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NGUS APR 24 2019 363.30

ince Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, hardly has the job of leading Africa’s most populous nation been as demanding as it is today, with the single most daunting task being to pull the world’s poverty capital from the brink of a socio-

18,231,193

economic implosion.

The poor state of Nigeria’s economy is largely playing in the mind of electorates ahead of crucial votes Saturday, February 23.

Nigeria’s next leader may not be able to paper over the cracks of a weak economy. Not when there aren’t sufficient petrodollars to call on.

Many of Nigeria’s leaders of

old have managed to keep the economy trudging along with bad policies if oil prices stayed high and production was stable.

But not anymore.

The problem is that while oil production has more or less stagnated in the last decade, the population has steadily climbed and by 2040, Nigeria will be the third most populous nation in

the world with a population of 400 million.

This means the country’s oil revenue per capita is shrinking along with the country’s oil wealth.

If the last three and a half years are anything to go by, then the days of a leader managing to

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Nigeria’s next president faces biggest test yet since 1999 S LOLADE AKINMURELE

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20 Y 0.06

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NGUS JAN 29 2020 364.65

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

Nigeria shocks IOCs with demand for N20bn in back taxes DIPO OLADEHINDE & OLUWASEGUN OLAKOYENIKAN

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ess than six months after a saga with telecoms giant, MTN, caused panic in the economy, Africa biggest oil producing country has ordered International Oil Companies

11,567,813 8,590,420

12,814,246

11,120,948

Continues on page 34

Inside Jim Ovia turns bargain hunter after buying billion naira P. 15 stake in Zenith Understanding the economy of Nigeria’s 36 states – Rivers & Akwa Ibom

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Friday 22 February 2019

Electoral reforms in emerging markets hold big lessons for Nigeria’s INEC ODINAKA ANUDU & GBEMI FAMINU

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hailand Stock Exchange’s index of equities rose 2.3 percent, the most in two years, when the country’s military junta announced in September 2018 a series of reforms that would guide next month’s democratic election.

The reforms would see Thais living abroad register at embassies or consulates to vote through mails or at the embassies or consulates before the election day.

Like Thailand, several emerging markets (EMs) have come up with sweeping reforms to reduce electoral fraud and ensure wider inclusion of all classes of voters, including those in the diaspora.

Their systems hold big lessons for Nigeria, especially the Independent National Electoral Commission now struggling to cope with the enormous task of conducting and managing elections.

“Nigeria needs to align electoral reforms with global best practices,” Samuel Oyigbo, an Onitsha-based lawyer and pastor, told BusinessDay. “We need reforms to encompass online voting to enable Diasporans to participate; advanced technology to reduce huge costs/human contact, including the amount of energy that goes into distribution of electoral materials,” Oyigbo said.

Nigeria’s Electoral Act of 2010, including the amended version recently rejected by President Muhammadu Buhari, falls short in these vital areas.

The amended version, though, recognises the use of card readers, which have since 2015 been used to verify voter cards. But card readers have their shortcomings as they malfunction in

many instances. They also belie the real reforms needed by Nigerians, Timothy Jacobs, a political analyst, said.

INEC postponed the February 16 presidential election to February 23 on the basis of poor logistics and planning.

Bismark Rewane, chief executive of Financial Derivatives Limited, a risk and financial advisory firm, estimates thecountrybore$10billioncostinpostponement,consequentialexpenditure, opportunity cost and reputation cost.

In other emerging economies, reforms are reducing election costs and unbundling electoral bodies to enable them perform efficiently.

Since 1952, the Electoral Commission of India (ECI) has undertaken a series of electoral reforms that have culminated in digitisation of elections in a country populated by over 1.3 billion people.

With the process digitised, India spent only 4,000 Core Rupees ($640,000) to conduct the 2014 general elections in which 814.5 million voters were eligible.

On the other hand, Nigeria spent N120billion($603.015millionatN199/$) to conduct the 2015 general elections for 69 million voters, which is 942 times the cost of India’s. The body is conducting this year’s election, beginning from tomorrow,withN234.507billion($651.408 million),becauseitsactivitiesinvolvealot of logistics not found in India, Estonia, Rwanda and Thailand.

India’s electoral commission introduced Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) in 1982 to reduce malpractices and human contact while improving efficiency.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

Why this Saturday’s polls must not be derailed CHUKS OLUIGBO

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espite a wide array of misgivings over the past days, expectations are now high that the rescheduled Presidential and National Assembly elections will be held across the country this Saturday.

The postponement of the elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last week threw the entire country into disarray. It also came at ahugecosttoINEC,whichhad already deployed man and material to different parts of the country; the political parties, which had spent huge sums in electoral campaigns and deployed their agents to different polling booths; ordinary citizens who had travelled far and wide to perform their civic duties, including Diaspora Nigerians who returned to the country to cast their votes; local and international observers who had taken positions, and the overall economy which was literally under lockdown. Everybody bore the brunt of the election postponement.

The disappointment of the hopes and aspirations of Nigerians since 2015 by a government which rode to power on the promise of change, understood by many citizens to mean a break from the years of the locust and caterpillars, meant that there would be a high level of voter apathy, though some pundits said it could lead to determination on the part of the citizens to vote out a perceived non-performing government. But the postponement of the elections

was expected to negatively affect voter turnout because spirits have been dampened, but more so because many who travelled long distances last Saturday to cast their votes in an election that never was may no longer be able to afford the cost and stress of making such trips a second time.

Voter turnout has been on the decline since 2007, according to INEC figures. In 1999, the year that marked a break from long years of military rule and the country’s return to democracy, Nigeria recorded a voter turnout of 52.26 percent. The figure improved significantly to 69.08 percent in 2003.

In 2007, voter turnout moved downward to 57.49 percent. In 2011, the figure was 53.68 percent, and in 2015, voter turnout was 43.65 percent.

Taking into account estimates and analysis of potential PVC collection, voter enthusiasm, voter roll inflation andsocio-politicalconditionsineachof Nigeria’s regions, Opeyemi Agbaje and Kehinde Ayanbadejo, both of Lagosbased RTC Advisory Services Ltd, projected voter turnout of 46.6 percent for the 2019 election. This may, however, turn out to be unrealistic as the shift in the election date is expected to take its toll, and the political parties are expected to pay dearly for it in lost votes.

This is why Nigeria cannot afford a derailment of this Saturday’s vote.

The main gladiators have traded blames to no end, but this election is not about trading of blames; it is about the economy.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

L-R: Kayode Akinkugbe, MD/CEO, FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited; Bola Onadele. Koko, MD/CEO, FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, and Kola Ashiru-Balogun, MD, Mixta Real Estate Nigeria plc, during the listing and quotation ceremony for Mixta Real Estate Nigeria plc bonds and commercial papers at the Exchange Place in Lagos, yesterday. Pic by Olawale Amoo

Wearied voters hang hope on INEC assurances

... Lagos, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Rivers top states with collected PVCs

ZEBULON AGOMUO, JAMES KWEN, INIOBONG IWOK & BUNMI BAILEY

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earied by the postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections last Saturday by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigerian voters are warming up to go to the polls tomorrow, hanging their hopes on the commission’s assurances.

INEC, which had cited logistics reasons for moving the election from the earlier scheduled date of February 16, had during the week assured Nigerians and the international community that it has tied all loose ends for the election on February 23 and that the new date is sacrosanct.

“We have received all the materi-

als, they have been checked, audit people have been informed, party agents have gone there to check,” Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, told a cross-section of the diplomatic community and international election monitoring groups in Nigeria on its level of readiness for the elections.

Yakubu, who was represented

by Mustapha Lecky, INEC national commissioner, assured that everything needed to ensure the conduct of the polls on February 23 had been put in place, adding that the commission had no reason to feel things would go wrong.

“We believe that as a prayerful nation the act of God has been assuaged and that things will go right; we have no reason to feel that anything will go wrong,” he said.

Festus Okoye, national commis-

sioner and chairman, Information and Voter Education, INEC, said the commission’s commitment “is to conduct an election that the Nigerian people will be proud of”.

“Ibelievethatwiththesupportofthe media, and with the support and collaboration of the security agencies and theNigerianpeople,wecanachievethis particular feat,” Okoye said.

As if to reassure Nigerians of its readiness, INEC on Thursday released data on collected permanent voter cards (PVCs) across country, showing that Lagos, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna and Rivers States recorded the highest number of collected PVCs. Yakubu, who announced the data at the briefing of journalists and election observers in Abuja, said the uncollected PVCs had been moved

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Lagos: Lull in governance to deepen as Ambode may not make impact with 2019 budget JOSHUA BASSEY

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overnance in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital, may dip further in the months preceding the May 29 handover date as the incumbent governor, Akinwumi Ambode, may be denied the luxury of time to make a meaningful impact implementing the state’s N852.317 billion budget.

There are plans to delay the passage of the state’s 2019 budget by the 40-member Lagos State House of Assembly until about middle of second quarter of this year when Ambode would have about a month or less to exit government,asourcetoldBusinessDay. Governance in Lagos has been sliding since the third quarter of 2018, especially in the build-up to the primary elections of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The lull in governance in the state has been worsened by the ongoing electioneering campaigns.

Following his failed attempt to secure the ticket of his party the

APC in the October 2, 2018 primary elections towards the realisation his second term bid, Ambode is bound to leave office on May 29 this year.

A number of key infrastructure projects, including the expansion of Lagos-Badagry Expressway, the Agege Pen Cinema Flyover, among others have been left unattended as some contractors have since pulled their personnel from sites.

Although the House of Assembly had begun work on the 2019 Appropriation Bill having taken it through the first and second readings, it was, however, gathered that the passage of the bill into law would not come soon.

The lawmakers last week adjourned sitting till April 4 to enable them participate in the electioneering campaigns ahead of the February 23 presidential/national assembly and March 9 governorship/state houses of assembly polls.

The executive and legislative arms of the state government had sharply disagreed on the 2019 budget, which was delayed until February 6 when

Ambode presented it without the fanfare usually associated with budget presentation in Lagos since 1999.

While the lawmakers accused Ambode of being responsible for the delay thatcharacterisedthebudget,theexecutiveonitspartblamedthelawmakersfor not giving the governor the opportunity to lay the budget before the house. The disagreement had led to a threat by the house to impeach Ambode as they accused him of ‘gross misconducts’ and spendingoffundsnotappropriatedand approved by the legislature.

Although Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State (19992007), led members of the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), the highest decision making body in the Lagos APC, to resolve the legislative/executive rift, it was gathered that there are still acrimonies within as the lawmakers and the leadership of APC in the state still believe that Ambode is not totally loyal to the party.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

Friday 22 February 2019

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Akwa Ibom to create over Deportation of Nigerians from Ghana 3,300 jobs with own airline worrisome, says Dabiri-Erewa IFEOMA OKEKE

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kwa Ibom State Government under Governor Udom Emmanuel made history on Wednesday by being the first state to launch a commercial airline business, tagged Ibom Air, which promises to create over 3,330 direct and indirect jobs.

Aside from creating jobs, the state says it will enhance acquisition of advanced skills by indigenes of the state who would benefit from aeronautical training as pilots, engineers, cabin crew and others.

While two of the aircraft, CRJ 900 series from Canada with registration C-FWNL and C-FWNK arrived the state on Wednesday for operation, the third in the fleet is being expected on Friday, February 22.

The planes which are about six years old since being manufactured were unveiling by Bukola Saraki, the Senate President, at the Victor Attah International Stadium, Uyo. Unveiling the airline, the Senate President expressed joy to be part of the historic event created by the state

government which was not just about to celebrate tourism and aviation but also an historic event for sons, daughters and government of Akwa Ibom State.

“Today is to celebrate leadership and to say that a good thing can come out of Nigeria; today we celebrate the audacity of hope; today we celebrate a man who has a dream for his people and does not stop until that dream is realised.”

Saraki noted that the coming to fruition of the Ibom Air showed that Governor Emmanuel is always thinking on how to make life better for his people, bring investment to the state, improve governance and provide leadership.

“I congratulate you. We are proud of you in PDP family that you are one of us.”

“Today is what we have been talking about in the last few weeks of our campaign across this country that there is a difference when you have a man that understands what you need to do. When you have a man from the private sector of a business that understands what it takes to bring in investment,” Saraki said.

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bike Dabiri-Erewa, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, has described the reported mass arrests and deportation of Nigerians from Ghana as worrisome.

Dabiri-Erewa made this known in a statement by her media aide, Abdul-Rahman Balogun, on Thursday in Abuja.

She said that the information on the renewed harassment, arrest and deportation of hundreds of Nigerians from Ghana was disturbing, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

She, however, assured that the Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana, Olufemi Abikoye was on top of the situation and was engaging with relevant authorities in Ghana.

“While any Nigerian who commits a crime will have to face the wrath of the law, the situation of any Nigerian being inhumanly and unjustly treated, will not be acceptable,” she said.

Dabiri-Erewa recalled the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018 when shops owned

by Nigerian traders were

locked in Ghana, which forced some of them to relocate home.

She said that the issue was amicably resolved between the two presidents in the spirit of brotherhood.

Dabiri-Erewa, therefore, appealed to Nigerians living in Ghana to be good ambassadors of the country by abiding by the rules and regulations in that country.

She also appealed to the Ghanaian authorities to be brotherly in their approach in dealing with Nigerians living in Ghana by reciprocating Nigeria’s kind gestures to Ghanaians in Nigeria.

The Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana, Abikoye during a meeting with the Comptroller-General of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Kwame Takyi said in Accra that 723 Nigerians had been deported from Ghana since January 2018.

Abikoye said during the meeting, that the GIS linked prostitution and cybercrimes as some of the reasons for the deportations.

He, however, said that it was “improper” to deport Nigerians for alleged illegal stay in Ghana.

@Businessdayng

Friday 22 February 2019

Again FG closes all land borders for elections STELLA ENENCHE, Abuja

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n a bid to ensure that foreigners do not participate in the rescheduled Presidential and National Assembly polls slated for February 23,the Nigerian Government for the second time has ordered the closure of all land borders from Friday 12:00 noon to Sunday midnight.

BusinessDay recalls that the Federal Government had on Saturday, ordered the reopening of all land borders which were shutdown due to the botched

February 16 polls.

The Comptroller General of Immigration(CGI) Babandede Mohammed, in a statement on Thursday said, the directive was issued by the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahaman Dambazau.

According to the statement:”Further to the Presidential Election taking place on the 23 February, 2019, the Honourable Minister of Interior has directed the closure of all Nigeria Land Borders with effect from 12.00 noon of Friday 22nd February to midnight of Sunday 24th February, 2019.

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2019 election: The dilemma of police MAURICE OGU

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he recent revelation by President Muhammadu Buhari that he had given the security agencies an order to deal ruthlessly with ballot box snatchers has been greeted with mixed reactions, with police caught in the crossfire.

During the caucus meeting of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), Monday February 18, after the postponement of the elections, the visibly unhappy Buhari warned anyone who intends to snatch ballot boxes could pay the ultimate price of death as he (Buhari) had ordered the security agents to kill ballot box snatchers.

“I am going to warn anybody who thinks he has enough influence in his locality to lead a body of thugs, snatch ballot boxes or to disturb the voting system, he will do it at the expense of his own life,” Buhari fumed.

“We have directed the military and other security agents to be ruthless.

“Anybody who decides to snatch ballot boxes or leads thugs to disturb the process, maybe that will be the last unlawful action you will take,” Buhari said.

During its executive meeting, the main opposition party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, called on the army not to obey the order given by Buhari. Atiku charged the army to read the constitution and other rele-

vant materials as the army has no duty to perform during the electoral process.

“Go back and read the constitution, army act and other relevant materials, you have no role whatsoever to play during the elections’, Atiku charged.

In reaction to Atiku’s call, Tukur Buratai, chief of Army Staff, dismissed the call and insisted that the army will obey Buhari’s order as the constituted authority.

“One of our core values is loyalty to constituted authority. It is unfortunate to hear persons who are aspiring to rule this country are inciting the army to disobedience,” Buratai said.

To show his total commitment to the President’s orders, the army chief warns his men who are either in doubt or not ready to obey the order to resign. “Should any officer or soldier have doubts as to his loyalty to the Nigerian state as presently constituted, such a person has up to 22 February 2019 to resign.

There is no room for indiscipline or disobedience to lawful orders in the army today,” Buratai warmed.

Responding to Buhari’s comment, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Mahmood Yakubu said the commission will go with the provisions of the Electoral Act which stipulates procedures and sanctions to electoral offenders’ “The position of the commission is that all violators of the Electoral Act should be

punished according to the provisions of the Electoral Act,” Yakubu said.

In the midst of all these, the police, who have the constitutional mandate and responsibility of protecting lives, properties and electoral materials during the election has not responded.

According to the electoral process, the presiding officer of a station is recognised as the chief security officer of his station. He/she is empowered to oversee the general security of the station. The security personnel are answerable to the presiding officer.

Only him/her can request for the arrest of anyone deemed to be going against the electoral law.

This means, even if security personnel are present, the presiding officer acts as their ‘commanding officer’.

The existing electoral law on the deployment of police nullifies any other law and makes INEC so responsible for the management of police during the polls.

According to section 29 (3) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended, 2015), “Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law and for purposes of securing the vote, the Commission shall be responsible for requesting for the deployment of relevant security personnel necessary for elections or registration of voters and shall assign them in a manner to be determined by the Commission in consultation with the relevant security agencies.”

Make the change you want with your PVCs, Atiku charges Nigerians INIOBONG IWOK

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tiku Abubakar presidential candidate of Nigeria’s main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has charged Nigerians to come out and elect leaders of their choice in Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.

In a live broadcast message to Nigerians and journalists, ahead of the election, Atiku who is challenging incumbent Muhammadu Buhari of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Saturday’s

presidential election, noted that Nigerians had the opportunity to change the fortunes of the country by voting for the right leaders.

Atiku further stated the 2019 general elections were crucial because they would shape the future of the country.

According to him, “On March 28th, 2015, we the people of Nigeria went to our polling units armed only with our PVCs and yet we were able to remove an incumbent President from office. That made me very proud to be a Nigerian and very proud to be a democrat. This Saturday we will

have the opportunity to do so again.

“My message to you is simple: please come out and vote, as this election is about your future and the future of our great nation. On election day, we are all equal as no single vote is more important than any other.

“But if you do not vote you will be accepting that the next four years will be like the last. The power to get Nigeria working again is in your Permanent Voter’s Card.

I will be voting with mine on Saturday and I call on you to please join me, irrespective of who you wish to vote for”.

US Embassy closes Abuja, Lagos offices Feb 22

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he U.S Embassy says its Abuja office and Consulate General in Lagos will be closed on Friday in recognition of the work-free day declared by the Federal Government. The embassy said this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.

The Federal Govern-

ment has declared Friday, Feb. 22 as a work-free day to enable Nigerians prepare for the rescheduled Presidential and National Assembly Elections on Saturday, Feb 23.

“In recognition of this declaration and to encourage all our Nigerian employees to exercise their

right to vote, the U.S. Embassy in Abuja and the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos will be closed.

“No consular services will be available. If you already have a regular visa or ACS appointment for that date, you will be contacted for rescheduling,” the embassy stated.

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Investors oversubscribe FG bonds in anticipation of lower yields after polls ONYINYE NWACHUKWU & OLUWASEGUN OLAKOYENIKAN

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he oversubscription witnessed

by February 2019 Federal Government bonds is seen as investors’ reaction to lower yields projection on subsequent bonds issuance by the Debt Management Office, considering the sustained decline on the clearing rates on the instruments.

With elevated political risks, worsened by last week’s postponement of the nation’s polls by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), forward-looking investors are seeing yields on government securities relatively attractive compared to what would be obtainable after the polls, which may cause a significant improvement on the risk premium of the economy.

For instance, figures ob-

tained from the state debt agency show that the clearing rates on February 2019 FGN Bonds were 14.52 percent, 14.79 percent and 14.93 percent for 5-year, 7-year and 10-year instruments, respectively.

These are lower when compared to 15.20 percent, 15.25 percent and 15.35 percent rates on January 2019 FGN Bonds, and rates on December 2018 FGN Bonds at 15.25 percent, 15.50 percent and 15.50 percent for the three tenors, respectively.

“The signal from DMO is they are going to be issuing government instruments at lower rates,” Gbolahan Ologunro, an analyst at Lagosbased CSL Stockbrokers Limited, told BusinessDay. “You will expect that by March the rates would also be declared lower for each of those tenors.”

Besides, data from the National Bureau of Statistics also show that Nigeria’s in-

flation rate slowed to 11.37 percent in January from a year earlier. This is 0.07 percentage points lower than 11.44 percent recorded in December 2018.

This, coupled with international oil benchmark, Brent crude, which currently hovers around $67 per barrel, and forecasts of reduced political risks after the nation’s general elections, have all combined to inform the attractiveness of FG bonds by foreign investors, according to Ologunro.

This indicates that the investors, who are mostly Pension Fund Administrators and foreign investors, according to Busayo Awoyemi, an investment analyst at First Ally Capital Limited, may have taken advantage of the current rates with expectations that DMO’s marginal rates on the bonds would continue to reduce with uptick in oil prices and waning political risks.

@businessDayNG

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he Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has generated over N23 billion in unpaid taxes from the recently suspended substitution exercise on corporate bank accounts, which was marked by the imposition of restriction on the accounts of taxdefaulting organisations.

Babatunde Fowler, FIRS chairman, said at a Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Interactive Forum on Tax Matters that the focus of the exercise were 3,000 companies deducting Value Added Tax (VAT) and Withholding Tax (WHT) on behalf of the Federal Government without remitting such. The companies, he said, had no tax identification and therefore could not remit the deducted taxes to government, making them treat such deductions as part of their cash flow.

Fowler, who was guest speaker at the event which held at the MAN House in Ikeja, explained that the suspension of the exercise for 30 days, announced last weekend, was occasioned

Pic by Pius Okeosisi

Sanwo-Olu sees quick gains for Lagos in transportation, traffic management

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he Lagos State governorship candidate on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Babajide Sanwo-Olu, says there are quick gains to be made from an efficient transportation and traffic management in the state.

Lagos economy is not being optimally exploited because of the chaotic transport system in the state, leading to congestion and gridlock which, on many occasions, have ground economic and social activities in the state to a halt.

Sanwo-Olu hopes that when the state’s transportation system improves and the traffic situation is properly managed, they will help a great deal

in unlocking the state’s economic potential, leading to the growth of its GDP which, at the moment, is below optimum value, according to him.

“I am excited about the quick gains we will make in traffic management and transportation; my confidence comes from interaction with the right stakeholders and a deliberate plan to ease the lives of Lagosians”, the guber candidate said in his twitter handle, @jidesanwolu Lagos as Nigeria’s economic and commercial capital has its peculiar challenges. This is the smallest state in the country with a land area of 3,577 square kilometres which is about 0.4 percent of total land area of Nigeria estimated at 923,768 square kilometres. This small land area is inhabited by the

state’s over 20 million population, with a projected figure of close to 30 million in the next decade.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says about 260,000 people come into Lagos daily while only about 2025 percent goes back to their original places. Existing infrastructure and facilities, especially roads, are overstretched, leading to congestion and gridlock that have become major features of the city-state.

If population is all that defines a megacity, Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre and Africa’s most populous city with a population that is over 20 million, qualifies as one. But unlike other megacities of the world such as Kolkata, India; Tokyo-Yokohama, Japan; Jakarta, Indonesia; Delhi, India; Shang-

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BUSINESS DAY

FIRS generates N23bn from lien on corporate accounts

L-R: Florence Otedola aka DJ Cuppy; John Park, president of Samsung Central Africa; David Suh, MD, Samsung Electronics West Africa, and Bolanle Olukanni, at the launch of Samsung Galaxy S10 series into the Nigerian market in Lagos.

CHUKA UROKO

@Businessdayng

hai in China, among others, Lagos is a complex city with peculiar characteristics.

Lagos is the smallest state in Nigeria with a land area of 3,577 square kilometres which is about 0.4 percent of total land area of Nigeria estimated at 923,768 square kilometres. This the area inhabited by the over 20 million population with a projected figure of close to 30 million in the next decade.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report says about 260,000 people come into Lagos daily while only about 20-25 percent goes back to their original places.

Existing infrastructure and facilities, especially roads, are overstretched, leading to congestion and gridlock that have become major features of the city-state.

by the deluge of corporate taxpayers visiting FIRS offices to regularise their tax affairs and make payments, a situation that stretched the Service administratively as it could not lift the lien on their accounts as quickly as it wished. Thus, the FIRS directed banks to lift restrictions on such accounts to allow affected tax companies regularise their tax status within 30 days and begin to make arrangements for the liquidation of their tax liabilities.

Fowler said the Service’s decision to place lien on accounts of businesses, corporate organisations and partnerships with an annual banking turnover in excess of N1 billion but without tax identification, was announced at a stakeholders’ meeting last September.

“Our position was that if you charge VAT, which is not your money, or deduct Withholding Tax from vendors and you have no tax identification, you cannot even pay tax to the FIRS because you can’t pay without tax identi-

fication. So these operators were defrauding the society and the nation by charging consumers VAT, by deducting Withholding Tax and not remitting on behalf of other taxpayers,” Fowler said.

“We had over 3,000 of such and we said if they do not come forward, we’d follow the law and do what they call substitution. Now, what the Act actually says is that the banks should deduct the amount of taxes from accounts. We, however, told the banks not to deduct the amounts, but put a lien on those accounts and let the taxpayers come forward.

And till date, over N23 billion has been paid on those accounts,” he said.

Fowler added that the FIRS also noticed that operators that had banking turnover of between N100 million and N1 billion were equally guilty. The FIRS, he disclosed, received information from banks that there are 59,000 of such operators, who are without tax identification and have not been making payments to the Federation Account.

FG has spent N837bn on infrastructure, capacity building in tertiary institutions,says HARRISON EDEH, Abuja

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resident Muhammadu Buhari’s administration through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund has spent N837 billion on infrastructural development in tertiary institutions and capacity building for lecturers, Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, has revealed.

The minister stated that the investment was aimed at improving the quality of service delivery in the education sector.

He stated this during the 8th edition of the Weekend Ministerial Press Briefings on Thursday in Abuja.

Adamu pointed out that TETFund had increased the number of beneficiary institutions accessing its interventions in order to keep pace with newly established tertiary institutions.

“Investment in Library and Library services is being intensified to ensure that we keep pace with digital learning. All these are aimed at ensuring qualitative education at tertiary levels.”

To address the growing demand for tertiary education, the minister said the government had granted licenses for the establishment of 30 universities, 71 polytechnics and 27 colleges of education, since its assumption of office in 2015.

“Access to quality education has been a major challenge to our people

over the years. Apart from many other factors militating against the legitimate desire of our people to quality education, the astronomical increase in the country’s population, now estimated at 180 million people has not helped matters.

“As part of efforts aimed at addressing the persistent problem of access to university education, occasioned by the low carrying capacity of existing universities as against the growing number of qualified candidates, the Federal Government during the period under review established or licensed a total of 30 universities, bringing the total number of universities in Nigeria to one hundred and sixty-nine.

“When we came into office in 2015, the total number of polytechnics/ Mo n o te ch n i c s / In n ova tive enterprise institutions in the county stood at 298 with a combined carrying capacity of 424,715 spaces.

To expand access to Polytechnic/Monotechnics/ Innovative enterprise institutions, we established or licensed a total of 71 such institutions during the period under review, with a carrying capacity of 93,228 spaces,” he said.

The 27 new NCE awarding institutions across the six geopolitical zones, have a combined carrying capacity of sixty thousand, two hundred spaces (60,200), the minister announced.

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VAT revenue hits N1.10trn on improved economic activities …N138.42bn generated from local consumption HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE & DAVID IBIDAPO

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mproved economic activities witnessed in the Nigerian economy in 2018 paid off as the federal government recorded N1.10 trillion in total value added tax (VAT) generation, highest value in six years.

“The increase in VAT reflects the increase in the level of economic activities in 2018”, Johnson Chukwu, managing director/CEO, Cowry Asset Management Limited told BusinessDay by phone interview.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), total VAT value appreciated by 14 percent from N972.35 billion in 2017.

However, this is a slowdown in growth compared to a 25 percent growth in VAT recorded in 2017.

Statistics has shown that there exist a strong correlation between economic growth and VAT revenue growth.

The slowdown was largely

contributed by a decline in VAT revenue in the second quarter (Q2) 2018 due to decelerating growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) also in Q2.

Analysis of quarter on quarter (Q/Q) trend on VAT in 2018 revealed that while the economy slowed down in Q2 to 1.5 percent from 1.92 percent in the first quarter (Q1), VAT revenue declined marginally by 1 percent.

The 2018 VAT levels signalled improved consumer spending and consumption in 2018 as statistically there has been a strong correlation in the movement of household spending and VAT revenue generated.

The NBS report released on Thursday showed that out of the total amount generated in Q4 2018, N138.42bn was generated as NonImport VAT locally, while N47.89bn was generated as Non-Import VAT for foreign.

The balance of N111.71bn was generated as NCS-Import VAT.

Chukwu said Non-import VAT locally relates to consumption of local items. The NCS-import relates to VAT imposed on custom duty at the point of importation.

“Because people did not go for VAT credit as much as they should, so you are dealing with non-import VAT which could actually be VAT on imported goods at the point of consumption”.

“If you have a higher consumption tax, it actually should indicated that the economy is improving to the extent that the consumers are consuming more. In the sense of it, it is positive”, he said.

In 2016, according to data from World Data Indicator (WDI), while household spending declined 18 percent VAT revenue grew marginally by 2 percent against 54 percent growth in the previous year.

Decline in household expense improve however in 2017 and we saw VAT revenue surge by 25 percent. Although, household spending in 2018

isn’t available, we estimate an improved spending.

According to NBS report, Other Manufacturing maintained being the highest contributor to VAT generation as it accounted for 11 percent of the total value. VAT generated from the sector amounted to N122.89 billion.

Growth in Other Manufacturing sector classification y/y stood at 2.76 percent, making the sector sit at the bottom of sector growth chart.

Taiwo Oyedele, head, Tax and Regulatory Services, PWC, said the increase in VAT in the 4th quarter is reflective of the higher level of economic activities mostly due to Christmas and other end of the year festivities.

This he said is also consistent with the relatively higher GDP growth rate recorded for the same period.

To some extent more VAT must have been collected through the efforts of the FIRS aimed at improving tax compliance.

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Neimeth appoints Matthew Azoji Managing Director/CEO

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eimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc. has appointed Matthew Azoji as the New Managing Director/CEO, the company said in an emailed statement.

Azoji holds a first degree in pharmacy (First Class), from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, and an MBA (Marketing) from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu, and also attended the Advanced Management Programme (AMP) the Lagos Business School, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos.

He obtained certificates in Pharmaceutical Policy and Pharmacoeconomics from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, which is a WHO Collaborating centre, and also holds M.Sc. in Public health from the University of London, International Programmes.

Azoji additionally obtained an M. Phil (Pharmacy Administration) from Obafemi Awolowo Univer-

HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

D

eposit Money Banks (DMBs) and other financial institutions have notified customers about their early closure on Friday February 22, due to the general elections scheduled for Saturday February 23.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has declared Friday, February 22, as public holiday, in preparation for the elections. However, those providing essential duties and bankers are excluded.

Some of the financial institutions which have sent out notices on the early closure include Access Bank plc, Stanbic IBTC, and Cowry Asset Management Limited.

Sirika ties zero air accident record in 4 years to regulatory functions adi Sirika, the Minister of State, Aviation, has said that one of the major achievements of this administration in the past four years is the sustenance of safety, as there has not been an accident to commercial airlines, which has further boosted and restored confidence of the flying public.

Sirika however noted that this achievement would not have been attained without the strong regulatory functions of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), making the country’s air travel enjoy a huge safety record.

Friday 22 February 2019

sity, Ile-Ife. He is currently a Fellow of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (FPSN).

Azoji has over 20 years’’ experience at senior level in the pharmaceutical and public health sectors of Nigeria.

He previously worked with May & Baker at various levels; he was also pioneer MD/CEO of CHAN MediPharm Ltd/Gte, and led the executive and management teams of Biovaccines Nigeria Ltd., a public–private partnership company between the Federal Government of Nigeria and May & Baker Nigeria Ltd., from where he joined Neimeth.

Banks notify customers of early closure Friday

L-R: Namadi Sambo, former vice president; Uche Secondus, national chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Atiku Abubakar, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate, during PDP Stakeholders Town Hall Meeting in Kaduna, yesterday.

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This is also as he disclosed that the sector recorded an average growth of 33 percent on domestic operations and 13.5 percent on international operations between January, 2017 to June, 2018.

Speaking to journalists recently, the minister said the certification of Murtala Muhammed International Airport, (MMIA) Ikeja, Lagos in April, 2017 and Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja in November, 2017 was a milestone and the first ever Airport certification in Nigeria for that matter.

“Let it be known that the certification of the two airports by NCAA placed Nigeria on the pivotal of aviation on the continent as no country in

Africa has two of its international airports certified. Also, the certifications of Kano and Port Harcourt Airports have reached advanced stages and would be achieved this year.

“Also, this administration promulgated the new Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulation, which took effect in July, 2016. Nigeria achieved an effective implementation level of 67.36 per cent during the recent International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme carried out in March, 2016, which is above global average of 63.54 percent. Nigeria also recorded 96.45 percent in ICAO Universal Security Audit,” he said.

The banks therefore direct customers to alternative channels for any transactions during the period of closure.

There are various electronic banking channels available to customers which include Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Point of Sales (PoS), mobile banking, and internet banking among others.

The Central Bank of Nigeria in December 2011 introduced the cashless policy, which aims to curb some of the negative consequences associated with the high usage of physical cash in the economy, including high cost of cash, high risk of using cash, high subsidy, informal economy, inefficiency and corruption.

Foreign currency flooding Nigeria, alarming — Buhari TONY AILEMEN, Abuja

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resident Muhammadu Buhari has raised an alarm over the huge amount of foreign currency flooding the country.

The President who said he was astonished at the development, stated the money was intended to influence the general elections beginning on Saturday.

A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said the President made the observation during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting Wednesday, where he accused some unnamed politicians of flouting mon-

ey laundering regulations in their desperate bid to capture political power.

President Buhari, however commended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for successfully tracking the money in “millions of United States dollars.”

The EFCC success followed the presidential directive to investigative agencies to probe a number of high profile cases.

Reassuring the nation of his administration’s determination to wage a relentless war against money laundering and terrorist financing, the President again appealed to Nigerians, especially politicians, to place the interest of the country

above all others, as they troop out to cast their votes in the coming election.

President Buhari on Thursday said there is compelling need for historians and economists to document the 16 years squandermania and mismanagement by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), so that future generations would not repeat the same mistakes.

The President spoke at State House, Abuja, Thursday, while receiving members of the Forum of Presidential Candidates and Political Parties for Good Governance, who decided to subordinate their ambitions, and have directed their supporters to vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate.

Friday 22 February 2019

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Neglecting people is the most often and costly mistake businesses

EIZU UWAOMA

O

ften times, I am asked, what are you into?

Well, I am not into business, I am into problems and people.

I just happen to solve these people’s problems, as a business!

Let me explain....

I hear people talk about the dwindling economy like it’s an earthquake. It is just another problem.

To me that’s already an opportunity.

Every time you create a solution to a problem, you create value and that in turn attracts wealth and growth.

I love problems. Good entrepreneurs are known to feed on it. I care less about what the next election result brings, or what the current exchange rate is or what the economists say. As a matter of fact, every problem is an opportunity, depending on your perception and the realm upon which you play in.

I believe that to every loss, there’s a win somewhere. I rather find where

the win is. To me, that quest in itself is business when you can connect it with the right people. So my central thought today is on “People”.

The business of people If you keep losing out on those deals, if it seems like no one is ready to buy from you, if you’ve ever gone to the bank for a loan and have been turned down with your great idea and on the other hand, the bank keeps chasing another person to give loans to them then you should realize that “people do not invest in ideas, they invest in people!”. Concentrate on you!

As a business man, you have to be a “people’s person”. But you have to be of value first. And then precede it with a valuable character to attract the right people (customer, team etc).

It’s key to be a master in managing what I call the three musketeers of business; employees, customers and shareholders. You’d succeed better when any of those units begin to see themselves as teams. In general, according to Bruce Tuckman, there are four stages of team formation: forming, storming, norming, and performing Forming a team takes time, and members often go through recognizable stages as they change from being collections of strangers (forming) and then (storming) to form united

groups (norming) with common goals, successfully (performing).

When you understand it, you can help your new team become effective more quickly At forming, there’s peace and anticipation but sometimes confusion At storming, people begin to push for audacity, positions of authority, it becomes a bit political. At norming, things become normal, they know their stands, and respect the authorities. And at the performing stage, the team soars. But not every organization reaches this level. At that point, they become an intimate tribe, a community bonded by a purpose, with sets of core values and a can do spirit. At that point, your team begins to win, they can work without supervision and if even one person leaves, the team continues still.

People are your greatest assets.

Your network determines your networth.

Its either you know people or know people that know people. They are called connectors. Connectors are people who know people. Everything revolves around people. If you don’t know people, then at least know connectors.

Our lives and businesses will do much better if we stopped looking at our products, and then start looking at the people. You’re wrong

‘

People are your greatest assets. Your network determines your networth

assuming that the value proposition of your business is about the product.

It is not. It’s about the customer and how you are going to make their lives better.

Sometime we are too occupied with our work that we forget what matters the most. We lose sight of the right view. Don’t see things from your view, the view of a CEO or employee; see things from the view of the customer.

That’s why Starbucks is among the top 50 simply by selling coffee (the same thing the Mallam in front of your gate sells). It’s because their main ideology is “We are not in the coffee business serving people. We are in the people business, serving coffee”.-Starbucks Your business is not about products, but people.

So henceforth in your business operations and in your interfacing with people, practice empathy. See through the eyes of the market, see what you do (product) from the view of others (people). Be customer, market and people oriented for they are your greatest assets and hold your biggest opportunities. Invest in them!

Uwaoma is a start-up, corporate restructuring and strategy consultant. He writes via contacteizu@gmail.com

What would it cost the Nigerian woman to add US$38 billion annually to our GDP; her home?

Mayowa Amoo

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omen are at the heart of the smooth functioning of the globe. At the most basic level, they have multiple identities as unique individuals, professionals/entrepreneurs, wives, mothers and also carers. It is unrealistic especially for the woman to view work and family as separate worlds. They both overlap and interact. This piece, through the eyes of a man, examines the overlapping challenges faced by women at home, at work and in the society at large and how all stakeholders can help to make their lives easier and more successful in our common interest.

The “constraints” faced by ladies in their pursuit of economic and financial autonomy (or career), are classified and discussed here under three headers namely domestic work, child and family care and professional barriers. As will be observed, government and private sector employers have major roles to play in alleviating the burdens of women in careers in Nigeria. This writer recognises that women are not a homogenous group and they do not all want the same thing at the same time. Their attitudes, character and personalities are different and therefore not every matter in this piece will find peace within every woman or indeed man.

As further foundation to this article, if a woman is married, she needs to have a-priori chosen a morally supportive husband. That

must be gotten right. In addition, even if the home is dual income, the husband should be secure enough to encourage his wife to wholly keep her earned income – so as to achieve a sense of autonomous financial security that all ladies crave. Ever heard: “My money is my money while his money is our money.”? Now, the conversation around home and career economics of womanhood for the interest of all stakeholders begins.

The biggest argument against domestic work is that, depending on the author, her approach and underlying assumptions, Nigeria potentially loses up to 10% of its GDP as opportunity cost of encumbering ladies with domestic duties. Domestic work done by women (unpaid) is deemed a subsidy for the rest of the economy and a time tax on women throughout their lives. After all, we all depend on our wives’ and mothers’ domestic work.

To address the above, men and women need to invest in things that make life simpler and easier – pay for a full time nanny, housekeeper, order groceries on line, hire a cook, etc.

Despite its benefits, informal support, especially that which is procured from rural areas perpetuates social inequality especially against young girls who should be in school up to as far as they wish. It is high time government deepened and extended its conditional transfer programme to target young girls and encourage them to enrol in and complete school. I digress.

Children should also apply themselves fully to home chores and view this as a way of further strengthening the family and preparing them for their own future independent family/career lives. Boys and girls should be

brought to task in that regard.

Working mothers should not have to choose between childcare for instance and pursuit of a successful career. Nigerian companies should support both. That should be the start of the much touted corporate social responsibility – safeguarding and promoting the lives of the future generations.

It need not be overemphasised that it is at home in families that future workers are born, their skills are nurtured and their health maintained. Leaders at home, at work and in government at all levels must align our thinking and develop cradle-to-grave, full life cycle initiatives that support the creation and promotion of families – the vital socioeconomic unit required for national progress.

In the professional world, women need supportive bosses as well as access to role models that will give practical advice on how to make successful life (not just career) journeys. Most times, men hold the position of power and they can help, so women need to reach out, while being careful of sexual harassment and exploitation.

Most couples work full time and spend little quality time together let alone with their children. Employers must deliberately and consciously admit that the prevailing work arrangement and culture today needs to change. The cost of resisting change is being borne by families through burnout, depression and arguably suicide. Employers also lose great staff. Flexible working hours and provision of on-site child care could be a competitive advantage that cements employee loyalty.

Employers do not have to do so many things. A focus on few, high impact interven-

tions would do. For instance, women could resume and close work at 9:30am and 3:30pm respectively while men maintain the status quo. Men should be allowed to opt for similar arrangement if they choose to. Women and men could also voluntarily consider having a discontinuous or “staggered” career.

Women who find themselves in hostile employer environments can choose to become “Boss Madams” by opting out and pursuing entrepreneurial careers. Nigeria could become the female entrepreneurial capital of the world where ladies have well rounded lives anchored on viable personal choice. Government policies could thus target women-owned businesses for affirmative action such as contract awards and access to finance. Launching a business together can also help husband and wife achieve integrated family-work lives.

Overall, in order to assist women make their additional multi-billion dollar GDP contribution, we all need to change - spouses, employers, employees and government – we need to shift our minds to begin to view child care and elderly care as a private responsibility in public interest. Home management in its broadest form is not in any way inferior to career work – corporate leaders must believe this and espouse it. Accommodation of family in work life is a key feature of positive economic, labour and social policy. Men need the most encouragement to voluntarily engage at home especially in child and general family care. It will be a very long journey but it has already started with the very first steps.

We can do this!

Amoo is an investment banker based in Lagos.

Friday 22 February 2019

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4-year election cycle as a drag on economic growth UCHE UWALEKE

N

ot a few Nigerians woke up on Saturday, February 16 2019, to the shocking news of the postponement of the general elections earlier scheduled to commence that day. The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmoud Yakubu, had while announcing the shift in dates in the early hours of Saturday, blamed the situation on logistics and operational problems. This will not be the first election postponement in recent times.

For different reasons, the general elections were shifted in 2011 and also in 2015. Expectedly, on each occasion, the shift in election date had taken a great toll on the nation’s economy.

If the previous experiences left a tear on the nation’s resources, this latest incident leaves a big hole. The magnitude of the loss, not only to the government but also to firms and individuals, is incalculable not least because of the timing of the announcement which was made within hours of the start of the elections after a number of irreversible steps had been taken by various economic actors. A lot of

people had traveled far distances just to exercise their franchise while many organizations especially educational institutions had to shut down temporarily for the period of the elections.

The associated costs of doing so cannot be quantified. Just how do you measure the huge losses on the part of individuals from cancelled wedding, funeral and other ceremonies already fixed for Feb 23 and March 9, the new dates picked for the rescheduled elections? How about production plans by business firms already made with the original elections dates in mind that will now be shattered? What about the disruptions in domestic and international flight arrangements? Indeed, this sad development raises a number of questions.

Because the announcement was not made early enough, business activities were at low ebb on the day the polls could not hold in view of the earlier order by the government restricting movements in the country. A number of markets and businesses were closed for most part of the day. The land borders have been reopened but not before its earlier closure had taken a toll on the economic activities of border communities. Recent reports say, on account of the postponement, the National Assembly has also shifted its resumption initially scheduled for February 19 to Tuesday the 26th of February. This has implications for the timely passage of the 2019 budget. The cost to the political parties and election observers can better be imagined. Smaller political parties may not have the resources to foot the extra bill given that their agents had already been mobilized; ditto for

national and international election observers who have committed enormous resources in deploying observers in the field.

With the general elections now rescheduled, the cost of conducting the polls will most likely spike. The sum of N189 billion was approved by the National Assembly for INEC to defray the cost of the 2019 elections. Any additional funds will probably be sourced from money already earmarked for capital projects. So, beyond the explicit costs, there is also the opportunity cost to contend with. The spinoff of the election postponement could widen the fiscal deficit and rubbish government’s efforts at fiscal consolidation.

It also creates a bad image for Nigeria in the international community and raises country risk. By implication, any external loans will most likely be contracted at a higher cost. The information-sensitive stock market will be at the receiving end witnessing a bearish trend in the days ahead. It is a no brainer that investors’ sentiment is bound to weaken which could trigger capital flight. The damage done to investors’ confidence could translate to lower capital importation and slower GDP growth in the first quarter of the year. In the same vein, the Purchasing Managers Index reading for the month of February 2019 is bound to come in lower when compared to previous months. What is more, mental health Physicians submit that such unexpected and sudden negative news is capable of inducing some emotional, mental and physical health challenges for many citizens. This will certainly not be a welcome development in a coun-

‘

Generally, investors soft pedal ahead of elections due to elevated political risk

try where productivity is relatively low and the cost of health care is beyond the reach of many. That said, the postponement of the elections due to ‘logistic reasons’ was avoidable and does not bode well for the nation’s economy.

This unfortunate development brings to the fore the concern in many quarters about the huge cost of conducting elections every four years in Nigeria which is among the highest in the world. This comprise the cost of voter registration and the compilation of a credible voters’ register, recruitment and training of electoral officials, provision of electoral logistics, civic and voter education, procurement of sensitive and non-sensitive materials, deployment of electoral technology, election security, undertaking regular engagement with stakeholders and handling of pre-election and postelection litigations. This cost has been on the rise with every election cycle. According to reports, for the conduct of the 2019 general polls, a total sum of N242 billion was approved for INEC and five other agencies namely the Office of the National Security Adviser, Department of State Security, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Immigration Service. This amount is more than the capital components of education and health budgets put together.

Note: The rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https://businessday.ng Uche Uwaleke of Nasarawa State University Keffi is Nigeria’s first Professor of Capital Market and the President of the Association of Capital Market Academics of Nigeria

The why

Olamide Balogun

S

o much has happened since last week.

The resilience and humour of the Nigerian has kept us all forging ahead. These are qualities that very few employers even recognize as assets.

Thank you for the positive responses from last week’s article on Vision. Please bear in mind that you can use the tips to craft personal vision as well as corporate vision.

I listened to a Ted Talk recently that helped me understand why some companies succeed phenomenally where many others just exist and eventually just die. This shows how even though you must craft vision (which principally talks about the ‘what’ and ‘how’) you must also talk about the ‘why’.

Companies can all tell what they do. Most can tell you how they do it. Many cannot tell why.

People think the ‘why’ is to make a profit but that is a result of doing business.

In other words, why do you get out of bed every morning and why should anyone care.

The ‘why’ question is really asking for what your cause is, what your belief is and why do you or your company exist.

So you find that the more successful and inspired companies start with saying why they do what they do and not just saying what they do and

how, which is what the regular companies say.

So, for example, I could say I write an excellent column by bringing ideas you have not heard of before. This is true, it is the what and the how but it is totally uninspiring because it does not include the why.

The inspired leaders and companies start with the ‘not so clear and obvious’ and work to the clear and obvious. People buy why you do things better than what you do. A good example is Apple computers. They say “ in everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo, we believe in thinking differently. The way we do this is to beautifully design our computers and make them simple to use. “There why is challenging the status quo and thinking differently.

This explains why very many people are comfortable buying not just computers but phones, watches, tablets, TV media streamers, so many things that people would not buy from another computer company. This is because people believe in Apple since the ‘why’ of what they do is known. What the actual product is, does not matter. People know it will challenge the status quo and be different.

Biology tells us how this relates to the human brain. The brain is also divided into three. The outer part is the neocortex which is responsible for rational and analytical thoughts and language.

The other two parts are in the limbic brain which houses feelings, where trust, loyalty and all human behaviour comes from but it has no capacity for language. So when language is used to communicate facts, figures, features and benefits people still say, ‘hmm it does not feel right’. The limbic brain controls behaviour but not language.

If you don’t know why you do what you do people will not respond with their behavioural side.

The goal when hiring staff is to sell your organization to people who believe in what you believe, they will work for you with sweat, guts, blood and

tears. If you hire people just because they can do a job, they will work only for your money.

Usually, when businesses fail they site undercapitalization, bad market conditions and the wrong or bad workers. When your ‘why’ is in place, financing, equipment, staff and sales will follow easily.

There is an example of the Wright brothers who were the first to take flight. At that time there was another man Samuel Pierpoint Langley who was experimenting with also taking flight.

Langley was very well educated and very well connected. He got a grant of 50,000 dollars for the research but he was doing it for the fame and possible money he could get out of it. He had the press on his tails reporting everything he did. He was in hot pursuit of money.

The Wrights brothers, on the other hand, were not rich, well connected or doing it for fame and fortune. They were doing it because they genuinely believed flying t would change the world. It has!! They were ready to put all they had into it.

Not a single person on their team had a college education. They had no sponsors and no money.

They did not have any press following. They were driven by a cause, a belief. However, people worked for them with sweat, guts and tears. In 1903 the brothers took flight for the first time and no one knew because they were not about fame and fortune.

Langley quit the very day the brothers took flight. He was in it only for the money not for the long haul. He could have carried on to try to improve on what they did but his ’why’ nonexistent.

If you believe in something and you talk about it, you will attract those who believe the same thing as you. People follow those who lead not because of them but because they see themselves in the leader. It is those who start with the ’why’ who inspire those around them.

Why are you doing what you are doing? Why

are you setting up that business? Why are you heading up that company?

At this point, I guess I must say why I am writing this column. In this country, many people call our worker force lazy, dishonest, unskilled, uneducated, stubborn, even crazy to mention a few adjectives.

This same workforce, go to other countries and excel much to the annoyance of the indigenes of those countries. I know our workforce are resilient, hardworking, innovative, self-starting, compliant where necessary, ambitious, quick learners, to give a few adjectives.

We are ahead in fashion, make-up, IT, manufacturing, logistics and events management, construction, comedy, film making ,to mention a few. This is not taking into consideration what we have to work with, the non-existent infrastructure, almost non-existent healthcare, poor education, rife poverty, non-existent labor laws, to mention a few.

I have a dream of Human Resource Management (HRM) becoming strategic, where only professionals who understand what they are doing will dabble in it. I dream that HR managers will not just rubberstamp the whims and caprices of senior management but stand up for what is right.

I dream that HR managers will be taken deadly seriously, that one day the Nigerian Labor laws will be meaningful and will actually lead to the employees being valued by all.

In order to hire the best people, be sure you know the ‘why’ of what you are doing to ensure you get the right people who are coming in with their hearts and souls, not just a half baked enthusiasm and have the potential to leave for a 2% pay rise.

Balogun is the founder of Box & Cedar Ltd a boutique Recruitment and HR Consulting firm Www.boxandcedar.com

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Friday 22 February 2019

Voting at elections is a sacred duty

T

he last minute postponement of the presidential and national assembly elections slated for Feb 16, 2019 came to most Nigerians as a shock. For weeks, people, businesses and parties made arrangements, and on Friday, many people relocated, at great costs, to where they registered to ensure they performed their civic duty. But they woke up to the news of the postponement on the excuse that INEC could not master its logistics properly. This evoked memories of the recent past where elections were also postponed ostensibly due to logistic and security failure.

While the monetar y, reputational and other costs are being compiled, Nigerians have a right to feel angry that an electoral umpire that had the better of four years to prepare for an election could not

deliver at the appointed day.

Worse is that it kept promising, assuring and reassuring everyone up until the very last day of preparations that it was fully ready and prepared to conduct the elections only for it to disappoint everyone, including international observers who arrived in anticipation of the polls and now have to extend their stay in the country by an additional week due to no fault of theirs.

While the anger is understandable, it must not dampen our morale or stop us from going on to vote in our next set of leaders. Election is an important and sacred duty thrust on citizens by the democratic system of government on the premise that over their affairs, the citizens should be sovereign. Nigerians must always strive to discharge this sacred duty no matter the obstacles placed on our way or the disappointments we encounter along the way. We must discharge this duty with the utmost care and resolve

that it should always be clear to those who prefer other systems of government that democracy remains the best system of government invented by man for the organisation of society. We owe it to ourselves and our children to bequeath a better society and country – and the very least we can do to achieve this is to ensure we vote for the right set of leaders at all elections – leaders that will truly represent us and that will be always accountable to us. Democracy thrives when leaders know that citizens are politically active and aware and will hold them to account at every electoral circle.

This particular election provides Nigerians with another opportunity to further deepen Nigeria’s democratic culture. It is a testament to our resilience as a people that despite all the odds, we have achieved 20 years on the journey towards democratic consolidation. The hiccups must not dampen our spirit.

We have the power to vote for leaders and representatives that will reform our country and build lasting institutions that will be a permanent bulwark against such systematic failures as we witnessed last week.

Despite the anger we feel towards the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), we must support it to deliver a credible election. It must show that it is truly independent and impartial, not only in name, but in deed. It must ensure that this time, there is no margin for errors and to compensate Nigerians, it must deliver a near flawless elections that would be adjudged free, fair, transparent and credible by all citizens and our international partners.

Political parties and politicians, on their part, must learn to internalise the rules of the game and accept outcomes of credible elections.

We wish Nigerians a happy and peaceful elections!!!

GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

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

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Dick Kramer - Chairman Imo Itsueli Mohammed Hayatudeen Afolabi Oladele Vincent Maduka Keith Richards Opeyemi Agbaje Amina Oyagbola Bolanle Onagoruwa Fola Laoye Chuka Mordi Mezuo Nwuneli Charles Anudu Tunji Adegbesan Eyo Ekpo

Enquiries NEWS ROOM 08023165438 08169609331 Lagos 08033160837 Abuja

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BUSINESS DAY

Friday 22 February 2019

13

CITYFile

Community leader alleges poor funding of schools in Delta

A

community leader in Delta, Emmanuel Ashinze, has alleged poor funding of public schools in the state, expressing concern that it has led to decadence and low standard of education.

Ashinze, who is the president-general of Ogwashi-Uku Development Association (ODA), made the allegation at the Citizens Engagement Forum on Delta 2019 budget held in Asaba.

He said: “Since 2013 till date, teachers in public primary schools in the state have not undergone any training programme. This is unlike teachers in the private schools who receive training regularly; this is why many concerned parents send their children to private schools.”

“I want to appeal to the state government to do something urgently to salvage the situation in our public primary schools.

“Government should as a matter of urgent importance include budgetary provision for training and retraining of our public school teachers in the 2019 budget,” he said.

Ashinze, a retired school teacher, said that teachers in public primary schools in the state lacked requisite training, especially in basic reading and writing skills.

Police arrest notorious kidnapper in Katsina

K

atsina State police command said it arrested a notorious member of a kidnap syndicate in the state.

The command in a statement by its public relations officer, Gambo Isah, said that the suspect had threatened to kidnap a renowned businessman in Malumfashi if he failed to pay N2 million as ransom.

Isah said that the suspect, Magaji Gudaji, aged 30, of Yandoka village in Dayi area of Malumfashi local government, was arrested five days ago after a tip-off.

The police spokesman said that the police recovered an Itel mobile phone with the SIM card used to commit the offence.

He added that a threat note written by the suspect to the victim was also recovered by the police.

According to him, the suspect had confessed to the commission of the crime. The command spokesman said that investigations were ongoing to arrest other members of the syndicate.

NSCDC assures protection of residents in Rivers

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ohammed Lawal Haruna, the commandant, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), in Rivers, says the personnel are prepared to protect the lives and property of citizens during the rescheduled general elections.

Haruna gave the assurance ahead of tomorrow’s Presidential and National Assembly Elections. Rivers State is believed to be one of the hotspots during the elections.

He said that the postponement of the election has to do with the readiness of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“The command has no issue with the postponement of the elections since the INEC said the postponement had to do with some logistical challenges but for the command, we are ready.

“We are only appraising what we have on the ground and make amendment where we think it is necessary.

“Our challenge is that we have inadequate facilities to work with, like more gun boats, we need more operational vans, and boots to go on high sea among others,” Haruna said.

He urged Nigerians to go out en masse and vote for candidates of their choice, saying that the command was ready to protect lives and property. NAN

A female potter puts finishing touches to her ceramic wares ahead of Saturday’s postponed Presidential and National Assembly elections, at Dada Pottery Centre, Oke Lele area of Ilorin in Kwara State on Tuesday.

NAN

Navy intercepts 1,400 jerry cans of stolen fuel in Lagos JOSHUA BASSEY he Nigerian Navy has intercepted a wooden boat with outboard engines and 1,400 jerry cans of petrol valued at N20 million.

The commander, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT, Okon Eyo, a rear admiral, disclosed while speaking to journalists at the command in Apapa, in Lagos, Wednesday.

Eyo was represented by the executive officer, NNS BEECROFT, Paul Dogara, a naval captain.

The commander, who said 27 empty drums were also intercepted, added that

T

the vandals on sighting naval men fled and abandoned the products.

“The NNS BEECROFT, based on intelligence, arrested a Cotonou boat at Akaraba sea side area of Atlas Cove, Lagos, at about 01:00 hours on February 8.

“The Cotonou boat has 1,400 jerry cans of 25 litres of suspected PMS, 27 empty drums and 5 x 7SHP outboard engines.

“The estimated suspected stolen PMS is 35,000 litres valued at about N5,075,000 only while the Cotonou boat and the outboard engines are valued at about N15 million only. The total sum of the arrested boat with its contents is N20,075,000 only,” he said.

He noted that the Atlas Cove was central to reception and distribution of refined petroleum products to other Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) depots at Mosimi, Ore, Ibadan and Shagamu areas.

“Consequently, the facility has become very attractive to vandals, petroleum thieves and pirates.

“This arrest by the base represents a major achievement of our constitutional mandate and a set back to the logistics requirements of the criminals,” he said.

Eyo said that the base would continue to dominate the nation’s waterways in order to prevent the theft of the nation’s wealth.

Communities risk blackouts over incessant attacks on IE’s staff

I

keja Electric (IE), one of the two electricity distribution companies operating in Lagos, has threatened to permanently disconnect hostile customers and communities where its staff, especially field workers have been attacked and molested.

Spokesperson of IE, Felix Ofulue, issued the threat in response to the rising spate of assaults on staff across its jurisdiction.

Recall that a recent video which went viral on the social media, showed a staff of the company on official duty being beaten and threatened with machete by some aggrieved customers.

“While we understand that issues surrounding electricity services can be emotive, we maintain that wanton attacks on our staff are completely irrational, unnecessary and unproductive.

“Ikeja Electric has provided multiple channels through which our customers can lodge formal complaints with respect

to our service or bills.

“Where responses from these channels are deemed unsatisfactory, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has also set up a robust forum office for the redress of customer complaints, Ofulue said in a text message sent across to customers on Wednesday.

According to him, “we have escalated the recent attacks, which went viral, to the appropriate authorities and we are currently exploring every legal channel available to us to ensure the offenders are brought to book.

“Ikeja Electric will not allow its personnel to suffer intimidation, assaults and other bodily harm or threat from anyone who hides under various smokescreen for the unwarranted attack of its staff,’’ Ofulue said.

The spokesman added that it would continue to deliberate with stakeholders in flashpoint areas to find ways to amicably resolve all pertinent issues of concern

to its customers and communities.

According to him, this is in the interest of the safety of its employees and members of the public.

“However, where these attacks persist, Ikeja Electric, will as a matter of course, continue to escalate such matters to law enforcement agencies.

“We will promptly withdraw our services from communities and customers that prove too hostile to operate in.

“We, therefore, urge all stakeholders, community leaders, leaders of youth groups and all persons of interest to remain mindful of these matters.

“We want them to adopt a more civil approach to engagements as all parties are deserving of reciprocal respect and regard as espoused by all laws.

“While there may be concerns and disputes arising from time to time, we remain committed to finding long-lasting peaceful resolutions in the equitable interests of all parties,’’ he said.

14 BUSINESS DAY

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MoneyInsight

Friday 22 February 2019

As bank cheques mark 360th anniversary with 5 years decline in Nigeria…

FRANK ELEANYA

F

ebruary 16, 2019 made it 360 years since the cheque book was officially launched as a financial instrument in the world.

Unfortunately, its usage is gradually but steadily dwindling with each passing day.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday, 18 February, released the Selected Banking Sector Data which showed that volume of cheque transactions declined consistently in the last three months of 2018. The total volume for the fourth quarter was at 2.2 million transactions compared with a total of 2.6 million in the same period of 2017.

Value of cheque transactions dropped by N424 billion in October, N415 billion in November, and N418 billion in December 2019.

The volume for the months of October, November and December were 778,007, 723,227, and 706,844 respectively.

The drop is significant when compared with the last three months in 2017; volumes for October, November and December were 951,364, 919,590 and 808,746 respectively.

The last time cheque transactions witnessed growth near impressive in Nigeria was in 2014 when it reached a peak of 22 per cent. Before the decline period came, cheques were an integral part of Nigeria’s payment landscape. Over the years, businesses in the country developed a sense of trust and comfort with writing cheques.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) altered the positive trajectory when it released its policy on Cheque transaction in the same 2014. The policy placed a ban on payment of value above N10 million through cheques and directed that such payment should be made through the electronic payment channels.

Many analysts believe that the CBN cheque policy marked the end of cheque transactions’ dominance in Nigeria and precipitated the rise of electronic payment in the country.

The following year, after the release of the policy, cheque transactions recorded a sharp decline of 13 per cent.

Following declines in two subsequent years, the Nigeria InterBank Settlement System (NIBSS) was compelled to predict in a 2016 report that; “We might witness the end of the Cheque book by the year 2050.”

NIBSS prediction as it turned out was very modest and on the side of caution because in January 2018, Australian-based comparison site finder.com.au forecasted that should current usage trends continue, the cheque book will disappear entirely by 2019.

In fairness, Finder had based its forecast on the declining cheque book volume in Australia. The number of customer cheques processed in Australia each month dropped from 45,900 in January 2012 to just 6549 in October 2017.

To be sure, in Netherlands, the cheque is no longer in use at all.

Its use is also rare in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden.

Companies like Next, Currys, PC World, WH Smith and Asda are also starting to react negatively towards cheques.

The cheque is believed to have had its origins in ancient banking system, in which bankers would issue orders at the request of their customers, to pay money to identified payees. Such an order was known as a bill of exchange. In England, cheques evolved from letters to goldsmith bankers, allowing customers to make payments to a third party without withdrawing money themselves.

A major challenge with cheque books is the cost of printing them.

According to NACHA, it costs on average $1.22 to process a paper cheque, which accounts for manpower and various other costs.

Another report Bill.com estimates that paper cheques cost businesses up to $24,250 annually in terms of employee labour, materials, bank fees and postage.

This perhaps informed the policy of the CBN and has also ensured that the demography of cheque users were majorly older people. The NIBSS report of 2016 noted that people between the ages of 45 years and above represents the highest users of cheques in Nigeria.

Another problem with cheques is the time customers spend writing them and waiting for them to clear, making a potential late payment even later and increasing cash flow

issues for businesses. In most cases the cheque bounce leaving the person waiting on it to go through the arduous task of tracking down the customer that issued it to resolve the problem, constituting to more time wasted.

The CBN had moved to mitigate the rate of decline in cheque transactions in 2016 asking banks to make cheque payments into customers’ savings account. Prior to the development, bank customers could only make cheque deposits into their current account. The daily deposit was limited to only N2 million per customer in a day. Later in 2018 the CBN came out with another guideline, Nigerian Bankers’ Clearing System, setting a 5-year timeline for banks to keep physical cheque presented to them by customers after which it may be disposed.

It is no surprise therefore that a large demography of young people has shunned it over the years and expressed preference for electronic payment. Compared with the speed and convenience experienced with cards and mobile transfers, cheques have become ancient story. Since the decline in cheque transaction began in Nigeria, Instant payment (IP) platforms have witnessed remarkable growth usage as well.

The report released by NBS on Tuesday showed the various electronic payment systems experienced significant growth in the months of October, November and December of 2018. It may be an indication that dwindling fortunes of cheques is permanent and irreversible.

But cheques are still considered safer than cards and digital platforms. For instance, while digital payment platforms and cards hold the risk of cyber-attacks, cheques do not given that they are paper and are handed over to their recipient often directly.

Cheques also leave better audit trails than e-payments. This is important particularly in the event of litigation.

To revive cheque books for customers some companies are giving the option of ordering the cheque books online thereby guaranteeing convenience and speed of delivery.

But that may not fix the changing heart problem facing cheques.

Defaulting on easy micro-loans harms credit scores STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

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ahinde heaved a sigh of relief, she had just paid off a micro loan of N30, 000 spread over a three month payment period at 20 percent interest rate per month with Paylater, a Fintech Company.

Seven days afterwards, she got this message from KwiMoney, another Fintech Company “You’ve been se-

lected for an instant loan! Visit get. kwicash.ng for KwiCash and borrow from N1k to N100k. Your loans grow with good payment.”

This got Kehinde thinking. She has great payment history with Paylater.

In fact, she makes it a point to pay off her micro loans before it is due and her current micro-loan with Paylater has come at 12.50 percent per month a difference of 7.50 basis points from

what she paid on the last loan she took. So, the interest rate charged on her loans is falling because of her payment history.

This is not the story of her colleague Linda. Linda took her first micro-loan with Branch International, a fintech company. However, she defaulted on her payment by over seven days. The company persuaded her to meet her financial obligation,

she eventually did.

Before she paid off the micro-loan, she attempted to take another with Paylater but she was told she did not qualify. She was very surprised how this could be. In addition, Branch International downgraded her status by reducing the range of micro-loan she can access.

With the advent of bank verification number, credit scores and history

will become easier to track and this will have significant implication for personal finance.

A credit score, also known as a credit rating, is a number that reflects the likelihood of an individual paying credit back. Lenders like banks and credit card companies will look at your credit file when they calculate your credit score, which will show them the level of risk in lending to you.

Friday 22 February 2019

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COMPANIES & MARKETS

DAY

BUSINESS

15

Investors bid Sterling Bank to 4-year high

Pg. 17

C o m pa n y n e w s a n a ly s i s a n d i n s i g h t

BANKING

Jim Ovia turns bargain hunter after buying billion naira stake in Zenith LOLADE AKINMURELE & DAVID IBIDAPO

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enith Bank’s billionaire founder, Jim Ovia, has increased his holdings in Nigeria’s largest bank by assets, a move that reinforces the bargain hunting opportunities in fundamentally-sound publicly quoted companies.

According to Zenith’s full-year 2018 annual report released Tuesday, Ovia increased his total holdings in the tier-one bank by 11.4 percent or 520 million units to 5.05 billion units in 2018 from 4.53 billion units in 2017.

The deal happened in the second half of 2018, wherein the bank’s stock price averaged N23.

Using that average market price, Business Day estimates that Ovia’s fresh investment probably cost N11.9 billion.

On Wednesday, the value of Ovia’s extra shareholding jumped by 12 percent or N1.46 billion to N13.40

billion as the stock closed at N25.8. Since the bank released its financial report Tuesday, the stock has gained 8 percent.

The closing price values Ovia’s total shareholding at N130.53 billion, a 12 percent increase from N116.39 billion as at December 2017.

Ovia was not the only member of Zenith’s board of directors to raise his equity stake. Of the 12 directors, nine raised their stake in the bank while only three left their shareholdings unchanged over the one year period.

Directors increasing their holdings in the bank give further impetus to value investors to buy Zenith bank which is fairly undervalued.

The bank’s Price to Book ratio, a valuation metric, stood at 0.99 times as at Wednesday, February 20, less than GTB’s price to book (P/B) of 2.14 times and Stanbic IBTC’s 2.28 times.

Zenith’s P/B ratio is also lower than the tier-one av-

Source: Bloomberg erage of 1.33 times, which suggests that the bank is undervalued, since nothing is fundamentally wrong with the company.

“It’s a sign of confidence in the bank if Jim Ovia decides to have more skin in the game,” said Wale Okunrinboye, head of research at Lagos-based Pension fund manager, Sigma Ltd. “There’s an opportunity for value investors to buy

a fundamentally-sound company in Zenith bank at a giveaway price. It is one of the banks that have a higher Return on Equity than Cost of Equity, yet it is priced below its book value,” Okunrinboye said.

Zenith boasts a Return on Equity (ROE) of 24.8 percent and ROA of 3.4 percent which compares favourably with market peers.

Stanbic IBTC has an ROE

of 32.2 percent and ROA of 4.6 percent, GTB has a 35 percent ROE and 5.5 percent ROA, while UBA has a ROE of 15.6 percent and ROA of 1.8 percent, all as at Wednesday Feb. 20.

Proposition of Zenith’s board of directors to pay a final dividend of N2.50 per share in addition to N0.30 per share paid as interim dividend last year is estimated to reward Zenith’s

billionaire founder with N8.86 billion.

Ovia’s direct holdings in 2018 accounted for 97 percent of total direct holdings and 11 percent of total outstanding shares of 31.4 billion in Zenith’s stock respectively.

Year to date analysis of Zenith Bank stock shows that the tier one bank as returned 11.8 percent, outperforming the broad market’s 3.8 percent.

APPOINTMENTS

First Aluminium sinks to 5 year low as finance costs bite OLUFIKAYO OWOEYE

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i rst A l u m i n i u m Pl c o n Tu e s day t ra d e d at N 0 . 2 7 p l u ng i ng t h e s hares to a 5 yea r l ow.

Th e d e cl i n e i n s ha re pr i ce i s la rg e ly d u e to p o o r f u n da m e nta l s of t h e A l u m i n i u m p ro d u ct ma nu f a c tu re r.

A lo o k at t h e c o mpany’s re c e nt re su lt s h ows that, w h i l e t he co mpa ny i s p ro f i tab l e, fi nan c e c o st s t a ke a hu g e chu n k o f o p e rati ng pro f i t s a n d tu r nover.

Resu l t s f o r t h e nine m o nt h s e n d e d S e p temb e r 2 0 1 8 s h ow t hat re ve nu e su rg e d margina l ly by 6 p e rcent fro m N 5 b i l l i o n i n 2 0 1 7 to N 5 . 3 b i l lion i n 2 0 1 8 . Co st o f sa l es

a mount ing to N4.9 b il l ion to ok up a hug e chunk of t he turnove r.

Fina nc e c ost s a l s o to ok up a la rg e chunk of t he p rof it s. W hil e t he f ir m ma d e a n operat ing p rof it of N30 3 mil l ion, f ina nc e c osts a mounte d to N226 mil l ion.

Sa d ly, Sha rehol d ers d isil l usione d by a n ab s enc e of d iv id ends a nd p o or p er f or ma nce have show n apat hy towa rd s t he sto ck, in t he la st f ew yea rs.

L a st yea r, ma nag ement of t he f ir m unveil e d p la ns to d el ist f rom t he Nig er ia n Sto ck E xcha ng e, to enab l e it to ra is e f und s. A d ep ress e d sha re p r ic e mea ns t hat it w oul d have to issue a la rg e q ua ntum of sha res if it op te d f or a pub l ic of f er or

r ig hts issu e. Th is, in tu rn, w ou ld dilute re tail h olding s.

Fi r s t A l u m i n u m Ni g e r i a P l c w a s i n c o rp o ra t e d o n Au g u s t 20, 1960, as Alcan A l u m i n u m o f Ni g e r i a

Limited, a subsidiary of Alcan Aluminium C o m p a n y o f Ca n a d a.

The name of the company was changed t o Fi r s t A l u m i n u m C o m p a n y ( Ni g e ria) Limited when it

became a subsidiary o f A l u c o n Ho l d i n g s SA , a wholly owned subsidiary within the I n l a k s G ro u p, b a s e d i n Mo n t e C a r l o. O n May 1 0 , 1 9 9 1 , t h e company changed

Edited by LOLADE AKINMURELE (loladeakinmurele@gmail.com) Graphics: CHINEDUM ONYEMA

i t s n a m e t o Fi r s t Aluminum Company ( Ni g e r i a ) P l c a n d o n Ju l y 2 3 , 1 9 9 2 , t o Fi r s t A l u m i n u m Ni g e r i a P l c . It b e c a m e a quoted Company on 5 Nov e m b e r 1 9 9 2 .

16

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Friday 22 February 2019

COMPANIES & MARKETS CONSUMER GOODS

Nigerian Breweries see biggest daily gain in 2019 as bargain hunters take position SEGUN ADAMS

S

ha re s o f Ni g e rian Breweries (NB), the largest brewing company in Nigeria, o n We d n e s d a y g a i n e d the most in a day since trading commenced for the New Year, as bargain h u n t e r s’ p o s i t i o n e d t o take advantage of the stock’s attractive price.

Price of the stock soared 10 percent to close at N82.50 on Wednesday; barely three days after the company posted its first revenue decline in the last five (5) years. ‘’Niger ian Brewer ies stock price is low,’’ Fola Abimbola, an analyst at FBNQuest noted, explaining that the performance of NB in the day’s trading was purely based on sentiments.

According to Abimbola, the company’s fundamentals is not really impressive, and the dividend yield of the company is not attractive, although he believes t h e share would likely enjoy support of bargain hunters throughout the week. ‘’The gains in NB share price would probably be sustained till after election because foreign buyers would come back to take position in stocks like Nestle

and Nigerian Breweries which they consider favourites,’’ Another analyst, Gbolahan Ologunro resonated the view that some investors are comfortable with the current price of NB and consider it a good entr y point.

O l o g u n r o h o w e v e r, believes the gains recorded would likely not be sustainable as it is only a question of sentiments and the short to medium term outlook for NB remains bleak.

Result for the 2018 financial year showed that Profit after tax (PAT) of NB declined by 41.2 percent to N19.4 billion in 2018 against N33 billion recorded in 2017, a deviation by -13.24 percent from analysts forecast of N22.39 billion in PAT for the period.

According to data gotten from the Bloomberg terminal, revenue for the period was slightly higher than the consensus e x p e c t a t i o n s. To p l i n e growth came in at N324.4 billion in 2018, a 5.9 percent decline compared to 2017 and a +0.16 deviation from analysts’ estimate of N323.85 billion.

Meanwhile the steep decline in other income of NB was affected by t h e ab s e n c e o f i n c o m e

from claims on insurance for the per iod. Against income claims on insurance in 2017 of N1.57 billion, other income dec l i n e d s i g n i f i c a nt l y by 60.4 percent to N885.3 million from N2.23 billion in 2017.

Nigerian Breweries on same day as the re-

sults were released, announced to pay a final dividend of N14.6 billion which is N1.83 per ordinary share of 50 Kobo each for the period ended December 31, 2018 despite the unimpressive re s u l t re l e a s e d b y t h e beer company for 2018 full year.

Although with the largest market share in the beers industry, Nigerian B re w e r i e s i s c u r re n t l y s m a r t i n g f ro m i n t e n s e competition from Guinness and International Breweries, declining purc ha s i n g p ow e r o f c o n sumers, and is challenged by a new tax regime in-

troduced by the Federal Government.

In spite of current challenges, analysts believe that the excess capacity of about 40 percent coupled with rapid growth in the Nigerian population, improves long term prospect for a rebound of Nigerian Breweries.

BANKING

Fidson Healthcare to open rights issue March 6 ISRAEL ODUBOLA

T

he Nigerian Stock Exchange has opened the subscription of N3 billion rights issue of Fidson Healthcare Plc which begins March 6, 2019.

The Lagos-based pharmaceutical manufacturing firm is set to issue 750 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N4 per share on the basis of one new ordinary share for every two ordinary shares as at December 28, 2018. The offer closes April 9, 2019.

The drug manufac-

turer initially planned to raise N4.5 billion through a rights issue of 900 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo at N5 per share on the basis

of three new ordinary shares for every 5 ordinary shares held as at close of business on July 5, 2018.

Last month, the com-

pany reduced the size and price of its planned right issue after getting regulatory approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission

(SEC).

Shares of the health company have been flat at N4.70 since January 25, 2019, down by 5.05 percent year-to-date.

The drug manufacturer recorded N11.4 billion in the first nine months of 2018, indicating 10.68 percent expansion over N10.3 billion realized in a comparable period of 2018.

The company’s posted better profitability performance given an improvement in operating profit, profit before tax and after-tax profit. N1.9 billion accrued to the firm as operating profit as against N1.6 billion realized in a similar pe-

riod a year prior.

Despite a 6.9 percent appreciation in tax expense, after-tax profit jumped to N780.7 million in the first nine months of 2018 compared with N730.4 million reported in the corresponding period of 2017.

At the close of business Tuesday, February 19, Fidson has 1.5 billion outstanding shares and a market capitalization of N7.05 billion.

Fidson Healthcare develops and manufactures a wide range of pharmaceutical products such as anti-infective, cardiovascular, pain relievers and consumer goods.

Friday 22 February 2019

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BUSINESS

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17

MARKETS

Investors bid Sterling Bank to 4-year high OLUWASEGUN OLAKOYENIKAN

S

terling Bank’s stock gained 11 kobo Wednesday on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to reach its highest level in more than four years.

The stock reversed its losses in the previous trading session by growing 4.60 percent to close at N2.50 after the close of business at the Lagos bourse, making it trade currently at a fresh 52-week high.

As a result, Sterling Bank emerged the second-best performing stock after Wema Bank (41.27 percent) having returned 31.58 percent so far this year, outperforming the NSE Banking with 9.7 percent

return as well as All Share Index at 3.8 percent.

Over 105.75 million units valued at N253.75 million were traded compared with 4.57 million units worth N10.94 million transacted on Tuesday.

In the nine months to September 2018, the mid-tier lender grew gross earnings by 21 percent to N114.61 billion from N94.65 billion.

Profit before tax also surged 29.54 percent to N8.5 billion, while tax paid pared by more than to N297 million, bringing its post-tax profit to N8.21 billion, a 38.95 percent increase compared with N5.91 gains recorded in the corresponding period in 2017.

Sterling Bank’s earnings per share saw significant improvement to 28 kobo as against 21 kobo re-

ported in the same period in 2017, while its non-performing loan ratio was down in the first nine months of 2018 to 5.38 percent from 6.20 percent recorded a year earlier.

The stock has a price-to-book ratio of 0.68x alongside its peer, Ecobank Translational Incorporation, in the lower tier category. First City Monument Bank has a priceto-book ratio of 0.3x; Fidelity Bank, 0.4x; Union Bank, 0.7x; Diamond Bank, 0.25x; and Wema Bank, 0.8x.

Sterling Bank was incorporated on November 25, 1960, while it got listed on the NSE on August 17, 1993. It offers services in corporate banking, retail and consumer banking, financial investments and management services, capital markets, insurance, and other financial services.

L-R : Mohan Pant, general manager, hospitality, Design Union; Anthony Aihie, CEO, Design Union; Gbemi Sijuade, national sales manager, Design Union, and Nkechi Okwara, general manager, consulting, Design Union, during the media briefing and presentation of Design Union projects in Lagos.

AVIATION

Nigerian pilots may loss job opportunities in future over aircraft type …as airlines order newer aircraft IFEOMA OKEKE

N

igerian pilots operating in the country may loss more job opportunities in the future over the inability to be type rated on newer aircraft, BusinessDay’s findings show.

This observation is coming at a time when airlines are ordering newer aircraft which may arrive in the country in a year or two years.

Documents obtained from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, (NCAA), put the total number of licenced pilots in Nigeria as 2,260.

Nigerian pilots are 1,739 and foreign pilots are 521.

Stakeholders in the industry say airlines can afford to have a much higher number of Nigerian pilots practicing if they were type rated on all the aircraft operating in Nigeria and this may be a challenge in future as airlines are ordering for other aircraft types that are currently in use in the country.

Nigerian carrier, Air Peace has placed an order for 10 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, Dana Air has plans

to bring in a relatively newer aircraft this year and more airlines are in talks with NCAA to commence operations in the country.

Chris Iwarah, Corporate Communications Manager, Air Peace Limited told BusinessDay that AirPeace has employed 141 foreign and Nigerian pilots since 2016, with most of them being Nigerian pilots.

“Initially we had about two foreign pilots until we brought in four Boeing 777 aircraft. We had to bring in foreign pilots because we did not have Nigerian pilots who are Boeing 777 type-rated.

“Aside from the arrangement to bring in 10 737 Max airplanes, since 2016, we have had a total of 17 aircraft since 2016. The more the aircraft we bring in, the more the pilots we employ,” Iwarah disclosed.

“It is not possible for you to have simulators to provide training for all types of aircraft. Simulators are very expensive and you need to operate them for almost 24 hours for you to recover your investment.

“So, if you have somebody who has 10 aircraft of a type, he doesn’t make any sense for you to install a

simulator for training. There is no way you can recover your investments. That is why operators go for training providers all over the world. That is the most cost-effective way of doing it,” Muhammed Abdulsalam, rector of Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) Zaria told BusinessDay. On the use of expatriate pilots, Abdulsalam explained that the government has said it several times that as long as a qualified Nigerian is on the ground, it would not approve a foreigner to do the job in Nigeria.

“For instance, if an airline introduces new equipment, there may not be local pilots to operate that equipment and as a stop gap, you have to bring in qualified people anywhere you can get them to come and start utilizing the aircraft.

“For instance, Air Peace bought a number of Embraer 45 and before then, very few Embraer 45 were flying in Nigeria, which means that very few Nigerians had that type-rating. A number of that aircraft were parked because we had no pilots,” he disclosed.

L-R: Uti Nwachukwu, actor and TV host; Nonso Bassey, actor and singer; Oreka Godis, media personality; Kolawole Akintimehin, brand manager, Gulder NB plc, and Toheeb Azeez, media manager, NB plc, after the “Own Your Journey To Success” Session by Gulder at Social Media Week Lagos.

COMPANIES

Austin Laz posts unimpressive FYEs despite BoI victory SEGUN ADAMS

A

ustin Laz and co, Benin-based Manufacturer of building materials, thermoplastic products and refrigeration equipment, on Monday announced earnings for the full year ended December 31, 2018.

The results showed that revenue improved 25.68 percent to N393.04 million from sales recorded in the corresponding period of 2017.

Despite the revenue growth, gross profit pared by 21.6 percent to N93.32 million for the full-year 2018, on the heels of a 54.77 increase in the company’s cost of sales.

Pre-tax earnings slumped to negative territories as Austin Laz recorded a loss of N15.34 million, a significant decline from N494,000 earned in 2017.

Consequently, an increase in tax expense of 397 percent triggered a post-tax loss of N16 million compared to profit after tax of N315,000 in 2017.

Earnings per share (basic and diluted) for 2018 full year stood at a negative of 0.02 kobo from N0.00

earned in the Austin Laz poor’s performance could be blamed on the stiff competition in building construction industry and the protracted legal dispute with the Bank of Industry (BOI) with Austin Laz claimed disrupted its activities for over four years, costing the company over N1 billion in damages.

According to a press release by Austin Laz, the BOI sealed up the company’s factory in the second year of a five (5) years loan tenor.

Austin Laz claimed that a particular product line it had sought to introduce in the Nigerian market was hindered as the full approved loan was never released.

Adding to that, the company also revealed that the illegal closure of their factory by the BOI was just a few weeks after it had concluded a refinancing arrangement in BOI’s favour.

Following the verdict of an Appeal Court sitting in Benin which ordered the immediate vacation of the BOI from Austin Laz’s premises, the local manufacturing which started the 2018 financial period on a relatively stronger foot with a slim profit of N0.074

million for Q1, was optimistic that the court’s ruling would improve business performance.

In a notice sent to the Customs Street in July of 2018, the company assured investors that the worst times were over, urging them to ‘’ look forward to a rewarding future for all stakeholders’’ Austin Laz & Co is an indigenous company with four subsidiaries in Refrigeration, Thermoplastic, Aluminium and Building materials business.

Established in Benin, 1982, Austin Laz initial operations was in the production of ice-block making machines before it diversified operations into other divisions like manufacturing of thermoplastic coolers in 2002 and corrugation of long span Aluminium roofing sheets in 2005.

The company is also involved in the manufacturing of disposable plates, spoons, and cups for both domestic and industrial use.

Austin Laz was listed on the exchange in 2012 and presently has a market capitalisation of N2.26 billion with 1,079,860 units of its shares held by about 370 Nigerians.

L-R: Bernat Villa, technical director, Barca Academy Lagos; Lesile Oghomienor, CEO, Blaugrana Sports International; Adedoyin Adesina, CEO, Corona Schools Trust Council; Alberto Lafuente, coordinative and physical conditioning coach, Barca Academy, Lagos, and Amelia Dafeta, director of education, Corona Schools Trust Council, during Barca Academy Media Conference in Lagos.

L-R: Mohamed Aouadi, sales director, north and east africa, Vocalcom; Ayo adegboye, MD, BCX Nigeria/ West Africa; Carlos Costanzia, global president /CEO, Vocalcom and Alexandre Oddos, vice president/chief operating officer, Vocalcom at the Go-To-market partnership for sub Saharan Africa signing ceremony between BCX and Vocalcom in Paris recently.

18 BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 22 February 2019

LeadingWoman

For NEKA OKOLONJI, winning the battle against cancer begins with you Kemi Ajumobi

do not give a diagnosed patient a chance to live because they are afraid. Some people would cry and moan about all the people they know that died of cancer; Choose and surround yourself with people that can assist you believe in healing and life.

N Biography

eka Okolonji is a Wellness and Business Coach; a Managing Partner of SN Consult. She is trained as a Chartered Accountant and further post graduate studies was in Business Management.

A major part of her career was spent in the Banking and Finance Industry.

Her passion is working with people. She enjoys coaching through their personal goals, working with people to get back their health tops the list of her passion. For her, surviving cancer was indeed a way to help give hope to others. She is a wife and mother.

How are you helping to create more awareness through your experience?

In Feb 2016, I set up an informal support platform primarily to support people to access the strength, hope, information, practical steps to healing. The group is encouraged by our collective experiences; some people’s experience with Chemo and radiotherapy has helped others that have chosen that treatment path. Eventually, everyone has a common ground to rebuild the immune system and detoxify the body regardless of the treatment path chosen. We also learn to access the greatest healer in the world; God. I speak at meetings to highlight our lifestyle that support healing and those that expose us to danger of cancer. Sadly, most people are affected by the emotions of hearing cancer; there is no serious energy to really change until it manifests as a disease to someone close them.

I also take on private counseling and coaching program for people that want to make serious lifestyle changes.

Today, the taste bud of my family and I have changed. Natural and close to nature foods have replaced processed and chemical ridden food, sugars, canned foods, additives. Alkaline foods have replaced acidic foods. It has taken a lot of experiment and sheer will power to stop eating the things I have loved all my life. Any change is possible if you embrace the reasons for those changes.

Microwaves have been taken out of my home.

Glass has replaced plastics for our hot meals. Titanium and other affordable materials have replaced my aluminum pots and cookware.

Today, I have maintained same lifestyle changes I started with in 2015 but the intensity has reduced.

My daily diet routine include plenty lemons, salads, less carbohydrate food options; 75% of my diet is raw. I take supplements to augment because my food alone cannot give me enough minerals and vitamins necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

My probiotic, fermented foods and detoxification routines are my major focus for maintaining optimal gut health.

Discovering she had cancer In mid Jan 2015, I was unconsciously feeling my breast when I noticed the lump in my breast. I spent time in prayers and believing it can’t be anything serious. Three weeks later, I had to brave it to go for a checkup. I went through mammogram; CT scan and biopsy which confirmed the lump to be cancerous. It was the most devastating news of my life. The major thing that plagued me was fear of death. I had no reference point of hope because I had never seen a cancer survivor.

Survival journey The Journey to recovery was intense, slow, hectic, challenging but life-changing. The cells of our body periodically get cancerous but a healthy immune system protects the body from their attacks. You could say that cancer and most diseases happen when the immune system fails to protect the body.

The big question for any cancer patient is to find out WHY the immune system failed and the recovery is HOW to rebuild the immune defense of the body.

Reflecting back, I realized that signs were there; I was slimming down, though not dramatically, but I attributed it to fibroid situation that I was aware of since 2007. I believe the anemic situation caused by the fibroid and stressful lifestyle contributed to the cancer.

I should mention that I had become a bit health conscious in 2013 with a diet plan called Hallelujah Diet Plan. The next day after hearing the devastating news, I advised myself that I needed to get up and look for answers. I can say that I did not allow myself to think, I was always in motion with plans, looking back, that was a surviving strategy.

I looked for their office in Nigeria, went to their office in Ikeja, Lagos to find out how the author used this plan for himself over 30years ago. I was delighted to find a Nigerian survivor in Jos, Pastor Gloria; she has been healed since 2000. I contacted her and found out she has a health clinic and I made my plans and flew to Jos within a week to understudy her. She took me through a week long detoxification process, no meal at all, just juices, enemas and water therapy. It was a terrifying period but it helped.

The other fact was that the fibroid growth had seriously compromised my body from the blood lost during my monthly period. My PVC was as low as 5. I suspected my body will not hold up for chemo.

My doctor was very disappointed with me over the decision not to undergo Surgery and Chemotherapy.

When I came back to Lagos, it was another matter to implement a no cooked meal diet plan alone.

I struggled with this plan for three and half months.

I lacked the skill to do what needed to be done, limited meal options and the dramatic change to my life was terrifying. I became so lean, cried a lot, prayed a lot, searched for answers from the internet; it was the darkest hours of my life. I eventually got in touch with a trained doctor turned naturopathic and we set up a recovery plan. We tried to implement the plan but my blood loss through heavy monthly cycles interfered so much that it was agreed to have a surgery to evacuate the fibroid. I had to leave for England to do that.

Plans changed in London. A repeat of the biopsy reconfirmed that the lump was indeed cancerous.

The doctors convinced me and a surgery was done to remove the lump but they gave me strong iron medications to manage the fibroid issue. Again, I didn’t want the Chemo and Radiotherapy for same reasons and came back to Nigeria with the intention to continue the alternative therapy. Within a month of return, I nearly died from blood loss and had to have a surgery immediately to remove the fibroid.

Working with my doctor, my treatment included

an adjusted diet plan(including some cooked meals), supplements that ran into 150tabs a day, water therapy, detoxification, exercise, oxygenation through nebulizer and insufflations , high dose vitamin C and other infusions, enemas, emotion and stress management, sunshine, rest and a lot of prayers. The major focus was to rebuild the immune system that failed to protect me from cancer. It was a whole day activity plan. Work was suspended at that time. Regular blood tests and scans were done every 3months to confirm my recovery. I am currently on annual tests.

Two things every woman must know include: PREVENT CANCER and ACT FAST if diagnosed PREVENT CANCER: By adopting a healthier lifestyle for you and your family. You are the first line of defense for the family; starting from what you eat, drink, exercises to improve circulation, detox of body and emotions, life style routines you enforce. The word enforce is intentional because it is not easy and will take a long time to unlearn a lot and implement lifestyle habits that people generally do not consider valuable nor fashionable. In the long run, trust me; it will save you a lot of medical cost and emotions that come with sickness.

Do a self examination on the breast every quarter.

If you are over 45years, annual medical checkups are advised.

Women are natural givers; we give to the husbands, the children, society and so on with no thought for ourselves. Consequently, most women are emotionally drained. A lot of cancer is traceable to our ability to expose ourselves to different emotional and stress issues. Joy is medicine against

sicknesses. Take time to look after yourself. It is important to note that it is unfair to expect your spouse to make you happy because God did not make our spouse responsible for our happiness. Money and material things also do not bring joy, it may ease your life but it can’t bring real joy (all the money in the world can’t cure cancer by the way). Make yourself joyful. God gives us joy that transcends any physical situation if we seriously remove our eyes from man and physical things and ask for help.

ACT FAST: Means that most cancers can be handled most effectively when it is at an earlier stage.

It takes an average of 5-7years for visible cancer signs to manifest. This means that by the time you are seeing a lump through mammogram, it has advanced.

Most people will not have the faith to believe in their treatment when the symptoms are at a later stage.

Check out and treat anything you do not understand.

Signals like loss of strength, unexplainable weight loss, loss of appetite are some of the early signs.

Doctors have confirmed that most people notice certain things like lumps but the heart is very deceptive; it tries to go into denial mode as a protective shield when we face things we can’t handle. We sometimes use religion as an excuse to delay seeking for help early whilst the symptoms are still manageable. Healing is both spiritual and physical; Pray but seek physical remedies that will put your body into the best healing mode. God is the ultimate healer; He can cure miraculously or using doctors to bring restoration to the body. I have come to understand that health to the body involves some natural medication for prevention and cure; otherwise God will not give us herbs for food and healing as stated in the holy book.

Most people (including family) unintentionally

Changes observed so far and advice Major changes have happened; adjusted / reduced work schedules, taking a lot of rest and sleeping early were amongst the health changes done.

There is no serious healthcare support for people with cancer in Nigeria. Cancer treatment and recovery is very expensive and most people die from not being able to access affordable treatment care. A healthcare plan augmented and supported by the government should make cancer treatment affordable to all.

Affected patients and their family seek recovery solution but there is a lot of disjointed information available. It requires very dramatic changes that most people lack the discipline to implement and the skill and information support is very shallow.

Most of the treatment options are information coming from out of the country, making treatment expensive; our local Nigerian options are largely un-explored.

My dream is to have a cancer support / recovery centre to bridge the carer/family support for recovery; exploring and inculcating our Nigerian foods and herbs that will make healing affordable to all.

My life is committed to strong advocacy against cancer; to educate everyone on the necessary changes needed to eradicate cancer in Nigeria.

Subduing fear Fear tries to attack my mind every day but I have learnt that my faith in God does not permit me to give in to those fears. The battle is won or defeated in the mind; I therefore look after my body through my daily routines and speak to my mind not to accept those fears as real. The bible truth rules my world; God has committed to my health, mine is to follow His principles for health and healing.

Finally, I say to everyone, cancer has killed in its thousands but there are thousands of survivors everywhere. I believed in the healing of just one survivor that gave me hope to fight for my life. Choose to believe the better report.

Friday 22 February 2019

www.businessday.ng

Harvard Business Review

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BUSINESS DAY

ManagementDigest

19

Case Study: Bad Blood on the Senior Team

H

OW SHOULD A CEO ADDRESS FRICTION BETWEEN HIS CFO AND THE SALES CHIEF? The feedback in the 360-degree reviews was supposed to be anonymous. But it was crystal clear who’d made the negative comments in the assessment of one executive.

Lance Best, the CEO of Barker Sports Apparel, was meeting with Nina Kelk, the company’s general counsel, who also oversaw human resources. It had been a long day at the company’s Birmingham, England, headquarters, and in the early evening the two were going over the evaluations of each of Lance’s direct reports. Lance was struck by what he saw in CFO Damon Ewen’s file. Most of the input was neutral, which was to be expected.

Though brilliant and well respected, Damon wasn’t the warmest of colleagues. But one person had given him the lowest ratings possible, and from the written remarks, Lance could tell that it was Ahmed Lund, Barker’s head of sales. One read: “I’ve never worked with a bigger control freak in my life.”

“These comments are pretty vicious,” Lance said.

“You’re surprised?” Nina asked.

“I guess not,” Lance acknowledged.

His CFO and his sales chief had been at loggerheads for a while.

Ahmed’s 360 also contained a few pointed complaints about his working style — no doubt from Damon.

Lance sighed. Five years earlier, when he’d stepped into his role, he’d been focused on growing the company that his father, Eric — the previous CEO — had founded. Barker licensed the rights to put sports leagues’ logos on merchandise and partnered with large brands to produce it for retail markets, and when Lance took the company over, its revenues were about £100 million. Soon after, he’d landed the firm’s biggest partner, Howell. Negotiating the deal with the global brand had been a challenge, but it increased business so much that Lance and his direct reports still felt they didn’t have enough hours in the day to get everything done. They certainly didn’t have time for infighting like this.

“So what do we do with this info?” Lance asked.

Nina shrugged. “This is the first time I’ve been through this process myself.”

“Right. Clearly I’ve got to do something, though. I know that Ahmed and Damon aren’t mates, but I do expect them to be civil.”

Nina nodded, but Lance sensed she was biting her tongue. “You can be honest with me, Nina. I need your counsel.”

“Well,” she said tentatively, “I think that’s part of the problem.

The expectation is that we’re civil, but that doesn’t translate to collaboration. We all trust you, but there isn’t a whole lot of trust between the team members.

“So does everyone think Damon is awful?” he asked, pointing to the report.

Nina shook her head. “It’s not just about him. You can see from the feedback that Ahmed isn’t a saint either. He picks fights with Damon, and the tension between them — and their teams — has been having a ripple effect on the rest of us. You see the finger-pointing. It seems like everyone is out for themselves.”

Although Lance hated hearing this, it wasn’t news. He’d just tried to convince himself that the problems were growing pains and would sort themselves out. After all, sales and finance were often at odds in organizations, and the conflict hadn’t had a big impact on Barker’s revenues. They’d grown 22% the previous year and 28% the year before that.

Of course, none of that growth had come easily, and opportunities had certainly been missed.

Barker had dropped the ball on

inquiries from several retailers interested in its products by failing to coordinate getting them into the company’s system quickly. Now, Lance realized that might be a sign of more fallout to come. He needed to fix this. “My dad always wanted to do one of those team-building retreats,” he said, smiling. This had been a running joke among Barker’s executives for years. Whenever Eric had sensed tension, he would mention the idea, but he never followed through.

Nina laughed. “Unfortunately, I think we’re beyond that.”

THIS MESS The next morning, Lance was in his office when he got a text from Jhumpa Bhandari, the head of product and merchandising: “Can you talk?”

Knowing this couldn’t be good, Lance called her immediately.

Skipping the formalities, she launched in: “You need to get them on the same page.” Lance didn’t have to ask who “them” was.

“Ahmed has promised samples for the new line on the Clarkson account, but his order exceeds the limits accounting set, so we need Damon’s signoff, and he won’t give it.”

This was a recurring fight.

Ahmed accused Damon of throwing up roadblocks and using his power to undermine the sales department. Damon retorted that Ahmed was driving Barker into the ground by essentially giving products away. Lance went back and forth on whose side he took, depending on which of them was behaving worse. But he didn’t want to intervene again. Why couldn’t they just find a compromise? Practically

reading his mind, Jhumpa said, “They’ll stay in this standoff forever if you let them. It’s as if they’re in their own little fiefdoms; they act like they’re not even part of the same team.”

“Have you talked to them about this?”

“The holdup with Clarkson? Of course I have. But it doesn’t help.

This situation is a mess.”

The last comment stung. The team wasn’t perfect, but it was still operating at a pretty high level.

“It would really help if you talked to them,” Jhumpa gently pleaded.

Lance thought back to the last time he’d sat down with Ahmed and Damon. Each had brought a binder filled with printouts of the emails they’d exchanged about a missed sale. Lance had marveled at how long it had probably taken each of them to prepare — never mind the wasted paper.

“Let me look into it,” Lance said.

This had become his default response.

“Can I tell you what I’d do if I were in your shoes?” Jhumpa said.

“Fire them both.”

Though Lance had always appreciated her straightforwardness, he was taken aback. “Just kidding,” she added hastily. “What about having them work with a coach?

I mean, we could all benefit from having someone to help us talk through how we handle conflicts and from establishing some new norms.”

Lance wondered if the firing comment had really been a joke, but he let it pass. “I did talk to that leadership development firm last year,” he said. “They had some coaching packages that seemed appealing, but we all agreed we were too busy with the new accounts.”

“Well, maybe we should make time now,” Jhumpa replied.

After they hung up, Lance was still thinking about the idea of letting Ahmed and Damon go. Terrifying as the thought was, it might also be a relief. He’d heard of CEOs who’d cleaned house and replaced several top execs at once. He could keep Jhumpa, Nina and a few others and bring in some fresh blood.

It would be one surefire way to reset the team dynamics.

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

Expertise It’s in our DNA www.firstbanknigeria.com

FirstBankofNigeria

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

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DOING JUST FINE Later that afternoon, at the end of a regular meeting with the finance team, Lance asked Damon to stay behind.

“I heard there’s a holdup on the Clarkson samples,” he said.

“The usual. Sales needs to pare back the order. As soon as Ahmed does that, I can sign off,” Damon said calmly.

“It doesn’t sound like Ahmed’s budging.”

“He will.”

Lance decided to wade in. “Is everything OK with you guys?”

“Same as usual. Why? What’s going on? The numbers look great this quarter. We’re doing just fine.”

“I agree on one level, but I have concerns on another. It’s taking six months to onboard new customers at a time when everyone is fighting for them.”

“Is this about those 360 reviews?

I tried to be fair in my feedback,” Damon said a bit defensively.

“The input is anonymous, so I don’t know who said what, but the tension between you and Ahmed is obvious.”

“Of course it is. I’m the CFO and he’s in charge of sales. If we’re both doing our jobs well, there’s going to be conflict. And that’s what I’m doing: my job. I’m the keeper of the bottom line, and that means I’m going to butt heads with a few people.” Lance had heard him say this before, but Damon took it one step further this time. “Your discomfort with conflict doesn’t make this any easier.”

They both sat quietly for a minute. Lance knew that as part of this process he’d need to examine his own leadership. Indeed, his 360 had been eye-opening. His people had described him as a passionate entrepreneur and a visionary, but they’d also commented on his preference for managing one-onone instead of shepherding the team and on his tendency to favor big-picture thinking over a focus on details.

“OK. I hear you on that,” Lance finally said. “That’s on me. But you also need to think about what you can do to improve this situation.

There’s a difference between productive and unhealthy conflict, and right now it feels like we’ve got too much of the latter.”

20

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Friday 22 February 2019

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Challenging work environment, immigration of Nigeria’s health workers weaken sector Health sector data on the availability, distribution and trends in human resource for the sector has been lacking. This has prevented effective planning.

ANTHONIA OBOKOH writes on the urgent need to tackle data-related challenges with regards to health workers’ retention and movement, both locally and internationally.

N

igeria has one of the leading stocks of human resources for health in Africa.

But this is failing to meet health its 190 million people. The burden of health worker remains heavy in many African countries.

Recently, Nigeria was identified as the leading African source of foreign born practising in other countries. Last year BusinessDay reported on how Nigeria’s best doctors are leaving the country even as medical schools deteriorate. Meanwhile, the number of Nigerian trained medical doctors working in the United Kingdom is about 5,340.

An average of 12 doctors who had their primary medical education in Nigeria are said to register for practice in the UK every week, and when Nigerian trained medical personnel in other places such as the US,

Canada, and some oil rich gulf countries are added, the total number of Nigerian doctors practicing abroad could be in excess of 20,000.

These challenges have contributed to inequitable distribution of the existing health workforce with lower levels of care in rural areas, with the northern parts of the country particularly lacking. In addition to challenges related to internal human resources for health mobility and inequities.

The unfriendly work environment has implied health workers in Nigeria continually find every possible way to exit the country, leaving behind a health system which many in the mildest of descriptions, say is simply not working; not for the patients and not for the medical practitioners.

However, some factors responsible for this development in Nigeria include inadequate

infrastructure, poor human resources planning and management practices and structures; unsatisfactory working conditions characterised by heavy workloads.

Other factors are lack of professional autonomy, poor supervision and support, long working hours, unsafe workplaces, inadequate career structures poor working conditions and poor compensation packages have contributed to the emigration from the country of a sizeable number of surgeons, physicians, nurses and other medical professionals.

Development experts have long recognised health as an important moral and social goal.

Health is also a key component of a sound development strategy, along with education, economic growth and good governance.

As a form of human capital, health is essential to a productive society.

The sustained trend in “brain drain” from the health system in Nigeria has in particular contributed to acute shortages of specialised and experienced health professionals in the country. “Nigeria will never climb out of poverty unless its devastating health challenges are tackled,” experts say.

Doctors complain of “brain drain”, and take opportunities for professional increase in countries with better medical infrastructure. Yet, scores of Nigerian doctors presently overseas are willing to return to Nigeria, provided appropriate employment opportunities are available. Unfortunately, not only are such opportunities very scarce, there is growing unemployment among registered doctors in Nigeria.

Nigeria’s health indicators are very poor and are only slowly improving. The country has some

of the world’s highest infant and maternal mortality rates—women have a 1 in 29 lifetime risk of dying in childbirth and only 38 percent of births are attended by skilled health workers.

Nigeria has a 3.2 percent adult HIV prevalence rate and HIV/AIDS is the second leading cause of death. Women have an average of 6 children and the contraception prevalence rate is 14 percent.

Industry experts informed BusinessDay that the country requires an additional 200,000 beds to meet the healthcare needs of the growing populations. A bed costs a minimum of N50, 000 and up N500, 000 depending on the special needs it is required. Using the lowest cost, Nigeria requires at least N10 billion to meet up the barest minimum in number of beds required for the country’s hospitals.

Foundations promote childhood cancer awareness, visit patients at LUTH

More than 250,000 children to benefit from free eye care services in A/Ibom

ANTHONIA OBOKOH

ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

T

he Dorcas Cancer Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation is promoting cancer awareness and management for children and recently visited the Lagos University Teaching Hospital to mark the International Childhood Cancer Day (Feb. 15), with the support of Sahara Foundation.

According to the Foundations, the International Childhood Cancer Day is focused of creating awareness to stem the tide of cancer, a deadly disease which can be tackled by alertness, early detection, accurate diagnosis, as well as prompt and proper treatment.

“We are here at the paediatric Oncology ward to see the children with cancer, give psychological and financial support to their parents. We want to help more kids’ access treatment, childhood cancer has early chance of survival if it properly detected and treated” Korede Akindele, programme officer, Dorcas Cancer Foundation said.

“We are calling for support from Nigerians because funding is still a major challenge.”

Akindele said the foundation has been able to help 30 children with cancer to access treatment, noting that about seven children awaits treatment but the foundations need support for these children to access care.

Childhood cancer is fast

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becoming an important paediatric problem in several parts of Africa, Nigeria inclusive as infectious and nutritional diseases decline.

However, childhood cancers are affecting more children, and are increasingly becoming a major cause of childhood morbidity and mortality.

Oluseyi Ojurongbe, manager, Sahara Foundation said the organisation remains resolute in its commitment to partnering with various stakeholders to “take cancer down”. He said the total annual economic cost of cancer which is estimated at 1.16 trillion dollars makes it imperative for various stakeholders across the globe to support sustainable awareness and prevention projects.

“At Sahara, we have over

the years supported several cancer programmes to raise awareness and reduce the stigma associated with the disease. The war to defeat cancer should be concerted, requiring the efforts of individuals, corporations and government.” Ojurongbe said.

Also speaking Oluwatomi Giwa, Creative Director, BRT TV, Value Media, said children have survived cancer in the past in other countries and Nigeria as the giant of Africa can also do the same if there are right funds allocated to these programmes “I believe that we can raise awareness for private companies to invest their money as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility project for these cancer patients to access treatment,” he said.

ore than 250,000 c h i l d re n w i t h visual impairment in Akwa Ibom are to benefit from free eye care services supported by Seeing Is Believing project (SIB), a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) in conjunction with the state government.

Akwa Ibom State with a child population of about 2.4 million is estimated to have 480 blind children many of them remaining unidentified and unable to have access to eye care services.

According to experts nearly 60 percent causes of blindness in children are preventable and treatable with the leading cause being cataract, cornea scaring resulting from trachoma, measles, Vitamin A deficiency, eye injuries, neonatal infection and harmful traditional practices and glaucoma.

Anne Ebri, of the Brien Holden Vision institute who made this known during the lunch of child eye unit in the department of Ophthalmology, University of Uyo, identified uncorrected refractive error as the leading cause of visual impairment affecting 5-8 % of school going children in the country.

Ebri said poverty and unawareness were reasons for the pattern of diseases saying that majority of the

population live below the poverty line and have limited access to eye health education or prompt attention explaining that the use of traditional eye medication all constituted major risk factors.

According to her, other barriers include cost of services, distance technology and limited personnel and skills.

Ebri who is the coordinator of Seeing Is Believing (SIB) project which is supported by Standard Chartered Bank, Bien Holden Vision Institute working in collaboration with Akwa Ibom government is providing the enabling environment using the Public Private Partnership model to contribute to reduction of prevalence of child blindness and visual impairment in Akwa Ibom State.

According to her, the project which started in 2017 has so far set up 2 out of 4 child eye units in the state that are safe and child friendly and equipped to provide quality care in selected hospitals in the state.

“Hundred thousand out of 250,000 children have been reached through eye activities and growing number have received eye treatment including spectacles and low vision devices and surgeries at no cost to parents,’’ he said.

She said the project would support the cost

of the paediatric eye care services for children aged 0-14 years excluding major surgeries in at the University of Uyo teaching hospital while provisions have been made for children requiring major surgeries access care at the University of Calabar Teaching hospital in Calabar.

‘It is our hope that this eye child unit – our contributions will continue to provide quality care to the teeming numbers of children who require your services and we will continue to provide the support we promised in the Memorandum of Understanding throughout the duration of the project,’’ she said.

In his remarks, Dominic Ukpong, commissioner for health lauded Brien Holden vision institute for the project and expressed the hope that by the time the project comes to an end in December 2019, a lot would have been achieved when 250,000 would have been attended to.

Ukpong urged the management of the unit at the UUTH to maintain the equipment and use it for the services it was so donated for sustainability sake.

He said governor Udom Emmanuel in his kindness decided to donate one out of the four centres the state was entitled to, to the University of Uyo teaching hospital and urged the

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Friday 22 February 2019

General advice to business travellers

Executive Travel Health

Ade Alakija Continued from last week

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Vaccinations or most Nigerian business travellers you will need some off the regular travel vaccines, but first of all make sure your National Childhood vaccines are up to date.

Some vaccines you may need depending on your destination are Yellow Fever: This is mandatory for some countries, so check before you travel. It may be advisable to take it, especially if you are visiting certain rural areas in some countries.

Meningococcal Type A, C, W135 & Y vaccine. (Quadrivalent Vaccine) Hepatitis B Vaccine: Especially if sexual risk taking is anticipated or if possible contact with blood due to risky behaviour resulting in injury.

Japanese B encephalitis: sometimes advised for those travelling in Asia (India and beyond) especially in rural areas.

Rabies vaccine: Especially in countries were Rabies is present and if you will be a day or two from medical facilities if a bite occurs. (Rabies immunoglobulin is scarce and thus the vaccine may be a wise decision).

Influenza vaccine: especially in certain age groups and certain

chest conditions is recommended.

The winter season for the Northern hemisphere is Flu season and April to November is Flu season for the Southern hemisphere.

Other vaccines may be necessary depending on your destination, lifestyle, accommodation and transportation.

Insurance needs Hospitalisation can be costly so keep your health travel insurance up to date. If possible it should cover repatriation home (Though you may have a return ticket.) especially when visiting areas with inadequate medical facilities. You may need special cover for certain high risk activities.

Insect bite prevention: These days it would seem, as the planet gets warmer insect born disease are on the increase and because insects cause all the types of diseases like, Malaria, Dengue, various forms of encephalitis e.g. Japanese B encephalitis, Yellow Fever, Filariasis , plague insect bite avoidance should be practiced both day and night in certain destinations. Please consult your travel consultant.

You can use Insect repellents, Mosquito nets (Impregnated with insecticides), and air-conditioned rooms, knock down sprays, Long sleeved light coloured shirts/blouses and long dresses/trousers protecting your body from bites especially at night. Besides, insect bites can result in unpleasant and occasionally

Swiss Foundation donates contraceptive pills to Kwara govt SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

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Non-Governmental Organisation based in Switzerland, Med-Help Foundation, on Wednesday donated pregnancy preventive drugs, ‘Misoprostol’, to the Kwara State Government.

Salma Orire, a Representative of the Foundation who presented the Family Planing Commodity to the State’s Commissioner of Health noted that the donation was part of the efforts to reduce maternal mortality rates to the barest minimum in the state.

She disclosed that the Founder of Medi-Help, Daniel Waldvogel, has ensured that the gesture cuts across Nigeria and other African countries.

According to Orire, the donation which was done in collaboration with Kiblah Nigeria Limited was aimed at preventing unplanned pregnancies and postpartum haemorrhage.

She explained that the drugs are taken after intercourse, adding that it is efficacious even taken, five hours later after intercourse.

Orire added that, complications due to unsafe abortions are the most common reason for both hospital admission and death of teenage girls in Africa.

She pointed out that in many African countries, bleeding shortly after giving birth or after an unsafe abortion is the main cause of death for young women in their best age.

The foundation representative

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stated further that the vast majority of these deaths could be prevented using simple and cheap tablets such as Misoprostol, adding that Medi-Help aim to improve the quality of comprehensive sexuality education and voluntary contraceptive usage.

“Since family planning is a best way for global development. When women and young people are able to choose if, when and how often to have children, more girls can stay in school and more women can decide to enter or remain in the workforce. Ultimately the entire families, communities and countries thrives,” she said.

Orire therefore urged the Kwara Government to distribute the product to health facilities that are easily accessible to the less privileged in the society.

The Commissioner for Health, Usman Rifun-Kolo, who received the commodity on behalf of the State government, commended Medi-Help Foundation for the kind gesture.

Rifun assured that the product would be distributed to state facilities for the benefits of its people, in line with the policy of the state government to make healthcare delivery accessible, efficient and affordable.

Also speaking at the event, the Senior Special Adviser to the State Governor, on Secondary Health, Ibrahim Gambari said that the gesture would go a long way in reducing maternal mortality rates among women in the state.

serious local reactions. The bite can be sore, itchy or give nasty swellings, cellulitis and abscesses.

Malaria Prevention: Nigerians and long term expatriate residents may have variable levels of immunity to malaria, but it may still be advisable depending on your destination and type of activity you are going to do to take effective antimalarial therapy. A day or more lost due to illness may ruin your trip. Also practice mosquito bite prevention methods. Repellents, clothing etc, this also help prevent other insect borne diseases.

First Aid Kits: It is wise to carry along a properly stocked first aid kit for small emergencies.

On Board: When on board the plane, try to avoid alcohol. This can worsen dehydration in the already dry cabin air and increase your risk of DVT (deep vein thrombosis). Drink plenty of water and fruit juices. Still water is preferable to sparkling water. (carbonated water). Avoid stimulants like caffeine until you have had a full night’s sleep at your destination. Exercise regularly on long flights to help your blood circulation.(Airlines have useful information in their on board magazines) If you are on medication e.g. diabetic medication, maintain your departure time till you arrive your destination. Sleep and miss movies if you must. DVT is a popular topic and if you are at risk for it (Your doctor should let you know if you are at risk) take the necessary precau-

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It is always good to be aware of the current outbreaks of disease (Ebola in the Congo), violence, natural disasters or civil unrest at your destination

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beneficial. For example, drinking sports drinks can help rehydrate the body and restore potassium and sodium.

Fruit juices can also help restore potassium.

Avoid drinking anything that will further irritate the digestive tract, such as: caffeinated drinks, alcohol, carbonated beverages and very hot drinks Eating a recovery diet A diet of small, frequent meals can be better than eating three larger meals a day when recovering from diarrhoea. A good diet for someone with diarrhoea may involve: foods rich in pectin, such as fruit, foods high in potassium, such as potatoes and sweet potatoes, foods with electrolytes, such as miso soup and sports drinks, cooked, soft vegetables and adequate amounts of protein.

Some people find that having a liquid diet for the first 24 hours of diarrhoea helps settle the digestive system. This may include salty broths, bland soups, and drinks.

Adopting this diet for the first 24 hours may prevent the bowels from working too hard.

Another option for people with diarrhoea is the BRAT diet. This consists of:Bananas, Rice, Apple sauce and Toast This diet combines bland foods that are low in fibre and high in starch, which may help produce more solid bowel movements. It also contains helpful nutrients, such as potassium and pectin.

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tions. The risk applies to any form of travel where you are routed to one place for hours. Exercise at least every hour on long journeys, good measured fitting hosiery (in flight stockings and socks) will encourage circulation.

Wear loose clothing. Consult your family doctor or travel consultant.

On Arrival: If possible schedule meetings so you can rest before the meeting so you can be at your best. Warm showers are helpful but avoid hot baths. Hot baths may relax the body making it hard to get going again. Expose yourself to bright light, adjust your watch to the local time, and try to adjust as soon as possible to local food and sleep patterns.

Returning Home: this also has its challenges but basically gives yourself time to rest and have quality time with the family.

Current outbreaks It is always good to be aware of the current outbreaks of disease (Ebola in the Congo), violence, natural disasters or civil unrest at your destination. Also, like in the UAE (Dubai & Co) certain prescription drugs & over the counter drugs are not allowed into the country.

Make sure your Mobile phone is fully topped up and can roam at the destination country.

Ade Alakija, medical director Q-Life Family Clinic, Email: adealakija@hotmail.com Website: www.qlifefamilyclinic.com

How to treat diarrhoea at home iarrhoea can be highly uncomfortable, but most people can effectively treat it with rest and home remedies.

Diarrhoea is a digestive problem that causes loose, watery bowel movements. It can be uncomfortable for a few hours or days, after which the symptoms should improve. In some instances, they last longer.

While diarrhoea often goes away on its own, several home remedies can ease symptoms and speed up recovery.

Rehydrating Hydrating the body is essential to recovering from diarrhoea.

Diarrhoea causes a deficit of fluids,includingwater.Thiscauses the body to lose electrolytes such as sodium and chloride.

To support recovery, it is vital to restore fluids. Otherwise, a person may become dehydrated.

Dehydration can be dangerous in children and older adults, so it is crucial to encourage them to drink water if they are experiencing diarrhoea.

Drinking water is the first step to rehydrating. A person can also to create an oral rehydration solution by mixing 1 litre of water with half a teaspoon of salt and 6 teaspoons of sugar.

Consuming sugar and salt with water helps the intestines to absorb fluids more efficiently. This solution more effectively rehydrates the body after a bout of diarrhoea than water alone.

Other drinks can also be

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It is essential to note that the BRAT diet is highly restrictive and does not provide balanced nutrition. People should only follow this diet until they are feeling better and not any longer than 2 days.

Avoiding certain foods It can help to avoid foods that could irritate or put pressure on the gastrointestinal tract, such as: high-fat foods, greasy foods, spicy foods, foods containing artificial sweeteners and foods with high levels of fructose Some doctors recommendavoiding dairy products, as they may worsen diarrhoea in some people. While generalevidence for this claim is limited, people with lactose intolerance should avoid these products.

Taking probiotics Probiotics are microorganisms that can benefit the digestive system. They can support the workings of the gut and help fight off infection.

Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts in some yogurts and other fermented foods.

People can also buy probiotic supplements in health stores or online.

In 2010, researchers conducted a large systematic review of 63 studies on probiotics, with over 8,000 participants.

They found that probiotics significantly shortened the duration of recovery from diarrhoea. They also found probiotics to be safe, without any major side effects.

The United States Food and

Drug Administration (FDA) do not regulate probiotic supplements, so be sure to purchase them from a reputable source and ask a doctor or pharmacist if in doubt.

Trying medicines Several over-the-counter medications are available for treating diarrhoea.

Antimotility drugs can help reduce symptoms and speed up recovery time. A common example of this type of drug is loperamide (Imodium).

However, these medications are not always appropriate. People with bloody bowel movements or a fever should refrain from taking antimotility drugs and speak to a doctor instead.

When to see a doctor In most cases, it is possible to treat diarrhoea at home without consulting a doctor.

However, if diarrhoea lasts for more than 2 days, seek medical advice to avoid complications.

Other reasons to see a doctor for diarrhoea include: blood or pus in bowel movements, a fever, signs of dehydration, such as extreme thirst anddry mouth , chronic diarrhoea, diarrhoea during sleep, significant weight loss and severe abdominal pain People at risk of complications, such as young children and older adults, should also see a doctor for treatment if diarrhoea does not improve with time and home remedies.

Culled from Medical News Today (MNT)

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

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Friday 22 February 2019

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How herdsmen, cattle destroyed a N110mn farm investment CALEB OJEWALE Twiiter: @calebtinolu

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here have been n u m e r o u s accounts of farms destroyed by cattle that ha d either strayed or deliberately brought to graze. While the frequency of these attacks appear to have subsided in recent times, many farmers - some now former farmers having abandoned their lands - continue to lick their wounds and count losses.

One of such is Olumide Abayomi, a chartered account and fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), who retired from his lucrative job at African Capital Alliance, a private equity firm, in 2013.

Upon retirement, he planned to pursue his own private ventures, which included farming. The plan long-term was to develop the plantation into a resort, since it had access to a railway line, a river flowed behind it, and the ambience was great, not just for crops but humans too.

“If one had no reserve, by now one would have committed suicide,” said Abayomi in a phone interview, as he recalled losses incurred after crops on his 450-acre farm in Osun state were eaten up by cattle, which according to him were brought by Fulani herdsmen.

The 450 acre farmland was acquired in 2012, and he opened up about 100 acres

Vincent Isegbe, director general, NAQS

out of it, planted palm trees in some portion, and then put 50 cows of his own there, having planned to raise cattle as well.

However, the plan was not to have them brought by external parties to destroy his farm.

He opened up another 25 acres of land for the plantain farm, where he had 12,000 plantain trees at 480 per acre.

A government official (name withheld) who visited the farm according to him, had even remarked that he had not seen any plantain farm do that well.

Some of the palm trees, like the plantain trees would later be destroyed when herdsmen came uninvited with their cattle to graze.

“I invested heavily and wanted to really do agriculture,” he said, stating that he had spent an estimated N110 million on the farmland located in Osuntedo village, Osun state.

Abandoned on the farm after the herders plundered it with their cattle is a bulldozer bought for about $126,000 (N45.4 million), one he says is one of the biggest in the country. Farmland plus survey cost about N18 million, workers salary for about 5 years before stopping was about N9 million, the initial clearing of land for 100 acres, was over N8 million, and there were two industrial boreholes sunk on the farm, recalled

Olumide.

“I learnt I was the third largest plantain farmer in Osun state.

That is now history,” he said.

When the herdsmen invaded his farm with their cattle, 28 acres of rice and 25 acres of plantain tress were all eaten up. Before the devastation of his farm, he was able to harvest plantain for two years, and he said harvesting was done every two weeks.

Every fortnight, two to three truckloads was harvested, and “that is what the cattle ate up completely,” he said.

Even after the loss, there was no room for compensation, according to him, saying the feedback from the Osun

state government under Rauf Aregbesola as Governor, was that all farmers whose farm produce were eaten up by cattle should endeavour to fence their farmland.

“Fencing the farmland would have cost me N57 million. So, does it make sense to do that?,” he quipped. If N57 million is invested into agriculture, and the farm is in the productive state, then such fencing can be done from what the farm generates. But that cannot be invested upfront, he explained.

With a land perimeter of nine kilometres, fencing at the cost of N57 million would have been more than half the actual

investments on the farm.

That amount can empower 10 people to do agriculture successfully at N5.7 million each. Even with N2.5 million, Olumide explained one can do well in agriculture, so he was essentially being told to use the equivalent of what could be start-up capital of over 20 people just for fencing.

In the long-term, Olumide explained that the intention was for the palm trees to be the real thing, and the cattle will graze under them. But, these were meant to be his own cattle, not those of rampaging herdsmen that would later destroy his multimillion naira investment.

His plan was to have the place transformed into a resort that people can leave Lagos to come there and relax. Right in front of the land is a railway line and one could actually get a train stop, he said. So, people coming from Lagos could alight there and enter the resort. When they are done and wish to return to the hustle and bustle of Lagos, they could simply hop on the train and return to Lagos.

“All of those were things I had in the pipeline but had to put a stop to everything”, he said.

Fo r n o w , O l u m i d e h a s abandoned the farmland, and appears to have moved on with his life until things change; policy and security wise, before he can return to his investment. However, not many people would have been able to withstand the shock of such a loss, emotionally and financially.

How Agritechnology, not just Agriculture can define Nigeria’s economic transformation Continued from last week

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good place to start is from our primary and secondary schools.

Promoting STEM education and applications in the Agriculture industry will go a long way in encouraging fresh interest and ideas from the younger generation.

Perhaps the underlying reason why an average secondary student will not want to study agriculture is the idea that agriculture or being a farmer is “not cool.”

I don’t blame them though, the image of a farmer working in a farm under the scorching sun also doesn’t register as cool in my mind.

Agritechnology has the potential to change the narrative, that agriculture is more than just toiling on a farm, and that there is an entire agriculture value chain with multiple points of entry and value creation. This will drastically reduce the number of students applying to study the more traditional courses, like Accounting for example, to the less popular, but nonetheless, important courses such as Rural development, Agric

engineering, and Soil science.

As a society, we must think of agriculture as an integral part of a whole. We need to lead science projects that develop tools and systems for the purpose of agriculture.

We need to expose students to the endless possibilities that exist in Agriculture.

Collaborative Economy: Agritechnology will change not only how we grow food (products) but also how we facilitate the exchange and access of products and services. We are in an era of information, speed, access and convenience.

Consumers more than ever can research their options and make informed decisions. This has led to a collaborative economy or what is otherwise known as a sharing economy.

For many, it will be impossible to afford a land at a location like Lekki, but by buying a flat in an estate, they can share land, and estate facilities with others, offering them the life they want to live at more than half the cost.

The same is applicable to farmers. For many, it would be impossible to hire

a tractor, but with a startup like HelloTractor, they can afford to hire a tractor as a Group or Cooperative and save cost. Other Startups like SunCulture, sell drip irrigation kits that use solar energy to pump water from any source thereby making irrigation affordable and CowTribe, a startup from Ghana deploys mobile technologies that bring farming advice, weather forecasts and market information to farmers.

Digital Agriculture: 10 years ago, this concept would have sounded foreign, some would have even thought it impossible but now, digital farming and digital farmers are making the headlines. This is perhaps the best gift that agritechnology has delivered to us. Everyday Nigerians are moving from thinking about the agric space to actually making a difference in Nigeria’s agriculture industry.

Digital agriculture is the use of new and advanced technologies integrated into one system, in order to enable farmers and major stakeholders within

the agriculture value chain improve food production.

Agritechnology has led to the development of technology-enabled platforms that support both the supply and demand side, and delivers seamless integration through mobile devices. In addition, this platform lowers the barrier for normal everyday people to get involved in agriculture without the need for technical knowledge or physical presence.

The process is usually transparent, structured and mutually beneficial.

The digital farmer ca n i nv e s t m o n e y v i a a secure platform into a farm cultivated by an onsite farmer. The funds are managed by the platform and go into educating the farmer, giving them improved seedlings, monitoring farm activities and maximizing farm yield.

This is a win-win situation, since the digital farmer is able to make a return on their investment, while contributing to the achievement of global food security. The on-site farmer on the other hand

gets funded, increase their farm operations and is able to increase their income at the end of a farm cycle. The off takers are supplied with the produce after harvest at a good rate, while the platform that facilitates this transaction also gets a percentage.

Ultimately, there is a lot we can benefit from this new wave of agritechnology.

There are several startups that have sprung up and are already offering agritech services in food safety, agriinvestments, irrigation, and distribution, but agritechnology is far from saturated.

Those that will be successful must be willing to learn, test new terrains, be ready to partner, share knowledge and adapt to this fast changing world of tech.

Now is the best time to jump on this train because we have a good chance in this generation to achieve global food security.

Hannah Edia is a Content Developer and SEO Strategist at Farmcrowdy.

Friday 22 February 2019

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Odunayo Oyasiji

Law and entertainment A. HOW DO I REGISTER OR INCORPORATE MY RECORD LABEL IN NIGERIA? he law that governs this aspect is the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990. The body that is responsible for the registration or incorporation is the Corporate Affairs Commission.

Different options are open to whoever wants to own or register a record label1. You can take the route of registering a business name- a business name is not a company.

A business name can be said to be same with the person that registers it. Therefore, the business does not have a separate legal personality. If anything happens in the course of doing business under the business name, you are to be sued as a person e.g.

Mike Brown (carrying on business under the name and style of OFX records). This is because OFX records is not a recognised person under the law. You can decide to incorporate the business as a company later as the business grows.

2. You can take the route of a partnership- Partnership is when you are into business with two or more persons as joint owners with the intention to make profit.

Partnership Act of 1890 governs this relationship in Nigeria. The Nigerian law also gives room for the partners to draft their partnership agreement and the terms of such agreement will guide their relationship and how they run the business together. Note that the partnership is also not a company and therefore no legal personality separate or different from the people forming the partnership.

3. You can incorporate a company- The company can be either private or public. The advantage of the public is that it can raise money from the public because the public can buy its shares.

Incorporation creates a separate legal personality. If the company enters into a contract and there is an issue, the company itself is to be sued in its name and not the director or person that incorporated the company.

In most cases, companies are incorporated as limited liability companies. The implication of this is that the liability of the person that incorporated it limited. Few companies are incorporated as unlimited liability companies.

The liabilities of the directors are not limited and same can even extend to their personal properties- this type of a company is very rare. A good example of an unlimited liability company is Mobil Unlimited.

It must be noted that the ser-

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vices of a lawyer is often needed for the purpose of incorporating a company. The usual process of incorporation will be followed.

The process is always preceded by making a choice with regards to the name of the record label.

A lawyer will usually request for two names in order of priority.

Search will be conducted by filling the necessary form online and paying the required fee.

CAC will confirm if the name is still available. If it is, the name will be reserved for some days to give room for the person that conducted the search to take further steps to register the company. The meaning of a name being reserved means no other person will be allowed to use the same name within the specified period of time.

After the above, other nec-

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Always remember to protect your interest by making sure that the party to whom you are disclosing information signs this type of agreement

essary steps will be taken with regards to the filling and signing of incorporation documents.

At this point, the names of the directors of the company and the shares they hold will be specified. Also, other important documents like memorandum and articles of association of the company will be drafted. After all the necessary steps have been taken, the required fee will be paid. CAC is also permitted at this stage to raise queries with regards to any area of the application. Most queries are always with regards to the kind of business the company wants to be involved in.

After all queries (if any) have been resolved, the CAC is expected within few days to issue a Certificate of Incorporation. The certificate serves as prima facie evidence of the incorporation of a company.

B. HOW TO REGISTER COPYRIGHT IN NIGERIA It must be noted that it is not mandatory to register a work before the work is protected.

Copyright in a work subsists automatically immediately the work is created. However, the Nigerian Copyright Commission has created a scheme by which works can be voluntarily registered. The reason they provided for this are that – 1. It provides an independent platform for the public to verify data relating to a work and its author.

2. The certificate that is given is a prima facie evidence of what is written on it face.

3. It’s a depository for original copies of works 4. It provides prospective licensees to the work with reliable rights management information.

Furthermore, not all works can be registered. The works covered are musical works, literary works, artistic works, cinematograph works, broadcasts and sound recording.

The process involved is simple. Submit to Nigerian Copyright Commission a copy of the registration form, two copies of the work and evidence of payment of the prescribed fee. The process can be completed online or physically at their office.

ally enter into another contract towards the implementation of the idea. Where disclosure of sensitive information is going to be from the two parties, the non-disclosure and confidentiality agreement will be a mutual one. The terms will be binding on both parties.

This type of agreement is also useful in the entertainment industry as discussions which involve disclosure of sensitive information are often held from time to time. Always remember to protect your interest by making sure that the party to whom you are disclosing information signs this type of agreement.

C. NON DISCLOSURE AND CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT This an important agreement for anybody with business ideas.

Such a person is expected to discuss his or her ideas with others in the course of taking steps to actualize it. Disclosures about the details of the idea will definitely be made. How best can the person disclosing protect his or her interest so that the other party will not go ahead to implement his or her idea or disclose to third parties? The best way to go about this is by making the person to whom the disclosure is to be made to sign a nondisclosure and confidentiality agreement.

The agreement will prohibit the person from using the idea personally or revealing it to a third party. The agreement remains binding regardless of whether the two parties eventu-

D. WHAT IS COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT? A person that owns or authors a work enjoys the exclusive right to its use. Although the author of a work enjoys exclusive right to it.

He or she can however authorise other people to use the work.

Such other people must first seek and obtain the consent of the person (preferably in writing) before using the work.

However, such right is infringed where there is an unauthorised use of the work by anybody. Such a person that uses the work without the authority of the owner can be made to face the legal implication of not seeking permission before using it. Such a person can be sued to court and damages claimed.

The matter can also be resolved amicably based on the willingness of the person that infringed to compensate the author of the work financially.

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What to know about JP Morgan’s coin FRANK ELEANYA

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P Morgan’s announcement on Valentine’s Day that it plans to launch a digital coin, dubbed JPM Coin, designed to make instantaneous payments using blockchain technology, may have been the perfect love gift to the cryptocurrency space.

Aside from throwing a lifeline to a market that was in dire need of self-assurance, what made it more remarkable was it came from an institution whose head, Jamie Dimon, had expressed very scathing sentiments against the leading cryptocurrency in the market. The CEO had in 2018 described bitcoin as a fraud that is worse than tulip bulbs. Although he later said he regretted making the statement and apologised, the market effect has not been forgotten.

It is therefore not surprising that hours after the announcement, prices of major cryptocurrencies began to inch up. The price of bitcoin went up by hundreds of dollars and other leading cryptocurrencies including Ethereum and EOS, experienced significant gains. Total market capitalisation rose by more than 4 per cent from $121 billion to $126 billion, with overall volume increasing more than 30 per cent.

In Nigeria, local cryptocur-

rency platforms like Luno saw price surges trading as high N1.410 million on Tuesday afternoon compared with about N1.2 million in early January.

Below are some of the things to know about the JPM Coin.

It is unlike any normal cryptocurrency.

Umar Farooq, JP Morgan’s head of Digital Treasury Services and Blockchain explains in a blog post that JPM Coin is a digital coin representing US dollars held in designated accounts at JPMorgan Chase N.A. The JPM Coin will have a value equivalent to one US

dollar. When a client of the bank sends money to another client over the blockchain, JPM Coins are transferred and instantaneously for the equivalent amount of US dollars, reducing the typical settlement time. Unlike normal cryptocurrencies, JPM Coin is not as volatile as normal cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. In that respect it appears similar to a stablecoin but JP Morgan insists it is not.

The JPM Coin will be used in international payments involving large corporate clients, securities transactions and for larger corporations that use JP Morgan’s treasury

services business to replace dollars held in subsidiaries and could perhaps be used for payments on internet-connected devices. Once transfers are completed, the coins can be converted back to dollars.

It should be noted that experts at Forbes have argued that the JPM Coin may not be a cryptocurrency in the broader sense rather just a digital currency. Madhvi Mavadiya a contributor in Forbes points out that, if JP Morgan’s new coin operates privately and is only used for money transfers between the lender and its clients, it would not operate on a public network

in the same way that cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin or Ethereum do.

“Cryptocurrencies operate on public networks that anyone can join without permission and while in this case, it means that the many computers working together on the shared ledger is said to improve security (cites a recent Motherboard article), JPM coin will run on a blockchain network called Quorum which requires permissions and users must be approved

by JP Morgan.”

Farooq explained in the FAQ released by JP Morgan that the Quorum run is for the

short term. The long term plan is to extend the coin to other platforms. Similarly, JPM Coin will not be exclusive to the dollar in the long term.

“Over time, JPM Coin will be extended to other major currencies,” says Farooq. “The product and technology capabilities are currency agnostic.”

JPM Coin will be first real world application of blockchain in banking.

It is also the biggest move yet into the sector by an American bank. Goldman Sachs which once led the cryptocurrency adoption charge had in September 2018 ditched its ambitions of opening a desk for trading cryptocurrencies over unclear regulatory framework.

“At this point, we have not reached a conclusion on the scope of our digital asset offering,” Michael DuVally, spokeperson for Goldman Sachs said in an interview.

JP Morgan may be the first in the US banking system but it would likely find company elsewhere in Europe. The New York Times reports that a consortium of European banks is finalising a similar product, Utility Settlement Coin that would make it possible to move money between banks more quickly.

However, the possibility of more banks releasing their own coins in the long term could be dependent on how JP Morgan’s clients embrace the coin.

Family investment on trial as fintech firm, OyaPay shuts down

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igerian-based fintech company, OyaPay has shut down operations barely a month after its first year anniversary.

The B2B company which helps small businesses get paid, manage their business as well as take orders from customers ahead, is joining the list of eclipsed startups, due to unresolved family investment problems.

According to online media Techpoing which broke the story, Abdulhamid Hassan co-founder and CEO of OyaPay had taken a small seed round from a senior family member (an uncle) and at the point of product market fit where the need for investors kicked in, the said uncle refused to support the idea of reducing his investment.

“For months we couldn’t resolve it, I became frustrated

and decided to call it quits,” says Hassan. BusinessDay reached out to him and set up a meeting.

Hassan has since joined its competitor Paystack as a product manager. His LinkedIn account now reflects his new position.

What’s the best investment option for startups?

Irrespective of what has happened to OyaPay, experts BusinessDay spoke to say family loans remains the best option.

The first port of call for any entrepreneur - whether Nigerian or not - starting a business is the immediate family. Most startups have gone on to become very successful this way. Tech companies like Amazon used family money as initial seeds to get to where they are today.

“There is normally no big risk for the startup in using

this means of funding,” Collins Onuegbu, executive vice chairman of Signal Alliance and serial startup investor told

BusinessDay. How to make the most of family investment?

Ndubuisi Ekekwe, chair-

man of Fasmicro Group and a technology expert says it is important to have a lawyer at the time of drafting the first

term sheet.

“The problem is that we sign anything that comes for that first funds not remembering that a company life will be built on it,” says Ekekwe. “It is possible he signed many to the uncle preventing dilution in all ways since it is evident he could not get around it. But if I was in his shoes, a family meeting could be called to discuss this.”

Onuegbu noted that often the risk is on the side of early businesses which lack structures and funds to do even basic legal documentation. He agrees with Ekekwe on putting down on paper some form of guide for the first fund.

“And try not to give up too much equity at this early stage due to inexperience and pressure,” says Onuegbu.

“Fortunately, startup support is becoming easily available in Nigeria. So help is available.”

Friday 22 February 2019

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BUSINESS DAY

25

Hotels Be cautious of hotel room safety this election season

Top BusinessDay Partner Hotels

OBINNA EMELIKE

I

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

Do not discuss politics even with friendly hotel staff as most have preferred candidates, which may ensue unnecessary argument and reactions that may hurt your feelings. 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 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:

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

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

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.

Do not open the door for unexpected visitors. Call the front desk to verify that someone claiming to be making a

service call is from the hotel.

Overseas, where a language barrier may complicate such a call, you should definitely carry your own interior door lock so that even someone with a key may be barred from entering when you are in the room. Some hotels and motels that do not have their own dining facilities allow food to be delivered to your room from outside the hotel. It is best to have such deliveries made to the lobby.

Delivery to your room allows an outsider to meet you, know your room number and determine whether you are alone. It is especially perilous for women traveling alone to have such details known by an outsider. Also, be careful about the leftovers you leave on a tray outside your door.

A single drinking cup with lipstick marks and/or remnants of a single meal can alert passersby to the fact that you are alone in the room and can help them to determine your level of vulnerability.

When you are sleeping, make sure that your deadbolt

lock and chain locks are in place and that no window or sliding door will provide access to an intruder. When you are not in your room, you may want passersby to believe that it is occupied. If possible, find out the hours for maid service, so that you may place the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on your door and leave the TV or radio on at an audible level. At out-ofthe-way foreign destinations, this may be difficult because room cleanings may not be at appointed hours, and maids may have instructions to take down ‘Do Not Disturb’ signs in your absence. Most security specialists advise you to keep your room key with you at all times in and out of the hotel so that no one (including hotel staff ) can see by checking the front desk that you are not in your room.

If you decide to use a hotel fitness room or pool, it is a good idea to leave your key at the front desk rather than with your belongings. At some foreign destinations, hotels require you to turn your room key in as you go out.

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

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

Tel: +234 9 4603900, +234 805 7522500

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

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

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

La Campagne enriches menu list with new offering

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a Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort in Ikegun Village, Ibeju, Lagos, is not only noted for its rich offerings as African themed resort heavy on providing sophisticated and elegantly styled facilities blended with colourful and enchanting African ambiance.

The resort is also noted for its rich penchant for innovation and constant improvement on its facilities and offerings at the slightest opportunity. It is one reason many of its patrons have kept faith with the award-winning resort nestled against the Atlantic Ocean in a rustic and pristine location where man and mature live in harmony.

It latest move, which is part of the bid to continue to promote Africa cultural elements and rich heritage, is the recent introduction of the omi gaari Ijebu to its blend of rich and enticing African menu list.

Guests at the resort on February 14, 2019 were treated to the rich taste of the Nigeria food drink, which made its surprise debut on that day. The mood and atmosphere during dinner that night was like that of a party as every guest, particularly non – Africans, had a refreshing and memorable taste of the hygienically and healthy

prepared local food drink.

‘Omi gaari Ijebu’ is a refreshing food drink that goes way back and almost extinct in most homes and practically non – existent in any of the public restaurant menu across the shores of Nigeria.

But in the traditional setting then, especially among the Yoruba extraction and people of Ijebu community,

it was a treasured and pleasurable food drink that everyone craves for. Coming in from the hot sun, tired and stressed then served ‘omi gaari Ijebu’, you are immediately refreshed and satiated, as well as, strengthened.

For the management of the resort, bringing back the once treasured food drink, which is served in a refined, healthy and refreshed manner, is part of promoting the diverse and healthy food culture of Nigeria to the world audience.

Besides, it is part of the culture of popularising the cultural elements of Nigeria and this time, it traditional food culture, with the aim of not only promoting its healthy nature but its commercial value given that cassava is one of the common staple food of Nigeria from which different variant of delicacies could be derived

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

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

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

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

26

BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 22 February 2019

‘The corporates chase business aspect of music, artistes mind content’ From being behind the scene in music production, record label/artiste management, Chidi Okeke, MC/CEO, Mcomm Solutions and Services, and an entertainment entrepreneur, is now using technology to drive music development in Africa. In this interview with Obinna Emelike, he shades light on the issues in the music industry, solutions, trends, among others.

What do you think is driving many into music today? e are all Nigerians.

By the time you finish school and think of what to do, and think of the car that DBanj drives, you will start thinking that you can also sing and make money like Dbanj. There are so many songs that when I listen to them I ask why is the singer is the music business because they don’t make any sense. What is driving them is the amount of money they can make. You don’t have idea of the numbers of “artistes” that exist in Nigeria; everybody wants to sing. I went somewhere and the security guy was telling me how he made songs, and a tailor also told me that he has songs. The thing that is driving them is when they see the big life that these other guys in the music industry are living and when they see what is going on, people want to get into the music industry.

When you announce an audition for a music competition, thousands of people will apply because they want to get into the industry, but not all will make it. Again, I am happy that the likes of Priaz and Bez have tried to keep what they are doing, though it is not easy. Now, they are trying to focus on other areas or countries that appreciate the kind of music they are making. But the truth is that we can use technology to solve the problem, to get their music to the right people that will appreciate it. The likes of Asa left here for France and she became a star over there. Any time I hear the story of their tours, I marvel and the crowd is all white people that appreciate their talents.

But there are people who appreciate Asa music in Nigeria. We need to use technology to find them. She has not been able to make as much locally in Nigeria, but she is very big outside.

We need to push people that can really set a path for the industry. There are lots of things I wish we can correct now. Sometimes you

W

stumble on it by luck and if you are lucky someone picks it up. I have read report on how Spotify blew someone, The Weekend made over $77 million in one year because they got pushed by a platform.

Why I was talking about the Asa part is that when I watched how she prepares for her concerts, the amount of dedication, planning and attention to detail, I discovered she cares about what people are going to see about the concert and not just the money you pay for a table. She is concerned about giving you something that shows what she has inside her. When I watch the concerts of the likes of Beyoncé, I ask, when are we going to get here, when are we going to know that it is not about jumping on the stage, but about what you are going to put out.

It is not going to change if the people keep seeing that these artistes are making money and how they make the money, and flying private jets. Now, if they are making money, there is nothing you will tell these guys to do differently, so what do we do?

Is the music money still flowing like before in the industry?

L i ke I s a i d , t h e e ra o f 2016/2017 revenues were being generated, guys were performing, they were now making money from digital, everybody now wants to open a record label. Someone will come to me and because he has money, he will tell me Chidi please help me I want to open a record label, all because the wants to be in control of an artiste and of the people that can validate the money he has.

But by the middle of 2017 and early 2018, the revenues even disappeared. Issues with regulations, NCC, MTN fine, and 9Mobile issue cut the revenue. Caller Tunes by MTN has gone from N1 billion a month to something very ridiculous. Two months ago, I heard that they did just over N50,000. The number of people that have even lost their jobs in the industry is unbelievable, but people

Chidi Okeke

don’t know, but are moving on.

But what the artistes did, especially the very smart ones among them, was to immediately switch on to international platforms. Remember that exchange of dollar to Naira has gone up from 160 to 400 and back to 360. So, any money they get paid internationally is a lot of money.

I remember about a year and half ago Tekno was collecting N4 million or even N3 million here. But when we get a show even in a small club in South Africa, they are willing to pay him $30, 000-$40,000. Same thing for Runtown, he was collecting N2 million here and started collecting $50,000 in South Africa. If you change that money to Naira, as an artiste, where will you want to focus?

Mr. Eazi knew that he cannot push from Nigeria, so he went to Ghana and blew from there. Yet, he does not do much in Nigeria from his base in Ghana, now he has gone to the UK. It tells you that people are chasing where the money is because they need to survive.

A lot of people blame the money chase and poor output on lack of structure, do you agree?

In other countries like America, it is the corporates that set up the structures. They understood that the artistes

need money, so, they set up different structures. It is not the artiste that set up Sonny Music, Spotify, Apple Music among others. The corporates control the industry by setting up platforms and avenues to feed those artistes that are creating the contents.

To answer your question, an artiste is not meant to chase the business aspect of music; the corporates do that, while the artiste focus on the creative side of the business, that is content creation.

The artistes should have business managers, and all that. Allow the mangers to make sure that you have enough money to feed your lifestyle. In Nigeria, it is the artiste that hires the manager and when the manager does not tell him what he wants to hear, he fires him.

But over there, it is the corporates that set it up and give the artiste a manager.

Chris Brown had no say, Bu, his manager, who is also Akon’s junior brother, does that. After a while, the record label changed Bu and put someone else to manage Chris Brown. But with all his craziness, Chris Brown only focused on creating music, if he needs money, the company will give him advance, and take it off from the revenue that he makes.

But I keep wondering when, not necessarily gov-

ernment, but the corporates here will understand that excuses that the industry is not structured, artistes are misbehaving and all that, no longer hold water because that is how artistes behave everywhere in the world. You have to seize the opportunity and look at them differently.

Even when you consider that when you sign contract with artistes they don’t keep to it, that is how it started then, but we as entrepreneurs don’t realize that as the guy progresses, you should also give him breathing space. I will give you an example with Jay Z and Kanye West. Kanye West was Jay Z’s boy, he was signed under Jay Z. There was a tour we attended when he was trying to sign Dbanj, it was then I understood that the tour was Kanye’s pay off.

Jay Z was allowing him to create his own label and sing his own music label direct to them because Kanye West cannot continue making money off him for so long.

You should know when to let the guy go, or review the contract. I keep watching all the problems that happen in the music industry here.

I remember when Banky W and Wizkid started. I called Wizkid to my office and I told him that you can’t do this, I was pleased that he listened though he was very upset with the situation then.

I also liked the maturity that Banky W had. He let Wizkid go without issues.

Even in terms of structure, it seems we are expecting so much from these guys, what kind of education do most of them have, we expect too much from them, you expect them to set up companies, have lawyers, road managers, business managers, and others, it is not possible. The reason Dbanj and his team made truck load of money then was because of the many skilled people that work on Dbanj’s project then. Think about the team you never get to see. You see Mo Hits, but never knew what was behind them; is it the lawyers, me and Femi.

People never knew that in one quarter, we have already cashed in N250 million. We

wrote proposals to different places, Ghana, Gabon, and Dbanj will go and perform, but people never knew what was behind it. This is where structure has worked, it is not the artiste that did that, but the artistes recognized that this is my talent, I can go out and perform but was smart enough to know that all these paper work, I cannot do them and let me allow people who know how to do them to work.

In all these, what is your focus now?

My focus on how I am taking this is that we are following where the money is because that is where these guys are.

In Africa what we have that we can put forward is the numbers, I am talking about Nigeria now. Our numbers are meant to be our strength to kill any competition that is going to come out. The can do spirit, which the British Consul wrote in their report, discovered something unique about us Nigerians, the report discovered that most stakeholders in the music industry have not gone to learn the business of this music, so how are they able to generate the huge revenues.

I was reading the report a few days ago and the writer said he found out that there is a spirit inside them that whether they know how to do it or not, they are just going to try to do it.

But to be honest, that can only take us to a certain limit; if we leave it the way it is now, others countries might take over. I am scared of countries like Kenya and South Africa because when you look at the quality behind, performance wise and content generation, which are now backed by technology, and if you give them a little time, they will overtake us. Right now, Nigeria is on top, when it comes to music, if we go to Kenya and create a Nigerian concept there, it will sell out even when there is a Kenyan show at the same time. If you turn it around and there is a Kenyan concert in Nigeria when a Wizkid is having a concert, everybody will be at Wizkid’s concert.

Friday 22 February 2019

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BUSINESS DAY

27

Your next meeting Business etiquette

Janet Adetu

O

n the average a very busy professional or business entrepreneur spends the better part of their day engaging in telephone conversations, answering numerous emails and attending to countless meetings. They are responding to requests, making decisions or planning for the future, the task is to increase productivity and profitability. Meetings are a means of putting heads together to forge forward with ideas or re-evaluate past decisions. Some meetings are face to face, teleconference, video conference or chats. With the new 21st century high technology, having meetings has become easier, faster, probably a lot more efficient, however they will still require the time of the individual.

How these meetings are conducted proficiently is a way to reduce the constant time wasting experience at the same time to facilitate productive meetings, encourage teamwork and action. Scheduling meetings also needs to be looked at with the mind of ensuring that the agenda is goal oriented, the minutes are well documented for easy understanding and the types of meeting conducted are necessary.

We see severally that having too many meetings can become unproductive if there is no focus, control, direction or follow up.

“Do we really need to have a meeting?” The truth is depending on the

nature of business you are engaged in, a meeting may not always be necessary.

If you are selling a service or product for the first time and you are intending to create a good first impression, then a first time meeting maybe necessary. A meeting may also be necessary if your transaction involves many parties or if there are communication malfunctions where telephone calls and emails are not received or delivered. Also if communication is confidential and sensitive, or if action and timing is of great essence, or possibly if you need to maintain a paper trail or documentation is required.

Today in the business world we are able to accomplish a lot without having face to face meetings. Time is indeed saved and used more productively when planned well. I recently had some designs done for me for my children’s manners project. All my designs to completion were done via email and telephone in the UK. I did not need a single physical meeting for this transaction and I was able to achieve this on time and effectively. Currently I also

have another project on going; I am quite proximal to the agent working for me. We have spoken severally and communicated by sending information and material back and forth over the last few weeks. Interestingly we have never met but feel quite close as if we have had several meetings. Of course this comes on the platform that there is a huge element of trust and confidence in the quality of service you will get. This also

involves a good element of respect and courteousness on both parties. There are times when such communication is beneficial to your need that will avoid you prolonging the fact, the objective and the overall goal.

No matter the nature or length of your meeting the key point to remember as an executive, entrepreneur or professional is to plan for it well, determine action plans and measure the results of strategies already taken in order to optimize its benefits.

It will take more than hard skills to have a successful meeting in today’s multigenerational society. Your meeting will involve high impact softskills that combines emotional intelligence, people skills, empathy and respect.

You really want everyone to play a contributive role, add their thought and constructively table their concerns. Be aware that any meeting that is swaying one sided with limited voices heard is restrictive of its outcome. Allow for all to be heard, be mindful of your timings and endeavour to end on a good note always.

1. Ensure that proper communication is sent out for a meeting to all proposed attendees. Be specific on the date, time and place, if the meeting is postponed for any reason send out information immediately with details of new schedule.

2. Endeavour not to start the meeting without a comprehensive agenda which ideally, should be sent out earlier for attendees to form their own opinions or ideas in advance. If any action is required, attendees will have that opportunity to respond.

3. Clarify the purpose of the meeting, it should be indicated with a list of those attending.

4. Keep minutes well documented they should detail the meeting, date, location, facilitator and note taker. The time the meeting started and ended is also included; the minutes should state the agenda, discussion notes, action

‘

A meeting may also be necessary if your transaction involves many parties or if there are communication malfunctions where telephone calls and emails are not received or delivered

items, the person responsible as well as the deadline for execution and delivery.

The minutes of the meeting are also taken many times as legal documentation, not to mention, evidence of a record of the meeting kept in corporate files.

5. Be attentive in the meeting and watch your posture, appear alert without slacking, show positive body language.

6. Participation in meetings is important; it will indicate your level of team spirit and leadership skills. Allow the spokesperson to complete their sentence then wait for the appropriate time to add your own suggestions.

7. Communication is the key to conducting a well-controlled meeting.

Listen, speak, and adopt is the formula for success. Everybody will have an opportunity to speak, avoid speaking over someone else’s voice, watch the pitch, pace and tone of your voice, avoid giving off negative vibes that position you as aggressive.

8. Take your own notes during meetings that you can reference for action plans.

Ensure you understand what is being discussed, the objectives and the way forward.

9. In dressing for a meeting, colour plays an important psychological role.

Dress the way you would like to be addressed. Appear authoritative if you are a leader by wearing dark coloured suits, white or light shirts (blouses) and an assertive colour tie or accessories.

10. Close your meeting on a positive note, lift people strategically and boost their will to participate. Encourage great results and reward participants for a good performance. Indicate the next meeting and reinforce next steps to be executed. Be clear on the goals to be achieved, wish everyone well.

Share your experience with me by sending us an email to or janet.adetu@jsketiquetteconsortium.com Look forward to hearing from you.

Movie review of Glass

Linda Ochugbua

I

t is paramount that I explain to you that this movie is quiet weird and a bit complicated to understand. For you to get a hang of the story you will need to have seen “Glass” the previous edition, “Unbreakable” and “Split” of 2017 as this was a combination of all 3 movies and the main characters were brought together to feature in this edition of “Glass”. The idea was to create a movie with epic characters who had exceptional powers, strength and gift. When you watch them for a while and make them realize that they have no super powers, but the characteristics they display are a mere pigmentation from their mind, due to circumstances they have being through in their lives. The idea was to belittle them and make the world realize that they were

just like every other humans, were the turn out was true, because they proved otherwise. It will be quiet difficult for me to recommend this movie, as you have watch with all attention and think deep to get what they are talking about.

This movie wasn’t the typical action type movie, so not many people have seen it, I also feel that because of the type of storyline, most people won’t understand at all, “Split” of 2017 wasn’t even seen in our Nigerian cinemas then. It isn’t a normal action type of movie, but one which Nigerians will see as weird, a case of a person have almost 32 multiple personality, that sounds so strange in this part of the world.

The movie was about real “super power”, “mutants” and “super heros” with extinct gifts that the world hadn’t witnessed before. The real truth is that ‘Glass” might be enjoyed by everyone as it is obvious that you must have an intuitive mindset to understand it.

The Movie “Glass” started by telling us a bit about each character that was imported into this edition; they featured “Bruce Willis” from “Unbreakable” as “David Dunn” in the movie, “Samuel L. Jackson” as “Elijah Price” referred to as Pseudonym Mr. Glass. Who was actually

the most troublesome of them all, going about causing havocs and lastly we had James McAvoy from Split taking on his role as “Kevin Wendell Crumb and the multiple identities that resided in him.

We also had “Anya Taylor-Joy as Casey Cookie”, the only captive that survived.

First they lived normal lives in the world, where they caused atrocities. Kevin kidnapped young girls and kept them as hostage for months, but didn’t hurt them, he just wanted to watch them daily, while David was the good guy, who had super powers to touch you and see your intensions and past. Elijah had being kept in captivity for so long and his hands had to be tied as he was really dangerous. One day both guys David and Kevin were kidnapped and kept in the same prison with Elijah. They were kept in the house to help them realize that they were normal men with no super powers. You need to see how Elijah turned things around and what started slowly spanned out to be an epic action movie at the tail end. It’s very important that you see the movie to the end, because everything was explained at the very end.

Taylor-Joy, Spencer Treat Clark and many more Genre: Drama, Mystery & Suspense Director: M. Night Shyamalan Ratings: PG-13 (for some suggestive content and drug use) Written by: M. Night Shyamalan Runtime: 110 minutes Studio: Universal Pictures To my verdict I would score this movie a 6/10, yes it was weird, unique and nice, but far from reaching the expectations of many, so many of us left the cinema wondering what just happened and yet the hype and adverts for the movie were extremely better than the movie itself. considering the fact that they had being on this movie for over 2 years and started the adverts since 2018, I had waited for this movie for this long only to see this, well the truth was that I wasn’t exceptionally thrilled.

Feel free to review any movie of your choice in not more than 200 words, please send us a mail to linda@businessdayonline.com , also please do answer the question of the week on social media and stand a chance to win a free movie ticket.

Cast: Bruce Willis, James McAvoy, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Paulson, Anya

Linda Ochugbua @lindaochugbua

28

BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 22 February 2019

INTERVIEW

Our commitment is to ensure that students and members remain competent, employable and in demand, says CIMA The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) recently launched a new syllabus that is expected to bring its professional members up-to-date with developments in the industry, locally and internationally. Modestus Anaesoronye in this interview with Noel Tagoe, the executive vice president of the institute, shares his thoughts on the challenges and future of the profession. Excerpts:

T

by accounting and finance professionals within their organisations.

The content has been reviewed by academics, accounting education experts and members globally. It has also been reviewed, and is supported by a number of governance committees and Boards.

The updates continue to support current – and future – management accountants to develop the skills, competencies and mindsets employers told us they look for in the modern business world, including in new areas such as business models, integrated reporting, cyber-security and financial risks.

The new updates to your syllabus are expected to address the emerging digital skills gaps, particularly artificial intelligence, robotic process automation, etc.

What took CIMA so long to make these updates, considering that the so-called “emerging digital skills” are not entirely new?

As the world’s largest professional body for management accountants, it is CIMA’s role to help its members and students successfully navigate disruptive times such as the one we are currently experiencing.

Understanding business and the impact of technology has featured within the syllabus for some time and what it covers remains relevant today. But what has changed since the 2015 update is the rapid expansion of technology, its adop-

‘

What has changed since the 2015 update is the rapid expansion of technology, its adoption and new emerging opportunities associated with it

‘

Your institute recently embarked on a major project of reviewing your syllabus, what led to this and what were you planning to achieve? hank you for the acknowledgment and the opportunity to share our vision with you.

The changes reflect the advances in the world of modern finance and business, and support CIMA’s ongoing commitment to ensure students and members remain competent, employable and in demand. The changes we are making reflect the findings of our Future of Finance extensive research programme. Over the last two years, we consulted with over 5,500 finance professionals from 2,000 organisations across 150 countries to build a composite picture of the role finance professionals play in business, identify competencies and skills employers expect, and map how these are changing in a digital world.

To ensure that we continue to shape global, multi-skilled, dynamic professionals who are employer ready, we have released a comprehensive suite of new learning professional development resources which tackle the demands of a digital-led world, including: The updated CIMA Professional Qualification, plus newly introduced exam blueprints, which focus extensively on digital finance to deliver finance professionals who can harness the full power of technology and data to create and add organisational value while supporting businesses to mitigate new risks, including cybersecurity threats; an updated CGMA Competency Framework, which both adds and incorporates the new area of digital skills to the four core existing knowledge areas of technical, business, leadership and people skills; and the Digital Mindset professional development course to enhance competencies and skills through a free CPD Bundle for CIMA members based on automation, blockchain, cybersecurity, data analytics and ethics.

Will you say the new changes are comprehensive enough to address the noticed gaps as well as current realities in the workplace?

Through our extensive global Future of Finance research, we gathered relevant evidence and data to update our CIMA Professional Qualification, CGMA competency framework and CPD offerings, to ensure that our content remains relevant to professionals working businesses, charities, NGOs and government functions.

It has been included because employers and members specifically identified these skills and competencies as being required

tion and new emerging opportunities associated with it. That is what sits behind refreshing the 2019 CIMA syllabus to ensure it captures the impact of new technologies on daily tasks, business models, reporting and risk management. We are now putting a greater emphasis on digital skills and competencies, which employers told us they need in the modern business world.

Considering that it took CIMA years to update its syllabus, how agile will the body be, going for-

Noel Tagoe

ward, in terms of periodic reviews of its learning resources to match the speed of change in the business/economic environment occasioned by technology.

To keep our members and students at the forefront of business for today and the future, we are moving from cyclical to rolling exam updates and will now be using blueprints to bring in new key areas, or take out outdated content, as needed. And perhaps more importantly for our members, it is about going beyond the exam and have a mindset that is about learning, unlearning and relearning. We provide members with access to a comprehensive library of reports, continuing education courses and events to keep their skills sharp and put themselves ahead of the game.

Of what relevance are the new learning resources when, according to your survey, carried out in 150 countries, 61% of finance professionals already believe some of their jobs will be given to machines/robots in the next 3 years.

As we are all aware, change is the new norm in our global digital economy. New technologies are disrupting the ways we work and this won’t slow down. This of course creates new challenges, but most importantly it creates new opportunities to free up time spent on repetitive activities and focus on areas that create value. With the integration of new digital skills in the updated CIMA Professional Qualification, CGMA Competency Framework and learning resources, we will help finance professionals gain the skills they need to work

in the modern business world. It will expand finance professionals’ skills beyond just their accounting knowledge, equipping them with people skills and digital skills, allowing them to capitalise on new technologies to become influential business partners and value creators.

Your study ‘Re-inventing finance for a digital world’, which was released recently, seemed to suggest that outdated learning tools/models may have been responsible for the failure of finance teams and professionals to evolve their skills fast enough to take in AI, and other digital skills.

Is that the case or will you say the finance professionals themselves are averse to these changes?

The rapid rise of technology has changed the way each and every one of us live our lives, from our shopping habits to the way we access information. This is equally true for the business world. Every industry, every sector and every business function is affected.

Apart from the finance professionals, what other categories of professionals can benefit from the updated learning resources?

We are investing heavily into providing finance professionals with access to the latest research, thought leadership reports (e.g. future of finance white paper), training (e.g. future focused CIMA Professional Qualification), a careers job board and a library of leading-edge resources (e.g. updated CGMA Competency Framework) to help them stay ahead, employable and competent for a digital world. You

don’t have to be a CIMA member or student to access our CPD. We are all about accessibility and providing the very best learning resources for everyone.

Finance professionals must also remember that the finance function doesn’t work in isolation of other departments and should encourage their team to collaborate and partner with colleagues across the organisation, ensuring that they also benefit from their knowledge and insights to create and preserve organisational value.

How do you see the finance profession evolving over the next decade?

Going forward, the finance function will have a mandate to go beyond its core accounting role.

Enabled by new technologies, the finance function is now capable of assessing a broader range of information and becoming a more influential player within the organisation.

But to make the most of the opportunities brought by new technologies, management accountants will need to broaden their skills, go beyond their core technical knowledge, and be recognised for questioning constructively, guiding strategic decision-making, partnering with peers, managing risks and implementing projects, as well as providing trusted management information.

They will also need to enhance their social and commercial skills to better tell the story of the business, generate new insights and business solutions, and collaborate effectively with colleagues across their organisation and external stakeholders.

The role of management accountants is changing as they shift their focus from cost compliance to value creation with expertise in areas such as data analytics, cyber risk management and business models. They are moving from being technical experts to becoming commercially minded strategic business partners, who can successfully combine human creativity and new technologies to augment their capabilities.

A key challenge in the accounting profession today, again due to rapid technological changes, is the constant regulatory changes to keep up with technology and the pressures that bring to accounting/finance professionals to guide clients through those changes seamlessly. How is CIMA as a body helping members to cope with such fast-paced changes?

We are – and always have been – committed to supporting members and students across the entirety of their careers from new entrants to the world of work through to CFOs and Chief Executives.

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29

BUSINESS DAY

Live @ The Exchanges Top Gainers/Losers as at Thursday 21 February 2019 GAINERS Company

LOSERS Opening

Closing

DANGCEM

N192.4

N193

0.6

GLAXOSMITH

N11.55

N12

0.45

ZENITHBANK

N4.7

N4.95

0.25

PZ

N13.9

N14.15

0.25

DANGFLOUR

N6.3

N6.5

0.2

FIDSON ETI OANDO

Market Statistics as at Thursday 21 February 2019

Change

Company INTBREW

UACN

Opening

Closing

Change

N29

N26.25

-2.75

N25.8

N25.3

-0.5

N12.65

N12.35

-0.3

N9.95

N9.7

-0.25

N9

N8.8

-0.2

ASI (Points) DEALS (Numbers)

MARKET CAP (N Trn

N

Plc went up from N4.7 to N4.95, adding 25kobo or 5.32percent. ETI Plc advanced from N13.9 to N14.15, up 25kobo or 1.80percent; while Oando Plc gained 20kobo or 3.17percent, from N6.3 to N6.5.

The All Share Index closed at 32,568.65 points as against preceding day high of 32,614.05 points while Market Capitalisation which stood high at N12.162 trillion the preceding trading day close

lower at N12.145trillion.

At the NSE on Thursday, bond market capitalisation stood at N10.249trillion; while Exchange Traded Funds Capitalisation was N6.341billion.

In 4,327 deals, equity traders exchanged 220,609,260 units valued at N2.240billion.

Transcorp Plc, FCMB Plc, GTBank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, and Access Bank Plc were actively traded stocks on the Nigerian Bourse.

Access Bank commences Book Building for N15bn Green Bond

B

2.240 12.145

Linde now holds indirect beneficial interest in BOC Gases …due to merger between Linde AG and Praxair

B

declined from N9.95 to N9.7, losing 25kobo or 2.51percent.

UAC of Nigeria Plc stock price decreased from N9 to N8.8, losing 20kobo or 2.22percent.

Dangote Cement Plc stock price rallied most from a low of N192.4 to N193, up by 60kobo or 0.31percent.

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc stock price also advanced from N11.55 to N12, up 45kobo or 3.90percent.

Fidson Healthcare

the Climate Bond Initiative as having met the climate bond standards.

Access Bank Plc had on January 18, 2019 notified the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the Book Build in respect of the proposed Green Bond (with climate credentials) being issued by the bank.

“With our pace setting experience in the mainstreaming of sustainability in our business operations, we are confident that this issue will further help in supporting environmentally friendly investors to meet their investment objectives while simultaneously supporting the bank’s customer towards realizing growth opportunities in the fast-develop-

220,609,260.00

VALUE (N billion)

Stories by Iheanyi Nwachukwu

ook Building has commenced for the N15billion Green Bond Issuance by Access Bank Plc. The 5-year fixed rate senior unsecured Green Bond 2019-2024 has coupon band of 14.9percent to 15.10percent per annum.

The Book Building which commenced on Thursday February 21, 2019 closes on Thursday February 28, 2019 at 5pm; while distribution of allocation letters will be on same day (Thursday February 28, 2019).

The Bond is the first ever Climate Bonds Standard Certificate Corporate Green Bond issued in Africa. The issue has been awarded a B2 rating by Moody’s; was verified by PwC (UK) and certified by

4,327.00

VOLUME (Numbers)

Stock market sheds N17bn as investors sell International Breweries, Zenith, PZ, others igeria stock market was down by 0.14percent or N17billion at the close of trading on Thursday February 21, 2019 as investors rushed to take profits in equities like International Breweries Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, PZ Cussons Plc, Dangote Flourmills Plc, and UAC of Nigeria Plc. Twenty (20) stocks gained as against 15 losers; the Year-to-Date (YtD) return currently stands at +3.62percent.

The share price of International Breweries Plc decreased from N29 to N26.25, losing N2.75 or 9.48percent.

Zenith Bank Plc followed after its share price declined from N25.8 to N25.3, losing 50kobo or 1.94percent. PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc declined from N12.65 to N12.35, losing 30kobo or 2.37percent; followed by Dangote Flourmills Plc which

32,568.65

ing low carbon economy,” said Herbert Wigwe, group managing director, Access Bank Plc. It will be recalled that the Bank had in June 2018 launched the Nigerian Green Bond Market Development Programme in partnership with FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The N15billion Green Bond Issue proceeds will be used to finance eligible green projects that meet the climate bond initiative (CBI) standards. The Issue will serve as a turning point for Nigeria, attracting both domestic and international investors and will set the pace for other Nigerian corporates to raise green capital.

OC Gases Nigeria Plc has notified its shareholders and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) that by virtue of the merger between Linde AG (a company registered in Germany and listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange) and Praxair, Inc. (a company registered in the United States of America and formally listed on the New York Stock Exchange) which was concluded on October 31, 2018, Linde Plc (a company registered in Ireland and listed on the Frankfurt and New York Stock Exchanges) has become the parent company of Linde AG and Praxair, Inc. As a result, through its 92percent interest in Linde AG, Linde Plc now

holds an indirect beneficial interest in BOC UK and also, an indirect beneficial ownership in BOC Gases Nigeria Plc. “We confirm that following the merger, BOC UK will continue to hold all the shares it currently holds in BOC Gases Nigeria Plc, and that none of these shares will be transferred by BOC UK to any other person as a direct consequence of the merger.

“Please note that BOC Holdings Limited UK holds 249,746,823 shares representing 60percent of the issued shares of BOC Gases Nigeria Plc”, BOC Gases Nigeria Plc told shareholders and the NSE through the notice signed by its Company Secretary, Gabinus E. Oriseh.

United Capital proposes N1.8bn dividend payout as full year earnings surge …share price down 5.76%

T

he directors of United Capital Plc have proposed that a dividend of 30kobo per share amounting to N1.8billion, be paid to shareholders upon approval at the company’s Annual General Meeting for the financial year ended December 31, 2018.

This proposed dividend represents a decline of 14.29percent when compared to 35kobo dividend the company paid in 2017 financial year.

This proposed dividend payout follows an impressive audited financials which the company released at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday February 21, 2019. United Capital Plc is the first investment bank in Nigeria to be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

It is a holding company with three subsidiaries namely United Capital Trustee Limited, United

Capital Asset Management Limited, and United Capital Securities Limited.

Highlights of the financials show that United Capital Plc reported gross earnings of N9.259billion in the financial year ended December 31, 2018, from a low of N8.915billion in 2017, representing an increase of 3.86percent.

While interest and similar income in the review financial year increased by 4.99percent to N1.904billion, from N1.813billion in 2017; profit before income tax increased by 12.14percent to N6.221billion from N5.547billion in 2017.

The company reported 0.56 percent decline in profit after tax (PAT) to N4.337billion against N4.362billion in 2017 financial year.

Shareholders’ fund at N15.834billion in 2018 against N16.766billion in 2017 represents a decline of 5.56percent.

30

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BUSINESS DAY

31

Live @ the Stock exchange Prices for Securities Traded as of Thursday 21 February 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. 185,139.02 6.40 0.79 204 14,268,367 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC 273,595.37 8.00 0.63 208 10,288,044 ZENITH BANK PLC 794,331.29 25.30 -1.94 483 15,665,985 895 40,222,396 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 297,930.93 8.30 1.22 208 10,068,776 208 10,068,776 1,103 50,291,172 BUILDING MATERIALS DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 3,288,817.93 193.00 0.31 48 268,477 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 112,754.57 13.00 -2.31 118 5,443,623 166 5,712,100 166 5,712,100 EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 364,247.18 619.00 - 4 327 4 327 4 327 1,273 56,003,599 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC 1,900.00 95.00 - 0 0 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) 11,300.89 45.20 - 0 0 UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 15,876.20 5.95 - 2 15,100 2 15,100 2 15,100

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 2 15,100 CROP PRODUCTION FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 440.00 0.20 - 1 5,000 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 81,082.35 85.00 - 20 119,210 PRESCO PLC 75,000.00 75.00 - 11 40,430 32 164,640 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. 511.20 4.26 - 0 0 0 0 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1,890.00 0.63 - 22 481,984 22 481,984 54 646,624 DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 820.66 0.31 - 1 1,500 JOHN HOLT PLC. 186.79 0.48 - 0 0 S C O A NIG. PLC. 1,903.99 2.93 - 0 0 TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC 60,971.99 1.50 0.67 202 24,733,171 U A C N PLC. 25,355.41 8.80 -2.22 36 292,777 239 25,027,448 239 25,027,448 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ARBICO PLC. 711.32 4.79 - 0 0 0 0 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 34,980.00 26.50 - 21 101,707 ROADS NIG PLC. 165.00 6.60 - 0 0 21 101,707 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 4,729.08 1.82 8.33 9 246,800 9 246,800 30 348,507 AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 954.53 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 12,683.78 1.62 - 8 262,300 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 242.22 0.89 - 0 0 GUINNESS NIG PLC 142,593.92 65.10 - 67 289,161 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 225,641.38 26.25 -9.48 15 143,137 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 659,744.42 82.50 - 83 168,070 173 862,668 FOOD PRODUCTS DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 48,500.00 9.70 -2.51 103 2,562,179 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 181,800.00 15.15 - 46 165,439 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 84,877.86 20.70 -0.24 60 693,621 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 10,943.67 1.38 6.15 33 1,159,853 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 1,340.10 0.36 - 0 0 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 766.26 4.30 - 5 935 NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC 48,352.25 18.25 - 18 24,048 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 3,676.41 13.45 - 0 0 265 4,606,075 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 21,599.32 11.50 - 21 44,107 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 1,252,396.88 1,580.00 1.27 45 121,518 66 165,625 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 1,680.31 22.10 - 0 0 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 5,003.38 4.00 - 10 63,945 10 63,945 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 49,035.39 12.35 -2.37 33 461,591 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 247,035.23 43.00 - 34 308,571 67 770,162 581 6,468,475 BANKING DIAMOND BANK PLC 56,048.14 2.42 0.41 69 7,725,737 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 259,646.15 14.15 1.80 61 1,621,640 FIDELITY BANK PLC 71,278.00 2.46 -0.40 118 5,558,904 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 1,118,384.81 38.00 0.13 280 16,525,237 JAIZ BANK PLC 17,973.19 0.61 - 22 904,884 SKYE BANK PLC 10,687.83 0.77 - 0 0 STERLING BANK PLC. 71,976.05 2.50 - 165 5,238,120 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 203,845.27 7.00 - 30 137,915 UNITY BANK PLC 11,572.44 0.99 - 10 28,779 WEMA BANK PLC. 34,331.27 0.89 2.25 41 2,613,512 796 40,354,728 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC 4,117.00 0.20 - 0 0 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 5,128.35 0.74 2.78 20 2,043,498 AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC 21,525.00 2.05 0.99 7 334,570 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 2,276.40 0.28 - 0 0 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 19,811.94 1.91 - 0 0 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE PLC 3,093.20 0.21 - 27 13,131,347 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 2,183.97 0.48 - 1 400 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 1,228.00 0.20 - 2 50,050 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE PLC 487.95 0.38 - 0 0 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 2,270.26 0.31 -6.06 12 900,561 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 2,362.98 0.55 - 6 206,830 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 5,040.00 0.63 -10.00 6 579,500 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 2,000.00 0.25 -7.41 15 1,869,615 NEM INSURANCE PLC 12,831.62 2.43 - 10 148,640 NIGER INSURANCE PLC 1,702.69 0.22 - 1 70,000 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC 2,906.58 0.54 - 2 1,800 REGENCY ASSURANCE PLC 1,600.50 0.24 -4.00 24 4,500,000 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 1,918.39 0.23 - 52 3,801,000 STACO INSURANCE PLC 4,483.72 0.48 - 0 0 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. 2,582.21 0.20 - 2 51,500 SUNU ASSURANCES NIGERIA PLC. 2,800.00 0.20 - 3 210,000 UNIC DIVERSIFIED HOLDINGS PLC. 516.46 0.20 - 0 0 UNIVERSAL INSURANCE PLC 3,200.00 0.20 - 1 500 VERITAS KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 2,912.00 0.21 - 1 35,701 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 5,486.92 0.41 -2.38 31 1,969,105 223 29,904,617 MICRO-FINANCE BANKS FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 11,799.67 2.58 - 0 0 NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 3,772.95 1.65 0.61 8 370,950

8 370,950 MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC 4,116.00 0.98 - 1 2 ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 7,370.87 0.50 - 0 0 INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC 5,922.05 1.42 - 0 0 RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 2,265.95 0.20 - 1 98,284 UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. 2,949.22 3.02 - 0 0 2 98,286 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC 8,700.00 4.35 4.32 57 886,735 CUSTODIAN INVESTMENT PLC 35,879.37 6.10 - 10 180,723 DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC 660.00 0.44 - 0 0 FCMB GROUP PLC. 45,150.18 2.28 1.33 123 19,223,518 ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 1,697.97 0.33 - 2 100,000 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 496,666.82 48.50 1.03 34 1,952,024 UNITED CAPITAL PLC 19,620.00 3.27 -5.76 210 10,808,217 436 33,151,217 1,465 103,879,798 HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS EKOCORP PLC. 1,680.29 3.37 - 1 100 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 1,030.41 0.29 - 4 302,010 5 302,110 MEDICAL SUPPLIES MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 544.04 0.55 - 0 0 0 0 PHARMACEUTICALS EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 366.17 0.50 - 0 0 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 7,425.00 4.95 5.32 31 751,878 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. 14,350.52 12.00 3.90 68 5,573,980 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 4,140.56 2.40 - 11 141,080 NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 1,215.46 0.64 -8.57 14 477,548 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. 556.71 3.62 - 0 0 PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 325.23 1.50 - 0 0 124 6,944,486 129 7,246,596 COMPUTER BASED SYSTEMS COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC 710.40 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS OMATEK VENTURES PLC 1,470.89 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 IT SERVICES CWG PLC 6,413.06 2.54 - 0 0 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 648.00 6.00 - 2 102 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 381.11 0.77 - 0 0 2 102 PROCESSING SYSTEMS CHAMS PLC 939.21 0.20 - 6 1,459,372 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 12,306.00 2.93 - 2 40,010 8 1,499,382 10 1,499,484 BUILDING MATERIALS BERGER PAINTS PLC 2,391.04 8.25 - 6 4,303 CAP PLC 23,800.00 34.00 - 11 15,888 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 262,870.02 20.00 -0.25 106 3,266,801 FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC 654.21 0.31 6.90 4 462,000 MEYER PLC. 286.87 0.54 - 1 500 PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC 1,999.41 2.52 - 0 0 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. 1,279.20 10.40 - 0 0 128 3,749,492 ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2,256.91 2.09 - 0 0 CUTIX PLC. 3,364.13 1.91 - 13 115,459 13 115,459 PACKAGING/CONTAINERS BETA GLASS PLC. 39,497.79 79.00 - 2 128 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 388.02 9.10 - 0 0 2 128 AGRO-ALLIED & CHEMICALS NOTORE CHEMICAL IND PLC 100,754.14 62.50 - 0 0 0 0 143 3,865,079 CHEMICALS B.O.C. GASES PLC. 1,577.57 3.79 - 0 0 0 0 METALS ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 1,803.64 8.20 - 2 101 2 101 MINING SERVICES MULTIVERSE MINING AND EXPLORATION PLC 852.39 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 PAPER/FOREST PRODUCTS THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. 50.60 0.23 - 0 0 0 0 2 101 ENERGY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 1,440.42 0.23 4.35 37 5,958,258 37 5,958,258 INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS SERVICES OANDO PLC 80,804.18 6.50 3.17 117 3,340,148 117 3,340,148 PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS 11 PLC 61,301.19 170.00 - 7 3,080 CONOIL PLC 15,960.90 23.00 - 14 25,310 ETERNA PLC. 6,259.89 4.80 -2.08 35 739,854 FORTE OIL PLC. 36,469.47 28.00 - 22 168,508 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 6,354.80 20.85 - 15 36,019 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 64,509.15 190.00 - 42 236,064 135 1,208,835 289 10,507,241 ADVERTISING AFROMEDIA PLC 2,219.52 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 AIRLINES MEDVIEW AIRLINE PLC 16,576.10 1.70 - 0 0 0 0 AUTOMOBILE/AUTO PART RETAILERS R T BRISCOE PLC. 411.72 0.35 - 0 0 0 0 COURIER/FREIGHT/DELIVERY RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 3,242.23 5.50 - 4 11,100 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 295.37 0.63 - 0 0 4 11,100 HOSPITALITY TANTALIZERS PLC 642.33 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 HOTELS/LODGING CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 4,801.22 3.10 - 0 0 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 4,136.80 1.99 9.94 12 306,300 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. 7,862.53 3.50 - 4 230 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 46,362.46 6.10 - 11 12,375 27 318,905 MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 4,800.00 0.40 - 0 0 0 0 PRINTING/PUBLISHING ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 241.92 0.40 - 2 67,020 LEARN AFRICA PLC 1,195.75 1.55 - 7 5,553 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. 1,183.82 1.99 - 0 0 UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 1,013.81 2.35 - 4 15,000 13 87,573 ROAD TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC 862.00 0.52 8.33 8 2,070,800 8 2,070,800

32

BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 22 February 2019

Business SOUTH-SOUTH

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF SOUTH-SOUTH / SOUTH-EAST

We curate the story of Cross River State through Who’s Who - Kammonke Abam Kammonke Abam describes himself as a storyteller and curator of history. Unlike the traditional storytellers, he plies his art through profiling personalities. He has done this through Who’s Who and biographical works. His interest is to inspire the world through reading the stories of the challenges and triumphs of outstanding persons. His works are sometimes some kind of discovery project. Abam, the CEO of Profiles & Biographies, spoke to BUSINESSDAY’s EFEGADIRIM MADU about the 2019 edition of Contemporary Who’s Who in Cross River State Tell us about your Contemporar y Who’s Who in Cross River State? he Contemporary Who’s Who in Cross River State is a biographical documentation of the profiles of eminent men and women of Cross River State origin who have distinguished themselves in their chosen careers and professions, and have made outstanding contributions to the development of the society.

them. The essence of this project is simply to acknowledge and recognize the achievements of our sons and daughters who have distinguished themselves in their chosen careers and professions ; and those who also have contributed in a significant way to the development of their communities and the society at large.

We believe that those who have been profiled in this book on account of their efforts and achievements would receive more inspiration to work harder and achieve more in future.

T

What informed this publication?

A. I’ll give you a background to why we’ve been publishing this personality reference document.

In the year 2000, I had the privilege of working under and being mentored by Pastor Nyaknno OssoAbasi, who unarguably is Nigeria’s best documentarian and profilist.

He was, at that time, a Special Assistant to President Olusegun Obasanjo on Research, Library and Documentation. In the course of our work, he discovered that the names of prominent Cross Riverians that made the list of Who’s Who compendia available then, including Newswatch’s Who’s Who, which he edited, were basically the same old names such as Dr Okoi Arikpo, Chief M.T. Mbu, Chief I.I. Murphy, Chief Dr. Mrs. Margaret Ekpo; Dr S.E. Imoke and a few others. He said he knows that there are many younger people from the state who are doing well, and needed to be profiled.

He inspired me to think of publishing Who’s Who in Cross River State. And when I came back to Calabar later that year, I set up a project team that helped to compile the reference book. We successfully did it that year. Since then, we have been updating on a regular basis.

The book serves as a kind of encyclopaedic guide of prominent Cross Riverians from all walks

Kammonke Abam

of life and spectrum. You find in this reference biographical book, details of when these select personalities were born, schools they attended, their careers, and their contacts.

Each time, a new government comes in and political appointments are to be made, reference is made to our book. Also, recr uitment agencies headhunting for professionals often use this book as a reference material.

The philosophy behind our specialized publications is summed up in the motto of our firm: “No one can tell the story of the struggles of a people better than the people themselves.” As a people, we can only go as far as we are willing to project

ourselves. We are in a federation that is highly competitive; and our worth as a state would be appreciated by the way we are branded.

There was a time that we were branded as a people who were laidback and only fit for culinary excellence and domestic helps. Through Contemporary Who’s Who in Cross River State, we have been able to communicate the fact that the state is endowed with men and women of incredible charm, wit and intelligence.

We have also been able to accentuate the uniqueness of the state as the ultimate destination for business and leisure through the adverts

‘

We are in a federation that is highly competitive; and our worth as a state would be appreciated by the way we are branded

and advertorials we place in the book. Cross River State is truly Nigeria’s paradise nestled in the curvy and spell-bound mountainous sights, the aquatic splendour and the never-ceasing rainforest of the state. By the way, this book [Contemporary Who’s Who in Cross River State] holds huge advertising opportunities for brands wishing to reach the prime markets in Cross River State, as the book is usually in every home, in school libraries, newspaper houses; and copies are sent to the Presidency and international development organisations.

We also believe that celebrating people brings the best out of

What criteria qualify people to be listed in the?

The criteria for selecting are simple. Foremost consideration in determining possible listees for Contemporary Who’s Who in Cross River is the extent of an individual’s reference value. Such reference value is judged on either or both of the two factors: the first is the position of responsibility held, and the second is the level of achievement attained by the individual. Admission based on the factors of position includes: Governors, Ministers, Commissioners, Special Advisers to the Governor, Special Assistants to the Governor, Permanent Secretaries, Directors, high ranking military officers, clerics, labour leaders, local government chairmen, captains of industries, and prominent figures in all the professions. Admission based on individual achievement, on the other hand, is based on the accomplishment of an outstanding achievement; something that distinguishes him or her from the vast majority of his contemporaries.

When is this edition going public?

A: The book will be out this month; and it will be presented to the public in a special public presentation event almost immediately.

Friday 22 February 2019

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BUSINESS DAY

33

34 BUSINESS DAY NEWS Nigeria’s next president faces biggest test...

Continued from page 1 paper over the cracks of a bleed-

ing economy amid dodgy policies are over.

The next president must salvage what’s left of a broken economy that is home to the largest concentration of people globally living below $2/day (87 million or 44 percent, according to a 2018 Brookings Institution report) and tainted with underwhelming growth that is below population growth rate, falling company profits and record unemployment rate of 23 percent.

That figure is closer to 50 percent when underemployment is factored in.

India, which Nigeria overtook on its way to becoming the poverty

capital of the world, has 57 million people that are extremely poor, representing just 4.4 percent of its 1.3 billion population.

The next president will need to deliver on economic growth of 10 percent if the country is to create sufficient jobs for its teeming population and lift the majority of its people out of poverty. Growth in the 10 percent region is largely uncharted territory for Nigeria since 1999.

Surely, the world would be watching to see what the next president does to achieve double-digit economic growth and shared prosperity.

“Our current economic growth can’t solve our challenges as unemployment and inflation are still

C002D5556

at double digits while poverty is increasing,” says Gbolahan Ologunro, an equity research analyst at Lagosbased CSL stockbrokers.

“The critical sectors in the economy are still struggling and much work needs to be done in terms of lifting the real sectors and putting them on the path of sustainable growth path,” he adds.

Insecurity, high interest rates and unstable power are some of the major constraints to the real sector, whether its manufacturing or construction, and they have grown worse over time.

Only 23 percent of businesses in Nigeria can get needed financing, according to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN).

For those businesses that manage to get bank credit, it is often expen-

L-R: Wole Famurewa, market editor, West Africa, CNBC/moderator; Doyin Salami, senior lecturer, Lagos Business School (LBS); Abosede Alimi, director, strategy partnerships and stakeholder management, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF); Ndidi Nnoli, group chief, sustainability and governance, Dangote Industries Limited, and Kola Aina, founding partner, Ventures Platform Limited, at the official report presentation on the LSETF impact, progress and lessons, done in collaboration with Ford Foundation, to development partners, in Lagos, yesterday.

Pic by Olawale Amoo

Nigeria shocks IOCs with demand for...

Continued from page 1

(IOCs) to pay nearly $20 billion in taxes owed to local states.

Although the intention of the tax demands is currently unclear, the move seems similar to another scenario that caused serious panic for investors when the Federal Government ordered MTN to pay $2 billion tax demand which came two weeks after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directed the telecoms firm to refund $8 billion over alleged illegal repatriation of shareholders’ dividend.

State-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) earlier this year sent a letter to IOCs quoting what it called outstanding royalties and taxes for oil and gas production.

“It is essential that the government does not place undue reliance on the imposition of multiple taxes and levies on companies engaged in oil and gas activities as the principal way of boosting their internally generated revenues,” Adebowale Adeniyi and Tolulope Adebowale, tax experts at Anderson Tax, said in a publication.

Thesemultipletaxeswouldincrease the IOCs’ cost of conducting business in Nigeria and may lead to a wave of divestments from the Nigerian oil and gas industry, the tax experts said.

“The government should aim at increasing its tax revenues through increased participation of foreign and local investors in the oil and gas industry. This can be achieved through eliminating fiscal uncertainties and generally improving the ease of doing business in Nigeria,” the experts said.

Sources who were briefed concerning the letter by NNPC confirm that

Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, Exxon Mobil,Eni,TotalandEquinorwereeach asked to pay the Federal Government between $2.5 billion and $5 billion.

Norway’s Equinor, which produced around 45,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil in Nigeria in 2017, confirmed the request.

“Several operators have received similar claims in a case between the authorities in Nigeria and local authorities in parts of the country,” an Equinor spokesman told Reuters.

“Equinor sees no merit to the case.”

America multinational Exxon “is currentlyreviewingthematter”,aspokeswoman for the US company said.

Nigerian government declined commentingonthematter.OtherIOCs including British-Dutch Shell, French oilmultinationalTotal,ItalianmajorEni and America’s international Chevron have also declined to comment.

“This looks like an internal dispute between the federal and local governments. The central government is simply trying to shift to the IOCs (international oil companies) money it owes,” a source at another company said.

The accusation came after the federal and state governments settled a dispute over the distribution of revenue from hydrocarbon production. The sides agreed last year that Abuja would pay the states several billion dollars, three company and government sources said.

These new directives by the Nigerian government have been widely observed by industry experts and members of the foreign community as a shakedown by the government.

The concerns raised by stakeholders reflected in data from National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which revealed FDI still accounts for miserable 7.11 percent or $1.19 billion of total capital imported in 2018, close to the same amount the government raised in a single Eurobond issue of $1 billion on February 9, 2017.

On many occasions, concerned stakeholders in the oil and gas industry have expressed worries that the rising operational costs in the industry, among other challenges, have been limiting capital importation as current tax demand adds a fresh challenge to energy companies investing in Nigeria.

NBS data also revealed foreign investment inflow into the Nigeria petroleum industry hit a three-year low of $133 million in 2018, which is also a sharp decline of 59.82 percent compared to $331 million recorded in the same period in 2017.

Capital importation into the oil and gas sector is yet to reach its 2016 peak of $720.15 million, which was lower compared to $331.36 million in 2017 as 2014 and 2015 figures stood at $208.18 millionand$29.76million,respectively.

Nigeria prides itself as one of the biggest economies in Africa but continues to fail in providing an environment conducive for businesses.

Some of the companies that have withdrawn investments in Nigeria include Sun International and, recently, Etisalat UAE. With its oil production hovering around 2 million bpd, Nigeria will this Saturday decide its next leader from among ruling President Muhammadu Buhari, his main challenger Atiku Abubakar, and other candidates.

sive, with the benchmark monetary policy rate sitting at 14 percent for almost two years.

The central bank’s lending rate to commercial banks in South Africa is 6.5 percent, while the prime lending rate (lending rate to customers) is 10 percent. Kenya’s determining and lending rates are 9.5 percent and 13.5 percent, respectively, while Ethiopia’s is 5 percent.

How Nigeria’s next leader addresses this will be telling on households and businesses.

The next president would also assume power when public revenues are low and the budget deficit is widening. A dark time when the government commits over 60 percent of each naira in revenue to debt servicing and the bulk of the remaining cash on payment of workers’ salaries and other overhead costs that come with an over-bloated civil service.

At the end, it means there is little or nothing left for capital spending in a country where a yawning infrastructure deficit has undermined economic growth and tormented businesses.

The Africa Development Bank estimates that Nigeria needs to spend $100 billion annually over the next 30 years to get its infrastructure at par with what is needed. In the last three years combined, the government has spent only $10 billion on capital projects, which works out to $3.3 billion annually, 3 percent of the required investment.

That’s despite Nigeria spending more in that three-year period in naira terms as the government boosted capital spending on projects from roads to rail. What this implies is that the government’s record spending is not enough to make a dent on the nation’s infrastructure needs.

And it’s no hidden secret.

“The reality on ground is that the government alone cannot finance the infrastructure gap in the country which has made it difficult to achieve sustainable development,” Ebrima Faal, senior director of AfDB, told BusinessDay. Surely, the next president has his work cut out in changing the current funding mix and attracting sufficient private capital to fix the infrastructure challenges.

He must also improve on puny government revenue which at 6 percent of GDP is one of the lowest globally. He must at least put up a good fight to achieve the emerging

Friday 22 February 2019

market average of 15 percent of GDP. Charles Robertson, chief economist at Moscow-based investment bank, Renaissance Capital, says the next president must also tackle rising adult illiteracy, fast-track industrialisation and diversification, double investment to GDP and deliver a more competitive currency.

Robertson thinks the current market rate of the naira is overvalued by 20 percent.

There’s no denying the fact that Nigeria needs a leader with a bold plan to open up the economy to an infusion of cash, which it has severely lacked in the past four years.

The next president will also have his hands full with an underperforming agriculture sector that contributes the single most of any sector to Nigeria’s GDP. Agriculture GDP grew 2.12 percent in 2018, the slowest pace in 26 years, despite the blend of agriculture programmes such as Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund, Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme, and Bank of Agriculture Loans implemented by the authorities over the years.

While the initiatives are positive, there were production drawbacks caused by herdsmen/farmer crisis and consequent trade route disruptions. In addition to insecurity, there were reported cases of late disbursements and inadequacy of funds. These setbacks largely limited the agriculture GDP growth in 2018.

There are more hurdles ahead for Nigeria’s next leader from the herder-farmer clashes north of the country and militants constantly threatening to blow up oil pipelines south of Africa’s largest oil producer.

He may take comfort in relatively high oil prices, but if the militants make good their threats to resume damaging oil pipelines, lower production volumes threaten to scupper any gains.

Whoever emerges the next president in Saturday’s polls, which pits incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC against Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, it only gets tougher from there on.

So delicate is the next president’s job that he risks drawing the ire of a largely socialist and illiterate population if he is to execute the tough reforms required to set Africa’s biggest economy on the path of robust growth.

Wearied voters hang hope on INEC...

Continued from page 2

to state branches of the Central Bank of Nigeria for safekeeping.

Out of a total of 72.8 million collected PVCs across the country, Lagos, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna and Rivers had 5.5 million, 4.7 million, 3.6 million, 3.2 million and 2.8 million, respectively.

Conversely, the states with the lowest number of collected PVCs are Ekiti, Bayelsa, Federal Capital Territory, Kwara, and Yobe States, which recorded 666,591, 769,509, 1.03 million, 1.1 million and 1.26 million, respectively.

A further breakdown of the numbers also shows that Lagos, Kano, Oyo, Ogun and Imo are the states with the highest number of uncollected PVCs, having recorded 1.04 million, 761,000, 757,755, 680,136 and 570,115, respectively, out of a total of 11.2 million.

Katsina, Taraba, Gombe, Kebbi and Zamarafa States recorded the lowest number of uncollected PVCs, with 42,242, 48,011, 59,170, 88,051 and 90,289, respectively.

For close to four years INEC had been hard at work, preparing to deliver free, fair and credible elections in a country where many people are

pessimistic about such outcomes.

With prospective voters caught in-between two major parties and candidates in the 2019 presidential election, the postponement was a big blow to a population of largely poor people in a country that has been officially regarded as the “poverty headquarters of the world”.

In the last three-and-a-half years, quality of life in Nigeria has dropped, amid escalating unemployment.

Although the Federal Government claims its policies, since its inauguration in 2015, have positively impacted the lives of citizens, many prospective voters believe the election this time around would offer them the opportunity to make informed assessment of government.

The presidential candidates of the two major political parties, Muhammadu Buhari of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), have been urging longsuffering Nigerians and their supporters to be patient with INEC, disregard the postponement, and come out to vote on February 23 and March 9.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

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35

Sports

Fury signs £80m fight deal with US broadcaster

B City Football Group expands portfolio, acquires Chinese club Sichuan Jiuniu FC Stories by Anthony Nlebem

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ity Football Group (CFG), owners of English Premier League champions, Manchester City FC, has expanded its portfolio in football business by acquiring Chinese third-tier club, Sichuan Jiuniu FC. City Football Group said the venture is the next step in CFG’s involvement in China, having previously opened offices in Shanghai and Shenzhen.

A CFG statement said: “City Football Group, Ubtech and China Sports Capital have today announced the joint purchase of Chinese Club Sichuan Jiuniu FC, in the China League Two, in Chengdu, attended by government officials, the club’s fans and

senior executives of the new ownership group.”

CFG already owns a number of clubs, including New York City, Melbourne City and Yokohama F Marinos but Sichuan Jiuniu FC will be the first in China.

Ferran Soriano, the CFG chief executive added: “Today marks an exciting new chapter in the growth of City Football Group. China is an extremely important football market, which we have been focused on for some time. We are delighted to welcome Sichuan Jiuniu FC to our group, alongside our partners, China Sports Capital and Ubtech.

We see this as a natural extension of our existing activities.

“From our work together at Manchester City and across CFG, our relationships with CMC Inc, China Sports Capital and Ubtech make us very

confident that we have established a strong ownership group which is well placed to oversee this club.

“We believe strongly in the future of football in China. We are making a long-term, sustainable commitment to grow and develop Sichuan Jiuniu FC and to nurture Chinese footballing talent. Our immediate focus will be strengthening our football performance, using all of our experience and know-how, forging a strong relationship with our fans and building a strong presence in the community.”

Ubtech, an AI and robotic humanoid company, has been a CFG partner since 2016. CSC is a fund established

by CFG and Sequoia China two years ago. CFG said: “It focuses on investment opportunities from the commercialisation and innovation of the global sports industry where China market is of high relevance.”

F1 boss says no deal Brexit advantage to EU-based teams

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ercedes Formula 1 boss, Toto Wolff, says a no-deal Brexit would be would be a “massive advantage” to EU-based teams such as Ferrari and Alfa Romeo.

Wolff also added that United Kingdom leaving the European Union without a deal could be a nightmare for British-based teams.

Eight of the 10 F1 teams have bases in the south-east of England.

“A no-deal Brexit would have a major impact on our operations going to races and developing cars,” Wolff told BBC Sport.

Wolff says the Mercedes team, who rely on ease of movement for the supply of their parts, are already considering other options for their equipment and staff following the withdrawal on 29 March.

“We have certain contingencies in place, like having more stock and thinking about how we would get parts and people in and out of the country,” he added.

“But it would be a disruption and it would cause all the UK teams a lot of headache, while Ferrari in Italy and Sauber (Alfa Romeo) in Switzerland would have a massive advantage over every UK-based team.”

Mercedes’ F1 team is based in

Brackley in Northamptonshire, and their F1 engine base 30 miles away in Brixworth.

Christian Horner, whose Red Bull team are based in Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, also said the political situation is of concern.

“Brexit consumes the news,” he said. “As a team we do our due diligence, but whether there is a no-deal, any deal, we will have to deal with it, and life ultimately will go on.

“It is important we get to a conclusion sooner rather than later to

get rid of all the uncertainty because it is unsettling for so many aspects.

“Brexit is something that really needs to be addressed for the clarity for everybody. It is very difficult to make plans without clarity.”

The UK remains on course to leave on 29 March but Prime Minister Theresa May has been unable to convince a majority of MPs to back the withdrawal terms she struck with the EU. Business Minister Richard Harrington said on Sunday he did not think Mrs May would let Britain leave without a deal.

ritish heavyweight boxer, Tyson Fury, has sealed a whopping £80m multi-fight agreement with United States network and ESPN The deal, which is understood to cover Fury’s next five fights, will see him broadcast on ESPN in the US while remaining on BT Sport in the UK. Fury says the deal makes a rematch with Deontay Wilder more makeable.

But Fury, Wilder and IBF, WBA and WBO champion Anthony Joshua now work with rival US broadcasters, making future negotiations arguably more difficult.

Fury’s December draw with WBC world heavyweight champion Wilder aired on BT Sport in the UK as well as Showtime - who broadcast the American’s fights - in the US. Now Fury has his own US broadcaster, agreements will have to be reached between ESPN and Showtime over the airing of a rematch in America.

Joshua meanwhile is signed to the DAZN streaming service in the US. Fury’s promoter Frank Warren pointed to the size of ESPN’s subscription base when he said his fighter was now on “a bigger platform”.

Asked about negotiations for bouts with the division’s biggest names, Warren said: “They will now have to come to us.

“This ESPN situation for him is probably one of the biggest things to happen to a British sportsman. It’s

something special.”

As part of his new deal, Fury will be promoted by both Warren and Top Rank CEO Bob Arum in the US. Arum, 87, has promoted the likes of Muhammad Ali and Floyd Mayweather and said Fury was “a generational heavyweight talent at the peak of his powers”.

The deal is an indication of how Tyson Fury’s stock has risen in the United States after his performance against Deontay Wilder last December, in particular his dramatic last-round recovery.

But the announcement spreads confusion across the heavyweight division when negotiations were underway for the rematch against Wilder.

Fury, Wilder and Anthony Joshua are aligned with different TV and streaming partners and doubts have been raised about the chances of big fights being made.

Longer term, there could be implications for the golden heavyweight era that many of us were predicting.

Joshua will make his own US debut on 1 June in New York when he defends his titles against Jarrell Miller.

Crunch LaLiga fixtures live on DStv, GOtv

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bumper weekend awaits fans of the prestigious LaLiga, the top tier of Spanish football, as matches involving league leaders and defending champions, Barcelona; title chasers, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, as well as other encounters will be broadcast live exclusively to DStv Premium, DStv Compact Plus, DStv Compact and GOtv MAX subscribers.

Barcelona, encouraged by their hard-earned 1-0 victory over Valladolid last weekend, travel to the south of Spain to confront Sevilla who, at a stage this season, topped the table. Sevilla’s title aspirations have since floundered and they currently lie fourth.

They slumped to a 3-0 defeat in the hands of relegation threatened Villareal last weekend and will be occupied by the thought how to shut out an in-form Lionel Messi from adding to his 22 goals. The match will be live at 4.15pm on Saturday on SuperSport 7 and SuperSport Select 4.

Second-placed Atletico Madrid will similarly take encouragement from their 1-0 win away at Rayo Vallecano. Star forward, Antoine Griezmann will hope to continue his goalscoring form while manager Diego Simeone will be hoping for a win as the perfect gift to celebrate his contract extension with the club.

But they are up against a Villareal team, who helped their cause for survival in the league with a resounding win against Sevilla. The match shows on Sunday at 4:15 pm on SuperSport 7 and SuperSport Select 4.

Real Madrid’s failure to sustain the momentum brought by their victory over city rivals, Atletico, saw them slump to an implausible home defeat to strugglers Girona last weekend, leaving them in third position.

Santiago Solari’s men will, however,

hope to bounce back against midtable team, Levante, who will aim to continue their winning streak at Estadio Ciudad de Valencia. Levante beat Celta Vigo 4-1 in their last match.

Their encounter with the wounded Real Madrid will be live at 8.45pm on Sunday on SuperSport 7 and SuperSport Select 4.

The weekend encounters will kick off with the clash between Espanyol and Huesca on Friday at 9 pm. The match will air live onSuperSport 7 and SuperSport Select 4.

Saturday’s games include: Getafe versus Rayo Vallecano (showing at 12 noon on SuperSport 7 and SuperSport Select 4); Deportivo Alaves versus Celta de Vigo (showing at 6:30 pm on SuperSport 7, 10 and SuperSport Select 2); and Athletic Bilbao versus Eibar (showing at 8:45 pm on SuperSport 7 and SuperSport Select 2).

Games to be broadcast on Sunday are Leganes versus Valencia (showing at 12 noon on SuperSport 7 and 10, and SuperSport Select 2 and 4), and Real Valladolid versus Real Betis (showing 8:45 pm on SuperSport 7 and SuperSport Select 4).

Week 25 matches will be rounded off on Monday when between Girona take on Real Sociedad (showing 10 pm on SuperSport 7 and SuperSport Select 4).

36

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37

INSIGHT

Abiy Ahmed puts Ethiopia on path to a miracle says Oxford professor

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‘ Ethiopia came to be seen by international agencies as a model of authoritarian development and Africa’s best hope of emulating the sort of economic and social transformation engineered in Asia

‘

t is the compound from which Emperor Menelik II conquered swaths of territory, where Haile Selassie passed judgment until he was toppled by a Marxist revolt in 1974, and from which Meles Zenawi, strongman prime minister until his death in 2012, plotted an Asian-style economic miracle on the Nile.

Surveying the same 40-hectare plot in the centre of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, Abiy Ahmed, the most talked-about leader in Africa, sets out his grand plans for transforming Ethiopia.

In an act of political theatre, he leads the FT on a tour of the prime ministerial grounds, from Menelik’s cathedral-sized banqueting hall to the cages where the emperor kept lions and the dungeon where he had disloyal generals and ministers tortured on the rack.

In Mr Abiy’s first one-on-one interview with the international media since he was catapulted to the premiership last April, he alternates between homespun prophet, hard man and visionary leader. He mixes humour with a tactile arm-grab worthy of LBJ. His sentences, delivered in proficient English, are laced with biblical references, Big Data and Michael Jackson. Committed to opening up Ethiopia’s closed political system, he is fascinated by the nature of popularity.

“If you change this,” says Mr Abiy, gesturing to the rubble-strewn compound and the rapidly changing skyline in the capital beyond, “you can change Addis. And if you can change Addis, definitely you can change Ethiopia.”

Improving his own surroundings, he says, is a metaphor for the transformation of a country that has, for 15 years, been the best-performing economy in Africa, but whose authoritarian government provoked a sustained popular uprising.

On his first day, he says, he ordered an overhaul of his office. In two months, what had been a dark and austere interior became a blindingly white luxury-hotel-style affair, replete with wall-to-wall videoconferencing screens, modern art and sleek white rooms for cabinet meetings and visiting delegations.

Cluttered storage rooms are now pulsing data banks and the ground floor is a California-style café — white, of course — where the premier’s mostly western-educated young staffers can sit and brainstorm. “I want to make this office futuristic. Many Ethiopians see yesterday. I see tomorrow,” he says. “This place has gone from hell to paradise.”

The youngest leader in Africa at 42, Mr Abiy is building a digital museum to celebrate Ethiopia’s history, a mini-Ethiopian theme park and a zoo with 250 animals. He envisages thousands of paying visitors coming each day. “This is a prototype of the new Ethiopia,” says the former army intelligence officer and software engineer.

“I have done so many great things compared to many leaders. But I didn’t do 1 percent of what I am dreaming.” His words may sound boastful, not to say arrogant, the sorts of qualities that have led many a leader in the past to cultivate a cult of personality.

The recent precariousness of the country should also give pause for thought: only a year ago, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, the four-party coalition Mr Abiy leads, faced an almost existential crisis and there was even talk of a civil war.

Yet Mr Abiy’s first 10 months in office have been remarkable by the yardstick of any leader around the world. In that time, he has overseen the swiftest political liberalisation in Ethiopia’s more than 2,000-year history.

He has made peace with Eritrea; freed 60,000 political prisoners, including every journalist previously detained; unbanned opposition groups once deemed terrorist organisations; and appointed women to fully half his cabinet.

He has pledged free elections in 2020 and made a prominent opposition activist head of the electoral commission. In a country where government spies were ubiquitous, people feel free to express opinions that a year ago would have had them clapped in jail.

“He says the most unbelievable things and then he ends up doing them,” says Blen Sahilu, a lawyer and women’s rights activist, referring partly to the unexpected peace treaty with Eritrea that brought an end to more than 20 years of military stand-off.

“In many ways, Abiy has been a shock to the system,” she says. “I’m still waiting to see whether the country can sustain that much change in such a short period of time and if these actions have a thoughtful follow-up strategy.”

Mr Abiy’s emergence has unleashed opportunity and danger in equal measure. Some fear that rapid liberalisation could spin out of control, leading to anarchy or violent ethnic separatism.

“It was a given that the euphoria was not going to last,” says Tsedale Lemma, editor in chief of Addis Standard, a website she edits from Germany.

“Everyone is waking up to the grim reality that the previous EPRDF administration has left behind,” she says, referring to the four-party coalition that has ruled with a vice-like grip since 1991. The EPRDF’s track-record was not all bad.

For nearly 15 years, the economy had been growing at more than 10 percent annually, according to official statistics.

Even if overstated, growth has propelled a nation long associated with famine from an $8bn minnow at the turn of the century to an $80bn economy that has surpassed Kenya as the biggest in east Africa.

Driven by former prime minister Meles’s vision of a South Korean or Chinese-style “developmental state”, the government poured money into roads, giant dams, agriculture, health and education. Life expectancy has risen from 40 when the EPRDF took over by force in 1991 to 65.

Ethiopia came to be seen by international

Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia Prime Minister

agencies as a model of authoritarian development and Africa’s best hope of emulating the sort of economic and social transformation engineered in Asia. But development came at a cost.

In a country with more than 80 ethnic groups, resentment built up against the Tigrayans, who comprise only 6 per cent of the 105m population

but who were seen as dominating power.

That resentment was particularly strong among the Oromo, who make up roughly a third of the population, but who have long felt marginalised.

The crisis intensified after 2015 when the EPRDF rigged an election so completely it ended up with every parliamentary seat.

Oromia, which surrounds Addis Ababa, erupted in violent protests, some of which targeted the foreign investments and industrial parks at the heart of the administration’s modernisation push.

In an unusual coalition, the Oromo were joined by the Amhara, who make up about a quarter of Ethiopians, and who had been used to running the country until the Tigrayans muscled in.

The EPRDF responded with repression, imposing states of emergency, throwing tens of thousands of people into prison and shooting hundreds, perhaps thousands, of protesters.

Last February, amid talk of civil war, Hailemariam Desalegn, the ineffectual prime minister who had succeeded Meles in 2012, resigned, paving the way for a succession struggle within the EPRDF. Mr Abiy, who was then deputy president of the Oromia region, emerged the winner after two days of heated debate.

Over the objections of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front, one of the parties in the coalition, he was elected EPRDF chairman and hence prime minister, the first from Oromia in the nation’s history.

“I knew when they kept insulting me that I had won,” he says. “I ignored it and wrote my acceptance speech.” Growing up poor, with a Muslim Oromo father and a Christian Amhara mother, in retrospect Mr Abiy seemed destined for the job.

He even speaks Tigrinya after spending time as a young soldier in Tigray province.

Indeed, he claims he knew from the age of seven that he would one day lead the country.

Stefan Dercon, professor of economic policy at Oxford university’s Blavatnik School of Government, says Mr Abiy’s historic task is to complete the economic transformation that Meles began.

If South Korea’s miracle took 25 years, he says, “Ethiopia has completed half a miracle”.

Mr Abiy must now oversee the political and economic liberalisation needed, he says, to keep rapid levels of growth going for a decade or more, which would bring the country comfortably into middle-income status.

“Meles was too controlling, like Mao,” says Mr Dercon, who knew the feared but respectedEthiopian leader. “But command and control only works so far.

That makes Abiy like Deng Xiaoping,” he says, referring to the Chinese leader whose opening and reform from 1979 propelled China’s economic lift-off.

While Mr Abiy remains wildly popular, particularly in the capital, not everything has gone his way. He has faced one assassination attempt. And on October 11, a cadre of junior officers forced their way into the compound demanding to be heard.

“I showed them I was a soldier,” he recalls. “I told them, if something wrong happens, you can’t kill me before I kill five or six of you.” He followed up with a macho burst of press-ups. Inside an hour, the incipient coup was over.

‘

I will be popular if I lift 60m-70m people out of poverty,” he says. “If I do that, whether I like it or not, you will magnify my name

‘

David Pilling and Lionel Barber in Addis Ababa

Such bravado aside, Mr Abiy must grapple with two challenges that would test even the most gifted of leaders.

The first is political. With censorship lifted and formerly outlawed groups unbanned, some people are demanding greater autonomy for their ethnically constituted regions.

Armed militia are forming and youth gangs are carrying out vigilante attacks.

Some 1.2m people were displaced in the first half of last year, although Mr Abiy says many of them have since returned home.

The prime minister hints he would like to tinker with the 1994 constitution, which some see as exacerbating ethnic rivalries but others regard as enshrining their rights.

Such delicate changes, he adds, cannot be contemplated until he receives a hopedfor popular mandate in elections scheduled for next year. Some think the timing will slip.

He would also like to move to a presidential system in which leaders are directly elected, he says, rather than the current indirect process conducted through an EPRDF-dominated parliament. While the prime minister preaches “unity of the nation and national pride”, the notion of a greater Ethiopia grates with those pressing for more regional autonomy.

He has also moved against generals and officials from the TPLF in what many in Tigray province interpret as an assault, not on the corruption of party cadres, but on Tigrayans themselves.

“Every region has its own reason to fight for the continuation of the current federal system,” says Ms Lemma of the Addis Standard.

“This is very dangerous. Abiy is stuck between a rock and a hard place,” she adds, referring to his need to unite the country and to satisfy demands for regional autonomy. The prime minister professes to be unfazed by the forces he has unleashed.

“Yesterday they were on the streets of Mekelle insulting me,” he says, referring to the Tigrayan capital. “But I love that.

That is democracy.” Mr Abiy says he wants to secure peace by persuasion, not through military pacification. “Negative peace is possible as long as you have a strong army. We are heading to positive peace,” he says. Ultimately, Mr Abiy says, tensions will dissolve if the economy keeps expanding. “When you grow, you don’t have time for these communal issues.”

Keeping growth on track, he says, depends on dealing with past constraints, including debt and a seemingly perpetual foreign exchange crisis that puts import cover at barely two months.

He also wants to tweak the Meles developmental model, where so much money was funnelled into public investment that the private sector got crowded out.

“Economically, we’re making big, big change, but the backlog is killing us. Today the debt is up to here,” he says, gesturing to his neck.

He has, he says, eased that situation by renegotiating commercial debt to concessional terms with China and others and by tapping states in the Gulf and the Middle East for loans and investment.

Growth slowed to 7 percent last year, though Mr Abiy suggests this owes more to a realistic assessment than to an actual slowdown. Among his most critical challenges will be to decide how quickly to liberalise an economy that has produced impressive results, but also shown signs of running out of steam.

Describing himself as “capitalist”, he nevertheless cites Meles as saying it is the government’s job to correct market failures.

“The economy will grow naturally, but you have to lead it in a guided manner.”

Still, unlike Meles, Mr Abiy is less wedded to the idea that the state must control the economy’s commanding heights.

He is moving swiftly towards privatisation of the telecoms sector in an exercise that should raise billions of dollars, as well as modernising a network that has fallen badly behind African peers. Here too there are risks.

“I need to realise the privatisation with zero corruption,” he says, adding that people who have stashed money abroad want to launder it back into the country.

Successful privatisation of telecoms could potentially lead to a similar exercise in energy and shipping, as well as sugar refineries and, most controversially, the successful national airline that has turned Addis Ababa into a continental hub. Mr Abiy says that, for the moment at least, he draws the line at banking.

“The biggest challenge for Abiy is not politics. It is jobs, jobs, jobs,” says Zemedeneh Negatu, an Ethiopian banker.

With 800,000 students in university or college and 2.5m Ethiopians being born each year, lack of opportunity could quickly catalyse unrest, he adds.

As Mr Abiy steers through the political and economic rocks, one concern is that he could join a long line of once promising African leaders who turned authoritarian.

“Most of the dictators, including Mugabe [in Zimbabwe] and [Libya’s] Gaddafi, came as liberators,” says Befequadu Hailu, a blogger and activist, who was regularly jailed and beaten under the previous administration.

“They ended up consolidating power in their own hands.” Mr Abiy brushes aside such concerns, saying he will happily leave power if the people reject him. “I am sure I can’t be here eternally. I don’t know when, but I want to leave this office.” Still, another voice tells him that he has a once-in-a generation opportunity to etch his name in Ethiopian history.

“I will be popular if I lift 60m-70m people out of poverty,” he says. “If I do that, whether I like it or not, you will magnify my name.”

38

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Presidential election: Make the change you want with your PVCs, Atiku charges Nigerians According to him, “On March 28th, 2015, we – the people of Nigeria – went to our polling units armed only with our PVCs and yet we were able to remove an incumbent President from office. That made me very proud to be a Nigerian and very proud to be a democrat. This Saturday we will have the opportunity to do so again.

“My message to you is simple: please come out and vote as this election is about your future and the future of our great nation. On Election Day we are all equal as no single vote is more important than any other.

“But if you do not vote you will be accepting that the next four years will be like the last. The power to get Nigeria working again is in your Permanent Voter Card. I will be voting with mine on Saturday and I call on you to please join me, irrespective of who you wish to vote for”.

Iniobong Iwok

A

tiku Abubakar presidential candidate of the Nigeria’s main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), has charged Nigerians to come out and elect leaders of their choice in Saturday’s Presidential and National Assembly elections.

In a live broadcast message to Nigerians and journalists ahead of the election, Atiku who is challenging incumbent Muhammadu Buhari of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in presidential Saturday’s election, noted that Nigerians had the opportunity to change the fortunes of the country by voting for right leaders.

The presidential candidate further stated that the 2019 general election were crucial because it will shape the future of the country.

Atiku Abubakar

Polls: Gowon, others urge restraint, warn against overheating the polity Innocent Odoh, Abuja

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ormer Head of State, Yakubu Gowon, has warned that the current state of affairs in Nigeria towards the rescheduled general elections raises concerns that the nation may be approaching perilous times never before witnessed since the end of the civil war even as he warned all stakeholders to exercise restraints in both their words and deeds during and aftermath of the elections to save the nation.

Gowon, who led Nigeria between 1966 and 1975, gave this warning in his remarks during a briefing held at the Yakubu Gowon Centre, on Thursday in Abuja. The former leader spoke on behalf other prominent elders, such as; Mohammed Hayatu Deen, George Obiozor, Joe Irukwu, Phillip Asiodu, Christopher Kolade, Ahmed Joda and Anya O Anya.

Others include; Yayale Ahmed, Shyngle Wigwe Frank Okoisor, Akin Mabogunje and Ladi Thompson.

In the remarks entitled “The Burden of elders at the Dawn of 2019 General Elections” Gowon said “as we soak in all the attendant factors including the toxic political culture of the present hour and the predatory tonality of the ongoing election processes magnified by the fact that the country still reeling from the shock of the postponed elections, it has become imperative that we speak up as elders.

“Our first counsel to the nation as it approaches this new frontier is that INEC must be fully prepared to conduct the rescheduled elec-

tions seamlessly and efficiently in a manner that its outcome is adjudged by all to be free, fair and credible. The political party leaders, the candidates and their followers should conduct themselves with civility, decorum and restraint in both their words and deeds in the period leading up to, during and aftermath of the elections,” he said.

The elders said that INEC can only achieve success if the contending parties regulate their behavior and conduct in accordance with democratic norms and law.

“We urge all participants to accept the final results announced by INEC and where parties feel aggrieved, recourse should be made to dispute resolution mechanisms prescribed by the constitution and the Electoral Act. The elders also admonished the in-coming president to lead the charge in articulating and implementing a long term vision which would make Nigeria a very prosperous and globally competitive economy by the year 2040.

“Mobilization of the populace is essential and this is best achieved if broad segments of the population are represented in the exercise given that the prosperity and welfare of the Nigerian people must be at the epicenter of the visioning process.

“The complexion and character of the president must be seen to transcend party, ethnic, regional or religious affiliations. As a father of all, he should take concrete steps to calm frayed nerves, heal the nation’s wounds, and give credence to our founding principles of unity in divert,” they said.

Elections: Youth Party urges electorate to rise above apathy JOSHUA BASSEY

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outh Party, one of the political parties seeking elections into various positions in the 2019 general elections has urged the Nigerian electorate not to be weary by last weekend’s postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly elections but brace up to cast their votes on the new dates fixed.

The party, however, lashed out at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for shifting the elections a few hours to commencement on Saturday, February 16 without minding the implications of the action on the economy.

The party in a statement signed

by Ilamosi Ekenimoh, its national publicity secretary, described the postponement of the elections as a national embarrassment.

Recall that Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman announced the post-

ponement at about 3:am on Saturday, citing logistical challenges.

“It was with deep disappointment that we received the news of INEC’s postponement of the Presidential and National Assembly Elections to Saturday, February 23, and Governorship and State Assembly Elections to Saturday, March 9, 2019, respectively.

Indeed, it is an unfortunate development: We do not welcome the postponement of an election that has been planned for approximately four years, hours to the commencement of voting.

Due to this unfortunate disappointment, the lives and businesses of hardworking Nigerians have been disrupted. As a nation, we have incurred losses and costs, which would have been entirely avoidable.

We noted similar postponements in 2011 and 2015, and had hoped for better planning and implementation for future elections. Sadly, this is not the case.”

Friday 22 February 2019

Kwankwanso storms Lagos, drums support for Atiku, Agbaje Iniobong Iwok

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head of Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly election, former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwanso, has said that only the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) could salvage the country from its current woes, charging Nigerians to reject the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and vote for all candidates of the party in the general elections.

Kwankwaso who is currently representing Kano Central Senatorial District in the upper chamber, stated this Thursday, while visiting the Serikin Hausawa of Agege, and the Hausa community in the state.

Kwankwaso who was accompanied to the visit by the PDP governorship candidate in the state, Jimi Agbaje, and his running mate, Haleemate Busari, urged the Hausa community in the state to mobilise resident of the state and work towards the electoral victory of Jimi Agbaje and presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar, and other candidates of the party at all levels in the state.

Speaking at the event, Agbaje, said that non-indigenes in Lagos constituted irrepressible stakeholders in the state and stood to benefit from a government of PDP. Agbaje, who is contesting the governor of the state for the third time, stressed that time had come for Lagos to cut itself loose from the reprehensive rule of a cartel that had held the state captive for the past 20 years.

The gubernatorial candidate noted that the state had enjoyed massive development in multilateral sectors in the second republic under the administration of Lateef Jakande, adding that the current set of rulers had looted the state for their selfish interests.

A leader of the Hausa community state, Musa Dogonkadai, prayed for the duo as well as the PDP Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

Tension in Taraba as PDP, APC accuse each other of rigging plans Nathaniel Gbaoron, Jalingo

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here is high tension in Taraba State as the People’s Democratic party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) have continued to accuse each other of plotting to rig the Presidential and National Assembly elections rescheduled to hold this Saturday Addressing a press conference in Jalingo, a civil society group, Taraba Volunteer Group (TVG), raised alarm over alleged deployment of three thousand (3000) ‘fake’ soldiers to disrupt the next Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly election in

Taraba State by the APC led Federal Government.

The state coordinator of the group, Joseph Terence said that the same set of soldiers had earlier taken over major check points in the state prior to the postponed election last Saturday with a brief to ensure smooth passage of fake electoral materials by the agents of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC. Terence explained that the deployment was a follow through on threats earlier made by the national leadership of the APC to take over Taraba state from the ruling People’s Democratic Party PDP, at all cost and in line with the directives of the president

that soldiers should deal ruthlessly with ballot box snatchers during the forthcoming general election.

“As a civil society group, we are concerned with the conduct of a free, fair, peaceful and credible polls, but we regret to state that the chances of achieving this in the forthcoming election in Taraba State are at grave risk. There is a well grounded plan to cause chaos in Taraba State and pave way for the election to be manipulated against the popular wish of the people.

“We gathered reliably that Three Thousand fake soldiers were deployed to Taraba State, who came and took over all the major checkpoints that were hitherto dismantled.

Friday 22 February 2019

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Atiku’s MNGA Plan: Separating fact from fiction Credit, achieve the lowest corporate income tax rate in Africa and achieve lower transaction costs. This leaves little room for the question, ‘What if it does not?’

Tunji Andrews

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ne phenomenon that seems to always follow the Nigerian election cycle is the polarisation it throws the country into. With every single candidate putting forth grand proposals and agendas in the hope of attaining political office, politicians, especially those aiming to be elected to the office of the president or governor of a state, tend to infamously promise more than can be realistically accomplished.

This common development undoubtedly causes voters to feel betrayed and unrepresented. However, more often than not, they continue to fall prey to similar grand gestures the following election year.

While the economy is on a slow recovery road, after falling into a recession, it is almost a given that the economy would be the key focus of every campaign promise, with the premise that Nigerians will vote for whoever is able to create dramatic change, or at the very least, promise it.

The Atiku campaign manifesto and its focus on the economy is well documented. The 186-page document designed to get ‘Nigeria working again’ is quite an interesting read and pretty much covers all the core issues of the Nigerian Economy.

However, one central problem with the document is that it says a lot without really saying much: Heavy on rhetoric but lacking in quality details to the problems.

Economic Development The document goes straight into it by saying he (Atiku) will “create a sound, stable and globally competitive economy that is diversified with a mix of output from a ‘technologically- enabled agriculture’, a ‘vibrant and globally competitive manufacturing sector’ and a modern services sector”. The challenge with this statement is that it is seeking a solution to a problem that does not exist. The National Bureau of Statistics has put broadly the number of sectors

contributing to the economy at six, which are further broken down into 45 sub sectors. So the question of diversifying the economy is mute.

What needs diversification, however, is the government’s revenue, to which the plan touches upon briefly and vaguely to say “with regards to fiscal resources, we recognise the imperative to broaden Nigeria’s resource horizon, maintain spending efficiency and reform internal revenue generating machinery”. How it plans to do this was not mentioned.

Policy priority: Growth drivers The Atiku team says it plans to more than double the size of the Nigerian economy in six years, taking the nation’s GDP from $375.8bn to $900bn by 2025. The plan then goes on to make a small arithmetic error of assuming that the nation’s population size would remain at 180 million by 2025, saying it expects to “raise Nigeria’s GDP per capita from the current levels of approximately US$2,000 to US$5,000”. All of this is, however, predicated on the hope that Nigeria would grow at an average of 10 percent GDP annually. This all falls apart with one of the three main growth pillars it puts up, saying that “We shall accelerate investment to double our infrastructure stock to

approximately 50 percent of GDP by 2025 and 70 percent by 2030.”

This looks like a plan until you read the next line which expresses the ‘how’ of this rise, where it says it “will require a commitment to invest a minimum of US$90b annually in the next five years to finance all the core public infrastructure projects”.

The $90bn annually comes to N32.4 trillion annually (It helps to note that Nigeria currently struggles to finance its current N8 trillion budget).

Increasing FDI flow into non-oil sector A key component of the Plan’s economic drive is on how to drive FDI into the country. It states that “we shall attract and increase the stock of our investment from 15 percent to 35 percent of GDP within five years and FDI shall be a key component”. This, at current GDP and FX rates, is from $56bn to $131.2bn yearly. The total capital importation into the country, comprising of both Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) and Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPI), in 2017, was at $12.2bn. Ambitious to say the least, as all of this is hinged on the hope that investment will come flooding in, once they provide incentives to attract foreign investment, strengthen credit guarantee initiatives of Infra-

Promoting agricultural sector The core of the plan’s agriculture thrust is on increasing agricultural output from the current level of N23.85 trillion to about N40 trillion by 2025. This would imply an annual growth in agricultural sector from 4.11 percent to 10 percent between 2019 and 2025. It then goes on to focus on production and land reform with states but does not make mention of how to curb agric produce wastage in the country, much less how to fix it. It is estimated that Nigeria’s food waste has hit 80 percent as against the global average of 33 percent. The nation, for instance, imports over 70 metric tons of tomatoes at an estimated cost of N11 billion annually, despite being one of the world’s largest producers of tomatoes after Egypt. No amount of production increase will solve the problem without key investment in storage facilities across the country.

This will curb excess wastages and allow the nation experience food availability all through the year.

Promoting manufacturing sector The Plan hopes to have grown the manufacturing sector’s output from 9 percent to 30 percent of GDP by 2025. While it is laudable that the Atiku team plans to improve the level of engagement with the private sector and ensure that all major economic and investment policies are formulated after sufficient prior consultation with the organised private sector, it owns up to not having an idea on how to fix the exchange rate and high lending rate issues.

As a matter of fact, a large portion of its manufacturing drive is hinged on the ideas ‘to be generated’ after the elections by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), chambers of commerce and other relevant stakeholders.

esting, as though it starts by stating that it will “strengthen the sector by removing all identified impediments to its growth and ensuring that MSMEs have strong linkage with the productive sectors of the economy-namely agricultural and manufacturing sectors.” It then goes on to say it will continue to do what has always been done (or at least mouthed) in the sector. It plans to, via NISRAL (Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending), move towards de-risking for MSME lending. It hopes that NISRAL can mobilise financing for MSMEs by using credit guarantees to address the risk of default. This is a move that has been attempted by various governmental agencies but which often fails at the point of the ACTUAL GUARANTEE on default.

This plan doesn’t explain the model or where the finances will come from.

Promoting oil and gas sector With the world looking to move towards cleaner energy in the coming years, this Plan holds nothing new for Nigerians, in terms of revenue focus of the government. In fact, the key word for oil and gas in this plan is ‘increase’.

• Increase the contribution of the downstream sector to GDP from 0.5 percent to 2 percent (a reality that would easily be met once the Dangote refinery comes online).

• Increase crude production to 5 million per barrels per day • Increase regulation • Increase exploration Conclusion The only plausible explanation for having such a wordy policy document, which lacks in a real value addition, is the hope that Nigerians would not bother to read the 186-page document or realise that this was probably one of the most outstanding works of fiction to ever come out of Nigeria.

Promoting MSMEs sector The Plan for MSMEs is quite inter-

Tunji Andrews is the lead economist at TTAC Africa, a European Union consultant, under the EU SUFEGOR project, a financial literacy advocate and a renowned media personality.

Buratai said.

Responding to Buhari’s comment, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Mahmood Yakubu said the commission will go with the provisions of the Electoral Act which stipulates procedures and sanctions to electoral offenders’ “The position of the commission is that all violators of the Electoral Act should be punished according to the provisions of the Electoral Act,” Yakubu said.

In the midst of all these, the police, who have the constitutional mandate and responsibility of protecting lives, properties and electoral materials during the election

has not responded.

The existing electoral law on the deployment of police nullifies any other law and makes INEC so responsible for the management of police during the polls.

According to section 29 (3) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended, 2015), the security personnel are directly under the command of the INEC. The army has already made their position known. INEC too is committed to follow the provisions of the electoral act. As Nigerians go to the polls tomorrow, it remains unclear if the Nigerian Police will submit to the directives of INEC and INEC officials at the polling stations.

2019 election: The dilemma of police MAURICE OGU

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he recent revelation by President Muhammadu Buhari that he had given the security agencies an order to deal ruthlessly with ballot box snatchers has been greeted with mixed reactions, with police caught in the crossfire.

During the caucus meeting of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), Monday February 18, after the postponement of the elections, the visibly unhappy Buhari warned anyone who intends to snatch ballot boxes could pay the ultimate price of death as he (Buhari) had ordered the security agents to kill ballot box snatchers.

“I am going to warn anybody who thinks he has enough influence in his locality to lead a body of thugs, snatch ballot boxes or to disturb the voting system, he will do it at the expense of his own life,” Buhari fumed.

“We have directed the military and other security agents to be ruthless.

“Anybody who decides to snatch ballot boxes or leads thugs to disturb the process, maybe that will be the last unlawful action you will take,” Buhari said.

During its executive meeting, the main opposition party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, called on the army not to obey the order given by Buhari. Atiku charged the

army to read the constitution and other relevant materials as the army has no duty to perform during the electoral process.

“Go back and read the constitution, army act and other relevant materials, you have no role whatsoever to play during the elections’, Atiku charged.

In reaction to Atiku’s call, Tukur Buratai, chief of Army Staff, dismissed the call and insisted that the army will obey Buhari’s order as the constituted authority.

“One of our core values is loyalty to constituted authority. It is unfortunate to hear persons who are aspiring to rule this country are inciting the army to disobedience,”

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BUSINESS DAY

NATIONAL DISCOURSE

DANIEL OBI

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aturally, birds of the same feather flock together. This is an old proverb that has been around since the 16th Century and this simply means that people of the same character tend to spend time together to concretise their ideas for society’s benefits.

Atiku Abubakar, PDP presidential candidate in Saturday’s election and Bola Ahmed Tinubu, national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), fall into this category. Though they belong to different political camps, the two personalities, irrespective of their parties, share the same philosophy and approach to national development.

There is no doubt that in their intentions both parties mean well for the Nigerian economy. But the personalities seem to be similar in thinking on how to approach the economic management. Nevertheless the parties approaches to faster

MUSA AJIYA

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nfortunately, the fumbling Independent National Electoral Commission, led

by Mahmood Yakubu, is causing all political parties to spend more money on the campaigns to elect the president, vice president, 109 senators, and 360 members of the House of Reps in the postponed general elections.

President Muhammadu Buhari needs to do more than wring his hand at the disaster of election postponement, even if the postponement turns out to be an opportunity for the electorate to reflect a little more deeply before casting their votes at the rescheduled general elections.

Indeed, some daring observers, who see no further need to be cautious in their prognostications, have argued that the smaller political parties have been dealt a knock-out blow, as they will certainly be unable to muster enough resources to run election campaigns for just one more week.

In other words, INEC’s decision that political parties can continue their campaigns till 21st February, 2019 was a reverse disenfranchisement of the candidates, members, and sympathisers of the smaller political parties. It’s looking like the cricket player’s homerun for the giant political parties. And it’s unfair, really.

These observers have started to insinuate, maybe rightly, that only the ruling All Progressives Congress and main opposition People’s Democratic Party would have the deep pockets to run the extra mile. The din

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Tinubu, Atiku share same developmental ideas economic recovery are different.

The APC is inclined to a state-controlled economy but Tinubu, like Atiku is at home with the PDP’s craving for a private sector-led economy. Both have made some achievements and strides in Nigeria’s political economy.

Olu Fasan, a London-based lawyer and political economist, in his column in BusinessDay recently, justified the APC’s position for a state-run economy. Fasan expressed surprise that the APC government is not talking about the PPP. “Of course, Nigeria should transform its infrastructure, but serious infrastructure projects are financed through public-private partnership.

The Buhari government has rarely talked about PPP; it is averse to working with or through the private sector.”

Tinubu as an individual believes in new economic paradigm to liberate Nigeria from economic strangulation that has bedeviled it for years. Nigeria needs to diversify its economy and free it from central control that has not allowed innovation and development in key sectors such as the railway system and other infrastructures.

Ladipo Adamolegun, a management specialist formerly of the World Bank, in a lecture, re-echoed the challenge of Nigeria’s over-centralisation of the federal system. He said it is a major contributory factor in the country’s poor development performance.

Linking over-centralised federal system to Nigeria’s poor development performance, Adamolegun said at a Nigerian Institute of Management 2017 lecture, that from the military era to the present, Nigeria had witnessed economic growth without development, decline in the performance of public services, weak judiciary and institutionalised corruption.

According to him, “There has also been an increase in poverty level, estimated at about 65% by 1998 and close to 80% today.” Today, Nigeria with 87 million poor citizens has overtaken India as a country with highest number of poor people.

Further giving credence to the clamour for restructuring, former president of the Institute of Directors, (IoD), Chike Nwanze in his 2016 lecture at NIM estimated that the total expenditures of various arms of government in the last 17 years was N55.4 trillion but regrettably without much achievement . He believed any efforts towards economic development cannot be achieved without restructuring of the country.

Nwanze said it was difficult to believe that such colossal amounts of money had been spent within that period with continued poor state of infrastructure, services and quality of life in Nigeria, as about 100 million Nigerians still live without electricity.

The final homerun of relative silence of the Lilliput political parties, and the vociferous call by both APC and PDP to continue the campaigns for another week, is proof enough.

The smaller political parties are not even very visible on the relatively cheaper social media platforms any longer. Their voices and alternative offerings are probably lost to the electorate, at least this time around.

This may not bode very well for Nigeria’s nascent, but fragile, democracy. INEC has inadvertently defeated these smaller political parties by its inability to deliver as it had voluntarily promised to do. Heya!

This effectively leaves the politicking arena to the titans, whose intentions for seeking political power bear a second look. The demands of the Nigerian electorate is no more than to have a government that will guarantee the security and welfare promised in Section 14 of Nigeria’s Constitution.

But first take a look at the criteria that Abubakar Shekarau, former governor of Kano State and former Minister for Education, listed for good governance. He claims that these are the recommendations of the World Bank and the United Nations.

These are accountability; political stability; effectiveness in governance; effective regulatory control; rule of law; and control of corruption. The Nigerian electorate must take a long and hard look to determine which of the two political parties, their presi-

POLITICS dential candidates, and the National Assembly candidates, can guarantee all these wholesome characteristics.

There is no doubt that the APC is already facing the hot drill from the jury of voters, while the PDP is offering itself as an alternative. While APC has the opportunity of showcasing its credentials, and promising what else it can do, PDP is going to only offer a new political vista. The electioneering narrative driven by the APC tore the performances of past PDP governments into shreds.

To PDP’s accusation that the President Buhari government has not achieved much in the roughly three and half years of being in office, the APC refers to what it describes as 16 fruitless years of PDP’s stay in power.

APC never tires of referring to $16 billion it alleges the President Olusegun Obasanjo government squandered on unverifiable upgrade of electricity infrastructure. It endlessly tars PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, with the smear of association with a past PDP government that Abubakar served as vice president.

While APC brandishes President Buhari’s integrity credentials, and accuses the PDP and its presidential candidate Abubakar of corruption, the PDP goofed when its chairman, Uche Secondus, thought he was doing his party some good when he

Nwanze whose paper looked at the current clarion call for the restructuring of Nigeria, said it has become critical to address the challenges of governance and the structure of the federation. He commended the efforts of the APC-led government to diversification, but noted that successful diversification which is needed in order to achieve meaningful economic development, cannot be achieved without restructuring the country.

Atiku and Tinubu believe in restructuring to the extent it engenders participatory democracy and ensures economic development. In a Vanguard report of September 24, 2017, Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State, was quoted as warning on the consequences of not engaging in restructuring of the political economy of the Nigerian nation.

Similar to Atiku’s belief, the Asiwaju explained that there were immense benefits to all in the event of a restructuring that would create the correct balance. “It would be better to restructure things to attain the correct balance between our collective purpose on one hand and our separate grassroots realities on the other.”

In the spirit of restructuring, Tinubu is an advocate of state police to checkmate the worrying and growing level of insecurity in the country. But his call has met with claims that state

police will become an instrument of oppression by state governors.

Atiku, who has emerged as a strong contender for the position of the president in the 2019 election, has promised to restructure the economy for better management.

“If the current population trend continues, it is estimated that Nigeria’s population could double within the next 30 years. It would therefore become extremely difficult to continue to manage such a large population under a centralised structure. Therefore, we must restructure our governance system to enhance efficiency and ensure greater accountability to the people.”

He has pledged that within the first six months of his presidency, will commence the process of constitutional amendment that will devolve powers and responsibilities currently residing in the Federal Government to the state governments. This process will seek to decongest the concurrent list in the 1999 Constitution.

In the spirit of a private sector-controlledeconomy,anAtikupresidency,if he is elected,promises toprovide a definite direction for the economy, retain controlofdefenceandnationalsecurity, internal law and order, currency, internationalaffairs,foreignpolicy,customs, citizenship and immigration, firearms and related matters, while devolving power to the federating units.

went, “On behalf of my colleagues and members of (PDP) we apologize to Nigerians that we have made some mistakes. And we are ready to correct them.” He needs to take some lessons in public relations.

The PDP and its handlers should have stuck to the restructuring, the carrot it offered to the Southwest flank of APC’s followership, much the same way the APC, masters of contrived reality show, have zeroed in on the economy as the core issue of the presidential campaign. It’s now looking like the APC is winning the game of wits.

In recent weeks the APC begun to drive its campaign conversations toward infrastructure upgrade. The APC has taken possession, and is flooding the social media with editorials and photographs of railway lines being laid or renovated, rail coaches being dedicated, old roads being rehabilitated, and power plants and transmission lines being constructed.

The preferred economic narrative of the APC is helped by the report that more 91 million poor people, who live on less than $2 per day, are in Nigeria, and there is an urgent need to bring them out of poverty, if not middleclass them.

The APC is also long on its narrative of social intervention programmes, like the N-Power that has employed more than 500,000 graduates, pays N5,000 monthly stipend to the poorest Nigerians, the free meals served to school children on a daily basis, and the huge number of cooks that have been employed to cook the food.

The APC also boasts that the school feeding programme has put many farmers and their farmhands to work, and has therefore positively contributed to the growth of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.

The Anchor Borrowers’ scheme, mid-wifed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, has helped in a large measure to make scarce funds available to peasant farmers, who usually have little or no collateral to provide for the traditional bank loans.

The major effect of the Anchor Borrowers’ scheme is two-fold: in addition to encouraging local price production, and thus reducing the pressure for the near-inordinate quest for foreign exchange to import rice, it is providing feeds for local agribusinesses. Of course, it increases the nation’s GDP. The TraderMoni loan scheme that approves N10,000 to petty traders, who otherwise would not be able to raise even this meagre working capital because they lack the competence to provide the requisite collateral, has liberated not a few. But of course, the PDP queries the wisdom or need for the scheme.

Something else that the APC flaunts is the trail of positive economic indices: The Nigeria Bureau of Statistics deployed some facts, obviously on behalf of President Buhari’s government. It says that between January 2015 (still under former President Jonathan’s administration) and December 2018, Nigeria attracted $43.81 billion in foreign investments.

• Ajiya, a public affairs commentator, writes from Abuja

Friday 22 February 2019

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FINANCIAL TIMES

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World Business Newspaper

World Bank’s ‘pandemic bonds’ under scrutiny after failing to pay out on Ebola Severe outbreak of disease in the DRC tests the limits of financial innovation Kate Allen

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wo years ago the World Bank celebrated what it called “a momentous step”: an attempt to use the global bond markets to change the face of aid and development.

The Bank had just sold its first “pandemic bonds”, raising $320m from private investors, in a deal designed to help developing nations facing a serious outbreak of infectious disease. It was a way of “leveraging our capital market expertise,” said then-president Jim Yong Kim, “to serve the world’s poorest people”.

Just a year later, a severe attack of Ebola hit the Democratic Republic of Congo. So far it has claimed almost 500 lives and become the second-largest outbreak ever recorded, according to Médecins Sans Frontières. Yet the bonds have yet to pay out a penny.

A linked emergency cash facility at the World Bank has paid the DRC more than $11m and is preparing to disburse more. But the lack of support so far from the pandemic bonds, which mature in July 2020, has prompted questions about the limits of financial innovation. The bonds’ criteria include the requirement that a disease must spread across an international border before the affected nation can receive the cash — which has so far not been the case with the DRC and Ebola.

Critics argue that such legalistic structures are not an easy fit with the world of development and charity.

“The financialisation of risks is a new avenue for the privatisation of profits and the socialisation of losses,” said Bodo Ellmers, head of policy at the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad). “It would be better if donors funded the necessary assistance directly.”

The pandemic bonds came in two classes: one covering diseases such as influenza, which pays investors a coupon of 6.5 per cent over Libor, and the other, which covers Ebola and other diseases, paying 11.1 per cent over Libor.

The coupons are paid by donor nations Germany and Japan. If the bonds mature without paying out, investors get their money back, plus the chunky coupons.

The pandemic bonds are just one example of a wider trend: investors have also bought into vaccine bonds, while the growing market for catastrophe bonds is another example of how private finance is being tapped to replace traditional funding structures such as disaster aid.

The aim of the pandemic bonds, according to the World Bank, is to tackle social ills through private investment.

“If Anderson Cooper flies there [to a disaster zone], the international community will pass the hat, but that tends to be more recovery and reconstruction money,” said Michael Bennett, head of structured finance at the World Bank Treasury, referring to the CNN presenter. “We are targeting emergencies, trying to get money on to the ground immediately . . . transferring some of these risks to the private sector helps to increase the pool of risk-bearing

Trump wades in to 5G telecoms debate President’s tweet comes as allies voice security concerns about Huawei’s networks Camilla Hodgson

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resident Donald Trump appeared to offer an olive branch to Huawei on Thursday, saying the US should not be “blocking out” new technologies.

The president seemed to play down escalating concerns among US and UK lawmakers that the Chinese tech giant poses national security risks, writing on Twitter: “I want the United States to win through competition, not by blocking out currently more advanced technologies.”

Though he did not name Huawei, the president’s tweets implied a disagreement with the numerous US officials who have in recent months warned against using the company’s 5G networks on security grounds.

Huawei is facing questions in Europe and the US over its connections with the Chinese government, and whether the use of its 5G technology, in particular, could jeopardise the

safety of western powers. Late last year, the company’s chief financial officer was arrested in Canada on US sanctions-busting charges.

On Wednesday, UK cyber experts warned that allowing Huawei to provide equipment for Britain’s future 5G mobile networks would be “naive” and “irresponsible” “I want 5G, and even 6G, technology in the United States as soon as possible. It is far more powerful, faster, and smarter than the current standard.

American companies must step up their efforts, or get left behind. There is no reason that we should be lagging behind on something that is so obviously the future,” Mr Trump tweeted.

“We must always be the leader in everything we do, especially when it comes to the very exciting world of technology!” he added.

Huawei’s founder and president has rejected the concerns, and said the arrest of his daughter was “politically motivated.”

Bonds are seen as a useful way of financing aid because their proceeds can be used as a ‘pre-funded facility’ for emergencies © AFP

capital out there.”

But Mr Bennett noted that the bank adopted a “very literal” definition of pandemic as an event that spreads beyond one country. “We were looking at things that were crossing boundaries — Sars, Mers [a respiratory virus], Zika, [a previous outbreak of] Ebola. They were the experiences we had at the back of our minds,” he said.

The Ebola bond’s biggest holder is UK fund manager Baillie Gifford, according to Bloomberg data. Baillie Gifford declined to comment on its rationale for buying the bond when contacted by the Financial Times.

Stone Ridge Asset Management, a New York hedge fund also listed by Bloomberg as an Ebola bondholder, was unavailable for comment.

Heidi Crebo-Rediker, a former US State Department chief economist and an adjunct fellow at the

Council on Foreign Relations, who runs advisory firm International Capital Strategies, said she was “not concerned” about the use of capital market instruments to raise aid finance.

“If there is, in fact, a particular constraint in the case of the pandemic bond, then it does not reflect poorly on the principle of using the capital markets, but it is a factor that needs to be taken into account when designing future financing structures,” she said.

Bonds are a useful way of financing aid because their proceeds can be used as a “pre-funded facility” for emergencies in which “you need the money immediately”, Ms CreboRediker added.

The World Bank itself thinks there is real scope to expand the concept. Pandemic bonds could help create a private market in in-

suring emerging economies against medical risks, according to Mukesh Chawla, the World Bank’s pandemic emergency facility co-ordinator.

“If we can bring private money into play and keep improving [the bond structure] and make it easy and profitable for countries to buy the insurance, then that may be a process [by which] countries can self-cover as time goes by, rather than relying on donor assistance,” Mr Chawla said.

But for now at least, some are sceptical.

Tim Jones, policy officer at the Jubilee Debt Campaign, an advocacy group, pointed to how capital markets “insist on such large premiums and coupon payments and tight conditions . . . to reduce the actual risk they are taking on”, adding: “In such circumstances the public sector is always likely to lose.”

VW boss warns US car tariffs could cost billions Diess agrees with estimates of annual €2.5bn earnings hit in ‘worst-case situation’ Patrick McGee

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olkswagen chief executive Herbert Diess has warned import tariffs from the US could cost the German carmaker billions of euros each year.

Mr Diess said the US threat of a 25 per cent tariff on European-produced cars is the biggest worry for the continent’s carmakers in 2019.

German chancellor Angela Merkel has already called Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs “frightening”.

Mr Diess, in an interview at the headquarters of the world’s biggest selling carmaker in Wolfsburg, Germany, said concerns over the imposition of the tariffs had helped to create “political instability”.

“It’s becoming tense once again,” Mr Diess told the Financial Times. “You know it’s a pity because we can’t solve it from the car industry [alone]. It’s more of a tariffs negotiation between Europe and the United States.”

London-based Evercore ISI said the tariffs would cost Volkswagen €2.5bn a year — or 13 per cent of its expected earnings.

“In the worst-case situation,

that would probably be close to the real figure,” Mr Diess said of the Evercore projection.

Concerns over Brexit, with the deadline for Britain leaving the EU just over a month away and a deal still to be finalised, had also helped to create political instability, but on a smaller scale, Mr Diess added.

US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross this week submitted recommendations to Mr Trump on whether imported vehicles pose a national security threat.

The president has 90 days to act on the findings, which have not been revealed and were drawn up after the launch of an investigation under section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act. Mr Trump used section 232 to justify tariffs against aluminium and steel last year, ostensibly to protect US industry.

The president said on Wednesday that car tariffs were “something we think about”, as he hosted Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz at the White House. He added that the levies would be a possible response if “we don’t make the deal” on trade with the EU.

Mr Diess travelled to Washington in December with Daimler chief executive Dieter Zetsche to lobby against protectionist policies. He said the meeting went well, but negotiations have soured since and he has little power to change the situation.

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association said this week it had “grave concerns” about the US using section 232 for tariffs on European-produced cars.

“All manufacturers have embraced a global supply chain model,” said the association’s secretary-general Erik Jonnaert in an interview. “Once you start to interfere with that by imposing tariffs, or quotas — interfering with free movement of parts, components and finished products — you hit all manufacturers.”

Mr Jonnaert warned the tariffs would cause unknown “ripple effects” in addition to hurting both European carmakers and the US economy.

General Motors and Ford have also said that commodity costs, resulting in part from Mr Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs, would be $1bn higher in 2019.

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NATIONAL NEWS

GAM sacks star portfolio manager for ‘gross misconduct’

Start-up that turns insects into animal feed raises $125m

Swiss fund manager acts against Tim Haywood after internal investigation

Insects touted as environmentally-friendly protein alternative to meat and fish

Jennifer Thompson and Laurence Fletcher

Emiko Terazono

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AM has sacked a star portfolio manager who oversaw some of its key bond funds after an internal investigation found he had engaged in “gross misconduct”, deepening the crisis at the Swiss investment manager.

The Zurich-based group announced the firing of Tim Haywood, a London-based investment director who was one of GAM’s top bond traders, at the same time as unveiling results that showed it was continuing to struggle financially, with shrinking assets and a full-year net loss.

“Following the conclusion o f t h e i nv e s t i gat i o n a n d t h e disciplinar y proceedings, the suspended investment director has now been dismissed from the company for gross misconduct,” GAM said. It did not give further details.

Mr Haywood’s dismissal follows an internal investigation of his conduct that was launched in November 2017.

According to people familiar with the matter, the investigation came after concerns within GAM about some of the bond investments made by Mr Haywood, who oversaw the group’s absolute return bond funds (ARBF).

A week after Mr Haywood’s suspension in July last year, GAM announced a range of findings from its investigation, including that Mr Haywood may have failed to do sufficient due diligence, that he breached GAM’s gifts and entertainments policy and that he used personal email for work purposes.

The letter, which was sent by former chief executive Alexander Friedman to clients, added that there had not been “any material client detriment to date”.

David Jacob, interim chief executive, said on Thursday that there had been “serious failure to achieve the standard of skill and care which [was] to be expected from someone in [Mr Haywood’s] position.”

Mr Haywood did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

His suspension in July prompted a surge of withdrawal requests from the ARBF products, forcing GAM to freeze redemptions.

It later said it would liquidate the funds in a process that it expected would be concluded by the end of March. GAM said on Thursday that the liquidation “is progressing well and is expected to be completed in the next few months, subject to market conditions”. SFr1.5bn in assets remain in its ARBF products, down from SFr11bn last year.

The group reported a full-year net loss of SFr929m for the year to December following goodwill write-offs and restructuring charges. It reported a full-year net profit of SFr123m in 2017.

The result was broadly in line with the full-year loss of SFr925m it said it was expecting in December when it announced a restructuring plan. The overhaul includes a suspension of its 2018 dividend, a cost-cutting programme and the axing of 10 per cent of its workforce.

Friday 22 February 2019

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Non-Chinese advisers say Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei’s assertive tone is the wrong message at the wrong time

How Huawei lost its PR battle in the west

Foreign advisers say they were ignored and undermined by Chinese management Kathrin Hille

I

t has been almost a year since William Plummer lost his job as the head of Huawei’s US public and government relations department.

But it is impossible for him not to get fired up as he sees how the Chinese telecoms company has been dragged into a morass of suspicion by US accusations that it is a security risk and a thief of commercial secrets.

In particular, Mr Plummer has been agonising over Huawei’s handling of the crisis.

Earlier this week, Ren Zhengfei, the company’s founder, hit back at the allegations in two television interviews. He told the BBC that the US would not be able to “crush” Huawei, adding: “If the lights go out in the west, the east will still shine. […] America doesn’t represent the world.”

For Mr Ren, a reclusive former Chinese army engineer who very rarely gives interviews, the public comments were the latest step in Huawei’s counteroffensive against an onslaught that threatens to damage its global business.

The interview came ahead of Mobile World Congress, the telecom industry’s biggest annual trade show where the Chinese company has outshone rivals for years with

enormous displays of its technological prowess and armies of marketing staff.

For Mr Plummer, and other nonChinese who have advised Huawei on its public relations strategy, however, Mr Ren’s assertive tone is the wrong message at the wrong time. “Five years ago would have been the time to do it. I’m not sure that being confrontational now is a good idea,” he said.

President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order barring US carriers from buying Huawei gear ahead of MWC, although the move would change little in practice: government pressure on American carriers not to buy from Huawei and moves to derail investments by the Chinese group in US companies has ensured that an 18-year-long quest to break into America has largely gone nowhere.

But Washington is also pressuring allies to shut Huawei out of their markets for security reasons and is going after the company with criminal charges that could land Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer and Mr Ren’s daughter, in jail.

She is under house arrest in Canada, after US authorities filed an extradition request over allegations that the company violated sanctions against Iran. The company and Ms Meng deny the charges.

“This rolling thunder holy jihad they have been on over the past year makes it impossible for any government relations person to do a meaningful job,” said a senior executive at a lobbying firm that worked for Huawei until last year.

“Things are made worse by Huawei themselves — the best you get is crisis management but there has never been a consistent, strategic approach to managing their image.”

It was not for lack of advice, according to several PR specialists who have worked with the company.

From the 1990s, Huawei enlisted some of the most illustrious western consultants: IBM to help modernise management; Bain Capital as a partner for US acquisitions; and the Cohen Group, an advisory founded by former secretary of defence William Cohen, to help deal with US government security concerns. It also employed a vast array of global PR companies from Ogilvy to Edelman to BCW. But at crucial moments, the company did not heed their advice and even outmanoeuvred the consultants it had hired, according to former executives and external consultants. “There was always a fundamental lack of trust in nonChinese. You offer guidance, and are regularly second-guessed,” Mr Plummer said.

GAM sacks star portfolio manager for ‘gross misconduct’

Swiss fund manager acts against Tim Haywood after internal investigation Jennifer Thompson and Laurence Fletcher

G

AM has sacked a star portfolio manager who oversaw some of its key bond funds after an internal investigation found he had engaged in “gross misconduct”, deepening the crisis at the Swiss investment manager.

The Zurich-based group announced the firing of Tim Haywood, a London-based investment director who was one of GAM’s top bond traders, at the same time as unveiling results that showed it was continuing to struggle financially, with shrinking assets and a full-year net loss.

“Following the conclusion of the investigation and the disciplinary proceedings, the suspended investment director has now been dismissed from the company for gross misconduct,” GAM said.

It did not give further details.

Mr Haywood’s dismissal follows an internal investigation of his conduct that was launched in November 2017.

According to people familiar with the matter, the investigation came after concerns within GAM about some of the bond investments made by Mr Haywood, who oversaw the group’s absolute return bond funds (ARBF).

A week after Mr Haywood’s suspension in July last year, GAM announced a range of findings from its investigation, including that Mr Haywood may have failed to do sufficient due diligence, that he breached GAM’s gifts and entertainments policy and that he used personal email for work purposes.

The letter, which was sent by former chief executive Alexander Friedman to clients, added that

there had not been “any material client detriment to date”.

David Jacob, interim chief executive, said on Thursday that there had been “serious failure to achieve the standard of skill and care which [was] to be expected from someone in [Mr Haywood’s] position.”

Mr Haywood did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

His suspension in July prompted a surge of withdrawal requests from the ARBF products, forcing GAM to freeze redemptions.

It later said it would liquidate the funds in a process that it expected would be concluded by the end of March. GAM said on Thursday that the liquidation “is progressing well and is expected to be completed in the next few months, subject to market conditions”. SFr1.5bn in assets remain in its ARBF products, down from SFr11bn last year.

French agritech start-up that turns mealworm larvae into fish and animal feed has raised $125m, in the single largest agritech investment round outside the US. Ynsect breeds insects and turns them into feed for fish, pet food and fertiliser through an entirely automated production process that is controlled by artificial intelligence.

The $125m funding round, which takes the start-up’s total investment to date to $175m, was led by Astanor Ventures, a Brussels-based venture capital firm. Other investors include London-based Talis Capital, and BPI Large Venture in Paris.

Ynsect said it would use the fresh funds to build an insect farm in northern France, which will have the capacity to produce 20,000 tonnes of protein a year, up from the current production of “several hundred” tonnes. The company said it had signed a total $70m worth of contracts with various feed, pet food and fertiliser companies, and was in talks with other potential customers.

Antoine Hubert, the company’s chief executive, said environmentally-conscious consumers were drawn to the use of insects as feed, especially for fish, which eat insects in the wild.

“The sustainability and natural angle, it’s key for consumers and they really appreciate it,” he said.

With high levels of protein, vitamins and minerals, insects have been touted as an environmentally friendly alternative to meat and fish as global incomes increase and the growing middle classes in developing countries increase their protein intake.

While insects are eaten by more than 2bn people around the world, growth for new products for human consumption is expected to remain limited in Europe and the US, due to what analysts describe as the “yuck” factor.

But Mr Hubert and other entrepreneurs believe insects present an opportunity for the fish and livestock farming industries, as they search for sustainable sources of nutritious protein for feed. Ynsect faces competition from other start-ups building insect based feed operations, including Protix of the Netherlands and Enterra Feed in Canada.

Fish feed has traditionally been sourced from wild fish caught off the coast of South America, at a time when fish stocks have been falling.

Large scale farming of soyabeans and corn, used to feed livestock, has been blamed for soil degradation while overuse of chemical fertilisers have caused dead zones in coastal areas.

Insects are highly efficient in conversion of feed into edible material, and have a smaller carbon footprint than other animals used for food.

“Insects are tremendous converters of energy,” said Alastair Cooper at ADM Capital, an investor in Enterra.

“They’re a natural feed and has a fabulous balance of protein and beneficial amino acids.”

Friday 22 February 2019

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IMF agrees to $4.2bn fund for Ecuador President Lenin Moreno signals final break with predecessor’s policies John Paul Rathbone

E

cuador has signed a $4.2bn standby programme with the International Monetary Fund, signalling a final break by President Lenin Moreno with the policies of his leftist predecessor in a longawaited deal that he said saved the country from becoming like Venezuela.

The loan to the Opec country forms part of a larger $10bn package with other multilateral lenders to support Ecuador’s struggling economy, which is burdened by external debt that grew under the country’s former president, Rafael Correa, in large part due to oil-backed loans from China.

Mr Moreno, who came to power in 2017 after 10 years of socialist rule by Mr Correa, has sought to slash public spending and buttress Ecuador’s external accounts with bond issues — although a long record of past defaults made terms onerous.

The price of Ecuador’s benchmark 2028 bond rose almost 2 per cent on Thursday following the announcement.

“Thanks to the firm decisions I have made, we are not what

Venezuela is today,” Mr Moreno said in a brief televised address late on Wednesday. “This money will create work opportunities for those who have not found something stable,” he said. Mr Moreno added that most of the money would be dedicated to “social investment.”

Ecuador fell into recession in 2016 as global oil prices declined. At the same time, because its currency is pegged to the dollar via a currency board arrangement, it was unable to devalue to boost competitiveness.

The IMF has a long and chequered history in Latin America, but it has returned recently after a long absence, thanks to the commodity boom of the start of this century that bolstered countries’ public finances. Most significantly, the IMF signed its biggest-ever lending package, a $57bn lending programme, with Argentina last year.

Ecuador ’s IMF package, which must still be approved by the Washington-based lender’s board, will support the government’s plans to create a “more dynamic, sustainable and inclusive economy,” according to Anna Ivanova, the IMF mission chief to Ecuador.

Activist Edward Bramson loses support of key ally in Barclays campaign Aviva told the FT it would side with Barclay’s board ahead of May AGM vote Owen Walker

A

ctivist investor Ed Bramson’s bid to force his way on to the Barclays board has been dealt a body blow after one of his biggest backers historically came out against him on the same day the UK bank announced better than expected fourth-quarter results.

Aviva Investors, which was a key player in helping him win previous high-profile campaigns, told the Financial Times it would side with Barclay’s board ahead of the vote at the annual meeting in May. Aviva, which holds stakes in both Barclays and Sherborne, Mr Bramson’s investment company, is the first shareholder to publicly declare its position in one of the UK’s most eagerly watched activist battles.

“As significant shareholders in Barclays and Sherborne Investors, we do not see merit in Edward Bramson’s proposal to join Barclays’ board as a non-executive director.

We expect the incoming chairman of Barclays to provide appropriate oversight of the group’s strategy and lead the required changes to the board,” said David Cumming, chief investment officer for equities at Aviva Investors.

On Thursday morning Barclays announced a 6 per cent fall in fixed-

income trading in the fourth quarter to £570m, which was significantly better than European rivals. Its equities trading business posted a 3.4 per cent year-on-year increase, marking it out as the only European bank to record a positive result.

Barclays shares rose 4 per cent in early trading, but later fell back.

Aviva is the third-biggest investor in Sherborne, holding 14 per cent. It was influential in helping Mr Bramson become chairman of F&C Asset Management in 2011, having also been a big investor in the UK fund group.

When Mr Bramson won a seat on the board of Electra, the private equity firm, in 2015, his campaign received the backing of Aviva.

But the decision by Aviva, a top 20 investor in Barclays, not to back the activist this time is expected to influence other shareholders to do the same. Several big investors have misgivings over whether to support Mr Bramson’s personal bid for a board seat as they do not feel he has provided enough detail over his plan for the company or his motivations for joining the board.

Shareholders have also questioned whether Sherborne has enough resources to sustain an influence in the Barclays boardroom, given the bank is significantly larger than any other company Mr Bramson has previously targeted.

Ecuador’s president, Lenin Moreno, said the money would be used for ‘social investment’. © AFP

Russia and Germany in talks on tackling Nord Stream 2 project EU rules cast doubt over how gas import pipeline will be operated Guy Chazan and Nastassia Astrasheuskaya

R

ussia and Germany have started to thrash out plans for one of Europe’s most contentious infrastructure projects after an EU deal cast doubt on how a gas pipeline between the two countries would be operated.

On Thursday the economy ministers from the two countries were holding talks in Berlin on newlyadopted EU rules regulating Nord Stream 2, which will bring natural gas from Russia to the North German coast and then onwards to Central and western Europe.

The EU reached a deal last week to apply strict rules to gas import pipelines including Nord Stream 2, which will double Russian gas imports to Germany across the Baltic Sea and reduce shipments through Ukraine. Russian and German officials have said the regulations will not stop the project but could slow it down.

Peter Altmaier, the German economy minister, said Berlin fully intended to abide by the new rules.

“We will respect everything that is

set out in the [EU gas] directive and implement it accordingly,” he told the Financial Times.

Nord Stream 2 has divided Europe, with critics claiming it will increase the continent’s dependence on Russian energy imports and make Ukraine, which could be deprived of billions of euros in gas transit fees, more vulnerable to Russian pressure.

Supporters, including the German government, insist it is essential to Europe’s energy security, at a time of falling indigenous production of gas and rising demand for the clean-burning fuel across the EU. A draft EU law agreed last week stipulates that all import pipelines, including Nord Stream 2, must meet EU rules. That means they cannot be directly owned by gas suppliers — a principle known as “unbundling” — and must open up at least 10 per cent of capacity to third parties. They must also apply non-discriminatory tariffs and provide transparent reporting.

“Unbundling or third party access will be key,” Mr Altmaier said.

“We will have to discuss that with the investors, with Gazprom, but I’m optimistic that a good, sustainable solution can be found.”

A senior EU diplomat involved in the negotiations said the EU deal was “not a perfect compromise”. But it was “a step on the way towards full transparency and openness of tariffs, which will translate into real monetary gains in the long term.”

Mr Altmaier and his Russian counterpart Maxim Oreshkin will talk about Nord Stream during bilateral talks on the fringes of a Russo-German business conference in Berlin.

Gazprom, the state-owned Russian gas giant that is building the pipeline, declined to comment on how the new EU rules would affect its planned operations, saying it was still “too early” to say. It noted in a statement that Germany had not yet reached any decisions on whether, and how, to implement the EU measures.

But officials in Brussels said that behind the nonchalance, Gazprom was fuming. “They’re horrified by this,” said one senior EU official.

There is still some confusion over how the new rules will work. Gazprom has a monopoly on gas exports from Russia, which is enshrined in Russian law. It is unclear how it will be able to offer capacity in Nord Stream 2 to other suppliers.

It is time for investors to steel equity portfolios for a bumpier ride A lot needs to go right for equity markets to extend their 2019 rebound Karen Ward

T

he bounce in equity markets this year has taken some by surprise.

But is this a rally that has further to run, or should investors use it an opportunity to steel their portfolios for a tougher second half of the year?

The answer lies in the trade war and US Federal Reserve, which were at the heart of December’s sell-off and the subsequent recovery so far this year. During the final quarter of 2018, it became clear that the trade war was becoming a drag on the global economy, hurting activity in Germany and China. At the same time, the Fed seemed breezily oblivious and intent on taking interest rates higher.

Investors have had reason to become less anxious on both fronts.

Beijing and Washington have returned to the negotiating table in a bid to prevent the US from raising tariffs, starting in less than two weeks, from 10 per cent to 25 per cent on $200bn of Chinese imports.

The Fed’s rate setters, meanwhile,

have changed their tone entirely.

Having spent much of their October meeting debating whether interest rates should be pushed to levels that would be “restrictive” for a red-hot US economy, the same group now believe they can be “patient” in deciding their next move. They no longer see any clear need for higher rates in the near term, and have also reassessed the need to shrink the central bank’s holding of bonds.

The sharp shift from the Fed has been echoed by other central banks, including the European Central Bank and Bank of Japan. The “punch bowl” may not be whisked away as quickly as everyone was thinking just two months ago.

It is why equity and oil prices have been rising this year but bond yields have fallen.

Given valuations in most stock markets are no longer as screamingly cheap as they were at the start of January, further gains for equities will require at least one of two things.

Trade negotiations need to proceed

amicably towards a conclusion, and US inflation needs to remain subdued enough to stop the Fed from resuming rate rises.

The former outcome seems doubtful. Trade tensions may not boil over, but they seem likely to simmer.

Indeed, the Trump administration’s concerns go beyond the issue of whether China’s tariffs or approach to intellectual property are fair. They extend to China’s industrial strategy.

Both governments wish to dominate the fast growing global tech industry (in the case of the US, for security as much as economic reasons). The US is worried at the state-directed support China provides for its tech industries under the umbrella of the Made in China 2025 industrial strategy.

By contrast, China believes such support is needed to sustain the pivot in its economy from agriculture and low-end manufacturing to higher-value industries. There seems no common ground on this issue.

Washington may also expand its focus to European car tariffs.

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Friday 22 February 2019

ANALYSIS Search for yield draws US life insurers to risky places Bonds rated one notch above junk now comprise more than a third of Oliver Ralph

U

Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed: Africa’s new talisman New leader has freed political prisoners and plans economic opening. But will liberalisation spin out of control?

David Pilling and Lionel Barber

I

t is the compound from which Emperor Menelik II conquered swaths of territory, where Haile Selassie passed judgment until he was toppled by a Marxist revolt in 1974, and from which Meles Zenawi, strongman prime minister until his death in 2012, plotted an Asian-style economic miracle on the Nile.

Surveying the same 40-hectare plot in the centre of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, Abiy Ahmed, the most talked-about leader in Africa, sets out his grand plans for transforming Ethiopia. In an act of political theatre, he leads the FT on a tour of the prime ministerial grounds, from Menelik’s cathedralsized banqueting hall to the cages where the emperor kept lions and the dungeon where he had disloyal generals and ministers tortured on the rack.

In Mr Abiy’s first one-on-one interview with the international media since he was catapulted to the premiership last April, he alternates between homespun prophet, hard man and visionary leader. He mixes humour with a tactile armgrab worthy of LBJ. His sentences, delivered in proficient English, are laced with biblical references, big data and Michael Jackson. Committed to opening up Ethiopia’s closed political system, he is fascinated by the nature of popularity.

“If you change this,” says Mr Abiy, gesturing to the rubble-strewn compound and the rapidly changing skyline in the capital beyond, “you can change Addis. And if you can change Addis, definitely you can change Ethiopia.”

Improving his own surroundings, he says, is a metaphor for the transformation of a country that has, for 15 years, been the bestperforming economy in Africa, but whose authoritarian government provoked a sustained popular uprising.

On his first day, he says, he ordered an overhaul of his office.

In two months, what had been a dark and austere interior became a blindingly white luxury-hotel-style affair, replete with wall-to-wall videoconferencing screens, modern art and sleek white rooms for cabinet meetings and visiting delegations.

Cluttered storage rooms are now pulsing data banks and the ground floor is a California-style café — white, of course — where the premier’s mostly westerneducated young staffers can sit and brainstorm. “I want to make this office futuristic. Many Ethiopians see yesterday. I see tomorrow,” he says. “This place has gone from hell to paradise.”

The youngest leader in Africa at 42, Mr Abiy is building a digital museum to celebrate Ethiopia’s history, a mini-Ethiopian theme park and a zoo with 250 animals. He envisages

thousands of paying visitors coming each day.

“This is a prototype of the new Ethiopia,” says the former army intelligence officer and software engineer. “I have done so many great things compared to many leaders.

But I didn’t do 1 per cent of what I am dreaming.”

His words may sound boastful, not to say arrogant, the sorts of qualities that have led many a leader in the past to cultivate a cult of personality. The recent precariousness of the country should also give pause for thought: only a year ago, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, the four-party coalition Mr Abiy leads, faced an almost existential crisis and there was even talk of a civil war.

Yet Mr Abiy’s first 10 months in office have been remarkable by the yardstick of any leader around the world.

In that time, he has overseen the swiftest political liberalisation in Ethiopia’s more than 2,000-year history. He has made peace with Eritrea; freed 60,000 political prisoners, including every journalist previously detained; unbanned opposition groups once deemed terrorist organisations; and appointed women to half his cabinet.

He has pledged free elections in 2020 and made a prominent opposition activist head of the electoral commission. In a country where government spies were ubiquitous, people feel free to express opinions that a year ago would have had them clapped in jail.

“He says the most unbelievable things and then he ends up doing them,” says Blen Sahilu, a lawyer and women’s rights activist, referring partly to the unexpected peace treaty with Eritrea that brought an end to more than 20 years of military stand-off.

“In many ways, Abiy has been a shock to the system,” she says. “I’m still waiting to see whether the country can sustain that much change in such a short period of time and if these actions have a thoughtful follow-up strategy.”

Mr Abiy’s emergence has unleashed opportunity and danger in equal measure. Some fear that rapid liberalisation could spin out of control, leading to anarchy or violent ethnic separatism.

“It was a given that the euphoria was not going to last,” says Tsedale Lemma, editor in chief of Addis Standard, a website she edits from Germany. “Everyone is waking up to the grim reality that the previous EPRDF administration has left behind,” she says, referring to the four-party coalition that has ruled with a vice-like grip since 1991.

The EPRDF’s track-record was not all bad. For nearly 15 years, the economy had been growing at more than 10 per cent annually, according to official statistics. Even if overstated, growth has propelled a

nation long associated with famine from an $8bn minnow at the turn of the century to an $80bn economy that has surpassed Kenya as the biggest in east Africa.

Driven by former prime minister Meles’s vision of a South Korean or Chinese-style “developmental state”, the government poured money into roads, giant dams, agriculture, health and education.

Life expectancy has risen from 40 when the EPRDF took over by force in 1991 to 65.

Ethiopia came to be seen by international agencies as a model of authoritarian development and Africa’s best hope of emulating the sort of economic and social transformation engineered in Asia. But development came at a cost. In a country with more than 80 ethnic groups, resentment built up against the Tigrayans, who comprise only 6 per cent of the 105m population but who were seen as dominating power. That resentment was particularly strong among the Oromo, who make up roughly a third of the population, but who have long felt marginalised.

The crisis intensified after 2015 when the EPRDF rigged an election so completely it ended up with every parliamentary seat.

Oromia, which surrounds Addis Ababa, erupted in violent protests, some of which targeted the foreign investments and industrial parks at the heart of the administration’s modernisation push.

In an unusual coalition, the Oromo were joined by the Amhara, who make up about a quarter of Ethiopians, and who had been used to running the country until the Tigrayans muscled in. The EPRDF responded with repression, imposing states of emergency, throwing tens of thousands of people into prison and shooting hundreds, perhaps thousands, of protesters.

Last February, amid talk of civil war, Hailemariam Desalegn, the ineffectual prime minister who had succeeded Meles in 2012, resigned, paving the way for a succession struggle within the EPRDF. Mr Abiy, who was then deputy president of the Oromia region, emerged the winner after two days of heated debate. Over the objections of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front, one of the parties in the coalition, he was elected EPRDF chairman and hence prime minister, the first from Oromia in the nation’s history.

“I knew when they kept insulting me that I had won,” he says. “I ignored it and wrote my acceptance speech.”

Growing up poor, with a Muslim Oromo father and a Christian Amhara mother, in retrospect Mr Abiy seemed destined for the job. He even speaks Tigrinya after spending time as a young soldier in Tigray province. Indeed, he claims he knew from the age of seven that he would one day lead the country.

S life insurers have loaded up on risky investments since the financial crisis, according to research from Fitch Ratings, as their search for yield has drawn them into potentially treacherous places.

Insurance companies such as AIG and MetLife hold huge investment books, mainly consisting of bonds, to back the promises they make to their customers.

Over the past decade, they have increasingly moved into riskier assets, according to Fitch, as yields in safer categories have fallen under aggressive easing policies from the world’s central banks. The shift could leave the insurers vulnerable to downgrades in their own ratings in a recession, as their capital could get eaten up by losses in their portfolios.

The rating agency examined the books of 42 large US life insurance companies. Before the crisis, A-rated bonds made up 69 per cent of the insurers’ portfolios. By the third quarter of last year, that had slipped to 61 per cent. Meanwhile, holdings of triple-B rated bonds, which are the last notch before junk, have increased from 25 per cent of the portfolios to 34 per cent.

“The stretch for yield is . . . to meet profitability objectives,” said Mark Rouck, group credit officer for insurance at Fitch. “They could meet policyholder obligations with less yield

than they are striving for. They can meet their obligations without moving down the credit spectrum.”

The search for yield is not the only reason for the growing risk in insurers’ portfolios: a wave of corporate downgrades has also made higher-rated bonds harder to come by.

Rich Sega, chief investment strategist at Conning, a $134bn-in-assets firm, said: “It used to be the case that 25 per cent of corporate bonds were BBB or below, but now that’s 50 per cent. What you can buy now is just lower quality. Rating agencies have been a lot more conservative since the financial crisis.”

The Fitch research also found that insurers have increased their exposures to illiquid assets such as private placements, which are stocks or bonds sold directly to private investors, rather than as part of a public offering. Even so, Mr Rouck said he thought insurers would still have enough cash on hand to be able to meet their obligations to customers.

“Insurers have a very strong liquidity position overall so there is not a significant risk,” he said.

He added that there was a low risk of a “run”, when customers all try to withdraw their money at once.

“Life insurance typically has very significant constraints and there are penalties involved if customers redeem and put their contracts back to the insurance company. We don’t see that as a big concern.”

Kraft Heinz boss sees valuations attractive for M&A Food company and its backer 3G Capital have refrained from big deals for past two years James Fontanella-Khan and Alistair Gray

T

he chief executive of Kraft Heinz, Bernardo Hees, says that valuations among its peers have become “more attractive” since its $143bn swoop for Unilever collapsed two years ago, an indication that the acquisitive owners of the food company could soon return to dealmaking.

The company, backed by Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital, has avoided large acquisitions since the Unilever deal fell through and instead completed only a few far smaller bolt-ons.

But the Chicago-based company, whose brands range from HP Sauce to Oscar Mayer hot dogs, is under pressure from investors to eke out more growth in its mature markets and Wall Street has long debated how long it will be before its next big transaction.

“I can say that valuations today are much more attractive than before,” said Mr Hees in an interview with the Financial Times. “The value equation of this conversation is . . . attractive.”

Results due on Thursday are forecast to show the company produced sales of $26.3bn last year, little changed from the year before.

Net debt stood at about $31bn as of the end of September, a heavy burden that makes a transformative deal more complicated.

“Sometimes it’s going to work and sometimes it’s not,” Mr Hees said. “When you find something where two plus two is more than four, move. When you don’t, it’s better not to move especially because our growth agenda is clear.”

Kraft Heinz’s management has emphasised investing in the business, particularly on the digital

and marketing front, as it seeks to pursue organic as well as inorganic strategies to grow.

The chief executive added the company was eyeing further expansion globally without doing deals. “There is potential for growth in a big way” for Kraft Heinz in Mexico and Turkey, along with several countries in Africa and eastern Europe, he said.

Mergers and acquisitions for 3G Capital need not involve Kraft Heinz, however. The investment firm, which also owns US fast food group Burger King through its Restaurant Brands International business, has about $10bn locked away in a fund that went untouched because the Unilever bid fell through.

Options for its deployment include buying an entirely new asset to begin consolidating companies in a different industry.

Kraft Heinz was created by 3G Capital in a Warren Buffettbacked 2015 megamerger of Kraft and Heinz.

The shares have fallen about one-third since the tie-up, underperforming the MSCI World consumer staples index and scything $30bn from its market capitalisation, leaving it at $59bn.

Investors have become more bearish on the outlook for traditional food companies in the face of rapidly changing consumer tastes, upheaval in advertising markets and shifts in distribution.

The companies in the MSCI World consumer staples index were trading at an average 22.9 times annual earnings two years ago, but this has fallen to 19.7 times, according to Bloomberg data. The 120-member index includes Nestlé, Diageo and CocaCola.

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understanding the economy of nigeria’s 36 states

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he purpose of this series is to present evidencebased picture of Nigeria vis-a-vis the current presentations by politicians and various interest groups which are not backed by facts and figures. Such presumptuous speculations have driven the various national discourses or debates on the future of Nigeria, including such thorny issues as restructuring, whether fiscal, political, geographical or administrative.

Facts are sacred, they say, and as such must be given priority in our search for national viability and survival.

‘Understanding the Economy of Nigeria’s 36 States’ series presents such an objective, dispassionate picture of the state of the economy and so viability and sustainability of the various component parts, sub-nationals or federating units of the country going forward. This series will serve to either buttress or discountenance some of the claims made on both sides of the restructuring argument.

The series, written by Cambridge-trained economist, Dr. Ayo Teriba, looks at each state at a glance in the

context of its geopolitical zone and as it compares to other states. The data present irrefutable facts about each region and its component states and raise the question: are they viable as constituted today and going forward?

Each series examines a state’s realities from the perspectives of economy, resource endowment, state of wellbeing of its populace, and its budget (revenue and expenditure profile).

Today’s edition covers an overview of Rivers State and Akwa-Ibom State in the South-South region.

Rivers Rivers State Summary • Economy Rivers’ GSP was 9.3 percent of Nigeria’s GDP in 2017, the largest economy in the South-South, 2nd in the South and in the Country, after Lagos and ahead of FCT. Service output was 49 percent of the GSP, Oil was 36 percent, Industry (excl. Oil) was 14 percent and Agriculture was 1 percent. Rivers accounts for 49 percent or about one-half of South-South’s Gross Regional Product and 36.8 percent of Nigeria’s Oil production.

• Endowments Rivers State’s Land Area is 1.17 percent of Nigeria’s, 4th in the South-South, 7th in the South and 26th in the country. Rivers has no boarder but is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and six States; Anambra, Imo and Abia from the South-East, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Delta from the South-South.

(mainly Food, Beverage and Tobacco, Oil Refining, and Textile, Apparel and Footwear), dominated 69 percent of Non-oil output in the State, Construction was 27 percent, Utilities were 3 percent and Solid minerals, 1 percent. * Rivers State’s N5.2 trillion Service output accounted for 8.1 percent of Nigeria’s Service sector, the largest in the South-South, 2nd in the South, and 3rd in the country.

Inter-State Comparisons With a Gross State Product (GSP) of N10.5 trillion or 9.3 percent of Nigeria’s GDP in 2017, Rivers State holds the largest economy in the South-South, 2nd in the South and in Nigeria. Rivers State’s Population of 7.4 million is 3.7 percent of national population, the most populated State in the South-South, 3rd in the South and 6th in the country. The State’s Land Area of 10,600/km2 is 1.17 percent of Nigeria’s land mass, 4th in the South-South, 7th in the South and 26th in the country.

Rivers’ Revenue of N246 billion is 8.2 percent of all States’ total revenue in 2017, the highest in the South-South, 2nd in the South and in the country.

• Wellbeing Rivers’ population is 3.7 percent of national population, the most populated State in the SouthSouth, 3rd in the South and 6th in the country. The State is the 6th most densely populated, the most literate and with 27th life expectancy in the country, with a Per Capita GSP that is the highest in the South-South, 2nd in the South and the country.

• Budget Rivers retained 8.2 percent of States’ revenue in 2017, 2nd only to Lagos; spent 8.7 percent of States’ outlays, also 2nd to Lagos, incurred a deficit and held 4.6 percent of States’ total debt stock, 3rd in the country, after Lagos and Delta.

1. Economy Structure Rivers’ estimated Gross State Product (GSP) in 2017 was N10.5 trillion or 9.3 percent of Nigeria’s GDP in 2017, the largest in the South-South, 2nd in the South and in the country. Services were 49 percent of the State’s GSP, Oil, 36 percent, Industry (excl. Oil), 14 percent and Agriculture was 1 percent. Rivers accounts for 49 percent or about one-half of South-South’s Gross Regional Product and 36.8 percent of Nigeria’s Oil production.

2. Endowments Rivers State was formed from the Eastern Region in 1967, it gained Ughelli from Bendel State, and Opobo from the Cross-River State in 1976 and included the area that became Bayelsa State 1996. It has no boarder. It is bounded on the South by the Atlantic Ocean, to the North by the Anambra, Imo and Abia States, to the East by Akwa Ibom State and to the West by the Bayelsa and Delta States. Towns and cities in Rivers are; Port-Harcourt, Obio-Akpor, Okrika, Ogu, Eleme, Tai, Gokana, Khana, Oyigbo, Andoni, Bonny, Degeme, Asari-Toru, Akuku-Toru, Ahoada, Emohua, Ikwerre, Etche, Omuma, Abua.

Rivers State’s land area of 10,600 km2 is 1.17 percent of Nigeria’s land mass, 4th in the South-South, 7th in the South and 26th in the country.

* N100 billion Agricultural output in Rivers State was 0.3.3 percent of Nigeria’s, the 5th in the SouthSouth, 12th in the South, and 29th in the country.

• N70 billion in fishery was 89 percent of the State’s agricultural output in 2017,

• N5.6 billion in livestock was 7 percent,

• N3.2 billion in crops was 4 percent,

• Forestry was Nil. * Rivers State’s N3.8 trillion Oil production was 36.8 percent of Nigeria’s Oil production, the highest in the South-South, the South and the country. * N1.5 trillion 2017 Non-Oil Industrial output in Rivers State was 9.6 percent of Non-Oil output in the country, the largest in the South-South, 2nd in the South and 3rd in Nigeria. Manufacturing

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understanding the economy of nigeria’s 36 states 3. Wellbeing

revenue components in 2017 were: • Statutory Allocations of N100.8 billion was 6.9 percent of the total allocations to all States and FCT, 3rd in the South-South, the South, and in Nigeria.

• Internally Generated Revenue of N106.4 billion was 13.9 percent of total, the highest in the SouthSouth, 2nd in the South and country.

• Value Added Tax of N8.3 billion was 3.9 percent of States’ total, the highest in the South-South, 3rd in the South and in Nigeria.

4.1.2.2. Spending Rivers State’s actual total expenditure of N321.7 billion in 2017 was 8.7 percent of actual total spending by all States, the highest in the South-South, 2nd in the South and the country. The spending components in 2017 were: • Recurrent Spending of N145.4 billion was 5.5 percent of the recurrent outlays of all the States and the FCT, the largest in the South-South, 2nd in the South and 4th in the country.

• Capital Spending of N176.6 billion in Rivers State was 16.9 percent of States and FCT’s total capital outlays, it is the highest in the South-South, South and in Nigeria.

4.1.2.3. Deficits Rivers State is one of the only 26 States in Nigeria that had deficits in 2017. The State made an overall deficit of N75.7 billion, the least amidst the 3 States in the South-South that had deficits, retains the least among the 9 States that had deficits in the South and 2nd lowest among the 26 States that had deficits in the country.

4.1.2.4. Debt Rivers State’s total outstanding debts of N211.5 billion was 4.6 percent of the States and FCT’s total debts, 2nd to Delta in the South-South, 3rd in the South and the country.

• Domestic Debt of N191.1 billion in December 2017 was 5.7 percent of States and FCT’s domestic debts, 2nd to Delta in the South-South, 3rd in the South and the country.

• Foreign Debt of N20.3 billion in December 2017 was 1.6 percent of the total foreign debts of the States and FCT, 3rd in the South-South, 11th in the South, and 15th in the country.

4.1.3 2013-2017 Trends Total Revenue: Rivers’ Total Revenue declined by N83 billion from N329.6 billion in 2013 to N246 billion in 2017. The bulk of the decline came from the N73.8 billion decline in gross statutory allocations (GSA) from 174.6 billion in 2013 to 100.8 billion in 2017, while the increase in internally generated revenue by N22.1 billion from N84.3 billion in 2013 to N106.4 billion in 2017 partially compensated for the decline in GSA and value added tax proved resilient.

Rivers State’s population of 7.4million is 3.6 percent of national population, 6th in the country, 3rd in Southern Nigeria, and the most populated State in the South-South. With a land area of 10,600/km2, density in Rivers State is 697 people per km2 compared to the country average of 219/km2, 6th in the country and the South, 2nd in the South-South. Rivers’ literacy is the 1st among the 6 South-Southern States, in Southern Nigeria and in the country. Life expectancy of 48 years in the State is the 6th in the South-South, 16th in the South and 27th in the country.

Female life expectancy of 49 years is 31st in the country, 17th in the South and the 6th in the South-South. Male life expectancy of 45 years is 29th in the country, 17th in the South, 6th in the South-South. Per Capita GSP in Rivers State is N1.5 million, 2nd in the country and the South, the highest in the South-South.

4. Budget

Rivers’ Total Spending: Total Spending remained largely the same at N326.4 billion in 2014 and N321.7 billion in 2017, though recurrent spending grew from N118.8 billion in 2014 to N145.4 billion in 2017, while capital spending fell from N207.5 billion in 2014 to N176.3 billion in 2017, Rivers continued to spend more on capital headings than it spent on recurrent items.

4.1.

Fiscal Realities of Delta State 4.1.1. 2018 Aspirations Rivers State’s N510 billion 2018 budget is 5.5 percent of all State’s 2018 spending aspirations, the 3rd in the South-South, 4th in both the South and in Nigeria.

4.1.2. 2017 Realities

Revenue Use: Rivers has often managed to keep more than half of its revenue as current surpluses with which it funds the bulk of its capital outlays, before incurring deficits to augment.

Financing: • Revenue financing: overall deficits were 13.4 percent of total revenue in 2014 and 30.7 percent in 2017.

• Spending finance: overall deficit as a fraction of total spending was 11.8 percent in 2014 and 23.5 percent in 2017.

• Capital budget finance: overall deficit as a fraction of the capital budget was 18.6 percent in 2014 and 42.9 percent in 2017.

Rivers’ Debt • Foreign debt stock grew from N6.7 billion in 2013 to N20.4 billion in 2017; from 2.0 to 8.2 percent of revenue in 2013 and 2017 respectively.

• Domestic debt stock grew from N129.5 billion in 2013 to a peak of N191.2 billion in 2017, from 39.3 percent of revenue in 2013 to77.7 percent in 2017.

• Total debt stock rose from 41.3 percent of revenue in 2013 to 18.8 percent in 2017.

4.1.2.1. Revenue Rivers State’s actual total revenue in 2017 of N246 billion or 8.2 percent of all States’ actual total revenue, the highest in the South-South, 2nd in the South and among the 36 States and FCT. The

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understanding the economy of nigeria’s 36 states

Akwa-Ibom Akwa-Ibom State Summary • Economy Akwa-Ibom’s GSP was 3.2 percent of Nigeria’s GDP in 2017, the 2nd in the South-South, 3rd in the South, and 5th in Nigeria. Oil made up 66 percent the GSP, Services, 25 percent, Agriculture, 5 percent and Industry (excl. Oil) was 4 percent.

• Endowments Akwa-Ibom’s Land Area is 0.76 percent of Nigeria’s, 6th in the South-South, 11th in the South and 31st in the country. Akwa-Ibom has an Atlantic coastline to the South and is bounded by three States; Abia from the South-East, and Rivers and Cross River from its region.

Non-Oil output, Construction output of N46.2 billion was 32 percent. * Akwa-Ibom State’s Service output of N0.9 trillion was 1.4 percent of Nigeria’s Service sector, 3rd in the South-South, 5th in the South, and 8th in the country.

Inter-State Comparisons With a Gross State Product (GSP) of 3.6 trillion or 3.2 percent of Nigeria’s GDP in 2017, 2nd in the South-South, 3rd in the South, and 5th in Nigeria. Akwa-Ibom’s Population of 5.6 million is 2.8 percent of national population, 3rd in the South-South, 7th in the South and 15th in Nigeria. Akwa-Ibom’s Land Area of 6,900 was 0.76 percent of Nigeria’s land mass, the 6th in the South-South, 11th in the South and 31st in the country. The State’s Government Revenue of N178.7 billion was 5.9 percent of all States’ total revenue, 2nd in the South-South, 3rd in the South and the country.

• Wellbeing Akwa-Ibom’s population is 2.8 percent of national population, 3rd in the South-South, 7th in the South and 15th in Nigeria. With the 31st land area in the country, Akwa-Ibom is the 5th most densely populated; with 10th in literacy and the 13th life expectancy in the country, with a Per Capita GSP that is 3rd in the South-South, 4th in the South, and 5th in the country.

• Budget Akwa-Ibom retained 6 percent of States’ revenue in 2017, 3rd in the country; spent 5 percent of States’ outlays in that year, also 3rdin the country, typically kept a balanced budget, and held 4.4 percent of States’ total debts, 4th in the country.

1. Economy Structure Akwa-Ibom’s estimated Gross State Product (GSP) in 2017 was N3.6 trillion or 3.2 percent of Nigeria’s GDP, 2nd in the 6 South-South, 3rd in the South, and 5th in Nigeria. Oil made up 66 percent of the GSP, Services, 25 percent, Agriculture, 5 percent and Industry (excl. Oil), 4 percent.

2. Endowments Akwa-Ibom State was created out of Cross River State in 1987. It has an Atlantic coastline to the South, shares boundaries with three States; Abia to the North, Rivers to the West, and Cross River to the East.

Akwa-Ibom’s land area of 6,900 km2 is 0.76 percent of Nigeria’s land mass, the 6th in the South-South, 11th in the South and 31st in the country. Towns are Cities in Akwa-Ibom State are Abak, Abasi, Aket, Etinan, Ibeno, Ikot, Ikot Ekpere, Itu, Onna, Oron, Oruk-Anam, Ukanafun, Uruan, and Uyo.

* N200 billion Agricultural output in Akwa-Ibom State was 0.8 percent of Nigeria’s, 2nd in the South-South, 4th in the South, and 19th in the country.

• N123.1 billion in fishery was 65 percent of the State’s agricultural output,

• N44.6 billion in crops was 23 percent,

• N15.4 billion in forestry was 8 percent and,

• N7.2 billion in livestock was 4 percent. * Akwa-Ibom State’s N2.4 trillion Oil production in 2017 was 23 percent of all Oil production in the country, the 2nd in the South-South, the South and the country. * N0.1 trillion 2017 Non-Oil Industrial output was 1 percent of the gross Non-Oil Industrial output in Nigeria, 4th in the South-South, 8th in the South and 14th among the 36 States and the FCT. Manufacturing output of N95.7 billion (mainly Food, Beverage and Tobacco, and Textile, Apparel and Footwear, and Wood and Wood Products) dominated 66 percent of the State’s

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4.1.2.1 Revenue Akwa-Ibom state’s actual total revenue of N178.7 billion was 6 per cent of all states’ actual total revenue, 2nd in the South-South, 3rd in the South and among the 36 States and FCT. The revenue components in 2017 were: • Statutory Allocations of N121.8 billion was 8.3 percent of the total allocations to all states and FCT, the highest in the South-South, the South, and in Nigeria.

• Internally Generated Revenue of N22 billion was 2.8 per cent of total, 4th in the South-South, 5th in the South, and 6th in the country.

• Value Added Tax of N10.7 billion was 2.3 per cent of states’ total, 3rd in the South-South, 7th in the South, and 14th in the country.

4.1.2.2 Spending Akwa-Ibom state’s actual total expenditure of N167.9 billion in 2017 was 5 per cent of actual total spending by all states, 2nd in the South-South, 3rd in the South and the country. The spending components in 2017 were: • Recurrent Spending of N43.1 billion was 1.6 percent of the recurrent outlays of all the states and the FCT, 6th in the South-South, 11th in the South, and 25th in the country.

• Capital Spending of N124.8 billion in Akwa-Ibom state was 12 per cent of States and FCT’s total capital outlays, 2nd in the South-South, the South and in Nigeria.

4.1.2.3 Deficits Akwa-Ibom state is one of the only 11 states in Nigeria that had surpluses in 2017. The state had a small overall surplus of N10.8 billion, effectively keeping a balanced budget, the 3rd among the 3 states in the South-South that had surpluses, 7th among the 8 states that had surpluses in the South and the 11 that had surpluses in the country.

4.1.2.4 Debt Akwa-Ibom state’s total outstanding debt of N202.6 billion was 4.4 percent of the States and FCT’s debts, the 3rd in the South-South and the South, 4th in the country.

• Domestic Debt of N187.3 billion in December 2017 was 5.6 per cent of States and FCT’s domestic debts, 2nd in both the South-South and the South, and 4th in the country.

• Foreign Debt of N15.4 billion in December 2017 was 1.2 percent of the total foreign debts of the states and FCT, 5th in the South-South, 15th in the South, and 23rd in the country.

4.1.6. 2013-2017 Trends Akwa-Ibom’s Total Revenue: Total Revenue declined from N274.4 billion in 2014 to N178.7 billion in 2017. The slump came from gross statutory allocations (GSA) while internally generated revenue and value added tax proved resilient in the face of global oil price slump and concomitant recession in the national economy but grew slightly in 2017.

Akwa-Ibom state’s population of 5.6 million in 2018 is 2.8 per cent of national population, 3rd in the South-South, 7th in the South, and15th in the country. With a land area of 6,900 per km2, Akwa-Ibom state has a density of 810 people per km2 compared to the country average of 219/ km2, the most densely populated state among the 6 states in the South-South region, 5th in the South and in Nigeria. Literacy in the state is the least in the South-South region but the 10th in the South and the country. Life expectancy of 50 years in Akwa-Ibom is the 2nd in the SouthSouth, 10th in the South and 13th in the country. Female life expectancy of 52 years is 4th in the South-South, 10th in the South, and 13th in the country. Male life expectancy of 48 years is 2nd in the South-South, 10th in the South, and 14th in the country. Per Capita GSP of N652 thousand in Akwa-Ibom is 3rd in the South-South, 4th in the South, and 5th in the country.

Akwa-Ibom’s Total Spending: Total Spending fell from N287 billion in 2014 to N167.9 billion in 2017. Recurrent outlays declined by more than half from N105.1 billion in 2014 to N43 billion in 2017. Capital spending fell by about a third from N181.9 billion in 2014 to N124.8 billion in 2017.

4. Budget 4.1 Fiscal Realities of Akwa-Ibom 4.1.1 2018 Aspirations Akwa-Ibom state’s budget of N646.6 billion is 7 per cent of the gross 2018 budget by all states, 2nd in the South-South region behind Cross River State, 3rd in the South and the country.

4.1.2 2017 Realities Revenue Use: with declining recurrent headings, Akwa-Ibom’s current surplus further increased from N49.8 billion in 2015 to N135.6 billion in 2017, with the State having to borrow to fund only a small fraction of capital projects in 2015 and 2016, before posting an overall surplus in 2017.

Financing: • Revenue financing: overall deficits of 4.5 percent of total revenue in 2014 and 22.6 percent in 2015 gave way to an overall surplus of 6 percent in 2017.

• Spending finance: overall deficits as a fraction of total spending were 4.3 percent in 2014 and 18.4 percent in 2015, gave way to an overall surplus of 6.4 percent in 2017.

• Capital budget: overall deficits as a fraction of the capital budget were 6.9 percent in 2014 and 44.7 percent in 2015 gave way to an overall surplus of 8.65 percent in 2017 Akwa-Ibom’s Debt • Domestic debt stock rose from N125 billion in 2013 to N187.3 billion in 2017, from 39.8 percent of revenue in 2013 to 104.7 percent in 2017.

• Foreign debt stock grew from N9.7 billion in 2013 to N15.4 billion in 2017; from 3.1 percent of revenue in 2013 to 8.6 percent in 2017.

• Total debt stock rose from 32.9 percent of revenue in 2013 to 113.4 percent in 2017

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Business SOUTH-SOUTH

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF SOUTH-SOUTH / SOUTH-EAST

We curate the story of Cross River State through Who’s Who - Kammonke Abam Kammonke Abam describes himself as a storyteller and curator of history. Unlike the traditional storytellers, he plies his art through profiling personalities. He has done this through Who’s Who and biographical works. His interest is to inspire the world through reading the stories of the challenges and triumphs of outstanding persons. His works are sometimes some kind of discovery project. Abam, the CEO of Profiles & Biographies, spoke to BUSINESSDAY’s EFEGADIRIM MADU about the 2019 edition of Contemporary Who’s Who in Cross River State Tell us about your Contemporar y Who’s Who in Cross River State? he Contemporary Who’s Who in Cross River State is a biographical documentation of the profiles of eminent men and women of Cross River State origin who have distinguished themselves in their chosen careers and professions, and have made outstanding contributions to the development of the society.

them. The essence of this project is simply to acknowledge and recognize the achievements of our sons and daughters who have distinguished themselves in their chosen careers and professions ; and those who also have contributed in a significant way to the development of their communities and the society at large.

We believe that those who have been profiled in this book on account of their efforts and achievements would receive more inspiration to work harder and achieve more in future.

T

What informed this publication?

A. I’ll give you a background to why we’ve been publishing this personality reference document.

In the year 2000, I had the privilege of working under and being mentored by Pastor Nyaknno OssoAbasi, who unarguably is Nigeria’s best documentarian and profilist.

He was, at that time, a Special Assistant to President Olusegun Obasanjo on Research, Library and Documentation. In the course of our work, he discovered that the names of prominent Cross Riverians that made the list of Who’s Who compendia available then, including Newswatch’s Who’s Who, which he edited, were basically the same old names such as Dr Okoi Arikpo, Chief M.T. Mbu, Chief I.I. Murphy, Chief Dr. Mrs. Margaret Ekpo; Dr S.E. Imoke and a few others. He said he knows that there are many younger people from the state who are doing well, and needed to be profiled.

He inspired me to think of publishing Who’s Who in Cross River State. And when I came back to Calabar later that year, I set up a project team that helped to compile the reference book. We successfully did it that year. Since then, we have been updating on a regular basis.

The book serves as a kind of encyclopaedic guide of prominent Cross Riverians from all walks

Kammonke Abam

of life and spectrum. You find in this reference biographical book, details of when these select personalities were born, schools they attended, their careers, and their contacts.

Each time, a new government comes in and political appointments are to be made, reference is made to our book. Also, recr uitment agencies headhunting for professionals often use this book as a reference material.

The philosophy behind our specialized publications is summed up in the motto of our firm: “No one can tell the story of the struggles of a people better than the people themselves.” As a people, we can only go as far as we are willing to project

ourselves. We are in a federation that is highly competitive; and our worth as a state would be appreciated by the way we are branded.

There was a time that we were branded as a people who were laidback and only fit for culinary excellence and domestic helps. Through Contemporary Who’s Who in Cross River State, we have been able to communicate the fact that the state is endowed with men and women of incredible charm, wit and intelligence.

We have also been able to accentuate the uniqueness of the state as the ultimate destination for business and leisure through the adverts

‘

We are in a federation that is highly competitive; and our worth as a state would be appreciated by the way we are branded

and advertorials we place in the book. Cross River State is truly Nigeria’s paradise nestled in the curvy and spell-bound mountainous sights, the aquatic splendour and the never-ceasing rainforest of the state. By the way, this book [Contemporary Who’s Who in Cross River State] holds huge advertising opportunities for brands wishing to reach the prime markets in Cross River State, as the book is usually in every home, in school libraries, newspaper houses; and copies are sent to the Presidency and international development organisations.

We also believe that celebrating people brings the best out of

What criteria qualify people to be listed in the?

The criteria for selecting are simple. Foremost consideration in determining possible listees for Contemporary Who’s Who in Cross River is the extent of an individual’s reference value. Such reference value is judged on either or both of the two factors: the first is the position of responsibility held, and the second is the level of achievement attained by the individual. Admission based on the factors of position includes: Governors, Ministers, Commissioners, Special Advisers to the Governor, Special Assistants to the Governor, Permanent Secretaries, Directors, high ranking military officers, clerics, labour leaders, local government chairmen, captains of industries, and prominent figures in all the professions. Admission based on individual achievement, on the other hand, is based on the accomplishment of an outstanding achievement; something that distinguishes him or her from the vast majority of his contemporaries.

When is this edition going public?

A: The book will be out this month; and it will be presented to the public in a special public presentation event almost immediately.

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Opinion From third world to first THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS

Obadiah Mailafia

M

y gentle readers would know that the title of today’s piece is borrowed from the famous autobiography by the long-reigning founder-leader of Singapore, late Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (1923-2015). In those eponymous memoirs, Lee sought to explain how his country raised itself, as it were, from its bootstraps as a marshy, mosquito-infested backwater into one of the most prosperous nations of our twenty-first century. As we face the prospects of electing a new leader to preside over the high magistracy of our federal republic, there has been no discussion whatsoever on how we can move our country from third to first world status.

The British political philosopher Isaiah Berlin made a famous remark about the fox and the hedge hog. The fox is full of all sorts of ideas, some of the hare-brained, of course. The hedge hog, on the one hand, is driven by a big idea.

Almost all our politicians are foxes. They have all sorts of ideas – most of them puny and quite often, pedestrian. There are hardly any statesmen guided by big ideas.

As far as I am concerned, the biggest question facing us today is the economy. The real national debate has to centre on how we can lift our country from a lowly status to the ranks of advanced, prosperous democracies. From a purely GDP per capita standpoint, we are no longer a third world country. With a per capita income of US$2,050, we fall within the category of the lower middle-income nations as defined by the World Bank classification. A lower middle-income country is technically defined as one with an income of US$1,006 and US$3,995. A fully middleincome country is one that has a per capita

income between US$3,956 and US$12,235. A high-income nation, on the other hand, means anything from US$12,236 upwards.

To put things in perspective, the top 3 countries by per capita income in 2018 are: Luxembourg (US$120,061); Switzerland (US$86,835); Iceland (US$84,675). The United States comes sixth with US$62,152 while Singapore is in tenth place, with a figure of US$61,767. We are clearly far from the ranks of prosperous democracies by a long haul.

I believe that the real debate that should focus our minds at present is how to reach the upper echelons of a full middle-income status within the coming decade. The long term plan within the next two decades must centre on how to attain a high-income status among the prosperous democracies.

Over the last half-century, economic science has unravelled the critical success factors that propel accelerated growth. Growth is a necessary but not a sufficient condition, for growth.

Growth must be underpinned by political stability, social harmony, and the rule of law, good governance, strong and effective leadership, inclusive development and shared prosperity.

For a rentier oil state such as ours, the kind of balanced growth we seek must be accompanied by structural diversification of the economy. We must commit to weaning the economy from dependence on oil. It requires a new development strategy anchored on a mass agriculturebased industrial revolution. The most important sectors for diversification include manufacturing, steel, solid minerals, tourism, LNG and petrochemicals. Of course, we must also address binding constraints such as power and infrastructures and institutional bottlenecks in government and markets.

Nigeria stands at the crossroads of history. We have an opportunity to reinvent our country as a responsible and forward-looking nation and a leader of the African continent. We can also choose to play the game of losers by relapsing to narrow-minded sectarian tribalism. All is possible in this land of extraordinary talents and energy.

Government needs to reinvent as an “entrepreneurial state” that plays a central role in providing enabling environment to private sector led economic development. Clearly, much

Nima Elbagir and a war without end HumanAngle

Femi olugbile

N

ima Elbagir is a Sudanese ‘Senior International Correspondent’ with CNN. She cut her journalistic teeth working with Reuters several years ago and has now climbed up the dizzy heights of world acclaim as an investigative reporter, to a point where it is being said in some circles that she has out-Amanpored Amanpor. This is a reference to the timeless exploits of the intrepid Christiane Amanpor whose reports from wartorn Bosnia are still the stuff of legend, and who is regarded, rightly, by her peers with a mixture of awe and admiration.

Nima, in the past few years, has done a number of things which have earned her high acclaim, and she has won a number of awards in recognition of her derring-do. She was the first foreign journalist to visit Chibok, where two hundred Nigerian schoolgirls had been abducted by Boko Haram terrorists in circumstances that, till today, are still redolent with suspicion and conspiracy theories. At a time when the whole of Borno state outside Maiduguri was still a no-go area for most Nigerians, Nima went to Chibok with her cameraman and brought to Nigerians, and the whole world watching on CNN, real-time pictures that brought the drama of the horror wrought on the sensibilities of hapless Nigerian citizens into millions of sitting rooms. The international campaign to free the Chibok girls gained momentum from her human angle stories.

It was of course a dangerous assignment.

She could have been killed.

More and more, dangerous self-driven assignments are getting to be the story of Nima’s life herself.

Her interest in Nigeria would not stop with Chibok. Some months ago, she was at the centre of a ‘sting’ operation to unravel the bowels of the human trafficking of Nigerians, especially girls destined for prostitution through Libya to Europe. So difficult was the mission that she could only carry it out by offering to be ‘trafficked’ herself. In a television report she would famously title ‘Don’t struggle if you’re raped’, she revealed how the nefarious business was conducted, involving thousands of young Nigerians every year. Having, with her producer, paid five hundred thousand naira each for a ‘VIP’ travel package to Europe, they were to set out from Auchi, in Edo State. A smuggler would meet them in Kano, and escort them across the border into Libya. They were given condoms to carry along as necessary travel baggage, with the pragmatic, deadpan advice from their smugglers ‘We give contraception.

You need men in Libya to be kind to you. They will have things you want. Do you understand?

You don’t get something for nothing in this life… Listen, don’t struggle if you’re raped…’

The deal sealed, they were taken to a bus depot in Auchi, and put on a Kano-bound bus.

It would take fourteen hours to get to Kano.

From there a member of the network would put them on a bus to Agadez in Niger republic.

And from Agadez they would travel to Sabha in southern Libya, where earlier survivors of the slave trade were reported to have been marched off the bus at gunpoint and sold at slave-auctions.

Nima and her producer got off the bus as soon as they were safely out of sight of the smugglers.

Nima’s documentary on the journey would play like a horror movie to a world-wide audience, watching in disbelief.

Nima is now a flagship brand affixed to the mast of CNN. Coming from Sudan, an African country where press freedom is not the

remains to be done in the areas of macroeconomic reforms and sectoral interventions. The battle against corruption and commitment to the rule of law must be taken to a new level, with the strengthening of the respective institutions and a vigorous exercise of leadership to achieve accelerated growth and the creation of no less than a New Nigeria.

All these achievements are attributable to the foundation laid by Lee Kuan Yew through the force his personality, his vision and sheer audacity.

First, we must pursue nation building as a central political objective. Lee Kuan Yew deliberately forged a sense of nationhood out of diverse ethnic communities who often eyed each other with suspicion.

Second, Singapore made the rule of law the cardinal principle of rulership and civil government.

Third, Singapore embraced international trade as a vehicle for engineering prosperity.

Fourth, bold efforts were made to enhance national competitiveness, focusing particularly on SMEs and entrepreneurship, research and innovation and opening up new markets and distribution channels.

Fifth, infrastructures development was rigorously pursued not only as a means of bettering the living conditions of the people but as a way of creating an attractive environment for investments.

Sixth, human capital development was pursued with great rigour. They invested heavily in child education at the elementary and secondary level, with emphasis on higher education, particularly in the technical and engineering fields.

Seventh, Lee took deliberate efforts to create a world-class merit based civil service. Recruitment and promotion are based on competitive examinations and performance. Salaries are at par with those of the private sector so as to attract the best while discouraging corruption.

And finally, in a time of upheavals in Indonesia, the Koreas, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar, Lee made his country an oasis of peace and harmony.

Lee Kuan Yew was an outstanding leader who was not threatened by anyone who exhibited exceptional talent. He thrived on gathering

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... we must pursue nation building as a central political objective

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Even where she washes Africa’s dirty linen in public, it has the effect of shaming fellow Africans into action

forte, Nima is a lady of courage, brilliance and initiative that all of Africa should be proud of and feel inspired by. Even where she washes Africa’s dirty linen in public, it has the effect of shaming fellow Africans into action, often in situations where leadership has failed, and calm reason has cut no ice.

Nima’s focus is the whole world, shining the light of day into darkness. Her most recent story is about the endless war in Yemen.

The people of Yemen are going through the worst humanitarian disaster in the world.

Children are dying of hunger. There is no food for ordinary citizens, caught in a war between two powerful blocks where there is no retreat, no surrender, and no quarters are given, or expected.

It was not meant to be like this. It was advertised as a short, sharp quick intervention where a coalition corralled together by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (yes – he of the Khashoggi bone-saw saga) , made up mostly of Sunni Muslim Arab nations, supported massively by the United States of America, would overwhelm Shia Houthi ‘rebels’, supported principally by Iran, drive them off into the desert, and ‘restore the elected President of the country to power’.

The truth, of course, is somewhat less black and white than what is stated officially. The ‘President’, even from the time of his ‘election’, seldom controlled territory more than a mile

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around him people of high ability; paying close attention not only to intellectual ability but also to character and individual psychology in selecting those to lead the departments of government as well as the various parastatals. He was, in that sense, unapologetically an elitist. As a leader, he spoke with clarity and conviction. And he was no one to suffer fools gladly. But his critics also had a point when they accused him of slamming ruinous law suits on those who publicly criticised his government.

The Singapore model has worked rather well for the island city-state. But it is not without its blemishes. Until recently, Singapore has been a country where citizens spoke in whispers; a benevolent authoritarian democracy where the opposition was often hounded and independent opinion suppressed. But things are changing.

When Deng Xiaoping, China’s revolutionary philosopher-king was embarking on his Four Modernisations in 1979, he sent emissaries to under-study Singapore. Singapore provides a good laboratory on how to do it. To quote Lee himself: “There is no reason why third world leaders cannot succeed….if they can maintain social order, educate their people, maintain peace with their neighbours and gain confidence of investors by upholding the rule of law.”

I am persuaded that Nigeria has not only the potential but the innate capacity to become one of the prosperous democracies of the twenty-first century. What is required is that we diversify the economy; harness our abundant natural resources into value-added goods for domestic and world markets; invest in human capital and skills; re-engineer our nation building anchored on the rule of law, good governance and national competitiveness. What is needed is not difficult to decipher. How to govern with effectiveness is what matters. It requires a new order of leadership; a commitment to national purpose and destiny. Only the deep can call unto the deep.

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)

radius from his ‘presidential palace’.

The people of Yemen are locked in a fratricidal war that nobody is going to win any time soon, and the only certainty is that the ordinary people of Yemen, men, women and children will continue to die daily in droves.

Nima has been just been on the battle front in Yemen, and her report is causing ripples everywhere from the White House to the American Congress and all the major power houses of the world, including Europe and Arabia. Some of the most advanced weaponry in the American armory have been sold to Saudi Arabia to prosecute MBS’s ‘short sharp quick’ war to restore ‘constituted authority’ to Yemen and neutralize the influence of Shia Iran in the region. Unfortunately, many of those weapons have been captured and are being used by the Houthis, and some have apparently been shared with Al Qaeda-linked ‘allied’ groups. Many of the most prized and secret American weapons have even found their way to Iran where they are being taken apart and their technology analyzed, preparatory to being cloned.

It is a fine mess –for America, which has a law forbidding the ‘sub-contracting’ of its arms; for MBS, whose ‘Sunni’ coalition is locked in a war it cannot win, but for which it has no exit strategy; and most of all for the people of Yemen, whose people are continuing to suffer and die in appalling circumstances. Incidentally the much-celebrated ‘Saudi Coalition’ includes Nigeria – or more appropriately President Buhari’s government, although thankfully they are not involved in Yemen.

Perhaps Nima Elbagir’s documentary, exposing the futility of grand design and the humongous scale of the suffering of Yemeni people will help the world to see that the problems of Yemen will ultimately only be solved - not by an endless war, but by people sitting down to talk peace to one another, no matter how distasteful that option may be to some powerful people. Perhaps.

Femi Olugbile is a Writer and Psychiatrist.

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