BusinessDay 21 Jun 2019

Nigerian foreign missions face scrutiny over poor services, ill-treatment of diaspora OBINNA EMELIKE & IFEOMA OKEKE

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igerian foreign missions are facing scrutiny over poor services rendered to the country’s citizens resident abroad

…experts blame poor funding, lack of staff training, citizens’ unruly behaviour as well as ill-treatment of these diaspora citizens.

These poor services, BusinessDay gathered, include un-

news you can trust I **friDAY 21 june 2019 I vol. 15, no 337 I N300

necessary delay in getting or renewing necessary documents, including passports, leading to inability of Nigerians in dias-

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Foreign Reserve - $45.10bn Cross Rates - GBP-$:1.27 YUANY-N52.23 pora to get visa extension, loss of Commodities man-hour, waste of hard-earned

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Their stories: Kidnap, crime victims tell of horror, tears and blood Police officers connive with kidnappers, victims allege Download e-copy of Women’s Hub from www.businessday.ng

BD Investigative Series CALEB OJEWALE

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he average Nigerian is no longer safe. To make matters worse, BusinessDay investigation through interactions with victims of kidnap suggests some officers of the Continues on page 34

Inside Efforts to save OML-25 may crash as Kula chiefs reject planned Saturday meeting in P. 2 Port Harcourt

P. A1

CULINARY DELIGHTS

L-R: Udo Udoma, former minister of budget and national planning; Emmanuel Ijewere, CEO, Best Food; Wanda Kramer; Kofo Awonuga of ACA; Dick Kramer, celebrant; Okechukwu Enelamah, former minister, industry, trade and investment, his wife Funlola, and Kunle Elebute, national senior partner, KPMG, during a send-off dinner in honour Pic by Olawale Amoo of Dick Kramer organised by ACA, KPMG, and Verraki in Lagos, yesterday.

Watch out: Beginning on Monday, BusinessDay will publish a series of well-researched front-page stories and analyses on the imperative of lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty, the best way to do that following the examples of others that have succeeded like China, India, Indonesia or Brazil, and how President Buhari’s good intentions alone will not be enough to lift 100 million people out of poverty.

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news Auto policy bill on President’s table, awaiting assent MIKE OCHONMA

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igeria’s Automotive Industry Development Policy (NAIDP) bill, which has been delayed by intrigues, is now on the table of President Muhammadu Buhari, awaiting his assent, authoritative sources within the corridors of power in Abuja, the nation’s political capital, have hinted.

This piece of good news is coming after a long delay caused by a series of political intrigues and interventions from certain powerful stakeholders who felt threatened that their stronghold on auto trading may be affected if the bill is eventually passed into law.

A very close anonymous industry stakeholder who spoke to BusinessDay regretted that it had been very difficult for the bill to be passed into law during the twilight of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration due to political reasons.

Investigations also revealed that the former president could not sign the bill to give it the much needed legal backing because there were reports that clearing and forwarding agents threatened they would not vote for him in 2015 if he appended his signature on the bill.

In a telephone chat with BusinessDay this week, Aliyu Jelani, director-general of National Automotive Design & Development Council (NADDC) said that, among other imperatives, the objec-

tive of the automotive policy is to restore assembly and develop local content, thus creating employment, acquiring technology and reducing pressure on the country’s foreign reserves.

It would also transform the auto industry and attract foreign direct investments (FDI) in the auto businesses and allied sectors as well as boost automakers’ perception as a huge market hub in the West African region.

Some of the provisions of the bill include developing a sustainable and competitive automotive industry in Nigeria, creating an environment to allow existing assembly plants to survive and attract other original equipment manufacturers, among others.

Meanwhile, Luqman Mamudu, former director of policy & planning, National Automotive Design & Development Council (NADDC), in a chat with our correspondent in Lagos last Thursday appealed to President Buhari to sign the bill into law as doing so would restore investor confidence among the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Recall that, the 8th Senate had in November 2017 passed the NAIDP bill, as part of efforts to transform the automotive industry, following the clause-by-clause consideration of the bill by the lawmakers during plenary in Abuja.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

L-R: Roel van Neerbos, president, FrieslandCampina Consumer Dairy; Ebenezer Onyeagwu, GMD/CEO, Zenith Bank plc; Jacobs M. Ajekigbe, chairman, board of directors, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, and Ben Langat, managing director, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, at a dinner for Board of directors and management team of FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria plc, where the Zenith Bank GMD/CEO was the keynote speaker.

Efforts to save OML-25 may crash as Kula chiefs reject planned Saturday meeting in Port Harcourt IGNATIUS CHUKWU, Port Harcourt

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igeria is said to have lost over N700bn since the shutdown of the Kula oil field near the Atlantic Ocean (Oil Mining Licence 25) in Rivers State more than one year ago, but the host communities have given conditions for resolution of the stand-off.

This is as the leaders of the host communities have rejected a meeting called in Rivers State Government House in Port Harcourt for the dispute

tomorrow, Saturday, June 22, 2019, on the instance of the state governor, Nyesom Wike.

Instead, the monarch and chiefs of the three host communities have insisted that Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) must lead the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to Kula and point out what projects they have done with the $300m alleged to have been spent on Kula since oil exploration started in the community over 30 years ago.

Disagreements over community development ben-

efits had led to the Kula communities demanding that the oilfield be ceded to an indigenous oil company on grounds of total marginalisation. The community people especially women shut down the oil field in early 2018 and it has remained shut, leading to over N700bn loss, according to Igo Weli, spokesperson for SPDC, in May 2019.

Governor Wike, who last week warned that oil facilities must not be shut down in the state anymore, is said to have intervened and summoned a meeting of stakeholders for

Saturday, June 22, in Government House, but this equally seems to brew fresh crisis.

The new turn of crisis may put Nigeria at higher risk of loss of oil revenue.

Sources put the oilfield (OML 25) to yield over 44,000 bpd of crude oil and 103,000 metric cubic feet of gas per day.

Addressing a press conference at the Ernest Ikoli Press Centre on Moscow Road in Port Harcourt, Thursday evening, a spokesman of the Kula community, Fiala Okoye-

Airtel Africa shares to price at N363-N400 range as offer opens Street ‘markets’ thrive on unchanged consumer …trading to begin in Lagos July 4 IHEANYI NWACHUKWU

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he Initial Public Offer (IPO) of Airtel Africa is open. Airtel Africa Limited, a unit of India’s Bharti Airtel Limited, intends to list its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) at the same time as the London Stock Exchange (NSE).

Pursuant to the global offer and the Nigerian offer, the company is offering sufficient offer shares to raise a fixed amount of gross proceeds of approximately $750 million in the offer including any proceeds from the Nigerian offer,

assuming the over-allotment option is exercised in full.

Any decision to invest in the securities should be based on consideration of the prospectus as a whole by the investor.

The offer prospectus seen

by BusinessDay shows the offer price range (per ordinary share) is 80 pence to 100 pence which is equivalent of N363 to N454.

The ordinary shares to be issuedare3.081billionunits,while theestimatednetproceedsofthe offer receivable by the company is $646.818 million.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

behaviour, daily struggle for survival Temitayo Ayetoto

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combination of unchanging shopping habits of Nigerians and a daily struggle to make ends meet in a slowly recovering economy has continued to breathe life into street trading in Lagos, the country’s commercial capital, decades after the birth and expansion of modern retail outlets.

Many Nigerians tend to shop on short notice, kind of buy-as-you-go attitude.

Hence, they are accustomed to dashing into makeshift stalls within their neighbourhoods to buy from bread to milk, detergent and soft drinks.

While shopping, they can choose from a sea of commodities available in shops that extend from purposebuilt stores all the way into the street such that cars and pedestrians have to wrestle for space along a narrow way and manage not to knock over tray of pepper, raw meat or fish.

Always hunting for a bar-

gain, people looking to buy soup ingredients, for instance, want to haggle for the best price within a short span of time.

Street sellers understand this demand for haste and desperately want to attract the highest share of patronage. To ensure this, they make sure their wares are displayed to the full glare of every roving eye.

Purpose-built shops are not in short supply, though.

More are even being developed as homeowners in areas such as Balogun, a popular

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shopping area, convert their block of flats into stores. The Lagos State government, for instance, has remodelled stalls in Oshodi, Ikeja, Tejuoso and Oyingbo. Still, visibility and proximity, which being on the street offers, beat being in a four-storey building.

“When I rented this facility in 2016, it was about N7,500 monthly. We paid for security and cleaning. But last August, it was reduced to N3,500, in response to people’s complaints about affordability.

Apart from the fact that it is expensive, people are always in a hurry in Lagos and want to buy their things quickly,” said Emmanuel, a wholesale stockfish supplier at the rebuilt Oyingbo Market, who spoke on the condition that only his first name will be mentioned.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

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Nigeria shea dealers commit $30m to build processing plants …move to tap into $3.4 bn global market Harrison Edeh, Abuja

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n a new drive aimed at agricultural commodity beneficiation and value addition, agro dealers in the Nigerian shea industry are now engaged in the process of building a number of shea processing factories, with a financial commitment estimated at around $30 million.

This move is part of the efforts by the shea holders to tap into $3.4bn global market share of shea butter industry.

Roland Oroh, who is the director of Nigeria Agribusiness Register, stated this Thursday in Abuja during his organization’s monthly Agribusiness Networking (AgNet) conference.

The event was attended by delegates from within and outside the country, including the wife of the governor of Niger State, Amina Bello, and Aaron Audu, the Managing Director of Global Shea Alliance.

AgNet is an investment facilitation platform of Commodity Development Initiative (CDI), a social enterprise support

non-governmental organisation that also owns the Nigeria Agribusiness Register, which is CDI’s online repository of business intelligence across agro commodities and value chains.

According to Oroh, “Nigerians are responding to setting up local modern processing plants with about five to eight plants in the pipeline, estimated cumulatively at $20- 30 million. These should materialise over the next two to three years.”

The Nigerian government has developed a National Shea Strategy Roadmap which is meant to be implemented with the participation of rural farmers, financial institutions, industrial processors, and exporters, among others.

This is also being supported by work from the Raw Materials Research and Development Council and NASPAN, even as a National Shea Policy is currently being developed by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), with a stakeholders’ meeting held recently by the ministry.

Shea has been nominated as Focal Commodity for rapid development and financing under the Government of Nigeria’s Export Facilitation Initiative and the Bankers Committee of the Central BANK of Nigeria (CBN) has approved N200 billion, or $500 million, for single digit interest lending to shea, cocoa, cashew and oil palm.

The Nigerian shea sector is also currently attracting international shea actors, with a few setting up local sourcing infrastructure, and about one to two of them setting up local processing plants.

The private sector is organising itself to respond to all of these opportunities and challenges, even as NASPAN is revitalising the sector with support from the Global Shea Alliance.

In his presentation titled “A Snap Shot of the Nigeria Shea Industry, Oroh assured that “in the next 12 months, you will be seeing a revived local shea association providing support to members and the industry.

$16.4m prize money up for grabs as AFCON 2019 begins ... 64% increase from previous edition …tournament to revive Egyptian tourism economy Anthony Nlebem

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hebiggestfootballshowpiecein the continent, the Africa Cup of Nations(AFCON)2019kicksoff in Egypt today, June 21, which will see a record 24 participating teams jostle for the trophy.

The biggest boost for this tournament is the increase in prize money for the participating teams.

The prize money for AFCON 2019 totals $16.4 million, a 64 percent increase from previous AFCON; the winner gets $4 million, while runners uptakehome$2million,semi-finalists get $1.5 million, eight teams from the quarter-finalistsalsoget$800,000each, third in group picks $575,000 each and last team in each group take $475,000.

Theprizemoneyincreaseisboosted by sponsorship deal CAF signed with French oil company Total.

The biggest talking point is the numbers of tourist and football fans that will troop in to catch the live actions of their darling teams.

“TheAfricaCupofNationsChampionship (AFCON) is likely to attract more than 50,000 tourists to Egypt in June 2019,” Sports and Youth Minister Ashraf Sobhy affirmed during the higher meeting of the organization of the Africa Cup of Nations 2019.

Believed to be followed by almost 2.1 billion people all over the world, Sobhy referred to the championship’s foremosteminenceeconomicallyand sportively. Still, Sobhy asserted the big event’s key role in reviving Egyptian tourism.

TheEgyptiangovernmentbattling to curb ticket racketing through the use of electronic ticketing systems will help keep fans safe and prevent crowd trouble as security tightens.

Tickets have only been available for sale online and the buyer has to

enter their national ID or passport number, a system that allows authorities to vet and track fans, as well as limiting black-market sales.

“The fan ID and the online ticketing are security measures,” Fadl said.

“It is to avoid the black market, to build a new system for Egyptians, to push the fans to return to the stadium.”

The Nations Cup, expanded to 24 teams for the first time, will be played in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and Ismailia.

Dozens of police officers and armoured vehicles were deployed around Cairo stadium this week,

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with strict security checks for people trying to enter.

Egypt slid into political turmoil after a 2011 uprising, and security forces have been battling an Islamist insurgency focused in the north of the Sinai Peninsula.

In recent months there have been several security incidents including tworoadsideblaststargetingtouristsin Giza,acrosstheNilefromcentralCairo, but the country has not suffered largescale attacks since late 2017.

Security in general is tight, following a far-reaching crackdown on politicaldissentunderPresidentAbdel Fattah al-Sisi.

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Naija must go!

THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS

Obadiah Mailafia

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igeria and Ghana are two rather presumptuous cousins. When the two national sides meet at a football match, it always feels like the battle of Armageddon.

But when either team faces another, one tends to rally in support of the other. Nigerian music is all the rage in Ghana, as is Nollywood and its gaggle of characters.

The young taxi driver that drove me around during a recent visit to Accra always addressed me as “Igwe” or “Chief ” to my eternal irritation.

After a week of driving us round Accra, he handed me a bill of US$700.

When I raised eyebrows, he expressed surprise. He said most of the Nigerian “Igwes” that were his clients -- governors, senators and the likes -- would not even question it. I beat it down to US$500.

I went to Ghana in company of my better half Mrs Margaret Mailafia. On the return journey I was ahead of her at the immigration queue at Kotoka International Airport. I passed without incidence. When it was her turn, they asked her to empty everything from her lady’s bag. She obeyed. When she emerged at the other end to recoup her belongings, an envelope with some dollars in it could not be found.

When she went to complain, all hell broke loose. They immigration officials descended on her, calling her a liar and a “Nigerian 419”. The bedlam was intolerable. The poor woman was reduced to tears.

Their boss sauntered into the affray with the hauteur of Ceaser looking down upon the vulgar crowd. She demanded to know what the kerfuffle was all about. We explained that after recouping the contents of her bag at the checkpoint, an envelope containing some money disappeared. Madam Ceaser frowned with disbelief. I calmly warned that if the envelope could not be found we would be left with no option than to call our friends in the Presidency. We were prepared to miss our flight if needs be, just to defend a principle. I explained that my wife is a highly qualified systems analyst and an evangelist to boot; therefore calling her a “419” was unacceptable.

A balloon had seemingly been deflated! A plaintive voice from the background suddenly announced that they had just seen a white envelope lying on the floor. Could that, by any chance, be ours? It sure was! It was handed back to my wife with a profusion of apologies. My wife just wanted us to leave. I insisted she counted the money in full view of everyone. The amount was intact.

As far as I know, no Nigerian immigration official would ever attempt to defraud innocent travellers in such a cheap and stupid way. Most would rather beg for a dime or two. Ghanaians are fond of referring to all Nigerians as “corrupt”, when in truth, there is no Nigerian to beat the record of the Ghanaian currency trader Kweku Adoboli who defrauded Swiss investment bankers UBS of more than US$2 billion in London.

The relations between our peoples go back to antiquity. The Ga of Greater Accra and the Ewe of the Volta Region, historians tell us, are branches of the ancient Bini people of Nigeria.

The intellectual odyssey of Nnamdi Azikiwe in America served as a great inspiration to many Ghanaians of that generation, notably Kwame Nkrumah.

When Nkrumah decided to go to the United States he spent months in Lagos with his cousin. It was from Lagos that he finally set sail for the United

States. He also attended the same Lincoln College that Zik had earlier attended. When Azikiwe returned from academic sojourn he first settled in Ghana where built up a thriving newspaper business.

When Nkrumah himself returned from America, he first came to London, intending to study law. He had no where to stay and was accommodated by a young Nigerian law student by the name of Udo Udoma, who was later to become one of the brightest stars in the galaxy of Nigerian jurists.

Nkrumah and Chief Obafemi Awolowo were the best of friends. When the former first visited Nigeria in 1961 he stayed at the latter’s home in Ibadan.

Our rivalries date back to the sixties, when Kwame Nkrumah championed the radical “Casablanca Group” in the defunct O.A.U. while Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa led the more conservative “Monrovia Group. When Balewa was assassinated in a military coup in January 1966, Nkrumah callously declared that he died of “forces he did not understand”.

As nemesis would have it, he himself was overthrown in a CIA-orchestrated coup in the following month, presumably by forces that he understood!

Ghana has always positioned herself as the pace-setter. Big Brother is mentioned, often as an object of derision. During the late sixties Prime Minister Kofi Busia expelled thousands of Nigerians, confiscating their businesses and properties. In the 1980s Shehu Shagari reciprocated the gesture.

“Ghana Must Go” became a metaphor for our love-hate relationship.

Nigeria’s nouveaux riche have massively invested in Accra. In fact, Ghanaians blame them for the skyrocketing prices of properties in their national capital. Today, Ghanaian authorities are humiliating Nigerian traders and closing down their businesses in Accra, Kumasi, Cape Coast and other cities. They have imposed all sorts of extortionate charges on them, contrary to the letter and spirit of ECOWAS. Thousands of our stu-

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During the late sixties Prime Minister Kofi Busia expelled thousands of Nigerians, confiscating their businesses and properties.

In the 1980s Shehu Shagari reciprocated the gesture.

“Ghana Must Go” became a metaphor for our love-hate relationship

dents are registered in Ghanaian universities, paying exorbitant fees that keep the Ghanaian education sector going. Most of those I have spoken to complain of one form of persecution or the other. It is, of course, worse in neighbouring Benin and Togo.

I remember several years ago when we decided to drive from Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, to Lagos through Ghana, Togo and Benin Republic. Our worst nightmares were at the Ghanaian borders.

At the western end we were detained for more than 10 hours. At the Aflao border at the eastern flank we were kept overnight. The cruelty of the border guards when they realised we were Nigerians was unbelievable.

There have been lots of intermarriages. The first wife of late UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was Titi Alakija of the famous Alakija family of Lagos. They were later divorced. There are prominent Ghanaians who bear Yoruba names and whose parentage are Nigerian in origin. One of our great heroines is the late Ameyo Stella Adadevoh, the medical doctor who literally gave her life to prevent the Ebola pandemic from being spread in our country by an evil foreign agent.

She was the daughter of the Ghanaian medical scientist Kweku Adadevoh who became the highly respected ViceChancellor of the University of Lagos.

Despite the Shagari episode, we Nigerians have always viewed Ghanaians as our brothers. In times of difficulty we have always stood by them. We have given aid in cash and kind. We have even quietly bankrolled a succession of Ghanaian leaders without demanding anything in return. How I wish the love is mutual!

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)

What it will take to make West Africa a gold market

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igeria has a thriving underground gold economy that if regulated, could unlock her as the gold market centre of Africa. Nigeria has one of the largest economies, the largest population in Africa, and is a top contender for the largest emerging market for luxury goods in Africa, despite the mostly informal structure of the gold market.

The lustre and luxury items visualized at the mention of gold are part of a long value chain that Nigeria does not participate in. Maru gold (gold from Maru Zamfara) is identified on sight by gold merchants in the gold souks of Dubai.

Mumbai, Valenza and Arezzo Gold districts feel the groan of the Nigerian Foreign currency crunch when their Nigerian customers spend less. Cotonou smuggling paths continue to thrive and create an undocumented supply of gold to Dubai & Asia.

The emergence of the Nigerian gold purchase scheme; the Central Bank of Nigeria buying gold for its reserves and the development plans for an internationally certified gold refinery in Nigeria creates an opportunity for an intervention in a critical sector that will promote economic growth and reduce unemployment. Harnessing the gold sector will boost the GDP of Nigeria and promote non-oil exports.

To sustain this development, Nigeria will need to reconsider its view on gold - the issues

and ownership of gold as a commodity mined, recycled, and imported as a financial instrument, scientific product and as a potential instrument for economic warfare make it a matter of national security and importance.

Developing the gold value chain will drive innovation, stimulate the economy, and generate income for government coffers. Nigeria can become a gold economy irrespective of whether it mines gold or not. India, UAE, Singapore, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey and London are renowned world gold markets without the classification of gold mining countries.

While world gold mine production has been declining, West African gold production has been growing. In 2011, West Africa became the hub of African gold mining when the total production of gold from West Africa overtook South Africa’s gold production. Out of the 15 ECOWAS countries, Cape Verde, Benin and Togo are the only countries without notable gold reserves. However, Benin and Togo are notable for gold trade.

All other ECOWAS countries have either significant documented gold reserves, internationally listed gold mining companies or significant footprint of artisanal gold mining. The recently released World Bank 2018 figures now have Ghana as the leading producer of gold in Africa.

West Africa is becoming synonymous for gold.

At a June 2019 stakeholders’ session in Lagos

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between the private sector and the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, Aliko Dangote iterated that activities of smuggling from the Benin Republic route is killing manufacturing in Nigeria and that it would be difficult for a country to survive with Benin Republic as a neighbour. A recent World Bank report on smuggling showed that about N1.45 trillion worth of goods is smuggled into Nigeria annually through Benin Republic. With Benin and Togo having 0% royalty on gold, neighbouring countries will find it almost impossible to prevent major royalty revenue leakages and counteract gold smuggling.

Dangote’s warning coupled with Ghana’s new status echoes the major premise for the solution towards the development of the gold value chain in West Africa - issues of different trade and monetary policies across the ECOWAS region must consistently support the development of the gold sector.

A Reuters investigative feature on April 24th 2019, titled ‘Gold worth billions smuggled out of Africa’ revealed that most of the gold traded out was not recorded in the exports of African states. Backed with confirmation from several trade economists that large amounts of gold are leaving Africa with no taxes being paid to the states that produce them, evidence points to this being a higher concern in countries and areas with large artisanal mining. Although artisanal

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Nere Teriba mining organization and formalization is part of the process needed towards regulating and developing the gold economy of the region, fiscal trade and monetary policy harmonization are vital for the development of a gold market in West Africa.

Ghana who has become Africa’s biggest gold producer, shares borders with Togo, one of the top gold exporting countries of Africa with abysmal records of production. Nigeria, one of Africa’s biggest economies still has not signed the Africa Free Trade Agreement but is working on a National gold development plan. These are some of the issues that will be addressed at the Eko Hotel in Lagos on June 25th and 26th at the Gold West Africa Conference (the first policy round table discussion for ECOWAS countries).

With confirmed delegates from globally reputed companies in mining and gold trading, several multi-lateral development organizations and at least 10 ECOWAS countries - including stakeholders in public and private sector- we are certain that a synergy towards sustainable gold development will be built.

Teriba is Managing Director of Kian Smith, licensee of Nigeria’s first Gold Refinery.

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The continuous return of Yinka Davies Tales from the main road

Eugenia Abu

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had invited the multi- talented singer, actress and judge of the Nigerian Idol to come to Abuja and lend her support to the newly rolled out creative entrepreneurship workshop in Abuja titled The Creative Feast. She had accepted to come and we at The Eugenia Abu Media centre are excited at what this portends for participants of this unique workshop. Never one to be side-lined in generosity, Yinka invited me and my spouse to watch the much celebrated Legends, a stage musical where she played Sango’s wife, Oya along with some of the finest to include the phenomenal singer, Waje.

Yinka’s role, although not a lead, was delivered in the true stage craft for which she is sought after all over the world. Presence, candour, craftsmanship, professionalism and fire. Ahead of the performance, she was in her usual way, pernickety about everyone’s comfort as the 7pm start time was shifted forward by 30 minutes. Courteous, exuberant, playful and warm, she greeted everyone who had come to see the performance and thanked us all for coming. The performance which was a thrill for all who came saw Yinka Davies larger than life, filling the stage with

her voice and her personae. In these stressful times, everyone must go out and watch Legends when it comes to a location near you. Theatre, film, stage, small screen, music and dance have always been cathartic for anyone who understands the power of creativity and no one has embraced her many dimensional roles in this field more than the amazing Yinka Davies. Petite and unassuming, the royal Ms Yinka Davies never really leaves one’s consciousness as the multiply endowed total artiste.

Thespian of stage and screen, singer, sculptor, dancer, choreographer and Judge of the reality show, the Nigerian Idol, Yinka more than qualifies as an expertise in talent spotting and is sought after in the many artistic fields she has conquered.

How does she do it, supercharged for all times, consistent and focused?

It is, I believe, in the discipline of all her artistic gifts and her readiness to learn from the masters. It is against this background that The Eugenia Abu Media centre has invited her to Abuja to lead facilitate the creative workshop where this month’s theme would be “Managing your multiple talents” Ms Davies will also teach how to find funding for your dreams and self-motivation. Her bounce back from an accident that nearly crippled her career many years ago is a testimony to her resilience. She returned from that accident, bigger and better and re-invented herself as if to say, no matter how bad it gets, you must always find a window to fly.

When Yinka tells her story, it is expected that young persons will have a lot to learn from the woman who won the voice of the decade award in

2007. Her team spirit shines through when you see her list of collaborative efforts, writing songs for other stars and doing back-ups for many others before she belted her way to her critically acclaimed album Black Chiffon.

I have known Yinka for years and I have always been intrigued by her. In that famous smile, she packs a punch and continuously builds the resilience of only those who are truly blessed.

In one person lies such an array of talents, all well-heeled, all amazingly efficient. How come she is not arrogant, rude or spoilt like some of our latter day stars whose only claim to fame is how many scandals they are involved in or how much attention they seek in spite of the fact that they are not so accomplished in their craft. These neophytes hugging the limelight live only for the lights while the lovely Ms Davies in an interview with a national newspaper describes her craft in such words that make us all want to be like her. Add that to her kindness when asked about the lack of meaningful lyrics found in new music.

Yinka never fails to amaze with her modesty and her equanimity. There is room she says for everyone no matter the genre of music and everyone brings something to the table.

We have searched long and wide for who is better suited to address the June edition of this intervention to teach young persons delayed gratification, how to hone one’s skill in creative entrepreneurship as well as the essence of hard work and Ms Davies simply fits the bill.

Two months ago, the award winning actor and TV presenter, Segun Arinze was Lead Facilitator at the

‘

It has become quite clear to many observers that some talented people believe talent is synonymous with waywardness and a complete lack of discipline

Creative Feast and it was a blast.

Abuja braces up for Yinka Davies on the 27th of June 2019 and she would definitely deliver,” my story, my journey”, with aplomb. I would be on hand to deal with issues of creative entrepreneurship and legacy and multiple streams of income.

It has become quite clear to many observers that some talented people believe talent is synonymous with waywardness and a complete lack of discipline. In addition to all of this, it has also been observed that many young people today are very much in a flux with anxiety, stress related depression, clinical depression and what is popularly described as “internal funk” which to the initiated means “confused and slightly off-focus.”

A major distraction is social media where all is not really what it seems.

In attempting to be someone else, it is easy to lose one’s self. Ms Yinka Davies’s authentic personality would help zero in on this aspect of creativity’s Achilles heel while I would deliver a talk on “Managing your social media footprints.” As a caregiver and guidance counsellor, I will also be offering as a bonus, 30 minutes counselling sessions to participants to run for two weeks after the master class.

Ms Davies’s towering presence would certainly set Abuja abuzz. Indeed, her story is one that must be told to inspire, motivate and awake and we are all the better for it. We at the centre wait with baited breath.

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

Driving team performance through motivation

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ave yourself the stress and face reality, most people are non-proactive and average, requiring more motivation to grow things and to grow themselves. But motivations in their very nature don’t last forever like diamonds and idiots do. So when you motivate an idiot, you’ll simply have a temporarily motivated idiot. In other words, motivation is like hard drugs, it only gives a temporary high. Motivation is a temporary solution to a permanent problem. That’s why we recommend it daily’.

Chance are that the staff and people you think are lazy are really not, they simply just have goals that doesn’t motivate them enough. This concept is the heart of all classic motivational theories of business school, from Frederick Taylor’s Theory x and Theory Y right down to Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. .

I had a research at Hexavia a few months ago as regards the best motivations for a team to drive performance. We used the Delphi technique to collate ideas into variables. And out of over 10 variables; this were the best 4 in no particular order.

1. Training the Staff 2. Giving them more difficult tasks 3. Having performance reviews to let them know how well they are doing 4. Increasing salaries and other rewards.

Now, beyond this, my question would be, in the right ascending order, what is the best motivation for a team?

Let’s explore the options and probe deeper; that is pros and cons of different techniques for building a winning team A) Is Training The Most Effective Approach to Having a Winning Team?

Aptly speaking, if you don’t train them, then don’t blame them. But the training has to be immersive and engaging. Most trainings has the

facilitator posing like a sage on a stage, whereas he should be a guide by the side. This is a more effective way of training staff. Else, they could attend trainings just for the sake of it (I know staff who are guilty of that; you ask them “why are you here”, and in all honesty, they say because management wants them to be here. In other words they really don’t want to be here). The second option would be (B). Giving Them More Difficult Tasks. The truth is that difficult tasks helps them learn. It would expand their knowledge quicker than trainings. But you’ve got to be there to give them pointers and be ready to allow errors and mistakes that can cost you. You can also explore Performance Reviews(C) but really how effective is Performance Reviews?

(C) Performance review can help you track progress. But isn’t that dependent on the metrics set? And also if it is relevant to the job roles and a huge challenge with this is usually data integrity.

Sometimes it ends up as all about the numbers but does it really grow the people? How About (D) Rewards like Increase in Salary and Other Extrinsic Motivation. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Frederick’s Theory X and Theory Y show us how this it is the most temporal. Whatever you used to get them is what you’d use to keep them.

So motivation works as a temporary solution to what may just be a permanent problem. Increase in salary can work until your motivations and rewards become ineffective and the staff becomes a “big shot”. Haven’t you noticed The Parkinson’s Law at play- how expenses always rise to meet new income and rewards? And then they begin to seek for more.

Now let’s explore what happens when you combine all 4. In a recent research by Jobberman on the top 100 firms to work for in Nigeria, Andela was found to be number 1. They are known to use a combination of all four approaches. Let’s

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practically explore how.

In the first few months of getting into Andela, you are trained extensively. The investment is huge and you are basically given stipends. During this time, there is no client engagement as you want to be sure you are up to par. This is a crucial stage in being a part of the company. If you don’t meet their expectation, you might be sent away.

And then comes client engagement.

While all the training was good, client engagement is the real deal. Where you get to apply all your learnings. This is where you focus on what your client wants. You develop more skills based on client requirements and have to hone your abilities to client’s expectations. It stretches them more than ever. They aren’t assessed based on being at work but based on the quality of work done. They also engage in constant appraisal.

As regards constant appraisals, it is done on a frequent basis. About 800 hours or so. The employee triggers it when he feels he/she is ready.

Reviews are given objectively based on what the person feels needs to be improved. They also use extrinsic motivations like pay and rewards.

In terms of extrinsic motivation and reward, free meals, fruits and free snacks are just a few of what is given to them. Flexible working environment as well as nap lounges, gyms and recreation areas in the office are also added. With constant appraisals, within 6months-one year comes significant pay increase. All these combine to make Andela a great place to work.

For someone I know who works at Andela, there is this joy I see when he solves a problem.

The extent to which he goes to solve a problem for a client, how it stretches him and grows him.

No one can take it away from him.

Every organization needs to know its triggers for motivation and demotivation. The two-factor theory (also known as Herzberg’s Motivation-

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EIZU UWAOMA Hygiene Theory) illustrates this. It states that there are certain factors in the workplace that cause job satisfaction while a separate set of factors cause dissatisfaction, all of which act independently of each other. It was developed by psychologist Frederick Herzberg. Motivators would always include challenging work, recognition for one’s achievement, responsibility, opportunity to do something meaningful, involvement in decision making, sense of importance to an organization) that give positive satisfaction, arising from intrinsic conditions of the job itself, such as recognition, achievement, or personal growth.

Demotivation otherwise called hygiene factors would always include things like low status, no job security, low salary, no fringe benefits, bad work conditions, no good pay, no paid insurance, and no vacations. That is, these are things that do not give positive satisfaction or lead to higher motivation, though dissatisfaction results from their absence. The term “hygiene” is used in the sense that these are maintenance factors.

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

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

Buratai and the tale of bad tools of workmen

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he Nigerian Army continues to add discordant tunes and confusing subplots to the narrative of its war on the many conflicts insulting the country, with Boko Haram insurgency at the apex. After repeatedly claiming victory over Boko Haram, the Chief of Army Staff General Tukur Buratai on Tuesday 18 June blamed soldiers under his command at the frontlines for the failure to contain Boko Haram.

His blame followed the loss of at least four military bases in Borno State, two lieutenant colonels and no fewer than 50 soldiers to the enemy over the last fortnight. The stations were in Mobbar, Damasak, Monguno and Gajiram. Boko Haram forces also carried away ammunition from those bases and set fire to some.

Many lessons in management and leadership pop up in the statement of the Army Chief made ironically at the opening of a “Transformational Leadership Workshop” organised by the Department of Transformation and Innovation of the Army Headquarters

and held at the Army Resource Centre in Asokoro, Abuja.

Buratai accused his front men of insufficient commitment and unwillingness of taking the battle to Boko Haram. He stated, “It is unfortunate, but the truth is that almost every setback the Nigerian Army has had in our operations in recent times can be traced to insufficient willingness to perform assigned tasks or simply insufficient commitment to a common national/ military course by those at the frontlines.

“Many of those on whom the responsibility for physical actions against the adversary squarely falls are yet to fully take ownership of our common national or service cause.”

First off, Buratai’s statement is a self-indictment and admission of failure of the team that he leads. He should do the honourable thing for leading a failing institution. Secondly, it is strange to hear a leader shift blame to his men rather than accept responsibility for their successes and failures. Here is the same Buratai who only last month commissioned and launched a book, The Legend of Buratai, extolling his leader-

ship of the Army and supposed conquest of this same Boko Haram.

General Buratai creates a dichotomy between the Army and its foot soldiers. Such a distinction is strange. The aphorism is that bad workers blame their tools, including, of course, the men that they lead. The best leaders take the blame.

War and the military have been with humankind from time. Many concepts and best practice examples draw from the military in strategy, discipline, team formation and management, team motivation and morale and other areas. Nowhere do we find leaders distancing themselves from the travails of their team.

Willingness to take personal responsibility, especially during tough times is critical to winning the trust of team members.

Leaders lead in endurance, stamina, emotional and social intelligence. They covet and earn the trust of their followers. Captains do not abandon ship but stay lashed to the mast.

Leaders contain the anxiety of their team.

In the tenth year of the Boko Haram insurgency, much anxi-

ety attends the efforts of the fighting forces of the Nigerian Army. They suffer from inadequate equipment, delayed allowances and low morale. Even high-ranking officers such as Brig General Enitan RansomeKuti, have been court martialed for speaking up to demand better facilities and treatment of the fighting men.

The Nigerian people support the Nigerian Army and the fight against the enemy. Representatives of the people in the Senate and the House of Representatives expressed this support by appropriating extra funds up to US$1m to equip the forces better for the war. Even so, soldiers complain of the lack of basics to enable them to give of their best in the war.

Buratai should first ensure the Army does right by its men by providing needed equipment and services in ammunition and welfare. The fighting forces need a leader with the emotional and social intelligence not to diss his men with blanket condemnations but one that would motivate them to give of their best.

Heal the wounds and get our men to deliver on the mandate.

Now!

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

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

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Sudan and the vanishing dream of ‘democracy’ HumanAngle

Femi olugbile

F

or several weeks now, Sudan has been in the news.

At the beginning, the talk was that the demonstrations in Khartoum and other cities were about the rising cost of bread and fuel. The international news media daily carried reports of crowds camping out in the streets, insisting that their President, Omar Al-Bashir, must go. Many in the crowd, it was usually noted from the television footage, were women, their heads modestly clad in Islamic head-wear.

Al-Bashir was a man who had long had an international reputation for infamy. He came to power as a Brigadier in a military coup in 1989, when he deposed the sitting government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi. He placed himself at the head of a ‘Transitional’ Military Government.

Al-Bashir would go on to stay in the saddle of political power for all of three decades, becoming one of the longest serving leaders in the African and Arab worlds. He would win three Presidential elections. He would rule Sudan with an iron grip.

His alliance with the late radical Islamist Hassan Al Turabi led him to introduce Sharia law in the country.

He had a long-running romance with notable international terrorists.

This relationship would, along the way, acquire for Sudan a designation

from the United States government as a ‘State Sponsor of Terrorism’. At various times his government would harbour Osama bin Laden and Carlos the Jackal, the legendary French terrorist. There was a suspicion that the country was being used not only as a haven for jihadists but also as a repository for ‘weapons of mass destruction’. This led President Bill Clinton at a time to launch cruise missiles at a Khartoum location that later turned out to be a factory owned by the Al-Shifa Pharmaceutical company.

With his own people, Al-Bashir was relentlessly ruthless. Sudan was embroiled in long-running armed conflicts with secessionist rebels in the Darfur region, as well as in the oil-rich South of the country. Sudanese troops and paramilitary forces terrorized the ‘rebel’ areas. They unleashed mayhem, carrying out widespread massacres, murder and rapine. Despite official government denials, verifiable evidence of these atrocities reached international attention. In 2009, Omar Al-Bashir became the first sitting President to be indicted by the International Criminal Court. He was charged with direct responsibility for mass killing, rape and plunder against civilians in Darfur. The Court declared him a ‘war criminal’ and directed that he should be arrested anywhere he set his foot internationally.

The directive to arrest the President of an African country created a furor that was troubling at different levels. Many leaders who secretly despised Al-Bashir for his behavior pronounced themselves outraged, seeing it as an insult to the African continent. Long after Al-Bashir was meant to have been arrested and conveyed to The Hague to face trial,the President was able to travel

widely, attending events in Saudi Arabia, China, Kenya, South Africa, and even Nigeria.

Many who watched the recent Khartoum street demonstrations, led by the unusual sight of women, must have thought initially that, between the familiar Al-Bashir cocktail of brutal Police and ‘take-no-prisoners’ Rapid Security Force (RSF), the hapless women would quickly be driven off the streets. Al Bashir even declared a State of Emergency and restricted the internet.

Unexpectedly, after several weeks of stalemate, the President was overthrown in a military coup.

There was widespread celebration in the country. The soldiers were hailed as liberators.

It looked as if ‘democracy’ was just around the corner.

Just to be sure, the women stayed on the streets, insisting that the Army had to hand over to a civilian government.

Negotiations went back and forth.

The celebration proved premature.

A few days ago, the ‘Interim Government’ bared its fangs. The RSF was unleashed on the crowd gathered in front of the military headquarters, and elsewhere, in all its brutality. A hundred – probably more, demonstrators were shot dead.

The streets of Khartoum have been cleared of demonstrators as we speak. ‘Law and Order’ has been restored in the Sudan. Demonstrators, many with gunshot injuries, are licking their wounds.

The Sudanese crisis is like a depressing replay of the Arab Spring in Egypt. A dictator is dislodged by popular protest. There is jubilation.

The dictator is replaced by an even harsher dictator. The scenario of Hosni Mubarak, and the advent of

‘

The Sudanese crisis is like a depressing replay of the Arab Spring in Egypt. A dictator is dislodged by popular protest. There is jubilation.

The dictator is replaced by an even harsher dictator

Abdel Fattahel-Sisi, all over again.

But why?

It is necessary to know Sudan’s past to understand its present predicament. The country is the meeting point and battle line of the clash of cultures and civilizations between Black Africa and the Arab world.

It is a repository of a rich Nubia civilization going back thousands of years to pre-Islamic times that is regularly denied, because of what it says about Black Civilization. Today it lies geographically in the middle of a raging power struggle in the Middle East, involving the coalition led by Mohamed bin Salman, the Saudi prince, against the Iranians and their supporters and proxies.

Intertwined is the existential struggle of the endangered monarchies to eliminate ‘political Islam’ before it eliminates them.

There is a real fear that if ‘Democracy’ is allowed to happen in Sudan, the ruling party, strongly influenced by religious radicals, in the mould of Mohammed Morsi of Egypt, whose sad death occurred recently, will win the elections. For some people, that cannot be allowed to happen.

It appears the plug is being pulled on ‘Democracy’. This is probably responsible for the volte-face of the Army, one day embracing the women on the streets, the next day shooting them down. The leader of the ‘Interim Government’ in Khartoum is said to have received generous financial aid from MBS and the Arab Emirates.

Have the Sudanese merely jumped ‘from the frying pan into the fire’, in their eagerness to live in a free, democratic society?

The next few days will tell.

Femi Olugbile is a Writer and Psychiatrist. Comments to synthesiz@ gmail.com’

The place of local data hosting centres in driving national security and economic growth

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ecent stakeholder discourse in the Nigerian Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector have called into question the effectiveness and security of local data hosting in the nation. However, the proliferation of services provided by state of the art local data centres in Nigeria over the last 5 years have been widely adopted by key industry verticals including FSI and Public sector while being lauded as reliable and highly secure in addition to enabling operating cost reductions.

In Nigeria’s current eco-system, though data hosting has improved significantly in the last 5years, a sizeable number of the country’s data is currently being hosted abroad. This is clearly a cause of concern as it encourages forex outflow from already strained reserves and poses potential security issues, as data hosted offshore remains subject to the laws of the country in which it is stored. Localising data hosting is critical for security, and safety because it ensures that company and government information is domiciled in country rather than leaving sensitive data within the purview of foreign organisations and governments.

In recent years, Nigerian businesses have benefitted from the rise of locally based

state of the art Tier III data centres such as MainOne-MDXi, Rackcenter, and MTN. These colocation facilities provide enterprise-grade multi-level security and video surveillance, carrier grade connectivity, precision cooling, safety and fire suppression systems. A crucial benefit of these colocation data centres, especially for government agencies and multi-branch organisations is the ability to enable disaster recovery and business continuity seamlessly. This is as a result of multiple redundancies built into the power, cooling and security infrastructure of these data centres which ensure operations remain uninterrupted even in the midst of unplanned outages. In a country where uninterrupted power supply is a luxury, and businesses are susceptible to diverse power related failures, system down times and a myriad of other interruptions, local data centre support means they do not have to break the bank to access the high availability required for operations in today’s digital economy.

Just as Nigerians are required to keep foreign reserves and currencies within the shores of the country in order to ensure growth of local banks and ecosystems as opposed to currency manipulations when large currencies are kept offshore, so will www.businessday.ng

the country and the local ecosystem benefit from localisation of data. This is because, it means secure banks and government data are kept by Nigerians and manipulation or foreign interferences is at a minimum.

It is important to note that, ICT has a substantial impact on both GDP and employment across Sub-Saharan Africa and throughout Nigeria. According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics 2018, The ICT Sector’s 12.4% contribution to the National GDP reflects a 9.5% growth rate from the previous year, demonstrating substantial growth despite broader economic slowdown. The sector which includes the growth of local data centres and hosting sites, created an estimated 2.5 million jobs over a 10-year period from 2004 – 2014. It is critical for this GDP growth and job creation to be reflected within Nigeria and not generated by Nigerians for foreign Governments via outsourcing of data to offshore data centres.

According to the World Bank report in 2018, “Billions of people are connected by mobile devices, with unprecedented processing power, storage capacity, and access to knowledge, foreshadowing stunning possibilities.”This underscores the amount of data being consumed worldwide by the masses at any given time, alluding to poten-

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Toyosi Lana tial latency problems. Most especially when the data is being affected by geographic limitations in the form of high latency. Nigerian businesses embracing local data centres now have access to significant improvements in latency in the sub 20millisecond range as opposed to the 100+millisecond range in previous years. This translates to better customer experiences for end users and ensures that the limitations previously experienced on latency sensitive applications are significantly reduced or eliminated.

At the end of the day, it is imperative that businesses, government departments and agencies should be encouraged to take advantage of the robust, world class, state of the art data hosting infrastructure which already exists in Nigeria. This would enable local businesses and government participate in the various benefits alluded to in the foregoing, as well as encourage the growth of the local data centre environment and associated ICT ecosystem.

Toyosi Lana, a telecom expert, writes from Lagos.

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Societe Generale’s P2P feature points way to future of ATM in Africa Stories by FRANK ELEANYA

F

rench multinational investment bank, Societe General (SocGen) plans to launch peer-topeer (P2P) money transfers to replace automated teller machines (ATMs) in several African countries, according to people close to the matter.

The feature which is targeted at Africans living in regions without ATMs or bank branches is being considered an opportunity to increase financial inclusion.

ATM which marked its golden jubilee (50 years) in 2017 have become a critical part of digital banking and some institutions view the technology as an important part of bank branch reimagination. In Nigeria, ATMs was one of the early innovations deployed by financial institutions to reach regions without bank branches as part of efforts to deepen financial inclusion.

Over the years however, poor network, absence of proper infrastructure and lack of maintenance have undermined the growth of ATM services.

As at 2016, the number of ATMs in Nigeria stood at 17,398. Out of these, nearly 73 per cent are owned by 12 commercial banks. These banks account for a total of 12,621 ATMs in the country. In other words, the value of ATMs per 100,000 adults was 16.73 as of

2016. Three years down the line the problems have not changed much. In 2019, there are still fewer ATMs to 100,000 adults because the networks have remained very poor, infrastructure is yet to improve, and cost of maintenance has increased in the face of economic recession.

“We are reaching peak ATM deployment in Africa be-

cause they are being assailed by two headwinds; cost and mobile,” says Adedeji Olowe, CEO of Trium Networks and trustee of Open Banking Nigeria. “The cost of ATM is not reducing because they are legacy technology that hasn’t witnessed a lot of innovation over the last decade.”

Transactions on ATMs in Nigeria dropped by 4 per

cent for the first ever in the first quarter of 2019 while interbank transfer went up by 67 per cent and Point of Sale (PoS) transactions by 56 per cent over the same period.

The SocGen’s new solution could represent the future of ATMs in countries like Nigeria.

For proper context, in areas where there is no ATM, the P2P feature could direct a cus-

tomer who has cash to meet another customer who want cash. The customer who has cash receives a commission for the transaction.

To protect the interest of the parties, SocGen deducts the cash from the account of the client that wants cash and credits it to the client that is providing the cash.

Olowe, told BusinessDay that the feature which is “extremely disruptive”, “bold and amazing,” has the potential to upturn how banking is done in Africa. By allowing individuals to earn money while releasing the cash they have, SocGen is creating a cottage industry that helps spread digital payments and financial inclusion.

“Why go to the ATM to get cash to pay for something when you can simply transfer the money to the person you want to pay,” Olowe said.

According to people close to the French financial institution, the feature is targeted at people in remote areas where there is no ATM. This demography make up the majority of the population of financially excluded on the continent.

BusinessDay reached out to Societe Generale for more comments on the launch, but is yet to receive a response until time of publishing this article.

Paul Makin, a financial inclusion and digital identity consultant noted that this is not the first time a bank is launching such solution. Companies like PayPal,

Venmo and Square Cash have launched similar solutions in the pasts.

There are however concerns that the feature could expose customers to security risks.

“It’s obviously a concern if you highlight nearby people with cash, but there are things you can do such as making it vague,” Makin said. “Also, if you only make it clear who has the cash once everyone committed to the transaction, wouldn’t a thief only be stealing from himself, at least in part? And making it really clear who had stolen the money?”

A bigger challenge however is that the feature would only work efficiently on the bank’s mobile application, which means the customers require internet data. In Nigeria where internet fluctuation is the order of the day, this poses a problem.

The two customers must also have a SocGen account before this is possible. Customers make request on their app, the apps signals that there is a request. Those with enough cash to meet the request will indicate on the app. The app then connects the receiver and the giver anonymously and sets meeting location.

Although this is to provide extra layer of protection to the customers, it does not however encourage financial inclusion. It means customers have a limited number of people to interact with.

Why emerging markets would adopt Facebook’s Libra, other altcoins faster

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or many investors in cryptocurrencies, this is likely to be the best time to be alive as the market emerges from near obscurity into the limelight following the announcement of Facebook Libra. However, research by global cryptocurrency firm, Luno have noted that emerging markets which includes countries in Europe, Africa and South-East Asia are likely to be the first to adopt the virtual currency and other similar altcoins.

The Facebook Libra was revealed on Monday and

touted as a global cryptocurrency to possibly rival the dominance of bitcoin. It already enjoys the full support from about 29 multinational companies including PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, ebay, Uber, Spotify and many others. In fact, Visa, Uber and Andreessen Horowitz which would also be founding members of the Libra Association have invested at least $10 million each into the project’s operations.

According to the White Paper, Libra which was developed by a Swiss foundation and a consortium led by Facewww.businessday.ng

book and minted on the Libra Blockchain, has a mission as a global currency and financial structure to empower billions of people.

The choice of Libra Blockchain is intended to address a global audience and the software is open source which is designed so that anyone can build on it, and billions of people can depend on it for their financial needs.

“As some of the world’s largest tech giants announce they are launching cryptocurrency coins we believe developing markets will be the lead adopters,” said Mar-

cus Swanepoel, CEO of Luno.

“Our research shows that in these markets people are more financially savvy because they have to be, which means that they need and understand the benefits the new coins can offer.”

A survey of 7000 people across emerging markets, including Nigeria where Luno has a physical presence, found that many respondents believe that almost three times as many respondents from Nigeria and South Africa said a single global currency would make the current financial system better.

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Also the respondents said money is important to them because it helps them secure their families well-being (60 per cent) and pay for education (25 per cent in Nigeria compared to 8 per cent in the UK). Furthermore, respondents in Malaysia (80%), Nigeria (65%), South Africa (73%) and Indonesia (74%) said they were likely to stay within the budget they set on a monthly basis.

Swanepoel said these are indications that money is not simply a “nice to have” commodity.

“Therefore if a cryptocur@Businessdayng

rency can provide a secure and cheaper means of exchanging value, better than the existing system, it will be used. This is why we believe that as new cryptocurrencies, linked to global brands are introduced they will find an important audience in emerging markets.”

The Libra cryptocurrency will be publicly launched in the first half of 2020. In the meantime, the news of Libra is likely to make a positive impact on the prices of major cryptocurrencies like bitcoin which has held above $9,000 for over 48 hours.

Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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Nigeria banking outlook remains stable on resilient capital and liquidity buffers- Moody’s

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INDUSTRIAL GOODS

Lafarge’s 2018 operating margin advance to 3-year high ...signs South Africa divestment deal for $317mn, net income hits N3.1 bn in Q1 …..redeems 3-year N26.4bn series I bond ISRAEL ODUBOLA

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agos-based building materials solution provider, Lafarge Africa Plc, picked up the pieces of a horrid year in 2017, to improve operating efficiency 2018 as margin accelerated to its highest level in three years.

Operating margin, the ratio of operating profit to revenue, which shows the percentage of profit a company retains after deducting production cost, increased to 8 percent in 2018, an uptick from 2 percent in 2017 and loss margin of 10 percent in 2016.

Lafarge Africa, which is controlled

by Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim, grew revenue to N308.4 billion in full year 2018, 3.1 percent more than N299.2 billion posted in the previous year. The company recorded uptick in proceeds from cement, recording decline in receipts from aggregate & concrete and adxmiture from South African operations.

The cement maker’s finance income surged some 21 percent to N1.7 billion spurred by massive increase on interest on loan receivable. Finance cost also increased 6.9 percent to 46 billion in 2018, making net finance cost up 7.3 percent to N44.2 billion in 2018.

The company’s share of loss from joint ventures accounted for using equity method which slowed to N65.1 million from

N140 million in 2017, along with zero-payment of minimum tax and tax credit worth 10.7 billion, helped cut Lafarge’s net losses significantly by 75 percent to N8.8 billion.

Redemption of 3-year N26.4bn bond Meanwhile, the company redeemed its 3-year N26.4 billion series I bond (due June 15 2019) at 14.25 percent coupon, from its internally generated cash flows in a bid to deleverage its balance sheet.

The other 5-year N33.6billion series II bond at fixed coupon of 14.75 percent will mature in the

next two years, June 2021.

Q1 2019 scorecard Despite revenue dipped slightly 2.6 percent in the first quarter of 2019, Lafarge closed the quarter in green territory with net income of N3.1 billion compared to N2.2 billion losses recorded in the previous comparable quarter.

The cement maker’s operating profit grew substantially by 35 percent from N6.2 billion in the first quarter of 2018 to N8.4 billion in the next twelve months, elevating operating margin to 10.9 percent from 7.7 percent a year prior.

Lafarge’s Chief Executive, Michel Pucheros attributed the improved earning scorecard for first quarter to

the execution of the company’s strategy 2022 tagged ‘Building for Growth’ “Our strategy 2022 in Nigeria is delivering the expected results with strong increase in operating EBITDA and profit” said Pucheros, optimistic the trend will sustained be year-long.

Divestment from South Africa The company’s helmsman disclosed management’s plans divest South Africa with to Caricement B.V, an affiliate of Switzerland-based Lafarge Holcim.

The divestment deal was signed on May 31, 2018 for a cash consideration of N114 billion ($317mn), while closure of proposed sale is expected in the third quarter of the year subjected to shareholders’ and

regulatory approval.

A release filed with the domestic bourse revealed that the company said it will use the proceeds to settle shareholder loan of $293 million, due at July 31 2019, along with related interest expenses, to strengthen its financial position and protect cash flows.

The Right Issues together with the divestment of South African operations will deleverage Lafarge Africa

by N246 billion, enabling it to pay dollar-denominated shareholder loan and short-term naira overdraft, according to the company’s chief executive.

Lafarge Africa has two more debt obligations to settle before the closure of proposed sale on divestment deal: 2nd Tranche of corporate bond worth N33.8 billion due June 2021, and CBN Power Intervention Fund worth N19.9 billion.

Market performance Shares of the cement maker declined 4 percent to N9.55 after the close of business on Wednesday, down some 23 percent year-long, underperforming the NSE industrial index and the broad market that shed 16 percent and 5 percent since the start of the year.

About Lafarge The company formerly known as Lafarge Cement Wapco Plc, kicked off operations in Nigeria 59 years-back, and is in the business of manufacturing and distribution of cement and other related products such as Concrete, Aggregate and Fly-Ash.

TECHNOLOGY

Consumer Goods firms struggle to shake-off tough times as stocks fall SEGUN ADAMS

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eak purchasing power, infrastructural challenges continue to take a toll on Nigerian consumer goods firms, leaving investors unimpressed with companies’ figures, and dragging share performance of listed players in the space.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange Consumer Goods Index on Wednesday dipped to its lowest level in two years as market pessimism weighed on performance of food, beverage and tobacco manufacturers’ shares.

The Consumer Goods Index is an investable benchmark capturing the performance of the listed consumer goods companies. The measure plunged 1.22 percent Mid-week to its bottommost since March 6, 2017 where index points rose to 618.90 as bearish sentiments prevailed in the day’s trading.

“Most Consumer Goods firms are struggling and churning out unimpressive numbers,” Gbolahan Ologunro, equity analyst at Lagos-based CSL Stockbrokers said.

Consumer goods firms have noted difficulties in their operation arising from smuggling, traffic gridlock, dilapidated road infrastructures, and high cost of borrowing while slower economic growth than population increase has limited the spending power of households.

In the first quarter of 2019, food, beverage and tobacco growth slowed to 1.76 percent, the second weakest growth since Q1 2018 where the sub-sector grew at 5.46 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

“It is not unexpected that you would see investors react negatively by selling down their holdings,’’ Ologunro added.

The All Share Index fell for the third straight session on Wednesday where performance across the board fell by 0.15 percent with year to date at -5.27 percent. Lagos bourse has closed in the green just once in the last thirteen trading sessions.

Of the 15 companies that make up the consumer goods index, only two have a positive year to date return, with the 13 others with an average erosion of value up to 25 percent so far in the year.

Cadbury has gained 9.5 percent year long as it closed flat at N10.95 per share on Wednesday. However it is Dangote Flour that has appreciated the most among peers, surging 146.72 percent so far in the year after it gained 1.2 percent to N16.70 percent same day.

Leading the laggards, Interbrew has shed 42.25 percent to N16.7 per share, while PZ trades 42.15 percent lower at N7 per share, although it opened for the

year at N12.1 per share.

Across sectors, Consumer Goods has been the most affected by the dampened sentiment of investors so far in 2019. The sector has lost 19 percent after it dipped 0.41 percent to 605.33 points on

Wednesday.

Insurance index is down -7 percent on year to date and lost 0.3 percent on Wednesday. Oil and Gas also closed in the red after printing -0.65 percent mid-week and has a negative year’s

return of 17 percent.

Industrial Goods firms have lost 16 percent so far in 2019 and closer 0.83 percent lower on Wednesday while Banking Sector gained 1.34 percent same day and has lost 9 percent in 2019.

L-R: Adebowale Akinade, head, finance and account; Bimbo Ikumariegbe, deputy managing director/COO; Abiodun Omoniyi, MD/CEO, and Victor Omoyeni, chief technology officer, all of VDT Communications, at the media launch of VDT 4G LTEA in Lagos.

Pic by Olawale Amoo

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

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Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES&MARKETS BANKING

Nigeria banking outlook remains stable on resilient capital and liquidity buffers- Moody’s OLUFIKAYO OWOEYE

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lobal rating agency, Moody’s, has predicted a stable outlook for Nigerian banks this year.

Moody’s in a report released this morning said the outlook for Nigerian banks remains “stable on resilient capital buffers and stable deposit bases” Peter Mushangwe, Analyst at Moody’s, said banks’ challenges from assets risk and should ease in 2020 as the economy improves.

According to Mushangwe, loan quality pressures will ease but remain banks’ main weakness. Nonperforming loans (NPLs) will decline to 7percent-8percent in the next 12-18 months from 11.7percent at the end of 2018 - still at a high level. Higher oil prices will constrain new NPL formation while high loan-loss reserves will allow banks to write off some

of their bad debts. These credit positives will be moderated by lingering risks from high loan concentrations and high delinquency levels Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that NPLs of Nigerian banks tanked for three quarters to bottom at 10.83percent in the first quarter of 2019.

Gbolahan Ologunro equity analyst at Lagos-based CSL Stockbrokers said improving economy and a relatively stable oil prices are the major drivers of improved asset quality of banks which have reflected in their NPLs. Moody’s says it expects Nigeria’s real GDP to expand 2.3percent in 2019 and 2.8percent in 2020, up from 1.9percent last year, but well below the level required to improve living standards. Lending growth will recover in the second half of the year following a contraction in 2018, but it will remain subdued and will not appreciably boost

banking revenue.

Analysis of the total loan portfolio of Nigerian banks in four months to April 2019 reveal that lenders have 30 percent exposure to the oil and gas sector, the highest across all sectors.

Banks’ gross loans rose marginally by 0.85 percent quarteron-quarter to N15.48 trillion in the first three months of 2019, compared with N15.35 trillion in the previous quarter, while non-performing loans dip 6.5 percent to N1.67 trillion in the review quarter.

Analysis of the total loan portfolio of Nigerian banks in four months to April 2019 revealed that lenders have 30 percent exposure to the oil and gas sector, the highest across all sectors.

Bad loans in the oil & gas sector totaled N4.7 trillion, with foreign currency accounting (N2.8trn) for 60 percent share and naira component (N1.9trn) taking the remaining 40 percent.

L-R: Dayo Olomu chair, CIPD, South London/board member, Southwark Diocesan Board of Education; Abbey Akinoshun, employment law consultant/independent nurse Consultant London; Oyedokun Ayodeji Oyewole, president/chairman, Institute of Information Management (IIM) Africa; Mayor Kate Anolue, Mayor of London Borough of Enfiled, and Meic Pierce Owen, former chair, Information and Records Management Society (IRMS) UK, at the 2019 Institute of Information Management (IIM) Africa Annual Lecture, Induction and Investiture at the University of East London, Water Lane London.

Lere Awokoya, (4th l), country manager, Betway; Mustapha Hakeem (m), president, G12 Football Academy; Christian Odega (4th r), head Coach, G12 Football Academy, with G12 backroom staff, at Betway CSR event at Campos Mini Stadium, Lagos Island.

Insurance

Linkage Assurance focuses on profitability, operational efficiency for increased shareholder value …pays N2.7 billion claims MODESTUS ANAESORONYE

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nderwriting firm, Linkage Assurance Plc says it will take advantage of opportunities in the economy and expected stability to grow its portfolio for increased shareholder value, while focusing on profitability, customer intimacy and operational efficiency.

Joshua Fumudoh, chairman of the Company made the disclosure at its 25th Annual General meeting held in Lagos.

Fumudoh who reviewed the company’s performance during the meeting said the underwriter in the 2018 financial year achieved 31 percent growth in gross written premium to N5.391 billion from N4.102billion in 2017 despite the tough operating environment.

According to him, the com-

pany paid out a whopping N2.71 billion on claims in 2018, which were largely from oil and gas, aviation businesses, as against N1.04 billion the previous year.

He said that insurance companies are in the business to pay claims, and being able to pay this huge amount clearly underscores the financial capability of the company to meet its obligations when they fall due.

Daniel Braie, managing director/CEO of the Company said to enable the company achieve its set goals, management is driving strategic initiates, which include reinsurance optimization; revenue growth, brand awareness,corporate excellence and strong financial solvency Going into 2019, Braie said the focus of the company is profitability, and we would have this in mind from the point of acceptance

of business from every market segment no matter the size and exposure.

“For this reason, we would ensure effective risk management and the essence of this is to ensure adequate risk management culture within our underwriting and claims processes, Braie said.

Braie told shareholders at the meeting that the company was already generating profit and making progress in its projection for the current year to meet shareholders expectation.

As at the end of first quarter 2019, Linkage Assurance Plc’s unaudited result shows 34 percent growth in profit before tax (PBT) to N627.52 million, as against N469.19 million in 2018, while the profit after tax during the same period stood at N439.26 million, from N375.36 million in 2018, indicating a 17 percent increase.

L-R: Subomi, staff, Yabatech Consult; Olukiran Tolulope, program officer Yabatech Consult; Uduak Inyang, director, Yabatech Consult; Femi Ajayi, MD, Risk Control Asset Management; Tosin Egbe, risk control account officer, and Evelyn ukoh, coordinator, Risk Control Academy, at the Risk Control partners with Yabatech on security management training in Lagos.

Financial Services

Viathan’s N10bn InfraCredit-Guaranteed Bond Wins EMEA Finance’s Most Innovative Bond HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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nfraCredit’s maiden guaranteed bond, Viathan NGN 10 bln Series 1 Senior Guaranteed Fixed Rate Bond Due 2027 was recently announced as the winner in the Debt Capital Markets Category of the EMEA Finance Achievement Awards as the Most Innovative Bond 2018.

Viathan Group develops and operates captive and embedded power solutions for governmental, commercial and residential offtakers across Nigeria, using natural gas as fuel with a combined generation capacity of over 50MW. With InfraCredit’s guarantee, Viathan successfully accessed the local debt capital markets for the first time by issuing a NGN 10.0bn 16.0 percent Series 1 Senior Guaranteed Fixed Rate Bond Due 2027.

InfraCredit is a ‘AAA’-rated infrastructure credit enhancement facility backed by the Nigeria Sovereign InvestmentAuthority,GuarantCo(a Private Infrastructure Development Group company), KfW Development Bank and Africa Finance Corporation to provide local currency guarantees to enhance the creditworthiness of debt issued by infrastructure entities in Nigeria that conform with its eligibility criteria.

Its guarantees act as a catalyst to mobilise private investments from pension funds, insurance firms and other long-term investors into infrastructure bonds, thereby deepening the domestic debt capital markets.

Over the past 2 years of its initial operations InfraCredit has facilitated first-time access to local currency finance of up to 15- year tenor from the domestic bond market for two infrastructure companies totaling

N18.5 billion which were oversubscribed by up to 60 percent from local pension fund investors, with participation by 14 of a total 28 pension fund administrators subscribing to the InfraCredit-guaranteed corporate infrastructure bonds.

Whilst this represents 50 percent investor coverage, these 14 investor pension funds manage 75 percent of the assets under management of the pension industry, currently estimated at NGN 8.7 trillion as at January 2019, signifying strong investor appetite and confidence in the credit standing of its ‘AAA’ guarantees.

The annual EMEA Finance’s Awards has strict global eligibility criteria, the winners comprise of reputable institutions worldwide including Standard bank, Citi, Societe General, JP Morgan amongst others.

www.businessday.ng

L-R: Dapo Oshinusi, chairman, ARM Life plc; Olurotimi Aju, company secretary; Jumoke Ogundare, nonexecutive director; Femi Oyetunji, non-executive director, and Femi Ogundeji, executive director, at the 21st annual general meeting of ARM Life plc in Lagos.

L-R: Jeep Veenhouwer, brand custodian, Danish Concrete Hardener, Denmark; Kunle Awobodu, 1st vicepresident, The Nigerian Institute of Builders; Henry Olofin, CEO, MEIBACH Ltd, and Abiola Salau, chairman, MEIBACH Limited, at the premiere launch of Danish Concrete Hardener Construction Innovation in Lagos.

Pic by Olawale Amoo

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@Businessdayng

Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

MONEYINSIGHT Facebook’s Libra: A one world currency?

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Stories by FRANK ELEANYA

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y the first half of 2020, Facebook will be launching Libra, arguably one of the audacious breakthroughs in the world of cryptocurrency, since bitcoin. Backed by the likes of PayPal, Mastercard, Visa, Uber and Andreessen Horowitz, the cryptocurrency is being touted as the Biblical apocalyptic one world single currency.

While the rest of the world may be too distracted rekindling nationalistic ambitions rather than uniting under a single government, the Libra cryptocurrency does has the potential of uniting the world’s economic systems. While adoption would likely not pose a major challenge as recent research from global cryptocurrency firm, Luno, has shown, Libra may have some serious hurdles to jump when regulators come calling.

In a white paper released on Monday, Facebook described the Libra which runs on the Libra Blockchain as a low-volatility cryptocurrency and a smart contract platform that together aim to create a new opportunity for responsible financial services innovation.

“Libra is less a new currency, more a new integrated global payment system,” said Ivan Werning, an economist with MIT. The cryptocurrency is driven by six beliefs including; more people should have access to financial services and cheap capital; inherent right of individuals to control the fruit of their legal labour; global, open, instant, and lowcost movement of money will create immense economic opportunity and more commerce across the world; people will increasingly trust decentralised forms of governance; global currency and financial infrastructure should be designed and governed as a public good; and collective responsibility to help advance financial inclusion, support ethical actors, and continuously uphold the integrity of the ecosystem.

It is backed by a basket of financial assets (Libra Reserve) provided by node operators. When it is launched

in 2020, it will be backed by assets denominated in four fiat currencies: USD; EUR; JPY and GBP. Facebook would only own a single vote in the control of Libra. Other founding members of the Libra Association headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland also get a vote. The founding members who are expected to finalise on the charter are chosen by industry and includes but not limited to companies such as Mastercard (payments); Vodafone Group (telecommunications); Anchorage (Blockchain); Thrive Capital (Venture Capital); and Women’s World’s Banking (NGO). Facebook wants to recruit100 members of the Libra Association by the target launch in the first half of 2020.

Regulators like Mark Carney the governor of Bank of England, however, are not wasting time in addressing the potential disruption Libra would become when launched. According to Financial Times report on Tuesday, Carney said he remains “open minded” on the utility of Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency while acknowledging that world payment systems

are largely unequal at the moment.

He also disclosed that Facebook will have to meet the highest standards of regulation should it succeed in signing up users.

Meanwhile, Luno on Monday released a report which showed that the earliest adopters of the Libra and other altcoins are likely to come from emerging markets like Nigeria. In essence, signing up users may not be so difficult for the social media which also command over 2 billion users across its social media channels.

The US Senate Banking Committee issued an open letter to Facebook at the beginning of May asking the company a number of questions about Libra, after word of the project leaked out in the press. Most of the questions centred on privacy and data protection and a few also relates to the Libra blockchain itself.

While a Facebook spokesperson has told coindesk.com that the company was addressing the senators questions, the Libra white paper does specify how the company intends to address security concerns that may arise.

First, Facebook is launching a subsidiary company to be called Calibra.

Calibra has the mandate to handle the crypto activities of Libra and protect users’ privacy by never mingling their Libra payments with their Facebook data. This is intended to address the problem of ad targeting. Users’ real identity will not be tied to their publicly visible transactions.

However, Facebook, Calibra and other founding members of the Libra Associations will earn interest on the money users cash in that is held in reserve to keep the value of Libra stable.

“To ensure that Libra is truly open and always operates in the best interest of its users, our ambition is for the Libra network to become permissionless,” the White Paper stated.

Erick Voorhees, CEO of SpaceShift and a market leader in cryptocurrencies said Libra has the potential to serve the mass market and be the single largest bridge toward decentralised finance that has ever been built. He also believes Libra’s biggest advantage was not to back itself solely with the US dollar. The implication is

that the cryptocurrency can arguably become a medium-term replacement to any single government fiat currency.

“Libra is, arguably, superior and above the US government dollar,” he tweeted from his handle @ErikVoorhees. “To whoever bravely navigated Facebook into creating a currency above the US dollar, kudos to you. It was the right decision. I was worried FB coin would just be a lame proxy for US dollar, and it is not.”

He however refers to Libra as not a “pure cryptocurrency” given that it does not guarantee true borderless standard like many cryptocurrencies do.

“The governing consortium can explicitly block or prevent transactions. You won’t find unstoppable finance here. Again, in this, traditional cryptos are far superior. But let’s be realistic, there’s no way Facebook could create an unstoppable coin,” he said.

It may be too early to call, but Facebook’s Libra may have a very long road to travel before becoming the world’s single currency.

Kudimoney’s ‘Bank for African millennials’ ambition gets CBN approval, rebrands to Kuda

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he Central Bank of Nigeria has gifted a Microfinance Banking license to Kudimoney boosting the potential of the financial technology firm, fulfilling its ambition of becoming the ‘Bank for African millennials.’

The company also announced in a statement BusinessDay received that it is changing its name to Kuda. It noted that the approval by Nigeria’s apex bank was an indication of growing customer trust in the company.

Babatunde Babs Ogundeyi, CEO of the company said the launch is timely giving that excess bank charges have become a constant source of worry for Nigerian bank customers. For instance, the top eleven Nigerian banks as at 2018 had charged customers N143 billion as account maintenance fees. In 2019, the Central Bank of Nigeria said it recovered over N65 billion as illegal charges wrongfully deducted from customers’ deposits and other transactions within the banking system. www.businessday.ng

The rebranded Kuda has set its sights on cornering 100,000 current account holders within 12 months of full launch and already has a rapidly growing waitlist for its free banking services.

“Kuda is fundamentally different because the entire experience is designed around you and your phone,” said Ogundeyi a former bank auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers who founded the company alongside Musty Mustapha, an artificial intelligence expert and former innovation lead at StanbicIBTC.

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“Traditional banks have thousands of branches to support, which comes at a high cost. The costs are ultimately transferred to the customer. Kuda is focused on making customers’ financial life easier, rather than trying to burden them with hidden fees and excessive charges.”

Unlike traditional banks, Kuda does not charge fees, including account and card maintenance fees. Instead, its approach is to build a platform that enables its customers manage their financial life better. The @Businessdayng

mobile application comes with in-built features that make savings, budgeting and spending very effortless.

According to the statement, the full banking license means Kuda can offer current accounts as well as debit cards – something it is already doing with a small group of alpha users.

The app only bank is now in pre-launch phase for the next couple of months. A public beta, with a banking preposition for its customers will launch in the third quarter of 2019.

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Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

FEATURE

Nigeria’s effort to develop inland waterways through PPP Nigeria has a vast outlay of inland waterways that have been largely neglected, underdeveloped and underfunded by respective tiers of government. A new memorandum of understanding (MOU) is attracting private sector participation. STEPHEN ONYEKWELU submits that this new push has potential to drive the integration of ECOWAS markets.

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he National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) recently said Nigeria has about 3000 kilometres (km) of navigable waterways from Nigeria-Niger and Nigeria-Cameroon borders to the Atlantic Ocean out of a potential 10, 000km that can be developed and made navigable.

The Nigerian Fleet Implementation Committee (NFIC) has stated that the maritime industry in Nigeria constitutes a very critical sector of the Nigerian economy but this has not been fully explored. “In spite of being a maritime nation, Nigeria has not been able to reap immense economic benefits of being a littoral state nor has the country been able to harness its huge inland waterway resources” Hassan Bello, chairman of NFIC said.

Over the years, there have been calls for the removal of wrecks on the inland waterways which contributes to mishaps on the waterways. But nothing was done. As a result, many Nigerians have lost their lives and had families traumatised. This is for passenger traffic. Cargo traffic has been grossly underdeveloped.

In late October 2018, Olorunnimbe Mamora, a medical doctor and the boss at NIWA narrowly escaped death on Lagos inland waterways when a floating log of wood hit the boat carrying him and his entourage when he went to inspect the Lagos facilities of the agency. Meanwhile, the fastest and shortest path from Apapa to CMS, 10 minutes, is by water. And many Lagosians use the ferry from Ikorodu terminal to CMS, daily.

It is not just wrecks, dirt, hyacinths and accidents that are prevalent on the inland waterways; there are also issues of insecurity, which have become a daily occurrence on the waterways.

Mid November 2018, the NIWA Port Manager for the Onitsha River port, Baba Spencer highlighted the issue of security as the greatest challenge of the port facility.

To chang e this cours e of events, public-private-partnerships are needed. The tripartite memorandum of understanding (MOU) is designed to promote bulk cargo movement and facilitate inland waterways operation for hinterland, transit and coastal trade. The MOU aims at establishing specific roles of all parties in this regard.

Data obtained from NIWA show that Nigeria has a large resource base of waterways spanning 10,000 kilometres; about 3,800 kilometres is navigable seasonally. Twenty eight of the

:L-R: Dabney Shall-Holma, chairperson, Sealink Implementation Committee; Olorunnimbe Mamora, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA); and Abba Bello, managing director, Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) at the official tripartite MOU signing ceremony on Inland Waterways partnership between NIWA, NEXIM and Sealink Promotional Co. Limited.

nation’s 36 States can be accessed through water. Nigeria can also link five of its neighbouring countries – Benin Republic (Porto Novo), Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Chad and Niger Republic by water.

The bridging of maritime infrastructure gap is expected to significantly enhance exports of bulk solid minerals, thereby enhancing the gross domestic product (GDP) contribution of both shipping and solid minerals sectors from current levels of about 0.20 percent Areas of infrastructural intervention requirements include dredging to remove silt and other impediments, river ports and jetties, installation and maintenance of navigational aids such as dams, dykes and river training works including construction of dams, dykes and groins to ensure the achievement of highest level of efficiency and seamless operations.

Hence, the MOU among the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), the Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) and the Sealink Consortium designed to harness Africa’s most populous nation’s inland waterways in a way that facilitates regional integration among the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

In value terms, it is projected that the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding would promote waterway operations for hinterland, transit and coastal trade, especially for bulk cargo.

It is noteworthy to highlight that it is projected that this development would enhance non-oil exports annual revenue receipts www.businessday.ng

to between US$500 million and US$1.2 billion annually on bulk solid minerals exports.

Sealink is bringing to the table its competence at bridging maritime transport infrastructure gap amongst ECOWAS and Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) regions, as well as promoting inland waterways operations and facilitating regional integration and bulk cargo trade. As a Trade Policy Bank, NEXIM strategic interest and partnership in the Regional Sealink Project is to promote and diversify exports as well as enhance trade connectivity in line with government’s objective to diversify the economy.

For too long Nigeria’s economy has been dependent on oil and its derivatives. Efforts to diversify are on-going and the signing of this tripartite MOU may be an additional one in that regard.

The Rivers Niger and Benue constitute the major channels for inland navigation which include but not limited to the Cross River, Port Novo- Badagry-Lagos waterways, Lekki and Lagos Lagoons, Ogun-Ondo waterways, Benin River, Escravos channel, Nun River, Imo River, Orashi River, Ethiope River Ugwuta Lake, Lake Chad and the numerous creeks in the Niger delta.

“Efforts were made to dredge our Inland Waterways; such efforts had not been far reaching enough as other necessary pieces of infrastructure that will open up the vast Inland Waterways have been neglected” Mamora explained.

Mamora reiterated that Nigeria’s Inland Waterways system is https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

underfunded hence the country is denied the benefits of the potentials offered unlike a number of developed nations that have utilised their Inland Waterways as the mainstay for their industrialisation and economic prowess.

This is why the execution of MOU among NIWA, NEXIM and Sealink has been framed as a historic maritime logistics event. It is a novel public-private partnership framework, which is primarily designed to attract private sector investments under government agencies facilitative support at no cost to government.

“The MOU partnership is intended to bridge infrastructure gap that will promote and enhance trade connectivity as well as spur Nigeria’s regional and global trade competitiveness” Abba Bello, managing director, Nigerian Export–Import Bank said.

The public-private-partnership is a significant milestone in an on-going collaboration with all key national and regional maritime stakeholders, and would be catalytic to the realisation of one of the priority projects under the ECOWAS Community Development Programmes.

Trade and market integration are also at the heart of ECOWAS’ aims and objectives. Article (3) of the Revised Treaty of Economic Community of West African States stipulates the removal of trade barriers and harmonisation of trade policies for the establishment of a Free Trade Area, a Customs Union, a Common Market and an eventual culmination in to a Monetary and Economic Union in West Africa.

The Sealink is being officially @Businessdayng

promoted by NEXIM, Federation of West African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FEWACCI) and Transimex S.A. Cameroun, an integrated logistics company, through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), the Sealink Promotional Company Ltd (SPCL) with nominal promotional shareholding and sponsorship framework.

“It is significant that as we are all collaborating and strengthening cooperation, especially at this time when African Union is finalising arrangement for a continental free trade area to foster integration, investment and trade, the time has come for Nigeria to be bullish in its nonoil export trade to diversify the economy” Dabney Shall-Holma, chairperson, Sealink Implementation Committee affirmed.

NEXIM’s decision to be one of the three signatories to the MOU was largely informed by the huge logistics challenges and non-tariff measures along the ECOWAS trade corridor. This coupled with the desire to both enhance Nigeria’s export to ECOWAS that has muted over the years at about 15 percent and to encourage formal trade.

The effective implementation of the Sealink project and the safe utilisation of the inland waterways would hopefully bridge logistics gaps that will attract and facilitate investment flows the two sectors. This will contribute to the realisation of one of the broad strategic objectives of Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, which is building a globally competitive economy. To this end, it will also contribute to improving Nigeria’s current World Bank ease of doing business and Logistics Performance Index (LPI) rankings.

However, the management of NIWA have been quite receptive to Sealink’s inland waterway operations vision and are also responsive by codifying this relationship into an MOU for the sake of transparency for general public good.

“NEXIM’s developmental, facilitative and supportive roles in the Sealink Project are exemplary and typical of the roles of Export Credit Agencies all over the world, who not only provide export finance but also work to mitigate challenges that impact sustainable trade” Bello quipped.

The longest rivers in Nigeria are the Niger River and its tributary and the Benue River.

But the most used, especially by larger powered boats and for commerce, are in the Niger Delta and all along the coast from Lagos Lagoon to Cross River.

Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

19

FEATURE

Sustainability and growth for NGOs CHRISTOPHER AKOR

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ivil society is an integral part of any democratic society and helps smoothen the interface between the government and the citizens especially in the promotion of good governance, accountability, transparency, the rule of law, curtailment of human rights abuses, and political participation. Besides, in the face of state failures and worsening socio-economic conditions of billions of people, they have taken over roles such as providing social welfare, economic empowerment, humanitarian services, and human capital development.

Such is the ubiquity of civil society and the scale of problems they have to contend with, especially in less developed countries that they have virtually supplanted the state for millions of people.

Africa, especially from the 1980s, witnessed a proliferation of such civil society groups especially non-profit organisations set up to address one or two pressing challenges in the society. For instance, while Ghana had only ten registered Non-Governmental Organisations in 1960, the figure had risen to 350 in 1991, and by 2001, it had ballooned to 1300. The same is the case in Tanzania. In 19923 (which is it? 1992 or 1993?), there were only about 200 registered NGOs which rose to 813 two years later, and by 2001, the number had skyrocketed to between 1800 to 8000. The proliferation coincided with the loss of faith in African states and the funnelling of development assistance to Africans through these organisations.

However, 18 years down the line, most of these NGOs – both local and international – have

ceased to exist and the extent of their impact is doubtful. Poverty, hunger, diseases and wants still ravage the African continent like never before even as donor fatigue is setting in. But the continent still needs all the help it can get to prevent it from imploding.

While some scholars have applauded the impact of NGOs in Africa and the critical roles they play in averting or mitigating hunger, diseases, and the impacts of conflicts in the continent, others point to the debilitating effects of the activities of NGOs. For instance, Oxford-trained Zambian economist, Dambisa Moyo, gave a compelling account of how the activities of these NGOs, as benign and life-saving as they appear, is sabotaging and hurting Africa.

With a simple example of a mosquito-net manufacturer (who out of business by a foreign supply of free mosquito-nets), she describes how aid channelled through these NGOs kills African local industries and encourages government abdication of responsibility. With the example above, more Africans get to die from malaria as the aid is usually a ‘one off ’ or short term measure. However, since the mosquito net manufacturer has been put out of business, the community is left at the mercy of mosquitoes.

Two key lessons obvious from the proliferation of NGOs in the continent are that (1) NGOs cannot supplant or effectively perform the functions of a capable state and (2) NGOs must find ways to become sustainable to make notable impacts.

Sadly, contemporary NGOs have not learnt lessons from the activities of their predecessors. Although there is now a proliferation of local NGOs with a passion to www.businessday.ng

make a difference, some still tend to see the state as an incompetent nuisance that only stands in the way. Buoyed by a saviour complex and the passion to do good, these NGOs do not give much thought to the sustainability of their enterprise. They are consumed by the desire to make a real impact until they run into a hitch and discover they have to fold up either because their source of funding - either external or internal – had ceased or their business model was faulty and ultimately unsustainable.

This not only limits the impact of NGOs but also furthers the case

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Two key lessons obvious from the proliferation of NGOs in the continent are that (1) NGOs cannot supplant or effectively perform the functions of a capable state and (2) NGOs must find ways to become sustainable to make notable impacts

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that at best NGOs raise hopes only to dash them and leave their beneficiaries in an even more dire situation than they found them.

This leads us to Lagos Business School’s collaboration with Ford Foundation to train NGOs in leadership, management and innovation to help them grow and remain sustainable. Designed as a Nonprofit Leadership and Management Certificate Programme, the course is a detailed introduction to Nonprofit Management that takes on a highly practical, experiential and interactive approach. Participants will learn through a series of online and in-class faculty-facilitated lectures, guest lectures, case study discussions, and videos. This is to ensure they learn to advance powerful innovative ideas into high-impact realities, and effectively apply management skills to the nonprofit sector.

It is targeted at young and emerging non-profit leaders in Nigeria and has been designed to cultivate three pillars of competencies required to develop and grow a nonprofit organisation – leadership effectiveness, business fundamentals, and social innovation. The programme particularly focuses on management and funding structures unique to the nonprofit sector. Participants will have an immersive experience in strategic planning for nonprofits, exploring current issues in nonprofit policy and legal issues; organisational development; human resources and volunteer management; financial management and fundraising; programme evaluation, marketing, and risk management.

During the programme, participants will gain a better understanding of nonprofit leadership, including how to define strong @Businessdayng

mission statements, manage operational and financial controls, and strengthen fundraising and revenue generation efforts – all of which directly impact the continuity of their organisations. They will also explore fundraising options and learn how to access them through grant writing, prospect research, communications, capital campaigns, etc.

The programme comprises online and in-class sessions that will run for four weeks – the online session will run for three weeks, followed by a one-week in-class session at the School campus.

The course has sufficient quizzes, assignments, interactive sessions and supplementary resources to ensure that participants are appropriately engaged and collaborate where necessary. Participants are required to join in class discussions, provide peer feedback, and engage facilitators and guest speakers. There will be group presentations at the end of the course to ensure that participants capture the principles and practices taught.

Other aspe cts of the programme feature lectures from high impact leaders in the NGO space including Ndidi Nwuneli, Founder of LEAP Africa; Simi Nwogugu, Executive Director, Junior Achievement Nigeria; Osayi Alile, Founder, ACT Foundation; Mira Mehta, Founder Tomato Jos; Nana Afadzinu, Executive Director, West Africa Civil Society Institute; Olumide Akinjo, Director, Institute for Industrial Technology; Miss Sangosanya Tolulope.

Founder, LOTS Charity Foundation; Chidi Odinkalu, Senior Team Manager, Open Society Foundation; Temie Giwa – Tubosun, Founder, Life Bank; and Amina Oyagbola, Founder,WISCAR.

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Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

HEALTH BUSINESS&LIFE

Possible ways Nigeria can prevent another Ebola pandemic ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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igeria’s experience with the last Ebola pandemic could be described as a narrow escape, given the minimal impact it had on lives. Five years down the road, the flu virus is roaring to stage a comeback, with outbreaks already reported in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda. Unfortunately, Nigeria seems to have abandoned all the precautions it took to stave off the spread.

Nigeria needs to be more proactive in preventing another Ebola epidemic. During the 2014 outbreak, critics cited medical negligence, a relapse to old unsanitary habits by Nigerians and unpreparedness on the part of the health officials as factors that could escalate the attack.

During the epidemic, Nigeria saw the influx of diverse products like hand-washing soaps, gloves, health personnel protective equipment, hand-held infrared thermometers, among others, to help check the virus but appear to have paid off these years.

However, patronage of these products and the use of handsanitisers have since declined.

There is no more screening of the temperature at the commercial and business places, in Nigeria’s neighbouring countries where people can easily travel by roads, and even at the airports.

The Ebola virus causes an acute, serious illness which is often fatal if untreated; the virus is transmitted to people from wild animals and spreads in the human population through human-to-human transmission.

Records show that forty-two days after the Ebola epidemic ravaged parts of Nigeria in 2014, the country recorded 19 cases which led to 10 deaths. However, WHO declared Nigeria Ebola free in October of the same year.

With this most recent outbreak, the virus finally found its way into Uganda, through a five-year-old boy who had made a cross-border journey to the neighbouring DRC. The little boy died, making it the first case of Ebola reported in the country. Two people have also reportedly died and many have reportedly been infected with the virus, according to a BBC report.

Several of Nigeria’s neighbouring countries have been preparing for months and some health experts in the country are also questioning how the country is preparing for the possibility that infected people might cross into the country.

Experts have advocated a number of approaches that Nigeria can help the country’s preparedness to stop the disease from gaining

entrance into the country or combating it.

Oladoyin Odubanjo, chair, Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria (APHPN), Lagos Chapter, says that Nigeria’s health sector is characterised by poor outcomes vulnerability to the threat of future epidemics and outbreaks ,which threaten global health security.

According to Odubanjo, Nigeria’s epidemic preparedness and response capacity needs to close gaps by enhancing detection, prevention and management of an outbreak.

“Priority gaps include infrastructure, logistics, technology, human resource and communication,” he said.

History has it that the worst Ebola epidemic ever ended in West Africa just two years ago after killing more than 11,300 people and infecting some 28,600 as it rolled through Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The Public Health Physicians added that with the possibility of more outbreaks, applying the lessons learnt and key success factors of the past should be applied in other to prepare the country against another outbreak.

“Nigeria can’t afford to repeat this cycle of uncertainty. Effective surveillance is clearly important, containment, general precautions measure will minimise risk of transmission of the viral disease coming into the county,” he said.

“All we need to do is to practise more universal care precautions at all times generally. People need to practice more hygiene, which is very important and the environment needs to be better,” Odubanjo advised.

Ekong leads charge against tropical diseases that affect over 120 million Nigerians … Super Eagles defender campaigning in partnership with the END Fund and Common Goal ANTHONY NLEBEM

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igeria national team defender William Ekong has started a campaign to draw attention to neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) that affect more than 120 million Nigerians. In partnership with the END Fund and Common Goal, William appears in a 48 seconds public service announcement where he calls on affected Nigerians to seek free treatment.

Neglected tropical diseases are a group of parasitic and bacterial infectious diseases that affect more than 1.5 billion of the world’s most impoverished people, including 869 million children.

They include intestinal worms, schistosomiasis (bilharzia), river blindness, trachoma, and lymphatic filariasis.

Preparing to represent the Super Eagles at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, William is hoping that every Nigerian will participate in the free treatment campaigns from several END Fund partners across the country.

“Like the rest of the team, I

joined Common Goal because I wanted to use football as a tool to make a difference. I’m proud that we’re partnering with the END Fund to challenge every Nigerian to tackle neglected tropical diseases or NTDs,” said William.

“600 million people in Africa need treatment for these diseases with over 120 million living in Nigeria alone.

“Football is a powerful force in Nigeria and as a footballer and parent, I believe we should do everything we can to end these preventable and treatable diseases that stand between you and your goals.

“So the next time a health worker comes to your school, community or places of worship make sure you take the free medicine that they are giving out. Keep the ball rolling – spread the word to your family and friends and let’s be the generation to beat NTDs,” he concluded.

Chukwuma Anyaike, Director and National Coordinator of the Neglected Tropical Diseases Elimination Programme, Federal Ministry of Health Nigeria, www.businessday.ng

described the campaign as an important opportunity to bring attention to NTDs in the country.

“We are very delighted to have William join the Federal Ministry of Health and our partners in Nigeria’s fight against neglected tropical diseases, we hope that this campaign helps to highlight the importance of the fight against NTDs in Nigeria and across the continent,” Dr. Anyaike said.

The campaign will run on local radio and television stations during the months of June and July across the following states: Ekiti, Ondo, Osun, Gombe, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. It will also feature on digital platforms nationwide as well and include targeted SMS messaging.

Since its founding in 2012 through 2018, with its partners, the END Fund has provided over 720 million treatments for NTDs with a value of over $1.3 billion. In 2018 alone, the END Fund reached almost 134 million people with more than 220 million NTD treatments, which represents an almost ten-fold increase from 2012.

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Gynaecologist warns against cultural, religious beliefs when seeking medical attention ...make case for voluntary blood donation IDRIS UMAR MOMOH & CHURCHILL OKORO, BENIN

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ictor Ohenhen, an Obstetric and Gynecological expert in the Edo state owned Central Hospital, Benin City has urged people to be wary of their religious and cultural practices while seeking for medical attention.

Ohenhen who made the call in an exclusive interview with BusinessDay in Benin-City, said cultural and religious beliefs that does not encourage access to certain healthcare have contributed to deaths of hundreds of Nigerians.

The former Head of Department Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the hospital, who listed blood transfusion as one of the major beliefs, enjoined people to begin seeing blood donation as a voluntary exercise rather than by compunction.

He however, attributed postpartum haemorrhage as one of the leading cause of maternal mortality in the country.

He also identified improved access to blood and short interdelivery interval as cardinal strategies to tackle the scourge of maternal mortality.

The medical expert, also listed other causes of maternal mortality to sepsis or infection, illegal abortion, hypertensive disorder in pregnancy (like eclampsia and preeclampsia), and obstructed labour.

“We must begin to see blood donation as a voluntary exercise. We know that a leading cause of maternal mortality is postpartum haemorrhage and these individuals need blood to sustain their lives.

“Also, if there is effective family planning for adequate spacing, there will be enough time to recover and regain iron depleted during the former delivery.

“Reducing maternal mortality is

achievable and it will take a multi sectoral effort. It is not just the health industry alone, there are social determinants of health that must be tackled”, he said.

While calling for the adoption of universal health coverage, he noted that functional blood banks and pregnancy spacing are crucial to the reduction of incidence of maternal mortality.

Ohenhen who remarked that Nigeria contributes substantially to maternal mortality in the world opined that it was feasible to reduce the burden of the incidence.

“Tackling maternal mortality is not limited to the health sector alone but requires multifaceted approach and political willingness for the government to attain and achieve the millennium development goals”, he added.

Ohenhen who lamented the dire state of maternal mortality in the country, however, called on government to embrace the concept of universal health coverage, sustain public health awareness on voluntary blood donation and family planning, as well as unfettered access to medical care and training of medical personnel.

The Obstetrics and Gynaecology expert, who described health as a social responsibility urged government at all levels to start taking health care as a fundamental human right and not paying lip service to it.

“There must be political will to ensure that health continues to be a social service and basic infrastructures must be provided. The government must embrace the concept of universal health coverage and key into health insurance program like the National Health Insurance Scheme. This scheme should be allencompassing, all-embracing, so that it could be used to cater for the greater mass of the people”, he stated.

LS Scientific unveils world class laboratories in Nigeria ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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he LS scientific is set to launch world class laboratories in Nigeria to enhance diagnostics services in the country.

Olumurewa Odunjo, the managing director who said in an interview that the event is themed “the LS Scientific Laborator y Launch and Equipment Expo, a three-day business tour of their Lagos facility, which will show case four (4) International standard Laboratories and Laboratory Equipment’s will host Industry leaders from the 6th to 8th of August 2019.”

LS Scientific is a solutions provider of Laboratory products and services. The Company offers a portfolio of branded Laboratory products and a range of services including Training, Equipment and Instrumentation Servicing, Calibration Ser vices, Laboratory Design and Upgrade, Custom Manufacturing Services.

“There are four laboratories that will be launched, PhysicoChemical Laboratory, Microbi@Businessdayng

ology Laboratory, Instrumentation Laboratory and Engineering Laboratory and Lagos state will be the first location,” says Odunjo.

He further stated that the LS Scientific physicochemical laboratory offers a diverse range of analytical tests that range from classical wet chemical methods to modern instrumental methods of analysis, while the Analytical Microbiology laboratory routinely performs enumeration of total aerobic bacteria.

“They provide bacterial identification of food borne pathogens, shelf life evaluation, routine microbiological monitoring of food quality and manufacturing practices for Food Products, Pharmaceutical, water and waste as well as environmental analysis”.

He also mentioned that the LS Scientific analytical laboratories provide rapid, reliable, accurate analytical data for evaluation of product quality and regulatory production registration.

With the launch of the Engineering Laboratory; Calibration, repairs and maintenance of equipment’s will be seamless, which in turn saves organizations Capital Expenditure (CAPEX).

Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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HEALTH BUSINESS&LIFE

The lethal duo: type 2 diabetes and hypertension FOLASADE ALLI

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aving both diabetes and hypertension is incredibly common in Nigeria. A lot of diabetic patients develop hypertension. Amongst the contributors to both conditions, Obesity, a diet high in fat and sodium, and physical inactivity particularly contribute to their development. Furthermore, it is often the case that many diabetic patients do not realise that they have hypertension. This is because hypertension is a ‘symptomless disease’ or ‘silent killer’.

Both medical conditions put patients at an increased risk for further complications including cardiovascular and kidney diseases.

Type 2 diabetes can have a slow inception, and early signs and symptoms can be confused with signs of stress, a poor diet or being overweight. This type of

diabetes occurs when problems arise in making or using insulin, a hormone that makes it possible for cells to use glucose (also known as blood sugar) for energy. In a nutshell, type 2 diabetes occurs when the body cannot use glucose properly, which raises the level of glucose in the blood.

On the other hand, your heart is the hardest-working muscle in your body, and one of the first to begin working in the womb.

Anything that interferes with its ability to function properly can lead to hypertension, and other conditions. Controlling your blood pressure is an important task. High blood pressure (hypertension) develops slowly over time and is incurable. It can be related to many factors and causes like family history, age, obesity, stress, unhealthy diet, and so on. Usually, a combination of factors are at play.

There is a reason it is called the “silent killer.” A lot of times, high blood pressure has no obvious symptoms until it causes a stroke, heart attack, kidney damage, loss of vision, or other problems. It also

damages the blood vessels from the brain to the toes overtime.

Controlling your blood pressure is an important task. High blood pressure (hypertension) develops slowly over time and is incurable. It can be related to many factors and causes like family history, age, obesity, stress, unhealthy diet, and so on. Usually, a combination of factors is at play.

There is a reason it is called the “silent killer.” A lot of times, high blood pressure has no obvious symptoms until it causes a stroke, heart attack, kidney damage, loss of vision, or other problems. It also damages the blood vessels from the brain to the toes overtime.

The most important advice is to monitor and control your blood pressure and glucose levels more than ever – more than doctors recommend. For example, every diabetic patient should aim to achieve a blood pressure level no more than 130/80. The top number (130) is the systolic pressure which indicates the highest pressure when blood pushes through your heart, while the bottom

Stakeholders to discuss Asthma, environment, governance

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ccording to the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Nigeria, more than 15million people are currently suffering from asthma with a projected increase to 100million by 2025.

However, stakeholders will be discussing the linkages between the environment, governance and its impact on health management, as well as make policy recommendations on ways to ‘deal’ with the identified challenges of Asthma in the country.

The2019 Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Annual National Asthma Conference themed Better Breathing, Better Living: The Role of the Environment and Governance taking place on Thursday, June 18, at the Oaklands Hotel in Enugu, Nigeria is organised by the Amaka Chiwuike-Uba Foundation (ACUF) according a statement made available to BusinessDay. Chiwuike Uba, the Board Chairman of ACUF, said that the annual national asthma conference “is to throw more light on the role of the environment and governance on the management of respiratory diseases; especially, asthma”. Several persons die daily from air pollution-related diseases, including asthma complications.

“We are faced with challenges ranging from being rated as one the most polluted countries in the word to a country grappling with a lot of problems associated with other governance issues,” he said Uba added that, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), air pollution is responsible for more than 12 million deaths per year, that the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets —SDG

HBL TEAM

3 (Good health and well-being), SDG 6 (Clean water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable clean energy), SDG 13 (Climate action), SDG 14 (Life below water) and SDG 16 (Peace, Security and Strong Institutions) is dependent on the environment and governance outcomes.

“The Annual Conference is a platform to discuss national issues, especially health and related matters in an evidence-based approach. The workshop provides policy alternatives and action plan on how to solve the identified challenges because most diseases are associated with environmental and governance issues. Therefore, the 2019 conference will look at issues related to our environmental governance and other governance issues, as they affect health management in Nigeria.

“Governance is core to a sustainable environment and development. We recognize that Nigeria’s economy will be improved if the environment provides better breathing and people live a healthy life with guaranteed access to quality and affordable health care. So, for a conference of this nature, you need people who

have the passion and genuinely working for the progress, prosperity, and renaissance of our dear country, Nigeria,” he said.

Uba further revealed that collaborators like Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Nigerian Thoracic Society (NTS), the Knowledge and Policy Management Initiative (KAPOMI) and NonCommunicable Diseases (NCD) Alliance, Nigeria are partners in the conference, even as he said that the choice of keynote and experts for the conference is “based on their passion for good governance, inclusiveness, access to quality and affordable healthcare and their expertise in the areas they would be speaking on”.

He named some of the key speakers at the Conference to include Nigeria’s former Minister for Health - Onyebuchi Chukwu who will be the chairman of the Conference; Oby Ezekwesili –the former World Bank Vice-President and Nigeria’s former Education Minister and presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) in the 2019 general elections; renowned public policy expert, Tunji Olaopa, Consultant Public Health Physician, Benjamin Uzochukwu, Consultant Respiratory and Chest Physician, Gregory Efosa Emerhbor, administrator and health professional, Prof. Rowland Ndoma-Egba, Ademola H. Adigun, Adaeze Ayuk, Dr. Ifediora Amobi, Larry Oguego, among other national and international experts.

Uba also called for partnership to develop more strategic sources of funding in order to ensure sustainable long-term programming and improve the quality of life of people.

number (80) is the diastolic pressure which indicates pressure in the arteries when the vessels are relaxed between heartbeats.

The combination of both high blood pressure and diabetes is lethal because it significantly raises patient’s risk of having a heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, eye damage, nerve damage, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and even mortality.

Prevention There are several steps one can take in order to live a healthier, longer life despite having both hypertension and diabetes. They include 30 minutes brisk walks 5 days a week or moderate aerobic exercise for the same amount of time. It is important to increase physical activity in order to strengthen the heart. Remember the heart is a muscle, and as with other muscles, one of the best ways to make them stronger is to exercise. Furthermore, this is particularly important for people with diabetes as the condition weakens the heart muscle over the long term.

Secondly, be mindful of what you feed your body. The heart responds to whatever you take in. adopting a heart-healthy diet including cutting down fatty foods, salt, processed foods, high-fat dairy products, and so on.

Thirdly, quit smoking. Though lifestyle changes aren’t sufficient for people with both diabetes and hypertension, they are worth pursuing.

In addition, (more than one) medication may most likely be required for people in this category.

It is imperative that such people discuss this part of treatment with a qualified medical professional.

It is also important that patients keep track of how they feel when they take drugs as well as the side effects.

To be continued next week Written by Folasade Alli, Consultant Cardiologist at Lagos Executive Cardiovascular Clinic

Akwa Ibom solicits increased immunisation coverage, laments poor health indicators ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

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kwa Ibom government has solicited increased immunisation coverage from stakeholders to check the spread of preventable childhood killer diseases in the state.

It has also lamented the dismal health indicators in which it is ranked high in many childhood diseases including that of the infant, maternal and new born babies as well as HIV/AIDS. The appeal came on the heels of the forthcoming 2019 National Immunisation Plus Days (NIPDs) scheduled to hold from July 13 to 16 this year.

Unlike other years, the programme as approved by the Federal Ministry of Health will only be one round exercise.

Godfrey Akro , a medical doctor and director of public health services who made this known in Uyo during a social mobilisation meeting said immunisation is important for the growth and sustainable development among children “Since prevention is better than cure, there is need for stakeholders to take ownership of the programme for the elimination of early childhood diseases.”

Represented by the State immunisation officer, Ime Udo , he noted that the exercise would involve house-to-house vaccination of children and lauded the contributions of partners in a bid to check killer diseases among children and pregnant women.

He called on communities, households, churches, mosques and institutions to be prepared to receive health personnel during the immunisation campaign.

The state health educator , Margeret Etim in her remarks said with only one round of the exercise this year , it beholves on all and sundry

to take advantage of the exercise to immunise their children against childhood diseases.

She also disabused the minds of parents on wrong the perception about childhood diseases, saying that lack of immunisation could cause diseases and mal- functioning among children.

Etim, observed that the United Nations Fund( UNICEF) ranks Akwa Ibom as one of the best in terms of Social Mobilization on NIPDs in Nigeria, hence the tempo should be sustained.

“For effective mobilisation, the message about immunisation should be carried to churches, mosques, town hall meeting by care givers, religious leaders’ traditional rulers, town criers and neighbours,” she emphasised.

Ann Umoh , the state coordinator, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, stressed that for the programme to be successful, all stakeholders have a responsibility to dessiminate the information to the communities in the state.

Giving an update on Malaria Preventive Strategies Integration, the State Malaria Control Officer, Mary Bassey, maintained that while dwelling on Immunisation, there was need for all hands to be on deck towards preventing other diseases such as malaria.

She, therefore, reminded households to ensure the use of Long Lasting Insecticidal Treated Nets (LLITNs) as the state had made 95.5 percent distribution.

Besides, she spoke on the need for a test for malaria before treatment and pregnant mothers taking of Intermediate Preventive Therapy (IPT) three times before delivery as well as the keeping of environment clean by clearing of bushes, de-silting of drainages and proper disposal of empty of cans.

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

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Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

LEADINGWOMAN

Mosunmola Cynthia Umoru The dynamic agricultural emissary turns 40 encing the way I engaged the system as an individual, entrepreneur, and a young person. One of the fall-outs was the strong desire to pay it forward which gave birth to Abira Initiative.

KEMI AJUMOBI

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osunmola is an Ashoka Fellow and G o l d ma n Sa c h s 10,000 women Scholar, who has served as an ambassador, advocate and consultant to the African Union Commission (Youth Division). Mosunmola set up ABIRA Agricultural and Educational Support Initiative to help bridge the gaps identified in Nigeria and to pursue significant youth involvement in the sector, realising that sustainable economic growth rests on SME development. ABIRA engages schools, governments, and businesses through a range of highly-impactful partnerships and interventions and to establish a training program to teach business to young people. Mosunmola serves on the Boards of several growing businesses in Nigeria. Her advocacy initiatives for the Agricultural sector have earned several awards and consultancy roles in Africa. Mosunmola, selected by the World Economic Forum, is a Young Global Leader.

Up until May 29, 2019, she was the Technical Adviser to the Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on Youth and Gender.

Being Technical Adviser to the honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on Youth and Gender I held unto the role officially until May 29th, 2019. My role was to support the office of the honourable minister in crafting inclusive policy for young people and women within the agricultural sector. In addition to that, it was also to support and advice the minister to prioritise government investment for that demography.

It was a three and half year journey, and it was a call to service and nation building. We all talk about young people being a part of drafting policies, being a part of the change that we hope to see; becoming a public office holder was about taking a physical step, and moving beyond talk to action.

This role exposed me to the governing structure in our country in a much deeper level; and it exposed me to the federal character and structure of our government as it stands today.

It was a beautiful chapter in my life because I gave back to my country, but in the process, I also learnt a lot about public service and government structure, within the Nigerian context.

Turning 40 I am grateful to God who has kept me till this age. A while back, 40 seemed far away but it is here and I had an amazing time celebrating it with loved ones. It was a time of reflection and thanksgiving. Listening to various dignitaries present at the celebration express their thoughts on how I have impacted their lives brought tears to my eyes and was truly humbling. I am grateful to God for the privilege of impact. By His grace, I will do more. I intend to continue sharing my story to inspire others, especially the youths. I am glad that because I chose to follow my passion-agriculture, today, it is a sector a lot of people are showing interest in. A decade ago when I took the bold step, people wondered if I was doing the right thing. Over the years, the results have shown that I made the right choice. I will do it over and over again. They say life begins at 40 right? Let’s just say PrettyMissFarmer just got started.

Experience as an ambassador, advocate and consultant to the African Union Commission (Youth Division) In 2011, I was privileged to have been selected alongside some of the most brilliant young minds in Africa at the time, to craft recommendations for Governments, and Heads of States on the continent.

The theme for that year’s summit of the meetings of heads of state was

ABIRA Agribusiness Support Initiative

Accelerating Youth Development for Sustainable Growth and it was evident that there was no way the Union could have a thematic discuss on the welfare of young people without having input from the African youth.

It made sense to bring young people to that table to make those recommendations. The youth division of the African union needed to have general input from young people, and they organised a section of young people across the continent in various disciplines – health, education, medicine, agriculture.

I was invited to represent Nigeria www.businessday.ng

for agriculture, and that was how that process started. Upon finishing the dialogue between young people and a high level meeting of ministers, the outcome of that meeting was then presented to the Heads of State at the annual meeting in Malawi, the African Union 17th general annual meeting, and that probably created the foundation for a lot of the opportunities that I have today.

The beauty of that role was that it helped me share my perspective and lend my voice to the process of crafting policies for the continent.

This position was pivotal to influ-

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I started Abira Agricultural and Educational Support Initiative to bridge the skills gap. I discovered that there was a gap and truth was there was no need complaining about my problem, I just needed to find a solution, and that’s how the social impact investment project started.

I found it easier to partner with other people and solve problems and contribute to nation building. It was focused on developing skills, to fill the skills gap in the agricultural sector. I keenly spent my time and I was very deliberate about the transformative leadership roles I took on in running Abira Initiative.

I leaned towards collaborating with other people. Knowing that we are all products of our environment, we can invest in young professionals who can catalyse the change we seek in a sustainable scale. I committed in investing my time, and I felt there was a leadership vacuum at the time when I started it.

As a young woman, I had come to understand that I was a thoughtleader in my little way and with the right investment in my knowledge base, I felt that grace had been available to me to follow through with @Businessdayng

most of my work and it may eventually expand beyond my projections.

It started off doing community volunteering work with schools in Lagos, and it grew to point of secondary and tertiary institutions across the country, to having stages around religious institutions and organisations to being invited to share my thoughts around young people across various platforms.

You wanted Medicine, you studied Zoology and finally a farmer, what do you have to say about your peculiar trajectory? Has it been worth it?

I guess that sometimes, there are stories of people you listen to, and you can almost say it is divine, mine being one of them. Who would have thought that farming would give me a voice? Back in the days, my parents honestly felt that the profession or career of choice was medicine. I probably would have ended up a pretty face with a stethoscope around her neck, saving humanity as a doctor in a hospital. But God had greater plans, and that led me to finding opportunities for interaction.

In doing what I love to do, which was to provide value for the product I was selling, great opportunities presented themselves and I tried to leverage as best as I could. I didn’t let my dissatisfaction with certain experiences hinder my growth trajectory.

It has been a very exciting journey. I have had very high moments, but I have also had extremely low moments – times when I have asked myself – why bother, what led you to this? But if there is anything that has kept me going, it’s that God has a very interesting and weird sense of humour.

I also had days where I felt genuinely drained from giving something my best under the prevailing circumstances, and many things just didn’t come together the way I desired, at the time I desired. Some of these things eventually pieced together later, but there were many days of struggle.

Sometimes, it’s those occasional moments where you reflect on the fact that you’re probably not at the right place or you think that you’re moving ahead of yourself, or you’re not doing enough. It’s on those days that I watched the pattern, I observed that at the moments when I was down and almost weary, we would get an extraordinary order for our product, or get a sign that would reaffirm the fact that we are on the right path.

Read the concluding part of our interview with Mosunmola Cynthia Umoru by downloading this week’s edition of Women’s Hub Magazine from our website www.businessday.ng, as she graces our cover.

Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

AGRIBUSINESSINSIGHT Market Insights

Analysis

Commentaries

Experts/Industry Views

Commodities watch

Policy Reviews

Send in Commentaries to caleb.ojewale@businessdayonline.com

Fishmeal, fish oil industry threatens local markets – Greenpeace Stories By CALEB OJEWALE Twiiter: @calebtinolu

T

he expanding fishmeal and fish oil (FMFO) industry in West Africa is said to be threatening food security and livelihoods of local people in the region, according to a recent report by Greenpeace.

The report raises strong concerns about the expanding FMFO industry, particularly noting Mauritania, Senegal and The Gambia. All three species of fish used for FMFO are essential for food security, and are currently being overexploited throughout the region, according to the report.

“We’re losing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of edible fish to fishmeal and fish oil exports, potentially impacting 40 million African consumers.

West African governments must protect regional fish stocks and put the food security rights of their citizens first, by quickly decreasing the amount of fish going into fishmeal production,” said Ibrahima Cissé, Oceans campaign manager for Greenpeace Africa.

Already, Nigeria is reputed to be a culprit in over fishing, as well as Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, and with surveillance laxities along the coastal areas, the country is likely to be contributing significantly to FMFO. Nigeria is identified as the 8th highest importer of fishmeal from Mauritania according to a

ranking said to have been done from ITC Trade Map/UN Comtrade.

In Nigeria, the management of inland waters is regarded as the exclusive responsibility of the States to which such water bodies belong. According to FAO, there is at present, no uniform law for inland fisheries in Nigeria, even though there is a Sea Fisheries Decrees Act of 1971, as well as the relevant Fishery Regulations and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Decree of 1978, which enable the Federal Government to control, regulate and protect the sea fisheries resources.

FAO also noted, “Even where such laws and regulations exist, they are not often enforced.”

Highlighting the severity

of the situation, Ibrahima Cissé noted that decades of overfishing and government inaction have degraded regional fish stocks. Now the fishmeal industry is aggravating the problem to a critical level; taking fish from people’s plates to feed fish farms, pigs or poultry in faraway markets. Catches that could be made by artisanal fishermen and the women who process them - which could feed low income families - is exported to be used as animal feed. “It makes no sense,” he said.

Greenpeace says it has found 50 operational FMFO factories in the region, 40 of which were active in March 2019. The majority of West African FMFO is destined for overseas markets, largely Asia and the EU. The growing

FMFO industry is not only threatening regional fish stocks but affecting livelihoods and food security. About 80 per cent of fish landings in Senegal come from the artisanal sector, and fish provides around 70 per cent of the population’s animal protein needs, and over 50 per cent of protein needs in The Gambia.

Greenpeace Africa in a statement, advocated for West African governments and companies to face their responsibilities in the muchneeded protection of regional fish stocks, as well as prioritise basic human rights: food security and the livelihoods of artisanal fishermen and women processors. “We have to put fish back on people’s tables, before satisfying industrial farming,” said Cissé.

Leveraging ‘simple solutions’ to combat water shortage, drought

D

e s e r t i f i c at i o n i s fast encroaching on more areas in Nigeria’s north, even though land under cultivation should be increasing, a situation likely to worsen low water supply for agricultural production that parts of the region is known for.

To cope with droughts and reverse desertification, in addition to geospatial technologies, farmers can also benefit from ver y simple solutions, noted José Graziano da Silva, FAO Director-General.

In this regard, he cited the 1 million cisterns project to storage rainfall as a good example. “This is very simple.

You store the rainfall water under your house making it available for drinking and for animals all year round,”

he said.

O n M o n d a y , FA O l au n c h e d a re va m p e d version of WaPOR, an openaccess database tapping near real time satellite data to monitor land and water productivity in Africa and the Near East. Data from WaPOR, initially launched in 2017, helps policy makers and farmers to make informed decisions to be better prepared for drought www.businessday.ng

and increase agricultural production with less water use.

Unlocking the potential of agricultural innovations, be it simple solutions or satellite-based technologies, will help prevent a drought from turning into famine and forced displacement and to reverse desertification, noted Graziano da Silva.

Also in the Sahel region, FAO says along

with its partners, they are supporting the African Union to establish the Great Green Wall- Africa’s flagship initiative to combat land degradation, desertification and drought. The plan is to surround the Sahara with a wide belt of vegetation, trees and bushes in order to green and protect the agricultural landscape, preventing the desert from advancing.

“This measure is helping us to stop desertification which is one of the main reasons of growing conflict between pastoralists and farmers,” he added.

In addition, the development of innovative applications and portals in recent years can bring accessible and actionable information directly to the farmers’ hands.

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23

The Economic Impact of Agritourism in Nigeria (1) HANNAH EDIA

Y

ou probably haven’t given it much thought but Agr itour is m is a very important factor in growing the agricultural economy in Nigeria.

Did you know that the U n i t e d N a t i o n s Wo r l d To u r i s m O r g a n i z a t i o n s records tourism as one of the largest industries in the world surpassing such industries as oil exports, food products or automobiles?

If you are not absolutely blown away by that fact, it would interest you to know that tourists arrive every 30 seconds in different countries around the world, putting the number at one (1) billion tourist arrivals in the world every year. That number is expected to increase by 60%

by Year 2020.

Why exactly should these figures concern us? It’s simple.

The more we encourage agricultural tourism, the more we enjoy the benefits that tourism brings to any countr y; in this case, it would be directed towards agriculture - a sector with a most promising future in Nigeria.

What Exactly Are the Benefits of Agritourism in Nigeria?

To get a clear sense of the benefits from agritourism, let’s define the term.

Wikipedia defines Agritourism as any agriculturally based operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch. What is more interesting is Wikipedia notes that Agritourism has d if fe rent d ef in i ti o ns i n different parts of the world, and sometimes refers specifically to farm stays, or elsewhere as a wide variety of activities, including buying produce directly from a farm stand, navigating a corn maze, slopping hogs, picking fruits, feeding animals, or staying at a bed and breakfast (B&B) on a farm.

Here are the benefits that can be expected from a growth in Agritourism: 1. Increased Spending: agritourism otherwise known as agrotourism or agriculture tourism would undoubtedly inject significant cash into the local economy. If tourists have to visit different locations, they would need to spend money on transportation, hotel, food, and buy souvenirs to take back to their home country.

2.

Smarter Ideas: one of the benefits of agritourism is the exchange of ideas that usually lead to a n i mp rove d way o f doing things. Encouraging agritourism will bring people from different parts of the world who would share their own ideas with farmers and agric researchers. This can @Businessdayng

lead to an improvement in the agric sector. Agritourism breaks cultural barriers and encourages innovation.

3.

Global Recognition of Different Regions: another benefit of agritourism is that it not only puts a country on the map, it also shines the spotlight on states, and local region who do not enjoy as much international exposure.

This exposure encourages more tourist visits and may open up opportunities for farmers to gain investor’s attention.

4. Job Creation: decent work and economic growth is Number 8 on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as set by the United Nations.

Agritourism is a great way to create new jobs for locals.

Jobs that can arise as a result of increased agritourism activities include tour guide jobs, hotel jobs, and may even lead to a longer-term benefit such as tarred roads and public buses for easy transportation.

5. Promotion of Local Products : usually when tourists go on agricultural visits, they are so excited to participate in activities either because it’s new to them or because they don’t get to do it all the time. For example, it’s not every time you get to milk cows or eat honey directly from a beehive :) At the end of the visit, tourists would usually like to buy souvenirs to take back to their home country to show how much fun they had on the trip or their learning experiences.

6. Innovative Startups: what happens when a particular sector starts to thrive? You guessed it! It attracts young, brilliant minds to create innovative startups that further disrupt that sector. A brilliant example of a disruptor is Yours Truly, Farmcrowdy, a platform that allows anyone anywhere in the world to start farming and empower rural farmers.

It ’s s o r t o f l i k e h ow Facebook paved the way for several social media platforms to spring up. A surge in agrotourism would have the same viral effect and would, you guessed it again, lead to an increase in job creation.

Sources h t t p : / / w w w . theworldcounts.com/ counters/impact_ of_transport_on_ environment/negative_ environmental_impacts_ of_tourism https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Agritourism Edia is the Lead SEO/ Content Development at Farmcrowdy. Send her an email here, hannah.edia@ farmcrowdy.com

24

Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Hotels

Côte d’Ivoire woos hospitality investors on political, economic stability Stories by OBINNA EMELIKE

H

ospitality investors in West Africa are beginning to see opportunities for hotel development in Côte d’Ivoire. The investments are growing in volume for a long time as the country continues to bounce back from internal conflict to economic boom.

The growing hotel investment is assisted by a growing airport with direct connection to the USA and good quality infrastructure for meetings, conferences and exhibitions. Notably, Air Côte d’Ivoire, the country’s national carrier, which was founded in 2012, has recorded impressive growth, facilitating more visits from global tourists including investors.

As the hospitality industry grows, the airline is eyeing B777 in line with its flight expansion project to facilitate more visitations to the country from abroad.

The development has resulted in a seeming resurgence of Abidjan, which doubles as the capital city and a French-speaking com-

mercial centre.

As economic growth has been strong since 2012, between eight and 12 percent, and political stability holds, investors are seeing new chances in a nation, strategically located on the southern coast of West Africa.

Tourists who visited the country recently will testify that the country has truly been edging its way towards a lasting political solution to the armed rebellion in 2002 that split the country in two.

As well, hospitality experts who attended the new Forum de l’Investissement Hôtelier Africain in Morocco last February speak well of the country’s hospitality potential.

Horwath HTL, a global

leader in hotel, tourism and leisure consulting, shared same views and encouraged investors to take advantage of the openings in the country to grow their investments in hospitality.

Based on the expertise gained from 300 development studies both in France and internationally, Philippe Doizelet, Horwath HTL managing partner, insisted that Côte d’Ivoire is ripe for hospitality investment.

“There is lots of potential for hotel development in the mid-term”, he explained.

While the hospitality investment grows, the Horwath report warned that the overall tourism sector will not grow as rapidly as it should because

of difficult accessibility due to poor roads; high prices of air connections and hotel accommodation, and low standards of quality, maintenance and services.

This is despite the country having 520 kilometres of spectacular coastline, eight national parks and six natural reserves, as well as, four UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Consequently, the business travel segment is expected to be developed sooner because Côte d’Ivoire is growing as a regional economic hub, and infrastructure projects are in train that will reduce travel times.

The overall economic environment is attractive too – strong GDP growth, outstanding assets in the agricultural sector (Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s biggest exporter of cocoa), dynamic industry and a vibrant services sector, embracing telecoms, IT, banking and communications.

The current overall hotel supply in Côte d’Ivoire remains limited despite significant growth since the end of the political crisis, and there is a need for more quality units with demand coming from Europe and Africa.

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

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Why guests need to be cautious of hotel room safety

I

f you are staying in a hotel while on a trip, you need to be on alert for security emergencies and also watch your space.

Of course, access to your room by strangers in the name of waiters, and protection of your belongings, are the basic issues of hotel security. This is where the question of electronic door locks and key control comes

into play. It is a virtual certainty that people unknown to you such as the cleaning staff will enter your room when you are not present, and the door will be left open for a period of time each day. Well-managed hotels have elaborate security procedures in place to control who is issued a key.

Some hotels can monitor when and with which

key a room is entered, and there are usually regulations about staff room cleaning procedures to thwart intruders. Out of the way hotels in foreign countries, and some hotels in less developed countries, often do not have secure door locks. In some cases, the hotel staff may actually target you and your belongings. Your level of security awareness and the

L-R: Lynton Delaney, director, finance/operations, Offshore Division of Tsogo Sun Hotels; Ubong Nseobot; sales and marketing manager, Southern Sun Ikoyi; Tracey Meskin, head of communications & marketing, Offshore Division of Tsogo Sun Hotels; Mark Loxley, general manager, Southern Sun Ikoyi, and Ernest Orji, director, Southern Sun Ikoyi, at the Southern Sun Ikoyi Staff Recognition Awards in Lagos on Wednesday. www.businessday.ng

precautions you take must be adjusted for each city and area you visit, but there are standard minimal precautions that apply almost anywhere. Here are some tips to protect yourself and your belongings when you travel: Do not leave valuables in your room when you are absent. Use the hotel safe, and get a receipt for what you leave there. Professional thieves and hotel staffs are usually aware of every possible hiding place for valuables. Some hotels provide a safe in each guest room for storing valuables. Be aware that there could be an insurance liability coverage issue if you use a guest room safe rather than using the main hotel safe (for instance, your credit card loss/theft policy may not apply if you use the room safe). When you are in your room, lock the door, use the chain lock, and use your door peephole to identify people who knock at your door. In situations where there may be no chain lock and no peephole, you should carry a good quality traveler’s door lock, a doorstop alarm that wedges against the base of the door, or a motion detector.

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

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

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

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

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

Friday 21 June 2019

Harvard Business Review

BUSINESS DAY

25

MANAGEMENTDIGEST

Building a better globalization KIMBERLY CLAUSING

W

e are at a crucial moment in our economic history. Thirtyfive years of rising economic inequality and wage stagnation have left too few Americans benefiting from growth. While gross domestic product per person has risen strongly, median household incomes have been left behind.

This has fueled economic discontent and a search for easy answers. The Trump administration’s response has primarily been to blame either our trading partners or immigrants, and in so doing raise barriers and erect walls.

But I believe nationalistic economic policies are dangerous to both peace and prosperity. Trade barriers and immigration restrictions exact collateral damage; such cures can be worse than the disease.

In my book, “Open: The Progressive Case for Free Trade, Immigration, and Global Capital,” I argue that we need better policies for supporting workers and communities, as well as true tax reform that ensures that the gains from economic growth are more widely shared.

We also need to modernize the tax system to suit our global, technologically sophisticated economy.

Beyond these steps, we need to rethink society’s partnership with the business community.

Our aim should be to balance the needs of business with those of society, recognizing their mutual interdependence.

Today’s declining trust in business is largely a symptom of its role in disappointing economic realities like wage stagnation and income inequality. Of course, most business leaders realize that trade barriers and immigration restrictions are not good policy answers. How, then, can businesses contribute toward a healthier economy where the interests of business

better coincide with those of society in general?

If corporate America wants to maintain its legitimacy, it needs play a role in ushering in the following reforms.

ADVOCATE FOR AN OPEN ECONOMY. Companies are dependent on global supply chains to be competitive in the world economy. International capital markets provide an important source of finance. A welcoming immigration policy provides both vital sources of entrepreneurial talent as well as skills that are in short supply in the U.S. workforce. That’s why many companies have loudly rejected protectionist rhetoric and policies.

However, business leaders need to do a better job of connecting their arguments to public welfare. An open economy is also ultimately in the interests of most workers. Tariffs introduce new sources of labor market shocks; when prices on steel rise because of a tariff, someone at a U.S. firm that uses steel as an input may lose their job.

When trading partners retaliate against our tariffs, American farmers are hurt. As for consumers, tariffs are regressive consumption taxes — they make products more expensive, lowering the purchasing power of workers. Finally, lower immigration flows mean fewer new businesses hiring, lower innovation and growth in the United States, and higher demographic burdens due to the aging of the

population. These are arguments that companies need to be making.

EMBRACE FAIR REGULATIONS. Regulations are important to ensure health, safety, and environmental protection. But they should also be constantly streamlined and improved to meet the needs of society, as was the aim of past initiatives (such as “Reinventing Government” during the Clinton administration). In some places, green taxes can take the place of regulations. For instance, a carbon tax encourages both conservation and innovation in alternative energy sources, while providing businesses with price signals they can easily understand and respond to.

Tax revenue from this source allows rates to be lower elsewhere in the system. Companies will continue to lobby and provide information about how regulations affect their business. But when they attack regulation in general, or overstate the harm it causes, they damage their reputation as a productive partner in society.

PAY A FAIR SHARE IN TAXES. The business tax cuts in the recent 2017 tax law (known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) were too large to be affordable; both Republicans and Democrats had previously suggested more responsible revenue-neutral reforms. However, given the new baseline created by the 2017 law, we will need to increase taxes on the business commu-

nity. As a starting point, I would suggest both repealing the pass-through income deduction (which artificially distorts investments across sectors) and strengthening our international tax rules (which favor both profits and investments in lowtax havens relative to the United States). By closing loopholes, revenue can be raised without resorting to excessively high rates.

I also suggest more transparency on taxation, and in particular, a sunshine tax report, requiring companies to share with the public basic aggregates (sales, employment, income, and taxes paid) from every country and state in which they operate. Companies are reluctant to share this information, in some cases because they have an embarrassingly large amount of income booked in tax havens. Yet that is precisely why such disclosure is important. Giving investors, consumers and workers information on company tax practices serves as a market-friendly nudge toward viewing tax payments as a social responsibility, rather than simply a cost that should be relentlessly minimized.

PROVIDE A SUNSHINE LABOR REPORT. Similar to the report I proposed for taxes, a sunshine labor report would require companies to publicly report information about pay structures and labor representation. This could include information on executive pay, pay distribution throughout the company and methods of labor inclusion such as employee stock ownership or employee representation on boards. (Some measures along these lines, like worker-to-CEO pay ratio disclosures, were a requirement of Dodd-Frank.)

Again, this is a market-friendly nudge that would give companies reputational “cover” when they want to improve the lives of their workers, since consumers, investors and potential employees would pay attention to

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

YE

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the reports. While companies might resist such transparency, they would certainly prefer it to more intrusive regulations that would limit executive pay directly or constrain companies’ hiring and firing decisions. (Of course, in some areas changes in labor laws are needed, in order to provide employees with more predictable work hours and to adapt to societal changes such as the advent of the “gig” economy.)

RETHINK ANTITRUST LAWS. There are many indications of increased company concentration across sectors.

The market power of corporations is rising, and the corporate sector has increased its share of total savings by about 30 percentage points. Antitrust laws have often focused on the effects of market power for consumers, but antitrust laws should also focus on how market power affects labor markets and innovation. Protections such as the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau should be expanded, not weakened.

As a package, these five ideas provide a balance between the needs of society and the needs of business. Business benefits from an open economy, global market access, productive labor, prosperous consumers, inclusive economic growth and simple, fair regulations and taxes. In return, society benefits from less tax avoidance (and more tax revenue from some businesses), more tax and labor transparency, more support for labor, necessary regulations and robust antitrust laws.

In the end, it is important to recognize that the interests of society and business often coincide. An open economy with an economically healthy middle class and strong and stable institutions can benefit everyone.

Kimberly Clausing is the Thormund A. Miller and Walter Mintz Professor of Economics at Reed College.

26

Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

entertainment

Ibejii, retro-contemporary afro music artiste, consolidates on his TILX concert OBINNA EMELIKE

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n May 2 9 , 2018, Ibejii, a retro-contemporar y afro music artiste, dazzled the audience at his maiden headline concert, which he tagged, ‘The Ibejii Live Experience’ (TILX).

The concert, which was infused with cocktails created from the big bold flavours of premium scotch Johnnie Walker, brought together lovers of alternative music from across the diverse demography of Lagos society, in a serene atmosphere, where they were regaled by tunes that fused the old and the contemporary, delivered live by Ibejii, the crooning, mysterious and enigmatic lover man.

The maiden concert was so spectacular because, from the artiste’s ensemble, to his music and style of delivery, concert goers could not get enough of the artiste who was only two years in

Ibejii

the Nigerian music industry then, yet has distinguished his craft.

Keeping to his promise hosting the concert annually, Ibejii engaged lovers of alternate music in an enthralling second edition of ‘The Ibejii Live Xperience’.

Truly, this year’s edition, which held at The Backyard, Lagos on June 12,

was a blast, as Ibejii, the fine crooner, brought the purest, most beautiful and most passionate live act to music and talent at the concert. With TILX, June 12, Nigeria’s hallowed Democracy Day, now indulges a freedom of the musical soul.

Hosting lovers of great alternative music from across the land, ‘The Ibe-

jii Live Xperience’ was an eclectic ensemble of fine alternative artistes; with the uniquely talented DopeL, the angelic Celeste and the guitar maestro, Godwyn Guitar, heralding the entry of Ibejii, the star attraction.

Once again, Ibejii brought his unique music storytelling to thrill an audience that comprised true

lovers of fine music, including a bevy of music and film celebrities. From Omawunmi, Brymo, Ozone, Aduke among others, the celebrity guests enjoyed an evening filled with love, light, dance and great sound.

Accompanied by dance performer, Hermes Iyele, Ibejii’s music flowed, twisted and ebbed with the rhythmic acrobatic body contortions of the world renowned dancer.

Ibejii opened his performance with his haunting Midnight Strings from his awaited Scattered Elements project, followed quickly by crowd favourites from his GreenWhite Dope and Tribal Marks albums. From Koyemi to Eda, Aye to Eko Blues, Ibejii’s rendition of 14 of his most loved songs had the crowd spellbound.

His closing set featured Ba Mi Lo, Epiphany and other sweet dance melodies, triggering a prolonged ovation after dropping the microphone.

As if to blow the roof off the magnificently lit

stage at The Backyard, the magical night proceeded with an after party at which Ibejii’s new experimental music project, MSML, was formally launched.

MSML, which is acronym for ‘Music Saved My Life’, is an experimental mid-to-up tempo dance project that reflects Ibejii’s willingness to bend music genres. MSML is now available to stream download or buy from usual music platforms.

The Ibejii Live Xperience, a festival of great live performances, is a showcase of Nigeria’s top talent alternative music. TILX is top contender on Lagos’ annual social calendar and will be back June 12, 2020.

Ibejii, the retro-contemporary afro music artist, is multi-talented and a storyteller who uses folklore, metaphor and vernacular to deliver his music in a bold but sensitive manner. His music traverses genres including, traditional Yoruba folk, Juju, Jazz, Dance, RnB & Soul among others.

have seen”, a TV presenter, said at the press reception.

Her verdict was similar to others as well who through the movie, saw how people go the extreme to keep up appearances in society.

In a further review by the media present, the general consensus was that The Bling Lagosians is so far the best Nollywood movie released of (2019), with intricacies that run deep and with a well-paced out story line filled with lessons. They also think the movie director’s generosity to the cast was boundless. Although laced with humour and some exceptionally funny moments, the movie deals with serious subject matters that will leave viewers thinking twice about Lagos party lifestyle, as well as, giving a deeper insight into the Lagos elite’s lifestyle.

Speaking at the press reception, Bolanle AustenPeters, the movie director, said,“In telling this story, it was important that we learnt lessons. In doing the Bling Lagosians, I observed certain things in our society and I decided to tell

the story, a relatable story, that people would see and recognise this is the real us.

This story is like a mirror, so we can look at ourselves in a mirror and see the flaws.

This is a story of deceit, lust, love, greed, passion, it’s a story of excess’ but with redeeming qualities”.

Alex Ekubo narrated how his tasking role brought the best in him in the movie, while the new acts commended Bolanle AustenPeters for giving them rare opportunity to debut in their first ever movie.

But one of the highlights of the movie premiere at Film House Cinema, Lekki, Lagos was a dressing competition with the dress code ‘Eko for Show’ where a total prize money of N1 million was given for the most quintessential red carpet look.

At the end, Daala Oruwari went home with N500, 000, while Teni Oluwo the first and Beverly Naya, second runner up got N350, 000 and N150, 000 respectively.

However, The Bling Lagosians opens in cinemas across the country on June 28, 2019.

The Bling Lagosians spotlights lifestyle of Lagos affluent …movie premieres June 28

I

t has been many months of making magic on the set of Bolanle AustenPeters Production for The Bling Lagosians, the much awaited movie of the year. However, after the long wait and months of shooting and perfecting the magic, the movie is finally set for public viewing.

The Bling Lagosians, which took over two years in the planning and execution, is the first directorial debut of Bolanle Austen-Peters, the theatre and entertainment entrepreneur; hence many were on the lookout for its release. They were also on the lookout for the release of the new movie because of Bolanle AustenPeters’ stage production pedigree. Having successfully showcased critically acclaimed stage plays such as Saro the Musical, Wakaa the Musical, Fela and most recently, the Kalakuta Queens, the viewing public and cinema goers think the new film would consolidate on entertainment mogul’s rare offerings.

The movie tells the story of “The Holloways”, a pow-

erful Lagos socialite circle whose matriarch never disappoints when it comes to flaunting her family’s extreme wealth. She is resolute on having her 51st birthday become the year’s biggest society event – however things take a turn when her family’s huge dept verges on being exposed. How will the family cover it up when she is 100 percent reluctant to cut back on her extravagant lifestyle?

A further boost to the rich storyline is the formidable cast, which includes: Elvina Ibru, Toyin Abraham, Jide Kosoko, Bisola Aiyeola, Denola Grey, Monalisa Chinda, Osas Ighodaro Ajibade, Sharon Ooja, Helen Paul, Alex Ekubo and more.

Austen-Peter’s vision for the film is to create something reflective of her experience in Lagos.

For her, the movie is about the affluent, brash, flamboyant, audacious and most times over the top lifestyle of Lagosians.

The movie is a powerful story and gives a glimpse into the lifestyle of Lagos’ high society; the “big men”, www.businessday.ng

“big madams’ and their inner circle of the ruling elite; who are super rich and do not feel guilty about it one bit. In the film, you step into the world of the elites who are truly in charge of Lagos; these folks have immense power. These are the 1 percent of the 1 percent in Nigeria and they put everyone in the shade with their lavish display of wealth. They may have the wealth, the luxuries and, of course, “The Bling” lifestyle, but the question remains if they mastered their pursuit of happiness.

Already, the movie has

started its journey to the cinema with the grand premiere held on Sunday June 16, 2019 at the Film House Cinema, Lekki, Lagos.

As well, on Monday June 17, 2019, there was a press reception and screening of The Bling Lagosians at Terra Kulture, Victoria Island.

After viewing the movie at Terra Kulture, the media personalities present unanimously think that the movie would pack all the industry awards when it is finally released because the depth of artistic touch, rich cast and theme. “The excellence on set is second to none that I

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Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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entertainment Business apparel – Gentlemen

Don’t just stand, stand out!

Business etiquette

Janet Adetu Are you dressed to meet expectations? henever you are dressed for business there is a certain expectation that comes with your appearance. If you ask yourself too you also want to look somewhat serious, authoritative and respectful. You do need to be taken seriously if anything good is going to come out of your meeting or gathering. As it is a common human trait to judge people on first site it goes without saying that the better you look the more positive the impression that you are likely to leave behind. This is a very important call for paying attention to detail where it matters most.

Having met and trained numerous people I have found that dressing for many depends on their mood and the occasion. Well for me this would work during social occasions but business can become quite unpredictable. Opportunities may arise unannounced so it is important to be alert and ready for when those opportunities do come your way. If indeed you carry any title in business whether it is the CEO in person or the Business Development Manager or even the Sales Executive of your organization it is now paramount to meet expectations in your appearance.

Since looking good is good business, and it takes just seconds to make a good first impression not to mention you will never get a second chance to make a good first impression, I would

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implore you to add a little more effort, don’t just stand, stand out when dressing for business.

Let us take a closer look at some steps you can take: Your formal suit • Check your body proportions and ensure it fits well by buying the right size • Go for formal corporate colours like Black, Navy Blue, Charcoal Grey • Buy fabric like wool or blended material, try to avoid cotton only fabrics that may wrinkle • Two piece suits are the flow of fashion today though three piece suits are good too • Single breasted are more in vogue try to avoid double breasted jackets • When closing your jacket just button the top most button • Unbutton your jacket when you sit • The length of your trousers should sit and touch just above the back heel of your shoe • Dawn your jacket with a pocket square or rose pin

• Avoid placing a pen at the front of your jacket • If your jacket squeezes your back line it is too tight Your official shirt • Depending on your height watch out for short, regular or long sleeved shirts measure according to your arm length • Official shirts are always worn long • For business plain shirts go with everything, invest in white, blue, pink,

cream pastel colours • Black or dark coloured shirts are for evening events • When choosing striped or checked shirts ensure it has a white background • The collar makes all the difference not too small, too short or too pointed • When wearing an undershirt avoid wearing a V-neck it should not show • Try to invest in 100% cotton or iron free shirts Your business tie • The size of the tie depends on your body size • Thin ties are usually for social events while wider ties are more formal • Plain ties work well on all attires while striped ties are to be worn selectively • A darker tie sits well on a lighter shirt • Your tie should reach the top of the belt • Avoid wearing a striped tie, with a striped shirt and striped suit • Avoid floral or busy patterned ties they are quite distractive in business

shoes

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If indeed you carry any title in business whether it is the CEO in person or the Business Development Manager or even the Sales Executive of your organization it is now paramount to meet expectations in your appearance

Socks • Plain coloured socks work best in business • The colour of your socks should match the colour of your trousers • Multi-coloured socks are in fashion but avoid when attending an important meeting to avoid distraction • Socks can make you appear like fashion is more important than business Accessories Cufflinks • Ensure the cufflinks match the colour of your watch that is gold for gold and silver for silver. If the watch strap is leather check the colour of the face of the watch.

• Ensure you keep a set of gold, silver and neutral coloured cufflinks.

• When buying a shirt tht needs cufflinks buy an extra pair just incase you cannot find the other cufflink of the existing ones.

• Engraved cufflinks form a great gift for men • Cufflinks are seen and not hidden under the jacket.

Bracelets / necklaces /ring • Bracelets, earings and necklaces are generally a NO NO in business • Watch for the use of accessories when on VIP meetings it may depict you as being more social than serious • Earings are a choice take note of your environment when you want to create an impact • Your ring, lapel pin and tie tack are acceptable business attire • Anything above 3 pieces of jewellery is considered too much Now you are equipped to STEP OUT & STAND OUT like a Charming Gentleman!

Wishing you all the best as you create a great impression of yourself.

Your extended wardrobe –Shoes • Formal shoes should have laces • Black is the most formal colour to have in your wardrobe • Your shoes should be well taken care of – polished • Your shoes should match your belt • Laceless shoes are worn with business casual •Watch out for worn out heels Belt • Keep your belt in good condition • Discard all worn out belts • Watch your belt buckle to avoid distraction • A simple belt buckle works better in business • Black belts work well with black

Please be kind to share your experience. Follow me on all social media platforms @Janetadetu / @jsketiquetteconsortium. Send me an email at janet.adetu@jsketiquetteconsortium.com

The desperate search for the goldmine: A review of Gold Statue Movie: Gold Statue Genre: Comedy Timing: 1hour 30 minutes Director: Tade Ogidan Year of Cinema Release: 2019 Reviewer: Olutayo Irantiola here is no gainsaying that Tade Ogidan is one of the big masquerades of the Nigerian movie industry who does not come to town regularly but whenever he comes, he dances well to the delight of his teeming fans. That is the same great work that has gone into his recently released movie, Gold Statue.

The flick parades Gabriel Afolayan who played the role of Adewale Esho, the son of Richard Mofe Damijo (RMD) and the temperamental screen diva, Sola Shobowale, named Akintade and Grace Esho in the movie. They had a comfortable middle class

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family based in Lagos.

Interestingly, their son, Adewale Esho, heard from the four-walls of a classroom about a huge gold statue in the city of Ilesha, which happened to be his country home. From his findings, it was part of his ancestral rights resources. He took time to research through his grandfather and a friend overseas on the location of the statue.

Grandpa did not divulge the information but his friend told him and the journey began to get this goldmine.

As a young man who just left school, he was able to leave home on the premise of going for his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Adamawa State but he got his way back to Ilesha. After series of activities, he landed in jail. As the Yoruba saying goes, “Oruko to bawunilaa je leyinodi” meaning you can bear any name of choice outside

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the borders, he changed his name to Samuel Okon, but was lucky to be seen by someone who can identify him.

In fact, this act almost tore the family apart, his mother relocated to the family house in Ilesha just to ensure that he was fine. Eventually, the smart young man, became a force to reckon with in the prison.

Thereafter, he was able to recruit fellow prisoners for the great task.

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The a-list actors in the movie are numerous asides the aforementioned charactersAlli Baba, Norbert Young; Woli Arole; Yemi Sodimu; Segun Arinze and D-Banj gave life to the movie. Equally, contemporary songs were used effectively to engage the audience. Tade Ogidan has been described as the Quentin Tarantino of Nigerian movies, and this new flick will put other filmmakers and producers on their toes for another timespan.

Let me leave you with some throbbing questions, what was the outcome of the desperate search for this Gold Statue? Who are the ‘freed guys’ who eventually enjoyed the rewards of the statue? Can there be a single beneficiary of an act of bravery? You have to unravel all these details yourself by visiting the cinema to watch the movie, which premiered since May 17, 2019.

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Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Sports Pinnick charges Super Eagles to go for trophy “Do not take any team for granted. Easy groups exist only on paper; things are different on the pitch.

The NFF will ensure you get all that is due to you.

This is a very important tournament and Nigerians are fully behind you. You should do your very best not to disappoint them.

“The NFF is happy about the situation in camp; the commitment, discipline and dedication of each and everyone of you. You have all the quality of a champion team and everything about you is positive.”

Responding, Captain

Stories by Anthony Nlebem

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s the much anticipated 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2019) kicks off today in Egypt, Amaju Melvin Pinnick, President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) who is also 1st Vice President of CAF, has challenged the Super Eagles to stay focused on winning the top prize at Africa’s flagship tournament, when he visited the team.

NFF clears air on AFCON 2019 budget

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he Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has dismissed as misleading, statements by former Youth and Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, that the Federation omitted the budget for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) from its 2019 programmes sent to the Ministry, according to official statement from NFF. “There is no truth to the claim that the NFF omitted the AFCON from its budget,” NFF Executive Committee member and Chairman of the Media and Publicity Committee, Hon. (Dr) Suleiman Yahaya-Kwande said on Sunday.

“The truth is that major competitions are never part of the regular budgets since, in most cases, qualification campaigns are still on course while budgets are being prepared for the following year. Thus, they are always sourced from intervention funds.

“We qualified for the 2019 AFCON in November 2018, after the 1-1 draw with South Africa in Johannesburg. That was too late to include in the budget for 2019, which we had submitted around September/October 2018.

So, we knew the grace would be for the AFCON fund to be sourced from special intervention, and not from the proposal that had been submitted earlier as regular program.

“For instance, the 2018 FIFA World Cup budget was also sourced from intervention fund. We qualified for that competition in October 2017 and we could not have included it in the regular program for the year 2018.”

Kwande, who actually defended the NFF budget for the year 2019 at the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, said that the NFF at this time is only interested in ensuring that the National Teams (male and female) excel at their

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respective tournaments in which they are representing Nigeria, and would ordinarily not respond to Dalung’s statements, but noted that it is important to put records straight to avoid misleading the public.

“For the regular annual budgets, we put together our budget for every competition and send to the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports, which then puts a covering note and recommends to the Presidency, from where the document heads to the Finance Ministry and then onwards to the Budget Office.

Since this NFF administration came into office, as was the case for some time before it, the Federation usually received what is called an ‘envelope’. So, the only way to prosecute major competitions is to depend on the grace of intervention funds.

“Few weeks after we qualified for the AFCON 2019, we sent a budget to the Ministry. We sent this same budget about three times as we were always being told to re-submit.

“Dalung was Minister of Sports for three-and-half years and not once did the NFF bypass the Ministry to submit a budget to the Presidency or the Finance Ministry. Facts are sacred.”

The NFF chieftain said that for the records, the Federation has never written any story to curry sympathy, as alleged by Dalung.

“We have no time for those kind of spins. Another deliberate misleading statement by the former Minister was the allegation that the NFF leadership has been saying that it can do without

government funding. We have never said so; we have only ever stated that the NFF has attained about 60 per cent self-funding from the analysis of our 2017 audited accounts that we published, and that we are determined to drive towards total selffunding which would be a delight to the Government, as it will free resources for other critical sectors.

“It is however interesting that Dalung now considers the NFF as a self –accounting parastatal, when several times during his tenure he refused to accept such!”

Kwande said that nevertheless, the Super Eagles are focused on putting up a good performance at the AFCON 2019 finals starting in Egypt on Friday. “We are not sure what the intentions of Mr. Dalung are regarding the so-called ‘feelers’ he said he is having about possible unrest in the Super Eagles’ camp. There is nothing of such; it is statements such as those being made by Dalung at such inauspicious times that, but for the absolute discipline and concentration of the Super Eagles, is capable of truncating harmony in the camp.

“The players are focused on the noble assignment of doing Nigeria proud and told representatives of the Nigerian ambassador to Egypt (the representative of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari in that country) as much when they visited the camp some days ago.

“The ‘feelers’ we are getting are all positive, and we are confident the team will do the country proud at the end of the day.”

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Mikel John Obi promised that the three –time African champions would be very professional on and off the pitch and do all they can to make the country proud.

“Mr. President, we thank you for all that you have done for this team over the years, as the head of Nigerian Football. We appreciate your honest approach to all issues that concern our welfare.

“We all are aware of what is at stake. This tournament will not be child’s play or a stroll in the park, but we are ready. It will be tough but when it gets tough, we will get tougher.”

AFCON 2019: Star Lager to thrill fans with shining moments

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ith the Africa Cup of Nations AFCON kicking today in Egypt, Star Lager beer is set to thrill fans with unforgettable moments.

At a media parley event held in Lagos, Star Lager beer reeled out plans to engage consumers and create memorable experiences for football fans across the country during the AFCON tournament.

Aside the top echelon of Sports media personalities at the event, former African Cup of Nations winners for Super Eagles were at the ceremony namely; Victor Ikpeba and Mutiu Adepoju of 1994 winning squad, while Efe Ambrose and Juwon Oshaniya of 2013 team were also present.

Star Lager beer is an official sponsor of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), as well as the official beer of the Super Eagles, one of the prime contenders of the African title when the competition kicks off

June 21st to July 12th, 2019.

Apart from the thrillers expected from the competing teams on the fields, Star Lager will also thrill the fans to best of entertainment at the Star Fan Park, which would be activated on all match days.

At the Media Parley, the Portfolio Manager, National Premium, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mrs. Sarah Agha, explained that the reason is to make Nigerians enjoy the best of African football under a very relaxed atmosphere especially as the tournament is about to set a record as the most attended event by African players plying their trade in Europe.

“Nigerians are very passionate about football and ready to stand behind the Super Eagles as they hope to conquer Africa again and with Star Lager as a foremost brand when it comes to entertainment, consumers and numerous fans are in for wonderful moments of football.

L-R: Juwon Oshaniya, Mutiu Adepoju and Victor Ikpeba, ex-internationals and AFCON winners with Mrs. Sarah Agha, Super Eagles, Portfolio Manager, Nigerian Breweries Plc; Barister Seyi Akinwunmi, First Vice President, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Efe Ambrose, former AFCON winner at the Star Lager’s formal announcement of AFCON 2019 package to fans and consumers held in Lagos recently.

on Friday June 21.

The Brand is set to literarily give Nigerian fans memorable experiences with 17 Star Fan Parks in eight cities across the country where fans can in carnival like environment enjoy the 52 matches of the competition, which runs from @Businessdayng

“With the seasons across the globe in recess, the Africa Cup of Nations provides an exciting atmosphere for fans to behold most of the African stars that thrill global audiences in the various leagues in Africa and Europe” she continued.

Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Live @ The Exchanges Market Statistics as at Thursday 20 June 2019

Top Gainers/Losers as at 20 June 2019 LOSERS

GAINERS Company

Opening

Closing

Change

JBERGER

N19.5

N20.9

1.4

WAPCO

N9.55

N10.5

0.95

NB

N57

N57.5

0.5

DANGSUGAR

N12

N12.45

0.45

GUARANTY

N31

N31.25

0.25

Company

Opening

Closing

Change

N34.65

N31.2

-3.45

MTNN

N132

N130

-2

CILEASING

N6.3

N5.67

-0.63

N41.9

N41.5

-0.4

N20.2

N20

-0.2

FO

STANBIC ZENITHBANK

ASI (Points) DEALS (Numbers) VOLUME (Numbers) VALUE (N billion) MARKET CAP (N Trn

Global market indicators

29,765.31 3,977.00 275,487,479.00 3.907 13.116

FTSE 100 Index 7,424.44GBP +20.90+0.28% S&P 500 Index 2,946.06USD +19.60+0.67% Generic 1st ‘DM’ Future 26,680.00USD +144.00+0.54%

Deutsche Boerse AG German Stock Index DAX 12,355.39EUR +46.86+0.38% Nikkei 225 21,462.86JPY +128.99+0.60% Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index 2,987.12CNY +69.32+2.38%

Nigerian stock investors book N126bn loss in 4 days …market cap hits new low Stories by Iheanyi Nwachukwu

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igerian stock investors are caught in the web of huge loss value at approximately N126billion in just four trading days into this week.

The value of listed stocks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has depleted remarkable compared with its weekopen position.

The market still underperforms despite market watchers expectation that investors would begin to cherry pick fundamentally sound stocks as we approach first-half (H1) 2019 earnings season.

On Thursday June 20, the stock market recorded moderate loss at the close of trading session, pushing the market capi-

talisation to new low of N13.107trillion as against preceding trading day’s high of N13.119trillion.

The stock market opened this week with cumulative value of listed

…stocks rally on NSE as pre-tax loss margin moderates

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lower by 0.02percent to 29,765.31 points as against preceding day’s high of 29,772.72 points.

In 3,977 deals, stock traders exchanged 275,487,479 units valued

at N3.907billion. Sterling Bank Plc, Lafarge Africa Plc, Access Bank Plc, GTBank Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc were actively traded stocks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

L-R: Tobias Meletschus, executive director, Corporate Development; Heinz Stockhausen, director; Zubairu Ibrahim Bayi, executive. director, Administration; Mutiu Sumonu, chairman; Igwe Peter Nwokike Anugwu, director; George Marks, vice chairman; Belinda Ajoke Disu, director; Ernest Nnaemeka Azudialu-Obiejesi, director; Jafaru Damulak, director; and Lars Richter, managing director at the Company’s 49th AGM in Abuja.

Lafarge grows FY’18 revenue to N308.4bn afarge Africa Plc has released its full year results for the period ended December 31, 2018.

The cement maker grew its revenue by 3.1percent to N308.43billion from a low of N299.15billion in 2017.

equities at N13.233 trillion.

At the sound of closing gong by 2:30pm on Thursday, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index (ASI) closed

As at 1.59pm on Thursday June 20, 2019, the company’s share price had rallied on the Nigerian Stock Exchange by 95kobo or 9.95percent, from N9.55 to N10.5.

Gross Income of N69.68billion in 2018 against N48.97billion represents an increase of 42.3percent.

The company was able to reduce its record Loss Before Tax (LBT) by 42.7percent from a high of N34.03billion in 2017 to N19.50billion in 2018.

Also, its Loss After Tax (LAT) at N8.80billion in 2018 stood lower by 74.6 percent compared with N34.601billion in 2017. www.businessday.ng

Forte Oil Plc recorded the biggest loss on the Bourse after its share price decreased from N34.65 to N31.2, losing N3.45 or 9.96percent; followed by MTN N Plc which decreased from N132 to N130, after losing N2 or 1.52percent.

Meanwhile, the share price of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc advanced most, from N19.5 to N20.9, adding N1.4 or 7.18percent; while Lafarge Africa Plc went up from N9.55 to N10.5, adding 95kobo or 9.95percent.

“The market had little to no reaction to the appointment of a new NNPC head by President Buhari. In the absence of any market drivers to sway the market, we foresee another session of mixed to positive trading tomorrow”, equity research analysts at Lagosbased Vetiva said in their June 20 note.

CAP gets shareholders’ approval to pay N2.03bn dividend …represents 290kobo per share

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espite the challenging operating environment in 2018, Chemical And Allied Products Plc (CAP Plc) ended the year with an impressive performance.

The business recorded a turnover of N7.76billion representing a growth of 9percent over the preceding year level of N7.11billion, while its operating profit was N2.28billion, which represents a growth of 16percent over 2017 level of N1.97billion.

On the strength of this performance, the Board of CAP Plc at the company’s 54th Annual General Meeting held in Lagos on Thursday June 20, 2019 got the approval of the sharehold-

ers to pay dividend of N2.03billion.

This dividend payout represents 290kobo for every 50kobo ordinary share payable to the shareholders on the Register of Members as at close of business on May 24.

At the annual general meeting, the shareholders received the report of the directors, the financial statements of the company for the year ended December 31, 2018 together with the report of the auditors and audit committee thereon.

The company grew its profit before tax (PBT) by 19percent, from N2.18billion in 2017 to N2.59billion in 2018; while after tax profit for the review year increased

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by 35percent, from N1.49billion recorded in 2017 to N2.029billion in 2018.

“CAP Plc expanded its distribution channels and improved on field presence by opening 2 Dulux Colour Centres in Lagos and Abuja. The company also increased marketing activities and value-adding services.

“It extended in-plant paint production to silk line and commenced Dulux Colour Centre upgrades. We will work harmoniously with Dulux Colour Centre distributors to achieve topline growth in 2019”, Solomon Aigbavboa, acting chairman, Chemical And Allied Products Plc told shareholders.

He noted that in the review financial year, @Businessdayng

CAP Plc navigated the difficult business terrain by recovering its costs through various cost reduction initiatives and improved efficiencies. “This was achieved through products reformulation and vendor managed inventory initiatives,” Aigbavboa added.

According to him, CAP Plc is poised to take advantage of other structural reforms of the Federal Government, which might impact the housing and real estate sector.

“The economy is expected to gain traction this year, on the back of stronger household consumption and public spending,” Aigbavboa added.

Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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NAFDAC suspends new SMEs tariff hike Police debunk UK claim of imminent terror attacks in Nigeria

Josephine Okojie

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he National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) Thursday suspended the recent hike in fees for registration, lab analysis, change of company’s name and package size extension among others it imposed on operators of small and mediumscale enterprises (SMEs).

The suspension came after members of NAFDAC’s governing council board met to deliberate more about the issue.

A document seen by BusinessDay and signed by Mojisola Adeyeye, director general of NAFDAC, stated that the observations by various stakeholders in the sector on the new tariff hike had been

reviewed and the regulator’s governing council agreed to suspend the tariffs pending engagement with stakeholders on the issue.

“The council in a meeting yesterday considered the observations from stakeholders and agreed to meet with them over the issue with a view to reviewing the tariffs,” Adeyeye said in the statement dated Thursday, June 20, 2019.

“Meanwhile the approved tariffs have been suspended pending the outcome of the meeting with stakeholders,” she added.

BusinessDay had on Monday reported the complaints of various operators of small business in the country over the new increases in fees.

All of them who spoke to BusinessDay said NAFDAC

did not engage them before increasing the tariffs by over 600percent in some cases.

Reacting to the suspension, Femi Egbesola, national president, Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON) said that SMEs were happy with NAFDAC over the recent suspension of the new tariffs.

“If government does anything that really will impact negatively on us as citizens and business operators, either in a sector or collectively, we all must come together to fight a common cause, without fear or favour, with which much really and truly can be achieved,” Egbesola said.

“That is what we have done with the recent hike and now the regulators are willing to engage us in reviewing the tariffs,” he added.

Lawan bows to pressure, rescinds Adedayo’s appointment OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja

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resident of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has bowed to pressure and reversed the appointment of Festus Adedayo as his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity.

A terse statement issued on Thursday by Mohammed Isa, the Special Assistant to the Senate President on Media and Publicity, did not however, give any reason for theterminationoftheappointment.

“The office of the President of the Senate has reviewed the appointmentofMr.FestusAdedayoas

Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the President of the Senate and decided to rescind its decision on the appointment, and wishes Mr. Adebayo the best in his future endeavours,” it said.

“This was contained in a statement issued today and signed

by Mohammed Isa, the Special Assistant to the Senate President on Media and Publicity,” the statement reads.

Adedayo’s appointment has generated heated debate on social media since his appointment two days ago.

While supporters and sympa-

thisers of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have described Adedayo as unfit for the job, having been a fierce critic of President Muhammadu Buhari and the APC, others applauded Lawan for his bipartisanshipintheappointments.

On Wednesday, Lawan was invited to the Presidential Villa, where Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, was said to have expressed the President’s displeasure on the matter.

The nation’s Number Three Citizen also came under fire for retaining five media aides of his immediate past predecessor, Bukola Saraki.

Innocent Odoh

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he Nigeria Police on Wednesday refuted the claim of the United Kingdom(UK)Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), which on Tuesday raised an alarm about imminent terror attacks in Nigeria and warned to its citizens about travelling to some Nigerian states.

Police Public Relations Officer FrankMbadebunkedtheclaimin astatementissuedonWednesday, stressing that Nigeria remained one of the most “beautiful places to live in the world”.

“While Nigeria Police acknowledge that Nigeria is not without some security challenges, just like other nations of the world, includingtheadvanceddemocracies,wewishtorestatethatNigeria remains one of the most beautiful places to live in the world. It is a safe country with its peculiar socio-economic and security challenges,” Mba said.

“We therefore wish to reassure Nigerians and the International Community of their safety and commitment of the police and other security agencies to continue to provide effective security services to the nation,” Mba added.

The statement on the UK government website said all travel to Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River States and 20km of the border with

Niger in Zamfara State should be cancelled.

The FCO also warned against all but essential travel to: Bauchi, Zamfara, Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Katsina, Kogi and within 20km of the border with Niger in Sokoto and Kebbi States, non-riverine areas of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Abia States.

It said that: “Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Nigeria. Most attacks occur in the northeast, particularly in Borno (including central Maiduguri and along access routes connecting the city to other major towns and along the Niger border, including in Damasak), Yobe, including the eastern LGAs bordering Borno State both north and south of the Damaturu road), and Adamawa States,” it said.

The statement further noted that there have also been significant attacks in Gombe, Kano, Kaduna, Jos and Bauchi States and in the Federal capital, Abuja.

It added that the terrorist threat across eastern Yobe and Borno State was high, with frequent recent attacks.

“Terrorist groups carried out attacks in North East Nigeria during the February 2019 election period, and further attacks are likely. We continue to advise against all travel to Borno and Yobe States.

The statement further added that on 23 February, 2019,the

Islamic State West Africa (ISWA) launched an attack involving indirect fire that resulted in explosions in multiple locations within Maiduguri.

The CFO warned UK citizens to avoid places where crowds gather, including political meetings, religious gatherings and places of worship, markets, shopping malls, hotels, bars, restaurants, transport hubs and camps for displaced people.

It also noted that the attacks could be “indiscriminate and could affect western interests as well as places visited by tourists.

Besides Abuja, other major towns and cities remain particularly at risk, including Kano and Kaduna it noted.

“There’s a high threat of kidnap throughout Nigeria. Kidnaps can be motivated by criminality or terrorismandcouldbecarriedout for financial or political gain.

“The security environment in the northeast has deteriorated since 2018 and there is a heightened risk of kidnap. Kidnaps in the northeast have included humanitarian and private sector workers. There are also reports that Boko Haram and ISWA are continuing to actively plan to kidnap foreigners.

“As well as in north-east Nigeria, this is believed to include some northern and middle belt states including Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Kaduna, Niger and Adamawa.

LEKOIL to focus on growth, strategic investments in 2019 FRANK UZUEGBUNAM

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EKOIL, an Africa-focused oil and gas exploration and production company, is set to deepen its growth and strategic investments in Nigeria in 2019. The management of the company made this disclosure in a statement that accompanied its 2018 financial report.

According to the 2018 financial report, production at the Otakikpo marginal field averaged approximately 5,345 barrels per day, while strategic decisions and steps towards increasing production commenced. At the Otakikpo marginal field, Phase Two preparations for development commenced with the acquisition of 3D seismic data acquisition and interpretation, while an updated Competent Person’s Report (CPR) has nearly been completed.

Apart from investment in the Otakipko marginal fields, LEKOIL has made further investment in OPL325 and its lawsuit connected to OPL 310 has been withdrawn to enable engagement with partner, Optimum Petroleum Development Limited (“Optimum”), and the regulator, to conclude agreements and resolve all outstanding issues.

Technical Evaluation on OPL325 has been completed with 11 prospects and leads estimated to contain potential gross aggregate Oil-in-Place volumes of over 5,700 mmbbls (un-risked, Best Estimate case) identified. After finalising terms for a Production Sharing Contract on the block, LEKOIL intends to farm-down a portion of its 62 percent working interest following a detailed prospect/lead risking study.

Though LEKOIL posted a loss

of $7.8 million in the 2018 financial year, as against profit of $6.5 million in 2017, there are plans to ramp up production at the Otakipko marginal fields to approximately 15,000 to 20,000 bpd.

Subject to agreement on funding with partners, plans are underway for a drilling programme for three to five wells, with the aim of meeting the production target.

According to Olalekan Akinyanmi, Chief Executive Officer, LEKOIL “The priority for 2019 is to grow production volumes at Otakikpo through Phase Two development (subject to funding) to reach gross volumes of 15,000 to 20,000 bpd. The first step has already occurred, with 3D seismic data acquisition and interpretation now completed.

“We also continue to advance towards the start of the appraisal drilling programme on Ogo in OPL 310. We will work with our joint venture partner, Optimum, to negotiate agreements that will allow us to make progress on the block, after securing all relevant regulatory extensions and approvals,” Akinyanmi said.

“The next year should therefore provide key catalysts for value appreciation for shareholders as we move forward in building a leading Africa-focused exploration and production business,” he said.

LEKOIL has an ambition of becoming the world’s leading exploration and production company focused on Africa. In realising this vision, the company seeks to maximise value for stakeholders in a sustainable manner, by operating with integrity and leveraging local resources – to the benefit of the countries and communities in which it operates. www.businessday.ng

L-R: Abiona Babatunde, general manager, marketing and corporate communications, Coscharis Group; Ini Abimbola, CEO, Thistle Praxis Consulting; Lepe Omotade, director/COO, Private Jets Nigeria; Funke Osae-Brown, founder/publisher, The Luxury Reporter Magazine; Modupe Ogunlesi, CEO, Adam and Eve/keynote speaker; Henry Ekechukwu, chief strategist, Huce Valeris, and Funmi Onajide, director, Brooks and Blake, at the 5th anniversary of The Luxury Reporter Magazine in Lagos, yesterday. Pic by David Apara

StarTimes offers free subscription for every Super Eagles win ODINAKA ANUDU

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hough StarTimes d o e s n o t have t h e airing right for the Afr ican Cup of Nations (AFCON) starting today, the pay-TV company says it is rewarding subscribers with two to eight days free subscription for every win recorded by the Super Eagles of Nigeria between June 21 and July 15.

According to StarTimes, subscribers who pay for

at least one month subscription before each Super Eagles game will get a minimum of two days free subscription should they win the match, irrespective of the bouquet the subscriber pays.

A statement signed by Kunmi Balo gun, public relations manager, said the promo was designed to encourage subscribers to support the Super Eagles.

“Cu s t o m e r s w h o re charge before Niger ia’s

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first match will get two days extra should Nigeria win their match,” Balogun said.

He stated that the policy would be repeated for the second and third group matches when subscribers recharge before the match and get two extra days each should Nigeria win their matches.

Customers who recharge before Nigeria’s first knockout match and the quarterfinal matches will get four days extra view for each of @Businessdayng

these two rounds, if Nigeria wins these matches, he said.

In addition, he noted that customers who rec ha rg e b e f o re Nig e r i a’s semi-final, should the Super Eagles make it to that stage, will get days extra view if Nigeria wins the semi-final. He added that should the Super Eagles reach the final, customers who recharge before this final match will get another eight days extra view should Nigeria win the final.

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Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

NEWS

Rwandan, Senegalese, DRC presidents to speak at TEF Entrepreneurship Forum …forum to feature plenary sessions, masterclasses, others

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heTonyElumeluFoundation (TEF), Africa’s champion of entrepreneurship, has announced the line-up of speakers and activities for the 5th Tony ElumeluFoundationEntrepreneurship Forum — the largest annual gathering of African entrepreneurs and the African entrepreneurship ecosystem.

FortheForum’sPresidentialDialogue, the President of the DemocraticRepublicofCongo(DRC),H.E Félix Tshisekedi will join previously announced President of Rwanda, H.E Paul Kagame and President of Senegal, H.E Macky Sall, in an interactive, charged plenary session that opensDay2oftheForum.

The Presidential Dialogue will be moderated by TEF Founder, Tony O. Elumelu, CON, and will feature allthreepresidentsengagingdirectly withanaudienceof5,000,comprisingofentrepreneurs,policymakers, investorsandbusinessleaders,with thousandsofpeopleinteractinglive online, through TEFConnect.

The Forum presents the largest single annual opportunity for entrepreneurs and policy makers to interact directly and all sessions attheForumhaveprivatesectorand public sector leaders anchor panel discussions, masterclasses, and a dynamic pitching competition that will engage an audience of start-up

entrepreneurs, development institutions, and policymakers.

The speakers expected for this year’s Forum include Benedict Oramah,president,AfricanExportImport Bank (AFREXIMBANK); Akinwumi Adesina, president, AfricanDevelopmentBank(AfDB); Awele Elumelu, trustee, Tony Elumelu Foundation and founder, Avon Medical; Kennedy Uzoka, GroupCEO,UBAGroupplc;Djene Kaba Conde, First Lady, Guinea, amongst other notable global business leaders.

Every year, the Tony Elumelu Foundation hosts the largest gathering of African entrepreneurs, policymakers and business leaders in one location. This year’s Forum, themed “Empowering African Entrepreneurs”, will take place at the iconic Transcorp Hilton Hotel, in Nigeria’s capital city of Abuja. The Forum will also include the UBA Marketplace, where UBA, Africa’s global bank, brings together businesses from across the continent.

Atthe2018forum,TEFConnect, the largest digital platform for African entrepreneurs was launched to connect entrepreneurs to the opportunities they need for business success. TEFConnect will take centre stage at this year’s Forum as global debates move to technology asakeydriverofeconomicdevelop-

Ignorance responsible for Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit – Babalakin ...says Lagos/Ibadan road has no design SEGUN ADAMS

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he chairman of the Resort Group, Wale Babalakin (SAN), has said ignorance was responsible for infrastructure deficit in Nigeria.

Speaking in Lagos on Thursday at the Annual Lecture of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) themed “Infrastructure Development and Growth in Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges”, Babalakin said Nigerians were suffering for “a deep level of ignorance”.

Explaining that we have got our educational system wrong, the lawyer said the system doesn’t teach people what their rights are and the fundamentals of building a strong society.

Babalakin, who is the prochancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), said there was need for Nigerians to hold the government accountable and persistently demand for their

entitlements.

He said development cannot happen in a situation where people are too ignorant of their rights to question the status quo and they accept whatever is thrown at them.

“You can go through the primary, secondary and university systems today without realizing that government owes you anything or knowing that telling the truth is fundamental in building a society and you say you want to develop infrastructure,” he said.

Explaining that infrastructural development was not about money but serious commitment and a lot of intellectual rigour, Babalakin cited an example of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 (MMA2), which was built by one of his companies, Stabilini Visinoni Limited (SVL), 12 years ago and is being managed by another of his companies, Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited (BASL).

The businessman said those who approved the concession

for the terminal did not want the project completed, adding that he completed the project against the run of play.

“And from the first day, they took away 60% of our revenue against our agreement,” he said.

He identified the problems he experienced with the government as ignorance, deliberate refusal to understand and malice, adding, “It’s been 12 years since we completed MMA2 and no government, including the state government, has done anything comparable. This is because infrastructural development is not about money. It is about serious commitment and a lot of intellectual rigour. A few terminals have been built but they are not workable.”

For example, he said the new International Airport built in Lagos, which cost $600 million, had no provision for coordinated movement, adding that a Chinese company was asking for another $ 400 million to make it “workable”.

Identifying some of the anomalies at the terminal, the lawyer said, “There is no link between the car park and the terminal building. There is no apron. You have to taxi to the old terminal to board. With 10 percent of that as support from the government and encouragement, we will do 10 times better and we are willing to.”

On his challenges at MMA2, the lawyer said it took 10 years to prove that BASL was never indebted on MMA2.

“The Supreme Court only ruled on April 5 that government was owing us N132bn. Where were the bankers since 10 years?

They were nowhere to be found.

As soon as there was a hitch, they surrendered us to be consumed by the system. We had a clear agreement on where the money was going to come from and when somebody breached the agreement I expected them to file behind me to address the issue, but they didn’t do so. They just abandoned us,” he said.

LASTMA allays motorists’ fears on traffic law enforcement Iniobong Iwok

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he Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has allayed the fears of motorists over the enforcement of traffic laws in the state. The agency told members of the public, especially motorists, not to be apprehensive over the fines being circulated on social media platforms as it was not a punitive measure but part of the laws and measures that have been put in place to restore sanity on roads in the state.

In a statement signed by Olawale Musa, the general manager of LASTMA, the 2018 traffic law was an improvement on the 2012 Law with objectives of addressing the void and inadequacies noticed with a view to improving traffic control and management, safeguarding

motorists’ rights, improving road safety, eliminating impunity and disorderliness on roads, and ending traffic officers’ overzealousness and arbitrariness on duty.

The statement further revealed that the process of implementing traffic law in the state has been democratised in order to ensure that cases of traffic infractions are proven, determined and punished accordingly by law court. This would allow for fair hearing and transparency in the implementation of the law.

It further stated that “The process has also put burden of proof on traffic officials and are therefore, to be more professional, civil and polite to motorists and members of the public, but firm against violators of the law so as to check cases of impunity on the road.”

Ace of Space Consult partners NPF to introduce Police Background Check Number Iheanyi Nwachukwu

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n an effort to improve services as well as strengthen its collaboration with the general public towards crime reduction, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) recently entered into a Public Private Partnership with Ace of Spades Consult Nigeria Limited (AoS) to Build Operate and Transfer (BOT) a purpose-built civil database and alsoupdate criminal records.

This partnership aims specifically to digitise criminal records and provide a webportal for an online automated system of background checks and issuance ofcriminal records clearance certificate.

This project is to be operated by AoS as abusiness, and will make the process of background checks and issuance ofclearance certificates automated, seamless, credible, and affordable foreveryoneandeverylegalentity.

Thisinitiativeisalsoaimedatcreatingapurpose-builtcivildatabaseforthe NPFbyinteracting with other relevant government agencies like the National IdentityManagement Commission

(NIMC), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Federal RoadSafety Corps (FRSC), Bank Verification Number (BVN) etcin order to enhancecriminal investigations through proper and accurate forensic identification of individuals, thereby giving the NPF access to real time accurate biometric data tofunction better.

When completed, the process will enableeveryindividualandlegalentity, includingembassies and employers from any part of the world access to seamless andcredible online background checks system as well as the acquisition of automatedforge-proof digitalised certificates when required.

According to Arinola Giwa Amu, Chief Executive Officer of Ace of Spades Consult Nigeria Limited, “Together we can achieve better security through theimplementation of a national public awareness campaign on the necessity andrequirement for community policing through Criminal Records Checks of individualsand corporate organisations seeking any form of service or engagement”. www.businessday.ng

L-R: Lanre Oniyitan, CEO, Sustainable Education & Enterprise Development (SEED); Jadesola Adedeji, CEO and co-founder, STEM METS Resources; Folawe Omikunle CEO,Teach for Nigeria, and Modupe AdefesoOlateju, MD, The Education Partnership Centre, at the 5th anniversary of STEM METS Resource in Lagos.

Pic by Pius Okeosisi

World Refugee Day: ECOWAS Parliament to assist member states domesticate, implement Kampala convention Innocent Odoh, in Lome, Togo

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s the global community marks World Refugee Day, the Parliament of the EconomicCommunityofWestAfrican States (ECOWAS Parliament) has mapped out strategies to assist national parliaments of member countries yet to ratify and domesticatethelegalinstrumentscaptured intheKampalaconventionof2009.

This, according to the regional bloc, is to ensure that all member states have full domestication and implementationoftheConvention tofind lastingsolutionstothecrisis of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees in West Africa.

This was the crux of Thursday’s technical session of the ongoing Delocalised Meeting of the ECOWAS Parliament Joint Committee on Health and Social Services, Agriculture, Environment, Water Resources and Infrastructure Development, Energy, Mines & Industry, Human Rights, Child Protection and Other Vulnerable Groups in Lome, Togo.

Speaking during the ses-

sion, the Commissioner for Social Affairs and Gender in the ECOWAS Commission, Siga Fatima Jagne, while making her presentation, said, the objective is to “facilitate the sharing of lessons learned on development and implementation of laws and policies to prevent internal displacement and to encourage further ratification and domestication of the Kampala Convention among Member states.”

Also speaking to reporters in an interview, a member of the ECOWAS Parliament, Chernor Maju Bah, from Sierra Leone, advised African leaders to tackle the root causes of Refugees and internal displacement caused mainly by political instability, ethnic clashes and corruption.

“As a sub-region we are under obligation to ensure that real and genuine democracy is obtained within our sub-region.

Those things leading to instability must be addressed,” he said, adding that West African leaders must address the problems of hunger and create jobs for the teeming population.

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FAAN beefs up facilities at Lagos airport to prevent Ebola IFEOMA OKEKE

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he Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN) has provided more facilities and equipment at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, (MMIA) in fight against Ebola.

Speaking during a tour of the facilities at Lagos airport with Abullaziz Abdulai, the Permanent Secretary of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Health, Olatayo Oginni, International Terminal Manager, FAAN, said the authority had been collaborating with Port Health in the provision of infrastructure, facilities and all other things needed to prevent Ebola case through Nigerian airports.

Ogini told journalists that FAAN holds sensitization meetings with Port Health to ensure all the stakeholders in the airport were involved.

“We have facilities at arrival and facilities at two points of @Businessdayng

entry at the terminal. From the arrival bridge to the screening point, we have equipment on ground,’’ he said.

Everyone that passes through the airport must be screened. The Port Health will need to also upgrade the equipment. However, we collaborate with them on the issue of provision of clinic, space and all other things they require.

“We have two facilities for them at the arrival hall. They have a permanent clinic at the terminal. We have also provided all the equipment they need to do their job.

We also have an isolated clinic at the air side. If they suspect any case of Ebola, the patient can be taken to the isolated clinic. We have standby ambulances and clinic at the terminal and standby ambulance at the cargo side. There is another standby ambulance at the FAAN head office,” he added.

Thursday 20 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

news Oil climbs to $64.32 after Iran shoots down American drone …Trump says Iran made ‘very big mistake’ DIPO OLADEHINDE

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fter weeks of setback, Brent crude, the benchmark for Nigeria’s crude oil, rose by 6 percent to $64.32 on Thursday after Iran said it shot down a U.S. spy drone in its airspace stoking Middle East tensions, prompting President Donald Trump to blast Tehran on Twitter and fueling concerns of a conflict between the two countries.

Brentcrude,the globalbenchmark, increased by 4.04 percent to $64.32 a barrel around 6.50 p.m Nigerian Time.

Trump took to Twitter Thursday morning to criticise what U.S officials say was Iran’s attack on a U.S. surveillance drone earlier in the day, saying that Tehran made a “very big mistake”.

Trump said later Thursday thatthepublicwill“findout”about whether the U.S. plans to retaliate with a military strike, but said he finds it “hard to believe it was intentional”.

Early on Thursday, the price of oil jumped after Iran said that its Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) shot down a “USmade Global Hawk spy drone” on its southern coast near the

vital oil chokepoint, the Strait of Hormuz - that critical chokepoint for the global oil trade - not far from where two oil tankers were recently attacked.

Later in the day, the IRGC said that it shot down the drone after “the unmanned aircraft was targetedafterviolatingIran’sairspace over the Southern coasts”, Iran’s Fars news agency reports.

Industry watchers have warned that Thursday’s incident “significantly raises” the prospects for international conflict which came amid a standoff between Washington and Tehran, stemming from the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.

Prior to the drone attack over the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. accused Iran of recent attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf region.

US and Iran tensed relationship has sent crude prices soaring since more than 20 percent of the world’s oil output comes from the Middle East. Also supporting oil were expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve could cut interest rates at its next meeting, stimulating growth in the world’s largest oil-consuming country.

www.businessday.ng

Nigeria, Benin Customs to tackle smuggling, revenue loss with joint connectivity system AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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he Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and Benin Republic Customsadministrationhave launchedanewtechnologyknown as‘connectivity’toeradicatefraudulent acts and smuggling within the two borders.

It is expected that the technology will address all issues relating to trade, security and revenue, and will fast- track and facilitate trade between the two countries.

Speaking at the official launch in Seme border on Thursday, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), comptroller generalofCustoms,saidthenewsystem would not only facilitate trade but would also stop the problems of fraudulent and illicit trafficking across the borders.

While urging importers to take opportunity of the technology to fast-track their trade, he called on the two countries’ Customs to be careful in handling the system so thatitwouldnotcreateanavenuefor smugglingbecausealltraderswould begin to circumvent the system as they can’t falsify it.

“Benin Republic and Nigeria are almost like one state divided by imaginary border line. This is a unique development for both countries. This system will weed outallfalsedeclarations.Ifyouwant your imports and exports to be treated fast, you must make honest declarations,” he said.

He however advised both sides

to tighten up against smuggling because lawless people may try to circumvent the system.

“We must block all entrances and exists where people can smuggle that will maximise this use of technology. From here we will move to Idiroko, Kamba and Jibya where we share borders with other countries,” he added.

On the benefits of the system, he urged all the trader partners to give the two countries’ Customs the maximumcooperationinensuring that their documentation was correct and perfect.

He, therefore, urged importers and exporters to make sincere declarationsbecausethesystemwould not give access for manipulation or falsification.

However, Business Process explanationsmadebythetechnical team revealed that the system will involve information sharing and feedbacks from both ends.

The Nigerian Trade Portal domiciled in Abuja was used to demonstrate the workability of the system and process showing how transit goods declaration made in the Cotonou Port can be assessed at the Nigerian end.

TransitgoodsdestinedforNigeriabutlandedintheportofCotonou will have all relevant information about importer, nature of consignment, time of arrival , commodity code,commoditydescription,number of packages, marks , numbers and details about containers use.

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UBA boss advocates curriculum overhaul to equip graduates for technology advancement

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he group executive director of United Bank for Africa (UBA), Liadi Ayoku, has called for the overhaul of the training curriculum in financial institutions across Africa to reflect current technological realities, which according to him will reflect the modern business expectations and ensure the relevance of graduates to the continent’s economic growth and aspiration.

Ayoku said this while delivering a keynote address during the annual lecture of the Faculty of Management Sciences, Lagos State University (LASU) titled: “The Future of Finance – Technology at Play” on Wednesday.

He explained that finance graduates and professionals must be aware that it was no longer business as usual following the fast-changing technological landscape.

He said, “I am not certain if the finance and accounting graduates of today are familiar with modern financial softwares packages, including global accounting and financial reporting standards.

“Have they been imbibed with the ready-to-market soft skills like leadership, communication, commercial acumen, flexibility/openness to change and strategic vision? If not, I will like to propose an overhaul of the curriculum to accommodate

@Businessdayng

these.”

Ayoku further explained that with technology replacing basic financing, the finance professional that would excel in the future must be quick to retool and adapt to changes.

“Traditional knowledge of finance is getting stale in today’s business world and indeed there is dire need for retooling our skills if we must remain relevant n tomorrow’s financial world. Technology is fast replacing the basics of finance,” he surmised.

According to Ayoku, financial reporting is increasingly being automated, just as data analytics is demystifying performance analysis. Tomorrow’s finance professionals must have capabilities for business intelligence and cognitive analysis.

“We must apprise ourselves of the most recent technology and continue to retool our skills to remain relevant today and into the future,” Ayoku said.

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Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

news Their stories: Kidnap, crime victims...

Continued from page 1

Nigerian Police Force are actively conniving with gangs of kidnappers across

the country.

Gangs of mostly young men have taken to bush paths, not for farming or to hunt game, but to hunt for their fellow human beings to maim, rob, and kidnap for ransom.

For those who cannot afford to take flights, every road trip is fast becoming a one-way ticket with a possibility of no return.

From Aba in the southeast, to Oyo in the South West, Zamfara in the northwest, and even the FCT, Abuja and the now notorious expressway linking it with Kaduna, millions of Nigerians commute daily in fear of not returning home safely.

As some accounts indicate in interviews conducted by this reporter, even when kidnappers drove through police checkpoints, and victims thought they were about to regain freedom, just like a suspense-filled horror-movie, the kidnappers would only extend some cash to the uniformed men at the checkpoint, and proceed on their journey with the victims.

No attention is paid to those held in the vehicle against their will, perhaps, if they did, they would notice their distraught countenance, and even the gun pressed against their body to keep them silent. The police is usually not involved in the rescue process, mostly based on the instruction of the kidnappers, and also in part, due to a lack of faith and confidence in the Nigerian Police Force.

A kidnap victim interviewed

by BusinessDay recalled when ransom was to be paid for someone else being held hostage, and there was a suggestion to inform the police.

The ransom was N10 million and while at the police station, the person received a call from the kidnappers that as punishment for going to the police, ransom had been increased to N20 million.

“By bringing the police into your case, you are compounding it. Don’t dare call them at all,” said Jonathan Ebiye, who is recovering from the inhumane treatment he was subjected to in the kidnapper’s den.

The Kidnappers have become more daring; waylaying every vehicle they perceive could be conveying suitable targets, perhaps, their confidence bolstered because they have ‘insurance against arrest or prosecution’. Every

Nigerian is now a target, rich or poor. This month (June) Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo state revealed his convoy was attacked along the Akure-Ibadan road, a major transit hub into may southwest states.

“I have encountered them (kidnappers) before; so security issue is not limited to the masses alone,” Governor Akeredolu was quoted to have said.

“If the convoy of a governor can be attacked, who else is spared?” stated a newspaper report quoting Gani Adams, a leader of the Odua People’s Congress.

BusinessDay findings have alsorevealedthatinmanycases, the kidnappers have a wellorganised supply chain that ensures they get enough supplies. In an alarming instance, onekidnapvictimrecalledbeing keptinabuildingwhererelatives (mothers and siblings) of the abductors also lived. In fact, the younger ones were often sent onerrandstopurchasenoodles, which they were fed with, after their mothers and sisters prepared the meals.

“Kidnapping is a now a normal thing in Aba,” said Ada Onuoha (not her real name) who was recently abducted, and this week, her domestic staff was almost kidnapped again, as well.

Ada, a 39-yeard old who has been a medical practitioner for about 15 years, was kidnapped in Aba, Abia state on her way home from work.

Narrating her ordeal to BusinessDay, Ada said she closed from work on the fateful day but her car wouldn’t start so she left the hospital where she works using public transport, specifically the tricycles popularly referred to as ‘Keke’.

When she got to the Umuimo road, which leads to her residence, she boarded another ‘Keke’ but unknown to her it was that of kidnappers.

She was the only passenger at first, when it moved a little bit, two guys entered. As they got in, “the next thing I saw was a gun by my side,” she said. “I gave them my bag thinking that was all they needed,” but she was wrong.

They drove to a point where a four-runner vehicle was parked, in it was another female kidnap victim. Coincidentally, she knew this other person, who was lucky to get released before Ada as her family paid a N10 million ransom.

From this point where she joined the vehicle, which according to her was snatched from its owner, they drove to a point where what she described as a rickety Volk-

Nigerian foreign missions face scrutiny...

Continued from page 1

money, inability to get cer-

tain jobs and credit facilities, risk of breaking immigration laws and subsequent deportation.

Besides, Nigerian citizens in foreign countries complain that the country’s foreign mis-

sions, which should ordinarily be the last bastion of hope for them, leave them to their fate or make things more difficult in cases of emergency.

The cases of Oluwakemi Ola, who told CBC News Canada in an interview that the Nigerian Consulate in Canada www.businessday.ng

swagen Golf Car was parked.

When they got to Saint Paul’s road instead of taking the Aba Owerri road they made a turn into the streets, presumably by Ada, to avoid crowded areas that may have helped them attract attention.

The kidnappers opted for a lonely road, then met the checkpoint at Okigwe road by rail, from that place to Port Harcourt road, from there to Alogi then connecting the expressway at Ohukpa.

After driving for an hour and half, on high speed and on a free expressway, her abductors finally arrived at a village settlement, “The one I couldn’t understand, when we got to a place they call railway, there is a police checkpoint and they saw us. But you can’t talk because someone is pressing a gun against your body, so you are scared,” she said.

Speaking further, she said, “We felt, ‘thank God’,we will get rescued. But can you believe that when we got to that point, they gave the policemen at the checkpoint a bundle of money.” According to her, it couldn’t have been less than N100, 000. After the transaction, the car zoomed off and headed towards Alogi, from where they entered the Ohukpa expressway to Port Harcourt, at a point they veered off the main road and “I couldn’t tell where we were again, as the journey continued inside bush paths,” she said.

The mother of six children; the youngest 8 and the oldest 18 years old, Ada was held in captivity for two days, until a N1.2 million ransom was paid to secure her release.

The kidnappers, not satisfied, withdrew N600,000 from her account using her ATM card. Despite security claims by banks, particularly by having cameras installed around ATM points, she says

they were unable to help in tracking the criminals.

While Ada was fortunate to have left the kidnappers’ den alive, another young man kidnapped and taken to the same place was not. He bled to death from the wounds sustained from a gunshot, presumably due to a scuffle when he was being abducted.

“Detained for three days of inhumanity,” as described

by Jonathan Ebiye (not his real name),hisabductionalongwith six other people would not have happened without the complicity of at least a certain officer of the Nigerian Police Force they encountered on a trip.

On May 15, Jonathan along with four others were heading to delta state from Lagos. As they passed from one police checkpoint to the other, they were delayed because of the vehicle’s tinted glass. This repeated itself at another checkpoint at Okada where one of the police officers was making a phone call, going round the vehicle, and speaking Fufude (the Fulani language) to describe the vehicle and its occupants, according to Jonathan.

They left the checkpoint and after about seven minutes’ drive from Okada, they heard gunshots, but thought it was happening behind at the last checkpoint. Unknown to them, it was coming towards them, and the assailants were the kidnappers.

Five masked armed men dressed in army fatigues, who according to him in subsequent dialogues were identified as Fulani, rounded them up. A car had rammed into theirs from behind when the shooting started, and two of the occupants in that car were abducted along with them.

Altogether, seven of them were marched into the forest where they were subject to series of beatings and inhumane

treatment. His driver and and lady were released.

Ransom was placed at N50 million for the remaining five captives, and as they called the relative of each person, they were flogged to ensure they were wailing loudly to the hearing of their family members. This was to ensure they cooperated, and promptly too.

The ransom was gradually reduced from N50 million, to N30 million, then N10 million, and finally N5million, which he said appeared to be the benchmark. In the end, their families could only raise a total sum of Two million, three hundred and fifty thousand naira (N2.35 million), with the support of church members and friends.

The ransom was delivered not far from the last police checkpoint in Okada before they were attacked. Packed in a sack, the money was buried inside a heap of ‘Garri’, to ensure that while in transit, other police officers, to avoid complicating issues, would not sight it.

After their release, they went to Okada police station where Jonathan’s SUV had been taken to, and from there taken to the State Command in Benin. While writing his statement, “one of the women in the station whispered to my ears, some of our officers are with them (the kidnappers).”

The day their ransom was paid, another passenger vehicle was attacked, during which one of the passengers died, with the kidnappers taking a new set of hostages. “It is like a daily occurrence,” he said.

This week, Dayo a son of the immediate past Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole was abducted before his release was secured. However, for those who may think poverty confers immunity from abduction, this is fast becoming

a thing of the past, as those not ‘financially useful’ are likely to meet their untimely death.

Femi Adeniyi (not his real name), a 200-level undergraduate of the Osun State University was abducted on his way back to school from Lagos.

Along with five others, they were asked to insert their debit cards into a POS device, from which withdrawals were made from their bank accounts.

His aunt, who spoke with BusinessDay, would not allow further communication with the family as she says it would remind them of the traumatizing experience all over again.

“We don’t want any more trouble from those people,” she said, despite reassurances of complete anonymity.

The daring act is not the first account of abductors and robbers, using POS to get payments from their victims. This, despite the appearance of banking regulations in place before POS devices are issued, and even the BVN process that was touted as the end to escaping financial crimes.

Some Nigerians who have been victims of kidnapping (directly or either indirectly as a close relation was affected), are dealing with the traumatizing experience in their own way; mostly through silence. They are reluctant to talk about it, for fear repeated attacks, but mostly because they have lost faith in law enforcement getting them justice.

While Ada was in captivity, two other men were brought in alive, while a third was brought in dead, having bled to death from a gunshot wound. “We don’t know what happened to the corpse, if it was buried or not,” she said.

According to Jonathan, “Police officers told us it is happening every day, but what are they doing about it?”

treats Nigerians who go to the consulate for one assistance or the other “like animals”, and Eigbe Deba, another applicant, who said there was need for “some external intervention”, are now public knowledge.

“We have experienced so many impromptu rescheduling of appointments, unjustifiable reasons for delay of passports even when you are

at the verge of being repatriated, and insults from embassy or consulate staff who think everybody does drug trafficking or one illegitimate job in the UK,” said Marvin Oleku, a Nigerian who resides in the United Kingdom.

Drawing a comparison with Ghana, Oleku said Ghanaians can renew their passports almost the same day at

their foreign mission in the UK because of the professionalism of the embassy staff and commitment of the home country to the wellbeing of those in the diaspora who are credible sources of remittances and skilled manpower.

Narrating to BusinessDay her ugly experience at the Nigerian embassy in Berlin, Germany, Chiwetalu Eze, a

graduate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka who went for further studies in the country, said that after a long wait for her passport, she was told it was ready and paid for it to be delivered, but it took over one week to get it delivered after she had paid €20.

“The international pass-

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Friday 21 June 2019

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politics & policy

We will rely on traditional rulers to improve security in Oyo - Makinde REMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan

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ove r n o r S e y i Makinde of Oyo State has said that his government would rely heavily on the traditional rulers in the state to improve the security of lives and property.

The governor, who made the pledge while speaking at an event to mark the 56th birthday of the Olugbon of Orile Igbon, Oba Francis Alao, which was held at the Ilaji Hotels and Resort, said that he would be constantly knocking the doors of the monarchs for consultations and support to tame insecurity.

Makinde, who was represented at the occasion, said that since security was one of the four cardinal objectives of his government, he would leave no stone unturned in tackling the menace.

The governor assured the traditional rulers that he would assign them huge roles in the government even though the Constitution does not isolate specific roles for the traditional institution.

According to Taiwo Adisa, chief press secretary to the governor, “Though royal fathers have not been accorded their rightful recognition, as they have been excluded by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, from having specific roles and functions, I want to make it abundantly clear that our royal fathers will have a place and a huge responsibility in this government.

“We have identified four key areas as the pillars of this government: Education, Economic Expansion, Health Care and Security. Traditional rulers will have major roles to play in the success of these

programmes, especially in the area of security.

“Our traditional rulers,

like no other persons, are great custodians of values, ethos, and culture that can be

explored to re-orientate the society and keep it secured.

“Therefore, I will be look-

L-R: Gboyega Oyetola, Osun State Governor; Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State Governor; Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti State Governor; Rotimi Akeredolu, Ondo State Governor; Dapo Abiodun, Ogun State Governor and Seyi Makinde, Oyo State Governor, at a South Western Governor’s meeting after the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) in Abuja, yesterday.

news

Nigerian foreign missions face...

Continued from page 34

port was to expire in July and so I would have wasted €100 if I had done my visa extension and done it again in July. So, I had to talk to my Alien office and they said I could go to Berlin. We booked appointment and got February 20.

After the long wait, they said I should go because there was no booklet, and I should pay €20 for delivery,” she narrated.

Eze said it takes less than 48 hours for citizens of other countries to get their passports out from their consulates in Germany but, sadly, Nigerians wait for months to get their passports, easily pushing them on the wrong side of German immigration laws.

However, those who are tired of the many excuses at the foreign missions are now resorting to near physical assault.

The recent video of vandalised cars at the Nigerian High Commission in London which went viral on social media is a case in point. According to the explanation, Jeffrey Akpovweta Ewohime, a 32-year-old Nigerian resident in the United Kingdom, vandalised the cars to express his frustration over the poor services he received at the High Commission.

But Friday W. Akpan, spokesperson, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja, said the Ewohime incident could have been avoided if Ewohime had exercised restraint.

“The ministry wishes to reassure Nigerians of the commitment of our missions to providing services efficiently to our citizens,” Akpan said, urging all Nigerians abroad to exercise restraint and be of good behaviour on the

grounds of the various missions.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairman and CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), said some Nigerians in diaspora do not behave well at the foreign missions and as such often interfere with the jobs of the missions’ staff.

She thinks that if people behave properly and show courtesy to the foreign mission staff, they will reciprocate such virtues.

Some experts, however, told BusinessDay that the challenges Nigerians face at the country’s foreign missions can be pinned down to a number of issues that the foreign missions have to contend with, including low budgetary allocation, delay in approvals from Abuja, lack of training for staff, among others.

Edu Fawowara, a former Nigerian diplomat, said funding and training of Nigerian diplomats both face serious constraints and financial setbacks, adding that only 25 percent of foreign ministry personnel speak a second international language apart from English.

Moreover, the Foreign Service Academy in Lagos, which was established in the early 1980s, only served the training needs of newly recruited staff while, sadly, there is no systematic programme for follow-up training for other categories of foreign affairs officers, he said.

For him, budgetary allocation has been low for a long time and has made it difficult for the foreign missions to meet the expected service delivery. Compared with other ministries that receive more, the Foreign Affairs Ministry, according to him, receives www.businessday.ng

about 1 percent of the Federal Government budget for recurrent expenditure.

Speaking further, he noted that until recently, there were some disturbing reports of the country’s missions abroad owing rents, and Nigerian diplomats not being paid their allowances regularly resulting in the calls for the closure of some Nigerian missions abroad that cannot be funded.

It would be recalled that during the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency, a committee was set up which suggested the closure of some missions deemed to be expensive for the country’s economy to run, such as in Venezuela, Kuwait, Lebanon, Congo, Pakistan, Bangladesh, North Korea and the Philippines.

But the former diplomat said that when a mission is closed, it damages relations that have taken years to build.

On the issue of the scarcity of passport booklets, a serving diplomat who pleaded anonymity said it is a real and sad situation, but suggested that government should engage more suppliers of the booklet or even install machines that can start printing the booklets in Nigeria.

He tasked the Nigerian Immigration Service on the implementation of the proposed 10-year validity passport, especially for the diasporas, to checkmate the frequent visit for renewal at the foreign missions.

But despite these challenges, BusinessDay gathered that it has not all been bad news at Nigeria’s foreign missions as some diaspora Nigerians have good experiences to share.

Jike Emordi, a Nigerian who teaches in Saint Petersburg, Russia, said he had always renewed his passport at the Nigerian embassy in

Russia in less than a month and on schedule too.

“I think the leadership of the embassy, the level of professionalism of the staff and adequate working tools are determinants of the kind of service one gets at the various foreign missions,” Emordi said.

Godwin Adama, consulgeneral, Nigerian Consulate in Johannesburg, South Africa, said the services at the consulate have improved.

Adama said the introduction of biometric visa system has ensured efficient and quick visa processing of within 36 hours at most, as against over two weeks duration in the past. He said he also enforced a 48-hour passport renewal policy for Nigerians living in South Africa, aside from other welfare issues.

The passport policy, according to him, was in line with international standards and was also meant to offer Nigerians respite in foreign lands.

A head of one of the Nigerian missions abroad, who pleaded anonymity, agreed that things have improved in most of the foreign missions, especially funding, in the last few years, which has enabled some foreign missions to pay their rents, offset their bills and get the needed incentives to improve on their services.

Recall that when Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former minister of finance, was appointed foreign affairs minister in August 2006, she discovered that the ministry had no internet connection with the outside world, including its missions abroad, and that the lifts in the building were not functioning. Then embassy buildings in Khartoum, Teheran and others in Latin America were said to be leaking.

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ing forward to consulting with all royal fathers on how best to achieve the objective of making Oyo State one of the safest in the country.”

The Governor also promised to give a facelift to the road leading to the Ilaji Hotels and Resort, adding that his government would give priority to roads with economic importance.

“If any investor has brought business into this state, the least we can do is to add value by creating good roads to such companies,” the governor said.

While speaking at the event, the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Adetunji, congratulated the Olugbon who is also the Vice Chairman, Oyo State Traditional Council.

Oba Adetunji said that being alive was not a right but a privilege, adding that it was an opportunity for any human being to be alive.

Efforts to save OML-25 may crash as...

Continued from page 2

Davies, said the matter of Kula oilfield has since been taken over by President Muhammadu Buhari, who he said handed it to the vice president, who in turn allegedly handed it to the NNPC. The Alabo and engineer, surrounded by the king and other chiefs and heads of units in the oilfield, said since signing two memoranda in 2005 and 2014, nothing has been given to the host communities.

“There is no gainsaying that the communities have not benefitted from any meaningful development in terms of healthcare delivery, education, economic empowerment, etc, after over 38 years of oil exploration in the area since the King of Oko Royal House and Belema community gave the parcel of land to SPDC in 1980,” he said.

He said the key players and rightful leaders of the communities were not invited to the said meeting but that persons invited for the meeting were not members of the host communities of OML 25. One Kula elder, Hope Opusingi, who said he was the rightful king, had earlier in the week commended SPDC on community development and praised the state governor for being on the right path, but the Kula monarchs and chiefs condemned the man, saying a court ruling had since resolved who the rightful monarchs were.

Okoye-Davis said the decision arrived at with the NNPC, NAPIMS, security agencies, SPDC, PANDEF, and host communities was to constitute a joint investigation visit to Belema community to be organised by SPDC and that @Businessdayng

this was yet to be carried out.

He mentioned the rightful host communities of OML25 as Belema, Offoin-Ama, and Ngeje, wondering why Ngeje was not included in the proposed meeting whereas a self-claimed monarch was included. He said the invitation seemed to reflect political lines in wards 15, 16, and Abonnema in Akuku-Toru local council area of the state.

He said the oil giant once walked out of the peace meeting in Abuja to the anger of partners, and that unless the company points out where it spent the alleged $300m community vote, there would be no progress in negotiations.

The King, Bourdillon Ekine Oko, the 28th Oko, said, “If you want to stop fight, quell the quarrel. We guaranteed the security of any FG team with Shell ready to come to Kula to show the projects done.”

He said a local council boss invaded the place with 18 boats full of thugs on May 18, 2019, to force the oilfield open, but warned that such actions would cause more trouble. He said as long as the oilfield is shut, there would be no violence in the area, but that provocation could cause crisis.

He described Kula as the most peaceful community in Rivers State but insisted that the people the Rivers State government invited to the Saturday meeting are mostly non-stakeholders in OML-25.

“If the governor wants peace, he should send a team to participate in NNPC meetings in Abuja with SPDC and Kula chiefs and not start another meeting in the state.

How can we descend from the federal level of attention and the presidency to state level?” he said.

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FT

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FINANCIAL TIMES

World Business Newspaper

Hedge fund manager Paulson pulls out of London Investor made famous by ‘The Big Short’ scales back after crisis-era glow fades ROBERT SMITH AND LINDSAY FORTADO

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edge fund manager John Paulson, who made billions of dollars on bets against the US housing market in the run-up to the financial crisis, is closing what remains of his London operations as he prepares to stop managing money for external clients.

The last remaining partner in London, Orkun Kilic, has left, according to a filing with Companies House on Tuesday. Mr Kilic was the firm’s head of European investments, the head of the London office and part of its global eventarbitrage strategy.

Paulson & Co began downsizing the London operations in late 2016, when Harry St. John Cooper, then a partner and executive, left, along with gold strategist and former partner John Reade, who once ran a gold fund alongside Mr Paulson and Victor Flores. Two traders, Peter Dunne and Massimo Stabilini, also left at the time.

A spokesperson said: “The Paulson European Fund repre-

sented a small amount of our AUM. The UK and Western Europe will continue to be an important part of our investment focus.” The firm’s flagship merger arbitrage fund is up 18 per cent so far this year, according to a person familiar with the performance.

Mr Paulson, 63, said in January he would consider turning his firm into a family office managing his personal wealth “in the next year or two”, joining other titans of the industry including David Tepper and Paul Tudor Jones who have been downsizing their operations in preparation for eventual retirement.

Mr Paulson made the comments in a podcast hosted by Broome Street Capital founder Michael Samuels, in which he cited George Soros and Stanley Druckenmiller as examples of hedge fund managers who had converted their hedge funds to family offices.

Less than a quarter of the money currently managed by Paulson is from outside investors, Mr Paulson said in January. According to the most recent regulatory filing, Paulson & Co manages around $8.57bn. Assets hit a peak of around $36bn in 2011, and he

John Paulson said in January he would consider turning his firm into a family office © AP

was managing around $16bn as recently as late-2016.

In late 2016, the firm ended part of the lease agreement on its London office, shrinking from two floors to one in a building in St James, according to a filing with Companies House.

Mr Paulson, who specialises in

merger arbitrage investing, rose to fame following his firm’s massive profits when he anticipated the housing crisis. He has had less success in recent years following unsuccessful bets on the pharmaceutical companies Allergan and Valeant.

He has been vocal about his

push for the government to privatise Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the housing agencies. He has also been noted for bullish bets on gold, a push for people to move to Puerto Rico to take advantage of its status as a tax haven, and his support for US President Donald Trump.

CFTC chair complains to European Commission over regulation jibe

Iran shoots down US drone over Gulf Oil prices rise as tensions with Washington escalate after spy aircraft hit over Strait of Hormuz

Christopher Giancarlo writes to Valdis Dombrovskis over official’s ‘you fell for it’ speech

MONAVAR KHALAJ, SIDDARTH SHRIKANTH AND SIMEON KERR

PHILIP STAFFORD AND JIM BRUNSDEN

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top US financial regulator has taken an unusual swipe at his EU counterparts in a deepening row over how to supervise international trading.

Christopher Giancarlo, chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, wrote last week to Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commission vice-president responsible for financial services, to publicly criticise comments made by an EU official at a conference this month.

The letter, seen by the Financial Times, hits out at comments made

by Patrick Pearson, head of unit, financial markets infrastructure at the commission, at an event run by derivatives trade association the FIA in London.

Mr Pearson had said the US “fell for” an agreement it had struck with the EU in March in which they emphasised the need to trust local regulators and for sustained dialogue. Alongside other comments

by Mr Pearson, Washington has concerns Brussels will not adhere to the spirit of the accord. The CFTC declined to comment.

The disagreement threatens to undermine fragile relations on financial regulation between the US and EU, which have been fractious in recent years as both sides work

out how to oversee London’s clearing houses after Brexit.

Clearing houses have become a critical tool for global financial stability, as they act as central counterparties between sellers and buyers of shares or derivatives. London dominates the market for clearing both dollar and euro-denominated trades, turning it into a flashpoint for both sides.

Generally the EU has sought to prevent an escalating war of words with the US over the international implications of each side’s regulations, and to engage in talks about how to ease the concerns.

The EU’s plans for tougher regulation — designed with post-Brexit Britain in mind — endured sustained criticism in Washington after they were published in 2017, with the CFTC warning that the draft law would have allowed Brussels to pressure US clearinghouses to move activities into the EU. Mr Giancarlo has previously warned that any such moves would breach transatlantic trust.

Mr Giancarlo said he had been “surprised to hear Mr Pearson speak negatively” about the March agreement. “I was not pleased to listen to Mr Pearson publicly suggest that you or I had been manipulated in our agreement on an important policy statement,” he told Mr Dombrovskis in his letter. www.businessday.ng

I

ran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had shot down a US surveillance drone, further raising tensions between Tehran and Washington and sending oil prices sharply higher.

The Revolutionary Guard announced on Thursday that its air force “targeted and shot down a Global Hawk, a US spy aircraft, when it violated the airspace of the Islamic Republic of Iran” early on Thursday, according to the official IRNA news agency.

US officials confirmed a drone had been shot down but said the incident happened in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important shipping routes for oil and gas. One US official told Reuters that the drone was a US Navy MQ-4C Triton, the maritime surveillance version of the Global Hawk.

General Hossein Salami, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard, told Iranian state television after the incident that the shooting down of the drone “sent a clear message” to the US. Brent crude oil traded around its highest levels of the month after the incident. The international oil marker was up 2.7 per cent at $63.53 a barrel, setting it on course

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for its biggest single-session rise since April.

The incident comes just days after Washington said it would send 1,000 more troops to the Middle East and threatens to exacerbate already heightened tensions given US warnings that it would respond strongly to any Iranian attacks on its interests.

The Revolutionary Guard said the US unmanned surveillance aircraft was shot down in the southern Iranian province of Hormuzgan, which is adjacent to the Strait of Hormuz.

The incident comes after two oil tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman last week, with the US and Saudi Arabia blaming Iran for the incidents. Iran has denied any involvement.

The US said earlier this month that one of its drones was downed in Yemen by an Iran-allied Houthi missile; another Iranian missile failed to strike a US drone that had been monitoring one of the two tankers.

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday said the US apportioning of blame, which was supported by “the UK and one or two small countries in the region”, was “a political game and propaganda” against a country that “has been protecting and safeguarding the waterway throughout history @Businessdayng

for thousands of years”.

Iran announced on Monday that it would soon exceed limits on its enriched uranium stockpile agreed in the 2015 nuclear agreement.

The US and Iran have locked horns since US president Donald Trump last year pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear accord that Tehran signed with world powers and imposed sweeping sanctions on Iran that have severely affected the Middle Eastern country’s ability to export oil and plunged the republic into a deep recession.

Rising tensions have prompted the US to deploy 1,000 more troops to the region this year, a month after it had deployed an aircraft carrier strike group together with bombers and additional troops to the region.

The latest US military deployment includes a Patriot missile battalion, drones and manned surveillance aircraft.

The US said these forces would help protect US personnel already in the Middle East, saying the goal was deterrence, not war.

While senior Iranian officials have also said that Tehran does not intend to wage war, they have nonetheless pledged to fight back decisively against any invasion.

Diplomats fear a miscalculation that could trigger escalation and turn a tense confrontation into conflict.

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NATIONAL NEWS

FT Turkey’s Erdogan defiant on Russian missile system

Washington has warned Turkey over its plan to buy the advanced technology LAURA PITEL

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urkey will take delivery of a Russian S-400 air defence system in the first half of July, president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday, striking a defiant tone as he insisted that the US would not risk damaging relations with a key strategic ally by hitting the country with sanctions.

In a rare briefing with international media, Mr Erdogan said that training of 100 military personnel had been completed and that the Turkish military had decided where to station the batteries.

“As I’ve said before, the issue of the S-400, for us and for Russia, is a done deal — it’s a concluded matter,” he said. “The training and so on has also been completed.

We have trained about 100 staff.”

“I do believe that delivery will commence by the 15th of next month and the deployment, once the delivery has commenced. The positions have been identified by the Turkish armed forces. The missiles will be deployed in those locations.”

As the anniversary of a violent attempted coup d’état that convulsed the country in 2016, July 15 is a date that is loaded with political significance in Turkey, but Mr Erdogan later clarified that the system would not be delivered on that day itself.

Washington has issued a series of increasingly vocal warnings to Turkey, a Nato member, over its plan to buy the advanced Russian technology, which they say poses a threat to the security of the new F-35 fighter jet that is being rolled out across Europe.

The Pentagon has already begun taking steps to remove Turkey from the F-35 programme in retaliation for the purchase. Meanwhile, US officials say that Turkey is almost certain to face punishing sanctions under legislation aimed a stymieing the Russian defence sector — a move that could strike a severe blow to the fragile Turkish economy.

Mr Erdogan, however, dismissed these warnings, insisting that US President Donald Trump would agree with him that sanctions were not necessary.

Federal Reserve waits for more information before cutting rates US central bank’s stance contrasts with widespread market expectations of a reduction JAMES POLITI AND ROBIN WIGGLESWORTH

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ay Powell reached for an old proverb on Wednesday to explain why the Federal Reserve might cut US interest rates to fend off risks to the economy posed by slowing global growth and Donald Trump’s trade wars.

“An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure,” the Fed chairman told reporters.

But whether the central bank will pull the trigger on a pre-emptive monetary easing to keep the US expansion in good health — possibly as early as next month, as many investors are betting — is hardly a foregone conclusion.

Mr Powell emphasised that new information between now and July 31, the date of the next meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, would be crucial to monetary policy. As well as routine economic data, this will include the outcome of a meeting at the G20 summit in Japan later this month between Mr Trump and Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, aimed a resolving trade tensions that have spooked businesses across the US. “We felt it would be better to get a clearer picture of things and that we will learn a lot more about these developments in the near term,” Mr Powell said. “Ultimately, the question we will be asking ourselves is: ‘are these risks continuing to weigh on the outlook?’”

Mr Powell spoke after he and his colleagues sent their strongest signal yet that an interest-rate cut was looming. After a two-day meeting, where it decided to keep rates steady, the US central bank issued a policy statement citing rising “uncertainties” about the outlook posed by trade

and some weakening in economic indicators.

As many as eight of the 17 Fed officials are predicting lower rates this year, according to charts released alongside the policy statement. Mr Powell said that the case for easing had strengthened even among the other officials.

“We will act as needed, including promptly if that’s appropriate, and use our tools to sustain the expansion,” he said.

In the end, the Fed bought itself more time to make a final decision, with almost all of the FOMC members believing that the case for a rate cut was not yet airtight.

One of the biggest challenges for the Fed in contemplating rate cuts is that US economic data has not deteriorated to the point where officials — and other economists — fear a sharp slowdown or recession, which would easily justify monetary easing.

In their statement, Fed officials said US economic activity was rising at a “moderate” rate, rather than a “solid rate”. But they are still expecting growth of 2.1 per cent this year and 2 per cent in 2020.

The other difficulty for Mr Powell is that US trade policy may remain uncertain for some time. The TrumpXi talks at the G20 could result in anything from a new truce — including an agreement to engage in new negotiations and freeze further tariffs — to a full-blown escalation that would offer Mr Powell a much more straightforward case for easing policy. Although Mr Trump has temporarily dropped his threat to impose tariffs on Mexico, a failure by the southern neighbour of the US to curb migration could revive that possibility, which would be hugely disruptive to the US economy. www.businessday.ng

The fight to control Africa’s digital revolution Across the continent, the double-edged nature of technology is more and more apparent DAVID PILLING

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lready this year, at least six govern ments in Africa have shut down the internet, often with the complicity of western providers.

This month in Sudan, as soldiers from a government paramilitary force went on a killing spree in the capital Khartoum, the internet went dark, preventing protesters from documenting the violence on social media.

By the end of it, more than 100 people had been killed and many more assaulted. With the flick of a switch, an opposition protest movement that had just weeks before used social media to organise the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir, a dictator of 30 years’ standing, was reduced to the secret meetings and safe houses of the pre-internet age.

That is a particularly graphic example of the power of new technology both for progressive change and for its opposite. But all over Africa, the double-edged nature of digital technology is becoming increasingly apparent.

Take the social activists in the Democratic Republic of Congo who use online activism to try to keep their crooked government on the straight and narrow, but find themselves plunged into digital darkness when poll results are being cooked up.

On the face of it, an internet shutdown in Africa seems less noteworthy than one in Europe, China or North America, where the use of online technology is more widespread. Internet penetration in Africa — while rising more rapidly than elsewhere — is still just 37 per cent, against 61 per cent in the rest of the world.

Yet in some ways, Africans are more dependent on internet and smartphone technologies than people elsewhere. Nigeria has gone from 100,000 working fixed-line phones in the early 2000s to 170m mobile subscribers today. In a country with

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potholed, hazardous roads, the internet is not so much an alternative highway as the only one.

Hundreds of millions of Africans use cellular services to transfer money to their family or to pay for goods and services.

In the absence of a universal banking system, if the mobile network goes down, the impact can be devastating.

Similarly, in countries with heavily controlled print media, the internet becomes the only source of reliable information — as well as one of rumour and deception. In a cat-and-mouse game, Tanzania’s authorities have sought to tax bloggers out of existence by imposing exorbitant fees. Uganda has put a daily tax on the use of platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, to curb what the government deems “idle chatter”.

More important even than the fragility of physical infrastructure is institutional and regulatory frailty. Consumers in advanced economies are only now waking up to the dangers posed by technology to their privacy and freedom. In Africa, companies are still at the stage of what Kenyan writer Nanjala Nyabola calls “a mass data sweep” in which information about an expanding consumer class is being busily devoured.

Even governments may be vulnerable. Technicians working at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa in 2017 noticed that peak data usage in the building occurred every night between midnight and 2am. A report in Le Monde, vehemently denied by Beijing, said data from the heavily bugged headquarters — a gift from the Chinese government — was being downloaded to Shanghai every night.

Many African countries are now almost wholly reliant on Chinese companies, including Huawei, for their digital services. Transsion, a Shenzhenbased handset maker, sells more @Businessdayng

phones in Africa than any other company. It has even begun manufacturing in Ethiopia.

Many Chinese companies, including ZTE and Hikvision, provide the surveillance technology used by African governments to monitor — or spy on — their own populations. CloudWalk Technology, a Guangzhou startup, last year signed a deal with the government of Zimbabwe to provide a mass facial recognition programme. Zimbabwe will send data on millions of its citizens, captured by CCTV cameras, to the Chinese company, which hopes to improve technology that still struggles to distinguish between black faces.

Ms Nyabola, whose book Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics explores these tensions in her native Kenya, paints a picture in which the benefits and hazards of new technology are finely poised. On the plus side, she says, citizens regularly tag politicians and judges on Twitter, demanding an accountability unthinkable even a few years ago.

The contest is often evenly matched. In the run-up to the 2017 presidential elections, the electoral commission’s head of technology was found murdered. When the all-electronic system began to spit out results, citizens posted paper ballots online in an effort to expose what they suspected was wholesale fraud. In the end, the Supreme Court — a piece of kit invented in the 18th century — took the bold decision to order a rerun of the whole election. The incumbent won anyway.

“Using technology as a substitute for trust creates this black box,” says Ms Nyabola. “But most of us don’t understand how these systems are built. So what comes out is just chaos.”

Governments in Africa have a massive opportunity to use the digital revolution to improve the lives of their citizens. Too many are using it against them.

Friday 21 June 2019

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UK suspends new arms export licences to Saudi-led coalition Move follows court ruling that government’s decision-making processes were unlawful

JANE CROFT, SYLVIA PFEIFER AND SIMEON KERR

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he UK has suspended granting new export licences for arms that might be used by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in Yemen while it considers a landmark court ruling that found the government’s decision-making processes were unlawful.

The Court of Appeal in London ruled on Thursday that the government had to assess whether the Saudi government violated international human rights law in its military campaign in Yemen before ministers approve further arms sales to the Gulf kingdom.

The decision could have repercussions for BAE Systems, the UK’s largest defence contractor, and particularly the planned export of 48 Eurofighter Typhoon jets worth £5bn to Saudi Arabia. Riyadh represents about 15 per cent of BAE’s annual group earnings and is responsible for its biggest single export contract.

Three senior judges on Thursday dismissed an earlier court ruling over the lawfulness of the government’s decision not to suspend export licences to Riyadh. Announcing the ruling, Terence Etherton said the court had concluded that the government’s decision-making process was “unlawful” and “irrational”.

This was because the UK government had made no “concluded assessments” over whether the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen had committed historic violations of international humanitarian law in the past during the conflict and had made no attempt to do such an assessment.

However, Sir Terence said: “The

decision of the court today does not mean that licences to export arms to Saudi Arabia must immediately be suspended.” He added that it did mean the UK government must reconsider its policies and assessments.

Liam Fox, international trade secretary, said in the House of Commons that while the government considers the implications of the ruling on its decision making “we will not grant any new licences for export to Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners which might be used in the conflict in Yemen”.

The Department for International Trade said it disagreed with the judgment and would seek permission to appeal.

The judicial review was brought by the Campaign Against Arms Trade, a non-governmental organisation, which challenged the British government’s decision to continue to license the export of military equipment to Saudi Arabia.

It claimed that the UK was in breach of rules prohibiting the supply of arms in cases where there is a “clear risk” they could be used in violation of international human rights law.

The case follows allegations that Saudi forces might have used UK arms in serious violations of international humanitarian law during the coalition’s bombardment of Yemen, which began in 2015.

Coalition air strikes in Yemen have been responsible for about two-thirds of the approximately 11,700 civilian deaths, according to the independent Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

International organisations, including a UN expert panel, the European Parliament and many humanitarian NGOs, have condemned the Saudi air strikes against Yemen as unlawful.

US stocks open in record territory after Fed meeting Rally in bonds pushes 10-year Treasury yield below 2% for first time since 2016

PETER WELLS

T

he S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average reached record highs on Thursday, after the Federal Reserve took a dovish stance on monetary policy.

The advance for Wall Street followed another rally for government debt that drove the yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury below 2 per cent for the first time since 2016.

Shortly after the opening bell, the S&P 500 was up 1 per cent at 2,954.20, pushing it past its previous closing peak of 2,945.83 on April 30, and leaving it up 17.8 per cent for 2019.

The index’s intraday high of 2,956.20 edged past its previous trading peak by about 2 points.

The blue-chip Dow Jones climbed 0.9 per cent, surpassing its April 23 peak close of 26,656.39 and also setting a new intraday peak of 26,761.01.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 1 per cent this morning, but remains 1.2 per cent shy of its May 3 record close.

On Wednesday, a more dovish stance on interest rates from the Federal Reserve helped US stocks turn positive in the afternoon session and drove Treasury yields towards their lowest levels in years.

Yields fell further on Thursday, with that on the benchmark 10-year Treasury declining as much as 5.1 basis points to 1.9719 per cent, the lowest since November 2016. The rally has since cooled a touch, allowing yields to drift higher to the 2 per cent threshold.

The yield on the two-year Treasury, which is more sensitive to monetary policy expectations, dropped as much as 4.1bp to 1.6937 per cent, the lowest since November 2016.

That echoes moves in European debt markets, which have rallied in the wake of dovish comments from Mario Draghi, European Central Bank president, who also hinted the bank could restart its €2.6tn quantitative easing programme if inflation and growth on the continent failed to improve. www.businessday.ng

The Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft being assembled at BAE Warton in Lancashire. The UK supplies Saudi Arabia with the aircraft © PA

Investors should relax about the big build-up in corporate debt Credit markets have learnt lessons from the structuring mistakes a decade ago

ANDREW DAVIES

F

ed chairman Jay Powell recently noted that comparing company debt levels today with the subprime crisis of 2008 was “not fully convincing”. I would go further than this classic piece of Fed speak. Fretting about the growth of collateralised loan obligations (CLOs), the popularity of “covenant-lite” loans and the potential impact of an economic slowdown all distort a fuller understanding of how CLOs work and their possible impact on the global financial markets today.

Let us put things into perspective. CLOs bundle together multiple corporate loans and sell tranches of this bundle to different investors. They are a relatively small asset class, making up about 60 per cent of the leveraged loan market, which is worth $1.4tn across Europe and the US. That is smaller than JPMorgan’s assets on its balance sheet (about $2.6tn), smaller than the asset-backed security market at its last peak in 2008 ($2.5tn) and tiny compared with today’s global equity market ($34tn).

CLOs are also proven to be more resilient. Less than 1 per cent of rated loan tranches within CLOs defaulted in the last big downturn.

The lowest-rated tranches of these issuers lost investors about 5 per cent of their money, while US subprime residential mortgagebacked securities in the lowestrated tranches lost investors 90 per cent or more.

But how would these structures fare in another recession?

Possibly even better. Post financial crisis, CLO structures use less leverage, typically eight to 10 times’ equity, compared with the pre-crisis highs of 14 times.

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The collateral quality is better, being mostly senior-secured and first-lien loans offering lower risk and high recovery rates when things go wrong. Today’s CLO investors also benefit from improved documentation and structural protection, including shorter reinvestment periods.

But what about the handwringing over the expansion of “cov-lite” loans, which reduce investor protections and which now account for 80 per cent of the CLO market?

For a start, the term cov-lite refers only to the reduction or elimination of maintenance covenants. These covenants require a borrower to periodically test metrics such as interest cover or leverage. In effect they are an early warning indicator to underperformance and stress.

The term often fails to capture the continuing, widespread use of “negative” covenants in loans.

Negative covenants give investors an important level of security, offering collateral protection by preventing a borrower from freely hiving off assets, or redistributing cash or endlessly fabricating cash flow.

How have cov-lite loans fared?

Moody’s data show that they outperformed the wider market in the last recession, with a 7 per cent default rate against over 10 per cent for all loans.

This is not surprising. Cov-lite borrowers that today comprise 80 per cent of the CLO market tend to be large, market-leading companies typically backed by private equity sponsors focused on growth industries and operational improvements.

The borrowers are also better capitalised. Data show that today’s private equity investors @Businessdayng

have put more equity into their deals — about 40 per cent of the enterprise value of a portfolio company, compared with 30 per cent in 2005-2007.

That is not to say leverage is out: indeed, levels have returned to pre-crisis highs, but what has changed is affordability. Interest cover, a key measure of affordability, is now double the precrisis level of two times cash flow.

And as loans tend to be floating rate, any interest rate cut in the wake of a downturn would create additional headroom to service obligations.

Crucially, it is the very absence of restrictive, maintenance covenants that gives management teams the flexibility to adjust to a changing economic environment, and encourages sponsors to support borrowers.

We saw this during the financial crisis; it was one important reason for the relatively strong outperformance of cov-lite loans.

What about the remaining 20 per cent of the CLO market that is not cov-lite? These are loans to companies that are still forced to accept maintenance covenants precisely because they are weaker businesses.

Investors will always demand additional protection for riskier investments.

The doubling in size of the leveraged loan market since the financial crisis follows the sustained expansion in private equity-sponsored buyouts. But it also reflects the eagerness of institutional investors to be involved, the tighter regulatory and structural factors that limit risks in CLO vehicles, and the attractive relative and historic returns this asset class has generated and continues to generate.

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Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

ANALYSIS

FT Saudi Aramco battles oil ministry over use of company funds

Push to clarify blurred financial links between energy group and government ANJLI RAVAL AND SIMEON KERR

S

audi Aramco is taking steps to clarify its financial links with the kingdom’s energy ministry in a move designed to shield the state oil company from legal risks and head off investor criticism ahead of a potential listing.

One of the thorniest issues involves reining in the company’s tradition of paying for ministerial expenses — including those incurred by current energy minister Khalid Al Falih, who is also Aramco’s chairman, said people with knowledge of the initiative, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The move is part of a broader push to improve governance and draw a line between the finances of the company and the ministry, which could force Mr Falih to step down as chairman, according to four of them.

For years, Aramco — which

could enable the Trump administration to sue Opec nations for oil price collusion, leaving Aramco exposed because of its US assets.

“If they are financially intertwined, even in a blurred way, that would bolster a legal argument that Aramco is not legally distinguishable from the Saudi state,” said Valerie Marcel, an associate fellow at London-based think-tank Chatham House.

Record demand for Aramco’s $12bn debut international bond in April encouraged officials to revive a process to float the company, after it was postponed last year. Ministers have said a listing is planned in the next two years.

Advisers then briefed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on listing preparations.

While finance minister Mohammed al-Jadaan and economy and planning minister Moham-

Khalid al Falih © FT montage

reported net income of $111bn last year, making it the world’s most profitable oil company — has paid for ministry-related expenses, generously supplementing a finance ministry budget allocation.

This includes Mr Falih’s stays in ultra-luxury hotel suites and the use of one of the company’s Gulfstream jets, as well as salaries of some government staff.

“These expenses have been effectively hidden for years by Aramco,” said one of the people.

“In the event of an initial public offering, do you want any of this stuff out there? The answer is no.” An existing mechanism in place to reimburse the company “is nowhere near enough,” the person added.

Blurred financial and operational boundaries have long been intrinsic features of Aramco’s relationship with its regulator and owner. The oil company generates the bulk of the state’s revenues and has historically built infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and sports stadiums. Mr Falih was also the former chief executive of Aramco.

The need to separate the company from the ministry has gained greater urgency as plans to list the company have gathered pace, according to eight people close to the company and the kingdom’s ministries of finance and energy.

Some ministers and senior executives also believe the entanglement, which Mr Falih has inherited from his predecessors, could present US legal risks. Republican legislators have introduced bills in Congress that

med al-Tuwaijri — both board members — want to use the planned flotation to modernise the company’s governance, Mr Falih has privately warned about the risk of listing the company amid signs of a deteriorating global economy, people with knowledge of the debate said.

“Do you take Aramco public or not? Those who do want it, want separation. Those who don’t want it believe the success of the kingdom hinges on integration,” a person close to the energy ministry said.

A person close to Aramco added: “Jadaan wants everything done properly. The IPO is seen as a sensible way to clear up the company.”

However, Mr Falih has long maintained that Aramco’s attachment to the ministry is a “win-win policy” for both parties and a reality that investors must accept.

Aramco, the ministries of energy and finance and Mr Falih declined to comment. But a second person close to the energy ministry said there was no “retrospective” probe into Mr Falih’s use of company funds, adding the goal is to ensure Aramco’s corporate governance meets international standards.

The company released accounts for the first time as part of its bond offering. It would have to disclose more details on costs and remuneration for board members over the past few years, in the case of a share listing. People familiar with the discussions say Mr Falih’s travel, sometimes with family, and other personal expenditures, are being questioned and have fostered resentment among other officials. www.businessday.ng

Scotland: Brexit uncertainty revives independence debate

The prospect of leaving the EU without a deal has put the nation’s future back on the agenda MURE DICKIE

O

n a rainy summer afternoon there is a melancholy air to the Auld Acquaintance Cairn, a monument to the three-century old union of England and Scotland tucked away in a field behind a pub on the border between the two nations. The cairn, an orderly mound of rocks with a central open chamber of local stone, was built in the run-up to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.

But nearly five years after Scottish voters rejected independence by 55 per cent to 45, the UK’s looming departure from the EU has put Scotland’s constitutional future back on the political agenda.

Brexit was already highly unpopular in Scotland, which voted heavily to remain in the EU in 2016. With the UK Conservative party now in the throes of a leadership race that has largely been dominated by hardline views on Brexit, many Scots are concerned that the new prime minister will push for a “no deal” exit from the EU later this year.

Opinion polls suggest Scottish support for leaving the UK remains far stronger than it was before the start of the 2014 campaign and only a few points short of a majority. The Scottish National party government, which supports independence, has already drawn up legislation for a second referendum on the issue that it says it wants to hold within the next two years.

Its case is being helped by the political rhetoric in England about Brexit. A YouGov survey of members of the Conservative party released on Tuesday showed that nearly two-thirds would be willing to see Scotland become independent as long as Brexit was secured.

“The 2014 referendum never really settled the issue. It established a historic level of support for independence . . . and that was before Brexit,” says Nicola McEwen, professor of territorial politics at Edinburgh university. “What we are seeing now is that the balance of risks is changing. The UK is maybe not appearing as the safe, risk-free option that it did in 2014.”

Any unwinding of the 1707 union of England and Scotland that created Great Britain would have far-reaching implications. Scotland accounts for about a third of the UK’s landmass and 8 per cent of its population. It provides the base for the UK’s submarine-borne nuclear forces. And it is a core ingredient of British identity.

For many in Scotland and in England the very idea of independence is distressing. Rory Stewart, the Conservative party leadership candidate who made the stron-

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gest defence of the union until he was knocked out of the contest on Wednesday, says separation would “break his heart”.

“I would have no country left,” Mr Stewart, who organised the construction of the Auld Acquaintance Cairn, said in Edinburgh last month.

“I’m a Scot who’s representing an English Borders constituency. If the United Kingdom splits then what am I?” Such worries count for little for supporters of independence, who complain that Scotland faces being dragged out of the EU against its will and subject to a hard Brexit decided by a Conservative party that won only 12 per cent of the Scottish vote in last month’s European parliamentary elections.

The Tories are “leading the UK to complete disaster at the moment”, Nicola Sturgeon, SNP leader and Scotland’s first minister, told the Financial Times during a visit to Brussels last week. “If that can’t be stopped . . . it makes it all the more important that Scotland at least has the option of choosing a different path,” said Ms Sturgeon, whose party took 38 per cent of the vote in the May election, winning three of Scotland’s six European seats.

The European election result offered graphic evidence of diverging political trends north and south of the border. In England, Nigel Farage’s Brexit party, which demands a quick and comprehensive break with the EU, was the clear winner with around a third of the vote. In Scotland it took just 15 per cent.

Still, independence is neither imminent nor, analysts say, necessarily inevitable. Many SNP activists are impatient for action and Ms Sturgeon plans for her referendum legislation to be on the Scottish statute books by the end of this year. But the first minister has also made clear that she will not organise such a vote without UK government approval of the sort given for the 2014 referendum. And there is little chance of the next Conservative prime minister giving approval before the next Scottish parliamentary election in 2021 at least.

Ms Sturgeon herself has good reason not to rush, not least since she has yet to see any sustained majority backing for independence.

Optimistic colleagues point out that they managed to raise support dramatically during the 2014 campaign. But there is no guarantee this would happen again and a second defeat would be disastrous for her cause. Some in the party cite the example of Quebec, where support for independence has faded since a second referendum was narrowly lost in 1995.

The political turmoil and admin@Businessdayng

istrative complexity surrounding Brexit have thrown a harsh light on SNP claims in 2014 that Scotland would be able to smoothly and cheaply disentangle itself from the UK in just 18 months.

Brexit has certainly won over some pro-European voters to independence, but the shift in opinion has not been all one way. A significant minority of supporters of Scottish independence in 2014 also voted to leave the EU in 2016 and are unimpressed by the SNP’s attempts to stop Brexit happening at all.

Some Scots are unconvinced by SNP warnings that Brexit will inflict major damage on the economy, particularly if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

“It is just scaremongering,” says Jim McColl, founder and chairman of industrial group Clyde Blowers, whose previous support for independence has cooled since 2014 and who backed Brexit. Mr McColl says willingness to walk away without a deal is essential in negotiations, and even if there is no overall agreement, the EU would still be keen to avoid disruption. “All businesses need to know is what’s happening, and then they adapt their plans to work in that environment,” he says.

But most economists say Brexit will harm the Scottish economy and that leaving without a deal would be highly disruptive. Michael Keating, professor of Scottish politics at Aberdeen university, says the process of leaving the EU is already alienating Scotland further from UK politics centred on the parliament in Westminster. The greater the economic disruption and barriers to trade and movement with the EU that Brexit creates, the greater the sense of grievance that can be tapped by the SNP, he says.

While a Brexit that takes the UK out of the EU single market and customs union would strengthen the political case for independence, it would also raise the economic cost of leaving the UK. The SNP’s 2014 vision for independence assumed Scotland would continue to enjoy an open border with the remaining UK since both would be part of the EU single market. But a hard Brexit would force Scotland to choose between prioritising its exports with the rest of the UK, worth around £50bn a year, or to the EU, worth £15bn.

A “soft” Brexit would ease that dilemma but also make it harder to justify a renewed push for Scotland to leave the UK. “The closer the future relationship [between the UK and the EU], the easier independence becomes, but the less the sense of grievance,” says Prof Keating. “That’s the paradox.”

Friday 21 June 2019 Friday 24 May 2019

BUSINESS DAY BUSINESS DAY

41 32

CULINARY DELIGHTS

L

La Taverna: bringing you a taste of Latin American cuisine to Lagos

a Taverna is a Chilean, Italian and Spanish inspired restaurant located in Victoria Island on a secluded street called Balarabe Musa Crescent.

Chef Cristian Duhalde Diaz, head chef, and owner of the restaurant has 23 years of cooking

eat it. O’tega opted for the seafood pasta. My first time at La Taverna I found that the service was good, the sous chef made recommendations on what to eat, which I appreciated. We came on a Tuesday which was rather quiet, but perfect for a dinner Conversation.

Here is what O’tega has to say about his

don’t taste good and are overly thick. Here is Chinonso’s take “ I love the ambiance, it’s very cozy and homey. I appreciated the Clean creative plating and food presentation. The food tasted as good as it looked. We had continental/ Foreign meals which i enjoyed because it tasted continental yet warmly spiced to satisfy my

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

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

O’TEGA OGRA Group Head Corporate Communications BUA Group

experience across several countries including Italy, Spain, South Africa, and Chile. The restaurant recently celebrated 6 years of operation and in Lagos that is quite a milestone, considering the turnaround of restaurants in the city.

The name La Taverna means Cave in Spanish so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Interestingly enough, when I ask my friends what their favorite restaurant in Lagos is, 4 times out of 10 the answer is La Taverna, therefore I was curious to find out why. The first time I went to La Taverna was with my friend O’tega Ogra, who works at BUA group. Ote considers La Taverna as his favorite restaurant in town, so I was excited to check it out.

The outside aesthetic of the restaurant is simple, which intrigued me to see what was on the inside. The interior has a very homely feel to it and as soon as I walked in, I understood why so many people I know say it is their favorite place to eat. I’m learning that most diners seek a wonderful, stress-free culinary experience but also want to feel comfortable and at home and that is exactly what La Taverna provides.

La Taverna has a plethora of menu options ranging from authentic Italian Pizza to all the different kinds of pasta you can imagine: Fettuccine, Alfredo, Penne.. the list goes on.

There is also a good variety of meat, seafood and poultry bases dishes. I had a hard time picking what to eat but opted for the chicken Milanese which was very tasty and equally pleasing on the eye. The decoration of my meal was so beautiful, I almost didn’t want to

Photo credit to Wale Kadiri

experience: “ First time trying the seafood pasta at La Taverna and it didn’t disappoint. The pasta was cooked to perfection. The sauce was light, well balanced and the flavors weren’t overwhelming - just how I like it. Large portion but great service as always.”

Interestingly enough, I came back to La Taverna the following week with my friend Chinonso Arubayi, who is a media personality and the founder of Look Art Me which is a cosmetic brand that women around Nigeria are starting to love. I came back because I enjoyed my first experience so much that I wanted to explore what else was on the menu. The food at a Taverna is carefully and tastefully made.

Each bite excites ones taste buds and the food is very well marinated with the right amount of spices. Chinonso and I opted for a chicken pizza which in my opinion is the best pizza in Lagos because it it is traditionally made. Too many fast food restaurants have ruined my pizza experiences, as they often sell commercial pizzas that

acquired taste for spicy food”.

This time around Chef Diaz was around and he took some time to tell us some heartwarming stories about his move to Nigeria 6 years ago and his passion for food and hospitality.

He now calls Nigeria home and is not going anywhere any time soon. He moved to Nigeria 6 years ago, opened the restaurant and has fallen in love with Nigeria. It was great to see the passion he exuded as he described the various dishes. The recipes at La Taverna each have a special story, some ingredients are from Chile, some from Italy and others are locally sourced. He kept going to each table to ensure everyone was fine and took time to chat with the guests, which is something I don’t see too often. For some restaurant owners, it’s a business but for Chef Diaz, it’s a lifestyle and it is evident.

La Taverna has both indoor and outdoor seating areas, its popular amongst both local and expatriate communities and often organizes weekly themed nights. The restaurant’s popular pizza meal deal is on every Wednesday and Sunday. On Thursdays, it’s ladies night at La Taverna! The ambiance is calm yet exciting.

The service is good, the servers are efficient and friendly and the food came out in no time.

They also have a large variety of drink options for those interested.

I definitely will be making La Taverna a regular on my list of go-to places and I am glad to have discovered this restaurant. If you get the chance check out La Taverna, let us know about your experience.

CHINONSO ARUBAYI Media personality and entrepreneur

RATING 5 Chicken Milanese N5500 Seafood Pasta N5500 Pizza N4500 Penne Pasta N5500 Calamari Ajillo N4000 Total for both visits N 24 000

Contact: Follow us on Instagram @bdculinarydelights

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

https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

@Businessdayng

42

Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 21 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

43

Live @ The STOCK Exchanges Prices for Securities Traded as of Thursday 20 June 2019 Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

PRICES FOR MAIN BOARD SECURITIES (Equities) BANKING ACCESS BANK PLC. 245,262.06 6.90 2.99 346 26,929,154 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC 218,876.30 6.40 1.59 143 4,611,519 ZENITH BANK PLC 627,929.88 20.00 -0.99 348 19,872,521 837 51,413,194 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 249,472.28 6.95 -0.72 128 5,415,520 128 5,415,520 965 56,828,714 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES MTN NIGERIA COMMUNICATIONS PLC 2,646,086.70 130.00 -1.52 179 2,680,323 179 2,680,323 179 2,680,323 BUILDING MATERIALS DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 3,101,372.35 182.00 - 56 2,368,750 169,131.85 10.50 9.95 24 32,441,376 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 80 34,810,126 80 34,810,126 EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 292,456.95 497.00 - 15 99,778 15 99,778 15 99,778 1,239 94,418,941 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC 1,710.00 85.50 - 0 0 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) 10,175.81 40.70 - 0 0 UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 14,408.66 5.40 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND 411.91 552.20 - 0 0 VALUEALLIANCE VALUE FUND 3,312.39 103.20 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CROP PRODUCTION FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 440.00 0.20 - 1 1,000 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 63,530.41 66.60 - 15 95,682 PRESCO PLC 50,000.00 50.00 - 6 13,806 22 110,488 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. 8,520.00 4.26 - 2 52,314 2 52,314 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1,680.00 0.56 -6.67 7 613,232 7 613,232 31 776,034 DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 794.19 0.30 - 4 98,720 JOHN HOLT PLC. 182.90 0.47 - 1 12,120 S C O A NIG. PLC. 1,903.99 2.93 - 0 0 TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC 46,338.71 1.14 0.88 50 3,976,255 U A C N PLC. 17,287.78 6.00 - 70 2,207,630 125 6,294,725 125 6,294,725 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ARBICO PLC. 711.32 4.79 - 0 0 0 0 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 27,588.00 20.90 7.18 19 121,651 ROADS NIG PLC. 165.00 6.60 - 0 0 19 121,651 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 3,923.58 1.51 - 3 26,027 3 26,027 22 147,678 AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 954.53 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 11,117.88 1.42 7.58 14 422,000 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 242.22 0.89 - 0 0 GUINNESS NIG PLC 100,210.01 45.75 - 40 117,567 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 143,550.89 16.70 - 7 42,800 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 459,821.87 57.50 0.88 52 8,276,249 113 8,858,616 FOOD PRODUCTS DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 85,000.00 17.00 0.59 151 4,127,214 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 149,400.00 12.45 3.75 151 2,532,820 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 57,405.31 14.00 -2.50 100 3,020,184 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 8,326.71 1.05 0.96 59 1,652,276 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 1,340.10 0.36 - 0 0 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 766.26 4.30 - 0 0 NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC 39,741.58 15.00 - 20 131,920 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 3,321.07 12.15 - 0 0 481 11,464,414 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 20,378.49 10.85 -0.91 41 394,558 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 1,109,718.75 1,400.00 - 111 89,597 152 484,155 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 1,680.31 22.10 - 0 0 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 4,678.16 3.74 - 8 36,122 8 36,122 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 27,793.34 7.00 - 49 893,418 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 178,095.17 31.00 - 53 581,400 102 1,474,818 856 22,318,125 BANKING ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 205,514.97 11.20 1.82 37 571,099 FIDELITY BANK PLC 52,154.63 1.80 0.56 94 5,485,790 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 919,724.35 31.25 0.81 187 25,844,722 JAIZ BANK PLC 13,258.91 0.45 -6.25 5 258,612 SKYE BANK PLC 10,687.83 0.77 - 0 0 STERLING BANK PLC. 69,672.81 2.42 0.83 102 54,959,157 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 200,933.19 6.90 - 23 74,883 UNITY BANK PLC 8,299.43 0.71 -6.58 21 853,126 WEMA BANK PLC. 25,073.40 0.65 3.17 64 6,642,369 533 94,689,758 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC 4,117.00 0.20 - 0 0 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 4,573.93 0.66 - 17 397,201 AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC 20,370.00 1.94 8.38 12 1,289,356 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 1,707.30 0.21 5.00 5 1,384,400 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 19,811.94 1.91 - 0 0 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE PLC 2,945.90 0.20 - 5 429,430 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 909.99 0.20 - 0 0 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 1,228.00 0.20 - 0 0 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE PLC 487.95 0.38 - 0 0 2,123.80 0.29 -3.33 7 1,601,000 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 1,976.31 0.46 - 1 50,000 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 4,880.00 0.61 8.93 11 532,916 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 2,234.55 0.20 - 7 1,087,230 NEM INSURANCE PLC 13,993.33 2.65 8.16 22 1,339,210 1,547.90 0.20 - 1 905 NIGER INSURANCE PLC PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC 2,691.28 0.50 - 2 251,820 REGENCY ASSURANCE PLC 1,333.75 0.20 - 3 2,100 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 1,918.39 0.23 - 8 2,241,000 STACO INSURANCE PLC 4,483.72 0.48 - 0 0 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. 2,582.21 0.20 - 0 0 SUNU ASSURANCES NIGERIA PLC. 2,800.00 0.20 - 1 100 UNIC DIVERSIFIED HOLDINGS PLC. 516.46 0.20 - 0 0 UNIVERSAL INSURANCE PLC 3,200.00 0.20 - 0 0 VERITAS KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 2,773.33 0.20 - 0 0 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 5,486.92 0.41 -8.89 41 4,078,901 143 14,685,569

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MICRO-FINANCE BANKS FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 11,799.67 2.58 - 0 0 NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 2,972.63 1.30 - 5 7,665 5 7,665 MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC 3,780.00 0.90 - 0 0 7,370.87 0.50 - 0 0 ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC 5,796.93 1.39 - 0 0 RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 2,265.95 0.20 - 0 0 2,949.22 3.02 - 0 0 UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. 0 0 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC 7,080.00 3.54 0.57 58 1,222,042 CUSTODIAN INVESTMENT PLC 35,585.28 6.05 - 2 27,000 660.00 0.44 - 0 0 DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. 32,674.47 1.65 1.82 73 1,899,578 1,131.98 0.22 - 1 4,393 ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 424,982.95 41.50 -0.95 25 2,084,538 UNITED CAPITAL PLC 13,920.00 2.32 0.43 63 3,422,706 222 8,660,257 903 118,043,249 HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS EKOCORP PLC. 1,680.29 3.37 - 0 0 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 852.75 0.24 - 0 0 0 0 MEDICAL SUPPLIES MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 593.50 0.60 - 0 0 0 0 PHARMACEUTICALS EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 366.17 0.50 - 0 0 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 7,575.00 5.05 - 1 100 10,164.95 8.50 - 22 20,474 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 4,054.30 2.35 - 12 408,469 NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 987.56 0.52 -7.14 10 347,424 556.71 3.62 - 0 0 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 325.23 1.50 - 0 0 45 776,467 45 776,467 COMPUTER BASED SYSTEMS COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC 745.92 0.21 -8.70 8 1,159,447 8 1,159,447 COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS OMATEK VENTURES PLC 1,470.89 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 IT SERVICES CWG PLC 6,413.06 2.54 - 3 235 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 648.00 6.00 - 0 0 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 346.47 0.70 - 0 0 3 235 PROCESSING SYSTEMS CHAMS PLC 1,596.66 0.34 6.25 27 2,319,000 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 9,996.00 2.38 - 1 12,947,362 28 15,266,362 39 16,426,044 BUILDING MATERIALS BERGER PAINTS PLC 1,883.85 6.50 - 10 40,100 CAP PLC 19,530.00 27.90 - 10 46,701 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 177,437.26 13.50 - 17 84,450 FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC 844.14 0.40 - 0 0 313.43 0.59 - 2 25,312 MEYER PLC. PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC 1,959.74 2.47 - 0 0 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. 1,156.20 9.40 - 0 0 39 196,563 ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2,256.91 2.09 - 0 0 CUTIX PLC. 2,377.78 1.35 - 26 549,200 26 549,200 PACKAGING/CONTAINERS BETA GLASS PLC. 36,847.94 73.70 - 0 0 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 388.02 9.10 - 0 0 0 0 AGRO-ALLIED & CHEMICALS NOTORE CHEMICAL IND PLC 100,754.14 62.50 - 0 0 0 0 65 745,763 CHEMICALS B.O.C. GASES PLC. 1,565.08 3.76 - 0 0 0 0 METALS ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 1,781.64 8.10 - 0 0 0 0 MINING SERVICES MULTIVERSE MINING AND EXPLORATION PLC 852.39 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 PAPER/FOREST PRODUCTS THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. 81.40 0.37 8.82 2 300,000 2 300,000 2 300,000 ENERGY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 1,503.05 0.24 - 26 1,558,084 26 1,558,084 INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS SERVICES OANDO PLC 49,725.65 4.00 -2.50 87 2,758,668 87 2,758,668 PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS 11 PLC 59,317.92 164.50 - 12 13,225 CONOIL PLC 15,024.06 21.65 - 29 161,958 ETERNA PLC. 4,760.13 3.65 - 7 10,674 FORTE OIL PLC. 40,637.41 31.20 -9.96 332 4,468,111 6,354.80 20.85 - 12 103,870 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 50,928.28 150.00 - 29 11,705 421 4,769,543 534 9,086,295 ADVERTISING AFROMEDIA PLC 1,820.01 0.41 - 0 0 0 0 AIRLINES MEDVIEW AIRLINE PLC 17,551.17 1.80 - 4 1,700 4 1,700 AUTOMOBILE/AUTO PART RETAILERS R T BRISCOE PLC. 341.14 0.29 - 0 0 0 0 COURIER/FREIGHT/DELIVERY RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 3,242.23 5.50 - 9 150,000 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 342.26 0.73 - 2 1,500 11 151,500 HOSPITALITY TANTALIZERS PLC 642.33 0.20 - 2 5,500 2 5,500 HOTELS/LODGING CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 4,723.78 3.05 - 1 33,500 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 2,723.22 1.31 - 8 63,487 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. 7,862.53 3.50 - 0 0 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 41,042.18 5.40 - 1 273 10 97,260 MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 4,800.00 0.40 - 0 0 0 0 PRINTING/PUBLISHING ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 163.30 0.27 - 4 2,856,213 LEARN AFRICA PLC 1,033.74 1.34 - 4 34,201 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. 1,183.82 1.99 - 0 0 UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 776.54 1.80 - 8 68,200 16 2,958,614 ROAD TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC 480.73 0.29 7.41 4 282,722 4 282,722

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Women in Business

Olatorera Oniru CEO, Olatorera Consultancy & Dressmeoutlet.com

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latorera Oniru is an entrepreneur and business mogul passionate about all things Africa. As CEO of Olatorera Consultancy (Olatorera. com), she is currently leading initiatives to realize a pinnacle in Africa’s history whereby we would rely less on importation and innovate more with natural resources and citizenry capabilities.

A member of The National Scholars Honor Society USA, Olatorera flourished her career working for two Fortune Top 5 companies namely Bank of America Merrill Lynch and General Electric. She also worked for one of the world’s largest telecommunications companies, Lars Magnus Ericsson, as a senior consultant and later as Head of Sales. During the course of her employed years, she travelled to over 100 cities in over 10 countries in 4 continents. In 2016, she founded Dressmeoutlet.com, Africa’s leading online fashion, beauty and art retailer.

Olatorera.com (Olatorera Consultancy) generates news and progressive content daily of high interest to the public and to Africa’s development. Olatorera Consultancy Limited is a new-generation consulting company providing business development and consulting services to established companies and high net-worth individuals.

The Consultancy firm provides critical and analytical services to companies under their radar to enable them innovate and serve their clients more effectively and efficiently using digital resources and modern strategies.

Olatorera Consultancy provides the seal and stamp of Africa’s Best to enable great companies compete stronger on a global scale. The company publishes an annual list of “Africa’s Best 100 Companies” and “Africa’s Best 100 Leaders”.Some of their most popular services include public relations, business analytics and strategy development.

Olatorera loves to speak publicly on topics related to leadership, entrepreneurship and technology driving Africa’s growth. She has been invited to speak at over 100 preeminent events including Retail Trade International Summit, AfricaCom, NigeriaCom, World Retail Congress, TMT Finance, Seamless Africa,

BUSINESS DAY Friday 21 June 2019 www.businessday.ng

By Kemi Ajumobi

Oreoluwa Somolu Lesi African Development Forum, Fintech Africa Ghana, Top Women South Africa, Women in Business South Africa, Mobile West Africa and several other leading events.

She has been recognized by Commonwealth Africa Awards, Forbes Most Promising Africans, Africa.com’s Top 5 Youngest Entrepreneurs and African Achievers Awards.

Her track record of success has been featured in Forbes, Huffington Post, CNN and several other leading publications.

Olatorera has a scholarship-based Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree from the prestigious Emory University USA and Executive Management Certificates from Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden and International Institute for Management Development, Switzerland.

Dressmeoutlet.com is a foremost retailer for high-quality fashion products, health & beauty products and home-goods. With up to 10,000 products to shop from, they retail various sophisticated styles from premium designers globally with over 40% of products on Dressmeoutlet.com manufactured within Africa.

Dressmeoutlet.com hand-designs, handpicks and custom-sources the best fashion and beauty products. You can shop ankara print dresses, embellished Aso-Oke dresses, fine Jewellery, designer wristwatches, designer sunglasses, designer handbags, ankara slippers, Made in Africa fashion and so much more, including tops and many other great products always delivered rapidly and globally.

Oniru loves creativity and innovation.

She likes to see unique creations and developments specifically within the retail sector and specifically relating to goods that change lives for the better. She is a big fan of organic and natural products. She is also a big fan of handmade goods. Being an entrepreneur is a natural journey for Oniru and she looks forward to making people smile and contributing to making high-quality goods more accessible across Africa.

On what inspired her decision to birth her company, Olatorera says it is her love for fashion. In her words, “I love fashion, I love the retail industry, and I love Africa.

Beyond that, I have always had the desire to go entrepreneurial and develop my own empire that would serve as a role model to other start-up journeys.”

Founder / Executive Director, W. Women in Technology in 2014 and with a Tech (Women’s Technology Em- 2014 ‘Chosen Youth’ Leadership Award from LaRoche Foundation. powerment Centre) W.TEC is a Nigerian non-governmental

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hrough her work at W.TEC, she has designed high-quality programming for girls, including camps and afterschool clubs, which engage girls with technology in a fun way. Through these programmes, close to 10,000 girls have learnt to create technology – including applications, games, websites, short films and other digital content.

Many of these girls have been inspired to pursue technology careers. She has also designed and overseen programmes that support women in their use of technology for entrepreneurship, career development, learning and leadership activities.

Oreoluwa has a Bachelors degree in Economics from Essex University, U.K. a Masters degree in Analysis, Design and Management of Information Systems from the London School of Economics & Political Science, a Certificate in Applied Sciences from Harvard University’s Extension School and a Certificate in Social Sector Management from Pan African University’s Enterprise Development Centre.

Her interests are the applications of technology in improving lifelong learning and also to raise the economic and social conditions of people (especially women and children) in the developing world.

Oreoluwa’s work has also been showcased in the broadcast and print media, including EbonyLife TV, Channels TV, NTA 2 Channel 5, NTA Channel 10, LTV, Guardian, The Nation, Punch, Business Day, Champion and Daily Independent.

She is a Vital Voices Lead Fellow (awarded to emerging and established women leaders across the world), Ashoka fellow (a network of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs) and a recipient of the Anita Borg Change Agent Award (for her commitment to supporting women in computing in Nigeria).

She has been recognized with the following awards: SME100’s 100 Most Innovative Female-Owned Businesses in Nigeria for 2017, one of YNaija!’s Top 100 Young People in Technology of 2016 and 2014, one of New African Woman Magazine’s Top African

organisation working for the economic and social empowerment of girls and women, using information and communication technologies (ICTs). They have chosen to focus on this area because statistical evidence has shown that in most African countries, women’s use and knowledge of ICTs (to store, share, organise and process information) is lower than men’s, denying them of income-generating opportunities and the chance to network with others.

W.TEC’s programmes comprise of technology literacy training, technology-based projects, mentoring and work placement.

W.TEC also researches and publish works examining pivotal issues related to how African women use technology, barriers preventing or limiting technology use, and strategies for more efficient technology use.

Their objectives are for Nigerian women to develop financial independence by: training for ICT-specific jobs, like computer engineer, programmer, system analysts, hardware and network specialists, designers; developing technology skills that can be used for other ICT-reliant jobs or selfemployment. They also want women to develop skills and confidence to use ICTs for activism, learning, awareness-raising and advocacy for a better quality of life.

They provide technology education for Nigerian women and girls so that they are able to use ICTs effectively for work, activism and networking, producing innovative and ground-breaking research that supports the development and implementation of technology programmes for women and girls, promoting and supporting the use of ICT in uplifting women’s rights, establishing a network of technology-fluent alumni and mentors.

W.TEC works in partnership with local and international NGOs, educational and research organisations. W.TEC programmes have been supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, Fahamu, Laureates College, Omatek Computers, and Rutgers University’s Women in Computer Science Group.

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