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SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SUNDAY OCTOBER 18, 2015
Business News
A new breed without greed Success Nuggets
You just passed a test,” he said. Apparently, he knew that the task he assigned to me would not cost as much as he asked the client to give me as mobilisation for the task
Victor Okwudiri
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08037674300 (SMS only) ecently, a senior colleague of mine gave me a task to execute on behalf of a client. He asked the client to give me a certain sum with which to execute the task. The sum he asked the client to give to me was far more than what I used to execute the task. I had so much left. It felt good. Don’t look at me that way. You like money too. *Winks* In the evening of that day, while the said senior colleague and I were at dinner, I mentioned to him the fact that there was money left of the sum given to me for the task. “You just passed a test,” he said. Apparently, he knew that the task he assigned to me would not cost as much as he asked the client to give me as mobilisation for the task. I believe he asked the client to give me that sum of money because he wanted me to have some ‘change’ for myself, perhaps because I was (and still am) a loyal ‘boy’. That notwithstanding, he waited to see if I would render account of the expenditure of the money. Thank God, I did not wait until he asked me to give an account of how I spent the money. Guess what ... He asked me to take the money. At the end of the day, I had both my integrity and the money. However, if I had chosen to compromise my integrity for that
money, though I might have had that money to myself, I would have lost my integrity. I might also lose money that will come in the future. God forbid! In a generation in which virtually everything is monetised, and even ‘monetisation’ has become a recognised economic policy, young people, and generations to come must be made to understand that money is not everything and everything is not money. Only recently, a notable figure, who, while serving as the Governor of a State in Nigeria, was arrested, detained in the United Kingdom on allegations of money laundering, and subsequently convicted in Nigeria still for alleged money laundering, was reported dead. The questions that naturally come to mind upon hearing such news are, “What were the massive acquisition of property and material things about, afterall? Are they really worth one’s peace? What happens to all the properties? Are we leaving this world with any of them?” What about supposed leaders like Mobutu Sese Seko? Mobutu Sese Seko was reputed to have stolen so much that he fled his homeland and died in exile. What sort of money is that? Today, the memory we have of him is a bad one. On the other hand, we have seen leaders who proved themselves to have passed the money test. Only two days ago, I saw someone’s status update on Facebook, celebrating Thomas San-
kara. Being someone who is thirsty for knowledge, I ‘googled ‘Thomas Sankara’ and read about him on Wikipedia. Honestly, I was impressed, and understood why that person celebrated the memory of Sankara on Facebook. Sankara was a man who cut down the salaries of government officials, including his. I have never read of an African political leader more modest. I think ‘Thomas Sankara’ should be a 24-unit compulsory course in the school of ‘African Political Leadership.’ Friends, we must realise that when we are gone, all we have left is people’s memory of us. This was really what the Bible meant when it said in Proverbs 10:7 that the memory of the just (upright) is blessed. Memory in that context does not mean the intellectual faculty of a person. It speaks of the thought or remembrance of a person by others. The questions, therefore, are: What will people think about you, especially when you are no more? Will it be good or bad? Whatever the case is, you still have the opportunity to amend your answer by your actions. Even if your past has not been good, you can make amends from this very moment. My advocacy here is for a paradigm shift; a shift in our thought patterns, especially as regards money and material things. We must embrace the idea that a good name is better than riches. We must begin to reason in line with the fact that good relationships can outlast money. We must stick with the position that nothing (absolutely nothing) is worth our peace. These must become our CREED, if we must see a new BREED without GREED. You will succeed. Please follow me on Twitter @VictorOkwudiri
What is life? (1) The Big Picture Julian Atufunwa 08032810713 (SMS only)
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ife is neutral; it is neither good nor bad. Joseph Campbell once said: “Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.” if an Indian newly born baby is born and raised in Nigeria, there is every tendency that he or she will speak, eat and behave entirely like a Nigerian. Oliver Wondell Holmes said: “Man’s mind stretched to a new idea, never goes back to its original dimensions.” it is a fact that we bring to life all the different references, experiences, beliefs and training we grew up with. We all have our own definitions of life. Rick Warran says: “Your perspective about life will influence how you invest your time, spend your money, use your talent and value your relationships. It is true that we all have different perspectives of life yet there are truths about life that are indisputable.” (1) Life is a journey - This is a general fact of life. Life is all about movement, from point A to point B. Whether we believe it or not, it is inevitable because even the earth itself is moving (rotating). So, no human is expected to be static. The point is,
you will be able to succeed in life if you can adapt to changes and also if you can prepare yourself adequately for the next level in a job, business, status e.t.c or remain outdated. In life, you must keep improving on what you know and on the next trend. (2) Life is all about love - Vincent van Gogh said: “Whoever loves much performs much and can accomplish much and what is done in love is done well. When we talk of love sometimes, I wonder what comes to our minds, but whatever it is you are thinking, love in itself can never be wrong.” Today, we laud people like Africa’s wealthiest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote. Going by van Gogh’s definition, he (Dangote) loves much, therefore performs much and is accomplishing much. The wealthy are those whom, when others are sleeping, are thinking of what next to produce for the masses. Love is the primary reason they are in business. As such, they can’t afford to produce fake products. The wealthy are those who find a way to make life more enjoyable and also provide products and services that are affordable to the general public. Love should move governments to build roads so that farmers can move their perishable products to the urban centres in good time. Love is all about building hospitality and equipping the educational systems so that students can compete with their counterparts in developed countries of the world. It is mind-boggling that our certificates are not given recognition in other countries. Should I say that we have neglected our primary goals of existence? Come to think of it, it would
He emphatically denied this and asked why I said he was. I told him that everything he did and said influences others one way or the other. So, he was a missionary for his own life be almost impossible for anyone to kill the one he/she loves. People working under you are not left out. Do we recognise values in people and reflect them in our words and actions? Human beings are the most valuable assets we can ever have as employers. Do we see people the way they ought to be or the way they are currently? Love and vision go together. You can’t talk of love without people, neither can we talk of vision without people in mind. When we don’t love people genuinely, the size of our dream will be limited. We can’t love and fail. We treat people based on the value we place on them. We have always repeated this in this column: Whatever God does not deserve should not be given to human beings. Life without love is worthless. Give attention to people, spend time with the people you love. The best gift you can give to people you love is your time. Giving your time is equal to giving part of your life to someone. This is because your time is your life. As we go about our work and business as parents, never miss your priority - your children need your presence. They will not be children forever. One day, you will wake up and find that they are gone. Give them attention now. Life without love is vain.
500 Startups to invest in Nigeria technology companies 500Startups, a Silicon Valley venture-capital firm with more than $175 million under management, is seeking its first investments in Nigerian technology companies as Africa’s most-populous nation encourages industries that will reduce its reliance on oil. The firm “would like to invest in at least one to two Nigerian tech companies in the next year,’’ Andrea Barrica, venture partner at Mountain View, California-based 500Startups, said on Wednesday in an e-mailed response to questions. Nigeria’s “big population and increasing access to technology and payments’’ make it an attractive market, she said. The U.S. investor is looking to add Nigerian assets to 10 investments on the continent in markets including Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa. It’s the latest venture-capital firm to show interest in the country, with Boulder, Colorado-based TechStars saying last week it’s seeking opportunities in the Nigerian information and communication technology industries. Barrica, who in September met business owners in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, said 500Startups is targeting companies engaged in “technologies, software, online marketplaces and e-commerce.” The firm plans a $200 million fund to invest in such opportunities around the world. The Federal Government introduced an information and communication policy in 2012 to boost investments in these industries and counter a reliance on income from crude, which accounts for two-thirds of state revenue and more than 90 percent of export earnings. The government wants to increase broadband penetration fivefold from 4 per cent of the population, according to the National Broadband Plan for 2013-2018.
SON combats influx of substandard lubricant products Amadi Nnamdi
A Abuja
s part of efforts by the Federal Government to checkmate the influx of substandard lubricants into Nigeria, the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) has embarked on a collaborative effort with Lubricant Producers Association of Nigeria (LUPAN) to curb the menace. Speaking at a meeting with LUPAN, Director General of SON Mr. Joseph Odumodu said that in line with the organization’s mandate, all hands should be on deck to rid the market of substandard lubricants. “Consequent upon government policies on zero Tolerance for sub-standard products, the imperative of the backward integration policy framework and in line with the SON mandate of standardization and Quality Assurance, SON has embarked on monitoring and sampling of base oil and to establish a database on blending plants and consumption of base oil in the country to stem the tide of diversion and adulteration of the product. Odumodu advocated the need to harness both institutional and sectoral frameworks of collaborations would form veritable fronts to tackle the menace of adulteration and other unwholesome practices in Nigeria. In his speech, the LUPAN Chairman, Mr. Anthony Enekeme pledged to support SON to rid the market of substandard oil “we are here to solicit support with the SON to bring standard to our oil business because a good number of people bring in substandard product into the country and once it is sealed in a gallon anything goes. This collaboration will improve the standard of Nigeria lubricant business and reduce the challenges vehicle engine face.” Mr. Enekeme pledged that the Association would support SON to develop and ensure quality in the lubricant sub-sector of the economy. He pointed out that Lubricants are lifeblood of engines and all oil dependent machinery, as the transfusion of the wrong blood destroys the body system, so using the wrong lubricants can damage oil wetted machinery. It is estimated that more than 60 percent of all mechanical failures are due to inadequate or improper lubrication practices. In Africa, Nigeria is third largest consumer of lubricating oils, amounting to about 600 million litres or 1 per cent of the world total demand.