Cherry africa, may edition

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Vol.1 No. 2 May, 2016

CHERRY

AFRICA ...Harnessing Africa’s Potential

WHO ON EARTH CAN HELP? VERDICT 2016: I WILL NOT GO WHAT MANNER OF SACK?

The Audacity of Guts

UK : £3.50 USA: $4.99 EURO: €5.00 NIGERIA: ₦1000.001 May 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

Nigeria

With an increased port operational efficiency, decreased port cost and decreased financial burden on government,

Nigerian Ports Authority is becoming

Nigerian Ports Authority 2

May 2016 CHERRYAFRICA MARI T

ERRAQUE SERVIM

US

...To be the Leading Port in Africa...

Website: www.nigerianports.org

Email: info@nigerianports.org

Graphics Unit NPA 01/2016

the Hub of International Freighting and Trade in West and Central Africa.

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Contents

I foresee very tough Presidential Contest PAGE 60 QUOTE It is in the overall interest of the economy and citizens for it to be discontinued. One of the critical elements of the Oil and Gas Sector reform, particularly the downstream sector, is the complete deregulation of the sector.

PAGE

Verdict 2016: I Will Not Go

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PAGE 17

-Muda Yusuf, DG, LCCI

How Rwanda forged her most popular tourism event in gorilla naming

Who On Earth Can Help?

PAGE 12

PAGE 30

06 Nigeria’s insurance regulator NAICOM shifts focus to risk based supervision to set the market abuzz 09 MukazayireThe True Definition of Rwanda’s ‘Ceasefire’

15 After years of debate the African philosophy mystery is solved 19

All Eyes On Downstream Sector

40

From First Lady to women in Diaspora

42

Time for Inclusive Growth

62 Effective Leadership: The Role of Emotional Intelligence

What manner of sack?

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CHERRY

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Publisher’s Note Africa’s Growth and Signs of The Times

A

s always, Africa has continued to attract global attention. Everywhere you go there are widespread speculations on the continent’s economic growth prospects. There is also no uniform position among analysts on its growth pattern going forward. While some believe there is a perfect storm in the horizon that would unleash a meltdown, others assert Africa’s growth in the face of the unfolding scenarios would be more of a slowdown. More recently, economic growth across the region is expected to remain slower in coming years than it has been over the past 10 to15 years. From 6.1per cent forecasted in its Regional Economic Outlook Sub-Saharan Africa: Navigating Headwinds, April 2015, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) baseline projection for 2016 is now down to 3 per cent.

According to the EY Africa Attractiveness Index (AAI) tool which provides a balanced set of shorter and longer term-focused metrics to support investors in adapting to a more uncertain environment and to assess variable opportunities and risks across the continent, the main reasons for a relative slowdown are neither farfetched nor unique to Africa. They are essentially the same as those weighing down the global economy: a general slowdown in emerging market economies, and in particular the rebalancing of China’s economy; ongoing stagnation in most developed economies; lower commodity prices; and higher borrowing costs. The index helps to measure both likely resilience in the face of current macroeconomic pressures, as well as progress being made in critical areas of longer-term development, namely governance, diversification, infrastructure, business enablement and human development.

It has been acknowledged that growth in the region has relatively slowed. However, two-thirds of Sub-Saharan African economies are still growing at rates

above the global average, and will remain the second fastest-growing region in the world for the foreseeable future, after Emerging Asia. The EY’s index says: “This is further supported by the year-on-year increase in FDI project numbers in Africa in 2015 that occurred in a context in which the total number of FDI projects globally dropped by 5 per cent. In fact, Africa was one of only two regions in the world in which there was growth in the number of FDI projects over the past year.”

Indications remain strong that most countries on the continent would have macroeconomic challenges bothering on insecurity, diseases, political uncertainties and global oil prices. These risks are likely to be exacerbated by the fact that 2016 would be an election year for many countries on the continent if not adeptly managed.

Concerns about the best approaches to adopt in responding to these indications informed the thrust of the 2015 African Economic Outlook, an annual appraisal of the bank. This underscores the urgent need for realigning the continent’s financial, social and governance indicators aimed to achieve continued broad-based progress, unlock its regional development for greater spatial inclusion, and adopt policy options that would ensure no one in Africa is left behind because of where they live.

The central message in the face of these signs of the times is that change has happened. Scary as the change may be, there could still be value in crisis. Africa’s leaders now more than ever before need to demonstrate in the face of these challenges, the ability to overcome geographical and socio economic barriers and erect enduring policy pillars that are central to achieving inclusive growth and sustainable development while addressing rural-urban differences to ensure balanced development through job creation and societal transformation. The time to act is now.

Carolyn Isaac Publisher

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AFRICA

...Harnessing Africa’s Potentials

© 2016 All rights reserved

Chairman Tony Charles

Editorial Team

Publisher Carolyn Isaac publisher@cherryafrica.net Managing Editor Murphy Jones editor@cherryafrica.net Associate Editors Adama Bukari, Morgan Winsor, Iyowuna Obomanu, Patricia Abena-Kissi Contributing Editors Jamie Leigh-Matroos (Cape Town) Athan Tashobya (Kigali) Pascaline Ameyo (Accra) Abdoulie Nget (Banjul) Correspondents Williams Freeman (Accra) Bini Israel (Nigeria) Design and Production Kelechi Okoro – Emmanuels Administration Job Peters, Becky Joseph Marketing Selasi Appiah (Ghana) Sally Udoinyang (Lagos) Frank Air (Accra) advertising@cherryafrica.net Circulation Lawrence Frank Subscription Juliet Joseph subscription@cherryafrica.net Editorial Advisory Board Francis Nyoyoko (Chairman) Salome Malema, Dare Akpata, Makwaia Wa Kuhenga, Kede Alhie Umar Sanni, Peace King Kporvie Abuja Office Suite 205 Better Living Plaza, 10, Algiers Street, Wuse Zone 5 FCT - Abuja, Nigeria +2349096640887 Business Development 5, Owukori Crescent, Western Avenue, Alaka, Surulere Lagos Nigeria.

Tel: +2349099277714 info@cherryafrica.net Ghana Bureau: +233267967272 ghanabureau@cherryafrica.net ISSN: 24657107

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Views

MAKWAIA WA KUHENGE

CONDITIONALITY OF AIDS NOT ACCEPTABLE

“D

emocracy is not a bottle of Coca-cola for import from one place to another. And no nation has the right to make decisions for another nation nor a given people for another people…

Dr Julius Nyerere, Founder President of Tanzania NEWS in the intervening period has been the announcement from Washington that the United States is suspending partnership with Tanzania on the Millennium Challenge Account’s new Compact development (MCC) presumably because of the end result of the election in Zanzibar and the Cyber Crimes Act in place in Tanzania.

This move will mean the cancelation of millions of dollars in aid package to the tune of US dollars 470 million to this country at the whims and pleasure of MCC. News of the cancellation of aid has had a strong reaction from Tanzanians of different walks of life writing on the social media.

Writes one, a retired Tanzanian diplomat: “The American decision is not about democracy. Why? Because Tanzania had already gone through all the rigorous criteria by the standards of the US itself, including democratic governance, and qualified.

“And this current decision by the United States is not about the piece of legislation in Tanzania known as the Cyber Crimes Act. Why? Because the Act was signed into law in April 2015, and three months later the MCC notified Congress of its intention to enter into Compact agreement with Tanzania.

“And in September 2015, the MCC Board cited Tanzania’s passage of control of corruption indicator as the only issue before approval – nothing about the Cyber Crimes Act was mentioned.

The MCC current decision shelves the goalpost – making the whole MCC approval process a huge joke…” While another Tanzanian commented: “The American decision is also not about the election in Zanzibar.

Had America’s decision been about democracy, we would have had that unipolar power stay away from various countries in Africa and the Middle East whose regimes are not democratic at all…”

He mentioned the countries, which for reasons of civility, I will not repeat them here. According to him, one is receiving a cool $1 billion of aid in spite of the fact that its regime removed a democratically elected leader by force of arms.

America is also funding regimes whose leaders are yearning for a lifelong presidency in their respective countries! He adds: “We in Tanzania are a small country trying to build our own democracy in our own way.

The Americans have been part of messing Zanzibar up in the Cold War plays and Zanzibar’s historical challenges should be very familiar to them.”

It is a very interesting world of the Social Media globally, which is not exclusive to the developed world alone.

Friends have been forwarding to me clips of thoughts by various people on the current American action on Tanzania. Here is another: “God made humans in His image.

America wants Tanzanian democracy in its image. Would you accept MCC money for a democracy that elevates and celebrates Donald Trump? This level is the thinking of most informed Tanzanians.

Reflecting on the quote at the launch of this perspective, one needs no lec-

ture that this country has a foundation stone as far as safeguarding its national independence is concerned.

Actually, right in the early years of the independence of this country, that foundation stone was set when we had to tell off one western country which wanted us not to have no relations with its sister country during the cold war. We told that country it can close shop here and take back its aid.

The same was the case with Britain during the battle for independence in the former Rhodesia.

We had to severe diplomatic relations with Britain over Zimbabwe’s freedom. That foundation stone simply meant that we would never confuse flag independence for genuine independence and that we will take our own orders and never from London or Washington.

For Tanzanians who were there during the process of the laying of the foundation stone of our house called Tanzania certainly look back with pride during those old days.

Tanzania’s name was respectable everywhere, it be in the developing or developed world. There have, of course, been ups and downs in the course of our national independence more than half a century ago.

But the most remarkable virtue is that we are right in a democratic order, in accordance with the culture and characteristics of our own people.

We count today a fifth President and, as majority of Tanzanians are aware, especially those who have been around in the last five decades - we are bound to re-assert even more vigorously our political independence - thanks to efforts being made to make our country increasingly self-reliant.

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NIGERIA From Ancient to Modern Nigeria’s insurance regulator NAICOM shifts focus to risk based supervision to set the market abuzz

T Murphy Jones

o make the insurance underwriting business more relevant and ensure a radical change aimed at erasing the smear of poor public perception, the industry has risen to the challenge to take its pride of place in the country’s market that is laced with lush opportunities for growth.

The new course by industry regulator, National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), is neither stray nor incidental. It is a product of deliberate policy aimed to grow the industry at least five times or faster and gain traction in the country’s vastly untapped insurance market.

The envisaged growth has laid NAICOM under necessity to adopt the Risk-Based Supervision (RBS) rather than the old-fashioned 100 per cent

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Compliance-based supervision in repositioning the industry to claw back to relevance and make more significant impact in aiding business and economic growth in the country.

RBS is a structured supervisory approach that is aimed at identifying the most critical risks that face each company and through a focused review by the supervisor to assess the company’s management of those risks and its financial vulnerability to potential adverse experience.

The new approach requires supervisors to review the manner in which insurers are identifying, measuring and controlling their risks and to assess system of risk response of a firm with the supervisor’s own processes and interventions in line with the as-

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Nigeria sessment. The central tenet of RBS is the relationship between risk and capital. this means the higher the risk profile of the insurer, the higher the capital it must hold. These, analysts say, is the beauty of the new order of supervision, and urge the regulator to be firm and discreet in ensuring the success of the regime.

The key benefits of RBS are that it allows for the systematic assessment of insurers’ risks using a formalised framework at regular intervals; allows for the identification of insurers’ strengths and weaknesses and areas within insurers where difficulties or challenges exist; encourages a strong risk management function in insurers; promotes the cost-effective use of regulatory resources; and allows for continuous monitoring, early warning indicators, prompt intervention and timely action.

It also involves assessing whether an insurer’s governance, risk management and internal controls are adequate, and whether the solvency and liquidity of the insurer are sufficient to withstand unexpected shocks.

Says Barineka Thompson, Director, Inspectorate at NAICOM: “The features of NAICOM RBS Framework, which is a typical approach will identify significant activities or business areas, grade the inherent risks (high, above average, moderate or low), evaluate effectiveness of controls (operational/business line mgt& independent oversight/board etc. –strong, acceptable, needs improvement and weak), evaluate net risk by

Mohammed Kari, Commissioner for Insurance combining the two levels of risk, capital Coverage/Surplus, Earnings and Access to additional Capital, assessing the potential impact of a failure on the financial system, use the risk rating as a basis for supervisory action and update risk rating regularly.”

The industry targets to grow the percentage of the adult population that holds one or more insurance policies from 6

per cent to 25 per cent and dilate the insurance sector market size from 0.7 per cent to 3 per cent. The number of policies in the retail segment of the market is estimated at 2.5 million, but the target in the new dispensation sees the need to up this figure to 25 million and increase the proportion of the adult population that understands the benefits and uses of insurance products and ser-

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Nigeria vices increases from 40 per cent to 80 per cent.

Above all odds, a target of N1 trillion total premium income has been set for the industry against 2017.

Industry analysts say this target is massively conservative, factoring in the huge opportunities that exist in the market for insurance service providers. The financial sector, analysts believe, is approaching its peak in the country. They are also quick to add that the insurance industry remains vastly untapped with enormous growth possibilities that need to be harnessed. Although earlier steps taken to reposition the industry had lofted the Nigerian market from its 7th position in 2007 to second only ranking behind South Africa in 2014, this fresh move, CherryAfrica learnt, is informed partly by the desire to overtake the leader sooner or later.

Insurance penetration in Nigeria measured against the situation in other economies in Africa with comparable GDP per capita, remains low.

For instance, data from UNESCO, the World Bank, NationMaster and McKinsey shows that life insurance in the country averaged a dismal 0.1 per cent from 2008 to 2013, while Kenya and Morocco scored 1.1 each. Similarly, while Nigeria had only 0.3 per cent in the non-life aspect of the business, it was 2.2 per cent in Kenya, 2.1 per cent in Morocco, and 0.6 per cent in Algeria. Going forward, NAICOM says it is all out to enforce compulsory insurance, especially at the states’ level and within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in the belief that the economy would be better for it.

This latest move by the industry regulator is to pump up volume and ensure the business of insurance remains deep-rooted in the Nigerian market relative to others in Africa. Experts say this is germane as NAICOM has been left to survive on its own

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without subvention from the government for more than one year running.

The move by the regulator has also become pertinent because of the need to grow the business of insurance in conformity with the nation’s status as Africa’s largest economy. It is further believed that the latest steps being taken by the regulator would create a boon in the market for the overall interest of the various players in the industry, especially if all the compulsory aspects of the business are astutely harnessed. Cherry Africa learnt that there are at least, 10 million motor vehicles on Nigerian roads, going by statistics from the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC). Meticulously enforcing and tracking just half of this compulsorily, industry observers say, would generate so much money and radically change the face of the market, asides making it buzz.

So also is the case of compulsory insurance of all public buildings as required by the insurance law. And if for any bizarre reasons owners of such vehicles decide to insure all of them at N5000 premium on Third Party basis, this immediately generates a bouncy premium income of N50 billion.

It could be a lot more because Nigerians know no dull moments when it comes to acquiring automobiles.

With the exchange rate situation that has skyrocketed prices and the passion of Nigerian car freaks, most of the automobile brands now cost as much as two times more than what was the case two years ago, meaning much more could be gleaned from the motor insurance business line.

The Insurance Act 2013 also provides for compulsory insurance of all public buildings with the exception of churches and mosques against the risk of injury or death to third parties.

The opportunities in this segment of business remain unscratched at the states and federal levels. Enormous

opportunities are also there for insurers to harness in the areas of group life, where only the federal government has been 100 per cent compliant till date. All things equal, there are no less than 12 areas of compulsory insurance that can make the market boom in the country with potential to generate close to N2 trillion annually.

This underscores the need to develop more depth, expand volume and value through proper and sustained enforcement of compulsory insurance, this would position the service providers to have more passion for service delivery rather than cash, and remain more market-based in their approach. It will also help their business to promptly pay claims to the insured when the risks insured against occur since insurance is business based on trust. It is encouraging that Lagos and Ogun States are taking the lead in the effort at making the implementation of compulsory insurance a reality. Other states need to follow this example and support NAICOM in its initiative aimed at covering 12 States this fiscal year.

Insurance penetration in Nigeria measured against the situation in other economies in Africa with comparable GDP per capita, remains low.

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CONTINENTAL ISSUE Africa

RWANDA

Mukazayire The True Definition of

Rwanda’s ‘Ceasefire’ Thanks to Rwanda’s unique homegrown solution to Justice and Reconciliation through Gacaca courts, Mukazayire, a little girl in the days of genocide could find the truth she longed for

R

Athan Tashobya

wandans and friends around the world will remember and honour one million, seventy four thousand, and seventeen people, brutally killed in one hundred days and comfort those who survived the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. This exercise will run from now till July 13.

Genocide against the Tutsi remains the most brutal and fastest mass killing ever recorded in history. This is mostly blamed on the ethnic division, hate and discrimination, which were entrenched among Rwandans by colonialism, and post-colonial leadership.

As for Rwandans, the commemoration time also reflects, among other things, the courage, sacrifices and resilience by them and the current leadership that brought Rwanda back to life.

The seeming puzzle of Rwanda’s recovery after the regrettable fate of the Genocide remains on how Genocide perpetrators and survivors have managed to reconcile, buried their differences and united to rebuild the state once considered to have failed in 1994—now the fastest growing economy on the globe.

The answer is that for a complex post-Genocide environment, Rwan-

dans have sought to build an “upright nation”—where the child of a Genocide perpetrator and the child of a Genocide survivor, have equal access to education, health care, jobs, leadership position.

The surprising example of the inclusive governance is, Nelly Mukazayire, the Deputy Director of the Cabinet in the Office of the President of Rwanda Paul Kagame. Mukazayire is a daughter of once referred to as the “famous” Genocide perpetrator –who is now serving a life sentence in Rwandan’s oldest 1930 prison.

Yes! The child of “murder” is now serving in the highest office of the country.

When Nelly Mukazayire took the podium at the UN headquarters in New York, during the 22nd commemoration of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, little did the world know that she was about to give an astonishing testimony of Rwanda’s horrible past meeting the present reconciliation. Call it the “ceasefire”!

In her speech, Mukazayire admits that she is a living testimony of “Rwanda’s defying policy of equal rights and opportunities” At 34, Mukazayire’s life is full of mysteries and wonders at the same time.

Having spent much of her childhood time with her Tusti father, she only grew to know the true colours of her mother

Nelly Mukazayire through newspapers.

“I was 12 years old when the Genocide happened. My two siblings and I lived with my father. During the whole period of Genocide, we had no idea where our mother was. My father knew but did not tell us because we were too young to understand and at our early age we thought our mother was dead.

The first time I learnt about my mother was in 1996. I was in the 2nd year of secondary school, when one of my fellow students showed me a newspaper article, with a picture of my mother, my name and names of our relatives. The headline was: Famous Interahamwe captured,” Mukazayire said.

Interahamwe, is the Kinyarwanda name for the infamous militia group responsible for executing the genocide against the Tusti.

She added that, the time she saw the news about her mother, was the “worst day” of her life.

“One day I was a survivor, child of a Tutsi father, who had lost his parents and relatives in the Genocide, and instantly I became a child of a Genocide Perpetrator!

As you could imagine, Mukazayire went through a series of difficult and confusing phases, at the same time.

“I simply refused to believe it. I decided that my mother was dead. But society

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CONTINENTAL ISSUE Africa wouldn’t let me forget. I lost most of my friends who were Genocide survivors.

To them I was a liar and a traitor. I faced rejection from all sides and lost identity.

Next came facing the reality and acceptance. I eventually realised that I could not run from reality forever. Everywhere I went my mother’s reputation preceded me.” Mukazayire said in her speech.

But truth as it could be, indeed no one can run from the truth forever, she said, adding that, ““you can try to attenuate the situation, call it different names, defend yourself but facts do not fade or disappear… soon or later, one has to face them either as a victim then you embrace your history to build a brighter future or as an actor then you have to take responsibility and face consequences.

Mukazayire, decided to face the truth and started meeting her mother, in prison.

“It was tough and heart-breaking. I wanted to know the truth about what happened. At the same time, it was too much for me. There are things you never wish to hear from a parent, a mother,” she said.

Through the traditional Gacaca courts, Genocide perpetrators were able to repent and ask for forgiveness from survivors and the entire society.

Gacaca courts facilitated healing, Genocide survivors got information about what happened to their relatives; they learned where victims’ bodies had been hidden and were able to accord them descent burials.

“Gacaca helped me get the truth that I desperately needed, to be able to reopen my heart to my mother. There is no way to repair what she had done, and I will never understand the reasons behind her actions. But at the very least, I wanted to see if she would regret and repent before I could forgive her.” Mukazayire said, adding that meeting her mother then enabled her to relieve herself of guilt and disassociate herself from her mother’s crimes.

She further stated that, she forgave her mother and was able to visit her,

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RWANDA

and take care of her with a healed heart.

“Today I even take my children to visit her. At the end of the day a mother is a mother and ever irreplaceable. On the other hand, she is accountable of her actions, she is serving her sentence with a healed heart and a peace of mind knowing that her children live in a country where: children will never be responsible or held accountable for the crimes of their fathers or mothers.”

Setting Her Own Path President, Paul Kagame, once said: “We cannot turn the clock back nor can we undo the harm caused, but we have the power to determine the future, and to ensure that what happened never happens again.” And Mukazayire says she chose to live by the said oral sustenance.

Mukazayire realised that she had to face the hard truth and the reality with resilience and determination. And she has done just that so as to reach the high position she presently holds in the Office of the President.

“Today I am not proud of my mother’s actions but again I am not held by that shadow, I choose to leave it behind, set my own path, live my story. I consider myself privileged to live in a country committed to rights and justice for all, in policy and practice,” adding that, from the age of 14, to date, she has never been prevented from seeing her mother.

She says, “Being a child of a Genocide perpetrator, my mother who is serving a life sentence in a Kigali prison, for her role during the Genocide, I am a result of that defying policy of equal rights and opportunities to all Rwandans and a living testimony of the new Rwanda.

“I have been able to study to advanced levels. I competed for positions in public service, and been evaluated based on merit. I worked for the Prime Minister and today, I am Deputy Chief of Staff of a great statesman, President Kagame.

This can only happen in a country that is committed to Human Rights without any discrimination.” She says.

Mukazayire’s story is one of many other astonishing stories by young Rwan-

dans who were once used to commit Genocide and destroy their own country, or belong to the family of Genocide perpetrators, but have since put their sad history behind and are now actively involved in rebuilding their country.

Mukazayire, attributes the recent success stories of Rwanda’s resurgence to the post-genocide government of Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), which stopped the Genocide and had to rebuild everything from scratch, “including the hearts and minds, of a traumatized people, reinforcing the principles of inclusion, fighting injustice, equal rights and opportunities for all Rwandans.”

According to Mukazayire, Rwanda is possibly one of the greatest examples of an inclusive country; shuttered by bad politicking but has since matched on with a people with common identity, united for a life, a vision, a destiny.

“We have decided to take responsibility for our well being, our dignity, our future. We strongly believe that no one can know better what is good for us and we are committed to take necessary actions, make necessary changes for a stable and prosperous Rwanda. If this requires that President Kagame leads Rwanda for another 7 years, 10 years or 15 years, then let it be! He has proven to us Rwandans that he cares and delivers. After all, isn’t it that type of leadership that we all want? The one that delivers?” she said.

Mukazayire added that, Rwandans are redefining themselves, by restoring a common identity, despite that it has come at “high price”; where men and women sacrificed their lives, Survivors had to go through painful moments of mourning their loved ones but also live with Genocide perpetrators next door.

“Each one had to live with his/her wounds but also help one another to move forward and out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls. Having lost everything, coming back from chaos the only thing that matters to everyone is to never go back and thus together we stand as one, in Unity beyond what the external world can imagine.”

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CONTINENTAL ISSUE Africa

GHANA

WHO ON EARTH CAN

HELP?

The large number of physicallychallenged children in the BunkpuruguYunyoo District of the Northern Region of Ghana could be jaw-dropping experience even to the casual observer, Zephaniah Kwesi writes

While they praise God in their own ways with much ambition, Confidence smiles and says: “disability is not inability”.

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I

T IS ALWAYS GREAT NEWS to hear a relative, close friend or acquaintance has given birth. The arrival of a new baby brings joy and excitement to the home and community, especially, when it is so small as to get the news to every member.

However, it comes as a shock and disappointment, particularly, to parents when the welcome addition to the family turns out to be disabled in any form.

About seven hours drive from Tamale, the Northern Regional capital; Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District is located in the

May 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

David and Sammy’s Entry to the north-eastern corner of the Northern Region.

It takes little or no effort to find disabled persons maneuvering their way through the town or villages nearby from Nankpanduri to Bunkpurugu.

33-year-old Daniel Confidence and 40-year Kombat Jacob were not born physically challenged. No medication at health facilities could get them back on their feet.

Life has, however, thrown at them the condition in which they find themselves today. Confidence, Kombat and other physically challenged people are not hopeless. They believe their future will in

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CONTINENTAL ISSUE Africa

GHANA “Life has been difficult since my son became disabled,” says Tanko’s mother, Madigi Yananbe, who is optimistic her son can reach to the top.

e World Came with Mixed Feeling for Relatives and Friends the end turn around.

While they praise God in their own ways with much ambition, Confidence smiles and says: “disability is not inability”.

“Once we are alive, we shall do what the abled people could not do and change the world,” he declares confidently.

Kofi Abraham was put to bed just after the father passed on.

For four years since then, he has made no attempt to use his legs.

He moves around only by crawling.

“I was pregnant when the father

died. Since I gave birth to him, he is yet to make use of his legs,” lamented Abraham’s mother, Tienim Kofi.

Abraham might just remain in his present condition, if no help comes by way of medical intervention.

Madam Tienim Kofi is worried her only hope will endure disability for the rest of his life.

“I believe my son can walk if he gets medical care. He can’t remain like this. I believe he can make it. What I need is support for my son,” she says with hope.

The story of Abraham reflects the situation in the largely rural

Bunkpurugu Yunyoo District.

Many more children are victims of the natural phenomenon.

Tanko cannot see his physical condition as an impediment to becoming a doctor Meet 15-year old Tanko Yakubu. His dream is to become a medical doctor.

He is so determined he cannot see his physical condition as an impediment.

Tanko braces the odds, crawling through a stretch of bush; about 20 minutes ride on a motorbike, to and from school every day.

“I want to become a doctor,” Tanko said just after he had returned from school.

His father has also passed away. He is now an “albatross around the neck” of a single parent – the mother.

“Life has been difficult since my son became disabled,” says Tanko’s mother, Madigi Yananbe, who is optimistic her son can reach to the top.

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CONTINENTAL ISSUE Africa

GHANA

Confidence, Kombat and Other Disabled People Are Not Hopeless Despite challenges to Tanko’s bid to get education, he is one of a few disabled persons in school in Ghana.

Many of them are too poor to afford aids such as wheel-chair and clutches which make movement easier for them.

Life, for these children, is just out of the ordinary; they are fighting to stay strong enough to tell their stories one day.

David and Sammy’s Entry to the World Came with Mixed Feeling for Relatives and Friends For David and Sammy, their stories are slightly different, though the effects are similar.

They were born disabled and their entry to the world came with mixed feelings for relatives and friends.

Their father, Bugsimah Mbalabna, is getting more frustrated. “I am confused. I don’t know what to do at the moment,” he laments.

For some locals, this is becoming a

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communal issue which requires support for parents of David and Sammy as well as other physically challenged children.

Helping in carrying the children on the never-ending trips to hospital and general childcare comes handy from community members.

Perhaps, the challenges ahead of these children and their feeling of desperation have dawned on the people to take the issue more seriously.

Mr. Mbalabna, once again, says even medical attention during his wife’s pregnancy could not prevent what his children now find themselves in.

Sammy and David sit at a spot for the whole day until their location is changed by their father.

They stretch their necks downwards before they feed themselves.

Well, you might just wonder how they are carried back to their room.

Though their father made attempts to get them into school, Sammy appears convinced he cannot make it.

David and Sammy’s father Lost His Job under a Bizarre Circumstance.

Bugsimah Mbalabna is a Middle School leaver who used to work as pupil-teacher.

He was once adjudged one of the best facilitators in the Northern Region.

The father lost his job in 1986 under circumstances he describes as bizarre.

Since then he took to backyard farming.

“They just said our service was terminated without any letter,” he recounts.

David and his brother’s condition keeps worsening by the day and their father is also losing hope.

Ten Percent of African Population Are Disabled The number of people living with disability in Africa is on the rise. About 10 per cent of the continent’s population is impaired one way or the other.

About 80 per cent of them are unemployed.

The World Bank estimates 20 per cent of the world’s poorest people are disabled and most disadvantaged.

Back to Abraham, Tanko, Sammy and David’s Story When people are in crisis one must never be afraid to talk to them. If such words are meant for kindness, even if quite the right thing is said, individuals can’t make the disadvantaged feel any worse than they do already.

Such words are meant for kindness, words Abraham, Tanko, Sammy, David and many other disabled children want to hear in the Bunkpurugu District.

It’s a win-win situation, if one appreciates what parents of these children go through.

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BOOK Socrates and Orunmila: After years of debate the African philosophy mystery is solved Agozino Agozino

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or persons brought up to regard Western tradition of philosophy as the ‘ultimate’ in the world, the suggestion of a comparison between the Father of Greek Philosophy, Socrates, and Orunmila, the founder of the school of Yoruba diviners (Babalawos), may sound ridiculous.

However, it is only to such persons, Africans especially; with this mindset this mindset that Sophie Oluwole a professor of philosophy directs her message in her new book: “They need to deliver themselves from a brand of intellectual slavery which blinds them to wisdom available at their doorsteps in search of a foreign brand of wisdom which has proved grossly inadequate for true global peace.”

That Socrates is the Father of Greek Philosophy is generally known. Yet many do not

realise that Orunmila is the Father of Yoruba Philosophy, a world view which has been acknowledged as among the richest in the world especially in terms of its humanism.

The 236-page book starts with a preface and introduction that together take 22 pages. There, Oluwole marshals her argument for a truly objective view of philosophy unhampered by parochial definitions that seek to portray it as an exclusive property of the West rather than a global commodity manifesting in different forms in diverse cultures.

She points out parallels in the lives of both Orunmila and Socrates which showed them as leading lights of wisdom in their respective societies despite the fact that none of the two wrote anything down.

Orunmila and Socrates, she submits, “are two great thinkers who offer two rational options in philosophical thinking with positive contributions to

She points out parallels in the lives of both Orunmila and Socrates which showed them as leading lights of wisdom in their respective societies despite the fact that none of the two wrote anything down.

world intellectual heritage.”

The next three chapters explore the personalities of both men according to written and oral records of their followers and critics.

Chapter three, titled ‘What They Said They Said’ is particularly interesting as Sophie quotes profusely from extant records of what each had to say on a wide range of topics from the nature of reality, the nature of truth, the limit of human knowledge, the necessity of education to human destiny, death, good, evil and political rights.

She had noted in earlier pages a problem common to both men arising from the fact that discussions on their teachings are carried out in a language different from the one in which they were originally written. She here acknowledges her indebtedness to the efforts of others like Wande Abimbola, Rev. E.M Lijadu, Pa Olarinwa Epega, William Bascom, Dr Abosede Emanuel, and Ayo Salami, who have made

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Book translations of the Ifa literary corpus. However, she takes full responsibility for her own translations.

In two separate chapters, Appendix I and II, she provides the Yoruba originals of the Ifa verses quoted in the book.

Unfortunately, the numberings are mixed up; such that it is with some difficulty that the reader locates the corresponding originals.

From Chapter Four, Sophie plunges into comparative philosophy in general. Citing several authorities, she points out the merits and demerits of their arguments in favour or against both African and Western traditions of philosophy.

She launches a robust attack against the notion, especially in the West, that there is no African Philosophy or that if there is, it is inferior to the West’s.

‘The greatest barrier to honest thinking about the existence and nature of African philosophy,’ she declares, ‘is the presumption that no tradition of thought and philosophy other than those of the West can be scientific and rational…’

It’s however in Chapter Six that she submits that ‘on the testimony of Western philosophers, the fundamental difference between African and Western philosophy is located in their different assumptions about the nature of reality and the knowledge human beings can have of it.’

Sophie notes that while Western thought rests on Binary Opposition in which truth is either/or and thus often results in conflicts, the African word view rests on Binary Complementarity/Complementary Dualism where

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different, even opposing views can be understood and accommodated without rancour.

It is mainly on this basis, she says, that African philosophy is by far superior to the West’s.

It is in the last chapter titled ‘Postscript’ that the professor offers her most profound thoughts on world affairs and the fate of humanity and some comments on the democratic rights accorded women in Africa long before the West did.

Quoting several Bantu proverbs as evidence of the merits of Binary Complementarity, Sophie declares: ‘The power and arrogance of the West today is in terms of the greater efficiency of technologies of murder. Westerners do not only shoot each other at war; they shoot groups of innocent children and civilian adults at peace time in their countries.

‘No intellectual apologies have been offered for morally unjustifiable destruction of many highly civilised African empires by Western seekers of wealth who left wisdom (their philosophy) behind in using weapons of war the way Ogun did.’

Interestingly, she has earlier quoted an Ifa verse in which Ogun deity was branded ‘mad’ for misusing ‘technology’.

She warns, ‘The capitalist philosophy based on the freedom of the individual to pursue economic and social activities with minimal restrictions by government or consideration for the interest of others remains one of the greatest Western anachronisms, a plague that delays the evolution of a healthy civilised world order.’

May 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

Sofia Oluwole

‘The power and arrogance of the West today is in terms of the greater efficiency of technologies of murder.

She then advises: ‘(African) Complementary Dualism is the most conceptually adequate antidote against the enigma of innumerable unfounded religious, philosophical, scientific, moral, economic, political, ethnic, national, international and, worst of all, intellectual terrorism brought about by treating Western monistic traditions of thought as absolute positions against which there are no other intellectually cogent, alternative traditions of thought.’

No thoroughbred African treats the admonitions of an 80-year-old with levity. Sophie clocked 81 on May 12, 2016.

We’ll all do well to listen carefully to this griot and Amazon who never hesitates to launch into intellectual frays on behalf of the African race.

For African adults and youths alike, she has this parting warning: “Tragically, contemporary educationists instruct the African youth to buy the corpse of materialism, idealism and monistic dualism which Russel (Bertrand) and others have long declared failures…”

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SOUTH AFRICA Verdict 2016:

I Will Not Go It’s business as usual for President Zuma as South Africa rages against his government Jamie Leigh-Matroos

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hether President Jacob Zuma will stay or go has been on the minds of every South African as they’ve watched the aloof politician and his supporters bob and weave around allegations of scandal after scandal. Since November 2009, Zuma and his private residence in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal have become the emblems of a rot that lives in the tiers of the country’s government. Funded out of the taxpayers’ pocket, a number of people thought Nkandla would be enough to end the Zuma era, especially after the constitutional court found that the President had acted in contravention of the constitution, the highest rule of law in the country. In response to the ConCourt ruling, Zuma blamed bad legal advice and agreed to pay back some of the money, as much as is determined by the National Treasury. He also did what South Africans feared; he decided to remain in office. On the back of Nkandla, the controversial Arms Deal, the possible reinstatement of corruption charges, the impromptu firing of the country’s finance minister and its effects on the economy, and Zuma controversial ties to the powerful Gupta family, South Africans and foreign investors

Jacob Zuma are waiting for something to give with baited breath.

Political Analyst Raymond Suttner traces the moment the country lost faith in its president back to 2012.

Addressing the National Assembly, Zuma assured the country he and his family had paid for non-security upgrades to his private residence using his own funds and a bond applied for at a bank. He later shifted the blame, saying the upgrades were undertaken without his knowledge. He didn’t know and didn’t ask for them

and therefore, should be exempt.

Zuma, 74, is only due to step down as head of the ruling African National Congress in 2017 and as president in 2019.

“Nkandla signifies what is wrong in a broad sense,” writes Suttner. “It is not just about Zuma defying the public protector. It is not only about a president who acted in a manner that is inconsistent with the Constitution. Nkandla represents more than MPs disregarding their constitutional obligations. Nkandla is also about

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South Africa BRIEFS South Africa Country in Africa South Africa is a country on the southernmost tip of the African continent, marked by several distinct ecosystems. Inland safari destination Kruger National Park covers vast shrublands populated by big game;

the Western Cape encompasses lush winelands around Stellenbosch and Paarl, wild beaches, craggy cliffs at the Cape of Good Hope, forest and lagoons along the Garden Route, and the city of Cape Town, beneath flattopped Table Mountain.

electoral representatives choosing to ignore the interests of the public, especially the poorest of the poor, whose funds were diverted into this project. It is about the ANC using its majority in Parliament to betray the interests of the people of South Africa, whose welfare it claims to hold dear.”

By using its majority, the African National Congress (ANC) managed to crush the call for an impeachment by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the Democratic Alliance (DA) and other opposition parties. Previous calls for Zuma’s removal have been handled in the same way, the ANC’s majority rendering the opposition ineffective. As frustrations boil over, EFF leader Julius Malema told Al Jazeera’s Johah Hull that the party would take up arms against the government if it met peaceful protests with violence.

“Part of the revolutionary duty is to fight and we are not ashamed if the need arise for us to take up arms and fight,” Malema was quoted as saying. “We will fight. This regime must respond peacefully to our demands, must respond constitutionally to our demands.”

In a country lauded for finding a peaceful resolution to oppression, Malema’s comments are indicative of the helplessness many people feel in the face of the ANC’s continuous dismissal of their concerns. Of chief concern is the blow dealt by the President to an already struggling

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economy. In December 2015, Zuma’s surprise removal of Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene led to a massive drop in the Rand, plunging to a record low against the dollar. According to the Financial Times, the market reacted in this way because it feared the National Treasury had been corrupted by political meddling.

Meanwhile, the President has made moves in both Nigeria and Iran. According to an Iranian media agency Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has named South Africa as a potentially viable economic partner. “…

There is a possibility for South Africa to become one of the main trade partners of Iran by utilizing the existing capacities and potentials,” the Iranian president stated.

South Africa also renewed efforts to forge stronger economic relations with Nigeria. “We (Nigeria and South Africa) have a great responsibility to contribute greatly to the development of the continent to ensure that the action we take is for the benefit of Africans. We recognize that South Africa cannot develop if other African countries do not develop,” said Chief Marketing Officer of Brand South Africa, Linda Magapatona-Sangaret.

Despite the discord within, South Africa remains one of the economic powerhouses of Africa. As senior political correspondent Stephen Grootes points out, the politics in the country will be unstable for a while no matter how it plays out. Solutions other than Zuma’s resignation have

“If you hold the view that succession should be all about restoring the ANC back to decency and credibility, then you would not want to have a successor with links to Jacob Zuma,” Ndletyana

been few and far between. The main contenders to replace Zuma have been his ex-wife Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The fear is that should Dlamini-Zuma take over, she would be in a perfect position to shield Zuma from prosecution. But, speaking to Bloomberg, politics professor at the University of Johannesburg Mcebisi Ndletyana said Zuma’s successor would need to have limited ties to the embattled President if the ANC is to restore its image.

“If you hold the view that succession should be all about restoring the ANC back to decency and credibility, then you would not want to have a successor with links to Jacob Zuma,” Ndletyana was quoted as saying.

This puts Ramaphosa as the frontrunner for the ANC’s leadership role. “[Ramaphosa] is independent of the Zuma shenanigans. He would pretty much give the ANC a clean start,” added Ndletyana.

Whether this is true is debatable, Marikana has marred Ramaphosa’s reputation. The tragic event saw 34 striking miners killed by police fire at Lonmin Platinum Mines. Although, Ramaphosa, a non-executive director of Lonmin at the time, was absolved of any wrongdoing, South Africans fatigued by scandal have learnt not to trust the word of any government appointed commission of inquiry.

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NIGERIA

All Eyes on DOWNSTREAM Sector Murphy Jones

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ONCERNED ABOUT the persistent challenges faced by investors in the downstream petroleum sector and the recurring fuel scarcity in Nigeria, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) petroleum downstream group organised a stakeholders’ forum in March to review the key issues and proffer solutions. Participants at the forum sponsored by Techno Oil included major marketers, Depot Owners and Independent marketers.

Stakeholders at the event expressed concern about the state of the petroleum downstream sector in Nigeria and the implications for investors in the sector;

the various disruptions to the operations of other enterprises in the economy, especially the SMEs and the hardship suffered by the citizens as a consequence of the recurring fuel scarcity.

Analysts stated that lack of clarity on the deregulation and liberalisation of the sector had put many investments in the sector at risk. The centralisation of petroleum products supply driven by the NNPC was also identified as a major cause for concern for investors, especially the inherent entrenchment of the dominance of the NNPC

to the detriment of private investors in the sector.

It was also highlighted that the downstream petroleum sector currently suffers from overregulation which has a profound negative consequences for growth and job creation in the sector.

There is the worry about the gross underutilization of the marketers’ depot in which huge sums had been invested by depot owners and the marketers.

Marketers further lamented the challenges faced in the sourcing of foreign exchange for the importation of petroleum products. This has crippled the operations of many investors in the sector.

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Nigeria

Concerns were expressed about the persistent vandalisation of pipelines, perennial fuel scarcity, ambiguity and overlapping roles of the DPR and the PPPRA, poor LPG Utilization and prevalence of fake lubricants High exchange rate risk exposure by depot owners and marketers was also identified as a major hitch as matured letters of credit [LCs] of over $1 billion are yet to be honoured, creating a major credibility problem for the fuel importers. Many of their oshore suppliers have

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not been paid, while some have already lost their credit lines.

IneďŹƒciencies in the downstream resulting largely from the state of the refineries, op-

erating at an average of 20 per cent over the past ten years; absence of rail system for the haulage of petroleum products; state of the roads, low draft at the jetties and the ports, high demurrage paid in foreign exchange or naira equivalent [at parallel market rate featured among other issues highlighted.

Marketers noted in addition, that the confusion that characterises the deregulation of kerosene as NNPC has access to foreign exchange at oďŹƒcial rate to import the product,

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Nigeria

Marketers noted in addition, that the confusion that characterises the deregulation of kerosene as NNPC has access to foreign exchange at official rate to import the product,

whereas the private investors do not have this access. This is an issue for the marketers as the products are meant for the same market.

Stakeholders acknowledged that the Dangote Refinery will provide a considerable relief when it comes on stream.

That was not all. Far-reaching recommendations were also made as stakeholders called on the government to urgently deregulate and liberalize the downstream petroleum sector for unfet-

tered private sector participation and investment, subject of course to an appropriate regulatory framework. There should be a level playing field for all operators, including the NNPC. This model will put an end to the perennial problem of fuel scarcity in the country and the hardships suffered by citizens to fuel scarcity. This would also attract more investment, generate more jobs and reduce the pressure on foreign reserves.

The need for the role of the NNPC to be clearly defined was stressed by stakeholders stressed in addition as it was vehemently argued that the corporation should not be an operator and still have regulatory influence in the sector.

This led to the suggestion that

an arrangement that would allow for a level playing field should be adopted for all players including the NNPC. Furthermore, participants

were of the view that the roles of the DPR and the PPPRA also need to be better defined to avoid instances of overlapping and duplication of responsibilities.

It was further agreed that the nation’s refineries should be made to run as commercial business entities and not just be seen and treated as government’s assets. Stakeholders recommend that the NLNG model should be adopted for the refineries to improve efficiency and reduce the burden of the refineries on the nations’ treasury.

Reginald Stanley, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Petrowest Energy Resources Limited said the nation’s pipelines should the concessioned for a more efficient management and reduction of road haulage for fuel. He also suggested that Government should put incentives in place to promote the utilization of LPG. Manufacturers of cylinders should be incentivised to reduce the cost of cylinders. Public enlightenment is also recommended to reduce the reliance on kerosene and wood as source of domestic fuel for cooking.

Stakeholders at the event also expressed concern about transparency issues in the management of the foreign exchange allocations and, therefore, urged the CBN to ensure a more transparent process in the allocation of foreign exchange, and urged

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Nigeria government and the apex bank to ensure the payment of matured Letters of Credit estimated at more than $1 billion as at 2015 to their offshore fuel suppliers. The Forum recommended regular dialogue between policy makers and the investors in the sector to ensure the desired progress for the sector and the economy as a whole.

Analysts say the global oil and gas industry has experienced a perfect storm. Some maintain that the industry is experiencing its worst quarter in a full-scale crisis situation.

However, it is not over, even with the ugly situation. Industry experts say four windows of opportunity exist which every oil and gas chief who needs to master if they want to weather the sector’s ‘perfect storm.’ These they need to explore in navigating the crisis-ridden industry. A new report from ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) puts it in proper perspective with its outline of the key things business leaders in the oil and gas sector need to master if they want to be successful in the most volatile and competitive era the sector has ever seen.

With oil prices recently plummeting to below $30 dollars a barrel for the second time and further drops in price not out of the question, Faye Chua, head of futures at ACCA said: “Right now, the risk of going under is a very real one for many oil and gas companies. Three major factors have combined to create a perfect storm in the sector. One – lower cash-flows due to depressed oil prices. Two - the existing debt overhang. And three -

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the so-called ‘great crew change’ as the impending retirement of senior expert professionals over the next five years leaves a talent vacuum in its wake.”

Business chiefs who can successfully steer their organisation through this challenging period will be set to prosper. So what should the successful leader consider as he or she negotiates these challenges?

Chua said after analysing market conditions and taking the views of a range of key strategic players in the sector, four key areas of focus emerged.

“The key to navigating the choppy waters we are currently experiencing in the oil and gas sector is good management of growth, costs, funding and externalities. Get those four factors under control and you give your organisation the best chance of success.”

Chua says such managers must identify and post-pone projects with a high degree of uncertainty while being especially ruthless with any at the early stages of development which can be killed without much fuss.

In addition, they should seek partners to share in the risk – and of course, reward, of projects, for example, through part-sale of operating interest in new discoveries.

He said: “If you can, explore opportunistic growth via acquisition in areas with room for consolidation, for example oilfield services. There

$30 a barrel for the second time and further drops in price not out of the question, Faye Chua,

“The key to navigating the choppy waters we are currently experiencing in the oil and gas sector is good management of growth, costs, funding and externalities. Get those four factors under control and you give your organisation the best chance of success.”

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Nigeria is no reason that the current environment should lead to a growth paralysis mindset. There could be valuable growth opportunities right now, for example via M&A or by continuing investment in nationally important, high-profile projects with longer-term value.”

Cost management, Chua asserted, offered another leeway. His counsel: “Do not throw out the baby with the bath-water. Concentrate your asset sales on those not central to long-term strategy as much as possible. Organisations with a strong core focus are always better prepared in times of extreme stress or volatility. Where redundancies are inevitable, manage them carefully to account for skills-gap impact, and ensure readiness for future growth when the oil price rebounds. Re-negotiate discounts with contractors to manage service costs and on-going expenditure. There could be

room here as many suppliers may prefer lower margins to idle machinery in the challenging times we are currently experiencing.”

The ACCA futures man also shared some thoughts on funding management. Said he: “in the near-term it can often all be about survival but do not lose sight of a credible growth story for the longer-term.

To give your organisation the best chance of attracting funding, ensure the security of your current income stream, even if it is reduced. That stability is key to ensuring there is a consistent stream if income. It is important to model the impact of rising interest rates on sourcing bank and debt funding. Seek a realistic picture as oil prices cannot be modelled on a safe, upward trajectory to pay for higher rates with future income as they have been in the past. As minimising risk and ex-

posure becomes critical, explore non-debt options for funding. For example, with specialist equity investors who play exclusively in the oil and gas sector. In short, private equity funds are going to be your friends.” Managing externalities would further count in the crisis milieu. This underscores Chua’s position. “Your organisation should aspire to a clear and respected voice on key sector issues such as the advocating role of government, whether via regulations and global transparency frameworks, or tax incentives to support reduced revenues. On a similar note, the inevitable shortterm fire-fighting should not come at the expense of the long view. You should also be looking at on-going evaluation of strategic issues such as climate change policy (COP 21), and its implications in the near and longer term.,” he said.

ANALYSIS

Source: Petrwest Energy Consult

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Cover

Aliko Dangote, the spirit behind the Dangote Group that is ubiquitous in Africa is a peregrine falcon when it comes to the growth of businesses and wealth creation.

He runs with innovative ideas even when the turbulence of the time is extremely ferocious.

From his little beginnings in 1977 he has transcended the city of Kano where it all began to aect Africa and the rest of the world 24

May 2016 CherryAfrica

The Audacity of Guts

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Cover

K Adama Bukari

ano, one of Nigeria’s hottest cities, has unearthed an iconic personality whose business strides have taken the world by storm. Aliko Dangote, who at 59 is the Richest African with a net worth of $16.7 billion as of March 2016, has threaded on dreaded paths of business in Africa, a continent that has for decades been plagued and traumatised by several ethnic and civil wars, political instabilities, rising and crippling poverty as well as wanton dissipation of natural resources by so called political sages whose obsession with corruption is yet to be equalled in any part of the world.

Early Days Aliko Dangote’s birth on April 10, 1957 might have been received with the usual splendour and ceremony that welcome a new born in Kano.

Little did the elders of his kinsmen know that the new born on their laps was the pen with which Nigeria and for that matter Africa as a continent would rewrite her name in history. Not even the fortune tellers of the time could predict with certainty the future and business arsenals of Aliko, the Dangote Chief Executive Officer who has transitioned from a business mogul to become a metaphorical personality of investment. He has survived in the literal dungeons of Africa to fame unthinkable of an African son.

He represents the dynamic force powering the fortune of Africa and is strongly making the statement

that Africa can indeed rely on her own to change the stories of agony, misery and poverty that had hitherto become the sensational focus of Western media.

Graduating with a degree in Business from Al Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, Aliko Dangote did not join the bandwagon of young graduates in search of white-collar jobs. He kept his passion and went back to his days at Kano Capital Elementary School in the 60’s when he would buy cartons of sweet and sold them for money. Aliko followed the footsteps of his maternal grandfather, Alhaji Alhassan Dantata, a man described as the richest African at the time of his death. Aliko is a man to be trusted with resources.

Receiving his business seed money of $3,000 loan from his grandfather, an amount which could purchase 10 Mercedes Benz cars in 1978, he marshalled all the forces and arsenals of business and ventured into cement trading. With this amount, an empire of a thriving business was being built and today, Dangote has become a household name impacting lives and leveraging on the fortunes of the continent with fervour.

Dangote’s rise to such an affluent pedigree did not come as surprise. Even when he was born into a prominent business family in Nigeria, he did not rest on the oars of family wealth. That would have been inertia. Today, Dangote’s personal worth is over $18 billion; making him a financial mogul with a burning desire to harness the investment opportunities of Africa for global impact.

Group Dangote and the Peregrine Falcon The Dangote Group was set up in 1977 when Aliko Dangote was only

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Cover 20 years. With more than 11,000 employees, the Dangote Group is not only the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa, but also it fits into the description as perhaps the most successfully diversified Group in Africa given its wide operations in soft drinks, breweries, confectioneries, sugar refinery, cement production, flour milling, transport, telecommunications, logistics, textiles, cotton, oil and gas and real estate just to mention a few.

What is phenomenal about Aliko Dangote is his entrepreneurial vision. His ability to spot gold from the dust is unmatched and this explains why he has strategically diversified into areas unthinkable of the average business investor. It was with this vision that he approached the Nigerian Ports Authority to purchase an abandoned piece of land at the Apapa Port which has today become the hub of flour mills in Nigeria.

With a speed of 389 km/h (242 mph), the peregrine falcon remains the fastest member of the animal kingdom. Within Africa, Aliko Dangote is a peregrine falcon when it comes to the growth of businesses and wealth creation. He runs with innovative ideas even when the turbulence of the time is extremely ferocious. He ventures into any business sector and becomes the leader setting the pace for others to follow.

Venturing into the world of sugar refinery, Dangote has succeeded in owning the largest sugar refinery in Africa and the third largest in the world. In the cement industry, Dangote revolutionised the capital intensive

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Photos: (Clockwise) Dangote Cement Factory Ibese Ogun State Dangote Sugar Refinery Dangote cement Plant in Cameroun

May 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

industry when he penetrated the already saturated market in 1992 with his Dangote Cement which has since taken Nigeria by storm.

Currently the group is the largest producer of cement in populous Nigeria and Africa as a whole producing more than 30 million metric tons annually. The company’s on-going investments will double the company’s production capacity by 2018. Once again, Dangote is running with the speed of a peregrine falcon as it penetrates the entirety of Africa. Dangote Cement has robust operational acumen as it is a quarry-to-depot cement producer. With more than $6.5 billion investments in the cement business between 2007 and 2012, Dangote Cement is firmly rooted in the African market and already, the company has invest-

ed several billion dollars to build cement manufacturing plants in Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Liberia, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia and Ghana.

Gutsy Dangote has also registered a huge presence in the salt industry with his salt company NASCON Allied Industries PLC (National Salt Company of Nigeria PLC) which was incorporated in Nigeria as a limited liability company on April 30, 1973 becoming fully privatized in April, 1982. Today, the company is not only listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, but also its 60 per cent market share of Nigeria’s salt market makes it an industry leader.

Like the fastest animal, Dangote Flour Mills has rapidly expanded by the opening of three other

flour mills in Kano (2000), Calabar (2001) and Ilorin (2005) with each expanding their initial capacity of 500 MT per day to a combined installed capacity of 5,000 MT per day. This remarkable feat can only be possible under the leadership of a man with unbeatable business instincts. He sees where opportunity lies and strategically gives it his full vent. Taking an industry profile of each of Dangote’s 18 businesses with allied subsidiaries reveals two things in common – consumer needs identification and profitability. Pitching these with marketing concept, it does fit into Philip Kotler’s definition of marketing as identifying the needs of customers and satisfying them profitably. Aliko has the diagnostic skills to identify the needs of the people and more importantly, he has the incisive business accoutrements to satisfy those

needs profitably – and the speed with which he delivers is simply that of the peregrine falcon.

The African Dream The man Aliko Dangote’s personage is one of unlimited business prowess quite uncharacteristic of an African.

Earning prestigious global accolades in business including Forbes African Person of the Year 2014 among several others, Dangote has come to symbolise the fact that Africa has both the opportunities and the right kind of people with which to harness its resources and change the fortunes of her people. With Dangote’s unalloyed belief in the African people, he is telling the tale of success born and brewed on African soils.

The stoic growth and opening of businesses ventures across the African continent is a deliberate strategy

Like the fastest animal, Dangote Flour Mills has rapidly expanded by the opening of three other flour mills in Kano (2000), Calabar (2001) and Ilorin (2005) with each expanding their initial capacity of 500 MT per day to a combined installed capacity of 5,000 MT per day.

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Dangote Cement Factory in Obajana

Dangote was named the Forbes Africa Person of the Year 2014. With listless laurels to his credit, the Dangote brand is fast spreading across Africa and the world with speed and stability like the famous peregrine falcon

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of empowering the indigenous African to dream Africa and live in Africa. There is no better way of telling Africa’s new generation that a reverse brain-drain is imminent especially when the Western world has for the past decade been plagued with economic and financial recession. With the West exposed to lowering growth, the focus is now Africa. It is therefore no wonder that China is speedily scouting through Africa and strongly making herself a force to reckon with in terms of infrastructural and business investments. That is an idealistic move.

It recognises the enormous opportunities in Africa and the fact that Africa holds the future for global conglomerates. But the fortunes of Africa must not be history re-visited like the combined forces of slavery and colonialism which took the best away and brought the crumbs to the continent.

With rising investments portfolios across the continent, the African Dream is being cast in stainless steel. The African Dream is that which gives hope and brings inspiration to the new generation. That African Dream is represented by the

May 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

success stories of Dangote who was born, raised and has lived in Nigeria from where businesses have been created, nurtured to grow and stridently making global impact. The African Dream is the symbolism of positive thinking that greener pastures abound on the shores of Africa. Dangote was named the Forbes Africa Person of the Year 2014. With listless laurels to his credit, the Dangote brand is fast spreading across Africa and the world with speed and stability like the famous peregrine falcon. His contribution to capital mobilisation, employment creation and wealth distribution across Africa is fascinatingly impressive.

Instructively, Aliko Dangote is the bridge that is connecting Africa to the rest of the world and vice versa.

His diversification into telecommunications and the building of 14,000 kilometres of fibre optic cables to connect the whole of Nigeria is a testament of his connecting abilities and visionary leadership as the Chairman of the Dangote Group.

Synergising Localisation with Internationalisation International business as mar-

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Cover keting connoisseurs have always pointed out is challenging in the face of several competitors. However, this is no task to Aliko Dangote who is weathering the storms of internationalisation of business and gradually becoming not only the new entrant but also the game changer. His successes thus far in the cement arena in countries like Ghana which hitherto had been monopolised by Ghana Cement (Ghacem) amply demonstrates this unique Dangote ideal.

Dangote is symbolically rebuilding Africa and that may explain his heavy investments in cement production.

Currently, Dangote Cement controls over 80 per cent of the Dangote Group of business and since its listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2010, Dangote Cement controls 20% of market recapitalisation in Nigeria’s Stock Exchange. Dangote’s bold statement on internalisation of business is manifest in the company’s signing a $4.34 billion deal with a Chinese firm to build cement plants in 10 African countries; and with the prospects of installing a plant in Nepal, Dangote has strongly internationalised business operations with condescending precision that only marksman can strike on target.

The business acumen of Dangote cannot be told completely without a trail of how he demystifies theory effortlessly. Starting by gaining dominance in the local market of Kano, Aliko underscores the need to operate in an environment one is most familiar about before creeping into other territories like the vine to reach the pinnacle of growth. Importantly, Aliko evades the possibility of being saturated in a single market space by swiftly identifying potential markets in neighbouring West African countries like Benin, Ghana and Cote D’viore where his brand is competitively stronger. He remains focused on the pedals of internationalisation by delving into the bigger market of

the African continent which provides the needed market capacity to support his vision of leading the world.

Touching Lives Wealth, they say breads ambition.

This is true of successful men and women across the globe. However, whilst some pursue ambitious dreams of making more wealth, others take a humble reflection on life and begin to focus on how to touch lives. Even as Aliko Dangote is fervently expanding his business profiles, one cardinal principle he has kept faith with is his passion of affecting the lives of the disadvantaged in society. Combining sound Corporate Social Responsibility with a touch of humanitarianism, the Dangote Foundation located in the headquarters of the Dangote Group at the plush Union Marble House, No. 1, Alfred Rewane road, Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria, has for the past four years dispensed over $100 million in charitable and humanitarian causes across Africa.

Aliko is simply touching lives in several ways.

Believing in Africa If there is one person who has illustratively demonstrated unwavering belief in Africa in this century, then Aliko Dangote is the name that comes to mind. His drive to make the statement that Africa can indeed take its destiny in her own hands and change the stories of agony to that of prospects and success is definitely a vision on course. Aliko has unshakable belief in the African continent and would bet his last dime on the continent. His assertion that nothing is going to help Nigeria more than Nigerians bringing back their money is a statement of philosophical underpinning; first that nationalism is pivotal to emancipation; second, that patriotism is the seed of growth Africa requires; third, that collective investments has the power to make

Dangote is symbolically rebuilding Africa and that may explain his heavy investments in cement production. billionaires.

Lessons Aliko Dangote has demystified the fear of failure. He has blazed the trail and set on course a new generation of forward-thinking Africans who would not look at the West for survival. He has re-enacted the bravery of great sons and daughters of yester years who fortified themselves with hope and fought their way to liberate the continent from the claws of colonialism. Perhaps the singular statement that sums up Aliko Dangote’s vision is ‘believe in Africa’.

Believe in Africa, the continent that doubles as the world’s second largest and most populous continent with an estimated of 1.111 billion people. With Africa having the youngest population among all continents with a median age of 19.7 as of 2012, the continent is not only endowed with resources but also the human energy, and a youthful population who must dare to dream and salvage the continent from the ruins of bad governance, corruption and injustice. There are more Aliko Dangote’s running round the streets of Africa and showcasing the strides, business acumen and visionary leadership of Chairman Dangote to the rest of Africa. The continent is set to take its rightful place among the comity of continents. Undoubtedly, Aliko Dangote is the investment machine of Africa.

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CONTINENTAL ISSUE Africa

RWANDA

Kwita Izina How Rwanda forged her most popular tourism event in gorilla naming Athan Tashobya

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orilla naming as is done at the “Kwita Izina” ceremony is one of the most popular events on Rwanda’s social calendar.

The country’s biggest tourism event was forged from naming the endangered baby gorillas kwizat izina and abana b’ Ingagi. The annual tourism custom is inspired by the ancient Rwanda tradition of naming newborn babies as found in most African countries. The tradition, as it were, is geared towards conserving mountain gorillas.

The names given to the gorillas at the ceremony are chosen based on circumstances of their birth and what hopes the world has for them. Such names then become their identity and enable monitoring and reporting on individual gorillas in their families and habitat.

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CONTINENTAL ISSUE Africa According to a former ambassador, the Kwita Izina ceremony merges culture, tourism and conservation and the event officially began over a decade ago.

During the early stage of gorilla monitoring in the 1980s, Gorilla naming was taking place at the community level amongst the researchers and rangers who lived nearby and monitored the engendered species.

In 2005 along with the national programme to create awareness of gorillas the government created a unique Rwandan event around the concept.

The first babies to be given names in public were rare twins from Susa group Byishimo (Happiness) and Impano (Gift) by the Rwandan

RWANDA

President Paul Kagame and his wife Jeannette.

The event of 2015 was an uncommon piece of good news in African wild life conservation and all the more so in a country whose name was once synonymous with the genocide of human population as the country named 24 gorillas in a well-attended ceremony.

Gorillas are one of the four species of great apes whose DNA makes them the closest living relatives to humans. The other three are Chimpanzees, Bonobos and Orang-utans.

Unlike they are portrayed in popular fiction, mountain Gorillas are nothing like King Kong. They are gentle giants-shy, retiring and protective of their closely knit family groups.

Rwanda shares the triangle of the Virunga Mountains with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo but is the only country that dedicates an entire festival to the primates. Gorillas are important for the economy of Rwanda as they attract thousands of tourists every year.

Observers claim that such naming ceremonies have a broader significance for the nature of conservation and sustainable development while for many it is always an opportunity to show the country’s commitment towards green path for the economy growth.

As a result, the tourism sector has registered continued growth through attracting international hospitality brands and businesses.

Along the same line, the private sector has since explored expansive business opportunities around tourism and conservation efforts

that have been harnessed into ongoing profitable and viable business ventures.

Indeed, since 2007, tourism has been the leading sector in foreign exchange earnings for the country, according to Rwanda Development Board (RDB).

Despite the high attendance of the local population, the conservation event has also been fully attended by the regional population and international tourists; and the local tourism has since grown— thanks to the competitive visa regime, which has facilitated seamless travel to Rwanda and made Rwanda regularly rank among the top destinations for many international travellers including tourists, according to Visa Openness Report 2015.

The report lists Rwanda among the destinations, which improved visa procedures for 30 or more countries of origin (2015 over 2010), thereby facilitating easier movement of tourists in the past seven years.

Of the East Africa region countries as per the annual United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) publication, out of 54 countries worldwide, Rwanda, with its 178 index improvement, is ranked number 12, Uganda at 18, Kenya at 23, followed by Tanzania.

In 2006—the year after which the first gorilla naming ceremony was held—Rwanda received 499,000 visitors, and the number shot to 669,000 in 2008; 1,061,000 in 2012, and 1.2 million in 2014.

Tourism fetched $217.7 million from January to September 2013, compared to $210.5 million generated in 2012 during the same

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CONTINENTAL ISSUE Africa period. Under EDPRS 2, tourism receipts are expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 25 per cent until 2017.

“Rwanda’s objective is to grow tourism revenues by 25 per cent per annum as projected in the Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy 2 (EDPRS2).” RDB indicates.

The annual baby gorilla naming event, has won a number of global tourism awards, which include the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Ulysses.

Award for innovation in public policy and governance, among others.

This year’s Kwita Izina will be happening in September for a record 12th time, with 19 baby gorillas slated to be named, the newest arrivals born after last year’s ceremony. 24 Gorillas were named during the 2015 edition and it remains the biggest number since the inception of the event 12 years ago.

Kwita Izina activities include the establishment of community projects through the revenue sharing scheme where 5 per cent of the annual tourism revenues from gorillas are reinvested into the communities surrounding the Virunga Mountains as an encouragement to them to continue conserving the endangered species for future generations.

Getting the local community involved has become

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“We feel the impact of tourism here in Musanza.

Our children go to school because they build schools and we also have electricity”

RWANDA the key to ensuring that conservation really worked.

Through tourism, Musanza District which is where the Gorillas live has become the third most successful area in the country in the fight against poverty.

“We feel the impact of tourism here in Musanza. Our children go to school because they build schools and we also have electricity” says an excited resident.

The ultimate gorilla naming event is always preceded by tourism exhibition and forum, the overnight gala named “Igitaramo” and then the naming ceremony.

It is during this season that, Tourism business operators from around the globe and conservation sector and key players visit Rwanda to enrich their knowledge on its valuable travel spots and advancement in wildlife preservation.

Last month, Rwanda De-

velopment Board (RDB) announced that the 12th edition of the Kwita-Izina will be held in September with the theme “United Growth through Conservation” and that will be the same month in which the world celebrates the impact of tourism on global communities socially, economically, culturally and politically.

Belise Kaliza, the Chief Tourism Officer at RDB, told journalists that having the naming ceremony coincide with the World Tourism Month gives the event more exposure, boosting tourism businesses, giving the country a chance to share its sustainable tourism and conservation story globally.

Gorillas can only be found in the Virunga massif– which is a combination of Virunga National Park in DR Congo, Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda.

RWANDA IN BRIEF Rwanda

Country in Africa Rwanda is a landlocked East African country whose green, mountainous landscape has earned it the nickname “Land of a Thousand Hills.” Its renowned Volcanoes National Park is home to mountain gorillas and golden monkeys. Bordering Congo and Uganda, the park encompasses 4,507m-tall Mt. Karisimbi and 4 other forested volcanoes. Kigali, the nation’s sprawling capital, has a vibrant restaurant and nightlife scene.

Capital: Kigali

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Population: 11.78 million (2013) World Bank President: Paul Kagame Prime minister: Anastase Murekezi Official languages: Kinyarwanda, English, French Neighboring countries: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Ugananzania da, Tanzania

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NIGERIA

Stakeholders in the Nigerian maritime sector have condemned the recent sack of about 5000 tally clerks and onboard security men by the Nigeria Ports Authority

Bayo Joseph

T

HE RECENT disengagement of tally clerks and on-board security men from working at the Nigerian ports has been generating controversies in the nation’s maritime sector. Before December 15, 2015 when the NPA dispensed with the services of tally clerks and on-board security men, stevedoring companies who supply this set of workers had made sustained efforts to convince the authorities in Abuja on reasons they opposed this plan.

However, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, disregarded pleas by the stevedoring

What manner of sack? companies and formally approved the sack of about 5000 tally clerks at the Nigerian ports.

The NPA further said the decision to terminate her 10-year old contract with stevedoring companies on the supply of maritime labour was in line with the current port reforms and laws governing activities at the ports. In a chat with newsmen recently, the Managing Director, NPA, Mallam Habib Abdulahi said, “NPA does not have any security staff on ships any longer. It is no more the responsibility of NPA but terminal operators, according to ISPS code,

to employ security details on board. You can go to a ship and you will see a security man who will ask you questions on what you came for and what you want to do.’’

NPA argues that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, regulates the stevedoring companies. The agency also said that if the terminal operators who handle cargoes want the services of the contractors, they will reach out to them and the tally clerks.

Supporting the move by the NPA, the transport ministry had noted that NPA had no business spending about one billion naira annually over a

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Nigeria

“Our position on this issue is that we cannot mortgage our future to persons who have no intention of seeing beyond their noses when making policies and decisions that would better the lives of the workers as well as the lives of Nigerians.

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period of 10 years to pay for a “wasteful contract” with the sacked stevedoring companies.

But, dockworkers under the aegis of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) kicked against the NPA’s stand on the dockworkers. The Assistant General Secretary, MWUN, Abdullahi Eroje, alleged that Abdullahi who claimed that Mr. President directed him to reduce workforce in the maritime sector, decided to start with the Tally Clerks and onboard security men and after that, he will move to other areas. He said left to Abdullahi, if he has his way, there will be no dockworker in Nigeria’s seaport.

“We have been on this matter since December 15, 2015. The tally clerks are like whistleblowers. They calculate, taking record of every cargo that comes into the country and every cargo that is loaded on board as exports, to go out.

So, in their job, they prevent under-declaration by shipping companies and terminal operators.

“All efforts by the union to dialogue with the government, even meet with the minister of transport have failed.

The minister of transport told us that the memo from Abdullahi states that the jobs of these people are no longer required. His plan is to replace them with cargo surveyors, who are not known by law,” he said.

Eroje continued: “Our position on this issue is that we cannot mortgage our future to persons who have no intention of seeing beyond their noses when making policies and decisions that would better the lives of the workers as well as the lives of Nigerians. We have options that can be applied instead of sacking all tally clerks and thus destroying the future of this country and sabotaging the economy.

“There should be no sack of tally clerks, and even where they cannot work under the concessionaires, the NPA should redeploy and reabsorb them in other departments,” he maintained.

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Up to the beginning of July 2015, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) owed members of the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN), tally clerks and on-board security men unpaid salaries spanning eight months. In fact, an ultimatum for this backlog of debt to be cleared on or before July 20 was a condition the maritime workers gave for them not to disrupt operations in the nation’s sea ports. Beside issues of salaries, they also demanded that immediate action be taken by the NPA to fix the long-neglected access roads to the ports as this was negatively impacting on the volume of work they were doing.

The dockworkers believe there should be no substitution of the tally clerks. According to the President-General, Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria, MWUN, Comrade Anthony Nted, the position on the status of the tally

clerks and on-board security men was that they cannot be unjustly substituted with cargo surveyors. MWUN therefore demanded that cargo surveyors be withdrawn from all seaports without further delay.

In an apparent move to stave off the threat of possible industrial action should the demands of MWUN not be met on or before July 20, 2015, government had intervened. A meeting was held earlier in 2015 with the parties where the federal government appealed to stakeholders to exercise restraint and ensure industrial peace and harmony in the nation’s seaports.

Present at the meeting were Dr. Clement Illoh, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, representatives of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), MWUN and National Association of Stevedoring Companies.

At the end of deliberations, the

union agreed to suspend their planned strike following a memorandum of understanding. Those who signed it were Dr Illoh and H.D Mohammed who represented the Ministry of Transportation. Others were Bolaji Sunmola, the National President of the Association of Stevedoring Companies, David Omonibeke, NPA’s Executive Director of Marine and Operations and Comrade Tony Nted Emmanuel, President- General of the MWUN. The meeting agreed that the NPA should pay all the arrears of salaries and wages owed tally clerks and onboard security men. There was also an agreement that cargo surveyors would not supplant tally clerks and on-board security men in the performance of their functions.

It was also agreed that the Ministry of Transportation should on or before 13th July, 2015 write a memo to direct

In an apparent move to stave off the threat of possible industrial action should the demands of MWUN not be met on or before July 20, 2015, government had intervened.

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Nigeria NPA to comply.

Contrary to the spirit of this memorandum, by the middle of November 2015, the NPA came out with a bang: she would not re-engage dock labour contractors at the expiration of their contract tenure on December 15. According to a statement by the agency’s Executive Director, Marine and Operations, Mr David Omonibeke, who represented the managing director at a stakeholders’ meeting, “It will be expected that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) will take over the responsibility of dealing with dock labour matters in line with its statutory mandate’’.

The statement also quoted the Director, Maritime Services, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Alhaji Isa Galadanchi, to have urged all stakeholders to propose the way forward for the maritime sector.

Galadanchi said there was the need to agree on “who pays for the services of tally clerks and on-board security men’’.

This development prompted a strong protest by the National Association of Stevedoring Companies (NASC). The body kicked against the decision by the NPA to lay off 5,000 tally clerks and onboard security men engaged by her to serve in the ports. In a statement, the President of the association, Mr Bolaji Sunmola, said the matter would be taken to the Federal Ministry of Transportation for resolution. He condemned plans by the NPA to throw thousands of dock workers into the labour market including her employees. NPA had indicated at a stakeholders’ meeting on November 10 in Lagos that it would disengage tally clerks and on-board security men by December 15.

In a letter dated November 23, the NPA had notified 10 ste-

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vedoring firms of its decision to disengage the tally clerks and on-board security men. The letter was signed by NPA’s Executive Director, Marine and Operations, Mr. David Omonibeke. According to him, sequel to the stakeholders’ meeting of November 10, management had resolved to discontinue with the services of tally clerks and on-board security men based on the fact that she had ceded cargo handling to terminal operators in the concessioned areas.

The 10 stevedoring firms are currently engaged in Lagos, Tin Can Island, Onne, Rivers and Calabar ports. These are Matral Marine Services, Bashisa Global Ltd., Westland International, Dockworth Services International and Long Shore Stevedoring (all in Lagos Port Complex). Others are Excellent Dominion, Blue Ocean Cargo Handling (Tin-Can Port); Patrade Nigeria Ltd. (Rivers Port); Insight Marine Ltd. (Onne Port) and Fairdeal Agency Ltd. (Calabar Port). “The terminal operators are responsible for stevedoring operations in their respective areas as provided in the concession agreements,’’ the NPA said.

The letter also directed NPA’s personnel to stop accepting bills from the stevedoring companies after the expiration of their contract on December 15. Sunmola said: “From this day (December 15), Nigeria will be losing the independence of reports and accounts without bias of happenings at the quay apron of Nigerian ports’’. He said that this would make Nigerian ports vulnerable to all sorts of shady practices. “Cargo surveyors can never be substitutes for the tally clerks and onboard security men. “We maintain that payment of tally clerks is never a drain to NPA’s revenue,’’ he added. Sunmola said the association was

May 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

aware of the move by NPA, adding that members of the association had started talking with the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, to call NPA to order.

“We are talking with the Federal Government about it through the minister of transport , and we hope that something will be done on or before December 15,’’ he said. Efforts were also being made by the MWUN to ensure that its members (tally clerks and onboard security men) continue to work.

Many stakeholders easily recall the level of chaos prevalent in the ports prior to the introduction of tally clerks and on-board security men in the system. During the era preceding port concession, the leadership of the MWUN were said to be in charge of paying the dockworkers. Because of negative activities such as corruption, undue favoritism, nepotism, greed and ethnic tendencies which interfered with the processes, order and decorum took flight.

The MWUN recieved wages from the NPA and ship owners and paid dockworkers. Many unlawful deductions were said to be made for the selfish interests of the MWUN leadership to the detriment of dock workers. But this stopped when the former Minister of Transport, Chief Ojo Maduekwe, came on board to restore sanity with the engagement of stevedoring companies who now handle that aspect of the dock labour.

But following the Transportation Minister’s recent directive concerning the status of tally clerks and on-board security men, industry watchers ask, what are assurances that the level of sanity achieved so far in the ports will be sustained? Will the cargo surveyors be a credible alternative?

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Leadership Behold the 2016 class of Young Global Leaders

E

very year the World Economic Forum picks the most enterprising, innovative, socially minded and exceptional leaders under the age of 40.

A peek into the profile of young leaders assembled for the Class of 2016 raises optimism that the next generation of influential leaders have arrived and are ready to tackle a world rife with a slew of complex, inter-dependent global challenges.

Cherry Africa learnt that the new members of the Young Global Leaders (YGL) include scientists opening up their data to the world, a member of parliament fighting for gender equality in Afghanistan, an entrepreneur who is redefining nuclear energy production with circular economy models, pioneers from the sharing economy, and an actor who gives a damn and puts his money behind it, as global industry, government and civil society evolve and synergise to tackle the global challenges posed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Current and former YGLs head governments and Fortune 500 companies, have won Olympic medals, Academy Awards, and overcome barriers to positively change the world we live in. Together they achieve the impossible – none more vividly than recent YGL alum, Mina Guli, founder of the water conservation charity Thirst, who undertook a harrowing

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journey running 40 marathons across seven deserts on seven continents to raise awareness for one of the world’s top threats - water shortages.

This year’s class of 121 YGLs is selected into a five year programme and split evenly between business and not-for-profit sectors, the latter including science and technology, academia, arts and culture, civil society, policy and government, media and social entrepreneurs.

It is cheery that women represent a majority in this year’s class. With more than half the intake coming from emerging economies, observers say the world’s future leadership is becoming more broad-based in terms of both gender and geography. Alongside 28 selected from North America and 26 from Europe, the YGL class of 2016 includes 15 YGLs from East Asia, 10 from South Asia, 10 from Greater China, 10 from Sub-Saharan Africa, 12 from the Middle East and North Africa, eight from Latin America, and four from Eurasia.

From a Ghanaian tech entrepreneur to Bangladesh’s youngest MP The Class of 2016 features Farida Bedwei, co-founder of Logiciel and one of the top software engineers in Ghana. She is considered to be one of the most powerful women in financial technology in Africa. Born with cerebral palsy, she helps change the lives of disabled people

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and women living in the continent.

From the world of academia the class also includes, Roland G. Fryer, a Harvard economics professor and director of its Education Innovation Laboratory, who rose from working at a McDonald’s drive-through to becoming a nationally respected authority on education, race, and inequality in America. The youngest African-American to receive tenure at Harvard – aged just 30 - Roland’s research focuses on designing more effective policies in the areas of education reform and combatting police violence.

From the public sector comes Zunaid Ahmed Palak, the youngest MP in Bangladesh and current cabinet member as Minister of State for Posts, Telecommunications and IT; Melanie Joly, a former lawyer and businesswoman who is now Minister for Canadian Heritage in Canada’s new government; as well as Emmanuel Macron, the former banker and current Minister of the Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs of France who is leading the government’s business-friendly reform push.

Hassina Syed, founder and CEO of Afghanistan’s Syed Group and the not-for-profit entity, the Afghan National Women’s Organization represents the private sector in the class. She is the only female member of the 3,000-strong Afghan Chamber of Commerce and her busi-

ness reports a turnover of $3.1m and employs 650 people, despite threats made against her and time spent in a crowded Kabul jail for failing to pay protection money to the police.

Chih-Han Yu, a world class researcher in Artificial Intelligence as well as CEO and co-founder of Appier, one of Taiwan’s most promising start-ups was also selected. His innovations include a “brain” for self-driving cars, a robotic dog, and transformer robots.

The class of 2016 also comprises a number of individuals who work to protect the rights of others less well off than themselves, such as Amira Yahyaoui, a Founder and President of Al Baswala, a highly respected NGO and government watchdog promoting human rights, transparency and good governance from Tunisia’s democratically elected civilian leaders; and Christopher Ategeka, a Ugandan social entrepreneur who supported his family by starting a neighbourhood waste collection service and later started Rides for Lives, a non-profit that builds mobile health units equipped with a doctor, lab and pharmacy. To date, it has served over 500,000 people.

These young leaders have reached impressive heights and as they join the YGL Community can collectively accomplish feats that would be unthinkable individually.

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RWANDA Athan Tashobya

F

irst Lady Jeannette Kagame has challenged Rwandan mothers in the Diaspora to inculcate in their children a culture of mission and responsibility as the avenue towards the country’s brighter future.

Mrs. Kagame said this during a keynote address at the inaugural Rwanda Women in Diaspora Convention held in the Washington DC. The convention was organised

by United States Rwandan Diaspora, in collaboration with the Embassy of Rwanda in Washington, DC, and the Rwandan International Network Association (RINA).

The theme of the convention was: “Empowering Rwandan Women in the Diaspora: Challenges and Opportunities.”

“It is our responsibility to teach our children about our history, so that they can know the path Rwanda has walked, the heroism, the strong spirit and humility that defines us,” she said.

The convention featured a series of discussions on the role of the different generations of women in shaping the future of Rwanda and the experiences of those living abroad who continue to uphold Rwanda’s heritage despite the challenges of adapting to the western world.

“The moment we achieve this, I believe our youth will understand best how to handle themselves in the Diaspora and this would eventually guide them to becoming responsible citizens,” Mrs. Kagame noted.

The Convention, which brought together about 500 participants from the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area, southern and western states of the US, and

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From First Lady to women in Diaspora:

Nurture responsible mindset in our youth Rwanda, was organised in recognition of the role played by women in the country’s rebirth.

Attendees included the Ambassador of Rwanda to the United States, Mrs Mathilde Mukantabana; the Presidents of the National and Regional US Diaspora, Rwandan government officials, and members of civil society, along with Rwandans living abroad, of all ages.

The First Lady echoed gains made towards women empowerment in Rwanda, particularly

outlining political inclusion and gender mainstreaming in public policy, which she said has enabled Rwandan parliament to have a record 64 per cent of women presentation and 40 per cent in cabinet.

“Those statistics are not given to impress. It’s rather to impress upon all of us here, that we have a mission and responsibility, to nurture the gains we scored through hardship and sacrifice. We are truly riding on able shoulders of men and women, who have secured a

RWANDA

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safe home we are all proud of,” she said.

Mrs. Kagame called on participants to let their children know that, “they do come from generations of trendsetters,” who embraced gender parity earlier on, because they simply could not deny that men and women are equal, and that everyone has something to contribute toward the rebuilding of the nation.

She added that women have been important players of Rwanda’s liberation struggle and have been equally important in the rebuilding process.

The First Lady also said that during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, women were among the important groups in Rwanda that carried the ‘heaviest burden’, and may have seen the worst of it all, with some becoming widows, other orphaned, while many others became victims of rape and other atrocities.

“And yet, they picked up the pieces and started to mend the torn fabric of their society. They fixed, reconciled, held their head high, and lived again,” she said.

“So to honour the sacrifices our women made, let us maintain, and sustain, the level playing field we have been accorded in Rwanda. We can’t afford to relax. We should be able to seize these opportunities to make sure that this way of life is a norm for our daughters, and grand-daughters,” Mrs. Kagame added.

She said that everyone’s goal should be to create a society in which Rwanda boys and girls will be able to thrive, prosper, and to become the ground-breakers they were meant to be, without considering gender, as a limitation to achieving greatness.

Mrs. Kagame, urged women and youth in Diaspora that being exposed to different cultures is an opportunity to combine the best of ‘all worlds’, and build from it, to create the right environment for themselves, and their families to thrive.

“The Rwanda we have today is a mosaic, made of people coming from all corners of this world, bringing with them a diversity of experiences, which merged together to create the nation we all call ‘home’,” the First Lady said.

The First Lady also called on Rwandan youths in the Diaspora to shun stereotypical views about their homeland, but to engage with Rwanda with an open mind, evolve from a virtual perspective, to discover in person, what their land has in store for them.

“I trust that once you develop this new mindset, you will be able to understand our society better, and will accordingly engage in worthwhile initiatives, that will improve the lives of your people, in our communities,” she said.

The event is aimed at supporting the vision of a Rwanda that is integrated, prosperous, people-centred, at peace with itself, and asserting its place in the global community.

Other objectives of the convention include, branding the concept of Agaciro (dignity), identifying areas where women in the Diaspora can fill the gaps for a sustainable impact, and to enhance Rwanda’s image globally.

Sharing their views on the role of every Rwandan in upholding their country’s heritage, panelists insisted on the necessity for all to stay connected to their land, whether by speaking their native language, knowing the cultural expressions of the land, and cultivating relationships with other Rwandans.

Panelists also emphasized that staying connected required those in the diaspora to stay updated about the news of the country, researching its different policies and initiatives, and engaging with those, to contribute positively to the rebuilding of the nation.

“So to honour the sacrifices our women made, let us maintain, and sustain, the level playing field we have been accorded in Rwanda. wWe can’t afford to relax. We should be able to seize these opportunities to make sure that this way of life is a norm for our daughters, and granddaughters,”

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NIGERIA

Time for Inclusive Growth

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Murphy Jones oncerned about the poor texture of state governments’ economies, the Forum For Inclusive Nigerian Development (FIND) with the New Nigerian Foundation (NNF) and the Consensus Building Institute (CBI) as arrowheads organized a dialogue session on sustained growth and inclusive development of states in Nigeria on April 12 in Lagos with the theme “Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development of States in Nigeria.”

The essence of the dialogue session was to generate ideas and develop a template that states can use to diversify their economy, improve internally generated revenue (IGR) and deliver inclusive growth to citizens.

FIND is a multi-stakeholder forum focused on catalyzing the diversification of Nigeria’s economy and government revenue sources “beyond oil,” in support of broad-based, sustainable development.

FIND remarked at the event: “The collapse of global oil price has taken its toll on the

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Nigerian economy. Across Nigeria, the new administration and the public have continued to deliberate on how to respond to the unrelenting dive in oil price and its impact on government revenues.

Currently, many states are unable to meet their statutory obligations and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. A few states have partially been able to offset the fall in Federal oil revenue transfers by increasing their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

Today, there is an urgent need for economic diversification and inclusive growth in the states, based on sound and publicly acceptable strategies for increasing internally generated revenue (IGR). Leaders in government, business and civil society can learn important lessons by examining what has been tried, what has worked and what has not in states’ efforts to create inclusive growth and build up their IGR.” This scenario informed FIND’s hosting of the dialogue session that caught the attention of representatives of states’ economic management teams, UNDP, UNIDO, other development agencies, financial services sector, economists, private

Group photograph of participants

sector, civil society organisations (CSO’s), professional bodies, and members of the general public. Dialogue presentations and breakout sessions focused on taxation; good governance and service delivery; inclusive growth, employment creation and unemployment; and growing the real sectors, while discussions at the dialogue session concentrated on what the government of each state should do to grow and diversify the economy, grow and diversify IGR, ensure inclusive growth and generate economic opportunities for the poor and marginalised; and involve stakeholders from business, civil society and communities in planning and implementing its economic and revenue strategies. Attention was also paid to learning lessons from the past decade to gauge what has been done to grow and diversify state economies and IGR, and to benefit the poor, what has worked, and why, as well as what has not, and why it has not.

Furthermore, current opportunities and challenges across the states were discussed from the perspectives of where each state sees its most significant opportunities for economic and IGR development, and what the major obstacles are.

That’s not all. Further discussions also focused on the best way forward in identifying the policies and investments most likely to help states realise their opportunities and overcome peculiar challenges, the role of state government, and how partnerships with business, civil society, media and academia can support diversification and enhance government credibility and accountability.

Oddly, the state officials expected to use the opportunity to share experiences and respond to pertinent questions were hardly present at the event. Yet the latest information from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that only 11 or 30.5 per cent of the 36 states of the federation recorded improved internal revenue in 2015. The NBS, in its latest IGR report based on records from the Joint Tax Board and states’ boards of internal revenue identified only eleven states comprising Ogun, Anambra, Borno, Edo, Bauchi, Abia, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Taraba and Sokoto as the states that recorded improvement in their 2014 records of revenue generation performance in 2015. It also noted that the IGR earnings in 24 other states declined from the levels in the previous year.

Today, there is an urgent need for economic diversification and inclusive growth in the states, based on sound and publicly acceptable strategies for increasing internally generated revenue (IGR).

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Nigeria

Overall, states’ IGR dropped N25.18 billion in 2015. Information from the (NBS) says the 36 states of the federation put together generated a total of N682.67 billion in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in 2015. But the amount represented a decline of 3.69 per cent or N25.18 billion when compared with the N707.85 billion which they recorded in 2014. Lagos was rated the highest revenue generating state with N268.22 billion, according to the latest IGR update for 2015. This was however, 2.96 per cent lower than the N276.16 billion realised in 2014, according the agency.

Rivers State which emerged the second highest on the IGR scale with N82.10 billion in 2015 also had a drop of 8.54 per cent compared to the N89.11 billion it generated in 2014. While the figures further indicated that Imo State IGR fell by as much as 48.30 per cent to N5.47 billion from N8.11 billion in 2014, Ogun State’s IGR improved dramatically by 49.42 per cent to N34.59 billion from N17.49 billion the previous year.

Interestingly, Borno State’s IGR rose 21.80 per cent to N3.53 billion from N2.76 billion despite the negative impact of the Boko Haram insurgency.

Bauchi State’s internally generated revenue further appreciated by 10.02 per cent to N5.39 billion from N4.85 billion.

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Further analysis of the performances of the states showed that Ogun State was adjudged best, with a 49.42 per cent increase, almost doubling the N17.5billion earned in 2014 to N34.6billion. Anambra State came second, raising its IGR by about 29.32 per cent from N10.45billion in 2014 to N14.79bn, with Borno as the third with a 21.8 per cent improvement from N2.76billion the in 2014 to N3.53billion.

Other states with improved performances included Edo (10.95 per cent), Bauchi (10.2 per cent), Sokoto (9.75 per cent), Taraba (8.57 per cent), Abia (7.33 per cent), Nasarawa (4.59 per cent), Niger (3.98 per cent) and Kogi (3.05 per cent).

Analysts say the overall performance of the states, however, remains fundamentally weak given the enormous capacity they have to do much better if they did not rivet their gaze on the monthly allocation binge from the central government. This position is supported by Douglason Omotor, a professor of Economics. At the forum organised by FIND, he described the strategies so far adopted by most states in diversifying their revenue streams as mundane. According to him, there is an urgent need for a real focus on deepening and widening the entire revenue base by widening to cover the formal and informal sectors. This is reflected in what market watchers have come to identify as the Lagos Model, which has established a link between payment of taxes and service delivery, and is a development that tends towards transparency in governance.

Omotor further identified investment on quality infrastructure and

The NBS, in its latest IGR report based on records from the Joint Tax Board and states’ boards of internal revenue identified only eleven states comprising Ogun, Anambra, Borno, Edo, Bauchi, Abia, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Taraba and Sokoto as the states that recorded improvement in their 2014

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FIND

From left: Dr. DouglasonOmotor, Paper Presenter, Prof. Obafemi Ajibola, MD/CEO New Nigeria Foundation (NNF) and Mr. David Fairman, MD, Consensus Building Institute (CBI), Boston. the semi-autonomy of states’ revenue services as decisions that enable them to recruit and retain quality staff that is well enumerated.

Making tax assessment more participatory to involve stakeholders and ensure adequate information on where to pay, how much to pay and how monies are utilised was one of the prescriptions made by the egghead.

It was also advised to focus more on the quantum of collection and how to grow that quantum and allocate it, than on who collects it, to narrow fiscal space for illegal collection and preponderance of discretion and corruption, while strengthening the law in streamlining and prohibiting multiple taxation. Multiple taxation is not only unconstitutional, but also worsens the problems of the tax payer and electorate who increasingly get frustrated at the hefty burden of taxes borne.

What were some of the real les-

sons to take away from the dialogue session? “Exploitation of solid minerals as a sine qua non to revenue earnings by states (if the laws permit) is no economic diversification but only tantamount to a shift away from primary commodity exploitation (crude oil). What is required in diversification of the economies whether national or sub-national governments in Nigeria is creating and adding to the value-chain of minerals to be exploited or those already being exploited. Precisely, the setting-up start-ups that could add to crude oil refining (petrochemical industry/firms) alone can create enough jobs for the timid youth bug that is unemployed. This is one way of bringing them into the bracket of inclusiveness.”

FIND’s members are a diverse and influential set of Nigerian leaders in government, business, community development, academia, religion, media and culture.

Interestingly, Borno State’s IGR rose 21.80 per cent to N3.53 billion from N2.76 billion despite the negative impact of the Boko Haram insurgency. Bauchi State’s internally generated revenue further appreciated by 10.02 per cent to N5.39 billion from N4.85 billion

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Special Feature

Governor

Willie Obiano The Magic of Achieving More With Less May 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

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COVER

H

is Excellency, Chief Willie Maduabuchukwu Obiano was sworn in on March 17, 2014 as the new governor of Anambra State after winning the November 16, 2013 election. Since that day, he has not left anybody in doubt that he came to make a clear difference in governance and improve the wellbeing of his people.

From one level of achievements to another the gregarious governor has continued to combine dexterity, brilliancy, shrewdness in decision making and managerial prowess deriving from his banking background to unleash the wow effect on stakeholders and keep observers in admiration mid-way into his 4-year tenure.

From the onset, his Inaugural

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Address after taking the oath of office gave massive inspiration and optimism to Ndi-Anambra who thronged the arena to witness the occasion and celebrate the dawning of a new day. Many of those present at the ceremony might have pondered how Obiano would translate the declared thrust of his administration, which revolved mainly on the four cardinal pillars of agriculture, oil and gas, trade and commerce, and industrialization.

It was expected. Though the whole declaration was cheery to the people, it was not clear at that stage, how the ‘brand new’ governor would accomplish his big dream of repositioning the state to the ‘point where its high promise in human and material resources can be finally matched by the lived experiences

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of its people.’

Either way, the governor has maintained a balanced focus in weaving bespoke policies and mobilising resources to build the necessary economic, social and interpersonal infrastructure that would position the state for greatness. Scarcely had the governor served for one week in office before he constituted an effective Joint Task Force on security comprising the Police, different arms of the Nigerian Military and the paramilitary groups. This was the precursor to an unprecedented Security Summit convoked on April 10 and 11, 2014 – less than one month in the life of his Administration, and an affirmation of his impatience with and zero tolerance for crime in the State. The conference dovetailed into crafting the template

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Special Feature for effective crime control in the state.

This underscores his position that rather than only talk tough against malefactors and delinquent persons in the state, encourage them to leverage on the various employment schemes to wean them off crime. It further strengthens his contention that ‘if we replace the guns in the hands of our youths with employment letters and seed monies for small-scale businesses, Anambra would be freer from the criminals and social miscreants that have denied us peace of mind.’

From the Horse’s Mouth In a special broadcast tagged ‘A Call for Greatness’ to his people (Ndi Anambra), on March 17, 2016, to mark the second anniversary of his administration, the governor not only gives detailed account of his evidence-led stewardship after two years in office, he also explained how the stellar achievements were made possible in the harsh realities of the country’s economic predicaments unleashed by declining oil prices.

He said: “Exactly two years ago today, I assumed office as your governor on a cloud of hope. Umu nnem (My people), two years down the road, I am proud to announce to you that we have laid a very good foundation for a better Anambra State. After two years of applying myself to the service of Anambra State, I am happy to look back at what we have achieved and thank you all for your support and prayers.”

Anambra as a global player The immediate benefit of ridding Anambra State of crime is that the state has sufficiently

been opened up to the world and has attracted the attention of its sons, daughters, and to wise investors. To harness the opportunities created by its emergence as Nigeria’s safest state, the Obiano administration established the Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA) with the mandate of attracting investments and fast-tracking the process of investing in the state. To date, ANSIPPA has attracted investments valued at $3.2billion to Anambra State.

All the investments attracted so far cut across Agriculture, Trade & Commerce, manufacturing, hospitality, housing, electricity generation, waste management, health and oil and gas. More investments are coming.

Employment values so far created Governor Obiano says on job

creation: “When I asked for your votes in 2013, I promised you that I would give you jobs, jobs, jobs!

Today, I am proud to declare that with the quality of investments we have attracted so far, the unemployment problem we have in the state will be drastically reduced in no distant time. Here is our projection for the jobs that will be created from the investments we have attracted – Agriculture – 27,000 direct jobs and 100,000 indirect jobs Industry, Trade & Commerce – 12,000 direct jobs and 45,000 indirect jobs Real Estate & Hospitality – 11,000 direct jobs and 39,500 indirect jobs Power & Transportation – 2,000 direct jobs and 8,200 indirect jobs Health – 500 direct jobs and 1,900 indirect jobs Total number of jobs expected –

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Special Feature 52,500 direct jobs and 200,000 indirect jobs We have also effectively trained 500 youths in diverse skills and crafts at the Technology Incubation Centre in Nnewi while 500 other youths have been trained at the Agricultural Training Institute in Mgbakwu. We have great plans for our youths and the unemployed in Anambra State.”

Update on Economic Blueprint In his Inaugural Address, Governor Obiano had declared: “the time has come to prove to ourselves that the enterprising spirit for which our people are known all over the world can take firm roots at home; that together as one, we can be masters of our own house!” I had also assured, that “under my administration, we have no choice than to decide whether we are truly the sons and daughters of our fathers and true heirs to their long history of pioneering excellence!”

Truly, the achievements of the Obiano administration in the past two years have confirmed that the government and the governed in the state are the children of their fathers. “Obu nna anyi mulu anyi (We are the true children of our fathers),” is how the governor sums it up.

The Four Pillars of Development and What Has Been Done Agriculture Agriculture remains the leading pillar of the Economic Blueprint. It was therefore, not surprising that only two months after the governor’s inauguration, the government’s Agricultural Revolution was launched in Nteje, Oyi Local Government Headquarters with the objective of ranking among the Top-Three agricultural states in Nigeria. Two years after, it is cheery news that Anambra has become an exporter of farm produce to Europe.

Songhai Farms has reached an agreement with SABMiller for the supply of

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Sorghum, produced in Igbariam for brewing beverages, a development that has capacity to create more jobs.

This is the kind of synergy we want to create in Anambra State. The market is also flooded with a wholly indigenous brand of rice known as Anambra Rice that is competing favourably with other brands. Obiano says this feat has become possible because agriculture was simply made a priority with a Special Committee on Agriculture with prominent agronomists set up and charged to produce a blueprint for revolutionizing agriculture. “This committee carried out a comprehensive survey of our soil to determine where each food crop would grow better. We also set up a Committee for Land Acquisition and Mediation. The Committee ensures that all matters pertaining to the availability of land to investors are handled to the satisfaction of all parties. In specific terms, we have so far attracted $150m from Coscharis Farms Project in Anaku, $50m from NOVTEC Farms Ltd in Ndikelionwu, $160m from Joseph Agro Ltd rice project in Omor, $220m from Ekcel Farms tomato production farm in Omasi and $50m from the Songhai/Delfarms integrated organic farm project in Igbariam. There are also Grains & Silos with $40m investment in storage facilities, Lynden Farms with the $61m poultry farm in Igbariam and Tricity Integrated Farms with $11.4m ultra-modern abattoir in Awka. Indeed, the fire of agricultural revolution is raging in Anambra State. A visit to Igbariam or Anaku will validate this,” he said.

Industrialisation The government’s objective in Industrialisation is to become one of the top 3 industrialised states in Nigeria. To accomplish this, the focus is on four key areas – Creation of Modern Industrial Parks and Small-to-medium Enterprise Clusters, Improved Investments and better Access to Financing and, Stra-

tegic Capacity Building. So far, more than $140 million investment has been attracted to the manufacturing sector.

Beyond that, precedence has also been set in building critical alliances with foreign trade delegations. At the last count, the state had hosted Trade Missions from Thailand, Ireland and the UK and quite recently, a delegation from the British Commonwealth Office in London visited the governor in Amawbia to explore possibilities of stronger bilateral relations. The Consular General of the United States of America also arrived with his team early in March, while fruitful bilateral talks with South Africa, China, Germany, South Korea and the European Union have also been held. These positive developments reinvigorate the governor’s belief that the future is very bright for Anambra State.

Trade and Commerce The objective in Trade and Commerce is to move Anambra to the Top-3 states in Trade and Commerce in Nigeria. To achieve this, government is rehabilitating existing markets and building ultramodern shopping malls across the state. Furthermore, the construction of a $350 million wholesale shopping complex in Ogbunike in Oyi LGA has been flagged off. The commercial and lifestyle complex will be the first of its kind in Africa. Onitsha Shopping Mall a legacy project of the previous administration completed by the Obiano administration opened for business in April. The pace of work has been increased on the two other malls in Awka and Nnewi. Other achievements include the First Phase of the 20,000-unit International Market at Oba in Idemili South Local Government Area valued at $75 million dollars and the installation of Close-Circuit TV Cameras (CCTV) in Onitsha Main Market.

Oil and Gas

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Special Feature Anambra State is blessed with more than one billion barrels of oil and 30 trillion cubic feet of gas. Government’s objective here is to have a fully developed Oil & Gas sector by 2018. Three broad areas of intervention– policy formulation & infrastructure development, private sector participation and community re-orientation have been identified in the effort at achieving this. The governor says: “In the area of Policy Formulation, we have ensured that we do not make the same mistakes of our neighbours by crafting far-sighted policies and statutes to drive the development of this sector. We have set up the Oil and Gas Advisory Committee headed by the renowned Dr. Emmanuel Egboga, the former Special Adviser to the President on Petroleum Matters to ensure the recognition of Anambra as the 10th Oil Producing State in Nigeria.

Other achievements are the construction of Anambra’s longest bridge, measuring 280 meters long, across the Omambala River as part of the 42KM road that opens access to the oil fields in Aguleri. We are also building two other bridges to the oil fields through Umueje in Ayamelum and Umudiora in Anambra West Local Government Areas. Still on Oil & Gas, we are partnering with UD Integrated Petroleum Production Development Company, UDIPPCO, and Falcon Corporation Limited to invest in the development of our gasto-power initiative in the State. We also have a PPP arrangement with STANEL Petroleum for the construction of tank farms for the storage of petroleum products in the State.

These investments will jumpstart the Industrialization of our dear state, drive Agriculture and Trade & Commerce which are the key economic pillars of my Administration.” It is so far, so good on the four pillars of development.

Building Momentum through Key Enablers In the case of Anambra State, the Enablers constitute the basic foundation upon which the Four Pillars of Development stand. Though 12 in number, reports only 8 of them are featured here.

Roads and Infrastructure The case of building and maintenance of roads and bridges in the state is that of promise kept. The three flyovers in Awka are eloquent evidences of the government’s ambition to transform Anambra with world class infrastructure. The nearly completed Arroma Bridge is not only a beauty to behold but a monument to the pride of Anambra people. The two in Amawbia and Kwata are fast nearing completion. Similarly, two bridges and a 5-Cell Culvert in Awgbu-Ndiukwuenu-Awa-Ufuma axis have been built. Midway into fouryear tenure (two years), the administration has asphalted more than 102 roads. While no road inherited from the administration before this has been abandoned, significant progress has also been made on Agulu Lake Hotel Resort and the Three Arms Zone. The governor says: “True, we may not be moving at the pace we had hoped for because of the economic meltdown in the country but we have not abandoned any projects in Anambra State. Not one!”

Education Achievements in the Educational Sector have remained impressive in the past two years. Essentially, the sector is approached in three broad areas – infrastructural development, pupils/students development, and teachers’ welfare. In the review period, the state has maintained enviable position in the National Examinations Council (NECO) and West African Examinations Council (WAEC) exam-

inations. Similarly, the state’s brilliant school children took the Third position at the World Schools Debate Championship in Singapore last year.

Meanwhile, the state remains current champions in the national Pre-basic Debate Competition. The same debate team defeated the debate team from 80-year old Katung Secondary School in Singapore in January this year. To crown the government’s efforts, Anambra’s Rose Nkemdilim Obi won last year’s national Teacher of the Year Award to underscore the silent revolution that is going on in the educational sector. However, in terms of funding for schools, the administration has disbursed the sum of N733 million to mission schools, renovated 1000 units of 10-classroom blocks and awarded scholarships estimated at N30 million to more than 200 students. “We would have done more but for the bleak state of the economy,” says the governor.

Health In the Health Sector, new units have been added to the Onitsha General Hospital and a helipad for air ambulances for emergency cases built. So also have several blocks of houses that will serve as Isolation Units in cases of epidemics been built, with the complex designated as the Centre for Tropical Disease Control. In addition, the government is in partnership with the Rise Health Incorporation of America to strengthen rural health delivery in the state. The partnership gave birth to a specialist outfit known as the Anambra Business Coalition (ABC) through which the Orumba General Hospital has been refurbished and re-equipped to deliver a world-class medical service to the people of Orumba North and South. The ABC has also set up an ultramodern Rise Clinic in Adazi Ani and Onitsha respectively to offer

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Special Feature quality healthcare to the people.

Ossamola General Hospital Ogbaru will be given a similar attention this year. Machinery has also been set in motion to ensure the provision of a comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme for Ndi Anambra.

The Environment The Environment remains one of the key Enablers in Governor Obiano’s blueprint. Anambra is one of Nigeria’s smallest states in geographical size, measuring only 4,844 Square Kilometres. Considering this, the governor says he is personally concerned about the perennial menace of soil erosion in the state. He says: “Our swift response to the gully erosion that recently cut off the Nkpor Junction in Idemili Council Area is indicative of our sure-fire approach to environmental issues in the state.

Meanwhile, we have mounted a serious campaign to retrieve our cities from the menace of dirt and instill a culture of cleanness in our people. To demonstrate our capacity to create a cleaner Anambra, we demolished a 30-year old mountain of refuse in Okpoko last year. Our road-sweepers can be seen everywhere in Onitsha, Awka and Nnewi cleaning up the cities and making our environment more livable.”

Mass Transit Scheme There is no controversy about this.

Bold attempts have been made by government to change urban transportation in Anambra State. This is manifest in the modern mass transit scheme initiated to cover the three major cities in the state with 200 brand new taxis and 40 luxury buses, capped with the construction of modern bus stops and bus terminals in strategic parts of the state. This initiative was recently expanded to include marine transport with 24 Speedboats and Water Ambulances

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and one Gunboat for the Nigerian Navy. The idea is to open access to the riverine communities in the state and ensure that no part of the state is cut off from the phenomenal development spreading around us. Also, a comprehensive vehicle inspection workshop in Awka that will check the road-worthiness of vehicles in Anambra State to minimise the carnage on our roads is being built. That’s not all.

The Smart cars donated to the police in December last year have been equipped with Speed-tracking Devices that would help enforce sanity on roads.

Public Utilities Recently, government commissioned 47 solar-powered boreholes that will serve 27 communities in Aguata and Anambra East Local Government Areas. Not resting on its oars, the administration has also sustained the momentum on rural

electrification with the expansion of the 33KVA line that supplies power to Anambra North. It has also installed 250 transformers in strategic locations across the state. It is to the credit of the Willie Obiano administration that work is ongoing on the ambitious project of installing streetlights along the old Enugu Road that will run from Nkpor to Amansea. On completion, Stakeholders unanimously agree that the project will change the entire landscape of Anambra State on completion, and stimulate commerce, strengthen security and promote social life in various communities located along that long stretch.

Workers Welfare Anambra is second to none in the welfare of workers in the whole of Nigeria. The governor says: “We are the only state that increased the salary of workers by 15 per cent in 2015 at a

time when many states were looking for bailouts. We have also shown the humane side of governance with a series of worker-friendly policies and gestures. For instance, we have since cleared the N1.9bn arrears of salaries owed the State Water Corporation staff as well as the approximately N1bn pension owed Local Government retirees inherited by my administration. Similarly, we humanised governance by granting amnesty to 25 prisoners serving different jail terms in Anambra State to mark Nigeria’s 55th Independence Anniversary last year. These ex-convicts are currently undergoing training in a school for skill acquisition at Umueri and will be handed N1m each at the end of their training.”

The IGR Revolution The state has revolutionised its revenue generating streams with an impressive record in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). The state has witnessed a remarkable increase from the N500m monthly inherited from the administration before it to N1.3bn per month at the moment.

“We achieved this through a timely deployment of cutting edge technology and a clinical wedding out of over 800 ghost workers from the state civil service. We have made several efforts to boost our IGR; holding Strategic Retreats and Summits to seek new ways of increasing revenues without raising taxes. Right now, our mantra is “doing more with less,” and our target is to achieve N2.2bn in monthly revenue generation before the end of this year,” says the governor.

Surprisingly, these milestone achievements were possible even when the country has been passing through one of its worst periods since independence in 1960. Nigeria has experienced a perfect storm with oil

For instance, we have since cleared the N1.9bn arrears of salaries owed the State Water Corporation staff as well as the approximately N1bn pension owed Local Government retirees inherited by my administration.

price crash, the plummeting of the Naira value, high cost of funds and resurgent inflationary pressure. Allocations from the Federation Account dried up and did not only leave massive holes in the revenues of states, but also unleashed severe and unpleasant consequences.

However, the governor remained unflinching in his faith and confession that the case of the state was different. He said: “But the good news is that our story is different in Anambra State. We foresaw the impending storm and made adequate preparations for the rainy day. The fact is that when I took over the leadership of Anambra State, my first impulse as a financial expert was to organise a Strategic Retreat for my Executive Council Members to prepare my team for the task at hand. It was at the Retreat that we brain-stormed on the economy and detected the impending fall in oil prices. We have also had more retreats and a Summit on IGR. All these prepared us for the tough times at hand. The result is that while other states are grappling with this new reality, we are not only increasing salaries but we are busy building bridges.”

The Secrets of His Success Some of the nuggets of success applied by the Governor to deliver the evidence-led performance that everyone has acknowledged at a time most states of the federation have failed to meet their obligations have been identified. The governor says what he did was to bring down the cost of governance drastically and rev up Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

There was also a bold effort to detect all the leakages in the system and plug all the holes that were bleeding government resources dry. This exercise has led to the weeding out of 800 ghost workers from the government pay roll.

“Now, the basic question to ask is

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Special Featuer ‘how did we do it?’ The answer is simple. We began by defining our Vision and Mission in Anambra State. I stated that my Vision was to make Anambra State the 1st Choice Investment Destination and a hub for industrialization and commercial activities. I also declared that my Mission was to make Anambra State a socially stable, business-friendly environment that would attract both indigenes and foreigners to seek wealth-creating opportunities. To guarantee the realisation of these two Statements, we crafted a Blueprint known as the Four Pillars of Development which revolves around Agriculture, Industrialization, Trade and Commerce and Oil & Gas. The Vision and Mission Statements come together in a perfect synergy with the Four Pillars of Development to make up my dream for Anambra State.”

He further stated: “However, from the very beginning, it was clear to me as daylight, that the major obstacle that stood in the way of my dreams for Anambra State was the challenge of Security. The undeniable fact before us was that since the end of the Civil War, Anambra State had been the theatre of crime and criminality in the South East of Nigeria.

I figured out that there could be no meaningful progress in this state without a successful attack against crime. I knew that no investor would go to a crime-ridden environment.

So, we launched an all-out war against kidnappers, armed robbers, drug-dealers and child-traffickers. We smashed crime syndicates and pulled down the warehouses used for keeping kidnap victims. We donated smart cars to the police, a gunboat to the Navy and last Christmas, we launched police helicopters to watch over our skies. And so, for the first time since the creation of this great state, we made sure that Anambra was effectively covered on the land, in the waters and in the sky! With

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that effort, we achieved 360 degrees security coverage of the state! Not only that, we also solved the 46-year old puzzle of crime in Anambra State!

With that effort too, it is no longer in doubt that Anambra is the safest state in Nigeria. And for the second time since the creation of Anambra State, we celebrated Christmas last year without a single incident of crime! Ndi Anambra, that is how far we have come on the journey to a safer Anambra State.”

Security As stated by an analyst Okechukwu Anarado: “Not even the clarity in the governor’s determination to tackle criminality convinced Ndi-Anambra that he had the capacity to contain the gamut of criminal acts that nearly assumed the face of Anambra State.

But barely three weeks in office, the

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governor convoked a Security Summit that attracted top class international security operatives, including an Israeli Security chieftain. There, the challenges and peculiarities of ensuring the security of lives and property in the state were critically addressed. Sequel to that was the robust launch of security fund which pulled some resources from Ndi-Anambra and the organized private sector towards assisting the State Government combat crime.

The government has thereafter provided huge logistic supports to the law enforcement agencies by way of providing patrol vehicles, security gargets and funds to facilitate their operations.

After one month in office, Governor Obiano’s successes in freeing ‘the state from kidnappers, armed robbers, drug barons, extortionists and

Special Feature is replicated in other metropolitan settings in Anambra State therefore mirrors the level of sanity Chief Obiano’s administration has brought to bear in the state.

Kidnapping kingpins have been arrested and made to face the wrath of the law. This feat has been made possible by the robust support the government has given to the joint security outfit – the Operation Kpochapu – which Chief Obiano constituted for crime fighting and prevention.

The government has boldly pulled down houses of kidnappers at places like Aguleri, Ihiala, Ogidi, as deterrent to whoever might be attracted to the allurements of quick ill-gotten wealth.

Armed robbers and their suppliers of arms and ammunitions are hunted down and brought to book; just as illicit drug dealers are not spared by the law enforcement agencies. These explain the peace Anambra enjoys today.”

Tourism is receiving a boost like never before in the state, as the governor is resolute in turning the famous Ogbunike Cave and the Owelle-Ezukala Water Falls and their environs into world-class tourist spots.

all enemies of the society,’ became manifest. Onitsha, the commercial hub of Anambra State which hitherto was largely a hotbed of criminal activities of all shades has attained an appreciable quietude that is instructive of confidence and safety among its teeming population. The value of life upped with the sudden reduction of wanton harassment, maiming and killing of innocent persons by hoodlums. The notorious Upper Iweka region of the commercial city has been cleared of the many unkempt motor parks and the nuisance constituted by the numerous miscreants and criminals who bred therein. This strategic section of Onitsha which largely provides the brand Anambra State bears within and outside the country has been cleaned up. The ambience of Onitsha today which

Tourism Anarado further says: “Tourism is receiving a boost like never before in the state, as the governor is resolute in turning the famous Ogbunike Cave and the Owelle-Ezukala Water Falls and their environs into world-class tourist spots. He is no less committed to the completion of the on-going construction of the imposing Agulu Lake Tourist Resort.

More importantly Governor Obiano has built strong bridges across the people of the state who have excelled in their chosen areas of endeavour. The governor has successfully persuaded members of this elite group to acknowledge their critical stake-holding in the envisioned greater Anambra. The warmth of home (the like of which attracted Coched Farms) has assumed a pull that many can ill afford to resist. The future of the state looks a lot more stable

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Special Feature with ‘sons and daughters of the soil’ establishing marks of their expertise in their home state. This success is evidently on course.

The governor in recognizing the welfare needs of workers has supplied them transport aids in terms of vehicles to and from work at minimal cost; this, in addition to the on-going one thousand housing scheme that is scheduled for the state civil servants. Given the magnitude of Chief Obiano’s achievements in the first 100 days of his administration and more importantly, given his resolute determination to attain his vision of a safe, peaceful and developed polity to justify the enormous trust reposed on him by the Anambra electorate, one wonders the heights the state will attain at the end of the governor’s tenure – other things being equal.”

Read the governor’s personal account of his first year in office: “We have flushed out kidnappers from Anambra State. We have cut off their weapons supply lines and sealed off their supply routes. We have pulled down their physical and psychological empires.

We have laid a solid foundation for the provision of reliable electricity that will help us recover our Midas touch. Late last year, we concluded arrangements with UD Independent Petroleum Production Company (UDIPPCO) to build a gas-powered plant that will generate 80 mega-watts of electricity. Similarly, barely fortnight ago, we signed on Falcon Corporation Limited to build another gas-powered plant that will generate 100 mega-watts of electricity.

More importantly, we realised that we needed a platform through which we would transform the economic and commercial landscape of our dear state. To facilitate this, we set up the Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (AN-

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SIPPA) on 15th May, 2015. The results have been tremendous. Investors today recognize ANSIPPA as a one-stop business and investment centre that coordinates all investment related activities across all arms of government in the state. ANSIPPA is led by a Governing Council which boasts of over 300 cumulative years of experience in development finance, investment banking, investment promotion and policy formulation.

With the efforts of ANSIPPA, Anambra is currently Nigeria’s number one investment destination. With over US$2.0 billion attracted from 16 major investors in the past 12 months, we are well on our way to achieving our economic mission. So far, we have attracted over $660m of investment to this sector. Some of these investments are: * A $150m investment in rice production and processing in Anaku, Ayamelum Local Government Area (LGA) by Coscharis Group. * Over $160m investment in the defunct Omor Rice Mill and 5,000 hectares farmland for rice cultivation and processing by Joseph Agro of the Aiteo Group. * The $220 Tomato and Cassava production and processing farms in Omasi Community, Ayamelum LGA owned by Ekcel Farms Limited. * The $40m investment by Grains and Silos Limited to construct an ultra-modern grains storage facility to support our thriving brewery industry in Onitsha and other parts of south Eastern Nigeria. * Delfarm Limited, who signed a $50m agreement between Songhai Regional Centre, Benin and the Anambra State Government, will transform the farming settlements of Igbariam into another Songhai agricultural marvel of Nigeria.

To ensure that our local farmers are well positioned to take advan-

May 2016 CHERRYAFRICA

tage of the agriculture revolution in the State, we have organised our farmers into 1,500 cooperatives. We have also equipped them with 100 Tractors, 45,000 tons of high-yielding rice seedlings, 18,000 tons of highly improved maze seedlings and 700 metric tons of fertilizers. Before the end of this year, we would have prepared over 1,000 hectares of land in readiness for mechanised farming.

Five days ago, we also commissioned the 1st Agricultural Training Center in Anambra in Mgbakwu. 250 youths are currently undergoing training in this facility in the areas of staple crop cultivation and processing, aquaculture, piggery and horticulture.

Our efforts in agriculture will enable our state produce over 300,000 metric tonnes of rice, 150,000 metric tonnes of cassava and 240,000 metric tonnes of tomatoes in the next 24 months.”

With the efforts of ANSIPPA, Anambra is currently Nigeria’s number one investment destination. With over US$2.0 billion attracted from 16 major investors in the past 12 months, we are well on our way to achieving our economic mission.

Interview

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NIGERIA

Government Should Affirm Support for Modular Refineries Eche Idoko, Secretary, Modular Refineries Association of Nigeria speaks to CherryAfrica

Q

: What constitutes the core objective of Modular Refineries Association?

A: Modular Refineries Association of Nigeria is a combination of LTE license owners who have embarked on the project of establishing refineries that are within the range of 1,000 barrels per day to 30,000 barrels per day in Nigeria.

We conceived the idea to have an association just to build a platform for engaging all the necessary stakeholders within the petroleum mid-stream sector towards engendering a seamless and workable procedure for the establishment of refineries and encouraging refining in Nigeria. That’s just the thrust of us and that’s who we are. We came on stream some time January this year and our sole purpose is to push for the realization of the vision of making Nigeria a refining hub in the African sub region.

Q: As it stands today, how many of these operators are already licensed?

A: As at the last count, right now as we speak a lot of other companies are still in the process of licensing, so it will be difficult to give an exact figure but for those of us who were within the first phase of licensing about 26 companies were given LTE by December last year. As at December 2015 about 26 companies had been licensed and more companies are still in the process.

Q: Were you given any time frame for operations to commence?

A: Yeah, your LTE actually is supposed to last for 24 months after which you are supposed to obtain your ATC. There are actually three stages. You have your LTE, which is your License to Establish. After that you go ahead to do all the necessary work including your detailed engineering drawing, your front end engineering drawing, your EIAs and after that you are given an ATC after which you can start your mechanical work upon given an ATC (Authority To Construct) and after then you are licensed to operate.

Q: What really provided the attraction, the cost, size, economies of scale, or scope?

A: For me they are all inclusive, all what you have mentioned are major attractions for the modular refinery. First and foremost, the modular refinery offers a cheap option to getting refineries the way we wish. You can get a modular refinery for even as low as 10 million USD depending on what product you want to produce. So it offers a very cheap option as compared to the conventional refineries which are usually very large and complex modules that are quite expensive to

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fabricate and operate. Another thing is that the time frame for completing a modular refinery also is very attractive.

While a conventional refinery will take 6 to 10 years to complete, the modular refinery at most will take 24 months and you have a unit. Then in terms of availability of market, we have a market that is potentially large. We have a 160 million people who are dependent on petroleum product and out of these 160 million, we have our refining capacity being only 8 million per day speculatively, so there is a huge market and there is a huge supply gab that needs to be met. The other short falls are made up by way of import and you will agree with me that with what is happening in the international market it has become very difficult for Nigeria to sustain importation because of the cost it comes with and since you have a market that is this large and you have the raw materials, it is no grain to think that you can only maximise these advantages and you begin to produce locally, so when you sum up all these things together, you discover that establishing modular refineries in Nigeria offers you a tremendous advantage .

Q: Today you are a witness to the issue of scarcity in the country and the cost to the economy. How effectively can the modular refineries come to bridge the gap?

A: Differently this particular scarcity lays credence more than any other era to the need for us not to only just build refineries but to enhance our refining capacity because the singular reason why we are having scarcity as it were is not because there are no products in the international market. The simple reason is that we do not have the capacity to import because marketers cannot access forex and marketers cannot access forex because crude which is our main export is at its lowest and because of that, it has put so much pressure on the naira as against the dollars and the marketers are finding it very difficult. Now if you build modular refineries in Nigeria, what that means is that rather than go to source your products in forex if they are produced in foreign currency, if they are produced in Nigeria, you source your products in naira because the issue is not that the marketers do not have dollars or cannot access. They cannot buy dollars weekly as naira to bring in these products. Only the NNPC has been doing that and the market is too large for NNPC

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NIGERIA alone to handle. So if we have modular refineries seeing the time that is coming up because of the slowdown in global economy, we can get refineries that re not expensive and will not take time to put in place. It will no doubt ameliorate these difficulties that we are facing.

Q: Ordinarily, this looks like a shortterm or a stop gap measure. How do you see it as an operator, and what happens in the medium-term to longterm perspectives?

A: I don’t think the modular refinery is a short term measure. What happens is that, the modular refineries are so positioned to do well in the sense that already we do have storages scattered across the country because one, the fears expressed by people who criticised the incoming of the modular refinery was that the tank farms were going to become redundant. But the truth of the matter is that every country must work towards a probable reserve of energy source like petroleum. America has one of the largest reserves in the world but they also have the highest number of refineries as well. So what the modular refinery does is that it will enable Nigeria build those kind of reserves when we have surplus so that we can actually control supply and what that means is that with modular refineries coming on stream and hopefully the likes of Dangote refinery coming in the near future, Nigeria will become a pricing hub for petroleum products in Africa. So just like you have Platts-worldwide, we will begin to have a pricing template that is determined by the Nigerian petroleum market within the West Africa sub-region and of course Africa as a whole. So we can have something like Platts-Nigeria or whatsoever they may choose to call it at a time. So for us, I think in the long term, the modular refineries seem to be the solution and the important thing about modular refineries is because of their nature they are built on their modules.

They are flexible you can move them from one place to the other. You can increase their size so somebody who starts with 5000 barrels per day modules today for instance, in the next 10years, can increase his own capacity to 20, 30, 40, 50,000 as the case may be. So you increase as the need arises. In terms of risk it provides minimum risk and the value chaim it comes with are better imagined.

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Q: But how about the issue of main-

I don’t think the modular refinery is a short term measure. What happens is that, the modular refineries are so positioned to do well in the sense that already we do have storages scattered across the country because one, the fears expressed by people who criticised the incoming of the modular refinery was that the tank farms were going to become redundant. tenance because that has been a big issue with the conventional refineries?

A: Yes, the conventional refineries are more complex units, like I did mention from the onset. Most modular refineries are very simple distillation units with heaters. So it’s easier to handle and I did mention that while assembling the modular refineries the local content is inculcated in terms of building of the infrastructure, the piping and the tanks, it becomes very easy to build local capacity to actually maintain these things.

And most of the technology holders for modular refineries normally offer these services to you turn-key and then they have an arrangement with you where they can actually give you turnaround maintenance with time. The beauty of it is that these modules when you have a heater that is not working you can actually remove and replace it with a brand new one without wasting time and the twist to the modular unit is you can use a modular unit to support the conventional refineries. For instance, if there is a short down in a particular component of a conventional refinery, you can use a modular unit to support that and continue production pending when that is fixed so in itself it is more or less like a master key to solving refining problems.

Q: You are not in government and you are probably not involved in policy making. Why do you think we waited till this time before embracing the modular option, why did we miss

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NIGERIA

the train all along?

A: Well, it’s better late than never. I think part of the reason you will agree with me that we had a lot of case against these technology based on limited information from time. A lot of people have said the refining industries was not viable, there is argument at some time that is actually cheaper to import than refine. Some even say when you have modular refinery in smaller units you will not break even and then particularly there was the question of access to fund. For a very long time before the democratic era, the Nigerian banks were not strong enough to finance these kind of projects and because of sanctions we did not have direct access to some of the international financing options until democracy. So all those slow the possibility of this but with what has happened and with the recent rating of Nigeria. Nigeria has become more or less like a bride of investment for most of the Western Countries. So all those had culminated and off course with the scarcity problem becoming persistent am sure people have started thinking outside the box after exhausting all the options. they have tried, they have sank huge money into turn around maintenance of refineries. They’ve tried the option to swab deals it has not worked. They’ve tried the option of importation which is where we are right now but it doesn`t seem to be working fine. So am sure the only option that was open to them was to try the modular and private refining. Though we wished it had come earlier but I still think that at the time it has come it will still be of great value.

Q: You mentioned that about 26 had already been licensed and there are many more still at various stages of being licensed. Does this market have the capacity to absorb all that number?

A: Like I said, 26 have been licensed, but that is not a guarantee that the 26 will come into the main stream because we have major challenges with starting refineries and am sure with the cause of our conversation we will talk about the challenges we face.

Haven said that, even if the 26 come on stream and with the highest for modu-

lar refineries being 30,000 barrels and we just have a hand full of them say about 4 or 5 of them that are doing between 20,000 to 30,000 the rest are doing between 5,000 and 10,000 per day. If you sum up all these, it does not solve the supply gap problems we have in Nigeria. If we call ourselves a sub-regional power, we should actually be looking at the market beyond Nigeria.

All the countries surrounding Nigeria do depend on petroleum products from Nigeria and if you have read part of the challenges that NNPC has adduced for being responsible for scarcity of petroleum products in Nigeria is that most of these products are diverted, which means most neighbouring countries like Cameroun, Sudan even up to Cote d`Ivoire and the likes of Benin Republic actually have Nigeria products sipping out there through the borders. So what this means is that these markets are going to be our catchment areas and supplying this markets is going to be cheaper. So it will be a preferred choice for them to bringing these products from outside the African continent.

Q: Today the licenses have been issued, the promoters are ready but what are the major challenges that you have?

A: The major challenge confronting the modular refinery license holders is the issue of access to finance. Before now it used to be access to finance and access to feedstock which is crude oil but like I mentioned earlier, the new policy framework for establishment of refineries has guaranteed 60 per cent feed stuck by the federal government through the NNPC to refinery owners upon 60 per cent mechanical completion of your plant. So that to an extent had ameliorated the challenges we had in terms of access to feedstock and the emergence of a lot of marginal fields after the recent divestment had created a market for feedstock. From all these marginal field operators, what we have done in our own company is that we have approached a particular marginal field operator who had actually shown its willingness not only to supply us these products but to actually lay pipeline from their field at their own cost. So that is no longer a challenge as it were

but the issue of funding is a fundamental problem and the reason why funding becomes a fundamental problem is that the Nigerian banking institutions are not strong enough to finance projects of this nature.

The experience we have had over time with the Nigerian institutions is that when there is need for them to issue things like promissory notes, guarantees, letter of credit, to fulfill their own part of the funding, it has always been an issue, maybe because even though cheap, the capital required for these projects is huge and because we do not have financial source within to get this projects going, a lot of us 99 per cent of the modular refinery owners are actually sourcing their funds off shore and these funds come with cost and conditions. Some of these conditions are a bit cumbersome because they are alien to our business terrain and our local banks can not rise to the occasion maybe because of past experience they have had in the oil and gas sector or they simply do not have the capacity to run these projects alone. For instance, if I want 10 per cent of what I need to build my plant alone and I approach a bank to give me 10 million dollars; you can count the banks that can give 10 million dollars at a go without their credit line suffering heavily. And how many of these banks can do more than 2 or 3 $10 million? So we have those challenges of our banks’ capacity to fund. Basically, those are the major challenges that we are facing and there is also a need for the government to be more audible on its commitment in encouraging modular refineries in Nigeria. You will agree with me that a lot of foreign investors would want to pick on statements like the governments declarations.

We want a situation that the government will come out visibly to support the establishment and drive for modular refineries. The ministry of petroleum, the CBN and Nigeria should deliberately make statements at forums which involve international investors saying that they support the efforts of the promoters of modular refineries and encourage them to actually partner with modular refineries.

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Interview

I foresee very tough Presidential Contest Honourable Kennedy Osei Nyarko, a Member of Parliament and one of the new brands of politicians in Ghana speaks with CherryAfrica on the forthcoming election.

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Interview Q: Before becoming a Member of Parliament (MP), what were you into?

A: I worked in a private firm Zoom Lion and later its sister company Plan Pool Q: What then inspired you into politics?

A: Well, I harboured strong passion for politics way back in school.

Besides, my family were very much into politics and I moved around with them those early days. So I just love it and when God presented the opportunity to contest I ceased it with joy Q: How has it been like so far?

A: Quite challenging, I must confess, but no regrets whatsoever.

Most challenges have come from shuttling between Accra where I reside and my constituency. The nature of my constituency is unique and very demanding. It requires I visit regularly and the distance is quite far, and I am obligated to visit, failure to will mean a gross act of negligence on my part. However, I consider it a great privilege to serve my people and nation as a member of the parliament.

Q: What is your high point so far?

A: They are many. I have strived to be involved in numerous constituency and parliament activities. As a young parliamentarian, I have advocated in so many things. Recently I championed a very revolutionary bill that will change mode of local council administration in this country. It is called ‘borrowing bill’ it sought to give power to municipal districts and metropolitan assemblies to source for fund rather than to wait for the central government.

This idea was really welcome by the Central government.

Q: 2016 is election year. What is your take on the election and ability of the Electoral Commission?

A: I don’t know how to put it, but I foresee a very tough contest at the presidential level. You have an opposition candidate who has contested strongly at two times and has one last chance to win and is ready to throw in everything to win and an incumbent who is poised to retain power as well. On the Electoral Commission, they have caused many people not to believe in their ability to conduct a free and fair election. The EC we have is one bedridden with a lot of problems; recently the minority party raised an issue about need to update voters register. The Supreme Court also ruled as such, yet EC does not see the need to update the voters register. In the present voters register, it is affirmed that there are a lot of dead persons’ names and under aged, hence the need to validate all voters card but EC refused.

Q: As an MP what have you done so far to solve the EC issue?

A: It is not my call to make. It is one of the challenges we have with the present constitution. As an MP the constitution forbids me to raise a bill for EC, the body or Executive is to raise bills or CI that constituency and MP should work on if need be.

Q: How prepared are you for 2016?

A: For me my constituency is a safe seat, my party has always won with high margin too. The closest the opposition has come to winning was in last election when the then incumbent MP whom I defeated in the primaries contested as an independent candidate and pulled some of my intended votes.

Q: What do you think as an insider, what should have been done before now that has not done?

A: So much needed to be done; the EC said that they have come out with five year development strategies. We are waiting to lay hand on it to see the thematic areas to find out what they intend to do. For the past EC has been working without developmental strategy To have a peaceful election going forward, it is based on the kind of reforms EC can implement.

Q: Can you mention two of such reforms for 2016?

A: We should start with the minor ones. Firstly, we should have a credible register before adding some to it, and secondly, going forward doesn’t mean that EC should have data base whereby everyone should have an ID to make things easier to do than waste time.

Q: How many years are you spending in the parliament, where will you go to from there?

A: I have a career path; at the age of 48 years I should move from the parliament to pursue other future ambition.

You have an opposition candidate who has contested strongly at two times and has one last chance to win and is ready to throw in everything to win and an incumbent who is poised to retain power as well.

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GHANA

HR DISCOURSE

WITH TRICIA ABENA KISSI

Effective Leadership: The Role of Emotional Intelligence

E

motional Intelligence (EI), which is measured by Emotional Quotient (EQ), became popular in 1995 as a result of a research that indicated that people with average Intelligent Quotients (IQs) outperformed those with the highest IQs 70 per cent of the time as a result of their EI. This result confounded people who had always assumed IQ was the sole determinant of success.

Subsequently, decades of research has confirmed EQ as the critical factor that sets star performers apart from the rest of employees.

EI means the awareness of our own emotions and those of others, their influence on us, and how to manage them in positive and meaningful ways. It is the ability to perceive and understand our own emotions and the behaviour that flows predictably from them. There are two important aspects of EI: the ability to identify, control and express our emotions; and the ability to understand, interpret and respond to the emotions of others.

We cannot predict EQ based on how smart someone is. IQ is the ability to learn, and it is said to be the same at age 15 as it is at age 50. EQ, on the other hand, is a flexible set of skills that can be acquired and improved with practice. Although some people are naturally more emotionally intelligent than others, anyone can develop high EQ. While a high IQ may give you great intellectual and technical abilities, a high EQ can make you become an effective leader and give you poise, cheerfulness, assertiveness, responsibility, sympathy, commitment and a caring attitude.

With a high IQ you could get employed, but with a high EQ you are more likely to get promoted faster in your career. A high IQ can make you very good at your daily work routine, but with a high EQ you can thrive during times of change

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and uncertainty. Personality, on the other hand, is that which defines each of us. It is the result of innate prefere’ “nnces, such as the inclination toward introversion or extroversion. However, like IQ, personality can’t be used to predict EQ; and it also doesn’t change. IQ, EQ, and personality together explain the behaviour of a person.

E Intelligence is described as consisting of the following five competencies: 1. Self-Awareness: Knowing our emotions and understanding the tendencies to act in certain situations. Leaders with high EQ are able to recognize emotions as they happen. This helps them to have a clear understanding of their strengths and weaknesses; address problems and handle any future complications.

2. Self-regulation: The ability to manage our emotions and preferences.

Leaders who regulate themselves effectively hardly verbally attack others, make hasty or emotional decisions, stereotype people, or compromise their values.

3. Self-motivation: Emotional tendencies that facilitate the achievement of our goals. Self-motivated leaders work consistently toward their goals, and have very high standards for the quality of their work.

4. Social Awareness: Awareness of others’ feelings, needs and concerns. Leaders with high EQ are able to put themselves in the employee’s shoes and give helpful feedback. This helps them to get results and obtain respect or loyalty.

5. Social skills: The ability to elicit desirable results from others.Leaders with high EQ are great communicators; and have good people skills.

It is widely accepted that soft skills such as interpersonal skills greatly affect how people feel and respond to their leaders. If they feel valued, appreciated, and heard, they are engaged and motivated to achieve goals

set out by leadership. Leaders who possess high EQ understand the importance of communicating effectively with their team members, and of treating each team member with respect. Most people respond best to leaders who treat them with respect; and make them feel valued.

Effective leaders tend to possess high levels of EQ. Leaders with high EQ have high standards of integrity and outstanding people skills that make for effectiveness. A leader who understands his or her own emotions is much more likely to understand and empathize with others. This is why EQ is so valuable for effective leadership.

The good news is that leaders with low EQ can improve on their EQ and become effective leaders. The first step is for you to take an EQ self-assessment test to appreciate your level of EQ. Once that is done, you can adopt the following strategies to improve on your EQ: Observe how you react to people and decide to react better; examine how you react to stressful situations and learn to keep your emotions under control when things go wrong; hold yourself accountable. Don’t play the blame game; practice deep-breathing exercises to calm yourself; examine how your actions affect others before you take those actions; whenever you assign a task to someone and sense disappointment in their reaction, don’t ignore it. Address their feelings.

There is evidence to prove that EQ is central to leadership effectiveness. Leaders with high EQ tend to be more effective than leaders with low EQ. Leaders who seek to be effective must therefore endeavour to improve on their EQ levels.

There may be leaders who were born with high EQ, but the majority of us can learn and develop high EQ. Make that decision now.

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