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Unions wage hike demand could make Nigeria less competitive EMEKA UCHEAGA & BUNMI BAILEY heap labour used to be one of the star attractions of doing business in Nigeria but major unions in the country seem bent on increasing wages in the country to a point where affordability and economic competitive-

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APC primaries: Lukewarm reaction to strike in Lagos, Abuja Ambode, Sanwo-Olu, Hamzat test popularity in epic battle

ness become things of the past according to some renowned economists.

Charlie Robertson, global

chief economist , Renaissance Capital (Rencap) said, “Nigeria’s biggest unions are on strike calling for a big rise in the mini-

mum wage, from around $50 (N18,000) to $140-180 a month (N50-65,000). This could make Continues on page 33

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Inside APC wins Osun rerun P. 2 election Unified Payments deepens market with pioneer of American Express cards P. 2

JOSHUA BASSEY

Herbert Wigwe, GMD/CEO, Access Bank Plc (r), with Satya Nadella, Microsoft, CEO, during a discourse on Banking and Technology at the Microsoft Head Office in Seattle, USA, yesterday.

he die is cast; who picks the All Progressives Congress (APC) Lagos governorship ticket? Will it be Akinwunmi Ambode, the incumbent governor of the state, Sanwo-Olu, current managing director of Lagos State Property Development Corporation (LSPDC) or Babafemi Hamzat, a former commissioner for works and infrastructure?

After what seems a long drawn argument on the method to be deployed in selecting the governorship candidate of the party, with the national and state leaderships of the APC eventually settling for a direct as against indirect primary, the D-day is here.

Continues on page 33

Olu Fasan on Monday “Free trade is bad if not fair. Nigeria must tackle unfair trade”

2 BUSINESS DAY NEWS

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Telecom industry loses $3bn to call masking

L-R: Mathieu Plassard, chief executive, Ogilvy Africa; Seni Adetu, chief executive, Ogilvy Nigeria, and Paul O’Donnell, chief executive, EMEA, executive partner, Ogilvy Group, at the media launch of Ogilvy Nigeria at the Landmark Event Centre Lagos.

... regulator bars 750,000 mobile numbers in move to curb revenue loss Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson

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igeria’s telecommunications industry, currently valued at about $70 billion dollars is losing about $3 billion in revenue to the menace of call masking and SIM boxing the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) has revealed.

Call masking is the practice of causing the telephone network to indicate to the receiver of a call that the originator of the call is a station other than the true originating station. For example, a Caller ID might display a phone number and country code different from that of the telephone from which the call was placed.

Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice chairman, NCC, in his opening remarks at the Telecom Consumer Parliament with the theme; “Overcoming challenges of call masking/ refilling: Task ahead for the telecoms industry,” held in Lagos on Thursday 27 September 2018, said that call masking is a worrisome development that constitutes serious challenges not only to the telecommunications industry but also poses serious security threats to the entire country.

“SIMbox or Interconnect Bypass Fraud (IBF) is one of the most prevalent frauds in the telecom industry today and it is estimated to be costing the industry about $3billion in lost revenue,” Danbatta said.

He affirmed that as part of its zero tolerance for communications fraud and its determination to eradicate the practice in the industry, the telecoms regulator has collaborated with different stakeholders and security agencies, holding series of meetings, which have in turn led to the suspension of six indicted interconnect exchange licensees in February, 2018.

The SIM box operator can route international calls through the voice over internet protocol (VoIP) connection and connect the call as local traffic, allowing the box’s operator to bypass international rates and often undercut prices charged by local mobile network operators.

“Not only did the commission suspend the indicted licensees, the regulator also barred about 750,000 numbers assigned to 13 operators from the national network. These numbers were suspected of being used for masking and NCC took a hard, no-compromise stance to

withdraw their use,” Danbatta said.

Chidozie Arinze, head, regulatory affairs at 9mobile, while speaking during the panel discussion explained that 9mobile is currently able to check patterns of operations of these call masking and SIM boxing perpetuators and once identified, the operator proceeds to bar numbers.

“We are currently barring over a thousand numbers daily. The problem we used to have in the past was the time between detection and barring, but fortunately, we have been able to shorten that time to significantly reduce the effect of call masking. However, all the solutions available right now can only detect once call masking or SIM boxing has occurred and cannot prevent them from occurring,” Arinze said.

Daniel Adesanya who represented Globacom agreed with the NCC that the industry saw the uptake of call masking with international calls in September 2016 when the regulator upwardly reviewed and implemented the termination rate for international inbound traffic from N3.90 per minute to N24.40 per minute.

“Exchange rate also plays a vital role and international calls coming to Nigeria is actually the cheapest in West Africa,” Adesanya said.

The operators made it clear that SIM boxing is being done by ill meaning individuals in the comfort of their homes and not by mobile telecommunications operators.

The parliament resolved that the NCC and operators will intensify awareness, consider a legal framework before punishment, and establish easy feedback channels for reporting such cases. They also resolved to urge victims of call masking to report such issues to the regulator and service providers to deploy technology to curb the issue of call masking, among others.

Felicia Onwuegbuchulam, director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, NCC, while addressing stakeholders at the 85th edition of the Telecom Consumer Parliament (TCP) said that the key resolutions reached at the Lagos and AbujaEditionsoftheTCP this year have been documented and forwarded to service providers and other necessary stakeholders for implementation.

“On our part as regulator, we constantly follow up on service providers to ensure compliance with the resolutions reached.

APC wins Osun re-run election … it’s brazen assault on democracy – S/West PDP

BOLADALE BAMIGBOLA, Osogbo & Iniobong Iwok, Lagos

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he results of Osun state governorship election rerun that took place across seven polling units as released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) show that All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 1,160 votes as against that of that People’s Democratic Party (PDP) which had polled 325 votes.

Recall that the last Saturday results of governorship election showed that Ademola Adeleke of PDP led Gboyega Oyetola of All Progressives Congress (APC) by 353 votes. The rerun governorship election in Osun state was held amidst tension and allegations of intimidation by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

At Adereti Village, Ward 12, Unit 7, Garage Olode, Ife South local government, some villagers, who spoke

under condition of anonymity, said Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), members were not allowed to access the polling booth.

Newsmen also observed that PDP agent was missing and when when enquiry was made about the development, INEC official, Ven Stephen Oyewande, said “only PDP chairman could explain why agent of the party was not present.”

It was observed that many voters on queue to vote were having blue ink on their fingers, the sign a villager, who claimed to have been prevented from voting said was used to identify those that had already been contacted to vote for a particular party.

At Ward 8 Unit 1, Kajola village, Orolu local government, voting took place in a peaceful atmosphere, but some party agents were not physically present.

Continues on page 33

Friday 28 September 2018

Unified Payments deepens market with pioneer of American Express cards FRANK ELEANYA

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P (Unified Payments) on Thursday, has become the first company to enable American Express (Amex) cards in the entire West African region. With the launch of the Amex cards, individuals and businesses can now make payment for goods and services at merchants’ locations across the country.

American Express has built most its reputation as a global premium credit card company. The company accounts for 22.9 per cent of the total dollar volume of credit card transactions in the United States alone and as of December 31, 2017, Amex had 112.8 million cards in force, including 50 million in the US, each with average spending of $18,519.

Examples of premium cards include the America Express Centurion or the Black Card, the Amex Platinum among others.

Prior to now, businesses and individuals wanting to do business within Nigeria or from outside the country using American Express cards were unable to do so because the country was blacklisted by the company. UP managing director, Agada Apochi, disclosed during the launch on 27 September, 2019 that it took nearly a decade to finally convince Amex to accept transactions from Nigeria and in the West African market.

“We are pleased to launch our

first Nigerian acquiring partnership with UP and look forward to working with UP to help merchants grow their businesses,” Catherine Malec, vice president of Bank Partnerships for American Express said in a statement. “Nigeria is an important destination for our card members and this is the latest step in extending the AXP footprint across Africa.”

While in Nigeria, Amex is expected to leverage UP’s relationship with a wide network of merchants to become pervasive in the market.

“We have a relationship with different merchants and today they are doing a lot of transactions electronically,” he said. “We have brought American Express to the table. Thus Amex card holders from any part of the world can now do business with Nigeria and in Nigeria. We are sure that they can make payment without the use of cash. We are making it easy for merchants and businesses in Nigeria to grow their sales.”

He also added that it is UP’s way of contributing to the ease of doing business initiatives of the Nigerian government.

The company’s statement also revealed that under the terms of agreement, UP will be directly responsible for recruiting new merchants to accept American Express Cards, and managing the ongoing relationships.

UP and Amex have proactively resolved concerns like exchange rates and security that customers may have. Amex uses the official rate for transactions involving naira and

other currencies in the world.

“Nigeria through UP is the first company in the world to adopt chip-and-pin end to end,” Apochi said. “While other markets or countries were still doing magnetic strip together with chip-and-pin, we stopped magnetic strip in Nigeria.

The experience has been awesome.

Nigerian businesses have not experienced fraud when foreign card holders come and transact with them using the platform of UP. That is what we know how to do best.”

UP, in it’s more than twenty years existence, has gone through transformations. It was first incorporated as Smartcard Nigeria Plc and later known as ValuCard Nigeria Plc before it became UP or Unified Payments following the decommissioning of the domestic-only payment or card scheme and transformation to scheme-neutral and option-neutral PayFintech Company with ownership of different technologies.

Recently the company announced a product known as UP Hourly Settlement Service (UP-HSS) which ensures that merchants get their funds on an hourly basis with full settlement reports that aid them in reconciling their daily sales.

Settlement can be done for any merchant irrespective of the card brand used to initiate the transaction or the processor of the card. This is against the existing next-day settlement after they have parted with goods or services, otherwise known as T+ or Transaction Day + 1.

Insurers restructure portfolios to get higher tier certification Modestus Anaesoronye

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head of October 1, 2018 date when the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) is expected to release the classification of insurance companies, in line with the Tier-Based Minimum Solvency Capital Policy, some insurers are tinkering with their portfolio structure to get higher tier certification.

Business Day findings show that some firms in order to play in the higher tier levels are considering trading-off a particular license to enable them channel their resources and strength to areas where they have capacity, particularly for composite businesses.

While others on the other hand, are negotiating mergers and acquisi-

tion to enable them play in the Tier of their choice and participate in higher level risks.

Mohammed Kari, commissioner for Insurance/CEO, NAICOM who confirmed the development said, the TBMSC provides window of opportunity for specialization.

“You must not be in Tier one, some companies have applied to us that they will like to play in Tier1 life and Tier 2 general, or Tier 2 life and Tier 1 general and so and so forth, and we are granting them,” Kari said.

According to him, the beauty of this capital regime is that, it allows you to do what you have the capacity to do, than compelling everyone to go and raise fresh capital at this time when we know that the economic situation now may notbefavourableforraisingfreshfunds.

Though NAICOM had planned to use the 2017 Annual Accounts and first half audited financial as benchmark for reclassification, the Commission may have relaxed some of the conditions to give more companies opportunity to strengthen capacity with readily availablecashaheadtheOctober1,deadline when curtain will be drawn.

Some groups of shareholders are however in Court, to restrain NAICOM from continuing with the TBMSC. In the new Tier-Based Minimum Solvency Capital, Tier 3 companies are those that fall within existing paid up capitals of N2 billion for life business; N3 billion for non-life business and N5 billion for composite business.

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com

Friday 28 September 2018

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19 firms express interest in Afam Power, Yola Disco DIPO OLADEHINDE

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ureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has intensifies plans to sell Afam Power Company and the Yola Distribution Company (YDC) as 19 firms have expressed interest in acquiring the two corporation put up for sale by the Federal Government.

At the close of the submission of bids for the Expression of Interest (EOIs) for the two power companies, seven companies submitted bids to buy Afam Power Company while 12 submitted for the Yola Disco.

Amina Tukur, head, public communications, BPE, in a statement shortly after the 1pm deadline for the submission of EoIs for the two companies on Tuesday, September 26, 2018, said among the companies that bid were renowned players in the power industry.

“The Evaluation Committee earlier set up by the Bureau to scrutinize the bids was immediately after the expiry of the deadline, inaugurated by the Bureau’s director of energy, Yunana Malo to commence work,” Tukur said.

Stakeholders in the power sector have said it is improper for the federal government to put Yola Electric Distribution Company up for sale, given that it is performing better than most of the other Discos that are privatised.

They wondered if the real value of the Disco would be realised if it is sold now in view of the fact that the circumstances that made the core investor to return the Disco back to the government which is insecurity is still very much prevalent.

It would be recalled that although Yola Distribution Company was successfully privatized and handed over

to the core investor in 2013, a force majeure was declared in 2015 by the core investor citing insecurity in the NorthEast region of the country.

According to some stakeholders who spoke to BusinessDay, the Boko Haram insurgency is big challenge to any investor as it’s seems intensified even though the government claimed that the group has been technically defeated. They also cited the problems of the Fulani herdsmen another major factor threatening investments in that region.

The Fulani herdsmen problem has led to displacement of a number of people in Taraba and Adamawa States which were considered as relatively peaceful before now. They said it would be difficult for any investor to want stake his money on the company given the level of uncertainty prevailing in the areas covered by the distribution company.

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Death toll climbs 199 as heavy rains wreak havoc in states CYNTHIA IKWUETOGHU

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ince late August 2018, nearly 200 people have died in large-scale flooding caused by heavy rains across 12 states in Nigeria, as this has caused the two main rivers (Niger and Benue) to overflow.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said yesterday that 199 people had lost their lives. Also, 12 states and 50 local governments have been identified as front lines states likely to be affected by flooding.

More than 826,000 people have been impacted in 10 states. However, “numbers are expected to rise further as assessments are still ongoing in some states,” as stated by NEMA in a report.

“About 150,000 hectares (371,000 acres) of agricultural land has been destroyed and 200,000 people have been displaced.”

Shelter, food, medicine

and non-food items such as mosquito nets, mats, hygiene kits, and family kits remained priority needs across all affected states.

Meanwhile, alerts by Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) indicate that the flooding could reach the scale of the last major event in September 2012, as “the indices that caused the 2012 river flooding have manifested, except spillage of water from the Lagdo Dam.” The 2012 flood occurrence displaced 2.2 million people and resulted in 363 deaths. On Wednesday, the hydrological agency warned of possible flooding in seven states of the federation such as Kwara, Niger, Kebbi, Kogi, Delta, Anambra and Bayelsa.

Kainji and Jebba dams were already spilling water downstream, while the level of water in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, has exceeded the corresponding value in 2012.

Furthermore, NEMA de-

clared national disaster in the four worst affected states - Anambra, Delta, Kogi and Niger. Eight more states have been placed under red alert.

“The flooding has not only devastated towns and villages along the rivers but also destroyed crops and killed livestock,” Abubakar Kende, secretary general, Nigerian Red Cross, said.

More so, Kende warned that one of the biggest concerns following this type of extensive floods was the threat of cholera and other diseases.

“Lack of sanitation, healthcare and clean water could have deadly consequences and add to the nearly 28,000 suspected cases of cholera reported across Nigeria since January,” he said.

The emergency agency stated in a report on September 24, that N12.14 billion was required by NEMA, of which N3 billion was available and N9.14 billion fund was unmet.

Lagos Summer School seeks new generation of scholars to drive innovation

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he second Lagos Summer School of Digital Humanities (LSSDH-2018), a multidisciplinary forum, is to be inaugurated soon with the aim of raising, training and equipping a new generation of scholars that will drive innovation and contribute to the quest for smart cities and knowledge-based society.

Akinwunmi Ambode, governor of Lagos State, is expected to declare the school open October 2, at a ceremony that will be chaired by Toyin Ogundipe, vice chancellor, University of Lagos.

A statement by the convener, Tunde Opeibi, a former senior special assistant to Lagos State governor, recalls that the same

governor inaugurated the maiden edition in 2017.

LSSDH is a pioneering initiative in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa and the 2018 edition expects seasoned and experienced international speakers and facilitators from Germany, Canada and the USA. Participants from Cameroon, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo as well as from several institutions in Nigeria will attend the one-week technology-driven workshops.

The Summer School is organised by the Faculty of Arts, University of Lagos and the Institute for Digital Humanities, University of Cologne Germany and is funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, Germany.

L-R: Oluseun Ajayi, chairman, Sovereign Trust Insurance plc; Olaotan Soyinka, MD/CEO, and Ugochi Odemelam, executive director, marketing /business development, during the 23rd annual general meeting of the company in Lagos, yesterday. Pic by Pius Okeosisi

Samsung Heavy Industries clarifies ownership of SHI -MCI FZE KELECHI EWUZIE

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amsung Heavy Industries Nigeria (SHIN) has refuted the claims made by the management of Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics (LADOL) Free Zone that it violated local content laws in technology transfer, saying in the course of the execution of the Egina Floating, Production, Supply and Offloading (FPSO) SHI-MCI created over 2,000 direct employment.

It further says under its capacity development initiatives, 105 Nigerians were sent on a six-month training to Korea.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Lagos, Thursday, Frank Ejizu, chief operating office, and Yong Ho Jo, managing director, both

of SHIN, said the welding qualification centre trained 600 trainees as part of capacity development, adding that SHIN paid LADOL $2.7 million to set up training centre, but 3 years down the line, LADOL has not completed the ground work.

On the ownership of the SHI -MCI FZE, which is the company that operates the fabrication and integration yard, Ejizu stated that LADOL, which is represented by MCI, holds 30 per cent interest, while SHI owns 70 per cent stake in the yard, According to Ejizu, “Due to inability of MCI (LADOL’s subsidiary) to bring equity for 80 per cent share in 2013, we had to agree on making MCI to be the proper partner by giving them 30 per cent share of SHI-MCI FZE.

Through lengthy arbitration, we agreed that the SHIN with 70 percent share would operate SHI-MCI, while MCI with 30 per cent share will stay non-executory directors.

“Basically, SHIN paid MCI to make them a shareholder. Thus, it is utterly out of logic that LADOL and MCI has brought this matter to court. Their request to give them back 50 per cent can only be seen as ungrateful action. If they wanted more shares they had choice to exercise call option, which they have not.”

While reacting to the cancellation of its operating licence by LADOL, Ejizu stated that the company did not receive any money from any international oil company (IOC) to build the yard in LADOL free zone.

Buhari, Obaseki, other African leaders meet on continental fight against corruption

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resident Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State and presidents of other African Union member states have held a high-levelled meeting in New York on strategies to rid the continent of corruption.

The session with the theme: “African Union High-levelled Meeting on Winning the Fight Against Corruption: Leveraging International Cooperation to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals in Africa” was led by President Buhari, as the champion of the fight against corruption, who presented the keynote address.

The event, which was organised by the African Union Commission with

Rwanda, as country of the AU chairperson, followed an earlier bilateral meeting by President Buhari, in company of Governor Obaseki, the minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama and officials of the Nigerian Embassy in the United States, with the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres.

Recall that Buhari had advocated for a global effort to fight corruption, considering the negative impact it is having on countries, such as illegal migration and poverty, in his address at the United Nations General Assembly, much earlier.

The General Assembly is one of the six main organs of the United Nations.

The Nigerian president told the audience that:

“Corruption within countries and illicit flow of funds across national boundaries have huge negative impact on the stability, peace, and economic prospects of millions in developing countries.

“Corruption significantly deprives national Governments of resources to provide meaningful livelihoods to their populations who are predominantly youths, thus giving rise to more irregular migration.

“The fight against corruption, therefore, involves us all. It is in our collective interest to cooperate in tracking illicit financial flows, investigate and prosecute corrupt individuals and entities and repatriate such funds to their countries of origin.”

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Friday 28 September 2018

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Mobile video provides platform for creativity

JULIET EHIMUAN-CHIAZOR Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor is country manager, Google Nigeria

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ith more than half of Nigeria’s approximately 193 million people accessing the internet, many of them via their phones, mobile devices have become an indispensable tool that can be used to inform, entertain, and grow a business. As smartphones become more pervasive in the country, people’s ability to be more innovative when it comes to how they create and consume content grows too.

By 2019, video is expected to make up around 90 percent of overall internet traffic. And by 2022, it is estimated that 75 percent of mobile data will be spent on video. Meanwhile in Nigeria, time spent watching YouTube on mobile devices increased by 150 percent in 2016. Digital consumers are focused on accessing information relevant to them. They can cherry-

pick the content they want to watch, with many sites providing a level of customisation (thanks to data analytics) that was not possible before.

That is not to say that they are opting to only use mobile for their video consumption. Instead, it has led to the development of a multiscreen society where people are using televisions, mobile phones, tablets, and other devices in unison for a more dynamic experience.

Unique formats Some would consider mobile video as just another content category the same way social media is viewed as an extension of news media. Even worse, some brands and creative agencies are using online video platforms as a repository for the content they produce in an offline environment. Yet, online offers so much more potential than being a glorified storage space.

As technologies evolve, so too do the online platforms that each provide different aesthetics, languages, and engagement models.

Much of this change is driven by what users want and not by what brands dictate, unlike in the offline world. Online video requires a different creative approach and different forms of storytelling than what many agencies are used to.

And thanks to the development of platforms like YouTube, the creative opportunities when it comes to developing video are endless.

In fact, the YouTube generation of

‘

By 2019, video is expected to make up around 90 percent of overall internet traffic. And by 2022, it is estimated that 75 percent of mobile data will be spent on video…. in Nigeria, time spent watching YouTube on mobile devices increased by 150 percent in 2016

’

content creators are seeing a rise in young and innovative Nigerians taking control of their own video experiences. With much of their focus being on a mobile audience, apps like YouTube Go provide a more convenient way for people to consume the content. This

approach to the medium (through an app interface) is reshaping the concept of creativity for brands and agencies alike, unlocking new opportunities of creative expression and new forms of storytelling.

Being authentic For this younger generation, much of the focus is on authenticity and creating relatable content. It is less about scripted stories and using actors. Instead, things like stunts, documentaries, and social experiments are becoming popular.

Agencies in Nigeria are waking up to this with the increase in branded content. This might take a serialised format of clips ranging from two to three minutes to once-off campaigns that are more relatable to people. Just think about the recent Under Armour campaign with the Nigerian bobsled team. Sure, the five-part documentary highlighted the brand, but the focus was on the journey these women took in getting to the Olympics.

Thanks in part to the growth of Nollywood, Nigerians are familiar with how storytelling can vary based on location, events, and the things that are important to them. Similarly, mobile video takes that a level further by empowering neighbourhood bloggers to create uniquely tailored content to more specific areas than what mainstream movies and television can do.

flow of contextual data that comes from users (geolocation, the kind of device used, time of the day or activity). Content creators can use those insights to design multiple messages to reach people at the right time, occasion or location with meaningful and contextual messages that can surprise, inspire, and create personal experiences.

Part of this process is being aware that people are no longer timebound to when they watch content and what the length of content should be. So, each piece of content can be tailored according to what the viewer expectation would be.

These can include everything from long-form stories to traditional ads.

Even quick bites of impactful content, such as six-second ‘bumpers’.

These punchy videos can be used to either tease a campaign, amplify some aspects of it, or reinforce a key message or call to action.

Agencies therefore need to consider how they approach storytelling in a six-second format as well as a 30-minute one. It is not about condensing the latter into the former.

Instead it is evolving the message to suit the length.

The creative possibilities for brands, agencies, and consumers are limitless. Given the tools, platforms, and number of viewers available, there is no better time to be involved in advertising and marketing.

Adding context This is also resulting in a continuous

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Linking human values and violence to national economic development

EJIKE NWOLISA Nwolisa is an economist based in Lagos

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he value of human life is intrinsic. Several studies have attempted to empirically determine the value of human life in monetary terms. The most popular of such studies is the Value of Statistical Life (VSL) research. VSL, as an estimate of how much people are willing to pay to reduce their risk of death is, now an acceptable tool in cost-benefit analysis for public sector projects. Some scientists have even gone a step further to estimate that the chemicals in a human body are worth about $160 but a human life is certainly worth more than the value of its chemical components.

The value placed on human life in any society is dependent on the society’s human values. Human values include social and cultural values which influence people’s behavior including their actions as economic agents and market participants. Unfortunately, economists have continued to de-emphasize the importance of human value largely because of the misconception that its effects on eco-

nomic behavior is indirect and small when compared with the impact of other factors of demand and supply.

The complexities in modeling ethical issues in contemporary economic research further pushed the study of the impact of human values on economic development to the sideline of economic analysis. However, although there might not be an empirically proven evidence, it is intuitively known to policy makers that the root cause of societal ills is the erosion of human values. It is therefore surprising that MDGs that were designed to measure development do not even mention things like justice and people security as parameters.

Since independence, Nigeria has been on downward slide on ethics in all spheres. Integrity, diligence and dignity of labor as well as other human virtues are now scarce commodities despite our acclaimed religious purity. With decreasing regards for human values, human relationships in Nigeria have become more materialistic and selfish.

Trust and honor have taken a flight from our national space. Now, Personal ambition is ahead of personal integrity and personal interest far outweighs national interest. The desperation to survive has made a significant number of the youthful population that would have been a demographic advantage to resort to all manner of criminality. An average Nigerian wants to be rich with no regards for human and ethical values as part of the process of making money. As the gap between genuine aspirations and attainable

achievements widens, the frustrated minds and the unemployed combine to make the country an environment for violence. 2017 statistics from Global Peace Index rated Nigeria as the 16th most violent country in the world. In Sub Saharan Africa alone, the country is ranked the 5th most violent nation.

Unemployment and income inequality tend to be correlated with high rate of armed violence. Several surveys have indicated that unemployment is often the most cited reason why young people join gangs and engage in all manner of illegality. According to the Brookings Institute, Nigeria has already overtaken India as the country with the largest number of extreme poor in early 2018. Nigeria has about 87million people in extreme poverty compared with India’s 73million.

Extreme poverty in Nigeria is estimated to be growing by 6 people every minute.

Using the South-south region as a reference point, the high correlation between unemployment and high rate of armed violence is theoretically visible.

The outcome of unemployment and militancy in the Niger-Delta region is that today, Nigeria waterways are regarded as some of the most dangerous in the world according to International Maritime Bureau. The International Chamber of Commerce reported that there were a total of 87 reported cases of piracy in Nigerian waters in the first half of 2017 alone. The economic implications of this includes but not limited to higher shipping cost as shippers begin to factor higher insurance premium into their pricing. From 2008 to date, insurance premiums for ships travelling to Nigeria have risen from 0.05% to 0.180% of the value of the cargo.

The increased insurance costs are ultimately passed on to the consumers thereby making export and imports less competitive relative to other countries with calmer waterways. The huge funds spent on further fortifying maritime security is a significant cost for an economy that is in dire need of funds for development. NIMASA alone spends about $217million on counter piracy. Crime and armed violence mutates and worsens if the perpetuators are allowed to thrive.

While the growth of sea piracy emboldens other interconnected illegal businesses such as human trafficking and smuggling, it also negatively affects other related sectors of the economy such as fishing and tourism.

This is just a topline analysis of the effects of armed gangs in the maritime industry alone. Even the seemingly unending Boko Haram crisis many believed has its roots fundamentally in poverty, unemployment, and political/religious manipulation of the poor in the Northern Nigeria. A rebel leader in South Sudan once said that “if life is so cheap, it pays to rebel.”

Countries that are affected by political violence, organized crime, exceptionally high murder rates and ethnic conflicts tend to suffer almost the same effects with those in civil war. Although it is difficult to empirically measure the aggregate impact of armed robbers, kidnappers, “yahooyahoo”, “yahoo-plus”, ritualists, smugglers, Boko Haram, and other criminal minded elements on our quest for economic development, Global Peace Index estimated that the direct and indirect economic cost of violence on

the Nigerian economy is $121.1billion (PPP) in 2017 representing about 11% of the country’s GDP (PPP).

According to Viridiana Rios, a research fellow in Harvard University, an increase of 9.8% in the number of criminal organizations is enough to eliminate one economic sector.

Similar effects can be felt if homicides rate increase by more than 22.5% or if gang-related violence increase by 5.4%. No poor violent country has achieved any of the MDGs target set by UN in 2008. As a rule of the thumb, countries that suffer large scale violence lose almost 1% in poverty reduction each year. Thus, violence trap or “conflict-fragilitypoverty trap” might be indeed one of the under-studied major constraints to national development.

Mankind knows that a peaceful country is far better than a violent nation. It is not a rocket science that the eradication of extreme poverty is impossible if parts of the country continue to be wrecked by violence. It is therefore paramount that preventing violence should be given much greater priority and the causes and consequences of armed violence elevated to a strategic level. Investing on preventing and reducing armed violence therefore makes basic investment sense.

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COMMENT

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Is there biosafety in Nigeria?

NNIMMO BASSEY Bassey is the Director of the Ecological Think Tank, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF)

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t a recent Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) dialogue with farmers, most of the participants declared that they have never heard of anything called genetically modified organisms (GMOs). When they got to know what GMOs are, they all declared that genetically modified crops are bad for our agriculture and overall environment.

Despite huge financial outlays in modern agricultural biotechnology roadshows, the people remain unaware of these commercially and politically driven organisms that are rapidly being released into our markets and environment. Without free and clear knowledge of these artificial organisms, it can be said plainly that the right of our people to safe food and safe environment is being officially breached with crass impunity.

As we speak, the promises of the first-generation GMOs that are being promoted in Nigeria are unraveling–– with persistent failures being recorded around the world. Herbicide use has increased rather than reduce––of course the toxic chemicals are made by the makers of the GMO seeds.

ABUBAKAR GWANDU Gwandu writes from Kaduna

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t is no longer news that some young men and women numbering hundreds stormed the headquarters of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) a few weeks ago to protest what they termed illegal suspension of the employment of some 43 youth, whom they claimed were duly recruited by the Commission.

They grieved over Mustapha Ajiya, said to have died, unable to afford medical care while awaiting the lifting of their assumption of duty.

The youth and the Acting Director General of PenCom, Aisha Dahir-Umar, have been trading words in the public. The Acting DG has argued that she met a 19th April 2017 letter by the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Federal Character, Hon. Ahmed Idris, directing the Commission to suspend any employments.

She has also alleged that the previous PenCom leadership had quickly issued the letters of employment without obtaining the Certificate of Compliance from the Federal Character Commission, FCC. This, she said, resulted in the Federal Character not approving the employments.

However, the youth have virtually torn her arguments apart with some

Pesticide use has not waned even though Bt crops (crops inserted with gene from the organism, Bacterium thuringiensis) are essentially engineered to act as pesticides themselves.

Farmers are trapped in debt in the cotton fields of India because of the seeds-chemicals trap traceable to GMO Shylocks. GMO infested South American countries are reeling from chemical poisons on farmworkers and in farm-fence communities. In the United States of America, Monsanto was ordered to pay $289m in damages to Dewayne Johnson after a jury found that the company’s Roundup weed-killer caused him cancer.

There are over 4000 similar cases in the USA. The safety of GMOs and the claim that GMOs yield higher than normal crops have not been proven.

The old GMOs are now being joined by more extreme variants known as Gene Drives. That target whole populations, involve gene editing and do not involve cross-species gene transfers. They pose special and unique dangers to Nigeria and Africa.

The first danger is that our regulators are gullible and tend to be remotely controlled by forces that promote untested technologies. The second danger is that even the dangers and risks are known, they are happy to allow experimentations and expose our people, communities and environment to be used as guinea pigs.

Two cases to buttress this assertion relate to biotechnology experimentations in Burkina Faso. Firstly, was the failure of Monsanto’s Bt cotton in that country that led to the phase out of the GMO from Burkina Faso. The same GMO cotton that failed is now to be released in Nigeria, the second testing ground for an unnecessary and failed product. Of course, the local experts serving as midwives or middle men of the technology in Nigeria are celebrating that they can release the varieties

into our environment without check, without questions.

Secondly, modern biotechnology entrepreneurs like Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are funding Target Malariato release 10,000 gene drive mosquitoes, in a village in Burkina Faso without our relatives there being truly aware of what would be bitting them. The gene drive mosquitoes are designed to crash the population of female anopheles mosquito species that transmit malaria parasite. Risks of this untested technology include the fact that they could have unexpected ecological problems, could be used as a weapon of war and is deployed without real prior informed consent of the poor villagers. This is another technofix to tackle a problem that has roots in poor sanitation and socio-economic inequities, among others.

A great risk is that the influencers of the technologies in Nigeria are already trumpeting that Nigeria must jump on the gene drive train just because we must, as a people, play the neocolonial catch-up game with targets set offshore.

We need to interrogate not just the technology but also the regulation of the technologies. We need to ask why an application from a company like WACOT Ltd was approved when the only backing document, as published on NBMA’s website was a sheet of paper showing varieties of genetically modified maize approved by some European countries.

This application was approved although there has been no risks assessment in Nigeria and even though approval in the EU does not in any way confer automatic acceptance of those things in countries outside of the jurisdiction within which they were approved. The application did not state that about half of EU countries do not allow these varieties of maize into their countries.

For Nigeria, anything goes because everything is safe for Nigerians no matter how toxic they may be to others.

‘

The safety of GMOs and the claim that GMOs yield higher than normal crops have not been proven

’

A grave problem with this approval of genetically modified maize for production of feed by WACOT Ltd is that the company sought and obtained the approval after being adjudged to have imported the GM maize without due approval and had been asked to repatriate the maize to Argentina from where it was imported. A further issue that cannot be ignored is that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had been notified of the impounding of the illegal and unauthorized trans boundary movement of the genetically modified maize into Nigeria. According to reports, the FEC was also informed that the offending company had been asked to send back the illegal shipment. Yet, the same illegally imported grains were approved for release and use by the company.

The repatriation order proved to be a mere smokescreen. The company was further licensed to import the supposedly EU approved GM maize over a period of three years.

As you all know, Health of Mother Earth Foundation along with 16 other civil society groups filed a suit challenging the granting of permits to Monsanto Agriculture Nigeria Ltd for the confined field trial of genetically modified maize (NK603 and MON 89034 x NK603)) as well as commercial release of Bt cotton earlier

mentioned. We challenged the permit based on strong scientific, sociologyeconomic, environment and administrative concerns. We also drew attention of the court to the fact that the approvals were granted on Sunday 1 May 2016 a mere one working day after the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) acknowledged that they had received our copious objections and promised to consider them.

They obviously did not consider the views expressed in our objections. The judge eventually struck out the case based on the technicality of the case being statute barred. In other words, the case was struck out because we filed the suit more than three months after the permits were granted. The GMO promoters of all shades, both local and international, have crowed that the decision of the court equals an open door for any sort of GMOs to be brought into the country. That is an absolutely specious understanding of the court’s decision. The judge clearly stated that case was not struck out for lack of cause but because the particular action was statute barred. No time for celebration, Monsanto chiefs!

We will go into more details concerning the reasons Nigerians have to worry about the state of biosafety in the country. There is certainly time for that. Although we may no longer waste our time and resources sending objections to a regulator that disdains public opinion, we will not shirk our responsibility to demand safe and suitable foods for our peoples.

• Welcome words by Nnimmo Bassey, Director of the Ecological Think Tank, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) at a Media Training on Promoting Biosafety in Nigeria – held on 25 September 2018 in Abuja, Nigeria

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PENCOM crisis: Beyond the youth protests plausible and convincing facts.

The group’s spokesperson argued: “There is nothing like quickly issued appointment letters. Aptitude tests/interviews were conducted in December 2016/January 2017 and the Commission waited till March 2017 after receipt of the Certificate of Compliance before issuing the appointment letters. And if Mrs. Oninyangi indeed issued appointment letters without such approval, why has she not been queried, investigated, and sacked for close to two years now?

The spokesperson of FCC, Abdullahi Idris, also vindicated the youth when he told a national daily (Daily Trust, 5thSeptember 2018) that “The FCC had no reason to order the cancellation of a legitimate recruitment process; FCC frowns at organisations, who after being duly issued with Certificate of Compliance will turn around to cancel same without genuine reason.”

As further argued by the youth, Aisha’s claim of federal character balancing does not hold water because you can only employ people who applied for jobs, met the criteria, and passed the interviews.

And importantly, the statistics of the appointments shows geopolitically balance. Federal character balancing in terms of states is addressed over time, not in one fell swoop.

Another plausible argument

by the youth is that it was illegal to suspend already concluded employment on the strength of a letter by a House Committee Chairman- assuming there was any such letter. The purported letter was dated 19th April 2017, but the recruitment was already concluded and appointment letters issued to successful candidates by March 2017. By then, the Commission and the newly recruited staff had already entered into a legally binding contract, which their employment letters represent. Many of them, like the late Mustapha Ajiya, had also resigned their previous little jobs to take up the PenCom employments on the strength of that contract. And if she is so sure of her facts, why didn’t PenCom write the new recruits, instead of resorting to mere phone calls?

Equally sound is their argument that a letter from the Chairman of a House of Representatives Committee does not represent a resolution of the House, which itself does not even carry the force of law, although weightily advisory and persuasive.

And where there is a House resolution, it is usually conveyed by the Clerk of the House, not a Committee Chairman.

It is clear therefore, that DahirUmar is rather clutching to straws to save her face and neck in the heat of the embarrassing youth protest since the inception of PenCom. So, the protesting youth were deservedly

incensed by the fact that the employment suspension and rigmaroles happened because the new recruits are the children of nobodies, and sons and daughters of citizens without addresses.

But beyond the protests are the yawning leadership schism, rot, and impunity that have been the lot of PenCom under the leadership of Dahir-Umar, without a PenCom Exco and Board since April 2017. The employment saga is only one of the many legal infringements bedevilling the pension industry under a one-woman rule.

What does one say about a situation where an Acting DG increases the exit allowances of herself and other senior staff by 300 percent and commences payment, which should have been at the end of the beneficiaries’ service? What does one say about a situation where an Acting DG unilaterally increases the positions of General Managers, GMs, from 10 to 17 for just a parastatal like PenCom? Yet Section 25 (2) (a) of the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014 provides that “The Board shall have power to approve rules and regulations relating to the appointment, promotion, and disciplinary measures for the employees of the Commission”. Section 25 (2) (b) provides that PenCom Board shall also have power to “fix the remu-

neration, allowances and benefits of the employees of the Commission”. Section 24 (n) of PRA 2014 is clear that the Commission can only “make changes to its structure with the approval of the Board.”

The above scenarios of lawlessness and other stories of alleged profligacy, contract bazars, conflicts of interests, abandonment of regulatory mandates, administrative flip––flops, stagnation of the all––important Pension Administrative System (PASS)/Micro Pension Scheme, and staff disenchantment all point to leadership failure cum absence of it.

Section 31 of the PRA 2014 clearly states: “There shall be an Executive Committee of the Commission consisting of the DirectorGeneral and four Commissioners”.

One Commissioner each takes charge of Administration, Technical, Finance and Investment, and Inspectorate Departments to ensure the effective administration of the pension industry. Unfortunately, only an Acting DG is in place since April 2017.

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Editorial PUBLISHER/CEO

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

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

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

Friday 28 September 2018

Nigeria’s lame walk and declining investment in education

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enturies ago, Plato wrote that “If a man neglects education, he walks lame to the end of his life.”

That statement is true today as it was then. The venerable Nelson Mandela lays credence to Plato’s statement by saying that “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” In today’s world when every nation has shifted attention to education and investing heavily on it as the bedrock for development, Nigeria continues to pay lip services to the education of her citizens.

On this page, and on several pages of BusinessDay, we had aired stories where we called government’s attention to the dilapidated form of the nation’s education. On September 14, 2018, we published a story where we demonstrated that “Nigeria lags behind in articulating a clear strategy for the fast emerging era of the fourth industrial revolution when knowledge will be the main resource that drives economic growth,” as against some African coun-

tries such as Ghana, Rwanda, etc. who are making practical efforts in giving its populace a head-start in preparing them for the competition ahead in the global knowledge economy.

When economist Jim O’Neill coined the acronym, MINT (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey) as the next emerging economies of the world after BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China), he had projected that by 2050 Nigeria would be a super power in the world economic circle.

Analysts had projected that if Nigeria gets its act together, she could match Chinesestyle double-digit growth rate in the nearest future. Research shows, however, that while other MINT members are working towards their economic prosperity, Nigeria remains backwards in its quest to achieve economic prosperity, one of which is its lackadaisical attitude towards the education of its future generations. For example, while Indonesia, Turkey and Mexico budgeted 17.2%, 18% and 14% of their respective 2018 budget to education, Nigeria’s government earmarked a degrading 7% to education. The

Finance Minister of Turkey, NaciAğbal, even announced that “the lion’s share of the 2018 budget will be for education expenditure.”

According to the available data, at the moment over 60 percent of children of school age are out of school in Nigeria. This is not accidental.

Study shows that since 2010, the three years of the Buhari administration have witnessed both reduction and declining in budgetary allocations to education, the least being 2018 budget with 7.04% allocation to education.

It wasn’t surprising that the World Bank recently ranked Nigeria 171 out of 195 for its investments in education, health and human capital development, even below Democratic Republic of Congo and just ahead of Zambia. Already, Nigeria has been designated the poverty capital of the world with approximately six people being through into extreme poverty every minute and eight thousand every day.

Nigeria’s 2016 171 ranking represents a drop from its 1990 ranking of 155th.

Like the authors of the study said, there is a close association between investments in

education and health and improved human capital and GDP- which policy makers often ignore at their own peril.

The implication is clear: Nigeria does not prioritise education and does not see it as the key to economic growth and prosperity.

Education is at the heart of all development and growth in every society. It makes every human development possible, from advancement in health technology, agricultural innovations, manufacturing equipment to efficient public/ private efficient administration. Any society or nation that ignores investments in education jeopardises its future, its long-term development and even the emancipation of its people.

If the Nigerian government does not have a rethink and reset its thinking on education, our teeming population will continue to walk lame and aimlessly while other countries empower their citizens to take charge of their lives, be competitive globally and also develop their countries. Like the World Bank advises, we need to invest early and invest smartly so that we do not miss out altogether.

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14 BUSINESS DAY Policy

Investments

Market

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Insight

Friday 28 September 2018

Influencers

INVESTMENTS

Africa has to lead in terms of renewable energy - Macron Stories by ISAAC ANYAOGU

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mmanuel Macron, president of France has called on African leaders to rise to the challenge of innovating smart policies that would help the continent improve energy access for millions of people without access to power rather than hoping to catch up with the rest of the world.

Speaking at the 2018 Goalkeepers event organised by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in New York, on September 26, to draw measure progress made in achieving the sustainable development goals, Macron said that Africa should not take advantage of the innovative technologies available to leapfrog development in

Emmanuel Macron

their countries with necessary seeking to replicate the development path followed

by Western countries.

“Africa has the most advanced mobile payment systems, this is because you did wait to set up tele-

communication masts and build new equipments and cables but you keyed into the mobile phone revolu-

Two SEforALL projects’ investment prospectus reach financial close

INVESTMENTS

Africa50 supporting clean energy - CEO

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frica50, an infrastructure investment platform says it is supporting the development of Africa’s natural gas resources to help countries produce clean power, accelerate their industrialization and provide affordable energy to households, Alain Ebobissé, the company’s CEO said in New York, as he announced the release of Africa50’s report Investing in Natural Gas for Africans: Doing Good and Doing Well.

In remarks at an Atlantic Council conference on the margins of the UN General Assembly, Ebobissé, said “We at Africa50 are ready to take a leadership role in developing Africa’s gas resources to help the continent reach its full economic potential. This report provides us and other stakeholders the background and analysis to move forward expeditiously,” emphasizes CEO Ebobisse.

Africa50, has been investing in solar and thermal power projects in Nigeria, Egypt, and Senegal. Recognizing the disconnect between Africa’s vast natural gas reserves (7.5% of known global reserves) and the continent’s low levels of gas infrastructure, and the resulting low penetration of gas in African economies,

Africa50 commissioned a report from EJM Associates to analyze the opportunities and benefits of natural gas development in Africa. The report explores the scale of potential domestic demand by mid-century, and the technologies that can help increase this demand and the concomitant supply and infrastructure.

With over half of Africans still lacking access to electricity, using natural gas as a power source is particularly important. Gas is also a feedstock for a large range of industrial products and can help speed up Africa’s muchneeded industrialization.

And, for a continent particularly at risk from climate change, natural gas is a clean

fuel that will help African countries meet their COP commitments, the company said in a release.

As highlighted in the report, gas already fires a quarter of all power plants in Africa and is the single largest source of installed capacity (86 GW). However, most gas power plants are limited to coastal areas in countries with large proven reserves, so midstream infrastructure, from pipelines to LNG facilities, are urgently needed.

Equally important, both for the continent’s development and to build the necessary demand to attract investment, are gas byproducts such as liquified petroleum gas (LPG)

Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa50 speaking during the conference as Emma Delaney, regional president, West Africa BP, looks on

tion and I believe this is kind of innovation required to develop Africa,” said president Macron.

The French president in a passionate appeal urged African leaders to rise up to the challenge of deploring solar, wind , thermal and other renewable energy forms to improve energy access for over 600 million people in sub Saharan Africa without access to energy.

Africa is blessed with abundant sunshine and especially in Sub Saharan Africa, the region gets more sunlight than most places in the world making the chances of success using solar energy very high. A country like Kenya is located in a region where thermal energy can easily be utilised to deepen energy access. The French president is urging more commitment to harnessing these resources to both mitigate climate change impacts and improve energy access for the people.

and ethane, that can be used for cooking, heating, power, and industry. LPG can help replace biomass as a cooking fuel, with health and environmental benefits such as lower carbon emissions and less deforestation.

And ethane can be used as a feedstock for power generation and petrochemical production, including ethylene, a precursor for plastics. In addition, gas is a key ingredient for fertilizer, which is much needed on a continent that remains largely agricultural.

The technology to increase gas production and distribution and its industrial uses is at hand. What has been missing are investment-ready projects and financing. Africa50, an expert in project development that can use its capital to leverage private sector finance, can fill this need.

Africa50 received initial funding from 27 African shareholder countries, the African Development Bank, the Central Bank of West African States, and the Bank Al-Maghrib. Its mandate seeks to deliver development impact and differentiated financial returns. Africa50 was launched with the goal of helping to address the most pressing impediments to infrastructure provision on the continent.

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

... ISA to provide US $75 million in credits

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he Indian Government has approved concessionary lines of credit to the Nigerian Government for the development of two Solar PV projects developed by the Ministry of Power, Work and Housing and captured in Nigeria’s SEforALL IP, as part of the fallouts of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Founding Conference and Solar Summit held in New Delhi, India earlier this year.

One of the project is being funded with US $8.36 million directed to the Renewable Energy Micro-Utility (REMU) projects – 2 solar mini-grid projects in each of the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria (i.e.

12 projects) with a generation capacity of 10-1000kW each, providing access to electricity to rural customers. The other project is also saw funding of US $66.6 million to the grid-connected 50MW Solar Power Plant in Bauchi State, North-Eastern Nigeria.

This commitment totalling around $75million underscores the confidence of the International Investors in the Nigerian Power Sector and the role the SEforALL Investment Prospectus can play in matching projects with the right investors, says a release by the organisation.

The Federal Government

of Nigeria has a vision to achieve 30,000 megawatts of electricity by the year 2030, with at least 30% from renewable energy sources (Electricity Vision: 30-30-30). To drive this vision, new sustainable energy policies were developed under the auspices of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ICREEE) with the support of various development partners (ECREEE, AfDB, EU, GIZ, WB etc), notably the National Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy (NREEEP) 2015, the National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP), the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP) 2016, and the Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) Action Agenda (AA) 2016.

Nigeria’s Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) – Investment Prospectus (IP) was developed with the support of the SEforALL Africa Hub, hosted by the African Development Bank and the collaboration of various other development Partners: the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), the European Union (EU), the World Bank (WB), and the German International Agency for Cooperation (GIZ).

Graphics: Joel Samson

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COMPANIES & MARKETS

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C& I Leasing announces addition of two new vessels to marine fleet

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

Eko disco records 82.3 % energy loss reduction ...targets 100 per cent complaints resolution Olusola Bello

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ko Electricity Distribution Company plans to attain a 100 per cent complaints resolution before the year ends just as it has also recorded about 82.3 per cent reduction in energy loss in the current financial year, Wola Joseph-Ojoye, the company chief legal officer has said.

This means the organisation has decided to promptly attend to issues brought before it by customers without any delay.

She disclosed this to media men while highlighting the company’s planned activities regarding its forthcoming Customer Service Week which commences on October 1,2018.

She said that the Disco was currently the lowest in terms of ATC and C loss reduction which was achieved through CAPEX investment and has impacted much on attaining the achievement

Eko Disco as a distribution company she explained was constantly ensuring it does its best to ensure effective delivery in spite of the prevalent pipeline vandalism which has affected power generation as well as leading to transmission constraints.

Some of the challenges the company is currently facing she said include bye passing the meters which has resulted in high volume of energy theft, stealing of cables and tariff which does not reflect the current exchange rates.

The Eko Disco’s Company Secretary said that the company which was rated in the National Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC) first quarter report still remained on top when it comes to relating metering, and billing efficiency.

Joseph-Ojoye, then said that the forthcoming Customer Service Week which has its themed, “Experience Happens Here’’ would afford customers the opportunity to have all their complaints

L-R: Audrey Joe-Ezigbo, first vice president; Dada Thomas, president, and Frank Uzoegbunam, publicity secretary, all of Nigerian Gas Association (NGA), during the media briefing on the forthcoming NGA international gas conference and exhibition scheduled Pic by Pius Okeosisi to hold in Abuja, next month in Lagos,

addressed.

The six-day programme would include feeding of 500 people in poor community within its license area, and creating awareness on the

Nigeria’s latest free-to- air TV channels delivered via SES satellites Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson

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ocal television broadcast audiences in Nigeria will now have access to 13 new, high picture quality, free-to-air (FTA) channels on Premium.

FREE, a service supplied by AfricaXP, and delivered using SES satellites at 28.2 degrees East. AfricaXP is the leading independent African channel network, content distributor and producer, which owns and operates over 20 different themed channels supplied to major African broadcasters and African Diaspora platforms worldwide.

The company announced that the new bouquet of FTA channels includes premium channels, which are custommade for African viewers and blend premium African programming with top-flight international content across a diverse range of themes from sports to movies, telenovelas, kids, factual, reality and lifestyle programming.

Its strategic partnership with SES, a leading satellite operator with over 70 satellites in two different orbits will allow for extensive reach of these free to air channels to millions of households across West Africa.

“By choosing to work with SES, PREMIUM.FREE offers our channels full regional coverage for multinational language channels like Hausa.

SES also offers the best possible verified reach in dynamic and important markets like Nigeria,” Craig Kelly, CEO of AfricaXP said.

Kelly told BusinessDay that; “AfricaXP is well known for its compelling Nollywood catalogue and longstanding partnerships with prominent West African producers. We are confident that localisation coupled with our fresh international rights will provide the kind of content blend that modern West African audiences demand. Transmitted free-to-air, this is obviously a great offer at a price point that can’t be beaten.”

IPSAS research shows that SES reaches over 9 million

direct-to-home households across West Africa from its orbital position of 28.2 degrees East. Those households with existing FTA set-top boxes (STBs) will be able to start watching the new channels on their existing STBs for free.

In addition to hosting these TV channels on the ASTRA 2G satellite, SES’ media subsidiary, MX1, is providing the necessary ground services such as up linking, encoding, play out servers, and adinsertion. Clint Brown, vice president of sales and market development for SES said, “The Nigerian FTA market in particular offers great opportunities for growth, and we are proud to have engaged with PREMIUM.FREE to deliver a differentiated content package for Nigeria and offer more choice for viewers.”

“New initiatives like this, which focus on delivering local and international content that is attractive for the end-consumer and is offered in high picture quality will further develop consumer choice in Nigeria,” Clint added.

importance of the customer service week.

Some of the line up activities to mark the week include random phone calls to customers and thank them for

their patronage and assuring of giving them satisfactory service as well as celebrating some officials that met or exceeded targets.

Also, the head Customer

Service Department, Iyiola Ezichi urged customers to always use the various medium of communications on the social media to get their complaints addressed.

KiaKiafx, Turtlewax BDC partner to drive FX transfers

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iaKiaf x , an indigenous fintech company has signed a technical ser vices agreement with Turtlewax BDC to promote the sale of retail FX by allowing users access to its signature platform. From the website, www.Kiakiafx.com customers can transact FX from the comfort of their homes offices via desktop, tablet or mobile device.

With a click and simple feel, the website offers users the opportunity to navigate through KiaKiaFX’s extensive range of FX services with ease.

The website delivers a full user experience, transitioning easily from desktop to mobile devices.

Users can create accounts through a two layered process ; once approved, they are then free to barter FX through a

multi-channel platform v i a c a rd o r K i a K i a F X’s u n i q u e b o o k- o n - h o l d transaction process.

This state of the art highly secured automated payment platform also includes a comprehensive dashboard with the user transaction history and current listings for the daily rates of various currency pairs. With KiaKiaFX.com, customers are saved long conventional trips to their local operators to exchange FX; Even more crucial, KiaKiaFX.com is available 24-7.

Abisoye Coker, managing director of KiaKiaFx, had this to say about the platform, “We are very thrilled about the launch of the website. We hope that users find our interface accessible and easy to use.

The FX market is a growing market worldwide due to increased globalization, and KiaKiaFX has identified a

market need for a transparent and convenient retail space for multiple currency pairs. The site is just the first step of our strategy and we will be communicating future services in the nearest future.”

Olatunbosun SanyaoluOyo, managing director of Turtlewax, added “our customers are very excited with the website. No longer will location and time be a burden for our retail customers.”

Similarly, IyaboAdijat Bello, a director at KiaKiaFX, added that both companies look forward to expanding their businesses while building a long and prosperous partnership.

KiaKiaFX’s website will be regularly updated with news on the company’s services, accomplishments and events as well as recent trends and developments in the FX market.

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COMPANIES & MARKETS

C& I Leasing announces addition of two new vessels to marine fleet

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&I Leasing Plc, has announced its recent acquisition and addition of two brand new 2018 ‘ASD 2913 Tugboats’ named ‘MV Chidiebube’ and ‘MV Folashade’ to its growing vessel fleet.

Both vessels are owned

by C & I Leasing plc in Joint Venture agreement with SIFAX Marine Limited and are to be deployed immediately for a long term assignment with NLNG. The Business Service Conglomerate- C & I Leasing –in July 2018 also concluded the buyout of a 27.5 percent minority stake in C&I Petrotech Marine Ltd and in the process took over complete ownership of six vessels presently deployed in long-term assignment with Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC).

It is noteworthy that these acquisitions have occurred following the successful N7 Billion Bond issue which the company had stated it

raised for business expansion and debt restructure over a period of five years among other initiatives for increased profit margins and returns for shareholders. The acquisition of these new vessels in addition to the buyout transaction of C&I Petrotech is evidence of C&I Leasing’s commitment to expanding its Marine business and service delivery in this segment which it entered in 2010.

Andrew Otike-Odibi, managing director of the Company, said “ C & I Leasing is committed to becoming the most preferred Marine partner for the IOCs in Nigeria. We will continue to follow through on all that needs to be done to meet their needs. These new vessels have been built to specification for the assignment ahead and we are confident they will deliver even beyond expectation.

With every new contract and acquisition, we are careful to take the learnings from the past and improve continuously to serve our clients better. We are sure they will be

very pleased with MV Chidiebube and MV Folashade “.

C & I Leasing Plc has been in operation for over two decades and has since evolved from being a simple finance leasing company licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria

in 1991 to becoming a diversified, leasing and business service conglomerate providing support services to various indigenous and multinational organizations in West Africa along three lines: Fleet Management,

Personnel Outsourcing and Marine Services. The C&I Leasing group of companies has its operational offices in Lagos, Benin, Port-Harcourt, Calabar, Enugu and Abuja.

The company has also been listed on the Nigerian Stock

Exchange since 1997 and is invested in the following subsidiaries - Leasafric Ghana Limited, Epic International FZE Dubai and now C&I Petrotech Marine Limited.

Michael R. Bloomberg, founder, Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, (l) and Kayode Pitan, MD/CEO, Bank of Industry (BoI), who represented President Muhammadu Buhari, at the 2018 Bloomberg Global Business Forum which held in New York, recently.

Dizengoff partners Castlenet Airtel Nigeria launches 4G in to curb cybercrime in Nigeria Delta to boost internet access Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson

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izengoff Nigeria, a leading agriculture and communication technology company, has launched a campaign to propagate proactive measures to curb cybercrime menace using the Palo alto networks technology. This platform includes advanced firewalls and cloud-based offerings that extends those firewalls to cover other aspects of security.

The campaign was launched in partnership with Castlenet Consulting, a company that offers innovative information technology solutions in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, to raise awareness on the need for businesses and organisations to mitigate the impact of increasing sophistication of cyber threats on digital space.

Akanna Iweka, sales channel networks and cyber security manager of Dizengoff who spoke at the launch of the campaign said that Nigeria

is Africa’s biggest economy which puts it on the radar for cyber-attacks. “This means that Nigeria must be abreast of technologies could help the economy stay ahead of cyber criminals,” he said.

“This campaign is to educate businesses and the public about cyber security situations in Nigeria, the risks out there and measures to take to deal with these risks.

“It is to also highlight how everybody can leverage on the technologies we have on the Paloalto networks. It is important that people understand the risks out there and how to protect themselves against it, especially businesses,” Iweka said.

Noting that although Nigeria’s financial sector seems to be most affected by cyber attacks, other business and government organisations are prone to attacks, especially as important data is domiciled in the digital space, Iweka said that Palo alto was the first generation firewall to deal with security at layer seven (the application layer)

and has evolved into a full security suit from perimeter to end point.

Also speaking at the occasion, Jennifer Ibrahim, the pre-sales lead of Castlenet Consulting said that the firm was ensuring that people begin to take preventive measures to protect themselves rather than waiting for a breach to happen.

Ibrahim said that cyber criminals have become more elusive and it is high time Nigerians dealt with the issues with advanced technologies that are currently available.

“With the increasing attacks on organisations, most of them have taken it upon themselves to design several mitigating factors to ensure that as the threat grows, they also pre-empt them.

“There are companies constantly doing research to balance the increase of cybercrime to make us safe.

From our relationship with our clients and research, we know that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also enforces certain rules.

Francis Sadhere, Warri

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eading telecoms operator, Airtel Nigeria has launched its 4G - LTE (Fourth Generation – Long Term Evolution) service in Delta State, covering major cities and towns including Warri, Effurun, Asaba, Kwale, Ughelli, Sapele, Okpanam, and Agbor, amongst others.

Prior to the 4G launch in Delta, Airtel had announced the deployment of 4G in other states including Oyo, Abuja and Anambra.

Segun Ogunsanya, managing director/CEO of Airtel Nigeria, said at the launch that with the 4G launch, Airtel will power people, businesses and cultural advancement through technology in Delta.

Ogunsanya represented by Oladapo Dosunmu, regional operations director (South South) Airtel Nigeria said Airtel believes that delivering a superior 4G experience is a major step in actualizing its objective of making life simple and better for Nigerians.

He also outlined the process of how existing Airtel customers can connect to the Airtel 4G network.

“It is a simple process – you first need to upgrade your SIM card to a 4G SIM. The upgrade process is also simple as all you require is a SIM Swap, which should not take two minutes.

“The other bit is that you need a device that is 4G enabled. Then, you will experience seamless and super-fast mobile Internet services on the Airtel network,” he said.

He added that the launch is in continuation of their commitment to empower more Nigerians, stimulate economic activities across all sectors as well as provide unfettered access to affordable and reliable mobile broadband.

“In implementing this definitive network upgrade and expansion, we hope it will help improve productivity, spread prosperity, and help the residents and telecoms consumers in Warri to fulfill their potentials as well as realize their dreams.

“Airtel is passionate about enriching lives and creating value for all its stakeholders.

We believe that delivering a superior 4G experience is a major step in actualizing our objective of making life simple and better for Nigerians,” Ogunsanya said.

Residents and onlookers who witnessed the launch at the Airtel Showroom in Warri/ Sapele Road, Effurun by Water Resources, were full of excitement as they commended the telco for deploying 4G services in Delta State.

Akpodubakaye Arthur (JP), vice chairman, Warri South-West Local Government, said the switch to 4G will help speed-up economic and commercial activities as well as boost productivity of professionals, students and even traders across the state.

“We commend Airtel for its 4G drive and for connecting Warri and major cities and towns in Delta to its 4G network. This is not just a step in the right direction but a development that will transform many lives,” he said

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Business Event

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NEPC seeks stakeholders input into 2019 work plan GODFREY OFURUM, Aba

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he Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), an agency of government, responsible for the promotion of the non-oil export sector of the economy, is engaging exporters across the country, to get their inputs into ‘export promotion action plan’ for 2019.

The feedback will be an addition to an existing collaboration between International Trade Centre (ITC) and the NEPC that would form part of its work plan and programme for 2019.

Akintunde Folorunso, assistant director, (special projects) Policy and Strategy Department, NEPC, who led a team from the Abuja headquarters of the Council, on

the Aba, Abia State-leg of the seminar, held Tuesday, explained that the collated input of the exporters would be the fulcrum of export related activities that would be implement in 2019.

These activities according to him, could be in area of capacity building, product development, trade information and incentives.

“Their input will also help us know their perception about NEPC services and their challenges. It will also help us to know, if there are things that we need to add to what we are currently doing and if there are things that we need to remove.

‘Essentially, their input will give us an idea of what we can do to promote and develop the non-oil export sector”, he stated.

Folorunsho, who was im-

pressed with the turnout of exporters to the event, described it, as first of its kind, stating that the NEPC has been organizing seminars and workshops, where they get stakeholders inputs and read communiqués, which according to him is different from the action plan seminar.

In his words, “This is a kind of needs assessment programme, intended to know exporters needs, so that we can come out with programmes and projects that will promote the non-oil export sector”.

Ken Anyanwu, national secretary, Association of Leather and Allied Industrialists of Nigeria (ALAIN) and chairman of the seminar, urged the NEPC and the Federal Government to bring back Export Expansion Grant (EEG) to encourage non-oil export in Nigeria and especially, Aba.

L-R: Adenike Adeyemi, executive director, FATE Foundation; Olusegun Mcmedal, chairman, alumni conference planning committee; Cosmas Maduka, founder/CEO, Coscharis Group, and Tokunbo Talabi, chairman, Superflux Group, during the 3rd FATE annual alumni conference with the theme “Building for Scale” in Lagos. Pic by Olawale Amoo

Experts review employee relations, immigration issues

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he Law Firm of Jackson, Etti and Edu and immigration firm Fragomen in a recent seminar titled “Managing Employment Relations and Immigration Issues: The Myths, Challenges and Solutions” held in Lagos underscored the links in achieving business outcomes and employee’s well being.

The stakeholders established the common links between employment relations, immigration and tax in the current landscape across a range of sectors, including energy and natural resources, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) and infrastructure in Nigeria.

The event kicked off with a keynote address delivered

by Benedict Kanyip, presiding Judge of National Industrial Court (Lagos Division), which was followed by panel sessions which comprised of immigration practitioners, human resource managers, local content specialists, tax specialists and regulatory authorities such as the Nigerian Immigration Service, Federal Ministry of Interior, Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board and the Lagos Internal Revenue Service; and an interview comprised of immigration practitioners.

Kanyip in his speech said employee relations have replaced industrial relations as the term used in defining the relationship between employers and employees. Today

employee relations is seen as focusing on both individual and collective relationships with an increasing emphasis on allowing line managers for instance, establish true based relationships with employees.

A positive climate of employee relations with increased employee involvement, commitment and engagement can improve business outcomes and contribute to employee’s well being.

A panel session followed, featuring Hon. Justice Kanyip (National Industrial Court); Caroline Kanzara (Manager, Fragomen); Uche Attoh (Faculty of Human Resources, Lagos Business School); and Taiwo Adeshina, (Partner, Jackson, Etti & Edu).

L-R: Frncis Ckuka Agbu presenter 0f Law Reprot: David Waker, secretary general International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI): Umaru Ibrahim, MD/CEO, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Cooperating (NDIC), and executive directors corporate services NDIC, Lola Abiolq-Edewor, at the 2018 IADI Africa Regional Committee annual technical assistance workshop in Lagos.

NOMAP commits to tackling off-grid energy market barriers KELECHI EWUZIE

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i g e r i a O f f- G r i d Market Acceleration Programme (NoMAP) says the launch of the programme is part of its strategic steps to tackle the market barriers limiting the growth of the off-grid sector in Nigeria.

NoMAP, a market building programme jointly supported by the Shell Foundation and USAID was unveiled to off-grid energy stakeholders in Lagos.

According to the organisers NOMAP aims to identify unaddressed off-grid energy market barriers and implement high impact initiatives to tackle these barriers.

“Based on strong market

feedback, NoMAP will focused, in its first year, on two highimpact initiatives that address market barriers around market intelligence/data and payment collection for Solar Home Systems (SHS) Companies”, they said.

Adedotun Eyinade, programme manager at NoMAP while speaking at the public presentation of the programme as part of the quarterly OffGrid Stakeholders Coordination meeting in Lagos said the programme will build market data across five states that will help identify viable locations for mini-grids and solar Home systems.

Eyinade opines that NoMAP will provide credible market intelligence that will inform business decisions as to where

to develop mini-grids or deploy Solar Home Systems and help reduce information gaps that currently exist in the market.

According to him, “The market acceleration programme couldn’t have come at a better time. We believe that the offgrid energy sector in Nigeria is at an inflection point as such interventions such as the initiatives NOMAP is implementing are needed to address barriers limiting energy access to millions of Nigerians that are currently underserved.

He further said the programme will pilot a workaround that will address the current difficulties faced by SHS companies in collecting payment from their unbanked customers in last mile communities.

Kayode Pitan, MD/CEO, Bank of Industry, (left) and Lise Kingo, CEO/executive director, United Nations Global Compact, at the Global Compact Leaders Summit, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, USA, recently

Edo NEPC eyes $35 bn international oil palm market

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he Edo State Government in collaboration with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), will hold a one-day training for producers and

processors of oil palm in the state to improve their capacity for post-harvest handling of the produce so as to tap into an available $35 billion international oil palm market.

Kelvin Uwaibi, senior special assistant to Governor Godwin Obaseki on Investment Promotion, said the training will hold on October 2, in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

L-R: Charles Nnochiri, head of marketing consumer, PZ Cussons; Alex Goma, managing director, PZ Cussons; Turf Wars Winners Team Captain, Fast Five FC, Kunle Ibaru; Vivian Akindele, group brand development and activation manager, PZ Cussons, and Busayo John, brand and activation manager, PZ Cussons, during the trophy and prize presentation at the finale of the Premier Cool Turf Wars at Children International School Lekki, Lagos.

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Friday 28 September 2018

Company Review

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

Open Banking: Can CBN really force banks to help competition?

Stories by FRANK ELEANYA

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ast week, the Central Bank of Nigeria said it is putting together an exposure draft of the framework on open banking.

The apex bank acknowledge that it may take some time to complete the framework, but when it is finished it will signal a new level of collaboration for both traditional financial institutions and the new players.

The core of Open Banking is to give customers the right to provide banks and other digital financial services providers with secure access to their account(s), as well as manage their accounts in a way that is better suited to their needs. If customers have the right to control their accounts, they can also decide who gets access to them.

In terms of competition, an open banking framework allows fintech start-ups to get their hands on traditional banks’ customers’ data to build targeted products and services. While this could be positive for the customers who stand to benefit from fresh and innovative products and services and for fintech firms

who will cash in once their ideas are commercialised, banks may see it differently.

In the United Kingdom where the concept was first developed and adopted, Britain’s big lenders have come under fire recently for the slow take-up of Open Banking reforms being enforced by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to encourage switching.

The Telegraph reports that since its launch 63 firms have

started using Open Banking, while the technology was used 1.2 million times in June to securely share data, up from 720,000 the previous month.

Notwithstanding, take-up have fallen short of expectations. Aside from failing to actively promote the reform, the UK big banks are said to not find any commercial reason why they want to embrace Open Banking. There is a limit to collaboration, apparently.

Policymakers in the United

States are also dillydallying on Open Banking. A report on the American Banker explains it this way “In the US currently, there’s no legal requirement stipulating a financial institution must make a consumer’s financial data available to a third party in the event that a consumer provides affirmative consent. The ability to successfully utilise technology-based tools rests almost entirely with the inclination of the user’s financial institution,

and not all are disposed to allow permission to third-party tools, some of which compete directly with their own products and services.”

Nevertheless, experts in Nigeria believe the country is ripe for Open Banking.

Carlos Figueredo, founder of Open Vector, the company that championed the Open Banking reforms in the UK was in Nigeria in July, as part of the entourage of the Lord Mayor of London. In an interview with BusinessDay, he predicted that Nigeria is likely to be the first country on the African continent to embrace Open Banking.

The CBN’s announcement may make that prediction a reality, but does it have the buy-in of the traditional players? Partners of Open Banking Nigeria, a group made of financial services experts, have told BusinessDay that discussions with banks are currently on-going and their body language seem very positive.

“It is a win-win for everyone,” Enyioma Madubuike, Team Lead at Legitng, an online legal solutions platform told BusinessDay. “Fintechs (firms) who are nimble and

able to provide better user experience can access data from the rich data sets of traditional banks all hopefully within secure environments.”

Banks like Guarantee Trust Bank (GTBank) and Access Bank are believed to be openly favourably dispose with the idea of Open Banking. Both banks in recent times have opened up their APIs and invited started innovative startups.

“Any bank that fails to accept the inevitability of such partnerships in this day and age risks missing out on the growing new consumer lines,” Madubuike added.

But banks know it is not a simple walk in the park. There are serious issues of security and public trust. This may be where a solid regulatory statement will help. There must be rules for accountability and liability to ensure the entity responsible for a data breach is held accountable for a resulting financial loss given sufficient evidence of that third party’s responsibility.

Banks’ full compliance would be a long road no doubt but the CBN can speed up the journey with appropriate security incentives.

COMPANY REVIEW

PRODUCTS REVIEW

4 things to know as American Express berths in Nigeria

Google set to lift ban on cryptocurrency ads

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merican Express also known as AmEx, a multinational financial services firm has identified Nigeria as a base for its African expansion.

The company which saw its shares drop to almost 4 per cent in July only to climb more than 10 per cent in September is hoping for a more active presence on the continent and to wrest some market share from brands like Mastercard and Visa already on the continent.

BusinessDay received the invitation to Amex launch in Lagos Nigeria. Here are four things to know about the company.

It started as a mail business AmEx was not always a financial services firm. The company was started in 1850 as an express mail business in Buffalo, New York. AmEx is a joint stock corporation facilitated by the merger of Wells & Company and Livingston, Fargo & Company.

Since then, AmEx has

made multiple investments in various industries including a failed railroad express business and most recently in payments processing startup, Stripe, a Silicon Valley unicorn. AmEx is yet to officially invest in an African startup although it runs a startup leadership academy in Kenya.

Top global credit card business A list compiled by cardrates. com puts American Express as the fourth largest credit card

company in the world.

In 2016, credit cards using AmEx network accounted for 22.9 per cent of the total dollar volume of credit card transactions in the US. As of December 31, 2017, the company had 112.8 million cards in force, including 50 million cards in force in the US, each with average annual spending of $18,519.

Young consumer demography AmEx built most of its reputa-

tion on a perception that it is a premium credit card company. However a company executive recently disclosed that about 50 per cent of new card members are under the age of 35. Examples of premium cards include America Express Centurion or the Black Card, the Amex Platinum among others.

T h e c o m p a n y ’s l a r g est revenue stream is its discount revenue, the fees charged to merchants for accepting American Express cards. In the second quarter of 2018, the discount revenue rose to $6.19 billion, an 8 per cent increase year-on-year and a whopping 62 per cent of the company’s overall revenue.

Interest in mobile banking The company launched AmEx eZeClick digital wallet in 2013 to simply online payment. The product has been deployed in the Indian market. It is likely the company would be offering this in Nigeria and other African countries.

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oogle said it will update it ads policy on financial products and services to enable regulated exchanges to advertise in the United States and Japan from the month of October.

The company had banned crypto ads on its platform in March, following a wave of high-profile initial coin offerings (ICOs) and other activities that made it difficult to distinguish between overhyped or outright fraudulent ventures and legitimate ones.

The statement it published on its website noted that a ban was placed on “Ads for cryptocurrencies and related and content. Examples: Ads for initial coin offerings, ads promiting the purchase or sale of cryptocurrency, cryptocurrency wallets, cryptocurrency trading advice.

“Ads destinations that aggregate or compare issuers of cryptocurrencies or related products. Examples: Cryptocurrency trading signals or investment advice, aggrega-

tors or affiliate sites containing related content or broker reviews.”

In the latest move to lift the ban, Google explained that advertisers will need to be certified with the company for the specific country in which their ads will serve.

“Advertisers will be able to apply for certification once the policy launches in October.”

Google is following in the footsteps of Facebook which put in place the first largescale crypto ads ban back in January and later lifted it in June. Like Facebook, however, Google is not lifting the ban on ICOs and will henceforth require companies to fill out an application to run ads.

Twitter and Snap also have advertisement bans on cryptocurrencies.

Although Google is yet to provide further clarification on its decision, some market leaders believe it may be connected to the regulatory clarity that is beginning to emerge around cryptocurrencies globally.

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Nigeria’s health sector reels under subpar expectations 58 years after Health systems worldwide share unified policy and regulatory goals: to ensure quality, accessible and affordable healthcare. Fifty-eight years after Independence, however, Nigeria has fallen far below expectations. OBOKOH ANTHONIA writes on the way forward to improve health sector and service delivery.

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s Nigeria celebrates i t s 5 8 t h In d e p e n dence anniversary on October 1, the country’s ambition to give universal health coverage to its estimated 198 million populations may once more be a mirage.

But, that is hardly Nigeria’s only challenge.

The health-care workforce is facing a critical shortfall of professionals as the brain drain in the sector has reached alarming proportions. About 50 percent of Nigerian doctors are working aboard. Patients are facing increasing wait times, limited access to providers, reduced time with caregivers, and decreased satisfaction.

Worse still, many of the private hospitals functioning are not sustainable as they lack the proper structure to run profitable healthcare businesses.

Nigeria has also not been able to meet the commitment it signed with other members of African Union 17 years ago – the Abuja Declaration – to allocate at least 15 percent of its budget to improve the health sector.

Since the declaration, Nigeria’s highest percentage in a budget was in 2012 when 5.95 percent of the fiscal allocation was allotted to health.

In comparison, other Africa countries such as Botswana, Rwanda, Zambia, Togo, Liberia, Madagascar and Malawi have all reportedly hit the target, spending between 13 per cent and 18 per cent of their annual budgets on health, according to data compiled by the UN World Health Organisation (WHO).

Nigeria’s health system is beleaguered by challenges like poor funding and governance, inadequate infrastructure, high maternal and child mortality, poor primary health facilities, malnutrition, poor health emergency responses. It is not likely that these will change in the near future given the quality of interventions so far.

“The terribly low doctor-patient ratio is one of the reasons why we have a lot of quacks within the medical profession.

And a lot of Nigerians are dying in the hands of these quacks,” said Francis Faduyile, president, Nigeria Medical Association, told BusinessDay. The health sector is a critical aspect of any economy anywhere in the world. Hence, more efforts need to be directed at achieving Universal Health Coverage by putting proper policies in place and the National Health Act signed in December 2014 needs to be implemented.

Various statistics also show that Nigeria has one of the worst health care delivery records in

the achievement of the Nigeria’s health priorities.

the world.

In February this year, Nigeria was ranked 187 out of 191 countries in the world’s health systems, showing the country has a lot to do in improving its health system and making healthcare affordable and accessible to the millions of its citizens.

According to the World Health Organisation, Maternal mortality rate in Nigeria is 814, per 100,000 live births only outperforming Chad with 856, Central African Republic; 882, and Sierra Leone; 1360. War torn countries like Somalia and Democratic Republic of Cong even outperformed Nigeria.

Also, while Botswana and Mauritius have the proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel as 100 percent, Nigeria is again down the pyramid with 35 percent, competing with countries like Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Chad.

The statistics get worse, for every 1000 births in Nigeria, 108 infants (and children) die before the age of five, and again, the country sits comfortably close to the bottom of the ladder in Africa.

Underfunded overtime, the problem of lack of uniformed data has also remained a clog on the wheel of progress of governments at various levels, thereby hindering provision of adequate, effective, affordable and efficient healthcare services to Nigerians.

Health experts says that financial protection is robust where public payments on health is high and it also suggests that it is important to put in place coverage policies that are carefully planned to minimize out-of-pocket payments and protect poor people

and other vulnerable individuals from co-payments.

With out-of-pocket payments for health causing households to incur catastrophic expenditures, which in turn can push them into poverty, key to protecting people is to ensure prepayment and pooling of resources for health, rather than relying on people paying for health services out-ofpocket at the time of use.

Findings reveal that with more than half of Nigerians leaning on hospital facilities for the most minor of ailments, there is a clear need for improved access to primary care practitioners, local health facilities, tracking health indicators and a wider availability of information about health, nutrition and fitness.

Doyin Odubanjo, chairman, Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria, Lagos Chapter, said there was a need to make the primary healthcare centre functional so as to make them available to provide some level of delivery services when needed.

“The current backdrop and next steps for improving the quality of health care in Nigeria is through collaboration and addressing the gaps in the primary healthcare,” said Odubanjo.

The Federal Government, on January 10, 2017, through the Saving One Million Lives Initiative, desirous of reversing the poor health indices and ensuring universal health coverage initiated the revitalisation of 10, 000 primary healthcare centres (PHCs) nationwide by inaugurating Kuchigoro Clinic, Abuja.

This model which was supposed to be financed by NHIS since attaining universal health

coverage was one of the core mandates of the scheme.

The NHIS management is embroiled in a corruption probe, there is poor awareness of the scheme and funding required to cover Nigerians adequately is still a mirage.

“At the moment both the NHIS and the HMOs have covered less than 5 per cent of the population,” said Tunde Ladele chairman of Health and Managed Care Association of Nigeria (HMCAN), the umbrella association of private health insurers.

This compares poorly with Ghana, who began its health care insurance in 2003, and has seen access to healthcare grow from 6.6 per cent to 38 per cent of the population, according to data from the World Bank.

This situation fuels the perception that healthcare is a non-viable business and sees Nigerians spend over $1bn annually on medical tourism according to estimate by the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).

Progress path Experts say the current backdrop and next steps for improving the quality of health care in Nigeria is through continuous adoption of technology and increase in public private partnerships to spur growth and address the gaps in the healthcare system.

Muntaqa Umar-Sadiq, chief executive officer, Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PHN), said there are unrealized synergies in mobilizing domestic resources and private sector capabilities to contribute towards

“There is the need to understand public and private sector initiatives towards achievement of the SDGs with the aim of developing a multi-sectoral package of interventions to catalyse transformative solutions to reducing maternal mortality; and systemically advance improvements across the healthcare system building blocks.

The need for collaboration with cross-sectoral partners is critical to ensure no woman dies giving life,” Muntaqa said.

According to Clare Omatseye, president, Healthcare Federation of Nigeria said that lack of investments in critical health infrastructures still remains a major challenge confronting healthcare delivery in the country.

“Government need to provide a pool of funds, advocate for mandatory universal healthcare and to spend more time on prevention rather than cures.”

“With technology being a major driver of change, especially today when patients are digitally empowered, healthcare solutions must be incorporated into everyday innovations and meet patients where they are” Omatseye said.

Similarly, Kunle Elebute, chairman, KPMG West Africa said Nigeria healthcare is underserved and under-consumed, it has not gotten enough human resource and it is the most desperate sector in all sectors in the country.

“Nigeria has to start for somewhere by implementing the necessary policies in the healthcare and by so doing in four to five years, the country will make a huge success,” he said.

Jide Idris commissioner of Health, Lagos State, said that effective communication, training and behavioural change initiatives are very important in order to leapfrog education to ensure that technologies are well understood and applies are available in communities for health promotion and preventative solutions.

Larne Yusuf, a medical practitioner based in Lagos said, “To give Nigeria healthcare system a new era, it requires strong governance of the health system at all levels and to achieve Universal Health Coverage in the country, we must improve the quality of our healthcare services,” “Political will are also hindering the success of the Nigeria healthcare system, more effort should be made to increase the budgetary allocation to the health sector, in order to stem the tide of increase in mortality and morbidity rate” he added.

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Rising incidences of mental challenges invite close scrutiny

…many still confuse depression for spiritual problems

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not control a loved one in the grip of psychosis.

“Mental health care is urgently needed in Nigeria because about 40 per cent believe mental health is due to supernatural causes, possession by evil spirits and punishment by God, and 30 per cent believe in religion – magical cure for mental illness,” said Gureje.

Statistics show that depression affects millions of people all over the world and it is the most common form of mental disorders in the whole world, Nigerian inclusive.

Similarly, Richard Adebayo, consultant psychiatrist and clinical psychologist at Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos said people tend to use the word depression loosely, but even for those we can attribute their depression to mental disorders a lot of times peo-

ple think those depressed are weakens, but the truth is depression does not go with personality.

“The perception is changing gradually though slowly, a lot of people who are depressed attribute it to one thing or the other. Most of these funny complaints are actually evidence of underlined depression” Adebayo said. “Once they get some treatment and they are not getting well, they attribute it to some spiritual or diabolical problems.”

However, the psychiatrists highlighted some disturbing issues that need adequate attention in Nigeria’s mental health care delivery.

Some of the challenges the industry faces are as follows.

Many years of advocacy and drive to have the national assembly pass a new mental health care bill into law is not yielding tangible

fruits.

The health sector is underfunded but mental health hospitals are even grossly underfunded. This has motivated specialists to leave Nigeria in search enabling environments.

Then there is the problem of decaying infrastructure, “this facility is onehundred and ten years old.

We have old facilities that should be upgraded and improved but we have shortage of fund” Adebayo said.

The clarion call, experts say is for people to be become aware and not leave all to government. Individuals, organised private sector organisations should also be involved in mental health care, just like some of them have been involved in malaria, tuberculosis, polio and HIV; I think they should also show concern for mental health.

UCH consultants raise alarm over delay payment of salaries, allowances AKINREMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan

T

he Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) University College Hospital, Ibadan branch, has raised concern over the delay in payment of salaries and allowances of its members in the last three months.

The association however noted that despite this, it has been consistently delivering clinical services in the hospital.

Victor Makanjuola, chairman of MDCAN, who disclosed this while addressing journalists at a press conference in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital maintained that the need to raise the alarm was to correct what he called ‘erroneous belief by the public that doctors always going on strike for money’.

He added that nonpayment of salaries in the last three months has not prevented them as an association in assisting the less privileged in the society.

Makanjuola while speak-

HBL TEAM

ing further at the press conference heralding the association’s annual general meeting under the theme, “Team Building in the Health Management and Leadership in Contemporary Nigeria”, however warned that the patience of the consultants should not be taken for granted.

He then appealed to the hospital’s chief medical director (CMD), Temitope Alonge, chairman of the Board of Management, Atiku Bako Bagudu Shettima and the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole to quickly wade in and resolve the issues surrounding the delay in the payment of their salaries and allowances.

Makanjuola said, “I must also bring to the notice of the general public that we, the Medical and Dental consultants as well as some of our younger colleagues (interns) in UCH have not been paid our allowances /salary for the past three months, nevertheless, we have been consistently delivering clinical services. This information is important to correct the erroneous belief by the general public that doctors always go on strike for money.

“As you must have noted that in the program line-up that non-payment of salaries has also not prevented us, as an association, from being charitable to the less privileged.

“However, these considerations that are borne out of the nobility of the profession should not be taken for granted as we look forward to a speedy resolution of the impasse with regards to our yet to be paid allowances.

“I will also seize this opportunity to appreciate the hospital’s management led

by Temitope Alonge, the chairman board of management, Bako Bagudu Shettima and the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole for their efforts so far resolving the delay in payment of our allowances reportedly due to migration of resident doctors to the IPPIS system”.

“The theme, “Team Building in the Health Management and Leadership in Contemporary Nigeria”, is in recognition of the unhealthy inter-professional rivalry in the health sector, its attendant negative effects on service delivery and health related indices and the need to reverse this ugly trend as a matter of national emergency”.

21

Governor Emmanuel inaugurates refurbished secondary healthcare facility ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

ANTHONIA OBOKOH

rug abuse among Nigerian youths, depression among adults and stigmatisation are among the factors leading to increase in cases mental disorders.

Despite some progress made, there is considerable neglect of mental healthcare delivery in Nigeria, say experts.

Oye Gureje, staff of Psychiatry College of Medicine, University of Ibadan said people with stigmatised health conditions, such as mental health and substance abuse disorders, as well as other vulnerable groups such as refugees; prisoners and migrants are less likely to receive high quality care.

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

Since its formulation, no revision has taken place and no formal assessment of implementation has been conducted.

Every society struggles to care for people with mental illness. In some parts of Nigeria, where psychiatry is nearly unknown, the chain is often a last alternative for distressed families who can-

BUSINESS DAY

s part of efforts to expand access to healthcare services, Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has commissioned the remodelled Methodist General hospital in Ituk Mbang, Uruan local government area of the state.

The hospital which is located few kilometres from Uyo, the state capital will help to decongest existing health facilities in the metropolis and ensure that patients receive medical attention without much delay.

The hospital had suffered neglect over the past years and had to be given a complete reconstruction of its wards, remodelled and equipped with a perimeter fencing, The state government had also rehabilitated and equipped other secondary health facilities including the General Hospital, Etinan and General hospital, Ikono as part of a deliberate effort to reposition the health sector.

The Methodist Hospital has the biggest accident and emergency departments because of its strategic position within the Uyo capital city and the proximity to the state airport.

Speaking, Governor Emmanuel said the second phase of the Hospital would commence immediately with the rehabilitation and furnishing

of the School of nursing and midwifery which is located by the side of the hospital.

He thanked the early missionaries for their efforts in establishing major amenities in the state, and also thanked the community for their support to the realization of the project.

According to the governor, similar projects are being executed in Ikot Okoro, which is almost completed, as well as the ones at Eket, Okobo and Oron local government areas.

“This is the third of the hospitals we have completed with equipment fully digitalised,” he said adding that 100 per cent of the facilities were brought in from the United States of America.

Early last year, the state government took delivery of 100 containers of hospital equipment for the refurbished general hospitals and has also concluded plans to digitise hospital operations in the state.

There is no general hospital in Uyo local government area but the St Luke’s hospital which is run jointly with the Catholic mission has been the only secondary healthcare facility in the state capital with patients seeking medical services at the University of Uyo teaching hospital for minor ailments in which experts say it ought not to be so.

Who should not take tramadol?

T

ramadol are prescription narcotic pain medications. It belongs to a class of drugs called opioids.

Opioids work by attaching to special receptors in the brain that control pain and emotion. Some opioids can also help control a cough and make a person feel relaxed and euphoric.

Like all opioids, tramadol carry a high risk of addiction and potential overdose. For this reason, a doctor should prescribe them at the lowest possible dose for the shortest amount of time.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advise that children under the age of 18 years should not take opioids, such as codeine.

They also state that doctors should not prescribe tramadol for children who are younger than 12. Tramadol can cause dangerous side effects in children between the ages of 12 and 18 if they have certain existing medical conditions.

Children who take either of these medications are at risk of life-threatening breathing problems, addiction, overdose, and death.

Women who are pregnant or who plan to become pregnant should not take tramadol or hydrocodone. Taking

these medications or other opioids during pregnancy can cause life-threatening health problems in the baby after birth.

Women who are breastfeeding should also avoid taking opioids, including tramadol and hydrocodone, as the baby can receive unsafe levels of these drugs through breast milk.

Occasionally, tramadol can cause severe side effects that require emergency medical attention, including: seizures, hives, a rash, or blisters, difficulty breathing or swallowing, swelling of the face, throat, tongue, lips, or other parts of the body, hoarse voice, hallucinations, or seeing or hearing things that are not there confusion, shivering or twitching, agitation or severe mood changes, muscle stiffness or loss of coordination, vomiting or diarrhoea.

It is vital to never take prescription opioids, such as tramadol without a doctor’s prescription and guidance.

Taking these medications at the wrong dose or for an extended period can lead to addiction and overdose.

Culled from Medical News Today (MNT)

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

22

BUSINESS DAY

Harvard Business Review

Friday 28 September 2018

ManagementDigest

Navigating talent Hot Spots WILLIAM R. KERR

H

OW COMPANIES CAN BENEFIT FROM INNOVATION CENTERS WITHOUT NECESSARILY RELOCATING. Leading cities have long had an outsize influence on the global economy, but today the impact that top talent clusters have on innovation is especially pronounced. The increased clout of these hubs poses a dilemma for companies that have historically located their leadership and talent in suburban industrial parks. Having a presence in innovation hotbeds is crucial, but it’s also extraordinarily expensive.

How can companies most effectively harness the benefits of these urban pools of knowledge and skills? I’ve seen corporations take three core approaches: At one extreme, they relocate their headquarters. A less expensive and more easily reversible way to establish a brick-and-mortar foothold is to set up an innovation lab or corporate outpost in a talent cluster. The most conservative option is to organize executive retreats and immersive visits there.

OPTION #1: HEADQUARTERS MOVES While we tend to associate innovation hubs with entrepreneurs and startups, increasingly they’re the domain of incumbents, too. Corporations have gone from being underrepresented in tech hubs to exceeding the national average.

Though cross-state moves grab headlines, companies are also migrating out of lessdense areas surrounding talent clusters and into urban centers. In Boston, organizations relocating to the downtown area include Reebok, Converse and much of the local venture capital industry.

The increased access to talent can be substantial, since

the share of the local collegeeducated workforce engaged in digital fields in hub cities is typically two to three times as high as the national average.

But a headquarters relocation poses several risks.

For large incumbents it can be incredibly difficult, timeconsuming and expensive.

The need to uproot an existing workforce, change legacy customer locations and establish new local political connections means that any relocation will be disruptive.

One way to mitigate that risk is to build smaller headquarters that are focused on innovation and the key needs of top decision-makers. New corporate HQs are starting to look and operate more like the offices of unicorn startups (those with billion-dollar evaluations) than of industrial giants.

Communication technologies allow corporate leadership to oversee operations with ever greater scope and scale from a small command post.

This points to the second broad risk with headquarters moves: Ideas generated within the talent hub may fail to spread to the rest of the organization. Cutting-edge concepts picked up in Boston or Berlin will benefit a global company only if they improve the productivity of operations around the world. As a result, careful thought will have to go into diffusing acquired knowledge throughout the organization’s

facilities.

A third risk that companies must guard against is a “leaky bucket.” Although they can recruit more easily in hubs, they can see ideas and talent flow out, too.

Finally, there’s a risk of unintended and unforeseen consequences. Headquarters moves permanently shift the internal workings of a firm in material ways. The company will also adopt more of the culture of the new home base, and executives will have a new peer group going forward.

OPTION #2: CREATING OUTPOSTS AND INNOVATION LABS In September 2017, the same month that Amazon.com began its search for a second North American headquarters, Walmart announced the construction of a new head office in its longtime home of Bentonville, Arkansas. But even if Walmart remains forever rooted in Arkansas, it has no intention of ceding the battle for the insights of talent clusters to the likes of Amazon (Seattle) and Alibaba (Hangzhou). Walmart Labs, opened in 2011 in Silicon Valley, focuses on making advances on the frontiers of ecommerce.

Many companies a small fraction of Walmart’s size have opened corporate outposts in order to access important talent clusters in their industries.

Such offices can serve a range

of functions. Some simply house a small team that listens to what’s going on locally and scouts out business development opportunities. Some establish an innovation lab like Walmart’s that works on new technology development. At others, companies focus on corporate venturing.

An advantage of outposts is that companies can experiment and start with a small team — keeping the option open for investment down the road. If outposts aren’t working out, they can be closed, but this reversibility carries its own risk. Companies often pull the plug too quickly, believing an operation is failing because they have unrealistic expectations about how quickly they’ll see results. Leaders must understand that it takes time to build relationships.

Perhaps most critical is the choice of initial outpost directors. These executives lend their personal credibility both internally to the corporation and externally to the cluster.

One approach is to seek a “best of both worlds” launch team by combining a relocating executive from the parent’s HQ with a star already working in the cluster.

A final risk with innovation outposts is that the best ideas and innovations will not flow back to the parent company effectively. One effective countermeasure is to promote international knowledge transfer by distributing collaborative teams across locations. That way, a company’s innovations are more likely to build on the patents filed in several locations.

provides the missing piece to a company’s innovation puzzle, it can help executives build a grounded understanding of what’s happening at the frontier and how their companies may need to react. Many companies organize visits to New York, London, Boston, Shanghai and other clusters for their executives or board members.

(I myself have organized corporate immersions in Boston, and this article draws on those experiences. None of the companies mentioned in this article have been my clients, however.)

But many firms underinvest in immersions, for two reasons: Executives view the trip as a semi-vacation or they can’t extract themselves from email.

A second risk is that participants in immersions won’t dig deep enough. Visits to local companies can be informative and inspiring, but not if they don’t get past preset professional tours.

Companies also must ensure that the insights gathered are acted on back home. Immersions that have clear links to important corporate work before and after the retreat will have the strongest power, and executives should spend time on the trip itself debating and applying insights.

A STRIKING FEATURE of today’s business landscape is the growing concentration of innovation activity into a small number of geographic clusters. By taking one or more of the approaches outlined here, companies can access the intelligence in these key locations and keep up with the fast pace of change.

OPTION #3: EXECUTIVE RETREATS AND IMMERSIONS Executive visits to top talent clusters can be a cost-effective way to increase awareness and excitement about efforts to accelerate innovation and reshape business models and management approaches.

Though a weeklong trip rarely

William R. Kerr is the Dimitri V. D’Arbeloff-MBA Class of 1955 professor of business administration at Harvard Business School and the author of the forthcoming “The Gift of Global Talent: How Migration Shapes Business, Economy & Society.”

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

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Zuckerberg vs Instagram founders: Lessons for African tech startups FRANK ELEANYA

M

ark Zuckerberg has once again seen off founders of one of the companies Facebook bought over. Instagram co-founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger have resigned as chief executive officer and chief technical officer of the photo-sharing app owned by Facebook.

The founders are leaving barely six months after WhatsApp’s founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton quit the US social media group. In both cases, the founders clashed with Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Facebook.

“The Instagram journey is one I won’t forget. It started by building simple products that solved universal problems,” Systrom posted on his Twitter account. “Now eight years, we look back and are proud and grateful to have been part of that journey.” He added that he will be taking some time off before starting a new venture.

Facebook has also seen the exit of Palmer Luckey, co-founder of Oculus VR another big acquisition, 18 months ago. Effectively the founders of its three biggest acquisitions have exited the company.

Citing sources, Josh Consine, Tech Crunch’s Editor at Large noted that “Zuckerberg and Systrom had a

historically strong relationship, but clashed because “Mark wanted content production on instagram to flow to Facebook.” Tension between them grew, contributing to Instagram’s founders resigning.”

He further noted that a warning flag was the departure of Instagram chief operating officer Marne Levine to Facebook earlier in September.

The COO is believed to have held Instagram together, And without a strong replacement to stick up for its priorities, Facebook could step in more and more.

Zuckerberg’s response to the resignation was a post on Facebook “Kevin and Mike are extraordinary product leaders and Instagram reflects their combined creative talents.

I’ve learned a lot working with them

for the past six years and have really enjoyed it. I wish them all the best and I’m looking forward to seeing what they build next.”

The exit of the founders has spurred several comments from leaders in the African tech scene as it speaks to known conflicts between investors and founders. There are lessons that could be drawn from the comments that have followed the story.

How much is too much to give?

At the time the founders of Facebook subsidiaries were signing the acquisition, it probably was not in doubt that Mark Zuckerberg genuinely loved their products. But was he sold on their view of the future of

Instagram?

Systrom and team made good money pocketing $1 billion from the sale of Instagram including $700 million in Facebook stock, which today is worth nearly $4 billion. But they lost control of the company the moment they signed on the dotted lines.

Unless a founder has decided retaining some amount of control over his businesses isn’t his problem, it is always important to put that in to consideration when releasing equity.

“Any entrepreneur who has raised money from investors is basically a high level employee,” Mary Remmy Njoku, co-founder of online movie streaming platform, Iroko TV posted on Twitter through her spouse Jason Njoku. “It’s quite sad that they go around fooling themselves (with investors pushing) that they are founders in control. They are not.

They only find out when they try to exert control.”

What being a CEO truly means Ben Thompson, author of Stratechery, a subscription-based newsletter makes the point that Systrom was not technically the CEO of Instagram. A CEO, for him, is a person that has a company that can stand on its own.

Mark Zuckerberg was the CEO of Facebook indeed, in title and in practice, “To be CEO – to have control

– is, at least in the long run, not simply about building a great product. It is about finding and developing a business model that lets you determine your own destiny.”

Chinaza Onuzo, producer of Wedding Party 1 &2 and other movies and vice president at African Capital Alliance also buttressed the point in a tweet response to Mary Njoku.

“My favourite founders are the ones who understand that CEO is a job and not a birthright. I find that those are the ones that tend to succeed. Founders that refuse to be measured from a performance perspective tend to underperform,” he noted.

Be willing to step back and move on“We are planning on taking some time off to explore our curiosity and creativity again,” Systrom said in a statement on the Instagram blog.

“Building new things require that we step back, understand what inspires us and match that with what the world needs; that’s what we plan to do.”

Founders and their investors clash all the time. It is the inevitable story of two separate people with different ideas coming together to build a business. You have a choice to allow the investor with the money to have the sense that he won by stepping back while you seek other ways to get small wins stay inspired.

The alternative is to take the highway.

4 ways blockchain firm makes online lending smarter have access to other benefits of the decentralised technology, which makes investing faster, easier and more reliable.

The Debitum hybrid model uses its own Ethereum-based DEB token to power its internal processes, while delivering loans in traditional fiat currency. In essence, investors can take advantage of the transaparency and security offered by blockchain, together with smart contracts that enable loans of up to €1 million to be delivered in as little as an hour – ensuring their money gets to work fast.

FRANK ELEANYA

W

ith the advent of digital technology era and the attendant innovations, small businesses now have more opportunities to access financing than ever. Innovations like blockchain, apart from providing startups with alternative finance, has enabled investors make the most of their investment in a simpler and smarter way.

Blockchain, over time, has become almost synonymous with cryptocurrencies, whereas the technology can do much more than that for investors.

Debitum Network is an alternative financing platform that utilises Ethereum blockchain to provide small businesses with the opportunity to acquire capital and fulfil their needs for financing and growth using light technology. Four ways the company achieves this without using cryptocurrencies include: Total funding ecosystem Prior to the digital era, small investors shy away from lending. However alternative finance channels like crowdfunding and microfinance have made it possible for any one, individual or group to lend to businesses without having to be subjected to

traditional bureaucratic process of the past.

Debitum Network which is focused on emerging markets like Nigeria takes it further by providing an ecosystem for investors, including service providers such as insurers, risk assessors and debt collectors.

In so doing, small investors have access to tools large institutional lenders use to safeguard their investments.

Invest globally Most lending platforms only allow investors to lend to busi-

nesses within their locality or in the same market. This is largely due to difficulties that come with cross-border lending. There are challenges such as money transfer mechanisms, setting up meetings, assessing risks and negotiating loan agreements.

Notwithstanding, loans to small businesses represent a growing opportunity for investors. The World Bank estimates that about 70 per cent of small businesses are unable to secure the finance they need from the traditional banking sector - providing a market that estimated to

reach as much as $90 billion in 2020, from its current figure of $34 billion.

On Debitum network’s selfcontained ecosystem, investors of all sizes can offer loans to businesses around the world and manage it through their online dashboard.

Explore other uses of blockchain The Debitum Network helps investors demystify the dominance of cryptocurrency trading on blockchain exploring other uses of the technology. Investors

Flexible portfolios The cryptocurrency market has experienced a turbulent year so far. Most investors as result may look to rebalance their portfolios – hence the need to stay flexible. Debitum Network allows investors to spread their money.

They also do not need to fund the whole of a loan alone. They have an option to fund a part of the borrower’s total loan amount, enabling them to co-fund multiple loans with other investors.

Short term loans on the platform mature between 2 and 6 months, providing investors with the flexibility they need without tying their money in the long term.

24

BUSINESS DAY

Friday 28 September 2018

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Send in Commentaries to caleb.ojewale@businessdayonline.com

Nigeria identified among countries requiring external food assistance CALEB OJEWALE Twiiter: @calebtinolu

N

igeria has been identified along with 30 other African countries, which remain in need of external food assistance, despite the country’s enormous agricultural potentials and continuous rhetoric on giving agriculture more attention.

The FAO’s Crop Prospects and Food Situation report, released this month, illustrates how conflicts and extreme climate change threaten access to food in 39 countries, comprising 31 countries in Africa, seven in Asia, and Haiti in the Caribbean, which remain in need of external food assistance.

For Nigeria in particular, it was noted that; persisting conflict results in population displacements, market disruptions and limited access to food aid in northern areas. According to the “Cadre Harmonisé” analysis, about 5.3 million people were assessed to be in need of assistance between June and August. Market functionality and livelihood activities remain disturbed by the ongoing civil insecurity, limiting food access to vulnerable households. The areas inaccessible to humanitarian interventions are facing the worse food security conditions.

The report’s findings mirror BusinessDay investigations earlier this year, which showed that farming activities remain rather low in some parts of the Northeast, despite successes claimed by the government and Nigeria’s Armed Forces in the war against insurgency.

As BusinessDay reported, the return to productivity in farming which represented the bulk of economic activities

Displaced farmers sit under a tent at the Farm Centre IDP Camp, Jere LGA, Borno

Photo by Caleb Ojewale

in most North-eastern states, remains shrouded in a cloud of uncertainty as displaced farmers are not adequately empowered to return to their lands in resuming production, while fear and despair also hangs over many residents.

Abdulkadir Jidda, chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Borno State Chapter, had said at the time, that; since 2011 till date, there has been no serious farming activity anywhere (in Borno). Even in areas we say are fairly secure, they are not all that secure in the real sense of it.

This is because the villages are not that secure, it is not easy to go there and all our farmers in the bush are already down. At a time, residents from 17 out of 27 local governments in the state were relocated to Maiduguri (as insurgents had overrun their homes).

“From here up to the North, East, to Baga, to the borders with Niger, Chad, and Cameroun, all these are no-go areas for anybody, let alone farmers who have to spend the whole day on the farm,” Jidda said.

In Nigeria, prices of cereals and tubers remained at high levels particularly in northeast areas where market activities have been disrupted by insur-

gency, stated the FAO report.

Emmanuel Ijewere, vice president, Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG), however expressed a contrary view, saying he is not aware of a serious food shortfall in Nigeria.

According to him, he is only aware that “we have a challenge as a result of the flooding that took place recently in some agricultural zones in Nigeria.

The issue about violence, particularly in Northeastern Nigeria, has been with us for some time, and as at today is not as serious as it was, because some of the farmers displaced at that time have gone back to farming. As at today, no particular item of foodstuff that Nigerians eat, mainly cassava, rice, yam, is short. It may not be as much as we want, but this is understandable because of the flood.

“So the statements made, may be panic statements,” said Ijewere.

Other continent wide findings from the report indicated, civil conflicts and population displacement are the key drivers of food insecurity in East Africa and the Near East, whereas dryweather conditions have led to reduced cereal outputs in Southern Africa.

Civil conflicts, often coupled

with extreme climate events, continue to hamper food access to vulnerable populations in Central African Republic, Nigeria, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen, among others.

Meanwhile, José Graziano da Silva, FAO’s DG, delivered a message this week at the ongoing UN General Assembly, that without peace there will be no food security, and without food security there will be no peace.

“Freeing the world from hunger and want is a fundamental contribution to lasting peace. Nelson Mandela’s centenary once again obliges us to recognize that promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms, as the right to food and to economic and social development, are key for achieving inclusive and peaceful societies as set out by the 2030 Agenda,” Graziano da Silva said in a statement.

The Peace Summit is in honour of the centenary of Mandela’s birth, and saw global leaders renew their commitments to peace.

“We do not lack any evidence: where conflicts arise, hunger increases,” Graziano da Silva said. “The relationship is direct, and the impact of wars and conflict on hunger and malnutrition is even worse if one considers that global military spending continues to increase while countries allocate scarce and sometimes decreasing resources to eradicate hunger and poverty,” he said.

Conflict and hunger are closely related, and most conflicts mainly affect rural areas, disrupting farming and limiting access to food. Peace can be a driver for eliminating hunger, and food security can often help mitigate and even prevent conflicts.

Parents advised to encourage children go into farming

P

arents have been advised to encourage their young children to take up practical interests in agriculture, as a way of making them appreciate the process of food production, while also developing skills that could come handy in making a profession out of it.

Segun Atho, national deputy president, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, said at a recent capacity training on rice production and input application, organised by the association in Badagry, that parents should change their attitudes towards agriculture and encourage their children to come into agric.

According to him, “We cannot continue to import rice and other foods; Nigerians can feed Nigerians without the help of other countries.

Atho lamented that it is so unfortunate so many young people are still searching for white collar jobs, which are hardly available for them to do.

“Agriculture must be seen as business, not as a hobby. Nigeria has about 95 million hectares of farming land, and 6 million of this land is suitable for growing rice, which makes agricultural sector spacious enough to accommodate large number of people who are ready to farm,” Atho said.

He also expressed the view that the “Federal Government in partner-

ship with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had provided a platform that will make farmers achieve their dreams. President Buhari also has provided an enabling environment for every farmer to succeed in Nigeria. They have equipped rice farmers in the country including some of us in Badagry with inputs such as fertilizers, rice seedlings, chemicals and training.

Our land and weather are rice friendly.

“Agricultural sector is the biggest sector that anybody can come in to without regret, because now the government has contributed immensely to see that this sector is successful, and the farmers are now ready for farming.

We are not without some challenges, but we thank God, we are settling them one after the other.”

Atho how e ver als o noted that, in order for the sector to grow as required, and attract more young people, financial institutions, government parastatals and other stakeholders must be proactive in making agriculture a full-time business.

There is a need to come out with a blue print that will help the farmers to succeed.

“If the farmers have financial back-up from financial institutions, they can conveniently shoulder the responsibility of feeding this nation without stress”, he said.

Lack of data limits agricultural investments, productivity

T

he lack of timely and high-quality agricultural data has been identified as a limitation for critical investment decisions, as well as handicapping efforts for much needed agricultural development in low and middle income countries.

Each year, the FAO notes around $240 billion is invested in agriculture in low and middle-income countries, but critical investment decisions are being taken in absence of a sound information base.

Agricultural data collection remains weak in many countries, even for basic data items. Indeed, a majority of the world’s poorest 75 countries have not conducted any agricultural annual surveys or censuses in the past 15 years.

To address this, the FAO says it is joining forces with a group of partners including;

the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The collaboration is expected to weave existing agricultural data collection efforts together into a more cohesive global program, one that can help drive progress towards the second sustainable development goal, the complete eradication of extreme hunger.

Speaking at an event at the UN General Assembly in New York aiming to mobilize funding for the new effort, José Graziano da Silva, FAO’s DG, warned that shortcomings in the quality and availability of agricultural data “impede low and lower-middle income countries from elaborating development strategies, making sound policy decisions, or monitoring progress in the agriculture sector.”

“We need to do much

more to close the entire data gap regarding low and lowermiddle income countries,” the FAO Director-General said.

During the event - organized by the Governments of Ghana, Kenya and Sierra Leone, FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Global Partnership for Sustainable

Development Data and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - a major international push to direct more funding into agricultural data collection was announced.

The new “50 x 2030” initiative represents the biggest effort made to date to fund agricultural data collection, with a target of raising $500,000 to support of that cause.

According to Graziano da Silva, the initiative should emphasis three priorities: “First, to scale up current activities, second, to strengthen collaboration with multiple stakeholders, and third, to have the commitment of country authorities and the donor community.”

Forming the backbone of the “50 x 2030” initiative are two existing and tested survey approaches, FAO’s A g r i c u l t u ra l In t e g ra t e d Surveys (AGRISurvey) and the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Study’s Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA).

“50 x 2030” will bring these two tools together within a multi-institutional partnership that is aiming to make improved agricultural data available in 35 countries by 2025 and in 50 countries by 2030.

FAO’s AGRIsurvey is a

farm-based system of surveys that collects data on the economical (production, area harvested, productivity, cost of production), environmental (use of land, water, fertilizers, pesticides) and social (income, labor) dimensions of agriculture.

“FAO’s AGRISurvey allows countries to track progress on at least four SDG targets, such as labour productivity and income of small scale holders (SDG 2.3), agricultural sustainability (SDG 2.4), women’s ownership on agricultural land (SDG 5.a) and food losses (SDG 12.3),” Graziano da Silva noted.

FAO says it is already implementing AGRISurvey in 10 countries thanks to support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and is looking to expand that to 19 more countries by 2021.

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A listening ear to Ibeji’s ‘Tribal Mark’ Stories by OBINNA EMELIKE

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ith eye-concealing dark shades, thickened eyebrows and afro hair, Ibeji is an unorthodox dresser. While that represents his special stage stunt, the unique appearance further introduces the audience to a blend of music that is ‘never heard’.

The titillating new artiste, describes his genre of music as Afro retro because of the way he paints pictures, tell stories and drives action with the power of his music.

The artiste spreads across the music spectrum; from jazz, afrobeats, R&B, soul among other genres he finds relevant in expressing himself, as well as, tackling issues that interest people.

Yes, Ibeji is new in the Nigerian music scene. However, within a short period, he has worked very hard to find his place within the space, particularly alternate music, which is pure, true, and slightly

different from the mainstream music.

Riding on the success of his two albums; GreenWhiteDupe 001 and GreenWhiteDupe 002, which were released in 2017, Ibeji is once again

Dayo Amusa toes family line in new movie

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fter a dazzling performance and impressive box office sales with her previous movies, ‘Pathetic’ and ‘Unforgivable’, Dayo Amusa, actress and producer, is set to return to the cinemas from October 5, 2018 with a smashing blockbuster titled ‘That Which Binds Us’.

The movie tells the story of a family, love, betrayal, human weakness, individual deficiencies and sacrifice.

It aims at bringing disputed broken families together and help family see through the importance of staying together amidst challenges.

The movie, which is produced by Amzadol Productions and directed

by Desmond Elliot, actor and politician, features Nollywood stars such as Uche Jombo, Desmond Elliot, Dayo Amusa, Mercy Aigbe, Chinyere Wilfred, Alausa Toyin among others.

Dayo Amusa

Speaking on the reason the new movie is a must-watch, Amusa said, “If you have seen my last two works, you will be convinced that I do not just want to entertain but engage people consciously as well.

People need to know that there are consequences for each of their actions. People need to see the movie because it reflects their lifestyle, their mistakes or the miatake they are about to make. Beyond the entertainment, we hope that this movie will be a reflection of people’s lives and hopefully help them avoid costly mistakes in life”.

The actress/producer who is not big on entertainment with her movies, also assured that ‘That Which Binds Us’ will be one of the movies that will shape the narrative of culture when it opens this October in cinemas across the country.

proving the range of his talents and vocal prowess in the alternate music sphere with the release of a new album.

On September 20, 2018, at Jazzhole in Ikoyi, Lago, the artiste

hit the global music sphere with his third offering in just over a year. With the third album tagged ‘Tribal Marks’, Ibejii, the charismatic enigma, is locked and loaded to serve up some more delightful

tunes seamlessly woven with classic jazz.

‘Tribal Marks’ represents another dimension to a remarkably talented mind as the artiste flawlessly waltzes into the jazz genre. The album continues the trademark storytelling adored by his fans using sweet melodies, captivating metaphors and traditional folklore. The 11-track album delves deep into Ibejii’s mind on the subjects of humanity, politics and love.

There are many reasons to look out for Ibeji’s music.

The avant-garde crooner is a storyteller whose music is delivered in an emphatic yet sensitive fashion, he is armed with folklore and metaphor all delivered in Yoruba, his native tongue, and also becoming a mainstay in the alternative music sphere.

However, look out for Tribal Marks on your usual digital channels including; Sound Cloud, Diza, sportily, iTune, MTNPlus, Amazon, Apple Music among others, from September 20, 2018.

Femi Kuti enthralls Sheraton Lagos guests with his 7th album

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way from its familiar ground, Sheraton Lagos Hotel heightened guests’ experience with a live concert on September 22, 2018.

The concert offered an unforgettable evening with Femi Kuti, the critically acclaimed singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, and four-time Grammy Award nominee. Femi lived up to the expectations of the high profile in-house guests, select public and afro beats music lovers as he enthralled the audience with a live performance of ‘One People One World’, his seventh studio album.

Music lovers, afro beat enthusiasts and members of Marriott International’s award-winning loyalty programmes, which include; Marriott Rewards, The RitzCarlton Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), were regaled and wowed with a pulsating evening curated by the hotel in partnership with Chocolate City Group, a media and entertainment company.

The evening witnessed lots of Marriott International’s loyalty programme members redeeming their points for a highly elevated front-row viewing experience and exclusive VIP access to a once in a lifetime experience, which included a meet and greet with the Afro beat maestro, complimentary cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.

The evening offered the loyalty programme members opportunity to win one-night stay in the Sheraton Club Room at the Sheraton Lagos Hotel, as well as, a delightful breakfast, engaging conversations and a photo oppor-

Femi Kuti

tunity with the living legend.

Marriott International has been focused on stepping up its experiences game, creating exclusive Moments that help connect with members through their passions, be it culinary, music or sport.

From masterclasses with renowned chefs, mixologists, DJs and photographers to behind the scenes access to concerts, to experiences around your favorite sport or an immersive experience of the local cuisine or culture, there is a lot to explore and discover what makes travel more enriching.

Explaining the rationale for the concert, Barry Curran, general manager, Sheraton Lagos Hotel, said, “As a city landmark and a hotspot for the local community,

as well as, the international traveler to Nigeria, we are delighted to have brought this concert to the hotel to create a truly transformative evening for our guests and loyalty programme members, through the reverberating rhythm of Afrobeat and an experience that ties them back to the destination”.

“I am proud of our partners and my team who helped to deliver this; most especially the stellar performance by Femi Kuti and the budding star, his son, Made. It was a night that will not be forgotten in a very long time. One People One World is an exceptional album, and we thank Sheraton, Starwood and the entire Marriott Group for supporting the event” said Aibee Abidoye, general manager, Chocolate City Group, said.

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Business Etiquette

Movie Review of “THE MEG”

with Janet Adetu

LINDA OCHUGBUA

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f you have enjoyed movies like Anaconda or any other action-packed movie with really large creatures in it, then THE MEG would interest you.

This simple, yet intriguing story of THE MEG by Dean Georgaris, is about a very rare and highly dangerous type of shark capable of devouring an entire community.

The first scene of the movie talked about some team members trapped at the bottom of the ocean as the ship had been destroyed by the shark. They had to wait for another ship to come to their rescue. While they waited, “Suyin” went on in another ship to try rescuing them; they also sent for “Jonas Taylor” (Jason Statham) to go and assist.

On getting there, he (Jonas) was shocked that they had continued working on that project despite telling them not to after the first time he got attacked by that Shark, Meg. They managed to save the other colleagues but ended up losing one, this was when they believed that this shark was the world’s deadliest Aqua animal.

With the situation on the ground, they had to come up quickly with a new strategy to kill MEG. Their first strategy was for Suyin to descend into the ocean in an unbreakable glass cage where she would search for the Shark and kill it. It sounded easy and achievable but still, a huge underestimation of MEG’s strength, which almost led to Suyin’s death.

This is one movie that will have you screaming and clenching to the arms of your seat from start to finish. At some point, I thought the shark was going to swim out of the screen and swallow everyone in the theatre. (Quick advice – you’ll have tens of such thoughts if you see it in 3D. Hahaha!)

Just when I thought the movie was coming to an end, I found out they had only killed one and had another that was even more deadly. Oh, my days!!

You need to see this movie to know how it ended. No spoilers from me.

Making the most of that Conference – Part 2 Continued from Part 1

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ow do you make the most of that conference?

Let’s read on:

Cast: Jason Statham, Bingbing Li, Winston Chao, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Page Kennedy, Jessica McNamee, Olafur Darris Olafsson, Robert Taylor, Masi Oka, Tawanda Manyiwo Genre: Action, Adventure, Horror, Science-Fiction & Fantasy Director: Jon Turteltaub Ratings: PG 13 (for action/peril, bloody images and some language) Written by: Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber Runtime: 114 minutes Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures Verdict: The movie was action packed, although towards the end it became unrealistic. It felt as though the writer lost touch of the story idea towards the end.

On the other hand, the production was really good; they made all the scenes look as real as possible. It is so difficult to believe this movie wasn’t shot in an actual ocean.

Even though it hasn’t done fantastically well in the box office, it is still one worth watching.

I mean, what could possibly be uninteresting about a Jason Statham movie!?!

To my verdict, this movie gets a good - 7/10.

Movie Credit: Cast: Jason Statham, Bingbing Li, Winston Chao, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Page Kennedy, Jessica McNamee, Olafur Darris

Olafsson, Robert Taylor, Masi Oka, Tawanda Manyiwo Genre: Action, Adventure, Horror, Science-Fiction & Fantasy Director: Jon Turteltaub Ratings: PG 13 (for action/peril, bloody images and some language) Written by: Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber & Erich Hoeber Runtime: 114 minutes Studio: Warner Bros.

Pictures Feel free to review any movie of your choice in not more than 200 words and send to linda@businessdayonline.com Also, stand a chance to win a free movie ticket when you answer the question of the week correctly via social media.

Twitter & Instagram - @ lindaochugbua

Dressing Drama.

Conferences attract people from all walks of life potential business prospects and more. Your appearance will influence the view others have of you and the perception you leave in their minds.

Taking that extra time and effort to think of what you intend wearing is a major plus for you. You want to dress to be included, to fit into that circle of prospects. You want to dress to represent your brand, it is important you do not sabotage your brand by stepping out wrongly.

Professionalism is your key indicator whether you are an entrepreneur, an individual or a professional in the corporate space. Dress the way you want to be addressed as the saying goes.

Tailgating Your Time.

One most important thing regarding making the most of that conference is your arrival on time, the first day and every day. Be time conscious of the timetable given you to for the entire program. I would say once you have determined to be at the conference be present, avoid distracting yourself with other things. Make the most of the conference you are in and leverage on the positive advantage, opportunities and prospects that can come your way.

If you are side tracked you will miss teachings, business opportunities and much more to your disadvantage.

While at the conference delegates for this period should respond to messages, email and calls during break sessions. Multitask smartly, make it a win-win situation for you and your business.

Mix, Mangle and Mingle.

There will be various opportunities in the morning, during tea break, lunch, marketplace and dinner breaks to network and get to know other delegates.

It is so easy to spend your break time on your phone for the entire period and lose out on other potential

opportunities. Learn to mix and mingle as best you can, get to know others, collect business cards, be friendly, approachable, authoritative, accommodating and open minded at all such conference events.

Your Business Card.

A conference is not the time or the place to say you forgot your business card. Incidentally it is one of the most popular events people tend to forget to come along with their business cards. This is not to say splash out your business card to everyone who cares to take it. Develop a rapport; decide if you would like to take the connectivity further as they may be potential for future business relationships or future discussions. I expect that you endeavor to collect

at least 5-10 business cards at any networking gathering. When receiving a card take note of who the person is, where they work and contact details. Present your business card with pride and look forward to the future.

Strategic Seating The last thing I expect from a conference delegate is to pick a back seat at a conference. I always wonder why some people still have a preference for the back seat.

Could it be that the view is better, they are camera shy, they do not want to be noticed, or they just want to be onlookers? Picking a strategic seat at a conference is important; you want maximum attention to make the most of that conference. Being at the front is not far fun, it is for influence, take advantage of every opportunity.

Be Present.

Prepare to be present at your conference, so many

times there is the urge to drift off and fall asleep if care is not taken. It might not be deliberate but you may just miss that important announcement if this becomes frequent. Avoid responding to calls, text messages and emails during session times.

Avoid side meetings, gossip and irrelevances during sessions. It is safer to determine in your mind what you want to get out of and achieve from that conference.

Phones Off. It goes without saying that to be present and totally attentive. Your phone are best placed on silent or tuned off completely. The art of learning is to be attentive as best you can. Let your staff know where you will be for a period of time.

Brilliant Breaks.

Use your tea, lunch, market place and dinner breaks as specified to your advantage.

Mix, mingle and network even more during these times. Associate with familiar faces build your acquaintances, have a laugh and lots of fun too.

Learn, Unlearn and Relearn.

Knowledge they say is power, you can never know too much or enough. Be in that space where you are positioned to learn lots or new things; unlearn those bad habits you may have picked up over time and be in the position to relearn what you thought you may have known, only to know it better today. Learning is a powerful tool to success.

Good luck at your next conference.

Janet.adetu@jsketiquetteconsortium.com

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Hotels The Hawthorn experience in Abuja

Stories by OBINNA EMELIKE

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o residents of the federal capital territory, especially those in the Garki district of Abuja, the emergence of Hawthorn Suites is so sudden and out of the blues. Unknown to them, however, its conception, planning and construction had been arduous, spanning seven years from 2003. The idea finally came to fruition when it commenced operations on October 12, 2009.

Hawthorn Suites, a brand of US-based Wyndham Hotel Group, debuted with an idea that is alien and refreshing to Abuja, - Suites. There are numerous reasons for this.

One, it opens more space for friends and families that are looking for get-away but at the same time want to feel at home. A family of four, five or six can spend a holiday in a two-bedroom suite with the homely feelings.

On the flip side is the de-

sire to be unique. But the main is the gradual re-emergence of the middle class, which means that people will once again be adventurous and travel to know places.

Abuja is not a tourist centre but has become the destination for businessmen around the globe, and Nigerians as well. It is the seat of power and where political decisions are made. Because politicians also wear the toga of businessmen, Abuja is hence the place to be.

It caters to myriads of needs of families, businessmen, politicians and holidaymakers. For a businessman, Hawthorn Suites provides all that is needed to work.

The idea is that it serves as a virtual office for all guests for usage as an extension of their offices. With two boardrooms and conference rooms, and the amenities on offer in the rooms and the business centres, it is hence a place where one won’t miss a step from work and home.

To keep fit is a gym fitted with state-of-the-art facili-

ties. There is a coffee lounge, a guest lounge on each and every floor and have started having events that play on holidays. All are for guests’ enjoyment.

The outfit is an example of sound investment totalling N1.5 billion and derived its funding from debt, equity, and pre-sale of the suites.

People were given opportunity during its construction to invest, use it as a home or guest house or use as an investment vehicle. The way the investment vehicle works is that, you buy it and give it back to the management to be managed. Such investor gets a free two weeks in a year and revenue share in the remaining 351 days of the year, after the deduction of the management fee.

Being home to businessmen, politicians and other top decision makers in the country, the management primed itself on service delivery. This has brought it on the same page with other top hotels in Abuja. Thus, its efficient service delivery has

shot it up to the top ladder in the rating of the hospitality industry in the FCT, making it number two of the 19 hotels reviewed by Trip Advisor, an international hospitality rating agency.

It targets the middle class and those at the upper rung of the society. At Hawthorn Suites Abuja, breakfast buffet that offers good variety is free for all guests and this is a key attribute of the Wyndham brand. This and other amenities like spacious suites with kitchenettes and free internet access are some of the ways it add value to its very competitive room rates.

“Building a hotel is not just about beautiful furnishings but service, privacy, exclusivity, facilities and security. We have more space and privacy here and a service mentality that treats each guest that walks through our doors as if he or she were our only guest,” says the hotel management.

The management created an edge in service through staff mix by hiring people with barren experience and those that have worked in high rated hotels. Though those with no experience were trained from scratch, it however has its advantage.

It is always hard to change a staff that once worked in a hotel because such comes with a mindset.

Just like other businesses, Hawthorn Suites has its challenges and concerns. Uncertainty in the economy is a major concern and it makes business difficult to adjudge.

As well, near lack of electricity is a major challenge.

But all these are adequately met with solutions. However, the hotel awaits your visit anytime you are in Abuja.

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

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

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

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

Tel: +234 9 4603900, +234 805 7522500

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

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

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

Southern Sun Ikoyi thrills guests with Faaji Repete

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n taking its hospitality experience to the next level, Southern Sun Ikoyi continues to excite guests with innovative menus as it promotes local cuisines and traditions as it hosted guests to its Yoruba themed “Faaji Repete” menu through its series of themed ethnic Saturday night menu.

The ethnic Saturday night menu, which commenced with the themed “Igbo Amaka” celebration, left guests truly excited with inspired local menus by the head chef and cultural representation of the restaurant décor alongside the energetic performance of the traditional troupe who ensured that guests of the hotel left with a truly memorable experience.

The Faaji Repete offering lived up to the hotel’s reputation of a complete hospitality experience as guests with

different pallets were treated to an array of indigenous Yoruba cuisines, which hitherto might not have been seen on the dining of any international hotel.

The themed celebration was such that while guests

enjoyed the appetising dishes on menu, local serenades representing Fuji and other exciting tunes were played such that guests responded to the tunes as they moved their bodies in acknowledge-

ment of a job well done.

Through guests experiences and comments, the themed ethnic Saturday night has showed that there is a lot of untapped cultural menus, which has reignited the need for more local cuisines in the hospitality industry as the themed “Igbo Amaka” and “Faaji Repete” nights witnessed an interests in the local dishes introduced by foreign guests of the hotel who enjoyed these delicacies. The local dishes for Nigerians present reminisced childhood experiences and dishes which a rare in most menus today.

As guests look forward to another inspired ethnic Saturday night, Southern Sun Ikoyi continues its drive for consistency in promoting unique culinary experiences and tourism offerings within Nigeria.

Protea Hotel (GRA Ikeja) GRA Ikeja

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

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

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

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LegalPerspectives With Odunayo Oyasiji Pay now, sue later: The independence principle of letters of credit and fraud exception

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he focus here is documentary letters of credit. It can simply be said to be a form of guarantee from the issuer (usually a bank on the application of the buyer) to the beneficiary (usually a seller) assuring the beneficiary of payment upon the presentation of certain documents in accordance with the terms and conditions in the letter of credit.

This transaction is governed

by International Chamber of Commerce Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP). The current version is called UCP 600 which came to effect on July 1, 2007.

Why letters of credit?

Payment in exchange for good is at the centre of business transaction. A buyer is always keen about getting the product he paid for while the concern of a seller is getting paid for the goods supplied. This is easier when the parties transacting business are in the same place (area, town or country).

It becomes complex when the transaction is across bordersbuyer is in Nigeria and the seller is in China. How will the two parties transact business without the fear of one person duping the other e.g. parting with goods and not getting paid or parting with money without receiving the goods?

How best can the interest of both parties be secured? This led to the invention and use of letters of credit in international trade. This instrument is widely used in international trade and its importance cannot be over emphasized. An understanding of its nature and how it works is essential.

How it works It must be noted that letters of credit are usually issued by banks on the instruction of its customer. The integrity of the bank to honour payment is what makes the instrument attractive and acceptable. Also, the issuing bank usually makes use of a bank in the country of the seller.

The bank in the seller’s country is usually referred to as the confirming bank. The confirming bank is assuring the seller of payment once the required conditions are complied with.

Both sides to the transaction (buyer and seller) are protected through this arrangement. The buyer is assured of getting what he paid for as payment will only be made if the seller fulfils the conditions in the letter of credit. The seller is sure of getting paid once conforming or compliant documents are presented- usually invoice and evidence of shipment.

The independence/Autonomy principle of letters of credit (Article 4 of UCP 600) The independent nature of letters of credit is a major factor that promotes its credibility.

The meaning of this is that the letter of credit is independent of the underlying contract of sale between the parties. The main thing the letter of credit deals with is the presentation of complying or conforming documents. Payment is made upon the presentation of complying/conforming documents without regard to what the underlying contract is all about. The bank will not involve itself in the controversies surrounding the performance of the underlying contract. It has been said that this independent nature is the major reasons why banks are willing to issue and confirm letters of credit. The only burden on them is the acceptance of conforming documents against payment. If more burden is placed on banks, they are likely not to accept to issue letters of credit or the process of obtaining one will be tedious and extremely expensive.

Elements of a letter of credit The basic elements of a letter of credit are –i. the issuing bank is

giving an undertaking to pay ii.

The undertaking is on behalf of a buyer iii. The undertaking is to a seller who is the beneficiary iv. there is a specified amount to be paid to the beneficiary/ seller under the undertaking v. specified documents must be presented before payment can be made by the issuer to the beneficiary vi. The documents must be presented within a stated time. Vii. the documents must conform with what is stated in the letter of credit viii. the place for presentation of documents must be stated.

Parties to a letter of credit transaction The notable parties in a letter of credit transaction are – the buyer, the seller, the issuing bank, the advising bank, the confirming bank, the nominated bank. The buyer is the person who approaches a bank to issue a letter of credit in favour of a seller in order to assure him of payment. The seller is the party in whose favour the letter of credit is issued and he is obliged to fulfil the conditions in the letter of credit before payment can be made. The issuing bank is the buyer’s bank that issued the letter of credit and thereby making the payment of the buyer its primary obligation. The advising bank only informs the seller of the existence of the letter of credit without any additional obligation. The confirming bank goes the extra mile of assuring or guaranteeing payment and this makes the confirming bank liable to pay the seller upon presentation of conforming documents. The advising bank is usually the confirming bank in most situations. The nominated bank is usually the bank that is authorised to pay.

Types of Letters of Credit There are different types of letters of credit- irrevocable, revocable, unconfirmed, confirmed, transferable, standby, revolving and back to back letters of credit.

We cannot go into details due to space constraints. However, most letters of credit in recent times are usually irrevocable i.e. the bank that issued it cannot revoke it except if all parties come to an agreement. They are also usually confirmed by a bank in the seller’s country as this provides the seller with additional security.

Examination of document by the bank/doctrine of strict compliance (Article 5 of UCP 600) A bank that received documents from the seller is under an obligation to check that the documents presented complies with the terms of the letter of credit i.e. that there is no discrepancy (Article 16 of UCP 600). This is the duty the bank owes the buyer. The bank cannot pay if there is a discrepancy e.g. the items described on the shipper’s invoice differs from what is on the letter of credit. The bank can only go on with payment if the buyer waives the discrepancy.

The bank is not to investigate if the goods shipped are in good condition- its sole duty is to ensure that the documents presented comply strictly with the conditions for payment in the letter of credit. The bank will be liable where it pays against documents that do not comply.

The rules guiding standard of examination of documents are in Article 14 of UCP 600.

What constitutes complying or conforming presentation by the seller? (Article 2 and 15 of UCP 600) The basic rule guiding complying presentation is that such presentation must be done in line with the requirements under the terms of the letter of credit.

The basic elements are that all the required documents must be delivered, the delivery must be within the time stated and there must be no discrepancies (Article 6 of UCP 600). The bank is obliged to pay upon the observance of these rules.

Fraud Exceptions to the independence/Autono-

mous principle of letters of credit The independence principle of letters of credit is well established in practice. However, it operates with recognized exceptions. The bank if it has notice of the fraud of the beneficiary either in the process of obtaining the credit or in presentation of documents can decline payment. The reason for this exception is well captured in the Canadian case of Bank of Nova Scotia v. Angelica-Whitewear Ltd [1987] D.L.R. 161,168 (Can.) where Justice Le Dain stated that “The potential scope of the fraud exception must not be a means of creating serious uncertainty and lack of confidence in the operation of letter of credit transactions; at the same time the application of the principle of autonomy must not serve to encourage or facilitate fraud in such transactions”. This rule allows the bank to look beyond the presentation of a conforming document. It gives it the right to stop payment where the bank has notice of fraud. This does not mean that the bank has primary responsibility of deliberately looking for fraud where same is not obvious.

It has been argued that the fraud exception is important for three main reasons- to close a gap in the law, preserve the anti-fraud public policy and to further preserve the commercial value of the instrument. A classic example of where fraud exception operates is where the beneficiary or his agent presents forged documents to claim payment. If this comes to the notice of the bank before payment then the bank can on this basis refuse to pay. It must be noted that evidence of fraud is needed to activate this exception as mere allegation of fraud will not be sufficient.

Conclusion Letters of credit operates on the principle that payment must be made on the presentation of conforming documents and not on the performance of the underlying contract of sale.

The buyer is therefore expected to pay and then sue the seller after payment for breach of the underlying contract. The only exception to the rule is where there is evidence and notice of fraud before the bank pays.

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BUSINESS SOUTH-SOUTH

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF SOUTH-SOUTH / SOUTH-EAST

Stakeholders decry business lull in seaports in South-South IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, Benin

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takeholders in the maritime sector made up of city chambers of commerce, shippers association export clusters, among others have strongly decried the lack business activity at the seaports in the SouthSouth zone, due mainly to neglect by the Federal Government to rehabilitate the ports.

The stakeholders include, Forum of South-South Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (FOSSCCIMA), Benin Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Industry (BENCCIMA), Edo Export Clusters, Edo Shippers Association, among others.

Some of the seaports that are nonfunctional in the zone include Koko, Sapele, Warri, Calabar and Port Harcourt.

The stakeholders made the remark during a joint inspection of the AMESEdo Inland Dry Port in Benin-City by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Council (ICRC) and Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC).

However, the stakeholders have called for a speedy completion and commissioning of the Edo Inland Dry Port; and not allow the same fate that visited the other ports to visit it.

“We want to appeal to the Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC), Federal Ministry of Transportation, and the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) to expedite their due diligence and approve the commencement of the use of this wonderful facility to the growth of the economy

of the region and Nigeria, said Emma Avworo, president of FOSSCCIMA on behalf of the stakeholders.

He noted that when completed, the Edo Inland Dry Port would promptly help to decongest the Apapa, Tin Can and other ports in Lagos that are currently experiencing the worst level of congestion in history.

Meanwhile, the maritime stakeholders have urged the Edo State Government to take off the 20 per cent equity share of the Dry Port.

NEPC committed to zero oil national economic plan – Etim MIKE ABANG, Calabar

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rade Promotion Adviser, Nigerian Export Promotions Council (NEPC), Calabar, Emmanuel Etim has said that the agency remains committed to the growth in non-oil exports activities, increase in foreign exchange earnings, creating of jobs, growing the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and promoting industrialization in the era of zero-oil national economic development plan.

Etim disclosed this in Calabar during a three-day export capacity building workshop on food processing, packaging and labelling for export, in collaboration with the Cross River State Ministry of Commerce and Industry, which held at the Entrepreneurship Development Centre (EDC), Cross River State.

The event, intensive export training packaging was carefully designed to build the capacities of relevant stakeholders in the State on practical food processing, packaging and labelling for export, which is geared towards achieving economic dependency through meaningful non-oil activities.

According to him, the workshop was meant to expose stakeholders to proper practical food processing, packaging and labelling techniques in compliance to international standard.

Declaring the workshop open, Veronica Oriere, deputy director, NEPC Export Office, Abuja, said there was need to export our excess food; and commended some states like Anambra and Ebonyi, for exporting rice and vegetables. She stressed that packaging and labelling was very critical in the processing value chain.

In her goodwill message, the SouthSouth regional coordinator NEPC Azuka Ikejifor disclosed that in 2015, Nigeria’s non-oil export products suffered a colossal humiliation in the inglorious beans, fish, melon and sesame seed export saga at the European markets She said that monumental loss could have been averted if there was adequate and conscious control checks and sanitary measures within the products’ value chain points. She lamented that till date, the woeful outcome of those transactions had persistently refused to diffuse.

Speaking on behalf of the chambers, Avworo, president of FOSSCCIMA, noted that the development of inland ports would expand import-export activities in the country, as well as increase the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

“Inland dry ports are the way to go, because all the ports in the country are all in located in the coastal regions; while a large expanse of the country can only be serviced by rail, or road. This of course, results in port congestion and

traffic in the port cities. The development of inland ports seeks to expand import and export activities beyond the formal air and sea ports, to inland ports that best serve the users that are closer to an industrial sector,” Avworo explained.

He said Benin-City happens to be a transport and logistics base of Southern Nigeria with equidistance from Lagos, Onitsha, Lokoja, Warri and Port-Harcourt. With the development of the Edo Dry Port, we expect the government to develop the roads linking the facility, and plan a rail linking the East-West, as well as North-South, with Benin as its epicentre,” he added.

On his part, Edo State chairman of BENCCIMA, B.E Ezekwere noted that business communities in the state suffered myriads of challenges occasioned by the non-functioning of South-South and South-East ports, generally referred to as Eastern Ports.

Ezekwere wondered how an importer that is based in Benin, Warri, Sapele, Asaba, Port Hacourt, Aba, Onitsha, Enugu, Uyo, Calabar, among others, would be shipping his cargos to Lagos, when there are ports in the geopolitical zones that can easily and conveniently be accessed if they were operational.

He attributed the regular congestion in the Lagos ports to the acute shortage of enough space for trucks to park, while waiting to discharge their consignments.

“We at the chamber are interested

in the speedy completion and commissioning of the AMES Edo Inland Dry Port project because of the expected positive impacts it would have on the development of the economy of the state and Nigeria in general.

Earlier, Glory Onojedo, deputy director, Public Private Partnership (PPP) at the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), informed that the Federal Government was more committed to the commencement of operations of the project.

He said in 2006, the Nigerian Government concessioned six inland dry ports which were currently at various stages of implementation, noting that the AMES-Edo Inland Dry Port has fulfilled substantially most of the requirements for a Public-Private Partnership.

He added that the project has already been awarded a four-star status few months ago.

Charles Akhigbe, chief executive officer (CEO) Atlantique Marine Engineering Services (AMES), the promoters of AMES-Edo Inland Dry Port, said, the project, among other benefits, would help accelerate socio-economic transformation of Edo State in particular, and the South-South in general.

He said the port would also drive export business of the State, as well as assist in the reduction of overall cost of transit cargo to landlocked neighbouring states and countries.

He said investigation had shown that 70 per cent of cargo consigned to the Lagos Port complex was destined for the hinterland.

NGO raises alarm over impact of climate change ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

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Civil Society Organisation (CSO), Kebetache Women DevelopmentandResourceCentre has raised the alarm over what it described as threat posed by climate change; saying that urgent steps should be taken to avert the looming danger, particularly in the Niger Delta region, and in the country at large.

According to it, areas like agriculture, environment, transportation and health system were already witnessing dramatic changes; maintaining all hands must be on deck to address it, and initiate policies and actions that would help to protect our communities from the negative impact of climate change.

EmemOkon,directoroftheorganisation, in an interview during a consultative and validation meeting for State Climate ChangeActionPlanandthedevelopment of the Niger Delta Climate Change Policy Framework held in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, said climate change, as a globalphenomenonwasalreadyimpacting on the people, as seen in more rains, increase in flooding across the country, and intense heat in some parts of the country.

Okon attributed the changes in the climate to emissions from industries and cars, as well as greenhouse effect; saying no measure was too small to be undertaken by individuals and groups to safe our environment.

“The impact of climate change on the environment is enormous, the state government should set aside a budget for theimplementation ofclimate change policies,” she said.

She also urged governments at all levels including, civil societies organisations, churches, individuals and pressure groups to join hands in the fight against the menace by stopping the dumping of refuse in drainages, indiscriminate bush burning, among other measures.

In his presentation on National Climate Change Policy, Kingsey Ozegbe, a monitoring and evaluation expert, listed the key climate change impact areas that require strategic policy to include: agriculture, (crop and livestock), fresh water and coastal water resources, forest, biodiversity, health and sanitation, human settlement and housing, energy, transportation and communication, industry and commerce, disaster /migration and security, livelihoods, vulnerable groups

and education.

He suggested the need for individuals and groups to develop sustainable strategies to deal with the impact of climate change; warning that if nothing was not done, the entire Niger Delta region would be submerged by 2050.

Similarly, Okon Ntoketi, director of Renewable Energy in Akwa Ibom state ministry of Science and Technology said, the state government has developed a policy on climate change; adding that the ministry was working towards cutting down the emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in line.

He said as part of the renewable energy programme of the state government, mini grid solar electrification programme were being carried out in parts of the state; maintaining that some strides have been made by the state government to provide electricity to communities that had never been linked to the public power supply.

KabariSam,headofEnvironmentand Conservation at the Center of Environment, Human Rights and Development, described climate change as an increase in the temperature in the surface of the earth.

GOC 82 Division Nigeria Army vows to maintain peace in zone …as Enugu ComPol says South East most peaceful zone REGIS ANUKWUOJI, Enugu

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he General Officer Commanding (GOC) 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Enugu, Emmanuel Kabuk has promised to ensure that the Division will continue to maintain peace within its

areas of responsibility (AOR).

He stated this at the opening ceremonyof82Divisionoperationsplanning cadre 2018 in Enugu, maintaining that the Division’s officers and soldiers would continue to handle emerging security challengesprofessionally,withallsenseof responsiveness consistent with the Chief of Army Staff’s vision.

Kabuk said, the cardre was necessary duetoincreasedparticipationofNigerian Army in exercises, as well as joint and multi-national operations; adding that there was the need for adherence to techniques and procedures in the conduct of military operations, while not ruling out the rule of law.

According to the GOC, the prevailing

security situation in the country, and with some peculiar activities in the Division’s AOR, especially the recent agitations by criminal groups, have made continuous training imperative.

“This training also keys into the COAS Lt Gen Tukur Buratai’s vision, which is to have a professionally responsive Nigeria Army in discharge of its constitutional roles,” he said.

The cadre, he said, was aimed at

teaching, exercising and refreshing the participants who are officers of the Division, in the art of operational planning.

“Planning and executing operations seamlessly, either in conventional, asymmetrical warfare or MOOTW situations, it is important to note that logistics planning, which is key to successful conduct of operations has been added to this training,” he said.

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Opinions divided over FIFA FIFPro World XI, Best Player Awards Stories by Anthony Nlebem

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t a star-studded gala night in London on Monday night, September 24th the FIFA FIFPro World XI 2018 was announced, with some big names like Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Athletico Madrid’s point man, Antoine Griezmann conspicuously missing out while there were some questionable inclusions on list to leave fans confused.

A remarkable history was also made on the night as Croatian midfielder and Modric and Brazilian Marta scooped the top prizes at Best FIFA Football Awards.

Modric and Marta were named winners of the Best FIFA Men’s and Women’s Player Awards respectively.

The second edition of the awards took place at the Royal Festival Hall.

Modric was rewarded for a superb year at club and international level, having first helped Real Madrid clinch their third consecutive UEFA Champions League title.

He then captained Croatia to a maiden FIFA World Cup final, where they ultimately fell to a 4-2 defeat to France.

The 33-year-old, who was named the tournament’s best player, saw off competition from Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah to claim the top men’s prize today.

His victory marked the first time since 2007 that neither Ronaldo nor Argentina’s Lionel Messi have claimed the FIFA Player of the Year award.

“It was an unbelievable season, the best season in my life,” said Mo-

dric. “I’m still not realising how good a year I had collectively, individually, and I’m very proud for everything I achieved this year and it will be remembered forever.”

For the first time in 12 years, Messi was not among the finalists with third place going to Salah for his incredible 44-goal debut season with Liverpool that carried the Reds to the Champions League final.

But on the contrary, Manchester United safest hand, David de Gea, who was not in the three-man shortlist for The Best FIFA Goalkeeper award, made the FIFPro World XI ahead of Kasper Schmeichel, Hugo Lloris and Best FIFA Goalkeeper of the year, Thibaut Courtois.

Also, in the list is Dani Alves, who missed the 2018 FIFA World Cup due to injury and is yet to play a single game in the 2018/19 season for PSG, yet he was chosen at the right-back slot.

Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane, central defensive partners for European champions Real Madrid, were almost guaranteed a spot and the four-man defence was completed by their club teammate Marcelo.

Traditionally, the FIFA FIFPro World XI has always been in a 4-3-3 formation and that’s why the midfield picks raised quite a few eyebrows as well.

N’Golo Kante, who starred for France en route to their World Cup triumph and was largely outstanding for club Chelsea, anchors the midfield along with Croatian midfielder and Best FIFA Men’s Player —Luka Modric.

It’s the third inclusion, however, that left many baffled as winger Eden Hazard slotted in a three-man midfield.

The diminutive winger had a good season for club Chelsea and has begun the new campaign on a blistering note, while his World Cup exploits for Belgium piqued the interest of Real Madrid.

However, it would be inconceivable to ever see the attacker play such a deep role in a football match and yet, the Blues man features in midfield.

Up top, it’s the familiar duo of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and they are partnered by France and Paris Saint-Germain wonderkid

Kylian Mbappe.

Considering Mohamed Salah was shortlisted for the Best FIFA Men’s Player award, his absence is bewildering, as is Antoine Griezmann’s.

Griezmann’s goals powered France to a World Cup title, while Salah was sensational for club Liverpool in the 2017/18 season, very nearly ensuring a UEFA Champions League crown.

Messi was largely on fire for club Barcelona, but the Catalans flattered to deceive in continental competition

and it’s widely agreed that he had a sub-par World Cup in Russia too.

Die hard fans of the Portuguese feel he deserved the FIFA Best Player Award after his illustrious performance that helped Real Madrid claim the Champions League for a third successive time. Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes put it bluntly: “it is simply ridiculous.”

Fans now question the eligibility, authenticity and the credibility of the FIFA Awards as it negates the general or major opinions of estimated 3.5 billions football fans.

L-R: Carla Sojinrin, head, not-for-profit unit, Sterling Bank Plc; Ibrahim Hussein, representative of district 4, 2nd Position; Faruq Akinsemoye, representative of district 4, 1st position; Issac Daniel, representative of district 6, 3rd position all in the sprint junior boy category at the grand finale of the 3rd edition of the School Cycling Challenge organized by the African Foundation and sponsored by Sterling Bank Plc, held in Lagos recently.

Why I invited Dangote, Otedola to FIFA Best Awards- Pinnick … Says NFF on a drive to financial autonomy

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resident of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Melvin Pinnick has spoken on why he invited business moguls Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola to the 2018 edition of the FIFA Best Awards ceremony held in London on Monday night, September 24th.

Dangote, who holds Nigeria’s second highest national honour (GCON) is the President of Dangote Group and is ranked as the richest person of African descent in the world.

The Dangote Group has interests in various commodities in Nigeria and other African countries. Alongside oil baron Otedola, Dangote was conspicuous at the Awards, and both met with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and the crème de la crème of world football in the British capital.

“Alhaji Dangote is perhaps the biggest business brand in Africa, and one of Nigeria’s leading Ambassadors.

I am very happy to be in a position to invite him and Otedola to such an

event of global stature and essence.

“As a nation, it is important that we continue to showcase our best brands in all fields. Doing this enhances the

stock of our country globally. Alhaji Dangote and Otedola were happy to meet the world’s top governors of football and the football governors

Amaju Melvin Pinnick (2nd left), NFF President; Aliko Dangote (3rd left), President of Dangote Group; Gianni Infantino (3rd right), FIFA President; Femi Otedola (right); Seyi Akinwunmi (2nd right), NFF 1st VP and Shehu Dikko (left), NFF 2nd VP in London on Monday night for the FIFA Best Players Awards.

were also happy to meet them.

“Our objective as a Football Federation is to attain financial autonomy so that the Government can channel resources otherwise taken up by football into other critical sectors, and we believe that if we have persons like Dangote and Otedola partnering with Nigerian Football, we will get there faster,” said Pinnick, who is also the 1st Vice President of the Confederation of African Football. Dangote is reportedly worth over $15 billion.

“The NFF has invited Alhaji Dangote to a couple of matches previously, including the friendly match with England in London before the FIFA World Cup in Russia, but he was unable to attend. Now, we are discussing with him on a relationship with Nigerian Football and he is showing immense interest.”

Presently, AITEO is Nigerian Football’s biggest partner, with a five –year agreement for payment of coaches of the various National Teams, sponsorship of the annual

AITEO Cup for men and women and sponsorship of the annual NFF/ AITEO Awards. It can be recalled that Pinnick also invited Benedict Peters, who is the Executive Vice Chairman/ CEO of AITEO Group to the last FIFA Best Awards ceremony in London.

Francis Peters, his deputy, represented him. This year, AITEO was represented by Executive Director, Andrew Onyearu, as Peters was in New York to receive an award for the company from FORBES magazine.

“Football has tremendous capacity to be self-sustaining and even contribute significantly to the national GDP. That is the station we are targeting at the moment.

“I also want to use this opportunity to appreciate our other sponsors and partners, Coca Cola, Zenith Bank, Nigeria Breweries Plc, NIKE, Cadbury Plc, WAPIC Insurance, Emzor Pharmaceuticals, TGI, 1XBET, Peak Milk, Payporte for making us to attain the present 65 per cent private sector – funding status,” said Pinnick.

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NEWS Unions wage hike demand could make...

Continued from page 1

Nigerians more expensive to employ than the Vietnamese ($145)

or Russians ($163).”

“There is a case to be made for a higher minimum wage. The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) points out that the currency has halved in value and petrol prices are up 80 percent since the last wage change. Ivory Coast and Kenya have minimum wages around roughly $100,” Robertson further added.

However, Nigeria’s wages must be lower than Vietnam’s to remain competitive, because Vietnam has better adult literacy (95 percent verse 60 percent in Nigeria, 2015 data), 10 times more electricity per person and higher investment /GDP. This is leaving aside the issue of whether Abuja (Federal Government) can afford to dramatically increase wages,“ Robertson added in a series of tweets yesterday afternoon.

In a conversation with BusinessDay, Bismarck Rewane, chief executive, Financial Derivatives Company said, “I agree with Robertson, however, I am more conservative. I think at best the minimum wage should be increased to N45,000 ($124), that is 150 percent increase from the current minimum wage level.”

Yesterday the Petroleum and Natu-

ral Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, or Pengassan, said it was joining the action with immediate effect.

“However, those on critical and essential services are required to remain on their duty posts,” the manager-level union’s secretary general, Lumumba Okugbawa, said in a statement.

Initial response to the strike call appeared lukewarm with most schools and businesses open in Abuja and the commercial capital, Lagos, with only some government offices shut.

Long lines of cars formed at fuel stations as people tried to buy gasoline in anticipation of shortages.

The strike involves public and private sector labor coalitions grouped under the Nigeria Labour Congress, for blue- collar workers, and the Trade Union Congress, for managerial employees. The action follows failed talks on Wednesday in Abuja, between union leaders and Labour and Employment Minister Chris Ngige. The strike could involve as many as 4 million workers, including the country’s two influential oil unions, said Peter Ozo Eson, a spokesman for the NLC. A Lagos based money manager had some counsel for NLC. “I think the NLC should come up with a blue print on how cost of governance and revenue leakages can be reduced before clamouring for an increase in minimum wage. I don’t agree that

Nigeria’s minimum wage should be lower than that of Vietnam to remain competitive,” said Ayodeji Ebo, managing director, Afrivest Securities Limited.

“What Nigeria requires is significant investment in infrastructure to lower cost of living and in turn improve the standard of living. The level of infrastructural decadence has pressured income levels, hence leaving little or nothing for savings which translates to less investment,” Ebo added.

The economics in Nigeria currently does not support a minimum wage increase of over 211 percent like the unions are demanding as adult literacy is among the lowest among frontier markets and economic productivity (GDP per person employed) has been declining in recent years.

“Nigeria’s difficulty on the minimum wage is that because its electricity, literacy and investment to GDP ratios are less than most countries, its wages must be less too or it will not attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI),” said Robertson.

If FDI declines in the country, Nigeria may suffer another currency devaluation after only recently exiting a currency crisis in 2016. According to Robertson, “Nigeria will be risking more NGN depreciation (in the long-term) with a big minimum wage hike. A N500/$ rate instead of N362/$ rate would push down the doubled N36, 000 minimum wage from $100 to $72 which is probably

a more sensible compromise (economically, not politically).”

“Note that countries which have increased wages too high have seen foreign exchange markets take that rise away. Turkey’s 60 percent minimum wage increase since 2015 was taken away by the Turkish Lira collapse to 6 TRY/$. Egypt’s minimum wage was $174 back in 2014, taken back to $67 by the devaluation to 18 EGP/$. Argentina has also seen a big fall.”

“Indeed, it’s possible that the last Nigerian minimum wage hike to N18,000 was only sustainable when oil prices were $100 or more, but

when the oil price collapsed, they no longer were, hence the collapse in dollar terms to the current $50. Base case then is that investors are likely to worry if the minimum wage is more than doubled to N36,000. Even that may be too high for economic fundamentals,” Robertson of RenCap said.

If the unions are able to force the government to agree to their wish, it could lead to higher unemployment as Nigerian employers and the government struggle to manage the increased wage bill as soon as the new minimum wage law is implemented.

APC wins Osun rerun election...

Continued from page 2

L-R: Victor Etuokwu, alternate chairman, Up (Unified Payments); Agada Apochi, MD/CEO, Up; Adam Nuru, MD/ CEO, FCMB, and John Adebanjo, GMD/CEO, ALML Group, at the launch of American Express Card by Up (Unified Payments), an event which laid to rest the blacklist of Nigeria as a beneficiary of Amex Card Services and kick started the acceptance of Amex Card in Nigeria, yesterday.

APC primaries: Ambode, Sanwo-Olu...

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There has been some apprehension in the state since the three governorship aspirants formerly entered the race, with Ambode and Sanwo-Olu, however, becoming the subject for political discourse. Since submitting his nomination forms three weeks ago, the third aspirant, Hamzat had not been silent, fuelling unconfirmed speculations he may have technically withdrawn from the race, leaving the stage for Ambode and Sanwo-Olu. But has he? Tomorrow will tell.

The Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), the highest decision-making body for the party in the state, which has equally endorsed the direct primary option, has promised a level playing ground for all aspirants. The aspirants, therefore, are expected to test their popularity and acceptability within the APC fold in the election which holds across the state. One will eventually emerge to fly the party’s flag in the 2019 gubernatorial election.

While Ambode will be looking to selling his achievements in the areas of infrastructure development some of which are still on-going, to party

faithful to sway their votes, with ‘continuity’ as possible slogan, SanwoOlu, who is rumoured to have the blessing of the party leadership, may be riding on the endorsement of the Mandate Group, a formidable political platform within the Lagos APC. As at Thursday, the incumbent governor, who only announced his readiness for the primaries on Wednesday, had begun mobilisation of the grassroots ahead of tomorrow’s election.

The Ambode Campaign Organisation (ACO) announced it has commenced specialised training for one thousand, nine hundred and sixty personnel that will serve as agents in all the 245 wards in the 20 local government areas where the primary election is expected to take place. The governor’s team is also officially inaugurating the Ambode Campaign Organisation (ACO) and appointing coordinators in the three senatorial districts of the state.

According to the media directorate of the ACO, the agents have been selected and trained “to be the eyes and ears of Governor Ambode as the candidate of choice in the primary election.”

For the ACO, ‘the agents have been

tutored to conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner as loyal members of the APC who want the best for the party and for democracy by ensuring that the best candidate emerges on a level playing ground.”

The governor had in his declaration on Wednesday, stated his intention to seek re-election with a “grateful heart, open arms and a pledge to open and deeper attention to the concerns of this one, big family.”

He also stated that a return of the party’s ticket to him will, “guarantee the stability of the state’s growing economy; ensure continuation of the growth and development it has witnessed over time and ensure that the opposition does not take root in Lagos State.”

The campaign group is of the belief that the governor’s genuine commitment to the development of the state as well as his gratitude and reference to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the national leader of the APC and elders of the party in the state, several special interest groups in Lagos APC will turn the tide in his favour and earn him a ‘deserved second term in office.’

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com

There were allegations that voters, journalists and observers were prevented from accessing the three polling booth in Ifon, the headquarters of Orolu local government area.

Sources also claimed that plaster and white handkerchief were reportedly used to identify those voters already contacted to vote for a particular party.

Despite, allegations by the PDP that they were prevented from accessing the voting areas across the units where the rerun election was held, there was massive turnout of voters.

Therewasalsoheavypresenceofsecurity operatives, who maintained law and order at different polling centres.

Following the breakdown of law and order at one of the polling units, Ward 5 unit 17, Alekuwodo, Osogbo where the re-run election is taking place, armed personnel including the army were drafted to the area to put the situation under control.

It was gathered that, while the voting exercise was ongoing, some suspected political thugs took over the area, chasing voters away.

The timely intervention of the security personnel drafted to the area who shot into the air sporadically scared away the hoodlums causing problem in the area.

Also, at Biket area, Osogbo where the PDP secretariat is located, hundreds of people mostly youth clashed with the security operatives.

The situation, which led to open confrontation between the two groups disrupting the free flow of human and traffic for several minutes before it was brought under control.

Osun rerun poll, brazen assualt on democracy- South West PDP Meanwhile the PDP, has described the governorship rerun election held in Osun State as the “most brazen assault on democracy”.

The PDP South West Zonal secretary, Bunmi Jenyo stated while speaking to newmen in Osogbo.

He accused the All Progressives Congress of unleashing violence on voters, saying that security personnel also aided the party.

The PDP Zonal Secretary explained that thousands of eligible voters were chased away from their

homes in Orolu, Ife North and Ife South Local Governments in the early hours of the day.

Jenyo said: “Hundreds of PDP supporters in those local governments, the likes of Barrister Tope Elusogbon, one Ojo and an 80-year old, Chief Sesan Olanrewaju were shot and matchetted at their polling centres and in the full glare of security men, by armed thugs led by one Sunday Iba Akinsola.

“Hundreds of people holding PVCs from other polling units were accredited and allowed to vote in Osogbo and Ife South Local Governments. PDP agent in Olode was axed and abducted at about 7am today.

“Media men and election observers were denied access in Ward 10, unit 2, of Ife North, Ward 8 unit 1 of Orolu, Ward 8 unit 4 of Orolu, Ward 7 unit 12 and Ward 8 unit 10 of Ife South local governments, while the PDP party agents were also chased away from their polling centres.

“By the time access was granted to journalists at about 11am, ballot boxes had been stuffed by APC agents acting in connivance with INEC officials.”

The party also said serving commissioners in the cabinet of Governor RaufAregbesolawerepresentatAdereti Village where the rerun poll was held where they intimidated voters and induced those willing to sell their votes.

He continued: “Journalists and observers were also attacked by armed thugs in Ife North as they scampered to safety into the surrounding buses in the area.

“It is very unfortunate that only APC members who wore an Omoluabi’s white cap with the Osun’s Coat of Arms and specified arm band were allowed to vote while all other electorates were totally disenfranchised.

“It is indeed regrettable that election in 7 polling units could not be freely and fairly concluded by the Independent National Electoral commission.

“It is also noteworthy that some APC members were allowed by INEC officials to vote without the use of card readers.

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com

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Friday 28 September 2018

What is Babajide Sanwo-Olu offering Lagosians To many Lagosians, it is no longer news that Babajide Sanwo-Olu wants to be governor of Lagos State come 2019, and that he has a vision that is rekindling hope among many in the state. On his speech at his formal declaration of intention to contest for the governorship position at the City Hall, Lagos Island on Sunday, September 16, 2018, Owede Agbajileke examines the lot he said about what Lagosians should expect should he become governor.

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urrounded by enthusiastic family members and friends, associates and well-wishers, Sanwo-Olu declared that there was need for true change and a recalibration of Lagos to embrace true change and development. Stressing that the last few years had seen a complete deviation from the Lagos master plan Sanwo-Olu said, “Join me in the journey to take Lagos State to a new dimension by transforming the manifesto of our party to the programme of action,” he told enthusiastic listeners on that sunny day.

But his words were not based on an empty background and he proved it through the pedigree, which he clearly projected to his ardent listeners on that day. “My public sector career has crowned the glorious achievement of my journey through the private sector where I had worked in senior managerial positions,” he said, making reference to his fruitful odyssey in financial institutions such as Lead Merchant Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), First Atlantic Bank (now FCMB) and his participation in major economic projects such as the privatisation and commercialisation of Federal government-owned companies and parastatals.

But that was not his beginning. He was born and bred in Lagos and over the years worked in the mega city. He got to know the intricacies of the state and the working of the system and this was clearly expressed in his words when he said, “If elected, I shall immediately embark on the full restoration of the glory of Lagos and make you the people the cornerstone of government revamp the environment that has become a cause of serious anxiety to Lagosians and relieve Lagos of the persistent gridlocks that have made our lives brutish and nasty.

Our government’s focal point shall be to provide the greatest good for the greatest number of the people of Lagos State.”

Journey back to LEEDS A lot of Lagocians believe that one of the sins of the incumbent has been his wide deviation from the lagos masterplan as exemplified by the Lagos State Economic

Babajide Sanwo-Olu

Empowerment and Development Strategy. (LEEDS). Sanwo-olu belives that The preparation of the visionary programme, which lists the path to development of modern Lagos on four pillars across 25 years of expansion continues to provide the development blueprint for our people and most be revisited if the state is to attain its true stats.

“This vision, put together by eminent economists and passionate patriots, prepared our State ahead of its growing challenges. It remains to this day the most concrete manifestation of Asiwaju’s leadership and love for the great people of our State. I feel privileged to be part of the process that made it happen. I assure you all that it shall continue to be the roadmap when I become the next civilian governor of our dear State, ”he said amid cheers and visible jubilation.

“When I look back at my experience in public sector, I realise that God has prepared me for this moment. I served Lagos State Government for the first time as a Special Adviser to the then deputy

governor, Femi Pedro, he said.

“I believe that my contributions to the governing process made possible my appointment as the Acting Honourable Commissioner for Economic Planning & Budget and later Commissioner for Commerce & Industry in the

I believe that my contributions to the governing process made possible my appointment as the Acting Honourable Commissioner for Economic Planning & Budget and later Commissioner for Commerce & Industry in the final months of the Bola Tinubu administration

final months of the Bola Tinubu administration. Following the inauguration of the Fashola administration, I was appointed the commissioner for establishment, Training and Pensions.

What most people know is that the 53-year-old Sanwo-Olu is the current chairman of the Lagos State Property Development Corporation (LSDPC); because of his stealar performance few know that his foray into politics began only in 2003 under Tinubu’s watch when he was appointed the special adviser on Corporate Matters to then deputy governor, Femi Pedro.

In time, he moved up the ladder after a year when he assumed the same position, this time, as an aide to Tinubu. During his time as special adviser, he was reputed to have created an enabling environment for the influx of private sector participation in government.

He also formulated smooth operations between the government and the organised private sector.

During this time, Sanwo-Olu is said to have been responsible for preparing and tracking the state’s

Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). While in this capacity, he was also responsible for the publication of the Lagos State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (LASEEDS).

A three-time commissioner, Sanwo-Olu was appointed as the Commissioner of Budget and Economic Planning by Tinubu, where he was saddled with the responsibility of preparing the state’s annual budget. In 2007, under the administration of Babatunde Fashola, Sanwo-Olu was appointed the commissioner for commerce and industry, a position he held until 2011, when he Fashola appointed him as the commissioner for establishments, training and pensions.

As a son of the soil, he is concerned with matters as great as making Lagos the pride of Nigeria and matters as small as ridding the city of traffic and improving the quality of lives of ordinary Lagosians.

He has promised to immediately embark on full restoration of the glory of the state and make the people the cornerstone of government. He has promised that he will restore the environment that has become the source of serious anxiety to Lagosians.

“I will relieve residents of Lagos State of the persistent gridlocks and hiccups that has made life nasty and brutish for all of us. Our government focal point shall be to provide the greatest good for the greatest number of people in Lagos State, he told supporters and those who know him say he is telling the truth. He says what he means and means what he says a supporter said.

Born in Lagos on June 25, 1965, Sanwo-olu is a true Lagosian.

After his primary education, he proceeded to complete secondary school education and bagged his A-Levels in 1983 before proceeding to the University of Lagos for a degree in Surveying.

His quest for more led him to bag an MBA from the University of Lagos also. Determined to broaden his horizon, he attended the Kennedy School of Government, USA; the London Business School; and the Lagos Business School (LBS), where he took topline courses in Management.

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World Maritime Day: Benin River Port to Dan Maraya of Jos: A metaphor for a Nigeria lost boost economy, mainstream Edo in global shipping business – Obaseki Continued from back page

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overnor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State says the Benin River Port, on completion, will significantly improve the state’s economy through international linkage with actors in the global shipping business.

Obaseki, who gave the assurance in commemoration of the World Maritime Day marked on September 27 each year, explained that “the Benin River Port will open up the state to international trade, with all the allied businesses and will bring more prosperity to our people.”

The governor added, “Well managed seaports have the capacity to create wealth and transform the economies of host states and countries, into major hubs of economic activities.

“The Benin River Port

will facilitate the movement of goods and services across continents, save Edo people the troubles of importing goods through Lagos and other por ts and will enable the state key into the global blue economy.

“Thousands of direct and indirect employments will be created for our people, several warehouses will spring up around the port and it will stimulate production and manufacturing activities across the state and the south-south region as the manufacturers would be guaranteed easier access to the international market.”

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) said this year’s celebration was unique as it marked the 70th year “since the Convention establishing the organisation was adopted in 1948, which has helped

the body to promote safe, secure and clean shipping.”

IMO noted, “It has developed mandatory international regulations covering almost every aspect of shipping since the adoption of the convention.

“As a result, modern shipping conforms to the highest practicable standards and is the safest, cleanest and most efficient way to move goods around the world.”

The organisation further said, “The theme for the 2017 World Maritime Day celebration is IMO 70: Our Heritage – Better Shipping for a Better Future, and the celebration provides an opportunity to take stock and look back, look forward, address the current and future challenges for maritime transport to maintain a continued and strengthened contribution towards sustainable growth for all.”

the perspective of 2018, they did not know the meaning of ‘bad’.

Dan Maraya Jos is long since dead.

Every time you travel to Jos these days, you remember him. Jos appears each time you see it to be in more dire straits than the last time.

Gone are the old openness and amity. The talk these

days is about killings and revenge killings. The wideopen spaces of the North East evoked by Dan Maraya’s kuntigi, have become killing fields for Boko Haram. Even the term ‘herdsman’ has taken on a bad meaning, evoking not the image of a poor Nigerian cow-herd carrying his dead son in his arms and wringing tears of sympathy from bystanders, but a blood thirsty killer lurking in farmland in

Akure or Makurdi waiting to pounce on the hapless farmer and lop off his head.

It is a sad pass for a nation to have come to, and it is a deep hole for anyone to have to dig themselves out of.

But dig out of the hole Nigeria must.

It is good, still, to listen to Dan Maraya sometimes in the nights, and dream about the country that once was and may yet come again.

: L-R: Uyi Akpata, West Africa and country leader, PwC; Folashade Adesoye, head of service, public service office, Lagos State; Uduak Nelson Udoh, chairman, Institute of Internal Auditors Nigeria (IIA); Shirley Machaba, chairperson, IIA Global Institute Relations Council; Humphrey Okorie, chief executive officer, IIA Nigeria, and Osaretin Afusat Demuren, chairman, GTBank, at the 2018 IIA Nigeria annual conference in Lagos, yesterday.

Pic by OlawaleAmoo

Beyond the value chain Continued from back page

local farming families see an increase in incomes and livelihoods. These in turn provide a boost for urban industrial development. The linkages between agriculture and industry and their potential to generate untold wealth are a well-established axiom in world economics.

Our country can only fulfil its promise and potential when we achieve an agrarian transformation that links up with the industrial sector to create wealth and opportunities for our teeming millions of youths. What we need in Nigeria is no less than a mass agro-based industrial revolution. It is possible to achieve it in our life time.

One thing I worry about is the fact that our intelligentsia and the economics profession in particular are not ready. Our originality quotient has been atrociously low. I have been a student of the philosophy of science all my life. From Karl Popper to Imré Lakatos, it is a known fact that science springs from the local conditions and experiences of every country and its historical evolution.

The Harvard historian and philosopher of science Thomas Kuhn said as much in his analysis of the structure of scientific revolutions and the sometimes violent shifts in paradigms that characterise such fields as relativity and quantum physics.

This is even truer of economics and the human sciences. We are the last to know that the universal laws of economics are subject to local in-

terpretations. The economics taught in Chicago or Stanford and MIT is somewhat different from that taught in Todai, Paris, Berlin, Vienna and Barcelona. And it is somewhat different because the historical conditions and economic experiences of countries vary.

The Germans, for example, put heavy emphasis on the historical and institutional approaches to economic science. They always teach generations of economic students that the worst economic experiences of the German people centre on the hyperinflation of the 1920s. Those tragic experiences are deeply ingrained in the collective German psyche because the economic depression the hyper-inflation was to lead to economic depression and the rise of Adolf Hitler and the dark knights of Nazism.

Germany and the whole of Europe were plunged into a war that led to the death of more than 60 million people.

The Germans always approach economics from that historical standpoint. The Japanese also teach economics from a quintessentially Japanese standpoint and so do the Chinese.

What about us in Africa?

We are often slaves of the latest intellectual fashion from the West. When they tell us that development planning is bad, we rush to discard it. When they tell us government-controlled companies are unproductive, we rush to throw away the baby with the bathwater. We are the most unoriginal people on earth and that also reflects in the abysmal rote-learning which

characterises pedagogy in higher education.

I challenge all of you distinguished fellows and deans of Nigerian economics to think more deeply and more seriously about the kind of education we are giving our young people. It is not every policy or intellectual puzzle that is amenable to Domestic Stochastic General Equilibrium (DSGE) modelling.

Even if they were, data and statistics in our clime are so scarce and as unreliable as to make the results from such econometric modelling deeply suspect.

Lest I’m mistaken: economic science requires all the rigours of mathematics and econometric applications.

All students must be well trained in number theory and statistical-numerical analysis.

But to do so without studying economic history, evolution of economic systems and development of institutions can lead to dangerous and perverse analyses.

I submit, most humbly, that most of what we teach in our universities these days is a lot of dangerous nonsense. We are not teaching what we revolutionise our national economy and make an industrial-technological society of the first rank among the nations of the twentyfirst century. And we do not even know that some of these models being peddled from Chicago, Oxford and the London School of Economics are not relevant to our needs and our situation.

As a matter of fact, text books were written during the Cold War to enforce a

fake economics discipline in Africa. I will give only two examples: The book Stages of Growth: a Non-Communist Manifesto, by Walt W. Rostow (Cambridge University Press 1960), was allegedly financed by a major Western intelligence agency to enforce a new curriculum in the developing. The book, Budgeting and Planning in Poor Countries, by Naomi Caiden and Aaron Wildavsky (John Wiley 1974), was also written with such objectives in mind.

If you think I am being unduly pessimistic, you only need to read the Confessions of an Economic Hitman (Berrett-Kohler 2004), by John Perkins. In that book he made such atrocious revelations that many would consider astonishing. They got the world’s top consultancies and the Washington institutions to fabricate fake statistics and fake econometric results just to undermine countries that they wanted to destroy. We must be more careful and more vigilant.

What has all this got to do with agriculture and the value chain?

As a development economist, I am keenly committed to unleashing a mass agrarian revolution because that is the primary occupation of nearly 70 percent of our population. But we cannot make progress unless we provide the right mix of incentives as well as provision of public goods such as rural infrastructures, basic utilities and skills development. The Training and Visit extension service systems that were so successful in the eight-

ies must be brought back.

We must also go back to the culture of planning. Planning should never be cast in stone; rather, it should provide a framework and discipline for long-term expenditure and investment planning and for allocation of scarce resources among competing demands.

The transformation of the rural countryside should be linked to a mass agro-based industrial revolution. We need it like yesterday. Nigeria will not survive without technology and industrialisation. We must industrialise or perish; we must commit to making ours an internally-directed and internally-driven centre of world economic and technological transformation. Nigerians are among the most brilliant people on earth. From the late Ayodele Awojobi to Iya Abubakar and Chike Obi, our greatest minds are second to none in the world. We can be masters of our own destiny by harnessing our natural and human resources for the advancement of our country.

The late Dudley Seers, a distinguished development economist at the University of Sussex wrote an obscure little book titled, The Political Economy of Nationalism (Oxford University Press 1984). Much of it was ignored by the economics community, I suspect, because it was largely directed at the poorest developing countries. Seers propounded the thesis that feelings of collective selfworth matter for nations that aspire to overcome poverty and underdevelopment. Centuries of slavery, colonialism

racism and trans-Atlantic servitude have made the African people to develop an ingrained feeling of inferiority. The late Caribbean pastor and evangelist Myles Munroe once remarked that the most dangerous and pathetic black man or woman is he who is well-schooled but suffers from self-hate and congenital inferiority. Such a person is likely to be a liability rather than an asset to his own people.

This is the tragedy of the kind of intelligentsia we are producing today. Do not get me wrong: the Holy Qur’an enjoys people to go as far China in the search for knowledge. We should go the whole hog in search for Western education. But we must be self-assured in our own skin as African people. Anybody who makes even the slightest dent on our sense of dignity and honour must be treated as an eternal enemy.

I have scribbled down copious notes on the modalities and approaches to financing agricultural value chains which will be shared to all of you. The gist of my central argument is simply this: we need an agrarian revolution linked to mass industrialisation. We must develop new high quality products for local and world markets. We must be more confident and audacious in our thinking and policy-making. The future belongs to Africa!

• Being the Text of a Lecture to the 59th Conference of the Nigerian Economic Society, Held at NICON Luxury Hotel, Abuja, Wednesday 26 September 2018

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Telecoms industry loses $3bn to call masking … regulator bars 750,000 mobile numbers in move to curb revenue loss JUMOKE AKIYODE-LAWANSON

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igeria’s telecoms industry, currently valued at about $70 billion, is losing a fraction of $3 billion in revenue to the menace of call masking and SIM boxing, the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) has revealed.

Call masking is the practice of causing the telephone network to indicate to the receiver of a call that the originator of the call is a station other than the true originating station. For example, a Caller ID might display a phone number and country code different from that of the telephone from which the call was placed.

Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice chairman, NCC, in his opening re-

marks at the Telecom Consumer Parliament with the theme; “Overcoming challenges of call masking/refilling: Task ahead for the telecoms industry,” held in Lagos on Thursday 27 September 2018, said that call masking is a worrisome development that constitutes serious challenges not only to the telecommunications industry but also poses serious security threats to the entire country.

“SIMbox or Interconnect Bypass Fraud (IBF) is one of the most prevalent frauds in the telecom industry today and it is estimated to be costing the industry about $3 billion in lost revenue.”

He affirmed that as part of its zero tolerance for communications fraud and its determination to eradicate the practice in the industry, the telecoms regulator has collaborated

with different stakeholders and security agencies, holding series of meetings, which have in turn led to the suspension of six indicted interconnect exchange licensees in February 2018.

The SIM box operator can route international calls through the voice over internet protocol (VoIP) connection and connect the call as local traffic, allowing the box’s operator to bypass international rates and often undercut prices charged by local mobile network operators.

“Not only did the commission suspend the indicted licensees, the regulator also barred about 750,000 numbers assigned to 13 operators from the national network. These numbers were suspected of being used for masking and NCC took a hard, no-compro-

mise stance to withdraw their use,” Danbatta said.

Chidozie Arinze, head, regulatory affairs at 9mobile, while speaking during the panel discussion, explained that 9mobile was currently able to check patterns of operations of these call masking and SIM boxing perpetuators and once identified, the operator proceed to bar numbers.

“We are currently barring over a thousand numbers daily. The problem we used to have in the past was the time between detection and barring, but fortunately, we have been able to shorten that time to significantly reduce the effect of call masking. However, all the solutions available right now can only detect once call masking or SIM boxing has occurred and cannot prevent them from occurring,” Arinze said.

L-R: Babatunde Obaniyi, MD, United Capital Investment Banking; Jude Chiemeka, MD/ CEO, United Capital Securities Limited; Peter Ashade, group CEO, United Capital plc; Tokunbo Ajayi, MD/CEO United Capital Trustees Limited, and Sunny Anene, MD/CEO, United Capital Asset Management, during the launch of United Capital investnow online platform in Lagos, yesterday.

NACC, Footprint to Africa mobilise American FDI into Nigeria ODINAKA ANUDU

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he Nigerian American Chamber of Commerce (NACC) and Footprint to Africa have resolved to mobilise Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from the United States into Nigeria through The Independence Investment Forum (TIIF).

According to Oluwatoyin Akomolafe, president of NACC, in Lagos, the forum is aimed at attracting long-term investments into agriculture, power/energy, mining and commodities with focus on American investors and interested parties with presence across the globe.

Akomolafe said the TIIF, which will be held in October 2019, would bring together policy makers, domestic and foreign direct

investors, business leaders, expert speakers and other key stakeholders to a single location in Lagos, and would offer a platform for discussing investment needs and goals without the need for investors to travel to various locations in Nigeria to see projects or for Nigerian companies seeking investments to travel to multiple countries to pitch to investors.

He explained registration starts on October 1 this year via tiif.nigerianamericanchamber.org, adding that the event seeks to advance economic cooperation between Nigeria and the United States through promotion of business and services that improve trade relations and prosperity of both nations.

“Nigeria is a country buzzing with creative energy and blessed with vast

resources and opportunities. You can’t claim to do business in Africa if you are not in Nigeria,” he said.

The TIIF is an annual event jointly hosted by the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce and Footprint to Africa, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of the United States, Nigeria, he said.

Osita Oparaugo, CEO of Footprint to Africa, said the TIIF was targeted at attracting FDI into Nigeria not only from the United States but also from other countries.

Oparaugo said Nigeria is a big country on the African continent and has a lot of resources and potential sought after by many investors.

He said the event would open the eyes of investors to opportunities in Africa’s top oil producer and most populous country.

Friday 28 September 2018

Elder Mrs. Rose Izeduwa Edegbe for burial

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lder Mrs. Rose Izeduwa Edegbe, a successful businesswoman, is dead, aged 73. A statement from the family said Service of Songs will hold at her residence: 10 Evbade Street, Off Osakwe, Off Aerodrome Close, Benin City, on October 11, 2018, while internment follows at the same venue after the Church Funeral Service at Central Baptist Church, Ring

Road, Benin City on October 12, 2018.

Reception follows immediately at SIO Event Centre, Red Cross Crescent, Off Ikpokpan Road, Benin City.

Late Elder Rose is survived by four children, brothers, sisters, in-laws, and grandchild, among whom is Mrs. Osaro Josephine Idemudia, company secretary of NPF Microfinance Bank plc, Lagos.

Ogilvy enters Nigeria with promises to offer insightful marketing SEYI JOHN SALAU & JONATHAN ADEROJU

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gilvy, a member of the WPP Group, world largest marketing communication company, offering integrated creative work that creates experiences, design and communications for brands has entered into the Nigerian marketing communication space with the launch of Ogilvy Nigeria.

Ogilvy Nigeria will operate in partnership with the First Primus Group, which commenced operation in Nigeria in 2015, with Algorithm Media and MediaCom, both media planning and buying agencies, respectively.

The partnership and birth of Ogilvy Nigeria was made possible with the acquisition of a 24.9 percent stake in First Primus Group by WPP. Ogilvy Nigeria will complement the other subsidiaries under the First Primus Group by offering strategic and creative Above –The Line (ATL) and Below-TheLine (BTL) services.

Seni Adetu, group chief executive of Ogilvy Nigeria, said the launch of the company was a great opportunity to further enhance the quality of strategic and crea-

tive development of advertising in Nigeria.

According Adetu, Ogilvy Nigeria is well positioned to provide its clients local expertise with global standards. “I am delighted to be partnering with an awardwinning global brand. We can now offer world-class services to Nigerian companies as well as multinationals locally. With my committed team, with years of proven experience and passion, we look forward to redefining the advertising industry in Nigeria,” he said.

Paul Donnell, the chief executive, Ogilvy in EMEA and executive partner of the Ogilvy Group, said Nigerian companies are thinking more strategically about what they want to be on the global stage.

According to Donnell, the partnership is a longtime undertaking. “Now more than ever, companies are having conversations around exactly what it means to be a brand. We see a new generation of global companies emerging in Nigeria, and we hope that this new office can be a hub facilitating their access to our global Ogilvy and WPP network for their global branding efforts,” said Donnell.

Edo targets $70bn global lottery industry, as EIRS launches Edo Lottery, promises jobs

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do State government says it is set to roll out Edo Lottery, a new entrant in the global and domestic lottery scene targeted at growing the lottery market share in the state.

According to Igbinidu Inneh, executive chairman, Edo Internal Revenue Service (EIRS), this is part of the result of the total transformation of governance in Edo State by the Governor Godwin Obaseki government, as more value added services will be included, to the delight of the gaming public.

With this development, the state is the first and only state currently operating a state lottery scheme in the country.

In an interview with journalists, Inneh says Edo Lottery is the state government’s lottery franchise reg-

ulated by EIRS, which is set up to harness the opportunities from the lottery business and create jobs for teeming youths in the state through the scheme’s agent network and product distribution value chain.

He said that Edo people in the Diaspora will participate actively in the lottery scheme as there is an online platform through which they can be part of the legitimate gaming industry with ease of redemption of winnings through the Nigerian electronic banking channels.

According to him, “We are set to commence operation of Edo Lottery in partnership with 70th Precinct Limited, which is out to provide Edo people with numerous opportunities in the lottery sector with offerings cutting across Edo Mega Millions, Edo Powerball, Edo Lotto, Edo Football

Jackpot and a host of other games.

“Players can register and play online from anywhere.

Their earnings will be paid via any of the registered Nigerian banks.

“We are well aware of the opportunities in the sector and would want Edo people to take full advantage which is why we have built a lottery scheme that will match any existing platform technology anywhere in the world with features to ease doing business in our clime. The lottery is legal and has the backing of the government.”

Noting that the state government stepped into the lottery scene to sanitise the sector and provide a platform for the people to properly participate, he said, “We are looking at a $70 billion global lottery industry, which Nigeria is gradually warming up to.

Friday 28 September 2018

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Art X brings best of contemporary African Art to Lagos LEHLE BALDE

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RT X Lagos, West Africa’s premier international art fair, is delighted to announce the third edition of its annual fair from November 2 to 4, 2018, holding at The Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The fair will play host to some of Africa’s most soughtafter established and emerging artists as well as leading galleries. Building on the success of previous editions, which hosted 15,000 visitors collectively, and continuing with its ambition to showcase the best and most innovative contemporary art from the African continent and the Diaspora, the 2018 fair will host 18 prestigious galleries from a variety of countries worldwide.

Some of the galleries are: Art House – The Space (Nigeria), Addis Fine Art (Ethiopia), Circle Art Agency (Kenya), Stevenson Gallery (South Africa), Gallery 1957 (Ghana), Tafeta (United Kingdom), Tiwani Contemporary (United Kingdom), Nike Art Gallery (Nigeria), and Out of Africa Gallery (Spain), among others.

The 18 exhibiting galleries have been chosen by a committee led by Advisory Board members, N’Goné Fall, the renowned Senegalese curator, art critic and cultural con-

sultant, and Femi Lijadu, one of Nigeria’s most respected art collectors and leading commercial lawyers.

As part of its pan-African identity, widening Nigeria’s connection to the contemporary African art world, ART X Lagos will welcome East African artists to the fair for the first time, featuring critically acclaimed artists such as Kenyans Paul Onditi and Cyrus Kabiru.

Speaking at the ART X Lagos 2018 Press Launch, Tokini Peterside, ART X Lagos Founder and Director said, “After the success of ART X Lagos 2017 we are delighted to return for a third edition. We are validated in our decision to develop this vital platform for the growth and increased visibility of African artists and galleries.

“This would have been impossible without the phenomenal support of the galleries, sponsors and partners, who took a huge leap of faith and committed to support us from ground zero, for which we are most grateful. In six weeks, we will open the doors to ART X Lagos 2018. We look forward to welcoming a vast and varied, local and international audience as we seek to reinforce Lagos’ position as an emergent cultural capital on our continent.”

United Capital launches new online investment platform

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nited Capital plc, a leading financial services group, just launched its new, improved online investment platform, InvestNow. Ng. The company, which prides itself in being innovative and customer-centric, rolled out this platform as part of its retail strategy and unwavering commitment to excellent service experience.

The platform was first released in 2014 as a securities trading platform but has gone through series of upgrades and improvements.

Some of the new, unique products and features include the direct debit functionality, which helps make saving and investment easy for the customer by allowing for direct transfer from the customer’s bank account to their investment account; the online wills, which allows users to create a will online; and zero account balance, which allows customers to open an account without funding their account.

In addition to these unique features, the Group also launched a mobile app, which will make investing

even much easier and more accessible for the user.

According to Peter Ashade, group CEO, who talked with newsmen at the event launch held in the group’s Lagos office, “We are extremely excited about this new upgrade.

We are always thinking about how to make the customer experience better and InvestNow.ng really speaks to that.

“Our customers can now invest in our different products on the platform either through the website or with the App. You can buy mutual funds online, trade on the equities market, set up a trust and even write a will.”

Speaking further about the portal, the group chief information officer, Joseph Onyema, also stressed that the various investment products were consolidated on the portal for ease.

According to Onyema, “A big selling point for us is that everything can be done with a single app. You don’t have to download several apps just to trade on the Stock Exchange, to buy mutual funds or to create a will. With InvestNow.Ng, you can have all your investments at a single point.”

L-R: Samuel Yaw Osafo-Maafo, senior minister, Ghana; Olayinka Oladunjoye, commissioner, commerce, industry and cooperative, Lagos State, and Mansur Ahmed, incoming president, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), and Frank Jacob, out-going president, during the 2018 Manufacturers annual lecture/ presidential luncheon, with the theme ”Mainstreaming Policies to Catalyse Industrial Renaissance” in Lagos, yesterday.

Pic by Olawale Amoo

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Medic West Africa to showcase transformation of Healthcare Infrastructure across region

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nforma Exhibitions, the region’s leading healthcare exhibitions organiser, has announced that Medic West Africa will be returning to the Eko Hotel Convention Centre in Lagos, Nigeria, from 10 - 12 October 2018.

As well as being the only healthcare trade event in the region that has the support of numerous trade associations as well as government agencies such as the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health, Healthcare Federation of Nigeria, and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control, more than 280 regional and international exhibitors from 25 countries will be present at the 2018 edition of the show.

With hundreds of the latest healthcare and laboratory products and services on display throughout the three-day showcase, the 4,200 expected attendees - ranging from dealers and distributers, buyers, laboratory specialists and healthcare professionals - will have the opportunity to stay up-to-date with contemporary innovations and new technologies in

the healthcare market.

According to the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, a myriad of investment opportunities exists across the healthcare value chain in Nigeria. Investors interested in taking advantage of these opportunities will benefit from taking a long-term view of the market and develop their understanding of the dynamics of healthcare investment in the developing countries of West Africa.

Ryan Sanderson, Exhibition Director, Medic West Africa, said: “Rapid urbanisation, the growing burden of infectious diseases and increased healthcare coverage are all factors playing into the impetus to transform the healthcare infrastructure in Nigeria.

Public-Private Partnerships are now becoming increasingly more important as the number of new and refurbished healthcare facilities grows and the specialist healthcare needs of the population evolve. Medic West Africa is an ideal B2B platform for all stakeholders from West Africa to come together under one roof to facilitate this change.”

Stakeholders applauds 7th edition of Power Nigeria Exhibition DIPO OLADEHINDE

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Melania Trump to visit Ghana, Malawi, Kenya, Egypt in October

S first lady Melania Trump announces the launch of her ‘Be Best’ initiative in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington.

(File photo: Reuters) Melania Trump plans to emphasize child welfare in Ghana, Malawi, Kenya and Egypt in October on her first extended solo international mission. The trip will also be the first ever to the vast African continent by America’s Slovenia-born first lady.

She discussed the trip Wednesday at a reception for the spouses of foreign leaders and others participating

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in the annual UN General Assembly.

“October 1 will mark the first day of my solo visit to four beautiful and very different countries in Africa,” Mrs. Trump said during brief remarks to several dozen guests attending the event near UN headquarters.

She said she looks forward to spreading the message of her “Be Best” child-welfare initiative. She launched the campaign in May to focus on overall child well-being, with an emphasis on opioid addiction and online behaviour.

The countries on her itin-

erary work closely with the US Agency for International Development, which is helping organize the trip, she said.

“Whether it is education, drug addiction, hunger, online safety or bullying, poverty or disease, it is too often children who are hit first, and hardest, across the globe,” Mrs. Trump said. “Each of us hails from a country with its own unique challenges, but I know in my heart we are united by our commitment to raising the next generation to be happy, healthy and morally responsible adults.”

She offered no details on her activities in each country

during the trip, which spans the first week of October.

The first ladies of Ghana, Malawi and Kenya attended the event and Mrs. Trump recognized each one individually. The first lady of Kenya accompanied President Uhuru Kenyatta to the White House in August and she and Mrs. Trump met separately from their spouses.

Mark Green, chief of the international development agency, said its maternal and child health programs have helped save the lives of 4.6 million children worldwide, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

resident of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Babatunde Ruwase, has described the power sector as a strategic sector that should not be left entirely to a purely commercial enterprise framework, where the main motive is profit.

Ruwase said this during the opening ceremony of Power Nigeria Exhibition and Conference 2018, which took place in Lagos, and brought together decision makers, business leaders, experts and trade professionals to deliberate the latest trends and progressions within the country’s electricity and power sector.

Ruwase stated, “It should be realised that the power sector is not just a business issue, but also a critical development issue as it has implications for job creation, welfare of citizens, growth of small businesses, poverty alleviation, agricultural development, sectorial linkages and much more. Therefore, the government needs to provide some support to enhance development in the sector.”

While declaring the exhibition open, the deputy governor of Kaduna State, Barnabas Bantex, commended

the organisers, part of Informa’s Industrial Group, for their consistency and continuity in developing the Power Nigeria agenda conference, he described as beneficial and educational for the country.

According to Sheetij Taneja, exhibition manager for Power Nigeria, “It is this type of growth that drives our platform and allows us year after year to bring together a wide range of key stakeholders, from power manufacturers, suppliers, domestic wholesalers and distributors, to thousands of visitors from across Nigeria and neighbouring countries, all with decision-making competence.

“The three-day event allowed us to establish a distinct reputation with government, associations and ministries in the Nigerian power market. It also provided participants the perfect opportunity to attend free, educational CPD-credited sessions, improving your knowledge and skills.

“Some of Power Nigeria’s longest standing exhibitors, such Skipper Seil and Schneider Electric returned once again for another successful edition of the event.

New entrants like Lucy Electric also showcased their latest range of industry leading products to local suppliers.”

A4 BUSINESS DAY NEWS Labour strike paralyses government offices nationwide

… threatens fuel,electricity supply,banking operations OLUSOLA BELLO, JOSHUA BASSEY, KEHINDE AKINTOLA, IDRIS MOMOH, MIKE ABANG

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ritical sectors of the nation’s economy were on Thursday disrupted, as organised labour began a seven-day warning strike to protest the delay by the Federal Government to conclude negotiations on a new national minimum wage.

Already threatened by the action are banking and aviation services, with growing apprehension over a possible nationwide petroleum products scarcity if the strike persists.

Also threatened is electricity supply, as Nigeria Union of Electricity Employee (NUEE) yesterday forced officials and staff of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), who resumed for work, to return home, and took over the gate to the premises on Marina, Lagos.

It was the same situation at the Ikeja Electric on Awolowo Way, Ikeja. The Federal Government still maintain 40 percent equity in the two distribution companies. Though

nothing has happened to electricity supply yet, it is believed in some quarters that if the strike continues for one or two days the economy may run into crisis.

However, activities at the filling stations and depots yesterday were going on as usual but there could be a turn of event today if the negotiation between the government and the labour unions fails to produce positive result.

The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), which controls petroleum tanker drivers has directed all members to join the strike. The implication is that, if the action continues a few more days, filling stations may begin to run out of stock.

The three labour centres in the country - Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and United Labour Congress (ULC), are prosecuting the strike following the expiration of the 14-day ultimatum, which they jointly issued to the government on September 12, 2018, to conclude the minimum wage nego-

tiations. Labour is demanding N65,000 up from the current N18,000, but this is subject to negotiation by the 30-man tripartite National Minimum Wage Committee set up by the Federal Government in November 2017.

Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, early this month announced the adjournment of the committee indefinitely, sparking protest from labour, which accused the government of employing delay tactics in the negotiation process.

Government’s offices from Abuja to the 36 states of the federation were shut yesterday, and workers denied access by the labour enforcement teams, which used their vehicles to block government secretariats.

In Lagos, the enforcement teams were seen at the state secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja as early as 7:20 am. Workers, who arrived for work, were turned back. Some were, however, seen roaming aimlessly around the entrance gate 1 and 2 of the secretariat, and discussing the developments in low tunes.

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Friday 28 September 2018

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BUSINESS DAY

FT

Friday 28 September 2018

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FINANCIAL TIMES

World Business Newspaper

Donald Trump on China, his ‘very large brain’ and Brett Kavanaugh US president offers his views in rambling, often incoherent press conference at UN DEMETRI SEVASTOPULO

W

hen Donald Trump bragged at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that his administration “had accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country”, laughter rippled across the cavernous hall.

So at his press conference a day later, the US president used a new tactic: modesty. Mr Trump said he could not possibly say how South Korean president Moon Jae-in had praised his North Korea efforts in a television interview the previous day.

“I can’t say because you would say I’m too braggadocious,” Mr Trump declared, before reverting to type. “What he said about me last night was an unbelievable thing: It couldn’t have happened without President Trump.”

And by the way, he added, the people who laughed were actually laughing with him. “So the fake news said people laughed at President Trump. They didn’t laugh at me. People had a good time with me. We were doing it together.”

In a rambling and often incoherent press conference, Mr Trump touched on everything from the controversy surrounding his Supreme Court nominee, the US Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates, China taking out advertorials in an Iowa newspaper and the size of his own brain, which he said one person declared was “very, very large”.

The man who once described himself as a “ very stable genius” made sure that everyone knew that Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, had made crystal clear in a meeting at the UN that discussions about invoking the 25th amendment of the US constitution — a mechanism for the cabinet to remove a president from office — could not possibly apply to him.

“I was with Mike Pompeo before. We were dealing at a very high level with Japan. And I was saying things that nobody in the room even understood,” Mr Trump explained. “He said, ‘That’s not the 25th amendment that I’m looking at’.”

Mr Trump took pains to point out his friends on the world stage, and how he dealt with those who were not. He said he had a “very

good relationship” with Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader whom he called “Rocket Man” a year ago.

“He likes me. I like him. We get along. He wrote me two of the most beautiful letters,” Mr Trump said.

But why did he need a second summit with Mr Kim, a journalist named Steve asked after Mr Trump told him to “hit me with a bad one”.

The answer: “Because he’d like it.”

Would Mr Trump be able to make a deal? “I think we’re going to make a deal. Will we make a deal, Steve? I don’t really know.”

What about the fiery rhetoric that sparked concerns that the US would attack North Korea last year? “I was having rhetorical, you know, contests . . . with Chairman Kim, which we both smile at now and laugh at.”

Yet while relations with Mr Kim are on the mend, Chinese president Xi Jinping is suffering from the reverse. “I like President Xi a lot. I think he’s a friend of mine, he may not be a friend of mine any more,” Mr Trump declared.

Asked how he could call Mr Xi a friend after accusing Beijing of meddling in the US midterm elections, he suggested that China was equally confused. “Maybe he’s not any more, I’ll be honest with you.

I think we had a very good friendship . . . They are doing studies on Donald Trump, they’re trying to figure it all out because this has never happened to them before.”

Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, may have been just as baffled. After revealing that he had rejected a meeting with Mr Trudeau, Mr Trump said the two North American leaders had “very good chemistry”. But for those leaders who did not share any chemistry with the US president, he would find people to deal with them.

“I’ve had a lot of false charges made against me. I’m a very famous person, unfortunately,” he said.

“So when I see it, I view it differently than somebody sitting home watching television where they say . . . Judge Kavanaugh this or that.”

Mr Trump also had choice words for the Democrats calling for the withdrawal of Mr Kavanaugh, describing them as “evil people” who were con artists. “If we brought George Washington here and we said, ‘We have George Washington’, the Democrats would vote against him. Just so you understand. And he may have had a bad past.”

The boon of China’s entry into Africa comes with a warning

Beijing’s loans build ports, airports and roads but they are often overpriced DAVID PILLING

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ore than 40 African leaders trooped this month to Beijing for the triennial Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. A Kenyan woman joked that, rather than giving them more loans, Xi Jinping, China’s president, should keep all the leaders indefinitely in China instead. The continent, she said, would be better off without them.

In the end, Mr Xi went for option

number one: he gave them more money. Over the next three years, he announced, China would offer $60bn in new funding.

The issue of Africa’s supposed debt addiction to China has become the subject du jour — or remen huati, as they say in Mandarin. In copper-rich Zambia, which is heavily indebted to Beijing, China has been accused of using loans to inveigle itself into state-run entities, including the Continues on page A7

I’m a very famous person, unfortunately’: President Donald Trump at his news conference in New York © AP

Emmanuel Macron loses political capital as reform benefits stutter Young president’s lofty ambitions are encountering resistance and misgivings HARRIET AGNEW

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ine out of 10 voters in Nantes voted last year for Emmanuel Macron as their president.

Less than 12 months later, demonstrators burnt his effigy.

Like much of France, this leafy and well-off city on the Loire river is having second thoughts about its young and occasionally imperious president, whose lofty ambitions to drive through reforms from a “Jupiterian” seat in the Elysée Palace are increasingly encountering resistance and misgivings.

“At first I thought it was good to have a young president because I thought he would better understand the people, the young people who are really in trouble,” said Manu, a student at Nantes university, where antiMacron graffiti has been scrubbed from the walls but the resentment expressed in April’s demonstration lingers. “In fact he is making use of his banking profession while president. For me it really is a case of a president behaving like a banker.”

Jeremie van de Voorde, 20, a history undergraduate leaving the library, said simply: “Macron is too full of himself.” François Hollande, the previous Socialist president, was “less visible [and] perhaps he was a bit soft but he was less authoritarian than Macron”.

Mr Macron, a former Rothschild

banker and one-time finance minister who had never run for political office until his audacious and successful Elysée bid, easily won last year’s election against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. Since taking office, and backed by a large legislative majority, he has pushed through a number of pro-business reforms aimed at kick-starting the eurozone’s second-largest economy and creating jobs.

But most benefits from the reforms are yet to be felt: economic growth has slowed and unemployment remains stubbornly above 9 per cent, much higher than in the UK or Germany. The slow progress is eating into Mr Macron’s political capital as he turns his reforming zeal to contentious areas such as simplifying the pension system and slashing thousands of civil service jobs.

The president’s popularity ratings have fallen to a record low of 29 per cent in September, according to pollster Ifop.

Mr Macron’s standing has not been helped by gaffes such as the Benalla Affair, a scandal surrounding his private security guard who impersonated a police officer and punched protesters during May Day riots. This month the president was criticised as out of touch when he told a young unemployed gardener that he simply had to “cross the street” to find a job.

The incident fuelled a perception of a president who felt himself superior, said Samuel Barreau, a 31 yearold human resources director at a construction company in Nantes.

“He comes across as a bit of a snob.”

The Pays de la Loire region that includes Nantes has some of France’s lowest rates of unemployment. But even here the jobs market remains fragile. Nine out of 10 job offers are for fixed-term contracts, according to Guy Letertre, director of Pôle Emploi, the national unemployment agency, for the LoireAtlantique region. Three-quarters of these are for less than one month and 30 per cent of these contracts have a duration of one day.

“Macron does not defend the working class,” said Fabienne Pessard, who works at a public hospital in Nantes, taking an early evening walk through the old town. “Working conditions are getting more and more degraded. Everyone needs money but he has distributed it poorly. We do more work with fewer resources.”

Mr Macron’s image problem threatens to cast a shadow over early achievements such as slashing taxes, reforming the state railway operator, SNCF and overhauling a sclerotic labour market. It has also undermined efforts to cast himself — and his En Marche movement — as representing renewal of the political class.

Ethiopian crackdown clouds premier’s reform agenda Abiy Ahmed faces questions after upsurge in ethnic violence TOM WILSON

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biy Ahmed, Ethiopia’s new prime minister, is facing questions over his ability to deliver on promises of democratic reform after a crackdown by government security forces following a recent spate of violence.

Since taking power in April Mr Abiy has overseen the release of thousands of political prisoners and welcomed exiled opposition leaders back to the country. But his relaxation of state control has been accompanied by an upsurge in ethnic violence.

This month at least 28 people died in the capital, Addis Ababa, in violence involving youth groups and security forces that flared when political leaders from the country’s south returned from overseas.

Mr Abiy had won praise for his reform pledges from Washington to Riyadh, but the clashes underscored the scale of the challenge he faces in a country marked by authoritarian rule and ethnic tensions fuelled by

poverty.

“Abiy has done a lot to bring dissatisfied groups, factions and actors back into the political process, to normalise their status, and that has created a lot of optimism,” said Michael Woldemariam, an Ethiopia expert at Boston University.

“On the other hand, you’ve got a country with a long history of authoritarianism, with a very difficult history of ethnic politics and you’re almost taking the lid off a lot of those tensions,” he said.

Ethnic violence had broken out sporadically around the country in recent months but Mr Abiy’s administration had done little in response until last week.

The government arrested more than 3,000 people in the capital in a crackdown reminiscent of the actions of some of Mr Abiy’s predecessors. About 1,200 of those detained had participated in the violence and are being given “rehabilitation education” at a camp outside the capital, the Commissioner of the

Addis Ababa Police Commission said on Monday.

Mr Abiy’s chief of staff condemned the violence on behalf of the prime minister, but his office has made no comment on the police response.

For some observers, the clampdown is at odds with Mr Abiy’s commitment to reform. “While the Ethiopian authorities have in recent months made a commendable attempt to empty the country’s prisons of arbitrary detainees, they must not fill them up again by arbitrarily arresting and detaining more people without charge,” said Joan Nyanyuki, Amnesty International’s director for east Africa.

For others the challenge facing Mr Abiy is more complicated. Rashid Abdi, Horn of Africa project director at the International Crisis Group, said the end of the old order had uncorked multiple forms of discontent. “The pressure was mounting on [Mr Abiy] to be seen to be firm” in response, he said.

Friday 28 September 2018

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BUSINESS DAY

NATIONAL NEWS

FT

UBS investment bankers fear for future as their star departs

The boon of China’s entry into Africa comes...

Continued from page A5 electricity utility and state broadcaster. The Zambian government denies the claims.

Africa’s vibrant civil society has become more alive to the topic of China’s supposedly neocolonialist ambitions. Beijing is routinely accused of getting African countries in hock so that it can control resources and manipulate political systems.

A typical take, by South African cartoonist Zapiro, shows Mr Xi trundling along with a shopping cart into which he has casually thrown the entire African continent. It is captioned “Chinese Takeaway”.

The idea of China’s supposedly nefarious African actions has gained credence in Washington.

Legislation that would double funding for the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation to $60bn is being sold to Donald Trump specifically as countering China’s supposed “debt trap diplomacy”. Ray Washburne, president of Opic, told the Financial Times that China was engaged in “economic warfare”.

In an open letter, 16 senators sounded the alarm. China, they said, had already parlayed loans to Sri Lanka into a 99-year lease on Hambantota port. In Africa, Beijing had got its hooks into Djibouti. Some 80 per cent of the country’s external debt is owed to China, a situation senators said made the geostrategic country, on the Red Sea, vulnerable to Chinese meddling.

China does indeed have global ambitions. But the demonisation comes in the context of an escalating US trade war with Beijing.

As much as anything, the alarm in Washington is an acknowledgment that China’s development strategy has been working. While the US has been sleeping, China, particularly in Africa, has stolen a march by using relatively modest sums to gain outsized influence.

Many of the claims made against China are exaggerated.

According to the China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University, which tracks Chinese loans to Africa, the World Bank consistently lends more to the continent than China’s Eximbank. Although Chinese loans lack transparency, it says, its best estimate is that they are not a major contributor to African debt distress.

Indeed, many African governments have gone on eurobond borrowing sprees, meaning they are in debt as much to Wall Street and the City of London as to Beijing. Researchers at Johns Hopkins found that only in Zambia, Djibouti, and possibly Congo-Brazzaville, were loans from Beijing the major cause of debt distress.

If China is weaponising capital — using loans to create countries in its own image — then the west did exactly the same in the 1970s and 1980s when it made massive and unsustainable loans to Africa through multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and IMF. When those loans turned sour, the same institutions pushed through their favourite medicine: hated structural adjustment programmes that eviscerated the state — and from which many countries are arguably still recovering.

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Andrea Orcel was powerful advocate for unit that has been trimmed since the crisis STEPHEN MORRIS

A President Muhammadu Buhari addresses the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday © AP

Nigerian president faces election attacks on economic record Opponents accuse Buhari of driving out foreign investment as growth remains sluggish NEIL MUNSHI

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pposition candidates seeking to unseat Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari are attacking his economic record and treatment of foreign investors as election season intensifies in Africa’s most populous country.

Four members of Mr Buhari’s own party who have defected to the opposition to challenge him are pitching themselves as more business-minded candidates who can jump-start a sluggish economic recovery.

Their criticisms in Africa’s biggest oil-producing nation, which is set to hold elections in February, come as two clashes highlight Mr Buhari’s vulnerability on economic policy, even as rising crude prices deliver a boost.

The administration has come under fire for a decision by the central bank and attorney-general to impose $10bn in penalties on South African mobile giant MTN. The president’s office has also lashed out at HSBC over a research note for clients suggesting that Mr Buhari’s re-election would stunt economic growth.

His former allies are pouncing on discontent with the economy.

The campaign slogan of Bukola Saraki, president of the Nigerian senate, is “Let’s Grow Nigeria”.

Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto state and a presidential hopeful, said “the economy is not showing any real signs of improvement”. Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, another contender, said earlier this month that the Buhari administration had “destroyed” the economy.

Mr Buhari was considered all but unbeatable as recently as a few months ago. But this week an important state election offered him a stark warning. His All Progressives Congress party found itself in a runoff to defend the governorship in Osun state, which it controls and will be central to the president’s re-election prospects.

Lagos’s business elite hopes that a Buhari defeat would help revitalise Africa’s largest economy, which has stumbled out of a recession that was brought on by the oil crash, but made worse, critics argue, by the administration’s economic mismanagement.

The administration has def e n d e d i t s re c o rd , t o u t i n g

achievements that include a rise in foreign reserves; a current account surplus; significant power, road and rail infrastructure investment; and a drop in inflation.

Its policies have helped Nigeria move up 24 positions on the World Bank’s ease of doing business index, from 169 in 2016 to 145 in 2017. Vice-president Yemi Osinbajo is also widely admired in the business community.

Even critics concede Mr Buhari was dealt a bad hand in a country where oil accounts for 56 per cent of government revenue, entering office in 2015 as crude prices slumped.

“But if the opposition was to ask the average Nigerian, ‘are you better off than you were four years ago?’ The answer would be no,” says political analyst Chris Ngwodo. “There have been huge job losses, and the country is barely inching out of recession.”

GDP growth slumped to an annualised 1.5 per cent in the second quarter, causing economists to lower their forecasts for 2018 growth to 2.3 per cent. The Nigerian stock exchange is among the worst performing in the world this year.

Air France-KLM’s new chief warns on state’s support Smith rejects prospect of Paris bailout idea ahead of talks with unions DAVID KEOHANE

T

he French government should not and will not bail out Air France-KLM or try to protect it from competition, the airline’s new chief executive has said as he prepares for crucial negotiations with unions.

Benjamin Smith told the Financial Times that President Emmanuel Macron’s government was prepared to sell its 14 per cent stake — even though “there are some people in Air France that believe that this is something they can have as an insurance”.

“The government has recently made clear that this is not a good assumption,” said Mr Smith in an interview in Paris, adding that if the state’s “messaging and position” stayed consistent then the timing of a sale “shouldn’t make a difference” to his ability to do his job.

On Thursday, Bruno Le Maire, the French finance minister, pushed back at suggestions of a near-term sale of the state’s stake, telling French radio station franceinfo that selling shares in Air France “is not an option on the table today”.

“It is not one of the priorities, my priority is the recovery of Air France,” said Mr Le Maire. “The state would be a poor manager if it started selling its shares in a company that is not in good shape.”

Mr Smith took over the group — formed by Air France’s 2004 merger with Dutch KLM — 10 days ago. He had been Air Canada’s chief operating officer.

Trade unions had opposed the Canadian’s appointment, calling it “inconceivable” that the French flag carrier could have “a foreign leader”.

Air France-KLM had been without a chief executive since the resignation of Jean-Marc Janaillac in May after he lost a staff vote over a pay deal that had been rejected by unions.

One of the first things Mr Smith must grapple with is a negotiation with those unions. Twelve days of strikes cost the airline €335m in the first half of the year and its shares have fallen 37 per cent year to date.

In May, Mr Le Maire warned that “Air France will disappear” if the airline did not become more competitive. “Those who think that, whatever happens, the state will

come to the rescue of Air France and mop up the losses of Air France are wrong,” he said.

Mr Smith said the government’s holding in Air France-KLM provided some “stability” but noted that officials had made clear they would sell “at the right time”.

“Whether you are Anglo Saxon or not Anglo Saxon . . . there is a reality . . . and a lot of other areas that the government needs to spend its money on,” he said. “At the end of the day it’s very expensive to bail out an airline.

“It’s not as if this airline is being attacked in a disproportionate or unjust way, it just has a competitive model that doesn’t work.”

Mr Smith spent the first few days of his new role meeting staff and unions. He has said he will put half his €900,000 fixed salary back into Air France-KLM shares.

“We cannot afford to be arrogant and assume we have any more of a right to our customers than our competitors do — we have to earn their business each day. Fighting our competitors, not ourselves, is our ticket to success,” said Mr Smith.

s the dust settles on Andrea Orcel’s surprise move to Banco Santander, those left behind at UBS are gripped by two key questions: what does this mean for the investment bank and who is now next in line to succeed chief executive Sergio Ermotti at the helm of the Swiss bank?

Mr Orcel has been UBS’s star banker since 2012, earning plaudits for turning round the investment bank while adding some of the world’s largest companies as clients.

He was a powerful advocate for the division, shielding it from deeper cuts, and his fellow senior bankers are worried resources and clients could disappear along with the Italian dealmaker, said five senior bankers interviewed by the Financial Times.

“There has to be an impact on the franchise — we’re like a football team that’s lost its great player and obviously it will take a time to recover,” said one UBS insider who asked not to be named. “Our clients aren’t concerned yet, but we will need to convince them nothing has changed. But we shouldn’t hide from the fact we’re very sorry he’s going.”

The former Merrill Lynch banker was infamous for his internal histrionics and unforgiving exercise regime, but also his round-the-clock dedication to clients, according to colleagues. His workaholic nature allowed him to forge strong bonds with chief executives such as Alessandro Profumo, former head of UniCredit, and Ana Botín of Santander, who eventually hired him. It is these relationships colleagues are concerned about losing.

Mr Orcel had long had ambitions to run his own bank — even coveting the top job at UBS, as he revealed in a Financial Times interview in 2015— and bristled at the lower profile he was supposed to maintain in UBS’s slimmed-down investment bank, which today is primarily geared to servicing its giant, profit-driving wealth management business.

Under Mr Ermotti, who has been in charge since 2011, the investment bank is not allowed to exceed onethird of group capital allocation, a popular policy with investors leery of the low returns and high risks in the European industry. Since the crisis, the investment bank’s balance sheet has been halved, along with almost 10,000 jobs. Those left are worried about more cuts as the bank prioritises ultra-wealthy clients in Asia.

“In recent periods some investors have been questioning whether the investment bank should be scaled back further, or whether there should be a formal cap on capital allocated,” said Barclays analyst Amit Goel. “With a change in leadership for this business, this could act as a catalyst.”

Two of the bank’s large shareholders agreed with this view, hoping Mr Orcel’s departure would persuade the bank to consider further shrinkage. After an initial surge when Mr Ermotti took over in 2011, the shares have stagnated, falling 3 per cent in the past five years.

Investors are growing restless with the situation as rival Credit Suisse closes the gap in wealth management, and are pushing for Mr Ermotti and Chairman Axel Weber to produce new ideas and more details on how to cut costs and boost revenues in a strategy update on October 25.

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2019: West African political parties, INEC, others to fight vote-buying INNOCENT ODOH, Abuja

T

he West African Association of Political Parties (WAAPP) in collaboration with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Nigerian police and other stakeholders, have vowed to make concerted efforts to fight the menace of vote buying in the 2019 general elections in Nigeria.

Indications to this development emerged in Abuja on Thursday, during the inauguration of Political Parties Board (PPB) in Nigeria as a watchdog of democracy in the country. The event, which attracted representatives of registered political parties in Nigeria also witnessed the setting up of up of a committee to fight vote buying in the country.

Yakubu

The Anti-Vote Buying Committee (AVBC) is made up of mostly national financial secretaries of registered

political parties, civil society organizations (CSOs), professionals and members of the media and they will

I will not touch public funds as governor - Usani MIKE ABANG, Calabar

U

sani Uguru Usani, minister of Niger Delta Affairs and governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Cross River State has said that he would not touch public funds as governor of the state if nominated and elected in 2019.

The Minister said this during a gubernatorial declaration of his intention to run for the office of governor of Cross River State held at the Management Development Institute, Calabar, Thursday.

Usani also promised to establish viable infrastructure in the state and restore the heritage for which the state is known nationally and globally through prudent man-

agement of state resources if given the mandate to serve.

“I have the experience, contentment, tenacity to change the face of Cross River State within four years in office,” he said.

“I have come to declare to you my readiness emotionally and psychologically to contest for the office of governor of this state after two attempts in 2003 and 2012” “My simple appeal to you is to seek your support; I promised you good resource management, promotion of enterprise inertia and peaceful society, for all resident of Cross River State, indigenes and settlers,” he said.

The Minister is a former state chairman of APC and former Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Information and later Commissioner

for Agriculture and Water Resources before the present appointment by President Muhammadu Buhari as a member of the Federal Executive Council.

Addressing a large crowd of party supporters, a former Minister of Health Emmanuel Nsan said Usani Usani is his beloved son, in whom he is well pleased because of his excellent attributes, describing him as a man of integrity and “a man you can trust and has been proven.”

According to him, “The state needs a man with vision and integrity; a man who is a defender of the needy”, noting that the declaration marks a new dawn in the state.

Sam Bassey and Senator Bassey Otu both described the Minister as a man of honesty and impeccable character. They both said that the state needs the services of the Minister to restore what have been lost over the years.

Earlier, the director-general of Usani campaign organisation, Ekpeyong Ene Cobham, described the Minister as a man of distinctive character, humble to a fault, intellectually endowed, politically mechanic , a character builder which the state is proud to be associated with.

“Usani understands Cross River problems and the solution to them having been tested to restore the lost glory of the state”, he stated.

interface with the INEC to tame the scourge of vote buying in the country.

In his remarks during

the inauguration, President of WAAPP, Perry Opara, charged the members to be steadfast and committed in the discharge of their assignment. He described vote buying as a menace that must be fought with vigour and dexterity, saying “Vote buying in Nigeria has become a scourge that must be fought and stopped in Nigeria and elsewhere in the West African sub-region”.

He noted that in the past politicians give inducements to voters to woo them to vote for them during elections adding that some innovations from INEC have reduced the manipulation of votes by politicians and they have resorted to vote buying by inducing the voters with cash “such that today the PVC has become a ‘meal ticket’ of a sort. It is bad,” he said.

Opara, who is also the National Chairman of the National Unity Party (NUP) urged the members of the AVBC to liaise with all agencies of government associated with elections and electioneering, especially the INEC to seek means and ways to stop Vote Buying in Nigeria and West Africa.

He said further that the committee members “must be selfless, they must live above board, eschew bitterness, live above party lines and improve democratic tenets.”

I n h i s re m a r k s, t h e WAAPP Country Representative of Ghana and a member of Ghana’s People’s National Convention, Desmond Twumasi Ntow, charged Nigerian politicians to eschew bitterness and come together to fight Vote buying in Nigeria and West Africa.

Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall to visit Nigeria in Nov INNOCENT ODOH, Abuja

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he British authorities have confirmed that The Pr ince of Wales, Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla, will on 6th of November visit Nigeria as part of a 9-day tour to three countries in Africa, a visit which comes shortly after Prime Minister Theresa May visited Nigeria last month.

A statement issued on Thursday by the Senior Communications Officer, Press and Public Affairs of the British High Commission, Abuja, Tinuoluwa Adelegan, made available to BusinessDay, said the visit, which is at the request and on behalf of the British Government, will also include the Gambia and Ghana.

“Their Royal Highnesses’ visit, will celebrate the U.K.’s dynamic, forward-looking partnerships with these Commonwealth nations on a range of shared priorities,” the statement said.

During the visit The Royal Highnesses will meet some of Nigeria’s dynamic youth as well as Traditional Leaders, the business community, the armed forces, and people from the arts, fashion and charitable sector.

Nigeria is regarded as one of the largest and youngest countries in the world and

home to the largest economy in Africa. “In Nigeria, young people are driving a rich ecosystem of innovators and entrepreneurs,” the statement said.

The visit according to the statement is to strengthen the ties between Nigeria and the United Kingdom as Commonwealth partners with a shared interest in developing a prosperous Nigeria.

“The visit will highlight key themes in our relationship, including the importance of our Commonwealth ties; youth opportunity; business and entrepreneurship; educating women and girls; literacy; defence cooperation; and religious and cultural diversity and opportunities for closer cooperation between the Nigerian and UK artists in music, art, cinema, and fashion,” the statement added.

British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright, said “I look forward to welcoming Their Royal Highnesses to experience the richness and diversity of Nigeria and to help promote British investment in youth, jobs and equal opportunities in Nigeria. The historic links between the Royal family and Nigeria is something we can all celebrate.”

Upon arrival in Abuja, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will be welcomed by President

Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa. During their visit to Nigeria, Their Royal Highnesses will undertake a series of engagements in Abuja and Lagos.

In Lagos, the Prince will visit naval berths and join a business event focused on business and environmental sustainability. He will also attend an arts festival at the British Council to celebrate Nigeria’s thriving art scene and to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the British Council in Nigeria.

The event will also celebrate The Prince’s 70th Birthday, the statement said.

In all three Nations Their Royal Highnesses will take part in commemorative events to acknowledge the sacrifice made by Gambian, Ghanaian and Nigerian soldiers during the First and Second World Wars and in more recent times during international peacekeeping missions.

The visit will celebrate The Gambia’s re-entry into the Commonwealth in February this year and Ghana, the first majority-ruled African country to join the Commonwealth.

The Prince of Wales has made three previous official visits to Nigeria (March 1990, May 1999 and November 2006). However, this will be The Duchess of Cornwall’s first visit to Nigeria, the statement added.

BUSINESS DAY

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news you can trust I FRIDAY 28 september 2018

Opinion

Beyond the value chain

I

t’s for me both an honour and a pleasure to address this 59th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Economic Society (NES) on such an important topic. I believe this is the first time in the almost 60 year history of this august scholarly community that the focus has been on the thematic of “The agricultural value chain”. This could not have come at a more opportune moment. Our country is just undergoing a fragile recovery from one of the severest economic recessions in living memory. All the key fundamentals had headed south – industrial output, jobs, incomes and livelihoods. The phenomenon of de-industrialisation has been a dominant feature of the economy for more than a decade.

Why agricultural value chain and why now?

Given current global trends, oil prices are not ever likely to go back to the US$100 per barrel mark or beyond. One of the global megatrends of our time is

the gradual retreat from the hydrocarbon industrial civilisation that has fuelled the world for more than a century. Driven by the forces of pollution, climate change and energy insecurity, the most advanced industrial economies have been weaning their nations gradually away from dependence on oil. Major automakers in Germany, France, Sweden, the United States and Japan have set targets beyond which they would no longer produce oil-driven cars.

They are committed to producing electric vehicles and to finding alternative, more sustainable energy systems.

This trend is likely to send signals to the big oil majors to reduce their investments in the petroleum sector.

Reduced investment will further impact negatively on the sector. We have no choice but to diversify our economy.

Dependence on oil for a half-century as the principal source of government and exports revenue in Nigeria has brought with it all the

classic features of the socalled Dutch disease: artificially high exchange rates, an enclave economy, massive importation that discourages local agro-industrial production and de-industrialisation of the economy.

This is in addition to massive pollution in the Niger Delta, deepening socio-economic inequalities and resource conflict within and between regions in our country.

If the drive for economic diversification had not existed, it would have been necessary to invent it. Our country has vast natural resources other than oil. We have nearly a million square

THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS

‘

km of land, out of which our arable land is estimated to be 82.0 million hectares. Agriculture contributes as much as 24.4% and it is currently leading as a major driver of macroeconomic growth, averaging 4.1% in the last couple of years. Export earnings from agriculture are a low US$1.4 billion while our food import bill is as high as US$5.3 billion annually.

During the years 2011-2015, our total food import bill was estimated at more than N1.4 trillion. We have heard encouraging news these days that local rice production has marginally relieved our treasury of the heavy cost of

Our country can only fulfil its promise and potential when we achieve an agrarian transformation that links up with the industrial sector to create wealth and opportunities for our teeming millions of youths

,

HumanAngle Femi olugbile Physician, psycho-profiler and essayist

emergency room – the harsh posting into which you were hurled headlong straight from the start.

Ka na jin ciwo? ‘Do you have pain? ‘ Bude baki nka ‘Open your mouth’ In the nights you would

Dan Maraya of Jos: A metaphor for a Nigeria lost

D

an Maraya Jos (‘The Orphan of Jos’) was a Nigerian musician of Hausa descent. He was born in Bukuru near Jos in 1948.

He became famous for his music, which consisted of his plaintive voice singing in accompaniment to his strumming on a kuntigi – a small string instrument which he made himself, after being influenced by local musicians on a trip to Maiduguri during his teens.

Your first came into contact with Dan Maraya during the year of Houseman-ship in Zaria.

Going to work in Zaria was an exhilarating adventure for you, fresh out of Medical School. ‘The North’ – that mysterious place up there, had always been on your mind.

Arriving Zaria, you asked the way to the Teaching Hospital and walked into a job – just like that.

There was a lot happening in your head at the time, and sometimes it was difficult, or even unnecessary,

to distinguish what was real, and what was imagination.

There was an ongoing festival of television drama, featuring entries from all the stations across the nation under the behemoth known as Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).

You had the rare privilege of being the author of the entry from NTA, Ibadan (‘Politics of Envy’) as well as NTA Lagos (‘Down at the Deep End’). Daily, entries from different parts of the country were screened on network television, which was an innovation in those days.

It was a surreal experience, watching your plays on national television, while you were so far away from home. Secretly you hoped one of your plays would win the prize.

It would end in disappointment. Despite the best efforts of John Chukwu and Lari Williams, and the expert direction of Dejumo Lewis in ‘Down at the Deep End’, the entry from Sokoto (‘Cockcrow at Dawn’) written and directed by Peter Igho, with evocative theme music from

Bongos Ikwue, won the competition, launching Peter’s career in Nigerian television off into the stratosphere.

At the back of your mouth, in Zaria, you felt, momentarily, the bitter taste of disappointment.

And then you discovered Dan Maraya. First you heard him on local radio. Later, wandering in the dusty market for household stuff, you began to be enthralled by the music that seemed to come from every corner.

Your Hausa language was limited to the bare essentials you required for communicating with patients in the

sit in the solitary armchair in your room, listening to the musician’s voice and the monotonous cadences of the kuntigi. He would go fast, and he would go slow, and then he would start all over again. The man, his voice and his kuntigi evoked vast, limitless space, the sense of travelling hundreds of miles on a winding road where the next turn looked just like the last one, and the village you were passing through reminded you of the one you just left behind.

Listening to ‘Gangar Bashi’, as the unflappable

rice importation. But we are not yet there.

The potential of agriculture as a major source of export earnings is considerable. The world’s population is set to grow astronomically to 10 billion people within the coming generation.

There will be more mouths to feed than ever before.

Given the accelerated rate of global urbanism in which more a dozen additional megacities will emerge, additional industries and jobs must be created. The boost on global aggregate demand for food and agricultural products will more than double. It is estimated that in the coming decade, African countries alone stand to earn a staggering US$1 trillion from exports of agricultural produce to the advanced and emerging economies. Considering that Africa some of the best uncultivated land on the planet and massive reservoirs of fresh water resources, our potential to take the lead in food and agricultural pro-

voice of the singer spoke to the string, you got a sense of a world that would go on forever. People came and went.

There were hills and valleys, but it was all the same tapestry. It was good to strive. It was good to hurry. But what would be would be.

The words of the singer – whatever they were, were not really the song, for you.

The unity of singer and string embodied the alluring essence of the North of Nigeria – and it made your writer’s juices flow.

You would write ‘On the long dark and lonely road’ – the story of a trailer driver on the long drive from Lagos to a destination somewhere in the north. He was listening to – yes, Dan Maraya.

He was thinking about his life, and his family and the good life God had given him, for which he was grateful.

He was a man whose soul hankered to be close to God and to submit to His will, but he was not a perfect man, hard as he strove. In a keg by his seat swirled a small quantity of beer, from which he occasionally took a swig as he navigated through the winding, treacherous roads, with the headlights cutting through the darkness like sharp knives.

Suddenly, negotiating a slippery slope, the vehicle’s brakes failed. The trailer went hurtling down the road, slamming into a roadside house and killing the occupants who sat on a bench in front instantly. As the driver surveyed the wreckage of

Obadiah Mailafia Dr. Mailafia is a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, a development economist and public finance expert with a DPhil from Oxford obmailafia@gmail.com; 08036590990 (text messages only)

duction is considerable.

Historically, agriculture has been the key to ruralagrarian transformation in the developing world.

When farm inputs improve, Continues on page 35

his life, in the brief seconds before the vehicle came to a shuddering stop, the thought that came to his mind was a calm acceptance. ‘shi ke na’ In Zaria too, listening to the bard from Jos, you would write ‘The Sickness of the New Millet’. It was about a herdsman who brought his son, dying of measles complications, to the emergency room. The illness had been left to fester in the field where the herdsman and his family lived with their cows, and there was really nothing anybody could do for the boy. He died. As doctors and nurses watched, the herdsman muttered ‘shi ke nan’ and scooped the dead boy up in his arms. He began to make his way to the gate. Nobody uttered a word.

Everyone present was crying in their hearts.

At the end of the year, you piled your belongings into the rickety Volkswagen Passat you had purchased second-hand from a Zimbabwean lecturer who was leaving ABU. Early in the morning, you set out on the long drive back to Lagos.

Among the music tapes to smooth the journey were James Brown, and Otis, and Aretha, and Sunny Ade. And – yes, Dan Maraya Jos. That was Nigeria –circa 1979.

In the media, people were already complaining that things were ‘bad’ in the country. Obviously from Continues on page 35

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WOMEN’S HUB Friday 28 September 2018

BUSINESS DAY

VERONICA EBIE-ODEKA The dynamic style consultant and fashion entrepreneur

2 BUSINESS DAY

EDITOR’S NOTE

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t’s another beautiful edition of Women’s Hub and our cover personality and Leading Woman for this week is Veronica Ebie-Odeka, the dynamic style consultant and fashion entrepreneur. You will find her story enlightening.

Desmond shares on ‘Back to school: School owners speak on parents’ performance’. An interesting one it is.

We also share on what men think about women who are breadwinners.

Despite working in a very timeconsuming environment, Olayemi Olusoga, a gender parity advocate, found time to write an interesting book I recommend you read. Our interview with her will be worth your time.

My view on human trafficking, especially young African ladies is another piece you will enjoy.

It was about the ‘Agbada challenge’ being the focal point at ‘Merry Men’ movie premiere last weekend and the ladies came through in their own way. We share pictures of some of these celebrities and we leave the choice of the best dressed according to the theme to you.

These and more we have for your reading pleasure.

KEMI AJUMOBI kemi@businessdayonline.com

Graphics by David Ogar

Friday 28 September 2018

Friday 28 September 2018

Leading Woman

WOMEN’S HUB 7

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eronica Ebie-Odeka is a seasoned international stylist consultant and fashion entrepreneur in the luxury and retail industry across diverse business sectors. Her areas of expertise include; luxury lifestyle consulting, import merchandising, personal styling with high profile clientele; business consulting and product marketing in interdisciplinary sectors, strategy development and implementation for corporate branding.

She is the Founder and Beauty Director of Vane Polish, who created Nigeria’s first high premium luxury nail polish brand store and over 50 nail salons and retailers. She has a B.A Degree in Communications, Concentration: Public Relations University of HoustonDowntown. She is a resident fashion consultant TV Host for three (3) TV Shows; “Vanestyle Fashionfix”, “Looks by Veronica” and “Fashion, beauty styling” reaching global networks in Africa, the UK and on You Tube providing fashion and style advise to the public.

She educates viewers on how to create solutions for the fashion industry in Nigeria through identification of gaps in the industry and with the aim of connecting fashion lovers with their purpose. She was named 2018 “Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Wear foundation” influencer, a Lancome campaign to celebrate diversity and women.

Early years Growing up for me was an adventure full of values. Both my parents guided my youth with principles of truths into my adulthood and growing up in the US encouraged me to always speak my truth with precision of clarity. Today the influences are seen in my conduct, work ethics and behaviour towards others.

10 years in high fashion, runway modelling and more. How has it been?

The fashion Industry is very different from now and when I was modelling over 10 years ago. My journey was exciting because I was always traveling, working and having the experiences of meeting amazing people through the culture of fashion. When I relocated to Nigeria, the journey continued however I took a behind the scene approach by setting up my company to offer a more structured service of styling that was very much lacking.

As a celebrity stylist in Nigeria, what has your experience been like?

I am in the business of making others look great and so far my experiences in Nigeria as a creative stylist have been amazing. I entered the industry when the role of a stylist still wasn’t clearly defined and helped cultivate the journey for what styling has become now. My team’s experiences vary because the services we offer now include personal styling for individuals with very busy lives who desire to retain the best style but don’t have the time. Sometimes, there are days more hectic than others due to logistic factors such as traffic, schedule changes and overlapping of activities but even on the most tiring of times, I love what I do and we always get the work done to the satisfaction of our client.

Share on your style clinic I love fashion and styling however, it’s more than trends and expensive labels. The desire to share the worth of my years of knowledge with others is the reason I began the style clinics. The Vane style clinics are hands-on workshops that offer interactive guidelines for helping people achieve their best style while maintaining an appearance true to themselves. We also offer workshops for creatives with an interest in the fashion industry or elevating their worth through styling and work with corporate companies to train their team/staff on the importance of looking great always.

When and why did you create Vane polish?

Why the name?

I was simply tired of searching for polish colours that refreshed my skin tone when worn, didn’t chip easily and the assurance of quality polishes that weren’t fake or expired in our market really drove my need to create a premium nail lacquer line that included an extensive range of over 50 shades for women of colour and especially were toxin free, dried really fast and most importantly stayed on for days on end. The name VANE is acronyms from my actual name.

VERONICA EBIE - ODEKA, the dynamic style consultant and fashion entrepreneur KEMI AJUMOBI

What feat has it achieved so far?

The Vane polish since going on shelves in 2015 has achieved great reach by customer love and satisfaction. Selling over 20,000 bottles in our first year globally, it’s currently being used and distributed in close to 75 salons and retail stores nationwide. We have taken advantage of collaborative opportunities; having been the only African nail polish brand sold on Amazon as well as sponsored participation backstage for the models in the biggest fashion weeks in African year after year with both Arise and Lagos Fashion & Design Week.

As an entrepreneur in Nigeria, what are the challenges you have experienced in your business?

There are a lot of challenges, though I have to admit distribution has been one of the bigger challenges I have experienced.

How do you feel the government can help

support business to be better?

I do believe the government is supporting SME’s such as mine but there is always more that can be done such as creating more awareness of the available services for them and educating businesses on how to access proper funds that they need to scale up.

Unfading memories There are many memories for me that shape my life however, some of the best ones are when I got married and also birthed all of my kids, those are the days that will never be forgotten.

You just turned 40, what are you looking forward to?

Yes I recently turned 40 and to me it a great age to be.

I look forward to greater years guided my God in all that I do, business expansion and conquering of higher heights. 40years to me means to live life on my terms, appreciate and keep those in my life closer to me, and most of all embrace my truth at all times by being fearless.

Final words Life isn’t worth living alone and we must always open ourselves up to learning daily so I encourage us all to Live, Laugh and Love always.

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BUSINESS DAY

Friday 28 September 2018

Why you’re living above your means and you don’t even know it!

CHRIS MULLER

The slow leak hink of a hose you have hooked up outside that slowly drips water all summer. If you were to put a bucket under the hose, you’d have probably a gallon of water by the end of summer.

Spending is a lot like that.

When you subconsciously spend more than you intend to on seemingly little things, thinking that it won’t make a big difference, you may find you’re living well above your means. This “money leak” often happens without us even knowing and it’s making us poor. It can happen in a number of different ways, like the ways stores manipulate us secretly for example. We justify this type of spending, too. For instance, if you’re a meticulous budgeter but hap-

that you can’t predict and can’t avoid, you’re putting yourself at financial risk.

“Must have” experiences There’s a science behind why we should be spending our money on experiences, not things. I totally agree with this logic, too. Its logic like this that inadvertently encourages us to think it’s okay to spend our money on experiences. The problem comes when you don’t have the money. It’s hard to say no when your friends are all going on spring break or heading to Vegas for a bachelor party. The same thing happens when you take out loans to study abroad. An amazing experience, no doubt, but you could end up with thousands of dollars in additional debt

pen to overspend on food each month, you might make the justification that you’ll spend less elsewhere. Sometimes that happens, sometimes it doesn’t, and you overspend that month.

Irregular, but recurring expenses This is the most common, most overlooked, and often biggest leak in our budget. Recurring, yet irregular, expenses sneak up on you like a ninja at the most inconvenient times to wreck your budget. Amazon Prime is a great example of a recurring annual expense. Say you pay $99 per year for this wonderful Amazon feature. That’s basically $8.25 a month, but you’re not paying for it monthly, are you?

Since you’re not paying for it monthly, odds are you’re not budgeting for it monthly. This is a strategic (and frankly genius) marketing move that many companies use in order to get you not to cancel. Think about it: if you don’t know whether you want to keep something, what’s going to remind you of it more…an $8 monthly charge that you see 12 times a year, or a sneaky little one-time-per-year charge that you might overlook on your credit card statement?

Unexpected expenses We’ve all had them. Unexpected expenses are the worst.

They always seem to happen at the most inopportune times, and yet we always seem to find a way to pay for them. What you may not realize, though, is these unexpected expenses are destroying your annual budget.

When you don’t plan for things

if you’re not careful. Smaller experiences can add up, too.

What might seem like a cheap weekend getaway, a lovely night out on the town, or a can’t miss sporting event can actually mean the difference between living within your means and blowing your budget. These “must have” experiences sneak up on you, enticing you with the promise of a memory that will last forever

Summary Think about budgeting like dieting. You can follow your diet exactly each and every month, but if you start sneaking in chips, candy bars, and alcohol on a regular basis, you’re probably not going to meet those diet goals. Just like money, if you consistently have the “slow leak” of overspending, you’re never going to save. Also like dieting, don’t binge and don’t starve yourself. You’ll fail both ways. If you follow your budget strictly the first six months of the year then take a random, unplanned trip to Paris; you’ll blow your budget. If you forbid yourself from having subtle pleasures like the experiences I mentioned above (you “starve yourself”) at some point you’ll cave and spend more than you’d intended. Give those things to yourself, but budget for them and make sure you’re paying yourself first. I saw a huge turning point in my financial life when I started using YNAB. I never used to be good at budgeting until I found this tool. Give it a try if you’re finding yourself struggling with watching what you spend each month.

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Back to school: School owners speak on parents’ performance Stories by DESMOND OKON

only be God and his grace upon this school,” Fountain Brooks Montessori Proprietress, Uju Anazodo told Women’s Hub. At Winners Treasure Nursery and Primary school, only ten per cent rior to school resumption, there were concerns about parents’ ability to meet up with their financial of the parents have responded positively according to the estimation of the Proprietress, Busayo Mercy Ndwuku, who blamed it on obligation to the various schools their children are poor planning. enrolled in a harsh economy. Visiting four different “What we expected them to do was to plan, because by vacation private schools in Ketu, Ogudu, and Lagos Island, Women’s Hub learnt that parents have been doing well in terms in July, they were already given the list of books, and the necessary of paying schools, and visiting the school to observe the activi- things they are to prepare for the students before resuming. But ties, we observed that they have met the monetary expectations many, due to the economy, or whatever they complain of, have not really been able to prepare for these things. They’ve always been of school owners. complaining about money.

Compared to last session, some of the Proprietresses averred that parental response to financial commitment was better. “In “But some have really prepared, and that will be about ten per cent whose children resumed and they were buying the necessary fact, this is my best term”, one of them said. books. However, almost ninety per cent of them will tell you when “I was expecting them to come to school or tell someone to the month ends, even those who are not salary earners. They are rather follow their children to school. And I believe that at the doing something but not up to what is expected,” she said. beginning of any school session, every parent should come to Rocking one of the crèche pupils in her arms at De Royal Nursery the school and see things for themselves,” Esther Arowosola, and Primary School, Lagos Island, the head teacher, Bashua OluProprietress of Mopem, Nursery, primary, and secondary school said, speaking of what she expected from the parents of washeyi said the school expected parents to make part-payment of the fees. “In their last term school letter, we told them that if they her students. are able to pay the full payment before resumption, they will be giv“Most of them came by themselves to check the list of books and make payments. Since Monday (resumption) they’ve been en an additional new school uniform for the pupil if the parents are able to pay before we resumed. So we expected parents to, at least, buying books. The response to the buying of books and every pay half of it before resumption due to the economic situation. other stationary has been good, in fact, better than last year, “So far, the parents have been encouraging. Part-payments have and they are still coming,” she said. been made, and they have been able to meet up with the expecta“The response from parent so far has been fantastic. A good number paid school fees before resumption. Though there are tions, the textbooks, and part-payments of the school fees,” she said, and adds: “They are trying”. still the bad eggs, so far, I have responsible parents, but it can

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What men think about women who are breadwinners

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hile some may be intimidated when she earns more than him, or get spooked and cower from attempting some romantic overtures, some prominent Nigerian men have said it’s totally cool for her to be the breadwinner as long as there is respect, love and mutual understanding.

They advised men not be intimidated or feel degraded or debased, because in today’s world where women are having more and more representation in the workplace, it’s now something that is more likely to happen than not to have women who are in higher-paying jobs than their husbands.

Where the wife is earning more, then it’s not such a big deal if they have an understanding. But where the wife is the sole breadwinner, there are questions around if the husband is being lazy, or if he’s just being unlucky, or the reason behind it. In spite of that, having understanding with one another is the only way this sort of situation can be managed properly, Kayode Odebiyi, business analyst said.

According to him, “What’s important is the understanding between the couple; what the husband understands, what the wife understands, how they relate with one another and what their agreement around money is. I think the places where there is a lot more is when the husband is earning nothing, and the wife is the sole breadwinner of the family”.

Oscar Oyinsan, media entrepreneur and broadcaster, said it depends on the type of man, and the context in which this man grew up.

“Men respond differently to different situations. I might have a higher tolerance than the man next to me who grew up in a home where the rule is law and the man is the head of the home. Anything that empowers your partner is a welcome development. It’s about understanding, it’s about communication, it’s about being with each other, and most importantly, it’s about compromise. Both of you need to agree on what you are willing to step down on, and what the other person is willing to

pick up on. You need to know that anything that comes into the family is for the benefit of the family, how it comes is relative,” he told me.

Responding to why most men feel awkward and uncomfortable around women who are breadwinners, he said it’s a reflection of something lacking in the man.

“As a man, I think you need to have a lot of self-confidence financially and otherwise, so that you can stand on your own.

As a man, what you should be thinking of doing is how to make your woman better, once a woman is happy, you have a happy home.

“But every home is different and you need to find out what works for your home. There are homes that the woman earns more and you won’t know. I think when you pay attention to a lot of lip service to external influences, and you don’t address what is happening in your own home, I think that’s where the issue is,” he submitted.

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BUSINESS DAY

Friday 28 September 2018 WOMEN’S HUB

Friday 28 September 2018

5 WOMEN’S HUB

Depression: Is God the missing link?

M DESMOND OKON

Say No to human trafficking …Young African ladies in focus KEMI AJUMOBI

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hile driving to work recently, I was listening to the radio and heard Paul Ukonu speak on the need to stop trafficking of young African women. Apparently, he is the founder of the300Project, which is an Art initiative aimed at decreasing the spread of the menace.

I was startled when I heard his narrative on his experience with a woman he intended to support.

According to him, the woman resides in Shagamu and he decided to pay her a visit to see how he could help support her child who was an amputee.

On getting there, he asked after her other daughter and she said she had gone out. Somewhere at the back of Ukonu’s mind was the belief that the child that “went out” should be perhaps a teenager but to his uttermost surprise, a child not up to 3 years old was who the lady referred to as “not being around”…as if at that stage, she should have the choice of even stepping out of the house unaided not to talk of “going out”. It was a complete shock for him but that wasn’t all that shocked him, while leaving the house, he met the little girl by the road with her ‘other friends’… “By the road!” I exclaimed as I listened. He even volunteered to support the amputee child but her mother insisted that her business was priority.

Does that mean the education of the child is irrelevant in this scenario? So it appears but another way to look at it is if the child goes to school, and there is nothing to come back home to eat because her mum can’t afford it, what then happens to their living? (Especially because the husband was certainly not in the picture)… so it sounds logical for her business to be priority? Yes it does but it doesn’t make it right. If a woman like this is offered the ‘opportunity’ of exchanging her child for money, what do you think her response will be? Well, I leave the answer to your imagination.

The reason the discussion came up was because they were sharing on sad statistics that shows the alarming rate of young ladies trafficked out of Nigeria for ‘commercial’ purposes.

One of the ladies who called in mentioned that in the past,

when you see people storming the village and sharing money anyhow, they were cautioned to avoid such people because their source of money could not be traced. She said today, the idea is now embraced as such people are not only not being investigated, but are given chieftaincy titles. My question therefore after listening to her was “If for instance, the person is into trafficking of young girls and has made a lot of money doing so, is ‘celebrating’ him or her by receiving their money and praising them or perhaps their ‘works’ in the village the way to go? For the lady who called in, celebrating someone whose source of stupendous wealth cannot be traced to anything tangible is a matter of decay in common moral values once upheld.

It was a revealing discussion and I actually had to park my car to listen through. The crux of the matter remains the fact that sadly, till date, young girls/ladies are daily being trafficked and not enough is being done to properly check this.

Sadly, reports show that Nigeria is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons including forced labour and forced prostitution.

These young ladies and children are drafted from rural areas within our borders for forced internal enslavement and sexual abuse, and boys for mandatory work in street trade, domestic subjection and begging.

According to the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Nigeria was claimed to be one of the leading African countries in human trafficking with cross-border and internal trafficking.

Reports show that Italy has the leading population of Nigerians oppressed to human trafficking and studies have discovered as many as 10,000 Nigerian prostitutes in Italy imperilled to human trafficking.

There are various anti-human trafficking organisations in Nigeria, also, Police, Customs, Immigration and other officials are being trained on identifying victims among high-risk persons… these are laudable and highly commendable but the question is, if the scourge is still on the increase, so much that even international media are still raising these issues with evidences to back up their stories? There is still a lot that needs to be done.

Top ten things to remember on a first date 1. Location ake sure you know exactly where you are going and if it is in an unfamiliar part of town check on a map and plan your route. If you are not sure exactly where you are meeting ask your date rather than worry about it on your own.

2. Transport If you are planning to drink alcohol then it is better to leave the car at home. It is sometimes more relaxing to take a cab rather than rely on public transport. However you plan to travel to your date, allow yourself more time than you think it will take to get there especially during rush hour.

3. Child Care If you need someone to mind your children while you are out on your date make sure you book them in advance and check the day before that they are still available. Ask them to come for an hour before your need to leave so that even if they are late you won’t be rushing. If possible book them to stay for an hour later too so that you don’t have to rush away from your date at the end of the evening.

4. Food One of the things that can make nerves worse is forgetting to eat anything prior to the date. A couple of cups of coffee and a sugary snack will put anyone’s nerves on

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edge and will also mean that any alcohol you consume will go straight to your head.

Try to eat something that is high in slow release carbohydrates a couple of hours before your date. This will help keep you calm and feeling in control of your nerves.

5. Restaurants Lots of people get nervous and flustered when it comes to choosing what they want from the menu on a date. Many restaurants now have their menu on the internet so you can log on and choose what you want before your date. This is also a good chance to assess how much money you are likely to need to take with you.

6. Money On the subject of money do make sure you take enough cash to pay for your share of a meal – even if you don’t think you will have to – and to pay for your transport home.

7. Appearance Your appearance isn’t just about what clothes you are wearing or whether you have a nice haircut. Body language says just as much about you as your clothes and the most attractive thing you can wear for your date is a smile. Wear clothes you feel comfortable and attractive in and that are appropriate for where you are going – it’s also a good idea to check the weather

forecast especially if you are meeting outside.

8. Contact Make sure you take your mobile phone and that it is fully charged.

Put it on silent and out of sight for the duration of your date. Tell a friend where you are going and what time you think you will be home. If possible arrange to give them a call just to let them know you are ok. This is a good chance to talk through the date with someone as well as an important way of making sure you stay safe.

9. Thinking The attitude you have toward your date will go a long way towards how successful it is. If you have a positive, light-hearted approach – deciding you are going to have as good a time as possible, you probably will. If, however you are predicting a disaster, indulging in negative self-talk and generally wondering why you are bothering – the chances are that you will come away believing it didn’t go very well. Keep an open mind – try not to judge straight away and remember there is a lot to be learnt even from a bad date.

10. Talking Leave your problems at the door and do what you can to use conversation on a first date to get to know as much as you can about each other. Listen to the other person and share openly about yourself and above all, remember to have lots of fun .

- Love& Harmony

o’Cheddah, singer, revealed via Instagram live on Saturday, June 9, 2018, that she battled with depression for four years. She said that people who have never been depressed, especially Nigerians, would be unable to understand what it feels like.

In 2017 Toyin Aimakhu, actress revealed that she experienced depression at some point during an exclusive interview with Broadway TV. She spoke about her bout with depression and drug use.

Tonto Dikeh Halima Abubakar, and Chimammadan Ngozie Adichie are few celebrities who have battled depression at different points in their careers.

Their male counterparts are not left out. Tee Billz, Yomi Casual, and recently, Samclef and Harrysong who shook his fans with an Instagram suicide note, are celebrities who know the true definition of depression, and felt its impact.

The above cases show the spate of depression among entertainers. For artistes who ensure fans are happy and entertained, and who children pick as role models to be constantly talking about attempted suicide experiences doesn’t bode well for our society and calls for collective concern. But what could be the cause of depression among celebrities in spite of the glam, grandeur and exotic lifestyle they command? While some people say fake life is a cause, others think God is the missing link, as they (celebrities) need to hold on to Him. “Honestly, I don’t know” Oluwarotimi Martins, popular known as Alariwo of Africa, said. He further adds; “But when you have God by your side, and you believe that you don’t have to give up, depression will not set in. When you are focused there will be no depression. If you have so many things you are thinking about, depression sets in.

But if you fight it, there will be no depression; it’s about confidence and comfort, and believing in yourself and believing in God.” For Sophia Omotosho, UK based gospel artiste, who said isolation could be a possible reason, “depression is fast eating up a lot of people up”.

“If you isolate yourself from people, isolate

yourself from things that used to make you happy just because you are a celebrity and you don’t want to do those things anymore, before you know it, depression will begin to creep in.

“Fame and wealth don’t give happiness, and it is God who gives happiness and fulfilment. Don’t say ‘oh she got a Bentley. I’m going to get a Bentley myself’ to show superiority. You don’t need to try to live your life to impress people,” She said.

She also affirmed her believe that fake lifestyle and societal pressure could throw a celebrity into depression, “Yes, I believe it is true, because that is why they say ‘cut your coat according to your size’. Don’t live a life that God has not given you. If He has not given you that, just be yourself. Irrespective of the fact that you are a celebrity, be yourself,” Omotosho advised.

According to Layo Awolo, executive producer, director and actor based in the UK, “I think it’s the fame that comes with that.

Anxiety causes depression. They live a lonely life, and by that I mean they don’t have a life of theirs, especially when they want to go to public places, they can’t be themselves where ever they go, and they sort of go into hibernation which causes depression”.

She however blamed the media to have contributed to the depression celebrities experience.

“Also, the media doesn’t help, especially when they have a break up in their relationships, what they are wearing, who they are with, or where they are hanging out. It makes them rethink if it’s the life they want to live and they just go into that stage of depression”.

She urged them to be themselves, and “develop a thick skin to what the media is portraying you to be, especially when you are not what they say you should be.”

“They should stop living fake lives. This is trying to become what you are not and when you can’t meet up with the standard, you are depressed. They should just be real, and build themselves gradually. That’s why they are depressed, they spend more than their income, they spend more than what they receive,” said another actor in Nollywood and MC known as Sylvanus of Do Good.

WOMEN’S HUB

Olayemi Olusoga, banker, author and advocate for gender parity KEMI AJUMOBI

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layemi Olusoga is a banker, writer and advocate for gender parity. She holds a BA in Mass Communication from Babcock University and a Masters in Media and Communications from the Pan-Atlantic University. She is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and has attended courses in Marketing and Sustainability at Pan-Atlantic University’s School of Media and Communication and Lagos Business School.

With over a decade of banking experience, Olayemi has worked in various divisions of Diamond Bank including Consumer Banking as part of the DiamondXclusive team and also as Segment Manager of the Diamond Woman initiative. She is currently the Team Lead, Corporate Sustainability at Diamond Bank.

Olayemi is the author of the recently published fictional novel, Women of the Ayo-Kessington Dynasty Volume 1: Anjola’s Diary, which was nominated as one of Channels Book Club’s top 10 fiction books of 2017. Her writing has been featured on various platforms such as The Guardian, Bella Naija and Today’s Woman Magazine. Afore

Did you ever nurse the idea of being in the Banking sector?

I come from a family of bankers, so working in the banking sector came naturally to me.

The journey so far has been very interesting. I have been fortunate enough to work in areas where my natural strengths and educational background have been extremely useful. A lot of the skills I have acquired in my banking journey have been very helpful to me not only professionally but in other areas.

What necessitated writing the book?

The Women of the Ayo-Kessington Dynasty is a trilogy that chronicles the journey of three women navigating their way through life, purpose and love.

I wrote the book because I am very passionate about young girls discovering their purpose early in life and not giving into societal pressures or settling for less

6 BUSINESS DAY than they deserve or desire. Even though the book is a fictional work, I hope it inspires young women out there.

How did you find the time despite working in your sector to write the book?

Writing is therapeutic for me. I have to find time to write no matter how busy I am.

Overtime, I have established a routine that helps me balance work, my personal life and my writing. I gave myself writing targets when I was writing the book and I factored this target into my daily schedule. I also had lots of voice notes on my phone. As soon as I got inspiration for a plot twist in the story, I made a voice note so that even if I could not actually write for a few days I didn’t lose the inspiration.

This really helped me during my writing journey.

How are you an advocate for gender parity? How have you proven so?

I am very passionate about women having equal access and opportunities. My writing is very woman-focused and whether I am writing fiction or an opinion piece, I ensure that my writing leaves the reader inspired to do more and be more. I believe my writing gives me a platform to inspire women and I do not take it for granted.

What are you hoping writing this book will achieve?

I am hoping every young woman who reads this book would believe in herself, have confidence in who she is and most importantly not allow society, her economic status or her past dictate her identity. I hope every young woman reads the book and thinks to herself: I don’t have to settle! I don’t have to compromise! I am enough!

Response so far?

The response has been amazing and very humbling! Within three months of releasing the book it was nominated as one of the top 10 fiction books of 2017 by the Channels TV book club. Considering it is my first book and it was self-published, it was a very pleasant surprise! The book has gotten only positive reviews so far, with readers eagerly waiting for the sequel which is due for release in November 2018.

Were there times during writing it that you almost gave up? If yes, what did you do to rise above the situation?

Yes, it took me about three years to make the decision to publish. I realize now that a lot of my reluctance revolved around waiting for what I considered the right time. Thankfully, I came to a point where I realized that there would never be a perfect time to publish the book. I literally just woke up one day and decided I am going to do this no matter what and from then on there was no looking back. It wasn’t perfect, I am still learning but it has made me grow in ways I didn’t even anticipate. My family and friends were also very supportive; they were a constant source of encouragement through the journey.

Do you feel there are more or fewer women at the top of their career in the organisations they work in?

Yes, there are fewer women at the top of their careers in organisations but that narrative is changing. I believe the reasons for this disparity are; the demands of balancing family life and work and also a lack of access to mentors. The solution to this is for organisations to consciously introduce policies that make it easier for women to balance both work life and family life. Policies such as flexible working hours and so on can go a long way in helping women balance their lives effectively. Also, there is a need to provide younger women with a support group or mentors that can guide them in their career choices and options. A lot of companies are recognizing this and beginning to create women networks within their organization. This is important because to get more women at the top, there has to be a pipeline of talent to groom and if you have a significant number of women quitting their jobs or not rising quickly in the organisation, the odds will remain the same with more men still occupying a majority of the senior positions.

What do you have to say to every young lady out there?

To every young lady out there, stop waiting! Stop waiting for people to give you a chance, create your own opportunities. Stop waiting for things to change, start with what you have where you are! There will never be a perfect time, if you have discovered what you want to do and who you want to be…stop waiting and start doing!

WOMEN’S HUB It was about the ‘Agbada challenge’ being the focal point at ‘Merry Men’ movie premiere and the female celebrities came through in their own way. Who was your favourite?

BUSINESS DAY

Friday 28 September 2018

Uriel Oputa

Khloe

Alex Asogwa

Wofai Fada

Omawumi

Iyabo Ojo

Belinda Effah

Antoinette

Waje