THE NATION THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2013
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COMMENTS
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ECOURSE to memory will show it is not often you see Nigerian editors running a newspaper/magazine as a successful commercial enterprise. Newswatch and its editors therefore deserve some credit for running their newsmagazine as an ongoing successful business concern for an unbroken 28 years until they were finally outwitted by Jimoh Ibrahim, a veteran of Nigeria brand of crude capitalism. This feat is unmatched in the history of newspaper and magazine publication in Nigeria, The trend has always been either the collapse of editor-managed publications because of incompetence as business managers or as often the case, being outwitted by their more business savvy and ruthless partners. And when the end finally came on May 5, 2011 for Newswatch, started in 1984 by the late Dele Giwa and the trio of Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese, and Yakubu Mohammed, it was as a victim of two factors: incompetence as business managers and the editors over-reliance on idealism as against pragmatism of their adversary whose sole objective as a ruthless capitalist is reducing the weak to servitude that the strong can continue to flourish. Jimoh Ibrahim in fact claimed during the signing of memorandum of understanding that based on the reports submitted by members of his acquisition team, “the principal problem of the magazine was that of finance and therefore his new team would concentrate on the managerial aspect of the company”. Under the new arrangement, the backlog of seven months staff salary owed by the old out-going management will be
The ex-editors were given a bloody nose by a veteran operator in Nigeria economic jungle where there are no rules, where those who contributed to the collapse of government owned thriving business concerns such as airlines, hotels, banks’ turned-around, under government’s fraudulent privatization and commercialization programme.
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BOUT five years ago, many Nigerians saw lottery as an immoral adventure. They considered it a social taboo which should not be encouraged in any decent society. Like gamblers, those who played lottery were labelled as greedy and selfish people, looking for cheap ways of to make money. So when such people play lottery, they did so in street corners and other covert locations far from the preying eyes of naïve moralist who condemned them even though they knew little or nothing about lottery. Today, the story is different. Nigerians are better informed and can now differentiate between lottery and gambling. Many of those who castigated lottery players and operators have come to realise that asides empowering people, lottery is a goldmine that can be used to foster national development if properly managed. Without mincing words, the lottery business in Nigeria has experienced an unprecedented growth in the last four years. Like a phoenix rising from ashes, the industry once dead has grown to become one of the wealthiest and best managed sectors in the country today. Those familiar with on-goings in the lottery world can attest that Nigeria’s lottery industry has grown in leaps and bounds and can favourably compete with those in America, United Kingdom, France and other countries where lottery is popular. Not just that, they can also attest that the growth presently experienced in the industry was birthed and sustained by Peter Igho, the Director General of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC). Before Igho’s appointment in 2009, the NLRC was in complete disarray. Like many other government agencies, it existed without much impact. The commission’s headquarters was a three room apartment
Newswatch vs. Jimoh Ibrahim paid by the new management while all debts being owed by the old management will also be paid by the new owner. But Ibrahim failed to pay salaries as promised. He also did not show interest in expansion such as building of a new headquarters as recently claimed by Mohammed during the last court proceeding. But Ibrahim dared the ex-editors and rested the news magazine insisting it was “due for corporate surgery”. But the truth is as told by Jimoh Ibrahim who now has all the aces it is no more in dispute that he offered N1billion for the control of 52% of Newswatch. It is a fact the ex-Newswatch editors/directors resigned after collecting mouth watering severance packages. Ray Ekpu has at least admitted collecting N79m with an outstanding of N30m Jimoh Ibrahim still held on to. The law also seems to side with Jimoh Ibrahim. As Justice Okon Abang who dismissed the case of the Newswatch minority share holders has argued, “since the defendants who had resigned as directors are still claiming to have the right to declare a trade dispute, this is likely to affect the right of majority shareholders, and that gives the majority shareholders locus standi to bring the suit”. But besides Ibrahim’s moral and judicial victories, I think it is fruitless fighting against a man that is always ready to fight with might and means and sometimes in public when anything impinges on his rights. The other day when Sanusi, the CBN governor lumped his name together with those he claimed contributed to the collapse of many banks as a result of their non-performing’ loans, it would be recalled, Jimoh Ibrahim spent several millions of naira, close
to the amount credited against his name on advertorial pages to tell the public that he was not indebted to Oceanic Bank or any bank for that matter. When the senate made uncomplimentary remarks about airline operators after the crash of DANA Airline that killed 153, Ibrahim alone hit back at senators he claimed “know next to nothing about aviation but chose to pontificate”. “Just because we elected them”, he thundered, “does not mean they can just talk any how…Let them come to the industry and see if they can successfully manage one aircraft”. I also expect my friend Ray Ekpu and his ex-editors to be wary of an adversary who admitted when he started secondary school, he was always the second last in his class. “There used to be 24 pupils in a class. I always got the 23rd position”, he recently told a reporter. Ibrahim today describes himself as a “corporate surgeon specializing in buying sick corporations”. But the available records indicate Ibrahim instead of surgery has often performed autopsy. Ray Ekpu also seems to have ignored Ibrahim’s subtle threat who upon being criticized for closing down the Newswatch said: “When God got angry with the Israelites, he unleashed fire on them. I should be praised not criticized. .... I’m not unleashing fire but simply suspending the magazine.” Surely there must be a more subtle way for Ray Ekpu to collect his outstanding N30m without inviting the wrath of Ibrahim. I cannot imagine how Ray Ekpu and his colleagues who were dazed by Jimoh Ibrahim’s N1billion will now see themselves as a match to a man who said “I am bigger
Changing the face of lottery in Nigeria By Vincent Nzemeke in Abuja with less than a dozen people on staff. Many Nigerians lost faith in the lottery system because the agency constitutionally empowered to regulate the business was docile. Some operators as they are wont to do, took advantage of this docility to fleece Nigerians of their hard earned money. In those days, anyone could wake up in the morning and decide to start a lottery promo. They announce incredible prizes, lure innocent and unassuming members of the public to play only to hoodwink them at the end of the day. And so when Igho came on board, his first task was to clean up the Aegean stable created by years of docility. He was faced with a daunting task of confronting shylock lottery operators who were used to making money without remitting a percentage of it to the government as stipulated by relevant laws. He also had to bear the burden of restoring integrity in order to make people believe that lottery can be used to promote worthy causes. This huge task required crisscrossing the length and breadth of the country to ensure that lottery operators in Nigeria were duly licensed by the NLRC as required by law. It was also the responsibility of the commission to ensure that lottery promotions in the country are transparent and that winners got their prizes. Looking back now, one can only commend Igho for the transformation he has
brought into the lottery business. From a small office in Abuja, the NLRC now has offices in various parts of Nigeria with over a thousand staff on its payroll. There is virtually no part of the country where a lottery promo is held today without representatives of the NLRC being on ground to witness it to ensure transparency. What Igho has done with the NLRC is testimony of his knack as a seasoned administrator and patriotic Nigerian willing to sacrifice personal comfort for national development. Under his watch, the lottery commission has saved over three billion naira into the Trust Fund which will be used by the government to promote good causes as stipulated by the Lottery Act of 2005. Igho deserves commendations for many reasons. The mind shift of many Nigerians towards lottery today is traceable to the enlightenment campaign he embarked on as soon as he was appointed as the head of lottery commission. It is to his credit that a once ignorant population now knows that lottery can indeed be a viable tool for poverty alleviation in Nigeria as it is done in other countries. But for his enlightenment campaigns through various mediums, many Nigerians would never know that the Great Walls of China, the renowned Academy in France where Napoleon Bonaparte was schooled and the other great edifices around the world were built with lottery funds. A good number of lottery players would also not have known that the Lot-
than Richard Branson”, or who told the governor of his state after an encounter at the airport that “visiting a private aircraft without invitation, when he is not an airport official, is a security risk and amounts to conduct unbecoming of a governor.” Above all, Ibrahim has little to lose in terms of reputation in spite scurrilous attack by his political, business and now media adversaries. For doing exactly what he knows how to do best – buy distressed companies that “are assets rich, which he then uses as collateral to borrow more money from banks”, he has been described as “the proverbial business pirate who destroys and kills any business he gets his hands on, while enriching h imself”. He has been libelled by enemies who alleged he diverted N35b aviation fund meant to support his now dead airlines to NICON Investment Limited claimed to be jointly owned 100% with his wife. Jimoh Ibrahim’s envious enemies are not done; they wickedly alleged he converted N10 billion paid by the Accountant-General of the Federation to NICON Insurance Plc for the payment of pensioners to buy himself a Bombardier Challenger 625 private jet. Ray Ekpu must note that with all the assaults from different directions, Ibrahim has continued to wax stronger. The Newswatch editors have nothing to be ashamed of. They have done well for themselves when one remembers that after being out-witted by British and Nigerian business men that owned the Daily Times, Ernest Ikoli, the editor that gave the paper a character, died in a hotel room with no severance package or a roof over his head. We cannot say the same of Newswatch multi-millionaire former editors. Uncle Sam Amuka Pemu aka ‘Sad Sam’ did not get much when he was outmanoeuvred out of The Punch by late business mogul- Aboderin after giving the paper a character. Dr Stanley Macebuh, my boss at The Guardian, gave the newspaper its character but got no severance package after late Alex Ibru, the paper’s financial backbone pushed him out accusing him of divided interest for allegedly selling sugar. Lade Bonuola, his successor did not fare any better; I’m aware he has no mansion in any of Lagos GRAs or anywhere in the country for that matter. The ex-editors were given a bloody nose by a veteran operator in Nigeria economic jungle where there are no rules, where those who contributed to the collapse of government owned thriving business concerns such as airlines, hotels, banks’ turned-around, under government’s fraudulent privatization and commercialization programme. They took control with state money, and where, to quote Professor Bolaji Akinyemi my teacher, most Nigerian billionaires cannot account for the source of their wealth.
tery Act of 2005 mandates lottery companies to give out 50% of their takings to those who play, 20% to the government for good causes while the company keeps the remaining 30%. Like a messiah, Igho came with a positive message about lottery. He showed us all that beyond the shenanigans of greedy operators who abused the system, there was something good about lottery if it is well regulated. With him at the helms, it is a win-win situation for all. The government makes enough money to construct roads, build schools and hospitals, give out scholarships to students and promote other good causes. Winner smiles to bank and the lottery companies make enough to remain in business. The most glaring evidence of Igho’s transformation of lottery in Nigeria is highlighted by the decision by the Federal government to set up a lottery promo for the centenary celebrations next year. The centenary lottery will not only empower many Nigerians and generate funds for the government; it will strengthen our unity as a nation. Indeed, Peter Igho has changed the face of lottery in Nigeria.
‘Many Nigerians lost faith in the lottery system because the agency constitutionally empowered to regulate the business was docile. Some operators as they are wont to do, took advantage of this docility to fleece Nigerians of their hard earned money’