BusinessDay 27 Sep 2019

Debates over 2023 a distraction!

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he current preoccupation with what region or geopolitical zone will produce the successor of President Muhammadu Buhari is a needless distraction. It is, in the face of urgent and pressing socio-economic challenges, unserious.

In a country where poverty is clawing millions into the abyss of impoverishment daily and with an economy on the brink of another recession, debates over the region or geopolitical zone of the next president is a waste of time and a disservice to the country and its suffering people. It does

not speak well of us that despite our completely broken health, education and social infrastruc-

editorial ture, with little or no investments in these sectors and despite the record high unemployment rate,

Nigeria we practice the politics of underdevelopment, where politics appears to be an end in itself and where politicians are so restless and impatient that they start to plan and prepare for the next election immediately after

high dependency rate, security challenges, world-record maternal and infant mortality and malnourishment rates, all we can be concerned about just months after an election is the ethnic and or religious identity of the next president.

But we understand that in

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US$2,505.00

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news you can trust I **FRIDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2019 I vol. 19, no 403

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BD INVESTIGATIVE SERIES

One month after shutdown, FG yet to begin Enugu airport repairs UK court

fears for travellers as Christmas approaches for Abuja airport, work started a day after closure grants stay of

ODINAKA ANUDU

execution on $9.6bn award to P&ID

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ore than one month after the Federal Airports Authority of Nig e r i a ( FA A N ) shut down Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu for runway repairs, work is yet to commence, BusinessDay’s onsite visit to the airport shows.

FAAN had on Saturday, August

ONYINYE NWACHUKWU, Abuja

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Inside Albert Alos: 80 years in the making

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L-R: Ramy Inocencio, Asia correspondent, CBS News; Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor, Lagos State; Kostas Bakoyannis, mayor of Athens, and Stavros Yiannouka, CEO, World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), at the plenary session of the 2019 Concordia Annual Summit at the Grand Hyatt, New York City, USA.

United Kingdom Court on Thursday granted Nigeria’s plea for a stay of execution on the $9.6 billion judgment in favour of Process & Industrial Development Limited (P&ID).

The approval would, however, require Nigeria to pay some $200

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news Nigeria leads Africa in tourist source market for Dubai …local attractions remain unexplored OBINNA EMELIKE

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L-R: Vicentius Subianto, head of engineering, Euro Mega; Toyin Elefontuyi, general manager finance; Manny Uy, head of operations; Bimbo Alabi, head of marketing, and Lam Hot, general manager logistics, at the launch of Soklin Ultra Odour Defence & Soklin Matic in Lagos.

Fuel subsidy takes precedence over cancer control ...as 51% cases end in death TEMITAYO AYETOTO

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igeria loses 72,000 citizens yearly to cancer and is challenged with an estimated 102,000 fresh cases annually. Yet the country continues its romance with unsustainable fuel subsidy with funds that could have been channelled into efficient control of the lifethreatening scourge.

The Federal Government spent no less than N132 billion in the first quarter of 2019 to keep Nigerians hooked on cheap fuel, according Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), but it plans to spend N97.3 billion on tackling the incidence of cancer across the country for the duration of four years (2018-2022).

In 2018, FG spent a total of N730.9 billion on fuel subsidy, leaving critical sec-

tors like health, agriculture, education, works and infrastructure starved of funds.

The N730.9 billion spent on fuel subsidy in 2018 could cater for at least 24,363 cases of breast cancer, while the first-quarter 2019 subsidy sum could cater for 4,400 cases. Women in Nigeria require about N2.1 million to N29.2 million to treat breast cancer depending on the type, according to a report on catastrophic health fund for oncology care. Breast and cervical cancers are the two most prevalent types of cancer responsible for approximately 50.3 percent of all cancer cases in Nigeria.

Cancer treatment plan typically involves diagnosis, chemotherapy and surgeries, among others.

Eight series of diagnosis cost between N232,000 and N311,000, according to a report by International Centre

for Investigative Reporting.

Three surgeries cost between N670,000 and N3.3 million; 10 sessions of chemotherapy cost about N916,000 to N2.6 million, while 10-23 sessions of radiotherapy range between N138,000 and N360,000. This huge cost of treatment leaves a gaping hole in the pockets of suffering individuals, leading experts to call for government intervention.

“We have 36 states plus Abuja making 37. What is wrong with every state having a cancer centre? We have only seven centres with only two functional machines. We need to train more cancer specialists, we need to train more therapy radiographers, medical physicists. We need all these on ground to battle cancer,” Remi Ajekigbe, a professor of Radiotherapy & Oncology and former consultant radiotherapist and oncologist, Department of Radiation Biology, Radio-

therapy, Radioagnosis and Radiography, College of Medicine, University of Lagos and Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), said.

“We must be ready to fight cancer more than we fought Boko Haram. If you tell government to buy this machine today, they will say there is no money. The government should allocate an oil block to cancer, after all they are allocating oil blocks to individuals, making them billionaires. If the machines, manpower and facilities are there, it will go a long way towards fighting cancer,” Ajekigbe told BusinessDay in a previous interview.

In an auspicious National Cancer Control Plan unveiled in 2018, the government says its goals are to make screening services and early detection of cancer available for all Nigerians.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

Nigeria’s 123m internet users missing on Netflix top 50

...exposes vulnerabilities in the country’s internet growth FRANK ELEANYA & BUNMI BAILEY

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he no-show of Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, as one of the top 50 Netflix subscribers in the world – a list which had South Africa in it – lays bare the many loopholes in the country’s claim to internet dominance in Africa.

The number of internet subscribers in Nigeria rose by 5 percent from 116.31 million active internet lines in March 2019 to 122.7 million

by July 2019, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

The Netflix data from Comparitech, a US-based research and data organisation, showed that the US

contributes the most subscribers with an estimated 58,486,000, Australia comes in second with 11,262,000, and the United Kingdom places third with 9,780,000 subscribers.

As a policy, Netflix does not reveal the number of subscribers it has, but the company recently disclosed that it had suffered its first loss of US subscribers and had failed to add its target of 5 million international subscribers in the first half of this year (adding just 2.7 million). The company’s shares, as a result, fell 1.8 percent on Monday to close at $265.92.

While the drop in Netflix subscriber base and revenue may be significant, it is the news that Nigeria was not www.businessday.ng

among the top 50 contributors to the subscriber base that has been much talked about.

Netflix’s first distribution in Nigeria was in 2015 when it bought the rights of Nollywood movies such as ‘October 1’ by Kunle Afolayan, ‘Fifty’ by Biyi Bandele, and several others. In 2018, at the Toronto International Film Festival 2018, the company announced that it has bought the rights of Genevieve Nnaji’s blockbuster movie, ‘Lionheart’. It was the first of many African movies Netflix would be investing directly in as it pushes to build more local content on the continent.

With its new local strategy, one would expect growth in subscriber base in Nigeria,

but the report shows otherwise. The 50th country on the list, Luxemburg, has 52,151 subscribers, which could suggest that Nigeria has far less than 50,000 Netflix subscribers. South Africa, the only African country on the list, came in at number 41 with about 152,588 subscribers.

Jason Njoku, founder of Iroko TV, a Nigerian video on demand (VoD) firm, said Nigeria not featuring on the list does not come as a surprise.

Iroko TV, dubbed the ‘Netflix of Africa’, has been providing video on demand since 2013 but is yet to hit the one million subscriber mark.

Although a Nigerian-

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ith impressive visitations from across the world in the first half of 2019, Dubai has announced that Africa made up 5 percent of 9.58 million visitors to the city in the first half of 2019, with Nigeria leading the continent’s travellers with over 28 percent growth within the period. Nigeria ranked 17th in Dubai’s top source markets as at July 2019.

Isaam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), said the city welcomed 9.58 million international visitors as at July 2019.

“We have seen about 9.1 percent growth from Africa,” Kazim told CNBC Africa at the just concluded Akwaaba African Travel Market in Lagos.

“If you look at Nigeria, which is second on our global source market ranking and first within Africa, we have over 28 percent growth. It shows there is growth and more room for growth from Nigeria as well,” he said in a video seen by BusinessDay. The interest in Africa, Kazim said, is in line with DTCM’s strategy which was

rolled out in 2013 and focused on Dubai becoming the No.1 most visited city for business, leisure and events globally.

“The numbers have been increasing year-on-year since then. Within that strategy, we know that Africa will play significant role on the leisure and business as well,” he said.

He attributed the Nigerian growth to sustained effort and support for Dubai’s marketing campaign over the years, easy access to the city, bouquet of competitive offerings, breathtaking man-made and natural attractions, among others, especially new ones that are aimed at offering fresh thrills to visitors.

Beyond Dubai, Nigeria is also a huge tourist source market for the United Kingdom, other European countries, United States of America, as well as African countries, especially South Africa, Kenya, Seychelles and even neighbouring Gambia and Ghana.

In 2016, Kenya recorded the highest number of Nigerian holiday-makers of over 17,000, up from 14,065 arrivals in 2015, and the number has grown since then.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

Albert Alos: 80 years in the making Tayo Fagbule

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here are very few Nigerians more Nigerian than this Spaniard who came to Nigeria in 1967 and has remained here ever since” is how Albert Alos, former vice chancellor of the Pan-Atlantic University, is described in a tribute on his 70th birthday. That was 10 years ago. Prof, as he’s fondly called, celebrated his 80th birthday on 17 September.

The description is not an exaggeration. When Albert Alos arrived in Lagos, the civil war was raging. Though the fighting was far from Lagos, where he landed from Kenya, and miles from Ibadan where he was to resume as a lecturer of Applied Physics at the University of Ife, only a soldier of fortune would come to Nigeria at such a time.

And that was what crossed the mind of the immigration officers at the airport on 15 October, 1967.

They thought he was a mercenary. Otherwise, what could bring a 28-year-old young Spaniard with a doctorate in Electrical Engineering who had declined two job offers in Bilbao to Nigeria during a civil war?

Alos had no intentions of profiting from the conflict.

Far from it. He was in Nigeria for a different reason: Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, an institution of the Catholic Church had @Businessdayng

asked him and he said yes, “not only because it was a privilege to be among those who start Opus Dei in a new country but because of that streak of adventure: going to an unknown territory”, he recalls.

B e s i d e s, h e h a d n o military background other than the compulsory threemonth militar y ser vice which he did during the winter of 1965 with “layers of sweaters underneath my summer uniform” (because he saw no point buying uniforms suited for the cold).

He spent his free time during those three freezing months learning English.

In October 1966, Prof started his adventure into an unknown territory, with a different sense of adventure, without a firm job offer and overly confident of his English – he was “numbed” in Nairobi, where he spent a few months, when he realised could hardly communicate.

While in Kenya his application to universities in Ibadan, Nsukka and Zaria

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CcHUB acquires Kenya’s iHub to build pan-African incubator ecosystem FRANK ELEANYA

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he Nigerian-based innovation center, Co-creation Hub (CcHUB) on Thursday, announced the acquisition of Kenya’s iHub for an undisclosed sum.

It is the first time an incubator in Africa is buying another incubator on the continent.

As part of the deal, iHub’s team will become part of CcHUB’s wider central support and strategy network. iHub will, however, retain its name and senior management structure, while CcHUB’s co-founder Bosun Tijani continues as CEO across both locations.

The acquisition also means CcHUB now makes key hires in innovation consulting, people management, programme management, and community support, as it looks to strengthen its panAfrican network and mobilise its far-reaching resources, network, and relationships

to accelerate the growth of technology innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa.

“With science and tech, we hold the key to unlocking unprecedented value and future for Africa,” Tijani tweeted on Thursday soon after the announcement. “It will take us being intentional and deeply committed to building capacity to enable real development and application of tech. It is a privilege and responsibility.”

Since the Kenyan iHub was launched in 2010, it has become the home of companies such as BRCK and Ushahidi, as well as start-ups such as Zayride, Eneza Education, Taimba and Optimetriks and has seen over 500 companies receive business support services, 100+ of which have gone through incubation and accelerator programs.

“Over 9 years, iHub has been a catalyst for regional tech acceleration and a role model for innovation hubs across emerging markets.

500+ startups, $40m+ raised

by startups, 40,000 jobs to the EA economy,” said Nekesa Were, managing director of iHub. “Today we join with CcHUB for continental impact.”

She also disclosed that iHub startups have raised over $40 million in early and growth-stage financing. Its portfolio businesses have also contributed over 40,000 jobs to the Kenyan economy.

“CcHUB has an unrivalled track record of building out a dynamic tech ecosystem that extends past Nigeria.

Similar to us, they have been committed to delivering impactful support services, at scale, supporting tech and business communities and driving social capital for economic prosperity in Africa. In short – they share our mission to make businesses and the business environment on the continent, better for all.

We are very excited to work with them to support entrepreneurs in transforming our communities”

Leadway Pensure rewards 10 industrious Nigerian entrepreneurs AKUDO OKORO

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eading Pension Funds Administrator, Leadway Pensure, has rewarded 10 Nigerian entrepreneurs with amazing prizes in its #PensureHustle campaign.

The campaign, which was open to business owners that live in Nigeria, received lots of entries from participants who were required to follow the company’s social media pages and upload a 60-second video stating their business goals and what business support items they require to achieve the said goals. So many business owners from various professions like Fishery, Fashion Designing, Trading, Poultry, Baking, Make-Up Artistry, Design, Art, Photography, and Nutrition participated in

the contest.

Ten participants were selected and rewarded with gift items ranging from a singledoor display fridge, industrial over-locking weaving machine, power generating set, deep freezer, rhinestone stoning machine, electric oven, and so much more.

Projecting its commitment to the future financial security of the Nigerian citizens, Micro Pension Retirement Savings Accounts were opened for the ten winners in order to help them plan towards retirement.

The Micro Pension plan was launched by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari early in the year and is designed to help entrepreneurs and persons working in organisations with less than three employees save for retirement.

Notably, the #Pensure-

Hustle campaign coincided with the company’s fifteenth anniversary.

Ronke Adedeji, the Managing Director of Leadway Pensure PFA stated: “As a leading PFA, we are dedicated to supporting and promoting socio-economic progress, while maintaining our record of excellent pension management services. That is why we persistently look for opportunities to help our customers advance in their chosen careers and get more out of life.”

Last year, Leadway Pensure sponsored 20 individuals for various short courses and certifications through their #letmeshowyoutheleadway campaign. These initiatives are all part of the brand’s goal to help Nigerians get more out of life in the best possible way.

Lagos unveils policy on youth, sexuality education curriculum JOSHUA BASSEY

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agos State government has unveiled a policy document and comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) curriculum for the youth population with an assurance that issues relating to the youth are now to be accorded priority.

The policy document provides a comprehensive and well-considered framework, and clearly articulates the roadmap on how to address needs of youth.

At the unveiling of the document in Ikeja on Thursday, the state commissioner for youth and social development, Segun Dawodu, said that the document underscored the importance that the present administration attaches to the youth population.

According to him, greater attention would now be paid to the rights of the youth than ever before, stressing that the

state government was offering itself to be held responsible and accountable to its commitment as enunciated in the policy document.

“The Lagos State youth policy document contains commitments by government, the youth of Lagos State and the society in pursuance of youth growth and development,” Dawodu stated.

He recalled that the state government adopted the National Youth Policy of 2009 with a view to entrenching a sustainable youth agenda that would engender meaningful youth engagement and enhance the quality of life.

“Evolving socio-economic issues, new and innovative opportunities coupled with the peculiarities of Lagos made a review of the existing policy inevitable and essential”.

Dawodu added that it was the desire of the government to ensure that the youth popula-

tion have a quality life that will guaranteed the realisation of their potential and also provide a level playing field to become assets towards achieving Lagos’ economic and social development goals.

Speaking on the CSE, the commissioner said that the good health and wellbeing of young people in the state are also essential to enable them to reach their potentials.

He revealed that the CSE was designed to enlighten the youth in the non-formal vocational institutions, especially on sexual health, rights and issues.

“The implementation of this Comprehensive Sexuality Education curriculum will improve access to adequate and correct information for young people, improve their abilities to make informed decisions about their own sexual and reproductive lives and exercise their sexual and reproductive rights”, he explained. https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

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news Lawmakers’ probe into purported non-compliance with NSITF contribution raises regulatory concerns SEGUN ADAMS

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move by Nigerian lawmakers to open an investigation into organisations said to have flaunted the country’s Employees’ Compensation Act is raising issues on regulatory overlap and could hamper business operators in a country already lagging peers on ease of doing business, experts say.

The House of Representatives (HORs) Monday said it was inviting 1,124 organisations to an investigative hearing early October to enable an ad-hoc Committee ascertain the level of compliance with a mandatory law for employers to contribute a minimum of 1% of their total monthly payroll to the Employees’ Compensation Fund (ECF).

But experts question the decision of the House of Representatives to carry out the investigation which they say would result in an excessive regulation since a body and a ministry was already in charge of ensuring employers’ compliance with the law.

“Why is the HORs introducing another layer of enforcement of remittance of ECF contribution at the expense of employers, especially those who had passed through Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund audits?” KPMG Nigeria, the local outlet of one of the world’s biggest four professional services firms queried.

“Did it perceive laxity on the part of NSITF? If this is the case, why is the Minister of employment, Labour and Productivity, who has oversight of the NSITF under Section 61 of the Employees’ Compensation Act, not being directed by the HORs to ensure NSITF lives up to expectation? Should the HORs be conducting investigation such as this?”

According to Section 33 of the Employees’ Compensation Act (ECA), 2010, employers are mandated to contribute a minimum of 1% of their total monthly payroll to the Employees’ Compensation Fund (ECF) managed by the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Management Board.

Section 36 of the Act em-

powers the NSITF to institute relevant actions to recover any unpaid contribution from employers, a function the board was already dispensing through its compliance reviews on employers to ascertain the accuracy of their contributions and recover their unremitted contributions.

Moreso, the NSITF is already under the auspices of the Minister of Employment, Labour and Productivity which questions the approach by lawmakers as being the best, KPMG said, while it pointed out that a constitutional provision for HORs to open an investigation into matters in which they had powers to makes laws might be limited.

“Could the investigation not be done by limiting its scope to the operational review of the NSITF and proposing amendments to the ECA to deal with any perceived lapses in the NSITF operation?” the professional services firm said.

“Will the HORs not be turning itself to an agency for debt collection in the event that any employer is delinquent in its

monthly remittance of its ECF contributions to the NSITF?” Asides the issues of overlapping functions, KPMG faulted the 10-year period which the investigative committee said it would be looking into as businesses retain documents for an average of 6 years in line with Nigerian laws.

They also pointed out that the 2-week time-frame for the affected companies to prepare and submit their documents was tight and could affect their operations while another 5-day period set aside for the investigation would not be sufficient for a thorough hearing.

Affected organisations are required to submit a soft copy and 20 hard copies of their evidence of registration with, and remittance to NSITF, to the Committee Secretariat in Abuja, not later than 4 October 2019.

The 1,124 employers which are a minute fraction of total employers in the country was another concern, and questions on whether the investigation would be carried out in batches involving other organisations were critical issues KPMG raised.

Power failure due to lack of patriotism - Gbajabiamila James Kwen, Abuja

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he speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has stressed that the perennial problem of power failure in Nigeria was due to lack of patriotism by the stakeholders in the sector.

Gbajabiamila stated this Wednesday while declaring open a public investigative hearing of the House ad hoc committee on power into abandoned power projects and review of government expenditure in the power sector from 1999 to date yesterday at the National Assembly.

He lamented that despite the large amounts of money appropriated by the National Assembly since 1999, the power sector was yet to get it right, noting that despite these budgetary provisions, the power sector was yet to get it right.

“The problem is you and I; we are not patriotic enough in the discharge of our responsibilities to our nation, Nigeria,” he said.

Police Affairs minister seeks more US, EU support Innocent Odoh, Abuja

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L-R: Lanre Jaiyeola, managing director, HoneyWell Flour Mills Plc; Oba Otudeko, chairman, and Oluwayemisi Busari, company secretary, during the company’s 10th annual general meeting in Lagos, yesterday.

Pic by Olawale

NUT, TRCN hold inaugural meeting with minister of state for education TELIAT SULE

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n a bid to boost productivity in the nation’s education sector through harmonious relationship among its stakeholders, the president and executive members of the Nigerian Union of Teachers as well as those of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) paid a courtesy visit to the minister of state for education, Emeka Nwajiuba recently. The NUT executives used the opportunity to discuss the issues and challenges faced by the union.

At the meeting were the registrar and chief executive officer of the TRCN, Josiah Ajiboye; secretary-general of the NUT, Mike Ike Ene; national president of NUT, Muhammed Nasir Idris and the minister of state for education, Emeka Nwajiuba.

The minister expressed

his appreciation to the NUT executives for the visit. He reiterated his support and commitment to further the cause of teachers in Nigeria. The NUT president also thanked the minister and used the opportunity to enumerate some of the challenges facing the union. He stated that most teachers in public schools lacked the required qualifications to be employed as teachers. This situation he suggested is a flaw of the process and system that qualified them.

Another critical challenge faced by the union is the lack of Pension for teachers. He stated that this makes the teaching profession not appealing to both current and new entrants into the teaching profession.

The NUT president also suggested that the state governments should take up the responsibility of paying teachers salaries from the local gov-

ernment authorities as this would not only help teachers get paid on time, but would also serve as a significant motivation for teachers’ commitment and interest in their duties to be rekindled.

On his part, the minister of state for education, Nwajiuba, expressed concern over the quality of the current teaching workforce. He identified this as the biggest problem plaguing the Nigerian education sector as most of the teachers who are currently employed are not qualified to teach.

He stated that this is why most state governments want to sack their teachers. He cited the case of the Kaduna State Government recruiting teachers within and outside the state. He stressed the need for the ministry, TRCN, and NUT to work together to streamline and standardise processes within the education sector.

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Represented by the Chief Whip, Mohammed Monguno (APC, Borno), the speaker expressed disappointment that “it is embarrassing that when you pick up a newspaper, what you read is probe, probe and probe; ‘many heads will roll; EFCC to investigate.”

“It is time in our nationbuilding to rethink and press the reset button on what we do, how we do them with a view to ensuring that we get value for the monies appropriated for projects”.

Gbajabiamila noted that, while Nigerians go to different countries to search for stable electricity supply, good medical health facilities, quality education, “it is time we put our hearts into correcting all that is wrong so that we can create an enabling environment for our children”.

He said Committees of the National Assembly were at liberty to invite individuals or organisations in the course of exercising their duties in line with sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 constitution (as amended).

inister of Police Affairs, Maigari Dingyadi, has called on the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) to provide more support for the police to enable them to contain the security challenge facing the country.

The Minister made this request while speaking in separate meetings with the US and EU delegations at his office in Abuja on Thursday.

He expressed enthusiasm for greater partnership between them and his ministry.

Speaking during a visit by the US Embassy Security and Narcotics Law Enforcement Affairs team led by the Deputy Chief of Mission, Kathleen FitzGibbon, Dingyadi explained that the police affairs

ministry was revived by President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure proper supervision of the force.

He noted clear that President Buhari was determined to equip the police with the necessary training and facilities in order to empower them to curb the insecurity in the country.

The minister stated, “The intention is to ensure that the police are properly equipped and managed and supervised by the ministry of police affairs. By the time the police reform bill is signed, it has already being sent, we would be benefitting a lot from it.

“We would ensure that the police are completely equipped particularly in the area of infrastructure, in the area of security networks, intelligence gathering. We look forward to partnering with different organisations.”

Technology, research necessary for quality products, as firm introduces new Soklin Seyi John Salau

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bimbola Alabi, head of marketing, Natural Prime Resources Limited, makers of Soklin Detergent, has said that proper application of technology and in-depth consumer research are important to birth products that meet the needs of today’s consumers. Alabi made the assertion recently at the launch of two new products into the Nigerian detergents market in fulfilment of the company’s promise to help ease washing and laundry needs of the loyal customers.

She stressed that the new products were the results of continuous improvement following in-depth consumer research that spanned over two years, adding that the new

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products were innovatively formulated and produced as brilliant addition to the SoKlin family to close the gap in the detergent market.

“The new Soklin Ultra Odour Defence, which comes with Odour Guard Technology for superior anti-odour properties, helps keep out unpleasant smell or odour from laundry, resulting in clean and fresh laundry always, meaning that the era of damp smell is finally gone,” Alabi said.

She further said that in line with the company’s passion for research and development, its global yearning for product excellence, and the need to extend its leadership of the detergent market in Nigeria, “We have now launched So Klin Matic, powered with Clean 8 Tech@Businessdayng

nology for customers seeking top quality, easier and cleanest laundry detergent for their washing machines and is available in two pack sizes of 1kg and 2kg. While the new So Klin Ultra Odour Defense, comes formulated with odour guard technology, especially meant to deal with long soaking and indoor drying.”

Toyin Elefuntuyi, chief financial officer, who reiterated the top quality of both So Klin Matic and So Klin Ultra Odour Defense, claimed that “While other brands were cutting down on quality, we as manufacturers of SoKlin brands continue to invest more in consumer research and innovative technology to meet households need and improve quality standards of Nigerian consumers”.

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Robert Mugabe and the verdict of history (2) THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS

OBADIAH MAILAFIA

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oday we conclude our piece on Robert Mugabe’s place in history.

Economic sanctions and economic mismanagement, in addition to poor governance, heightened the social and political crisis in Zimbabwe. The struggle for democracy reached a crisis point that led to South Africa brokering a fragile peace. This led to a national unity government with Mugabe as president and Morgan Tsavingirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) as prime minister during 2009-2013. But it was not to last. The old fox bade his time until he could outmanoeuvre his enemies and reconsolidate absolute power.

But sanctions were not alone to blame. The syndrome of personal rule settled on the political landscape of the country like a nuclear mushroom cloud. Mugabe boxed himself into a corner and was left with no friends except the likes of Muammar Gadaffi of Libya, Mahmoud Ahmedinijad of Iran and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.

It is ironical that this ascetic statesman who dazzled the world with his brilliance ended up becoming one of the most reviled tyrants in Africa. According to an insider, the DNA of his despotism had been

there all along: “When you look at his moves in the 1980s to establish a oneparty state and his ideas of statecraft, the only constants are power – how to attain it, how to keep it and how to monopolise it. If it was a law that stood between him and power, he changed it. If it was an institution, he subverted it. If it was an election, he rigged it. If it was an opponent, he had him killed.”

His mother, Mbuya Bona, warned his friends in the sixties: “You think my son cares about your politics….

You don’t know how cruel my son is.

Hamunyatsomuziva. You don’t know him at all.”

There is little doubt that Robert Mugabe felt overshadowed by the towering figure of Nelson Mandela, following the latter’s release from incarceration in 1990. The death of Sally in 1992 – the only voice of restraint on his excesses – rendered him bereft of wise counsel.

He began an affair with his secretary, Grace Marufu, while Sally was battling terminal cancer. Some 41 years his junior, Grace, who was born in South Africa, had been married to an air force pilot, Stanley Goreraza.

Sally passed away in January 1992.

He wedded Grace much later in August 1996. They have three children together.

Popularly known as “Gucci Grace”, the former first lady has the reputation of a gold-digger with the monomaniacal ambition of a lady Macbeth.

In 2014, the University of Zimbabwe awarded her a very dodgy PhD degree in Sociology barely two months after registering on the programme. There has been no evidence that she submitted a dissertation to the university. Gucci Grace never concealed her single-minded quest for the ultimate prize. She orchestrated

the downfall of two former Vice Presidents, Joice Mujuru and Emmerson Mnangagwa, to pave the way for her ascension up the greasy pole.

When rumours transpired that the old man was preparing to hand-over power to her, the army struck with speed. Mugabe was forced to resign on 9 November, 2017 or face the prospects of impeachment.

Mnangagwa, who had fled to Johannesburg for dear life, was recalled to take over the mantle of leadership.

A former Mugabe enforcer and personal assistant who became estranged from his principal; Mnangagwa belongs to the Old Guard, with its thuggery, parasitism, backwardness and grand larceny.

The simple truth is that Zimbabwe needs a new breed of leadership if it is to join the ranks of prosperous democracies in the coming years.

Robert Mugabe’s place in history is assured as founding father and liberator of his country. His education and health policies were successful; as were the land reforms, imperfect as they were.

Unlike Madiba, he refused to strike a Faustian bargain with the wicked, soulless Babylonians. If we listen to what new leaders such as Julius Malema of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party are saying, it is clear that, in Namibia and South Africa, the land question will not disappear any time soon.

From Aristotle to our day, successful political leadership is a factor of several elements: the opportunities and context available to the statesman; the nature of the political coalition that came into power; the policy space for manoeuvre; the configuration of global forces; and personal attributes such as wisdom, vision, courage, compassion and ability.

It is an incontrovertible fact of life

‘

It is ironical that this ascetic statesman who dazzled the world with his brilliance ended up becoming one of the most reviled tyrants in Africa

that politics is the one vocation that quickly exposes what a man is ultimately made of. When push comes to shove, the statesman can only give what he has. Ultimately, what Mugabe could give his countrymen and women was not very much. He was a leader with a high Intelligence Quotient (IQ) but was cursed with a low Emotional Quotient (EQ).

He had neither the high enlightenment civic virtues of a Julius Nyerere nor the courtliness and ethical nobility of a born prince such as Nelson Mandela. His monomaniacal obsession with power turned him into a murderous tyrant who drove a country with humongous prospects into complete ruin. Zimbabwe’s contemporary travails must be laid squarely at his feet.

Today, Zimbabwe has a low Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.535, a position of number 156 out of 189 countries and territories. However, its literacy rate of 88.28 percent is among the highest in the developing world. But unemployment remains a nightmare. A BBC report suggests that as high as 90 percent of economically active Zimbabweans are out of work.

A collapsing economy has brought untold misery to so many.

The philosopher Isaiah Berlin once wrote about what he termed “the crooked timber of humanity”. Mugabe had more than a fair dose of that original sin. Whatever he might have achieved as a statesman will always be overshadowed by his pernicious hubris and the self-delusional omniscience and infallibility that broke the confidence of such a gifted people.

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)

Plus ça change… a 33-year retrospective

T

he advert stood out in the ThisWeek issue Vol 1, No 1 of July 21, 1986. Volkswagen of Nigeria Limited called it public information series Vol 1 5/86. It shared “The cost effect of only external factors on the Beetle (19801986 comparison).”

This is what it stated. “We have shown the effect of external factors in half a year on Beetle prices and that of a one cent drop in the value of the Naira. The illustration below using the 1986 cost + freight value in foreign exchange shows that from just these external factors alone a N4,012 cost burden has been placed on the Beetle.”

The table that Volkswagen displayed showed that the Naira exchanged for the dollar at N1 equalled $1.85 in 1980. In 1986, the Naira could only fetch $0.90. The cost and freight value of the Beetle remained at $3,193 in 1980 as in 1986. However, in Naira it changed from N1,726 in 1980 to N3,548 in 1986.

More significantly, the federal government added to this increment that manufacturers had to pass on to consumers by raising the customs duty from the 25 percent of 1980 to 35 percent in 1986. There was no import levy in 1980; in 1986, import levy was 30 percent, thus adding N1,064 additional costs to the valuation.

Similarly, the company paid excise duty of 5 percent in 1986 from none in 1980. The Beetle then sold for an approved price of N6,636 in 1986 as against N3,425 in 1980.

Volkswagen then stated: “Using the formula prescribed by the appropriate government agencies, current Beetle prices should be the

1980 price of N3,425 plus the cost effect due to external factors during the period 1980 to 1986 =N4, 012 plus the effect of domestic inflation on overheads and assembly cost and dealer margin. The actual approved price of the Beetle (including excise duty) is only N6,636. The company suffers a loss of N3,600 per car.

“This should suffice to erase the impression that we have ever asked the price control board to do more than follow the formula laid down by the government.” The optimistic firm signed off the ad by claiming to be “Your partner for a better life.”

That claim sounds so ironic looking back.

Volkswagen did not become the partner of Nigerians for a better life. Government policies on the exchange rate, tariffs and taxes forced it out of the country. Better life? Mariam Babangida, the first to officially claim the title and office of the first lady, appropriated the name for her pet programme of better life for rural women given that the policies of her husband’s government had impoverished that demographic even more than others.

Nigeria will mark its 59th independence anniversary a few days hence. Routine will fill the day. There would be march pasts, muted celebrations as well as long speeches and promises of deliverance. What have those speeches delivered?

Working on a research report, I recently took a walk into the past by reviewing newspapers and magazines of 1986.

The year 1986 is significant for Nigeria.

It was a year into the coming of the Ibrahim

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Babaginda regime that ended the tyranny of his predecessor Muhammadu Buhari. More importantly, it was the year of the beginning of Nigeria’s gyration with exchange rates and with the other two critical rates of inflation and interest.

The French expression comes to mind as one read through the files. Plus ça change, plus ça la meme chose. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

The issues in those reports still feature today in various ways. South Africa was one of the foremost topics in July-August 1986. The matter was the fight by African countries for an end to apartheid, the meeting of the Commonwealth eminent persons group and the seeming willingness of Margaret Thatcher to throw the Commonwealth under the bus in favour of retaining apartheid. South Africa featured prominently in the last two months as they forgot the struggle of their brother Africans to end the obnoxious policy that held them down.

More importantly to citizens is the nexus between government policies and the value of the naira, inflation, interest rates, and how they affect his life. As the Volkswagen Beetle pricing matter showed, the federal government through its policies is always the agent provocateur. Advisers tell it to behave like Jeroboam who promised the people more pain through taxes and tariffs. It is unclear what the FG did then or does now with all the increment in rates.

What is clear is the continued impoverishment of citizens arising from the policies.

Nigeria is currently raising all manner of

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tariffs and taxes, tightening borders and practices, while neighbouring Ghana is doing the exact opposite and attracting investments and investors.

Volkswagen of Nigeria was one of the first major firms to exit from the consequences of those policies. Many others followed. Since then, Nigeria has continued to play the same policy game. The result has been harsh on citizens.

There is plenty of institutional and human memory in the new Economic Advisory Council (EAC) of President Buhari with Ode Ojowu and others on the list, who have been part of economic advisory in the last thirty years. It will help if they take a retrospective before coming up with any advice. We need to see sustainable change.

Nwakanma is a Visiting Member of the BusinessDay Editorial Board and serves on the Adjunct Faculty at the School of Media and Communication, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos.

Email chidonwakanma@gmail.com.

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An ode to Robert Gabriel Mugabe (2)

I

t was painful to behold, and initially you were inclined to deny the evidence of your eyes, and the stories that filtered into your ears. On the bustling streets of Bulawayo – the name means the place of slaughter – in the evenings, people stood in sullen silence as military trucks rolled by, conveying the dreaded “fifth brigade”. The fifth brigade was Mugabe’s North Korean-trained elite force de frappe.

They were much hated by the people – who were mostly Ndebele, supporters of Joshua Nkomo. Defiantly, some of the young people wore T-shirts bearing the image of Nkomo, with the label “Father Zimbabwe”.

Mugabe was not integrative but divisive.

In the stark realpolitik that was all-too prevalent in Africa, the Shona “majority” he belonged to had 70 percent of the population and were in power. Anybody who didn’t like it could lump it.

By the time you left Ingutsheni, barely a year later, you could see that Zimbabwe, the land that had briefly embodied African triumph and ascendancy, was heading relentlessly

downhill.

For anyone to understand the psychology of Mugabe, they need to know that his paternal grandfather once served under Lobengula, the last King of Matabeleland. The Ndebele, who were now the minority, had boasted in the past of ruthless monarchs who carried out great exploits and struck terror into the hearts of their neighbours and their enemies, including Mugabe’s Shona.

Over the years, it was easy to see that Mugabe’s personality hardened as adversity multiplied. He was a selfdeclared Marxist from when you all first knew him, but he was many things besides. Acknowledged as the best-read and most cerebral African leader of his day, he had a sharp dress sense and impeccable manners. He was quaintly English, with a fondness for sharing afternoon tea and scones with friend and enemy alike in his tie and jacket.

The plan, originally, was that the guerrillas from the two major groups who fought the bush war against white oppressors would be integrated into the new national army. For some time, the arrangement seemed to work. Then distrust set in. In short order Nkomo’s ZIPRA fighters began to escape into the bush to launch a new guerrilla war, or to make a life as bandits.

Gradually, Mugabe strangulated his old rival into political extinction. The army harshly suppressed the civilian population in Matabeleland, leading to thousands of deaths. Rendered effectively impotent, unable to bear the continued suffering of his people, Nkomo succumbed, and allowed his party to be absorbed into a lopsided coalition in which he had little say.

Eventually he faded into oblivion, even before his death. For Mugabe it was a

pyrrhic victory. Many people would never forgive him for what he did to the older man.

Mugabe, in the course of time, seemed to feel an increasing sense of irritation that anyone should oppose him – he, the liberator who had sacrificed all for his nation and made the struggle his life.

It did not help matters that early on, the British government of Margaret Thatcher had promised to help with the cost of a gradual process of voluntary transfer of land back from white farmers to the black population, from whom it had been expropriated in the first place. It was an issue that was fundamental to the Liberation struggle.

Not long after independence, a labour government came to power in the UK and disavowed the commitment. Incensed, Mugabe responded by seizing the land anyway, allowing hordes of war veterans to invade white-owned farms, driving the previous owners off the land, in some cases killing them.

Vilified by the western press, opposed now by a new generation not just in Matabeleland but all across the nation, including Harare the capital, which became a hotbed of opposition, and with his nation sliding into a bottomless recession, Robert Mugabe dug in deeper, and became more self-righteous.

Of Mandela, his friend and alternative model, President Mugabe was reputed to have said, “He has given his people statues and monuments, I have given my own people land.”

It is a philosophical notion that cannot be dismissed out of hand. As evidence that “the Mugabe option” has traction, Robert Mugabe is much admired by the new kid on the block in South Africa, Julius Malema, the leader of the economic freedom fighters”.

‘

Over the years, it was easy to see that Mugabe’s personality hardened as adversity multiplied.

He was a self-declared Marxist from when you all first knew him, but he was many things besides

Mugabe, you concluded sadly, long ago, was a leader for war, and not a leader for peace. Perhaps his legacy would have been different if he had acted like Mandela – holding office for a term, then retiring to the background to guide the next generation.

Allowing so-called “war veterans”, run rampant, suggested that those who fought in the liberation struggle did it for booty and not for pure love of nation – a clear and despicable aberration.

And what was the point in giving people land, if the result was to convert a nation that was the breadbasket of Africa into an economic basket case, forcing millions into economic exile?

Still, Africa needs to control the narrative on Mugabe. To dismiss him as a tin-pot dictator as the western press has done, does no justice to history, or to the man. A warped sense of entitlement might have made him think he owned Zimbabwe, and that he could even make his wife Grace president after he was dead.

But Mugabe is a genuine generational African hero.

He has posed a question to panAfricanists which they are yet to answer – if his way is the wrong way to right the wrong of racist expropriation of black people’s land and natural resources, what is the right way?

Certainly, it is not just by building statues and monuments, as he said dismissively of his friend Mandela.

Robert Gabriel Mugabe was the real “father Zimbabwe”, warts and all.

His errors were monumental, but his place cannot be erased. May his soul rest in peace.

Femi Olugbile is a Writer and Psychiatrist. Comments to synthesiz@gmail.com’

Efficient alternatives to hard-work

I

n Africa, from parenting to schools to society, we have been trained the hard way. Invariably, our world is full of hardworking people; most willing to work, and few equipped to let them. It’s those few that become successful and wealthy.

It is good to be hard working. But this is only to a point. After that point, any incremental and exponential supply of personal hard work gets you lesser into profit and farther into the addictive and enjoyable rat race.

The problem with the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat.

In the scanty table of successful men, they will tell you that hard work doesn’t bring wealth. It’s a myth from the industrial age sold by the upper class to the working class for centuries to keep them productive but suppressed.

You know what brings wealth is smart work and not hard work. The smarter we work the wealthier we get. The harder we work the unhealthier we get.

There is a level of hard work needed to start right. During your first sets of years in business or even the corporate ladder, your success is really about hard work, what you personally do and the product you build. After those early years in business, your success is determined more by your vision, strategies and the people you hire.

It’s important to begin to get a lot more done through others. This can be done through delegation and even technology.

Now that’s smart work. After the first year, or even the first few months of starting up, stop trying to do everything. Hire smart people, equip and help them put systems in place so that good things happen even when you’re not there.

Like my father says, “a man will be imprisoned in a room that is unlocked but opens inwards, as long as it doesn’t occur to him to pull instead of push!”

If you knew better, you’d do better. There

are variables that can make a man become very successful and that also makes businesses scale. They include finance, people, market, and production process. But the tough question usually is, which is the hardest to deal with?

People think it’s finance, but leadership and managing people is actually the most important part of running a business to scale.

Most businesses can’t scale because most CEOs have been reduced to mere supervisors of their staff as against their two main roles, strategy and networking which is responsible for revenue and expansion. In other words, most CEO and top-level executive now major in what is minor. They sweat the petty things and then pet the sweaty things.

Leadership is the act of getting things done through others: If you understand this and its structure, you’d do more smart work than hard work. Hard work in the long run is a trap. It may help you make an honest living, but in all honesty, you’d lose the essence of honestly living.

Let’s explore the battle of hard work versus smart work. I am crude talent manager; I believe in getting things done through others.

And in trying to achieve this, I look out for good people and I add value to them while around me to get the best out of them too.

Over the years, I have noticed that in every organisation, there are four kinds of people.

They are seemingly either dumb and lazy, smart and lazy, dumb but ambitious, or smart and ambitious.

Now let’s explore their characteristics.

The dumb and lazy are usually loyal yet uninspiring and not ambitious. They will drain you. The good news is, if given simple, clearly stated directions, bumblers will perform day-to-day routine tasks well enough, but not in perfection. Usually because they are not ambitious, they will be content with token raises and will be among your most loyal employees.

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The smart and lazy are usually creative.

They must be continually prodded and they will produce. Because they are lazy but smart, they will find shortcuts to what must be done.

So, they bring innovation. He lacks the inner fire to turn his brains into personal power, but he has the brains to do well as an advisor.

This kind of people can be extremely useful.

The dumb but ambitious are usually cunning. They are insecure and will always flatter you. They can’t be trusted but can be used for a purpose just perfectly with care before the snake in them crawls out. They are pretty useful. The truth is, any ambitious person is basically disloyal. So, you can do the maths.

Whereas the smart and ambitious are usually highflying. For people like this, keep them busy. Give them harder tasks to do and keep rewarding, celebrating and promoting when they succeed and your organisation will see magic. They are also not loyal to you but their needs that have to do with you. So, tie theirs to yours.

They are all relevant but needs to be involved most appropriately and in a good mix.

The universe isn’t known to reward the hardest working. Activity isn’t productivity.

Even in the animal farm, a lion sleeps 18 hours in a day while a donkey works 18 hours in a day? If it’s by hard work, the donkey should be the king of the jungle.

Success isn’t really by hard work, it’s about the smart integration of factors and a hybrid of people that delivers on results. It’s about getting things done. And most time through others. The more you can systematically do this, the better. A key word here is “systems”.

A system is a set of processes that can run without you.

To stay away of that addictive trap of hard work, let’s look at a few key systems that you should think about creating in the early stages of your business.

You will need to craft a big picture of what you want most, and then break it down

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through a structure of what must be done and the tools you’d need. Keep those pictures in mind and closer each day by engaging yourself with it, drawing closer to things that draws you closer to it. At this stage, hard work is key.

But as your business grows, you’ll need to build smart work and smart systems and processes that can be automated as much as possible. For your business, you will need to build production centres with efficient distribution systems. You will need to develop inventory systems, marketing systems, and customer support systems.

To stay ahead of competition, you need to develop a research and development systems, and for your efficiency you’d need to create accounting and human resource systems, and many others.

Systems are rules, policies, and procedures that trained individuals can repeat as your company grows and run independent of you. On a higher level, you must connect with those who have walked the paths ahead of you. You will need mentors and a board of advisors. They will supply you with not just advice but the right mindset and spirit. When this happen, for sustainability and relevance, you will also need to invest in the future and posterity by having mentees. Later in life, you’d be grateful, not just for hard work but smart work. I look forward to working with you through that journey.

Uwaoma is a start-up, corporate restructuring and strategy consultant. He writes via contacteizu@gmail.com

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

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

Stop this distraction!

Continued from page 1 the preceding one. The end result is that there is little or no time left for real and effective governance. Every policy decision and choice therefore is made from a political lens and calculated to give advantage at the next elections.

This has made political competition in Nigeria and in most parts of Africa merely a struggle for the control of the levers of power and for the sharing of the spoils of power.

The main and overriding purpose – the promotion of societal welfare and the public good – is intentionally or unintentionally relegated to the

background.

Politicians may fail to be patriotic, they may concern themselves with how to capture and retain power, even to the detriment of economic growth or peace and security of the country.

But the media, civil society and the general public must not toe that line. We have a much more important task – that of holding public officers to account – and we must not allow politicians and political jobbers dictate the national discourse.

Pray, in what way has the place of origin or religion of the president being an advantage or helped to grow the economy or move the country forward? How has the place of origin or religion of the president

helped to build and equip schools, hospitals, roads, rails and other infrastructure needed to make life meaningful for Nigerians?

Time is not on our side.

The economy is on the brink of another slowdown, over 90 million of our people are living in extreme poverty and millions more are pushed into the dungeon of extreme poverty every month because economic growth is far below population growth. Worse, the government is facing both a revenue crisis and debt crisis; burdened by mounting external and domestic debt while unable to raise revenues to finance its expenditure. Our time and effort should be more concerned about these existential national issues.

President Muhammadu Buhari was elected for another four years earlier this year. This means all politics, or at least, talk of politics must be suspended for the next three and half years to give room for governance.

Besides, the president has said “leadership and a sense of purpose” can lift 10 million people out of poverty. Our preoccupation should be to press the president to reveal exactly how this will be done and insist that he, and his appointed officials, fulfil the promises made during his election campaigns.

Squabbling over where the next president should come from is puerile and playing into the hands of political jobbers.

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

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And now the Port Harcourt serial killer TALES FROM THE MAIN ROAD

EUGENIA ABU

I

t’s as if the gods are angry with our nation. As if our woes are not enough. Now, we have officially declared publicly that we have serial killers in our midst and their target is women. At least the story from Port Harcourt confirms this. When the story broke, my stomach turned to water because as an avid watcher of the crime and investigation channel on international networks and a certificated guidance and counselling personae, I can minimally map out the character of serial killers. White handkerchief, strangulation, same pattern, same setting in hotels, a classic serial killer scenario and a man or woman who would kill again.

When serial killers are interrogated all over the world, they say they leave a mark, a chain, anything for identification. For them it’s a trophy, a sign to gain them notoriety and respect. They are also taunting security operatives and laughing at futile attempts to catch them. They savour the buzz, enjoy television analysis and search for the next victim to continue their terrible activities. They enjoy the fear which gives them a false sense of power.

In addition to all of this, they have entered that place of foreboding where killing has become a past time and an addiction, so they have the appetite for blood. Once they kill

one person and get away with it, they then suffer withdrawal symptoms and get their next high only when they kill again.

The psychology of the serial killer is mind numbing. They live among us and seem normal until they don the killer hat and become a set of different people. They are extremely smart, highly deceitful, very calculative and highly manipulative. They are also essentially cowards who also have multiple mental illnesses and have lost their sense of reality. Their joy is in seeing other people suffer, vulnerable people, who they can dominate, begging for their lives. They also prey on persons who they feel have severed links with their families as well as young persons who are innocent and naïve.

For the men, they seek out women of easy virtue or a woman who is out on the town. The women prey on men they have seduced and those seeking for fun. To stay safe, everyone has to be one step ahead of them.

I watched keenly but with much sadness the many interviews given

by Gracious, the now arrested serial killer of Port Harcourt fame. He was a bundle of cowardice, shamelessness and power. He gave the salacious details of his many murders, then proceeded to eat and then burst into tears saying he does not know why he does it.

Everything is very matter of fact, speaking as if he killed a fly. Most serial killers have no empathy and even if one of the girls he had killed was his sister, he would still deliver his story in this way.

There is a lot to do with this Gracious. Psychologists and psychiatrists can profile him for the rest of us. What broke in his childhood?

Did his mother love him? How did he become an armed robber? How many people had he killed as an armed robber? Now he has built an

appetite and what can be more empowering for people of his ilk than sex and murder. He wants to dominate the women, keep the police busy, dominate the media and put fear in the community.

Before he was caught, these things gave him a sense of power. Let us look at his money for sex scheme. Has he ever been truly loved by a woman, has he truly ever loved a woman? Has he always bought sex? He can afford it so he pays and treats the women like dirt. And in this new escapade, he can possess them, own them and even kill them. How many of the deceased women may have said to him, give me my gift, if not that you have some decent cash, who will sleep with a man like you? Which ones, just having fun, talked down on him?

They may not have even thought he was violent, but even armed robbers have their girls.

Most serial killers will tell you their first victim was an accident, a result of rage. After that they now provoke their subsequent victims so they can settle their minds with “but they made me angry and afterwards, I did not know what happened”. Many of them see it as a game, fun, their inability to have empathy prevents them from understanding that people are being hurt. For them, this is their own playground.

Parents must work their way through understanding their children. They must provide pathways for discussion. Not all serial killers are from poor homes. Quite a number are from wealthy homes and do it for fun and sometimes they end up killing their parents. Every parent with a child that has anxiety, mental health illnesses or just pure rage must seek professional help. Substance abuse helps serial killers to dumb down the extent of their depravity.

Never compare your children with other children, do not build a toxic

‘

The psychology of the serial killer is mind numbing. They live among us and seem normal until they don the killer hat and become a set of different people. They are extremely smart, highly deceitful, very calculative and highly manipulative

home, don’t keep kids around a violent dad or mum, don’t attack your wife in front of your children, don’t reduce your husband in front of your children.

Don’t sow the seeds of hate of either a brother, a section of the society, a certain religion or even a certain demographic. More than anything else, no matter how rich you are, do not expose your children to too much money, let them learn the values of hard work. When there is much money, boredom sets in and kids can then do anything just for the thrill of it. Treat people with respect in front of your kids, even if the person is your domestic. Too much television and internet can teach new and dangerous things.

Women must now be more cautious; study the signs and character of a man they are in love with or having fun with. And run if they have to. Too many broken men out there.

Be careful.

I congratulate the women’s group in Port Harcourt who marched to draw attention, I congratulate the Nigerian police force in Port Harcourt for doing the needful. Finally, let us all be more cautious in our dealings with strange persons in our neighbourhood and even with friends. As Dandaura, Rivers state commissioner of police says, there are also elements of cultism involved.

In the search for serial killers, the culprit may also join the search and be more vociferous in his anger, may even carry placards and shout louder than all of us. Serial killers are like that, they are clever. He/she may even be your neighbour. Enough said.

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

When life gives you pepper

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hen life gives you pepper, make pepper soup! It is a variation of the viral lemon to lemonade trend.

This quote is meant to inspire you on how to turn your woes to fortune. Whoever wrote this version has not experienced the “Nigerian life” or tried to start a business in my country, otherwise he would have said “when Nigeria shows your pepper all you’ve got is stew”. That is because life does not give you “cat-fish” or “assorted meat” (those are the items that make pepper soup what it is, not the pepper). I will explain based on what I have faced trying to start an SME and my experience as an amateur chef cooking both stew and pepper soup.

On the eve of my departure from Nigeria to study in Georgia, my dad gave me two advice, “remember the son of who you are” and “don’t ever forget where you come from”. He said the same thing when I was leaving for the boarding house, only this time he went further on the latter. He said “son you are going to a better place, when you get there don’t forget how you left us here”. When I got to the other side, the grass was indeed greener but I did not burn my bridges, so I always look back, lest, I forget the road that would lead me home.

All through my studies I was determined to come back home to be of value to my

country. I wasn’t going to be one of those young folks doing exploits out there without impacting home. Returning to Nigeria, I decided to start a small business. After doing a SWOT analysis on myself, I came up with a business plan. Start a company that does three things: record and document history (my hobby), provide tour services, manufacture and sell souvenirs to tourists (here I could use my training as an industrial engineer) It sounds good on paper, but Nigeria made me understand that paper and reality are far from each other.

When Nigeria shows you pepper it comes in three flavours; Shombo (red Chili), Tatashe (red bell pepper) and Rodo (scotch bonnet). I will try to explain these three using the challenges I have faced so far.

Shombo is a variety of pepper that is used to spice food. It is not hot at all, but it gives a special aroma. In business, these are the problems that can be controlled, challenges that are normal for new businesses.

For example, in the souvenir segment, finding skilled technicians is a big headache as fewer Nigerian youths now practise craft.

I had to travel to the countryside to find skilled technicians, then train them on how to make custom souvenirs that meets www.businessday.ng

international standard. As challenging as it was, I could control it, my training as an industrial engineer had prepared me for this.

Tatashe is a variety of pepper that is mildly hot. Though not as spicy as Shombo.

These are the challenges that I have some control over. I can’t completely eradicate them but there are steps I could take to minimise their effects. One of my top performing souvenirs are bags made from local Aso Oke fabric. There are two types of machines used in sewing these bags, the industrial machine and the manual machine. The industrial machine could make bags neater and three times faster than the manual. The problem is, the industrial machine needs electricity. We only get power for about four hours daily at the workshop.

There is nothing I can do about power supply; all I can do is schedule production time to maximise the use of power supply and look for alternative power source.

Rodo is a type of pepper that is very spicy and extremely hot. These are the challenges I have faced that I have absolutely no control over. The tourism segment is where I encounter most of these issues. I have a lot of contacts that wants to visit Nigeria, but how do you protect tourists in a country where police chiefs get kidnapped. There is absolutely nothing I can do about it.

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LEKAN OLASENI None of the three peppers listed is used in the preparation of pepper soup. That is because pepper is not what makes pepper soup what it is, it is the fish or assorted meat. Life will never give assorted meat or cat-fish.

Stew on the other hand uses a lot of pepper and all the above pepper can be used in its preparation. Stew is present in Nigerian cuisines because it goes with most of our staples. Stew goes with rice, beans, bread, yam etc. Pepper soup is a luxury meal and you eat it for relaxation and on special occasions.

Stew perfectly describes doing business in Nigeria. Stew is not easy; it is tough but with good packaging and support, stew will make it to every occasion.

Starting in Nigeria is not easy, it is very tough but with the right packaging and support you can build a global brand. So next time Naija shows you pepper make stew not pepper soup.

Olaseni writes from Lagos

@Businessdayng

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Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

cityfile Fire claims 2-yrold, others in Kano

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Fishermen at work on Lagos waters.

Lagos: Concern grows over activities of police, LASTMA at Iponri, Constain JOSHUA BASSEY

with agency report

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esidents and motorists have continued to express concern over the activities of police and traffic management agenc i e s, re s u l t i n g i n p e rsistent gridlock around Iponri and the Constain Roundabout, in Lagos.

Checks show that illegal parking of articulated vehicles impounded by the Iponri police division and Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has persisted at Iponri, in what limiting efforts by the Presidential Task Team, working to restore order on the road, which leads to the Apapa ports.

O n Au g u s t 2 8 , t ra ffi c enf orc em ent ag en -

cies, including LASTMA and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) had turned Iponr i into a junkyard for impounded vehicles.

The situation was further compounded when the Iponri police station brought more vehicles to the bus stop, thereby exacerbating the woes of motorists on the dual carriageway.

When a rep or ter on Wednesday, September 25, approached the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the Iponri police station, simply identified as Ogunlaja, why the situation has continued, the DPO rather than offer explanations resorted to insulting the reporter.

“You are asking me why the trailers are parked here. Is it your job to be looking into this kind of matter?,’’ the visibly angry

officer asked.

He continued: “Please, if you do not have any work to do, go and look for one.”

Ogunlaja further asked the reporter whether “he was the ow ner ” of the road to be dictating to him where the trailers should be parked. “ The trailers are exhibits of the police so I should carr y them and park them in my house?,” he queried.

Meanwhile, residents have continued to complain against the penchant of the Iponri police division to park seized trucks at the bus stop to narrow the road.

Motorists on the road have continued to b emoane d traffic jam, caused majorly by illegal parking on the road, especially at Iponri and Costain Roundabout.

“ Po l i c e m o s t t i m e s, impound vehicles for infractions on the highways and they end up parking the impounded vehicle on the roads to cause even bigger problems for motorists, commuters and the general public.

“Why impound a vehicle if you don’t have enough space in police barracks to keep impounded vehicles,’’ a commuter, Adebisi Olashore, queried as he lamented the situation on Wednesday.

He u rg e d t h e L ag o s police command to call t h e i r m e n to o rd e r, to stop violating the same laws for which violators were being punished by the police.

Some of the vehicles now deteriorating at various spots have been impounded for periods between weeks and years.

Traders seek compensation over market demolition INIOBONG IWOK

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ore than two years after their shops were demolished by the authorities of Lagos State and Ikeja local governments, traders at the Oshodi and Alade markets have called for compensation on the damages they suffered.

A section of Owonifar market at Oshoidi, was demolished in 2016 by

the Lagos State government to allow for the construction of Oshodi Transpor t Interchange (OTI) under the immediate past administration of Akinwunmi Ambode.

A similar demolition was also carried out at the Alade market, Ikeja.

Speaking during a visit to the market by a nongovernmental organisation, Rethinking Cities, Cyprian Anurudu, a leader at the O w o n i f a re ma rke t, l a www.businessday.ng

mented the losses they suffered.

“The demolition happened without a formal notice. Most of us had travelled for Christmas break and they surrounded there with security people and forced traders to leave. Our demand is that the government should compensate us.

Also, a leader of the Alade market, Sulola Daniel bemoaned the hardship they were fac-

ing at a temporary market built for rent for traders evicted from the Alade market.

“The temporary location is beside a canal and not conducive for trading.

We want government to take us to another location,” Daniel said.

Executive director of Rethinking Cities, Deji Akinpelu urged government to always consider the interest of the citizens when siting developmental projects.

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h re e p e r s o n s have reportedly died in an early morning fire outbreak in a flat at Gayawa Tsohowa, in Ungogo local government area of Kano.

The spokesman of the state fire service, Saidu Mohammed, said in Kano that among the victims was a two-year baby girl.

“We received a distress call in the early hours of Wednesday f r o m o n e Mu d a s s i r Abdullahi at about 3:57 a.m that there was a fire outbreak at a dwelling house.

“Upon receiving the information, we quickly dispatched a fire engine to the scene at about 4:08 a.m, to bring the fire under control,’’ he said.

Mohammed gave the names of the victims as Aminu Bala, 50, Rukkaiya Aminu, 30, and Aisha Aminu, 2.

The official, however, said that the victims were taken to the Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital, Kano, where the doctor confirmed them dead.

He said that investigation had commenced to determine the cause of the incident.

Gunmen kill one in Bayelsa

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nknown gunmen have killed the chairman of Butchers Association in Bayelsa, Chibuzor Nwac hu kw u a l o ng O g i l o street, in Yenagoa local government area of the state.

Chibuzor, who was the chair man of the Swali market branch of the association was said to have returned home on Sunday evening where the assailants laid ambush in front of his house.

The 42-year hails from Nkanu community in Enugu State.

Some resident of the

area said the deceased was just at his entrance when he was accosted and killed.

Chinedu Arthur-Ugwa, south-south coordinator of Ohaneze Youth wing, said the corpse has been taken to his village for burial rites.

Ar thur-Ugwa condemned the act and added that the cause of the murder was still unknown.

Po l i c e sp o ke s ma n in t h e st ate, Asin im Butswat, said the police authority had visited the scene of crime and investigation had commenced.

Imolites to build unity hall in Kaduna Abdulwaheed Olayinka Adubi, Kaduna

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mo State Indigenes Welfare Association (ISIWA) is concluding plans to build what it christened ‘Unity Hall’ as a rallying point for Imolites within and outside Kaduna State.

This was disclosed by the president of Kaduna State branch of the association, Albert Iweka.

The association called on the governor of Imo State, Emeka @Businessdayng

Ihediora to extend a h e l ping han d in th e execution of the project, as it will serve as a symbol of unity.

According to Iweka in a statement, Imolites would continue to be law- abiding and peace loving citizens, just as he called on Imo indigenes resident in Kaduna and its environs to foster the spirit of hard work and oneness in the discharge of their duties.

Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES & MARKETS

15

COMPANY NEWS ANALYSIS INSIGHT

CONSUMER GOODS

PZ Cussons foresees lower earnings on consumer fragility in UK, Nigeria …optimistic on H2 outlook ISRAEL ODUBOLA

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Z Cussons Plc, one of the world’s biggest personal healthcare makers, has said that its top-line might trend lower in the first half of the current financial year on weak consumer demand in major markets albeit expressed optimism for a better second-half.

The company’s important markets are Nigeria, United Kingdom and Australia, with a combined population of about 295 million, accounting for over 65 percent to the group’s top-line.

But the sluggish recovery of the Nigerian economy which has not translated to improved purchasing power combined with Brexit-related uncertainties hurting the British economy and the highly competitive Australian economy weighed on the group’s revenue.

A dive into its full-year report for the period ended May 31, 2019, showed group’s revenue fell 6.8 percent to £689.4 million from £739.8 million in the previous period. Sales proceeds from its Europe & Americas, Asia Pacific, and African businesses shed 0.2 percent, 4.1 percent and 15.2 percent respectively.

Adjusted operating profit of the group fell by 10.7 percent in the 2019-year end to £76.5 million, spurred by a sharp 115.9 percent cut in

its African segments.

A similar trend was observed in the first quarter of 2019 as revenue across all regions trended lower as a result of consumer uncertainty and heavy promotional activities among others.

“We anticipate market conditions will remain challenging across our key geographies for the balance sheet for the first half of the year,” the firm said in a statement on its website.

“Improvement is anticipated in the second half as planned marketing activities behind our focus brand and overhead reduction programs take effect,” it said, adding that the group would continue simplifying its activities going forward.

Shares of PZ Cussons declined 2.06 percent to 206 pence Wednesday on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), down 3.2 percent since January to grossly underperforming the LSE all share

index that has gained a whopping 78 percent year long.

Its Nigerian segment continues to struggle for survival amid myriads of headwinds including intense market competition and tough operating environment.

The segment’s revenue and post-tax profit dipped 8 percent and 40 percent respectively in the full year 2018. Its Nigerian shares have tanked nearly by half since January, a reflection

of the woes bedeviling consumer goods industry at large.

News broke early this year that PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc was about exiting Nigeria, but the personal healthcare maker later refuted it.

“Looking at the last three or four years, it has been challenging. We have been able to retain and grow our market share. We are still at the forefront of consumers,” said Christos Giannopou-

lous, chief executive of Nigerian subsidiary, earlier said at the 120th anniversary of the firm.

Regardless, the company has been consistent in delivering returns to investors by regular payment of dividends for straight 30 years.

“We expect the full-year results to be in line with the prior year, adjusted for the impact of disposals, but dependent on no further worsening in our key markets, specifically UK and Nigeria.”

AGRICULTURE

Olam issues rallying call as global coffee price hits 10 year low OLUFIKAYO OWOEYE

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ust as coffee growers across the globe continue to grapple with declining prices, Olam Coffee CEO, Vivek Verma, has called on governments and industry to work together and develop a safety net for coffee farmers.

In recent times, prices of Coffee have plummeted the lowest international price in

a decade forcing millions of coffee farmers to sell below their cost of production prompting many discouraged farmers to abandon their farms, further fuelling fears of an industry crisis.

According to Olam Coffee, the world’s coffee farmers will be left in a continual limbo unless industry and governments act fast to help them out of the current price crisis and provide future price sta-

bility as they face the impacts of climate change.

“I believe it is time to seriously look at implementing a price stabilisation fund that will subsidise farmers when prices are low for reducing production capacity over the short-term while helping them mitigate the long-term impacts of climate change,” he said.

The fund would then recoup the subsidy when

prices are high without any burden to local government budgets, he added.

Verma further noted that Olam is supporting farmers, 56,000 smallholders in a sustainability program with its customers and partners across 18 origins but this is a drop in the ocean.

Coffee is a tropical plant, which comes in two main types: Robusta and Arabica. It is the most valuable

and widely traded tropical agricultural commodity in terms of production and earning.

Over 25 million smallholder farmers produce 80 percent of the world’s coffee, and coffee provides a livelihood for a further 100 million people in coffeeproducing countries.

Coffee producing states in Nigeria include Plateau, Kwara and Kogi States just to

mention few with many coffee farmers in these states abandoning their farms for other agricultural products.

Verma, however, calls for upskilling farmers to improve quality for higher income adding that farmers must apply new processes to produce differentiated or specialty coffees, which fetch a higher price on the market and could help to safeguard single-origin blends.

Editor: LOLADE AKINMURELE (lolade.akinmurele@businessdayonline.com) Graphics: Samuel Iduh

16

Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES&MARKETS

Business Event

SMEs

Nigeria’s SME visibility to receive major boost with Beauty West Africa Expo IFEOMA OKEKE

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eauty West Africa (BWA), the region’s largest international beauty and cosmetics show, will open with an expanded format designed to showcase local beauty entrepreneurs.

Following the success of last year’s launch of the new beauty sector event, BWA 2019 is extending the zone dedicated to promoting smaller businesses. Having generated much international interest in the region last year, the show is expanding into a second hall to accommodate all the new exhibitors this year, both local and from overseas.

BWA 2019 will run from November 20th to 22nd at the Landmark Centre, Lagos. With more than 200 exhibitors and over 4,500 visitors expected, the trade show has quickly become the ‘must attend’ event in the West African cosmetics and beauty calendar. While the show is aimed at anyone who works in the beauty industry, the third day of the event will

be open to the public.

BWA was launched last November by BtoB Events, the team which has also launched Food and Beverage West Africa and West Africa Automotive Show, all in Lagos over the past 12 months.

Jamie Hill, BtoB Event’s Managing Director and main organiser for BWA, said: “We are excited to see the major growth in the local participation for the second edition of BWA. We have extended the SME zone to spread across both halls which underlines our passion to support local Nigerian business.

“We also have collaborated with the Bank of Industry to help support access to finance through the BoI by facilitating applications through our website.”

Reflecting the growing international interest in business opportunities in West Africa, Hill continued: “We are also extremely excited about welcoming new companies from across the world to Nigeria for the first time. We have a number of really exciting new exhibitors

making their first venture into Africa, offering exclusive opportunities for our attendees.”

BWA has two new gold sponsors this year, international fragrance brand Lyla Blanc and the hair product brand Cantu. And as part of the show’s diverse offering, BWA will run a beauty conference programme over the three days organised in partnership with Compass Consulting.

Hill explains: “Our conference program underpins the importance of education and knowledge sharing and is designed to empower local businesses within the sector to navigate the issues faced with building customer base and expanding product portfolios.”

Topics discussed at the conference will range from product registration to social media to exporting and branding.

Last year’s line-up of Conference speakers included Tara Fela-Durotoye (founder of House of Tara International), Ifeamaka Umeike, (founder of Natural Nigerian) and Kiki Osinbajo.

COMPANY RELEASE

CropIT, IITA to launch Nigeria’s first digital advisory agriculture platform

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ropIT Nigeria Limited (CropIT) in partnership with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) have concluded plans to launch a robust digital platform that will impact more than 5,000,000 farmers and over 100,000 Agricultural extension officers.

The initiative, which is grounded in the agricultural firm’s innovation partnership approach, will support the expansion of high-impact, digitally-enabled services to farmers and extension officers across Nigeria over the next three years.

CropIT is an agriculture specialist company and a developer that provides financing, management, advisory and services to producers, farmers and investors in the agricultural sector, within Nigeria and overseas. Its mission is to employ technical know-how to increase smallholder income and productivity by 50 percent reaching at least 40 percent women across Nigeria.

It was created with the vision to transform Africa’s agriculture by deploying a comprehensive and innovative approach and solutions with strong international backing.

The digital platform, which has leading organizations including MTN and 9mobile as strategic partners, will create a knowledge based farmer society and a well-structured extension officers network. For the farmer, the platform will offer access to reliable and affordable agricultural information, certification of extension officers, development of agriculture protocols,

e-advisory, and transactional services across major value chains including rice, cassava, soybeans, cowpea, maize, sorghum, cashew, livestock and fish through their mobile phones.

These services are to be delivered through onsite extension workers and mobile devices using toll free calls and messages as well as physical and digital call centers as service medium to provide wide coverage over the dispersed farming settlements with limited rural infrastructure.

According to Chairman, CropIT, Alhaji Nasir Ado Bayero, “Nigerian agriculture has potential, but no one can eat potential. We must articulate a clear vision to make Nigeria an agriculturally industrialized economy, to create wealth, jobs and markets for farmers, ensure food security and revive the rural extension system to reduce losses. Agriculture and our small farmers in particular, must become the engine for growth. Africa and Nigeria in particular can feed the world. To do so we must make a fundamental paradigm shift: Agriculture should be seen as a business and not a development program. It must be structured, developed and financed as a business for us to fully unlock its potential.

Gains will not come easy, but as we do the right things we will succeed.”

The digital era offers many new innovations and breakthrough opportunities! This innovative effort will enable the African continent to get ahead of the curve, and more

efficiently and sustainably unlock the full potential of its smallholder farmers and agribusiness sector.

Going forward, the benefits of agricultural digitalization will require governments to do more to encourage more private sector investment across the value chain in areas as diverse as production, postharvest handling, processing, access to information, market, finance and effective supply chain because countries that have adopted such strategies are already reaping the benefits. Nigeria is just starting.

Countries like Rwanda whose government since 2000, has embraced an ambitious digital agenda to achieve a full digital economy by 2020, agricultural digitalization promises to bring nothing short of a total economic transformation to the country, even as Agriculture accounts for around four fifth of Rwanda’s employment and a third of its GDP. Nigeria is the largest country in Africa, and until recently has an annual food import bill in the region of about $20 billion, yet more than 80 percent of farmers who are the main producers of over 90 percent of domestic output are smallholder farmers.

Sadly, these farmers are poor due to a myriad of problems including and not limited to; low use of mechanization, poor agricultural extension systems and delivery, lack of good agriculture practice, inadequate market information, lack of access to credit and quality inputs such as fertilizer and seed.

www.businessday.ng

L-R : Babatomiwa Adesida , private sector engagement specialist, Sahara Foundation; GMD, Sahara Power Group, Kola Adesina; Amina Mohammed, deputy secretary general, United Nations; Pearl Uzokwe, director, governance and sustainability, Sahara Group, and Bethel Obioma , head corporate communications, Sahara Group, at the launch of the Africa Renewable Energy Forum in New York, USA at the sideline of the ongoing 74th UNGA

L-R: Ian Brown-Peterside, Chief Executive Officer, Seven Energy in a warm handshake with Chiedu Ugbo, managing director/chief executive officer, Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) during the stakeholder technical alignment workshop held recently in Uyo.

L-R: Wole Akinleye, executive director Wema Bank Plc; Shehu Yahaya, chairman, Development Bank of Nigeria; Olatunji Ajiboye, acting managing director, Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC); Cecilia Akintomide, non-executive director, FBN Holdings Limited, and Ademola Odeyemi, executive director, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, at the 2019 Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) /FITC Continuous Education Programme for Directors of Banks and Other Financial Institutions held in Lagos.

L-R: Olukemi Olayinka, regional sales director, Lagos Mainland, Access Bank; Sakirat Balogun, Iyalaje, Kosofe market;. Teju Abisoye; acting executive secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Popoola Ajayi ,member, board of trustees, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF); Segun Babatunde, general secretary to the community development chairman, Kosofe LG, and Adesanya, Iyaloja Mile 12 market, during the LSETF W-Initiative Grassroot Stakeholder’s Engagement in partnership with Access Bank in Kosofe LG recently.

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@Businessdayng

Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

MONEYINSIGHT

Why Apple Business Chat is UBA Leo’s new playground FRANK ELEANYA

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nited Bank for Africa (UBA)’s very popular chatbot, Leo has found a new playground on Apple Business Chat.

This is coming after nearly a year the chatbot launched on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Businesses and consumers can now communicate in real-time through Leo on the Apple Business Chat or just Business Chat.

Apple Business Chat is an iMessage-based feature that looks to be a direct shot at customer service messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger and Twitter’s DM support. The feature capitalises on the amount of time that users spend on their mobile devices inside chat apps. Users can find a business using Safari, Maps, Spotlight, or even Siri, and they can initiate a text-based conversation with that business through Apple’s Message app. The users get answers to questions, resolve issues, complete transactions, and more.

Just like in Facebook Messenger, users can shop and buy products directly from chat. Businesses can also show items in stock in a list format, which will appear in the conversation and does not require them to

open a new window.

“We are always looking for new ways to serve our customers easily and on time; we are therefore thrilled to support Apple Business Chat, which gives us a powerful and engaging connection with our customers,” said Kennedy Uzoka, Group Managing Director of UBA, who spoke at the launch of the service in the bank’s Head office on Thursday. “Most of our customers prefer iOS, and we always want to exceed their expectations when they experience UBA. Apple Business Chat makes communicating with us as easy as messaging a friend, so we expect it will quickly become

our customers’ preferred customer service channel.”

While on Business Chat, Leo will be looking to tap into the iMessage’s estimated 1.3 billion monthly active users, according to Apple’s most recent disclosure of total active devices.

Services available on Leo include account opening, airtime purchase, account balance, transfers and bill payment.

Since it played a pioneering role in galvanising chat banking in Nigeria, Leo has gone to gain global fame with a special reference by Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg at the company’s conference in San Francisco.

Bitcoin loses $1000 despite NYSE Futures launch

At the Social Media Week Lagos 2019, where the company kicked off the first session, it was disclosed that 1 million users across 17 African countries are currently using Leo. “Today, we are covering a segment that has been missing for some time,” said Uzoka. “It is our desire to ensure that we put Leo everywhere, and today it is now on the IOS platform as the users approached us that they needed to enjoy the service which Facebook and WhatsApp users had been enjoying from LEO. Consistently, we have been the first in the use of intelligence banking, this is the first time this is happening in Africa.”

UBA plans to increase the number of languages that Leo speaks.

Some of the languages likely to be added by the end of October include French, Portuguese and Swahili.

To start Apple Business Chat, customers can click the ‘Chat with Messages’ button on UBA’s website or in mobile banking app, available in the App Store. A conversation with UBA’s agents will open instantly in the Messages app, and users can take their time responding when it’s convenient.

Apple Business Chat is available in beta for users and businesses around the world, and is built into iOS 11.3 and higher.

Nuggets of wisdom for Nigerian entrepreneurs … as Fate Foundation drives entrepreneurship conversation STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

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igeria is big on entrepreneurial energy but in short supplies of sustainable businesses that outlive the first generation of founders, successful serial Nigerian entrepreneurs believe this can be reversed.

The 2018 Global Entrepreneurship Index (GEI) published by the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI), ranked Nigeria 101st out of 137 countries with 19.7 GEI score, making the country 12th in Africa. This probably speaks to the fact that many Nigerian entrepreneurial efforts end up as a micro or small business without significant impact. This can be different.

Entrepreneurial forces are relatively strong in the country, as the lack of jobs and a rise in poverty leave few other options for the Nigerian people. Although difficult due to a lack of resources, there are non-profit organisations such as the Fate Foundation that are dedicated to promote entrepreneurship.

At the Foundation’s Fourth Annual Alumni Conference the conversation revolved around how to use innovation to scale up entrepreneurial efforts in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation. The need for entrepreneurship development in Nigeria has never been so high in the history of the country. However, despite the increased call for entrepreneurship, it still requires much improvement. Questions around

L-R: Wiebe Boer, CEO All On; Nnamdi Ezeigbo, key note speaker and CEO, SLOT Systems Limited; Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, deputy governor, Lagos State, and Toyin Bakare, Chairperson FATE Foundation Annual Alumni Planning Committee, at the 4th FATE Annual Alumni Conference in Lagos

how to improve entrepreneurship in Nigeria engaged the minds of both veteran Nigerian entrepreneurs and policymakers at Fate Foundation’s event, which had ‘Innovating for Scale’ as theme.

“I am very happy entrepreneurship is getting popular in Nigeria. It is the surest way to create wealth but many Nigerian entrepreneurs play at very small scales and suffer from trust issues. Nobody wants to trust them,” Nnamdi Ezeigbo, founder of Slot Systems Limited said at the 4th Fate Foundation Annual Alumni Event in Lagos.

Ezeigbo said every entrepreneur www.businessday.ng

in Nigeria needs to pay attention and go big on integrity, competence and capacity because these factors will attract the necessary capital. “I started very small and my first two to four years were practical trial and error. We were making money but without vision and strategy.”

Fate Foundation is 19 years old and has trained over 5, 000 people, in almost 20 states in Nigeria. “Our annual alumni conference brings together as many of our alumni as possible in one place from 2000 to 2019. The conference is for learning, networking and developing business growth strategies. The theme

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for this year’s conference was chosen by the alumni community given that they have to learn to innovate, reach their customers and play in a rather tough business environment,” Adenike Adeyemi, executive director at Fate Foundation said.

This was re-echoed by Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, deputy governor of Lagos State during his special address at the annual conference.

He reiterated the need to grow small and medium enterprises in order to make the Nigerian economic pie bigger. To achieve this “we need to fix our family system, which is broken and is not producing the kind of leaders we need.”

Hamzat said there are 3.2 million SMEs in Lagos but they are not structured and without bankable systems. “We are ready to help entrepreneurs out in this regard,” he quipped.

Nigeria’s market is fascinating but largely poor and entrepreneurs have to bear this in mind. “Do not innovate for your friends but for your gateman,” said Ola Orekunrin, a physician and founder of Flying Doctors Nigeria, West Africa’s first Air Ambulance Service. “The biggest companies in Nigeria such as Dangote sell food unlike in America where the biggest companies are technology companies such as Google and Facebook.”

Orekunrin, advised young Nigerian entrepreneurs to know their customers and design companies that will succeed in Nigeria. @Businessdayng

FRANK ELEANYA

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he price of bitcoin dropped 15 percent against the United States dollar by the close of trading on Tuesday, making it the lowest level in four months, and the first time below $8,000 since mid-June.

The dip follows the listing of the Bakkt Bitcoin futures contracts on Monday by Bakkt, a cryptocurrency platform affiliated with the Intercontinental Exchange Inc, the owner of New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

Bakkt plans to solve cryptocurrencies’ age-long challenge of sufficient transparency and regulation for individuals who want to use them in retail purchases.

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by valuation, has persistently failed to attract more payment users, mainly because of its high volatility. Analysts have said that the ICE’s futures could make it easier for merchants to protect themselves from swings in bitcoin prices. The ICE -0.32 percent Future allows traders to bet on whether an underlying market such as oil, gold, stocks or currencies will rise or fall. ICE is owned by the NYSE. “We’re starting with the basics: instilling trust through regulation and secure custody, and deploying products that are transparent and regulated to support their adoption,” said Kelly Loeffler, CEO of Bakkt in a statement. This commitment is reflected in our mission at Bakkt: Expanding access to the global economy by building trust in and unlocking the value of digital assets.”

According to the Wall Street Journal citing a spokesman from Intercontinental Exchange Inc. , trading in the new bitcoin futures began late on Monday, with the first trade at $10,115.00, in line with the current price of bitcoin.

Despite the much anticipated launch, investors failed to pull the price of bitcoin from its downward trajectory on Tuesday. One of the reasons, according to analysts, is that the price action on bitcoin is still driven by short-term technical analysis. In other words, speculators are still in the majority of decision making in the market.

“Because crypto is still dominated by short-term focused traders, these telegraphed narratives often become self-fulfilling prophecies,” said Jeff Dorman, chief investment officer at Arca, a Los Angeles-based asset manager that invest in cryptocurrencies, in an interview with Bloomberg.

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IMPACT INVESTING Impact investors learn value of African education sector In Association With

Youthful population fuels demand for privately funded classroom programmes Andrew Jack

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Educational: Pupils at Bridge International Academies in Nigeria © Bridge International Academy

for International Development (DFID) through its Impact Fund which is managed via CDC; and Investisseurs & Partenaires, a Parisbased Africa-focused vehicle that is preparing an education fund in partnership with the government of Monaco.

Bridge International Academies began operating private, low-cost schools in Africa with backing from donors and social impact investors.

Its recent study in francophone Africa highlighted the scope for greater technical and vocational training; the potential to support the private sector for schooling; and opportunities in ancillary services, such as teacher train-

ing, student loans and equipment supplies.

But, as with the other pillar of “human capital” — health — there are tensions for investors.

Many aspects of both medicine and teaching are considered by civil society to be the domain of government, with an imperative for equity and fair access.

That is why a number of investors and providers alike have focused on supporting state provision. Amel Karboul, head of the Education Outcomes Fund, is exploring a three-year programme co-funded by DFID and the government of Ghana, which will link payments to improving attendance

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They don’t have the risk profile that would make people want to invest in them, nor the capacity to grow, nor any sign of quality or ability to develop quality www.businessday.ng

https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

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n classrooms across Nigeria’s Edo state, teachers are equipped with information systems designed to better instruct and track the progress of pupils in an effort to encourage children to stay in school.

The programme — dubbed Edo Best — provides services from Bridge International Academies, a US company that began operating private, low-cost schools in Africa with backing from donors and social impact investors but which is increasingly focused on providing support to state-run systems.

“By investing in social enterprises and other non-state actors, investors can improve government schools and help to create more high-quality learning opportunities, ultimately helping to transform the development path of low- and middle-income countries,” says Jay Kimmelman, Bridge chief executive.

His organisation’s approach, which has elicited both praise for impact and criticism over quality and price, highlights the considerable scope but also the potential pitfalls of impact investing in Africa, notably in the highly sensitive and politicised field of education.

Amit Bouri, head of the Global Impact Investing Network, an association for impact investors, says a survey of its members suggested that sub-Saharan Africa has become one of the top regions targeted by funds, accounting for 14 per cent of their assets under management. Education — like healthcare — is becoming a sector of interest, although it only accounts for 4 per cent of assets invested in the region.

“It’s still early days,” Bouri says.

“Capital deployed has not caught up with the level of interest, partly because finding a role can be complicated because of the state.”

On paper, there is enormous potential for investors, including those with a focus on social impact.

The continent’s young population is expanding, and the need for additional funding is clear.

There is a chronic undersupply of teachers, and wide variations in the quality of education provided.

There is interest from groups including Novastar Ventures, backed by the UK’s Department

in the country’s schools.

One difficulty for such projects is how to measure performance effectively, and the distortion that such metrics risk creating. Sam Freedman, head of Ark Education Partnerships Group, a non-profit consultancy that advises a number of African countries, says: “It’s incredibly difficult to measure outcomes in education. Even in the UK, if you make organisations financially dependent on the measure, they will start focusing everything on it rather than the education.”

“In countries where accountability data is relative weak, it’s even harder,” he adds. “You have to collect data yourself with nothing to cross reference.”

If measurement is difficult for funders, another challenge is a lack of projects in which to invest. “Most schools in Africa are predominantly mom and pop operators,” he says.

“They don’t have the risk profile that would make people want to invest in them, nor the capacity to grow, nor any sign of quality or ability to develop quality.”

Oliver Sabot, head of Nova Pioneer, a network of low-cost schools based in Kenya, sees a funding gap @Businessdayng

for education projects.

“There’s a missing middle,” he says. “If you are looking for a small amount of seed funding to get an idea going, there is a fair number of opportunities.

If you are a large operator with a strong track record that is profitable, there are lots of backers.

But the path in-between is barren. There are few players who are able or willing to work with teams in that middle portion.”

He also points to a barrier to school operations in many cities in Africa: property prices, which undermine efforts to keep costs low.

“For any school or university, it’s one of the biggest impediments,” he says.

“It would unlock huge growth if some big funders came together and created a pool of capital for education property.”

He highlights a number of new entrepreneurial school operators, but adds: “It’s a small number when you think about the scale of the continent.

Even if you believe the private sector should only have a sliver of the sector, given the needs of the next 10 or 20 years, we need to seed entrepreneurs and managers.”

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Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

HEALTH BUSINESS&LIFE Experts say reducing diagnostic error will improve patients’ safety ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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edical laboratory experts have said diagnostic errors, from missed diagnoses to misdiagnoses, are all too common in healthcare and they are getting more attention as a prominent healthcare concern.

They say that the provision of quality diagnostic test reports in the least Turn Around Time (TAT) will enable doctors improve patient’s treatment and safety, noting that about 40-50 percent of samples are sent outside of Nigeria for testing which increases the TATs and leads to delay in treatment for Nigerians.

“These samples that leave Nigeria to be tested in countries like India, South Africa, United Kingdom, America and Europe is one of the problems currently affects the healthcare diagnostic space and this causes delay of test results, thereby limiting the doctor’s ability to treat patients,” said Sanjay Mathur

, the managing director, VCare Diagnostics.

According to Mathur some of the results which are needed for diagnosis of a patients gets delayed because the turn around time of results, which comes from any of these countries take about seven, 10 and sometimes 30 days for some of the tests report to come out.

“Having diagnostic facilities in Nigeria, which performs about 95 percent of the tests will fill the gap in the diagnostic space and enhance early treatment of diseases, as well as increase the country’s ability to become a reference laboratory point for Africa.”

“The diagnostic facilities, in collaboration with India biggest laboratory, Techmed will ensure the equipment required for the diagnostic testing are available in Nigeria to test about 600 samples per hour,” he said.

However, the case for reducing diagnostic error intensifies when healthcare organizations realize how common it is. But, despite the

prevalence of diagnostic error in the industry, VCare model is to fill key gaps that currently persist in the healthcare diagnostics space.

Adiatu Olatunde, the chief executive officer (CEO) VCare Diagnostics said the organisation is going to become like a research and reference lab for the entire healthcare industry, so that our customers are not only direct customers, but also other laboratories, hospital, research institutions, NonGovernmental Organisations - they all will be sending samples to us and we do the tests for them.

“Lack of quality assurance has led to inaccurate diagnosis, which has questioned the reliability of laboratory results in Nigeria,” said Abiola Adejumobi Quality Assurance Manager adding that one of the ways to address the problem is by having internal quality control materials of known standards, as well as external quality assurance programme and ensuring efficiency in both the technical and human capacity.

Pharmnews to celebrate 40yrs of impact in healthcare industry … as Atueyi turns 80 ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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global health journal in Nigeria Pharmanews is set to celebrate its 40th anniversary of making impact in the healthcare industry.

Also Pharmanews will be having the 80th birthday celebration of its founder, Ifeanyi Atueyi a renowned a pharmacist and the launching of his autobiography, titled “My Life and Pharmanews.” Atueyi’s two-part autobiography chronicles the 80year odyssey of his life and the circumstances that led to the birth and success of the 40-year-old journal.

The quartet event is scheduled to hold in Sheba event centre in Lagos.

Speaking with the journalist, the founder gave insight into the journal narrating the journey and challenges with the 40 years of its establishment.

“The journey of my life and that of Pharmanews have been aided by some individuals, groups, pharmaceutical companies and organisations,” said Atueyi represented by Moses Dike, business development

manager, Pharmanews.

Atueyi said that publishing any periodical in Nigeria is a high risk business due to the high rate of morbidity and mortality in the newspaper industry.

The 80-year-old pharmacist further explained that his interest in pharmaceutical journalism was actually sparked off in 1974 when AdelusiAdeluyi persuaded him to serve as the editor-in-chief of the Nigerian Journal of Pharmacy, published by the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria.

“For nearly four decades, we have made tremendous impact on the Nigerian health community.

The publication is playing a unique yet vital role in the Nigerian healthcare industry as it had helped in educating and informing healthcare practitioners but assisting pharmaceutical companies to promote their product and services,” he said.

However, the scheduled celebrations will also be used to recognise and appreciate 50 pharmaceutical companies that have supported us during this 40-year period.

‘Most cardiovascular diseases are caused by high blood pressure, poor lifestyle’ ADEYEMI JOHNSON is an interventional cardiologist and the founder and managing director of First Cardiology Consultants. In this interview with ANTHONIA OBOKOH, Johnson spoke on the escalating burden of cardiovascular health and how Nigeria can address major challenges in its healthcare sector.

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hat is the current trend of cardiovascular health in Nigeria and what are the drivers for this?

When I was in Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) throughout my 5years in medical school, we saw only one heart attack and it was a foreigner, a Caucasian man. At that time heart attacks were rare in Nigeria, but now we are catching up with the West and heart attacks are quite common and other cardiac disease are quite common too. Together, heart disease and stroke, along with other cardiovascular disease, are among the most widespread and costly health problems facing the nation today.

Over time, these risk factors cause changes in the heart and blood vessels that can lead to heart attacks, failure, and strokes. It is critical to address risk factors early in life to prevent these devastating events and other potential complications of chronic cardiovascular disease. There are several reasons, controlling risk factors.

High blood pressure, cigarette smoking, and high blood cholesterol are still major contributors to the national epidemic of cardiovascular disease. And out of the several reasons, change in diet is also fuelling the increase of heart disease. Our diet in Nigeria has become more westernized, we are frying foods more, we do less exercise, eat junks and fast-food and people are smoking more. This is increasing in bad lifestyle has made diabetes and obesity an epidemic.

Diabetes and obesity are closely related, so people are not exercising and they are eating badly and then developing diabetes. So, we have these risk factors. However, all of us who do cardiology are quite busy because of these heart attacks and strokes. The overall cardiac disease in

Johnson

Nigeria and most of the world is still more males than females maybe 60 -40 percent. Women start to catch up with men as far as heart disease after menopause. Menopause is sort of protective, so it not common to find someone with pre-menopausal with heart attacks but post – menopause that catch up with men.

Are heart diseases preventable and what can be done to reduce the cost of treatment?

About 70-80 percent of heart diseases are preventable. Firstly, for patient and the people ,the easiest and most cost effective way of dealing with heart attacks, strokes or heart failures are people who have preventable risk factors usually diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension and not taking your prescription.

The easiest way to reduce the cost is to reduce the incidence and prevent it from happening. One important thing is that heart disease is not a rich man’s disease, long time ago people have that thought but heart attacks occurs in rich, middle – class people and people who do not have a lot of money. But the fortunate thing is that luckily some of the rich ones www.businessday.ng

can pay for themselves, the people who are struggling below poverty line, has a big problem to paying for their treatments. As far as cost, it depends on what is going wrong with the patient. Unfortunately, the hospitals that have the equipment and the expertise to deal with complex cardiac problems are in private industry. The government hospitals are unfortunately not yet caught up with the private hospitals.

So, yes Cardiac clinics are expensive because it has to do with a lot of expenses. Medical personnel’s who are trained to treat these patients are not many in Nigeria and trying to convince some of them to come back to Nigeria is difficult. There are many Nigerians, who have their expertise aboard, but many of them are reluctant to come home because of the insecurity and other challenges and the problem will not end as much as they are over there. Cardiac treatments are expensive because we have to pay rent, buy equipment.

A piece of equipment that will cost $500million in India, but in Nigeria because of all the peculiarities of bringing in the equipment into the

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country it will cost $1000 million.

Nigeria does not manufacture anything as far as medical care, we do not make the consumables, drugs or equipment so we have to import everything, these are the thing that builds up the cost. So, all of us involved in the business, try to find a way out to assist those who do not have the money.

What are the quick wins in reducing cardiovascular health issues?

In England, they passed a law that you cannot add salt to your meal in the restaurant or any public eating places and then like 10 years here about, the incidence of heart attacks and strokes went down by 50 percent.

That is such a thing Nigeria can do, because the number one risk factors for heart disease in Nigeria are hypertension. I give you an example, a recommended salt intake is 2 grams of sodium, in the USA is about 6 grams, England is 4 grams because of their law, but in Nigeria is about 12 grams of sodium. So you can see how much salt we eat. So such policy to reduce our salt intake will be a big measure or policy that will reduce heart attacks.

As the world marks World hearts Day on the 29th of September, the bottom-line is the number of heart disease is increasing at an alarming rate in Nigeria and heart disease is preventable, the most important thing to do is to control your blood pressure and listen to your doctor.

Who is an Interventional cardiologist?

Interventional cardiologist is a sub-specialty of cardiology where we use minimally –invasive image –guide techniques to diagnose and treat heart diseases using the least invasive techniques in order to minimize risk and improve health outcomes.

What that means in simple terms is that we treat the heart by going @Businessdayng

through the veins and the arteries to open up blockages to intervene on the problem the heart has. We do not cut people open, it is minimal invasive surgery, using a small tube , putting the tube through the arteries and veins, pass those tubes into the chest and then open up the blockages that we have otherwise have been done by open heart surgery.

Now, not everything can be done through pin hole technique sometimes you have to open up the chest and so, that open heart surgery.

Nigeria have been having bye -pass surgeries for almost 2 years now.

The unique thing about the last procedure was that it was done all by professionals based in Lagos, nobody have to come from aboard.

What are the challenges in the Nigeria’s healthcare and how can the narrative be changed?

One of the biggest challenges is the supply chain to work, but I think with the help of government we can do a lot more to better the health sector. What I mean is that some policies can help improve the healthcare as a whole but not just cardiology.

First thing, the government can do is to help reduce the bureaucracy we have to go through in bringing in medical equipment. It is a struggle getting anything into Nigeria, drugs, big or small equipment. We have to go through the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC),customs.Thered-tapesare much,notthemoneyoftheequipment and because of these many international companies do not want to be boardedwiththeseredtapes.Ithinkthe ease of doing business, there is a special part of the government that is handling it, if they can help us and it will help the sector and economy in general.

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Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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HEALTH BUSINESS&LIFE

Ogun boosts reproductive health system through provision of consumables to 100 health facilities RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta

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s part of effort to address challenges of accessing Family Planning (FP)/ Child Spacing Services, the Ogun state government has distributed consumables worth of N7 million to 100 high volume public health facilities in the 20 Local Government Areas of the State.

The consumables which con-

sist of cotton wool, needles, syringes, plaster, surgical blades, disinfectants, among others which form part of the clinical items to offer effective Family Planning and Child Spacing services.

Speaking during the distribution of the consumables in Abeokuta, Elijah Ogunsola, the executive secretary of the State Primary Health Care Development Board, said the move would allow free access to FP services in public health facilities across

the State, adding that this would prevent unauthorized charges to offer such services.

“This development will ensure that no public health facility has the moral justification to charge any client coming to access FP services. The Federal Government has made commodities available to the State while we have also gone further to ensure the availability of consumables for the provision of quality FP services at no cost.

Eye foundation hospital’s CMD receives international ophthalmology award

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dekunle Hassan, the chief medical director of Eye Foundation Hospital Group, has been honoured with the International Council of Ophthalmology (ICO) Mark Tso Golden Apple Award.

The Award is presented to leaders in international ophthalmology for demonstrated innovation or exceptional achievements in ophthalmic education. Hassan, an alumnus of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos (1976 set), is the first Nigerian and African to receive this noble international award The award was presented to Hassan at the opening ceremony of the 14th International Congress of the Middle East and Africa Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO) on September 5, 2019 held at the King Hussain Bin Talal Conference Center, Dead Sea, Jordan.

An international acclaimed Ophthalmic Surgeon with wide experience in Vitreo-Retina Surgery, Glaucoma, Anterior Segment, Cataract and Oculo-plastic Surgery, Hassan is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Glasgow, UK; Royal College of Ophthalmologists, UK; West African College of Surgeons and the Nigeria Institute of Cost Management. He was trained at the prestigious Tenneth Institute of Ophthalmology, Western InfirmaryGlasgow, and Scotland. He has over 100 publications, scientific papers and research paper to his honour.

His training and experience spans Europe, America, Middle East and Africa. He established the Eye Foundation Hospital as the

“To successfully achieve this, the state had carefully identified and selected one hundred high volume public health centres where clients access FP services regularly, while commodities and consumables will be provided as demand increases”, he explained.

The medical expert emphasized that the State would continue to increase the awareness and encourage uptake of different FP/ Child Spacing methods in order to achieve its 2020 Contraceptive

PSN pledges commitment to produce safe drugs ...appeals for government support SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

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Kunle Hassan (l), chief medical director, Eye Foundation Hospital Group receiving the award from Professor Peter Wiedemann MD, president of the International Council of Ophthalmology at the King Hussain Bin Talal Conference Center, Dead Sea, Jordan on September 5, 2019

first private post-graduate training institution in Nigeria in 1993 and the Deseret Community Vision Institute in 2006. These two institutions have trained over 50 Ophthalmologists, 35 Community Ophthalmic Nurses and many other mid-level ophthalmic professionals.

He is a pioneer leader of modern Ophthalmological practice, including Vitreo-Retinal surgery in Nigeria. Hassan also pioneered the first private group practice in Ophthalmology in Nigeria through the Eye Foundation Hospital.

Prevalence Rate (CPR) target as well as prevent unplanned pregnancies and maternal deaths, noting that the methods had proven to be cost effective to women and the society at large.

He urged private organisations and philanthropists to complement government efforts in the provision of FP consumables in their various communities to further reduce maternal mortality and morbidity rate in the State and country at large.

he Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has expressed its commitment to production of safe and effective medicines for Nigerians consumption.

The association however, charged pharmacists and consumers to always preserve drugs in a place that has required temperature so as to ensure safety and prevent drugs from been contaminated before use.

Bakau Oyinloye Alli, the chairman of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Kwara State chapter who stated this on Wednesday while briefing Journalists in Ilorin on their lined up activities to commemorate with other countries in celebrating the 2019 World Pharmacy Day, affirmed that pharmacists are ready to partner with federal and state governments to ensure a healthy nation.

Alli, enjoins people to refrain from self medication and stop accessing drugs from hawkers or open market in order to avoid the use of spoilt or expired drugs.

He says this year’s theme, “Safe and Effective Medicine For All” is apt, posited that pharmacists are friends of people and their core mandate is to provide drugs that will cure and manage people’s health challenges.

Alli equally warned people to look for RX sign for drugs authenticity and desist from taking drugs consuming drugs that worked for another person, rather, they should consult medical practitioner for proper examination and appropriate prescription.

He says: “for you to have your

medicine safe and effective; you need to store them at a required temperature. Some products are to be stored in refrigerator not in freezer.

“As pharmacists, we are committed to produce safe and effective medicine for Nigeria populace and Kwarans.”

In his submission, Abu-Saheed Jamaldeen, the deputy chairman of PSN appealed to the government to discourage importation and encourage extortion of drugs, saying if government strengthen pharmaceutical industries in the country, there would be more money in circulation and economy will grow.

“We have about 200 pharmaceutical companies in Nigeria, but that is not enough, presently; Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Group (PMG), are trying to get government on board to access N300 billion pharmacist loan “The ratio of drugs consumed in Nigeria is 40 percent locally produced which is not good for a nation and it needed to be curtailed.

“PMG is working towards ensuring 75 percent drugs produced locally. If government van comes to the aid of pharmaceutical companies, it will upgrade and surely they will make more money and our economy will improve.”

Also speaking, Barakat Olarewaju, the director of Pharmaceutical Services, Kwara Ministry of Health, explained that the PSN, NAFDAC, NDLEA and other relevant agencies are collaborating and working hand in hand to curb the menace of drug abuse.

She revealed that the state government,undertheleadershipofGovernor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has been supporting them in terms of fund.

Firm launches new product packaging to support breastfeeding mothers BUNMI BAILEY

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he Milk Booster, one of Nigeria’s innovative breastfeeding company focused on solving insufficient milk supply for breastfeeding mothers, has revealed a relaunch of its several product variants in new and friendly packaging during an event in Lagos on Tuesday, 24 September, 2019.

Speaking at the press conference, Obinwanne Chibueze, the managing director of the Milk Booster, explained that the brand has strategically in-

HBL TEAM

vested in ingredients and products to support mothers across the country, especially by providing specific solutions tailored to their needs.

“With accreditation from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and feedback from our customers across the continent, the new packaging helps for better storage and retainment of products’ quality, even as the products still have the same taste.”

“We understand how important breastfeeding can be for the mother and the child, and due to the strong

relationship we have with mothers, every single product from us should be valuable in improving their lifestyles,” Chibueze added.

Research has shown that up to 92 percent of new mothers experience some difficulty in breastfeeding, with low milk supply indicated as the most distressing concern for most.

According to the firm, with the intent to help thousands of nursing mothers achieve their breastfeeding goals, the product line which includes cookies, granola, smoothie mix, chocolate tea, are made with

ingredients that aids lactating and are extremely nutritious for a nursing mother and baby.

The urgency for the Milk Booster was birthed out of the founder, Chinny Obinwanne’s personal experience, who explained the difficulty in providing a steady supply of breast milk for her child. After realizing that her baby was always unsatisfied, she began to tweak recipes to get healthier low-calorie cookies that increased the quantity and quality of the breast milk.

“Breastfeeding is vital for chil-

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

dren, especially within the first six months, for both their mental and physical development. In creating the packaging, we considered the lifespan, the freshness, moisture retention and its presentation. We also wanted everyone to know what they were consuming and how they can use the product effectively,” Obinwanne Ifunanya, production manager, the Milk Booster said.

Although the products are meant to help mothers lactate, Ifunanya explained that there are no side effects and it is safe for everyone.

I Samuel Iduh, Graphics

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Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Harvard Business Review

MANAGEMENTDIGEST

The big idea: How do your workers feel about harassment? Ask them ANDREA S. KRAMER AND ALTON B. HARRIS

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f your business is serious about eliminating the risk of sexual harassment — and it should be — you need to approach the problem comprehensively. This means recognizing that sexual harassment is part of a continuum of interconnected behaviors that range from gender bias to incivility to legally actionable assault. All these kinds of misconduct should be addressed collectively, because sexual harassment is far more likely in organizations that experience offenses on the “less severe” end of the spectrum than in those that don’t.

There’s no one-size-fits-all program for eliminating inappropriate gender-related behaviors; the best programs specifically address the characteristics of each workplace’s culture. The vital first step, then, is to get an accurate picture of yours.

How? Ask your employees directly.

The best way is with a carefully designed employee survey. Here we offer some key principles for fashioning one, along with a model survey that you can adapt. Our advice is based on insights we developed while working with major business organizations and conducting several hundred gender-focused workshops and moderated conversations around the United States.

Managers and leaders should proceed only if they’re fully committed to thoroughly and quickly addressing inappropriate behavior in their organizations. Once the surveys are undertaken, they’ll create expectations of remedial action. They might also attract unwanted publicity or be used against the company in future litigation. Those risks, however, are substantially outweighed by the opportunity to develop a work environment that’s free of sexual misconduct, gender bias and incivility.

STEP 1: COMMUNICATE WITH EMPLOYEES Inform your employees that you’re undertaking an effort to understand how fair, courteous and safe their workplace is. The goal is to encourage engaged and completely candid answers to the survey. For that reason, it should be anonymous and administered by a third party, not your human resources department.

It’s crucial for employees to believe that management considers an unbiased and harassment-free workplace a priority and is sincere in its commitment to that objective.

That will happen only if senior management openly endorses the initiative, communicates the importance of supporting it to the entire management team and periodically speaks to all employees about it.

Employees also need to believe that the end result will be better policies for everyone. This last point can’t be emphasized too strongly. If the steps you take to combat inappropriate gender-related behaviors are seen solely as efforts to “protect” women because of their vulnerability, the initiative will backfire.

Employees should be told that only the third-party administrator will see the raw survey results and that it will provide an analysis of those results to management. Once management receives that report, employees should be advised of the nature of and timetable for next steps.

We suggest that you emphasize that because the survey is anonymous, your organization cannot investigate or remedy specific claims raised by respondents — unless the incidents are separately reported in accordance with existing company procedures. Urge your employees to use those procedures if appropriate.

STEP 2: DRAW UP YOUR SURVEY Whether you start with the assessment that we provide in this article or create your own questions, you should tailor your survey to your organization’s culture and climate. Keep in mind the following:

— Avoid questions that could be used — or thought to be used — to identify participants, such as those about title, age, tenure with the company, responsibilities and workplace location.

— Don’t ask about marital or domestic status, sexual preference, children or prior involvement in sexual misconduct investigations or proceedings.

— Keep the survey on point.

Don’t use it as an opportunity to ask employees more broadly about their experiences and expectations.

— Make the survey short and unambiguous. It should take no more than 10 minutes to finish.

STEP 3: EVALUATE A workplace climate survey needs no statistical evaluation beyond a simple tabulation. You’re just attempting to determine whether some of your employees believe there are gender-related problems in your work environment and what those problems are.

Remember, the survey is not an end in itself; it’s a tool to identify whether you need new policies, practices and procedures to eliminate inappropriate behavior and protect your employees against sexual harassment. Your results may indicate additional steps are necessary. Below is a template you can use when constructing your survey: MODEL WORKPLACE CLIMATE SURVEY Complete the following survey

about your experience at XYZ Company, without referring to experiences at any prior organizations.

Please answer all questions as honestly as possible.

1. Which of the following describes your gender?

Male; female; prefer to self-describe (specify); prefer not to say.

RESPONSES: 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree); 1 (very frequently) to 4 (never).

GENDER BIAS 2. I feel valued by the organization.

3. I believe my opportunities for career success are negatively affected by my gender.

4. The people I work with treat me with respect and appreciation.

5. My views are encouraged and welcomed by my supervisors and senior leaders without regard to my gender.

6. Career-enhancing assignments and opportunities are disproportionately given to men.

CIVILITY 7. My co-workers are courteous and friendly.

8. I’m aware of unpleasant and negative gossip in the workplace.

9. I’m aware of abusive, disrespectful or hostile treatment of employees.

10. I’m aware of bullying behavior in the workplace.

11. There are adverse consequences for senior leaders who are abusive, disrespectful or hostile.

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

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12. I have been criticized for my personal communication style or appearance.

13. All individuals are valued here.

INAPPROPRIATE SEXUAL CONDUCT 14. I have experienced or witnessed unwanted physical conduct in the workplace or by co-workers away from the workplace.

15. I have witnessed or heard of offensive or inappropriate sexual jokes, innuendoes, banter or comments in our workplace.

16. I have witnessed or heard of the electronic transmission of sexually explicit materials or comments by co-workers.

17. I have received sexually inappropriate phone calls, text messages or social media attention from a coworker.

18. I have been asked or have witnessed inappropriate questions of a sexual nature.

19. I have been the subject of conduct that I consider to be sexual harassment.

20. Managers here tolerate or turn a blind eye to inappropriate sexual conduct.

21. I feel unsafe at work because of inappropriate sexual conduct by some individuals.

22. I’ve seen career opportunities be favorably allocated on the basis of existing or expected sexual interactions.

23. I would be comfortable reporting inappropriate sexual conduct by a co-worker.

24. I would be comfortable reporting inappropriate sexual conduct by a supervisor.

OVERALL WORKPLACE CLIMATE 25. My productivity has been affected by inappropriate genderrelated behavior in the workplace.

26. I have considered leaving my job because of inappropriate gender-related behavior in the workplace.

27. Star performers are held to the same standards as other employees with respect to inappropriate gender-related behavior.

28. I have experienced or witnessed inappropriate gender-related behavior by third parties (such as customers, vendors and suppliers) associated with our organization.

29. The organization’s policies and processes with respect to prohibiting and reporting inappropriate gender-related behavior are easy to understand and follow.

Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

23

ENTERTAINMENT

Tiwa Savage and her tale of ‘49-99’ OBINNA EMELIKE

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f you were at the popular Obalande Bridge in Lagos recently, you would be amazed by the superlative show, which Tiwa Savage, the pop diva, staged for hours without watching her back. She was truly in her element and also sent hundreds of her fans into frenzy on the streets of Lagos with her acts.

It was thrilling and a unique way of identifying with her fans and also wining more fans. The pop diva chose to the bridge, which many descent people would consider unsafe, as the venue for the premiere of latest single entitled 49-99.

The title which is a story on its own, gave the artiste the opportunity to express herself on issues that bother people amid other societal ills.

The song reveals a case study of a transit bus service which ought to serve 49 persons but due to the poor economic condition is often made to carry twice the number with so many persons standing.

Wearing her diva attitude like a costume, the singer waltzed out of a Lagos BRT Bus parked behind the stage singing to the blast of her single, ‘All Over.’ Her grand entrance made the crowd go gaga. Numbering hundreds, the ecstatic crowd suspended

the day’s activity and trooped out to the out-door space. Others craned their necks from the twin over-head bridge to catch a piece of the action.

Much to the satisfaction of the crowd who kept asking for more, she went on to perform other singles such as her collabo song with Reekardo Banks, ‘Ello Baby,’ ‘Ma Lo,’ and ‘Diet’ among others.

To underscore the importance of the event, Tiwa Savage

revealed, “As an artiste, I cannot shy away from the people. It was very important to me to connect with them and let them know how important they are to my growth as an artiste.”

Speaking on the rationale for titling the single ‘49-99,’ Savage traced it to an old Fela song about suffering and smiling, 49 people sitting and 99 standing in the popular “Molue” commuting bus.

“The song encourages the young to put down the sense of

inheritance and work for what they desire in life, for a better tomorrow. We can’t sit on our old glories and expect things to change for the better. “‘49-99’ also addresses some political leaders who, instead of focusing on the growth of a nation, are there just for the money and having affairs with underage girls – while the citizenry is hustling hard to make a daily living”, she said.

Earlier, Tiwa Savage had

joined executives of Ikoyi/ Obalende Local Council Development Area (LCDA) including Fuad Atanda-Lawal, the chairman, next-door at an empowerment event to present financial donations to over 600 beneficiaries mainly market men and women.

The single is powered by Boomplay, foremost African music streaming platform and Universal Music Group.

The premiere was the Lagos leg of the global release of her first single, which premiered earlier in London and New York. It comes few months after she signed a major exclusive international recording deal with Universal Music Group.

According to Tosin Sorinola, head of marketing, Boomplay, “Getting behind Tiwa Savage for this event was a no-brainer as she’s one of the most celebrated female acts in Africa while Boomplay is also the #1 music streaming platform in Africa; thus, a win-win connection for both parties.”

“As a platform with over 54 million users globally and 7 million tracks, which is expected to grow to 12 million by the end of 2019, we believe that we are in the position to partner with as many artistes as possible in order to encourage creatives and gradually build a buying culture among the music community in general,’ Sorinola added.

The Foundation Concert: A highlight of Nigerian entertainment through time

Del-York Creative Academy makes USA debut at Warner Bros Studios

he first blocks of the annual Foundation Concert were laid on a nostalgic night at Eko Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos. The event was put together by Lanre Makun Events and hosted by MC Abey, with comedy delivered by Akpororo.

The event began a little after 9 pm with the halls brimming with iconic individuals (or their sires), many of whom were living legends of Nigerian entertainment/creative space.

The night, as Ruggedman emphasized after his performance was about celebrating these individual icons that laid the foundations for contemporary Nigerian music and form a renowned part of Nigerian creative history.

After a special ovation and recognition for the iconic producer Nelson

el-York Creative Academy will behosted at one of the world’s largest landmark entertainment studios, Warner Bros. Studios. The two-day event organized and presented by the Business Resource Group BE@ Warner Bros. will take place in Burbank, California. At the Studio, select students from the 2019 class of the Del-York Creative Academy and past alumni will experience and participate in workshops focused around the entertainment industry.

Projects from DCA students will be screened on the lot, followed by a panel discussion featuring DCA, University of Southern California (USC), Warner Bros. and other partners from various studios. Also, DCA alumni and special guests will be taken on the full Warner Bros. Studio Tour experience, for a peek behind the curtain into the operations of one of the world’s largest and most successful studios.

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The Remedies (Eidris Abdulkareem & Tony Tetuila)

Brown, Ruggedman emotionally thanked the audience for the support and promised that the next editions would build on the foundation laid that night.

On a night where every moment was a highlight, there were performances/ www.businessday.ng

sets by Sunny Nneji, Tony Tetuila, Art Quake, Safari, Remedies, Eedris, African China, Faze, 9ice, Ruggedman, Tuface, Dj Jimmy Jat, Jazzman Olofin, Marvelous Benji, Konga, Hazardous, Lord of Ajasa, Tribute Dance, African China.

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Linus Idahosa(m), president/founder of the Del-York Creative Academy, flanked by lecturers and staff of the academy.

The Del-York Creative Academy is Africa’s foremost capacity building institution for film, media, animation & technology. It is pioneering the growth of the African Creative Industry, through its intensive hands-on training programs while bridging the gap between creatives in the United States and Africa. In almost a decade of its existence, the academy has successfully flown in 85 lecturers from Hollywood to Africa and trained 1,800 students.

“Jack Warner, the es@Businessdayng

teemed head of Warner Bros. for many years was once quoted as saying, “If I am right 51% of the time, I am ahead of the game.” I believe this visit will give voice to the potential that lies within Africa’s Creative economy. The knowledge exchanged here will also prove itself profitable in the years to come when Africa not only becomes the largest market for media consumers in the world but creates the largest and most effective outsourcing workforce on the globe,” Idahosa said.

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Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

ENTERTAINMENT Mingling and reinforcing your presence BUSINESS ETIQUETTE

JANET ADETU Top tips for Mingling with Ease and Reinforcing your Presence

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to speak positive body language, your eye contact should be direct.

Be assertive giving off an approachable and authoritative look with that added smile. Your body language will say a lot for you, speaking out loud without saying a single word.

Avoid appearing stand offish, negative signs like crossing your arms, eye contact in the air and lack of attentiveness.

a. Visualize your actions: efore you attend a networking gathering, prepare yourself for the event. If it is a company that regularly has such gatherings, research about them, you may be able to see the kind of attendants, the magnitude of the event and have an idea of what to expect.

Visualize how you will behave in the presence by strangers, colleagues and client. You may decide to practice speaking in front of a mirror to give you a boost of confidence.

e. Watch your Poise, Posture and Positioning: Your poise, posture and positioning is very important when trying to reinforce your presence. This will show clearly your level of confidence. It will enable you stand out from the crowd. You need to stand balanced without leaning to one side, keep your back upright, your shoulders balanced, your chin and head up.

The placing of your feet and hands also will indicate your level of assertiveness.

b. Your Verbal Business Card: Your verbal business card is everything about you said verbally in 30 seconds. Who you are, what you do, where you do it? This is the easiest way to introduce yourself, develop and practice your VBC frequently.

f. Quick Scan and Circulate: The moment you enter a room, you may see a sea of heads or a group of people sparingly if you have arrived on time. Quickly scan the room for anyone or group you recognize, this will form your first port of call to begin your circulation.

c. Make a Meaningful Entrance: The front door or entrance is the centre of attention at all networking events. People tend to look towards the door either to identify who has just come in or know who and who was at the event. This is your time to walk in graciously with elegance or charm. Ensure you are comfortable with what you are wearing; that you look good and are appropriately dressed. Smile as you enter the room walking tall with confidence. d. Speak Loud Body Language: On entering the room and while you begin your circulation, you will need

g. Look out for the Approachable: As you make a quick scan and you do not recognize any faces simply look for people who also look approachable or who also seem to be looking for someone to talk to. You will see pockets of people standing alone who you may stand with when it comes to introducing yourself. h. Blend in a Group: Likewise you may decide to join a group of people already engaged in a topic of discussion that you are interested in. Don’t just badge in rudely, stand and engage yourself first, speak only when the opportu-

nity arises. When you have joined the group smile, appear attentive and participate where you can. i. Introductions with a Contagious Smile: The way you introduce yourself at networking events makes all the difference. This is the time to sell your services, what you do, who you work for, and what you possibly offer to the person you are talking with. As earlier mentioned having your verbal business card Is the best resource here, short, crisp and interesting, your smile is the added ingredient that should come from within and radiate through your eyes. At such networking events you should always come with your physical business card, you may exchange cards if you are interested in the people you are with. j. The Bar, The Buffet: Moving to the bar or cocktail buffet can form as an ice breaker if you are not quick to notice anyone you know, or as a means of settling into the crowd. It is not a good idea to hang around this area as it will defeat your purpose of attending the event. Your intention is to mingle, get to know potential clients, develop relationships and enhance your professional presence. Remember to keep your right hand free at all times.

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stream celebrities like Mawuli Gavor, Charles Inojie, Toyin Abraham, Odunlade Adekola, Kehinde Bankole, Bimbo Ademoye, Chiwetalu Agu, Jide Kosoko, Bimbo Akintola, Chinedu Ikedieze, , Deyemi Okanlawon, Wiliams Uchemba, Kolawole Ajeyemi, Ali Nuhu, Hafeez Oyetoro, Uzee Usman, Sir Dee, Lizzy Jay, Anto Lecky, Uzor Arukwe and wave-making music sensation Teni the Entertainer, among several others.

Dear Affy will be directed by celebrated media entrepreneur, Samuel Olatunji who executive produced Ghost and The Tout and Seven And A Half Dates. Samuel Olatunji has a certificate in Film Making, Film Editing www.businessday.ng

If you are both in the same profession then already you have a common interest, take it up from there, avoid any form of rambling or name dropping, this is instant image saboteur

n. Listen Listen Listen: In mingling proficiently, you will learn a lot, acquire new knowledge and broaden your horizon if you take your time to master your listening skills.

Speak and be spoken to, generate an interest, maintain your composure and professionalism.

Janet.adetu@gmail,com quetteconsortium.com @janetadetu

l. Proximity: Whether the occasion is for business

and has spearheaded the marketing of several successful Nollywood movies at the Box Office.

Samuel Olatunji, director of the movie, says, “Dear Affy is an ambitious project, we want to tell a different kind of Nollywood story, we want to be very professional and excellent in our doing, we want to provide 100 percent entertainment and unpredictable story at the cinema. We have cast of who-is-who that can deliver the perfect performance. We are not stopping there, we have dreams, we have ambitions, we believe Nigeria is a place where dreams are possible, we have dreams and believe Dear Affy will be the first Nollywood movie to hit N500 million at the box office. We have had people tell us it is an impossible dream because of the gigantic nature of the dream but that will not stop us”.

Dear Affy will be released in cinemas on February 14, 2020 and will be distributed by Filmone Distribution.

m. Conversations: The trick to starting a conversation is not how you engage in business talks immediately. If you are shy to start a conversation just start with a decent compliment, one that is true and said genuinely. You may ask simple basic questions about the event, the ambience or the host of the event; start your conversation naturally with small talk. If you are both in the same profession then already you have a common interest, take it up from there, avoid any form of rambling or name dropping, this is instant image saboteur.

Finally Mingling is fun and interesting if you go with a purpose. Your intention is to be able to have the contact of at least 2-3 good prospects you intend following up on. Be conversant with current events, news, movies or sporting events. This will make you appear relevant. Think and act like an ambassador for yourself.

k. Perfect Handshake: Your introduction will be incomplete without a handshake; your handshake says a lot about you as an individual and as a professional.

A proper handshake will determine how confident you are. The correct handshake is always with just one hand, the right hand. Control any form of sweaty palms with your handkerchief and avoid constantly carrying a glass to avoid handshakes.

Teni makes her acting debut in Dear Affy n an unprecedented move, 007 Global Production is bringing together an array of stars not seen in a long time in Nollywood in a new movie production.

Dear Affy will see superstar musician, Teniola make her acting debut. In same vein, Sir Dee, recent Big Brother Naija contestant, will be making his acting debut as well.

The movie titled “Dear Affy” is a joint production between 007 Global headed

by Samuel Olatunji, Aul Media Studios, Track and Dolly productions, Tola Elatuyi and others.

“Dear Affy” tells the fascinating story of an organized female art enthusiast, about to marry the man of her dreams but life suddenly scuttles her well-laid out plans as she accidentally ‘falls’ pregnant. She embarks on a challenging mission to locate who the father of the unborn baby is since she and her fiance have chosen celibacy while courting.

The movie features top Nollywood stars and main-

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or social, it is rude to step into the personal space of an individual; at this point you will appear uncomfortably too close and pose a nuisance. Three feet away from the person you are speaking with is ideal, up to six feet away will suggest you are in the audience zone and you are being spoken to amongst a crowd.

janet.adetu@jsketi-

Happy Reading!

Evergreen stars feature in new Amebo TVC

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unday Adegeye Adeniyi, popularly known as King Sunny Ade, who is unarguably, one of Nigeria’s most famous musicians of all times, is starring alongside comic actor, Bolaji Amusan popularly called “Mr. Latin” and latest Yoruba theatre sensation, Wale Akorede, aka “Okunnu” in a new television commercial (TVC) released

by Globacom to promote its Glo Amebo offer.

The Glo Amebo gives subscribers five times the value of recharge to call all networks.

The TVC also features the original Madam Amebo, Ibidun Allison, who became immensely popular because of her role as a character bearing that name in the legendary television drama series, Village Headmaster, now rested.

The drama-themed commercial opens with Madam Amebo talking over the phone with her daughter, played by popular actress Yvonne Jegede. A party is apparently in the offing, and the mother and daughter gist is centred on the social event.

Madam Amebo talked “Aso ebi ati awon golden accessories, Eso to bad!” (the uniform clothes and the spectacular accessories going with it). The daughter ex-

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pressed surprise that her mother was dressed up too early. The mother rebuffed this instantly and goes on to announce to her daughter that she is even in the bus that will take her to the event venue.

She tells her daughter that she has no intention of missing out on any part of the party, not even the small chops and the varieties of meat.

Madam Amebo continues with her conversation, “As for my women group, na KSA o or nothing at all”. She then sits between Okunnu and Mr. Latin in the bus, waking up Okunnu, who is sleeping, while Mr. Latin, pops groundnuts in his mouth.

The two men find the continuous chit-chat between mother and child irritating and show it by sneering at her. Okunnu said, “Yes ke, shoshosho, na only you @Businessdayng

get mouth?” She does not indicate any interest to entertain their concerns.

The TVC shows her arrival in Lagos and her transition into a waiting car at the park, while still chatting with the daughter.

At a point, the daughter asked her mother, “Mummy, your credit still dey so?” to which she aptly responds: Na we dey fetch credit like water. You no trust Glo!” The TVC depicts the party proper, showing Madam Amebo dancing away to the music of the legendary King Sunny Ade together with other attendees.

Amidst it all, Madam Amebo continues with his conversation.

Globacom makes the point poignantly with the TVC that subscribers who avail themselves of the Amebo offer will never need to worry about exhausting their airtime.

Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

FINTECH News

Products Review

25

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Technology Review

Personality Review

Company Review

Nigerian government’s stamp duty law could derail CBN’s cashless policy ...SMEs can avoid it by requesting payment into savings account FRANK ELEANYA

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s the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) go full throttle on its push to get more Nigerians to adopt digital banking, there are indications that the federal government’s stamp duty policy could be a clog in the wheel for cashless drive.

Last week, the CBN announced that banks will be allowed to take charges on customer deposits and withdrawal in excess of N500,000 and N3 million respectively.

“The cashless policy deposit/withdrawal is only on the amount in excess of the limit,” the CBN clarified in a tweet on Friday, 20 September. “For instance, if you deposit a cash of N501,000.00. N1,000.00 is in excess of the limit.

The bank will charge you 2 percent of N1,000.00 which is N20.00” According to Unified Payment (UP) data, less than 5 percent of individual Nigerians have a turnover of N15 million monthly or N500,000 daily. Similarly, less than 5 percent of businesses in Nigeria have turnover of N90 million monthly or N3 million daily.

Follow ing the an nouncement, the CBN in collaboration with Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) also directed that banks should charge

N50 Stamp Duty on individual transactions that occur on Point of Sales (PoS), rather than the previous practice of charging on aggregate transactions.

Section 89 (2) of the Stamp Duty Act provides that “Every receipt given by any person in acknowledgement of good produced or services rendered should be denoted by an adhesive postage stamp worth N50 issued by the Nigerian Postal Service.” Section 14(2) of the same Act compels a mandatory receipt to be denoted.

Government expects to raise about N2.2 trillion annually from Stamp Duty collection.

Data from NIBSS showed that total volumes of PoS transactions for 2017 stood at 146.3 million worth N1.4 trillion; 285.9 million transactions in 2018 worth N2.3 trillion; and 187.7 million at N1.4 trillion

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in the first six months of 2019.

Although the volume of PoS transactions are impressive numbers, failure rate continues to be a daily worry for many merchants, contributing significantly to their disenchantment with the cashless policy.

In a January guide, NIBSS noted that the failure rate of card transactions on POS terminals ranges between 13 per cent and 15 per cent. This means that in every 100 attempts to process card payment on POS terminals, 13 to 15 would fail.

NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) on the other hand has a 0.7 per cent failure rate, meaning that only about 7 NIP fund transfer transactions will fail out of 1,000 attempts.

The latest directive from the CBN raises a new set of challenges for merchants. For proper context, take a typical

eatery that does about 500 serving a day at N1,200 per plate. That comes to about N600,000 gross revenue per day. Based on previous regime, the eatery owner would be settled by his bank N595,500 after paying 0.75 percent MSC on each of the N1,200 card transaction. He would also pay N50 for Stamp Duty and N4 for SMS. The Merchant Service Charge (MSC) is the amount that a merchant is debited for a PoS service.

The CBN had in September, 2019 reduced the fee that businesses pay for accepting electronic payments at Points-of-Sale (PoS) by 33.3% from 0.75% to only 0.5% of transaction value with a ceiling or maximum charge of N1,000. This is about the lowest rate in the world.

In the new CBN regime, the owner’s MSC would reduce to N3,000 which is good, however, he would have to pay N50 Stamp

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Duty for every transaction which comes to N25,000 and additional SMS of N4 for each of them. This creates additional N27,000 fees without his business getting better or additional benefits from a government that would tax him to death than support him.

According to Taiwo Oyedele, Tax Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Nigeria is in the top 10 in the world, for the highest income tax rate. A firm pays Company Income Tax (CIT) 30 percent; education tax, 2 percent, and withholding tax of 10 percent. When added together, it comes to 40 percent.

Nevertheless, there is no gainsaying that cashless remains the future of payment. “’Huge circulation and adoption of cash is very costly to every economy,” Agada Apochi, managing director and CEO of Uni-

@Businessdayng

fied Payment said in an email response to BusinessDay. “It is costly to the government, businesses and individual citizens.

The costs include printing of notes and coins, handling & processing, high operating costs for banks who pass the costs to customers, high interest rates, lack of transparency, black market economy, violent and non violent crime, etc.”

Adedeji Olowe, CEO of Triumph Networks told BusinessDay that merchants can avoid the Stamp Duty charge simply by opening a Savings account and directing payments there.

“The Stamp duty regime only applies to Current Accounts,” he explained. “And all Nigerian banks do offer Savings account to corporate bodies.

Also, the merchant could tell his bank not to send an SMS but email, which is free.”

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Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Hotels Top BusinessDay Partner Hotels Four Points by Sheraton Hotel (Oniru Chiefatancy Estate,Lekki) Tel: +234 1 448 9444

Hilton reaches 100-hotel milestone in Africa Stories by OBINNA EMELIKE

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ilton, top global hospitality brand, has reached 100-hotel milestone in its African operation.

The Virginia, United States of America-based global hotel chain, announced the achievement at the ongoing African Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) in Nairobi Kenya, where it signed Hampton by Hilton Sandton Grayston, a deal which marked the first for the brand in Africa and a milestone of 100 hotels trading or under development on the African continent for Hilton in 2019, which is its centenary year.

Speaking at AHIF 2019, Patrick Fitzgibbon, senior vice president, Development, Europe, Middle East & Africa, Hilton, said 2019 has seen Hilton open four properties in Africa, entering three new markets while also further strengthening its multi-brand

pipeline.

On the 100 hotel milestone, the excited Fitzgibbon said: “With this being our 100th year, reaching the milestone of 100 hotels allows us to reflect on our rich legacy of pioneering tourism on the African continent but also to look to the future. We continue to step up the pace of our growth, especially in the mid-market segment which presents a tremendous opportunity as evidenced by the rapid expansion of Hilton Garden Inn on the continent since its debut in 2016.”

Explaining the details of the Hampton by Hilton Sandton Grayston deal, Fitzgibbon noted that the franchise agreement was signed with Afrirent Pty through its Indalo Hotels & Leisure subsidiary. Indalo, according to him, will be the operator of the 158 guest room Hampton

by Hilton Hotel in Sandton, the financial capital of South Africa. As well, the midmarket property will join Hilton’s flagship upscale Hilton

Sandton, offering additional choice for travellers to the district commonly known as ‘Africa’s richest Square Mile’.

Construction is scheduled to begin at the site on Grayston Drive in early 2020 with first guests set to be welcomed by mid-2021.

Hampton by Hilton serves value-conscious and qualitydriven travelers at more than 2,500 properties across the world. It offers high-quality accommodation and amenities, such as complimentary WiFi, free hot breakfast, and a thoughtful service defined as Hamptonality, with guest happiness being the number one priority.

In the same vein, Hilton has enjoyed a rapid period of expansion in the focused service segment through the Hilton Garden Inn brand, which has operational hotels in six African markets and a further 10 under development. Hampton by Hilton is expected to compliment the growth and provide owners and customers with greater

choice.

Aside the new signing, Hilton is bringing its lifestyle Canopy by Hilton brand to Africa, through the signing of Canopy by Hilton Cape Town Longkloof, as well as, two landmark flagship Hilton Hotels & Resorts properties in Uganda and DR Congo.

Also, in accelerating its growth in the focused service segment, Hilton is opening Hilton Garden Inn hotels in three new countries: Hilton Garden Inn Gaborone, Botswana, Hilton Garden Inn Kampala, Uganda and Hilton Garden Inn Mbabane, Eswatini. The brand is continuing to establish its footprint in Morocco with the opening of Hilton Tanger Al Houara Golf Resort & Spa with the Hilton Taghazout Bay due to open in 2020.

It would be recalled that Hilton launched Legend Hotel Lagos Airport, Curio Collection by Hilton in the last quarter of 2018, which also boosted the 100-hotel milestone.

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operating synergies and cost benefits to each hotel located in the same city. We are currently focusing on 23 of the 60 larger cities in Africa and have a proven track record when one compares the size of our portfolio in Africa for the 19 years we have been active on the continent. We are proud that our flagship brand, Radisson Blu, has for a second year in a row secured the top spot as Africa’s fastest growing hotel brand, according to the W Hospitality Pipeline Report.”

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Tim Cordon, area senior vice president, Middle East & Africa, Radisson Hotel Group, said: “With our new operational model, we broke records in 2018 with an increase in GOP margins in every market, despite some rate decline. This year we continue to do so with various milestones achieved, such as the group revenue increasing by 14 percent, a 30 percent increase in Radisson Rewards Meetings revenue, over 50 awards won and 90 percent of Radisson hotels

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

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Radisson Hotel Group boosts its African development with 11 new hotels signings adisson Hotel Group, one of the world’s largest hotel groups, has signed 11 new hotels in Africa within the first nine months of 2019, accelerating its expansion across the continent. The new hotel signing brings the group’s African portfolio to almost 100 hotels and over 17,000 rooms in operation and under development across 32 African countries. The development also puts it firmly on track to reach 130+ hotels and 23,000 rooms by 2022.

Andrew McLachlan, senior vice president, development, Sub Sahara Africa, Radisson Hotel Group, said: “It has been a really robust year for Radisson Hotel Group, especially in Africa, a continent we strongly believe in. This year, we have signed a new hotel deal every 25 days, each aligned with our focused development strategy, which includes the introduction of new brands and scaled growth in key cities where we can develop and operate multiple hotels within the same city.

“This will result in many

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

in Africa securing Safe hotels certification. We have set a global first in hotel safety and security with Radisson Blu Hotel & Conference Center Niamey securing the highest level of Safe hotels certification, Executive, just three days after the hotel opened in June 2019.We have placed continued investment in resources within Africa, growing the support team of our hotels and owners.”

Commenting on the Group’s East African development plans, McLachlan said, “Aligned with our fiveyear development plan, we are seeking scale in proactive key cities, such as Addis Ababa, Nairobi and Kampala.

There are great opportunities in Ethiopia because of the population and ease of airlift access, with Africa’s leading airline, Ethiopian Airlines.

Addis Ababa has the potential to host each of our five active hotel brandsin Africa. These opportunities are not only for new build hotels, but also for locally branded conversions.

East Africa presents unique bush and beach opportunities.

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

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

Southern Sun IkoyI Hotel Address: 47 Alfred Rewane Road, Ikoyi, Lagos Tel: +234 1 280 5200 / +234 1 280 0630 Email: ssikoyi.reservations@ tsogosun.com

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

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Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

27

Sports LaLiga to deepen capacity development in Nigeria’s sports sector … partners Lagos Business School to host Sports Business Management Programme in Madrid Anthony Nlebem

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aLiga Business School and its partner institution, Lagos Business School are jointly hosting the second phase of their Sports Business Management Programme (SBMP) themed “LaLiga Week”. The six-day experience is set to hold from November 11th -16th, 2019.

LaLiga week is an initiative curated for Sports enthusiasts who wish to begin their career in the sports industry and professionals who aspire to accelerate their career. The programme taking place in Madrid, will include classroom sessions at LaLiga Business School, study tours to major sports facilities and Madrid based LaLiga clubs, the Olympic park, the Tennis Federation facilities among other activities.

Speaking on the relevance of the programme, Guillermo Perez Castello, LaLiga delegate in Nigeria, said, “LaLiga Week” was designed to spread the LaLiga expertise across key markets such as Nigeria. We hope participants are fully immersed in the experience and use this avenue to cultivate the key skills needed to

thrive in the dynamic world and business of sports Also commenting on the initiative, Henry Onukwuba, Academic Director, Lagos Business School, said: “We hope this programme, which is the first of its kind positively impacts the participants and inspires more people to promote and develop the capacity of the Nigerian’s sports sector to fulfil its true potential.”

The Sports Business Management Programme (SBMP) is the product of collaboration between Lagos Business School and Spanish

league, LaLiga to promote capacity development in Nigeria’s sports sector through research and training in sports business management and administration. The organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding in October 2018 to kick off the first edition of the programme.

This initiative reiterates both institutions’ commitment to enhancing the sustainable development and growth of the sports business management sector in Nigeria through the exchange of intelligence and strategies.

Rogers, Enyadike, Leo light up Africa Digital Sports Conference Anthony Nlebem

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he Africa Digital Sports Conference (ADSCon2019) ended on Saturday, September 21, with a lot of highlights for delegates who came in from all over the country and beyond.

After Day One that was filled with speeches and panels, Day Two was the icing on the cake as it featured leading sports digital strategists like Paul Rogers, Head of Strategy of AS Roma Football Club, Emeka Enyadike of Digital Sports Africa and Mario Leo, founder of Germany’s RESULT Sports who took three impactful masterclasses and highlighted the opportunities for sports clubs, federations and entrepreneurs in the digital world.

Working with the theme, Monetising Sports in the Digital Era, the Africa Digital Sports Conference was a gathering of sports leaders, media and content creators, telecom executives, sports management students and entrepreneurs. Lolade Adewuyi, Chief Strategist at CampsBay Media and founder of the Africa Digital Sports Conference said that the aim of the first edition had been fulfilled. “We successfully brought attention to the opportunities in the digital space that can make sports thrive in this part of the world. Our delegates were left inspired by the case studies and the practical experiences of our industry practitioners. It encouraged sports leaders and management hopefuls to create innovative solutions to our industry’s challenges,” Adewuyi said.

Some of the leading industry experts in attendance were Honourable

Nduka Irabor, Director of the League Management Company, Barrister Francis Orbih, President of the Nigeria Badminton Federation and Vice President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, Prince Adewale Oladunjoye, President of the Nigeria Triathlon Federation and Tournament Director of the Lagos Open International Tennis Championships, Mr Babs Ogunade, Vice President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Mrs Ayo Omidiran, a former Member of the House of Representatives, Mr Phemmy Adetula, PRO of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, Mr Ademola Olajire, Director of Communications at the Nigeria Football Federation, among many others.

Case studies from the sports industry came to fore with Anthony Okeleke of Lost Child Media narrating how the startup turned the traditional Hausa boxing sport of dambe into a YouTube phenomenon having 100,000 subscribers and 20 million views in just two years via their channel Dambe Warriors. DK Aghaji, Africa Manager of Australian content production company, Inverleigh, spoke about their digital plans for content in Africa where they are actively promoting the EFC mixed martial arts sport.

The emerging sports OTT market was touched upon during a panel that was hosted by broadcaster Deji Omotoyinbo with panellists Seun Methowe, Head of African Partnerships at DAZN and Bolanle Afuye, Head of Digital at 9mobile. Koye Sowemimo of Temple Sports Management and Eyitayo Olayemi of Neuklos delved into the opportunities for corporate organisations to market to www.businessday.ng

Generation Z in the digital era during a panel moderated by Deji Faremi of Tre Gong TV. Three Nigerian sports startups making use of digital platforms were profiled in a session hosted by Andrew Randa. Gbenga Salu of Naijafootballers, Dare Lawanson of RefPredictor Interactive and Robson Omasheye of Fastlane Motorsports/ Road X Championship spoke about the opportunities that they have made use via digital platforms. It was an eye-opener for the many young entrepreneurs who attended as they saw the potentials in the digital space for a variety of sports.

The Africa Digital Sports Conference was supported by GPC Media, RESULT Sports, Digital Sports Africa, The BusyBuddies, Adzinga Media, Soccernet, Udu Consult, STAR lager, Brila FM, Complete Sports, Goal.com and Athletics Africa.

Fans tip winner of Joe Boy vs. Real One bout ahead of GOtv Boxing Night 20 Anthony Nlebem

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head of the titanic African Boxing Union (ABU) lightweight title bout, boxing fans have been giving their opinions on who they think will triumph between reigning champion, Oto “Joe Boy” Joseph, and West African Boxing Union (WABU) champion, Rilwan “Real One” Oladosu.

The bout, which headlines GOtv Boxing Night 20 slated for 12 October at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium in Lagos, is widely rated as the biggest boxing bout on Nigerian soil in more than two decades, the reason it has provoked enormous interest among boxing fans who have taken to the social media to express their views.

Both boxers remain undefeated since turning professional and are currently involved in a long-running war of words which, on four occasions, saw them being pulled apart to prevent an exchange of bare-knuckled punches. The rivalry dates back to their amateur days, during which they were said to be the best of the crop and view each other with no little degree of sporting animosity.

A boxing fan, Moses Adejoh Mansa, believes that Joe Boy is a better boxer and will retain his title.

“Joe Boy all the way. Any day.

Any time,” he posted on a Facebook thread on the coming bout. Sharing the same sentiment is another fan, who identifies himself simply as Adeola. He is convinced that the ABU champion is more skillful and will win the fight.

However, many others are rooting for Real One. Adetokun Abayomi Mike, for instance, admits that both boxers are very good, but tipped Real One to carry the day. “I

MultiChoice launches IAAF World Championship Pop-Up Channel on GOtv

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Otv Max subscribers will join in on the 17th edition of the athletics action when the 2019 IAAF World Championships is held at Khalifa International Stadium aka National stadium in Doha, Qatar. The IAAF World Championship Pop Up Channel will be made available to GOtv Max customers from Thursday, 26th

L-R: Frank Orbih, Adewale Oladunjoye, Ayo Omidiran, Honourable Nduka Irabo, Deji Omotoyinbo, Lolade Adewuyi, Ademola Olajire and Phemmy Adetula at the Africa Digital Sports Conference (ADSCon2019), held in Lagos.

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go for Real One. I know both boxers well, but power will change hands on that day,” he wrote. He found many others agreeing with his sentiment, with Oluwatobi Sunday, Martins Abiola and Oladunjoye Lateef Olawale both posting “Real One all the way.”

To others, the fight is too close to call. Rising lightweight boxer, Isaac “I-Star” Chukwudi, is torn between the two boxers, who he described as his favourites on the domestic scene.

He stated that if it was up to him, he would prefer that they do not meet at this stage in their careers.

“I never wanted this fight to happen now because both are the best we have in Nigeria. I was hoping that Joe Boy would vacate the ABU title for Real One, while he goes after a bigger title. I don’t want either to lose,” he said with barely disguised regret that they two have been paired.

Another Facebook user, Zeezo Reezo, is similarly in two minds and just wants to see the better boxer win. “Real One is good, but Joe Boy is a good puncher, so let the better man win,” he wrote.

Joe Boy, a three-time winner of the best boxer award at GOtv Boxing Night, is facing arguably his toughest opponent yet in Real One, who has also won the award on two occasions.

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September till Tuesday, 8th October 2019 on channel 37.

GOtv Max subscribers get the privilege of watching one of Africa’s leading athletics nation, Ethiopia, who will be dispatching a squad of 37 to Doha, Qatar. Muktar Edris will be present to defend and secure his 5000m title, whilst Almaz Ayana will aim to attain her 10,000m title. The winner of the 3000m steeplechase at the IAAF Diamond League final in Brussels, Getnet Wale, will also feature on the team.

The pop-up channel will also provide subscribers with access to view world leaders such as Samuel Tefera, Selemon Barega, Telahun Haile, Hagos Gebrhiwet and Letesenbet Gidey.

Yomif Kejelcha and Genzebe Dibaba who are world record-holders will also be attending.

The IAAF World Championship Pop Up channel will be available from Thursday, 26th September till Tuesday, 8th October 2019 on GOtv channel 37.

Subscribers can take advantage of the #GOtvStepUp offer to upgrade or renew on GOtv Max package by paying a reduced fee of N2,600. The offer runs till 31st October, 2019.

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Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

29

LEADINGWOMAN Omilola Oshikoya, inspiring humanity to live the richer life KEMI AJUMOBI

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milola Oshikoya is first known as the Father’s Daughter. Her life’s goal is to be a reflection of her Father, Jesus, just like the sunflower is the reflection of the sun.

Omilola Oshikoya is Africa’s wealth connoisseur with over 16 years’ experience in finance/investment banking and over 6 years as a UK certified life coach. She developed the Wheel of Wealth© methodology making her the first wealth coach in Africa.

Omilola’s mission is to inspire humanity to live the “Richer Life” & to help create wealth and eradicate poverty in Africa through a tool she created called The Hand of Wealth© which focuses on five areas, what true wealth is, how to create wealth, how to manage & grow wealth & how to use wealth. She does this through her brands/trademarks : “Omilola” “The Tech World of Finance” “The Fathers Daughter” “Do It Afraid”, “The Richer Woman” and The Richer Kids Club.

Omilola Oshikoya is the founder of Omilola Oshikoya International (OOI) www.ooigroup.org, a wealth and financial advisory company founded in 2015. In 2018 OOI set up an online financial education platform “ The Tech World of Finance” www.wofin.orgwhich aims to reduce the financial inclusion gap, eradicate poverty and create wealth through financial literacy. In 2015, OOI held its first conference called the “Do It Afraid” conference at Civic Centre.

In 2016, the first entrepreneurship workshop was held & the theme was “Agribusiness the next frontier”. The workshop aimed to showcase the business opportunities in agribusiness in Nigeria even in a recession.

Since then several conferences have been held and as a result, thousands of millennials have been inspired to start their own business even in a recession thereby creating wealth and job opportunities.

Omilola is the author of The Richer™Woman, Birthing Purpose, Ten steps to being debt free and a contributor to a book called the “Money Book”. In 2017, The Richer™Woman was launched in different cities such as the London, Lagos, Abuja, Accra, Kenya, Dubai, Johannesburg, Maryland, New York, Atlanta and Ibadan and has been read in countries as far as Australia, Ireland etc.

Omilola is an ordained Youth Minister at Ignite, the youth ministry of Guiding Light Assembly. She is happily married to her best friend John Olugbenga Oshikoya and they are blessed with four beautiful children.

Growing up My life’s story is so pivotal to where I am today and what I do today in terms of work and purpose.

As a young girl, I saw my family go through very tough financial challenges. We came from a very rich home. My grand-father was very wealthy. We used to fly private jets, wear the best clothes, lived in prime areas etc. My father too made a lot of money as a young man. Unfortunately, we went through series of financial challenges subsequently.

Furthermore, even though my par-

ents are still together today, they had a very troubled marriage and as a young girl, I thought it was because of money. Therefore, I grew up thinking that “money answereth all things” and was determined to be very rich and make a lot of money. I chose a career in finance because I felt this was the fastest way to make money legitimately and ended up working in some of the best companies.

The thing is, I did make money but I didn’t realise that it is one thing to make money and another to know how to manage it and also grow it.

Even though I was making a lot of money, I ended up living from pay check to pay check because of bad financial decisions. I ended up very depressed and almost lost my marriage when I faced temptations for 3 years. It took a lot of life changing experiences which I detail in my first book “The Richer Woman” to get me where I am today.

16 years’ experience in finance/investment banking, what was the experience like and how is it positively influencing you till date?

I studied Accounting and Finance from the University of Kent and spent the first ten years in Audit, Corporate finance and Investment banking working in companies such as one of the big four accounting firms and the biggest non-bank financial institution in Nigeria. The next 6 years, I focused on personal finance where I have become one of the foremost personal finance advocates in Nigeria and I also became a UK certified life coach. One thing I have realised is that, like the Bible says, all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according www.businessday.ng

to His purpose. Initially, I didn’t like my career in investment banking but now I see how pivotal those 10 years were in shaping me.

6 years as a UK certified life coach, share your experience and observation When I resigned from investment banking, during my three months’ notice period, I signed up for a life coaching course. I did this because I wanted to have clarity about my life because I wasn’t fulfilled but what I didn’t know was that I was gaining knowledge and tools for the work I was going to do in the future. The combination of life coaching and finance is what I call wealth coaching. I teach, advise, consult and train in areas of personal finance and what makes me different or my unique selling point is that I also add my life coaching skills so that my clients can be successful not just in their finances but in all areas of their lives as well. I have developed tools and methodologies to help me achieve my goal which is to inspire humanity to live the richer life. This has made me the first Wealth coach in Africa.

Share on theWheel ofWealth© methodology, reason for establishing it and result so far In life coaching, a tool we use is called the wheel of life, it has 12 components however I developed the wheel of wealth which has only 8 components namely, Spirituality, Rest (fun/recreation), Health & wellbeing, Family, Work, Relationships, Money/finances, Planning/Time management.

The idea behind the concept of the wheel of wealth is the ship’s wheel which has 8 parts. Water is the analogy for wealth. Interestingly

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my name is Omilola which means water is wealth in Yoruba language.

Water is one of the richest elements if not the richest element on the earth.

Scientists are still discovering new species in the ocean till date. The wheel of wealth is basically the ships wheel which you would use to navigate through the waters of wealth.

Wealth in this sense is true wealth.

Helping humanity to live the “Richer Life” and helping them create wealth and eradicate poverty in Africa through The Hand of Wealth© Currently, most people focus on just being successful financially.

They wake up every day just to make money and this is at the expense of all other areas of their lives for example, their physical and mental health. My goal is to inspire humanity to live the richer life which is a life of true wealth and to also eradicate poverty in Africa whilst achieving at least 10 out of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The hand of wealth was inspired by the Bible verse Deuteronomy 8:18 “But remember the Lord for it is He who gives you the power to create wealth.”

The Tech World of Finance In 2018 during the recession ‘The Tech World of Finance’ was birthed after a dream I had. It is the first of its kind online financial education platform for millennials that merges fintech with financial literacy to reduce the financial inclusion gap, reduce poverty and create wealth. It is a platform where millennials can become financially literate in the simplest and most affordable way.

We break down complex financial terms and make it as simple as ABC. @Businessdayng

We have over 20 female contributors from different areas of finance who have contributed over 120 personal and business finance articles. We also have online courses such as a wealth creation online course, a debt free online course, and understanding financial information for nonfinance professionals. Features also include inspirational videos, weekly newsletter to a database of circa 4000, finance news, exchange rate and stock market updates etc. Our circa 1000 subscribers are from 17 countries including Russia, Canada, Indonesia, United Kingdom, United States of America, South Africa, Tanzania, Germany, Ghana, Belarus, Cyprus etc.

DO IT AFRAID Conference The Do It Afraid conference is a wealth creation event focused on the psychology of an entrepreneur.

The goal is to inspire millennials to face their fears and fulfill their dreams. Entrepreneurship is the engine or driving force of any economy. There are many people who can fix the health care sector, the agricultural sector, the mining industry in Nigeria who are stuck in jobs they do not like because of the apparent security those jobs provide. Furthermore, many people are unemployed because they are waiting for job opportunities in the “lucrative” sectors in the economy which are mainly three areas, oil and gas, telecoms and banking. We realise that the reason why most people don’t start businesses is not because of lack of money, lack of skills or lack of business ideas but because of their mindset. There is a fear of failure, fear of trading security for the unknown, fear of being able to cope financially etc. Therefore, at the conference, we showcase successful entrepreneurs who come and share the reality of their journey which includes their struggles, challenges, fears and so on, and how they overcame them.

Your books My first book The Richer Woman tells my life story of from childhood and how I moved from wanting to be a “rich” woman to becoming “The Richer Woman”. The second part of the book provides knowledge and tools on how a woman can become “The Richer Woman”.

This book has been launched in 14 cities such as New York, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Dubai, Accra, London, Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Port Harcourt. In 2018, the French version La Femme La Plus Riche was launched in Abidjan, Paris and Kigali. People as far as Australia, Canada, Ireland and so on have been impacted by my book.

Journey to healthy living Interestingly, God began to speak to me early 2018 about changing my diet. It was very difficult initially and I didn’t understand why. Through direction from the Holy Spirit through visions, He led me on what not to eat. I ended up losing 14 kilos within 5 months. I fell pregnant with my fourth child afterwards. What I didn’t realise is that God was cleansing my body and healing my body from an ailment and in preparation of this pregnancy.

Read the concluding part of Omilola’s inspiring story on our website www.businessday.ng as she graces our Women’s Hub cover for this week. You are just a click away!

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Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Live @ The Exchanges Market Statistics as at Thursday 26 September 2019

Top Gainers/Losers as at Thursday 26 September 2019 LOSERS

GAINERS Company

Closing

Change

FO

N16.95

N15.8

-1.15

46

GUARANTY

N28.25

N27.95

-0.3

10

CUSTODIAN

N6.3

N6

-0.3

VOLUME (Numbers)

N7.7

0.5

DANGFLOUR

N22.3

N22.2

-0.1

VALUE (N billion)

N2.3

0.2

HONYFLOUR

N1.01

N0.95

-0.06

Closing

Change

NESTLE

N1215

N1336.5

121.5

SEPLAT

N460

N506

TOTAL

N100

N110

ACCESS

N7.2

NEM

N2.1

Company

ASI (Points)

Opening

Opening

DEALS (Numbers)

MARKET CAP (N Trn)

27,579.85 2,576.00 183,465,723.00 2.926

Global market indicators FTSE 100 Index 7,351.08GBP +61.09+0.84%

Nikkei 225 22,048.24JPY +28.09+0.13%

S&P 500 Index 2,968.65USD -16.22-0.54%

Deutsche Boerse AG German Stock Index DAX 12,288.54EUR +54.36+0.44%

Generic 1st ‘SP’ Future 2,967.00USD -19.30-0.65%

Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index 2,929.09CNY -26.35-0.89%

13.425

Large Cap stocks halt market’s negative trend …investors gain N144billion Stories by Iheanyi Nwachukwu

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igerian stock market was unable to witness another loss on Thursday September 26 due to record gains in shares of some largely capitalised companies.

The market’s benchmark indicator increased by 1.09percent which helped moderate record year-todate (YtD) negative return to -12.25 percent as well as its month-to-date (MtD) return to -0.43percent.

While investors rushed to take advantage of low priced mid-to-large cap stocks, the market recorded 16 gainers as against 7 losers.From a preceding day low of 27,283.05 points and N13.281trillion, the NSE All Share Index (ASI) and market capitalisation increased to 27,579.85 points and N13.425trillion respectively. Stocks value rose by N144billion.

L – R: Olumide Orojimi, head, corporate communications, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Ugochi Obi, head, X-Academy, NSE; Bola Adeeko, head, Shared Services Division, NSE; Ndidi Nnoli, group chief sustainability and governance, Dangote Industries Limited and Douglas Kativu, director, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Africa during a capacity development workshop on sustainability reporting for accountants, financial analysts and communication practitioners at the Exchange.

Increase bargains in favour of Nestle Nigeria Plc helped push its gains higher than others.

It recorded highest advanced from day open level of N1215 to N1336.5, after adding N121.5 or 10percent.

Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc also increased from N460 to N506, adding N46 or 10percent. Total Nigeria Plc increased from N100 to N110, adding N10 or 10percent.

Access Bank Plc moved up from N7.2 to N7.7, add-

ing 50kobo or 6.94percent, while Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc gained from N10.7 to N10.9, adding 20kobo or 1.87percent.

Though the possibility of profit taking action cannot be ignored, the record positive performance witnessed

on Thursday is expected to filter into Friday being the last trading session of the week as investors take advantage of recent dip.

In 2,576 deals, equity dealers exchanged 183,465,723 units valued at N2.926billion. Access Bank Plc, GTBank Plc, Transcorp Plc, Lafarge Africa Plc, FBN Holdings Plc were actively traded stocks.

Forte Oil Plc stocks recorded the highest price decline, moving from N16.95 to N15.8, representing a decline of N1.15 or 6.78percent.

GTBank Plc followed after its share price moved from N28.25 to N27.95, down by 30kobo or 1.06percent. Also on the top laggards league include Custodian Investment Plc which dipped from a high of N6.3 to N6, after losing 30kobo or 4.76percent.

Dangote Flourmills Plc decreased from N22.3 to N22.2, losing 10kobo or 0.45percent, while Honeywell Flourmills declined from N1.01 to 95kobo, losing 6kobo or 5.94percent.

NSE calls for entries for its inaugural idea innovation contest

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he Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has announced the commencement of the inaugural edition of XKathon, its hackathon and idea innovation contest designed to improve the Nigerian capital market.

This edition themed, “Millennial Participation in The Capital Market”, is aimed at enhancing retail investors’ participation in the capital market.

X-kathon is open to talented individuals, teams and ventures in the tech ecosystem who have the “magic wand” to explode the growth potentials of the Nigerian capital market. Interested participants should submit creative ideas, software/ tech solutions and hacks to address “low participation of millennials in the capital market” on or before Octo-

ber 8, 2019, via http://www. nse.com.ng/x-kathon.

To ensure the best candidates emerge at the grand finale on October 24, 2019, entries for the X-kathon will undergo rigorous review and the top 10 entries will be invited to a boot camp.

The overall winner of the maiden edition of the Xkathon will win the sum of N5million while the first and second runner ups will win N3million and N2million respectively.

Speaking on the initiative, John Nsikak, Head Enterprise Innovation Hub at The Nigerian Stock Exchange said, “Technology remains an essential enabler for growth in the Nigerian capital market.

While the banking sector has witnessed an increased level of innovation and disruption, leading to www.businessday.ng

the creation of more value for customers, the capital market is yet to experience the same wave of change.

At the NSE, we intend to change this narrative by leveraging X-Kathon as one of the platforms to crowd-

source ideas and solutions that will catalyze innovation and startups’ participation in our market.

L-R: Biola Adebayo, operations director; Olufunmilola Ayebae, non-executive director; Fidelis Ayebae, MD/CEO; Segun Adebanji, chairman of the board; Yomi Adebanjo, company secretary, during Fidson Healthcare Plc’s 20th AGM held today at Sheraton Hotels, Ikeja, Lagos. https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

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Transcorp Hotels retains A- (NG) GCR rating

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ranscorp Hotels Plc, the hospitality subsidiary of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp) and owner of the iconic Transcorp Hilton Abuja and Transcorp Hotels Calabar has retained its national scale ratings at A-(NG) and A2 (NG) in the long term and short term respectively, with the outlook accorded as Stable.

Concurrently, the national scale ratings accorded to the following Issuances were also affirmed: Series 1 N10billion Fixed Rate Bond: A-(NG), Stable Outlook; and Series 2 N9.8billion Fixed Rate Bond: A-(NG), Stable Outlook.

According to Global Credit Ratings (GCR), the rating reflects Transcorp Hotels ability to maintain its market position as a leading brand in Nigeria’s hospitality industry, supported by the major renovation and facilities upgrade at Transcorp Hilton Abuja (THA) and the subsequent improvement in pricing and occupancy rate.

GCR in its report affirmed that Transcorp Hotels demonstrated a stable outlook in its businesses and the ability to maintain a positive rating in the longer term.

The available support to Transcorp Hotels as a member of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp), and the partnership with Hilton Worldwide Limited (Hilton) is considered a rating positive.

In the report released in August of 2019, it stated “Following the upgrade at THA and the accompanying repricing of the hotel facilities in FY18, revenue improved across all service lines, with rooms and food and beverages rising 26percent and 28percent respectively.

“Per management, the Company is currently exploring other opportunities and add-on services that could be offered to boost overall earnings going forward.

Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

31

NEWS

FG pleads with Labour, says issues of minimum wage‘ll be sorted out …meets with Labour on Friday Innocent Odoh, Abuja

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he Federal Government has again assured the labour movement in the country that it was working arduously to address the controversy surrounding the consequential adjustment of new minimum wage even as it urged the labour movement to work with the government to sort the matter out.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, gave this assurance when he received in audience the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), led by its President Ayuba Waba, which paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja on Thursday.

Ngige also said the government had commenced paying the new wage from Levels 1 to 6 workers.

Negotiations between the government and the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council (JNPSNC) over relativity and consequential adjustment for the implementation of the new N30, 000 minimum wage ended in a deadlock as both sides failed to reach an agreement, with labour unions recently threatening an industrial action.

Since the new minimum wage bill was signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on April 18, 2019, there have been prolonged deliberations as the issue of relativity/consequential adjustment of salaries still persisted. Both negotiating sides will meet again on Friday, September 27.

Ngige noted during Thursday meeting with labour leaders that the government was doing its best saying “this issue of the minimum wage will be sorted out and I am very hopeful it will

be done as soon as possible. It is unfortunate that the negotiation was deadlocked from grade level 15 to 17 and the issue became on what percentage or scale that they should use. The most important thing is that we are going to discuss and negotiate it.

“Government is not averse to consequential movement; what we are saying is that we should try for all parties to agree that the economy is in doldrums and that the economy has some troubles and therefore we have to cut our coat according to our cloth.”

Earlier during the meeting with the Minister, NLC President Waba, lamented that the minimum wage had remained a very thorny issue for both the labour unions and the Nigerian workers.

“Few days ago both NLC and TUC received a formal report in writing by the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council informing us that negotiations had broken down and they wanted our quick intervention and part of the intervention we can make is that we have enough empirical data to guide the government and the committee to be able to sort out this issue in very quick succession.

“Yes there are challenges in the economy but if you look the condition of workers from when the last minimum wage was increased to where we are today, a lot of factors have affected their purchasing power which we have shared in our tripartite negotiating process, which led to the increased of the 30,000 minimum wage.

“Our plea is that while we will be meeting with the government on Friday this process can be fast-tracked so that the entire work force can benefit from it,” he said.

L-R: Charles Iyo, regional manager, West Africa, EATON; Sunil Das, head, electrical system and power, AOS Orwell; Bola Azeez, CEO, Bola Mark Engineering Limited; Temitayo Awojole, country manager, Nigeria, EATON, and Femi Abioye, MD, Current Data International Limited, at the Power Nigeria Conference /Exhibition in Lagos.

Pic by Pius Okeosisi

Rising cost mounts pressure on FMCGs’ sluggish sales …as average cost margin grew 300bps to 72% BUNMI BAILEY

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mid the myriads of headwinds facing fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector which saw industry players record weaker sales, rising cost is another threat to their top-lines.

The portion of production cost in sales revenue for seven Nigerian listed FMCGs, which is simply the direct cost margin, rose 300 basis points to 72 percent in the first half of 2019, up from 69 percent last year. This implies players paid more on actual cost-related expenses relative to their revenue.

“For most of the consumer goods firms, you see two things – consumers’ pockets are weak and cost of production has been trending higher in the international market over the past few months. These include cost of key inputs like

APC wants Supreme Court to expunge records of PDP 3 experts’ evidence at tribunal Felix Omohomhion, Abuja

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he All Progressives Congress (APC), in what looks like an ambush for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Atiku Abukakar’s appeal at the Supreme Court, has asked the Supreme Court to expunge Atiku’s experts’ reports and evidence from the record presented at the presidential election petition tribunal on the 2019 polls.

The Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal had on September 11 dismissed Atiku’s petition on the ground of his inability to prove the allegations contained in his petition.

Dissatisfied, Atiku had on September 23 lodged an appeal at the Supreme Court on 66 grounds, asking it to set aside the judgment of the tribunal which dismissed his petition.

Atiku prayed the apex court to set aside the whole decision of the presidential election petition tribunal which upheld the declaration of Buhari as winner of the February 23 presidential election.

The PDP presidential can-

didate specifically faulted the decision of the Justice Mohammed Garba-led panel which held that Buhari did not need to attach his academic certificates to the INEC’s form CF 001 before he could stand for the presidential election.

However, the APC in a move to stop any damage, Thursday filed a cross-appeal against admission of the report and evidence of the three data analysts who testified for the petitioners at the Presidential Election Petition tribunal and whose evidence was admitted by the tribunal in the interest of natural justice.

The party in the cross appeal filed by its lead counsel, Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi (SAN), wants the Supreme Court to expunge the evidence of the three Information Communication and Technology (ICT) experts who testified on the existence of a server allegedly used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to store results of the February 23 presidential election.

The three key witnesses are Segun Sowunmi, a Media Aide www.businessday.ng

to Atiku, David Njoga, a Kenyan and Joseph Gbenga who are famous data analysts and employed by Atiku to carry out forensic analysis of the presidential election results.

They had in their testimonies informed the tribunal that they analysed presidential election results state by state and found discrepancies in the results credited to Atiku and President Buhari.

The three data analysts alleged that in their analysis, it was discovered through the results sheets that votes of Atiku were deliberately mutilated while that of Buhari and APC were inflated.

The Kenyan expert in his evidence specifically insisted that INEC used the server which he claimed to have penetrated to obtain the alleged authentic results of the February 23 presidential election which ran counter to the one declared by the electoral body.

But the APC in the cross appeal pleaded with the Supreme Court for an order setting aside the evidence of the three witnesses and the documents, including video clips tendered through them from the bar.

sugar, wheat, barley, maize and cocoa. So most of them had to take higher prices on their inputs,” Ayorinde Akinloye, a consumer analyst at CSL Stockbrokers, said.

“But the main issue they have is that due to weak consumer pocket, they can’t increase prices of their products to translate that cost to the final consumer. The inability to do that now makes them continue to operate on tighter margins. And if you look into their operating expenses, so many of them have been trying to control it by laying off workers,” Akinloye added.

The companies captured in the analysis include Cadbury, Dangote Flour, Dangote Sugar, International Breweries, Nigerian Breweries, Nestle and Unilever. Of these companies, only Nestle and Cadbury have their cost margin reduced, while the other five recorded uptick.

Ayodeji Ebo, MD of Afrin-

vest Securities Limited, said beyond the cost of raw materials, there is also increase in cost of doing business, multiple taxes, bottlenecks at the ports, among others.

“The cost of doing business is increasing, multiple taxes being placed on companies from the government and the cost of clearing goods even the imported raw materials is also increasing due to the bottlenecks in Apapa. And also the challenges in the economy play a part too. But they are unable to pass the cost to the final consumers and as a result, their margin continues to shrink,” Ebo said.

“For the brewery sector, the competition is getting tough and stiffer and due to the fact that they want to maintain market share, they are unable to raise prices which is telling on their financials,” he said.

Cadbury’s cost margin reduced by 5 percentage points

to 78 percent in mid-year 2019 from 83 percent in the same period of 2018 and Nestle declined by 6 percent to 53 percent from 59 percent in the same period. For the millers, the cost margins for Dangote Flour and Dangote Sugar increased by 17 percentage points to 102 percent from 85 percent, and by 2 percentage points to 74 percent from 72 percent, respectively.

For the brewers, International Breweries’ cost margins increased by 5 percentage points and Nigerian Breweries rose by 2 percentage points.

For Unilever, it increased by 5 percentage points.

According to the global food index report by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the food prices index rose to 173.2 points in June from 163.9 points in January, implying that global food prices has been on the upward trend since the start of the year.

PSBs seek CBN’s approval for indirect lending … Amendment of 25% presence in rural areas … 75% of deposits to be invested in NTB HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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he Payment Service Banks (PSBs), which where were recently granted Approval-inPrinciple (AIP) by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are seeking approval for indirect lending through strategic partnership with the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs).

The PSBs are specialised banks established to promote financial inclusion and enhance access to financial services for low-income earners and unbanked segments of the society by leveraging on technology.

The guidelines for licensing, regulation and operation of payment service banks stipulates that the PSBs shall not grant any form of loans, advances, and guarantees.

“I am proposing that PSBs need strategic partnership to do loans indirectly,” said Olufemi Balogun, mobile banking, digital business, 9mobile, at a breakfast session on ‘Payment Service Banking: Implications on the Financial Services Industry, organ-

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ised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).

Other speakers and participants at the session unanimously asked the CBN to consider amending the regulation of 25 percent presence in the rural areas by the PSBs. They also want the inclusion of insurance companies in the collaboration space for micro pension. Responding to this, Sam Okojere, director, payment systems management, CBN, noted the proposals as takehome points.

Represented by Ademola Adeleke, assistant director, payment systems management, he said the CBN was not averse to evolving more stakeholders in this.

Okojere explained that 75 percent of the excess deposits that would be mobilised by the payment service banks would be used for investment in Treasury Bills in CBN and 25 percent to DMBs. “Since they cannot create loans, anything above the threshold should be given 75 percent to the CBN and 25 to @Businessdayng

deposit money banks. It is a form of investment,” he said.

As a takeaway from the event, Olalekan Asikhia, director, CIBN centre for financial studies said there are so many advantages of running a PSB compared to the regular banks.

“For example 75 percent of their deposits could be backed up by treasury bills. In other words, it is deposited with CBN and they will be giving the Treasury bills and the 25 percent going to banks and may be out of that 25 percent, 5 percent could be for operational engagements. The PSBs have been modelled to be successful in their operations”, Asikhia said.

According to him, with the growing usage of mobile phones in Nigeria, the PSBs already have a ready market for mobile banking to deploy their services using user friendly mobile applications. Furthermore, he said the establishment of Payment service banks posed a threat to the traditional and reactive banks as they challenge the position and roles of the banks.

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BUSINESS DAY

news SON prepares steel producers for AfCFTA, equips them for competitiveness CHUKA UROKO

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uoyed by the opportunities which Nigeria’s signatory to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) holds for Nigerian investors, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has equipped local steel producers for competitiveness in both continental and global markets.

AfCFTA has made Africa one of the largest economic blocs in the world and allows investors free movement on the continent. That means in-

vestors, especially producers, have to be competitive by embracing global best practice in terms of quality and standard.

SON is currently spearheading the harmonisation of standards within Africa and the West African sub-region, urging Nigerian steel producers to not only take advantage of the biggest market in Africa, but the world over.

Osita Aboloma, the organisation’s Director General, told steel producers at an emergency meeting that the gathering was basically to prepare operators of the organised steel sector on the

need to adhere to quality for their goods to be acceptable within Nigeria and at the global market.

“If you adhere to standards in Nigeria, your goods will be accepted anywhere in the world because of the AfCFTA Nigeria has signed to. Almost all the African countries that have subscribed to the agreement will use the harmonised standards to achieve seamless trade activities and for breaking technical barriers to trade,” he explained.

According to him, the steel sector was one of the most formidable sectors in Nigeria

where the nation had the competitive and comparative advantage to earn lots of foreign reserve, while also creating wealth and job opportunities.

Referring to the recent raids the agency embarked on to ensure sanity in the steel sector, he said the raids were part of its conformity assessment activities to make sure goods are produced to meet global best practices.

“The non-conforming producers have been guided on ways to get it right and the ones who still indulge in the nefarious act would have

more issues with us. We are no longer working as regulators, but as business facilitators.

Prosecution will be the last option, but we are working with them as partners for now and guiding them to getting it right is our major focus,” he said.

Bola Awojobi, executive director, KAM Industries Limited and the spokesman, Steel Group, commended SON for its tireless efforts at bringing sanity to the steel industry.

“This meeting is to synergise, synchronize and discuss ways to move the industry forward. We have been tasked

Private sector investment will address diagnosis challenge in health sector KELECHI EWUZIE

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takeholders in the health sector have said that continuous investment by private sector in medical facilities value chain is the best solution for Nigeria, if the country hoped to address easy and faster diagnosis the country.

Anthonia Ogbera, acting provost, Lagos State College of Medicine (LASCOM), says medical equipment such as Molecular Biology Laboratory would help in the diagnosis of diseases such as sickle cell disorder, pre-natal diagnosis, cervical screening, basic diagnosis and a lot of other things.

Speaking on Thursday in Lagos at the unveiling of the state-of-the art equipment donated to the college by Caverton Offshore Support Group through the Caverton Foundation, Ogbera lauded Remi Makanjuola, chairman of the company, for his commitment to improve the health sector and make diagnosis easy and faster.

According to Ogbera, “With this equipment, LASCOM has joined the leagues of medical colleges with global diagnosis facilities not only in the Southwest of Nigeria but in the African continent as a whole”.

“Though the medical college is 20 years and we can say we are relatively new but we now have facilities that are of international standard,” she stated.

Yoyin Makanjuola, wife of the donor, said health was the topmost of everything, adding that the laboratory would become a reference point in the midst of all the colleges of medicine in Lagos, South-west and Nigeria at large.

According to her, “It has been a great pleasure to commission this edifice. It is our token of contribution to humanity and the society at large.”

Akinbami Akinsegun, Associate Professor of Hematology, while corroborating what the acting provost said, noted that the donation had made the institute among the best medical schools with global facilities. www.businessday.ng

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@Businessdayng

to produce standard products that can be sold here in Nigeria and beyond. If we are able to produce quality product, it would sell itself, while also giving us a good image within the comity of nations,” he hoped.

Continuing, he said, “more importantly, the issue of collapsed buildings will be reduced drastically. Our members in the steel group are producing standard products, but there could be some lapses here and there, but I will say that we would cooperate with SON to ensure that our members produce quality products,” he assured.

Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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INTERVIEW Accountant’s biggest challenge is how to make the most of technology to improve quality of work – ICAEW boss David Lyford-Smith is the technical manager, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), covering tech and the profession. He was in Nigeria recently to speak at the 49th Annual Accountants’ Conference held in Abuja.

In this interview with select journalists including Modestus Anaesoronye, shared his thought on current developments in the accounting profession, impact of new technology and how professionals can remain relevant. Excerpt: As a technical manager for ICAEW, what does your job entail? work specifically in the Tech Faculty. We have seven faculties at ICAEW in terms of research and thought leadership centres for the different areas of the accounting profession.

My job in the Tech Faculty is to research and communicate with members and wider stakeholders about the aspects of technology that impact the work of accountants and the future of the accounting profession in general.

From your profile, you joined BDO’s audit team in 2009 as a trainee where you began to develop expertise in Excel. What has been your experience in building such a strong brand?

BDO is an international company based in the Netherlands but it is the fifth or sixth largest accounting firm depending on which country you are in. It is the largest outside the ‘Big 4’. I think it is really interesting because I started as an audit trainee when I was first doing my qualification. I spent a couple of years in audit, learning and doing my exams and gaining the necessary qualifications from ICAEW. From there, I moved into Global Outsourcing, supporting different organisations with their multinational compliancyrequirements. From there, I moved to a more internally focused role, focused around spreadsheets and bestpractices on training people about how to use Excel properly so I got to see lots of different parts of the profession through that. It is very interesting to learn about the variety of options that an accountancy career can open, and the different directions people can go in; for example. The position I am in now as a Technology researcher but with an accounting spin.It’s been a really interesting journey – I certainly couldn’t have predicted it when I started.

You spoke on the topic ‘Disruptive Innovations: Challenges and Opportunities’ at the ICAN conference. What will you say are the challenges accountants face with these innovations?

The challenges are that the accounting profession is being faced with a wave of automation.Automation is very familiar in physical work, but this is automation coming to mental, professional work; and it is not something that we are used to. So I think the biggest challenge is about how to make the most of technology to improve the

I

David Lyford-Smith

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You can’t pay person to person, you need to involve banks, paperwork and things like that. Cryptocurrency is supposed to be like cash - easy to spend, very mobile, still secure and without needing a central authority or third party.

Cryptocurrency is expected to replace physical money in the coming years, though yet to receive global acceptance. Do you think countries like Nigeria are ready to accept this?

Nigeria, like many places with a large amount of tech firms, will accept cryptocurrency as payment. I think in a practical sense it doesn’t happen all that often. Another sign that cryptocurrency is not fully accepted is that even though many companies will say they accept cryptocurrency, most people don’t set their rates in cryptocurrency.

They set it in familiar rates then convert to cryptocurrency.

One problem with cryptocur-

For Nigeria to be able to pick up on these trends and take advantage of them; there has to be solid, reliable internet connectivity, and embracing of the new concepts – things like cloud accounting www.businessday.ng

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quality of our work and reduce the repetitive work without becoming irrelevant.

I know you have done quite a lot of work on Blockchain and this relates to Cryptocurrency. What exactly is cryptocurrency?

Just to give the basics of it, blockchain is a record-keeping system.

It is a way of keeping track of assets and transactions. It was created in 2008 as a concept of tracking bitcoin – the first cryptocurrency – and keeping track of how much each person had. It is now being used for non-currency applications, other forms of record-keeping – tracking diamonds, tracking shipping containers and other things like that. But it started out from that place of cryptocurrency. In terms of replacing cash, cryptocurrency is designed to be the cash of the internet because cash is immediate, easy to spend, very straightforward; but online doesn’t really work that way.

rency is the possible loss of access to transaction data which is needed for financial accounting and tax audit. How can this be addressed?

Cryptocurrency is an interesting position where the ledger work in accumulative ways where you store more and more data so you have a lot of information but most of itis anonymous. So you see account one sent two bitcoins to account two, butyou don’t know who account one and account two are.

There is no identification of the individuals involved so you simultaneously have a lot of information but also, no information. So it is a very unusual mix.

With so much happening in the digital space in relation to the accounting industry, will you say that the jobs of human accountants are threatened? Will robots one day replace accountants?

My answer is yes, if we don’t respond to these challenges. I think if someone with the average skill set of the 2019 accountant just kept on doing the same thing, automation would be a serious threat to them.

That being said, I think what will be happening and is already happeningis looking to advance the profession and moving to high value generation activities, consulting, assurance, and into parts that are not going to be automated.

We are also looking to change our qualifications so that they reflect this new technological point of view. So, there will definitely still be plenty of accountants in the future.It might not be that we will recognize what they are doing today as accounting. It is the same way we would not call what an accountant in 1989 did as accounting today, because then it was mostly about records, book-keeping but these days we have spreadsheets and accounting packages and lots of things already that have replaced those things that used to be central to accounting. The difference is that, that was a 30-year transition. Acceleration now is very fast so that in five or 10 years, we will be replacing the definition of accounting.

There are calls for collaborative accounting which involves using the internet and trending technology to work together in real-time regardless of location.

As an expert in the field, would you say this is achievable in a clime like Nigeria?

It is really interesting because one of the criticisms in accounting is that we are too focused on @Businessdayng

the past.

It is too much about ‘wait until the year is finished and produce the final account’, or producing audited accounts for the stakeholders months after the year is ended and this is much separated from what the company is worrying about in the present. So I think one of the opportunities is to move to real-time reporting and immediate assurance to help with the current decisions. Now, that means we are talking about a more collaborative process;that is accounting working with other departments and not just waiting to get the needed products.

I think that is a very internet way of doing things.

We also see this is in a lot of small businesses. The use of cloud accounting and applications to do things like scanning of receipts and basic book-keeping in small businesses; there has been really profound growth in this area. I think that is also where accountants will need to go. For Nigeria to be able to pick up on these trends and take advantage of them; there has to be solid, reliable internet connectivity, and embracing of the new concepts – things like cloud accounting. It is not the case of only large companies thinking of doing their accounting online. It could be sole traders, a business with only one person can still be using Receipt Bank or Xero to do their accounting through their mobile phone and they are still going to need advice or help. So definitely, there is still a space for accountants no matter in what space and clime.

The growing ecosystem of applications that integrates with accounting platforms has also proven to be efficient by connecting and streamlining back-office processes for a wide range of businesses and industries. Do you agree and will you recommend this?

I agree. Accounting data has been seen as a quite sterile, very ordered kind of data set. It is all about ‘this is the data’, ‘this is the debit’, ‘this is the credit’. We are not as familiar with what the data scientist is, such as information that isn’t nicely labeled. I think that is where the value is – to be able to handle irregular, incomplete, notfully-structured data. In wanting to become more valuable to their companies, accountants will be hoping to get more involved in the business. And that is what I think about with all these applications that integrate all parts of the business together.

34 BUSINESS DAY

Friday 27 September 2019

NEWS

Sowore asks court to commit DSS DG to prison over refusal to release him Felix Omohomhion, Abuja

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L-R: Rotimi Makanjuola, COO, Caverton Offshore Support Group; Samira Makanjuola, coordinator, Molecular Biology Laboratory and senior lecturer, department of pharmacology, Lagos State College of Medicine (LASCOM); Anthonia Ogbera, acting provost, LASCOM; Yoyin Makanjuola, wife of the donor, and Niyi Makanjuola Trustee, Caverton Foundation, at the unveiling of a multi-million-Naira Molecular Biology Laboratory, donated by chairman, Caverton Offshore Support Group, Remi Makanjuola to LASCOM in Ikeja, Lagos yesterday.

APC denies rift between Buhari, Osibanjo ...accuses PDP of printing APC 2023 forms James Kwen, Abuja

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he ruling All Progressives Congress, APC has dismissed reports of an altercation between President Muhamamdu Buhari and his Vice, Yemi Osinbajo.

National Publicity Secretary of the Party Lanre Issa-Onilu at a news conference in Abuja on Thurday described the perceived rift between Buhari and Osibanjo as “mere gossips”.

Issa-Onilu stated that APC had important issues of governance than to continue to respond to fallacies and questioned the reported crack, when the vice president had been sent out to represent the president at an international event and presided over the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday.

He stated that the People’s

Democratic Party, PDP had no serious job from now till 2023 except to aim to distract the APC from executing the mandate given her by the people.

“It is in the interest of the PDP to keep up that tempo of intemperate language because that is the only job they have to do for the next four years; to distract the APC. It is not in our interest to join issues with them because we are focused on governance”, Issa-Onilu said.

The APC Spokesman also accused the PDP of trying to cause confusion in the country by printing 2023 presidential campaign posters with the images of some leaders of the ruling party.

“As a party, we want to state clearly that having won elections convincingly and having been given the mandate to run government for the next four years, our major and only

focus now is governance. We are not engaging in any other activity about 2023 elections and wherever you see such (posters) you can be sure it is from mischief makers and of course we know it is part of the strategy of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP to continue to take actions to cause distractions for the governing party from focusing on anything that is important to the people of Nigeria which is to deal with the challenges that we are all faced with; the challenges of governance, security, economy and corruption as well as other associated issues. That is what we are focused on.

“So, as a party, we understand that the social contract we have signed with the people of Nigeria with the renewal of our mandate. Whatever poster you might have seen about any of our leaders anywhere in this

Despite growing concerns on electric cars, Kyari optimistic on fossil fuel relevance HARRISON EDEH, Abuja

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he Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, has said that fossil fuel would remain relevant in the global energy mix, saying contrary to assumptions in some quarters, and growing concerns on electric cars, crude oil demand would be very high even beyond 2040 The NNPC GMD made the declaration in his office in Abuja, he received members of a Higher Command Course of the Indian Army War College on a geo-strategic tour of Nigeria.

Kyari in a statement espoused the uniqueness of Nigeria’s crude oil grades as rich crude with high global demand, saying NNPC was determined to grow Nigeria’s production to 3million barrels per day by 2023 to enable the country take advantage of the gap that exists in the demand-supply balance.

He emphasised the agelong bilateral relations between Nigeria and India, which cut across trade, military cooperation and international peacekeeping, among others.

The GMD explained that NNPC’s mandate cut across satisfying domestic energy needs and contributing to global energy market, especially crude oil and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) deliveries across the world.

He described energy security as a critical factor in guaranteeing Nigeria’s territorial integrity and growing its economy.

“Energy security is everything in terms of national security. The recent attack on Saudi oil facility is one incident which has attracted global attention and has the potential to impact the global economy,” Kyari stated.

According to the NNPC’s helmsman, understanding the relationship between energy security and global security was important, espe-

country is irrelevant to us, we do not have a hand in it and it is not from those leaders. It is strictly part of the strategy of a party that is supposed to provide alternative to our governance model and since they do not have such, the only thing they can do is to continue to throw spanners into the works.

“So, we urge all our members to focus on what is important to us and so we dissociate ourselves and our leaders from such issues that have to do with elections. Elections have been done and dusted and what we are now faced with is the issue of governance”, said Issa-Onilu.

Issa-Onilu also expressed APC’s readiness to meet the PDP at the Supreme Court regarding the last presidential election, adding that by going to the apex court, the PDP is only attempting to repeat its failure at the tribunal.

onvener of RevolutionNow, Omoyele Sowore, who is still in the custody of the Department of State Security (DSS), despite a court order to release him, Thursday filed an application at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to commit the Director DSS to prison over alleged disobedience to a court order.

Justice Taiwo Taiwo, Tuesday ordered Sowore’s conditional release from the Service’s custody after spending more than 50 days in detention.

The detained publisher of Saharareporters, Thursday filed form 48 against the DSS boss seeking his committal to jail unless he honours the order of the court.

The form 48 otherwise known as contempt of court was filed at the Federal High Court pursuant to order ix, rule 1-3 of the judgment enforcement rules, section 72 of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act 2004 and under the inherent jurisdiction of the court.

Titled, ‘Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Order of Court’, the SSS boss in the contempt notice form was warned that unless he obeyed the order of the Federal High Court delivered on September 24, ordering him to release Sowore in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/915/2019,

he would be guilty of contempt of court and would be liable to be committed to prison.

The contempt form notice further indicated that the court had been informed that as at September 26, Thursday, the DG DSS was yet to comply with the lawful order by refusing to release Sowore from its custody.

The notice read in part: Take notice that unless you obey the direction contained in the order of the Federal High Court of Justice, Abuja, delivered on September 24, 2019 which ordered you to release the applicant in suit number F H C / A BJ / C S / 9 1 5 / 2 0 1 9 forthwith, you will be guilty of contempt of court and will be liable to be committed to prison”.

“A copy of the said order of court earlier served on you is hereby annexed for your on-the-spot reference.

“This court has been informed that even as at today Thursday September 26, 2019, you are yet to comply with the lawful order of the Federal High Court by refusing to release the applicant namely, Omoyele Sowore in your custody.

“You are hereby directed to comply with the court order forthwith or you will be guilty of contempt of court”.

The notice was served on the DSS boss at the three-arm zone in Abuja on Thursday after all the necessary conditions have been fulfilled.

Growth in Nigeria’s non-interest banks presents opportunity for financial inclusion – NDIC cially as developing nations strive to grow their respective economies and guarantee their territorial integrity.

In his remarks, the leader of the delegation, Brig. Gen. Sudhir Malik, said India was the largest trading partner with Nigeria, stressing that oil formed a large chunk of the trade between the two counties.

He described Nigeria as Africa’s economic power house which shared similar aspirations as India.

“We are also a growing economy. It is a mutual benefit to both nations. In time to come, we hope that these bilateral relations will continue to grow so that we will also increase the trade volumes,” he added.

While stating that India was aware of Nigeria’s peculiar security and economic challenges, the military chief, however, expressed optimism that the deep relations between the countries’ armed forces would help in addressing these challenges.

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...assets hit N186.46bn Onyinye Nwachukwu, Abuja

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ssets of non-interest banks and their windows stood at N186.46 billion as at June 2019, growing modestly from N66.96 billion in 2015, according to latest numbers from the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

But share of their total assets against those of the banking industry stood at a paltry 0.49 percent. Total deposits were reported at N121.68 billion, or 0.53 percent of the industry total during the same period, while financing stood at N59.81 billion, 0.38 percent of the industry total – indicating a clear insignificant impact of such performance.

Umaru Ibrahim, NDIC managing director, who announced the figures on Thursday, said there was huge opportunity for additional expansion, even though there were threats.

“Emerging risks facing Islamic banks now, and beyond

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2019, appear to stem from underlying structural economic weaknesses, inflationary trends and depreciating currencies – all the developments that could potentially destabilise liquidity, raise non performing financing and erode capital,” Ibrahim said.

He was quoting an Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) 2019 Stability Report during the Sustainable Islamic Finance Conference in Abuja.

The conference tried to unearth factors militating against the seamless operations of the non-interest banking sector in Nigeria in order to enable it effectively discharge its responsibilities, which include wealth creation, poverty reduction and job creation.

Ibrahim said foreign currency risks also remain a significant concern for regulators and Islamic banks alike.

“Equally, there exist structural challenges around Liquidity management and legal accommodation in terms @Businessdayng

of existence and mechanisms for dispute resolution,” he said.

Since Nigeria introduced non-interest banking in 2012, the country has witnessed the establishment of JAIZ Bank, Windows of Stanbic IBTC and Sterling and Islamic microfinance banks.

“Whilst we express our regret on the closure of Stanbic IBTC Islamic banking window, we welcome the establishment of TAJ Bank and hope more of such will follow,” he said.

Ibrahim said Nigeria could leverage Islamic financing to expand financial access to the underserved, particularly as EFINA Access to Financial Services in Nigeria Survey 2018 data indicate 36.6 million adults representing 36.8 percent of 99.6 million adult population are financially excluded. Of particular concern is the 62 percent of the 23 million adults in the North West and 55 percent of 12 million adults in the North East who are financially excluded.

Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

35

news UK court grants stay of execution...

Continued from page 1

million security fees pending the determination of the appeal it has lodged against the award and enforcement of the judgment.

Abubakar Malami, minister of justice and attorney general of the federation, led a high-powered delegation, which also comprised Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture; Godwin Emefiele, governor of Central Bank; Mohammed Adamu, Inspector General of Police, and Ibrahim Magu, acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, to meet with the legal team ahead of the legal battle.

“Leave to appeal has been granted. Stay of execution is also granted subject to $200m security payment to court pending the determination of the appeal the leave for which has been granted by the commercial court,” Jubrilu Gwandu, SA media to the Attorney General of the Federation, told BusinessDay in a chat.

“We will study the court rulings, exercise the right of appeal and consider the legal options available at our disposal as it relates to the payment of $200m in view of the 60 days window stipulated by the court.

The steps we will consider

are to study the ruling and act in a way beneficial to the interest of the nation,” Gwandu said.

The two rulings have been seen as a major leap as Nigeria makes frantic effort to set aside the initial judgment on the basis that the deal was fraudulent abinitio and would hurt the struggling economy.

“I am pleased with today’s [Thursday] development in the court and see this as a positive resolution that constitutes an important step in the government’s effort to defend itself in a fair and just process,” Malami said in reaction to the judgment.

“We look for ward to challenging the UK commercial court’s recognition of the tribunal’s decision in the UK court of appeal uncovering P&ID’s outrageous approach for what it is: a sham based on fraudulent and criminal activity developed to profit from a developing country,” he said.

Just before the Nigerian authorities departed for the UK, Malami had indicated that all strategies were being considered, adding, however, that “it all depends on the beneficial one that has potency for setting aside the award having regards to the applicable law in the circumstances”.

Albert Alos: 80 years in the making Continued from page 2

Ibadan, Nsukka and Zaria yielded no results. Then the civil war broke out. He either had to apply for a Kenyan resident visa or return to Spain. His last application attempt got him a position in the Physics department of the University of Ife. In his memoir of the early years in Nigeria Prof recounts that, “I was also motivated by the contribution that I could make to the country’s progress and development with my professional work. I loved education and I always enjoyed working with people.”

A serial social entrepreneur with a passion for education and collaboration Prof has started several educational projects dedicated to social development.

Helmbridge Study Centre, the Lagos Business School, the Pan-Atlantic University, Irawo University Centre, the Institute for Industrial Technology, Whitesands and Hillrange secondary schools are just a few examples that show his knack for social development startups. This knack goes back to his days at the universities of Ife and Lagos, where he was either among those who started a new department, faculty or course – he set up the laboratory for control engineering at Ife. During the mid-1970s (just

before the civil war ended), Prof and like-minded individuals who shared a similar passion for education started the Educational Co-operation Society (ECS), a non-profit organisation. A consummate fund raiser, Prof has been closely involved in raising funds for these projects. And he never tires, even at 80.

His Catalan origins might be one explanation for his business savvy and startup mentality. Prof is from Barcelona, the most enterprising region of Spain. As a boy he spent his holidays working as a delivery boy for Frigo, an ice cream company where his father worked.

Apart from raising the funds needed to start, for example, the Lagos Business School, Prof had to switch from electrical engineering to strategic management with a focus on Nigerian startups – his book “The Pains and Gains of Growth” is a compilation of case studies on these companies. In addition, he was first Dean of the LBS and later Vice Chancellor of PanAtlantic University. As VC he developed new programmes and faculties like the School of Media and Communication. For many years he was a member of the advisory board of BusinessDay.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng www.businessday.ng

L-R: Prince Ikenna, managing director, First Oilrush Limited; Emem Usoro, regional head, Lagos Bank 2, United Bank for Africa (UBA) plc; Aneke Sampson, group head, transaction & electronic banking, UBA plc; Akinwale Oluwafemi, CEO, Betomax Global Resources; Pamela Shodipo, regional head, Lagos Bank 3, UBA plc, and Oyedola Olatunji, head, reconciliation, OPay, during an interactive session organised by UBA for payment collection merchants in Lagos.

One month after shutdown, FG yet to begin...

Continued from page 1

by Julius Berger. Flight operations began a day before the sixweek deadline given by Sirika.

In February 2017, navigational facilities at the Kaduna airport were upgraded by NAMA ahead of the closure of Abuja airport. The runway was also repaired to absorb the increased volume of traffic to be diverted from Abuja to Kaduna airport, said Mathew Pwajo, NAMA general manager, safety management systems/quality assurance.

“Toward this end, we are deploying both equipment and personnel to strategic areas of need to ensure seamless flow of traffic at the airport during the six-week period,” he said.

He disclosed that NAMA had commenced the installation of a digital Instrument Landing System (ILS) at the Kaduna airport.

“This facility would undergo flight calibration along with Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Radio Range (VOR) already installed to ensure accuracy,” he further said.

In a communiqué read at the end of a stakeholders’ meeting with Sirika on September 1, Dave Umahi, governor of Ebonyi State and chairman of the Southeast Governors’ Forum, had said that with the closure of Enugu airport, flights would be diverted to Port Harcourt and Owerri airports.

Even though the Port Harcourt airport is up to international standard, it was expected that Owerri airport, which is closer to Enugu, should have been upgraded as was done to Kaduna to absorb the increased volume of traffic to be diverted from Enugu airport.

But a visit to Sam Mbakwe Airport Owerri showed no

17, announced its intention to close down the runway of Akanu Ibiam International Airport on August 24 to effect repairs and maintenance that would enhance safety operations.

“This move is aimed at resolving the existing safety/security concerns to flight operations,” Henrietta Yakubu, general manager, corporate affairs of FAAN, said at a press conference in August.

FAAN subsequently shut down the airport on August 25.

But a visit to the airport last Tuesday and subsequent follow-up phone calls on Wednesday revealed that no maintenance repairs were going on and officials at the airport did not even know when resurfacing of the runway would begin.

The projects going on at the airport when BusinessDay visited were the installation of closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs) and the construction of an office building by Nigeria Airspace Management Agency (NAMA).

“So, if you are not ready for the repairs, why would you shut it down indefinitely?” Emeka Okaro, a businessman who lives close to the airport, asked.

Four days after the shutdown of the Akanu Ibiam Airport, Olumide Ohunayo, head of research and corporate travel, Zenith Consult and Travel, had wondered why contractors were yet to report at the airport, which is critical as the only international airport in

the South-East part of Nigeria.

“As at the time they closed the airport, I expected all the necessary materials to be in place. What was the rush to close it when the contractor was not ready?” Ohunayo queried. By facilitating tourism and trade, airports and air travel often generate economic growth, provide jobs and increase revenues from taxes, which is something that the Enugu metro area is now being deprived of, analysts say.

According to 2018 figures from FAAN, Akanu Ibiam International Airport Enugu is the sixth busiest airport in Nigeria after Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and Owerri.

The airport processed an average of 273,000 local passengers and 41,000 international passengers annually.

During his ministerial screening at the Senate in July, Hadi Sirika, who was the minister for aviation for four years and reappointed to the ministry in August, said the Enugu airport had a lot of problems and should be ideally shut down for major repairs.

Currently, only Sam Mbakwe Airport in Owerri, Imo State, is available for the SouthEast. Roads in the region, including Enugu-Onitsha, AbaIkot Ekpene, among others, are in terrible condition, making mass transit difficult.

The situation of the Enugu airport is in sharp contrast with what transpired during the closure of the Abuja airport for repairs. The Federal Government shut down Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on March 9, 2017 and work began the following day

Continued from page 2

Nigeria’s 123m internet users missing...

based service, as at 2017, users in Nigeria were trailing users in the United States.

“People were shocked at Netflix’s (alleged) subscriber numbers for Nigeria? Why? Airtel Nigeria and MTN average revenue per user (ARPU)

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signs of upgrade, with some sections of the airport requiring weeding.

“It is not proper to close down a critical airport like Enugu indefinitely without plans to start work on it,” Ike Ibeabuchi, an Enugu-based manufacturer, said.

He explained that those who live in Enugu and Abakiliki are mostly affected as they have to move down to Asaba or Owerri or even Port Harcourt to board aircraft.

The cost of the repairs of Abuja international airport was N5.8 billion, Sirika said in January 2017 ahead of the shutdown.

However, no cost has been quoted for Akanu Ibiam airport and the Federal Government has not given any specific date to re-open the airport, unlike Abuja whose six-week date was announced ahead of time.

Ohunayo said the Federal Government should seize the chance to improve the poor state of South-East roads.

“I expected that before the shutdown of Enugu airport, the Enugu-Port Harcourt Highway, Owerri road and Enugu-Onitsha Expressway should be in motorable condition,” Ohunayo said.

“Sadly, these have not been done. Adequate security has not been provided for travellers that will be landing at Owerri, Port Harcourt or Asaba,” he said.

“The road networks are not in good shape. This will have a huge effect on South-Eastern states and businesses there.

We hope the government can fix the runway with the same dedication it had during Abuja runway repair,” he further said. than one screen at a time.

To stream videos on Netflix, users require about 1GB of data per hour, provided they are streaming in standard definition. Those streaming in high definition (HD), on the other hand, use up to 3GB per hour.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

36

Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

POLITICS & POLICY

AD, LP challenge Sanwo-Olu’s victory at Court of Appeal …As Lagos PDP condemns anti-Ambode protest INIOBONG IWOK

T

he Lagos State chapters of the Labour Party (LP) and the Alliance for Democracy (AD) have approached the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgment by the Lagos Election Petition Tribunal which reaffirmed the victory of Babajide Sanwo-Olu in the March gubernatorial election in the state.

Among the prayers that the LP candidate in the gubernatorial election, Ifagbemi Awamaridi and the AD candidate, Owolabi salis, are seeking is the nullification of the election over alleged electoral malpractices against Sanwo-Olu and his party the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Election Petition Tribunal sitting in the state

had last Monday dismissed the petitions filed by the Labour Party and reaffirmed the victory of Sanwo-Olu as the duly-elected governor.

The tribunal described the Labour Party (LP) peti-

tion as futile and wasteful exercise, noting that the petitioner could not prove their allegations of mental incompetence against Sanwo-Olu. Justice T.T. Asua, while delivering the judgment, said

the petitioners, LP and it candidates, also failed to prove the allegations of electoral practices against Sanwo-Olu and his party, the APC. But the parties in statement, a copy of which was sent to BusinessDay, signed

by the AD chairman in the state, Kola Ajayi, stated that they were confident of getting a favourable judgment at the Court of Appeal, while describing the Lagos tribunal judgment as a miscarriage of justice.

Meanwhile, the state chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned Monday’s protest against immediate past governor of the state, Akinwunmi Ambode.

The party said the protest lacked sincerity of purpose and obviously calculated at embarrassing the former governor of the state, alleging that incumbent governor of the state was behind the protest.

According to the PDP, “This Sanwo-Olu-led APC government is behind the misplaced protests. The governor himself is sponsoring such protests against his predecessor, unfortunately overheating the pol-

ity and to distract Lagosians away from his abysmal performances”.

The PDP further stated that attacks on the former governor was affecting the governance in the state and the performance of the current administration, stressing that recent crisis in the state was a testimony on the disaffection with the ruling party.

“Indeed, the disgraceful acrimony within the Lagos APC is taking its toll on expected service delivery in the state. There is now obvious disillusionment and maladministration in the state.

“This Sanwo-Olu style has overheated the polity, permeated their sympathy groups like the NURTW, m a r k e t s, c u l t g ro u p s, NGOs, etc. Recent violence amongst the groups can be traced to the APC leaders’ struggle for power,” the opposition party said.

Group appeals to Buhari to pardon Southern/Middle-belt leaders reaffirm opposition to RUGA, water way bill Dariye on health grounds INNOCENT ODOH, Abuja

T

he Youth Assembly at the United Nations (YAUN) has made a special appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to grant state pardon to the former governor of Plateau State, Joshua Dariye in order to enable him attend to his failing health condition.

YAUN President, Dewan Gabriel told a press conference in Abuja on Thursday that Dariye, who is serving a 10-year jail term in Kuje prison, for diversion of public funds, is at the moment suffering from kidney failure and other complications, which need urgent medical attention. The YAUN President said the move is not to encourage corruption, adding that they are only acting to save the life of Dariye, who is a serving senator representing Plateau Central Senatorial District.

Reading a speech during the conference, Peter Sekibo, who is the Steering Speaker West African

Joshua Dariye

Regional Representative of the YAUN, while appealing to President Buhari, said: “We humbly and most respectfully wish to very specially appeal to you for the prerogative of mercy to our very illustrious son, Senator Joshua Chibi Dariye who has been in prison since 12th June, 2018 for a jail sentence of 14 years, which was later reduced to 10 years after an appeal.

“Lest we are misunderstood Mr. President, we acknowledged and accept in good faith the reasons for his being jailed which bordered on diversion of state funds which is a criminal offence. We do

not in any way condone corruption of any kind which Your Excellency is known to standing very tall in the fight against no matter whoever is involved,” the group said.

They noted that the most fundamental reason for their special appeal is based on Dariye’s failing health in the prison. “Long before his incarceration, he is battling with this health challenges which require the close examination of specialists, which he cannot access while in prison. This has remained a grave subject of concern to his family, friends and associates across the country.

“He is currently being managed on in-patient basis by a multidisciplinary team of cardiologists, endocrinologists, nephrologists, orthopedic surgeons, nutritionists and physiotherapists. Based on the very complex nature of his ill health, we plead with your Excellency to please grant him special pardon on health grounds,” the group said.

INIOBONG IWOK

T

he Southern/ Middle-Belt leaders have reaffirmed their opposition to the National Livestock (cattle) Transformation Plan a.k.a RUGA, while equally rejecting Federal Government proposed Bill which seeks to establish a regulatory framework for the water resources sector in Nigeria.

In a statement to the media, Thursday, after the group meeting in Abuja, signed by Yinka Odumakin Southwest, Chigozie Ogbu Southeast, Isuwa Dogo Middle-Belt and Bassey Henshaw South-South, the leaders expressed worry that instead of mobilising national consensus to confront the monumental tragedies confronting the country, the Federal Government was rather engaging itself with policies that are divisive and smack of domination and conquest of other sections of the country.

The group berated the Federal Government for giving special treatment

to Fulani herdsmen, while wondering what economic contribution the herdsmen had made to the development of the country.

According to the group, “Instead of mobilising national consensus to confront the monumental tragedies confronting the country, the Federal Government has busied itself with policies that are divisive and smack of domination and conquest.

“The use of the collective resources of Nigerians to convert herdsmen, majority of who are nonNigerians from nomadic to sedentary lifestyles while doing their private business that has nothing to do with the rest of us beyond being their market.

“It is akin to government making budgetary allocations to Coca Cola to produce drinks to sell to Nigerians. Apart from the plan not making any economic sense for the country there are other fundamental problems it raises.”

The group, however, described the Bill for an Act to establish a regulatory

framework for the water resources sector in Nigeria as another attempt at forcefully taking over lands which belongs to other sections of the country by the Federal Government for the benefit of herdsmen.

The leaders, while condemning the Bill, equally warned that its passage by the National Assembly was capable of creating more conflicts across the country.

“The Waterways Bill is another land-grabbing move like RUGA by ethnic supremacists who are working against the unity of the country.

“Major rivers in Nigeria can be made available, by federal law if the bill is passed, to Fulani pastoralists and there is nothing the indigenous people within such vicinities can do about it.

“The Police and the security agencies will be handy to enforce it and it will be other White farmers versus the African landowner’s scenario in Southern Africa during the Apartheid season,” it said.

Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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BUSINESS DAY

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BUSINESS DAY

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Live @ The STOCK Exchanges Prices for Securities Traded as of Thursday 26 September 2019 Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

PRICES FOR MAIN BOARD SECURITIES (Equities) ACCESS BANK PLC. 273,698.24 7.70 6.94 389 67,315,270 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC 208,616.47 6.10 0.83 146 6,339,990 ZENITH BANK PLC 576,125.66 18.35 0.27 214 6,033,400 749 79,688,660 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 197,424.11 5.50 1.85 147 8,733,294 147 8,733,294 896 88,421,954 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES MTN NIGERIA COMMUNICATIONS PLC 2,808,922.80 138.00 - 52 317,023 52 317,023 52 317,023 BUILDING MATERIALS DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 2,590,157.13 152.00 - 36 77,970 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 241,616.93 15.00 0.33 44 10,433,815 80 10,511,785 80 10,511,785 EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 297,752.95 506.00 10.00 11 33,533 11 33,533 11 33,533 1,039 99,284,295 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC 1,710.00 85.50 - 0 0 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) 10,175.81 40.70 - 0 0 UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 13,074.52 4.90 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND 411.91 552.20 - 0 0 VALUEALLIANCE VALUE FUND 3,312.39 103.20 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CROP PRODUCTION FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 440.00 0.20 - 0 0 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 52,417.35 54.95 - 9 5,881 PRESCO PLC 40,350.00 40.35 - 12 78,403 21 84,284 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. 8,520.00 4.26 - 1 10 1 10 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1,410.00 0.47 9.30 13 1,022,468 13 1,022,468 35 1,106,762 DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 688.30 0.26 - 0 0 JOHN HOLT PLC. 237.38 0.61 - 2 2,431 S C O A NIG. PLC. 1,903.99 2.93 - 0 0 TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC 41,460.95 1.02 -0.98 53 14,075,392 U A C N PLC. 22,041.92 7.65 - 61 635,837 116 14,713,660 116 14,713,660 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ARBICO PLC. 711.32 4.79 - 0 0 0 0 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 24,486.00 18.55 - 6 6,550 ROADS NIG PLC. 165.00 6.60 - 0 0 6 6,550 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 3,014.14 1.16 - 5 11,451 5 11,451 11 18,001 AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 954.53 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 9,003.92 1.15 - 3 21,050 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 242.22 0.89 - 0 0 GUINNESS NIG PLC 75,458.69 34.45 - 27 19,090 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 108,307.86 12.60 - 10 73,691 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 419,837.36 52.50 - 106 8,629,845 146 8,743,676 FOOD PRODUCTS DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 111,000.00 22.20 -0.45 56 684,288 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 130,800.00 10.90 1.87 53 334,612 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 57,405.31 14.00 - 24 1,096,664 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 7,533.69 0.95 -5.94 16 552,871 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 1,340.10 0.36 - 0 0 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 766.26 4.30 - 0 0 NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC 35,502.47 13.40 - 8 15,430 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 3,321.07 12.15 - 0 0 157 2,683,865 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 19,627.21 10.45 - 11 17,179 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 1,059,385.08 1,336.50 10.00 41 606,174 52 623,353 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 1,680.31 22.10 - 0 0 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 4,840.77 3.87 - 13 182,220 13 182,220 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 27,793.34 7.00 - 8 23,290 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 166,605.16 29.00 - 17 149,407 25 172,697 393 12,405,811 BANKING ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 163,311.01 8.90 - 26 113,346 FIDELITY BANK PLC 48,098.16 1.66 -1.19 81 6,220,476 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 822,601.46 27.95 -1.06 278 23,155,490 JAIZ BANK PLC 13,258.91 0.45 -2.22 15 3,254,167 STERLING BANK PLC. 57,580.84 2.00 - 62 6,324,592 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 203,845.27 7.00 - 20 318,234 UNITY BANK PLC 7,948.75 0.68 - 8 78,987 WEMA BANK PLC. 23,530.42 0.61 1.67 11 241,155 501 39,706,447 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC 4,117.00 0.20 - 0 0 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 4,712.54 0.68 - 6 133,729 AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC 17,850.00 1.70 - 4 11,730 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 2,682.90 0.33 - 0 0 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 19,604.49 1.89 9.88 3 116,000 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE PLC 6,775.57 0.46 9.52 18 2,970,568 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 909.99 0.20 - 0 0 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 1,228.00 0.20 - 1 500 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE PLC 487.95 0.38 - 0 0 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 2,050.56 0.28 - 4 25,900 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 1,675.57 0.39 - 0 0 4,080.00 0.51 - 1 30,000 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 2,234.55 0.20 - 3 1,006,000 NEM INSURANCE PLC 12,145.16 2.30 9.52 15 338,222 NIGER INSURANCE PLC 1,547.90 0.20 - 2 1,100 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC 2,637.45 0.49 - 3 586,340 1,333.75 0.20 - 0 0 REGENCY ASSURANCE PLC SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 1,668.16 0.20 - 0 0 STACO INSURANCE PLC 4,483.72 0.48 - 0 0 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. 2,582.21 0.20 - 0 0 SUNU ASSURANCES NIGERIA PLC. 2,800.00 0.20 - 0 0 516.46 0.20 - 0 0 UNIC DIVERSIFIED HOLDINGS PLC. UNIVERSAL INSURANCE PLC 3,200.00 0.20 - 0 0 VERITAS KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 2,773.33 0.20 - 0 0 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 4,683.96 0.35 - 25 1,600,720 85 6,820,809 MICRO-FINANCE BANKS NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 2,515.30 1.10 - 1 19,500

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1 19,500 MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC 4,158.00 0.99 - 0 0 7,370.87 0.50 - 0 0 ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC 5,796.93 1.39 - 0 0 RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 2,265.95 0.20 - 0 0 UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. 2,949.22 3.02 - 0 0 0 0 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC 7,820.00 3.91 - 17 103,026 CUSTODIAN INVESTMENT PLC 35,291.19 6.00 -4.76 6 100,981 DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC 660.00 0.44 - 0 0 FCMB GROUP PLC. 31,684.34 1.60 - 33 1,935,168 1,080.53 0.21 - 1 1,700 ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 411,606.66 39.30 - 15 38,499 UNITED CAPITAL PLC 12,900.00 2.15 -1.40 37 862,438 109 3,041,812 696 49,588,568 HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS EKOCORP PLC. 1,680.29 3.37 - 0 0 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 817.22 0.23 - 1 3,078 1 3,078 MEDICAL SUPPLIES MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 494.58 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 PHARMACEUTICALS EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 366.17 0.50 - 0 0 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 9,388.62 4.50 - 1 50 8,550.52 7.15 - 12 74,369 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 3,450.47 2.00 - 9 223,280 NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 835.63 0.44 - 6 197,432 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. 556.71 3.62 - 0 0 PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 325.23 1.50 - 0 0 28 495,131 29 498,209 COMPUTER BASED SYSTEMS COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC 710.40 0.20 - 6 563,611 6 563,611 COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS OMATEK VENTURES PLC 1,470.89 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 IT SERVICES CWG PLC 6,413.06 2.54 - 0 0 534.60 4.95 - 0 0 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 292.02 0.59 3.51 1 100,000 1 100,000 PROCESSING SYSTEMS CHAMS PLC 1,080.09 0.23 -4.17 7 428,300 9,996.00 2.38 - 2 1,040 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 9 429,340 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AIRTEL AFRICA PLC 1,065,435.95 283.50 - 11 12,854 11 12,854 27 1,105,805 BUILDING MATERIALS BERGER PAINTS PLC 2,173.68 7.50 - 5 11,125 CAP PLC 16,275.00 23.25 - 6 4,716 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 218,182.12 16.60 - 17 120,747 313.43 0.59 - 0 0 MEYER PLC. PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC 1,769.32 2.23 - 0 0 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. 1,156.20 9.40 - 0 0 28 136,588 ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2,256.91 2.09 - 0 0 CUTIX PLC. 2,994.25 1.70 6.25 17 1,361,264 17 1,361,264 PACKAGING/CONTAINERS BETA GLASS PLC. 29,873.33 59.75 - 0 0 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 388.02 9.10 - 0 0 0 0 AGRO-ALLIED & CHEMICALS NOTORE CHEMICAL IND PLC 100,754.14 62.50 - 0 0 0 0 45 1,497,852 CHEMICALS B.O.C. GASES PLC. 2,547.42 6.12 - 4 45,100 4 45,100 METALS ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 1,781.64 8.10 - 0 0 0 0 MINING SERVICES MULTIVERSE MINING AND EXPLORATION PLC 852.39 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 PAPER/FOREST PRODUCTS THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. 83.60 0.38 - 0 0 0 0 4 45,100 ENERGY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 1,252.54 0.20 - 4 361,458 4 361,458 INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS SERVICES OANDO PLC 47,239.37 3.80 - 26 1,152,632 26 1,152,632 PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS 11 PLC 55,351.37 153.50 - 25 20,481 CONOIL PLC 11,658.40 16.80 - 21 109,198 ETERNA PLC. 4,173.26 3.20 6.67 16 198,641 FORTE OIL PLC. 20,579.20 15.80 -6.78 29 1,092,775 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 5,729.98 18.80 - 2 33 37,347.40 110.00 10.00 17 38,642 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 110 1,459,770 140 2,973,860 ADVERTISING AFROMEDIA PLC 1,820.01 0.41 - 0 0 0 0 AIRLINES MEDVIEW AIRLINE PLC 17,551.17 1.80 - 0 0 0 0 AUTOMOBILE/AUTO PART RETAILERS R T BRISCOE PLC. 294.09 0.25 - 0 0 0 0 COURIER/FREIGHT/DELIVERY RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 2,387.46 4.05 - 3 1,580 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 361.01 0.77 - 1 1,100 4 2,680 HOSPITALITY TANTALIZERS PLC 642.33 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 HOTELS/LODGING CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 4,723.78 3.05 - 0 0 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 2,452.98 1.18 - 2 58,400 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. 7,862.53 3.50 - 0 0 41,042.18 5.40 - 1 850 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 3 59,250 MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 4,800.00 0.40 - 0 0 0 0 PRINTING/PUBLISHING ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 211.68 0.35 - 1 4,500 LEARN AFRICA PLC 956.60 1.24 - 5 720 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. 1,183.82 1.99 - 0 0 496.12 1.15 - 4 15,500 UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 10 20,720 ROAD TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC 563.62 0.34 - 1 1,678 1 1,678 SPECIALTY INTERLINKED TECHNOLOGIES PLC 757.44 3.20 - 0 0

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Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 27 September 2019

FT

BUSINESS DAY

41

FINANCIAL TIMES

World Business Newspaper

LAUREN FEDOR AND DEMETRI SEVASTOPULO IN WASHINGTON

W

hite House officials prevented the dissemination of the contents of Donald Trump’s communications with Ukraine’s president, according to a whistleblower, as Democrats accused the White House of covering up his alleged efforts to extract dirt on Joe Biden.

White House officials were “deeply disturbed” by Mr Trump’s July telephone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which he asked his counterpart to investigate Mr Biden and the Ukrainian business activities of his son Hunter, the whistleblower complaint said.

According to the whistleblower — an anonymous intelligence official whose concerns have sparked an impeachment inquiry into Mr Trump — White House officials said internal lawyers debated how to handle the details of the call due to the “likelihood . . . that they had witnessed the president abuse his office for political means”.

The report was released by the House intelligence committee ahead of testimony from Joseph Maguire, the acting head of the US intelligence community. The whistleblower recounted being told that White House officials restricted access to the details of the call by storing the information in a specially classified storage system.

“I learned from multiple US officials that senior White House officials had intervened to ‘lock down’ all records of the phone call, especially the word-for-word tran-

Whistleblower says White House tried to cover up Trump call

Complaint says officials were ‘deeply disturbed’ by contents of call to Ukrainian president

Joseph Maguire, acting director of national intelligence, is testifying before a House committee over a whistleblower complaint that has sparked an impeachment inquiry © Reuters

script of the call that was produced,” the whistleblower wrote. “This set of actions underscored to me that White House officials understood the gravity of what had transpired in the call.”

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representa-

A decade of change has not brought bread to citizens in the deprived interior

Formidable politician who faltered on reforms

J

acques Chirac, who was president of France for 12 years, has died at the age of 86, his family has announced.

Chirac was a formidable political animal with enormous charm and great energy, which were crucial assets in his hard fought ascent to presidency. He loved the simple pleasures of beer and tête de veau, or calf’s head. The man-of-the-people image was not cynically cultivated: his political batteries gained a genuine charge from pressing the flesh and kissing babies.

Yet when he won the ultimate political prize in 1995 at his third attempt and installed himself at the Elysée palace, he made little use of his powers to tackle France’s problems. He was more a political survivor than a statesman; a dealmaker, not a strategist. The fifth president of the Fifth Republic, he was the last to serve the constitution’s original seven-year term and the first to initiate changes reducing the mandate to five years to coincide with general elections.

He acquired an unrivalled experience of foreign affairs and

SAFWAN MASRI

rightly saw himself as the doyen of European leaders. But his endeavours were ultimately undermined by the French electorate’s rejection of the planned EU constitution in a 2005 referendum.

The constitution was a French idea. The No vote in France killed the project and eroded France’s traditional role as the motor of European integration alongside Germany.

At home he had no clear political credo, veering between bombastic nationalism, cryptosocialism, old-style protectionism and wary liberalism. The unhappy experience of his first two years at the Elysée was to have a lasting impact on his behaviour.

On election, he encouraged Alain Juppé, his prime minister, to embark on an abortive liberalising programme. Mr Juppé’s insensitive handling of proposals to end public sector privileges provoked trade union protests that paralysed France in the winter of 1995-96. Some of the measures had to be shelved — but Chirac then further miscalculated by calling early parliamentary elections in 1997, which the president’s rightwing supporters lost. www.businessday.ng

transcript, the whistleblower said it was removed from the normal electronic storage system for transcripts and put in a separate electronic system used for very sensitive information.

“One White House official described this act as an abuse of this

Democracy hangs in the balance in Tunisia

Jacques Chirac, French president, 1932-2019 ROBERT GRAHAM

tives who announced the impeachment proceedings earlier this week, said the White House had engaged in a “cover up”, reading out loud details about the classified electronic storage system from the complaint.

Explaining concerns about how White House officials handled the

electronic system because the call did not contain anything remotely sensitive from a national security perspective,” wrote the whistleblower, who noted he was “not a direct witness to most of the events described” in the complaint.

The whistleblower said information from more than 12 government officials appeared to show that Mr Trump put pressure on a foreign leader for political gain by soliciting interference in the 2020 US election.

Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, was a “central figure” and that US attorney-general William Barr “appears to be involved as well”, it said.

The White House said the complaint was “nothing more than a collection of third-hand accounts of events and cobbled-together press clippings” that showed nothing improper.

“The president took the extraordinary and transparent steps of releasing the full, unredacted, and declassified transcript of his call with President Zelensky, which forms the heart of the complaint, as well as the complaint itself. That is because he has nothing to hide,” Stephanie Grisham, White House press secretary, said.

I

n Tunisia, the fate of the Arab world’s only democratic, secular state hangs in the balance. A parliamentary election is scheduled for October 6, and a runoff presidential election will follow.

But its democratic experiment is at risk of unravelling.

In 2011, Tunisians were ecstatic about ousting dictatorial president Zein al-Abidine Ben Ali and replacing him with a government that would deliver freedom, democracy and, most crucially for citizens in the neglected interior, bread. Eight years on, Tunisians have freedom and democracy — but still not enough bread. Frustrated by sluggish economic reform, voters last month rebuked the incumbents and the compromises that dominated the democracy’s first phase.

In the first round of presidential elections, two anti-establishment candidates emerged as the leading contenders: Kais Saied, an independent constitutional law professor, and

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Nabil Karoui, a flamboyant media tycoon running a populist campaign from prison, where he awaits trial on charges of tax evasion and money laundering.

The next round will present to the citizens of this small North African nation starkly divergent future visions. Mr Saied wants to rewrite the constitution to give greater power to local councils.

He opposes recent progressive reform proposals to repeal sharia inheritance laws that punish widows and daughters, and dismantle laws that harshly punish same-sex activity.

Mr Karoui, the imprisoned businessman, is by temperament more authoritarian than socially progressive. If he won, he would be likely to consolidate greater powers into the presidency.

Tunisia’s transition into a stable, mature democracy is still possible, if the nation’s voters and leaders embrace the notion that democracy is messy, unpredictable and occasionally antagonistic. But the leading presidential candidates, who have no previous government experience, will need to acquire @Businessdayng

tolerance for uncertainty.

Back in 2010, eight of the 22 countries that make up the League of Arab States saw revolts against authoritarian regimes. Tunisia is the only one where democracy survives, with free and fair elections. But gross domestic product per capita remains shy of $3,500, the cost of living is up sharply, and unemployment rates remain unacceptably high. If forced to choose, many voters are likely to opt for the literal nourishment of economic stability over the intellectual nourishment offered by John Locke or Thomas Jefferson.

Tunisia’s authoritarian Arab neighbours, who want to see democracy contained, preferably quelled, are watching closely.

After deposing Ben Ali, who died this month, Tunisians transitioned quickly toward democratic, civil institutions. This stands in contrast with Algeria and Sudan, where citizens have toppled dictators but not entrenched military institutions, and Egypt, which is ruled by a dictatorship more authoritarian than the one ousted in 2011.

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Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

FT

NATIONAL NEWS

Boris Johnson warned his rhetoric imperils Brexit deal hopes Prime minister accused of using ‘horrendous’ language as police arrest man for threatening MP JAMES BLITZ, LAURA HUGHES AND GEORGE PARKER IN LONDON

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oris Johnson has been warned that his intemperate language in the Commons on Wednesday night has made it much less likely that he would be able to get any Brexit deal through parliament next month as police arrested a man for threatening an MP. Opposition politicians rounded on the prime minister on Thursday for “inciting hatred against MPs” in his performance at the despatch box the previous evening.

Lisa Nandy, one of the Labour MPs who has been minded to support a cross-party Brexit deal, attacked Mr Johnson for using “horrendous, divisive language”.

She said: “For those of us who do want to work cross-party to achieve a deal, this is making it much, much more difficult.”

Hours later Labour MP Jess Phillips told the Financial Times a man was arrested after attempting to enter her constituency office and accusing her of being a “fascist”.

The MP for Birmingham Yardley said the man attempted to “smash the windows and kick the door”.

“I cannot say it’s directly linked to Boris but my London office phone has had to be unplugged as all day the line has been jammed with people shouting traitor and c**t at my staff. I stood up to Boris Johnson and I must be punished,” Ms Phillips said.

“I don’t think he directly wants that but he is running a purposeful strategy of people v parliament.

This is the result.

“Funnily enough what it means is I can’t see the people who need me as I’ll have to shut my office and switch off my phones. Those people need me.”

The West Midlands Police confirmed an incident had taken place on the road where Ms Phillips’ office is and that a 36-year-old man had been arrested “on suspicion of a public order offence and possession of cannabis”.

Ms Phillips has accused the prime minister of using language “entirely designed to inflame hatred and division” and called on him to apologise.

Madeleine Moon, another Labour MP, warned that politicians’ staff were also at risk. “Attacks on our office staff is our greatest worry as people know where to find them while they cannot reach MPs in Westminster,” she told the FT. Meanwhile, Maria Caulfield, a Conservative Eurosceptic MP, tweeted: “Last week I had my car tyres damaged with nails and screws for the second time. No one cares because I’m a leaver and apparently deserve it. Abuse of MPs and death threats were happening long before yesterday.”

Earlier, Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative MP, said that without a return to more “temperate lan-

guage” he feared that the events in the chamber on Wednesday night had imperilled the chances of securing a Brexit deal.

“The strategy I want to see is reflective of the fact that this is a minority government. We don’t have the numbers. If we want to get a Brexit deal we need to reach across the aisle,” he said.

If Mr Johnson were to secure a Brexit deal with Brussels, he would need about 20 Labour MPs to defy the party whip and support him in a meaningful vote. But many Labour MPs are now likely to find this far more difficult to do.

On Thursday, MPs also rejected the government’s request for a three-day recess during next week’s Conservative party conference in Manchester, by 306 votes to 289.

Downing Street insisted that the prime minister was still determined to try to get a pact next month.

Asked whether Mr Johnson had now abandoned getting a deal, a Number 10 spokesman said: “Absolutely not. The PM will now pursue with energy the strategy of trying to secure a deal . . . Progress has been made but obstacles remain.”

John Bercow, the Commons Speaker, condemned the “toxic” atmosphere in the Commons, telling MPs: “I think there is a widespread sense across the House and beyond that yesterday the House did itself no credit,” adding: “There was an atmosphere in the chamber worse than any I’ve known in my 22 years in the House.”

However, Number 10 made no apology for Mr Johnson’s words in a stormy Commons debate in which he repeatedly described anti-no deal legislation passed by opposition MPs as a “surrender act”.

In a sometimes ugly debate, Labour’s Paula Sherriff raised the murder in 2016 of Jo Cox, a Remain-supporting MP, by a neoNazi and asked Mr Johnson to stop using “dangerous” language such as “surrender act” to describe legislation passed recently to stop a no-deal Brexit.

Mr Johnson replied to Labour protests: “I never heard such humbug in all my life.” He caused further anger when he added: “The best way to honour the memory of Jo Cox and, indeed the best way to bring the country together, would be to get Brexit done.”

Opposition MPs raised concerns on Thursday that ministers are using an unusual formula when asked whether they would abide by the Benn Act — anti-no deal legislation that requires Mr Johnson to seek an immediate Article 50 extension if he cannot get a deal at European Council.

Asked to outline how the government would comply with the law, James Duddridge, a Brexit minister, said: “We don’t want an extension but we will obey the law as it stands at that time.”

He added. “The bill is not perfect . . . the government believes (it) does have deficiencies and its effect is unclear.” www.businessday.ng

Kudakwashe Tagwirei, Sakunda’s chief executive © AFP

IMF warns Zimbabwe over payouts to Trafigura partner

Transaction with president’s ally led to pressure on the currency JOSEPH COTTERILL IN HARARE

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he IMF has privately warned Zimbabwe that state payouts to a company linked to global commodities trader Trafigura were pushing the shortages-plagued economy to the brink, reviving fears of corruption at the highest level of government.

Payouts to Sakunda Holdings, a fuel company owned by an ally of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, were in effect met by the central bank’s printing money.

The transactions severely undermined the country’s currency — the Zimbabwe dollar — only months after it was introduced, the Washington-based institution told Harare this month, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions.

The payments have shed light on the financial links between

the state and Sakunda’s chief executive, Kudakwashe Tagwirei, a businessman close to the ruling Zanu-PF party. Sakunda also owns a stake in Trafigura Zimbabwe, a joint venture with Trafigura, one of the world’s largest oil traders.

Sakunda received $366m in government bonds as payments for supplying “Command Agriculture”, a state farm subsidy scheme that Mr Mnangagwa has championed. However, when Sakunda redeemed some of the bonds, the payouts were made in Zimbabwe dollars at an exchange rate that translated into massive money printing.

The redemptions led to a 80 per cent surge in Zimbabwe’s monetary base — money in circulation including bank reserves. The IMF’s programme with Harare has set a target of 8 to 10 per cent for this year.

Following the IMF warn-

ing, Zimbabwe’s regulators last week froze the bank accounts of Sakunda and other companies.

The move temporarily halted a sharp decline in the Zimbabwe dollar, also known as the RTGS dollar.

However, the consequences of the payments to Sakunda have added to disquiet in Zimbabwe over allegations of “state capture” — the exploitation of public institutions and funds for private interests. Opposition politicians have accused Mr Tagwirei of using his connections to the ruling party and the central bank to build his business.

Tendai Biti, a former finance minister and lawmaker with the opposition, said: “If ever there was state capture, it is Sakunda.”

Since replacing the late dictator Robert Mugabe following a 2017 coup, Mr Mnangagwa has vowed to make Zimbabwe “open for business”.

Changes at the top of Juul Labs give tobacco veterans upper hand E-cigarette start-up faces legal hurdles as it grapples with backlash over vaping ALISTAIR GRAY IN WASHINGTON AND ANDREW EDGECLIFFE-JOHNSON IN NEW YORK

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ith a sleek product that became a hit among 20-somethings and a headquarters in a trendy part of San Francisco, ecigarette start-up Juul Labs long occupied a different world from Big Tobacco. As it grapples with a public backlash over teenage vaping and the emergence of mysterious health problems linked to the habit, however, the company is increasingly having to become more like the industry it set out to upend.

This week, grizzled veterans of tobacco’s protracted legal and regulatory battles moved closer to taking control of Juul. Nine months

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after Marlboro maker Altria struck a $12.8bn deal to acquire a 35 per cent stake, Kevin Burns has been replaced as Juul’s chief executive by the tobacco giant’s chief growth officer, KC Crosthwaite.

The change was announced just as talks ended over a $200bn merger between Altria and Philip Morris International, a collapse caused in large part by investor worries about the former’s investment in Juul.

For all the immediate drama, Altria remains hopeful its investment in Juul will pay off in the longer term. Give it five years, predicted Altria’s chairman and chief executive Howard Willard after his company’s talks with PMI broke down without a deal, and Juul will be back on the front foot.

By then, Mr Willard told the @Businessdayng

Financial Times at the Global Tobacco and Nicotine Forum in Washington, “I believe Juul will have navigated the challenges” associated with a surge in vaping among American schoolchildren.

“They’ll be a highly responsible player that leads in the US e-vapour market, and a leader in many markets overseas. But it’s going to take a significant amount of work — and a significant amount of investment — to navigate the next year or two,” he said.

For now, there is no let up in the scrutiny of Juul. Nancy Brown, head of the American Heart Association, said the installation of Mr Crosthwaite — who has taken charge with immediate effect — showed Juul was “fully embracing its identity as a tobacco company that prioritises profits over public

Friday 27 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

43

FINANCIAL TIMES

COMPANIES & MARKETS

@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED

‘German problem’ at ECB exposed by Lautenschläger departure Berlin’s representatives have found it hard to defend bank’s policies at home MARTIN ARNOLD IN FRANKFURT

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ensions between the European Central Bank and Germany have again exploded into public view after the resignation of Sabine Lautenschläger, who represented the eurozone’s biggest economy on the central bank’s executive board.

Ms Lautenschläger — who is leaving weeks after publicly opposing further easing of superloose monetary policy by the ECB — is the latest of a string of German representatives to quit the central bank after failing to stop the flow of cheap money.

Eight years ago, ECB chief economist Jürgen Stark departed in protest over its purchases of government bonds in response to the eurozone debt crisis. Earlier that year, Axel Weber resigned as head of Germany’s Bundesbank, and therefore as a member of the ECB’s governing council, after fiercely opposing the ECB’s strategy.

Underlying these departures is deep-rooted opposition to the ECB’s policies among the German public and media, even if its strategy is broadly supported by the government in Berlin. Germany’s top-selling newspaper this month portrayed ECB president Mario Draghi as a vampire sucking money out of savers’ accounts.

“Does the ECB have a German problem, or does Germany have a problem with the ECB?” asked Katharina Utermöhl, senior economist at German insurer Allianz.

“It is fair to assume that Sabine Lautenschläger fits into a trend that includes Jürgen Stark and Axel Weber all leaving because

of differences over monetary policy.”

German representatives at the ECB are often uncomfortable at having to defend the extraordinary easing policies used since the 2008 financial crisis to a domestic audience angered at the erosion of their savings and suspicious about monetary policy being used to others’ benefit.

“Many people in Germany believe that the ECB doesn’t make monetary policy for the eurozone as a whole but has made decisions that favour southern European countries in particular and produce a redistribution of wealth,” said Jörg Krämer, chief economist at German lender Commerzbank. “They realise it is not in their interests.”

The ECB did not say why Ms Lautenschläger had quit and she could not be reached for comment. But people briefed on the matter said she felt it was the right time to leave, citing a mix of her opposition to recent monetary policy, the ending of her extra role in banking supervision and the impending succession at the top of the ECB, with Mr Draghi set to hand over as president to Christine Lagarde on November 1.

Ms Lautenschläger joined the ECB’s executive board in 2014 and had been due to stay until 2022.

She was replaced this year as vicechair of the supervisory board of the ECB’s Single Supervisory Mechanism, having completed a five-year term and helped to establish the body that oversees the eurozone’s biggest banks.

Her departure removes the only female member of the ECB’s 25-person governing council.

Peloton prices at top of range for $8.2bn valuation Share issue at $29 each for lossmaking fitness equipment company RICHARD HENDERSON IN NEW YORK

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eloton, the lossmaking fitness equipment start-up, will achieve an $8.2bn valuation when its shares begin trading on the stock market on Thursday.

The company has priced its stock at $29 a share, at the top of a share price range released earlier this month. The group will float 40m of class A common stock under the PTON ticker on the Nasdaq stock exchange, raising $1.2bn. The pricing would almost double the $4.2bn valuation the company struck in its last private round of fundraising in August last year.

Peloton sells $2,200 exercise bikes and $4,000 treadmills, equipped with 22-inch screens that beam live workouts for a $40 monthly subscription fee. The group has also launched a $20 monthly subscription for users that do not own its equipment.

The listing will test investor stamina for lossmaking companies that burn through cash to grow. Peloton’s revenues doubled to $915m over the year to June 30, but this has come at a

price — the company’s losses jumped fourfold over this period to $196m.

The company is also facing a $300m lawsuit from a group of music publishers who claim Peloton has used songs in its workouts without paying licensing fees.

Peloton’s IPO comes after several hotly anticipated public offerings have disappointed this year. Uber, which listed in May, is trading 30 per cent lower than its $45 a share IPO price, while Lyft, which listed in March, has slipped 42 per cent from its $72 a share debut.

WeWork, which was on track to be one of the biggest listings this year, shelved its IPO plans last week and this week replaced its chief executive after investors raised concerns over the company’sgovernanceandleadership.

“You will see a lot of investors looking at this and saying what are the lessons learned from Uber and WeWork,” said Michael Underhill, chief investment officer for Capital Innovations, a fund manager that participates in IPOs. “I wish them well, but I don’t think this will be a successful IPO.” www.businessday.ng

Tidjane Thiam and Iqbal Khan © FT montage; Bloomberg; Reuters

The feud at Credit Suisse that has shaken Swiss banking Car chases and rows over cocktails: the fallout threatens CEO Tidjane Thiam STEPHEN MORRIS IN LONDON

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he staid world of Swiss banking has been rocked by lurid details of the breakdown in the relationship between Credit Suisse chief executive Tidjane Thiam and Iqbal Khan, who ran the bank’s wealth management division.

Swiss prosecutors are investigating an alleged physical confrontation last week between Mr Khan and up to three men hired by Credit Suisse to follow him after he resigned in July to move to arch-rival UBS. While Credit Suisse has admitted it hired the spy firm, Investigo, each side disputes the other’s version of events.

Mr Khan alleges a group of three men chased him and his wife through the streets of Zurich by car and on foot, which culminated in a physical confrontation behind the Swiss National Bank.

However, an Investigo detective has provided a sworn statement to Credit Suisse and authorities that he was alone, rather than in a group of three,

and that Mr Khan chased him, rather than the other way around. Investigo was asked to follow Mr Khan only on weekdays from a suitable distance and identify any people he met, according to documents seen by the FT. The controversy has shown no signs of ending. It has raised new questions about longstanding personal animosity between Mr Thiam and Mr Khan — and whether the bank acted appropriately in hiring investigators.

“The board is coming under pressure to sort this out and the regulator too,” one major investor told the FT. “It’s something of extreme gravity; in Zurich it is becoming a time bomb and you can feel the panic. Both sides have been damaged, but especially Credit Suisse.”

“We have said to the chairman and board they have to provide a clear outcome and explanation; whoever did wrong has to pay,” he said.

Mr Khan, who was born in Pakistan and immigrated to Switzerland aged 12, joined Credit Suisse in 2013 after a 12-year career as an auditor at EY. During his tenure, profit at the

international wealth management unit increased by around 80 per cent. He helped bring in more than $46bn of net new assets between 2016 and 2018.

French-Ivorian Mr Thiam, 57, joined Credit Suisse in March 2015 after running UK insurer Prudential for six years. He quickly set about shrinking the trading arm of the investment bank and repositioning the organisation as a wealth manager focused on ultra-rich entrepreneurs.

Whilst earning plaudits for establishing Credit Suisse as one of the top private banks in Asia, reducing the volatility of earnings and avoiding major scandals — until now — the share price has dropped more than 40 per cent under his leadership.

At first, the pair worked well together, according to people familiar with their relationship. Mr Khan was repeatedly promoted and called a “star” by Mr Thiam. But over time, Mr Khan grew frustrated with his profile within the bank, lack of public appearances, and assurances about his potential to rise to lead the organisation.

Banks snap up $60bn in two-week loans from New York Fed Central bank has launched series of repo interventions to ease money market strains JOE RENNISON

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anks lapped up the $60bn of two-week loans on offer from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Thursday, as appetite to secure funding ahead of a potentially volatile end to the third quarter remained unsated.

The New York Fed increased the size of Thursday’s cash injection, after Tuesday’s $30bn operation saw more than $60bn of demand, while an overnight loan offering on Wednesday drew almost $90bn of bids for the $75bn on offer.

Banks submitted requests for

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$72.75bn of two-week loans on Thursday. While that was again more than the Fed was offering, borrowers paid an average interest rate of just below 1.9 per cent for the cash, a drop from the 1.96 per cent paid on Tuesday. That suggests a less dire need for cash over the end of the quarter, a time when short-term lending markets can dry up as banks focus on the snapshot of their finances that will be shown in quarterly earnings reports.

“There is obviously still a lot of demand for term funding but we are getting to a point where repo markets are quite calm,” said Jon Hill, an interest rate strategist at BMO Capital Markets. @Businessdayng

The New York Fed, which functions as the markets arm of the US central bank, stepped in to ease funding pressures in short-term lending markets after a spike in the cost of borrowing cash in the overnight repo market last week.

The repo market is where banks and investors borrow cash in exchange for treasuries and other high-quality collateral.

Some market participants had criticised the New York Fed for being flat-footed in its response last week.

It conducted its first overnight repo operation on Tuesday September 17, following a sharp rise in repo rates the day before.

Women in Business

By Kemi Ajumobi

www.businessday.ng

Founder and CEO of OTRAC

Vice President of products at Mastercard

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Friday 27 September 2019

Farida Kabir

Kari Tukur ari Tukur is the Vice President of products at Mastercard. A role she assumed shortly after getting off maternity leave in July. In this role, she is responsible for the in-market product strategy across multiple countries in subSaharan Africa. Prior to Mastercard, she was with Diamond bank, Nigeria, now Access bank, where she served as the Accountable Executive for delivering the bottom-line factor for the $1.5bn Consumer banking business. She was also responsible for the success integration of the Retail bank, in the Access / Diamond bank merger.

She has over 14years experience successfully managing Retail and Private banking activities across Africa and Europe at Standard chartered bank, Standard bank and Banco Santander.

She holds a First Class Bachelor’s degree in Business Information Systems from Sheffield Hallam University and an MBA from the University of Birmingham, UK. She is a wife and mother of two beautiful children Umar and Halima.

Her biggest challenge is in the complexities of balancing her role as a mum of kids under 4, a wife and an executive, and the trade-off battles she is constantly facing particularly as a young woman.

Being Vice President of products at Mastercard, she drives product and go-to market strategy for 31 markets in Africa, from Nigeria- second largest economy in Africa and the world’s fourth largest oil exporter to tiny Djbouti with only about 400K people and heavy on subsistence agriculture. “95% of payment interactions in these markets are still very much via cash, which costs the government up to an average 3% of the GBP. My job is to deploy market relevant products and solutions which connect consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses locally and globally, enabling them to use electronic forms of payment which are convenient, secure and efficient instead of cash.” Kari says.

In achieving delivering the bottom-line factor for the $1.5bn Consumer banking

BUSINESS DAY

business while at Diamond bank, Kari says every company’s primary objective is to deliver profits. In her words, “Within my first 90 days, I immediately identified opportunities for portfolio optimisation, which basically means, getting more (revenue) from what you have. The first paradigm shift was to get the business to be re-organised around the customer and not product.”

With 14years experience successfully managing Retail and Private banking activities across Africa and Europe at Standard chartered bank, Standard bank and Banco Santander, Tukur says Multi-market experience helps broaden your perspective on the possibilities and what is obtainable in your area of specialisation which in her case is Retail Banking.

On the success integration of the Retail bank, in the Access / Diamond bank merger, Kari says her mandate was to integrate the retail business of Diamond bank and Access bank with minimal to no disruption to the client experience. To do this, she got the team to spend a lot of time on the desired client experience journey design earlier on in the project which was used to lead the technology and ops conversations. “Typically, this is done the other way round which is to build the destination model from the ops and tech perspective, then design the client journey based on the capabilities of the infrastructure available.” Tukur reveals.

On challenges of having fewer women on boards, Kari says, without a doubt, women have made tremendous inroads into the upper levels of corporate management, with upwards shifts in the percentage of women on boards from 16% for many years to something around 27% in S &P 500 according to ISS data.

According to her, a balanced board should be 50:50 on either side; however, she sees two primary challenges which are stifling the drastic growth of these numbers.

“Patriarchy, and the fact that you’ll find that women work 46% more than their male contemporaries to be perceived as operating at par and finding the balance between career and navigating motherhood/family.”

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arida Kabir is a public health scientist, software developer, UI/UX designer, public speaker, trainer and tech entrepreneur with a passion for infusing health with technology.

Founder and CEO of OTRAC, an elearning software for African healthcare practitioners, she’s also the team lead for Google Women TechMakers Abuja and the co-organizer for Google Developer Group, Abuja.

A strong advocate for women and girls in STEM, Farida is also a passionate advocate of good governance and strong institutions.

She’s currently the Federal ICT adviser for DFID-PERL program, a five-year project that focuses on strengthening government institutions and increasing citizen participation.

In 2016, she was the only Nigerian amongst five Africans that was awarded by the French President, François Hollande, in recognition of her pioneering entrepreneurial strides in Health Technology.

Her life is all about mentoring and guiding young entrepreneurs especially Lady Techpreneurs across Northern Nigeria; this informed the mandate that she advances through Center for Strategic Enterprise Development (CSED).

OTRAC’s e-learning platform provides tailored trainings/courses for public and general Health practitioners. Their vision is to build a learning platform that supports continuous development of all Health practitioners, and enhance their capacity and knowledge for effective service delivery.

One of the highlights of Farida’s tech career was when the Abuja Google Developer Group (GDG Abuja) announced her as their team lead for Google Women Techmakers. Google’s Women Techmakers program provides visibility, community, and resources for women in technology and according to her, what this means is that, Google will be supporting programs to encourage more women to get into the STEM field, and also lend a helping hand to those already in the field.

For Farida, the Government really needs to do an overhaul in how knowledge is being imparted in our schools. She says we need

strong policies to ensure STEM is practised across all tiers of education and most importantly, women that have an established career in STEM need to reach out to the younger ones to mentor and guide them to success.

For her, this is like a chain reaction, if you mentor a young girl and she becomes successful, she’ll mentor the next person, and the next person will do same and it goes on.

“Before you know it, we have an army of strong and powerful women that can stand and compete anywhere in the world.” Farida says.

As the assistant team lead at Mentally Aware Nigeria the Abuja Chapter, Farida says one way they try to combat the stigma associated with mental health in Nigeria is through sensitization and awareness.

According to her, “Over the last two years, we’ve attended conferences and panel discussions to address this. We also go to schools to sensitize the students about the fact that just because their classmate was admitted in a psychiatric home doesn’t mean they are mad. A lot of Nigerians don’t understand that the same way we worry about our physical health is the same way we need to take cognizance of our mental health.” Says Farida.

For her, it’s a part of the whole human health in its entirety. Because, according to her, “Sometimes all you need to do is just reach out and ask how someone is doing.

You really might not know the suicidal thoughts you might have prevented. Not all the time give me this, help me with that, I need money for this and that.”

Farida has had various people tell her the tech space isn’t for women and many have discouraged her outrightly however, that never deterred her from her goals because she dared to believe. Today, like they say, the rest is history.

Though Farida was recognised by the French President as one of the innovators changing the dynamics of health education, she however humbly admits she did not achieve that on her own but with the support of her husband and mentor, Ahmed Tanimu.

Published by BusinessDAY Media Ltd., The Brook, 6 Point Road, GRA, Apapa, Lagos. Advert Hotline: 08033225506. Subscriptions 01-2950687, 07045792677. Newsroom: 08169609331 Editor: Patrick Atuanya. All correspondence to BusinessDAY Media Ltd., Box 1002, Festac Lagos. ISSN 1595 - 8590.