BusinessDay 11 Sep 2020 by BusinessDay

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news you can trust I ** FRIDAY 11 september 2020 I vol. 19, no 649

₦ 4,555,776.44 56.11 +2.41

Crude Oil

$40.55

N300

Foreign Exchange

Market Buy

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I&E FX Window CBN Official Rate as at September 9 , 2020

ntb

www.

MTN Nigeria plc CP

FGN

Dangote Cement plc

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

Spot ($/N) 25-Feb-21 5-Mar-21 23-Jul-30 30-Apr-25 20-May-27 27-Feb-34 386.17 379.00

$-N 435.00 455.00 1m £-N 550.00 600.00 Currency Futures 30-sept-20 389.54 €-N 495.00 530.00 ($/N)

Benchmark Sovereign & Corporate Bonds

0.00 1.51

-0.02 4.51

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

0.23

-0.48

9.00

8.24

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

420.81

-0.42

0.13

9.18

11.18

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

590.10

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

Articulated actions, not reports will change Nigeria’s fortune - Atedo Peterside Temitayo Ayetoto

ublishing of reports on economic reforms will not change the fortune of Nigeria except actions are articulated in the right quarters, and Nigerians are convinced to buy in, Atedo Peterside said in a remark at the inaugural meeting of Anap Foundation on National Development Plan 2021-2025, in Abuja. According to Peterside, the best times to think through the country’s progress are present time of low, arguing that if Nigerians take advantage of the current challenges, the country could be on its way to achieving its full potential. “Nigeria has a history of Continues on page 30

Here’re 5 issues Nigeria must pay urgent attention to avoid increasing poor population P. 2 COVID-19: Hypertension, diabetes increase risk of dying in Africa P. 2

Nigeria’s low yields position equities

as credible alternative – Onyema says demutualisation of NSE in final stage calls for reforms around exchange rate unification, naira stability

ENDURANCE OKAFOR, FADKEMI AREO, MERCY AYODELE, FAVOUR OLAREWAJU & MICHAEL ANI

he lack of high yielding investment instruments in Nigeria has drawn domestic institutional and retail investors to

the equities market, according to Oscar Onyema, CEO, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The CEO of the Lagos bourse made this known during his welcome address on Thursday at the ‘Investment and Capital Market Digital Dialogue’ by BusinessDay.

While the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated foreign portfolio flight to safety, one of the factors that intensified the pressures on Nigeria’s foreign reserve and exchange rate, Onyema said local investors surprisingly rose to the challenge

in sustaining equities market performance. “The low yield environment has positioned the equities market as a credible investment option for domestic institutional and retail investors,” Onyema said. According to NSE data, domestic investors have accounted for almost 60 percent of the Continues on page 30

Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

news COVID-19: Hypertension, diabetes increase risk of dying in Africa

ANTHONIA OBOKOH

here is increasing evidence that Africans living with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension and diabetes are more likely to suffer severe cases of COVID-19 and die, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) African. In South Africa, which accounts for nearly half of all cases and deaths on the continent, 61 percent of the COVID-19 patients in hospitals had hypertension and 52 percent had diabetes. And 45 percent of people aged 60–69 who died from COVID-19 also had hypertension. In Kenya, around half of COVID-19 deaths occurred in people with NCDs, while in the Democratic Republic of Congo, such patients accounted for 85 percent of all COVID-19 deaths. According to a WHO preliminary analysis of 14 countries in the African region, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and asthma are the co-morbidities most associated with COVID-19 patients. These chronic conditions require continuous treatment, but

as governments address the ongoing pandemic, health services for NCDs have been severely disrupted. “Millions of Africans living with non-communicable diseases are at greater risk of complications or dying from COVID-19,” notes Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa. “So, it is very concerning to find that just when people with hypertension and other chronic conditions most need support, many are being left out in the cold.” In a WHO survey of 41 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, 22 percent of countries reported that only emergency inpatient care for chronic conditions is available, while 37 percent of countries reported that outpatient care is limited. Hypertension management has been disrupted in 59 percent of the countries, while diabetic complications management has been disrupted in 56 percent of the countries. The closure or slowdown in services is likely to further aggravate the underlying conditions of patients, leading to more severe cases of NCDs. It also exacerbates the susceptibility of people living

Here’re 5 issues Nigeria must pay urgent attention to avoid increasing poor population Endurance Okafor

ith an econ o m i c growth that is too slow to create sufficient opportunities for a rapidly rising population, Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, has been a tough country for millions of its citizens who, in the last five years grew progressively poorer. Nigeria’s economy, which has been gasping for breath since 2015, means more of its citizens are falling into extreme poverty as more than 82 million of them live on less than $2 (N750) a day. Economic growth in Africa’s most populous nation averaged 1.2 percent between 2015 and 2019. Problem with that is the population grew two times faster at an average of 2.6 percent per year. Exacerbated by the impact of COVID-19 lockdown enforced to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, Nigeria’s economy contracted for the first time in three years at -6.1 percent in the second quarter of 2020. This means

the economy is a quarter away from its second recession in four years. But, long before the pandemic started spreading across the globe late last year, Nigeria’s economy had been crippled by underlying challenges. An evaluation of Nigeria’s macro-economic indicators before the pandemic exposes how the pandemic only made what was already a bad situation worse. Nigeria retains a long list of economic reforms that can unlock economic growth and reduce poverty but have been stuck. According to a private sector-led think-tank and policy advocacy group, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Nigeria needs to pay urgent attention to the following five issues: Agric sector reform The NESG notes in a recent document titled: ‘Matters of Urgent Attention’ that since the inception of President Muhammadu Bihari’s administration, agriculture and the need to ensure Zero Hunger for Nigerians has received considerable attention. “However, despite the bud-

getary allocations and huge sums of money disbursed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, a huge gap remains in meeting the food requirements, which has resulted in increasing hunger among the Nigerian populace,” it notes. The Group, therefore, explains that the issues are beyond money and thus, require a complete overhaul of the management of, and support for the agriculture sector and all related sectors –“with a view to getting more value for our investments.” Tackle insecurity The NESG expresses its concern about the high level of insecurity across the country and its impact on the business environment and investment flows, which has contributed massively to the current food crisis, unemployment, poverty, increasing community clashes, rising bloodshed and the absence of peace and tranquillity in the country. “Therefore, we again join the call by all well-meaning Nigerians, for government to critically re-evaluate our

security architecture and take all necessary actions to assure and safeguard the safety of all Nigerian citizens and residents,” NESG states. Reduce exposure to oil The Lagos-based non-government organisation notes Nigeria’s huge exposure to the vagaries of oil price fluctuations, and emphasises the need for a better structured and effective diversification of the economy. The NESG also explains that while it is not oblivious to the continuing crucial role of the oil and gas sector in Nigeria’s economy, it applauds the work now being done by the Presidency to see to the quick passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). It urges that there should be “further stakeholder consultations so that the resultant law will create the required enabling environment for investment flows, reserves enhancement, technology transfer and utilisation efficiency.” Policy clarity from the CBN The NESG explains in the document that there has been evolving developmental roles

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Naira jumps to N453 despite central bank’s $101.8m sales to BDCs HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

igeria’s currency on Thursday lost N9.50k to the dollar, a day after the country’s central bank (CBN) sold $50 million to 5,000 Bureau De Change (BDC) operators in the second tranche of its dollar sales for the week. With Wednesday’s dollar allocation, the CBN has sold a total of $101.8 million to BDCs this week. Dollar traded at an average rate of N453 on Thursday as against average rate of N443.50k traded on Wednesday on the black market. The naira depreciation is attributed to increased demand by end users who are either travelling or buying to meet import obligation. Another reason is the speculative activities of traders. Nigeria’s central bank resumed dollar sales to Bureau De Change (BDC) operators on Monday, September 7, 2020, selling $51.8 million to 5,180 BDCs across the country. BusinessDay had reported that the CBN would supply about $100 million to some 5,000 BDCs this week, in two tranches of $10,000 per supply to each BDC. But this dollar allocation could not strengthen the value of naira, which has continued to fluctuate in response to forces of demand

and supply. BusinessDay survey of three areas of Lagos where black market operators operate revealed that the dollar, which sold for N442 on Wednesday, rose to N455 on Thursday in Festac Town. At the Lagos airport, it went up to N444 on Thursday from N440 on Monday, and at Eko Hotel, the naira fell to N460 per dollar from N445 on Wednesday. However, the traders can buy from individuals at the rate of between N440 and N450 across the parallel markets in Lagos. At the BDC segment of the market, naira also weakened by N11.00k as the dollar was sold at N455 on Thursday compared with N444 sold on the previous day. The second session of supply of dollars by the CBN to BDCs came in on Wednesday, although having little impact on rates as the demand on the streets continued to swallow the CBN’s supply. The cash rate remained unchanged while the transfer rate strengthened by N2.00k to close at N455.00/$, analysts at Zedcrest Capital Limited said. At the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window, the market opened with an indicative rate of N386.57k on Thursday, which signalled

Continues on page 30 www.businessday.ng

L-R: Isaac Agoye, national treasurer, Manufacturers Association of Nigerian (MAN); Mansur Ahmed, president, and Ambrose Oruche, acting director-general, during the press briefing at the 48th annual general meeting of MAN in Lagos, yesterday. Pic by Olawale Amoo

Nigeria’s big cement makers see profits jump to 7-year high despite COVID-19 Favour Olarewaju

igeria’s biggest cement makers by market value appear to be doing relatively well despite the Covid-19 pandemic, which has upended key sectors of the Nigerian economy. Two of the largest cement makers, Dangote Cement and Lafarge WAPCO both saw their net profit hit the highest level in seven years in the first half of 2020, according to data collated by BusinessDay from the companies’ financial reports. Dangote Cement reported net profit of N126 billion in the period, a 5.8-percent increase compared to last year while Lafarge WAPCO reported N23.3 billion, which works out to a 159-percent increase compared to the same period of 2019. Similarly, BUA Cement,

the second largest cement maker based on NSE market capitalisation, had higher net profit of N34.8 billion in H1 2020 compared to N30.6 billion in H1 2019. A deeper dive into the numbers shows that the increased profit was mainly driven by revenue growth that grew faster than cost of sales. “Company specific factors account more for this surprising trend of higher revenue and net profit of H1 2020 in Dangote Cement and Lafarge industries as against general economic events,” Ayorinde Akinloye, a research analyst at CSL Stockbrokers, states. “Cost of commodity prices including raw materials and fuel consumption decreased, leading to higher gross profit. Also, tax rate per profit before tax reduced the overall tax paid by Dangote Cement and led to improved cost efficiency,”

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Ayorinde says. Also, explaining the higher profits seen in Dangote Cement Group for H1 2020, Gbolahun Ologunro, a research analyst at Lagos-based CSL Stockbrokers, says, “The strong performance in Q1 2020 softened the impact of Covid-19 and slowed-down construction activities on Q2 2020. “Revenue growth in Dangote Cement Group was significantly driven by higher revenues from its Nigerian operations (up 1.2% y/y to N332.4bn) and pan-African operations (up 3.5% y/y to N145.0bn). “By observing the quarterly statistics, we are better able to isolate the likely effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. So, compared to Q1 2019, which experienced lesser capital expenditures, Q1 2020 had a much stronger performance,” Ologunro notes. @Businessdayng

So, while Dangote Cement saw higher revenue on halfyear basis, on quarterly basis, revenues declined to N249 billion in Q2 2020 from N227.7 billion in Q1 2020, showing an 8.6 percent decline compared to its 17.6 percent growth when compared with the previous quarter. In line with this, for the observed period of 2014 to 2020, revenues and cost of goods sold for Dangote Cement had been on the increase with the exception of H1 2019, which saw a decrease but slightly recovered in H1 2020. For Lafarge, Ologunro recognises that “the sale of the South African business and the Q3 2019 supported stronger growth of revenue and profits. “The South African branch appeared to be dragging down the company due to poor mac-

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Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NEWS

Reliable, accurate data critical for even development - Lagos commissioner

L- R: Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice chairman/CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC); Adeolu Akande, board chairman, NCC; Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Hope Uzodimma, governor, Imo State, during the commissioning of NCC’s emergency communications centre

INIOBONG IWOK

Nigeria loses N1.4trn as OML 25 not yet operational …re-entry delayed as Kula chiefs accuse Shell IGNATIUS CHUKWU

igeria may have lost N1.4 trillion in the Kula oilfield near the Atlantic Ocean in Rivers State as the controversy-riddled Oil Mining Lease (OML) 25 is brewing with fresh disquiet that may lead to another round of crisis. By May 2019, Shell’s general manager, external relations, while briefing newsmen in Port Harcourt, had put the loss after one year of siege on the platform in Kula at N700 billion. Truce was signed in October same year, and one year four months after; the loss could have more than doubled. A group in Kula, AkukuToru local council area of Rivers State, has already accused Shell of refusing to implement laid down re-entry programmes and engage with the right community structure. Some splinter community sources however denied such charges on behalf of Shell, saying the oil major was keen to re-enter the oil

field and cannot afford to sabotage its own desired reentry processes. A group of chiefs who said they were speaking on behalf of Kula Kingdom and the OML-25 communities led by a chief and engineer, Fiala Okoye-Davies, told newsmen in Port Harcourt that Shell chose to relate with the wrong people and refused to carry out specifically laid down programmes stated by the stakeholders to make reentry smooth. The team that addressed the press include K.N Sukubo, Ibinbo Daniel Kiliya, Ibiosiya Isaiah Nath Sukubo (all traditional title holders), and Opunabo Bourdilon Ekine, a lawyer, who called themselves as the ‘stakeholders leadership’. By first year of the occupation of the platform by Kula women, Nigeria was said to lose N700 billion in the Kula field. Kula field is said to be host to 200 oil wells of about 150bpd. OML 25 is located 50-kilometre southwest of Port Harcourt in the onshore Eastern Delta and is part of the NNPC/Shell Joint Ven-

ture (JV). The bloc is located on the coastal mangrove swamp and extends slightly offshore. It is intersected by the Santa Barbara and San Bartolommeo rivers, which are large deltaic tidal channels that enter the Gulf of Guinea. Shell had attempted to sell the oilfield for $500 million to Crestar but this was stopped by a Federal High Court in Lagos. Belemaoil (with community backing) later tried to acquire it from Shell but this too was stalled until a truce was called in September 2019, where Belemaoil was awarded operational rights while Shell retained ownership. Now, the Kula chiefs told newsmen that the intention of Shell to deal with the wrong persons became obvious in a circular for meeting soon after the signing of peace agreement to be held at the office of the secretary to the Rivers State government on October 24, 2019. The group said they strongly disassociated the community from such a meeting. They said: “We are also aware that the trio of the NNPC, SPDC, and BPL (Belemaoil) have had sev-

eral meetings in a bid to resolve the issues that led to the face-off between SPDC and the host communities. It is interesting that while our position regarding our confidence in the Federal Government to resolve the issues remains sacrosanct, we are minded to warn against various tactics and antics of the SPDC to cause confusion and crisis again in our peaceful Kula Kingdom.” The chiefs called on the Federal Government and the security agencies to prevail on Shell to desist from whatever alliance it has had with some persons they described as renegades of Kula Kingdom. They appealed to the Federal Government to make Shell conclude the discussion with the government and Belemaoil on behalf of the communities for re-entry into OML 25. They said the public call became expedient in the alleged wake of several antics being deployed by the Shell in a bid to delay and frustrate the process of re-opening of facility, all in their alleged bid to raise and arm their own counter renegade groups.

NGBC to improve Nigeria-Ghana trade relation GBEMI FAMINU

mid the impact of the pandemic on developing economies as well as the hitches hampering business relationship between Nigeria and Ghana, executives of the two African countries have moved to establish the Nigeria Ghana Business Council (NGBC) in order to improve the trade relationship between both countries. This followed a successful parliamentary diplomacy meeting held in Ghana between Nana Akufo Ado, president of Ghana and Femi Gbajabiamila,

speaker, Nigerian House of Representatives, as well as other cabinet members from both countries. In a statement signed by Bambo Ademiluyi, president, NGBC, the meeting between the two countries birthed the council which is backed by legislation and is expected to superintend over trade issues between the two countries. According to the statement, “the main objective of the group is to ease the conduct of business across the two countries and many of our activities which also involve traders have been geared towards www.businessday.ng

this main objective” it read The statement also stated that the council which is registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in Nigeria, also has a counterpart in Ghana, named the Ghana Nigeria Business Council (GNBC) Ademiluyi also pledged support for the setup of the government-backed councils as well as his active involvement in the current solution process developed to resolve the existing bottlenecks To this end, Ademiluyi also commended and congratulated Gbajabiamila and his team regarding

the outcome of the fruitful deliberation, adding that the speaker’s deep knowledge of the problems inherent in the trade relationship between the two countries play a huge role in providing a sustainable solution. “It is very clear that the speaker and his team have a clear understanding of the problems being faced by Nigerian traders and businessmen in Ghana, this problem has been there since 2007 and this is the first time the Nigerian government will be tackling it at the highest level in Ghana” it said

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eliable, accurate and precise data have been identified as panacea for even development across the 36 states, the federal capital territory (FCT) and the 774 local government areas for Nigeria to attain equitable allocation of internally generated resources. “The essence is that we must have accurate and precise data for our political economy,” said Rabiu Olowo, the Lagos State commissioner for finance, at the 2-day sensitisation and advocacy programme on data gathering and management with the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Committee (RMAFC) team in Lagos. According to Olowo, the visit of the RMAFC team underpins the crucial role accurate data captured plays in all aspects of developmental agenda. He opined that no visible development can be achieved with dearth of reliable, accurate and precise data. “The team is in Lagos to help us put all those data into context; so I think it is very important for our fiscal management across Nigeria,” said Olowo stating that the state must have accurate population figure, same as the number of students enrolled in schools and out-of-schoolchildren. However, to assist RMAFC

in computing the horizontal revenue allocation between states and local government councils, all relevant stakeholders in the state were adequately mobilized to be in attendance and to ensure maximum cooperation in ensuring the success of the sensitization programme. According to the state commissioner, Lagos is a model for Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), hence the workshop was focused on shared experiences among participants. Shuaib Abdullahi Yaman, the RMAFC team leader representing Kwara State in the committee said, there was a need for data ammonisation among the 57 local council development areas (LCDAs) of Lagos. According to him, all that is required of Lagos state is to submit the correct data about its population, especially the number of students enrolled in schools at the state level and pupils at the local government areas to ensure Lagos get its fair share of federal allocation. Yaman noted that Lagos remains the only state that does not depend on federal allocation, because the state takes its IGR very serious. He, however, stated that RMAFC would want a situation where Lagos State can completely free itself from FAC, hence the technical visitation to Lagos.

Boye-Ajayi launches N2m fund to support SMEs BUNMI BAILEY

lori Boye-Ajayi, a business strategist has launched a N2 million Borderless Trade Impact Investment Fund in partnership with O.B.A and Viniko Group, to help support Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) looking to expand their export business or start the business of exporting. The launch which took place virtually via Zoom and Youtube was held at Impact Hub, Ikoyi on September 4, 2020. Aside from the investment launch, she also officially launched her book titled ‘Borderless Trade’: A step by step guide to exporting your product. Boye-Ajayi, who is also the founder of Katie Wang Company, a growing global fashion trading company and an export trading consultant said, “I have written this book because I believe it is time for small businesses to wake up, think differently and package their products and services to the global market. No one will build @Businessdayng

your business for you; it’s in your hand.” The book is a guide that has been tailored to small businesses which may not have the resources or the capacity to approach exporting, in the same way, a larger business might. This guide will assist budding export merchants to prepare and build capacity for the export journey. Babatunde Faleke, deputy director, corporate services, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), gave the keynote speech, where he spoke on the dangers of not exporting. “The danger of not exporting is that we will be a nation that just consumes everything.” Kola Awe, CEO, XPT Logistics and chairman, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA) export group, spoke about the export industry, while advising business owners. He said, “Don’t wait for competition to push you out of the country before you think of exporting”.

Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NEWS

Over 40% of manufacturers unable to access Forex – MAN …seeks review of land border closure GBEMI FAMINU

mid the economic downturn triggered by the coronavirus pandemic which has enforced a modification of business and commercial activities, over 40 percent of local manufacturers have restricted access to foreign exchange (FOREX) for business activities Speaking at a press conference held following the association’s 48th annual general meeting, Mansur Ahmed, MAN president, disclosed that due to the impact of the coronavirus, as well as the fall in oil prices which is a major source of foreign exchange, policies which guide accessibility has been reformed, and as a result, capacity utilisation and pro-

ductivity in the sector have been constrained “The Forex guidelines and policies have significant impact on the sector. Now Forex access in the sector is given based on some metrics which include, type of company, the amount being requested for, what you are spending it on, source of the Forex, among other things. Presently, significant amount of Forex is not being met and on the average it is over 40 percent which means that manufacturers cannot get the funds they require to give their operations a full capacity,” Mansur said. He noted, however, that discussions are on-going with the central bank, as well as the government to prioritise the needs of manufacturers Speaking on the electricity tariff hike, Mansur said over five billion was used to

subsidise the electricity sector in 2019 which is not sustainable as the government has to concentrate on other sector, adding that part of the interactions is how manufacturers can get value for the tariff increases. “Manufacturers can be helped if the power sector can be stabilised, especially if there is consistent improvement in the supply of electricity which will improve efficiency in the sector, we should pay for whatever we are consuming and introduce steps that will ensure efficiency of the supply “There should be massive metering scheme which will ensure that all consumers have meters and they are paying only for the electricity the consume as he added that the estimated billing is used to extort money from consumers”

Economic growth to top discussion at International Identity Day forum DANIEL OBI

s interests and efforts to fast-track the growth of Nigeria’s economy, reduce unemployment and poverty among the population are heightened, stakeholders within the Nigerian identity verification and management subsector will next week attempt to provide solutions through digital identity. They will be addressing ‘’Enabling Nigeria’s Economic and Social Growth with Digital Identity’’ during a virtual conference on September 16 as part of activi-

ties to mark the International Identity Day. The topic becomes significant as businesses and the economy are gradually are leveraging digital to bounce back from Covid-19 pandemic. Speakers include Mitchell Elegbe, founder and group managing director, Interswitch and Esigie Aguele, cofounder and CEO, VerifyMe Nigeria; among other tech industry veterans. The conversation will examine how a holistic digital identity system will unlock the potential within the country’s e-governance and

COVID-19: Nigerian schools to introduce shift, day interval academic system …as schools lack required infrastructure MARK MAYAH

ublic primary and secondary schools across the 774 local government areas in Nigeria may introduce a shift education policy due to their inability to meet Covid-19 standard of safety recommended for reopening. The schools are expected to commence academic programme on September 21, 2020 but investigations carried out by BusinessDay, shows that many of the schools are without required infrastructure and other essential facilities to accommodate the large numbers of students per class. At the moment, a good number of primary and postprimary schools in the country accommodate between 100 and 140 students per class, while few others have between 60 and 80 students per class; which tends to be more than the required standard of between 25 and 30 students per class, as recommended for

safety reopening. The schools with large number of students per class, BusinessDay learnt, are to be given option of either running a shifting system or day interval model of education, according to facilities at their disposals. School principals in Lagos, who spoke with our correspondent on Wednesday, said they have already submitted their school needs and blue print regarding the reopening to state authorities, but were quick to note that ‘’most of the schools will operate either shifting system (morning and afternoon session) or day interval system due to lack of adequate classrooms, health and communication facilities. According to them, ‘’Going by the protocols requirement for reopening, most of our public schools cannot meet with the required standard due to over population in classes and the only option left is either shifting or day interval

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system. “We have no option than to run either shifting or day interval system as to accommodate the large number of students in virtually 80 percent of public schools in the country,’’ said Olanrewaju Oniyitan, a principal of one of the public secondary schools in Lagos. However, our correspondent gathered that public schools with fewer students would operate without shift since accommodation won’t be an issue. Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, the director-general, Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA), Lagos State speaking also with BusinessDay, said for the reopening to be successful, there are a few things required to be put in place. “We need to have communications plan, health safety and academic plans in place to make sure that the behaviour of our students and staff are in alignment with the new normal of Covid-19. “We recognise where we

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the digital economy. Speaking on the event, Aguele said in a statement “We are excited to be a part of this conversation to explore the state of the digital identity ecosystem in Nigeria. The importance of a robust digital identity infrastructure as a bedrock for nation-building cannot be overemphasized, particularly as the country seeks to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Digital Identity provides a sustainable pathway for growing non-oil revenue streams such as e-Commerce and FinTech.”

Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NEWS

Buhari warns CBN against funding food, fertiliser imports ONYINYE NWACHUKWU, Abuja

resident Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday warned the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) not to fund requests to import food and fertilizers into the country. Buhari gave the directive at a meeting of the National Food Security Council at the State House, Abuja, where he re-emphasised his earlier verbal directive to the apex bank, saying he would now pass it down in writing that ‘’nobody importing food should be given money.’’ The fresh directives come as the Federal Government rolls out the Economic Sustainability Plan and sets goals for National Food Security in the country. In a statement, Garba Shehu, media side to the President, said, “President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria not to issue a kobo’’ of the country’s reserves for the importation of food items and fertilizer.” Emphasising the need

to boost local agriculture, the President said: ‘’From only three operating in the country, we have 33 fertilizer blending plants now working. We will not pay a kobo of our foreign reserves to import fertilizer. We will empower local producers.’’ President Buhari also directed that fertilizer blenders should convey products directly to State governments in order to cut off the cartel of transporters undermining the efforts to successfully deliver the products to users at reasonable costs. He advised private businesses bent on food importation to source their foreign exchange independently, saying ‘’use your money to compete with our farmers’’, instead of using foreign reserves to bring in compromised food items to divest the efforts of our farmers. ‘’We have a lot of ablebodied young people willing to work and agriculture is the answer. We have a lot to do to support our farmers,’’ the statement quoted President Buhari as saying.

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The meeting, chaired by the President with other key members of the Council in attendance, was briefed on the food security situation prevailing in the country. The Vice Chairman of the council and Governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu, the Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Gambari and a Governor from each of the six geo-political zones – Jigawa, Plateau, Taraba, Ebonyi, Lagos and Kebbi, made presentations at the meeting. Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, outlined measures introduced by the administration to tackle the unprecedented challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic on the nation as contained in the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP). Among others, Ahmed highlighted that the government will facilitate the cultivation of 20,000 to 100,000 hectares of new farmland in every State and support offtake of agro-processing to create millions of direct and indirect job opportunities.

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Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NEWS

Hydrological agency lists 9 states at high Start concessioning with underutilised airports, TUC tells government risk of flooding in coming months GODSGIFT ONYEDINEFU & GIFT WADA

igeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) has warned that nine states are at a high risk of flooding. The agency also said that the River Niger flood on Thursday, September 10, attained an unprecedented level, leaving the states vulnerable. The affected states, according to the agency, are Kebbi, Niger, Kwara, Kogi, Anambra, Edo, Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa. Clement Onyeaso Nze, director-general, NIHSA, who addressed journalists in Abuja, said the current flood level sighted in Niamey, Niger Republic attained an unprecedented level of 7.02m. “This is a far cry from the value of 6.06m which I reported on August 25. This flood

level poses a dangerous threat to Nigeria which is at the lower portion of Niger Basin within this month of September and October”, he said The DG also disclosed that based on the report of the expected flood coming down from Niamey and the projected contributions by the inland rivers, both Kainji and Jebba Dams built on River Niger have continued to spill water downstream. He further disclosed that the Shiroro Dam on River Kaduna, with reservoir level at 381.48m as at 9.00am on Thursday, has been maintaining a regulated spilling into the River Niger. “The effect of all these is that communities in the states adjoining River Niger will continue to be highly inundated by River flooding as witnessed in the recent time”, he warned. Nze recalled that the annual flood outlook (2020 AFO) had predicted that some parts of at least 102 local govern-

ment areas in 28 states fall within the highly probable flood risk areas, while parts of 275 local government areas in the 36 states of the federation, including Abuja, fall within the moderately probable flood risk areas and the remaining 397 local government areas fall within the low probable flood risk areas. He, however, regretted that despite the warning, urban and flash floods have continued to wreak havoc in many states including Abuja. “As at date, not less than 172 local government areas in all states are counting their losses due to flood incidents”, Nze said. The DG stressed that the country still has many weeks of rainfall in the course of the year, and advised that blocked drainages and gutters be cleared, river channels dredged and structures within the waterways and floodplains and flood paths pulled down.

JOSHUA BASSEY

he Trade Union Congress Nigeria (TUC) on Thursday urged the Federal Government to start its planned concessioning of airports in the country with those considered underutilised, as against the viable ones already listed by the government. The government is pushing the concessioning plan with four of Nigeria’s most patronised international airports in the first instance. They include the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos; Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja; Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA), in Rivers State, and Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano. But the TUC said rather than starting with the “big four”, the government should in the immediate hand over the non-viable airports to the private sector to turn around.

L-R : Tola Johnson, special assistant to the President on small and medium enterprises; Maryam Yalwaji Katagun, minister of state for industry, trade and investment, and Dikko Umaru Radda, director-general, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), during the launch of MSME survival fund in Abuja yesterday.

P&ID: Malami forecloses negotiation with firm FELIX OMOHOMHION, ABUJA

he attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice, Abubakar Malami has ruled out the possibility of the Federal Government negotiating with the Irish firm, P&ID. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, special assistant on media to the minister, said in a statement that the AGF foreclosed any form of negotiations with the company that took Nigeria to court in the UK over failed contract, which the Federal Government has described as fraudulent.

“There will be no negotiation or talk of settlement with P&ID or any related party by or on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria. “The recent judgment of the English Commercial Court confirmed our view that P&ID and its cohorts are fraudsters who have exploited our country. They will not benefit from their corrupt behaviour,” he said. “This is a classic case with overwhelming fraudulent and corrupt undertones. The Federal Government of Nigeria is not considering any possibility of negotiating with P&ID. It is has not only fallen within www.businessday.ng

the tall order exception referred to by the AGF in his interview with Arise TV on Wednesday, but lacks any legitimate foundation. We will not and cannot negotiate arbitral awards where the basis and foundation rely on fraud, corruption, breach of processes and procedures.” Meanwhile, Malami has called on the newly inaugurated members of the 9th Commission of the Nigerian Law Reform to be guided by the rules and regulations as provided by the Section 2 & 8 (1) of the Act. Malami made the call on Thursday while inau-

gurating commissioners of the Nigerian Law Reform Commission chaired by Jummai A.M Audi. The minister asked them to ensure that all the rules and regulations relating to management of the human, material and financial resources of the Commission are adhered to in accordance to the objectives of the Federal Government, as contained in Section 8(1) (c) of the Act. The newly inaugurated commissioners include Jummai A. M. Audi, chairman; Bassey DanAbia, Muhammad B. O. Ibraheem and Muhammad M. Aminu.

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According to Quadri Olaleye, and Musa-Lawal Ozigi, president and secretarygeneral of TUC, respectively, the government’s declaration that the concession is a “forgone conclusion” smacks of “impunity which this administration preaches against.” “Virtually all aspects of our national life have been breached. The social contract this government entered into when we voted for it has been grossly violated. The tenacity with which the minister of aviation and his team are going about the project is a matter of concern to us.” The TUC said from experience, past concessions of our common patrimonies have always been bedeviled with tales of woes, citing the

power sector privatisation. “If the minister and the forces behind him are sincere and genuinely desire a business model that would reposition the aviation industry they should adopt the Green Field and Corporatisation models which empower new investors to among others construct new runways, terminal buildings and thereafter operate for a specified period of time before handing over to government. Under corporatisation model, government gives the running of the business to a statutory board/agency to autonomously carry out operations of the airport on a purely commercial basis same way the Airports Company of South Africa operates.

Only exiting students of tertiary institutions will resume Sept 14 – Lagos MARK MAYAH

s tertiary institutions reopen next Monday in Lagos, the state government says final-year students will go back to the classrooms before students on other levels. Tokunbo Wahab, the special adviser on education to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, made this known on Thursday while featuring on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme. Schools in the country had been shut in March as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease. But the Federal Government announced the resumption of graduating pupils last month to write this year’s West African Senior School Certificate

Examination from August 17, 2020, through September 12, 2020. Sanwo-Olu had subsequently announced the reopening of schools in the state starting with tertiary institutions on September 14, 2020. “I am pleased to announce that our tertiary institutions will be allowed to reopen from September 14, 2020, all our tertiary institutions,” the governor had said, adding that secondary and primary schools would reopen a week after. Speaking on Thursday, Wahab explained that the government had put in place necessary facilities and processes to ensure a safe reopening of classrooms in the state. He also emphasised that the students in the state would resume in phases.

Nigeria’s Fidelity Bank plans $261m bond sale for capital

idelity Bank Plc, a midtier Nigerian lender, plans to issue a 100 billion-naira ($261-million) bond in the local currency to boost its capital ratios and funding capacity. The Lagos-based bank wants to issue the debt in a series, starting with a 50 billionnaira offer in the last quarter, Chief Executive Officer Nnamdi Okonkwo said by phone. The extra funds will help increase the bank’s capital adequacy ratio by 2 percentage points, from 18.8% in June, he said. The lender plans to refinance a 30 billion-naira, seven-year fixed-interest security with part of the proceeds by recalling it two years earlier, Executive Director Gbolahan Joshua said in a separate interview. Nigerian lenders need higher capital levels to meet increasing demands from cus@Businessdayng

tomers whose businesses have been hampered by the triple whammy of the Covid-19 outbreak, a slump in oil prices and the devaluation of the local currency. The central bank expects the industry to restructure as much as 65% of loans this year. Fidelity Bank is looking to raise funds at a cheaper rate than the 16.5% it paid for a similar issuance in 2015, according to Joshua. Yields on the West African nation’s debt have dropped since the Central Bank of Nigeria last year barred individuals and non-bank institutions from buying short-term securities in its Open Market Operations. The yield on the government’s benchmark bond due in 2049 dropped to 10% on Tuesday, compared with 14.8% when it was issued in April last year. Bloomberg

Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NEWS

FG reverses self, says Russia did not give Nigeria COVID-19 vaccine GODSGIFT ONYEDINEFU, ABUJA

he Federal Government has denied receiving the Russian Covid-19 vaccine from the country’s ambassador to Nigeria in Abuja last week. The Federal Government had on Friday, September 4, announced it has received samples of the vaccine and would refer it to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control as well as the Nigeria Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Development, among other agencies, for review and possible validation. But, the minister of state for health, Olurunnimbe Mamora, speaking during the PTF briefing on Thursday, said the Russian ambassador, Alexey Shebarshin during his visit to the ministry only informed that the country was still working on the vaccine which is still in the

third phase of clinical trials. Mamora said the current stage of the vaccine requires thousands of volunteers who need to be followed for about a year to see whether complications or side effects will manifest. “So, at this point in time, that vaccine is not yet at that stage, talk less of being released”, Mamora said. “Even when the vaccine is released, it will still be subjected to our own process here. This is because vaccines are things that you give mass application, you apply them to a large number of people, so you cannot afford to take chances, you need to check and establish the safety and in so doing, you need to look at the various segments of the society; the children, adults, elderly and those with co morbidities to ensure its safety”, Mamora added. The minister further noted that Nigeria has continued to record a

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decline in positive cases of Covid-19, despite an increase in the number of samples tested, but warned that it was not celebration time yet. He informed that in the last 24 hours, the country recorded 176 positive cases out of 2,494 samples tested. “While this is a cheering development, it will be presumptuous to conclude that the disease is reducing. This is because as of today not many states are testing. We shall therefore ensure that testing continues in all the states until we reach our daily targets” he said. Mamora further disclosed that 10 percent of positive cases are children and adolescents with more than half of them in the age bracket of 10-18 years. “It is therefore pertinent at this point to renew the warning of the PTF on the reopening of schools so as not to expose our children to the risk of infection”, the minister warned.

Suicide prevention day: Experts highlight how media can better report suicide in Nigeria ANTHONIA OBOKOH

s Nigeria joins the rest of the world to commemorate World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD), experts have urged the media to help prevent the menace by not publicising copycat suicide, as this tends to encourage more suicides. The experts say that the media could report on preventive effects and empower vulnerable audiences by encouraging help-seeking and normalising mental health problems. The notion of copycat suicides developed from research indicating that suicide can be “contagious” and this implies that exposure to suicidal behaviours can influence others to copy these behaviours,” said Maymunah Yusuf Kardiri, psychiatrist and chief medical director at Pinnacle Medical Services Limited, at an online mental health training webinar for media practitioners in commemoration of WSPD 2020. Copycat suicide, often called the werther effect, is an imitative suicidal behaviour that occurs after exposure to another suicide. Especially,

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exposures to media reports of a celebrity’s suicide exert considerable copycat effect on atrisk individuals. Kardiri stated that the impact of the media on suicidal behaviour seems to be most likely when a method of suicide is specified, especially when presented in detail when the story is reported or portrayed dramatically and prominently. “Following this year’s theme, “working together to prevent suicide,” in reporting, avoid language which sensationalises or normalises suicide, or presents it as a solution to problems -don’t romanticise the death,” she cautioned. She continued: “Avoid explicit description of the method used in a completed or attempted suicide and avoid providing detailed information about the site of a completed or attempted suicide.” “The cause-and-effect relationship between media and suicide is not simple to prove, other factors (psychological and social) may be present in suicidal behaviour but the media has a responsibility to apply ethical guidelines to prevent suicide and help vulnerable people. “We implore the media to

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take into consideration the guidelines listed above, as they play their own role in suicide prevention,” Kardiri advised. According to Kardiri, there are specific guidelines recommended to reduce the rate of copycat suicides by the World Health Organisation (WHO). She added that media could do better suicide reporting by providing accurate information about where to seek help and educating the public about the facts of suicide and suicide prevention, without spreading myths. In definition, facts, figures and symptoms to look out for on suicide, Esther Omisola, clinical psychologist at Pinnacle Medical Services Limited, said that suicide is a human issue, noting that when we start to look at it as such, it opens the door for better conversations and the normalisation of treatment in society. Also proffering solution, Opemipo Olufowobi, a psychotherapist observed that people are often reluctant to intervene when they are worried for others. She added: “It is important to know that people in distress are often not looking for specific advice, but merely to be listened to with compassion and empathy.”

Friday 11 September 2020

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comment The imperative of proper celebrity management

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Tales from the main road

Eugenia Abu

ews coming out of the spac e o f w el l-love d American talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is pretty sad, It is even sadder that the pay off on her programme is “Be kind to one another” and from her end, people have described her as mean and enabling a toxic workplace where people have been treated very badly, guests to the show inclusive. A few of her friends have stood by her but former workers, employees and star guests have talked about her really terrible behaviour on the set of her show. More and more stories are coming out about how she portrayed a nice person on television and she switched to becoming a near monster when the cameras stop rolling. Only this week, workers in her residence are allegedly describing the high turnover of domestic staff because Ellen was simply difficult to work for. They describe bizarre hidings of matchboxes all over the house numbering sometimes eight or more just to check if staff were cleaning well enough and if you missed it then you were in for it. Others still added that if she did not like the way you looked at her, then you were gone or in some cases they allege that some security staff were fired

simply because Ellen did not like the way they walked. It has been a deluge for Ellen and the studio she works for is investigating a lot of this. Public relations companies have been hired to see if it can be fixed while industry pundits are speculating that Ellen may never recover from this terrible blow to her image and the much-loved show. I enjoyed a couple of editions of The Ellen DeGeneres show myself and I thought she was funny and witty and more authentic than most talk shows. Being both in front of the camera and behind it myself, I can see how easy it is to lose sight of reality with all the fawning that goes on around major celebrities around the world. Agents, handlers, managers and hangers on tend to tell them that they are beyond reproach and they go on to become these people that believe they are “Demi-Gods” with internet comes narcissism and they live for ratings especially in the western world. As long as content benefits the sales, high ratings and marketing push, then it does not matter who is thrown under the bus. A lot of the times even where there is constructive criticism, they are shielded from it and they never think they can do any wrong. As the years roll in and success becomes a thing, it no longer matters how any one feels, It is all about them. Ellen’s unfortunate story now making the rounds on the internet should be a lesson to many celebrities. The thing most fans are looking for is authenticity. Many of Ellen’s accusers describe her as being double faced; kind on set and mean off set. The best answer to celebrity authenticity is to be yourself and hold your wholesome

values true. Often times this works until the money begins to roll in and you can buy whatever you want, order people around and throw a true star studded tantrum. These unfortunate characteristics of celebrity bad behaviour is as true in Atlanta as it is in Lagos. From musicians to actresses to the socialites whose only role in entertainment is to tell us their life stories on a daily basis like “the Kardashians”. Everything is fair game in reality and non-reality entertainment. There are those hangers on whose job is to enable other tantrum enhancing events and activities like binge-shopping and drug use as well as alcohol induced tantrums along with abusive language. But what celebrities, super and over the top cognoscenti as well as aspiring celebrities need is a sure footed manager at the onset who knows his onions and who can manage the star, whose advice is respected. Reading one of Majek Fashek’s buddy give an interview only recently about how Majek Fashek never had a manager but was a difficult person to manage anyway broke my heart. Whatever happens, managers and handlers of aspiring stars with prospects must put them through a training on discipline, time management, tantrum and anger management, substance abuse abstinence and moderate drinking. Other things to train them on is public speaking, media management, wardrobe solutions and relationship management. Guess what social media management is so key that a star who is loved and adored can destroy their ascendancy in one fell swoop by an ill-advised drunk induced tweet. Paris Hilton heir-

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Most celebrities start off very young, It is who manages them then that helps them settle into this new place of flash and pizzazz

Eugenia Abu is a broadcaster, writer, trainer, brand and multimedia strategy expert and media consultant. Email: abu_eugenia@yahoo.com Phone number: 08033109820

The marriage of words: Collocations

ome expressions are regularly paired together in the English language. Such words or phrases are called collocates. On account of the fact that collocates are inextricably linked, a distortion in their combinations will culminate with grammatical incongruities. Contrariwise, their appropriate usages will embroider one’s speech or writing with coherence and finesse. Most assuredly, every astute individual prefers speaking with remarkable proficiency TO speaking with inexactitude. The marriage of the verb “PREFER” and the preposition ‘TO’ is the embodiment of what grammarians aptly designate as a collocation. Mark you, one thing ought to be preferred TO another; not THAN another. For good measure, other prominent collocations that involve prepositions are: 1. Sometime in 2005, Adebayo dabbled into grassroots politics (incorrect). Sometime in 2005, Adebayo dabbled in/at/ with grassroots politics (correct). 2. We had no alternative than to part company with Temitope (incorrect). We had no alternative but to part company with Temitope (correct). 3. In virtue of the notice to quit that was served on me, I have no choice than to move house (incorrect). In virtue of the notice to quit that was served on me, I have no choice but to move house (correct). 4. She had no option than to procure a passport in the space of four days (incorrect). She had no option but to procure a passport in the space of four days (correct). 5. The efficacy of my smartphone is superior than the effectiveness of Jasmine’s (incorrect). The efficacy of my smartphone is superior to the effectiveness of Jasmine’s (correct). 6. The 35-year-old Caucasian was charged for attempted murder, arson and burglary (in-

correct). The 35-year-old Caucasian was charged with attempted murder, arson and burglary (correct). 7. A fifty per cent deposit has been paid for Johnson’s sport utility vehicle (incorrect). A fifty per cent deposit has been paid on Johnson’s sport utility vehicle (correct). 8. In the wake of the onslaught occasioned by the pandemic, health practitioners now work on a tight schedule (incorrect). In the wake of the onslaught occasioned by the pandemic, health practitioners now work to a tight schedule (correct). Further to these reflections, the substantial readership should make mental note of the fact that your ability to sing a song, recite a poem or know something perfectly well, such that you no longer have to read its content from any source, amounts to knowing it ‘(off) by heart’. This standpoint is expressly illustrated in the accompanying sentence structures: 9. My 10-year-son can recite the times table by heart (correct). 10. The audience were enthralled to witness Mr. Abiodun deliver the keynote speech off by heart (correct). 11. How many verses of Scripture can you recite by heart (correct)? How many verses of Scripture can you recite offhand (incorrect)? Understandably, an inquisitive being may probe the incorrectness of the latter expression in context eleven, in spite of the admissibility of OFFHAND (not OFFHEAD!) in standard English lexicon. Well, to set the record straight, no one can recite a poem/a verse of the Scriptures/the times table, sing a song or deliver a keynote address OFFHAND! The rationale behind this is that to do something OFFHAND involves doing that thing at once, without thought, without adequate preparation or without premeditation, to wit: 12. I cannot remember your uncle’s name www.businessday.ng

ess to the Hilton wealth says the sex tape she released years ago was as a result of her immaturity etcetera etcetera. Handlers need to take courses on celebrity management. In this age of online everything, keeping the fingers off the social media button can be a herculean task. Those parties, those exhibitions, those events where other celebrities think its their time to behave badly need extra management especially in these times where everything is shareable. Most celebrities start off very young. It is who manages them then that helps them settle into this new place of flash and pizzazz. We all know what happened to Britney Spears. Look around you, a lot of our stars in Nigeria are also thinking they have “blown” and are now beyond reproach. But more importantly, Oga and Madam superstar, what are your values, who are you? Before you became a star, were you disrespectful? You can train yourself to be calm and better behaved wherever you go. We love your talent, a true and rare gift, but in this new world where everyone is selling nudity, what authentic thing are you frontloading? Give us values, give us freshness, give us authenticity. We would love you forever. Managers pay attention. Our stars need to be better managed. I wished I had some time to follow through on my plan to teach celebrity management in its authentic form. It is so badly needed now that will be the day!

The Gift of Gab offhand (correct). 13. Can you tell me offhand how much the project might cost (correct)? What is more, the onus is on you to take note that whenever ‘although/though’ is deployed as a conjunction in a statement, ‘yet’ and ‘but’ should not be used as conjunctions in equal measure. For the avoidance of doubt, this unimpeachable position is evidenced in the statements below: 14. Although Funmi was invited to the party, yet she was not offered anything (incorrect). Although Funmi was invited to the party, she was not offered anything (correct). Funmi was invited to the party, yet she was not offered anything (correct). 15. Though I think Ibrahim’s submissions are absolutely correct, but I am not an expert on the subject (incorrect). Though I think Ibrahim’s submissions are absolutely correct, I am not an expert on the subject (correct). I think Ibrahim’s submissions are absolutely correct, but I am not an expert on the subject (correct). On the flip side, ‘yet’ can be incorporated into a sentence that harbours ‘though/although’, so long as the former (yet) is deployed as an adverb — not a conjunction. The following are sentences that consolidate this stance: 16. Although some research has been undertaken into the causes of the coronavirus, no vaccine has yet (an adverb) to be developed. 17. Though it is past midnight, Philip is not in bed yet (an adverb). In furtherance of that, more technical examples of collocations are: ‘either...or’, ‘neither...nor’, ‘no sooner...than’, ‘hardly…when’ and ‘scarcely… when’. Accordingly, one must avoid the pitfall of piecing ‘no sooner’ with ‘when’, as portrayed in the example sentences below: 18. No sooner had we started the examination when she was caught cheating (incorrect).

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Ganiu Bamgbose

No sooner had we started the examination than she was caught cheating (correct). 19. She had hardly entered the living room when the power was restored (correct). 20. Scarcely had we commenced proceedings than it began to rain (incorrect). had we commenced proceedings when it began to rain (correct). Not just that, in the category of collocations that are often misrepresented is ‘not only… but also’. As often as not, many a non-native speaker omits the second constituent of the collocation, thereby generating grammatically skewed sentences. For specifics, the inappropriate and apt illustrations are stated below: 21. Professor Wale Adegbite is not only cerebral, he is sophisticated (incorrect). Professor Wale Adegbite is not only cerebral but also sophisticated (correct).

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

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Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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The post-coronavirus global economy and international order (2) THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS

Obadiah Mailafia

he ILO warns that, globally, job losses could reach as high as 50 percent of the workforce. Agriculture, manufacturing and the retail industry have also registered massive losses. Aviation, logistics and tourism have suffered losses worth trillion of dollars. Telecoms giant, Apple, reported catastrophic delays due to major supply disruptions. Hyundai and Nissan have closed down several of their factories. Global stock markets have registered losses exceeding $7 trillion while FDI flows have virtually dried up. The banking sector is reeling under the pressures. Global remittances are expected to fall from $554 billion in 2019 to $445 billion in 2020. The novel coronavirus entails a rising debt burden in both rich and poor countries, as nations borrow heavily to balance their budgets and to provide essential health services. The poorest countries will be most affected, given their fragile economies and financial conditions. According to the Paris-based OECD, an additional 3.6 million more will join the ranks of the hungry while 3.8 million more children will become malnourished and 84 million more will be denied access to essential vaccines and health services. There will also be a decline in global solidarity as donor countries cut back on ODA by as much as $12 billion this year alone, equivalent to the total annual external aid budget of the French Republic. The IMF predicts an impending global recession that will be worse than that of 2007-2009 that came in the wake of the subprime financial crisis. Nobody can be sure when the pandemic will pan out. Much will depend on finding a vaccine before year’s end. Economists have laid out four possible global recovery scenarios. The first

is a V-shaped scenario. This would be a large dip, followed by a sharp and steep climb up to full recovery. This would be the best possible scenario, all things being equal. The second recovery is a U-shaped scenario, in which a deep slump is followed by a bottom that gradually builds up, leading to a full recovery. The third scenario is a W-shaped recovery, which is literally two V’s combined; a sharp fall followed by a sharp rise, followed by a sharp fall and rise again. This scenario will occur if there is a major relapse that is followed by another prolonged generalised lockdown. The fourth – the worst by far – would be in the form of an L-shaped recovery. Here, the current slump goes on for a protracted period while global supply chains and logistics take much longer to get back on track. The global pandemic seems to have reinforced the power of the state as the primary actor in international politics. The power to enforce wholesale lockdown of entire nations, including closure of businesses, cultural centres and places of worship is unprecedented. About 84 countries have declared national emergencies while 38 have suspended vital human rights, including press freedom, as a result of the pandemic. For our new authoritarians and latter-day populists, it provides further ammunition in their mounting arsenals against democracy. Some have likened COVID-19 to World War III, in which China has apparently defeated the United States. Before the pandemic, Washington and Beijing had been entangled in a protracted trade war. The Trump administration had lumbered the Chinese with punitive tariffs for alleged trade dumping. The Chinese retaliated with their own tariffs and trade restrictions. There had also been some sabre-rattling on the South China Sea. When COVID-19 broke out in November 2019, Donald Trump described it as “the Chinese virus”, angering the mandarins in Beijing. Among our Ndigbo, it is said that when a corpse is being carried across the marketplace, it always looks like firewood. Until the corpse happens to be your own kinsman. The Americans seemingly exhibited some level of schadenfreude at the calamity that befell the Chinese in the winter of last year. There were mutual recriminations

on the origins of the virus itself. But no sooner had the contagion spread to North America that the Chinese withdrew to their own shell. They began leveraging on their surplus-capital position to frenetically buy-up depressed assets and firms in the West. The ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu famously observed that the best wars are won without firing a shot: “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” China has apparently won World War III without fighting. The global geopolitical pendulum has irrevocably swayed in favour of the Middle Kingdom. What we may be facing, going forward, is intensification of rivalry over politico-economic systems. This is unlikely to take the shape of the ideological confrontations of the Cold War. Rather, we may face a new rivalry based on national systems of economic and political organisation and their ideological ramparts, i.e. authoritarianism versus liberalism. The United States will present its liberal political and economic order as the best of all possible worlds. China, on the other hand, will present its own managed economy model and centralised-authoritarian political model as the best of all possible worlds. Chinese influence across the emerging world may take the form of increasing mimesis in relation to the Chinese model. The Chinese pride themselves in being successful in building firstrate infrastructures and a world-class economy without liberal democracy. President Xi Jinping has altered the constitution by giving himself the status of president-for-life. There have been no political fall-outs because the economy has fared well under his quiet and benign rule. He has dealt mortal blows to powerful political elites that have been convicted of corruption. We may face a brave new world in which state actors will reinforce their prerogative for economic and political action at the expense of multilateralism. At the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the United States acrimoniously withdrew from membership of the WHO. The Chinese gladly filled up the space by taking up the tab for almost a billion dollars on behalf of the global health body. We may see similar actions by the United States on several other international agencies. This cannot be good news for international cooperation. For

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What we may be facing, going forward, is intensification of rivalry over politicoeconomic systems. This is unlikely to take the shape of the ideological confrontations of the Cold War. Rather, we may face a new rivalry based on national systems of economic and political organisation and their ideological ramparts

(Concluding Text of the Maiden Annual Lecture of the Department of Economics Given at Lagos State University, LASU, on Thursday 27 August, 2020). Dr. Mailafia is a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, a development economist and public finance expert with a DPhil from Oxford obmailafia@gmail.com; 08036590990 (text messages only)

Nigeria’s natural resource curse – from crude oil to agriculture

recent tweet by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has been met with several back lashes as Nigerians continue to ponder what the rationale behind the post on availability of maize has to do with them while the country is faced with a removal of fuel subsidy which has led to a free rise in the price of petrol which ideally should be one of the cheapest commodities, in a country where this is in abundance, but till date has not liberated the Nigerian economy from its state of economic crunch. Would it then be out of place to say that the Nigerian economy is suffering from what is referred to as the natural resource curse? A state where countries with an abundance of natural resources, have failed to gain liberation in democracy and socioeconomic development when compared to countries with fewer natural resources? Case in point was the letter from the CBN which placed a ban on the importation of maize into the country which according to the United States Department of Agriculture imported 400,000 metric tonnes of maize in 2019. Note that a research done by the International institute for Tropical Agriculture identified Nigeria as the

largest producer of maize in Africa followed by Tanzania. Once again, a resource which comes effortlessly to a country which once lived off its revenue before the discovery of oil. The ban in the importation of Maize has been a welcome idea for some maize farmers who say that Nigeria is blessed with an abundance of land and has the currently under harnessed potential of bridging the maize deficit experienced in the country, which has a production capacity of 10.5 metric tonnes of maize but needs about 15 metric tonnes for its population. Since the ban of maize and the restriction in movement as a result of the pandemic, as well as the lack of rainfall to reach the expected production capacity of farmers, there has been a shortfall in its supply to poultry farmers and a spike in the price of the scarce commodity. The President’s tweet in quote reads thus “To ease the current high cost of poultry production, I have approved the release of 30,000 tons of maize from the natural reserves, to animal feed producers. We are mindful of the challenge of food prices, at a time when the economy is already in a slowdown caused by the global coronavirus situation, and are doing everything

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in our power to bring down the prices of food items across the country” This comes after the outcry by poultry farmers who have lamented about the death of their poultry fostered by the lack of availability of feed. I spoke with maize farmers and poultry farmers who said that for the maize value chain, they have seen a drop in yield as a result of the scarcity of labour, fertilizers, lack of access to farm equipment’s caused by restriction in movement, request for bribe by the police before road movement access can be granted as well as lack of availability of seedlings. As expected, these challenges impacted on the other value chains and projected forecasts which increased the price of bags of maize for poultry owners who say about 50 chickens consume between 20 to 30 bags of maize feed in a month. While this has not been a great experience for farmers, they claim that the country has enough farmland to plant and cultivate maize enough for her population, albeit, the lack of adequate funding has hindered their expansion as well as the lack of technologically innovative farming processes to cut down on the time for planting, harvesting, cultivation and drying. Asking

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all their money and generosity, China is not an open society. COVID-19 has not only deepened the cracks in the Atlantic Alliance, it is threatening the foundations of New Europe. The Italians faced their worst nightmares alone, without help from Europe. Most of the Schengen countries closed their borders. The gradual retreat from European multilateralism is likely to lead to a world of greater disequilibrium in the years ahead. China is gradually repositioning herself as the banker to the world. They are investing more than 2 trillion dollars for their ambitious New Silk Road project that will link China to central Asia, the Middle East, Eastern and Western Africa, the Mediterranean and Southern Europe. Beijing is carving out a new co-prosperity sphere that will eclipse the United States. China is increasingly assuming the status of the provider of critical global public goods. But China is not a champion of a new international liberal order. For over a millennium, they have seen themselves as the Middle Kingdom, the sun around which all the planets are destined to be circling forever. Chinese dominance may lead to the erosion of the international liberal order as we have always known it. The outcomes of the American presidential elections in November may well determine the shape and physiognomy of world politics in the coming years. If Donald Trump wins, we are likely to see a return to American isolationism and retreat from multilateralism. If, on the other hand, Joe Biden wins, we shall witness American re-engagement with the world and re-assertion of its global leadership role. Much will depend on the ability of a few enlightened leaders who can foster a new global coalition committed to building a brave new international order anchored on peace, security, social justice, solidarity and hope.

IRENE UBANI some farmers across Nigeria if they were aware of the recent proclamation by the president to provide 30,000 tonnes from the nations reserve as seen on twitter, the farmers who barely have accounts on the social media platform said they were not aware of the information which raised the concern of effective communication and the need to boost digital literacy of farmers in very remote areas who may otherwise not be privy to such important information, hence aiding the democratisation of such opportunities. It is not abstract knowledge that the expansion of the agricultural sector and empowerment of farmers who I had discovers were beginning to venture into other occupations like taxi driving as a result of the challenges faced by them, the use of technologically advanced methodologies of farming, educative programs for the youth in the sector and incentives would certainly increase production in the sector, create more jobs for the budding population, revamp the entrepreneurial potential of the youth and significantly lift the country from its current economic strain.

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Chadick Boseman and an African race in dire need of heroes HumanAngle

Femi olugbile

hadwick Aaron Boseman died a few days ago. He was forty-three years old. For a forty-threeyear-old man who occupied no government office and never did anything, really, in ‘real’ life, the reverberations of his death have resounded all over the world and have left many Africans and several people of other races all over the world, stunned. For one thing, they had no inkling he was ill. At a time when a racist Reality Show actor has America by the jugular and its core values on the ropes, it is understandable that the ability to escape into a world of make believe is a psychological necessity for many people. In the same way that Donald Trump has introduced “Alternative Truth” to the world and fed otherwise reasonable people on it to a point where it is almost impossible for ordinary citizens to decide if there is even anything like “The Truth”, or if such things as “honour”, “chivalry”,

“civility” actually exist or are worth pursuing, the alternative world of fiction and dramatic super-heroes has become a favourite escape for young and old. It is also a place to anchor simple old-fashioned moral descriptions such as “good” and “bad”. All that Chad did in his life was make-believe. He was an actor who achieved great fame and amassed a considerable fortune. But the real drama of his life played out behind the scenes. Four years ago, Chad was informed by doctors that he had advanced colon cancer. On August 29, 2020, a day after his death, his family sent a tweet from his Twitter account, announcing his death. That tweet became the most ‘liked’ tweet in history, with more than six million “likes”. There is yet another Twitter detail that is worthy of historical note. The final tweet that was personally posted by Chad was sent out on August 12, 2020. It was posted to Senator Kamala Harris, congratulating her on her nomination as Vice Presidential candidate. Chad was a screen superhero who played the roles of larger-than-life human beings, carrying it off effortlessly. His most memorable role, and the one that travelled farthest and resonated most, was as King T’Challa in Black Panther. The film was released, to world-wide acclaim, in 2018. He had other films under his belt, but it was in Black Panther, which featured T’Challa in his “home” country, Wakanda, a mineral-endowed country in Africa that could be any of a dozen or more real-life locations on the continent, that he touched a chord in the soul of people every-

where. It invested him with an authority and a burden that was almost mythical, and that he would carry with grace in the all-too-few remaining days of his life. He won several awards for his acting, including the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the MTV Movie and TV Award, the BET Award, and the Black Reel Award. Two crossed forearms across the chest, the sign of “Wakanda Forever” became a universal symbol of black empowerment and self- confidence. After Chad’s death, legendary racing champion Lewis Hamilton would repeat the sign in his honour, standing on top of his Formula One car as he claimed another victory on the track. Chad the real hero matched the superheroes he portrayed in courage and resilience, as it turned out. Some of the greatest exploits of his acting life were carried out after his diagnosis with a terminal illness and his scenes were recorded in what must have been considerable discomfort between bouts of surgery and chemotherapy. And yet he inhabited his characters with conviction and panache that won him a permanent place in the hearts of millions in his audience. He was not only T’Challa of Wakanda. He was Thurgood Marshall, the first black man who surmounted epic obstacles to sit on the Supreme Court of the USA in Marshall. He was Jackie Robinson, the first black superstar baseball legend in “42”. And he was James Brown, complete with singing and dancing steps, in “Get On Up”. Most recently, he was Stormin’ Norman in Spike Lee’s celebrated “Da 5 Bloods”. In his last few months, especially during the still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many of his fans began to observe that he was losing weight.

‘

Chad the real hero matched the superheroes he portrayed in courage and resilience, as it turned out. Some of the greatest exploits of his acting life were carried out after his diagnosis with a terminal illness and his scenes were recorded in what must have been considerable discomfort between bouts of surgery and chemotherapy

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

Narcissism and the death of leadership (2)

n last week’s article, I discussed the fundamental dynamics, myth, theories, and the defining characteristics of the Narcissistic personality. Since then, I have been overwhelmed by readers from that article, wanting to know more about how the narcissist works in leadership. Some have argued that there are healthy forms of narcissism and that we all need a healthy dose of narcissism, as we would not have a healthy sense of self. The challenge with this line of thought is that we are in a mass cultural shift of self-obsession, incessant consumerism, excessive abuse of relationships, and pursuit of power. Hence, the malevolent narcissists do not have a healthy sense of self; they are not in touch with their true self. Instead, they become a chameleon type of personality who seeks to extend an admired picture to other people and afterward entice and control all others with some worth or utility until their worth is depleted. At that point, they are dumped and relinquished without regret by the narcissist. Unfortunately, our society rewards such individuals, and we currently praise narcissism in our leaders in different turfs. Narcissists are often rewarded in their undertakings and strivings to get to the top, and then, we often find them in leadership positions. To understand the Narcissistic world view, writers such as Ransky and Tucker believe narcissists need other people with codependency to sustain them and feed their egos. Also, it will

be important to understand how they view and select their victims. Ransky and Tucker identified 3 categories of affected people that are in the narcissist’s world: A potential: Narcissists view everyone only in terms of what value or use does that person have for them. A potential is someone who the narcissist attracts into their world and are assessed for their utility value and exploitation. People with a strong sense of self-worth and boundaries are of limited use to the narcissist and maybe only relegated to a role of an employee, colleague, customer, peer, a delegation point, or some ambivalent relationship. A follower: A follower has been prepped, enticed, or controlled into the narcissist’s existence and will be steady yet not slavish to the narcissist. Narcissists are working on these people because they cannot trust the independence and free will of another in their concern for them. However, this level is in an enmeshed or misdirected state as an individual is as yet a different working character. The person still has a distinct operative identity, but by overturning held beliefs, values, attitudes, and sympathies, which are important to the narcissist, the narcissist has already gained leverage. They have been able to earn a degree of trust and acceptance, and a degree of rapport has been established. The narcissist from their side will already have identified this person’s strengths and weaknesses and have commenced the person’s seduction more indepth into the narcissist’s reality.

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The leadership factory with

“Sidekicks” or blindly loyal pawns:This most intimately trusted group is engaged with the narcissist co-dependently. In areas of concern to the narcissist, they are overly loyal, compliant, passive, and unaware they no longer operate from conscious free will. They put up with whatever treatment is being perpetrated and will collusively abuse the narcissist by acts of proven “loyalty.” They are controlled by the narcissist under some form of emotional and/or mind control. When summoned, they act for the narcissist. They are often used in organizational politics, rumour, and misinformation campaigns and in both groups and organizations to perform acts on behalf of the narcissist that might see them coming under legal or ethical sanctions. The narcissist will establish a degree of separation from the “sidekick” such that the narcissist will disown them to their own destiny if they are ever caught. The person typically has low selfesteem, has a history of placing himself second to others’ needs, a “caretaker” personality, or feels only loved, understood, supported, or important when in the narcissistic company. Paul Babiak, the author of Snakes in Suits, explained that organizational narcissists use a 3-phase game plan when engaging with the victims. The first phase is to select your victim or prey based on evaluating the utility value of the potential victim and finding their psychological strengths and weaknesses. The second stage involves manipulating the potential victims through carefully crafted messages

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Some of the most endearing memories of him include his live interview with Trevor Noah on The Daily Show and his banter with London-based talk show host Graham Norton. When he came on Trevor’s stage, the audience raised the roof, and Trevor bowed respectfully and made the “Wakanda forever” sign. Black Panther carries a unique psychology. The black man is a superhero for a change, and not the faceless figure carrying the bags behind the white hero. The actors flaunt distinctively African accounts. There are strong, independent women who are not side chicks in the story. To paraphrase Chad, everybody is a hero in their story. Whether it was intended that way or not, Wakanda tells the story of an Africa and of Africans that might have been, and that may yet be, despite the unsavory happenings in the ‘real’ world. It is the reason why people, especially those of African descent, have reacted to Chad in the manner they have, why black mothers would swoon and bring their little children up to him to touch him in the flesh when they ran into him on the street. He symbolized that promise, and that possibility. A few months before his death, already looking lean and gaunt, but never without his wistful smile, Chadwick Boseman married his longstanding girlfriend, Taylor Simone Ledward in a secret ceremony. Taylor was at his bedside, with other family members, when he breathed his last on the 28th of August in Los Angeles, California. May his soul rest in peace. Wakanda Forever.

Toye Sobande and using the potential victim’s constant feedback to build and maintain relationships and control. Phase 3 occurs when the narcissist ends up “devouring” the victim and exhausts its value of use. Without remorse, the victim is drained and abandoned as the predatory narcissist looks afield for new victims, which in their reality is equating to more power. Another attractive honey pot for narcissists is the movements or groups within society in religion, spirituality, human potential development, and self-help groups. This area attracts narcissists because starting a religion, a movement, a modality, an institute, and becoming the leader is easier. This confirms their grandiose delusion that they should be the rightful leader. They have mastery of life’s subjects, heavenly vision, unique insights, or mysterious encounter or power and should be revered for their special gifts and importance. Sobande is a Lawyer and Leadership Consultant. He is a Doctoral Candidate at Regent University, Virginia Beach, USA, for a Ph.D. in Strategic Leadership. He can be contacted by Email: contactme@toyesobande.com

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Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Editorial Publisher/Editor-in-chief

Frank Aigbogun

Mutiny in Mali: Dangerous signals from the Sahel

editor Patrick Atuanya

Strong institutions and vigorous voters are antidotes to coups

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

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (South) Ignatius Chukwu

e are extremely concerned by developments in Mali. The stability of Mali and the West African region is at stake. Strict observance of the rule of law and democratic principles and the fight against terrorism should be of great priority for African leaders. While Mali has long been held up as the epitome of a vibrant African democracy, the country has often made headlines for the wrong reasons, including terrorism. On 18 August 2020, Ibrahim Boubacar, the former President of Mali Keita and Boubou Cisse, the former Prime Minister, were arrested and detained at gunpoint by soldiers and forced to resign shortly after. The mutiny was the outcome of months of simmering political crisis following Keita’s re-election in 2018. An election the opposition said was marred by irregularities. Two days later, a new military junta named, the National

Committee for the Salvation of the People, was installed, promising new elections and to rebuild confidence among the people. The implications of mutiny and ouster of a seating government have severe consequences for the stability of the whole Sahel region. It also presents security concerns for the international community because it could cause a power vacuum which Islamic extremist groups with a strong foothold in Mali will seek to exploit. Ironically, several Malians were happy with the ouster of Keita. Although most were indifferent – Mali witnessed so much corruption and lack of leadership under Keita. At best, the country was on autopilot; public officials acted with impunity. But usurping a democratic process, for whatever reason, does not inspire confidence, no matter how frequently it is done. In less than a decade, Mali has had two coup d’états, the first was in 2012. These political interruptions have adverse effects on the country’s economic growth, affecting the real GDP per capita. Available statistics show that in more democratic countries, a

successful coup decreased annual growth in income per capita by as much as one to 1.3 percent over a decade. On the average, a coup slows down economic growth by 2.1 percentage points the year it happens, by 1.3 percent the following year, and 0.2 percent two years after. After the coup in 2012, Mali the economy shrunk, reducing its real GDP in the first quarter of 2013. The suspension of Mali by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) from its meetings and trading embargo is putting more strain on an already ailing economy. This is the second embargo in less than a decade. For an import dependent economy it spells doom, not just for the military junta, but the people. The embargo also isolates Mali financially. International transactions and financing are barred, especially within the West African CFA Franc zone. ATM machines for those with Visa cards are blocked. All of which creates difficulties for the country. The coup will scare foreign investors.

But why are coups rampant in Africa? Why do ECOWAS and the African Union (AU) find it hard to contain military insurrection and forceful takeover of power in the continent? To discourage further coups in the continent, there is a need to strengthen government institutions. Elections should be conducted in a fair and transparent manner and candidates must accept the will of the electorate. Those elected to rule must rule with the fear of God, respect rule of law and be open and transparent in their activities. The idea of tenure extension by whatever means must be resisted as that could lead to crisis, as witnessed in many African countries. Independent institutions and a critical mass of savvy voters are necessary to put an end to the idea that an African leader is a big man with unlimited powers. The power of citizens is a better deterrent than coups. Political leaders will be cautious knowing the power the citizens wield and therefore will act right to avoid being ousted. All eyes are Mali to see what direction it takes.

HEAD, HUMAN RESOURCES Adeola Obisesan

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Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES&MARKETS

MRS shares unchanged despite positive profit forecast for Q4 2020 Oluwafadekemi Areo

…as stock price unchanged

hares of MRS Oil Nigeria plc remained unchanged after the downstream oil firm projected a profit after tax of N775 million in the last quarter of 2020, a 234 percent jump from the N575 million loss earned in Q4 2019. MRS’ share price remained unchanged at N12.45 on Wednesday, where it has been for over a month now. MR S distr ibutes and markets refined petroleum products and fuels and also blends lubricants and manufactures greases. The company reported its first profit in Q2 2020 of N725 million after reporting a loss since 2018. Nonetheless, a loss of N329.71 million was recorded for the first half of 2020 as the company made a loss of N1.06 billion in Q1 2020. The projected profit in Q4 is expected to ride on the back of revenue as it is expected to improve to N125 billion, reflecting 611 percent increase from the actual Q4 2019 figure of N17.6 billion. For the first half of 2020, the total revenue generated by five of Nigeria’s main oil marketers listed on the Ni-

gerian Stock Exchange (NSE) took a downward turn by 40.79 percent. MRS oil is however, the only oil marketer that has released its projection for Q4 2020. This decline was as a result of the imposed lockdown in the most part of the second quarter, at state and federal level as well as the reduction in petrol pump price to N125 from N145 in that period. Agusto & Co, an indig-

enous African credit rating agency has projected that revenue of oil marketers will fall by about N4.3 trillion in 2020 due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic on fuel consumption. Given the three straight months increase in petrol prices which is currently at N162, the official exchange rate of N380/$1 will test the sustainability of Nigeria’s petroleum pricing. Also, if the significant re-

duction in petrol consumption as a result of the coronavirus pandemic persists, making adequate revenue will be hindered. “Government dominance in the petroleum industry, particularly in relation to the importation of refined petroleum products as well as regulation of pump prices and the lack of substantial investment serves as hindrances to the growth of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector”, according to the 2020 Oil and Gas Downstream Report by Agusto & Co.

igeria’s biggest cement makers by market value appear to be doing relatively well despite the Covid-19 pandemic which has upended key sectors of the Nigerian economy. Two of the largest cement makers in the country, Dangote Cement and Lafarge WAPCO both saw their net profit hit the highest level in seven years in the first half of 2020, according to data collated by Business Day from the companies’ financial reports. Dangote Cement reported net profit of N126 billion in the period, a 5.8 percent increase compared to last year while Lafarge WAPCO reported N23.3 billion, which works out to a 159 percent increase compared to the same period of 2019. Similarly, BUA cement, which is the second largest cement maker based on NSE market capitalisation, had higher net profit of N34.8 billion in H1 2020 compared

Favour Olarewaju

numbers shows that the increased profit was mainly driven by revenue growth which grew faster than cost of sales. “Company specific factors account more for this surprising trend of higher revenue and net profit of H1 2020 in Dangote cement and Lafarge industries as against general economic events” said Ayorinde Akinloye, a Research Analyst at CSL Stockbrokers. “C o s t o f c o m m o d i t y prices including raw materials and fuel consumption decreased, leading to higher gross profit. “Also, tax rate per profit before tax reduced the overall tax paid by Dangote Cement and led to improved cost efficiency,” Ayorinde said. A l s o, e x p l a i n i n g t h e higher profits seen in Dangote cement group for H1 2020, Gbolahun Ologunro, a research analyst at Lagosbased CSL Stockbrokers said that “the strong performance in Q1 2020 softened the impact of Covid-19 and sloweddown construction activities on Q2 2020.”

FCMB reduces interest on loan products, offers restructuring opportunity to customers MICHAEL ANI

Nigeria’s largest cement makers see profits jump to 7-year high despite Covid-19 Favour Olarewaju

Nigeria’s largest cement makers see profits jump to 7-year high despite Covid-19

to N30.6 billion in H1 2019. A deeper dive into the numbers shows that the increased profit was mainly driven by revenue growth which grew faster than cost of sales. “Company specific factors account more for this surprising trend of higher revenue and net profit of H1 2020 in Dangote cement and Lafarge industries as against general economic events” said Ayorinde Akinloye, a Research Analyst at CSL Stockbrokers. “Cost of commodity prices including raw materials and fuel consumption decreased, leading to higher gross profit. “Also, tax rate per profit before tax reduced the overall tax paid by Dangote Cement and led to improved cost efficiency,” Ayorinde said. A l s o, e x p l a i n i n g t h e higher profits seen in Dangote cement group for H1 2020, Gbolahun Ologunro, a research analyst at Lagosbased CSL Stockbrokers said that “the strong performance

in Q1 2020 softened the impact of Covid-19 and sloweddown construction activities on Q2 2020.” “Revenue growth in Dangote cement group was significantly driven by higher revenues from its Nigerian operations (up 1.2% y/y to N332.4bn) and Pan African operations (up 3.5% y/y to N145.0bn)”. “By observing the quarterly statistics, we are better able to isolate the likely effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. So, compared to Q1 2019 which experienced lesser capital expenditures, Q1 2020 had a much stronger performance,” said Ologunro. So, while Dangote cement saw higher revenue on half-year basis, on quarterly basis, revenues declined to N249 billion in Q2 2020 from N227.7 billion in Q1 2020, showing an 8.6% decline compared to its 17.6% growth when comparing with the previous quarter. In line with this, for the observed period of 2014 to 2020, revenues and cost

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of goods sold for Dangote cement has been on the increase with the exception of H1 2019 which saw a decrease but slightly recovered in H1 2020. For Lafarge, Ologunro recognised that “the sale of the South African business and the Q3 2019 supported stronger growth of revenue and profits. “The South African branch appeared to be dragging down the company due to poor macroeconomic conditions which stimulated poor revenue, higher debts and increased pressure on financial cost”. “So, the sale of the South African branch was able to settle piled up debts, which informed revenue growing at a faster pace than cost of sales”, Ologunro stated. Turning to gross margin, both cement companies have retained less naira per sales at N58 in H1 2020 from about N65 in H1 2014 for Dangote cement, and N35 in H1 2020 from N36 in H1 2014 for Lafarge WAPCO.

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igeria’s lender, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), has reduced interest rates on all consumer loan products, as it moves to lighten the burden on customers affected by the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The reduction, which took effect from August 12, 2020 applies to all Salary Plus Loans, including PremiumSalaryPlus,AutoLoans and Home Loans, of FCMB, whethertheyarenewlydisbursed or already running loans. The slash of interest rates means that customers will be repaying lower amounts each month and can also borrow higher amounts than previously. In addition to the benefits of interest rates reduction, customers also have the option to restructure their consumer loans by opting for reduced tenure instead of reduced repayment amount. In a statement, FCMB explained that the decision to reduce interest rates and restructure its consumer loan products in a more flexible manner are the latest initiatives in response to the current economic realities induced by the novel COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, which has impacted negatively on personal and households income and expenditure, as well as on busi@Businessdayng

nesses and the socio-economic environment in general. FCMB’s bold move to cut interest rates has been applauded by customers, as it will go a long way in enhancing standard of living by helping customers free up extra income to boost purchasing power and meet other expenses in a convenient manner. The development is also expected to have a multiplier effect on the Nigerian economy in terms of stimulating growth and development. Commenting on the interest rate reduction and restructuring of repayment tenure, the Executive Director, Retail Banking of FCMB, Olu Akanmu, said, “we realise the financial challenges confronting our customers due to the prevailing economic situation caused by COVID-19. As a caring and responsive Bank, we are committed to give them all the support needed to ease the situation. This year alone, we have given out more than N30 billion in retail loans to over 475,000 customers. Because we have also digitized the application process for many of our loans, customers can get some loans instantly simply by applying on their mobile phone or the ATM. With the reduction in interest rates, we expect to make a positive impact in more lives by giving our customers the financial support they need, when it matters most”.

Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

MONEYINSIGHT Digital Currency Group acquires cryptocurrency exchange Luno FRANK ELEANYA

igital Currency Group (DCG), a global enterprise that builds, buys, and invests in blockchain companies has acquired Luno, a London-based cryptocurrency exchange with extensive operations in Nigeria, South Africa, and other emerging markets. The acquisition which terms were not disclosed will enable Luno to extend its global footprints, both in geographies where Luno currently operates and in new markets. With regional hubs in Singapore and Cape Town, South Africa, Luno has grown significantly in recent years, with nearly 400 employees and more than five million global customers spanning over 40 countries. In Africa, the company saw more than 550,000 new users on its platform in Q2 2020 and contributes the largest share of cryptocurrency trading volume on the continent across non-P2P exchanges. Luno has marked significant territory as an exchange in several countries that have the highest percentage of cryptocurrency ownership, including South Africa (third-highest of its citizens owning digital currencies), Nigeria (fifth-highest), Indonesia (sixth-highest), and Malaysia (tenth-highest). “We are proud to have supported Luno as an early investor, and we recognize a shared commitment to building mission-driven companies that can help transform traditional financial services and improve economic freedom

for people all over the world,” DCG Founder and CEO Barry Silbert said. “Luno is a high growth, global business and there is a massive opportunity to expand organically and through acquisitions.” As an investment firm, DCG has invested in over 160 blockchain companies around the world. In addition to its venture portfolio, DCG is the parent company of several wholly-owned subsidiaries, including Grayscale Investments (the world’s largest digital currency asset manager), Genesis (a leading digital asset prime brokerage), CoinDesk (the preeminent media and events company in the industry), and the recently-launched Foundry, which provides institutional expertise, capital, and market intelligence to bitcoin miners and manufacturers.

Prior to the acquisition, DCG had first invested in Luno in 2014 in its seed round in August 2014. Following the acquisition, the Luno leadership team will remain entirely intact and Marcus Swanepoel, the co-founder of Luno will lead acquisition efforts in his role as CEO. “The past seven years have been an incredibly exciting journey for Luno – helping millions of our customers get access to crypto for the first time,” said Swanepoel. “DCG has been an integral part of the Luno story during all of this time, and we’ve been fully aligned on our vision and culture since day one. Having the full backing of DCG just as we’re experiencing such a pivotal moment of growth in the industry is not just an exciting and important milestone for Luno, but more importantly,

it will significantly accelerate our ability to reach our goal to help upgrade 1 billion people to a better financial system by 2030.” Founded in 2013, Luno has been backed by global tech giant the Naspers Group and Balderton Capital amongst others. The company believes that the legacy system was built for a non-digital age, ignoring the needs of modern individuals and adding unnecessary inefficiencies and gatekeepers. The world now has access to new technologies like Bitcoin and Ethereum that will fundamentally change how the world views and uses money. Like communication evolving from landlines to mobile phones, money is finally catching up with other information revolutions. “We have been extremely impressed with Marcus and

the Luno team since we made our initial investment,” added Silbert. “Marcus understands our culture and appreciates how well Luno fits into the DCG family. He is a focused, high integrity leader, and exactly the kind of person we want running one of our companies at this critical moment when the cr ypto industry is at an inflection point.” Luno maintains regional offices in Kuala Lumpur, Lagos, Jakarta, and Johannesburg, and will continue to focus on the existing geographies where it operates across Europe, Africa, and Asia. The Luno team has also developed an aggressive road map for future growth and will ultimately compete with financial services firms globally. Luno is actively hiring for positions all over the world.

CRC Credit Bureau embarks on consumer education STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

t the third edition of their webinar series ‘You and Credit’, a corporate social responsibility initiative, CRC Credit Bureau Limited has sought to educate individuals and businesses in Nigeria on responsible lending and borrowing. Themed ‘GSI & Credit Bureau: Strengthening Credit and Collections Management in Nigeria,’ the webinar held August 28.

The Global Standing Instruction (GSI) is a service of last resort which can be employed by a bank to recover outstanding debts from its customers who borrow money from it and default. A Bank can activate a Global Standing Instruction without recourse to the customer; by a direct set-off against deposits or investments held which the customer has in accounts with other banks. Kevin Amugo, director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department of the Central Bank of www.businessday.ng

Nigeria, who was the keynote speaker, gave the regulator’s perspective on the Global Standing Instruction and the Instruction’s role in supporting the functions of Credit Bureaus in Nigeria. One of such roles is that it will help reduce the number of non-performing loans in Nigeria’s banking sector. Amugo also highlighted the collaborative activities between the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Credit Bureaus in improving the credit score regime and ulti-

mately expanding access to finance for individuals and businesses. Olajumoke Odulaja, chief risk officer at Union Bank Plc and Olumide Osundolire, partner at Banwo & Ighodalo law firm also participated in the webinar. They both made presentations which explained the point of view of the commercial banks and the legal implications for borrowers and lenders in the Global Standing Instruction framework. “This webinar is the third of many editions to

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come, organised by CRC as a means of giving back to society using the platform of ‘You and Credit’ to educate individuals and businesses in Nigeria, keeping them informed of the latest developments that may have implications on their finances in the short and long term,” Tunde Popoola, managing director/CEO of CRC Credit Bureau Limited said. Popoola argued that with the right knowledge “we can begin to maximise the opportunities that abound us@Businessdayng

ing Credit. The GSI is a welcome development that will complement the activities of credit bureaus in encouraging and promoting responsible financial behaviour in Nigeria which will lead to economic development.” CRC Credit Bureau is the largest Credit Bureau in Nigeria and provides a nationwide repository on credit profiles of corporate entities as well as consumers, improving the ability of credit providers and borrowers to make informed lending and borrowing decisions.

Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

INTERVIEW Tax revenues to the rescue as government battles twin impact of covid-19, low oil prices on economy COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with low oil prices has impacted negatively on Nigeria’s income sources. However, tax revenues have helped sustain government funding, MUHAMMAD NAMI, Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) said during a recent discussion. He explained why it is imperative to pay tax and particularly clarified the burning issues around stamp duty on tenancy agreement. ONYINYE NWACHUKWU monitored the discussions for BusinessDay. Excerpts:

ow has it been serving as the Executive Chairman of FIRS? Well, so far, so good. I give glory to God. I am not in a new terrain. Before I was appointed the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), I had practiced tax for 26 years. So, in the tax terrain, this should be my 27th year. This fact confirms what I have been engaged in since 1991 when I graduated from the University. I started tax practice in 1993, some few months after I completed my National Youth Service, little did I know that I would be talking to you today as the Executive Chairman of the FIRS.

Stamp Duty charges have raised so much controversy. Why is the FIRS charging it now? We are in a period of economic downturn occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, let me clarify that Stamp Duties is not new in Nigeria. Stamp Duties came into effect in Nigeria as a result of Ordinance 41 of 1939. There have been several amendments to the Stamp Duties law over the years up to the Finance Act of 2019. The most recent amendment recognised technology, e-commerce and cross border transactions in line with global best practices and current economic realities. Stamp Duty is a tax payable in respect of dutiable instrument as provided under the Stamp Duties Act, CAP S8, LFN 2004 (as amended). Such instruments include Agreements, Contracts, Receipts, Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Promissory notes, Insurance policies and others stipulated in the Schedule to the Stamp Duties Act. What is happening now is that we are looking into the tax laws and implementing the Stamp Duties Act, which is a form of indirect tax that is more viable in the economic situation we find ourselves today. It may interest you to know that the economic situation has increased the Government’s demand for funding. The Annual target for Stamp Duties that was pegged at N17billion has been revised up to N446billion for FIRS to collect. Please note that this happened before the pandemic. We collected as much as N18 billion in 2019. Presently, the Finance Act, 2019 has taken away 60 percent of our tax base. That is, 60 percent of the people who are supposed to pay Companies Income Tax will not do so. 60 percent of the people who are supposed to act as agents and pay Value Added Tax monthly will also not do so because their annual turnover is not more than N25million. So, a large number of Small and Micro Enterprises in Nigeria today do not pay taxes. What this means is that these companies will no longer act as agents for collecting VAT. The implication of this is that 60 percent of Nigerian Taxpayers will neither pay VAT nor CIT. Nigerians may note that the Federal Govern-

element is remitted before an agreement is signed, such a landlord will bear the burden of payment. If the transaction is between entities or between entities and an individual or a body of individuals, the landlord is the agent of collection and should ensure that the tenant pays to the FIRS account which is a Federation Account. That money is collected and shared among the three tiers of Government. If the rent is between me (an individual) and another individual, the Stamp Duty element will be paid to the State Government where the property is situated. If I am a tenant living in Suleja, Niger State, the Stamp Duty element of my rent will be paid to the Niger State Stamp Duty account. This has nothing to do with someone who is living in his own house even if it is a ten-storey building. You are not going to pay Stamp Duty on your own house. The essence of it is to legalise the agreement between you and the landlord.

Mohammed Asaria

Muhammad Nami

ment is so mindful of the taxpayers that the Finance Act, 2019 was passed long before the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria. It seemed that the Government foresaw the pandemic and quickly passed the Act to give the palliatives contained in the Act. Now that our target on Stamp Duties is about 3000% more than the previous years’, we have to inform taxpayers that Stamp Duties is not only payable at the point of incorporating companies but also on other items that are chargeable. Chargeable items are more than a hundred. This is what we have done. We did not take these decisions from a Communiqué after a Management meeting, this is in the tax law. People keep asking, what is Stamp Duties, what are the rates, who are they paid to? We consulted the tax law to be able to explain and clarify to Nigerians what it is all about. How will the Stamp Duty on tenancy agreement be implemented? Our public notice on Tenancy Agreement captured only the last band which is 6%. It does not mean that it has a flat rate of 6%. It was a publication error and we sincerely apologise for that. The Stamp Duty on Tenancy is charged on a graduated rate, so that if your rent is from one year to seven years, the Stamp Duty payable is 0.78%. This is not up to 1%. The implication is that if your rent is N100, 000 per annum, the stamp duty due at 0.78% is just N780.00. The second category is for the tenant whose agreement is above 7 years and up to 21 years, the Stamp Duty chargeable is 3%. Such a person is not going to pay rent for a long time, so, 3% is deducted to provide social amenities and fund infrastructure. There are also people who would comfortably pay rent for above 21 years; for 22 or 25 years, such people will not go back www.businessday.ng

to their landlords to pay rent again. Therefore, the law states that such people should pay 6% of the rent as Stamp Duty. That is the information that generated controversy across board. This is another opportunity we have to clarify it. Who then remits the stamp duty – the Landlord or Tenant? In VAT administration, the service provider collects the VAT component from the consumer. For ease of administration of Stamp Duties, in the case of individual to individual agreement, the tenant is the agent of collection. The tenant is not expected to pay the Stamp Duty component of rent to the landlord who is also an individual. What the tenant is expected to do is, once an agreement is reached with the landlord or agent, he takes 0.78 percent of the rent sum to the bank and pays into the Stamp Duties account (for instance, 0.78% of 100,000 is N780.00). The bank gives him a teller or an e-ticket as evidence of payment. The tenant presents the payment evidence to the landlord, before he is entitled to the copy of the rental agreement. For emphasis, the tenant does not make payment to the individual landlord, he must insist on going to a bank nearby to remit the Stamp Duty element of the rent. It is equally the responsibility of the landlord to ensure that the Stamp Duty element of the rent is paid to the bank before he issues receipt or a copy of the agreement to the tenant. The evidence of payment of the Stamp Duty should be made available to him. This decision is taken because if an individual Landlord is asked to collect the money and pay into the Stamp Duty account, some of them can take the money from the tenants and not remit to the Stamp Duty account in the bank. If a landlord fails to ensure that the Stamp Duty

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People are scared that the implementation of Stamp Duties may increase House rent. What is the true position? Stamp Duty on tenancy agreement does not in any way increase the cost of house rent. The Landlord should not increase your house rent because of Stamp Duty. What you are paying for is just stamping of the rent agreement. If the amount paid as rent is N100, 000, the house rent should remain as it is. The only additional payment is just N780.00 which the tenant should pay by himself to the bank. Tenants should not be cowed into believing that the Government has increased house rent. People are concerned that the taxes they pay are not judiciously used. The responsibility of the FIRS is to assess, collect and account for the taxes it has collected. What happens to the money that has been collected is unknown to me. But the little I can assure you is that the money we collect does not belong to the Federal Government alone. The revenue collected by the FIRS is paid into the Federation Account which belongs to the three tiers of Government: the Local Government where you come from, the State Government where your colleague comes from and the Federal Government that has its headquarters in Abuja. On what happens to such money, of the N18 billion collected as Stamp Duties in 2019 for instance, certain percentage is paid to the Local Governments, a certain percentage is paid to the State Governments and the Federal Government takes the balance. It is possible that out of the N18 billion you made reference to, only about N700 million or less than that goes to the Federal Government. You can be rest assured that the amount is not even enough to pay a department’s salary in a month. And you know the number of Civil Servants we have in Nigeria. You know that we have 774 Local Governments, @Businessdayng

36 State Governments and the FCT. It is through this money that the Government provides security, pay military personnel who are fighting the Boko Haram, fund infrastructure like the railway that it is constructing. Each Local Government takes its share to go and pay their workers. It is from this money that States decide to build roads, schools and pay salaries. Then the balance is what the Federal Government uses to pay workers at the federal level, pay contractors and workers. However, this is not the information I am trying to pass. Let me clarify this to Nigerians, at the FAAC meeting of June, 2020, N696billion naira was shared among the three tiers of Government. Out of this N696billion, all other agencies of government that generate revenue contributed only 30 percent. The remaining 70 percent came from the FIRS. So, it is from these taxes that Nigerian taxpayers are paying through the FIRS that the government funds the Local Government, State Government and Federal Government to the tune of whatever they get on monthly basis. So, tax is not a joke. Without tax, we would be going nowhere as a country, going forward. Multiple taxation has been a big issue, do you have any clarification on this? All over the world, nobody wants to pay tax. There is also a difference between taxes and levies. Taxes are different from the levies you pay in the market or the fine you pay to the VIO. Those monies are not taxes. You are paying those monies for the services the agencies are rendering to you. Taxes we collect at FIRS are paid to the Federation Account. Anything that you pay to any other agent like VIO that does not go into the Federation Account or State Internal Revenue Account is not tax. Any message to those suffering under the burden of taxation. Tax is assessed based on income. The moment someone does not have an income, that person is not expected to pay tax. The money that accrues to the country from oil and gas sources has diminished. Nigeria now depends more on tax revenue to fund Government activities. Without tax, we will not be able to pay our salaries. Nigerians should know that tax revenue is now more important than ever to fund the activities of the Government. Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa but when it comes to Tax-to-GDP ratio, Nigeria is among the least. Algeria has a Tax-to-GDP as high as 35%, Ghana and Kenya have their tax-to-GDP ratio at 18%. South Africa which is next to Nigeria in terms of the size of the economy, has Tax-to-GDP ratio of about 29%. But when you talk about Nigeria, our Tax to GDP ratio is as low as 6%. The taxpaying culture in Nigeria is very low and we should improve on that for the Government to be able to fund its budgetary requirements.

Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

INTERVIEW “Our next phase of growth is execution, helping clients solve challenging problems” JUBRIL ENAKELE became the CEO of Iron Capital Partners Limited (Iron Capital) in May 2019 after the end of his meritorious 4-year contract with Quantum Zenith. In this interview with ADEMOLA ASUNLOYE, of BusinessDay Research and Intelligence Unit (BRIU), the research arm of BusinessDay, JUBRIL shared his background with him and his transitioning into Iron Capital, an Africa-focused corporate finance and financial advisory firm that signed a referral partnership with the government of Australia Investment and Trade Commission, Austrade in 2020. Excerpts:

ooking at your profile you used to be Head of Deutsche Bank AG’s Corporate Finance and Treasury Solutions team for Africa in London. What motivated you to return to Nigeria and how have you found the experience? Growing up, I learned that home is not where you come from, it is where you return. Even when I was in Europe, a part of me always knew that I would return home. For me, it was returning to create impact and to help move Africa (and Nigeria in particular) forward by making my little contribution. Interestingly, the best way I could achieve that is through providing financial solutions. I had the privilege of returning to work for Zenith Capital Limited, now Quantum Zenith Capital and Investment Limited, on a 4-year contract. There, I learnt a lot about managing diverse interrelated businesses while working and running an investment banking franchise within a commercial banking culture. I am grateful to my former team at Quantum Zenith Capital who are stand up professionals. I am especially grateful to Jim Ovia for the opportunity he gave me to express myself using the platform of Quantum Zenith. The experience prepared me for bigger challenges now and going forward. The last time we met, you were CEO of Zenith Capital Limited, and I remember that you won an award, you have since moved on to Iron Capital. Could you tell us about that? I was very pleased to have won the BUSINESSDAY’s deal advisor of the year award in 2018. It was special to us and a testament to the amount of work the entire team put in. For us, it was validation that all the hard work we had put in was recognized, not just internally but also by the larger finance ecosystem. My contract which ended in April 2019 with Quantum Zenith Capital was a defining moment for me. As a banker for over 20 years, I had options of doing different things but I felt it was time to run my own firm. So, Iron Capital became operational in May 2019. Fortunately, we had our first transaction, an M&A transaction, which we closed in less than 8 weeks. We have since put systems and structures in place. We are an Africa-based, Africafocused corporate finance and financial advisory firm. Between May last year and today, we have become actively involved in deals in Nigeria, Liberia, Ghana, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, and South

Jubril Enakele

Sudan. The vision here is to execute transactions to the best and highest possible global standards. I tell my colleagues that if our work at Iron Capital when compared to those of the bulge bracket global investment banks have a noticeable difference, then we have failed in meeting those standards. What is your biggest fear as a startup running your own business? My biggest fear starting this is to be considered average. We must be the best in class. Our experience has been an interesting one, even though it hasn’t been easy. Starting up a business was a lot more difficult than I thought. Now, we have weathered the storm and are well positioned for the future. Earlier this year Iron Capital signed a referral partnership with the Government of Australia through its Australian Trade Commission (Austrade), with the aim of establishing a presence in the continent. How does that impact Africa’s business community? The referral partnership is a big step for Iron Capital. If Australian companies are interested in doing business in Africa or in those four countries we have been approved for—Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Zambia, and they require financial advisory services, corporate finance services, relationship management or strategic thinking around entry/exit or any of those operations that are looking to those markets; we as a referral partner www.businessday.ng

will be engaged by them. It also works the other way. For instance, if Africa businesses in any of those four countries are interested in engaging with specific Australian companies, we can help facilitate that. it is quite beneficial because it gives businesses in Africa, particularly in the countries that we cover, the opportunity to expand into other markets, to receive other technical assistance or enter technical partnerships with larger companies in Australia and vice-versa. It is also beneficial to African Sovereigns. Given the effect of COVID-19 which has crippled many businesses in Nigeria and across the globe, how has It impacted the way you do business in Nigeria and across Africa? As a corporate finance and advisory firm, if the pandemic affects our clients then it gets to us too. For instance, if the demand for your product is affected, it means that you will not be able to pay for certain obligations like the services we provide, even though a dislocation between demand and supply sometimes bring opportunities for certain people. Coming out of this, I think a lot of companies will seek professional financial advice to help reposition their businesses, raising an opportunity for firms like ours to step in and offer professional advice to their clients. What has your entrepreneurial experience been like, especially given the backdrop of COVID-19 and fallen

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oil prices? This is the first time I am starting my own firm. As a banker for twenty years, I have never had a side hustle. Last year was the first time I setup my own business. One would think that twenty years of working in Nigeria, London, Istanbul, Turkey, Johannesburg, South Africa would have prepared one for everything, it does not. I studied in Nigeria; I hold a Master’s degree in Public Policy from University College London. I hold certificates in corporate finance, and in Advanced Management and Leadership from London Business School and University of Oxford Säid Business School respectively. All these combined do not adequately prepare you for the challenge of entrepreneurship. You need to get into it and be prepared to learn as you go. My experience has been full of lessons from setting up the office, to hiring the right staff (for competence, attitude, relationships etc), getting the right software, paying salaries, dealing with regulators, etc. are considered frontier world problems. The most important lessons I have learnt in my entrepreneurial journey so far are the need for tenacity, managing successes and disappointments. Also, be prepared to pivot if necessary. What can you say about the investment banking landscape in Nigeria in the last one year till date given that the sector is very important because there are no way companies can raise funds or capital whether through IPO or M&A without the involvement of institutions like advisors, brokers? Can you place a value on the deals executed by the players? I think the investment banking landscape in Nigeria is getting a lot more interesting and I am pleased to see that there are a lot of more indigenously owned players in the market in addition to the traditional commercial banks, merchant banks, international institutions, and Non-Interest (sharia compliant) banks playing in the space. I am really pleased to see more private equity firms that are locally based and managed by Nigerians. Another interesting noteworthy introduction to our system here is the emergence of strong regional DFIs that also provide debt and in some cases equity through different vehicles. That helps improve liquidity in the system unlike the usual IPO. Another interesting introduction since we spoke is the emergence of institutions that provide credit enhancements for transac@Businessdayng

tions. These institutions help derisk transactions which make it easier for lenders, mostly fund managers, pensions funds and insurance companies to participate in deals. What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs in Nigeria? Although entrepreneurship is a fulfilling experience, things don’t always go according to plan. It is important that you can respond to changes and pivot if necessary. Adequate capital is also very important. Capital takes various forms - financial, relationship, people skills etc. Relationships are very underappreciated in the life of a successful entrepreneur. You must be in the position where you have the right kind of relationships and connections that will help you generate businesses and solve problems. Also, the ability to attract the right talent is unappreciated but certainly not one to take for granted. Finally, if posible start with a partner, and not alone. It’s easier if you have someone to share the load. I am not only the CEO, I am the chief culture officer, I manage operations, culture and standards, I am the HR person and even the chief training officer etc. Be prepared to wear more than one hat. Based on the experience, challenges and successes you have had, where do you see yourself in the next 6 months to 1 year? We want to build the most trusted indigenous corporate finance and financial advisory firm on the continent. We spent the last year putting structures in place and getting in the right talent to support the business in the next phase of growth—execution of deals. What advice would you give to young professionals? I will put this in three different buckets: As a new entry with less than 1 to 5 years of experience, learn. Work for an institution that helps you to learn. Focus on learning rather than the pay. At a middle management level between the ages of 5 to 15 years, you need to focus on competence and people skills—these include juniors, peers and seniors. You need to also have a sponsor. By that, I mean someone in the room that will give a good account of your work whenever your name comes up on the table. Finally, at the senior management level no one is doubting your competence anymore nor your relationships. At this level it’s about managing shareholder and stakeholder relationships, within and outside the firm. At this level it also important that you position yourself as a sponsor.

Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

FEATURE

Subsidy removal: Why labour unions should see positive side of govt action Removing subsidy on petrol has always led to protests by those who are opposed to it. They claim to be championing the cause of less privileged Nigerians. The Labour unions, which are always at the forefront of opposition in this matter often turn blind eyes to the benefits associated with the exercise, writes Olusola Bello.

eregulation of the downstream sector of the petroleum industry has been an issue for so many years in Nigeria. Most times, when the issue is raised by way of removing subsidy, political opportunists and labour leaders that have lost focus or relevance capitalises on this as an opportunity to fight the government and call out misinformed masses to the streets to protest. They have again planned to call out people to protest on the street because of the recent removal of subsidy. These opportunists, for a fact, may be pretending not to know that there is no way the country can continue to subsidise petrol with the huge amount that the Federal Government budgets for it each year. The country spends on the average N1trillion a year on subsidy. The leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria have continued to deceive Nigerian masses, saying that deregulation or subsidy removal is not good or that it is unfair. These same groups joined hands with politicians during the administration President Goodluck Jonathan and shut down the policy for their own selfish end. Today, the so-called masses they claimed they are protecting are the ones bearing the brunt of subsidy as monies that should have been deployed to building roads, hospitals, schools and create employments are used to subsidise these labour leaders and the rich in the country who own fleets of cars and run their businesses and homes with generators, compared to ordinary Nigerians, who use public transportation to go about their businesses, and who use petrol sparingly with their generators. Contrary to the belief of a few beneficiaries of subsidy, the masses are not benefiting anything from the subsidy regime of the petroleum industry. Part of their claims then when they attacked the Goodluck Jonathan administration when he tried to remove it was that his government was corrupt and because of this, it could not remove subsidy. Their paymasters even said the whole idea of subsidy was a ruse. But they were made to return to their vomits when they eventually won the 2015 election only for them to discover that there was indeed subsidy. Today, Nigerians know better who has deceived them. They shut down the move to remove the subsidy as Goodluck Jonathan chicken out and suspended it. Before the unions go for another

protest because of the current removal of subsidy, they should first wait and reflect on the issue and consider its advantages or otherwise of the exercise by the government. They should look at the issue critically from the economic and social points of view. The opposition to this policy claimed the time for its implementation is not right as it is coming at a time when the majority of Nigerians are already facing financial difficulties, occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced down the value of the country’s currency; necessitated a hike in prices of utilities and essential commodities, and inhibited income of Nigerians among others. The question is could there be any time that is right? According to Diran Fawibe, chairman, international Energy Services Limited/ Doris joint venture, said subsidy is one sour point that has created a lot of problems for the downstream sector and if it must be removed it has to be done realistically. “As a matter of fact, it must be legislated upon. If it is done by administrative fiat chances are that we would be going back on it and it would not be permanent” The removal of subsidy would eliminate all kinds of fraudulent cases associated with the procurement of fuel from the country. Like I have said if the government is dead serious about the removal of subsidy this time, and I have no reason to doubt the government this time, the policy should be legislated upon. In this case, the reform of the downstream would then be meaningful. However, the case against subsidy is enormous, ranging from the widespread corruption that trailed www.businessday.ng

its implementation few years back; the loss it had caused the economy, to the opacity that had trailed the regime, he said. Looking at the deregulation of the downstream you will agree that it comes with a lot of opportunities and benefits whether in the immediate or in the long term to the economy. There is no doubt that it would come with immediate pains such as increase in transportation fares which affect a number of sectors, food and a good number of other products as the price of petrol currently around N162 per litre. If the NNPC is going to subsidise petrol now it would amount to illegality as there was no subsidy in the 2020 budget. Moreover removal of subsidy, would free up funds which could then be used for other developmental purposes, such as for the building of critical infrastructure and for investment in agriculture, education, and other critical sectors of the Nigerian economy. Specifically, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, had in a briefing with newsmen on Thursday, stated that over N1 trillion had been saved by the country since the decision to remove subsidy and fully deregulate the sector. According to Sylva, N500 billion was saved from the decision to expunge the same amount earlier earmarked for subsidy in the 2020 budget, while another N500 billion was saved from the discontinuation of foreign exchange differentials. The government had spent about N1 trillion annually to subsidise petrol, depriving the country of funds that could have been used

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for other developmental projects. Furthermore, the policy is expected to address the country’s refining challenges, as more investors would be attracted to investing in building refineries in the country, thereby, increasing the country’s petroleum products refining capacity and helping the country to end fuel importation, saving the country huge foreign exchange loss and creating jobs. Stakeholders have also called for understanding from Nigerians, especially when petrol prices continue to go up, when crude oil prices go up; or when the prices go down, when crude oil prices dip. Also, announcement of ex-depot prices or pump price by government would no longer be a normal, as the government had resorted to allowing market forces determined prices, while it plays its traditional role of regulating the industry and ensuring that consumers are not exploited. Despite the putting in place price modulation system since March 2020, up until now, oil marketers were yet to resume fuel import, because of the prevailing uncertainty, especially hinged on concerns that threats by labour would force the government to reverse the decision and return to the fuel subsidy era. Continuing with subsidy, especially as the bulk of the product is imported, would contribute to the depletion of the country’s foreign exchange reserves, impact negatively on the value of the naira, and promote job losses in Nigeria, as the country would continue to subsidise production in countries where the products were imported from, creating jobs therein. @Businessdayng

Confirming this in a statement issued, Chairman of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, Tunji Oyebanji, said with the downstream sector deregulation, Nigeria had been presented with a historic opportunity to get it right this time as a country, to rebuild its economy for the benefit of all Nigerians. He said: “We welcome government’s action in allowing the market to determine prices as we believe it will prevent the return of subsidies while allowing operators the opportunity to recover their costs. This will in the long run, encourage investments and create jobs. “We all must remember the country is broke and can no longer afford subsidy. There is no provision for it in the budget. With this, the incentive for smuggling will be reduced. More funds will be available to the government for investments in infrastructure, roads, health, education and power.” Also speaking, Professor Wumi Iledare, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation’s Chair of Petroleum Economics at Institute of Oil and Gas Studies, IOGS, in the University of Cape Coast, Ghana, however, stated that with the current economic reality, petrol should be selling at N200 per litre. He argued that the NNPC was actually doing the country a favour by fixing the ex-depot price at N151.56 per litre, while he described it as a socially optimum price. He said, “The reality on the ground is not pretty at all with respect to what the price ought to be. At the current official exchange rate of $1 to N385, N200 is about right because of the level of demand driven by population and quality of life. Keep in mind that any attempt to invoke subsidising petroleum has unintended consequences. “Of course, the opportunity was missed at lower crude oil price. it was suggested that the government should not set the price then, but fear of unrest predominate government action then. The economy is highly dependent on oil revenue” “We all need to adjust and perhaps pump more money to the economy. Invoke patriotism, if the government has to, with carrot and stick to those owing government money. “If Ghana is surviving, Nigeria’s exchange rates call for at least N200 per litre in Nigeria. In Ghana, a litre is about N325-N350 equivalent. Like Nigeria, PMS consumed are imported. Lessons can be learnt from Ghana.”

Friday 11 September 2020

Harvard Business Review

BUSINESS DAY

MANAGEMENTDIGEST

Does your board really understand your cyber risks? DANIEL DOBRYGOWSKI AND DEREK VADALA

ver the past decade, it has become impossible to run a company and not address the threat of cyber risk. Cyberattacks are increasingly pervasive and can present near existential threats to companies, and boards of directors and CEOs need ways to evaluate them, even if they can’t grasp the technical details. This has led to an explosion in the demand for cyber-risk measurements, both inside companies and among external stakeholders. While the methods for measuring cyber risk have evolved, thanks in part to the efforts of credit-rating agencies, investors and insurance companies, nothing can replace informed decision-making at the executive level. As cybersecurity experts, we believe the time has come to develop not just scores based on third-party evaluations but holistic assessments that consider technical analysis, governance, culture and the financial impact of adverse cyber events. Such assessments should become a necessary and powerful tool for corporate directors who — if properly trained in interpreting them — could use them to understand their organization’s vulnerabilities. A third-party cyber risk assessment shows how well a company has implemented defenses to protect it from a cyberattack. An assessment also measures how well a company has prepared itself to recover from such attacks — its cyber resilience. The risks of weak cyber resilience are clear: consistent news of network access for sale, factory production being disrupted, fraudulent bank wires and breaches of customer privacy, all of which create lasting reputational damage for the victim company. During the past decade, the job of understanding and quantifying cyber risk has mainly fallen to chief information security officers, or CISOs, and their teams, who primarily addressed the technical side of the problem. They have tended to focus on the number of previous attacks, their impact and how quickly they were addressed. Their goal, in short, has been to take stock of established defenses. The problem with this approach is that it’s largely backward-looking. Assessments sometimes involve looking at internet-exposed company

systems as an attacker might, and trying to determine their vulnerability. But this approach often doesn’t consider the layered defenses that organizations might have in place, including efforts to intentionally deceive hackers attempting to study the organization’s weaknesses. The most significant limitation of both of these approaches is that they isolate cybersecurity decisions from the business they are meant to serve. While technical assessments may be sufficient for a CISO’s needs, they don’t offer what the board really needs: a risk-oriented, holistic and validated view that considers the financial and business effects of cybersecurity (or cyber insecurity) in the company. Moreover, technical reports don’t adequately capture attributes such as governance, culture, decision-making practices or wider treatment of a company’s cyber risk profile and appetite. For an assessment to be useful to directors in a strategic capacity, the board needs to be clear about its requirements — which means it needs to know what to ask for. Rather than accepting a score at face value, or even a qualitative assessment from the company’s technical managers or auditors, directors should ask for a comprehensive assessment: one that moves beyond the technical details and that includes both an outside and inside perspective. At the same time, cybersewww.businessday.ng

curity managers should work with their senior leadership and boards to provide context and use an assessment as a tool for sharing the knowledge the board needs to provide effective oversight. When presented in this way — assembled and shared by a trusted adviser — cyber risk information can be held up against other business risks and similarly weighed against particular strategic opportunities. This will vastly improve companies’ understanding of their cyber risk and provide a clear path for evolving oversight as the approaches develop. What does this look like in practice? To make appropriate decisions, directors need to understand what “good” means for their overall cyber risk profile, and what a holistic assessment really entails: inside, outside, benchmarked, loss analysis. Additionally, they need to set expectations for an outcome that’s commensurate with the company’s goals. Determining what “good” means will vary from company to company. This means there’s quite a bit directors can do to achieve the right outcomes when rating and assessment methodologies mature: — DEFINE YOUR RISK APPETITE: The board must determine the company’s risk appetite with regard to cyberloss events just as it does with any other risk. After developing an understanding of the types of risks its company faces, the board will recognize that “per-

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fect” cybersecurity is not attainable. Rather, it will come to appreciate that evaluating cyber risk — and reflecting on any cyber assessment — requires the careful consideration of at least two questions: What do our customers expect of us? And how do peer companies approach these risks? — FOCUS ON OUTCOMES: Rather than jumping to a ratings comparison, leaders need to focus on the outcomes they’re trying to achieve. The right outcome is a combination of an organization’s risk appetite, prior and future investment in cybersecurity, and expectation of its customers, shareholders and even regulators. No one would expect that a brick-and-mortar retailer have the same cybersecurity program and defenses as a top bank or manufacturer of military equipment. Likewise, boards and business leaders need to calibrate their expectations by determining their appetite for risk and making investments in cybersecurity that are commensurate with their industry profiles. Once this is decided, the board should set internal standards and targets and hold management accountable for meeting them. — ESTABLISH A CULTURE OF CYBERSECURITY AND RESILIENCE: Governance and culture play a critical part in any evaluation of cyber risk. Boards should assert their role in ensuring that these aspects of the company’s cybersecurity program are paramount. The @Businessdayng

right outcome starts with the right culture. Even as the measurements shift, culture is a driver of all aspects of cyber resilience that can be measured — improvement in technical processes that drive improvement in outside scores, management engagement in cyber relative to business initiatives, engagement of the board in ensuring accountability in objectives. Culture’s indicators also fluctuate less over time than technology measures, which tend to shift as trends in computing change. As the market for cybersecurity assessments further evolves into holistic cybersecurity ratings, directors and business leaders need to ensure that underlying measurements provide a true comparative benchmark; adequately consider a balance between inside and outside measures; and fully examine the organization’s technical, governance and cultural aspects. To achieve this, transparency in risk-assessment methodologies is vital. But it’s also crucial that organizations properly set and manage a cyber-risk appetite and understand both the range of cyber events’ financial effects and the role that good, wellinformed governance plays in mitigating them.

Daniel Dobrygowski is the head of governance and policy for the World Economic Forum Centre for Cybersecurity. Derek Vadala is the CEO of Cyber Assessments.

Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Markets + Finance

‘Providing proprietary research, commentary, analysis and financial news coverage unmatched in today’s market. Published weekly, Markets & Finance provides all the key intelligence you need.’

Zenith Bank consolidates earnings and profitability amid Covid-19 shock …Records highest dividend yields among EFM peers BALA AUGIE

enith Bank Nigeria Plc gives more money to investors in form of dividend than its peers in Emerging and Frontier Markets (EFM) as the lender recorded double digit growth in net income even amid the coronavirus headwinds. Data gathered by Chapel Hill Denham showed the Nigerian bank has a dividend yield of 16.52 percent as at September 8, 2020, thatcompares with United Bank for Africa (UBA), (15.20 percent); Guaranty Trust (GTBank), (11.20 percent); KCB (Kenya), (10 percent); Access Bank, (10.0 percent); Stanbic IBTC Holdings, (9.80 percent). Others includes: FirstRand (South Africa), (7.60 percent); Banca (Romania); (5.30 percent); QNB (Qatar); (3.30 percent); VTB (Russia); (2.10 percent); GCB (Ghana), (1.80 percent); GIB (Egypt), and ITAU, (Brazil). A high dividend yield means stocks of Zenith Bank are much more attractive, an entry point for investors that want to add to their investment portfolio. Analysts attribute the impressive performance of the lender to tight risk management and proactive restructuring of loans relating to the vulnerable sectors.

Ebenezer Onyeagwu, group managing director/CEO, Zenith Bank

Analysts at Chapel Hill Denham said they have placed a “Buy” rating on the stock of Zenith with a Target Price of N37.50. Zenith Bank has one of the strongest returns on equity among its peers in EFM. What this means is that the lender has utilized the resources of its shareholders in generating higher profit. “Given Zenith net long term foreign exchange position of $1 billion; we see foreign exchange revaluation gains and strong fee and commission income, uplifting profit after tax

(PAT) in full year 2020,” said analysts at Chapel Hill Denham. Despite the unprecedented macroeconomic uncertainties caused by a sudden drop in oil price and the coronavirus pandemic, Zenith Bank recorded double digit growth in net income. For instance, net income increased by 16.81 percent to N103.82 billion in June 2020 as against N88.88 billion the previous year. Similarly, net interest income was up 10.41 percent to N157.41 billion as at June 2020 from N142.51 billion the previous year. The growth in net interest income was largely driven by a 17.39 percent reduction in interest expense to N 59.54 billion in the period under review. Zenith net interest margin (NIM) increased to 9.0 percent in the period under review as against 8.60 percent the previous year; that validates the lender’s ability to deliver optimal pricing for its interest-bearing assets and liabilities in a declining yield environment. As a result of inflationary pressures and the Group’s conservative approach towards impairment charges in the current elevated risk environment, cost-to income ratio increased to 54.30 percent in June 2020 from 53.20 percent the previous year. The lender is reaping the reward of having a healthy risk management and well diversified loan portfolio across sectors as Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) reduced to 4.70 percent- which is below the regulatory threshold- from 5.30 percent the previous year. Capital and liquidity ratios –well above regulatory requirements of 30 percent for Liquidity and 15 percent for Capital Adequacy Ratio. The bank launched its Agency Banking in June 2019 and has experienced impressive growth in both value and volume of transactions. For instance, total value of electronic product transactions surged by 81 percent to N17.05 billion as at June 2020 as against N9.46 billion as at June 2019. Similarly, total volume of transactions spiked by 62 percent 393.50 million in the period under review from 243.30 million the previous year. Zenith Bank and peer rivals are operating in tough and unpredictable macroeconomic environment, and the coronavirus pandemic and the

sudden drop in oil price is a triple whammy for the industry. Nigerian banks have seen bad loans balloon as a lockdown and social distancing measures put in place by government hindered valued customers across sectors could not pay interest on money borrowed. That’s reminds investors of the dark days of 2016 when a precipitous drop in the price of oil of mid-2014 stoked a severe dollar scarcity that tipped the country in its first recession in 25 years. The sectors was exposed to the oil and gas while asset quality deteriorated. Analysts expect loan growth to be muted as the economic slowdown does not support loan disbursement. Coming into 2020, interest and non-interest income component of revenue were under pressure because banks had been forced to lower interest rates earlier in a bid to

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meet the LDR. Furthermore, the low interest rate environment and declining rates on fixed income securities (T-bills, OMO and bonds) as well as the increase in the regulatory cash reserve ratio from 22.5 percent to 27.5 percent means that overall asset yield will reduce. Expectedly, the cumulative interest income of the largest banks on the bourse declined by 1 percent to N1.37 trillion in June 2020, from N1.38 trillion the previous year, according to data gathered by BusinessDay. Fitch Ratings has predicted that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) cash reserve requirement (CRR) policy will hurt Nigerian banks’ earnings. “The Central Bank of Nigeria has been highly interventionist,” Bloomberg quoted senior director for Europe, Middle East and Africa bank ratings at Fitch, Mahin Dissanayake, to have said during an interview.

BUSINESS DAY

Friday 11 September 2020

HEALTH BUSINESS&LIFE Nigeria slow in tracking progress on tackling premature deaths from NCDs ANTHONIA OBOKOH

igeria falling behind on global commitments to tackling premature deaths from chronic diseases, as a signatory to the Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3.4), the Non- Communicable Disease Alliance (NCD Alliance) is calling on the government to prioritise more efforts in the medical interventions of the country in order to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The UN measure of progress towards the SDG target 3.4 is reducing by one-third the risk of death between 30 and 70 years of age from four major groups of NCDs (cancers, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes), termed NCD4. Sonny Kuku, President, NCD Alliance said that based on recent (2010-2016) trends, the NCD Countdown 2030 despite plans and commitments ,unfortunately, more than half of the world’s countries are likely to miss the targets including Nigeria. “NCDs account for 29 percent deaths in Nigeria, a population of 205,808,201 people and cause 70 percent of deaths globally,” he said at the flag off of the Third Global

Week for Action on NCDs in the country,” he said. However, in tracking progress on four major groups of NCDs deaths , the NCD Countdown 2030 report shows that worldwide, deaths from stroke, heart disease and stomach cancer are falling, although overall progress has slowed compared to the previous decade, according to WHO [3]. Deaths from diabetes, lung cancer, colon cancer and liver cancer are stagnating or rising in many countries. According to Kuku, Many of these NCDs are preventable and also carry heavy economic burden for countries, communities and families. Both the health and economic burdens of NCDs fall heaviest on low-and middle-income countries including Nigeria, making NCDs a major global health and developmental issue.

“However, NCDs have been overlooked by governments, but since 2015 when the Sustainable Development Goals were adopted, there has been more attention on NCDs. some of the actions taken to control NCDs include the inauguration of the First National Multi-Sectoral Action Plan for Prevention and Control of NCDs (2019-2025) and the publication of the Handbook on Civil Society Organisations in NCDs,” he said. The president added that Nigeria’s commitment to Universal health Coverage (UHC) has been symbolized by the passage of the National Health Act of 2014, which mandates the establishment of a Basic Health Care Provision Fund(BHCPF) to support the effective delivery of primary and secondary health-

care services through the provision of a Basic Minimum Package of Healthcare Services (BMPHS) and Emergency Medical Treatment(EMT)to all Nigerians. Kuku also urged the government to wave import excise duties on pharmaceutical products for the treatment and management of NCDs noting that as part of activities to mark the week, there would be high level advocacy meeting for accountability on NCDs in Nigeria. Similarly, Kingsley Akinroye, vice president-Scientific Affairs NCD Alliance, Nigeria, said that the trend of NCDs has gone up and most of COVID-19 pandemic casualties in Nigeria were people with heart diseases, diabetes, cancer, sickle cells, respiratory disease and even mental health. “The government must be accountable to reduce noncommunicable diseases-related deaths in Nigeria and there is need to strengthen the Primary Health Care across the country so that the citizens can access care,” he said. To this end the NCD Alliance highlights the set of interventions needed to move Nigeria forward in reduce trends including quality primary care as a means to have equitable access to doctors’ surgeries and communitybased clinics.

Kwara takeoffs health insurance scheme, enrols 10,000 indigents … Initiative would boost life expectancy, economy says Abdulrazaq SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

wara State Governor AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq has launched a statewide health insurance scheme for residents of the state, saying the initiative would boost life expectancy and help the economy. At least 10,000 indigents are covered in the first phase of the insurance that is 100 percent free for the vulnerable while the state works to onboard premium-paying persons in the formal and informal sectors of the economy, AbdulRazaq said. The 10,000 were captured

in a statewide pilot registration of indigents for the scheme in March 2020. According to Abdulrazaq, the launch was another major step in his administration’s efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and called on residents to take full advantage of the scheme. “A major agenda of this administration is to ensure that Kwara State ticks all the right boxes and achieves the SDGs by 2030. This is beyond empty slogans. Yesterday, we began the disbursement of Owo Isowo to 21,623 petty traders under our social investment programme. The KWASSIP, which also in-

cludes safety nets for the aged and vulnerable, seeks to end extreme poverty in our state,” he said. The governor said, launching this health insurance scheme is a direct response of the administration to the goal 3 of the SGDs which is access to good health and well-being. “We are starting this scheme by onboarding at least 10,000 indigents as a test run. These indigents have had their premium fully paid. This means the health insurance is 100% free for the indigents. We hope to enrol many more indigents in the coming years. “I commend our partners

for their support and the leadership and staff of the health sector in Kwara State for their hard work. I specifically commend the leadership of the Kwara State Health Insurance Agency for seeing this through. We are also proud as an administration to have made the necessary investments in that regard,” he added. He continued: “Health insurance scheme boosts life expectancy of our people, promotes good health, and ultimately strengthens the economy. It has the potential to prevent families from sudden fall into poverty as a result of unforeseen health crisis.

Contraceptive use essential to positive health outcomes for women CHURCHILL OKORO, Benin

iving birth is every mother’s dream, and children are special gifts from God. “My husband and I have decided to opt out of contraceptive uptake because of fear of its side effects and health risks. “More so, my search for a male child has discouraged me from using contraceptives, and I will continue to procreate till I give birth to a male child”. The above were the words of Christabel Luke (not real names), a 34-year-old mother of five who recently delivered another baby girl barely a year after she gave birth. She is one of those women

that has accepted the misconceptions and beliefs that people who use contraceptives end up with health problems, lose interest in sex or become incapable of reproducing. Contraception is of interest at the present time not only because of lack of control of Nigeria’s burgeoning population resulting from uncontrolled births, but due to the alarming rate of maternal and child deaths. Today, women are dying annually from pregnancy or childbirth-related issues, and one of the complications that account for these deaths is unsafe abortions. There have been significant global improvement in reducing www.businessday.ng

maternal and child deaths for the last decade but little or no progress has been made in Nigeria to end preventable deaths as well as offer universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including family planning, which is one of the proposed 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets. Despite public awareness and campaigns to increase the use of modern contraceptive in Nigeria, it is still strange to majority of women of reproductive age, and this has resulted to high maternal mortality from unintended pregnancies and illegal abortions. The main drawback is not unconnected with lack of in-

formation about the various available options, limited access to health care facilities as well as beliefs and myths about the use of contraceptives. “The patriarchal nature of societies where husbands make the final decision and in some cases they may not accept any of the family planning methods and the wives would have no choice than to comply. Additionally, the number of living sons a woman has also influenced her contraceptive use as most women wouldn’t mind getting pregnant up to 6 to 7 times all in a bid to have a male child,” says Victor Ohenhen, an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Central Hospital Benin.

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Safe sex and Travels: Five things you should know

ravellers are important in the spread of diseases including sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Syphilis was introduced to Europe by Iberian sailors, and the spread of STDs and measles in the Pacific Islands was due to Cook’s sailors. Elsewhere, STDs spread by traders and military expeditions. A more recent example is the spread of fluoroquinolone-resistant Neisseria gonorrhea across national borders. STDs do not respect geographical boundaries, but unfortunately many travellers believe they are immune to them. What is worse is that some of the diseases do not manifest symptoms early and people go about with them while infected, and that is a huge problem. The disease then gets continually spread to other sexual partners with increasing risk of their associated complications in the infected persons. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are responsible for a variety of acute and chronic medical problems. These include lower and upper genital tract infections; their complications in women include pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and chronic pelvic pain. STDs can also cause chronic liver diseases, cancer caused by hepatitis B (HBV) and C infection, genital cancer due to several types of papillomavirus, and AIDS, caused by HIV. The role of several STDs in amplifying the risk of acquisition or transmission of HIV itself is fully recognized, making prevention of infection with STDs a mainstay of HIV-AIDS prevention. The following are important information the traveller should know as they move around the world: STD cases are increasing in many countries The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that since 2013 in the United States, gonorrhea cases have increased by 67 percent, syphilis cases by 76 percent , and chlamydia cases by 22 percent . Syphilis cases also increased rapidly in Japan, with 6,096 cases in 2018 compared to 621 in 2010. Countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and many others across Europe and Asia have also reported significant increases in these STDs. The rise in STDs is due in part to more relaxed attitudes towards unprotected sex and reduced condom use. With the ease of international travel, STDs can also spread faster. The most common STDs in returning travellers include chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, and chancroid. Travellers who have been sexually active abroad have also reported hepatitis B and C and HIV infections. @Businessdayng

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Others include Bacterial vaginosis, lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV), human papillomavirus (HPV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), Zika virus, trichomoniasis and pubic lice. What are the symptoms of STDs? STDs can be asymptomatic in both sexes. Though, in men, it can manifest as: pain while urinating, testicular pain, and discharge from the penis or anus. In women: profuse and foulsmelling vagina discharge, lower abdominal pain, bleeding between periods. Both sexes can experience unexplained rash or ulcers on the skin, genitals, or throat. What do I do if I think I have an STD? Do not have sex. Talk to your doctor as soon as possible. Get tested for STDs. Be open and honest about your sexual history and travels. Notify your recent sexual partners and encourage them to get tested as they may also be infected. Treating STDs early will prevent more serious and long-term complications and prevent spread to your sexual partners. You can reduce your risk of STDs All travellers who have sexual intercourse with a new partner are at risk of acquiring STDs. However, if you do decide to be sexually active while abroad, there are ways you can reduce your risk. Get pre-travel health advice from a healthcare practitioner before you depart. Consult your doctor about Hepatitis B and Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination. These are the only STIs that can be prevented by vaccination. Pack an adequate supply of male and/or female condoms – regardless of whether you intend to have sex or not. The availability and quality of condoms may vary at your destination. Always use a condom with a new partner. Note that condoms will not provide full protection against STIs such as herpes, genital warts, pubic lice, and scabies. However, they do prevent against unwanted pregnancy and other STIs, including HIV. Store condoms correctly and check their expiration date before use. Note: The rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https:// businessdayonline.com/

Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Hotels

Why hotels still battle low occupancy despite economy easing

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hough global economies are gradually restarting after months of inactivity and groaning under the impact of coronavirus pandemic, some sectors seem to struggle more for recovery. One of such sectors that is badly hit by the pandemic and that still struggles to breathe is, the hospitality sector. From scaled down operations at the beginning of the pandemic to total shutdown and zero occupancy at the peak of the health crisis, hospitality sector truly yearn for respite. Sadly, months after easing of the lockdown, patronage is still unsustainable due to many reasons, especially safety concerns and the closure of the airspace to international flights, making many hotel outlets and brands to defer reopening. But with the resumption of international flights on September 5, 2020, there seems to be hope for the recovery of the sector as many hoteliers, particularly foreign brands, look forward to huge inflow of guests from international flights, which make up over 60 percent of their guests. As well, most hotel managers hoped that the flight resumption would restart the meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) sector, which is goldmine for hotels. Barely a week after the resumption of flights, the reality is that low patronage will be for a long time as the flights are not much, and are not bringing the right guests. But while some people argue that one week is not enough to assess the impact of the resumption on hotel occupancy, some think that the world will not travel in mass again. “With the look of things, many would-be guests are still studying the new normal, staying safe and rather holding meetings and transacting their businesses online. For now, the airplanes will fly in mainly family members and people stranded abroad during the global lockdown for covid-19”, Erastus Dangana, an Abuja hotel manager, said. “In line with him, Pascal Emordi, a hotelier, noted that it is only people with pressing needs that can travel out now because the pandemic opened easy access and op-

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portunities in the online. We are now embracing the online more than ever, and likewise would-be guests. I see improvement from early next year, not now”, Mordi stated. Offering reasons for the sustained low patronage, Magnus Mmaduemesi, an economist and restaurateur, noted that the pandemic has ushered in hard economic realities resulting in low purchasing power, which is affecting patronage of everything now. “We are facing serious economic challenges now, and pray not to experience a second recession within a short period. People barely feed, and that affects their leisure and patronage of hotels too”, the economist said. Speaking further, Mmaduemesi stated that government has spent a lot fighting the pandemic and need money now, and even corporate organisations are sacking their employees in order to stay afloat. “Many corporate organsiations and government agencies are cutting down their budgets, and this is reducing their activities, including meetings in hotels and other partnerships that usually draw guests and further engage hotel facilities”, Mmaduemesi explained. Moreover, government agencies have also learnt to hold their meetings within their facilities and conduct www.businessday.ng

webinars like corporate organisations in order to save cost, leaving hotel facilities empty. “We keep receiving memos on changes in our operations, cost cutting policies, safety protocols and other measures that restrict our movement within the office. For now and may be in a long time, I do not see us patronizing hotels, and our foreign partners, who we normally quarter in hotels when they visit, have been stopped from visiting until the partnerships are reassessed and renegotiated because of the impact of the pandemic”, Olakunle Adeyemi, a senior civil servant, said. Beyond the low purchasing power, many who can afford luxury offerings in hotels are still reluctant at visiting because of safety concerns. “I have a family that usually visits for our Sunday Brunch. I called them last week to inform them on the resumption of our brunch service, but the breadwinner told me that they hardly step out since the outbreak of the pandemic. Many are still scared of the virus despite assurance of safety and this guests’ apathy is affecting our recovery”, Dangana lamented. But would-be guests are seeing the situation from another angle. “I cannot use my money to buy risk because most of these hotels are not

adhering to safety protocols. Where do they want to start, is it from the poorly paid waiters, gate keepers who can compromise at the flash of naira notes and receptionists that can turn blind eyes when foreigners are involved”, Goddy Aihme, a business executive, said. Doubt over adherence of safety protocols, according to Ime Umana, another hotel manager, is a reason for low patronage now. “Yes, inflows from foreign flights impact our business hugely, but we can sustain local patronage like in Kenya where 70 percent patronage is domestic, by encouraging our local outfits. We can, it only takes passion for our own things to do so”, Umana said. However, Mmaduemesi thinks that hotels should offer incentives to woo guests as lull in business persists. According to him, offering heavy discounts on rooms, food and drinks menus, and recreations facilities such as spa would lure more reluctant guests to visit hotels. “As most foreigners are holding back their visits until when it is safe to travel again, hotels should lure guests with discounts and other incentives because many would-be guests have low purchasing power now and would rather spend their little income on very important things”, the economist concluded.

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Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

entertainment

Adekunle: The golden artiste and his craft Stories by Obinna Emelike

f you are a lover of live performances, you will appreciate Adekunle Gold. The stage is always on fire whenever he performs, a pointer to the high level he has taken his music to since going solo in 2014. With many sold out shows, awards including Grammy recognition, Adekunle, the once member of a boy band called The Bridge, is worth seeing or listening to anytime. He is truly the Golden Boy. Sometime ago, at the Johnnie, Jazz & Whisky concert, Nigeria’s biggest and brightest afro-jazz music platform, Adekunle Gold was on fire. Amid support from the 79th Element, his band, he serenaded the audience with afro-jazz covers of popular hits. In other concerts, he always gives nonstop performances with the mastery that only comes with years of skill and preparation. The afro-pop singer also shutdown Lagos in December 2018 with his ‘All wrapped in Gold’, a 3-night live music concert at Terra Kulture, and doubled the same excitement for his fans in 2019.

The unique thing about the ‘Ire’ crooner and his live performances is that at the end, the adulating crowd and fans become one with their entertainer; miming, singing and dancing alongside. But who really is Adekunle Gold? He is a Nigerian urban highlife singer, songwriter and graphic designer. Born Adekunle Kosoko in Isale Eko, Lagos Island, Lagos State, he is a member of the Kosoko Royal House of Lagos and the only son of his parents. Adekunle discovered his musical talent at a young age. Like most of his folks, he started singing in his church junior choir and wrote his first song at the age of 15. He went on to study Arts and Design at the Lagos State Polytechnic and majored in Graphics. In the early years of his career, he was a member of a boy band called The Bridge. He went solo in 2014 after he disbanded the group, forming his own band, which he called the 79th Element. Adekunle added Gold to his name after an inspirational session in church. His single ‘Sade’, a cover of one directions ‘Story Of My Life’ enjoyed massive airplay from radio stations in

Adekunle Gold

Nigeria. It was termed best cover by music critics. The single won Best Alternative Song at the 2015 Headies Award. After the release of “Sade”, Adekunle released his first official single titled ‘Orente’ through YBNL Nation after signing a music contract with the record label on March 5, 2015. After the release of two successful singles, he released another hit song Pick Up. After numerous back to back hits, Adekunle released an album titled ‘Gold’ in July 2016. The

Nigerian Oscar Selection Committee calls for feature film entries to the 93rd Academy Awards

he Nigerian Oscar Selection Committee (NOSC) has announced a call for feature film entries by Nollywood filmmakers into the 93rd Academy Awards® (Oscars). The Academy Awards recently opened entries to honour the best new films released globally, with the event set to hold on April 25, 2021. According to Chineze Anyaene, the committee’s chairperson, the country’s first submission in 2019 represented a pivotal moment for the industry, as the committee has witnessed a rapid rise in the quality of Nigerian films, especially in storytelling. With many filmmakers and industry practitioners aspiring for better creative and business opportunities, the submission has opened a new dimension for the industry, which would also attract more investors. “We were able to make our first-ever entry submission to the Oscars for the International Feature Film Awards category as a country, and the awareness this has brought to the industry as a whole has been amaz-

ing. It has opened the industry to other markets, and we hope to see partnerships with other industries soon,” she explained. The global COVID-19 pandemic mandated the closure of commercial motion picture theaters worldwide. Until further notice - and for the 93rd Academy Awards year, only the country selected films that had a previously planned theatrical release but are initially made available through a reputable commercial streaming distribution service or video on demand may qualify for awards consideration in the International Feature category for the 93rd Academy Awards. Revealing the new rules for award participation, Chineze stated that, “Due to guidelines and governmentmandated rules to manage Coronavirus spread, filmmakers have to provide to the Academy documentation (original document(s) and an English translation) of government-mandated theater/cinema closure dates, previously planned theatrical release and streaming distribution or video on demand agreements”. www.businessday.ng

Eligible films have to be made available on the secure Academy Screening Room member site within 60 days of the film official selection. Films that, in any version, receive a nontheatrical public exhibition or distribution before their first qualifying release will not be eligible for consideration. According to the Selection Committee, submission is set to close on October 2, 2020. Filmmakers can submit their entries to the NOSC by visitinghttps://thenosc. org/submit-your-film. For technical submission details and further enquiries, they are advised to email info@ thenosc.org. The Selection Committee is officially recognised by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences to make submissions on behalf of the Nigerian film industry. The 93rd Nigerian Oscar Selection Committee members include Chineze Anyaene (chairperson), Mahmood Ali-Balogun (vice-chairperson), Adetokunbo Odubawo, Bruce Ayonote, Charles Novia, Ego Boyo, Mildred Okwo, Moses Babatope, Omoni Oboli, Shuaibu Husseini, Victor Okhai and Yibo Koko.

album is a 16-track project that had production credits from Oscar Herman, Masterkraft, B Banks, Pheelz, Sleekamo and Seyikeyz. With pictorial representation, and hitting #7 spot on Billboard World album chart, the Gold album did not fall short of fans expectations. The success of his album earned Adekunle Gold various awards including Best Alternative Song Headies 2015, Best Song Beat of Lagos 2015, Best New Act NEA Awards 2016 Rev-

elation of Africa, AFRIMA Awards 2015, Best New Act to Watch Nigerian Entertainment Awards, and Best Song Nigerian Entertainment Awards. Adekunle Gold departed from YBNL Nation due to the expiry of his contract in December 2016. He unveiled his band ‘The 79th Element’ in reference to the atomic number of gold. His 2017 songs ‘Only Girl’ ft Moelogo and ‘Call On Me’ off his anticipated 2017 album received massive airplay and rave views. Following the success of his ‘One Night Stand’ UK tour, Adekunle Gold held his first headline concert in Nigeria at the Balmoral Event Centre, Federal Palace Hotel. His About30 Concert in London on June 29, 2018 was a sold-out show. In the first quarter of 2018, he released a new song and music video titled ‘Ire’, a personal song, which reflects on his life’s journey with a message that will inspire his fans for a long time to come. In his usual unique style, ‘Ire’ is a life lesson packaged in a slow tempo song and accompanied by traditional Yoruba percussion sounds. Interestingly, Adekunle

Gold sings in his native Yoruba language as is his usual style. He also sings in English for an uncharacteristic amount of time, alluding to his desire for his songs’ important lessons to be understood. At the release of ‘Ire’ he explained, “Ire’ is a symbolic summary of my life experiences and my journey to becoming Adekunle Gold.” Then, he also took to Instagram to let his fans know that “This song will be the soundtrack of your life.” In March last year, Adekunle Gold gave an enthralling performance at A Night Of Music And Conversation at the 2019 ‘Songversation With Aramide’, an event supported by Wema Bank in commemoration of international women’s month in Lagos. Moreover, he is multitalented. Apart from music, he also excels in movie acting. He made his movie debut in the movie ‘Mentally’ where he played the role of a bus conductor. But the afro-pop artiste is just beginning. He is promising fans new releases and excitement on stage, radio, TV, online and more with Adekunle Gold’s brand of music. “Watch this space”, he insists.

Snoop Dogg supports fight against COVID-19 with Couch Concerts Live

n September 12, 2020, Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr, popularly known as Snoop Dogg, will be streaming live from his Los Angeles home in the United States of America to millions of families in Africa and around the world to raise funds for the International Medical Corps, which is helping to fight the global pandemic and provide life-saving care around the world. Since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020, cases have continued to increase. The International Medical Corps works closely with international, national and local charities and health organisations, providing medical expertise, equipment, training and triage and treatment services. Its goal is to ensure that atrisk countries and regions can prepare for and respond to outbreaks of coronavirus quickly and safely. This will be the first of many shows created by Couch Concerts Live, a new streaming platform that presents major artistes’ performances in support of those suffering from the effects of global crises, from COVID-19

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Snoop Dogg

to climate change and more. The partnership between TARI Global, an American artiste company, and Temple Company, Africa’s foremost full service agency headquartered in Lagos and Jam Management Group, brings together a team with the reach, experience and expertise that will enable them to support the International Medical Corps on a global level. Speaking on the development, Idris Olorunnimbe, group chief executive officer, Temple Company, commented: “We recognized the importance of this collaboration as a critical factor needed to help creative economies and the world recover from the harsh impact of the pandemic. We need each other to pull through and no one must be left behind. As part of our inclusivity agenda as an African creative agency, we are excited to play our @Businessdayng

part in pushing Africa to the world. We are also happy to help support the frontlines in the battle against COVID 19. This is the first of many of such partnerships and we cannot wait for more.” Nathan Tari, CEO of TARI Global, and founder of the event, commented that: “The entertainment industry has been hard hit by the pandemic. While we were staying safely at home, we put our heads together and decided to use our talent and experience to do something in support of those suffering from the outbreak. We are looking to bring some fun, excitement, as well as, a special experience with some of the world’s most celebrated stars. This concert will be the first of many, and we are excited to have Snoop Dogg to help us launch.” Tickets for Couch Concerts Live presenting ‘Snoopadelic in da Pandemic’ are now available to purchase on Ticketco.events. The organisers of the concert urged the world to join Snoop Dogg as he entertains live from his home, with his infamous Snoopadelic Live DJ Show, expect some hits whilst hanging out with Snoop from the comfort of your own home, staying safe and raising funds for COVID-19 causes.

Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

LEADINGWOMAN

INMAGAZINE TODAY

WOMENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HUB

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H.E The First Lady Of Niger State, AMINA ABUBAKAR BELLO, empowering women, solving the plight of their health concerns KEMI AJUMOBI

Associate Editor, BusinessDay

m i n a Abubakar Bello is a consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with a Masters degree in public health and an advocate for the reproductive health rights of women. She is the founder of RAiSE Foundation; a non-governmental organisation whose vision is of a Nigeria where no woman dies from pregnancy related causes. Her work at the foundation has led her to become intimately involved with the plight of women with varying reproductive health issues especially women with obstetric fistula, Breast and cervical cancer. Her foundation also empowers women and youth. She has organised several Vesico Vaginal Fistula camps where 326 patients in Niger state have had free repairs and have been reintegrated into the society. The flagship intervention for the foundation however is ensuring women deliver safely in the hospital. She does this by advocacy, sensitisation, intervention, training of skilled birth attendants and providing safe delivery kits for pregnant women. She is also involved in cancer awareness programs with series of events that include public lectures on cancer and awareness treks to raise funds for the treatment of cancer patients. Her foundation is set to create mini screening centres across the three senatorial zones of Niger State. She is passionate about projects that directly affect women positively and is involved in empowerment schemes for women and education for the girl child. Her Foundation has

e m p o w e re d a b o u t 80 women cooperative groups that are involved in agricultural activities in Niger State. Her Foundation has procured and distributed multi-purpose crop milling and threshing machines to women co-operatives in the 3 senatorial zones in Niger state. Dr. Amina Abubakar Bello in collaboration with the Wife of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dolapo Osinbajo trained women and youth in tailoring, decoration and embellishment in Minna. She has also established RAiSE Foundation skill acquisition centre where 1,735 w o m e n a n d y ou t h have been trained in tailoring, embellish-

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ments, bead work and leather work. Her Foundation has in collaboration with some partners, conducted free medical outreaches across Niger State where over 16, 212 people were treated of different ailments while those who require surgeries or further medical attention were referred and their bills paid by the Foundation. She holds membership of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN), Medical Women Association of Nigeria (MWAN) and Society of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians of Nigeria (SOGON), she is also a Member West African College of Sur@Businessdayng

geons. H.E was recently my guest on my weekly Instagram Live Show called #Inspiri n g Wo m a n S e r i e s W i t h Ke m i A j u m o b i where she shared on her passion for women empowerment, solving female health issues, youth advocacy, tackling Covid-19 in Niger state, the beauties that Niger state has, making it a tourist destination among other matters we discussed.

Please copy link https://businessday. ng/download/455797/ and post on the internet to download directly or visit our website www.businessday. ng to download the entire edition. You are just a click away!

Friday 11 September 2020

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Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Live @ The Exchanges Market Statistics as at Thursday 10 September 2020

Top Gainers/Losers as at Thursday 10 September 2020 LOSERS

GAINERS Company

Opening

Closing

Change

ZENITHBANK

N16.4

N16.95

0.55

MTNN

N119.5

N120

0.5

GUARANTY

N24.3

N24.75

0.45

CILEASING

N3.55

N3.85

0.3

ACCESS

N6.5

N6.75

0.25

Company

Opening

Closing

Change

N400

N390

-10

SEPLAT

ASI (Points) DEALS (Numbers)

FIDSON

N3.98

N3.8

-0.18

CUSTODIAN

N4.95

N4.8

-0.15

VOLUME (Numbers)

FCMB

N2.26

N2.15

-0.11

VALUE (N billion)

N4.38

N4.3

-0.08

AFRIPRUD

MARKET CAP (N Trn)

25,520.97 3,251.00 236,481,244.00 1.647

...as investors renew interest in tier 1 banks

he stock market of Africa’s largest economy closed in green on Thursday September 10 as investors chose to buy shares of tier 1 lenders like Zenith Bank Plc, GTBank Plc and Access Bank Plc ahead of their interim dividend payments. Also, investors raised bets in MTNN and C&I Leasing after their recent price decline created opportunities for reentry of value hunters. Investors gained about N50billion at the close of trading session. The record positive close helped the market to halt three-day loss trend.

At the close of trading session, the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index (ASI) increased by +0.38percent to 25,520.97 points from preceding trading day low of 25,424.91

points. Also, the market capitalisation closed higher at N13.313trillion, from preceding day low of N13.263trillion. The mar-

ket’s negative return year to date stood lower at -4.92 percent. Zenith Bank share price advanced most from day open low of N16.4 to N16.95, adding 55kobo or 3.35 percent. It was followed by MTNN which moved up from N119.5 to N120, adding 50kobo or 0.42 percent. Also, GTBank moved up from N24.3 to N24.75, up by 45kobo or 1.85percent, while C&I Leasing share price increased from N3.55 to N3.85, up by 30kobo or 8.45percent. Likewise, Access Bank share price advanced from N6.5 to N6.75, up by 25kobo or 3.85percent. Stock investors in 3,251 deals exchanged 236,481,244 units valued at N1.64billion.

NSE intensifies efforts to introduce Derivatives to the Nigerian Capital Market

s investors anticipate the launch of Derivatives trading in the Nigerian capital market, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) continues to lay the ground work to build a standardised derivatives market. Part of these efforts include capacity building sessions such as the virtual derivatives workshop which held on Tuesday, 08 September 2020. The training was themed, Adopting Derivatives During Stressed Market Conditions and featured a special presentation from Charlie Rubin, Derivatives Consultant at C-Rubin Futures, and former Senior manager of the New York Stock Exchange, and New York Futures Exchange. Speaking at the webinar, the Chief Executive Officer, NSE, Oscar N. Onyema, stated, “The global financial market has seen good growth and innovation over the past 20 years, and derivatives have contributed substantially

to this impressive development. Today, the global derivatives market is the main pillar of the international financial system and the economy as a whole. The Exchange in its quest to be Africa’s preferred Exchange hub, recognizes the importance of a welldeveloped Derivatives market and has worked assiduously to build the regulatory and technology framework as well as the competence required to support the launch of a standardized Exchange Traded Derivatives (ETDs) market.” Derivatives Consultant, Charles Rubin highlighted the unique benefits of Derivatives Trading, noting that, “Derivatives have been known to increase trading activity significantly across markets. For instance, the National Stock Exchange of India is witnessing trading activity 25 times more than pre-derivative levels in its 8th year since introducing derivatives. This accounts www.businessday.ng

for four times more than its cash business. Markets are likely to continue to enjoy such activity due to the fact that derivatives provide a hedge against risk, facilitate short selling and allow investors to undertake leveraged buying and selling.” The Exchange began its journey to launching ETDs in 2014 with a feasibility study which showed that the Nigerian capital market is indeed ready for the more sophisticated investment products ETDs will introduce. Speaking on the efforts The Exchange has made, the Head, Trading Business, Jude Chiemeka stated, “NSE is committed to building a derivatives market that meets global standards. We have worked with regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria to establish the right regulatory and legal framework for Derivatives in our market. We also continue to build on the trading in-

frastructure that will ensure domestic and foreign stakeholders are able to trade seamlessly once we launch within subsequent months.” The Exchange continues to emphasize the importance of capacity building in this regard. It would be recalled that earlier in the year, NSE hosted a training for capital market players in collaboration with the SEC to address the legal and regulatory requirements for the derivatives market. Through its learning and development arm, X-Academy, NSE will host a five-day training from 14 to 18 September to prepare capital market players who wish to undertake the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment UK Global Derivatives qualification exam. The ultimate goal is to ensure that there is widespread understanding of Derivatives, its applicability and how investors can reap maximum value from the asset class.

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FTSE 100 Index 6,003.32GBP -9.52-0.16%

Nikkei 225 23,235.47JPY +202.93+0.88%

Generic 1st ‘DM’ Future 27,742.00USD -109.00-0.39%

Deutsche Boerse AG German Stock Index DAX 13,208.89EUR -28.32-0.21%

S&P 500 Index 3,406.70USD +7.74+0.23%

13.313

Nigeria’s stock market gains N50bn to halt loss trend Iheanyi Nwachukwu

Global market indicators

Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index 3,234.82CNY -19.81-0.61%

Allianz Group pursues full privatisation in Nigeria, moves to acquire outstanding shares ...appoints new MD to drive process Modestus Anaesoronye

llianz Group, majority shareholders of Allianz Nigeria have commenced a process of full privatisation of the onetime Nigerian Company. On September 4, shareholders of Allianz Nigeria unanimously voted to accept Allianz’s offer to purchase all outstanding shares of the company which are not currently held by Allianz through a procedure known as a ‘’Scheme of Arrangement’’. After receipt of the approval of the Nigerian Securities & Exchange Commission for the transaction and the sanction of the court, Allianz Nigeria will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Allianz Group and its shares will no longer be tradable on an over-the-counter securities exchange in Nigeria. Coenraad Vrolijk, regional CEO of Allianz Africa who disclosed this in a statement said by increasing its investment in Allianz Nigeria, Allianz Group has once again demonstrated its commitment to the Nigerian market. “The privatisation of Allianz Nigeria marks the beginning of an exciting new era for the com-

pany,” added the Regional CEO of Allianz Africa. Meanwhile, Allianz Africa has announced leadership and structural changes at Allianz Nigeria. These changes are subject to the approvals of the local regulatory authorities. Adeolu Adewumi-Zer, currently the regional head of Mergers, Acquisitions and Transformation for Allianz Africa, has been nominated as the MD/CEO of Allianz Nigeria. She will succeed Sunkanmi Adekeye, previously managing director/CEO of Allianz Nigeria and Owolabi Salami, previously executive director of the company. Owolabi Salami is retiring, and will join the board of Allianz Nigeria as a nonexecutive director in order to continue his service to the company. Sunkanmi Adekeye is resigning to pursue other opportunities outside the Allianz Group; the company wishes him every success. Coenraad Vrolijk, stated: ‘’I would like to personally thank Owolabi for his service over the past 6 years, and for his engagement throughout the acquisition and the integration of Ensure into the Allianz Group”.

Zimvest leverages technology to demystify wealth creation for individuals, HNIs, corporate clients

igital Wealth Management Firm, Zimvest (Zedcrest Investment Managers) sets to make investing stress-free for Nigerians through its self-service wealth management platform. A Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) licensed and regulated Assets Management Company in Nigeria with a digitallyenabled wealth management system that seamlessly allows users to investtheir money in a basket of diversified fixed-income backed portfolio; Zimvest is poised to demystify wealth from creation to distribution for all. According to the GMD of Zedcrest, Adedayo Amzat CFA, “the Zimvest platform was built with the

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user in mind, it provides AI-powered tools to analyze a client’s investment personality, risk tolerance, investment horizon and net worth, while ensuring that individual or corporate users’ are served the right investment products to suitably meet their financial goals.” Leveraging the consummate expertise of the renowned Zedcrest Group in global financial services market evidenced by the leadership position of its brokerage business, Zedcap Partners: honored with the “Best Brokerage Service” award at the 2019 FMDQ G.O.L.D. Awards. In his remark, the GMD of Zedcrest, Adedayo added that these are special situations that require special measures.

Friday 11 September 2020

News

BUSINESS DAY

Products Review

Technology Review

Personality Review

Company Review

FINTECH

As banks adjust interest rates at 1.25%, fintechs see mixed signal FRANK ELEANYA

n compliance with the recent Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) guideline, some Nigerian banks sent their customers an email on Friday informing them of adjustments to deposits to 1.25 percent from 3.5 percent. The CBN had directed all deposit money banks that effective Tuesday, September 1, 2020 interest on local currency savings deposits shall be negotiable subject to a minimum of 10 percent per annum of Monetary Policy Rate (MPR). This takes the savings interest rate from 3.9 percent to 1.25 percent per annum and 0.104 percent per month which the bank customer gets if he or she has not withdrawn from the savings deposit more than three times a month. The goal of the directive is to divert liquidity away from risk-free instruments to the real sector. The new interest rate policy means lower cost of funds for deposit money banks, higher inflation rate, and dampened depositors’ savings appetite. Many people expect fintech companies to gear up for an exodus of bank savers looking for more profitable platforms to stash their money. But some founders say they see a mixed signal. “It is good news for the banks because now they have a legal framework to give their users lower interest rates,” Razaq Ahmed, co-founder, and CEO of Cowrywise, an online savings platform, told BusinessDay. “It is bad news for their users because even

though the interest rates they were getting originally were not anything to be excited about, it is even much more depressed now.” He says the impact on his

company will be relatively positive. Cowrywise recently reduced the interest rate it offers savers on its platform following the impact of the COVID-19 on assets. But the

current rate at about 6 percent is still considerably higher than what the banks are offering. Cowrywise will maintain its strategy, the same

for Carbon, a digital banking platform. Unlike Cowrywise, Carbon invests its savings in loans which used to be its core business when it was known as Paylater. Chijioke Dozie, co-founder and CEO of Carbon agrees with Ahmed that it is not allout good news especially for digital savings platforms. “I think for fintech companies the challenge is going to be that the spreads will diminish a bit. When some of these savings companies started two-three years ago there was an opportunity to create arbitrage because t-bills were quite high but now t-bills are not so high so if you are promising your consumers 10 percent, you can’t get that from t-bills today. 2015-2016 when a lot of savings platforms were there we were living in an era where t-bills were around 13 percent and 15 percent,” Dozie said. Some fintech firms are also investing in foreign stocks, es-

pecially in big tech companies like Tesla, Zoom, Amazon, etc., which has seen growth since the COVID-19 lockdown began. The returns from some of the companies in recent times have not been as anticipated as lockdown has eased leading to a drop in the value of stocks around the world. “Losing hella money on Tesla,” Odun Eweniyi, cofounder of Piggyvest tweeted on Tuesday. For companies like Cowrywise holding faith with Nigerian mutual funds, there is the case of who makes the most money. Ahmed says it has become a game of which fund manager offers the best returns relative to what the market offers. Cowrywise funds are in different investment instruments including mutual funds. “From the mutual funds’ point of view, we have a lot of fund managers who currently deliver better returns than 1.2 percent that the banks will offer on deposit. Overall it makes money market mutual funds, especially for those money market mutual funds that have interest rates or yields around 5 to 6 percent, much more attractive. So we might see some inflow into those funds at this moment,” Ahmed said. The long term trend however depends on how the interest rate environment moves. It might even be much more devastating for bank customers if the CBN decides to reduce the MPR at 12.5 percent currently. It would mean interest rates banks are legally allowed to give is further reduced.

First Bank, UBA, earn most revenue from e-banking in half year 2020 FRANK ELEANYA

irst Bank and United Bank for Africa (UBA) earned the most revenue of the top commercial banks in Nigeria from their electronic banking business. The two banks made N21.7 billion and N17.9 billion respectively from the total N67.3 billion generated by the tier-1 banks in the first six months of 2020. The tier-1 banks include

First Bank, UBA, Access Bank, GT Bank, and Zenith Bank. As a whole, the revenue generated by tier-1 banks dropped from the previous year according to data from Nairametrics Research. The banks earned N32.3 billion from e-banking in the second half of 2017; N45.1 billion in 2018; and N78.4 billion in 2019. Apart from First Bank and UBA, the other revenue earned by the other banks inwww.businessday.ng

cludes GTBank at N4.8 billion; Zenith Bank, N8.9 billion; and Access Bank, N13.9 billion. Banks not in the tier-1 category include Stanbic IBTC, N1.3 billion; Fidelity, N875 million; Sterling Bank, N2.6 billion; Unity Bank, N1.3 billion; and FCMB, N4.3 billion. First Bank’s revenue of 21.7 billion is a slight drop from the N21.83 billion it recorded in 2019. It is important to note that the bank’s e-banking unit has enjoyed persistent growth

in the past three years growing by 40.8 percent between 2018 and 2017, and a 46.3 percent growth between 2019 and 2018. Despite the drop from the previous year, it is important to acknowledge the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the general income of bank customers which drives electronic transactions. The shut down of many businesses saw a spike in the level of unemployment and underemploy-

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ment. This was responsible for the drop in the volume of electronic bills payment between April and May. However, most of the banks benefited from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s pro-bank policies during the COVID-19 lockdown. Hence, while many of the banks’ physical offices stayed shut, customers still carried out their transactions using the various electronic bank channels. Beyond that, the Minister @Businessdayng

of Finance, Budget and Planning, and the CBN Governor obtained Presidential approval to permit critical financial services to function during the period. In May, the banks were allowed to open for five hours after the government announced phased ease of the lockdown. However, a major contributor to the bank’s growth may also be the cut in charges announced by the CBN before the pandemic commenced.

Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Sports

Premier League faces further cash crisis as new season kicks off Stories by Anthony Nlebem

he 2020/21 Premier League campaign begins on Saturday with a cracking lunchtime London derby between Fulham and Arsenal at Craven Cottage. Champions Liverpool are hosting Leeds United in their first top-flight match in 16 years. Heading across the capital will see Crystal Palace vs Southampton at 3pm. Manchester United kick off their season on the second weekend against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford – having been given a longer break due to their European commitments last season – and we will bring you that live. But the return of football fans has been thrown into doubt after coronavirus cases soared in England - with football clubs set to continue counting the huge cost. Clubs were due to let in a quarter of their stadium’s capacity from October 1 under plans to socially distance fans - with some having recently

held trial events. But Boris Johnson announced on Wednesday that he will “review” plans to return audiences to stadiums from that date. Downing Street has put the plans on hold after government scientists deemed the prevalence of the virus is currently too high for supporters to return to stadiums across the country.

Johnson told a press conference: “We must revise plans to pilot larger audiences in stadiums & review our intention to return audiences to stadiums from the 1st October.” He added: “That doesn’t mean we’re going to scrap the programme entirely. It just means we are going to review and abridge it. “Organised sport will still

Excitement builds as LaLiga season gets underway

he league with the best football and some of the best footballers in the world begins this weekend. Real Madrid come into the new campaign as the defending LaLiga Santander champions The LaLiga Santander season gets under way for football fans around the world to enjoy, with the floodlights about to be switched on and the ball about to start rolling for the 2020/21 campaign. This is the 90th season of the league with the best football in the world and it promises to be as exciting and as spectacular as ever. Fascinating footballing contests are just around the corner, with the biggest stars ready to strut their stuff on the brilliant green turf of some of the world’s most prestigious stadiums. The red carpet is well and truly ready for the start of one of the world’s great spectacles. There is no series with 38 episodes like this

competition, never mind one with 90 seasons. Excitement, tension, entertainment, passion, unexpected endings... match after match. LaLiga Santander and LaLiga Smartbank recently kicked off the 2020/21 with a global event where the new season was officially presented, revealing the technological and audiovisual innovations that make LaLiga a leader in the entertainment

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industry. The event was attended by LaLiga president Javier Tebas, as well as LaLiga Icons Iker Casillas and Andrés Iniesta, the Director of International Institutional Relations & LaLiga’s Ambassadors and Legends Programme Fernando Sanz, as well as LaLiga Santander Ambassadors Fernando Morientes, Samuel Eto’o, Diego Forlán, Gaizka Mendieta and Luis García.

be able to proceed.” It’s understood some pilots of live audiences for arts or sport will still go ahead. Yet they will be limited to 1,000 people and will not go ahead at all if they’re in areas which have high virus rates. Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has warned it is “critical” to get fans back into stadiums soon,

but a spike in coronavirus cases has forced the British government to review plans to reopen venues from October 1. The League was forced to finish last season with the final 92 matches played behind closed doors after the coronavirus lockdown. When the 2020-21 campaign kicks off on Saturday, stadiums around England will remain empty in the stands due to the continued threat of the pandemic. Brighton hosted 2,500 fans for their recent preseason friendly against Chelsea, while Arsenal’s Premier League home match against Sheffield United on October 3 was earmarked for a potential reduced-capacity test event. Fearing potential losses of £700 million ($910 million), Masters said it is essential for the financial health of English football that supporters are able to return soon. “We have to get back to fans inside stadia as quickly as possible - that’s the big thing that’s missing, economic or otherwise - we need fans back

inside stadiums for all sorts of reasons and it’s the number one priority,” Masters told the BBC. “I think perhaps there is a perception the Premier League economy can withstand just about anything, but if you do lose £700m out of a planned budget it’s going to affect things and clubs have had to make some very difficult decisions.” “That is why it is important we focus on those three key objectives and obviously everyone hopes that from next season we can return to full normality, but it’s a huge challenge going forward. “Financial issues are very real, they’re there, economic uncertainty is in front of us, and we just have to have a clear plan and stick to it.” Meanwhile, the Prime Minister will also “revise” plans to pilot larger audiences in arts venues like theatres later this month. Premier League 2020/21, 12th September fixtures Fulham v Arsenal – 12.30pm Crystal Palace v Southampton – 3pm Liverpool v Leeds – 5.30pm

Manchester United reveal 2020/21 Adidas kit

forgotten friendly between Manchester United and Sheffield United proved the starting inspiration for the club’s new third kit. The new black and white striped kit with red detailing was unveiled by Adidas to complete United’s collection of shirts for the new 2020/21 season. The shirt has a special recognition on the inside of the collar to recognise United’s 110th year of playing at Old Trafford, with a similar design to the plaque at the stadium for the centenary year at the Theatre of Dreams. That anniversary proved central to the Adidas design team’s vision for the new kit, with various stripes on the concourse floor and safety shutters throughout the stadium catching the eye of lead designers Inigo Turner and Chris Barnard. Those stripes, as well as iconic striped United kits of the 1910-30s and the 1994-96 blue and white away shirt, were the inspiration behind the new striped design. The designers also pointed

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to the first change kit ever worn by United at Old Trafford - a striped design from a forgotten friendly in 1910 against Sheffield United. Other stripes factoring into the design were the three stripes on an early coat of arms for Manchester and the stained glass window at Manchester Central library. Those diagonal stripes, combined with the horizontal and vertical stripes of previous United kits, were combined by the design team and given a monochrome colour scheme to create the unique design of the new third kit. Presenting their design, designers Turner and Barnard said: “We didn’t want to do @Businessdayng

another striped shirt. We felt we didn’t want to do something easy or predictable. “We think we have redefined the way things can look. It will define opinion and accept for many it will be too far. But it will grow on people.” The kit will be worn by United teams with plain white shorts and socks with a red trim, in order to increase playability for players and adhere to UEFA rules that determine one strip must be ‘light’. The back of the shirt will be plain white, with player names and numbers in red. Supporters will have the option to purchase shorts and socks with the same striped pattern as the shirt.

Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

news L-R: Ahmed Abubakar, director- general, National Intelligence Agency; Governor Dave Umeahi, of Ebonyi State; Hameed Ali, comptroller general, Nigerian Customs Service, and Yusuf Bichie, director-general, State Security Service, during the National Food Security Council meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, yesterday. NAN

Nigeria’s low yields position equities... Continued from page 1

trading activities in 2020 compared to the average of 51 percent in the last four years.

While NSE has witnessed a slowdown in equity capital raising due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and decline in oil price, it has seen increased raising activities in the fixed income space as a result of the relatively low-interest environment. Nigerian companies as of August 7, 2020, raised more than N559.77 billion through commercial papers, 103 percent higher than the N275.37 billion raised in March 2019. They issued the notes with an average interest rate of 7 percent, much better than the average 15 percent offered by commercial banks. Also, the NSE data show in Q2 alone over N500 billion was listed on the Exchange as government debt. ”Despite obvious eco-

nomic headwinds, the NSE All-Share Index, for example, rose by 16.39 percent in April, ranking it the secondbest performing index in that month according to Bloomberg, ” Onyema said. Meanwhile, the NSE AllShare Index at the end of August returned a monthon-month gain of 2.47 percent, and the equity market capitalisation is currently at about N13.2 trillion. The stock exchange boss, who spoke for close to 20 minutes, giving hundreds of business leaders, market operators as well as investors present at the virtual event details of the development in the Exchange, said the ongoing plans to transcend the Exchange from one limited by guarantee to that owned by shareholders (demutualisation), will further increase investors’ confidence in the market and place the Exchange in the league of global peers. It would also create more

Here’re 5 issues Nigeria must pay ... Continued from page 2

of central banks around the world, especially as it concerns resource allocations. “However, such allocative roles must be undertaken in a very open, transparent and fair manner,” the Group says, adding that it expresses serious concernsabouthowtheCBNhas carried onthebusinessofforeign exchange transactions, loan disbursements (intervention funds) and price fixings without appropriate policy clarity. “This can be subject to abuses, manipulations and significant market disruptions, reflective of a policy akin to crony capitalism. We therefore respectfully request the appropriate authorities to properly review this policy to restore credibility into our financial sector.” Interest rate management The document from the NESG notes that the Group has observed with concern some distortions in the liquidity and interest rate

management of Nigeria’s financial system, which has resulted in rate distortions causing grave disadvantage to domestic investors and pensioners. “This will occasion major disincentives to savings and investments and thereby, be a disadvantage to Nigerian pensioners and long-term savers,” it states, explaining that the low-interest rate policy is inimical to the current administration’s concern for the elderly, the weak, the infirmed and those who had served Nigeria meritoriously in their prime. “It must be stressed that our country needs to mobilise domestic savings and investments even as we seek to attract foreign investment, and we should be careful not to initiate policies that appear to discriminate against or discourage domestic savings and investors. Policies making average Nigerians poorer by the day should not be encouraged,” it notes. www.businessday.ng

opportunities for investors’ participation, improve corporate governance, increase access to capital and drive innovation and technological advancement for the economy. The Exchange is already in its final demutualisation phase, he said. While noting several challenges faced by investors, Onyema explained that policies around unification of exchange rate, resolution of the country’s FX liquidity crisis as well as naira stability would further boost both domestic and foreign investors’ confidence in the market as well as in government commitment to economic stability. While lauding the government for its assent to the Companies and Allied Matters Act, which he said signalled hope for ease of doing business, he urged the Federal Government to embark on policies that would lighten the burden for companies hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Such fiscal and regulatory forbearance, he noted,

includes reduction in tax burdens, delay in implementation of taxes, and targeted interventions to companies most hit by the pandemic. He called also for the expansions of the framework for public/private partnership for infrastructure development. For instance, prioritising the incorporation of the CBN Infrastructure Company (Infraco) and the subsequent listing of the N15 trillion infrastructure funds on the NSE for effective reporting, corporate governance and other global fund management standards. Also, converting the road investment tax credit into NSE tradable tax credit notes to further incentivise private sector participation in the Executive Order 007 on road infrastructure development, will all assist in aiding capital market recovery, Onyema said. He urged investors that while investing, they should strive to “stay in time in the market rather than timing the market.”

Nigeria’s big cement makers see... Continued from page 2

roeconomic conditions, which stimulated poor revenue, higher debts and increased pressure on financial cost. “So, the sale of the South African branch was able to settle piled up debts, which informed revenue growing at a faster pace than cost of sales,” Ologunro points out. Turning to gross margin, both cement companies have retained less naira per sales at N58 in H1 2020 from about N65 in H1 2014 for Dangote Cement, and N35 in H1 2020 from N36 in H1 2014 for Lafarge WAPCO. Similarly, cost margin increased to N43 from N35 and N65 from N64 for Dangote Cement and Lafarge, respectively, between H1 2014 and H1 2020. The trend of revenue, cost of sales, net profit, gross margin and cost margin reveal that both companies had the least performance in H1 2016, which was when

Nigeria experienced its worst recession in 25 years. Excluding BUA Cement, which only got registered with NSE in 2020, the industry average of gross margin for Dangote and Lafarge was N50 in 2014 and 2015, but this dropped by about N17 in H1 2016 for every sale on half-year basis. Nonetheless, average gross margin for Dangote and Lafarge slightly improved to N43 and N47 per sale in the half years of 2017 and 2019 with 2016 and 2020 experiencing a downward trend to N33, N42 and N46 per sale. This highlights that H1 2016 experienced more of a decline than H1 2020. This could be attributed to the economic recession already being felt by Nigeria in Q2 2016, compared to 2020, which has only seen its first negative GDP growth and is projected to experience more declines in economic growth.

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Articulated actions, not reports... Continued from page 1

preparing plans that are almost like reports and disappear from the shelves later. At the end of the day, there is no development or change.

“We are not after a report but to create a movement that will develop Nigeria. It is not report themselves that will develop Nigeria but human beings who champion it, take ownership, argue the case and convince everybody to back it,” Peterside said. This perhaps was a follow up from President Muhammadu Buhari’s inauguration on Wednesday of the National Steering Committee to oversee and actualise Nigeria Agenda 2050 and MediumTerm National Development Plan (MTNDP). With Agenda 2050, President Buhari noted that the National Steering Committee for the development of Successor Plans to Vision 20:2020 and ERGP would be jointly chaired by Atedo Peterside and Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning. Speaking at the inauguration, President Buhari said: ‘’The main objectives of these Successor Plans are to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within the next 10 years, particularly given the World Bank’s projection that Nigeria will become the world’s third most populous country by 2050 with over 400 million people.’’ The president noted that it had become necessary to

develop Successor Plans to the Nigeria Vision 20:2020 and the ERGP, which both lapse in December this year, to ensure continuity and efficiency in the country’s development planning. On the mandate of the National Steering Committee, the president said it would oversee governance structure, comprising the Central Working Group and 26 technical working groups. Evidence before the COVID-19 pandemic showed Vision 20:2020 was far from being a reality, the health crisis only compounded the situation. The Vision 20:2020, started by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, focuses on two broad objectives that include making efficient use of human and natural resources to achieve rapid economic growth, and to translate the economic growth into equitable social development for all citizens. Nigeria has had two different administrations since the adoption of Vision 20:2020, each having its own economic growth plan. Under President Goodluck Jonathan, the Transformation Agenda was the focus. With President Buhari, it is the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) and the focus seems to be directly on the ERGP as opposed to the Vision 20:2020. The ERGP is focused on achieving economic growth but without the aim of placing the country among the largest 20 economies in the world, experts note.

COVID-19: Hypertension, diabetes... Continued from page 2

with chronic conditions to COVID-19. WHO is working with countries to identify the challenges associated with providing essential services for people with NCDs and is supporting governments to implement strategies to increase service availability. WHO has assisted Member States in devising alternative approaches to providing health services, including increased use of telemedicine. Additionally, WHO has helped restore screenings for chronic conditions and has provided the basic equipment needed for diabetes and hypertension care in seven Member States. WHO is also

working to increase public knowledge about the strong link between chronic conditions and COVID-19. In moving forward, WHO recommends controlling the use of tobacco and alcohol because both increase the risk of NCDs. It is also important to ensure quality primary care and referral systems to help people obtain the right treatment at the right time. There should also be a range of medicines and techniques available to support early diagnosis and treatment of NCDs. Even prior to the current pandemic, NCDs were a major health challenge, impacting a growing number of Africans. In 2015, NCDs killed 3.1 million people in the African region up from 2.4 million in 2010.

Naira jumps to N453 despite central... Continued from page 2

marginal depreciation of N0.11k when compared with N386.46k opened with on Wednesday, data from FMDQ revealed. The CBN is expected to allocate another $10,000 to each of the over 5,000 BDCs on Monday as the BDCs fund their account on Friday. @Businessdayng

The CBN chose a gradual foreign exchange supply of $10,000 twice-weekly to BDCs to edge out speculation in the market. With the new amount of FX allocation, the BDCs are losing about 73.3 percent or $55,000 when compared to $75,000 they were getting from the CBN before the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.

Friday 11 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

POLITICS & POLICY Ondo 2020: PDP candidate rallies monarchs, unfolds mass employment agenda ahead of election KORETIMI AKINTUNDE, Akure

he candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming October 10 gubernatorial election in Ondo State, Eyitayo Jegede has proposed a new formula for mass employment in the state. Speaking on Thursday during a courtesy call on the traditional ruler of Ikare-Akoko, Oba Akadiri Momoh in Ikare-Akoko, Jegede said a government under him would partner investors with a joint

agreement on compulsory job provision for residents of the state. Unfolding the agenda, he said: “If you elect us, we will give financial support for the establishment of industries across the state, by interested investors. “However, we will set a condition that they must employ people living in Ondo State that are without jobs. “In addition, we will support farmers by providing them farm inputs and financial aids ; besides, our already laid-out plan to establish agro-allied industries in cluster formations, to provide sustain-

able market for our rural farmers.” The governorship candidate also empathised with parents whose children had dropped out of school, owing to the exorbitant tuition fees introduced by the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration in the state. He assured that once elected governor, he would immediately “crash the unreasonable tuition fees and also provide conducive learning environment for students and pupils across the state.” “As you also must have heard that we intend to restore the policy of free

Eyitayo Jegede

Tension in Ondo community as thugs allegedly kill ZLP supporter KORETIMI AKINTUNDE, Akure

s the October 10 gubernatorial election in Ondo State draws closer, a middle-aged man identified as Taye was reportedly killed by some armed political thugs in Idanre Local Government Area of the state. BusinessDay gathered that the man, suspected to be a staunch supporter of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), was on Wednesday night trailed down to Alade area of Idanre before he was brutally murdered by the hoodlums. According to developing scenario, his gruesome murder has further heightened the political tension in the Idanre community ahead of the election. A source in the community, who preferred anonymity, said the political thugs were allegedly led by one Sunday Ogundiroyo (a.k.a Agarahu) and Bola Akinniranye. The source accused the two ring leaders of being members of a leading political party in the state, who had been causing mayhem in the Idanre community. “The man (Taye) was attacked and killed at Alade yesterday around 9pm and

those who led the thugs to perpetrate the crime have run for cover but we have declared them wanted. “When has it become a crime to be a member of an opposition party in the state? These sponsored thugs killed the man because he simply put on the cap of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and was our main supporter in the community,” the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. He revealed that the corpse of the deceased has been deposited at the General Hospital in Idanre while the police have begun an investigation into the murder. Confirming the incident on Thursday, the Chairman of the ZLP in Idanre, Claudius Ademehintoye said the thugs were sponsored by the chieftains of the APC who had been attacking members of the opposition parties in the Idanre community. Ademehintoye alleged: “Taye was killed by the APC thugs yesterday because he was canvassing support for the ZLP being a member of our party. “And what happened has also confirmed that the APC is calling for war in this election because they have been attack-

healthcare for pregnant women, nursing mothers; I want to assure you that a Mother and Child Health Care Centre will be sited in Ikare, if I am elected governor,” he said. Jegede further promised to revamp the moribund Awara Water Dam Project, which, if on stream, has the capacity to supply potable water to most parts of the northern senatorial district, and some parts of Ekiti State. Responding, the Olukare, Oba Momoh, expressed delight at the issue-based campaigns of Jegede, and prayed for his success at the polls.

Jegede can’t win Ondo guber election if Southwest PDP are divided - Fayose ...As Adebutu’s faction reclaims Ogun party secretariat from Kashamu’s faction

ing us unchallenged. “In fact, the party has broken the peace accord reached at the palace of the monarch of the community with other political parties ahead of this contest.” Following the ugly incident, residents of the community trooped out to the street to protest the murder of the ZLP supporter. The angry residents made burn fire on the main road leading to Idanre, calling for the arrest of those behind the heinous crime. Some youths among the residents, armed with dangerous weapons, were chanting solidarity songs and threatening to challenge the killing of the man. “Enough is enough; we can’t take this any longer. We are not fools too, these people keep attacking us and killing our people because of election,” one of the angry youths said. When contacted, Steve Otaloro, director of Media and Publicity of the APC in the state, said he was not yet aware of the incident. Also, efforts to reach Police Spokesperson in Ondo State, Tee-Leo Ikoro, proved abortive as his mobile lines were switched off as at the time of filing this report.

yodele Fayose, a former governor of Ekiti State, has warned that Eyitayo Jegede, who is governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), might lose 2020 governorship election in Ondo State if the party is still divided in the Southwest and Ondo State ahead of the poll. He said though Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State is the leader of the party in the Southwest region, he must not misuse his executive powers in such a way that PDP will lose Ondo poll due to his undemocratic nature of foisting party executives and orders on the willing members who are working tirelessly in ensuring that the party and Jegede win the governorship election. Fayose, who spoke at the PDP Southwest Stakeholders’ meeting and reclamation of Ogun State PDP secretariat from the late Buruji Kashamu’s faction by Ladi Adebutu’s faction in Abeokuta on Wednesday, noted that the foisting of former deputy national chairman of the party, Olabode George

as the party’s front man in the October 10, 2020 would further polarise the party in Ondo State and Southwest, and therefore, urgent political steps should be taken to involve people that matter in the electoral process. While speaking in the presence of Eddy Olafeso, Southwest national vice chairman; Sikirulai Ogundele, Ogun State chairman; Deji Doherty, Lagos State chairman; Bisi Kolawole, Ekiti State chairman; Sunday Akanfe, Osun State acting chairman and Ladi Adebutu, Ogun State PDP financier and chieftain, former Ekiti State governor condemned Governor Makinde’s political style and undue influence in the Southwest and Ondo State, which he said, could cause the party Ondo State governorship seat. “Part of the problem we are talking about is you want to do election in Ondo, a Fayose is not part of the process; you want to do election where Ekiti and Ondo states are supposed to be one, you want to do election and you want to keep a 75-year old, Chief Bode George, in the saddle when he’s supposed to have retired as a grandpa and I am saying it expressly, as long as such

continues, they can go ahead by themselves,” he said. “I am not going to talk about the outcome, I am not God, it is my prayer that PDP wins that election, if we fight, our fight must not be that our party should lose, our fight is such that the party must manage its members in a way that we can make more gains. “Our fight must not be that our party should lose, I supported Jegede when he contested (in 2016) the first time and I am still going to support him now, but the fact is that if you are going to use me to drive you, give you more mileage and you say I am not important, my home is as sweet as anywhere else,” Fayose emphasized. Meanwhile, the Sikirulai Ogundele’s PDP-led executive on Wednesday reclaimed the party secretariat hitherto held by the late Buruji Kashamu’s faction of the party in the state as former Governor Fayose declared that Ladi Adebutu’s faction which has Sikirulai Ogundele as chairman “is the authentic and has majority of party followers in the state,” just as he called on all the factional members of the party at the state level to rejoin Ogundele’s PDP executives.

The Taraba APC Chairman however refused to disclose the problems facing the party in the State as they were inhouse issues that cannot be openly discussed, adding that the Caretaker Chairman has assured them that he is going to tackle the issues. “We talked of membership drive. We have no power to

register people unless we have directives from the National Secretariat, the federal presence in the State, and projects like roads from Numan to Jalingo and to expedite action of complete the Mambilla hydroelectric power project. Also, the problem of Ebib bridge,” he stated.

Refuting claims that APC in Taraba was divided as a result of the defection of the former Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Alhassan, El-Sudi said: That’s press hype. As you can see, all the juggernauts, movers and shakers of APC are behind me. So, one person cannot destroy or do anything to APC.

RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta

Taraba APC takes crisis to Buni-led caretaker committee James Kwen, Abuja

h e Ta r a b a S t a t e Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Tuesday took its internal crisis to the Governor Mai-Mala Buni-led National Caretaker Committee, with a view to finding a lasting solution.

The APC Chairman in Taraba, Ibrahim El-Sudi made this known while addressing journalists after a closed door meeting with the Caretaker Committee at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja. El-Sudi said: “We also brought the problem of Taraba State to the Caretaker www.businessday.ng

Committee for them to look into with the view to solving same. “After addressing the Chairman and the Committee, he has assured us that they are going to look into the plights of Taraba APC with the view to solving the plethora of issues that are hanging in the air”.

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Women in Business

Achenyo Idachaba

Friday 11 September 2020 www.businessday.ng

By Kemi Ajumobi

Odunayo Eweniyi

CEO, Mitimeth

BUSINESS DAY

Co-Founder/COO PiggyVest

chenyo Idachaba is an Americanborn entrepreneur working in Nigeria. She won the Cartier Initiative Award for women in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2014. Her TED talk has had over a 1.9 million views in 2020. Idachaba came to notice after she moved to Ibadan, Nigeria, in 2009 to set up an environmental consultancy. She had an affinity with Nigeria as her parents had been born there and she had spent some time visiting when she was younger, although she was born and educated in America. She worked as a computer scientist and business analyst before moving to Nigeria to set up an environmental consultancy business. She realised that Water Hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) which was recognised as an invasive weed could be harvested as she had read of this happening in Asia. In collaboration with local craftspeople, she set up a range of products that were woven from the dried plants. The company was called Mitimeth. She developed products such as a waste basket and a table tidy, which were made from plants that are usually only known for being invasive. These plants were originally from South America and can be seen as attractive in a domestic garden however, they have been called the “worst aquatic plant” as they grow so abundantly that they create large floating mats of plants that quickly reproduce. By 2013, she had won a grant from the government and she was employing seven staff. The weeds are harvested, dried and then made into rope which can then be made into products. In 2014, her efforts were recognised when she was given the Cartier award. This was the women’s initiative award for sub-Saharan Africa, which had also been won the year before by another Nigerian, Bilikiss Adebiyi Abiola. She has been featured on CNN. MitiMeth creates handcrafted products from natural fibers that would otherwise be considered waste or environmental menaces. These natural fibers include aquatic weeds (water hyacinth, typha grass) and agricultural

waste forms (banana bark, maize husks). At MitiMeth, they upcycle and add value to recovered waste (plants and non-timber resources) by harvesting and transforming it into furniture and home accents, storage pieces, lamps, kitchen and dining ware, stationery, and branded souvenir items. Everything is made locally, but designed with global appeal. MitiMeth also runs training programs that teach local community members how to find alternative income generating opportunities by using the resources around them. These workshops are financed through partnerships with private and public sector institutions who want to see a positive return in the lives of the trainees. Aquatic weeds such as the water hyacinth, which MitiMeth uses, pose a major challenge to local communities and have been a target of government initiatives to stem the damage they cause for some years. Their extensive, knotted root systems tangle together – ‘the roots marry themselves!’ says Achenyo and clog waterways, which are a key transportation network to inland populations. They also deplete nutritional resources in their surroundings, leading to a drop in the fish population, which impacts food supplies and livelihoods for riparian communities, who are reliant on fishing. The big question she sought to answer was how to turn this adversity in our midst into a form of prosperity. Achenyo hit upon the idea of transforming the environmental menace into beneficial use through research she undertook, which showed that communities in East Africa and Southeast Asia afflicted by water hyacinth infestation had harvested the weed and transformed it through weaving into marketable products. ‘I thought to myself, this transformation certainly can be done here in Nigeria.’ Visiting the Sabo and Ojurin Bodija communities in Ibadan, she befriended a couple of artisans who had experience in weaving doum palm and rattan. She worked with them to develop the company’s first products, a table tidy and a wastebasket: two fitting products to make from a tangled weed.

dunayo Eweniyi is Co-founder and COO of PiggyVest (formerly called Piggybank.ng). On the change of name, she says “Our new identity is more than just a name change. We believe that it captures the essence of our direction as a business and our focus on the needs of our customers. Our new name is symbolic of this direction and it provides a glimpse into the exciting things the future has in store for us and our customers.” Odunayo previously cofounded pushcv.com, one of the largest job sites in Africa with the largest database of prescreened candidates. She has 5 years’ experience in Business Analysis and Operations and is a graduate (first class) of Computer Engineering, Covenant University, Nigeria. Odunayo Eweniyi was born in Oyo, Nigeria. She is the first of four children. At school, she was the best of her generation in computational engineering. After finishing her studies, she met with two excompañeros of the university, and with them, she founded a platform of discount cards for business. The idea was not successful, and then they tried with PushCV, a website that helps job applicants to write their CV, a project that also failed. In 2016, they founded the company that would lead them to success: Piggybank.ng. The idea of Piggybank came to Odunayo Eweniyi after meeting a lady who saved what she had for a year every day, and when she opened her piggy bank, she discovered that she had only saved $97,000. Piggybank.ng started operations in April 2016 with the recommendations of PushCV users and began to grow thanks to word of mouth. Eweniyi focused the platform on millennials who wish to save periodically with one goal in mind, savers can deposit from one dollar per day and set a date to withdraw the money. In just six months after its launch, Pig-

gybank helped save its users $58,000. After more than three years, this sum grew to $58 million. Piggybank recently acquired a stake in Nigeria’s Gold Microfinance Bank, which will allow it to expand its services. Eweniyi also intends to launch a group savings feature on the platform. She was part of the 2017 World Women in FinTech Power list and the Naija Most Influential People in Technology list in 2017 and 2018. In 2019 she was named as one of the New Wealth Creators of Africa by Forbes. She was also named one of Forbes Africa’s 30 under 30 in Technology in 2019 and one of 30 Quartz Africa Innovators 2019. She sits on the advisory board of TrainFuture, an Education Technology company based in Switzerland, as well as the Gender Lens Acceleration Best Practices Initiative, a collaborative effort of Village Capital, US and the International Finance Corporation (IFC)’s Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (WeFi). In 2019, she was named SME Entrepreneur of the Year West Africa by The Asian Banker’s Wealth and Society and she is the youngest Nigerian on Forbes Africa list of 20 New Wealth Creators in Africa 2019. She made the World Women in Fintech Power List for 2017; the YNaija Most Influential People in Technology 2017 and 2018; she is a 2018 Westerwelle Young Entrepreneurs fellow; and she is a recipient of The Future Africa Awards Prize in Technology 2018. In honor of her work, she was named one of 100 most inspiring women in Nigeria 2019 by Leading Ladies Africa, one of 50 most visible women in Tech by Tech Cabal in 2019. She works to support the inclusion of women in technology by working with hubs and female-focused networks, including For Creative Girls, GreenHouse Labs, She Leads Africa, Itanna. She is also the cofounder of the women’s community, Wine and Whine Nigeria.

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