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news you can trust I ** FRIDAY 12 june 2020 I vol. 19, no 583
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NGUS may 26 2021 419.50
A promising nation undone by rudderless economic management
ZEBULON AGOMUO & ODINAKA ANUDU
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igeria was a promising nation at independence in 1960, but rudderless leadership and poor economic management have manacled a country that was once one of world’s biggest exporters of palm oil, leather, groundnuts and cocoa. Part of the leadership crisis arose as a result of military incursions into Nigerian politics. Thankfully, the country returned to civil
Analysis rule in 1999 after nearly three decades of intermittent military rule. Since the return to civil rule 21 years ago, Nigeria has oscillated from one political trouble to another. In the area of organising elections, it has fared badly. Economy-wise, it has been a tale of
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How local fashion designers respond to PPE shortages …as COVID-19 drives PPE to most wanted healthcare item ANTHONIA OBOKOH, GBEMI FAMINU, TEMITAYO AYETOTO (Lagos) & GODSGIFT ONYEDINEFU (Abuja)
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efore COVID-19 crept into our world of normal, the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) was largely reserved for surgeons to maintain a sterile field during operations or avoid respiratory droplets and spray of body fluids on the face. In other cases, it was used occasionally by sick patients to prevent the spread of pathogens to others – referred to as “source control”. But as the invisible enemy sparked in the style of pandemics, application of PPE has sharply moved from the shadows of critical clinical procedures to the stage
Continues on page 6
Inside
Bright future beckons for economy as Osinbajo committee submits Sustainability Plan P. 2
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P.2
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21 years of civil rule: Nigeria on the thumb of godfathers
FirstBank presents devices to Lagos towards moving 1m students to e-learning
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Babajide Sanwo-Olu (r), Lagos State governor, receiving the Roducate e-learning device from Adesola Adeduntan, CEO, FirstBank, to kick off the distribution of the preloaded Roducate e-learning devices to schoolchildren across the state in furtherance to the bank’s drive to move 1 million students to e-learning.
BusinessDay set to host national discourse on Nigeria’s COVID-19 P. 2 response
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BUSINESS DAY
news Bright future beckons for economy as Osinbajo committee submits Sustainability Plan TONY AILEMEN, Abuja
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igeria’s economic response to the global coronavirus pandemic received a positive push, Thursday, with the submission of the Economic Sustainability Plan to President Muhammadu Buhari by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who heads the Economic Sustainability Committee. The plan was developed in response to the ongoing global economic and health crises which have taken a toll on the economy. A draft of the plan earlier obtained by BusinessDay shows the Federal Government will spend an estimated N2.3 trillion to fund the Economic Sustainability Plan which it is counting on to revive the economy. It proposes monetary policy measures in support of the plan and provides a fiscal/ monetary stimulus package, including support to private businesses (with emphasis on strategic sectors most affected by the pandemic) and vulnerable segments of the population, as well as identifies fiscal measures for enhancing distributable oil and gas revenue, increasing non-oil revenues and reducing non-essential spending towards securing sufficient resources to fund the plan. The Osinbajo committee recommended, amongst other things, support for local production and manufacturing of all that is possible, including tech apps, software, shoes, garments, steel fabrication, ceramics and furniture, with the required capital and essential machinery. It also recommended the provision of ample support for the informal sector through low interest loans and by easing procedures for registration, licensing, obtaining permits, etc. By these means,
urban and informal business people like mechanics, tailors, artisans, and petty traders will be encouraged to improve and develop their services. Others include support for MSMEs, especially in assisting to restructure their loans with banks. Among others, this will assist businesses in the pharmaceutical, aviation, hotels and the hospitality industry, private schools, road transportation, technology companies, and the creative industry, amongst others. It will also enable facilitation of broadband connectivity across the country and creation of a wide variety of technology and ICT jobs. With the report, government is expected to now expand the Social Investment Programme, through an increase in the number
of cash transfer beneficiaries, N-Power volunteers and sundry traders enjoying small and micro loans through the MarketMoni and TraderMoni schemes. The preexisting conditional cash transfer will also be extended to cover a larger number of the extremely poor. Osinbajo, while presenting the plan to the president, said the Committee was mandated to articulate specific measures to support the government at the sub-national level including the FCT, propose a clearcut strategy to keep existing jobs and create opportunities for new ones, and identify measures that may require legislative support to deliver the plan. “As we go forward, we must chart a new course and remain steadfast. I believe the priorities contained in this
plan present a practical way of achieving our desire of a truly competitive economy that can support our people and secure our future,” Osinbajo said. The plan, he said, is the result of a painstaking wide consultation with various stakeholders, including the Presidential Economic Advisory Council, the 36 state governors, and the leadership of the National Assembly, as well as documents like the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), reports of the Economic Crisis Committee (headed by the Hon. Minister of Finance, Budget & National Planning), the Finance Act 2019, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) proposals, and the National Economic Council Report on the COVID-19 Crisis.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (l), presenting the Economic Sustainability Plan to President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, yesterday /NAN.
BusinessDay set to host national discourse on Nigeria’s COVID-19 response ISAAC ANYAOGU
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usinessDay Media, West Africa’s leading business news and intelligence provider, is set to host leaders in Nigeria’s private and public sector to make sense of the country’s response to the novel coronavirus outbreak and provide clear directions on where the economy is headed. The national dialogue tagged ‘A National Conversation: Mapping Nigeria’s Response to COVID-19’ will hold 16-17 June, 2020 at 11 am, with registration on-going at https://conferences.businessday.ng//anc2020. Conversations at the digital dialogues will be led by luminaries such as Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, minis-
ter of finance, budget and national planning, and Akin Abayomi, Lagos State commissioner for health. The digital event will address the front-burner issues as Nigeria reopens its economy as well as position participants to filter through the noise and take advantage of opportunities in the country. Other speakers include Ibukun Awosika, chairman, First Bank of Nigeria; Obiageli Ezekwesili, member, advisory panel, Nigeria Natural Resources Charter/former VP, World Bank Africa; Aliyu Abdulhameed, MD/CEO, NISRAL; Doyin Salami, chairman, Economic Advisory Council; Olisa Agbakoba, senior partner, Olisa Agbakoba Legal; Mansur Ahmed, president, Manufacturers Associawww.businessday.ng
tion of Nigeria (MAN); Ofovwe Aig-Imuokhuede, director, Africa Initiative for Governance, and Philip Asiodu, former minister of petroleum. Also expected to speak at the digital dialogues are Yemi Kale, statistician-general, National Bureau of Statistics; Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra State; Charles Robertson, global chief economist, Renaissance Capital; Abubakar Siddique Mohammed, vice-chair, ANAP Foundation COVID-19 Think Tank; Sutura Aisha Bello, PPP component lead, UK Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNIAF), among others. So far, Nigeria has recorded more than 13,000 confirmed cases of the virus with around 3 percent fatality rate and 31 percent of the cases
recovered. The country has entered the second phase of easing lockdowns and activities are gradually resuming. In response to the pandemic outbreak, Nigeria rolled out palliatives for vulnerable households, created credit facilities for businesses, and made sweeping changes in certain areas including but not limited to governance and budgeting, oil and gas, and health sector. As individuals and corporate entities ponder on the new norms, BusinessDay is providing a platform to facilitate an understanding of the various measures taken by economic and health managers in the country, zeroing in on the policies, their rationales and the expected consequences.
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Old technologies, unreachable local funds hold Nigeria’s healthcare entrepreneurs down …how India leapfrogged healthcare infrastructure
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ntrepreneurs in Nigeria have been slowed down from transforming Africa’s most populous country’s healthcare delivery ecosystem thanks to old technologies and an unreachable pool of local funds. People familiar with the matter say investments into new medical technologies have fled Nigeria due to high customs duties, taxes and other government levies which sometimes more than double the cost of bringing in these much needed new technologies that are available in a country such as India, which had worse healthcare infrastructure than Nigeria three decades ago. The lack of new technologies fuels an estimated $1.3 billion medical tourism industry from Nigeria to India, yearly. Local commercial banks are also having a tough time understanding healthcare delivery as a business that can be profitable in addition to being social service. Interest rates run in double digits, sometimes as high as 26 percent. But commercial lenders would rather not lend to healthcare entrepreneurs. “When I started my journey as a healthcare entrepreneur, I approached three banks for loans. I wanted to buy some new equipment for operations two years ago. For six months no bank was interested in my business,” Grover Anil, a pharmacologist and founder of Grover Lifestyle Clinic said in an exclusive interview with BusinessDay. “The banks wanted collateral when I am willing to invest my life’s savings to develop healthcare infrastructure in Nigeria.”
Anil never got the loan of N50 million he needed and his story, according to him is typical of the struggles of entrepreneurs in Nigeria’s healthcare industry. Although in 2019, seeing the success story of the Grover Lifestyle Clinic, a global financing institution in the health and development space in Europe offered the clinic some loan to improve their operations. “Our clinic is now a fullfledged hospital with this foreign injection of capital. Nigerian banks did not support us,” he said. Nigeria has lessons to learn from India’s two-decade-long push to transform healthcare delivery. In the 70s and 80s, the government of India did not open up the healthcare industry. It was treated like a social service. Many doctors left India. There was a brain drain to the United States of America and the United Kingdom just as it is happening in Nigeria now. Those days, the Indian government was old school and operated by a script of the British colonial school of thought that saw healthcare mostly as social service. At this point, India was on a similar pedestal if not worse than Nigeria, Anil said. Adeyinka Shoroye, secretary, Board of Trustees, Nigerian-American Medical Foundation (NAMF) has attributed Nigeria’s current poor healthcare infrastructure to failed primary healthcare, uncoordinated tertiary health care, corruption and mismanagement. “Those who can afford the treatment go to Europe, North America or South Africa which has very good infrastructure.”
FirstBank presents devices to Lagos towards moving 1m students to e-learning Hope Moses-ashike
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irst Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s leading financial inclusion services provider, on Thursday presented 20,000 units of e-learning devices to the Lagos State government. The devices are planned for distribution to school children. With the gesture, the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the state had found a “real development partner” in FirstBank, noting that the intervention came at a time the government was massively deploying technology to transform the conventional mode of teaching and learning. The presentation of these devices which is also in partnership with Robert & John (an edu-tech company who owns Roducate) is part of @Businessdayng
activities implemented to close the gap caused by the disruption in children education’s due to schools closure following the COVID-19 pandemic. So far, the bank has enabled over 10,000 free sign-ups to the Roducate elearning platform with the goal to empower one million students. “When we were developing our vision to change the face of education in Lagos, we knew from the outset that we could not achieve much progress in improving the quality of learning without using technology as a strong enabler. So, it is not out of place that we are witnessing more infusion of technology in learning and this intervention by FirstBank could not have come at a better time,” Sanwo-Olu said at the event held at the State House in Marina, Lagos.
Friday 12 June 2020
BUSINESS DAY
DIGITAL DIALOGUES
CONFIRMED SPEAKERS
A NATIONAL CONVERSATION: MAPPING NIGERIA’S RESPONSE TO COVID-19
ZAINAB SHAMSUNA AHMED
Minister of Finance, Budget & National Planning
REMI ADEKOYA Former Political Editor, Warsaw Business Journal
OWEN OMOGIAFO
President & Group Chief Executive Officer, Transcorp.
EYO EKPO
PROF. AKIN ABAYOMI
Member, Advisory Panel, Nigeria Natural Resources Charter. Fmr Vice President, World Bank, Africa
BASHORUN J.K. RANDLE
NDIDI OKONKWO NWUNELI, MFR
PROF. MAURICE IWU
Chairman, J.K. Randle International
SUTURA AISHA BELLO
SIM SHAGAYA
CHINWE EGWIM
TOLU ONYEKAN
Group Executive Director, Dangote Industries Ltd.
Co-Founder, Sahel Consulting
PPP Component Lead, UK Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility(UKNIAF)
Founder, ULesson
MR EDWIN DEVAKUMAR
DR. OBIAGELI EZEKWESILI
Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria Limited
CEO, Excredite Consulting Ltd.
Senior Economist, FBNQuest
IBUKUN AWOSIKA
Commissioner, Ministry of Health, Lagos State
Regional Director, Africa, International Air Transport Association (IATA)
DR. WIEBE BOER CEO, AllOn
Provost of Health Sciences, University of Africa
TEJU ABISOYE
Boston Consulting Group
ADEFUNKE ADEYEMI
PROF. ABDULSALAM NASIDI
President, Bio Resources Development and Conservation Program
PETER OBI
Acting Executive Secretary LSETF
Former Governor Anambra State
ONYECHE TIFASE
DR. ALIYU MODIBBO UMAR
CEO, Siemens Nigeria
HAJIYA SALAMATU SULEIMAN
MD/CEO NISRAL
PROF. SULEIMAN ELIAS BOGORO Executive Secretary, TETFund
DR. YEMI KALE
DR. DOYIN SALAMI
Chairman, Economic Advisory Council
PROF. PAUL COLLIER
Professor of Economics & Public Policy, Blavatnik School of Government, & Director of The Int’l Growth Centre
CHINENYE OFFOR
FOLA LAOYE
UKINEBO DARE
ADEBOLA WILLIAMS
Managing Director Edo Jobs
HARUNA JALOWAZIRI CEO, Central Securities Clearing System
Founder & CEO, Health Markets Africa
CEO, RED For Africa
DR. LUCY S. NEWMAN, CPT
Independent Director/Governance & Performance Improvement Advisor
OLISA AGBAKOBA, SAN, OON
ENGR. MANSUR AHMED
DR. KALU IDIKA KALU, CON, OFR
PROF. CHRISTIAN HAPPI
OFOVWE AIGIMOUKHUEDE
President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN)
Senior Partner, Olisa Agbakogba Legal
CHIEF PHILIP ASIODU CON,
Director, Africa Initiative for Governance
Former Minister of Petroleum
DR. EFOSA OJOMO
PROF. ABUBAKAR SIDDIQUE MOHAMMED
Former Minister of Finance
Director, African Center of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), Redeemer’s University
Co-Author, The Prosperity Paradox, & Global Prosperity Lead, Clayton Christensen Institute
Vice chair,ANAP Foundation, Covid-19 Think Tank
BOYE OLUSANYA
MADIHA AFZAL, PHD
ERNEST NDUKWE, OFR
PATRICK NWAKOGO
DR. CHRISTOF
Statistician-General, WALTER National Bureau of Co-Founder, Statistics Agramondis Agricultural Consultancy
CEO, WellSpring Health
Former Minister of the FCT
Former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
ALIYU ABDULHAMEED
Group COO, Flour Mills of Nigeria plc
David M. Rubenstein Fellow, Foreign Policy The Brookings Institution
Chairman, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc.
Country Director & CEO at Dale Carnegie Nigeria
DR. TUNJI ADEGBESAN
OTTO ORONDAAM
DR. ACHA LEKE
AUSTIN AVURU CEO, Seplat Petroleum Devt. Co. Plc
Pioneer DMD of NLNG
SANI DANGOTE
KOLA MASHA
PROF. JIBRIN IBRAHIM
AMBASSADOR YUSUF TUGGAR
OMOTOLA OYEBANJO
Founder, Gidi Mobile
Vice President, Dangote Group
DR. MASOOD AHMED
President, Center for Global Development
Founder, Slum2School
CEO / Founder Babban Gona
ROLAKE AKINKUGBEFILANI
Managing Director, EnergyInc Advisors
Africa Chairman, McKinsey & Co.
Senior Fellow, Centre for Democracy & Development
Nigeria’s Ambassador to Germany
KUNLE SONOLA
Head, Commercial Banking, Union Bank
HENRY A. ADIGUN
Team Lead, Facility for Oil Sector Transformation in Nigeria
ABBA GANA
Head, Corporate Affairs & Communications Africa, Upfield
CHARLES ROBERTSON
Global Chief Economist, Renaissance Capital
Sponsors
Please register on https://conferences. businessday.ng/anc2020
For sponsorship and advert enquiries, please contact Kristabel Eriaye 0802 557 6094 kristabel.eriaye@businessday.ng Noel Ezekwe 0803 298 6374 noel.ezekwe@businessday.ng / Ijeoma Didigwu 0815 119 0924 ijeoma.didigwu@businessday.ng
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BUSINESS DAY
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Friday 12 June 2020
BUSINESS DAY
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news
How local fashion designers respond... Continued from page 1
of common use by all and sundry, ill or not. The unrelenting spread of the disease in Nigeria has left healthcare facilities nationwide struggling to care for the fast increasing number of patients and especially worried about the tools needed to protect their workers. Doctors, nurses and other medical staff need masks, gowns, gloves, and other personal protective equipment (PPE) to reduce the risk of coronavirus infection as they manage the frontline war to curtail the outbreak. However, the steep rise in the price, hoarding, and scarcity that earlier accompanied the prevalence of the virus has refused to disappear, implying that Nigeria’s fighters face shortage of PPE weapons in a war that seems overwhelming. Medical production and distribution chains were crushed by the pandemic disruption on international manufacturing capacity. Packs of gloves, surgical or N95 face masks, respirators, and protective gowns have barely changed from about 300 percent increase seen since the pandemic started. Whereas three pieces of the common surgical face mask, for instance, was N50 during the pre-coronavirus period, the pandemic has stabilised it at N200 each. High-end versions of face masks capable of filtering 95 percent of air particles ranged between N3,000 and N5,000 per piece when BusinessDay visited some wholesalers and retailers. Recently, about 812 frontline healthcare workers were infected with COVID-19 as the country recorded the third-highest number of confirmed cases in Africa. Nigeria’s cases of COVID-19 have risen to over 13,000. Chioma Nwakanma, a public health expert, said the situation not only threatens healthcare workers’ well-being but equally limits Nigeria’s capacity to care. “They are a core part of the health workers’ protection outfit. We’re seeing the consequences of that now. It now seems like it is most talked-about because we are currently dealing with a contagious outbreak and if there was ever a time we needed PPEs as workers, it is now,” said Nwakanma. The consequence of PPE shortage is huge for everyone, not just healthcare workers, experts say. In hospitals, the lack of preparedness explains a shortage of
masks, gowns, and other PPE, among other problems. As numbers of cases are increasing, isolation centres expect beds to overflow amid the pandemic and the shortage threatens to undermine how many doctors and nurses will be there to treat patients. According to Nwakanma, in the case of Nigeria, healthcare workers have always had to deal with the shortage of basic protective equipment in government hospitals. “The consequences will be an explosion of disease spread. If the workers are not protected, the patients are not, the community is not and it affects everyone. Also, it will lead to reluctance to work, on the part of our workers, plus strike actions in advanced cases. This will ultimately affect us all,” Nwakanma said. “PPEs shouldn’t be at the heart of our advocacy right now, it shouldn’t even be something our leaders need to be reminded of. It is a necessary and complementary part of the healthcare workers’ jobs. It shouldn’t be begged for; it is the LEAST our leaders can provide to protect the citizens they govern,” she said. According to UNICEF, the need for PPE may reach 2.2 billion surgical masks, 13 million goggles, 1.1 billion gloves, and 8.8 million face shields through the end of the year 2020. In addition, as the lockdown is relaxed across Africa, there is a hike in the number of cases, thereby increasing the exposure of healthcare workers, without PPE, to the infection. Nigeria had just started responding to the pandemic with barely 100 cases of COVID-19 in March when the global community started experiencing severe disruptions in the supply chain of PPEs majorly caused by rising demand, panic buying, hoarding, and misuse, according to WHO. Looking inwards Fashion designers in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State, whose businesses had been badly hit by the pandemic, seized the opportunity and ventured into manufacturing of PPEs using local fabric, cotton, and polypropylene. Currently, scores of manufacturers churn out thousands of facemasks, laboratory coats and fullbody covers needed by healthcare workers on the frontline of the COVID-19 battle. The Inter-ministerial Committee on COVID-19 had since evaluated the PPEs produced in Aba. www.businessday.ng
Geoffrey Onyeama (r) minister of foreign affairs, receives Zachariah Samjumi, secretary-general, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), at the Ministry in Abuja, yesterday. NAN
21 years of civil rule: Nigeria on the thumb... Continued from page 1
dashed hopes and shattered aspirations. Two credible polls since 1999 Apart from the 1999 and 2015 general elections that brought into power Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari, respectively, the outcome of other elections has been largely questionable. In 1999, the voting masses enthusiastically went to the poll to end the long years of military occupation of power stool. That accounted for the overwhelming turnout. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) stated that about 30,280,052 valid votes were recorded with 431,611 nonvalid votes. In 1999, while Obasanjo, candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), garnered 18,738,154 (62.78 percent), Olu Falae of the Alliance for Democracy/ All People’s Party polled 11,110,287 (37.22 percent). The outcome of the 2015 election could also be said to be a reflection of the wishes of voters as many Nigerians appeared to have grown weary of the style of the Goodluck Jonathan administration and wanted a change by every means possible. It was not surprising, therefore, when INEC announced that Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 15,424,921 (53.96 percent) and Jonathan, who was seeking a second term on the PDP platform, scored 12,853,162 (44.96 percent). Election fixing and role of ‘mafias’ In order to perpetuate itself in power, the PDP had adopted “win-at-all-cost” strategy. Within its first four years in power, the umbrella party had given birth to members of a cabal, power brokers, godfathers and mafias on
political turf. These elements determined who got what. Election results were “fixed”. Those were the days when the late Anthony Anenih, a former police chief, bestrode the corridors of power like a colossus. In many cases, elections had pre-determined results. There were allegations of election results written inside hotel rooms. The late Anenih regaled in the euphoria of the sobriquet “Mr. Fix It”. Between 2003 and 2010, Anambra State, for instance, was a battleground as the powers that be at the federal level were said to have willed the state to some enfant-godfathers. Emergence of emergency leaders Since 1999, unprepared persons have continued to emerge as leaders at various levels of political leadership positions in the country, according to political analysts. These unprepared elements are rigged into office by godfathers in the hope that they will only act as figure heads, and Nigerians have been paying dearly for it. For instance, despite his health condition that was known to some leaders of the PDP, even to those that drafted him into the race, the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was rigged into office in 2007. Yar’Adua had also admitted before the former United Nations Secretary General, BanKi Moon, that the process through which he became the president of Nigeria was faulty. Former President Jonathan also said that the results of the 2007 presidential election that produced the late Yar’Adua as president and himself as vice president had caused him a lot of embarrassment. “Although we took oath of office and the Supreme Court declared us winners, but each time one travelled abroad, people asked all kinds of questions that even
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got one angry. That was when I promised myself that if have an opportunity to oversee elections in Nigeria, no other president or vice president should suffer that can kind of harassment and embarrassment by the international community,” Jonathan said. The charade continues The influence of godfathers across the country has continued to make nonsense of the nation’s elections, whether at the national, state or local level. Today, elections are won or lost by mere endorsement or otherwise of godfathers. The voting masses are no more the determinants of electoral victories or otherwise. In the last general election, Akinwunmi Ambode, a former governor of Lagos State, was rejected at the party’s primary allegedly on the orders of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a former governor of the state and national leader of the ruling APC. Since 1999, Tinubu has had his hands in every pie, even beyond Lagos, his immediate constituency. He has allegedly singlehandedly determined the fortunes or otherwise of every politician in the state. In fact, he is said to firmly control the political, economic and traditional life of the state. At a point, his influence extended beyond Lagos as he was known to have installed almost all the governors in the South West geo-political zone. The 2019 general election has been adjudged by various organisations as the worst in the history of Nigeria. Voters were chased away from polling units by armed thugs in army and police uniform, ballot boxes were burnt or carted away, and many voters were injured while a few were killed. Concerns mount over unbridled activities of godfathers Analysts have raised concerns that Nigeria’s democracy is in peril with the goings@Businessdayng
on in the political firmament of the country. In a recent interview with BDSUNDAY, Obinna Chidoka, representing Idemili North and South Federal Constituency of Anambra in the House of Representatives, said the APC has crafted and developed a very dangerous template in running elections. “It uses external forces to manipulate the elections. It was a template that happened in Kogi and Bayelsa State which also happened in the last election in Osun State where, of course, they also developed this dangerous trend. And in Kogi State it was a different matter altogether because you saw the number of deaths that took place there; you saw the violence that took place there, the amount of rigging and overvoting that took place there,” Chidoka alleged. “So, if you look at what has happened in Kogi and Bayelsa State, the dangerous template of trying to win elections at all cost, whether by violence or over-voting; by everything that is out of the norm, out of the books, the future of democracy in this country is threatened by this dangerous trend,” he said. The beat is on in Edo Oshiomhole, in the twilight of his eight-year tenure as Edo State governor, had pledged that the day he leaves office, he would never interfere or distract whoever governs afterwards. “My greatest achievements are not roads or red roofs. My greatest achievement is my victory over the godfathers in the state. I want to be remembered for ending it and killing it,” Oshimhole had said. “A situation where one man decides has been abolished. All I want is power to move to the people. The people should decide who becomes their leader and that leader will not be answerable to any godfather, but to them,” he had said.
Friday 12 June 2020
BUSINESS DAY
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Friday 12 June 2020
BUSINESS DAY
IMPACT INVESTING
In Association With
Argentil, CDC Group support Tempohousing, mPharma’s impact investing moves TELIAT SULE
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ogy will deliver spaces quicker and cheaper in education, healthcare, financing services, SME, as well as other sectors. THN’s projects are 30 percent cheaper when compared with the traditional building cost and three times faster to build. The debt provided would boost working capital to support the execution of on-going projects such as renewable energy training centres in universities and healthcare projects for covid 19 interventions across Nigeria. In addition, loans given by Argentil was converted into shares and thus increased Argentil’s position in the THN. Elsewhere, CDC Group is coinvesting in mPharma under the venture scale-up programme. The CDC Group is a UK’s publicly owned impact investor. It closed a co-investment in mPharma which is a tech-enable healthcare company driving supply chain efficiencies for pharmaceutical products across Africa. CDC has made the investment in mPharma alongside Novastar Ventures, a CDC-backed venture capital fund manager, which led the company’s Series C funding round. Three features make the CDC Group’s investment in mPharma unique. First is that the deal is one of the first investments under the CDC Group’s venture Scale-up Programme. Second, mPharma aims www.businessday.ng
to dramatically reduce the cost of essential medicines in Africa, that will boost the affordability and accessibility of quality healthcare to all consumers in Africa. Third, mPharma has provided 700,000
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The debt provided would boost working capital to support the execution of on-going projects such as renewable energy training centres in universities and healthcare projects for covid 19 interventions across Nigeria
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he number of infected Nigerians is rising daily, notwithstanding, this development is not discouraging impact investors from doing what they know how tod do best, which is to make investing moves that guaranty returns and socially sustainable. That is the case of Argentil Capital Partners and CDC Group both of which in the first two weeks of June 2020, supported the ambitions of Tempohousing Nigeria Limited and mPharma. Argentil Capital Partners has provided additional debt and equity to Tempohousing Nigeria Limited (THN). THN is a specialist in the development of flexible and affordable residential and commercial spaces with the aid of modern prefabricated technology and cargotecture. Its products have disrupted traditional market segments in places where high building and land costs in urban areas have created difficulty for individuals and firms to access quality living and commercial workspaces. According to the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA), THN is a fastgrowing SME with revenue growth of over 53 percent CAGR from inception in 2012 to 2019. Tempohousing Nigeria was incorporated to meet the demand for affordable housing in Nigeria by leveraging on technology and expertise to create a Nigerian tailored solution to the housing problem. The housing units should be quick to build, easy to maintain, portable and most importantly affordable. The disruptive impact of THN’s solutions was acknowledged when Àrgentil received Private Equity Africa’s Deal of the Year (Small Cap) 2019 for the THN investment. Àrgentil is currently fundraising for a new regional fund that will target investment opportunities in SMEs across a number of key growth sectors in West Africa with an immediate focus on Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone. Based on AVCA’s report, Àrgentil first invested in 2018 via the Àrgentil Principal Investment Portfolio II (APIP II) which invests equity and debt in SMEs operating in Nigeria. The financing Argentil Capital Partners provided to THN was to support its partners and clients to develop projects where its cargotecture and prefabricated technol-
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testing kits and 120 PCR medical equipment to medical laboratories in eight African countries. mPharma Health Nigeria Limited envisions an Africa that is in good health, and is resolved to ensure that an average person on the continent has access to safe and affordable medication. The firm’s resolve to have an African continent that is in good health was motivated by some scary medical statistics in Africa. For instance, half of the global deaths in under 5 occur in Africa. Life expectancy in Africa is lower that some few decades ago, while over 100 Africans die every hour from waterborne diseases. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), contaminated water can transmit diseases such diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid and polio. Therefore, no genuine African healthcare providers will be comfortable with these medical statistics, and thus explains the roles being played here by mPharma which partners community pharmacies, adopting technology and data to aggregate demands and based on that create efficient supply chains within the vast and fragmented pharmaceutical market in Africa. Based on the above strategy, mPharma is able to distribute quality pharmaceutical products at a significantly lower cost that com@Businessdayng
petitors. Thus far, mPharma has procured and distributed 700,000 testing kits and 120 PCR medical equipment to medical labs in 8 countries in Africa. “I am delighted to announce our co-investment in mPharma, alongside Novastar Ventures, a key partner for CDC, to support the company in developing a more efficient supply chain for pharmaceutical products across Africa”, said Stephen Priestley, Managing Director, Funds and Capital Partnerships, CDC Group. The Venture Scale-up programme aims to invest in early stage companies that adopts technology and innovative business models with a view to achieving transformational impact. The new investment that came from the CDC Group will help mPharma expand its retail network by an additional 500 pharmacies, minimise the counterfeit medication as well as reduce the cost of essential medicines to end users over the next few years. “We look forward to working with CDC Group due to its deep roots in Africa, extensive government contacts and expertise in environmental, social and governance practices”, said Gregory Rockson, co-founder and CEO of mPharma.
Friday 12 June 2020
BUSINESS DAY
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Rape: The guilty are afraid Tales from the main road
Eugenia Abu
H
ere we go again. Rape has risen to the top of the news agenda bubbling up and showing itself everywhere you turn. Nigeria is once again in the news for a very wrong reason and we are not at war. This new wave of rape cases around the country is not because it actually had disappeared but because we have not been paying attention. And when I say we, I mean media, parents, friends, schools and churches. In 2012, writing in this column, I recommended an out of the rule book solution for the matter. The column was titled Rape, Hang them by their balls. I was so incensed; the article was in two parts. I have decided to reproduce a large portion of that column so many years ago because it will seem to me that very little have changed. In fact, the brazenness, the bizarre nature of the crime is becoming worse. Rapists are getting bolder and more dangerous. This is largely because rape is not considered a serious crime in Nigeria. Stories are told of the police sexually molesting rape victims and families swearing their daughters to silence while all the places meant to protect the girl child abdicate their responsibilities. But in order to paint how bad things have become and how not much has changed, here are a few paragraphs from my 2012 column on rape, Hang them by their balls.
“Permit me to posit that this bestial behaviour has nothing to do with a man’s status. The high and the mighty are as guilty as the lowly. So a big politician, a lecturer, a student and a lawyer or professional are as guilty as a truck pusher, a taxi driver and a motor park tout. And like it is so evident on a daily basis on one of my favourite satellite TV channels, Crime and Investigation, it has nothing to do with the decency or quiet mien of a man. I have seen men and women who you think cannot hurt a fly, arrested for the most heinous of crimes. Human nature continues to defy easy understanding or classification. It is truly amazing. I have followed some recent rape trends and tales from the university in the east, to the police station in the north, where women have been turned into some kind of sport for anyone with a daring do to take advantage. It is sickening. I have read about men and women who have stood in the gap and shouted themselves hoarse. I salute their dexterity. But I have also seen a nation fall to its knees in cover up cases and in denial. Our moral fabric has descended to such an abysmal level that we should cover ourselves in ash cloth and mourn the depravity that has hit our nation. Everyone is involved in these cover up cases, from institutions who do not want their names muddied, to parents of perpetrators who do not want their children locked up. In some cases, money changes hands to free the culprits, there is a settlement out of court and everyone is encouraged to be quiet so the matter can be swept under the carpet. I am scandalised. So what then happens to the girls, the victims whose lives have now been broken into pieces, girls who lose their minds and live daily by torture and trauma? These are victims who
if they do not get help, go on to harm others in their hurt, are unable to have a decent relationship or become loose because they are searching for that one man who will wipe away their shame. It is a tragedy of unimaginable proportions. All women know that there are days when you are not even in the mood and you go through with it anyway in your duties as a wife or if in a relationship because you are committed. Those are difficult days and often you are a reluctant and unwilling participant. Imagine if you will, that this person undressing you is unknown to you, is drunk, is spewing forth nonsense, is holding a gun, has overpowered you and defiles you. Imagine if you will know that this person is your neighbour’s son or an uncle, a member of the family who you trusted. Just imagine, he comes to your home, your daughter opens the door because she knows him, and he is her father’s cousin or even his friend. Imagine the horror, the shame and the sheer disbelief. What do you tell such a child? How do you console them? Their life is over one afternoon because one sick, good for nothing and wicked man decides to take control of her life in pursuit of his genitals. In public this man is well respected, everyone calls him sir, and he is the pillar of a church, donating a lot of money to various church projects.” So here we are eight years later and we are faced with Uwa, a microbiology student who went to study in a church in Benin, gang raped and murdered a seven-year-old in Benue, a six month old and the list goes on and on. When our future mothers are not safe, then I am afraid the nation has lost its soul. What is really going on here? First let us examine the character of the young boys we are bringing into the
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Our laws are weak for rape, our law enforcement treat it like child’s play and depending on who is involved people are sweeping this cankerworm under the carpet… The culture of silence has to end. While it is not legal, I maintain my stance of 2012. Let’s hang them by their balls!
Eugenia Abu is a broadcaster, writer, trainer, brand and multimedia strategy expert and media consultant. Contact. abu_eugenia@yahoo.com
Grammar and domestic issues
S
ince language is not only a means of communication but also a purveyor of worldviews and grammar, the rules of language use can be dexterously effected while intervening in societal happenings. A good exposition to this piece borders on admonishing parents that “housemaids” or “home helps” — whom they erroneously refer to as “house helps” — are not to be completely entrusted with the welfare of their children. We should not raise children who are only aware that the low table on which we put cups, newspapers, etc. is a “coffee table,” and not a “centre table.” In furtherance of this, we shouldn’t nurture offspring or wards who habitually correct the home helps that the spelling and pronunciation of “napkin” have both the “k” letter and the /k/ sound respectively, but who cannot dust the coffee table with a napkin by themselves. If the truth be known, the home help that was unreservedly castigated for calling a seat without a back or arm a “stood,” instead of a “stool,” is being better prepared for matrimony by you (the boss) than your progeny who know that the “ea” in breakfast should be pronounced like the “e” in egg, and not like the “ea” in break; yet, they wait to be served by the same home help on the bed. Now, re-peruse the paragraph to ascertain that you have not missed out on the intertwined language lesson and the domestic issues. Afterwards, come along to the next phase of the inter-textual essay.
Your home help, in whose hands you have entrusted your domestic activities, can also be accorded the privilege of an “extramural” class; that specially arranged class often erroneously referred to as “extra moral” class. In similar fashion, your gatekeeper whom you label as “baba gate man” should not be treated like trash and referred to, at every opportunity, as “local.” The rationale of this is that “local” is simply used to indicate the place that one is discussing, or the place that one is currently domiciled in. Matter-of-factly, every human being is “local” in his/her own right. On the strength of this, the gatekeeper should be aptly regarded as “unrefined” or “unsophisticated”; and not ‘local” as you both are most likely “locals”. Be that as it may, members of every household should have it well engraved on their hearts that slices of bread that are made brown after being heated in a toaster are called “toast;” not “toast bread.” In view of this, the inclusion of bread in that designation is pleonastic. Furthermore, there are no such items like “cutleries” “jewelleries” and “furnitures” in every abode, with the reason being that “cutlery,” “jewellery” and “furniture” are uncount nouns. Nonetheless, the latter pair can be quantified by virtue of using partitives (phrases of measurement) like “a piece of ” or “an item of.” By deduction, therefore, “Mr. Johnson purchased ‘a piece of furniture’ only last week.” Subsequently, such partitives can be pluralised to give you: “Mr. Johnson purchased ‘three www.businessday.ng
world. As a mother, do you prepare the bed for the sexual frivolity of your son ravelling in his escapades and calling him a man? He is 15 years old and you are an enabler. As a father do you tell your sons idiot stories about how your first was a cousin or a maid when you were twelve? What do you think you have done? Between the mother who is an enabler and an idiot father, you create a monster and then begin to ask what this is about when he is running riot across your street unable to keep his pants on. What about you Madam who is encouraging your daughter to be quiet because your new love interest, her step father is making moves to indicate that he wants to bed mother and daughter? Depravity is depravity. There is no fancy word for it. And the difference between us and animals in sexual behaviour is restraint and discipline, so where did all that go? As modernity slowly destroys our traditional more moral way of doing things, these things we are so afraid of will creep into our society and no one will be immune. Our laws are weak for rape, our law enforcement treat it like child’s play and depending on who is involved people are sweeping this cankerworm under the carpet. It’s time to stand up to rapists whether they are your brother or your father or your pastor or your Imam or a powerful politician or your son. Rape is a crime. Only the guilty are afraid. Naming and shaming going on online is a welcome development. The culture of silence has to end. While it is not legal, I maintain my stance of 2012. Let’s hang them by their balls!
The Gift of Gab items of jewellery’ only last week.” As far as cutlery is concerned, every individual should be reliably informed that there is a marked difference between the use of “cut something in” and “cut something into.” While you are expected to “cut,” for instance, bread, fruit, etc. “in two” or “in half,” the onus is on you to “cut” the same items “into pieces, crumbs or slices.” Due to this: “GAB ‘cut’ the orange ‘in’ half/two” or “GAB ‘cut’ the bread ‘into’ seven pieces.” Another noteworthy development is people’s inclination to spuriously deploy the preposition “at” and the noun “doorstep” as collocates. In this regard, it is pertinent to note that “on” and “doorstep” are word partners, thus: “I can see five friends ‘on’ my ‘doorstep.’” For juxtaposition’s sake, you shouldn’t say: “I can see five friends ‘at’ my ‘doorstep.’” By extension of the aforementioned standpoints, when you say, “Children, let’s go for lunch (although people “go to,” and not “go for” lunch),” be kind enough to get your housemaid and your gatekeeper something as well. In addition, take cognisance of the fact that the articles you send your maid to purchase, which you often generalise, are “stuff;” not “stuffs.” This, though, doesn’t discredit the fact that groceries can be correctly branded as “foodstuffs,” with the plural marker “s.” Again, your children should not only know that the standard expression for what Nigerians often call “drying rope” or “wire” is actually a “clothesline” or a “washing line”. They should be essentially taught how to do the laundry
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Ganiu Bamgbose and dry such clothes on the “washing line” by themselves. Truthfully, too, your wards should not be described as “unattentive,” “indisciplined” “mannerless” and “insultive”. These words should be succinctly portrayed as “inattentive,” “undisciplined,” “ill-mannered/ill-bred” and “insulting”, respectively. Last but not least, remember to train your children in the way they should go, so that they will not depart from it and bring dishonour “on” your family (not, bring dishonour “to” your family). And do you think these supposed errors are best described as features of Nigerian English? Well, we may have to wait until policy makers make Nigerian English the standard variety for pedagogical purposes in Nigeria before accepting them as our standard. Dr Bamgbose (Dr GAB) has a PhD in English and lectures at the Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos. He is a social commentator who writes on different issues of national concern and the author of daily online English lessons titled “English for Today” with hundreds of lessons available on his website www.englishdietng.com.
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Friday 12 June 2020
BUSINESS DAY
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I can’t breathe! THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS
Obadiah Mailafia
T
he brazen, daylight murder of the 46-year old AfricanAmerican George Floyd by police in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, will be the defining moment in American race relations. The riots and looting that followed the killing were on a scale only comparable to the race riots of the sixties. It is an irony that for several decades, Minneapolis, Minnesota, was the home of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Ministries. Every Sunday his radio broadcasts went to all the corners of the world. The Reverend Billy Graham (1918—2018), in his own quiet way, was a strong advocate for racial justice. He would never preach to any audience that was segregated in the United States of America or anywhere else in the world. He had in his entourage some important African-American Christian leaders. Some were also on his Board of Trustees. The video clip of the murder scene has gone viral. The hapless handcuffed black man is thrown to the ground. The heavily built police officer by name of Derek Chauvin has his knee on his neck. The man groans and moans, pleading: “I can’t breathe… “It’s my face man. I didn’t do nothing serious man please. Please. Please I can’t breathe…. They are going to kill me man. they going to kill me. They are going to kill me…Please sir. Please. Please. Please I can’t breathe”. Then his eyes shut and the pleas, moans and groans suddenly stop. George Floyd was pronounced dead
shortly thereafter. George Floyd will become an iconic figure in the history of American race relations. It is a road to fame that nobody would have wished on himself or herself. Over 17,000 National Guards troops were activated. President Donald Trump called on his military high command to move into action. The orders were flatly disobeyed. At least 19 people have died in the riots, most of them from gunshots. From Minneapolis, the riots spread like a wildfire around American cities: Oakland, California; St. Louis, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; Kettering, Ohio; New York City; Davenport, Iowa; Cicero, Illinois; Philadelphia; Seattle; Atlanta and several others. Supermarkets were looted. Public buildings went up in flames. The financial costs run into billions of dollars. For a moment, there was even fear of a looming civil war across the United States. Internationally, there were demonstrations in solidarity with AfricanAmericans: Abuja, Lagos, Accra, Monrovia, Cape Town, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Tunis, Hong Kong, Kolkata, Nicosia, Jerusalem, Haifa, Tokyo, Karachi, Seoul, Istanbul, Brussels, Liege, Ghent, Sofia, Prague, Helsinki, Aarhus, Paris, Bordeaux, Berlin, Bonn, Frankfurt, Bremen, Osnabruck, Athens, Dublin, Milan, Oslo, Bergen, Lisbon, Madrid, Zaragoza, Geneva, Basel, Coimbra, London, Liverpool, Auckland, Sydney, Canberra and Rio, de Janeiro. Coming at the wake of an economic lockdown that has seen trillions of dollars wiped off the national GDP, the riots following the murder of George Floyd have taken America backwards by quantum leaps. It is a national disaster and a complete catastrophe for the Trump administration. To be transparently honest with my gentle readers. I was a supporter of Hillary Rodham Clinton. I never thought much of a man who speaks the English language with the diction of a below-average high school senior; who made his money allegedly from greasy real estate deals and promoting kinky beauty contests, crime-ridden casinos
and brainless wrestling tournaments. But after he was declared the winner, I was prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt. His first day in office was certainly impressive. He publicly signed about a dozen Executive Orders. He came across as a man of action who would transpose his entrepreneurial acumen to the business of statecraft. But things have since gone awry. His economic growth and employment figures have turned out to be more hot air than substance. I was astonished when neo-Nazis, skinheads and KKK gangs came out to celebrate his electoral victory and he did not disown them. Certainly, his body language and the gestalt of his rhetoric have made racism acceptable, if not attractive, in America. Some of the reactions have been quite interesting. Former Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, has drawn our attention to the uncomfortable reality of blackon-black violence which is far more than what the police or the white establishment does to black people. What he seems to forget is that the institutional racism that defines America’s political economy is more destructive than any singular acts of violence or murder. A prominent African-American leader was also very harsh in his commentary on why more Africans were not marching in solidarity with AfricanAmericans in their moment of trial. He defined the people of our continent as “colonial slaves” steeped in tribalism and slavish followership of the White Man’s religion. He pointed out that even the idea of pan-Africanism was brought to us from the Diaspora. Much of it is confused gobbledygook. Yes, we have some secondary contradictions between Africans on the continent and those on the Diaspora, but the matter should not be overstated. The First Pan-African Conference was in London. It was led mostly by the Diaspora. Marcus Garvey, William E. B. Dubois, and Edward William Blyden were the early prophets of Pan-Africanism. But during the Second Pan-African Conference, which took place in Man-
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Coming at the wake of an economic lockdown that has seen trillions of dollars wiped off the national GDP, the riots following the murder of George Floyd have taken America backwards by quantum leaps
Note: The rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https://businessday.ng 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)
June 12 – Sanwo-Olu and dividends of democracy
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n the annals of the country’s political history, June 12 remains a watershed. No matter how hard its antagonists try, for many reasons, June 12 will continue to be a landmark in the nation’s political landscape. On that day, Nigerians expressed a strong resolve to chart a new course for their beloved country by redefining and reshaping the nation’s political setting. Prior to that time, the country’s politics sharply reflected our palpable religious and ethnic divides. But on June 12, all that changed. MKO Abiola, who was the presidential candidate of the defunct SDP, had more votes in the northern part of the country than Bashir Tofa, his northern challenger from the defunct NRC. Sadly, the then ruling military junta, led by General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd.), annulled the result of the June 12, 1993, election, thereby ensuring that the acclaimed winner, MKO Abiola, was unable to claim his mandate. He died in that process. The annulment of the election threw the country into needless chaos and turmoil. Thus, an election that was supposed to cement our unity became an albatross. Cheerfully, the supreme price paid by M.K.O. Abiola and others over the annulled election is not in vain after all. Last May 29, the country celebrated 21 years of unbroken democracy which is quite unprecedented
since 1960. It is not just about the stability of democracy, it is about the people having access to the dividends of democracy. Lagos State stands out in this respect, especially under the current leadership of Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu. Using the T.H.E.M.E.S. (acronyms for Traffic Management and Transportation, Health and Environment, Education and Technology, Making Lagos a 21ST Economy, Entertainment and Tourism and Governance and Security) Agenda as the vehicle to drive its lofty vision of a “Greater Lagos”, the Sanwo-Olu Administration is developing a reliable intermodal system of transportation by investing in the waterways and light rail system. The objective is to move people through water and the rail, in addition to roads. On February 4th, 2020, eight new stateof-the-art ferries were commissioned by Mr. Governor, signifying the commencement of full-sale commercial operation. There has been a remarkable increase in the number of commuters on the waterways since the launch. Similarly, with the successful completion of the elevated sea-crossing track of the Blue Line Mass transit project, at Marina, Lagos, late last year, construction work has begun on the final phase of the scheme. The project is critical to the achievement of the intermodal transport vision of the Administration.
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The plan to construct the 4th Mainland Bridge is equally on course as eight out of the over 30 firms that expressed interest in the project have been shortlisted. Similarly, more roads have been rehabilitated while others are at various phases of completion. The Oshodi-Abule- Egba BRT Corridor, the Pen Cinema Bridge, the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, the Agric-Ishawo Road and the four junctions’ improvement projects at Allen Avenue, Maryland, Ikotun and Lekki among others would soon be ready for public use. A major highlight of the Government intervention in roads was the commissioning of 31 networks of roads in the Ojokoro area of the State. Equally, on May 29th, the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) for Bus Reform Scheme at Ikeja and Oshodi Bus Terminals, Oyingbo Bus Terminal, Concrete jetty with shoreline protection and waiting shelter at Baiyeku, Ikorodu LG, Fadipe/Salami/Eyiowuawi/Odubanjo Streets in Shomolu LGA, Alhaji Akinwunmi Street, Mushin LGA and Adagun-Imeke-Iworo-AjidoEpeme Road, Badagry LGA were all commissioned by Mr. Governor. On traffic management, 1,017 LASTMA officers were recruited and inducted to achieve better flow of traffic and reduction in travel time. In terms of unhindered access to healthcare, two Mother and Child Centers, MCCs at Eti-Osa
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chester, young Pan-African nationalists were there: Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Jomo Kenyatta, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Hastings Kamuzu Banda and others. In fact, Africans took over the leadership of the Pan-African movement: Haile Selassie, Ahmed Ben Barka, Modibbo Keita, Seku Toure, Amilcar Cabral, Eduardo Mondlane and the rest. Christian civilisation in Africa goes back 1500 years, to the great Cushitic Kingdoms of the Nile Valley, Alexandria, Abyssinia and St. Augustine of Hippo Regis. It is our man that is confused! I have followed the tragedy and hope of the African-American struggle for emancipation since I was a teenager. It is a glorious history: Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Mary McLeod Bethune, Marcus Garvey, Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver (a scientific genius), Martin Luther King Jnr, Ralph Abernathy, W. E. B. Dubois (Oh what a giant!), Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, Stokely Carmichael and the Black Panthers; Mahalia Jackson; Paul Robeson (Oh what a mighty man!), Harry Belafonte, Muhammad Ali (the greatest fighter of all time), Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Angela Davis, George Jackson and the Soledad Brothers. Many were bludgeoned to death during peaceful demonstrations. Thousands would be mauled down by police dogs, truncheons and water hoses during peaceful marches. And yet they would get up and continue marching, singing the black liberation anthem, “We Shall Overcome”. Some became martyrs. Most paid a heavy prize for standing up for freedom. Martin Luther King was martyred at 39 sowas Malcolm.
Samuel Omojoye and Igando, respectively, were commissioned while the Badagry and Epe MCCs will soon be ready for public use. In same vein, the investment of the Administration in up scaling infrastructure in the education sector has led to completion and commissioning of projects such as18 Classroom Blocks at Muslim Junior College, Egbe, 18 Classroom Blocks at Maya Secondary School, Ikorodu, 18 Classroom Blocks at Eva Adelaja Junior Secondary School, Bariga, Block of 20 Classrooms at Bashua Military School Primary School, Shomolu,13 Classrooms at Saviour Primary School, Ifako-Ijaiye LGA, Block of 20 Classrooms at Ayanleye Memorial Primary School, Ifako-Ijaiye LGA and Block of 6 Classrooms at Ansar Ur Deen, Ibonwon, Epe. Equally, through the EKOEXCEL training initiative, over 4000 primary schools teachers were trained on how to competently utilise technology in teaching. And the results have been quite amazing as more pupils now register in the public primary schools, while attendance rate has remarkably improved.
Note: The rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https:// businessday.ng Omojoye, a public affairs commentator, wrote in from Palmgrove, Lagos.
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Ekwegh is a private legal practitioner with over 15 years
Friday 12 June 2020
BUSINESS DAY
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Eight minutes and forty-six seconds – a tribute to George Floyd HumanAngle
Femi olugbile
T
hey had come from different parts of the USA to pay their respects to a man who was now a metaphor for the condition of the black man in America. George Floyd had been in the news every day for several days. In his name thousands of people had been protesting on the streets of cities all across the country, and in different parts of the world. The Memorial event was a combination of solemnity and religious fervour. The diversity of the crowd in the auditorium and the denizens that were protesting all over the world was most unusual. It was a ‘black’ event, but it was not really a ‘black’ crowd. Young people and a sprinkling of older folks were marching day and night holding placards and shouting slogans – “We can’t breathe!” “No peace without justice”. Some of the protests had turned violent. At the beginning, in Minneapolis and some other locations in the early days, some young men and women jumped onto police cars and property, smashing them up and putting them
to the torch. Some rioters, black and white, were caught on video, gleefully looting shops. This provided ready grist for the mill of a wide array of anti-black voices, including right-wing news media such as Fox News and partisan “evangelicals” who constituted the core of Donald Trump’s base. They also included a sprinkling of black voices such as Candace Owens who were sympathetic to the President and held views that were generally disparaging of their fellow blacks and of such bodies as ‘Black Lives Matter’. Their beef was that black people were being ‘enslaved’ in a celebration of “victimhood”, encouraged by the Democrats and the “Left”. Their presence was a great source of joy for Trump, and he enjoyed quoting them and occasionally reeling them out for photo opportunities. George Floyd was an unremarkable man of forty-six years whose life story mirrored the story of the all-too-many males in the African American community. He had been brought up by a single mother. He and his siblings were regular folk, trying to live the American dream. He was no saint – he had been in Police trouble before. In 2009, he had gone to prison for five years for armed robbery. Subsequently he tried his hands at various jobs, spoke out against gun violence, and was generally seen to be making an earnest effort to put his life back on track. As he suffocated to death under the knee of a policeman on the cold tarmac of a street in Minneapolis, he cried out for his mother. She was two years dead. But for George, time had stood still. By now the story of George Floyd has been heard and witnessed all over
the world by millions of people. The tall gangling man had gone to a store. He was said to have paid with a bad $20 billion. The Palestinian owners called the police. George was handcuffed. He offered no resistance. His was made to lie prone on the tarmac, his hands cuffed behind him. Police officer Derek Chauvin held him down, putting his knee and the whole weight of his body on his neck. “I can’t breathe,” mumbled George repeatedly. The policeman, hand in the pocket, like a hunter who had felled a lion in the forest, kept his knee on the neck of George Floyd until he died. As the Memorial Service went on, a Gospel singer came up on the podium to belt out “Amazing Grace”. It was powerful and evocative. Many in the audience were already in tears. Earlier the family lawyer had made a powerful pitch for justice for George, who had been egregiously violated in his human essence. For him George was a metaphor for all of black America. He wanted everybody to understand this was not about revenge. Jesse Jackson was in the audience. He was old and slow now. It fell to the Reverend Al Sharpton to define the moment for the audience in the auditorium, and the millions watching all over the world. He rose to the occasion. “Get your knee off my neck” George Floyd must have thought, under the knee of the monster who was lynching him in full public view, in 2020, The African in America, for four hundred and one years, had been held down literally and metaphorically by the knee on his neck and kept from achieving his full hu-
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At the end he asked the crowd to stand on their feet for eight minutes and fortysix seconds, in honour of George Floyd. It was the length of time the racist cop Derek Chauvin had stood on his neck
man potential at every turn. It was not victimology, as voluble self-deniers and victims of the “Stockholm Syndrome” such as Candace Owens proclaimed, to the applause of racists who would not hesitate to put a knee on their own necks too if the situation arose. It was there in the poor neighbourhoods African Americans inhabited, in the poor schools they attended, where input and expectations were low. In the visible and invisible barriers they faced at every turn. No, the African American was not asking for charity, screamed Sharpton. All he was saying was “Get your foot off my neck” so he could breath, so he could compete, so he could achieve. A change was coming, Al Sharpton announced. The youths were taking over, and they were not going to stop where they, their parents, stopped. He was heartened that whites realiSed now they had to get involved, that silence was collusion. The protesting crowds he had seen on the streets of Western cities were black and white and brown and all shades. This time the change had to come. At the end he asked the crowd to stand on their feet for eight minutes and forty-six seconds, in honour of George Floyd. It was the length of time the racist cop Derek Chauvin had stood on his neck. Watching from your study, you stood with them. The minutes passed ever so slowly. Eight minutes forty-six seconds, you saw afresh, was a very long time indeed. Olugbile is a writer and psychiatrist. synthesiz@gmail.com
The African perspective of leadership
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hen it comes to leadership in Africa, it is not surprising that there is a lot of bias and myths about the continent. Leadership is often viewed only through the lenses of the western-based theories and principles and often portrayed in a negative light, forgetting that leadership is contextual, contingent on societal dynamics. Pre-colonial Africa had strong leadership structures that led to the growth and development of the continent, albeit in small groups or clans. It was not out of place to have our history trace a systematic succession plan, which demanded good governance and accountability from the leaders with the risk of being ridiculed by the people and forced to abdicate if there is a vote of no confidence. By the advent of colonial rule, African leaders were played as pawns by the European colonialists who were more interested in plundering the continent and carting off her goodies to faraway lands than genuinely developing the continent. They sought leaders who were nonthreatening and loyal to their rule, rather than consolidate the existing leadership structures. Post-colonial rule, the newly independent leaders who had no prior experience independently leading groups as large as what they were now entrusted with naturally floundered. In a bid to exert their authority and be regarded as having strong leadership capabilities, those at the helm of affairs began to be more interested in controlling the people and consolidating their positional powers. The actions of these leaders have given the global community a skewed perspective about leadership in Africa. We need to look at some of the myths that exist about leadership in Africa and what the truth is. These myths often arise due to the negative way the continent and its leadership is portrayed in the media and scholarly works.
An African scholar- Masango stated that “Developed countries have always viewed our continent as a place plagued by corruption, dictatorship, military coups, rebellious leaders, greediness, misuse of power, incompetent leadership, politically as well as economically ineffective and suspicious leaders who undermine their own democracies.” These myths the global community have about Africa are: African leaders are corrupt: While it is true that corruption exists and is rampant in some places. Africa does not have exclusive rights when it comes to corruption. Africa and her leaders can be argued to have learnt crime from their colonial masters. There are countries in Africa where fraud is not tolerated and where things are working. Some countries like Botswana and Rwanda are known for the strides they are making when it comes to leadership and making a difference in the lives of their people. Big men dominate African leadership. There is the mistaken belief that to be a leader in both politics and business, one needs to have connections with the powerful cabals who rule behind the scenes. While it is true that this is how many leaders rise to the top, including in the developed countries such as the United States where the presidential candidates often court the powerful and rich for endorsements as well as campaign finances, it is not the full story. In recent times, people with no connections are carving a niche for themselves and creating their path to leadership in various parts of human endeavours in Africa. Leadership is mainly masculine: Often, many people have this idea that it was the western civilization that brought about the fight for women’s rights on the continent. But Africa has always had strong women who played a big part in their communities. Back in history, there are stories of women who as individuals and as a network of women, fought against injustice,
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wanting the best for their communities. In Pre-colonial times, there was Queen Amanirenas of Present-Day Ethiopia who ruled around 332 BC and was known for military expertise and skill. There was also Queen Aminatu of present-day Zaria, Nigeria, also known as a great warrior who expanded the territory of the Hausa people. During the colonial era, some women leaders did not sit back and accept the change that was being forced upon them. Queen Nzingha of Angola fought a fierce battle against and held off the Portuguese for 30 years. Another excellent example of a woman in power who stood her ground was Queen Yaa Asantewa of Ghana. As queen, she encouraged her people to fight for the release of King Prempeh, while resisting the propositions of the colonialists. When it comes to women warriors, the Dahomey warriors of Benin have won their place in the annals of history. In the 18th and 19th Century, they were renowned for their fierce mastery in military combat, as they fought against western powers. But it wasn’t just women in high places of authority who were taking a stand during the colonial era. In Nigeria, 1929, there was what became known as the Aba Women’s Riot. It was, in essence, an anti-colonial revolt organised by women expressing their frustrations over social, political and economic grievances. Still in Nigeria, there was the Abeokuta Women’s Revolt, also known as the Egba Women’s Tax Riot which took place in the late 1940s. The Abeokuta Women’s Union led it; their campaign was simply against the imposition of what they considered unfair taxation by the Nigerian colonial government. These stories highlight that Africa was more sophisticated than what is often portrayed in the history taught in books and the classroom. Women, in many aspects, had a better way of
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Toye Sobande
living before the colonial powers came. Women were respected in their respective societies and were involved in the political affairs of the community. Also, they were deeply engaged in the economic matters of the land, as they played a significant role in the running and organising of the local markets. Women in Africa have not stopped championing for their rights and those in their communities. More and more, we are seeing today’s African women rise in the business and political world, just like their predecessors did in the past. Africa as a continent has produced three women presidents, something the United States has yet to accomplish. They include Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Joyce Banda of Malawi and Amreenah Gurib-Fakum of Mauritius. The incredible story is that of Rwanda, where 62 percent of the National legislature are women, thus setting a standard globally.
Note: The rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https:// businessday.ng Sobande is a Lawyer and Leadership Consultant. He is a Doctoral Candidate at Regent University, Virginia Beach, USA, for a Ph.D. in Strategic Leadership. He can be reach through Email: contactme@toyesobande.com
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Editorial Frank Aigbogun
COVID-19 induced lifestyles
editor Patrick Atuanya
From social life to mental health COVID-19 causing changes
Publisher/Editor-in-chief
DEPUTY EDITORS John Osadolor, Abuja Tayo Fagbule NEWS EDITOR Chuks Oluigbo MANAGING DIRECTOR Dr. Ogho Okiti EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS Fabian Akagha EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STRATEGY, INNOVATION & PARTNERSHIPS Oghenevwoke Ighure ADVERT MANAGER Ijeoma Ude FINANCE MANAGER Emeka Ifeanyi MANAGER, CONFERENCES & EVENTS Obiora Onyeaso BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER (South East, South South) Patrick Ijegbai COPY SALES MANAGER Florence Kadiri DIGITAL SALES MANAGER Linda Ochugbua GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)
Bashir Ibrahim Hassan
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he COVID-19 pandemic has swiftly introduced changes in lifestyles and culture across the globe. Within months of the novel coronavirus outbreak, elbow bumps and foot taps have replaced handshakes and hugs; homes now double as schools and offices; outdoors, social distancing and face masks signpost a new reality. Habits are changing willingly or grudgingly to curtail the spread of the deadly disease. Stuck indoors with nowhere to go over the course of the pandemic, Nigerians are searching on Google “how face masks are worn properly”. It is almost a norm that face masks are worn below the chin – some worn to avoid harassment by police officials, while some because of difficulty in breathing. Also, to avoid cabin fever – the restlessness experienced when a person, is stuck at an isolated location for an extended period of time – Nigerians have searched the internet for “things to do at home”. Netflix also gained traction as
movie lovers, and generally bored Nigerians, turned to the platform to cope with the lockdown. There is also a realisation that we can do more of our work remotely hence a shift in office culture. Companies have leveraged technology to stay connected with clients in new and creative ways, which may likely continue even after things go back to the way they were. Remote work has shown us more than ever how interconnected work and home life are. Enabling a greater portion of the workforce to work remotely will not only aid social distancing efforts it will also promote greater flexibility for employees who, for a multitude of life circumstances, can’t always be in the office from 9am to 5pm. Also, while the coronavirus pandemic continued to rage on, an invisible fight emerged for many at home, triggered by the anxiety, joblessness, death, isolation and uncertainty that accompany the virus. For example, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll, nearly half the people in the US say the coronavirus pandemic is
adversely affecting their mental health. The tracking poll, which surveyed 1,226 Americans from March 25 to 30 and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points, indicates 45 percent of adults say the crisis has had a negative impact on their mental health, and 19 percent say it has had a “major impact”. However, beyond these disruptions, we have seen innovative efforts from fashion designers, making stylish masks from local fabrics styles to match outfits giving customers that dashing outlook to “rock” while still staying protected. As the fear this unknown virus initially generates reduces people wonder “what next?” No one knows when things will get back to normal – or the new or next normal will look like or shape of changes to come. According to Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa, “COVID-19 could become a fixture in our lives for the next several years”. As churches and mosques prepare to reopen and restrictions on public social gatherings ease, these preventive cultures must be maintained.
As people who are hard-wired to find silver linings in every situation, no matter how dire, we implore Nigerians to accept that even in these unsettling times there are lessons to be learned and some aspects of this new normal that we should embrace. The government, at all levels, and organisations should encourage citizens and workers respectively to imbibe new cultures such as feet tap, elbow bump, waving, Namaste while greeting other fellows in place of hugging, kissing, shaking hands and other forms of greetings which involves physical contacts, at least for now! We believe these are necessary complementary efforts to social distancing in the fight against COVID-19 and must be encouraged and obligatory across all spheres of life. To this end, we encourage Nigerians to recognise that the whole world is sharing this experience right now. Our only choice is to cope as best we can, forgive ourselves for having bad days, and remind ourselves it will not be like this forever.
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Mass sack coming as oil companies review HR cost which constitutes 50% of spending ISAAC ANYAOGU
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any oil workers in Nigeriamaystruggletoretain their jobs in a low oil price environment as companies seek to manage cost by cutting human resources expense which represents 50 percent of oil companies’ expenditure. Buffeted by the travails of the coronavirus pandemic and a fall in oil prices, managing costs has emerged the biggest issue in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector as many producers are drilling at costs higher than the price of the commodity in the international market. “Companies spend more than 50 percent to pay for human resources. This is not sustainable and anyone that cannot be efficient will be irrelevant,” Mele Kyari, group managing director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), said on Thursday in a webinar organised by Future Energy Leaders, World Energy Council. Kyari quickly added that firing workers was not the objective of cost management measures oil companies would take to be competitive, an acknowledgement of
the crisis a mass retrenchment of oil workers can stir in a country with powerful oil unions. Rather, the NNPC boss said oil companies including the NNPC would need to evolve a realistic HR process, better adoption of technology as well as reducing logistics costs. But this could easily devolve into mass retrenchment, especially of low-skilled workers, and freezing pay rise for this class of workers while management keeps hurling home their earnings, so Kyari said this was not the objective of the call. Elaborating on what constitutes the personnel costs he wants reviewed, Kyari said that many companies were piling on staff costs beyond basic allowance to include huge disengagements cost, bonuses, regular raises, among others that drive personnelcostabove36percentof cashflow rather than the industry average of 11 percent. Besides personnel, the next huge cost is logistics, the sector operators say. According to Kyari, logistics cost within Nigeria is about$7abarrelwhiletoChinaattracts as little as $2, a development
that increases production costs. But some operators direct the blame to environmental factors including security and multiple, conflictingregulationswhichraise cost for operators. “I agree we must focus on staff costs and need to reduce inefficiencies, but we should also focus on environmental issues including insecurity that attract costs,” said Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, founder and CEO/managing director, First Exploration & Petroleum Development Company Limited, a Nigerian indigenous firm. Bayo Ojulari, managing director, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, in his presentation said only an open book and honest examination of costswouldremoveinefficiencies, insisting that all parties play a role in the process. The operators agreed that the pandemic is here to stay with over 7 million infections across the world. They added that given the critical role the energy sector plays in driving growth, it has become important for operators to devise means to adjust to the new normal.
Lagos moves to sanitise real estate sector, mandates practitioners to register JOSHUA BASSEY
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t is now mandatory for every practitioner in the real estate business in Lagos State, including house agents, property developers and professionals to register with the state government to continue their practice in the state. The least of the requirements expected of the would-be practitioner or those already in the businessareaminimumofschool leaving certificate and an office space with a traceable address. The move is to stem increased cases of scam in which innocent citizens seeking to rent or purchase a property are defrauded of their hard earned monies. The state government says it is currently prosecuting cases in courts in which developers and house agents scammed unsuspecting citizens of sums of monies run-
ning into several millions of naira. The mandatory registration will enable the government build a database of practitioners so as to monitor their activities and build public confidence in the sector. With this, fraudulent agents and developers will be detected and shove out of the system. Toke Benson-Awoyinka, special adviser to the state governor on housing, stated this at the launch of Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority (LASRERA) website/registration portal (www.lasrera.com and www. lasrera.lagosstate.gov.ng) in Ikeja on Thursday. “The intention is to create, provide, develop, continuously capture and update a unified central database of real estate practitioners and their activities within Lagos State while making it accessible to all objectives of planning and urban develop-
ment,” Benson-Awoyinka said. According to Benson-Awoyinka, the launch of the website/ portal is also in line with the smart city initiative of the current administration, where service delivery will be technology-driven and readily available to the masses. “We are well aware of the trend of fraudulent practices of some real estate agents/ property developers, this is reflected in the complaints received by the LASRERA in recent time of residents who had fallen victims to fake real estate practitioners while seeking for accommodation, purchasing or selling of properties.” She noted that the government was committed to providing the enabling environment and transparent real estate sector that conforms to international best practices while also safeguarding the ultimate interest of all the stakeholders.
Boardroom issues: EY holds session on governance for business resilience
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rnst & Young will on Tuesday, June 16, 2020, host a special pan-Africa webinar to discuss some of the pertinent Boardroom Issues bordering on how companies can respond to business disruption in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The webinar, themed ‘Governance for business resilience— leading from the top’, will feature special panel discussion to be spear-headedbyexpertsinBoardroom matters and moderated by Benson Uwheru, a partner in EY and seasoned professional in governance and risk issues. EY has set up the panel session, which promises to be very interactive, seasoned and high-profile Boardroom experts, including Ernest Ndukwe, chairman, MTN Nigeria, Enase Okonedo, dean, Lagos Busi-
ness School, Dere Awosika, chairman, Access Bank, and Isaac Awuondo, chairman, Kenya Airport Authority & NCRA Bank, among others, will be zeroing on key focus areas including, managing business disruption - the role of the Board of Directors; leadership in uncertainty as well as building for long-term value. Specifically, the speakers will be looking at how the COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally affected the way businesses operate. Regardless of the business environment, the Board remains ultimately responsible for how companies respond to business disruption and given the events of the past three months, Boards must work proactively with management in ensuring business continuity. www.businessday.ng
Speaking on the webinar, Henry Egbiki, EY regional managing partner for West Africa, says: “Leveraging on its commitment to continually building a better working world, even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic with the attendant widespread disruption of lives and businesses, EY has been leading the curve by consistently providing valuable support to its business stakeholders and the wider business community since the outbreak of the Coronavirus on the Continent of Africa on February 14, 2020. “As a trusted business advisor and a global professional services firm, this is one of the many ways EY continues to demonstrate its purposeof‘Buildingabetterworking world’ for its people, clients and community https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng
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news
COVID-19: FX inflow at I&E window drops by 88.05% in May – FSDH Research ... naira remains stable at N448 on black market HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE
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otal foreign exchange inflow to the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window dropped by 88.05 percent from $3.19 billion in January to $381.2 million in May 2020, according to FSDH Research, an arm of the FSDH Merchant Bank Limited. This is as a result of lower Foreign Portfolio Inflows (FPIs), following the lockdown and restriction of economic activities in April and May 2020, occasioned by the spread of coronavirus pandemic. A report by the firm shows that total inflow dropped to $459.2 million in April 2020. FPI declined to $57.7 million in May from $2.04 billion in January 2020. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervention increased from $390 million in January 2020 to $2.48 billion and $2.89 billion in February and March, respectively. The attendant effect of COVID-19 on oil price constrained the CBN’s capacity to intervene further as dollar inflow dwindled in April. Analysts at FSDH Research note that from mid-March the exchange rate faced significant pressure in the I&E window. The pressure stemmed from declining external reserves and falling
crude oil prices. The report states that the naira fell from N367/$ in early March to N401.6 in midApril. However, the FX market opened Thursday morning with an indicative rate of N387.50k at the I&E window, leading to weakening by N0.54k when compared with N386.96k opened with on Wednesday. Naira appreciated marginally by N0.14k after the foreign exchange market closed on Wednesday at N386.94k from N387.08k quoted on Tuesday at the I&E forex window, data from FMDQ reveal. The Nigeria’s currency has remained unchanged at N448 since three days on the black market. “As oil prices increased in May following OPEC cuts and higher crude oil demand, external reserve situation also improved,” analysts at FSDH say. The price of Brent crude has risen to $40.35 per barrel as at Wednesday from as low as $20 per barrel in March 2020. Nigeria’s external reserves have risen to $36.51 billion as at June 8, 2020, which is 5.85 percent compared to $34.49 billion recorded in April 8, 2020, according to the data obtained from the CBN’s website. The analysts note
that the Nigerian government’s ability to secure $3.4 billion loan from the IMF also contributed to the improvement in the reserves position. In the first quarter of 2020, foreign capital inflows into Nigeria amounted to $5.85 billion. This is an increase of 54% from $3.8 billion in 2019Q4 but a 31.2% decrease from $8.5 billion recorded in 2019Q1. According to the report, foreign portfolio investment continued to dominate capital inflows with a share of 73.6%. This is a 9.9 percentage points decrease from 83.5% in Q1 2019. The early impact of COVID-19 constituted a major setback for Foreign Direct Investment. Still performing abysmally, FDI inflows in Q1 2020 fell to $214 million, a 13.4% decrease relative to the $247 million recorded in Q1 2019. In terms of share of total inflows, FDI accounted for 3.7%. On inflows by destination, Lagos and FCT accounted for 87.7% and 12.1%, respectively, in Q1 2020. FSDH report reveals that foreign investors continue to profit from Money Market instruments, which accounted for 80% of total FPI inflows in the first quarter of 2020. Equity accounted for 15%, while Bond had a share of 5%.
Senate okays N10.8trn revised 2020 budget Solomon Ayado, Abuja
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enate on Thursday approved the sum of N10.805 trillion as the revised budget for the 2020 fiscal year. The Senate had on Tuesday deferred passing of the budget to Thursday over a delay by the minister of finance, budget and national planning, Zainab Ahmed, to provide details for the omitted sum of N186 billion, an amount that was part of the N500 billion COVID-19 intervention fund. However, on Thursday, the Senate considered the budget and passed it following consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Appropriations on the Appropriation Act (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
Out of the sum of N10,805,544,664,642 to be issued from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, N422,775,979,362 is for Statutory transfers ; N2,951,710,000,000 is for Debt Service; N4,942,269,251,934 is for Recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure; and N2,488,789,433,344 is for contribution to the Development Fund for Capital Expenditure. Senate president, Ahmad Lawan, in his remarks after the budget was okayed, charged Senate committees to ensure strict oversight of projects contained in the 2020 budget. According to Lawan, getting value for money is one way of ensuring that Nigerians are impacted positively through government interventions and programmes.
“For us, this is one way of ensuring that Nigerians feel the presence of government through the various interventions, the programmes and projects. “We have done this, but we have other things waiting for us in relation to this. We are supposed to ensure that we oversight on these projects, and more especially when we have to borrow money to fund some of these projects, it is very crucial that we ensure there is value for money. “Every project that is mentioned here should be implemented appropriately and accordingly. So, all our standing Committees should ensure that we continue to carry out our oversight,” Lawan said.
June 12: Democracy heroes, martyrs deserve honour – Razak Iniobong Iwok
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frontline politician and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Lanre Razak, has said all the martyrs and heroes/heroines of democracy in Nigeria deserve prayers, remembrance, immortalisation and honour for their various sacrifices and contributions to the enthronement of self-rule in Nigeria. Razak made the remarks in Lagos in commemoration of the 27th anniversary of the annulled June 12, 1993, presidential election described to be the freest
and most credible in the annals of Nigeria, and believed to have been won by the candidate of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP), MKO Abiola and which was annulled by the then military ruler, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, a retired general. According Rasak, their invaluable contributions and sacrifices which included supreme one, led to the enthronement of democracy in the country, pointing out that, “They sacrificed their blood and sweat to germinate, nurture and grow the tree of democratic rule in Nigeria.” Razak, who is a member of
the Lagos State Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), said, but for them, Nigeria would still be suffering under the jack boots of military dictatorship and still remains a pariah nation in the comity of nations, saying, “For the forgone, they deserve honour, remembrance, prayers and immortalisation.” In his glowing tributes to them, Razak remembered the fallen democracy heroes/heroines like MKO Abiola, his wife, Kudirat Abiola, Alfred Rewane, Abraham Adesanya, Suliat Adedeji, Solanke Onasanya, Lam Adesina and Adekule Ajasin, among others.
Democracy Day: Emzor felicitates with Nigerians, re-emphasises commitment to democratising wellness BUNMI BAILEY
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mzor Pharmaceutical Industries Limited, an indigenous manufacturer and distributor of medicine, surgical equipment and medical supplies joins Nigerians to celebrate the country’s Democracy Day, celebrated every June 12. The company believes democracy is ideal for nations, and Nigeria as a nation has made major strides since its adoption and return to democracy. Preceding June 6, 2018, Nigeria celebrated its Democracy Day annually on May 29. This marked the day the military handed over power to an elected civilian government in 1999, heralding the beginning of the longest and continuous civilian rule since Nigeria’s independence from colonialists in 1960. It is a tradition that has been kept annually, beginning in year 2000. However, to commemorate the democratic election of MKO Abiola on June 12, 1993, in what has been adjudged to be Nigeria’s freest and fairest election yet, Nigeria’s Democracy Day is now celebrated annually every June 12. Emzor Pharmaceutical in a statement released in Lagos, on June 12, 2020, recognised that Nigeria has made notable strides and achievements since its return to the democratic system of government in 1999. The country despite going through various interruptions in her democratic
journey has stayed bent on enthroning democracy. This persistence has seen Nigeria remain a democratic nation for over 20 year since the military handed over power to civilian government. This they believe is part of what lays the right foundation for business as well as economic growth. The company also seized the opportunity to re-emphasize its commitment to its “Wellocracy” mantra, a term which represents its vision of an ideal Nation where: Unlimited Wellness is Available to All and Affordable by All. Commenting on the Democracy Day celebration; Kunle Faloye, marketing manager of Emzor Pharmaceuticals, said, “We believe democracy is a system that guarantees the right and existence of all citizens, that is why we are joining Nigerians to celebrate our democracy and how far we have come. “Today is an opportunity to recall that democracy is about people, it is built on inclusion, equal treatment and participation — and it is a fundamental building block for peace, sustainable development and human rights. Therefore, we seize this opportunity to reiterate our commitment to democratizing wellness for all Nigerians and Africans, a promise which drives our “Wellocracy” mantra. Wellocracy describes how we represent our vision of an ideal Nation where: Unlimited Wellness is Available to All and Affordable by All.” www.businessday.ng
L-R: Omolade Oluwateru, former deputy governor, Ondo State; Eyitayo Jegede, Ondo State PDP governorship aspirant; Adedayo Omolafe, member, representing Akure North/South Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, and Benson Amuwa, NDDC board member/PDP leader in Ilaje, during the collection of nomination form by Eyitayo Jegede in Abuja.
Allow love, unity to reign, Glo urges Nigerians on Democracy Day
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wenty-one years into Nigeria’s fourth Republic, Globacom has urged Nigerians to come together, in words and deeds, to transform the country to a worthy model of democratic excellence where justice, liberty, equity and peace abound. In a goodwill message on the occasion of 2020 Democracy Day, the first to be celebrated on June 12, Globacom congratulated Nigerians for successfully nurturing the country’s democratic tree for 21 unbroken years in spite of challenges. The company called for support for the various tiers of government in their
bid to evolve enduring policies aimed at giving the citizenry the dividends of democracy. Hitherto, Nigeria celebrated Democracy Day on May 29, being the anniversary of the country’s democratic rule since 1999. However, the current government moved the celebration to June 12 which was the anniversary of the voided election that saw late MKO Abiola win the presidency. According to Globacom, “June 12 is a watershed. It stands for a series of events which gave us new heroes of democracy in the 90s. We must remember that some of our fellow compatriots laid
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down their lives, paying the ultimate sacrifice before the country’s democracy stabilised. “In order for the labour of Nigeria’s heroes of democracy not to be in vain, we must ensure that the federating units of this great nation unite and work assiduously towards maintaining the peace and mutual co-existence that we have enjoyed since we returned to civil rule in 1999”. Noting that there can only be meaningful development in a peaceful environment, the company averred that Nigeria is a nation of vibrant, diligent and hardworking @Businessdayng
people who are making laudable footprints anywhere they find themselves across the globe. “We should therefore determine to sustain the territorial integrity of the country no matter what it takes,” Globacom opined. The company also enjoined Nigerians to continue to support the government and its agencies to combat the Covid-19 pandemic by observing all the safety guidelines, such as constant washing of hands with soap under running water, wearing of face masks, use of alcohol-based sanitizers and maintaining social distancing.”
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LEADINGWOMAN ASHLEY GANN, the chief meteorologist and aerospace engineer, passionate about gender balance, inclusiveness on their needs.
KEMI AJUMOBI
Ashley Gann is a Chief Meteorologist, an Aerospace Engineer and gender balance advocate. She is one of the 8 percent of women who are Chief Meteorologists in the United States. She has learnt the value of gender diversity in business and in leadership. For her, ultimately, equity leads to equality. Ashley is also a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) advocate and she does this by telling her story, sharing how a pageant girl became a rocket scientist then meteorologist and outlining the many lessons she learnt as she overcame hurdles and stereotypes. She believes it’s time to remove the social stigma surrounding women in STEM by celebrating the uniqueness of each person, especially girls and women, because she believes that we need more women in STEM, as it’s good for business and the bottom line. For Ashley, seeing more women in more leadership positions in STEM is one of her goals, but STEM industries are not the only ones that benefit from an increase in female input. In her opinion, any corporation that’s lacking women (or any minority group) is missing out on some of the most creative, organised and systematic minds. According to her, a woman brings flexibility and complimenting skill sets to teams and the leadership ladder. She was recently Live on Intagram, on the program Inspiring Woman With Kemi Ajumobi Series, where she shared on mental and emotional wellness, and striking the balance with work, family and everything else, how reserving your priorities and taking an investment inventory of your time, will set you up for success in all areas of your life. This article explains in details the conversation. Why Aerospace Engineering? get that question a lot about why I went into the field of weather professionally. But I’ve always loved to study the space, the clouds, and everything in our atmosphere and I developed a love for space at a very young age. Here in The United States, we’ve a programme called Space Camp. It is where students can go and learn how to be an astronaut when they are young, and I did that and fell in love and knew we would be cool. I knew I either wanted to be an Astronaut or Meteorologist when I grow up. So, I continued on the school and when I went to college down to the university, they only had Engineering. They didn’t have the Meteorology programme in that particular university. So, I started with Aerospace Engineering and said well, if I get to the end of my school, then I can always get my masters in Meteorology, if that’s something I really want to do. And that was exactly what happened. Now, I’ve now been a meteorologist for 15 years. My background and love for space started at a young age and that’s why I did Aerospace Engineering. But so much of what I’ve learned in Engineering has applied to Meteorology. So, it’s been nice because there’s been a lot of similarities, they are both science-based and math-based programmes.
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Meteorology and Aerospace Engineering In Aerospace Engineering, we learn things like physics, thermodynamics, but we might apply it to a rocket ship or airplane, where
we take those same principles or weather, and just apply it to a raindrop or a moving cloud. So, the fundamentals are very similar but how we apply it is very different. So, in Aerospace engineering we might build an airplane or build a rocket ship, but in meteorology, we are forecasting the future of the atmosphere based on the principles. I went to a school here in the United States that specialises in broadcast meteorology, so, a lot of the students in my programme would go on to be television meteorologist and I did something called internship. In my summer, between my years of graduate school, I went to a local TV station in the community and I learned the ropes and from there, I graduated and got my first job in TV. And here I am. I’ve always said if the whole weather thing doesn’t work out, I guess I can always fall back on being a rocket scientist. How are you using STEM to encourage more women to come on board? STEM, for those who may not know is Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, and I am very passionate about it. Obviously, my background is heaped in STEM, engineering background. I had masters in meteorology, so, I’m a math and science girl. I love math and science. But one of things I tell the younger generation is, STEM creates opportunities. In the next 15 to 20 years, 80 percent of all jobs in the world will have a STEM component. It doesn’t mean they have to be technical jobs, it just means that there will be an aspect of every job on the globe that has a STEM component. So, there is www.businessday.ng
great opportunity. The reason it’s extremely opportunistic for women is that they are one of the higherpaying jobs. Traditionally, STEM jobs pay higher and there are so many scholarships for women, for people of colour, any type of ‘minority’ group. STEM is really trying to encourage more diversity and inclusion and that starts with offering these scholarships globally to people that look different than what their company make ups are. So, they are encouraging young people to dive in. There is incredible opportunity as far as job security; there is also great opportunity as far as your financial health. So, these are premiers that can establish you financially and can also promise a job for years to come. How important is gender diversity in the work place? This is a challenging question because sometimes, people don’t want to talk about it because it can be uncomfortable or they think that you’re just trying to be a clinging symbol in the wheel. Here is what we’ve proven…so, I’ve taken this conversation and applied actual facts to it. What we found is that, businesses that have more diverse upper level management both in gender and in race actually outperform their competitors by 8 to 15 percent. One of the reasons we believe is that when you bring alternative perspective to the table, you can lead differently, manage differently and have a different type of outcome. It’s also proven that women in upper level management can often be an example of empathy, and empathy can often lead to better productivity because people feel safe in their
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work environment, they’ll trust those up there, and when you have better trust in a work environment, you increase your productivity and when you increase your productivity, you can ultimately increase your revenue and sales. So, it’s about setting that foundation. One of the things I’ve been very passionate about is that in the United States, we have a 5050 gender representation in the workforce, but, when you look at the upper level management, it is less than 20 percent. Then, when you look at upper level CEOs, only 6 percent are CEOs in Fortune500 Companies. When we started to look at it, from not just an employee standpoint, then we asked, what are we doing? Are we not promoting women? Are they not staying? One of the things I have learned is that, companies are having a difficult time retaining women because of the culture. A lot of time, companies say, “she’s just leaving because she had a baby”, “she’s just leaving because she has some family things”. Well, while there is some truth to that, often times, businesses are not willing to work with that unique circumstance to still allow that person to stay employed while still contributing to the workplace but also being fully present at home. I think that there is a way. That’s the part of my conversations that I’ll like to have with companies, how do we look at this differently? We’ve looked at it with the same lens, with the same pair of glasses for so long that we’ve forgotten the importance of looking at everybody’s situation differently and I’m really big on gender equity which means that we treat everybody’s situation based @Businessdayng
How has the Covid-19 season affected you? We have just slowly started reopening. But, for us, it was a blessing because I was able to spend all this sweet time with the kids. As a working mum, I would drop my kids off at 8 O’ clock in the morning to school and I wouldn’t see them again sometimes into the next day because I work at night. So, that was always so hard. Now, I get the opportunity to spend the morning with them, and teach them and I think I learn from them just like they learn from me. that was fun for me. But the other thing is, my husband and I both have what is called essential jobs, so we were fortunate to be able to keep our jobs. But my husband also owns a business, so he decided to not take a salary so he could pay his employees. We felt like that was the right thing to do and so we were faithful in that and I feel like that God has allowed us to keep all of our staff, but that also came with a lot of balance. Again, I would stay home with the kids, and I would drop them off in the afternoon and the he would take the second shift of the day with kids, he would do dinner and get them tucked in for bed at night. We just had a lot of balance. On ‘Black Lives Matter’ and happenings in recent times I personally think that we need to have these conversations. I think they are healthy for our communities; they are healthy for our society. There have obviously been some negatives. We’ve had some riots that I don’t think are part of the positive parts, but I do think having these conversations and understanding how we can move forward is good, and I think healthy conversations are really good in terms of understanding perspectives, vantage points, and “oh, I didn’t know you felt this way” because not everybody feels same way even within the same race and it’s because everybody’s life is different and it gets back to equity. Everybody’s story is different, everybody’s needs are different and how we look at each individual. If we look at through the lens as Christ looks through life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control, the question is, am I exhibiting those behaviours to my brothers and sisters? I think that this is a huge turning point in the United States. I think we’re in a little of a fog right now, I think that we’ll come out of it. I still believe God is fully in control and like I said, I think it’s starting some really good and beneficial conversations here in the US.
Read more about Ashley Gann’s inspiring story on our website www.businessday.ng as she graces our Women’s Hub cover for this week. You are just a click away!
Friday 12 June 2020
Harvard Business Review
BUSINESS DAY
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MANAGEMENTDIGEST
Marketing meets mission MYRIAM SIDIBE
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ow do you get people to wash their hands or stay 6 feet away? These questions have taken on a life-or-death relevance during the coronavirus pandemic. I have spent my career trying to solve challenges like this. I’m convinced that brands can play a critical role in tackling global health issues, from infectious disease to poor diet. Most problems can be prevented — often through the adoption of new behaviors and norms. I joined Unilever in 2006 and soon became the company’s first social mission manager. In that role I worked to embed public health goals into the business model of the company’s Lifebuoy soap brand and helped launch a program to promote hand-washing throughout Asia, Africa and Latin America. In 2019 the brand hit its goal of reaching 1 billion people with hand-washing messages, which have had a clear effect on their behavior and health. In my work for Unilever and my academic research, I have developed a framework that can help brands connect a purpose to their business and enhance their social impact. I describe it as a “purpose tree” sustained by five deep roots: 1. INSPIRING BEHAVIORAL CHANGE Marketing tools such as market research, communications and incentive schemes are typically used to increase profits, but can also be employed to change social norms. Consider Knorr, the €3 billion Unilever brand. As part of a push to address malnutrition, Knorr identified iron-deficiency anemia as a serious health threat in developing countries, particularly for young women. Focusing first on Nigeria, Knorr developed an iron-fortified bouillon product and launched a campaign encouraging women to add it and iron-rich leafy green vegetables to their stews. Public health organizations had long been urging Nigerians to include leafy greens in their recipes, but had been stymied by a belief that the vegetables would ruin flavor. Knorr’s ads focused on how delicious it could be to add greens to stews. The campaign included celebrity testimonials and a school program featuring a Nigerian
pop singer. Soon people were adding greens to stews and other dishes. A controlled study comparing leafy green and bouillon use in two towns — one exposed to the messaging and one not — showed that the program was decisively changing behavior. Since then, the program has expanded into Kenya, Myanmar and the Philippines. 2. WINNING INTERNAL SUPPORT A social initiative will struggle if it doesn’t have support throughout the organization. Many functions, including legal affairs, finance and human resources, are essential to the success of such programs, so you must get them on board. In part this is a matter of simple evangelism — persistently sharing a program’s goals, benefits to the company and social impact. Recruiting like-minded colleagues from across the organization early on can be invaluable in helping sway people who may be on the fence. Because social programs take years to get results and are demanding, they need corporate-level support, too. When attracting allies, expertise and financing, be upfront about the challenges you face. Whether you’re pitching the program to a department, CEO or board, be clear about the commitment needed and the resources it will take to effect change. Make sure to frame the initiative as an investment that can help the company differentiate itself, attract customers, gain valuable www.businessday.ng
new capabilities and recruit talent. 3. MEASURING PERFORMANCE Measuring the effects of marketing on public health is particularly hard. The tools are still being developed, and the science is constantly evolving. Still, we should not let perfectionism be the enemy of the good. Consider the challenge we faced when measuring the impact of Lifebuoy’s hand-washing program. First we thought we’d simply track soap sales. But people in our target countries regularly used soap for bathing, and for that reason sales volume couldn’t be a good proxy for hand-washing. Asking people about their hand-washing could be subject to reporting biases. Eventually, we decided to ask people to record their handwashing with stickers in diaries. While this approach probably didn’t eliminate reporting bias, after testing it in partnership with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine we concluded that the results were accurate enough. By tracking the resources devoted to projects and the progress toward social goals, brands can identify the most cost-effective strategies. Teams need to gather performance data on three levels: — BRAND LEVEL: Are the efforts boosting sales, margins and market penetration? Are they increasing purchase intent? — ORGANIZATIONAL LEV-
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EL: Is the program’s purpose attracting ongoing organizational support? Is it engaging employees and helping recruit talent? — PUBLIC LEVEL: Is the brand effort receiving continued support from business and public sector partners? Is it building trust and attracting favorable recognition? Is it providing access to networks that the brand wouldn’t have otherwise? 4. SECURING PARTNERSHIPS Most brands on a social mission aim to drive transformational change at scale. But they can’t do it alone. They need partners to supply complementary skills, expertise, resources and networks, and must select them carefully to ensure a good fit. Partnering with governments and nonprofit is mutually beneficial: A company’s resources and capabilities help the public sector achieve its goals, and the company gets legitimacy, support when entering markets and expanding, and fresh perspectives that galvanize innovation and learning. Social-purpose partnerships among companies, and even competitors, may be less common, but they can deliver some of those same benefits and sometimes help firms get a lock on a desirable space in the market. 5. DRIVING SYSTEMIC CHANGE The higher-level goal for social-purpose efforts should @Businessdayng
be to achieve long-term shifts in social norms — by inspiring public support and collaborations that endure. The engine for this is something I call “brand advocacy.” Effective brand advocacy has several key characteristics. It promotes a positive vision for the future; it speaks to people’s sense of justice and shared humanity; it uses symbols and language that resonate; it calls for specific, repeatable actions; it gives people agency, making them actors rather than just beneficiaries; and it brings people together. Certainly hand-washing as a key to better health has taken root in countries and communities where it wasn’t the norm a decade ago. Parents, teachers and children themselves are now spontaneously spreading the word about it. Unilever played a part in that, but it’s truly the result of extensive collaborations over many years. Almost any brand can embrace a social mission that supports the business and makes a real contribution. The framework described above can help businesses start on a purposedriven journey, build momentum and produce real change. Myriam Sidibe is a senior fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at Harvard’s Kennedy School and was previously the global social mission director of Unilever. She is the author of “Brands on a Mission: How to Achieve Social Impact and Business Growth Through Purpose.”
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Friday 12 June 2020
BUSINESS DAY
INSIGHT COVID-19: The price war and the Nigerian oil, gas industry – Issues for consideration
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s at Monday, May 11, 2020, there were about 4.1 million cases of COVID-19 in about 187 countries/regions worldwide with staggering casualty figures, according to the John Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Centre. Dark clouds of impending economic downturns seem to be gathering over even the most advanced economies, as a result of extended lockdown periods and business closures. The impact of the pandemic has been felt across every sector of the Nigerian economy, as with other countries of the world. The oil and gas industry has not been left out; rather, the industry has been significantly impacted. This article examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant happenings in the global oil market on Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. It further discusses possible steps that industry players could explore in order to manage the current challenges while preparing for what lies ahead, post-pandemic. An offshoot of the COVID-19 outbreak is sharp drop in the global demand for crude oil, which led to the Saudi Arabia – Russia price war. Global oil demand is expected to fall by a record 9.3mb/d year-on-year in 2020 and the reason for this is not far-fetched. Due to the lockdown of major economies such as China, Germany, France and even the world’s largest economy – the US, the world is burning less fuel. Factories have emptied, flights have been cancelled, freights have slowed down and commuters are off the roads. With falling demand, producers need to cut production to keep prices lucrative. However, the inability of Saudi Arabia and Russia to reach agreements on supply cuts led to a price war in March 2020. However, the revised budgetary proposal recently sent to the national assembly seeks reduction of the price benchmark to $30, while daily oil production volume was slashed to 1.70 million. There is even a further cut in the benchmark price to $20 per barrel being considered, in the light of persistent downward trends of global prices. Impact of COVID-19 on Nigerian oil and gas Industry As of mid-March, analysts say Nigeria may lose $8.63bn in the next six months as recession looms. The Federal Government is already bracing up for the gloomy possibilities by cutting benchmark price and output, revenue projections as well as budgeted expenditure in its revised budgetary proposal. In addition, the minister of finance, budget and national planning, Zainab Ahmed, recently disclosed plans by the Federal Government to obtain external borrowings totalling $6.9bn, comprising $3.4bn from the World Bank, $2.5bn from the International Mon-
etary Fund (IMF) and $1bn from the African Development Bank (AfDB) as part of fiscal policy measures to tackle the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy. However, experts say a looming economic recession is not the only challenge to be expected, as some of the other key impacts of the pandemic on the industry are examined below: Potential closure of oil fields: Due to the sharp drops in global oil prices, it may become prohibitively non-lucrative for owners/operators of Oil Prospecting Licenses (OPL) or Oil Mining Leases (OML) to continue production from some oilfields that have shown indications of not having oil in commercial quantities. In the same vein, profitable oil fields are not immune from the risk of potential closure, due to the current glut in the global markets and the consequent decision of OPEC+ producers to embark on production cuts as earlier highlighted. Financial crises: As a highly capital-intensive industry, many operations and projects in the oil and gas industry are debt-financed with capital raised locally and offshore. The COVID-19 pandemic and consequent fall in global prices are unprecedented events that would have adversely affected revenue projections of industry players. Thus, the ability of the operating companies to meet their obligations and liquidate their indebtedness would have significantly reduced while exposure of guarantors to claims would have heightened. Default/breach of terms of contracts: Standard contract terms between parties to Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs), Joint Operating Agreements (JOAs), oil servicing agreements and sub-contractor agreements are agreed based on prevailing levels of oil production and the price per barrel in the international oil market. However, it is highly unlikely that an event such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the drastic fall in oil prices would have been envisaged. Therefore, projected Returns on Investment (ROI) of the parties to these www.businessday.ng
contracts would have plummeted. The ripple effect may cause contracts to be suspended or, at best, renegotiated depending on the terms agreed upon, as well as lead to several legal disputes between such parties. Conflict between FPSO/support vessels owners and charterers: An FPSO unit (floating production storage and offloading) is a floating production system that receives fluids (crude oil, water and a host of other substances) from a subsea reservoir through risers, which then separate fluids into crude oil, natural gas, water and impurities within the topside production facilities onboard. Charterers of FPSOs/Support Vessels enter into agreements with the owners based on agreed hire rates, which are hinged on oil prices globally at the time of charter. The oil price slump could affect the ability of the charterers to pay these vessel owners, thereby leading to a series of legal disputes. Labour issues: Expectedly, during crises such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, where revenues seem to be falling with much uncertainty, players in the industry will attempt to reduce overheads. Part of these overheads include staff cost. Companies may resort to downsizing and layoff of staff. This will likely result in disputes between employers and employees. Consequently, labour and employment claims arising from downsizing in the oil and gas, and allied sectors are projected to increase if the price of oil remains at its present level. Deregulation of petroleum pump price: The group managing director of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, recently announced that fuel subsidy had been completely abolished. He further confirmed that there would be no future resort to either fuel subsidy or under-recovery of any nature and that the NNPC would play in the petroleum market like other marketers. Clearly, the alleged subsidy removal is not unconnected with the COVID-19 pandemic. Hopefully, the deregulated market will perform more efficiently, and the funds hitherto expended on subsidy will be freed up for infrastructural development soon. Notwithstanding, there
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has been nothing to suggest that the prices of petrol are now determined by the forces of demand and supply. The 2020 licensing round: The GMD of NNPC announced earlier in the year that Nigeria was on track to launch a new oil licensing round in the first half of 2020 for both offshore and onshore blocks. However, no specific dates have been announced. Due to the effect of the pandemic on the global oil market, it is unlikely that the 2020 licensing rounds will happen any time soon, especially in the face of low prices. Potential bidders may, therefore, expect significant delays in the rounds. Divestment of government interests in Joint Ventures: Under the Economic Growth and Recovery Plan for 2017 – 2020, one of the strategies for increasing the Federal Government revenue was selling off stakes in joint ventures (JVs) . This was also a key highlight of the 2019 Appropriation Bill with proposed reductions of government stakes in JVs to about 40%. However, with the drastic reduction in current revenue projections, a raging pandemic and looming economic recession, the time might just be right for government to give up some of its stakes in the JVs in order to stay afloat; notwithstanding other contingent plans, such as external borrowings. Possible measures to weather the storm Although Moscow and Riyadh have been able to reach a truce and agree on oil production cuts which OPEC+ members will be looking to adhere to, there seems to be lesser traction gained on the demand side of the global oil market. Some good news is that major economies of the world including China, Spain, Germany and some parts of the US are beginning to ease lockdown measures and reopen their economies. Some of the measures that may be useful for players to consider are explained below. Debt restructuring: Revenue declines caused by the fall in global oil prices could have devastating implications for players in all subsectors of the oil and gas industry. This may range from pay cut for senior executives to lay-off of staff and possibly corporate insolvency. Thus, through
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During crises such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, where revenues seem to be falling with much uncertainty, players in the industry will attempt to reduce overheads
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Michelle Okwusogu and Rilwan Ajibola
@Businessdayng
debt restructuring agreements with creditors, oil companies will avail themselves the time and breathing space needed to source for funds from other finance pools of investment. Contract/price renegotiation: While certain contracts may need to be terminated, others may be renegotiated to reflect the current economic realities of the oil and gas industry. There may likely be possibilities of legal prerogatives between and against parties to contracts. Nonetheless, in achieving renegotiations, it is essential that all parties are appropriately carried along and that their interests are protected to the furthest extent possible, to prevent avoidable conflicts. Force Majeure: This is a common concept in contracts. The Black’s law dictionary (9th Edition) defines force majeure as an event or effect that can be neither anticipated nor controlled, including both acts of nature (e.g. floods and hurricanes) and acts of people (e.g. riots, strikes, and wars). It further defines a force-majeure clause as a contractual provision allocating the risk of loss if performance becomes impossible or impracticable, especially as a result of an event or effect that the parties could not have anticipated or controlled. The effect that such clause will have on contracting parties will depend on the specific wordings of the clause and the contract as a whole. In any case, the specific wording of force-majeure clauses could be explored where applicable as a basis for seeking relief from or suspension of contractual obligations, renegotiation of contract terms or other forms of redress as provided in the contract. Mediation or litigation: In some instances, parties to a contract may make several efforts at reaching agreements with respect to the discharge of their contractual obligations to no avail. Where this is the case, such parties may resort to dispute resolution mechanisms or other forms of adjudication provided in their contract. The parties may also resort to taking legal actions as a dispute resolution procedure to address disagreements, should the need arise. Conclusion With dark clouds of an imminent economic recession gathering and not many visible silver linings, the Nigerian economy seems to be facing dire times. Worse still, there seems to be no end in sight to the COVID-19 pandemic, with rising cases globally and no proven vaccine yet. Nonetheless, it is commendable that the Federal Government of Nigeria, the CBN and the tax authorities continue to roll out fiscal stimulus packages as palliatives to reduce the burden on companies including the operators in the oil and gas industry. It is hoped that these packages would continue to be effectively rolled out through the pandemic period and would yield positive results. Michelle Okwusogu and Rilwan Ajibola work with KPMG in Lagos
Friday 12 June 2020
BUSINESS DAY
HEALTH BUSINESS&LIFE Rethinking what works for financing health, preventing disease outbreaks in Nigeria
Fitness to fly certificate and COVID- 19 immunity passport Executive Travel Health
ANTHONIA OBOKOH
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he current COVID-19 pandemic that the world is still dealing with has shown that a lot is still left to be desired when it comes to having enough funding streams to improve health systems and prevent infectious disease outbreaks. The pandemic is revealing a lot about health systems across the world including in Nigeria. It is providing insights that hopefully will inform the health sector going forward but importantly, it has continued to show the very crucial role that funds play in promoting functional and efficient public health systems. These deliberations formed the core of a webinar organised by Nigeria Health Watch on 3rd June 2020 as part of its #PreventEpidemicsNaija project. Ifeanyi Nsofor, director of Policy and Advocacy at the organisation, buttressed the fact that what the project has been consistently pushing for in the past 18 months were the realities that Nigeria and other parts of the world are currently living through. “These were to significantly increase the funding for infectious disease outbreaks in Nigeria and for the public to be more knowledgeable about issues bothering on infectious diseases and outbreaks,” he said. Joint collaborations With the current pandemic, these two objectives are playing out because amidst all the information flying around, many Nigerians constantly follow the communication channels of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) which is the Federal Ministry of Health’s agency at the centre of the response to get up to date information. In addition, a lot of funds have also been mobilised by both the federal government and its partners. A significant part of these funds have been mobilised by the private sector coalition against COVID-19
Adeniyi Bukola Q-life Family Clinic
lifeadvisoryservices@outlook.com
(CACOVID). Elaborating further on this, one of the panelists, Zouera Youssoufou who is the managing Director/ CEO of Aliko Dangote Foundation said supporting the work of the coalition financially is one of the ways they can help the response. She said the foundation has contributed 2 billion Naira through the coalition and is still supporting in other ways such as setting up infrastructure to test and manage confirmed cases. The foundation also has a palliative intervention targeting over 10 million people. Sustaining funding for epidemic preparedness But beyond the quick fix intervention to cushion the effect of the virus, she highlighted the importance of collaborations to sustain these efforts beyond COVID-19. Working with private sector leaders in a coordinated manner is also very important, she said. “Within the CACOVID we have a supervisory committee, funding committee and more. We need to know how to come together and get things done; everybody feels the same stress about economic slowdown. Joint public private partnerships work and we’re in the middle of the proof that they work,” Youssoufou added. Zainab Shinkafi- Bagudu, the First Lady of Kebbi State who is also a physician further strengthened these points while making her contributions. She said that while already having an emergency operation centre (EOC) in place was integral in her state’s response, a lot of
gaps still existed in Nigeria’s readiness before the pandemic hit home. One of the gaps she said effected preparedness was funding and these provide opportunities for improvement in terms of allocating and releasing more especially in states and local governments in addition to the federal. “COVID-19 pandemic hit the world very unexpectedly. Generally, we tend to not be adequately prepared for epidemics at the federal level. It is even worse at state and local government area levels. We need to speak about funding for epidemic preparedness more. We were somehow prepared for COVID19, but not as prepared as a country the size of Nigeria should be. We need to also strengthen inter-regional collaborations,” she concluded. Sharing a potential solution to this while responding to questions, Shinkafi- Bagudu, said health insurance is a way forward in so many aspects for protection and preparedness against infectious disease outbreaks such as COVID-19. “The reasons for this may not be far-fetched as having this pool of funds means enough money is available to strengthen various aspects of the health system and protect against potential outbreaks with their attendant negative impacts. “Sustainable health financing models to increase funding for epidemics while not easy to come by are possible with the people and structures in place and is a worthwhile investment any country should have,” she added.
How technology will facilitate better health care delivery in Lagos ANTHONIA OBOKOH
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hrough the development of databases and other applications, technology also provides the capacity to improve health system efficiencies, service delivery and prevent medical errors. Currently, technology is playing a critical role in improving health care for individuals and communities through the provision of new and more efficient ways of accessing, treatments, communicating, and storing information. In order to stimulate dialogue and debate on ensuring health for all through the use of new digital technologies, Lagos state is improving its capacity using technology as a driver to advance its healthcare facilities and to plug the
gaps in healthcare in the state. Babajide Sanwo-Olu , Governor of Lagos State among the stakeholders at the future of healthcare in Nigeria policy dialogue in a webinar held recently with the theme ‘surviving the time’ the future of healthcare in Nigeria in facilities, technology and financing said Data; Human Capital and adequate remuneration; Top-notch/well designed and maintained Infrastructure; Equipment and Technology will increase capacity of healthcare. “Health sector is the only sector that has seen growth among other sectors in Lagos state. Technology in our view must be a drive, and it is a strong enabler and we need to grow it and financially we will continue to push it,” said Sanwo-Olu. www.businessday.ng
These stakeholders say that with the use of technology, improved healthcare financing and hospital administration separated from clinical services, the state and the country at large can improve its health indices and become a health destination for other Africa countries. The governor said that Lagos will use technology as a drive and use it to bring healthcare issues closer to the people adding what the state wants to do is to have an active capacity in building on Lagos State health insurance and ramp up their expectations in that space. According to Sanwo-Olu, learning from the public health issue like COVID-19, we have been able to use the past experiences from Ebola and it has enabled us to build more capacity and competence.
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fit to fly letter is a medical certificate written by a doctor that confirms your fitness to fly. Doctors can verify if you can travel safely by reviewing your symptoms, medical history, and examination if necessary. When do I need a fitness to fly certificate? Aircraft cabin pressure is like that on a 5000 feet mountain. This causes less oxygen in your blood which may cause a problem if you have heart, lung disease or severe anemia. This can also be a problem if you have a recent chest, heart, abdominal or eye surgery. Other conditions like advanced pregnancy, Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT), recent heart attack, infections or stomach bleed can also increase health risk from flying. Majority of the health emergencies that occur during flight that result in death, flight diversion or emergency landing are due to health conditions that are not stabilised before the flight and that the airlines are not made aware of. These can be minimised by visiting your general practitioner or Travel Physician before your trip especially if you have any of these conditions. What medical conditions can stop you from flying? Infectious diseases like the current COVID 19, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Strokes, DVT, Decompensated heart failure, recent surgery, Pregnancy, recent Myocardial infarction (heart attack), unstable Psychiatric disorders and many
others. In pregnancy, you will not be allowed to fly after 36 weeks for singleton pregnancy and 32 weeks for multiple pregnancies even if you are carrying a fitness to fly certificate. This is to prevent you from falling into labour while airborne. When will the certificate to fly expire? Your fit to fly certificate shows you are fit and able to fly around the time of your flight. It may not be accepted if given weeks or months away from the time of your travel. With the current COVID 19 pandemic, some airlines and countries may specify how recent the certificate must be. If your health condition is long-term, you may need a new health certificate each time you fly. What is a COVID 19 Passport? It is an immunity passport that is based on the idea that there could potentially be a document that shows “proofof-immunity” towards the novel coronavirus (COVID 19). The talk of issuing an immunity passport has come up within the European Union to mitigate the catastrophic effects of the virus on the economy. It is assumed that those who have been infected with COVID 19 virus and have recovered have immunity to the virus and will not infect others or be re-infected. This will enable those with the passport to have normal life and could potentially allow for reduction of travel restrictions for those with it. Can I get an immunity passport for COVID 19? Currently, there is no immunity passport for COVID 19. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that there is no evidence that people who have had the virus are protected against a second infection. Hence, issuing an immunity passport can create the health risk as it may appear that people are protected when they are not.
Do I need a fit to fly certificate because of COVID 19? A fit to fly certificate will show you are fit with no symptoms of COVID 19 though the actual COVID 19 testing might not be done. It will show that you have a low risk of spreading the virus to other people in the country you are traveling to. The coronavirus pandemic has led many counties to put restrictions on travel to stop the spread of the infection. The need for the certificate will depend on the airline and destination country policies. What countries require a fit to travel certificate? The response to the coronavirus outbreak varies from country to country. Some countries and airlines now request a fit to fly certificate before travel. For example, people travelling from Nigeria to South Korea, were requested (as at May 2020) to present a medical certificate of fitness to fly before they can travel to South Korea. Other countries that request a health certificate when travelling from countries affected by coronavirus include: Austria, Bangladesh, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Cyprus, French Polynesia, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Iran, Kosovo, Macao, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines and some other countries. The list of countries is constantly being reviewed. You should therefore keep abreast of information from the airline you are traveling with and visit your destination country travel advisory. How do I get a fit to fly certificate? The certificate can be obtained at the Travel clinic after being assessed by the doctor and is usually obtained immediately. Visit should be made close to your travel. Adeniyi Bukola, Consultant Family Physician and Travel Medicine Physician Q –Life Family Clinic qlifeadvisory@outlook.com.
COVID-19: MTN Foundation donates medical equipment to Police hospital SEYI JOHN SALAU
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ollowing MTN’s commitment of N500 million to support the acquisition of critical medical supplies for healthcare professionals on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19, the MTN Foundation has donated medical equipment to facilitate quality healthcare delivery at the Nigerian Police Hospital, Ikoyi. The donation comprises three patient vital sign monitors, two cardiotocography machines, two radiant warmers and one 1.5HP split unit air conditioner, as part of the Foundation’s outreach
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focused at providing medical support to the health sector in Nigeria. Odunayo Sanya, the executive secretary, MTN Foundation said, “We are stronger together, now more than ever. A dose of good every day is all we need to reassure one another that we can survive trying times. “The Nigerian Police Force Hospital Ikoyi is in our community and we hope that through this support, they have been enabled to offer improved medical services to their clients,” Sanya said. Receiving the donations on behalf of the Nigerian Police Hospital, ACP Abiodun Sobowale, thanked the Foun@Businessdayng
dation for the kind gesture. “We are grateful to MTN for the donation. The organization has always been an enabler of the Nigerian Police. We appreciate this gesture and will ensure that these equipment are maximized for the patients that trust us with their health.” The Foundation recently donated 70,000 pieces of essential personal protective equipment, which include 30160 masks, 8000 aprons, 2000 pairs of boots, 11,000 disposable gowns, and 20,000 items of protective clothing to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) as part of interventions under the Yello Hope Package of MTN Nigeria.
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entertainment
Simi: The songstress, her craft Obinna Emelike
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f you have listened to any track in ‘Omo Charlie Champagne, Vol. 1’, Simi’s latest album, you will attest to the fact that as the years go by, Simi, an Afro pop princess, keeps improving on her craft. Born as Simisola Bolatito Ogunleye, the Mass Communications graduate of Covenant University Ota, Ogun State, who turned songbird, and sound engineer, started performing in her early teens as a member of the teenage church choir. She vividly remembers her very first tune, which she wrote at the age of 10. From Jamb Question; her single released in February 2015, Open and Close, Outta My Head and Love Don’t Care, it has been hot streak of stellar music releases for the songstress who describes her music genre as Afro soul. Her debut album, Ogaju, produced by Samklef was released in 2008 and an EP, Restless, followed in 2014. Besides Ogaju, her debut album spawned hits such as Ara Ile, Iya Temi, to name a few. However, Simi’s music career took a much positive turn when she signed to X3M Music. Beyond honing her craft, the Lagos-based record label offers Simi platform to meet, learn and collaborate with other record label mates, especially Praiz, Nigerian R&B sensation; Sammy, recording artiste and song writer; and DTruce, recording and performing rap artiste. Since then, she has won the Best Promising Act at the 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Award, Most Promising Act of the Year at the 2015 City People award, had two nominations at the 2015 Headies for Best Alternative Song and Video of the Year (Jamb Question) and two at the Nigerian Music Video Award for Best Soft Rock/Alternative video (Jamb
Simi-performing at Simi Live in Lagos.
Question), and was named on YNaija.com’s New Establishment List for 2016. As well, Open and Close her single released on November 17, 2015 and Love Don’t Care, her most recent single released last quarter 2016, met with amazing critical reviews and massive airplays. On a critical assessment, a keen observer will describe Simi’s genre of music as Afro-pop, but the songstress often dabbles into pop and soul, and hence can
comfortable describe her style as Afro soul; a blend of Afro and soul. In a review of ‘Love Don’t Care’, her music video and a love ballad, the Nigerian entertainment media anonymously approved her artistic talent. One of the reviews noted that: “Again, Simi wows her fans with her artistic talents in ‘Love Don’t Care’. The love ballad speaks of a love that soars above tribal and social prejudices. Fans love it because of its compelling narrative and beautiful harmony
Photo Bellephill
of the traditional instrumentals”. In another review on Outta My Head, another reviewer noted that Simi used her bubbly personality to infectiously deliver and make more digestible a material that could easily become moody and haunting. “Outta My Head begins with piano strings and a mid-tempo beat, accompanied by Simi’s now familiar vocal styling. It is a playful yet serious meditation on infatuation and the downsides of a love gone sour. Written in
a smooth, simple style that is instantly relatable, the material could easily become moody and haunting but Simi sells it and makes it more digestible, thanks to her bubbly personality and infectious delivery”. Simi is not just talented, but relentless as she is still writing and recording more songs to delight her army of followers on social media and fans of her music. The songstress is also aware of the high expectations from her burgeoning fans across the Africa and is not relenting in meeting the expectations even as she prepares to rule the airwaves once again with hot streak of stellar music releases, collaborations and live performances. Following that, on April 19, 2019, Simi released her third studio album tagged ‘Omo Charlie Champagne, Vol. 1’ to coincide with her birthday. The album is a slight departure from the relatively afro-centric feel of Simisola (2017). It is a mixture of sentimental ballad, Afropop, Afro-fusion, Afro-soul, R&B, EDM and moombahton. The 13-track album features guest vocals from Patoranking, Maleek Berry, Falz, and her husband Adekunle Gold. Its production was primarily handled by Oscar, with additional production from Vtek, Legendury Beatz, and Sess. Simi dedicated the album to her father Charles Oladele Ogunleye, who died in 2014. Omo Charlie Champagne, Vol. 1 was preceded by three singles: “I Dun Care”, “Lovin” and “Ayo”. At the expiration of her recording contract with X3M Music in May 2019, she parted ways with the recording label. In June 2019, Simi announced the launch of Studio Brat, her independent record label. In a recent interview, she noted that she has worked hard to stardom and is committed to remain a star and excite her fans more.
Nissi closes out billboard live at home series
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ondon-based fast-rising afro-jazz singer and songwriter, Nissi, closed out Billboard Live’s AtHome series in partnership with Platoon; Apple’s creative artist services company. The three-day showcase of live performances spotlighted some of the most exciting and vibrant African talent currently making names for themselves on the global music landscape. Nissi, whose music is a blend of genres including funk, highlife and R&B, closed out the live streams with performances from a special selection of her singles ‘Pay Attention’, which was released in 2016 ‘Trouble’ and ‘Tornado’ which were released in December 2019.The Mechanical
Engineering graduate said, “Felt incredible to be a part of sending out some positive energy through my music to the world. Thank you to my @weareplatoon family and @billboard for putting this life at home showcase together. We rise.” Nissi came into the limelight & gained international recognition when she released her debut single “Criminal“ in September 2016, produced by Cornel Sorian, a catchy R&B-infused piece with a mix of Funk and Jazz music wrapped into one. She recently held her first live intimate listening session in Lagos, early this year, an experience that left everyone in attendance in awe of her rare talent. The music world is indeed an oyster for Nissi Ogulu. www.businessday.ng
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SPECIAL REPORT President Buhari’s modest strides to lift Nigeria’s economy Tony Ailemen, Abuja
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here is no doubt that President Muhammadu administration has recorded modest achievements in the last five years, despite the daunting challenges faced by the administration The achievements are mostly visible in the area of Agriculture where the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) of the Central Bank of Nigeria, launched by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 17, 2015, has made available more than 200 billion Naira in funding to more than 1.5 million smallholder farmers of 16 different commodities (Rice, Wheat, Maize, Cotton, Cassava, Poultry, Soy Beans, Groundnut, Fish), cultivating over 1.4 million hectares of farmland. The ABP has substantially raised local production of rice, doubling the production of paddy as well as milled rice between 2015 and 2019. The government also established more than 10 new rice mills came on-stream in Nigeria, between 2016 and 2019, even as many of the existing Mills have expanded their capacity; several new ones are under construction. Within the agricultural sector, more than a billion dollars of private sector investments in the production of Rice, Wheat, Sugar, Poultry, Animal Feed, Fertilizers, etc, since 2015, as the Federal Executive Council approval (2020) for a National Agriculture Mechanization Programme, “the Green Imperative”, in partnership with the Government of Brazil and multilateral financing institutions. Under the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative, the President had in January 2017, launched a Governmentto-Government agreement with the Kingdom of Morocco, which has resulted in more than a million metric tonnes of fertilizer produced since 2017. This translated to distribution of more than 18 million 50kg bags of NPK fertilizer in the first three years of the PFI) Over 22 blending plants were resuscitated (combined installed capacity of more than 2.5m MT), leading to price reduction in fertilizer from 9,000-11,000 per bag, to 5,500 This initiative also led to Foreign exchange savings of $150m annually through the substitution of imported components with locally manufactured ones as government recorded subsidy savings of 50 billion Naira annually The Buhari administration’s support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, yielded positive response as the Administration launched a series of funding and capacity development initiatives designed to support MSMEs: These include the floating of a new Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), with initial funding of US$1.3 billion (N396.5 billion); to provide medium and long-term loans to MSMEs. Since 2017, the DBN has disbursed a total of N100 billion through the bank’s 27 Participating Financial
President Muhammadu Buhari
Institutions (PFIs) impacting more than 100,000 MSMEs, as 52% of loans disbursed in 2019 were to youths and women owned businesses. The Bank of Industry has disbursed more than N400 billion in loans to large, medium, small and micro enterprises since 2016. It has also established a N5 Billion Fund for Artisanal Miners, as part of the Federal Ministry of Mines and Solid Minerals Development’s Programme to boost Mining activities in Nigeria; as well as a $20 million Fund to support young technology entrepreneurs in Nigeria The MSME Clinics, which bring relevant Government Agencies together with small businesses operating in various cities across the country, to enable the Agencies provide direct support to these businesses. The interactions allow the Agencies better understand the issues facing small businesses, and provide a platform for speedy resolution. The Ease of Doing Business Reform Programme, received support through the Government Enterprise and Empowerment component (GEEP) of the Social Intervention Programme (SIP) The work of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (inaugurated by President Buhari in August 2016) and the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES) has resulted in Nigeria moving up 39 places on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings since 2016. In the last 3 years Nigeria has twice been adjudged one of 10 Most Improved Economies in the Rankings. In addition, the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) in 2017 completed a long-overdue revision of the list of activities that can benefit from Nigeria’s Pioneer Status Incentive, which grants beneficiary companies a 3 to 5-year tax holiday. The revision, done more than 10 ten years after the last one, has modernized the List, expanding the tax holiday incentives to qualiwww.businessday.ng
fying companies in E-commerce, Software Development, Animation, Music, Film and TV. NIPC has published a Compendium of all Investment incentives in Nigeria, making it easier for existing and potential investors to have equal access to the information. Some of the specific Ease of Doing Business Reform achievements include the asent by President Buhari to the Finance Bill, 2019. The Finance Act, 2019 is the first time Nigeria is accompanying the passage of a Budget with complementary fiscal and business environment reforms legislation. The 2020 Budget is also the first time in 12 years that a Federal Budget has been restored to the January-December cycle. This also led to the creation of a National Collateral Registry (NCR). A NCR or Movable Assets Registry was established by the Central Bank of Nigeria, in May 2016. The NCR allows small businesses to get access to loans using movable assets – machinery, livestock, and inventory – as collateral. As of the end of June 2018, the NCR online portal had registered 630 financial institutions. Between inception in 2016 and April 2020, these financial institutions had recorded a total of 65,370 moveable assets on the portal, belonging to 165,456 borrowers, and valued at 1.26 Trillion Naira Government efforts resulted in automation of business name reservation, submission of registration documents, payment of registration fees, generation of Tax Identification Numbers (TIN), and filing of federal Taxes, and implementation of functioning Visa-on-Arrival system for Business Visitors and AU nationals. President Buhari in January 2019, launched Nigeria’s Micro Pension Scheme – which allows self-employed persons and persons working in organisations with less than 3 employees to save for the provision of pension at retirement or incapacitation.
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The Administration is also prioritizing the payment of pension arrears owed staff of current and privatized/ defunct Federal agencies, with the release of N54 billion to settle outstanding 33% pension arrears (the 33% pension arrears date back to 2010 when the minimum wage was increased to N18, 000). The Delta Steel Company (liquidated in 2005, had its 3,542 pensioners fully placed on the payroll, ending a 13-year wait for their entitlements. Similarly, NITEL’s 9,216 pensioners were payrolled, after more than a decade of neglect The President in his historic decision helped the retired Biafran Police Officers (dismissed by the Federal Government in 1971, after the Civil War ended, and pardoned by President Obasanjo in 2000), by approving the payment of their pensions, unpaid since their pardon in 2000. This amounted to N571.56 million, paid to a total of 174 beneficiaries in October 2017 In a related development, Nigeria Airways staff had approval and the release of N24 billion payment in September 2018, for the settlement of 50% of workers disengaged when the airline was liquidated in 2003/4. The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) has recovered cash and non-cash assets totaling N16 billion previously trapped in various insurance companies and underwriters managing the pension funds of Federal Parastatals and Universities. The President also Launch a new Tax Identification Number (TIN) Registration System in 2019. For the first time, Nigeria has a consolidated, unified database of all taxpayers (individual and corporate), across all States. This new System is the product of increased collaboration between FIRS and States’ Inland Revenue Services (through improved sharing of information, and an integration of databases, among others) The new TIN Registration system leverages on existing taxpayer data available from databases of multiple organizations like Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Banks through Bank Verification Number (BVN), National Identity Card Management Commission (NIMC) and others. The improved collaboration between FIRS and the various SIRS’ has resulted in an increase in Nigeria’s “Tax Net” (number of paying and non-paying individuals and companies in the Tax Database) from 13 million as at December 2015 to 35 million at the end of 2018, and a projected 45 million by the end of 2019. Government under this administration, approved the establishment of the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations by the Economic Management Team (EMT). The NOTN has produced Nigeria’s first Annual National Trade Report, and is compiling, for the first time in Nigeria’s history, a comprehensive database of Nigerian Trade Deals and Agreements. The Renminbi-Naira Swap Agreement between the Peoples Bank of China and the Central Bank of @Businessdayng
Nigeria, also came on board in April 27, 2018, as the CBN signed a 3-year bilateral currency swap agreement with the Peoples Bank of China (PBoC), worth Chinese Yuan (CNY) 15 billon – equivalent to N720.00 billon or US$2.5 billion. Budget proposal submission, which used to be done manually (submissions in hard copy and flash drives) has moved to an online platform, the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), since 2018. The new Budget Submission System significantly improves the transparency and efficiency of the budgeting system. This administration also restored the Federal Budget from January to December cycle, with the 2020 Budget, for the first time in 12 years. The administration also approved Installation of the Migration Information and Data Analysis System (MIDAS) – a global travel security standard – in 5 Nigerian International Airports, commencing in late 2019, with the support and collaboration of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). This MIDAS is linked to Local and International Criminal Dabatases / Watchlists (INTERPOL etc), and achieves real-time synchronization of data between all of Nigeria’s International Airports and the NIS Headquarters in Abuja. It ultimately creates a faster and more efficient airport experience, while also ensuring that persons crossing Nigeria’s borders through the Airports do not pose any threats to national and international security. Accompanying the installation of MIDAS, is the launch of a New Visa Policy, 2020 by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), as part of a broader 5-year Border Strategy Reform (2019 – 2023). A new Visa Policy was introduced incorporating the expansion of Visa Categories from 6 to 79, to reflect and cater to the full range of realities and scenarios for intending travelers to Nigeria. Government also approved the introduction of eVisas, which carry biometric information of visa holders. The eVisa issuance system is linked to MIDAS, automation of Visa Issuance and Payment to reduce human contact and associated corruption. The Visa on Arrival Policy expanded to all holders of African Passports starting January 2020. President Buhari in 2019 also assented to the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) Bill, the first legislation in Nigeria’s history focused on curbing anti-competition practices; and the establishment of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. Under Debt Management, the Buhari administration, between 2017 and now, Nigeria issued its first ever Diaspora Bond, in the International Capital Market. The Diaspora Bond was US$300 million with a tenor of 5-years. The proceeds were used to part–finance the 2017 Budget.
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news
NDPR Academy set to hold Q2 2020 foundation, practitioner courses GBEMI FAMINU
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igeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) Academy® has announced its forthcoming Q2 2020 Certified Foundation and Practitioner Courses. The Foundation Course is scheduled to hold June 17, 2020, while the Practitioner Course will hold June 25 – 26,2020, with both courses taking place virtually on dedicated online platforms. Speaking with journalists recently, Registrar of the NDPR Academy®, Olugbenga Sile, says the approach is to assemble a cast of experienced professionals in the Personal Data Protection Compliance space, especially the NDPR and the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR), who, through a highly interactive and conducive process, share principles-based practical knowledge of the application of the NDPR. “We understand the challenges the world has had to face as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, technology has provided a seamless alternative to physical learning through virtual learning platforms. The Q2 2020 NDPR Academy Classes would be taken virtually and we have put adequate measures in place to ensure a hitch-free training process,” Sile says.
The NDPR Academy® was established by 21 Search Limited, (a recruitment, training and certifications company), and Taxaide Technologies Limited (a Data Protection Compliance Organisation (DPCO) and technology development company) with the aim of providing NDPR training and NITDA-approved certification. The Essence of the NDPR Academy® is to train and certify a generation of persons that can foster the cause of privacy rights and the NDPR, including its future form, specifically. Si n c e D e c e mb e r 2 0 1 9 through its Foundation and Practitioner Programmes, the NDPR Academy® has provided relevant training and certification to over 200 participants across various sectors of the Nigerian economy on the NDPR 2019 as released by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). Details of the Courses and the registration process can be found on the NDPR Academy® website: www.ndpracademy.ng. In addition, Data Controllers are required to engage the services of DPCOs to assist with the compliance process of filing their Statutory Annual Data Protection Audit with NITDA before Tuesday 30th June 2020, or risk penalty as high as N10 million or 2% of their global revenues, whichever is greater in the event of a data breach.
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Lagos clarifies position on re-opening of event centres
Ogun gets buffers to fund budgets, goes to capital market for N250bn credit
… insists on ‘Register-to-Open’
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JOSHUA BASSEY
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agos State government on Thursday clarified its position on the re-opening of event centres, explaining that owners of such places across the state must first register their facilities pending further directives by the state governor, Sanwo-Olu, in respect of their operations. Commissioner for tourism, arts and culture, Uzamat AkinbiIeYusuf, who made the clarification following media reports that owners of event centres could now open for operations, maintained that all event centres and cinemas were to remain shut for now. She explained that the state government was yet to make any declaration on the date for re-opening the event centres, adding that the governor would make a pronouncement provided that the event centres had met all laid down procedures, including registering under the ‘Registerto-Open’ initiative of the state government. The commissioner noted that the initiative was designed to certify the safety preparedness of various business outfits, including event centres, before they were allowed to re-open for business activities. Speaking on the limited number of persons that would be
allowed to gather at the various event centres, she projected that a maximum capacity of one-fifth the capacity of each event centre, subject to a limit of 500 persons regardless of the size of the centre, would be allowed when such businesses were finally allowed to re-open. “The numbers of persons that would be allowed at any event centre will depend on the size of the event hall and this must not exceed one-fifth of the normal occupancy level of each venue. In other words, no matter the size of an event hall, it cannot accommodate more than 500 persons at a time, that is what the guideline says. “We have global guidelines that deal with both social and religious centres but we have specific ones for certain categories,” she said. She informed that the status quo of only take-away for restaurants and eateries remained, stressing that their operations must not contradict stipulated operational guidelines issued during the state-wide lockdown period. “Only hotels and restaurants are allowed to open for business activities for now in the entire hospitality industry while others should continue with their registration processes ahead of further directives from the chief incident commander of the state, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu”,she insisted.
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RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta gun State government is going to capital market to raise N250 billion through bond issuance, public offering, book building, among other instruments, to fund 3-year medium-term expenditure framework that has between 60% and 70% benchmark for capital expenditure. This is due to the negative impacts of dwindling revenue from federal accounts, internally-generated revenue and other receipts due to twin shocks from crude oil earnings and economic impacts of COVID-19. The N250 billion credit, which serves as ready-made financial buffer to finance capital projects - 60% for 2020; 65% for 2021 and 70% for 2022, following the Ogun State House of Assembly’s approval to the state to access the credit facility under its 3-year medium-term expenditure framework programme to serve as reproductive debt to stimulate the economy and it will be accessed in tranches of N100 billion in 2020; N100 billion in 2021, and N50 billion in 2022. Recall that the Governor Dapo Abiodun-led government had prepared N449.97
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billion budget for 2020 fiscal year, voting N271.2 billion for capital expenditure and N178.8 billion as recurrent expenditure under the state designed 3-year mediumterm expenditure framework that benchmarks 60%, 65% and 70% for capital expenditure in the fiscal years of 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively. While inflation rates pegged at 10.2%, 8.49% and 6.59% respectively for 3 years and gross domestic product contributions stand at 2.4% of N2.99 trillion for 2020; N3.06 trillion for 2021 and N3.14 trillion 2022. To fund the 2020 budget and beyond, the sources of budget finance included N255.946 billion of IGR – 57% of the budget; N43.431 billion of Statutory Allocation – 10%; N22.031 billion VAT – 5%, and N129.566 billion of Capital and other Receipts – 28%; but the current realities in the World economy necessitated extraordinary financial buffers which pilot the first fiscal estimates in the 3-year medium-term expenditure framework series, firstly with the legislative approval to refinance N109 billion debt stocks left by former administrations and secondly, with the approval to access N250 billion credit from capital market.
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BANKING Expanding Diaspora remittances payment channels to include BDCs HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE
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igeria needs to broaden avenues through which migrant remittances flow into the economy. According to the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) leadership, breaking of fewer players’ monopolies in the remittances market by including Bureaux De Change (BDCs) in the payment channels will be a big win for the Nigerian economy. ABCON insists that allowing multiple and digitized channels to receive funds and adopting virtual Know Your Customer rules will help save the economy from consistent dollar crunch and revenue leakages. The World Bank estimates that Diaspora remittances into global economies will drop by 20 per cent this year. Nigeria, which earned $25 billion in 2019 from the remittances market needs to open up more channels to boost collections. The 2019 earnings for Nigeria was an eye opener to many people that migrant remittances is the backbone of the country’s foreign exchange inflows and should be protected. But protecting the remittances market will require policy shift including breaking the current monopoly that limits funds receipts to only ‘few lucky’ players at the detriment of the economy. Aminu Gwadabe, president of ABCON insists that now is the time to break the current industry monopoly that puts the remittances market in the hands of few players depriving others from tapping into the goldmine. For him, there is urgent need to get more players join the remittance collection market including getting BDC operators approved for the business. Making BDCs one of the channels through which Diaspora remittances enter the economy will give depth to forex market and boost
BDCs operations, he said. He insists that for Nigeria to get the full value of what is due to her in the remittance market, BDCs have to be included in the remittances payment channels and allowed to receive funds from Nigerians in Diaspora. The BDCs are to perform this role through contactless and digitized channels to make collections easy and seamless. “Now is the time for government and financial sector regulators to promote contactless payment channels, leveraging on digitization in the receipt of migrant remittances. The first win will be getting BDCs included in the payment channels to break monopolies of the fewer players, use of Simple Virtual Know Your Customer rule for beneficiaries and implementing supportive regulations,” Gwadabe said. He also called for the establishment of training institutes to enhance capacity and infrastructure in the industry and broadening players’ business scope with cash-back incentives for those that patronize BDCs while also implementing a less cumbersome and complex documentation requirements for end users. World Bank Group President David Malpass, said remittances are a vital source of income for developing countries. The ongoing economic recession caused by COVID-19 is taking a severe toll on the ability to send money home and makes it all the more vital to shorten the time to recovery for advanced economies. He explained that remittances help families afford food, healthcare, and basic needs. In 2021, the World Bank estimates that remittances to low and middle-income countries will recover and rise by 5.6 per cent to $470 billion. The global average cost of sending $200 remains high at 6.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, only slightly below the previous year. Sub-Saharan Africa continued to have the highest average cost, at about nine percent, yet www.businessday.ng
Aminu Gwadabe
intra-regional migrants in Sub-Saharan Africa comprise over two-thirds of all international migration from the region. Gwadabe said the entry of BDCs into the remittance market will reduce such high cost of receiving money and deepen the job market. Besides, 90 per cent of the total World Bank estimate of about $18 billion is trading outside the official window while majority of the registered International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) patronise the informal market because of the higher margin and post funding settlements method of the unlicensed agents. Opportunities in Diaspora Remittances According to Gwdabe, there are over 1.24 million Nigerian Migrants abroad and 50 per cent of them lives within the African neighbourhood, and the figure is expected to rise in the coming years. The migrants’ cumulative remittances figures into the Nigerian economy by the World Bank estimates indicated $22 billion in 2017, $23 billion in 2018 and $25 billion in 2019. However there is a huge differential between the Word Bank statistics and the local sources due to lack of data
and operators indulgence in non-reporting and nonrendition practices to the official window. Gwadabe listed importance of migrant remittances to the economy to include serving as a lifeline for the recipients small household in the economy and used for health, nutrition, education and societal needs. The remittances are also higher than both Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and foreign aids flow to the economy and still, are cheaper sources of funds. He said that remittances can be used in infrastructural developments as seen in India and Lebanon while in the Dubai UAE; the remittances are stable sources of liquidity in the market. The remittances, he added, can also serve as excellent source of investments funds in the economy even as it represent 83 per cent of the Federal Government budget in 2018. The remittances were 11 times higher than the FDIs in the same period and 7.4 per cent larger than the net official development assistance received in 2017 at $3. 34 billion in the economy. Still, some factors, have been listed as responsible for the drop in migrants remittances to Nigeria. These include, limited payers in
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the cash out-cash-in, lack of capacity and infrastructures to receive the funds, uncompetitive forex rates, as well as competing fixed and parallel market rates. There has also been inhibitive regulatory policies, over reliance in cash and complex distribution and handling nature of cash, activities of unlicensed operators and manual Know Your Customer (KYC) plans. CBN’s Supportive Policy Direction The CBN has for years, implemented robust and friendly policies to deepen the players in the market and remains the first regulator in the world to ban exclusive contracts of the dominant players. The CBN management led by Godwin Emefiele remains proactive and is taking steps that promote more Diaspora remittances inflow into the economy. Such move, he said, will address the dwindling outlook of the naira in the post COVID-19 era and help in achieving the vision of making the local currency sovereign in the West African market. Gwadabe said the CBN forex policy has brought stability to the BDC industry and helped operators to embrace automation which is the standard best practice globally. He said that ABCON and its over 5,000 members nationwide are in support of the various CBN measures to deepen and revolutionise the supply of foreign currency to the end users in the market. Gwadabe said the BDCs will continue to support Nigeria’s growth agenda and CBN’s commitment to exchange rate stability. To continue to play these roles creditably, the BDC industry needs improved access to foreign exchange. Understanding Diaspora Remittances/Role of BDCs in Economy Gwadabe said that the BDCs remain at the centre of economic development and have the capacity to attract needed capital for the development of the Nigerian economy. Fi n d i n g s h av e a l s o @Businessdayng
shown that forex remittances from Nigerians in the Diaspora far exceeded the country’s earnings from crude oil export last year. For instance, total oil earnings of the nation stood at $15 billion in 2018, while the total remittance from Nigerians in Diaspora amounted to $25 billion in 2018. Nigeria earned a total of N5.54 trillion ($15.4 billion) from oil revenue last year, according to figures released by the CBN. “Nigerian BDCs operators have also identified with the immense opportunities presented by Diaspora remittances and want to play greater role in attracting more foreign capital into the economy. Reason being that remittances are known to help poorer recipients meet basic needs, fund cash and non-cash investments, finance education, foster new businesses, service debt and essentially, drive economic growth,” Gwadabe said. He said that Nigerian BDCs, like their counterparts in other emerging or developing economies have what it takes to deepen the forex market through remittances and collections. “When that happens, it will not be the first time that BDCs were given the opportunity to turn the remittances market around for good. In India, the BDCs generate over $30 billion from the Diaspora remittances. In United Arab Emirates, the entire banking needs of banks are met by the BDCs. The working of the Lebanon economy is highly dependent on the activities of BDCs in that country. Therefore, Nigeria can also achieve higher revenue through BDCs given the opportunities we seen in the remittances market,” he said. Besides, financial institutions’ long procedures, complicated forms, and history of poor service quality means BDCs entry into the market will change the dynamic for good because they are not only simple in their operations, but are closer to the people needing the remittance funds.
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FT
Friday 12 June 2020
BUSINESS DAY
FINANCIAL TIMES
World Business Newspaper
White House task force curtails meetings despite spread of virus
Move to weekly sessions sparks concern as western and southern states see jump in new cases KIRAN STACEY AND PETER WELLS
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he White House’s coronavirus task force has reduced its meetings to just one a week at a time US states across the west and Deep South are seeing a sudden jump in new cases, weeks after loosening lockdown restrictions. More than two-thirds of the 13 states that reported more than 500 coronavirus cases on Wednesday are from the south and west, regions that began to reopen their economies early last month, according to data compiled by the Covid Tracking Project. The seven-day average rates of new cases in California, Florida, Georgia and Texas are at or near record highs, while Arizona and Oregon have both had large jumps over the past month. New York and New Jersey, which had been the US’s biggest pandemic hotspots and have moved more slowly to reopen their economies, have now brought their new case rate below most of those experiencing increases in the south and west. President Donald Trump in early May publicly suggested shutting the White House coronavirus task force entirely, only to backtrack in the face of public concern he was ignoring the risks of an outbreak outside early hotspots and the possibility of a socalled second wave in the autumn. But a review of the publicly released schedules of White House officials show the task force meetings became weekly rather than daily in the ensuing weeks, and Mr Trump
President Donald Trump has not attended a task force meeting since late April © Mandel Ngan/AFP
has not attended one since late April. “It is unclear what is supposed to be happening right now and who is in charge,” said one Trump administration official. “Are the agencies meant to be going it alone? Are the states? We don’t know.” Public health experts said they were concerned the less-frequent meetings were a signal US political leaders were improperly prioritising reopening over the social distancing measures that have contained the outbreak since mid-March. Several of the states that have started loosening restrictions lack the testing capability needed to trace and isolate outbreaks as they occur. “This is a sign that this is no longer a priority for the US government, and that is incredibly harmful,” Ashish
Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, said. “It will make fighting the pandemic much harder.” The task force, whose members include high-profile government physicians Deborah Birx and Anthony Fauci, held its most recent weekly meeting on Tuesday, and has held calls this week with state governors to discuss how different parts of the country should exit lockdown. The task force was convened at the end of January as the administration scrambled to respond to the first confirmed cases of the disease. It quickly became the main decisionmaking body for the federal government’s response, holding daily televised meetings often followed by high-profile press conferences. In recent weeks, however, task
force meetings have taken place behind closed doors and have not been attended by the president. Dr Fauci told CNN last week he had not seen or spoken to the president in two weeks. Brett Giroir, a frequent attendee of the task force meetings, said last week he was leaving his role as the administration’s “coronavirus testing tsar” and would return to his previous job of focusing on the HIV epidemic at the US Department of Health and Human Services. The White House would not comment on the task force’s meeting frequency. The president has said he expects state governors to take the lead when it comes to deciding how and when to reopen their economies, some-
thing experts warn risks contributing to the spread of the disease. About 21,000 new cases were reported in the US on Wednesday, according to data from Covid Tracking Project — about the same rate as a month ago, when New York was still responsible for a large percentage of new cases. “Although the states will be the ones actually implementing many interventions — including testing, isolation, contact tracing and quarantine — the federal government needs to take the lead on providing guidance and support,” said Tom Frieden, a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We need a coherent national strategy and structure to effectively fight the pandemic.” The elevated rates in some of the western and southern states may be due to more widespread testing. California is averaging about 2,600 new coronavirus cases a day, which is up nearly 50 per cent from a month ago, but it has lifted its number of tests per day over that period to nearly 60,000 from 35,000. Florida is averaging about 1,200 new cases a day, more than double the rate a month ago when it moved its economy into the first phase of reopening. The rate of testing in the Sunshine State has nearly doubled since then to nearly 30,000 a day, but sits short of the June 15 target of 40,000 average tests per day the Florida government had set for itself. Mr Jha warned that there were still not enough tests available to do the kind of “contact tracing” needed to isolate those exposed as lockdowns end.
Unilever to combine Anglo-Dutch arms in UK company Consumer goods giant reverses previous attempt to shift to Netherlands
JUDITH EVANS, JIM PICKARD AND MEHREEN KHAN
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nilever is to abandon its dual Anglo-Dutch corporate structure in favour of a single company based in London, reversing attempts two years ago to combine its businesses in the Netherlands. The maker of Marmite, Dove soap and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream said it would seek to integrate its Dutch entity into its UK arm, ending a legacy of Unilever’s formation from the merger of a Dutch margarine company and British soap maker Lever Brothers more than 90 years ago. The consumer goods group, one of the UK’s largest companies by market capitalisation, said the shift would make equity-based acquisitions or disposals easier and faster, including a potential spin-off of its tea division. Past disposals such as the sale of Unilever’s spreads division have been complicated by the need to unwind complex internal structures resulting from the dual domicile.
Nils Andersen, chairman of Unilever, said: “We want to accelerate the pace of portfolio change, and unifying our legal parent structure will give us a greater flexibility for equity-based acquisitions and demergers. That’s very important right now as we anticipate an increasingly dynamic business environment after the Covid-19 pandemic.” He added: “The structure of the company is outdated . . . We didn’t get a bloody nose in 2018 to now kick the can down the road for a few more years.” A plan two years ago to merge the UK into the Dutch entity, pushed by former chief executive Paul Polman, was scrapped after shareholder opposition, in part because the company would have dropped out of the FTSE 100 after abandoning its London listing. Shareholders will need to approve the fresh plan to scrap the dual structure, which was hailed by the UK government as a “vote of confidence”. It will require consent from half of the shareholders in the Dutch entity and 75 per cent of those who own UK-based shares. The proposal raises the possibilwww.businessday.ng
ity of a split of Unilever’s food arm from its beauty and personal care and food divisions. The company said the Dutch government had sought an assurance that any future spin-off of the foods and refreshment division would result in a Dutch-based and listed company. Unilever said it was happy to make such an assurance but had “no plans” at present to demerge the division. The company said it expected to retain its listing in both the FTSE 100 and Dutch AEX indices and would remain listed on exchanges in London, Amsterdam and New York. It said operations in both the UK and Netherlands would remain the same. Alan Jope, chief executive, said the company had not canvassed shareholders before announcing the move. Analysts welcomed the plan after a lacklustre recent performance from Unilever, which reported flat underlying sales growth in the first quarter after the pandemic hurt its food service and ice cream divisions. Shares in the Dutch entity were up 1.2 per cent to €47.74 in late
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afternoon trading on Thursday, while the UK-based shares rose 0.7 per cent to £43.47. The shift will make it easier for Unilever to raise equity if required. Martin Deboo, analyst at Jefferies, said a €6.8bn deal reached in 2017 to sell Unilever’s spreads business to KKR had required dozens of internal unbundling transactions, as some of the relevant subsidiaries were technically owned by the UK entity and some by the Dutch. That helped convince management that simplification was needed, he said. “The immediate issue is whether NV shareholders will have the same objections to the proposal as PLC ones did in 2018, something a retained AEX listing might mitigate.” He added that the shift “is more than just a legal change . . . It would suggest to me that they are serious about evolving the portfolio. We have long been arguing for a split of the business to unlock some value — it’s refreshing to see they are thinking creatively and radically about this.” Following the merger, shareholders in the current Dutch entity will own about 55 per cent of the @Businessdayng
new company, with those already owning UK shares accounting for about 45 per cent. Alok Sharma, UK business secretary, said he was “delighted” to see Unilever’s proposals to become a fully incorporated UK company, calling it “a clear vote of confidence in the UK”. The Dutch government had urged Unilever to seek a single listing in the Netherlands after Brexit. It tried to woo the group by scrapping a dividend tax on big corporates, but the tax break was ditched after a public backlash in 2018. Eric Wiebes, minister for economic affairs of the Netherlands, said Unilever informed the Dutch government of its intention in mid-May. Mr Wiebes said he “regretted” the decision and said the government had been in “intensive dialogue” to save Unilever’s Dutch operations. In a letter to parliament, Mr Wiebes wrote that the move would not cause job losses in the Netherlands. The Dutch government would set up an advisory group to discuss ways to strengthen Unilever’s presence in the country, he said.
Friday 12 June 2020
BUSINESS DAY
A15
COMPANIES & MARKETS
Global stocks slide on gloomy US economic outlook Fears of second wave of coronavirus infections also weigh on sentiment PHILIP GEORGIADIS AND HUDSON LOCKETT
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lobal stocks fell sharply on Thursday after the Federal Reserve offered a dire assessment of US economic prospects and concerns grew over a second wave of coronavirus infections. Shares on Wall Street tumbled at the opening bell and in midmorning trading the S&P 500 was down 2.5 per cent, with the techheavy Nasdaq down 1.6 per cent. In Europe, the UK’s FTSE 100 stock index was on track for its worst day since April, falling 2.9 per cent by mid-afternoon in London. The Stoxx 600 index, Europe’s regional benchmark, was heading for its fourth consecutive session of losses, down 3 per cent. The setback to the global stock rally came after the Fed said on Wednesday that the world’s largest economy faced a long path to recovery from the pandemic. Nearly all of the central bank’s top officials expect to keep interest rates close to zero until the end of 2022. Data released before the Wall Street open showed that US jobless claims slowed last week, but the unemployment rate remains at historically high levels, reflecting the significant economic damage
Shares on Wall Street tumbled at the opening bell, with the benchmark S&P 500 falling 2.8 per cent © JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
caused by the pandemic and lockdowns to stop its spread. “The Fed remains deeply concerned about the trajectory of the recovery,” said Anna Stupnytska, head of global macro at Fidelity International. She added that “risks related to subsequent waves of infection, the upcoming elections, weak global recovery and trade tensions” would probably complicate the path to recovery. Jay Powell, the Fed chair, said he was “not even thinking about thinking about raising rates”, adding that he was concerned the jobs
market might struggle to recover even as lockdown restrictions were eased. Government bonds rallied as investors sought safer parts of the market. The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury fell 0.073 percentage points to 0.6755 per cent as prices rose. Some investors said the selloff in stocks had more to do with nerves over stretched valuations, after a breathtaking rally saw US markets all but erase their coronavirus-related losses. “Equities are selling off despite
the Fed, not because of the Fed,” said Paul O’Connor, head of the multi-asset team at fund manager Janus Henderson Investors. “Market sentiment has soared alongside the recent rally in stocks and some forms of speculative activity are the highest seen in years.” Concerns over another wave of infections, particularly in the US, have also harmed sentiment, analysts said. States across the west and south, which loosened their lockdowns weeks ago, are seeing a sudden jump in new cases. “While the worst of the job
losses might be behind us, the recent surges in new Covid-19 cases in states such as Texas and Arizona could stall the nascent recovery if not brought under control,” said Ronald Temple, head of US equities at Lazard Asset Management. Speaking on Thursday, US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said the government would not reintroduce economically stifling lockdown measures. “We can’t shut down the economy again. I think we’ve learned that if you shut down the economy, you’re going to create more damage,” he told CNBC. Shares that are sensitive to renewed health concerns led the declines in Europe, with the Stoxx Europe travel and leisure sector falling more than 5 per cent. Carnival, British Airways owner IAG and Cineworld were among the region’s biggest fallers. Richard McGuire, a strategist at Rabobank, said markets had been largely ignoring the “reality that a second wave could crush signs of economic progress being made in some countries as they open up”. A sell-off in the US dollar paused on Thursday, with the dollar index, which measures the currency against a basket of its global peers, rising 0.1 per cent of three-month lows. Kit Juckes, a strategist at Société Générale, expects the dollar to weaken further as the Fed keeps interest rates low.
Trouble flares for US energy upstart Tellurian Founder Charif Souki puts Aspen ranch on market after axing 40% of staff as shares tumble GREGORY MEYER
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nergy tycoon Charif Souki launched Tellurian four years ago in an effort to repeat his success at Cheniere Energy, the US liquefied natural gas pioneer he founded. But lightning has not struck twice. Tellurian’s LNG plant remains unbuilt years after construction was due to begin. The company’s market capitalisation has slid below $500m from $4bn since it listed and its fixed assets are worth less than the $220m Mr Souki is now asking for his Aspen ranch. Forty per cent of staff have been dismissed. At its annual meeting on Wednesday it won approval to double the number of common stock shares to allow future issuance that would dilute existing owners. The LNG market has been pummelled as the coronavirus pandemic saps demand. Gas prices overseas have fallen below those in the US, undercutting the economics of exports. While many expensive new projects to liquefy and ship the fuel have stalled, none has been headed by as well-known a promoter as Mr Souki. A restaurateur and investment
banker, Mr Souki established Cheniere in 1996 and eventually constructed an LNG import terminal at Sabine Pass, Louisiana. He pivoted to build an export terminal at the site when fracking was transforming the American gas supply, a prescient move that made him a doyen of the industry. Cheniere fired him in 2015 weeks before its inaugural cargo in a boardroom coup orchestrated by activist investor Carl Icahn. Mr Souki soon returned with Tellurian, introducing a plan to undercut his former business by 15-20 per cent on costs. “I am right: it’s just a matter of when it happens,” he told the Financial Times in 2016. His Houston-based company launched with grand ambitions, spending more than $80m a year and hiring away top Cheniere executives as it drummed up business for the Driftwood LNG plant 40 miles east of Sabine Pass, which at a cost of $30bn and a capacity of 27.6m tonnes of LNG a year could have been the largest in the US. “They went big. They came out of the gate walking and talking and acting like a company the size of Cheniere,” said Michael Webber, managing partner at Webber Research & Advisory. www.businessday.ng
The plan was to procure lowcost gas supplies and race ahead of a crowded field that Martin Houston, co-founder alongside Mr Souki, derided as “amateur hour.” They found an important early backer in French oil major Total, which agreed last July to further increase its investment and buy 2.5m tonnes of LNG a year from Driftwood. No other buyers have finalised sales contracts. A tentative deal with Indian gas importer Petronet — signed last year during a visit to Houston by Narendra Modi, the Indian prime minister — expired in May. Total, now with a 17.2 per cent stake in Tellurian, has raised doubts about the need for Driftwood. The company has the right to back out of its new capital contribution agreement if Tellurian fails to greenlight Driftwood by July 2021, according to a securities filing. “The priority is not to invest more in merchant projects in the US,” Patrick Pouyanné, Total’s chief executive, told analysts in early May, adding: “I think there is no reason it would be sensible to move forward on this one.” Mr Souki, Tellurian’s chairman, controlled 22.6 per cent of
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the company’s outstanding shares in January. The position has been halved by involuntary sales earlier this year “effected by a lender to satisfy certain loan requirements”, according to securities filings. Held in trust for his children, the sold shares had been pledged as collateral “to secure financing for various investments”, the filings showed. Mr Souki’s stake now amounts to 10.7 per cent of the company, or 28.5m shares. Of those, 25m have also been pledged “as part of a collateral package to secure a loan for certain real estate investments”, Tellurian said in a proxy statement. John Coffee, a business law professor at Columbia University, said such pledges were rare. “This is an uncommon practice — sufficiently so that there are not generally rules against it,” he said. Mr Souki sent a confident and occasionally defiant message in an interview with the Financial Times last week. Acknowledging setbacks resulting from the pandemic, the weak global economy and the onrush of competing supplies, he said Driftwood’s progress had been slowed by a year-and-a-half to two years, but not stopped. “There is no questioning the fundamental business model. @Businessdayng
America has cheap gas, cheap infrastructure; the rest of the world needs the gas. It’s just a matter of time,” Mr Souki said. To raise capital the company “can sell stock any time we want”. Wall Street has shown less patience. Tellurian’s shares have rebounded this week amid a broader rally in energy stocks, but at less than $2 a share they remain at a tenth of their peak. World LNG trade will have grown by a fifth between 2019 and 2025, but export capacity is likely to outpace imports, the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday. Jason Gabelman, energy analyst at Cowen, said of Mr Souki: “The fact that he was able to build one LNG company made some investors more comfortable that he could successfully build a second. Thus far, that thesis really hasn’t proven out to be true.” The 813-acre Aspen Valley Ranch in Colorado once grew potatoes that fed silver miners, a local broker said. Mr Souki and his children developed eight custombuilt homes, a clubhouse, a gym and pool house, a barn with arcade games and another with horse stalls, according to promotional material.
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Friday 12 June 2020
BUSINESS DAY
MONEYINSIGHT
Bitcoin could still end 2020 in record highs despite slow start FRANK ELEANYA
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espite starting the year below $10,000 and struggling repeatedly to maintain the ceiling, the price of Bitcoin could still reach $20,000 or even $28,000, according to a new report from Blomberg. According to the Bloomberg Crypto Outlook report, it would take a really negative turn of events for anything to stop Bitcoin from reaching the record high of $20,000 or more by the end of the year. The last time it hit $20,000 was in 2017. Bitcoin which at the time of writing this article was trading at $9,753 is taking the same route it took in 2016 when it returned to the previous peak. “Our graphic depicts Bitcoin marking time for a third year following the parabolic 2017 rally. After 2014’s 60 percent decline, by the end of 2016 the crypto nearly matched the 2013 peak. Fast forward four years and the second year after the almost 75 percent
decline in 2018, Bitcoin will approach the record high of about $20,000 this year, if it follows the 2016 trend,” the report noted.
According to a weekly report from global cryptocurrency exchange Luno, while the global stock market has outperformed
bitcoin over the past year, it can not compete with the performance of bitcoin year-to-date. “Time frame is important when
evaluating assets, and bitcoin’s uncorrelated property is a useful tool in any portfolio,” analysts at Luno said. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt significant blows on investments in bitcoin, gold, crude oil, and stock exchange, it has also accelerated the maturity of the bitcoin market compared with other markets, says the Blomberg report. This maturity could lead to price appreciation for the cryptocurrency. The month has seen the successful completion of the much anticipated Bitcoin halving in 2020. Since the halving the trading volume of Bitcoin has been volatile. A 7-day study of the market by Luno showed that trading volume has been trending downwards and has looked weak ever since the price of Bitcoin started ranging in the $9,000$10,000 area. However the trend seems to have broken a few days ago when a strong bounce in volume was observed as Bitcoin pushed above $10,000, which could indicate a trend shift in volume again.
How to avoid ‘revenge shopping’ after lockdown STEPHEN ONYEKWELU
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he number of daily confirmed new cases of covid-19 continues to rise and has confined millions of otherwise mobile Nigerians to the safety of their homes. One consequence of this confinement is that many are probably dreaming about the vacation they will take the moment air travel is declared safe, or about that long-awaited dinner with friends when the restaurants reopen, but an unplanned splurge can dent your finances. The heightened need to splurge is at least in part a result of the uncertainty and emotional distress that the pandemic may have caused. Here are some things you can do to keep this urge in check, inspired by an article from Nilanjana Chakraborty, a personal finance expert. Retail therapy In China, as shops started reopening when the worst of the pandemic seemed to have passed last month, shoppers returned to stores. A new phenomenon termed as “revenge shopping” or “revenge spend-
ing” emerged then. Having been deprived of going out to shop due to quarantine, people started making the most of this newfound freedom. According to reports, luxury brand Hermes raked in sales of $2.7 million on the day it reopened its flagship store in Guangzhou. But the trend is likely to be short-lived and mainly in luxury segments. The trend has also been witnessed in other sectors like real estate and travel. This kind of spending can be related to the psychological concept known as “reactance”. Reactance refers to the psychological response people have to something being prohibited or kept from them. As freedom is curtailed or choice is taken away, people are drawn more strongly www.businessday.ng
to what is out of bounds. It is this response that might partially drive the heightened need to indulge in luxuries like shopping, eating out, watching movies or travelling with a vengeance. “During the lockdown people could not buy non-essentials or luxury goods for a long period. If they were in the habit of regularly buying these items before the lockdown, then they may overspend once things open again because they may feel the need to overcompensate the pleasure (positive emotion) of buying that was taken away during the lockdown,” said Ashlesha Swaminathan, behavioural economist and director, Subliminal Ideas, a behavioural economics research and consulting firm. But keep in
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mind that such indulgence can put a dent in your finances in already troubled times. Shilpi Johri, certified financial planner and founder of Arthashastra Consulting, agrees. “The environment we live in is inherently consumerist, so this need to spend is not new. People have not unlearned their habits in the past few months, so naturally, they will want to go back to indulging in all the things they used to, as soon as the malls and restaurants open,” she said. Fight the urge To tackle the urge to spend, understand where it is coming from. “This behaviour is emotion-driven. It helps people feel secure while facing the uncertainty of the current situation. Uncertainty creates fear, a negative emotion. People generally behave in a manner that will alleviate negative emotions. The emotional need for security in the present overrides the need for financial security in the future,” said Swaminathan. But while there is nothing wrong with indulging in retail therapy occasionally, if shopping is the way you deal with stress and negative @Businessdayng
emotions, it can take a toll on both your mental health and finances over time. According to Johri, given the uncertainty surrounding how long the crisis will last and to what extent the economy and job market will be hit, it’s important to conserve your resources at this juncture. “Whatever you have managed to save in these past couple of months because discretionary spends have been cut down, should be added to your emergency fund. Don’t commit to any long-term investments, as you might need the liquidity going forward. Don’t leave it lying around, or you might end up spending it once the lockdown is lifted,” she said. Once the lockdown ends, you might feel the urge to spend on things that you have had your eye on for months. But keep in mind that the heightened need to splurge is at least in part a result of the uncertainty and emotional distress that the pandemic and its effects may have caused. Be mindful that the financial impact of the covid-19 crisis on the job market, as well as your investments, is likely to be harsh and long-lasting.
Women in Business
BUSINESS DAY Friday 12 June 2020 www.businessday.ng
By Kemi Ajumobi
IYOBO INNIH
Yolanda George-David
Group Executive Director Services, Investments and Asset Management, Nosak Group
Neurosurgeon & Founder, Aunt Landa’s Bethel Foundation
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hen Toni Ogunbor envisioned to create Nosak Group, little did he know that it would become what it has become today. This is so because, in 1984, in the city of Kano, a seed of entrepreneurship was sown. From a retail shop selling soft drinks and snacks, the seed grew into retail trade, ice block manufacturing, transportation, distribution, importation until finally, this seed became Nosak Group. Today, the Nosak group is a key player in the Nigerian economy, offering vital services in retail, manufacturing, logistics, finance, agriculture, real estate and international trade, thanks to a deep understanding of the Nigerian market and a network of local and international alliances. What is more notable, as many other organisations have in recent times been doing, is that, the company is embracing gender diversity, such that it is giving room for females to occupy positions they are qualified for. One of such distinguished women is Iyobo Innih. Iyobo Innih is the Group Executive Director, Services, Investments and Asset Management at Nosak Group. She is the first female Executive Director of the Group. Iyobo Innih has over 15 years’ experience spanning various industries. Before joining Nosak Group in 2014, she served as an investment manager, research analyst, business development manager and the pioneer manager of the customer relations experience team at ARM Investment Managers, where she developed and refined her skills in strategic customer management for sustainable business success. She joined Nosak Group as the Executive Director, Retail Operations, responsible for development and implementation of the Group’s retail strategy. In this role, she successfully expanded the retail trade activities of the Group to three branches in Lagos, developed the
e-commerce retail channel as well as the deployment of the product penetration strategy of the Group’s premium Famili Vegetable Oil and Famili Palm Oil brands in the open market. She currently serves on various boards of companies under the Nosak Group umbrella. In her role as the Group Executive Director, Services, Investments and Asset Management at Nosak Group, her portfolio covers customer facing concerns of the Group, which include the logistics, insurance, leasing, real-estate and asset management businesses where her experience with building a customer focused organisation will be key to strategy achievement in the coming years. Iyobo obtained her Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) where she studied Biology, and received an MBA in Business and Healthcare Administration from California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). She is an alumnus of Lagos Business School, Basic and a certified management trainer. Iyobo is deliberate about self-development, building a life of impact, and is a strong believer in doing what she must today to create a successful tomorrow. She works through several charity initiatives supported by Nosak Group and personal philanthropic causes to give back to the society through charitable donations in several spaces that include education and healthcare. She is genuinely committed to the development of girls and young future professionals. She provides mentorship and guidance in various capacity required. The Nosak Group is made of subsidiaries that benefit from strong regional and international alliances. They are administered in the best traditions of entrepreneurship and their distinguishing virtues are built upon a strict adherence to quality, product integrity and an exceptional commitment to customer satisfaction.
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olanda George-David is a Neurosurgeon with her primary residency in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Her academic sojourn through the likes of Harvard Medical School and University of Pittsburgh, to mention a few; gave birth to her career as a practicing female fertility specialist cum clinical and relational Psychologist with a concentration in child development. With multiple Awards both local and international under her wings, Dr Yolanda N. George-David’s proficiency as a PRA- Personality Rebranding Agent among many other feathers to her cap deserves some accolades. She is an academic, a multiple award winning international public speaker and radio show host. She is also a human rights activist and humanitarian, through her work as the Founder and Servant-in- Charge of Aunt Landa’s Bethel Foundation and as the convener of Aunt Landa Market Square. As a wife and mother among others, she is also an ideas generator and consultant to 8 Forbes listed companies. Yolanda began her charitable work as a teenager and has since been very passionate about getting people off the streets. She needed to be able to show them how much God loved them without saying so much as she was rather introverted. “It was easier to feed 500 people for me than it was for me to say to someone ‘God loves you’. So I had to device ways and means to show people the love I knew they desperately needed.” She said. Driven by her passion to change the world one person at a time, she founded Aunt Landa’s Bethel Foundation, where over 25,000 sexually abused teenagers have been counseled and empowered with key vocational and life skills. She picks up prostitutes in dangerous areas for rehabilitation, rescues sexually abused girls and boys, fights for the oppressed, gives shelter to the abandoned, feeds thousands and covers educational
and surgical fees among other life changing initiatives. “I guess it is safe to say that every day as a relief mechanism inducer and hope merchant exposes me to new opposition and danger.” She stated. Aunt Landa works with a team of passionate volunteers and together they have helped redefine and add purpose to over 1 million registered and non-registered members with different needs in the Foundation’s over 200 centers. Yolanda is also the host of two radio shows on 92.3 Inspiration FM; Being Real with Aunt Landa and Sharing Life Issues Weekend Special with Aunt Landa. She is a mentor to many. Her love for God is seen daily as she helps the heartbroken on and off the airwaves with her “special formula”, a pinch of care, a dash of love and a whole lot of God. George-David was named in 2018 as a Vlisco Ambassador. Yolanda is thankful to have been raised by parents who taught her that she could be everything and anything as long as she invested herself intellectually. “I am blessed to have my king who holds the multiple duty of being my strength adapter for my weakness plugs and my forever lover.” Said Yolanda. Though at 13, she wanted to change the world but at 18, she had to define the dream. She had to decide on a pathway, set targets and pursue those targets. In the process, she learnt that setbacks should birth the strategist in her and in her words, “if your dreams are as big as mine are, then be ready to always be afraid.” She further advises “Let that fear drive you closer to God and as you build your faith, you will see that the fear of failure becomes a handy tool on your success journey.” Ever thought of giving up? Well, Yolanda says to tell you “Because the head of the femur needs the acetabulum in the pelvic bone to articulate to form the hip joint; surround yourself with people who will hold you up when you feel like giving up.”
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