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news you can trust I ** friDAY 24 july 2020 I vol. 19, no 613
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Nigeria’s DisCos blighted by high overheads, related party deals ISAAC ANYAOGU
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ith over 40 percent of their revenue reported as expenses and huge related party transactions, Nigeria’s 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) may be turning a key rule of business – that you only make money after serving your customers – on its head. For example, Ikeja Electric reported a financing cost of N20 billion, related party deals worth N23 billion, a loss of N90 billion and overhead of N39 billion or 44 percent of revenue in just one year. For any other business, this will trigger its collapse, but for the DisCos, government subsidy provides comfort. But this situation poses a systemic risk for the economy because the government has prioritised bailing out purported private businesses with funds that could be used to equip health facilities and road infrastructure. Subsidy to the power sector cost the Federal Government N560 billion in 2019, higher than the federal budget Continues on page 29
Inside
COVID-19 may slow CBN’s 80% financial inclusion by 2020 P. 2
President Muhammadu Buhari arrives in Bamako, Republic of Mali, on a day visit to engage in further consultations towards finding a political solution to the crisis in the country. NAN
COVID-19: How human rights suffocate under curbing measures A
After President Muhammadu Buhari relaxed the month-long restriction on movement in Lagos, basic human rights have been trampled under strokes of several violations, leaving adverse toll on Nigerians, Temitayo Ayetoto reveals deoye Quadri is one of several Nigerian youths squarely facing the economic challenges posed by the reality of COVID-19. In his late 20s, he survives on the proceeds of the collection of levies
INVESTIGATION
for the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and tailoring. However, when President Muhammadu Buhari placed re-
strictions on movement to tame the escalation of the coronavirus outbreak, it plunged him into a financial mess. The public transport system was handicapped and paying for a new piece of clothing was outside the immediate priorities of his client base
at Alakuko, a low-cost suburb of Lagos. It was truly a great relief, when on April 28, 2020, a gradual easing of the lockdown measures was declared. Unfortunately, his joy was
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news Akpabio denies accusing lawmakers of getting 60% NDDC contracts
… after Reps threaten legal action Bunmi Bailey & James Kwen
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inister for Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, on Thursday said he never accused National Assembly members of collecting 60 percent of the contracts at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as the commission was yet to fully implement any budget since the commencement of the ninth National Assembly. Akpabio stated in a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gba-
jabiamila, read on the floor of the House during plenary, shortly after the lower chamber resolved to sue the minister for criminal perjury and civil defamation. At the commencement of plenary on Thursday, Gbajabiamila had said sequel to the failure of the minister to publish names of members of the National Assembly whom he alleged have collected 60 percent of contracts in the NDDC within 48 hours from Tuesday, he had directed the Clerk of the House to engage the services of
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EXPLAINER:
Inflationary pressures and how they are still pinching pockets of Nigerians
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igeria’s headline rate has remained at double-digit levels since February 2016. According to analysts as FBNQuest, this year the highest increase in headline inflation has been 16bps in June while January, February and April registered rises of 15bps, 7bps and 8bps, respectively. Food inflation has been the primary driver of acceleration in the headline rate. Given the disruptions to the transportation of food items from farms to markets due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there have been further food supply shocks. • The prices of items within the core inflation basket have also picked up over the past few months. The latest inflation report tells us that the transport segment, which accounts for 6.5% of the basket, showed price increases of 1.0% m/m in June (unchanged from the previous month) and 10.4% y/y, compared with 10.1% in May. • A separate report from the National Bureau of Statistics reveals that the average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within cities increased by 3.6% m/m and 25.8% y/y in June. Zamfara, Abuja and Cross River states recorded the highest increases. • The same report discloses that the average fare paid by commuters for intercity bus journeys increased by 1.1% m/m and 13.5% y/y in June. To maintain social distancing as instructed by the Federal government, commercial buses have had to reduce
passenger intake by at least half of the initial numbers pre-Covid. This has pushed up mass transportation costs. • The segment categorised as housing, water, electricity, and gas and other fuels, the largest component of the core measure, recorded a price increase of 7.9% y/y in June, compared with 7.8% recorded in the previous month. The implementation of the review of the electricity tariff has been deferred to 2021. • The price rises recorded in the health segment within the basket highlight the Covid-19 effect. In June increases of 1.2% m/m and 11.1% y/y were recorded for the segment. Pharmaceuticals and medical services continue to feature as leading drivers of core inflation. • The restaurants and hotels segment has been severely hit by the pandemic. Restaurants have been forced to depend on delivery services. In addition, the general rise in food prices have also resulted in upward revisions of sale items in restaurants. In June price increases of 0.8% m/m and 9.5% y/y were recorded in this segment. • At its latest meeting held on Monday, the Central Bank’s monetary policy committee noted the contribution of legacy structural factors to the persistent uptick in inflation. These factors include: disruptions to key supply channels due to security challenges from herder-farmer clashes, banditry/kidnapping, inadequate transportation outlay, epileptic power supply, and low technological adaptability. www.businessday.ng
COVID-19 may slow CBN’s 80% financial inclusion by 2020 ... as SANEF targets 500,000 mobile money agents by 2020 FRANK ELEANYA, MICHAEL ANI & BUNMI BAILEY
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igeria’s goal of ensuring 80 percent of Nigerian adults have access to financial services by the end of 2020 may no longer be visible as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has adversely affected the revenue of many households and businesses. However, stakeholders say collaboration may be the only opportunity the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has to achieve the target, given the time left in 2020.
The stakeholders, who include the CBN, Mastercard, Carbon, MTN Nigeria, VerifyMe and Acumen, on Thursday, participated in BusinessDay Digital Dialogue Series with special focus on ‘Future of Payment and Financial Inclusion.’ As of July 23, Nigeria had 38,344 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 813 deaths and 15,815 people recovered. While the number continues to rise, the economic impact has been very devastating for many people and businesses. By April when the government began to enforce a nationwide lockdown, many online lenders said
they were expecting massive defaults, a signal that all was not well with the majority of adults who had access to financial services. But it was already predicted in a report by the Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA), the organisation that conducts biennial reports on Nigeria’s financial inclusion industry. EFInA had noted at the beginning of the year that while more people became financially included between 2016 and 2018, it was not at the same pace with population growth rate. The COVID-19 has now exacerbated the situation, as
experts note that much of the current 63.2 percent of the population with access to financial services have fallen behind. Paul Oluikpe, associate head, Financial Inclusion Secretariat, CBN, says the current financial inclusion figures are being put together by EFInA and is likely to show that many people have fallen through the cracks in huge proportions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bank also conducted a survey in which it found out that payment adoption was currently at 40 percent, savings at Continues on page 30
Four years after, Brickwall Global yet to allocate land to buyers ISAAC ANYAOGU
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eal estate firms have become quite persuasive in marketing new property developments in Lagos suburbs of Epe and Ikorodu, but some who have bought this message of ‘owning your own house’ in Lagos have got their fingers burnt. This appears to be the case with a group of people who bought pieces of land from Brickwall Global Investments Limited, a Lagos-based real estate firm, owned by Uche Ahubelem, a real estate practitioner and motivational speaker. Five persons who bought property from the company have petitioned the Federal High Court, Lagos, seeking to wind up the business so as to liquidate the company’s assets and retrieve over
N5.7 million spent on purchasing pieces of land in the company’s Mayflower Estate, at Ikorodu. “More than two years after these sums were paid, the respondent without cause or justification has refused to give the petitioners possession of the respective parcel of land purchased, or in the alternative, return the purchase price despite several demands to that effect,” they wrote in a petition to the court. The petitioners include Lawrence and Saffron Imolode, Ebuka Ezeocha, Zephaniah Nwokeji, and Chuka Nwadialo. But apart from them, investigations show that over a dozen others have also been traded excuses rather than real estate. Nwokeji told BusinessDay on phone that after
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one Precious Uba, a marketing staff of Brickwall Global Investments visited him at home and sold the property, she had done nothing to ensure that they got their land allocations. When Uba was contacted, even she sounded helpless. “The company has told them to wait, there is nothing I can do about this situation,” she said on phone. Nwokeji fears that the same land sold to them of which they had been unable to take possession may have also been sold to others. Uba confirmed that she was selling lands in other areas. “Everything about this looks like a scam,” Nwokeji said. Emmanuel Ijakpa, chief operating officer of Brickwall Global Investments, told BusinessDay that the @Businessdayng
delay in allocating the land to the buyers was due to a massive gully, almost the size of an acre, on the property, which was not noticed when they bought it from the family. “We want to make sure that the people we bought the land from are involved in this issue, they should bear some losses too, which we have arrived at an agreement and a company has been contacted,” Ijakpa said. The land in dispute is over 3,200 square meters lying in Mowo Nla village, Ikorodu, in Ikorodu Local Government Area of Lagos State, which belonged to Ifegbuwa Chieftaincy Family. But the petitioners believe the company is merely shopping for excuses because it carried out its Continues on page 30
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NEWS
Reps to enforce treatment of victims of FG targets N18trn under revenue UN, EU committed to FG’s fight against initiative, expects N3.4trn from states gender-based violence armed attacks without police report sponses whenever the crime JAMES KWEN
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he House of Representatives on Thursday took steps to enforce treatment of victims of armed attack other than gunshot injuries without a police clearance in order to save the victim from death. The house also passed for second reading a bill for an act to amend the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshots Act, 2017, thereby expanding the scope of its application to include other forms of weapons other than firearms that could be used to inflict injuries on a victim. Leading debate on the general principles of the Bill, the sponsor Wale Raji (APC, Lagos) said the effect of the amendment will empower hospitals (both public and private) to treat victims of armed attack aside gunshots injuries without a police clearance and save the victim the agony of been rejected as is presently the case in Nigeria. The lawmaker argued that: “Originally, the crux of the compulsory treatment and care for victims of gunshots
Act, 2017 is to permit both public and private hospitals accept and provide immediate treatment for victims with gun/firearms injuries with or without a police clearance. “However, due to the restricted coverage of this act, many innocent victims of other dangerous weapons other than firearms have consistently been rejected by the hospitals for want of a police clearance, which has led to their untimely death”. He said with the amendment of the law which will accommodate innocent victims who sustained injuries other than gunshot injuries, the National Assembly would have consciously put an end to the conundrum of hospitals refusing to treat dying patients who have sustained injuries other than gunshots and without a police clearance. Raji stated that the justification of this amendment rests on the fact that constitutionally, every Nigerian citizen has a right to life and no one should be deprived intentionally of his/her life save in execution of the sentence of a court where such a person has been found to be guilty.
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CYNTHIA EGBOBOH, Abuja
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he Federal government, under its Strategic Revenue Growth Initiative (SRGI), targets to generate between N13 trillion and N18 trillion in revenues and achieve a 15 percent revenue to GDP target by 2023, Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning said on Thursday. The Federal Government also expects states which are presently cash-strapped to cumulatively generate about N3.4 trillion of the total sum. She said that the Nigeria’s revenue to GDP ratio at about 8 percent has remained below the continent average as well as below the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) target of 15 percent, and raised concerns that the country could still lag behind comparator countries unless major changes embraced in policy behaviour, driven by data to purposefully target revenue generation levers. “Apart from behavioural changes at the macro level, a data-driven approach also drives changes at the micro level, within our institutions. “This can be in the form of plugging revenue leakages, or by identifying new sources of revenue. Let us consider these
two points in turn,” Ahmed, noted, speaking at a Webinar themed, “Leveraging data to drive inclusive policy, revenue generation and improved governance” organised by the National Bureau of Statistics. “Accurate and reliable data is also essential in plugging revenue leakages. Data is equally relevant for identifying new sources of revenue. It is not enough to simply plug leakages; new sources of revenue are a necessary complimentary strategy”. She explained that specific efforts are on-going towards achieving the 15 percent revenue to GDP target by 2023, as well as identifying sectors of the economy that can benefit from fiscal and tax reforms, while expanding the base and rate for such taxes. “Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that such policy decisions are driven, not by ideology, but by data”. Citing the recent analysis by the National Bureau of Statistics which compared the contribution of various economic activities to GDP and their contribution to value added tax (VAT) receipts, the minister, using Q1 2020 data, noted, regrettably, that activities which constitute a large chunk of nominal GDP contribute relatively less to VAT collection.
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FELIX OMOHOMHION, Abuja
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wo world bodies on Thursday made commitment to support Nigeria’s effort towards eradicating sexual gender based violence in the country. Representatives of United Nations and the European Union gave their commitment during the inauguration of the inter-ministerial management committee on eradication of sexual and gender based in Abuja, yesterday. The attorney general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice, Abubakar Malami, who inaugurated the committee tasked members to come up with solutions that would checkmate the rising wave of the menace in the country. He charged the committee to “give their best to save the country, our women and our children from this menace.” To achieve this, Malami told the members to carry out a holistic examination of all issues ranging from legal, socio-cultural to economic perspective. The committee is also expected to develop and implement effective approaches for prevention and effective re-
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occurs. “The enormity of this problem calls for a targeted approach and concerted effort of all relevant stakeholders. You all have been carefully selected to work assiduously together and come up with lasting solutions to the problem of gender based violence in Nigeria”, he said. The minister said that the committees would be collaborating with the United Nations and civil society organisations, and tap from their wealth of experiences on the issue and ensure best practices in the attainment of this objective. In a goodwill message, the representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Ulla Mueller, while noting that Nigeria has witnessed a spike in sexual violence with the Covid-19 pandemic, commended the Nigerian government for rising to the challenge and called on all for support. “We cannot say it often enough, we all have a responsibility to end gender based violence. It is a devastating occurrence that happens every day in Nigeria. It is a reality that women and girls live in fear every day.
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NEWS
Coronavirus: Healthcare experts reject Gunshots in Abuja as police sack Mobile Court for arresting colleagues reopening of schools IGNATIUS CHUKWU
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aediatricians in Nigeria, regarded as the nation’s child healthcare experts, have rejected the clamour to reopen schools and the guidelines issued by the Federal Government for reopening, fearing an upsurge from schools. Paediatricians are indicated as specially trained medical doctors who work with babies, infants, adolescents, and young adults. Experts say children experience rapid physical, emotional, and behavioural changes as they grow up and require experts at their level. The Paediatric Association of Nigeria (PAN) has, therefore, warned against reopening schools now, especially primary and secondary schools, pointing to Ghana where such a step has led to a school-based upsurge. In a position paper issued in Port Harcourt and made available to BusinessDay, the national president, Edward Alikor, a professor, and Petronila Tabansi, the national secretary, said such a step must be shunned until positive figures come down very well.
They observed that figures from Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) showed exponential rise in Covid-19 incidence and deaths. It would appear that Nigeria has, at this time, not reached its peak incidence of the pandemic. PAN noted that it was obvious that the Nigerian healthcare system was grossly ill-equipped to absorb sudden surges in cases of Covid-19 in schools. “We are still learning about the effect of Covid-19 in the human body including the long-term effect of the virus in various organs, even in asymptomatic carriers including children.” As a result, PAN said it supported the continued closure of schools until conditions were safe. “The minimum criterion for considering the reopening of schools in Nigeria should be a steady and consistent decline in the spread of Covid-19 in most parts of the country. It is then and only then, we believe, that the other criteria as laid down by the guidelines for schools and learning facilities reopening after Covid-19 pandemic closures can now be considered.”
JAMES KWEN, Abuja
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poradic gunshots rented the air on Thursday afternoon in Dei-Dei, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory FCT), Abuja when gunmen believed to be policemen fired shots to disperse the FCT Mobile Court sitting in the area to try violators of the Covid-19 safety protocols. The incident which happened at about noon was said to have thrown residents and motorists into confusion as everyone, including the magistrate, prosecutors and other officials scampered to safety. Trouble reportedly started when members of the FCT Ministerial Joint Enforcement Task Team on Covid-19 restrictions arrested a policeman who gave his name as Agada Gabriel for a dual offence of not wearing a facemask in public and overloading his vehicle, a Gulf car with passengers. The culprit who was arrested around the premises of the court was said to have called on his colleague, a certain Smart Jacob to help
him to resist his arraignment. The two were subsequently charged for overloading and non-use of face masks and sentenced accordingly, but they were said to have refused to pay their fines or engage in community service as directed by the court. According to eyewitnesses, the duo were said to have mobilised gunmen from the Mobile Police Barracks in Dei-Dei who stormed the court, shooting sporadically. While the presiding magistrate, Theresa Otu, court prosecutor, Emmanuel T. Yatsegha and other court officials, including a Correctional Service Personnel scampered to safety, the policemen were said to have dismantled the court’s canopy and vowed that they would no longer allow any court sitting in the area. When journalists got to the area, normalcy had been restored, but a female personnel of the Nigerian Correctional Service attached to the court was seen lamenting the loss of her mobile phone and handbag containing some valuables.
Institute of Directors to launch Code of Ethics 2020 STEPHEN ONYEKWELU
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he Code of Ethics Committee of the Institute of Directors (IoD) Nigeria has completed the task of preparing a document detailing sound business ethics and principles for the Institute’s members and its personnel. IoD Nigeria, a foremost corporate governance advocacy Institution in Africa’s biggest economy, is set to launch its Code of Ethics for members and staff of the Institute on August 6. Although the Institute has always had a Code of Ethics, the Governing Council, at some point, decided to review the codes to conform to present realities and the current challenges faced by Directors in their roles. It guides on topical issues such as conflicts of interest, gifts and whistleblowing. “One of the key mandates of the IoD Nigeria is to sustain standards, values, ethics, best traditions and continuously improve the capacities of Directors to fulfil their roles of delivering value to all stakeholders,” said Chris O.
Okunowo, president/chairman of the council, IoD, at a virtual press conference, Thursday, on the launch of the code of ethics. A code of ethics is a guide of principles designed to help professionals conduct business honestly and with integrity. A code of ethics document may outline the mission and values of the business or organisation. How professionals are supposed to approach problems, the ethical principles based on the organisation’s core values, and the standards to which the professional is held. “By adhering to the values and principles set out in the IoD Code of Ethics, directors will increase the general confidence in boards of directors and positively impact the organisation and the nation,” said Amina Oyagbola, a fellow/chairman, Ethics Committee, IoD Nigeria. Oyagbola said the Committee agreed that the design and tone of the Code should be “aspirational rather than directional, with some general ethical values, principles and standards in line with Best Practice.”
Is Africa starting to have second thoughts about that Chinese money BLOOMBERG
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ipak Patel can still recall the dizzying grandeur of his 2003 visit to Beijing’s cavernous Great Hall of the People: the rows of stern guards all the same height, the state dinner that included stewed shark fin and bird’s nest soup, and the People’s Liberation Army band playing songs from Patel’s native Zambia—even singing in one of the African country’s scores of dialects. As Zambia’s minister of commerce at the time, Patel had joined the delegation to cement ties and—crucially— secure financing for big-ticket infrastructure initiatives. While most delegates were eager to accept anything they could get for projects such as a hydropower dam and a 50,000-seat soccer stadium, Patel urged caution. “My view was that we needed to build a strategic partnership and think it through,” he says. “But I was one voice in the cabinet.” His warning went unheeded, and Zambia started to take out loans from Chinese banks for airports, hospitals, housing projects, and the roads connecting them. Chinese credit has grown to about a third of Zambia’s external debt, which has surged sevenfold over the past decade, forcing the government this year to ask creditors to reschedule loans.
Patel, now a real estate investor, is challenging in court the legality of billions in foreign money Zambia has borrowed without what he says was required consent from Parliament. “Nobody other than the government knows the terms,” he says. The government says it didn’t need parliamentary approval. Patel is among a growing number of African activists and policymakers questioning the deluge of Chinese credit—some $150 billion in 2018, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University— that has fueled a debt crisis aggravated by the new coronavirus. Nigerian lawmakers are reviewing Chinese loans they say were unfavorable. Activists in Kenya are demanding the government disclose the terms of Chinese credit used to build a 470-kilometer (292mile) railway. And Tanzanian President John Magufuli calls an agreement his predecessor made with Chinese investors, to build a $10 billion port and economic zone, a deal “only a madman would sign.” While it will be tough for cash-starved African governments to win many concessions, a wave of looming defaults poses the biggest test ever for China’s influence in the region. “This has the potential to produce the most profound change in relations since China became a major economic player on the continent,” says Chris Alden, an www.businessday.ng
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (c) with Senegalese Culture Minister Abdou Aziz Mbaye (l) during construction of the Museum of Black Civilisations in early 2014.
international affairs professor at the London School of Economics. “African governments and society are increasingly asking China to come up with answers to this problem.” Chinese lending to Africa dates at least to the 1960s, when Mao Zedong channeled arms and training to rebels fighting for independence from European colonial powers. The support was limited, because China was as poor as many African countries, but it has since grown into an economic superpower in need of new markets and raw materials and seeking to boost its global political standing. In the past two decades, Beijing has handed out loans to de-
veloping countries at a speed and scope not seen since the U.S.-financed Marshall Plan in Europe after World War II. In Africa, Beijing was eager to fill the vacuum left when U.S. and European interest in the continent waned following the end of the Cold War. Governments there were hungry for loans not tied to austerity programs imposed by Western financial institutions, and China was quick to approve credit, with scant concern about the money going to regimes accused of corruption or human-rights violations. “For China, as the newest power on the block, the only region of the world that was uncontested was Africa,” says Gyude Moore,
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Liberia’s former minister of public works and now a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington. “When people complain about Chinese loans, it’s not as if most African countries have a plethora of options.” It’s hard to miss China’s footprint in Africa. In tiny Guinea-Bissau, the exit signs in a government building are written in Chinese characters. In Mozambique, Chinese money paid for a 2-mile-long suspension bridge, the longest on the continent, that links the capital with beach resorts and neighboring South Africa. China helped foot the bill for Senegal’s Museum of Black Civilizations—which until @Businessdayng
recently included Chinese art in its exhibits. It’s become the largest financier of infrastructure in Africa, with the likes of the China Export-Import Bank and the China Development Bank funding a fifth of big projects, according to consulting firm Deloitte. To guarantee a quarter of that debt, African countries have effectively mortgaged future earnings from exports of commodities such as oil, cocoa, and copper. While loans by private investors from around the world still make up more than half of Africa’s external public debt, Germany’s Kiel Institute for the World Economy says China has lent more than the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Club of Paris, a group of wealthy countries, combined. And many loans aren’t made public, prompting suspicions that Africa’s debt to China is bigger than estimated. The Kiel group says as much as half of all Chinese lending to developing countries, or about $200 billion, hadn’t been reported to the IMF and World Bank as of 2016. The Chinese loans have drawn parallels to the lending boom of the 1970s that led to a crippling debt crisis across the developing world a decade later. “We’ll see a wave of defaults,” says Christoph Trebesch, an author of the Kiel study. “It’s just a question of whether it will be a huge wave or a small wave.”
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Armchair travelling Tales from the main road
Eugenia Abu
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have been travelling internationally since I was 12 years old. Now two years shy of 60, I still get the adrenaline rush when I fly over deserts and jagged mountains, when I fly over a massive body of water and everything below becomes ant-like. I love to see new countries, the musty smell of new earth, food from a new country’s bowel, a
new language and laughter in any language. We do not understand one another but our souls merge in humanity. I enjoy travel. It’s one of my greatest achievements, the cities I have been all over the world and the nations I have conquered over the years. But now I am stuck at home unable to traverse the world. My globetrotting has come to a screeching halt. Everywhere seems so far away. It’s crazy. Our neighbours seem like cities and our cousins’ homes seem like new countries. The pandemic has dealt travel such a deadly blow and even the pleasure for travellers like us is harder than you can imagine. In order to keep my travel spirit up, I have resorted to arm chair travelling. Man must continuously reinvent to stay ahead of life. So here is what it is. I am a daydreamer so I travel back in time to all the countries I have been before. I look at pictures. I recall memories. I send mails to friends in those
countries. I Google and spot new places I did not make it to. I re-visit through pictures the places I have been, places I enjoyed and make a note to re-visit again when all this is done. Weekly I check out places I would like to visit in 2021. I love jewellery and fabric so I check what these countries stock in their open markets. I love spices and leather. So, what do they have? I make cuttings, mood boards. I re-write the cities, the restaurants, the places and the people I have met in my travels. This is enough to take me to far flung places, places in the inner recesses of my life’s journeys, places tightly locked in my memory. I unfurl them and I enjoy them all over again. Mauritius, Malta, England, France, Kenya, Ghana, Noordvhaikherjout in the Netherlands, UAE, Senegal, Mali, Sierra Leone, Gabon, Gambia, the U.S. Sweden, I vory Coast, Israel etc. And Oh! yeah, I am writing a travel book.
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We shall soon physically travel again. In the meantime, we can travel from our couch
It’s worth it. We can all time travel. That holiday that blew your sock off, that snorkelling that made you breathless, that plane landing in Honk Kong on the brink of a coast, that night in Dubai when the bus driver could not find our plane. Travel is the best elixir for all travellers and travel writers. But when I can’t physically go, I kick off my shoes and daydream on my couch. Or even more exciting, blanket over my toes, a cup of tea, some biscuits and almonds and a travel channel. National geographic will do. And this too shall pass. We shall soon physically travel again. In the meantime, we can travel from our couch. Enjoy! Eugenia Abu is a broadcaster, writer, trainer, brand and multimedia strategy expert and media consultant. Email: abu_eugenia@yahoo.com Phone number: 08033109820
Expressing etiquette in English
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tiquette is defined as the customary code of polite behaviour in society or among members of a particular organisation or group. As a fully developed language used by people who conform to wellestablished societal codes of conduct, the English language embodies fixed ways of expressing etiquette, courtesy and congratulatory messages, which are deserving of mastery by anyone who craves proficiency in the most prestigious language across the globe. Having considered this, let us begin with the commonest error of showing etiquette among Nigerians: this is the expression, “I stand to be corrected”. Although the foregoing is often innocuously used to say that one is open to correction, the general user of English should note that this openness to correction should be appropriately expressed as, “Correct me if I’m wrong”. Subsequently, if one finds the correction acceptable, the onus is on one to say, “I stand corrected”. It is, therefore, essential to utterly desist from the use of the expression, “I stand to be corrected”, if you place a premium on linguistic best practices. Moving on, when acknowledging appreciation, the inclusion of the pronoun, “it”, is sacrosanct in the expression, “Don’t mention it”. This is because the expression is an idiom: a linguistic convention in the English language, which is not open to the minutest alteration in standard usage. Everyone who gives primacy to his or her communicative competency should, thus, refrain from omitting the pronoun, “it”, as commonly heard among Nigerians. Along the same lines, it is grammatically incongruous to say, “I appreciate”, in a bid to express grati-
tude for someone’s altruistic disposition. This can be ascribed to the fact that “appreciate” wears the apparel of a transitive verb when it is used to say that you are grateful. As a corollary, one quintessential feature of transitive verbs is that they must be directly succeeded by objects. For good measure, it behoves you to say: “I (subject) appreciate (transitive verb) it (direct object)”, or “I (subject) appreciate (transitive verb) you/her/him/them (direct objects)”. On the contrary, appreciate is used as an intransitive verb (without being succeeded by a direct object) when something like a currency or landed property increases in value thus: “The pound (subject) will appreciate (intransitive verb; no direct object) against the dollar for four consecutive days”. Still on the proprieties, it has not escaped my notice that a substantial number of people often deploy “I could not agree more” and “I could not agree less”, arbitrarily. That being so, the zealous readership should keep in mind that: I COULD NOT plus VERB plus MORE conveys a positive implication. By contrast, I COULD NOT plus VERB plus LESS exudes a negative deduction. Accordingly, “I could not agree more” means “I completely agree”, while “I could not agree less” denotes that “I totally disagree”. In a similar fashion, “I could not love you more” means “I love you very much”. On this evidence, it is about time you stopped telling your loved ones that, “I could not/cannot love you less!” Likewise, “I could not care less” means “I do not care at all” — it indicates your indifference or your apathetic disposition to something. On top of all that, the shout given in unison by a group of people, to honwww.businessday.ng
our a person or celebrate something, is called “three cheers”, and the three cheers are: HIP, HIP, HOORAY! The four cheers which have become customary in Nigeria, culminating with our rhythmic “Hip, hip, hip, hooray”, is alien to the native speakers of English. And when my beloved Nigerians say to me: “Dr GAB, leave our ‘hip, hip, hip’ for us”, I cheerfully reply: “If you ever find yourself among the native speakers, remember to dispense with your third ‘hip’”. Emphatically, the language of etiquette is kept on the front burner, thanks to the question, “Do you mind?” This, funnily enough, has deprived many Nigerians of the privilege of sumptuous meals and refreshing drinks. Contrary to the assumption of many individuals, the question “Do you mind?” attracts the negative response, NO, if you wish to accept the offer. Expectedly, therefore, it will take the positive response, YES, if you decline the offer. This rationalisation is well illustrated below. Jimoh: Do you mind a cup of coffee? Stella: No, I don’t mind (Yes, I want it). Vincent: Yes, I mind (No, I don’t want it). In the light of this revelation, I presume that you will not miss any other appetising offer going forward. Equally, in the regular manner of asking questions, “please” is used with the affirmative response, “yes”, while “thanks” is used with the rejection, “no”, to show politeness, as substantiated below. Gani: Do you care for a cup of coffee? Peter: Yes, please! Lasisi: No, thanks! Fascinatingly, one common way of responding to the greeting “How
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The Gift of Gab
Ganiu Bamgbose
do you do?” in standard English is to equally say, “How do you do?” particularly when you are conversing with the person for the first time. Well, of course, you can avoid the use of this interrogative salutation or give whatever answer you consider contextually appropriate. But when you get such a response from someone else, I hope you will not say, “Why are you repeating my question?” Dr Bamgbose (Dr GAB) has a PhD in English and lectures at the Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos. He is a social commentator who writes on different issues of national concern and the author of daily online English lessons titled “English for Today” with hundreds of lessons available on his website www.englishdietng.com.
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Friday 24 July 2020
BUSINESS DAY
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Dying by reverse gear THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS
Obadiah Mailafia
O
ur country is on reverse gear. A new drama of death is being enacted by reverse gear. On Wednesday 15 July at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) base in Kaduna, a young Flying Officer, Tolulope Arotile, had gone to the Mammy Market apparently to photocopy some documents. As many of my gentle readers would know, the Mammy Market is the centre of social life in a typical Nigerian military barrack. Many of the clientele are “bloody civilians”, attracted not only by the reasonably prized food, suya, roast fish and drinks but also because it is very safe. The story we have been told is that an old friend from her Air Force Secondary School days and a fellow veteran of the cadet corps was driving by with friends when he beheld Flying Officer Arotile walking by the roadside. In excitement, he drove in reverse so that they could exchange pleasantries. Unfortunately, he accidentally rammed into her, killing the young officer instantly. Tolulope Oluwatosin Arotile was born in Kaduna on 13 December 1995 to the family of Mr and Mrs Akintunde Arotile from Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State. That makes her an Okun Yoruba from the Middle Belt. She attended Air Force Primary School in Kaduna from 2000 to 2005 before proceeding to the Air Force Secondary School in the same city during 2006 to 2011. In September 2012, she enrolled in the 64th Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). She graduated with a B.Sc. in Mathematics
and was commissioned as a Pilot Officer in 2017. She attended her commercial pilot training in South Africa before proceeding to the Augusta 109 Attack Helicopter Training school in Italy, where she earned her wings as a combat pilot. In October 2019, she was commissioned as the first qualified female helicopter fighter pilot in the Nigerian Air Force. In her address to the press, Arotile stood erect and spoke with the poise of a well-groomed military officer – mature beyond her 23 years. A natural beauty, with the wistful, dreamy eyes of a poet. She wore little or no makeup. He hair was low-cut and woven in a simple traditional plait. She said she joined NAF because of what it stands for and because “the carriage is simply exceptional”. She also said she felt “very privileged and very proud and happy that my success has brought me to this point...looking forward to giving my best to the service”. She also advised the “younger ones out there (to) keep doing their best, they should keep running the race until they finish and they should not set limits to themselves because the only limit they have is the one they set for themselves”. Before meeting her untimely death, she had just returned the previous day from combat duties in the North, where she reportedly recorded mighty exploits against some of the strategic positions of the murderous bandits that have turned our country into such a wasteland. The NAF public relations made a terse release saying: “During her short but impactful stay in service, late Arotile…contributed significantly to the efforts to rid the North Central States of armed bandits and other criminal elements by flying several combat missions under Operation Gama Aiki in Niger State”. The name of the classmate who “accidentally” killed Flying Officer Arotile was recently released as Nehemiah Adejoh. He and his friends have been handed over to the police for further investigations. All we have been told is that he does not have a driver’s licence. The remains of Flying Officer Arotile were consigned
to mother earth at the military cemetery in Abuja on Thursday 23 July. Speaking on behalf of the Yoruba cultural group, Afenifere, my friend Yinka Odumakin has declared that they would only accept Arotile’s death as an accident if there was an independent inquest by a coroner. The same sentiments have been expressed by Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Chief Gani Adams. They find it difficult to believe that a driver driving in reverse gear in a residential area could have made such an impact as to instantly kill an alert officer who was standing by the roadside. If we lived in normal times, we would have had little reason to suspect foul play. But we live in abnormal times. Ours is a country steeped in the kind of insane nihilism that would have shocked even the pessimistic Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky. Less than a month ago, in June, Lt. Col. Abraham Gbileve, Commanding Officer, 2 Battalion in Kaduna was supposedly ran over “accidentally” by an allegedly drunken friend when he was on leave in Makurdi. Gbileve who was known to be a brave warrior who had dealt heavy blows to Boko Haram, died similarly by reverse gear. I used to be an admirer of the Nigerian military. Not anymore. Our military have fallen from glory. Morale is at its lowest. Some of the high command are capable of the most egregious wickedness imaginable. In recent times we have seen soldiers and officers in the battlefields of the north east sending social media clips complaining bitterly of being used as mere cannon fodder for Boko Haram. Some of them even bare their faces and reveal their numbers to damn the consequences. One soldier revealed that he resigned after being shot at point-blank range by a colleague. His crime: he was a left-handed sharp-shooter who singlehandedly took down many of the insurgents. “I never miss a target”. His success against the enemy was perceived as an original sin by some of his colleagues. He revealed that several of his comrades were killed by fellow soldiers because they had committed the sin of killing the insurgents. A situation where so-called “de-rad-
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If we lived in normal times, we would have had little reason to suspect foul play. But we live in abnormal times. Ours is a country steeped in the kind of insane nihilism that would have shocked even the pessimistic Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky
icalised” insurgents have allegedly been incorporated into the regular military is a danger to our country. It is no surprise that deadly ambushes are frequent and so many of our brave sons are being mowed down like grass. It leaves one feeling that the whole insurgency and the atrocities of the foreign bandits are a well calculated conspiracy by some of our elites to strangle our country on behalf of Global Jihad. In a democracy that is worth its salt, the military must operate within a constitutional framework governed by the rule of law. The lowliest subaltern has his or her own rights as a soldier-citizen. No officer, no matter how exalted, can act as though we live in a jungle with no law and no morality. Aritole’s death may have been a tragic accident. But it could also have been a cold-blooded assassination. Her success in bombing the enemy may have drawn the ire of some people. Nothing can be ruled out in this wicked country of ours. Those who suspect foul play may have a point. A brave, patriotic officer of such promise does not deserve to have her young life snuffed off in such a brutal and callous manner. It is a curse on the land. The Roman playwright Plautus declared that it is those whom the Gods love most that die young. French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, who also died young as a pilot, famously noted that, “Each man carries within him the soul of a poet who died young”. A medieval sage observed that, “Some are bound to die young, by dying young a person stays young in people’s memory. If he burns brightly before he dies, his brightness shines for all time”. Tolulope Oluwatosin Arotile was a bright meteor whose light shone briefly over the darkening gloom of our benighted nation before being extinguished. She has become an angel that will live forever. 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)
Coping with work stress
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oday we will be looking at work stress. To be honest I just want to write about the different kinds of stress people are going through in this COVID-19 times but I will just limit it to the work place because this is an HR column, even though the people at work are the same as the people when they are not at work, this will be slightly modified to take the -COVID19 situation into consideration. Every employee has at some point, felt the pressure of work-related stress, jobs can have stressful elements, regardless of the passion or love for it. There can be stress to meet a deadline, to fulfill a challenging obligation or even because the employee has taken on too much. Stress in itself is not the problem, the problem is when work stress becomes chronic, it can be overwhelming, resulting in both physical and emotional health challenges. Unfortunately, the work place is cited as a significant source of stress by a large number of people all over the world. I guess the workplace is where most people spend their lives, one can’t always avoid the tensions that occur on the job. Yet organizations can take steps to teach its staff on how work-related stress can be managed. In this COVID-19 times the stress can be multiplied. Certain factors tend to go hand-in-hand with work-related stress. In many of my articles I have mentioned some of the common workplace stressors for example, low salaries, excessive
workload, few advancement opportunities, non-engaging or non- challenging work, a lack of social support, a lack of control over job decisions and conflicting demands or unclear performance expectations. Work-related stress doesn’t just disappear when employees go home for the day or when you shut down your laptop at home. Persistent stress can take a toll on health and well-being, a stressful work environment can create problems such as physical aches and pains, sleep disturbances, short temperedness and difficulty concentrating. Chronic stress can result in anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure and a weakened immune system, it can also contribute to health conditions such as depression, obesity and heart disease. Compounding the problem, people who experience excessive stress often deal with it in unhealthy ways such as overeating unhealthy foods, smoking or abusing drugs and alcohol. These are some suggestions for your employees: Tracking stressors so as to see the pattern and be in a position to avoid them; This may just need a week or two of tracking to give the results needed. Thoughts, feelings and information about the environment, including the people and circumstances involved, the physical setting and personal reactions should be tracked. Healthy responses should be developed; Nu-
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trition must be healthy, not fast food or alcohol. exercise is a great stress buster. Hobbies and favorite activities should be actively cultivated. Getting enough good-quality sleep is also important, building healthy sleep habits is the best way to cope, limiting caffeine intake late in the day and minimizing stimulating activities, such as computer and television use at night. Furthermore, staff must set boundaries; In today’s digital and virtual working world, it is easy to feel pressure to be available 24 hours a day. In establishing some work-life boundaries for themselves, staff may make rules not to check work emails especially from home in the evening, or not answer the phone during dinner. Although people have different preferences when it comes to how much they blend their work and home life, creating some clear boundaries between these realms can reduce the potential for worklife conflict and the stress that goes with it. Staff should be advised to take time to recharge; To avoid the negative effects of chronic stress and burnout, each person needs time to replenish and return to their pre-stress level of functioning. This recovery process requires “switching off” from work by having periods of time when they are neither engaging in workrelated activities, nor thinking about work. That’s why it’s critical that staff disconnect from time to time, in a way that fits their needs and preferences.
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Olamide Balogun Staff should not let their vacation days go to waste; When possible, they should take time off to relax and unwind, so they can come back to work feeling reinvigorated and ready to perform at their best. When staff are unable to take time off, they can get a quick boost by turning off their phones and focusing their attention on non-work activities for a while. Staff should be again advised to learn how to relax; Techniques such as deep breathing exercises and meditating on scripture can help melt away stress. They can start by taking a few minutes each day to focus on a simple activity like breathing, walking or enjoying a meal.
Note: The rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https:// businessday.ng Balogun is the founder of Box & Cedar Ltd a boutique Recruitment and HR Consulting firm Www.boxandcedar.com
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Friday 24 July 2020
BUSINESS DAY
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John Lewis and the 400-year journey of ‘our people’ HumanAngle
Femi olugbile
I
t is Saturday, the 18th of July. Jazz FM is playing tracks from “Sledge Sings Simone”, a just-released reworking of Nina Simone’s biggest songs. I am trying to keep the sadness at bay, trying to enjoy the ongoing table tennis game. It is a sad day for “Our People”, because John Lewis died yesterday. He was eighty years old. Debbie Sledge is singing “Four Women” “My skin is black…my arms are long… What do they call me…My name is Anserra… My skin is yellow…my hair is yellow… Between two worlds… My father was rich and white… he forced my mother late one night… My name is Tuphonia… My skin is tan…my hair is fine… My hips invite you… Whose girl am I…yours if you have money to buy… What do they call me…My name is ‘Sweet Thing…” My skin is brown…my manner is hot…I’ll kill the first mother*** ****I see…
My life has been rough…because my parents were slaves… What do they call me…my name is Peaches… Debbie Sledge has taken the liberty to add a fifth “WOMAN” to Simone’s song. “My skin is black…my passion is strong… my music tells another story as I sing my song... The story of my people… So that everyman can see as I sing my song that everyman has the right live free… What do they call me…my name is Nina…” The “Nina” in the song is a metaphor for all the African women – and men, who poured out onto the streets of America and Europe in the past few weeks flying the banner of “Black Lives Matter”. They have “taken a knee”. They have toppled monuments. They have faced arrest. The real Nina, the dark-voiced diva, long since dead, regularly reduced grown men to tears with the lyrics of such songs as “Why?” – which graphically captured the pathos of Martin Luther King’s assassination. Before his death yesterday, John Lewis, Member of Congress, joined the Mayor of Washington to pose for pictures where the yellow letters “BLACK LIVES MATTER” are painted on the road leading to the White House. A documentary on his life, titled “John Lewis: Good Trouble” premiered a few weeks ago, at the height of the worldwide ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests. A high point of that life occurred in 2011, when he visited the White House to receive the nation’s highest civilian honour – the Presidential Medal of Freedom, from Barack Obama, the first black President. Obama, at his
inauguration two years earlier, had hugged the older man and told him, “I am only here because of the sacrifices you made”. He was a twenty-year-old student activist when he was arrested by police in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1960, at a sitin protest in support of black students who sat down at “whites-only” lunch counters. “If it hadn’t been for Nashville, I would not be the person I am now,” he would say later. John Lewis became the youngest, and up till yesterday the only surviving member of the “Big Six” leaders of the Civil Rights Movement in America, the others being Martin Luther King Junior, James Farmer, Phillip Randolph, Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young. At only twenty-three years old, he helped organise the March on Washington that has since gone into the annals of American History. He would be in front of the “Bloody Sunday” march that crossed the Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965. State troopers attacked demonstrators with tear gas and billy clubs. Lewis’ skull was broken. It was all captured on national television. America was so appalled by the images of its own barbarity that the Voting Rights Act was subsequently passed. “My greatest fear” Lewis would say recently, “is that one day we may wake up and our Democracy is gone”. The Black Lives Matter protests offered him reassurance in his last days that that was not about to happen. But the next stage of the struggle of “Our People” is infinitely more complex than the one led by John Lewis and the Big Six. It requires strategic leadership and a firm grip, so the struggle is not “hijacked”. Is “Black Lives Matter” the same as “Black Lives and Trans Mat-
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No race is ever at peace in diaspora without a Homeland they can proudly point at. Nigeria, the biggest black nation on earth, was always going to be the Black Homeland. But Nigeria is suffering from pre-installed structural flaws, and a primordial conflict in which unlettered herdsmen, living in the Dark Ages, believe they own the nation and are ready to kill for it
ter”? The Big Six are all dead. Who will lead and chart the course, so that the cause is not railroaded into unrelated causes by powerful “sympathizers”, such as Ellen DeGeneres? Is support for “Black Lives” the same as support for LGBTQ? Is the argument for Black Responsibility and the need to face down drug-dealing criminal gangs in black neighbourhoods and cut black-on-black gun violence in Chicago fundamentally irreconcilable with “Get Your Knee Off My Back” and the call for Reparations for four hundred years of black suffering? Can “Our People” build a “Big Tent” that will help them to see off the nuisance of a historically minor irritation such as Donald Trump? Or will they be stuck in a rut because they have failed to define their boundaries and unify their ‘left’ and “right”? Black achievers of the past had a secret. They kept themselves mentally strong in the face of horrible racial prejudice by repeating the mantra “Not a jot of my self-esteem depends on your acceptance of me”. No race is ever at peace in diaspora without a Homeland they can proudly point at. Nigeria, the biggest black nation on earth, was always going to be the Black Homeland. But Nigeria is suffering from pre-installed structural flaws, and a primordial conflict in which unlettered herdsmen, living in the Dark Ages, believe they own the nation and are ready to kill for it. Nigeria will come to rights someday, perhaps. But until then “Our People” are on their own. I try to clear these matters off my mind and concentrate on the table tennis. My opponent heaves a mighty loop to the backhand. I can only watch the ball fly past. The game is not going well. Olugbile is a writer and psychiatrist. synthesiz@gmail.com
Assessing leadership effectiveness
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ffective leadership plays a role in whether an organisation succeeds or fails. This view fits in with Prabu’s assertion that organisation or business with effective leadership at all levels is more likely to survive when challenging times arise. organisations with effective leadership are more likely to sustain growth momentum and attain greatness levels that weren’t considered achievable. However, when it comes to assessing leadership, there is often a lot of ambiguity as there is no set standard available yet for accessing leadership qualities and behaviour. This school of thought is like what John Morford argues that after more than 80 years of research about finding that one key to effective leadership, researchers have concluded that it does not exist. This lack of a standard set of assessment opens doors to a lot of confusion and doubt, because how then does an organisation measure the effectiveness of its leaders if there is no universally accepted standard. In looking for solutions to this pertinent issue, some industries and fields have come up with a set of unique guidelines and tools to aid in this regard, which means that companies and organisations then have to look at the different strategies out there and figure out the best approach for them when it comes to assessing their leaders. Effective leadership There are several ways to explain Effective leadership. One definition sees effective leadership as “the successful exercise of personal influence by one or more people that results in accomplishing shared objectives that are personally satisfying to those involved” (Cooper & Nirenberg, 2012, pp
Firstly, for an organisation to truly excel and be the best at what it does, it needs leaders who are passionate and committed and competent in getting things done. These leaders also need to inspire confidence in both the employees and their customers. Thus, the first thing that is central to effective leadership is a commitment to the organisation’s core values. This informed Morford’s position that effective leadership is founded on a long-standing single-minded commitment to fundamental values. The second thing that is key to effective leadership is leaders having the right behaviour and style that fits in with the culture and system. What makes effective leadership stand out amid mediocrity are the unique attributes manifested in their behaviour and leadership style. An effective leader creates a situation that works best for the people and organisation through the combination of both skills and processes. The question then is, how important is effective leadership to an organisation? Simple—it is imperative if an organisation wants to remain relevant for a long time, no matter what kind of organisation it is. We live in uncertain times, where things are always changing at the speed of light. Therefore, when managing change, it is essential to have effective leadership in place, as it is the only way to sustain an organisation in the everchanging world that we live in. Considering then how vital effective leadership is to an organisation, it is then very essential that organisations find a way to assess their leaders on how effective they are. Why is this assessment so critical? Without evaluation, how can organisations be sure that their leaders are useful in leading
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and delivering results? The review provides the much-needed data of the organisation’s current state when it comes to leadership from the perspective of both leadership and the followers. It shows both the positive and negative feedback, thus equipping leaders to know where they need to scale up fulfilling their responsibilities. Having the proper strategic method of assessment should, therefore, be a top priority for any organisation. Hence, organisations need to find a sustainable way of assessing their leaders to ensure they are effective in their roles. To this end, organisations need to be specific to the criteria for evaluating and assessing their leaders. Developing criteria that works Before an organisation begins any assessment, they need to be very clear on what they are evaluating as far as their leaders’ effectiveness is concerned. Choosing what criteria to use depends on many variables, including the kind of organisation, its needs, the department, and the leader’s role. Therefore, the criteria should cover different sections and areas of performance. So that as an organisation, you are assessing your leaders on more than one component, therefore getting a fuller picture of how effective they are. How then do you decide what to use as criteria? When it comes to measuring effective leadership, there are many schools of thought. John Campbell, a professor of psychology, has done much research on job performance. Over the years, John Campbell and his colleagues have come up with fourteen Factors that Measure leadership and management performance, six of which
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Toye Sobande
apply to leadership. These factors include how effective the leader guides and directs work methods and roles, trains and coaches’ others, provides recognition and support, delegates authority and responsibility, serves as a role model, and encourages goal achievement. These six factors are in line with nine skills that Blank (2001) advocated as skills of a natural-born leader. These skills are categorized differently. The foundational category includes self-awareness, the ability to build rapport, and the ability to clarify expectations. Then there is the directional category that consists of the ability to map out territory to identify needs, chart out a course of leadership action, and develop others as leaders. Lastly, the influence category includes the ability to build the base to gain commitment, the ability to influence others to follow willingly, and finally, the ability to create a motivating environment. Do lookout for a continuation of this article next week. Sobande is a Lawyer and Leadership Consultant. He is a Doctoral Candidate at Regent University, Virginia Beach, USA, for a Ph.D. in Strategic Leadership. He can be contacted by Email: contactme@toyesobande.com
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Friday 24 July 2020
BUSINESS DAY
Editorial Publisher/Editor-in-chief
Frank Aigbogun editor Patrick Atuanya
When policies conflict with reality Policy makers must remain factual and realistic
DEPUTY EDITORS John Osadolor, Abuja Tayo Fagbule NEWS EDITOR Osa Victor Obayagbona NEWS EDITOR (Online) Chuks Oluigbo MANAGING DIRECTOR Dr. Ogho Okiti EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS Fabian Akagha EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STRATEGY, INNOVATION & PARTNERSHIPS Oghenevwoke Ighure ADVERT MANAGER Ijeoma Ude MANAGER, CONFERENCES & EVENTS Obiora Onyeaso BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER (South East, South South) Patrick Ijegbai COPY SALES MANAGER Florence Kadiri DIGITAL SALES MANAGER Linda Ochugbua GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)
Bashir Ibrahim Hassan
T
he saying, ‘desperate times call for desperate measures’ isn’t new to most people, including Nigerian policymakers. But a situation where the Nigeria monetary authority, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), seems to imply it has little idea of the ravaging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nigerian economy, leaves a sour taste in the mouth and makes one wonder how it can put desperate measures in place. Often times, Nigerian policymakers have enacted policies that have conflicted with the country’s reality due to their poor perception or understanding of what the true state of the economy is. To the surprise of most economists, the CBN stated clearly in a note published on its website that it expects Nigeria’s economic growth to decline by a meagre 1.03 percent. This is at variance with the thinking among analysts, economists, international bodies and even Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in June revised further downward to 5.4 percent their economic contraction expectation for Nigeria from 3.4 percent. Zainab Ahmed, Nigeria’s Finance Minister, projected that the country would contract between 4 to 8.9 percent. This begs the question as to what parameters the CBN’s optimism is based. We cannot but wonder whether the CBN has opted for ‘walk by faith’ rather than ‘by sight’ in what is glaring to all. CBN’s second quarter outlook of seems to point to an almost certain possibility that Nigeria’s economy is headed for a V-shaped recovery after plunging quarter-on-quarter by 0.64 percent to 1.87 percent in Q1 2020. This also creates a misleading illusion of Nigeria’s resistance to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, the question: Is the CBN insinuating a contraction by 1.03 percent is the worst impact the pandemic has on economic activities in Nigeria? Given that the negative effects of the pandemic was felt more in the second quarter of this year, the CBN’s outlook is, at best, a wish
and not realistic as factors that will support its optimistic stance are missing. Nigeria’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) which is a leading indicator providing valuable insights into the state of the Nigerian economy in general and the manufacturing sector in particular, provides a picture of what the Nigerian reality is. The PMI reading for Q2 2020 was below 50, signifying manufacturers and non-manufacturers pessimism on the state of the economy and this signals a contraction. It was no longer business as usual for the Nigerian manufacturing sector which contributes over $30 billion to the GDP. COVID-19 induced disruptions in business supplies, fall in household demands etc, coupled with foreign exchange scarcity, took a toll on manufacturers in the last quarter. Many had to lay off staff while some cut salaries. Worsened by rising inflation which has caused consistent weakening in households purchasing power amid job losses, many manufacturers and non-manufacturers ,
especially manufacturers of nonessential commodities, will see sales drop and profit margin shrink. Also, Nigeria risks another year of underperforming budget as price of oil is yet to recover to levels above $60 witnessed in January 2020. As a result, the FG had to cut down its revenue expectation by 36.4 percent to N5.16 trillion. Therefore, we employ the Nigerian authorities and policy makers to remain factual and realistic when reviewing and giving outlook for the economy. We hope that this will help drive policies and actions that will suggest the level of work that must be done in line with current reality. We believe that CBN’s outlook is unrealistic given how its FX demand management activities and reluctance to unify Nigeria’s exchange rates have stifled business operations and driven away foreign investors from our markets. Nigeria’s journey to recovery calls for desperate measures and we urge the CBN to start this by providing clarity on Nigeria’s FX rate position and how it hopes to clear dollar-demand backlog.
GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (South) Ignatius Chukwu HEAD, HUMAN RESOURCES Adeola Obisesan
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Friday 24 July 2020
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Friday 24 July 2020
BUSINESS DAY
COMPANIES&MARKETS INDUSTRIALS
Chemical and Allied Products H1 revenue drops as Coronavirus batters paint business SEGUN ADAMS
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espite a positive start to the year, Paint maker Chemical and Allied Products reported a doubledigit drop in its six-month sales reflecting the impact of the coronavirus lockdowns that reduced economic activities in Nigeria during most of the second quarter. Chemical and Allied Products (CAP) sales fell roughly 11% year on year to N3.49 billion in the period, its lowest first-half revenue since 2017. Its financials point to a 35% slump year on year in sales in the second quarter alone.This is compared to a sales growth of 10% in the first three months
of the year. CAP manufactures and distributes paints, personal and household products, crop protection and public health products. The company further provides decorating and renovating services. According to its financial report, the pressure was felt across all revenue segments. Paint businesses rely on growth in construction and real estate sector, but both sectors took a hit from the coronavirus outbreak in the first quarter of the year – especially real estate. In the second quarter, the consensus is that there would be an underwhelming performance reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) as the impact of the lockdowns and other events
crystalize. CAP trade receivable or credit sales jumped 130% to N667 million in the six-month period. The paint maker was able to maintain its gross margin by prudent costsaving initiatives in the face of declining sales. Chemical and Allied Products made roughly N48 as gross profit from every N100 sales, the same amount it made in the corresponding 2019 period. Support was also seen from sales of scrap items, rental income, and exchange gains, which helped other income reach N43.84 million compared to N35.9 million last year. Operating profit fell to N766 million from N1 billion as higher administra-
tive expenses worsened a lower topline, while lower finance income dragged net finance income from N237 million to N128 million. Profit after tax stood at N607 million, 30% lower from last year bringing earns per share to 87 kobo from 124 kobo. Total Asset of Chemical and Allied Products rose nearly a billion naira to N7.66 billion with most of the increment from current assets. Cash and cash equivalents rose 7% to N4.60 billion while additions to property, plant & equipment (PPE) fell 79% to N23.5 million. Ne t a s s e t p e r s ha re dropped to 447 kobo from N473 kobo.
L-R: Galadima of Nupe, Alhaji Gimba Abubakar, Manager Golden Sugar Company Sunti Factory, Mr. Adam Nimmo. and Village Head, Eppa Community, Alhaji Ahmed Ishaq during the presentation of palliatives by Golden sugar to communities in Niger State. Pic Olatunji Obasa
CONSUMER GOODS
Coca-Cola sees biggest quarterly revenue drop in 30yrs on COVID-19 impact OLUFIKAYO OWOEYE
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o f t- d r i n k g i a n t , Coca-Cola reported its largest de cline in quarterly revenue in at least 30 years, on the back of coronavirus-led closures of restaurants and public bars and gatherings. In its second quarter for the period ended 30th June, net sales plummeted 28percent to $7.2 billion, revenue performance included a 22% decline in concentrate sales and a 4% decline in price/mix. The revenue declines were primarily driven by pressure in away-from-home channels, which represent approximately half of the company’s revenues. Global unit case volume shrank by 16%, alt h o u g h v o l u m e t re n d s have shown signs of sequential improvement as global lockdowns ease. After plunging 25% in April, unit case volume fell by just 10% in June. So far in July, volume has fallen by the mid-single digits. Battered by the impact of the ravaging virus, sparkling soft drinks’ volume fell 12% in the quarter. Coke’s namesake brand saw volumes decline by 7%, and demand for CocaCola Zero Sugar, which had been boosting sales for the brand, fell 4%. Other drink segments w e r e h i t e v e n h a r d e r. Tea and coffe e volume plunged 31%, largely due t o t e m p o r a r y c l o s u re s o f n e a r l y a l l C o s t a ca f e s i n w e s t e r n Eu ro p e. Water, enhanced water a n d s p o r t s d r i n k s s aw volume decline by 24%. Volume of juice, dairy and
p l a n t- b a s e d b e v e ra g e s sank 20%, although Coke reported strong growth in North America for its Fairlife milk and Simply juices. Despite the high degree of uncertainty, the Atlanta based company said it is committed to emerging stronger by gaining share a n d c o n s u m e r s, ma i n taining strong system economics, strengthening its reputation with stakeholders and positioning the organization to win in the new reality. According to the company, it is planning a “refreshed” marketing approach that focuses on spending efficiently and effectively. The company announced in late June that it would be pausing all social media advertising for 30 days. Coke did not officially join the July advertising boycott against Facebook which was meant to put pressure on the social media company to crack down on hate speech and misinformation. Coke is also looking to streamline its portfolio, with a focus on larger and more popular brands. Less than half of its 400 major brands account for 98% of the company’s revenue. Quincey said that t h e c ha ng e s w i l l m e a n making its entire organization more flexible and could result in layoffs. The sto ck trading at around $46 seems attractive for value investors with its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 22.6, showing more room for upside run to the $60 recorded during the prepandemic era
Origin automotive rolls out tractor hailing platform for effective farming practice KELECHI EWUZIE
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ndigenous technology firm, Origin Automotive Works has introduced into the market “Tractor on the Go” a new innovative feature technology to revolutionise agricultural and farming practice in Nigeria. The perennial infrastructure challenges that Nigerian farmers across the country undergo annually to connect to modern agricultural facilities and equipment have given rise to the call for the use of technology to address it.
Prince Joseph Samuel, president, Origin Group observes that when such technology is applied by farmers, it will eliminate impediments on the way of expanding mechanisation and delivering seamless mechanisation services to farmers in remote villages with a singular objective of helping farmers optimise yield and maximise farmland productivity. Samuel while speaking at the unveiling of a new App, “Tractor on the Go” says it is a mobile application platform that helps connect millions of farmers to mod-
ern agricultural facilities and equipment such as tractor, sprayers, planters and harvesters. According to him, “The app is designed with simplicity, ease of use and functionality in mind with a guarantee that users will enjoy hassles-free experience while searching for reliable and efficient mechanisation equipment for their farmland. Samuel opines that the mobile application which is beneficial to different categories of users including agents, farmers and operators has been designed to as-
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sist users access tractors that would enable them to perform timely farming operations and achieve economies of scale in food production. Speaking on the features of the application, Olusegun Emmanuel, product development manager of the company says the platform remains the biggest game-changer that would take agricultural practice to new heights noting that this would certainly attract interest from youths who are unemployed at the moment. He disclosed that the application offers the users the opportunity to indicate nec-
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essary details while requesting tractors. Some of which include type Of Operation, Land Type, units among others. “With ‘Tractor on the Go’, you are allowed to provide some details that can ensure effective use of the tractor you are requesting. For instance, if the land was tractorised at most 2 months ago or has never been tractorised at all, the application would allow farmers to factor in this information in making a request. Besides, one can also indicate through the application, the number of activities you want to per@Businessdayng
form. With this application, you can easily target the right customers for your business with the help of patented segmentation technology. These and many more are what the platform offers to end-users to make farming operations easier”, he said “We are very optimistic that the introduction of this application would improve farmers’ yield. With such smart farming technologies, we would be able to reduce costs, maximize yields and profits for farmers and other users and still be incredibly efficient in the process”, Emmanuel said.
Friday 24 July 2020
BUSINESS DAY
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AgriBusinessInsight Market Insights
Analysis
Commentaries
Experts/Industry Views
Commodities watch
Policy Reviews
Send in Commentaries to caleb.ojewale@businessdayonline.com
Nigeria can close Maize deficit in one season, with 50,000 farmers – Balogun Stories by CALEB OJEWALE Twiiter: @calebtinolu
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he announcement of a forex restriction for maize imports has created both a sense of victory and loss for two different groups of farmers in Nigeria. For the crop farmers producing maize, it is a right call. However, for poultry farmers (especially) and other livestock farmers using maize, it is a wrong call. While crop farmers mostly think, they will be able to get better prices for their product, livestock farmers especially those in the poultry industry think it will make access harder for an already costly to get input. Ayodeji Balogun, CEO of AFEX, a leading commodity trading platform in Nigeria through which about 45,000 tonnes of maize has been sold in the ongoing season shared insights via a Skype call, on why the ‘maize ban’ as some have termed it is not necessarily a bad idea. According to him, “there have been diverging views, sentiments but economics is about numbers, and data is data, which is also very dynamic”. Therefore, understanding whether the import restriction will affect local users such as poultry farmers, is dependent on understanding the supply deficit and factors limiting availability. Citing FAO data, he explained that maize production in 2018 was 11 million metric tonnes (MMT), while consumption was 11.4 MMT, leaving a 400,000 tonne deficit, which is less than four percent.
The data, he further explained, suggests that on a monthly basis, about 950,000 tonnes of maize is consumed in Nigeria and if deficit is about 400,000 statistically means a deficit of about two to three weeks. In his analysis to Agribusiness Insight, he explained this deficit often occurs in October before the new harvest comes out in November. If the country succeeds in closing the gap, he even expressed optimism that it can also become a net exporter for maize in a single season. However, Maize is currently number one on the ‘Export Prohibition List’ by the Nigeria Customs Service. Why there is scarcity now instead of October Typically, harvest starts in October because the rains end September in the north and a bit later in the
South. But in much of the North it rained last year all through October towards the end of the month, therefore, a lot of fields waiting to be threshed and bagged for trade could not be tended to until November so they stayed on the field and had a lot more rain, explained Balogun. The implication of this was a lot of grain deterioration and post harvest losses. On the average based on an AFEX survey, farmers lost between 8 to 10 percent of their harvest from just that additional rainfall, which is a climate induced challenge. The maize production from the North largely feeds the industrial demand, and the decline in output last year is contributing to the current scarcity and high prices being experienced. Not only this, but also because of the COVID-19 induced movement restrictions,
which limited the number of days markets could open in a week. This meant major players could not buy from the commodity markets during those periods, except for local traders and speculators buying and building up inventory. “They are the ones that have grains across the country now and are speculating that prices will go up before they sell to the market,” he said. While there has been some belief that since COVID-19 affected planting, it is why maize prices are high, he declared this to be incorrect. This he explained is because the products that would have been planted between April and June when Maize is planted (in the South) would be harvested 4-months later, which will contribute to the July to September feedstock. What will contribute to current consumption is harvest from October/November last year, he reiterated “That farmers did not plant in May/June is a completely different problem we may have between December and February but not now,” he said. The reason for this surge in prices is majorly due to volume deficit lost due to post harvest losses in November/December (last year). The market is getting out of stock earlier than it should. The secondary reason is because during the lockdown, a lot of traders bought and held in speculation of prices going up. Although he expects them to start selling now that prices have stabilised at the peak of N150 per kilogram. The three seasons for maize cultivation and how
21 states court APPEALS’ as 5th implementation mission shows progress across targets A
n assessment of overall implementation progress across all components of the Agroprocessing Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support Project (APPEALS) during the fifth joint Federal Government of Nigeria/World Bank Implementation Support Supervision Mission last month has shown 21 states angling to key into the programme, which appears to be delivering on the objectives set for it. Led by Adetunji Oredipe, World Bank senior agriculture economist and task team leader, APPEALS, the mission’s objectives included dialogue with key state government officials and review progress achieved in implementation of the project activities against all components since the last mission. A statement following the mission highlighted some of the implementation prog-
ress as follows: Business Alliances and Out-grower Scheme: A total of 55 Alliances (off-taker/out-growers) involving nine value chains have been documented. Mapping of Production clusters are being carried out across the states, Enugu has mapped 68 production clusters (Cashew 11, Poultry 52, rice 5), In Kogi State, A total of 159 Commodity Interest Groups (CIGs) comprising 61CIGs for rice, 44CIGs for cassava and 54CIGS for cashew were mapped and geo-referenced across 23 clusters in the state. Seven (7) clusters, nine (9) clusters and seven (7) clusters were for rice, cassava and cashew respectively across the state. Technology Demonstration and Adoption: A total of 64 climate-smart and nutritionsensitive technologies (85.3 percent against year 3 target) have been www.businessday.ng
demonstrated to farmers in the participating states since project inception. Additional States: 21 additional states have expressed interest to participate in APPEALS Project out of which 12 would be admitted. Women & Youth Empowerment: The project has trained a total of 5,513 women and youth (Male= 2,535, Female=2,978) (54 percent women) in 11 agricultural value chains in five participating states of Crossriver, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi and Lagos. The Women and Youth Empowerment Programme (WYEP) beneficiaries were primarily trained on the value chain (production/processing etc) and on the preparation of business investment plans (BIPs), carried out across the states. A total of 1,500 BIPs have been submitted by trained beneficiaries and the review of this currently ongoing.
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Commodity aggregation and cottage processing: In Kogi state, 22 Cassava farm clusters, 5 Rice farm clusters and 2 Cashew cluster have been identified for possible support. For Cottage processing centres, 6 rice processing groups, 35 Clusters of Cassava processing centre and 5 Cashew processing centres have been identified. According to the statement, the identified centres require upgrade to modern and safe processing methods and technology application for improved and efficient production. In the area of capacity building and support to collaborating institutions, during the period under review, trainings were conducted across different states, covering extension workers, farmers and other support personnel in the value chains. @Businessdayng
they feed the market 1. In April/May maize is cultivated in the South West, which is harvested July/August and mostly boiled or roasted. It does not contribute to industrial consumption but goes to domestic consumption because harvesting is in the peak of rainy season and there is no way to dry it for industrial use. 2. The June/July cultivation in the North that is harvested between September and November and forms the bulk of Nigeria’s commercial grain trade. 3. The August/September cultivation in the south for those who do two planting seasons for maize. The harvest for this also comes out in November/December and contributes to a part of what is sold as commercial dry grains. According to him, dry season planting for maize is extremely small “because economics does not even support it”, as farmers would rather grow ‘more valuable’ crops such as rice or vegetables. To put in context, Balogun expressed the view that 400,000 metric tonnes of maize (which is Nigeria’s last known deficit) is about 50,000 farmers getting the right inputs to produce two hectares each and is a gap one local government can close. “I fully support the position of the CBN in saying we need to avoid reckless maize importation. To stop it and focus on closing the gaps we have on production which is currently in the plan,” he said. “In my view it is a short term thing with a long term gain if we are able to survive the coming three months of maize prices”.
It was also noted that APPEALS is collaborating with the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) to explore areas of collaboration with the project in respect of providing market and road infrastructure support to Agribusiness clusters across the participating states. The dearth of infrastructure was identified as an area of challenge that has to be fixed for the programme to deliver full value. Participants at the mission included Mohammed Sani Jobdi, the national project coordinator who oversaw it; Project Implementation Units of the six participating states; Representatives of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, FMARD; Federal Ministry of Finance; FMARD Projects Coordinating Unit, PCU; State Steering/Technical Committees and other stakeholders.
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Friday 24 July 2020
BUSINESS DAY
MoneyInsight Here’s why Bitcoin is not living up to ‘digital gold’ hype yet FRANK ELEANYA
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itcoin enthusiasts have in recent drummed the narrative of the cryptocurrency being the digital gold, but the coin’s continued struggle to breach the $10,000 once again is putting the narrative in doubt. Bitcoin has remained flat for the last two weeks, while some altcoins have seen large moves. Most notably, Dogecoin had an extremely volatile week driven by Tik Tok-induced pumping. Bitcoin’s fate is a result of the continued selloff of the digital asset as investors migrate to safer assets in view of the COVID-19 pandemic that has dealt a massive blow to the economy of nearly every country. At the same time, it is now more challenging than ever to mine bitcoin, as the difficulty has jumped to the highest level ever seen. While some speculated in a loss of miners after the halving in May, analysts at Luno say that miners are still present - perhaps more than ever. While bitcoin’s narrative as “digital gold” has increased in popularity, the leading cryptocurrency is struggling to outperform the real gold in recent times, say, analysts at Luno, a cryptocurrency exchange. Two reports from Coindesk and Bloomberg had shown that bitcoin outperformed top assets such as gold, silver, platinum, and the stock exchange. Two reports from Coindesk and Bloomberg found that bitcoin out-
performed gold, silver, platinum, and the stock market in the whole of 2019 and the first half of 2020. But the last few weeks in July have not gone according to analysts’ plan. Instead of price heading upwards as predicted, it is trading flat and failing to breach the $10,000 ceiling. As of the time of writing this article, the price of bitcoin was at $9,163.30. “The bitcoin trading volume is dying out, but the volatility trend may indicate that we are about to see some action again,” the Luno analysts noted. Recent cyber breach incidences have not also helped the narrative of ‘digital gold’. Last week, bitcoin was the subject of a hacking attack on Twitter that targeted more than 130 accounts. The hack affected the verified accounts of prominent peoples such as Tesla’s Elon Musk, former US President Barack Obama. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao
and founder of Tron coin, Justin Sun, among others. The hackers received more than $125,000 worth of bitcoin by the time Twitter was able to control the situation and suspend verified accounts. Bitcoin as digital gold describes
the similarities in the properties of gold as an asset class that the cryptocurrency possesses. Analysts believe that bitcoin has all the same characteristics as gold. For instance, like gold, bitcoin has limited supply. Only a specific
amount of bitcoin - 21 million exists and will ever be produced. Bitcoin - like gold - can be made into smaller units without losing unit value (1 bitcoin is equivalent to 100,000,000 Satoshis - the smallest unit into which a bitcoin can be broken down to, similar to the cents in a dollar or pennies in a pound). Bitcoin’s technology also makes it very stable, meaning it is not degradable and it is impossible to counterfeit. But unlike gold, bitcoin can be moved to any place on earth within minutes, no matter how big or small the amount. While many see this as an advantage for bitcoin, it is also responsible for its high volatility. Investors can decide, on a whim, to move large volumes of bitcoin from one wallet to another thereby forcing the price to fluctuate widely. While gold is increasingly being used as a safe haven, bitcoin has yet to prove it can be dependable. This is mostly because of its volatility. With double-digit variation per day being common, bitcoin falls into the high-risk asset category. Over the past fourteen days, real trading volume continues to trend downwards, a natural result of a sideways moving market. But the Blomberg cryptocurrency report predicts that bitcoin would become the equivalent of gold for digital assets by the end of 2020. “This year marks a key test for bitcoin’s transition toward a quasicurrency like gold, and we expect it to pass,” the report says.
How Dell pushes companies to brace for digital future amid surge in remote work FRANK ELEANYA
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he COVID-19 pandemic has driven companies to make sudden changes in the workplace with remote work gaining ground as part of organisations’ long-term survival strategies. Doing it well requires organizations to formalize a structure for remote working that mitigates its major challenges, such as outdated technology, lack of face-to-face interaction, and employee trust issues, as well as responses specific to COVID-19. This is part of what Dell Technologies has been doing since 1984 when it was founded. In recent times the company has increased its investment in African markets including Nigeria where it has 35 people managing its clients. At a recent Virtual Media Roundtable, where it provided insight into how it has faired during the pandemic, senior executives of the company in charge of emerging countries including said Dell was one of the few technologies to quickly respond and have experienced little or no negative impact. One of the main reasons is that working remotely was already a culture in the company in view of its range of world-class technology products and services. It had also unveiled new technologies and products across commercial PCs, storage, and cloud including the
PowerStore, a ground-breaking and newly mid-range storage solution built from the ground-up with superior technology and expertise to address the challenges of the data era; the PowerScale, designed for organisations that want to manage their data, not their storage; and the New Dell EMC VxRail systems and software that brings IT infrastructure and cloud capabilities to challenging and spaceconstrained edge environments. Beyond remote work, Dell said it has also seen more and more companies adopting digitalisation which has in turn put a strain on their infrastructure. “In the last six months, one thing is clear – the pandemic did www.businessday.ng
impact and disrupt the ICT industry globally and across Emerging Africa, where we’re seeing a lot of changes in the market in terms of the need to increase investments in digital technologies. In this time of intense change, we see technology as a key path to economic recovery and companies need to build and strengthen the foundations for their digital future. At Dell Technologies, we aim to simplify this journey for our customers and partners, with solutions that enable business leaders to use advanced technologies to drive growth and improve competitiveness.” Habib Mahakian, Vice President - Emerging Africa, Dell Technologies said. In West Africa, the company
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sees digitisation transforming industries and contributing to national GDP in multiple ways while also promoting the growth of allied industries such as logistics, infrastructure, and payments. This is particularly evident in the financial sector where several digital innovations are being introduced to deepen financial inclusion. “This leads to an increase in a country’s productivity and competitiveness - lowering unemployment rates, increasing access to technology-enabled services for citizens and creating higher-wage impact jobs,” Travers Nicholas, GM - Central West Africa, Dell Technologies, said. In addition, as the future concept becomes a reality for organizations, employees demand the flexibility to work, collaborate, and innovate anytime, anywhere, and in any way they want. By working closely with customers from sectors such as government, financial services, oil and gas, healthcare and education, Dell Technologies is implementing world-class technologies that give organizations and their workforce a competitive advantage to succeed in a post pandemic business environment. “Today, organizations are recognizing that workforce transformation is key to long-term business success and many have started to change their operating model to accommodate this need for change. In fact, across several @Businessdayng
countries in Emerging Africa, the remote workforce trend is growing and it’s now up to organizations to keep up with the changing needs of their employees. Businesses must re-evaluate their workforce skills and develop cohesive ecosystems of technologies, services, and products that are scalable and can connect with changing customer demands. At Dell Technologies, we offer real-world solutions that enable modern workforces to communicate effectively, access their data from any device, and empower them to be highly productive,” Nizar El-Masri, GM - East Africa, Dell Technologies said. Another key aspect of Dell Technologies’ commitment to driving transformation across Emerging Africa includes its social impact initiatives. As part of its ‘Progress Made Real Vision 2030’ social impact framework, Dell Technologies is committed to harnessing the power of technology to drive change across four key pillars: advancing sustainability, cultivating inclusion, transforming lives with technology, and upholding ethics and data privacy. Through education and youth skills training programs, such as Solar Learning Labs, the company continues to focus on addressing the digital divide to drive long-term economic prosperity and equip youth with the skills they need to successfully compete in a digital era.
Friday 24 July 2020
BUSINESS DAY
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‘Providing proprietary research, commentary, analysis and financial news coverage unmatched in today’s market. Published weekly, Markets & Finance provides all the key intelligence you need.’
Coronation Research releases report on the Nigerian Investment terrain ...Navigating the Capital Market: the Investor’s Dilemma
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oronation Research recently published its report on the Nigerian Investment landscape titled ‘Navigating the Capital Market: the Investor’s Dilemma’. The revolutionary report studies the Nigerian investment scene over a 10-year period and finds how Nigerians have managed to preserve their capital over the long term. Some of the conclusions are surprising. For example, it has been remarkably easy to beat inflation over the last 10-years by buying Federal Government of Nigeria Treasury Bills. However, with the crash in interest rates in the first half of 2020, this era has come to an abrupt end. By contrast, equity market returns have not preserved capital for investors over the long term, even when adding back the generous dividends paid to investors. By looking at the internal profitability of stock exchange-listed companies, ‘Navigating the Capital Market’ identifies which stocks are the ones most likely to generate satisfactory returns for their owners, and backtests the results. “Nigerian investors are faced with difficult choices,” says Guy Czartoryski, Head of Research at Coronation Asset Management, “as interest rates have crashed. The alternatives are either to simply wait for rates to rise again in future, or to accept more risk in order to increase returns. But, to do that, they need to increase their understanding of risk.” ‘Navigating the Capital Market’ takes a new approach to setting investment return benchmarks. Instead of targeting inflation, which is the conventional benchmark, it recommends that investors should aim to beat the effects of Naira devaluation against the US dollar, and obtain the riskfree return they would have in US dollars. This suggests that they should ask for Naira risk-free fixed-income (or Treasury bill) return of 14.7% per annum over the long term. And, when it comes to equities, Coronation Research calculates that Nigerian inves-
tors should demand a return of 20.5% per annum. These are high benchmarks, but they show what is necessary to preserve the value of investors’ hard-earned money. Coronation Research’s investor feedback shows that Nigerian investors have two concerns. The first is inflation. The second is not to lose money in investment schemes. And with fixed-income and bank deposit rates at record lows, and far below the rate of inflation at 12.4%, investors are being tempted to take risks again. Yet the priority now is for them to understand what those risks are, and how they can be managed. ‘Navigating the Capital Market’ is their guide to these challenging times. Coronation Asset Management Limited, incorporated on 2 October 2015, is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide fund and portfolio management services to institutions and individuals. Coronation Asset Management offers full-fledged investment services across various asset classes to the entire spectrum of investors: major institutions, smaller niche institutions & corporates, public sector family offices, cooperatives and high net-worth individuals. Our Services include fund solutions (money market fund, fixed income fund and balanced fund), portfolio management (discretionary and non-discretionary), advisory services as well as fund administration and trustee services offered through its subsidiary, Coronation Trustees Limited. Coronation was recently awarded the Fastest Growing Fund Management Company in Nigeria at the 2020 Global Banking & Finance Awards. The report noted that none of Nigerian listed companies generated return on equity higher than 20.53(which the research house considers appropriate) as they have been reeling from a myriad of challenges over the past 10 years; investors who have invested in this entities are disappointed over the low returns and the fact that they are unable to get a higher returns in terms of bumper dividend share appreciation. However the research house noted that there are notable exceptions and several bank stocks deliver
Guy Czartoryski, head of Research, Coronation Asset Management
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Navigating the Capital Market’ takes a new approach to setting investment return benchmarks. Instead of targeting inflation, which is the conventional benchmark, it recommends that investors should aim to beat the effects of Naira devaluation against the US dollar...
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BALA AUGIE
returns above this level, while other bank stocks are trending towards this level. While sectors from consumer goods to Industrial goods to pharmaceuticals have seen profit margins battered by a tough and unpredictable macroeconomic environment, Nigerian banks have been able to take advantage of monetary policies such as Naira devaluation that led to dollar denominated assets and a yield environment to propel their earnings and maximize shareholders wealth. Drilling down the financial statement of these listed firms in a decade, ‘Navigating the Capital Market’ concluded that only Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) and Zenith Bank the have recorded ROE above FVER, over the past four years, while Access Bank joined this fortune group a year ago. “The same cannot be said about next four largest (by shareholders’ funds) listed banks. The data is volatile (largely thanks to big swings in the RoEs of UBA and Stanbic IBTC), and much of the group fails to reach our benchmark during the period between 2010-2019e,” said
BD MARKETS + FINANCE Analyst: BALA AUGIE www.businessday.ng
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Czatoryski. The report also showed that RoEs of the listed brewers, in two out of three cases, have declined steeply over the past ten years. Neither the two largest brewers, Nigerian Breweries and Guinness Nigeria, have posted RoEs in excess of the FVER during the past five years. The operators in the brewery industry are the hardest hit from a tepid economic growth as stiff competition termed as “beer war’’ and an elastic product continues to undermine profit margins as beleaguered consumers downgraded to cheaper liquor. “Indeed this happened as International Breweries stepped up its offering of value brands around 2013 and the larger brewers found top-line growth difficult to sustain in the face of weakening consumer incomes. But International Breweries’ own RoE has only once broken throughout FVER benchmark (in 2014),” said Czatoryski. With the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic that ravaged economies across the globe and caused a precipitous drop in the price of crude oil, the path to V- shaped economic recovery for Nigeria is slow. The domestic economic growth in the first quarter (Q1-2020) slowed to 1.87 percent and the figure for second quarter (Q2 2020) is set to come in negative. To further compound the already amenic position of the country, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that the economy would witness a deeper contraction of 5.4 percent and not the 3.4 percent it projected in April 2020 While the Nigerian stock market jumped 10.7 percent in the first three weeks of the year to emerge as the global best performer, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index (ASI) shed -9.94 percent. After two consecutive years of decline, the Nigerian equity market became deeply undervalued, with dividend yields on top names across sectors for FY-2019 soaring above double digits. But investor apathy toward the Nigeria equity continues as they dumped shares on the back of lack of policy direction on the part of president Buhari led administration and poor corporate results.
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Friday 24 July 2020
BUSINESS DAY
Harvard Business Review
ManagementDigest
The false dichotomy between globalism and nationalism David A. Waldman and Mansour Javidan
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or years, government officials, business school professors and executives have espoused the benefits of globalization, supporting their arguments with sound evidence. For example, the United Nations has reported that globalization and economic interdependence among nations helped world gross domestic product to increase from $50 trillion in 2000 to $75 trillion in 2016. Another important metric is the rise in employment opportunities across borders: in 2017, migrant workers sent an estimated $466 billion to their families back in their home countries. Synonyms for globalism include development, growth and maturation, and multinational executives are routinely encouraged to have a “global mindset.” In recent years, however, the expression of nationalist sentiments seem to be on the rise. During the current pandemic and economic downturn, political leaders might find it more expedient to search for solutions for their own citizenries, instead of combining efforts to find a global one. Before the crisis, protectionist, populist politicians were gaining favor in many parts of the world. And even in the corporate arena, one could see signs of a turn inward, with companies touting the jobs they are creating at, or bringing back, home, and encouraging consumers to buy domestically produced goods. We recognize that nationalism is often linked to bigotry and xenophobia. But it can carry positive connotations, such as patriotism and good citizenship as well. Given this, and nationalism’s increasing relevance, we believe today’s executives can’t choose whether to be globalists or nationalists. Instead, they must figure out how to be both at the same time. Is this possible? At first glance, it might seem that one has to pick one or the other, because they appear to be diametrically opposed. An exclusive focus on globalism could cause an executive to ignore, or even worse, look down upon those who display national pride and allegiance, making it more difficult to see opportunities at home. A strong nationalistic focus, on the other hand, narrows one’s perspective in a different way, limiting possibilities abroad. Either bias can reduce
effective communication, understanding and collaboration. A paradox mindset — one that can merge both globalist and nationalist points of view — is the solution. Let’s take the example of an American executive in charge of R&D in a U.S.based multinational health care company faced with a decision about where a new eyedisease prevention/medicine development project should be launched. The cost is substantially lower in India, and the required talent is ample. But there is pressure to keep the investment and the jobs in the United States. The nationalist’s choice is to do just that — take India out of the equation, and make and sell the medicine at home. The globalist approach meanwhile points to India, presuming that benefits will still accrue to the United States via taxes and shareholder returns. This is a mild win-win, but in today’s climate it might not be enough. Accordingly, a more integrative strategy would be to invest in R&D to invent a low-cost medication in India, where it is produced, marketed and distributed. The company might also explore the possibility of doing the same in the United States as an affordable alternative for low income patients, or selling it at a higher cost but offering special discounts to those populations. Such an initiative would enhance the company’s position in India, while also www.businessday.ng
creating employment and providing a service to Americans. It honors a global ambition, while satisfying nationalistic desires. It generates additional revenues and jobs both in India and in the United States. The current COVID-19 crisis provides a unique learning opportunity. In the United States, efforts to quickly respond to the outbreak were impeded by the scarcity of personal protection equipment, such as masks, because globally-oriented corporate policies had pushed the manufacturing of such products in faraway markets. (This happened in other countries, too, but the U.S. case was most notable.) In other words, nationalistic concerns were not taken into account. We’ve learned that AN effective emergency response requires that adequate supplies also be available at home. Going forward, corporations could balance a global and nationalistic stance by either investing in domestic product development and manufacturing in addition to their foreign investments or adding a clause in contracts with foreign suppliers requiring a rapid increase in supply to the home country under certain circumstances, such as a health crises. This example of personal protection equipment looks backward in time. Now let’s look to the future of vaccine development. On April 30, 2020, AstraZeneca, the giant Brit-
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ish pharmaceutical company, announced a partnership to manufacture and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine that the University of Oxford is working to develop. We don’t have any insight into how project leaders plan to proceed but we can think hypothetically about how they might. A purely nationalistic approach would be to contain this process within the United Kingdom; the vaccine would be produced to first help the British population, and allow its economy to recover, while allowing for the possibility of exporting it. A globalist approach would call for making the vaccine wherever it is most efficient and cost-effective and then making it widely available, perhaps prioritizing hardest hit countries first. Or senior executives could take more of an integrative approach. They might replicate the Oxford partnership with a number of centers of medical research excellence, including universities, institutes, or other corporations, around the world. For manufacturing and distribution, they could either form joint ventures or contract with other companies in other countries. We have been party to hundreds of discussions among executives related to similar decisions. Following conventional wisdom over the past few decades, executives often focus on globally-oriented actions and benefits but almost never take @Businessdayng
the following integrative steps: First, recognize and explain to your team that it’s not only OK, but actually important, to represent both global and national concerns in decision-making. In fact, we should all endeavor to take both perspectives into account even if we naturally lean toward one side or the other. Second, in making any major business decision that seems to juxtapose a globalist view against a nationalist view, ask three questions: 1) what criteria would a pure nationalist decision-maker who focuses on clear benefits to national stakeholders use?; 2) what criteria would a pure globalist decision-maker who focuses on benefits to the global corporation use?; and 3) how can we integrate at least some of the two sets of criteria in making the final decision? In our experience, addressing such questions goes a long way toward harmonizing both global and national concerns in an executive’s decision-making and actions.
David A. Waldman is a professor of leadership at the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. Mansour Javidan is Garvin Distinguished Professor and Director of the Najafi Global Mindset Institute at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University.
Friday 24 July 2020
BUSINESS DAY
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INTERVIEW ‘Leveraging technology in accounting practice will spur economic growth’ The accounting practice in Nigeria is increasingly gaining traction, driven largely by reforms and growing technology. Onome Joy Adewusi, 56th president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in this interview with KELECHI EWUZIE, speaks on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy. Adewusi, who has over three decades of experience in banking and financial management, also shares her plans in this presidential year. Excerpts: You were inducted recently as the 56th president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, which to us, is a no mean feat. What are the programmes you hope to put in place to create more opportunities for members of the institute? ince I took over the reins of leadership of this great Institute, the Council under my leadership has commenced the implementation of strategies designed to achieve the theme of the 2020/2021 Presidential year titled: Repositioning ICAN for Greater Visibility. Indeed, to accelerate the process, the Governing Council has approved the composition of its 30 Standing Committees and defined their respective terms of reference with emphasis on their strategic focus. With their approved terms of reference, the Council has raised the performance metrics for these committees to ensure that ICAN remains a truly global professional body. Notwithstanding the challenges imposed on individuals and corporate entities by the COVID19pandemic, we are determined as a body to press forward with the task of producing future-ready professional accountants. Pursuant to this, we plan to review our training and examination syllabi to capture emerging business dynamics. Given the imperative of the social distancing protocol, our examination model will tend towards ComputerBased Testing without compromising its established standard and integrity. Also, the Council will intensify capacity building for our members, especially those in Small and Medium Practices, through webinar trainings, in order to further equip them with skills to address practice challenges occasioned by Corona Virus and the inevitability of the new normal of remote working. On the economy, we will partner with the government to evolve strategies that will make the environment business-friendly, encourage investment that will drive business growth and national prosperity.
you to note that, as part of the measures to reduce the negative impact of the pandemic on the Institute’s activities, we are deploying technology to ensure continuity in the affairs of the Institute by adopting full online channels for our activities such as students’ registration, Fellowship conferment, Professional and Accounting Technician Scheme (ATS) inductions, merit awards, amongst others. The activities of the various committees of the Institute are also running unhindered as members of these committees continue to hold their meetings through our virtual platforms.
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In your inaugural speech, you talked about plans to establish the first full online university in Nigeria, if not Africa? Where are we on the plan? As you know, the advancement in technology has redefined the way we work and learn. The disruptive impact of technology on the profession calls for urgent action and we are determined to take up the gauntlet for the benefit of our members. From the unfolding development globally, educational institutions
Onome Joy Adewusi
of the future will no longer be in brick and mortar but in space or in cloud. We are desirous of leveraging technology to enhance our offerings as one of the foremost accountancy body in Africa. To actualise the vision, the Council has set-up Adhoc Committee, comprising renowned academics, to advise it on the most cost-effective and efficient way to progress with the initiative. The Committee held its inaugural meeting recently and their preliminary finding was that there exists a yawning gap in accounting and finance education in the country that the initiative will fill. We therefore look forward to receiving the report of the Committee soon to enable the Institute kick-start the process in line with extant laws and regulations on the establishment of a university of its kind. For you to come this far, you must have had some ups and downs in your professional journey. Was there any point in time when you felt like quitting? Any regrets being where you find yourself? I was brought up to see challenges as opportunities to prove my mettle and demonstrate the spirit of resilience. Quitting has never crossed my mind even in the face of most difficult challenges. My implicit trust in God has always assured me that there are no problems without solutions. I am happy for how far God has helped me and there are no regrets whatsoever. The challenges of life have only strengthened my resolve to push further for success. Since the inception of Presidential Years in ICAN, the Institute has seen www.businessday.ng
several presidents come and go. What do you hope to do differently that would separate your tenure from others in terms of transformational agenda? It is not so much about what I hope to do differently. Under the prevailing social and economic conditions, it should be more about building on the enviable past legacies of the founding fathers and Past Presidents of the Institute. Leadership in ICAN, as in other progressive institutions, is a continuum. We would strive to improve our processes for excellent service delivery. Our main focus will be technology. Accordingly, the Institute would significantly improve on its budgetary allocation to technological infrastructure as a deliberate effort to deepen our services to stakeholders. The disruptive impact of technology on accounting practices makes this line of action inevitable. The Nigerian economy has been greatly impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. Is this, in any way, impacting operations of the Institute and what measures have been put in place to overcome these challenges? The pandemic compelled us to cancel a few of our programmes like the March and July 2020 diets of the Professional Examinations. We specially feel the pains of our students who had prepared for the March Professional Examinations that were cancelled few days before commencement due to the lockdown. We are exploring the possibility of transiting to Computer Based Testing (CBT) for our examinations as an alternative to the traditional paperbased testing. It would also interest
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Increasingly, technology is narrowing the space for professional practice in accounting with its disruptive impact. How true is this? How prepared are members of ICAN for this new normal going forward? It is true that technology is leading to loss of jobs not only in the accounting profession but across professions. It is encouraging to note, however, that a number of other jobs are being created in all professions. For instance, we are equipping our members with the technological skills that would ensure their continued relevance not only in the country but across geographical boundaries. This is one of the beauties of this age, especially for professionals who continue to hone their skills in the technology space. This is the awareness we are creating among our members through the various trainings on webinar. We are collaborating with experts in the big accounting firms to build the capacity of our members in areas such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, smart contracts and advanced analytics. These are technologies that are reshaping formerly established business models and replacing human intervention in repetitive tasks that can easily be automated. As professionals, we are taking the lead in these areas to enable us consistently add value to our diverse clientele. How can corporate governance help to build strong institutions that can fight corruption? Corporate Governance is a veritable instrument to ensure corporate objectives are achieved within the social, regulatory, political and economic environment. At the core of any Corporate Governance Code are the interests of stakeholders and how they are protected and managed. Best practice in corporate governance requires that persons charged with governance responsibilities must provide the right leadership and consistently act in the @Businessdayng
interest of stakeholders. Last year, the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) released the revised principles-based National Code of Corporate Governance to which entities are required to “comply and explain”. Without doubt, a robust Corporate Governance Code can be a tool to fight corruption and boardroom malpractices. However, the point must be made that the strength and effectiveness of any Code lie in the integrity of the institutional framework for its implementation. Happily, the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) and other regulators are well positioned and resourced to drive the process of compliance and sanction any infraction. I dare say that monitoring and enforcement are key. The absence of these will defeat the essence of the code. When you look at economic indices like high unemployment rate, rise in food prices, among others. What advice do you have for the present Federal government to address these issues? The economic challenges in the country can be addressed from two broad perspectives. First, at the macro-level, the imperative of diversifying the sources of foreign exchange earnings in the country can no longer be on the wish list. Any economy that solely depends on one source of revenue will be prone to the negative impact arising from the vagaries in international markets. It is also important that the revenue base of the country be broadened by bringing non-traditional businesses into the tax net. As an Institute, we are advocating that more deliberate attention should be paid to business activities that are initiated and consummated online. Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) should develop more creative channels for generating income from these online activities in addition to the stamp duty. The revenue generated should be judiciously invested in building infrastructure that would provide the enabling environment for business activities. The government must press forward with its responsibility of creating the enabling environment for businesses to continue to thrive. Secondly, economic activities at the micro-level should be given focused attention by government as this informal sector provides gainful employment to over 60% of the population and almost 70% of non-oil revenue generation in the economy. Assisting the informal sector to grow their businesses is an indirect way of tackling the rising unemployment and poverty levels in the country.
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Friday 24 July 2020
BUSINESS DAY
LEADINGWOMAN
Women groups want G20 members to recognise women as drivers of economic recovery Stories by Desmond Okon
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hile the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to cause an unprecedented global economic downturn, UN Women, the UN arm committed to gender equality and the empowerment of women, and Women 20 (W20), the official G20 engagement group on women, have called on G20 finance ministers and central bank governors to put women at the heart of recovery efforts. Both groups, in a joint statement, called on addressing women’s distinct economic roles, contributions and constraints, and seizing the opportunity to put women at the centre of investments designed to realize sustainable recovery. An estimated 527 million women work in the four hardesthit sectors—accommodation and food services, real estate, business and administrative activities, manufacturing, and wholesale/retail trade, unsuitable for remote-working. This represents 41 percent of total female employment visà-vis 35 percent of total male employment. Women comprise 70 percent of the global health workforce, at
the front lines of response. They also contribute 37 percent of the global GDP. In addition, all types of women’s care work, including unpaid work, generate USD 11 trillion globally (9 percent of global GDP). Hence, they emphasised that enabling women’s potential fully and equally with men promotes sustainable, balanced, inclusive growth, improves the representation of women within institutions and intergenerational development outcomes, and is also crisis-cushioning. According to the groups, already encumbered by gendered labour-market disadvantages, women workers have been disproportionately affected by job
loss, reduced working hours and bankruptcy due to the current pandemic. COVID-19 lockdowns have also escalated health risks to health workers, paid and unpaid care work, and violence against women. G20 economies introduced a firepower support package of USD 8 trillion to cushion households and businesses and facilitate recovery, but it is unclear how much the sizeable G20 (or non-G20) economic packages have invested in women, despite evidence that the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 are worse for women. “While we work to recover from the damage caused by this global crisis, we have an op-
portunity to correct a historical fault regarding women and their role in society. G20 leaders must grasp this opportunity to enable women’s potential fully and equally with men – this is critical to economic recovery now and for future crisis-cushioning,” Thoraya Obaid, chairperson, Women 20. Together, UN Women and W20 called on G20 finance ministers and central bank governors to implement genderresponsive impact reviews of the crisis, recovery packages and plans worldwide, especially for the worst-affected women and girls, in order to guide investment priorities. They also asked for greater
fiscal space for countries of the Global South, including through debt relief or cancellation, and expansionary monetary policies that enhance credit availability for women-specific sectors via loan guarantees and other loan instruments as well as greater investment in gender-responsive budgeting. The organisations further urge G20 finance ministers and central bank governors to promote inclusive governance and decision-making, sustainable employment and entrepreneurship, expanded, accessible social safety nets and inclusive, quality, sustainable health care systems and gender-based violence services.
Okonjo-Iweala’s shot at WTO’s top spot boosted by FG’s campaign strategy
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he federal government has inaugurated a campaign strategy team for Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as Nigeria’s nomination for the position of director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The inauguration of the team was recently executed by Richard Adebayo, the minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, in Abuja, who said the creation of a campaign strategy group was vital in ensuring that the Nigerian candidate emerged as the DG of the WTO. Prior to the inauguration, Okonjo-Iweala had lamented about her inability to hire a PR firm to help with her campaign immediately after her nomination. She complained of lacking funds to hire experts and asked for volunteers instead in order to further her ambition at being the first African to become the DG of the World Trade Organisation. “I don’t have any PR firm
working for me. I have some friends who are helping with media work pro-bono because I cannot afford to pay them. It www.businessday.ng
would be nice to have some volunteers,” she said. But what would have been a major challenge stalling her
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progress was swiftly nipped off by Buhari’s government. Disclosing this in a statement issued in Abuja by the ministry’s assistant director of information, Oluwakemi Ogunmakinwa ; Adebayo said the decision of the president, Buhari, to nominate Okonjo-Iweala as Nigeria’s candidate for the position was taken in good faith. He stated that it was also based on the overriding consideration of the need to boost Africa’s chance and for the promotion of gender mainstreaming at the world’s top trade post. The minister believes that she would emerge as the next DG of the WTO based on her capabilities and wealth of experience at the highest level of World Bank, as a development economist, diplomat and one of Africa’s most trusted technocrats. “An eminently qualified candidate in the position of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala with proven leadership, a bold reformer, a skillful negotiator with abilities to broker numerous agreements that would promote fair @Businessdayng
trade should be selected for the position. “I am confident that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala possesses the qualities to lead the most important global multilateral body,” he said. The team is made up of officials of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and representatives of the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President. Others include representatives from the Federal Ministry of Finance, Nigerian Ambassador to ECOWAS and African Union, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, as well as Geneva-based officials. Adebayo urged the team to develop a winning strategy for the candidate and also called on stakeholders to give necessary support to the Nigerian candidate. “My belief is that the team will intensify its level of dedication overtime to ensure that we achieve success,” he said.
BUSINESS DAY
Friday 24 July 2020
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Health Business&Life ‘Nigeria’s prosthetics industry needs more awareness to become a tourist centre for quality artificial limbs’ Medical tourism has been a major challenge facing Nigeria’s health system. Also, lack of awareness of the prosthetics industry in the country has made Nigerians to seek care abroad. In this interview with the chief executive officer of Goldville Prosthetics and Orthotics Limited, Onyenucheya Chinedu, analyses how the prosthetics industry can thrive in Nigeria, as well as the challenges and solutions. He spoke to Anthonia Obokoh. Excerpts:
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ow w ou l d y o u appraise the prosthetics business environment in Nigeria? Nigeria is a country with an estimated population of over 200 million people with a high number of amputees and people with musculoskeletal disabilities. Prosthetics and Orthotics is a field in Nigeria that is underdeveloped with a few professionals. Although there has been gradual awareness on prosthetics in Nigeria, the people are yet to fully embrace the services as those with little knowledge move abroad for prosthetic care, not knowing we can offer such quality services in Nigeria. We at Goldville Prosthetics and Orthotics Limited are into rehabilitation of amputees and individuals with musculoskeletal deficits or disabilities by providing Prosthesis, otherwise known as artificial limbs to amputees and Orthosis, which is an assistive device. We ensure that people who have lost all hope regain their mobility back. What are the challenges facing the prosthetic industry? There have been several challenges in the prosthetics industry and these include the rate of quackery, which is higher than professionalism in the field. The number of quacks is more than the professionals and the patients are the ones who suffer in the hands of these quacks who provide them with services that are of poor quality. These poor quality services provided by quacks most of the time injure the patients. For example, a diabetes amputee could have his/her leg amputated over and over again due to the infection caused by the injuries gotten from the poor prosthetic device. It is not easy to see one’s limb amputated severally; the pains alone could lead to depression. Sometimes this could cause another health challenge for the patient. One difference between professionals and quacks is that, professionals make
a general/full assessment of the patient before offering the appropriate prosthetic device to avoid complications, while quacks just go ahead to module up devices and give to patients, which end up causing danger to the patient’s body part and general health. Secondly, most of the prosthetic components used to build prosthesis for amputees here in Nigeria are imported and due to the high exchange rate (naira to dollar), patients tend to pay more for securing a good and quality prosthesis, that is, artificial limbs. Not all patients can afford such quality prosthesis; they end up in the nets of the quacks. Thirdly, lack of awareness is another challenge facing this industry. Not every Nigerian is aware of the fact that professional prosthetic services are offered here in Nigeria. We have qualified prosthetics and orthotics centres in the country. What is the rate of amputation in Nigeria and how affordable as well as accessible is prosthetics service in Nigeria? There is no national data on the exact number of amputees in Nigeria; any figure given is based on an estimate.
But from my experience, the rate of amputees is high, while those who have prosthesis devices are low due to the affordability. I had to set up Goldville Prosthetics and Orthotics Limited to make these services affordable and accessible to amputees at our centre or at the comfort of the amputee, whether at their homes, offices, companies or organisations in whichever part of Nigeria they are. However, there seems to be a high number of amputees in Nigeria who do not use prosthetic devices. Due to the high number of amputees in Nigeria, with the ration of those who can pay for a prosthesis to those who cannot pay standing at 3:10, especially as the components used in producing the prosthesis are imported, the government and Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should fund part of the cost of this prosthesis to enable amputees procure the devices. Moreover, companies and affluent individuals should also play a part in funding the cost as well. We also need government, Non-Governmental Organisations, private organisations, philanthropists and individuals to partner with us to make prosthesis afford-
Nearly half of Nigerians consume processed carbohydrates - research Anthonia Obokoh
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early half of Nigerians consume excessive processed carbohydrates, Poor intake of fruits and vegetables, late supper, are among the dietary habits of Nigerians says a recent Diet and Nutrition Survey. The survey found out that Nigerians consume processed carbohydrates such as polished rice, pounded yam, eba, fufu, semolina, semovita, amala and wheat on a daily basis, with men slightly more than women to, and people above the age of 50 far less likely than the rest of population, with only 36percent to do so. Experts say not all carbohydrates are the same; many whole foods that are high in carbohydrates are quite healthy and nutritious. On the other hand, processed, refined or simple carbs have had most of the nutrients and
fibre removed. Eating processed carbohydrates is linked to an increased risk of many diseases, including obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The survey revealed that most nutritionists agree that consumption of processed carbohydrates should be moderated. However, they are still the main source of dietary carbs in many countries. “We found that more than half of the adult population will consume more than a standard size portion of processed carbohydrates equivalent to the 650 ml takeaway pack per meal. Men were more likely to consume more processed carbs during a meal,” it states. The survey suggested that ideally, no more than a takeaway sized portion worth of carbohydrates should be consumed per meal to moderate the risk associated with conwww.businessday.ng
suming such carbohydrates. Meanwhile, the research was conducted by WellNewMe, a health technology company, in collaboration with Dennis Ashley Medical Clinic, a medical facility based in Lagos, Nigeria, from January 2019 to March 2020. Also, Kwara Govt, NGO trains private health practitioners on tuberculosis. It was aimed at gathering information about the dietary habits and nutritional status of the Nigerian population. The survey, which took place across the age range of 20 to 60 years old and was part of a larger programme that examined the relationship between diet and noncommunicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and cancer. The survey reveals other significant findings that more than third of Nigerians admit to eating at fast food restaurants at least twice a week.
able and available to users in order to make Nigeria be among the top in the delivery of prosthetic care/services, the government should upgrade the services and also regulate the rate of quackery and unprofessionalism in the field. Private prosthetic centres or establishments should try and improve in the recent prosthetics technologies by training and retraining their staff. Also, government and private prosthetics centres should encourage and sponsor research in the areas of prosthetics technologies. As a stakeholder in the health and medical service industry in Nigeria, what makes people travel overseas to seek prosthetics care? As a stakeholder and from a professional point of view, people travel overseas in search of quality prosthetics services. Most people feel they cannot get good and quality services due to the lack of awareness and sometimes to avoid quacks. But the truth is they can get quality and essential prosthetic services here in Nigeria. There are quality prosthetics services here in Nigeria so individuals do not need to spend exorbitantly in order to get these services outside the country that is why my team at Goldville Prosthetics and Orthotics Limited is in Nigeria to restore hope and confidence in individuals with prosthetics and orthotics needs. You were recently given the CEO of Today Africa awards, among others that were also given the honour, what lessons did you learn from previous years that you would apply to make year 2020 a better year in spite of the covid-19 pandemic? As professionals we must be open to learn new things. Challenges are inevitable; nobody expected the COVID-19 pandemic, which has shaken the world. I have always strived for perfection in all that I do, I don’t rely on the old methods, I research to know
the latest technologies and inventions in the prosthetics and orthotics field that have made me stand out. I ensure that I give my patients the best satisfaction. The reason why we are not moving forward as a country is because we keep doing things the old way, we need to take up new challenges, build new technologies, we might not get there immediately, but certainly we would change the face of how businesses are done in the country. Of the wide medical field, why did you venture into Prosthetics and Orthotics? What motivated me to go into the prosthetics and orthotics field was because I saw the huge need for individuals with amputation and disability to return back to their normal daily activities. I feel moved whenever I look at amputees and people with musculoskeletal disability not being able to compete with their peers, unable to provide for themselves and some face stigmatisation in the society, especially at work places where they are not given jobs due to their disabilities. This causes most of them to fall into the state of depression. Looking at all these challenges faced by amputees and people with musculoskeletal disabilities, I decided to make an impact by venturing into the field of Prosthetics and Orthotics in order to restore hope and confidence to these set of people in the society. Where do you see yourself and company in the next five years? Though doing business in Nigeria is not that rosy, keeping the vision and mission of Goldville prosthetics in mind, my goal is to ensure that amputees regain their hope of mobility. They are normal humans like us before the unfortunate incident that befell them. We also hope to change the face of the prosthetics and orthotics industry in Nigeria, making the country a destination for prosthetics and orthotics care/services in the world.
COVID- 19: Kwara govt warns residents to adhere to safety protocols ...as confirmed cases hits 672 SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin
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orried by the incessant rate of Covid- 19 pandemic in Kwara, residents in the state have been warned to use face masks in public places, keep physical distancing or stay indoors to prevent further occurrence of the virus. Rafiu Ajakaye, chief press secretary to the Governor and Spokesman of the State Technical Committee on COVID-19 who gave the warning while briefing journalists in Ilorin by the state capital, explained that the government is disturbed by the rising cases in the state and would spare no effort to flatten the curve and protect the people. Ajakaye, however, directed that residents must comply with the protective measures by going out with face mask,
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keeping physical distancing among other things beginning from today (Friday July 24th). The government added that violators of the latest directive — including shop owners and drivers of commercial or private vehicles —risk arrest and prosecution from July 31st under the Kwara State Infectious Diseases Regulations 2020. Ajakaye informed that both Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and his Deputy, Kayode Alabi have undergone test for the virus which came back negative, adding that a few workers in Government House have tested positive and are being managed at the infectious diseases centre. He says : “As at today (Wednesday, 22nd July), Kwara has 672 confirmed cases of COVID-19. Out of this, 414 are active while 244 had since been successfully managed and discharged to rejoin their @Businessdayng
families. We have also recorded 14 deaths so far. “While testing of more samples has played a key role in the spike of the figures, the truth is that most of our people are simply not complying with safety measures put in place including physical distancing and the use of face mask despite the earlier mass production and distribution of face masks to members of the public. “The rising cases represent a grave danger to not just public health but also to public resources and infrastructure which are already being stretched. Whereas the government is doubling up its advocacy across all media platforms, including jingles and radio programmes, the time has come for everyone to take full responsibility and act more responsibly as we confront this pandemic.
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Friday 24 July 2020
BUSINESS DAY
Hotels
Radisson Hotel Group announces six new hotels in Africa Top BusinessDay Partner Hotels
...including its first hotel in Abuja OBINNA EMELIKE
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adiss on Hotel Group, one of the world’s largest hotel groups with seven distinctive hotel brands, has announced the addition of six new hotels to its African portfolio, bringing the total to almost 100 hotels across 32 African markets. Building on the recent announcement of its reinforced African development team structure, the announcement of the six new hotels further demonstrates the group’s commitment to the continent. Speaking on the new hotels, Elie Younes, executive vice president & chief development officer, Radisson Hotel Group, said: “We believe in the vast potential of Africa. The addition of the six hotels, following the announcement of Radisson Hotel Saint Denis earlier this year places us firmly on track to reach over 150 hotels in operation and under development across the continent within the next five years. The new hotel announcements include our debut in new markets, the introduction of additional brands and the strengthening of our presence in cities we have identified for scaled growth. We thank our hotel partners for their invaluable trust in Radisson Hotel Group and its people”. Further commenting on the achievement, Ramsay Rankoussi, vice president, Development, Africa & Turkey, Radisson Hotel Group, stated, “Our growth has been well balanced between green field projects and strategic take-overs of existing hotels. We aim to further accelerate our presence across the continent through conversions, especially as liquidity remains a critical challenge. We have revisited our brand architecture to enable us to quickly integrate existing hotels to our network. This strategy will be reinforced as our brands
continue to demonstrate a better value proposition to our owners. Following our revised strategy, we believe we are now geared in providing solutions to the investment community for every type of asset, every segment and at every stage – from funding, to construction and repositioning.” Meanwhile, the seven new hotel deals include: Radisson Collection Hotel Bamako, Mali The hotel is scheduled to open within the next six months following a re-branding. It introduces Radisson Hotel Group’s premium lifestyle brand to Africa, as the first Radisson Collection hotel to open on the continent. The operational hotel is currently rated number one on TripAdvisor for its prime location in the heart of Bamako and proximity to the city’s diplomatic district and great accessibility. The 200-room affordable luxury hotel will offer exceptional dining experiences across its five food and beverage outlets, from an all-day dining restaurant and a specialty restaurant to a café, a bar and an executive lounge. The hotel also offers an expansive 1,200sqm meeting & events area consisting of a ballroom and seven conference rooms. For the ultimate contemporary living, guests can stay fit in the hotel’s fully equipped gym or unwind in a serene setting within the spa or alongside the pool. With the introduction of
Radisson Collection in the city, the existing Radisson Blu Hotel, Bamako is expected to commence a full renovation program towards year end. Radisson Blu Hotel Abuja City Centre, Nigeria The Radisson Blu Hotel Abuja City Centre, scheduled to open in 2024, is the Group’s first hotel in the city, complementing the existing nine hotels in operation and under development in Nigeria. Located in the heart of the central business district of Nigeria’s Federal Capital, the 258-room hotel will boast five different food and beverage outlets from a specialty restaurant and all-day-dining restaurant to a lobby bar & café, a picturesque pool terrace and a premium business class lounge. The leisure facilities will include a 555sqm wellness spa, a gym and a swimming pool to maintain guest’s wellness. Radisson Hotel & Convention Centre Johannesburg, O.R. Tambo Scheduled to open before year end, the hotel will introduce the Group’s upscale Radisson brand to Johannesburg. Located on a private estate in Bredell, Kempton Park, the hotel has easy access to major highways joining Johannesburg and Pretoria and is approximately 10 minutes’ drive away from O.R Tambo International Airport, Africa’s biggest and busiest airport, facilitating over 21 million passengers in 2018. The newly built hotel will
offer an array of dining options, including four restaurants, three bars an entertainment deck and an executive lounge. The hotels 289 modern and timelessly designed rooms comprise of 248, which are newly built and 41, which have been converted from an existing hotel. In addition, it has a large MICE facility, which includes a significant conference centre with a 1,260-seater auditorium and five conference rooms. The leisure facilities will include a gym, spa & wellness centre as well as three outdoor pools. Radisson Hotel Addis Ababa It is Radisson Hotel Group’s fifth hotel in Ethiopia, which is scheduled to open in 2021. The hotel is located just 4km from Ethiopia’s newly expanded Addis Ababa Bole International Airport terminal, now the biggest airport aviation hub in Africa, expected to accommodate 22 million passengers a year. The 114-room hotel will boast a wide variety of food and drink outlets, the hotel will offer guests a truly local experience in a traditional Ethiopian specialty restaurant and bar and appease international taste buds in a bespoke all-day-dining restaurant which leads out into a pool bar. In addition, the hotel will also have a third bespoke panoramic bar. Radisson Hotel & Apartments Accra, Ghana The hotel, scheduled to open in 2023, is a full renovation of an existing 121 room hotel and construction of an additional tower which will offer 54 hotel apartments, creating a mixed-use development. The hotel is located on Tema Highway, Ghana’s largest port located to the East of Accra. Within a 3km radius of the hotel is the Kotoka International Airport, Accra Mall and the Airport City complex, a mixed-use development with several Grade AAA office towers and retail outlets.
La Campagne Tropicana Beach resort introduces bespoke entertainment
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adly, coronavirus (Covid - 19) has killed half a million people worldwide over the last five months. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also acknowledged that care must be taken to ensure that the measures put in place for Covid - 19 do not result in the social isolation that leads to depression and suicides. It implies that finding ways to keep your loved ones and families safe during the pandemic while recognising the need to promote mental health via controlled social interactions. Of course, Co-
vid - 19 is here to stay and we must find an African solution for living our normal lives safely. Aware of its impacts on the people, with the rising statistics of deaths arising from depression and suicide, among others, the management of La Campagne Tropicana Beach Resort, Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, has called on the
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public to engage in more active and productive physical activities in order to keep safe and alive. To this end, it has introduced what it called ‘Bespoke Entertainment’. According to the resort, the new offering is an African solution for providing live entertainment in a safe mode despite the new world order that has been created by Covid -19. ‘‘Our Bespoke Entertainment is specially designed for couples, families, and friends in groups of not more than 20 persons,’’ the resort management said. The entertainment offer-
ing features exciting genre of music including: African, rap, R & B, gospel, highlife, secular, old skool, and country music. As well, both upcoming and established music talents are expected to thrill guests at various locations within the resort. Some of the choice locations include; the beachfront between the lagoon and the ocean, international stage, Ilerigi 1 – 9, Laba (for resident groups staying in five labas), Kodi (for resident groups staying in five Kodis), Obieze, Amosan 1 – 2, Ilerimi Balcony and camp site within the resort’s forest.
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Four Points by Sheraton Hotel (Oniru Chiefatancy Estate,Lekki) Tel: +234 1 448 9444
Transcorp Hilton Abuja 1 Aguiyi Ironsi Street Maitama, Abuja Tel: +234-708-060-3000
The Wheatbaker #4 Onitolo(Lawrence Road), Ikoyi, Lagos. Tel: 01 277 3560
Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Abuja 1 Uke St, Garki, Abuja. Tel: +234 9 4603900, +234 805 7522500
Lagos Continental Hotel Plot 52, Kofo Abayomi St, Lagos Tel: 01 236 6666
Radisson Blu Hotel Ikeja #38/40 Isaac John St, Ikeja GRA100271, Ikeja Tel: +234-908-780 5555
206 Exclusive Hotel Plot 206 Oladipo Diya Road Opposite Olympia Estate By Games Village Second Gate Durumi2 Abuja
Novotel Port Harcourt Address: 3 Stadium Road Rumuomasi, Port Harcourt Rivers State, Tel: 0809 713 5734
Radisson Lagos Ikeja #42-44 Isaac John Street, GRA Ikeja, Lagos
Southern Sun IkoyI Hotel Address: 47 Alfred Rewane Road, Ikoyi, Lagos Tel: +234 1 280 5200 / +234 1 280 0630 Email: ssikoyi.reservations@ tsogosun.com
Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel 1A,Ozumba Mbadiwe,Victoria Island. @Businessdayng
Friday 24 July 2020
BUSINESS DAY
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entertainment
African music business gains traction with Mr. Eazi’s $20m funding Obinna Emelike
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espite seems to be on the w a y f o r Ni gerian music creatives who seek financial support and platforms to grow and showcase their creative ingenuity on global stage. Oluwatosin Ajibade, a Nigerian music artiste, who stages as Mr. Eazi, has created a new funding model expected to change the music business on the continent for good. The music artiste, who has more than five million monthly listeners on Spotify, has created Africa Music Fund (AMF). The fund, which amounts to $20 million, is in partnership with 88mph, a company that provides capital for African businesses, as the lead investor. With the funding, which was lacking in the past, Mr. Eazi hopes to offer financial support to artistes to enable them expand their catalog and focus more on the creative aspect of the business.
Mr. Eazi
The funding, according to him, is imperative because most financial institutions in Africa do not understand the business of music, hence are unable to fund creative projects, leaving talents to struggle or fizzle out for lack of support. He further decried the unavailability of financial products for the creative industry, and neglect of intellectual property as col-
lateral for loans by financial institutions, all because of the lack of understanding of the creative business. Apart from the funding, AMF, according to Mr. Eazi, would also create access to a larger audience for music acts by helping them find and book shows, as well as, distribute their music. On the criteria for accessing the fund, Mr. Eazi explained that the fund is for music artistes who are
talented and show serious commitment to lift their career to world stage. According to him, selected artistes would be given financial support depending on their revenue and projected incomes, using metrics such as streaming revenue. As well, qualified music artistes would be given funds upfront based on their revenue to expand their music content. The
initial advance invested in an artiste’s music would be paid back in installments as the artiste’s earnings start to rise, he explained further. “For instance, if AMF has a two-year contract with an artiste, we will be their representative within that period, managing their music, helping them grow and deducting the initial investment from their earnings,” the musician entrepreneur disclosed. To secure the investment, Mr. Eazi said that while AMF provides the funds, and technical support, emPawa Africa, his parent company, in partnership with Vydia, a music technology company, would be launching Cinch Distro, a music distribution platform for new artistes. On the Cinch Distro platform, artistes, according to Mr. Eazi can upload one song to major music stores for N500 (about $1.19), or N4000 (about $10) for unlimited song uploads. Explaining how the music platform works, the
artiste noted that for the aspiring artistes to be onboard, they need to register on the platform and make their music. Afterwards, the platform’s AI-based tech will filter the artistes’ possible revenue based on the number of streams they get on the platform alongside a couple of other metrics. To ensure transparency, Mr. Eazi assured that with the tech platform, all artistes supported by the AMF would have access to information about their content and earning in real-time. On what he stands to benefit from the project, the music artiste explained that the biggest players in the African music industry have been foreigners, hence creative talents are often shortchanged. He wants to change the order by contributing in creating a music industry where African players own the content. “I want to create a space for music stars on the continent to become significant part of the industry”, he concluded.
show and high-pressure nature of the job. The three photographers are excited to be part of this season’s production team, especially with the lull in their business occasioned by the impact of Covid-19. However, they have expectations for this season. Otolorin aims to work more efficiently after gaining experience from last year’s production, while Okulaja plans to improve his delivery time and add value to production. As well, Yusuf aims to be more detailed in documenting every housemate’s journey in the Big Brother house using the images to tell their individual stories in a fun, exciting, entertaining and very creative manner to be used for content creation and promotion. Moreover, they all hope to consolidate on their last season’s experience, and finding a way to tell the Big Brother story through their photographs.
Telling the BBNaija story through photography Obinna Emelike
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here has been excitement in the air for reality TV show lovers as doors to Biggie’s house opened for this season’s housemates last Sunday. Truly, Big Brother Naija is a great production with excellent coverage as well. The coverage is not just the world class cameras that broadcast the highquality images on the screens, but also the still pictures. However, there are some creative talents who are working tirelessly behind the scenes to give life to the momentous project. Every moment in the show is potentially momentous and it takes an incredible amount of talent to literally stalk the show and the housemates, aiming for what could very well be the most important part or moment of the show. Last year, a set of pho-
tographers dedicate their skills, passion, experience, expertise and instinct to capturing the essence of the show for three months. These talented individuals are back again for the production of Season 5 of Big Brother Naija. Meanwhile, they shared their experience in the last season, expectations with every new BBNaija season and how MultiChoice continues to empower creative entrepreneurs across different fields. The first is Kehinde Yusuf of Ken Yusuff Photography Service. The talented photographer was excited working on BBNaija for the first time last season. “I have always followed the show and have been very curious as to what it would feel like behind the scenes and what the whole production process will be like. Being shortlisted as a vendor finally gave me the opportunity to witness the show first-hand and also www.businessday.ng
exposed me to the beauty in production“, Yusuf said. According to him, the show was a great platform and an avenue to learn and meet amazing people, especially industry professionals, while making him more detail-oriented and intentional about using photography as a tool to tell people’s story. For him, it was beautiful documenting expression change in a span of seconds and moods sway over weightless things.
“After the show, I have found myself more in the production because of my newfound interest in TV production”, Yusuf explained. For Bernard Okulaja, CEO of Bernard Okulaja Photography, who also worked on the BBNaija show for the first time last season, it was an amazing experience. “I had to work with the best production team in Africa. The professionalism was at 100 percent”, Okulaja said.
Okulaja, who likes capturing the Sunday Live Show/Eviction shows, noted that after participating in the project, he developed a different mindset because of the the professionals he met and things he learnt. But S eun O tolorin, owner of Seun O Photography, another good talent in last season’s production team, said the show was an addition to his professional experience, particularly the secretive nature of the
Bernard Okulaja
Kehinde Yusuf
Seun Otolorin
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Friday 24 July 2020
BUSINESS DAY
FINTECH News
Products Review
Technology Review
Personality Review
Company Review
Bitcoin outshines global stock market, gold in first half of 2020 ...Ethereum tops five best performing crypto assets in H1 FRANK ELEANYA
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espite the turbulence in the global economy, Bitcoin was the bestperforming asset class in the first six months of 2020, beating the contenders like gold, silver, platinum, and the global stock market. In its H1 report, Coindesk, a global cryptocurrency media platform, noted that gold trailed bitcoin by nearly 11 percent despite gaining 16 percent in the first half of 2020 and posting eight-year gains around June. Silver and platinum also ended the first half of 2020 in negative territory. “Bitcoin is becoming more like gold in an increasingly favourable macroeconomic environment for the quasicurrencies, and we believe it will continue outperforming most peers,” researchers at Bloomberg said in a July report. “Similar to the yellow metal, our indicators remain price-positive for the benchmark crypto to continue outshining the broader market.” The stock market did not fare any better than the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency either. The S&P 500 ended the first half of 2020 down -4 percent, according to a report by Arcane in collaboration with Luno, a global
cryptocurrency exchange with a presence in Nigeria and other countries in Africa. The stock market has not been all gloom, as it is slowly recovering. And despite a strong performance, experts say Bitcoin has not fulfilled its role as a safe haven. However, both stocks and bitcoin served as an inflation (expectation) hedge in the face of ever-expanding monetary policy. In countries like Nigeria, the Central Bank has devalued the currency as it pushes to unify its exchange rate market. Luno told BusinessDay that its operations in Africa also saw a solid performance. From the last quarter of 2019 to the first quarter of 2020,
Luno saw a 25 percent increase in new customers
from the continent. Bitcoin trading volume also rose by
100 percent from February to March in Africa. Nigeria is Luno’s second-largest market in terms of volume, after South Africa. While bitcoin was the best performing asset class in the world, Ethereum did the most among the top three cryptocurrencies in the world. Ethereum’s strong performance goes back to mid-February when search for the cryptocurrency on Google peaked as a result of a steady price increase. The price of Ethereum is significantly benefited from the news of the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade to a new proofof-stake model which is expected to boost confidence
for the cryptocurrency. Analysts say the Ethereum 2.0 update would reduce costs and speed up network transactions while it is expected the price of gas to drop. Phase 0 of Ethereum 2.0 will launch in 2020 while Phase 1 is anticipated in 2021. Phase 2 and beyond are also expected for 2021 or later. In the past six months, Ethereum (+75%) and Bitcoin (+27) recovered strongly from the crash and they have both been approaching their yearly highs in recent months. “Ripple (XRP) is a different story,” the researchers at Arcane noted. “The year started out strong, but following the market crash, the interest in XRP seems to have died off as XRP has disappointed.” Ethereum dominance may be short-lived according to researchers at Bloomberg. Bitcoin is expected to continue to outperform “most” of the crypto assets. “Too much supply and ease of entry should continue to weigh on most alt-coins, still in an extended hangover from the parabolic gains to the 2017-18 peak. It’s the increasing differentiation, maturation, and more widespread adoption that favors Bitcoin, which is becoming more of a gold-like store of value,” they said.
TradeDepot closes $10m funding in chase for major slice of Africa’s retail market FRANK ELEANYA
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igerian-based TradeDepot, an eCommerce platform for retailers said it has secured an additional $10 million as it moves to corner a major share of the offline retail market in Africa estimated at $1 trillion. The business to business platform had raised $3 million Series A round led by Partech in 2018. The $10 million preSeries B equity round is also co-led by Partech, International Finance Corporation, Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), and MSA Capital. The funding, according to a statement from the company,
would be used to continue its integration of the fragmented informal retail supply chain in Nigeria, expand into other African cities and launch a suite of financial products and credit facilities, to support its retailers. Founded in 2016, TradeDepot makes household supplies like milk, soap, detergent, and other essentials readily available and affordable while working with its global distributors and manufacturers including Nestle, Unilever, GB Foods, and Danone. Over time, the company has amassed a network of over 40,000 micro retailers in Nigeria. Onyekachi Izukanne, TradeDepot’s co-founder and CEO, said the company’s eyes are on the bigger retail market in www.businessday.ng
Africa. “Africa’s offline retail market is estimated at $1 trillion, and this new investment allows us to capture an even greater segment of that market,” Izukanne said. “We will continue to use data to drive efficiencies and provide an easier stock acquisition service for our 40,000+ retailers, driving down costs for them by negotiating even better deals with our global manufacturing partners, whilst simultaneously providing a better, faster route to market for our suppliers.” On TradeDepot’s mobile apps on Play Store, WhatsApp, and USSD, retailers can order and pay for goods and have them delivered directly to their stores via the company’s fleet of vans and tricycles. Retail-
ers can also order stock and manage their inventory online, with a number of ways to pay, including digital payments and cash. TradeDepot also distributes consumer goods brands to the informal sector using a direct-to-retail platform. Suppliers can plan and monitor their sales routes in realtime as well as gain invaluable insights into trade and retail data through the CRM and data management system on TradeDepot. Using data and analytics to inform better retail decision making at each stage of the supply chain, TradeDepot has recorded considerable growth since its launch, activating a new store every three minutes, and receiving a retailer order every 4 seconds, on average.
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The company has also tripled its volume of trade in the last 12 months. “TradeDepot is a rising star in the African internet landscape, helping digitise a substantial underserved informal retail segment, which is the pillar of economic growth in Africa,” Wale Ayeni, Head of Africa Venture Capital Investment at IFC, said. “The founders’ vision to build a digital platform that improves the unit economics of serving the mass-market is one that we feel privileged to support.” TradeDepot would also be launching a suite of financial technology products and credit facilities. Retailers that do not have collateral that banks demand can leverage their trading relationship with @Businessdayng
TradeDepot, to access the funds they need to buy more goods, scale their businesses, and generate more revenue. The company said retailers would be offered mentorship and opportunities to link with domestic and global markets, to further support its predominantly female customer base to grow and expand their businesses. “ The founders have a wealth of experience that puts them in a great position to execute on their vision, and their approach and results to-date are why we are so excited by the extraordinary entrepreneurs harnessing the power of technology to address issues across the continent,” Tidjane Dème, General Partner at Partech said.
Friday 24 July 2020
BUSINESS DAY
Live @ The Exchanges Top Gainers/Losers as at Thursday 23 July 2020
Global market indicators
LOSERS
GAINERS Company
Opening
Closing
Change
Opening
Closing
Change
IKEJAHOTEL
1.12
0.10
9.80
NAHCO
1.98
-0.20
-9.17
Company
49.45
4.20
9.28
UNITYBNK
0.45
-0.04
-8.16
CADBURY
7.25
0.50
7.41
ETI
4.35
-0.35
-7.45
COURTVILLE
0.21
0.01
5.00
FIDSON
2.65
-0.20
-7.02
HONYFLOUR
0.96
0.04
4.35
ABCTRANS
0.47
-0.03
-6.00
PRESCO
Dangote Cement, MTNN, others lift stock market into green zone …investors gain over N170bn
L-R: Adekunle Olusegun, permanent secretary General Services, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation; Musa Aujara, head COVID 19 monitoring team ICPC; Ibrahim Boyi, executive commissioner Corporate Services, Securities and Exchange Commission; Lamido Yuguda, director general, SEC and Dayo Obisan, executive commissioner operations SEC, during the donation of an Ambulance to the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 by Capital Market Support Committee on COVID 19 in Abuja.
todian rallied from N4.85 to N5, adding 15kobo or 3.09percent. Africa Prudential went up from N4.01 to N4.12, adding 11kobo or 2.74percent, while FBN Holdings advanced from N4.95 to N5, up by 5kobo or
1.01percent. In 2,986 deals, stock dealers exchanged 164,289,152 units valued at N2.125billion. FBN Holdings, Custodian, Zenith Bank, GTBank, and UBA were actively traded stocks on the Bourse.
The value of listed stocks increased to N12.787trillion while the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index (ASI) rose to 24,512.27 points as against preceding day low of N12.610trillion and 24,173.53 points respectively.
FCMB Asset Management Legacy USD Bond Fund gets top ranking he Legacy USD Bond Fund, a dollar mutual fund managed by FCMB Asset Management Limited (FCMBAM), has been ranked as the top United States Dollar (USD) mutual fund in Nigeria in the first half (H1) of 2020. The ranking published in a research report by Nairametrics was based on an assessment of the prices of USD mutual funds in Nigeria over a 6 months period, from January to June 2020. This development is a recognition of the investment expertise and professionalism of the Fund Manager, FCMB Asset Management Limited, a member of FCMB Group Plc. Legacy USD Bond Fund, which is registered with the
Nikkei 225 22,751.61JPY -132.61-0.58%
S&P 500 Index 3,278.07USD +2.05+0.06%
Deutsche Boerse AG German Stock Index DAX 13,103.39EUR -0.86-0.01%
Generic 1st ‘DM’ Future 26,821.00USD -63.00-0.23%
Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index 3,325.11CNY -8.05-0.24%
Cadbury Nigeria’s half-year profit drops by 20% ...stock may dip further on local bourse
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i g e r i a’s stock market closed in the green ( + 1 . 4 0 p e rcent) on Thursday July 23, 2020, thanks to Dangote Cement Plc, MTNN, and other notable counters. Gains in these stocks and others helped to halt records of negative trading session seen this week. Investors gained about N177billion at the close of the remote trading session on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). This week, the market has gained by 0.92 percent; while its month-to-date (MtD) it has increased by 0.14 percent, moderating the negative return this year to 8.68percent. Dangote Cement Plc increased most from N122 to N134.2, adding N12.2 or 10percent. MTNN also rose from N119 to N120, adding N1 or 0.84percent. Also, Cus-
FTSE 100 Index 6,211.44GBP +4.34+0.07%
Iheanyi Nwachukwu
Iheanyi Nwachukwu
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Securities and Exchange Commission ((SEC), gives investors the opportunity to invest in US Dollar denominated fixed income securities on a continuous basis and aids currency diversification. It seeks to generate stable income for investors by investing primarily in a portfolio of high quality, registered, and tradeable US Dollar fixed income securities. Explaining the rationale
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behind the rating, the research report stated that, “the Legacy USD Bond Fund is the best performing mutual fund if you are looking for dollar-denominated fixed-income debt securities like Eurobonds. At 24.4percent, they seem to be holding bonds with good yields and market values respectively. Apart from the Bond Fund, managers of the Legacy USD Bond Fund also manage a Fixed Income Fund, a Money Market Fund and an Equity Fund. If you are looking to invest in Eurobonds then this mutual fund is the best performing”. Commenting on the feat, Chief Executive Officer of FCMB Asset Management, James Ilori, said, “we are delighted to, once again, be recognised for our commitment to assisting inves-
tors to achieve their investment goals. The increased interest in efficient currency diversification and portfolio risk minimisation among investors, makes the Legacy USD Bond Fund a necessary part of any portfolio construction strategy. We will continue to apply our wealth of local and international investment management expertise in creating value for our numerous clients”. Legacy USD Bond Fund is easily accessible to the investing public both in Nigeria and the diaspora. In 2018, the Fund won the NSE CEO Award for “Fund Manager with the Largest Listed Fund Size”. This followed an impressive 244.44 percent subscription in the Initial Public Offering (IPO) of the Fund.
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adbury Nigeria Plc has released its unaudited interim financial information for the half year (H1) ended June 30, 2020. The results at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) show Cadbury H1’20 revenue decreased year-on-year (yoy) by 18percent to N15.92 billion from N19.45billion in H1’19. The company’s results from operating activities went down by 20percent, to N714.69million in H1’20 as against N888.77million recorded in H1’19. Cadbury Nigeria Plc is principally engaged in the manufacture and sale of branded fast moving consumer goods mostly to the Nigerian market, but also for exports. In the review half year to June 30, Cadbury profit before tax (PBT) stood lower by 20percent to N766.65million from N957.05million in H1’19. The Company’s brands fall into three principal categories, namely: refreshment beverages, confectionary and intermediate cocoa products. Its profit for the H1’20 period decreased to
N536.66million from a high of N669.93million in H1’19, representing 20percent decrease. Basic earnings per share of 28.57kobo as against 35.67kobo in H1’19 also implies a decrease of 20percent. The shares of Cadbury Nigeria Plc at N7.25 have decreased this year by -31.3percent, market data as at week ended July 17 showed. The record decline seen across the company’s top-to-bottom line figures for H1’20 may prompt investors to sell the stock which is near its 52-week low of N4.95 as against 52week high of N11.65. Cadbury Bournvita and Cadbury 3-in-1 hot chocolate are the refreshment beverages, Tom Tom, Buttermint and Clorets gum are the Confectionery products while Cocoa Butter is a key product in the intermediate cocoa category. Cadbury Nigeria Plc is owned 74.97percent by Cadbury Schweppes Overseas Limited (CSOL), incorporated in the United Kingdom while CSOL is owned by Mondelez International and 25.03percent by a highly diversified spread of Nigerian individual and institutional shareholders.
Cornerstone Insurance to issue bonus shares Iheanyi Nwachukwu
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ornerstone Insurance Plc has informed its esteemed shareholders, stakeholders, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the general public that at the Board Meeting of the Company held on July 22, 2020, the Board approved the transfer of N1.718billion from the Company’s share premium account to the share capital account. The company will do this by issuing bonus shares of 7 new shares of 50 kobo each for every 30 existing shares of 50 @Businessdayng
kobo each to achieve the Company’s recapitalisation plan. The issuance of bonus shares to shareholders of the Company is subject to the approval of the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting of the Company. The Board considered and approved the unaudited financial statements for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020. The approved unaudited financial statements for the 2020 second quarter will be filed with the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on or before July 30, 2020 and published to the general public.
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Friday 24 July 2020
BUSINESS DAY
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Friday 24 July 2020
BUSINESS DAY
27
NEWS
Capital projects suffer as Ogun slashes 2020 budget by 38% to N280.9bn RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta
S L-R: Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC); Babagana Zulum, governor, Borno State; Ali Isa Ibrahim Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy; Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning; Babatunde Fashola, minister of works and housing, and Abimbola Alale, managing director, Nigcomsat, during virtual commissioning of six IT projects executed across the county by agencies under the ministry, yesterday, at the communications and digital complex, Abuja.
Long queues, big crowd scare shoppers away from large grocery stores BUNMI BAILEY
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o avoid long queues and big crowds, shoppers in Nigeria now prefer smaller stores located in the neighbourhood for groceries. Findings from a BusinessDay survey on some small supermarket stores in Lagos like Ego Supermarket and Best Buy, located in Surulere and De Prince at Gbagada showed a growing trend of consumers shifting to these stores compared to large retail stores in malls such as Shoprite, the South African
For example, malls are expected to maintain a 60 percent occupancy rate, in line with the physical distancing rules, with hand sanitisers, washbasins, and temperature checks as compulsory requirements at entry points. “The mall culture in Nigeria was driven by the glamour and ambience of shopping in major malls. However, due to Covid-19, getting into the malls require long queues and many precautions needed to be able to shop,” Ayorinde Akinloye, consumer analyst at Lagos-based CSL Stockbrokers said. Akinloye explained that safety concerns would be at
retail chain. “Many people are patronising their neighbourhood supermarkets more. And it is not surprising because these stores are less crowded, less stressful and their rows are more relaxed. And with more people going for neighbourhood stores, it has made the stores to grow as well,” said Amanda Etuk, general manager, Zippy Logistics, a logistics and supply chain firm. After a five-week lockdown of economic activities that started on March 31, 2020, and ended on May 4, the government kept some restrictions on places to curb the spread of Covid-19.
the top of consumers’ minds. “Thus, it’s not unusual to observe people patronising household stores where they can easily buy their products in minutes rather than spend long hours on queues.” Titi Olusola, a banker who normally does her grocery shopping at Shoprite said that since the Covid-19 pandemic started, she now only goes to her neighbourhood market. “Before the pandemic, on Fridays, you would see a large crowd of people but now it is less because people would rather buy their items close by,” Korede Adeleke, a consumer said.
Over 10,000 healthcare workers Glo offers more data value to subscribers that N500 data plan which is in Africa infected with COVID-19 BUNMI BAILEY valid for 14 days, now gives ANTHONIA OBOKOH
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he World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned of the threat posed by Covid-19 to health workers across Africa, noting that more than 10,000 health workers in the 40 countries which have reported on such infections have been infected with Covid-19 so far, a sign of the challenges medical staff on the frontlines of the outbreak face. This comes as Covid-19 cases in Africa appear to be gathering pace. There are now more than 750,000 cases of Covid-19, with over 15, 000 deaths. Some countries are approaching a critical number of infections that can place stress on health systems. South Africa is now among the worst-hit countries in the world. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa, who spoke on health worker
infections in Africa during a virtual press conference on Thursday, organised by APO Group, said the continued increase in Covid-19 cases in Africa places an ever-greater strain on health services across the continent. “This has very real consequences for the individuals who work in them, and there is no more sobering example of this than the rising number of health worker infections,” she said. So far, about 10 percent of all cases globally are among health workers, though there is a wide range between individual countries. In Africa, information on health worker infections is still limited, but preliminary data finds that they make up more than five percent of cases in 14 countries in subSaharan Africa alone, and in four of these, health workers make up more than 10 percent of all infections.
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ubscribers of Globacom, national indigenous telco, are in for a good time as the company announces an increase in data volumes, which provides opportunity for them to do more on the internet, especially in these days of the coronavirus pandemic. The new offer, according to Globacom’s statement in Lagos, gives subscribers who purchase any of its data plans including night volume which is available for use between 12 midnight and 5am attractive data values. Thus, additional 18MB will be given to any new customer who purchases a daily data plan of N50 making it a total of 50MB instead of the former data value of 32MB. This also includes a night value of 5MB. Also, 150MB, which includes 35mb of night value, goes to a subscriber who purchases a daily data plan of N100. The company explained
1.35 GB including a night time value of 550MB. Hitherto, it gave1GB. In addition, a whopping 2.9 GB will be received for purchase of N1,000 monthly data, instead of 2.5 GB. It also includes a night time value of 1GB. According to Globacom, the data volumes are graduated to reach N20,000 recharge which now gives a total of 12GB data, bringing the overall value to 138GB . Hitherto it gave 115GB. Globacom reiterated the need to give the best benefit for money in terms of data volume at unique price points for subscribers and underscored its decision to review the data values. It added, “The prevailing Covid-19 pandemic entails much more being done online by data users. People require reliable and affordable internet services to be able to work, shop, study, socialise and do business transactions online.
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everal capital projects in Ogun, including roads, bridges, independent power projects, agricultural production, health and education investments voted for capital expenditure would no longer be executed as earlier planned, as the state government has cut capital expenditure in favour of recurrent expenditure in its 2020 revised budget. The Governor Dapo Abiodun-led administration had earlier assented to a N449.9 billion budget under the state’s three- year medium term expenditure framework with a capital expenditure benchmark of between 60 percent and 70 percent that spans 2020, 2021 and 2022 fiscal years, just as 2020 budget covers N271.2 billion capital expenditure, representing 60.3 percent and OPEX of N178.8 billion, representing 39.7 percent. But in a revised budget of 2020 which was sent by Governor Abiodun and read by speaker of Ogun State House of Assembly, Olakunle Oluomo, on the floor of the house on Tuesday, showed that the N449.9 billion budget earlier
prepared had been slashed by 38 percent to N280.9 billion with a whopping N122.8 billion, representing 27.3 percent being cut off capital expenditure budget line, while a meagre 10.3 percent of N46.4 billion was taken away from recurrent expenditure. Reading the governor’s letter during a plenary, Oluomo said that the executive attributed the huge reduction to the current economic realities triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, saying there was a downward review of the 2020 budget from N449, 973, 690, 275.79 to N280, 907, 538, 376.47, representing 38 percent reduction. Meaning that the 38 percent reduction in the 2020 budget shows that the earlier N271.2 billion, representing 60.3 percent capital expenditure which was in line with 3-fiscal year medium term expenditure framework is slashed by 27.3 percent to N122.8 billion, now 52.9 percent to N148.4 billion in revised budget as well as recurrent expenditure which stood at 39.7 percent to N178.8 billion, now increased to 47.1 percent (N132.5 billion) of the total budget size of N280.9 billion.
NNPC, FIRST Exploration announce arrival FPSO SEGUN ADAMS
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he Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and FIRST Exploration & Petroleum Development Company Limited (FIRST E&P) have announced the arrival of the Abigail-Joseph Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit to the shores of Nigeria. Prior to her sail-away, the FPSO underwent upgrade, refurbishment and life extension works in Keppel Shipyard, Singapore, to meet specified standards and specifications. The excellent partnership between NNPC, Nigeria’s Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), FIRST E&P, YINSON and Keppel Shipyard helped ensure these critical predeployment activities for the FPSO were completed in record time. A team of young Nigerian professionals was part of the successful execution works in the Keppel Shipyard and they will form an integral part of the FPSO operations team in the production phase. The FPSO is a 274 meters long converted Suezmax trading tanker. It is self-propelled with 11 cargo storage tanks, 2 slop tanks and 6 dedicated water ballast tanks including fore and aft @Businessdayng
peak tanks. The FPSO will be deployed in the Anyala and Madu fields, offshore Nigeria as part of OMLs 83 & 85 field development, Nigeria’s first wholly indigenously executed integrated Oil and Gas project in the shallow offshore. The processing system on the FPSO includes facilities for oil separation, stabilisation, produced water treatment, gas treatment and compression. The processing and storage capacities include Oil Processing of 50,000 barrels of oil per day, Produced Water Treatment of 20,000 barrels of water per day, Gas Handling of 39 million standard cubic feet per day and Cargo storage capacity of 700,000 barrels. The FPSO will be operated on behalf of FIRST E&P by YINSON. The ongoing development drilling campaign in the Anyala field is focused on drilling and proving expected Oil reserves for development. A total of seven development wells have been planned and approved by DPR. Drilling is ongoing using Borr Drilling’s Natt rig. The batch drilling from the installed Conductor Supported Platforms (CSP) in Anyala field is a novel drilling technology deployed in the Niger Delta Basin.
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News CBN’s 80% financial inclusion by 2020 may... Continued from page 1
24 percent, credit at 2 per-
cent; pensions at 2 percent, insurance at 2 percent and financial exclusion at 36.8 percent, meaning that Nigeria is way behind other countries in financial inclusion. “Hence, we have a -16 to -18 percent chance in reducing exclusion to 20 percent by 2025,” Oluikpe states. But the CBN says its agent programme, SANEF, is growing with about 350,000 agents added, with plans to increase the number to 500,000 already on. The CBN however acknowledges that achieving the target is of great importance, as the cost of managing cash is very expensive and at the expense of the economy. Thus, in recent times it has increased its efforts to deepen its cashless policy. In 2019, the apex bank granted Approval In Principle for Payment Service Bank licences to three organisations - Glomobile, 9Mobile and Unified Payments. MTN Nigeria on the other hand got a Super Agent Licence. The CBN has, however, withheld the PSB licence that would see telcos fully involved in offering financial services. While many analysts have said the pace of financial inclusion could significantly improve with telcos’ full involvement in financial services, the CBN can also benefit from other collaborations. Elsa Muzzolini, general manager, commercials, Mobile Financial Services, MTN Nigeria, notes that there is more telcos can offer the sector. “As part of the journey to achieving financial inclusion for all, I think we can do so much through collaboration
and partnership with players in the fintech and the banking space, and as the number one telecommunications service provider in the country, that is core to our operations,” Muzzolini says. Beyond telcos, the collaboration is starting to include non-bank financial services providers like Mastercard, which has a vast footprint of providing financial inclusion across the world. “5 years ago, we committed to bringing 500 million financially excluded individuals into the digital economy,” Ebehijie Momoh, senior vice president, Mastercard West Africa, states, noting, “We achieved that goal and are focused on bringing in a total of 1 billion individuals by 2025.” Mastercard developed and implemented solutions that make it easier and more convenient for people to use alternative means of payment instead of cash. Momoh says collaboration with the government is critical as it would enable innovation. Financial inclusion is also attracting impact investors who are identifying innovative start-ups providing financial services to the grassroots. Meghan Curran, West Africa director, Acumen, says impact investing can help identify innovative business models and ways to create access to financial services. Acumen has provided funding to Nigerian fintech startup Paga twice. “Identity management enables fintech and is a key pillar to financial inclusion,” Esigie Aguele, CEO of VerifyMe, saying, “We are committed to working with the government to digitise Nigerians.”
Four years after, Brickwall Global yet to... Continued from page 2
due diligence on the land before buying it. In any case, Ezeocha, one of the petitioners, refuted the claims, saying he was first told of this gully in 2016 and the company said it was a minor issue that could be fixed before the end of the year. “It is strange they are giving this as an excuse in 2020, our demand is simple, provide us with the land we paid for or refund our money,” he said. Findings show that the petitioners are not the only people Brickwall Global Investments has also failed to honour its commitments to. The company’s offices in Festac and Ikeja are filled with a motley mob of disgruntled customers who had paid millions of naira for lands they were never given. Omotosho Adeleke, a
lawyer who signed on to the Brickwall Global Investment’s instalment paying plan for several plots of lands in Ikorodu and after paying over N1.5 million he began to smell a rat. “ I visite d the land and discovered nothing had been done as par our agreement. They were supposed to have provided access roads, perimeter fencing and even demarcates plots but nothing had been done,” Adeleke said. Adeleke decided to stop further payments in 2016, but Brickwall kept urging him to pay. To persuade him to resume paying, the company’s staff took him to a clearing at Ajah, where a bulldozer was clearing a patch of land on which the company had attached its signpost, as his new location. “It was then it became clear that it is a scam, I stopped paying.” www.businessday.ng
Grieving sisters and relations of the first Nigerian female Combat Helicopter Pilot, Flying Officer Tolulope Arotile, during her burial at the National Military Cemetery in Abuja, yesterday. NAN
Nigeria’s DisCos blighted by high overheads... Continued from page 1
for health.
The DisCos are now in a dire financial situation. Their total exposure to the Nigerian economy is about N3 trillion as of December last year made up of obligations to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET)/ Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN)/Central Bank of Nigeria projected at N1.9 trillion and the exposure of the Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) (used in acquiring the DisCos) of N720 billion. But DisCos lack the ability to fully settle NBET these obligations. The 60 percent SPVs cannot repay loans to Nigerian banks estimated at N720 billion, making the business unattractive to new investors or new lenders. Worse still, these debts are rising monthly because present electricity tariff still does not guarantee commercial returns and DisCos have yet to fully collect the full value of the power sent out monthly. The average electricity tariff should be N51 per kwh, but customers pay on average about N31 per kwh because the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the sector regulator, has not allowed a tariff increase for
the past five years, though all the assumptions that fed into the Multi Year Tariff Order had changed, until April this year. To address this tariff shortfall, the regulator in August 2019 granted tariff shortfall credit of N1.75 trillion together with related accrued interest which came to around over N2 trillion, effectively a subsidy to the sector and captured in DisCos’ books. NERC further approved a 50 percent tariff review based on a Service Reflective Tariff (SRT) model agreed upon by operators and electricity users in different public hearings. The model allows wealthier Nigerians who use more power pay a higher tariff while low users bear no increase. But it placed on DisCos the obligation to ramp collections from the current 60 percent to 90 percent, raised their remittance thresholds to other market participants and provided for stiff sanctions, including a possible loss of their licence if they renege on the contract. DisCos opposed the SRT, saying that their business could be impaired without adequate metering of all electricity users to improve collections, as well as their balance sheet encumbered by huge debts that could scare away
Akpabio denies accusing lawmakers of... Continued from page 2
legal counsel, instruct them to initiate a criminal complaint of perjury against the minister and explore the possibility of a civil defamation suit against the minister. Akpabio had on Monday, while appearing before the House of Representatives Committee on NDDC investigating financial malfeasance in the commission, alleged that 60 percent of contracts in NDDC went to federal legislators, forcing the House on Tuesday to issue him a 48-hour ultimatum to publish the names of members of the 9th National Assembly who got 60 percent of contracts from NDDC. But in his letter read Thursday by Gbajabiamila, the min-
ister said the only reference he made to 60 percent during his presentation before the NDDC committee on Monday was in response to a question by a member of the committee. He said the member had sought to know whether a medical director could serve as an executive director project and that he (Akpabio) had responded that since 50-60 percent of NDDC contracts were medical related, there was nothing wrong in a medical director serving in that capacity. Akpabio said that the executive director project of the NDDC forwarded to him a list of 19 old contracts which the chairman of the House Committee on NDDC insisted must be paid before the 2020 budget
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potential investors. In a letter to NERC, dated June 29, DisCos urged the Commission to postpone the planned implementation of Service Reflective Tariffs until January 2021. “DisCos collect over 75 percent of bills issued to metered customers and 25 percent from unmetered customers. This is an indication that DisCos suffer more losses from estimated billing. Therefore, metering is the only means of revenue assurance. The financial impact of the Capping Order is an average loss of N13.9bn monthly, which will materially reduce the 25 percent collection efficiency for unmetered customers,” they said. The DisCos said that their financial books remain encumbered with N1.7 trillion of tariff shortfalls (subsidies to customers), as well as the liabilities associated with the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF), advanced in 2015 to liquidate legacy gas debts and tariff shortfalls resulting from adjusting Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) baseline losses. If left unaddressed, these financial encumbrances will continue to inhibit their ability to access the financing that is critical to supporting the
remittance and the contractbased, they said. Another significant concern for the DisCos is the Minimum Remittance Order which they said used unrealistic parameters. These include lack of market rates for foreign exchange, and selection of 2017 and 2018 as years of Mutual Non-Compliance as against 2015 and 2016, as requested by DisCos. Yet, the suspension of SRT will only worsen a bad situation. Without a cost-reflective tariff, indebtedness to NBET will continue to rise at the rate of N10-N15 billion monthly and the exposure of DisCos’ SPVs to the Nigerian banking system could reach N800bn by December 2020. The postponement of the SRT imperils Nigeria’s ability to secure the $750m World Bank loan that demands a tariff review as a precondition for the funds. Based on the loan, the Federal Government has set aside N380bn to provide subsidies in 2020 as part of the financing plan for the Power Sector Recovery Plan (PSRP). Nigeria could also lose additional $3 billion in World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB) funding for the country, which could lead to collapse of the generation sub-sector who are owed billions.
of the commission is passed. He also said that the NDDC has not executed any contract under the 2020 budget since it has not been passed, while the 2019 budget was passed in April and has not been implemented. “The Director Projects forwarded to me 19 old contracts amounting to N9 billion, which the NDDC Chairman in the House insist the IMC pay for,” Akpabio said in the letter. “As a former Minority Leader of the 8th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I shall forever hold the ideals of the National Assembly and will not make the entire document public which I got from the lead forensic auditor in confidence. “As to the reference to 60 per cent of contracts, the Investigative Committee re-
fused to give me opportunity to explain that; I was responding to a question by a member of the Committee. “Permit me to explain that any reference to 60 percent during the investigative hearing was in answer to a question by a member of the Committee as to whether or not, a Medical Doctor could act as Executive Director project which I answered in affirmative: “That the greatest project in the world today is COVID-19, which is medical in nature; furthermore, I am made to understand that 60 per cent of NDDC yearly budget are medical in nature, therefore is better for a Medical Doctor to serve as the Executive Director Projects,” he said. The Speaker referred the letter to the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges.
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news COVID 19: How human rights suffocate under curbing... Continued from page 1
short-lived. On alighting
at Oshodi to join a bus to Mushin, early in May, despite being masked, he was harassed by two officials of the Lagos Neighbourhood Security Corps (LNSC). Confused, he dared to query their actions but a couple of slaps crushed his courage. Fearing that more hesitation could attract severe injuries, he stopped struggling and was quickly moved to Olosan Police Division, where the officers were as indifferent about the nature of his offense, as they were oblivious to the dangers of the ever-spreading COVID-19. After Adeoye had been unlawfully detained for five days, the divisional police officer marched him out with 20 others in preparation for transfer to the Nigeria Police Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCIID), Ikoyi. To fit the profile of a robber, he and some others were armed with incriminating items including cutlasses, daggers and torchlight, among others. “I wasn’t found with anything incriminating when I was arrested at Oshodi, but they labelled us robbers and captured us on camera with conjured evidence,” Adeoye explains. It took the persuasive intervention of his NURTW bosses two days to negotiate his release, bringing his incarceration time to one week. According to Adeoye, “It was a stuffy room, where we had to line up before sleeping. I couldn’t bathe nor brush. Neither could I eat. We basically survived by depending on a new person who bought garri and groundnut. Some drank water from the toilet. They had to borrow money to bail me and when I was eventually released, I spent four weeks away from work, treating myself.” Long before the novel coronavirus became a domestic affair, prolonged unlawful detention by Nigeria’s Police Force operatives has proven to be a social pandemic. The institutionalised anomaly that has become an established norm, features violent arbitrary arrests, extortion and bribery, with deliberate disregard for citizens’ human rights. Incessant police abuse is said to cost more Nigerian lives than the deadly virus. While the Federal Government through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) was, on one hand, scampering to curb the outbreak of the virus, police on the other hand have allegedly been practically undoing those efforts for pecuniary gains. Right in the heart of a health crisis, many Nigerians like Adeoye were unlawfully arrested and crammed into cells that put them at risk of infection. For instance, when Nigeria had recorded only 407 confirmed
Okechukwu Nwanguma
cases with 12 deaths from COVID-19, security forces had killed 18 people in two weeks in overzealous enforcement of lockdowns, according to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). In a statement dated April 15, 2020, the commission confirmed that there had been eight documented incidents of extrajudicial killings leading to 18 deaths between March 30 and April 13, 2020. In the first two weeks of the lockdown, the NHRC received 105 complaints of alleged human rights violations. “Most of the violations witnessed during the period arose as a result of excessive or disproportionate use of force, abuse of power, corruption, and non-adherence to national and international laws, best practices and rules of engagement,” the NHRC statement notes. Those who have been victims of these abuses find it difficult to understand how police officers who neither protect themselves with face masks nor hand gloves chase citizens found wearing face masks and cram them in cells. The fact that some of these victims spend days in unlawful detention without trial or access to lawyers or families but didn’t contract the disease, has been a dangerous reinforcement of the thought that the coronavirus is a scam. Segun Awosanya, founder of Social Intervention Advocacy Foundation (SIAF) and convener of a campaign to scrap the Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad over brutality, accused the DPO of the station in February 2019 of operating a kidnapping racket, “arresting innocent citizens for no just cause and insisting on N20,000,” which he described as ransom. During the pandemic crisis in late April 2020, operatives from the same station marched Chijioke Udeh, a car and auto spare part dealer, out of his car at Ojekunle Street over trying to get drugs for his daughter who was suffering from a skin infection. Under the guise of enforcing the lockdown, his evidence including a doctor’s report and lab test results were quickly destroyed before they dumped him at Olosan Police Station. His car was driven to a taskforce office where he would later newww.businessday.ng
gotiateforitsreleaseforN25,000. Udeh spent more than 24 hours in the cell while his daughter, nine years, was anticipating the return of her father. President Buhari’s restriction on movement exempts hospitals and essential workers, implying that sick Nigerians can freely move to seek healthcare once they have proof of need. It took the intervention of his connection with a senior Nigerian Army officer, for him to be released. “The restriction has just been an avenue for security operatives to make money, when many people are bleeding financially,” Udeh tells BusinessDay. In a statement signed by 51 civil society groups including The Network on Police Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN Foundation) and Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre, concerns were raised about the fact that some people are still held in police cells for offences such as misdemeanours, despite the Inspector-General of Police’s directive to State and Zonal commands to avoid unnecessary detention except for serious capital offences. They equally note that the lack of testing laboratories and isolation centres in most states could affect detainees in urgent need of healthcare. “We call on the Inspector General of Police to order state commissioners and divisional police officers to ensure urgent decongestion of cells by ensuring immediate release of persons still held in custody for minor offences,” according to the statement. “We also call on the IGP to put in place mechanisms for effective monitoring of compliance with his directives against indiscriminate arrests and detentions and ensure consequences for non-compliance. If officers continue to make indiscriminate arrests after decongestion, the detention facilities will be congested again,” the statement notes. Months after this outcry, Okechukwu Nwanguma, NOPRIN Foundation’s national coordinator, informs BusinessDay that police impunity has continued without caution. What is lacking, he says, is monitoring mechanisms and seriousness on the part of the police authorities to ensure that those who go against
the directives are brought to account for deterrence. He explains that the Foundation has engaged the intelligence response team, special anti-robbery squad and some other units of the police force, and in a few individual cases, it was able to secure the release of people who were unlawfully detained and sought a refund of monies extorted. “We need to have the authorities to deal with this culture of impunity by police officers and ensure that victims are compensated for the violation of their rights. I saw the video of enforcement agents trying to arrest a couple while their children were in a parked vehicle. This shows you how heartless and determined these law enforcement agents are to make life miserable and frustrating for people in the pretext of enforcing lockdown. Apart from unlawful arrest and extortion, the police officers themselves are not protected. So, they become a medium of transmission,” he states. The Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a June 2020 report recognised police abuse as
as recommended by the 2008 Presidential Committee on the Reform of the Nigeria Police Force. Propose a constitutional amendment to enshrine these provisions in the Nigerian Constitution.” Other pronounced abuses Just as police abuses paced up, there have been other human rights violations alongside the imposition of control measures against the pandemic. Although with good intentions, the right to education, free movement and peaceful assembly has been threatened with the collapse of schooling activities, lockdown and curfew emplacement and bans on religious and social gatherings. Most significantly, sexual and gender-based violence has surged in a cascade of events that put victims in forced proximity with their abusers. On June 21, Chris Ndukwe, 39, tied up his lover, Olamide Alli, 25, stabbed her to death and poisoned himself afterwards. The tragedy that remains under police investigation has been the latest and grimmest of rising reports of domestic violence
Adeoye Quadri
one to be addressed with an overarching view of fundamental problems fuelling it. Some of its recommendations include establishing an independent commission of inquiry with subpoena power to conduct a transparent, comprehensive, and an impartial investigation into systemic corruption within the Nigeria Police Force. It proposed that the commission should focus its investigation on determining the extent of the embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds by senior police officials and its impact on police conduct and services. It should prosecute without delay and according to international fair trial standards, any police officer implicated in corruption and other serious abuses. HRW advises, “The Nigeria Police Force should publish quarterly financial reports of total fines collected for vehicular and traffic violations, revenue received from state and local government allocations and any funding received from private sources. Reduce political manipulation of the police by setting the term of the inspector general of police to one five-year term, and subjecting the confirmation of appointment as well as removal to a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate,
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within this period. According to the Lagos State Domestic and Gender Violence Response Team (DSVRT), cases of domestic violence increased by 60 percent during this pandemic, sexual violence by 30 percent and physical child abuse by 10 percent. Whereas, on average, the DSRVT receives 13 new cases daily, a total of 390 incidents were reported in March alone. From rape to molestation, defilement, sexual assault, early marriage, female genital mutilation, sexual harassment, or trafficking in persons, Nigeria continues to be swamped with incessant violations and abuses, which often leave victims without respite. Abiola Akiode-Afolabi, executive director, Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, in a monitored report on dealing with gender-based violence during the COVID-19 lockdown, said since the lockdown, in Lagos, Ogun, and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the most common gender-based violence reports include spousal violence, landlord-tenantviolence,neighbour-to-neighbour violence, parent-children abuse, homeowner-house help violence, boyfriend-girlfriend violence, violence on widows, police-sex worker violence, police-citizen violence and child rape. @Businessdayng
In an advisory for the prevention of gender-based violence and the protection of women and girls during the COVID-19 lockdown, jointly signed by Abiola AkiodeAfolabi for WARDC, Saudatu Mahdi, secretary-general, Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), Joy Onyesoh, country director, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), concerns were raised over the failure of the presidential address on lockdown to touch on the issue of gender-based violence during this hard time. Theyarguethatthepre-existing economic hardships, where an estimated 91 million citizens live below the global daily survival benchmark, was already bad enough and it would be only a matter of time before the current index of one-in-three Nigerian women and girls experiencing SGBV in private and publicspaces,wouldrisefurther. So, as the nation reels out measures to prevent the pandemic, the groups stress the need for support and protection services to be available and accessible so that women are shielded from the risks of transferred aggression in their homes. They further note that focused sensitisation and information on essential services are important for women and other marginalised groups who may be in violent situations arising in family settings, neighbourhoods or from the actions or inactions of other state and non-state actors. The groups equally advise that more efforts need to be driven by the government such as designating and strengthening gender desks and family support units within police departments and other departments of government. Government needs to ensure that family support units and gender desks are provided with effective telephone hotlines that persons with disabilities and vulnerable citizens can report domestic violence or any other gender-based violence and get immediate help. It should also ensure that within and beyond this COVID-19 crises, resourcing and access are extended to organisations responding to domestic violence to provide assistance, including shelter, counselling, and legal aid to SGBV survivors. The advisory further urges: “We call on Nigeria’s Federal and State governments to monitor and ensure that restrictions taken in the public interest do not result in any gender-specific harm to women and girls who are already extremely vulnerable and at risk of being denied their basic human rights.”
•This report was facilitated by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) under its COVID-19 Reality Check project.
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Sports League football set to restart after months of Covid-19 shutdown Stories by Anthony Nlebem
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ajor African league football will resume amid the coronavirus pandemic. Every national championship, apart from Burundi, shut down in mid-March as the COVID-19 disease took hold in the continent. On July 27 in Morocco, with Tunisia, Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa set to follow soon after. But officials now believe that football can resume behind closed doors provided stringent health protocols are observed. Morocco will lead the way followed by Tunisia (August 2) and Egypt (August 6), Nigeria (October), while South Africa have yet to announce the date on which the richest league in Africa will restart. Morocco Three-time African champions Raja Casablanca will begin ‘operation catch-up’ this Monday when they make
a 100-kilometre (62-mile) journey south to face Difaa el Jadidi. Sixth-place Raja have played up to five matches less than some Botola Pro 1 rivals due to commitments in the CAF Champions League, where they have reached the semi-finals. Arch rivals and defending champions Wydad Casablanca top the table with 36 points, one more than FUS Rabat and two above Mouloudia Oudja. Reda Hajhouj from bottom-half Olympique Khouribga leads the Golden Boot race with 10 goals, one more than
Ivorian Joseph Guede Gnadou from fifth-place AS FAR. Egypt Leading club Zamalek have changed their minds after initially saying they would boycott the Egyptian Premier League when it restarted unless “a cure for the coronavirus is found”. Hazem Emam, who shares the captaincy with Shikabala, went so far as to say he would raise the resumption issue with state president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. But a change of heart saw Zamalek return to training and thrash fellow Premier League outfit Smouha 5-1 in
warm-up match. Al Ahly are the runaway league leaders on 49 points halfway through the 34-match season, followed by Al Mokawloon (33 points), Pyramids FC (32) and Zamalek (28). Tunisia Tunisia is another country where the league leaders command a huge advantage with four-time African champions Esperance holding a 10-point lead with 10 rounds remaining. The ‘Blood and Gold’ are chasing a fourth straight title and were outstanding before the lockdown, winning 14 matches and drawing the other two to amass 44 points. Their wins included a 7-1 drubbing of JS Kairouan -- the widest winning margin so far this season -- and Anice Badri is a Golden Boot contender despite scoring only six goals. CS Sfaxien lie second with 34 points, three more than US Monastir and seven ahead of former African champions Club Africain. Nigeria The NPFL ended at Matchday 25 an Points Per Game (PPG) table was used to rank
Sahara Group boost youth empowerment in Africa through Chess
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nergy conglomerate, Sahara Group and Chess Grandmaster, Dr. Bassem Amin are set to unlock the “pursue your passion” gambit in young people in Africa through a Chess Masterclass session via Zoom to mark the International Chess Day that is celebrated every July 20. Scheduled to hold on July 24, 2020 by 5PM (WAT), the session will provide a platform for Dr. Amin to share insights on recent global trends in chess moves and how his passion for chess drove his desire to keep his dreams alive in the face of challenges and disruptions that life throws at people. An Egyptian chess player and medical doctor, Amin was awarded the title Grandmas-
ter by the International Chess Federation (FIDE in 2006). Amin is the highest-rated player of Egypt and Africa. “It is an established fact that pursuit is usually the proof of desire. Taking that step of pursuit is often where most young people run into hitches. Hopefully, the session with Dr. Amin and his chess story will rekindle the waning flame of pursuit and inspire African youths to take their interest in chess to greater heights,” said Bethel Obioma, Head, Corporate Communications at Sahara Group. Expressing delight at the partnership with GM Amin, Obioma said Sahara Group remained committed to connecting people with opportunities through the extrapre-
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neurhip platform driven by Sahara Foundation. “What we have here is a collaboration between a foremost energy conglomerate in Africa and the continent’s most decorated chess player to give African youths another reason to believe, innovate and deliver a resounding checkmate on all odds against their passion.” GM Amin said: “Chess is life, I do believe this. You must have goals and dreams and work hard to achieve them. Playing chess has helped me to realize this and enabled me to achieve my goals both over the board and in my life. I look forward to inspiring young people with my story through this collaboration with Sahara Group.” As part of the celebration, Sahara Group also plans to launch a #checkmatecovid19challenge to raise more awareness about the pandemic. The challenge will involve chess players sending in pictures of interesting checkmate positions via Instagram with the caption: “#checkmatecovid19 with clean hands, facemasks and social distancing”. Details of the competition will be on Sahara Group’s Instagram handles, @iamsaharagroup and @saharapcsr
In February, Sahara Group organized a #CleanLoveFeb Chess Competition as part of the energy conglomerate’s campaign against substance abuse, especially among young people. The competition was designed to serve as a platform to inspire young people to look to sports, books, and educative web portals for recreation and academic excellence. The International Chess Day is celebrated annually on July 20, the day the International Chess Federation (FIDE) was founded, in 1924. On December 12, 2019, the UN General Assembly unanimously approved a resolution recognizing the day, paving the way for more global impact for one of the world’s most ancient, intellectual, and cultural games. Chess also offers important opportunities in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. ‘Chess for Recovering Better’ is the theme for the 2020 celebration and over 605 million people who play the game regularly across the globe will be rooting for the values of fairness, inclusion, and mutual respect, which chess promotes.
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the teams in order to ensure sporting merit and sporting fairness. The names of the Top 3 clubs on the NPFL final PPG table as at Matchday 25 shall be submitted to CAF to represent Nigeria in the 2020/2021 CAF Inter – Club competitions (2 slots for CAF Champions League and 1 Slot for CAF Confederation Cup). There will be no promotion to, or relegation from, NPFL for the 2019/2020 season. The NPFL 2020/2021 season will start from September/ October 2020 and end May 2021 subject to the full reopening of the country and the approval of the health authorities. Resolutions have been formally communicated to the Ministry of Youth & Sports Development. South Africa Club father figure Khulu Sibiya has pleaded with national association and Absa Premiership officials to bury their differences and resume the championship. “Our (Premiership) relationship with the association is very fragile and the sooner it is resolved amicably the better,”
said the chairman of top-flight club SuperSport United. League bosses wanted to resume on July 18 in order to finish by August 31, but the national body said referees would be available only from August 1. There is no love lost between the organisations with officials trading almost daily accusations in the media, and a restart date has yet to be confirmed. Algeria Football officials say the situation is “difficult” with the Maghreb country among the hardest hit in Africa by the pandemic. No date has been set for a resumption of the league, but there is hope that the Coupe d’Algerie can be completed. The knockout competition would resume with the quarter-final second legs, with five top-flight and three secondtier clubs in contention. Algiers-based CR Belouizdad top the Ligue Professionnelle 1 table with 40 points from 21 matches, three more than twice African champions Entente Setif, who have played a game more.
NFF congratulates Egbo on his historic feat with European club
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he Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has sent congratulatory messages to former Nigeria international, Emmanuel Ndubuisi Egbo, who is the first Nigerian and African to lead a European club to a top tier domestic title. With three matches left in the Albanian top flight, KF Tirana coached by former Nigeria goalkeeper Egbo has an unassailable lead and thus guaranteed the diadem. In the event, he has also led the team to the UEFA Champions League. President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Melvin Pinnick sent a message to Egbo: “I congratulate you and wish you only the best. This is also to say that we are very proud of your wonderful achievements.” In his response, the former goalkeeper wrote: “Thank you Sir, I appreciate it so much. We thank God for his Grace and goodness. It is not my achievements; it’s our achievements as Nigerians, Africans and the Black race. Glory be to God Almighty. Na God win Sir. Thank you again for the best wishes.” In a letter dated 20th July 2020, NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi praised Egbo for the feat and expressed the view that the coach has laid down a marker for fellow Nigerian coaches to go out and accomplish brilliantly. @Businessdayng
“It was with a huge sense of pride that the NFF and the entire Nigerian Football family learnt of your exemplary achievement as the first-ever Nigerian, Black and African Coach to win a major European League, as you have steered KF Tirana to the Albanian top tier championship with few matches left in the on-going season. In the process, you also became the first African to qualify a team for the UEFA Champions League competition. “The fact that KF Tirana was unable to win any silverware since the year 2018 until your arrival in December 2019 puts your accomplishment in proper perspective.” “On our part, we wish you and KF Tirana an enriching and fulfilling experience in the UEFA Champions League, where you are bound to come across much tougher encounters, but you have already demonstrated that you have the capacity to be unflappable when the going gets tough.”
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Friday 24 July 2020
BUSINESS DAY
FT
FINANCIAL TIMES
World Business Newspaper
US labour market recovery appears to stall amid stimulus talks
First rise since March in weekly jobless claims to 1.4m as employers struggle with renewed lockdowns Matthew Rocco and James Politi
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S Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said Republicans would consider extending some emergency jobless benefits as data for the number of Americans filing for initial unemployment benefits showed the labour market’s recovery may be stalling. New jobless claims rose to 1.42m seasonally adjusted last week, compared with 1.31m a week earlier, following Covid-19 outbreaks in parts of the US south and west. Economists had forecast that claims would match the previous week’s unrevised figure of 1.3m. It was the first time since early in the crisis that weekly applications for benefits have risen. The pace of first-time claims had gradually eased in each of the preceding 15 weeks since hitting a high of 6.9m in March. Weekly claims remain elevated, having hit a peak of 669,000 during the 2008-09 financial crisis. “That initial unemployment claims are running at over 1.4m per week this far into the onset of the crisis . . . and continuing claims remain so high provides a cautionary message about the difficulties involved and the time it will take to heal a labour market thrown into turmoil by unprecedented circumstances,” said Joshua Shapiro, chief US economist at MFR. New claims in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance programme, which extended aid to the self-employed or other individuals who would not qualify for regular
Donald Trump indicated this week the next US relief package will extend at least part of the supplemental jobless aid, saying employers are ‘having a hard time’ rehiring © Spencer Platt/Getty
unemployment compensation, rose to 974,999 from 955,272 on an unadjusted basis. Economists have said the spread of coronavirus outside early hotpots in the US north-east, and renewed curbs on some businesses in California, Texas and Florida, threatened to slow the nation’s recovery from economic turmoil caused by the pandemic. “The labour market remains in a precarious place as Covid-19 cases surge in some parts of the country and stricter measures are adopted in response,” economists at Oxford Economics said. “Claims data from the last few weeks point to lay-offs and less rehiring in possible signs of job losses in July payroll employment.” Mr Mnuchin said on Thursday that Republicans would consider
extending supplemental jobless benefits as long as they replaced 70 per cent of workers’ lost wages as part of a new $1tn fiscal stimulus package that is being negotiated on Capitol Hill. In an interview with CNBC, he said the Trump administration and senior leaders of his party would support the renewal of federal unemployment payments if they were reduced from their current level of $600 per week, which Republicans believe discourage people from returning to work. Democrats have suggested extending them at current levels, given the high levels of unemployment still afflicting the US economy. Mr Mnuchin made the comments after a series of talks with Republican leaders to reach a
consensus on their stimulus plan, which has triggered a backlash from rank-and-file conservatives within the party, complicating the effort. 11.1% Continuing jobless claims as a proportion of US workforce Democrats have proposed an additional $3tn of stimulus, and contend that the Republican plan will fall far short of what is needed given that the new flare-up in coronavirus cases has slowed down the US bounceback. Having for many weeks doubted the need for no additional stimulus, Mr Mnuchin said President Donald Trump wanted to send money out to families as quickly as possible, including a new round of direct payments in August. The president indicated this
week that the next relief package would extend at least part of the supplemental jobless aid, saying employers are “having a hard time” rehiring workers. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said if the extra $600 in weekly aid is stretched until the end of January, about five of every six recipients would receive more in benefits than they would expect to earn from working. The US Treasury secretary said that while the price tag of the current bill being discussed would be about $1tn, the White House is open to yet another round of fiscal stimulus in the future if it was needed. Data on the jobs market and consumer spending had previously provided early signs of economic improvement. After a record loss of 20.5m payrolls in April, the US added a combined 7.3m jobs in May and June amid a surge in hiring as the economy gradually reopened. The US Census Bureau said last week that June retail sales were up 7.5 per cent versus the prior month, following a record jump of 18.2 per cent in May. The number of Americans currently receiving jobless benefits dropped to 16.2m from 17.3m during the week that ended on July 11. Continuing claims were equivalent to 11.1 per cent of the workforce. This so-called insured unemployment rate, which was 11.8 per cent the week before, is considered an alternative measure of joblessness. Continuing claims have fallen for seven weeks running, and are down from 20.3m in the first week of June and a peak of 24.9m in May.
China threatens to stop recognising UK’s Hong Kong passports Move follows Britain’s offer to provide route out of former colony for millions of residents Laura Hughes and Yuan Yang
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hina has threatened to stop recognising the British National Overseas passports held by Hong Kong residents as valid travel documents, after the UK promised a route out of the former colony for millions of residents. Following China’s imposition of a national security law on the territory last month, the UK offered extended visa rights and promised to “provide a pathway to future citizenship” to almost 3m Hong Kong residents eligible for a BNO passport. China has condemned the pledge to extend visa rights, arguing that the two countries had agreed a memorandum stating that the UK would not give Hong Kong BNO passport holders right of residency.
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin during a press conference in Beijing on Thursday © Wu Hong/EPA/Shutterstock
Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, suggested on Thursday that Beijing would no longer recognise the document, which was issued to Hong Kong residents born before the handover of the territory from UK to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. “Because the UK first violated www.businessday.ng
its promises, China will consider not recognising the BNO passport as a valid travel document, and will reserve the right to take further countermeasures,” Mr Wenbin said at a press conference. The diplomatic slight is thought to affect Hong Kong residents who only hold the BNO
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passport, although under the territory’s usual border procedures, residents can leave the territory on a Hong Kong ID and arrive in the UK on their BNO document. Responding to Mr Wenbin’s warning, Downing Street said: “It’s a fact that BNO passports are issued by the British government and they are legitimate international travel documents.” Asked what the UK would do if China refused to allow people to leave Hong Kong on a BNO passport, a spokesman said: “They are legitimate international travel documents and that is how you would expect them to be treated.” From January 2021, Hong Kong residents with BNO passport status will be granted five years’ limited leave to live and work in the UK. At the end of @Businessdayng
this period they can apply for settled status. After a further 12 months, they will be permitted to apply for British citizenship. Those eligible will also be able to apply with spouses and children under 18 who do not hold BNO citizenship. According to internal Foreign Office estimates, about 200,000 Hong Kong citizens with BNO passports could come to live in the UK over the next five years. The only other territory’s travel documents that China does not accept are those of Taiwan, which Beijing does not recognise as a legitimate country. There have also been cases of Beijing refusing to recognise the foreign passports of children born in China. In some cases, it considers them to be Chinese nationals because the government does not recognise dual nationality.
Friday 24 July 2020
BUSINESS DAY
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FINANCIAL TIMES
COMPANIES & MARKETS
@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED
Investors cheer euro’s prospects after ‘milestone’ EU deal
European currency set for more gains as investors shift from the US, analysts say Eva Szalay
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he EU’s agreement to launch a recovery fund to ease the effects of the pandemic has paved the way for investors to end a longstanding preference for US assets, according to analysts, boosting the euro at a time when the dollar is hobbled by political and economic risks. Ahead of the deal on Tuesday, the consensus among analysts was for the euro to reach $1.15 by the end of this year, according to Bloomberg. Instead, the currency rushed above that point as soon as the €750bn fund was announced. On Wednesday the euro traded at its highest against the dollar since September 2018 at $1.16, up by nearly 7 per cent since the project was first proposed in late May. Gaétan Péroux, a strategist at UBS Chief Investment Office said that Brussels’ plans to issue much more shared debt amounts to a “milestone” for the single currency. “The euro area has matured,” agreed Seema Shah, chief strategist at Principal Global Investors
Investors have shown rising confidence in the euro’s long-term outlook © Markus Mainka
in London. “[There is] finally an acknowledgment that the original structures . . . prevented the region from realising the full benefits of the single currency.” Rising confidence in the euro’s long-term prospects comes as investors have turned sour on the dollar, citing big cuts in interest rates and a flood of
liquidity unleashed by the Federal Reserve as it tried to alleviate the economic effects of the pandemic. Those rate cuts — to near zero — mean that the US no longer has a big yield advantage over the EU, where base rates have been negative since June 2014. As a result, longer-term inves-
tors could abandon their longheld preference for US assets, said analysts at Goldman Sachs, who have pencilled in nearly 10 per cent of gains for the euro versus the dollar over the next 12 months. “We are not confident that the US asset market dominance over the past 10 years will continue,”
the bank’s analysts said in a research note. In addition, US coronavirus infection rates have been climbing since its economy reopened, raising fears of another round of closures at a time when Congress continues to wrangle over another Covid-19 stimulus bill. By contrast, European countries are cautiously reopening. A better trajectory of growth in Europe will be key to driving the euro higher, said George Saravelos, global head of currency research at Deutsche Bank. He expects the euro to trade at $1.20 by the end of the year, as investors ditch US assets to buy European equities and bonds. Wim Vandenhoeck, a senior portfolio manager at Invesco in New York, said that while the US economy struggles to recover, investors will edge away from the dollar in favour of the euro and emerging markets assets as the wall of money created by quantitative easing starts to seek out places with higher growth. “Would I be surprised if the euro traded at $1.30 or $1.35 in a year or in 18 months’ time? Absolutely not,” he said.
South Korea considers extending short-selling ban as market booms
Skyrocketing shares since initial suspension prompts fears of speculative bubble Song Jung-a
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outh Korea is considering an extension of its ban on short selling even as a buying frenzy by retail investors raises fears of a bubble in parts of the stock market. Regulators in mid-March suspended short selling for six months after the coronavirus outbreak prompted record foreign investment outflows from the export-driven economy. South Korea is one of three countries in the world that maintains such a ban along with Malaysia and Indonesia. Short sellers seek to profit by selling borrowed stock on the expectation its price will fall. The country’s Kospi index has soared more than 50 per cent following the ban, which is intended to curb speculative trading. Retail investors bought a net Won33tn ($25bn) shares in the first half with many betting on an economic recovery after South Korea brought its Covid-19 outbreak under control. People familiar with the matter said the government plans to hold two public hearings in August where it will hear views from
The benchmark Kospi index has gained more than 50% from its trough in March © AP
investors and experts ahead of making a decision on whether to extend the ban. It is currently due to expire on September 15. “It is hard to gauge the impact that the short-selling ban has had on the local stock market, but the measure has certainly helped boost sentiment. We can extend it,” said a senior official at South www.businessday.ng
Korea’s financial regulator. “It is a divisive issue. Many experts say the ban should not be extended, given some side effects, but there is strong resistance against lifting the ban among retail investors,” the official added. Analysts say the suspension has contributed to a dizzying surge in healthcare stocks, raising
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concerns of a bubble. The MSCI Korea Health Care Index jumped nearly 60 per cent in the first half, compared with a 5 per cent fall in the Kospi. Some have cautioned that these stocks, which trade at eyewatering valuations, could be heading for a sharp correction. Mom-and-pop traders have lined @Businessdayng
up bets on these companies in the hope that they will benefit from the health crisis, which has resulted in a race to develop coronavirus treatments. “It is hard to say if there is a bubble in the sector’s valuations but their stock prices would not have risen this much if short selling had been allowed,” said the regulatory official. South Korean officials previously said they wanted to divert abundant liquidity away from the property market and into shares. Surging home prices in the greater Seoul area as a result of record-low interest rates have contributed to growing public discontent. But throwing up obstacles to short sellers could hurt the development of the country’s financial markets, as the ban may decrease South Korea’s chances of being included in globally important share indices. “One thing clear is that we cannot be upgraded into an advanced market by MSCI with the shortselling ban,” said the regulatory official. South Korea is classified by MSCI as an emerging market mainly due to restrictions on exchanging the country’s currency.
34BUSINESS DAY
Friday 24 July 2020
NEWS
NNPC, Kebbi cultivate 2,675 hectares of cassava for bio-ethanol production
Investors’ rush for FG bonds pushes DMO to lower rates by 190bps
igerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Kebbi State government have cultivated cassava on 2,675 hectares of land for production of bioethanol in the state. Chairman of the Kebbi State Standing Committee on Biofuel, Mohammad Ka’oje, made this known to newsmen in Birnin Kebbi on Thursday. Ka’oje said the cultivated area was part of the 5,000 hectares acquired for the project to be jointly financed at the cost of N500 million each by both NNPC and Kebbi government. “The obligation of both partners is that the state government is mandated to provide 20,000 hectares of land each for the cassava and sugarcane projects while the NNPC on the other hand is responsible for land validations. “I wish to state that Kebbi State government has met all its obligations under the MoU.” He said in addition, it was agreed at a joint meeting of the partners that the state government should cultivate 5,000 hectares of cassava which will form additional equity share for the state. “So far, 2,675 hectares have been cultivated and
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fully established. This is for the purpose of generating seedlings and raw material for test run of the machinery. The NNPC on the other hand is responsible for land validation, soil testing, feasibility studies, community integration, stakeholders’ engagement and Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA),” he said. According to Ka’oje, the land validation is contracted to Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto and Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola, in Sokoto and Adamawa States, for cassava and sugarcane respectively. The chairman said that the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria was also handling the agriculture component of the feasibility study. “The feasibility studies, soil testing and mapping have reached advanced stage of completion. The total financial implication of these to the NNPC is about N500 million. “The Kebbi State government has expended nearly the same amount towards meeting its own part of the obligation,” the chairman said. The NNPC and the state government signed a MoU in 2017 on cassava and sugarcane projects for bio-ethanol production.
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measures by increasing risk communication, letting the people know the risks associated with not adhering to the Covid-19 rules.” “We looked at the data of crime incidents in the state and noticed the increase in kidnapping cases and homicide resulting from cult activities. We also looked at the security environment and noticed related arms buildup ahead of the September 19 governorship election in the state.” Edo State Commissioner of Police (CP), Johnson Kokumo, said the police was concerned about the arms build-up and was putting machinery in place to ensure a mop up. He noted that the mop up would be done before, during and after the September 19 governorship election in the state. Kokumo added that some suspects have been arrested with arms and ammunition while investigation into their activities was on-going. The CP assured that the command would ensure that individuals and groups defacing campaign billboards and posters across the state are arrested and prosecuted.
... as naira exchanges for N472 against dollar
he fixed income market recorded heavy demand for the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bonds by investors, which led to a significant drop in stop rates by 190bps on Wednesday. The Debt Management Office (DMO) issued a total of N177 billion bonds across the four offered tenors, including the new 2045s paper, according to a report by Zedcrest Capital Limited. Yields continued to drop across the benchmark curve as the market priced in expectations for lower stop rates due to perceived heavy demand at the auction. The 2049s and 2050s papers moved the most intraday, with offers dropping as much as 45bps on the average even crossing below the 10.00 percent mark. By and large, yields compressed by about
17bps to end the session. “The auction results point to a very active session today, as we expect the demand unmet at the auction to enhance secondary market activity. We expect the yield curve to continue its downward trajectory as the market adjusts to the auction results,” analysts at Zedcrest said. The T-Bills market continued to trade on a muted note, as demand for Open Market Operation (OMO) bills dwindled. Expectations for an OMO auction by the CBN increased due to continued system liquidity. System liquidity remained liquid opening the day approximately N443.28bn positive. The OMO yield curve has somewhat flattened recently, as pockets of demand popped up on a few shortdated (October papers) and long-dated maturities (May & June papers) which traded
at the mid 5.00 percent levels. The benchmark OMO yield curve moved down by about 58bps on the average at the close of the day. Dwindled activity continued at the NTbills space as demand improves for the Federal Government promissory notepaper ahead of NTBs, as local investors continue to hunt for better yielding short-term interest rates. Rates on the benchmark NTB curve dropped by about 88bps on the average. The analysts expected trading activity in T-bills to remain muted as the expectation for an OMO auction issuance continues to linger. While the offshore players maintain their observatory stance of the market, “we expect offers to improve mostly across the long-dated papers”. The overnight rate declined by 0.30 basis points to close at 2.50 percent on
Wednesday, the Open Buy Back (OBB) rate also declined by 0.20 percent to close at 1.90 percent. While expectations for an OMO auction issuance remain high due to the improved system liquidity position, the analysts do not expect any big jump in money market rates in the interim. At the foreign exchange market, dollar was trading at N472 on Thursday, indicating stability in some parts of Lagos black markets while weakening by N2.00k in other areas where it traded at N470 since on Monday. Naira lost N1.00k as the dollar was sold at N473 on Thursday as against N472 on Wednesday at the retail Bureau. The market opened with an indicative rate of N388.36k, signaling an appreciation of N0.29k when compared with N388.65k opened with on Wednesday, data from FMDQ revealed.
L-R: Mbanugo Udenze, company secretary; Chukwuma Okolo, chairman, and Andrew OtikeOdibi, MD/ CEO, all of C&I Leasing plc , at the 29th annual general meeting of the company in Lagos.
Edo meets security agencies, to mop up small arms ahead of guber poll s part of preparations for the September 19, 2020 gubernatorial election in Edo State, the state governor, Godwin Obaseki, has expressed readiness of his administration to collaborate with relevant security agencies in mopping up light arms. The governor said this on Thursday during the state security council meeting in Benin, the state capital. According to Obaseki, the council deliberated on several issues including the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19), data of crime incidents in the state and concerns over the build-up of arms. He said “on Covid-19, we looked at how to increase compliance with Covid-19 rules particularly in the light of electioneering that has commenced.” He explained that the review of Covid-19 data showed that community spread of the virus is at an alltime high, of about 80 percent, as the state continues to record increasing cases. Obaseki noted that with the level of spread as the state approaches the September gubernatorial election, “we decided to take
HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE
Pic by Pius Okeosisi
COVID-19: Lagos commissioner wants Non-indigenes laud Obaseki over teachers to adopt innovative strategies infrastructure development KELECHI EWUZIE
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agos State commissioner for education, Folasade Adefisayo has urged teachers in the state to adopt innovative strategies to enhance teaching and learning, post Covid-19. Adefisayo while speaking at a virtual training organised by the Lagos State ministry of education for public school teachers, said that the training was designed to develop teachers’ competencies as well as inform them on best practices towards managing challenges posed on the education sector by Covid-19. Adefisayo said that the theme of the webinar, “mitigating strategies against erosion in the education sector” became necessary in view of the current global crisis and
the need for stakeholders to stay safe, sane and healthy during this period. She, however, highlighted that the training focuses on three key dimensions with emphasis on graphology -an essential tool in predictive learning, effective communication for developing, maintaining an all-round stable learner and most importantly child’s right laws. She, therefore, affirmed that each session was being facilitated by well-seasoned and experienced professionals in child development. According to her, “the objective is to remain relevant and productive during the post-Covid-19 era, hence the urgent need to equip our teachers with necessary skills to face and overcome challenges posed by the pandemic become imperative.”
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IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, Benin
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coalition of ethnic nationalities in Edo State under the aegis of Edo Non-Indigenes Vanguard has applauded Governor Godwin Obaseki for providing impactful and purposeful leadership in the state, urging that the developmental strides recorded by his administration in the last three years and seven months be sustained beyond 2020. Speaking to journalists in Benin City, the group’s spokesman, Patrick Osuji, said the Obaseki-led government has shown uncommon zeal in pursuing an industrialisation roadmap that is transforming the state into an investment @Businessdayng
haven for big-ticket projects. “Governor Obaseki is working tirelessly to transform the state and we urge him to continue with his people-oriented and transformational projects and reforms. He has the support of the majority of the people and no one can stop him,” Osuji said. “We’re proud of his achievements in the last three years and seven months, as he has brought governance closer to the people. As non-indigenes, we are impressed with his landmark achievements in various sectors of the state. We’re from various parts of the country and know what is going on in our home states and what he has done for the people here,” he said.
Women in Business
BUSINESS DAY Friday 24 July 2020 www.businessday.ng
By Kemi Ajumobi
Nkemdilim Uwaje-Begho
Abimbola Bamigboye
MD/CEO Future Software Resources Ltd
Founder/Managing Partner at AUDEO
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kemdilim is a seasoned Information Technology professional with over 15 years of industry experience in Africa’s largest emerging economy with a deep purpose and focus on bridging the digital divide and transforming Africa by harnessing the benefits of digital. Currently CEO of Future Software Resources Ltd. (Futuresoft), one of Nigeria’s leading digital and technology solutions companies, providing a broad range of business solutions for scaling African enterprise, to consistently attract and retain its target audience, optimise its processes and increase its bottom line. Futuresoft has serviced over 175 clients across 20 industries and has trained over 1000 CEOs and executives in digital transformation and also digital and social media marketing. Nkemdilim is recognised as an Obama African Leader, Forbes’s Top Ten Female Tech Founders in Africa, Global Digital Women top 10 Most Inspiring Women in Africa, Lionesses of Africa top 100 Women and Ventures Africa 42 most Innovative Africans. As Committee Chair, Funding Framework for the Nigerian Technology Sector, NESG IT group; member of The Nigerian National IT Software Committee and the Nigerian Electronic Voting Think Tank, she actively contributes to advancement of digitalisation and shaping policy to support its inclusive delivery. Her core strengths include digital transformation, digital marketing, online solutions development, IT Consultancy, integrated digital and technology solutions development, business development, relationship management, IT project management, concept development and implementation. Begho has expert knowledge of IT project management, creating software development frameworks and guiding implementation processed. She has dealt with demanding and high profiled clients, both locally and globally. With COVID-19 being the one thing that has pushed executives over the edge and has made sure that even skeptics of digital transformation are now embracing it, she says it is highly important for board members, C-level executives and business owners to be
equipped with the right knowledge and understand the principles of digital transformation. According to Nkemdilim, if you are a Founder / CEO or a C-Level executive in a big corporation, your personal brand serves as a huge asset that can grow your company both publicly and internally. She revealed that most organisations have issues when it comes to scaling their culture and that we often see a dilution of the culture further down in the value chain as you go. Begho said that a podcast or well curated LinkedIn profile or blog where you share your values, strategies and finely curated insights into your life, even though externally focused, can help scale your culture as it’s an opportunity to communicate and connect with employees; especially those you don’t encounter regularly. She adds that it also helps attract the right kind of talent and builds a great organisation. For Nkemdilim, investing in your personal brand helps you clearly articulate who you are, what you do, and how you can help others. She explained that this not only allows people to see the value in connecting with you, it also unlocks opportunities that you never even considered or thought about. “Big winners are online supermarkets and grocery delivery services. UK Online supermarket Ocado had a virtual queue of over 400,000 people. Walmart hired over 150,000 casual staff to ensure that they could meet demand. They saw daily surges of demand that exceeded over 160%” she said. She further mentioned that other big winners are streaming services. “With the increasing demand for digital content, an analysis published by Forbes has shown that streaming has jumped by at least 12%. Also, collaboration cloud services are another clear winner with millions of people around the world working from home collaboration tools and file sharing has become more important.” Nkemdilim stated. Also, Benigho acknowledged that video conferencing and chats are closely related to collaboration cloud services, as video conferencing and chat usage has skyrocketed as work teams, families, friends and colleagues use it to connect.
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bimbola first became aware of her passion for small businesses when she graduated university and started a job in Sales at a family portrait studio in Lagos. In 18 months, she moved up the ranks to the position of sales manager and as that happened, she gained a deeper understanding of the problems small businesses face and how they seemed to replicate from business to business, regardless of the industry. Eighteen months later, she was joining the KPMG audit division and she enquired as to why the Firm did not provide services to MSMEs. That question was answered during her period at the Firm however, the question always lingered. She needed to provide a solution for fixing SME problems at an affordable price point and standardised enough that she could replicate it across a large number of businesses. She resigned her Audit Senior position at KPMG to set up AUDEO and they are positioned to be the “to-go” firm for SMEs across Africa; providing not just bookkeeping and accounting services, but using the accounting information obtained to proffer initiatives to improve efficiency, reduce costs and wastages, create capabilities and optimise capacity. Audeo was founded from a young auditor’s dream to provide a simple yet effective solution to all SME problems and build a stronger, more economically viable Africa on the solid base of Small to Medium Scale Enterprises. The SME Champion & Co (trading as “Audeo”) is a multi-disciplinary professional services Firm that provides back – office and decision support services to startups, Small and Medium Scale Businesses in Nigeria. Using the information obtained through management accounting, they are able to proffer initiatives to improve efficiency, reduce costs and wastage, create capabilities and optimise capacity to their clients. Abimbola believes in the power of paying things forward, that true change starts from self and social change can only be wrought
through education. “I am a coordinator at The Bridge Program, a Charitable Organisation set to groom and empower young adults who are committed to finding and implementing solutions to some of the most intricate problems that affect them and their society.” She said, adding that “it is our vision to see a socially, economically and politically prosperous Nigeria driven by ethical leaders, problemsolvers, innovators, and change agents that have the ability to revolutionise mindsets and positively change the status quo.” With many businesses comes their peculiar challenge. Abimbola says the challenges are same challenges as every small and growing business, financing and talent sourcing business. She admitted that it has been extremely difficult to raise money to fund a professional service firm no matter how noble or grand the idea is. Since her business is not a tangible product, Abimbola said banks won’t come near “Even though we sign yearly contracts with our clients, and even when they do, the costs of the funds are too exorbitant”. On challenges of getting good staff, according to Bamigboye, “We are constantly recruiting and for any business, the cost of recruitment is always a challenge. However, I guess what not having money does for you is that it makes you extremely creative in solving problems, so I have learned to hire for attitude before skill and now I can say that I have a team of exceptional, energetic people.” She stated. Abimbola opines that having money does not guarantee that your business or idea will be successful. She says if you have an idea that requires capital outlay then you have to find the money or the right partner who has money. Abimbola has been hands-on in regards to giving hope to SMEs and other courses nevertheless, in all of these, what is most important to Abimbola, is her foremost responsibility to leave the world better than she met it, knowing that she had a hand in building a sustainable future for mankind.
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