BusinessDay 04 Sep 2020

Housing Estates in Lagos reel from lack of infrastructure MICHAEL ANI & ENDURANCE OKAFOR

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t is the responsibility of the government to provide basic infrastructure for the citizens using taxpayer’s money. Such infrastructure

… residents resort to self-help includes access roads, water and other social amenities, but that appears not to be the case in Lagos State as taxpayers are

often left to bear the brunt of an unending infrastructural crisis.

From a lack of good road network, water and street lights that

have worsened the security situation in the state, Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest commercial city, is enveloped in a huge infrastructural crisis that appears to have overwhelmed the government.

The absence of effective

drainage system and other infrastructure such as roads have forced gully erosion on many parts of the state, forcing residents to resort to self-help projContinues on page 31

businessday market monitor FMDQ Close Benchmark NTB* & CP*

Bitcoin

NSE Biggest Gainer MTNN

Foreign Reserve $35.7bn

Biggest Loser

0.51 pc N2 25,511.02

Cross Rates

GBP-$:1.29 YUANY - 55.72

Commodities

Neimeth

N118

Everdon Bureau De Change

-6.50 pc

Cocoa US$2662.00

Gold $1938.42

news you can trust I ** friDAY 04 september 2020 I vol. 19, no 644

Crude Oil $43.42

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Market

₦ 5,273,166.76 +0.59

N300

BUSINESSDAY JOBS & GROWTH SERIES

Foreign Exchange

Buy

Sell

I&E FX Window CBN Official Rate as at September 2, 2020

ntb

www.

386.25 379.00

0.00 2.40

0.00 5.33

3m 2m 28-oct-20 25-nov-20 392.38 395.23

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n 1960, Singapore was one of the underdeveloped countries in the world with a GDP per capita of $428. By 2020, the country’s GDP per capita had surged to $65,233—152 times larger in 60 years.

On the other hand, Nigeria’s per capita income was $92.96 in 1960 and $2,250 in 2020—24 times larger within the same period.

The reason for the contrasting fortunes between Nigeria and Singapore is clear. Singapore runs a globalised export-led economy, supported by a strong manufacturing sector and tourism.

Huge investments went into Port of Singapore, making it the Continues on page 29

Dangote Cement plc

Axxela Nsp-spv Funding 1 (Natural Gas) PowerCorp plc plc

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0.04

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8.90

9.19

10.03

11.44

6m 12m 24-feb-21 25-Aug-21 403.75

420.81

60m 36m 30-aug-23 27- aug-25 498.32

590.10

*NTB - Nigerian Treasury Bills; *CP - Commercial Paper

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Export-led growth crucial to fixing Nigeria’s FX, job crises Gbemi Faminu

FGN

MTN Nigeria plc CP

Spot ($/N) 25-Feb-21 5-Mar-21 23-Jul-30 30-Apr-25 20-May-27 27-Feb-34

$-N 450.00 466.00 1m £-N 600.00 616.00 Currency Futures 30-sept-20 389.54 €-N 540.00 554.00 ($/N)

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Benchmark Sovereign & Corporate Bonds

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Global Citizen, NSIA launch Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund Bala Augie

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nternational advocacy organisation, Global Citizen, and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) have partnered to create the Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund (NSSF), a fund for Nigerians by Nigerians to combat the devastating effects of COVID-19 and its associated Continues on page 31

Inside

Travel, hospitality businesses to rebound as international flights resume tomorrow P. 2 Zenith Bank to pay N9.4bn interim dividend as H1 P. A3 earnings rise to N346.08bn

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news NPA terminates Intels Nigeria contract, takes over boat service operations … court intervenes

AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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igerian Ports Authority (NPA) has finally terminated its contract with Integrated Logistics Services (Intels) Nigeria Limited.

By implication, the boat service operations previously handled by the third-party company, which is Intels Nigeria Limited, would now be handled directly by the NPA, thereby raising concern over the ability of NPA to maintain the revenue standards and efficiency of services rendered by the third-party.

According to a Marine Notice 11 of 2020 published September 1, 2020, seen by BusinessDay, all Service Boat Owners and Operators are to do transactions directly with NPA in each of the port complex.

“This is to inform our numerous stakeholders in Nigeria and abroad that the Service Boat operation hitherto handled by Third-Party Company,

which is Intels Nigeria Limited, has been terminated,” the notice, signed by Daniel G. Hosea, harbour master of Lagos Ports Complex, read.

Hosea however directed that every service boat movement must be reported and booked at the office of the Harbour Master of the district, where the pilotage chits and master declaration forms would be issued and returned after every movement.

He directed that every enquiry on service boat movement should be directed to the office of Port Manager of the port or harbour master of the Pilotage District.

Reacting, Jatto Adams, general manager, corporate/ strategic communication of the NPA, who was on leave, told our correspondent that the Authority actually started procurement for the termination of the contract earlier in the year. But efforts to get additional information from

Travel, hospitality businesses to rebound as international flights resume tomorrow … hope for 241,000 jobs, hotel occupancy, bookings soars OBINNA EMELIKE & IFEOMA OKEKE

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ravel and hospitality businesses, which have been impacted heavily by months of shutdown occasioned by coronavirus pandemic, are set to rebound as international flights resume in Nigeria tomorrow, September 5, 2020.

The businesses, which groan over poor patronage despite the easing of the lockdown, especially those that depend on foreign inflows, are preparing to receive clients in good numbers again, and raising hope of recovery for the badly battered travel and hospitality sector.

Hotels, especially the international branded ones, which depend on interna-

tional flights for over 60 percent of their guests, are more excited over the resumption of international flights.

With the resumption, most hoteliers are predicting that occupancy rate, which hovers between 10 percent and 15 percent since the easing of the lockdown, would improve to at least 35 percent in a month’s time.

Brian Efa, general manager, Ibom Hotel & Golf Resort, Uyo, notes that the resumption would boost meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE), which are goldmine for hotels, and thereby improving occupancy greatly.

Wellington Mpofu, director of sales/marketing, Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel, Lagos, sees huge boost on patronage when foreign passenger in-

flow begins, as well as, Ubong Nseobot, sales/marketing manager, Southern Sun Ikoyi Hotel, which opened to guests on September 1, 2020.

Also, Martins Ojo, a hospitality expert, states that occupancy and revenue are going to pick as many have adjusted to the new normal, and are ready to get back to business.

He thinks occupancy rate will average 40 percent by September ending, as more flights come into the country.

As well, stakeholders in the aviation sector are hopeful that the economy would gradually rebound as movement of persons and goods would help boost the economy.

According to Seyi Adewale, CEO, Mainstream Cargo Limited, there is a catalytic effect of the aviation subsector and

the planned resumption of international flights in particular, as this is important for the flow of goods, trade and tourism, investment and people.

Adewale explains that with international airspace shut, about 241,000 direct and indirect jobs are at stake and this has negatively impacted jobs and the economy.

“The Federal Government has lost revenues from taxes including Value Added Tax in the closed airspace period.

According to IATA, the Gross Value Added Contribution to our GDP is $1.7 billion and you can see the immediate appreciation of the naira just to the news of opening our airspace on September 5, 2020.

“This only amplifies the

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BusinessDay to host virtual investment immigration conference

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usinessDay, West Africa’s leading business intelligence platform, will be bringing together wealthy Nigerians seeking second citizenship and globally renowned investment immigration professionals as it holds a much-anticipated virtual investment immigration conference in September.

The event to hold September 17 will provide insight into the best investments for high-net-worth individuals and their families seeking US residency and dual citizenship, as well as an avenue for networking among conference participants.

Top immigration investment experts and legal minds includingRangeDevelopments, AdeniyiDuale,andMoneystewards will grace the event.

Oyinkansola Oladitan, a senior associate at Eight Roads, a global venture capital firm, will moderate the event.

BusinessDay is hosting the virtual event amid a reported increase in the number of the super-rich from Africa and developing countries, and their families seeking the haven of second citizenship and residency in wealthier and more developed countries.

The outbreak of COVID-19 with its associated economic and social uncertainty has contributed to the rising demand for dual citizenship according to some experts.

Nation, especially those in the Caribbean, like Grenada, known for its powerful passport with visa-free access to over 130 countries, have opened their doors to HNI investors through their Citizenship by Investment

Programmes (CBI).

The CBI programme for Grenada is accessible through real estate investments offered by firms like Range Developments, which would be present at the event.

As part of the key focus for the event, Mohammed Asaria, managing director, Range Developments, is expected to share insight into why second citizenship is a necessity and not a luxury for HNIs in Africa and Nigeria, especially. Attendees will also keep up to date with immigration rules and regulations.

Apart from learning about citizenship and residency opportunities, attendees will also be taught how to make a successful application for second citizenship and successfully set up their business in foreign locations.

Expert opinion will also be given on Investment Immigration in the Post Pandemic World and the importance of Due Diligence.

Speakers for the day include Peter David, minister of foreign affairs and labour in Grenada; Mohammed Asaria, MD of Range Developments, and Adeniyi Duale, managing partner at Duale, an astute lawyer with decades of experience advising on corporate and commercial matters.

Motunrayo Ade-Famoti, CEO of Moneystewards, an investment firm with locations in Europe, Africa and the USA, will also grace the event.

Participants will be able to take advantage of exclusive introductory offers, and be able to get their questions about investment immigration answered by the best professionals globally. www.businessday.ng

Dapo Abiodun (l), governor, Ogun State, presenting a book of his one year in office to President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, yesterday.

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Low rains in South, excess in North: Climate change dealing Nigerian farmers hard blows CALEB OJEWALE

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n many parts of Southern Nigeria where there is usually more rainfall, this year, farmers say the rains ceased earlier than expected and inadequate when more showers were needed.

Whereas in the North, which usually does not get as much rain, farmers are anticipating bountiful harvests, except for places where the rains are leading to floods damaging their farms.

In the South, there was a “strange stoppage of rainfall in July ahead of the usual August breaks,” notes Femi Abioye, co-founder/CEO, Agricmedia. This he says has caused “severe damage to crops,” and mostly affecting plantain, soybeans, maize, groundnuts, vegetables (tomatoes and cu-

cumbers). It also affected cash crops seedling production, as commercial farmers could not plant cash crops due to loss of already planted cash crop seedlings in July.

“It rained on Sunday in our area and my GM called me as he was very excited and happy,” said Dapo Awofisayo, executive director at Irẹlẹ Oil Palm Company in an interview. The call from an excited manager at the company’s almost 4,000-hectare palm cultivation represents how desperate millions of farmers are eagerly looking forward to rainfall.

Reliance on rain-fed agriculture is one of the main factors undermining agricultural production in Nigeria, as noted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). However, for millions of farmers, it is the only way of

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getting farms watered. When the rains are too much, it also results in flooding for some who could end up losing their investments.

In Obafemi Owode area of Ogun State, Jide West, CEO, JK West Farms Limited, told BusinessDay he lost more than 70 percent of his 20-hectare cocoa cultivation due to inadequate rainfall. Whereas in Kebbi State, it was reported that farmers had lost “about N1 billion worth of rice and other farms produce to ravaging flood recorded in different parts of the state.”

Kabir Ibrahim, president, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), said in a phone interview that while some areas had long breaks of rain, some were dealing with flash floods.

“In the areas where the @Businessdayng

rains are not effectively falling there could be a problem with the food system. In areas where the rains are creating havoc, the farmers are losing their investments,” Ibrahim said.

Nigerian farmers often monitor the rainfall patterns of April to July and September to October/November for their crop farming and production, notes Abioye.

In 2020, he explains the rain was not stable as at April, making some farmers lose crops planted with the first and second rainfall, as they were hoping the raining season had commenced.

“It is something that has affected almost all farmers,” says Abioye, who thinks it signals “looming food scarcity and increased agri-commodities cost by 2021 if the situation does not improve.”

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NEWS

FG says end to Apapa gridlock coming soon GIFT WADA, Abuja

E L-R: Victor Etuokwu, chairman, media committee, 13th annual banking and finance conference, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN); Bayo Olugbemi, president, CIBN; Patrick Akinwuntan, managing director, Ecobank Nigeria/chairman, consultative committee, 13th annual banking and finance conference, and Seye Awojobi, registrar, CIBN, during the press conference on the 2020 13th annual banking and finance conference in Lagos.

Government reviews weak impact of Vision 2020, other plans on economy …as Buhari to launch post Vision 2020 plan December

HARRISON EDEH, Abuja

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he Federal Government on Thursday said the technical working group on Nigeria’s medium-term national development plans 2021-2025 would review weak impact of Nigeria’s Vision 20:2020 to evaluate why such vision and other similar plans made lower impacts on Africa’s largest economy.

Nigeria’s current GDP size is put at about $440 billion, but the vision 20: 20 20 has made a projection of $900 billion size of the economy by the year 2020 with a per capita income of 4000 dollars per annum. However, Nigeria did not meet the set target, but has witnessed sharp decline economically amid dwindling oil revenue resources and non-diversi-

fied economy.

Clems Ikanade Agba, minister of state for budget and national planning who spoke on this development on Thursday in Abuja while giving updates on the Medium-Term National development plans 2021-2025 and perspective plan Nigeria agenda 2050,said the post 20:20 20 plan must have a pan Nigerian outlook with wider input from the organised private sector.

Nigerian vision 20:20 20, it would be recalled was envisaged to place Nigeria among the top 20 economies in the world with a minimum GDP of 900 billion and a per capita income of not less than $4000 per annum at the end of the 2020.

On the other hand, the Economic Recover and Growth Plan (ERGP) came

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as a child of necessity to pull Nigeria out of recession with negative GDP growth rate of 1.5 percent in 2019 to path of positive and sustainable economic growth.

But the minister in his remarks, admitted weak impact of the vision as its terminal date gradually comes to an end, stating: “Nigeria has yet to attain the 20th position in the World economy and the economy is not growth at a double digit.

He noted, however, that it was safe to state that the implementation of ERGP pulled the economy out of recession to the path of economic growth, stating that the economy on the back of the impact recorded eleven 11 quaters of consecutive GDP growth since exiting recession.

“The GDP grew from 1.91

percent in 2018 to 2.27 percent in 2019, but declined to 1.87 percent in the first quarter of 2020 and -6.1 percent in the 2nd quarter due to the impact of Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

He further informed that a successor plan for vision 20: 2020 was underway on the back the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari, to enable government guide and direct its policies going forward.

According to him, a technical working groups inaugurated on May 4 for “Macroeconomic Framework and Growth diagnostic” group to identify the policies and provide macroeconomic projects for the new plans has advanced in their work, while they are expected to also consider the performance of the outgoing plans and sector policy documents in the past periods.

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xecutive secretary of Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Hassan Bello, has assured that the gridlock typically experienced around Nigeria’s port corridors will soon disappear.

The assurance is buoyed by the ongoing rail deployment for evacuation of cargoes from the port, as well as the digitalization of shipping operations, to ensure effectiveness and better service delivery, Bello said.

He stated this on Thursday, during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja where he emphasised that “Nigeria is too big to rely on one mode of transportation.”

He said arrangement is on top gear to make use of rail transport which will be more effective and financially beneficial for its operations in the country.

He said he held a meeting with Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) where they strengthened the issue of the standard operating procedures for rail.

“The most important thing is to make sure ports are efficient because, if ports are efficient, then a lot of benefits will be accrued to the government and the entire Nigerians. We want to make sure the transport is also contributing to the GDP,” he stated.

“There is no doubt about it, transport drives the economy, and what are we

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talking about, it’s all about infrastructure, employment, content, and so on.”

Bello said a major challenge facing the country is the over dependency on road transportation.

“Before now, we had some challenges with Nigerian ports, because of some distortions, our dependence on the road has caused us a lot and has made it impossible for transportation to make expected contributions to the economy in terms of revenue, employment and infrastructure but this government is very serious, if not for Covid-19, we would not be having gridlock, we would have connected the rail to the port.

Bello recalled a federal government policy statement that, all ports should be linked with rail, and noted that the Chinese construction company would have linked not only Apapa, but also Tincan Island with the rail if Covid-19 pandemic did not interfere with original plans.

He said the council is engaged with relevant stakeholders to put in place modalities for the safe return of normal operation within all ports in the country.

He said that the council’s cardinal points would be the digitilisation of the port; multi-modern approach to the port and multi-national co-operation, as well as 24 hours ports operation.

Speaking on the other achievement of the council, Bello said “the council is currently building a dry port in Ibadan, Kano dry

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Nigeria, Korea agree to expand cooperation in trade, shipping development AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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igeria and South Korea have agreed to intensify and expand collaboration in bilateral trade and shipping development in line with global economic dynamics.

The agreement was reached in Lagos during a meeting between Bashir Jamoh, director-general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), and Kim In-Taek, consul general, Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Nigeria.

According to a statement

by Philip Kyanet, head, Corporate Communications of NIMASA, Jamoh said that development of Nigeria’s maritime potential was a critical element of President Muhammadu Buhari’s economic diversification agenda.

Jamoh, who stated that the Republic of Korea was an important partner in the effort to harness the enormous treasures of Nige-

ria’s marine environment, said there is a great deal of interest in harnessing the nation’s rich maritime resources and potential as new sources of government revenue under the Nigerian government’s economic diversification drive.

“The relationship between the two countries dates back to the 1980s.

We have been together on trade, power, and energy.

And in the meeting I had with In-Taek, we discussed possible areas of cooperation in terms of ship repairs and ship recycling and we agreed that we will continue to improve on trade cooperation,” Jamoh said.

To consolidate on the already existing relationship and increase trade, he noted, that there was a need for both countries to put in more effort, adding “Interestingly, we have agreed to improve cooperation in areas like shipbuilding, ship repairs, and ship recycling among others.”

He reiterated that shipping development was part of his administration’s

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three-point agenda, which also includes maritime safety and maritime security.

In his remarks, In-Taek described NIMASA as an important organisation, saying Korea is willing to develop a good relationship with the Nigerian maritime sector.

“Nigeria has the potential because it is a leading country, not only in the shipping area, but also in other businesses in Africa.

Nigeria has a big economy, with the population as an added advantage in the continent; hence, the Koreans can do business with Nigeria successfully,” he said.

In-Taek, who is nearing the end of his two-year tenure in Nigeria, thanked the Korean authorities for giving him the opportunity to serve in Nigeria. He called on the NIMASA directorgeneral to extend the cooperation accorded him to his successor.

Korea is a leading shipbuilder in the world, accounting for nearly 40 percent of global ship orders.

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comment On being a Jones Tales from the main road

Eugenia Abu

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was twelve years old when my father, the respected Educationist and Public servant, Alfred Amodu told his children, not to try and be like the Joneses. As he stated at the time. “You all be the Jones, let your friends and classmates pick up your own values.” It was an eye opening statement but one that stayed with me for life.

The English parlance” trying to be like the Joneses” is for the initiated, pretty much self-explanatory. When you want to be like other people, follow trends and be like your friends even when you do not understand what they do, when you are trying too hard to keep up and fit in. That is being like the Joneses.

It has always been my mantra to stay true to myself when I see other people doing new things that is not up my street. At some point, it was so posh for ladies to smoke but my mum being a medical personnel had drilled it in our heads that you compromise your lungs and die young if you smoke. My mum will advise me to be brave enough of my acquaintances who smoked, to stop

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because it was not good for them. That was being a Jones.

It was all I could do to explain to some persons that I did not do cleavage or show flesh and I went a step further to explain to them and younger girls who I mentor that you do not gain much by exposing yourself because it detracted from your brilliance and suggested something else.

A couple of months before the Coronavirus brouhaha, I had read in the papers how a man found out that his fourteen-year-old daughter was a Marlian. You know the musician, Naira Marley and his cult following of young and impressionable persons who live by his words and his lewd and less than wholesome lyrics. So, as I was saying, this man’s daughter was sent home because she was considered a Marlian.

Her father went to school to ask and the school Principal asked him what she had told him. Raving and ranting, he told the school he had brought up his daughter well and now she was being accused of being a cult member at fourteen just because she liked a certain musician.

To his utter shock, the Principal told him that they had been investigating the school population and found out that female Marlians did not wear underpants and that was part of the rules for becoming a member. He was told that his daughter had kept her underpants in her bag and worn none for days as part of her membership vows.

This poor man had never even heard of Naira Marley. Shamefaced, he went home and confronted his daughter who had brought shame upon the family.

Peer pressure is a big deal in teenage years and even among adults and unfortunately, the pull is very strong in this age of too many images and brands and videos and on-line content as well as traditional content pulling young persons in different diverse directions.

But my father’s advice those many years ago has ensured that I keep my head straight and be my own person.

This is what I advise many young persons and adults too to do. The fact that Lagbaja’s children are in one school whose fees are astronomical does not mean you should now try to defraud your bank, your client or your friend in order to be like the Jones’s. Live within your means. A lot of people go into debt to show off. They want the neighbours to know they can go to Dubai with the whole family for holiday and post pictures to show that they were actually there. In reality, they have wiped out their savings and are borrowing money for upkeep and paying school fees.

I have always wondered why your matter should concern another person.

If it is Yankari you can go for holiday, so be it. But the internet age is putting pressure on a lot of persons to try to be persons other than themselves, which is sad. If you ask psychiatrists, they will tell you that there is an increasing number of people with delusions of grandeur, anxiety, narcissism and depression because they are all trying to meet people’s perception.

So for those of you trying to be like the Joneses here are a few thoughts for you; a) If you fly economy, will you die?

Why do you have the need to borrow

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When you want to be like other people, follow trends and be like your friends even when you do not understand what they do, when you are trying too hard to keep up and fit in. That is being like the Joneses

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generous, interesting, industrious, prosperous, sensitive and valuable.

Furthermore, disyllabic (two-syllable) words are complex with regard to comparison. The reason is that they could admit the ‘er/est’ inflection and/or the ‘more/most’ inflection. As a general rule, disyllabic words that end in ‘le’ (humble, simple, feeble, noble and subtle) ‘er’ (clever) and ‘y’ (dirty, angry, happy, healthy, hungry, noisy, pretty, rosy, naughty, smelly, gloomy, early, heavy, lovely and whatnot) attract ‘er/est’.

In sharp contrast, two-syllable adjectives such as careful, foolish, pleasant, useful and learned attract ‘more/most’. Intriguingly, though, we have a sprinkling of disyllabic adjectives that could attract both ‘er/est’ and ‘more/most’ inflections.

To consolidate this justification, the adjective, ‘polite’, is a case in point: 4. Ms. Davidson is the most polite individual I have met hitherto (correct).

Ms. Davidson is the politest individual I have met hitherto (correct).

In equal measure, other characteristic examples are wicked (wickeder/more wicked, wickedest/most wicked), stupid (stupider/more stupid, stupidest/most stupid), handsome (handsomer/ more handsome, handsomest/most handsome), simple (simpler/more simple, simplest/most simple) and common (commoner/more common, commonest/most common).

Closely trailing the aforementioned category are irregular adjectives. As the name connotes, the comparative and superlative forms of these adjectives are obtained through unconventional methods that require mastery on the part of language users. Quintessential examples consist of: good (better, best), bad/ill (worse, worst), far (farther/further, furthest), many/more (much, most) and little (less, least).

The last class of adjectives are those that are regarded as non-gradable, extreme or absolute.

On the strength of their nomenclatures, these are adjectives that are absolute in themselves or canwww.businessday.ng

The Gift of Gab

not be graded/measured. In other words, they portray no middle ground. As a consequence, these adjectives cannot be heightened or intensified by comparative and superlative forms. For a much clearer perspective, when an animal is ‘dead’, it cannot be ‘more dead’ or ‘most dead’ than other deceased creatures. Hence, ‘dead’ is patently non-gradable. In a similar vein, when something is ‘preferred’, it is liked or desired more than any other thing. On account of the foregoing, suffice it to say: 5. Texas is Ibrahim’s more preferred holiday destination (incorrect).

Texas is Ibrahim’s preferred holiday destination (correct).

6. Aeons ago, gold was the most preferred means of exchange (incorrect).

Aeons ago, gold was the preferred means of exchange (correct).

In the light of this revelation, it is as plain as day that ‘preferred’ cannot be graded or heightened with comparative and superlative forms. Further to this, while I can declare that something is ‘more/most important,’ — because ‘important’ is gradable — it is downright inadmissible to assert that something is ‘more/most essential’. The rationale behind the foregoing is that ‘essential’ is a stronger or non-gradable form of ‘important’ and it is obviously immeasurable.

Other representative examples of non-gradable adjectives are perfect, unique, married, pregnant, freezing, hideous, positive, enormous, gorgeous, immaculate, astonished, exorbitant, devastated, alive, hilarious, positive, ravenous, magnificent and exhilarating. Another distinguishing feature of non-gradable adjectives is that, by and large, they cannot be modified or intensified by the following adverbs: very, so or too. For exactitude’s sake, they are often modified with ‘absolutely’, ‘completely’, ‘totally’, ‘really’, ‘utterly’ and ‘quite’. I shall adduce some statements to buttress this viewpoint.

7. The tuition fees of some schools on Lagos

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money so you can show everyone you can fly first class or business class when in fact you are owing two banks and your house is about to be foreclosed.

I am a great traveller and twice I met a former minister and a recently retired Chief executive flying economy.

Each told me they were watching their finances. And as my mum would say, the plane still arrives at the same time whatever class you fly. Thing is I love business class and first class is a blast but I would not borrow money to fly in those classes if I cannot afford it. b) Guess what? Some of the richest people in the world hardly wear designer clothes. Some wear T-shirts of the same colour and others wear the simplest fabrics for their tailoring.

Perhaps their money may be noticed in their watches or their shoes. So talk to me about that clutch bag you bought for the price of a three-bedroom flat? I mean I love it but I doubt that it makes you taller, if everyone knows you are owing Mama Risi for the damn bag.

But seriously, I love the beautiful things of life. I would carry them, wear them, and adorn them but I certainly will not break a bank to own them.

The lesson of “Be the Jones” is to be authentic and not constantly look over your shoulder so you can belong. You are enough, just be the best that you can be, not left overs of another person.

Enough said!

Eugenia Abu is a broadcaster, writer, trainer, brand and multimedia strategy expert and media consultant.

Email: abu_eugenia@yahoo.com Phone number: 08033109820

Handsomer or More Handsome: Comparison of adjectives he words that are infused into expressions, in order to describe nouns and pronouns are designated as adjectives.

On the heels of this definition, let us consider three sentence structures: 1. Funmi is tall.

2. She is an intelligent lady.

3. I love big-budget movies.

Having perused the above-mentioned expressions, you will realise that ‘tall’, ‘intelligent’ and ‘big-budget’ are adjectives that were incorporated within the sentence structures to qualify ‘Funmi’, ‘lady’ and ‘movies’, respectively.

Remarkably, one essential feature of adjectives is comparison and there are three degrees namely: positive, comparative and superlative. The positive form describes a single entity (they are adjectives in their original forms), the comparative state compares two phenomena, while the superlative form compares three or more items.

As a sequel to that, adjectives are fundamentally classified into three for the purpose of comparison. These three categories are regular adjectives, irregular adjectives and non-gradable adjectives.

Accordingly, this treatise will shed light on these three classifications and their accompanying technicalities.

For starters, regular adjectives derive their comparative and superlative forms from the addition of ‘er/est’ or ‘more/most’. Monosyllabic words; that is, words that can be pronounced in a single-breath effort, attract only the ‘er/est’ inflection. Prime examples of adjectives in this category include: tall (taller, tallest), thin (thinner, thinnest), brave (braver, bravest), large (larger, largest) and tough (tougher, toughest). Polysyllabic words (words with three or more syllables), on the other hand, attract the ‘more/most’ inflection. This department comprises adjectives such as beautiful (more beautiful, most beautiful) and intelligent (more intelligent, most intelligent).

Other textbook examples are: attractive, sophisticated, complicated, dangerous, comfortable,

9

Ganiu Bamgbose Island are very exorbitant (incorrect).

The tuition fees of some schools on Lagos Island are quite exorbitant (correct).

8. Our fingerprints are so unique (incorrect).

Our fingerprints are totally/absolutely unique (correct).

9. I am very positive that Shina will be appointed as CEO (incorrect).

I am quite/absolutely positive that Shina will be appointed as CEO (correct).

10. Accountability and transparency are very critical to the success of the publishing concern (incorrect).

Accountability and transparency are really critical to the success of the publishing concern (correct).

11. Aminat appeared very gorgeous at the beauty contest (incorrect).

Aminat appeared utterly/absolutely gorgeous at the beauty contest (correct).

12. Moses’ submissions are very correct (incorrect).

Moses’ submissions are absolutely/completely/perfectly/quite correct (correct).

Note: The rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https:// businessday.ng Dr Bamgbose (Dr GAB) has a PhD in English and lectures at the Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos. He is a social commentator who writes on different issues of national concern and the author of daily online English lessons titled “English for Today” with hundreds of lessons available on his website www.englishdietng.com.

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The post-coronavirus global economy and international order (1) THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS

Obadiah Mailafia

H

onourable Vice-Chancellor Professor Olanrewaju Fagbohun; Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Elect, Professor Elias Wahab; the Head of Department of Economics, Associate Professor Ibrahim Bakare; Distinguished Professors, Colleagues, Students and Friends.

I am highly honoured to have been invited to give this maiden lecture of the Economics Department of Lagos State University (LASU). It is gratifying to note that, over a relatively short period of its existence, LASU has registered such impressive strides and has positioned itself among the front ranks of the leading institutions of higher education in our country.

I congratulate you for this great feat and I wish you even greater accomplishments in the years ahead.

Honourable Vice-Chancellor Sir, the history of our planet has been a titanic struggle between viruses and Homo Sapiens. This has been so since the first settled civilisations appeared around Mesopotamia some 5,000 years ago. Archaeologists have found evidence of plagues that devastated entire communities in ancient times.

Indeed, the American polymath Jared Diamond wrote his Pulitzer-winning book, Germs, Guns and Steel (1997) to explain how diseases, military force and technology have interacted with ecology and geopolitics to reshape the fate and destiny of nations.

Distinguished colleagues, there is enough evidence in history to show that disease and plagues do affect the trajectories of nations and civilisations. Around 430 BC, the Greek historian Thucydides recounted the story of a plague that killed more than half the population of his native Athens: “people in good health were all of a

sudden attacked by violent heats in the head, and redness and inflammation in the eyes, the inward parts, such as the throat or tongue, becoming bloody and emitting an unnatural and fetid breath”.

The two leading powers among the Greek city states were Athens and Sparta. Following the Peloponnesian War as recorded so brilliantly by the historian Thucydides, the warlike state of Sparta got the upper hand. I am inclined to believe that the plagues that decimated half the population of Athens did contribute to their geopolitical decline as a city-state, paving the way to the hegemonic rise of Sparta.

The Antonine Plague that broke out in ancient Rome inflicted a death toll of 5 million between 165-180 AD. It could have been a factor in weakening the Roman Imperium and ultimately contributing to its eventual demise.

The Bubonic Plague inflicted a catastrophic devastation on the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Justinian, around 527-565 AD. The “Black Death” wiped out 60 percent of the population of Europe during 1346-1353. It also freed the lower orders from a millennial serfdom, leading to the collapse of the British feudal order. These changes helped lay the groundwork for the rise of the modern capitalist economic system as we know it today.

These plagues may also have indirectly contributed to the collapse of Byzantium and to the sacking of the glorious city of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453.

My dear students, it would interest you to know that early modern Venice was the pre-eminent commercial centre, naval power and the most dominant force in the Mediterranean in the early modern period. The Italian Plague of 1629-31 decimated Venice and brought it down from its apogee.

The decline and fall of Venice paved the way for the rise of Northern European states such as England and the Dutch Republic. We have been told that the word “quarantine” derives from the Venetian dialect word for “40 days.”

During the 15th – 16th centuries, native Amerindian populations contracted strange diseases through their contacts with Europeans. The Aztec Empire was destroyed by smallpox, opening the door to European colonisation in the Americas. By contrast,

many parts of West Africa were closed to European adventurers because of the mosquito and malaria.

In the 20th century, the Spanish Flu of 1918 killed 50 million people in Europe, adding to the tens of millions who died during the First World War. These plagues contributed to the weakening of Europe and was a factor in the weakening of the Europeandominated international order of that epoch. Many of our people do not know that some 100,000 Nigerians, particularly from the coastal cities of Lagos, Calabar and Port Harcourt also perished from the Spanish Flu. My dear students, in our 21st century, there have been outbreaks of viruses such as the Asian Bird Flu, SARS, Ebola, HIV-AIDS, and the novel coronavirus, officially known as Covid-19. Thanks to advances in medicine and the biomedical life-sciences, the effects have not been as bad as they might have been centuries ago. But for poor developing countries, the tolls have been devastating, as exemplified by our recent experience with Ebola in West Africa. Apart from the human costs, fragile economies have been undermined while the reservoir of social capital that holds communities together has been destroyed.

The novel coronavirus which broke out in the Chinese provincial city of Wuhan has turned into a global pandemic of unprecedented proportions. The human toll may have been comparatively modest in numerical terms, but the material impact has been unprecedented. The impact of the generalised economic lockdown across the world, has been a phenomenon never seen in centuries. It is a Black Swan event that could not have been anticipated by the normal laws of probability. Economic historians have drawn parallels with the economic devastation of World War II. According to the statistics, as we speak, there have been 25.2 million cases worldwide, out of which 847,241 deaths have been registered, while 17.5 million recoveries have taken place. We still have 6.8 million active cases to reckon with across the world.

In terms of country, the top 5 worst cases are: USA with 6 million cases and 183,653 deaths; followed by Brazil with 3.7 million cases and 117,756 deaths; India with 3.3 million cases and 60,629 deaths; Russia with 970,865 cases and

‘

We are still within the first quartile of the worst cases globally. More vigilance and more work is needed to stem the tide of this evil whirlwind

(Text of the Maiden Annual Lecture of the Department of Economics, Lagos State University, LASU, on Thursday 27 August, 2020).

Dr. Mailafia is a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, a development economist and public finance expert with a DPhil from Oxford obmailafia@gmail.com; 08036590990 (text messages only)

Strategic positioning: How powerful relationships are formed

A

few years ago, I heard one of my business mentors of inestimable worth, Niyi Adesanya, say that “success is based on your relationships.” I have found that to be very true. If you have good relationships with powerful people, you too will become powerful!

To fulfil purpose, you need to be a problemsolver; you need to have a solution and a platform to execute your solution. You need a lamp and a lampstand.

Solutions are rooted in skills and relationships are the most strategic platforms. You don’t need to serve everybody. Just serving one powerful person can earn you a fortune and attract the attention of the crowd to you. To unlock the big platforms that you desire, you need to establish strategic relationships and service them accordingly.

Relationships are established based on the exchange of value in the form of little favours.

Our labours are never enough. At best, they help us to survive; but to succeed, we all need favours. This is why we establish relationships.

But whether people will be interested in having a relationship with you or not is determined by the value that you bring to the table.

Do you know that by just being in the presence of someone, you are stripping him of his privacy? By talking to him, you are placing a demand on his listening ability – he has to give you his ears. The problem is even amplified if he is busy with something else that he considers more important or he is just not in the mood to listen. To get him committed, you must have a strong reason that is not self-centred.

We will always have problems but rather than expecting others to solve our problems for us, we must first think of solving theirs for them. Consider any person that many people look up to today, they are solving other people’s problems – not just their own.

Skilful men have the capacity to do favours to powerful men. Because of this, kings have no choice than to favour them. This is how strategic relationships are earned and sustained.

In the royal chronicles of Israel, it is obvious that David did a favour to Saul by killing Goliath

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because to Saul and the entire Israeli army, Goliath was a big deal. The Goliath episode was the beginning of David’s relationship with Saul. It also marked his transition from the wilderness to the palace (the big platform).

By interpreting the king’s dream, Joseph did a favour to Pharaoh. Although he did it quite easily, that dream was a big deal to Pharaoh and the entire wise men and magicians of Egypt. Joseph’s favour of Pharaoh established his relationship to the throne. Previously, his platform was the prison.

What problems do you observe among people? What array of skills do you have to solve both small and big problems? What strategic relationships are you building with your skills?

If you must climb fast and far, you must be known for the problems that you are solving.

When it is said in the corridors of power that “I know a man,” let that man be you!

That is why you need to be consistent. Don’t give up just because things are not working the way you planned. Kings are not merely interested in you because you are good at what you

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16,683 deaths; and South Africa with 615,701 and13,502 deaths.

Ladies and gentlemen, in terms of number of infections and deaths, Nigeria ranks 50th out of 215 countries and territories, with 53,727 cases and 1,011 deaths. This is no reason for us to beat our chest. We are still within the first quartile of the worst cases globally. More vigilance and more work is needed to stem the tide of this evil whirlwind. So far, I think the Task Force on COVID-19 has done a good job, given the constraints of resources and logistics. But we expect more action and we urge them to do even more so that our country will return to normality.

The global economic impact of the pandemic has been horrendous. The Nigerian economy has been thrown into the jaws of another recession. The collapse of oil prices has deepened the fiscal insolvency of the government.

There is today a yawning gap in the budget deficit. Millions more have been thrown into destitute poverty.

The stylised facts about the global economic consequences are already familiar.

The United States, the world’s leading economy has suffered job losses of close to 47 million. Thousands of businesses have gone under. Trillions of dollars have been wiped off from the stock exchanges.

China, the engine and locomotive of the global economy has taken a big hit. The Chinese automobile industry has suffered losses exceeding 20 percent. Exports have been reduced by 17 percent. The Chinese GDP has fallen by more than 6.8 percent. Growth in 2020 is forecast to fall to 2.5 percent.

The EU GDP is forecast to contract by 7.5 percent during 2020 while the British economy I expected to shrink by 35 percent by year’s end. India has suffered a staggering 110 million job losses.

Insight for leading with

BRIGHT UKWENGA

do, they want to know how good you are!

Therefore, every skilful man needs to master his skill and establish a track record through continuous output and improvement. This is what gains him the trust of the public and the powerful. Skills get you attention; track record gets you traction!

Ukwenga is an esteemed Author, Conference Speaker, Leadership Development Consultant, and the CEO, ScribeTribe an innovative media and publishing enterprise helping individual and corporate brands to express their ideas creatively and effectively

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Friday 04 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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CAMA, NGOs, Pentecostals and the Nigerian reality HumanAngle

Femi olugbile

R

ecently an updated set of prescriptions to regulate the operations of registered companies and other entities was signed into law by the President. The law, known as Companies and Allied Matters Act, or CAMA – has six hundred and six pages and eight hundred and seventy sections.

The advent of CAMA, while being celebrated as a timely effort to sanitise the business environment in Nigeria, including the operations of charities and “not for profit” organisations, has raised hackles in some sections of the country. The loudest outcry has been from some of the most visible figures in the “Pentecostal” Christian community.

It is interesting to look at the grounds for their sentiments.

It is difficult, at first glance, to think of anything that could conceivably be wrong in operating a Non-Governmental Organisation. If people are spending their time and, often, their own money for the public good, surely, they should be applauded. Even if they are collecting voluntary donations from other people or entities for the work, it is still difficult to see the motive as anything other than

public spiritedness.

The facts on the ground are somewhat more problematic.

The affiliations and finances of some NGOs are murky. Sometimes, apart from the issue of finance, there may be national security implications. A vocal, “one man” faith-based NGO has been accused of receiving funding from the terrorist group ISIS. A recent CNN documentary showed another NGO with operations in Ghana and Nigeria apparently serving as a Russian front for the dissemination of disinformation on social media targeted at the USA, for the purpose of deepening divisions between blacks and whites and influencing the coming elections in favour of Donald Trump.

On yet another level, anyone with experience of government will know that while private funding for the implementation of projects for public good is always welcome, it is often impossible to match the purported “spend” of NGOs, especially the foreign-supported ones, with actual impact on the ground.

Neither the budget of the NGO nor the details of its expenditure are shared with the “beneficiary” – whether state or federal. It is customary to read in the foreign press that some millions of dollars have been spent by an organisation in a village in Lagos, or Zamfara, and not be able to relate the visible impact with the alleged amount.

Sometimes there is more than a whiff of scandal in the air. Lagos State some years ago made a determined effort to implement “Donor Coordination”, especially in its Health sector. This required “donors” to relate with the different tiers

of government to get a “mapping” of the people’s needs, to avoid duplication and clustering of projects and services in some areas, while other places were neglected, and also to “capture”, on paper at least, their spending for planning purposes. To put it as delicately as possible, Donor Coordination has not been met with a great deal of enthusiasm by “donors” working in Nigeria. It is “work in progress”.

The issue of the Christian Pentecostal ministers versus CAMA requires more nuanced consideration than has been offered so far on the subject. What is at stake is huge and goes beyond Nigeria. One of the “Pentecostal Ministers” has a longer, wider reach than the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Nigeria is a multi-ethnic, multireligious country in the throes of an existential crisis. There are ethnic and religious fault lines that cannot simply be ignored or wished away with ‘patriotic’ exhortations.

Some “aphorisms” garnered in Medical School capture living reality.

“You don’t have to be paranoid to live here, but it helps” And another – “That you are (labelled) paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you”.

The flamboyant lifestyles of some religious leaders in Nigeria is scandalous. They travel in elaborate convoys of expensive cars, protected by armed policemen and flaunt their private jets.

Many people have long predicted that they would get their comeuppance someday. When CAMA came, some, including members of “mainstream” Churches clapped their hands in glee.

‘

It can only be hoped that the baby will not be thrown out with the bath water, for the Nigerian public space does require regulation. But it should be regulation that will not further stoke its paranoia

Note: The rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https://businessday.ng Olugbile is a writer and psychiatrist. synthesiz@gmail.com

Narcissism and the death of leadership (1)

N

arcissism is a psychological term.

People who have never participated in a psychological class know it when they see it. The word narcissism is from Greek mythology of a handsome young man who set out looking for love. He rejects every advance of love, even from the beautiful nymph Echo. He kept looking for love and a perfect mate until he saw a reflection of himself in the water and fell in love with his image. Every day he gazes at his reflection in the water until he died. This tragic myth reflects the quest for self-admiration in our world today. His beauty so consumed narcissus, and he was unable to connect with anyone outside of himself. Eventually, he harmed everyone around him, including those who loved him.

Some researchers say the word narcissism is one of the fastest-rising searches on Google.

Many messages, statements, books, and articles on the topic routinely go viral. Dr. Craig Malkin, a Harvard Medical School psychologist, opines that it can be a great thing, in small doses. He argues that narcissism is a spectrum of selfimportance that everyone takes their place on, from complete selflessness to pure arrogance.

To understand this strange personality, a class in narcissism 101 would be helpful.

Narcissism is a set of personality traits characterised by an oversized sense of selfimportance and lack of empathy, along with a great need for attention and, in the most extreme cases, ironically fragile self-esteem ruins careers and relationships. Extreme narcissists can be know-it-alls. They may bully, blame, and humiliate others, refusing to take responsibility for their own mistakes. They can be vindictive.

“Extreme Narcissists always need to prove that they are ‘winners’ compared to other people they view as losers,” explains Joseph Burgo.

Narcissus leaders are in danger of disap-

pearing into themselves forever.

Narcissism is more than a stubborn character flaw or a severe mental illness or a rapidly spreading cultural disease. It makes no more sense to assume it is a problem than it would if we were speaking of heart rate, body temperature, or blood pressure. Because what it is, is a normal, pervasive human tendency; the drive to feel special. It is the least scary of the disorder types, as it is often confused with other social behaviours.

We are in a world of the self-esteem movement, where we struggle for significance and self-worth. We overdose on self-admiration, and as a result, the self-esteem movement gained a powerful foothold in our minds and culture. We are told to stop thinking so much about other people’s opinions or expectations. They say you need to discover who you are. Be yourself. Learn to love yourself. Build up your self-esteem. As much as this may be true, but if it is without a balance, then you have been scammed. You can be better than your current self.

The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, identifies a person with a narcissism disorder as having the following traits: 1. Grandiosity with expectations of superior treatment from other people 2. Fixation on fantasies of power, success, intelligence, attractiveness, etc.

3. Self-perception of being unique, superior, and associated with high-status people and institutions 4. Need for continual admiration from others 5. Sense of entitlement to special treatment and obedience from others 6. The exploitation of others to achieve personal gain 7. Unwillingness to empathise with the feel-

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The leadership factory with

ings, wishes, and needs of other people 8. Intense envy of others, and the belief that others are equally envious of them 9. Pompous and arrogant demeanour 10. Asking for favours without reciprocity There are degrees of narcissism that are still quite destructive to be around. Even if a person who seems to be narcissistic does not have an official diagnosis of a personality disorder, any time we feel manipulated or insecure around someone we know, we may soon question why we think that way. Not everyone with narcissistic qualities is diagnosed with a narcissistic personality disorder. There is no substitution for advice from a health professional. However, it can be helpful to recognise the toxic aspects of our relationships.

Narcissists are quite nasty at regulating what they feel and are prone to have tantrums. When disappointed for not getting what they want or what they thought they deserved, they become aggressive, lash out, ignore or ghost you, or react in some inappropriate and emotionally immature way. Similarly, if you criticise them, they might fly off the handle and belittle you, or suggest they are more expert, capable, and ultimately superior. They all support their claim that you have no right to criticise them rather than genuinely processing their emotions.

Often with narcissism, there is a perception that their traits are going to be easy to identify. However, it usually can be months or years before you see someone’s true colours.

They would not entice you into a relationship by presenting themselves as a manipulative monster. Arm yourself with all the information possible and pay attention to how someone behaves. Our intuition usually tells us precisely what we need to know. We must pay attention and listen to it.

Only a narcissist would claim to grasp narcissism fully. Armchair psychologists attach

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Sadly, CAMA, in its present form, is imprecisely defined in areas and capable of being used beyond the advertised purpose. There is Law, and then there is Context. The carefully calibrated engagement of Britain’s Charity Commission with Pastor Olukoya’s MFM over late filing and failure to report improprieties in its UK church operations is instructive.

The dialogue has lasted for years. An interim manager is in place, with a strict brief to review financial and governance processes and recommend changes. The Church-appointed trustees are still in place and have exclusive control over “matters relating to religious activities”.

Section 839 of CAMA empowers “The Commission” to suspend an Association’s Trustees and appoint an Interim Manager after a court order has been obtained following a petition by “The Commission” OR “one fifth of the Association”.

Presumably that refers to Trustees and not “members”, since some churches have millions of “members”. The criteria for selecting the “Manager” are not stipulated. It gets worse. “The Court” may appoint “additional Trustees”. The nature of those “trustees” and whether they are required to be members of “The Association” or “outsiders” is not stated.

Sections 842, 843 and 844 empower “The Commission” “with the approval of the Minister” effectively to take control of the Association’s financial resources.

Toye Sobande the term to friends, relatives, and maybe some leaders and managers. But there are many shades. “People have differing degrees of narcissism from high to low,” says Eunike Wetzel, a psychology professor.

People can also have varying levels of each of narcissism’s three main facets, with effects ranging from good too bad to ugly. The three main facets are: Leadership: Extraversion, high self-esteem, a strong persistence toward goals, and a desire to lead. By itself, this can be a very healthy trait, particularly in work and social situations.

Vanity: Taking excessive pride in one’s appearance and achievements, wanting to be the centre of attention, and harbouring grandiose fantasies of success.

Entitlement: This relates to toxicity in interpersonal relationships. There is a tendency to disagree a lot and devalue others, use them as pawns for personal gain, feel above everyone else, and an extreme need for admiration and affirmation. At its worst, this is the ugliest facet of narcissism.

Do look out for part two of this article.

However, you can take the Narcissistic Personality Quiz to gauge your narcissistic traits. https://psychcentral.com/quizzes/ narcissistic-personality-quiz/ Sobande is a Lawyer and Leadership Consultant. He is a Doctoral Candidate at Regent University, Virginia Beach, USA, for a Ph.D. in Strategic Leadership. He can be contacted by Email: contactme@toyesobande.com

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Friday 04 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Editorial Publisher/Editor-in-chief

Frank Aigbogun editor Patrick Atuanya

DEPUTY EDITORS John Osadolor, Abuja Tayo Fagbule NEWS EDITOR Osa Victor Obayagbona NEWS EDITOR (Online) Chuks Oluigbo MANAGING DIRECTOR Dr. Ogho Okiti EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS Fabian Akagha EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STRATEGY, INNOVATION & PARTNERSHIPS Oghenevwoke Ighure ADVERT MANAGER Ijeoma Ude MANAGER, CONFERENCES & EVENTS Obiora Onyeaso BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER (South East, South South) Patrick Ijegbai COPY SALES MANAGER Florence Kadiri DIGITAL SALES MANAGER Linda Ochugbua GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)

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GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (South) Ignatius Chukwu

Need to foster entrepreneurship ecosystem for women Capacity building must go beyond training

T

he COVID-19 pandemic has continued to disrupt economic activities all over the world with the informal sector and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) at the centre of the crises. With the high level of female participation in entrepreneurship which the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, in 2019 put at 58 percent against 45 percent for male, there is no doubt that COVID-19 crisis will hinder the progress so far made in advancing women’s entrepreneurship development globally.

Unfortunately, while many countries around the world are witnessing expansion in women’s entrepreneurial activities, Nigeria, the largest economy in Africa, lags seriously behind. This situation needs to be changed by supporting women to overcome barriers to occupying key positions in the SME value chain.

Research findings by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) indicate that in Nigeria, at the micro segment, the number of women-owned businesses is almost equal to men-owned businesses. However, in the SMEs segment, there is a significant

drop in female participation to less than 25 percent which suggests that women are either dropping off or not growing as quickly as their male counterparts.

The third edition of the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE) ranked Uganda, Ghana and Botswana as the top three countries with the highest percentages of women-owned businesses across the 58 markets evaluated around the world. The report was based on publicly available data from the International Labour Organisation, UNESCO and the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor.

With rising problems of poverty and unemployment across Nigeria there is growing interest in fostering entrepreneurial activities. The interest rests on the belief that entrepreneurship stimulates economic growth and development.

Consequently, upon this assumption, women entrepreneurship has emerged as an important area of economic growth with governments and researchers in both developed and developing countries giving it a great deal of attention. Whether they are involved in small or medium scale production activities, or in the informal sectors, women entrepreneurial activities are not only a means for economic survival

but also have positive social benefits for both women and the social environment.

Entrepreneurial activities make women more independent and allow them to effectively balance their role as wives and mothers.

Consequently, developing women’s entrepreneurial capacity would go a long way in harnessing their ability to identify and capitalise on entrepreneurial opportunities within their environment and also empower them economically and socially.

In-spite of the significant role they play in economic and industrial development of Nigeria, women entrepreneurs operate in an unfavourable business environment, characterised by various challenges ranging from infrastructural deficiencies, corruption, low access and high cost of finance and weak institutions. Not only that, women entrepreneurs are not afforded the same opportunities as their male counterparts, due in part to deep rooted discriminatory sociocultural norms which perceive them as wives and mothers.

Women also lack human and external resources for starting and developing their own business ranging from government policies, infrastructure and technological factors, lack of assets, lack of

information, competition, tax burdens, motivation, social-cultural factors and family responsibility. The business environment for women, which reflects a complex interplay of differential factors as stated above ultimately results in the disadvantaged status of women in our society.

While it is imperative that concerted efforts are made to link women to the value chains of large corporations in order to empower them, in building and nurturing women-owned businesses, it is important to adopt a holistic approach that focuses on the four fundamentals of finance, information, market and technology. Capacity building must go beyond training in the development of women-owned businesses. Women are fast and adaptive learners but must also be given the support of mentoring and hand-holding to reach their highest potential.

From our experience with Ebola, COVID-19 and other epidemics, the economic impacts of a health crisis will have a disproportionate impact on women which will widen the gender inequality gap.

As a country we must, therefore, articulate organised ways to tackle these expectations and lay the right building blocks for posterity.

HEAD, HUMAN RESOURCES Adeola Obisesan

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13

INSIGHT

Why NGO intervention is crucial in the Nigerian Education sector

Q

uality and affordable social services are integral to the development of any community. Education, particularly, is an area where long term investment yields significant returns to the community in the form of skills development, innovation, and higher levels of economic contribution. The education sector is also a focal point within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 4: Quality Education) to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

At Edugrant, we believe quality education is directly correlated with empowerment, freedom and the opportunity to meet one’s true potential. Our firm belief is the future of any economy will significantly depend on the provision of education opportunities for all. No student left behind.

The Inequitable Nigerian Education Ecosystem A UNICEF survey conducted in 2015 indicated the population of out of school children in Nigeria had risen from 10.5 million to 13.2 million within the past year, the highest in the world. This growing number of out of school children characterizes the limited capacity of publicly funded schools to support a largely you – and growing – population. With economic headwinds faced in Nigeria in the past few years, it is clear government capacity to fund the required gap has been significantly stifled at best. This lack of funding has led to ever-increasing disparities in educational outcomes between public and private school students.

Beyond this has been the manifestation of economic disenfranchisement amongst young people unable to afford private education.

Some of the challenges that have continued to fuel this inequality include: Inadequate funding for the education sector: Nigeria’s education sector was allocated 7% of the national budget for 2020 –significantly lower than the UNESCO recommendation of 20%. Naturally, the lack of appropriate funding has negatively impacted the entire education ecosystem ranging from inadequate funding for the construction of new public schools and rehabilitation of existing facilities, as well as poor funding for teacher welfare. Opportunities for students in the public school system thereby diminishing, NGOs can play a significant role in bridging the gap by funding education opportunities within the private school system for underprivileged children. This is the basis on which

Tope Imasekha Chief Executive Officer of Edugrant

Edugrant was founded – providing hitherto out of reach educational opportunities to disenfranchised and underprivileged children. We achieve this via partnerships with corporate organization as well as well individuals (both at home and in the diaspora) who are passionate about effecting a step change in educational outcomes.

The rising cost of education versus the socialeconomic status of most Nigerians: According to the world poverty clock, 86.9 million Nigerians now live in extreme poverty; representing nearly 50% of the estimated 190 million population.

Even at this, the annual average expenditure on schooling in Nigeria by families has risen to c. 50% within the past decade. (WENR, 2017) This places a heavy burden on underprivileged families who cannot afford to stretch daily incomes (required for sustenance) to cover long term investment in their children. As a result, we at Edugrant have created a range of intervention programs at www.edugrantng. org to help address this issue e.g. our Women in STEM scholarship. www.businessday.ng

Large disparities be tween boy’s and girl’s education: Gender is an important factor in the pattern of educational marginalization. According to a 2017 UNICEF report, c. 27% of school-age girls in Nigeria are currently not enrolled in schools. The Gender Parity Index (GPI) also shows the ratio of girls to boys at each level of education consistently skewed towards male school enrolment. Breaking this down regionally, the North-East and NorthWest of Nigeria have female primary net attendance rates of 47.7% AND 47.3% respectively. (UNICEF, 2017) (UNICEF, 2017) More NGOs should be encouraged to create programs targeted at supporting the female child’s education. We at Edugrant have begun with a focus on tertiary education and encourage as many women interested in furthering their disciplines at the higher education level to sign up for our programs.

The role and intervention of NGOs in the education sector so far The government alone cannot bear

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the brunt of solving all existing challenges within the education ecosystem effectively and efficiently. There is an absolute need for public-private partnerships to support these efforts. Therefore, to sustain the education sector in Nigeria, all stakeholders must be involved, from parents and guardians, to society in general (including but not limited to collaboration between the private sector and NGOs).

The role and interventions of NGOs today in ensuring the challenges faced are solved cannot be overemphasized. NGOs have created initiatives to ensure: Reduction in the number of out of school children and dropouts: Over the years, we have seen NGOs take the forefront in ensuring the number of out of school children in Nigeria is reduced by creating initiatives and programs to improve access to quality education at all levels of the education sector; including education for children with special needs, and marginalized groups like internally displaced persons, slum dwellers @Businessdayng

and persons living with disabilities NGOs have also taken steps and measures to spread awareness about the need for education in rural communities, orienting members of the public on issues facing children’s education and creating various avenues to increase the enrollment rate of children from rural areas in school.

Scholarship programs should also be strengthened and supported to cater to the educational needs of the underprivileged /disadvantaged groups, marginalized groups and special groups.

Advocacy for girl child education: Non-Governmental organizations in Nigeria have also in recent years taken a strong stand on the advocacy of girl child education.

The Importance of gender advocacy cannot be overemphasized in this country. Organizations such as Women Impacting Nigeria (WIN) have focused on the advocacy of girl’s education and have created programs and initiatives to bridge existing gaps.

Advocacy on education policies and the curriculum: The primary objective of some NGOs is to question the existing policies, paradigms and complacency about a given top-down curriculum and to make it more contextual and related to learners’ environment and needs.

In conclusion, NGOs play a significant role in the provision of quality education in Nigeria and should be commended and encouraged. Education is a serious business and the future of our country Nigeria depends on the amount and quality of human capital we produce. NGOs have come to stay and are putting a stronghold on tackling a lot of the challenges faced in the sector. The government cannot do it alone, we as citizens have a role to play and we must continue to act.

About Edugrant Edugrant is an online platform that provides a range of sponsorship opportunities for students in tertiary institutions who are not financially capable of funding their education.

Edugrant is committed to addressing 4 out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, with the provision of access to quality education being our core goal. Beyond providing access to quality education, we also seek through our various programs to eradicate poverty, strive for gender equality while reducing inequality and also creating opportunities that lead to the provision of decent work and economic growth.

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Friday 04 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES&MARKETS The Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 - what you need to know Part 8 – Template constitutional documents, seals and company registers UDO UDOMA & BELO-OSAGIE

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Background he Companies and Allied Matters Act (Chapter C20) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 (“CAMA 1990”) was initially made law in Nigeria in 1990 as a decree of the military government. It was modelled on the English Companies Act 1985. For thirty years, there were no significant amendments to the CAMA 1990, notwithstanding that England has, over the past three decades, amended and replaced its own Companies Act. Nigerian companies had to, essentially, rely on a 30-year old law to govern the way businesses operate in our dynamic and exponentially evolving global community. However, this all changed on Friday the 7th of August 2020, when President Muhammadu Buhari, gave his assent to the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 (“CAMA 2020”).

In the course of a 12-part series, Udo Udoma & BeloOsagie will provide a review of the provisions of the CAMA 2020, highlighting changes that have been introduced into the body of Nigerian company law by this groundbreaking legislation.

Template constitutional documents The CAMA 1990 set out templates of articles of association (“Articles”) for different types of companies. These were all set out in Table A of the First Schedule and contained provisions relating to classes of shares, meetings and voting.

These templates have been deleted in the CAMA 2020 and the CAMA 2020 provides in section 33(1) that the Minister of Trade may, by regulations, prescribe model Articles for companies. In practice, these regulations would be prepared by the CAC and issued to the public after they have been approved by the Minister. This change is progressive as it will ensure that the form of constitutional documents can be amended by the CAC and Minister as required without the need for an amendment of the Act through the formal legislative process.

Section 33(2) and (3) of CAMA 2020 also provides that, different models of Articles can be prescribed for different types of companies, and companies are permitted to adopt all or any of the provisions of model Articles.

Section 33(4) provides that in relation to existing com-

panies, any amendment of model Articles by regulations will not affect companies that were incorporated before the amendment takes effect. Section 34 provides that for new companies that are incorporated after the CAMA 2020 was signed into law, upon incorporation, the relevant model Articles in force as at the date of registration of the new company will form part of that company’s Articles (even where the company has registered Articles at incorporation), unless the relevant model Articles are specifically excluded or modified.

The common seal Under the CAMA 1990, every company was required to have a common seal, the use of which had to be regulated by the company’s Articles. This seal, which was also usually referred to as the “company seal” was typically affixed to agreements, deeds and other official documents executed by companies. The requirement for every company to have a common seal has been deleted in the CAMA 2020. As a result by virtue of section 98, a company may choose to have a common seal but need not have one.

The CAMA 2020 in section 103 addresses situations where another law or regulation requires a document to be executed under the common seal of a company or prescribes consequences for not sealing. In such circumstances, the CAMA 2020 provides that the relevant document would be deemed to have satisfied the provisions of that law or regulation if the document is signed (a) in the case of a document or proceeding requiring authentication, by a director, secretary, or other authorised officer of the company; or (b) in the case of a document described or expressed as a deed, either by (i) a director and the secretary of the company (ii) at least 2 directors of the company; or (iii) a director of the company in the presence of at least one

witness who has attested the signature.

If a company chooses to have a common seal, the design and the use of the seal must be regulated by the company’s Articles. The CAMA 2020 also requires that the name of the relevant company must be engraved in legible characters on the seal.

Other entities that are permitted, under the CAMA 2020, to have a common seal, if they so choose, are limited liability partnerships and incorporated trustees.

New statutory registers The CAMA 2020 in section 320 introduces a new statutory register that must be kept by companies. This register, called the Register of Directors’ Residential Addresses, is required to state the usual residential addresses of the company’s directors. This register differs from the Register of Directors that section 318 of CAMA 2020 also requires companies to maintain; the Register of Directors only contains information on the “service address” of a director which, in some cases, is the company’s registered office. If, however, a director’s usual residential address is the same as his service address (as indicated in the company’s Register of Directors), then the Register of Directors’ Residential Addresses only needs to contain an entry to that effect. Section 321 of the CAMA 2020 provides that If there is any change in the information contained in the Register of Directors or the Register of Directors’ Residential Addresses, the company must notify the CAC of such change within 14 days.

To address questions of security, the CAMA 2020 in sections 323 to 329 provides for the restriction on use and disclosure of directors’ address. The sections provide that information relating to a director’s usual residential address is considered to be protected information and, this information does

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not cease to be protected information when the director resigns from the board of that company. What this means is that the company cannot use or disclose this information in relation to any director without the consent of the relevant director unless it is for the purpose of (i) communicating with the relevant director (ii) complying with the requirements of the CAMA Bill or (iii) complying with a court order. There are similar restrictions on the CAC’s ability to use or disclose such protected information.

The CAC may, however, disclose such information to a credit reference agency or to a public authority - subject to any regulations issued by the Minister prescribing conditions that must be satisfied before protected information relating to a director may be disclosed to any such public authority.

The CAMA 2020 in section 119 also introduces a new statutory register to be maintained by Nigerian companies - a register of persons with significant control. In the CAMA 1990, persons holding shares amounting to 10% or more of a public company were deemed to be ‘substantial shareholders’ and were required to make disclosures to the company. In section 120 of the CAMA 2020, this threshold has been reduced to 5%. In addition, disclosures will now be required of persons with significant control (i.e. persons who hold 5% or more of the voting rights) in private and public companies, as well as limited liability partnerships. Going forward, every person who holds 5% or more of the voting rights in a company must notify the company within 7 days and state the particulars of such control.

These innovations of the CAMA 2020 are to promote transparency and strengthen the ability of companies and the government to combat asset shielding.

This series was produced

by Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice and does not purport to be fully comprehensive. If you have any questions or require any assistance or clarification on how the subject of this guidance note applies to your business, or require any company secretarial or business establishment services, please contact us at uubo@ uubo.org

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Ekiti, MAX.ng to transform Okada industry with MetroGov BUNMI BAILEY

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kiti State is working with MAX.ng to transform informal motorcycle and tricycle transportation (also called ‘Okada and Keke’) in the state.

The state is partnering MAX.ng to deploy MetroGov, a secure urban mobility platform that uses next-generation technology to provide identity management, remote monitoring, crime prevention, digital payments, and financial audit solutions.

This stems from the fact that there are millions of informal motorcycle, tricycle, and bus operators in Nigeria. Many of them are unlicensed, have no identity data and are often used as agents for anonymous crimes.

In addition, the majority of these operators are untrained and have a penchant for disregarding traffic rules thereby exposing themselves, their customers, and other road users to preventable accidents.

These pose serious security and safety concerns to the general public.

Organising and regulating the industry is critical as transport operators provide essential transportation services to millions of Nigerians.

The solution therefore is to address these critical safety and security concerns, while

providing decent working conditions for these essential transport operators.

The Ekiti State government is desirous of tackling this security and safety challenge and has entered into a partnership with Metro Africa Xpress (MAX.ng), a leading mobility platform focused on Nigeria and West Africa.

Ekiti State is taking the lead in securing and digitizing transportation. The State has an estimated population of 3 million people and over 100,000 motorcycle and tricycle operators across the state. As part of the recently launched Ekiti State Mobility Transformation Project (ESMOT), the state aims to formalise the transportation industry while delivering safety, security, insurance, vehicle financing and other essential support services to transport operators. By deploying MetroGov, the government seeks to accelerate its transformation plan for the transport industry.

The MetroGov platform provides digital identities for drivers and a platform for vehicle registration and tracking. Motorcycle operators would also be trained and licensed. Operators registered on the platform would eventually gain access to affordable health insurance, life insurance, and vehicle financing.

Sigma Pension boss tasks SMEs on need for technology, prudent financial planning MODESTUS ANAESORONYE

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mall and Medium S cale Enterpr is es (SMEs) have been urged to leverage technology as well imbibe good financial planning to survive the economic downturns of Covid-19 pandemic.

Mabel George, vice president, Business Development (West), Sigma Pensions said this at the ConnectNigeria Virtual business fair where thousands of SMEs converged to learn, connect and showcase their business.

She also urged businesses present to reevaluate their business propositions to adapt to the changing business environment and practices in order to survive the pandemic and its aftermath.

George said “You need to rethink the way you do business; you need to take a back seat to review the economy and sectors and see how you can add a positive stint to what is going on in the economy. That is the only way you show that you are resilient and that is the only way you can transit from what you were doing before to what you are going to be doing now.”

“You need to look at your business and how it has been @Businessdayng

and then build a business that would last, not just a business you are building for efficiency but a business that is designed for resilience and is able to take whatever shocks coming.”

On the need to adapt to technology, she noted that businesses need to adapt to technology, and this cannot be over emphasise as technology is king at this point in time. “People are now doing businesses from home and transacting from home so you need to adapt to technology, take advantage of it and let your businesses move forward because this is what is going to drive the world.

Furthermore she said SMEs should learn to gather and use data as well have a diligent financial planning “Data is king, with the right data we are able to predict, make simulations and are able to plan how we are going to work and how we are going to function during and post pandemic era. Data gathering puts you in a better standing compared to people who do not work with data.”

Most importantly financial planning is the key tool every business owner, young professional or any individual at all must imbibe. Put your finances together.”

Friday 04 September 2020

News

BUSINESS DAY

Products Review

Technology Review

Personality Review

Company Review

15

FINTECH

India’s shortcomings in PSB licencing hold lessons for Nigeria by the RBI. As of March, five of the initial licencees are not operational for multiple reasons.

RBI’s recent report on trends and progress of Banking 201819 indicated that the operational payments banks showed net losses of INR 626.8 Cr ($87.8 million) for FY19.

As Sakshi Chadha, Regulatory Manager, Asia for GSMA put it “initial enthusiasm soon gave way to interpretation, implementation and early compliance-related challenges.”

FRANK ELEANYA

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he era of the Payment Service Banks (PSBs) is about to kick off in Nigeria.

Almost everyone expects it to finally put to rest the challenges with financial inclusion and the new operators to provide access to financial services to the over 60 million bankable Nigerians who are unbaked.

But companies vying for the licenses would like to take a step back to consider the long term viability or risks repeating the mistakes of some companies in India.

The release by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of the updated and reviewed guidelines for licensees and the announcement it has issued the licence to three institutions last week set the wheel in motion.

Two of the companies set to receive the licence are led by telcos (Globacom and 9Mobile) and one by a payment firm (Unified Payments).

The fresh hurdles added in the revised guideline could mean the attractiveness of mobile money services would wane and may even raise questions about the survival of potential licencees.

India vs Nigeria The PSB model Nigeria is roll-

ing out was borrowed - well, most of it - from India’s guidelines issued in 2014.

A close study of the guidelines from both countries would easily reveal the similarities. In some cases, the difference is in the wording of the provision or the rearrangement of the words. The CBN has also introduced a few provisions that are not in the Indian document.

To start with, aside from sharing the same objective of improving financial inclusion,

both guidelines require PSBs to invest 75 percent of customers’ deposit balances in eligible government securities and treasury bills.

Also, the N5 billion ($12.9 million) capital requirement by the CBN is also similar to India’s INR 100 Cr ($14.04 million).

And just like Nigeria, PBs or Payment Banks as they called in India are not permitted to give loans or issue credit cards.

How India’s model has fared

Following its announcement of the guidelines in 2014, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it received 41 applications.

After vetting the applications 11 companies were licenced.

Like many firms in Nigeria are bound to do, the applicants in India looked at the innovative model with optimism and tried to build a sustainable PB business with a glass half full mindset.

The PBs saw huge potential to serve the 190 million unbanked adults, as envisioned

The sore foot Top among the list of frustration for Indian PBs was the no-lending provision. Since their focus market is people living in rural India, many of whom lack access to credit, it meant that they could not fulfill this demand despite developing a healthy relationship with them.

Nigerian PSBs are likely to face a similar situation. Informal traders dominate the rural areas and they usually need money to either buy new stock or expand their businesses.

However, the Nigerian banking system provides access to credit to only two percent of the population, according to the CEO of Dun & Bradstreet Credit Bureaus, based in the Dominican Republic, Miguel Llenas. He was speak-

ing at a 2018 credit bureau conference in Lagos, Nigeria.

The CBN has had to force banks to expand access with a 60 percent lending to deposit ratio target. Notwithstanding, not many banks have opened up their loan services to small businesses. Digital lending firms say they have seen a demand surge but the high rates they offer is a big barrier.

“We believe that the factors cited above contributed towards curtailing PBs from realising their true potential of catering to the unbanked in India,” said Chadha. “PBs seem to have been at the receiving end of a regulatory arbitrage where their offering is no different from a payments aggregator (or the fintechs providing payment solutions) but with comparatively stringent regulatory and compliance requirements.”

For the market to be attractive, PSBs need the potential to tap into the undertaker and unbanked credit market.

PSBs also need more than 25 percent of the customers deposit to make their mobile money offerings attractive and still make their operations profitable. Holding back as much as 75 percent of their cash in non-viable assets does not give them the room to be creative in widening the financial inclusion net.

Over 500 new coins listed in August as cryptocurrency frenzy peaks ...number of daily active bitcoin addresses hit over 1 million FRANK ELEANYA

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oinMarketCap has seen over 500 coins listed on its platform in the month of August as positive market sentiments continue in the cryptocurrency world.

Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by valuation, is back on the bull’s path after ending the month of August with a tiny gain of 4 percent. It was trading at near $11,900 at the time of writing this article on Tuesday.

The activity on the bitcoin blockchain may be nearing highs from 2017, as the number of daily active addresses pushed above 1 million.

Analysts at Luno, a global exchange that recently announced 5 million crypto user base, said this has not been seen since January 2018 and is much higher than last summer when the BTC price hit $14,000.

Ether (ETH), the secondlargest cryptocurrency by market value, jumped to two-year

highs on Tuesday, taking its year-to-date gains to 260 percent. ETH was trading at $470 at press time – a level last seen in July 2018 according to the Coindesk ether priceIndex.

Decentralised finance has also continued to generate a lot of interest. Aggregate trading volume on decentralised exchanges rose to $11.6 billion in August, from $4.5 billion in July.

Analysts at Bloomberg said the frenzy over issuing of new coins is similar to when the excitement over the blockchain saw companies like Kodak issuing thousands of coins with the promise of decentralised wealth.

“Most of the assets are still largely meritless and many investors will lose money, as is typical with these instruments,” said Nic Carter, cofounder of researcher Coin Metrics.

The surge in coin issuance could also be affected by growing investors’ attraction to altcoins. While the price of bitcoin maintained a range above $10,000, the low volatil-

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ity affected demand for lower coins.

Analysts at Luno said altcoins remain the focus point for many investors, with Google searches for ‘buy crypto; growing rapidly in August 2020. The searches are at the level highest since January 2018, when the crypto market peaked.

“This is definitely a sign of new investors who are curious about the cryptocurrency space, but we are still far from the retail euphoria that was seen back in January 2018,” the @Businessdayng

analysts said.

While the growth in coins may seem positive for the market, there is also the risk that it would unleash nefarious elements that prey on vulnerable investors.

Many of the new coins are related to projects that have actually launched and are structured in a manner to avoid some of the regulatory hurdles that tripped up a lot of ICOs. And some apps for decentralized finance -- known as DeFi to the crypto crowd -- have shown some promise.

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Friday 04 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Friday 04 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

FEATURE Prayer Estate: Absence of government basic amenities cost residents N200m in infrastructure development The unavailability of basic infrastructure in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial city is a nightmare tormenting residents in the state. This is despite the huge amount of money paid in the form of development levy to the government. Estate residents are suffering years of neglect, forcing many to resort in self-help by funding infrastructure from personal pockets, writes ENDURANCE OKAFOR & MICHAEL ANI

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namdi Okereke, a businessman in his late 50s, had to spend the night inside his vehicle, after moving into his new house in Prayer Estate, a suburb around Amuwo-Odofin L.GA, Lagos.

Okereke’s decision to spend the night outside his home wasn’t as a result of him forgetting the keys; it was simply due to the dilapidated road in his estate that was worsened by a heavy downpour and a lack of good drainage system.

When going to his business, he is forced to leave his home with his trousers rolled up to his knees, and his shoes held in one part of his hands while moving on bare feet in the muddy water in reach for his car which he parked some miles away from the estate.

Every passing day, the situation becomes unbearable for Okereke, especially during the rainy season. The situation got so bad to the extent that at some point he thought of leaving his mansion for a rented apartment in other areas where he could at least enjoy basic amenities.

Sitting in one of the corners in the estate, enjoying the gentle breeze of the morning, Okereke and some of his neighbours, narrated the ordeal to our correspondents.

I moved into the estate in 2007, he said. At that time, there were no roads. There were also no electricity poles or wires to connect, to allow me to enjoy power.

Buying a plot of land in the estate, I was forced by the Lagos state government to pay a huge sum of N600,000 as capital development levy.

When I asked what the money was used for, I was made to believe it’s for the provision of infrastructure including roads, effective drainage system, water and electricity, amongst others.

This money was different from the Land Use Charge and other levies I paid when coming in, he said But it’s over 13 years down the line, and Okereke still wonders what has been with the huge amount paid to the government for developmental activities as the infrastructural crisis in the estate has moved from bad to worse.

This has become a thorn in the flesh for him as on several occasions his house gets flooded with water when there is a heavy downpour, because of the lack of drainage system.

The long years of pains felt by Okereke, offers a clue on the suffering in which other owners of the over 350 plots of land in ‘Prayer Estate’ goes through just for owning a house.

“We have written and written to the state government to get their attention to see the plight we go through all day, but it has been to no avail,” Okereke said.

A Long year of infrastructural neglect in estate means residents like Okereke and others had to take the bull by the horn. In the wake of

falling income and a low standard of income, the residents had to deep hands in their pockets, to fund public infrastructure.

So far, residents in the estate have made over N200 million voluntary contributions into funding the needed basic amenities.

When BusinessDay visited the Estate, some on-going projects including roads, electricity and water, funded from private pockets have begun.

Checks by BusinessDay shows residents of the estate have constructed a new 7000 square meters of interlock roads, added to the 1000 square meters which they had earlier built.

They had also bought two 500kva and one 300kva transformers, and had mounted street lights, bought poles and wires to run electricity to their homes.

Covets and the drainage system has also been improved upon.

Meanwhile, it should be the responsibility of the government to provide basic infrastructure for the citizens using taxpayer’s money.

With an approximate 350 plots situated in the estate, some N210 million may have been paid as capital development levy to the government, according to BusinessDay estimates. This excludes other forms of taxes paid to the government yet no visible infrastructure projects to show for.

“I also paid for building approval but since that time, there has been no form of development or construction whatsoever from the state government,” another resident in the estate said, wondering why the government would neglect an area as theirs where every house has a Certificate of Occupancy (CofO), and are up to date in paying taxes.

The plight faced by residents of ‘Prayer Estate’ mirrors the challenges encountered by taxpayers living in a state like Lagos.

Checks by BusinessDay shows that estates in other parts of Lagos

have had to embark on key projects on their own after hopes of waiting for the government to fund infrastructure appears to be fading.

From lack of good road network, water and street lights that have worsened the security situation in a state like Lagos, the country’s biggest commercial city, is enveloped in a huge infrastructural crisis that appears to have overwhelmed the government.

The absence of drainages and other infrastructure such as roads have forced gully erosion on many parts of states forcing residents to resort to self-help projects and other desperate means to stave off environmental degradation.

Aside from the fact that Lagos is bedevilled with a poor road network, the few available roads have been taken under siege by trucks and tanker drivers who have turned the roads to their places of abode.

This has turned to a constant nightmare and a loss of productivity for its over 20 million populace as they have to spend long hours in traffic daily to engage in their day to day activities, with the state for the third consecutive time, topping the list of 140 cities to emerge worst place to live in the world, according to 2019 global liveability index by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Only 44 percent of the state is covered by public water supply and this serves less than 16 per cent of the population, based on official data.

Housing anywhere in the world is a basic necessity, which in the order of human needs ranks third after food and clothing, but with one of the lowest homeownership rates in Africa, Nigeria’s infrastructural challenge remains a barrier to individual efforts at increasing housing development in the country.

Despite having the largest population in Africa, Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit which requires an annual expenditure of N36trillion is one of the reasons why Nigeria’s 25 percent homeownership rate

is crawling behind Indonesia’s 84 percent, Kenya’s 75 percent and South Africa’s 56 percent.

Access to affordable housing in Nigeria is crippled by among other factors the lack of non-functioning mortgage system, high cost of property development buoyed by the country’s 41 years old Land Use Act. Difficulties in obtaining land title, for example, means that real estate developers will have challenges in accessing lands and this also means that there would be less inventory in the market or the available products will come at a higher cost.

The latter is the case for Nigeria, a country which requires an estimated N170trillon to N200trillion to bridge its housing deficit of more than 20 million units More than four decades after Nigeria’s Land Use Act has remained unadjusted, the difficulties in obtaining property title in Nigeria persist as over 71 percent of landlords did not have any document/ Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) as of 2019.

According to the 2018-2019 Nigeria Living Standards Survey (NLSS) report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), 71.4 percent of landlords sampled across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are without titles.

According to economists, if Nigeria wants to bridge its housing deficit and give affording housing to its 58.52 million people who are gainfully employed but cannot afford to buy a house, it would have to first achieve a single-digit inflation rate.

Nigeria’s inflation rate at 12.8 percent, the highest in 27 months, means negative return on investment in real terms and to edge against the country’s inflation rate, developers who obtain capital at highest interest rates transfer cost to the end-users.

The high cost of funding real estate development is, therefore, one of the reasons why the products in the market are too expensive for a lot of Nigerians to afford.

The mismatch in between the available real estate properties and the disposable income of many Nigerians further mirrors the slow

pace at which the largest economy has been growing in the last five years.

The mismatch in between the available real estate properties and the disposable income of many Nigerians further mirrors the slow pace at which the largest economy has been growing in the last five years.

Since 2015 Nigeria’s economic growth rate has remained lower than the country’s population growth rate, a case of the country producing more people than it can feed.

While the GDP of the real estate sector fell sharply by –18.15 percentage points from -3.84 percent in the second quarter of 2019 to -21.99 percent in the corresponding quarter of 2020, Nigeria’s economy shrank 6.1 percent in the same quarter, the first contraction since 2017. This also implies that the economy is now a quarter away from recession.

If Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy doesn’t unlock the potentials in its property industry; death capital, resolve issues around the Land Use Act and set up a functioning mortgage system its economy will continue to move southwards, according to stakeholders from different sectors of the economy.

Unlocking the potentials in Nigeria’s real estate sector would mean more revenue from the 70 to 80 percent death capital, affordable housing for over 23 million Nigerians, lower unemployment rate and higher economic growth, the economists said.

The barriers to individual efforts in developing their real estate properties is further heightened by the lack of infrastructure as it makes it more expensive and worse for a city like Lagos which has the more people than any other city in Africa.

Being Nigeria’s commercial city, accounting for close to 30 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, Lagos infrastructure development is critical to the overall economy.

The state aims to become a 21stcentury megacity but that’s impossible without a good road network and availability of other social amenities to drive investments and make life better for residents.

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Friday 04 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

INTERVIEW ‘Brand managers and businesses must constantly evaluate their strategies and models to sustain patronage’ Hassan Abdul of Media Range Limited is a brand Management expert. In this interview with HARRISON EDEH of BUSINESSDAY, he explained why Nigerian businesses need to re-evaluate their brand strategy to remain competitive and avoid fizzling out of business amidst Covid 19 pandemic concerns.

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an you speak to us why Nigerian businesses need to reevaluate their brand strategy model especially at this Covid and even in a post Covid era?

Covid-19 has given us a reference that cuts across the globe that unforeseeable circumstances like this happen periodically in smaller geographical areas or within certain industries. It could be war. It can be a natural disaster; it can be a new technology trying to make an older one obsolete.

Revisiting your brand strategy when such crises occur is a part of the broader brand management function and is very critical to remaining in business as well as being competitive. It is very important that businesses and brand managers continuously evaluate themselves and fashion out strategy that sustains their respective businesses.

How has Covid-19 impacted businesses in Nigeria from a brand management point of view?

Look at it this way. Human societies are driven by commerce and commerce is carried out by business entities. Now, every business represent an idea of an identified service or product which can be exchanged for recognized instruments of trade.

Every such idea is the seed of a brand. Sometimes, business owners go ahead to consciously cultivate it, building a full strategy around it and earn its value.

At other times, especially in semi-formal and informal sectors, this is not the case.

Whichever of these is the case, you now have customers who have an expectation of a certain level of performance of your service or product, who have come to recognize you through certain identifiers (your name, logo etc) you have adopted as visual triggers, and who have a perception of you based on the experience they have whenever they encounter any of our touchpoints and what you communicate about yourself through other media channels.

When Covid-19 disrupted our lives, it also struck at the core of many brands. By forcing a significant change in the environment, the needs and expectations of customers, the

want the market to have of you, - from your personality and attributes, what drives you, what you want to look like, your customer benefits, how you want to stand out, your team culture, your service design, your internal and external communication - with effective controls in place (brand management) to ensure a consistent experience.

All of this is geared towards giving you some form of competitive advantage or leverage with your market.

If however your market’s needs and expectations have changed through an unplanned crisis like the present, it is possible that all of this will no longer deliver the same result.

Hassan Abdul

business landscape, and even the nature of work, it has in many cases created a misalignment between the perceptions we had aimed for/attained and new expectations thereby affecting the long term goals which many companies had set, based on the old expectations and perceptions of their customers.

Today, there are businesses and whole sectors grappling with a form of “identity crisis”.

Their customers are no longer where they used to be, no longer who they have always known them to be and in some cases, no longer in need of their services in the pre-Covid-19 form of delivery.

Are most businesses aware of this dimension of the impact of the pandemic?

I believe a lot are aware that something fundamental has gone amiss by now. Some may not be able to put this in the right words or understand the full impact of it. They, however, recognize the fact that the nature of their business has undergone a change that can put their whole existence at risk.

Now, let me quickly also point out something else. It is apparent that this change is not gloom for everyone. The disruption thrust some businesses into a new level of relevance and increased patronage. But even for these types, like for those who faced the negative www.businessday.ng

impacts, there is need for the utilization of this particular period in their life to be evaluated from a brand management point of view.

Can you share more insights on what strategy means for businesses?

It is important we understand what brand strategy means and it because there are some common related activities in the process which sometimes people mistake for the complete process. Creating our visual identifiers for instance is a part of the process but not the whole process.

Brand promotion is a part of the process. So when you hear people talking about new ways you should communicate your brand, they are not really off the mark but where there is a fundamental shift in what your business model is, promotion tactics are not where you should be looking at first.

What if your market is no longer there? What if your product is no longer relevant post-Covid19?

In fact, many brand promotion activities fail precisely Because critical steps that need to be dealt with earlier in the process are side-stepped.

Can you share your thoughts on how much does a brand strategy affect businesses?

Now, a Brand strategy affects every aspect of your business, articulating the perception you

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Are brands ready for a post-Covid-19 business environment?

That is hard to say. We are all learning the new ropes so to speak. However, how you will know brands that are ‘ready’ is by studying those who are reviewing their brand strategy best.

Hopefully, over the next few weeks, the Federal Government may relax even more of the restrictions but the pandemic has created a public health risk that on the one hand, is not going to go away quickly, and on the other hand, has exposed customers to alternative ways of accessing services.

Conducting brand audits and reviewing brand strategies as the new normal gains hold will be key to determining who is ready and who is not. By shaking the proverbial table, Covid-19 has inadvertently created an opportunity for some businesses to move notches up the ladder in their respective industries if they act wisely.

What form of strategy would you suggest to companies in order to recover from this?

I will recommend that in future, companies should always have a crisis management plan in place that addresses situations where your brand’s strategy is at risk.

A lot of times, other types of risk are considered and mitigation strategies are pre-planned, implemented once there is a trigger.

Brand strategy risk is a real risk. If something happens to fundamentally distort the environment your business operates in, you need to have remedial actions in place that kick in. @Businessdayng

Does it trigger a brand strategy evaluation? If yes, what are the levels of change you are willing to consider to avoid being rendered redundant?

Recently, an article in a national daily reminded us of the story of the Choluteca Bridge in Honduras which at a point became known as the ‘Bridge to nowhere’.

Significant changes like this pandemic can take your market away or make your current model antiquated.

What mechanisms do you have in place to coursecorrect? How can you even start if you don’t even know where the change impacted you?

To recover from this however is a different story.

Brands negatively impacted from the disruption need to immediately embark on a brand strategy evaluation, driven by the highest levels of management and with a willingness to implement course-correction recommendations the process may present within the limits of resources at their disposal.

Brands that have found themselves on the ‘positive’ side of the disruption need to sit down quickly also and fashion out long term strategies that will ensure their new-found boom translates to long-term growth.

Is this applicable only to big brands and multinationals?

No. Like I mentioned earlier, every business gains from building and maintaining a perception that secures competitive advantage for it. While some may not have the resources to articulate this, it does not mean they don’t have a brand strategy driving their decision making.

It is just that for bigger brands, this need may seem to be greater and a formal structure to implement it, easier to initiate. In any case, the risks of not acting are also higher for them. It is recommended though that no matter your size, in the face of the changes in the business landscape over the last six months, conduct a brand audit/health check.

If our businesses take the right decisions at the right time that can make the difference between returning to profitability or collapse, the economy will be the best for it.

BUSINESS DAY

Friday 04 September 2020

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HEALTH BUSINESS&LIFE Nutrition: Here’s why Nigeria need more action to tackle protein deficiency ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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igeria has agreed with the roadmap for humanity development through the United Nations and the fact that a consensus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been agreed in the first place itself impressive, the country has a long ambition to gradually attain the goals. However, nutritionists, and other stakeholders in the fight against malnutrition have urged the government at all levels to bridge the gap between policy statements and implementation of the blueprint on nutrition.

They say to prevent malnutrition, achieve food security and sustainable development; Nigeria needs to show more seriousness in health and nutrition financing. This was the consensus of experts at a Protein Challenge webinar, designed to address the protein deficiency crisis in the country.

The event, with the theme, ‘The UN Decade of Action on Nutrition – Connecting the Dots for Nigeria,’ was organised as a part of the Nigeria Protein Deficiency Awareness Campaign (Protein Challenge), a media campaign meant to create awareness about Nigeria’s protein deficiency crisis and rally stake-

holders to collaborate in addressing the problem.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – 2 targets to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. The goal also seeks that by 2030 there will be sustainable solutions to end hunger in all its and everyone everywhere will have enough good-quality food to lead a healthy life.

“With over 25 years’, the country is facing a nutrition crisis on multiple fronts, especially with rising insecurity, which has worsened food insecurity,” said Foyinsola Oyebola, a social development expert.

According to her, another problem that has exacerbated the crisis is the low level of awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly the SDG 2 (zero hunger and poverty) and poor

monitoring and evaluation framework. This, she added, is a challenge that has been made worse by the COVID-19 restrictions, which were put in place to limit the spread of the contagious virus.

“If Nigeria is desirous of rising above the crisis, it is urgently needed to bridge the gap between policy statements and implementation.

This should also be accompanied by efforts that can seek to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition as well as promote sustainable agriculture (SDG 2 goals) into the programmes of government at the state and local government levels,” she said.

The social development expert insisted that Nigeria needs to address nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons as well as double the agricultural productivity and incomes of

small-scale food producers if the country aims to achieve international targets on stunting and wasting in children under five by 2025.

“There should be effective coordination of, and collaboration, among stakeholders in the nutrition space, to educate Nigerians on local sources of protein, where to get them and, most importantly, how to prepare them such that the nutritional value is not lost,” Oyebola added.

Also discussing, Collins Akanno, a community nutritionist and founder of Diet 234 (a resource for healthy nutrition and inspiration), said there is the need to educate Nigerians on healthy nutrition; this would help tackle the burden of malnutrition in the country.

“To tackle hunger and malnutrition in Nigeria, we need to adopt sustainable farming, people need to adopt home gardens and there is the need to start investing in agriculture.

“There is also the need for nutrition education in the country to avoid people eating unhealthy meals. People can have money, go to the market and yet purchase the wrong foods if they are not knowledgeable about the right foods to take,” Akanno said.

He added that when people eat unhealthy diets, they were prone to suffer malnutrition.

COVID-19: NGO stresses need to work more on strategic principles to mitigate community spread SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

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he need for Nigerians to work more on taking precautionary measures and focus more on solution driven goals to prevent community transmission of the new virus with pandemic potential has been stressed.

Joy Abolarin, advocate for Disability and Guest Lecturer at the sensitisation programme organised

by Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) in collaboration with Global Fund for Women (GFW) and International Women Com-

munication Centre (IWCC) gave the indication in Ilorin the Kwara State capital.

She says that Coronavirus is real and advised that all safety protocols by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) must be strictly adhered to.

“Some of the things to do in order to reduce community transmission include; practicing good respiratory hygiene like skin bathing, use of nose masks, hand sanitizers, personal hygiene, avoiding overcrowded places and spaces and avoid indiscriminate touching of the eyes,

nose and ears.

“We should also keep updated with COVID-19 news, avoid discrimination of COVID-19 victims and show empathy to people who are affected, especially those who have been to isolation centres and have been certified well by medical professionals,” she said.

Abolarin, who spoke on the theme “How We Can Reduce Community Transmission of COVID-19”, explained that COVID-19 is highly transmissible and can be spread by people who do not know they have the disease, saying the risk

of transmission within a community can be difficult to determine.

In her contribution, Ayobloa Olupinla, chairperson of NAWOJ in Kwara, noted that community mitigation actions are vital at the moment before a vaccine or drug becomes widely available. However, urged women to be upright and support one another and manage their homes right.

“Let us rise as women against drug abuse, addiction and keep ourselves and families safe,” added Limota Goroso-Giwa, founder and executive director of IWCC.

Nigerian women at risk as COVID-19 causes avoidance of life-saving screenings ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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any Nigerian women face delays getting care as a result of backlogs of missed treatment pile up and experts’ fears that the postponement of life –saving screenings threatening sharp rises is putting more women at risk in developing cancer and fuelling reproductive health issues, as coronavirus disruption has plunged treatments.

These experts urged that health professionals to tackle logjams of canceled treatment as quickly as possible to ensure many people who need treatment receives the health

services and medicines, warning that the rising concerns that the emergency response to the Covid-19 pandemic will have wider health consequences and is leading to increased deaths from other causes.

Currently, Nigeria faces a uniquely challenging moment with the COVID-19 pandemic and significant adaptation of health care services is required to assist the COVID-19 patients, at the same time as continuing to assist other patients who cannot have their treatments postponed.

The appointments, however, are not urgent procedures and rely on physical contact between the patient and mediwww.businessday.ng

cal worker meaning many have fallen by the wayside.

“Many people who need treatment have not been receiving the health services and medicines they need since the COVID-19 pandemic began and as “social distancing” policies lead these women to postpone non-urgent trips to health clinics, they lose opportunities to be screened and treated for cervical cancer,” said Bukola Adeniyi, consultant family physician and head of family practice, Q-Life Family clinic.

According to Adeniyi, this situation is of significant concern because many people who need treatment for diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease,

and diabetes have not been receiving health services.

“The postponement of public screening programmes for breast and cervical cancer was also widespread, reported by more than 50 percent of countries and COVID 19 has heightened the vulnerabilities of different population groups, particularly women and girls which are most vulnerable.

“Services become increasingly disrupted as a country moves from sporadic cases to community transmission of the coronavirus. Contraception, safe abortion, and cervical cancer screenings and treatment are all essential preventative services,” she said.

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Sex and Travel: Tips for safer, better sex ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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s travellers go places where they are not known, they may no longer feel obligated to observe the same moral standards as at home, or they may desire to create connection with others.

The act of travel itself may create the potential for casual sex. Dis-inhibition resulting from drug and alcohol use, a desire for adventure and excitement, peer pressure, and underlying psychological needs and personality traits may contribute, individually or in combination, to travellers having casual sex.

International travellers having sex with new partners while abroad are exposed to different “sexual networks” than at home and can serve as a conduit for importation of novel or drug-resistant sexually transmitted infections (STIs) into parts of the world where they are unknown or rare.

Gonorrhea, for example, among the more common STIs globally (with an estimated 85 million new cases in 2012), has become extensively drug resistant in some parts of the world. Patients presenting with antimicrobial-resistant gonococcal infections should prompt providers to inquire about their travel history and the travel history of their sex partners. It is important to distinguish between casual sex and sex tourism.

Sex tourism is travel for the specific purpose of having sex, typically with commercial sex workers. Casual sex during travel, by contrast, describes informal sexual encounters with fellow travellers or locals.

Although some travellers may expect to have casual sexual encounters, others who have sex do not.

Two meta-analyses (2010 and 2018) provide a range of how many international travellers engage in casual sex, approximately 20%–34%. These numbers shed some light on how common casual sex during travel may be. These same studies also provide estimates on the number of travellers engaging in unprotected sex (i.e., sex without a condom).

The 2010 and 2018 reports indicate that approximately half of all travellers participating in casual sex abroad have unprotected intercourse.

Travel can be great for your sex life, whether you are travelling with your awesome partner or out to see and experience the world as a solo traveller. But it’s important to be prepared for the logistical, social, and cultural differences of sex around the world. Here is how to have better, safer sex while traveling.

Get tested before you travel (Know before you go) If you are sexually active, it should be standard operating procedure to get tested for STIs every 6 months (at the least!). More often if you are having sex with multiple partners. Getting tested is easy and affordable, even if you do not have insurance. As a trav@Businessdayng

Executive Travel Health

Adeniyi Bukola Q-life Family Clinic

lifeadvisoryservices@outlook.com

eller, it’s doubly important to know if you have any STIs so you can take all the necessary precautions.

Get consent before sex Consent is a clearly expressed agreement to participate in sexual activity that includes touching, kissing, oral sex, and penetration.

Consent is continual, freely given, informed, enthusiastic, mutual, specific, and can be withdrawn at any time.”

There’s only one sure way to know if your partner is giving you their consent—ask them. Then ask again. Ask some more later. Asking for consent may sound like it’s too simple to be a good rule, but if you follow this one rule you’ll know beyond any misinterpretations, confusion, or cultural misunderstandings.

Do not get accused of rape in a strange land!

Be familiar with sexual etiquette at your destination You should understand what the norms are for sex and sexual intimacy, but never feel like you should do something you are not personally comfortable with.

Pack your own condoms Travellers need to pack their own condoms, regardless of if you “do not plan on having sex” or, “he should have the condom.” Those are terrible ways to avoid STIs and pregnancy. Condoms are affordable, lightweight, and TSA compliant. Pack at least 3-6 condoms to be prepared.

Fun fact The US military not only provided male condoms for every US soldier during WWII—they created posters, films, and slogans to get soldiers to use those condoms.

“Don’t forget — put it on before you put it in” was an actual slogan the US military created to stop soldiers from contracting STIs (namely syphilis) while traveling the world.

Things to know about condoms It can be a hassle to buy male condoms while you are traveling. (Do not even get me started on buying female condoms abroad). Take responsibility for your sexual health by packing your own condoms before you travel.

Male condoms have a shelflife of 3-5 years, so always check the expiration date. Do not store condoms in your wallet (the heat and humidity can make them less effective if stored for too long).

Note: The rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https:// businessdayonline.com/

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Friday 04 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

LEADINGWOMAN

INMAGAZINE TODAY

WOMEN’S HUB

See the link

https://businessday.ng/download/453641/

or visit www.businessday.ng to download today’s edition of the Magazine

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Oluwatomi Somefun, 35 years and counting, still demonstrating steady and astounding expertise in her field KEMI AJUMOBI

Associate Editor, BusinessDay

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luwatomi Somefun is the MD/CEO of Unity Bank Plc. A career professional with over 35 years post qualification experience, 26 of which were in the Banking sector spanning key segments such as Treasury & Investment Banking, Corporate Banking, Retail and Commercial Banking Operations. A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), she graduated with a second class upper degree from the Obafemi Awolowo University (formerly University of Ife) in 1981 with a Bachelor of Education in English Language.

Oluwatomi has a depth of experience in the Financial and Banking sector, and had a distinguished career with UBA group where she led two major subsidiaries of UBA as MD/CEO including a start-up company, UBA Pensions Custodian where she was pioneer Managing Director. Prior to this, she served as General Manager and led three critical business units of UBA Group. Her skills and experience span across Institutional Banking, Commercial Banking, Retail Banking and Financial markets. Prior to UBA, Oluwatomi worked with two leading consulting firms: KPMG and Arthur Andersen (now KPMG).

In August 2015, she was appointed Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of a Unity Bank Plc. Prior to her appointment as Managing Director; she served as the E xecutive Director overseeing the Lagos

and South-West Business Directorates, the Financial Institution Division and Treasury Department of the Bank.

She is a leader that understands how to bring out the best in people, and use knowledge and time to achieve significant results for all stakeholders. She is known to have successfully launched new initiatives and grow an operation’s balance sheet significantly over a short period. She has a proven track record in leading and developing highly effective teams to achieve significant results.

Oluwatomi has extensive executive education in leading change and organi-

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sation renewal, strategy formulation and execution, business analytics and development, and also financial management from various esteemed business schools. She is an alumnus of the Columbia Business School, United States of America, and INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France, and holds a Certificate of Management Excellence from Harvard Business School (HBS).

She is a member of various professional bodies including the Institute of Directors (IOD), Bank Directors Association of Nigeria (BDAN) and Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN). In addition, she has served on the board of several quoted and unquoted @Businessdayng

companies, and NonGovernmental Organisations (NGOs).

Oluwatomi is our Leading Woman for this week and she graces the cover of Women’s Hub Magazine. As a recent guest on my live show #InspiringWomanSeriesWithKemiAjumobi on Instagram, she shared on her childhood, being MD of Unity Bank, paucity of women on boards, day never to be forgotten, among others.

Download link https:// businessday.ng/download/453641/ or go to our website www.businessday.ng to download. You are just a click away!

Friday 04 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Hotels Innovative ways hoteliers can fight back in challenging times Obinna Emelike

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here is no denying that the hospitality industry globally has experienced a dramatic decline in guest stays as a result of travel restrictions and border closures. The maths is devastatingly simple: no travellers means no income.

In South Africa alone, according to data from Statistics SA, the entire tourist accommodation industry experienced a dramatic decline of total income ‒ a staggering 98.7 percent year on year in April, and 98 percent y/y in May. The African continent as a whole lost almost $55 billion in travel and tourism revenue in just three months due to the knock-on effects of the pandemic, according to Amani Abou-Zeid, African Union (AU) commissioner for infrastructure and energy.

She further emphasises that the livelihoods of 24 million families are linked to the hospitality industry, representing almost 10 percent of Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The blow is particularly severe, Abou-Zeid says, with the pandemic striking in a year when the continent had expected to see an increase in travel and air transport. Pre COVID-19, the African hospitality market experienced a significant upward growth trajectory, attracting $1.8 billion in capital last year alone and sparking increased interest among global investors.

As travel gradually resumes globally, Mark Haver-

croft, regional director for Africa, Minor Hotels, is frank that it is going to be a battle to undo the damage wreaked by the pandemic - that manifested in empty hotel rooms, job losses and a scenario of ever-changing regulations.

However, he is adamant that there is still potential for investors on the continent and that Africa will, without a doubt, recover faster than most continents.

“Africa is home to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies. There is huge potential for growth and expansion across the continent for hospitality businesses seeking expansion into new markets.

The boom may be delayed a little, but we anticipate significant movement once travel resumes fully,” Havercroft predicts.

“There will be a frantic race to attract guests arrivals back in the beginning, but savvy hoteliers are already working really hard behind the scenes on innovative business strategies to engage guests and boost consumer confidence.”

He notes that while it may be a hard climb back to the top, the views from the sum-

mit will be worth the hike.

With recovery in mind, Havercroft shares his views about some ways in which hoteliers in Africa can turn challenges into opportunities to navigate the “new normal”.

Make bold decisions Ensuring the longevity of hotels post COVID-19 will require bold decisions. For example, Tsogo Sun Hotels recently sold its 50 percent stake in the Maia Resort property in the Seychelles to Minor Hotels. The R465-million sale will directly help that group mitigate the economic fallout of the pandemic.

It could also necessitate the backing up of existing investments. Minor Hotels continues pursuing opportunities to invest across Africa to increase the company’s sizable footprint, which includes Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America. Havercroft says the company is walking the talk in terms of its stance that there is still significant potential for investors across the continent.

The group’s brands in Africa, Avani and Anantara, continue to expand too. The Anantara Bel-Ombre Mau-

ritius Resort and Spa will reopen their doors in December 2020, and Avani Nairobi Suites is in development and scheduled to open in December 2021. This is in addition to Anantara establishments in Zambia and Mozambique, as well as, Avani resorts in Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Mozambique, the Seychelles and Zambia.

Fine-tune your target market While an absence of international travellers for the immediate future throws up a major hurdle, Havercroft believes that it is the burgeoning domestic business and leisure market that will reignite the industry, and ultimately help the sector regain its firm footing.

He suggests that hospitality businesses consider refocusing their target market: “The continent has a growing middle class population, now comprising more than 350 million of the total 1 billion people on the continent.

Hospitality businesses would be wise to focus on tapping into this market right now as intra- and inter-country travel begins opening up.”

Ensure you are guestready Safety, safety, safety! This will be the core element for hotels working on attracting guests back - not just into the lobby but making sure they actually check in. If guests do not feel safe from the get-go, they will not stay now, and also will not return later.

While the hospitality industry is already held to strict hygiene standards, advanced cleaning protocols will be essential to ensure consumer confidence.

Top BusinessDay Partner Hotels Four Points by Sheraton Hotel (Oniru Chiefatancy Estate,Lekki) Tel: +234 1 448 9444

Transcorp Hilton Abuja 1 Aguiyi Ironsi Street Maitama, Abuja Tel: +234-708-060-3000

The Wheatbaker #4 Onitolo(Lawrence Road), Ikoyi, Lagos.

Tel: 01 277 3560

Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Abuja 1 Uke St, Garki, Abuja.

Tel: +234 9 4603900, +234 805 7522500

Lagos Continental Hotel Plot 52, Kofo Abayomi St, Lagos Tel: 01 236 6666

Radisson Blu Hotel Ikeja #38/40 Isaac John St, Ikeja GRA100271, Ikeja Tel: +234-908-780 5555

206 Exclusive Hotel Plot 206 Oladipo Diya Road Opposite Olympia Estate

By Games Village Second Gate Durumi2 Abuja

Novotel Port Harcourt Address: 3 Stadium Road Rumuomasi, Port Harcourt Rivers State, Tel: 0809 713 5734

Southern Sun Ikoyi reopens with new experience for guests

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n September 1, 2020, Southern Ikoyi Hotel reopened its doors to discerning guests after the long and compulsory break occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic.

The reopening followed a prior issuance of a Provisional Safety Clearance by the Lagos State Safety Commission to the hotel after a satisfactory safety verification process to ensure compliance with the state safety guidelines for hotels.

Following this, the Tsogo Sun branded hotel is happy to welcome guests back to a new kind of experience that puts their mind at rest amid

strict adherence to safety and delivery of its renowned hospitality.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly dictated a new way of life, the hotel reassured on adhering to all the required safety and hygiene protocols.

Speaking on the reopen-

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ing, Ubong Nseobot, sales and marketing manager of the hotel, noted that, ‘Our team is ready to take your bookings and are looking forward to your return. With great rates including breakfast, you are welcome to book online by visiting tsogosun.com or directly with the

hotel SSIkoyi.Reservations@ tsogosun.com as per your company’s travel policy”.

Speaking further, Nseobot assured guests that while they get ready to return to business, they can be confident of the fact that the hotel is still in the business of superior attention and intuitive service, with great added values including complimentary and unlimited Wi-Fi. Stressing the importance of their tier status and SunRands, she assured valued Tsogo Sun Hotels Rewards Member that when they resume travel, they would have peace of mind as their membership benefits are still intact.

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Radisson Lagos Ikeja #42-44 Isaac John Street, GRA Ikeja, Lagos

Southern Sun IkoyI Hotel Address: 47 Alfred Rewane Road, Ikoyi, Lagos Tel: +234 1 280 5200 / +234 1 280 0630 Email: ssikoyi.reservations@ tsogosun.com

Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel 1A,Ozumba Mbadiwe,Victoria Island. @Businessdayng

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Friday 04 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

entertainment

A look at Spaceship Collective; a rising indegenous record label Stories by Obinna Emelike

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hen Spaceship Collective debuted a few years ago, it noted that it’s mission was to boost creativity and help African artistes gain more control and ownership of their music catalogues.

Years down the line, the indegenous record label and publishing company has achieved some remarkable feats within and outside the Nigerian music scene.

Founded by Bose Ogulu, who is also the executive director and Burna Boy, who is the largest shareholder with his imprint “Spaceship Entertainment”, the record label has signed and produced many wonderful music artistes chief of whom is Burna Boy, the reigning African music artistes Other signees of the record label include; Nissiu, Leriq, and Telz.

Traling the journeys of the signees, “Nissi” Ogulu became the premier sign-

Burna Boy

ee in 2019 and released double singles, Trouble & Tornado of her ‘Ignite’ EP in December that year. She also released her on-going critically-acclaimed ‘Ignite’ EP on July 31, 2020. The lead single of the EP titled “Judi” has been a viral sensation. Nissi draws on her heritage with the E.P and

firmly establishes her signature fusion sound; blend of highlife, afro-punk, and afro-jazz.

The label signed Buju in April 2020 and released his first hit single, which was a remix to Buju’s Lenu featuring Burna Boy. Buju has been featured on many successful singles and is

currently working on a body of work that would be released later this year.

The label also released Burna Boy’s highly anticipated and globally accepted fifth studio album titled, ‘Twice As Tall’ on August 15, 2020. The album was a passionate and personal reflection of Burna Boy, further

TRACE opens creative doors to aspiring artistes with promotional music

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side searching for fresh and talented artistes,TRACE, an Afro-Urban cultural entertainment platform, is further opening creative doors for aspiring artistes with promotional music services.

The promotional music services launched recently, which are beneficial to all entertainment promotions include; zoom, artiste pack, venue zoom and fashion killa.

The music platform, with over 350 million fans across the world, is offering the services in order to improve the chances of young people making it to stardom in Africa and beyond.

The development is also imperative in this age of fervent digitization, where youth creativity is challenged.

The services come with a brand new video submission process that can be done from the comfort of the home. With the process, there is no limit to the number of videos that can be submitted by the artiste whose works will be reviewed by Trace music experts, based on Trace guidelines.

In return, they get a chance to air their creativity on one or several Trace

platforms including Television, Radio, Digital, SVOD, social networks. Not only will artistes have direct access to various artiste services proposed by Trace, to help launch their video, they will also make money with it. In addition, artistes will be able to do paid promotions on the Trace channel, not only in Nigeria but in all Trace regions.

However, in addition to music promotion, entertainers can also promote their fashion brand and venue on Trace.

With the Zoom promotional service; a 60-second voiceover promotional clip with the artistes’ bio-data

Zoro, Nigerian music artiste

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and scenes from their music video. The package, however, does not involve the music video airing on Trace, but the promotional clip is aired 30 times for 10 days on the channel. With the option, it takes between 7 to 10 working days for production.

As well, the Artiste Pack is a combination of Zoom and a guaranteed 21 video rotation on the Trace channel and for the pack to be considered, the submitted video has to be approved. Venue zoom entails a one-minute voiceover driven clip showing the venue and what it is all about, while Fashion Killa enables a oneminute short clip highlight-

ing the offerings and service of the fashion brand or label.

Moreover, the promotional packages are available for purchase in all Trace regions in Africa including; Southern, East, Portuguese, English and French Africa. Other trace regions are Europe, the United Kingdom and the Caribbean.

Artistes who consider the proposition have the freedom to select the package they are most comfortable with and the preferred region for the airing of their chosen package. In addition, the artiste is required to send in their invoice requirements: their name, artiste name and the address to which the invoice should be issued.

Speaking on the rationale for the services, TRACE noted that, ‘Empowering the youth through sound has always been our mission and the recent historic partnership with LG Electronics to create a better way of listening to music using cutting edge technology is proof of that”.

It is obvious that with the new ways of maximizing the growth of entertainment on all levels, the entertainment future for the youth seems brighter as they have something to smile about when they aim for Trace stardom.

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amplified by his moody mix of afrobeat, reggae, dancehall, and hip-hop. Within a few days of the album release, the ‘Twice As Tall’ album has already garnered over 50 million streams across all platforms.

Bose Ogulu, who was also one of the executive producers on Twice As Tall along with Burna Boy and Diddy (Sean Combs), says the mission of Spaceship Collective, is to help African artistes gain more control and ownership of their music catalogues.

According to her: “The objective of Spaceship Collective is to support the creation of great, timeless, authentic music and to ensure that African creatives maintain control of their own narrative while they tell the world their story.

It is important that their catalogues are managed

by Africans who are better placed to understand their art, narrative and trajectory”.

Spaceship Collective is also home to experienced producers such as LeriQ and Telz (dubbed “Spaceship’s RocketBoyz”), who have

worked with Burna Boy on his previous projects. Leriq produced all the songs on the Burna Boy’s acclaimed ‘Redemption’ EP. So, it is no surprise when he reconnected with Burna Boy to produce among others, some of the standout songs from Burna Boy’s Twice As Tall’ album: ‘No Fit Vex’, ‘Way Too Big’, Monsters You Made ft Chris martin.

On the other hand, Telz has been the revelation of the album as he produced ‘Wonderful’, the lead single of the Twice As Tall album, ‘Onyeka’, ‘Wonderful’, ‘Naughty By Nature’ and ‘Wetin Dey Sup’ in collaboration with Timbaland.

He has also produced other chart-topping songs such as “Abule” by Patoranking and is already being touted as a potential producer of the year.

Going by the new annexation in the dawn of the global entertainment industry, this is the beginning of a conglomeration of homegrown expertise and proficiency with a pivotal insight into the future of African music.

MTV Base celebrates female musicians with Queens Of Base

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ast month, fans of MTV Base enjoyed a specially curated playlist tagged ‘Queens Of Base’ The playlist, which featured on MTV Base every Saturday in August was used by the entertainment platform to celebrate leading Black female musicians across the world.

Obviously, Black female musicians across the world have been making remarkable strides in and outside the music industry but oftentimes, they do not get the accolades they deserve, and was the rationale for the Queens Of Base initiative .

In Nigeria, superstars like Tiwa Savage and Yemi Alade have continuously demonstrated that they can go toe to toe with their male counterparts and come out standing tall. They are selling out shows across the world, racking up streaming numbers, performing on global stages alongside some of the biggest international music stars, and just generally being iconic.

Yemi Alade who won the Peak Talent Show in 2009 is unarguably one of the most popular artistes out of Africa.

She was the first female Afri@Businessdayng

can artiste to hit one million subscribers on Youtube, and up until 2018, her video for ‘Johnny’ was the most viewed music video by a Nigerian musician on YouTube.

Tiwa Savage has also been blazing the trail since she came into the limelight with her debut single, Kele Kele in 2010. From being the first African female ambassador for Pepsi to being the first female artist to win best African act at the MTV Europe Music awards and the first African female artist to sell out London’s Indig02 venue, Tiwa has had a lot of firsts in her career. At 40, the superstar continues to defy norms and prove to millions of women all over the world that it can be done.

Through Queens of Base, MTV Base further reinforced the fact that it is time to give female superstars the love and attention they deserve.

The playlist, which aired on MTV Base (DStv channel 322 and GOtv channel 72) every Saturday in August featured big names such as Nigerian superstars Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade, Teni, and Niniola, as well as, South African music queens Sho Madjozi, Busiswa and Moonchild, among others.

Friday 04 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

23

MONEYINSIGHT How Nigeria’s Chekkit sealed deal to tackle counterfeit meds in Afghanistan with a pitch FRANK ELEANYA

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he Afghanistan government through Fantom Foundation, a platform for distributed ledgers and decentralised networks, has enlisted the help of a Nigerian-based health technology platform, Chekkit to address the challenge of counterfeit medicines in the country.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) Chekkit signed with Fantom on Tuesday, is a fully-funded threemonth pilot that enables the Nigerian health tech to track and verify all drugs sold in the country using blockchain.

Oluwatosin Adelowo, cofounder of Chekkit told BusinessDay it was a case of being at the right place at the right time.

Chekkit was founded in 2018 to provide anti-counterfeiting solutions to Nigeria’s notorious problem of fake drugs and products. However, although the counterfeiting industry has been a major headache, not many organisations like to admit they have a counterfeiting problem and many of those who do don’t

think it is their problem to combat. The pressure from the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration (NAFDAC) is already too much for some companies.

Hence, for a startup like Chekkit it could be difficult convincing organisations that they need an anti-counterfeit solution driven by blockchain to make more profit. That comes with extra cost.

In 2019, Chekkit said it was able to execute 3 pilots of its solution with Indomie, Nivea, and Flour Mills (FMN Plc). Only one was a paid pilot that earned Chekkit $3,500 in

revenue for the year.

“In 2020 so far, we have more than doubled that amount making $11,000 till this very date and counting,” Adelowo said. “As a matter of fact, we deployed our USSD and SMS survey and engagement solution for the AfricaCDC and African Union in the fight against Covid19.”

The pitch In February 2020, Chekkit was named among 12 startups selected into the 8th cohort of the Merck Accelerator program. Members of the cohort were selected from all over the

world with Chekkit being the only one selected from Africa.

As fate will have it, Fantom Foundation, one of the sponsors of the program was already in talks with the Afghanistan government proposing to solve several of their problems using blockchain.

The government had identified health as one of the key sectors deserving of disruptions.

It was at that point that Chekkit pitched at the AfricArena Blockchain challenge held in Cape Town, recalls Adelowo. Fantom Foundation sponsored the challenge so

Types of difficult customers, how to successfully handle, probably change them (2) STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

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u s t o m e r s e r v i c e, which is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase is the soul of every business and to stay ahead of competition startups need to understand how to deal with ‘difficult’ customers.

The habitual complainer It is characteristic of customers to complain. This is a good thing because complaints can be a very rich source of positive and constructive feedback for your business.

But when you find a particular customer who complains all the time – even about the pettiest of things – you may have a habitual complainer on your hands.

These customers complain about everything and anything. They nag about your prices, the layout of your office, the colour of your shirt, and even the weather.

For this type, nothing is ever good enough. That is why it can be almost impossible to totally satisfy them.

How to handle the habitual complainer While his complaints may seem harmless, you need to

be careful with the habitual complainer because their attitude can exhaust you and totally stress you out.

First, you need to come to terms with the fact that you cannot satisfy everybody. And the habitual complainer is one of those.

Accepting this fact will help you limit yourself from going out of your way to satisfy them every time.

Give your very best.

This does not mean you should ignore the habitual complainer. Give her your attention and let her know you are listening. Never give in to the temptation to make excuses or explain your way out of her complaints.

No matter what she says, respond calmly and nicely, and with a smile (if you can find one.)

If there are any valid complaints you think you can fix, then do something about it. It is always a good strategy to make a note of all the things she’s asking for and serve him at once. That way, you do not have to deal with her multiple times.

Madam ‘No Boundaries’ This type of customer does not respect boundaries and expects you to respond to her requests immediately.

It does not matter if it is 3 a.m. in the morning or at the weekend. She will send www.businessday.ng

you email, texts and would even give you a call at the oddest times.

Madam ‘No Boundaries’ is the type of customer that invades your personal life and leaves you feeling swarmed and overwhelmed.

The Indecisive They will ask you questions, and even more questions, but still cannot make a purchase no matter the quantity of information you provide.

‘Indecisives’ want to be 101 percent sure that they are getting the best deal, quality, price and features before they buy. They are usually afraid of making any mistakes. That is why they keep asking questions, comparing, and ‘investigating.’

This type of customer is the classic time waster. They will exhaust your energy and time, and still won’t buy. Although they are harmless and often very polite, this type of customer can be very draining on your productivity.

How to handle the Indecisive The key to handling the Indecisive is to determine their hot button. What exactly are they most concerned about? Price? Quality? Quantity? Features?

When you know what

their hot button is, it is much easier to ‘force’ them to make a decision. If they make the decision, good for you – you will make a sale.

And if they do not make the decision, you can just ignore them for the time wasters that they are.

Another way to move Indecisives towards a decision is to ‘sweeten’ the deal. Give them a price or bulk discount, a free taster, or offer a money-back guarantee.

Better still, you can introduce some urgency to ‘help’ them make a decision.

Either way, you need to be strict with this type of customer. If not, they will eat up your time and energy, and leave you exhausted – without a sale, of course.

As long as you are in business, you will surely encounter difficult customers from time to time. They will always be there. Your job is to handle them successfully.

Always remember that your ability to successfully handle difficult customers will lead to greater respect for your business, more patronage, higher sales and healthy staff morale.

It is not enough to put the blame on the difficult customers. By applying the techniques in this article, you can adapt to their tactics and hopefully, convert them to friendly and loyal customers.

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they had a team at the event as well as someone on the judging panel.

“After hearing us pitch, they were impressed and brought us into the conversation with the Afghan ministry of health,” Adelowo said. So, as you can see, we didn’t quite start out with Afghanistan in mind but we saw an opportunity and we took it.”

Like Africa, Asian countries like Afghanistan are the hardest hit by the problem of counterfeit goods. For context, the Afghanistan Ministry of Health registered a total of 450 foreign pharmaceutical suppliers to cater for the country’s 31 million people in 2015, which makes it too much to manage. Comparatively, India with a population of more than 1.2 billion only has 100 registered foreign medicine suppliers.

The plan for the Afghan market is that after a successful pilot, the pharmaceutical companies that produce for the Afghanistan market will become Chekkit customers.

They will be the ones to pay for Chekkit’s technology as part of regulations set by the health ministry.

How the company has fared so far In terms of Nigerians who have used it’s solution, Cheeky has had about 200,000 hits on its codes. The entire traffic has come from USSD. “In the coming months, we will be deepening our footing in Nigeria as we already have agreements with Merck Nigeria for our anti-counterfeit labels to go on quite a number of products for the next 8 – 9 months while Sumec Firman will also be using our labels for Generators,” said an excited Adelowo.

The company also recently completed a GSI certification which makes Chekkit compliant with the recent direction NAFDAC is heading in terms of food and drug traceability in Nigeria.

Chekkit plans to release a flagship Mobile App in the Nigeria market in the second week of September.

“We are in the growth stage, haven’t raised investment yet, and we have been mainly funded from revenue and grants most of which came from accelerator programs and awards. We are currently raising a $300k round,” Adelowo said.

Fab Reality promises affordable housing for Nigerians

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ab Reality and Tourism Ltd, a corporate outfit that comprises of two distinctive segments, each offering a unique and exceptional services to a large pool of clientele with a special touch of skills and competencies.

The real estate and tourism company recently reiterated its commitment towards the provision of affordable housing for Nigerians at amazing deals.

Ayomikun Adebayo-Oyetoro, CEO Fab Realty and Tourism Ltd., said Fab in collaborative partnership with renowned property agencies, in the estate and housing industry to bridge the housing deficit in Nigeria. “Our key partners spread across Dubai - the Tiger properties and Sobha Reality; and top class developers in Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lekki and the likes,” he said.

According to Adebayo-Oyetoro, Fab offers flexible payment to own an apartment, as low as N50,000 per month, after a 50% upfront payment, to own desired apartments.

However, the company also offer convenient payment plans for luxurious furnished apartments in Dubai, UAE; to the satisfaction of its clients.

It equally gives clients the option of ‘Personal Choice Areas’ for apartments located in several states in Nigeria such as Lagos, Ogun, Imo, Abuja, Kwara, Delta and others upcoming.

“Admirable power of negotiations on behalf of our clients, by our skilled manpower @Businessdayng

with competencies in estate & property management at best market values,” said AdebayoOyetoro.

The tourism segment of the company is a complementary arm of the business that aims at packaging optimal comfort and leisure to facilitate the growth of tourism business as well as providing feasible vacation plans for companies, groups, families, couples and individuals.

“Our packages are next to none; affordable, clients oriented, friendly, enrichments,” said Adebayo-Oyetoro.

According to him, the tourism segment of the business offers in dept knowledge of exciting tourist attraction centers within Nigeria and other places like Dubai, Europe, Seychelles, Cape Verde, Maldives, Mauritius & many more.

These includes packaging of affordable fun tours, with diligent observance of requisite hospitality, security and personal comfort of its clients in the host environment.

Ayomikun Adebayo-Oyetoro is an Award winning Real Estate consultant/ Facility Management. CEO Fab Realty and Tourism Ltd.

24

Friday 04 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Retail &

consumer business Luxury

Malls

Companies

Deals

Spending Trends

‘Enyo’s objective is to pioneer technology revolution in downstream retail and supply industry’ Abayomi Awobokun, Chief Executive Officer of Enyo Retail and Supply shared insights on the recently completed Enyo Open Ideas Competition and the company’s efforts towards promoting innovation in this interview with BusinessDay’s Endurance Okafor & Bunmi Bailey. Excerpt: Can you tell us about the company, Enyo Retail and Supply? nyo Retail and Supply is a customer-focused, technology-driven fuels retailing company in Nigeria. Enyo was established in 2017 and we have expanded quickly with over 100 stations across 19 states nationwide. Currently, we entertain over a thousand customers daily and cater to 2% of Nigeria’s local demands.

At Enyo, our operations are designed to use technology to improve the relationship between fuel retailers like ourselves and customers to generally change the narrative of the downstream industry in Nigeria.

You recently announced the winners of the pilot edition of the Enyo Open Ideas Competition (EOIC). Tell us about the competition?

The Enyo Open Ideas Competition began in February 2020 and this maiden edition was designed as an innovative contest intended to create ideas for sustainable design of our service stations. The competition tasked participants such as architects, creatives and innovative individuals to de-

E

velop the ‘service station of the future’ using the example of existing ENYO service stations. Over 350 entries were received and with the help of our judges who are prominent & renowned professionals in the architecture space design in Nigeria, we narrowed down to a very welldeserving winning entry.

What was the motive behind this competition?

Simply put, the motive was an innovation. As an organization, one of our core values is constant innovation to keep exceeding the expectations of our customers. We believe that beyond our company’s professionals, there are thousands of individuals who may have ideas that are in line with our core business goals. We saw the burgeoning need to develop a competition to access those people and reward the best for their innovation.

Our objective is to continue accessing innovations both within the employment of the company and also collaborating with people outside the wall of the company who may have ideas that will continue to give us a competitive edge.

What informed the selection of the winners?

As mentioned earlier, we

Abayomi Awobokun

engaged prominent and renowned professionals from the Nigerian architecture industry to select the best entry. The chairman of the Lagos chapter of Nigerian Institute of Architects, Fitzgerald Umah, Tosin Oshinowo, Director, CmDesign Atelier and other renowned architects went through all the designs submitted and selected the best three designs. These

finalists were selected based on innovation and relevance, aesthetics, technical quality, clarity and comprehension as well as the functionality of the design concept.

The winners of the competition were announced after a rigorous review process. Based on the ethos of the design, including the competency of the architectural work, use of space and

buildability of the design, our judges announced the winning team comprising Tobiloba Babalola, Ifeoluwa Akande and Olumide Owoyele.

How were the winners awarded?

The winning team was awarded a total sum of one million naira (N1,000,000.00) in prize money while the second and third place winners were awarded N500,000.00 and N250,000.00 respectively. Asides the cash price awarded to the winners, we will continue to work with them for our future designs and refurbishments. Certainly, the winners and ourselves are on a path towards a longlasting mutually beneficial relationship as they are now in our ecosystem.

Will the winning design be constructed?

The idea is not to entirely build any of the winning designs but to rather take bits and pieces to infuse in future projects. The goal of the Open Ideas Competition is to fuel innovation and creativity in various spheres through healthy competition.

Other than the designs that made it into the finals, were they any other designs you found interesting for the entry?

We received over 350 designs and at least 50 were interesting. I was pleased with most of the designs and thankful for the great work done by all participants.

However, in every competition, there are things that distinguish every other entry from the winning entry.

What plans do you have in place for the continuity of EOIC? The second edition of the EOIC begins in September 2020, and we are currently at the final stage of deciding the focus of the next edition.

We could decide to go with designs, sustainability, solar and the environmental aspect of our business. The possibilities are endless and the focus will be announced in September.

How does this program fit into ENYO retail and supply’s overall goals and objectives?

Our objective at Enyo is to pioneer the technology revolution in the downstream to see what additional value can be created to support the massive industry. This program fits perfectly with our overall goals and objectives as technology and innovation go hand in hand, and we constantly seek ways to promote innovation and creativity.

MALL

How brick & mortar stores can remain relevant post COVID-19 Endurance Okafor

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hile most countries around the world went into lockdown in a bid to bend the COVID-19 curve, the closure of brick and mortar stores gave room for growth in online transactions.

As a result of the pandemic, consumption habits, which normally take years to break, have been forced to transform over a short span as website and retail apps have become the new store-front.

Ironically, in spite of COVID-19 disruption of the physical retail industry, a recent survey by a strategic design agency, Shikatani Lacroix Design (SLD) identifies that retail stores remain a viable channel for consumers to shop post-pandemic.

“The key question we wanted to answer as part of the study, namely with the arrival of COVID-19 and its impact on all industries, was what impact it will have on the role of bricks and mortar locations both short and long term, and whether the move to digital has helped retailers maintain an acceptable level of operation?” Jean-Pierre

Lacroix R.G.D, President and Founder of SLD said.

According to SLD’s retail consumer study conducted in May 2020, online channels, which served as a saving grace for many retailers, may disrupt future shopping behaviours and habits and thus the study which interviewed 2000 respondents said retailers who maintain a strong online presence will gain greater market share both during and after the pandemic.

While the shoppers yearn to return to normalcy, SLD said some brands would have to rethink their business model to attract

consumers back to their physical stores. For example, only 19 percent of the respondents reported going to a cinema as an activity they look forward to. Cinemas may see a new trend towards open-air drive-in culture which offers experience along with convenience.

On the ways physical stores can remain relevant, SLD said in the short term, retailers should continue to ensure the health and safety of their employees and customers to regain trust and confidence.

“Stores should consider new operational processes

and policies to prioritize a clean and sanitized retail environment, as it’s important for close to 75 percent of respondents that the store practices safe physical distancing and sanitization procedures,” it said.

According to the Torontobased company discounts and promotions/ offers is another catalyst store can use to lure the customers who are slowly getting used to ordering products to their doorstep.

“As consumers are looking to save money, retailers can use this demand to rethink the purpose of the physical store, by offering added

Team Lead: Bala Augie, Bunmi Bailey; Graphics: Fifen Eyemisanre Famous www.businessday.ng

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@Businessdayng

advantages to their customers beginning with limited time promotions, special discounts or extra loyalty points for visiting stores,” it said.

Discounts and Offers can work to lure customers instore as price and promotion are important for close to 67 percent of consumers.

The highest priority for retailers, according to SLD should be to maintain items in stock, because it said it seems to be one of the most important criteria to ensure consumers who are trying to reduce the number of trips to physical stores get what they want on that first trip (73 percent).

Friday 04 September 2020

Harvard Business Review

BUSINESS DAY

25

MANAGEMENTDIGEST

Presidential Obsession JEFF KEHOE

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HE COMPLEX AND CRUCIAL R E L AT I O N S H I P BETWEEN OUR LEADERS, THE MEDIA AND US Since Donald Trump took office in January 2017, he has issued tens of thousands of tweets — some positive, some angry, some serious, some bonkers. Invariably, the media reacts, as do we, the public. We might write a letter to the editor, post a reply, retweet, like, dislike or shake a fist at the screen.

This may seem like a dynamic peculiar to our current moment, but while the technology may be relatively new, the underlying human story is as old as the Republic. We U.S. citizens are obsessed with our presidents — always have been. We have an insatiable desire to read about what they say and do, watch them, rate them and pass judgment on them.

The vigor of this ongoing obsession is well reflected in a raft of new books, from “best of” lists (Jason Stahl’s “America’s Presidents: Ranked From Best to Worst” and Robert Spencer’s “Rating America’s Presidents”) to biographies (David S. Reynolds’s “Abe: Abraham Lincoln in His Times”; Fredrik Logevall’s “JFK: Coming of Age in the American Century, 1917-1956”; Jonathan Alter’s “His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life”; and more).

But all these recent releases and our compulsive monitoring of presidential news reflect only part of the picture. What often escapes notice is presidents’ equally intense obsession with how they are viewed by the citizenry and their unrelenting efforts to influence public opinion, working both through the press — from the 18th-century broadsheet to social media — and around it.

Trump’s hot war on the “lamestream” media tests the boundary between freedom of the press and presidential power in a way that may feel uniquely combative. But in “The Presidents vs. the Press,” scholar Harold Holzer reminds us that this has happened before. Although George Washington enjoyed “the longestever press honeymoon in the history of the American presidency,” baldly partisan news-

papers eventually went on the attack. In response, Washington, aided by Alexander Hamilton, backed John Fenno’s Gazette of the United States to act as the “quasi-official administration mouthpiece.”

During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln shut down anti-Union papers and seized control of the North’s telegraph lines. Lincoln saw his aggressive suppression of the press as a war power crucial to preserving the Union. As Holzer writes: “The leader who later gained fame as the ‘Great Emancipator’ began his presidency as the ‘Great Censor.’”

In the 20th century, Franklin Delano Roosevelt emerged as a brilliant communicator, hosting a whopping 998 news conferences during his 12 years in office. His innovative “fireside chats,” via radio, signaled a revolution in presidential communication, allowing him to reach into Americans’ living rooms, assuage their fears during the Great Depression and, not incidentally, circumvent the print media. Presidents have mastered the press milieu of their time in various ways — Theodore Roosevelt with his indomitable energy, Ronald Reagan with his affability and actor’s polish, Bill Clinton with his empathy — but the true communication pioneers were the ones who recognized the power of new www.businessday.ng

technology to connect directly with citizens and shape public opinion. John Kennedy’s use of televised news conferences qualifies, as does Barack Obama’s embrace of the internet and social media, which allowed him to vastly expand and personalize his messaging.

President Trump is a pioneer in his own right. He sees most media organizations as adversaries and so works against and around them with instinctive skill, often in ways that many find disturbing. It’s strange to think of his tweets as somehow equivalent to FDR’s fireside chats, but they are. Holzer makes a powerful case that, “love him or loathe him,” Trump is “one of the most effective communicators in White House history.”

Of course, he has been helped by a highly partisan 24/7 cable news cycle and the social media platforms that carry his sound bites, often unmediated. In “Terms of Disservice: How Silicon Valley Is Destructive by Design,” Harvard researcher Dipayan Ghosh argues that companies like Facebook (his former employer), Twitter and Google have caused “widespread damage” to “the American media ecosystem” by favoring profit over public good. He points to social media firms’ reluctance to mediate content posted by the current presi-

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dent as a central force undermining political discourse.

Not surprisingly, Ghosh thinks these platforms should be regulated like media companies. He calls for a new social contract for digital business that prioritizes the security and interests of consumers and articulates and acknowledges the civic responsibility of owning such vast information networks. The final chapter of the book provides a usefully detailed, if radical, blueprint for a regulatory framework that is sure to spur debate and, hopefully, progress.

In the new-media age that Ghosh describes, the idea of long-form presidential writing — and books in particular — as an effective image-shaping tool may strike some as overly analog, even quaint. However, in “Author in Chief” and its follow-up, ”The Best Presidential Writing: From 1789 to the Present,” journalist and historian Craig Fehrman draws on more than 10 years of research to make a compelling contrary argument.

He explains that John Adams was the first president to write a memoir, and traces the many others who followed suit: Andrew Jackson, with the first campaign biography; Ulysses Grant, with the brilliant and moving “Personal Memoirs”; and Calvin Coolidge, whose intimate autobiography, published soon after he left office @Businessdayng

for maximum legacy impact, was hugely popular in its day.

JFK wrote “Profiles in Courage” (with a ghostwriting assist from Ted Sorensen) before he was in office, a tradition continued

by Obama, with his revealing, authentic “Dreams From My Father,” and by Trump, with the self-aggrandizing “The Art of the Deal” (also ghost-written). Fehrman’s engaging and learned narrative reminds us that, with some exceptions, these longer presidential communications let us see presidents “at their most human … their most ambitious and their most reflective.”

While the mutual obsession between us and our presidents will no doubt continue — the onslaught of communications, whether mediated or not, will only intensify as digital platforms gain power — it’s important to remember that, ultimately, it is we citizens who determine our political leaders’ fate and legacy. Lincoln once said: “Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed.”

He was right. When presidents communicate, well or badly, our response is what matters.

As long as the United States remains a democracy, we — not our elected officials — are the ones in charge.

Jeff Kehoe is a senior editor at Harvard Business Review.

26

Friday 04 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Sports NFF, NIKE to unveil new design kits for Nigeria National Teams Stories by Anthony Nlebem

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he Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and its global brand kitsponsor NIKE, have taken a further step forward in the plan to unveil another set of kits for the Nigeria National Teams that would wow the world as those launched for the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals.

The new designs were launched earlier in the year, but plans went askew as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic. The Super Eagles would launch the new wears during the FIFA window for international friendlies next month.

It would be recalled that American sportswear giant, NIKE received three million

orders for the Super Eagles’ 2018 FIFA World Cup kit prior to the release of the

jerseys into the market on 29th May 2018.

On the first day of the sales in London, United Kingdom on Friday, 1st June 2018 (which also was the eve of Nigeria’s high-profile pre-World Cup friendly with England’s Three Lions at Wembley), NIKE shops ran out of stock within one hour of putting out the jerseys.

Apart from the tremendous success on the counter, NIKE has continued to express its delight with the running agreement with the NFF, initially signed in London in April 2015, with the various Nigeria National Teams qualifying for major competitions and impressing at continental championships.

Messi’s record transfer to Man City now imminent

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oast seems to be clearer for Lionel Messi’s exit from Barcelona as his father and agent, Jorge Messi, flew to Barcelona on Wednesday and held talks with club president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, in an attempt to persuade the club to release Messi.

The positions of the two parties are clear. On one side, Messi wants to leave Barcelona and believes he can legally do so for free during

the current transfer window.

On the other hand, Barcelona don’t want to lose him and insist that his 700 million euro (€700m) release clause remains valid.

When asked about his son’s situation, he curtly replied: “I don’t know anything”. He later voiced out: “It’s difficult, it’s difficult that he will stay at Barcelona”.

Reports in Spain say Messi has agreed a five-year deal worth €700m with the Man-

chester City Football Group (CFG), which owns Manchester City.

Messi, 33 and six-time Ballon d’Or winner has requested to leave Barcelona, where he has spent his entire professional career. He was reportedly absent from Barcelona’s pre-season testing on Sunday as the forward continues to try to engineer a move away from the club.

First-team players were due to attend coronavirus testing ahead of a return to training from Monday as preparations for the 2020-21 season gets underway.

Messi, for his part, is said to think the clause in his contract that allows him to leave for nothing at the end of each season is still valid given the 2019-20 campaign was prolonged by the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the board and president Josep Maria Bartomeu consider the clause to

have expired and are thought to be unwilling to countenance selling Messi unless his €700 million buyout fee is met.

Speaking at the presentation of Francisco Trincao, sporting director Ramon Planes insisted they wanted to keep Messi and rebuild the team around him under new head coach Ronald Koeman.

“You have to have enormous respect for Leo because of what he is and because of his history. We are not thinking about any contractual clause,” he said.

“Messi’s marriage to Barca has given both parties a lot, much joy to the fans and internally we are working to convince Messi, to find the best solution for Barca and for Messi.

“Barca has rebuilt itself many times throughout its history and has always come back strong. Our idea is to do it around the best player in the world.”

How Solskjaer can play Van de Beek

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onny van de Beek is set to finalise his move to Old Trafford after completing a medical in the Netherlands earlier this week.

The midfielder is currently on international duty with the Dutch national side, however, he is expected to complete his move to Manchester United this week.

The recruitment of the 23-year-old represents a good business for United who have been long time admirers of the Ajax midfielder.

Van de Beek has been in the eyes of many top sides across the continent for a while now and did look set to be joining Real Madrid prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.

No deal was finalised, opening the door for United to make a move now.

A product of Ajax’s worldrenowned academy, Van de Beek has risen through the ranks to be an integral firstteam player at the club across the previous three seasons.

However, it was his performances in Ajax’s 2019 Champions League run that firmly put him on the map for many top clubs across Europe.

From a United perspective, it’s both his technical ability and versatility that makes him such an appealing prospect. For Ajax, he has predominantly been used as both a central and attacking midfielder across the previous two seasons.

From an attacking sense, he’s excellent at operating in between the lines, linking with teammates using short clever passes or making clever off-the-ball movements to open spaces for players

around him.

Not only do his clever movements in the opposition’s half create openings for others, but he also utilises the same to evade marking defenders when drifting towards the penalty area to latch onto crosses or threaded passes into the box. He scored 10 goals last season and also averaged an impressive 1.84 shots per 90 minutes.

Beyond the goals, he also registered six assists and averaged 1.68 shot assists per 90 which captures his all-round chance-creating abilities too.

Whilst this is impressive, he provides more than just an offensive threat for his team which is why he will be regularly used in deeper locations within the Ajax midfield.

He is a calm and composed passer of the ball and last season, he won 63.54 per cent of his league defensive duels which was a higher success rate than each of United’s current midfielders in the Premier League - the obvious caveat is that England’s top tier is stronger than Holland’s.

Within Solskjaer’s favoured 4-2-3-1 formation, attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes has had an unquestionable impact since his arrival in January, directly being involved in 15 Premier League goals in just 14 league appearances.

Meanwhile, deeper in the right central midfield role has been Paul Pogba who, despite playing a more reserved role since the arrival of Fernandes, remains one of the best players in Europe. Van de Beek can dislodge either of United’s two most important players.

up 60 percent.

Shifting players off the wage bill will also be impor-

tant when it comes to signing new players during the current transfer window.

Josep Maria Bartomeu has insisted that Barcelona have money to spend on players but, without making space on the wage bill first, it’s difficult to see any new arrivals at the Camp Nou in the near future.

Barcelona wage cut saves the club €40m … may lose €320m in revenues in 2020/21 season

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arcelona are one of the many football clubs looking to cut costs as they combat the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic.

The departures of Ivan Rakitic, Arthur Melo and Arturo Vidal will save the Catalan club some €40 million in wages per season.

Rakitic and Vidal were earning €34 million between them at the Camp Nou, while Arthur added a further €6 million.

If Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez follow the trio out of the door at Barcelona, that would save them a further €120 million per season.

Barcelona manager, Ronwww.businessday.ng

ald Koeman, has given the green light for a mass exodus of the club’s high earners, who are not part of his plans for the coming season.

Barcelona are expected to lose €320 million euros in revenue during the 2020/21 season after already losing 200 million last campaign.

These huge losses mean

the club’s budget for the new season has shrunk to €800 million, of which wages make

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INSIGHT

Mission impossible for ‘The Godfather’

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n Nigeria, electoral contests are war. Literally. Once an election approaches and the campaigns are in full swing, fiery rhetoric dominates the political-speak, and the language of war becomes the common dialect of the contestants and their besotted supporters and foot soldiers.

The leaders are not left out of the febrile embrace of warmongering.

In fact, they signal it and mobilize their party members and sundry hired guns for mayhem.

President Muhammadu Buhari has already given the marching order to the All Progressives Congress’ leadership to capture Edo and Ondo States in the governorship elections taking place in September and October respectively. He said the party must regain control of Edo and retain Ondo by all means. And that includes deploying the playbook they used in ‘winning’ Osun, Kano and Kogi States governorship elections.

That playbook features violence targeted at the opposition party’s people, suppression of voting in their strongholds and manipulation of results. After the Osun election in 2018, Buhari celebrated his party’s victory by coining, through a Freudian slip, an ominous terminology, ‘winning by remote control’. When deconstructed, it means using federal government might to get the result they want.

And not what they merit. In this context, votes don’t and shouldn’t count because the electorates don’t matter at all.

The Osun-Kano-Kogi scenario is already unfolding in Edo State where the APC is engaged in a fierce contest with the People’s Democratic Party for the governorship election. The recent viral video of Adams Oshiomhole asking Ibrahim Gambari, the president’s chief-of-staff, to organize the arrest of PDP leaders in the state says it all very eloquently. And it advertises one of the notorious characteristics of Nigerian politicians – their desperation to win at all costs without the slightest worry about the collateral damage they inflict on their people.

Edo had always been a peaceful state and elections were held there without any serious incident of violence. The state isn’t immune from the usual widespread malpractices that deform our elections. But it has never been this terrorized by politicians whose desperation is making the people very nervous. They are now not only afraid that their votes may not count; they are beginning to fear for their lives.

The political dynamics in the state are extremely fluid. They are giving Oshiomhole and his party a lot of sleepless nights. As the immediate past governor of the state and recently dethroned APC’s national chairman, his usual swagger has dimmed and his trademark bombast, far less rousing and convincing. He decided to bet all his political capital on stopping

Governor Godwin Obaseki, his former ally and close confidante, from getting a second term. He may win big by Abuja’s special ‘remote control’, or lose very badly.

That we will soon know.

If on September 19, the election were free and fair, Oshiomhole and his party would be routed.

He knows it. That is why he’s been going on bended knees from pillar to post, begging for understanding and support of traditional rulers and other prominent Edo people.

And it explains his attempt to coopt the president’s chief-of-staff to come to his party’s aide by getting his opponents neutralized through dubious arrests and other forms of harassment.

The former comrade’s present predicament is entirely self-inflict-

ed and driven by his ambition to be the state’s unchallenged political godfather. His role model in this quest is Bola Tinubu, former Lagos State governor and APC’s national leader, who knows his own political onion to the last peal. Almost.

His political miscalculations and desperation to stamp his authority on the politics of the state have exposed his rank duplicity, and utter lack of fidelity to anyone.

Except where it serves his purpose.

And the people are not amused.

In fact, they are offended by the real Oshiomhole they are seeing now. One that is the antithesis of the other, who ceaselessly railed against those he called godfathers, who decided the political and economic fortune of the state in their bedrooms.

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If Obaseki is re-elected, the former comrade’spolitical influence in the state and beyond would be completely eviscerated.

If Ize-Iyamu wins, that would only give Oshiomhole some fleeting triumph and a brief reprieve.

This is because, just like Obaseki, Ize-Iyamu wouldn’t be in any wayinclined to be his Man Friday www.businessday.ng

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In 2016, Obaseki was his main man. He put everything on the line to promote his candidacy and ensure he won the governorship.

His reason for supporting Obaseki then was quite rational. According to him, he was the only person, in his own estimation, who could run an effective government. He dismissed all the other aspirants, including his deputy, Dr. Pius Odubu, as politicians who knew only how to deliver their wards in elections but lack the requisite skills, knowledge and experience to be an impactful governor. He had declared that he had no apology for his decision because Obaseki was the right man to succeed him.

Four years later, he has fallen on his own sword by forswearing all the glowing accolades he poured on Obaseki and the venom he bathed Osagie Ize-Iyamu with. IzeIyamu had parted ways with him, rejoined the PDP and became the party’s governorship candidate. It is no wonder that he is having a hard time persuading the people to trust his judgment again today. Most of them, if not all, are not buying his political gamesmanship of the very worst kind.

At that time, Ize-Iyamu was his arch political enemy, whom he mercilessly demonized and demarketed as most unfit to be governor. Not too surprisingly, they are back in the same camp, pursuing a common interest of attempting to see off Obaseki as a one-term governor. In Oshiomhole’s thinking and apparently self-serving political calculations, the good and the bad are easily interchangeable to suit the exigencies of the moment.

In all of this, the state’s interest is brazenly compromised for per@Businessdayng

sonal glory and gratification.

As much as he has tried, he hasn’t succeeded in pining the label of incompetence on Obaseki.

Even with his famed oratorical prowess, he has failed to do terminal damage to the governor’s credibility. He and his supporters have so far been reduced to whining about the governor’s alleged betrayal and ingratitude. But between the two of them, Oshiomhole owes Obaseki far more debt of gratitude than he is owed. That is one salient aspect of their storied relationship that he can’t just re-write solely at his whim.

Most of those cheerleading Oshiomhloe today weren’t there at the very beginning when Obaseki helped pave the way for him to become governor in 2008. He had several times, to his credit, acknowledged the pivotal role Obaseki played in his election as governor and in the organization of his government.

So profiling Obaseki differently now is one political trick he can’t pull off. His quest to stop him and certify his own political godfathership of the state seems more like mission impossible. Unless and until he gets his wish for the notorious federal might – a euphemism for stealing elections – to aide his cause.

Whatever happens on September 19 and beyond will not bode well for Oshiomhole. If Obaseki is re-elected, the former comrade’s political influence in the state and beyond would be completely eviscerated. If Ize-Iyamu wins, that would only give Oshiomhole some fleeting triumph and a brief reprieve. This is because, just like Obaseki, Ize-Iyamu wouldn’t be in any way inclined to be his Man Friday.

One of life’s immutable laws is that, those who aspire to lead must first be humble and learn to follow.

This is one lesson he has never learned. Hence he has a penchant to always be the frontman, while he has never followed others loyally.

Award-winning veteran journalist Nosa Igiebor, President of Tell Communications, Publishers of Tell Magazine – Nigeria’s independent weekly – is our guest writer from today. He has promised to write for us regularly.

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News BUSINESSDAY JOBS & GROWTH SERIES

Export-led growth crucial to fixing...

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world’s busiest trans-shipment port today, surpassing Hong Kong and Rotterdam.

In contrast, Nigeria has a weak manufacturing sector, with low capacity utilisation and unable to compete in the local and the global markets.

Its ports are big impediments to trade, characterised by delays, high cost and lack of scanning equipment. Protectionism is also hurting the capacity of firms to compete.

“In order to attract investors, Singapore had to create an environment that was safe, corruption-free, and low in taxation,” said a researcher Ping Zhou.

Nigeria had 45 percent share of the world’s palm oil market in 1960, which should have given the country access to over $15 billion annually had it maintained that spot today. Nigeria’s share is just 1.7 percent currently, having relinquished that position to Malaysia and Indonesia.

Nigeria ignored economic diversification from 1970s and concentrated on crude oil, which is largely an enclave industry that creates only few jobs.

But a typical vegetable oil company encompasses oil palm plantation, palm oil production, palm olein production and vegetable oil production, creating tens of jobs at each stage.

Africa’s most populous nation is facing a job crisis, with unemployment reaching 27 percent in the second quarter (Q2) of 2020. The economy returned 6 percent negative growth in the same period.

It may be argued that Nigeria is 40 times bigger than Singapore in population, but Africa’s largest economy still significantly underperforms other demographic peers such as Brazil, Indonesia and

Bangladesh.

Nigeria’s biggest export product is crude oil, which accounted for 72.12 percent of total exports in the second quarter of 2020. Manufactured goods comprised 22.3 percent of total non-oil exports in Q2 and 6.23 percent of all the exports within the period.

“We need to improve our primary production so we can increase and expand the value chain. We are not generating enough income from exports, and we need to explore research and incorporate value addition in our export in order to effectively utilise it. We also need to change our taste buds,” Ebenezer Onyeagwu, CEO, Zenith Bank, said while speaking at a trade forum recently.

Vietnam has set a record example for Nigeria, moving from a poor and underdeveloped economy to one of the fastest developing economy in the world and attracting diverse investments while growing its non-oil export portfolio. One of the major steps taken by the country is market reforms.

Vo Tri Thanh, a Vietnamese economist, said keys to the country’s growth were an acknowledgement of the private business right; the marketoriented reforms; macroeconomic and social stability, as well as the opening and the integrating of the economy into the regional and world economy, especially in the areas of trade and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

By 2019, Vietnam had reduced its unemployment and poverty rate to 2.01 percent and 5 percent respectively amid a population of 95 million. In 2018, Vietnam earned $244.72 billion from export of finished products from garments and shoes to smart phones.

The country earned over $50 billion from export of

Travel, hospitality businesses to rebound...

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impact and importance of international flight resumption to our economy. With the determined plan, businesses such as travels and tours, hotel and restaurants, catering and ground services, entertainment and culture, among others, can breathe again,” he states.

Also excited over the resumption, John Ojikutu, chief executive of Centurion Securities, and a member of Aviation Round Table (ART), the aviation industry think tank group, says the resumption of international flights is where the money is because about 50,000 international flights a year give the aviation sector about 80 percent of its earnings in commercial aviation as against over 100,000 domestic flights that hardly record the balance of the 20 percent in debts.

Ojikutu says the effect on the other sector would be significant, especially on hotels and other hospitality outfits, but may not be much on tourism.

“Summer has virtually gone but the Christmas season is approaching; we expect a rush

by Nigerians in the diaspora into the country for the Christmas, and that can have a very big impact on the economy; brighten the business of the domestic airlines and possibly pay for their losses during the lockdown,” he states.

Saleh Rabo, president, Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria (FTAN), is also excited that international flights are resuming tomorrow.

Rabo, who leads the umbrella body of tourism practitioners in Nigeria, notes that the resumption would boost business and bring the www.businessday.ng

Former President Goodluck Jonathan (l), during a visit of members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) caucus in the House of Representatives, led by Kingsley Chinda, in Abuja.

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phones and their components in 2018, according to the country’s General Statistics Office.

How did this miracle happen?

“Vietnam has achieved its success the hard way. First, it has embraced trade liberalisation with gusto. Second, it has complemented external liberalisation with domestic reforms through deregulation and lowering the cost of doing business. Finally, Vietnam has invested heavily in human and physical capital, predominantly through public investments,” Sebastian Eckardt, Deepak Mishra, and Viet Tuan Dinh, three Vietnam economists wrote in Brookings Institute website.

Nigeria is plagued by poor infrastructure with erratic power supply and roads decrepit in many parts of the country.

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) advocates strengthening infrastructure to reduce production cost and increase competitiveness of locally-made products in the global market.

Similarly, experts say val-

ue addition will provide more profit from exports beyond the basics and contribute to the country’s economic development and jobs.

The country is facing a foreign exchange crunch with manufacturers getting two to 10 percent of their FX demands.

Foreign reserves are depleting, as the CBN intervenes to resolve FX market issues.

Ede Dafinone, chairman, MAN Export Group, said the non-oil export should be providing enough FX and jobs for the economy, lamenting that lack of support was preventing that from happening.

One of the major ways of boosting non-oil export is to fully re-start the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) to push more made-in-Nigeria products to the continent, especially as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) begins in January 2021, Dafinone said.

The AfCFTA seeks to liberalise trade among African countries. It is targeted at a ‘borderless’ Africa, with an eye on a single market for goods and services on the continent.

It is easily the largest trade agreement since the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1994, and a flagship project of Africa’s Agenda 2063, targeted at creating a single market for 1.2 billion people and exposing each country to a $3.4 trillion market opportunity on the continent.

Nigeria’s firms stand to gain from it and can expand and create jobs to leverage the continental market. However, high cost of production fuelled by multiple taxation, regulatory pressure and poor infrastructure could hurt them.

“We are excited about the signing of the AFCTA. But we need to get ourselves ready for the pressure of competition inherent in the continental economic integration agenda. A number of commitments were made about the creation of an environment that would enable the private sector to be competition ready. But not much has happened in this regard so far,” Toki Mabogunje, president, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), said.

Nigeria’s lack of jobs may be partly attributed to the poor performance of the manufacturing export sector, which naturally creates more jobs than any other sector in developing countries because of their long value chain potential.

The 2020 World Bank’s ease of doing business index ranks Nigeria 131st position, which is an improvement from its previous ranking of 146.

However, business managers say the upgrade did not reflect on the business performance, Vietnam ranked 70th for which is attributed to the reforms that focused on access to credit and payment of taxes.

The World Economic Forum in one of its reports titled ‘The story of Vietnam’s economic miracle’ noted that the Southeast Asian country’s economic rise was driven by its trade and investment reforms as it encouraged trade liberalisation and foreign direct investments, reduced the cost of doing business and invested heavily in human and physical capital.

needed respite to the sector, which according to him, lost over N12 billion daily during the lockdown period, while the hotel subsector lost N2 billion daily.

But he urges the Federal Government and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to be definite with the date of resumption, offer airlines flight timetable, safety guidelines and others incentives needed to ensure smooth take-off after many months of inactivity.

“We need government to be definite with this new resumption date to avoid cancelation of tickets and travel plans again. Many people who were issued tickets for the earlier botched August 29 resumption were disappointed when it was shifted to September 5.

Starting with cancellation after many months of inactivity is not good for the industry and passengers,” he says.

NPA terminates Intels Nigeria contract...

dollars per month. “Before Intels entered into the joint venture agreement, the NPA was realising little above $6 million per annum but Intels moved up the revenue profile to over $200 million per annum.”

Surprisingly, crisis ensued when NPA in September 2017 announced the termination of the contract on the premise that Intels refused to pay revenue generated from the contract into the Treasury Single Account (TSA) of the Federal Government.

The NPA insisted that 100 percent of the revenue generated by Intels should be paid into TSA while the NPA would be the one to be paying Intels its 28 percent instead of deducting the 28 percent from source. The company was said to have refused NPA offer on the basis of the loan agreement it had with several Nigerian banks at the beginning of the contract.

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his deputy failed.

“It has been the same issue since 2017. The NPA did not actually terminate the Service Boat contract because the truth was that the Authority did not renew the contract after it expired,” confirmed a source close to Intels, who does not want to be mentioned.

According to the source, Intels has done well by turning the few million dollars project to multi-million dollars one.

The source further discloses that Intels has adjusted to the new reality by reducing its work strength, saying, “Intels has increased the revenue generated for the government and services rendered to vessels under its district of operation.

“NPA has taken over the operation and we hope that they would be able to main-

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tain the standards set by Intels in revenue generation and service offering.”

Recall that in 2010, Intels was contracted by the NPA to provide boat monitoring and supervision services and collect revenue on its behalf, at 72: 28 percent sharing formula. Here, NPA earned 72 percent of the revenue while the remaining 28 percent went to Intels.

To implement the contract due to elapse this year (2020), Intels says it entered into loan agreements to the tune of $1.4 billion (N428.4bn), with several Nigerian banks based on the understanding that the debt would be offset from money realised from the execution of the contract, which was paid directly to the banks.

According to Intels, it took pilotage service from a revenue stream of a few thousand dollars per month to multi-million @Businessdayng

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ects and other desperate means to starve off environ-

Femi Gbajabiamila (r), speaker, Nigerian House of Representatives, with members of his delegation, and Mike Oquaye (l), speaker, Ghanaian Parliament, during a Bilateral Committee Meeting aimed at resolving issues between the two countries at the Ghanaian Parliament House in Accra. NAN

Global Citizen, NSIA launch Nigeria...

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restrictions.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives of every Nigerian; healthcare systems have become overwhelmed and need critical support.

The NSSF has been created to support vulnerable groups, strengthen Nigeria’s healthcare systems and reskill the Nigerian youth for a post COVID-19 era.

“We all have a part to play in improving the lives of our fellow Nigerians. Now is the time that we can make a difference, whether you are a corporate or an individual there is a role for you. In order for this fund to be a successweneedthewholecountry to get behind us and donate.

This fund has been created by Nigerians, for Nigerians for the bettermentofourcountry,”Tijani Babatunde Folawiyo, chairman, Global Citizen Nigeria, said.

With an initial target of $50 million the NSSF hopes to raise donations from Nigerians in the country as well as in the diaspora, multilateral organisations, philanthropists, HNIs, corporates, the public sector and international businesses.

Grants will be awarded to fund projects that support three core objectives of NSSF. The fund will target Nigeria’s most vulnerable com-

munities and will vary across initiatives determined by the Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund Statutory Board, who will set grant floors and ceilings.

The NSSF has set three core COVID-19 response, mitigation, recovery and resilience objectives: Supporting The Most Vulnerable: Funds will be targeted at alleviating the challenges faced by the most vulnerable: those most disproportionately impacted by COVID -19, suffering from underlying health conditions; those with poor access to affordable health services, those in low income, informal and insecure jobs or internally displaced persons, and those who are providing healthcare and other essential services.

Strengthening healthcare systems: Funds will help to build and upgrade existing healthcare infrastructure and provide sustainable capacity towards future response efforts and containment.

Re-skilling and re-tooling Nigerians: Funds will support human capital development to address the skills gap required to strengthen the nation’s labour market and meet the demands of a changing workforce in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NSSF is subject to a three-tier governance system aimed at ensuring that all con-

tributions to the Fund are recognised, accounted for and effectively managed, and to ensure that all disbursements are aligned with the Fund’s mandate and the impact thereof is measured and reported.

Governed by a Statutory Board made up of experienced and reputable board members the NSSF is independently administered and transparently managed through a fund management system, which aims to ensure that all contributions are responsibly administered and disbursed in order to have the greatest possible impact in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and lessening its effects.

“We have an extremely experienced and highly regarded Board of Directors in place, who is actively involved in the day-to-day running of the trust. The team has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that all the necessary governance and procedures are in place for a transparent fund and to give all donors the peace of mind that their funds are going directly to the people that need it most. We are all very proud of what we have created, and hope that all Nigerians will now support it,” commented Uche Orji, manager director/CEO, NSIA. It is quick and easy to support the NSSF by pledging your support and actively making a difference, no amount is too small.

Nigerians together can

make a difference and support through the following channels: DONATE: Support the NSSF movement by making a donation at www.nigeriasolidarity support fund.ng. All donations will support initiatives that focus on the support of vulnerable groups, build resilient healthcare systems and reskill the Nigerian youth.

SHARE: Spread the NSSF message across social media and WhatsApp to amplify the mission and improve the lives of many Nigerians.

PLEDGE: Become an advocate of our mission and take a pledge to support the fund.

CORPORATE SUPPORT: Corporate support is critical to the mission to change Nigerian lives, visit: www.nigeriasolidaritysupportfund.ng.

The fund will initially run for 18 months with strong plans to sustain its existence to ensure the overall objectives are met.

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, vice chairman, Global Citizen Nigeria, said: “We are proud that as Nigerians we can rally to support the most vulnerable in our society, and we look forward to making a significant impact in combating the tragic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

To find out more about the NSSF, visit the website at www. nigeriasolidaritysupportfund. ng or follow us on Twitter at @NSSF_ng, Instagram at @ nssf_ng, Facebook at NSSF. ng and LinkedIn at NSSF-ng.

FG, states must prioritise healthcare investments to save lives, boost jobs TEMITAYO AYETOTO

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he size of India‘s healthcare sector is estimated to have leaped 300 percent to $260 billion from 2012 to 2020.

Even with 1.35 billion people, the country’s health expenditure is 3.6 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP).

There is no data on the size of Nigeria’s healthcare sector, but Africa’s most populous nation’s budget for health in 2020 amounts to a mere 0.06 percent of the GDP. Healthcare expenditure in the US is estimated at 16.9 percent of the GDP, 11.2 percent in Germany,11.2percentinFrance and 10.9 percent in Japan.

Without doubt, there has

BUSINESSDAY JOBS & GROWTH SERIES been increased spending in the Nigerian health sector this year, induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, but analysts know it will be déjà vu after a vaccine is discovered for the virus.

Due to poor infrastructure in Nigeria’s healthcare industry, the rich travel abroad for medical treatment, with annual medical tourism estimated by Nigeria at $1 billion.

Onwufor Uche, director of the Gynae Care Research and Cancer Foundation in Abuja, told Al Jazeera recently that more than half of those seeking visas to India were going for medical care that was not available here in Nigeria, stressing that poor Nigerians would be at the mercy of the www.businessday.ng

dilapidated decrepit health infrastructure.

Health infrastructure in Nigeria is poor and medical personnel are under-paid and owed many months by federal andstategovernments,prompting them to leave for advanced countries where their services are appreciated. At least 7,875 Nigerian doctors are currently practising in the United Kingdom, according to the UK’s General Medical Council, and 4,000 are in the USA. Saudi Arabia is luring Nigerian doctors with $4,500 (over N2m) per month as salary compared with N100,000 to N200,000 received by most doctors in the country.

A recent NOI Polls survey

reveals that well over 20,000 Nigerian doctors are currently working outside the country.

The survey also notes that 80 percent of Nigerian doctors working in the country are seriously considering leaving.

Nigeria has one doctor to 6,000 people, according to estimates, as against WHO’s recommendation of one to 600 people.

A poll citing the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) reports that there are about 72,000 nationallyregistered Nigerian doctors, with only 35,000 practising incountry. Estimates say there is a deficit of over 260,000 doctors in Nigeria and a minimum of 10,605 new doctors need to be recruited annually to meet global targets.

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mental degradation.

More worrying is the fact that in addition to the years of infrastructural neglect, the state still collects huge amounts of tax and other forms of levies from residents in the name of providing basic infrastructure.

BusinessDay recently visited one ‘Prayer Estate’ around Apple Junction in AmuwoOdofin Local Government Area of the state where residents in the area raised outcry on the deplorable state of infrastructure and the incessant neglect by the state government in carrying out the basic functions of providing basic infrastructure for its populace.

This is despite the state collectingwhattheytermedascapital development levy in excess of N600,000 each in the name of usingthefundsforinfrastructural development in the area.

At every passing day, the deplorablestateofinfrastructure continues to move from bad to worse during the recent rainy seasontothepointthatresidents could not access their homes as theirhouseswerefloodeddueto lack of drainage system.

Aside the pains of having to move through the floods to gain access in and out of their homes, they were also forced to run on generators, not because there was no power, but no means of running electricity into their houses.

No transformers and no poles.

Residents in the area who spoke with BusinessDay alleged there have been numerous moves to get the attention of the state government to their plight, but instead of the Lagos State government coming to their aid their request had been greeted by years of neglect.

“We have written so many letters trying to get the attention of both the state and local government on the issue but no response,” Emmanuel Nwora, a resident who has stayed in the estate for more than 16 years, told BusinessDay. Nwora and other residents who sat for more than three hours with our correspondent explained that at the time they moved into the estate, added to lack roads, the whole area was a swamp and waterlogged hence residents had to do ‘raft foundation’fortheirpropertiestostand.

Another resident said in 2017 when he bought the land, the state government gave him an allocation for a fee called ‘capital development,’ saying the money would be used for infrastructure development.

“I also paid for building approval but since that time, there has been no form of developmentorconstructionwhatsoever from the state government,” he said,wonderingwhythegovernment would neglect an area as theirs where every house has a Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) andareuptodateinpayingtaxes.

With an approximate 350 plots situated in the estate, some N210 million may have been @Businessdayng

paidascapitaldevelopmentlevy to the government, according to BusinessDay estimates.

This excludes other forms of taxes paid to the government, yet no visible infrastructural project to show for.

Phone calls placed to the state government through the number on the website lagosstate.gov.ng were not immediately responded to.

Messages seeking comments from the state government were also not acknowledged.

Long years of infrastructural neglect by the state means residents had to spend their own money, in the wake of falling and low standard of income, to fund public infrastructure.

In another visit to the estate, the residents had constructed a new 7000 square meters of interlock roads, added to the 1000 square meters they had earlier built.

They had also bought two 500kva and one 300kva transformers, and had mounted street lights, bought poles and wires to run electricity to their homes.

So far, over N200 million voluntary contributions from the residents have gone into funding the aforementioned projects, they said. BusinessDay saw some of the ongoing projects in the estate.

“We would appreciate it if the government can come in, see what we have done, improve on it, and if possible, give us rebates for our land use charge,” Nwora said.

The plight faced by residents of ‘Prayer Estate’ narrows the challenge taxpayers living in Lagos encounter.

Other estates in other parts of the state have had to embark on key projects on their own after hopes of waiting for the government to fund infrastructure appears to be fading.

Aside the fact Lagos is bedevilled with a poor road network, the few available roads have been under siege by trucks and tanker drivers who have turned the roads to their places of abode.

This has turned to a constant nightmare and a loss of productivity for its over 20 million populace, as they have to spend long hours in traffic daily, with the state for the third consecutive time, topping the list of 140 cities to emerge worst place to live in the world, according to 2019 Global Livability Index by theEconomistIntelligenceUnit.

Only 44 percent of the state is covered by public water supply, and this serves less than 16 percent of the population, based on official data.

Being Nigeria’s commercial city, accounting for close to 30 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, Lagos infrastructure development is critical to the overall economy.

The state aims to become a 21st-Century megacity but that is impossible without a good road network and availability of other social amenities to drive investments and make life better for residents. r 4FF GVMM GFBUVSF TUPSZ BOE pictures pages 16 & 17

32

Friday 04 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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POLITICS & POLICY Makinde inaugurates OYSIEC, urges credible, unbiased LG election REMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan

G

ov e r n o r S e y i Makinde on Thursday inaugurated the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC), charging its members to deliver credible, free and fair local government election in the state.

The governor stated that the commission, headed by Isiaka Olagunju, has been saddled with the responsibility of overseeing an election, the outcome of which will reflect the will of the people.

He charged the commission to, within the shortest possible time, make the will of the people prevail by conducting a local government election that is unbiased.

Speaking at the Government House, Agodi, Ibadan, venue of the swearing-in, he said his administration was ready to conduct the local government election, as it has allocated money for OYSIEC in the 2020 Budget.

He promised that his administration would not interfere with the activities of the commission.

He said: “I want to thank the House of Assembly for confirming you in a timely manner. I hope that you will also imbibe the sense of urgency and conduct credible local government election in Oyo State within the shortest possible time.

“We knew this would come and we already allocated money in the Oyo State Budget for this year to conduct the election. Within the shortest possible time, please give us elected officials at the local government level that are known to the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Governor Makinde, who said he has not yet indicated whether he will be running for another term in 2023 or not, as it is too early to be thinking of that for now, appealed to the opposition in the state not to overheat the polity.

He urged politicians not to see elections as war or a door-die affair, but allow the will of people to prevail.

“Some parties said they want to unseat me in 2023.

It is okay, but I have not indicated the interest to run in 2023, as it is still too early.

Seyi Makinde

I may or may not. I have a second address and that is what we want to encourage in our space.

“This board will have free hand. If they want to unseat me, it’s fine; but they should contest and win many councillorship seats as much as possible so that we can know

Why we would continue to use corps members for elections - INEC Iniobong Iwok

T

he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it would continue to use members of National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) for the conduct of elections in the country because corps members had contributed enormously to recent success and improvement in the overall conduct of elections in Nigeria.

Sam Olumekun, Lagos Resident Electoral commissioner (REC), stated this Thursday when the Lagos State National Youth Service management led by its new coordinator, Edwin Chinedu Mega paid a

courtesy visit to the Lagos office of the commission.

In a statement yesterday by the Commission’s Lagos Public Relations Officer (PRO), Femi Akinbiyi, Olumekun thanked the coordinator for the visit and maintained that the turning point of conduct of elections in this country for good was when the NYSC was introduced into the conduct of elections in Nigeria.

According to him, “It was quite ingenious of those who came up with the idea, and progressively things are getting better with the arrangement. Our conduct of elections is credible and enjoys international acceptability”.

He went on to appreciate

the support the Commission enjoyed from the NYSC in the last general elections, especially the role played by the immediate past coordinator, Prince Mohmoh to the success achieved in the state.

Olumekun used the opportunity to inform the coordinator of the October 31st by-elections in the Lagos-east Senatorial district, and Kosofe II Constituency Lagos State House of Assembly which has about 1.4 million registered voters.

He added that by-elections would be conducted in compliance with the INEC policy in conducting elections in the context of the COVID 19 pandemic.

they are really serious. I will encourage them and others to contest in 2023.

“Who knows who is going to be alive the next hour? We are only sure of this moment.

So, they should calm down.

Elections should never be war or a do-or-die affair. Election in a democracy should be

about the will of the people.”

He added that members of the board are men and women of integrity with track records, admonishing them to do the work that will make people of the state proud of them.

“I believe that the mandate of this board is to conduct an inclusive election. So, gone are the days when the governor of the state will manipulate matter so that some political parties will not field candidates. We are not here to play games,” he said.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Taiwo Adisa, said: “I am saying to this board that the will of the people must remain sacrosanct. We have sent your names to the House of Assembly.

We believe you are men and women of integrity. I have met one or two of you personally. It is not about the political party but the interest of the state and I believe the state will be proud of you,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of the board members shortly after the swearing-in, the chairman, Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission,

Olagunju, assured the people of the state that the board would conduct a credible and transparent local government election.

He called on the people to have confidence and trust in the commission, adding that they will not be biased towards any political party and that the will of the people will prevail.

Olagunju said: “The essence of inaugurating the board is to organise and manage local government election; that is our mandate and we have to follow it.

“We were just inaugurated today. We need to go back to the office, see what is happening before we can talk about when to hold the election.

It is possible this year but everything depends on the circumstances that we find ourselves when we get to the office.

“When His Excellency was inaugurating the commission, he gave us the mandate that we must ensure that the will of the people prevail and that it is sacrosanct. So, we want to assure the people of Oyo State that we will conduct a transparent, credible and acceptable election.”

Nigeria disintegrating, in state of hopelessness, Bode George warns Buhari Iniobong Iwok

B

ode George, a former deputy national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has warned that the nation was disintegrating and in a state of hopelessness under the current administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari.

George warned that the gulf between the ethnic nationalities in the country is widening, saying that this may be a prelude to a greater disaster.

The PDP chieftain stated this Thursday while counselling PDP aspirants in the forthcoming Lagos-east senatorial and Kosofe 2 state by-

elections, stressing that no Nigerian today can say that he is happy with what is going on in the country.

George insisted that the APC has failed woefully; while adding that contrary to the position held by Mamman Daura, zoning was vital for the peace, growth and the progress of the nation.

“Now, with the nature of Nigeria, the size of Nigeria, the way Nigeria was brought together by the British was not natural. It was a forced union for the benefit of the economic business of the British people.

That’s all.

“Since then we have been trying to stabilise, manage ourselves all along. And take a country like Switzerland, three

major tribes in Switzerland, the French, the Italians and the Germans.

“They rotate the leadership of their country; is that novel to Nigeria? Turn by turn Nigeria Ltd, turn by turn Switzerland Ltd. Have you ever heard of any crisis in that country?

“So what is so difficult about this issue of zoning? We thank God today there is no part of this country that would not have some academic, brilliant people in every corner of Nigeria,” he said.

According to him, “The system we are running today is very defective. I have seen both sides, I have been in the military. Each time I look at it, and I remember it, it’s like I see it’s a military government”.

That is what the monarch did yesterday by calling the governor of the state Godwin Obaseki and his opponent in the APC. “As a political party we are very excited for the timely intervention of His Royal Majesty in the very embarrassing situation we found ourselves when shooting become the order of the day especially in Edo North senatorial district.

“He spoke to us like a father and the two main candidates, the APC and PDP. We have assured the Oba that we will do everything within our power to bring the tension in the state, as well as all the shooting and thuggery to an end.

“We take his intervention very seriously and I will like to thank him for his fatherly intervention in the issue,” he said.

Edo 2020: PDP, group commend Oba of Benin over peace meeting Idris Umar Momoh, Benin

T

he Edo State chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Edo Equity Forum on Thursday commended the Benin Monarch, Oba Ewuare II for the timely intervention in putting a stop to the ongoing political violence ahead of the September

19 governorship election in the state.

Recall that the Benin Monarch on Wednesday invited the chieftains and governorship candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for a peace meeting at his palace over the incessant political attack between supporters of the APC and the PDP. www.businessday.ng

Chris Nehikhare, the publicity secretary of the party who made the commendation at a press briefing in Benin City, noted that the monarch’s timely intervention will go a long way in bringing political sanity to the state before, during and after the election.

“We, the PDP as a political party, are very proud of the Oba and we are very proud

of the way he handled the situation yesterday. His royal majesty is truly a man of great wisdom and all Edo people should tap from his wisdom.

“In Benin customs where there is quarrel or disturbance in a home, the father or the eldest of that house call the most senior or the most responsible child or persons and ask him why all these disturbances under his command.

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Live @ The STOCK Exchanges Prices for Securities Traded as of Thursday 03 September 2020

Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

PRICES FOR MAIN BOARD SECURITIES (Equities) BANKING ACCESS BANK PLC. 227,489.44 6.40 0.78 148 14,784,439 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC 222,296.24 6.50 0.78 248 13,202,676 ZENITH BANK PLC 540,019.69 17.20 1.47 440 25,490,830 836 53,477,945 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 181,271.23 5.05 0.99 193 9,785,168 193 9,785,168 1,029 63,263,113 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES MTN NIGERIA COMMUNICATIONS PLC 2,414,045.25 118.60 0.51 86 1,594,604 86 1,594,604 86 1,594,604 BUILDING MATERIALS DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 2,283,427.99 134.00 - 47 63,458 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 193,293.55 12.00 - 61 1,594,799 108 1,658,257 108 1,658,257 EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 226,551.16 385.00 - 10 604 10 604 10 604 1,233 66,516,578 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) SFS REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 1,386.00 69.30 - 0 0 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) 10,163.30 40.65 - 0 0 UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 10,139.42 3.80 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND 411.91 552.20 - 0 0 VALUEALLIANCE VALUE FUND 3,692.74 115.05 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CROP PRODUCTION FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 572.00 0.26 - 0 0 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 75,358.89 79.00 - 21 65,566 PRESCO PLC 49,000.00 49.00 - 11 32,059 32 97,625 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. 8,500.00 4.25 - 0 0 0 0 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1,980.00 0.66 - 14 328,097 14 328,097 46 425,722 DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES JOHN HOLT PLC. 214.03 0.55 - 0 0 S C O A NIG. PLC. 1,903.99 2.93 - 0 0 TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC 23,575.83 0.58 -1.69 124 70,616,211 U A C N PLC. 17,864.04 6.20 4.20 116 9,507,980 240 80,124,191 240 80,124,191 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ARBICO PLC. 169.29 1.14 - 0 0 0 0 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 26,928.00 17.00 - 25 89,521 ROADS NIG PLC. 165.00 6.60 - 0 0 25 89,521 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 16,889.57 0.91 8.33 10 626,590 10 626,590 35 716,111 AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 954.53 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 7,281.43 0.93 - 2 1,490 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 829.98 0.81 - 0 0 GUINNESS NIG PLC 30,665.36 14.00 - 83 462,833 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 98,046.55 3.65 - 22 156,688 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 319,876.08 40.00 - 92 241,484 199 862,495 FOOD PRODUCTS DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 150,000.00 12.50 - 59 324,835 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 77,907.21 19.00 - 42 454,331 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 7,612.99 0.96 - 9 190,076 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 1,340.10 0.36 - 0 0 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 801.90 4.50 - 3 3,616 NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC 26,626.86 10.05 - 10 64,530 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 2,993.06 10.95 - 0 0 123 1,037,388 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 14,556.07 7.75 - 26 287,111 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 931,371.10 1,175.00 - 47 11,389 73 298,500 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 1,680.31 22.10 - 0 0 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 7,229.88 5.78 5.09 30 412,926 30 412,926 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 16,278.96 4.10 - 27 232,382 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 86,175.08 15.00 - 48 579,558 75 811,940 500 3,423,249 BANKING ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 76,150.64 4.15 - 47 492,635 FIDELITY BANK PLC 52,154.63 1.80 -0.55 54 5,114,643 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 756,381.31 25.70 0.19 270 6,497,857 JAIZ BANK PLC 18,267.83 0.62 1.64 23 1,787,251 STERLING BANK PLC. 34,260.60 1.19 -4.80 63 6,334,188 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 148,515.84 5.10 - 39 325,409 UNITY BANK PLC 6,546.03 0.56 - 4 51,010 WEMA BANK PLC. 20,444.47 0.53 1.92 23 1,903,896 523 22,506,889 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC 4,117.00 0.20 - 0 0 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 10,197.18 0.90 -5.26 45 7,532,719 AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC 17,535.00 1.67 - 2 9,700 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 3,639.53 0.34 - 1 6,000 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE PLC 11,989.82 0.66 1.54 12 650,664 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 909.99 0.20 - 0 0 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 1,228.00 0.20 - 0 0 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE PLC 487.95 0.38 - 0 0 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 1,830.86 0.25 -3.85 37 17,103,194 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 4,425.22 1.03 - 0 0 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 4,200.00 0.42 7.69 2 235,227 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 2,458.00 0.22 4.76 12 5,094,104 NEM INSURANCE PLC 10,930.64 2.07 - 7 80,200 NIGER INSURANCE PLC 1,547.90 0.20 - 0 0 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC 3,307.82 0.52 - 0 0 REGENCY ASSURANCE PLC 1,600.50 0.24 - 0 0 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 2,272.89 0.20 - 6 1,000,000 STACO INSURANCE PLC 4,483.72 0.48 - 0 0 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. 2,582.21 0.20 - 0 0 SUNU ASSURANCES NIGERIA PLC. 2,800.00 0.20 - 0 0 UNIC DIVERSIFIED HOLDINGS PLC. 516.46 0.20 - 0 0 UNIVERSAL INSURANCE PLC 3,200.00 0.20 - 0 0 VERITAS KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 2,773.33 0.20 - 0 0 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 8,397.09 0.35 6.06 16 1,061,482 140 32,773,290 MICRO-FINANCE BANKS NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 2,904.03 1.27 4.96 3 200,600 3 200,600

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MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC 6,784.62 1.05 - 0 0 ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 7,370.87 0.50 - 0 0 INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC 5,671.82 1.36 - 1 2,684 RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 2,265.95 0.20 - 0 0 UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. 2,949.22 3.02 - 0 0 1 2,684 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC 8,800.00 4.40 2.27 38 970,311 CUSTODIAN INVESTMENT PLC 28,232.95 4.80 - 12 133,975 DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC 450.00 0.30 - 2 3,020 FCMB GROUP PLC. 43,565.96 2.20 4.76 52 10,729,326 ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 1,697.97 0.33 6.45 7 523,000 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 393,936.28 37.50 - 52 244,807 UNITED CAPITAL PLC 18,840.00 3.14 0.96 72 2,027,349 235 14,631,788 902 70,115,251 HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS EKOCORP PLC. 2,991.61 6.00 - 0 0 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 959.35 0.27 - 0 0 0 0 MEDICAL SUPPLIES MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 593.50 0.60 - 0 0 0 0 PHARMACEUTICALS EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 366.17 0.50 - 0 0 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 7,740.40 3.71 - 16 52,175 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. 5,800.00 4.85 - 26 189,334 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 5,089.44 2.95 0.68 9 330,072 NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 3,551.42 1.87 -6.50 28 423,087 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. 556.71 3.62 - 0 0 PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 325.23 1.50 - 0 0 79 994,668 79 994,668 COMPUTER BASED SYSTEMS COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC 710.40 0.20 - 8 188,200 8 188,200 COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS OMATEK VENTURES PLC 764.87 0.26 - 0 0 0 0 IT SERVICES CWG PLC 6,413.06 2.54 - 0 0 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 216.00 2.00 - 0 0 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 217.78 0.44 - 4 99,924 4 99,924 PROCESSING SYSTEMS CHAMS PLC 986.17 0.21 - 17 1,759,500 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 10,962.00 2.61 - 0 0 17 1,759,500 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AIRTEL AFRICA PLC 1,428,097.57 380.00 - 4 115 4 115 33 2,047,739 BUILDING MATERIALS BERGER PAINTS PLC 1,753.43 6.05 - 3 891 BUA CEMENT PLC 1,364,733.47 40.30 - 23 32,377 CAP PLC 11,655.00 16.65 - 11 80,657 MEYER PLC. 265.62 0.50 - 0 0 PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC 1,769.32 2.23 - 0 0 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. 1,156.20 9.40 - 0 0 37 113,925 ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2,192.12 2.03 - 0 0 CUTIX PLC. 3,082.31 1.75 - 13 163,880 13 163,880 PACKAGING/CONTAINERS BETA GLASS PLC. 27,698.45 55.40 - 7 12,265 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 388.02 9.10 - 0 0 7 12,265 AGRO-ALLIED & CHEMICALS NOTORE CHEMICAL IND PLC 100,754.14 62.50 - 1 10 1 10 58 290,080 CHEMICALS B.O.C. GASES PLC. 1,814.83 4.36 - 3 20,355 3 20,355 METALS ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 1,781.64 8.10 - 0 0 0 0 MINING SERVICES MULTIVERSE MINING AND EXPLORATION PLC 852.39 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 PAPER/FOREST PRODUCTS THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. 77.00 0.35 - 0 0 0 0 3 20,355 ENERGY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 1,315.17 0.21 4.76 12 1,350,049 12 1,350,049 INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS SERVICES OANDO PLC 28,592.25 2.30 - 40 1,069,261 40 1,069,261 PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS 11 PLC 69,414.59 192.50 - 16 4,618 ARDOVA PLC 16,411.26 12.60 - 17 60,784 CONOIL PLC 10,582.77 15.25 - 14 38,953 ETERNA PLC. 2,712.62 2.08 - 8 11,473 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 3,794.59 12.45 - 8 4,506 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 27,161.75 80.00 - 31 34,886 94 155,220 146 2,574,530 ADVERTISING AFROMEDIA PLC 887.81 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 AIRLINES MEDVIEW AIRLINE PLC 15,796.05 1.62 - 0 0 0 0 AUTOMOBILE/AUTO PART RETAILERS R T BRISCOE PLC. 235.27 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 COURIER/FREIGHT/DELIVERY RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 3,381.18 3.65 - 17 157,156 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 351.64 0.75 - 2 415,751 19 572,907 HOSPITALITY TANTALIZERS PLC 642.33 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 HOTELS/LODGING CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 3,763.54 2.43 - 0 0 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 1,746.19 0.84 - 1 480 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. 7,076.28 3.15 - 0 0 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 30,401.62 4.00 - 0 0 1 480 MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 3,960.00 0.33 - 1 795 1 795 PRINTING/PUBLISHING ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 163.30 0.27 - 4 42,780 LEARN AFRICA PLC 825.45 1.07 - 4 27,407 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. 1,064.85 1.79 - 2 2,199 UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 711.83 1.65 - 11 92,013 21 164,399 ROAD TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC 646.50 0.39 - 2 28,000 2 28,000 SPECIALTY INTERLINKED TECHNOLOGIES PLC 688.80 2.91 - 0 0 SECURE ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY PLC 1,126.31 0.20 - 0 0

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Friday 04 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Live @ The Exchanges Market Statistics as at Thursday 03 September 2020

Top Gainers/Losers as at Thursday 03 September 2020 LOSERS

GAINERS Company

Closing

Change

Company

Opening

Closing

Change

N118

N118.6

0.6

NEIMETH

N2

N1.87

-0.13

DEALS (Numbers)

MTNN VITAFOAM

N5.5

N5.78

0.28

STERLNBANK

N1.25

N1.19

-0.06

N5.95

N6.2

0.25

AIICO

N0.95

N0.9

-0.05

VOLUME (Numbers)

N16.95

N17.2

0.25

TRANSCORP

N0.59

N0.58

-0.01

VALUE (N billion)

N2.1

N2.2

0.1

N0.26

N0.25

-0.01

UACN ZENITHBANK

ASI (Points)

Opening

FCMB

LASACO

MARKET CAP (N Trn)

25,511.02 3,377.00 232,416,080.00 1.315 13.308

MTNN, banks lead Nigeria stocks rise

Global market indicators FTSE 100 Index 5,850.86GBP -90.09-1.52%

Nikkei 225 23,465.53JPY +218.38+0.94%

S&P 500 Index 3,478.73USD -102.11-2.85%

Deutsche Boerse AG German Stock Index DAX 13,057.77EUR -185.66-1.40%

Generic 1st ‘DM’ Future 28,492.00USD -598.00-2.06%

AIICO Insurance commences N3.5bn Rights Issue Modestus Anaesoronye

Iheanyi Nwachukwu

A

N

igeria equities rose for the fourth consecutive day as the rotation to high-flying bank and Telco stocks gained steam.

In addition to bargain in MTNN stocks, investors on Thursday September 3 continued to buy banking stocks so as to qualify for payment of proposed interim dividend.

Banks like GTBank, UBA, and Stanbic IBTC proposed interim dividend in their recently released half year (H1) results. Other banks results are being expected on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

At the close of trading session on Thursday, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index (ASI) increased by 0.20percent to 25,511.02 points from 25,460 points recorded the preceding trading day while

the value of listed stocks rose to N13.308trillion from preceding day low of N13.282trillion.

Investors booked about N26billion gain, making the market’s negative return year-to-date (YtD) decrease to -4.9percent.

The price of MTNN shares increased most

from N118 to N118.6, up by 60kobo or 0.51percent.

It was followed by that of Vitafoam which increased from N5.5 to N5.78, adding 28kobo or 5.09 percent.

UACN rose from N5.95 to N6.2, adding 25kobo or 4.20percent. Zenith Bank also moved up from N16.95 to N17.2, adding 25kobo or

1.47 percent while FCMB Group advanced from N2.1 to N2.2, adding 10kobo or 4.76percent. In 3,377 deals, investors exchanged 232,416,080 units valued at N1.315billion. Transcorp, Zenith Bank, Lasaco, Access Bank and UBA were actively traded stocks on the Bourse.

GTBank reports N109.7bn pre-tax profit in H1

G

uaranty Trust Bank plc has released its audited financial results for the half year (H1) ended June 30, 2020 to the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges.

The half year result reflects GTBank’s leading position as one of the best managed financial institutions in Africa. The bank’s loan book grew by 8.1percent from N1.502trillion recorded as at December 2019 to N1.624trillion in June 2020 and customer deposits increased by 18.5percent to N3.001trillion from N2.533trillion in December 2019.

Profit before tax (PBT) closed at N109.7billion, representing a decrease of 5.2percent over N115.8billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2019.

The snapshot of the Group’s operating results for the H1 period shows Gross Earnings increased by 1.47 percent to N225.138billion

as against N221.869billion in H1’19.

GTBank’s profit for the H1’20 period stood at N94.271billion, down by 4.9 percent from N99.133billion recorded in H1’19.

For the H1’20 period under review, directors of the bank proposed the payment of an interim dividend in the sum of 30 kobo per ordinary share on the issued capital of 29,431,179,224 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

The interim dividend valued at N8.83billion is payable to shareholders on the register of shareholding at the closure date.

The bank closed the half year ended June 2020 with total assets of N4.511trillion and Shareholders’ Funds of N720.9billion. In terms of Asset quality, non performing loan (NPL) ratio and Cost of Risk closed at 6.8percent and 0.4percent in June 2020 from 6.5percent and 0.3percent in December 2019 respectively. Overall, asset quality remains stable with adequate coverwww.businessday.ng

age of 118.1percent, while Capital remains strong with CAR of 22.9percent. On the backdrop of this result, Return on Equity (ROAE) and Return on Assets (ROAA) stood at 26.8percent and 4.6percent respectively. The bank is proposing an interim dividend of 30kobo per ordinary share of 50 kobo each for period ended June 30, 2020.

Commenting on the financial results, the Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, Segun Agbaje, said; “These are undoubtedly tough and trying times for people, businesses and econo-

mies the world over. Our financial performance in the first half of the year reflects the quality of our past decisions which have broadened our earnings and strategically positioned us to thrive, thus far, through the current global health and economic crises. Underpinning this financial performance is our commitment to being there for our customers and the communities we serve, and over the past six months we have lent the full weight of our franchise to safeguarding lives and livelihoods of our staff and customers by leading from the front in the fight to curtail the Covid-19 outbreak and offering grace periods on loans to our small business customers.”

He further stated that “Going forward, our focus is not just to survive this pandemic, but to thrive beyond it. That is why we are going ahead with our plans to reimagine how we create value for all our stakeholders.

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Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index 3,384.98CNY -19.82-0.58%

IICO Insurance Plc, a leading insurer in Nigeria, is taking another giant leap forward in its recapitalisation journey with the launch of its N3.5 billion rights issue, which opens on Wednesday, September 2, 2020 and will run through to Wednesday, October 7, 2020.

As part of the rights issue, 4,357,770,954 ordinary shares of Fifty Kobo (N0.50) each at Eighty Kobo (N0.80) per share, are being offered on the basis of five (5) new ordinary shares for every thirteen (13) ordinary shares held as at the close of business on Monday, June 15, 2020.

The Company’s shareholders now have the opportunity to increase their stakes and reposition themselves in a Company with excellent prospects.

The Rights Circular is now available for download on the Company’s website at www.aiicoplc. comand the Registrar’s website at www.unitedsecuritieslimited.com.

“A greater future beacons for all our stakeholders, including

shareholders and customers, as this exercise will unlock greater potentials for value creation both in the short and long term. It will see the Company emerge stronger and with greater capacity to underwrite more risks”, stated Babatunde Fajemirokun, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Company.

AIICO Insurance has continuously demonstrated its resilience and capacity to stand the test of time, given over 5 (five) decades of doing business in Nigeria. This is one of the reasons why the Company has remained investors’ choice and stands to maintain its frontline position post-recapitalization.

AIICO Insurance is a leading composite insurer in Nigeria with a record of accomplishment of serving its clients that dates back over 50 years. Founded in 1963, AIICO provides life and health insurance, general insurance, investment management and pension management services as a means to create and protect wealth for individuals, families and corporate customers.

NSE X-Academy extends capacity building opportunities to CIBN

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well-functioning financial market is crucial for economic recovery, especially in light of the macroeconomic implications of COVID-19 in the years to come.

Players in the money and capital markets must, therefore rethink product development and service delivery, to reflect the current economic climate and investors’ sentiment. This was further emphasized at a recent workshop organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) and X-Academy, a knowledge-platform of The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

The workshop themed, Financial Investment Options in Nigeria: The Synergy Between Money & Capital Markets came on the heels of the announcement of the accreditation of XAcademy as an Educational Training Service Provider (ETSP) for the banking and finance industry by CIBN.

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The certification empowers X-Academy to provide professional and other trainings to CIBN and practitioners in the banking industry as well as issue ethical and professional guidance to them.

During the accreditation ceremony, the President, CIBN, Bayo Olugbemi, expressed delight in the accreditation of X-Academy and ETSPs. “Today marks another significant milestone in our quest to strengthen the capabilities of the human capital in the banking and finance industry. I am, therefore, pleased to congratulate the ETSPs for their commitment, dedication and professionalism evidenced by the time, energy and resources deployed to attain their current standards. This accreditation affirms that these organisations have adopted and complied with the required standards, and we look forward to exploring other areas of collaboration in the near future.”

Friday 04 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 04 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NEWS

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Covid-19: Oyo to convert isolation centres to PHCs, suspends curfew REMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan

O L-R: Bimbola Olashore, vice president, Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC); Bisi Adeyemi, deputy president, and Uwamai Igein, first vice president, at the NBCC 41st annual general meeting in Lagos.

Naira reverses gain, exchanges at N437.5k on black market HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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igeria’s currency on Thursday reversed about N7.50k gain to exchange at an average rate of N437.50k with the dollar from N430 exchanged on Wednesday on the black market.

The market witnessed an increased demand for dollar from consumers who need the greenback to meet some obligation as uncertainty still grips the market.

More so, panic selling has moderated as traders are now playing ‘wait and watch’ game to see the direction of rates when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sells dollar to Bureau De Change (BDC) operators on Monday.

The CBN on Thursday, August 27, informed the general public that gradual

sales of foreign exchange (FX) to licensed BDC operators would commence with effect from September 7, 2020.

Investigation shows that dollar was selling at N435 and black market operators were buying at N430 at the Lagos international airport and Festac area of Lagos.

Dollar sold for N440 at Apapa and Eko Hotel black market where the operators were buying at N432 at Eko Hotel and N430 at Apapa area of Lagos.

The local currency strengthened at the retail bureau by N10 as the dollar traded at N455 on Thursday from N465 traded the previous day.

At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window, the market opened with an indicative rate of N386.48k on Thursday, which was a depreciation of N0.40k when compared

to N386.08k opened with on Wednesday, data from FMDQ revealed.

The market closed with naira losing N0.25k as the dollar was quoted at N386.25k on Thursday from N386.00k closed since Tuesday, at the I&E window.

Analysts at FSDH said most participants maintained bids between N380.00 and N395.13 per dollar.

The value of Nigeria’s currency improved further on Wednesday by N10 as the cost of dollar dropped to N430 (selling) compared to N440 traded on Tuesday on the black market.

At the money market NTBills market closed on a negative note with average yield across the curve increasing by 4 bps to close at 2.13 percent from 2.09 percent on the previous day. The average yield across medium-term maturities widened by 17 bps, while

Why investing in waterfront properties makes economic sense CHUKA UROKO

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esides accessibility, there are other reasons location is a major consideration when an investor puts out money for purposes of investment, experts have said.

Waterfront properties are those with great and alluring water views and, according to the experts, properties in this location account for significant value in terms of return on investment.

“Waterfront properties are rewarding investment assets and, because they are normally scarce, the scarcity allows them to retain their value.

Again, because such properties have resale value, they also have an edge when it comes to rental purposes. People want to rent waterfront homes for the same reasons that they want to buy one,” Udo Okonjo, CEO, Fine and Country, explained to BusinessDay. Okonjo cited Grace Court, an exclusive residential prop-

erty just released for corporate lease in Banana Island, as an instance of a waterfront property that has great water views. There are many others in the same location in that neighbourhood.

Apart from the economic benefits that come in form of return on investment, buying or renting waterfront properties also gives buyers or renters a sense of health and wellbeing.

Findings by BusinessDay have shown that living close to water has significant benefits to one’s mental state. The reason experts usually give is that water has a calming effect. Further research also shows that living by the water offers more fitness and recreation options.

Okonjo noted that, in recent years, especially with the pandemic which has seen health and wellbeing becoming a top priority, affluent Nigerians are now influencing even where they choose to live, adding, “as a result, investors and residents who value healthy www.businessday.ng

lifestyle often opt for properties with waterfront access, views and other fitness activities.”

She noted that waterfront properties usually have demand edge, explaining that because of the strong wellbeing and affluence factor associated with them, everyone desires such assets and so they are always in demand.

“Research shows that a property on the water-edge is, on the average, worth more than those located on the inland. This is the more reason a waterfront property in Banana Island (Ikoyi) and Twin Lakes are far more expensive than others within the same estate and also in high demand.

“The reason for this comes down to the simple laws of economics. Properties which are genuinely on the water are few and far between.

The exclusivity of waterfront properties often requires larger investments, but the long-term capital appreciation will be far greater, she explained further.

average yields across shortterm and long-term maturities remained unchanged at 1.22 percent and 3.18 percent, respectively.

Selling pressure was witnessed in the NTB 11-Feb-21 (+79 bps) and NTB 28-Jan21 (+29 bps) maturity bills, while buying interest was seen only in the NTB 14Jan-21 maturity bill with a decline in yield of 21 bps, according to a report by FSDH. In the Open Market Operation (OMO) bills market, the average yield across the curve declined by 15 bps to close at 2.77 percent as against the last close of 2.92 percent. Buying interest was witnessed across short-term and medium-term maturities with average yields falling by 28 bps and 10 bps, respectively. However, the averageyield across longterm maturities increased by 2 bps.

yo State government is convert isolation centres built in the wake of the coronavirus, to Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs), just as it has suspended the 10pm to 4am curfew earlier imposed to check the spread of the disease.

The decision to suspend the curfew followed a report by the state task force on Covid-19, headed by Governor Seye Makinde, which was deliberated upon during a meeting held on August 31, 2020.

However, the state task force has warned operators of night clubs to desist from accommodating persons within their premises as research has confirmed that the virus spreads faster when people cluster in closed venues.

“An advisory will be sent to night clubs owners by the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) arm of the task force, which will warn operators not to allow guests into their enclosed areas.

Also, the residents of the state are warned to continue to follow the ‘Own Your Action’ initiative of the state Covid-19 task force, “as the is not completely out of the woods with regards to the disease-19.”

The report further stated that the decision to suspend the curfew was also premised on the need to reduce the burden on business owners in the state, whom, it said, have been affected by the curfew.

According to the task force, though it appears that Covid-19 cases are reducing in the state, “the confidence interval could not be determined yet.”

Frim to train 100,000 youths on ICT skills, digital marketing MIKE ABANG, Calabar

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s part of efforts to reduce unemployment, a private business firm, Activecode Business Hub is concluding plans to train 100,000 youths on forex trading, digital marketing and ICT skills.

The CEO of the firm, Theophilus Ogumbe, who addressed journalists in Calabar, Cross River State, said the initiative would change the lives of millions of Nigerian youths.

According to Ogumbe, “What we are targeting in Cross River State and beyond is to empower 100,000 youths on forex trading before the year runs out so that they can generate additional sources of income.

“We hope the youths can leverage themselves from the current situation right and better their lot. We are positive that Nigeria can reduce its level of unemployment and fight poverty if forex market, blockchain technology and ICT are fully explored.

“The transfer of knowledge and needed skill set to Nigerians on the opportunities in the market coupled with media and ICT knowledge unemployment will be dealt with,” he said.

He said that over 7000 persons have been educated on forex and digital marketing and the next phase of the training which commences later this month will take place in a number of states across the country.

Delta approves 2021-2023 MTEF/FSP FRANCIS SADHERE, Warri

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elta State government has approved the revised 2021 to 2023 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP).

At a virtual meeting presided over by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, on Wednesday, the state executive council also approved a projected N306.44 billion budget size for the 2021 fiscal year.

The state commissioner for information, Charles Aniagwu, who disclosed this while briefing the press, in Asaba, said the projected 2021 budget was benchmarked on $40 per barrel oil and production volume of 1.86 million barrel per day, inflation rate of 11.9 percent, gross domestic growth rate of three per-

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cent and official exchange rate of N360 to the dollar.

According to Aniagwu, the Economic and Fiscal Update, Fiscal Framework and Budget Policy Statement (EFU-FF-BPS) fulfils the requirements of the Fiscal Responsibility Law (2020) as amended.

He added: “In line with international best practice and the desire of the state government to ensure appropriate financial management and resource allocation, the 2021-2023 MTEF/FSP document, is the sixth rolling edition in the series.

“The document is the basis for the preparation of the 2021 budget and having been approved and adopted, it will be processed to the House of Assembly for consideration and approval and for application in the preparation of the 2021 revenue and expendi@Businessdayng

ture budget estimates of the state.”

He further stated that the production of the MTEF/FSP marks the first step in the budget preparation cycle.

The commissioner also disclosed that as part of the government’s commitment to the growth of commerce in the riverine areas, the state council approved N4 billion for the construction of Ogheye concrete floating market project in Warri North local government area of the state.

Speaking further, the commissioner said the council, approved N809 million as counterpart fund for projects being handled by UNESCO and other global agencies, adding that N600 million was also approved as counterpart fund for the Sustainable Development Goals, (SDGs) projects.

Friday 04 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NEWS

Zenith Bank to pay N9.4bn interim dividend as H1 earnings rise to N346.08bn

L-R: Adenrele Oni, managing director/CEO, Richway Microfinance Bank; Adeola Ilozobhie, managing director/ CEO, Daylight Microfinance Bank, and Sam Uche Anyamele, at the African Brands awards ceremony where Richway Microfinance Bank won the Most Innovative Microfinance Bank 2020 Award in Lagos.

IHEANYI NWACHUKWU

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After 4 years in red, 9Mobile gains over 40,000 internet subscribers FRANK ELEANYA

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igeria’s fourth largest telecommunication network, 9Mobile gained 43,266 internet subscribers in the month of July, the first time since April 2016 when it last recorded subscriber growth.

The company saw 7,137,687 in July from the 7,094,421 it recorded in June. It also extended its gaining streak to mobile subscribers which reached 12,163,330 from 12,111,674 in June, representing a gain of 51,656. It also means 9Mobile now controls 6.11 percent of the telecommunication market.

9Mobile’s recent gains

may be connected to a revived market approach in which the owners of the embattled telco had to shop for a new CEO - Alan Sinfield - to rescue its drowning numbers. The board also approved the appointment of Stjepan Udovicic, a business growth executive, as its chief commercial officer on Tuesday.

In an interview with TechCabal, Sinfield said his vision was to transition 9Mobile to data and digital services, a path it began in 2016. Earlier in 2020, the company unveiled plans to roll out 4G LTE in 6 cities across Nigeria which will bring the number of cities accessing the service to 16.

The targeted cities include Aba, Abuja, Nasarawa, Cal-

abar, Enugu, Kaduna, Kano, Lagos, Niger, Onitsha, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Sokoto, Uyo, Aba and Ogun.

“There is a huge potential for the future for further broadband deployment,” Sinfield said, “and I’m saying broadband deployment because I think we should not be caught up in focusing just on the technology that’s there, like 4G, 4G+, LTE, etc.”

Sinfield said the company is also working on positioning itself to become a strong contender in the data market. “Data is key,” he added.

The company has also renewed its fervency on data promotion. It announced the mega million promo in August. With a cumulative recharge of

N10,000 over the 90 days duration of the promo, users get a chance to win the N10,000,000 grand prize, and their winning chances increase as they recharge more. Also new customers get up to 100 percent data bonus for 12 months with free 1GB and N500 airtime.

9Mobile is also among the telcos that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said it has issued a Payment Service Bank licence to.

Sinfield told TechCabal he sees huge potential in the market.

“We’re very close in terms of the platforms and how the developments of the platforms underpin the services we provide in the market and the services we offer in the market,” he said.

Samsung unveils Galaxy Z Fold2 Comercio Partners to leverage ‘new GBEMI FAMINU

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amsung Electronics Co.Ltd has taken another leap forward in deepening users experience and productivity with the virtual unveiling of Galaxy Z Fold2.

With this new introduction, Samsung is seen continuing to pioneer a new category of mobile devices by introducing the newest foldable that pairs bold design with advanced engineering.

Caden Yu, managing director of Samsung says that with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2, the company closely listened to user feedback to ensure it was bringing meaningful improvements to the hardware, while also developing new innovations to enhance the user experience.

Yu stated that the journey to reach the next generation of mobile is full of originality and innovation, adding that Galaxy Z Fold2 combines the portability and flexibility of a smartphone with the power and screen size of a tablet for ultimate productivity.

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He says that Galaxy Z Fold2 is available from September 11, 2020 with a limited phone cover offer, Samsung Care+(discounted screen repair, hardware repair, and software coverage) and four months YouTube premium, adding that the Z Fold 2 would be officially available in the market from October 2, 2020.

He further notes that strengthened by industryleading partnerships with Google and Microsoft, Samsung is reshaping and redefining the possibilities of the mobile device experience.

“After releasing two foldable devices and listening to user feedback on the most requested upgrades and new features, Samsung unveils the Galaxy Z Fold2 with meaningful innovations that offer users enhanced refinements and unique foldable user experiences”, Yu says.

Commenting on the uniqueness of the Galaxy Z Fold2, the managing director states that the phone comes packed with two edge-toedge, nearly bezel-less Infinity-O displays.

normal’ for best investors’ experience DANIEL OBI

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omercio Partners, an investment banking firm in Nigeria is poised to leverage the new business environment in the country, occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic to bring the best investors’ experience through its depth of resources.

It has been observed that Nigerians have a lax propensity to savings.

However, this is not necessarily true. What is mostly lacking is the ability to make the right investment decisions. Many Nigerians are either not aware of the financial asset products available to them or lack the knowledge to build a diversified investment portfolio for the rainy day.

Speaking on bringing new experience to investors in the new normal business environment, head financial advisory/ co-managing partner of Comercio Partners Lim-

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ited, Steve Osho said, “We see a great future in Africa, occurrences such as the pandemic is a reminder of this assertion.

“We like the dream of the future better than the history of the past, our words, messages, actions, services, businesses further confirm our belief in Africa’s business ecosystem,” Osho stated.

Osho said: “By leveraging on our wealth of experience, skills and knowledge of the market, we will continually explore opportunities to create significant value for our clients, adding that “as portfolio managers, we design investment strategies based on our clients’ investment objectives, risk appetite and time horizon.”

According to the head of trading /co-managing partner, Nnamdi Nwizu the world as we know it has changed over the last six months. Comercio Partners is ready to partner with you and lead you to the new tomorrow.

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igeria’s Tier 1 lender Zenith Bank Plc has released its financial results for the half-year (H1) to June 30, 2020.

Gross earnings of the group increased by 4.4percent and profit before tax increased by 2.2percent.

Highlights of the group’s operating results for the period under review show gross earnings of N346.088 billion from H1’19 level of N331.586 billion.

Profit before tax (PBT) increased to N114.124 billion from H1’19 level of N111.677 billion while profit after tax increased to N103.826billion in H1’20 from N88.882 billion in

H1’19.

Board of directors of the bank proposed an interim dividend of N9.4 billion being 30kobo per share (2019: Interim dividend of 30kobo per share) from the retained earnings account as at 30 June, 2020.

At the close of stock trading session on Thursday September 3, Zenith Bank’s share price moved up from day open low of N16.95 to N17.2, up by 25kobo or 1.47percent.

The interim dividend will be presented for ratification by the shareholders at the next annual general meeting. Payment of dividends is subject to withholding tax at a rate of 10 percent in the hands of qualified recipient.

Sterling Bank hosts agricultural summit JOSEPHINE OKOJIE

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terling Bank Plc is set for host the 2020 edition of its Agriculture Summit Africa (ASA) from September 23 and 24, 2020.

The bank in a statement announced that Mastercard Foundation, Africa Development Bank (AfDB), and IDH – the sustainable trade initiative as headline sponsors for the third edition of the summit.

The summit with the theme “Fast forward agriculture: Exploiting the next revolution” will enable collaboration between stakeholders to help identify and deliver actionable steps to revolutionise Nigeria’s and sub-Saharan Africa’s agri-business industries for sustained long-term growth after the pandemic.

Yemi Odubiyi, execu-

tive director - corporate and investment banking, Sterling Bank, remarked that this year’s edition would be a hybrid event – online and physical – due to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic and the need to adhere to health management protocols laid down by authorities.

Odubiyi said the event was part of the bank’s commitment to the critical sectors of the Nigerian economy under its well-thought-out and impact-based HEART initiative. Agriculture is one of the five sectors the bank is concentrating on investment.

The other sectors are health, education, renewable energy, and transportation.

He added that the physical studios would be stationed in Abuja and Lagos for selected persons – speakers and panellists – noting that participants are required to register online.

PENGASSAN gets leadership

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etroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has elected national officers to run its affairs the next three years (20202023) with Festus Osifo, of Total Nigeria E&P branch, emerging as the 16th president of the association.

Osifo defeated his sole challenger Roland Fredericks of Shell Petroleum branch by 200 to 183 votes.

Osifo in his acceptance speech promised to abide by the association’s constitution in all his dealings, while fighting for the protection of members’ job and improved welfare.

He thanked fellow comrades for electing men and women of character who he promised will not disappoint the confidence reposed on them. @Businessdayng

He also admonished labour leaders on the need for unity amongst members, promising to work with like minds to champion the course of the represented, and the masses in general.

Also elected to serve with him as members of Central Working Committee (CWC) of the association are Duru Mathew, deputy president; Kelechi Ugwulo, industrial relations officer; Victor Ononokpono, treasurer and Kabiru Dan’Azumi, as financial secretary. Others are Anietie Udoh, public relations officer, Charles Ogbowu, national auditor 1; Bosun Olaniyi, auditor 2, and Ngozi Chiwendu, as chairperson women in PENGASSAN, while Lumumba Okugba remains secretary-general of the oil workers’ association.

Friday 04 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NEWS

Gbajabiamila urges Ghana to review law on $1m business capital JAMES KWEN, Abuja

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peaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has called on the Ghanaian authorities to revisit the component of the country’s law that requires a capital base of $1 million for businesses to start with a view to encouraging African brotherliness.

Gbajabiamila made the call during a ‘Legislative Diplomacy’ bilateral meeting with Ghanaian lawmakers and top government officials in Accra, where he also advocated for an amicable settlement of trade disputes through arbitration and fair judicial processes.

The speaker said he would be glad to champion a law to improve the bilateral trade relations between Nigeria and Ghana, not-

ing that citizens of the two countries remain brothers and sisters.

“First, amicable settlement of trade disputes through arbitration and fair judicial processes; in this context, we do believe that while it is the sovereign right of the government of Ghana to pass and implement the GIPC Act, we would implore you to explore alternative and less aggressive options of engaging, sanctioning and relating with our traders and business people who operate in your country, pay taxes and contribute to the development of both our nations.

“Secondly, we would encourage you to revisit the component of the law that requires a capital base of $1 million. We are all Africans; we all have towns and villages, and we know

only too well that majority of our traders across the continent are petty traders.

The prospect of them being able to raise a capital base of $1,000,000 before they can trade in goods that may be worth less than $1 thousand, clearly is a major challenge.

“Thirdly, one of the things we are all proud about and the common surname that we all bear is ‘ECOWAS’ and as you know, by virtue of being ECOWAS countries, our nations and our citizens should be able to live, work and thrive in any of our nations without any form of hindrance or discrimination.

“It is in this light we would encourage that we explore how the principles and the application of ECOWAS protocols - which we are both signatories to - may perhaps

conflict with the application of the GIPC Act, especially vis-à-vis the recent adoption of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACfTA) by African nations; and also the movement towards a single currency in the West African sub region.

“Fourth, is the importance of strengthening legislative diplomacy and collaboration. Legislative diplomacy is a tool that has been used across the world - both in developing and developed nations - to negotiate, to arbitrate and to find peaceful resolution to disputes between nations.

Legislative diplomacy is akin to back-channel diplomacy, which in many cases, makes it more possible for countries to debate and find solutions to problems, without any country losing face publicly.

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Deloitte, AAAM push for enabling auto policy to drive economy, job creation KELECHI EWUZIE

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rofessionals from Deloitte in partnership with African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM) have called for an enabling auto industry policy that would support economic growth and job creation across Africa.

They observed that Africa has the potential to become the world’s next automotive industry powerhouse, noting that the opportunities are there with a young, growing population and rapid urbanisation across the continent.

Stakeholders from across the world while providing insights, Wednesday, at the ongoing virtual panel discussion on Africa automotive forum hosted by Nigeria, pushed for processes that would allow Africa jumpstart its automotive industry.

Dave Coffey, chief executive officer of AAAM observed that the political will to support medium-term economic and job creation benefits of an effective auto industry was often overshadowed by the short-term gains of Customs revenue for imported used vehicles.

He further noted that one of the solutions to the challenge facing the continent was the development of a

pan-African automotive sector with the establishment of assembly nodes/hubs in the South, West, East and North of Africa and a spread of value adding activity to neighbouring economies based on their resources or comparative industrial advantages.

According to Coffey, “Partnerships between countries have been key to the development of auto industries across the world; this facilitates scale which is necessary in this globally competitive industry.”

Martyn Davies, managing director of Emerging Markets and Africa, at Deloitte, observed that opportunities for growth abound amid challenges in Africa.

The plethora of fragmented, small automotive production facilities rather than a singular force across the continent appears to be the result of ineffective automotive policies, with only Morocco and South Africa standing out as having fully fledged industries.

“Not every African country is able to grow and industrialise a fully-fledged automotive industry sector. So, beyond these hubs, we need to build a hub and spoke model, where a hub such as Kenya, for example, can be supported by a supply spoke in a neighbouring country,” said Davies.

Meter manufacturers ask to FG to review levies on imported meters L-R: Gbolabo Olaniwun, senior special assistant to Lagos State governor on agriculture; Abisola Olusanya, acting commissioner for agriculture, Lagos State; Olayiwole Onasanya, permanent secretary, and John Olakuleyin, general manager, Lagos State Coconut Development Authority (LASCODA), during commemoration of Year 2020 World Coconut Day in Lagos.

Union Bank supports 10 NGOs with N1.7m through UnionBetta donations HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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nion Bank, one of Nigeria’s foremost financial institutions, has once again delivered on its promise to support charitable organisations with a portion of proceeds from the UnionBetta savings product.

Launched in 2016, UnionBetta is a sub-account that allows Union Bank customers earn attractive interest rates for saving as little as N5,000 monthly. In return, the bank donates a percentage of the interest earned to select non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on behalf of its customers.

In selecting the recipients, priority is given to NGOs making impact in areas such as gender equality, education, talent development, and agriculture which are key pillars of Un-

ion Bank’s citizenship efforts that align with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1,2,4, 5 and 11.

This year, a total of N1.7 million was donated to 10 different charitable organisations to help support their activities. Some of the recipients include United Methodist Church of Nigeria Orphanage, Jalingo; Zinnok Initiative for Women & Children, Abia; Teens Dream Initiative, Kwara and Lagos Food Bank Initiative. Others include Uduak Charles Diaries, Akwa-Ibom; Flexisaf Foundation, Abuja and Adolescent Friendly Research Initiative & Care, Ekiti.

Speaking on this initiative, Union Bank’s head of retail deposits, John Obichie, reiterated the bank’s focus on creating value for its customers and giving back to the underprivileged in the society. www.businessday.ng

Access Bank assures customers of data confidentiality DESMOND OKON

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ccess Bank plc has assured customers of the safety of their personal banking information, debunking reports alleging a breach of its system.

In a statement addressing the reports being circulated on social media, Amaechi Okobi, group head of corporate communications, Access Bank, stated, “Our attention has been drawn to some social media reports claiming a data breach of our systems. Access Bank herewith confirms that that there is no cause for alarm.

We would like to reassure all our stakeholders and the general public of the security and integrity of our banking platforms which at this time are the best-in-class.

At Access Bank, we take the protection of our customers’ personal information very seriously and all our pro-

cesses are in alignment with data protection global best practices and legislations in the various countries wherein we operate.”

The bank further called on its customers to be watchful and wary of fraudsters seeking sensitive banking details.

“We urge everyone to remain vigilant and not fall victim to false claims on social media or other forms of communication such as emails, texts, or calls devised to deceive them into divulging their personal details. Access Bank and our agents will not ask for your Bank Verification Number (BVN), ATM PIN, CVV, or password,” Okobi said.

The peculiar nature of social media has made it easy to spread false information. To this end, the bank has provided a means through which suspected fraud cases can be reported directly.

https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

OLUSOLA BELLO

F

ollowing President Muhammadu Buhari’s approval of one year deferment of the 35 per cent import levy on electricity meters to help improve Nigeria’s electricity meter deficit, the Electricity Meter Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (EMMAN) has asked the Federal Government to review its decision to promote local content in the manufacturing of prepaid meters.

The association says the directive to defer 35 percent import duties on importation of pre-paid meters is an incentive for mass importation of pre-paid meters as against the upscaling of production capacity of made in Nigeria.

According to Muyideen Ibrahim, secretary of the association, the local manufacturers are not being patronised by off-takers at the downstream of the power sector value chain because they are not prepared to cut corners.

Another member of the association, Kola Balogun, who is also the chairman of Momas Electricity Meters Manufacturing Limited, and @Businessdayng

a member of the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) in the downstream of the power sector, said that the 35 percent levy was the only protection available to them in the sector, adding that this “is not peculiar to the sector alone.”

Balogun said the removal was an indication that the government is more disposed to favour importation to the detriment of the local industry.

“The implication of this is that over $600 million would be exported to China to import the approved three million meters.

He believed the presidential approval of tax deferment on the importation of three million finished electricity meters would have negative effects on the power sector.

Also Kunle Olubiyo, president, Nigeria Consumer Protection Network, also said there was an urgent need for the Federal Government to put in place a strict regime of sanctions against off-takers who have deliberately refused to accept indigenous technology and made in Nigeria pre-paid eters or prepaid meters assembled in Nigeria.

Women in Business

Dorothy Udeme Ufot (SAN) Founding Partner, Dorothy Ufot & Co

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orothy Ufot is the founding partner of the leading Nigerian firm Dorothy Ufot & Co (established in 1994) where she heads the international arbitration and litigation departments of the firm.

She recently won the 2020 African Arbitrator of the Year award.

Dorothy specialises in international arbitration, litigation and other forms of dispute resolution, including investment treaty arbitration, enforcement of foreign arbitral awards, investment consulting, corporate and commercial law.

In 2009, she was elevated to the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) (equivalent to Queen’s Counsel), in recognition of her vast work in commercial litigation.

Ufot is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) (CIArb) and a chartered arbitrator. She is a former member of the Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Paris (2006-2018), and a member of the Court of Arbitration of the Casablanca International Mediation and Arbitration Centre Morocco (2016).

Dorothy was designated to serve a six-year term on the panel of arbitrators of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in February 2017. She is currently on her third ICSID case, pursuant to her appointment as a member of the panel of arbitrators by ICSID. She is a former global vice president of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR, and a member of the council of the ICC Institute of World Business Law in 2016. She is vice chair of the arbitration and ADR commission of ICC Nigeria and the treasurer of ICC’s Nigeria committee.

Ufot is on the panels of arbitrators for the International Centre for Dispute Resolution, CIArb, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration, the Lagos Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration and the Energy Arbitrator’s List.

A former vice chair of the arbitration committee of the International Bar Association (IBA), Dorothy served as a council member of the IBA’s legal practice division (2006–2010) and a member of its nominations committee

for two terms (2012–2016). She is a member of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), ArbitralWomen, the International Council for Commercial Arbitration and several other professional associations.

She has acted as an arbitrator in several complex, high-volume arbitrations in oil and gas, international construction projects, international supply contracts, infrastructure development, telecommunications and financial services.

Dorothy is currently sitting as a co-arbitrator in a US$3.2 billion oil dispute in respect of some strategic alliance agreements involving the Nigerian state oil entity. She has also recently been appointed as sole arbitrator by the LCIA, the Regional Centre for Commercial Arbitration Lagos and DIAC, in ongoing arbitrations.

Ufot is experienced in court proceedings relating to the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards, having recently sought and obtained orders for the recognition and enforcement of two high-volume foreign arbitral awards at the Federal High Court Lagos, Nigeria. She is currently enforcing a multimillion-dollar foreign arbitral award in Nigeria, and represents one of the big banks in Nigeria in two high-volume and highly contentious litigations in respect of the bank’s shares.

She has served as a member of the governing council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, and chair of its rules and adjudication committee; and as non-executive director of several companies, including Chevron Oil Nigeria and MRS Oil Nigeria.

Ufot serves as a non-executive director of SO&U Limited (one of Nigeria’s premier advertising and media relations companies), and Dangote Cement (Africa’s largest cement producer) as its first female non-executive director.

She has extensive experience as counsel and arbitrator in institutional and ad hoc arbitrations relating to oil and gas; energy; international construction projects; dredging contracts; infrastructure developments projects; joint venture agreements; telecommunications; international supply contracts; and financial services, having been appointed by major multinational oil corporations, the Nigerian state oil entity, state governments, federal government agencies and large and medium-sized public and private companies.

BUSINESS DAY Friday 04 September 2020 www.businessday.ng

By Kemi Ajumobi

Chantelle Abdul

Group MD/CEO Mojec International Holdings

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hantelle Abdul is an entrepreneur operating in the power sector with experience across America, Africa and Asia. As the Group Managing Director and Chief executive officer of Mojec International Holdings, she oversees a portfolio of companies namely: Mojec Meter Asset Management Company, Virtuitis Solaris Power, Mojec Meter Company and Meter Services Hub. She has led the growth of this family business into becoming the largest smart meter manufacturer in West Africa and has expanded the firm’s portfolio from meter manufacturing to include power generation, transmission and distribution services.

Her aim is to position the company to be one of the few indigenous companies floated on the London Stock Exchange as well as the New York Exchange. She is building a strong indigenous company with a global outlook.

Ultimately, her vision is to transform Nigeria and the African continent by providing access to power leading to economic transformation.

According to her, “Opportunities abound everywhere but none can be compared to that of Africa. Africa has a lot of sectors that still needs to be harnessed.” She insists.

Mojec has positioned herself as one of the leading companies from generation to the measurement of power in Nigeria.

Having started in the Nigeria and has grown through the ranks, Mojec has spread into West Africa and Africa at large.

At Mojec, they see Africa as a child growing to become the world economic power hub, though it’s still at a developing stage, but Africa has the potential to compete on the world stage. With their innovative and creative passion for what they do, they are determined to contribute positively and actively to the development of Africa.

Registered in 1985, Mojec International is an international holding company with subsidiaries in the power, energy, real estate and retail sector with operations across Africa and Asia. Mojec is ranked as one of the indigenous companies in corporate Nigeria.

A leading Electricity EPC contractor to the electricity distribution companies and

other African utilities on transmission and distribution of projects, Mojec is chiefly known on the continent as a market leader and innovator in metering. Always on the upfront of the latest in Metering Technology, Mojec manufactures and supplies a variety of meters ranging from: Maximum Demand, Whole current, Pre-Paid meters, Automatic Meter Reading System (AMR) as well as latest in Metering technology Automatic Meter Infrastructure (AMI) through its sister company Mojec meter Company, one Nigeria’s first meter factories.

Mojec has a subsidiary oil and gas company which is a leading provider of innovative products and services to global oil and gas industries. Mojec oil and gas has been in existence for over 3 years giving excellent delivery and unparalleled customer solution.

Today, Mojec is one of the largest meter suppliers in Nigeria, with international joint ventures and alliances with some of the world leading manufacturers in Asia and Europe.

Whilst their meters may be household names in Nigerian markets, Mojec also has a real estate and retail division that develops, operates and manages mixed use commercial and residential properties in Nigeria’s major cities namely; Lagos, Ibadan and Abuja.

From 1985 till today, Mojec has transformed herself into a global specialist in energy management, transmission and power generation and has today become a solution provider that helps make most of your energy.

For Chantelle Abdul, “The importance of including women in the energy revolution taking place in Africa cannot be over emphasised. African women are natural problem solvers and excellent managers and therefore have a lot to contribute to solving the problem of access to power.”

She revealed.

To every obstacle and posing challenges, we all have the way we respond to them.

Hear how Chantelle deals with hers “I never see problems as obstacles but simply as problems to be solved. Solving problems is part of the course in businesses. You’re supposed to wake up and fix something every day.” She maintained.

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