BusinessDay 12 Apr 2019

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ciences, education and social sciences courses are the most preferred among candidates admitted to pursue degree programmes in Nigerian universities in the 2017 and 2018 academic sessions, according to data from the National Bureau

3M

6M

1.27 12.35

NGUS JUN 26 2019 360.94

5Y 0.00

-0.05 13.88

14.62

NGUS SEP 18 2019 361.39

10 Y -0.03

20 Y 0.00

14.67

14.46

NGUS MAR 25 2020 362.29

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Sciences, education, social sciences are preferred courses for Nigerian students S KELECHI EWUZIE

FGN BONDS

TREASURY BILLS

g

Download e-copy of Women’s Hub from www.businessday.ng

Imo, Anambra candidates among top admissions list

of Statistics (NBS) on JAMB applications for candidates.

Over 400,000 candidates were offered admission in each year.

Those who applied to study courses in Sciences, Education, Social Sciences and Engineering/Technology/Environmental

Sciences accounted for close to 70 percent of those admitted in both 2017 and 2018.

Science-related courses were the most popular in either year but admissions for degrees in Engineering/Technology/Environmental Sciences increased

the most by 45 percent while admissions into Social Sciences dropped the most by 32 percent.

Even though Nigerian students prefer science-related courses, experts argue that what Continues on page 34

Finally, NCC approves MTN’s use of 800MHZ spectrum …in move to hit 70% broadband penetration by 2024 JUMOKE AKIYODE-LAWANSON

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he Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is taking a noholds-barred approach to the issuance of spectrum in a bid to Continues on page 34

Inside Foreign restaurants eat locals’ lunch in Nigerian P. 2 fast-food battle L-R: Oluwatoyin Temitayo Ogundipe, vice chancellor, University of Lagos; Yemi Cardoso, chairman, City Bank/director, The Africa Institute for Leadership and Administration; Arthur Mbanefo, former Nigeria’s permanent representative to the United Nations; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Femi Hamzat, deputy governor-elect, Lagos State, and Andrew Nevin, partner and chief economist, PwC Nigeria/director, The Africa Institute for Leadership and Administration, at the Calestous Juma Innovation Colloquium with the theme ‘Africa’s New Culture of Innovation’ in Lagos, yesterday. Pic by David Apara

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NEWS AMCON finds buyer for oil rig seized from Seawolf Oil Services Limited …second rig Onome under discussion with several companies ISAAC ANYAOGU & DIPO OLADEHINDE

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he Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has found buyers for one of the two rigs parked at the outer Marina in Lagos it seized from debtors, in an indication that local producers are returning to oil fields to restart production.

Rig Onome and Rig Oritsetimeyin were built at a cost of $508 million. First Bank took possession of the rigs following the inability of indigenous service company, Seawolf Oil Services Limited, to pay back an over N100 billion loan which was subsequently sold to AMCON in 2011.

Over the years, AMCON has been struggling to get buyers for the assets before recently finding a buyer for Rig Oritsetimeyin.

Jude Nwauzor, AMCON’s head of corporate communications, told BusinessDay that

Rig Oritsetimeyin is presently at the Ajapa Oilfield (offshore Delta State) which belongs to Brittania U Limited and the rig is on work-over.

“Rig Onome is still in Marina and we (AMCON) are in discussion with several companies who have indicated interest to lease it as well. We are hoping that this can be concluded as soon as possible so that the rig can be properly engaged as well,” Nwauzor said.

The AMCON spokesman said Rig Oritsetimeyin is being operated and managed

by Selective Marine Oil & Gas Company Limited.

Established in 1995, Selective Marine Oil & Gas Company Limited is a Middle East & Gulf region-based company registered in British Virgin Island and Seychelles but has grown to be a regional company, with offices in UAE, India, Singapore, Nigeria, China, Malaysia, France and

Continues on page 34

Ecobank to issue debut $500m 5-yr Eurobond …other banks to follow trend ENDURANCE OKAFOR

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cobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) is issuing a debut $500 million five-year Eurobond, priced to yield 8.5 percent-9 percent, the lender told BusinessDay on Thursday.

The bond for which book building is slated to end today, April 12, 2019 is rated “B” – (Stable) by both Fitch and S&P. According the pan-African bank, the bond which will be quoted on the London Stock Exchange is tradable both locally and internationally.

“This is an opportunity for our clients who seek attractive US dollar returns for their investment portfolio,” the lender said in a mail.

Deutsche Bank, Renaissance Capital, Standard Bank and Standard Chartered Bank are joint lead managers on the issue.

The group announced last year that it was suspending its road show due to difficult market conditions.

Ade Ayeyemi, CEO of the Lomé-based pan-African group, said in 2018 that market conditions in emerging countries hardened and as such they would postpone the issuance to 2019.

“There was no trade war when we started. Now, we wait. If things do not calm down, we will just postpone

to next year (2019),” Ayeyemi had mentioned.

Present in about 30 African countries, Ecobank recorded after-tax profit of N101.9 billion in 2018. This amounts to a 46 percent increase when compared to the N69.7 billion it reported in 2017.

Ecobank’s plan to issue a bond is coming less than a month after Access Bank issued a N15 billion five-year fixed rate senior unsecured green bond.

The green bond, which has been awarded an Aa- rating by Agusto & Co and certified by the Climate Bonds Initiative having met the global climate bonds standard, saw its offer by way of a book build fully subscribed.

Paul Uzuma, managing director, Halo Nigeria Capital Ltd, said other banks would follow in line with Ecobank.

“This is because raising funds through equity in Nigeria for the banks is quite challenging,” Uzuma said.

He explained that the expectation for the bank was that after elections, economic environment would have been stable enough for companies to start raising funds through equities, but with the way the stock market is now, sourcing funds through bonds will be the easiest route for the them.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng www.businessday.ng

L-R: Soji Romeo, caddy officer, Ikoyi Golf Club; Tunde Mabawonku, chief financial officer, Wema Bank, and Tunde Johnson, golf captain, Ikoyi Club, during the official handover of branded Caddy Bibs to the Ikoyi Golf Club executives.

Foreign restaurants eat locals’ lunch in Nigerian fast-food battle BUNMI BAILEY

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ita Ogunleye, a banker, often likes to eat out on free weekends in Lagos. She was, however, recently discouraged by her friends from going to the regular local Quick Service Restaurant (QSR).

Then a friend of hers suggested Domino’s Pizza because of its variety of cheesy pizzas served with a drink or chilled ice-cream with different flavours, chicken and sauce.

Ogunleye decides to go to Domino’s Pizza and is blown away by the welcome cheer from the salesmen and wom-

en who applauded her. She feels welcome and loved. She examines the environment as it is spacious, well ventilated and furnished. She goes to place her order for a smallie combo pizza snack with a 50cl coke for as low as N600 and a ColdStone ice-cream.

She sits down to wait for her order. While she waits, she takes notes of the high volumes of consumers patronising the restaurant.

In an increasingly intense fight for fast-food diners, pioneer local chains are not keeping pace with newer foreign rivals.

The rising success of foreign brands like Domino’s, Debonairs Pizza, KFC, Johnny

Rockets, Krispy Kreme doughnuts and others is in contrast with erstwhile leaders such as Mr Bigg’s, Tastee Fried Chicken, Tantalizers, Chicken Republic, Sweet Sensation, Mama Cass, Kilimanjaro, and so on.

Domino’s Pizza, a subsidiary of Eat ’N Go, is an American company which came into Nigeria in 2012 with just two branches. Today, it has 90 branches comprising 43 Domino’s Pizza stores, 39 ColdStone Creamery and eight Pinkberry gourmet frozen yoghurt stores.

Domino’s has now become a popular spot for those who want to impress their lovers and go for family outings.

Yinka Ademuwagun, a consumer analyst at United Capital, said that quality of restaurants is what did some of the locals in.

“When Mr Bigg’s started, they were everywhere but later their quality of service began to diminish gradually,” Ademuwagun said.

Mr Bigg’s, the first pioneer of the QSR owned by the United African Company of Nigeria plc (UAC), was established in 1986 in Lagos.

It began with only a limited menu of pastries such as beef, chicken and apple pies, sausage rolls, doughnuts and beef burgers, yet the restaurant was

Continues on page 34

NSIA refutes IMF’s position on Sovereign Wealth Fund ONYINYE NWACHUKWU, Washington DC

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he Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) says the International Monetary Fund’s low ranking of Nigeria’s Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) was wrong, lacked context and did not truly reflect the position of how the Fund is run.

In one of its flagship reports, Fiscal Monitor, released on Wednesday, the IMF ranked Nigeria as the second-worst country in the world in the use of sovereign wealth funds, only higher than Qatar in the 33 country ranking where Ghana Sovereign Wealth Fund came second on the top performers after Columbia.

The Bretton Wood institution said it compiled the index using the corporate governance and transparency scores of the sovereign wealth funds and the size of assets as a percentage of 2016 GDP of

the countries considered.

The Fund said it used data compiled by the Natural Resource Governance Institute and Worldwide Governance Indicators.

Reacting to the report, Uche Orji, chief executive officer, NSIA, faulted the IMF report both in context and process used in arriving at those rankings, and regretted that the Bretton Wood institution would prefer SWFs of countries that do not invest in their domestic economies and dislikes countries that want to use part of their resources to develop their own domestic infrastructure.

“I think it’s a very strange report. They put Nigeria as the second worst only to Qatar and they put countries like Columbia and Ghana SWF in the top ranking which I find very strange because of the preference by the IMF in the ranking for funds that do not invest in their economies,”

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Orji told BusinessDay in a telephone conversation.

“So, countries such as Nigeria are ranked poorly because they use part of these funds in their local investment which is in line with a longheld IMF bias against domestic investment as espoused in the Infrastructure Fund of the NSIA,” he said.

The NSIA had last year announced its plans to now focus 50 percent of its core resources on infrastructure investment with key areas in agricultural, health care, road construction and power sectors.

According to the new mandate, core funds are now deployed 50 percent for infrastructure fund, 30 percent for future generations fund and 20 percent as stabilisation fund.

In bridging the country’s huge infrastructure gap in the healthcare sector and help conserve about $1 billion annual FX outflows on medical @Businessdayng

tourism, the NSIA has already built three world-class cancer centres at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), which is due to commence operations by May 1, and also completed the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), and the Federal Medical Centre Umuahia (FMCU) due for commissioning.

“So, if you do not invest in the economy and you put the money in reserves and the money stays abroad, you are not doing well by IMF. But if the fund is used for domestic investments, the IMF has issues with it.

“They have always had issues that Nigeria is using its sovereign wealth fund for development of domestic economy, that has always been their narrative and they have had issues with this, so I’m not surprised,” Orji said.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

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Gas flaring companies may lose licence, as FG says no going back on 2020 deadline HARRISON EDEH, Abuja

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as flaring companies in Nigeria may soon lose their operating licences, as the Federal Government says it is set to withdraw licences of operating oil firms who are not willing to abide by its 2020 targets of stopping gas flaring in Nigeria.

Emmanuel Ibeh Kachikwu, Nigeria’s deputy minister of petroleum resources, gave the information on Thursday at ‘Nigeria Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme, organised by his office to give an updates on the gas flare commercialisation’s efforts, while

evaluating the journey so far. ‎According to Kachikwu, “The 2020 deadline is the aspirations we have set for ourselves. However, we have the 2030 United Nation’s deadline. We have commenced quite a number of programmes even before the United Nation’s target of 2030.”

The minister said, “After 2020, the issue of flare will not just be issue of penalty, but it would be issue of licence operations, and whether or not affected companies would be allowed to operate.

“Like I said, there is a sudden realisation th‎at we are serious about addressing gas flaring concerns. We are going to move

on and insist on perfecting our plans and the 2020 target is our aspirations.”

Commending the efforts of big oil firms, Kachukwu said, “Some of the oil firms had contacted us, those of them who are not involved in the bidding process, had informed us seeking permission to exit flaring using third party systems. The balance of what has not been exempted is the one that is up for the bids.

“Most of the big oil firms are using third party procedures to address concerns of flaring. It is a journey that we are determined to succeed in, and we are already making appreciable progress. Re-

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member, the United Nations gave us 2030 targets, but we are using 2020. What is important for us is the 10-year differentials.”

Speaking further on penetration in the country, Kachikwu decried the poor infrastructure, but explained that there were already ongoing efforts in that regard.

“We are setting up LPG penetration distributions. They are the one to set up their distribution points and link up with manufacturers to cover a systemic area, and this would bring about lots of jobs for the country, particularly from Southern to Northern part of the country,” he said.

Also speaking, Rabiu Sulei-

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man, who heads government’s gas flare commercialisation programme, said, “Over 800 Expression of Interest has been obtained from interested firms with 176 flare points in the country, already identified and bided for.” ‎The Nigerian government is making efforts to address concerns of gas flaring. It would be noted that a critical aspect of ‘7 big win number 3, which is gas revolution intends to reduce gas flaring by harnessing flare gas to stimulate economic growth, drive investments and provide jobs in the Niger Delta through the utilisation of available innovative technologies.

@Businessdayng

The Federal Government included gas flare reduction as a key national greenhouse gas emissions mitigations in its nationally determined contributions under the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change, and the Federal Executive Council in June 2016, approved the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP).

The programme, the Federal Government said would reduce Nigeria’s CO2 emissions by approximately 13 million tons per year, which would be monetised under an emission credits - carbon sale programme.

BUSINESS DAY

Friday 12 April 2019

NEWS

Absence of trial judge stalls hearing in OML 29 lease suit Samuel Ese, Yenagoa

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earing in the suit seeking to stop the lease OML 29 by Aiteo pending before the Federal High Court, Yenagoa, could not go on Thursday due to the absence of the trial judge, Awogboro Abimbola of Court 2.

Abimbola was absent and could not hear the case due to the loss of her mother, and court officials informed both parties that the hearing would commence May 16, the next adjourned date.

The p e ople of Nemb eBassambiri in Bayelsa State had urged the Court to halt the renewal of lease for OML 29 to Aiteo pending the outcome of a substantive suit before the court.

The development is sequel to plans by the Minister of Petroleum Resources to renew

the lease of OML 29 oil bloc to Aiteo for $82 million without regard to the position of the community in Suit No. FHC/ YNG/CS/62/2015.

The plaintiffs are Ikaonaworio Eferebo-Igoma, Iyerite Chiefson Awululu-Atubu, Ayebaesin Edoghotu-Omoh, Markson Amaegbe-Orutari, B . C . B e nwa r i -You su o a n d Doibo Evans representing OML 29 host communities.

The application sought an order restraining the Minister of Petroleum Resources from granting any application for the renewal of OML 29 “beyond the subsisting 30-year term.”

The case was slated for hearing on the motion on notice, but the court urged both parties to continue ongoing settlement moves and inform the court of any progress made at the next adjourned date.

Reacting to the adjournment, Diewerio Wuku, coun-

sel to the Opu Nembe Council of Chiefs, said more communities in the Nembe Kingdom had indicated interest in joining the suit.

Wuku stated: “The courtroom was filled to the brim as more chiefs from Nembe who are seeking to join the case were disappointed at the court not sitting and their interest to join is welcome. “ The Nembe chiefs resolved to approach the courts to seek redress to avoid people resorting to self help.”

Also reacting, Nengi James, a Nembe chief and civil rights activist, urged the judiciary to rise to the occasion and dispense justice to the people, saying, “We are used to the antics of the oil companies and we are hopeful that the judiciary will rise up to the occasion. If they have access to everything, they should know that we have access to the creeks.”

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Supreme Court dashes hope of APC, Cole for possible re-run of Rivers guber poll Felix Omohomhion, Abuja

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upreme Court on Thursday finally dashed the hope of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its factional governorship candidate in Rivers State, Tonye Cole, to make them participate in the March 9 governorship and House of Assembly elections in the state.

There had been a ray of hope that the apex court would upturn the decision of both the trial and appellate courts that barred APC from fielding candidates in the just concluded general elections in the state.

They had prayed the Supreme Court to make them participate in the elections following their disqualification from all elections for not adhering to the ruling of the court, arising from court cases by factions of the party.

The apex court yesterday dismissed the separate appeals filed

by APC and Cole on the ground that the notices that brought the appeals were incompetent in law.

In a judgment delivered by the acting CJN, Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, the court held that the notice of appeal by APC was incurably defective and grossly incompetent.

Justice Mohammad therefore struck out the notice of appeal

and dismissed it for being incompetent.

In the second appeal filed by Cole through Tuduru Eteh, the notice of appeal was wrongly addressed to the Court of Appeal in the reliefs being sought that the Supreme Court should officially declare him as APC governorship candidate for the 2019.

The avoidable mistake made the counsel to withdraw the incompetent notice of appeal, which was subsequently struck out by the acting CJN. With the latest decisions of the Supreme Court, all court actions concerning Rivers State APC in relation to 2019 general elections have been laid to rest.

Earlier, in the notices of appeal, the two appellants had asked the court to make them participants in the general election in Rivers State.

APC, represented by its counsel, Jibrin Okutekpa, had prayed the seven-man panel of the Supreme Court to overrule its own decision which had earlier upheld the refraining order that barred APC from participating in the general elections in the state.

His argument was that the refraining order from the High Court of Rivers State was obtained in a fraudulent manner.

Apapa: Local currency trading flourishes on bridges, checkpoints as businesses bleed … checkpoints have grown to N150m a week economy - port operator CHUKA UROKO

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hile finance experts and professionals are busy at the Nigerian capital and money markets exchangingthenairafordollars,pounds, yen, yuan, etc, members of the Apapa gridlock taskforce, mainly security agencies, are also busy at the numerous checkpoints on roads and bridges leading to Apapa, trading with truck ownersonnairaand‘pass’totheports.

Observers say there is a marked difference in the outcome of activities inthesetwotradingplatforms.Whereas trading in foreign currency is legal, promotestradeandgrowsbusinesses and the economy, the Apapa bridge trading is illegal, insensitive, punitive and anti-business cum economic growth.

They note that when the federal and Lagos State governments along with other relevant stakeholders set up a task force to control traffic and end the gridlock and congestion in and around Apapa, little did they know that the task force would turn

out to be an empire with unfettered powers to add to the woes of those whose interest it was set up to serve by collecting ‘royalties’ from them.

It has been observed that, since July 2018 when Vice President Yemi Osinbajo made a lame-duck visit to the port city and caused the task force to be set up, the gridlock which has killed many businesses and forced many landlords out of their houses, has not improved, except for the few days a manual call up system initiatedbytheNigeriaPortsAuthority (NPA) lasted. That system has been sabotaged to allow the bridge trading to continue to flourish even as businesses bleed.

“Everyday, especially in the evening, between 6pm and 10pm, there is a large gathering of ‘traders’ at the various checkpoints, comprising the managers of the checkpoints (the taskforce members), truck owners or their representatives, drivers, importers and clearing agents whose goods areatports.Howfastyourtruckmoves depends on how much you are ready to pay,” a truck driver explained to

BusinessDay, pleading anonymity.

“What you see now as gridlock is causedbythesesecurityagencieswho are more concerned with how much theymakefromeachtruckthatpasses the checkpoints than controlling the movement of trucks into Apapa, which is why they are here. And this is affectingourbusiness,”thedriversaid.

In a veiled reference to the activitiesofthesecurityagenciesatthemultiple checkpoints, Remi Ogungbemi, chairman, Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO), affirmed that the gridlock and congestion in Apapaandenvironswereasaresultof thecollapseofthetruckcallupsystem arising from human intervention and manipulation. “The system is being sabotaged,” he stressed on Monday.

Whereas many businesses, especially those involving agro-products for export such as cashew nuts, cocoa seeds, etc, are bleeding and dying as a result of the ports congestion, the checkpoints have grown to a N150 million a week economy.

A port operator, who pleaded anonymity,estimatesthatthesecurity

operatives at the checkpoints make as much as N150 million from truck owners, given that about 3,000 trucks which visit the port weekly pay as much as N50,000 each to fast track access into the port.

According to the operator, about 10 checkpoints from Western Avenue to Apapa Port and more than 15 checkpoints from Mile 2 to Tin-Can IslandPortmannedbysecurityoperatives have been identified.

Gridlock and congestion at the points are the reasons for the high haulage costs from the Ports. Emeka Anene, a port user, lamented Monday that it was now more expensive to get goods out of Apapa ports than bringing them into the country from China and European countries.

‘From N80,000 to N95,000 we used to get a container out of either Tin Can or Apapa ports to Alaba International Market or ASPAMDA, it now costs between N400,000 and N600,000 because of congestion, multiple checkpoints and bad roads within Lagos metropolis,” Anene noted.

FG, ONE Campaign to build partnerships for healthcare delivery in Nigeria IFEOMA OKEKE

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he Federal Government and ONE Campaign have commenced discussions on best waystobuildeffectivepartnershipsfor delivery of healthcare in Nigeria and accountability in public institutions.

A senior delegation from the ONE Campaign met with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Isaac Adewole, minister for health on Tuesday, concerning this.

They also met with key legislators including Bukola Saraki, the Senate president, Dino Melaye and Abiodun Olujimi on April 9.

ONE’s delegation included Paul David Hewson Bono, co-founder and board chairman; Tom Freston, CEO, Gayle Smith, and Serah Makka-Ugbabe, Nigeria country director.

Discussions focused on building effective partnerships for the delivery of healthcare to Nigerians and transparency and accountability in public institutions.

The delegation, along with Aliko Dangote, a member of ONE’s Board of Directors, presented to Vice President Osinbajo a declaration signed by over 67,000 Nigerian youth detailing their policy priorities for the new term of the Buhari administration.

According to Bono, “Accountable politicians and empowered citizens are clearly key to any country’s bright future. I am delighted to see that combination encouraged here in Abuja by the Vice President and Health Minster last night and now the Senate President today.

“No one branch of government on its own can achieve what’s needed. Just as we do all around the world, ONE will meet with anyone in the service of our goal of health care for everyone. The almost three million members of ONE in Nigeria, led by Serah Makka-Ugbabe, ONE’s Nigeria Director, are a powerful force for that better future, and I’m here to listen, to learn and to support their efforts.”

PACEDA moves to tackle menace of drug abuse in Nigeria IFEOMA OKEKE

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residentialAdvisoryCommittee on Elimination of Drug Abuse (PACEDA) headed by Buba MarwaonThursdayheldaninteractive sessionwithstakeholderstodeliberate onwaystofurthertotacklethemenace of drug abuse in Nigeria.

The interactive session is coming afterrecentreportsofthreeyoungpeoplethatdiedafteraspateofdrugabuse.

ThePresidentseestheissueasone of great concern and thus the committee was formed to address it, speaking at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Buba Marwa, chairman of the committee, said.

“The team has been set up by the president to tackle the issue of drug abuse bedevilling the country. Drug

abuse is something that affects us all in one-way or another. It is a huge challenge, but it is surmountable. The president has the political will to make sure this scourge is brought to a halt as soon as possible,” Marwa said.

“The stakeholders face huge challengesintheexecutionoftheirjobsand that is why the committee is here to find out what these challenges ate and how to support you. The government wants to support you to prevent the importandexportofthesesubstances, “ he said.

The chairman also stated a lot of innocent passengers have been implicated in these drug related crimes as preliminary investigations have found out that these passengers have had luggage not belonging to them tagged in their names. www.businessday.ng

Adesola Adeduntan, CEO, First Bank of Nigeria Limited (l), flanked by Folake Ani-Mumuney, group head, marketing and corporate communications, FirstBank (r), and Olarinde Olayemi, grand prize winner of the “Magic 125 Campaign”, during the presentation of N1.25 million to Olayemi, grand prize winner of the “Magic 125 Campaign” on twitter by FirstBank, in commemoration of the Bank’s 125 anniversary.

ECCIMA commends Dangote’s contributions to Nigeria’s economy … as Dangote fertilizer debuts at Enugu Trade Fair Emmanuel Ndukuba, Awka

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nugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA) has commended the efforts of Dangote Industries Limited on its unmatched contributions to the growth and development of the Nigerian economy.

ECCIMA president, Emeka Udeze, speaking at the Dangote Group special day at the ongoing 30th Enugu International Trade Fair, said the Group had added a lot of value to the growth of the Nigerian economy, operating in every sector and still expanding and going strong.

Udeze said, “Today, Dangote business and entrepreneurship indulgence has spread to many parts of the African continent, employ-

ing thousands of people across the world, of which not less than 85 per cent are Nigerians.”

According to Udeze, “The exploits of the Dangote Group show high degree of vision, creative thinking, research, innovation, doggedness, hard work and industry, which has culminated into what one can describe as the Dangote business and industrial empire today.”

He said with the soon coming on stream of the Dangote Refinery, the nation’s days of scarcity of refined petroleum products would be over, even as it would add value to the economy.

In his speech, Johnson Olaniyi, regional sales director (Technical), Dangote Cement, described Aliko Dangote as a man who had made

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Nigerians proud within the global scene, saying Dangote was the most recognised name from Nigeria, who had changed the country’s fortunes from cement importation to export through self-sufficiency.

He stated that worried over the spate of collapsed buildings, Dangote Cement introduced the 3X range of products, which are designed for extra strength and yield. He disclosed that Dangote Cement parades four grades of products which include the BlocMaster, D3X rapid setting, 3X normal setting, and the Falcon.

A major debut at the Special day was Dangote Fertiliser, which during a presentation Dennis Ativie, Deputy Sales & Marketing Manager disclosed that Dangote has discovered that while Nigeria’s population @Businessdayng

is growing, there is no corresponding increase in food production; hence it decided to intervene by building a fertiliser plant.

The fertiliser plant is to plug the gap between the growth in population and that of food production. He said continuous cultivation has made most arable land to record diminishing returns; hence the importance of the application of fertiliser to boost yields.

He announced that good news was coming to the farmers as the fertiliser plant is gearing to produce and roll out its products. Dangote Fertiliser, he explained, would provide farming extension services to educate and guide farmers on application of the different grades of fertiliser for maximum yield.

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Edo farmers get N5bn investment for cultivation of over 10,600ha … to check hoarding of petroleum products, to meet IPMAN, MOMAN leaders HARRISON EDEH, Abuja

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do State government says it is investing N5 billion drawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Anchor Borrowers Programme on development of over 10,600 hectares of land, which will guarantee farmers in the state access to funding to boost productivity.

Special adviser to Edo State governor on Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security, Joe Okojie, disclosed this after sensitisation workshops for farmers who are to benefit from the programme in Ekpoma, Usogbenu and Illushi, during the Edo Central Senatorial district leg of engagement with the farmers. The farmers to benefit from the programme are drawn from all senatorial districts in the state.

Okojie said N1.2 billion would be expended on rice farming in Iguariaki, Iguomon, Illushi, Agenebode and Warake, and on maize cultivation in Ekpoma, Usugbenu and Sobe.

“We have set a target to har-

vest 17,000 metric tons of rice by cultivating 4,000 hectares of land and 11,000 tons of maize by cultivating 6,600 hectares of land at the end of the planting season in 2019. We took about N5 billion under the Commercial Agric Credit Scheme, about N2.2 billion is for crop production, N2.3 billion for land development and about N100m for irrigation,” he said.

The investment is aimed at producing millionaire agriprenuers by helping them scale up their production through mechanisation, he said, noting, “We have employed the services of Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) as our technical partner. NIRSAL is going to bring on board a lot of agronomists who will help our farmers.

“We want to deploy best practices for the cultivation of the crops this season and hope that we get better yield than the one that we got two years ago.”

Paul Jatau, field officer, NIRSAL, said NIRSAL was partnering

Edo State government to provide technical support and inputs to the farmers, urging farmers to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the programme to scale their operations into commercial enterprises.

Meanwhile, in the wake of apprehension over scarcity of petroleum products in the state, the state government has warned petroleum marketers hoarding products and selling above pump price of N145/per litre to desist from the act, as those found culpable would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

The state commissioner for energy, oil and gas, Joseph Ugheoke, who gave this warning in a statement, said the state had called a meeting with executives of the Edo State chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigerian (IPMAN) and Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), to strategise on how to ensure steady supply of petroleum products during the Easter celebrations.

NDIC sets aside N258.8bn for depositors in event of bank failure in 2019 Hope Moses-Ashike

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he Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has set aside N258.8 billion for reimbursement to depositors’ banks and other financial institutions in the unlikely event of closure of licensed banks.

Giving a breakdown of the funds, Umaru Ibrahim, NDIC managing director/CEO, said N109.686 billion was provided for depositors of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), while N149.081 billion had been set aside for depositors of Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs) and Micro Finance Banks (MFBs).

He explained that the estimates were consistent with the Corporation’s mandate of providing financial guarantee to depositors of failed banks towards promoting public confidence in the banking sector.

This, he said, is critical to the sustenance of the stability of the entire financial system.

The NDIC has carved a niche for itself as the leading Deposit Insurer in Africa according to the chairman of

the House of Representatives Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters, Olufemi Fakeye.

The chairman made the comment during the appearance of the NDIC management led by the Corporation’s managing director, Umaru Ibrahim, before the House Committee to defend the Corporation’s 2019 budget estimates.

The chairman recalled the role played by the NDIC in the resolution of the defunct Skye Bank and the establishment of Polaris Bank Limited as a bridge bank, and charged NDIC to be more pro-active in detecting and addressing distress in banks as a way of sustaining public confidence in the system.

In fulfilment of the Corporation’s mandate to provide technical assistance to licensed banks, Ibrahim disclosed that the Corporation, in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), had invested in the acquisition of a new software called the Integrated Regulatory Solution (IRS) for a more robust surveillance and supervision of insured financial institutions in the country. Accord-

ing to Ibrahim, the software would enable DMBs generate real time online data among themselves; help regulators to access data online from the DMBs. Ibrahim also disclosed that the National Association of Microfinance Banks Unified Information Technology Platform (NAMBUIT) was introduced by CBN/NDIC and Association of MFBs to enhance the operational capacity of the MFBs. The CBN/NDIC are financing the project in the ratio of 60/40 per cent respectively in view of the importance of the project to the growth of the MFB sub-sector.

On the issue of NDIC’s mandate of providing financial assistance to eligible licensed and insured banks, Ibrahim disclosed that a total of N140 billion was provided for Deposit Money Banks while the sum of N300 million is provided for Microfinance and Primary Mortgage Banks. He urged the banks to take the opportunity to access the funds offered by the Corporation whenever they are required.

Osinbajo urges Nigerians, institutions to embrace innovation, technology Desmond Okon

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igeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Thursday urged public and private institutions and Nigerians at large to embrace innovation and technology and apply them in their daily lives, saying that both will determine Africa’s future.

Osinbajo, who spoke in a keynote address at the Calestous Juma Innovation Colloquium held at the University of Lagos, said the ability of technology to make information spread faster was helping the government and governance because people in government can now be held accountable.

“Africa’s future will be determined by innovation and technology, because with innovation and technology, Africa will leapfrog over many phases of development, those that other continents and other societies have had to go through,” Osinbajo said at the colloquium organised by The Africa Institute for Leadership and Public Administration with the theme ‘Africa’s New Culture of Innovation’.

The maiden colloquium was developed to honour the memory of late Calestous Juma, a professor whose effort to entrench innovation in various African economic sectors was remarkable.

“Technology allows information to spread more quickly. We see, of course, that it is helping the government. Technology helps in governance no matter what anyone says, and I’m not talking about computerising the whole government facilities. I’m talking about holding people accountable because now it’s very difficult to do anything without being caught on camera somewhere and being posted on one platform or the other,” he said.

Osinbajo talked about the significant impacts of innovation and technologies with examples of their successes in health, power, and governance, as a way of showing the opportunities available in technology and innovation.

“The only way we can deliver quality healthcare in Nigeria is

through a system where skilled people are augmented with intelligent innovation and technology, telemedicine, artificial intelligence, etc. Today we have indigenous companies in Nigeria and Rwanda delivering blood to hospitals through drones,” he said.

According to him, there are all manners of opportunity around innovations, and education also offers all sorts of new opportunities for innovation.

Pat Utomi, founder, Centre for Values in Leadership, said innovation is a function of taking advantage of knowledge to look at problems that we can solve.

“So all areas where we have problems, we can innovate around.

The future of this country is going to be significantly around tech – using technology to solve all manner of problems. We need innovation everywhere,” said Utomi, who doubles as board member, African Venture Philanthropy Alliance.

Speaking to BusinessDay on the sidelines, Obafemi Hamzat, Lagos State deputy governor-elect, said because the society is always dynamic, if innovation is not embraced, it would die.

“The reality is, the society is always dynamic, and as such, if you don’t innovate, it would probably just die. Look at what happened to Kodak,” Hamzat said.

“They were the number one photography company in the world, but today it is zero because they did not see what was coming.

So you must innovate, you must continue to change because people need changes. Therefore, as a company, as a country, as a person, you always (embrace) change. You must innovate in terms of everything. It’s the only way we (Nigeria) will survive,” he said.

The event was sponsored by the Ford Foundation, Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Association of Nigeria, and African Venture Philanthropy Alliance represented

by Toyin Adegbite, Moore Executive Director for West Africa, who mentioned the importance of innovative technologies for advancing social impact across Africa. www.businessday.ng

Godwin Ehigiamusoe, MD/CEO, LAPO Microfinance Bank, presenting award plaque for Overall Best Union, South West Region, at the CLIENTS FORUM organised recently by LAPO Microfinance Bank in Ibadan.

IMF again tasks Nigeria on removal of $5.2trn fuel subsidy Hope Moses-Ashike & Onyinye Nwachukwu in Washington, D.C.

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he International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday insisted that Nigeria should remove its fuel subsidy, which it said has accumulated to the tune of $5.2 trillion since 2015.

The Washington-based Fund recommended the creation of a social protection safety net so that the most exposed in the population do not take the brunt of the removal of the subsidy.

“We believe that removing fossil fuel subsidies is the right way to go. If you look at our numbers from 2015, it is no less than about $5.2 trillion that is spent on fuel subsidies and the consequences thereof,” Christine Lagarde, IMF managing director, said during a press conference at the ongoing 2019 World Bank/IMF Spring meetings in Washington DC. If the subsidy removal happens, she said there would be

more public spending available to build hospitals, roads, schools, and to support education and health for the people.

She said the Fiscal Affairs Department has actually identified how much would have been saved fiscally but also in terms of human life if there had been the right price on carbon emission as of 2015.

“The numbers are quite staggering,” she added.

Lagarde advised the Nigerian government to make real effort to maintain a good public finance situation for the country in order to direct investment towards health, education, and infrastructure.

“I would add as a footnote as far as Nigeria is concerned that, with the low revenue mobilisation that exists in the country in terms of tax to GDP, Nigeria is amongst the lowest,” she said.

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On the global scene, Lagarde said the global economy is currently quite uncertain and that as at a year ago, 75 percent of the global economy was going through the phase of synchronised growth.

“As you heard a couple of days ago, we are now talking about a synchronised slowdown by 70 percent of the global economy. So our forecast for growth this year is 3.3 percent, going back up we hope in 2020, based on our forecast, to 3.6 percent,” she said.

This expected rebound from 3.3 percent in 2019 to 3.6 percent in 2020, she said, is precarious and subject to downside risks, ranging from unresolved trade tensions, yet high debt in some sectors and countries, both public and corporate, to the risk of weakerthan-expected growth in some stressed economies.

In terms of policy recommendations, about this moment of uncertainty and precarious pos@Businessdayng

sible pickup, Lagarde suggested not a single policy but multiple policies because it will have to be country-specific as there is no one-size-fits-all.

“But we certainly would recommend two key principles. One is, do no harm. Second, do the right thing. So do no harm. The key is to avoid the wrong policies, and this is especially the case for trade,” the IMF managing director said.

The Fund urged countries to create more room in order to resist the next crisis when the downturn comes and that means enhancing resilience by making smarter use of fiscal policy and by strengthening financial sector policies and discipline.

“And in all of these efforts, we need stronger international cooperation. We need those policymakers that I would call the women and the men for all seasons in order to resist that uncertainty that we have at the moment,” she said.

Thursday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

comment Beyond the delusions of intelligence: What really matters comment is free

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EIZU UWAOMA

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eing very talented, super smart or even genius without process is over rated, it may make you feel special yet broke. Take for example, Christopher Michael Langan, an American independent scholar known best by world records of having the world’s highest IQ. He had a perfect SAT score. An average IQ is between 90 to 120. But Lagan’s IQ is “somewhere between 190 and 210. With all that intelligence, he dropped out of an Ivy League college and is today a bouncer in a nightclub!

Maybe you’re just like me, you wonder why the most intelligent people never make it to leadership in this country. Same reason why you may be smarter than your boss. But he/she is your boss regardless!

In today’s world, maybe we all need more than our technical KSA (Knowledge, Skill and Ability) to truly be successful and climb up the ladders of your career path, your industry and nation.

Now let’s explore an interesting fact. A genius is anyone with an IQ mathematically around 140!

There are just a few people in the world with such IQs (Einstein had 150). But that’s cognitive and academic; practically in business, you don’t need to learn how to dissect every Greek and jargon. A business genius to me is one who can see and seize opportunities for economic gains while proving value for all of the value chain

and supply chain of its enterprise system.

Furthermore it is one who understand strategy and structure for growth. At our firm at Hexavia, we define an Hexavian Genius as the one who enters with ease and completeness into the spirit of challenges, opportunities, things and the intention of persons and problems, and then arrives at an end with a solution by the shortest route possible”.

In our world today, if your IQ is less than 40 then you’re considered as “dumb”, dyslexic or mentally incompetent by school grades. Still the world has so many successful dyslexics ruling us. This is the argument for affirmative actions in college admissions. It’s a sound theory and weird view to support why JAMB scores may have been lowered to favour the north and other ELDS’s. It’s a differential balance between equality and equity.

The average IQ is usually around 100, about the amount you need to pass either JAMB, GCSE, WAEC, SAT or to go through college. I know a few people with 116 and above whereas a scientist with a PHD from Harvard might be around 115.

Still you can’t accurately measure success and impact by it. But research has it that, once your IQ is past 110, the higher the IQ doesn’t really matter anymore to your chances of success in life. That’s why first class in school doesn’t qualify you for a first class life or even success, for we all at least graduated or at least entered a school.

We see this theory of intelligence and gifts having a threshold advantage in other places. Take for example, in basketball, someone with a height below 6 fit doesn’t realistically stand a chance in the NBA. But someone with 6.1ft has an advantage over a 6.2ft and same goes till 6.8 (threshold). At 6.8, we are all at the same and then comes equal chances. So there’s no advantage between 6.8 and even someone who’s 7.2, the difference now comes from speed, team, accuracy, resilience etc.

So, in a pool of people with above

average in IQ, then for individual success, intelligence and hard work isn’t the main contributor, but the following -The cognitive- I.Q and sound neuro linguistic-psychology.

- S.I (Spiritual Intelligence) - awareness of self, realms and Intuition to the right decisions.

-F.I (Financial intelligence) – The breaking even into the mystery of capital through the application of common sense economics, book keeping, finance and management.

- E.I (Emotional Intelligence) – being aware and in control of your feelings and also how you relate to situations and people to achieve a desired goal irrespective of how you feel.

- The ability to be likeable, to work with and through others. Understanding that none of us is as smart as all of us.

- The connections between your left brain (structure) and right brain (creativity).

So, you’re gifted and smart, so what?

You’re intelligent, says who?

You don’t have to know everything.

In today’s world of automation, smart phone and robots, knowing everything is irrelevant. The man that knows everyone would always rule above the man that knows everything. Be more emotionally and socially intelligence.

True intelligence is in its tangible application. We need more innovators and social disruptors. Sadly, it doesn’t come from talent or school. True intelligence isn’t grades or complements, but results from real life. It’s your life in order. It is your ability to succeed better.

Beyond nature, nurture plays an important role to success. How we grew up makes a contribution. The fundamental element that defines the quality of your life is the people you surround yourself with, the conversations, mutual influence and the engagements you have with them.

Life is like playing chess. The easiest way

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True intelligence is in its tangible application... it doesn’t come from talent or school. True intelligence isn’t grades or complements, but results from real life

to be smart is to play with those who are smarter. This year hang around those better and smarter than you, even if you need to pay for it.

Education is moving away from school, and it’s also getting over rated. The fact is, there’s a threshold of knowledge you just need to reach. And it really doesn’t matter where you get it from. You can get it from school or you can get it through association or mentorship or by just mere practicing till you reach the 10000 hour rule (you’d be a master in anything you put up to 10000 hour of practice).

Hang around the vicinity of your interest. Start early enough and stay long enough. You’d become good at that thing, even if you didn’t have a talent for it. The earlier you start, the earlier you tackle the unavoidable mistakes that’ll come from ignorance and the better for you.

Take for example, Steve Jobs dropped out of school too early. But also very early he was mentored and worked in the factories of HP as his alternative. And that’s how he created Apple and a lot of great innovations and gadgets. Cosmas Maduka wasn’t well educated but travelled to Asia quite early as an Igbo trader in the heart of the Asian automobile market, he came back as an equivalent of an educated man and today owns Coscharis Motors. A barely literate Colonel Sanders didn’t finish school, he didn’t start business early but he started making chicken and was well travelled early enough. He found out that he was actually gifted and educated in the business of creating special styles for fried chicken in Kentucky. Today KFC is one of the world’s biggest food brands.

Note: The rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https://businessday.ng Uwaoma is a start-up, corporate restructuring and strategy consultant. He writes via contacteizu@gmail.com

NNPC, 2019 Budget and Baru’s optimism Promise Ating

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t was not the first time the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, had been upbeat about developments in the country’s oil sector in the last three years. But when he told senators recently that Nigeria would meet the oil production target of 2.3 million barrels of oil per day benchmark used in the 2019 budget, he portrayed a sector that is on a rising curve of growth.

Baru, who stated this while appearing before the Senate committee on Finance, disclosed that the corporation had installed oil production capacity of over 2.5 Mbopd to support the yardstick used in 2019 budget. Baru, who was represented by NNPC’s Group General Manager, Corporate Planning and Strategy, Mr Bala Wunti, identified the major obstacle to achieving the planned production volume as the security situation in the Niger Delta region, which he said had seen considerable improvement.

He stressed that Federal Government’s initiative for collaboration and effective community engagement “for sustainable partnership” has significantly helped to douse the security challenge in the region. He further disclosed that the improved security situation in the Niger Delta has led to a corresponding improvement in crude oil production under the current administration, adding that the “NNPC remains confident that Nigeria can achieve the 2019 budget production target of 2.3 Mbopd.”

The GMD further disclosed that the NNPC mandates on the 2019 Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, are premised on the 3 thematic assumptions of Production volume, Crude oil price and Unit Cost of Crude Oil Production. He also revealed that the Corporation, in collaboration with other relevant agencies have emplaced measures to ensure the attainment of these assumptions used in developing the 2019 MTEF. This is indeed gratifying news from Nigeria’s oil corporation at a time when even the most optimistic analysts had urged caution. In recent times, the performance of the capital expenditure component of the annual budgets has been strenuous due to shortfall in expected revenue to cumbersome procurement process. These challenges were aggravated by late passage of appropriation bills into law.

The passage of the 2019 budget, like the ones before it, would also be coming in the second quarter of the year, thus raising apprehension about overall performance. And especially implementation of the capital component. The 2019 budget is predicated on a benchmark oil price of US$60 per barrel, oil production estimate of 2.3 million barrels per day and an exchange rate of N305 to one US dollar. Based on these assumptions, total revenue of N6.97tn is projected to fund aggregate expenditure of N8.83 trillion.

The oil price benchmark, seen as too optimistic, is a source of worry and experts have urged caution in the approach to oil revenue projection, bearing in mind that the international crude oil market is highly volatile. More importantly, the 2019 budget appears to lean more on oil revenue projected at N3.73tn than non-oil revenue estimated at N1.39tn. This leaves the economy vulnerable to not only external shocks but also to volatility in the Niger Delta region.

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But the remarks coming from those at the helm of affairs at the NNPC about current status of oil production and on-going collaborative efforts is more than reassuring. At several fora where the NNPC chief had spoken inside and outside the country, he had told the world the effort of the Nigerian government in turning the oil industry around.

Recently at Doha, Qartar, Baru told the world the transformation in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector and how Africa could become an economic hug through investments in natural gas.Dr. Baru, who was represented at the event by the NNPC Chief Operating Officer, Gas & Power, Engr. Saidu Mohammed, revealed that 93% of current natural gas production in Africa is being produced by Members of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, thereby making it imperative that efforts be intensified for in – continent conversion that will ensure value addition to natural gas for economic growth and development of the continent.

On developments in Nigeria, he stated: “Today, our focus in Nigeria is to deliberately ensure that our Natural gas development efforts meet our twin objective of export and domestic supply. Our thematic focus areas for natural gas development is to ensure that we meet our Gas to Power targets, Gas based Industrialization aspirations as well as supply to the export market and we are aggressively pursuing some big-ticket projects in that regard,” he revealed.

He also spoke on some critical gas development projects in Nigeria including, The NLNG Train 7 project, the Gas Flare Commercialization Project and the Deep-water Non-Associated Gas Development Projects, which he described as “big bang” initiatives being aggressively pursued to usher in new developments for Nigeria’s gas sector and expand the nation’s economy.

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Peace in the Niger Delta is fundamental to the performance of the 2019 budget since oil production is still the highest revenue earner for the country, despite marginal improvement in the non-oil sector. This is why it is gratifying to learn that there is a collaborative partnership for peace between the federal government and groups in the region.

There is no doubt that the relative tranquility in the region in recent times is a result of this effort, which is boosted by NNPC’s own engagement of oil communities for sustainable peace and development. These efforts must be sustained by the federal government and all stakeholders in the Niger Delta.

This was acknowledged recently when the Chief Operating Officer, Upstream, Eni, Mr. Antonio Vella, led the management team of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) on a courtesy visit to the GMD of the NNPC in Abuja.

The oil company commended the federal government and NNPC for the improved security situation in the Niger Delta which has rubbed off positively on the operations of international oil companies. Mr. Vella said the prevailing peace and security in the region had increased investors’ confidence in Nigeria’s petroleum industry, adding that his company was considering doubling its investment in the country.

“The steps the GMD has taken have greatly improved security in our area of operations, that is very important to us as it has given us confidence to come back strongly and raise oil and gas production. And that is what we are doing, we are increasing our budget in Nigeria because we have confidence in Dr. Baru and the entire system”, he said. This is a piece of good news!

Ating is a staff of The Whistler Newspapers

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Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

comment Rethinking our priorities and the way we approach life

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OSA VICTOR OBAYAGBONA

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once read an article on the internet, ‘Slow down, you’re moving too fast!’ which made me reflect on our situation, Nigeria in particular and the African continent in general.

Many feel today that the best part of the dry season is too slow and full of frustrating days, due to the heat wave, and as such can do anything to get temporal relief. But majority have not realised that being in a hurry always in life has short-changed many.

Although the situation is the same all over the world today, there is need to know that our society cannot really cope with the side effects of this phenomenon (when things move too fast). The 6 million advocates of the Slow Movement in the West feel there is a lot to be said for slowing your pace all year long.

The group points to our increasing “time poverty” and explains, “We are engaged in constant fast-forward motion whereby we are often overscheduled, stressed and rushing towards the next task. This rushing is not restricted to our work environment.

We rush our food, our family time and even our recreation.”

In an article Jane Gallagher in the Daily Post, ‘Slow Down and Save Society,’ notes that the movement, which has its roots in the Slow Food campaign in Italy, proposes consciously seizing control of time rather than being dictated to by it, and finding a balance between using time-saving

technology and taking the time to enjoy a walk or a meal with others.

In another article by Carl Honore, author of ‘In Praise of Slow,’ “Everything we do is filtered through our obsession with time and, particularly, with not wasting it – including vacations.”

In The Daily Mail write-up, ‘Why Are We So in Thrall to Time?’ Honore advocates reviving “the art of doing nothing,” - something you might try over the upcoming long vacation (let’s liken it to our raining season).

Then when you return to your everyday life, take the quiz in Octavius Black’s Daily Mail article “It’s Slow Time’ to determine whether you’re a ‘rushaholic.’ If you fit the profile, then try Black’s five practical tips for slowing down: “Take pleasure. Let others rush in. Listen longer. Set an alarm.

Be a time dove.”

This way, we will be able to minimise our hasty way of going through life. Often, we have missed the good things of life by being in a hurry. Most often also, we have missed critical information because of our concentration on wanting to do too many things at a very short time. We rush through all and end up not doing any well; as such, we let important facts get lost.

All we need to know now is to discover the common mistakes made by many researchers, and what you can do to avoid them. As the African adage says, “Slow and steady, wins the race;” sometimes, slow and steady really does pay off.

It is what we should imbibe to live longer. Doing a quick study is sometimes considered an advantage in life, including many areas of formal learning. But sometimes, fast work is not necessary or even wanted. Learn how to separate the times when there is a need for speed from those when it is better to take it pretty slowly.

Sometimes, we have this feeling of wanting everything to just suddenly

stop because we want to get off when we are over burdened, which has led to a lot of stress, and stress is leading to unprecedented health problems all over the world. Do you really have reasons to slow down now?

Have you ever asked yourself some basic questions, such as, why is this happening, what is wrong, and what are we searching for?

The one thing that is common to all these drifts is connection. We are searching for connection. We want connection to people – ourselves, our family, our community, our friends, to choose food, to choose places, and to choose life. We want connection to all that it means to live - we want to live a connected life. In Africa, this desire for connectedness is not new.

Traditionally, our lives are connected, as most African traditions still have these connections. Cultures have connection; people are connected to their culture, to people, to places and to their lives.

Not so long ago the extended family system was a real live entity, with the extended family often living under the same roof. Children grew up knowing their cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and other relatives.

These children felt connected. Not too long ago, people were connected to their food.

Most people grew their own gardens with fresh vegetables and some fruits. Today, we are all in a hurry to get what we think is better than living a slow and fulfilled life than the illusion most of us pursue everyday. Our fast-paced life has weakened these connections.

Technological advances mean that the work we do is different from work in the past and it is less connected to living and life than it has been in the past. Technological advances have resulted in labour-saving devices for the home, a fact no one can doubt.

Who would complain about vac-

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The one thing that is common to all these drifts is connection. We are searching for connection.

We want connection to people – ourselves, our family, our community, our friends

uum cleaner, electric stove, hot water system, flush toilet, or the bread maker, but have these technologies really given us more time to enjoy life, as was their claim? Instead, we have used this time to become even busier. We are engaged in constant fast-forward motion whereby we are often over-scheduled, stressed and rushing towards the next task.

Recognising the disconnection and pace of our life as an unwanted state of affairs is an important first step in re-establishing the connections and slowing the pace. What we all want to know is how do we reconnect, how do we live slowly, while at the same time meeting our most important responsibilities?

We are often unaware of just what it is that is not right, we just know that something is not right. Don’t you think it is time to rethink priorities? We recognise that a habit has been formed through the years; changing it now may be something that is not easy to do. Perhaps, the hardest thing to do is to change our attitude and mind-set.

We have to rethink our priorities and rethink the way we approach life and all things in it. Some of us may take the step of downshifting. Downshifters are a fast-growing movement of people who choose voluntary simplicity in all aspects of life.

They go beyond materialism – beyond the fast life. They downshift to slow connected life. Due to this drift, many family ties and societal values have been eroded, the supposed custodians know something is wrong but many cannot pinpoint where they have missed it.

Note: The rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https://businessday.ng Osa Victor Obayagbona is assistant News Editor, BusinessDay

Questions on the legality of tax audits and tax collection by RMAFC Opeyemi Osunsan and Chizoba Madu Introduction he Nigerian government has recently adopted aggressive tax collection schemes to boost non-oil revenue collection. Currently, there are multiple government agencies that monitor tax compliance in Nigeria and one of such agencies is the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). Over the last (5) five years, the RMFAC has conducted tax audits on the records of certain taxpayers and taxpayers have questioned its statutory powers to conduct such tax audits.

This article discusses the powers of the RMAFC vis-à-vis those of the FIRS and the implications of the tax administration functions that the RMAFC has performed in recent times.

Background The significant loss of government revenue under the multi-accounting system led to the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) system in 2012.The TSA is a public accounting system under which all government revenues, receipts are collected into and payments made through one single account or a

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set of linked accounts maintained by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The introduction of the TSA virtually signified the end of autonomy of Ministries, Departments and Agencies as regards verification/monitoring of revenue collecAtion.

Nigerian commercial banks act as agents of the Government for the collection of monies due to MDAs. Following the introduction of the TSA system, RMAFC wasmandated by the Federation Account Allocation Committee to conductthe verification/monitoring exercise on the records of thecommercialbanksto ensure thatall the monies collectedfrom tax payers on behalf of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)and Nigerian Customs Service were duly remitted into the Federation Account.

Theinitial scope of RMAFC’s monitoring/ verification exercise, as communicated in letters to the banks, was limited to revenue collection and remittance. However, in 2014, the scope was expanded to cover federal taxes charged/deducted and remitted by the banks as taxpayers, a task ordinarily carried on by the FIRS. This action was endorsed by the FIRS in letters issued to several commercial banks in Nigeria. However, the following concerns were raised by taxpayers: (1) Legality of the RMAFC to conduct tax audits on taxpayers.

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(2) The limited focus of the tax audits on the banking industry (3) Reopening of closed audit periods and concurrent audit of open periods by both the FIRS and the RMAFC Review of relevant legislation and analysis of the powers of the RMAFC and the FIRS Firstly, in determining the appropriate agency empowered by legislation to conduct tax audits on tax payers, we have reviewed the provision of the Acts that set up the RMAFC and the FIRS. Section 6(1) of the RMAFC Act, 2004provides that the Commission shall have powers to carry on the following functionsa. monitor the accruals to and disbursement of revenue from the Federation Account; b. review, from time to time, the revenue allocation formulae and principles in operation to ensure conformity with changing realities; c. advise the Federal, State and Local Governments on fiscal efficiency and methods by which their revenue is to be increased; d. determine the remuneration appropriate to the holders of the offices as specified in Parts A and B of the First Schedule to the Act; e. make recommendations and submit its finding by a report thereto to the government of the Federation or of the State, as the case may be, regarding the formula for the distribution of the Federation Accounts and the Local

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Government Accounts; and f. discharge such other functions as may be conferred on the Commission by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, this Act, or any other Act of the National Assembly.

There is nothing in the above provisions that empower the RMAFC to audit the books of taxpayers as taxpayers do not remit taxes directly to the Federation Account. It is our view that the provisions of the RMAFC Act only empowers the Commission to monitor the activities of the FIRS, NCS, Central Bank of Nigeria, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and any other agency, to ensure that monies collected by these agencies are paid into the Federation Account.

By Section 8(a)(b)(c)(e)&(s) of the FIRS (Establishment) Act, 2007, the FIRS is empowered to: i. assess persons including companies, enterprises chargeable with tax; ii. assess, collect, account and enforce payment of taxes as may be due to the Government or any of its agencies; ..

Note: The rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https:// businessday.ng Osunsan and Madu are of KPMG Advisory Services

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12

Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Editorial Publisher/CEO

Frank Aigbogun editor Patrick Atuanya DEPUTY EDITORS John Osadolor, Abuja Bill Okonedo NEWS EDITOR Chuks Oluigbo EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS Fabian Akagha EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STRATEGY, INNOVATION & PARTNERSHIPS Oghenevwoke Ighure GENERAL MANAGER, ADVERT Adeola Ajewole ADVERT MANAGER Ijeoma Ude FINANCE MANAGER Emeka Ifeanyi MANAGER, CONFERENCES & EVENTS Obiora Onyeaso BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER (South East, South South) Patrick Ijegbai CIRCULATION MANAGER John Okpaire DIGITAL SALES MANAGER Linda Ochugbua ASSIST. SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER Florence Kadiri GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)

The killing fields of Zamfara

N

igerians keep dying as one group of non-state actors after another continue to challenge the government’s monopoly over the legitimate use of violence. The successful claim to absolute monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory is the key feature and distinguishing characteristic of a state, according to Max Weber, a social theorist.

From the south to the north, the list of criminal gangs is getting long, the number of lives lost even longer. From Niger Delta militants to the more recent Boko Haram and the so-called Fulani herdsmen, the country has lacked the capacity to police its territory or rein in groups that continue to challenge its legitimacy. So successful have these groups been in exposing the deterioration and powerlessness of the country’s security forces that even hitherto peaceful groups agitating for one thing or the other now resort to violence. Unrest, it seems, is the only means to get the govern-

ment’s attention or force it to negotiate.

For four years now, criminal groups have visited violence on the people of Zamfara State, killing, maiming and destroying lives and property. In 2015 and 2016, the killers were said to be cattle rustlers and the president even ordered an operation – Harbin Kunama – to tackle the menace. Apparently nothing was achieved and, as usual, no one was held accountable for its failure.

Since then, the violence has intensified. Entire villages and settlements have been wipedout, communities displaced, women and children mindlessly raped and abused. So bad and widespread are the killings that it is reported that in some communities, men flee to the bush at night leaving their wives and children at the mercy of criminals. It’s so despicable that rape and abuse are considered better options than certain death. The situation in Zamfara is akin to Hobbes state of nature, where there is no law, no authority and where life is nasty, brutish and short.

The government has re-

mained aloof, pretending all is well, until the recent agitations

by Nigerians on social and traditional media as well as demonstrations in Abuja. Now that it can no longer ignore the issue, government has now found a convenient scapegoat, miners in the state. Accused of orchestrating the killings, miners have been asked to suspend their work so as to end the killings.

Besides, the personal response of the president on his Twitter handle doesn’t offer much hope.

“I am constantly in touch with the security chiefs, and receive regular briefings on the situation in Zamfara and across the country. Let me assure that we will continue to do everything to motivate and equip them to respond effectively to all our security challenges”, he tweeted.

We’re left to wonder what new plans the government and the security chiefs, who have in the past four years utterly failed to stop the killings, have to put an end to these brutalities.

What about the state governor, Abdulazeez Yari, who, despite the daily killings in his state, virtually lives in Abuja and

governs the state from there?

Besides blaming the sins of the people for epidemics like meningitis, his efforts at tackling the killings include resigning as the Chief Security Officer of the state (even though provision of security is the first and primary responsibility of every government and he still collects the state’s security votes), and the hiring of local charmers to fight the criminals.

Like many analysts have suggested in the past, there is a need for the government to replace the service chiefs, to freshen up the security architecture of the country and allow new ideas and strategies of ending the rampant killings in the country. Security of lives and property is the first and primary responsibility of every government – and any government that fails to guarantee that has lost its right to govern the people.

Ultimately, there is no substitute for good governance that will engender growth, provide jobs for the jobless and allow people to live meaningful lives.

This is the only sustainable way to ensure order and security in the society.

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

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

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Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

13

CITYfile Accountant bags 1 year for stealing N8m recharge cards JOSHUA BASSEY

A

n accountant, Eucharia Okoye, has been sentenced to one-year imprisonment by an Ikeja Special Offences Court for stealing N8 million worth of recharge cards from her employer, Canstop Nigeria Ltd. Okoye, who was the head of account of the company, was sentenced by Justice Oluwatoyin Taiwo following a plea bargain agreement she entered into with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Taiwo ordered that the convict, who had been remanded at the Kirikiri Female Prisons since August 31, 2016, should begin her oneyear sentence from the day she was convicted.

“The court notes that the defendant has already spent approximately three years in prison custody. She is hereby sentenced to one-year imprisonment, starting from the date of conviction,” Taiwo said.

Before Okoye was sentenced, her defence counsel, A. Emedike, in his allocutus (plea for mercy) told the court that the defendant, who had previously been arraigned with one Kalu Okeh for the offence, was remorseful.

Emedike noted that Okeh had since entered a plea bargain agreement with the anti-graft commission and was serving an undisclosed sentence.

“It is the plea of the defendant that the court magnanimously extend its power of leniency because of the remorse shown by the defendant. This defendant had been in custody for a term more than prescribed by the law; I pray the court takes that into consideration when prescribing the sentence.

“She is remorseful, it is not in her character to commit such an act; she was a victim of Okeh who set her up for destruction.

“The lenience of this court will enable her to start a new life; she has no criminal record.

According to Frank Ofoma, the prosecuting counsel for the EFCC, the accountant committed the offence between December 2014 and July 2015 in Lagos.

“The convict goes by the aliases UK and Sinach; she committed the offence while she was a staff and head of Aaccount of Canstop Nigeria Ltd. “She dishonestly converted to her own use N8 million worth of Airtel recharge cards,” Ofoma said.

The offence, he said, contravenes sections 278(1)(b), 285(8) and (9)(b) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

Ayuba Wabba, president, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), (6th, L); with Theophilus Ndubuaku, national secretary-general, Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI), (7th, L), and other members of ASURI during a rally to promote research development in Nigeria, at the entrance leading to the National Assembly Complex in Abuja on Wednesday. NAN

Rainstorm destroys 48 houses, renders 285 persons homeless

N

o fewer than 285 persons have been rendered homeless following a devastating rainstorm that destroyed 48 houses in Mangu local government area of Plateau.

Most of the houses affected were either totally destroyed to the foundation level or had their roofs completely blown off, leaving no chance for the victims.

“I have six children and our house has completely been destroyed by the rainstorm. I don’t have a place to stay now,” said one of the victims who identified himself as Dabit.

He said that he had no option, but to look for a relationship to keep his family. Dabit called on the authorities

Living below poverty line:

to come to his aid because he had lost his home and now homeless.

The state deputy governor, Sonni Tyoden led a delegation of government officials and P-SEMA on Wednesday on a sympathy visit to Toghomwol-Bungha community.

Tyoden, who addressed the victims, appealed to them to be calm and look at the incident as an act of God. “This is an unfortunate incident. It is indeed sad, but I want you people to take it as an act of God. I want to assure you that the government is so worried and concerned over your plights and will do whatever it takes to assist you.

“You could see that officials of SEMA are here with me. Data will be taken to see how the government can assist in its little way,” he said.

The deputy governor, however, made a personal donation of N1 million to the victims.

Also, Mangu local government chairman, Lawrence Danat, donated N200, 000, while the Commissioner for Commerce and Industries, Usman Idi Bamaiyi, donated N50, 000 to the victims.

Danat said that the council authority would constitute a committee to compile comprehensive reports, which will be submitted to SEMA and NEMA for possible assistance to the victims.

The traditional head of Mishkaham Bunga community, Danladi Idi, thanked deputy governor and the Council chairman for their concerns and assistance to his subjects.

According to him, the visit will go a long way in comforting the victims.

John seeks higher qualification to escape poverty Togolese cook charged with murder of Ikoyi based Nigerian

H

ineon John is 28-year-old man who works at the Lagos Business School (LBS).

His only qualification is a primary school certificate. John earns N40, 000 monthly from his job.

Apart from his cleaning job, he is currently in apprenticeship be become a professional mechanic.

He started work at the LBS in August 2018. According to him, he currently spends a greater percentage of his salary on accommodation in Lekki and on his ageing mother who is based in Akwa Ibom state.

The primary school certificate holder hopes to further his studies by sitting for the Senior Secondary School Certificate so as to secure a job with a higher pay.

A

John

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n Igbosere High Court in Lagos on has remanded a Togolese cook, Sunday Anani, in prison custody over the alleged murder of his boss, Opeyemi Bademosi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Credit Switch Ltd. Justice Mobolanle Okikiolu-Ighile gave the order following Anani’s arraignment by the Lagos State government on a two-count charge of murder and armed robbery.

Before the charge was read, his counsel, the Director of the Office of the Public Defender (OPD), Adenrera Adeyemi, informed the court that Anani did not understand English language.

Adeyemi, however, applied for a French-English language interpreter.

Okikiolu-Ighile upheld her application

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and directed that one be provided.

The charge, prepared by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Titilayo Shitta-Bey, was read and interpreted to Anani.

The prosecutor alleged that Anani, 22, committed the offences on October 31, 2018, at the residence of the victim in Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos. He said that the defendant stabbed Bademosi, 67, to death with a knife and stole his valuables, including his phone.

Shitta-Bey said the offences contravened sections 223 and 297 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

Anani, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges. The judge remanded defendant in prison and adjourned the case until May 21 for trial.

@Businessdayng

14

Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

FINTECH News

Products Review

Technology Review

Personality Review

Company Review

Products Review

From Paylater to Carbon: What is in the name?

Stories by FRANK ELEANYA

W

ithout a doubt, 2019 is turning out to be the year where companies rethink their corporate identities and take up new ones they feel aligns with the future they see. Earlier this year, Piggybank and Taxify both with big operations in the Nigerian market transitioned to PiggyVest and Bolt reflecting their new futures.

On Monday, one of the biggest news in the Nigerian fintech landscape was confirmation of the much anticipated rebranding of Paylater, a former consumer lending platform, to Carbon.

The co-founder and CEO of the company Chijioke Dozie had told BusinessDay in an interview that the name change was imminent and expected in the month of April.

“It will be something major,” he said.

What is Carbon? Taking literary, carbon is a chemical element that exists in different forms, including graphite, diamond and graphene and depending on its form carbon has different properties.

In a video interview posted on their social media platforms, Ngozi Dozie, a cofounder of the new Carbon suggested it was the limitless qualities of the element

that informed the name choice.

“Carbon is everywhere, it is essential, we hope that is how you will see us,” he said.

Changing a business name is a major decision that most forward-looking organizations – no matter their size do not take lightly. A strong business name identifies the brand, tells customers and prospects something meaningful about the business and helps to differentiate the business from competition. In the mind of the co-founders of Paylater, the brand was okay so long as they remained a lending services company, but that vision was for the short term as growth trajec-

tory of the company clearly indicated.

Since it was launched in 2016, Carbon has deployed over $60 million across 750,000 loans, approving over 1,500 loans a day with an average of $80 per loan.

“Any review of our old brand would conclude that the name ‘Paylater’ was no longer a true reflection of who we are and our promise to customers going forward,” says the CEO in a personal post on Medium.

From 2018 the company began increasing the new features on its flagship mobile application that enabled customers to not only borrow money but also transfer

money, save and invest in credit facilities. The company has also launched Bloom, a support system for female business owners.

In a statement confirming the rebrand the company said the choice of Carbon goes beyond banking and helps it position itself as a financial partner for its customers. The transition is to lay the foundations for Carbon’s focus on providing a wide portfolio of services for its customers, as it introduces in-app credit reports and provides credit via QR codes, in partnership with Visa.

“It was very deliberate – most of our customers only know us as Paylater which

conjures up images of credit, but we have grown as a company to offer so much more,” says Chijioke Dozie.

“Carbon is one of the most essential elements for human life. It is found in all life and is extremely versatile. So to us, Carbon represents our aspiration to go everywhere with our customers, become an essential part of their lives and be versatile enough to change or innovate to fulfill their needs. We know what our customers’ pain points and needs are when it comes to banking in Africa and we are building financial products around them.”

As part of its new ambitions, Carbon also plans to

move into the health insurance sector, starting first with existing customers as it looks to lessen the burdens Nigerian currently face in accessing and paying for it. In the future, Carbon will also be launching their very own virtual Visa card for customers to handle transactions.

The CEO said the virtual Visa card will be proof that the company has fully shifted from just digital lending to an all-round digital finance platform.

“We are in a competitive space but whoever serves the customer best will reap the rewards,” Ngozi Dozie noted.

“That’s been the thinking behind our product evolution, whether it is our Bloom account targeted at female entrepreneurs or the partnerships we have been working on in the healthcare sector.

The focus is on being attentive to what our customers want and need.”

With the rebrand finally settled, the company rounds off what has been a very busy first quarter for Carbon, after they acquired payments company Amplify, cementing their move into multiple strands of financial services. Carbon also secured a $5 million investment from fintech platform Lendable highlighting a bubble of activity for the company and in 2018, it became the first African fintech platform to secure a Credit Rating.

New $170m investment fuels Branch’s expansion drive in Africa, Latin American, India Africa’s most downloaded lending platform with headquarter in San Francisco, Branch International has raised a $170 million Series C investment led by Foundation Capital with participation from B Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Formation 8 and Trinity Ventures. The company also announced a new partnership with Visa.

The company which has over three million customers and deployed more than 15 million loans in countries like Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Mexico and India said the investment would enable it build its presence in India and Latin America. The partnership with Visa also gives Branch access to a global net-

work of ATMs which will help borrowers withdraw funds from an ATM using a virtual code sent to their smartphone.

www.businessday.ng

Customers do not need to use physical debit or bank accounts to access the loans.

Prior to the announce-

ment, Branch customers had to visit a local convenience store or bank branch to retrieve their loan using a code

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sent to their smartphone.

According to Matt Flannery, Branch’s co-founder and CEO, the company is working to expand access to credit in countries where the average middle class borrower might not have a credit history or even a bank account.

“As we look to the future, we are looking for the opportunity to reach people who are outside the formal economy or in places that are underserved,” said Bill Sheedy, Visa’s executive vice president of strategy who also joins the board of Branch following the new investment.

“It is about tapping into their distribution to help shape the future of microfinance.”

Branch opened its India @Businessdayng

office in March 2019 and has since amassed about 30,000 customers through word of mouth according to a report

by Forbes.

“I think it speaks to the latent demand,” Flannery said referring to the growth in India.

“Since we have gone live in India with our app, we have received tens of thousands of loan applications from all over the country,” says Charishma Chotalia, general manager of Branch India. “As we start to expand our product portfolio, we see India becoming a crucial market for them.

The current series of funding will help us build our India operations to deliver simple, fast and reliable credit for our customers.”

Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES & MARKETS

15

LAPO rewards staff with automatic promotion

COMPANY NEWS ANALYSIS INSIGHT

Pg. 17

ECONOMY

Nigeria flirts with big devaluation as multiple fx rates linger, says Rencap LOLADE AKINMURELE

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igeria’s current monetary and fiscal conditions provide no better time for the African nation to abandon a system of multiple foreign exchange rates that has deterred foreign direct investment when it hasn’t confused investors and analysts.

If this opportunity passes, a big devaluation could be on the cards a year from now by 2020, according to emerging and frontier markets focused investment bank, Renaissance Capital (Rencap).

Historical data analysed by Rencap showed that in so many countries before, and Nigeria itself in the 1980s and again in the 1990s, the authorities

held onto the multiple exchange rate regimes for too long, often culminating in building up stresses that led to a shocking devaluation of the fixed rate, high inflation and considerable pain for the poorest in society.

Nigeria could be straying along these lines if there is no shift in the FX regime, according to Rencap.

However, this could be forestalled if the country takes advantage of the small gap in FX rates and a budget deficit of 5 percent of GDP to unify the multiple rates.

“A small gap between the market and fixed fx rate of around 20 percent at present, instead of up to 2,000 percent gaps (e.g Ghana in 1983) is a very good start,” said Charles Robertson, Ren-

cap’s global chief economist, while he also noted that Nigeria’s fiscal deficit- which is “not out of control”- is an added advantage.

“O n a l l t h e s e k e y points, Nigeria looks well placed to seize the opportunity to reunify its exchange rates.

“It would send a positive signal to foreign direct investors, and therefore contribute to an inflow of foreign exchange, jobs and managerial expertise,” Robertson said in a note to BusinessDay. Robertson joins a motley crew of analysts and economists who say Nigeria has never been in a better position than now to bite the bullet on foreign exchange reforms.

“A trigger could be the change or renewal of the Central Bank of Nige-

ria (CBN) governor on 2 June,” Robertson added.

The CBN has kept a system of multiple exchange rates since 2016 following the collapse in oil prices that starved the economy of petrodollars and led to acute dollar shortages.

The system somewhat helped steady what was a sinking economy while achieving its primary goal of smoothing the impact of a commodity shock.

How e ver, although the country has trimmed down some of its fx rates, the elephant in the room is the sheer gap between the defacto peg by the CBN and the market rate.

The CBN’s artificial rate has hovered around N306/$ for nearly two years now while the market rate which is largely

reflected on the Investors and Exporters window is 18 percent weaker at around N360/$.

Policy analysts say the main obstacle to a unification of the fx rates may be political and may not happen anytime soon.

However, a recent IMF Article IV report suggests the authorities are ready to collapse the multiple rates into one.

The government had said in its economic blueprint in 2017 that it planned to ditch the multiple rate system to free up investment capital. Two years later, that hasn’t happened.

Asides the risk of a big devaluation, other costs of keeping multiple exchange rates includes reduced FDI and high corruption.

FDI inflow into Nigeria

has already taken a severe hit.

In 2018, Ghana, which is about seven times smaller than Nigeria (in population or GDP terms), attracted $3.3bn in FDI, compared with $2bn for Nigeria. SA and Ghana are now attracting 10 times more FDI per person than Nigeria, when Nigeria as the continent’s biggest economy should be attracting huge investments ($20bn or more annually to equal Ghana). Even Ethiopia, with a less literate population and half the electricity (per capita) that Nigeria has, received three times more FDI per capita in 2018.

Multiple exchange rates also encourage corruption.

A BusinessDay expose earlier this year exposed an fx racket running into tens of billions of naira.

REAL ESTATE

Union Homes REIT’ NAV hits 4-year low on vacant properties ISRAEL ODUBOLA

U

nion Homes Real Estate Investment Trust, a Lagos-based real estate fund manager, recorded the biggest decline on its funds’ net asset value (NAV) in four years, driven by non-occupancy of key properties.

NAV, which represents the value of a fund’s assets less liabilities, contracted by some 23 percent to N9.8 billion in the period under review compared with N12.7 billion a year earlier..

Two major properties were vacant due to major repairs on them, and significantly weighed down on its operations as they were not occupied for two years, given that rental income accounts for a tangible share in its investment income.

However, the loss of income from this was not stated in the company’s financials.

The Lagos-based REIT

recorded gross income of N561 million in full year 2018, masking single-digit growth of 5.81 percent over N530 million posted in the previous period. The growth in gross earnings was buoyed by 29 percent expansion in rental income from N204 million in 2017 to N263 million in 2018.

The real estate fund manager posted improved profitability in the review period despite slump in REIT’s NAV. Operating margin expanded by 7.2 percent points to 68.4 percent in 2018 compared with 61.2 percent in 2017, triggered by double-digit decline of 13.7 percent in operating expenses.

Operating expenses, which dipped 13.7 percent to N177.4 million in 2018, and 32.3 percent drop in tax expenses to N20.5 million, gave the company impetus to up profit by 23.4 percent from N294.7 million in 2017

to N363.6 million in 2018.

Consequently, profit margin in the review period settled at 65 percent, masking 9.21 percent points rise over 55 percent in the previous year. This implies that for every thou-

sand naira earned from investment income, the fund manager kept N650 as profit.

This made earnings per share to leap from N1.93 in 2018 compared with N1.18 in the prior year. The fund

manager propos ed for shareholders’ approval a dividend of 1.75 per share.

With shares outstanding of about 250 million units, and upon approval of shareholders, N437.5 million will be paid out as

dividends.

Union Homes lost a whopping 18 percent value in total assets to N10.9 billion in 2018 from N13.3 billion in 2017, drop by acute slide in cash & cash equivalents.

Registered as a closedscheme investment scheme and REIT in Nigeria by the Securities and E xchang e Commission under the Investment & Securities Act 2007, the fund aims to provide investors with long term capital appreciation and to optimize their returns by investing in real estate properties.

The company allocated 86 percent of the fund to real estate investment, 5 percent to real estate-related and the other 9 percent to liquid assets in the review year.

Un i o n Ho m e s’ R E I T shares have been inactive for the past four five years, trading flat at N45.20 since then.

Editor: LOLADE AKINMURELE (lolade.akinmurele@businessdayonline.com) Graphics: David Ogar

16

Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES&MARKETS PHARMACEUTICALS

Bargain hunters push May & Baker to 4-month high on impressive earnings OLUWASEGUN OLAKOYENIKAN

B

uy pressures from investors willing to take advantage of the cheap valuation of May & Baker Nigeria Plc, Nigeria’s first pharmaceutical company, coupled with an impressive 2018 earnings pushed the firm’s stock to record its best performance this year.

The stock, which has remained unchanged for seven straight days, rose 5.04 percent on Wednesday, its biggest daily gain since November 28, 2018, to close at a four-month high of N2.50 on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

The total volume of May & Baker’s shares transacted at the local bourse on April 10 increased by 296 percent to 657,444 units valued at N1.62 million, its biggest trade in almost five months, from 166,005 units worth N394, 270 that exchanged hands in the previous trading session.

Valuation analysis of the company’s stock reveals that its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio stood at 7.15x, this compares to an average P/E ratio of 26.63x for companies operating in the pharmaceutical segment, indicating the stock is undervalued compared to peers.

Similarly, a look at the company’s price-to-book (P/B) ratio, another valuation metric that measures the value investors attach to

a company’s market value relative to the book value of its equity, shows investors place little value on May & Baker having recorded

DEALS

a P/B ratio of 0.6396x after the close of business on Wednesday, lower than the industry average of 0.8381x.

Further analysis of the

pharmaceutical company’s financial results for the fullyear 2018 reveals that aftertax profit surged 74 percent profit to N585 million from

N336.6 million recorded in the previous year. This is the biggest profit growth posted by any publiclylisted healthcare company in the year.

Sales grew 6.14 percent to N8.55 billion from N8.06 billion in the previous year, but the cost of goods sold rose at a faster pace of 10.7 percent to N5.39 billion compared to N4.87 billion recorded in 2017.

That, as well as increased operating, administrative and income tax expenses, caused the company’s margins to wane in the review year. Gross margin slumped to 37 percent in 2018 from 39.6 percent a year earlier, while net income margin fell 4 percent from 7.8 percent in 2017.

The stock has returned 2.02 percent since the beginning of the year to outperform the NSE All-Share Index (ASI) at -7.09 percent, this places May & Baker as the best-performing healthcare company at the NSE. May & Baker Nigeria Plc manufactures and distributes pharmaceutical products, such as vaccines, antibiotics, and sera. The company also sells diagnostics, medical equipment and bottled water in Nigeria, it was incorporated on April 9, 1944, and became a publicly-owned company on November 10, 1994.

FINTECH

Branch International raises $170M Series C Financing Shareholders sue Boeing over loss of stock value, deceit BALA AUGIE

B

ranch, a finance app in Africa, announced a new global partnership and investment from Visa.

The two companies share a vision of bringing financial access to billions of people still unreached by banks. Visa’s investment in Branch will help expand financial access across the African continent, while fuelling new expansion in India and Latin America.

Branch and Visa will team up to offer virtual prepaid debit card numbers to customers around the world. This enables unbanked Branch customers the option to receive credit at any physical ATM, bypassing the need for a bank account.

“We started Branch in Kenya, where M-Pesa gives anyone with a phone -- including the unbanked -- access to digital credit. Unfortunately, mobile money isn’t available in most countries. With the help

of Visa, now we can send cash to any ATM and reach the underserved around the planet,” says Matthew Flannery, CEO and co-founder of Branch.

Traditional barriers such as a credit score and bank account make financial accessibility a challenge for over 2 billion people in the world. Yet many in underserved markets have a financial tool right in their pocket -- their mobile phone. By tapping into the rise of mobile technology worldwide, Branch aims to radically expand financial access, making full global inclusion a reality in our lifetime.

“At Visa we believe financial empowerment is an essential passport out of poverty,” said Bill Sheedy, Executive Vice President of Strategy at Visa.

“Our partnership with Branch provides Visa a key distribution mechanism to reach people that were previously out of reach and help shape the future of microfinance.”

Today, Branch is also announcing the close of its Series C financing, a $170M round led by Foundation Capital and Visa. And joining this round of investment are existing investors, Andreessen Horowitz, Trinity Ventures, Formation 8, the IFC, CreditEase, and Victory Park as well as new investors, Greenspring, Foxhaven, and B Capital.

“I’ve known the Branch team since right after the company was founded,” said Charles Moldow of Foundation Capital, who will be joining the Branch Board of Directors.

“After tracking them for years, it has become clear to me that emerging markets are one of the biggest growth areas for fintech. Our history of successful fintech investments is evidence that we know how to spot true innovators, like Branch. The team has executed incredibly well and is poised to become the cross-border financial super-app.”

www.businessday.ng

…accuse plane-maker of putting profitability and growth ahead of airplane safety and honesty OLUFIKAYO OWOEYE

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roubles of plane maker, Boeing, are far from over, as shareholders of the company on Tuesday filled a new lawsuit accusing the company of defrauding shareholders by concealing safety deficiencies in its 737 MAX planes before two fatal crashes led to the worldwide grounding of the aircraft.

The proposed class action filed in Chicago federal court seeks damages for alleged securities fraud violations, after Boeing’s market value tumbled by $34 billion within two weeks of the March 10 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX which claimed 157 passengers onboard. Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg and Chief Financial Officer Gregory Smith are named as defendants.

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According to the complaint, Boeing “effectively put profitability and growth ahead of airplane safety and honesty” by rushing the 737 MAX to market to compete with Airbus SE, while leaving out “extra” or “optional” features designed to prevent Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air crashes.

Richard Seeks, the lead plaintiff, said he bought 300 Boeing shares in early March, and sold them at a loss within the last two weeks. The lawsuit seeks damages for Boeing stock investors from Jan.8 to March 21 Boeing said on Tuesday that aircraft orders in the first quarter fell to 95 from 180 a year earlier, with no orders for the 737 MAX following the worldwide grounding.

Commercial aircraft manufacturing is dominated by two heavyweights. Airbus was

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established in 1970 compared to Boeing which has been around since 1916.

According to reports by Financial Times, Boeing beat Airbus in 2018 commercial aircraft delivery race and the U.S. planemaker appeared on track to triumph over its European rival in the competition for orders as well.

The chicago-based group has consistently won the deliveries race, while Airbus has been ahead on orders since 2013.

Boeing delivered 806 aircraft last year, below its 2018 target of 810 to 815 but above 2017’s 763 and higher than Airbus, which said it delivered 800 planes, meeting its target of “around 800” subject to final auditing.

Shares of Boeing dropped 3.42percent to close trading at $365.85 on Tuesday.

Friday 12 April 2019

COMPANIES&MARKETS

BUSINESS DAY

17

Business Event

MICROFINANCE

LAPO rewards staff with automatic promotion IDRIS UMAR MOMOH

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o fewer than 26 staff of the Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO) have been rewarded with automatic promotion by the organization for their outstanding performance in 2018.

The outstanding workers were among the 491 employees of the establishment honoured with the long service award.

The staff that benefited from the promotions cut across the five subsidiaries of the institution which are LAPO-NGO, LAPO Microfinance bank, LAPO Agricultural and Rural Development Initiative (LARDI), LAPO Academy for Microfinance and Enterprise Development (LAMED) and Micro Investment Support Services (MISS).

The breakdown of those promoted are four overall best staff, three best client support staff, 14 best loan officers and five overall best staff for subsidiaries.

Some of the promoted staff are Osasu Agbontaen of Akure mega branch, Ondo state who emerged overall best in individual client support officer in LAPO Microfinance bank with a loan portfolio of N75, 255,433 million while Nwaokoh StellaMaris of Mbaise branch, Imo state emerged overall best in group client support officer in LAPO Microfinance bank with loan portfolio of N53, 038,719 million.

Also promoted are Titilayo Ajewole of Okada branch emerged best LARDI client support officer with N24,513,640.01 million portfolio and Akinjede Samuel of Eleyele branch, Ibadan emerged best staff in MISS with a loan disbursement of N106,977,700million.

Other are Smart Eghenayariore, Christian Osagie, Kenneth Idahoise, Judith Uhunmwangho, Oberetin Lambert, Chukwumeka Jennifer, Udeogu Bosede Rachael among others.

In his address of welcome, the managing director and chief executive officer of the financial institution, Godwin Ehigiamusoe, commended the awardees for putting in their best for the growth and development of the organization.

Ehigiamusoe, who noted that LAPO is the number one financial institution in Microfinance regulated banks in the country, tasked the staff to continue to put in their best to sustain the tempo.

“The true is that we want to go higher. We have never had any year we have never went higher, and so this year by the grace of God is going to be very exceptional in terms of performance. We still want everybody to know that our organization is not just number one in Microfinance regulated banks but we are in fact number one.

“But the truth is that if you always try to look at the fact

that this is your performance and focused on your position then others can easily overtake us. I always tell people that one of the problems we have even with individuals in this nation is that we tends to look at our shoulder all the time,” he said.

He however disclosed that henceforth the organization’s reward system will be strictly based on performance rather than number of years of service.

“We are therefore not going to look at the number of position we are in the industry but to focus on where we are going. We will continue to acknowledge and reward staff who performed very well. We started that with our promotion gradually because we have agreed that for many years as we were coming up promotions based on the number of years had been pushed aside.

“Promotion is going to be based clearly as some of you have noted on performance.

If anybody comes to me maybe next year to complain that he or she has for the past four, five, six or seven years not been promoted my only recommendation will be that such staff is not useful and should go away. That is what we want to pursue.

“We are trying to automate process. Our appraisal process is now digitalized. It is no longer whether anybody is going to do that or not. We are doing it to ensure that it captures the performance of everyone and also reward.

R-L: Victor Olannye, executive secretary, Risk Managers Association of Nigeria (RIMAN); Anthonia Iduozee, membership services, RIMAN; Oshioke Ojior, CRO, NIBSS; Ezekiel Oyeniyi, Ag. MD/CEO, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS); Magnus Nnoka, president RIMAN; Soji Olasoko, general secetary, RIMAN; Grace Ademola, treasurer, RIMAN, during a courtesy visit by RIMAN executive to NIBBS office in Lagos.

L-R: Marcus Williams, Secretary, Oyo State Steering Committee on Child Labour; Chinwe Okpala, internal communications and sustainability manager, British American Tobacco (BAT) West Africa; Ogunbiyi Adewole, Oyo State controller of labour, Federal Ministry of Labour; Abimbola Okoya, area head, corporate affairs, BAT West Africa, and Oluwakayode Oshodi, head of leaf, BAT West Africa, during a one-day Stakeholders and Oyo State Action Plan Final Draft Presentation Meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State.

COMPANY RELEASE

Zedvance to deepen financial inclusion as it celebrates 5 years of impactful growth SEGUN ADAMS

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nnovative consumer finance company, Zedvance Limited has unveiled plans to grow its customer base to over one million customers across the country in the next five years.

Speaking at a press conference on its fifth year anniversary in Lagos recently, Group Managing Director of Zedcrest Capital Limited and Founder/CEO of Zedvance Limited, Adedayo Amzat, CFA said the company will continue to take the lead in the industry by paying attention to the yearnings of Nigerians through excellent customer service, tech innovation and data science.

“We are proud to be a leading industry player in the consumer-finance subsector -ranking easily among the top three providers of credit across most metrics. If you ask me what

makes us different from the pack, I’ll say it’s the fact that we are a customer-centric brand. We listen to our customers and carry them along across every process of our product development and services,” he said.

On the company’s mid to long term plans, Amzat said: For the last five years, we have focused primarily on salary-earners. We however understand that this is a limited part of the economy. In a few months, we will be introducing products and services that cater to non-salary earners as well as small businesses across the country as we continue our mission of providing customercentric financial solutions for all strata of the market, through user-friendly technological innovations.

As part of its milestone activities, Zedvance has refreshed its website to provide a seamless experience www.businessday.ng

for customers. The company will also be introducing new business locations on its coverage map.

In his remark, Group Head, Marketing & Communications, Zedcrest Capital Limited -parent company of Zedvance Limited, Mr. Adebowale Banzi said Zedvance as a lifestyle enabler will continue to contribute to the socioeconomic development of the country through customer-centric solutions.

“We are proud that over the years, we have not only introduced great products for our teeming customers, we have also contributed to the development of the economy”, he said.

Zedvance is renowned for its cutting-edge customer service and quick loan disbursement process.

The company is the first non-bank lender to introduce a Whatsapp-based lending platform.

L-R: Degbola Abudu, MD, Capricon Digital Limited; Omotayo Oyetayo, head, risk and control, Capricon Digital Limited; George Wamonje, head, treasury, Capricon Digital Limited; Mojisola Oyeyinka, head, legal, Capricon Digital Limited, and Sherif Adejobi, financial controller, Capricon Digital limited, after receiving the 2018 Efficiency Award for outstanding performance in driving CBN’s cashless initiative.

L-R: Diran Olojo, group head, corporate affairs, First City Monument Bank (FCMB); Idorenyen Enang, managing director, Corporate Shepherds Limited/ Guest Speaker, and Okey Ogelle, regional head, South-East and South-south, FCMB, during a Media Parley organised by FCMB on, ‘‘Achieving National Cohesion and Security Through Positive Reporting: The Role of the Media’’, held in Port Harcourt, Rivers State

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18

Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

AGRIBUSINESSINSIGHT Market Insights

Analysis

Commentaries

Experts/Industry Views

Commodities watch

Policy Reviews

Focus on agriculture shows some gains, but not in GDP growth CALEB OJEWALE Twiiter: @calebtinolu

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griculture has been enjoying attention from government, but the sector’s growth, as a component of GDP does not appear to mirror all the efforts and interventions, even though significant gains have been recorded.

FBN Quest Capital in a report this week, described agriculture as one of few sectors that have benefitted from policy continuity after the change in administration four years ago.

However, agricultural GDP growth has not accelerated at the desired pace.

Over the past eight quarters, the sector has grown by an average of 2.7 per cent year-on-year. In Q4 2018, it expanded by 2.5 per cent year-on-year. The slow pace of growth is partly linked to output losses due to poor storage, logistics issues and challenges in the middle belt. Furthermore, export activities (particularly with neighbouring countries that have porous borders) by farmers, which are not formally captured result in distorted data.

Hi g h l i g ht i n g s o m e o f t h e significant progress made in the sector, FBN Quest noted that in reducing post-harvest losses, the Federal Government of Nigeria has adopted a new transportation model, which will connect eleven states in the Lagos-Kano-Jibiya (LAKAJI) corridor. The corridor is a 1,225 km transport route that runs from Lagos state through the commercial center

of Kano state before ending in Jibiya, Katsina state, which is near the Niger Republic border.

This transport corridor, when completed, FBN Quest says should promote ease of distribution as farmers will be able to arrange pickup from the farm-gate or transport produce to designated aggregated zones or commodity markets.

It noted that during a most recent visit to Abuja, it was learnt that government is currently considering solar generated energy for largescale refrigeration and freezing of perishable goods, before transporting from points of production in the Northern region to markets in Southern Nigeria. This will also assist with curbing output losses.

The FBN publication also stated that the narrative around agriculture in Nigeria is gradually changing.

Based on official data, the average age of farmers over the past 40 years has been between 50 -75 years.

However, over the past four years, there has been an influx of young adults into the sector, aged 30 -40 years. Its value chain is broad and provides an opportunity to boost job creation as well as promote entrepreneurship.

Farming is also said to have received support from technology services. This includes crowdfunding platforms such as Thrive Agric and Farmcrowdy. In addition, due to high cost of securing tractors, small-scale farmers struggle with producing high yields, consequently, Hello Tractor, a technology-enabled service was developed to connect tractor owners and small-scale farmers in Nigeria.

The attraction in the export market may also be further bolstered, as the report noted that the CBN’s recent announcement to extend a N200bn facility to farmers for exportation of agric-related products, could be a step in the right direction.

Send in Commentaries to caleb.ojewale@businessdayonline.com

Avoiding ‘fake seeds’ as planting season beckons I t is not unusual for farmers to complain of poor yields even after planting what ought to have been hybrid seeds. Many times, seeds have a low germination rate and in some instances they do not germinate at all and farmers have been suffering in silence. When their voice is heard perhaps, is when they refuse to patronise and plant the “supposed hybrids”. At this time, it becomes a bit difficult to convince them to give it another try.

One reason that has been given for sale of bad seeds is because the planting season is characterised by high demand for certified seeds against low supply.

Get your seed at accredited government source Michael Ajala, a professor of seed technology at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta suggested that seeds for planting are best obtained from notable agric centres, for instance in the South West; Ogun State Agriculture Development Programme (OGSADEP), Oyo State Agriculture Development Programme (OYSADEP) and others with similar remit. He explained that they often have good quality seeds that will have germination rate written on the label. It is important to go to trusted people so as to buy whatever is need as such sources can also be visited again to provide either good or bad feedback which will result into action.

Test seeds for free at agricultural research centres A prospective farmer can go to a research farm/centre such as a faculty of agriculture or even a university of agriculture, where the germination could be tested ‘free’. A farmer can approach such a centre to request that he/she wants to ascertain the viability of any given seeds and provided it is of a small quantity, this will be carried out free. When seeds are on a massive scale, then a nominal fee may be charged.

Procure your seeds early Taking into cognisance, the fact that fake seeds are often sold when farmers are in a rush and may not implement due diligence, it becomes imperative that seeds are procured early enough to avoid the rush period. The fake seeds are sold to desperate farmers who come late to acquire the seeds, usually because the certified seeds would have been depleted.

Encouraging adoption of quality seeds could spur agricultural productivity

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igeria’s agricultural output is often described among the lowest in the world, reflecting in yields of various crops that fall short of what obtains in other countries, even with similar climates.

The situation of productivity in Nigeria implies local farmers continue to grapple with poverty as their perpetually low farm yields make it difficult for them to produce enough for commercial success. In the same vein, agro-based industries which require inputs have to resort to massive importation so as to meet their required raw material demands. Apart from inadequate local production, uncertainty in the consistency of supply also makes it difficult to rely on the local value chain.

Frans Ojielu, global financial advisor, ICMG Commodities, described “the availability of quality seeds is critical to agricultural productivity.”. This is a critical input and all efforts must be on deck to

ensure the availability. The yield per hectare is bolstered by the quality of seeds. The time to maturity is also affected by the types and quality of seeds used which directly affect the economics and cashflow available to agribusinesses.

While Ojielu says that the “various seeds multiplication units are currently doing a great job”, he also believes that there is need for greater interface between the research institutes and the farming community.

The importance of good seeds is important, not only for the economic wellbeing of the farmers, but also for food security. However, the problem of seed in Nigeria is multifaceted, with two notable elements. The first borders on dubious seed dealers, who sell fake seeds, at times ordinary grains, to unsuspecting farmers as hybrid. This experience discourages many farmers who have used such seeds from making a repeat purchase.

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The second; most smallholder farmers (responsible for 80 percent of output) are too poor to afford good seeds.

“It is not so much about the availability of seeds. The seed may be available but affordability is another issue. If something is available but you cant afford it, you would want nothing to do with it,” said Hamza Ahmed Mahuta, a former key accounts manager at Syngenta, currently working as an agriculture consultant.

Olusegun Philip Ojo, director general of the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), had told BusinessDay, “Farm yield in Nigeria is dependent on numerous factors chief of which is the genetic ability of the seed as well as agronomic factors. Furthermore, what comes to mind is how much of ‘seed’ farmers are using in Nigeria. The bulk of our crop production is still dependent use of farm saved seeds partly due to the lack of awareness on the need to use quality seeds. Over the years

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we have done a lot to educate our farmers on the need to drop their own saved seeds and use quality seeds purchased from reputable and approved sources.

According to Ojo, NASC has also in collaboration with the National and International Agricultural Research Institutes “made effort to inject quality early generation seeds (Breeder and Foundation Seeds) to ensure that certified seeds available to farmers are of the best quality that are superior to their own saved seeds. The changes can be seen in the level of increase in the quantity of seeds produced over the years.”

Rotimi Fashola, general manager, Elephant Group Plc, however posited that “improved seeds are not available in sufficient quantities because we are yet to fully change from subsistence farming to commercial farming. This is a process and it will take some time and persistence. The same for the seed quality. Therefore, more and

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more companies (private sector) will join seed production once its commercially viable.”

“Most farmers still re-cycle their seeds,” Fashola said. It complements Mahuta’s position, when he also noted that what many farmers in Nigeria produce is hardly enough to last them two to three months.

The remaining periods they have virtually nothing, not even to keep as seeds but to feed their families. And unfortunately, about 80 percent of primary production in Nigeria is in the hands of these peasants.

He further explained that generally, peasant farmers resist change, particularly for something that is expensive. So, they may not leave what they are used to and go for an expensive one they don’t even know. However, as experts have observed, when farmers are made to see the value quality seeds can offer them in yields and quality, adoption will be easier to achieve.

Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

19

LEADINGWOMAN

Meet the 10 women elected into the House Of Representatives, 2019 KEMI AJUMOBI Tolulope Akande-Sadipe Oluyole, Oyo State (APC) Tolulope Akande-Sadipe graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Masters’ degree in International Business Management. Her successful career which spans three decades has seen her add value to her curriculum vitae based on her work experience with several blue-chip institutions including Gardiner Kamya & Associates in the USA, The Dangote Group and GT Bank Plc. in Nigeria. Tolulope has a strong philanthropic inclination which she fulfils through a charity fund set up to financially assist orphans and other disadvantaged members of society to ensure their health and educational needs are provided.

Adewunmi Taiwo Aishatu

Lynda Chuba-Ikpeazu Onitsha North/Onithsha South, Anambra (PDP) Lynda had her early education in Onitsha Anambra State and graduated at Federal Government College, Enugu. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from University of California, Los Angeles. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of Buckingham where she came out with First Class Honours winning several awards in the process. Lynda is a consummate Politician who has served in various capacities.

Keseina

Onuh

Beni

Zainab

Lynda

Tolulope

Zainab Gimba Bama/Ngala/Kala-Balge,BornoState(APC) Gimba, a former lecturer at the University of Maiduguri, holds a PhD in Philosophy, Public Administration and Policy. She joined active politics in 2011 when she was appointed commissioner for poverty alleviation and youth empowerment.

She was later transferred to the ministry of water resources where she served until when the state cabinet was dissolved. Zainab does research in Conflict Processes, Public Administration and Public Policy.

Blessing Onyeche Onuh Otukpo/Ohimini Benue state (APGA) Blessing is a philanthropist and the wife to onetime Otukpo Local Government Chairman. She thought it wise to reach out to the girl child within her local government; that thought gave birth to the Otukpo Children Foundation, with the objective of creating an enabling environment for the children to express their hidden talent, create confidence in the girl child and giving hope to the less privileged. She is also the Founder of the non-governmental organisation (NGO) called Eyum Foundation, named after her paternal grandmother, (Eyum). Blessing is the daughter to the former President of the Senate, David Mark.

Nkeiruka Chidubem Onyejeocha Isuikwuato/Umunneochi federal constituency, Abia state (APC) Nkeiruka was first elected member of the federal house of representatives in 2007, and later reelected in 2015. At the national assembly, she became chairman of women in parliament and chairman of the house committee on aviation.

Nkeiruka is the MD, Nikkings and Kingzol Intl.

She was the Commissioner for Manpower Development, where she established skill acquisition centres across the state.

Nkeiruka has won a return ticket to the House of Representatives again.

Under her party APC, she polled 14,712 to defeat her closest rival, Ude Achara of the PDP who scored 10,064 votes.

Khadija

Aishatu Jibril Dukku Dukku/Nafada, Gombe state (APC) Aishatu is an indigene of Dukku Local Government Area of Gombe State, Aishatu Jibril Dukku was born on 18th December, 1963 in Kaduna, north central Nigeria. She started formal education in Central Primary School, Gombe, from 1970 to 1976, and then proceeded to Federal Government Girl’s College Bauchi where she obtained a General Certificate of Examination (GCE) between 1976 and 1981.

Later in 1982, she was given admission in Bayero University, Kano where she graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education.

On the 26th of July 2007, the late President Musa Yar’Adua appointed her Honourable Minister of State for Education, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

She was in charge of that Ministry till 17th March, 2010. She is a member of the Board Of Trustees, All Progressive Congress.

Beni Butmak Lar Langtang North/Langtang (PDP) In 2017 Beni Lar spoke as the House Chair for the Science and Technology Committee and urged for the advancement of sustainable, reliable power for Nigeria. She also has advocated for the option for students to choose what kind of religion they would like to learn about in school, rather than having a predetermined requirement. She presented this to the House and it was passed in part because of her point that because Nigeria is a secular state, religion and national values should be separated. She is the eldest daughter of Solomon Lar, a former Governor of Plateau State and Prof. Mary Lar.

Onyejeocha

Taiwo Oluga Ayedaade/Irewole/Isokan Federal Adewunmi Oriyomi Onanuga Ikenne/Shagamu/Remo North, Ogun state consistency (APC) (APC) Taiwo was the special assistant to the former governor Adewunmi Onanuga was the only female candidate of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola on culture and tourwho contested for the seat as APC candidate for the ism. She has never ceased to encourage women to be Remo Federal Constituency and. Experts predicted actively involved in politics, encouraging them never her victory being the candidate of the ruling party to limit themselves to playing supportive and folin the national assembly elections and they were lowership roles to men; rather, they too should vie for proven right as she had some edge above other elective positions. In her words, “It is now high time the candidates in the elections. Despite the breakaway Nigerian society stopped regarding or treating women faction of members of her party into the Allied as second class citizens who are inferior to men. The People’s Movement (APM), she won the seat. It was number of women in elective positions in this country generally believed that APM’s detachment from is too low when compared to men. So, women should APC would be a major setback for the realization gear up by way of contesting for elective positions.” of her ambition but she soared. www.businessday.ng

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Khadija Bukar Abba Ibrahim Damaturu/Gujba/Gulani/Tarmuwa (APC)

Khadija was a three time member of the House of Representatives, representing Damaturu, Gujba, Gulani and Tarmuwa Federal Constituency of Yobe State, She was first elected in 2007 and was re-elected in 2011 and 2015. While in the House of Representative, she served in different capacities. From 2007 to 2008, she was the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Rural Development; between 2008 and 2010, she was the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Communications; from 2010 to 2011, she served as the Chairman, House Committee on Rural Privatisation and Commercialisation.

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20

Monday 08 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

HEALTH BUSINESS&LIFE

How lack of data, research hinders Nigeria healthcare system M

David Beckham voices appeal to end malaria - in Yoruba, other languages

ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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he dearth of data and research is a threat to the country ambition in putting its 190 million populations under the universal health coverage and lose out of advanced medical technologies and cost effective health care.

Nigeria’s huge infrastructural gap in the sector has remains a major hindrance limiting the growth and development of medical research and technology in the country.

Experts say the need for improved healthcare system in Nigeria cannot be over-emphasised, saying in strengthen the healthcare system, collection of data and researches are bench mark for growth in Nigeria’s healthcare system.

Data and research plays a major role in all sectors and there is a need for the health sector in Nigeria to tap into it for easier health indices, tracking disease prevalence,

measure mortality and morbidity, tackle challenges of public health emergencies and to enhance county’s preparedness and response to epidemics through prevention, detection and control among others.

“Information technology and communication (ICT) will help Nigeria’s healthcare system reduce the challenges of limited data and information collected which demography, financial and medical history will be analysed. We need a robust ICT and it is very essential we get it right in this country” Jide Idris, com-

missioner of health, Lagos state said.

Nigeria was poorly ranked in the first global healthcare access report.

“Nigeria has already adopted a task shifting policy it is no news that we struggled over the years with high burden diseases, the country must invest in collection of date so as to implement feasibility,” Isaac Adewole the minister of health said recently.

“Unfortunately, there is paucity of data to inform our interventions. We must invest in collection of data to inform

decision making and implement feasible and evidencebased control programmes for these NCDs at the country and regionallevels,”Adewoleadded.

Babatunde Salako director-general of Nigerian institute of medical research said, “If we do not fund research in Nigeria, we cannot expect innovations and significant development, that is what other advanced countries has done, they invest a lot in research and ask questions” “But what we do in Nigeria is that we use the information that comes from them, our environment is not the same, genetic makeup is not the same and so it might not be correct always to infer from the results of their own research and domesticate it for us in Nigeria “Each country needs to fund research for scientist or researchers to conduct research using their own population because of peculiarities. Until we realise this, our health sector will not improve,” Salako further said.

Why non- communicable disease emerge bigger threat ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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he World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that millions of people in Africa, Nigeria inclusive will die from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) with the consolidates available data, these impending threats can be predicted because most adults in Africa have at least one risk factor that increases their chances of developing a life-threatening NCD. Non-communicable diseases characterised by long duration and generally slow progression including cardiovascular diseases; cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes are on the rise.

“The burden of illness, which has been gradually increasing over the past decade, will likely surpass the toll of sickness and death from infectious diseases by 2030” says WHO. “Worldwide, deaths from NCDs will reach an estimated 44 million within the next four years, an increase of 15percent from WHO’s 2010 estimate.”

Odunbanjo Doyin a public health expert, say the high prevalence of health crisis Nigeria is facing is not peculiar to the country as other African countries are

also reporting this rise.

“These chronic diseases are not caused or transmitted by germs. Diabetes, hypertension, stroke, cancers, and hepatitis they are now on the increase,” said Odunbanjo.

Odunbanjo further said, “So on top of the communicable diseases problem, Nigerian now have what is referred to as double burden of disease which means we are dealing with communicable and noncommunicable diseases which are also on the rise and some actually believe that we may have more cases of non-communicable diseases than communicable diseases, that means they will overtake them, it those not mean communicable disease reduced necessarily but means non-communicable disease is on the increase.”

Uzochukwu Olise, a medical practitioner based www.businessday.ng

in Abuja said that noncommunicable diseases relies heavily on avoidance of some lifestyle risk factors, smoking, drinking alcohol, poor diet (people not taking fruits and eating vegetables), and low level of exercises.

“Prevention of noncommunicable diseases is diseases that are life threatening as well as weakening, and they place uncertain hardship on the people and family of those who are affected.

Olise further said, “These diseases mostly affect the women at the ages of 45-65. Adults mostly have the probability of noninfectious diseases during the course of their live.

However, the National Strategic Plan of Action by the Federal Ministry of health on Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases documented since 2015, states that inadequate funding of NCD related programmes and activities, poor legislation and enforcement of laws linked to the prevention and control and a weak health system has been major barriers to tackling NCDs. Unhealthy environmental conditions increase the risk of both non communicable and infectious

diseases, which is reflected in the strong integrated nature of the Goals.

Expert says this lifestyle of unhealthy diet has caused millions of Nigerians disease such as high blood pressure, overweight, respiratory diseases, high cholesterol level and it is a huge burden where Malaria, HIV/AIDS tuberculosis and other communicable disease are.

Individuals need to take caution of their lifestyle and carryout more exercises to reduce the blood pressure and curtail the sugar level.

Odunbanjo further said, there a lot of programs are targeted at the communicable diseases, big programs with huge investment like the malaria, HIV/ AIDS, eradicating polio.

“But most of us have not had about diabetes, hypertension program. so for the non-infectious we do not have focus on the financial backing, experts backing, programmatic backing as we do for the communicable diseases.

“So it will be no surprise that they are on the increase and yet they are not spending enough on them. so Nigerian will definitely have a lot of these cases to contend with as the years go by,” said Doyin.

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alaria kills about 435,000 people a year, largely in Africa, with children aged under five making up 61 percent of deaths.

British soccer star David Beckham launched a global video appeal on Tuesday to end malaria in which he appeared to be speaking nine languages including Yoruba and Swahili - but aided by artificial intelligence.

In the 55-second video, Beckham fronts both male and female voices, including malaria survivors and doctors, and calls on people to add their voices to an online petition to get the attention of world leaders ahead of a key conference in October.

The charity behind the campaign, Malaria No More UK, said the film makers used video synthesis technology to make it look like the retired athlete was speaking in eight other languages.

“Malaria isn’t just any disease. It’s the deadliest disease there’s ever been,” Beckham said in English before switching to Spanish, Arabic, French, Hindi, Mandarin, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, which is spoken in Rwanda, and the Nigerian language Yoruba.

A spokeswoman from Malaria No More UK said each language represented a part of the world affected by malaria.

Figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) show malaria kills about

435,000 people a year, largely in Africa, with children aged under five making up 61 percent of deaths.

In its latest World Malaria report, the WHO estimated there were 219 million cases of malaria in 2017, up from 217 million in 2016, and warned the global response had stalled despite a United Nations’ global goal to end the disease by 2030.

The former England soccer captain, who retired from the game in 2013, has supported Malaria No More UK for over a decade and is a founding member of the group’s leadership council as well as an ambassador for the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF. He called for action before the Global Fund conference in Paris in October that will aim to raise at least $14 billion from governments, companies and philanthropists to fight malaria, AIDS, and tuberculosis.

“It’s unacceptable that malaria still kills a child every two minutes so please add your voice to the petition,” Beckham, 43, said in a statement.

Frequently going to the toilet at night may be a sign of high blood pressure - study

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new study conducted in Japan found that the need to urinate in the night, called nocturia, may be linked to hypertension and high salt intake.

Nocturia is a condition in which people wake up during the night because they need to urinate. Common causes of frequent trips to the toilet at night include high fluid intake, sleep disorders, and bladder obstruction.

People without nocturia can sleep up to 8 hours without having to urinate, but some may need to get up once during the night — one episode is still considered within normal limits. Individuals with nocturia may get up 2–6 times during the night.

Nocturia may be a sign of other health conditions, including bladder prolapse, a tumor of the bladder or prostate and other disorders affecting sphincter control. Pregnant women and people with heart or liver failure and diabetes may also experience nocturia.

As we get older, our bodies produce less of an antidiuretic hormone that enables us to retain fluid — this leads to more urine production during the night. Older adults also tend to lose holding capacity and are more likely to have medical issues that impact the bladder.

According to a 2003 poll @Businessdayng

from the National Sleep Foundation, approximately two-thirds of responders, who were between the ages of 55 and 84, reported that they experienced nocturia at least a few nights per week.

Reducing salt intake may help with nocturia A team of researchers presented the results of their recent study at the 83rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society. According to their findings, trips to the toilet to urinate at night may be linked to excessive salt intake and high blood pressure.

“Our study indicates that if you need to urinate in the night — called nocturia — you may have elevated blood pressure and/or excess fluid in your body,” says study author Dr. Satoshi Konno, of the Division of Hypertension at the Tohoku Rosai Hospital in Sendai, Japan.

Previous research showed that excessive daily salt intake and hypertension have a negative impact on nocturia.

In Japan, people generally consume significantly more salt than those in Western countries, and for this reason, the Japanese population may be at higher risk of developing high blood pressure.

Culled from Medical News Today

Monday 08 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

21

HEALTH BUSINESS&LIFE Easter Break 2019- Dealing with fears, stomach upsets, diarrhoea, Sun burn

Q-LIFE FAMILY CLINIC

ADE ALAKIJA

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s the Easter Season and Holidays approach, and the lots of fun and merry making that go along with the season, many Easter Breakers will be looking forward to sunny destinations and a/or long week(s) of relaxation.

Some may travel to tropical hot spots, like Puerto Rico, US territories or Bali, Indonesia, while others may choose for bustling cities, like London or Tokyo and many will be going to their towns and villages unaware of the dangers on route and at the destination.

General Advice To FamilyTravellers:Family travel usually refers to those going on short trips and usuallyinvolves staying in varied accomodation like good quality accommodation in major cities and large towns, poor rated hotels and accommodation in smaller towns and villages to even sheds and huts in some circumstances.

Good preparation for family trip leads to less stress, is better for your health, and it is also a sign of an organised and alert mind. The family person who is able to think ahead and prepare well for a trip benefits both themselves and the family they represent positively. Allow yourself time to adjust on reaching your destination, especially if you are flying across time zones.It is advisable to have a family checkup preferably before departure to or on arrival in Nigeria.

Allow plenty of time to prepare: Make

a schedule of the intended trip. It helps to have a checklist in your scheduler of items needed for the trip. Start as early as possible.(Dont forget your toothbrush and personal items and wear).

With proper pre-travel planning, your family will be mentally and pyschologically prepared to deal with the stress of travel. Have your Flight plans and all necessary details in writing (seperate from your phone organizer) for example hotel address and booking code, important phone numbers.

Get information on the area you are visiting, some states have Yellow Fever outbreaks, some Lassa fever, some high risk of violent attacks etc and of course the popular malaria and the less known dengue fever. You can protect your family with the proper advice. Getting your visa earlyis usually helpful. Plan to visit your family Doctor or Travel Clinic nearby to discuss your travel health needs. If vaccinations are compulsory for your destination, your vaccine card should be attached to your passport if possible so as not to loose it. (Rubber band or staple) Fears of Travel: Travelling is meant to be enjoyed. But in some travellers there is a fear of travel for a myriad of reasons. The planning stages, during the journey itself and adapting to a new environment on arrival. Consideration of the mental wellbeing of travellers is as important as their physical health.

This ranges from mild anxiety to extreme anxiety and outright paranoia.

This can cause health consequences and adversely affect the immune, cardiovascular, neuro-endocrine and central nervous systems putting you at risk to develop new ailments or worsen

current ailments. Mental health problems may be overlooked. Depression and anxiety are responsible for many problems. Only a minority of mental health problems are severe and/or persistent. This could disrupt your travel and even cancelation of your trip or early return home. May occur in travellers with no pre-existing history and in those with a current or previous history of mental illness.

Contributory/Risk Factors: People travel for a wide variety of reasons, many of which place an extra level of stress on the traveller. Those visiting friends and relatives may be travelling at short notice to visit sick relatives, attend a funeral or wedding, all of which can increase the chances of stress. A wide range of factors have been suggested to disrupt stable stress.

Time zone changes and jet lag or sleep deprivation during travel, disruption of normal routines especially due to delays during travel and unexpected events, unfamiliar surroundings and presence of strangers, Language barriers, use of drugs and alcohol and also physical ill health during travel.

Management Strategies: -A pretravel consultation should always include a previous and current psychiatric history. General assessment of the travellers’ mood that is severe anxiety related to travel plans, Recognition that travelling can be stressful. Travellers with current or previous mental health problems, and those who are anxious about travel should be advised to consider the following points for different stages of their trip.

Pre-Travel:-Ensure journeys are well thought out and that disruption

2,300 under-5 die daily in Nigeria - NGO ...says country 2nd largest contributor to global under-5 mortality SIKIRAT SHEHU, ILORIN

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Non Governmental Organisation, Good Governance Team (GGT) has bemoaned the high maternal and infant mortality rate in Nigeria.

It a l s o n o t e d t h a t the country is the second largest contributor to the under five mortality rate in the world.

Speaking to BusinessDay in Ilorin, Tunde Salman, the Conveyer of Good Governance Team, disclosed that findings revealed that one in 13 women die during pregnancy and 68 new born deaths are recorded for every 1,000 live birth in Nigeria.

“Every single day, Nigeria loses about 2,300 under five years old, making our country the second largest contributor to the less than five mortality rate in the world, owing to energy deficit and inadequate infrastructure”, adding that these deaths are highly avoidable if effective and functional primary health care services are put in place,” he said.

Speaking on a just concluded research, titled, “Improving Access to Clean

HBL TEAM

Reliable Energy for Primary Health Care Centres in Nigeria”, he lamented the poor quality of service delivery to the citizenry in the Primary Health Care sector in Nigeria.

Hence, he called for improved budgetary allocation to the health sector towards reinvigorating Primar y Health Care centres in the country, as he even stressed the need for government at all levels to pay priority attention to the development of health sector.

The Co-Researcher attributed challenges in the health sector to decline in budget allocation to the sector, saying “”For the 2018 fiscal year, the sum of N340.46 billion was appropriated for health sector - representing 3.95% for the total national budget, making it lowest in recent times compared to 4.16% for 2017.”

He therefore, urged the Federal Government to increase funding to healthcare systems in Nigeria, to ensure a sustainable energy in Primarily Health Care (PHC) centres.

He noted that according to findings, the quality of energy accessed in health

facilities mostly have ripple effect on other aspects of health services.

Salman, further stated that vaccines for child killer diseases such as pneumonia, polio, neonatal tetanus, measles, mumps, chicken pox, tuberculosis among others, need to be stored in cool temperature, thereby, necessitating increased access to reliable electricity.

While expressing concern over the deplorable conditions of many PHCs centres in Nigeria, which has put them at a disadvantage, he called for transparency in the funding process for the health facilities He s u g g e s t e d t h a t with provision of basic infrastructure and amenities at the PHCs, there will be effective health care service delivery in the country.

This, according to him, to starts with the provision of regular water supply, steady clean energy, ability to generate revenue to augment running cost and more attention from government to help both the patients, medical practitioners and as well upgrade Nigeria health sector.

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Medication should be carried in hand luggage in original containers, appropriately labelled. A doctors’ letter, or repeat prescription leaflet detailing all medication and dosages should be carried

due to delays has been considered and planned for. Where fear of flying is a major cause of anxiety, travellers can be directed to specialised courses run by airlines to combat this.

Ensure the destination, country and language has been well researched prior to the trip in order to prepare for unfamiliar surroundings.

Determine how to access medical facilities, including mental health services during travel.

Ensure adequate travel insurance which specifically covers mental health issues.

Medication, ensure adequate prescribed medication is available for the total duration of the trip; an additional 1-2 weeks should be carried for contingencies such as lost or stolen medication.

Medication should be carried in hand luggage in original containers, appropriately labelled. A doctors’ letter, or repeat prescription leaflet detailing all medication and dosages should be carried.

During Transit: Ensure travellers are aware of the potential detrimental effects of time zone changes on stress and adequately advised on lag.

Compliance with medication (for physical or mental health) must be maintained during journey to destination – coping with time zone changes and timing of medication should be discussed.

Maintaining adequate hydration and calorie intake while avoiding drugs and alcohol during travel will reduce travel stress.

To be continued next week

Why you need to drink more water

W

ater is the substance that all life requires to survive.

Without water, no living thing on earth can survive; whether we want to accept it or not, we are nothing without water. A human being is made up of over 60percent of water. It is found in every part of our bodies, our cells, blood, bone, organs, skin, and eyes and so on. Water is very necessary for digestion and for liver and kidney function.

Water is found in saliva which is necessary for the beginning of digestion in the mouth. Water also allows us to digest soluble fiber which is very important for our digestive health.

Water helps flush out waste products which are excreted through sweat, exhalation (breathing out) urine and feces which all four consisting mainly of water. Drinking enough water will help ease constipation as well.

The average Nigerian is chronically dehydrated without knowing it. We think all we need is a sip or small glass of water with each meal, and some of us will drink soft drinks, alcohol and other drinks instead.

The average pers on sweats out between 1-1.5 litres every day, and loses about 0.8 litres from just

regular breathing. When including urination, the body loses 2 – 3 litres of water per day. This is for someone who isn’t physically active; people who are physically active or undergo vigorous exercise lose more water.

Not drinking enough water can lead to several issues that could be injurious to health. Lack of enough water can make your eyes and mouth dry. This is because water is needed to moisturize mucous membranes which include that of the eyes and mouth. Dry eyes can lead to eye irritation and blurry vision. A dry mouth can lead to an increase in bacteria in the mouth thereby causing dental cavities and infections. A dry mouth can also cause bad breath.

Not having enough water in your system may cause you to have achy joints. This is because water is necessary to lubricate the joints and keep the cartilage soft.

Also do you sometimes have a headache for no apparent reason? It might be because of mild dehydration. When next you are experiencing a headache, try drinking 2 glasses of water before rushing to take a pain killer.

Dehydration can also cause concentration problems, as your brain uses 20percent of your blood circulation. Blood made up

of mostly water, so a lack of water in your system will affect blood flow. In addition, chronic dehydration causes a rise in cholesterol. In an attempt to try and keep the cells hydrated, the body produces more cholesterol possibly putting your health at risk. Finally, drinking water is awesome for your skin! It keeps pimples away, hydrates the skin and makes you glow and look radiant.

In conclusion, we all need to increase our water intake especially as we live in a very hot country and in this very dry season. A great way to calculate the amount of water you need in litres per day is to multiply your weight in kilograms by 0.033. For example, a woman weighing 60kg would need about 2 litres of water.

Keep in mind you have to increase the amount of water if you exercise, live or sleep in a house with little ventilation, or work in laborious jobs that make you sweat.

Let us try and increase our water drinking habits this week and reap the wonderful benefits to our body and skin!

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

ANTHONIA OBOKOH and ANI MICHAEL / Reporters. Email: obokoh.anthonia@businessdayonline.com I David Ogar, Graphics

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Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Harvard Business Review

MANAGEMENTDIGEST

How to lead your fellow rainmakers the fact that the three leadership dynamics are interconnected. If they discover your political maneuvering, your peers will quickly question your legitimacy. That will undermine your ability to negotiate the balance between control and autonomy, as will the failure to convince people you’re acting in their interests rather than your own.

LAURA EMPSON COLLECTIVELY, DYNAMICALLY — AND VERY CAREFULLY

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n conventional corporate settings, leaders are expected to inspire and direct their employees — leading is something they do to followers. But in professional service firms, the leadership dynamics are different, because the power relationships are different. Consulting, accounting, law firms and investment banks tend to be full of highly opinionated rainmakers, who don’t easily accept the role of follower — and may be just as unwilling to act as leaders.

Power in organizations belongs to people who control access to key resources. In professional service firms, those resources are specialized expertise, major client relationships and reputation in the market.

Firms may try to codify and capitalize on them, but they cannot exist independently of the people who possess them. In partnerships, which many professional service firms are, this is recognized in the firm’s legal structure, because senior professionals own the business.

As a result, power is widely dispersed in professional service firms — autonomy is extensive and authority is contingent.

That places severe constraints on professional service firm leaders, who are entirely dependent on the continued support of their peers to get anything done.

I’ve been studying and advising the leaders of such firms for the past 25 years. Through this research, and with the help of my colleague Johan Alvehus at Lund University, I’ve identified three distinct yet interconnected dynamics — establishing legitimacy, maneuvering politically and negotiating perpetually — that explain how collective leadership actually happens among professionals. At the heart of each lies a tension between the actions of people in leadership positions and how colleagues respond to and interpret their actions. These tensions create an inherently un-

stable equilibrium. To maintain a balance, firm leaders must work constantly with their colleagues to manage these tensions.

ESTABLISHING LEGITIMACY In conventional organizations rising stars are often advised to demonstrate their potential by seeking out leadership responsibilities. But in a professional service firm, it’s wise to be wary.

When a boss invites you to take on a “leadership” role, he or she may simply be trying to offload burdensome administrative responsibilities. You risk getting sidetracked from income-generating client work and being seen by your peers as a glorified administrator.

Another mistake that professionals often make is to believe they can rise up in their firms just by doing technically brilliant work — by being respected and recognized by colleagues as an expert.

That’s essential to surviving the progressive culls of staff in the early stages of your career, but the game changes as you approach the rank of partner.

Among professionals, legitimacy as a leader ultimately depends on your ability to generate revenue — in other words, to be a good rainmaker. My research has found that the people who reach the top of professional service firms are outstanding at winning new business and at managing the most demanding and lucrative clients;

they also work harder and longer at earning fees than their peers do (in an environment where extended hours are the norm). Because colleagues see them as role models, they’re willing to cede authority to them.

LY

MANEUVERING POLITICAL-

Although I never asked interviewees specifically about office politics, they were often keen to tell me how much they abhorred political behavior.

But, in an environment characterized by extensive autonomy and contingent authority, political maneuvering is simply how leadership happens. Leaders need to create and sustain consensus among peers and offer them incentives in private to persuade them to lend their support in public. To carry this off and maintain their authority, leaders need four core political skills: networking ability, interpersonal influence, social astuteness and apparent sincerity.

Professionals distrust colleagues who seem to want power over them. It’s OK to be ambitious for the firm, but you should not seem ambitious for yourself.

There is a clear link between being a good rainmaker and being a good campaigner. But there’s much more to leadership in a professional service firm than just that.

NEGOTIATING PERPETUALLY Striking a balance between exercising autonomy and asserting control is far from straightforward.

It involves perpetual negotiating Knowing what actions to take is only part of the challenge. You need to understand when to take them, with whom and how to persuade your colleagues that you’re working in their best interests rather than your own.

One chairman compared the process to “walking a tightrope — helping my partners feel like owners, feel involved and be engaged, but not dominating them, not getting out in front and not having a huge ego, which makes them feel like the chairman’s kind of off on his own trip. At the same time being strong and providing them with a sense of confidence that we’re going somewhere.”

AN UNSTABLE EQUILIBRIUM In addition to perpetually negotiating, the leader of a professional service firm must keep a constant eye on the other two dynamics. To retain your legitimacy, you need to continue to be successful in the market, despite the fact that you can no longer devote yourself full time to fee-earning work. You must constantly maneuver politically, as alliances shift among partners and their relative power waxes and wanes.

The instability is amplified by

2017 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp. Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate

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Expertise It’s in our DNA

In an ever changing economy, with 125 years of serving YOU, we remain strong, trustworthy, dependable, safe and consistent.

You can be confident that we will continue to deliver innovative banking products and services which seamlessly and conveniently suit your lifestyle needs.

Visit www.firstbanknigeria.com to learn more about us.

COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP It’s important to remember that collective leadership is continuous. Leadership dynamics are constantly in flux as the equilibrium is destabilized and restabilized. So collective leadership is not something that is done to followers but is a process done with colleagues.

The leadership team of a professional service firm in effect includes all the partners; in some firms, collective leadership requires input and support from many hundreds of individuals.

When you’re a managing or senior partner, your peers may look to you to be their heroic leader, and you may be tempted to take up that mantle. But you need to keep reflecting the leadership challenge back onto them — to keep reminding them and yourself that leadership is a collective activity. If it feels lonely at the top, that’s probably because you’re not doing it right.

Laura Empson is the professor in the management of professional service firms at Cass Business School, London, and the director of the Cass Centre for Professional Service Firms. She is also a senior research fellow at Harvard Law School’s Center on the Legal Profession. She has devoted the past 25 years to researching and advising professional service firms on leadership, governance and organizational change. Her most recent book, “Leading Professionals: Power, Politics and Prima Donnas” is published by Oxford University Press. Before becoming an academic she worked as a strategy consultant and investment banker.

Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

23

LEGALPERSPECTIVES With Odunayo Oyasiji

By Perchstone & Graeys

Pension contributions – Is it for everyone?

I

t was a Friday like any other for Mr. Paul, a 65 year old Accountant working with a medium sized organisation. Mr. Paul stepped into the office complex at his usual punctual time holding his black brief case and with a smile on his face. To his greatest surprise however, he was welcomed with a standing ovation by his colleagues who cheered him as he made his way to his desk. It wasn’t just another day, it was his last day of work. As an employee who had faithfully served his employer for 30 years and being at the brink of retirement, the post-employment realities became glaring to Mr. Paul. He was excited about what the future held for him and at that moment, his perceived reward (end of service benefits and pension pay outs).

Fast-forwarding to a few weeks after retirement, Mr. Paul pays a visit to his Pension Fund Administrator, only to find out that his account was empty. Nothing was remitted!. He was shocked and greatly dismayed. Where lies the cushion to a retiree like Mr. Paul in the absence of a pension? Aren’t all employers, like those of Mr. Paul, required to ensure pension remittances? Where the employer has failed and the employee is no longer with the organisation (or retired like in the present case), can the employer simply pay all unremitted sums/deductions directly to the employee?

Whilst an employee is presumably entitled to his pension, there may be circumstances where an employer may not be required to make pension deductions and/or contributions. This was considered in the recent case of National Pension Commission V. Omatek Computers Limited, where the National Industrial Court (“NIC”/ “Court”) analyzed certain factors that must be established before an employer can be held liable to make pension contributions.

Facts An employee of Omatek Computers Limited (OCL), Mr. Ayinde Oladimeji filed a complaint with the National Pension Commission (“Commission”), alleging that during his three years of employment, his employer remitted his pension contributions into his Retirement Savings Account only once, despite making deductions from his monthly salary.

Considering its powers under the Pension Reform Act 2014, the Commission wrote several letters to OCL and demanded that OCL remit all outstanding contributions due to its employees and former employees who had, at different times, filed complaints to the Commission on the same issue.

Following OCL’s failure to comply with the directives of the Commission, the Commission instituted an action against OCL at the National Industrial Court seeking, amongst other reliefs: 1. A declaration that the defendant had by its failure, neglect and refusal to remit its employees’ and its own coun-

terpart portion of the monthly pension contributions to the respective employees’ Retirement Savings Accounts with their Pension Fund Administrators is in a flagrant breach and in violation of both the Pension Reform Act, 2014 and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

2. An order directing the defendant to furnish to the claimant complete evidence of remittance and to always remit the employer and employee portion of the contributory pension in line with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act, 2014 with the attendant schedules.

3. An order directing the defendant to pay all outstanding monthly employer & employee pension contributions of its former and current employees at the rate of 75% (sic) respectively up till June 2014, and from then hence, at the rate of 10% and 8% respectively, plus 2% interest penalty on the sums due to each employee in line with the Pension Reform Act, 2014.

Finding/Decision The court, in dismissing the suit, approached the issues under the following subheads thus: 1. Who is an ‘employer’ under the Pension Reform Act (PRA) 2014: Section 120 of the PRA 2014 defines an employer as any organization or business that employs three persons or more. In essence, the minimum threshold needed by law before an employer can be bound by the provisions of the PRA 2014 is the employment of at least three employees.

2.

Obligation to open a Retirement Savings Account: It is the primary obligation of an employee to open a Retirement Savings Account with a Pension Fund Administrator within six months of assumption of office. Where the employee fails to

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do so, the employer is duty bound to open a nominal retirement savings account on behalf of the employee.

3.

Duty of an employer to make deductions: Under Section 11(3) of the PRA, an employer is obligated to deduct at source the monthly contribution of the employee and within 7 (seven) days of such deduction remit the amount to the Pension Fund Custodian mentioned by the Pension Fund Administrator (PFA).

4.

Proof of an employer’s obligation to make pension contributions: It is not enough to simply allege that an employer is liable to make pension contributions or generally state that an employer has more than the minimum statutory number of employees. The claimant must specifically plead the exact number of employees of the employer to enable the Court to determine whether the employer falls within the purview of the PRA. In this case, the Commission’s pleadings did not state the exact number of the employees of OLC, neither did it lead any evidence in that regard. Consequently, the Court held that it cannot make a finding on the basis of speculation or conjecture. As such, once it is not known if a company comes within the purview of the PRA, a claim for pension cannot be considered or granted.

Comments From the wording of PRA 2014, which was reaffirmed by the NIC in this case, for any organization to be bound by the provisions of PRA, it must have up to three employees and this must be established in any action to enforce the provisions of the PRA. This is not to say however, that an employer who is not bound by the PRA, but who deliberately or inadvertently makes deductions from

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an employee’s salary and fails to remit same will be permitted to withhold same on grounds that it is not bound by the PRA. In such cases, the law permits employees to make a claim for a refund of the sums deducted by the employers in the form of ‘monies had and received by the employer’. The Supreme Court has held that “a claim for “money had and received” is in the nature of an equitable remedy to discourage unjust enrichment. It is to prevent a defendant from holding on to money which has come into his possession, which it is against conscience that he should keep.”

(First Bank of Nigeria Plc v Alexander N. Ozokwere (2013) LPELR-21897(SC)) On the other hand, where an employer bound by the PRA makes deductions from an employee’s salaries and fails to make proper contributions and remittances as required by law, an employee is entitled to institute an action to compel the employer to do so. A point to note however, is that an employee cannot seek to compel an employer to pay pension directly to him/ her. Section 11(3) of the PRA is clear on the fact that an employer shall remit an amount comprising the employer and employee’s respective contributions to the Pension Fund Administrator of the employee. This position was re-emphasized by the NIC where it held that “……the Pension Reform Act, whether 2004 or 2014 does not envisage the payment of pension directly to an employee by the employer”. This means that the claim by the claimant that the pension contribution not remitted by the defendant should be paid directly to him cannot to that extent be granted since payment can only be made to an employee’s PFA…”. (Mr. Agbonyi Agbo Geoffrey v. Dangote Agrosacks Limited (Suit No. NICN/LA/315/2013)) In all, a careful review of the provisions of the PRA viz-a-viz the structure and composition of an employer is paramount in pension related matters.

Corporate Corner: Did you know that, every director of a company is required to exercise the powers and discharge the duties of his/ her office honestly, in good faith and in the best interests of the company, and shall exercise that degree of care, diligence and skill which a reasonably prudent director would exercise in comparable circumstances. Any failure by a director in this regard shall ground an action for negligence and breach of duty; Section 282 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA). In the same vein, the matters to which the director of a company is to have regard in the performance of his functions include the interests of the company’s employees in general (including pension contributions) Section 279(4), CAMA.

@Businessdayng

24

Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Hotels

London, the city with highest number of 5-star hotels

Top BusinessDay Partner Hotels

OBINNA EMELIKE

L

ondon has replaced Macau as the city with the highest number of top-rated hotels as new luxury resorts emerged in the European capital, according to the Forbes Travel Guide 2019.

London finished with 13 top-ranking hotels this year, and Macau at a close 12.

The replacement was due to the addition of new fivestar hotels including Bulgari Hotel & Residences; the Langham; Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park; and ShangriLa Hotel, At The Shard.

The annual awards acknowledged a total of 19 hotels in the region, 12 of which are five-star hotels.

The Travel Guide indicated that six new restaurants captured the coveted fivestar achievement for the first time, including new five-star awards for Mizumi at Wynn Palace, Sichuan Moon by Andre Chiang and Wing Lei Palace. Robuchon au Dôme and Pearl Dragon at Star Tower at Studio City Macau also received five-star ratings.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, a standout amongst the awardees was The Peninsula Hotels, which made Forbes Travel Guide history

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

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

by becoming the world’s first all five-star hotel company.

The Peninsula Manila earned its fifth star this year, which pushed the Hong Kong-based brand’s tally to 10 five-star hotels.

China also has a new addition to its highest-rated hotel following the opening of the Bulgari Hotel Beijing.

A total of 210 hotels across the globe were deemed fivestar resorts, up from the 199 properties that made the cut in 2018.

The guide, whose tagline is “We verify luxury,” uses anonymous, professional inspectors who make incognito visits to evaluate luxury hotels around the world.

Forbes assesses each hotel by looking at more than 500 criteria. Scores are computed using an algorithm weighted toward the level of service hotel guests receive. The quality of the facility is also taken into account.

“Our objective, data-driven star rating list features properties that achieved an impeccable standard of excellence in hospitality,” Forbes Travel Guide CEO Filip Boyen said, as cited in a press statement.

“Discerning travelers can trust that each winner is the best of the best. We are pleased to honor the 2019 Star Rating recipients, an exceptional collection of hotels, res-

taurants and spas dedicated to guest service.”

Forbes Travel Guide rates properties in 76 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. Newly added destinations for 2019 include: Anguilla, Bahrain, Belize, Danang, Doha, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, Istanbul, Oman, Perth, Tel Aviv and the Swiss Alps.

The 2019 award recipients include 21 new five-star hotels, 49 new four-stars hotels and 62 new hotels in the “Recommended” category. Other first-time recipients include six five-star restaurants, eight five-star spas and 21 four-star spas.

Transcorp Hilton Abuja excites with Easter package ...promises festive treat for families

T

ranscorp Hilton Abuja has announced this year’s Easter package for hotel guests, offering luxury accommodation, festive dining and entertainment. The package starts from April 18 to 22, 2019.

Highlight of the package is the popular Easter Brunch on Sunday, April 21 – a perennial favorite with the weekend brunching crowd in the city.

The most talked-about Sunday Brunch in the city puts on its Easter theme for the

yearly feast with unlimited rounds of goodness spread across the buffet at the Bukka Restaurant. The hotel’s chefs have decked up a magnificent Easter feast that is larger than usual with all the trimmings, seasonal favorites and endless buffet on Nigerian and continental specialties, while kids can indulge in a host of fun activities.

Some of the activities that will delight the kids during the Easter weekend include egg races, egg hunting egg paint-

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ing, swimming pool games and kids aerobics.

“We are set to create a refreshing and truly festive experience for our Guests during the Easter weekend,” said Kevin Brett, general manager, Transcorp Hilton Abuja.

The Easter package, available at the 667-room Transcorp Hilton Abuja, includes accommodations for 2 adults and 2 children in a standard room. There are pricing options for other room types. The price also includes taxes, buf-

fet breakfast, Wi-Fi and access to all the recreational facilities.

Booking is open for the package for stays from April 18-22, 2019 based on availability.

Transcorp Hilton Abuja provides guests with a complement of services and amenities, including 667 guest rooms, a 1200-persons capacity Congress Hall, 22 meeting rooms, outdoor swimming pool, car rental services, valet or laundry services, gift shop, 7 restaurants and bars including the 24-hour Piano Lounge, 24hour fitness center, business center, and complimentary Wi-Fi. The hotel is also part of Hilton Honors, the award-winning guest-loyalty program for Hilton’s 16 distinct hotel brands. Members who book directly have access to instant benefits, including a flexible payment slider that allows members to choose nearly any combination of Points and money to book a stay, an exclusive member discount, free standard Wi-Fi and the Hilton Honors mobile app. Transcorp Hilton Abuja is located at Maitama District in the center of Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja.

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Protea Hotel Apo Apartments Address: Ahmadu Bello Way, Apo, Abuja Tel: 09 480 1818

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

Tel: +234 9 4603900, +234 805 7522500

Chida Hotel International Address: Plot 224, Solomon Lar Way, Utako, Abuja Tel: 0810 871 8882

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

206 Hotel Plot 206 Cadastral Zone B02 Opposite Kenuj 02 Mall, Oladipo Diya Road, Durumi District, Abuja Tel: 08119707993 Email: 206abuja@gmail.com

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

Protea Hotel (V/Island) Off Ajose Adeogun Street, V/ Island

Gombe Jewel Hotel, 22, Njamena Street, off Aminu Kano crescent Wuse 2, Abuja.

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

Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

25

CULINARY DELIGHTS

At the Tearoom Lagos, every bite tells a story

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ew restaurants in Lagos are constantly opening up. The aim for many of them is to create a wow factor that will solidify their presence and clientele in the competitive Lagos culinary business. The truth is, unfortunately for various reasons many restaurants open and close within the first two years… that being said, I have a feeling that this will not be the case for the Tea Room Lagos.

chicken wings and these ones were delicious.

The Chicken Cordon Bleu did it for me, it’s deep fried chicken breast with an explosive cheese filling on the inside, the combination was simply scrumptious. My friend Bofie Itombra had a chicken burger with fries and berry smoothie and she really enjoyed her meal.

Once we were done, we had a chance to speak to the head Chef who makes the delicious food at the Tea Room, he started his

My experience at the Tea Room was everything I expected and more. Everything about this space is soothing and relaxing.

The flowers make you feel like you are in a botanical garden, the food is delicious and the service was excellent. I also love the fact that their website is fully functioning and up to date so you can check out the menu and make reservations online.

This place is perfect for a girl’s brunch, a tea and pastry afternoon snack, a birth-

Like many people, I came across the Tea Room on Instagram. The likelihood of scrolling past a post of someone you know or someone well known at this hot spot is very likely. The Tea Room Lagos opened its doors to the public in late 2018 and was founded by Denike Balogun an entrepreneur who says the concept of the restaurant was inspired by her love for unique dining and bar experience, as well as her love for the art of floristry and tea.

Upon arrival at the Tea Room which is conveniently located off Admiralty Way before the Lekki Ikoyi Bridge, I was warmly greeted by two security guards who said “Welcome to the Tea Room” which I found very charming. They then led me into what felt like a pink wonderland, a wonderland filled with beautiful things and coordinated pastel and metallic furniture. As I made my way up the unique flower filled stairs I was in awe of how beautiful it was inside.

Not only does the The Team Room radiate positivity with its unique bright decoration and picture worthy backdrops, the Tea Room also offers a wide range of culinary varieties to suit all tastes and indulgences, from mouthwatering pastries and high tea to jumbo shrimp, sandwiches, chicken escalope, a good variety of pasta and much more.

On this occasion, I had the chicken lollipops as a starter and the Chicken Cordon Bleu with fries as my main meal. Chicken lollipops are an alternative to the traditional

culinary journey in Enugu, Nigeria where he discovered his culinary abilities watching and observing his mother in the kitchen. He later moved to Lagos to look for work and discovered new cuisines through training and apprenticeship.

He said he particularly enjoys trying new recipes and according to him “the Tea Room Lagos is the best restaurant in town”. It was refreshing to see him so enthusiastic about his talents and work.

day dinner, a private event or launch, it’s also perfect for a date or even a romantic proposal. I definitely recommend you make a reservation during peak hours, as the Tea Room Lagos is often full, especially on weekends.

It is truly the place for diners who appreciate good food and positive vibes and want to take beautiful pictures while doing so. I highly recommend this restaurant and can’t wait to hear about your Tea Room Lagos

@lehlelalumiere Lehle works at BusinessDay in Strategy Innovation and Partnerships, she is also a financial inclusion advocate and radio anchor.

Originally from Senegal Lehle has a passion for food and culinary experiences and enjoys discovering new restaurants in Lagos.

RATING Chicken Lollipops N3500 Chicken Cordon Bleu with fries N6000 Chicken Burger with fries N5500 Wild Berry Smoothie N3000 Total: 18000

Contact: www.thetearoomlagos.com

To make recommendations or for collaborations please send an email to lehle.balde@businessday.ng www.businessday.ng

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26

Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

entertainment

Queen Moremi the Musical returns this Easter Stories by Obinna Emelike

A

s the Easter edition of Queen M o re m i T h e Musical stage play makes a comeback in Lagos, some inspiring musical performances, laced with thought-provoking storytelling await Nigerians this season.

The musical, which holds at the Terra Kulture Arena, Victoria Island, Lagos, from April 18 to May 5, 2019 is expected to thrill prominent personalities, theatre and drama lovers.

As well, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife, will be headlining a distinguished audience of traditional and community leaders to the event on April 22, in affirmation of his passion to support women in leadership, as symbolized by the exploits of Queen Moremi over 1,700 years ago.

The executive producers of the musical - the House of Oduduwa Foundation, Rejevenee and Bolanle Austen-Peters Productions - in a statement, said arrangements have been finalized to ensure a breathtaking event.

Besides reinforcing the fact that performance is central to human experience, underlining the event is the reenactment of the life and times of Queen Moremi, which illustrates the pivotal role of women in societal development and to enable the younger generation, especially women, to recognize and aspire for leadership roles in society, which stood out the Queen in the history and liberation of Ile Ife town.

It would be recalled that Queen Moremi Ajasoro was a courageous, selfless, and beautiful woman from Ile-Ife. Follow ing incessant raids by a neighboring tribe and with Ife under siege, she took the heroic step of offering herself to be captured by the raiders. The goal was to be taken prisoner and be taken to the land of the marauders for intelligence gathering. The attempt worked as her beauty and intellect enchanted the King of the Ugbo tribe who married her and she became Queen. She learned the secrets of the raiders which the Ife subsequently exploited to achieve victory.

Moremi the Musical is a story of love, faith, honour and the ultimate sacrifice.

Screen stars are set to take over the stage with their electrifying performance which is known to have fully enthralled the whole of Nigeria the previous season.

Speaking on the musical. Olufunso Amosun, the

O

ne of the most anticipated Nollywood films of 2019, ‘4th Republic’ premiered on Sunday, April 7, 2018 at IMAX, Filmhouse Cinemas, Lekki Lagos.

The premiere played out the election theme with PVCs, ballot boxes, and election staff as ushers. With a dress code themed ‘Your Excellency’, the stars and guests explored the inauguration themed dress code in full force.

Members of the cast and crew; Kate Henshaw, Enyinna Nwigwe, Linda Ejiofor, Sani Muazu, Kemi ‘Lala’ Akindoju, Bimbo Manuel and Yakubu Mohammed were joined by star guests such as Sola Sobowale, Waje, Tope Oshin, Chigul, Omojuwa, Kehinde Bankole, Linda Osifo, Lilian Afegbai, Denrele Edun and many others at the Sunday

night premiere.

Directed by Ishaya Bako, 4th Republic is woven around a rigged election, violence and an intense election tribunal to claim the seat of governor from a corrupt incumbent.

“The feedback has truly surpassed our expectations,” Director Ishaya Bako explained. “I am very grateful to everyone for their turnout at premiere, we can’t wait for everyone to finally see our movie April 12” he added.

After her campaign manager Sikiru (Jide Attah) turns up dead, gubernatorial aspirant Mabel King (Kate Henshaw) challenges the victory of the incumbent, Idris Sani (Sani Mu’azu) for her mandate. King is supported by her aide Ike (Eyinna Nwigwe) and Sikiru’s daughter Bukky (Linda Ejiofor) while Sani’s associate St. James (Bimbo Manuel) and Ike’s Law School rival, Danladi (Yakubu Mohammed) try to take down witnesses. www.businessday.ng

all women that believe in and represent core values of womanhood, women that exemplify and promote integrity, dignity, courage, hard work, sacrifice, contentment, justice, humanity and love.”

She added, “The purpose of this project is to celebrate women and to proudly

Del-York Creative Academy brings month-long training to Nollywood

Ishaya Bako’s ‘4th Republic’ premieres in Lagos IFEOMA OKEKE

Moremi of Yourba Land, said, “I know that I am not worthy to hold a candle to the magnanimity of the Queen Moremi heroine being celebrated. I therefore take solace in the belief that promoting the legacies of Queen Moremi provides to the unanimously acknowledge and celebrate

showcase our history and project our vibrant rich culture to the entire world; to keep our identity, values and traditions alive especially amongst the youth, our upcoming next generation.”

Global Ambassador of Queen Moremi Ajasoro Brand, Princess Aderonke Ademiluyi, said the Moremi concept is a franchise of the House of Oduduwa Foundation and a number of projects were initiated by the foundation in order to immortalize the legend.

“We are dedicated to telling our story and the story of Queen Moremi is about ultimate girl power, and a woman who dedicated her life to ensure that her home town of Ile Ife was safe from invaders. She was an epitome of great female leadership as great leaders would always put the love of their people before themselves”, Ademiluyi said.

With all these going for the musical, Ademiluyi explained that same objectives were the reasons the organisers have requested the phenomenal Bolanle Austen-Peters to give the public an outstanding show this Easter.

The plot mimics Nigeria’s current political situation; a presidential election marred by allegations of rigging, pockets of violence across the country and an aggrieved presidential candidate, in court for his mandate. It is out nationwide April 12, 2019.

4th Republic’ is written

by Emil Garuba and Zainab Omaki. The film is co-produced by Griot Studios Ltd. and Amateur Heads Productions with Bem Pever, Ishaya Bako, Kemi ‘Lala’ Akindoju and Ummi Yakubu serving as Producers.

The film is funded by grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA). 4th Republic was shot on location in Abuja, Lokoja and Lagos. It is distributed by FilmOne Distribution. With an Abuja premiere on April 11 at the Dunes centre, 4th Republic is out April 12, 2019 across cinemas nationwide.

F

rom May 10-June 10, 2019, the Del-York Creative Academy (DCA)’s world-class programme will relaunch in Lagos with 20 of the most prolific film and media instructors from major Hollywood studios and a premier US film school. Students will enjoy an extensive menu of courses including; directing, screenwriting, editing, acting, sound design and scoring, music video production and broadcast journalism. Other courses include; costume & set design, make-up & special effects, cinematography & set lighting , coloring and grading, producing, the business of filmmaking, introduction to theater, production design, animation design and drone technology.

Home to over 1, 200 successfully-trained alumni exporting notable contributions in the contemporary film and broadcast industry, the Del-York Creative Academy, (the capacity building arm of Del-York International) has stood the test of time for over a decade as Africa’s premier filmmaking and media training hub.

The Academy kicked off its first edition on a historical note, partnering with the most notable capacity-

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building institution in the world, based in New York.

Five editions later, it stands alone as the Del-York Creative Academy, poised to spur an educational-reform and transform the world of media education by replacing classroom theory with a “vocational/hands-on approach to learning”.

Also, in a bid to empower the next generation, 500 of Africa’s most talented creative disruptors will be selected from across the continent: Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa, Gambia, Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Chad, Morocco, and other African nations, will be groomed under Project 500. Their vital mission is to “change the African narrative and drive social change across the continent,” in what has been termed, the most intensive hands-on training program in Africa, crashing a rigorous six-month curriculum into just four weeks.

As part of their final projects, selected participants will partner with international media partners to curate original feature films, documentaries, skits, short videos, television commercials, and video content to spearhead a social intervention agenda across Africa. @Businessdayng

The best graduating student, demonstrating global-standard promise, will be awarded a brand-new car! Indeed, Del-York Creative Academy has remained true to its ethos from the very beginning “Capacity Building” to foster “Nation Building.”

Sponsors, partners, alumni, and executives who have worked closely with the Academy extol it highly.

The institution’s previous achievements and the partnerships forged with Hollywood are a feat unprecedented anywhere else in Africa, but what makes the Del-York Creative Academy unique, according to Linus Idahosa, its founder, is the academy’s hands-on approach to learning.

In an interview at the Del-York’s headquarters, on Tuesday, he said, “To compete in the real world; the best of our raw talents would need to be pruned in fire; by learning how to commercialize their crafts; our artist would be transformed from show-stoppers to game changers. Though we appreciate film theory, our Academy is not for theorists, it is for the pragmatic and for those who are ready to turn their creative tools into instruments of real change”

Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

27

entertainment

Leadership protocol Business etiquette

Janet Adetu

H

as it ever occurred to you that great leaders or people of leadership status have one unique thing in common, that is a sense of responsibility and positive impact? It is not by mistake when you hear the statement “Some were born to be leaders”, this is in fact quite a visibly true statement.

A primary or infant school teacher can almost accurately identify those children who have the potential and tendency to be good leaders of tomorrow. Of course, everyone has it in them to display great leadership traits, some however more than others. There is a unique trait that states outstanding characteristics, behaviour, attitude and attributes that make these individuals stand out from the rest.

Leaders project outstanding characteristics, behaviour, attitude and attributes that make them stand out from the rest. As a leader your mind set is fine tuned to wanting to have a positive impact on all around you; whether it is your immediate family, extended family, friends, colleagues, social group, institution or organization.

There is a belief that you can steer the ship towards success, victory, progress, development and overall achievement.

It goes without saying that adopting a position of leadership is no small task.

To be called a leader or earn a title of

leadership status it comes with an image amount of merit and trust that can create a positive influential impression.

It is also important to be aware that not all leaders are successful or are capable of steering a ship to victory. Leadership in today’s economy and evolving world involves image elements of discipline, dedication, commitment, honesty, courage and confidence. Leadership can fail if you approach tasks with an unconscious attitude and destructive minded.

Leadership and Etiquette My perspective on leadership is highly related to your level of etiquette.

It takes time to develop into a wellgroomed leader just as it takes time to build a worthy self-image. It will require your willingness to acquire new knowledge and develop the much refined soft skills that will set your trait.

The ultimate etiquette and protocol skills are simply the ABCD of life: • Attitude (Articulate) • Behaviour (Befitting) • Communication (Charismatic) • Demeanour (Distinct) Your ability to understand these essential soft skills will propel you to

outstanding leadership abilities. Let us begin to analyse the importance of these leadership traits.

Articulate Attitude Your attitude towards your life, your success, the people around you, your

career or your business once refined will set the tone for positive interactions compelling innovative ideas and drive results. Having the correct attitude, you will appear more likeable, approachable, authoritative, trustworthy and distinctive. Your dress sense will stand out as your approach to daily scenarios will be more calculated and your presence will be felt.

Befitting Behaviour Great leaders exhibit behaviour that highlights responsibility in huge proportions. Even in the midst of bad situations they aim is to turn a bad situation around for the better.

As you climb up the leadership ladder, as a leader your behaviour is always on the radar; you are constantly being watched, judged and mirrored. Some will pick up on your positive attributes, others on your negative weaknesses.

Knowing how to conduct yourself at all times will sift you from the pack and put you high on the pedestal. Great leaders modify their behaviours regularly and learn from past mistakes.

With a combination of almost perfect behaviour and the correct attitude you are on your way towards building a self-image that emulates the required self-esteem and confidence.

Charismatic Communication Your communication skills are the striking features that gets you noticed as a leader. It is essential to understand that it is not just what you say that commands respect for you. Personally, I feel that your non-verbal communication skills are far more important or just as essential to the behaviour and attitude you portray. Your leadership traits should display a positive body language that is assertive and states your true state of mind thus how you are feeling. Your gestures should not fall below expectations.

Presidents, Heads of States, the head of the monarchy, have been

‘

Leadership can fail if you approach tasks with an unconscious attitude and destructive minded

groomed elegantly to represent their leadership roles. It is not by accident that you see first ladies or women of power and substance taking etiquette sessions to better their posture, speaking skills and looks. This is because they are trying to achieve an ultimate image of outstanding leadership, power and success. This is an image that will be acceptable to all that see them and to all they interact with.

As a leader the way you stand, walk, sit, smile, speak and look are all encompassing of what I term your Total Personal Package (TPP). This is a self-image comprising of the hidden inner image, your expected image, your received image. In addition when you voice out to speak you must be articulate, convincing, command attention and cultivate a positive impact. Great leaders tend to have something to share that others can benefit from.

VISUAL vs VIRTUAL IMPRESSION Your virtual impression is just as important as your visual impression.

Your written communication skills are by far also highly representative of good leadership. You must not be misleading; you need to stand by your views and address situations accordingly.

In communicating with others there is no room for slang’s, abbreviations, misquotes, or even half measured responses. Your ability to perfect your verbal communication skills on the phone, in conferences or public speaking engagements as well as your own written communication skills by way of writing emails, sending important text and instant messages will produce a sense of ease and confidence around you that will affect others. Lead by example they say, it is a sure way to exhibit great leadership.

Please be kind to share your experience. Follow me on all social media platforms @Janetadetu.

Send me an email at janet.adetu@jsketiquetteconsortium.com

Movie Review – “US”

Linda Ochugbua

S

o for those of you who thought ‘Get Out” by the popular Director Jordan Peele, was lit, wait till you watch this brand new movie “US.” Most people actually felt he even told a better story here, quiet creepy and weird but then I enjoyed it. Despite the fact I never like horror movies, there was just something really nice and thrilling about the way the story was brought to life. I can assure you that this is one of those movies that leave you spellbound and speechless after watching and yet makes you want to see it again to get a better understanding of the movie. For a few nights after seeing this movie, I kept thinking to myself, how brilliant the producer must be to think through this, write it down and bring it to reality. It was totally breathtaking and I still can’t get over this movie. Please take note some reviews have scored this movie down, but I guess it’s because they don’t really understand the twist. You would need to be the best judge for this movie, which is why I would definitely recommend this movie, if you are a horror and

thriller movie lover.

There were just so many things really beautiful about this one, from the fantastic production, amazing cast, crew, cinematography, to the locations chosen, everything was so detailed. There was something nice about each cast playing dual roles “the real earthly role and the cloned role in Red. The twist to the storyline made it so interesting for me but please take note to get a full grasp of their thriller movie you must start from the very beginning and stay glued till the very end or else you end more even more confused than when it started.

“Us” the movie started quiet slowly as its typical to every horror or thriller movie, but then picks up very quickly just few scenes from the beginning and keeps the tempo high till the very end. The movie started with the scene of Lupita Nyong’o known as “Adelaide Wilson” and her family who were on a road trip to their getaway home for the summer holiday, she was married to her husband “Gabe” and they had a son called “Jason” and a daughter named “Zora”. They had a smooth ride, got home unpacked and started out the holiday the next day, by taking some time out to relax on the beach, while on the beach Jason gets missing and Adelaide freaks out. The movie quickly went on to the next level when that night they suddenly took note of another family in their drive way that looked exactly like them, more of like a clone of each of them from the underworld who wanted to take charge of their lives here on earth. It was a terrible night on earth as most families lost their loved ones, and it

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seemed like no one was left on earth beside the “Wilson’s family”. At first it all seemed like a joke till they broke in and took each look alike on a wild goose chase, but for a weird reason didn’t kill any of them. You will have to see the entire movie to find out how they fought to save their lives, go to the underworld to bring back her son and destroy all trace and track once and for all so she could keep her life for good, what a movie indeed this was.

Cast: Lupita Nyong’O, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Shahadi Wright-Joseph, Evan Alex Genre: Horror, Mystery & Suspense Director/Written by: Jordan Peele Ratings: R (For Violence/terror and lan-

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guage) Runtime: 120minutes Release Date: March 22nd 2019 So far it’s so easy to tell my verdict from my excitement and recommendation, I totally loved and enjoyed the movie, I am technically not supposed to love it, considering the fact that I am not a horror movie fan. The honest truth as I said earlier was that there was something weird and nice about this new movie, hence my score of 9.5/10, they totally killed it, and thinking of it now, I am wondering if we could have found a better black actress to play this lead role, but no I just can’t lay my hands on any. Everything was on point, although some people might try to find some loop holes at the end of the movie, please don’t try to over think and explain the movie, after all it’s just a movie and you can’t find a logical explanation for everything not even in reality.

Now will I recommend this movie? Yes, yes and yes and this is in total affirmation, please make sure you pay complete attention and you smile like I am doing even days after, when you get a full grasp of what he was trying to pass across.

Feel free to review any movie of your choice in not more than 200 words, please send us a mail to linda@businessdayonline.com , also please do answer the question of the week on social media and stand a chance to win a free movie ticket.

Linda Ochugbua @lindaochugbua

@Businessdayng

28

Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

INTERVIEW ‘Nigeria’s gas sector is robust enough to support growth in both export and domestic markets’ VICTOR OKORONKWO is the 1st Vice President, Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) & Senior Vice President at Aiteo Eastern E&P Ltd with over 30 years of Oil and Gas Industry experience. In this interview with FRANK UZUEGBUNAM, Okoronkwo talks about investment opportunities in Nigeria’s gas sector, using gas as a tool of West African sub-regional co-operation, power privatisation amongst other issues. Excerpts: What kind of challenge does seeking to attract investment to Nigeria gas sector face? he Nigeria gas sector holds enormous investment potential from a resource perspective with over 180Tcf of discovered natural gas reserves. So, the gas sector in Nigeria is robust enough to support growth in both export and domestic markets. Despite numerous efforts, growth in the Nigeria’s gas market seems to have stagnated in both markets. However, recent policy initiatives and pronouncements from the Petroleum Ministry seem to re-energize the sector leading to the increasing hope for the Train7 of the NLNG, the ANOH project development, the trans-national AKK pipeline, the Brass Fertiliser project, etc.

The sector however, still faces challenges in attracting investments. These challenges can be categorized broadly as follows: Low domestic market off-take due to inadequate infrastructure, high debt owed by the electricity sector impacting major domestic gas suppliers, illiquidity in the power market arising from non-cost reflective tariffs and inadequacy in metering and revenue collection, quasi price control in the domestic gas market, multiplicity of policies and lack of clarity on the regulatory landscape occasioned by the non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill.

Hopefully with the elections now over, government may take steps to help mitigate these challenges.

Where are the most attractive opportunities in the Nigeria gas sector at the moment?

Nigeria is resource-rich in natural gas with over 180Tcf of discovered reserves and about 600Tcf of upside potential. Therefore, from a resource perspective, there are lots of attractive opportunities. However due to some or all the factors I mentioned earlier, the most attractive opportunities for natural gas investment seem to tend towards export-oriented projects. This is mainly because of market uncertainties within the domestic gas sector, a situation that is not helped by the huge debt owed the sector by the electricity sector. Even existing market dynamics show that domestic supplies hover around 1.2bcf/d to 1.5bcf/d, whereas the export supplies are in excess of 3bcf/d. In fact, new gas developments targeting existing LNG expansion far outstrip the development from ANOH which is being celebrated as the biggest domestic supply project in country.

Several studies have shown that with the right environment, the domestic sector could grow to over 3bcf/d in the medium term. So, opportunities to triple the domestic sector exist under the right conditions of infrastructure expansion and downstream utilization projects bankability.

Opportunities also exist within the LPG and the virtual pipeline space. Nigerian LPG consumption at less than 2kg per capita is far below the regional average. This provides tremendous investment opportunities, but the government needs to step in to level the playing field amongst local producers and major IOC and NLNG producers, particularly with respect to taxes and infrastructure development like transportation, LPG cylinder manufacturing, jetty and storage construction that will aid market penetration.

T

Victor Okoronkwo

The 10th annual international conference and exhibition of NGA late 2018 spoke to ’shift to gas economy-pace and scale of innovation in the West African Sub-Region’.

What role can Nigeria and/or NGA play in helping to foster the economic revitalization and cooperation in the region using gas?

In fact, the terminology shift to gas economy sounds interesting. Interesting because the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the government of Nigeria revolves around the utilization of natural gas. Look at the four priority areas enunciated in that plan: Energy Sufficiency, Transportation, Agriculture, Manufacturing/Industrialization - the common denominator in all these areas is natural gas. Natural gas is a major fuel for power generation, for transportation and key ingredient for manufacturing fertilizer which is required for agriculture. Natural gas derivatives of petrochemical products aid manufacturing and industrialisation, natural gas is also a preferred fuel choice for generating both electricity and steam required for manufacturing. Really, natural gas has a key role to play in unlocking the potentials of the Nigerian economy. So, I think that the ERGP is government’s way of saying we are shifting to a gas-based economy without necessarily saying so, but they should say so. The NGA is engaging with ERGP team with a view to reviewing the plan and highlighting the dependency on natural gas. This will therefore give the natural gas the attention it deserves in our journey to economic development.

For the West African sub-region, in this age of global energy transition, collaboration is required at the sub-regional levels for energy optimization, particularly around natural gas.

There is already a key infrastructure: the West African Gas Pipeline. The countries within the region can leverage this pipeline as enabler for collaboration to ensure the success of the

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‘‘

A recent report by the Nigeria Economic Round Table on Power estimates that Nigeria losses about $29.3bln annually to lack of adequate electricity supply West African Power Pool. There are discussions to extend the WAGP to Cote d’Ivoire and even up to Morocco. Nigeria and indeed the NGA are very well positioned to lead this collaborative effort. This effort has indeed started as you saw at the last NGA conference that you referred to. You will recall that there was attendance from Ghana and a few other West African countries. We at the NGA will be working to embed and deepen these collaborations. NGA has also supported the LPG West Africa Conference and Exhibition focused on building and expanding the LPG business across the West African sub-region.

Similarly, there are also possibilities of extending the northern flank of Nigeria gas transportation system from Abuja, Kaduna, Kano and then Algeria. African Countries are of late also considering REGAS facilities in their energy mix. This will create a market for mini-LNG projects in Nigeria and also help to unlock the resources in Nigeria’s shallow water assets. These and the other initiatives with respect to legislations, economic development, common power solution, etc, will work to enable the collaboration across the

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African sub-regions - a dream the NGA is poised to help actualise.

How can the share of West and Central African gas in Europe’s energy mix be increased?

The paradox in Africa is that it is resourcerich and yet energy deficient. Africa houses about 13 percent of global population and yet accounts for less than 4 percent of global energy demand. There is, therefore, a massive potential for African gas to feed the African energy needs. The International Energy Agency in its African Energy Outlook Report estimated that more than 620 million people in SubSaharan Africa have no access to electricity.

In recent times however, there have been substantial discoveries of oil and gas in Africa signalling a global appetite for African energy.

The huge gas discoveries in Mozambique and Tanzania coupled with emergence of small to mid-scale producer nations like Ghana, South Sudan, Niger, Kenya, etc. lend credence to this. African traditional major producers like Nigeria, Angola, etc. are also planning capacity additions to their existing LNG export. There is, however, a looming challenge as the European energy transition shifts more towards renewables, the question will be: can these African resource-rich countries find investments capital in good time to develop these resources before the train leaves them behind?

Have the expectations of power privatization on the broader gas-to-power value chain been impactful?

At the current generation level in Nigeria, the average per capita electricity consumption is estimated at an abysmally low level of 120KWh. The Nigerian electricity grid generation hovers around 4500MW whereas suppressed grid demand is estimated to be over 23000MW. Closing the gap has remained the dilemma of the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI). This is in spite of all the attention and investment that have gone into that sector since the passage of the Electricity Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) in 2005. A recent report by the Nigeria Economic Round Table on Power estimates that Nigeria losses about $29.3bln annually to lack of adequate electricity supply. This statistic therefore begs the question of the impact of the electricity power sector reform in the past 14years.

In fact, experts within the sector have identified liquidity issues creating a market shortfall of over one trillion naira as a key factor. Other challenges impacting the gasto-power sector include foreign exchange challenges created by the slide of the naira from around 180 to a dollar down to nearly 500 to dollar and now stabilizing at about 360 to a dollar in recent times. The gap created by this slide has left a huge hole in the books of the industry players. This power sector liquidity challenges have led to huge debt owed to the fuel gas suppliers to the power sector.

The NESG Power Roundtable sees the power sector liquidity issue as the most pervasive across the entire gas-to-power value chain. Facilities granted by money deposit banks to the power sector constitute significant portion of their non-performing loan portfolio, making it difficult for the sector to attract more loans.

@Businessdayng

Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

29

Markets + Finance BD

‘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.’

Jaiz Bank Nigeria Plc: Investment in internet banking underpins profit BALA AUGIE

J

aiz Bank Nigeria Plc has maximized the wealth of stakeholders as it recorded improvement in key performance metrics to end 2018 financial year.

The stellar performance validates the focus and market penetration strategies introduced by management and board of directors.

With a strong balance sheet, consistent growth in earnings, and robust capital base, the Islamic lender has the capital buffers to weather the headwinds.

The 2018 audited financial statement of the lender showed investment in electronic banking added impetus to profit as non interest revenue spikes.

Jaiz Bank has been part of the process of ensuring financial inclusion through agency banking and also the use of technology to reach the unbanked.

Income from Murabaha transactions drive revenue Gross income increased by 8.50 percent to N7.51 billion in December 2018 from N6.92 billion as at December 2017. Total income followed the same growth trajectory as it increased by 12.09 percent to N7.05 billion in the period under review from N6.29 billion the previous year.

The growth in gross income was driven by total profit from Murabaha transactions that rose by 12.098 percent to N7.05 billion in December 2018 from N6.29 billion the previous year.

Fees and commission income was up 25.96 percent to N988.43 million in the period under review as against N784.70 million the previous year; this means the Islamic bank’s investment in technology with a view to bolstering profit is paying off.

The uptick in fees and commission income was largely driven by a 29.73 percent, 6.31 percent, and 66.27 percent increase in Banking services, net income from electronic business and LC/interest income finance to N264.74 million, N322.53 million, N401.16 million from N204.06 million, N303.37 million, and N241.27 million.

Other income, which comprise of Waka Income, was up 32.03 percent to N240.30 million in the period under review from N182 million as at December 2017.

Cost controls, internet banking strengthens profit Jaize Bank’s profit after tax spiked by 55.34 percent to N834.36 million in the period under review from N537.11 million as at December 2017.Profit before tax was up was flat at N897 million in the period under review.

The improvement in profitability was amid a 14.07 percent increase in operating expenses to N6.16 billion in December 2018 from N5.40 billion as at December 2017.

A breakdown of total operating expense figure shows staff costs were up 18.17 percent to N2.80 million in the period under review as against N2.37 billion as at December 2017.

Operating expenses such as maintenance and

Hassan Usman, managing director of Jaiz Bank Plc

depreciation moved by 9.60 percent to N2.74 billion in the period under review as against N2.50 billion the previous year.

Jaiz Bank has turned each Naira invested in sales into higher profit as net profit margin increased to 11.11 percent in December 2018 from 7.70 percent the previous year.

The Islamic lender has also utilized owners assets in generating higher profit as return on equity (ROE) moved to 6.36 percent in December 2018 from 3.92 percent the previous year while return on asset (ROA) rose to 0.76 percent in the period under review as against 0.61 percent the previous year.

Strong asset base Total assets were up 24.22 percent to N108.46 million in December 2018 from N87.31 million the previous year; the growth in assets was largely driven by a surge 210.50 percent in Sukul Investment to N19.38 percent to N6.38 billion the previous year. Asset base also got a boost from 1.60 billion in in investment property.

Total liabilities were up 43.47 percent to N56.27 billion in the period under review from N39.22 billion the previous year. Deposits from customers were up 36.35 percent to N45.95 billion December 2018 from N33.70 billion the previous year.

The interest-free bank is on a network expansion drive, with a target to set up 40 branches as it plans to expand its branch network in the southern part of the country, with particular emphasis in Lagos, for now.

About Jaiz Bank Jaiz Bank Plc is a national bank as well as a quoted public company, owned by over 26,000 shareholders who are spread over Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. The Bank’s balance sheet has grown from N12 billion in 2012 to about N62 billion, with asset financing of over N30 billion.

Jaiz Bank’s customer base has grown to over 230,000 cutting across all strata of the society.

The Bank was created out of the former Jaiz International Plc which was set up in 2003/2004 as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to establish

Nigeria’s first full-fledged Non-Interest Bank.

Jaiz Bank obtained a Regional Operating Licence to operate as a Non-Interest Bank from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the 11th of November 2011 and began full operations as the first Non-Interest Bank in Nigeria on the 6th of January, 2012 with 3 branches located in Abuja FCT, Kaduna and Kano.

Meanwhile, Jaiz Bank Plc is currently trading N0.54 on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Jaiz Bank has been w0rking assiduously with the federal government to ensure that financial services reach the unbanked in the rural areas, as it continues to earmark funds to the growth of small enterprises in Africa’s largest economy.

“We used a number of measures to spark

progress in this regard, some of which include our commitment to the development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, focus on unserved markets and the financially excluded, institutional alliances, nimble workforce as well as effective performance tracking among others,” said Hassan Usman, Managing Director of the bank.

“We are having a balance sheet size that is growing by 20 per cent year-on-year and our branch network has increased from 27 to 32 and we hope to increase this to 40 branches before the end of the year,” he said.

On funding for agriculture, he said that the Central Bank of Nigeria had reviewed it’s framework of the commercial agricultural credit scheme to accommodate the funding structure of the bank.

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Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

BOOK SERIALISATION

W H Y N OT Citizenship, State Capture, Creeping Fascism, and Criminal Hijack of Politics in Nigeria

Continued from yesterday

Chapter III

Greed And Fetish Ways Versus Issues And Fixing Problems

N

igeria is severely challenged and gasping for breath. It is not that I think so, but I know so! The evidences of this fact assault you any which way you look. We may live in a world in decline, but I believe that politics is supposed to be a path to finding escape from this decline.

It came home to roost with my participant-observer engagement in 2018, which began with my reading of Jonathan Tepperman’s inspiring book, The Fix: How Nation’s Survive and Thrive in a World in Decline.

To survive and thrive at a time like this is to find thinking people who are sacrificial in the way they give of themselves and compassionate in the way they feel the pains of those people on the crowded streets of our urban areas and the dull backwoods of our rural terrain.

My observations in the field, in Delta State and elsewhere was that those that have come to be known as politicians are driven largely by greed and self-love, reneging on any agreement at will and bound by the bonds they forge with patrons through fetish beliefs.

The anachronism that is the Nigerian condition is found in the primitive ways of its dominant politicians; their fetish anchors displayed in taking people to shrines in Okija, Ijebu and places by the sea in Rivers State and Marabouts prowling across northern Nigeria. While the world debates pathways for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, our political landscape tells the story of Nigeria’s failed effort at nation-building. If the young of the nation who are by far the majority in population do not find ways to overcome the feudal fascists and their voodoo priests or their modernised versions who claim to be prayer warriors, liberating Nigeria from backwardness into modernity would be a tough ride.

I had the Nigerian academic, Olufemi Taiwo, who wrote the book Africa Must Be Modern, in mind when I decided that instead of pursuing personal comfort, I chose to risk running against formidable evil fronts and asking the question, why run? But I think that the only meaningful question is why not?

The scandal of public life in Nigeria as syncretism in which those who profess Christianity and Islam turn to fetish ways first hit me about 1991. I had gone to Enugu for an Ohaneze meeting. After the meeting the crème de la crème of Igbo elite retired to the home of Governor Okwesilieze

Nwodo for lunch. It was my luck to be seated between former Vice President of Nigeria, Dr Alex Ekwueme and the Enfante Terrible, Senator Arthur Nzeribe.

The mercurial Arthur regaled me with one morbid joke after another.

Just before food came, there was a moment of very sober silence, Nzeribe very conspiratorially leaned towards me and hailed me, The great Pat. I returned the compliment, Ogbu Agu. Then he whispered, “You see all these people here making out to be big men, the moment the whistle for politics is blown they will start coming to me for money for elections and I will bring out a coffin and you will not believe the amusement as they jump over the corpse to bond themselves.”

I put it down to an evil sense of humour but I knew the fact of the report was plausible. I was more devastated by a similar report when I visited Chuba Okadigbo as Senate President.

While we chatted, a northern gentleman in flowing robes was ushered in. He asked to give him a minute to meet with the man in a side room. As the man left a few minutes later, my dear friend, the senate President hailed me just like Nzeribe did years before; “Patito, northerners are so much more reliable and generous as friends. You will not believe how many live cows this man has caused to be buried on my account not to talk of how many marabouts he has interceding for me.”

Less than two weeks after that night, President Obasanjo had outfoxed Okadigbo and my friend, Chuba was removed as Senate President. I was convinced Africa had an urgent need to become more modern before I saw Olufemi Taiwo’s book, Africa Must Be Modern. As I approached 2018, the duty of running as liberation and redemption mission was taking shape. Was it worth dying for? Well, maybe. At the least, neutrality was out of the question. I deeply began to believe that as stated in Dante’s Inferno, the hottest part of hell is reserved for those who, when confronted with such moral depravity, take refuge in neutrality.

The great idolatry that is politics in Nigeria has made the locus of political life either the false loyaltywww.businessday.ng

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Not to look at elections being free and fair and the place of serious conversation in the public sphere on issues of the common good is also diminishing the purpose of this volume, so we shall cursorily look at those issues

consciousness of those who have sworn to abide by some agreements (usually against the public interest and common good) or the advance of the cult of personality.

The cult of personality which is of-

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ten lacking in rationality sustained fascists like Benito Mussolini in Italy and Adolph Hitler in Germany. History has shown it as an ever-present affront to the dignity of the human being. To say why not in response to why run was for me a moral imperative to mobilise against the gathering forces of fascism and backwardness that were showing their faces progressively in the post-1999 democracy. It was the citizen’s duty to confront the forces of narcissism that use primitive means including fetishism to foster personal dominance over others. This, they do without regard for the consequential effect of pulling society backward and crushing the material benefits of modern life for most of the people.

The most obnoxious part of contemporary Nigerian politics to me is the searing of the conscience of the political class who are aware that they require the poverty and ignorance of the people to achieve their short-sighted, short-term gains. The power acquired is fungible and easily translates to big man accounts with the accompanying ego massages of the protocols of power, exemplified

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by motorcades. These, for me, are walls that had to be pulled down quickly. And so, I say why not! Why not run? Why not begin to organise the people to resist and rid themselves of the yoke and the burden of a fetish clan. A clan steeped in self-love and backward in its understanding of the issues of modernity. Unable to make genuine efforts to fix the problems of society in the way Jonathan Tepperman draws our attention to.

Why not, should not be a question for just me or a few bitten by the bug of the audacity of hope. Why not should be the motto of a generation that is looking for a demographic dividend and striving to snatch that dividend from the jaws of the lion of population time bomb with its coming anarchy.

Why not should be the clarion call of a people determined to prevent their lives from being determined by a cluster of cultists, conmen, fraudsters and treasury looters masquerading as politicians and political party leaders.

Few have said it as well as the Emir of Kano at that Union Bank 100th anniversary lecture, but the gospel of how to save Nigeria must be universally owned and lived by the next generation. They must not allow themselves to be defined by the greed and fetish ways of those who hold them and their future hostage. They must not allow the freezing of their social mobility for the politicians, their children and those who swear oath of allegiance to their personality cult to flourish, at the expense of a people who just “siddon look.” Today’s world has no place for the docile.

So, what are the issues that must come to the fore, and the problems that need fixing? These should dominate the airwaves to force a retreat of the cultists, praise singers and criminal elements who have captured the political space in Nigeria and are setting back the hands of the clock.

They are the everyday living, quality of life impacting issues, like infrastructure, food, healthcare, education and security of life and property. They are important and must come to centre stage ahead of the cults of personality that now dominate our space. But they are not the only issues or problems that need fixing. They may indeed be just as important or less important than some grand issues like the rule of law, weak institutions, free and fair elections and the frame of values in public culture.

I dive down more deeply on these issues in the companion volume to this book titled “In the Devil’s Den.” But it will take away from the value of the enterprise of this volume if we fail to look at the challenge of the rule of law and how our politics is becoming stripped of purpose because of the impunity the receding sense for the rule of law allows. Not to look at elections being free and fair and the place of serious conversation in the public sphere on issues of the common good is also diminishing the

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BOOK SERIALISATION purpose of this volume, so we shall cursorily look at those issues. They will be compared to personality of the fetish and personality cults to show why the key question is not why run, but why not. Why not imagine not running? With such need for change, to opt out, play neutral or seek comfort of apparent personal safety while the roof is caving in on all, does not seem to make sense.

Why is there such a disregard today for the rule of law? Why are even lawyers, as a body of civil society, not protesting this with the vehemence of knowing where such a mood propels society towards?

Even as military head of state when the impression of the strongman with iron fists were rife, General Muhammadu Buhari’s government never failed to comply with a court order. But INEC accepted from the APC the names of ostensible candidates in the face of the order of an Asaba High Court that no list of candidates be accepted from APC in Delta.

I have video recordings of conversations with the panel led by Lawrence Onoja to organise the APC primaries in Delta. These show evidence of the lack of guidelines to the aspirants to the requirements by law, no list of delegates and the Onoja field of gathering that was marked by prolonged periods of gunshots. The video clearly showed that these gunshots scared away those who came for the primaries.

A recording of Onoja’s conversation with former Abia Military Governor, Frank Ajobena, indicated that a decision had been made in Abuja to give the candidacy to a particular person regardless of how the people voted.

The question to ask is, how come the Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomole, was comfortable with popping champagne at the outcome of the show of shame in Asaba, based on the account of his cousin Chris Dirisu on a WhatsApp platform?

Somalia is a clear example of where a country that abandons the rule of law ends up. It is instructive also that the example I often use to challenge lawyers to take a stand on issues of the rule of law as duty from their privilege of learning is Pakistan, where lawyers marched on the streets in protest when the Chief Justice of the country was summarily removed by the executive branch.

Citizenship and privilege compel confronting the fetish forces that plunge us into the dark and disrupt orientation towards the common good. I was reminded of this in 2015 when the elections were announced for APC. A friend of mine, Ibrahim Usman, who lived in Kaduna and was Deputy President of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, called to confirm if I was in Lagos so he could come and see me. When he arrived, he quickly announced that the trip was occasioned by the fact that he knew me well. He knew how much I felt about the idea of a leader who had no title and so I would never make a request from power.

It may be a good sign of humility and modesty, but it may amount to shirking of duty not to go forward and ask for a role. He told me that many constituencies, businesses, the youths and those who were patriots

with no regard for ethnicity voted for the APC because they saw me in that corner. I was a factor in the election and had a duty, against my natural disposition to stay away from what I may consider the spoils of war – to request for a key role.

He then turned to the Quran, quoting verses that implied a duty to make oneself available for service. I was particularly touched by the story of Yusuf, well known in the JudeoChristian tradition as Joseph, the dreamer who was made Governor

by Pharaoh. Had he failed to utilise his skills in managing the stores, as famine approached, Ibrahim said to me, he would have done an unjust did. He opined that since I had skills that could set Nigeria away from the unfortunate path it was travelling, I had an obligation to offer myself.

As I look at the lines drawn between these greedy forces of fetish primitivity that currently dominate Nigerian political parties and a future that must be modern, I see many Josephs or Yusufs. To fail to challenge the extant order would be a huge moral issue on their part, in my view.

The duty to stand up and be counted in an imperative of citizenship.

On Free and Fair Elections If the rule of law is so important, and any group treat it so shabbily, it must suggest that they either care so little for the common good, are so ignorant that they shamelessly act amiss, or are so steeped in self-love that they cannot see that the wisest self-interest is in the advance of the common good. The advance of the common good opens the space for the bigger pursuit of opportunities for the individual.

The same logic can be extended to the question of attitude towards free and fair elections. My experience with running for Governor, above all, revealed a reluctance of Nigerian politicians to accept the honest free will vote of the citizens as the basis for choice of who goes forward in the agency-function of representing the people in positions of public government.

I was surprised by how much time is invested by potential candidates in reaching out to those in authority in the political party hierarchy. “Oh, just reach the chairman and get him on your side and it’s over,” was a typical counsel in my

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In today’s Nigeria the social media crazed community that manages to reduce existential crisis of current politics to a matter of poking fun at all the actors with name calling as routine

consultation rounds.

Many of the party leaders on the ground would frequently say your ideas are fantastic and your plans for the state are liberating, but it will help a lot if you can get Tinubu or Oshiomole to give us a call to indicate you are their man.

The naked truth was that political contest was not about how to serve the people well but it was about how well the party’s owners felt about your advancing their personal interest. I resisted this even though the most frequently mentioned people from which a call would make a difference were ostensibly good friends of mine. I was reluctant to ask them to make a call to these people, and never did, because I found it demeaning to the idea of democracy.

I was sure that a long list of freedom fighters from the 13th century accord on the Magna Catha to the Oliver R Tambo’s and Nelson Mandela’s would have been ashamed of how Nigerian political parties treat the very idea of democracy.

Yet these were not becoming campaign issues. The people were without voice and the campaign trail was not echoing Stephen R Covey’s “discovery” in the 8th Habit that the most important habit of the 21st century would be helping people find their voice.

The mindset in Nigerian politics is that people do not matter, their votes can be bought and their names used to legitimise the votes. This political culture undermines African culture, most readily captured by the philosophy of Ubuntu, ‘I am because we are.’

The culture in Nigerian politics of people as stepping stones who, like stone, have no feelings and so are there just to be used, also violates the motives of the founding fathers of Nigeria. This is captured in the Robert Melson and Howard Wolpe idea of competing ethnic nationality groups trying to bring the most progress to their people, the so-called competitive communalism.

This political culture, it seems to me, is guaranteed to stall progress, and democratise poverty. In my view, equal opportunity for all to participate in and to canvas points of view is key. It should determine how society should be ordered and ultimately, to seek to present those to be voted for and to advance a certain body of views in governance.

This breeds alienation of citizens from government and political leaders. Unfortunately, the politicians take the quiet resentment of the people as manifestation of their foolishness and ignorance. Ultimately, the realisation that it is not government of the people for the people by the people but that of politicians for politicians by politicians; and we then begin to see manifestations of violence.

Debates and a marketplace of ideas in the public sphere are for me the antidote to the present decline in Nigeria. Unfortunately, it seems to me that the predominantly antiintellectual nature of the public political culture makes such a migration to a culture of debates unlikely.

This makes the idea of revolution to break the current trap so much more attractive.

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They must not allow the freezing of their social mobility for the politicians, their children and those who swear oath of allegiance to their personality cult to flourish, at the expense of a people who just “siddon look

Chapter IV The Complicit Middle When the roll call for the blame on how the promise of Nigeria was squandered comes up, the fault will not be limited to the tropical gangsters and other champions of state capture. The shame cards will also go to the intellectuals that forgot the duty that comes with what James Macgregor Burns calls, moral authority which in turn comes with the role of the intellectual in leadership.

Blame will also surely go to the students who have stopped being the conscience of society as their protest culture used to make them. Same will go to religious leaders who have neither spoken truth to power nor inspired their congregations to resist the new slavery with the same perseverance as Williams Wilberforce fought for the abolition of the old slave trade. Even much bigger blame will go to the business community who take cover in feigned neutrality to collaborate with whoever is in power and quietly fund them against the people’s will.

In today’s Nigeria the social media crazed community that manages to reduce existential crisis of current politics to a matter of poking fun at all the actors with name calling as routine. These all take away from the capacity to focus the people on the new slavery and the imperative of fighting off the yoke foisted on them. They constitute the bulk of the complicit middle.

Guilty by omission and commission to the propagation of conditions that ensure their own enslavement and misery is the complicit middle.

There has to be the target of intense re-education, for the middle if Nigeria is to be saved.

This book is part of my own continuing effort to discharge my duty as an academic with the burden of that moral authority. The rule of law approaches collapse, and impunity reigns in political parties with a clear threat that criminal elements could take over the Nigerian State. Not to act is to my mind, treasonable.

Moral Authority ForgoneIn tracking Nigeria’s complicit middle and their guilt for the state of the nation, the role of the academic provides a particularly peculiar subject for

reflection.

Respect for knowledge was an important part of the independence movement in Nigeria in the 1950s.

Perhaps if it had remained part of the Nigerian way the Nigeria condition would not be as it is today.

I have often pointed to a speech made in 1977 by the father of the new China, Deng Xiaoping about how knowledge must be respected if the goals of the new China were to be attained. Deng’s charge to the Communist Party China is full of lessons for Nigeria.

In the 1950’s and 1960’s, the founding fathers of politics in Nigeria were typically surrounded by men of letters.

Society, in general, had the same high reverence for intellect. Famous professors were associated with each of the leading politicians during the period of self-government in 1957.

A Nigerian academic, Steve Okecha, writing in a book on the decline of Nigerian universities, cites the anecdote of rumours going around the Onitsha market. The market was at that time the largest open Bazaar in West and Central Africa. The rumour was that a noted academic, Professor Kenneth Onwuka Dike, was sighted somewhere in the market.

Suddenly the clanging of shutters filled the air as people shut the stalls to go and behold this man of knowledge who was the first Nigerian to be appointed Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan. Okecha figured that if dozens of Onwuka Dikes’ paraded themselves through Onitsha market today the people there would not notice.

Could the decline of the Nigerian academic be related to her failure to exercise as intellectuals, the duty of moral authority? That role could in some way make them guardians of the nation. In truth, that decline may have come with military rule. With politicians subdued by soldiers, as a result of the coup, the only real opposition was the outspoken academic.

For reasons not likely different from these, the military regime began to try to break the spirit of the academics. In one example, shortly after the Civil War, the academic staff were threatened with election from university-provided residence if within a few days they did not sign to abide by conditions given by the government. This bullying would set the tone of the relationship between the academic and power. In emerging Nigeria.

In humiliation, many succumbed to the threats and beat a hasty retreat.

This resulted in some losing faith in the system and seeking greener pastures outside Nigeria. I previously reflected on this phenomenon in an op-ed piece titled “The generation that left town” in the Guardian newspaper of Nigeria. In the piece, I gave an example of a period late in 1982 shortly after I returned from graduate studies in the United States.

A group of about 22 of us with freshly mint PhD’s from Oxford, Harvard, John Hopkins, Indiana University and some other very fine universities used to get together to discuss a way forward for Nigeria. By 2010, of the 22 of us, only three still lived in Nigeria.

Continues on Monday

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Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Sports Bridging healthy synergy at work place through sports

… Brook Siders, Angels win BusinessDay Brook 5-aside football tourney Stories by Anthony Nlebem

I

t’s a known fact that an unhealthy population has a direct or indirect impact on social security and healthcare costs. The risks are becoming an ever-increasing burden on the economy. Scientific evidence clearly shows that sedentary lifestyles, irregular exercise and poor diet can lead to ill health, particularly later in life.

In a bid to promote bonding among staffs and encourage good and healthy lifestyles for more productivity at workplace, BusinessDay, Nigeria’s leading financial newspaper on Saturday, April 6, kicked off the third edition of the of BusinessDay Brook 5-aside football tournament held at the Mini Stadium, Ibiere Crescent, Apapa, Lagos.

It was a time of fun and excitement, as the hot sun could not deter players from playing the games and entertaining BusinessDay staff and fans who took time to catch and enjoy the beautiful round leather game.

Four teams in the male category competed for the trophy which includes; Brook Bombers, tutored by Oghenevwoke Ighure; Brook Shooters, anchored by Fabian Akagha; Patrick Atuanya managed Brook

Brook Siders, male champions of third edition of BusinessDay Brook 5-aside football tournament, held on Saturday April 6th at the mini stadium, Ibiere Crescent, Apapa, Lagos.

Brook Angels, female champions of third edition of BusinessDay Brook 5-aside football tournament, held on Saturday April 6th at the mini stadium, Ibiere Crescent, Apapa, Lagos.

Liners and Ifeanyi Emaka coached Brook Siders.

Also, Ijeoma Ude’s Brook Babes competed against Yvette Uloma Dimiri’s Brook Angels in the female category.

The matches kicked off after a beautiful rendition of the Nigerian National anthem by Kemi Ajumobi.

In the first game played, highly rated and energetic Brook Bombers, lost to Brook Liners in a penalty shoot out after a 2-2 draw in regulation time.

was the female final game between Brook Angels tutored by Yvette Uloma Dimiri against the rugged Brook Babes tutored by Ijeoma Ude. The tension soaked cracker saw Brook Angels defeated the Brook Babes 1-0 to retain the trophy.

In the third place game, Brook Bombers outclassed Brook Shooters 2-1 to claim the third place price.

For her impeccable display, Brook Angels captain, Yvette Uloma Dimiri won the most valuable player in the female category, while Brook

In the second game played, defending champions Brook Siders defeated Brook Shooters 4-2 to book a place in the final with Brook Liners Then came the final match of the day as the Brook Liners tried all they could to stop Brook Siders from retaining the trophy. The game ended a goalless draw in regulation time and Brook Siders narrowly edged Brook Liners in keenly contested penalty shot out to retain the trophy.

The side attraction of the event

Bomber’s Wahab Azeez Olanrewaju, who had an amazing performance won the male most valuable player.

Apart from trophies won, individual awards and cash prices were handed out to the best male and female teams and medals given to the highest goal scorers, most valuable players in both categories.

The climax of the event was a raffle draw where lucky winners won cash prices and different prizes ranging from Smile Internet modern, umbrellas, movie tickets etc.

Oman’s World Cup hopes suffer setback

O

man will face a race against time to build a stadium large enough to satisfy FIFA requirements if football’s governing body decides to expand the Qatar 2022 World Cup finals and asks the Sultanate to cohost the enlarged tournament.

Oman Football Association president Salem Said Salem Al Wahaibi told Reuters that FIFA president Gianni Infantino has sounded out the country’s government over their ability to co-host the event should it be expanded from 32 to 48 teams.

But with Muscat’s Sultan Qaboos Stadium falling short of minimum capacity requirements for the World Cup, the Omanis would need to overhaul their biggest stadium to be considered a viable host.

“Mr Infantino visited us and he

gave a proposal to the government and they are still thinking about it,” said Al Wahaibi on the sidelines of the Asian Football Confederation’s congress on Saturday.

“They haven’t come to a decision yet, but it’s not a federation decision.

We have some issues. We don’t have a stadium for 40,000, so if we take it we will be working against time. That is the first enemy for us. There are so many issues and it won’t be as easy as it looks.

“Our stadium, the maximum capacity we have is 29,000, so in two years can we get that? That’s the question for the government, plus the other logistics. I’m optimistic but let’s see.”

Qatar was awarded the rights to host a 32-team World Cup in December 2010, but after becoming

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FIFA president in 2016 Infantino has been open to the idea of expanding the tournament to accommodate 16 additional teams.

The 2026 edition is already slated to feature 48 nations and Infantino is keen to bring forward the enlarged format by four years.

“Sharing a few games with a few of the neighbouring countries is, of course, an option as well to make it a true World Cup for the world and for the whole Gulf region,” he said on Saturday.

“It’s something to discuss, something to think about and something we are working on with Qatar and together with all of you and, of course, it would be a nice achievement if the first World Cup with 48 teams would be played in Asia.”

A decision on the proposal to expand the World Cup is expected at the FIFA congress in Paris in June.

Qatar has said it will not take a decision on expanding the tournament until it sees the details of a feasibility study from FIFA. The Omanis, meanwhile, believe hosting matches in 2022 would invigorate the sport in a country that has never qualified for the World Cup or accommodated a major football event.

“FIFA wanted the approval of the two countries - Kuwait and Oman and then the congress will discuss if it goes from 32 to 48 and then we will see,” said Al Wahaibi.

“But it would be marvellous and it would give us a boost and put Oman on the global map of football.

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FIFA’s 48 teams World Cup bid hangs in the balance ... As Infantino says 48-Team Wolrd Cup 50/50

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he chances of FIFA increasing the number of teams at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar from 32 to 48 is 50/50, according to a statement by the president of world football governing body, Gianni Infantino.

Infantino, who is in Brazil for a meeting of the South American Football Confederation, told delegates he was working to ensure the increase for the Qatar tournament, which would mean a guaranteed two extra places for South American sides.

“We are working to see if we can get 48 teams in the 2022 World Cup because more participation means more development and more passion for everyone,” he said.

“We will see by June whether it is @Businessdayng

possible or not. For now, It’s 50/50.

What is 100 percent is that the 2022 World Cup is going to be spectacular and a total success.”

A final decision on the number of teams for the next finals will be taken at the FIFA Congress in Paris on June 5th.

FIFA chose to host the 2022 World Cup for 32 teams in Qatar, although Infantino has sounded out neighbours over their willingness to host some matches in an expanded tournament.

FIFA has already agreed to increase the number of teams to 48 for the 2026 tournament being cohosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico but is keen to expand quicker than planned.

The Republic of Ireland last competed in a World Cup in 2002

Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

NEWS

33

Fuel scarcity hits Ilorin as DPR warms marketers against hoarding SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

F

uel scarcity has returned to Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, following alleged hoarding of petroleum products as declared by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

BusinessDay observed that queues had piled up at various filling stations dispensing premium motor spirit (petrol), especially within Ilorin metropolis, with vehicular logjams.

Our correspondent, who visited some filling stations, including Oange Oil Limited along Tanke Junction, showed that the queue was too heavy for motorists and commuters to bear.

As of the time of filling this report, Bovas Filling Station at Offa Garage, was dispensing the product to motorists, but a number of filling stations

along Ajase-Ipo road, NNPC at Muritala Mohammed Way and Neemam along Challenge area were not selling, causing panic of scarcity of the essential product.

A motorist waiting to get commodity who identified himself as Rahman Ibrahim, said: “I don’t know what caused the scarcity but it is good that they didn’t increase the fuel price. I have been here for over one hour and I know I will get fuel before I leave here.”

Bukola Imam, also a buyer at MRS Filling Station at Post Office, expressed worry over the scenario, saying: “Honestly, I don’t know why we are left to suffer. I tracked from Mararaba to this place just to get fuel because all petrol stations were not selling.

Something must be done to this problem urgently.”

Speaking on the development in a telephone interview,

the Kwara State chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Olarewaju Okanlawon, said, “The PMS’ scarcity in the metropolis was as a result of shortage in supply of the product.”

He added that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is aware of the situation and has started to proffer solutions.

Ayodele Ibitoye, Head of Operations, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in Kwara state, explained that hoarding on the part of the marketers caused the scarcity.

He said, “The shortage of fuel supply doesn’t warrant the scarcity in the metropolis considering the purchasing power of average Kwara resident.

Before today you will agree with me that there is no filling station you will see about four vehicles queuing.

More winners to emerge in UBA Wise Savers Promo, as N90m still up for grabs

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nited Bank for Africa (UBA) plc has again announced that another set of 20 loyal customers will get a chance to win N1,500,000 each, in the second edition of its quarterly draw for the ongoing UBA Wise Savers Promo, which would hold in April at the bank’s head office, Marina, Lagos.

This development is an opportunity for potential and intending customers to take their chance and add to the growing number of millionaires who have benefit-

ted from the ongoing Wise Savers Promo as a whopping N90Million is still up for grabs.

To qualify for the draws, new and existing customers of the bank are expected to save at least N10,000 each month for three consecutive months, or N30,000 for 90 days in the promo, which will run for the rest of the year. Apart from the N30 million, won by 20 customers last month, January to be precise another N90 million is still expected to be won by 60 more loyal customers in the remaining three quarters

of the year.

Already the following winners, who cut across all regions of the country; Nnadumije, Ebube Dawn; Onwochei Christiana Okwukwe; Eze Mathias Nnaji; Christian N Orie; Uka, Okwudiri; Okata Stephen Uche; Okafor Onyinye Esther; Nwanekezi Chimezie Jude; Ayomide V Yahaya and Olanegan, Oyetunde Keji, have already claimed their cash prize and are currently spreading the news so others can take advantage of the once in a life time opportunity.

The minister and the fire chief

Requiem for mama Continued from back page

Abednego.

Being a firstborn son, Mother treated me like an adult even from my boyhood years. As was the norm for Northern women, she always found it difficult calling my name. We loved each other deeply but always maintained a formal courtesy reminiscent of high royals.

Father was the laid-back type.

With him, you could get away with naughty pranks. Mum, on the other hand, was the Law! When Father passed away in December 2014, the light faded in her eyes. She rarely spoke of him. But it was clear that her world had changed.

Mother Dearest was never given much to emotions, but she was a woman who loved greatly and forgave greatly.

She never would look upon or dwell upon the faults of those she loves. Only a few days ago she remarked that the Lord meant our hearts to be soft that’s why he made it totally devoid of any bone tissue.

Over the last few months

Continued from back page

‘

Now I know where mothers come from: they come from heaven and sooner or later, they go back to heaven Mother Dearest had been in and out of hospital. Nothing serious, really. We brought her to stay with us in Abuja for an entire month. We tried to make her as comfortable as we possibly could. When she started complaining about her goats and chickens I decided to drive her back home.

Strangely enough, when we arrived home the goats and chickens and the dog lined up as if to welcome her. I got the house helps to clean up the house. Her bedroom was tidied up. The bed linings were changed and some electrical work was done.

She joked to me that, “tonight I’m going to sleep in heaven”.

Alas, it was a prophecy that was soon to come true.

At dawn of Sunday 7th April, we experienced a heavy rainstorm that seemed to rock our Abuja home to its very foundations. Unbeknownst to me, those were the very same hours that Mother Dearest was fighting for dear life. She had apparently been gripped by a fever.

A nurse had been called in and drip was administered on her. By 5.30 am our kid sister called to say our mother Mama Loya Anzayi has gone to be with the Lord, aged 83. I thought to myself, No, I must be dreaming. But then I was awake. I went on my knees and prayed, “Dear Lord, let it not be true; oh God of Smith Wigglesworth, please bring Mother back to life”. I hoped against hope that some miracle would occur and my sister would call back to say the whole thin g was just a bad dream.

Now I know where mothers come from: they come from heaven and sooner or

later, they go back to heaven.

Mother was a pilgrim and a sojourner on this earth; a stranger in this Nigeria where innocent women and children are being mercilessly slaughtered day in and day out – where grand larceny and ritual murders define the character of those who call themselves our rulers.

In a manner of speaking, we are all pilgrims and sojourners on this earth. What I will miss, above all, are her prayers, wise counsel and her unwavering love. There were things I wanted to tell her, but now it’s too late. She will be buried on Saturday 13 April.

De profundis ad te Domine, clamavi. Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord! (Psalms 130 v. 1).

The Funeral for our mother Mama Anzayi Loya Mailafia will take place at the ERCC Church Murya on Saturday 13th April. Murya is a mission village located outside Lafia, Nasarawa State; kilometre 15 on the Lafia-Makurdi Road.

All are welcome to join us in celebrating a victorious Christian life.

stration of the dysfunctional unitary state that is Nigeria.

Every state of the federation is actually supposed to have its own fire service. It should be one of the key functions of every responsible state government to equip and train its fire service. A powerful federal agency based in Abuja which maintains fire stations in different states – with the ‘federal’ and ‘state’ services operating essentially in parallel and one thumbing its nose at the ‘inferior’ other, is an unaffordable waste that adds little value to firefighting. A federal service could be a monitor and coordinator for state services that actually do the work, and should operate in a complementary fashion to them, avoiding the creation of a redundancy that a poor country like Nigeria can ill afford. It certainly is part of what needs to be ‘restructured’ about Nigeria.

But back to the Abuja Fire Service, and the Minister and his chagrin.

The Minister was so offended that he immediately

sent the Director on suspension for one week. Why he did not fire him and order a wholesale revamp and reconstruction of the system would forever remain a mystery.

Surely that was what the people of Abuja deserved if they were to sleep safely in their beds at night, certain that any accident of fire would be appropriately dealt with by the appropriate agency of their government.

The whole subject of organizing fire services in a wasteful and inefficient federation is at every point liable to throw up mysteries which demonstrate that Nigeria still needs, as a nation, to ‘get it’.

You had often tried to visualize in your mind the look of mystery that must have been on the face of your LIMGE friend when the big boss from Abuja requested to take the fire-fighting power-bikes newly procured with private sector funds to be arrowheads of fire response in the business district of Lagos to Abuja for use on his motorcade. It was a ludicrous notion, but it apparently made perfect sense to him.

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Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

NEWS Sciences, education, social sciences...

Continued from page 1

they learn needs to be

relevant.

Nigeria’s interventions in the university system have failed to deliver on their set objectives because they are often detached from the reality of the economy.

A well-articulated framework that creates critical alignment between industry and academia, experts say, can ensure effective transition from education to the labour market thereby contributing to solving critical skill shortfall

and high unemployment in Nigeria.

Isaac Adeyemi, former vice chancellor, Bells University of Science and Technology, Otta, Ogun State, told BusinessDay that the ability of universities to offer programmes that are relevant to the needs of industries is much more important now given the globalisation trends in today’s world.

Adeyemi insists that such courses should as a matter of fact provide the necessary skills to the students to facilitate their eventual

employment and boost their entrepreneurial skills.

Despite a drop in the number of male candidates admitted in 2017 and 2018, they (males) dominated admissions for Science, Social Science and Engineering/Technology/Environmental degrees.

Male candidates accounted for more than half the total of candidates admitted in 2017 and 2018. Nevertheless, the number of female candidates admitted to study Medicine/ Pharmacy/Health Sciences increased while the number of male students decreased.

Most female candidates, however, opted to take de-

grees in Education and Arts and Humanities.

The admission records show female candidates admitted into Education increased by 10 percent, from 43,515 in 2017 to 48,466 in 2018.

Aside from the top three, other courses listed in the university admissions data include Agriculture, Administration and Law. Doyin Salami, an economist from Lagos Business School, at a recent university education stakeholders’ meeting said it was very important that the dynamics that establish and maintain course relevance be upheld.

“Universities in Nigeria must accept the challenge of remaining relevant to the environment in which they operate. There must be a mindset change in academia,” Salami said.

The NBS data, which include the number of candidates in each state, show that five states – Imo, Anambra, Osun, Oyo and Delta accounted for one-third of students admitted to study a degree course in 2018.

The data further show that in 2017, a total of 418,298 of candidates (both male and female) applied to study for one degree course or the other in the universities while in 2018 a

Finally, NCC approves MTN’s use of...

Continued from page 1

further boost broadband

penetration and has final granted MTN Nigeria the approval to utilize spectrum from the 800MHZ (Megahertz) frequency acquired from Visafone.

This increases the possibility of helping the regulator achieve its goal of 70 percent broadband penetration in five years.

In 2016, Visafone communications Limited with a Universal Access Service License (UASL), applied to the telecoms regulator for an approval to effect a change in its shareholding structure by transferring 100 percent of its shares to MTN Nigeria.

Having fulfilled the conditions stipulated in the “Approval-In-Principle”, the NCC, in line with its procedure granted a “Final-Approval” to Visafone for the change in its shareholding structure.

Visafone then applied for approval to transfer its license to MTN, so as to allow the use of its spectrum for the roll out of 4G LTE (4th generation long term evolution) service and in

turn, boost broadband service penetration.

However, the NCC continuously hesitated after other operators kicked against the idea, citing market dominance as reason for the opposition.

“When MTN acquired Visafone, the regulator put restrictions on the use of its spectrum license for 4GLTE service which was one of the main reasons why we bought the company. This asset is key to the roll out of this service, however, we were only allowed to use the spectrum to provide 4G services to Visafone’s initial subscribers who migrated to our network.

Finally, with the license transfer approval, we can use the 800MhZ spectrum to provide high speed internet to all our subscribers,” a source at MTN Nigeria told BusinessDay. Telecommunications analysts say that the final approval of the spectrum license is a move in the right direction, as the back and forth since 2016 has in many ways hindered the speed of broadband penetration and the deployment

Foreign restaurants eat locals’ lunch...

Continued from page 2

always fully booked.

And this led it to expand its outlets across the country, especially around mobile filling stations. The success story of Mr Bigg’s led to the emergence of local eatery brands such as Tantalizers and Tastee Fried Chicken, Chicken Republic, Sweet Sensation, Mama Cass, Kilimanjaro, etc.

Today, however, most of these pioneers of QSR are closing shop due to lack of patronage, making the brands and franchisees sit on heavy revenue losses.

A BusinessDay visit to Mr Bigg’s Ogba in Lagos tells the story better. As at the time of

the visit at about 12:30 pm, the restaurant was quiet with few customers and only one salesperson.

When asked about the possible reasons for the low turnout of customers, a staff speaking anonymously attributed it to management’s inability to listen to customers, rebrand and spice the menu from time to time.

Michael Echeme, a former franchisee of Mr Bigg’s, blamed the ugly development on the choice of business partners and business model adopted by most of the indigenous eatery brands.

“Most indigenous brands still run as one-man business

AMCON finds buyer for oil rig seized...

Continued from page 2

The Netherlands.

“Every asset AMCON has is for sale, both our marine assets, airlines, real-estate, hotels, factories, plants and machineries and so on. AMCON is not in the business of running businesses. Our recovery can come in the form

of cash or assets. Even at that, the assets are meant to be converted to cash at the end of the day just to recover the loan,” Nwauzor told BusinessDay. All efforts by BusinessDay to get the industry regulator to comment on the matter proved abortive as Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) spokesman, Paul Osu, www.businessday.ng

L-R: Tope Omojokun, managing director, Investment One Funds Management Limited; Ademola Aofolaju, managing director, Investment One Capital Management Limited; Ayo Teriba, CEO, Economic Associates/ keynote speaker, and Kemi Abili, executive director, Investment One Capital Management Limited, at the Investment One breakfast seminar on economic outlook post election in Lagos, yesterday. Pic by Olawale Amoo

total number of 422,245 candidates applied for same courses.

The data show less than one percent increase in the number of applications received by JAMB between 2017 and 2018 for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

Stakeholders from the university, industry and government, at the maiden stakeholders’ forum organised by Nigerian Economic Summit Group in collaboration with the National Universities Commission (NUC) in Lagos, stressed the importance of repositioning the education sector to deliver national outcomes and impact. quency bands in order to reap the benefits of effective utilization of spectrum as well as improve operational efficiency and regulatory excellence.”

Danbatta said that the commission re-planned the use of 800MHz band to accommodate technology development in the telecom industry in 2013, and new spectrum assignments were conveyed to the operators according to their spectrum holdings in the 800MHz band.

“Subsequent to the replanning of the band, Visafone, one of the operators, who had earlier been assigned 10MHz in the 800MHz band applied to the commission for transfer of its license and spectrum to MTN,” he said.

Airtel in its submission at the 2018 public enquiry stated that “this arrangement will not only increase MTN’s market power, but will substantially lessen competition in the mobile voice and data market segments of the industry, which could lead to MTN becoming a monopoly.”

of high speed Long Term Evolution (LTE) service in Nigeria.

LTE is a type of 4G that delivers the fastest connection for a mobile internet experience – up to 10 times faster than 3G and is not the same as just 4G. “800MhZ is key in rolling out broadband and data services in the rural areas and there is great focus now to increase the broadband penetration rate which currently sits at 33 percent to 70

percent by 2024. The only way we can do this, is if we are able to have sufficient spectrum.

The amount of bandwidth spectrum that MTN currently holds should be sufficient to deploy very high speed mobile broadband internet and prepare MTN for the soon to be released 5G spectrum that will be available by 2020,” Olusola Teniola, president of Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria

(ATCON) told BusinessDay. The NCC admitted that the matter is of significant interest to relevant stakeholders in the telecoms industry, and therefore held a public inquiry to elicit comments from the general public, especially telecommunications operators.

Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice chairman (EVC) of the NCC said that “the commission had to embark on re-planning of some of its Fre-

and so cannot adopt policies and corporate governance that can attract viable investors, grow the business and reduce the risk they have been bearing alone,” Echeme said.

He also noted that Mr Bigg’s went the way of franchising when time was not ripe for such in the Nigerian fast food market.

“It flooded the market with lots of franchisees who were after quick return on their investment and hardly maintained their outlets nor complied with the regulations of the franchise owner,” he added.

In another visit to a Sweet Sensation outlet in Lagos, the manager who spoke anonymously said the restaurant was struggling due to competition from other quick service restau-

rants, especially foreign brands.

Bola Akande, a manager at a Chicken Republic outlet in Ikeja, said the outlet was running huge expenses as a result of crazy electricity bills the Ikeja Distribution Company piles on it, adding that the DisCo preferred estimated billing to the prepaid meter that would have checkmated its expenses.

Tantalizers on its part lost more customers when it couldn’t sustain the local menus or refresh them afterwards. At some point in its recurring loss record at the capital market, Tantalizers, which posted a dismal performance in the market, planned to undertake a sale-and-leaseback arrangement on some of its unfettered assets with a view to raising about N1 bil-

lion working capital. This was after it experienced 86 percent increase in net loss in 2013.

Muyiwa Kayode, a Lagosbased brand expert, said the misfortune of the local eateries was because they all failed to innovate.

“Some brands need to constantly innovate because of the kind of services or products they offer and the quick service restaurant falls into that category. All they need to be in business is to periodically introduce something new in terms of recipes, products, services and even presentation,” he said.

When asked what Domino’s is doing differently so it doesn’t follow the path of other struggling QSRs, Amalia Sebakunzi, its marketing director, said the QSR doesn’t

run as a franchise but as a corporate company.

“We are also doing a lot of trainings for our staff and we have strict standards. We are innovating in our menu dishes; we try to make it juicy, affordable and cheesy,” Sebakunzi said. “Additionally customers’ feedback is important to us. We work with our suppliers and partners to get the best quality and ingredients. By localising a lot of our suppliers, we have been able to get good quality at very good prices.”

The QSR sector in Nigeria has over 800 outlets that are likely going to shut down if business does not improve.

The sector contributes N200 billion annually to the Nigerian economy, with over one million direct and indirect employees.

refused to respond to messages concerning the matter.

Recall that on July 1, 2018, AMCON published a notice for auction of Seawolf oil rig Delta Queen, with Aliyu Kiliya & Co, an auctioning firm appointed by the receiver/manager of Seawolf Oil Services.

The notice also disclosed that the rig had been cold stacked since 2012. When a rig is cold stacked, it is essentially

shut down and kept in storage.

Seawolf Energy Services was established in April 2007

by Adolor Uwanu and Remi Okunlola. The company was mainly financed by First Bank while Leadway Assurance plc and Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund took up stakes in the firm.

BusinessDay gathers that Rig Oritsetimeyin was previously working for Total E&P

Nigeria, and Onome for Addax Petroleum Development Company, with each generating $130,000 daily.

Over the years, Nigeria’s rig count, a standard yardstick used in measuring a nation’s activeness in exploration and production of crude oil and gas, has been performing badly.

BusinessDay analysis of data obtained from Baker Hughes Incorporated and the

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) showed since the beginning of 2019 Nigeria’s oil rig, which depicts the level of oil production activities by operators, has been hovering around 14 rigs count, a sharp decline from a three-year high of 35 rigs count recorded in February 2018.

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Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

35

Tribute Reginald Ihejiahi at 60 – Tribute to a ‘Human Being’ Emma Esinnah

I

set my eyes on him for the first time on February 5, 2004.

It was the sendforth organized in honour of the retiring pioneer Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nebolisa Arah, with whom I had worked for five years. Somebody whispered to me “can you see that man at the other table – that is Reginald Ihejiahi, the incoming MD of the Fidelity”. I took more interest and began to observe him more closely. He was lively, but with a certain calmness about him.

Even to the jokes by the comedian, he smiled with some frugality, as if there would be a fee for smiling too much, or he was reserving some for another occasion. There was something enigmatic about him.

Somehow, he could not be publicly announced that night as replacement for Mr. Arah because the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had not yet approved his appointment. The approval came just the next day and he assumed duties on February 9, 2004.

Over the following 10 years that he was CEO (from 2004 February, to January 1, 2014) I served as head of marketing communications and his special assistant (what in government they would call chief of staff). And after office, in the last five years, we have remained very close. I have seen him in grief and I have seen him in glee. As he clocks 60 years on the 11th of April 2019, I consider myself fairly qualified to talk about him.

Most people know him as a very brilliant banker, arguably one of the finest Nigeria has ever produced.

They will talk about his academic exploits at ABU Zaria, where he studied accounting and London School of Economics, where he obtained his M.Sc. in Finance and went on to become a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) of England and Wales. Many people also know he holds the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) and a Doctor od Business Administration, DBA, (honoris causa), UNN. His performance in Fidelity Bank is nothing short of sterling. Under him Shareholders’ funds grew from N3billion in 2003 to N167billion in 2013; branch network grew from 17 in 2003 to 213 in 2013; Customer base grew from 150,000 to 2.5million and Capital Base grew from N20billion to N1trillion; just to mention a few.

In focusing on his academic and professional accomplishments, people are saying the little they know about him. It really reminds one of the poem by HDC Pepler, where he writes : the law the lawyers know about is property and land; but why the leaves are on the trees; and why the wind disturbs the seas ….they do not know”. The things that really define Reginald Ihejiahi are more than the public knows. They are the things that make him a proper human being you want to relate with any day. I proceed to highlight just a few: Not just a big heart, but a large heart: About four months into Ihejiahi’s tenure as the CEO of Fidelity Bank, Prof. Charles Soludo, then CBN Gov-

Reginald Ihejiahi ernor, announced the consolidation programme for the Nigerian banking industry. This was a programme that shrank the industry from 89 banks to just 25 in 18 months. Most people, including insiders, did not give Fidelity a chance of survival. But it was something that revealed Ihejiahi’s mettle.

He was able to galvanize the board and the staff to undertake a capitalization programme that astounded many. More importantly is how he managed the integration of the banks (FSB and Manny) that he brought together under the Fidelity umbrella.

He truly saw himself as head of one big family, and never allowed the incidents reported in other banks where the acquiring banks saw the acquired banks and their staff as conquered. He encouraged everyone one to use the word “merger”, instead of acquisition.

Everybody either rose or fell on their individual merit. From the former FSB, people like Shehu Abubakar and Idris Yakubu rose to GM position before they were appointed EDs in other banks. Bimbo Ilupeju that came from the legacy Manny Bank retired only recently. Hassan Imam from old FSB and Ken Opara from old Manny Bank have risen to GM positions today, still in the system and still climbing.

Insightful Leadership: During the 2008/2009 economic meltdown, most banks in the country were laying off staff. A proposal was sent to Ihejiahi that Fidelity should lay off 20 per cent of the staff. He rejected that.

His reason was that no proper assessment had been done to determine who this 20 per cent should be. He said “if I tell you supervisors now to supply the names, you will quickly bring the names of people who are not greeting you well and those who did not send birthday cards to your spouses during their last birthday.

The 20 per cent you want to bring their names did not cause the global melt down. So, all of us, not some of us, will bear the pain”. He then approved that www.businessday.ng

everybody, including himself, should take a temporary 20 per cent salary cut. And that was how everybody’s job was protected. The good thing was that when the situation improved, not only that the 20 per cent was restored, but also the deduction was gradually refunded. Those who were in the system at the time, especially the junior staff, still talk about it till today.

Man of faith and self-discipline: Ihejiahi does not wear his religion on his sleeves. But his simple faith in God and devotion to Him serve as compass for his life. He is always mindful of how God views any action anyone is taking and how everyone must ultimately account for their deeds. Above all, he has self-discipline. In over 15years that I have worked closely with him, he has never missed a flight or been late to a meeting. At a point he was the only CEO in the Nigerian banking industry living on Lagos Mainland and working on the Island. Yet, he was never late to work. Throughout his first year in office, he would first attend the 6.30am church service at Falomo, Ikoyi, and still get to the office for 8am.

He is deeply compassionate: One morning in 2007, I entered his office and narrated to him how one of our female staff in the Operations department had been attacked on her way home (her department was working late that period). I could see the agony in his face for a staff he did not yet know. He quickly called the Corporate Services department to arrange to buy an additional bus for the sake of staff working late; to take them to bus stops closest to their homes. That was the origin of Fidelity’s second night bus. He also spoke to the department’s head to release staff as early as practicable.

A family man: It’s not just his family that he loves. If you relate with him, he would encourage you to love your own family. The family is so important to him that he tells you, before you vote for politician seeking to govern you, find out how he governs his own

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family. For his close aides he makes a point to know how their family members are doing.

Love for Community: Perhaps ones of the best stocked public libraries in Nigeria today is Eziachi Secondary School library, Orlu, Imo State, where Ihejiahi hails from. He personally built and stocked the facility with some of the best books - from engineering to medicine; from history to current affairs. Beyond education, some elderly and indigent people from his community are on his roll of programmed, periodic assistance, which he does very quietly.

A thinking man: One of the things that stand him out is what he calls “thinking time”. He must devote some time daily to uninterrupted thinking and reflection. He hardly says or does anything that he has not thought about. That is why he speaks with authority on any matter. And if it is an area he has not thought about, he will tell you,” I don’t know enough to advise you on that, but I can find out”.

A reading man: at every point in time, Ihejiahi is reading at least three books. In addition to professional books, his favorite subjects include biographies of famous leaders, history, travelogue, geography, fiction. It was from him I came to I know about the Peruvian writer, Mario Vargas Llosa, who won the Nobel Prize for literature about 10years ago. From him I knew about the works of Suetonius – Lives of the Caesars/The Twelve Caesars, the biographies of Julius Caesar and the first eleven emperors of Rome. Never have I seen a man who knows so much and yet wants to know more each day. Yet he is not a man to show off knowledge. Above all, he speaks little.

He is guided by, and regularly quotes, the words of Jorge Luis Borges: “don’t talk unless it improves the silence”.

But when he speaks with you for five minutes, if you did not learn anything new, you were probably not listening.

His colleagues in the Bankers Committee knew him as the intellectual of the industry.

A man of order: ihejiahi does not leave anything to chance. Every event is orchestrated and choreographed with the outcome in mind. He anticipates the needs of people, their reactions and their expectations. If he wants to communicate an important message to you, he would send you a text, call you to ask you if you got the text, and discuss with you and ask if there is anything you did not understand. That way, you cannot say you did not receive the text or because of network you did not hear what he said.

He leaves no room for excuses.

His kindness is purposeful: He believes that the best support he can give a person is to assist him get a graduate in his family. He did it for his first driver from Kogi State, who got an accountant and another graduate, in addition to retiring into his own house.

His current driver’s son has also just graduated. Those are the things that give him joy in life.

He truly cares: Many of his former staff in the bank would tell you that they own the piece of the earth they occupy today because he guided them and supported them. He would call you into his office and ask you “what investments do you have?”. He would @Businessdayng

remind you that what you are earning today would not continue indefinitely.

He would remind you that your honest income is enough for you to invest and live happily if you shun living other people’s lives.

Yet, he is not a man to shy away from tough decisions. In fact, he would tell you that “you are not doing this staff of yours a favour by allowing him to be struggling in the banking industry. It is not working for him. Tell him the truth, so that if there is a piece of land his father willed to him in the village, he can go and face farming; not banking”. He would offer to mentor the person, so far as the person is realistic.

Quality and Eye on the big picture: He does not settle for half measure in anything. The quality of his mind reflects in the choices he makes and things he does. He can’t stand small-minded people – those he calls men of straw. Nothing peeves him as much as seeing somebody who has been challenged with big things quarreling about small things.

Respect for people: He respects and honours people for what they and not the size of their pockets. He admires people who do their work well – from the cleaner to the clergy.

He would tell you that for the motor park tout who has been elected leader to continue to command the respect of his colleagues, there must be something about him. And he learns from every relationship, but never mixes up what that person is doing in his life. His respect for people of diverse cultures probably stem from his early life. Born of South-Eastern Igbo parents in Zaria, the North, where his parents were federal civil servants (his father, Igwe Cyprian Ihjejiahi retired as a director of education in the Federal Ministry of Education); his early childhood was in Uyo in the SouthSouth, his secondary education was at Government College Umuahia, in the South East, where he made lasting friendships, and over the last 40 years, he has lived and worked in the SouthWest, where also he has cultivated important friendships. Unknown to many, he is at home with four Nigerian languages and cultures – his native Igbo, Ibibio, Hausa and Yoruba.

There is so much to say about Reginald Ihejiahi. But he is only 60 today. By God’s grace, he will live to 70, 80, and more. And we will have more opportunity to say even much more about him.

When a man lives well, he makes life easier for his friends: they don’t have to manufacture lies to tell either at his funeral or his birthday. That’s the case for Ihejiahi.

There are many successful career people, but they are not human beings. Ihejiahi is unique because, not only is he successful in various aspects of life, he is a human being, a compassionate, brilliant, God-fearing, and disciplined professional.

Today, we join him to celebrate.

Yes, he will celebrate, because he believes that to celebrate is to acknowledge the benevolence of the Omnipotent. But he will not celebrate the way many would. He will celebrate his own way, in his own time. That is Reginald Ugomba Ihejiahi - unique human being. May your days be long sir.

36

Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 12 April 2019

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What happens now that Theresa May has obtained a Brexit delay?

Key milestones in the next six months could bring about a change of course JIM BRUNSDEN AND LAURA HUGHES

N

ow that the EU has granted UK prime minister Theresa May a sixmonth Brexit delay, the bloc’s leaders have expressed their hope that the UK can use the time to make up its mind, and allow them to get on with other important business.

The postponement of Britain’s scheduled departure day from April 12 to October 31 is shorter than many countries wanted. There are important milestones that will inevitably bring Brexit back on the agenda — and possibly determine the fate both of Mrs May and the UK’s bid to leave the EU. May 2: UK local elections With the Conservative party fearing a hiding from the electorate for its failure to deliver Brexit, poor results in these polls will fuel Brexiters’ resolve to topple the prime minister.

May 9: EU summit, Sibiu, Romania The plan for this summit, conceived by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, was for the EU’s remaining 27 leaders to set out a positive future agenda in the wake of the UK’s departure. But the meeting will now take place before Brexit occurs — and EU officials are pondering what to do if Mrs May

decides to attend.

May 22 or before: One more push for May’s deal Mrs May asked the EU for more time because MPs’ voted down her exit deal three times. Getting the House of Commons’ approval for the draft treaty is still a big challenge — unless talks between the governing Conservatives and the opposition Labour party produce a breakthrough.

But the prime minister still hopes the deal can be approved and ratified before May 23, so Britain can avoid holding elections to the European Parliament that day. This is widely seen as a long shot.

May 23: European elections Mrs May faces the indignity of having to lead her party in the European Parliament elections almost three years after the UK voted to leave the EU. This was something she swore never to do, but has had to accept as a side effect of avoiding a no-deal exit. The EU has ruled that if Britain has not ratified the withdrawal treaty

by May 22, it must hold the elections.

Early opinion polls show the Conservatives trailing Labour in the race.

In June 2017, Mrs May said she would only serve for as long as her party wanted her to stay. May 23 could be the moment it becomes clear she is unable to carry on.

Julian Assange faces extradition to US after arrest in London

W

ikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is facing extradition to the US following his arrest at the Ecuadorean embassy in London, charged with involvement in a computer hacking conspiracy that led to one of the “largest compromises of classified information in US history”.

Hours after he was seized by police Mr Assange he was found guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court of jumping bail on an extradition order to Sweden. The WikiLeaks founder will be sentenced at a future date and is facing up to 12 months in prison.

The US authorities are seeking the extradition of the 47-year-old activist alleging he helped former US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning leak a trove of official US documents and communications in a scandal that became known as “Cablegate”.

The indictment, filed in March 2018 but unsealed on Thursday, accused Mr Assange with helping Ms Manning to try to crack a password.

If successful, this would have allowed Ms Manning to log on to computers under a username that did not belong to her.

“Manning and Assange engaged in real time discussions regarding Manning’s transmission of classified records to Assange,” federal prosecutors alleged. “The discussions also reflect Assange actively encouraging Manning to provide more information.”

Mr Assange, if found guilty, faces a maximum prison sentence of five years, the US justice department said.

With a bushy unkempt beard, Mr Assange appeared calm in court in London, dressed in a black jacket

and black shirt, and holding a book

by Gore Vidal.

District judge Michael Snow said Mr Assange’s decision to skip bail was “about as serious as it can get”.

“His assertion that he has not had a fair hearing is laughable and is the behaviour of a narcissist . . . his behaviour is shameful.”

Mr Assange will also appear before Westminster Magistrates’ Court in May by video link in connection with his US extradition case, which will be heard at a later date.

Mr Assange’s lawyer Barry Pollack said in a statement that journalists around the world should be deeply troubled by “the unprecedented criminal charges” brought by the US. “While the indictment against Julian Assange disclosed today charges a conspiracy to commit computer crimes, the factual allegations against Mr Assange boil down to encouraging a source to provide him information and taking efforts to protect the identify of that source,” he said.

Charges were not brought against Mr Assange during the Obama administration after officials concluded there was no clear line between the publication of classified documents

by WikiLeaks and the activities of US news organisations.

The stance changed after Donald Trump became president, despite his praise of WikiLeaks during the campaign when it published hacked emails that were damaging to Hillary Clinton.

In April 2017 Jeff Sessions, then attorney-general, said the arrest of Mr Assange was a “priority” for the Trump administration. The indictment announced on Thursday was dated March 2018, 11 months later. www.businessday.ng

June 1: Possible exit If the UK does not hold European Parliament elections in May, it will leave the EU on this date, with or without a deal.

Under the terms of the EU’s decision this week, which has the force of law, if both the UK and the bloc ratify the treaty at any point before

the scheduled exit date of October 31, “the withdrawal will take place on the first day of the following month”.

So if the UK prime minister manages to win Commons backing in May, Britain would leave with a deal on June 1, beginning a transition period under which much of the status quo will remain the same

If MPs still do not back Mrs May’s deal, but no elections to the European Parliament have taken place, June 1 will mark a no-deal exit.

But, at present, this scenario also appears unlikely. Despite Mrs May’s desire to cancel the European elections, Britain has begun preparations to hold the poll.

Boeing suppliers weigh response to 737 production cuts

Ecuador president says WikiLeaks founder’s asylum revoked after ‘aggressive behaviour’ NAOMI ROVNICK AND KADHIM SHUBBER

UK prime minister Theresa May still hopes an exit deal can be approved and ratified before the European elections on May 23

Manufacturers hit by uncertainty as parts stack up across supply chain PATTI WALDMEIR AND SYLVIA PFEIFER

P

arts for the troubled Boeing 737 Max aircraft are stacking up across the global supply chain, raising the financial stakes for manufacturers as uncertainty continues over when the grounded plane will be cleared to return to the skies.

The fallout of the 737 Max crisis has spread to companies that supply crucial parts of the aircraft, following Boeing’s decision last week to cut 737 production from 52 aircraft to 42 per month from mid-April.

Boeing, which had expected to boost production to 57 planes per month by midyear, had to cut output after it was forced to suspend deliveries of the aircraft after deadly crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia that killed a total of 346 people.

The cost to Boeing of the hiatus in deliveries of new planes has been estimated at $1bn per month by analysts at JPMorgan, but the costs to its top-tier suppliers and parts makers lower down the chain are proving hard to forecast as they weigh how to respond.

Boeing’s largest suppliers globally have said they will continue producing based on the old rate of 52 per month, rather than cutting their production to match Boeing. Analysts are waiting to hear whether Boeing is covering the cost, or whether companies are expected to carry the excess inventory at their own cost.

Investors have shown their

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concern by selling off shares of some of the key 737 suppliers.

Shares in Spirit AeroSystems, which says it produces 70 per cent of the 737’s aerostructure, including the fuselage, pylons and wing leading edges, have fallen 5 per cent since the production cut was announced on Friday.

Triumph Group, which makes gearboxes and other parts of the Max, has lost 8 per cent since Friday’s close. European-based suppliers including Safran, which is part of the CFM International engine joint venture with General Electric, as well as suppliers Meggitt and Melrose, have also seen their shares drop.

“If Boeing is only producing 42 a month and suppliers are producing at a rate of 52 a month, that will jam up the whole supply chain at some point,” Jim Corridore, aerospace analyst at CFRA Research, told the Financial Times. “They are probably hoping this is a short-term blip.”

As the world’s largest commercial aircraft manufacturer, Boeing has an outsized impact on the supplier sector. Most Wall Street analysts now expect Boeing to be unable to resume production of the 737 Max for at least six months.

Most say politics could delay this resumption even further, as various US investigations proceed into the safety certification of the plane, and as global aviation regulators plan to certify it independently before clearing it for their own skies.

“This step down, from 52 to 42, was huge,” said Chris Higgins, aerospace analyst at Morningstar,

@Businessdayng

adding that if top-tier suppliers had followed suit to cut production, it would have caused “chaos” in the supply chain.

“We believe these moves are designed to provide stability to tier 2/3 suppliers, to enable a faster step up back to 52 once the groundings end, and to achieve rates well above 52 in 2020,” Mr Higgins said.

He added that he believed Boeing was “extending a lifeline” to some suppliers.

If the production cuts drag on, the challenge for some of the bigger direct suppliers to Boeing would be how to manage their own supply chains if they were themselves not being fully reimbursed for their product, said some analysts. Others raised the question of whether Boeing will be able to continue producing at a rate of 42 per month, if there are further delays in certifying the Max as safe to return to the skies.

Spirit, one of the suppliers most exposed to the 737 Max production cuts, said it would store extra production at its own facilities until needed by Boeing. “Spirit and Boeing have agreed to work together to minimise the disruption to Spirit operations and the supply chain,” Tom Gentile, Spirit’s chief executive said in a statement last week.

The company did not respond to requests for comment on whether Boeing is continuing to pay it at the rate of 52 per month. However, it said it would “minimise any impact to its full-time workforce by reducing contractors and overtime, and suspending hiring to backfill open positions”.

38

Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

NATIONAL NEWS

FT

Bashir: Sudan’s autocrat turned pariah leaves ruptured country Over three decades, the leader presided over a secession and the Darfur crackdown

DAVID PILLING

O

mar al-Bashir was a 45-yearold brigadier when he led the coup that overthrew a democratic government in Khartoum and installed himself as leader of Sudan. Three decades later, it was another coup, this time one forced on the military by months of popular uprising, that ended his authoritarian rule.

While in power, Mr Bashir presided over what has proved the economically crippling loss of oilrich South Sudan, which gained its independence in 2011 after years of civil war.

The 75-year-old leader also became the first sitting president to be indicted by the International Criminal Court, for alleged crimes against humanity against the people of Darfur in the west of the country. For most of his tenure, he was treated as a pariah by the US and much of the international community for his links with Islamists and for his dire human rights record.

Yet throughout it all, Mr Bashir proved a wily survivor. He defied the odds, often playing off one faction against another, both domestically and internationally.

“President Bashir was known as a master pragmatist. His ability to survive has been admired, or at least constantly noted, given the political and economic hardship that

his country has been going through,” said Ahmed Soliman, a researcher at the Africa Programme of Chatham House, a UK think-tank.

“He has been expert at working to insulate his regime, to build networks of patronage . . . and stand at the very apex of the power structure.

That’s what kept him in power for so long,” said Mr Soliman.

Mr Bashir, he added, had also sought to divide the security apparatus into factions in order to minimise the risk of a coup.

This week, though, Mr Bashir’s survival stratagems ran out. Protests were triggered in December by a decision to remove wheat subsidies, which sharply pushed up the price of bread, a staple. Those rallies quickly morphed into a full-fledged “Sudanese revolution” as tens of thousands of demonstrators across the country pressed for the end of his ailing regime.

Protesters, who were initially led by professionals such as doctors and lawyers, said they were sick of years of corruption and repression.

Women, youth and people from all classes — galvanised by social media and Sudan’s long tradition of street rebellion — soon joined demonstrations under the rallying cry of “Fall that is all”.

In February, Mr Bashir tried to get a grip on events when he declared a state of emergency and installed military leaders as state governors. That won him only temporary reprieve.

Sudan’s military ousts president Omar al-Bashir after protests Military council to run the country for a two-year transitional period DAVID PILLING

S

udan’s president Omar alBashir has been forced out by the military after 30 years of autocratic rule in a dramatic armyled takeover prompted by months of anti-government protests.

Lt General Awad Ibn Ouf, the defence minister, said on Thursday that Mr Bashir had been deposed and that a military council would run the country for a two-year transitional period.

The end of Mr Bashir’s rule is momentous for both the Arab-speaking world and Africa, marking the latest instance of the military ousting an autocrat after prolonged protests by frustrated young citizens.

It comes a week after Abdelaziz Bouteflika was forced to step down after 20 years as Algerian president.

Imposing a 10pm curfew, Mr Ouf apologised for killings during the uprising and blamed the Bashir regime for “poor management, corruption and an absence of justice”.

More than 80 people have been killed since anti-government protests began last year.

Government and opposition sources said the president had been put under house arrest. State media reported that all political prisoners, including the many hundreds arrested since anti-government protests began in December, were being released.

However, protesters who have been camped out in front of the defence headquarters in Khartoum since Saturday said they would not

accept another military government.

Ibrahim Taha Ayoub, a former foreign minister and member of the Sudanese Professional Association, which has been at the forefront of protests, said: “We appealed for the army to be on the side of the people to help us oust the regime. We will continue pressurising until . . . we can build a proper democratic Sudan and take the country forward.”

A message from the official Twitter feed of the group said: “Revolutionaries: The sit-ins for all our groups of people continues until the objectives of the revolution are achieved.”

Some opposition forces had been pressing for a four-year transitional government led by civilian technocrats.

Demonstrations in Sudan began in December after a sharp rise in the price of bread but escalated into what protesters called a “Sudanese revolution” aimed at ousting the regime, which is blamed for corruption, repression and a failing economy.

The regime has found it increasingly hard to finance itself since 2011, when South Sudan seceded, taking with it the country’s oil-producing regions.

Mr Bashir, who came to power in a 1989 coup, has been an international pariah, accused first of harbouring alQaeda leader Osama bin Laden and then of mounting a genocide against the people of Darfur in the west of the country. He faces charges by the International Criminal Court. www.businessday.ng

The UN has condemned the attacks on Libya launched by General Khalifa Haftar © AFP

Haftar’s attack on Tripoli destroys hopes of a Libyan breakthrough

The general launched his assault just as there was a whiff of optimism in the air PETER MILLETT

J

ust as Libyans were hoping for a breakthrough, General Khalifa Haftar has destroyed the best chance of solving Libya’s problems.

The national conference that was due to start work on Sunday has been postponed, throwing the country back into division, deadlock and doubt.

For 18 months, Ghassan Salamé, the special representative of the UN secretary-general has been preparing the ground for this conference.

One-hundred-and-fifty of Libya’s major stakeholders were being invited to Ghadames, a town on the Algerian border to decide on a national charter.

The aim was to get a majority of the participants to agree on a new political pathway to elections in 2019. There were also plans for a programme of economic reform.

Security sector reform was on the agenda too, in particular to try to reduce the damaging influence of the militias.

The conference would thereby resolve the divisions in the country and unify the political, military and economic institutions.

This was an attempt to learn the lessons of the process that led to the Libya Political Agreement signed in Skhirat, Morocco in December 2015. That agreement created the Presidency Council and Government of National Accord. But its authority has never been accepted by the rival government in the east of the country.

It was, therefore, time to break the logjam and try something new and different. First, participation in the conference was going to be broader: Skhirat was negotiated and signed by only 25 Libyans; Ghadames would include political, tribal, economic and security sector stakeholders. Second, the substance would be broader: Skhirat was primarily political; Ghadames would integrate politics, economics and security.

Mr Salamé had painstakingly laid the foundation by holding a series of consultations around Libya and talking to all the main players. He helped to orchestrate a meeting in Abu Dhabi last month between Fayez al-Sarraj, the prime minister, and Gen Haftar where a deal was supposedly reached.

Alongside these moves, there was a small amount of good news on Libya’s economy. Oil production reached 1.2m barrels a day in November. Revenue was flowing into the central bank, allowing a surplus budget to be agreed for the first time in recent years.

Liquidity problems were being tackled and the imposition of a foreign exchange supplement brought down the black market exchange rate. Growth was forecast at 4 per cent this year. There was a scent of optimism in the air.

Then Gen Haftar launched his attack on Tripoli. At first, it seemed that this operation was designed to bolster his position prior to the national conference. That now seems unlikely. He has thumbed his nose at

the UN, launching his attack as António Guterres, the secretary-general, arrived in Tripoli and ignoring the latter’s pleas to stop his campaign when they met in Benghazi.

The UN has condemned the attack on the civilian airport in Tripoli as a possible war crime. That makes it harder to bring Gen Haftar back to the negotiating table.

The simple act of attacking Tripoli has removed the opportunity for a breakthrough — for now. But the concept of bringing so many stakeholders together remains the best option for resolving the country’s political, tribal and economic divisions.

What is likely to happen? Gen Haftar cannot win. While he has quite a lot of tacit support in Tripoli from citizens who loathe the militias and want security, there is enough armed opposition to cause a bloodbath.

If he is defeated, that would not solve the problem: he still controls the east, much of the south and most of the oil ports. A truce might be an option, but it is hard to see how that would create the environment to return to a political process. There is too much hatred and mistrust. And if Gen Haftar tries to use his control of the oil installations to secure concessions, he risks undermining the only good news story in Libya at present.

To prevent a prolonged civil war, his backers and friends need to persuade him to pull back and return to the negotiating table. But that will not be easy.

Citigroup investment bank head Jamie Forese to exit Moves come as US lender struggles to boost revenues LAURA NOONAN

C

itigroup’s president and investment bank boss Jamie Forese is stepping down as the sprawling US bank undergoes its second major round of management change in less than a year.

Mr Forese, 56, had been seen as a possible successor to chief executive Mike Corbat. Instead, he is being replaced at the helm of the investment bank by Paco Ybarra, a Spaniard who runs Citi’s global markets business from London.

In a memo released on Thursday, Mr Corbat also announced Citi’s Asia Pacific chief executive Francisco Aristeguieta was stepping down “to pursue an outside opportunity in the industry”. He also named a new co-heads of Citi’s markets business, a new head of

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its North America bank and a new chief auditor.

The moves come just less than a year after Citi announced the departure of its veteran chief finance officer John Gerspach, European chief Jim Cowles and its head of North America Bill Mills, and a shake-up of Mr Forese’s top lieutenants.

“While we will miss the experience and counsel of those who have moved on, I believe that change is healthy and creates new opportunities for our firm and our people,” Mr Corbat wrote in a note to Citi staff.

The changes come as Citi struggles to improve its returns, with pressure from activist investor ValueAct to increase profitability.

Insiders at the bank insist the moves are all regular transitions of executives who wanted to do dif@Businessdayng

ferent things, and do not signify an overhaul of strategy at the bank that has struggled to increase revenue and rein in costs in recent years.

“They are both very thoughtful, cerebral, strategic people,” said one senior executive at the investment bank of the transition from Mr Forese to Mr Yabarra. “They are more like each other than not.”

Mr Forese, 56, and Mr Ybarra, 57, both previously worked in Citi’s fixed income division, and were co-heads of that division for a spell from 2008. Both men have an understated style with few formalities.

Mr Forese became head of Citi’s Institutional Client Group (ICG) in 2013, when the bank was under the shadow of the financial crisis, with around $300bn of bad assets earmarked to be run down in its noncore division.

Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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FINANCIAL TIMES

COMPANIES & MARKETS

@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED

Barclays hits back at activist Edward Bramson UK lender warns investor ‘would be disruptive influence on the board’ DAVID CROW

B

arclays hit back at activist investor Edward Bramson on Thursday, arguing that his appointment to its board of directors would destabilise the bank.

The company conceded that its investment banking unit, which is unpopular with some investors, was still underperforming but insisted that Mr Bramson’s election as a director was “not what Barclays needs right now�.

The lender was responding to a letter sent by Mr Bramson to other investors earlier this week, in which he urged them to vote for him at the company’s annual meeting in May. In the letter, Mr Bramson warned there was a “real threat� that Barclays would have to raise fresh capital from its shareholders unless it scaled back its trading operations.

Mr Bramson has amassed a 5.5 per cent stake in Barclays — making him the company’s third-largest investor — and has called for the bank to shrink its markets division.

Those demands have put him on a collision course with its chief executive Jes Staley, who has pledged to protect Britain’s last remaining global investment bank from further cuts.

In its response to Mr Bramson’s letter, Barclays admitted that it “does not yet perform at the level at which it should� and singled out poor profitability at its investment banking unit as especially disappointing. “In particular, the board and management recognise that, whilst

improved, the corporate and investment bank does not yet generate adequate returns,� Barclays wrote in its response.

However, Barclays insisted the bank did not need to alter its strategy, as Mr Bramson has suggested, and warned that he “would be a disruptive and uncollaborative influence on the board�. “He also does not possess the banking experience and skills that we are seeking to add to the board,�

Barclays added.

Barclays also said the stake that Mr Bramson has amassed through his Sherborne Investors vehicle was “leveraged� and “time limited�, meaning he was not aligned with other shareholders.

In February, the FT reported that Mr Bramson had funded the majority of his stake with a $1.4bn loan from Bank of America under a complex derivatives arrangement known as a funded equity collar, which effectively limits the potential gains and losses on his shares.

The bank said its incoming chairman, Nigel Higgins, was in the process of overhauling its board and planned to add new directors “with greater banking experience�. “The election of Mr Bramson would be . . . a significant deterrent to the recruitment of board candidates and destabilising to senior management,� the bank said.

John McFarlane, Barclays’ outgoing chairman, said: “One thing we do have in common with Mr Bramson is that we are well aware that returns from [the investment banking unit] have been below our required level, and we are taking the necessary steps to remedy this.�

US stocks nudge higher while Brexit delay fails to boost pound Wall Street advance comes ahead of the start of earnings season PHILIP GEORGIADIS AND SIDDARTH SHRIKANTH

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S and European stocks edged higher on Thursday, while confirmation of a Brexit extension failed to ignite a relief rally for the pound.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1 per cent in the first hour of trading in New York, while the Stoxx Europe 600 also nudged higher. The FTSE 100 was flat while the Dax rose 0.3 per cent.

Investors will shortly turn their attention to the start of corporate earnings season in the US, which opens with results from JPMorgan and Wells Fargo expected before the opening bell on Friday.

The S&P 500 is expected to see earnings decline in the first quarter, the first year-on-year contraction since the second quarter of 2016.

Investors have also been weighing central bank updates which have underlined concerns over waning global growth.

The European Central Bank and Federal Reserve both flagged a high degree of uncertainty over the economic outlook earlier this week, as growth jitters continue

to plague the world economy. The minutes of the Fed’s March monetary policy meeting showed officials’ outlook on monetary policy could “shift in either direction�.

UBS analysts said in a note on Thursday that “slowing growth raises the risk that the eurozone economy could be headed toward a recession�.

Sterling stayed just below the $1.31 mark, despite news from Brussels that the UK would be granted a six-month extension to its departure from the EU. The pound has steadfastly refused to budge out of its trading range between around $1.30 and $1.32 as the UK has staggered from one Brexit extension to another over the past weeks.

Upbeat comments on USChina trade talks by US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin failed to lift Asian markets. Mr Mnuchin told CNBC that recent talks had been “very productive,� but declined to put a specific timeframe on negotiations.

China’s CSI 300 led the declines, falling 2.1 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index eased 0.7 per cent. www.businessday.ng

Edward Bramson’s demands are at odds with the bank’s chief executive Jes Staley, who has pledged to protect Britain’s last remaining global investment bank from further cuts

Deutsche BĂśrse in talks to buy some Refinitiv forex units Frankfurt-based exchange is eyeing electronic trading platform FXall OLAF STORBECK AND PHILIP STAFFORD

D

eutsche BĂśrse has underlined its determination to push into new markets, confirming it is in advanced talks to buy some foreign exchange assets from Refinitiv, the data provider.

A deal to expand the German exchange’s share of the $5.1tn-aday market comes only days after it unveiled an $850m deal to buy Axioma, a US risk and portfolio analytics provider.

The two sides confirmed the latest discussions after a Reuters report said Deutsche BĂśrse was in talks to buy FXall, an electronic currency trading platform, for $3.5bn. While the Frankfurt group confirmed there were talks with Refinitiv, it described the $3.5bn purchase price and imminent signing of contracts as “entirely unfoundedâ€?.

The foreign exchange market is changing rapidly as the banks that have long dominated the market pare back their operations in response to tougher regulations and competitive pressures.

More business is moving away from banks and deals negotiated by phone, in favour of electronic

platforms that connect many potential users. FXall is one of biggest operators, with nearly 40 per cent of the market, according to Euromoney. The venue pools together banks’ prices in the fragmented forex market for more than 2,300 asset managers and corporate treasurers. Refinitiv, under its previous name of Thomson Reuters, purchased FXall for $625m in 2012.

Theodor Weimer, Deutsche BÜrse’s chief executive, has targeted using more of the exchange’s available resources, which analysts estimate to be about ₏1.8bn, for deals in the data and fixed-income, currency and commodities markets. Analysts have warned it would probably have to issue new equity to pay for any deals.

The group must also hold extra regulatory capital to maintain the top credit rating for Clearstream, its international securities depository.

Refinitiv has been expected to sell assets after 55 per cent of the business was sold to a consortium involving private equity group Blackstone, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Singapore state fund GIC, in a $17bn deal.

Last year David Craig, Refinitiv’s

chief executive, denied there were plans to sell FXall, saying that forex trading was “a crown jewel asset�.

On Thursday Refinitiv said it remained “fully committed� to investing in the forex market.

Deutsche BĂśrse is trying to reduce its reliance on derivatives markets and settlement, which account for about two-thirds of annual earnings.

Joanna Nader, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said the deal was “strategically attractiveâ€? for Deutsche BĂśrse. “In addition to creating a greater ‘critical mass’ in electronic trading, the purchase of FXall could help when it launches efforts in the over-the-counter FX clearing arena,â€? she said.

Axioma provides analytics to asset managers and hedge funds and will be merged with Deutsche BÜrse’s data subsidiary, which owns the Stoxx and Dax — two of the world’s most actively traded equity indices. The two units will be combined in a Frankfurtbased company, with Deutsche BÜrse owning a 77 per cent stake.

To break into the forex market, Deutsche BĂśrse bought 360T, a German venue, for â‚Ź725m in 2015.

Bezos wage challenge draws barb from Walmart exec MAMTA BADKAR

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he battle for retail supremacy has often pitted Amazon and Walmart against one another and on Thursday, the two were back at, gibing over wages and taxes.

In his annual shareholder letter, Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos on Thursday levelled a challenge to rivals, without naming any in particular. “Today I challenge our top retail competitors (you know who you are!) to match our employee benefits and our $15 minimum wage. Do it! Better yet, go to $16 and throw the gauntlet back at us,� he wrote.

And throw the gauntlet one did, just not in the manner Mr Bezos had intended.

Walmart’s executive vice-pres-

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ident of corporate affairs, Dan Bartlett tweeted: “Hey retail competitors out there (you know who you are đ&#x;˜‰) how about paying your taxes?,â€? he tweeted, while also linking to a story that Amazon would pay no taxes on $11.2bn in profits for 2018.

Mr Bartlett followed up with another tweet in which he argued: “FWIW, the vast majority of our warehouse associates have been making more than $15 for a long time. And they still get quarterly performance bonuses,� while also linking to a New York Times article that despite higher minimum wages, Amazon employees’ overall compensation could shrink.

Walmart, which has long been under the scanner for how much it pays employees, last year raised its starting wage from $9 to $11 @Businessdayng

an hour in the wake of the US tax overhaul.

Meanwhile, rival Target earlier this month said it would lift its hourly minimum wage to $13 starting in June.

Notably, Amazon also faced external pressure, from critics like Senator Bernie Sanders, to raise wages despite Mr Bezos’ claim on Thursday that “We had always offered competitive wages. But we decided it was time to lead — to offer wages that went beyond competitive. We did it because it seemed like the right thing to do.�

Moreover, the upturn in earnings also comes as the US labour market has tightened, leaving the unemployment rate at multidecade lows and prompting companies to offer more competitive wages to retain talent.

40

Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

ANALYSIS

FT Uber and Pinterest pore over their IPO lock-up agreements

With Lyft trading below its offer price, US groups are scrutinising restrictions on selling and hedging SHANNON BOND AND NICOLE BULLOCK

S

ome big US companies poised to go public including Uber and Pinterest are poring over agreements with their shareholders, amid rising concern over the performance of Lyft following a splashy stock market debut late last month.

Lyft, whose shares initially jumped but have since stalled well below the offer price, last week threatened Morgan Stanley with legal action over a report that the investment bank arranged so-called short sales for investors who had bought shares before the initial public offering, according to a letter obtained by the Financial Times.

Typically, such investors are

shares in Lyft closed at $60.12 each, down more than 16 per cent from the IPO price.

In an April 2 letter to Morgan Stanley, Lyft accused the bank of marketing a product allowing Lyft investors who held shares before its IPO to get returns from shorting the stock in public trading. Lyft said that would violate the terms of its lock-up agreements.

Lyft declined to comment. Its letter cited an April 1 article in the New York Post that claimed Morgan Stanley was among brokerages pitching a short product to Lyft investors. If those claims were true, Lyft said, the bank would be intentionally interfering in Lyft’s and its underwriters’ contracts with shareholders. Lyft demanded the bank stop marketing any such product or transaction and said

Speculation over the high volume of short-selling interest in Lyft has gripped Wall Street since the stock’s March 29 debut on Nasdaq © AP

constrained from selling or hedging their positions for a set period of time after public listings, often six months. Short sales are bets that the price of a stock will fall.

As a result of Lyft’s rocky performance, Wall Street bankers, lawyers and their clients are making sure that companies’ “lock-up” agreements are airtight, according to several people with knowledge of the matter.

The list includes Uber, Lyft’s ride-hailing rival, which is aiming to raise $10bn when it lists on the New York Stock Exchange next month, and Pinterest, the image-sharing platform that is set to debut on the NYSE next week.

Uber and Pinterest declined to comment.

“Everybody is taking a fresh look at these agreements and making sure they have the desired effect,” said one Wall Street banker. “[Lock-up language] is now just part of the discussion, at the top of the list.”

Speculation over the high volume of short-selling interest in Lyft has gripped Wall Street since the stock’s March 29 debut on Nasdaq.

Short-selling interest totalled the equivalent of almost 40 per cent of the float by the end of the second day of trading, according to S3 Partners. That is roughly double the share of negative bets that Snap saw in its first few days, and much higher than older-school companies such as Levi Strauss, where shorts held less than 2 per cent.

On Wednesday in New York

it reserved the right to take legal action.

Morgan Stanley, which is the lead underwriter for rival Uber, denied the allegations.

“Morgan Stanley did not market or execute directly or indirectly a sale, short sale, hedge, swap or transfer of risk or value associated with Lyft stock or any Lyft shareholder identified by the company or otherwise known to us to be the subject of a Lyft lock-up agreement,” a spokesperson said about last week’s article.

“Our firm’s activity has been in the normal course of market making and any suggestion that Morgan Stanley has engaged in an effort to apply short pressure to Lyft is false.”

Such lock-up agreements were long considered to be standard, even though the precise language may differ slightly bank to bank and deal to deal.

“Lock-ups serve a very important function in the IPO process: signals of commitment that the company is not dumping its stock on the public market at an inflated price,” said Joseph Grundfest, a professor at Stanford Law School and a former commissioner at the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Investors and employees covered by the agreement commit to hold . . . and to take that market risk as a signal of commitment. If it is possible to hedge your exposure through derivatives or other transactions that would defeat the purpose.” www.businessday.ng

Niger: war at the heart of west Africa

One of the world’s poorest nations at the centre of international efforts to fight jihadis NEIL MUNSHI

N

iger sits in a dangerous neighbourhood. Six of the seven countries it borders face crises of one degree or another.

Across its northern border, a military strongman’s march on Tripoli threatens to send Libya back into civil war. To the south, Boko Haram and criminal gangs wreak havoc along much of the border with Nigeria, and the jihadi insurgency has bled into neighbouring Chad. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb haunts Algeria’s desert lands; and the ethnic clashes and jihadi insurgencies of northern and central Mali have spilled over into Burkina Faso, leading to the precipitous collapse of parts of a country once viewed as a model of stability.

In his office, in Niger’s sleepy capital Niamey, defence minister Kalla Moutari points to a large map of his country that sits at the heart of the Sahel, the semi-arid strip that runs the width of Africa, and describes a region in turmoil. Just 10 miles away French Reaper drones and Mirage fighter jets take off daily on missions targeting a growing number of sophisticated and violent extremist groups, principally in neighbouring Mali, as part of Operation Barkhane, France’s 4,500-troop strong campaign in the Sahel.

A surge in violence over the past six months has left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands displaced across one of the poorest regions of the world. Now, some in Niamey fear that renewed fighting in Libya could lead some of the nearly 1m migrants stranded there to flood across its border.

“It’s a miracle that our country is still standing, given these threats,” Mr Moutari says. Of Niger’s 5,800km border, just 200km — along the tiny coastal country of Benin — remains mostly undisturbed. “The situation is terrible.”

The Niger authorities recently broke up a sleeper cell of jihadis operating in Niamey that Mr Moutari says was targeting Nigerien and foreign military interests. The raid has added to the anxiety of regional and western powers that the violence is spiralling, and could yet spread to coastal west Africa and beyond, sparking fears among some Europeans about a potential spike in migration.

France — the main European player in the region — has built a series of military bases along the Mali-Niger border in order to contain the threat, and signed an expanded security co-operation deal with Burkina Faso in December to address the spike in violence.

“With the disappearance of the Libyan state, Niger is now the border with the west,” Mr Moutari says. “If Niger falls, there is nothing.”

Landlocked Niger — a country

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twice the size of Ukraine — is ranked last in the UN’s Human Development Index of 189 countries. Its neighbours Chad, Burkina Faso and Mali are all in the bottom 10. The threats in the Sahel are, at the moment, largely domestically driven — jihadi groups exploiting local grievances ranging from centuries’ old conflicts between farmers and nomadic pastoralists to governance vacuums and the brutality of individual security forces. But these threats also take in criminal gangs, ethnic militia, vigilante groups and traffickers in drugs, arms and people.

“We’re very concerned about what is happening in the Sahel,” says Rear Admiral Heidi Berg, director of intelligence for US Africom which oversees the Pentagon’s operations in Africa. “There has been an uptick both in this [extremist] activity as well as an uptick in just the challenges associated with governance issues and governance problems in the Sahel that have led to this increase in violence.”

France intervened in the region — where it was once the main colonial power — to defeat an Islamist insurgency in Mali in 2013, but the terror groups have since regrouped and mushroomed, raising questions about Paris’s strategy.

The past year has seen a surge in violent incidents, with more than 5,000 deaths in the Sahel over the last five months alone, an increase of 46 per cent on the same period a year earlier, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, which is part funded by the US state department.

The spike in violence has forced thousands to leave their homes. In January 2018, Niger had no people internally displaced by the unrest in Mali. It now has 63,000, along with 55,000 Malian refugees, according to UNHCR, with roughly 100,000 displaced in Burkina Faso since July.

“Instability in Mali affects its neighbours, increased instability in Burkina Faso affects theirs,” says Rear Admiral Berg. “And I’m concerned that it could move south and affect Côte d’Ivoire [and other coastal nations] . . . that it could move regionally.”

Niger is at the heart of international counter-terrorism strategies for the region. US civilian presence has roughly trebled over the past decade. The US Air Force is building a $110m base for armed drones near Agadez in the country’s desert centre, an ancient trans-Saharan trading town, where aid workers dealing with the flow of migrants attempting to reach Europe mix with burly private contractors and service personnel.

According to the military, it is the largest construction project the air force has ever undertaken on its own.

Washington is also building a new embassy, signalling its commitment to the country and region. @Businessdayng

Mr Moutari dismisses criticism that the increased presence of western forces is acting as a recruiting tool for terrorists, insisting that the US and France are in Niger at his government’s request and only until the jihadi threat is neutralised. “The Islamists recruited before the arrival of these bases,” he says. “Once the situation has changed . . . there will be no reason for these [military] arrangements to continue.”

But suspicion remains. Prominent civil society activist Nouhou Arzika characterises the deployment of international forces in Niger as a bid to capture its resources and predicts that local authorities will use western military might to stay in power, echoing a criticism that France in particular is propping up strongmen in the region.

“There’s a big collaboration between local authorities and western armies — so when local authorities get in trouble,” says Mr Arzika, “they will count on western armies to save them.”

In addition to its Niamey base, France has a second near the Libyan border and gets support from Germany, Romania and Italy. European countries have also ramped up diplomatic ties: the UK plans to open an embassy in the capital next year and a large EU-led security forces training programme operates across the region.

It is the prospect of a fresh surge in migration, says one senior diplomat based in Niamey, that is key to European engagement in the Sahel.

“Long term, concern [over] irregular migration is as high as [that] on the terror threat, because of birth rates here,” the diplomat says, referring to Niger’s 7.1 births per woman, a record nearly matched by some of its neighbours.

“Europe [has realised that] the two continents . . . are very close together,” says Frank Van der Mueren, head of the EU’s training mission in Niger, which has prepared 13,000 police, border patrol and national guardsmen since 2012. “The migration flow [during its peak between 2014 and 2016] was the real wake-up call to say ‘what is going on over there affects immediately what happens in Europe’. Now you see the increase of jihadi and terrorist groups’ presence in the region and their capabilities — that also worries Europe.”

For the US the priority is security.

It scaled back direct tactical assistance in Niger after nine soldiers — including four of its own — were killed in a 2017 ambush by Isis-linked jihadis.

Instead it favours training and intelligence operations. And although it has previously announced that it would cut about 10 per cent of its 7,000 personnel across Africa, the US military in February began weekly cargo flights from Africom’s headquarters in Germany to Ghana to supply troops in west Africa, suggesting a long-term commitment.

Friday 12 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

41

Live @ The STOCK Exchanges Prices for Securities Traded as of Thursday 11 April 2019 Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

PRICES FOR MAIN BOARD SECURITIES (Equities) BANKING ACCESS BANK PLC. 213,271.35 6.00 2.56 195 21,651,304 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC 220,586.27 6.45 2.38 201 8,861,460 ZENITH BANK PLC 642,058.30 20.45 -0.73 481 45,367,505 877 75,880,269 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 279,983.28 7.80 6.12 251 17,737,711 251 17,737,711 1,128 93,617,980 BUILDING MATERIALS DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 3,169,534.38 186.00 - 43 333,076 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 193,293.55 12.00 3.90 55 528,206 98 861,282 98 861,282 EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 347,182.29 590.00 - 5 5,568 5 5,568 5 5,568 1,231 94,484,830 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC 1,710.00 85.50 - 0 0 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) 11,300.89 45.20 - 1 553 UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 14,408.66 5.40 - 2 3,200 3 3,753 3 3,753 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND 411.91 552.20 - 0 0 VALUEALLIANCE VALUE FUND 3,312.39 103.20 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3,753 CROP PRODUCTION FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 440.00 0.20 - 0 0 76,312.80 80.00 - 13 60,100 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC 62,750.00 62.75 - 19 11,045 32 71,145 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. 511.20 4.26 - 0 0 0 0 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1,650.00 0.55 - 6 59,785 6 59,785 38 130,930 DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 820.66 0.31 - 4 68,360 202.36 0.52 - 1 301 JOHN HOLT PLC. S C O A NIG. PLC. 1,903.99 2.93 - 1 6,667 TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC 47,151.67 1.16 -0.86 90 5,899,892 20,169.08 7.00 - 39 601,232 U A C N PLC. 135 6,576,452 135 6,576,452 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ARBICO PLC. 711.32 4.79 - 1 2,500 1 2,500 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 36,300.00 27.50 - 16 63,571 ROADS NIG PLC. 165.00 6.60 - 0 0 16 63,571 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 4,313.34 1.66 - 6 2,775 6 2,775 23 68,846 AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 954.53 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 10,334.94 1.32 - 2 1,288 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 242.22 0.89 - 0 0 GUINNESS NIG PLC 131,422.97 60.00 - 27 39,933 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 202,002.76 23.50 - 5 6,436 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 481,413.50 60.20 - 45 121,845 79 169,502 FOOD PRODUCTS DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 40,000.00 8.00 - 29 161,812 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 162,600.00 13.55 0.74 64 902,436 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 68,066.30 16.60 -2.35 22 424,027 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 9,119.73 1.15 - 14 529,400 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 1,340.10 0.36 - 0 0 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 766.26 4.30 - 0 0 NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC 50,471.80 19.05 - 12 7,349 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 3,676.41 13.45 - 2 10,000 143 2,035,024 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 18,969.84 10.10 - 15 73,878 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 1,149,351.57 1,450.00 - 15 4,693 30 78,571 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 1,680.31 22.10 - 1 140 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 4,815.75 3.85 - 12 71,526 13 71,666 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 35,138.72 8.85 - 13 17,064 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 195,330.18 34.00 - 27 225,491 40 242,555 305 2,597,318 BANKING ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 194,505.24 10.60 - 26 125,540 FIDELITY BANK PLC 57,949.59 2.00 8.70 130 13,023,192 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 1,008,017.89 34.25 2.09 185 11,048,484 JAIZ BANK PLC 14,142.84 0.48 - 15 616,640 SKYE BANK PLC 10,687.83 0.77 - 0 0 74,855.09 2.60 0.38 33 4,002,230 STERLING BANK PLC. UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 189,284.89 6.50 - 30 394,346 UNITY BANK PLC 8,533.22 0.73 - 8 165,051 WEMA BANK PLC. 27,002.13 0.70 1.43 31 2,729,952 458 32,105,435 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC 4,117.00 0.20 - 0 0 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 4,712.54 0.68 - 15 297,617 AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC 21,000.00 2.00 - 6 67,410 1,951.20 0.24 4.35 3 210,000 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 19,811.94 1.91 - 0 0 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE PLC 2,945.90 0.20 - 1 10,736,334 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 2,001.98 0.44 - 1 4,000 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 1,228.00 0.20 - 0 0 487.95 0.38 - 0 0 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE PLC LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 2,197.03 0.30 -6.67 9 42,336,000 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 2,320.02 0.54 - 2 53,750 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 4,000.00 0.50 - 3 25,000 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 1,760.00 0.22 - 3 66,737 11,617.11 2.20 10.00 40 2,471,598 NEM INSURANCE PLC NIGER INSURANCE PLC 1,702.69 0.22 10.00 6 216,931 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC 2,960.40 0.55 - 0 0 REGENCY ASSURANCE PLC 1,533.81 0.23 - 4 170,850 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 2,001.80 0.24 - 7 189,498 STACO INSURANCE PLC 4,483.72 0.48 - 0 0 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. 2,582.21 0.20 - 1 20,833 SUNU ASSURANCES NIGERIA PLC. 2,800.00 0.20 - 0 0 UNIC DIVERSIFIED HOLDINGS PLC. 516.46 0.20 - 0 0 UNIVERSAL INSURANCE PLC 3,200.00 0.20 - 3 100,000 VERITAS KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 2,912.00 0.21 5.00 1 1,000,000 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 5,353.10 0.40 - 16 140,088 121 58,106,646 MICRO-FINANCE BANKS FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 11,799.67 2.58 - 0 0 NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 3,361.36 1.47 - 5 67,455 5 67,455

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MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC 3,780.00 0.90 - 1 50 ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 7,370.87 0.50 - 0 0 INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC 5,922.05 1.42 - 0 0 RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 2,265.95 0.20 - 0 0 UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. 2,949.22 3.02 - 0 0 1 50 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC 7,440.00 3.72 - 46 863,575 CUSTODIAN INVESTMENT PLC 39,408.49 6.70 - 26 192,676 DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC 660.00 0.44 - 0 0 FCMB GROUP PLC. 38,417.26 1.94 3.19 160 9,852,200 ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 1,389.25 0.27 - 7 90,311 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 471,065.44 46.00 0.44 23 2,941,480 UNITED CAPITAL PLC 16,620.00 2.77 6.54 65 2,536,421 327 16,476,663 912 106,756,249 HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS EKOCORP PLC. 1,680.29 3.37 - 0 0 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 817.22 0.23 - 9 2,355,481 9 2,355,481 MEDICAL SUPPLIES MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 544.04 0.55 - 0 0 0 0 PHARMACEUTICALS EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 366.17 0.50 - 0 0 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 6,375.00 4.25 - 13 115,450 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. 10,703.09 8.95 4.68 25 189,050 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 4,313.09 2.50 - 22 211,340 NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 1,063.53 0.56 - 4 42,589 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. 556.71 3.62 - 0 0 325.23 1.50 - 2 500 PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 66 558,929 75 2,914,410 COMPUTER BASED SYSTEMS COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC 710.40 0.20 - 2 10,200 2 10,200 COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS OMATEK VENTURES PLC 1,470.89 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 IT SERVICES CWG PLC 6,413.06 2.54 - 0 0 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 648.00 6.00 - 1 20 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 346.47 0.70 - 13 37,577 14 37,597 PROCESSING SYSTEMS CHAMS PLC 1,220.98 0.26 -7.14 34 7,066,635 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 11,088.00 2.64 - 1 100 35 7,066,735 51 7,114,532

BUILDING MATERIALS BERGER PAINTS PLC 2,622.90 9.05 - 24 77,136 CAP PLC 23,625.00 33.75 - 16 68,672 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 210,296.02 16.00 - 26 351,326 FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC 675.31 0.32 - 4 23,832 MEYER PLC. 286.87 0.54 - 3 47,528 PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC 1,999.41 2.52 - 0 0 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. 1,279.20 10.40 - 1 100 74 568,594 ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2,256.91 2.09 - 0 0 CUTIX PLC. 2,818.12 1.60 -1.23 27 621,242 27 621,242 PACKAGING/CONTAINERS BETA GLASS PLC. 29,173.37 58.35 - 0 0 388.02 9.10 - 0 0 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 0 0 AGRO-ALLIED & CHEMICALS NOTORE CHEMICAL IND PLC 100,754.14 62.50 - 0 0 0 0 101 1,189,836 CHEMICALS B.O.C. GASES PLC. 1,577.57 3.79 - 0 0 0 0 METALS ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 1,803.64 8.20 - 0 0 0 0 MINING SERVICES MULTIVERSE MINING AND EXPLORATION PLC 852.39 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 PAPER/FOREST PRODUCTS THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. 55.00 0.25 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 ENERGY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 1,252.54 0.20 - 7 75,766 7 75,766 INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS SERVICES OANDO PLC 60,292.35 4.85 - 60 365,116 60 365,116 PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS 11 PLC 61,661.79 171.00 - 12 4,029 CONOIL PLC 15,960.90 23.00 - 20 31,371 ETERNA PLC. 5,216.58 4.00 -8.05 31 628,367 FORTE OIL PLC. 35,101.87 26.95 - 19 45,019 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 6,354.80 20.85 - 3 2,120 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 66,546.28 196.00 - 20 5,400 105 716,306 172 1,157,188 ADVERTISING AFROMEDIA PLC 2,219.52 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 AIRLINES MEDVIEW AIRLINE PLC 17,551.17 1.80 - 2 120 2 120 AUTOMOBILE/AUTO PART RETAILERS R T BRISCOE PLC. 376.43 0.32 - 0 0 0 0 COURIER/FREIGHT/DELIVERY RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 3,242.23 5.50 - 0 0 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 351.64 0.75 - 0 0 0 0 HOSPITALITY TANTALIZERS PLC 642.33 0.20 - 1 100 1 100 HOTELS/LODGING CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 4,801.22 3.10 - 3 33,450 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 3,845.77 1.85 -9.76 14 377,237 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. 7,862.53 3.50 - 3 290 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 41,042.18 5.40 - 1 767 21 411,744 MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 4,800.00 0.40 - 1 2,700 1 2,700 PRINTING/PUBLISHING ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 199.58 0.33 - 3 110,000 LEARN AFRICA PLC 1,126.32 1.46 - 1 5,000 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. 1,183.82 1.99 - 5 450 UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 780.85 1.81 - 3 16,929 12 132,379 ROAD TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC 729.39 0.44 -8.33 1 100,000 1 100,000 SPECIALTY INTERLINKED TECHNOLOGIES PLC 766.91 3.24 - 0 0

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Opinion

Requiem for mama THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS

Obadiah Mailafia

W

here do mothers come from? I have always pondered this question. All humans come from planet earth, of course. But, what of mothers? They have this uniqueness about them that makes me wonder if they are not from Jupiter or somewhere even more exotic.

Everybody that breathes once came out of a mother – be it Pope or President – be it all those men and women of pomp and pageantry. Everybody must have done their plus or minus nine months in the womb of a woman. Every individual was nursed as an infant in the warm arms of a mother. Whenever you were hungry, mother was there. Whenever you felt fear, mother was there. Whenever you were in perplexity, mother was there. Mother was the one who would sacrifice everything to make you into a person of worth.

My own mother was barely 21 when she married my father, a much older man. She said she was preparing for the Christmas festivities when I decided to kick her womb with my legs and came out triumphantly without a cry, unlike other babies. I had my way on a Saturday 24th December. That was decades. She surprised everyone by

choosing the name Odadiah (Avadiah in Hebrew and Obaid’Allah or Abdallah in the Arabic) during my christening. In the Old Testament Obadiah means “servant of the Most High”. I was therefore born to be a servant. “And Obadiah loved the Lord greatly”, we are told. He was the Prime Minister who shielded the 70 prophets from persecution for seven years – a very wealthy and influential personage.

I am Mother’s firstborn child out of nine. Mother was a tall and beautiful woman; as slim as a gazelle in her younger days. But she was also a stern disciplinarian who brooked no nonsense from whatever quarters. If you tried to hurt her child she would fight you like a lioness over her cubs. And yet she was a Bible-believing Christian. Her father, my maternal grandfather -- Baba Anchegah Mukama -- was well over 6 feet tall, with long white beard like the Biblical prophets of old. He lived on his farm with his family and his cattle, sheep, goats and a stable of horses. He never went to school. But he was a bright man who taught himself to read and write English. In fact, he taught me to read and write even before I started elementary school. It’s rather unfortunate that grandfather did not believe in education for his daughters. Mother Dearest later went to school as a married adult, earning a Diploma in Theology.

Father and Mother spent all their adult lives serving in the Lord’s vineyard with the former Sudan United Mission, now re-christened the Evangelical Church of Christ in Central Nigeria, ERCC. We grew up with white missionary children in the old Benue-Plateau State. We had no television. Our only form of entertainment was the radio and the old Grundig gramophone

So R.Kelly messed up – His Master’s Voice. We read lots and lots of books during the long vacation months.

We played football, climbed mango trees and frolicked as children were wont to do in those days.

When I turned 13 and was being sent off to Mada Hills Secondary School, a rather snooty missionary boarding school in those days, I noticed that Mother’s eyes were bloodshot. She had been crying because I was going away. It had been quite a struggle paying the fees for such a rather expensive school. Mother would fry akara; work on the farm and do everything to assist father to all of us four siblings who attended the same institution.

I was almost derailing in my junior years, having come under the influence of some bad boys. Whilst home on vacation Mother Dearest sat me down. With eyes burning with the fire of a thousand suns, she decreed: “My son, you will be a man of ‘aminchi’ or nothing else, do you hear me?”

In total fright, I answered in the affirmative.

That day was my day of all days – my day of destiny. My fate had literally been sealed.

The Hausa word ‘aminchi’ has no English equivalent. It is a combination of virtues such as wisdom, knowledge, honesty, character and grace all combined. It was a combination of virtues you would only associate with Biblical characters such as Joseph, Daniel, Shedrack, Mashack and Continues on page 33

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)

The minister and the fire chief HumanAngle

Femi olugbile

T

here was interesting news out of Abuja the other day.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory had gone to commission newly refurbished fire trucks belonging to the Abuja Fire Service. Everything was proceeding swimmingly.Nice speeches, abundant photo opportunities.

As the event was winding to a close, the Minister decided, apparently on an impulse, to inspect the fire trucks and their equipment. He was keen to confirm their state of readiness. Fire Services, after all, were an essential part of Emergency Services everywhere. In a modern city, the promptness and effectiveness of the Fire Services outfit was the difference between life and death, literally. The role of the New York Fire Service Department in the 9-11 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers made the officers into folk heroes. More recently, if less dramatically, the London City Fire Services had played a role in trying to ameliorate the fire disaster at the Grenfell Towers.

This ‘inspection’ was clearly not in the script, and things began to go wrong quickly. As he got into a truck, he observed it had no air conditioning. He asked for oxygen, a

crucial necessity for the use of victims, but also for the firemen in difficult situations.

By now the Director of the unit, who was his host, was getting very uncomfortable indeed. There was no oxygen.

The Minister pulled out one of the drawers. It was meant to house drugs and other supplies. There was nothing.

The Minister, now thoroughly miffed, requested for a demonstration of fire-fighting action. There was no water in the tank.

That would not be the end of the story.

He asked for documentation and found that log books were not properly kept. He wanted to see the accommodation for duty staff, from where they could be quickly mobilized for emergencies. He discovered that all the accommodation was occupied by the top staff of the Service and their families.

The whole sordid affair of the Minister’s visitation and the drama that set his teeth on edge, complete with a video, was brought to your attention through a gleeful WhatsApp message from a friend who had played a prominent role in an organization known as LIMGE (Lagos Island Millennium Group on the Environment).

The group, made up of private individuals and organisations, with the support of the Lagos Government, had done a yeoman’s job in reviving and restoring the old business district of the city – Marina, Broad Street and adjoining areas, and preventing the big companies from moving their operations out to other places. As part of the exercise, they had rebuilt the old Ajele Fire Station into an ultra-modern facility and brought in a fire chief from New Jersey to conduct training for several of the staff. The group, backed by Shell,

brought in sophisticated firefighting equipment, including rapid-deployment power bikes, and the latest communication gear.

They also created good recreational and exercise areas for the firemen.

Your friend – who sent you the videoclip of the fiasco in Abuja, was celebrating that the Lagos fire station, powered by LIMGE, was in a much better place than its Abuja counterpart. The trucks were properly equipped, not painted shells.

The men were properly trained and ready to defend the business district of Lagos.

Things worked.

But you knew what you knew, and you reflected grimly on it as you considered the issues. The people who had been trained and so expensively equipped to fight fire in the business district of Lagos were mostly ‘federal’, not ‘state’ fire fighters.

There was an interesting story you heard from the same friend– perhaps true, perhaps apocryphal, about what happened when the head of the ‘federal’ firefighters was informed that there were power bikes among the vehicles procured by LIMGE for firefighting in the business district. He had wanted the power bikes to be moved to Abuja so they could serve as outriders to his motorcade. The LIMGE people, surprised by the request, demurred.

The reality is that fire is a ‘local’ event, and the most efficient way to combat it has to be local too. The existence of a hugely resourced, all-powerful behemoth known as the ‘Federal Fire Service’ trying vainly to have a presence everywhere is a demonContinues on page 33

Femi Olugbile is a Writer and Psychiatrist.

Comments to synthesiz@gmail.com’

Tales from the main road

Eugenia Abu

E

ver so often, we find stars with very little blemishes but overall success and fame is hardly managed by superstars. Celebrity management is an area or field that I am very much interested in, but I digress. Our ability to manage too much money, too much publicity, people treating us like Gods is different from person to person. Some people can stay humble while others allow it to get to their heads. Not everyone can keep their feet firmly on the ground when they are ascending in the public eye.

They are told how their fans can’t do without them and they have over 50 advisers paid and unpaid. Ask MC Hammer, he had so many staff and aides, he went into bankruptcy. They tell them how to eat, what to wear, how to dress and who to be with. Sometimes these managers cut them away from their families and fuel their dependencies.

Please be aware that there are several persons who handle celebrities and they fuel the impunity, drug use, foolishness and lack of discipline among the stars.

Enter one of the most talented singers of the 21st century: R.Kelly. Talented, good-looking, and as we are now learning controlling and an alleged serial pedophile. In the documentaries that have since been released, Surviving, R.Kelly, he was accused by a slew of young women of sexual slavery, sexual abuse and harvesting them from schools and malls.

I have squinted, rolled my eyes, developed a low grade fever while watching an edition of these documentaries. I mean I have daughters and sisters and nieces. It is scary!The sound bites from his P.A at the time ran my blood cold. His Personal Assistant confirmed that he was among those who helped to lure the girls from high schools and malls into R.Kelly’s toxic embrace. One of R.Kelly’s singers introduced her 14 year old niece to R.Kelly in order to get her one step up inthe industry and Kelly not only began sleeping with her niece but is alleged to have urinated on the young girl after he was done. Monster, sexual deviant, arrogant sexual predator, all define the man who sang the record breaking multi-award winning song “I believe I can fly.” This song made us all believe in ourselves and conferred the God-like position on him like never before. He became deified, everyone’s high priest for success and an unbelievable dose of inspiration.

But the stories of him abusing minors did not start today. We all heard when he was accused many years ago and then discharged with no charges.

Remember he married Aaliyah and fraudulently doctored her birth certificate to show that she was older so he could marry her. R.Kelly has been a bandit for a long time but his stardom got us all blinkered and we all looked the other way. We idolize our stars and allow them get away with murder. My daughter who is 20 years old is horrified that there are fans sending dollars to bail out R.Kelly. Unbelievable!

What about his controlling ways?

Keeping six to eight girls at the same time in the same house with his ex-wife in situ was an art in control savvy.Everything is choreographed with the help of R.Kelly’s aides, so his ex-wife said she suspected but really never met any of the girls. Then as we have now heard there were orgies, 3 girls with R.Kelly and Kelly filming and encouraging 2 women to sleep with each other. A true freak if all of this is true. The fact that he claims that he was abused by a senior member of his family when he was young is not an excuse. Get help dude!

Finally, where are the parents? All parents must take responsibility for trying to give their daughters a leg up in the acting, music and creative industries by ceding their children to monsters. R.Kelly had many accomplices in their children’s destruction. Parents who handed their daughters to R.Kelly were part of the issue, some collected money and R.Kelly did as he pleased.

Continues online at www.businessday.ng

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

Contact. abu_eugenia@yahoo.com

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