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news you can trust I ** friDAY 07 february 2020 I vol. 19, no 494

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INEC de-registers 74 political parties, retains APC, PDP, others

... fixes Sep. 19 for Edo guber poll, Oct. 10 for Ondo James Kwen, Abuja

T L-R: Sunny Anene, group executive director, United Capital plc; Odiri Oginni, managing director/CEO, United Capital Asset Management; Peter Ashade, group chief executive officer, United Capital plc; Sunny Iroche, board member, United Capital plc; Bismarck Rewane, MD/CEO, Financial Derivatives Company Limited/guest speaker; Toyin Sanni, former GCEO, United Capital plc/current CEO, Emerging Capital Limited; Babatunde Obaniyi, managing director, United Capital Investment Banking, and Bawo Oritsejafor, managing director/CEO, United Capital Securities, at the just concluded United Capital 2020 Outlook Breakfast Session in Lagos.

Farmers’ loan defaults show limits of intervention programmes Loans often seen as free gifts from the state

ODINAKA ANUDU & JOSEPHINE OKOJIE

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he failure of 70,000 Kebbi State farmers who benefitted from the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) to repay about N17 billion extended to them by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has exposed

the limitations of the Federal Government’s intervention programmes.

The government has resolved to take the defaulters to court as only 200 out of 70,000 farmers have been able to repay their loans.

The N17 billion accounts for about 10 percent of the total

N174.43 billion the apex bank disbursed to farmers under the scheme since the initiative started in 2016, BusinessDay estimates show.

BusinessDay gathered authoritatively that many beneficiaries who got the ABP loans often saw the money as their own share of the national cake.

“Since I was born, I have not benefitted anything from the government until I took the Anchor Borrowers fund last year.

I do not intend to pay back because it is my own benefit from the government as a Nigerian,” a farmer in Kebbi, who only gave Continues on page 4

he Independent National Electoral (INEC) has de-registered 74 political parties for not meeting constitutional requirements for the existence of a political party in Nigeria.

The commission, however, retained 16 political parties which have fulfilled the requirements for existence based on Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution.

The political parties retained

by INEC include All Progressives Congress (APC), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Accord Party (AP), Action Alliance (AA), African Action Congress (AAC), African Democratic Congress (ADC), African Democratic Party (ADP) and Allied People’s Movement (APM).

Others are Labour Party (LP), New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), National Rescue Movement (NRM), People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Young Continues on page 4

Inside

USAID, UBA sign MoU to advance 2-way trade, investment goals of Prosper Africa P. 2

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Friday 07 February 2020

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news USAID, UBA sign MoU to advance 2-way trade, investment goals of Prosper Africa

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he United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Prosper Africa initiative is partnering with the United Bank for Africa (UBA) to increase two-way trade and investment between the US and the nations of Africa.

This partnership ensures businesses are equipped with the technical and financial tools they need to enter into new trading and investment relationships in Africa and the United States.

USAID will provide technical assistance and advisory services to prospective businesses through its Trade and Investment Hubs, and will connect UBA with African Diaspora business groups working across the United States.

The MOU enables UBA, the only sub-Saharan African bank licensed to operate in the United States, to expand its reach and extend financing to American companies in the

United States looking to do business with African nations.

Recognising tremendous growth opportunities, USAID and UBA are collaborating to advance Prosper Africa’s goal of substantially increasing two-way trade between Africa and the United States. By working together, they will extend financing and technical assistance to businesses that will strengthen the American economy, grow African economies, and create jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.

The two institutions entered into this agreement as part of the opening ceremony of the Tunisia Prosper Africa Conference, co-organised by the US Embassy in Tunis and the American Chamber of Commerce of Tunisia.

The event facilitated US and African business-tobusiness connections and featured remarks by key representatives from the US Government and the US and African private sector.

Inefficient registration system fuels extortions at NIMC enrolment centres TEMITAYO AYETOTO

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imoh was just a security officer managing electricity supply at the Alausa-Ikeja Lagos office of the National Identification Management Commission (NIMC). He handled the daily switches between power supplied from the national grid and the commission’s generating set. But he covered more than his job descriptions prescribed while the rowdy process of obtaining the national identification number (NIN) as a prerequisite for the University Matriculation Examination (UTME) lasted.

On Friday, January 10, 2020, under the pretext of being an intending candidate of the UTME, this BusinessDay reporter met Jimoh at the entrance of the NIMC office

at about 6pm. I had been there for over an hour waiting, begging security personnel for a chance to go in to begin my registration. Despite being past official working hours, the veranda was still crowded with so many frustrated students.

Some of the students, like Fisayo Adesoji, had gone through rough nights, stressing hours of queuing in the baking sun and injuries from stampede at enrolment centres. For Adesoji, for instance, it took leaving home by 3:30am to the NIMC centre. In spite of that, he was at number 77 on the list, because many potential students like him had slept over at the office.

So, they wanted at all cost to get their names on the list of those to be enrolled. NIMC workers randomly came out to help people they know to

access the registration centre without ado. Going late to the commission was part of my plan to affirm the depth of extortion, and it turned out to be an easy task once I had the money to pay.

Jimoh sighted me among the frustrated students and proposed to help me. ‘Help’ is what they call moving enrollees who have paid rapidly up the queue, such that someone listed in the first 20s might end up behind in the list of 90s. Jimoh’s help was to cost N3,000 but he agreed to accept N2,000 after a soft plea.

In 10 minutes, he provided me the form, which by then had become exclusive. He took me straight to an office past the central registration hall after filling the form. Offices like this were where those who could pay were sorted in a jiffy. In there was a closely-

knit group with a senior officer coordinating the registration.

After checking my Biometric Verification Number (BVN), the senior man suspected that it needed special treatment.

And in less than five minutes, he generated my NIN, right before I was properly registered and captured.

To convince me that the NIN slip would be ready the following working day which was Monday, Jimoh took me to his office and showed me copies of the forms he had stocked in his bag. The most jaw-dropping part was the original coloured and blank copies of the NIN slip also stashed in his bag for the purpose of his own business.

To see the length he would go to get me the slip, I pushed Jimoh to produce it the follow-

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Economic council emphasises investmentfriendly policies, synergy among MDAs

… as Buhari approves 6-weekly briefings TONY AILEMEN, Abuja

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he Presidential Economic Advisory Council (EAC) on Thursday reeled out strategies to tackle difficult economic challenges ahead of implementation of the 2020 budget.

The advisory council headed by Doyin Salami, a former member of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee, outlined a number of challenges facing the economy and made recommendations on how to address the challenges.

Amongst other issues, the council raised concerns that the rate of growth of the country’s economy is slower than the population growth rate.

It also emphasised the need to strengthen national statistical agencies; reform procurement processes; improve education; and the need for job planning in training offered by academic institutions.

The EAC raised these issues in a report of macroeconomic importance and their views and recommendations to President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

The council also brought to the government their views on borrowing, macroeconomic stability and the need to provide a friendly climate for foreign investment.

“We need an environment that will attract investment.

People will come only when they feel confident and when they come, their exit will not be challenging,” Salami said.

The council resolved to focus on legacy projects by the administration before 2023.

President Buhari, in his remarks after the presentation, said “the lack of synergy

between ministries, departments and agencies would no longer be accepted.

“We are working for the country, not for personal interests,” Buhari said, adding that the objective was “service to the people”.

He commended the council foritsdiligentworkonthereport.

“I am highly pleased based on what I have read in your Executive Summary with the painstaking thoroughness of your preliminary report. I have noted the salient points of your report and these will be incorporated in government economic policies,” he said.

“The economy is the most delicate and sensitive of all aspects of national life. A little change in the matrix can lead to major disruptions in the national economy. For example, international changes in oil prices, bad harvests, conflicts in strategic global locations, a major epidemic or pandemic like the current coronavirus, tariff changes in major world economies, to mention only a few examples that readily come to mind, can significantly affect our plans,” he said.

He said the EAC should now brief him more frequently, at least once every six weeks, instead of once every quarter, as he thanked the members for their patriotism and commitment in accepting the challenging responsibilities conferred on them.

He assured that his administration would be bound by the council’s advice on economyrelated matters and directed the secretary to the government of the federation to immediately address observed lapses in coordination between ministries and all agencies of government. www.businessday.ng

Gboyega Oyetola (r), governor, Osun State, in a handshake with Adesola Adeduntan, chief executive officer, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, following a courtesy visit by a delegation from FirstBank to the governor, yesterday.

New 7.5% VAT spikes prices of commodities, services … shows state of rising poverty rate ENDURANCE OKAFOR

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he new 7.5 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) has put a lot of strain on the wallet of Timothy Eze, a 25-year-old marketing staff who is working as a contract employee with one of Nigeria’s tier-2 lenders.

With a monthly salary of N40,000, Eze spends at least N10,050 monthly to call his younger sister in the village who lives with their sick mother. There is a high expectation from Eze to provide for his younger siblings and his sick mother considering he is the first child and the only graduate in the family.

“I talk to my family about two to three times a day,” Eze says. “I usually call my young-

er sister to ensure she does not fail to give my mum her drugs as she has been down with diabetes and stroke. Apart from the money I send home on a monthly basis, airtime is another thing that swallows my income.”

Now, with the increase in VAT, Eze could be spending as much as N12,000 per month on voice calls, depending on how frequently he makes the call and on the tariff of the service provider.

Eze’s story mirrors that of millions of other Nigerians, who are already feeling the pinch of the new VAT rate.

Seven days into the enforcement of the new 7.5 percent VAT rate, the effect of the tax raise is already being felt, particularly on taxable consumer goods and services which

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now attract a VAT that is 2.5 percentage points higher than the previous 5 percent.

VAT is a consumption tax payable on goods and services purchased by individuals, government agencies and business organisations. It is one of the sources of government revenue generation.

As Nigerian businesses began the implementation of the new VAT effective February 1, 2020, consumers are hit with a surge in the prices of goods and services.

Among the commodities that have had a spike in their prices, toothbrush and airtime topped the list of items that were most complained about from a BusinessDay survey.

“The Federal Government has increased VAT (Value @Businessdayng

Added Tax) to 7.5 percent across several sectors, including telecoms,” the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said.

According to Funsho OlaOju of Andersen Tax, the new VAT will largely affect the spending capacity of a lot of Nigerians.

“Price of goods and service will increase, transport too will be expensive,” he said.

The consumers hit the most with the new VAT are the ones whose earning capacity falls within the range of the N30,000 minimum wage, as compiled from BusinessDay survey.

According to BusinessDay analysis, the new 7.5 percent VAT puts the new call value offered by Nigerian telecom-

Continues on page 34

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news INEC de-registers 74 political parties, retains...

Continued from page 1

L-R: Bashir Magashi, minister of defence; Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the House of Representatives; President Muhammadu Buhari; Sadique Abubakar, chief of the air staff; Bala Na’Allah, senator representing Kebbi South Senatorial District; Rauf Aregbesola, minister of interior, and Lai Mohammed, minster of information and culture, during the induction of the NAF Combat Helicopters in Abuja. NAN

Farmers’ loan defaults show limits of...

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his name as Ibrahim, said.

“We even heard that it was government assistance to farmers and we would not be paying back and now they want to collect the money after we voted for APC in the last election because of the money,” Ibrahim said.

Muhammed Augie, state chairman, Rice Farmers Association, Kebbi State chapter, said some farmers were made to understand, wrongly though, that it was a free gift.

“There was some mischievous information circulating when the loans were being disbursed that it was a free gift from the government and not a loan. As a result, many of the farmers are not willing to pay back,” Augie said.

Nigeria has had several good agricultural policies and programmes, but they have been marred by defaults, ethnic and religious colourations as well as political interference.

Nigeria once had an intervention programme known as the Cotton, Textile and Garment (CTG) Fund. It was targeted at funding textile firms in Nigeria and preventing massive closures of these companies. Olusegun Aganga, former minister of indus-

try, trade and investment, said in 2013 that the fund had saved over 8,000 jobs.

However, after disbursing over 60 percent of the fund, many textile firms have shut down. Textile experts see the fund as a misplaced priority, as only about three full-fledged textile companies were in existence as of 2017, according to Grace Adereti, former president, Nigerian Textile Manufacturers Association of Nigerian (NTMAN).

“The major problem is not funding, but the influx of foreign textiles into the country.

This is killing the industry. As at today, almost 80 percent of textiles in the country are imported or smuggled. Though they are still under ban, they are smuggled,” Jaiyeola Olarewaju, then director-general of NTMAN, told BusinessDay in 2013.

The Cassava Bread Fund set up by the immediate past administration is still domiciled with the Bank of Industry (BOI), but the fund is yet to achieve the purpose for which it was set up.

It was originally meant to produce bread with cassava flour in large quantity and increase cassava value chain as Nigeria remains world’s largest producer of the crop.

But many farmers and manu-

facturers see the policy as a failure today as manufacturers still scramble for wheat flour rather than cassava flour. Reasons for the failure range from lack of cohesion among stakeholders to inability of farmers to produce High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) consistently, among others.

“The Trader Moni and Market Moni must be guided properly, otherwise they may suffer the same fate,” said Ike Ibeabuchi, CEO of MD Services Limited, which produces chemicals.

“I hear that, because it was distributed during a political season, some think it was an incentive to vote. I hope this kind of thinking will stop among our people,” he said.

He urged politicians to steer clear of intervention funds and allow professionals to handle all the processes to avoid it being misinterpreted.

“The need for proper education of beneficiaries is also key,” he said.

Since the inception of the Muhammadu Buhari administration, the Central Bank of Nigeria has taken over the role of the Bank of Agriculture in loan disbursement to farmers.

“We have very well written programmes over the years, including the Anchor Borrowers, which are very well defined, but when it comes to implementation we tend

to go beyond the ambit of the objective of the policy or project and then go ahead to colour it with ethnic or political colouration which then undermines the integrity of the project,” said Kola Adebayo, a professor in the Department of Agricultural Extension Services, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.

“Two of the reasons microfinancing of agriculture has failed, whether it be the commercial banks funding or through intervention programmes, are lack of transparency and accountability,” Adebayo said.

He noted that majority of the beneficiaries are political farmers who take advantage of the loopholes created within the system to evade repayment.

Experts say that such high rate of loan default would have been prevented if the funds were disbursed through the relevant agricultural financial agency and farmers groups. Others stress the need to do better due diligence before disbursing such loans.

“If the loans were disbursed through the All Farmers Association, we would have been able to do something about it and ensure that farmers repay back,” Ibrahim Kabiru, president, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), said.

OPEC, allies disagree on production cut over coronavirus threat DIPO OLADEHINDE

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ussia has rejected a Saudi Arabia-led effort to deepen Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ oil production cuts by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) in response to the deadly coronavirus in China. If the proposed OPEC production cut succeeds, it would put more pressure on Nigeria’s revenue as it would mean further cut on the nation’s crude production level.

The group’s failure to reach

an agreement is a setback for OPEC’s de facto leader, Saudi Arabia, and its promising alliance with Moscow after oil prices took a nosedive following the outbreak of the coronavirus.

As the world’s largest oil importer deals with the coronavirus crisis, Saudi Arabia is pushing for additional cuts of half a million barrels daily, according to reports cited by Al Jazeera. Russia is against it and this time it may have an additional reason for its opposition – additional cuts www.businessday.ng

may simply not work.

The Saudi proposal had broad support, but on Thursday, Russian delegation, led

by Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, which holds increasing sway within the group rejected it on the grounds that it was too early to assess the impact of the virus on global oil demand.

Moscow’s news agency TASS reported Russian Energy Minister as saying any action this week would be premature.

Saudi Arabia had initially

backed output cuts of 800,000 to 1 million barrels a day to balance oil markets. But the gathering collapsedThursdaywithoutanagreement, after the Saudis proposed a compromisecutof600,000barrels a day, as a temporary measure in thesecondquarter.

Now, delegates will return home to consult with their energy ministers and national oil companies. But failure to agree on action is a defeat for OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and its new energy minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.

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Progressives Party and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).

One political party, Action People’s Party (APP), filed a suit in court and obtained an order restraining the commission from deregistering it and remains registered pending the determination of the case by the court, while a new political party, Boot Party (BP), registered by court order after the 2019 general elections will also continue to exist.

With this move, Nigeria now has 18 political parties.

Ma h m o o d Ya ku b u , INEC chairman, who disclosed this on Thursday at a press conference in Abuja, said the de-registration of the 74 political parties was in line with the provisions of the constitution which empowers INEC to de-register political parties on the grounds of breach of any of the requirements for registration as a political party.

The conditions for deregistration include “failure to win at least 25 percent of the votes cast in one state of the federation in a presidential election or 25 percent of the votes cast in one local government area of a state in a governorship election” and “failure to win at least one ward in a chairmanship election, one seat in the National or State Assembly election or one seat in a councillorship election”.

“In order to implement the provision of the Fourth Alteration to the Constitution, the Commission carried out an assessment of political parties to determine compliance with the requirements for their registration,” Yakubu said.

“Similarly, following the conclusion of the 2019 general elections, including court-ordered re-run elections arising from litigations, the Commission was able to determine the performance of political Previous ministers have been fired for failing to shore up oil prices and the prince has warned people close to him that he could face the same fate, according to OPEC and Saudi officials.

In order to balance its budget and fund expansive programmes aimed at diversifying its economy beyond oil, Saudi Arabia requires oil prices above $60 a barrel.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, was up 0.3 percent at $55.46 a barrel Thursday, as investors showed little reaction to the OPEC alliance’s discord. @Businessdayng

parties in the elections,” he said.

He said in addition to these, the political parties were also assessed on the basis of their performance in the area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) which coincided with the 2019 general elections.

Yakubu also announced that the Edo governorship election would hold September 19 while that of Ondo would be October 10.

“The tenure of the governors of Edo and Ondo States will end on 12th November 2020 and 24th February 2021, respectively. Pursuant to the provisions of Section 178(2) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 25(8) of the Electoral Act 2010, elections cannot hold earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the term of office of an incumbent governor,” Yakubu said.

“Accordingly, the Commission has fixed Saturday, 19th September 2020 as the date for the governorship election in Edo State and Saturday, 10th October 2020 for Ondo State,” he said.

He said “the Commission is conducting byeelections in three (3) constituencies as a result of the deaths of some serving members of the National and State Assemblies”.

“The Honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives has declared vacancy in Magama/Rijau Federal Constituency of Niger State.

Similarly, the Honourable Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly has declared a vacancy in Patigi State Constituency while the Speaker of the Sokoto State House of Assembly has declared the Kebbe State Constituency vacant. These byeelections will hold simultaneously in the three (3) States of the Federation on Saturday, 14th March 2020,” he said.

Stakeholders, especially oil market analysts and economists, had told BusinessDay that the current development is capable of leading Nigeria’s economy into another recession and shortage of foreign exchange, given that the nation’s foreign reserve has depleted to about $40.95 billion.

In December last year, Nigeria’s crude oil production fell to 1.57 million bpd, a development which is far below budget projection and indeed, OPEC quota for the country.

While the aggregate revenue available to fund the 2020 bud-

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Health impacts of female genital mutilation amount to $1.4bn globally per year … as 86% of Nigerians not in support of FGM – survey ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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bout 86 percent of Nigerians is not in support of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and think the practice should end in the country considering the danger it poses for people who indulge in it and the health risk.

As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to commensurate World FGM Day every Feb-

ruary 6, the survey was made available by the NOI Poll from large-scale representative survey showing the practice of FGM is still concentrated in some regions in Nigeria.

However, New Modelling reveals that the total cost of treating the health impacts of FGM would amount to $1.4 billion globally per year, if all resulting medical needs were addressed. For individual countries, these costs would

near 10 percent of their entire yearly expenditure on health on average; in some countries, this figure rises to as much as 30 percent.

The interactive modelling tool that generated these data was launched on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.

But the NOI Poll report states that with regards to prevalence, the findings re-

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veal that majority of adult Nigerians (81%) state that FGM is not prevalent in Nigeria, noting that on the other hand, 19 percent of the respondents disclose that FGM is still prevalent in the country.

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), commonly referred to as ‘female circumcision,’ is a procedure performed on a woman or girl to alter or injure her genitalia for non-medical reasons; it

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often involves the partial or total removal of her external genitalia.

FGM/C has no health benefits and often leads to longterm medical complications, including severe pain, prolonged bleeding, infection, infertility and even death. It can also lead to increased risk of HIV transmission.

According to the survey, the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP) was passed into law in 2015 to criminalise FGM practice, difficulty in the enforcement of

@Businessdayng

the VAPP Act is an issue given that it has not been domesticated in some Nigerian states.

The survey states that currently, 13 out of 36 states in Nigeria have their own individual state laws expressly prohibiting FGM/C. These states are Lagos, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Bayelsa, Ogun, Delta, Ebonyi, Oyo, Imo, Edo, CrossRiver and Rivers. However, the VAPP Act is actively enforced in only three out of the 36 states in Nigeria and the FCT, and the states are Abuja, Anambra, Oyo and Ebonyi.

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NEMA, SEMA begin distribution of relief materials to 2019 flood victims Emmanuel Ndukuba, Awka

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he National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has flagged off the distribution of relief materials to victims of the 2019 flood water in Anambra State.

The materials distributed include edibles like rice, beans, corn, and non-edible items such as soap, buckets, blankets and mosquito nets.

The ceremony, which took place at Fr. Joseph Memorial School Aguleri, Anambra East Local Government Area of the state, was attended by members of communities affected by the disaster, including those in Ayamelum, Awka North, Ihiala, Ogbaru, Anambra East and Anambra West LGAs. Fed Anusim, Southeast zonal coordinator of NEMA, who was represented by Eyiuche Aniagor, assistant coordinator, noted that the materials were brought by the Federal Government through NEMA after a joint assessment with the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA). “ In 2 0 1 9 , S E M A a n d NEMA carried out assessment visits to affected communities across the state, after which recommendations were made leading to bringing of these relief materials,” Anusim said.

“These relief items were not equal to what was lost in the disaster, but it is to cushion the effect of the disaster to affected persons, as it will help them to keep body and soul together,” he said.

Noting that flood to the people in the communities was perennial as they were living in coastal areas, Anusim urged them to always be prepared against any flood predictions.

Paul Odenigbo, executive secretary, SEMA, said the items from NEMA were to sympathise with 2019 flood victims in the state.

“These items are not compensation, but to assist you to keep going as a result of the damage suffered in last year’s flood disaster,” he said.

Benjamin Onyebor, chairman, Ayamelum LGA, expressed gratitude to the state and Federal Government for their readiness to always come to the aid of the people, especially in situations as this.

“Last year we were devastated by the flood but today we are smiling as a result of the aid provided by NEMA through SEMA,” he said.

President-General, Umumboh Community in Ayamelum LGA, while praising NEMA and SEMA, noted that the materials would go a long way to provide relief to victims.

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15,000 teachers licensed in Delta Coronavirus: Ebonyi mounts surveillance at exit, entry points ...but state says it’s not yet time to sack unregistered teachers NKECHINYERE OGINYI, Abakaliki

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o safeguard citizens against the spread of coronavirus which began in China and is rapidly spreading to other countries, government of Ebonyi State has set up a seven-man committee to implement some preventive measures.

The committee which is headed by Kenneth Ugballa, secretary to Ebonyi State government, will ensure that all major entrance and exit routes in the state are under medical and security surveillance and that all returnees and expatriates undergo medical screening with a follow-up for two weeks.

A release signed by Ugballa said Governor David Umahi directed the committee to immediately purchase seven Hilux vans and seven buses to be deployed to the six exit and entrance check-points including the treatment centre at Unity Square, Abakaliki.

“State government, therefore, establishes screening check-points at the following entry spots, namely: Ishielu for Ebonyi/Enugu border, Nwezenyi for Ebonyi/Ogoja-lkom axis, Abaomege for Ebonyi/ Itigidi-Ugep axis, Nguzu Edda for Ebonyi Abiriba-Ohafia axis, Mile 2 Ishiagu for Ebonyi/Abia State border, and UmunaguMpu for Ebonyi/Enugu State.

And a treatment Centre at the Unity Square, Abakaliki,” the statement said.

“The novel coronavirus is carried by wild and farm animals, it is transmitted by air and causes fever, cough and difficulty in breathing. It is spread from animals to humans and from infected person to another,” it said.

The state government enjoined the public to observe certain precautions, including “improve on personal & environmental hygiene and as well drink enough water each day; regular hand-washing and use of sanitizers; when coughing or sneezing, cover the mouth and nose; use medical mask to cover the mouth and nose especially in crowded events, and avoid unprotected contact with wild animals and also cook meats thoroughly”.

It further urged the public to “avoid travelling especially overseas for now; any returnee or expatriate that has fever, cough and difficulty in breathing should be reported to the Rapid Response Team at the Treatment Centre, Unity Square, Abakaliki; all returnees and expatriates must report at the ports of entry for documentation and surveillance; and public institutions, eateries, hotels, banks, markets and worship centres are to co-operate strictly with this government policy response”.

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Mercy Enoch, Asaba

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ut of over 45,000 Delta teachers already registered with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, 15,000 have been licensed by the council, rating the state as one of the highest in the country that complied with the registration order issued to teachers by the council.

The state’s commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Patrick Ukah who has expressed satisfaction over the development, however, said it is not yet time to ask unregistered teachers to go.

More people should rather be encouraged to embrace teaching profession while the unregistered ones should be given opportunity to update themselves, he said.

Ukah spoke in reaction to the address of the State Coordinator of the Council, Lazarus Eze, when he led members of his staff to the commissioner’s office in Asaba.

He explained that the 1,000 teachers employed by the Okowa administration in 2019 were strictly qualified teachers with a minimum of first degree in education and pledged the state government’s cooperation with the council.

He assured the council that the state would continue to sustain its leading compliance by ensuring that more teachers

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register with the council.

Ukah, who pointed out that it was in a bid to enhance teachers’ professionalism, said the ministry under his watch had been carrying out consistent interfacing with teachers in the state through periodic monitoring activities.

While saying that the Ministry would review its data base to ascertain which sector recorded the highest compliance with the registration in the state, Chief Ukah called for all hands to be on deck in tackling examination malpractice in schools.

Eze had informed the commissioner that the purpose of the visit was to familiarise with the ministry and also intimate him with the activities of the council in the state.

He stated that the council was charged with the responsibility of registering and licensing qualified teachers, adding that in Delta State, a total of 45,000 teachers had been registered out of which 15,000 had been issued licenses.

He commended stakeholders in the state for the unprecedented compliance of the state in the registration and licensing of teachers, adding that the council was registering teachers directly until 2017 when the Professional Qualifying Examination was introduced.

He added that the state was rated very high in compliance with the registration.

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One step forward, three steps backwards THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS

Obadiah Mailafia

T

he Nigerian economy is a series of paradoxes. In the first place, we are a very wealthy nation in terms of natural resource endowment. Yet, we are the poverty capital of the world.

In 2017, Nigeria overtook India as the world capital of poverty with some 97 million (48 percent of total population) Nigerians living below $1.50 daily.

Another glaring paradox is the fact that we are Africa’s leading oil producer – the sixth in OPEC. And yet, we are one of the leading importers of refined petroleum, principally because our refining capacity is virtually non-existent.

Failure to refine our crude has meant that we are exporting jobs, profits and economic value.

Another paradox relates to the fact that, from a policy stance, we tend to take one bold step forward, only to beat three steps backwards. We tend to make progress in one area, only to move backward while shooting ourselves in the foot, if I may use that metaphor.

Towards the end of October last year, the World Bank released its annual report on the Ease of Doing Business. It was reported that Nigeria had moved 15 steps up, to the position of number 131 out of 190 countries, with a score of 53.4 out of 100. In 2018 we came 146th in the global rankings. Overall, we ranked among the top 10 most improved countries in terms of progress registered in the Ease of Doing Business.

Remarkably, Nigeria ranked number 15 globally in terms of the ease of getting credits or loans. Interestingly, our worst performance centred on the ease of registering properties, where we ranked number 183. For those who have undergone the experience, getting

a Certificate of Occupancy either at state level or in the federal capital remains a nightmare.

When I was in the CBN we initiated the idea of the One-Stop Shop to enhance ease of investors coming to do business in Nigeria. That was in 2006, if my memory serves me right. The idea was to have one centre where Immigration, CAC, Customs, FIRs and other key stakeholders are based in one place. The idea is to ensure that a potential investor does not have to move from department to department or from ministry to ministry trying to do all the paper work. A decision was eventually taken to house the agency in the NIPC. Lo and behold, more than 10 years later, I decided to visit office. To my shock, I found no one – literally no single person in that office! I asked a security guard where everybody was but shrugged his shoulders. I was astonished, if not bewildered. Our public service has fallen from grace.

Professionalism is gone with the wind.

People work precisely only when they have something materially to gain. The civil service is anchored on transactional relationships in which rent-seeking behaviour is the norm.

Our recent improvement in the Ease of Doing Business must be credited to Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo who has put together a team of technical experts who have worked assiduously on this issue. I have met some of them. They are young people who are passionate about their mandate. The result speaks for itself. But we are not yet there. At the least, we ought to move to number 20 in the global rankings. There is obviously so much more work to do to get to where we ought to be.

As a further reflection of our unfortunate paradoxes, last week the International Finance Corporation (IFC), an affiliate of the World Bank Group, delisted Nigeria from the top 5 countries as destinations for private international investors in emerging markets. We are now among the top 10, having fallen from investment grade to more of the speculative grade. The IFC blames the volatile Nigerian business eco-system as a factor in the downgrade. Another

factor is failure to carry out the necessary institutional and macroeconomic reforms that creates a more attractive business environment for investors.

As some of my gentle readers would recall, December last year, the international ratings agencies Moody’s and Fitch downgraded their ratings for Nigeria.

Moody’s have cut Nigeria’s long-term foreign-currency bond to B1 from Ba3 while keeping its outlook stable. They were of the view that Nigerian efforts to broaden non-oil revenue have been far off the target. For the other international rating agency, Fitch, while maintaining its B+ rating for Nigeria; have revised their economic outlook downwards, from stable to negative. According to them, the outlook revision “reflects the increasing vulnerability from the current macro-policy setting, raising risks of disruptive macroeconomic adjustment in the medium term amid continued real appreciation of the naira”.

Moody’s also criticized CBN for trying to maintain a stable nominal exchange rate “through an array of unconventional and economically costly policy measures”. They also predict more inflationary pressures in the wake of the 50 percent increase in VAT from 5 percent to 7.5 percent. They also worry about the rising budget deficit, mounting debt and supply-side challenges even as growth is forecast to be 2.4 percent during 2020-21 even as demographic expansion averages 2.7 percent.

If you read between the lines you will understand that these financial watchdogs understand the geopolitical nightmare that is taking over our country like a nuclear mushroom cloud.

Having been defeated in Syria and Iraq, the dreaded ISIS has moved into West Africa. Boko Haram has merged with ISWAP and the herdsmen militias. They plan to build a bridgehead into Nigeria.

Their long-term ambition is to create in Islamic Caliphate.

Beheadings are their stock in trade.

During Christmas of last year, they beheaded 11Christians martyrs. Recently they also beheaded the CAN Chairman of Adamawa State, Rev. Lawan Andimi.

When CAN President Rev. Dr. Supo Oyekunle raised alarm over religious

‘

If you read between the lines you will understand that these financial watchdogs understand the geopolitical nightmare that is taking over our country like a nuclear mushroom cloud. Having been defeated in Syria and Iraq, the dreaded ISIS has moved into West Africa

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)

Driving home the point that girls are not for sale

I

n the dark days of slavery, the Benin Kingdom was one of the few territories in the southern part of Nigeria where slavery did not thrive with the active collaboration of the locals, especially kings and chiefs. Instead, the kingdom was known for its stout refusal to participate in what was then the common practice of selling indigenes out to Europeans for the ultimate journey into slavery.

It should therefore be considered an irony of history that the two states that probably incorporated the Benin Kingdom of old – Edo and Delta states – are today arguably the headquarters of modern slavery in Nigeria, which is just but part of a global problem.

Most media reports on Nigerian girls being trafficked virtually on a daily basis out of the country with promises of lucrative jobs, but who end up parading the streets of major European cities as prostitutes or, at best, involved in menial jobs like house helps with little or no pay, indicate that many of the girls are from those two states. Many of the girls who are regularly being brought back to the country from Libya are often from Edo and Delta states.

This should be a matter for concern not just for the governments and stakeholders in those two states, but also for Nigerians as a whole.

While victims of trafficking suffer the physical and psychological pain of being traded in the booming international slave market with

dehumanizing experiences that may include death, the exercise helps to paint a picture of the country in a manner that is anything but complimentary.

While it is true that many of the girls that were trafficked out of the country and into prostitution were deceived into believing there were decent jobs like hairdressing, domestic help and teaching in non-English speaking countries of Europe to be picked up but ended up becoming commercial sex workers, some actually left the country enticed by tales of big money in the trade, but ended up as sex slaves.

What is required is a more holistic approach in fighting the evil of human trafficking which targets young girls who are taken out of the country with promises of lucrative jobs abroad, which do not exist. There must be a collective resolve to send out a loud and clear message that girls are “Not for Sale” in any guise. This exercise would involve all stakeholders including parents, guardians, community and religious leaders, as well as other young women working hard at earning a living in various fields of endeavour.

There is no denying the fact that the economic situation in the country has driven many Nigerians up the wall, with some barely managing to make ends meet. The situation has forced many young men and women to seek life outside the country as better alternatives, apparently based on the mistaken belief that the grass is always

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greener on the other side.

However, despite the inclement economic weather in Nigeria, there are many reasons the country remains the better choice for young girls who are daily being deceived into believing there is paradise in Europe. Nothing compares with the freedom of moving about in your own country without any fear of molestation and discrimination on account of race, colour and gender. It is better to be jobless in your own country, with the very high probability of getting help from family members in a society where the extended family system is very strong, than being in a similar situation in a foreign land where one’s life may be exposed to danger.

The point must be made that the situation in the country does not in any way make young girls commodities for sale. This is the narrative the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) is working with the UK Aid to sell in the country, using the launch Not for Sale campaign, a collaborative effort between both organizations. The two organizations are using the campaign to inspire and empower young girls, especially in Edo and Delta states wherein a sizeable number of human trafficked victims come from, to achieve success in their communities without having to put their lives on the line to go abroad in search of better lives that do not exist.

Stories of young girls from those two states

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persecution of Christians, presidential media aide Femi Adesina told him rudely that he was talking “politics”.

More recently, the Bishop of Zaria, the Rt. Rev Abiodun Ogunyemi was invited for interrogation by the Gestapo for raising his voice against the attempt to demolish the 100 year old St. George’s Church in Sabon Gari, Zaria. The cleric has also strongly criticized the Governor of Kaduna State for his bigotry.

Nigeria has become the world capital of kidnapping, violence and banditry; surrounded in our primeval savannah, impenetrable forests and highways by bloodthirsty demons. We are among the top 3 most terrorized nations on earth.

Our government seems incapable and/ or unwilling to protect us. Some would even go to the extent of saying that they are complicit in the looming genocide.

Amotekun in Yoruba land is a preemptive response to the dangers that lie ahead. Communities that face an existential threat with no government to defend them will resort to self-help to protect themselves. Both municipal and international law accord them that right and duty. It is also in accord with the norms of universal ethics.

Major-General Muhammadu Buhari was recently quoted as expressing “surprise” at the rising wave of insecurity in the country. We are very surprised that he is so belatedly “surprised”. He could only be playing the proverbial ostrich in the desert. The easiest way to destroy an economy is to practice governance by exclusion while turning a blind eye to insecurity and nihilistic violence. The bombing of criminal bandits in Zamfara recently was merely a reactive measure.

What we need, ultimately, is an inclusive that cares for all Nigerians without discrimination. We also need a new Homeland Security Strategy that brings together all the armed forces and security agencies with a mandate to guarantee human security throughout our country.

Hope Eromosele who have succeeded in rising above their (sometimes unpleasant) circumstance through sheer determination, diligence and hard work should be enough inspiration for others who may be dreaming of an Eldorado in Europe.

There are thousands of girls from Edo and Delta states resident within and outside those states, with so many in Lagos and other big cities like Port Harcourt, Abuja, Kaduna, Kano and virtually all over the country who have excelled in many worthy pursuits of career and entrepreneurship i.e. in hair dressing, tailoring/ fashion design, catering etc. They prove that girls from these parts of the country are no less enterprising than those from other regions.

Their successes should thereby drive home the point that girls do not have to be sold as commodities to achieve any so-called success.

The collaborative effort of NATIP and the UK Aid is aimed at encouraging girls particularly from Edo and Delta states to believe that if their kith and kin can ‘make it’ (the Nigerian parlance for succeeding) despite the economic hardship in the country, then there is no girl of adult age that cannot succeed in any decent and legitimate human undertaking of her choice.

Eromosele, a lawyer, lives in Lagos

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Ekwegh is a private legal practitioner with over 15 years

Friday 07 February 2020

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The Omalu Imbroglio HumanAngle

Femi olugbile

I

n 2016, a Hollywood movie was released about the life of Bennet Ifeakandu Omalu, a Nigerian from Idemili South in Anambra State. The film titled “CONCUSSION”, featured Will Smith in the title role.

Omalu was born in September 1968. His father was a mining engineer, and his mother a seamstress.

He attended medical school at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Travelling to the United States of America in 1993, he subjected himself to a gruelling run of studies that saw him obtaining a daunting array of qualifications, including Master’s in Public Health, Epidemiology and Business Administration, as well as Fellowships in Pathology and Neuropathology.

Over time he married a Kenyan wife and become an American citizen.

In 2005, while working as a Forensic Pathologist at the County Coroner’s office in Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, he published a paper titled “Chronic Traumatic Brain Injury” in the journal “Neuroscience”.

The thrust of the publication, arising from his observations from examining the brain of Mike Webster, a local hero who had a distinguished career in American football but in his later years developed abnormal behaviour and disturbed cognition, was

that playing American football with its inevitable banging of heads over several years led to an accumulation of irreversible brain injuries. These “concussions” led to irreparable damage to the brain.

The publication caused an immediate storm across different sectors of the American landscape.

‘Football’ is a national obsession and a multi-billion-dollar industry.

The importance of the game and the industry around it in the scheme of things could be discerned from the drama of the ‘Super Bowl’ that took place last weekend where everyone from President to prisoner on death row turned up or tuned in to watch the game.

If Omalu was right in his conclusions, the implication would be that the sport was dangerous and the stars, instead of being lionized as superheroes, should regarded as victims carrying scars in their brains and adding new scars every time they banged their heads in the course of play. Those injuries, in some of them, would come back to haunt them in later years.

Ben’s postulations also implied that even adolescents playing the game in school were subject to such injuries.

Omalu would later give a name to the condition – Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

The ground-breaking implications of Ben’s work and the fact that it came from the personal and determined struggle of an “Immigrant” Nigerian led to the making of the film “CONCUSSION”.

If “Football” were somehow to be declared scientifically ‘unsafe’, American social and sporting culture, and the Big Industry of sports equipment, marketing and sponsorship would be thrown into disarray.

In the years since Ben’s landmark publication, several things have happened. The label Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) has been accepted into medical literature, but the names credited with the coining of the description do not include Ben Omalu. In 2016, the National Institute for Health (NIH) constituted a panel of front-line experts to develop guidelines for CTE research. Ben Omalu was not included on the panel.

Omalu himself continues to publish his findings in scientific journals.

He gives lectures about the dangers of contact sports and the need for enhanced safety. He has found fame and fortune from the film about his life, and from his autobiography “Truth doesn’t have a side.”

He has also made powerful enemies.

One of them, clearly, is Will Hobson, a Sports Journalist with The Washington Post. In a publication in the newspaper a few days ago, which he titled “From scientist to salesman – how Benet Omalu, doctor of ‘Concussion’ fame built a career on distorted science”, Hobson claims he interviewed “more than 50 experts in neurodegenerative disease and brain injuries”.

According to him, Omalu did not discover CTE, nor did he name it.

He tears into Omalu, claiming he has got wealthy from the large fees he charges for his speaking engagements. He quotes a rival researcher from Boston University whose first published work on CTE was several years after Omalu’s in dismissing the importance of Omalu’s work.

Yet, even The Washington Post take-down does not question the fact that Omalu was first out in the field of research tying CTE definitively to “American Football”. If his definitions are ‘over-inclusive’ according

‘

Should people be surprised that there is politics, false narrative, perhaps even racism in Science?

Afterall some people stand to lose a lot if Omalu is not trimmed to size, even if he cannot be destroyed entirely

to NIH guidelines which were drawn up several years after he coined the term, they fail to explain why the NIH guidelines were drawn up in the first case without including the man who started the whole discussion.

Ben Omalu has come out fists flailing in his own defence against the Washington Post publication. In a rejoinder titled ‘We are becoming a nation of lies’, he describes how he was ridiculed by the NFL, NHL, WWE and ‘established and pre-eminent doctors’ when he first published his findings.

“There were no …guidelines for the diagnosis of CTE in 2002 because there was no disease called CTE” Indeed, The NIH published the first guidelines eleven years after his publication. The Boston researchers quoted by The Washington Post were both at the ‘consensus’ NIH meeting and were named in its published guidelines. He – Omalu was not invited or even informed of the meeting.

There is only one truth, he avers, in conclusion. Truth does not have a side.

Should people be surprised that there is politics, false narrative, perhaps even racism in Science? Afterall some people stand to lose a lot if Omalu is not trimmed to size, even if he cannot be destroyed entirely.

There is conceivably the prospect of a Nobel Prize for whoever gets the credit – so important and far-reaching is the discovery.

It is one thing to have black superstar millionaires in Sports and Entertainment. Kobe. Jay-Z. It is another matter to have a ‘nobody’ immigrant from Nigeria receiving the ultimate acclaim for a scientific discovery that may change the way America handles the whole industry of Sports. That, to some people, is truly crossing the line.

Olugbile is a writer and psychiatrist. synthesiz@gmail.com

Lagos bike ban and the Cobra effect

M

onday morning was welcomed with myriad of plight as men and women hit the street with their feet in smart suits and ties-haggling and wriggling for the available rickety buses since there were no more bikes (or tricycles). Fares hiked, and prices surged.

Doesn’t that happen whenever there is excess demand over supply?

On the 27th of January, the Lagos state government announced the ban of bikes and tricycles, which was to take effect from the 1st of February hinged on motorbikes increasing accident rate as well as the crime-aiding activities associated with bikes.

While this might be the right move in alignment with the goal of making Lagos a mega-city, is this not making the state a Cobra effect Case study? Originating from the famous British Colonisation of India saga, the British were concerned about the increasing size of poisonous snakes and offered a bounty to local citizens who killed the poisonous snakes, this worked for a while until the denizens started rearing snakes in anticipation to make more money from killing them and showing the officials the evidence. Scintillating right?

From a manpower planning perspective,

taking off more than one million bike riders and tri-cycle owners without providing any alternative means of support system is trying to quench a rising inferno with a gallon of petrol. As the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi said; “While He (Sanwoolu) has his reasons for doing this, he has two major problems to battle, crime and unemployment”.

From Breadwinners of the family whose major source of income is their bikes and tricycles to independent youths who use it as a supporting source of income, rendering a remarkable percentage jobless would increase the crime they are trying to curb.

Wearing a macro-economic lens, this action is a surge in unemployment rate as well as a leakage in the economy as the circular flow of income that exists between citizens and the service providers has been disrupted, the hours now spent in traffic would increase and productivity of employees would reduce drastically because they are now soused in the fear of getting to work early and leaving early enough to beat the already existing traffic. A familiar story?

From a policy perspective, banning bikes might reduce accidents, or so did the Commissioner for information and strategy, Gbenga Omotosho say, but shouldn’t Section

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15 (1) of the Lagos traffic reform law, 2018 be upheld? The ban of bikes with less than 200 cc might be justified but what about hail riders like Oride and Gokada with more than 200 cc, are they not safe too? (cc means cubic centimetres, which indicates the amount of gas/how powerful the cylinder of a bike is, the higher the cc, the more powerful a bike, and the safer it is, ceteris paribus).

Could this policy have been executed in a better way? The influx of hail riders like Goakada, Maxokada, Oride and other related services was a great relief to citizens as people prefer to take them ahead of the normal bikes, they have proved effective efficient, and safer than the normal bikes. The government could have given a three to six months ultimatum, mandating all bikes to use helmet, knee shields and other protective measures, bikes could have been registered under a large umbrella at different designated local government to make each bike traceable and easily identifiable in case any is used to perpetuate crime. Tricycles could have been regularised, with stringent laws and consequences whenever rules are flaunted, all these would have eased the pressure of unemployment and still achieve the goal of being safe.

The last few days have been horrendous

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Faith Emmanuel

for commuters and neither the 65 buses nor the potential boats can alleviate the immense pressure bikes and tricycles bear daily. While the government has the lofty dreams of making Lagos a megacity, they should face the harsh reality that Lagos is a continuously growing, incessantly expanding state with multiplier effects at any policy.

From the banning of Alcohol in Cuba in 1920, to the war on drugs in America, every cobra-effect case study started with a good intention but ended up being worse than the initial state. The banning of bikes and tricycles might seem like a step forward however if the last few days are signs of things to come, then the government might have just taken a thousand steps backwards.

Emmanuel Faith is an Associate of Chartered Institute of Personnel Management, and the author of the Selfdevelopment book “Chronicles of an intern”. He can be reached via mail on oluwaponmile.faith@gmaiil.com

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Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Editorial Frank Aigbogun

Nigerian English comes of age

editor Patrick Atuanya

Nigeria must continue to contribute to world civilisation in culture and language

Publisher/Editor-in-chief

DEPUTY EDITOR John Osadolor, Abuja NEWS EDITOR Chuks Oluigbo MANAGING DIRECTOR Dr. Ogho Okiti EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS Fabian Akagha EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STRATEGY, INNOVATION & PARTNERSHIPS Oghenevwoke Ighure ADVERT MANAGER Ijeoma Ude FINANCE MANAGER Emeka Ifeanyi 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)

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

T

o no surprise and popular acclamation, the venerable Oxford English Dictionary (OED) recently added 29 Nigerian expressions to the Oxford English Dictionary.

The OED previously included 57 words of Nigerian origin.

OED affirmed the appeal of Nigerian usages and conditioning of the English language to suit the purposes of citizens. Oxford English Dictionary said that the addition of more Nigerian words reflects Nigeria’s position as one of the world’s biggest English-speaking nations.

The words “rooted in Nigerian experience” that the OED added to the world’s heritage include agric, adj. & n.; barbing salon, n.; buka, n.: bukateria, n.; chop, v./6 and chop-chop, n./2. Others are danfo, n.; to eat money, in eat, v. and ember months, n..

OED nods positively to Nigerian expressions flag-off, n.; to flag off in flag, v.; gist, n./3; gist, v./2 and guber. Kannywood

joins Nollywood in the OED. Other words and expressions include K-leg, n.; mama put, n.; next tomorrow, n. & adv.; non-indigene, adj. & n.

Okada, the subject of much disputation and anguish currently in our commercial capital of Lagos, enters the OED as a noun. There is our quaint expression to put to bed, in put, v. and qualitative, adj.. OED also adds to the dictionary to rub minds (together) in rub, v./1; the Pidgin sef, adv.and our peculiar coinage send-forth, n..

The remaining entries are severally, adv.; tokunbo, adj.; zone, v.and zoning, n.

It is an interesting turn in the relationship between Nigerians and their former colonial overlord Britain, home of the Oxford English Dictionary. Citizens recall earning punishment in school for speaking indigenous languages termed vernacular in efforts to enforce speaking in English language.

Over the years, Nigerians learnt the language then engaged in creative adaptation. Pidgin, the grammar of the masses in the country, is an ex-

ample of such original adaptation.

Nigeria gave notice over 50 years ago of its intention to bend the English language to suit the communication needs of citizens.

Africa’s foremost novelist, the late Chinua Achebe famously declared, “The price a world language must be prepared to pay is submission to many different kinds of use. The African writer should aim to use English in a way that brings out his message best without altering the language to the extent that its value as a medium of international exchange will be lost. Let no one be fooled by the fact that we may write in English for we intend to do unheard-of things with it.”

More recently, world-acclaimed novelist Chimamanda Adichie stated, “My English-speaking is rooted in a Nigerian experience and not in a British or American or Australian one. I have taken ownership of English.” The OED agreed with her, saying, “By taking ownership of English and using it as their own medium of expression, Nigerians have made, and are continuing to make, a unique and

distinctive contribution to English as a global language. We highlight their contributions in this month’s update of the Oxford English Dictionary, as a number of Nigerian English words make it into the dictionary for the first time.”

The Oxford English Dictionary is widely acknowledged to be the most authoritative and comprehensive record of the English language in the world, tracing the evolution and use of more than 600,000 words through three million quotations. Its success led to several offspring projects. They include the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, the Concise Oxford Dictionary, the Pocket Oxford Dictionary of Current English and the New Oxford Dictionary of English.

Some versions recognise country peculiarities such as the New Oxford American Dictionary, the Oxford English-Greek Learner’s Dictionary.

An Oxford English-Nigerian Learner’s Dictionary is within contemplation. Nigeria must continue to contribute to world civilisation in culture and language.

GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (South) Ignatius Chukwu HEAD, HUMAN RESOURCES Adeola Obisesan

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Imo Itsueli Mohammed Hayatudeen Afolabi Oladele Vincent Maduka Opeyemi Agbaje Amina Oyagbola Bolanle Onagoruwa Fola Laoye Chuka Mordi Mezuo Nwuneli Charles Anudu Tunji Adegbesan Eyo Ekpo Wiebe Boer Paul Arinze Boye Olusanya Ayo Gbeleyi Haruna Jalo-Waziri Clement Isong

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Friday 07 February 2020

comment Increase your happiness quotient in 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Tales from the main road

Eugenia Abu

H

appiness is a currency that everyone must try to acquire.

In an increasingly difficult world, happiness seems to elude many persons.

I watch in deep sadness children in IDP camps and immigration camps around the world and I am deeply affected by what they may be going through. I open a tap and it runs in my home, I get to see my children laughing and I wonder how young persons and children are faring at these places that are neither homes nor houses. Shanties, places of sorrow, places of loss and places of terror and unimaginable things. For girls it is rape or sex for food and for boys it is drugs, violence, brutality and yes, rape too.

How does a 12-year-old who has lost her parents cope with her sevenyear-old brother? How do children who are trafficked and have become sex slaves’ deal with any form of happiness? Are they able to find a glim-

mer of happiness? What makes them smile? What does Leah Sharibu do for laughter? After years of captivity, I wonder what makes her smile. This week, I am pondering happiness and how circumstances of life can shut laughter away from the lives of many persons. But how? If we are lucky and not at war or captivity, we can build our own happiness wall.

But what about you? What have you done to increase your happiness quotient? Laughter is good for the soul. How often do you reward yourself with a good laugh? You and I know that a good laughter is healthy but can be difficult to achieve if stressed. We also all know that we often think we are happy but we are actually only obsessing with things that we think translate to happiness; the worship of cars, money, gold and clothes. For those who think these things translate to happiness, note that the more you have, the more you want, it’s never enough. Contentment is a happy state of mind. A walk in the garden. Window shopping.

Time with family. A baby’s toothless smile. A good book, a good movie.

A good sleep. Time out with good friends and you will never guess, dancing.

But some of the greatest happiness killers are meanness, betrayal, wickedness and ill-treating others. A mean spirited person only increases

the toxicity around them. If you make people’s unhappiness your stock in trade, how can you be happy? If you spend all your life being abusive whether is of your children, your wife or your husband, you will end up a sour lemon. Spreading happiness is infectious and some of it is related to choosing a simple life and choosing to be happy irrespective of what life has thrown at you. It can be hard and I know we are humans and so sadness can creep up on us at any time but let’s remember that if we let it persist it becomes chronic unhappiness that can lead to depression.

Trust me; depression is very hard to get rid of. You begin to feel despondent and even a blue bright sky looks dark and stormy.

I know many people who allow other people determine their happiness. Their children, their husband and family members. You must never let anyone hold the key to your happiness, no matter how much you love them. More often than not, once they know, they hold you to ransom. Even your own children. Tell yourself you are wonderfully and fearfully made, you are a unique individual and seek your own happiness because you deserve it. Give yourself a break. Send yourself flowers. Go on a holiday by yourself. Take yourself to dinner. Love yourself. Deliver happiness to your door this 2020.

‘

Happiness is a currency that everyone must try to acquire. In an increasingly difficult world, happiness seems to elude many persons

Walk your dog every morning. Go for a walk. Visit a garden and please don’t rush off. Buy yourself a gift even if it’s worth only 500 naira. Allow strangers to smile at you and smile at strangers. If you are a man, open the door for a lady or hold the door at a mall. You do not have to know the lady. Visit a motherless babies home. Make the time. Cook for all your neighbours. Enjoy the chirping of the birds in the morning. Walk barefoot on a beach.

Remember your first puppy love and smile to yourself about how naïve you were and how your heart was always racing when you saw him or her.

Go back to the first love letter you got.

Share it with your friends and laugh out loud about how stupid it sounds now. Get a massage. Go to a spa. Save to go. It’s worth every dime. Don’t take yourself too seriously; open your heart to love again even if it was broken two years ago. Pray. Wake up early to have a conversation with God at the crack of dawn.

Be silly. Laugh at yourself. Get your happiness hat on.

It’s your life. While this is difficult to do, dream it, plan it and reward yourself. You deserve it. I wish you a truly happy year ahead.

Eugenia Abu is a broadcaster, writer, trainer, band and multimedia strategy expert and media consultant. Contact. abu_eugenia@yahoo.com

The power that we all have in our organisations

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hen you ask your colleagues or employees of your organisation if they desire salary increase, you are likely to get a resounding yes. As an employee, is it wrong to desire an increase in salary or seek for promotion? No, it is not wrong.

The same goes to the CEOs and executives in organisations, they want improved profitability. They want improved results.

The catalyst that will propel both the needs of employees and executives (that is seeking for more money or promotions and increased profitability) is not by mere wishing. It is not by having a compelling vision statement; it is not by wishful thinking; it is not by trying to outdo your competitors or investing so much in one form of organisational transformation or the other. The catalyst is propelled when every employee decides to go the extra mile for the customers and for the organisation.

Years back, during one of my programs, one officer said to me, Sir, but I do my work very well, that means that I have gone the extra mile. I responded to him by saying No, you have not gone the extra mile for your organisation. You have just done the least that is expected of you. The confusion here is that some employees thought that doing their assignments or task well means that they are going the extra mile.

At the first instance, employees were employed to do their assignments well. When you do as a staff, you have just achieved an average mark. The danger here is that no organisation anywhere in the world can achieve sterling or superlative results with just an average performance. They will end up having average or less than average

results and this will not bring the desired increase in pay that employees want or the increased profitability that executives or board members yearn for. Then who is to be blamed? The real growth comes when expectations are exceeded and not when an average or basic result is met - and this is the reality of the business world.

Going the extra mile means doing more than is required from you. It starts when you decide to make a difference in your workplace. Over the years, I have been a proponent of the following: don’t just do what you do, don’t just go to work, don’t just serve customers, but make a difference while doing what you do, while working for your organisation, and finally while serving the customer. With the challenges businesses and organisations are facing today, it will be more difficult to grow profitability by serving the customers with the basis (remember, everyone is giving the basis). The customers need more than that, and any organisation that can give them more will be their preferred.

Spending time and resources to win customers over is one, going the extra mile for them and making a difference in their lives take the business to the next level.

Indeed, making a difference in the lives of our customers should be part of our daily culture - no one is exempted from doing it.

The true-life story of someone I know is an example of what going the extra mile can do for an organisation. Despite being an operation staff in his bank, he went all out to talk to someone that his CEO was not able to win over to their bank. He knew the customer on one on one basis - they also attend the same church (my friend www.businessday.ng

was the leader in their group). One day, it occurred to him to talk to this man (whom he did not know that his CEO has been fruitlessly trying to win over). In less than ten minutes discussions with the prospect, he won the customer over to the bank.

Remember, the CEO tried to win him over but did not succeed, but someone who was not in sales (who do not even have a monthly or yearly defined financial targets to achieve), but went the extra mile was able to achieve what the CEO could not achieve. What my friend did was a clear example of what we can do individually to help our organisation achieve its goals.

As a matter of fact, some non-sales people may even have contacts of some people that can change the fortunes of their organisations, but because they are not in sales, would not want to go the extra mile.

Like my friend did for his organisation, in what way can you move the needle a bit for your own organisation?

Points to ponder in your organisation We do not have the growth of our organisation in mind when we have the power to bring more businesses or introduce better ways of doing things - but simply because we were not in the unit or department responsible for those things, we decide to bury our contributions.

We should not just do things for the customers for doing sake; we MUST make a difference while serving the customers all the time.

To have enduring results across board, employees should always focus on doing more for the customer.

Going the extra mile is always less stressful but comes after a decision to

https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

Uju Onwuzulike

make a difference in all you do.

Finally, being below average or just average would not make one exceptional.

When we have “exceeded expectations,” even before the promotions or the rewards, we are happy for ourselves. But exceeding one’s target comes with a price – doing more than is required from you “happily”. When you do, you will be happy with yourself, your organisation, and will be celebrated. And above all, “you will be the one that made a difference”!

On the part of the organisation too, a policy for recognising and rewarding everyone who has gone the extra mile must be in place and seen by all.

Remember, you may not have control over so many things in your organisation, but you have one power which no one can take away from you – and that is the power to go the extra mile regardless of any circumstance.

Interestingly, everyone has that power to make a difference!

Be a difference maker!

As always, I welcome your comments, questions or requests.

Your trusted advisor.

Onwuzulike is Nigeria’s leading authority on Systems Thinking and Strategic Management.

He can be reached on 09091142093 or uju.onwuzulike@ mclgroup.net.

@Businessdayng

14

Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

cityfile NAPTIP nabs childless buyer of baby TEMITAYO AYETOTO, Lagos

T Inferno at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Ayede Sub Region in Akinyemi Area of Ibadan.

NAN

‘Improved trafic flow will translate to better economic output for residents, businesses’ JOSHUA BASSEY

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n the belief that improvement in traffic flow and reduction in travel time will translate to increased productivity and better economic output for the residents and businesses, the Lagos government has strengthened the operations Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) with additional 10,17 newly recruited officers.

At the induction of the new officers on Wednesday, the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said part of the strategies to realise his administration’s traffic and transportation blueprint is to continuously scale up the capability of LASTMA to discharge its mandate, just as he tasked them to shun corrupt practices.

“Based on the responsibility you have accepted to do on behalf of the state government, I want you all

to be best crop of traffic officers in history of LASTMA. You have been trained and prepared to be the new face of LASTMA that will help my administration to realise its transportation and traffic management programmes,” said Sanwo-Olu. The governor restated commitment to boost the resourcefulness of LASTMA personnel at all levels, recalling that his administration in 2019 doubled welfare packages of the officers to motivate them for optimised performance, as the agency continues to expand in scope and operations.

“The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority was established 20 years ago to tackle traffic congestion and ensure hitch-free flow of traffic on our roads. Since inception, so much has happened and Lagos has grown in leaps and bounds. Human and vehicular population has increased tremendously.

“In managing this growth,

activities of LASTMA have been a constant feature on the landscape, adapting and evolving to contain the increasing challenges of traffic management across the state.

The leadership of LASTMA has invested hard work and resourcefulness over the years in implementing the founding vision of the agency for the development of Lagos.

“Therefore, I congratulate all the 1,017 graduating cadets for successfully undergoing the rigorous training which has been designed to put them in the physical, mental and psychological state required for the job. Your recruitment must been seen as an opportunity to serve and contribute to the economic development of Lagos, because of the importance of your daily responsibilities to the economic productivity and prosperity of the state,” he said.

The governor at the occasion reiterated his administration’s policy of zero tolerance for indolence among the officers, urging them not to

leave room for the public to doubt their honest, integrity and commitment to efficient traffic management.

“Our administration remains intolerant to corrupt practices and harassment of law-abiding residents of the state. As you have been commissioned today as traffic management officers, you have become public servants and you must steer clear of corruption, which is not limited to extortion or financial malfeasance. Indiscipline, abuse of office, or harassment of citizens will be frowned upon, and necessary and decisive action will be taken against any and all defaulters.”

The general manager of LASTMA, Olajide Oduyoye, who said Sanwo-Olu made history by becoming the first governor to attend induction of new officers, also charged the new officers to be diligent in the discharge of their responsibility. He reminded them that Lagosians expected more from them.

Industrial Court voids dismissal of army officer ... orders payment of entitlements from 2016 FELIX OMOHOMHION, Abuja

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he National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja has upturned the compulsory retirement of a serving army colonel, Mohammed Auwal Suleman.

The Nigerian Army Council had in June 2016 dismissed 38 officers on alleged offences, bordering on various infractions.

But the court in a judgment on Wednesday voided

and set aside the dismissal of Suleiman, one of the dismissed officers.

The Industrial Court ordered the Nigerian Army Council to immediately reinstate Suleiman to the position he was in 2016 when the purported compulsory retirement was carried.

In addition, the court ordered the Army Council to effect his due promotion, pay all his salaries and emoluments due to him from 2016 till date.

Justice Sanusi Kado held www.businessday.ng

that the disengagement of Suleiman by the Nigerian Army vied a letter of compulsory retirement in 2016, was ultra vires, illegal, unlawful, null and void.

Suleiman had approached the court to challenge his unlawful dismissal from service on grounds that the army did not follow laid down procedure before relieving him of his service.

Delivering judgment in the suit number NICN/ ABJ/315/16, the judge held

that it was not at the behest of the army to hire and fire, adding that once an employment enjoys statutory flavour, appropriate steps in line with the law governing that employment must be taking to bring such relationship to an end.

Justice Kado said that having not followed its own rules and guidelines of employment, the action of the army in retiring the claimant is unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect.

https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

he National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has arrested a childless woman for purchasing the son of a mentally challenged lady at N350,000 under an illegal adoption plan.

The baby boy was less than a month old when he was transferred to the 45-year-old woman through a link arranged by her pastor’s wife.

Two sisters of the unstable mother were allegedly complicit in the sale as they assured the pastor’s wife of getting the baby upon delivery, arguing that the child would suffer in the hands of such a mother.

But the N350,000 was not overtly named a payment for the child. The desperate woman seeking the child described it as a gift to help the mother get proper treatment at a hospital, which didn’t happen since the mother ran away with the money.

Limited information was allowed about the actors in this crime as Daniel Atokolo, NAPTIP Lagos commander, at a media conference said the matter was currently facing litigation in court.

The baby buyer had for many years been troubled by childlessness. Her marriage, she said, was shattering before her as she faced a barrage of stigmatisation and mockery from people around her.

She got desperate and decided to ‘adopt’ a baby. Laws in Nigeria require that an adoptive parent must first obtain temporary custody of the child through court processes. The Child’s Right Act, 2003 states that an application for adoption is made to the High Court accompanied with the documents showing information such as where the applicant is a married couple and a medical certificate of the fitness of the applicant from a Government hospital. But this was not the case.

“I’ve been in marriage for over 10 years. I have tried things medically to see how

I can conceive. My marriage is broken, no peace and suffering I didn’t know what else to do. I’m getting aged and I need someone to be around me,” the buyer explained.

I called this my friend to help me get a child I can adopt and train as a child. She called me in November 2019, she told me about the unstable mother that was pregnant. I bought baby materials to prepare for the birth in January. I did a treatment to make me look pregnant. My husband d is not aware. I just told him I gave birth.”

The biological father of the child was unknown, while the unstable mother was at large.

The matter came under the hammer of NAPTIP when a brother of the unstable mother made a report, after suspecting that the wife of the pastor who connected the family to the buyer was denying them interaction with the child.

Child sale has become an internal trafficking menace quietly run in Nigeria. With the proliferation of secret baby factories and a ready market of barren people seeking a child to call theirs, dishonest people are building moneyspinning ventures from infant trafficking.

“The illegal avenues also avail unscrupulous elements the opportunity to exploit both helpless young women and their young infants even for ungodly activities such as rituals,” Atokolo said.

Besides exposing the baby sale scheme, the agency also repatriated, Kikelomo Olayide, a 34-year old lady who was trafficked to Lebanon by a 54-year old Lebanese National resident in Lagos.

Under the guise of $200 salary as a caregiver to his aged mother, the Lebanese reportedly handed her to an agent who delivered her to a family as a domestic servant.

Olayide said she was exploited, sexually harassed and asked to facilitate to her replacement from Nigeria when she tried to quit. Olayide’s husband in Nigeria sought the help of NAPTIP for her return.

Oyo seeks end to noise pollution REMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan

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yo State government has frowned at increasing noise pollution in the state, warning the residents to comply with the state’s environmental regulations or face the wrath of the law.

The commissioner of environment and natural resources, Kehinde Ayoola, in a statement made available to the media, said the warning has become imperative, as noise pollution impacts negatively on human mental and physical health.

According to Ayoola, failure to comply may cause @Businessdayng

unending friction among parties involved, thereby causing conflict in the society.

“Adequate compliance would help to foster better working relationship and conducive environment without confrontation and friction involving the parties”, he said.

Against this background, the state government has mandated all block industry owners, night clubs, patent medicine sellers, churches, mosques, musical vendors, street dancers to reduce their noise to permissible level that in compliance with existing laws of the state.

Hesitation to abide by this law, as failure would attract penalties.

Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES & MARKETS

15

Company news analysis insight

Healthcare

GSK’s Q4 revenue surges 12.8% reveal plans to split into two companies OLUFIKAYO OWOEYE

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onsumer healthcare company, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Nigeria Plc’s 2019 full-year revenue increased 12.8percent to N20.78bn from N18.41bn. The company’s cost of sales surged 20.5percent to N15.05bn from N12.48bn leaving gross profit at N5.73bn from N5.92bn.

Selling and distribution expenses jumped 7.4perc e nt t o N 3 . 2 8 b n f ro m N3.1bn while Administrative expenses dropped to N1.92bn from N2.24bn.

Profit Before Tax for the period stood at N605million from N617million.

Revenue from consumer healthcare segment which consists of oral care, over-the-counter (OTC) medicines and nutritional healthcare; stood at N6.27bn from N6.45bn, the segment also recorded a

profit of N214million from a loss of N255million in 2018.

Revenue from Pharmaceuticals segment consisting of antibacterial, vaccines and prescription drugs, stood N14.50bn from N11.95bn

Preparing for two new companies The GSK UK, its parent company announced a twoyear separation programme to split GSK into two companies new GSK, a biopharma company with an R&D approach focused on science related to the immune system, use of genetics and new technologies; and a new leader in Consumer Healthcare.

According to the management, the program targets the delivery of £0.7 billion of annual savings by 2022 with total costs estimated at £2.4 billion (of which £1.6 billion cash).

The Programme expected to deliver improved operating performance, with

meaningful improvements from 2022.

Anticipated divestment proceeds largely expected to cover programme cash cost.

With additional one-time costs to prepare Consumer Healthcare for separation estimated at £600-700 million.

Emma Walmsley, Chief Executive Officer, GSK said the company has made excellent progress in all three of its long-term priorities:

Innovation, Performance, and Trust strengthening pipeline, improving operational execution and reshaping the company.

L-R: Tendai Kevin Zhou (Zimbabwe), Debra Jane (Ghana), Sylvia Bosinger (Germany), Funke Bucknor-Obruthe (Nigeria), Mwai Yeboah (Zambia), Bryan Whitechalk (Ghana) during a panel discussion at The Event Xperience Africa 2020

Financial services

FCMB shares gain for first time in two weeks as group announce N17bn 2019 profit ...bank rolls out interest-free loans in Ogun to empower businesswomen SEGUN ADAMS & RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta

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hares of FCMB rose for the first time in nine trading sessions on Wednesday, after the financial services Group announced about 19 percent growth in profit to N17.72bn for 2019 business year.

The financial institution’s shares rose 2.21 percent to N1.85 a unit, lifting year’s return of FCMB to zero percent from previous negative territory.

FCMB shares last gained on January 23rd, when it moved 2.56 percent higher to N2 per share.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) extended its bear-run to the eighth-straight trading session with year’s biggest loss of 1.19 percent paring 2020 return to 4.66 percent.

Oil and Gas stocks were the biggest losers by sector while Conoil, Nascon and Mobil led the losers’ chart.

For FCMB in 2019, gross earnings growth picked up to 5.32 percent (at N186.68bn) from 4.34 percent in 2018,

unaudited company financials show.

The group grew its net interest and discount income by 6.49 percent to N77.29bn.

This follow e d a 7.3 percent growth in interest and discount income to N141.28bn which was outpaced by a 8.3 percent increase in interest expense to N63.99bn.

Net fees and commission income declined by 3.94 percent to N20.76bn last year owing to a 42.32 percent increase in fees and commission expenses while income from that segment rose 6.6 percent.

Net trading income for FCMB rose 11 percent to N6.9bn and net impairment loss on financial assets plunged 34 percent to support the performance of the group.

Personnel expenses rose 14 percent in the year, general and administrative expenses inched higher by 7.48 percent and other operating expense rose 10.82 percent year-on-year in 2019.

FCMB noted an 8.48 increase in profit before tax, but lower tax expense

pushed profit after tax higher by 18.36 percent to N17.72bn.

Consequently, Earnings Per Share (EPS) rose by 19 percent to N0.89 per share.

Total comprehensive income however rose 29.03 percent to N21.75bn in the year.

Net loans and advances to customers rose 13 percent to N717bn in 2019 while total

deposits from customers rose 16 percent to N953.7bn.

Earlier in the week, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited, launched interest-free credit facilities in Ogun state where 40 businesswomen will be empowered with interest-free loans on a quarterly basis as part of efforts to boost economic activities, especially among the operators

of micro, small and mediumsized enterprises in the state and Southwest.

BusinessDay reports that FCMB stretches its credit coverage and credit bouquets to Ogun state by partnering the Office of the First Lady with a view to empowering and improving business women’s knowledge, capacity, skills and prerequisites that could help busi-

L-R: Ogaga Ologe, finance director; Yimika Adeboye, managing director; Atif Meraj, director, category planning and operation, and Akin Fajembimo, national sales manager, all of Cadbury West Africa, at the unveiling of the new Tom Tom Freshlime candy in Lagos, yesterday.

Pic by Olawale Amoo

nesses grow, having reached out to over 2,000 women businesses in the last one year, across the states of the country.

Speaking at a bilateral mentorship program tagged, “She Ventures”, organised

by Ogun state government and FCMB in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun state on Wednesday, Bukola Smith, executive director, Business Development, FCMB, said that the training program which has the theme: “Supporting Women Businesses to Scale Up in 2020”, is one of the several empowerment programs devised by FCMB to boost MSME activities and stimulate the economy.

Smith, who highlighted some benefits of “She Ventures” which include zero percent -interest business loans for the 40 business women at every three months in addition to regular crediting; training and mentorship programs; networking opportunities; three months free banking, among others, noted that the soft loans are a game-changer initiative established to empower women folks.

16

Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES&MARKETS

Business Event

Technology

Inlaks expands ICT infrastructure operation into East Africa Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson

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eadquartered in Nigeria, Inlaks, an information technology systems integrator specialised in the deployment of dynamic and highly scalable ICT infrastructure solutions, commercial and resource planning software, has expanded its operations into East Africa. The new regional branch is currently situated in Nairobi, Kenya.

Inlaks has been, since establishment, a driver of technology advancement in several regions across Africa.

Through profitable investments in growing technology trends like fintech, insurtech and agency banking, the technology solutions provider has gained presence in Ghana, Kenya, Gambia,

Guinea, Sierra Leone, Cameroun, Ethiopia and Nigeria.

In response to increased demand for technologyenabled and self service financial operations in Africa, Inlaks has established a regional branch in East Africa to provide the additional capacity required for its anticipated business growth in that region.

Femi Adeoti, MD/CEO, Inlaks Africa operations said; “This is another call for Inlaks to add value to relevant sectors in East Africa. Apart from employment opportunities opened to skilled population in the region, we never retract our commitment to serve the African community to the best of our capacity. Our vision remains to be the foremost ICT and infrastructure service provider in Sub-Saharan Africa.

We look forward to establish-

ing more regional branches in other locations in Africa”.

Edna Kirmuwa, country general manager, East Africa said; “With a wellestablished operation in Nairobi, it would be easier to extend our services to neighbouring countries. As a major distributor of Hyosung ATM brands and Temenos banking software in Africa, our base in Kenya would definitely yield an exponential growth and a remarkable digital transformation for financial organisations we service.

“As of today, Inlaks has also sealed deals on data centre infrastructure management solutions with top organisations in Ethiopia and Kenya. Operations in Nairobi will uphold the brand’s reputation of providing services that satisfy clients’ demands,” he said.

L- R: Ruth Okoli, captain, Lead -Forte Gate College, Lekki; Suleiman Yusuf, captain, Anwar-ul- Islam Model College, Agege; Jide Sipe, corporate communications and external affair, GTBank; Chichi Ikonta, corporate communications and external affairs, GTBank, and Jubril Azeez, captain, Greensprings School, Lekki, at the Semifinals of the GTBank Masters Cup Season 9 held at Campos Mini Stadium in Lagos.

Pic by Olawale Amoo

Real Estate

Eko Development Company makes history with Azuri Towers …holds record as tallest residential building in West Africa ENDURANCE OKAFOR

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ko Development Company Ltd, the real estate firm behind Eko Atlantic city has announced that the soon to be completed Azuri Towers is the tallest residential building in Nigeria and West Africa.

Azuri Towers; a large mass development comprising of three towers- office tower and two residential towers attained the new record with one of the residential towers, the Azuri One with 33 floors and a height of 146 metres.

“Azuri One is today, the tallest residential tower in Nigeria and the tallest in West Africa. It is the only the second tallest residential tower in Africa after the one in South Africa,” Olawale Opayinka, MD/CEO, Eko Development Company told BusinessDay. Describing the iconic building which is located in the most dynamic area of Eko Atlantic City, the Marina; one of the waterways into Eko Atlantic expected to draw many visitors into the city itself, the developers said in Azuri Towers we will have 130 families living in the two residential towers.

“We have 27 floors of office apartment and that is 27,000 square metre of office space, we’ll have a shopping mall in the first two floors that will cater for the immediate needs of the residents,” Opayinka said during a media tour of the tower.

The dynamic twenty-fifthcentury metropolis, which will benefit from internation-

al-standard facilities including modern hospitals, new school, and contemporary offices, will be a world-class safe environment in which to live, work and play, as assured by the company.

As one of the real estate projects in Eko Atlantic city, Azuri Towers is covered by the benefits from the City which is being built on 10 million square metres beside the Atlantic Ocean.

Destined to be West Africa’s new financial centre, Eko Atlantic, Lagos’ ambitious multi-billion dollar new city is both reliable and secure. Eko Atlantic’s state of the art infrastructure, including its water-processing plant (providing potable tap water) and modern utility systems (all under one management company), guarantees an exceptionally comfortable lifestyle.

“Azuri Towers, our leading world-class development is part of a long-term programme to create outstanding homes with luxurious living. An investment in the Azuri Towers’ apartments for which projects a rental yield of 7 perecnt per annum with full occupancy represents an ideal option to preserve the value of hard-earned savings,” Opayinka said.

With a starting price of N280 million, Azuri Towers, has an environmentallyfriendly transport system, including a modern motorway, up-to-date ferry service and helicopter service linking the city of Lagos, will ensure the Eko Atlantic is the best-

connected city in West Africa, the Eko Development Company assured.

According to Opayinka, each apartment in Azuri is dedicated to luxury with only the finest quality materials being used. “All are equipped with the latest high-end appliances which range from District Cooling air conditioning to broadband (which is also provided throughout the entire city).”

The residential arms of Azuri offer forty luxury three-bedroom apartments, forty luxury four-bedroom apartment and four luxury six-bedroom simplexes ( penthouse). The beautifully proportioned spaces and large windows create light and airy room for relaxed and entertaining. Also, the games rooms offer a variety of sport, a screening room, children’s room and delightful playground which are all part of the abundant amenities.

Eko Development is a real estate development company dedicated to creating luxury residences of the highest specification.

Eko Development has formed a partnership with ITB Nigeria Ltd, one of Nigeria’s leading building and civil engineering companies.

The company has created numerous landmark projects in Nigeria including the National Assembly complex-Abuja, Karamo Beach Residences-Victoria Island, Kings Tower-Ikoyi, Heritage Place-Ikoyi and the Eko Hotel Expo centre victoria Island, all in Lagos.

L-R: Yetunde Daramola; Tony Agah, gateway plant manager, International Breweries (IB) Plc; Teresa Umeakunne, compliance manager, IB Plc; Michael Daramola, legal and corporate affairs director, IB Plc; Temitope Oguntokun, country lead, sustainability and stakeholder engagement, IB Plc, and Somtochukwu Obinna-Njoku, communications specialist, IB Plc., at the presentation of the Best Company in the Provision of Clean and Affordable Energy Award to International Breweries Plc. by SERAS CSR Award Africa in Lagos

L-R: Richard Horton, commercial director, eCommerce, Kortext Limited; Adeolu Adenuga, director, business development, Universal Bipolar Consults Limited; Adewole Afolabi, managing partner, and Jeremy Duckworth, chief financial officer, Kortext, during British Educational Training and Technology Show, in ExCel, London.

L-R: Tolulope Olaoye, category brand manager; Ifeoma Chuks Adizue, senior category manager, cocoa beverage, Cadbury West Africa; Ejiro Akinyomi, head of administration, MONA SCHOOL (1st Prize Winner); Oyeyimika Adeboye, managing director, Cadbury West Africa, and Frederick Mordi, corporate communication and government affairs manager, Cadbury West Africa, at the prize presentation to winners of the BournFactor School Talent Competition in Lagos.

Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

17

AgriBusinessInsight Market Insights

Analysis

Commentaries

Experts/Industry Views

Commodities watch

Policy Reviews

Send in Commentaries to caleb.ojewale@businessdayonline.com

Should violent clashes resume before herders, farmers’ debacle is fixed?

Stories by CALEB OJEWALE Twiiter: @calebtinolu

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t would appear there is relative calm in farming communities, as violent clashes between cattle herders and crop farmers have either reduced significantly or simply not making it to the news cycle.

However, as experts have said over time, lasting solutions need to be put in place to ensure the two sides, who are both farmers anyway, can thrive without one side threatening survival of the other.

Persistent violence between farmers and pastoralists (popularly called herdsmen) in Nigeria has contributed to more than 7,000 deaths in the past five years and costs the Nigerian economy $13 billion every year. Communities in the Middle Belt that once cooperated over natural resources are competing for increasingly scarce land and water as climate change intensifies, sparking migration further south in search of available resources. Underdevelopment and poor governance further contribute to a breakdown in traditional agreements, and farmer and pastoralist communities are fast becoming polarized as clashes take on religious and ethnic overtones, according to a 2019 report by Mercy Corps.

Another report in 2017 by the International Crisis Group also noted that escalating conflicts between herders and farmers are among Nigeria’s most pressing security challenges. This could potentially generate bloodshed on an even wider scale unless President Buhari’s government makes ending this violence a national priority.

The herdsmen-farmers violence generated very heated discourse up until this time last year, with a lot of anger being expressed at the loss of lives and property.

More important has been the need

to map out innovative, feasible alternatives in the cattle business.

It had been stressed in several fora that cattle rearing needs to become a business, one driven by the private sector, and not by the government setting up ranches (in whatever guise).

The debate over the best approach to this crisis appeared to have gone silent in the weeks leading to the 2019 general elections, but the problem surely has not been solved and needs to be addressed before rearing its ugly head again.

Apart from the Federal Government, the ICG report further stated that state governments also need to formulate and implement steps to address the needs and grievances of all sides transparently and equitably. Strengthening law enforcement, supporting local conflict prevention and resolution mechanisms, establishing and protecting grazing reserves would all make a significant and immedi-

ate difference. In the longer term, the greater challenge will be curbing the arms influx and, crucially, addressing the environmental trends that are forcing herders south. Failure would spell greater danger for a country already battling other severe security challenges and, potentially, for the wider West and Central African region.

Nigeria has been estimated to have 19 million cattle herds, which on a conservative estimation of N100, 000 per cattle translates to N1.9 trillion. This figure has not changed for some years and it is unclear how much or less the true figure could be. The cattle market is nevertheless filled with immense potential, not only for beef but also dairy production.

It has been observed that Nigeria mostly imports cattle from other countries for local consumption as locally bred herds are unable to meet consumption needs.

70 percent of the cattle business

in Nigeria is said to rely on herd being brought from; Cameroun, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and even Benin Republic.

Akinwumi Adesina, former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, had projected an increase in beef consumption in the country from 360,000 tonnes pre-2015 to 1.3 million tonnes by 2050.

Lagos alone, according to Akinwunmi Ambode, former governor of Lagos state, is consumes 6,000 herds of cattle daily, which may increase to 8,000 around 202, translating to present consumption of 2.19 million cattle annually in the state.

As demand for cattle products increase, the need for more cattle to be reared will equally increase.

With it is likely continuation of the cycle of violence, unless a definite national strategy is implemented to make the industry thrive as a business, such that each person involved should be willing to

invest in it, to keep the cattle in safe enclosures and produce feed for them.

The decision by herdsmen to migrate in search of greener pastures has often been described as counterproductive. The north south movement, and later the south north movement in search of pasture, consistently leads to losing whatever weight has been gained during grazing periods.

In the dry season, cattle could potentially lose as much as 50 percent of their weight, if there is no adequate feeding.

“Within the confines of the ranch, the animals can be sustained. You will be sure you can get feed and water for them, providing all these within the ranch. That then will minimise the movement outside the ranch in search of water and feed, in the course of which destruction of farmlands and communal clashes occur,” Chryss Onwuka, a professor of ruminant animal nutrition told BusinessDay in a previous interview.

Cattle in ranches can be fed through three major methods, the continuous grazing, where cows are in the same paddock for the whole grazing season; rotational grazing where cows are rotated around several pastures, usually on a set rotation; and lastly, the Management Intensive Grazing (MIG), where cows are moved to a new paddock only when it has fully re-grown.

Feeding for the cattle has been a contentious issue, which even prompted a comment by Audu Ogbeh, former minister of agriculture, that the federal government wanted to import grasses for pasture cultivation in the country.

That, like several other planned interventions, laudable or laughable, now appear to have become forgotten discussions the country needs to have in mapping out a solution, and quickly too.

29 countries to exhibit at agrofood & plastprintpack fair in Lagos

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he latest technologies in food production, processing and packaging are to be displayed next month when the agrofood & plastprintpack fair holds in Lagos, giving local companies an opportunity to acquire the latest equipment to enhance their businesses.

Now in its sixth year, organisers say the fair has been organised in Nigeria as part of a strategy to contribute towards reduction of food imports, and helping local food producers to optimise their operations in ways that will see them deliver optimal value.

“We think Nigeria is capable of feeding itself, so we bring the latest technology from all over the world,” said Paul März, managing director of fair-trade which organises the annual trade show.

This year, he says companies from 29 countries will be participating at the tradeshow, coming to deliver equipment for agriculture, food-processing machinery, and packaging machinery, for products that will be made in Nigeria at very high quality and standards.

Asked how issues of financing will be addressed, in view of difficulties in accessing foreign www.businessday.ng

exchange, Marz explained, “many of the exhibiting companies are bringing financing possibilities portfolio, and then we bring local banks, expected to provide funds specifically for this.”

“Financing is a key issue and the exhibitors are addressing this along with partners from the bank,” he said, adding that some of the exhibitors will be selling in Naira.

Scheduled for 24 to 26 March 2020 at the Landmark Centre, Lagos, the agrofood & plastprintpack Nigeria 2020 will again be supplemented by a 3-day program, covering discussions across

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several themes.

The tradeshow, organisers say is a platform for valuable business contacts. Exhibitors with already confirmed participation come from countries including; Austria, Benin, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Lebanon, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Tunisia, UAE and Ukraine.

China, Belgium, Germany and Italy will be having official national pavilions, as recorded in some of the previous editions.

While the conference has pack@Businessdayng

aging technology as one of its focus areas, there are concerns on environmental sustainability.

Addressing this, Marz told BusinessDay “many exhibitors are now shifting from plastic to paper, and introducing schemes to collect and recycle plastics.”

This he says is one of the key topics to be discussed during the conference emphasising “the key is to attach higher value to plastics, because as soon as plastic has higher value, people will collect and return it (for recycling), as seen to be working in a few other countries.”

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Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

INTERVIEW

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‘Technology, Entrepreneurship and Innovation (TEI) will play a huge role in uplifting Nigerians’ productive potential’ BRIGHT SIMONS is the president of mPedigree, a social enterprise working on three continents in partnership with governments, Fortune 500 companies and grassroots organisations to promote innovative technologies, from sensors to software, in health & food security, transparency and governance. In this interview with KEMI AJUMOBI, he shares on the importance of data integration and how Nigeria and Africa as a whole cannot afford to lag behind. Excerpts How important is data integration in African businesses? here is an erroneous impression that datadriven decision-making in Africa is a luxury or a distraction due to the constant uncertainty, low availability of trained talent, and the “primacy of the mundane”, i.e. the sheer number of “basic blocks” a business has to clear on an hourly basis just to stay in business.

This is not a sound way to look at things. I see many instances where data-driven decision-making is not only directly relevant to the bottom-line but also critical to survival. Take inventory forecasting for instance. How often have people not gone into a clothing retail outlet to find that all the clothing are of one size, and not the right size for them alas! That’s a classic case of businesses not being able to use historical data to plan demand properly. Even the long service wait times most people complain about is often due to weak demand forecasting.

So, whilst I argue in my CGD paper (A Farewell to Disruption in a Post-Platform World) that many businesses in the West are increasingly struggling to harness data due to fragmentation (data being splintered across many control points), and most of the low hanging fruits having already been plucked, in Africa, there are still many elementary opportunities that we are not really taking advantage of. Especially considering that data-driven decision-making can pay for itself in the short-term.

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African countries are fast embracing the importance of data and making regulations to that effect. What is it about Artificial Intelligence (AI) that they need to embrace speedily and what do they stand to gain?

I see some great developments in the banking sector in Morocco. Due to huge pressures on profit margins, the South African mining sector is starting to seriously embrace data science. Renewable energy virtual grids in Kenya (such as “pay as you go solar”) have always believed that data is salvation. So, the usual bright spots. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of national-scale success stories on the continent.

AI, at this point of its development, is largely statistical and highly reliant on the efficiency of data flows and ease of consolidation. The only sector in Africa that is attaining the degree of interoperability necessary for AI to start having a serious impact is the financial services sector. As always, there are

low hanging fruits for places like Africa to emphasise. Credit scoring and credit risk management are obvious choices though once those early gains have been creamed the obstacles to generate more marginal value are formidable. At the current state of business ecosystem design around the world, diminishing returns set in faster than one would assume when it comes to AI because the protocols to allow data from truly diverse sources to converge within AI applications are still being built. A lot of AI is thus incomplete AI, and incomplete AI is problematic. Remember the old saying: a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

Using Nigeria as an example, how beneficial can AI be to a highly populated country with enormous advantages and opportunities, using their available resources to buttress your claim?

Government influence on industry design in a place like Nigeria is far stronger than in a place like the US or most European states. Government seriously has capacity to influence interoperability and crossportability standards, protocols, and frameworks across major vanguard industries like financial services and modern retail. The ability to get to more complete versions of AI in areas like credit risk assessment and predictive sales planning is much more pronounced. Even better, government agencies can be brought into these “honeycombs”, as I call them. Nigeria can weave more complex tapestries of publicprivate technology platforms than is possible in the West because the private sector genuinely looks to government for forward-looking intellectual leadership. This is far from the case in the West.

How important is it for governments to create enabling environments that can inspire local businesses to be efficient and productively inventive?

Right now, “enabling environment” means very specific things.

No more abstract macroeconomic jargon and broad targets for inflation, exchange rate depreciation and interest rates. I am not saying that these are not important. They are but they have become minimal standards internationally. The focus is back again on “infrastructural scene-setting” and “institutional quality”, but the notions of what we mean by “institutions” and “infrastructure” have become more eclectic. Folks want government to create innovative infrastructure coupled with innovative institutions. Mostly prototypes. And the www.businessday.ng

industries where digitisation is failing to seriously deepen productivity. Education, health, agriculture, and even energy and transport. Attempts by pioneer companies like Uber to force convergence have so far seen generally lacklustre results and undermined their profitability and thus capacity to enforce hegemony. This is a worldwide trend.

And it is a trend that actually gives Africa some breathing space to make a mark in some of the laggard industries. As I argue in my CGD paper, instead of convergence we got “hyper-integration”. A more viscous/friction-fraught type of convergence. It has saved African industries from becoming mere outposts of Western digital hegemony. But only for a while, and only if African leaders are smart enough not to miss the latest boat.

Bright Simons

primary purpose is to enable individuals and companies to learn and unlearn fast. So, whereas in the past, it was all about how to build institutions and infrastructure to enable stability, citizens now want to get to a point where they can take

‘ Government seriously has capacity to influence interoperability and cross-portability standards, protocols, and frameworks across major vanguard industries like financial services and modern retail

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stability for granted so that they can judge governments on the real deal: how creatively they can layer on top of the stability new mechanisms for learning fast. For example, right now, digital capabilities are moving too fast for traditional thinking about educational policy, even by competent technocrats, can catch up. Prototypical systems are required to reinvent credentialing and rethink curriculum design and delivery. This is partly because even more of the talent and skill tooling shall happen within work settings than within school settings.

A government that cannot test new ways of creating portability across academic and out-of-school certification isn’t worth anyone’s time.

What is your take on disruption and disruptive innovation? What is your attitude to both and why?

How does your approach positively benefit Africans?

I can sum up the current chief megatrend in technology innovation as follows: everything is weaving together, but the joints are not seamless. Data sources are more @Businessdayng

fragmented than ever before and the data itself is more heterogenous than ever because a very broad variety of entities are now generating data that impact on the accuracy and utility of data held and used by other entities. The broad span of modern technology systems can be simplified along three dimensions: data, algorithms and integrations. Algorithms are generally more persistent (they are useful for longer stretches of time) whilst data has become increasingly very transient because data utility degrades very rapidly. But algorithms are also getting super specialised as we learn to do more and more previously manual stuff with more technology. This has made “integrations” the most important factor in techno-business today because it is how more and more algorithms can be efficiently connected to fresher and more varied data streams rather than the algorithms and data on their own that dictates value creation. This process is reducing the power of single companies to make radical breakthroughs and to disrupt the status quo as at any one time an innovator needs more consensus than ever before to change the system. My thesis in the CGD paper is that, this has made “disruption” far less attractive to top innovators than “smart alignment”. At the same time, it has

blocked many of the “disruption paths” available to underdogs to rise to the top.

Because the African innovation sector is made up primarily of underdogs, the picture has actually worsened for Africa’s ability to utilise innovation to break out of its global marginalisation unless we create special infrastructure that reduces the burden on individual innovators in connecting powerful new algorithms to rich, emerging, data sources in order to build critical solutions in sectors such as health, education, energy, and tourism which are still relatively open for the taking because they have yet to be colonised by the platform megatrend dominated by the West.

What is your opinion on the convergence trend. Would you say the economics of different industries especially in Africa are not necessarily converging?

“Convergence” did not really happen in the way that was anticipated. The initial hope was for technologies to become so multifunctional that they spread uniformly across all industries and reshape their fundamental economies to fuse their impact. What we have seen is, indeed, greater connections among industries but without their fundamental economics really converging by as much. There are still laggard

Share on integration inflation and its influence on Africa as a whole To recap: “integration inflation” refers to the situation where technology-enabled products and services need more and more connectivity to other parties’ products and services in order to deliver value. The result is an increase in cost, time and friction needed to generate innovative products and services.

In Africa, it has made it very hard to extend the fintech boom to far more critical sectors such as pensions, insurance, and mortgages.

It has more or less snuffed an early spark of e-health and edtech glory.

If “pre-fabricated” integrations infrastructure is not constructed as public resources, African innovators will find it very hard to take advantage of the current window of opportunity to transform laggard industries like health, education and agriculture where Western digital forces are still struggling to completely dominate.

shift its economic status within a generation.

Rate Fin-Tech in Africa and its development. What can be done to improve the growth, what are the rewards?

Fintech is one of the few areas globally where digitisation has succeeded in seriously converging multiple legacy industries into an emerging mega-industry globally. Africa has quite successfully jumped onto this global trend, mostly because more than 60% of effective TEI funding over the last couple of years has gone into fintech. Fintech’s experience in Africa show clearly how digital transformation can accelerate when the right trends align.

Unfortunately, there is a serious misconception that fintech by itself can seep into multiple sectors and transform them. Other industries need their own transformation before they can interlock with fintech trends. That is why, hopes that digital payments by themselves would make a huge impact on the fortunes of e-commerce and e-logistics has simply not been realised. In many parts of Africa, many consumers still prefer cash to pay for ridesharing services, for example. In essence, fintech has had very little effect on the growing digitalisation of distributed mass transit in Africa.

Awareness of a need to shift government technology transformation thinking from discrete G2C (government-to-consumer) and

G2B (government-to-business) is growing. What’s your view?

It isn’t too surprising that when most African governments perceive digital government to mean the placement of electronic forms on the internet, to enable access to discrete government services like tax filings, passport and drivers’ licenses applications, and wage slip notifications, these are surface developments. They improve convenience for citizens, which is a good thing but hardly transformational of the essence of government itself. Transforming government will require improvements in accountability, agility in the delivery of government services, reductions in arbitrariness and abuse of discretion, and far improved capacities to use sensors to adjust government actions and spending in near realtime. In fact, the possibility of much more differential taxation based on highly personalised taxpayer profiles etc. are far from being well conceived, not to talk about even discussed. True government transformation via innovation is therefore, clearly, one of the prizes still dangling from beyond the reach of many countries, including most of the ones in Africa.

Why do you feel that development problems confronting the planet will in time only be addressable through such hyperlattice structures especially in developing countries like Nigeria amongst others?

How does Technology, Entrepreneurship and Innovation (TEI) power economic development?

How can Nigeria benefit from this?

Like most African countries, Nigeria’s biggest hurdle now is how to improve the productivity of the teeming masses of underemployed and underutilised talent. Technology, Entrepreneurship and Innovation (TEI) shall play a huge role in uplifting the productive potential of these vast populations, the overwhelming majority of whom shall increasingly be under 35 of years as the century progresses. As Arthur Lewis saw as far back as the 1950s, the potential boost in the productivity of underemployed labour is by far the biggest potential boon this continent can harness to www.businessday.ng

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@Businessdayng

I feel so because fresh, constantly changing data, from tremendously diverse sources need to be fed into super-specialised algorithms (computer programs) being developed in many segments of global society, whose problems are only now becoming transparent to the digital method. A new “world architecture” of cyber-enabled problem-solving is urgently required. Expecting standard public and private sector collaboration and partnership models to weave together the necessary inter-relationships across firms and government agencies, not to talk of NGOs and religious bodies, is to leave everything to chance. But in an increasingly compressed world, such institutional nonchalance is quite risky. There is a need to invent wholly new forms of institutions to deal with the fallout of all this data and algorithmic intensity. I have coined the word, “hyperlattices”, to reflect this new urgent imperative. Developing countries have an even more urgent need to take control of these hyperlattices that are emerging in multiple arenas such as travel & tourism (think the fusion of aviation, accommodation, and government clearance), trade, financial services and energy and infuse them with developmental aspirations. I call such positively mutated hyperlattices, “honeycombs”.

How does meshing high-digital and low-digital operational models to create new business models make it harder for platforms to externalise their risks?

When platforms like Facebook, which made their impact through enhancing digital communications and social networking discovery, venture into fraught, previously low-digital, terrains such as highstakes national politics, their latitude to leave actors in the medium they have created to sort out the fallout outside their platforms becomes increasingly untenable. That is why the big tech platforms now employ tens of thousands of risk analysts and content moderators to directly deal with the effects of hate speech, fake news, cyber bullying, and assorted infractions on the civil order that in the past they left to the algorithmic orchestration of the digital social networking model itself to sort out. Note however that this seriously increases the barriers to entry for other players. In fact, one of Facebook’s frequent arguments for why WhatsApp couldn’t have thrived outside Facebook is the burden of internalising the full spectrum of risks generated by meshing.

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Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Health Business&Life Four ways Nigeria can prevent growing cancer cases ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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rimary prevention can help avert the risk of developing cancer in Nigeria, as the World Health Organisation (WHO), says an estimated 116,000 new cases of cancer and 41,000 cancer-related deaths were recorded in 2018.

More than half of cancer occurring today is preventable by applying knowledge that we already have in terms of lifestyle changes, scaling up treatment options and preventive services.

The leading causes of cancer depend on where you are in the world.

“In Nigeria, the five most common cancers are breast, cervical, prostate, colon and lymphomas,” says AliyuUsman Malami, of the Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.

Cancers arise from almost any part of the body, so a lot of these cancers arise from no known cause.

Cancer is the uncontrolled growth and spread of cells. It can affect almost any part of the body. The growths often invade surrounding tissue and can metastasize to distant sites. Cancer causes about 1 in every 6 deaths worldwide, more than AIDS, tuberculosis.

Although Cancer can be prevented and treated if properly diagnosed and presented early.

Early diagnosis of cancer generally increases the chances for successful treatment, it can reduce your risk of getting cancer in the first place? It sounds too good to be true, but it’s not.

“We are identifying the majority of patients with cancer at stages 3 and 4, drastically reducing successful treatment outcomes” says Zainab Bagudu, managing director and chief executive officer Medicaid Cancer Foundation.

According to Bagudu, Access to screening and diagnostic services is the most critical aspect of cancer care and

the lack of equitable access to these services remain the reason why mortality rates for cancer in Nigeria and Sub Saharan Africa is alarmingly high when compared to other countries.

Based on reality, cancer care is not where it should be in Nigeria and too many people are dying of the disease.

To avert this growing trend of the prevalence of cancer, Nigeria can do take these four steps.

Lifestyle modification Evidence shows that lifestyle modification in terms of maintaining a healthy weight, eating healthy diet, exercising regularly, drinking alcohol in moderation if at all and protecting yourself from infections can lead to lowering the risk of developing cancer.

Overall, cancers are linked to lifestyle, which is largely accounted for common cancers. Malami said that getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day can make a big difference in your general health and well-being.

“Exercise to your routine to reduce stress, increase energy, boost your immune system, control your weight and reduce your risk for cancer,” he said.

The most important aspect of diet for cancer prevention is overnutrition, overconsumption of calories and weight gain contribute greatly to the

cancer burden.

Oge Ilegbune a general practitioner, head of strategy, development and outreach at Lakeshore Cancer Centre says most of the risk factors cut cross across still boils down to a healthy lifestyle as they are directly or indirectly linked to cancer.

“What I always tell people is that the lifestyle modification for cancer prevention is not different from lifestyle modifications that should be adopted for hypertension or diabetes mellitus.”

Cancers include breast cancer, colon cancer, esophageal cancer, lung cancer, oral cancer, pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, pharyngeal cancer, laryngeal cancer, and stomach cancer, as well as kidney and uterine cancer, are linked through lifestyle.

“Cancer is real; it is not caused by witchcraft or spiritual attack. It’s actually lifestyles and activities that predispose us to cancers,” said Malami.

“I am calling on all Nigerians to change from a sedentary lifestyle,” he said, and further called for changes in dietary habits, including switching to foods low in fats and calories, and increasing the levels of vegetable consumption.

Increase screenings, vaccinations, and awareness Cancer screening at regular intervals

‘Doubts on family planning services still prevalent despite huge benefits’ ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

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here are still unfounded fears about the desirability of family planning services by individuals despite the growing economic and social benefits to families and communities, a health care provider has observed.

While access to voluntary family planning and reproductive health services support the health and well-being of individuals, it also has positive economic benefits to families and communities, according to experts.

Esther Edet Ekette, a trained nurse and midwife who stated this in an interview said despite the benefits, many couples, individuals including men and women are in still in

doubt about the benefits saying apart from helping in child spacing, it helps in preventing unintended pregnancies.

Ekette who listed the various methods of family planning services available including the barrier method, the natural as well as the modern methods involving pills as well as ‘injectibles’ among others said information on family planning should not be left only for the women but also for couples and adolescents as well.

“It is the responsibility of couples to be involved in family planning, but it is important for women to have a good knowledge of the services available,’’ she said.

She said while some women reject some of www.businessday.ng

the methods including the Intrauterine Contraceptive Device, (IUD), a contraceptive device fitted inside the uterus and physically preventing implantation of the fertilized ovary, saying it is wrong to a ‘foreign body’ to be found in someone’s women, she explained that there was nothing religious about it.

Ekette called on the state governments to provide family planning services available to the people in health centres and hospitals, she urged the federal government to revisit the policy of limiting the number of children per couple to four in view of the country’s growing population adding that more awareness should be created on the benefits of family planning.

with effective tests are established to protect against some specific cancers.

Vaccinations have been shown in a large randomized controlled trial to cut the risk of cervical cancer and awareness educating against ignorance and misconceptions will reduce the risk of dying of the disease.

Pap tests, along with the addition of the newer human papillomavirus (HPV) test, help reduce the future cancer risk of cervical in both women and girls.

“Cervical cancer is a unique cancer in the sense that a proper vaccination with the right vaccines against the virus will prevent the girls from having cancer in their lifetime, unlike other cancers that do not have vaccines,” said Jide Akeredolu, a medical practitioner and district governor, Rotary International District of 9110.

Clinical breast exam and mammography are not preventive; they are key to early detection and successful, less aggressive treatment, conferring significant survival benefit.

“On average, an individual woman has the absolute risk of developing breast cancer during a particular decade of life is lower than 1 in 8 over an 80-year lifespan. The younger you are, the lower the risk. Being a woman and getting older are the main risk factors for breast cancer,” says Olayinka Odumosu, founder and a Patient Navigator, Pink & MetaPink Star.

For men, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening for prostate cancer will clear discussion of its limitations and potential risks “A diagnosis of prostate cancer could cost N147, 000 to N152, 000, surgery could cost N350, 000 to N950, 000, and twenty-five to thirty sessions of chemotherapy could cost N150, 000 to N360, 000. In total, a patient needs about N1.3million to N3.3million to treat prostate cancer in Nigeria,” Runcie Chidebe, the researcher and executive director, Project PINK BLUE. However, a clear need for improvement in rates and implementation of cancer screening, education, aware-

ness, and vaccination to still much more needs to be done at both the local, state and federal levels to help the individual make healthier choices that will realize the huge potential of cancer prevention.

Integrated healthcare, collaboration can improve cancer care There are so many factors that go into cancer care, these experts say that working with the Federal Government of Nigeria, and some private entities and international agencies can improve treatment service and care.

Annual reports on progress and benchmarks must be submitted to Congress. Funding would be dependent on the scope and quality of the plan and the achievements of the benchmarks.

“It is estimated that every country or low middle-income country like Nigeria should have one radiotherapy machine for 100 people. So there should be close to two million machines, since the country’s population, is approaching 200 million people,” says Chukwumere Nwogu, a cancer epidemiologist; thoracic surgical oncologist and chief executive officer, Lakeshore Cancer Centre.

Nwogu said Nigeria need to have special buildings or vaults for the machines, which is also expensive.

“There is a compelling opportunity to engage collaboratively with the public and private healthcare institutions.

Physicians, nurses, pharmacist, allied healthcare workers, researchers, nongovernmental organisations and the citizenry can work to stop the cancer challenge,” he said.

A big challenge is that the drugs (currently available) are quite expensive and there is a need for action to reduce the cost of the drugs.

Runcie Chidebe, the executive director of Project PINK BLUE, we want to urge the Nigerian government to invest in cancer care and make cancer a health priority. ‘I am appealing to all Nigerians to please go for screenings regularly and make it a routine.”

‘Nigeria to benefit free cervical cancer vaccine by 2021’ SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

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ichael Oguntoye, chairman of the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria (APHPN), Kwara State chapter has revealed that Nigeria is geared for free Cervical cancer vaccine by 2021 all over the country.

Oguntoye, who disclosed this recently during the associations Cocktail Lecture to commemorate 2020 World Cancer Day explained that cervical cancer can be prevented through vaccination, screening and treatment of pre-cancerous lesions and treatment of invasive cancer with palliative care.

The chairman of APHPN noted that at present, HPV Vaccines are only available in private health facilities in Nigeria.

He says : “Efforts are however being made to include the HPV vaccine as part of national routine immunisation.

“HPV vaccination is

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recommended for girls between nine to 14 years of age and should be administered prior to becoming sexually active.”

Oguntoye, however, revealed that in line with the call for action on cancer, partners such as World Health Organisation (WHO) is actively engaged in supporting Nigeria to tackle Cervical Cancer in the country.

In his remarks, Raji Razaq, Kwara Commissioner for Health disclosed that the state government has approved that all women across the 16 local government area be screened for cervical cancer and breast cancer.

Razaq had while assuring that relevant treatment would be provided, observed that the observance of cancer each Feb. 4th is an opportunity to rally the international and local community to end the injustice of preventable suffering cancer.

“According to the World @Businessdayng

Health Organisation, across the globe every 17 minutes, people die from cancer and between 30 to 50 of all cancer cases are preventable,” he said.

Also, Ibrahim Oyebanjo, an expert in cancer who delivered a lecture entitled:” Role of Public Health cancer Registry in the prevention of cancer” emphasised on the need for cancer registry across Nigeria.

He laments on the lack of registry for cancer cases in the country, quoting the WHO, that of all the cancer registry literature update for countries all over the world, only one percent of the literature is rated for Africa compared to 34 percent and 42 percent for Europe.

In her lecture, Kike Adesina, a specialist on cancer, spoke on the theme: “Female Genital cancers: strategies for prevention”, counselled women on the need for early screening and detection of cancer.

Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Health Business&Life Agency lauds USAID-funded development partners for accessible healthcare in A/Ibom

The skin bleaching epidemic in Nigeria: issues, treatment and self care Executive Travel Health

ANIEEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

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kwa Ibom State Primary Healthcare Development Agency has lauded USAIDfunded development partners for the collaboration in providing quality and accessible health care services to the people.

Martin Akpan, a medical doctor and chairman of the agency who made the commendation when the partners paid him an advocacy visit expressed the delight over the collaboration which he said has made healthcare services affordable to the people.

He commended Governor Udom Emmanuel, for ‘a revolutionary stride in establishing the agency,’ which he said has helped in the provision of 80% healthcare services to Akwa Ibom people.

He applauded the partners which include Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS Plus) Global Health Supply Chain and Breakthrough Action Nigeria amongst others for the partnership and called for the expansion of the reach of their intervention in the state.

He expressed the readiness of the agency to engage with the partners to ensure accessible healthcare for the citizens.

Akpan maintained that Governor Emmanuel as a visionary leader

Q-life Family Clinic

Y clearly understands the importance of Primary Health Care hence his willingness in setting up the agency.

He disclosed that as evidence of the governor’s vowed commitment to ensuring the success of the agency, he has sent a letter of expression of interest to the Federal Ministry of Health as well as given approval for the requisite commitment fee to enable the agency access the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund.

He said the agency was working to strengthen the Local Government Health Authorities, Ward Development Committees as well as revitalization of the Primary Healthcare facilities in the state.

Earlier, the leader of the team, Bassey Nsa, who is also the Akwa Ibom State Co-ordinator of Breakthrough Action Nigeria restated the commitment of the partners in intervening in the area of Family Planning and Malaria Control.

While commending the agency for the partnership in the selected areas to improve the health needs of the people, he appealed for the recruitment/training of more Primary Healthcare workers and strengthening of Ward Development Committees.

He also used the opportunity to present some advocacy materials to the agency.

Access bank joins campaign with Malaria-to-Zero Initiative

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ccess Bank without a doubt has made a dent in these figures through its landmark partnership with the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria.

This unique collaboration called the Malaria-to-Zero Initiative is an innovative financing platform that aims to galvanize private sector resources and capabilities for sustained support towards averting at least 1 million malaria cases and deaths.

Meanwhile, Nigeria is the most affected country on earth, contributing about 25 percent globally.

“The only way to end or at least reduce the prevalence of malaria is by organizing and strategically leveraging on the resources, capabilities and the proven expertise of the private

sector organizations. This is what Access Bank has been championing with the Malaria-toZero initiative,” says Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, bank’s head of Sustainability while highlighting the importance of cross-sector collaborations in eradication efforts and expressed intentions of Access Bank to intensify its effort.

According to the organisation, this program has been an important first step towards complementing the government’s effort in achieving its malaria pre-elimination goals.

Since inception, an estimated 273,000 people have been reached, many for the first time in rural communities of Nigeria, not just with testing and treatment, but with potentially life-saving information that has been put

in place to prevent the occurrence of malaria. 357 community groups have been empowered and engaged with the technical capacity to roll out useful community interventions.

“Over 1 million people have been reached across the length and breadth of Nigeria with information, education, and communication materials. Social media has been a useful strategy and as such, over 6 million impressions have been made across several platforms.

“Low hanging fruits will always remain easy to pluck but the Malaria-to-Zero Initiative has been just as interested in harderto-reach communities with about 15 of these communities finally receiving intervention programs for the first time,” says the organisation.

Group urges government to provide free cancer screening, treatment for women CHURCHILL OKORO, Benin

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non-governmental organization under the aegis of Caring Heart Initiative for Advocacy Development and Empowerment has called on government at all levels to provide free cancer screening for women.

Grace Obakina, executive director of the organization made the call during a medical outreach to commemorate the 2020 World Cancer Day with the theme, “I am and I will”.

The outreach was organized by the organization in partnership with Planned Parenthood

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Federation of Nigeria (PPFN) in Benin City.

She said the free cancer screening will go a long way in reducing the risks of cancers and cancerrelated deaths in the country.

She opined that the screening became necessary because of the high rate of poverty among women.

Grace noted that the outreach was aimed at enlightening the public on the dangers of cancer and other female related diseases.

“All women are at risk of cervical cancer and it is on the increase.

There are vaccines to prevent it but each of the dose now cost about

N11, 000.

“We want to use this medium to plead with our government especially my state governor to make this screening free for all women.

“Also, the government should subsidize the money for the vaccines to enable women to take it.

By so doing there will be a reduction in cancer-related death in Nigeria,” she said.

She, however, identified early sexual Intercourse, early marriage, multiple sexual partners, continuous exposure to Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) and smoking as risk factors for cervical cancer.

es, is official. Every woman wants to achieve flawless, beautiful, and even skin.

We see it all over social media networks; girls with pale white, seemingly spotless bodies, hanging out at bright, sunny beaches in bikinis getting in ‘some sun’. It is hard to believe how far it is from the truth in terms of the reality of skin lightening without side effects.

Skin lightening/toning/bleaching is not new to the history of modern man. For several centuries, women of all races and cultures have strived to achieve lighter skin. From crushed lead powder used as makeup to mercury to hydroquinone, steroids and several other chemicals, people have experimented with all types of ingredients in the aim of achieving flawless, paled skin.

These concoctions however have not produced visible results without giving negative results.

Some of the negative results include dark knuckles, sunburn, dark patches, thinning of the skin as evidenced by unsightly stretch marks and green veins. Moreover, the harsh hot sun of the tropics lends to additional sun damage.

Steroids (for example clobetasol, hydrocortisone, betamethasone) is currently a popular ingredient found in several skins lightening creams. Some skin lightening products don’t list steroids in their ingredient list as steroids are sometimes used only used in ‘trace’ amounts which do not need to be listed especially if used in addition with other active ingredients.

Steroids are generally used to treat issues such as dermatitis, eczema and other inflammatory skin conditions. When used for a prolonged period of time or in high doses, it reduces blood flow to the skin thereby giving the skin a pale look. However, it also thins the skin which can also lead to unsightly stretch marks and skin burns among other things. Hydroquinone has been the mainstay for skin lightening for decades. When used as a supervised temporary medical treatment, hydroquinone is used for treating melasma, chloasma, fading spots, and discolorations.

As commonly used as hydroquinone is, there are also several damaging side effects that can occur. Using hydroquinone can cause allergic dermatitis, rebound hyperpigmentation (darkening of skin more than usual), dark knuckles and worst of an irreversible skin condition called exogenous ochronosis. Exogenous ochronosis is responsible for the dark blue-black or purplish patches you see around

ANTHONIA OBOKOH / Reporters. Email: obokoh.anthonia@businessdayonline.com

the cheeks, forehead, back of the neck, hands, feet, and elbows. It occurs mostly in people that have either used hydroquinone for a period of more than 2-3 months or have used a high percentage of hydroquinone even for a short period (3% and up).

Moreover, it’s very hard to accurately determine the amount of hydroquinone in several branded and unbranded products as many companies bend the legally acceptable form of hydroquinone to achieve drastic results albeit the terrible side effects. Finally skin bleaching chemicals such as steroids and hydroquinone have been to lead to skin cancer, liver and kidney damage!

It is advised that clients who want to embark on a skin lightening program should try and stick to natural plant-based products.

While natural lightening may not be as fast-acting and drastic as the harsher chemically derived ingredients, the results tend to be more long-lasting because natural skin lighteners tend to also possess antiinflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. This rejuvenates the skin and reverses sun damage leading to a brighter, glowing complexion. These naturally derived skin lighteners also lighten the skin in a way that has little to no side effects as they do not contain any harsh chemicals.

A good self-care do-it-yourself tip for brightening exfoliation is a homemade sugar scrub. This scrub contains natural antioxidants like vitamin C and skin lightening ingredients. Mix 4 tablespoons of finely ground sugar with 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, one teaspoon of natural honey, ½ teaspoon of dry ground turmeric and the juice of one small lemon or lime. After bathing, apply to wet cleansed skin in circular motions, paying attention to rough skin such as the knees, elbows, and feet, until dissolved completely. Rinse off and pat your skin dry.

For a facial scrub, use the same recipe, but replace the sugar with salt. After exfoliation, apply a good skin oil to seal in the moisture and of course, protect those areas from the sun using sun avoidance and protection.

In summary, one should use caution when trying to initiate a skin lightening program. It is advisable to seek skincare recommendations from a reliable source with a long-standing reputation.

Such a source can guarantee a high level of safety and efficacy by spelling out a good regimen using natural skin brightening products.

Additionally, sun avoidance and protection is an absolute requirement in preventing sun damage and achieving a brighter, youthful glow. Doing all these things can get us closer to achieving flawless, bright and youthful skin in a safe and natural way!

Tobi Ayodele Keeney Managing Director Quincy Herbals Email address: tobi@quincyherbals.com

I David Ogar, Graphics

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Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

FINTECH News

Products Review

In association with

Technology Review

Personality Review

Company Review

These 3 apps get you started on US dollar investments verified.

Investment options on the Rise mobile app include US real estate, US Stocks, US Venture Capital, and Fixed income.

Users can also earn between 13 and 15 percent interest on their annual investments and half of that if they chose the 6 months tenure.

As of November, Rise said it has invested over $528,000 for more than 2,800 users who now own global assets that are shielded from devaluation and inflation. The app is available on the Google and Apple stores.

FRANK ELEANYA

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hen Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote said in an interview in 2019 that he plans to secure most of his investments outside Africa, it was to protect his wealth from the numerous uncertainties that plague most of the continent, according to financial experts.

For instance, since 2017 the Nigerian economy has been in a post-recession sluggish growth. Recently, fears about an imminent Maura devaluation have been gaining momentum.

The Central Bank of Nigeria had in November assured investors in London that there will be no more naira devaluation until the exchange rate falls to $30 billion. Lower dollar inflows reduce the CBN’s firepower in defending the naira against any depreciation as it eats away at the external reserves.

Unfortunately, Nigeria’s reserves dropped by $4.45 billion from the $43.07 billion recorded in January 2019 to $38.61

billion in December 2019, a Central Bank of Nigeria’s data revealed. There is little assurance that the decline would not continue in 2020, hence the fear of naira devaluation.

Naira devaluation is the deliberate downward adjustment of the value of the naira relative to another currency (dollar for instance), group of currencies, or currency standard. Since 1986, the Nigerian naira’s relationship with the US dollar has

been unpredictable and often times full of heartbreak.

But beyond just protecting your money from the devastating effect of a devaluation, it makes good sense to diversify your investment portfolio in order to shore up your revenue. These three mobile applications would have you get started.

Risevest If you are at the beginning

stage of your investment journey, Risevest is the ideal platform to get you started. Until November 2019, the mobile investment platform used to be known as CashEstate.

Following its rebrand, Rise simplified and automated investment on its platform.

On the new Rise, users could become owners of global businesses with as little as N3,600 being the exchange for a $10, within a few minutes of being

Bamboo The Bamboo investment platform is specifically for buying and selling top stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and American depository receipts (ADRs) in the United States.

Although the company claims to give “unrestricted access” stocks listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), it is unavailable to users for now. So for the moment you are restricted to options US stocks, which is equally great considering you have access to juicy stocks like Tesla, Mi-

crosoft, Amazon, Google, etc.

The minimum a user can invest on Bamboo is $20 which can be paid with your naira card, dollar card, bank transfer, and wire transfer. To start trading on the Bamboo app is very simple and requires a bank verification number (BVN) and contact details.

Robinhood Unlike Rise and Bamboo which are Nigerian, Robinhood is a US-based stock trading app that pioneered free commissions and allows users to buy and sell portions of shares of thousands of stocks and ETFs with as little as $1.

Robinhood is also one of the few global brokers that give you the opportunity to trade cryptocurrency and maintain a zero account wallet.

Beyond its commissionfree stock, options, ETF, and cryptocurrency trades, Robinhood also provide savings for investors who trade frequently Robinhood also helps reduce investors’ costs through its clearing service which allows the company to operate its own clearing system, which reduces some of the service’s account fees.

TLcom plans fresh startups financing as TIDE Africa Fund closes at $71m

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IDE Africa Fund, an active fund managed

by TLcom and which has raised $150 million for Africa-focused startups, has now secured an additional $31 million to continue its work in the region. The funding brings its sub-Saharan Africa fund to $71 million.

UK-based CDC, International Finance Corporation (IFC) as well as South Africa’s Sango and

Belgium’s BIO participated in the new investment.

In a statement sent to BusinessDay, TLcom said the funding will enable it to make additional five to six investments in pan-Africa companies from Seed to Later stage over the next 12 to 18 months. It would also ensure capital resources for follow-on rounds for TLcom’s existing portfolio.

“The investment in TLcom

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provides a critical foundation in our endeavour to plug the funding gap for early-stage companies and bolster entrepreneurship across Africa,” said Nick O’Donohoe, chief executive officer of CDC, the UK’s publicly owned impact investor and largest investor in the Fund.

“CDC is excited to work with TLcom, leveraging technology and innovation to intervene in critical sectors such as educa-

tion or agriculture and helping to address important consumer and business challenges.”

Since it closed its first deal in 2017, TIDE Africa has been one of the most active funds operating in sub-Saharan Africa. It currently has six companies in its portfolio, including Andela, Kobo360, Twiga Foods, Ajua, Terragon Group, and uLesson.

Maurizio Caio, Nairobibased founder and managing

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partner at TLcom said the investment gives Africa VC space the time to graduate into a world-class asset class that can generate massive returns.

“Attracting international investment from such renowned backers into the African VC space reflects the recognition of the work the TLcom team has already achieved in connecting some of the continent’s strongest entrepreneurs with

@Businessdayng

the capital they need to scale,” Caio said.

Launched in 1999, TLcom currently has in excess of $200 million under management across primary and secondary funds. It also boasts of a highly experienced team including Nigeria’s former minister of ICT, Omobola Johnson who is now a senior partner, Andreata Muforo, Kenyan-based partner, and Ido Sum based in the UK.

Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

MoneyInsight #Okadaban: Five things to do when engaging government as a startup FRANK ELEANYA

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e y o n d c o n s u m e r s, the government is the other entity that can determine the survival of a startup. A variety of government actions in addition to laws and regulations powerfully affect companies’ economic value and the strategy a company employs to manage relationships with local authorities can determine how successful it is going to be.

But managing government relationships is a very tricky and complex affair and it is capital intensive too. Startups in Lagos State, Nigeria, received a jolt of this reality with the government’s ban on commercial motorcycles in January 2020.

Although the action of the government puts a question mark on its readiness to attract and protect foreign investments, it only revealed the debilitating effect its policies could have on a business and why maintaining a good relationship should be a priority for all startups.

We asked Jessica Hope, founder and CEO of Wimbart, a London based public relations firm that handles the PR needs of many tech startups in Africa what actions a startup should take when engaging the government. The following are the five dos and don’ts she shared.

Government is your partner This might be difficult to accept

when government officials are breathing down your neck or making unreasonable demands.

Hope says it is in the best interest of a startup to see the government as a partner instead of a stumbling block.

“A main selling point for startups is that they provide solutions to existing systems, but theoretically, policymakers are also trying to do the same,” she said. “While startups are associated with the language of disruption and governments with that of regulation, the two bodies need to find a way to speak the same language and communicate across a number of channels. Government holds a lot of power and has the ability to make or break startups. In the

case of the recent Okada ban - it is literal.”

Gokada reportedly sacked about 70 percent of its workers following the ban.

just as important as marketing or operations, so employing the most knowledgeable people to lead, advocate and communicate in this area are a must.”

Get a spokesperson Investing in public relations may be expensive for a startup still struggling with raising capital or in the middle of expansion, but it is a necessity that could save every business millions in litigations.

However, for startups unable to pay the high fees of a good PR, “Identify a spokesperson within your company who can act as a government liaison,” Hope says.

“Addressing regulation is unavoidable and should be considered

Don’t leave it too late After identifying the company’s spokesperson and PR strategy, don’t wait too long to start engaging the government. Building a healthy relationship needs to be part of the early stages of planning, says Hope.

“This will prevent interrupting operations at key stages of business growth - as we have seen with the okada ban, failing to adequately invest in government relations at the right time can derail operations altogether,” she said.

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Don’t engage on your own Until the Okada ban, bikehailing companies in Lagos have sought to change the government’s negative position on commercial motorcycles individually.

When they did come together it was to react to threats to their business, for instance, signing of an MoU with the NURTW which led to paying N500 per bike on a daily basis. More collaboration between the players could have led to more positive outcomes.

“Startups have to band together to shape regulation that is favourable to their entire industry, and then allow their product which meets regulations to compete.

One cannot dominate an industry if one is not allowed to exist.

They also need to speak with one, coherent, unified voice - and this should be organised before problems arise,” Hope said.

Work with the media strategically Every startup needs a coherent, linear communications campaign, that does not antagonise the government. Hope says this goes beyond mere news articles in the media, to thought leadership pieces and every available media channels to not only position themselves as industry leaders but also government allies.

“Viewing Government and policy makers as an important stakeholder in their business operations (as well as potential customers) is where startups should begin from day one,” Hope said.

Digital transformation in financial services (2) Susanne Chishti Innovation Capabilities or any financial institution to remain competitive two organizational capabilities are key: first, the ability to identify valuable new ideas to solve problems and second, to know how to select well between all possible choices to focus on those opportunities best for your enterprise.

In order to innovate well, a diverse talent pool is important who brings a variety of functional, technical and industry know-how together as many breakthrough innovations require diverse knowledge domains. Innovation requires rapid experimentation, iteration and learning by building and testing solutions in prototypes and getting customers feedback from very early on.

Corporate innovation models: Open vs Closed Innovation Closed innovation models are those where the corporation seeks to do innovation in-house to build its own digital skill base. Innovation models consist of research, internal intrapreneurship programs and internal accelerator models.

Open innovation models are

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those where corporations work with third-party organizations including fintech startups to improve their business products and services, reduce costs or increase regulatory compliance led by an open innovation team. Open innovation models can also include innovation outposts, corporate venture capital and external acceleration programs.

There is no right or wrong corporate innovation model. It depends on the organization, their objectives and budgets – however in practice, we have seen that a combination of open and closed innovation models work best. No innovation model can be a ‘one size fit’s all’, instead they should be viewed as a guide to lead towards digital transformation. We will now look at these models in more depth.

Research & Development Most corporations will have some form of a research and development department/team to research market trends, new technologies and their use cases for finance and investigate ways to keep that company innovating.

Across finance, we are dealing www.businessday.ng

with lots of new technologies from cloud computing, to big data analytics, artificial intelligence/ machine learning, blockchain & distributed ledger technologies, the internet of things etc.

Most technologies are complex and unfamiliar territory for employees in financial services companies (we will talk about the role of education and upskilling financial services employees later).

The role of the R&D function among other things is to assess these emerging technologies and new business models (such as crowd-funding, peer -to – peer lending, multi-sided platform business models etc) and recommend which ones will impact the organization and should be explored further.

Education Most employees in finance need to learn more about technology innovation (to understand what is already available on the market and how it could benefit their own organization), agile working practices such as design thinking methods and learn about new business & revenue models to decide on their product and

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pricing strategy overall. “FinTech” is the generic term for all types of financial technology applied to finance, consisting of several subverticals including: WealthTECH – the application of fintech solutions to global investment management, wealth management and private banking sectors InsurTECH – the application of fintech solutions to the global insurance and re-insurance market RegTECH – the application of fintech solutions to support regulated entities with the compliance requirements from KYC/AML onboarding PayTECH – the application of fintech solutions to payments of all types (individual, company) and in all currencies (FX, remittance payments).

LegalTECH – the application of fintech solutions to all legal work across financial services

Internal Intrapreneurship Program Some financial institutions allow employees to set up their own @Businessdayng

startup teams for a period of time if their ideas have been selected as some of the best ideas (via an internal competition) with the potential to make a real impact on the company. This internal approach encourages and empowers “intrapreneurs” providing them with resources to launch startups from inside the company to improve the products and services offering.

As case study, FINTECH Circle is the Acceleration Partner for Societe Generale, one of the leading banks globally, to help internal startups in the United Kingdom to move from an initial idea on a PowerPoint slide deck to a minimum viable product and prototype over a 6 months acceleration process which includes weekly coaching and mentoring sessions for the bank’s internal intrapreneurs so that they can learn and adopt the latest agile working methods including design thinking and be connected to the external fintech ecosystem.

Susanne Chishti, CEO FINTECH Circle

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Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Hotels

Indigenous African hotel brands are truly taking centre stage

OBINNA EMELIKE

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here is no better time to tell the ‘Africa Rising’ story than now. The rise is very obvious in the African hospitality sector, which has recorded and is sustaining impressive results year-on-year in the last five years.

In 2018, about 67 million tourists visited Africa, representing a rise of 7 percent from a year earlier, making the continent the secondfastest growing region in tourism, after Asia Pacific.

That record was broken in 2019 when over 70 million visited the continent, while 134 million visitors are expected in 2030, according to United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), forecast.

Of course, the growth potential of Africa is increasingly recognised by international hotel operators, investors and developers.

The huge inflow of tourists could be a pointer to the fact that African countries are now reaping the benefits of positive policy changes, which has sparked investments in hotels.

Thus, positively impacting the African hospitality sector with hotels engaged in projects in order to carter to the growing demand of high quality accommodation and offerings.

Whilst the likes of Marriott, Hilton, Radisson, and Accor Group is reported to lead international hotel offerings in the continent with over 60 percent of the market share, some indigenous African hospitality management brands are gaining grounds at closing the gap.

Today, a growing number of Africans, especially the middle-class and young travelers are beginning to identify with more indige-

nous brands because of their exceptional understanding of the African consumer needs, comparable services of global standards rivalling the expensive ‘international’ options.

Magani Bulami, a welltravelled South African business executive, notes that sometimes, it is the name that is the difference in the offerings of international and indigenous hotel brands in Africa.

“While the Protea brand lasted, it was one of the indigenous hotel brands I patronized because of its great offerings. Today, I have switched to Legacy Group brands as I do not see the difference with the likes of what Hilton and Marriott hotels are offering that our indigenous Legacy cannot”, Bulami says.

Though the Protea Hotel Group, a 116-hotel group spanning seven African nations, has ceased to be the foremost indigenous African hotel brand since its acquisition by Marriott International, there are still other indigenous brands that are giving foreign brands a run for their money.

For instance, Tsogo Sun, an enterprising African hotel brand, which runs a portfolio of more than 90 hotels and casinos across Africa, is keen on further expanding across the continent and even beyond because of its African themed offerings, which appeal to a growing number of guests across the continent.

Still from South Africa, Sun International, another great indigenous brand, is doing quite well in the luxury hotel and resort offerings.

A visit to Table Bay Hotel by the Ocean bank in Cape Town, Sun City, The Maslow among other outlets of Sun International, leaves visitors with great experiences and lasting memories.

Legacy Group has been

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quite impressive as well. with footprints across Southern Africa and the rest of Africa, including Nigeria and Ghana. Indeed, the indigenous hotel group has given most foreign brands a run for their money with the world class services served with African flavor.

It is all about world-class offerings at MIchael Angelo in Sandton, Labadi Beach in Accra, among other great resorts and hotels across Africa. It was Legacy that made Wheatbaker Ikoyi, Lagos thick until last year when it stopped managing the foremost boutique hotel.

City Lodge with 55 hotels and Three Cities, are among other great indigenous brands that are pushing boundaries in the hotel business in Africa.

In Nigeria, the likes of Citi Height with three hotels, Fahrenheit Hospitality Limited with over four hotels, Primal Hotel with over five hotels, Rockview with about five hotels, among others are not scared by the influx of the international brands.

One can say they have a good grasp of their market.

Surprisingly, Mangalis, a new indigenous African hotel group, has joined the race to close the gap in quality offerings. Yerim Sow, a Senegalese entrepreneur, and founder of Mangalis Group, is investing €315m to build 15 hotels across four new brands in West and Central Africa.

In East Africa, Serena Hotels has developed and sustained its unique hospitality tradition, which has been drawing guests in their millions since 1970 when it opened in Nairobi, Kenya.

Since then, the indigenous hotel brand has expanded beyond East African countries of Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, and Mozambique to Asian countries of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan.

With a collection of 36 luxury resorts, safari lodges, and hotels across these locations, Serena Hotel Group is now looking at making its own unique marks, no matter the competition.

Also from Kenya, the Icon Hotel Group is kicking across major destinations in Africa a great example is its Osotua Luxury Resort Naivasha.

A few years ago, over 60 percent of Safari lodges in Africa were owned and managed by foreign brands.

Today, the number of indigenous participants is increasing as some rich Africans and corporate organizations are now seeing hospitality as potential investment instead of leaving their money in Swiss banks.

Great Lakes Safari in Uganda is one example. The safari, which is acclaimed one of the best in East Africa, was founded and run by indigenous hands. Amos Wekesa, the founder, employs in excess of 250 staff who run his several safari

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lodges.

Today, over 80 percent of safari lodges in South Africa are managed by indigenous brands. It is intriguing that international brands find it difficult competing in that segment, for very obvious reasons of the inability to provide rich African hospitality experience, a part of leisure travel that generates about 70 percent of hospital revenue.

Again, it may seem intimidating hearing about hotel development in the pipeline in Africa. In the 11th edition of W Hospitality annual survey, there are over 75,000 rooms in 401 hotels, though a 1.5 percent decrease on the 2018 pipeline. As well. almost 100 hotels opened in Africa in 2017 and 2018, with a total of 16,000 rooms. Although the hotels are mostly international brands.

Trevor Wards, CEO, W Hospitality, assures that there is big hope, huge opportunity and space for all to play. Truly, African hospitality is not afraid of competition as it has its market and making efforts at attracting high-end guests with improvements in quality service and facility offerings in recent times.

For Daniel Idah, general manager of an Abuja-based indigenous hotel, nothing is stopping African hoteliers to soar if foreign brands are profiting here.

“We are not scared of international brands, they have their market, and we have ours. We are gradually closing the gap in quality delivery and guests know that”.

According to a report by Jumia Travels, indigenous brand are still thriving because international chains charge exorbitant rates in foreign currencies, hence many luxurious local brands @Businessdayng

provide alternative.

“This is a great benefit for the local brands as many local travellers, as well as, middle to low income international travellers will prefer to stay in a good hotel with an affordable price, rather than stay in a fancy hotel for a very high price. The local businesses win here”, Jumia observes. Moreover, with the proposed takeoff of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in June this year that would ensure free market across the continent, there is going to be more regional travels across Africa, meaning more demands for quality accommodation.

With a single market of about 1.2 billion people and a combined GDP of about $3.5 trillion, AfCFTA is expected to provide enormous trading opportunities for business across Africa including the hospitality sector.

Considering the fact that four out of 10 international tourists in Africa come from the continent itself, AfCFTA will soar the number of regional travels with over 40 million Africans traveling within, wooing investors to build more hotels to provide for the increasing demand for quality accommodation and creating jobs as well.

Already, the hospitality sector contributes about $194.2 billion to Africa’s economy, representing 8.5 percent of the continent’s GDP, amid creating 24.3 million African jobs, or 6.7 percent of total employment.

The figures, according to UNWTO forecast, are going to double with 134 million visitors expected by 2030, offering enormous growth opportunities to African hospitality brands that are positioning themselves to reap from the imminent harvest of guests.

Again, closing the huge gap in the market share between them and their foreign counterparts, is becoming a reality as most indigenous brands are fast expanding; thanks to willing local investors.

Already, Tsogo Sun is looking at running more hotel’s in Nigeria, Serena is coming to Ghana, Citi Lodge is stepping out to Angola, among other brand expansion projects across the continent.

Well, it is obvious that indigenous African hospitality brands are coming of age and taking the center stage although it may not yet be time to click the wine glasses as there are more feats to achieve.

Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

25

MADE in aba

How mistrust drags Aba leather, garment industries back Garment and finished leader goods clusters in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, have the potential to supply the shoe and garment needs of Nigerians. However, mistrust and lack of understanding among industry operators are dragging the clusters back, writes GODFREY OFURUM

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he role of micro, small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) c a n n o t b e o v e remphasised given their relevance in resource mobilisation, utilisationandoverallcontribution to gross domestic product (GDP) of a nation.

They serve as the engine of economic growth and development, and respond to the macro economic problems militating against developing nations like Nigeria.

Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, has one of the largest concentrations of MSMEs and a bulk of this number are engaged in leather works, steel fabrication and garment making, which could be attributed to the popularity of the city.

A survey carried out by the United Nations revealed that the Aba leather cluster consists of 11,000 enterprises with 23,000 employees, earning an annual turnover of $100 million.

The garment sector is estimated to have more than 20,000 artisans fully engaged in garment making and designs.

The ingenuity of Aba ar tisans, especially the garment and leather clusters (comprising of shoe, belt and bag makers) pushed the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in partnership with the Federal Government to set up a Common Facility Centre (CFC) to support the clusters to further develop their skills.

The Aba CFC, first to be set up in the country, was commissioned with the sole objective of supporting the small and medium enterprises in the city to further develop their skills.

The CFC is to also serve as a centre of excellence for capacity-building and provision of cutting edge technology for competitiveness enhancement.

According to Ken Anyanwu, secretary, Association of Leather and Allied Industrialists of Nigeria (ALAIN), the country can generate N640 billion annually, from locally made shoe alone.

Anyanwu, in an interview with BusinessDay in Aba, revealed that the Aba shoe cluster produces about 320 million shoes annually and could generate N640 billion worth of business for the manufacturers, if Nigerians buy two pairs of locally made

shoes at the cost of N2,000 per pair.

To boost local patronage, he said the association is embarking on a campaign tagged, ‘Operation Two Pairs of Shoes’ aimed at encouraging Nigerians to buy two pairs of locally made shoes per annum to promote the sector.

“We didn’t go into details, but simply put, an average of two pairs of shoes at N2,000 per pair would give us N640 billion business done in the sector.

And if Nigerians hearken to our call and buy two pairs of shoes per annum, I tell you, there would be food on the table of many Nigerians that feed from this sector,” he said.

He explained that the data currently used for policy and advocacy in the leather sector are mere estimates, stressing that no accurate and verifiable information on the activities of the sector are available for use.

These include finished leather goods needed by Nigeria annually, finished leather produced and exported f ro m Nig e r i a a n nu a l l y , Nigeria’s finished leather goods production capacity, quantity of products exported from the country and the accurate number of persons engaged in production in the sector.

To address this gap, ALAIN signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with RFID centre, Abuja, to develop www.businessday.ng

the leather sector in the country.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) is the use of a wireless non-contact system that uses radiofrequency electromagnetic fields to transfer data from a tag attached to an object, for the purposes of automatic identification and tracking.

The Aba leather cluster, said to be the biggest in West Africa, has about 40,000 people directly engaged in the manufacture of shoes, belts and bags and a production capacity of about one million pairs of shoes per week, producing for local and international markets.

However, due to unofficial export that goes on in the sector, it has been difficult for policy makers to get accurate data to develop the sector

and this is one of the issues the RFID enabled technology would help solve.

Also stifling the sector’s growth is the lack of unity among the clusters, which has created room for a number of associations under the same umbrella with different interests, views and goals.

This lack of trust and understanding among sector operators have created divisions rather than unity needed for the successful administration of the clusters in order to contribute to the overall growth of the economy.

For instance, the leather cluster has more than four associations, with each group claiming superiority over others, while the garment cluster is currently engrossed in a leadership tussle.

According to Humphrey

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@Businessdayng

Nweze, former chairman, Abia chapter of the Nigerian Association of Small Scale I n d u s t r i a l i s t s ( NA S S I ) , disunity is the major weakness in Aba as everybody wants to answer ‘chairman’ of an association.

He observed that the Aba small-scale industrialists have enormous potential, but pointed out that disunity among the clusters are not encouraging investors to venture into the area.

“If you tell them to join NASSI, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) or even the city chamber (ACCIMA), they will say no because they want to answer ‘chairman’. And any investor that hears that there is no unity among the group would look elsewhere,” Nweze said.

He u rg e d s ma l l a n d

@Businessdayng

medium industrialists (SMIs) in the area to close ranks to develop the sector and contribute meaningfully to the economic development of the state and country at large.

“We know that our main constraint of finance, but until we become organised and show that we are credible, no bank or serious investor would want to invest in us,” he warned.

“If you set up one obscure association that cannot cross Aba and you are asking for a facility in Abuja, it cannot work. You have to align with a national body to access some of these facilities,” he affirmed.

Experts have said that cohesion among functional cluster groups facilitate economic integration and better implementation of mutual agreements.

They also observed that unity affords the groups greater roles in the socio–economic development of the country, which cannot be achieved unless these clusters jettison personal interests and issues that tend to divide them.

Belonging to a group encourages self-regulation, credibility, getting required expertise in the specific industry, speaking with a unified voice to government and forming collective policy positions on issues, they further said.

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Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

entertainment

Burna Boy makes waves with his Afro-fusion I OBINNA EMLEIKE

f you are looking for rhythm that is contemporary and engaging, yet undistracted by crossover moves, then you have to listen to Burna

Boy. The enterprising Nigerian musician and songwriter has mastered his sound and craft in less than a decade in the music scene.

He has won himself huge fans across the world who appreciate his lyrics, stage performance, style and personality.

While many musicians of his time would claim a particular genre, Burna Boy prefers to combine many genres.

He describes his music as Afro-fusion, a genre that blends Afrobeat, dancehall, reggae, American rap and R&B. So far, he has sustained the unique genre, delighting and wining more fans, and most importantly, rising to stardom faster than he had imagined, as well as, those who wanted him to follow popular genre.

But his persistency is paying off. Already, he has four great studio albums to his credit; L.I.F.E (2013), On a Spaceship (2015), Outside (2018) and African Giant (2019), which is his most successful album. In 2011, he had two mixtapes Burn Notice and

urna Boy

Burn Identity, as well as, two EPs; Redemption (2016) and Steal & Copper with DJDS (2019).

Today, Burna Boy, is no doubt, an outstanding African musician with influence across the global entertainment scene.

However, the Afro-fusion musician will not forget 2019 in a hurry because it was the most rewarding year in his music career so far. It was the year he released African Giant, his most success-

ful album For the many tours, great performances, accolades, and awards, Burna Boy deserved to be the Entertainment Personality of the Year 2019. He truly dominated the music scene last year, both at home and abroad.

From Cochela Festival in United States of America, Best International Act awards at the 2019 BET Awards, to Best African Act at the MTV EMA Awards and

Fela Oke enlisted as one of Hollywood’s most revered talent agents, managers IFEOMA OKEKE

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n every industry there exists a sea of individuals whose lives are geared towards the building of creatives and talents.

These very rare breeds are regarded as Talent agents and managers, and they do actual work behind the scenes, calling shots and making things happen.

A recent compilation by entertainment reporter Anita Ward and USMAG, bears a brooding list of individuals responsible for representing and negotiating deals for their clients in the entertainment industry, in an article titled, ‘Hollywood Top Talent Agents & Managers’ As Anita rightly puts it “Being an agent and manager is a cutthroat, dirty and tough business. In turn for their clients becoming successful, Talent Agents get a sizable chunk of the change that their talent receives” Engaging key industry players and stakeholders, the report features Fela Oke, who has garnered over 20

years of experience in the entertainment and creative industry, serving as a consultant for MTV Africa, a work catalog of talents such as Wizkid, Iyanya, Ice prince, Dolapo Oni, Toke Makinwa and platforms; Spinlet, Trace Tv,Temple Management, Warner Bros, the lists lingers on.

Having brokered deals that brought Hollywood superstars such as John Boyega to Lagos,Adewale Akinnouye Agbaje’s visit to Nigeria

Fela Oke www.businessday.ng

to premiere his film ‘Farming’, British Hollywood star, Aml Ameen and British director/actor, Femi Oyeniran amongst others, Fela continues in his stride of changing the game and breaking boundaries.

Currently, Fela rides at the forefront as a Senior Agent with LA-based talent agency, CK Talent and Division Director for Africa and Europe, with offices in China and Australia and interests in music, sports and entertainment.

Unreservedly, he sits right at the top of things, exploring more ways to drive his talents in the industry whilst maintaining a spot with Nicita, Craig Rogalski, Sam Gore’s, Sharon Jackson and other crop of viable talent players all of who possess a robust roaster of some of Hollywood’s finest talents.

The pictures owerhouse has plateaued into becoming Africa’s most revered decision maker in the areas of media, tech, talent and entertainment, pushing growth and development of human capital and positioning Africa’s soil strategically. A no small feat!!

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chart topping songs in Nigeria and Africa, no Nigerian, nay African musicianship came a close to Burna Boy in 2019.

Interestingly, 2019 witnessed Burna Boy’s nomination in the Best World Album award category for the 62nd Grammy Awards.

Credit goes to African Giant, his latest album, which won him the nomination alongside a host of music heavyweights in the Best World Album category,

which is mainly for albums containing at least 51 percent playing time of new vocal or instrumental world music recordings.

That nomination alone made ‘African Giant’ his most successful album.

He also made history by following in the footsteps of Seun Kuti, Femi Kuti and King Sunny Ade in getting nominated for that category at the Grammy Awards.

Recalling his days of little beginning, Burna Boy, who was born as Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, traces his rise to prominence to “Like to Party”, the lead single from his debut studio album L.I.F.E (2013).

Since then, it has been from one successful album to another, amid local and international tours and performances, collaborations and many awards to his credit.

He also traces his passion for music to his family. Benson Idonije, his grandfather, once managed Fela Kuti, the late Afrobeat legend, amid numerous feats during his active years in the Nigerian entertainment industry.

As the new decade opens, Burna Boy hopes to delight his growing global fans with more exciting sounds, enthralling stage performances and more tours.

For him, his career is just beginning because there are many grounds to conquer; the Grammy has to be won someday.

Enhance 360 presents Bukunmi becoming Preacher, a Valentine special

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or a memorable Valentine outing, Enhance 360 will present Bukunmi becoming Preacher, a comedy show, at Daystar Annex, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos, on February 16, 2020.

The comedy show will be featuring notable acts like; Arole, Saco, Dr Smile, Damola, Asiri comedy, The Reflexions, Fisayocheck, Prophet Theophilus and others.

Bukunmi becoming Preacher is a journey of love and relationships.

It is a live comedy show incorporating theatrical and operatic elements steeped in the valentine season of love and romance. It is a coming of age kind of show as it chronicles the talent’s sojourn from the city of Ibadan as a boy to becoming a comedian, MC and a man of love in Lagos.

“What makes the show unique is the relatable African experiences that would be infused such as the Amala/Buka virtual and real experiences, folk/contemporary music, theatrical and operatic elements. There would also be cameo appearances by various comedy influencers in the theatrical en@Businessdayng

actments; other comedians would have stand-up performances at intervals during the show, while the folk/contemporary music would serenade the as well.

“It would be crowd puller for various types of audience; ‘the lovebirds’, ‘the single and searching club’, the “we love each other but we need to spice things up” crew, and the ‘let’s go get some laugh gang’,” Seun Adeleye, CEO and creative director, Enhance 360, who is also the director of this show, says. The The show will be hosted by Bukunmi Adelani, who is popularly known as PREACHER. He is a fast-rising Nigerian comedian, compere, actor, and host of the RideWithMe show. He is a witty comedian known for his ethical ribcracking jokes. His professionalism and clean (family-friendly) jokes adhere many esteemed brands to him.

“The show with all its elements and infusions promises an amazing experience for the live audience while being packaged as a well-coordinated, global standard television show VOD platforms.”

Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

27

entertainment

Business etiquette

Janet Adetu

How self aware are you in the office? once had a colleague that spent so much time concentrating on his looks. Carrying a personality that appeared he was bigger and better than everyone else. He would flaunt expensive clothing, accessories and cars indicating that he had a wealthy background. Though he came across friendly but in a very arrogant way that still positioned him on a supposedly higher scale. In a subtle way he became quite annoying as he did not consider or place himself as part of the team. When speaking at meetings he would have conflicting personalities, at time say completely nothing while when it suited him on other days his voice and opinion would be the loudest. He became rude to other colleagues by his mere utterances. It was not long before I began to have my ears ull of so many incidences and tails of his behaviour and mannerisms within and outside the office.

Our workplaces are fraught with people from all walks of life. Today, multi-generations are all operating under one roof, expected to work together with respect all to produce positive results of growth and sustainability for the company. It is great to be among colleagues that make you feel comfortable, have a knack for creating laughter, are inspiring, easy going and accommodating.

Going to work every day should be something to look forward to where you have created a working family, a team all with a common goal in mind.

Unfortunately, as we can see

I

Are you a difficult colleague? our workplaces are not so simple, it calls for open mindedness and the adaptation of the behaviours of some colleagues. What I mean is where you have a few characters that clearly are different from the rest it can be either a positive or negative experience.

In the case of the latter where a colleague comes across as a complete nuisance it can be draining, exhausting, discouraging, burdensome, troublesome and totally unproductive.

How best to deal with these types of colleagues and their individual personalities to be progressively productive in the workplace is the key to organizational success.

In this article I will be identifying the characteristics of difficult colleagues, as it occurred to me that many people are totally unaware of the traits they carry. They either maintain them as habits because they do not know how to deal with it or they simply ignore the negative traits and allow others to deal with it without taking any responsibility.

As a difficult colleague you are prone to stirring up conflict, disorganization, enmity, negative emotional intelligence, stress, depression and a host of many others.

Why colleagues are difficult i. Personality traits are problematic from youth growth ii. A feeling of entitlement iii. Role models ineffective or inappropriate iiii. A dysfunctional culture existing v. Inefficient managers vi. Negative temperament vii. Impatience and lack of empathy Identifying difficult colleagues a. Golden gossiper A common characteristic of a very talkative person who is restless most times. A gossiper simply does not mind being the bearer of good, bad or ugly news so long as they are the first to spill the news. Such people

put that gossip before the real job and may tend to allow it to distract their daily responsibility. The gossiper also does not mind distracting others, whoever cares to listen and engage in further fuelling the conversation. It is important to beware of such personalities as even though there is no smoke without fire it is not everything you hear that is the truth. Chances are that most gossip carries exaggerated and hyped up information. A gossiper will come across initially as nice but very petty and unimpressive. b. Rude responder There are colleagues that are simply poor team players, they are loners and prefer to stay isolated. They tend to ignore phone messages even when questions are asked that require immediate and clear responses. It also happens with emails where no response is given. Such colleagues tend to hoard information from other colleagues either intentionally to gain full credit or partially to stall and mark for more time. A rude responder will ignore and still feel entitled to be rude about it as if it is a personal choice as to whether they respond or not. Being In the midst of such a person they come across as angry, bitter or just nonchalant towards others. You do not need to be physically present to experience this rude responder, if care is not taken it will appear that the person has a personal grudge against you. c. Bossy bully There are colleagues that are extroverts so come across as loud and lousy, very bossy and a nuisance. This tends to apply more to those who have a leadership position, where in a bid to come across as a stern leader they are bullyish in nature and stir up fear, anxiety and stress among their team. Many bosses are unaware of their impact on others, they lack emotional intelligence and fail to see the withdrawal symptoms of their team members. The Bossy Bully is very detrimental l to an organization

NECLive to deepen narrative on Nigeria entertainment industry SEYI JOHN SALAU

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i g e r i a n E nt e r t a i n ment Conference (NECLive) has announced a new format for the 8th edition of the expansion of the entertainment conference to accommodate new activities, events and programmes in order to deepen its impact and shore up its contributions to Nigeria’s entertainment and creative industry.

NECLive is an initiative of ID Africa, owners of theNETng and for the past seven years, the conference has run as an intensive full day, nine-hour event featuring panel sessions, insights from industry leaders and critically innovative conversations.

The theme for the this year’s edition scheduled for April 22, 2020, is tagged “Building The Future”, which will expectedly explore various ways of maximizing the potential and impact of recent strides in distribution, cinemas,

events, promotions, exhibitions, productions and festivals, and how stakeholders can erect the infrastructure necessary to build the desired future for Nigeria’s creative and entertainment industry.

“Since the 2019 edition of NECLive, we have been working hard behind the scenes to redesign the entire NECLive experience. Our goal is to offer more value to all attendees, our brand partners, entertainment industry professionals, performers and creatives in Nigeria, and we believe the 2020 edition will deliver this objective,” said Femi Falodun, the CEO of ID Africa.

Adekunle Ayeni, founder and convener of NECLive, said with this new approach, #NECLive8 hopes to introduce tougher conversations that will push stakeholders towards extracting more value from the ecosystem than is currently obtainable.

“We set up NECLive eight years ago as an intervention to rally everyone towards building the industry of our dreams. Eight www.businessday.ng

years on, we are glad to witness and facilitate the transformation of our home entertainment, our music and our media. And we are calling on the government, practitioners, fans and investors to come to the party,” Ayeni stated.

According to him, the expansion also allows for opportunities to introduce more experiential consumer activations and activities which will offer more value to attendees, creatives and brand partners.

The two-day programme according to the convener will incorporate the standard elements of NECLive alongside new elements such as awards dinner designed to celebrate the best of Nigerian entertainment, and a concert which will feature performances from across the spectrum of the country’s entertainment industry.

NECLive will hold at the Landmark Center, Lagos on April 22, 2020, while the NECLive concert will take place at the same venue from 5pm the same day.

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‘ How best to

deal with these types of colleagues and their individual personalities to be progressively productive in the workplace is the key to organizational success

as the impact on staff members negative attitudes, unproductive outcomes and psychologicalissues. Watch out though it is one thing to be bossy, another to be a bully the combination of both is danger. d. Drama diva Every office has a drama queen whose presence is felt from any distance. Such personalities demand attention, they seek for it and find it.

They are usually loud verbally, virtually and visually at times attraction can be misleading as they distract a lot. Little things create a stir with drams divas as they quite opinionated in their views. Interestingly drama divas are very assertive, when they are serious at work, they can be though may still fail to carry others along. At times a little space and bouts of ignoring may set them in check as reality begins to set in. e. Constant complainer Somehow coming from various backgrounds and upbringing differing perspectives of life show up given different scenarios and environments.

A constant complainer is one who generally is dissatisfied about almost everything. This person fails to be objective or see the positive side of things and can demotivate even the most inspired. Getting to the root cause of this negative reaction will entail coaching with an experienced coach to identify many underlining issues that the person is unaware of.

Complainers need to be in a position of leadership to keep them productively active In my next article I will be talking about handling these difficult colleagues- all about sharing some love.

Please feel free to connect with me if you have questions and enquiries personally and professionally.

Also please share your experience with me by sending an email to or janet.adetu@jsketiquetteconsortium.com. / jtadetu@gmail.com Follow and like @janetadetu @jsketiquetteconsortium I look forward to hearing from you.

Aunty vs Biggie: The intrigues of reality TV’s personalities

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n all the editions of Big Brother Naija, housemates and viewers alike look forward to hearing, “This is Big Brother!”, four words that have become a popular catch phrase with lovers of the show. In Nigeria, Big Brother Naija is unarguably the number one reality TV show, amassing followers from across the continent and beyond.

Even after four seasons, many are still tickled by the concept of the reality show that focuses on a group of male and female housemates governed by the all-seeing -you guessed right, Big Brother.

This personality, fondly called ‘Biggie’ is the show’s protagonist, the owner of the house, and the one whose rules must not be broken. His voice is distinct, echoing throughout the house and bringing its inhabitants to submission when necessary. No one sees Biggie; his voice is all you need to hear as a reminder of your stay in his house and competition.

Biggie is not there to babysit anyone. On the contrary, he leaves you to explore the luxuries his house provides whilst you play your game.

He listens. Biggie listens to every @Businessdayng

conversation in his house and listens twice as much during diary room sessions. He never tells you what to do but instead prods you to keep talking till you arrive at a decision.

This mystery character on his eponymous show will always leave both his housemates and viewers guessing his next move.

In a few days, reality TV fans will be introduced to another unique personality in a brand-new reality show, Ultimate Love.

Ultimate Love is premised on single men and women living together in a Love Pad with the hopes of finding love that will culminate in marriage. They will get to compete and carry out different tasks as couples that will test their bond and win the public’s votes. The ultimate prize is finding love but there will be other mouth-watering prizes including an all-expense paid traditional wedding ceremony and a fully furnished home – if the winning couple decide to get married.

However, before they arrive at this point, they are going to be governed by a pivotal character on the show, aptly referred to as ‘Aunty’.

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Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

LEADINGWOMAN

EFE UKALA, the institutional investor adviser on globally relevant matters Over $1bn in institutional capital...how are you able to do this?

In the entrepreneurship and investment space, the importance of network cannot be overemphasized. We have been lucky to connect investors to our trainees that are among the best on the continent and have large assets under management.

Kemi Ajumobi

E

fe Ukala is the founder of ImpactHER, an impact driven organisation that focuses on bridging the financing gap for women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa. The organisation achieves its mission by helping African women business owners to access institutional capital for their business, scale their businesses while also helping them tackle business operational challenges, access new markets through the use of technology, and become investor-ready.

ImpactHER has trained over 5000 African female entrepreneurs in 43 African countries, on a pro bono basis, on how to run successful businesses and become investor-ready. ImpactHER’s intervention has, launched hundreds of African female-led businesses online, helped African women supply their products to U.S. vendors, and given African female-led SMEs access to over $1billion in institutional capital.

Ukala is also an experienced investment/private equity lawyer and has extensive experience in private and public investments arising out of frontier markets, inclusive of Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Rwanda. She has advised on investment worth over $15 billion in the U.S. market and over $300 million directed into Sub Saharan Africa. Previously, she served as lead counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at a private equity firm focused on investing into Sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, she serves as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at JP Morgan where she advises institutional investors.

Additionally, Efe served as the 41st Vice President of the Association of Black Women Attorneys NYC. Efe received her A.B. from the University of Chicago where she was a Jeff Metcalf Fellow and her J.D. from Washington and Lee University School of Law. Efe is a member of the New York State and New Jersey State Bars. She was an elected member of Board of the University of Chicago Black Alumni Association.

She is an advocate for financial inclusion for African women and the prosperity of Africa, having been featured in Forbes and spoken at Harvard Business School, the United Nations, Columbia Business School, Cornell University Business School on issues relating to Africa.

My story As the first child of 4 children and a product of the federal government secondary boarding school system in Nigeria, I learned from an early age the importance of leadership, independence, and hard work.

Attending a federal government secondary school in Nigeria allowed me to appreciate independence from an early age and at the

same time made me aware of the huge income gap in Nigeria. From my observation, I had a choice to be average or to work hard to be above average and hope that with a little sprinkle of luck, I would be successful. At about 14 years old, I choose the later. I remember from time to time, my Dad would say, “has hard work ever killed anyone?” I grew up having this phrase as a backdrop each day. I was so inspired to be the best that I could be – throughout my schooling and during my career. With this attitude, no task was too mundane or too intimidating for me. In fact, I remember as a younger lawyer in New York, I would walk into an office and would realize the office was a bit dusty. I would literally pick up the cleaning spray and a rag, wipe the office down and then attempt to start the day’s task which is usually comprised of a list that I had written the previous day. My use of the word “attempt” is not accidental because once I took my sit to start working on the task list that I had made from the previous day; I would quickly realize that other work emergencies had emerged that I would have to help the C-suite resolve. I would then spend the whole day trying to resolve such www.businessday.ng

issues and would only be able to get to my tasks of the day at about 5 – 6pm. I would often joke that this is when my work day actually started, from 8:30am to about 6pm was my “pre-work” hours – I was just warming up for the work day.

I would then proceed to working through my task list from about 6pm to anytime between 1am and 3am. And yes, the next day, I’ll be in the office before 9am. I remain grateful for that opportunity, it allowed me to prove myself, test my limits and while doing what I love to do – lawyering. I, however, do not think I would have been able to be successful at that job without the skills that my parents had instilled in me - humility, hard work, and leadership.

How are you bridging the financial gap for women SMEs in Africa?

Through my non-profit, ImpactHER, African women SME owners are given access to finance that they need to grow their business. The women are trained on how to build the best businesses possible – for example, a Nigerian woman that attended our training testified to having her business turnover increase by 40% within a few months of working with us.

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The women that successfully build the recommended infrastructure are then further trained to be investor ready and then connected to investor or debt financing partners. We have observed that some women shy away from equity and would rather raise debt.

In addition, we also convert nontechnologically enabled SMEs to tech-enabled SMEs, thereby, giving female SME owners access to new markets by leveraging technology. ImpactHER also ensures that these women are not working in a vacuum through programs specifically designed to cure the problem.

How are you able to train over 5,000 African women entrepreneurs in 43 countries?

Networks and technology. Given my experience in structuring investment deals around Africa, in over 15 countries, I have been lucky enough to plant deep roots and develop relationships on the continent. As such, we are able to leverage our deep networks and align with people that are equally keen about the prosperity of Africa. We train women on a monthly basis and consistently seek ways to improve our training offerings. @Businessdayng

Did you always want to be a Lawyer? Share on your passion for being an investment/private equity lawyer Observing my father and my innate desire to use my voice as a tool to champion causes for the well-being of others has always been my thing. As a young girl, I observed my Dad advocate for the human rights of a particular client, an individual who many would shy away from advocating for under the circumstances. This observation changed my outlook on life and thought me the importance of one’s voice. I am extremely grateful for that experience as it made choosing a career an easy one for me.

After I started practicing Law in New York, I felt Africa was calling me [laughs]. I was deeply interested in how I could contribute to Africa’s success story. I quickly developed a keen interest in the investment space, particularly as it relates to Africa. I then became very intentional about seeking opportunities that would allow me to combine my legal skills with this interest. This later on translated into real opportunities and allowed me to structure deals across several African countries from Zimbabwe to Kenya and in both private companies and publicly listed companies. I have enjoyed every bit of it.

Advising on investment of over 15billion dollars in the US and over 300 million in Sub Saharan Africa It’s been an interesting experience as every deal presents an opportunity for you to hone your skills and think creatively. Also, the investment space also allows you to consistently improve your critical thinking skills given that no two deals are always exactly the same and you have the opportunity to work on deals simultaneously on a daily basis.

Being Assistant General Counsel and Vice President at JP Morgan It’s been an amazing experience and a great opportunity to work with such a group of talented and diverse individuals. The job presents an opportunity of constant learning and working on interesting deals. It presents the opportunity to work on the most complex and sophisticated deals.

As such, it keeps me on my feet.

Read the concluding inspiring story about EFE UKALA on our website www.businessday.ng as she graces our Women’s Hub magazine cover for this week. You are just a click away!

Friday 07 February 2020

Harvard Business Review

BUSINESS DAY

29

ManagementDigest

How to decide who can join the family business Jack Mitchell

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t’s one of the most consequential decisions family business leaders face: When relatives come asking for jobs, do you want them in your business? And if you do, when does it make sense for them to join?

Long ago, my brother Bill and I decided we wanted to inspire direct descendants of our mom and dad, the founders of our retail clothing business, to make a career with us. The two of us constituted the second generation of our family business and were blessed with seven sons between us. We wanted all seven to come aboard. Yet, in networking groups we belonged to, we saw unfortunate examples of new family members wreaking havoc on a business — sons and daughters with zero experience who came in and began ordering their parents around, or a dictatorial father inciting such heated conflicts that the capable next generation fled the business.

We certainly didn’t want that.

Working with a family business consultant, we arrived at two basic rules for entry in our own company. In general, we dislike rules, because our family business is based on our values as guidelines to our culture. But we thought it important to establish some rules so that both the family and the other business associates are clear on how things work, and so no one thinks the family is anointed or entitled.

These are our two basic rules: — AFTER GRADUATING FROM COLLEGE OR THE EQUIVALENT, YOU MUST WORK ELSEWHERE FOR AT LEAST FIVE YEARS BEFORE YOU CAN JOIN THE FAMILY BUSINESS. We want the next generation to follow their dreams and learn about what it takes to get a job outside the family business, and to be able to sample success in it or else switch to a job they like better during this period.

It doesn’t matter to us what family members do when they work elsewhere — we want them to consider their own aspirations. Five years feels right to us. It gives a young man or

woman the opportunity to hold several different positions, or one position long enough, to taste life outside the family business.

And that outside job has to be legitimate. The point is to try something genuinely interesting while also earning a paycheck.

One of the other benefits of the five-year endeavor is that it gives a family member the chance to mature and learn a lot, so that when he does arrive at the family business, he can bring along new and exciting ideas and skills.

— YOU MUST BE A GOOD FIT FOR AN ACTUAL JOB AT OUR COMPANY. Family members must apply for an actual job that’s open, and be qualified for it. He can’t bump someone who’s more qualified, or accept a phony job.

No one is entitled to a job.

When we implemented these two rules in the 1980s, they were somewhat unusual.

More recently, we added some corollaries, such as 1) you must be interviewed by several of the nonfamily members of our advisory board, and 2) you must be supervised for a reasonable period of time by a nonfamily member.

Why are these rules so important?

Time and time again, a bright son or daughter steps right into the family business straight out of school, and it becomes a colossal nightmare. We’ve seen family businesses implode when the rules of entry aren’t clear. For example, a founder of a high-profile family business near us urged his sons and daughters to join his company, but several of them felt entitled, and dad stubbornly made all the decisions. There were stupendous fights. It was clear to Bill and to me that father doesn’t always know best, and that there has to be some room for the next generation to explore the opportunity to fly on their own.

Families also have to face that there’s no correlation between genes and business competence. All parents like to think their kids are smart and capable, but unfortunately that’s not so. Better that children discover their true capabilities outside the family business. If their kids join right away, family members may find it hard to be objective about their skills. And if they don’t come in for a real job, it sends a terrible message to nonfamily members who

ideally “feel” like family and believe in a career with you.

At first, not everyone liked our rules. Indeed, our dad was vociferously opposed to them.

One of our sons, Bob, who had a lot of experience working in our store in high school and college and had two internships in other stores, wanted to come in straight from college. Bill and I had to say no. Dad thought we were fools, and barked at us, “You’ll send him out to pasture, and he’ll never come back!”

But we felt strongly that if you start making exceptions, then the whole structure collapses. After all, we disliked rules to begin with, so the few that we did institute were really important to us.

Of my own four sons, Bob landed a job as a photo editor at Sports Illustrated. Russell worked in computer sales at IBM. They are now our coCEOs. Andrew did relationship marketing for Godiva Chocolatier. Todd joined Apple Computer. His only regret was that he sold his Apple stock when he came into our family business!

By working with someone other than their mother, father and brothers, they learned accountability and that a business has fiscal goals that have to be met.

Bill’s sons took their own

disparate paths. Scott was the first family member to arrive with retail clothing experience, from Abercrombie & Fitch, Eddie Bauer and Ann Taylor. Chris worked for NBC Sports. Tyler worked for Brioni, then Harry Rosen men’s stores in Canada.

They entered our business with polished selling and buying skills, and they understood how valuable it is to personalize relationships.

Seven out of seven sons satisfied our basic rules and joined the family business. But I don’t think Bill and I would have viewed it as a loss if any of them had decided to become a doctor or a psychic or a cowboy. That would have been their choice, and we would have supported it unconditionally.

Bill and I are already looking happily to the future. And we believe our rules of entry have set the company up for a smooth transition to the fourth generation. By establishing similar rules, other family business owners might well enjoy the same satisfaction: a family business that remains just that for generations to come.

Jack Mitchell is the chairman of the Mitchell Stores and the author of “Hug Your Customers.”

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Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Live @ The Exchanges Market Statistics as at Thursday 06 February 2020

Top Gainers/Losers as at Thursday 06 February 20202020 LOSERS

GAINERS Company

Company

Opening

Closing

Change

N119.6

N118.2

-1.4

BUACEMENT

N36.2

N35

-1.2

CILEASING

N6.65

N6

-0.65

0.35

NASCON

N13.5

N13

-0.5

0.3

SKYAVN

N4.15

N3.74

-0.41

Opening

Closing

Change

GUARANTY

N29.1

N30

0.9

MTNN

ZENITHBANK

N19.2

N20

0.8

ACCESS

N9.35

N9.75

0.4

UACN

N8.05

N8.4

N7.1

N7.4

ETI

ASI (Points) DEALS (Numbers) VOLUME (Numbers)

28,140.41 4,340.00 317,190,513.00

VALUE (N billion) MARKET CAP (N Trn)

3.429

Global market indicators FTSE 100 Index 7,504.79GBP +22.31+0.30%

Nikkei 225 23,873.59JPY +554.03+2.38%

S&P 500 Index 3,342.14USD +7.45+0.22%

Deutsche Boerse AG German Stock Index DAX 13,574.82EUR +96.49+0.72%

Generic 1st ‘DM’ Future 29,266.00USD +25.00+0.09%

Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index 2,866.51CNY +48.42+1.72%

14.497

Market rebounds as bulls show up on Custom Street Stories by Iheanyi Nwachukwu

T

he bulls staged welcome return at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday February 6, which helped the Bourse halt record loss trend seen lately.

As market sentiment turned positive, investors gain N27billion while the NSE All Share Index (ASI) increased by 0.17percent.

All NSE sectoral indexes closed in the green except NSE Consumer Goods and NSE Industrial Goods Indexes that closed negative.

Twenty (20) stocks gained as against 16 losers.

The market’s year-todate (YtD) returns currently stands at +4.84percent.

Market analysts expect gains from Thursday’s session to filter into Friday. GTBank Plc rallied most after its share price increase from

N29.1 to N30, adding 90kobo or 3.09percent.

Zenith Bank Plc also advanced from N19.2 to N20, adding 80kobo or 4.17percent, while Access Bank Plc rose from N9.35 to N9.75, adding 40kobo or 4.28percent.

MTNN dipped most, from N119.6 to N118.2, losing N1.4 or 1.17percent. BUA Cement Plc also decreased from N36.2 to N35, losing N1.2 or 3.31percent, while C&I Leasing decreased from N6.65 to N6, losing 65kobo or 9.77percent.

The NSE ASI increased from 28,093.76 points to 28,140.41points while the value of listed equities increased from N14.470trillion to N14.497trillion.

In 4,340 deals, equity investors exchanged 317,190,513 units valued at N3.429billion. FBN Holdings, FCMB Group, Zenith Bank, UBA, and Nigerian Breweries were actively traded stock.

L – R: Oscar N. Onyema, chief executive officer, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) presenting a replica of the closing gong to Honourable Minister of Environment, Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar during a courtesy visit to The Exchange in Lagos.

Vetiva Research

11 Plc: Lower margins weaken FY’19 earnings

T

urnover climbs 16percent year-onyear (y/y) In its recently released unaudited full year (FY) 2019 results, Mobil Oil Plc (11 Plc) grew its turnover 16percent y/y to N192 billion, while its after-tax earnings declined 5percent y/y to N9billion.

Despite the impressive growth in FY’19 turnover, gross profit came in flat at N16.6 billion, as gross margin worsened to 9p ercent (F Y ’2018: 10percent)—highlighting the lean margins in the downstream space.

Meanwhile, rental income from the company’s real estate property dropped 7percent y/y to N8 billion, bringing FY’19 operating profit to N13.1 billion (down 1percent y/y).

T hat s a i d , o p e rat i n g margin came in lower at 7percent (FY’18: 8percent).

Overall, MOBIL registered an after-tax profit of N8.9 b i l l i o n (d ow n 5 p e rc e nt y/y), resulting in a ROAE of 24percent (FY’18: 31percent).

Improved margins support fourth-quater (Q4) earnings I n Q 4 ’ 1 9 , re v e n u e advanced 3percent quarteron-quarter (q/q) to N50.2 billion, in line with our estimate. Although revenue breakdown has not been released by the firm, we presume that the growth in revenue was driven by the lubricants business, as the border closure might have weighed on fuel sales during the quarter.

Furthermore, Q4’19 gross margin moved higher to 10percent (Q3’19: 8percent), taking gross profit for the quarter to N5.2 billion (up 31percent q/q).

The improvement in gross margin trickled down the income statement, resulting www.businessday.ng

in a 14percent q/q increase in operating profit to N3.6 billion (Vetiva estimate: N3.3 billion)—this was despite a 3percent q/q drop in rental income, which contributes 55percent of operating profit.

Overall, profit before tax came in at N3.7 billion (+16percent q/q).

Return on equity to stay flat at 24percent Given our base expectation that the borders will remain closed for most of half-year (H1) 2020, we are somewhat conservative about MOBIL’s revenue performance in 2020. As such, we project a modest revenue growth of 2percent for 2020.

Meanwhile, we expect gross margin to improve to 10percent (FY ’19: 9percent), stemming from our expectation of higher l u b r i ca nt s c o nt r i bu t i o n alongside anticipated lower landing costs.

On this basis, we expect

gross profit to advance 14percent y/y to N19.0 billion.

While we expect operating expenses to come in at N11.8 billion (up 2percent y/y), we envisage that rental income will remain flat at N8.1 billion, taking operating profit to N15.4 billion (FY’19: N13.1 billion). Overall, we project a 15percent y/y growth in profit after tax to N10.2 billion, translating to a ROAE of 24percent (flat y/y).

Our 12-month target price has been revised slightly to N283.15 (previous:N282.03).

We maintain our “buy” rating on the stock. However, this rating is subject to change upon release of the company’s audited financial statements.

Additionally, while no corporate action has been announced by the company, we expect FY’19 dividend per share to come in flat at N8.25, translating to payout ratio of 34percent (FY’18: 32percent).

https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

NSE lists 2.261bn additional shares of Abbey Mortgage Bank

T

he Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday, Februar y 6, 2020 listed additional 2.261billion ordinary shares of Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc. The shares offered by way of placement to VFD Group Plc at N1.05 were listed on the Daily Official @Businessdayng

List of The Nigerian Stock Exchange.

With this listing of the additional 2.261billion ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid up shares of Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc has now increased from 4.2billion to 6.461billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

@Businessdayng

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Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Sports GTBank Masters Cup Season 9 D reaches exciting final

2020 Olympic Games: Delta Programme on track, says Ogba

Anthony Nlebem

T

he semifinals of the 2020 GTBank Masters Cup Season 9 played out an assortment of beautiful football on Wednesday, February 5th 2019, at the Campus Square Mini Stadium, Lagos.

Just as excepted the games recorded less goals and spectator can testify of the increasing competitiveness on the pitch as each game gained an increasing momentums as each team battle for their chance to lift the Trophy.

The female category saw Ansar -Ud- Deen Girls High School, Itire and Greensprings College, Lekki lock horn in a game that ended 0-0 after full time. Greensprings College emerged winner in a penalty shootout (5-4).

Lead-Forte Gate College, Lekki scored a late goal to defeat high-fighting Queens College Yaba 1-0 to set up an interesting final against Greensprings College.

Action continues in the

male category as teams took to the pitch in their quest for the prestigious trophy, in the first game played, Anwar -ulIslam Model College,Agege edged Greensprings College Lekki to reach the final.

Also, Eko Boys High School trashed Kings College, Lagos 2-0 in a one sided encounter that saw Eko Boys dominate play.

In the male category Eko Boys High School, and An-

war -Ul- Islam Model College, Agege will duel for the Cup. There is no Doubt that the games will be exciting as fans look forward to the final games.

Establishe d in 2012, the GTBank Masters Cup is organized by foremost African financial institution, Guaranty Trust Bank, as a way of extending the benefits of the Bank’s football programs to students

outside the public school system.

Since its inception, the tournament has grown into one of the major platforms for discovering and developing exceptional football talents and many of its alumni are now on trials and scholarships with football clubs and academies in Nigeria and abroad. This year, the route to the title in both categories promises to be even tougher.

Milan derby, Premier League, LaLiga headlines weekend crackers Anthony Nlebem

F

ootball fans will be treated to a bumper package this weekend as games from the Premier League, Serie A and LaLiga as teams continue to fight for survival.

The weekend games begin with the Premier League encounter between rejuvenated Everton and Crystal Palace at Goodison Park on Saturday.

The game kicks off at 1:30pm.

Everton, who were languishing at the bottom of the table in the early part of the season, have been resurgent since the appointment of Italian tactician, Carlo Ancelotti, as manager.

The Toffees - currently placed ninth – are now more attack-minded, the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison and Nigeria’s Alex Iwobi flourishing. They are also tighter at the back, with central defender, Yerry Mina, regaining his form. Crystal Palace, on the other hand, have struggled all season and are currently lie 14th, just six points above

relegation places.

The Eagles have drawn three and lost two of their last five games, leaving manager Roy Hodgson worried. But with the tricky pair of Wilfred Zaha and Jordan Ayew in attack, they carry offensive plenty of offensive menace The Serie A will witness the fierce rivalry on Sunday when Inter Milan host AC Milan in

www.businessday.ng

the 296th Derby Della Madonnina (Milan Derby) at San Siro.

Inter, who won the first encounter 2-0 in September 2019, will seek to strengthen their chances of dislodging Juventus as the league champions.

The Nerazzurri slid from the first position to the second following three draws in their last five games. But Antonio Conte’s men remain within touching distance of their rival and will continue their chase for their first Serie A title since the 2009/2010 season.

The team will rely on the in-form strike partnership of Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez. They will, however, meet a Milan team who have been in indifferent form. The Rossoneri are currently in 8th position and are in danger of not qualifying for a European competition. Manager Stefano Pioli knows that his team must start winning and will hope the likes of Ante Rebic, Hakan Çalhanoğlu and star signing, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, deliver the goods.

Also on Sunday, reigning LaLiga champions, Barcelona,

will travel to face Real Betis at the Estadio Benito Villamarín.

Real Betis, currently placed 12th, have lost two and drawn two of their last five games, pushing them closer to the relegation battle. But coach Joan Francesc Ferrer, popularly known as Rubi, will hope that his charges – including striker Borja Iglesias Quintas, midfielder Nabil Fekir, and veteran winger Joaquin – will rise to the occasion against their more illustrious opponents. Secondplaced Barcelona will aim to regain top spot. Los Blaugrana are three points behind their rivals, Real Madrid, and manager Quique Setién knows that another loss may hamper the team’s chances of retaining the LaLiga title. Although, the team will miss injured striker, Luis Suarez, skipper Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann will provide sufficient threat upfront, Ivan Rakitic and Frenkie De Jong will provide depth in the middle of the park while Gerad Pique will be tasked to lead the team’s defence line.

https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

elta State determination to ensure that her athletes made podium appearances at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is on track according to Solomon Ogba the Chairman of Delta State Athletics.

Ogba’s confidence is buoyed by the performance of Raymond Ekevwo in the 60m Indoor over the weekend.

Ekevwo won the race in 6.53 sec, the fastest time in the NCAA this year.

Ogba said the aim of the Delta State Olympics Program is to ensure that Nigeria made podium appearance at the games, “The task of ensuring that Nigeria succeeds in Tokyo is not what the Nigerian Olympics Committee (NOC) and the Sports Ministry can do alone, every state, clubs and other stakeholders in sports must work with the two organizations so that we can make podium appearances at the games”.

Others athletes in Delta Olympics Program are Blessing Okagbare, Ese Brume, Divine Oduduru and others.

Ogba is optimistic that Team Nigeria will succeed

in Tokyo, “Our performances in Tokyo will be better than our performance at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Delta State is determined to help our athletes do Nigeria proud. We have identified athletes that have the potentials to make podium appearance and we have started paying training grants since 2018, those that needed new coaches and training camp we have assisted them. We even employed phycologists and nutritionists for some of them, so I am confident that our athletes will win medals in Tokyo”.

Ogba also congratulated Tobi Amusan on her successful performance over the weeke

Luckybet unveils Finidi George as brand ambassador

L

UCKYBET.NG, Nigeria’s latest entrant into the sport betting industry has announced Finidi George as its Brand Ambassador. Finidi, famous for the No7 jersey is one the best player to have played for the Super Eagles.

At the googletastic launch ceremony, LUCKYBET.NG revealed its plans to become Nigeria’s most innovative, engaging, fun and entertainment gaming brand. The former Nigerian international and UEFA Champions League winner declared that his reason for accepting the role is his belief in the guiding principles and philosophy of the LUCKYBET. NG brand.

“LUCKYBET.NG provides a world class series of entertaining and rewarding opportunities, and its state of the art platform will empower Nigerians during this economic situation by tapping into the passion points of Nigerians. There is a lot that LUCKYBET.NG has to offer from live betting to virtual gaming and the ultimate Cash-Out. But really beyond all of this, my major attraction to LUCKYBET. NG is the fact that unlike other gaming companies out there they strongly believe in responsible gaming”.

“I think they have shown that they care, they are willing to create jobs for over 20,000 people using a distinctive franchise model and with the presence of soccer, you will see that it is a combination of @Businessdayng

everything, and I key into that.

I am glad to be a part of this too because I have a role to play in helping punters to bet wisely.” said Finidi.

Further reinforcing this, the CEO of LUCKYBET.NG, John Overett stated that “the persona of the living legend will help foster growth for the brand as we believe that technology, innovation, alongside entertainment values and customers experience will help us get to where we want to be”.

“We offer a wide array of sports betting opportunities including 20,000+ in-play events per month, excellent customer service, very fast payments, with transparency being a vital part of our essence. Customers can also bet via their tablets and smartphones on the newly launched iPad and iPhone applications, offering the same array of betting opportunities on the go. We have our own personality and aim to be different. We believe that with our ambassador, Finidi, and our brand mascot “Mr. LUCKY”, punters will see these unique differences and tap into the LUCKYBET.NG philosophy: Get Lucky, Get Rich.”

Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

news At last, Nigeria’s Constitution to be reviewed by 56-member committee - Senate ... as opposition senator alleges favouritism in selection Solomon Ayado, Abuja

S

enate on Thursday constituted a 56-member committee to review and handle all bills proposed for amendments in the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

Specifically, the Senate reveals that the committee comprises eight principal officers as steering committee while the larger and or expanded committee has two senators per geo-political zone, and a senator from each of the 36 states in the federation. Senate president, Ahmad Lawan, announced the committee during plenary on Thursday.

He charged the committee members to be very patriotic so as to come up with a refined constitution that will guarantee the nation’s stability, foster peace and unity.

The committee is chaired by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege. It is traditional for the Senate that DSP chairs the committee.

Other principal officers of the Senate in the committee include the Leader of the Senate, Abdullahi Yahaya , Deputy Senate Leader, Rob-

ert Ajayi Boroffice, Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, Deputy Minority Leader, Emmanuel Bwacha, Minority Whip, Philip Tanimu Aduda, and Deputy Minority Whip, Sahabi Alhaji Yau.’ Other members of the committee per state are: Theodore Orji (PDP Abia Central), Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed (APC Adamawa Central), Stella Oduah (PDP Anambra North), Albert Bassey Akpan (PDP Akwa Ibom North East), and Dauda Jika (APC Bauchi Central).

Also, Degi Eremienyo (APC Bayelsa East), Gabriel Suswam (PDP Benue North East), Abubakar Kyari (APC Borno North), Gershom Bassey (PDP Cross River South), James Manager (PDP Delta South), Sam Egwu (PDP Ebonyi North), Mathew Urhoghide (PDP Edo South), and Bamidele Opeyemi (APC Ekiti Central), are committee members.

The lawmakers representing states in the committee are: a former deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu (PDP Enugu West), Danjuma Goje (APC Gombe Central), Rochas Okorocha (APC Imo West), Muhammad Sabo (APC Jigawa South West), Uba Sani (APC Kaduna Central), Kabiri Gaya (APC Kano

South), and Ahmed Baba Kaita (APC Katsina North).

Others are Mohammed Adamu Aleiro ( APC Kebbi Central), Smart Adeyemi ( APC Kogi West), Sadiq Umar ( APC Kwara North), Oluremi Tinubu ( APC Lagos Central) , Abdullahi Adamu ( Nasarawa West), Sani Musa ( APC Niger East), Ibikunle Amosun ( APC Ogun Central), Nicholas Tofowomo ( PDP Ondo South), Bashiru Ajibola ( APC Osun Central) and Teslim Folarin ( APC Oyo Central).

Also on the committee list based each allocation are: Senators Dimka Hezekiah Ayuba ( APC Plateau Central), George Sekibo ( PDP Rivers East) , Aliyu Wammako ( APC Sokoto North) , Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf ( APC Taraba Central), Ibrahim Gaidam ( APC Yobe East) and Mohammed Hassan Gusau ( PDP Zamfara Central).

For representation of six geopolitical zones, the committee has Sebators Bala Ibn Na’Allah ( APC Kebbi South) and Ibrahim Shekarau ( APC Kano Central ) for the North West geo political zone while for the North East zone, Senators Kashim Shettima ( APC Borno Central) and Lawal Gumau ( APC Bauchi South) are selected.

Imo governor approves immediate implementation of N30,000 minimum wage … extends tenure of investigation panels, commissions of inquiry Iheanyi Nwachukwu

G

overnor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has approved immediate implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage in the State Public Service for the least paid worker on Grade level 1 Step 1.

A statement signed by Oguwike Nwachuku, chief press secretary/media adviser to the governor, noted that consequential adjustments on other levels will be implemented as soon as the ongoing GovernmentLabour negotiations are concluded.

It would be recalled that at a recent meeting Gov-

ernor Uzodinma had with labour leaders in the State, he promised that he will pay the N30,000 minimum wage if all the negotiations with them are concluded.

Meanwhile, the governor has extended the tenure of the Investigative Panels and Commissions of Inquiry set up by the previous administration on contracts land acquisition and others. He did this after meeting with the committees and in keeping to his mantra of Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Recovery (3Rs) to drive home the policy thrust of his administration.

On assumption of office, January 15, 2020, the

governor promised that his administration would foster prosperity, security and development. Acknowledging that government is a continuum, Governor Uzodinma assured Imo people that his administration would not go into witch-hunting, rather, would continue from where the previous administration stopped, particularly in areas he believed would impact positively on the standard of living of Imo people.

During his meeting with the committees, the governor extended their tenor based on request by their members to enable them turn in objective and implementable reports.

33,576 score credit in maths, English amid increased exam malpractice Godsgift Onyedinefu, Abuja

A

bout 33,576 candidates, representing 48.68 percent of candidates that sat for the November/ December 2019 National Examinations Council (NECO) Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) for external candidates scored five credits and above, including English language and mathematics.

Further breakdown

of the results released on Thursday shows that 70,140 candidates sat for the examination and 50,057 candidates, representing 72.57 percent got five credits and above irrespective of English language and mathematics.

A comparative analysis of candidates that scored five credits and above shows 52.48 percent in 2018 and 48.68 percent for 2019.

This shows a decline of 13.8 percent. www.businessday.ng

The NECO registrar, Abubakar Gana, in a statement however said the number of examination malpractices increased, saying while 12,084 cases were recorded in 2018, 17,004 cases were recorded in 2019.

“This came about as a result of the comprehensive monitoring by senior staff, which also resulted in the decline in number of candidates with five credits and above,” Gana said. https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

@Businessdayng

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Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

news Inefficient registration system fuels extortions...

Continued from page 2

ing day which was a Saturday, after promising to pay him N1,000 extra. He brought the slip to an agreed bus-stop.

That was the day the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) suspended the use of NIN as a requirement for the 2020 UTME and Direct Entry registrations, bringing to an abrupt end the mad rush to the NIMC enrolment centres across the country.

But with the Federal Government on Wednesday announcing that submission of National Identity Number (NIN) by Nigerians would now be a compulsory requirement for registration and activation of SIM cards, there are fears that the rush would return as well as the extortions.

How NIMC materials get into the hands of non-NIMC officials is not clear but the market for this extortion continues to thrive on a poor and inefficient system of registration that ought to be free.

It’s free. From registration to collection, enrolment for the national identification number is free, messages legibly inked on the walls within the Alausa-Ikeja office of the National Identification Management Commission said.

But what was hidden behind that smokescreen of messages was that free meant a sluggish process of toiling in queue for hours, even days, to initiate registration for the NIN. With a code of ethics that is tolerant to all forms of vice like extortion, unruly conduct and forgery, outrageous fees apply to everything free about NIN in a manner that seems to show the NIMC management may be out of tune with the open corruption in their centres across the country.

The shoddy management of the process has raised questions about why citizen-centred projects handled by the government are often clogged by avoidable hardship and inefficiency. From international passport processing to voter card application, people are fleeced to enrol. The trend has become tiring to the public that some Nigerians are beginning to drive initiatives to

expose the human and technical inadequacies fuelling the problem, while asking for migration to a seamless digital registration.

Segun Awosanya, chief executive officer at Social Intervention Advocacy Foundation (SIAF), recently announced the foundation’s resolve to work at the arrest and dismissal of extortionists through institution of legal charges. He has asked the public to reach the SIAF to report NIMC centres where bribe is demanded for NIN registration with evidence such as short videos of demanding agents and the location.

“National Identification Number (NIN) registration as currently being run by rogues within the system fleecing the populace of money is the most grievous and boldest fraud yet in our socio-political history.

The form is being sold despite the warnings in the timewasting exercise,” Awosanya explained in a Twitter thread on the issue.

“Go to any of the NIMC centres and see the effort in futility yourself. Why can’t we fill the data online and link with our BVN to validate the info without needing to capture all over again? Why must we be extorted and our time wasted? The most merciful of the fraudsters running this racket charge N1,000 per head for this paper boldly adorned with warnings that the form is not for sale at the top and bottom of the page. The process has become so difficult that people are left with no choice than to pay,” he tweeted.

There are currently three methods of enrolment, viz: self-service, assisted service and mobile enrolment. The NIMC describes the assisted means as a “walk-in-and-getassistance” from a support officer method of enrolment.

In this case the applicant who cannot fill the enrolment form independently will be guided to correctly fill the form with the required information.

The mobile-service process involves an applicant enrolling through any of the mobile enrolment stations available in neighbourhoods.

Under this method, the ap-

L-R: Lamidi Ejide, chairman, Ejide Nigeria Ltd.; Elizabeth Ajibola, MD. MT Olive Nig. Ltd.; Justina Uwaoma, MD, Joy the joy Ventures; Davlin Hainsworth, MD, Foods, Flour Mills of Nigeria plc, and Olarewaju Olajumoke, MD, Amazing Grace Multi, during the presentation of 30 tons of trucks to Flour Mills of Nigeria dealers, in Lagos, yesterday.

pact on inclusive growth, getting all of a country’s population on a digital trail will not only enable civic and social empowerment but will also make possible real and inclusive economic gains.

Individuals will, for instance, be able to unlock value and benefit as they interact with firms and government and other individuals in roles such as consumers, workers, microenterprises, taxpayers, civically engaged individuals, asset owners, among others.

Across emerging economies of Brazil, Nigeria, Ethiopia, India and China, McKinsey forecasts that 65 percent of potential value could accrue to individuals on the average, 7 percent to Nigerians in particular, making it a potent tool for inclusive growth. Output for a sector such as agriculture could increase by as much as 8 percent if 90 percent of farmers utilise digital ID to formalise land titles by 2030.

Farmers could also benefit through better targeting of agricultural support, such as crop insurance or agricultural subsidies, especially when combined with location information and remote sensing.

Abdulhamid Umar, general manager, operations and corporate communications at NIMC, is not unaware of this as he acknowledged in a

statement in December that a robust identity for Nigeria would deepen access to finance, access to basic health and educational services as well as labour market opportunities. He highlighted the relief for government in terms of the reduction in the cost of governance, better service delivery and improvement in the enforcement of law and order.

His major worry, however, was that without strong political leadership and commitment to financial resources and stakeholder collaboration, the national identity programme would not be successful and sustained.

But he failed to equally emphasise that the potential opportunities from the scheme could be trapped lost if fleecing stands in the way of 168 million unregistered Nigerians and the mismanagement of the available resources continues unchecked.

In what is considered the world’s largest biometric ID programme with nearly 1 billion registered users, India introduced Aadhaar as a measure to streamline government’s welfare scheme and curtail identity fraud. The registration has been made compulsory for a swath of public and private services including traffic tickets, bank accounts, pensions, and even

meals for undernourished children. In fact, indigent citizens have to get their fingerprints scanned to access their allocation of government rice. The level of people’s fear about it borders on security of private information and not the challenge of extortion that has largely complicated an otherwise simple registration in Nigeria.

Almost six years after the national e-identification was launched in 2014 in partnership with Mastercard, the adoption rate hovers at a measly 10 percent, locking up benefits to individuals.

“For example, we estimate a 1.8 percent boost in productivity for existing workers in Nigeria from increased access to formal labour markets and better matching of skills with jobs. As a result, both workers and micro-producers could see higher earnings,” the McKinsey Global Institute report stated.

If the government is sincere about the registration of citizens, the programme should be implemented in a manner that doesn’t work against citizens, Gbenga Ojewoye, a public affairs analyst under Centre for Change, argued. He averred that mismanagement of population issues leaves poor consequences on public decisions.

New 7.5% VAT spikes prices of commodities... New 7.5% VAT spikes prices of commodities...

“Now that telcos are adding 7.5 percent VAT to calls/ texts, is the government saying only the rich make phone calls?” a young man who simply identified himself as Kule told BusinessDay. Ayorinde Akinloye, a consumer goods research analyst at Lagos-based CSL Stockbrokers, said the Federal Government has continually stated that goods used by the average Nigerian “would not be affected but I doubt that and what we are seeing is an expected backlash from the masses”.

Even though some Nigerians enjoy the tax benefit on the exempted items, the 94 million Nigerians who currently live below the global poverty line of $1.90 a day and considered

extremely poor, according to the World Bank Group, still consume some value-added products and services which were examined to ascertain the veracity of the claim.

VAT is not charged on commodities like basic food items – additives (honey), bread, cereals, cooking oils, culinary herbs, fish, flour, and starch, fruits (fresh or dried), live or raw meat and poultry, milk, nuts, pulses, roots, salt, vegetables, and water (natural and table water.

Also exempted are locally manufactured sanitary towels, pads or tampons. Services rendered by microfinance banks, tuition relating to a nursery, primary, secondary and tertiary education also made the list.

Continued from page 4

get is projected at N8.155 trillion (7 percent or N561.2 billion more than the 2019 budget of N7.59 trillion), nothing less than N7.602 trillion was expected to come from oil revenue.

The coronavirus outbreak in China could cut oil demand by more than 250,000 bpd in the first quarter, Bloomberg quoted analysts and traders as saying. The virus, which originated in the city of Wuhan in central China, has already contributed to a sharp decrease in demand for crude, driving oil prices to bearmarket territory on Monday.

Riyadh and Moscow envi-

sioned a muscular alliance when they spearheaded the so-called OPEC-plus production pact in 2016. The two countries grew closerafterthekillingofSaudijournalist Jamal Khashoggi strained Saudi Arabia’s ties with the US. Riyadhhasbeendiscussingarms purchases from Russia and extra investments into the Eurasian nation’s giant gas reserves.

This week’s oil talks ended in a deadlock despite a phone call Monday between Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud and Russian President Vladimir Putin in which both agreed to ensure stability on the global oil market, according to the Kremlin. www.businessday.ng

plicant may request for an enrolment form and personally complete it or request for assistance from the support officer.

But none of these methods permits enrolment independent of NIMC officials, perhaps considering the capturing of physical body features such as the face and fingerprints or the potential for abuse by identity fraudsters.

The self-service is the most adopted method where applicants obtain a hard copy of the form in an enrolment centre and the biometric data of the applicant is processed by an enrolment officer. However, it is also the most thriving avenue for fleecing people, hurting Nigeria’s chance of identifying the number of lives that depends on its economy.

About 168 million of Nigerians estimated 200 million population have no form of identity coverage, according to World Bank’s Identification for Development 2018 annual report. Contrastingly, China with a population of 1.4 billion, more than seven times the size of Nigeria, has 100 percent of its population identified. About 88 percent of India’s 1.3 billion population are recognised.

According to a 2019 McKinsey Global Institute report on digital identifications’ im-

Continued from page 2

munication companies at about an average of 17 kobo per second as against the average of 14 kobo per second before the 50 percent hike in VAT. The same is expected for the cost of data.

“What it means is that the telecommunications company will not increase the cost of recharge cards but the value offered will reduce compared to what they offered before the increase in VAT, meaning Nigerians will be paying more for the same value they were getting at a lesser cost,” an industry expert told BusinessDay on the condition of anonymity.

While Nigeria’s new 7.5 per-

cent VAT remains one of the lowest in Africa behind Kenya’s 16 percent, and South Africa’s 15 percent, Nigeria’s minimum wage is almost two times less than what is being offered in other African countries.

The new N30,000 ($82) minimum wage in Nigeria is lower than Kenya’s Ksh13,572 ($130.86) and R3,500 ($240) paid in South Africa.

Checks by BusinessDay also revealed that contrary to the claim that Nigeria’s VAT policy does not affect the poor but only those who can afford luxury items, the VAT actually affects the general public who consume the items that were not exempted from the tax.

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Friday 07 February 2020

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ARTS

Arts as a driver for sustainability Polly Alakija

Founder, Five Cowries Initiative

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rt is a reflection of our cultures - the channel through which humankind’s civilisations manifest. The art we leave behind is often how our civilisations and cultures are measured.

The arts and its varied forms have been the most important driver for culture transfer across boundaries and generations.

From Picasso to Nok, we can tell of the past and the nature of previous generations because their thoughts were recorded as art. The complexities of a culture and the nuances that come with it are, not only transported across oceans, but imbibed by complete strangers to its nature, because of the arts – musings, commentary, celebration, reflection, and sometimes criticism of society’s actions.

Although creatives have been known to deliver a wide array of entertaining, inspirational and transformative pieces, for as long as humanity has existed, the value of this important aspect of society has often been underestimated. A long-ignored area of study, the role of the arts in improving development outcomes is rapidly gaining the attention of international academics and development practitioners. Globally, creatives are increasingly taking significant roles in driving the conversation about sustainability - raising awareness of the impact of climate change and our activities on the planet, as well as encouraging more sustain-

able social, economic, and environmental practices worldwide. A poem by Chuma Nwokolo, Nigerian lawyer, writer and publisher, articulates this perfectly: they walked with us although they rowed their boats alone,

we were the souls that drove them on they did not rape their creeks and groves because they belonged to us they could not soil their name because it was ours as well they took hold of their inheritance of earth, harvesting fruit from trees they did not plant, and sowing trees whose fruit they would not eat... to the end that we, lonely workers of these rich acres, will never forget that we are not alone Recently, the Ben Enwonwu Foundation brought together artists, economists and environmentalists to discuss and promote collaboration among different actors. The highlight was the significant role arts can play in driving relevant policies for achieving climate change goals, which are founded on the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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Achieving the SDGs within the next ten years requires all efforts and all sectors to work together, each one contributing its quota. None of us should be left out of supporting the efforts to “leave no one behind”.

Children must be able to understand and imagine the possibilities, whether negative or positive, of our actions. Young people must also be empowered to deliver under the SDGs and education is the driver for action. However, education must be delivered creatively and in the way it would be accepted for it to be successful. In an increasingly distracted world, arts education bridges the gap for teacher and students.

A recent study by the Brooking Institute provided some of the first and most substantive evidence that arts educational experiences can produce significant positive impacts on academic and social development. The study found that in schools where there was substantial increase in arts education experiences, there were “remarkable impacts on students’ academic, social, and emotional outcomes”. We have also noticed the significant impact it has on teachers, as well.

SDGs are a critical part of the teacher training that the Five Cowries Initiative delivers through the “My Story of Water” and “My Story of Energy programmes”. We work with teachers to develop more creative approaches to teaching while helping them understand and deliver the concepts of climate change and sustainability. For example, in 2019, we commissioned ‘My Story of Energy’ to encourage STEM participation, in partnership with Ardova Plc. Through the visual arts, students learn the basics of science and its import for day-to-day activities within nature and the environment. Before our programme began in 2019, most of the teachers we worked with could not explain concepts such as global warming, climate change, carbon footprint, extinction, ecosystem and blue planet. It was even more challenging when conversations about fossil fuels began. We also noticed that teachers who did not understand these concepts were unable to translate this into easy-to-understand terms for their pupils, let alone make it relevant to their learning experience. By taking environmental consciousness to schools with the arts, children can now understand cause-and-effect and apply the lessons to daily living.

We all have responsibilities as individuals towards safeguarding our environment for future generations. This also entails educating them on the earth and the best way to deal with it. By incorporating the arts into our communications activities, we let it do what it does best – influence society.

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news

ECA calls for silence of guns in Africa HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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he agenda of silencing the guns and securing peace on the African continent must be dealt with in a comprehensive manner, including addressing governance issues, says Vera Songwe, executive secretary, Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

In a speech at the opening ceremony of the 36th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union, on the theme: Silencing the guns; creating conditions for Africa’s development, Songwe said governance in all its dimensions held some of the answers to Africa’s conflict challenge.

“For a strategy on silencing the guns to be successful, we must honestly seek to build more inclusive societies and this union has an important yet untapped role to play in this quest,” said Songwe, adding she was concerned that democratic elections were under threat in many parts of the continent stoking inherent tensions and conflicts.

“A strategy to silence the guns must be strategy to improve the governance of our societies, to build a more transparent decisionmaking process, to demand more inclusive and strong institutions underpinned by the rule of law.

We have good examples of where these principles have helped countries.”

Songwe added that to effectively silence the guns, African countries would also have to ensure that all gun imports into the continent were consistent with international practice and that governance systems around the circulation of arms were transparent.

“The economics of the arms sector does not favour the continent as more and more of our young perish at the end of the gun while we continue to spend more and more resources on security at the expense of education health care and infrastructure,” she said.

In Niger Republic for example, she said over 15 percent of the budget was spent on security expenditure, a trend she said was being repeated in most African countries where social budgets were being overtaken by military expenditure.

“We cannot deliver the Africa we want with such budgets,” she said, adding Ireland and Chile were good examples of how countries overcame conflict and created inclusive societies.

“To silence the guns we need to continuously focus on building an ecosystem that caters for whole with institutions whose role is to guard against the abuse of any group.”

Fashola urges Nigeria to identify roots of insecurity, manage them for permanent peace ENDURANCE OKAFOR

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or Nigeria to enjoy permanent peace, it would have to do more than mobilising well-armed, well-trained, well-funded security personnel as this can only help to achieve enforcement of the law and not permanent peace, Babatunde Fashola, minister of Works and Housing, has said.

Delivering a keynote speech at the 4th annual lecture organised by the United Action for Change at the Digital Bridge Institute on Thursday, Fashola said the numerous conversations that have been held about what to do and how to overcome the security challenges in Nigeria omit to make critical linkages between the challenges and the deliberate conduct of a few citizens and others who are not Nigerians.

“Therefore, one of the points of action that I urge us to commit to is to seek to identify the causes or sources of conflict amongst people, groups of people, and communities, and seek to eliminate, resolve or manage them better, in a quest for permanent peace; and, by extension, security,” Fashola said.

The minister cited that while conversations on the capacity of law enforcement officers, from numerical strength to financial resources, training and equipment are necessary and welcome, they are regrettably not enough and are inadequate to resolve the problems Africa’s most populous nation has to overcome.

“It is peace and peaceful co-existence that inures to safety and security; otherwise no sooner are the personnel redeployed, as they inevitably will be, do the

communities or persons involved return to hostilities,” the former governor of Lagos said.

Nigeria’s security challenges are largely as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency coupled with the clash between herdsmen and farmers. The raids by nomadic Fulani herdsmen are considered as the biggest security threat facing Nigeria after the Boko Haram insurgency, which has remained undefeated in Nigeria.

The herdsmen, mainly from the Fulani ethnic group, and farmers often clash for control of water and land (grazing territories). According to the Global Terrorism Database 2017, Fulani extremists killed over 2,500 people in Nigeria between 2012 and 2016. Unlike Boko Haram who are now affiliated with ISIL and align with the establishment of a cali-

L-R: Oranu Chris Chideme, chairman, corporate affairs and strategy planning committee, Manufactures Association of Nigeria (MAN); Ahmed Mansur, president, and Segun AjayiKadir, director -general, during the MAN media luncheon and MAN Reporter of the Year Award in Lagos, yesterday.

Minimum wage: We will continue to put workers’ welfare on first line — Makinde REMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan

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overnor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has declared the readiness of his administration to continue to place workers’ welfare on the first line charge.

Governor Makinde, who spoke a few hours after the government and organised labour reached an agreement on the N30,000 minimum wage and the consequential adjustment for workers in the state, said every worker deserved his wage.

While saying that his administration will continue to look at ways of improving the quality of life of workers in the state, he expressed delight that the negotiating team was able to arrive at conclusions with the workers in an atmosphere devoid of rancour.

He added that his administration would not take the issue of minimum wage in isolation, as, according to him, the government would take a holistic view towards ensuring better life for all.

“Well, I am pleased that

they engaged the assignment as a team. It was not we against them and there was also a lot of give and take in there. At least, in Oyo State now, the issue of minimum wage and consequential adjustment have been resolved.

“I thank the team because there has been a lot of expectations from the people and the workers. In my speech a few weeks back, at the inter-religious prayer session for the year, I said we would get alignment and get to pay the minimum wage but the element of affordability, sustainability and also being able to agree on it were three elements present. And now, we will move to the implementation stage,” he said.

According to Makinde, what we have done is, members of this team that have been able to reach this agreement for us, we will constitute them into a standing committee. For us, as we notice improvements in the economy of the state, we also want to put value here for the people.

“And I also explained to www.businessday.ng

phate, the Fulani militants have very localised goals, mainly greater access to grazing lands for livestock.

To achieve permanent peace in Nigeria, Fashola said it would require the involvement of local people; people close to the problem, people with influence and people with some authority to play the role. According to him, the logic of his argument often finds expression in the persistent calls made on traditional rulers to play a more active role.

“It must involve teachers, market leaders, and spiritual leaders, elected and appointed public office holders and in every manner of speaking it must involve the whole village,” Fashola said, while stating that the majority of the issues that heighten the spectre of insecurity are not accidental, that they are deliberate.

Pic by Olawale Amoo

Edo, contractors agree on 7-month target for reconstruction of College of Agric ... promotes over 2,600 teachers, elevates 171 others to directors

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do State government has set a sevenmonth completion target for the contractors handling the first phase of the reconstruction of the College of the Agriculture and Natural Resources, with campuses in Iguoriakhi, Agenebode, and Uromi.

The administrative headquarters of the College, situated at Iguoriakhi, houses the School of Agricultural Technology and Engineering, with two other campuses in Agenebode and Uromi.

At the pre-construction planning held at the College premises in Iguoriakhi, the contractors, Sageto Limited and Global Link, said they hope to complete the project in seven months.

The Commissioner of

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Richard Uyi Edebiri, said, “We want to continue the rebirth of College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi. When you have a responsive and responsible government, this is what you get. Because Governor Godwin Obaseki was not pleased with the college being in a dilapidated condition, he paved way for the college to be transformed to a befitting tertiary institution.

“The essence of the reconstruction is to help in training the desired manpower to harness the potentials in the agricultural sector. The contractors would commence site-work immediately and we are positive that within the shortest possible time the project is going to be completed.”

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Edebiri noted, “Though the contractors gave us a time frame of seven months, we have made it clear to the contractors to make sure they agree to the terms and conditions for the project. That is why it is very important they move to site immediately because we don’t have time.

They need to be up and running so that the students can come back here.”

The lead consultant for the reconstruction project, Giles Omezi, said, “We are here for the pre-construction planning. The contractors are moving to site immediately.

Work starts in earnest. We are expected to build one administrative block and a dormitory, which will take about 1000 students.

“There would be one @Businessdayng

academic building of about six classrooms, three laboratories, an Information Communication Technology (ICT) lab, a small library.

Six lecture theatres will be replicated across the campus site.”

Meanwhile, as part of moves to sustain a highlymotivated teaching workforce, the Edo State government has promoted over 2,600 teachers across the state, elevating 171 others to the level of directors (Level 17 officers).

While addressing the beneficiaries at the presentation of Letters of Promotion, the governor, represented by the deputy governor, Philip Shaibu, commended the teachers for their service to the state.

Friday 07 February 2020

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FINANCIAL TIMES

World Business Newspaper

Lauren Fedor and Billy Ehrenberg-Shannon

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mericans who say they are financially better off under Donald Trump’s presidency are overwhelmingly white men, despite the president’s claims that “almost everyone” has felt the benefits of US economic growth since he took office.

The sharp ethnic and gender differences over Mr Trump’s economic performance, revealed in a new poll of likely voters for the Financial Times and the Peter G Peterson Foundation, underscore the challenges facing the president as he seeks re-election and the uphill battle for Democrats in winning back the votes of white men who helped propel Mr Trump’s 2016 victory.

The recent caucuses in Iowa pointed to the importance Democrats have placed on peeling working-class whites from the president’s column. Pete Buttigieg, who remains in the lead in the slowly arriving Iowa results, was propelled in part by winning in counties that had voted for Barack Obama in 2012 but backed Mr Trump in 2016.

Mr Obama won Iowa, a swing state where 90 per cent of voters are white, in the 2008 and 2012 US presidential elections, but Mr Trump triumphed there in 2016, beating Hillary Clinton by nearly 10 percentage points. Mr Buttigieg pointed to his strong showing as evidence he could bring voters “back into the fold” and win a general election in November.

Mr Trump has made his economic record central to his case for re-election, and used his State of the Union address on Tuesday to claim “incredible results” in the US economy.

Last month, the president insisted that nearly all Americans have benefited from the country’s longest stretch of economic expansion, which began early in Mr Obama’s presidency, and has continued for more than a decade.

“Are you better off now than you were three years ago?” Mr Trump wrote on Twitter. “Almost everyone say YES!” But the latest FT-Peterson Economic Monitor showed that among likely voters, white men are the only group with close to a majority who believe they are

White men most likely to feel better off under Trump — poll FT-Peterson survey shows sense of financial security is fragmented by race and gender

Forty-eight percent of white men say they are ‘much better off’ or ‘somewhat better off’ under Donald Trump © AP

better off. Forty-eight per cent said they were either “much better off” or “somewhat better off” since Mr Trump took office.

All other groups are significantly more dissatisfied — including white women, illustrating Mr Trump’s persistent gap with female voters. Only 33 per cent of white women believe they are better off financially now than they were in 2016.

Joann Boldt of Des Moines, Iowa, a retired United Airlines flight attendant who voted for Mr Trump in 2016, is typical of the kind of voters Democrats are targeting. She volunteered for Amy Klobuchar, a moderate senator from Minnesota, in Monday’s caucuses, and said she would vote for a Democrat for the first time in November’s presidential election.

“I will always be a Republican at heart. But when Trump separated the parents from their children, he lost me there,” said Ms Boldt, in a reference to the president’s immigration policies at the US-Mexico border.

African-Americans and His-

panics are far more likely to say their financial situation has become worse under Mr Trump than white voters. Forty-eight per cent of black men believe they are worse off since Mr Trump took office, with 33 per cent saying they are “much worse off”, while 45 per cent of African-American women say their finances have deteriorated.

Similarly, 49 per cent of Hispanic women say they are worse off — the most dissatisfied demographic group in the FT-Peterson survey — while 42 per cent of Hispanic men said they were worse off.

The findings are part of the monthly FT-Peterson US Economic Monitor, which tracks voter sentiment towards the US economy in the run-up to November’s presidential election.

The survey focuses on whether likely voters feel better or worse off financially since Mr Trump became president. Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter in 1980 by asking voters: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”

Overall, dissatisfaction with

personal finances has remained constant since the FT-Peterson poll began tracking voter sentiment last October. The latest survey shows two-thirds of likely voters believe their finances have not improved since Mr Trump took office, a figure that has remained largely unchanged over the past four months despite a 7 per cent rally in the S&P 500 and 2.1 per cent economic growth in the fourth quarter.

Just over half — 51 per cent — of Americans said Mr Trump’s policies had helped the economy, while 39 per cent said they had hurt. A further 10 per cent said they had no impact.

The most recent FT-Peterson poll was conducted online by Global Strategy Group, a Democratic polling company, and North Star Opinion Research, a Republican group, between January 21 and January 26. It reflects the opinions of 1,004 likely voters nationwide, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The Peterson Foundation is a

non-partisan, non-profit organisation focused on America’s fiscal challenges.

US voters still love Big Tech The vast majority of Americans say technology companies are “mostly good” for the US economy, casting doubt on whether Democrats’ calls to crack down on “Big Tech” will win over voters in November’s US presidential election.

The latest FT-Peterson poll found 90 per cent of respondents said technology companies are “mostly good” for the US economy, compared with 10 per cent who said they were “mostly bad”.

Just over half — 51 per cent — said tech companies should be “much more” or “somewhat more” regulated by the federal government, while 39 per cent said tech groups should be regulated “about the same as they are now”. The remaining 10 per cent said they should be less regulated.

Democrats were more likely than Republicans to back tougher regulation, with 60 per cent of Democrats saying more regulation was needed, compared with only 41 per cent of Republicans.

The findings raise questions about whether Democrats’ calls for aggressive action against multinational technology groups will win support — either in the current primary process, or in the general election against Mr Trump. Senator Elizabeth Warren has been among the most vocal critics of “Big Tech” among Democratic contenders, calling for the break-up of major companies, including Facebook, Amazon and Apple. Ms Warren finished third in the delegate count in Monday’s Iowa caucuses, based on official results from most precincts.

Mr Trump has not called for the break-up of Big Tech, but has attacked social media companies, claiming they are biased against Republicans, and Amazon, whose founder Jeff Bezos also owns the Washington Post.

Prominent investment adviser calls for Credit Suisse chair to resign Ethos Foundation chief says Swiss bank is ‘in crisis’ Sam Jones

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prominent Swiss investment adviser has said that Credit Suisse is “in crisis” and called for its chairman Urs Rohner to take responsibility for the management dispute engulfing the bank and step down immediately.

The intervention by Ethos Foundation, which controls over 3 per cent of Credit Suisse shares and advises institutional investors

on corporate governance, comes as the lender’s board was meeting on Thursday to discuss chief executive Tidjane Thiam’s position.

Ethos chief executive Vincent Kaufmann told the FT: “We don’t see how [Mr Rohner] is dealing with it. The bank is in crisis. There is no communication, no information.”

Credit Suisse’s 60-year old chairman has fallen out dramatically with Mr Thiam in the wake of a corporate espionage scandal www.businessday.ng

last year. It emerged that the bank hired a corporate espionage company to follow Iqbal Khan, its former wealth management head who defected to rival UBS. Mr Thiam was caught at the centre of the affair thanks to his bitter relationship with Mr Khan, his one-time heir apparent. The lurid details of Mr Khan and Mr Thiam’s fallout transfixed Switzerland’s usually staid financial community.

Mr Kaufmann said it is “urgent”

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to have new leadership at the Credit Suisse board level: “The board is responsible to supervise management. We need someone to challenge the whole governance framework of the bank.”

Ethos said that Mr Rohner should step down in time for Credit Suisse’s board to propose a replacement ahead of its annual shareholder meeting in April. Mr Kaufmann added: “I don’t think he has been doing many things correctly. He is @Businessdayng

always reactive in all situations and this has contributed to the full mistrust of shareholders.”

He added: “For some years we believe Mr Rohner has been taking a lot of decisions which have been detrimental to the bank.”

Mr Rohner did not respond to a request for comment, Ahead of Thursday’s board meeting three top Credit Suisse shareholders — including its largest, Harris Associates — threw their weight behind Mr Thiam.

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COMPANIES & MARKETS

@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED

Global shares rally after China pledges tariff cuts on US goods

Beijing seeks to cushion the economic fallout from concerns over the impact of coronavirus epidemic Hudson Lockett and Ryan McMorrow

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hina has announced it will halve tariffs on some US imports as it moves to implement a “phase one” trade deal with the Trump administration and cushion the economic fallout from the coronavirus epidemic.

The move spurred a rally on global stock markets with Asian bourses rallying from deep losses on mounting concerns over the impact on China from the virus.

European shares also gained ground while the US market opened higher.

The finance ministry said tariffs on some goods would be cut by half, from 5 per cent to 2.5 per cent or 10 per cent to 5 per cent, on February 14, the same day that last month’s agreement between the two countries is set to take effect. The reductions apply to punitive tariffs imposed on 1,717 US products by China in September.

Washington also plans to halve tariffs on some Chinese goods on February 14 from 15 per cent to 7.5 per cent, according to a notice to the Federal Register by the office of the US Trade Representative. The US tariffs were imposed in September as President Donald Trump threatened to impose punitive taxes on all Chinese imports.

“China will adjust its measures at the same time to alleviate economic and trade frictions and expand economic and trade co-operation,” said a Chinese finance ministry spokesperson.

The spokesperson added that

Beijing made the tariffs announcement weeks after signing a ‘phase one’ trade deal with Washington © Reuters

timely implementation of the agreement would “boost market confidence, promote bilateral relations [with the US] and help global economic growth”.

According to the agreement, China will increase imports from the US by $200bn over two years compared with 2017 levels. Many economists considered this goal to be ambitious even before the coronavirus struck last month.

This week Larry Kudlow, Mr Trump’s top economic adviser, acknowledged that the purchases could be delayed because of the outbreak.

China’s CSI 300 index of Shanghai- and Shenzhen-listed stocks closed 1.9 per cent higher

on Thursday, while Tokyo’s Topix finished the day up 2.1 per cent.

The Hang Seng had its best day since September, rising 2.6 per cent.

The Stoxx 600, which tracks Europe’s largest companies, touched a new record high in early trading and was up 0.3 per cent by early afternoon. The index has risen 3.5 per cent this week and is on course for its best weekly performance since late 2016.

Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics, said the coronavirus may have played a role in Beijing’s decision to cut tariffs permanently, rather than grant waivers or use other temporary measures.

“I don’t see this as an attempt to boost growth directly,” he said.

“I see it as a measure to signal to the US that, ‘We’re not going to be able to ramp up imports straight away but we’re still on board with the deal.’”

On Wednesday Chinese oil executives told the Financial Times that they expected domestic oil consumption to fall by at least 25 per cent this month compared with February 2019, when China was importing 13m barrels a day.

On Thursday, China’s National Health Commission said the death toll in the country from the coronavirus outbreak had exceeded 500, with more than 28,000 confirmed infections. The

vast majority of deaths have been in the city of Wuhan and the surrounding province of Hubei, the centre of the outbreak.

China’s central bank this week pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into its financial system to support the economy.

“We hope to work with the United States towards the ultimate elimination of all the increased tariffs,” said China’s finance ministry spokesperson.

As part of the deal with the US, Beijing restated its commitment not to manipulate its currency.

Following the announcement on Thursday the onshore-traded renminbi was flat against the dollar at Rmb6.9719.

deaths occurred in the city of Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei province, the centre of the outbreak.

Tough conditions in Hong Kong lifted the value of some consumer goods sellers. Hong Kong-listed Vinda International — a Guangdong-based maker of hygiene goods — rose as much as 8 per cent, while noodlemaker Nissin Foods gained as much as 6 per cent. That was after shoppers in the territory cleared supermarket shelves of such goods amid speculation of an impending shortage due to the coronavirus outbreak.

“Investors want to put money to work, it’s almost like they’re dying to get back into the market knowing this too shall pass,” said Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at AxiCorp, pointing to pent-up demand from traders despite the coronavirus contagion.

Julian Evans-Pritchard, a China economist at research company Capital Economics, said concerns over the coronavirus outbreak may have played a role in China’s decision to cut tariffs. “Given everything else that’s going on they don’t want trade tensions to flare up again.”

US and European stocks hit fresh records

Traders encouraged by China’s pledge of tariff cuts on US goods Hudson Lockett

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lobal stocks extended their rally on Thursday as traders took heart from China’s pledge of tariff cuts on US goods, with European and US shares hitting record highs and Asian indices continuing to recover from a deep sell-off earlier this week.

China has announced it will halve tariffs on some US imports as it moves to implement a “phase one” trade deal with the Trump administration and cushion the economic fall-

out from the coronavirus epidemic.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones hit record highs at the open on Wall Street, as they both rose 0.3 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 2.6 per cent on Thursday, its best one-day performance since early September. Tokyo’s Topix closed 2.1 per cent higher, putting the index back into positive territory for 2020. The CSI 300, China’s gauge of Shanghaiand Shenzhen-listed blue-chip stocks, ended the day up 1.9 per cent.

It was a third session in a row www.businessday.ng

of gains for Asian markets following a sharp sell-off in mainland Chinese shares on Monday, prompted by the coronavirus outbreak.

European shares also moved higher, with the Stoxx 600 up 0.3 per cent after hitting a record high in early trading. In London the FTSE 100 rose 0.3 per cent by lunchtime.

China’s National Health Commission said on Thursday the death toll in the country had exceeded 500, with the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rising past 28,000 as of February 5. The vast majority of new

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Friday 07 February 2020

FT

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ANALYSIS

Coronavirus: the cost of China’s public health cover-up

A crackdown on information about the virus in Wuhan allowed the disease to spread far more widely James Kynge, Sun Yu and Tom Hancock

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n Januar y 18, roughly six weeks after China’s deadly coronavirus started to spread in Wuhan, the city’s Baibuting district was preparing for its annual mass banquet. On the 20th anniversary of the event, the organisers would be attempting to break a world record for the largest number of dishes served.

Long tables in 10 locations were laid out with a total of 13,986 dishes, some bearing patriotic names such as Motherland in My Heart (cucumber and ham), and One Belt One Road (vegetable salad). The platters were prepared by members of some 40,000 families, according to media reports, with many of them showing up to eat the food and smile for the cameras.

Despite those happy scenes, the Baibuting banquets now stand as a symbol of China’s mishandling of a viral outbreak that has killed 565 and infected more than 28,000, and spread to at least 27 countries and territories.

The district is now facing a rising toll of infected citizens. Notices saying “fever block” in red and black letters were pasted this week on 57 communal stairwells in the district, according to local reports and photographs seen by the Financial Times.

“I feel very lucky I didn’t take part in the banquet, as I have two young kids and thought it was inconvenient to bring them along,” says Sally Zhang, a Baibuting resident. “There are now more than 10 infections among my neighbours”.

The epidemic ranks as the biggest crisis to have hit Xi Jinping, China’s Communist party leader, since he took power in 2012. Not only has the outbreak brought large swaths of the world’s second-largest economy to a grinding halt, it also undermines the party’s aura of competence.

Piecing together the events in Wuhan shows that for at least three weeks before the banquet, city authorities had been informed about the virus spreading in their midst but issued orders to suppress the news. In effect, they engineered a cover-up that played down the seriousness of the outbreak, according to officials and medical professionals.

The most fateful consequence of the official silence was that it facilitated the exodus of some 5m people in the weeks be-

fore the city was quarantined on January 22, thus helping to transport the virus all over the country and overseas. The slow and contradictory statements of the World Health Organization, which is responsible for warning the world of public health emergencies, also hampered efforts to combat the crisis.

Just as with China’s Sars outbreak that killed 800 people worldwide in 2002-03, the central shortcomings in China’s response have derived from its rigidly hierarchical political system.

“There is no question that the Wuhan government underestimated the disease,” says a senior adviser to China’s central government, who declined to be named. “The mayor of Wuhan has neither the expertise nor the willingness to follow health experts’ advice. His concern is that an escalation in disease prevention may hurt the local economy and social stability.”

He adds: “In the current political atmosphere, which values obedience more than competence, local officials have an incentive to avoid taking responsibility.”

Jude Blanchette, a China analyst at CSIS, a Washington-based think-tank, also sees a political dimension behind the health emergency. “There’s a natural inclination for party officials at all levels to bury negative information and censor dissenting views irrespective of who’s in charge in Beijing,” says Mr Blanchette.

“But under Xi Jinping, the inclination to suppress has become endemic and, in this case, contributed to a prolonged period of inaction that allowed the virus to spread.”

Dec 8 The first patient to be later diagnosed with Wuhan coronavirus presents with symptoms.

Chinese medical experts later trace an earlier case of a patient

who experienced the symptoms of the virus on December 1.

Dec 30 Li Wenliang, a Wuhan doctor, informs fellow doctors in an online chat group of seven new pneumonia cases. But Wuhan medical authorities forbid doctors from making public announcements and order them to report cases internally.

Jan 2 Hospitals admit 41 patients in Wuhan, 27 of whom had direct exposure to a local seafood market which is regarded as one of the sources of the virus.

Jan 10 Scientists publish the first gene sequencing data on the virus, showing it to be from the same family as the Sars coronavirus.

Jan 18 The number of infected patients rises to 62. Wuhan city government holds an annual mass public banquet in Baibuting with some 40,000 families making and sharing food.

Jan 21 The US reports the first laboratory-confirmed case as the virus starts to spread beyond mainland China.

Jan 23 Wuhan suspends all public transportation from the city, including bus, metro and ferry lines. Additionally, all outbound trains and flights are halted.

Feb 5 The count of countries and territories to have reported confirmed cases rises to 27.

Several claims made by the Wuhan authorities about the virus, which began to spread as “pneumonia of unidentified causes” from early December, conflict with the testimonies of health professionals. The first issue was the repeated claims by officials that human-to-human transmission of the virus was limited.

Zhou Xianwang, mayor of the

city of 11m, was still citing this explanation in a state television interview on January 21, when the number of cases had risen to 312. “The reason why the Baibuting community continued to host the banquet this year was based on the previous judgment that the spread of the epidemic was limited between humans, so there was not enough warning,” he said.

But Wuhan authorities had been informed weeks earlier that the virus could indeed be spread between humans. In an interview with Huxijie, a medical website, Zhao Jianping, a pulmonologist at Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, said he diagnosed patients with suspected coronavirus as early as December 27.

“We didn’t expect the disease to be so severe,” said Mr Zhao.

“But we were sure it could spread from human to human.” Mr Zhao said he immediately reported the situation to the Wuhan Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

In addition, the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission, a body that reports directly to the mayor, said as early as January 16 that the virus may have been spread by human contact — two days before the banquets were held and six days before the city was finally quarantined.

Scientists in the New England Journal of Medicine said there was transmission between humans in close contact from the middle of December.

The other glaring inconsistency in the Wuhan authorities’ account is why the official number of patients identified as having the disease did not rise between January 2 and January 16 — a crucial two-week period when millions of Wuhan residents were starting to return home for Chinese new year.

This period coincided with key dates in the city’s calendar. Between January 6 and

11, cadres from across Hubei province gathered in Wuhan for the annual session of the local People’s Congress. At this time, too, Wuhan authorities handed out some 200,000 free or subsidised tickets to local attractions.

Nevertheless, several accounts have emerged to show that even though the official count of coronavirus cases did not rise, the number of people becoming infected was surging.

A radiologist in a Wuhan public hospital was quoted by Caixin, a Chinese news website, as saying he identified 50 new cases on January 15. The official Xinhua news agency, meanwhile, ran a story on a doctor who fell ill with the virus on January 11.

Reinforcing such accounts of a cover-up, Li Wenliang, a doctor at the Central Hospital of Wuhan, informed fellow medics in an online chat group on December 30 of seven new pneumonia cases. But on the same day that Dr Li mentioned his cases, the WMHC was forbidding hospitals from making public announcements and telling hospitals to simply report cases internally.

This approach was causing consternation in Dr Li’s chat group, with one writing that “the government still hasn’t determined whether to announce”.

The same person added in a subsequent post that “last Friday [December 27], our department was the first to report it to the city centre for disease control”.

But in spite of the authorities’ attempts to control the flow of information, news of the virus soon got out. By the evening of December 30, a hashtag of “Wuhan Sars” was trending on the popular Chinese microblog Weibo, before censors removed it.

The information crackdown continued with Dr Li being reprimanded by Wuhan police, who Continues on page 41

41

Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

FT

NATIONAL NEWS

The best week in Donald Trump’s presidency The president has been buoyed by the shambles in Iowa, his acquittal and rising wages

of the Union address on Tuesday — a cross between a PT Barnum show and a Nuremburg rally — to see how completely he owns his party. Mr Trump will face no serious challenger for the Republican nomination. Washington’s political junkies need not spend long on the Democratic campaign trail to notice that the word “impeachment” rarely surfaces. The candidates are too savvy to dwell on an issue even their own voters do not raise. The same Gallup poll this week showed that 53 per cent of Americans opposed the Senate’s removal of Mr Trump.

His third windfall, and the one most likely to last, was the outcome of the Iowa Democratic caucuses. Forget the technical glitches, which were bad enough for a party that is trying to emphasise its competence. The worst aspect for Democrats was the low voter turnout, which belied expectations. This year almost a third fewer of Iowans, or 16 per cent, went to the caucuses as in 2008 when Mr Obama’s campaign took off.

This hints at a serious enthusiasm gap between Democratic voters, who are miles from coalescing around a champion, and Mr Trump’s supporters, some of whom would go to worrying lengths in his defence.

Of course, a week is a long time in politics. Things would look different if the Democrats united behind a good nominee and voters felt the slowdown in US growth. Against that, however, are the stubborn facts. Three years after taking office, Mr Trump is the least unpopular he has ever been.

Moreover, he can do almost what he wants before November without fear of restraint. Impeachment was hardly a blip. Inviting foreign interference cost him nothing.

The vote-counting fiasco in Iowa shows how easy it would be to contaminate public trust in the election process.

US democracy is sleepwalking into great danger. Yet somehow it feels as though everything is normal.

an official number of confirmed cases in all of China of 11,791 on the same day.

The economic cost is also mounting. Li-Gang Liu, chief China economist at Citi, forecasts that the country’s first-quarter growth will slow to 4.8 per cent compared with a full-year rate of 6.1 per cent in 2019. Disruptions to global supply chains are set to deepen.

But as the world counts the cost, the WHO’s conduct faces increased scrutiny. It declared a global health emergency on January 30, by which time the virus had spread well beyond China, reversing its own decision of a week earlier to hold off on such a declaration.

This was its second public reversal. On January 14, the organisation said there was “limited” human-to-human transmission of the virus but later that day retracted the statement to say there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission.

“The WHO is so much in thrall to China’s influence, they have felt compelled to stay close to China’s line on this crisis,” says one UN diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity. “China wanted to downplay this virus and the WHO felt it had to fall into line, at least until its position became

untenable.”

However, John Mackenzie, a member of the WHO’s emergency committee, laid the blame for the slow response at China’s door. He told the FT that China must have been withholding information on new cases from the WHO. “Had they [Beijing] been a bit stronger earlier on, they might have been able to restrict the number of cases not only in China but also overseas,” he said.

Mr Xi, however, claimed at a meeting in late January with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, that the Chinese government had “always adopted an open, transparent and responsible attitude to timely release of information on the epidemic”, according to Xinhua.

But many closer to the outbreak’s centre have a different view. Li Kun, a resident of Huanggang City close to Wuhan, where more than 1,400 cases have been confirmed, has cut his number of daily meals from three to two after the local government last week ordered every family to send no more than one person out once every two days. “I believed in the government when the disease first broke out,” he says. “Now I think twice whenever officials say something.”

Edward Luce

T

he top line of the 2020 campaign so far came from Michael Bennet, the Democratic senator from Colorado: “If you elect me president, I promise you won’t have to think about me for two weeks at a time,” he tweeted in August. That was about the last time we heard from him.

Predictions of fatigue with Donald Trump have proved to be premature. America’s hoped-for pivot to seriousness — dullness even — still feels hypothetical.

Having just enjoyed the best week in his presidency, Mr Trump’s luck shows signs of enduring.

Could this week have been his springboard to re-election? It might look that way in retrospect.

The least expected data point was Mr Trump’s Gallup approval rating, which hit a peak of 49 per cent.

It is not clear what Mr Trump has done in the past month to earn a four-point jump. The number may turn out to be a blip. But it was bolstered by the finding that 63 per cent of voters approve of how Mr Trump is handling the economy — the largest such rating since George W Bush in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

As US growth slows this year, that glow may well fade. In the meantime, America’s blue-collar workers are enjoying their first year or two of real wage growth in the 21st century. The fact that Mr

Siemens chief Joe Kaeser insisted ‘protests alone won’t solve anything’ © Peter Kneffel/dpa

Trump has little to do with it — he inherited a seven-year recovery and has overseen similar growth rates as Barack Obama — is immaterial. Incumbent presidents are almost always rewarded by more dollars in people’s pockets.

Forecasts of an impending US recession, which were rife in 2019, are less frequent.

Mr Trump’s second great windfall this week was his acquittal by the US Senate. Any neutral body would probably have found Mr Trump guilty under the thinnest reading of the US constitution. As it turned out, only Mitt Romney,

the senator from Utah, plucked up the courage to declare that the emperor had no clothes.

Mr Romney’s 52 Republican colleagues switched variously from protesting Mr Trump’s innocence, to conceding he was guilty but only for something trivial, to arguing that he was indeed guilty but it was too close to the next election to remove him. One or two even argued that Mr Trump had learnt from being impeached and would not dare to repeat his offences.

Their pretexts did not matter.

You only had to listen to Republican cheering for Mr Trump’s State

Coronavirus: the cost of China’s public...

Continued from page 40 made him sign a document saying his statements were inaccurate, according to a photo of the document he shared with Chinese media. At least seven other medical professionals were similarly warned over “rumour-mongering”.

Dr Li was by no means the only Wuhan resident to realise something was amiss as early as December. One resident, who identified himself only by his surname, Wu, says: “I heard about it in December, but it wasn’t clear what was going on. There were small news items online, but the government said it wasn’t a problem so we didn’t pay too much attention.”

Mr Wu says the moment of realisation in the city was when Zhong Nanshan, an epidemiologist who became famous for his work during the Sars epidemic, confirmed on state television on January 20 what many other health professionals had been saying in private or in online chat groups for weeks: the virus could be spread from human to human.

When the FT arrived in Wuhan on January 19, the streets were busy, restaurants and shops were open as usual. The mood transformed overnight on January 22,

when the city announced it would close its public transport links the next day. Suddenly, the streets became quieter and almost everyone who ventured outside wore a mask.

Most businesses began to close and tens of thousands of people streamed into hospitals with suspected symptoms.

Eventually, China’s supreme court acknowledged that the suppression by Wuhan authorities of Dr Li’s warnings over the virus along with those of seven others had been wrong. On January 29, the court said the Wuhan police should have been “tolerant” rather than accusing them of rumourmongering.

On the same day, Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist at China’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, criticised local governments for failing to consider public health issues from a purely science perspective.

“What we said is only partially incorporated into the decisionmaking process,” Mr Zeng was quoted by the official Global Times newspaper as saying. “[Local governments] take a political perspective and consider social stability, the economy and whether people could happily enjoy Lunar New Year.” www.businessday.ng

A tweet on Thursday from China’s official television station, CGTN, said Dr Li had died in Wuhan after contracting the coronavirus. He leaves a pregnant wife, who has also contracted the disease.

Despite the evidence of a cover-up, some aspects of China’s response to the crisis have been impressive. By January 10, researchers at Fudan University in Shanghai had sequenced the coronavirus gene, a key step in understanding characteristics of the epidemic. In addition, authorities in Wuhan moved fast to build two new hospitals. A 1,000-bed facility called Huoshenshan, was constructed in just 10 days.

Nevertheless, the enormous human and economic costs of censorship — both for China and for the rest of the world — are starting to come into sharp relief.

Several respected scientists have estimated that the true number of people infected by the coronavirus may be several multiples higher than the official figures from China suggest.

Gabriel Leung, dean of the University of Hong Kong’s medical school, said on January 31 that in Wuhan alone some 75,800 people may have been infected. Mr Leung’s estimate compared with

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Friday 07 February 2020

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Live @ The STOCK Exchanges Prices for Securities Traded as of Thursday 06 February 2020 Company

Market cap(nm)

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Company

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PRICES FOR MAIN BOARD SECURITIES (Equities) BANKING ACCESS BANK PLC. 346,565.95 9.75 4.28 261 12,139,470 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC 265,045.52 7.75 3.33 380 24,083,945 ZENITH BANK PLC 627,929.88 20.00 4.17 628 34,293,190 1,269 70,516,605 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 215,371.76 6.00 4.35 434 57,284,508 434 57,284,508 1,703 127,801,113 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES MTN NIGERIA COMMUNICATIONS PLC 2,405,903.44 118.20 -1.17 73 566,579 73 566,579 73 566,579 BUILDING MATERIALS DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 2,896,886.26 170.00 - 146 653,625 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 244,838.49 15.20 0.99 116 5,713,301 262 6,366,926 262 6,366,926 EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 356,008.96 605.00 - 6 7,769 6 7,769 6 7,769 2,044 134,742,387 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) SFS REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 1,710.00 85.50 - 0 0 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) 10,175.81 40.70 - 0 0 UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 8,538.46 3.20 - 13 473,057 13 473,057 13 473,057 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND 411.91 552.20 - 0 0 VALUEALLIANCE VALUE FUND 3,312.39 103.20 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 473,057 CROP PRODUCTION FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 440.00 0.20 - 0 0 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 64,865.88 68.00 - 20 21,461 PRESCO PLC 49,850.00 49.85 - 13 144,295 33 165,756 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. 8,500.00 4.25 - 0 0 0 0 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1,650.00 0.55 - 30 1,009,091 30 1,009,091 63 1,174,847 DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES JOHN HOLT PLC. 217.92 0.56 - 1 14,926 1,903.99 2.93 - 0 0 S C O A NIG. PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC 39,428.55 0.97 1.04 98 17,080,852 U A C N PLC. 24,202.89 8.40 4.35 117 5,715,717 216 22,811,495 216 22,811,495 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ARBICO PLC. 469.26 3.16 - 0 0 0 0 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 28,974.00 21.95 -4.33 22 352,342 165.00 6.60 - 0 0 ROADS NIG PLC. 22 352,342 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 2,338.56 0.90 - 0 0 0 0 22 352,342 AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 954.53 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 7,594.61 0.97 - 6 130,873 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 220.45 0.81 - 0 0 GUINNESS NIG PLC 66,149.56 30.20 - 13 28,860 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 74,784.00 8.70 -1.14 15 974,022 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 411,840.46 51.50 - 74 22,726,652 108 23,860,407 FOOD PRODUCTS DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 155,400.00 12.95 - 62 165,206 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 90,208.35 22.00 - 90 2,493,753 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 8,088.80 1.02 2.00 13 1,030,000 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 1,340.10 0.36 - 0 0 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 766.26 4.30 - 0 0 NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC 34,442.70 13.00 -3.70 32 596,568 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 2,993.06 10.95 - 0 0 197 4,285,527 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 18,218.56 9.70 - 24 583,337 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 1,093,865.63 1,380.00 - 37 8,900 61 592,237 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 1,680.31 22.10 - 0 0 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 6,504.39 5.20 0.19 43 763,394 43 763,394 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 19,852.39 5.00 -1.96 62 2,407,752 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 86,175.08 15.00 - 22 305,397 84 2,713,149 493 32,214,714 BANKING ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 135,786.68 7.40 4.23 67 4,855,241 FIDELITY BANK PLC 62,875.31 2.17 5.34 59 2,391,732 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 882,935.38 30.00 3.09 174 5,270,825 JAIZ BANK PLC 20,330.33 0.69 2.99 17 3,712,151 STERLING BANK PLC. 48,655.81 1.69 0.60 112 9,264,271 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 209,669.42 7.20 -0.69 91 1,892,897 UNITY BANK PLC 6,662.92 0.57 -1.72 23 727,100 WEMA BANK PLC. 27,387.87 0.71 7.58 24 1,961,152 567 30,075,369 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC 4,117.00 0.20 - 0 0 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 5,959.98 0.86 1.18 48 7,962,413 AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC 21,000.00 2.00 - 12 154,702 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 2,926.80 0.36 - 0 0 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE PLC 7,953.93 0.54 -3.57 17 615,703 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 23 4,384,350 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 4,339.29 1.01 9.78 16 2,613,633 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 4,960.00 0.62 - 2 47,209 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 2,234.55 0.20 - 3 2,108,000 NEM INSURANCE PLC 11,405.89 2.16 - 4 9,470 NIGER INSURANCE PLC 1,547.90 0.20 - 0 0 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC 2,906.58 0.54 - 0 0 REGENCY ASSURANCE PLC 1,333.75 0.20 - 0 0 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 2,272.89 0.20 - 0 0 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 - 1 2,000 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 - 1 4,675 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 4,416.30 0.33 - 34 3,829,603 161 21,731,758 MICRO-FINANCE BANKS NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 2,835.43 1.24 -1.61 6 2,500,080

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6 2,500,080 MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC 6,784.62 1.05 - 2 22,957 ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 7,370.87 0.50 - 0 0 5,796.93 1.39 - 0 0 INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 2,265.95 0.20 - 0 0 2,949.22 3.02 - 0 0 UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. 2 22,957 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC 8,520.00 4.26 -5.33 42 688,625 CUSTODIAN INVESTMENT PLC 35,291.19 6.00 - 9 67,616 540.00 0.36 - 0 0 DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. 38,615.29 1.95 5.41 64 43,230,291 ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 1,286.34 0.25 - 9 389,460 399,188.76 38.00 - 22 172,032 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UNITED CAPITAL PLC 15,540.00 2.59 - 69 1,333,616 215 45,881,640 951 100,211,804

HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS EKOCORP PLC. 2,592.72 5.20 - 0 0 710.63 0.20 - 4 360,000 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 4 360,000 MEDICAL SUPPLIES MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 494.58 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 PHARMACEUTICALS EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 366.17 0.50 - 0 0 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 5,320.22 2.55 - 4 14,651 5,979.38 5.00 5.00 34 726,165 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 3,743.76 2.17 - 2 26,960 1,044.54 0.55 - 5 205,255 NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. 556.71 3.62 - 0 0 PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 325.23 1.50 - 0 0 45 973,031 49 1,333,031 COMPUTER BASED SYSTEMS COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC 781.44 0.22 4.76 3 239,500 3 239,500 COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS OMATEK VENTURES PLC 1,206.13 0.41 - 0 0 0 0 IT SERVICES CWG PLC 6,413.06 2.54 - 1 245 321.84 2.98 - 1 800 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 287.07 0.58 - 2 400 4 1,445 PROCESSING SYSTEMS CHAMS PLC 1,361.86 0.29 -3.33 46 12,468,500 10,962.00 2.61 - 0 0 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 46 12,468,500 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AIRTEL AFRICA PLC 1,123,311.48 298.90 - 1 70 1 70 54 12,709,515 BUILDING MATERIALS BERGER PAINTS PLC 1,956.31 6.75 - 4 25,493 BUA CEMENT PLC 1,185,252.39 35.00 -3.31 60 1,139,656 CAP PLC 17,220.00 24.60 - 23 71,450 244.37 0.46 - 1 19,999 MEYER PLC. PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC 1,769.32 2.23 - 0 0 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. 1,156.20 9.40 - 0 0 88 1,256,598 ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2,192.12 2.03 - 0 0 CUTIX PLC. 2,483.46 1.41 - 23 551,077 23 551,077 PACKAGING/CONTAINERS BETA GLASS PLC. 34,998.04 70.00 - 0 0 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 388.02 9.10 - 0 0 0 0 AGRO-ALLIED & CHEMICALS NOTORE CHEMICAL IND PLC 100,754.14 62.50 - 0 0 0 0 111 1,807,675 CHEMICALS B.O.C. GASES PLC. 1,873.10 4.50 - 1 500 1 500 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 1 500 ENERGY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 1,252.54 0.20 - 1 10,000 1 10,000 INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS SERVICES OANDO PLC 44,753.08 3.60 0.56 67 3,439,121 67 3,439,121 PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS 11 PLC 48,031.29 133.20 - 10 879 CONOIL PLC 12,491.14 18.00 - 22 49,008 ETERNA PLC. 3,064.74 2.35 -2.08 52 1,813,450 FORTE OIL PLC. 24,161.02 18.55 - 66 581,382 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 4,663.23 15.30 - 4 2,533 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 36,328.84 107.00 - 4 8,031 158 2,455,283 226 5,904,404 ADVERTISING AFROMEDIA PLC 1,509.28 0.34 - 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 2,623.26 4.45 - 5 9,588 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 421.96 0.90 - 0 0 5 9,588 HOSPITALITY TANTALIZERS PLC 642.33 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 HOTELS/LODGING CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 4,259.15 2.75 - 1 10,000 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 2,328.25 1.12 - 0 0 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. 7,076.28 3.15 - 0 0 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 30,781.64 4.05 - 2 1,338 3 11,338 MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 3,960.00 0.33 -8.33 2 262,000 2 262,000 PRINTING/PUBLISHING ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 223.78 0.37 - 0 0 LEARN AFRICA PLC 933.45 1.21 - 1 5,027 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. 1,183.82 1.99 - 0 0 UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 517.69 1.20 - 2 206,512 3 211,539 ROAD TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC 563.62 0.34 - 3 147,717 3 147,717

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Friday 07 February 2020

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news

ECA calls for silence of guns in Africa HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

T

he agenda of silencing the guns and securing peace on the African continent must be dealt with in a comprehensive manner, including addressing governance issues, says Vera Songwe, executive secretary, Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

In a speech at the opening ceremony of the 36th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union, on the theme: Silencing the guns; creating conditions for Africa’s development, Songwe said governance in all its dimensions held some of the answers to Africa’s conflict challenge.

“For a strategy on silencing the guns to be successful, we must honestly seek to build more inclusive societies and this union has an important yet untapped role to play in this quest,” said Songwe, adding she was concerned that democratic elections were under threat in many parts of the continent stoking inherent tensions and conflicts.

“A strategy to silence the guns must be strategy to improve the governance of our societies, to build a more transparent decisionmaking process, to demand more inclusive and strong institutions underpinned by the rule of law.

We have good examples of where these principles have helped countries.”

Songwe added that to effectively silence the guns, African countries would also have to ensure that all gun imports into the continent were consistent with international practice and that governance systems around the circulation of arms were transparent.

“The economics of the arms sector does not favour the continent as more and more of our young perish at the end of the gun while we continue to spend more and more resources on security at the expense of education health care and infrastructure,” she said.

In Niger Republic for example, she said over 15 percent of the budget was spent on security expenditure, a trend she said was being repeated in most African countries where social budgets were being overtaken by military expenditure.

“We cannot deliver the Africa we want with such budgets,” she said, adding Ireland and Chile were good examples of how countries overcame conflict and created inclusive societies.

“To silence the guns we need to continuously focus on building an ecosystem that caters for whole with institutions whose role is to guard against the abuse of any group.”

Fashola urges Nigeria to identify roots of insecurity, manage them for permanent peace ENDURANCE OKAFOR

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or Nigeria to enjoy permanent peace, it would have to do more than mobilising well-armed, well-trained, well-funded security personnel as this can only help to achieve enforcement of the law and not permanent peace, Babatunde Fashola, minister of Works and Housing, has said.

Delivering a keynote speech at the 4th annual lecture organised by the United Action for Change at the Digital Bridge Institute on Thursday, Fashola said the numerous conversations that have been held about what to do and how to overcome the security challenges in Nigeria omit to make critical linkages between the challenges and the deliberate conduct of a few citizens and others who are not Nigerians.

“Therefore, one of the points of action that I urge us to commit to is to seek to identify the causes or sources of conflict amongst people, groups of people, and communities, and seek to eliminate, resolve or manage them better, in a quest for permanent peace; and, by extension, security,” Fashola said.

The minister cited that while conversations on the capacity of law enforcement officers, from numerical strength to financial resources, training and equipment are necessary and welcome, they are regrettably not enough and are inadequate to resolve the problems Africa’s most populous nation has to overcome.

“It is peace and peaceful co-existence that inures to safety and security; otherwise no sooner are the personnel redeployed, as they inevitably will be, do the

communities or persons involved return to hostilities,” the former governor of Lagos said.

Nigeria’s security challenges are largely as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency coupled with the clash between herdsmen and farmers. The raids by nomadic Fulani herdsmen are considered as the biggest security threat facing Nigeria after the Boko Haram insurgency, which has remained undefeated in Nigeria.

The herdsmen, mainly from the Fulani ethnic group, and farmers often clash for control of water and land (grazing territories). According to the Global Terrorism Database 2017, Fulani extremists killed over 2,500 people in Nigeria between 2012 and 2016. Unlike Boko Haram who are now affiliated with ISIL and align with the establishment of a cali-

L-R: Oranu Chris Chideme, chairman, corporate affairs and strategy planning committee, Manufactures Association of Nigeria (MAN); Ahmed Mansur, president, and Segun AjayiKadir, director -general, during the MAN media luncheon and MAN Reporter of the Year Award in Lagos, yesterday.

Minimum wage: We will continue to put workers’ welfare on first line — Makinde REMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan

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overnor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has declared the readiness of his administration to continue to place workers’ welfare on the first line charge.

Governor Makinde, who spoke a few hours after the government and organised labour reached an agreement on the N30,000 minimum wage and the consequential adjustment for workers in the state, said every worker deserved his wage.

While saying that his administration will continue to look at ways of improving the quality of life of workers in the state, he expressed delight that the negotiating team was able to arrive at conclusions with the workers in an atmosphere devoid of rancour.

He added that his administration would not take the issue of minimum wage in isolation, as, according to him, the government would take a holistic view towards ensuring better life for all.

“Well, I am pleased that

they engaged the assignment as a team. It was not we against them and there was also a lot of give and take in there. At least, in Oyo State now, the issue of minimum wage and consequential adjustment have been resolved.

“I thank the team because there has been a lot of expectations from the people and the workers. In my speech a few weeks back, at the inter-religious prayer session for the year, I said we would get alignment and get to pay the minimum wage but the element of affordability, sustainability and also being able to agree on it were three elements present. And now, we will move to the implementation stage,” he said.

According to Makinde, what we have done is, members of this team that have been able to reach this agreement for us, we will constitute them into a standing committee. For us, as we notice improvements in the economy of the state, we also want to put value here for the people.

“And I also explained to www.businessday.ng

phate, the Fulani militants have very localised goals, mainly greater access to grazing lands for livestock.

To achieve permanent peace in Nigeria, Fashola said it would require the involvement of local people; people close to the problem, people with influence and people with some authority to play the role. According to him, the logic of his argument often finds expression in the persistent calls made on traditional rulers to play a more active role.

“It must involve teachers, market leaders, and spiritual leaders, elected and appointed public office holders and in every manner of speaking it must involve the whole village,” Fashola said, while stating that the majority of the issues that heighten the spectre of insecurity are not accidental, that they are deliberate.

Pic by Olawale Amoo

Edo, contractors agree on 7-month target for reconstruction of College of Agric ... promotes over 2,600 teachers, elevates 171 others to directors

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do State government has set a sevenmonth completion target for the contractors handling the first phase of the reconstruction of the College of the Agriculture and Natural Resources, with campuses in Iguoriakhi, Agenebode, and Uromi.

The administrative headquarters of the College, situated at Iguoriakhi, houses the School of Agricultural Technology and Engineering, with two other campuses in Agenebode and Uromi.

At the pre-construction planning held at the College premises in Iguoriakhi, the contractors, Sageto Limited and Global Link, said they hope to complete the project in seven months.

The Commissioner of

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Richard Uyi Edebiri, said, “We want to continue the rebirth of College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi. When you have a responsive and responsible government, this is what you get. Because Governor Godwin Obaseki was not pleased with the college being in a dilapidated condition, he paved way for the college to be transformed to a befitting tertiary institution.

“The essence of the reconstruction is to help in training the desired manpower to harness the potentials in the agricultural sector. The contractors would commence site-work immediately and we are positive that within the shortest possible time the project is going to be completed.”

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Edebiri noted, “Though the contractors gave us a time frame of seven months, we have made it clear to the contractors to make sure they agree to the terms and conditions for the project. That is why it is very important they move to site immediately because we don’t have time.

They need to be up and running so that the students can come back here.”

The lead consultant for the reconstruction project, Giles Omezi, said, “We are here for the pre-construction planning. The contractors are moving to site immediately.

Work starts in earnest. We are expected to build one administrative block and a dormitory, which will take about 1000 students.

“There would be one @Businessdayng

academic building of about six classrooms, three laboratories, an Information Communication Technology (ICT) lab, a small library.

Six lecture theatres will be replicated across the campus site.”

Meanwhile, as part of moves to sustain a highlymotivated teaching workforce, the Edo State government has promoted over 2,600 teachers across the state, elevating 171 others to the level of directors (Level 17 officers).

While addressing the beneficiaries at the presentation of Letters of Promotion, the governor, represented by the deputy governor, Philip Shaibu, commended the teachers for their service to the state.

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Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

news

Fidelity Bank appoints Isa Inuwa as independent non-executive director BUNMI BAILEY

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oard of Directors of Fidelity Bank plc has announced the appointment of Isa Mohammed Inuwa as an independent non-executive director and has notified the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) of the appointment, which has been approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and took effect from January 22, 2020.

Inuwa joins the Board of Fidelity Bank chaired by Ernest Ebi, a former deputy governor of the CBN, and comes with a wealth of multi-industry experience spanning over 35 years in the banking and oil and gas industries. He statutorily retired in June 2019 as chief operating officer/group executive director, corporate services at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), where he worked for over a decade.

While at NNPC he was seconded to Nigerian Liquefied and Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) in 2016 as deputy managing director. As the DMD of NLNG, he served

on the board of NLNG and NLNG subsidiaries including Bonny Gas Transport Limited (BGTL) and NLNG Ship Management Limited (NSML). He was at various times a member of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Content Development and Management Board (NCDMB), the Petroleum Training Institute, chairman of Nigerian Pipelines and Products Storage Company Limited (NPSC) and alternate chairman of NNPC LNG Limited, among others.

In the financial services industry, his experience spans Commercial Banking, Merchant Banking and Development Finance, with requisite knowledge and experience in retail and commercial banking, operations, international trade finance, agricultural finance, treasury and corporate banking.

He started out as a banker with Union Bank of Nigeria where he did his mandatory youth service programme and worked at the defunct Bank for Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) and International Merchant Bank (IMB).

Against wide opinion, Buhari scores self high on tackling insecurity ... says investors’ confidence has grown Godsgift Onyedinefu, Abuja

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gainst national and global concerns on growing insecurity in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari scored his administration high on delivering promise to combat what is now being seen as a menace as reflected in Boko Haram insurgency, kidnapping, banditry and other forms of criminalities that have bedevilled the country.

Available data show that no fewer than 245 person were killed in violent attacks in January alone, a situation that has fuelled regional agitations for state security outfits like Amotekun. Members of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) across the

country, just last Sunday, staged a protest over the country’s security situation.

But speaking at the induction of combat helicopters into the Nigerian Air Force Inventory in Abuja on Thursday, the president said the success recorded so far in tackling insecurity had not only restored Nigeria’s pride and honour across the world, but had also restored investor confidence in the country.

He said his administration had taken concrete steps to create a friendly investment climate for foreign investors, and we would strive to maintain the tempo.

According to President Buhari, the degree of confidence of foreign investors in the country is growing and efforts are ongoing to attract

more foreign investment in the non-oil sector of the economy so as to achieve the level of diversification we desire to see in our economy.

“I therefore enjoin everyone to keep faith with us as we steer the country to the desired destination. Consequently, I want to sincerely thank Nigerians for believing in me and coming together as a nation, irrespective of political, religious and ethnic affiliations, to bring this scourge to an end.

“I want to, once again, salute the resolve of our armed forces and the invaluable contributions of all security agencies towards the decimation of Boko Haram,” the president said.

Buhari, who inducted two Agusta 109 Power and One

MI-171E helicopters into the NAF fleet, said the helicopters would add impetus to the combat efficiency of the Nigerian Air Force in combating Nigeria’s contemporary security engagements.

He recalled that about a year ago, he commissioned two Agusta 109 Power helicopter gunships procured from Italy and inducted them into the Nigerian Air Force inventory to boost its operational capacity.

“The acquisition of these aircraft among several other military equipment, despite our budgetary constraints is an expression of that commitment. We shall therefore continue to do our best to ensure that every sector of our nation experiences the change that we have promised the nation.

Hypo educates on Coronavirus at Agege Abattoir DESMOND OKON

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n a bid to further promote sustainable hygiene practices while increasing the knowledge of the masses as regards germs and diseases lurking around the environment, Hypo, maker of the most affordable bleach in Nigeria, organised a public sensitisation programme on the spread of coronavirus at the major abattoirs and markets in Lagos State.

During the sensitisation programme at Agege Abattoir Market, the Hypo team urged the meat dealers, marketers as well as the entire public to ensure to always keep their spaces clean to ward off all germs the ordinary eyes cannot detect.

Most importantly, the meat dealers were urged not only to keep their equipment clean but also to take the extra pain to keep them effectively disinfected for the greater good of the society.

Present in support of the programme were the leader, First Abattoir Youth Butchers Association, Lagos State, SudanOmotayo Ishola, Risikat Salau, Iya Oloja General-Ojokoro LCDA as well as other exco members of the Agege Market committee who all ensured to encourage the

traders/marketers and the general public to join the exercise.

According to Omotunde Bamigbaiye, brand manager, Hypo Bleach, “As a brand which solely promotes hygiene and germ free environment, we consider it highly imperative to intensify our efforts during this period by carrying out this public hygiene sensitisation programme to further enlighten the public about potential dangers associated with unclean environment, germs infested food, communicable diseases lurking around, and how they can stay protected by taking deliberate precautionary measures.”

It is no surprise to realise that a lot of Nigerians are still oblivious of happenings around us and on the global community; such as Lassa fever and the fast spreading coronavirus outbreak, which has been occupying the global media scene from the beginning of the year till date.

Coronavirus has been reported to have killed at least 213 people in China following an outbreak in the central city of Wuhan, forcing a government lockdown in almost 20 cities, and had quarantined an estimated 56 million people. www.businessday.ng

L-R: Tunde Adebayo, director of ports and inspection, NAFDAC; Tawakalitu Oshinowo, wife of the chairman of Agboyi/Ikosi LCDA, representing Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, first lady of Lagos State; Nneka Nwarueze, CEO, Healthgarde International (HI); Mojisola Lawal-Meranda, member, Lagos State House of Assembly (LAHA); Christine Borrett, marketing manager, HI, and Lovelyn Bassey, COO, HI, at the launch of Healthgarde International, in Lagos.

Pic by David Apara

Coronavirus: Senate alerts Nigerians USAID, UBA sign memorandum as strange disease hits Benue of understanding Solomon Ayado, Abuja

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he Senate on Thursday alerted Nigerians that a strange disease has hit Benue State, killing 15 persons already and about 104 seriously infected.

The Senate is suspecting that the outbreak may be coronavirus epidemic, which it said required urgent health measures to identify.

The Senate revealed that the outbreak of the strange disease occurred on January 29, 2020, in Oye, Obi Local Government Area of Benue State.

Consequently, the Senate has directed the Federal Ministry of Health to immediately investigate the disease and also mobilise health personnel to the af-

fected area to ascertain the nature of the disease.

Also, the Senate has requested the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to quickly employ surveillance measures to contain the disease.

Similarly, the NCDC is urged to not only investigate but see to the treatment of the victims and to further prevent spread of the disease. The Senate’s alarm was sequel to a motion by Abba Moro (PDP – Benue South) during plenary on Thursday.

Leading the debate, Moro revealed some of the names of the victims of the strange disease as Happiness Ogbo, Onajobi Ogbedu, Wisdom Agwo, Andy Edu, all of whom, he said, died 48 hours after contracting the undiagnosed disease.

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GBEMI FAMINU

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S Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Prosper Africa initiative is partnering the United Bank for Africa (UBA) to increase two-way trade and investment between the United States and the nations of Africa.

This partnership ensures businesses are equipped with the technical and financial tools they need to enter into new trading and investment relationships in Africa and the US. USAID will provide technical assistance and advisory services to prospective businesses through its Trade and Investment Hubs, and will @Businessdayng

connect UBA with African Diaspora business groups working across the US. The MoU enables UBA, the only sub-Saharan African bank licensed to operate in the US, to expand access its reach and extend financing to American companies in the US looking to do business with African nations.

Recognising tremendous growth opportunities, USAID and UBA are collaborating to advance Prosper Africa’s goal of substantially increasing two-way trade between Africa and the US. By working together, they will extend financing and technical assistance to businesses that will strengthen the American economy, grow African economies, and create jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.

Friday 07 February 2020

FT

BUSINESS DAY

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FINANCIAL TIMES

World Business Newspaper

Lauren Fedor and Billy Ehrenberg-Shannon

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mericans who say they are financially better off under Donald Trump’s presidency are overwhelmingly white men, despite the president’s claims that “almost everyone” has felt the benefits of US economic growth since he took office.

The sharp ethnic and gender differences over Mr Trump’s economic performance, revealed in a new poll of likely voters for the Financial Times and the Peter G Peterson Foundation, underscore the challenges facing the president as he seeks re-election and the uphill battle for Democrats in winning back the votes of white men who helped propel Mr Trump’s 2016 victory.

The recent caucuses in Iowa pointed to the importance Democrats have placed on peeling working-class whites from the president’s column. Pete Buttigieg, who remains in the lead in the slowly arriving Iowa results, was propelled in part by winning in counties that had voted for Barack Obama in 2012 but backed Mr Trump in 2016.

Mr Obama won Iowa, a swing state where 90 per cent of voters are white, in the 2008 and 2012 US presidential elections, but Mr Trump triumphed there in 2016, beating Hillary Clinton by nearly 10 percentage points. Mr Buttigieg pointed to his strong showing as evidence he could bring voters “back into the fold” and win a general election in November.

Mr Trump has made his economic record central to his case for re-election, and used his State of the Union address on Tuesday to claim “incredible results” in the US economy.

Last month, the president insisted that nearly all Americans have benefited from the country’s longest stretch of economic expansion, which began early in Mr Obama’s presidency, and has continued for more than a decade.

“Are you better off now than you were three years ago?” Mr Trump wrote on Twitter. “Almost everyone say YES!” But the latest FT-Peterson Economic Monitor showed that among likely voters, white men are the only group with close to a majority who believe they are

White men most likely to feel better off under Trump — poll FT-Peterson survey shows sense of financial security is fragmented by race and gender

Forty-eight percent of white men say they are ‘much better off’ or ‘somewhat better off’ under Donald Trump © AP

better off. Forty-eight per cent said they were either “much better off” or “somewhat better off” since Mr Trump took office.

All other groups are significantly more dissatisfied — including white women, illustrating Mr Trump’s persistent gap with female voters. Only 33 per cent of white women believe they are better off financially now than they were in 2016.

Joann Boldt of Des Moines, Iowa, a retired United Airlines flight attendant who voted for Mr Trump in 2016, is typical of the kind of voters Democrats are targeting. She volunteered for Amy Klobuchar, a moderate senator from Minnesota, in Monday’s caucuses, and said she would vote for a Democrat for the first time in November’s presidential election.

“I will always be a Republican at heart. But when Trump separated the parents from their children, he lost me there,” said Ms Boldt, in a reference to the president’s immigration policies at the US-Mexico border.

African-Americans and His-

panics are far more likely to say their financial situation has become worse under Mr Trump than white voters. Forty-eight per cent of black men believe they are worse off since Mr Trump took office, with 33 per cent saying they are “much worse off”, while 45 per cent of African-American women say their finances have deteriorated.

Similarly, 49 per cent of Hispanic women say they are worse off — the most dissatisfied demographic group in the FT-Peterson survey — while 42 per cent of Hispanic men said they were worse off.

The findings are part of the monthly FT-Peterson US Economic Monitor, which tracks voter sentiment towards the US economy in the run-up to November’s presidential election.

The survey focuses on whether likely voters feel better or worse off financially since Mr Trump became president. Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter in 1980 by asking voters: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”

Overall, dissatisfaction with

personal finances has remained constant since the FT-Peterson poll began tracking voter sentiment last October. The latest survey shows two-thirds of likely voters believe their finances have not improved since Mr Trump took office, a figure that has remained largely unchanged over the past four months despite a 7 per cent rally in the S&P 500 and 2.1 per cent economic growth in the fourth quarter.

Just over half — 51 per cent — of Americans said Mr Trump’s policies had helped the economy, while 39 per cent said they had hurt. A further 10 per cent said they had no impact.

The most recent FT-Peterson poll was conducted online by Global Strategy Group, a Democratic polling company, and North Star Opinion Research, a Republican group, between January 21 and January 26. It reflects the opinions of 1,004 likely voters nationwide, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The Peterson Foundation is a

non-partisan, non-profit organisation focused on America’s fiscal challenges.

US voters still love Big Tech The vast majority of Americans say technology companies are “mostly good” for the US economy, casting doubt on whether Democrats’ calls to crack down on “Big Tech” will win over voters in November’s US presidential election.

The latest FT-Peterson poll found 90 per cent of respondents said technology companies are “mostly good” for the US economy, compared with 10 per cent who said they were “mostly bad”.

Just over half — 51 per cent — said tech companies should be “much more” or “somewhat more” regulated by the federal government, while 39 per cent said tech groups should be regulated “about the same as they are now”. The remaining 10 per cent said they should be less regulated.

Democrats were more likely than Republicans to back tougher regulation, with 60 per cent of Democrats saying more regulation was needed, compared with only 41 per cent of Republicans.

The findings raise questions about whether Democrats’ calls for aggressive action against multinational technology groups will win support — either in the current primary process, or in the general election against Mr Trump. Senator Elizabeth Warren has been among the most vocal critics of “Big Tech” among Democratic contenders, calling for the break-up of major companies, including Facebook, Amazon and Apple. Ms Warren finished third in the delegate count in Monday’s Iowa caucuses, based on official results from most precincts.

Mr Trump has not called for the break-up of Big Tech, but has attacked social media companies, claiming they are biased against Republicans, and Amazon, whose founder Jeff Bezos also owns the Washington Post.

Prominent investment adviser calls for Credit Suisse chair to resign Ethos Foundation chief says Swiss bank is ‘in crisis’ Sam Jones

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prominent Swiss investment adviser has said that Credit Suisse is “in crisis” and called for its chairman Urs Rohner to take responsibility for the management dispute engulfing the bank and step down immediately.

The intervention by Ethos Foundation, which controls over 3 per cent of Credit Suisse shares and advises institutional investors

on corporate governance, comes as the lender’s board was meeting on Thursday to discuss chief executive Tidjane Thiam’s position.

Ethos chief executive Vincent Kaufmann told the FT: “We don’t see how [Mr Rohner] is dealing with it. The bank is in crisis. There is no communication, no information.”

Credit Suisse’s 60-year old chairman has fallen out dramatically with Mr Thiam in the wake of a corporate espionage scandal www.businessday.ng

last year. It emerged that the bank hired a corporate espionage company to follow Iqbal Khan, its former wealth management head who defected to rival UBS. Mr Thiam was caught at the centre of the affair thanks to his bitter relationship with Mr Khan, his one-time heir apparent. The lurid details of Mr Khan and Mr Thiam’s fallout transfixed Switzerland’s usually staid financial community.

Mr Kaufmann said it is “urgent”

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to have new leadership at the Credit Suisse board level: “The board is responsible to supervise management. We need someone to challenge the whole governance framework of the bank.”

Ethos said that Mr Rohner should step down in time for Credit Suisse’s board to propose a replacement ahead of its annual shareholder meeting in April. Mr Kaufmann added: “I don’t think he has been doing many things correctly. He is @Businessdayng

always reactive in all situations and this has contributed to the full mistrust of shareholders.”

He added: “For some years we believe Mr Rohner has been taking a lot of decisions which have been detrimental to the bank.”

Mr Rohner did not respond to a request for comment, Ahead of Thursday’s board meeting three top Credit Suisse shareholders — including its largest, Harris Associates — threw their weight behind Mr Thiam.

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Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

FINANCIAL TIMES

COMPANIES & MARKETS

@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED

Global shares rally after China pledges tariff cuts on US goods

Beijing seeks to cushion the economic fallout from concerns over the impact of coronavirus epidemic Hudson Lockett and Ryan McMorrow

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hina has announced it will halve tariffs on some US imports as it moves to implement a “phase one” trade deal with the Trump administration and cushion the economic fallout from the coronavirus epidemic.

The move spurred a rally on global stock markets with Asian bourses rallying from deep losses on mounting concerns over the impact on China from the virus.

European shares also gained ground while the US market opened higher.

The finance ministry said tariffs on some goods would be cut by half, from 5 per cent to 2.5 per cent or 10 per cent to 5 per cent, on February 14, the same day that last month’s agreement between the two countries is set to take effect. The reductions apply to punitive tariffs imposed on 1,717 US products by China in September.

Washington also plans to halve tariffs on some Chinese goods on February 14 from 15 per cent to 7.5 per cent, according to a notice to the Federal Register by the office of the US Trade Representative. The US tariffs were imposed in September as President Donald Trump threatened to impose punitive taxes on all Chinese imports.

“China will adjust its measures at the same time to alleviate economic and trade frictions and expand economic and trade co-operation,” said a Chinese finance ministry spokesperson.

The spokesperson added that

Beijing made the tariffs announcement weeks after signing a ‘phase one’ trade deal with Washington © Reuters

timely implementation of the agreement would “boost market confidence, promote bilateral relations [with the US] and help global economic growth”.

According to the agreement, China will increase imports from the US by $200bn over two years compared with 2017 levels. Many economists considered this goal to be ambitious even before the coronavirus struck last month.

This week Larry Kudlow, Mr Trump’s top economic adviser, acknowledged that the purchases could be delayed because of the outbreak.

China’s CSI 300 index of Shanghai- and Shenzhen-listed stocks closed 1.9 per cent higher

on Thursday, while Tokyo’s Topix finished the day up 2.1 per cent.

The Hang Seng had its best day since September, rising 2.6 per cent.

The Stoxx 600, which tracks Europe’s largest companies, touched a new record high in early trading and was up 0.3 per cent by early afternoon. The index has risen 3.5 per cent this week and is on course for its best weekly performance since late 2016.

Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics, said the coronavirus may have played a role in Beijing’s decision to cut tariffs permanently, rather than grant waivers or use other temporary measures.

“I don’t see this as an attempt to boost growth directly,” he said.

“I see it as a measure to signal to the US that, ‘We’re not going to be able to ramp up imports straight away but we’re still on board with the deal.’”

On Wednesday Chinese oil executives told the Financial Times that they expected domestic oil consumption to fall by at least 25 per cent this month compared with February 2019, when China was importing 13m barrels a day.

On Thursday, China’s National Health Commission said the death toll in the country from the coronavirus outbreak had exceeded 500, with more than 28,000 confirmed infections. The

vast majority of deaths have been in the city of Wuhan and the surrounding province of Hubei, the centre of the outbreak.

China’s central bank this week pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into its financial system to support the economy.

“We hope to work with the United States towards the ultimate elimination of all the increased tariffs,” said China’s finance ministry spokesperson.

As part of the deal with the US, Beijing restated its commitment not to manipulate its currency.

Following the announcement on Thursday the onshore-traded renminbi was flat against the dollar at Rmb6.9719.

deaths occurred in the city of Wuhan and the surrounding Hubei province, the centre of the outbreak.

Tough conditions in Hong Kong lifted the value of some consumer goods sellers. Hong Kong-listed Vinda International — a Guangdong-based maker of hygiene goods — rose as much as 8 per cent, while noodlemaker Nissin Foods gained as much as 6 per cent. That was after shoppers in the territory cleared supermarket shelves of such goods amid speculation of an impending shortage due to the coronavirus outbreak.

“Investors want to put money to work, it’s almost like they’re dying to get back into the market knowing this too shall pass,” said Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at AxiCorp, pointing to pent-up demand from traders despite the coronavirus contagion.

Julian Evans-Pritchard, a China economist at research company Capital Economics, said concerns over the coronavirus outbreak may have played a role in China’s decision to cut tariffs. “Given everything else that’s going on they don’t want trade tensions to flare up again.”

US and European stocks hit fresh records

Traders encouraged by China’s pledge of tariff cuts on US goods Hudson Lockett

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lobal stocks extended their rally on Thursday as traders took heart from China’s pledge of tariff cuts on US goods, with European and US shares hitting record highs and Asian indices continuing to recover from a deep sell-off earlier this week.

China has announced it will halve tariffs on some US imports as it moves to implement a “phase one” trade deal with the Trump administration and cushion the economic fall-

out from the coronavirus epidemic.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones hit record highs at the open on Wall Street, as they both rose 0.3 per cent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 2.6 per cent on Thursday, its best one-day performance since early September. Tokyo’s Topix closed 2.1 per cent higher, putting the index back into positive territory for 2020. The CSI 300, China’s gauge of Shanghaiand Shenzhen-listed blue-chip stocks, ended the day up 1.9 per cent.

It was a third session in a row www.businessday.ng

of gains for Asian markets following a sharp sell-off in mainland Chinese shares on Monday, prompted by the coronavirus outbreak.

European shares also moved higher, with the Stoxx 600 up 0.3 per cent after hitting a record high in early trading. In London the FTSE 100 rose 0.3 per cent by lunchtime.

China’s National Health Commission said on Thursday the death toll in the country had exceeded 500, with the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rising past 28,000 as of February 5. The vast majority of new

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@Businessdayng

Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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news

Onslaught on Ansaru: Police kill two terror commanders, arrest 3, recover arms

… one officer confirmed dead, 13 injured Innocent Odoh

T L-R: Bamidele Abiodun, first lady of Ogun State; Bukola Smith, executive director, business development, First City Monument Bank (FCMB); Victoria Oluomo, wife of the speaker of Ogun State House of Assembly, and Funmi Efuwape, commissioner for women affairs and social development, during a capacity building programme for Ogun Women in Business organised by the bank in partnership with the state government and Office of the First Lady. The programme, themed, ‘’Supporting Women Businesses to Scale Up in 2020’’ in Abeokuta, Ogun State.

FG budgets N620m to fight coronavirus - Ehanire

... as Senate orders screening of VIPs, chattered flight passengers … governors, FG partner on quality healthcare delivery Solomon Ayado, Abuja

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inister of Health, O s a g i e Ehanire says the Federal Government has budgeted N620 million to contain the dreaded coronavirus outbreak in Nigeria.

This is coming as the Senate has ordered screening of VIPs and chattered flight passengers’ wing of Nigerian airports, saying the situation is capable of importing coronavirus into the country.

Also, Senate has directed the Nigeria Custom Service (NCS) to urgently stop exportation of surgical face-masks from Nigeria to Asia and other countries affected by the virus.

It further charged the Nigeria Police, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, Federal

Ministry of Health, Nigerian Immigration Service and other relevant government authorities to strengthen health regulatory services in all entry points across the country.

Ehanire said the special intervention fund was released to the Federal Ministry of Health to also monitor and possibly detect the coronavirus, stated this on Thursday while appearing before the Senate Committee on Health. The interface was to brief lawmakers on the level of national preparedness to contain coronavirus outbreak in the country.

The minister maintained that with the intervention fund, the Federal Government was adequately prepared to ensure health security to foster economic stability.

He further revealed that

Nigerian IVLP alumni promote waste-to-wealth in Mushin George Victor

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igerian graduates of the International Visitor Leadership Programme (IVLP), the US Department of State’s premier professional exchange programme, on Thursday empowered merchants in Mushin to create wealth from waste, in line with Lagos’ vision for a cleaner and greener state.

The initiative is aimed at equipping the local community to keep wastes off the street and drainage systems, and in doing so, create income streams and promote healthy living, according to IVLP. “We have successfully carried out several initiatives including mentorship programs at public schools.

This year, we have added market clean-ups to our line of events,” said Adetoun Tade, president of Nigeria’s IVLP Alumni. “It is easy to

blame the market men and women but we believe in showing them what to do with their wastes instead.”

Themed “The Market Place Clean-up,” the campaign at Kajola IgbeyinAdun Food Stuff Idi-Oro market in Mushin, was held with support from Lagos’ waste management office LAWMA, Recycling Alliance, Mushin To The World, F.A.B.E International and Sustyvibes.

At the empowerment exercise, hundreds of merchants including members of the community and students were shown practical ways to recycle and make useful materials out of wastes.

Items like chairs, tables and mirror frames made from tyres, PET plastic bottles, plastic spoons and other non-biodegradable materials were on display, while a session was dedicated to showing attendees how to recreate the items. www.businessday.ng

already, the sum of N71 million had been released to the Port Health Services to strengthen operations.

However, Ibrahim Oloriegbe, chairman, Senate Committee on Health, while lamenting non-screening of VIPs, said the absence of health services at the private terminal could make for easy movement of infected persons into the country.

Consequently, the Senate has directed the minister of health to quickly deploy health officials to the private tarmac so as to conduct screening of VIPs on chartered flight.

On stoppage of exportation of surgical face-masks from Nigeria to Asia, the Senate considered a motion moved by Ifeanyi Ubah (YPP – Anambra South).

In his motion, Ubah said: “Over the last three weeks,

face-masks have become the most sought after commodity in Nigeria with over 100 million face-masks being unpatriotically exported to Asia using the Murtala Mohammed Airport and Port Harcourt International Airport.

“As at 5th of November, 2019, stores that usually sell 1 piece of face-mask for N10 now sell it for N80, while a pack consisting of 50 pieces has now inflated from N500 to N3,000; with a carton consisting of 40 packs also inflated from N20,000 to N120,000.

“It has now become a booming trade for illicit traders aided by airport officials in Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos and Port Harcourt International Airport to unpatriotically export face-masks to China, India and other affected countries,” Ubah stated.

Lagos closes Jonathan Coker axis for railway modernisation Joshua Bassey

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agos State government is shutting the Jonathan Coker axis to traffic to allow for the ongoing Nigerian Railway modernisation project (Lagos-Ibadan section), which is being extended to the Lagos Port in Apapa.

The closure of the axis takes effect from Saturday, February 8, 2020, from 8:00pm to 6:00am. The closure will give room to the contractor handling the project to install Level Crossing Rubber Panels.

A statement from the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation states that the contractor, CCECC Nigeria Limited, would also commence demolition of parts of the existing old bridge and the hoisting of the beams of the new Costain Bridge.

It adds that alternative routes have been provided for road users to utilise dur-

ing the course of the construction.

The state advised motorists plying Jonathan Coker axis to divert to Ashade Underpass, Adejobi axis of Agege Motor Road and Toyin Crossing, to reach their various destinations.

While motorists inbound Costain will be diverted temporarily to the new bridge on the left hand side, to free the old bridge of traffic.

Road users are also advised to comply with the traffic directions to minimise inconvenience in movement.

The closure has been slated at this time, to ensure there is smooth and uninterrupted flow of work on the rail tracks.

The state government appealed to all residents, especially motorists that ply these corridors to bear the pains, as the project is aimed at achieving a seamless multi modal transport system that will meet the transportation needs of a larger population.

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he police have intensified attacks against the dreaded Ansaru terrorist group and bandits in their operational bases at the Kuduru Forests around Birnin-Gwari axis of Kaduna State, killing and arresting members of the notorious group and recovering large cache of arms and ammunition.

A statement issued on Thursday by the Force public relations officer, Frank Mba, said, “In the aftermath of the Police counter-terrorism operations which successfully neutralised the operational bases of the Ansaru Terrorists’ Group and bandits, one Haruna Basullube – one of the most wanted kidnappers/ cattle rustlers in the country and one Bashir Leta – another notorious bandits’ commander were killed.”

The police also said one Mallam Abba – commander of Boko Haram camp in Kuduru Forest and one Mofa – a notorious kidnapper were critically injured.

The Police had confirmed the attack on the bases of the criminal elements on Wednesday, claiming that after intense battle, they killed 250 terrorists. The police however, disclosed that in the heat of the combat one police officer, Mohammed Abubakar, an inspector, died.

He noted that the terror-

ists and bandits shot at police operational helicopter but the pilot and co-pilot, who sustained injuries, successfully flew the helicopter to a military base.

Mba disclosed that so far 13 officers sustained varying degrees of injuries in the attacks and are receiving treatment.

“In spite of the successes of the operation, one Inspector Muhammed Abubakar attached to the Police Special Forces regrettably died as a result of injuries sustained in the heat of the combat. Thirteen other officers (made up of 2 SPs, 1 DSP, 4 Inspectors and 6 Sergeants) including the Pilot and Co-pilot of the Police helicopter, sustained different degrees of injuries and are currently receiving treatment,” Mba said.

Meanwhile, as mop-up operations continue, the Inspector-General of Police, (IGP) Mohammed Adamu has deployed crack detectives and special forensic investigators from the Force Headquarters to expedite investigations into the broad criminal enterprise of the group and their associates, the statement said.

According to the police, the late Inspector Muhammed Abubakar was one of the finest officers of the Police Special Forces with vast training and operational background, both at home and abroad.

BusinessDay’s Amoo wins MAN 2019 photojournalist of the Year SEGUN ADAMS

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he Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN) has awarded Olawale Amoo, BusinessDay photo journalist, the MAN Reporter of The Year 2019 in the Photojournalist category in recognition of his efforts at promoting Nigeria’s manufacturing sector and good journalism through photographs. The award is in acknowledgement of your in-depth reportage of the Association’s activities and the Manufacturing Sector in general, said MAN. The MAN award ceremony, an annual event, held at the association’s house in Ikeja on Thursday. The award featured entries from different media outfits across the country.

Categories of the award are Reporter of The Year, Online Reporter of The Year, Photojournalist of The Year, Television Reporter of The Year and Radio Reporter of The Year.

According to MAN, all entries were submitted through a competitive process, and @Businessdayng

only the best that meet all the criteria set by judges were awarded.

“This award is dedicated to BusinessDay, and I am certain more recognition will follow,” said Amoo.

In its tradition, BusinessDay has produced other award-winning journalists, including Patrick Atuanya (editor), Chuka Uroko, Odinaka Anudu, Obinna Emelike, Iheanyi Nwachukwu, Daniel Obi, Teliat Sule, Josephine Okojie, Isaac Anyaogu, and Caleb Ojewale, among many others.

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) was established in May 1971 to provide a platform for the private sector to formulate and articulate policy suggestions that would be complementary to government’s efforts at policy formulation.

Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Frday 07 February 2020

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Friday 07 February 2020

BUSINESS DAY

FEATURE FCMB: Nigeria’s best bank for SMEs in relentless quest for empowering businesses SMEs are critical to Nigeria’s economic development, both now and in the long-term. FCMB, a mid-tier lender is throwing its weight behind them, and leading Nigerian lenders in promoting banking support for these businesses, writes Segun Adams.

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mall and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) are globally recognized as engines of socio-economic transformation.

In Nigeria, they are at the heart of a push for economic prosperity.

Together with micro-scale ventures, these businesses contribute almost half of the national GDP, employ 76.5 percent of the national workforce and account for 7.64 percent of export receipts, a joint survey by Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in 2017 shows.

They also make up more than 90 percent of the total businesses in Nigeria.

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, said to be about 41.5 million in Nigeria, can help redistribute wealth, improve local manufacturing and diversify the economy.

As such, the policies and institutions that support their growth are important variables for Nigeria’s economic ends.

One of such institutions is First City Monument Bank (FCMB), a leading financial services provider.

The mid-tier lender last year proved its mettle in the Nigerian banking industry, emerging the best bank in customer experience for SMEs. The bank leapt to the first position in the SMEs category from a third-place ranking in the prior year. FCMB in 2018 also emerged the third most customer-focused in retail banking.

This is according to the 2019 Nigeria Banking Industry Customer Experience Survey (NBICES) report by KPMG, one of the Big 4 global consulting firms.

According to the 2019 report, analysis of performance in the SME segment reveals dynamism in the latest ranking, with FCMB edging other Banks to emerge top.

The 2019 research was conducted via face-to-face and online survey methodology, involving SME owners across Nigeria. It was anchored on six pillars of assessment and performance, namely personification, integrity, expectations, resolution, time and effort as well as empathy.

“While the Nigerian banking landscape has constantly been faced with steep competition, the stakes have been raised even higher and performing well on

Adam Nuru, MD, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited

customer experience is the new minimum standard,’’ said KPMG. “As the race for the customer intensifies, front-runners will be those who demonstrate an understanding of the customer’s specific circumstances to consistently deliver a personalised experience.”

The latest positive affirmation received by FCMB is a demonstration that the various supports the Bank offers to boost the performance of SMEs and its overall contributions to the growth of the nation’s economy are yielding the desired results and appreciated by the market, said FCMB. FCMB is known for its bespoke products and excellent service offerings cutting across retail, SMEs, transaction, commercial and corporate.

The leap in the rating of FCMB as the number one Bank in Customer Experience for SMEs is a proof that the bank is on the right path towards achieving its goal of attaining the highest levels of customer advocacy in the industry and a major contributor to economic development.

FCMB, on several occasions, has restated its commitment to consistently delivering exceptional service and offering the right propositions to help SME and other customer segments fulfil their individual and business aspirations.

For instance, the bank recently organized ‘’Supporting Women Businesses to Scale Up in 2020’’, a free and comprehensive capacity www.businessday.ng

building and empowerment programme for women entrepreneurs in Ogun State.

The program aimed at enhancing the productivity and profitability of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) through funding, capacity building, advisory and other forms of support, held February 5, 2020, in partnership with the Office of the First Lady of the State, Bamidele Abiodun.

The bank said it would continue to assist SMEs to overcome the challenges they usually face, especially at the take-off stage, because it wants to be part of their

“

As the race for the customer intensifies, front-runners will be those who demonstrate an understanding of the customer’s specific circumstances to consistently deliver a personalised experience

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success story.

FCMB has built a strong base in the SME segment by consistently championing and executing several cutting-edge solutions that have tremendously impacted on businesses nationwide under the following pillars of support; access to capital, capacity building, advisory services, networking opportunity and technology. The lender is one of the top participating Banks in the various intervention funds of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs). FCMB has been commended by the CBN, Bank of Industry, Development Bank of Nigeria, among others, for its strong support to SMEs. The lender also partners local and international DFIs to provide various forms of funding, guarantees, grants and capacity building programmes to entrepreneurs.

Also, FCMB offers free banking transactions for three months to new to Bank SME customers. It also has in its bouquet tailored products to suit the needs of SMEs customers, such as free accounting applications, Payroll solution and so on.

FCMB has equally automated its lending process for SMEs by adopting digital banking solutions to penetrate and deepen its intervention in the segment through its Quickloans platform. Since the launch of the platform in July 2019, over N10billion unsecured loans have been disbursed to SME customers within three to twentyfour hours of application through the Quickloans platform.

For women entrepreneurs, FCMB’s SheVentures initiative, launched in March 2019 to offer enhanced support to existing and start-up women-owned SMEs through access to finance, training and mentoring, has continued to encourage entrepreneurship, while also turning around the fortunes of existing businesses.

Apart from other benefits, it comes with a zero-interest rate for an initial period of three months for beneficiaries. Also, over 300 women entrepreneurs are being mentored by the Bank through the SheVentures initiative.

Beyond financial support, FCMB has trained over 10,000 SMEs, while also championing and executing several value-added capacity building programmes that have fast-tracked the growth of businesses, thereby upscal@Businessdayng

ing their contributions to the development of the country. The lender organises a comprehensive programme, tagged, ‘’Business Enterprises and Sustainability Training (BEST)’’, SME Clinics and Masterclass for business owners nationwide to equip them with management skills and ensure effective networking.

FCMB has ensured the development of emerging markets, such as renewable energy, agribusiness and creative industry. The Bank hosts several workshops and exhibitions for these sectors. For instance, it organised a workshop on Climate Finance Awareness, in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), under the theme, ‘’Energy Efficiency and Solar Energy Solutions for Your Business”. This was a follow-up to the one held in August 2018 on Sustainable Energy Finance (SEFi). There was also a seminar on tax matters, in collaboration with the Federal Inland Revenue Service, for SMEs in June.

In the same vein, FCMB in November last year hosted a workshop on Energy-Agric Nexus for Rural Economic Development, under the theme, “Stimulating the Agricultural Sector through Off-Grid Energy Development”, in Abuja. It was in partnership with the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), The European Union, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP), Heinrich Boll Stiftung (HBS) Foundation and Power for All. The workshop provided a rare opportunity for operators in agribusiness and the power sector to engage in constructive and interactive sessions with industry experts and decision-makers on harnessing and deploying alternative, renewable, clean and affordable sources of energy, particularly off-grid ones, to stimulate agribusiness.

First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited is a member of FCMB Group Plc, which is one of the leading financial services institutions in Nigeria with subsidiaries that are market leaders in their respective segments.

Having successfully transformed into a retail banking and wealth management-led group, FCMB expects to continue to distinguish itself through innovation and the delivery of exceptional services.

Women in Business

BUSINESS DAY Friday 07 February 2020 www.businessday.ng

By Kemi Ajumobi

Aisha Babangida

Tope Orhionsefe Omage

Founder, WenA (Women Network Alliance)

CEO, Tomag Consulting

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isha Babangida is a humanitarian leader and experienced founder with a demonstrated history of working within philanthropy and helping underserved communities throughout Nigeria. She is the Chairman of the Better Life Program for the African Rural Woman, taking over after her mother, who worked previously as the chairman and founder.

In addition to the Better Life Program, Aisha has also started and worked with numerous non-profit organisations, only fuelling her passion to do more for the people of her country. Aisha loves being able to provide women and girls with educational opportunities and life skills in order to better prepare them for the future.

In addition to her passion and commitment to philanthropy, Aisha Babangida is also passionate about finance and business. She has continued to advocate for female empowerment by working to increase women’s rights, and provide them with resources that can help transform their lives and great community. Through her work and outreach, Aisha Babangida realized the importance of microfinance and banking for the Nigerian economy.

In 2016, she founded the Egwafin Microfinance Bank, which helps those in Africa get the access they need to funding and financing that they may not have had access to otherwise.

According to her, Microfinance acts as a means to target wealth inequality and work towards bridging the gap. Because the poor or impoverished don’t have access to resources, their skills go underutilized, because they themselves are underutilized.

“Microfinance, commonly referred to as microcredit which is actually a subset within microfinance, acts as an opportunity for people who may not otherwise receive approval for a loan or credit to still obtain financial services. The concept was built around the idea of inclusion and access for all. In order to participate in growing economies, people need access to funding no matter their income bracket.” She says.

In 2018, Aisha Babangida founded

Women Enterprise Alliance, which helps entrepreneurs through investing in profitable early stage companies, small & medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria and across Africa. She founded the organisation as a way to help improve the resources that entrepreneurs need to thrive when first starting their own company. Overall, Aisha Babangida has become known for her leadership in the community, as well as her skills in non-profit organisations, negotiation, corporate social responsibility, business planning, and analytical skills.

Aisha is passionate about financial inclusion for women and how it can change their lives and communities.

“Women represent between 60 and 79 percent of Nigeria’s rural labour force but are five times less likely to own their own land than men. Women are also less likely to have had a decent education. Microcredit and financial inclusion organisations create some of the best opportunities for these women to gain valuable capital that can pay off long-term upon obtaining the necessary resources.

While these programs are geared towards those with an entrepreneurial spirit or business opportunity, they also have programs intended to support those who don’t conform to this mold yet still have more basic necessities in order to sustain or improve their standing.” Says Aisha.

Aisha is the founder of Tasnim Foundation, a charity based organisation providing scholarship to young girls in rural areas to encourage the girl child education. They also provide medical equipment and some medications to hospitals in order to improve public health.

Through the program, Aisha Babangida provides succour for displaced citizens.

As part of her mission to expose children to more education opportunities, the foundation is building small schools in rural areas and rehabilitating orphanages.

Aisha recently hosted past First Ladies and the present First Lady of Nigeria, Her Excellency, Aisha Buhari, to mark the 10th anniversary of the demise of her mum, former First Lady, Maryam Babangida

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ope Orhionsefe Omage started her early education at St. Anne’s school, Ibadan where she obtained her WASC O’levels certificate (1975). She received an HND in Accounting (1979), was awarded an MBA (2000) and she has attended numerous short Courses, Seminars, Conferences and Workshops; both local and international (including Stanford, Whaton, Center for Creative Leadership & North Western University).

Professionally, she is a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management (2011), Member of the Institute of Directors and Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.

She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, a Member of the prestigious Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (2012) and a certified Mediator.

She commenced her working career in 1977 with Pius Momodu and Company Chartered Accountants, Benin. Her reputation as a thoroughbred accountant saw her excel at the Benin Owena River Basin Development Authority, where she rose to Assistant Chief Accountant. Her illustrious career at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) started in 1993 as a Bank Examiner. In 2006, she became Assistant Director, Jos Branch where she coordinated and supervised banking services. She also served as the Chairman of the Branch Alms Committee, before she moved to Internal Audit Department as Deputy Director.

She was appointed Director of Branch Operations Department in (2012). There again, under her skilled leadership, she set the pace and direction for the department and the 37 branches. She monitored, coordinated and maintained general oversight on the branches and facilitated excellent service delivery. Her culture of excellence motivated the present administration to transfer her to the Finance Department to help drive the nascent agenda. Mrs. Omage has made history by becoming the first ever, Female Director of Finance. She led her team to adopt IFRS for CBN Financial statements.

Tope is of the opinion that many people get into businesses they are oblivious about and according to her, topmost priority is to educate yourself on the terrain you are

going into and the importance of knowing how to manage your funds because you cannot do without financial literacy.

She says it will be an error to mix personal finance with business finance, stressing the need to differentiate both.

This she says is very important because small scale businesses often encounter challenges with getting funds but once you are financially literate and you have the appropriate documents, accessing finance will not be a challenge. In her words, “There are a number of Federal Government initiatives through the Central Bank and some developmental institutions tailored towards SMEs. Because the SMEs are not exposed and financially literate, they don’t even have bankable documents.”

Omage has served in various committees of ICAN, was a former governing council member of NASB (FRCN), member of Advisory Board of three secondary schools, board member SmartWoman Nigeria and NSITF Despite her heavy portfolio, she has time for other activities. She is an author, a motivational speaker and currently the Coordinator of the Women in Management, Business and Public service (WIMBIZ) Abuja.

Tope is married with adult children and in 2011, she published a book titled, “Enjoying Family Life, God’s recipe”, a book she wrote to help counsel couples because she realised that sometimes, people are too shy to ask for one-on-one advice, and the tips given int the book she believes will inspire couples and intending couples positively. She also wrote the book as a result of the feedback she got from people who had heard her speak; they encouraged her to write the book.

Omage retired from the Central Bank of Nigeria in December 2015 after 35years of meritorious service with the Federal Government of Nigeria. Retired but not tired, She currently the CEO of TOMAG consulting and runs Tomaville events centre, a one stop shop for all your events, She is into financial advisory services, SMEs, entrepreneurship, business revamping, loan restructuring and business process engineering.

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