A PUBLICATION OF THE
LAGOS BUSINESS SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Driving a Silent
Revolution: Benola and CDC, Firm on the Wheels
‘Ajah Flyover Project to Commence in 2016’ – Governor Ambode
Ten Concepts that Shape Entrepreneurship in Today’s World FIRST ISSUE 2016
GAME CHANGERS DON’T FIT IN BOXES Where are our Game Changers?
CEO | G. CHANGER
DO YOU KNOW WHO YOUR GAME CHANGERS ARE? To request a copy of the DNA of a Game Changer Study – please visit www.eg1.co.uk or contact: Dr Ije Jidenma +23 4803 308 2355 and +23 4802 793 9619 Ije.jidenma@ircsearchpartners.com www.ircsearchpartners.com
Contents The Editor’s Desk
6
From the Corporate Affairs Desk
8
Research News
13
Cover Story – Driving a Silent Revolution: Benola and CDC, Firm on the Wheels
18
Alumni Day 2015
32
PAU Convocation – December 2015
36
MBA Career Fair
43
Speed Networking Event, March 2016
44
Economic Outlook – Alumni Session Two
48
Paelon Memorial Clinic - Cervical Cancer Awareness
50
Tips on Networking
54
10 Concepts that Shape Entrepreneurship in Today’s World
56
Alumni in the News
60
Class Notes
67
Alumni Benefits
73
Calendar of Events
77
43
32
18 Footprints is published by the Lagos Business School Alumni Association (LBSAA) Editor: Bunmi Afolabi Deputy Editor: Dianabasi Akpainyang Editorial Adviser: Amaka Odunze All correspondence goes to: Bunmi Afolabi, Director Alumni Relations, Lagos Business School. Km22, Lekki Epe Expressway, Ajah, Lagos. P.O.Box 73688, Victoria Island, Lagos. Email: oafolabi@lbs.edu.ng Direct Line: 0902 666 6640 Design & Print Production: http://mseven.co | 0909 000 0182
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MISSION STATEMENT LBS is a community of people committed to creating and transmitting management and business knowledge based on a Christian conception of the human person and of economic activity and relevant to Nigeria and Africa at large. We strive to be a world class business school which will have a significant impact on the practice of management. In order to achieve this mission, the school seeks to: • Provide high potential professionals with a general management education which stresses professional ethics and service to the community through the practice of management. • Have a positive impact on the professional and ethical standards of business management in Nigeria • Make intellectual contributions which; a. Support the practice of management b. Contribute to the advancement of the management disciplines, and c. Create high quality teaching materials.
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EDITOR’S DESK
ADVANTAGE & DISADVANTAGE The current economic realities necessitate sitting back to take stock, reassess and re-evaluate as decisions about the short, medium and long term are taken. As I do that on a professional and personal level, I inevitably do my usual two column table – pros and cons, why and why not of the various decisions I need to take. Taking that thought further, I think about Advantage and Disadvantage. What advantages do I have, that can take me further? What are my hindrances, or disadvantages which I need to manage or get rid of? In this edition, we focus on two members of the alumni, who have devoted their life and careers to the cause of those who have disadvantages that they are unable to get rid of. Dr. (Mrs.) Yinka Akindayomi and Retired Air Vice Marshall Femi Gbadebo have taken it upon themselves to help those who otherwise would be helpless. We chose to speak to both of them because they focus on two different but vitally important sides of the issue of disability. I hope that after reading their interviews, you come away with a better understanding of disability and a desire to help, in any way that you can, those who are disadvantaged. Every bit counts, whether you are helping to advocate and enlighten as AVM Gbadebo does, or providing support to those like Dr. Akindayomi who have taken it upon themselves to set up centers and schools to empower our fellow human beings to the fullest extent possible. Thinking about disadvantage, inevitably my thoughts turn to risk. Disadvantage is handled similar to risk, isn’t it? Some we can avoid. Others can be mitigated, while some others just have to be managed as they show up. That is Project Management 101. Disability is not something anyone consciously chooses. The choices left are to manage and mitigate. That is what our cover stories are about. Going back to the advantage side of the table, I consider the Lagos Business School Alumni Association, consisting of over 5,000 members as of the time of writing, a great advantage. I believe our members agree with me. You have said so in the way you have embraced our new networking platform, lbsalumniconnect.com. In the first month we got 527 members, representing over 10 percent of our network signed up. Ten percent is just base of the pyramid though; we need more of you signed on. If we do 10 percent each month, we would be well on our way to getting the entire alumni body signed by the end of 2016. I am counting on you all to sign up. Our network is one of the major reasons people sign up for our programmes. The Alumni Connect platform is our one-stop shop for all things alumni – news, events, the directory of members, jobs, updates, chats between members and photos. By the second half of the year, we expect to be able to provide classes with their own spaces on the portal which they can use to store and share information meant for their class members. To sign up, go to www.lbsalumniconnect.com. You can sign up using your LinkedIn profile (preferred option) or Facebook or just your email address. Do join us!
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EDITOR’S DESK
The advantage of the network is two-fold; you have the opportunity to receive and also to give. Life is balanced when at any point in time, we are either giving or receiving. If I am in a space where I feel I do not have a need, it is a signal to me that it is time to give. At some point things go 180 degrees and I need to receive. That is the beauty of life and living. As a business or career person, what does this mean? Your network benefits you personally and professionally. A network endures, if properly nurtured for many years, sometimes into the twilight of life. Stories abound of businesses and careers turned around or destroyed because of referrals or the lack of them, and the help of someone or the other who spoke either in favour or against a person. It does pay to consciously cultivate one’s network. I will pause my thoughts on this at this point so I do not steal the thunder from our guest columnist, Lola Ekugo who writes on the power of networking in this edition. We have two new guest columnists in this edition, Dr. Ngozi Onyia and Tale Alimi, talking about health and entrepreneurship respectively. I hope you enjoy reading from them. As always, we welcome your feedback. My email is at the bottom of this article. I have not had the privilege of publishing emails to the Editor yet, so I am eagerly awaiting your emails. Please feel free to write about all and anything LBS Alumni. We would like to know what we are doing well but also where we could do better. If there is anything you feel we absolutely should stop right away, it would be good to know as well. If you received this magazine but do not receive emails from us, please do send us your current details. We have over 1,200 members whose emails no longer function. We would like to be able to reach them as well. Digital versions of Footprints are now on Issuu. You can download the app on your iPad or phone and search for Footprints. You can then download Footprints to your phone or iPad by adding it to your reading list. With the digital copy, you now have something useful to read on a lazy Sunday evening, while waiting for that meeting or in between strategy sessions when you want to decompress. Finally, a heart-felt appreciation to our advertisers. We could not do it without you and we truly value your constant support. We do need more advertisers. Footprints is a great avenue to reach your current and future customers and reinforce your brand. We would like to partner with you. Thank you and Enjoy!
Bunmi Afolabi Director, Alumni Relations Oafolabi@lbs.edu.ng
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FROM THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS DESK
LBSGetsNew AdvisoryBoard
Lagos Business School has set up a new Advisory Board comprising a mix of renowned business leaders of indigenous and multinational companies operating in Nigeria. The new Board comprises: Mr Acha Leke, Director, Mckinsey and Company; Mrs Adepeju Adebajo, CEO, Cement of Lafarge Africa plc; Mr Andrew Alli, CEO, Africa Finance Corporation; Mr Chidi Okoro, GM, Suntory Beverage and Food Nigeria Ltd; Mr Dharnesh Harnesh Gordhon, MD/CEO, Nestlé Nigeria plc; Dr Enase Okonedo, Dean, LBS; Prof. Juan Elegido, Vice Chancellor, Pan-Atlantic University; Mr Lazarus A. Angbazo, President & CEO, GE Nigeria; Mr Nicolaas A. Vervelde, MD/CEO, Nigerian Breweries plc; Mrs Omobola Johnson, Partner, TLcom Capital and Mr Victor A. Banjo; Director General/CEO, Institute of Directors Nigeria. The LBS Advisory Board was established to create a mechanism for receiving information on the effectiveness of LBS, as well as advising on future direction to make the School one of the best providers of management education in emerging markets. Members of the Board serve a two-year renewable term. The constitution of the new Board ties in with LBS’ focus on making its programmes locally relevant and internationally competitive.
LBSAdvisorEmergesAABLA2015 ‘BusinesswomanoftheYear’
Member of Lagos Business School’s new Advisory Board and CEO, Cement of Lafarge plc, Mrs Adepeju Adebajo, emerged Businesswoman of the Year at the 2015 All Africa Business Leaders Awards (AABLA) held at Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos.
This year’s awards was attended by high-profile personalities such as Emir of Kano, Alhaji Mohammed Sanusi II; President and Founder of ANAP Foundation, Atedo Peterside and GTBank CEO, Segun Agbaje, among others. LBS, as research partner, was responsible for preparing the dossiers on nominees for the AABLA award categories which also included: Business Leader of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Industrialist of the Year, Philanthropist of the Year and Young Business Leader of the Year.
LBS Welcomes IMP2 The second edition of the International Management Programme, IMP 2, began at Lagos Business School in November, 2015, with chief executives and managing directors of companies operating in Africa, as well as senior executives in leadership positions.
MBA Director, Dr Uchenna Uzo, has been appointed to the LBS Management Board by the University Management Council of Pan-Atlantic University. Chaired by the Dean, the Management Board is responsible for the overall organisation, direction and management of LBS, which includes strategic and operational decisions (non-academic). The Board reports to the University Management Council through the Dean. Uzo, who was appointed MBA Director last year, joined LBS in February 2002. He teaches courses in marketing management, personal selling, sales management and channel management.
Participants were welcomed by Henry Onukwuba, the Executive Education Director and Kayode Omoregie, LBS Faculty and Academic Director for the International Management Programme. The IMP curriculum has been developed to cater to the needs of business leaders whose businesses have African footprint or want to expand their businesses into multiple African countries. It covers a wide variety of subjects designed to hone participants’ general management skills. The IMP is structured to run one-week modules in different locations including Lagos, Cape Town in South Africa and Singapore.
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FROM THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS DESK
YoungBusinessLeaders ofNigeriavisitLBS
The Young Business Leaders of Nigeria (YBLN), aimed at tackling the unemployment situation in Nigeria, visited Lagos Business School recently. The team led by the Founder, Temitayo Etomi, and accompanied by members of the YBLN team as well as the Entrepreneurs-intraining were welcomed by the Dean of the School, Dr Enase Okonedo. The participants were treated to a session in entrepreneurship by LBS Entrepreneurship Faculty, Dr Henrietta Onwuegbuzie. This visit was part of the 6-week experiential programme focused on developing the skills of young entrepreneurs to observe first-hand some of the principles they have learnt in the classroom.
ExpertsDiscussSustainability andValueCreationinAfrica
“How do we ensure Nigerian and African businesses develop in a sustainable way ensuring growth and a better quality of life for us today and at the same time protecting future generations’ ability to do the same?” This was the question posed at the start of the 2nd International Conference on Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility, which held at Lagos Business School recently. The experts, who spoke at the conference organised by the FirstBank Sustainability Centre of Lagos Business School, urged business leaders to embed sustainable business practices into corporate strategy. As providers of responsible management education, LBS will continue to provide platforms, for individuals and organisations, to interact and collaborate for a sustainable future.
LagosBusinessSchool SignsAgreementwithGraduway Lagos Business School recently signed an agreement with Graduway to launch its official alumni networking platform. Bunmi Afolabi, Director of Alumni Relations at Lagos Business School, commented: ‘’We are delighted to be partnering with Graduway and to be their first client in Nigeria to build our own exclusive alumni community.’’ LBSAA members constitute an important part of the Lagos Business School community, because it is through its alumni’s activities and involvement that LBS achieves its long term aim.
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FROM THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS DESK
LBSParticipatesinCGE GlobalBookLaunch
ProfessorFabianAjogwu deliversInauguralLecture
Lagos Business School recently joined the worldwide virtual launch of The Center for Global Enterprise’s new book, Growing Global: Lessons for the New Enterprise at an event held at Columbia Business School in New York City.
Professor Fabian Ajogwu delivered his inaugural lecture recently at the Honeywell Auditorium of Lagos Business School, PanAtlantic University.
LBS Academic Director, Dr Olayinka David-West - who was invited to be a part of the ‘Global Platform Survey’ in January 2014 by GBSN - contributed to the new book. David-West wrote about the area of focus concerning Africa and was quoted in the section titled ‘Forces of Change: Networks, Data & Platform’. Other participating universities included: Universidad de Granma, Cuba, Epoka University, Albania, Sanya Univerity, China, IESE Business School, Spain, Lafayette College, United States, Columbia Business School, United States.
The lecture which was titled: “Corporate Governance and Company Law: Decoupling Ownership from Management in the Pursuit of Profits” emphasised the need for all organisations to have proper corporate governance structures. “It was an argument in the early days that corporate governance is goodto-have but now it’s a must-have…. no company can be too big to fail if its managers do not observe the practice of good corporate governance” he said. Fabian Ajogwu is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and currently a professor of Corporate Governance at Lagos Business School, where he has been teaching Business Law, Negotiation and Corporate Governance for well over 16 years. He has written over 10 books, published numerous articles in peer-reviewed academic and professional journals, and developed case studies and technical notes used at a number of the School’s programmes.
DeanofLBSbecomesFellowofthe SocietyforCorporateGovernance
Recently, during an induction ceremony, the Dean of Lagos Business School was admitted as a Fellow of the Society for Corporate Governance.
This recognition was conferred based on her integrity, wealth of experience, track record of distinctive leadership, deep concern for excellence and her commitment to good corporate governance and best practices in Nigeria. 10 | FOOTPRINTS
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FROM THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS DESK
LBSHostsInaugural Africa-ChinaConference
Participants at the conference received warm welcome messages from Prof. Ian Shapiro, Professor of Political Science at Yale University; Dr Olayinka David-West, Academic Director at Lagos Business School; Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, former Nigerian Minister of External Affairs and UN Under-Secretary General and Prof. Li Anshan, Director of the Centre for African Studies at Peking University. In her welcome message, Dr David-West expressed her delight in LBS hosting the conference as the conference objectives align with the mission of the School. “The objective of this conference which is to mobilise novel ideas, arguments and solutions to promote balance, sustainability and growth in Africa-China, aligns with the mission of the school - to foster intellectual contributions that will have a significant impact on the knowledge and practice of management in Africa” she said. Dr David-West wished all participants fruitful deliberations at the conference. “It is my hope the different perspectives - African, Chinese and global - discussed today and tomorrow, will achieve the intended objectives and contribute to the actualisation of the MDGs for Africa”
Lagos Business School hosted the inaugural edition of the AfricaChina Conference, organised by Yale University in collaboration with leading business schools in China and on the African continent from 16 – 17 March, 2016. The conference titled “Africa-China Relations: Balance, Growth and a Sustainable future” aimed to integrate African, Chinese and global perspectives on Africa-China relations by bringing together thought leaders in academia, government, business and society.
LBSWelcomesAMP28
The 28th edition of the Advanced Management Programme, AMP 28, began at the School on Monday 14 March, 2016. The class is made up of professionals from different sectors of the economy including financial services, professional services, telecoms, oil and gas, healthcare, ICT, manufacturing and public sector, mostly coming from within Lagos. Participants were welcomed by the Director of Executive Education, Henry Onukwuba. They were also given a guided tour of the School’s facilities before settling in for the classroom sessions for the day. The Advanced Management Programme (AMP) is designed for executive directors and members of executive management teams of large organisations. The AMP which has been run 27 times so far is constantly refined to incorporate new knowledge to help executives take a holistic and integrated view of business.
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Two Faculty members, Henrietta Onwugbezie and Ogechi Adeola, presented papers at the conference titled ‘The Role of Diaspora Communities in the Utilisation and Transmission of Indigenious Knowledge’ and “Sustainability of Chinese Railway Projects in Africa: A Study in Progress’ respectively. The next such conference in the series will be in Beijing later this year.
FROM THE CORPORATE AFFAIRS DESK
LBSandSiemensSignMOU
With the fight against corruption in Nigeria being fought on several fronts, there is a growing need to invest time and effort into educating and preparing officers at the vanguard of the fight to meet this challenge head on. To continually have a positive impact on the professional and ethical standards of business management in Nigeria, Lagos Business School signed an MOU with Siemens in March 2016 to deliver intensive capacity development programmes - to be rolled out to law enforcement agencies - commencing with staff of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). This programme is designed to further improve the efficacy and effectiveness of key officers involved in training personnel in the fight against corruption. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of pedagogical principles and techniques, learn to build their facilitating skills and teaching capabilities, and become more effective in delivering learning outcomes. This training programme will ultimately equip the ICPC’s technical instructors with some of the many tools they require to build and establish capable personnel to fight and win this national war against corruption.
ViMPEmpowers52 GraduateswithCareerSkills
Fifty-two participants, comprising corps members and new graduates, have been equipped with skills that would prepare them for a career in management at this year’s edition of the Venture in Management Programme (ViMP). ViMP, a yearly event organised by Lagos Business School and Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN), is a one-week intensive session designed to introduce select corps members and graduates to the responsibilities, opportunities and demands of a career in management. As such, the programme includes stimulating classroom meetings and case studies, culminating in a strategy workshop during which participants present solutions to real-world business scenarios. The MBA Marketing Manager, Ifeanyi Ajaebili, commented on this year’s programme: “this years’ ViMP is the most competitive in the history of the programme. This shows that Lagos Business School and Junior Achievements Nigeria are making substantial impact in developing entrepreneurial skills and management competence among young graduates in Nigeria. People appreciate and expect quality management education from LBS which is what we are known for. Though the event is totally free, we have corps members who want to pay to participate. The 2016 participants acknowledge the quality of LBS faculty, facilities and professionalism in programme delivery. Most of them echo that the experience has been life-changing for them” he said. 12 | FOOTPRINTS
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Research News
Members of LBS faculty have in recent times delivered top quality academic material as a result of thorough and ingenious research work. Here are some of the publications in international journals and book chapters.
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RESEARCH NEWS
Association Of Business Schools Listed Journals And Other Peer Reviewed International Journal SUBJECT CATEGORY
TITLE
JOURNAL TITLE
FACULTY
1.
Corporate Social Responsibility in SMEs: A Shift from Philanthropy to Institutional Works?
Journal Of Business Ethics
Dr. Chris Ogbechie et. al.
2.
Corporate Governance Practices and Leadership in Nigeria
Management in Nigeria Journal
Dr. Chris Ogbechie & Dapo Adeleye
3.
Accelerating Corporate Transformation in Emerging Markets: The Case of First Bank
South Asia Journal of Business and Management Cases
Dr. Dapo Adeleye
4.
Interest Rate and Credit Sensitivity of Sectoral Output in Nigeria
International Journal of Business and Finance Research
Ikechukwu Kelikume
5.
Inflation Targeting as a Possible Monetary Framework for Nigeria
International Journal of Business and Finance Research
Ikechukwu Kelikume
6.
An Empirical Analysis of Monetary Policy Reaction Function: Evidence from Nigeria
International Journal of Business and Finance Research
Ikechukwu Kelikume
7.
An Appraisal of Succession Planning in Family-Owned Businesses in Lagos State, Nigeria
European Journal of Business and Management
Rose Ogbechie
8.
An Investigation into the Core Values That Drive Successful Family-Owned Businesses: A Case of Lagos State, Nigeria
European Journal of Business and Management
Rose Ogbechie
9.
The Ethics of Aso-Ebi Culture in Nigeria
Journal of Culture, Society and Development
Rose Ogbechie
Operations Management
10.
Critical factors that impact on the efficiency of the Lagos seaports
Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management
Dr. Frank Ojadi
Organizational Behaviour/HR
11.
Cultural Intelligence Sounding the Death Knell for Stereotypes in Business Communication
Global Advances in Business Communication Journal
Dr. Eugene Ohu
12.
What Kind of Leader will Thrive in Africa
IESE Insight
Dr. Franca Ovadje
13.
Developing Change Competence for the African Environment
The World Financial Review
Dr. Franca Ovadje
Corporate Governance
Economics & Finance
Ethics
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RESEARCH NEWS
Book Chapters SUBJECT CATEGORY
TITLE
EDITOR(S),BOOK TITLE AND PUBLISHER
FACULTY
Corporate Sustainability
1.
Corporate Impact on the Environment and the Judicial Development of the Norm of Corporate Sustainability: Implications for the Implementation of the UN Global Compact
L. Leonard & M.A. Gonzalez- Perez(Eds.), Beyond the UN Global Compact: Institutions and Regulations. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Ltd.
Prof. Olawale Ajai
Entrepreneurship
2.
Building the Next Generation of African Management Scholars and Entrepreneurs.
H.K Hamid (Ed.) Management Development in Africa: Building Capabilities to Serve African Organisations. USA: Taylor & Francis Group
Dr. Henrietta Onwuegbuzie
Ethics
3.
Business and Management Practices Influenced by Catholic Humanism: Three Case Studies
D. Melé, & M. Schlag (Eds.), Humanism in Economics and Business: Perspectives of the Catholic Social Tradition. Netherlands: Springer
Dr. Kemi Ogunyemi
Information Systems and Technology
4.
E-Commerce Management in Emerging Market
In Lee (Ed.), Encyclopedia of E-Commerce Development, Implementation, and Management. Hershey, USA: IGI Global
Dr. Yinka David-West
5.
Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and the Supply Chain
B. Cristiansen (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Global Supply Chain Management: Hershey, USA: IGI Global
Dr. Yinka David-West
6.
Knowledge Transfer Through Expatriation – How Do Subsidiary Employees Count?
I. Adeleye, K. Ibeh, A. Kinoti & L. White (Eds.), The Changing Dynamics of International Business in Africa. UK:Palgrave Macmillan
Dr. Yetunde Anibaba
International Business/HR
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RESEARCH NEWS
Book Chapters (CONT’D) SUBJECT CATEGORY International Business/Strategy
Marketing
EDITOR(S),BOOK TITLE AND PUBLISHER
TITLE
FACULTY
7.
First Bank of Nigeria: Developing an Internationalization Strategy
I. Adeleye, K. Ibeh, A. Kinoti & L. White (Eds.), The Changing Dynamics of International Business in Africa. UK: Palgrave Macmillan
Dr. Dapo Adeleye & Dr. Chris Ogbechie
8.
Emerging Trends and Key issues
I. Adeleye, K. Ibeh, A. Kinoti & L. White (Eds.), The Changing Dynamics of International Business in Africa. UK: Palgrave Macmillan
Dr. Dapo Adeleye
9.
Failure of Africa to Africa Internationalization: Key Factors and Lessons
I. Adeleye, K. Ibeh, A. Kinoti & L. White (Eds.), The Changing Dynamics of International Business in Africa. UK: Palgrave Macmillan
Prof. Olawale Ajai
10.
Research in Motion/Blackberry: Managing Channel Conflicts in Nigeria
I. Adeleye, K. Ibeh, A. Kinoti & L. White (Eds.), The Changing Dynamics of International Business in Africa. UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Dr. Uchenna Uzo
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COVER STORY
DrivingaSilent Revolution: BenolaandCDC,Firm ontheWheels Bunmi Afolabi and Dianabasi Akpainyang
“To provide high potential professionals with a general management education which stresses professional ethics and service to the community through the practice of management” The above statement of intent by Lagos Business School in striving to achieve its mission underscores the emphasis on ‘service to community’ in the School’s academic agenda. Encouraging students and participants to reach out to underprivileged members of their communities is a philosophy earnestly propagated at Lagos Business School. That is why LBS alumni, being key ambassadors of the School have been at the forefront of many revolutionary activities and programmes aimed at making positive impact in the Nigerian
society. From running successful enterprises and creating jobs for thousands, to acting ethically by paying accurate taxes to government, these executives have done much to ensure a better society. Not stopping there, alumni through individual and group (class) charity projects have positively affected lives across the length and breadth of Nigeria. The core of this edition of Footprints is to highlight the positive strides of two of LBS’ distinguished alumni, Air Vice Marshall Femi Gbadebo (Rtd) and Dr Olayinka Akindayomi who through their initiatives, Benola – A Cerebral Palsy Initiative and the Children’s Developmental Centre, respectively, have turned service to some of the most vulnerable members of humanity into a sustainable vocation. 18 | FOOTPRINTS
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COVER STORY
Advocatingfor CerebralPalsy– TheBenolaWay Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Femi Gbadebo (Rtd), an alumnus of the Lagos Business School’s Owner Manager Programme (OMP) 15 has a career background in training and development; having spent most of his time in the Military training pilots for the Nigerian Air Force. As one of Nigeria’s most experienced instructor pilots, he played a major role in the training of virtually every pilot that the Nigerian Air Force produced between 1982 and 1991. He went on to serve as Directing Staff at the Command and Staff College, Jaji and later at the National Defence College, Abuja. After retiring from the Air Force, he felt a natural inclination to go back to teaching but at a post graduate level and he saw Lagos Business School as the ideal place to fulfil that desire. However, in order to be able to teach business people, he needed to understand how business people think, having never really been a business person during his career. He therefore decided to undertake a programme at LBS, which he anticipated would give him the required knowledge to add to his wealth of experience and subsequently pass on that knowledge. The Owner Manager Programme was the most relevant to him and thus, he enrolled. A lukewarm approach to his various attempts to join a number of training and management consultancy outfits on completion of the programme and 19 | FOOTPRINTS
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COVER STORY
the lessons learned from the experience opened his eyes to the need to become more marketable. Hence, he took the decision to go into advocacy for disability issues. He no doubt had excellent credentials there, being a parent of a child living with cerebral palsy; a neurodevelopmental disability which results in lack of coordination, poor motor movement and in most cases severe deformation.
WhyCerebralPalsy? AVM Gbadebo and his wife, Alaba, have dedicated the last 19 years of their lives to the care of their son, Olaoluwa, who was born with cerebral palsy. While AVM Gbadebo worked away from home serving in various military units around the country for the first 12 years of Olaoluwa’s life, Alaba virtually cared for him alone. For that reason, Gbadebo always felt more needed to be done to help people with Cerebral Palsy. Unfortunately, most of the special schools around attempt to provide care for all physically challenged persons together in one institution and this makes it difficult to give those with cerebral palsy the much needed specific attention. Added to that is the fact that special schools in Lagos are mostly located in Surulere, with limited school bus facilities.
L-R Dianabasi Akpainyang, AVM Gbadebo and Bunmi Afolabi.
This makes it difficult for parents who have children with special needs and live far away, to access their services. Additionally, Gbadebo recognised that while there is a dearth of schools, the real challenge was not just that of availability. The severe deficiency in general knowledge of Nigerians about disability, particularly neuro-developmental delays like cerebral palsy was a source of major concern. Counselling services for parents of such children were also lacking, leaving them at the whims and caprices of fiendish citizens who make a fortune ripping them off with bogus claims of a cure. In other words, there was a vacuum to be filled by anyone willing to take up the enormous task of advocating for the rights of the disabled, particularly where it involved taking the
message to those who make government policy or are in a position to influence policies. There was also a need to take the message to the private sector in order to sensitise them on the need to intervene and help create the needed services, support existing special schools/homes as well as help fund new schools. This is the vacuum that Gbadebo then sought to fill, as much as he could.
TheBirthofBenola Benola is “a non-profit organisation committed to change and progress for persons living with cerebral palsy, striving for their inclusion into every facet of society in order to ensure they live a life
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COVER STORY
“All disabled persons are impaired; All handicapped persons are disabled”. An individual can be impaired and not necessarily disabled while an individual can be disabled without necessarily being handicapped”. without limits.” The general perception of Nigerians and indeed most Africans is that disability is all about being vision impaired, deaf/dumb or having a physical disability as in missing/disfigured limbs etc. This wrong perception which even permeates government establishments has resulted in a situation where most disabilities are left out of consideration.
As a result, while the World Health Organisation estimates that there are as many as 25million people living with disabilities in Nigeria alone, government agencies still insist on working with a figure of less than 2million disabled persons. This is because they only see those with visible challenges and of course, destitute as being disabled.
However, when one considers that disability is defined as; "a restriction in the ability of a person to perform a normal activity of daily living which someone of the same age is able to perform"; and that an impairment or a handicap fall into the same category, with each representing varying levels of ability differing from the normal, the situation becomes clearer. Benola is not a school, neither is it a home. Rather it is a non-profit organisation working to increase the level of awareness about cerebral palsy and better options for disability management as well as helping to build capacity for existing schools, encouraging the development of new schools and empowering parents to better manage their children living with cerebral palsy through the use of information, capacity building and counselling services. Training and counselling are particularly important in Nigeria where people typically see either a spiritual reason or solution to problems, even where medical solutions exist. The resort to spiritualising disability has pushed many parents to live in denial about the true state of their children, thereby denying them the much needed care at an early stage. Sadly, this remains the case even though research has shown that early intervention plays a key role in the management of all developmental disabilities and a child with cerebral palsy or any neuro-developmental delay, if helped early, preferably before age two, can develop the necessary skills and
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COVER STORY flexibility needed to enable them live a much better quality of life. Another cause for concern is the fact that most medical personnel, particularly those who are yet to undergo advanced training in neuro-developmental disabilities, have little or no knowledge about cerebral palsy and as such a good number of them, tend to advise parents to do away with their disabled children, often citing cost of care (both financial and otherwise), and lack of viable management options as their main reasons. Finally, as a respectable member of the international community and a leading voice on the African continent, Nigeria cannot continue to ignore her estimated 25 million citizens living with disabilities. For their sake and in order to ensure that Nigeria soon joins the league of nations where the disabled are given the opportunity to exploit and fully develop their potentials, Benola is working to ensure that every Nigerian and in due course, every African, has a better understanding of disability.
WhatBenolaDoes At inception in February 2013, Benola’s first priority was to build in-house capacity and in the process gain the confidence of the medical and special education communities as well as that of parents and care-givers. This they did by organising a number of workshops and conferences on the subject of cerebral palsy, management
options and the peculiarities of living with the condition in Nigeria. In addition, they also attended international cerebral palsy conferences in India, England and America. The result of all that effort was the presentation of a document, ‘Benola’s Roadmap for Cerebral Palsy in Nigeria’, in February 2014. The document, which is directed at mobilising and ensuring the integration of the efforts of all stakeholders towards giving increased responsiveness to, and provision for all those living with cerebral palsy was well received by the former
Governor of Lagos State, His Excellency, Babatunde Fashola, Mr Fashola at a reception in his office, on 9th July, 2014, tasked Benola among other things to ‘build a centre for cerebral palsy in Lagos and come up with a cost effective training programme on cerebral palsy and early intervention for relevant staff of Lagos State’. A similar call was repeated by the former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Shola Amosu, after the presentation at Headquarters of the Nigerian Airforce, Abuja on 18 July, 2014. Since then, Benola
“80% of the world’s disabled people live in the developed world. 20% of the World’s poorest are disabled. 90% of disabled children in developing countries do not attend school”. 22 | FOOTPRINTS
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has worked tirelessly to complete the design of an ultra-modern Cerebral Palsy Centre to be sited in both Abuja and Lagos and, with the help of its dedicated volunteer consultants, is currently developing appropriate curricula for the training of healthcare personnel so as to ensure that, in no distant future, every healthcare professional in Nigeria graduates with a basic knowledge of developmental disabilities and early intervention. Studies are also ongoing to determine the most appropriate way of compiling a credible database for cerebral palsy and other disabilities in Nigeria. Benola does a lot of high level advocacy via the media while directly engaging key influencers and policy makers in order to ensure that; • The mind-set of parents and medical personnel towards disability is changed from treatment to that of management. • Both government and the private sector are mobilised to get involved in providing an enabling environment and financial support for affected families. • Medication which is quite expensive and often beyond the reach of those in the lower income bracket is provided free or at the least, subsidised. • More cost effective schools/homes for the disabled are built to help cater to the needs of those in the lower income bracket.
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In the area of direct engagement with the public, Benola currently has four major programmes; a) Benola Day on 14 June 2014, comprising of: • Business lunch with health editors, held a week before, with the aim of soliciting their support in the awareness campaign about cerebral palsy and the Benola Vision. • Advocacy visits to cerebral palsy homes/schools. b) National Cerebral Palsy Family Forum in August where experts deliver papers and provide free counselling services to CP parents. c) World CP Day- Held every first Wednesday in October; it is a period when in collaboration with an Australian based advocacy group, Benola joins CP organisations in over 80 countries to raise awareness about cerebral palsy through a vast range of activities from charity/awareness walks to advocacy campaigns in schools. d) Benola’s Christmas Outreach - held in December, to give CP children in schools/homes and their families a touch of the Christmas spirit. In addition, in October 2015, Benola started a school’s outreach programme that has so far seen them conducting cerebral palsy awareness campaigns in places as diverse as Corona School, Ikoyi; Edidot College, Ajah; Dowen College, Lekki and Grange School, Ikeja. In an attempt to start providing services to affected families, the maiden edition of Benola’s Cerebral Palsy Family Network was held on 13 February 2016 with plans to make it a quarterly event.
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Benola is not a school, neither is it a home. Rather it is a non-profit organisation working to increase the level of awareness about cerebral palsy and better options for disability management.
Finally, to realise its vision of providing the much needed management services to families of children with cerebral palsy, Benola is in the process of opening, by July 2016, a Cerebral Palsy Centre which will be the first such facility on the Lekki - Epe axis of Lagos State. It is the desire of Benola that all the above actions will help raise awareness about cerebral palsy and ultimately result in Nigeria becoming a fully inclusive society where people with disabilities are openly accepted and can move around freely. The team at Benola is also learning as they go along and they aim to never stop learning or disseminating knowledge.
AchievementsofBenola • Currently in the early stages of its 4th year of operations, it is noteworthy that Benola has already recorded a number of notable achievements, namely; • The publication of a Roadmap for Cerebral Palsy in Nigeria • The development of Referral and Coordinated Care Pathway for Cerebral Palsy in Nigeria • A website currently rated as one of the most authoritative on the subject and the first point of reference when one searches for information on cerebral palsy in Africa.
• A quarterly publication, ‘The Cerebral Palsy Eye’ that is in its 7th edition with a circulation of 2000. • An impressive team of consultants and experts who as volunteers, are now helping to drive the Benola Vision
ImpactofLBSTrainingonBenola AVM Gbadebo feels that the greatest impact his time at LBS had on him is the improvement of his knowledge of financial management, the importance of branding in the overall success of an organisation, a better understanding of HR and the impact it has on the success or otherwise of an organisation and the incredible networking opportunities in the LBS alumni network.
SuccessionPlan With a plan to establish a wide network of volunteers all over Nigeria in the next 24 months and extend its presence to other parts of Africa thereafter, Benola is on track for a massive manpower growth and with that will follow a clearer succession plan. But for now, it is one step at a time for an organisation whose time has definitely come!
• The completion of the design, drawings and BOQ of a state-ofthe-art Centre for Cerebral Palsy and Assistive Technology • Completion of curriculum for training of Healthcare practitioners in the area of neuro-developmental disabilities and early intervention
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TheChildren’s Developmental Centre: Something wherethere wasNothing Dr Olayinka Akindayomi had an illustrious career in community paediatrics, consultation and child development, hospital administration and management. A certified medical practitioner with extensive training in managing children with autism and other developmental disabilities, Mrs Akindayomi has been responsible for the development, supervision, fund raising and day-today management of the Children’s Developmental Centre for about 20 years. She attended the Chief Executives Programme (CEP) 19 at Lagos Business School in 2010 and credits that programme with some of the ideas that have enabled her succeed in what she does. Apart from running the CDC, Dr Akindayomi engages in training health and educational professionals in managing disabilities and also assists in drafting training curriculum to aid disability
management. She has collaborated with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health on various projects on disability management. She also serves as an associate lecturer at the Institute of Child Health and Primary Care, College of Medicine, University of Lagos and the Lagos State University teaching Hospital. Dr Akindayomi is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Rare Gem Award, recognised by UNICEF and UNDP, among other United Nations-backed organisations and the Service to Humanity Award by the Lagos State Government. It was a tale of sights and sounds when the Footprints Crew paid a scheduled fact-finding visit to the Children’s Developmental Centre (CDC) at 31 Modupe Johnson Crescent, Surulere,
Lagos. We were amazed at what we saw. A well-groomed facility which provides a great sense of belonging to children and young people with developmental disabilities whose immediate society still view them with relative indifference. The CDC was established over 20 years ago by Dr Yinka Akindayomi through inspiration from the demands of nurturing a son on the autistic spectrum. She turned what would have ordinarily been seen as a harrowing and traumatic experience into an initiative which currently brings solace to hundreds of lives and families. The supportive and positive care provided to her child and family when they were based in the United Kingdom, stimulated the desire in her to replicate a similar facility and system in Nigeria.
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community and to advocate for more community action in this direction.
Achievements She foresaw the obstacles and challenges but believed that with commitment and nose to the ground, the best would be possible and she went for it. The CDC was originally designed to provide assessment services, diagnosis and therapy (rehabilitation) to children with various forms of disability. However, feedback from parents whose children were either rejected in conventional schools or were not learning adequately through conventional methods, gave Dr. Akindayomi the impetus to introduce an educational component into the services of CDC. So the Centre currently exists to provide a wide range of educational and support services to children and young people with developmental disabilities in the 27 | FOOTPRINTS
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“I think I am still scratching the surface…” says Dr. Akindayomi when asked about the impact the CDC has made since its establishment. She did her best to be modest with praise for the Centre because of the huge needs gap which she believes still begs to be filled in terms of providing the right care to children with developmental disabilities in Nigeria. However, an on-the-spot assessment of the activities at the Centre would convince anyone that they are touching and changing lives in numerous ways, howbeit insufficiently. During our tour of the facility, we were so impressed at how organised the occupiers were. Both the therapists and the taught were friendly and highly engaged in their activities for the day. There was a general atmosphere of friendliness and love at the Centre that
touched the heart in no mean measure. Several children and young adults with developmental disabilities like cerebral palsy, autism, Down syndrome, etc were grouped according to their needs and their amazing ‘teachers” could be seen offering help and learning experiences with remarkable enthusiasm.
TurningPotentialtoSkill It goes without saying that the talents of some people with special needs have largely been overlooked. The CDC team has succeeded in inspiring these great minds to achieve great things. We visited the Tea Breakers Shop located in the premises of the Centre and what we saw was mind-blowing. The Tea Breakers is a catering outfit started primarily because of the perceived interest of the adolescents and young adults in the Centre in baking. A good number of them have been trained in various aspects of bakery and they currently make many delicious pastries like meat pies, cakes (all types and for all
COVER STORY living with disabilities and to ensure that the government is involved more in levels of intensity higher than what is currently obtainable. Interestingly, Mrs Akindayomi authored an article in the last edition of the LBS Alumni magazine – Footprints, titled: ‘Diversity and Inclusion in Business: The Case for Disability Confidence.’ In the article, she argued that being disability confident (a term used to connote the act of thinking about the needs of people with disability when designing products and services in an organisation or when creating employment opportunities) helps companies reach a wider market, develop better designed products, improve customer retention as well as enhance reputation with customers, among many other benefits. Through the article and many other such initiatives, Dr. Akindayomi uses her experience working with people with disabilities to canvass for support and inclusion for them at various levels of society. occasions), cookies, doughnuts, sausage rolls and also serve tea. Their output is so good that they offer their services at indoor and outdoor occasions such as seminars, meetings, workshops, trainings, birthdays, weddings, and several other common celebration types. This is in addition to those of them whose passion for music has been enhanced into mastery of musical instruments and those who engage in the craft of making scented candles and beads. Breathtaking!
‘AnOasisintheDesert’
all too familiar in African cultures. So, Dr. Akindayomi and the CDC team deserve a strong salute for taking the bold step to offer their shoulders for these great members of our community to lean on. As a result of their bold move, up to five other Centres have sprung up in Lagos and quite a number in Abuja.
AdvocacyandOutreach Another area where the CDC has made waves has been advocacy. The Centre goes all out to advocate for inclusion for people
Another of such initiatives worth mentioning is the outreach programmes by the Centre to various states in Nigeria. At the last count, the Centre had visited 21 out of the 36 states of the Federation hosting road shows to raise awareness about issues of disability. They also reach out to families of people with disabilities, provide training, counseling services and general information on how to manage and overcome some challenging situations. They have gone as far as developing a start-up kit for mothers of children with special needs and have trained them on certain skills they need to manage
Dr. Akindayomi believes that at the time she established the Centre, the idea was somewhat novel in Lagos. According to her:
‘We started something where there was nothing. In the 80s and 90s there wasn’t anything like this So in terms of this Centre, we are the first centre like this that deals with purely children with disabilities that is not in a hospital setting.’ Being a pioneer in such a noble cause requires courage, especially with the issues of stigmatization of the disabled that are 28 | FOOTPRINTS
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COVER STORY their children’s peculiar situations. The Centre, in partnership with the Ogun State Government has held these sessions successfully in Abeokuta, South West Nigeria and are working towards replicating it in other states across Nigeria. Over 1000 mothers have been served through this project. CDC is planning to take this to another level by collaborating with a micro finance institution to provide soft loans to mothers of children with special needs who belong to the low income cadre. This, they believe will help such mothers appreciate their children more for bringing them good fortune, which would in turn reduce the cases of child adandonment. The CDC is part of a wider global group which works with national governments to influence policies in relation to people with special needs. After the International Conference on Disability in 2015, the Communiqué that was reached was forwarded to the Federal Government of Nigeria. According to Dr. Akindayomi,
the CDC team is on a mission to raise awareness about developmental disabilities especially, which is different from the better known physical disabilities. Working with the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, the team has helped fine tune some policies on disability and is also doing some work in this area with the Lagos State Government. She believes that the government must play a more pivotal role in giving service to people with disability. Her vision is that this message is adequately passed at the grassroots. She said: ‘This is about really getting government involved. This is about getting service at the local government level. So that every local government, even if it is not a structure like this, but every local government, you can go there and at that place you are going to find people who understand about children with special needs and know what to do and give parents good information so that they can make informed decisions’
Furthermore, Dr. Akindayomi still believes that parents have a huge role to play in advocacy and part of her campaign has been to consistently push some of them to take the front seat to get government to act in the best interest of children with disabilities.
Challenges Running a not-for-profit organisation such as the Children’s Developmental Centre in a developing country comes with many setbacks. However, navigating this challenging terrain and emerging successful in one’s vocation is the distinguishing factor between the good and the great. Dr. Olayinka Akindayomi believes that there are many challenges she has had to grapple with in the course of running the CDC, but embedded within these challenges were huge opportunities for more triumphs. Challenges are seen as learning points.
‘This is about really getting government involved. This is about getting service at the local government level. So that every local government, even if it is not a structure like this, but every local government, you can go there and at that place you are going to find people who understand about children with special needs and know what to do and give parents good information so that they can make informed decisions’
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WrongAttitudes The over-arching mindset in these parts on issues of disability has for ages been to view such persons as ‘underprivileged’ and helpless. Such views have made some people quite discriminatory against people with disabilities and in some cases; such people are marginalised and maligned. Getting the wider society to fully accept these persons as an integral part of the community is a major challenge. CDC has trained many people with special needs who are able to serve as check-out assistants at supermarkets and shopping malls; but getting them employed has remained a challenge because most of the available shops would not give them employment. Most employers are known to entertain the fear that people with disabilities are unqualified and unproductive. But according to Dr Akindayomi, such fears are largely misplaced because people with disabilities often have appropriate skills, strong loyalty and low rates of absenteeism. Furthermore, there is the negative attitude amongst some parents of children with special needs and some government officials regarding CDC activities. The wrongly believe that CDC had been splashed with so much money that they are looking for avenues to spend some of it. Therefore, they approach CDC’s activities with a ‘come and chop’ mentality caring less about the bigger picture of value addition to society. Such attitudes have led to the premature termination of CDC’s outreach initiatives in some communities.
DonorFatigue Mrs Akindayomi observed the dwindling financial support from well-meaning individuals and corporate organisations to the Centre in recent times. This situation spurred the ‘Sponsor a Child’ initiative where people are encouraged to make periodic but consistent donations as low as N1,000.00 towards the wellbeing of a child with special needs.
ADropofWaterinthe Ocean The Founder of CDC appeared saddened by how much still needs to be done to provide service to people with special needs in Nigeria. She recalls that at the time the Centre started, Surulere, was a central location in the City of Lagos. That was an advantage in terms of proximity for parents dropping off their children. However, with development and expansion in recent years, new areas like the LekkiEpe axis have sprung up and thus Surulere can no longer be said to be central. People living in areas like Akowonjo, Egbeda, Ikotun etc. in Lagos metropolis would also find it difficult getting their children to the Centre every day. This calls for the establishment of similar Centres in other locations in Lagos to adequately cater for the needs of the disabled.
‘But in terms of really getting our services to the people, I don’t even like thinking about it. There are millions of families all over Nigeria and there’s very little to show for it.’
The greater part of Nigeria also is not covered by such best-practice centres even though the population of people with special needs within the country is huge. Dr. Akindayomi feels that the ground needed to be covered is much and therefore calls on the government and other well-meaning citizens to support the drive to take quality service to people with special needs in every part of the Country.
SuccessionPlanning Prodded by the editors of Footprints to bare her mind on the sustainability strategy for the Centre in terms of succession, Dr. Akindayomi decried the challenge posed by the prevailing culture in the Nigerian society which does not encourage proper succession planning. Her conclusion in this regard was based on the culture of materialism and mediocrity which are fast eroding the values of loyalty and competence in the country. So, as with many cases of small businesses in Nigeria, there is a dearth of reliable, trustworthy and competent people who can be trusted with the long term future of companies.
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‘But in terms of really getting our services to the people, I don’t even like thinking about it. There are millions of families all over Nigeria and there’s very little to show for it.’ However, with a functional Board of Trustees in place and a few competent and dedicated staff, she believes that the vision of CDC will far outlive her.
HowYoucanbeInvolved Dr Akindayomi paid tribute to LBS for arming her with the knowledge to set up her peculiar business model which is currently yielding desired results. She acknowledged the support she receives from some of her CEP 19 colleagues but called on the larger LBS alumni network to support the CDC to achieve its vision of ensuring that all children and adults with developmental disability have a vehicle to grow and develop in regardless of abilities. LBS alumni classes seeking to make positive impact in society through
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Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects should consider a trip to CDC to provide financial or other forms of support for the children with special needs. Individual alumni could do same by donating to the Centre privately or through their companies. The Centre also rides on the goodwill of numerous volunteers who use their spare time to serve the people with special needs at the Centre. Alumni of LBS could volunteer their time and talents to serve at the Centre. Thinking of how and where to get pastries for your next big event? The talents at CDC’s Tea Breakers are waiting to take your orders! Their special hands would ensure that you get value for the funds you spend while helping promote this noble cause. Alumni could also hire these gifted
and trained individuals in their companies to foster inclusion and disability confidence. Finally, alumni of LBS could use their good offices to prevail on government at all levels to respond proactively to the issues of the special needs community. Alternatively, one could join the next advocacy campaign of CDC to draw attention to the plight of people with special needs in our society. We all should be involved; recalling the words of Theodore Roosevelt:
‘In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.’
‘AjahFlyoverProjectto Commencein2016’ –GovernorAmbode Traffic congestion in Lagos, South West Nigeria, had long become a phenomenon. Painful, frustrating, sometimes devastating; the tales of Lagosians and their ‘hold up’ experiences are as diverse as the colours of a Chameleon. This challenge which seems to have so far defied the tact and wisdom of the very wise in our midst has always been a topical issue during political campaigns in the Centre of Excellence. As a gubernatorial aspirant in Lagos State, you must of necessity be prepared to answer questions bordering on your strategy to deal with the traffic malaise in the State. Man-hours have been wasted, dealsealing appointments missed, job
interviews cancelled and human lives hugely affected by merely sitting still in a vehicle that would not move as it should. According to a research by ROM Transportation Engineering quoted by Olorunpomi (2010), Lagos state loses about 1 billion dollars (about 200 billion naira going by the prevailing exchange rate) to traffic congestion yearly. The research further concluded that Lagosians collectively lose three billion hours to traffic congestions yearly and that if that time were reduced by as little as 20 percent, the State would save at least 1 billion dollars annually. This accentuates the seriousness of the issue and calls for a creative and sustainable response to rid the State of one of the sources of its bad names. However, reprieve from incomprehensible traffic congestion seems to be on the way for residents of the Lekki-Epe corridor and users of the expressway. This was one of the bold statements made by the incumbent governor of Lagos State,
His Excellency, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode at the annual alumni conference of the Lagos Business School Alumni Association, ‘Alumni Day 2015’ which held on Thursday 19 November. Mr Ambode, responding to a question from one of the conference participants, declared to a loud ovation the approval already given by his team for the commencement of a flyover project around the Ajah roundabout axis of the expressway to ease traffic flow. The declaration by the governor was music to the ears of most of the over 250 alumni and invited guests who were all positioned in the Honeywell Group Auditorium of Lagos Business School on that morning for what is usually a day of great learning and networking. Mr Ambode was the Special Guest of Honour at the Conference and gave a presentation on ‘Positioning Nigeria for Global Competitiveness’ where he highlighted the splendid destination his administration wants to take Lagos State to. 32 | FOOTPRINTS
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Wole Oshin - President, LBSAA
Ayodele Okundalaiye (Saco) - MC
Rasheed Olaoluwa - Panelist
Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede - Keynote Speaker
Peter Bamkole - Panelist
Taiwo Dauda - Rep. of Bank of Infrastructure CEO
Tokunbo Talabi -Panelist
Dr Doyin Salami - Chairman, Economic Session
Akinwunmi Ambode - Special Guest of Honour
Bukar Abba Kyari - Conference Chairman
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TopExecutivesSpeakon NigerianEconomyand Competitiveness The Conference, with the theme: ‘Building a Competitive Nation’ hosted by the Chief Executive Programme (CEP) 22 class was not lacking in its typical brilliance, as it paraded some of the brightest amongst us. From the economic session, a panel discussion moderated by the erudite Dr Doyin Salami of Lagos Business School, the three panelists, Mr Adetokunbo Talabi, CEO, Superflux International Limited, Mr Rasheed Olaoluwa, CEO, Bank of Industry and Mr Taiwo Dauda, representative of the CEO, Infrastructure Bank Plc, did justice to the review of the Nigerian economy, howbeit painting a not-so-encouraging picture for 2016. Furthermore, a thought-provoking speech by the Keynote Speaker, Mr Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, titled: Leadership and Nations’
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Competitiveness’ and the panel discussion session that followed, chaired by Mr Kyari Bukar, President of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, crowned a series of insightful conversations. Mr Imoukhuede had counseled Nigerians that patriotic fervor and a country’s competitiveness go hand-in-hand. He also stressed that the (competitive) environment of a country can be enabled or disabled by leadership. So, on the one hand, the news of infrastructural development in Lagos State gave the participants much joy. On the other, the gloomy picture of the Nigerian economy in 2016 as highlighted by the economic session panelists and the challenge from the guest speaker for Nigerians to take responsibility for the country’s competitiveness offered some despair and self-reflection. The Conference achieved the right balance for participants. The message to Nigerian leaders as identified throughout the conference was clear: ‘develop infrastructure, deal with the current economic challenges and the Country would be competitive.’ After all, according to our Keynote Speaker; ‘behind every competitive country is a good leader!’
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PAU Convocation – December 2015 128 LBS Students Graduate at PAU Convocation About 128 erstwhile students of Lagos Business School bagged varying postgraduate degrees at the Pan-Atlantic University’s 12th convocation ceremony, held at the School’s Honeywell Auditorium in December, 2015. Forty four of the graduands were drawn from the School’s MBA programme (MBA 12), 60 from its Executive MBA (EMBA 18), 22 from the Modular MBA (MEMBA 1), one bagged a master’s in Philosophy, while one was awarded a PhD at the ceremony which attracted high-profile academics and captains of industry across sectors.
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PAU CONVOCATION – DECEMBER 2015
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PAU CONVOCATION – DECEMBER 2015
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PAU CONVOCATION – DECEMBER 2015
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PAU CONVOCATION – DECEMBER 2015
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PAU CONVOCATION – DECEMBER 2015
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Companies Continue Search for Talent in LBS MBA Career Fair In spite of the economic meltdown, companies continued to look for talent at the 13th MBA Career Fair held at Lagos Business School on February 24, 2016. As MBA students prepare to graduate, the fair was organised to give them the opportunity to interact with interested companies as well as seek internship positions – for the first year students. The participating companies and students were welcomed by the Dean of LBS, Dr Enase Okonedo and the MBA Director, Dr Uchenna Uzo. Both members of the LBS Management Board took turns to thank and assure the participating companies that they had made the right decision to hire LBS talent for high performance. The keynote address, given by Niyi Yusuf, Country Managing Director, Accenture, was hinged on the relevance of innovation, and he emphasised in his detailed address that innovation was a necessary ingredient for survival and success in today’s challenging business environment. At the start of the event, representatives from most of the companies expressed that they had high expectations and were hopeful to identify talent that will be good fit for their organisations. They were particularly impressed by the industry presentations delivered by the MBA students. A representative from Dalberg, a global strategy and policy advisory firm shared: “It’s obvious they did extensive research, their statistics and recommendations were on point and relevant. I was impressed generally by how they applied the frameworks; clearly what they are being taught is not all theory.” After the industry presentations, each student was able to have one-on-one chats with the representatives of companies of their choice in specially prepared booths.
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Interestingly, there were a number of LBS alumni who participated in the fair as recruiters and representatives of their organisations. When asked how it felt to be back, Ayomide Akindolie (MBA 8) an associate consultant said “It’s very nostalgic, my first job and the reason I have this job was thanks to the career fair I participated in as an MBA student.” Her response to how much knowledge gained at LBS has helped her in her career so far, she said; “Extremely! I still have my binders and I refer to them once in a while. I remember referring to a case study, I went to dig it out. I read it and some of the recommendations based on the analysis we did then was still relevant many years later. This happened last year and I graduated in
2011. I gained so much: Time management, speed reading, even being punctual. I get feedback from people that I’m always on time and that’s because of the attitude I imbibed at LBS. Over time, some companies have valued the MBA recruits from LBS and have participated repeatedly in the MBA Career Fairs. Notable amongst these are Total Nigeria, Oando Plc, Lexcel Group, Lafarge, GTBank, BASF, General Electric, Nestle, Unilever, Friesland Campina, Schneider Electric, Airtel, Sterling Bank, Nielson, FBN Quest and Cummins. Companies participating for the first time this year include The Boston Consulting Group, Dalberg and Arla (Dano).
LBSAlumni EnjoyBenefits ofSpeed Networking The second speed networking event of the Lagos Business School Alumni Association was held on Saturday, 12 March, 2016 at Lagos Tea House, Lekki Lagos. The event comprised of a healthy mix of business owners, CEOs, NGO owners, mid-level managers as well as other career professionals. Highly successful, the event helped to set a good tone to start the year for attendees with new friendships formed and meaningful networks established.
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June 6, 2016
This is an innovative and stimulating learning experience that integrates classroom and action learning in providing the speciďŹ c business skills required for this sector.
Lagos Business School is ranked with the world’s top business schools in open enrolment executive education (2007 - 2015) and custom executive education (2015).
Financial Times, London
LBS Alumni Session: Salami Shares Outlook for the Nigerian Economy 48 | FOOTPRINTS
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HOME FRONT February 2016’s edition of the LBS Alumni Session witnessed a huge turn out as members of the Lagos Business School Alumni Association (LBSAA) gathered at the School’s Honeywell Auditorium to listen to projections from the renowned Economist and LBS Faculty member, Dr Doyin Salami. Speaking on the topic: ‘The Challenge of Adapting to New Realities – Short and Medium term Outlook and Implications”, he emphasised that Nigeria, today, is at the point of adjusting to new realities which he went ahead to recount. He stated that the first reality is the change in government since it colours the dimensions of the current economy. He termed the second reality the ‘Lower for Longer Phenomenon’ as he projected that oil price will remain in the $30-$40 range for longer than we expect. “We will most likely continue to experience low oil prices through 2016 and 2017; pessimists say not earlier than 2020. However, the earliest rebound may happen in 2017” he said. Salami further detailed the other economic realities as the non-competitiveness of the nation, the challenge of economic inclusion and the fiscal vulnerability of the states. His presentation was delivered in three parts – output drivers over the next 18 months, implications for business and recommendations. At the end of his presentation, he responded to questions around one of the most discussed economic topics today – the devaluation of the naira – as well as other questions asked by members of Alumni. “Devaluation is an exercise in futility. Conversations should be around the right exchange policy and not devaluation” he said. Salami is an economist and member of LBS faculty. He is also a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the CBN and IMF’s Advisory Group for Sub-Saharan Africa. He is also a consultant and works with several multilateral and multinational organisations. 49 | FOOTPRINTS
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A Healthy Dose of Truth From The Desk of Ngozi Onyia MBBS FWACP MBA
Cervical Cancer
Dr Obehioye Enabor, MBBS FWACS FMCAOG
Around the world, attention is increasingly being drawn towards the scourge called cancer. Almost all cancers are incurable and the buzzword today is PREVENTION. Women remain significantly affected by the cancer burden, particularly cancers of the reproductive tract. The commonest reproductive tract cancer in Nigeria is cancer of the cervix. Recent estimates suggest that Nigeria ranks in the top 10(5th position) in cervical cancer cases and an expert has stated that daily deaths from cervical cancer in Nigeria are up to 26. Daily deaths. Sadly, this disease claims women when they are most wanted in Families and communities-as wives, mothers, aunts, grandmothers, workers and role models. Cervical cancer has the Human Papilloma Virus as its necessary Factor. Several types of HPV exist but some high risk strains such as HPV 16 and 18 are quite prevalent in cervical cancer cases. Persistent sexual exposure to high risk strains in addition to co-Factors such as prolonged use of contraceptives, tobacco, HIV infection and multiple sexual partners ensures that neoplastic activity occurs in the cells of the transformation zone of the cervix (that area between the ectocervix and the endocervix).
Thankfully, the cervix is readily accessible and the latent period to development of cancerous changes is not rapid in most women. Therefore, symptoms suggesting cancer such as bleeding following sexual intercourse, abnormal Foul smelling vaginal discharge, and persistent lower abdominal pain usually occur when it is too late. What can be done to stem the tide of cervical cancer, particularly in Nigeria? And how can you be sure that you or your loved one is cancer free? It’s a simple matter of screening-seeking confirmation even when you feel perfectly healthy. Remember, sexual exposure, a definite part of everyday life is key in the development of this disease.
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The commonest reproductive tract cancer in Nigeria is cancer of the cervix. Recent estimates suggest that Nigeria ranks in the top 10(5th position) in cervical cancer cases and an expert has stated that daily deaths from cervical cancer in Nigeria are up to 26. Screening can be done by a Pap smear, a test that uses a small wooden spatula or a brush to take a sample of cells from the external cervical os or opening of the cervix. The Pap smear is regarded as the STANDARD screening tool. These cells are prepared and examined under the micro-scope to determine the presence or absence of cancer. You should get a Pap from the age of 21 years or once you become sexually active. Recent protocols suggest that a Pap smear should be done every 3 years at least. Additional testing include testing For the HPV strain itself by a smear taken from the cervix/vagina. This is particularly useful when Pap smears are negative or inconclusive. It is also recommended that Pap smears can be combined with HPV testing every 5 years between the ages of 30-65 years or at least a Pap smear every 3 years. There are other tests which can be done using application of acetic acid (VIA) or Lugol’s iodine (VILI).
These tests require interpretation by an experienced physician and are also useful where there is limitation of resources or Finance. IF a Pap smear results suggests changes that occur just before cancer or Frank cancer, Further testing using a COLPOSCOPE-a magnification device which helps with getting larger tissue samples. In cases of definite cancer, surgical treatment using cryotherapy, loop diathermy or laser to Freeze or burn the suspicious area. In some women, the cervix can be surgically removed or the uterus and cervix can be excised as part of a total hysterectomy. Prevention has been taken even Further with the development of vaccines to the HPV. These vaccines have been developed primarily for use in young girls from 9-13years who are not likely to have commenced sexual intercourse. Currently, there are two established brands, Cervarix and Gardasil which protect against HPV 16, 18 and HPV 6,11,16 and 18 respectively. These vaccines can be used in sexually naive boys as well and can offer some protection in sexually active women depending on the HPV that is involved. It is important to remember that receiving the HPV VACCINE does not eliminate the need for serial Pap smears since there are several HPV strains which can contribute to cervical cancer.
PaeIon Memorial Clinic is a private hospital situated in Victoria Island, run primarily by two partners - a Primary Care Physician/ Pediatrician, and an Intensivist. We offer Safe, Timely, Effective, Efficient, Equitable, Empathic and Patient-Centered health care in diverse specialties through a rich network of physicians and surgeons. We are a Multi Specialist and Primary care hospital, with a 24-hour In-house Laboratory, and Pharmacy, Radiology, Physiotherapy, a state of the art Intensive Care Unit and a state of the art operating theatre. 51 | FOOTPRINTS
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FEATURES
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Tipson Effective Networking FEATURES
– Lola Ekugo
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FEATURES
In the world today, connecting and building relationships with others has become paramount to the success of many individuals and businesses. The African proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others” is so apt in describing the importance of the people around you and the value of key relationships. So, whether it is to connect, gain job leads, referrals or opportunities to grow your business, the question about how to network is a significant one. Here are some tips to help you along the way.
StartNetworkingBeforeYouNeedit Building a solid network takes time and is a continuous process. You should not wait till you need to land that job or get that lead before you start. People can sense desperation or when someone just wants to get something out for him/ herself and can react negatively, leading to negative results. Building genuine relationships should be the key focus both professionally and personally. While stepping out of your comfort zone can be a little daunting, starting with your existing network can be a good stepping stone. Reaching out to old friends, classmates, work mates, networking and finding out what they are up to is certainly a good start.
Itisnotallaboutyou It is easy to network with only one thing in mind; like getting a job or getting access to people who you would not be able to reach normally, but understanding the bigger picture can play a huge part in the success of building your network. Networking is not just about you but it is also about connecting others who may be able to help each other as well as gaining contacts that may not necessarily come in handy for yourself but it could do for others in your network. Professional relationship development expert Keith Ferrazzi and author of “Never Eat Alone: says “I can’t emphasize this enough—if you want to form a relationship with another person, you first need to show them how they’ll benefit”. People always remember generosity in others and so they will most likely want to do the same for you if the opportunity presents itself. Networking should not always be about a personal agenda.
The African proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others” is so apt in describing the importance of the people around you and the value of key relationships. 55 | FOOTPRINTS
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BePrepared Before you attend a networking event, take some time to figure out what you can bring to the table, your strengths, skill sets and the power of your existing network. Think about what you want to talk about and what is happening in the world now for those side chit-chats. It is good practice to have your business card handy because an opportunity to network can really happen anywhere; it is a great way to help people remember you when you leave them. However, according to Anne Baber and Lynne Waymon in Make Your Contacts Count, “While getting business cards is important, exchanging them without first building trust is nonproductive”, so aim to make the business card exchange meaningful.
BeConfident,Friendly andFocused Everyone has something to offer albeit now or in the future, including you. True networking is really about people sharing passions and connecting with others who share those passions. You should not be under too much pressure, instead seize the opportunity whenever you can and remember to smile, be attentive, listen and engage.
FollowUp Following up with a message after meeting people, especially when you have a good lead can be quite effective. Do not take it personal if you don’t hear from them immediately, they may be busy or have forgotten. Your dream opportunity may live amongst someone who did not respond at first so it is important not to give up too easily. A good way to maintain your growing network is to keep them on your mailing list and share relevant information with them from time to time. Keeping a good network takes effort and a certain level of genuineness, so be prepared to invest some time nurturing it.
FEATURES
10Concepts thatShape Entrepreneurship inToday’sWorld – Bamitale Alimi
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FEATURES
As I scroll through my Instagram feed I am generously inspired by people around the world who are entrepreneurs and game changers. Random people that I would never have heard about have built up to 9-figure business empires using the power of social media. I am amazed at what it takes to be an entrepreneur in today’s world. A decade or two ago, you had to have garnered years of corporate or street experience to venture into the world of entrepreneurship, but today, experience may not necessarily be your greatest asset. Websites like Entrepreneur, Business Insider and Inc are filled with stories of the latest twenty something year old who just raised 1-10 million dollars in ‘series A’ funding or even a 12 year old who invented glasses without lenses AKA NoLenz that has become the new buzz accessory for kids his age. I was wondering when we would catch up in Nigeria until I met two amazing gentlemen who had taken the innovation game seriously. One of them was a medical doctor who had seen a gap and taken his idea to create an affordable mobile ventilator seriously and found partners in Canada who funded the research and prototype development in exchange for stake in the business. His concept has just recently attracted major funding that would enable a commercial release of the ventilators. The second person owns an innovation laboratory that is amazingly futuristic in its approach to creating innovative products for developing countries. He recently got a grant to develop his ideas and has been invited to Silicon Valley to develop the right partnerships to bring his ideas to reality. Business today has been redefined and the realities of entrepreneurship are shifting to create opportunities for more people and I would like to share a few of the current trends:
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1. Rise of the Solopreneur: The term ‘brief case’ entrepreneur was used to define a business owner who did not have an office or staff and it was used in a somewhat derogatory manner. Today being a ‘solopreneur’ makes sense from various standpoints which include not having to incur unnecessary overheads. There are solopreneurs in many professions these days; from the accountant who goes from one client’s office to the next to offer his services, or the graphic designer who churns out designs on demand. ‘Solopreneurship’ makes entrepreneurship more attainable to people who do not need to be burdened with large startup costs to start their service businesses.
2. The Age of Internet Millionaires: A decade ago, the only thing we associated with making money on the internet was fraudsters, popularly known in Nigeria as ‘419’ or ‘Yahoo Boys.’ Today, the internet is the home of several legitimate businesses that have created empires by selling their products and services online. A few months ago, I listened to an episode of one of my favorite podcasts hosted by Pat Flynn who is a multimillionaire with several technology businesses from an IPhone App to several niche sites. He interviewed a lady in the US who had lived on welfare for several years until she created her online empire providing online brand strategy and had generated over 1million dollars in revenue in 18 months. However, this is not an American dream alone as we have seen from the stories of Linda Ikeji, Uche Pedro of Bella Naija, Jason Njoku of Iroko TV and even budding entrepreneurs like John Obidi and Stephanie Obi who are building online information business empires.
FEATURES 3. Small Business-Big Revenues:
5. Your Uniqueness is your Power:
Like some of the examples I cited above, we are now in the age where small businesses can now generate big revenues without creating layers of structure and staff. A few years ago, we had tried to research the viability of blogging in Nigeria and had estimated Linda Ikeji’s income to be about One hundred million naira at the most; our estimate was done looking at her rates, structure and staff which was made up mainly of her family members living under one roof. She proved us wrong when she bought a house worth over half a billion naira. In the past, making that sort of purchase used to be possible only when you were the CEO of a financial institution or a large conglomerate. This does not overlook the fact that a lot of SMEs still struggle because of inadequate capital and infrastructure. It just highlights the emerging possibilities for small businesses in the right sectors today.
In the past, competitive advantage was built by being the best in a specific segment or category; today doing great work is important, but being unique is what gives you the edge in business. Consumers are constantly seeking a unique perspective or point of view. Brands are built around incredible stories and perspectives that make them appealing to the consumers. Richard Branson in a recent blog post said that having a powerful and compelling story was a requirement to succeed as an entrepreneur. The art of using storytelling to showcase the uniqueness of your business has become imperative to attract your ideal customers.
4. Flexi work - Virtual offices: I love a quote I saw recently that says ‘work is what you do not where you go’. Flexi work has become quite popular with multinational companies who are beginning to see investing in a permanent office space as an unnecessary overhead. Technology companies like Intel, Cisco and GE offer their staff flexible work arrangements where they can work from anywhere they are and report to a virtual office space only when necessary. This is also catching up with service based businesses in Nigeria and more and more virtual offices are springing up to embrace this trend.
6. Niche goes Mainstream: Some products and services are considered niche as they target only a limited demographic group. These products or services seem to be leaving the niche category and going main stream. A few examples are the ‘Fitfam’ movement which is a buzz word used by people who have adopted the health and fitness life style with all its trappings. It used to be restricted to a small group of more affluent people who could afford the requirements of the lifestyle from drinking natural juices to eating organic and whole food, to joining fancy fitness clubs. Now you are almost seen as the outlier if you are not involved in some part of this movement. How about the natural hair movement? I could have sworn it would never gain traction with the African woman’s love for weaves. This thought lingered until I saw the turnover of one my clients who has a natural hair salon and had revenues twice as
In the past a celebrity was usually a successful musician or actor, today what you need to do is become ‘branded.’ In so doing, you showcase your brand essence and get as many followers buzzing about the brand. It is not a joke anymore as companies are now making these ‘branded’ people their ambassadors or spokespersons.
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FEATURES much as the average regular beauty salon! Niche has gone main stream….
7. The Era of Personal Brands: Personal brands are the new celebrities! In the past a celebrity was usually a successful musician or actor, today what you need to do is become ‘branded.’ In so doing, you showcase your brand essence and get as many followers buzzing about the brand. It is not a joke anymore as companies are now making these ‘branded’ people their ambassadors or spokespersons. Some successful entrepreneurs have taken their personal brands seriously and are using social media to engage their audience and share their experiences. A few examples are Nimi Akinkugbe popularly known as the personal finance expert, Lanre Olusola, known as the Catalyst and Udo Okonjo who I like to dub the possibility igniter. They are building massive followership and leveraging them to organise conferences, seminars and book launches. I have begun to take my personal brand seriously!
8. MVP is the New Research: By this I mean ‘Minimum Viable Product’ and not ‘Most Valuable Player.’ In the past, releasing a new product used to take years of market research to ensure that the product would be viable when launched. Today spending too much time on research can cost you a lot as technology is constantly changing and ideas seem to be floating around and the time you spend trying to research, another company has launched a similar product into the market. The current trend which was first promoted some years ago by Eric Ries in his book; The Lean Startup, is to release a minimum viable product and test the performance in the market before you invest a large amount of money producing something that
I’m a
MVP
might fail in the market. With a ‘MVP’, you reduce the time to get to market and you can get market feedback and make adjustments during the product development cycle.
9. Social Media is the Birth Place of Brands: Like I shared in point number 7, social media has become a major tool for brands to engage with their audience and this transcends personal brands to business brands. Taking it a step further, new brands and products are turning to social media as the place to launch and they are gaining traction quite rapidly. Before now, to launch a new product, you would need to organise a big press conference and get the major news outlets on board. Today, small businesses can bypass that process and go straight to their target audience via social media and popular websites. It is proving more cost efficient and quite effective.
10. Value-driven Entrepreneurship: My list would be incomplete without including value-driven entrepreneurship, a concept I am very passionate about. The survival of businesses today is hinged on creating products and services that can add real value to consumers. At the same time, the organizations themselves have to be built on a solid value system. This is the era of powerful consumers where one tweet by an influential person complaining about your business can damage your reputation. The more appealing businesses in this era are businesses that are built with heart. To quote the Dean of Lagos Business School, Dr Enase Okonedo: ‘Value driven entrepreneurship is not corporate social entrepreneurship.’ This is true because an organisation can make profit with the wrong value system and still fund a CSR initiative to look good. Entrepreneurship is constantly evolving in this fast-paced world and I see myself writing this list again in another few years and the concepts would have changed as new trends and technologies would have emerged.
Tale Alimi is a business growth expert, strategist and coach with over 14 years corporate experience. She is an MBA alumna of Lagos Business School. Her mission is to equip and, inspire at least 10,000 businesses in the next few years through her business, programmes, writing and speaking. She is currently the Lead Coach/Consultant of Salestar Africa - a business growth organization that provides consulting, training and coaching services to small and medium businesses. Learn more about her from her personal website; www. talealimi.com. She also actively engages on social media and you can follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @talealimi.
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ALUMNI IN THE NEWS
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ALUMNI IN THE NEWS
Double Honour: Ben Akabueze (AMP 4) Appointed Special Adviser on National Planning to Nigerian President, Director at Chams Plc
Mr Olawale Oluwo (CEP 19), joins public service as Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources in Lagos State
The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR on February 15, 2016 announced the appointment of Mr Ben Akabueze as his Special Adviser on National Planning. The appointment came on the heels of a successful spell as Commissioner for Budget and Planning in Lagos State.
LBS Alumnus of the Chief Executive Programme (CEP 19) Class, Mr Olawale Oluwo was recently appointed Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources by the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode.
Prior to his foray into public service, Mr Akabueze held senior management positions at Citi Bank, Fidelity Bank, NAL Merchant Bank and Sterling Bank. He is also an entrepreneur, managing his own consulting firm, BIA Consulting Limited. Also recently, Mr Akabueze was appointed Director at Chams Plc, Nigeria’s leading identity management and payments solutions provider. The notice by the Company to the Nigerian Stock Exchange indicated that Mr Akabueze will serve as non-executive director on the Board of Chams following the retirement of some of the Company’s long serving directors. Ben is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) of Bankers, fellow of the Institute of Credit Administrators and honorary fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers. He holds a BSc degree in Accounting (First Class Honours) from the University of Lagos and is an alumnus of Lagos Business School, having completed the Advanced Management Programme (AMP) 4. He was presented with the prestigious Distinguished Alumni award of the School in 2013 and was the featured guest in the Cover Story of Footprints, November 2015 edition.
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In this role, Mr Oluwo is charged with the responsibility of formulating, evaluating and implementing policies relating to energy and mineral resources in Lagos State. Mr Oluwo spent most of his career in the private sector, rising to the position of Deputy Managing Director at the investment banking firm, BGL Securities Limited. He had previously headed the Wealth Management Group of the Company. In addition, Olawale had held several positions of immense responsibility at various banks, including: Group Head, Investment Banking, Energy and Telecommunications at Intercontinental Bank Plc (now Access Bank), Group Head, Corporate Banking and Corporate Finance at Continental Trust Bank (now UBA Plc). He had also worked at Prudent Bank (now Skye Bank Plc), First City Monument Bank Plc among others. Mr Oluwo holds a BSc degree in Economics from The University of Lagos and is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).
ALUMNI IN THE NEWS
Mrs Modupe Mujota (CEP 19) assumes office as Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology in Ogun State Alumni of Lagos Business School have continued to make inroads in the public space in a bid to entrench the values of the ‘Oasis of Sanity’ in the sometimes chaotic public administrative system. Recently, Mrs Modupe Mujota of the Chief Executive Programme (CEP) 19 Class was appointed Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology by the Governor of Ogun State, Mr Ibikunle Amosun. During her sterling career in the private sector, Mrs Mujota consistently proved her worth as a trusted business leader and manager of people and resources. She served as Chief Executive Officer of UBA Capital Asset Management Limited, a leading firm in investment management and money market operations in Nigeria. Before taking up that role, she had held several leadership positions at the Kakawa Group culminating in her becoming the Managing Director of Kakawa Asset Management Limited. She had also served as Managing Director at BGL Asset Management Limited where she championed several reform initiatives. Mrs Mujota has varied experiences in aspects of financial services such as asset management, corporate finance and risk management and corporate governance. She holds a BSc degree in Economics from the University of Ibadan and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers.
Abubakar Mahe (SMP 15) appointed Acting Managing Director/CEO of Jaiz Bank Plc Mr Abubakar Mahe who attended the Senior Management Programme (SMP) 15 at Lagos Business School was appointed Ag. Managing Director/CEO of the foremost non-interest banking institution in Nigeria, Jaiz Bank Plc. Mr Mahe took over from Muhammad Nurul-Islam whose tenure expired on November 17, 2015. Until his appointment, Abubakar was the Executive Director in charge of Business Development in the bank. With over 20 years in the banking industry, Abubakar Mahe is well positioned to make positive impact with his new role. Prior to joining Jaiz Bank Plc, he was the Group Zonal Head of Zenith Bank Plc in charge of the Northwest region of Nigeria. Before he joined the banking sector, Mr Mahe worked at the Nigerian International Securities Limited (NISEL), a member of Nigerian Stock Exchange and a subsidiary of Continental Merchant Bank Plc from 1991 to 1994. He had also worked as the dealing clerk/branch head of the Lagos office of the Gidauniyar Investment & Securities Limited. Abubakar obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Ahmadu Bello University and also holds an MBA degree from the same institution. He is a qualified dealing clerk of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
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ALUMNI IN THE NEWS
Olabowale Toluwalope Ademola (EMBA 3) becomes 19th Head of Service of Lagos State Olabowale Toluwalope Ademola was sworn in as the 19th Head of Service of Lagos State by Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos State following the statutory retirement of the immediate past head of service in October, 2015. Mrs Ademola had previously served the Lagos State Government as Permanent Secretary in the State Civil Service Pensions Office. She had also served in the Ministries of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Economic Planning and Budget, Housing and Education. She started her career in the public service in the Lagos State Water Corporation. Mrs Ademola had a bright career in the private sector as well. Beginning at the professional service firm – Pricewaterhouse and Co in 1981, she later joined Guinness Nigeria Plc as management accountant. She worked at First Interstate Merchant Bank (Nig) Limited before making the switch to the public sector. The new Head of Service obtained a BSc degree in Economics from the University of Ibadan and holds an MBA degree from Lagos Business School after completing the Executive Masters in Business Administration (EMBA) 3 in 1999. She is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).
LBS Alumni take up Board Positions at First Bank Ibukun Awosika (CEP 9) is the new Chairman of First Bank Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s premier banking institution and still one of the giants of the Country’s banking industry. A serial entrepreneur, Ibukun is the founder and CEO of the Chair Centre Group, comprising: the Chair Centre Limited, Sokoa Chair Centre Limited, Furniture Manufacturers Mart, TCC Security Systems and Cubes and Boxes Limited. Apart from successfully running these companies, Mrs Awosika has also proven to be an Amazon of the board room. She chairs the board of House of Tara International and Afterschool Graduate Development Centre (a platform established to address youth employability and enterprise issues). She also sits on the board of many organisations, including; Digital Jewels Limited, Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Convention on Business Integrity (CBI) and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA). She had previously been chairman of FBN Life Assurance Limited, FBN Capital Limited and Kakawa Discount House Limited.
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<<< continued from 63 Mrs Awosika is very passionate about social issues and strives to make her impact felt in the society positively. She is a Co-founder and past chairman of Women in Business Management and Public Service (WIMBIZ) and a fellow of the African Leadership Initiative. She is also a member of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and served on the National Job Creation Committee (NJCC). She has numerous faith-based social development initiatives to her credit. Mrs Ibukun Awosika studied Chemistry at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) and holds the Global Executive MBA of IESE Business School, Barcelona, Spain. She is an alumna of Lagos Business School who completed the Chief Executive Programme (CEP) 9 in the Year 2000.
Effective January 1, 2016 Mr Kalu Urum Eke, MFR (SMP 9) became the Group Managing Director of FBN Holdings Plc, the holding company of the First Bank Group. Until his appointment as GMD, he was the Executive Director, South at First Bank. A seasoned banker, Mr Eke is widely experienced in risk management, capital market operations, corporate finance and consulting. He started his career at Deloitte Haskins & Sells International before venturing into banking, working at Diamond Bank for 19 years. At Diamond Bank, he rose to the position of Executive Director, Regional Businesses, Lagos and West, helping to build what has grown to be a major player in the Nigerian banking industry. He serves on the Boards of many companies, including being a non-executive director at FBN Bank (UK) Limited, First Pensions Custodian Limited and Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC). Mr Eke holds a first degree in Political Science from the University of Lagos and an MBA in Project Management Technology from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri. He is a Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary Club International, a member of the Institute of Management Consultants, and fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). Mr Eke was honoured with Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s National Award of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR). He completed the Senior Management Programme (SMP) 9 of Lagos Business School.
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ALUMNI IN THE NEWS
Wale Onaolapo (AMP 12) Retires as MD/CEO of Sovereign Trust Insurance plc. Olaotan Soyinka (SMP 28) takes over. After 21 years of meritorious service, Mr Wale Onaolapo retired in December 2015 as the MD/CEO of Sovereign Trust Insurance plc, one of the leading insurance companies in the Nigeria. A thoroughbred insurance practitioner, Wale joined STI plc in 1994 after several stints at other insurance firms. He is now Chairman, Davisther Brokers Limited (a risk management and insurance consulting firm). Mr Wale Onaolapo completed the Advanced Management Programme (AMP) 12 at Lagos Business School and is a past president of the class.
To take up the reins from where Mr Onaolapo left and drive the strategic vision of STI plc into the future is Mr Olaotan Soyinka (SMP 28). Prior to his elevation to the position of MD/CEO, Mr Soyinka was Executive Director and Divisional Head, Technical in the company. An associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, Olaotan holds a bachelors degree in Insurance and MSc in marketing, both from the University of Lagos. He joined STI plc in 1998 and has played a key part in the growth story of the company. Mr Soyinka is an alumnus of the Senior Management Programme (SMP) 28 of Lagos Business School.
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ALUMNI IN THE NEWS
Austin Okere (EMBA 1) bows out of Computer Warehouse Group as James Agada (EMBA 6) becomes new MD/CEO Austin Okere who founded Computer Warehouse Group in 1992 and built it from a computer hardware supply company to an integrated ICT Group, has retired from the Company as CEO. He will now serve at the board level as Vice Chairman. Austin obtained his BSc in Computer Science from the University of Lagos in 1986. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors of Nigeria and was awarded the 2014 IT Personality of the Year in Nigeria. He was recently appointed an Entrepreneur in Residence at Columbia Business School in New York, USA. He was a member of the pioneer Executive Masters in Business Administration (EMBA 1) class of Lagos Business School.
James Agada (EMBA 6) is the new MD/CEO of Computer Warehouse Group. Before his appointment as MD/CEO, James was the Chief Technology Officer of the Company and was in charge of the research and development unit. He was the executive director overseeing the company’s former software division – ExpertEdge. Mr Agada is widely experienced in software development, implementation and support as well as consulting. He holds a first class degree in electronics engineering from University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a master’s degree with specialization in digital systems from the same institution. In 2013, Mr Agada was conferred with the Titans of Tech Merit Award by Technology Africa. He attended the Executive Masters in Business Administration (EMBA) 6 programme of Lagos Business School.
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CLASS NOTES
CLASS NOTES
ClassNotes Mrs. Aderik e Gbeleyi a¦ aine d the 50 on Febr golden age ua 28th. of Baba la Ak a¦aine d th inkugbe al e golden ag so e on Febr ua Dr. Abayom 18th. i Ajayi , Me dical Direc Fer¢l® Ce r Nordica ntre, launch ed a ne w su cae d Body bsidia Ar t. Mr. Segun Ade¢ba co i ione event cent d an exquis re cae d 7S e r Event Ce Road, Ogba ntre on Ak . ilo
home e y directed the Mr Greg Odu yo su ie was premiere d at mov The d.’ Bl movie: ‘Beyond on Thursda y, Silverbird Gaeria a colour l event at president pa the Odu yo is 14 Janua , 2016. Mr ber of the LBSAA mem a ly ent curr of OMP 11 and r wife, Mrs produced by his dea EXCO. The movie was AMP 26. Debbie Odu yo of
firm, Ugo his own real e ate Ugo Ejim has set up ¸ing nearly a erling car r spa Ejim and Co a·er Partner at ua 2016; he was a 20 years. Up ¢ Febr ing the South Ea rs ove Co and o Jide Taiw Ejim has of the busine . Ugo /South South regions Co firm, Ugo Ejim and te e a real own set up his Up g nearly 20 years. ¸in spa r car a·er a erling ner at Jide Taiwo Part a was he ; ¢ Febr ua 2016 uth South the South Ea /So and Co overs ing . ine regions of the bus
sha ince Ai unches Pr ok (Arabel) la ch un du la An t h oduc Sher on: The pr d at We w an Coec¢ a , 2016 s 2016 Turb , 31 Janu Nigerian ay d he nd is Su gu e di in place on had som dy of d La an i Fir oy er Hotel, Ik ing; form lanle nce, includ ola, Mrs Bo in a¦enda bola Fash me Abim s Oluran¢ Da Mr , s, te go La Lagos S Lady of d ace s S te an current Fir Ambode, or of Lago and © Govern uf pu us De -Y e, a Adebul dele Shar er, Mrs Mo broadca y Wrig¬. e , Bukk tr ac d Noyw
The Cla co n ructed a borehole at Du bin E in Ajegunle, ate Ifelodun Lo cal Governm ent Area of Lagos S te . The projec t provides fr and por water 24 0 houses an ble d 800 mili es. The wate project was r built in part nership w h Chi Nigeria Lim ed and co i ione d on Wednes November, day, 11 2015.
irman of b n a³ointed Cha Dr Nadu Denloye has ed 60 on ´rn also She ca. Afri the Board of LEAP a Choral marked the day w h Janua 4, 2016 and g’ S , This is my Son my is s ‘Thi ed; them Concert, e day, mark her sam the On ter. at the MUSON Cen wering the che d her b k; Ans birthda y, she laun Ca.
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CLASS NOTES
AMP4
Dr Omobola Johnson has been appointed non-executive director of Guinness Nigeria Plc. The appointment was approved at the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company on 29 January, 2016.
AMP12
Nkechi Obi, MON celebrated her Golden Jubilee birthday anniversary on December 19, 2015. The event took place at the Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
AMP17
Henry Obi has been appointed the CEO of NNPC Downstream in the recent restructuring of NNPC into five businesses and two service components. Henry Obi was until his appointment, the Marketing Director for Mobil Oil Nigeria.
AMP22
Ugo Ejim has set up his own real estate firm, Ugo Ejim and Co after a sterling career spanning nearly 20 years. Up till February 2016; he was a Partner at Jide Taiwo and Co overseeing the South East /South South regions of the business.
AMP26
David Ogunniyi has been promoted to the position of Managing Director at DuPont de Nemours Nigeria Limited. The appointment took effect from February, 2016. He was previously the Business Development Manager at the company.
CEP9
Mr Adedapo Shoderu has published a book titled: My Life and Leadership Lessons: The NCRIB Experience. Mr Shoderu is the founder of Man-Mountain and Company Limited (Insurance Brokers) and served as the President of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB) between 2013 and 2015.
CEP10
Dr Nadu Denloye has been appointed Chairman of the Board of LEAP Africa. She also turned 60 on January 4, 2016 and marked the day with a Choral Concert, themed; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;This is my Story, This is my Songâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; at the MUSON Center. On the same day, to mark her birthday, she launched her book; Answering the Call.
Dame Victoria Ekhomu has been appointed African Advisory Council Chairman by ASIS International, the leading organisation for security professionals in the world. The Association has over 38,000 members and 280 chapters worldwide.
Abdulrashid Amao was recently admitted as Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers in Nigeria.
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CLASS NOTES
CEP19
Mr Kyari Bukar Abba has been appointed Director at Chams Plc. The appointment took effect in February, 2016.
CEP23
The family of Boye Olawoye was blessed with a daughter on November 16th, 2015.
EMBA7
Francis Ebuehi has taken up a new appointment with Econet Wireless in Zimbabwe. In his new role, he will be responsible for overseeing the E-Commerce business of Econet Wireless in SubSaharan Africa.
EMBA13a
Emeka Udaya was promoted from Colonel to Brigadier General in the Nigerian Army in November, 2015.
EMBA1
Phillip Obioha has retired as Chief Operating Officer of the Computer Warehouse Group. He now serves as a non-executive director on the board of the ICT Company.
EMBA3
EMBA10
Former Miss Ayobami Omokehinde Ojomuyide got married to former Mr Temitope Adebanjo at a wedding ceremony on Saturday, February 13, 2016 at God’s Favourite House, Ikota, Ajah, Lagos.
Clare Omatseye has been appointed Member of the Board of LEAP Africa.
EMBA4
Mr Segun Ogbonnewo celebrated the wedding of his son – Adeoluwa Oluwatosin Ogbonnewo who married Olufolahan Abiola Soetan on Saturday, 20 February, 2016 at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, King’s Court, Keystone Bank Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos.
EMBA14a
As part of their CSR initiatives, the class sponsored a Spelling Bee competition organized by Logophile in March 2016.
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APRIL 2016
CLASS NOTES
FTMBA6
Mr Charles Keku walked the aisle with former Miss Linda Nkemjika Ohiaeri on December 5, 2015. The ceremony took place at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Good Shepherd Pasture, Herbert Macaulay Way, Alagomeji, Yaba, Lagos.
FTMBA11
Ekekwe Obinna and former Miss Adaora Udeze started their matrimonial journey on 6 February, 2016 at the Holy Family Catholic Church, Festac Town, Lagos. Reception held at Villa Park Hotel, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos.
OMP7
AC Architects won the Best Residential Architect for 2015 in the Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA). This award was instituted to celebrate and honour excellence in the Nigerian architectural and interior design industry. Mr Wale Okubadejo of OMP 7 is a Partner at the firm.
IMP1
The Class visited the Mercy and Love Orphanage, Lekki, Lagos on December 20, 2015 donating bunk beds, mattresses, food, drinks and other household items.
MEMBA1
The Class constructed a borehole at Dustbin Estate in Ajegunle, Ifelodun Local Government Area of Lagos State. The project provides free and portable water to 240 houses and 800 families. The water project was built in partnership with Chi Nigeria Limited and commissioned on Wednesday, 11 November, 2015.
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CLASS NOTES
OMP6
SMP48
Felicia Okpala has joined Tara House of Fashion as Retail Operations Manager. Funmi Ojo Oduwole delivered a baby girl – Adedire Zuriel Oduwole on Saturday, 19 March, 2016.
Mrs. Aderike Gbeleyi attained the golden age of 50 on February 28th. Babatola Akinkugbe also attained the golden age on February 18th. Dr. Abayomi Ajayi , Medical Director Nordica Fertility Centre, launched a new subsidiary called BodyArt. Mr. Segun Adetiba commissioned an exquisite event centre called 7Star Event Centre on Akilo Road, Ogba, Lagos. Mrs. Nike DeSouza was appointed Director Of Operations for the TEACH AFRICA project, an international NGO focused on improving education across Africa.
OMP11&AMP26
Mr Greg Odutayo successfully directed the home movie: ‘Beyond Blood.’ The movie was premiered at a colourful event at Silverbird Galleria on Thursday, 14 January, 2016. Mr Odutayo is the past president of OMP 11 and currently a member of the LBSAA EXCO. The movie was produced by his dear wife, Mrs Debbie Odutayo of AMP 26.
OMP4
Shereefah Andu (Arabel) launches Princess Aisha 2016 Turban Collection: The product launch took place on Sunday, 31 January, 2016 at Westwood Hotel, Ikoyi and had some distinguished Nigerians in attendance, including; former First Lady of Lagos State, Dame Abimbola Fashola, Mrs Bolanle Ambode, current First Lady of Lagos, Mrs Oluranti Adebule, Deputy Governor of Lagos State and ace broadcaster, Mrs Modele Sharafa-Yusuf and Nollywood actress, Bukky Wright.
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CLASS NOTES
OMP19
The Class paid a charity visit to the Remand Home for Boys, Oregun, Ikeja and made sundry donations to the Home.
Docman Integrated Document Solutions
• L&Z Integrated Farms was awarded the best dairy farm of the year 2015 and the farm with the most modern milk processing plant at the Nigerian Agricultural Awards organised by the National Council of Agriculture and Rural Development in Kano on February 12, 2016. Among dignitaries at the occasion were the honourable minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh and the Governor of Kano State, His Excellency, Abdullahi Ganduje. Rakkiya Damakka of OMP 19 is the Executive Director of the firm.
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KM 14 Lekki Epe Express Way, Lagos | 08033940439 | info@docmanng.com | www.docmanng.com 72 | FOOTPRINTS
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LAGOS BUSINESS SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
GuidetoAlumni Membership Benefits 73 | FOOTPRINTS
APRIL 2016
73 | FOOTPRINTS
APRIL 2016
ALUMNI BENEFITS
CATEGORY
HOTELS (CONT'D)
DESCRIPTION
BENEFITS
Blowfish Hotel, V/I, Lagos
Up to 57% discount on Rooms, 40% discount on Halls and 15 – 20% discount on Meals
The Wheatbaker, Ikoyi, Lagos
28 – 30% discount
Lagos Oriental Hotel
30 – 48% discount
Millennium Residence, VI, Lagos
30% discount on rooms (including meeting/ conference rooms), 20% on food and nonalcoholic drinks
Epe Resort, Lagos
N15,000.00 off rack rates on all room types
Sheraton Hotel, Gambia
Up to 36%
Gran Melia Hotel, Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos
33 – 36% discount
Labadi Beach Hotel , Accra, Ghana
29 – 38% discount
The Commodore, V&A Waterfront – Cape Town, South Africa
44 – 50% discount
Simba Group Nigeria
-15% discount on inverters
Laterna Ventures (Bookstore)
-10% discount on business books, 7.5% on Christian books
BusinessDay Newspapers
50% discount on cover price
Swift Networks Internet subscription
20% discount
Clean Ace Dry Cleaners
10% discount
Soul Lounge, The Palms
10% individuals, 15% groups
Natives Hospitality and Services Limited, V/I, Lagos
20% discount on meals
Manna Bookstore
10% discount on books; for online purchases, purchase amount must be up to N2,500
OTHERS
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APRIL 2016
ALUMNI BENEFITS
CATEGORY
DESCRIPTION
BENEFITS
South African Airways
8 – 11% discount on business class; 8% discount on economy class (all routes)
British Airways /Iberia
10% discount
Sheraton Abuja Hotel
33 – 37% discount
Transcorp Hilton, Abuja
11 - 41% discount
NICON Luxury, Abuja
25% - 35% discount
Grand Towers Hotel, Abuja
Up to 67% discount
Barcelona Hotel, Abuja
30% discount on Rooms
Golden Tulip Hotel, Port Harcourt
20% discount
Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt (i) All rooms, including suites (ii) Banquet Halls
30% discount 25% discount
Novotel Hotel, Port Harcourt
28 – 37% discount
Le Meridien Ogeyi Place, Port Harcourt
22-25% discount
Sheraton Lagos Hotel
20 – 25% discount
Protea Hotel, Kuramo Waters, Lagos
20% discount
Ikoyi Westwood Hotel, Lagos
16 – 22% discount
Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos
12 – 49% discount
Ambassadors Hotel, Ikoyi
15% discount
Southern Sun, Ikoyi
35% discount
AIRLINES
HOTELS
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APRIL 2016
ALUMNI BENEFITS
CATEGORY
GENERAL: ALL ALUMNI
DESCRIPTION
BENEFITS
Footprints Alumni journal
Free copy
Alumni Sessions
Last Thursday of the month
Alumni Day
Right of Attendance
Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dinner
Right of attendance (Fee-Paying)
LBS Alumni Connect
Access
Right of brief consultation with LBS Faculty Use of the LBS library
How to Access the BusinessDay Discount: Please pay your subscription fee to BusinessDay Media Limited, Zenith Bank account: 1012308966. Complete a subscription form (this has been uploaded on the LBS alumni website) and submit alongside the evidence of payment to: subscription@ businessdayonline.com. For further enquiry, please call Gertrude on 08027754785 or Ezekiel on 07034809009
How to Access the Prestigio Smart Phones Discount Courtesy of Quartermasters Limited, 16B Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja, Lagos. For further enquiries, please contact Mr Sunil Mohammed on 08094000095, 07044203495. Email: sunilmohammed@outlook.com)
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LAGOS BUSINESS SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
CalendarOfEventsAprilToNovember,2016 S/N
DATE
PROGRAMME
REMARKS
1
April 9
Reunion of Classes of 2006 and 2011
LBS Ajah
2
April 12
Economic Outlook Session, Port-Harcourt
Golden Tulip Hotel
3
April 21
Economic Outlook Session, Abuja
Grand Towers, Katampe, FCT
4
April 28
Alumni Session 4
Lekki Campus
5
May 26
Alumni Session 5
Lekki Campus
6
June 4
President’s Dinner
Eko Hotel and Suites
7
June 23
Alumni Session 6
Lekki Campus
8
June 30
Zonal Alumni Session, Port Harcourt
Golden Tulip Hotel, PH
9
July 21
Abuja Zonal Dinner
Transcorp Hilton, Abuja
10
July 28
Alumni Session 7
Lekki Campus
11
August 13 - 22
Alumni Study Trip
United States of America
12
August 25
Alumni Session 8
Lekki Campus
13
September 29
Alumni Session 9
Lekki Campus
14
October 8
Speed Networking Event – Mainland
The Event’s Centre, Ikeja
15
October 20
Alumni Session 10
Lekki Campus
16
October 27
Port Harcourt Zonal Dinner
TBC
17
October 31
Footprints – Second Edition
18
November 17
Alumni Day
77 | FOOTPRINTS
APRIL 2016
Lekki Campus
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