projects that have either been completed since the commencement of my administration or those that are underway have been done through taxes. Lagosians would henceforth be able to pay their taxes through GTBank branches ; the mobile payment and internet banking platforms of all banks,” said Akinwunmi Ambode, the state governor to flag off the electronic payment campaign in partnership with GTBank.

The various forms of taxes and revenues that can be paid at all GTBank branches across the state include Pay as You Earn; Witholding Tax; Land use Charges; Direct Assessment; Development Levy & Business Premise. Others are Tax Audit; Stamp duties ; Land Charges ;

Consent fees ; Capital Gains Tax; Survey fees; Registration & Conveyancing fees.

It is notewor thy to state that GTBank has consistently playe d a leading role in Africa’s banking industry. The bank is regarded by industry watchers as one of the best run financial institutions across its subsidiary countries and serves as a role model within the financial service industry due to its bias for world class corporate governance standards, excellent service quality and innovation.

History background of GTBank Guaranty Trust Bank plc was incorporated as a limited liability company licensed to provide commercial and other banking services to the Nigerian public in 1990.

The Bank commenced operations in February 1991, and has since then grown to become one of the most respected and service focused banks in Nigeria.

In September 1996, Guaranty Trust Bank plc became a publicly quoted company and won the Nigerian Stock Exchange President’s Merit award that same year and subsequently in the years 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. In February 2002, the Bank was granted a universal banking license and later appointed a settlement bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2003.

Guaranty Trust Bank under to ok its s e cond share offering in 2004 and successfully raised over N11 billion from Nigerian Investors to expand its operations and favourably compete with other global financial institutions. This development ensured the Bank was satisfactorily poised to meet the N25 billion minimum capital base for banks introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2005, as part of the regulating body’s efforts to sanitize and strengthen Nigerian banks.

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34 BUSINESS DAY NEWS Diamond Bank jumps to 4-month high over...

Continued from page 1

Anammah and Aisha Oyebode,

who were all non-executive directors.

An email to the bank’s largest shareholder, Carlyle Group, which owns 17.75 percent of the bank, wasn’t immediatelyrespondedto.Twophone calls seeking comment from Diamond bank’s CEO, Uzoma Dozie, whose family is a majority local shareholder, went unanswered. But a source at the bank confirmed media reports that Dozie is due for retirement in 2019 and that the board resignations is preparation for a new management and board to come into place. He was first appointed on October 24, 2014. His first 5-year tenure as managing director will lapse on October 23, 2019. Even though he is entitled to another 5-year tenure, sources have told BuisnessDay that he may decline it to pave way for the new investors.

Kunoch DB holdings, owned by Pascal Dozie, Uzoma’s father, is the second largest shareholder in Diamond bank with a 9.25 percent stake.

Diamond Capital Partners ltd holds 6.10 percent of the bank, while other investors hold 1 percent each or less.

If Carlyle was the one selling its stake, then its representative on the board, Idris Mohammed, who also doubles as managing director on Carlyle sub-Saharan Africa fund, would have been the director to resign, sources say. That leaves the door open to a possible sale by the Dozie family, given that they appointed the four directors who resigned. Mohammed was appointed as a non-executive director August 13, 2018.

Carlyle is rumoured to be eyeing fresh investments in the bank and the resignation of the directors was the first step towards recapitalising the bank, according to some people with knowledge of the matter, who did not want to be named.

While the Carlyle option is possible, it will imply writing a big cheque for the transaction and further recapitalisation. The US-based private equity firm invested US$147million in Diamond bank in August 2014.

The value of Carlyle’s investment in the bank has tumbled by more than half to $66.9 million, following a devaluation of a similar magnitude from N164 per US dollar in 2014 to N360 per US dollar in 2018.

The difficulty in exiting at a profit narrows the possibility of a sale to another private equity firm, as the bank now has a cheaper valuation.

“It would be hard to find a foreign investor for the bank given the low returns of some Nigerian banks and the challenge of asset quality,” an investment banker said on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorised to speak publicly.

Diamond bank’s ROE as at the first half of 2018 was two percent, which indicates low profitability.

With exception to Guaranty Trust Bank, Stanbic IBTC and Zenith bank which boast superior Returns on Equity, the average return on equity of Nigerian banks is 13 percent.

In a sign of limited foreign appetite for local banks, only two foreign investors (Standard Bank and UGPL) have invested over US$200 million in a Nigerian bank acquisition over the past two decades.

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Existing foreign and local operators are also identified as potential investors in Diamond, whether its South African bank, First Rand, rekindling an interest it has had in the bank since 2017 or ABSA bank.

Local lender, Access Bank, is also said to be in the running for acquisition of Diamond bank, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Only a tier-one bank can afford a deal for Diamond bank, limiting potential investors to one of either First Bank, Zenith, GTB, Access and UBA. However, failed attempts by one local bank to acquire another local bank, may dissuade the Central Bank from signing off such a deal when it casts its mind to similar deals gone bad like the 2014 acquisition of Mainstream Bank

by Skye Bank which culminated in the fall of the latter in August.

Diamond Bank has 17million customers and 277 branches across Nigeria and had an NPL ratio of 12.3% and cost of risk of 4.7 percent as at the first half of 2018.

The bank is a leading player in retail banking, driven by technology. It has over three million customers on its mobile banking platform, through its mobile money relationship with telecom giant, MTN. Customer deposits and gross loans, however, contracted by 4.9 percent each, on a year to date basis to N1.11 trillion and N770 billion respectively as at first half of 2018. Nonetheless, the bank’s retail loans grew by seven percent first half 2018 with retail contribution to loans target of 15-20 percent over the medium term.

Investors reacted positively to the news yesterday of the likely recapitalisation, as the share price appreciated by 9.5 percent and further gained 7.2 percent Thursday to close at N1.49.

Friday 26 October 2018

What Nigerian women can learn from Ethiopia’s first female president BUNMI BAILEY

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ahle-Work Zewde’s has emerged as Ethiopia’s first female president, pointing to changes taking place in Africa’s political landscape that Nigerian women could take advantage of when they become more proactive and confident.

Odumosu Omolara, CEO, Class Climax Consulting, said, “Nigeria women should know that this is something for them to look at, emulate and be more proactive. Nigeria and Ethiopia have quite a number of things going on for them.”

Tinu Mabadeje, a nonviolence training consultant said that this new achievement for Ethiopia will make Nigerian women more determined and encouraged to take on political roles in the society.

On Thursday, Africa’s second most populous country, elected Zewde as its first female president. She is an experienced diplomat who has now become Africa’s only female head of state.

The position of president is ceremonial in Ethiopia, with executive power vested in the office of the prime minister. But the appointment is deeply symbolic and follows up on last week’s cabinet reshuffle.

“In a patriarchal society such as ours, the appointment of a female head of state not only sets the standard for the future but also normalizes women as decision-makers in public life,” tweeted Fitsum Arega, the prime minister’s chief of staff and de facto government spokesman.

In 2017, Nigeria and Ethiopia were ranked amongst the worst countries in the world in terms of women participation in politics and electoral processes.

According to the Global Gender Gap index data of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Nigeria and Ethiopia were ranked 135th and 134th position out of a total of 144 countries. Hopefully this may help improve Ethiopia poor ranking.

“Our own environment naturally does not encourage women to be in the forefront of politics because there has been a gender bias in our culture and it is until recently that, that school of thought is being reviewed.

They think generally that women are not able to handle matters that has to

do with governance,” Omolara said “Naturally, women are the major people involved in entrepreneurship forefront in Nigeria. They should be sensitized and encouraged through the media to have confidence in them. Women are the ones making wave in the society. So we should utilize that influence and encourage women to put their forces together so that they can bring out the best in themselves,” Omolara further added Mabadeje stated that one of the reasons for the poor performance in politics is the poor financial capacity of women.

“Unfortunately, the financial capacity is not there. There is a limit for women to compete with men in political positions because they do not have the money to purchase nominations forms and they are not encouraged to come out,” Mabadeje explained.

Sahle-Work, 68, was born in the capital Addis Ababa and attended university in France, and has been Ethiopia’s ambassador to France, Djibouti, Senegal and the regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

Prior to her appointment as president, she was the United Nations’ top official at the African Union.

She is fluent in English and French as well as Amharic, Ethiopia’s main language. She was previously the special representative of the United Nations secretary general to the African Union. Before that, she headed the organization’s Nairobi office with the rank of undersecretary general.

Zewde will serve in her capacity as president of the federal republic of Ethiopia, for the next six years and while the position is largely ceremonial, she has already indicated that she will pursue an agenda to promote peace and women empowerment.

This currently makes Zewde Africa’s only current president. A handful of African countries have in the recent past been led by female presidents with executive powers, including Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia (2006-2018) and Joyce Banda in Malawi (2012-2014).

“We still have a very long way to go and for Ethiopia at this point in time to have a female president means that they have left Nigeria behind,” Mabadeje said.

Study finds 74% of Nigerian household...

L-R: Nicephore Soglo, former President of Republic Benin; Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria; Boni Yayi, former President of Republic of Benin, and Kayode Oguntuashe, Nigerian ambassador to Republic of Benin, after a parley in Cotonou on critical African and West African issues.

Nigerians import over 700,000 used cars...

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sales as 10,000 which is just ten percent of what it once was. ‘‘Peugeot, Toyota, Nissan, were selling many cars but today, it is a combined market figure of less than 10,000 new vehicles annually. Imported used cars have taken over the entire market”.

He advised that government should restructure and re-engineer the car industry or risk having the used car market destroy the sector.

“I want to plead with the DG of NADDC that the goal of the new auto policy should be to make brand new vehicles more affordable by reducing the taxes on new vehicles. “’Seventy percent duty on new imported vehicles and 30 percent on imported used vehicles is killing the industry. We need to find a way

for used cars in the country to be generated from the country than imported ones, so as to maximise the advantages of new vehicles”, he said.

In her contribution, Diana Chen, chairman of CIG Motors, who also represents GAC Motors, called on players in the car industry to work together because the auto industry has what it takes to industrialise the nation.

“The automobile sector can help the country attain industrialisation and create employment for its citizens.

Nigeria has the population and the most industrious economy in Africa, they need to drive new cars”, she said.

The CIG scribe offered 30% discount to customers who would patronise GAC vehicles at the fair ground.

Besides the complaints of declining demand for new cars, players in the auto industry at the fair also

spoke of persistent harassment of their members by government agencies, especially the Nigeria Customs Service.

The auto companies accused the Nigeria Customs Service of harassing, frustrating and intimidating them by consistently impounding genuinely imported vehicles.

Kunle Jaiyesimi, deputy managing director of Massilia Motors Limited, who spoke on behalf of the auto stakeholders at the opening ceremony of the 19th Abuja Motorfair, in the presence of the representative of Vice president Yemi Osinbajo, said “many of the government agencies are frustrating us.

“Officials of the Nigerian Customs go about impounding genuinely imported vehicles and we need the Federal Government to intervene in this regard before we go into extinction”.

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com

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export, distribution, sale and use of paints with total lead concentrations greater than 90 ppm.

Lead is a toxic metal that causes adverse effects on both human health and the environment. Experts says that while lead exposure is also harmful to adults, lead exposure harms children at much lower levels.

Tobias Eisenhut, a paediatrician, with the German “Öko Institut” who hasworkedonleadresearchteams,said the effects on children is more dangerous because it is often irreversible.

The danger of lead has been well documented in several studies around the world, leading the WHO to list ‘lead-caused retardation’ as a recognised disease. The WHO also lists it as one of the top ten diseases whose health burden among children is due to modifiable environmental factors.

From July to August 2016, SRADev Nigeria purchased a total of 54 cans of solvent-based paint intended for home use from stores in Lagos, Nigeria. All paints were analyzed by an accredited laboratory in the United

States of America for their lead content, based on dry weight of the paint.

It found that 40 out of 54 analyzed solvent-based paints for home use (74 percent of paints) were lead paints, which means they contained lead concentrations above 90 parts per million (ppm, dry weight of paint). This is also the regulatory limit for lead in decorative paint in e.g., India, Philippines, and the United States of America.

The study also found that that 29 paints (54 percent of paints) contained dangerously high lead concentrations above 10,000 ppm.

The highest lead concentration detected was 160,000 ppm in a yellow Finecoat Paint sold for home use.

According to the study, yellow paints most frequently contained dangerously high lead concentrations above 10,000 ppm. Of 18 yellow paints, 16 (89 percent of yellow paints) contained lead levels at or above 10,000 ppm; of 18 red paints, 12 (67 percent of red paints) contained lead levels at or above 10,000 ppm; and 1 white paint (6 percent of white paints) contained lead level above 10,000 ppm.

Friday 26 October 2018

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The crown prince, the journalist...

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anymore, was even pretending to talk about ‘democracy’.

Te n s o f t h o u s a n d s would go on to die in the proxy battle between the two giant groups in Syria and in Yemen, and a simmering underground war would go on unchecked in Lebanon.

In 2015, a new King, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ascended the throne in Saudi Arabia. His son – Mohammed bin Salman, thirty-three years old, would take the reins of untrammeled power in the land in his hands and would go to great lengths to cultivate the powers-that-be in the Western world, especially a certain Mr. Donald Trump.

In carrying out the internal and geopolitical ‘change’ which he promised, the Crown Prince has been displaying a resolve and ruthlessness that was gradually becoming alarm-

ing to his supporters in Europe and the American establishment. He has ‘encircled’ Qatar and attacked Yemen in a war to crush the troublesome Houthis and their Iranian backers, a war he promised would be quick and decisive, but which has now become one of the humanitarian disasters of the age, with no end in sight.

This was the context in which the drama of Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination took place. The word is that a squad of ‘specialists’ were deployed for the purpose, and that Jamal was killed shortly after he entered the consulate. The word is that his fingers were cut off with an electric saw, and that the hacking up of his body commenced even while he was still alive – a process gruesome for even the most hardened imagination to contemplate.

Was there a purpose to this? The psychologist

would say it wasn’t an ‘execution’ – that if the intention was simply to ‘eliminate’ Jamal, there was no need for all the elaborate ritual. A single

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‘specialist’ could simply have knifed him, poisoned him, or shot him dead on the streets of Istanbul.

Perhaps the intention was

to send a message – to the dead, but even more to the living. ‘Don’t mess with me – I can do this…’

Vladimir Putin, President

of Russia, after all sent such a message to a Russian dissident and former spy whom he called a ‘scumbag’. After arranging for him and his daughter to be fatally poisoned in faraway rural England, he arranged for the ‘specialists’ who did the job to show their faces on Russian television. They made the ritual denials, but the real communication was a message to all opponents of Putin – ‘Don’t mess with me – I will get you-wherever…‘ In informed circles, all the fingers are pointing at MBS. How will this end? Will the ‘coalition’ unravel?

What will happen to the war in Yemen? Is this the end of MBS? Or will the Saudi house shrug it off, perhaps cut off the heads of a few fall guys, and proceed with business as usual? After all Donald Trump’s agenda for peace and prosperity in the Middle East, including a possible peace deal with Israel, is anchored on the Saudi agenda. He has no Plan B – at the moment.

The next few weeks should make interesting watching.

companies that fail below statutory expectations.

Electricity is a fundamental pre-condition for our much-vaunted industrial revolution. I have always insisted that Nigeria must become an industrialised nation or we would regress into a backward, fourth-world anti-civilisation made up of a vast army of angry, hungry, unemployed youths.

Our population doubles every 30 years. In 1960 our population was 56 million.

In 1990 it doubled to over 100 million. Today, it is 200 million. In 2050 our population is projected to overtake that of the United States to occupy the number 3 position, behind China and India.

We must run while they walk.

We must model electricity demand in a manner that pre-empts our expanding demographics. In the year 2018 we must plan ahead for the coming decade when our population would have risen to 240 million. We have to run just to meet the most minimum expectations. Not long ago an econometric study by the CBN projected that tackling the electricity deficit alone could boost our GDP growth by as much as 62 percent.

The Nigerian people cannot afford to wait any longer.

We must move with speed.

Providing electricity for all, will, of course, cost humungous amount of money in terms of investment capital.

We will pay the price. We shall explore domestic as well as international sources for capital for the power sector.

There are large pools of local savings that can be tapped.

We shall source financing

from the large accumulations of pension funds. And such capital will be guaranteed by government. We shall partner with foreign investors to attract investments into the power sector. We shall enhance transparency both in policy and within the framework of implementation and the key operational institutions.

Our focus will be on completing the outstanding projects on power generation while tackling structural bottlenecks surrounding distribution. We shall set up a Situation Room that will monitor and regularly report on progress on implementation on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis. Obstacles discovered will be isolated and tackled.

According to the global consulting firm, Deloitte, successful electrification in emerging economies requires focus on three principal areas: bridging the financing gap, enabling energy transactions, and unleashing radical transparency. They also advocate use of modern ICT such as digitalisation and blockchain to facilitate transactions or any transfer value in a manner that is verifiable and permanent.

The enabling environment matters. We need a stable geopolitical and macroeconomic environment that is friendly for power projects; and that ensures their successful operation.

Policymakers must be committed to the power sector and must prioritise energy as the central factor in economic development. Linked to this is commitment to building viable public-private partner-

ships for successful national electrification efforts.

Focus must be on the power value chain, from generation to distribution, consumption and regulation. We must nurture an environment that is favourable to investments in the power sector and that ensures a win-win scenario for investors, operators and consumers. Equally vital is developing policy pathways with clear roadmaps that take account of demographics and demand and their linkages to generation, distribution and consumption. What is essential is to ensure technically and financially viable operations across the broad spectrum of the value chain.

Government must also invest in R & D and human capital to ensure not only innovation but improved skills and capacities to deliver Electricity for All. Ultimately, government must play a catalytic role, in partnership with key domestic and external stakeholders and local communities.

Involving local communities in planning energy policy will obviously enhance their sense of collective ownership and will contribute to ensuring successful implementation. Indeed, the question of ownership is fundamental.

It is essential that electrification projects are organised around local ownership, so that communities have a stake in the projects.

Cost of capital also must be controlled. For example, if metering proves rather expensive, consideration could be given to estimates based on standard pricing around average and maximum consumption rates.

How we would fix the electricity...

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Electricity supply was deregulated through emergence of independent power distribution companies (DISCOs).

The Electric Power Reform Act 2005 was a major milestone. It led to the emergence of 6 generation companies and 12 distribution companies covering the 36 states of the federation. However, power distribution remains in government hands. Over the last decade the federal government has spent over US$25 billion on the power sector. Unfortunately, the maximum we have attained in terms of power generation is a 7,000 MW, of which only 5,000 MW is actually being distributed. Quite apart from the problem of generation, pricing and distribution remain a challenge.

The central problem with the power sector is fundamentally the fact that it remains a highly centralised operation. What we need to do is to decentralise power generation and distribution.

We need to allow states working individually or as regions to invest in power generation and distribution. We also favour a modular approach in which states and regions can generate and distribute their own electricity. The federal government will play a steering role, but need not be a dominant or exclusive monopoly. We must also invest heavily in distribution sector. What we currently lack as a policy is commitment to deregulating the distribution sector and to bring in foreign investors.

We need a leadership that is committed to a policy of

universal access for all. We believe that universal access to electricity is not a privilege; it is a right for all our citizens. However, we are aware that many communities live in isolation from the main national grid. We would make efforts to reach them by extending the national grid network. Where this is not feasible we install off-grid sustainable energy systems in its place.

If I had my way I would decree an Executive Order requiring all government buildings at federal, state and local government levels to have off-grid power systems installed on them. Solar panels should be installed on the roofs of all government buildings, including schools and clinics. This is, of course, not a complete solution. But it will reduce the deficit by a considerable margin while boosting productivity and efficiency. We can only imagine what a boost it would be for rural schools and for rural clinics. In the case of the latter, it would be possible to store vital medicines and blood banks that would be vital life-savers for expectant mothers and their infants.

It is imperative that government revisits the power sector with a view to designing a comprehensive solutions-based approach.

A major issue is political capture by vested interests.

Those who are engaged in importation of generators would do anything to kill the power sector. Some of these people have held key political appointments, and ironically, were even involved in implementing our national power policy. They chose

to implement in a way that would ensure failure in the power sector, thereby creating rent-seeking opportunities for themselves. Today, Nigeria has the dubious prize of being the world capital for importation of generators. These generators not only create the externalities of environmental and noise pollution; they feed into the diesel-importation cartel.

Nigerians are the worse for it.

We must therefore upscale power distribution to at least 20,000 MW while boosting distribution by 100 percent.

It is foolhardy to lump the power sector together with works and housing. We need a stand-alone power ministry with a minister who is committed and passionate about Electricity for All. We shall bring in foreign partners and investors. We shall take a hands-on approach. We shall declare a State of Emergency on the Power Sector. We shall not allow anyone or any selfish interests to stand on our way. Part of the problem with this vital sector is theft and vandalisation of electrical equipment. We shall institute maximum punishment for such crimes. There is also the problem of poor maintenance culture. The DISCOs have little or no interest in maintenance. Once they are guaranteed a steady income stream, they could care less about maintenance. We shall empower the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to monitor the issue of maintenance and to exact fines on companies that fail to respond immediately to breakdowns and customer complaints. We are also prepared to re-nationalise power

Friday 26 October 2018

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Friday 26 October 2018

Buhari commissions new Port Harcourt terminal to boost airport infrastructure IFEOMA OKEKE

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resident Muhammadu Buhari says government is making deliberate efforts to increase handling capacities and infrastructure of the nation’s transport sector.

Buhari made this known yesterday as he commissioned the newly built Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, stating that it was part of his promises to upgrade Nigeria’s transport infrastructure in all geopolitical zones of the country.

The President said,” Today’s commissioning is a significant landmark for international travellers, especially those in the SouthSouth region.

“Not much was done after these airports were built in the 70s and 80s to increase handling capacity, and so we needed to take decisive steps to ensure that our terminals meet the minimum international global standards.

“In the 2017 budget, I promised to upgrade Nigeria’s transport and complete a number projects that will be beneficiary to the nation economically, and these include construction of new terminals, railways and power projects.

“Today’s commissioning is a direct policy to sustain economic growth in all geopolitical zones of the country.”

Speaking earlier, Nyesom

Wike, Rivers State governor, assured the President that the people of the state and indeed the South South were happy with the project, stating that it would foster further investment in the state.

Wike said, “I can tell you this today that the people of Rivers State and the Niger Delta are happy with you Mr. President. This terminal here will help the drive of the state to grow the economy and it will attract investment to the state. What has happened here shows that Rivers State is safe, Rivers State is secure and if it was not CCECC will not have been here to construct this.”

Port Harcourt is one of the four airport terminals funded from the China EXIM Bank facility to the Nigerian government.

BusinessDay’s checks show that cost of the four Chinese terminals is $600 million, aside the ancillary works. The contract was meant to be completed in 2016, but was extended due to some additional works and ancillary works necessary for the effective roll out of the project.

However, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has assured that all the projects including ancillary works, will be completed by the end of 2019.

The new terminal, which has capacity to process 7 million people annually, is approximately 28,000m2.

How Ambode’s display of maturity united Lagos APC - Bagudu JOSHUA BASSEY

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overnor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu, says the high sense of maturity displayed by the governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode in the wake of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primaries in the state, was a factor that united the party.

Ambode, it would be recalled, accepted the outcome of the controversial October 2, 2018 APC governorship primaries that produced Babajide Sanwo-Olu as the party’s flag bearer for 2019 elections. Ambode on Tuesday also reaffirmed his readiness to campaign for Sanwo-Olu and work to ensure victory for the APC. Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 18th National Women Conference of the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO) held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Bagudu said while it was inevitable to offend people in life, Ambode had since moved on and holds no grudges against anybody.

Bagudu also commended

Ambode “for achieving a lot for Lagos State” saying “history would be kind to him for his great works in the state.”

“My friend Ambode doesn’t like to be praised; he is a very private person and I always see a reflection of him in me that how does private people function in all our public work in politics but gratefully he has done a lot for Lagos; he has continued in the tradition and understandably, he might have offended some people.

“I have done so, many others before us have done so but he (Ambode) has demonstrated grace and being the believers that we are, we believe that history will judge him kindly. He holds no grudge against anybody.

He has assured me and he loves the people of Lagos State and he is committed to their will,” Bagudu said.

Bagudu also lauded the joint effort of both Lagos and Kebbi States that birthed the LAKE Rice initiative, saying apart from rekindling hope in the ability of Nigerians to achieve a lot for the country, the project also led to 90 per cent reduction in rice Importation.

L-R: Remi Adejumo, chief technical officer, Comercio Limited; Zakari Usman, chairman, ICT Group, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI); Ikenna Odike, CEO, Outcess; Babatunde Ruwase, president, LCCI, and Nigeria-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce, Oye Akinsemoyin, during the LCCI 2018 ICT Group seminar on Data Management: Tool for Economic and Security Change in Lagos.

Nigeria auto distributors, local assemblers seek protection MIKE OCHONMA, Abuja

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uto assemblers and distributors have called for Federal Government’s intervention over what they describe as consistent harassment on its members from government agencies, especially the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS).

The auto companies accused the NCS in particular of harassing, frustrating and intimidating them by consistently impounding genuinely imported vehicles.

Kunle Jaiyesimi, deputy managing director of Massilia Motors Limited, who spoke on behalf of the auto stakeholders at the opening ceremony of the 19th Abuja Motorfair, in the presence of the representative of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said, “Many of the government agencies are frustrating us.

“Officials of the NCS go about impounding genuinely imported vehicles, and we need the Federal Government to intervene in this regard, before we go into extinction.”

Often times, he said, Customs officials storm their facilities in the name of task force very late on Fridays to impound vehicles, an action that is capable of jeopardising their business if not checked.

To this end, they appealed to the Vice President, who was represented by the director-general of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Jelani Aliyu, to intervene, as they were doing genuine business.

Also speaking, the managing director of Elizade Auto land, representative of JAC Motors in Nigeria, Ademola Ade-Ojo, lamented the slow pace of develop-

ment in the nation’s auto sector, which he attributed to the influx of used vehicles into the country.

According to Ade-Ojo, Elizade has been in the auto industry and has seen the ups and downs in the sector, and recalls that the industry once accounted for over 100,000 new vehicles annually, but today accounts for only less than 10,000 vehicles per annum.

In his submission, at that time, ‘’Peugeot, Toyota, Nissan were selling many cars, but today, it is a combined market figure of less than 10,000 new vehicles annually, while imported new cars have taken over the entire market.”

He said, “As at my last check, they were importing over 700,000 used vehicles annually, and the question is – how do we compete and develop our auto industry?”

To this end, he appealed for a restructuring and re-

engineering of the sector before the used car market destroys the auto sector of the country. “I want to plead with the DG of NADDC that the goal of the new auto policy should be to make brand new vehicles more affordable by reducing the taxes on new vehicles,” he said.

He lamented, “’70 percent duty on new imported vehicles and 30 percent on imported used vehicles is killing the industry. We need to find a way for used cars in the country to be generated from the country than imported ones so as to maximize the advantages of new vehicles.”

In her contribution, the chairman of CIG Motors, representative of GAC Motors, Diana Chen, noted the need for players in the industry to work together, adding, “The auto industry has what it takes to industrialise the nation.

Obaseki steps up campaign, rallies EU museums, others for return of stolen Benin artefacts

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overnor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has stepped up campaign for the return of prized Benin heritage objects looted from the Benin Kingdom during the British invasion of the kingdom in 1897.

To assuage the worries of global stakeholders over the safety of the artefacts when returned, Obaseki has reiterated that work on the Royal Benin Museum will be expedited to house the artefacts.

According to Obaseki, “We will not relent in our quest and clamour for the return of these valuable works that were carted away from our state in 1897.

“The objects mean a lot to our people as they represent our history, culture, our creative ability and in some quarters, these art works mean much more.”

He further said consultations with all the interest

groups would continue to ensure that the return process was seamless.

Recall that the governor gave similar assurance during the second coronation anniversary of the Benin Monarch, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, in Benin City, last weekend.

Earlier in month in The Netherlands, Obaseki and the Benin Dialogue Group committed to a number of proposals towards the return of the Benin artefacts and the establishment of the Benin Royal Museum in Benin City, in collaboration with local and international partners.

The museum, according to the Benin Dialogue Group, a multi-lateral working group, will be for permanent display of Benin artworks from European and Nigerian museums.

The partnership will set a framework for the European

partners to provide advice, as requested, in areas including building and exhibition design, while European and Nigerian partners will work collaboratively to develop training, source funding, and legal frameworks to facilitate the permanent display of Benin art works in the new museum.”

The Benin Dialogue Group is a multi-lateral collaborative working group that brings together museum representatives from Austria, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom with key representatives from Nigeria.

At the meeting, Obaseki presented concrete plans for the Benin Royal Museum being developed by the Edo State Government and the Royal Court of Benin with the support of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria.

His Royal Highness, Prince Gregory Akenzua, Enogie of Evbobanosa, was quoted in the statement as saying, “The Benin Dialogue Group meeting in Leiden was very fruitful; all the partners were open and frank in their discussion. I am happy we are making progress in the effort to give our people the opportunity to once more access our heritage objects that were looted in 1897.”

On his part, Stijn Schoonderwoerd, said, “We were very impressed by the progress made by our Nigerian partners towards the new museum. We are grateful to Governor Obaseki for coming to Leiden to present plans for its development. The European museums are excited to collaborate on this project and have shown their commitment today to making historical Benin works of art available in Nigeria.”

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Global oil market eyes Nigeria, Libya as both grow production STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

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igeria and Libya’s growing oil output may throw global energy market off balance and drive oil price correction downwards.

Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) states that Libya and Nigeria were exempted from cut in oil output by a combined 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) from January 2017 until the end of March 2018, to help their oil industries recover from years of unrest.

Other OPEC members had already lifted output in anticipation of weaker supply from the two countries and may have to recalibrate their response if indicators start pointing to a surplus oil market, according to a Bloomberg report.

Nigeria’s crude oil

production increased by 40,000bpd to 1.800 million per day in September from 1.760mbpd in August, according to data compiled

by OPEC. The Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources said Nigeria’s oil production, including condensates, in the month of September was 2.158mbpd.

These were lower than the average 2mbd (including condensates) crude oil production the country recorded in the first four months of 2018, and are still far lower than the 2.3mbd production benchmark set in the 2018 budget.

A lull in militancy has helped Nigeria regain the barrels of oil per day it lost due to actions of various militant groups, especially the Niger Delta Avengers.

The government embarked on intense efforts at negotiations including using backchannels. The move has

largely paid off as militancy has quietened.

A ministerial committee of OPEC and non-OPEC states that monitors the global oil pact said it had agreed Nigeria would join the deal by capping or even cutting its output from 1.8mbpd, once it stabilises at that level from 1.7mbpd.

“I do not see OPEC insisting on cut in oil production for Nigeria because of our peculiar, current economic situation. If the global market can support the supply then there will be no need for Nigeria to cut output,” Wumi Iledare, professor of petroleum economics, said on phone. “The long-term solution for Nigeria is for Nigeria to grow its local refining capacity,” Iledare said.

Libya, one of the most volatile and politically fragmented oil producers, expects to pump as much crude by the end of next year as it did before the 2011 re-

volt against former strongman, Moammar Al Qaddafi.

The country plans to refurbish its pipeline network and raise output at some fields to reach a target of 1.6mbpd, Mustafa Sanalla, chairman, National Oil Corp., said in an interview.

The North African nation currently pumps 1.25mbpd, he said in the eastern city of Benghazi.

“We’ve put together a plan to boost field production, including pipeline maintenance and addition of new pipelines,” Sanalla said. “We aim to reach 1.6 million barrels a day by the end of next year and this level can increase.”

If it reaches this target, Libya would be producing at the level it last maintained in the years before Qaddafi’s ouster and death and the nation’s ensuing civil war. Political divisions and internal fighting have plagued Libya since then.

A3 NEWS

BUSINESS DAY

Obaseki backs One Million Trees project in Edo

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do State governor, Godwin Obaseki, has assured of his administration’s commitment to sustain the One Million Trees for Peace Afforestation project ongoing in the state.

Obaseki made the commitment when he received members of the Board of Association Bernadette Strebel World Peace (ABSWP) based in Switzerland and Spain, who paid him a courtesy visit at Government House, Benin City on Wednesday.

The governor lamented that the forest cover of the state has dropped to less than six per cent, noting that replenishment through continuous tree planting is paramount.

“We are committed to the protection of the forest covers in the state in order to tackle climate change and preserve our beautiful state for future generations. We are ready to support the replenishment of our trees which are our heritage,” he said.

He assured that with the

setting up of the Edo Forestry Commission, the state would be able to plant one million trees in two years.

Earlier, the president of the association, Bermadette Strebel, said the association in 2008, promised to support the Edo State Government’s Reforestation programme by raising one million trees to be planted in the state.

Strebel added that about 270,000 trees have been planted in the state since the inception of the project.

She noted that the world forests were depleting at an alarming rate and commended the governor Obaseki-led administration for giving support to forest regeneration.

“The establishment of the Advisory Committee on Forestry and the proposed Edo Forestry Commission are welcome development. You are working in line with the saying that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago and the second-best time is now” the President said.

Rivers youths vow to disrupt evacuation of SNEPCO’s property from Onne FTZ AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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L-R Oluwole Rawa, GM, consumer marketing, MTN Nigeria; Dakore Egbuson, Nollywood actress; Kahul De, GMD, MTN Nigeria; Idowu Adesokan, senior manageria, high value segment, MTN Nigeria, and Richard Iweanoge, GM, brands and communications, MTN Nigeria, during the relaunch of MTN Xtra Value in Lagos.

Pic by Pius Okeosisi

JETRO brings leading Japanese firms to Lagos Trade Fair DAVID IBEMERE

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he Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) is bringing 30 of the best companies across all sectors from Japan to participate in Lagos International Trade Fair (LITF) starting November 2 to 11, at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS).

Among the sectors represented at the Japanese pavilion will be Technology, Automobile, FMCG, and beauty products, which together will provide Nigerian consumers and business audiences a unique glimpse into what Japanese is all about.

JETRO, a Japanese government-related body that facilitates and fosters busi-

ness between Japan and other nations, its presence at Lagos fair 2018 builds upon a successful participation in four previous editions.

According to Shigeyo Nishizawa, trade commissioner/managing director, JETRO, despite recession many Japanese companies are keen to enter and expand their businesses in Nigeria, a reflection of the belief and commitment Japanese companies have in Africa’s biggest market.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, Nishizawa said, “The number of the Japanese affiliated companies in Nigeria increased by four in 2016 and by one in 2017. Despite the recession, this shows that nothing has

changed as regards the huge potential of Nigeria and how strongly Japanese companies are eager to tap into this lucrative market.”

He however stated that Nigeria’s import from Japan in 2017 slightly decreased by 1.6 percent to $320.8 million and also export to Japan decreased by 7.5 percent to $783.1 million, explaining that the trade decline between both countries from 2015 to 2017 was due to decreased natural gas import, slim harvest of sesame seeds in Nigeria and weak demand for some goods.

Also speaking, Chiharu Yamamura, deputy trade commissioner, said the Japan pavilion would be giving Nigeria consumers an expe-

rience of quality Japanese products and technologies at an affordable price.

“At the pavilion, a special zone has been created for women products, with beautiful women we called “Made in Japan, Made for Women” corner featuring a collection of products and services created by Japanese companies for women in Nigeria, specifically designed to introduce Japanese products and services helping to enrich women’s lives with more fashionable and convenient items,” Yamamura said.

At the fair, over 500,000 visitors are expected over the 10-day period, with another six countries already indicating interest to also showcase their products at the fair.

ouths in Rivers State have restated their opposition to plans by Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) to relocate its Supply Base from Onne, Rivers State, to Lagos, vowing to stop any ship that tries to carry the property of the company from sailing.

The threat is coming on the heels of stiff opposition to the controversial relocation of the SNEPCO Supply Base to Lagos, by several groups including the Rivers State Youth Federation (RSYF); Onne Youths Council (OYC); Ijaw Youths Council (IYC); the Concerned Community Women of Rivers (COCOWOR), and the Rivers State government.

Meanwhile, workers at the SNEPCO Supply Base in Onne; paramount ruler of the Onne Community, King Dennis Osaronu, as well as King Ateke Tom, former Niger Delta warlord and the Amanyanabo of Okochiri Kingdom in Okirika Local Government Area of Rivers

State, have called on SNEPCO to shelve the planned relocation in the interest of peace in the Niger Delta region.

Philip Tenwa, president of OYC, who issued the threat, said SNEPCO relocation would lead to the loss of more than 5,000 direct and indirect jobs in the community.

He also warned against surreptitious removal of the company’s property from Onne as this might be counterproductive.

According to Tenwa, SNEPCO recently surreptitiously directed that all its property and equipment including turbines, engine spares and miscellaneous be loaded into containers and moved out of the Onne Port, where it had operated for more than 20 years, to another port in Lagos.

Tenwa said that apart from the small businesses and contractors, whose businesses would be affected by SNEPCO’s relocation, moving the Supply Base out of Onne Free Zone, will negatively affect the economy of Rivers State and the Niger Delta region.

Arik Air resumes flights to Warri today IFEOMA OKEKE

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rik Air has announced the resumption of flight operations to Osubi Airport, Warri, with effect today, following the reopening of the airport closed on September 3, 2018 by Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).

Arik Air operates two daily flights from Lagos to

Warri and one flight from Abuja to Warri. All the flights into Osubi are resuming same day.

Roy Ilegbodu of the airline, according to its CEO in a statement, said the airline was pleased to welcome passengers back on the Lagos-Warri and Abuja-Warri routes with a promise of ontime departures and great customer experience.

A4 BUSINESS DAY

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IMPACT INVESTING

Friday 26 October 2018

In Association With

Waste conversion as solution to tomorrow’s energy need OGHOGHO EDOSOMWAN

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he way consumers are utilizing resources these days is leading to huge amounts of waste. The quantity of waste has been increasing constantly across the world. Having overfilled local landfills is not a problem of just one country, it has been happening all over the globe.

Each month, millions of tonnes of waste are produced. This causes huge environmental impact to wildlife, ecosystems and to human health. Keeping this in mind, many new waste treatment plants have come up and have developed new ways to generate energy from landfill waste.

In Nigeria, managing waste disposal has become a main concern regardless of several attempts by successive governments and private organisations in that direction. That is why it is a common picture across the country today to see heaps of decomposed waste dumps in almost every nook and cranny.

Residential apartments, markets, waterways, highways, streets and undeveloped plots of land have been converted to waste dumps for many households. It is no surprise many say that in Nigeria, waste increases in a geometrical progression and collection and disposal are at an arithmetical progression.

Nigeria generates more than 13 million tonnes of solid waste annually, out of which only 20-30 percent is collected. Reckless disposal has led to blockage of sewers and drainage networks, and choking of water bodies. This however, calls for alternative measures such as using waste to generate energy which will be of huge benefit to the country as a whole.

Another country facing this problem is Japan. According to Russia Today, an online publication, Japan, which last year exported about half of its 1.5 million tons of annual plastic waste, is now piled higher and deeper in its own garbage, with many local governments struggling to cope with the problem.

The country used to export to China but China’s refusal to accept more garbage is overstretching the Japanese recycling industry, with 34.9 percent of companies limiting or considering restricting the quantities of plastics they can accept.

However, Japan’s environment ministry is drawing up plans to increase recycling of disposable plastics, with one proposal being

the provision of subsidies to waste management companies to help fund the construction of state-ofthe-art recycling facilities.

Nigeria has joined the rest of the world to grow keen interest towards the increase and effectiveness of impact investing globally.

The impact investing landscape is growing in Nigeria, leading the way for other countries in West Africa as the region saw 28 active impact investors in 2015.

This growth is fuelled by a variety of sources of capital, mostly available in the manufacturing and services sectors, which could be tapped for impact investing. Even though the impact investing sector in Nigeria outperforms that of other countries in West Africa, it still remains low relative to the size of the global market.

Waste-to-Energy widely recognized by its acronym WtE is the generation of energy in the form of heat or electricity from waste. Using developing technology, these various methods aim to compress and dispose waste, while attempting the generation of energy from them.

Instead of throwing them away polluting the land and our water bodies, it can be optimized to produce energy which is a major problem in Nigeria affecting not just

citizens but also businesses.

Waste to energy is imperative in making sure that natural resources are returned to nature to ensure their sustainability.

In a growing world, where the conventional forms of energy are fast moving towards extinction as well as are contributing generously to global concerns like the greenhouse effect and global warming, the need to innovate and employ alternate or unconventional energy sources has become crucial for the existence of a future.

Energy from waste offers recovery of energy by conversion of non-recyclable materials through various processes including thermal and non-thermal technologies.

Energy that is produced in the form of electricity, heat or fuel using combustion, pyrolysis, gasification or anaerobic digestion is clean and renewable energy, with reduced carbon emissions and minimal environmental impact than any other form of energy.

Here are a few countries that have adopted a latest trend of converting waste into energy. Sweden is a country that has set up several waste incineration plants in order to generate energy for heating purposes. It is one of the most successful countries to have converted

waste into energy. Waste recycling fulfils around 20 percent district heating needs of Sweden. It not only collects its own household and industrial waste, but also imports waste from neighbouring European countries in order to recycle it or use it as a fuel in waste incineration plants.

Denmark has also been burning waste to generate energy that has been helping this country to reduce its energy costs. The country has also been reducing its dependence on fossil fuels since the time it started waste to energy programs which has majorly contributed to saving the landfill space on earth.

In the UK, landfill tax is highly charged on each ton of waste, and some major companies have started running waste recycling programs in various communities and have planned to set up plants to convert waste into energy Norway is another country that has been turning waste into cash through its waste recycling efforts.

It not only generates energy from its own waste, but also imports waste from other European Union countries that find it tough to handle waste.

Another successful country is Germany which is one of the leading countries that have been

importing waste from other nations and converting it to energy for its own cities. In Germany, waste to energy is a preferred method for disposing off their garbage. Also, in the US, while electricity is cheaply available, the country has still been making appreciable efforts in the area of converting waste into electricity.

Various firms in the UAE have been transforming household waste into energy. These private efforts are greatly helping the country to handle the huge amount of waste it generates.

Nigeria has been estimated to require about 88,282 Mega Watts (MW) to meet the demand of its fast growing economy by 2020. Also, with current population, the country generates 40,959 tonnes of waste daily and it is expected to increase to 101,307 tonnes in 2025 at a projected rate of 0.8kg of waste waste/capita/ day according to the World Bank.

This is feasible because the population is projected to increase to 210.1 million by then.

By implication, Nigeria will be generating about one-fourth of the total waste that will be produced in the whole of Africa. This is scary and it is therefore important that we take advantage of this by converting this waste to energy for the economy.

Friday 26 October 2018

FT

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BUSINESS DAY

FINANCIAL TIMES Global sell-off eases in run-up to Amazon and Google results

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US midterms: Donald Trump’s tryout as a ‘master of industry’

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World Business Newspaper

Global stock markets tumble after late rout on Wall Street

Weaker US earnings stoke fears of economic slowdown as Nasdaq suffers biggest fall in 7 years EMMA DUNKLEY AND ALICE WOODHOUSE

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lobal stock markets came under pressure on Thursday after a dramatic Wall Street sell-off with investors rattled by a slew of weaker-than-expected US earnings results and heightened geopolitical uncertainty European stock markets fell heavily in early trading after a tumble in Asian bourses that put many of the region’s indices on track for their worst month since the global financial crisis.

A Wall Street sell-off accelerated sharply into the close on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average ending in negative territory for the year. Investors in the US dumped shares of technology companies, sending the Nasdaq down 4.4 per cent, its biggest one-day drop since August 2011.

“It’s super-ugly, and who knows when it will be over,” said Adam Sender, chief investment officer of Sender Company and Partners, an investment group. “I’m very defensively positioned.”

In Asia, China’s CSI 300 index of companies listed on mainland exchanges dropped as much as 2.8 per cent on Thursday while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index was down 3.7 per cent.

The Europe-wide Stoxx 600 fell 1 per cent while London’s FTSE 100 lost 1.1 per cent.

“There are a multitude of reasons why markets came down in early October, but everyone said it would be OK because US corporate earnings would prop them up,” said Kerry Craig, a global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management.

“But they have not been as strong as expected — cracks are appearing in earnings.”

Against a backdrop of rising interest rates and growing trade tensions,

A stock selloff in the US has washed up in Asia © AP

a feeling that the best days of the economic cycle were in the past was taking hold, fed by the results of bellwether industrial companies such as Caterpillar and 3M this week.

“That is definitely the fear — that we are at peak earnings,” said Max Gokhman, head of asset allocation for Pacific Life Fund Advisors.

About half the S&P 500’s decline of 3.1 per cent decline on Wednesday came in the last hour of trading. “It felt like a bit of panic selling in the last few minutes” of trading, said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade. “This the first time I have felt in this whole sell-off like there was panic selling.”

Optimists are undeterred. “The nearly 10 per cent decline in US stocks over the last month appears excessive,” said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer at UBS Global Wealth

The power of example will galvanise change for African women Many societies used to be matriarchal, giving the continent a long tradition to draw on Kamil is in charge of the security DAVID PILLING apparatus (renamed the Ministry biy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s prime of Peace). In Rwanda, where inheriminister, has developed a tance laws have been amended to habit of making political give women equal property rights, gestures that reverberate around the two exceptional figures, Clare Akacontinent. In rapid succession, he manzi and Louise Mushikiwabo, has released thousands of political have held senior cabinet positions.

Regrettably, the two countries prisoners, concluded peace with Eritrea and promised fully demo- remain exceptions. When Ellen cratic elections in one of Africa’s Johnson Sirleaf stepped down as mostly tightly controlled states. This president of Liberia this year, she month, he did something that could left no other woman among the 55 have the biggest continental impact leaders on the continent.

The examples of Rwanda and of all: he appointed women to half Ethiopia, though, are putting presthe positions in his cabinet.

Ethiopia joins Rwanda in hav- sure on others to raise their game. ing as many women in its cabinet Atiku Abubakar, a presidential as men. Cynics might see this as a contender in Nigeria’s forthcoming public relations ploy to win over election, has pledged, according to a gullible foreign donors and paper report in the Nigerian press, to “yield over an authoritarian record. There 40 per cent of his cabinet position may be some truth there. But that to women and youths”. The word is to underestimate the power of “yield” — the reporter’s, though example in galvanising real change. not necessarily the candidate’s — In Ethiopia, Aisha Mohammed is revealing. It implies a residual becomes the first woman to head Continues on page A6 the defence ministry, while Muferiat

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Management. “Valuations for US and global equities have fallen to levels not seen since February 2016. As a result, the risk/reward for stocks is becoming more appealing. We maintain a small overweight to global equities in our tactical asset allocation.”

In Asia, fresh signs of an economic slowdown accentuated the sell-off across the region. China posted third-quarter gross domestic product growth on Friday of 6.5 per cent, undershooting expectations.

South Korean authorities were forced to unleash support measures on Wednesday to boost economic growth and galvanise the employment market ahead of third-quarter GDP that missed expectations on Thursday.

“We ought to keep an eye out across the region, given this weakness,” said Rob Carnell, chief economist for Asia Pacific at ING. “Taiwan and Singapore share some, though not all, of Korea’s economic characteristics. The only bright spot in this outlook is net trade. Given the current circumstances, that feels rather worrying.”

South Korea’s Kospi index is down 12.6 per cent over October, while Japan’s Topix has fallen by about 11 per cent, putting both markets on track for their worst month since October 2008.

China’s CSI 300 index is down almost 9 per cent in October, putting it on track for its worst monthly performance since January 2016, when fears

of a Chinese debt meltdown sparked huge capital outflows.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell as much as 2.4 per cent on Thursday, taking the index down by nearly 11 per cent in October, putting it on course for its poorest one-month showing since August 2015. It is set to post its sixth consecutive monthly fall, which is the longest run of monthly declines since 1982.

Chinese technology giants have not been immune to the global tech sell-off and have weighed on the Hang Seng index, with Chinese gaming titan Tencent losing 3 per cent and high-tech component maker AAC Technologies Holdings off by more than 6 per cent on Thursday.

A volatile October for markets does not have to be bad news The instability in stocks and bonds is part of necessary shift away from central bank support MOHAMED EL-ERIAN

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his week’s volatility only amplifies an already unsettling month for global equity markets.

It is the product of a longer-term shift driven by an important change in the underlying regime for financial markets. We are moving away from the comforting support of ample, consistent and predictable liquidity and towards economic and corporate fundamentals having greater sway.

The handoff is complicated by a growing economic divergence among developed countries and uncertainty over trade policy. It has several investment implications.

After the trauma of the global financial crisis, US equities embarked on a record-breaking rally characterised by outstanding returns and unusually low volatility.

This was particularly notable last year when the S&P 500 returned 22 per cent and the Vix, the widely-followed measure of implied volatility also known as the “fear index”, spent much of the year in an historicallylow band of 10-15.

This year is turning out to be a different story. After resisting declines experienced by other markets,

including out-performing emerging markets by an eye-popping 20 percentage points in the first nine months of the year, the S&P has come under pressure with a 9 per cent drop this month.

The volatility regime has also changed. The Vix spiked as high as 37 in February, causing real damage to trading strategies based on selling volatility. This month it has traded mostly above 15.

There are plenty of reasons being cited for October’s turbulence, including the notion that US economic growth has peaked and corporate earnings have, too. However, a better way of thinking about what is unfolding relates to a broader change in the major determinants of asset values and stability.

Investing is no longer primarily about taking advantage of massive deployment of liquidity that lift all financial boats.

The change has been led by a Federal Reserve that is gradually reducing the size of its balance sheet, has hiked interest rates eight times since 2015 and signalled further increases that many view as relatively aggressive.

It seems to be more serious about countering pockets of excessive risk-

taking now in order to reduce the risk of future financial instability.

Unlike the Fed under former chairs Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen, under Jay Powell officials have refrained from issuing soothing statements during bouts of market turbulence. For its part, the European Central Bank continues to wind down its asset purchase programme and will probably stop it altogether at the end of the year.

Less central bank support has been accompanied by declining demand from foreign investors, especially from those eager to hedge currency exposure when investing in US government bonds.

Fortunately, US economic fundamentals remain robust. Strong job creation and better wage growth is supporting household incomes and consumption, while the fiscal stimulus from tax cuts is accentuated by higher spending.

All of which is encouraging business investment.

But the switch from liquiditydriven markets to one shaped more by fundamentals is far from smooth.

The solid conditions in the US stand in contrast to declining momentum in Europe and the emerging world.

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NATIONAL NEWS

FT

South Africa slashes growth forecasts amid deficit warning

The power of example will galvanise change...

Continued from page A1

reluctance to let go of the power that “rightfully” belongs to men.

Instead, Africa needs to embrace the idea. That goes as much for the electorate as for politicians. Many of the continent’s greatest injustices — whether sexual violence, exclusion from education and healthcare, lack of jobs — disproportionately affect women. Though there have been improvements, girls are still more likely to be out of school and malnourished.

This month, stories in Liberia and South Africa underlined the vulnerability of women to sexual violence as well as their strength to fight back. In Liberia, women — and men — took to the streets in protest after revelations that girls attending a school run by the US charity More Than Me had been repeatedly raped by the organisation’s co-founder.

In South Africa, in the first rape trial to be broadcast live, the extraordinary Cheryl Zondi waived her anonymity to give testimony about allegedly being raped from the age of 14 by an evangelical priest. While her court appearance has garnered huge support and shone a spotlight on the dark corners of South Africa’s rape crisis, it also served to demonstrate why women are reluctant to come forward. Ms Zondi was aggressively cross-examined, called a liar and asked to provide humiliating and unnecessary details of her ordeal.

Fortunately, Africa has a long tradition of strong women to draw on.

Before conquest and colonialism, which brought with it the patriarchal religions of Islam and Christianity, many African societies were matriarchal. The Ashanti in what is modern-day Ghana trace ancestry down the female line and often pass property from mother to daughter.

Many African liberation heroes were women, though all too often they have been torn from history. In Zimbabwe, Nehanda Charwe (18401898), a Shona spiritual leader, inspired revolt against the British South Africa Company, which was colonising Mashonaland and Matabeleland. Before her execution at the hands of the British, she is said to have warned that “these bones will rise again”. In Kenya, though women played a prominent role in resisting colonial role, few if any streets in Nairobi are named after a female liberation hero.

Contemporary Africa is not short of inspirational women. Thuli Madonsela, South Africa’s former public protector, arguably did more than anyone to bring Jacob Zuma, the former president, to account.

Many of Africa’s finest novelists, including Nigeria’s Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, are women. More important still, all over the continent, it is women who are holding things together, performing more of the back-breaking toil and playing a more constructive role in bringing up families.

Countless studies show that society at large — that means men as well as women — reaps the reward from having educated, empowered women. It is a positive sign that Nigeria’s presidential hopeful feels the need to cede more power to women. But the sooner African women demand that power is their right the better.

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Country faces a shortfall in tax revenues, a rise in public sector wages and high debts at many state-owned groups

JOSEPH COTTERILL

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ECB faces challenges over Italy, Brexit — and its own strategy What to watch for at the central bank’s meeting and Mario Draghi’s appearance CLAIRE JONES

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he European Central Bank is facing serious challenges: rising tensions between Brussels and Rome, doubts about monetary policy and worries about Britain crashing out of the EU without a deal.

A closely watched poll of purchasing managers published on Wednesday also showed that the region’s businesses are struggling to come to terms with increased global trade tensions — and that the export-led slowdown is beginning to affect the much larger services sector.

Such problems have not changed the ECB’s mind since its last big meeting six weeks ago. The ECB still insists it will halt its €2.5tn quantitative easing programme — which played a vital role in fuelling the eurozone recovery — by the end of the year. It argues that growth is still sufficiently strong and broad-based to forge ahead with its plans to phase out QE — the product of arduous negotiations within the ECB itself.

The ECB’s governing council is meeting on Thursday and its statement, to be released at 13:45 CET, will almost certainly confirm those plans. Policymakers are also expected to reiterate that they expect to keep interest rates at record lows “through the summer” of next year.

But when ECB president Mario Draghi speaks to the press at 14:30, he is all but certain to face questions about Italy, the ECB’s own strategy and Brexitrelated risks.

Rome vs Brussels In an unprecedented move, the European Commission has rejected the draft budget proposed by the populist government in Italy, one of the region’s biggest economies.

The tensions over the populist government’s plans to run a substantial budget deficit have pushed up Rome’s borrowing costs. The yield on Italy’s ten-year government bond is now 3.59 per cent, compared with 2.95 per cent when the ECB governing council last met in September.

Rome is angered at the ECB’s refusal to extend QE. But the central bank has observed little sign that Italy’s travails have affected other parts of the single currency area. Bond prices and borrowing costs for Spain and Portugal, two other parts of the eurozone’s so-called periphery, have not moved much.

And while Moody’s downgraded Italy’s debt on Friday, the rating agency’s verdict on Rome was better than feared.

That has kept Italian borrowing costs manageable — at least for now for now at least.

Strategy for 2019 Even after the ECB winds down QE purchases, it will confront big questions about its future strategy.

One issue is what to do with its hugely expanded balance sheet; another is how to prepare markets for higher interest rates in the future.

These matters will be affected by the choice of Mr Draghi’s successor, who will take office in November next year.

But the outgoing ECB chief will play a crucial role in coming months.

Can China’s agricultural transformation offer lessons for Africa?

Hunger and malnutrition tackled via a union of science, government and industry RAKESH KAPUR

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hen 200m farmers are responsible for feeding the entire population of China, any chance of halving hunger levels relies on helping these smallholders become more productive and, in the long term, more efficient.

This is precisely what China is doing, and the results have spared 155m people from hunger and malnutrition since 1990, accounting for two-thirds of the global fall in hunger levels.

With sub-Saharan Africa facing a hunger crisis of a similar order, China’s rapid agricultural transformation offers valuable insights that could help the region achieve much-needed productivity gains.

In China’s case, agricultural output has dramatically increased in part thanks to an effective union of science, government and industry to tackle barriers to productivity and related yield gap factors. Such a tripartite approach has allowed for science-based policies that can be swiftly enacted on the ground.

Emerging markets guest forum beyondbrics is a forum on emerging markets for contributors from the worlds of business, finance, politics, academia and the third sector. All views expressed are those of the author(s) and should not be taken as reflecting the views of the Financial Times.

The smarter use of fertilisers to achieve higher yields is a case in point that shows how this approach can bring enormous benefits.

Government and industry were

supported in bringing about this transformation by the crucial work of agricultural scientists, six of whom have been recognised with the International Fertilizer Association’s Norman Borlaug Award.

Extensive soil mapping over the past decade, led by Professor Fusuo Zhang, identified the nutrient needs of soil and plants while this year’s Borlaug Award winner, Professor Weifeng Zhang, extended this work with a nationwide assessment of fertiliser use.

The latter found nitrogen was being liberally applied in China in the hope of higher yields — up to 1.74 times as much as crops needed, and even more in the case of fruits and vegetables — which added to the environmental burden of agriculture, along with unplanned intensification.

To reset this and as part of a wider, long-term strategy to improve agricultural sustainability, China set its sights on zero growth in mineral fertiliser use by 2020. At the same time, government, researchers and industry set about helping farmers achieve a more effective balance of mineral and organic products as part of wider efforts to reduce the impact of intensification on the environment.

But this is not simply a lesson in “less is more”. It is an example of how agricultural inputs such as fertiliser need to be used at their optimal level to be most effective, and there is no “one size fits all” formula to achieve this.

In India, for example, fertiliser use efficiency remains low even with good management practices. One way to

address this is to invest in the development and use of best management practices, tools and fertiliser products that allow crops to absorb higher rates of target nutrients.

Across Africa, meanwhile, where an estimated 75 per cent of land is degraded to the point of affecting productivity, increased fertiliser use would significantly help recover the 8m tonnes of nutrients lost every year.

There are, of course, challenges to overcome, including improving access to the best inputs for smallholders. But Africa can also learn from China’s experience of reaching a point of diminished returns and avoid the potential mis-step of overuse.

The formula, then, comes down to using the right product at the right rate at the right time and in the right place.

We call this the “four Rs of nutrient stewardship” and calculating these optimum levels of fertiliser requires a science-based approach.

This is why Prof Zhang Weifeng was a driving force in China’s agricultural improvements after establishing a national fertiliser database, which identified inefficiencies in fertiliser use.

This evidence helped inspire the government’s “zero growth by 2020” fertiliser use policy as well as prompting a review of the subsidies provided for such products. In fact, the zero growth target was achieved by 2017.

The state acted not only as policymaker and regulator but as educator and facilitator, playing an active role in setting up demonstrations and workshops across the country to train farmers in best practice.

outh Africa’s finance minister has slashed growth forecasts and warned of a higher fiscal deficit this year as he outlined a deteriorating set of public accounts that underlined the challenges facing new President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Delivering the government’s fiscal outlook on Wednesday, Tito Mboweni said Africa’s most industrialised economy, which fell into recession this year, would only grow by 0.7 per cent this year versus earlier Treasury predictions of more than double that.

The state budget deficit would increase to 4 per cent this year, compared with 3.6 per cent expected previously, while government debt levels would not stop rising until well into the next decade, he said.

“South Africa finds itself at a crossroads,” Mr Mboweni said as he warned of “difficult choices” ahead for the country’s finances due to a shortfall in tax revenues, rising public-sector wages and the high levels of indebtedness faced by many state-owned companies.

“We cannot continue to borrow at this rate,” he said.

Mr Ramaphosa has pledged to revitalise South Africa’s moribund economy and overturn the corruption and decay of state institutions that marked the presidency of his predecessor Jacob Zuma. The ruling African National Congress forced Mr Zuma out of office last year.

But Mr Ramaphosa, a trade unionist-turned-tycoon, has faced resistance as he has set about removing Mr Zuma’s allies from institutions such as the revenue service and the boards of stateowned companies.

His job has been complicated by recent instability within the Treasury itself. Mr Mboweni, a former central bank governor, was this month appointed as South Africa’s fifth finance minister in three years after the scandal-clouded exit of Nhlanhla Nene.

Mr Nene quit after failing to disclose links to the powerful Gupta family, the business dynasty accused of using Mr Zuma’s friendship to influence cabinet appointments and state contracts when he was president.

The Treasury is battling to keep the country’s last investment-grade credit rating, with Moody’s. Rivals Fitch and S&P cut their rating on South Africa’s debt to junk last year amid the turmoil of Mr Zuma’s presidency.

The rating agencies have in particular raised concerns about the finances of government-owned companies such as the power utility Eskom, whose debts have state guarantees. Many were at the centre of alleged graft tied to the Guptas, who deny wrongdoing, as does Mr Zuma.

Mr Mboweni said that “there must be no holy cows” in tackling losses at SAA, the state-owned airline but added that it would receive a further $350m bailout this year. He also said the government would work on a “long-term plan to restructure Eskom and deal with its debt obligations.”

Underlining the scale of the institutional decay facing Mr Ramaphosa, Mr Mboweni said that out of R50bn ($3.5bn) in spending that was being “reprioritised” to boost the economy, R16.5bn would go towards rebuilding the South African Revenue Service.

The Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s main opposition, said Mr Mboweni had presided over a “full-scale budget blowout” with the cost of servicing government debt now matching spending on basic education.

Friday 26 October 2018

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BUSINESS DAY

FINANCIAL TIMES

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COMPANIES & MARKETS

@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED

Global sell-off eases in run-up to Amazon and Google results Wall Street recovers its poise after steep Asian downturn EMMA DUNKLEY, ALICE WOODHOUSE AND MICHAEL HUNTER

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wave of selling in global markets eased on Thursday but a series of earnings reports from bellwether technology stocks, which have borne the brunt of the October sell-off, were expected to deliver a big test of investors’ nerves.

New York’s Nasdaq Composite index rebounded more than 2 per cent, turning round from a sharp fall on Wednesday, when heavy selling of tech shares sent it down 4.4 per cent, its biggest one-day drop since August 2011.

But before the US could recover on Thursday, the international rout hit Asian markets hard, with the region’s bourses again suffering the biggest drops in the downturn. The Topix index in Tokyo closed down 3.1 per cent, slumping to its lowest level since September last year. Seoul’s Kospi dropped 1.6 per cent, taking it down more than 20 per cent from a 2018 high in January.

Investor sentiment started to shift during the European trading day thanks in part, to upbeat forecasts for fourth-quarter demand from German carmaker Daimler, and strong earnings from the third quarter from French peer Peugeot. US futures were also buoyed by Twitter, which announced strong earnings in a pre-market report.

The volatility gripping markets comes just ahead of Amazon and Google’s parent Alphabet announcing results after the closing bell in the US, following on from a string of disappointments from the semiconductor sector.

The US’s tech-heavy Nasdaq index is on track to post its weakest monthly performance since October 2008, while the S&P 500 has more than wiped out all of this year’s gains.

Many analysts and investors continue to believe the burst of market stress is a blip. “We do not advocate selling into this correction,” said Michael Strobaek, chief investment officer at Credit Suisse. “Investors should not rush back in, but add

exposure gradually in areas where value is most attractive.”

That tendency is already taking hold in Europe, where technology stocks rallied on Thursday, buoyed in part by Germany’s Siltronic, which makes silicon wafers used in semiconductors. Its shares jumped 11 per cent after the company impressed the market with its third-quarter earnings.

The Stoxx index tracking the tech sector in the region rose 1 per cent, in contrast to a bleaker run for tech stocks in Asia and on Wall Street.

Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax 30 fought Fresh signs of an economic slowdown accentuated the sell-off across Asia © AFP back from opening losses of 1 per cent to stand 1.0 per cent higher for the session, while the CAC 40 in Paris rose 1.6 per cent overall. The Europewide Stoxx 600 ticked up 0.5 per cent, Unexpected move follows billions in outflows from asset manager in third quarter bouncing from an initial decline of price and shrinking revenues. fund manager’s board.

1 per cent. Peugeot rose more than OWEN WALKER, ATTRACTA MOONEY AND Appointed to what was then known “Asoka, who was previously in con6 per cent and Daimler added 2.4 OLAF STORBECK as Deutsche Asset Management in tention to take the role of head of DWS, per cent. eutsche Bank has dismissed 2016, Mr Moreau helped complete a has deliberately manoeuvred himself The S&P 500 was up 1.5 per cent by Nicolas Moreau, the boss of complex initial public offering, the re- closer to Christian Sewing,” said the lunchtime in New York. its asset management subsid- branding of the business to DWS, and former Deutsche executive.

Worries that US earnings could be iary DWS, after investors withdrew partnerships with the likes of Generali He added: “The big concern is that weakening helped spark Wednesday’s billions of euros from its funds. His and Tikehau.

Deutsche’s top management keep sharp declines. “That is definitely the replacement will be Asoka Wöhrmann, The DWS supervisory board met making the same mistakes. DWS’s opfear — that we are at peak earnings,” Deutsche’s head of German private on Monday but Mr Moreau’s future erations in the US are lossmaking and said Max Gokhman, head of asset al- banking. was not discussed. The board was not need to be sold but resistance to that location for Pacific Life Fund Advisors.

The decision was made at a consulted on the appointment of Mr necessary decision has led to a loss of Bank of America Merrill Lynch Deutsche supervisory board meeting Wöhrmann, who took over with im- value for that business.” pointed out that investors are almost on Thursday morning and people mediate effect. He is the fourth head A person briefed on internal discushalfway through the US earnings close to the company said Mr Moreau of AWS in six years. sions said the decision to replace Mr season, with 59 companies having was not expecting the move. Unlike Mr In a staff memo on Thursday, Mr Moreau was driven by the Deutsche missed revenue estimates and 101 Moreau, Mr Wöhrmann will not sit on Wöhrmann outlined the “challenging supervisory board’s concern about beating them.

Deutsche’s management board, resolv- environment” confronting DWS and outflows. Over the past three quarters, “There are a multitude of rea- ing a conflict of interest that insiders said: “After a long period of sustained DWS suffered outflows of more than sons why markets came down in identified in the old structure. growth, our entire industry is once €15bn, while Mr Moreau had promised early October, but everyone said it “The problems have been brewing again experiencing what troubled ahead of the IPO to attract additional would be OK because US corporate for some time and the supervisory waters feel like.” funds of about €30bn a year. earnings would prop them up,” said board has decided that Nicolas has not DWS’s board consists of 12 diIn July, Mr Moreau officially conKerry Craig, a global market strate- been decisive enough in running the rectors, three of whom represent ceded that this target was out of reach gist at JPMorgan Asset Management. DWS business,” said a former executive Deutsche, which owns 77.5 per cent of for this year. Since the IPO in March, “But they have not been as strong as at Deutsche. the business, including Mr Wöhrmann. DWS’s share price has dropped by a expected — cracks are appearing in Due to DWS’ legal structure as quarter. Many of the world’s largest Mr Moreau, a 53-year-old Frenchearnings.” man, is the latest executive casualty a partnership limited by shares - a listed asset managers have suffered About half the S&P 500’s fall of 3.1 at Deutsche, which forced out chief governance structure criticized by similar or bigger falls in their share per cent on Wednesday came in the executive John Cryan in April. His suc- investors ahead of its IPO - Deutsche prices during 2018, over concerns last hour of trading. “It felt like a bit of cessor at the German lender, Christian has special rights to replace its top about the long-term outlook for the panic selling in the last few minutes”, Sewing, has failed to halt a sliding share executives without approval from the sector. said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade. “This the first time I have felt in this whole sell-off like there was panic selling.”

Deutsche Bank dismisses Nicolas Moreau at fund manager DWS

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Mining rights not enough to force evictions, says SA court Ruling described as ‘milestone’ for industry and wider land reform debate

Ukraine sells first dollar bond since last year’s IMF stand-off $2bn debt-raising comes days after IMF agreed fresh bailout package

KATE ALLEN

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kraine has raised $2bn of new debt in its first long-dated international bond sale since last year’s stand-off with the International Monetary Fund, which halted a $17.5bn bailout package.

The country has sold $750m of dollar-denominated five-year paper, which was priced at a coupon of 9 per cent, and $1.25bn of dollardenominated 10-year paper, priced at 9.75 per cent. $725m of the funds raised will be used to redeem a bond which is due to mature in February 2019, while the remainder will be used for general government spending.

The move comes just a few days after the IMF agreed a new $3.9bn assistance package with Ukraine, after the country’s government took the politically unpopular decision of meeting a key condition of the fund by raising household gas tariffs.

It is the first long-dated dollar debt since Ukraine raised $3bn from investors last November; that was its first dollar bond since Russia’s annexation of the Crimea in 2014. That 15-year bond priced at a coupon of 7.375 per cent; it now yields 9.417 per cent.

Last month an English court ruling gave Ukraine a boost in its longrunning battle with Russia over the non-payment of $3bn of bonds sold

by Ukraine in 2013.

The court’s ruling that the case should go to a full trial was widely interpreted by investors as a success for Ukraine, given the explosive implications of Russia probably having to present evidence and sworn testimony from senior government officials.

BNP Paribas, Citi, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan acted as bookrunners on the deal.

Ukraine is rated B-minus by both S&P and Fitch, both with a stable outlook.

JOSEPH COTTERILL

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outh Africa’s mining companies cannot use their mineral rights to evict communities who own the land, the country’s highest court said in a judgment described as a “milestone” for the industry and the wider debate on land reform.

In a ruling on Thursday the South African Constitutional Court said that companies’ rights to mine could not take precedence over the rights of those who own the land, as it overturned an order obtained by one mining group against a community in the country’s important platinum belt.

The ruling could transform how South African mining groups deal with communities, one lawyers said.

“This judgment is the milestone [that] mining communities needed especially because it clearly outlines that having a mining right does not surpass the rights of those that are currently occupying the land,” said Louise du Plessis of Lawyers for Human Rights, a group

that litigated the case.

Sedibelo Platinum Mines, the parent company of the miner that brought the eviction case, said that it was “studying the judgment and will advise pursuant actions as and when appropriate.”

As a high-profile ruling on the land rights of poorer rural black South Africans, the court’s decision will also fuel a debate on land reform that was launched this year by the ruling African National Congress under President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The ANC is contemplating constitutional change to allow expropriation of land without compensating owners. The party says the measure is needed in order to speed redistribution to the black majority that was dispossessed of land by colonial rule and apartheid.

Critics say the move would endanger investment and property rights. Activists have meanwhile said the debate must also focus on the historic lack of secure land tenure for communities in rural areas.

The Lesetlheng community that

brought Thursday’s case acquired its land over a century ago, but its ownership right was ignored until the end of apartheid.

The ruling “fundamentally transforms the power relationship between communities and mining companies”, said Johan Lorenzen, a lawyer who is representing another community in a similar case.

He said that black rural communities have previously been “steamrollered” in disputes over mining development that pit them against companies, the government and often their own traditional leaders.

Even as the ruling party has launched the debate on changing the constitution over expropriation, activists have accused the ANC of advancing a bill in parliament that would allow traditional leaders to agree to mining deals without community consent.

Mr Lorenzen said that whatever land redistribution policies will ultimately be decided, Thursday’s ruling “clarifies a second leg of land reform as tenure of security for people who do not have it . . . That cannot be lost in the debate.”

Politics & Policy

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BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 26 October 2018

Ogun APC women leaders, deputy governor to occupy Abuja over omission of Amosun’s guber candidate RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta

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arring a last minute change, the deputy governor of Ogun state, Yetunde Adenuga and hundreds of women leaders from All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as market women, have resolved to move to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and occupy the APC Secretariat to announce as part of effort to ensure that Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s anointed governorship candidate in the state, Adekunle Akinlade, is announced as authentic governorship candidate ahead of 2019 general election.

Consequently, hundreds of women from the three Senatorial districts in Ogun State on Wednesday took to the major streets of Abeokuta, the state capital and protested against the “imposition” of candidates in All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, saying the national chairman of APC, Adams Oshiomhole and the National Working Committee (NWC) would have no choice than to declare Akinlade as an authentic governorship candidate.

Recall that the two factions of Ogun APC, namely, Governor

Amosun

Ibikunle Amosun’s faction and former governor Segun Osoba’s faction held factional governorship and legislative seat primaries during the recently-conducted nationwide APC primaries which produced Akinlade for Governor Amosun’s faction and Dapo Abiodun as Osoba’s factional governorship candidate, but the National Working Committee of APC an-

I will conduct LG polls within six months in office says, Eyo Ekpo MIKE ABANG, Calabar

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yo Ekpo, governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Cross River State, has said that if elected governor of Cross River State in next year’s general election his first priority would be to conduct local government election for chairmen and councilors in the state.

It would be recalled that local government elections in the state has been stalled severally since the present administration came on board.

Cross River State has a reputation of conducting local government elections as and when due during the tenure of Donald Duke and Liyel Imoke administrations.

Ekpo, who is the former attorneygeneral of Cross River State under the Donald Duke Administration disclosed this in Calabar in an exclusive interview with BusinessDay while reacting to the emergence of his former principal as the Presidential candidate of the SDP. He said Nigeria demands a leadership that matches the proven potential of her people, saying at no point in the history of our country has this demand been more urgent than now, following our population that is approximately 200 million, growing at an annual rate of 3.2 percent, which is grossly incompatible with an economic growth averaging 2.3percent.

He described Duke’s emergence as the presidential flag bearer as a good omen for the country, first of all, saying, “It can only be a good thing for the entire country because we have had this stereotype thinking that the only person that can be a president in this country must be a Northerner, he can only come from the main stream party; I think what SDP has done is to reject those two primary stream of thought in this country.”

He noted that the SDP primary was decidedly free, fair and credible, as somebody who was the front runner in the race, Jerry Gana, and four others before the entry of Donald Duke, lost and did not make any trouble about it, but recognize it as democracy at play.

“Donald Duke came with a clear message, articulate message, delivered to the delegate and the rank and file of the party keyed into his action plan for the country without any form of inducement,” Ekpo said.

According to him, “What that means is that for the first time in this country, you did not have two mainstream parties saying the same thing, just the same kind of people.

We have somebody who has been prepared for leadership, somebody who have been tested and proven.”

“Duke administration will create an enabling environment that allows every Nigerian maximise his/her productivity, and realise his/her potentials and fulfillment.”

nounced Abiodun as substantive governorship candidate.

The angry women, who came to NUJ Press Centre, Iwe-Irohin House in their hundreds on Wednesday carrying placards with different inscriptions such as ‘We want justice in Ogun APC’, ‘Give us Triple A’, ‘Oshiomhole, Osinbajo, we want justice in Ogun State’ and a ‘Minority cannot take charge

over majority’, among others, threatened to occupy Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, naked on Friday if the National Working Committee and the national Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole failed to announce AbdulKabir Akinlade Akinlade as the substantive governorship candidate of the party in the state.

The state party women leaders led by Shade Giwa, claimed that Dapo Abiodun was nowhere to be found during the primary election of the party held across the state on October 2, 2018, saying: “October 2nd we voted for Hon. Abdul Kabir Akinlade during the primary election and he emerged as the winner.

But the electoral committee announced Hon. Dapo Abiodun as the winner, who was nowhere to be found during the election. “ The Electoral committee should be warned, Adams Oshiomhole, should be warned, He should release our mandate, we give him till Friday to announce the result, else, by Saturday, we will meet in Abuja. We want the whole Nigeria to know that we in Ogun State are of Ogun standard and we cannot take anything apart from that. In the party primary recently conducted in Ogun, we voted for Adekunle Akinlade, we

Disquiet in Akwa Ibom Assembly as more members defect ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

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kwa Ibom State House of Assembly is facing unprecedented uneasiness following the defection of some members from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Before the gale of defections that hit the assembly of recent, all the 26 members of the assembly were elected on the platform of the PDP and the house leadership has no minority leader.

But with defection of former Senate minority leader in August this year, his state constituency representative, Nse Ntuen who was elected on PDP ticket also left with him and this was to be followed by other members who also defected.

The second member who left PDP for APC in the assembly was Idongesit Ituen who represents Itu state constituency while Otobong Ndem who represents Mkpat Enin state constituency followed suit.

For Ndem, he had remained a member of the PDP until the party’s primaries but when he failed to secure his nomination to return to the 26-member assembly, he had to jump ship.

The PDP still has majority members in the assembly, the defection has brought to the fore the lack of equity and fairness by the current

leadership of the assembly. This is so because in the previous assembly, members who defected from PDP to other parties lost their positions and seats and ceased to be members of the assembly.

Four members lost their seats when they defected during the last assembly.

But with the recent defections, there is uneasy calm in the assembly as to what should be done to the defecting members.

Onofiok Luke, the speaker of the assembly who has won nomination of the PDP to contest Etinan federal constituency seat in the House of Representatives, appears not ready to rock the boat particularly with the current political scenario in the state.

It was however, gathered that the affected members have gone to court to stop the leadership of the assembly from declaring their seats vacant.

In a response to be a message, Imeh Okon, chairman, house committee on information, confirmed the development, saying that since the matter was before the court, it would be sub-judice for the assembly to take any action in respect of the defecting members.

According to Okon, who represents Ibiono Ibom state constituency, it would be contemptuous of the court for the speaker to take any action until the matter is disposed of.

don’t know Dapo.

“Adekunle is the one that all the APC women voted for and anything apart from Akinlade is a no to us. We are warning all the NWC led by Adams Oshiomhole because women are going to take action if they fail to announce Akinlade as the party candidate before Friday. We are going to storm Abuja to express our displeasure and we will go naked.”

Addressing the protesting women earlier at Oke-Mosan Governor’s office, the deputy governor, Yetunde Onanuga commended the protesting women for leaving their homes to defend their right.

She said: “I have seen the reason you came here in support of honourable Abdulkabir Akinlade.

For the past weeks they have been helping us in Abuja and they will continue to help us.

“Let us exercise patience when it is time for us to go to Abuja, I’ll personally follow you to Abuja.

I implore you all that by God’s grace, our mandate to Abdulkabir Akinlade will not be in vain.”

Derin Adebiyi, APC chairman in the state, claimed that Akinlade is the right choice, saying: “We all know it is Akinlade we voted for, those who didn’t vote and lied, it is left to them.”

Peter Obi joins Twitter INNOCENT ODOH, Abuja

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he Vice Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has officially opened a Twitter account.

A statement issued on Thursday by the Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCO) made available to our correspondent, said that the handle, @PeterGregoryObi, unveiled on Wednesday, has the JOBS acronym of the Atiku presidential campaign as its background display picture.

The first post on the account

was announced by the Presidential candidate of the PDP, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

Atiku’s tweet Wednesday night was to announce the meeting which Obi had with delegations of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the European Union in Abuja earlier the same day.

Later Thursday morning, Obi posted “Thank you all for the welcome. #LetsGetNigeriaWorkingAgain,” the statement said.

BUSINESS DAY

C002D5556

NEWS YOU CAN TRUST I FRIDAY 26 OCTOBER 2018

Opinion How we would fix the electricity challenge

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lectricity is the foundational pillar of our twenty-first century industrial economy. Any country that cannot provide universal access to power for all its citizens falls well below the Global Standard of Civilisation as understood in our epoch. According to estimates, more than 1.1 billion people globally lack access to electricity. Within sub-Saharan Africa, only 42% of households have access to electricity. This translates into some 600 million people within our continent that have been consigned to the darkness of the Middle Ages.

And according to the World Bank, only 59.3 percent of Nigerians -- a staggering 80 million -- have no access to electricity. As matters currently stand, Nigeria remains at the bottom ranks globally for electricity generation and consumption. Our per capita consumption of electricity, according to a World Bank index, is a mere 144.48 kWh,

in contrast to South Africa’s 4,198.40 kWh and Malaysia’s 4,596.33 KWh. When compared to the advanced industrial nations, our record looks even more abysmally poor.

The average annual per capita consumption for the United States is 12,983.33 KWh while that of UAE is 11,263.53 kWh and that of Sweden is an impressive 13,480.15 kWh. The tiny continental European nation of Iceland holds the world record of 53,832.48 kWh. Several barriers hamper optimal electrification in developing economies.

First, there is the high cost of providing electricity to urban, peri-urban and rural areas. Most such areas are characterised by low population density as well as prevalence of poor and impoverished households. In such areas demand for electricity is often restricted to households and a few agricultural consumers.

Several of such households consume less than 30 Kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month.

These factors generally make

provision of electricity to such households a rather expensive proposition.

Second, there is the problem of lack of adequate incentives. The prevalence of poor households with limited demand for electricity and insufficient income to pay the minimum costs often means

‘

The central problem with the power sector is fundamentally the fact that it remains a highly centralised operation.

What we need to do is to decentralise power generation and distribution. We need to allow states working individually or as regions to invest in power generation and distribution

,

HumanAngle FEMI OLUGBILE Physician, psycho-profiler and essayist

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n Istanbul, Turkey, a strange drama played out a few weeks ago. A man walked into the consulate of Saudi Arabia on what he thought was a routine assignment. He was a Saudi citizen who had left his homeland some time before and who considered himself something of a political exile, though he had never been charged with any offence. He had been in touch with the consulate the previous day to start the process of collecting documents he required to marry his Turkish girlfriend.

He had been assured that the papers he wanted would be processed and got ready for him. He was to come in to conclude the process the following day.

On the day in question, he walked to the consulate, accompanied by his girlfriend.

She was to wait outside for him for the short period it would take to conclude his transaction. Video images from nearby security cameras showed him walking through the gates, while she waited behind. Perhaps they had plans how to spend the rest of the day.

It was a journey from which he would never return.

that government must come up with the right mix of incentives to attract investors in the power sector. This entails a system of fair tariffs together with subsidies that may have to be borne by government.

There should at least be in place a system of progressive rather than regressive tariffs, ensuring that affluent areas pay more for electricity than power impoverished ones.

A third barrier is, quite simply, weak implementation capacity. The power sector requires highly skilled and competent technical staff across all levels of the value chain. It requires also that there should be skilled people not only at the policy level, but within the sectors of generation, distribution, maintenance and regulation.

A fourth element is population growth. Where the demographics outstrip supply and distribution by a large order of magnitude, several countries are walking fast just to remain in the same place. For example, Nigeria’s population doubles every

generation. The rate of urbanisation is reaching such an accelerated stage that it requires stupendous efforts to invest enough to provide basic access to most of urban dwellers.

Lessons from World Bank power projects in countries as diverse as Thailand, South Africa and Zimbabwe indicate that the critical success factors in the power sector require the following: proximity to distribution network/ other electrified villages; reasonable proximity to good roads; the target community must also be of a reasonable size; the number of initial consumers and connections should also be of a reasonable size; existence of a local industry also helps, for example, rice mills, power tools, pumps and other such activities requiring electricity, complimented by several other commercial establishments; and there should also be complimentary public infrastructure facilities such as roads and water facilities.

In the case of Nigeria, the

be generally supportive of recent changes within the Saudi system attributed to the Crown Prince. Saudi society traditionally was known as one of the most cloistered and restrictive in the world.

Women could now drive their own cars and go to the

umbrage of power, more and more, recently, was in his earnestly held view that religion had a role to play in politics, especially the politics of the Arab world. To deny that, he argued, was to deny reality.

It was a point of view that, unfortunately, was seen by many people in the Saudi hierarchy as being supportive of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Brotherhood was a group proscribed in many Arab nations, tolerated in a few, and seen as an existential threat in most, especially the monarchies.

The Arab Spring – the uprising and ventilation of youthful energy that began in the Arab world from 2010 had seemed to raise the prospect of Democracy sweeping across a part of the world that had known precious little of it all through history. However, a closer look at the entrails of the movement showed that what was in prospect was not ‘democracy’ as it was commonly understood but a new form of popular autocracy supposedly based on the foundation of religion, as advocated by the Muslim Brotherhood. The movement had started in Egypt in 1928 and had been insidiously taking roots among the disaffected people – especially the youths, in many Arab nations. The Brotherhood were not themselves an active part of the Arab Spring in Egypt.

As the events progressed, the power brokers in the region began to fear that if things were allowed to play out unchecked, the Brother-

The crown prince, the journalist and the electric saw After waiting all day for him, the girlfriend raised an alarm.

What transpired on that

day, and in the days since, have become matters of public speculation and uncomfortable discussion all over the world.

At this point it is pertinent to ask, and to answer the question – who was this man?

His name was Jamal

K ha s h o g g i . Th e na m e Khashoggi itself is associated with the innermost powercircles of the tight-knit fam-

ily structure that owns, and rules, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Khashoggis are wealthy and well connected. Jamal was a journalist of some note. He wrote an occasional column on the Arab world for the Washington Post. He was known to

cinema. Small beginnings, perhaps giving a glimpse of greater possibilities to come.

Where he attracted the

‘

Was there a purpose to this? The psychologist would say it wasn’t an ‘execution’ – that if the intention was simply to ‘eliminate’ Jamal, there was no need for all the elaborate ritual. A single ‘specialist’ could simply have knifed him, poisoned him, or shot him dead on the streets of Istanbul.

Perhaps the intention was to send a message – to the dead, but even more to the living. ‘Don’t mess with me – I can do this…’

,

THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS

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

unbundling of the power sector during the Third Republic under President Olusegun Obasanjo led to the emergence of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

Continues on page 35

hood, with their disciplined grassroots organization and famous ruthlessness, stood to be the real beneficiaries of the Arab Spring. They would not only sweep away the dictators and monarchs that had appropriated power for themselves and provided a certain kind of unhappy stability for a generation, they were going to get a grip on power that would be difficult for anyone to dislodge for generations to come.

In the vanguard of such reasoning, and the decisive effort to preempt it, were the Saudis, who had everything to lose. The most dramatic routing of the Brotherhood was to take place in Egypt, when, after the Arab Spring swept away the corrupt Mubarak regime and Mohammed Morsi of the Brotherhood came to power in the ‘democratic’ elections that ensued, Mohammed Al Sissi – a charismatic soldier and Saudi protégé, carried out a military coup and went on to enact a script to crush the Brotherhood and destroy it permanently.

There gradually evolved a polarization into two camps in the Arab world – an array of ‘strongman’-led, predominantly Sunni governments determined to hold the fort and enforce their own version of ‘stability’, and a Shia-led group with Iran and Syria as their bulwarks, which sought overtly or covertly to change the existing order in the region. Nobody, Continues on page 35

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WOMEN’S HUB Friday 26 October 2018

ELISHAMA

ROSEMARY ROSEMARY IDEH for the love of her country

BUSINESS DAY

2 BUSINESS DAY

EDITOR’S NOTE

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elcome to this edition.

Our Cover Personality and Leading Woman for this week is the undaunted and truly inspiring Elishama Rosemary Ideh, whose passion for Nigeria led her to run for the office of the President.

Find out all she has to say. This is truly revealing.

Despite bringing in about $50bn to Nigeria’s economy annually, the event management industry is challenged with obstacles that hinder their efficiency.

Find out more on this in this edition.

The Nigerian fashion industry is about to experience a new development as Plus size Fashion Week Africa promises diversity.

There are challenges facing Nigeria’s Digital Technology Adoption, find out all about this.

There is also the write-up on how brands should market to Millennials in Nigeria.

These and more we have for your reading pleasure.

Enjoy!

KEMI AJUMOBI kemi@businessdayonline.com

Graphics by David Ogar

Friday 26 October 2018

Leading Woman

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lishama Rosemary Ideh was born in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital in 1964. Her father was an officer in the Nigerian police, while her mother was a businesswoman. Both parents hailed from Ewohimi in Esan South East Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria.

She had her early education at the legendary Mayflower Primary School in Ikenne, Ogun State, and at the Federal Government Girls College (FGGC), Onitsha, Anambra State.

She thereafter left for the United States, where she enrolled at Bowie State College in Maryland for a degree course in Mass Communications.

On her return to Nigeria, she ventured into the challenging but exciting world of real estate. Armed with her American experience, her sagacity, and innovative business acumen were soon rewarded with outstanding success. She focused her trade on low-income traders and market people who ordinarily could not afford shops in upscale or medium-income locations. She later ventured into the oil and gas business, achieving further success in this very challenging sector as well.

In her quest to actualize her burden for social mobilization and empowerment, Ideh founded Christ the Ever-Present Ministry (CTEM) and the Elishama Ideh Ministries. Both are faith-based humanitarian organisations formed to support, strengthen and rehabilitate lives, especially among vulnerable groups such as widows, orphans and the destitute.

She was honoured with the award of an honorary Doctor of Mission degree by the Freedom Bible College of Holmes School of the Bible in the United States, as well as a Certificate from the International Executive Leadership Course (1-CEU 120) of the University of Sound Doctrine, also in the USA. Over the years, as her profile metamorphosed into that of a veritable voice for the voiceless, her concern for suffering humanity and her passion for empowerment has grown into a deeper concern for the state of her country as a whole, and a passionate desire for far-reaching and fundamental change in her nation. The contract of obligations, responsibilities, and rights between the government and the people, and especially the role of government providing for the people’s welfare and security, is one she feels has not been properly consummated – hence the need for the awakening of a new consciousness on the part of all stakeholders in the Nigerian enterprise in the quest for national rebirth.

To this end, Elishama Ideh set up the Partnership for a New Nigeria (PFANN) a social advocacy group aimed at promoting this rebirth by restructuring both the polity and it’s institutions on one hand, and the attitude of Nigerians (leaders and led alike) towards building a culture of patriotism and a stronger sense of civic duty on the other, not just to the society and the nation, but to neighbouring countries as well, especially to the less-privileged. Her decision to run for office of the President in 2019 is a bold move in a country where only few women would dare.

Earlier Years I grew up in a family of five children and I was the only girl. Well dotted upon by my parents and siblings. My late father was a police officer and my mum a business woman. My childhood years was growing up in a clean and green police barracks environment, nothing like what we see in this present day.

Nigeria at 58, anything to celebrate?

If we have to look at the present state of our Nation, the natural thing to say is that there is nothing to celebrate but we have to look beyond all that is happening and focus on love of the country, and celebrate the fact that despite all we are going through as a Nation, Nigeria is still standing; there are Nations that have not experienced 1/10th of what we have been through as a people and such nations are totally disintegrated and their social political stability has totally collapsed but that is not the case with us...that’s enough reason to celebrate and thank God and when we keep releasing such ‘spirit’ into the atmosphere, then hopefully we are held together as a people.

Why the decision to go into politics? Why the the office of the President?

My decision to go into politics came up by the reason of my work as an evangelist and witnessing first-hand the plight and suffering of the masses, taking care of a marginalized sector of our society like the homeless, displaced people, abandoned, widows, orphans, people who lived on the streets and others who the government should have made adequate provisions to take care of and rehabilitate because, the primary reason for governance is to take care of the security and the welfare of the people and there was a major void in our system concerning the fulfilment of the stated roles by the government. This void increased my passion for reformation of my land…Nigeria! I became a voice to the voiceless and through this burden to see a true change in our nation; I founded Partnership For A New Nigeria –PFANN, a socio-advocacy group committed to awakening the consciousness of all Nigerians towards engendering the birth of a NEW NIGERIA and the realization of God’s Agenda for Nigeria. I decided to run for the office of the president because I realized that the great problem plaguing our nation is that of bad leadership. For there to be a major change in the way the affairs of our nation is being discharged, we need a transformational leader and for that leader to be able to cause a shift in the present status quo, it has to be through the executive power of

Friday 26 October 2018

good people from coming into the terrain so they can continue to have a filled day of ‘raping’ Nigeria but if we don’t give up and we keep pressing in, then there is hope for the average Nigerian in the near future.

The saying ‘The youths are the hope of tomorrow’. How feasible is this in the present day reality?

Yes...that saying still stands true but the youths themselves have to rise up to fight to take their future back from the people that are holding unto it, it will not be given to them on a platter of gold. The people holding it won’t it give up without a fight.

You recently stepped down for Fela Durotoye, why this decision? What next going forward?

I got involved in PACT(Presidential Aspirants Coming Together)which was a very laudable idea for us all to come together to pick one candidate amongst us so we can collectively push that person instead of running all over the place thereby scattering our votes making it so easy for the opposition that we are trying to push out come back unopposed. A lot of the aspirants fell off the table of agreement along the way but I gave my word in a public declaration and I had to honour that word because Fela Durotoye was elected as the consensus candidate so I could not run against him in our party again for the flag bearer of the party.

How many times have you contested? Will you run again?

This is my very first time and yes I will run again if the mandate I am pursuing is nowhere visible in governance.

What future do you see for Nigeria? What do you hope for?

I see a future in the new faces that are showing up in the political terrain, the ones that have the love of the country and the sincerity of seeing the birth of A New Nigeria emerge. If they are given the chance in governance, then there will be a shift over our nation and Nigeria can rise out of her abyss of hopelessness at this hour. I hope to see a New Nigeria where basic amenities are put in place and it works. Amenities like light, food, health care, education, good roads, clean water, security and affordable housing.

Challenges experienced in participating in politics in Nigeria?

Gender bias and money playing major ‘roles’ in politics

To every woman or young lady out there, what advice do you have for them?

Aim high, don’t be limited because of gender, be all God has created you to be.

Final words Nigeria belongs to all of us, we cannot sit on the fence and watch Nigeria disintegrate. We must all rise to our civic responsibility to salvage her by making sure we use our votes right in this season. Your vote is your life, whoever you give it to will determine the quality of life you will have in the next 4-8 years as a Nigerian.

ELISHAMA ROSEMARY IDEH For the love of her country

KEMI AJUMOBI the president backed up with the power of the constitution, that is why I am running for the office of the president and again beyond that, Nigeria needs an equal representation of Women in governance for there to be a balance in building a very healthy nation.

Are there enough women in active politics? What in your view is responsible for this? What is the solution?

No there are not enough women. We have a society that is pre-dominantly patriarchal and also very gender biased, where the women have been programmed into a mind-set that they cannot aspire beyond a certain limit. Also, politics in this clime is very dangerous and it is all about money. These issues have really boxed women into a corner. The solution is that women should be encouraged to step out boldly, rise up to support aspiring women and not further castigate them because it takes a lot of boldness and courage for any woman to rise up in our society to say they want to run for any public office...that effrontery doesn’t come cheap at all, such women should be cheered on, supported and applauded at every level.

Do you foresee a day where a woman will be at the helm of affairs in this nation?

Of course, I see it in the very near future if someone like me came into the terrain and I ‘broke the ground’, then I believe the future is set for women in Nigeria.

With the way ‘democracy’ is being practised in Nigeria today, where is the hope of the average citizen?

The hope of the average citizen looks deem but we cannot give up because the intention of the political class is to scare

WOMEN’S HUB 7

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BUSINESS DAY

Friday 26 October 2018

There’s There’s more more to to the the event event management management industry industry Stories by DESMOND OKON

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vents have become an essential part of human existence, no doubts. In this time, the evolution of the event industry has given rise to a trend of social ratings based on the kind of events one is able to pull off, and this, has also led to people having some sentimental attachment to events –whether corporate or social, it has to be ‘lit’ or a talk-of-the-state event because your social status depends

on it.

But what happens when you have to postpone that dinner or cocktail event because your event planner is grappling with clearing the materials needed to beautify it with the Nigerian Customs?

Apart from its sometimes unorganised nature, (which has always been an issue) the challenge the Event Planning industry is facing majorly, is customs and clearing, as players find it tough getting materials into the country, said Christine Ogbeh, founder Quorum West Africa, The Wedding Guru and The Wedding Mall, in an interview with Women’s Hub.

“Customs and clearing is one of our major challenges in the industry. We have serious limitations getting things into the country”, she reiterates.

Also finding the right staff with the right attitude, hardworking, well trained and ready to do the work poses another strong challenge, according to her.

But despite the stumbling blocks, her evaluation of the industry stemming from her long stay in it, was punctuated by positive remarks. She also expressed hopes that the industry would get to a point of competing with other countries.

“The Nigerian event industry has really evolved in the last couple of years. There are amazing event planners and designers out in Nigeria, and you can see from their work on social media –how everybody is just trying to push themselves and push beyond their current boundaries, and that’s what we would like the industry to grow into.

We want to be able to compete with other markets like the Middle East and America as well. We want to have our designs emerging from Africa, our own specific look, so that we are also on the events map of the world as Nigerians”, she said.

But to achieve this, “Some form of standardisation has to be enforced”, Ogbeh said. “I think what the Association of Professional Party Organisers and Event Managers of Nigeria, APPOEMN is doing now, getting all the event professionals registered on some form of body that provides that kind of backing, is a good move. So we would expect this sort of association to get people within this industry registered so that they are working at specific standards that can compete with the world,” she adds.

Early this year, APPOEMN said at the unveiling of its annual conference (which held last month) that professionals in the event management industry contribute over 50 billion US Dollars to Nigeria’s economy annually.

According to its Public Relations Director, Bose Abisagboola, the industry has continued to contribute to Nigeria’s economy directly as well as provide employment for Nigerians, who can be gainfully employed in different fields of the economy. This further shows that the event industry is a significant factor in boosting Nigeria’s economy.

However, Ogbeh advised starters to work very hard because it’s not a situation of getting rich overnight because a lot of people feel that the event industry has a lot of money. “You need to put in the work, stay ahead of the game, and constantly distinguish yourself to stay ahead of the game,” she said.

Plus-size Fashion Week Africa promises diversity T

he organisers of the Plus-size Fashion Week Africa, PFWAfrica, have said that lovers of fashion should look out for diversity at this years’ fashion show coming up in November 3 and 4, as plans are afoot for plus-size models of different kinds, skin colour, race to walk the run way.

The founders of PFWAfrica, Temi Aboderin-Alao and Wilson Alao made this known to journalists at a media chat, on Thursday, the 27th of September.

This promise of diversity is the distinguishing factor from previous editions, because “we are going to see different kind of models this time. It’s not strictly a certain kind of model you are expecting to see everything time, but this time, we are going in to make sure that we have diversity on skin, diversity in country, diversity in race and on the run way. And also we are making sure of having more from neighbouring African countries to come on board. We have some already on ground, and we have some from the UK and the US who are also going to be showcasing,” Wilson Alao, MD, and co-founder, PFWAfrica.

The fashion show will hold at Oriental Hotel, Lagos, and it will run with the theme “Beautifully Me” which aligns with the intention to promote the beauty and curves of the African thick and ‘bold’ woman, encourage her to feel beautiful, confident and comfortable in their own skin.

“This year’s theme is ‘Beautifully Me’ so what we are expecting is see designers to showcase that beauty, and also our exhibitors as well, they should bring in beautiful pieces, beautifully crafted for the curvy and plus size lady”, Aboderin-Alao stated while explaining her motivation for theme.

Plus-size Fashion Week Africa is an international standard platform that focuses on plus size industry, and caters for the needs of plus-size designers and plus-size models in order to get more jobs also and to get more exposure with the designers’ outfit on the runway.

Speaking about the idea to celebrate plus-size women and designers through fashion, and to popularize an aspect of the industry that has been overlooked for years, Adoderin-Alao said she realized there was a level of hostility towards the plus size brands while on the journey.

“We would be at shows and people will say ‘can these models walk?’, ‘they are going to fall’ or ‘you are promoting obesity’ and all kinds of negative things were said. But things have changed so drastically and I’m grateful to God for that,” she said with a

mirth that validates the huddles she’s crossed to get here.

In addition, it was learnt that there will be two runway showcases –“one in the afternoon and one in the evening”. Also, to further encourage pachydermous women to be positive about their form, and dispel criticisms that the show promotes obesity, there will be a master class on the 4th of November “where we’ll be talking about body positivity, mental health, and startup business”, Aboderin-Alao told newsmen.

Reacting to concerns about the age range of models and the process of selection, Wilson Aloa said models will be from the age of 16 to 25, and because he realized Nigerians have a knack for boycotting rules, they (the models) will go through two stages of rigorous auditions that will test their ability to work with their agency, Golden Curvy. “And if you can’t follow our rules (called the ‘Holy Grail’) you can’t work with us”, he said. “So on our runway this year, you have to pass through all the trainings that the Golden Curvy models are passing thorough,” he adds.

This year’s show will feature the AfricanNextPlussizeModel competition where the winner will get an international deal with an agency to be revealed during the event.

The members of the panel at the press conference included Yetty Ogunnubi head publicist and CEO.YD Agency, Olubukola Akanbi, PFWAFRICA Project Coordinator, Dumebi Agbakoba, award-winning Chef, Feyi Luther, Chef, Immaculate Dache, music ariste/influencer, Nkechi Blessing, actress, Monalisa Stephen actress, Mor Okonwo, music artiste, and Modavi Couture boss.

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BUSINESS DAY

Friday 26 October 2018

WOMEN’S HUB

Accolades for Akin Tofowomo, as Shuga Band turns 20

Friday 26 October 2018

WOMEN’S HUB 5

KEMI AJUMOBI

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Challenges facing Nigeria’s Digital Technology Adoption MOMOH-ONIMISI-EBENEZER

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n less than 20 years of Larry page and Sergey Brin breakthrough innovation of the Google, were in danger of turning the fictitious global connectivity into a reality; with internet connectivity soaring above global population index and internet accessibility easier than access to good toilet. While much has changed, what are the road blocks to Nigeria’s adoption of digital technology especially with global forecast pegged at 50% of global economy?

Telecommunication effectiveness With Nigeria’s 63 million internet users representing arguably the greatest market potential within Africa, effective and reliable internet access will not only propel business innovation but also reduce the cost through the use of cloud based applications. Take a look at the Chinese e-commerce giant “ Alibaba “ whose network based transaction has further fueled its dominant market share allowing market penetration and placing it at 7th most valuable company globally.

Cisco survey further explains that 89% of Chinese respondent use internet shopping apps on smart phones not less than once on a weekly basis against 40% globally triggering 1.1 million dollars in GDP of Chinese economy.

An effective blend of broadband access coupled with effective and reliable internet connectivity will also go a long way in fast tracking business productivity and thereby promote digitalized business behavior which in reality is the bone of future economy.

Digital adoption through education Ensuring that rising generations have the right skill

through the adoption of well-organized technology based curriculum can further advance knowledge pool and promote critical thinking, creativity and digital literacy. Emerging ideas from the 3d modeling to the dizzying pace of artificial intelligence calls for modification of school curriculums in accordance with modern global best practices. Better welfare and financial incentives for foreign based expatiates can be adopted in creating knowledge base of instructors who can further digitalize technological advancement. Especially with digital technology affecting global economy by almost 50%.

Effective electricity supply A recurring decimal in Nigeria’s economic backwardness has also been poor electricity supply which in recent years has fueled the exodus of large scale firm to neighbouring nations with adequate power supply. Going by the much publicized 1580MW of electricity is to go by; developing alternative energy source and decentralization of electricity supply may just be the antidote to Nigeria’s age long head ache. Following the footsteps of nations like America with coal-39%, natural gas-27%, hydro-19% other sources7%. Another flag ship for effective digital technology integration for business is cyber security and digital safety. The world cyber threat map ranks Nigeria in 16th position of countries with high cyber security risk. This however acts as a chick in the armour of business owner and repels easy adoption of digital banking mechanism which are fast becoming norms. However sanctions on intellectual property theft and cybercrimes through the adoption of individualized online identity password can ease fraud and help track down excess online fraud.

The listed policy imperative is to propel ideas, strategic guidance and innovations which can be adopted if Nigeria hopes to join the global league of digital frontiers.

assion, creativity commitment, opportunity, networking are some of the adjectives and nouns that help define the keys to the vocal powerhouse’s success so far.

Grinding in the music industry is physically, mentally, and emotionally difficult, but he’s been able to break the routine.

From nothing, having built trust and knowledge of his craft in a vicious and complicated industry, he’s truly shattered the ceiling out of smallville into reckoning and matchless relevance, thus becoming a success in Nigeria’s competitive music business. With 20 years on the grind and counting, with a honed craft and a robust fan base, his appetite for good music and artists is insatiable, whilst his ability to continually adapt and adjust in the music industry has been critical to his survival.

More about the Shuga Man He no doubt started with the profound idea of playing music out of passion.

Over the years, his influences, style, philosophies and adopted techniques have demystified the age-long tradition, thus making him outstanding in his career.

Tofowomo and the Shuga Band are all perpetually chasing something ineffable.

He’s spent his career trying to create the perfect conditions to get what they’re after; it just so happens that they also have the kind of training and know-how to exact an impressive range of sounds from their musical instruments, whenever inspiration strikes. Quality and timeless musical roots are usually traced back to genres like blues, folk, highlife and country, by watching the bandleader Akin Tofowomo in the hey days or now, bounding around a Lagos or Washington stage with his band, excellence remains constant.

Of Supreme Passion, Talent, Market Niche and the Ultimate Formula Growing up in the music business, it used to be as simple as watching the veterans make the stew, then you could repeat for yourself. The formulas and ingredients were pretty well defined and the outcomes predictable. Akin Tofowomo’s life through music has declared that the music industry’s music-stew is not repeatable any more. One of the most frustrating parts of being an artist today is understanding that timing is everything. The supremely passionate live performer and game changer has created a legacy of dance floor favourites that sees clients enjoying every bit of his tunes. By way of a great leap in creating a very specialised and robust market niche through his Shuga Band, he has dictated how much attention people gave to the music being by live musicians.

The Survivor For the Polio survivor, asides, professionalism, brand positioning, experience, work ethic, fan connection, flexibility and an enviable net worth in cash and assets, the musician’s talent is probably his most obvious staying power. In this clime, talent is a broad description mostly pigeon-holed into the artist’s skill of voice or instrumentation. However, talent is a much bigger ingredient because it can encompass things like originality, stage presence, audience psychology and connection, dance and song writing, amongst the long list. A total package evaluation of the vocal phenomenon is a better definition of his true essence.

His passion makes his talent off the charts and has for sure defined his success. For those who know how he’s weathered the storm of the life of an artist, those experiences are the “seasoning” of the stew that has given his music its flavour, his music and artistry its reliability.

Beyond the Rush, and Lighted Stage…

As an artist, he is organised and committed to a disciplined routine of practice and getting better and successful. It shows in everything the Shuga Band says and does on and off stage. People around them and observers afar know that they’re not dabbling or kidding around. With local and internationals awards and endorsements, it is with no iota of doubt that he’s

first among equals.

20th anniversary pet project At the 20th anniversary pet project, existing, emerging and struggling music live bands in Nigeria were taught to understand the moving parts of the music industry,

how royalties and revenue streams work, how a publishing deal works.

Akin Tofowomo seems to want nothing more than just to be himself. Ultimately, that’s what keeps this towering music icon forever young and that’s the difference between playing music and being music!

In telling stories like The Boomerang, sexual abuse can be checked KEMI AJUMOBI

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here is hardly a day that goes by without hearing cases of sexual abuse in Nigeria especially with minors. As sad as it is, there are those who are still perpetuating this wicked act and are walking around freely like nothing can be done to them. I read recently of a man who had been molesting his two daughters and even when they told their mum, she was living in denial and by the time she found out, the children had been battered beyond measure.

Child sexual abuse is an offence under several sections of chapter 21 of the Nigeria’s criminal code. The age of consent is 18 but sadly, some 18 year olds are also victims of molestation so even adulthood doesn’t necessarily guarantee respect of choices, choices like “NO! Don’t touch me”

doesn’t make sense to a desperate predator seeking young girls/boys they can suppress to their demands because they are stronger.

UNICEF reported in 2015 that one in four girls and one in ten boys in Nigeria had experienced sexual violence before the age of 18. According to a survey by Positive Action for Treatment Access, over 31.4 percent of girls there said that their first sexual encounter had been rape or forced sex of some kind.

Issues like these are reasons why Oluwaseun Adejumobi, a film maker recently produced a movie titled The Boomerang. A movie that addresses the ordeal of the sexually abused, “the movie comes with a message of healing and restoration to the victims” he tells me and adds “it is my social campaign against Rape cases and I will love to show it in various

places to create more awareness”.

In The Boomerang, a molested girl child whose voice and confidence had been taken away from her as a result of the traumatic experience of sexual assault and molestation was brought to the fore. “It is no gain saying that we have a lot of such promising young girls in our society whose hope and aspiration in life appear to have been dashed. Interestingly, the movie comes with a soothing message of healing, hope and restoration.” He reiterates.

According to Adejumobi, “our plan is to premiere the movie in various places whilst counsellors, Psychologists and medical personnels who will be fully on ground will attend to persons that might have had

such similar debilitating experiences in time past and are looking forward to restoration.

As stated earlier, the essence of this is to restore and reignite the hope of glory in them and set them on the right pedestal of life and purpose again.”

Faced with challenges like lack of partnership, inability to reach a larger audience and most especially funding, Adejumobi says going to more places to show the movie and enlighten the public on child molestation has been daunting but he however remains optimistic that he will be supported to show the movie in more locations by organisations and even the government to take this message around Nigeria and beyond.

WOMEN’S HUB 6

BUSINESS DAY

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How Brands Should Market To Millennials In Nigeria

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ven with an obviously low-key and gloomy Independence Day celebration due to the downtrend of the nation’s economic and social life, there has been more outcries that women should be given opportunities to handle the helm of affairs of the country, considering the fact that women given the chance, would perform better than their male counterparts.

This was the view of Appolus Chu, the Egbere Emere Okori Eleme, Rivers State, who chaired a women’s summit recently in Abuja.

According to the organisers, the summit was a deliberate women agenda to ensure a greater representation and participation of women at all levels of governance.

Subtlety tagged, “Increasing Women Participation in Nigeria Democratic Process”, the summit held in Federal Capital Territory, was organised by the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD), National Council for Women Societies and Women in Politics Forum in Collaboration with the Office of the Wife of the President.

Chu who applauded the role and contributions of women to the development of the society, describing them as effective managers who need to be encouraged, charged the women to be confident in themselves and learn to support one another.

“You would agree with me that women are leading and are doing extremely well in various organisations and in whatever portfolio they are given. Nigerian women are not known for sabotaging government efforts, they are diligent managers and we have seen that mostly from those occupying ministerial positions and other top offices across the federation. One advice I will give to you is to learn to support each other knowing that the men are your major competitors. The energy you would have used to campaign for a man, use it to support your fellow women”, the royal father noted.

The summit which is geared towards strategising means to strengthen women participation in politics and encourage gender equality had in attendance President Muhammadu Buhari and his wife, Aisha Muhammadu Buhari.

Chu was quick to applaud President Muhammadu Buhari and his wife for their contribution and support to women generally while also commending the President’s anti-corruption crusade.

He advised the men not to use their strength to dominate the

illennials (18-35yr olds) are a savvy and demanding bunch, often ruthless in destroying all preconceived notions brands have about them and quick to dissociate and call out the brands that are bringing less than their A-game to the market. What is however not in doubt is that in exchange for their attention and loyalty, Millennials expect to be entertained and the brands that can cleverly weave entertainment into their marketing communication in a genuine way will likely record greater acceptance from Millennials.

PEER-TO-PEER MARKETING Getting through to Millennials through their passion points is an effective way of reaching out, however, this shouldn’t be the only thoroughfare to reaching younger audiences. Today, Nigerian brands are all about music, dance and talent shows and Millennials are, quite frankly saturated by the onslaught of media hype around these passion areas. The average young Nigerian is well versed in digital and social media and there is an overwhelming need to be authentic and real in our marketing, in the same vein Millennials are quick to spot fake wanna be cool brands, who are looking for that occasional cheap high, without the corresponding value, authenticity and knowledge that is required to market to Millennials in the digital age.

THE MILLENNIAL SOCIAL MEDIA WARRIOR That the average young Nigerian is social media savvy is no story at all, however, what makes for a good story is that brands are still clueless on how to reach and engage with young audiences online. Every brand understands the need for a comprehensive social media strategy, but almost all brands pay lip service to this. Developing a social media strategy that influences your social media activities is the first step to reaching out to the target millennial audience.

EARNING THEIR ATTENTION Let them come to you, by creating content that is valuable, fun and entertaining you enjoy the attention of Millennials who crave to be entertained. Also Millennials are notorious for sharing content they find entertaining or informative, hence keep in mind that this demography is the reason why stuff goes viral on the Internet.

GET CREATIVE Using football news and content as bait isn’t a sustainable content strategy for social media, if your brand isn’t a sports brand, then think about using football or other sport related news sparingly. Instead, think creatively to come up with interesting areas that will get your followers engaged.

VISUAL STORYTELLING Millennials have notoriously short attention spans; a good content strategy to attract Millennials would have to invest in strong visuals to tell your brand story, use inspiration of real people using your product to emotionally connect with Millennials.

MEETING MILLENNIALS ON MOBILE 85% of millennials use their mobile phones to access the Internet; there also is a growing number of millennials using smartphones. Research indicates that by 2020, 4 in every 5 mobile phone will be a smartphone. How does mobile affect a brand’s long-term strategy to attract millennials? We have already heard that mobile is the future, apparently that future might be closer than we all- think it is. Whether it is planning an integrated marketing campaign across various customer touch points or developing a mobile marketing strategy that may include mobile applications or SMS marketing, the key to getting success with millennial marketing is to understand the various devices that Millennials use and then develop all platforms to suit these devices.

– Amplify Digital

Summit advocates for more women involvement in politics IFEOMA OKEKE women while also tasking various political parties to accommodate women in their planning, so as to give space for the women to rule.

Present at the event were wives of governors, political party leaders, female political aspirants from the 36 states and other concern citizens.

One of the participants, Janet Febisola Adeyemi, a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and a fellow of the Geological Society of Nigeria, who has shown interest in running for Senate having notably served in Nigeria National House of Representative at several points, said,. “One of the critical points is that Nigeria cannot continue to slide down the robe. The National Assembly is supposed to be a place for making good laws. We need to revise our laws in Nigeria and make adaptable to the development of our country.”

Another woman, Roseline Ada Chenge, a female governorship aspirant in Benue State who has had unsuccessful attempts at politics in the past but has still not given up hope shared her bitter experience. “It has been pains all through.

We are grateful our Excellency is here today to hear us. I am so encouraged because I know that this time around, our pains will not be in vain.” She said.

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