Vanguard, MONDAY, MAY 2, 2016 — 21
Business & Economy
Micro-Business
Young Entrepreneur F
LAUNCHING: From Left: Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi with Mrs. Mary Akpobome, Heritage Bank’s Executive Director, Lagos, South West and Corporate Banking; at the launching of Oyo State Agricultural Initiative, OYSAI, supported by the bank, at Paago Village, Iseyin Local Government Area of the State on Tuesday. In the background is Shuaibu Bello, CEO, InterProducts Link Limited, an agro-allied investor invited to the occasion.
Ineffective laws fuel impunity by businesses, multinationals — CPC boss By FAVOUR NNABUGWU
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he Director-General of the Consumer Protection Council, Mrs. Dupe Atoki yesterday blamed the ineffective use of the Council’s enabling legislation on the flagrant display of impunity by businesses and multinationals in the country. Atoki while addressing members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) at the mentorship and business development programme in Abuja said the council was able to reduce the level of consumer abuse and in curbing the excesses of business owners and multinationals with the prosecutory powers of the Council’s Act. She noted that the adoption of sector by sector intervention by her leadership in addressing consumer abuses has had widespread positive effects in the sectors, stating that the Council’s investigation was ongoing in the banking, hospitality, electricity and aviation sectors noted that food and beverage as well as satellite television sectors had been successfully undertaken. She further hinted that “interventions in other problematic sectors will also be undertaken as we progress in order to alleviate the suffering of consumers”, stating that the strategy became inevitable in view of the widespread consumer abuses in the country. According to her, “In view of the myriads of consumer complaints in various sectors, it became apparent that the resolution of individual C M Y K
complaints alone will not make the desired impact”, pointing out that “sectoral intervention was identified as a major strategy for arresting systemic irregularities and modifying the behaviour of firms for faster and widespread resolution of consumer complaints.” Atoki went on to say that, “Interventions in the food and beverage and satellite television sectors have drastically reduced the quantum of complaints in those sectors and conferred some benefits on consumers.” The CPCboss asserted that some of the challenges facing the agency, prior to her
assumption of office, such as low level of consumer awareness; consumer apathy; impunity of businesses; brick walling by sector regulators; and protection of self interest by trade association, were already being addressed by the Council’s strategic plan. “The committed execution of the strategic initiatives carried out by the Council under the current administration has awakened, to a great extent, the consciousness of Nigerian consumers, who are now more assertive and are thereby beating businesses to a retreat from their erstwhile practice of shortchanging consumers.
Piracy: NIMASA seeks inter agency pooling of resources By GODWIN ORITSE
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OLLOWING an upsurge in pirate attacks on vessels of the coasts of Nigeria, Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has called for the deployment of inter Agency resources including the use of advanced technology to secure Nigeria’s maritime domain. Speaking during a visit of the agency’s management to the Headquarters of the Nigerian Air Force, Peterside said that collaborative efforts ny relevant agencies will stem the increase of rising cases of piracy in the Nigerian waters. The NIMASA boss requested the immediate review of
the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), NIMASA has with the Nigerian Air Force with a view to strengthening the Agency’s capacity to deal with maritime crimes as well as reduce the response time for Search and Rescue (SAR) operations. He commended the Nigerian Air Force and indeed the military for the successful prosecution of the war against insurgency in the North East saying that “now Nigeria can begin to discuss developmental issues for the good of all its citizens”. Peterside emphasised that maritime security needs a multi-sectoral and inter-Agency collaboration, calling on relevant stakeholders to pool national resources together to defeat piracy.
isayo Solomon Oguntayo (21), popularly known as Fisayo OG is the C.E.O of his own company DeMoriah which is a fashion company. He was born on the 13th of March 1995 in Lagos, Nigeria and is the second child of four kids. Growing up, Fisayo developed his own unique sense of fashion and always wanted to stand out wherever he may be fashion wise. Fisayo decided to start his own fashion line after noticing the amount of people complimenting his style as well as asking where he got his outfits from. With this initiative he started his own brand which was originally called Gidi Couture but then changed to DeMoriah Couture in the year 2014. When he told his parents about his plans to start his own business at the young age of 17 like any normal parent, they tried to discourage him. They advised him to focus on his education first as he was studying Pharmacology, a course which needed as much concentration as possible. But due to his drive and passion he went ahead and started with custom made shirts before expanding to other types of clothing and footwear. Fisayo has always been a selfless person and has always cared about those who are less fortunate, they inspired him to use his line of business and the popularity he had gained over two years to help those who are less privileged, which was how the DeMoriah Valentine came about. DeMoriah couture is a fast rising fashion house and observes its annual philanthropic project tagged “DeVal”. “DeVal” is also known as DeMoriah Valentine, it is an annual charitable event which brings students from various institutions to observe the St. Valentine’s Day in Lagos Nigeria. They visit two orphanages every February 14 to show the kids love and also donate gifts as well as educational materials. Since the inception of this initiative in 2014 tagged “DeVal 14”, subsequent DeVal programs such as DeVal 15 and DeVal16 have taken place with each year being bigger than the last. Being one to always
find new ways to help and educate young minds, Fisayo S o l o m o n Oguntayo is also an ambassador for a peace movement c a l l e d Galaxy4peace. Galaxy4peace is a youth led nongovernmental organization with the major objective to promote a peaceful culture. They go about achieving this by creating an awareness of the need for a peaceful society, talking people through capacity building & sensitisation programs, particularly with youths who are more likely to get into trouble in our communities. The peace movement Galaxy4peace was founded by Miss Precious Ajunwa. They host different events during the course of the year, such as the Sweat4peace which is a peace walk, Teach Peace Early and Peace at Workplaces. Sweat4peace is an annual peace walk which brings over 400 young people and Nigerian celebrities as well as politicians to observe the international day of peace in Lagos, Nigeria. Since its inception in 2014, this project has brought together about 900 young people to observe Peace Day. These people are well educated on the importance of peacemaking as well as ways to shun violence and embrace peace. Teach Peace Early is a peace education campaign in schools. So far, they have been able to reach out to over 2000 students through this peace education program. The activities get participants engaged with exciting lectures that centre on tolerance, love, unity, empathy,
Find what you’re passionate about and just go for it
peace a n d respect. Peace at Work places is another event that takes place multiple t i m e s during the year which is aimed at equipping c o workers with necessary conflict management skills to avoid and be able to manage conflicts when it arises at work places. Fisayo who just recently graduated from Medical College of Lagos, has been featured on various blogs due to the work he does for Galaxy4peace as well as his own annual event. Everyone who comes in contact with him is always impacted with his good vibes as well as his drive for his work. According to his friend Gloria, “I am privileged to have met such an inspiring young man. He is someone that not only has the ability to dream but also to bring those dreams to reality and the beautiful thing about this young man is that he not only believes in his own dreams but also believes in, encourages and supports my own dreams too, I’m baffled.” When I asked Fisayo what message he wanted to relate to the readers, he simply said “I want the readers, especially young ones, to know that it is never too early to start making your mark in the world. Find what you’re passionate about and just go for it.