BusinessDay 23 Mar 2018
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
usinessday market monitor<br />
Commodities<br />
Brent Oil<br />
$69.04<br />
Cocoa<br />
US $2,530.00<br />
NSE<br />
Biggest Gainer Biggest Loser<br />
Mobil<br />
Access<br />
N184<br />
4.37pc N11.1 -5.53pc<br />
41,633.79<br />
Bitcoin<br />
3,181,739.54 -1.61pc<br />
Powered by<br />
Everdon Bureau De Change<br />
$-N<br />
£-N<br />
€-N<br />
BUY SELL<br />
363.00 363.00<br />
497.00 507.00<br />
436.00 446.00<br />
FOREIGN EXCHANGE<br />
TREASURY BILLS<br />
<strong>Mar</strong>ket Spot $/N 3M 6M<br />
I&E FX Window 360.12 -0.01 0.11<br />
CBN Official Rate 305.70 14.45 15.06<br />
FMDQ Close<br />
5 Years<br />
0.00%<br />
13.45%<br />
FGN BONDS<br />
10 Years<br />
0.03%<br />
13.55%<br />
20 Years<br />
-0.01%<br />
13.33%<br />
NEWS YOU CAN TRUST I **FRIDAY <strong>23</strong> MARCH <strong>2018</strong> I VOL. 15, NO 17 I N300 @ g<br />
Regulatory<br />
environment,<br />
funding undermine<br />
Nigerian mining sector<br />
ODINAKA ANUDU<br />
Nigeria’s N400 billion mining<br />
sector is suboptimal<br />
compared to its African<br />
counterparts, largely due to the<br />
regulatory environment and<br />
Continues on page 34<br />
Business confidence to rise<br />
as Senate confirms three<br />
for MPC , rejects one<br />
... clears Aishah, Adamu as<br />
CBN deputy governors<br />
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja & HOPE<br />
MOSES-ASHIKE, DIPO OLADEHINDE, Lagos<br />
The Senate on Thursday<br />
confirmed three nominees<br />
as members of the<br />
Monetary Policy Committee<br />
Continues on page 34<br />
Inside<br />
Meet the business<br />
leader, Folashade<br />
Ambrose-<br />
Medebem P. 2<br />
Teleology details<br />
10-point plan to turn<br />
around 9mobile P. 4<br />
Brain drain: Nigeria loses highskill<br />
citizens to Canada, others<br />
STEPHEN ONYEKWELU<br />
The labour market has<br />
become borderless<br />
and financial institutions,<br />
healthcare,<br />
education and major<br />
consulting firms in Nigeria are<br />
losing high-skilled Nigerians to<br />
advanced economies, Canada<br />
in particular, leading to brain<br />
drain, <strong>BusinessDay</strong> investigations<br />
show.<br />
Human resource managers<br />
from across Nigeria’s economy<br />
have confirmed to <strong>BusinessDay</strong><br />
on the condition of confidentiality<br />
that they are losing highskilled<br />
staff to Canada.<br />
Brain drain is the loss of<br />
skilled intellectual and technical<br />
labour through the movement of<br />
such labour to more favourable<br />
geographic, economic, or professional<br />
environ, depletion or<br />
loss of intellectual and technical<br />
personnel, a gradual depletion<br />
of energy or resources; a drain<br />
of young talent by emigration.<br />
This phenomenon is a major<br />
L-R: Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Aliko Dangote, founder, Aliko Dangote Foundation, and Bill Gates, founder, Bill and Melinda<br />
Gates Foundation, during a Special and Expanded National Economic Council Meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, yesterday.<br />
constraint in terms of development<br />
opportunities and lost<br />
investment.<br />
It is different from low-skilled<br />
and migrant workers stealing<br />
their way to other lands.<br />
However both have similar<br />
results because in both cases<br />
excellently healthy and able<br />
bodied (those that could have<br />
been most useful in the workforce)<br />
are involved in the human<br />
flight. This is happening<br />
at a time when Africa’s largest<br />
economy needs to attract and<br />
keep high-skill personnel for its<br />
national development. This new<br />
wave of immigration is reversing<br />
the gains made since 1999 in attracting<br />
expat Nigerians back to<br />
the country.<br />
“I can confirm to you that<br />
there is a growing wave of highskilled<br />
Nigerians immigrating<br />
to Canada, such as medical<br />
doctors, financial analysts and<br />
lecturers. Canada’s immigration<br />
policy is consciously designed to<br />
attract top talents from everywhere<br />
in the world. They also<br />
have an aging population and<br />
need young skilled immigrants<br />
to fill in the gap,” said Orji Udemezue,<br />
CEO of Lagos-based<br />
Flame Academy and Consulting<br />
Limited, which caters to<br />
the training needs of financial<br />
institutions and multinationals.<br />
Nigeria currently has 35, 000<br />
Continues on page 4<br />
<strong>BusinessDay</strong> interview with Chiedu Osakwe, Nigeria’s chief trade negotiator ...Page 33
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong> BUSINESS DAY<br />
WOMEN’S HUB<br />
Meet the<br />
business leader,<br />
FOLASHADE<br />
AMBROSE-MEDEBEM<br />
Celebrating<br />
International<br />
Women’s Month
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
2 BUSINESS DAY
Leading Woman<br />
7 BUSINESS DAY<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong>WOMEN’S HUB<br />
EDITOR’S NOTE<br />
It’s another intriguing edition of<br />
Women’s Hub and my LEADING<br />
WOMAN for this week is Folashade<br />
Ambrose-Medebem. With over 2 decades<br />
of experience in various fields, it truly<br />
helps to define her as a business leader.<br />
In our ENTREPRENEUR section for this<br />
week , the Lady Realtor, Trinita Akpan,<br />
takes us into the world of Real Estate,<br />
its ups and downs, what to look out for<br />
before buying a property and so much<br />
more.<br />
In WORKPLACE PALAVA, Stella became<br />
the capstone. Find out how and why.<br />
Odunayo Sanyo wears her scars confidently<br />
and has been an inspiration to<br />
many. Read about her story on page 3<br />
and let her life inspire you.<br />
On our FROM HER POINT OF VIEW<br />
SECTION, Osarennoma Ogbeide bids<br />
farewell to 100 level at Psychology Department<br />
in University of Ibadan. her<br />
story is worth reading.<br />
These and more are stories we have for<br />
your reading pleasure<br />
Enjoy!<br />
KEMI AJUMOBI<br />
kemi@businessdayonline.com<br />
Meet the business leader,<br />
FOLASHADE AMBROSE-MEDEBEM<br />
KEMI AJUMOBI<br />
Biography<br />
I<br />
am the Director Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainable<br />
Development at Lafarge Africa. With a deep sense<br />
of modesty, I would say I am a consummate multi-faceted<br />
and proven business leader with an extensive background<br />
in finance, strategy, project/change management, business<br />
development, thought leadership, sustainable development and<br />
management consulting across a wide industry spectrum across<br />
the UK, Nigeria and rest of Europe.<br />
With more than <strong>23</strong> years senior management experience delivering<br />
world class strategic business transformation solutions<br />
in a variety of global FSTE 100 multinationals including Lafarge-<br />
Holcim Plc., Diageo Plc. (Guinness Nigeria Plc.), PwC (Price<br />
Waterhouse Coopers), Ford Motor Company, Zurich Financial<br />
Services, Learning & Skills Council UK and the Nigeria Ministry<br />
of Finance (YouWin 1, 2 & 3) co- managed by the Department for<br />
International Development (DFID) UK. Throughout my career,<br />
I have an excellent record of bottom-line achievements in the<br />
deployment of large scale business solutions and in leading cross<br />
functional global teams at board level particularly addressing nonperformance<br />
challenges with sensitivity and a sense of urgency.<br />
My education includes a Bachelor of (Hons) Accounting degree<br />
from London Guildhall, a Masters of Business Administration<br />
(MBA) from the Open University Business School UK. I am also<br />
a certified Financial Management consultant with the Chartered<br />
Insurance Institute (Cii), UK amongst a plethora of other professional<br />
certifications inclusive of the Lagos Business School – AMP<br />
(Advanced Management Programme).<br />
In October 2016, I was appointed Director of Communications,<br />
Public Affairs & Sustainable Development, Lafarge Africa Plc.<br />
Before then, I worked as the Integration Business Transformation<br />
Management Consultant for LafargeHolcim (LH) (2015) focused<br />
on enabling a speedy integration of WAPCO, Ashaka and Unicem<br />
(following worldwide merger of LH) in order to deliver the country<br />
business ambition as one holistic organization with an additional<br />
to facilitate safe and high performance culture for the merged<br />
organisation.<br />
I currently serve on the NESG (Nigeria Economic Summit<br />
Group) 24 Executive Committee, I’m a board member of the UN<br />
SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) Nigeria – Private Sector<br />
Advisory Group (PSAG) - Cluster 8 Co-Lead and also serve on the<br />
EBO (European Business Organisation) Nigeria as a board member<br />
too. I am the leading catalyst driving Women in Manufacturing Africa<br />
(WimAfrica) initiative launched last December in partnership<br />
with Unilever and Access Bank. Lafarge Africa Plc. is a member of<br />
all aforementioned.<br />
In my spare time, I’m an avid lover of classical music and a latin<br />
enthusiast who enjoys coaching and mentoring teenagers and high<br />
potential managers. I love visiting museums whenever I travel.<br />
<strong>Mar</strong>ried life<br />
I have been married for 25 years this October to my husband Iyke<br />
Ambrose-Medebem, wow! How time has flown. We have three<br />
beautiful daughters. Juggling my career and family life hasn’t<br />
been easy at all, but for the support of my dear husband and family.<br />
I took time out for each of them, leveraged our family in the<br />
beginning progressing to nannies then adapted to live-in au-pairs<br />
as they grew older. We even used technology! For the youngest<br />
one- nannycam! Personally, it’s been an enriching journey and I<br />
am pleased my girls have learned first-hand that they can have it<br />
all in their own ‘best’ way.<br />
Over 25 years in the communications industry, share your<br />
experiences<br />
Throughout my diverse career, I have always deliberately been<br />
able to leverage my experience across industries and disciplines<br />
to bring fresh perspectives. So far, this has been extremely effective<br />
and allowed me to add immediate value with impact further<br />
underpinned by my seeking constant feedback from my teams,<br />
which is a very insightful barometer for gauging leadership impact<br />
and learning as we all have blind spots. I also ensure that I always<br />
lead from a position of purpose (for me this is pivotal - clarity of<br />
Purpose- that is your raison d’etre – your what and why - which<br />
typically is often based on one’s values). I am driven by very strong<br />
values of integrity and an undying spirit of excellence. A common<br />
analogy I use to illustrate in simple compelling terms is that of a<br />
ship at sea drifting, at some point, the anchor will need to be released;<br />
the anchor is your values metaphorically. With an anchor,<br />
you can then navigate your leadership stand as well, the absence of<br />
both will cause you to drift and drift. My personal value statement<br />
is to treat others as I would like to be treated<br />
while my leadership stand is to inspire best<br />
in myself and others always.<br />
Lafarge Africa’s passion for women<br />
advancement and inclusion<br />
Yes and I am extremely proud to be part of<br />
Lafarge Africa family, under the leadership<br />
of our Chairman, Mobolaji Balogun and our<br />
CCEO, Michel Puchercos, the facts speak<br />
for themselves both women board and executive<br />
management make up 33% - on the<br />
board are three women while our executive<br />
leadership comprise of four women<br />
What would you say have been the<br />
successes and challenges?<br />
Both our chairman and CCEO of Lafarge<br />
Africa Plc. Leading by walking the talk is<br />
indeed a success as is the fact that Lafarge<br />
Africa consistently encourage , coach and<br />
mentor our women to lead and enhance<br />
their skillsets for instance, working on cross<br />
functional projects. We recently celebrated<br />
international women’s day achieving a<br />
considerable turnout across all our plant<br />
operations. We launched Women in Manufacturing<br />
Africa (WimAfrica) initiative; we<br />
consciously ensure the girl child agenda is<br />
inclusive across our literacy competition<br />
and other Corporate Social Responsibility<br />
(CSR) activities. In the north, our CSR activities<br />
focus on driving women economic<br />
empowerment. Lafarge Africa is certainly<br />
progressing in the right direction, I suppose<br />
from a critical lens, and as you have asked for<br />
the challenges, they frankly relate to the need<br />
for increasing pace and increasing equitable<br />
participation, the latter is WimAfrica’s vision<br />
and top of mind for Lafarge Africa too.<br />
Most professionals that work in Lafarge<br />
are men. How has Lafarge Africa Plc.<br />
encouraged more women?<br />
At Lafarge Africa, we are committed to<br />
gender inclusion and parity; we mirror our<br />
Group’s commitment to creating the right<br />
environment for women and families in our<br />
organisation. From a policy stand point, Lafarge<br />
Africa Plc clearly ensures that the interests<br />
of female employees are protected at all<br />
times. Some of the women friendly practices<br />
enshrined in our policy at Lafarge include<br />
supporting our new mothers by paying for<br />
crèche services, removal of annual leave from<br />
our maternity leave and creating opportunities<br />
for networking with other women professionals<br />
across our extensive LafargeHolcim<br />
group and externally. To further underscore,<br />
our facts speak for themselves. Lafarge Africa<br />
trailblazing success includes our first female<br />
engineer in Ashaka –Deborah Danladi, our<br />
qualified geologist –Funmi Taiwo from Ewekoro<br />
plant, our Board and CCEO recently<br />
promoted Adewunmi Alode as Company<br />
Secretary. Our Talent and Resources Manager<br />
is a woman. Even at the plant level, we<br />
have several women holding strategic positions.<br />
My team comprises seven women and<br />
I confidently say this is echoed across the<br />
entire organisation with my colleagues in<br />
the Executive Management team. We have<br />
a robust and inclusive succession and talent<br />
development plan being in place too.<br />
Do you see a woman heading this company<br />
in the next 5 years?<br />
Absolutely yes, absolutely on merit and<br />
absolutely across Nigeria and indeed Africa.<br />
Women have proven time and time again<br />
the world over, that we exceedingly lead<br />
and deliver well. We already have inspiring<br />
examples. At LafargeHolcim across the<br />
ninety markets in which we operate, we<br />
have a number of female CEO’s already, our<br />
past CEO in Nigeria was a woman Adepeju<br />
Adebajo with many other notable women<br />
CEO’s in Nigeria and beyond.<br />
Why are there fewer women on boards?<br />
Personally, women simply don’t network<br />
enough as much as our male peers do nor<br />
do we put ourselves forward enough, there<br />
is also a far to small talent pool from which<br />
executive boards can select from (although I<br />
must commend the impressive work Wimbiz<br />
is doing to redress this imbalance - needless<br />
to say I am a member) this is further compounded<br />
by women opting out for instance<br />
to have children and finding it difficult to<br />
opt back in at the same level seamlessly. I<br />
personally did, but I strategised at the onset<br />
and ensured while I was away I added<br />
a relevant new skill set hence my financial<br />
management qualifications demonstrating<br />
my commitment and ability to not just think<br />
out of the box but create a whole new one too!<br />
What can be done to increase the figures?<br />
Address the points I have made and deliberately<br />
with resolute intent, involve, educate,<br />
inform and engage our male peers/influential<br />
stakeholders more and those senior<br />
leading women currently sitting on boards to<br />
leave no woman behind and by that I mean<br />
not just effort but effort leading to results<br />
which invariably inspire others, a kind of<br />
domino effect. We also must collaborate with<br />
each other a whole lot more than we do now,<br />
seek out best practices adapt and implement;<br />
we have a lot of catching up to do in Nigeria. A<br />
Mckinsey report I read states gender diversity<br />
yields multiples benefits which helps motivate<br />
and attract talented employees, boards<br />
that represent the customer base have better<br />
intuition and a diverse board enhances better<br />
decision making. These are facts.<br />
What is your view on International<br />
Women’s Day? Is one day enough to<br />
celebrate women?<br />
The purpose of International Women’s<br />
Day for the past one hundred plus years<br />
is to bring attention to the social, political,<br />
economic, and cultural issues that women<br />
face, and to advocate for the advance of<br />
women across those parameters. For me, it<br />
really is a rhetorical question – I am a woman!<br />
This is an extremely worthy recognition for<br />
women underpinned overtime with remarkable<br />
headway. This year’s theme - Press for<br />
Progress certainly must be a daily habit and<br />
certainly will not be easy however, by striving<br />
to always be your best, imbibing the spirit of<br />
excellence and encouraging one another, you<br />
will not even see obstacles (changing your<br />
mind-set is a fundamental starting point – if<br />
you believe you can do it, you will.<br />
What are you doing in your own capacity<br />
to help women press for progress?<br />
Living my purpose purposefully – I coach<br />
and mentor women to be their best self here<br />
at work and outside of work too. I am intently<br />
walking the talk so by being credible i.e. by<br />
doing what I say speaks louder and with<br />
impact. WimAfrica is another platform I<br />
am involved alongside Access bank and<br />
Unilever. That said, I will accelerate and do a<br />
lot more partnering and networking. A wise<br />
African proverb says if you want to go fast<br />
go alone, if you want to go far go together.<br />
What day in your life is it that you can<br />
never forget?<br />
Becoming a wife and mum thrice. My<br />
family matters tremendously to me, I’m<br />
immensely thankful.<br />
Final words<br />
I say for me, women should speak up more.<br />
It is about speaking up. Speaking up has and<br />
is still at the core for women development.<br />
Kofi Annan (former secretary-general of the<br />
United Nations) articulated this very well<br />
by saying “There is no tool for development<br />
more effective than the empowerment of<br />
women”. In the beginning, it was about<br />
women’s suffrage- the right of women to<br />
vote in elections. Then it progressed to<br />
encouraging women to stand for elective<br />
offices. Senator Franka Afegbua blazed the<br />
trail in the second republic becoming the<br />
first elected senator. It certainly is not yet<br />
Uhuru in Nigeria. We have made significant<br />
progress as women but there’s more to be<br />
done. We must all continue speaking up,<br />
however, in order for us to speak up with<br />
IMPACT as women from the world over,<br />
there are critical components that simply must<br />
always prevail. The first component is Heartspecifically<br />
because when we feel it as women,<br />
we are able to empathise, we are able to connect,<br />
we are able to intuitively understand and<br />
we are able to win heart and minds. Sure we<br />
have all heard that saying before – winning<br />
hearts and minds. The second component<br />
is Purpose and Values- Now with this I am<br />
highlighting the importance of clarity of purpose,<br />
I alluded earlier. The third component<br />
is Trust and Self-Belief- ahhhh now this is the<br />
acid test. How strong is your conviction, your<br />
purpose, your values and your heart? Trust in<br />
your strength and indeed in yourself - your<br />
Self-Belief. Typically it is often always stronger<br />
than we think, proven time and time again.<br />
Ladies, I implore us all irrespective of your<br />
role and rank. Earnestly go forth emboldened<br />
to speak up for one and all every day.
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
3
3<br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong>WOMEN’S HUB<br />
Odunayo Sanya,<br />
owning her scar<br />
KEMI AJUMOBI<br />
A<br />
Non-Governmental Organisation<br />
(NGO), the Shade of<br />
Women Foundation (TSWF),<br />
has unveiled a book entitled: “She<br />
Said So, and Other Stories”, which<br />
aims to enlighten Nigerians and<br />
other African countries on the influence<br />
of the girl-child and women in<br />
national development.<br />
Speaking at the event, which was<br />
held as part of its efforts to mark this<br />
year’s World International Women<br />
Day, on the topic: “The role of girlchild<br />
and nation-building”, the guest<br />
speaker, Raheemat Adabanija, highlighted<br />
the requisite knowledge of a<br />
girl-child to fit for nation-building,<br />
including formal or informal education<br />
and skills.<br />
She also charged governments<br />
across the three-tiers, organisations<br />
and institutions, to set-up more<br />
sensitisation programmes in order<br />
to reduce the problem facing the girl<br />
child in Nigeria.<br />
She said: “This book is part of<br />
one of the essential tools that will<br />
sensitise people, especially the females.<br />
I strongly recommend it for<br />
the academics, culture and tourism<br />
sector, because any country that desires<br />
absolute development will not<br />
take the issue of women carelessly.<br />
Odunayo Sanya is a versatile<br />
professional with more than<br />
20 years of postgraduate<br />
work experience in the Education,<br />
Financial Services and Telecommunication<br />
sectors of which 15<br />
years have been in management<br />
positions. She is currently a General<br />
Manager in a leading Telecommunication<br />
Company – with an active<br />
base of 57million subscribers (April<br />
2016), where she leads the Planning<br />
and Customer Management<br />
team. She is adept at conceptualizing<br />
and implementing innovative<br />
customer –centric practices and<br />
procedures to improve efficiency in<br />
an organization. An Alum of the Lagos<br />
Business School (SMP 27) and<br />
IMD with executive trainings from<br />
the Harvard Business School and<br />
Cornell University, she is a certified<br />
Professional Forecaster CPF) and<br />
a member of the Institute of Business<br />
Forecasting & Planning (New<br />
York). An international speaker,<br />
Odunayo has presented papers at<br />
the IIR Telecoms loyalty &Churn<br />
in Berlin (2009) and Nice, France<br />
(2010). A conference advisor at<br />
Fleming Gulf’s ‘Win Your Customer’<br />
conference in South Africa (2011).<br />
She is also a volunteer mentor on<br />
the platform of WISCAR (Women<br />
in Successful Careers). Odunayo<br />
is a John Maxwell certified Coach,<br />
Speaker and Trainer.<br />
Sometime in 1997, she noticed<br />
a swelling on her chest, just below<br />
her collar bone. She thought nothing<br />
of it other than it being a pimple<br />
waiting for expiration. After a few<br />
months, she observed that it was<br />
growing and became very itchy. A<br />
visit to her doctor revealed it was a<br />
hypertrophic scar, in simple terms, a<br />
‘Keloid.’ She met with a dermatologist<br />
who let her know she must have<br />
scratched an assumed ‘pimple’ and<br />
this unconscious act had resulted<br />
in a keloid. The scar began to grow<br />
minimally – at first. “I was conscious<br />
of it and worried as to the possible<br />
alteration this may portend for my<br />
life. In 2002, I commenced treatment<br />
using injections. The keloid<br />
was injected with steroids and left<br />
in its wake so much pain that it was<br />
unbearable. The Keloid continued<br />
to grow; it was now about 2 inches<br />
in height and 4 inches in length.” She<br />
says and continues “It was thick and<br />
very itchy. I worried about it, not so<br />
much for my sanity but what others<br />
would think. I was asked questions<br />
around the cause, question to which<br />
NGO inaugurates book to fight girl-child exploitation<br />
ENDURANCE OKAFOR<br />
One of the book reviewers, Olutoyin<br />
Jegede, a professor said: “The<br />
125-page book was instrumental<br />
as it critically addressed the plights<br />
of the girl-child and women in the<br />
society.<br />
“It entails an anthology of poems<br />
and prose narratives (short<br />
stories and essays) and contains 43,<br />
nine short stories, and two essays.<br />
The anthology is rich in ideas as it<br />
touches on the existence of the girl<br />
child: gender, beauty, education,<br />
family, sexuality, and the role of the<br />
society. It depicts the girl child as<br />
unsecured and agitated girl.<br />
“The book also described issues<br />
of her biological set up, social experiences<br />
and psychological conditions.<br />
The creative work, however,<br />
urged to appreciate the girl child<br />
for her intellect and not her beauty.<br />
Also, some of the poems centred<br />
on the general objectification and<br />
sexuality of a girl child and sexual<br />
oppression, which include sexual<br />
exploitation, rape, child or forceful<br />
marriage and forceful prostitution.<br />
“Above all, the title of the book<br />
suggests the female audibility as it<br />
is significant to know that women<br />
are able to tell their stories and I<br />
discovered that these stories have<br />
depths as it described the situation<br />
of rape more rigorously and talks<br />
on the psychological implications<br />
of rape on the girl-child.<br />
“The poem titled: ‘Silence’ on<br />
Page 93, describes not only rape,<br />
but its aftermath; the culture of<br />
silence of women when rape happens.<br />
Keeping the secret of rape<br />
is a serious social issue. Though<br />
some of the writers celebrated the<br />
beauty and the nature of the female<br />
gender, some of the poems in prose<br />
will build the self-esteem of the girl<br />
child.”<br />
She noted that the title reflected<br />
hope of the safe return of the recently<br />
abducted schoolgirls in Dapchi,<br />
Yobe State.<br />
In his take, Gbemisola Adeoti,<br />
the Dean of Arts, Obafemi Awolowo<br />
University (OAU), said the book addressed<br />
the pains and pressures of<br />
being a female in Africa, while the<br />
Director, American Corner Ibadan,<br />
Adefemi Bucknor, said the book<br />
depicted the plights of the girl-child<br />
and women across the world.<br />
Speaking on behalf of the convener<br />
and founder of TSWF, Shakirat<br />
Oluwatosin Raji, the Programme<br />
Manager, Omobolanle Adedeji,<br />
restated the initiative was ready to<br />
protect the right of the girl-child<br />
and women across Africa as well<br />
as tackle any problem faced by the<br />
female gender.<br />
The event, held at United States<br />
Mission American Corner, Jericho,<br />
Ibadan, Oyo State, was graced by academic<br />
scholars from various institutions<br />
including, Olutoyin Jegede,<br />
Ramonu Sanusi, both professors<br />
from the faculty of Arts, University<br />
of Ibadan; Dean of Arts, Obafemi<br />
Awolowo University (OAU), Gbemisola<br />
Adeoti; Manager, Community<br />
and Social Development<br />
Programme, Oyo State, Raheemat<br />
Adabanjia.<br />
Others were the Director, American<br />
Corner Ibadan, Adefemi Bucknor;<br />
Director of Mother and Girlchild<br />
Protection Initiative (MAGI),<br />
I had no answer. With every pregnancy,<br />
the keloid got permission for<br />
growth.” She reveals.<br />
The itchy pain was unbearable.<br />
In 2009, Odunayo checked in for<br />
a Keloidectomy after consultation<br />
with a plastic surgeon. The surgery<br />
was successful; at least, the thick<br />
keloid had been taken off her chest.<br />
She still had follow up treatments.<br />
She had to take the injections again.<br />
Half way into the first post-surgery<br />
injection,Odunayo ordered her<br />
surgeon to stop with a loud shrill. In<br />
her words, “My reaction to the fluid<br />
was that of intense pain which hit<br />
my brain immediately. My doctor<br />
had to stop. At that point, I took the<br />
decision to prioritize my pain versus<br />
the result. A number of times I have<br />
had to answer questions from my<br />
children like ‘What happened to<br />
you here Mummy?’ They ask with<br />
so much love and run their hands<br />
over ‘My SCAR’” furthermore, she<br />
says “ I have owned it; it doesn’t<br />
own me. I make sure I answer every<br />
time I am asked. I answer with a lot<br />
of clarity and leave room for more<br />
questions. My family have never<br />
been afraid of My SCAR. I am not<br />
afraid of my SCAR. My decision?<br />
Though I was physically scarred on<br />
the chest, I was far from scarred in<br />
my mind and spirit.”<br />
“ I realized my SCAR is my seed<br />
of greatness. I understood (thanks<br />
to my mentors – John C. Maxwell,<br />
Paul <strong>Mar</strong>tinelli, Robin Sharma) my<br />
SCAR is a license to help others fulfil<br />
purpose. Rather than spend the rest<br />
of my days and faith expecting healing,<br />
I chose to spend the rest of my<br />
days and faith pursuing my dreams<br />
of impacting those I come across in<br />
my journey in life. For this purpose,<br />
I unveiled my SCAR.”<br />
Hear her share more on her scar.<br />
“ You see, my SCAR is a badge of<br />
honour and I am proud to wear it.<br />
It is an evidence that I have been<br />
through some rare experiences<br />
(respect me for that) and most important<br />
is that my SCAR has added<br />
strength to my beauty and confidence<br />
to my gait. What SCARs do<br />
you carry? They could be Physical or<br />
psychological. Your SCARs are real<br />
to the extent that you give them life.<br />
To learn how to unveil your SCAR<br />
and listen to the rest of my story,<br />
join me on the 24th of <strong>Mar</strong>ch at the<br />
Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel on<br />
Ozumba Mbadiwe for a Leadership<br />
Masterclass based on a true<br />
life story.”<br />
Adijat Malik; the chief launcher,<br />
Kunle Sanni and co-launcher,<br />
Mobolaji Ajayi; pupils from the<br />
Polytechnic High School, Abadina<br />
College and Glory of God Primary<br />
School, among others.
4 BUSINESS DAY<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong>WOMEN’S HUB 5<br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong>WOMEN’S HUB
4 BUSINESS DAY<br />
C002D5556<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
NEWS<br />
Oil gains amid US crude inventories<br />
drop, Middle East tensions<br />
DIPO OLADEHINDE<br />
Drop in U.S crude inventories<br />
and growing<br />
Middle East<br />
tensions seems to<br />
bearing much fruit<br />
as Brent oil held above $68 as Organisation<br />
of Petroleum Exporting<br />
Countries supply cuts gain more<br />
momentum.<br />
The oil market extended its<br />
bullish run on Thursday after the<br />
Energy Information Administration<br />
(EIA) reported on Wednesday<br />
a drop in crude oil inventories of<br />
2.6 million barrels, which implies<br />
inventories in the U.S which is<br />
taking less of OPEC - produced oil<br />
than ever are below the five year<br />
average for the first time since 2014.<br />
“If inventories are coming down,<br />
it means oil producers will need to<br />
restock, leading to increase in demand<br />
which will obviously lead to<br />
the increase in price we are currently<br />
seeing,” Adeola Adenikinju, oil and<br />
gas analyst and professor of economics<br />
at University of Ibadan said.<br />
“The Saudi Arabia and Iran<br />
clash will create a transitory effect<br />
which is temporal because of<br />
the uncertainties in the market;<br />
however the fundamental factor<br />
is the OPEC and its ally’s agreement<br />
which is very important,”<br />
Adenikinju, a confirmed member<br />
of the Monetary Policy Committee<br />
of Central bank of Nigeria told<br />
<strong>BusinessDay</strong> by phone.<br />
Geopolitical threats to crude<br />
output also continue to support<br />
prices as both the U.S. and Saudi<br />
Arabia have criticized a 2015 international<br />
agreement to curb Iran’s<br />
nuclear ambitions.<br />
U.S President Donald Trump<br />
has threatened to pull out of the<br />
deal and re-impose economic<br />
sanctions on the Islamic Republic,<br />
a move analysts say would disrupt<br />
oil output of OPEC’s third-biggest<br />
producer as Venezuela’s production<br />
slides continues.<br />
“The present US government<br />
is currently showing the world<br />
that it’s not a country that honours<br />
agreement, so it won’t be a surprise<br />
if they don’t honour the agreement<br />
which will likely increase the price<br />
of oil,” Luqman Agboola, head of<br />
research at Sofidam Capital said.<br />
“The regional rivalries between<br />
Saudi Arabia and Iran have always<br />
being there; however the crises will<br />
go beyond the crude oil prices that<br />
might lead to a negative impact on<br />
the global economy if not properly<br />
handled,“ Agboola said.<br />
Brain drain: Nigeria loses high-skill...<br />
Continued from page 1<br />
medical doctors but needs no<br />
fewer than <strong>23</strong>7,000 to meet the<br />
World Health Organisation (WHO)<br />
benchmark of 1:600, that is, a medical<br />
doctor for every 600 persons,<br />
Folashade Ogunsola, a professor<br />
of medicine and chairman, Association<br />
of Colleges of Medicine of<br />
Nigeria, said.<br />
In 2016, 300 doctors left Nigeria<br />
to practise in foreign countries,<br />
according to the Nigerian Medical<br />
Association.<br />
A recent NOIPolls survey<br />
showed that the reasons for the<br />
looming brain drain in the health<br />
sector included challenges such<br />
as high taxes and deductions from<br />
salary (98 per cent), low work satisfaction<br />
(92 per cent), poor salaries<br />
and emoluments (91 per cent) and<br />
the huge knowledge gap that exists<br />
in the medical practice between<br />
those abroad and in Nigeria (47 per<br />
cent), among others.<br />
“All the doctors at the health<br />
clinic I go to are from Nigeria, they<br />
are polite, gentle, educated men<br />
and women with great sense of<br />
humour who are fitting into society<br />
well. But again, they are doctors,<br />
they have good careers. If you<br />
don’t have a good education and<br />
job prospects Canada is not the<br />
place for you,” Judy Riley, born and<br />
raised in Eastern Ontario, Canada<br />
said in response to questions about<br />
immigrating to Canada, on Quora,<br />
a website for professional exchange<br />
of ideas.<br />
Canada has a strong reputation<br />
for multiculturalism and presents<br />
many socio-economic opportunities<br />
for Nigerian immigrants.<br />
As one of the leading G-7 countries,<br />
it is highly developed and<br />
enjoys outstanding education<br />
and health care systems as well as<br />
excellent working conditions. A<br />
long life expectancy, 82 years as at<br />
2015, and relatively low crime rates<br />
also contribute to Canada’s high<br />
quality of life.<br />
Canada’s strong economic position<br />
could largely be attributed to<br />
the contributions of its immigrant<br />
workforce.<br />
To this end, the Canadian government<br />
has one of the most<br />
positive immigration policies in<br />
the world, with the government<br />
admitting over 200,000 immigrants<br />
each year. Canada also allows dual<br />
citizenship, allowing Nigerians to<br />
retain their national identity.<br />
Immigrants from Nigeria usually<br />
find employment opportunities<br />
in Canada in high-growth sectors<br />
through the Federal Skilled Trades<br />
Class. This programme allows<br />
workers with in-demand trades,<br />
such as welders, crane operations,<br />
and electricians, to obtain Canadian<br />
permanent residency.<br />
That Nigeria is losing its strong<br />
human capital that took enormous<br />
resources to nurture and produce<br />
represents a significant loss and a<br />
major shift of paradigm.<br />
As heir to the Saudi throne,<br />
Crown Prince Mohammed bin<br />
Salman has been on a three-week<br />
visit to the U.S and has met with<br />
President Donald Trump and<br />
administration officials at the<br />
White House and plans to meet<br />
with energy executives to discuss<br />
the country’s plans to build two<br />
nuclear reactors by year’s end<br />
and 14 more over the next quarter<br />
century, according to the non-governmental<br />
U.S. Energy Association.<br />
The Saudi prince is championing<br />
a new vision 2030 for the desert<br />
kingdom, one that is technologically<br />
savvy, religiously moderate<br />
and has a global influence beyond<br />
its oil prowess.<br />
Also, uncertainties about Venezuela’s<br />
falling production, whose<br />
output has been halved since 2005<br />
to below two million barrels per<br />
day due to an economic crisis, are<br />
also supporting the oil market.<br />
The International Energy Agen-<br />
Teleology details<br />
10-point plan to turn<br />
around 9mobile<br />
... Partners with East Africa’s<br />
telecom giant, Safaricom<br />
JUMOKE AKIYODE-LAWANSON<br />
Teleology holdings limited<br />
has revealed its proposed<br />
plan to revitalise the debt<br />
ridden 9mobile, after it finalised its<br />
takeover of the company by transferring<br />
a non-refundable completion<br />
deposit of $50 million to the<br />
Trustee for the bank syndicate<br />
which held ownership of 9mobile.<br />
The company which is still<br />
expected to pay the balance of its<br />
$500 million bid for 9mobile in the<br />
next 90 days, in order to take full<br />
possession of the telecoms firm is<br />
certain of ownership having signed<br />
Share Purchase Agreement (SPA)<br />
and other contractual documents<br />
pertaining to the acquisition.<br />
Teleology has therefore detailed<br />
an ambitious plan of action that<br />
will guide its rapid overhaul not<br />
only of the network but all aspects<br />
of the operations.<br />
Adrian Wood, Teleology’s Director<br />
and pioneer managing<br />
director of MTN Nigeria, says,<br />
“9mobile is transiting into a new<br />
phase that will be defined by optimal<br />
value delivery: value to our<br />
employees, value to our customers,<br />
value to local communities and<br />
indeed to all stakeholders.”<br />
He added that the new organisation<br />
to emerge would be “engineering<br />
led and brand driven.”<br />
In delivering service, “we will<br />
strive to ensure that 9Mobile operations<br />
deliver fulfilment to our<br />
Continues on page 34<br />
L-R: Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, director of partnerships, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Alex Trotter, member, board of trustees,<br />
Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF); Tony Elumelu, founder, TEF; Parminder Vir, CEO, TEF, and Awele Elumelu, member,<br />
board of trustees and wife of the founder, during the selection announcement of 1250 entrepreneurs in the 4th cycle of<br />
The Tony Elumelu Foundation’s (TEF) 10-year, $100 million TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, held in Lagos, yesterday.<br />
cy said last week that Venezuela<br />
was “vulnerable to an accelerated<br />
decline” and said such a disruption<br />
could tip global markets into deficit.<br />
Oil prices are approaching the<br />
highs of January after a global equity<br />
market rout. While investors<br />
continue to deliberate on surging<br />
U.S. crude production, OPEC and its<br />
allies have resolved that the market<br />
will rebalance between the second<br />
and third quarter of the year.<br />
OPEC and 10 members outside<br />
the cartel, including Russia, have<br />
been holding back crude production<br />
by 1.8 million barrels a day<br />
since the start of last year, as part<br />
of an effort to rein a global supply<br />
glut and boost prices.<br />
Nigeria’s oil production on<br />
the other hand has recovered to<br />
1.8 million barrels as at February<br />
<strong>2018</strong>, according to latest OPEC<br />
data, from as low as 1.2 million<br />
barrels daily in the thick of militant<br />
disruptions.<br />
The price of Brent crude, Nigeria’s<br />
benchmark grade, fell 0.14 per<br />
cent to $69.37 per barrel Wednesday,<br />
according to Bloomberg data.<br />
“When crude price enters its<br />
volatiles stage Nigeria is expected<br />
to rely on Excess Crude Account<br />
(ECA) or Sovereign Wealth Fund<br />
(SWF) to fund its projects; however<br />
we have a situation where a lot of<br />
states cannot pay salaries putting<br />
a lot of pressure on this account<br />
which have poor decisional framework<br />
with zero legal backing,”<br />
Adenikinju concluded.<br />
•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com<br />
Any country with outflow of<br />
emigrants loses critical human<br />
capital in which it has invested<br />
resources through education and<br />
specialised training and for which<br />
it is not compensated by the recipient<br />
country because there is no<br />
bilateral agreement on the transfer.<br />
“A number of reasons may account<br />
for brain to different countries.<br />
I can say that Canada has<br />
a skills based point system that<br />
eases the path to residency and<br />
eventual citizenship for qualified<br />
professionals and educated persons<br />
and their families from all over<br />
the world,” a talent manager, who<br />
pleaded for anonymity, said.<br />
Experts say it is cheaper for developed<br />
nations to encourage, by what-<br />
ever means including immigration<br />
policy orientation, the influx of the<br />
best brains from developing world.<br />
Unfortunately, poor governance<br />
systems in developing nations<br />
like Nigeria with their attendant<br />
poor planning and disregard<br />
for future generations are all too<br />
conducive for the maintenance of<br />
the status-quo.
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
Survey reveals how illegal fees, multiple checkpoints<br />
frustrate trade along Abijan-Lagos corridor<br />
AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE<br />
A<br />
survey conducted<br />
by Task<br />
Force on ECO-<br />
WAS Trade<br />
Liberalisation<br />
Scheme has identified collection<br />
of illegal fees by<br />
government agencies, existence<br />
of multiple government<br />
agencies and checkpoints<br />
as major factors<br />
inhibiting smooth trade<br />
across borders.<br />
According to the survey,<br />
the slowness of the<br />
procedure for getting the<br />
Standards Organisation of<br />
Nigeria (SON) and the National<br />
Food and Drug Administration<br />
and Control<br />
(NAFDAC) certifications,<br />
existence of prohibition<br />
list that contains some<br />
ETLS approved products<br />
as well as the existence<br />
of several standards with<br />
NAFDAC and SON, also<br />
frustrate across border<br />
trade along the corridor.<br />
The survey, presented<br />
in Lagos on Wednesday<br />
Edo partners NCC on job creation, broadband penetration<br />
Edo State governor,<br />
Godwin Obaseki,<br />
says his administration<br />
is ready to partner<br />
the Nigerian Communications<br />
Commission (NCC)<br />
on job creation for youths<br />
in the state. Obaseki said<br />
this during a courtesy visit<br />
to the NCC headquarters in<br />
the Federal Capital Territory<br />
(FCT), Abuja.<br />
The governor said, “My<br />
administration is also seeking<br />
collaboration with the<br />
NCC to boost broadband<br />
penetration in Edo State.<br />
We are expanding areas we<br />
can deploy Information and<br />
Communication Technology<br />
(ICT) to improve broadband<br />
penetration in the state.”<br />
He explained that his administration<br />
was ready to<br />
work with the NCC and other<br />
stakeholders in the telecoms<br />
industry to support service<br />
providers and other inves-<br />
tors in the state, noting, “This<br />
collaboration will assist service<br />
providers in Edo State to<br />
extend their services to the<br />
remotest towns and communities.”<br />
The governor said, “The<br />
key driver of our vision to<br />
transform Edo State is to deploy<br />
ICT infrastructure and<br />
knowledge to enhance economic<br />
growth and prosperity<br />
for Edo people. My administration<br />
is focused on the use<br />
of technology and provision<br />
of telecoms infrastructure to<br />
create jobs for youths.<br />
“Part of the vision is to<br />
engage youths in productive<br />
ventures and provide employment<br />
opportunities for<br />
them. We are also exploring<br />
ways to deploy the use of ICT<br />
to engage youths. Our aim<br />
is to discourage youths from<br />
engaging in human and drug<br />
trafficking.”<br />
According to Obaseki, the<br />
by Moustapha Gnankambary,<br />
permanent secretary<br />
of the ETLS Task Force at<br />
a day sensitisation workshop<br />
organised by the Nigerian<br />
Shippers’ Council<br />
(NCS) in collaboration<br />
with the Borderless Alliance,<br />
said the limitations<br />
reduce the ability of the<br />
national economies of the<br />
member countries to attract<br />
investment, create<br />
jobs and wealth and improve<br />
the standard of the<br />
living of the people.<br />
Gnankambary, who<br />
pointed to the fact that the<br />
factors have caused the<br />
intra-regional trade to remain<br />
poor at between 10<br />
and 20 percent, also said<br />
governments of member<br />
states also lose huge revenue<br />
to low trade growth.<br />
He disclosed that the<br />
survey had recommended<br />
the need for educating<br />
security agencies on the<br />
clear demarcation between<br />
trade facilitation<br />
and free movement as well<br />
as the security of persons<br />
and goods along the corridor.<br />
“There is need for the<br />
adoption and application<br />
of clear sanction mechanisms<br />
against member<br />
states and defaulting officers.<br />
There is also need for<br />
the removal of obstacles<br />
such as import bans as<br />
well as tariff and non-tariff<br />
barriers to cross border<br />
trade,” the survey noted.<br />
Gnankambary said<br />
there was need to promote<br />
the consumption of products<br />
and services produced<br />
in West African countries<br />
to boost job creation and<br />
further help to promote regional<br />
integration.<br />
“We need to harmonise<br />
the documentation used<br />
in intra-regional trade in<br />
three ECOWAS official languages.<br />
Apart from abolishing<br />
the abnormal practices<br />
and obstacles to cross<br />
border trade along the corridor,<br />
there was also need<br />
to accelerate the issuance<br />
of the ECOWAS biometric<br />
identity cards by member<br />
states,” he said.<br />
Justin Bayili, executive<br />
state government will work<br />
with the NCC to address the<br />
challenges faced by the telecoms<br />
industry in the state<br />
and assured, “My administration<br />
will work with the NCC<br />
to resolve several issues confronting<br />
stakeholders in the<br />
state, which include; the right<br />
of way for telecommunication<br />
infrastructure, multiple taxation<br />
and regulation.”<br />
The state government will<br />
work with telecoms operators<br />
in the state to resolve conflicts<br />
with members of local communities<br />
to allow operators<br />
access to infrastructure within<br />
safety and other regulations.<br />
Executive commissioner,<br />
stakeholder management,<br />
NCC, Sunday Dare, who represented<br />
the executive vice<br />
chairman, NCC, Umar Garba<br />
Danbatta, assured Obaseki of<br />
the commitment of the commission<br />
to partnering the Edo<br />
State government.<br />
secretary of Borderless<br />
Alliance, who said Nigeria<br />
must remove all nontariff<br />
barriers that frustrate<br />
smooth trade across borders,<br />
if the country must<br />
move from being an oil dependent<br />
country to opening<br />
up other sectors of the<br />
economy, added that more<br />
investments would be attracted<br />
and jobs as well as<br />
wealth created.<br />
Reacting to this, Taju<br />
Olanrewaju, chairman of<br />
the event, suggested the<br />
need for another engagement<br />
that would bring<br />
agencies like SON and<br />
NAFDAC as well as the<br />
Nigerian Customs Service<br />
(NCS) to come and tell the<br />
trading community of the<br />
efforts put in place to address<br />
the issues highlighted<br />
around their operations<br />
that hinder smooth trade<br />
across borders.<br />
He pointed out the urgent<br />
need for SON and<br />
NAFDAC to reduce the<br />
cumbersome procedures<br />
that slows the collection of<br />
their certifications.<br />
L-R: Bolanle<br />
Austen Peters,<br />
CEO, Terra Kulture/<br />
keynote speaker;<br />
Ade Adefeko, vice<br />
president, corporate<br />
and government<br />
relations, Olam<br />
Nigeria; Tunji<br />
Olugbodi, executive<br />
vice chairman,<br />
Verdant Zeal<br />
Group; Ibilola<br />
Amao, principal<br />
consultant, Lonadek/<br />
chairperson 7th<br />
Innovention Series,<br />
and Femi Oyewole,<br />
chairman, Verdant<br />
Zeal Board, at the<br />
7th Verdant Zeal<br />
Innovention Series<br />
with the theme “<br />
Building Africa’s<br />
Reputation Through<br />
Mediatainment” in<br />
Lagos, yesterday.<br />
Pic by Olawale<br />
Amoo<br />
C002D5556<br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
5<br />
NEWS<br />
Religious leaders preach<br />
peace, endorse Ambode<br />
German agency trains 97,449 cocoa farmers in Nigeria<br />
IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, Benin<br />
German International<br />
Cooperation (GIZ)<br />
says it has so far<br />
trained 97,449 smallholders<br />
cocoa farmers across<br />
the six focal states in Nigeria.<br />
Annemarie Mathess, regional<br />
programme director,<br />
Sustainable Smallholder<br />
Agri-business Programme,<br />
disclosed this at the sixth anniversary<br />
and flag off of <strong>2018</strong><br />
farming season by Edo State<br />
Forum of Farmer Business<br />
School Multipurpose Cooperative<br />
Union Limited in Benin<br />
City, the Edo State capital.<br />
Mathess, represented by<br />
Ayo Akinola, senior technical<br />
advisor of GIZ-SSAB, said<br />
out of the total 9,630 farmers<br />
were from Edo State.<br />
Mathess, who says the GIZ<br />
operates in more than 130<br />
countries in the world, noted<br />
that it annual turnover was<br />
JOSHUA BASSEY<br />
Leaders of various<br />
religious bodies<br />
under the aegis of<br />
Nigeria Inter-Religious<br />
Council (NIREC)<br />
have stressed the need to<br />
deepen religious harmony,<br />
as they endorsed Governor<br />
Akinwunmi Ambode for<br />
second term in office.<br />
This comes as Abul-<br />
Hakeem Abdul-Lateef, the<br />
state commissioner for<br />
home affairs, charged the<br />
religious leaders to use the<br />
pulpits to preach love and<br />
encourage their followers<br />
to support’s policy and<br />
programmes aimed at improving<br />
the welfare of all,<br />
as “Ambode means well for<br />
Lagos.”<br />
The clerics spoke at the<br />
first quarterly meeting of<br />
religious leaders and faithbased<br />
organisations, yesterday<br />
in Lagos, to further<br />
entrench religious harmony<br />
and strengthen the existing<br />
peace in the state. The NIREC<br />
is comprised of Christian and<br />
Islamic bodies.<br />
Speaking at the meeting,<br />
Tajudeen Yusuf, chairman<br />
of NIREC, Lagos chapter,<br />
said the endorsement<br />
was in recognition of the<br />
modest efforts of Ambode<br />
in infrastructural development<br />
and the maintenance<br />
of peace and religious harmony<br />
in Lagos.<br />
According to Yusuf,<br />
Ambode’s approval of the<br />
existence of NIREC, not<br />
only at state level, but also<br />
across the 20 local governments,<br />
and 37 local council<br />
development areas of the<br />
state, has ensured that issues<br />
capable of triggering<br />
religious crisis in Lagos are<br />
nib in the bud.<br />
The religious leader,<br />
who observed that the<br />
€2.1 billion, in development<br />
programmes raging from<br />
agriculture, economic development,<br />
renewable energy,<br />
social, health, finance, water,<br />
environment, among others.<br />
She said the sustainable<br />
smallholder agro-business<br />
(SSAB) programme was one<br />
of the programmes conducted<br />
in partnership with the Agricultural<br />
Development Programmes<br />
(ADPs) for cocoa<br />
farmers across six producing<br />
states of Abia, Cross River,<br />
Edo, Ekiti, Ondo and Osun.<br />
She also added that in enhancing<br />
the capacity of and<br />
livelihoods of smallholder<br />
cocoa farmers, SSAB deployed<br />
the Farmer Business<br />
School (FBS), Good Agricultural<br />
Practices (GAP) and<br />
the Cooperative Business<br />
Schools (CBS) as its three<br />
core training tools.<br />
Mathess, however, appealed<br />
to the Edo State gov-<br />
Boko Haram’s crisis and its<br />
attendant loss of lives and<br />
properties in the northern<br />
part of the country could<br />
have been avoided had<br />
NIREC at the national lived<br />
up to expectation, said<br />
peace and religious harmony<br />
was necessary to advancement<br />
development at<br />
any level, and assured that<br />
religious bodies would rally<br />
around Ambode to actualise<br />
his second term ambition,<br />
adding “one good<br />
term deserves another.”<br />
Also, Alexander Bamgbola,<br />
co-chairman of<br />
NIREC, Lagos chapter,<br />
who doubles as chairman,<br />
Christian Association of Nigeria<br />
(CAN), said, “Lagos is<br />
a state that enjoys the special<br />
grace of God.” The CAN<br />
chairman who described<br />
Ambode as a listening governor,<br />
called for the support<br />
of the citizens for the<br />
government to enable it do<br />
more, especially infrastructure<br />
development.<br />
Abdul-Lateef, the<br />
commissioner for home<br />
affairs, whose office supervises<br />
the activities of<br />
religious bodies in the<br />
state, said the meeting<br />
was a platform to making<br />
the two major religions<br />
see themselves as one.<br />
According to the Abdul-<br />
Lateef, while NIREC at the<br />
national level has been<br />
unable to function effectively,<br />
Lagos has continued<br />
to show example of how<br />
Christians, Moslems and<br />
other beliefs should co-exist.<br />
The commissioner, who<br />
thanked the religious leaders<br />
for endorsing Ambode<br />
for second term in office,<br />
assured that the state government<br />
would continue to<br />
all within its powers to ensured<br />
that Lagos continue<br />
to stand out.<br />
ernment to fund agricultural<br />
development programmes<br />
as well as the state forum of<br />
farmer business school multipurpose<br />
cooperative Union<br />
limited to scale-up and expand<br />
their services, resulting<br />
in competitive production,<br />
growth and employment.<br />
While opining that such<br />
impacts can also contribute<br />
to reduce migration, she<br />
stated that government’s<br />
assistance in funding and<br />
supporting farmers’ organisation’s<br />
can sustain their<br />
potentialities for growth and<br />
development.<br />
The regional programme<br />
director of the organization,<br />
who commended the Edo<br />
State government for the<br />
strides so far taken in the<br />
agricultural sector, observed<br />
that the farmers business<br />
school can be the government’s<br />
strong partner in internal<br />
revenue generation.
6 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556<br />
NEWS<br />
‘Nigeria’s neglected cases of<br />
tuberculosis is as high as 50%’<br />
ANTHONIA OBOKOH<br />
Ahead of the World<br />
Tuberculosis Day<br />
on <strong>Mar</strong>ch 24, the<br />
Nigerian Thoracic<br />
Society says neglected<br />
TB cases in the country<br />
are as high as 50 percent.<br />
This means infected persons<br />
are not receiving treatment,<br />
therefore increasing the<br />
spread of the disease in the affected<br />
communities.<br />
Nigeria ranks fourth in<br />
global TB infections and the<br />
highest in Africa. TB is the<br />
topmost infectious disease<br />
cause of death worldwide.<br />
There are estimated 10.4 million<br />
cases, 1.8 million deaths<br />
annually, representing the<br />
ninth leading cause of death<br />
globally.<br />
The Nigerian Thoracic<br />
Society is calling attention on<br />
the need to address treatment<br />
gaps, prevention and control<br />
of the disease as part of efforts<br />
to mark the <strong>2018</strong> World<br />
Tuberculosis Day, with the<br />
theme “Wanted: Leaders for a<br />
TB-free World! You can make<br />
history. End TB.”<br />
Peters Etete, president,<br />
Nigerian Thoracic Society,<br />
says World TB Day is commemorated<br />
across the globe<br />
with activities as diverse as<br />
the locations in which they<br />
are held. But more can be<br />
done to raise awareness<br />
about the effects of TB.<br />
“TB is a medical disease;<br />
it has a lot of socio-economic<br />
confounders, it affects the<br />
economically productive<br />
age group in the community,<br />
thereby affecting productivity.<br />
“More worrisome is the<br />
fact that about one in three<br />
people with TB are never diagnosed,<br />
and in Nigeria the<br />
proportion of missed cases<br />
India, Nigeria hold<br />
trade expo as bilateral<br />
trade declines<br />
Trade Promotion<br />
Council of India,<br />
in association<br />
with the ASSO-<br />
CHAM, CAPEXCIL and<br />
High Commission of India,<br />
has announced the<br />
largest ever Indian trade<br />
exhibition called Source<br />
India Nigeria.<br />
He event comes as India’s<br />
exports to Nigeria<br />
have declined from at<br />
$2.87 billion in 2014 to<br />
$2.29 billion in 2015, and<br />
further to $1.74 billion in<br />
2016, while Nigerian exports<br />
to India have also<br />
declined from $15.66 billion<br />
in 2014 to $10.33 billion<br />
in 2015, and further to<br />
$7.41 billion in 2016. The<br />
event is organised under<br />
the auspices of the Department<br />
of Commerce,<br />
Ministry of Commerce and<br />
Industry of Government of<br />
India, at Eko Hotel, Lagos,<br />
on <strong>Mar</strong>ch 27-29.<br />
is as high as 50 percent. This<br />
means they will not be treated<br />
and they will continue to<br />
transmit the disease in the<br />
community.<br />
“Nigerian has made some<br />
significant strides towards<br />
TB control, but we know we<br />
can do better and faster to<br />
achieve the End TB Goal. We<br />
recognise the efforts of Nigerian<br />
researchers in various aspects<br />
of TB, especially a new<br />
TB diagnostics, the Sweat TB<br />
Test, invented by a Nigerian<br />
researcher/physician.<br />
“Such innovations with<br />
global and public health relevance<br />
should be supported<br />
and brought to international<br />
reckoning by the government,”<br />
Etete says.<br />
Olufemi Adewole, secretary<br />
general, Nigerian Thoracic<br />
Society, says the day is<br />
an occasion to mobilise political<br />
and social commitment<br />
for further progress towards<br />
eliminating TB as a public<br />
health burden, which this<br />
year’s focus comes in line with<br />
the Sustainable Development<br />
Goals set by the End TB Strategy<br />
and the Global Plan to<br />
End TB, 2016-2020, aiming to<br />
eliminate TB by 2035.<br />
“It challenges us to look at<br />
the fight against TB in an entirely<br />
new way: that every step<br />
we take should be a step that<br />
counts for people and will lead<br />
us towards TB elimination.<br />
The Moscow TB declaration<br />
and the coming the United Nation<br />
High Level Meeting on TB<br />
are welcome developments<br />
that will put TB elimination<br />
and control in the front burner;<br />
gathering high level political<br />
will required to ensure a TB<br />
free world. We welcome all<br />
these global movements and<br />
hope that these should translate<br />
to positive action towards<br />
eliminating TB.<br />
Delta to spend over N30bn on storm<br />
drains construction to control flood<br />
MERCY ENOCH, Asaba<br />
Delta State government<br />
would<br />
spend more than<br />
N30 billion for the<br />
construction of storm drains<br />
to take care of eight storm<br />
drainage channels including<br />
their discharge points.<br />
This is to control the effects<br />
of floodwater on the people<br />
of the state.<br />
“We have taken the bull<br />
by the horns as regards the<br />
flood control in the state;<br />
we wanted to be sure that<br />
we were on the right path,<br />
we did not just want to start<br />
constructing drains all over<br />
again without bringing solutions<br />
to the flood issues<br />
in Asaba, so our consultants<br />
worked with the Nigerian<br />
Society of Engineers to provide<br />
us with eight options<br />
of drains,” the state governor,<br />
Ifeanyi Okowa, said at a<br />
quarterly media briefing in<br />
Asaba, Wednesday.<br />
“Storm drainages that we<br />
had to undertake as a state,<br />
which was put at a total cost<br />
of a little above N30 billion,<br />
and out of the eight strategic<br />
network of drains we<br />
chose to work with three as<br />
they were very critical and<br />
the total cost of the three is<br />
about N11 billion,” Okowa<br />
explained.<br />
He said, “The first one<br />
we started with was the one<br />
that is going to be within the<br />
area of DLA Road through<br />
Jesus Saves Road, the Agric<br />
Road area, and that is the<br />
construction that is ongoing<br />
straight from that area<br />
through the Nnebisi Road<br />
to the Amilimocha River,”<br />
saying the project had gone<br />
very far.<br />
“We have been promised<br />
that the project would be<br />
delivered by the end of May<br />
this year, and we are happy<br />
to announce that from my<br />
inspections, the project is<br />
going on very well and I am<br />
sure that a lot of us would<br />
have had the opportunity<br />
to see this construction. For<br />
those of us who may not<br />
have, I must appeal that for<br />
us to be able to do proper reporting,<br />
there is a need for us<br />
to visit projects to see what is<br />
ongoing,” he told the press.<br />
According to Okowa,<br />
there are two other projects,<br />
“one of them is the drainage<br />
project that will take us<br />
through Ambassador Ralph<br />
Uwechie Road to discharge<br />
to the Anwai Stream, and<br />
that project is already ongoing;<br />
the project was awarded<br />
about a month ago and work<br />
is ongoing and it will take 12<br />
months to complete.<br />
“So, we may not be getting<br />
all the relief within the<br />
Okpanam areas all through<br />
the rainy season, but it is our<br />
hope that before the next<br />
rainy season they would<br />
have completed the project.<br />
So, hopefully the project will<br />
be delivered by God’s grace<br />
by the end of February 2019,<br />
and once it is completed, it<br />
is going to drain the larger<br />
part of Okpanam, while part<br />
of the water coming from<br />
Okpanam will be drained<br />
through the project that has<br />
a discharge point at the Iyi-<br />
Abi Stream that is across the<br />
Asaba/Onitsha expressway,”<br />
he said.<br />
An elated Okowa said<br />
the company working on<br />
the Okpanam project had<br />
stepped up pace of work,<br />
adding that the third of the<br />
storm drainage projects<br />
was the one going to drain<br />
DBS area and the adjoining<br />
areas around the DBS, and<br />
that project was a 12-month<br />
project.<br />
Vehicles to attend to residential wastes<br />
are coming, Visionscape assures<br />
CHUKA UROKO<br />
The new waste management<br />
outfit in<br />
Lagos State, Visionscape<br />
Sanitation<br />
Solutions, has craved the<br />
understanding of residents<br />
on the mounting refuse<br />
heaps in the state, assuring<br />
that vehicles with which<br />
to address the residential<br />
wastes are underway.<br />
John Irvine, the company’s<br />
CEO, who gave that<br />
assurance, said their original<br />
brief from the state government<br />
was to handle the<br />
“waste in the market, public<br />
areas and schools, (but) the<br />
brief changed.<br />
“All the plans to attend<br />
to the residential waste has<br />
been re-configured, so the<br />
vehicles will be here; the<br />
services will be here, but<br />
you have to understand that<br />
there is a lot of waste being<br />
generated by entrepreneurs<br />
and we will clear that backlog.”<br />
Irvine said they were<br />
embracing waste collection<br />
operators (WCOs) who<br />
would help in the interim<br />
to tackle the daily collection<br />
and to allow them take<br />
the waste to Epe, where<br />
they were building an engineered<br />
landfill.<br />
Irvine, who spoke during<br />
a courtesy visit to Rilwanu<br />
Akiolu, the Oba of Lagos,<br />
also assured Lagosians<br />
that the engineered landfill<br />
being constructed in Epe<br />
would never experience a<br />
fire outbreak as was seen in<br />
the Olusosun dumpsite in<br />
Ojota recently.<br />
“There is no need to fear<br />
that a fire outbreak could<br />
happen at Epe just as it did<br />
recently at the Olusosun<br />
dumpsite. “It is (Olusosun<br />
fire incident) very unfor-<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
tunate and we sympathise<br />
with the people involved.<br />
But just to make the record<br />
clear, Epe landfill is a totally<br />
different super-structure<br />
as it is the first engineered<br />
landfill in Lagos.<br />
“The incident that happened<br />
in Olusosun will never<br />
happen in Epe because<br />
of the safety measures and<br />
technology involved in the<br />
engineered landfill. What<br />
happens in a landfill is that<br />
we construct the waste in a<br />
certain way that doesn’t allow<br />
fire outbreaks to happen<br />
because we capture<br />
the leaking gas and we take<br />
away the leachate,” he said.<br />
Oba Akiolu had earlier<br />
commended Visionscape<br />
for its efforts at fulfilling its<br />
part in delivering a cleaner<br />
Lagos, acknowledging that<br />
Visionscape had a good<br />
reputation and an international<br />
pedigree.<br />
The Oba maintained<br />
that, though he was not an<br />
investor in the company, he<br />
had decided to give it 100<br />
percent support, noting that<br />
the company was not out to<br />
take the jobs of the PSPs.<br />
“I appeal to them; we are<br />
not taking their daily bread<br />
from them but teaching<br />
them how to manage waste<br />
better,” he said.<br />
The monarch implored<br />
all Lagosians to support<br />
Visionscape’s mission to<br />
ensure a cleaner Lagos, saying,<br />
“There is no successful<br />
organisation or initiative<br />
without the support of the<br />
people.”<br />
He disclosed that all<br />
traditional rulers in Lagos<br />
would meet at a conference<br />
in Epe to talk about<br />
the future of Lagos later in<br />
the month, and would subsequently<br />
address all Lagosians<br />
in April.
6 BUSINESS DAY<br />
ENTREPRENEUR<br />
Trinita Akpan, the lady realtor<br />
meeting your property needs<br />
KEMI AJUMOBI<br />
Biography<br />
Trinita Akpan is a serial entrepreneur<br />
with interests in<br />
the Fashion and Real Estate<br />
Sector. A focused and result oriented<br />
professional, her personal<br />
philosophy is to create value and<br />
solve problems, by empowering<br />
minds to embrace positive and<br />
creative thinking, helping them<br />
achieve personal goals by establishing<br />
strategic relationships. Akpan is<br />
a trained professional with a First<br />
Degree in <strong>Mar</strong>keting and an MBA<br />
from the Prestigious University<br />
of Ife. Also referred to as the Lady<br />
Realtor, Akpan has over 14years experience<br />
in high profile networking<br />
for both public and private sectors,<br />
spanning the Banking, IT and Real<br />
Estate Industries. Her Jewellery line,<br />
Stillmii Jewelries supplys quality<br />
and stylish items for high end and<br />
everyday use to suit the varied<br />
pockets of her esteemed clientele.<br />
This she delivers with exceptional<br />
customer service. She is also the<br />
Chief Executive Officer for Triakot<br />
Properties, a legitimate Real Estate<br />
<strong>Mar</strong>keting firm in Lagos, Nigeria,<br />
that seeks to connect her clients to<br />
amazing, affordable and genuine<br />
properties.<br />
Early years<br />
I come from a middle class family<br />
and we were taught early the value<br />
of smart work. One saying that was<br />
our guideline was that quality input<br />
resulted in quality output. My<br />
Father was a disciplinarian while<br />
my mother showed us the value<br />
of prayer and relationships. We<br />
were taught contentment, to deal<br />
honestly with everyone, to value a<br />
good name over money and never<br />
be afraid of hard work for therein<br />
will you find success.<br />
Why the decision to go into<br />
real estate?<br />
I’ve always been people oriented<br />
and when I took the decision to<br />
launch out on my own after years<br />
in paid employment, it was clear to<br />
me that it had to be something that<br />
built relationships by contributing<br />
superior value to them. Being in<br />
the banking industry exposed me<br />
to various businesses but I was<br />
intrigued by proposals of real estate<br />
developers. That’s when I knew I<br />
would someday play in this field. It<br />
can be very satisfying to assist people<br />
with important decisions like<br />
choosing what property to invest<br />
in. And so Triakot Properties (A<br />
Real Estate Consulting & <strong>Mar</strong>keting<br />
Firm) was birthed.<br />
Challenges on the job<br />
Well, much as it is satisfying to see<br />
successfully closed transactions<br />
on house purchases, it is also disheartening<br />
to be in the middle of<br />
an almost non-existence mortgage<br />
system. Where new home buyers<br />
yearn for an affordable payment<br />
plan spanning several years but are<br />
faced with high interest rates. As a<br />
country, we are still very far from<br />
achieving this. Secondly, most investors<br />
or home buyers are poorly<br />
informed on the statutory fees<br />
required to complete a purchase<br />
not just the price of the property,<br />
hence you see most people quibbling<br />
when these fees are requested.<br />
That is why at Triakot Properties, we<br />
don’t just sell you a property, we<br />
take time to educate you thoroughly<br />
on all the fees, processes, regulations<br />
and timelines regarding your<br />
property purchase.<br />
Playing in a male dominated<br />
sector<br />
For many years, men have dominated<br />
the Real Estate industry, maybe<br />
due to the way it was done before<br />
with ‘omo ni les’( meaning street<br />
boys laying claims to benefits from<br />
the land) and local land agents. The<br />
structure of real estate business has<br />
changed since then thanks to the<br />
leadership of Lagos State government<br />
which has resulted in a level<br />
playing field for honest and value<br />
driven realtors. It is very exciting and<br />
encouraging to see that in recent<br />
times, these valued individuals are<br />
Lady Realtors. Top Realtors like<br />
Nonso Onny-Ezeh of Assist2sell and<br />
Udo <strong>Mar</strong>yanne Okonjo of Fine and<br />
Country who have put in well over<br />
10 years in the industry are stretching<br />
forth their arms and showing<br />
younger female realtors the ropes.<br />
I see clients trusting women more<br />
and more with their transactions,<br />
as it goes beyond just profit and loss.<br />
Is it easy to own properties in<br />
Lagos ?<br />
Yes! I firmly believe so. As long as<br />
you are realistic with your budget<br />
and desire. You may desire a Banana<br />
Island location for instance but cannot<br />
afford it. Go for an alternative location<br />
closest to Banana Island that<br />
you can easily afford even if it is in<br />
Ajah/Sangotedo axis. Lagos State is<br />
set to become the 3rd largest economy<br />
in Africa. Some key government<br />
projects are situated in Ibeju Lekki.<br />
Housing needs are on the rise in that<br />
area. Any smart investor is encouraged<br />
to get as much as he/she can.<br />
Your asset will always appreciate.<br />
There are spread payment options.<br />
However, you must follow the rules.<br />
Invest in titled lands, spread your<br />
investment across midterm and<br />
long term locations, employ the<br />
services of a trusted realtor and<br />
your lawyer to guide you. As a rule,<br />
my firm ensures thorough searches<br />
are carried out on both the property<br />
and developer. We like to be sure of<br />
what and who we are dealing with.<br />
We also help individuals confirm<br />
their land purchases for a token fee<br />
so that you can be confident of the<br />
purchase you are making.<br />
Price of houses increased or<br />
decreased?<br />
Real Estate is gold that never suffers<br />
depreciation. As long as population<br />
increases there will be more demand<br />
on land and as such, the value<br />
of Real Estate always appreciates.<br />
Even in the midst of the recession,<br />
activities slowed down on the high<br />
end property corridor but value<br />
never dropped. Instead, buyers<br />
sought out other cheaper locations<br />
towards the suburbs which in turn<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong>WOMEN’S HUB<br />
also increased the value of property<br />
in that axis.<br />
How do you help people who<br />
desire to own their own houses<br />
but do not have the complete<br />
funds at once?<br />
Property investment has evolved<br />
over the years. We see quite a number<br />
of developments with spread<br />
payment options. So even though<br />
you might not be able to afford a<br />
choice property in your preferred location,<br />
you can settle for the nearest<br />
location that fits into your budget.<br />
We also have a few organisations<br />
that offer mortgages to interested<br />
subscribers. If the investor works in<br />
a firm, we advise and package land<br />
purchase deals for staff cooperatives<br />
which ensures a spread package<br />
based on their salaries that makes<br />
it easier for them to purchase.<br />
Housing and proper documentation<br />
The need to get the documentation<br />
right from start cannot be<br />
over emphasized. I always advice<br />
buyers or investors to pick options<br />
with established titles, that way, the<br />
process of perfection is much easier<br />
and tidier. And if you must invest in<br />
a property whose title is not clear<br />
cut, be sure to fully understand the<br />
terms and conditions as well as<br />
history surrounding that property.<br />
Always involve a competent Realtor<br />
and lawyer in all dealings.<br />
In real estate business, where is<br />
the money?<br />
Billionaires all over the world<br />
have considerable investments in<br />
Real Estate. It has produced more<br />
wealth than any other industry in<br />
the history of time especially if you<br />
know what you are doing. Here are<br />
a few tips. Firstly, buy cheap lands in<br />
suburbs, wait a few years and resell<br />
at a good profit or buy undervalued<br />
homes, renovate and resell. Secondly,<br />
invest more in residential and<br />
commercial properties. They have<br />
lower volatility than stocks. Thirdly,<br />
invest in areas with high demand for<br />
short term leases.<br />
Career in real estate<br />
A career in Real Estate is very challenging<br />
yet rewarding. While some<br />
earn in 7 figures, others struggle with<br />
a few thousands. To develop a career<br />
and make money in real estate, you<br />
must set your own schedule and<br />
work strictly with it. You will also<br />
need to be organised and ambitious<br />
enough to actually work at your<br />
business every day. Organisation<br />
skills are important because you will<br />
be dealing with contract deadlines,<br />
client appointments and follow-ups<br />
with other professionals in the field.<br />
Trainings and relevant certifications<br />
are necessary. Another major<br />
thing to set straight is to be sure you<br />
have the right character trait to stay<br />
ambitious and motivated, to relate<br />
excellently with people across different<br />
strata.<br />
Projections for your business<br />
I would like to see Triakot Properties<br />
be the go to place for fast, cost effective<br />
Real Estate transactions in Nigeria.<br />
We aim to continuously explore<br />
new ideas and technology to make<br />
the selling and buying process easier.<br />
Executive Musings<br />
URSULA BURNS,<br />
Former CEO, Xerox<br />
“Believe that there are no<br />
limitations, no barriers to<br />
your success, you will be<br />
empowered and you will<br />
achieve.”<br />
“Find something that you<br />
love to do, and find a place<br />
that you really like to do it in.<br />
I found something I loved to<br />
do. I’m a mechanical engineer<br />
by training, and I loved it. I<br />
still do. My son is a nuclear<br />
engineer at MIT, a junior, and<br />
I get the same vibe from him.<br />
Your work has to be compelling.<br />
You spend a lot of time<br />
doing it.”<br />
“Dreams do come true,<br />
but not without the help of<br />
others, a good education, a<br />
strong work ethic, and the<br />
courage to lean in.”<br />
“The world is changing. We<br />
all know this. And as that<br />
world changes, if you don’t<br />
transform your company,<br />
you’re stuck.”<br />
“I’m a black lady from the<br />
Lower East Side of New York.<br />
Not a lot intimidates me.”<br />
I realized I was more convincing<br />
to myself and to the people<br />
who were listening when<br />
I actually said what I thought,<br />
versus what I thought people<br />
wanted to hear me say.
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
Analysts expect proactive deliberations<br />
from Senate confirmed MPC members<br />
HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE<br />
Expectations mounted<br />
yesterday from<br />
the confirmed two<br />
deputy governors of<br />
Nigeria’s Central Bank and<br />
members of the Monetary<br />
Policy Committee (MPC), as<br />
analysts look to proactive deliberations<br />
of monetary policies<br />
going forward.<br />
Nigeria’s Senate yesterday<br />
confirmed the appointment<br />
of two deputy central bank<br />
governors and three members<br />
of the MPC, while one<br />
was rejected.<br />
Those confirmed are:<br />
Aishah Ahmad and Edward<br />
Lametek Adamu, deputy<br />
CBN governors, three MPC<br />
members are Adeola Adenikinju;<br />
Aliyu Sanusi and Robert<br />
Asogwa, while Asheikh<br />
Maidugu was rejected.<br />
“It is great news that the<br />
National Assembly has finally<br />
confirmed the MPC members<br />
which will enable them<br />
to now meet and deliberate<br />
on monetary policy issues.<br />
Beyond their qualifications,<br />
the members must carry out<br />
their duties diligently and<br />
dispassionately ensuring that<br />
they put national interest first.<br />
“They also need to consult<br />
widely with other key<br />
stakeholders and be proactive<br />
rather than reactive,” Taiwo<br />
Oyedele, head of tax and regulatory<br />
services, PWC, said.<br />
The confirmation has giving<br />
the rate-setting panel sufficient<br />
numbers to meet for<br />
the first time this year, as the<br />
next MPC meeting is scheduled<br />
for April 3-4.<br />
The Senate had held up<br />
some of President Muhammadu<br />
Buhari’s nominations<br />
in a dispute that had left the<br />
MPC unable to form a quorum<br />
of six.<br />
Bill Gates calls for innovative funding to<br />
sustain vaccine financing in Nigeria<br />
HARRISON EDEH, Abuja<br />
Chairman of Bill and<br />
Melinda Gates Foundation,<br />
Bill Gates, has<br />
called for innovative<br />
funding to enable the Nigerian<br />
government sustain health programmes<br />
and policies that assist<br />
vaccine financing in Nigeria.<br />
Gates made the disclosure<br />
during a courtesy call on Nigeria’s<br />
minister of financing,<br />
Kemi Adeosun, as he seeks<br />
further support for his pet<br />
project on health projects and<br />
vaccine financing supports.<br />
According to Gates, innovative<br />
financing will assist<br />
the Nigerian government do<br />
proper mapping of health projects<br />
that require short to midterm<br />
and long-term financing.<br />
“We are doing over $1 billion<br />
programme in health and<br />
vaccine financing and we are<br />
determined to sustain such<br />
programme working with<br />
Dangote Foundation and address<br />
concerns of vaccine financing.<br />
“We are also looking at<br />
Responding to the confirmation,<br />
Ayodele Akinwunmi,<br />
head of research, FSDH Merchant<br />
Bank Limited, said, “I<br />
think the confirmation is positive<br />
for the Nigerian economy<br />
and the financial market.<br />
If you recall the non-confirmation<br />
of the nominees was<br />
one of the negative factors<br />
that FSDH Research identified<br />
in our monthly Economic<br />
and Financial <strong>Mar</strong>ket Report<br />
for the month of <strong>Mar</strong>ch tiled<br />
“Growth Prospect with Rising<br />
Uncertainties. So, this has reduced<br />
the uncertainties in the<br />
country.”<br />
Akinwunmi has confidence<br />
in the abilities of the<br />
MPC members to deliver<br />
the mandates of the CBN,<br />
saying, “They are all distinguished<br />
professionals who<br />
have excelled in their various<br />
professional callings including<br />
the financial industry. I<br />
think where a specific skill is<br />
required, they can easily get<br />
special assistance to help out.”<br />
The CBN cancelled its first<br />
MPC meeting scheduled for<br />
January as a result of not being<br />
able to establish a quorum.<br />
Consequently, the regulators<br />
left interest rates on hold at<br />
14 percent, a level it has kept<br />
for over a year to support the<br />
naira and curb inflation.<br />
“The confirmation of the<br />
new members of the MPC is<br />
a positive development and<br />
would further boost both domestic<br />
and foreign investors’<br />
confidence on the Nigerian<br />
economy. I believe the additional<br />
members based on<br />
their past experiences will<br />
inject fresher perspectives as<br />
well as consolidate of gains<br />
recorded so far,” Ayodeji Ebo,<br />
managing director, Afrinvest<br />
Securities Limited, said in an<br />
emailed response to <strong>BusinessDay</strong>.<br />
vaccine financing, while also<br />
lending our support to ensure<br />
that the government financing<br />
improve over time and targets<br />
health needs which invariably<br />
improves financial inclusion,”<br />
he said. In her response, Adeosun<br />
said innovative financial<br />
thinking being canvassed for<br />
by Gates’ Foundation was very<br />
important.<br />
She acknowledged that<br />
Nigeria’s transition from low<br />
income country to middle income<br />
country was a statistical<br />
issue, pointing out that there<br />
was need to upscale the standard<br />
of living of people through<br />
financial inclusion.<br />
“As a government, we are<br />
committed to solving our own<br />
problem and there is enough<br />
potential revenue to funding<br />
health and education priorities<br />
in the country,” she said.<br />
She acknowledged that tax<br />
to GDP ratio was low, noting<br />
that the Federal Government<br />
was determined to improve<br />
the revenue to meet government’s<br />
education and health<br />
priority needs.<br />
C002D5556<br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
7<br />
NEWS<br />
L-R: Austine Enajemo-Isire, IoD’s honorary treasurer; Emmanuel Ijewere, past president; Ije Jidenma, 2nd vice president;<br />
Oscar Onyema, CEO, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Ahmed Rufai, Mohammed president, Institute of Directors (IoD) Nigeria,<br />
performing the gong sounding/closing of the market rite on the floor of the NSE, Chris Okunowo, 1st vice president, IoD; Samuel<br />
Yemi Akeju, immediate past President, and Bola Adeeko, head shared services division, NSE.<br />
Nigeria lags behind South Africa,<br />
Kenya in eGovernemnt scores – UN<br />
ENDURANCE OKAFOR<br />
Nigeria is behind<br />
its peers<br />
of largest Africa<br />
economies in<br />
eGovernment<br />
scores by country, according<br />
to United Nations’ (UN) 2016<br />
E-Government survey.<br />
Africa’s most populous nation<br />
was ranked 143rd most<br />
digitalised country that had<br />
the implementation of eGovernment<br />
(electronic government)<br />
initiatives out of the 193<br />
countries that were survey by<br />
the UN, as compiled from UN<br />
E-government report aimed<br />
at supporting sustainability<br />
development.<br />
“A lot of institutions in Nigeria<br />
have not adopted the<br />
digital measures in their operations,<br />
and this could have led<br />
to a more efficient, time saving<br />
and transparent system in<br />
the Nigerian government, and<br />
corruption is the major reason<br />
why there is resistance in<br />
imbibing digitalisation,” Ayo<br />
Akinwumi, head of research<br />
at FSDH Merchant Bank, told<br />
<strong>BusinessDay</strong> on phone.<br />
Nigeria’s current ranking<br />
is two steps backward from<br />
its 2014 position of 141. South<br />
Africa was the best performing<br />
among its peers, leaving<br />
Kenya to follow at 119 position,<br />
while Nigeria came last<br />
in the category.<br />
“The most obvious benefits<br />
of eGovernment are<br />
boosting efficiency and saving<br />
money, but there is also<br />
huge potential to increase<br />
transparency and accountability,<br />
from the payment of<br />
civil servant salaries to the<br />
award of lucrative public<br />
contracts,” Ecobank Research<br />
said in a statement.<br />
The eGovernment is the<br />
use of information and communication<br />
technologies<br />
(ICTs) to improve the activities<br />
of public sector organisations.<br />
The UN assigns an eGoverment<br />
score to all countries,<br />
aggregating their average<br />
scores for e-participation, online<br />
service (web measure),<br />
human capital, and telecommunications<br />
infrastructure<br />
(with zero being the lowest<br />
and one being the highest<br />
score).<br />
Africa’s largest economy<br />
had the least score among its<br />
peers as it was assigned 0.32,<br />
Kenya got a higher score of<br />
0.41 and South Africa was<br />
the highest with 0.55. Nigeria<br />
scored around the average<br />
of its region, indicating that<br />
they are underperforming<br />
given the size of its population<br />
and resources, as it is also the<br />
highest exporter of crude oil<br />
in the Africa continent.<br />
“Nigeria has however<br />
made progress in digitalization<br />
of its operations, comparing<br />
the current state to its<br />
previous, as there has been<br />
introduction of BVN, e-passport,<br />
visa on arrival, etc. the<br />
government should invest in<br />
technology in the country, as<br />
the world is gradually heading<br />
in that direction and Africa’s<br />
largest economy cannot shy<br />
away from it,” Akinwumi said.<br />
South Africa on the other<br />
hand is the second largest<br />
economy and it was Sub-<br />
Sahara Africa’s top performer<br />
in the UN survey, this was<br />
due to its relatively high level<br />
of national development and<br />
digital infrastructure, Kenya<br />
(0.42) is also top performer,<br />
reflecting its success in rolling<br />
out mobile phone services<br />
and the growing role as<br />
regional Fintech and innovation<br />
hubs, all of which have<br />
helped drive eGovernment<br />
initiatives.<br />
The category however outperformed<br />
the sub-Sahara<br />
Africa region score of 0.28, this<br />
scoring system places the region<br />
at the bottom of world regional<br />
rankings, with regional<br />
scores ranging from 0.41 in<br />
Oceania to a high of 0.51 in<br />
Asia, 0.52 in Americas and Europe<br />
with the highest by 0.72.<br />
TEF, ICRC, UNDP, Indorama partner to support 1,250 beneficiaries for <strong>2018</strong> programme<br />
AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE<br />
Tony Elumelu Foundation<br />
(TEF) yesterday<br />
announced that<br />
it had completed<br />
the process of selecting the<br />
1,000 African entrepreneurs<br />
with the most innovative and<br />
high-potential business ideas,<br />
who will benefit from the<br />
<strong>2018</strong> cohort of the TEF Entrepreneurship<br />
Programme.<br />
In addition, the Foundation<br />
entered into partnership<br />
with the International<br />
Committee of the Red Cross<br />
(ICRC) to support another<br />
200 entrepreneurs located<br />
in conflict and fragile zones<br />
in Nigeria; United Nations<br />
Development Programme<br />
(UNDP) to support another<br />
40 Pan-African entrepreneurs,<br />
and Indorama to<br />
support 10 Nigerian entrepreneurs,<br />
bringing the total<br />
beneficiaries of this year’s<br />
programme to 1,250 persons.<br />
Tony Elumelu, TEF<br />
founder, who made the announcement<br />
at an event in<br />
Lagos, said this year recorded<br />
close to 152,000 applicants<br />
but only 1,000 scaled through<br />
due to limited resources.<br />
According to Elumelu,<br />
the high number of applications<br />
and the partnership<br />
received to enlarge this year’s<br />
programme has shown that<br />
many people were beginning<br />
to embrace the TEF initiative<br />
as a model and way to bring<br />
economic development in<br />
Africa.<br />
“This is the beginning<br />
of a new phase in the lives<br />
of these successful applicants,<br />
who wants to become<br />
entrepreneurs that would<br />
help to develop Africa. The<br />
beneficiaries would undergo<br />
a training series from<br />
the Foundation, given networking<br />
opportunities after<br />
which, they would be given a<br />
seed capital of $5,000 each to<br />
enable them start their individual<br />
businesses,” Elumelu<br />
said.<br />
To ensure transparency<br />
in the selection process, he<br />
said the Foundation partnered<br />
Accenture to help in<br />
the selection process. “The<br />
partnership we have today<br />
will help to bring economic<br />
liberation, promote growth,<br />
eradicate poverty and eliminate<br />
existence of fragile communities,”<br />
he said.<br />
He, however, advised<br />
other applicants, who were<br />
not selected to be resilient<br />
in order to succeed because<br />
the road to entrepreneurship<br />
was very tough.<br />
In terms of monitoring<br />
and evaluation of prevision<br />
beneficiaries, Parminder Vir,<br />
Obe, CEO of TEF, disclosed<br />
that many of the beneficiaries<br />
from across Africa have<br />
been able to build sustainable<br />
businesses, confirming<br />
that they value the skills and<br />
mentoring opportunities received<br />
from the Foundation.<br />
She said that the previous<br />
beneficiaries have also been<br />
able to create jobs, generate<br />
revenue and delivered return<br />
on their investments, adding<br />
that over 30 percent of the<br />
beneficiaries are located in<br />
the rural areas because programme<br />
is not for only urban<br />
dwellers.<br />
Brian Veal, representative<br />
of ICRC, who described the<br />
partnership extended to TEF<br />
as being in line with the 30th<br />
anniversary of ICRC in Nigeria,<br />
said that Red Cross hope<br />
to scale up the partnership to<br />
further reach out to other 54<br />
countries in Africa.
BUSINESS DAY<br />
Workplace Palava<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong>WOMEN’S HUB<br />
…and Stella became the capstone<br />
KEMI AJUMOBI<br />
Stella comes from a humble<br />
background. She is<br />
the first child and has<br />
a younger brother. Her father<br />
is a retired soldier and her<br />
mum, a petty trader. Right from<br />
when Stella was in secondary<br />
school, she would do her best<br />
to support her family by joining<br />
her mother at the market<br />
and also helping people clean<br />
their homes and wash clothes<br />
at weekends to help in paying<br />
for her school fees, and also to<br />
support in providing needed<br />
items for the home.<br />
She did that throughout secondary<br />
school. She got into the<br />
university and had to find a way<br />
to support to pay her school<br />
fees. She would braid hair and<br />
fix weaves for ladies at weekends.<br />
She learnt contentment<br />
early, so she never lived beyond<br />
her means and nothing anyone<br />
did to entice her to be distracted<br />
worked. She had a plan for her<br />
future and she was determined<br />
to face it honourably.<br />
She studied Banking and<br />
Finance and did excellently well<br />
in school. In her first year, her<br />
GPA was a 4.0. When she was in<br />
her third year, her mother took<br />
ill so she was shuttling between<br />
school and home, to care for her<br />
mum and study at the same time.<br />
This affected her grades however,<br />
she graduated with a 2.1.<br />
On the day of her graduation,<br />
it was a time of tears and joy.<br />
Her parents were singing the<br />
words to her “You have made<br />
us proud”.<br />
She went for NYSC in Kaduna<br />
and was posted to a<br />
remote area where she had to<br />
teach Maths to primary school<br />
students. After a year, she returned<br />
back to her home. She<br />
began to look for job and it was<br />
quite difficult because she had<br />
no experience.<br />
One day, she walked into a<br />
nearby bank to ask if they needed<br />
the help of cleaners. As she<br />
walked towards the receptionist<br />
to ask, just as the receptionist<br />
was about to say no, she saw<br />
a man reporting a cleaner to<br />
a woman who Stella believed<br />
would surely be the HR manager.<br />
He was furious at the decision of<br />
the HR not to sack this particular<br />
cleaner who never cleaned his<br />
office well. Just as he was into<br />
his complain, another woman<br />
interjected “Oh sir, so you have<br />
noticed same. Ngozi doesn’t<br />
clean my office well too. The<br />
last time I spoke to her about<br />
it, she was very rude” then the<br />
man said “That is it, I won’t take<br />
this again. Fire her immediately<br />
and find a replacement in 1 day.<br />
I don’t know how you will do it<br />
but just do it” he told the HR<br />
manager.<br />
Stella felt it was a right time<br />
to speak, but she was afraid and<br />
began to ask herself, “how do<br />
you walk into a place for the first<br />
time and jump into a conversation<br />
where your opinion wasn’t<br />
sought after?”. She knew it was<br />
a rare opportunity and decided<br />
to take chances. She walked up<br />
to the man “Good afternoon sir,<br />
I would love to work here as a<br />
cleaner sir”. The man look at<br />
her, looked at the HR Manager<br />
and said “I guess your prayer<br />
has been answered. Employ her<br />
immediately” and he walked out<br />
of the office.<br />
That was how Stella got a job<br />
at the bank. After a year, the man<br />
(who Stella later realised was the<br />
branch manager), began to pick<br />
interest in her. He saw her as his<br />
child. She was the same age as<br />
his third daughter. He encouraged<br />
her to register for ICAN and<br />
sponsored her.<br />
Stella came out in flying colours.<br />
One day, he called her into<br />
his office and told her it was time<br />
for her to become a staff of the<br />
bank. “Me? Uhmm..sir, perhaps<br />
I should..” “Perhaps you should<br />
what? Stella, you are a graduate,<br />
you came out with a 2.1, you<br />
passed ICAN, what more?” he<br />
asked and she responded “Ok<br />
sir”. It wasn’t like Stella didn’t<br />
hear what he said; she just didn’t<br />
see herself working there. She<br />
was afraid she would not be ‘accepted’<br />
by other core members<br />
who had longed seen her sweep<br />
and clean offices. However, it<br />
wasn’t about ‘acceptance’ for<br />
the branch manager, it was more<br />
about being qualified.<br />
A month after, she began to<br />
work at the Bank and not as<br />
a cleaner. Her fellow cleaners<br />
were happy for her. Stella never<br />
felt too big to say hello to them,<br />
as long as she was concerned,<br />
they were still her friends.<br />
There was a female assistant<br />
manager who did not like the<br />
idea and she did not fail to show<br />
Stella through her actions. Stella<br />
went through a horrible period<br />
reporting to her. Stella would<br />
go home and cry but never told<br />
her parents, she did not want<br />
to bother them. She would cry<br />
at night and prayed to God to<br />
help her.<br />
One day, during the management<br />
meeting, the assistant<br />
manager, Sola Adeniyi by name,<br />
got up to let everyone know she<br />
wasn’t okay with Stella becoming<br />
a staff and that it was not in<br />
the interest of the bank for people<br />
to be insinuating that something<br />
was going on between Stella and<br />
the branch manager. “Are you<br />
done Madam Sola?” the manager<br />
asked and she responded “Yes sir”<br />
then he continued “thank you for<br />
‘looking’ out for me and ‘protecting<br />
my image’ which is what I believed<br />
you did when the gossip was<br />
spreading” he said sarcastically<br />
and continued “Stella is a graduate<br />
of Banking and Finance. When<br />
she began working here she was<br />
already a graduate” at this time,<br />
the shock in Sola’s eyes said it<br />
all. “That’s not all, she wrote ICAN<br />
and passed excellently at a single<br />
try…she passed all the stages. If<br />
I remember clearly, some people<br />
have written stage 2 twice and still<br />
trusting God to help them pass” he<br />
said looking at Sola sternly, obviously,<br />
everyone in the room knew<br />
he was referring to her. “Please,<br />
tell me Madam Sola why a graduate<br />
of Banking and Finance with a<br />
2.1 grade and ICAN success story<br />
cannot have a job in this company?<br />
Obviously, you spend time with the<br />
HR Manager helping to ‘douse’ the<br />
rumours flying around about me<br />
and Stella but, the gist was too<br />
sweet she forgot to tell you how<br />
qualified Stella is since she has her<br />
updated CV as the HR Manager”.<br />
Sola was embarrassed.<br />
She blamed herself for speaking<br />
ill of Stella but was more<br />
upset with her friend the HR<br />
Manager who didn’t tell her<br />
of Stella’s qualifications. “If<br />
you had not brought this matter<br />
here Madam Sola, I would<br />
have enlightened you on why<br />
she was employed but you<br />
decided to bring it here during<br />
management meeting and<br />
I have no choice but to clear<br />
the air.”<br />
After that day, Madam Sola<br />
became nice to Stella. Stella<br />
didn’t understand the reason<br />
behind the sudden change<br />
but news spread fast of what<br />
happened however, Stella<br />
never changed her behaviour<br />
towards Madam Sola. She<br />
would greet her and remained<br />
respectful.<br />
Stella is having an amazing<br />
time at the bank. She won the<br />
award for best staff of the year<br />
twice and has risen to the position<br />
of a supervisor. She went<br />
through the hurdles of life and<br />
came out a success story, what<br />
an inspiration she is!<br />
From her point of view<br />
1st year... Done and Dusted<br />
Early 2017, the journey started.<br />
The journey of 4 years,<br />
8 semesters, months of<br />
higher education. The electricity<br />
of anticipation to resume was<br />
common among the ‘freshers’.<br />
Beginning from the clearance<br />
and registrations to fresher’s welcome<br />
here and there to medicals<br />
and eventually classes.<br />
The feeling of university life,<br />
hostel living and independence<br />
lingered pungently in the air. For<br />
me, it was a great deal acclimatising<br />
with the new environment.<br />
As my mother would say ‘university<br />
is a jungle’. One in which you<br />
meet different kinds of people<br />
and characters and sometimes<br />
people say your university friends<br />
are the ones you keep the longest.<br />
Hostel life indeed showed<br />
me different characters and the<br />
occasional drama never ceased<br />
to draw crowds. Although, some<br />
OSARENNOMA OGBEIDE<br />
Student of Psychology<br />
University of Ibadan<br />
people proved difficult to live with, I was<br />
always surrounded by friends turned sisters.<br />
The social activities were ever so abundant.<br />
Hall week this, department week that<br />
and to crown it all dinners. After all, all work<br />
and no play make Jack a dull boy. But let’s<br />
remember that Jack doesn’t play all day. A<br />
typical Nigerian parent would say “I sent<br />
you to school to read your books, not to be<br />
pressing phone”. Everyone should have a<br />
social life however; we should be able to<br />
balance between work and play.<br />
Truly it was tough choosing elective<br />
courses seeing that we were clueless of who<br />
the lecturers were or what the courses entailed.<br />
Our fate lied in our predecessors who<br />
were able to fill us in on what and what not<br />
to do. Gradually, we got used to the system<br />
and even got tired of being called ‘freshers’.<br />
As for independence, I learnt to discipline<br />
myself as regards spending, setting<br />
priorities and just being who I wanted to<br />
be and not what others wanted to see. So,<br />
working and living with others eventually<br />
became a norm.<br />
Final exams came and they’re gone. In<br />
our minds we were feeling fly and proud<br />
to move from the status of a fresher to a<br />
‘stallite’. Our predecessors decided to burst<br />
out bubble by telling us our first year was<br />
just baby steps and I kept wandering how<br />
my 7am classes, 10-15 pages term papers<br />
and jumping from one tutorial to another<br />
were baby steps.<br />
Although I still have 3 years ahead, I<br />
can’t but remember tailing on lecturers to<br />
sign course forms, meeting seniors to know<br />
which courses would favour our GPA, the<br />
fear of being locked or sent out of class for<br />
coming late, having classes back to back<br />
and the aroma of Klazz Restaurant never<br />
ceasing to remind our stomachs of their<br />
delicacies.<br />
Now that I actually think of it, it brings a<br />
smile to my face. As for the incoming ‘freshers’<br />
(I guess I can say that now…lol), I’ll be<br />
ever ready to inform them about the ‘baby<br />
steps’ they are going to be taking. Walking<br />
into university now as a ‘stallite’ will still<br />
bring with it some changes but we’ll survive;<br />
I was born to survive. Done with the first<br />
year, on to the next.
BDOnline<br />
8 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
5 MOST READ STORIES OF THE WEEK<br />
PenCom fines PFAs for suboptimal<br />
investment returns<br />
A<br />
number of Pension Fund Administrators<br />
(PFAs) have been slammed<br />
with fines by the National Pension<br />
Commission (PenCom) for suboptimal<br />
investment returns in their fixed income<br />
portfolios in 2017 after an audit by the<br />
regulator.<br />
<strong>BusinessDay</strong> learnt that the affected<br />
PFAs were hit with fines ranging from N500<br />
million to N800 million, and that the funds<br />
will be taken from the PFA company funds<br />
and paid back into pension funds under<br />
management.<br />
Apapa: Navy under pressure<br />
to end restriction on truck<br />
movement<br />
Rear Admiral SAG Abbah, the Flag Officer<br />
Commanding (FOC), Western<br />
Naval Commanda of the Nigerian<br />
Navy is under pressure to end his good work<br />
of effectively managing the traffic and insecurity<br />
menace in Apapa and its environs.<br />
This intelligence came off from a meeting<br />
of stakeholders including truck drivers,<br />
oil marketers and top hierarchy of the Nigerian<br />
navy. The operators sought to negotiate<br />
a better way of managing truck movement<br />
without hindering business.<br />
FG says no ransom paid as<br />
militants free 101 abducted<br />
schoolgirls<br />
Boko Haram militants on Wednesday<br />
abruptly set free 101 of the 110 Nigerian<br />
schoolgirls kidnapped about a<br />
month ago from Dapchi, Yobe State.<br />
The captors gave no reason for their<br />
release, but Information Minister, Lai Mohammed<br />
denied that a ransom had been<br />
paid. Several of the girls said some of their<br />
friends had died in captivity and one was<br />
still being held, for refusing to convert to<br />
Islam.<br />
Presidential assent for PIGB<br />
possible this <strong>Mar</strong>ch<br />
There are strong indications that the<br />
petroleum industry governance<br />
bill (PIGB) will be assented to by<br />
President Muhammadu Buhari when the<br />
harmonised version is presented to him by<br />
the end of the month.<br />
A source in the technical committee<br />
reviewing the bill on behalf of government<br />
confirmed to <strong>BusinessDay</strong> that the president<br />
will not withhold assent on the bill<br />
when it reaches him this month.<br />
Teleology meets deadline to<br />
acquire 9Mobile<br />
Teleology Holdings Limited, preferred<br />
bidder for the 9Mobile<br />
sale has met up with its payment<br />
deadline set for today, <strong>Mar</strong>ch 22, <strong>2018</strong><br />
for the sum of $50 million as a nonrefundable<br />
deposit to acquire the fourth<br />
largest telecommunications network in<br />
Nigeria.<br />
Although the final decision on who<br />
emerges winner of 9Mobile lies in the<br />
hands of the Nigerian Communications<br />
Commission (NCC), Teleology has played<br />
its part by fulfilling all obligations as directed<br />
by Barclays Africa, the financial adviser<br />
to the owed banks.<br />
POLL<br />
TOP COMMENT OF THE WEEK<br />
Who should lead the<br />
delivery of digital?<br />
CARTOON OF THE WEEK<br />
Clueless as a yardstick – Asukwuo<br />
Folagbade Adeyemi: Hybrid solution<br />
will likely be the way to go but<br />
we won’t start getting traction on<br />
financial inclusion until it becomes a real<br />
front burner issue at the national level. Both<br />
telcos and banks need to see value in their<br />
independent business models.<br />
MOST TWEETED STORY<br />
Questions raised over<br />
insertion of Alpha Beta<br />
into Lagos Land Use Act<br />
Amid a brutal backlash from Lagos<br />
residents over a four hundred fold<br />
increase in land use charges in Nigeria’s<br />
commercial city, fresh questions are<br />
now being raised over the private company-<br />
Alpha Beta, exclusively named in the law<br />
to manage the revenue collection process.<br />
In the section of the law titled “Rules<br />
Governing the Distribution of the Lagos<br />
Land State Land Use Charge” section 2<br />
specifically states that;<br />
“Alpha Beta or any other designated<br />
person(s) or corporate body who has the<br />
responsibility of monitoring the incoming<br />
revenues of the State through the collecting<br />
banks, shall provide a report to the Accountant<br />
General of the State.”
2<br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
C002D5556<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong>
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
10 BUSINESS DAY<br />
C002D5556<br />
COMMENT<br />
TALES FROM THE MAIN ROAD<br />
EUGENIA ABU<br />
07043185277 (Text only)<br />
myspace@eugeniaabu.com<br />
I<br />
am truly at my wits end<br />
this week. What with all<br />
the nasty news making<br />
the rounds across the<br />
world. One is frustrated,<br />
shocked amazed and even<br />
frightened. The Dapchi girls are<br />
not the only abductions going<br />
on in the North East, the papers<br />
are awash with unbelievable<br />
crimes across the nation and<br />
Internationally, Oh wow! So I<br />
woke up today to the very depressing<br />
tale of a couple living<br />
in London who are alleged to<br />
have killed their young French<br />
aupaire and you will not believe<br />
some of the reasons adduced.<br />
But first let’s get to what a London<br />
court is hearing as what<br />
took place in the couple’s London<br />
flat. They put the young girl<br />
through intensive and relentless<br />
interrogation, abused and tortured<br />
her, finally murdering her<br />
and burning her body and then<br />
The world today<br />
buried her charred remains<br />
behind their flat. Really? This<br />
is the nanny of their children<br />
whom they accused of spying<br />
on them and bringing persons<br />
to their house secretly and also<br />
abusing their children. The<br />
police describe the torture and<br />
interrogation as the couple’s<br />
way of getting the Nanny to<br />
confess to these “fantasy stories”<br />
the couple was spinning.<br />
The face of the mother of the<br />
young girl on her way to court<br />
in London on this case just<br />
tells me how tough and unbelievable<br />
things are everywhere.<br />
What exactly is going on in the<br />
world as we now know it.<br />
I have sat up all night sometimes<br />
wondering about wickedness,<br />
murder, emotional<br />
blackmail, distrust, love gone<br />
sour, cheats, pedophiles, mental<br />
health issues, self-esteem<br />
erosion, wars, depression and<br />
all the things that have affected<br />
the world adversely in spite of<br />
our new technology and can<br />
see how easy it is for people<br />
without sufficient resilience<br />
to give up on the world and lie<br />
down and die. But certainly<br />
this is not the answer. The<br />
answer is to trudge on and be<br />
the change you want to see.<br />
We can change the world one<br />
person at a time. We can con-<br />
Your online business is less<br />
than personal and you are sitting<br />
statistics for people to use<br />
psychology to target you… And<br />
you thought elections in the<br />
west were always free and fair.<br />
Someone somewhere is messing<br />
with brains in such a sophisticated<br />
manner<br />
quer our troubles, one piece at a<br />
time without allowing them overwhelm<br />
us. Psychologists and psychiatrists<br />
encourage everyone<br />
to do “journaling.” Write down<br />
your pain, then writer down your<br />
blessings. Putting them down<br />
can be cathartic and it helps to<br />
empty you of pent up emotions<br />
and gives a certain release. Those<br />
of us who write understand this.<br />
Practice journaling. Believe me it<br />
helps, it is like talk therapy, itself<br />
a useful device for combating<br />
anxiety and depression.<br />
I know we are all trying to<br />
conquer our fears and anxieties<br />
but I certainly cannot let the<br />
Cambridge Analytica case go by<br />
without my commenting. These<br />
comment is free<br />
Send 800word comments to comment@businessdayonline.com<br />
are perception consultants,<br />
image architects and persons<br />
who have affected the election<br />
process from Russia, to<br />
the United States and guess<br />
what even Nigeria. Prostitutes<br />
are sent to mess up with an<br />
opposition candidate in order<br />
to make their client look good<br />
by publishing the story of the<br />
prostitute’s involvement with<br />
this candidate to discredit him<br />
to favor their client. Dirty tricks<br />
department for elections at its<br />
most extreme and bizarre. Yet<br />
everything looks normal to the<br />
ordinary eye while so much is<br />
been choreographed. Add this<br />
to the fact that Facebook enabled<br />
Cambride Analytica access<br />
thousands of personal data on<br />
their platform which were now<br />
used to profile Facebook users<br />
in America for purposes of<br />
targeted advertising without<br />
user’s knowledge or permission.<br />
Your online business is<br />
less than personal and you are<br />
sitting statistics for people to<br />
use psychology to target you.<br />
Wow! And you thought elections<br />
in the west were always free and<br />
fair. Someone somewhere is<br />
messing with brains in such a<br />
sophisticated manner, it’s hard<br />
to tell. As all of this unravels we<br />
watch and see where all of this<br />
will take us. And those of you<br />
who believe your life should<br />
be lived on social media, well<br />
another reason to be wary. The<br />
fact that you like chicken and<br />
your favorite color is red could<br />
be used to get you in a targeted<br />
advert. Interesting times.<br />
As the world turns on its<br />
axis and Syria is raging, while<br />
the Rohingyas are permanent<br />
refugees, with Kidnaps and<br />
abductions in Nigeria, parents<br />
please speak softly to your children.<br />
Monsters do not happen<br />
in one day. They are made from<br />
disgruntled children, physically<br />
and emotionally abused<br />
children, mean parents, bad<br />
company, terrible ideologies<br />
and the absence of love. That<br />
child of yours who you are<br />
now afraid of, who is today a<br />
terrorist started sliding when<br />
he/she was young. Never tell<br />
a child he/she will amount<br />
to nothing, let your criticism<br />
be constructive. Be open to<br />
learning from your children.<br />
They may not always be polite,<br />
discerning, caring, grateful or<br />
kind but love conquers all. Let<br />
us be more welcoming, more<br />
tolerant, less abusive, lest we<br />
contribute to the broken world<br />
we now live in.<br />
Send reactions to:<br />
comment@businessdayonline.<br />
Is commitment negotiable or non-negotiable in your organization?<br />
‘UJU ONWUZULIKE’<br />
Uju Onwuzulike is Nigeria’s leading authority<br />
on Systems Thinking and Strategic<br />
Management. He was a Steve<br />
Haines trained strategy and systems<br />
thinking expert and a former global<br />
partner of Haines Centre for Strategic<br />
Management, California, USA. He is<br />
the founder and Chief Results Officer<br />
of MCL – a strategy and outstanding<br />
performance specialist firm. He can<br />
be reached on 09091142093 or uju.<br />
onwuzulike@mclgroup.net.<br />
In today’s changing business<br />
world, it is no more<br />
enough to spend so much<br />
in training employees<br />
without having them fully committed<br />
to doing whatever they<br />
have learnt. Without seeing<br />
the need to be committed to<br />
one’s job, training may not bring<br />
about the expected returns –<br />
and this is why so many people<br />
think training does not yield<br />
results.<br />
Something very important is<br />
lacking in today’s employees.<br />
Just one thing! Could it be any<br />
of the following: lack of skills,<br />
lack of expertise, lack of experience,<br />
lack of education, lack<br />
of communication skills, and<br />
lack of customer service skills?<br />
Surprisingly, it is none of all<br />
these things. The number one<br />
key thing that is lacking in our<br />
workplace of today is COM-<br />
MITMENT. The bad news is<br />
that it is getting worse by day.<br />
Let us take lack of experience<br />
as an example. The solution<br />
to not having experience is to<br />
work and gain as much experience<br />
as possible, but having<br />
fifteen years cognate experience<br />
without a corresponding<br />
high level of commitment<br />
could be suicidal. More so, one<br />
can have all the experience in<br />
this world, all the skills and<br />
competence, and even adept<br />
with strategy matters but without<br />
commitment, one might<br />
end up sub-optimally.<br />
Now, many people give so<br />
many reasons and justifications<br />
for their failures. In the<br />
last 5 years employee’s productivity<br />
has gone down and<br />
may likely become worse in<br />
the future. When you listen to<br />
some employees excuses and<br />
reasons for non-performance,<br />
it would be very easy to pick<br />
out the fact that the main cause<br />
of their non-performance is<br />
simply lack of commitment to<br />
their jobs. Let’s look at it, when<br />
one is not committed, he/she<br />
will never go the extra mile<br />
for his/her organization, like<br />
Blanchard said, such a person<br />
will only do what is convenient<br />
to do. With the current situation<br />
of businesses today, no<br />
organization can achieve sustainable<br />
results working with<br />
employees that will only do<br />
what is convenient for them.<br />
Every organization needs staff<br />
members who are committed<br />
and are ready to deliver results<br />
regardless of any circumstance.<br />
During one of my programs,<br />
a staff of an engineering firm<br />
raised up a point that over the<br />
years has created a false impression<br />
on employees. He believed<br />
that without adequate resources,<br />
employees might not deliver<br />
expected results. This has been<br />
the thinking of so many people<br />
till today. The truth of the matter<br />
is that resources can never<br />
be enough. Employees must<br />
learn to make the most out of<br />
the available resources. Budgets<br />
can be reduced or cut down, but<br />
nobody can ever succeed in cutting<br />
down or reducing the flow of<br />
someone’s attitude.<br />
The commitment gap in many<br />
organizations is continuously<br />
increasing. Many people are<br />
just earning salaries without<br />
justifying their pay. “Presenteeism”<br />
is now the order of the day.<br />
Presenteeism is really difficult to<br />
discover as opposed to absenteeism.<br />
It exists when employees<br />
are fully present in the office,<br />
but they are not working, not<br />
adding value, and not committed<br />
to their jobs. Someone might<br />
ask, is it possible for one to be<br />
in the office and not working?<br />
Yes, when one is present but not<br />
adding value to the organization.<br />
A committed staff member is always<br />
adding value and will keep<br />
doing things differently in order<br />
to achieve a better result.<br />
Points to ponder:<br />
•It is very important to know<br />
that, people do not do what you<br />
expect but what you inspect.<br />
If you want better results, be<br />
ready to inspect. Do not assume<br />
that results will naturally comeyou<br />
might be disappointed.<br />
•Leaders and managers<br />
should show commitments<br />
first. People do what they see<br />
others doing. Leaders and managers<br />
are expected to set the<br />
examples. It is much easier to<br />
lead others when you are committed.<br />
•Employees should focus<br />
less on things that are nice to<br />
do, but instead should focus<br />
more on things that matter most<br />
to the company.<br />
•For your business to grow,<br />
you need staff members who<br />
are committed. Without commitment,<br />
there would be no<br />
growth.<br />
Final note:<br />
The reality is that no employee<br />
can go the extra mile without<br />
a high sense of commitment in<br />
him or her. Interestingly, CEOs<br />
and managers have a major part<br />
to play in lubricating the oil of<br />
commitment in their organizations.<br />
Based on the experience I<br />
have training leaders and managers<br />
in various sectors, I have<br />
come to realize that employees<br />
will never be deeply committed<br />
to a CEO or a manager who is<br />
not trustworthy, who also lacks<br />
commitment as a leader, who<br />
does not radiate honesty, openness,<br />
transparency and who<br />
does not have their genuine<br />
interest at heart.<br />
So, now, we must ensure we<br />
close up the growing commitment<br />
gap in our organizations.<br />
Growth, progress, increased<br />
PAT/PBT and business sustainability<br />
may be farfetched with<br />
non-committed workforce who<br />
is not productive on a daily<br />
basis. Leaders should not focus<br />
more on compliance in this age<br />
and time; they should preach<br />
more of commitment, because<br />
an employee who is committed<br />
will naturally comply to<br />
set rules.<br />
What is your organization<br />
doing to consistently have<br />
people who are committed and<br />
ready to do all they can to ensure<br />
your organization thrives<br />
even in difficult times?<br />
Remember, lack of commitment<br />
is every organization’s<br />
biggest undoing, get help today<br />
and let commitment become<br />
non-negotiable in your organization.<br />
Feel free and ask me how<br />
your organization can become<br />
“commitment advantaged” and<br />
reap all the benefits thereof.<br />
Send reactions to:<br />
comment@businessdayonline.com
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
COMMENT<br />
C002D5556<br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
11<br />
comment is free<br />
Send 800word comments to comment@businessdayonline.com<br />
Opportunities in Africa’s aviation industry<br />
SALEH DUNOMA<br />
Engr. Dunoma, is MD/CEO FAAN and<br />
President, ACI-Africa<br />
Africa’s aviation industry<br />
has immense<br />
opportunities. In the<br />
next 20 years, population<br />
growth in Africa<br />
and Asia is expected to have an<br />
impact on the future of the airline<br />
industry. India, Nigeria, Pakistan,<br />
Democratic Republic of Congo,<br />
Ethiopia, Tanzania, Indonesia and<br />
Uganda are expected to contribute<br />
half of the expected increase in the<br />
population of travellers. Forecasts<br />
show that rapid urbanisation in<br />
African cities will drive demand<br />
for domestic and regional air<br />
travel.<br />
These factors will add more<br />
jobs to those the aviation industry<br />
already generates across the continent.<br />
From direct jobs in airport<br />
operations to indirect jobs in retail<br />
outlets, transport, restaurants and<br />
hotels.<br />
The reality, however, is that<br />
over the years, African airports<br />
have been run mainly as government<br />
entities without the drive<br />
for profitable management. This<br />
has resulted in many airports being<br />
classified as non-viable and<br />
unable to meet their operational<br />
costs. This has posed a major<br />
problem in the efficient running<br />
of airports that are unable to cater<br />
for their maintenance and opera-<br />
tional needs thereby leading to<br />
stakeholder and customer service<br />
dissatisfaction.<br />
All around the world airports<br />
rely on non-aeronautical revenues<br />
(NAR) such as retail concessions,<br />
car parking, property<br />
and real estate to maintain their<br />
facilities and provide high quality<br />
service. Global NAR accounts for<br />
40% of airports income. In Africa,<br />
less than 20% of airports’ revenues<br />
generated is commercial.<br />
African airports must transform<br />
to unlock its potentials.<br />
Hence, the theme: Business<br />
Transformation for Sustainable<br />
Development of African Airports,<br />
of the 59th ACI Africa Board and<br />
Regional Committees Meetings &<br />
Regional Conference and Exhibition<br />
is timely.<br />
Airports Council International<br />
(ACI), a not–for–profit organization,<br />
represents commercial<br />
airports worldwide. As the voice<br />
of the world’s airports, ACI advances<br />
the collective interests of<br />
the communities it serves and<br />
promotes professional excellence<br />
in airport management<br />
and operations. In Africa, ACI is<br />
composed of 62 members from 47<br />
countries managing 250 airports.<br />
For six days Nigeria will host<br />
over 300 airport professionals<br />
from all over the world. I am<br />
confident that the wealth of experience<br />
of these professionals will<br />
provide ideas and action plans<br />
that will contribute to the ease of<br />
doing airport business in Nigeria<br />
and Africa.<br />
African airports must position<br />
for increased passenger volume,<br />
The advent of Public-private<br />
partnership (PPP) in Africa<br />
has caused a shift in the<br />
transformation of airports<br />
into sustainable business<br />
entities and Nigeria is not<br />
left behind. In recent years,<br />
Nigeria has engaged in the<br />
PPP practice and has witness<br />
good success.<br />
particularly business travellers and<br />
tourists. Last year, the continent<br />
saw a 9% increase in tourism, the<br />
highest increase in any region.<br />
Among other things, the conference<br />
will push for a change<br />
in the perception of business in<br />
African airports. A change in how<br />
the business of African airports<br />
is viewed is necessary to realise<br />
the vaunted benefits of the Single<br />
African Air Transport <strong>Mar</strong>ket<br />
(SAATM). Last January, <strong>23</strong> African<br />
countries signed SAATM in Addis<br />
Ababa. SAATM has the potential to<br />
transform aviation business on the<br />
continent. Jobs for the continent’s<br />
burgeoning youth population, enhanced<br />
intra-Africa trade, convenient<br />
regional travel, contribution to<br />
GDP, and especially tourism are<br />
some of the expected benefits of<br />
the agreement.<br />
According to IATA, an open<br />
skies agreement among Africa’s<br />
12 biggest economies could see<br />
passenger traffic soar by 81% to<br />
about 11 million. It could generate<br />
155,000 new jobs, adding $1.3<br />
billion to GDP. It is estimated<br />
that it could provide 17,400 jobs<br />
in Nigeria and contribute $128m<br />
to our GDP.<br />
Alongside the meetings and<br />
conference, airports, service providers<br />
and aviation companies<br />
will exhibit their products and<br />
services at a large-scale exhibition.<br />
Conference sessions will<br />
feature industry experts who will<br />
share their experience of technologies,<br />
innovations, strategies,<br />
mindset and business models<br />
(e.g. public-private partnerships)<br />
to improve operations and boost<br />
revenue. An entire session will<br />
dwell on the challenges and future<br />
of tax-free retail shopping, a<br />
major source of non-aeronautical<br />
revenue (NAR).<br />
The advent of Public-private<br />
partnership (PPP) in Africa has<br />
caused a shift in the transformation<br />
of airports into sustainable<br />
business entities and Nigeria is<br />
not left behind. In recent years,<br />
Nigeria has engaged in the PPP<br />
practice and has witness good<br />
success. We are working tirelessly<br />
to ensure that our airports are<br />
viable and self-sustaining hence<br />
this is the perfect time for Nigeria<br />
to host this prestigious event.<br />
One challenge African airports<br />
have tackled lately is safety. This<br />
has led to the initiation of the<br />
globally acknowledged Airport<br />
Excellence (APEX) in safety programme.<br />
This has recorded great<br />
achievements with a drastic decrease<br />
in the number of incidents<br />
and accidents in Africa.<br />
In Nigeria, ACI has been of<br />
tremendous assistance in the certification<br />
process of the Lagos and<br />
Abuja airports through the APEX<br />
in safety programme which helped<br />
us identify safety gaps in our aerodromes.<br />
In recognition of the role<br />
played by ACI and in FAAN’s bid<br />
to ensure safety in our airports,<br />
we have commenced the APEX in<br />
safety programme in other of our<br />
international airports—Port Harcourt,<br />
Kano, Enugu and Kaduna.<br />
In addition, Nigeria is currently<br />
seeking investments in the<br />
various industries especially in the<br />
aviation industry. This conference<br />
will afford investors first-hand<br />
information about the needs and<br />
opportunities in the Nigerian aviation<br />
sector.<br />
Part of the aim of the conference<br />
is to allow our guests experience<br />
Nigeria, our beautiful culture,<br />
people, arts and crafts and all that<br />
we have to offer. A social day has<br />
been planned for the delegates<br />
which involves visits to unique<br />
tourist sites in Lagos state.<br />
Hosting such a world class<br />
event will showcase Nigeria to the<br />
world. We at FAAN are delighted to<br />
host global and regional aviation<br />
experts and giants of the industry<br />
where knowledge and experiences<br />
will be shared, strategies developed,<br />
networks formed, and investments<br />
opportunities achieved.<br />
Send reactions to:<br />
comment@businessdayonline.com<br />
The water crisis can’t wait!<br />
IJEOMA NWAGWU<br />
Dr. Nwagwu, is a Faculty member of<br />
the Lagos Business School<br />
The issues we face are so<br />
big and the targets are so<br />
challenging that we cannot<br />
do it alone. When you look<br />
at any issue, such as food or water<br />
scarcity, it is very clear that no individual<br />
institution, government or<br />
company can provide the solution.<br />
Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever<br />
Today, 22 <strong>Mar</strong>ch, is World Water<br />
Day on the United Nations calendar.<br />
This year’s theme, ‘Nature for<br />
Water’ aims to drive nature-based<br />
solutions to water crisis especially<br />
in areas where grey infrastructure<br />
is impractical or costly. Today, 36%<br />
(2.5 billion) of the world’s population<br />
is affected by water scarcity;<br />
2 billion people globally are compelled<br />
to drink unsafe water, 700<br />
million people worldwide face the<br />
risk of displacement by intense water<br />
scarcity by 2030, and by 2050. In<br />
Nigeria alone, UNICEF reports that<br />
over 70 million people do not have<br />
access to safe drinking water. The<br />
National Bureau of Statistics reports<br />
that 42.1% of households in Kano<br />
lack access to safe drinking water.<br />
In Lagos, only 8.9% have improved<br />
water sources. And across the country,<br />
less than 61% of the population<br />
have access to running water.<br />
The water crisis is a business risk<br />
extraordinaire, water scarcity and<br />
pollution impacts the capacity of<br />
individuals and whole communities<br />
to create and subscribe to value.<br />
In response to this crisis business<br />
must join hands with other sectors<br />
to ensure water is managed sustainably<br />
and as a shared and public<br />
resource. As we witness in Cape<br />
Town, South Africa, severe drought<br />
combines with trends of industrialization<br />
and urbanization serve to<br />
produce a massive water crisis. This<br />
picturesque city of 4 million people<br />
is to become the first major modern<br />
city to completely run dry.<br />
How can we better manage<br />
water?<br />
Approaches to water management<br />
require understanding of<br />
the resource issue from various<br />
perspectives. African water basins<br />
are trans-boundary in nature, but<br />
laws are too weak to foster efficient<br />
water management.Interestingly,<br />
water waste is highest where water<br />
is scarce! In the remote villages,<br />
where there arewater basins, water<br />
is used less efficiently; water pollution<br />
and related disease outbreak<br />
are common. In the growing cities,<br />
demand for safe water is rising to<br />
among rapidly expanding urban<br />
populationsdrifting in from the<br />
countryside. From the industry<br />
perspective, efficiency implies reduction<br />
in water wastage and efforts to<br />
sustainably provide clean water and<br />
sanitation facilities to communities<br />
through corporate social responsibility<br />
(CSR). Given these multiple<br />
scenes of action there is an urgent<br />
need for collaboration on water<br />
governance:corporations, governments<br />
and business have to not only<br />
look in toenhance water stewardship<br />
in their operations but join hands<br />
ensuresustainable water management<br />
based on three principles:<br />
social equity, economic efficiency,<br />
and ecological sustainability.<br />
What is business doing?<br />
Industrial activities put strain<br />
on water reserves in at least two<br />
simple ways: competition for water<br />
resource and external effects of grey<br />
water disposal. Some industries have<br />
developed internal targets to reduce<br />
water use in production e.g. Nigerian<br />
Breweries by 25% and Guinness by<br />
50%. Some adoptforward integration<br />
in bottled water production as an<br />
additional businessoff their core production<br />
process. Examples include<br />
Coca-Cola with Eva water, PepsiCo<br />
with Aquafina and Nestlé with Pure-<br />
life. Still others, clustered in the<br />
trade zones are trying integrated<br />
methods by sharing ancillary services<br />
and management of utilities,<br />
exchange of water bye-products for<br />
cleaning, agriculture, irrigation, fireextinguishing<br />
etc. These integrated<br />
approachescould reduce wastewater<br />
disposal into the environment<br />
and also optimize post-industrial<br />
usage. It is important to go further<br />
to invest systemically in recycling<br />
plastic packaging and bottles which<br />
pollute natural landscapes and waterways.<br />
Water can also be reused<br />
in other production processes, depending<br />
on the initial use.<br />
Corporate social responsibility<br />
Awareness campaigns and water<br />
provision is communities are other<br />
ways business can address the water<br />
crisis. A number of businesses have<br />
embarked on water campaigns in local<br />
communities across Nigeria to educate<br />
about the values and management of<br />
water. In Nigeria, Nestlé’s WET (Water<br />
Education for Teachers) is one example.<br />
In addition to awareness campaigns,<br />
there are also CSR projects on water<br />
provision in communities e.g. Nigeria<br />
Breweries’ solar-powered boreholes<br />
project, TGI Group’s water treatment<br />
plants, Guinness Water Health Centre<br />
and ‘Water of Life’ Scheme etc. Some<br />
of these businesses also have internal<br />
policies targeted at reducing water consumption<br />
in their production processes<br />
so as to reduce pressure on water due<br />
to urbanization and industrialization.<br />
The next sequent step of engagement<br />
is increasing collaboration between<br />
businesses, communities, civil society<br />
actors and government to ensure that<br />
water solutions are sufficiently joined-up<br />
and sustainable.<br />
In conclusion, the status quo<br />
shows individual business efforts<br />
and progress. There is need for<br />
greater harmony in the approach to<br />
water management. At a higher level,<br />
it is important to establish effective<br />
domestic water governance initiatives<br />
to manage water infrastructure,<br />
track water data, develop rules, and<br />
ensure compliance to water policies.<br />
There is also room for funding for<br />
innovation and technology in water<br />
management,to address the gap in<br />
service delivery and improve access<br />
to safe water. A decentralized system<br />
of wastewater treatment, an integrated<br />
approach to water management<br />
in communities, mass education<br />
for efficient use of water at source,<br />
creating enabling environment for<br />
investment in water, are key business<br />
initiatives to ensure clean and<br />
safe water for a sustainable world.<br />
We must join hands towards this<br />
common cause recognizing, as late<br />
Afrobeat Legend Fela Anikulapo-<br />
Kuti sang, “Water no get enemy.”<br />
Send reactions to:<br />
comment@businessdayonline.com
12 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556 Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
EDITORIAL<br />
PUBLISHER/CEO<br />
Frank Aigbogun<br />
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF<br />
Prof. Onwuchekwa Jemie<br />
EDITOR<br />
Anthony Osae-Brown<br />
DEPUTY EDITORS<br />
John Osadolor, Abuja<br />
Bill Okonedo<br />
NEWS EDITOR<br />
Patrick Atuanya<br />
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,<br />
SALES AND MARKETING<br />
Kola Garuba<br />
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS<br />
Fabian Akagha<br />
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DIGITAL SERVICES<br />
Oghenevwoke Ighure<br />
ADVERT MANAGER<br />
Adeola Ajewole<br />
MANAGER, SYSTEMS & CONTROL<br />
Emeka Ifeanyi<br />
HEAD OF SALES, CONFERENCES<br />
Rerhe Idonije<br />
SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER<br />
Patrick Ijegbai<br />
CIRCULATION MANAGER<br />
John Okpaire<br />
GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)<br />
Bashir Ibrahim Hassan<br />
GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (South)<br />
Ignatius Chukwu<br />
HEAD, HUMAN RESOURCES<br />
Adeola Obisesan<br />
Drama and joy over Dapchi girls<br />
Joy returned to Dapchi<br />
town, Yobe State on<br />
Wednesday, 21 <strong>Mar</strong>ch<br />
<strong>2018</strong>. Boko Haram returned105<br />
of the 110 girls<br />
abducted from the Government<br />
Girls Science and Technical College<br />
on February 19. There is as<br />
yet no clear explanation on what<br />
happened to the remainder,<br />
even as the freed students said<br />
five of their mates died in the<br />
course of the abduction.<br />
We rejoice with the Dapchi<br />
community on this good news.<br />
We are happy that it did not<br />
take long for them to enjoy once<br />
again the comfort of the girls in<br />
their families. We pray for the<br />
return of the remainder of the<br />
missing girls.<br />
The Dapchi abduction and<br />
return are full of drama and lessons.<br />
It is a narrative that Nigeria<br />
and the international community<br />
will interrogate deeply for many<br />
seasons to come. We also hope<br />
that it would be the last of its kind.<br />
The return of the abducted<br />
girls happened following<br />
three significant events. First,<br />
President Muhammadu Buhari<br />
finally visited the school on<br />
Wednesday, <strong>Mar</strong>ch 14. Buhari<br />
said he had directed the Nigerian<br />
Army and the Airforce to carry<br />
out full-scale aerial and ground<br />
surveillance of the vicinity to<br />
ensure the return of the girls.<br />
The president said Nigeria had<br />
chosen “negotiations” rather<br />
than the use of force to assure the<br />
safe return of the girls.<br />
Before then, Mama Boko Haram,<br />
Aisha Wakil, stepped forward<br />
to confirm the seizure of the girls<br />
by the Barnawi faction of Boko<br />
Haram and their willingness to<br />
negotiate and return them. Aisha<br />
Wakil served in the Dialogue and<br />
Peaceful Resolution of Security<br />
Challenges Committee set up by<br />
the last Government to tackle<br />
aspects of the Boko Haram challenge.<br />
Her announcement and<br />
offer came as the Federal Government<br />
reportedly extended the<br />
search for the girls to neighbouring<br />
Chad and Niger as well as<br />
Cameroun.<br />
Some 48 hours before the return,<br />
international civil liberties<br />
organisation Amnesty International<br />
stepped into the matter<br />
by accusing the Nigerian Army<br />
of negligence and dereliction of<br />
duty in the case of the abduction.<br />
Amnesty pointedly accused the Nigerian<br />
Army and the Nigerian Police<br />
Force of deliberately ignoring<br />
the warning of the plans of Boko<br />
Haram to visit the community. The<br />
Army instead moved away a few<br />
days before the abduction.<br />
Amnesty International’s Nigeria<br />
Office stated in a report of<br />
<strong>Mar</strong>ch 19that the military failed<br />
to respond when it was alerted to<br />
a convoy of Boko Haram heading<br />
towards Government Girls Science<br />
and Technical College in Dapchi,<br />
Yobe State, in the afternoon of February<br />
19. It said testimonies from<br />
credible sources indicated that the<br />
army and the police received multiple<br />
emergency calls up to four<br />
hours before the attackers reached<br />
Dapchi, but did not respond.<br />
“Evidence available to Amnesty<br />
International suggests that there<br />
are insufficient troops deployed<br />
in the area and that an absence of<br />
patrols and the failure to respond<br />
to warnings and engage with Boko<br />
Haram contributed to this tragedy,<br />
said OsaiOjigho, head of Amnesty<br />
International in Nigeria.<br />
The Nigerian Army reacted with<br />
injured pride and considerable<br />
anger. Director of Army Public<br />
Relations Brig General John Agim<br />
denied the allegation and accused<br />
Amnesty International of deliberate<br />
falsehood and incitement of<br />
citizens against the Army. “It is<br />
pertinent to state that most of their<br />
narratives are outright falsehood<br />
and a calculated attempt to whip<br />
up sentiments and mislead unsuspecting<br />
Nigerians. To demoralise<br />
friendly nations and people collaborating<br />
with security forces to<br />
end the forces of evil in the North-<br />
East. For the avoidance of doubts,<br />
no security force was informed of<br />
Dapchi schoolgirls abduction as<br />
alleged by Amnesty International.”<br />
Nigerians recall that at the time<br />
of the abduction, the Army and<br />
the Police engaged in a claim and<br />
counter-claim: the Army said it<br />
handed over to the Nigerian Police<br />
before leaving Dapchi in January<br />
and the Police said there was no<br />
such information or exchange.<br />
Twenty four hours after the<br />
exchange between Amnesty International<br />
and the Nigerian Army,<br />
the Dapchi girls returned to their<br />
parents in a manner as dramatic<br />
as their abduction. Early photographs<br />
from the scene show each<br />
of the girls had luggage while the<br />
residents waved flags to the departing<br />
abductors.<br />
Information Minister Lai Mohammed<br />
has claimed that the return<br />
of the girls was unconditional<br />
while other reports say Nigeria<br />
returned their soldiers to Boko<br />
Haram in return for the girls.<br />
There are lessons in better management<br />
of the security of schools<br />
and public spaces in the North East.<br />
With so much money budgeted, Nigeria<br />
needs to ensure that schools<br />
are safe and enabling.UNICEF<br />
claims that since 2009 when Boko<br />
Haram insurgency started, “over<br />
2,295 teachers have been killed and<br />
19,000 displaced, and almost 1,400<br />
schools destroyed.” Boko Haram<br />
seems to be winning the psychological<br />
war on the education of girls<br />
in the North East.<br />
The Federal Government needs<br />
to do more to erase lingering<br />
doubts about the Boko Haram<br />
matter and these abductions. Too<br />
many aspects of the narrative do<br />
not add up. Even so, we rejoice<br />
with the Dapchi community and<br />
all Nigerians as the Dapchi Girls<br />
resettle into their communities.<br />
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD<br />
Dick Kramer - Chairman<br />
Imo Itsueli<br />
Mohammed Hayatudeen<br />
Albert Alos<br />
Funke Osibodu<br />
Afolabi Oladele<br />
Dayo Lawuyi<br />
Vincent Maduka<br />
Wole Obayomi<br />
Maneesh Garg<br />
Keith Richards<br />
Opeyemi Agbaje<br />
Amina Oyagbola<br />
Bolanle Onagoruwa<br />
Fola Laoye<br />
Chuka Mordi<br />
Sim Shagaya<br />
Mezuo Nwuneli<br />
Emeka Emuwa<br />
Charles Anudu<br />
Tunji Adegbesan<br />
Eyo Ekpo<br />
ENQUIRIES<br />
NEWS ROOM<br />
08022<strong>23</strong>8495<br />
08034009034}Lagos<br />
08033160837 Abuja<br />
ADVERTISING<br />
01-2799110<br />
08116759801<br />
08082496194<br />
SUBSCRIPTIONS<br />
01-2799101<br />
07032496069<br />
07054563299<br />
www.businessdayonline.com<br />
The Brook,<br />
6 Point Road, GRA, Apapa,<br />
Lagos, Nigeria.<br />
01-2799100<br />
LEGAL ADVISERS<br />
The Law Union<br />
MISSION<br />
STATEMENT<br />
To be a diversified<br />
provider of superior<br />
business, financial and<br />
management intelligence<br />
across platforms accessible<br />
to our customers<br />
anywhere in the world.<br />
OUR CORE VALUES<br />
<strong>BusinessDay</strong> avidly thrives on the mainstay of our core values of being The Fourth Estate, Credible, Independent,<br />
Entrepreneurial and Purpose-Driven.<br />
• The Fourth Estate: We take pride in being guarantors of liberal economic thought<br />
• Credible: We believe in the principle of being objective, fair and fact-based<br />
• Independent: Our quest for liberal economic thought means that we are independent of private and public interests.<br />
• Entrepreneurial: We constantly search for new opportunities, maintaining the highest ethical standards in all we do<br />
• Purpose-Driven: We are committed to assembling a team of highly talented and motivated people that share<br />
our vision, while treating them with respect and fairness.<br />
www.businessdayonline.com
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
13<br />
CITYFile<br />
Charles Aigbe, divisional head,<br />
brand and communications,<br />
Fidelity Bank plc, lecturing<br />
students of Government Day<br />
Secondary School Adankolo,<br />
Lokoja, Kogi State on “Money<br />
matters matter” during the<br />
Financial Literacy Day.<br />
Why communities must join fight<br />
against pipeline vandalism – FG<br />
JOSHUA BASSEY<br />
The Federal Government says the<br />
involvement of local communities<br />
in its Disaster Risk Reduction<br />
(DRR) project is required<br />
to successfully tackle pipeline<br />
vandalism and its socio-economic consequences.<br />
Pipeline vandalism, a willful act of<br />
damaging petroleum pipelines mostly<br />
with the motive to steal crude oil and associated<br />
petroleum products, is a regular<br />
occurrence in Nigeria.<br />
Pipeline vandalism with associated oil<br />
spillage is seen as one of the major contributors<br />
to pollution and environmental<br />
degradation in oil rich Niger Delta areas of<br />
the country. The illegal practice has over<br />
the years destroyed arable land for agriculture<br />
and caused huge economic losses in<br />
terms of revenue to the government<br />
Peter Idabor, the director-general of<br />
National Oil Spill Detection and Response<br />
Agency (NOSDRA), at a public sentisation<br />
campaign on dangers of pipeline vandalism,<br />
which held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State,<br />
recently, said there was the need for an<br />
effective collaboration between oil bearing<br />
communities and government to check<br />
the negative effects of pipeline vandalism.<br />
Idabor, represented by Simon Ugbe, a director<br />
at NOSDRA, said that the agency planned<br />
Police nab 4 suspected rustlers, recover 176 cows<br />
The police have arrested four suspected<br />
rustlers, recovered 176 cows<br />
and 64 sheep at Bakoro village in<br />
Nasarawa local government area of<br />
Nasarawa State.<br />
Kennedy Idirisu, police public relations officer,<br />
in Nasarawa, disclosed this to newsmen,<br />
Wednesday in Lafia, the state capital. Idirisu<br />
said the arrest followed a joint operation by<br />
the counter-terrorism unit of the police with<br />
the federal and state anti-robbery squad.<br />
According to him, the operation was<br />
necessitated by increased reports of cattle<br />
rustling and armed robbery along Nasarawa-<br />
Toto axis of the state. Investigations, he said,<br />
revealed that most of the cows recovered<br />
to expand the scope of the DRR project to all<br />
communities in the Niger Delta region.<br />
According to him, the pilot scheme of<br />
the DRR plan, which was carried out in<br />
Rivers and Bayelsa between 2014 and 2015<br />
by NOSDRA, recorded a huge success.<br />
Idabor said government was ready to<br />
sustain the sensitisation, engagement and<br />
empowerment of all stakeholders in the efforts<br />
to curb vandalism. He called on stakeholders<br />
in oil-producing communities to<br />
see oil pipelines in their communities as<br />
their project and be willing to protect such<br />
facilities and the environment.<br />
“The agency is dedicated to expanding<br />
the scope of the DRR project to all the communities<br />
of the Niger Delta and driving it<br />
through a strategy, which is the continuous<br />
sensitisation, engagement and empowerment<br />
of all stakeholders.<br />
“I, therefore, urge you to cooperate<br />
with the government to make this project<br />
more successful and memorable. It must<br />
be stressed that the mitigation of disasters<br />
by promoting collaboration with our local<br />
communities will enhance sustainable<br />
development and reduce level of poverty<br />
in the Niger Delta region,” he said.<br />
He emphasised that the DRR would<br />
be a community-driven, communityimplemented,<br />
community-monitored and<br />
community-evaluated project.<br />
According to him, the DRR plan was<br />
from the suspects were rustled from Zamfara,<br />
Sokoto and Niger.<br />
The spokesperson said that the leader<br />
of the gang, Sani Tawani, had confessed to<br />
the crime, saying that he usually stopped<br />
at major towns after each operation to sell<br />
some of the animals at cheap prices.<br />
“Sani confessed that majority of the cattle<br />
were stolen from Zamfara through Birningwari<br />
and down to his camp in Bakoro village<br />
in Nasarawa.”<br />
He said the police was investigating to<br />
ascertain the level of involvement of the<br />
suspects in other cases of rustling in parts<br />
of Niger and Zamfara. He also said that the<br />
police was on the trail of other suspects,<br />
developed by NOSDRA to create and<br />
sustain an interface with stakeholders in<br />
efforts to curb pipeline vandalism across<br />
the country.<br />
“While it is true that crude oil is spilled<br />
into the environment due to equipment<br />
failure or pipeline vandalism by unscrupulous<br />
elements; it also contributes largely to<br />
the menace that results in adverse socioeconomic,<br />
health and environmental<br />
conditions.”<br />
Iniobong Essien, commissioner for<br />
environment and mineral resources, Akwa<br />
Ibom, said that environmental pollution<br />
and ecosystem damage by oil spills should<br />
be discouraged by communities.<br />
Essien noted that the communitybased<br />
disaster risk management approach<br />
would strengthen stakeholders’ engagement<br />
and facilitate peaceful co-existence<br />
between the host communities and oilproducing<br />
companies.<br />
The DRR project, he said, was a departure<br />
from the past where communities affected<br />
by oil spills were not allowed to participate<br />
in the remediation programmes.<br />
Essien called on the communities to<br />
embrace the DRR plan, adding that the<br />
plan would help to unite the communities<br />
in understanding the risks as well as<br />
engender their input in preparedness,<br />
instigation and preventive actions against<br />
pipeline vandalism.<br />
who escaped with bullet wounds during<br />
the operation.<br />
“The suspects engaged the police during<br />
the operation, but due to superior fire power,<br />
the police was able to subdue them and<br />
arrest four. We also recovered some empty<br />
shell of 7.62mm ammunition purely meant<br />
for AK 47 and AK 49 riffles,” Idirisu added.<br />
The police spokesman said that a locally<br />
made gun and seven motorcycles were also<br />
recovered from the suspects.<br />
Audu Balingo, owner of some of the cows,<br />
who is from Zamfara, said he could only<br />
identify five among those recovered. He said<br />
that 50 of his cows were stolen from his base<br />
in December 2017.<br />
Buhari to chair 10th Bola<br />
Tinubu colloquium<br />
JOSHUA BASSEY<br />
President Muhammadu Buhari is<br />
expected to other Nigerians to Lagos<br />
next Thursday as chairman of the 10th<br />
Bola Tinubu colloquium to commemorate<br />
the 66th birthday of the former governor of<br />
Lagos.<br />
According a statement signed by Tunji<br />
Bello, secretary to the Lagos State government,<br />
this year’s event, with the theme: “investing<br />
in people” holds at the Eko Convention<br />
Centre, Victoria Island, and is expected<br />
to bring together stakeholders including<br />
policy makers, academics and members of<br />
the civil society groups.<br />
It is expected that the gathering at which<br />
Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode<br />
would be the chief host would provide a talk<br />
shop for attendees to tell the unique Nigerian<br />
story of what it means for the government<br />
to act as a social investor in the affairs of its<br />
people.<br />
According to the state, the colloquium<br />
will ascertain whether the quest for the<br />
government to act as a social investor can be<br />
regarded as campaign slogan or a mere ideology<br />
with no incremental/socio-economic<br />
benefits.<br />
The gathering will also debate whether<br />
such decision by government should be<br />
regarded as a necessary policy action which<br />
the nation must embrace if she must witness<br />
any real development.<br />
The yearly event has become a veritable<br />
ground for sharing knowledge, experiences<br />
and information around socio- economic<br />
issues and addressing the common governance<br />
challenges confronting Nigeria.<br />
Last year, the topic was “make it in Nigeria”<br />
and it provided avenue to examine critically<br />
how Nigerians can look inwards and<br />
use what they produce while also ensuring<br />
that they produce what they use.<br />
At the 8th edition which took place in<br />
Abuja in 2016, the theme was “agriculture:<br />
action, work, revolution while in 2015 at<br />
the seventh edition, the organisers chose<br />
change: how it will work”.<br />
Ready-Set-Work: Lagos begins<br />
training of 25,000 undergraduates<br />
Lagos government has begun the sensitisation<br />
of 25,000 undergraduates<br />
selected for its graduate employment<br />
training scheme tagged ‘Ready-Set-Work.<br />
The state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode,<br />
at the commencement of the sensitisation<br />
programme held at Lagos State University<br />
(LASU), Ojo campus, said that his administration<br />
decided to upscale the scheme to<br />
accommodate 25, 000 students, higher than<br />
12, 000 trained in 2017.<br />
Represented by Obafela Bank-Olemoh,<br />
his special adviser on education, Ambode<br />
said that the expansion of the programme<br />
was a reflection of his administration’s allinclusive<br />
policy and aimed at preparing the<br />
undergraduates for the world of work.<br />
“You can change your own life because<br />
the Ready-Set-Work scheme offers you a lot<br />
of opportunity. There is case of visually impaired<br />
who participated in the programme.<br />
Today, she has been employed. This programme<br />
is a demonstration of government’s<br />
commitment to ensure that our graduates<br />
meet the need of the labour market.<br />
“I can assure you your life will never<br />
remain the same after the 13 weeks of the<br />
training. During the training, attendance is<br />
a must and you must be seated by 8:45am.<br />
At least you must attend the class for a<br />
minimum of 11 Weeks otherwise you can’t<br />
proceed with your colleagues. All these are<br />
to prepare you for the challenges of labour<br />
market,” the governor said.
14 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
MoneyInsight<br />
Personal Finance: Investing Retirement Taxes Credit Cards Home Buying Small Business Shopping Financing<br />
Five things to consider when<br />
choosing data centre in Nigeria<br />
FRANK ELEANYA<br />
The data centre<br />
market in Nigeria<br />
is picking up as<br />
more businesses<br />
embrace the culture<br />
of outsourcing storage of<br />
their information against the<br />
former practice of housing<br />
them in their servers. Nigeria<br />
currently boasts of data centre<br />
companies have emerged<br />
as the leaders of the market<br />
both within the country and<br />
across the African continent<br />
in terms of the quality of data<br />
infrastructure they posses.<br />
For a definition, a data<br />
centre refers to a facility that<br />
centralises an organisation’s<br />
information technology (IT)<br />
operations and equipment,<br />
as well as where it stores,<br />
manages, and disseminates<br />
its data.<br />
They have existed in<br />
one form or another since<br />
the coming of computers.<br />
From the days of room-sized<br />
computers to when the<br />
equipment got smaller and<br />
cheaper, and data processing<br />
needs began to expand, data<br />
storage have always been<br />
integral to the success of a<br />
business. In the early days,<br />
data was stored in clustered<br />
Coscharis’ rice production secures investment through Sahel capital<br />
CALEB OJEWALE<br />
The rice production<br />
arm of Cosharis<br />
Group which has a<br />
2,500 ha farm in Anambra<br />
state is getting a boost as<br />
Sahel Capital concludes<br />
funding arrangements<br />
with the company, to<br />
boost capacity and output<br />
in local rice production.<br />
Though the actual sum<br />
involved in the deal remains<br />
undisclosed, Sahel<br />
Capital, which manages<br />
the Fund for Agricultural<br />
Finance in Nigeria (“FA-<br />
FIN”), with $66million<br />
in investable capital, disclosed<br />
in a statement made<br />
available to <strong>BusinessDay</strong><br />
that “definitive agreements<br />
have been executed for an<br />
investment in Coscharis<br />
Farms Limited, a subsidiary<br />
of Coscharis Group.”<br />
Coscharis Farms is an<br />
integrated rice processor<br />
that started operations in<br />
2014, targeting Nigeria’s<br />
estimated 6.3 million MT<br />
annual rice demand. The<br />
farm is said to currently<br />
servers and related equipment<br />
housed in a room.<br />
Most companies still have<br />
some of these servers. But<br />
a significant number of organisations<br />
are beginning to<br />
realise the need to outsource<br />
their data storage needs to<br />
a more qualified entity that<br />
will ensure safety, reliability<br />
and availability.<br />
As a business, choosing<br />
the right data centre can<br />
and should be an important<br />
decision. Hence, we have<br />
selected five tips that will<br />
help you make the decision<br />
process easier.<br />
Location<br />
One thing you will learn real<br />
fast when hunting for the<br />
best suitable data centre is<br />
that where it is located is<br />
very important. The facility<br />
location goes a long way<br />
to determine how safe the<br />
data you are importing will<br />
be. One of the major promises<br />
of outsourcing your data<br />
storage needs is for peace of<br />
mind in your business. You<br />
do not want a place that is<br />
prone to manmade or natural<br />
disasters. Choose data<br />
centres with risk mitigation<br />
from disasters.<br />
There is also cost implication<br />
and proximity to put in<br />
have 2,500ha of land for<br />
rice cultivation, and is in<br />
the process of installing a<br />
40,000 MT per year rice<br />
mill and an irrigation system<br />
on its farm to enable<br />
multi-cycle rice cultivation.<br />
Both are expected to<br />
be completed by the fourth<br />
quarter of <strong>2018</strong>. Coscharis<br />
Farms also plans to incorporate<br />
a robust farmer<br />
out-grower development<br />
programme within Ayamelum,<br />
Anambra State, and<br />
neighbouring communities<br />
to reach 2,000 farmers<br />
that could provide rice<br />
paddy to its mill when<br />
completed.<br />
Cosmas Maduka, president/CEO,<br />
Coscharis<br />
Group and chairman of<br />
Coscharis Farms said of<br />
the investment that, “We<br />
are excited to welcome<br />
Sahel Capital and FAFIN<br />
into our fold. We have set<br />
out to build a company<br />
that is not only an industry<br />
leader, but one that will<br />
also provide economic opportunities<br />
for smallholder<br />
farmers and young people<br />
mind with regards to location.<br />
Many organisations in<br />
the financial sector cannot<br />
function without fast access<br />
to their core applications.<br />
Apps may not mind<br />
where they are but they do<br />
care about latency – close<br />
proximity to the end-user.<br />
For most banks and other<br />
financial companies, their<br />
head of offices are located<br />
in Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki<br />
and environs, locations<br />
which form the main business<br />
and financial centre of<br />
Lagos State, and extension,<br />
Nigeria. The data centre to<br />
serve this critical sector must<br />
thus reside within the same<br />
location, to mitigate latency<br />
issues, network and data<br />
security concerns and fibre<br />
in Anambra State. The Sahel<br />
Capital team have already<br />
demonstrated their<br />
ability to add value to our<br />
operations over the past<br />
12 months, and we look<br />
forward to their support as<br />
we continue to expand our<br />
operations.”<br />
Mezuo Nwuneli, managing<br />
partner, Sahel Capital,<br />
also commenting on<br />
the investment, said, “The<br />
investment in Coscharis<br />
Farms allows us to invest<br />
in an integrated rice platform<br />
which can be scaled<br />
up to meet the staple food<br />
requirements of Nigerians.<br />
FAFIN’s investment will<br />
provide the Company with<br />
the resources it needs to<br />
invest in critical infrastructure<br />
for both its farming<br />
and milling operations as<br />
it further expands over the<br />
next two years.”<br />
Godwin Umeaka, managing<br />
director, Coscharis<br />
Farms said “FAFIN’s investment<br />
has come at a time<br />
when we are ready to scale<br />
up our operations quite<br />
significantly.”<br />
connectivity constraints.<br />
Reliability<br />
Nigeria is notorious for is<br />
electricity failure problems,<br />
especially at the distribution/<br />
lastmile level, which causes<br />
downtime in power generation.<br />
You do not want that<br />
for your business. Although<br />
around the world, Tier IV<br />
data centres has the most<br />
robust option and overall<br />
less prone to fires, Nigeria<br />
however has a few Tier III<br />
data centres that has the<br />
same capabilities. These Tier<br />
III facilities have capacities to<br />
guarantee 100 percent reliability<br />
and uptime of all critical<br />
resources. Some data centres<br />
in Nigeria have invested<br />
into direct grid connections,<br />
Earlier in 2016 during a<br />
visit to the farm, Umeaka,<br />
had told <strong>BusinessDay</strong> that<br />
the farm is projected to expand<br />
into 10, 000 hectares<br />
as part of its future plans,<br />
which also included the establishment<br />
of a rice milling<br />
and processing facility.<br />
The joint statement by<br />
Sahel and Coscharis also<br />
stated that; with the investment<br />
in Coscharis Farms,<br />
coupled with multiple power<br />
options which ensure 100%<br />
uptime.<br />
Scalability<br />
Before you sign the dotted<br />
lines, consider that your business<br />
is growing, hence do you<br />
think the data centre you are<br />
aligning with will grow with<br />
you? Be sure to settle for a<br />
data centre that offers different<br />
levels of flexibility to<br />
meet your changing needs<br />
– from additional space to<br />
power and even connectivity.<br />
A couple of data centre<br />
businesses in Nigeria are<br />
currently carrying out expansion<br />
projects. For instance,<br />
MainOne’s Data Centre subsidiary,<br />
MDXI has committed<br />
significant amount of funds<br />
to expanding their facilities<br />
and presence in other parts<br />
of the country such as Lagos,<br />
Sagamu and other parts of<br />
West Africa. Your data Centre<br />
should also be able to host<br />
your infrastructure without<br />
having to invest in new<br />
hardware.<br />
the Board of Directors is<br />
being reconstituted to include<br />
two independent<br />
directors: HRM Igwe Nnaemeka<br />
Alfred Achebe, Agbogidi,<br />
the Obi of Onitsha,<br />
and Kanayo Nwanze, the<br />
immediate former President<br />
of the International<br />
Fund for Agricultural Development<br />
(IFAD). Mezuo<br />
Nwuneli will also join the<br />
Board, along with a second<br />
Connectivity<br />
When choosing a data centre,<br />
it is important to align with<br />
one that is carrier-neutral,<br />
that way you are not limited<br />
to one or a few network carriers.<br />
A carrier-neutral facility<br />
gives your business access to<br />
multiple global carriers. They<br />
also enable you to have direct<br />
connection to the network<br />
provider that best suits your<br />
business operation. Additionally,<br />
a facility with a diverse<br />
network or submarine<br />
cables can open up the doors<br />
for increased connectivity for<br />
a business, as well as delivery<br />
of a broader variety of available<br />
services from network<br />
providers.<br />
Industry best practice and<br />
high security standards<br />
Recognition of global standards<br />
is often a good point to<br />
note when deciding on a data<br />
centre. There standards such<br />
as the PCI-DSS (Payment<br />
Card Industry Data Security),<br />
ISO27001:2013 (Information<br />
Security Management<br />
System) and ISO 9001:2008<br />
(Quality Management System),<br />
Tier III and TIA 942<br />
standards. If you are in the<br />
financial and payment sector,<br />
you have no business putting<br />
your critical information in a<br />
data center without PCI DSS<br />
as such data centres cannot<br />
protect consumer security<br />
for your clients processing<br />
transactions using credit<br />
cards.<br />
Sahel Capital representative;<br />
and Cosmas Maduka<br />
(Chairman of the Board),<br />
Charity Maduka, and Okey<br />
Nwuke would represent<br />
Coscharis Group on the<br />
board. Godwin Umeaka,<br />
the managing director, and<br />
Rotimi Alashe who recently<br />
joined the company as<br />
chief financial officer will<br />
also be Executive Directors<br />
on the Board.<br />
L-R: Olabanjo Alimi, Sales & <strong>Mar</strong>keting Lead Enyo Retail & supply, Samuel Ochonma, Corporate Communications<br />
Lead, Celebrity Guest Judge Bez, Bosun Tijani CEO CcHub, Abayomi Awobokun CEO Enyo<br />
Retail & Supply, Emeka Okoye CEO Cymantiks Sqauting L-R, David Voke Enyo Pay, Job Oyebisi Enyo<br />
SCP and Kenechukwu Ukachukwu Awoof9ja during the Enyo CcHub Hackerthon in Lagos.
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
COMPANIES<br />
& MARKETS<br />
Company news analysis and insight<br />
BUSINESS<br />
DAY<br />
15<br />
Trojan introduces Solar<br />
batteries into Nigerian<br />
market<br />
Pg. 16<br />
NIPC says fresh $5.4bn investments coming<br />
to Ogun as focus shifts to solid minerals<br />
RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta<br />
Executive secretary of Nigeria<br />
Investment Promotion<br />
Commission (NIPC),<br />
Yewande Sadiku, has disclosed<br />
that some new<br />
foreign investors have shown interest<br />
to inject $5.4 billion in various<br />
sectors of Ogun state economy in<br />
the next few years, saying the investments<br />
are part of new foreign direct<br />
investments recently tracked by the<br />
Commission.<br />
Sadiku explained that NIPC<br />
whose core objectives are to attract,<br />
promote and co-ordinate investments<br />
in the country, both local<br />
and foreign, has tracked $5.4 billion<br />
fresh investments which are still at<br />
the announcement stage and could<br />
only be translated into real investments<br />
in few years if required critical<br />
infrastructures were put in place by<br />
government.<br />
The Executive Secretary of NIPC,<br />
who moderated at one of the discourses<br />
held in Abeokuta during<br />
the concluding part of <strong>2018</strong> Ogun<br />
State Investors’ Forum, tagged, “Industrial<br />
Hub: From No.1 in Nigeria<br />
to No.1 in Africa” on Wednesday,<br />
noted that the fresh investments<br />
announced by NIPC would be based<br />
on petrol-chemical, agriculture,<br />
solid minerals, oil and gas, manufacturing,<br />
technology, among other<br />
areas.<br />
She however warned that though<br />
several billions of dollars’ worth<br />
of investments had already been<br />
established in Ogun state in the last<br />
seven years, government should not<br />
be complacent in providing needed<br />
critical infrastructures that will con-<br />
vince the prospective investors not<br />
to look elsewhere as they may be<br />
tempted to divert the investments<br />
to other states if what they want is<br />
not met.<br />
“A total of $5.4 billion fresh investments<br />
announcement had been<br />
made by NIPC about Ogun state,<br />
and that can as well be translated<br />
into real investments if necessary<br />
steps are taken to practically domesticate<br />
the investments in the State as<br />
the prospective investors might be<br />
tempted to divert the investments if<br />
necessary infrastructures are not on<br />
ground”, she said.<br />
Corroborating Sadiku’s position<br />
on new investments which are coming<br />
to Ogun state, George Nassar,<br />
managing director of Procter and<br />
Gamble, said although the state government<br />
had fought various bureaucratic<br />
bottlenecks that could have<br />
affected the growth of investments<br />
in the state, he however pointed out<br />
that Ogun State could beat Lagos in<br />
terms of investments and commerce<br />
if infrastructures such as ports and<br />
rails were developed.<br />
George, who was represented<br />
by Temitope Iluyemi, said, “Our<br />
experiences here have been positive,<br />
there is no time we visit any state officials<br />
and His Excellency (Governor<br />
Ibikunle Amosun) for small or big<br />
problems, they always solve them<br />
for us, but I think they need to do<br />
more in the policy making, taxation<br />
and infrastructures.<br />
“You (Ogun) can still get some<br />
business from Lagos and beat Lagos.<br />
You only need to develop ports in<br />
Ogun state and other infrastructures<br />
that attract more investments. You<br />
have ability to develop ports, airport,<br />
L-R: Cletus Ibeto, group managing director, Ibeto Group Limited; Emeka Emuwa, chief executive officer, Union<br />
Bank; Oseloka Obaze, renowned diplomat, politician and author, and Emeka Okonkwo, executive director,<br />
corporate and investment banking, Union Bank, at a forum organised for Union Bank Customers and stakeholders<br />
in Onitsha.<br />
seaport and even rail that make<br />
business easier.”<br />
Responding to the issues raised,<br />
Bimbo Ashiru, Commissioner for<br />
Commerce and Industry, pledged<br />
to start contacting the prospective<br />
investors announced by the NIPC,<br />
saying the choices and interests of<br />
both existing and would-be investors<br />
would be adequately considered<br />
before government embarks on<br />
any infrastructural projects.<br />
He also declared that government<br />
was shifting focus to solid<br />
minerals and mining as next point<br />
of investments in the state, explaining<br />
that Ogun state has 12 industrial<br />
solid minerals that anybody can<br />
consider in the non-oil sector as the<br />
state produces largest tons of solid<br />
minerals in the comity of states in<br />
the country.<br />
He added that the state hosts<br />
35 steel rolling mills and produces<br />
over 20 metric tons of cement annually<br />
going by what Lafarge Africa<br />
PLC, Dangote Cement, Purechem<br />
Industries and some other cement<br />
factories produce, saying the state<br />
produced 16.3 million tons out of<br />
the total 43.4 million tons of solid<br />
minerals, which Nigeria produced<br />
in 2016, representing 37.65 percent.<br />
SystemSpecs’ Remita cleaned up fraud in Benue’s payroll - commissioner<br />
Amaka Anagor-Ewuzie<br />
Benue State Commissioner<br />
for Finance and<br />
Economic Planning, David<br />
Olofu has said that<br />
the engagement of SystemSpecs’<br />
Remita in managing the state’s<br />
salary payment has helped rid the<br />
payroll of fraud.<br />
He also apologised to workers<br />
in the state for the shortfalls<br />
witnessed in the payment of their<br />
January salaries.<br />
Olofu made the statement<br />
while speaking with journalists in<br />
the state capital, Makurdi.<br />
He said that the decision to<br />
engage SystemSpecs, the consultancy<br />
firm that provided the<br />
platform for the salary payment,<br />
was to enable the state clean up<br />
its payroll of fraud.<br />
Recall that about N3.5 billion<br />
salary fraud was uncovered on the<br />
Benue State Civil Service payroll<br />
following a verification exercise<br />
to ascertain the over bloated wage<br />
of the state.<br />
Earlier in the month, during<br />
a hearing at the states’ House of<br />
Assembly, the consultants, Sys-<br />
temSpecs also revealed that 500<br />
duplicate names and over 20 duplicate<br />
Bank Verification Numbers<br />
(BVN) were uncovered through<br />
their robust software.<br />
Olofu said: “It is painful to me<br />
as commissioner for Finance to<br />
start something that I think will<br />
bring relief to us as a state. To me,<br />
it is important to look at what we<br />
have as against the solution we are<br />
presenting and to also look at the<br />
agreement and see if there is any<br />
shady deal. SystemSpecs did not<br />
come from heaven, they have been<br />
recommended.”<br />
He said that the Federal Government<br />
was presently using its<br />
platform, Remita for the payment<br />
of its workers’ salaries.<br />
Olofu insisted that the payment<br />
of salaries needed a platform regardless<br />
of whether the payroll was<br />
prepared by civil servants or not.<br />
“We must always use a platform<br />
for the payment of workers’ salaries,<br />
before this time, we were using<br />
the U-pay platform from UBA.<br />
“When we came in, we discovered<br />
that salaries were paid<br />
through the UBA platform but the<br />
system had many problems, which<br />
included duplication of names<br />
and we wanted to find out where<br />
the problems were coming from.<br />
“We agreed in the ministry to<br />
do a trial with Zenith Bank to see<br />
if the challenges were as a result<br />
of normal banking problems or<br />
were caused by civil servants,<br />
that trial exposed a lot of issues<br />
including duplication of names<br />
on the payroll.”<br />
The software has made enormous<br />
impact on the Nigerian<br />
economy in a relatively short time,<br />
and has attracted a global recognition<br />
for its role in engendering<br />
accountability and transparency<br />
in both private and public sectors.<br />
A total of six states including Kano,<br />
Zamfara, and Benue have adopted<br />
Remita in their payroll management<br />
strategy. At the federal level,<br />
the smooth running of the Treasury<br />
Singly Account (TSA) is also<br />
facilitated by the Remita platform.
16<br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
C002D5556<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
COMPANIES & MARKETS<br />
Trojan introduces Solar<br />
batteries into Nigerian market<br />
HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE<br />
Respites might<br />
be on the way<br />
for many Power<br />
consumers in Nigeria,<br />
as Trojan<br />
Battery Company Limited,<br />
world’s leading manufacturer<br />
of deep-cycle batteries,<br />
introduces a new range of<br />
Solar batteries into the Nigerian<br />
market. A move believed<br />
to boost the current Power<br />
supply in the country.<br />
Among the new products<br />
are the SAGM 06 315 and<br />
SAGM 12 205, coming in collaboration<br />
with its Nigerian<br />
partners, Eauxwell Nigeria<br />
After 10 years of successful<br />
food business,<br />
promoting Nigerian<br />
made dishes and<br />
culture, Natives Hospitality<br />
and Service Limited is planning<br />
a market expansion that<br />
will internalize its flourishing<br />
heritage to different parts of<br />
the Country.<br />
Operating under the name<br />
Ark of XNatives, the one-stop<br />
hospitality company with over<br />
85 staff currently, is an ecofriendly<br />
community that brings<br />
you close to nature and reminiscent<br />
of the beauty of African<br />
heritage.The Ark of XNatives, a<br />
class hospitality and catering<br />
company wholly owned and<br />
managed by Nigerians is located<br />
at 5b, Oju Olobun Close,<br />
Off Idejo Street, VI, Lagos.<br />
Ikenna Eze Uzoamaka, a<br />
chartered accountant and exbanker,<br />
is the Managing Director/CEO<br />
of the company, driving<br />
a vision he said was borne<br />
out of his passion to make good<br />
food and see people eat his<br />
food with joy.<br />
He said his mission is to<br />
Limited.<br />
These batteries are<br />
available in sizes that are<br />
most commonly used for<br />
alternative power sources<br />
in Nigeria, ranging from<br />
6V to 12V models and are<br />
suitable for use in several<br />
applications.<br />
The new line of batteries<br />
is engineered with advanced<br />
technologies for high cycle<br />
life, optimum performance<br />
and rugged durability, which<br />
is a necessity in the Nigerian<br />
power landscape. It delivers<br />
reliable power, and maintains<br />
high capacity throughout<br />
its cycle-life, unlike typical<br />
VRLA batteries.<br />
Speaking at the official<br />
become a household name<br />
in Nigeria and to become first<br />
to take Nigerian best natives<br />
dishes and culture to the rest<br />
of the world.<br />
“Our vision is to constantly<br />
take our dear customers unto<br />
a culinary and cultural journey<br />
back to their roots by providing<br />
them with splendid African and<br />
Continental Cuisines with great<br />
emphasis on Nigeria Native<br />
Dishes in an ambience that<br />
is uniquely and refreshingly<br />
African.”<br />
Ikenna who could not hide<br />
his excitement on the success<br />
of what he started 10 years ago<br />
in a sitting room, cooking for<br />
friends who admired his kind<br />
of food, said he had all the opportunity<br />
to live and work in the<br />
UK where majority of his family<br />
members stay, but resisted the<br />
temptation just to promote<br />
what is made in Nigeria to the<br />
rest of the world.<br />
Speaking on his passion<br />
for the country, Ikenna said<br />
“I noticed that in Nigeria we<br />
have good foods, but we don’t<br />
promote them that much and<br />
you go to other places they<br />
make so much noise about<br />
unveiling of the products,<br />
Edwin Enwegbara, managing<br />
director assured the<br />
public that Trojan Solar<br />
AGM batteries have been<br />
tested over the years and<br />
that Eauxwell remains<br />
committed to providing<br />
technical support in the<br />
region.<br />
Eauxwell Nigeria Limited<br />
distributes the products in<br />
Nigeria, a leading alternate<br />
energy company with the vision<br />
to ensure that constant<br />
energy is delivered in Nigerian<br />
homes and companies<br />
nationwide. Eauxwell is the<br />
official West African master<br />
distributors of Trojan Battery<br />
Company.<br />
Natives Hospitality plans expansion after 10<br />
years of promoting Nigerian food, culture<br />
Modestus Anaesoronye<br />
FG saves N68bn on personnel cost,<br />
captures 511 MDAs under IPPIS<br />
The Minister of Finance,<br />
Kemi Adeosun has disclosed<br />
that the Federal<br />
Government saved<br />
N68 billion on personnel cost<br />
in 2017.<br />
According to her, this brings<br />
the aggregate savings by the<br />
government on personnel cost<br />
since 2007 till date to N288<br />
billion. Adeosun said this in a<br />
statement issued by her Special<br />
Adviser on Media and Communication,<br />
Oluyinka Akintundeon<br />
Wednesday in Abuja.<br />
Akintunde said the minister<br />
disclosed the figures in a presentation<br />
to the Federal Executive<br />
Council. Adeosun said the<br />
money were funds that would<br />
have gone unaccounted for that<br />
were now free for the government<br />
to fund capital projects.<br />
She said the savings were<br />
their food, so, our focus is to<br />
take the best of Nigeria dishes<br />
to the rest of the world. We want<br />
to put Nigeria in the scheme<br />
of things, on the Map. I travel<br />
around the country to get my<br />
cooking staffs, if you go to my<br />
kitchen you will see different<br />
tribes, and over 500 people<br />
have passed through our training<br />
and majority of them have<br />
become successful in their<br />
catering careers.”<br />
“In view of our name, The<br />
Ark of XNatives, our Vision is<br />
to continuously take our dear<br />
customers unto a culinary and<br />
cultural journey back to their<br />
roots; we choose to use the<br />
above periods to promote some<br />
of the rich ancestral heritages<br />
of the 4 major ethnical and<br />
regional settlements in the<br />
country with major emphasis<br />
on some dishes, drinks, fashion<br />
and music peculiar to these<br />
tribes. First weekend of the<br />
month is the Hausa/Fulani<br />
Day, second weekend is Yoruba<br />
day, third weekend is the Niger<br />
Delta Day and fourth weekend<br />
is the Igbo Day while fifth<br />
weekend is The Ark of XNatives<br />
Variety Days”<br />
achieved despite increase in<br />
personnel, including the employment<br />
of 10,000 officers by<br />
the Nigerian Police.<br />
In addition, the minister<br />
said a total of 511 Ministries,<br />
Departments and Agencies<br />
(MDAs) had been captured<br />
under the Integrated Payroll<br />
and Personnel Information<br />
System (IPPIS), with staff count<br />
of 607,843.<br />
L-R: Okhidievbie Oamien Roy, group CEO, August Eye Group Limited; Adebayo Abegunde,<br />
director , virtual technology and new markets, Halogen Security Company and <strong>Mar</strong>tin Gill, founder,<br />
Outstanding Security Performance Awards (OSPAs), while presenting the Outstanding Contract<br />
Security Company (Guarding) Award <strong>2018</strong> to the Halogen during the 2nd edition of Securex<br />
West Africa <strong>2018</strong> in Lagos.<br />
FIRS records 4m new taxpayers,<br />
N700m revenue increase in 2017<br />
The Chairman, Federal<br />
Inland Revenue<br />
Service (FIRS),<br />
Tunde Fowler, said<br />
the Service recorded four million<br />
new taxpayers, including<br />
companies and individuals,<br />
resulting in N700 billion increase<br />
in revenue in 2017.<br />
Fowler said this at the 13th<br />
General Assembly of the West<br />
African Tax Administration<br />
Forum (WATAF) with the<br />
theme: “Enhancing the Revenue<br />
Potential of West Africa”<br />
held on Wednesday in Abuja.<br />
The chairman said in the<br />
past two years, the Service<br />
had increased its use of ICT<br />
to facilitate taxpayers’ compliance.<br />
He also said the service<br />
introduced initiatives to improve<br />
inter-agency collaboration<br />
with a view to enhancing<br />
tax administration and reducing<br />
tax revenue leakages.<br />
“Our efforts in this regard<br />
have made an impact and<br />
contributed to an increase in<br />
Respite is finally here<br />
for passengers as Arik<br />
Air, Nigeria’s biggest<br />
carrier has launched<br />
its Lagos-Port Harcourt flight<br />
services from the Murtala Muhammed<br />
Airport Terminal two<br />
(MMA2), terminal amidst commendations<br />
from stakeholders.<br />
<strong>BusinessDay</strong>’s checks<br />
show that for over ten years,<br />
Bi-Courtney Aviation Services<br />
Limitrd, (BASL) and Arik Air<br />
had dissagreed over relocation<br />
of operations to the terminal<br />
but events took a new turn<br />
since the Assets Management<br />
Corporation of Nigeria (AM-<br />
CON) took over the operations<br />
of the airline, as both parties<br />
have resolved to partner in a bit<br />
the number of taxpayers by<br />
an additional four million,<br />
including companies and<br />
individuals.<br />
“We recorded an increase<br />
of over N700 billion in tax revenues<br />
in 2017, above the taxes<br />
collected in 2016,” Fowler<br />
said.<br />
He said the launch of<br />
WATAF marked its formal<br />
entry into the ranks of similar<br />
organisations focused on<br />
international collaboration<br />
in tax matters, having attained<br />
the statutory requirements<br />
spelt out in the WATAF Agreement.<br />
Fowler said this marked<br />
a new dawn in the consolidation<br />
of WATAF collective<br />
aspiration to improve the<br />
standard of living of its people<br />
through effective mobilisation<br />
of available domestic tax<br />
revenue.<br />
“Now, West Africa has a<br />
platform for countries to collaborate<br />
in tax matters supported<br />
by their governments<br />
to satisfy passengers.<br />
Speaking during a brief ceremony<br />
to mark the operations,<br />
Steve Omolale, representative<br />
of BASL, who is also the public<br />
relations manager at MMA2,<br />
said the commencement of<br />
Arik Air operations from the<br />
terminal is one of the greatest<br />
achievements of BASL this year.<br />
While assuring travellers<br />
and the airline of safety in all<br />
operations, Omolale said the<br />
terminal has all the facilities<br />
to accommodate all domestic<br />
airlines, adding that already,<br />
six are operating from the terminal.<br />
“This is a facility that will<br />
make your passengers feel safe<br />
and secure, this is a terminal<br />
where you have modern facilities,<br />
we spend millions of naira<br />
in maintaining the terminal ev-<br />
and a forum to articulate and<br />
project West African perspective<br />
in tax administration in<br />
the global tax arena.<br />
“We all are aware that the<br />
business community is setting<br />
up processes and structures<br />
which our legal and tax<br />
regimes did not contemplate<br />
and are struggling to keep<br />
up with.<br />
“Nowadays, trade and<br />
commerce have become<br />
borderless, especially with<br />
the advent of e-commerce,<br />
hybrid financial instruments<br />
coupled with the sophistication<br />
and ingenuity of the army<br />
of tax advisors.<br />
“At the receiving end are<br />
the host country and its nationals,<br />
whose governments<br />
are losing revenues that ought<br />
to have been put to use for<br />
development.<br />
“This further brings about<br />
stagnated growth, under development<br />
and other attendant<br />
ills in our countries,’’<br />
he said.<br />
Respite for passengers as Arik Air commences<br />
P/Harcourt flights from MMA2<br />
IFEOMA OKEKE<br />
ery month and we say we have<br />
the facilities to accommodate<br />
more airlines.<br />
“We assure you of the best<br />
services you can ever think of<br />
and of the sustenance of the<br />
high standards in this facility”,<br />
he said.<br />
Also speaking Murat Ozcan,<br />
Vice President, Arik Air ground<br />
operations, commended the<br />
efforts of BASL at putting such<br />
edifice in pace, adding that the<br />
airline is happy to commence<br />
part of its operations from the<br />
terminal.<br />
Abdullahi Mahmoud Chief<br />
Pilot of Arik Air, who also commended<br />
the ambiance and<br />
facilities at MMA2, said the terminal<br />
has facilities that is up to<br />
international standards, adding<br />
that as a pilot that has travelled<br />
widely, MMA2 is superb.
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong> C002D5556 BUSINESS DAY 17<br />
COMPANIES & MARKETS<br />
Business Event<br />
L-R: Okhidievbie Oamien Roy, group CEO, August Eye Group Limited; Adebayo Abegunde,<br />
director , virtual technology and new markets, Halogen Security Company and <strong>Mar</strong>tin Gill, founder,<br />
Outstanding Security Performance Awards (OSPAs), while presenting the Outstanding Contract<br />
Security Company (Guarding) Award <strong>2018</strong> to the Halogen during the 2nd edition of Securex<br />
West Africa <strong>2018</strong> in Lagos.<br />
Fed signals extra rate rises<br />
as growth accelerates<br />
Central bank projections point to further increase in 2019<br />
Sam Fleming in Washington<br />
The Federal Reserve<br />
lifted short-term<br />
interest rates by a<br />
quarter-point and<br />
forecast that rates<br />
will rise higher than expected<br />
in the coming years as its new<br />
chairman Jay Powell responds<br />
to strengthening growth at<br />
home and abroad.<br />
The US central bank raised<br />
the target range for the federal<br />
funds rate by a quarter point<br />
to 1.5-1.75 per cent as it predicted<br />
inflation would accelerate<br />
in the coming months.<br />
The Fed’s median forecast<br />
for interest rates at the end of<br />
<strong>2018</strong> was left unchanged, but<br />
its projections pointed to an<br />
extra increase in 2019.<br />
“The economic outlook<br />
has strengthened in recent<br />
months,” the Fed said in a<br />
statement following its latest<br />
two-day meeting. “The<br />
Committee expects that, with<br />
further gradual adjustments in<br />
the stance of monetary policy,<br />
economic activity will expand<br />
at a moderate pace in the medium<br />
term and labour market<br />
conditions will remain strong.”<br />
Shortly after he took over<br />
the Fed in February Mr Powell<br />
signalled the US had hit an<br />
important turning point, as<br />
previous drags, including fiscal<br />
policy, reverse direction<br />
and provide a lift to growth.<br />
Republican tax cuts and a deal<br />
on Capitol Hill to boost limits<br />
on spending are set to deliver<br />
a major short-term stimulus;<br />
the $1.5tn tax cuts should on<br />
their own add half a percentage<br />
point to growth this year<br />
and next, according to Fed<br />
governor Lael Brainard.<br />
The S&P 500 was up 0.6<br />
per cent on the statement,<br />
having been up 0.4 per cent<br />
beforehand. The 10-year yield<br />
was 2.8 basis points higher<br />
at 2.9088 per cent, up from<br />
2.8941 per cent immediately<br />
before the rates outcome. That<br />
brought it back above the 2.9<br />
per cent mark, where it had<br />
been earlier in the day.<br />
The yield on the more policy<br />
sensitive two-year note was<br />
flat at 2.3366 per cent, slightly<br />
trimming earlier gains.<br />
The dollar index, which<br />
tracks the greenback against<br />
a weighted basket of global<br />
peers, was down 0.3 per cent<br />
90.119, roughly the same level<br />
as before the policy decision.<br />
Wednesday’s increase in<br />
the Fed’s target rate was widely<br />
expected by the financial<br />
markets. While some traders<br />
expected the Fed to pencil in a<br />
total of four rate rises this year,<br />
the median forecast in Fed officials’<br />
rate outlook remained<br />
unchanged at three.<br />
However, the median prediction<br />
is now for three increases<br />
in 2019, more than<br />
previously expected.<br />
- Culled from FT<br />
Abimbola Ogunbanjo, president of the council, Nigerian Stock Exchange, ( r) with president<br />
George Weah of Liberia after a closed door meeting to discuss Nigerian private sector investment<br />
opportunities in Liberia.<br />
L-R: Misbahu Yola, managing director, Legacy Pension Managers Limited; Ladi Balogun, chairman<br />
of the company, and <strong>Mar</strong>garet Targema-Takema, company secretary/legal adviser, during the 1oth<br />
Annual General Meeting of Legacy Pension Managers in Lagos, recently<br />
Okezie Ikpeazu, executive governor, Abia State (l), and Okey Ezeala, regional director, South-east/<br />
South-south of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), during a courtesy visit by the Management of<br />
FCMB to Governor Ikpeazu at the State House, Umuahia, Abia State
18<br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
C002D5556<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
IMPACT INVESTING<br />
In Association With<br />
Impact investing is importan<br />
What we invest in today will determine the world we live in tomorrow - GIIN<br />
INNOCENT UNAH AND<br />
SANDRA OKOUGBEGUN<br />
Understanding impact<br />
investing<br />
In a world where government<br />
resources<br />
and charitable donations<br />
can never be sufficient<br />
to meet social<br />
and environmental needs,<br />
it becomes imperative to<br />
evolve a plausible alternative<br />
for directing capital to<br />
meet these needs; impacting<br />
investing may be this<br />
alternative.<br />
The term impact investing<br />
was invented in 2007 by<br />
the Rockefeller Foundation<br />
at the Bellagio Conference<br />
held in Italy.<br />
According to the Global<br />
Impact Investing Network<br />
(GIIN), impact investing can<br />
be defined as investments<br />
aimed at generating positive<br />
social and environmental<br />
impact alongside financial<br />
returns. It has the singular<br />
objective of unlocking<br />
private investment capital<br />
to complement public resources<br />
and philanthropy in<br />
addressing pressing global<br />
challenges.<br />
Thus, impact investments<br />
are those investments made<br />
in companies, organisations<br />
and funds with the intention<br />
to make various social<br />
and environmental impacts,<br />
while deriving financial returns<br />
in the process. Impact<br />
investing can simply be seen<br />
as investing to create positive<br />
impact. While impact investing<br />
might be a new term, it is<br />
certainly an old idea.<br />
The GIIN and some philanthropic<br />
organisations such<br />
as the Ford Foundation have<br />
been playing vanguard roles<br />
in growing the impact investing<br />
space.<br />
An initiative of the Rockefeller<br />
Foundation, and established<br />
in 2009, GIIN is a<br />
network of impact investing<br />
stakeholders around the<br />
globe, who aim to change the<br />
way the world thinks of using<br />
investment capital to create<br />
positive social and environmental<br />
benefits.<br />
These stakeholders are<br />
constantly seeking to develop<br />
the impact investing space.<br />
Impact investing challenges<br />
the long held view of social<br />
and environmental issues being<br />
addressed only by philanthropists<br />
and governments.<br />
As the impact investing<br />
market continues to grow, it<br />
has unlocked capital to solve<br />
many of the world’s most<br />
pressing problems in such<br />
sectors as sustainable agriculture,<br />
renewable energy,<br />
conservation, and microfinance.<br />
It has also addressed<br />
issues bordering on affordable<br />
and accessible basic<br />
services such as housing,<br />
healthcare, and education,<br />
advancing the push towards<br />
achieving the sustainable<br />
development goals (SDGs).<br />
A survey conducted by<br />
the GIIN in 2017 revealed<br />
that close to USD 114 billion<br />
of impact investing assets<br />
is currently being managed<br />
across the world.<br />
For many years, investing<br />
for social and financial gains<br />
has been seen as two dichotomous<br />
disciplines. Philanthropists<br />
and those seeking social<br />
gains make it their sole focus<br />
while traditional investors<br />
seek to make financial gains.<br />
However, the two ideas can<br />
be unified as one, and they<br />
complement each other for<br />
sustainability – that is what<br />
impact investing does.<br />
Impact investing versus<br />
social responsibility in-<br />
For many years,<br />
investing for social<br />
and financial gains<br />
has been seen as<br />
two dichotomous<br />
disciplines<br />
vesting<br />
Some people may misconstrue<br />
impact investing as<br />
Social Responsible Investing<br />
(SRI), but these are not<br />
concepts to be used interchangeably.<br />
They don’t mean<br />
the same thing even though<br />
they are both mission-driven<br />
approaches to generating<br />
positive outcomes through<br />
investment vehicles.<br />
While SRI integrates social<br />
and environmental factors<br />
within investment analysis to<br />
avoid investing in companies<br />
that have negative impacts<br />
on the environment and/<br />
or society, impact investing<br />
deliberately looks for investments<br />
that will positively impact<br />
the environment and/or<br />
society. So positive/negative<br />
screening is the key difference<br />
between SRI and impact<br />
investing as they indicate<br />
an investor’s level of activity<br />
in pursuing positive impact<br />
through investments.<br />
The GIIN further defined<br />
Impact investing to include<br />
four core criteria. These include:<br />
• Intentionality: Investors<br />
usually have diverse<br />
investment objectives. The<br />
intention to create positive<br />
social or environmental impact<br />
is a key element of impact<br />
investing. Impact investors<br />
should always think of<br />
solution-oriented ideas that<br />
will create problem-solving<br />
approaches in tackling challenges<br />
in areas such as poverty,<br />
clean energy, health,<br />
education, etc. The intention<br />
to make such impact is indispensable<br />
to impact investing.<br />
• Investment with<br />
return expectation: Impact<br />
investments have financial<br />
returns and the level of returns<br />
varies from one investor<br />
to the other. Investments are<br />
expected to generate return<br />
on capital either at minimum<br />
rate, or at the market rate.<br />
• Range of return<br />
expectation and asset classes:<br />
The rate of returns from<br />
impact investment ranges<br />
from below market rate to<br />
risk-adjusted market rate,<br />
and can be made across asset<br />
classes such as fixed income,<br />
equities, venture capital and<br />
cash equivalents.<br />
• Impact measurement:<br />
The impact created<br />
from such investment should<br />
be measured. The various<br />
social or environmental objectives<br />
should be identified<br />
and measured against results<br />
in order to track performance.<br />
The social and environmental<br />
performance should be<br />
reported together with the<br />
progress of the investment,<br />
ensuring transparency and<br />
accountability.<br />
Who are those involved<br />
in the impact investing ecosystem?<br />
The impact investing ecosystem<br />
involves actors from<br />
both the supply and demand<br />
side. It has attracted a wide<br />
variety of investors including<br />
high net worth individuals,<br />
foundations, asset managers,<br />
impact organisations, and<br />
non-governmental organisations<br />
(NGOs).<br />
Banks, pension funds,<br />
financial advisors, and wealth<br />
managers can provide client<br />
investment opportunities to<br />
both individuals and institutions<br />
with an interest in general<br />
or specific social and/or<br />
environmental causes. Moreover,<br />
institutional and family<br />
foundations can leverage<br />
significantly greater assets<br />
to advance their core social<br />
and/or environmental goals,<br />
while maintaining or growing<br />
their overall endowment.<br />
The various government and<br />
development finance institutions<br />
can provide proof<br />
of financial viability for private-sector<br />
investors while<br />
targeting specific social and<br />
environmental goals.<br />
The supply side of the impact<br />
investing ecosystem provides<br />
the impact capital. This<br />
comprises the foundations,<br />
high net worth individuals,<br />
governments, companies, retail<br />
investors, and employees,<br />
asset managers, etc. On the<br />
other hand, the demand side<br />
of the impact investing use impact<br />
capital and includes the<br />
development banks, microfinance<br />
banks, consulting firms,<br />
government programs, etc.<br />
Why do we need impact<br />
investing?<br />
A number of factors drive<br />
the need for impact investing<br />
across the globe. According to<br />
the United Nations Development<br />
Programme (UNDP)<br />
report on impact investing<br />
in Africa, a number of trends<br />
contributed to the initial<br />
interest in, and momentum<br />
behind impact investing. We<br />
discuss a number of these<br />
trends in the paragraphs<br />
below.<br />
• The growing recognition<br />
of the need for<br />
responsible finance: Impact
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong> C002D5556 BUSINESS DAY 19<br />
t to Africa, but what is it?<br />
investment aims at generating<br />
positive social and environmental<br />
impact and such<br />
investments are seen as financially<br />
responsible. Impact<br />
investing can also be viewed<br />
as one manifestation of the<br />
drive towards the incorporating<br />
broader considerations<br />
beyond the financial bottom<br />
line into investment decisions.<br />
• The growing recognition<br />
of the need for private<br />
capitals potential to supplement<br />
philanthropic funding<br />
and goals: In solving socioeconomic<br />
problems and<br />
creating social and environmental<br />
impact, government<br />
and philanthropic resources<br />
can never be sufficient. As a<br />
result, the need for private<br />
capital flows is inevitable.<br />
• Public sector need<br />
to more efficiently deliver<br />
In solving socioeconomic<br />
problems and creating<br />
social and environmental<br />
impact, government and<br />
philanthropic resources can<br />
never be sufficient<br />
products and services: There<br />
is a growing need for the government<br />
to deliver efficient<br />
products and services and to<br />
do so they need to devote time<br />
and resources in providing<br />
such needs. Impact investment<br />
presents an opportunity<br />
for governments to save more<br />
and deliver quality products<br />
and services to the people.<br />
• The need to solve<br />
the myriad of social, economic<br />
and environmental<br />
problems: As poverty, terrorism<br />
and other social issues<br />
ravages the world, the need<br />
for capital to tackle them<br />
has heightened. Impacting<br />
investing has been demonstrated<br />
to have the capacity<br />
to supply the capital that can<br />
be used to combat these<br />
challenges and achieve the<br />
sustainable development<br />
goals.
18<br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
C002D5556<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong> C002D5556 BUSINESS DAY 19<br />
IMPACT INVESTING<br />
In Association With<br />
Impact investing is important to Africa, but what is it?<br />
What we invest in today will determine the world we live in tomorrow - GIIN<br />
INNOCENT UNAH AND<br />
SANDRA OKOUGBEGUN<br />
Understanding impact<br />
investing<br />
In a world where government<br />
resources<br />
and charitable donations<br />
can never be sufficient<br />
to meet social<br />
and environmental needs,<br />
it becomes imperative to<br />
evolve a plausible alternative<br />
for directing capital to<br />
meet these needs; impacting<br />
investing may be this<br />
alternative.<br />
The term impact investing<br />
was invented in 2007 by<br />
the Rockefeller Foundation<br />
at the Bellagio Conference<br />
held in Italy.<br />
According to the Global<br />
Impact Investing Network<br />
(GIIN), impact investing can<br />
be defined as investments<br />
aimed at generating positive<br />
social and environmental<br />
impact alongside financial<br />
returns. It has the singular<br />
objective of unlocking<br />
private investment capital<br />
to complement public resources<br />
and philanthropy in<br />
addressing pressing global<br />
challenges.<br />
Thus, impact investments<br />
are those investments made<br />
in companies, organisations<br />
and funds with the intention<br />
to make various social<br />
and environmental impacts,<br />
while deriving financial returns<br />
in the process. Impact<br />
investing can simply be seen<br />
as investing to create positive<br />
impact. While impact investing<br />
might be a new term, it is<br />
certainly an old idea.<br />
The GIIN and some philanthropic<br />
organisations such<br />
as the Ford Foundation have<br />
been playing vanguard roles<br />
in growing the impact investing<br />
space.<br />
An initiative of the Rockefeller<br />
Foundation, and established<br />
in 2009, GIIN is a<br />
network of impact investing<br />
stakeholders around the<br />
globe, who aim to change the<br />
way the world thinks of using<br />
investment capital to create<br />
positive social and environmental<br />
benefits.<br />
These stakeholders are<br />
constantly seeking to develop<br />
the impact investing space.<br />
Impact investing challenges<br />
the long held view of social<br />
and environmental issues being<br />
addressed only by philanthropists<br />
and governments.<br />
As the impact investing<br />
market continues to grow, it<br />
has unlocked capital to solve<br />
many of the world’s most<br />
pressing problems in such<br />
sectors as sustainable agriculture,<br />
renewable energy,<br />
conservation, and microfinance.<br />
It has also addressed<br />
issues bordering on affordable<br />
and accessible basic<br />
services such as housing,<br />
healthcare, and education,<br />
advancing the push towards<br />
achieving the sustainable<br />
development goals (SDGs).<br />
A survey conducted by<br />
the GIIN in 2017 revealed<br />
that close to USD 114 billion<br />
of impact investing assets<br />
is currently being managed<br />
across the world.<br />
For many years, investing<br />
for social and financial gains<br />
has been seen as two dichotomous<br />
disciplines. Philanthropists<br />
and those seeking social<br />
gains make it their sole focus<br />
while traditional investors<br />
seek to make financial gains.<br />
However, the two ideas can<br />
be unified as one, and they<br />
complement each other for<br />
sustainability – that is what<br />
impact investing does.<br />
Impact investing versus<br />
social responsibility in-<br />
For many years,<br />
investing for social<br />
and financial gains<br />
has been seen as<br />
two dichotomous<br />
disciplines<br />
vesting<br />
Some people may misconstrue<br />
impact investing as<br />
Social Responsible Investing<br />
(SRI), but these are not<br />
concepts to be used interchangeably.<br />
They don’t mean<br />
the same thing even though<br />
they are both mission-driven<br />
approaches to generating<br />
positive outcomes through<br />
investment vehicles.<br />
While SRI integrates social<br />
and environmental factors<br />
within investment analysis to<br />
avoid investing in companies<br />
that have negative impacts<br />
on the environment and/<br />
or society, impact investing<br />
deliberately looks for investments<br />
that will positively impact<br />
the environment and/or<br />
society. So positive/negative<br />
screening is the key difference<br />
between SRI and impact<br />
investing as they indicate<br />
an investor’s level of activity<br />
in pursuing positive impact<br />
through investments.<br />
The GIIN further defined<br />
Impact investing to include<br />
four core criteria. These include:<br />
• Intentionality: Investors<br />
usually have diverse<br />
investment objectives. The<br />
intention to create positive<br />
social or environmental impact<br />
is a key element of impact<br />
investing. Impact investors<br />
should always think of<br />
solution-oriented ideas that<br />
will create problem-solving<br />
approaches in tackling challenges<br />
in areas such as poverty,<br />
clean energy, health,<br />
education, etc. The intention<br />
to make such impact is indispensable<br />
to impact investing.<br />
• Investment with<br />
return expectation: Impact<br />
investments have financial<br />
returns and the level of returns<br />
varies from one investor<br />
to the other. Investments are<br />
expected to generate return<br />
on capital either at minimum<br />
rate, or at the market rate.<br />
• Range of return<br />
expectation and asset classes:<br />
The rate of returns from<br />
impact investment ranges<br />
from below market rate to<br />
risk-adjusted market rate,<br />
and can be made across asset<br />
classes such as fixed income,<br />
equities, venture capital and<br />
cash equivalents.<br />
• Impact measurement:<br />
The impact created<br />
from such investment should<br />
be measured. The various<br />
social or environmental objectives<br />
should be identified<br />
and measured against results<br />
in order to track performance.<br />
The social and environmental<br />
performance should be<br />
reported together with the<br />
progress of the investment,<br />
ensuring transparency and<br />
accountability.<br />
Who are those involved<br />
in the impact investing ecosystem?<br />
The impact investing ecosystem<br />
involves actors from<br />
both the supply and demand<br />
side. It has attracted a wide<br />
variety of investors including<br />
high net worth individuals,<br />
foundations, asset managers,<br />
impact organisations, and<br />
non-governmental organisations<br />
(NGOs).<br />
Banks, pension funds,<br />
financial advisors, and wealth<br />
managers can provide client<br />
investment opportunities to<br />
both individuals and institutions<br />
with an interest in general<br />
or specific social and/or<br />
environmental causes. Moreover,<br />
institutional and family<br />
foundations can leverage<br />
significantly greater assets<br />
to advance their core social<br />
and/or environmental goals,<br />
while maintaining or growing<br />
their overall endowment.<br />
The various government and<br />
development finance institutions<br />
can provide proof<br />
of financial viability for private-sector<br />
investors while<br />
targeting specific social and<br />
environmental goals.<br />
The supply side of the impact<br />
investing ecosystem provides<br />
the impact capital. This<br />
comprises the foundations,<br />
high net worth individuals,<br />
governments, companies, retail<br />
investors, and employees,<br />
asset managers, etc. On the<br />
other hand, the demand side<br />
of the impact investing use impact<br />
capital and includes the<br />
development banks, microfinance<br />
banks, consulting firms,<br />
government programs, etc.<br />
Why do we need impact<br />
investing?<br />
A number of factors drive<br />
the need for impact investing<br />
across the globe. According to<br />
the United Nations Development<br />
Programme (UNDP)<br />
report on impact investing<br />
in Africa, a number of trends<br />
contributed to the initial<br />
interest in, and momentum<br />
behind impact investing. We<br />
discuss a number of these<br />
trends in the paragraphs<br />
below.<br />
• The growing recognition<br />
of the need for<br />
responsible finance: Impact<br />
investment aims at generating<br />
positive social and environmental<br />
impact and such<br />
investments are seen as financially<br />
responsible. Impact<br />
investing can also be viewed<br />
as one manifestation of the<br />
drive towards the incorporating<br />
broader considerations<br />
beyond the financial bottom<br />
line into investment decisions.<br />
• The growing recognition<br />
of the need for private<br />
capitals potential to supplement<br />
philanthropic funding<br />
and goals: In solving socioeconomic<br />
problems and<br />
creating social and environmental<br />
impact, government<br />
and philanthropic resources<br />
can never be sufficient. As a<br />
result, the need for private<br />
capital flows is inevitable.<br />
• Public sector need<br />
to more efficiently deliver<br />
In solving socioeconomic<br />
problems and creating<br />
social and environmental<br />
impact, government and<br />
philanthropic resources can<br />
never be sufficient<br />
products and services: There<br />
is a growing need for the government<br />
to deliver efficient<br />
products and services and to<br />
do so they need to devote time<br />
and resources in providing<br />
such needs. Impact investment<br />
presents an opportunity<br />
for governments to save more<br />
and deliver quality products<br />
and services to the people.<br />
• The need to solve<br />
the myriad of social, economic<br />
and environmental<br />
problems: As poverty, terrorism<br />
and other social issues<br />
ravages the world, the need<br />
for capital to tackle them<br />
has heightened. Impacting<br />
investing has been demonstrated<br />
to have the capacity<br />
to supply the capital that can<br />
be used to combat these<br />
challenges and achieve the<br />
sustainable development<br />
goals.
20 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
Quality, affordable healthcare are<br />
objectives of Lagos state – Jide<br />
The Lagos State Health Scheme Bill w signed into law in May, 2015 is a compulsory health insurance bill established by the enabling law of the state<br />
to ensure all residents of the state have access to affordable and quality healthcare. JIDE IDRIS, commissioner for health tells <strong>BusinessDay</strong>’s ANTHONIA<br />
OBOKOH that through this scheme, people living in Lagos can be protected from financial distress resulting from huge medical bills. Excerpts:<br />
What is Lagos health insurance<br />
scheme all about?<br />
Lagos health insurance<br />
is a healthcare<br />
financing scheme for<br />
the state; it is a way of<br />
mobilising fund for<br />
the sector, look at the sources<br />
of funds and how you channel<br />
the funds to do what you want<br />
to do. The sector is very huge<br />
and resource demanding. The<br />
law created a fund that is the<br />
insurance fund; it is just a pool<br />
of fund to which contributions<br />
are made. Every residence of<br />
Lagos is expected to contribute<br />
something into this fund by law.<br />
The state government will contribute<br />
its own bit into the fund<br />
in terms of equity fund, local<br />
government too will contribute,<br />
philanthropist who wants to<br />
support or anyone who is willing<br />
can contribute. And if things<br />
go right at the National level, we<br />
also stand to benefit from some<br />
contributions based on their<br />
law the National Health Act.<br />
How is Lagos state planning<br />
to achieve this feat?<br />
We are achieving this feat by<br />
creating a pool of funds which<br />
will be managed by the agency<br />
and the fund is used to pay for<br />
services provided by accredited<br />
providers and because people<br />
are contributing, they have a<br />
choice of who their provider<br />
will be. They can choose from<br />
any of the facilities either from<br />
the public or private. If you are<br />
not happy with any provider,<br />
you have liberty to make complains<br />
to the agency and if your<br />
complaint is genuine and well<br />
investigated, you are free to<br />
change your provider. For those<br />
people who are poor and cannot<br />
genuinely afford the cost of<br />
care, the state government will<br />
take care of it. That is why under<br />
the law, 1% of the consolidated<br />
revenue will go into that fund<br />
every year to take care of the<br />
poor and the vulnerable. But<br />
we need to determine who is<br />
poor because once people feel<br />
the money is there, everybody<br />
becomes poor.<br />
Why the slow pace of implementation?<br />
We are not starting the scheme<br />
100 per cent complete because<br />
we cannot do that in one vessel;<br />
people need to understand the<br />
scheme and be explained to.<br />
But it is going to be a gradual<br />
process, as people see it progress,<br />
more people will enroll. So<br />
that is where we are.<br />
But the key thing again is<br />
that, when we were doing the<br />
actuarial studies, one of the<br />
major challenges is that we do<br />
not have data in this environment.<br />
It is not the problem of<br />
Lagos state; it is the problem<br />
of the country. We thought of<br />
sourcing data from the national<br />
level, so that we do not have<br />
delay, but we realized they do<br />
not have and that was part of<br />
time wastage for us. So we have<br />
to start from the scratch. So<br />
when we are starting, it was not<br />
perfect because of the dearth<br />
of data. But we took a decision<br />
that we must warehouse our<br />
data, hold our data that is why<br />
we are deploying a robust ICT<br />
system which is going to link the<br />
enrollees, the providers and the<br />
Health Maintenance Organisation<br />
(HMOs) we are going to<br />
use. The information will collect<br />
which include demographic, financial<br />
and medical history will<br />
be analysed to plan, so it is very<br />
essential we get the ICT platform<br />
right. So what we are also doing<br />
is that we are talking to different<br />
stakeholders but it is a continuous<br />
thing and we are also engaging<br />
the media through media<br />
briefs. The HMOs we are using,<br />
contrary to what is happening<br />
at the national level, has been<br />
well with us because they have<br />
the institution and the structure<br />
although they needs to be monitored<br />
and controlled, We have<br />
shortlisted about 7 to start with<br />
after the advertisement and they<br />
will be part of the enrollment<br />
process because we are going<br />
to assign them to different local<br />
government.<br />
Is the scheme mandatory for<br />
all Lagos residents?<br />
Unlike the federal level, it is<br />
mandatory and compulsory<br />
for every resident of Lagos state<br />
by law, everybody must contribute.<br />
For those on the NHIS<br />
scheme, we cannot force them<br />
to stop, it will create unnecessary<br />
problem, and our focus is<br />
on those who do not have at all.<br />
In Lagos state, for civil servant,<br />
the government takes care of<br />
75% contribution for the staff<br />
while the staff takes care of the<br />
remaining 25%.<br />
How is Lagos state government<br />
going to address the<br />
issue of easy and quality<br />
access to care for enrollees<br />
on the scheme?<br />
If you look at the totality whether<br />
in primary care, secondary care,<br />
tertiary care owned by the government,<br />
I do not think they<br />
are up to four hundred. And<br />
in these state, if you look at all<br />
the private practitioner they are<br />
over four thousand. So, our focus<br />
is to effectively bring the two<br />
together so that the people will<br />
benefit, that is the issue of access.<br />
You also know that people<br />
have been complaining that if<br />
you go to the general hospitals,<br />
it is always over crowded, long<br />
queue waiting and at the end of<br />
the day some people feel they<br />
are not properly treated or issue<br />
of quackery, which is part of the<br />
fundamental problem within<br />
the system. What we are trying to<br />
do with this scheme is to reorder<br />
that system to address all those<br />
key problems.<br />
How much are the different<br />
health plans for enrollee under<br />
the scheme?<br />
After all the actuarial studies,<br />
government settles to 40,000 for<br />
a family of 6 annually which is<br />
for the basic plan, anybody who<br />
needs extra will pay for extra. If<br />
70 per cent of the population is<br />
covered under this basic care<br />
plan, sickness will go down.<br />
The idea is to maintain wellness<br />
of the people not merely to<br />
treat them; it is a total reorientation.<br />
We want to have these<br />
schemes so that people do not<br />
fall ill, giving them health education,<br />
specific protection, children<br />
who require immunization<br />
are easily provided, quality care<br />
for pregnant women so they can<br />
be monitored, delivery via normal<br />
or caesarean section. These<br />
are the little things that can be<br />
handled at the primary healthcare<br />
level. Lagos state wants to<br />
deal with the basic plan first<br />
and then primary health care is<br />
the picking point, we have two<br />
other plans. Private sector plan<br />
and formal sector plan. There are<br />
other people in the private sector<br />
who already have one plan or<br />
the other, but if you look at the<br />
totality they are less than 5 per<br />
cent of the population covered.<br />
Are there plans for people<br />
especially those in the informal<br />
sector to pay in installments?<br />
Yes we are flexible, we have<br />
plans but not in pieces, there<br />
are provisions for people to pay<br />
quarterly and monthly but we<br />
need to make sure they have<br />
means of paying to avoid cheating<br />
on others, so there is an open<br />
window you have once you<br />
enroll to start paying to forestall<br />
cheating, because if we break it<br />
down, it is 500 naira per person<br />
but you can only access care with<br />
providers in Lagos.
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
C002D5556<br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
21<br />
Cross River partners MTN Foundation<br />
on Yellow Heart Initiative<br />
MIKE ABANG, Calabar<br />
The Cross River State<br />
government and<br />
the MTN Foundation,<br />
alongside other<br />
relevant healthcare<br />
agencies, have pledged to work<br />
collaboratively to tackle the<br />
menace of infant and maternal<br />
mortality in the state.<br />
The partnership, which was<br />
announced recently at MTNF<br />
Yellow Heart Health Forum in<br />
Calabar, is a demonstration of<br />
MTN Foundation’s commitment<br />
to reduce maternal and child<br />
mortality by increasing awareness<br />
of the phenomenon in Nigeria<br />
and aligning with global efforts<br />
to meet the health targets of<br />
Sustainable Development Goals.<br />
Speaking on the Foundation’s<br />
decision to support the<br />
Cross River State government<br />
on this initiative, Dennis Okoro,<br />
director, MTN Foundation, said,<br />
“We are very sensitive to challenges<br />
within our society and it<br />
is against this backdrop that the<br />
Foundation created a mandate<br />
to spend towards improving the<br />
state of healthcare, education<br />
and economic empowerment.<br />
“We hope to use the Yellow<br />
Heart initiative to address<br />
predominant issues such as<br />
attitudes and cultural practices<br />
that hinder women and children<br />
from accessing healthcare services<br />
in the society.”<br />
Expressing appreciation on<br />
behalf of the state government,<br />
Full house of nurses, mothers, children and representatives of the health ministry at the MTN Foundation #yellowheart<br />
health forum in Calabar.<br />
UBTH board seeks UNIBEN’s partnership for medical productivity, service delivery<br />
IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, Benin<br />
The management board of the<br />
University of Benin Teaching<br />
Hospital (UBTH) has<br />
called for partnership between<br />
the University of Benin (UNIBEN)<br />
to enhance the hospitals productivity<br />
and service delivery.<br />
Bashorun Adedoja Adewolu,<br />
chairman, board of management<br />
of the hospital made the call during<br />
a courtesy visit to the vice<br />
chancellor of the University of<br />
Benin, Osasere Faraday Orumwense<br />
at the Ugbowo campus in<br />
Benin-City on Tuesday.<br />
Adewolu, also urged the authorities<br />
of the institutions to<br />
embark on research and training<br />
to address challenges in the health<br />
sector.<br />
According to him, the university<br />
community is a worthy partner<br />
in progress with the teaching<br />
hospital. I want to urge the vice<br />
chancellor to partner with the<br />
hospital in the area of research<br />
and training.<br />
wife of the governor of Cross<br />
River State, Linda Ayade, commended<br />
the Foundation for<br />
the Yellow Heart Initiative and<br />
other impactful projects commissioned<br />
by the Foundation in<br />
the state.<br />
“The MTN Foundation deserves<br />
to be commended for<br />
initiating several interventions<br />
in the state, particularly in the<br />
area of health. The donation of<br />
the Y’ello Doctor mobile clinic<br />
and a haemodialysis centre, and<br />
the renovation of the post-natal<br />
“To make the teaching hospital<br />
meaningful, we need your cooperation<br />
and that is why the decree<br />
that set up to make provision for<br />
the University representative to be<br />
a member of the Board. There cannot<br />
be a teaching hospital without<br />
a University”, he said.<br />
The chairman, who eulogized<br />
the contributions of the founding<br />
fathers of the hospital, said there<br />
was need to sustain the legacies of<br />
late Samuel Ogbemudia.<br />
He noted that such can only be<br />
achieved by pursuing aggressive<br />
research and educational training<br />
of medical personnel.<br />
In his remark, the vice chancellor<br />
of the University of Benin, who<br />
assured the UBTH Board Chairman<br />
of the necessary support to<br />
the teaching hospital noted “that<br />
there is no gap between UBTH and<br />
UNIBEN.”<br />
The newly inaugurated Board<br />
Members of the University of<br />
Benin Teaching Hospital are<br />
Bashorun Adedoja Adewolu,<br />
chairman, Temitope Fabanwo,<br />
Onyemelukwe John Paul, Aliyu<br />
ward at the general hospital are<br />
among the several impactful initiatives<br />
of the MTN Foundation<br />
in the state and we are sincerely<br />
grateful,” she said.<br />
The first lady further disclosed<br />
that the Yellow heart initiative<br />
aligned with actions of the<br />
state government in improving<br />
healthcare in the state.<br />
“We founded the Mediatrix<br />
Development Foundation<br />
(MDF) to channel health and<br />
development interventions that<br />
will address the needs of the<br />
Oroji Wammako, Chief Medical<br />
Director of UBTH, Darlington<br />
Obaseki, Chairman Medical Advisory<br />
Committee (CMAC, UBTH),<br />
Casmir Omuemu, Director of Administration<br />
(UBTH), Philomena<br />
vulnerable and less privileged<br />
in the state. 1000 persons have<br />
received dental and eye care<br />
including drugs and laboratory<br />
services, we have provided 219<br />
free surgeries, 280 women have<br />
received breast and cervical<br />
cancer screening, among others,”<br />
she said.<br />
Commenting on what the<br />
partnership means for the state,<br />
Inyang Asibong, Cross River<br />
commissioner for health, said<br />
the initiative would immensely<br />
improve the health and survival<br />
Omoregie.<br />
Others are Representative of<br />
the Federal Ministry of Health,<br />
N. Ezeigwe, Representative of the<br />
University of Benin, Jacob Ehiorobo,<br />
Provost College of Medicine<br />
rate of women and children in<br />
Cross River State.<br />
“This is a welcome development,<br />
as we continue to ensure<br />
sustainable development for all<br />
Cross Riverians through sustainable<br />
healthcare, especially<br />
for our mothers and children;<br />
we invite the MTN Foundation<br />
to continue to partner with us<br />
in various other aspects of our<br />
healthcare delivery system.<br />
“In Cross River State, especially<br />
the Health sector, maternal,<br />
newborn and child health<br />
issues are paramount, this is<br />
evident in the huge reduction<br />
of maternal mortality indices<br />
from 1,500 to 576, far below the<br />
national average,” she said.<br />
Other Yellow Heart activities,<br />
which took place in the<br />
state, include a panel discussion<br />
on maternal and child health,<br />
ante natal and post-natal sensitization<br />
for pregnant women,<br />
distribution of delivery kits for<br />
pregnant women around the<br />
state, and an awareness walk<br />
tagged “Walk for Life.”<br />
The MTN Foundation has<br />
partnered with the Ministry of<br />
Health on multiple projects related<br />
to this cause. This includes<br />
the Maternal Ward Support<br />
project which has facilitated the<br />
renovation of 24 maternal wards<br />
across the country, and the<br />
‘Y’ello Doctor’ project which has<br />
seen Mobile clinics supporting<br />
the medical needs of mothers<br />
and children commissioned in<br />
six states.<br />
UNIBEN, Efosa Oviasu, Representative<br />
of Senate UNIBEN, John<br />
Akerele, Woghiren Emmanuel,<br />
Innocent Ujah and representative<br />
of other Health Professionals<br />
(JOHESU), Philip Owolabi Salu.<br />
HBL TEAM<br />
KEMI AJUMOBI, Editor - kemi@businessdayonline.com<br />
ANTHONIA OBOKOH, ANI MICHAEL, Reporters I David Ogar, Graphics
22 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556 Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
FINTECH<br />
News Products Review Technology Review Personality Review Company Review<br />
COMPANY REVIEW<br />
Why 8 million Paga users’ milestone is good for fintech<br />
Stories by FRANK ELEANYA<br />
Paga, one of Nigeria’s<br />
leading financial<br />
technology (Fintech)<br />
companies<br />
has announced a<br />
new userbase milestone. The<br />
company now have more than<br />
8 million customers that are<br />
using its platform for mobile<br />
money transactions.<br />
According to the company’s<br />
founder and CEO, Tayo<br />
Oviosu, while it took Paga 989<br />
days to achieve one million<br />
users, it took only 174 days to<br />
go from 7 to 8 million people.<br />
“We are working hard to<br />
make it easy to send money<br />
to anyone and get access to<br />
financial services,” he tweeted<br />
on Sunday, 18 <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong>.<br />
The company’s services<br />
include ability to send as N500<br />
to N1 million to anyone, anywhere<br />
in the country using<br />
their phone number, electricity<br />
bills payment, airtime<br />
recharge, bank deposits, and<br />
shopping with their Paga account.<br />
Customers can also<br />
make money for themselves<br />
when they become Paga<br />
agents. The company recently<br />
announced that it was in partnership<br />
with the Rural Electrification<br />
Agency in its initiative<br />
to provide clean and sustainable<br />
energy to 12,000 shops<br />
in Sabon Gari <strong>Mar</strong>ket in Kano.<br />
Aside from offering a diverse<br />
portfolio of payment solutions,<br />
Paga’s journey to eight<br />
million userbase is seen as<br />
significant for the Nigerian Fintech<br />
space for many reasons.<br />
First it signifies how far<br />
the industry has come and<br />
the potential for businesses<br />
in the space.<br />
Tayo Oviosu and co-founder,<br />
Jay Alabraba, established<br />
the company in 2009, a period<br />
when little was known about<br />
mobile money and its relevance<br />
for ordinary Nigerians,<br />
even M-Pesa, Africa’s most<br />
successful mobile money<br />
product, was barely two years<br />
at the time.<br />
Although from the beginning,<br />
Paga was clear about its<br />
vision of being at the forefront<br />
of Nigeria’s financial inclusion<br />
drive and seem focused on<br />
it; customers’ insistence on<br />
cash transaction has been very<br />
pervasive.<br />
Cash is still loved by many<br />
people today; about 70 percent<br />
of Nigerians are yet to do<br />
away with their preference for<br />
paying in cash.<br />
With players like Paga<br />
making significant inroads<br />
on the e-economy map, it<br />
is probably a matter of time<br />
before the cashless population<br />
overtakes the cash population.<br />
In 2017, when it reached 1<br />
million, Oviosu assured that<br />
“We will not rest until the<br />
day when any Nigerian wants<br />
to pay for anything or gives<br />
someone money and the first<br />
solution is “Just Page it”.<br />
An eight million users<br />
milestone is not an ordinary<br />
feat as it trumps the customer<br />
base of many established Tier<br />
I commercial banks.<br />
Importantly, Paga’s<br />
achievement is a reminder<br />
that the mobile money potential<br />
in Nigeria is real and<br />
should be taken seriously by<br />
every financial services firm,<br />
the investment community<br />
and government. Hence, it<br />
reinforces the point that it is<br />
going to take collaboration<br />
for any fintech service to hit<br />
the big times.<br />
TECHNOLOGY REVIEW<br />
Bitcoin vs regulation: Who eats humble pie?<br />
Many bitcoin enthusiasts<br />
will remember<br />
2017 differently;<br />
characterised<br />
by several “Aha” moments that<br />
left early investors in the digital<br />
currency richer than their wildest<br />
infant dreams. Nearly every<br />
prediction – from $10,000,<br />
$15,000 to $20,000 - for bitcoin<br />
in 2017 was blown to smithereens.<br />
Bitcoin billionaires were<br />
no longer a rarity as many laid<br />
claim. Nigeria even emerged the<br />
second country in the world with<br />
the most peer-to-peer bitcoin<br />
transactions, according to a data<br />
from LocalBitcoins.com.<br />
Buoyed by the new wealth,<br />
many evangelists took to prophesying<br />
untold fresh prosperity<br />
levels for bitcoin in <strong>2018</strong>.<br />
At a cryptocurrency community<br />
conference that held in<br />
Osun State, Nigeria, in January<br />
<strong>2018</strong>, some of the investors that<br />
sat on the panel forecasted that<br />
prices will reach at least $100,000<br />
before the end of the year – the<br />
perfect eureka for any investor.<br />
They were so sure that regulatory<br />
efforts will have little impact on<br />
the value of the crypto.<br />
“How do you regulate what<br />
you cannot see?” One of the investors<br />
asked the audience.<br />
To be fair, bitcoin without<br />
regulatory hassles has enjoyed<br />
an amazing run since 2010 when<br />
it surged from $1 to $997 at the<br />
start of 2017, and soared to nearly<br />
$20,000 by the end of that year.<br />
A number of analysts have<br />
predicted that regulatory bodies<br />
will get tired of failing repeatedly<br />
to regulate bitcoin by the end of<br />
first quarter, hence, will find a<br />
new sport to occupy their time.<br />
Well, the first quarter of <strong>2018</strong><br />
is almost winding down and<br />
so far, regulatory activities have<br />
only increased rather than slow<br />
down. The market impact has<br />
been significant as well, which<br />
also means the regulatory barricade<br />
could be getting the desired<br />
results.<br />
The US Securities and Exchange<br />
Commission (SEC)<br />
and Japan’s Financial Services<br />
Agency expanded scrutiny to<br />
cryptocurrency exchanges on<br />
Wednesday, which sent the<br />
whole cryptocurrency market<br />
down the red zone. To be specific,<br />
in Japan two relatively small<br />
exchanges, Bit Station and FSHO<br />
had their operations suspended<br />
for one month.<br />
Meanwhile, a senior official<br />
at the US Securities and<br />
Exchange Commission (SEC),<br />
Stephanie Avakian disclosed<br />
on Thursday to Bloomberg, that<br />
the exchange has planned numerous<br />
investigations into ICO<br />
campaigns.<br />
Avakian noted that the agency<br />
had dozens of investigations<br />
that relate to cryptocurrency and<br />
ICOs. Additionally, the Internal<br />
Revenue Service (IRS) said it is<br />
likely that cryptocurrency investors<br />
would be facing hefty tax bills<br />
very soon.<br />
It may be too early to call, as<br />
most stakeholders have noted,<br />
but one thing that may not be<br />
going away anytime soon is<br />
regulatory scrutiny.<br />
It should be noted that it is<br />
not all negative with regulatory<br />
activities, as some experts<br />
have rightly pointed out. If<br />
anything, regulation is needed<br />
to bring some form of sanity<br />
to the bitcoin market and also<br />
ensure that investors’ funds are<br />
protected.<br />
“I believe that asides the<br />
need for governments to find<br />
ways to ensure the security<br />
of these systems; there is<br />
also need to address the issue<br />
of user confidence as a<br />
fundamental element for any<br />
payment system,” Enyioma<br />
Madubuike, a cryptocurrency<br />
analyst and founder of Legitng<br />
told <strong>BusinessDay</strong> in a chat.<br />
The first week of <strong>Mar</strong>ch, <strong>2018</strong>,<br />
saw the volume of bitcoin trade<br />
in Nigeria drop to N1.331 billion<br />
from a brief recovery of N1.476<br />
billion the previous week. The<br />
best it has done in <strong>2018</strong> was when<br />
volumes soared to N1.843 billion<br />
on the last week of January.<br />
“I think cryptocurrencies in<br />
their nature do not want to be<br />
regulated, but as long as value<br />
is still tied to fiat currencies,<br />
regulation is inevitable,” Timi Ajiboye<br />
co-founder of Bitkoin and<br />
recently Buycoins, both based<br />
in Nigeria told <strong>BusinessDay</strong> via<br />
mail. “I am not sure how it will affect<br />
Nigeria; I just hope that when<br />
the time comes, there will be<br />
people who understand the potential<br />
of the technology among<br />
those who make the rules.”
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
C002D5556<br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
<strong>23</strong><br />
Policy Investments <strong>Mar</strong>ket Insight Influencers<br />
PROFILE<br />
Ajima farms success shows biogas as important as solar<br />
Stories by ISAAC ANYAOGU<br />
In many farming settlements<br />
around Nigeria,<br />
access to electricity is a<br />
major problem next to<br />
waste disposal. The most<br />
economical method is to burn<br />
or bury waste but both options<br />
come with their own hazards.<br />
This causes pollutants like carbon<br />
dioxide, mercury and acid<br />
into the atmosphere adding to<br />
carbon emissions and causing<br />
respiratory problems.<br />
Ajima Farms found a way<br />
around this problem by turning<br />
the waste into power.<br />
Through a $150,000 grant<br />
from the United States African<br />
Development Foundation, US-<br />
ADF, the project, called Ajima<br />
Farms Biogas Digester Off-<br />
Grid, commissioned in June<br />
2016, converts huge volumes<br />
of wastes generated from poultry<br />
farms around into power<br />
Fatima Ademoh, founder<br />
& CEO, Ajima Youth Empow-<br />
Fatima Ademoh, receiving award for her waste-2-watt initiative<br />
erment Foundation, Nigeria,<br />
who built the plant, is also<br />
developing a similar project,<br />
a 10 watt Biogas Digester offgrid<br />
power project at Kuwizhi<br />
village of Kuje Area. She led the<br />
preparation of funding proposal<br />
that secured US$150,000<br />
grant in the USADF Power Africa<br />
Off-Grid Energy Challenge<br />
to fund the project.<br />
While she was not around<br />
when <strong>BusinessDay</strong> visited,<br />
she told <strong>BusinessDay</strong> that the<br />
project is powering Rije village<br />
in Kuje Area Council of<br />
the Federal Capital Territory,<br />
FCT, Abuja, with 20 kilowatts<br />
of biogas from generators.<br />
She however, mandated her<br />
staff, Danladi to assist with<br />
inquiries.<br />
“Poultry, human and vegetables<br />
wastes are collected<br />
in a biogas digester, which<br />
generates gas and in turn powers<br />
a biogas generator and<br />
electricity generated from the<br />
generator is distributed by<br />
a minigrid system to power<br />
over five hundred people in<br />
the community,” Danladi, who<br />
mans the plant tells Business-<br />
Day during a recent visit. He<br />
is one of the 10 locals trained<br />
by the company who help in<br />
running the facility.<br />
Ajima’s poultry section produces<br />
over 3 tonnes of waste.<br />
“We profiled over 260 Off grid<br />
communities in kuje alone and<br />
we partner with Eco-Watt to<br />
create an innovative solution<br />
to our problem and the idea<br />
of Waste to watts was formed,”<br />
Ademoh to Gridless Africa in<br />
an interview.<br />
A largely agrarian community<br />
with about a hundred<br />
houses, a quarter being<br />
mud house, residents enjoy<br />
between 12 and 15 hours of<br />
power supply every day and<br />
pay less than N2,000 monthly.<br />
This would indicate that for<br />
similar project to scale, longterm<br />
funding at low interest<br />
rates is important.<br />
“The light has been a<br />
blessing to my business,” says<br />
Augustine Iliah, who runs a<br />
sparsely stocked local pharmacy<br />
in the community. “I<br />
can open my place till 10pm,<br />
there is security with street<br />
lights and people come in to<br />
buy at night,”<br />
The minigrid project is all<br />
inclusive, with all the components<br />
including generation,<br />
distribution and transmission<br />
represented. All the houses<br />
are metered, there are power<br />
lines that deliver power to the<br />
houses, users are on a prepaid<br />
network and there are even<br />
street lights.<br />
A key challenge the project<br />
had was financing but<br />
with support from development<br />
partners it is proceeding<br />
accordingly. Lagos with<br />
its waste problem can draw<br />
a lesson from the success<br />
of the project. Attitudes<br />
towards waste are changing<br />
globally and it should too.<br />
Huge refuse dumpsites rather<br />
than bother are sources of<br />
energy.<br />
A more efficient management<br />
model is to look at<br />
wastes, sludge and water from<br />
a “circular economy” point of<br />
view. Water can be reused after<br />
it washes down the drain both<br />
industrial and domestic wastewater<br />
can serve as a valuable<br />
resource. This can be applied<br />
to other resources.<br />
“One estimate is that Americans<br />
flush 350 billion kilowatthours<br />
of energy into the sewers<br />
each year—roughly enough to<br />
power 30 million U.S. homes.<br />
Cities are taking notice, and<br />
taking steps to install sewage<br />
heat recovery systems to get a<br />
piece of that energy resource,”<br />
says an article on National<br />
Geographic.<br />
In a sewage heat recovery<br />
system, a heat pump is<br />
used to capture the warmth<br />
of wastewater and transfer<br />
it to the clean water stream<br />
that is entering homes and<br />
businesses. It all operates as<br />
a closed-loop system, meaning<br />
that the dirty water never<br />
touches the clean water. But<br />
the warmth of the sewage<br />
water helps heat the water that<br />
is then used in showers, washing<br />
machines, dishwashers, or<br />
even in radiators to help heat<br />
buildings, says the article.<br />
This initiative should be<br />
private sector led to succeed<br />
with progressive regulations by<br />
the government. The concept<br />
of a circular economy is here<br />
to stay and nations embracing<br />
it are seeing value.<br />
Roadmap for cost-effective minigrid market out May 1<br />
Rocky Mountain Institute<br />
(RMI) and<br />
the Rural Electrification<br />
Agency (REA)<br />
will release a first-of-its-kind,<br />
three-year roadmap for Africa<br />
on May 1, <strong>2018</strong>, that outlines<br />
how to achieve $0.20/<br />
kWh from electric minigrid<br />
technology by 2020.<br />
US-based RMIan is independent<br />
nonprofit founded<br />
in 1982—transforms global<br />
energy use to create a clean,<br />
prosperous, and secure lowcarbon<br />
future. It engages<br />
businesses, communities, institutions,<br />
and entrepreneurs<br />
to accelerate the adoption of<br />
market-based solutions that<br />
cost-effectively shift from<br />
fossil fuels to efficiency and<br />
renewables. REA was set up<br />
by the Federal Government<br />
to increase electricity access<br />
to rural and underserved<br />
communities. REA has developed<br />
an off-grid electrification<br />
strategy to support<br />
minigrids and other off-grid<br />
solutions to support FGN’s<br />
policy of incremental growth.<br />
The roadmap will outline<br />
how much capital is required<br />
and a plan for transitioning<br />
funding from grants and<br />
high-risk concessional and<br />
government sources to venture<br />
capital and private equity,<br />
according to a release<br />
from the organisation.<br />
This follows the recent<br />
minigrid charrette RMI cohosted<br />
recently REA to chart<br />
the path to unlocking the<br />
minigrid market in Nigeria.<br />
It would provide energy access<br />
to millions and tap into<br />
a multibillion-dollar opportunity.<br />
More than 50 industry<br />
leaders and experts attended<br />
the interactive work session<br />
focused on delivering a profitable<br />
and scalable minigrid<br />
market business model.<br />
Attendees included Cross-<br />
Boundary, Global Environment<br />
Facility, IHS Towers,<br />
McKinsey & Company, Nayo<br />
Technologies, PowerGen,<br />
Rensource Distributed Energy,<br />
Rubitec Solar, SBM Intelligence,<br />
Shell and many others.<br />
At the workshop, market<br />
solutions centered on six key<br />
opportunity areas: grid-ina-box<br />
hardware, better load<br />
management, effective customer<br />
engagement, efficient<br />
project development and<br />
operations and maintenance,<br />
affordable finance and supportive<br />
policy were unveiled.<br />
“Nigeria has all the right<br />
drivers to become a leader in<br />
the minigrid market in Africa:<br />
great entrepreneurial tradition,<br />
a large self-employed<br />
population and market size.<br />
I’m looking forward to seeing<br />
how entrepreneurs in Nigeria<br />
leverage this opportunity<br />
over the next few years,” Richard<br />
Branson, founder of the<br />
Virgin Group and an RMI<br />
donor said.<br />
With a population of more<br />
than 180 million, Nigeria has<br />
the largest population and<br />
gross domestic product in<br />
Africa, with significant rural<br />
economic activity. Currently<br />
85 million people do not have<br />
reliable access to electricity<br />
or are not connected to the<br />
grid. Minigrids provide an<br />
enormous investment opportunity<br />
as Nigerians already<br />
spend $14 billion annually on<br />
off-grid power from small 14<br />
Group participants the at the REA/ RMI Global Minigrid Design Charette focused on reducing minigrid<br />
development costs for off grid Electrification held in Lagos on Friday, <strong>Mar</strong>ch 9th<br />
gigawatt gas generators, according<br />
to materials prepared<br />
for the workshop by RMI.<br />
“The electricity market<br />
for off-grid energy in Nigeria<br />
is huge and profitable for<br />
developers. Installing 1,000<br />
minigrids each year for the<br />
next 10 years would provide<br />
power to millions of Nigerians<br />
currently off-grid,” said<br />
Damilola Ogunbiyi, managing<br />
director and CEO of the<br />
Rural Electrification Agency.”<br />
“I am excited and optimistic<br />
about cracking the<br />
minigrid challenge in Nigeria.<br />
Nigeria is blessed with<br />
some of the region’s most<br />
amazing entrepreneurs.<br />
We urge venture capitalists<br />
and impact investors from<br />
around the world to get involved<br />
with us,” said Jules<br />
Kortenhorst, chief executive<br />
officer of Rocky Mountain<br />
Institute.<br />
RMI’s Sustainable Energy<br />
for Economic Development<br />
(SEED) program had the<br />
support of the Rockefeller<br />
Foundation and Virgin Unite.<br />
Schneider Electric sponsored<br />
the workshop.<br />
Isaac Anyaogu, Email: isaac.anyaogu@businessdayonline.com, 07037817378, Graphics: Joel Samson
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
24 BUSINESS DAY<br />
C002D5556<br />
Hotels<br />
Ibom Hotel &Golf Resort, still a<br />
delight to tourists, golfers<br />
Top <strong>BusinessDay</strong> Partner Hotels<br />
Stories by<br />
OBINNA EMELIKE<br />
It is no longer news that<br />
the Le Meridien brand<br />
has left Akwa Ibom<br />
State after branding<br />
its premier hospitality<br />
outfit for a decade. The reality<br />
is that since the exit of Le<br />
Meridien, a brand under<br />
<strong>Mar</strong>riot International, on<br />
December 31, 2017, new<br />
vista of experience for the<br />
guests, golfers and opportunities<br />
for the locals have<br />
opened.<br />
Now rebranded as Ibom<br />
Hotel & Golf Resort and<br />
under a new management,<br />
the premier golf resort in the<br />
South South region of Nigeria<br />
is still golfers’ delight and<br />
an escape worth the while of<br />
tourists any day.<br />
For the skeptics, what has<br />
changed is the management<br />
company, the standard, staff<br />
and facilities are still much<br />
intact and even improved.<br />
Few months down the line,<br />
the resort is still very much<br />
in a good shape; the world<br />
class facilities combine with<br />
fascinating lush landscape<br />
and enchanting nature to<br />
woo guests to feasts.<br />
Of course, in its determination<br />
to keep the high standard<br />
and reputation of the<br />
hotel, the Akwa Ibom State<br />
government, the owner of the<br />
golf resort, appointed Ronald<br />
Stilting, a reputable hotelier<br />
with international profile, as<br />
the general manager.<br />
Stilting, in the other hand,<br />
is very familiar with the Nigerian<br />
and African hotel<br />
markets. From opening and<br />
managing Lilly Gate Hotel in<br />
Lekki Phase 1, to managing<br />
Golden Tulip Essential on<br />
Airport Road, both in Lagos,<br />
Stilting is not a novice in<br />
the Nigerian hotel market.<br />
However, he is bringing to<br />
bear his over two decades<br />
of experience in the global<br />
hospitality industry in the<br />
management of Ibom Hotel<br />
& Golf Resort.<br />
The good thing is that it<br />
is no longer a brand name<br />
that is at stake, rather Stilting’s<br />
name and if the Dutch<br />
national fails to deliver, that<br />
may cost him further hotel<br />
management jobs on the<br />
African continent.<br />
‘‘The facility has not<br />
changed. I am the only one<br />
that has changed as the new<br />
general manager. But I am<br />
here to improve on what I<br />
met on ground”, Stilting says.<br />
The Stilting-led management<br />
is starting on a right<br />
note, first by taking stock of<br />
why the former manager left,<br />
engaging the stakeholders<br />
and aggressive marketing<br />
and media campaign.<br />
Some of the stakeholders<br />
he engaged recently were<br />
tour operators, travel agents<br />
and the travel media. The<br />
mix was necessarily in order<br />
to present the resort afresh<br />
to them, seek collaboration<br />
in marketing and creating<br />
awareness of the facilities<br />
and services to would-be<br />
guests, and target market.<br />
Taking stock of the facilities<br />
and services, the new<br />
general manager noted that<br />
the resort features of an 18 –<br />
hole golf course, including<br />
the <strong>Mar</strong>ina Club, 163 wellappointed<br />
rooms, seven<br />
chalets, fitness centre, bars<br />
and restaurants, conference<br />
facilities and most importantly,<br />
well-motivated staff<br />
who ensure personalised<br />
and value for money offerings<br />
for every guest.<br />
For him, one of the reasons<br />
to visit is the golf course<br />
with an enchanting and undulating<br />
landscape, hilly<br />
ranges and water courses.<br />
Describing the golf course,<br />
he says that it is highly regarded<br />
as one of the best<br />
and challenging courses in<br />
Nigeria and a professional<br />
golfer’s delight.<br />
Barely three months on,<br />
the Duct hospitality expert<br />
says his team’s efforts are<br />
yielding the expected results.<br />
“Presently, we are pretty<br />
much on course. We have<br />
not lost ground in the market,<br />
rather our clientele base<br />
has improved since January<br />
1, <strong>2018</strong> when the new<br />
management commenced<br />
operation”.<br />
He also highlights his<br />
areas of focus saying, ‘‘We are<br />
on course and will sustain<br />
our feats but now we want to<br />
push it beyond this level and<br />
that is one of the reasons that<br />
you are here’’.<br />
Going specific, the general<br />
manager says, ‘‘We want<br />
be very strong in golf and<br />
also improve on our efforts at<br />
capturing more conferences”.<br />
As well, he thinks the local<br />
market holds huge potential;<br />
hence effort is also made to<br />
capture it with sales trip to<br />
cities such as Lagos, Port<br />
Harcourt and neighouring<br />
cities to Uyo.<br />
To capture the local market<br />
and other guests, the<br />
hotel is improving on its<br />
facilities alongside with the<br />
offering of new products.<br />
From a strong focus on increasing<br />
golf and leisure offerings,<br />
which really has not<br />
been marketed that much,<br />
Stilting says the resort is also<br />
focusing more on family and<br />
children.<br />
To do this, the new management<br />
is planning to improve<br />
on the existing facilities<br />
with additions such<br />
as soccer pitch, themed park,<br />
swim and dine and Sunday<br />
brunch. While the product<br />
and service offerings<br />
are looked after, the new<br />
management is also keen<br />
on improving the physical<br />
look of the entire property<br />
with planned upgrade of the<br />
facilities, which according to<br />
the general manager, is due<br />
after 10 years.<br />
The upgrade will be carried<br />
out in phases with the<br />
lobby area, restaurant, bar,<br />
and rooms getting a face lift<br />
to enhance guest experience,<br />
he further notes.<br />
Stilting and his team insist<br />
that they have a great facility,<br />
there is no change rather<br />
improvement and all you<br />
need do is visit for a great<br />
experience, especially this<br />
Easter holiday.<br />
Four Point Hotels<br />
(Oniru Chiefatancy<br />
Estate,Lekki)<br />
The Wheatbaker<br />
#4 Onitolo(Lawrence Road),<br />
Ikoyi, Lagos.<br />
InterContinental Lagos<br />
Plot 52, Kofo Abayomi St,<br />
Lagos<br />
Tel: 01 <strong>23</strong>6 6666<br />
Best Western Hotel<br />
Hotels 12, Allen Avenue<br />
C/O Funmi (Front Office Manager)<br />
Transcorp Hilton Abuja<br />
1 Aguiyi Ironsi Street Maitama,<br />
Abuja<br />
Tel: +<strong>23</strong>4-708-060-3000<br />
Hawthorn Suites by<br />
Wyndham Abuja<br />
1 Uke St, Garki, Abuja.<br />
Tel: +<strong>23</strong>4 9 4603900, +<strong>23</strong>4<br />
805 7522500<br />
Renaissance Lagos Ikeja<br />
Hotel<br />
#38/40 Isaac John St, Ikeja<br />
GRA100271, Ikeja<br />
Tel: +<strong>23</strong>4-908-780 5555<br />
Southern Sun Ikoyi beckons for Easter treat<br />
Protea Hotel (GRA Ikeja)<br />
GRA Ikeja<br />
Southern Sun Ikoyi is<br />
inviting discerning<br />
guests to an enjoyable<br />
Easter celebration<br />
at its luxury hotel located<br />
in the prime Ikoyi environs.<br />
Promising delightful treats<br />
for guests and their loved<br />
ones, this season at the hotel<br />
is packed with worthy offers<br />
including a mouthwatering<br />
Easter special Sunday<br />
Brunch. Famed for its exquisite<br />
hospitality, culinary<br />
delights and cozy ambience,<br />
Southern Sun Ikoyi is indeed<br />
the preferred choice for fine<br />
dining and a well-deserved<br />
break this season.<br />
Pegged at N17, 000 only,<br />
per person and an a la cart<br />
menu available on request,<br />
this special Easter Sunday<br />
Brunch is not to be missed.<br />
The special brunch is accompanied<br />
with choice champagne,<br />
exotic cocktail mixes<br />
and fine wines all aimed at<br />
tickling even the most selective<br />
taste buds. There are<br />
also specially rated accommodation<br />
offers at N45, 000<br />
only for standard rooms and<br />
N53, 750 only for executive<br />
rooms all per room and per<br />
night. The offers are inclusive<br />
of full breakfast for two,<br />
children under four years old<br />
get to stay and eat for free and<br />
children aged 5 to 9 years old<br />
pay a 50 percent discount.<br />
The exciting discount offer<br />
is valid from <strong>Mar</strong>ch 29 until<br />
April 3, <strong>2018</strong>.<br />
The hotel, which is hugely<br />
admired by business and<br />
leisure travelers alike boasts<br />
a beautifully designed contemporary<br />
lounge, a wellstocked<br />
bar and a pool with<br />
serene terrace area, all ideal<br />
for a perfect and memorable<br />
stay. The hotel also offers<br />
sufficient WiFi connectivity<br />
and is equipped with a<br />
gym, trained instructor and<br />
up-to-date facilities all for<br />
the comfort of fitness enthusiasts<br />
including a relaxation<br />
sauna.<br />
A day at the hotel is truly<br />
unforgettable as the warm<br />
staff and the award winning<br />
head chef provide a scrumptious<br />
array of savoury dishes<br />
and desserts all made from<br />
the freshest ingredients that<br />
simply melt away with every<br />
bite. The hotel restaurant<br />
also caters to guests with particular<br />
dietary concerns. The<br />
general manager invites you<br />
to come and experience the<br />
real Southern Sun comfort<br />
this Easter with your friends<br />
and loved ones.<br />
Protea Hotel (V/Island)<br />
Off Ajose Adeogun Street, V/<br />
Island<br />
Radisson Blu Anchorage<br />
Hotel<br />
1A,Ozumba Mbadiwe,Victoria<br />
Island.
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong> C002D5556 BUSINESS DAY<br />
25<br />
INTERVIEW<br />
‘All that we do are geared towards<br />
helping the real estate industry’<br />
The size of the Nigerian real estate market which offers compelling opportunities is, increasingly, attracting more foreign<br />
real estate service providers that are adding value to investors’ offerings. One of the newest of such firms in the market<br />
today is the International Real Estate Partners (IREP). In this interview, EREJUWA GBADEBO, the company’s CEO, offers<br />
insights into what the company is in Nigeria to do differently. She also speaks on germane real estate issues including the<br />
Lagos Land Use Charge Law <strong>2018</strong>. He speaks with CHUKA UROKO, Property Editor. Excerpts:<br />
As a new entrant into the Nigerian<br />
real estate market, tell us who<br />
you are and what you have come<br />
to do differently in this crowded<br />
market?<br />
In a nutshell, IREP, which<br />
stands for International Real<br />
Estate Partnership, is essentially<br />
a real estate services<br />
company. What we are doing<br />
is providing real estate services that<br />
are of the same quality with what<br />
you find anywhere else in the world.<br />
We are trying to do it differently<br />
because we are a member of a consortium<br />
of partnering companies<br />
which are all around the world with<br />
different specialties. The idea is that<br />
an investor who wants the services<br />
of any of these partnering firms will<br />
come to us and we will fish around<br />
for our partners and that will add<br />
value to the investor. We want<br />
to bring a plethora of specialties<br />
around the world that can add value<br />
to what the investors offer. We serve<br />
as a one-stop shop for clients.<br />
For purposes of information<br />
and reference by potential investors<br />
and clients, may we have a few<br />
examples of the foreign companies<br />
that are your partners?<br />
Our partners, as I said earlier,<br />
are all over the world. We have a<br />
leading financial services partner<br />
in China whose specialty is in real<br />
estate. They are in Beijing, Shanghai,<br />
Hong Kong, Moscow, etc. If, for<br />
instance, you have an investment in<br />
any of these countries and you need<br />
financial services, we can link you<br />
up to this partner to provide you<br />
with the services.<br />
We have another company in<br />
America called Global Expansion<br />
Associate and their specialty is in<br />
providing turn-key developments<br />
across financial services. So, if you<br />
have need for any turnkey financial<br />
solutions, they are the ones to go to,<br />
but you will be dealing with IREP.<br />
We also have a multi-disciplinary<br />
interior architectural services<br />
company who are in South East<br />
Asia. If you have land to do office<br />
development or you want to do<br />
feasibility studies here in Nigeria,<br />
or you need funding, you just meet<br />
us and we help you access their<br />
services.<br />
Also we have Alpha Mead Group<br />
here in Nigeria which consists of<br />
a number of subsidiaries that are<br />
into facilities management, real<br />
estate development, security and<br />
healthcare management. They are<br />
trying to go across regional West Africa.<br />
We have another partner that<br />
has branches in Europe, Africa and<br />
Asia. They are a real estate advisory<br />
firm and if you want a mixed-bag<br />
Erejuwa Gbadebo<br />
or mixed portfolio here in Nigeria<br />
or anywhere in the world, they are<br />
there for you.<br />
We have got another interesting<br />
partner specialized in verification,<br />
testing and certification. So, any<br />
one that has a building and wants<br />
it tested or certified, they can help<br />
him to get certified to ISO. We<br />
also have what I can call real estate<br />
transnational service company. If<br />
you want to bring in foreign investors<br />
and you don’t understand their<br />
language, this is where you bring in<br />
this company to help you out. They<br />
understand the language of real<br />
estate and can put together your<br />
contract in such a way that you are<br />
not short-changed.<br />
From what you have said so<br />
far, it can be deduced that you<br />
are a multi-disciplinary company.<br />
But what is your core area<br />
of competence in terms of service<br />
delivery?<br />
Well, we are a small company<br />
and we are effectively starting<br />
afresh in terms of our branding.<br />
But in terms of the services we<br />
provide, we provide all the key real<br />
estate services including advisory,<br />
research, marketing, property management<br />
and others.<br />
Predominantly, where we add<br />
value is in market research and<br />
advisory. We are trying to gather all<br />
the necessary data so that anybody<br />
who wants information can come to<br />
us. Depending on what the client<br />
wants, we can do market research<br />
or be the leasing agent for him. All<br />
these are geared towards reducing<br />
cost for the client.<br />
In providing advisory services,<br />
to what extent do you influence<br />
client’s design and decision?<br />
All that we do are geared towards<br />
helping the real estate industry. You<br />
can work hard on a building that<br />
has nothing to offer the industry<br />
and so nobody wants to touch it.<br />
There is a typical example of such<br />
building in Victoria Island. It is a<br />
commercial building and nobody<br />
has event stepped into it. A little<br />
bit of market research before the<br />
building was started could have<br />
helped the developers to create a<br />
I believe there won’t<br />
be a reduction in<br />
the population of<br />
Lagos, but there is<br />
certainly going to be<br />
a reduction in the<br />
number of those who<br />
would pay the tax,<br />
leading to millions of<br />
citizens that would be<br />
out of job<br />
better solution.<br />
On the contrary, everybody<br />
would like to work on skyline buildings<br />
like Heritage Place and The<br />
Wings Towers which have been<br />
completed, and the Desiderata<br />
Tower on Banana Island which is<br />
still ongoing. There is another one<br />
we are involved in and we have<br />
influenced a lot of things in the<br />
building. It is a naira-lease project<br />
and this means there are no worries<br />
about fluctuation in exchange rate.<br />
The point I am trying to make<br />
is that upfront information is very<br />
vital and people generally ignore<br />
them to their own detriment in the<br />
long run. If you put up a gigantic<br />
building that is difficult to maintain,<br />
nobody will go there. And when the<br />
mistakes are made, it is difficult to<br />
correct them in the long run.<br />
After a few months of coming<br />
into the Nigerian market, what<br />
has been your experience; what<br />
impression of the market do you<br />
have?<br />
IREP is new in Nigeria but all<br />
of us who work here have been<br />
around a long while. The market is<br />
difficult, and my challenge is the assumption<br />
that because the oil price<br />
has gone up, everything in Nigeria<br />
is appearing to be out of recession.<br />
Actually, the recession in real<br />
estate is different. The sector has<br />
been in negative growth for eight<br />
consecutive quarters and in this<br />
last quarter of 2017, the growth was<br />
-5.09 percent. This was lower by -1.8<br />
percent than the previous quarter.<br />
That quarter was less traumatic but<br />
it was that bad. Year-on-year, the<br />
sector’s growth was -3. 25 percent<br />
lower. All these impact on pipeline<br />
projects. As a result of this too,<br />
construction cost has gone up and<br />
so has real estate services.<br />
What in your view is wrong in<br />
the real estate sector that is limiting<br />
its growth?<br />
I think there is something we are<br />
not telling ourselves and that is annoying<br />
for me. There is a huge gap<br />
between where we are and where<br />
we are supposed to be. In my view,<br />
real estate is not growing because<br />
we have the most difficult transactional<br />
laws in the real estate market.<br />
You cannot tell me that someone<br />
who owns a property cannot sell to<br />
whomsoever he likes at whatever<br />
price he wants. Here, you have to<br />
go back to the government that did<br />
not help you to build the house for<br />
permission to sell the property. This<br />
is why our land is expensive and<br />
registration is difficult and takes so<br />
long such that transactions cannot<br />
happen at the kind of speed they<br />
are needed to.<br />
Lagos State government recently<br />
announced a new land use<br />
charge that has seen charge rates<br />
jump 400 percent in most cases.<br />
What is your view on this new law?<br />
The Lagos State government has<br />
made matters worse by changing<br />
the land use act which had started<br />
making life easier for Lagosians.<br />
Before now, we had rates which<br />
the landlord and the tenants had<br />
their respective responsibilities to<br />
pay. Now, they have made it punitive<br />
and it is coming at a time when<br />
people are running away from real<br />
estate sector and the market.<br />
What they have done has the<br />
capacity to scare people away from<br />
Lagos to neighbouring Ogun State.<br />
Recall that during the time of the<br />
crisis in the Niger Delta, foreign<br />
workers or investors who had<br />
business in Nigeria chose to stay<br />
in Ghana and flew from there to<br />
Nigeria and back after transacting<br />
their business. We did not learn<br />
from that and it means those who<br />
have property in Ogun should start<br />
thinking of moving to such areas<br />
and have their peace.<br />
For me, the law is ill-timed<br />
and there is no need for it. If you<br />
want to increase your tax, create a<br />
conducive environment to make<br />
that happen. This is going to<br />
impact negatively on real estate<br />
and small companies like mine<br />
that is predominantly Lagos and<br />
Abuja-based. Imagine a situation<br />
where I move and some other<br />
companies follow suit to other<br />
locations outside Lagos. The<br />
state will lose much revenue from<br />
company and employee taxes. I<br />
believe there won’t be a reduction<br />
in the population of Lagos,<br />
but there is certainly going to be a<br />
reduction in the number of those<br />
who would pay the tax, leading to<br />
millions of citizens that would be<br />
out of job.<br />
If you were to rate yourself in<br />
terms of those things you do in<br />
this market, where do you think<br />
you would be?<br />
To be honest with you, we cannot<br />
compete in terms of geographical<br />
spread with indigenous companies.<br />
We are much smaller than the<br />
likes of Broll which has been here<br />
awhile. We also have big names<br />
like Jones Long LaSale (JLL). We<br />
don’t do as much work as they do<br />
in terms of numbers. But in terms<br />
of the quality of the work that we do,<br />
it is at par with any of them. In the<br />
area that we operate and the quality<br />
of work that we do, we always see<br />
ourselves at the top. The only challenge<br />
is that we just don’t have the<br />
numbers and spread that they have.
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
26 BUSINESS DAY<br />
C002D5556<br />
‘You need at least a budget of about<br />
N30m to stage a musical in Nigeria’<br />
From being a beneficiary of the MTN Foundation MUSON scholarship a few years ago to directing some of the best musical-theater performances<br />
across the country today, AYO AJAYI, executive director of Declassical Arts & Entertainment, has proven himself. At the recently held Love<br />
Colours Valentine Concert organised by MUSON School of Music Alumni and MTN Foundation, OBINNA EMELIKE caught up with him.<br />
Can you tell us bit about yourself?<br />
am Ayodeji Mayowa Oluwatosin<br />
Ajayi widely known as Ayo Ajayi.<br />
I am an MTNF/MUSON scholar,<br />
a theater/music producer and<br />
director. I am the executive director<br />
of Declassical Arts & Entertainment,<br />
the producer of Ununcha the Musical<br />
for the Face of Okija 2017, GULA and<br />
Fela: Arrest the Music. As well, I am the<br />
president of MUSON School Alumni<br />
Association, musical director of Voices<br />
& Chords and the assistant organist at<br />
Christ Apostolic Church, Yaba, Lagos.<br />
How did you get to know about MTN<br />
Foundation/MUSON Scholarship<br />
opportunity?<br />
I have attended some institutions before<br />
the MUSON Diploma programme<br />
started but I did not find fulfillment. I<br />
was offering music classes to people<br />
in my church and people invited me to<br />
teach them theory of music or train their<br />
choir. I met late Stephen Olarinde, a<br />
choirmaster of a Catholic church then. I<br />
was training him and his members and<br />
also preparing them for MUSON certificate<br />
examinations. He heard about<br />
the MTNF scholarship first and notified<br />
me and I applied. Agatha Ibeazor,<br />
our famous PHD holder in view, was a<br />
member of that choir I was training and<br />
she also came in for the programme but<br />
a year after us.<br />
What has been your most memorable<br />
Valentine concert?<br />
There are two notable events that happened<br />
last year. I was listening to Perpie;<br />
our celebrity soulful Saxophonist, play<br />
‘I’ll always love you’ during her rehearsals.<br />
But the sound did not come across<br />
the way I am used to hear her sound, so<br />
I knew something was wrong. I called<br />
her to replace the tenor saxophone with<br />
the more sonorous soprano saxophone<br />
that I know she had gotten used to. She<br />
objected at first. She reluctantly had to<br />
drive all the way home to get her soprano<br />
sax and her performance became<br />
the highlight of the event as her sound<br />
transported people to realms beyond<br />
where love is inherent. The second<br />
is at MUSON where we are more at<br />
home with our conservative concerts,<br />
but last year we did a total revamp of<br />
the concert, from aesthetic value to the<br />
nature of content which now includes<br />
performances like the spoken word and<br />
dance. We thought we were being radi-<br />
cal but the MUSON Board commended<br />
us for the initiative. Thanks to my team,<br />
which include Raphael Francis, Perpetual<br />
Atife and Joshua David.<br />
What are some of the activities you<br />
engage in as alumni?<br />
We started a programme for schools<br />
called Concert for Stars. The programme<br />
brings students from all the<br />
schools in a certain locality to converge<br />
at one venue and perform together with<br />
members of the alumni. We believe in<br />
the future of these children and the<br />
right exposure from a young age. This<br />
informed generation will help correct<br />
the anomalies in the music industry.<br />
We have done three editions at Pinefield<br />
School, Kings College and Halifield College.<br />
But like every other good innovation,<br />
the project requires sponsorship.<br />
How did you become the music director<br />
at Wakaa and Saro The Musical?<br />
SARO the Musical is a big project. A<br />
big thank you goes to Bolanle Austen-<br />
Peters for having me on this project.<br />
While trying to create this fan favourite<br />
musical, we had no Nigerian template<br />
to replicate. I remember we were watching<br />
Les Miserables, Phantom of the<br />
Opera and some other musicals just<br />
to get a much needed structure. As the<br />
musical director, I had to research and<br />
find or write songs that are suitable for<br />
each of the scenes, arrange the scores to<br />
blend seamlessly into the scenes which<br />
are not easy tasks to perform. The work<br />
The Eve goes to cinema on <strong>Mar</strong>ch 29th<br />
Cut24 Productions is set<br />
to release a new Nollywood<br />
blockbuster titled<br />
“The Eve”. The new romantic<br />
comedy, which chronicles<br />
the days leading up to a supposed<br />
“happy couple’s” wedding day<br />
features a stellar cast and is directed<br />
by Tosin Igho, a rapper turned<br />
director.<br />
Ayo Ajayi<br />
Currently slated to hit cinemas<br />
nationwide on <strong>Mar</strong>ch 29, <strong>2018</strong>,<br />
“The Eve” comes hot on the heels<br />
of other successful productions<br />
from Cut24 including the critically<br />
acclaimed Gidi Blues & 4th Estate.<br />
The Eve follows a young couple,<br />
Funsho and Yewande who<br />
have shockingly varying personalities,<br />
and are set to get married<br />
of a musical director in Nigeria is broad.<br />
Most producers do not understand that<br />
they need song writers, orchestrators<br />
and so on. The Nigerian musical director<br />
is responsible for all these complex<br />
duties. Same it was with SARO. I am glad<br />
I did all that because the experience<br />
from it has really helped in my personal<br />
productions.<br />
How challenging is the job of a musical<br />
director?<br />
The first hurdle I had to cross being<br />
a musical director was organising a<br />
team of musicians who will give life<br />
to the theater performance. I set to<br />
do this by inviting friends who would<br />
share in the vision of the producer<br />
and who have enough expertise to<br />
transport their musical knowledge<br />
into the theatre sphere. At first,<br />
many of them struggled to adapt<br />
to the rigours of theatre being men<br />
who got paid by the hour. Another<br />
challenge was trying to interpret and<br />
express what you play in relation to a<br />
scene playing out in front of you. This<br />
requires great mental coordination<br />
and a high level proficiency on the<br />
instrument. Unfortunately, these are<br />
just the two major things that most<br />
Nigerian musicians lack but I was<br />
able to gather a team of professionals<br />
who adapted in very little time.<br />
So, we put together the best crop of<br />
musicians well suited to theatre in<br />
the country and they have been irreplaceable<br />
till date.<br />
What major productions have you<br />
been involved with?<br />
Aside directing music for theater, I<br />
have three productions to my credit.<br />
They are Fela: Arrest the Music, this<br />
showed at the MUSON festival 2016<br />
and African International Film Festival<br />
(AFRIFF) same year, GULA that I jointly<br />
produced with Tunde Oduwole in 2017<br />
and Ununcha the Musical, which I produced<br />
for the Obijackson Foundation<br />
at the Face of Okija 2017 in Anambra<br />
State. Ununcha the Musical and GULA<br />
will be coming back on stage later in<br />
the year. At the preview of SARO the<br />
musical, I remember one of the invited<br />
celebrities was just so thrilled about the<br />
theme music. I was home one morning<br />
when I received Mrs. Austen-Peters’<br />
call telling me how everyone including<br />
her husband and daughter seem to be<br />
exhilarated at the sensational SARO<br />
theme song. I think aside that, I have<br />
directed music in many productions.<br />
My greatest joy is that I have been able<br />
to leave an indelible mark in this space.<br />
I hear many lovely theme songs in the<br />
style of film scores today and I look back<br />
at when we started, there was practically<br />
nothing like it.<br />
You studied Computer Science, has<br />
it in any way enhanced your interest<br />
in music?<br />
When we started working on SARO<br />
the Musical, we had to think about<br />
new possibilities of getting clean,<br />
crisp sound for the production unlike<br />
the regular theater speech amplifications.<br />
It was really challenging as<br />
many of the things we were taught in<br />
school were more of theoretical than<br />
practical. However, this was a new<br />
job and a vacuum needed to be filled,<br />
not just by anybody but someone<br />
who had in-depth knowledge. The<br />
responsibility automatically fell on<br />
me and my understanding helped<br />
a lot because I was able to communicate<br />
effectively the desires and<br />
expectations of the production crew<br />
in the right language to the technical<br />
crew. This kick-started the era of good<br />
sound for theater productions at<br />
Bolanle Austen-Peters Productions<br />
and other production companies<br />
who embraced the new order. So, for<br />
me, choosing the science was not a<br />
mistake. I still apply the knowledge<br />
to date in my recording studio and<br />
productions.<br />
in a few days. Just before the wedding,<br />
Funsho and his three childhood<br />
friends set out to treat the<br />
groom to one blissful getaway and<br />
a Bachelor’s eve. Things quickly go<br />
south and the events and revelations<br />
that unfold ultimately raise<br />
more questions than answers for<br />
the couple.<br />
The movie will explore various<br />
themes and genres through<br />
its under two hours runtime and<br />
the audience is set to be treated<br />
to various musical numbers as the<br />
movie has been compared to Nollywood’s<br />
response to modern Disney<br />
classics.<br />
The movie will also become the<br />
first Nollywood movie to tackle<br />
homophobia as part of its subplot.<br />
How can youths be encouraged to<br />
make career out of music and theatre?<br />
You need at least a budget of about<br />
N30,000,000 (thirty million naira) to<br />
stage a musical in Nigeria. Where would<br />
that come from? There are many beautiful<br />
productions rotting in the minds of<br />
the carriers for lack of funds. The politicians<br />
have failed to put the necessary infrastructures<br />
in place for the promotion<br />
of arts and theatre. I went to the Theater<br />
of her Royal Majesty at the Westend to<br />
see the Phantom of the Opera and some<br />
other musical shows. I was not only sad<br />
but I was angry in my spirit at the same<br />
time. We do not have proper theaters in<br />
the country, we lack infrastructure and<br />
these things cannot be put together by<br />
an individual because they are really<br />
expensive. I think the government and<br />
private investors need to invest in infrastructure<br />
in order to make theatre more<br />
appealing and believable. Beside the<br />
government, I also think many corporate<br />
organisations can also contribute<br />
a great deal. Musical theatre is the real<br />
deal. Invest in it and help both big and<br />
evolving production companies grow.<br />
Nigerians are talented and theater is<br />
a space that will employ many youths.<br />
How was your experience while undergoing<br />
the diploma programme<br />
at MUSON?<br />
After my entrance examination at<br />
MUSON Diploma School as a pioneer<br />
student, I had passed excellently<br />
in my theory, failed woefully in my<br />
history like all others anyways, and<br />
soared through my practical auditions<br />
like an eagle. There was then a<br />
moment of silence, no communication.<br />
I assumed even the school was<br />
scared of telling us how much we<br />
were to pay as tuition, so 25 of us<br />
were back to square one thinking<br />
that the Diploma course was just a<br />
mirage. Later on that same month,<br />
news started spreading that the<br />
course would go on because MTN<br />
Foundation has decided to pay for<br />
the programme. It seemed too good<br />
to be true at first because I thought<br />
who would just wake up in our society<br />
and pay other people’s children<br />
school fees? To cut the long story<br />
short, it happened and we got the<br />
best tutelage ever without travelling<br />
aboard, we also got study materials<br />
for free. Isn’t that just a miracle?<br />
The cast features some of Nollywood’s<br />
leading women including;<br />
Beverly Naya, Meg Otanwa, Ronke<br />
Oshodi and Hauwa Allahbura.<br />
According to Femi Odugbemi,<br />
the executive producer, “Passion,<br />
longing and heartbreak are familiar<br />
themes to viewers all around<br />
the world, but “The Eve” comes<br />
with fresh perspective.”
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
C002D5556<br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
27<br />
Movie Review - GRINGO<br />
The title of this<br />
movie did no<br />
justice to the<br />
movie because<br />
it was absolutely<br />
amazing and interesting;<br />
the blend with the<br />
Nollywood and Hollywood<br />
was beautiful. Most people<br />
wouldn’t want to go watch<br />
this movie, based on the<br />
title and it not being clear,<br />
but it was a very good<br />
movie with a lovely storyline.<br />
One that people could<br />
recon with, a hardworking<br />
man who worked for<br />
a friend and then he finds<br />
out he had being the fool in<br />
his marriage and at work.<br />
Harold Soyinka the lead actor<br />
was a good man, who<br />
did what was always right,<br />
according to the teachings<br />
of his father, he is Nigerian<br />
who was taken to the US<br />
when he was little, grew up<br />
and still had the upbringing<br />
of his Nigerian parents, he<br />
was taught to never cheat<br />
and defeat the boss, which<br />
he always did, but then the<br />
tables turned around negatively,<br />
when he became the<br />
victim of his boss. There<br />
was this story that was being<br />
used or passed across<br />
about the gorilla, banana,<br />
passing of the ball, Harold<br />
had no clue he was the ball<br />
being tossed, all along he<br />
thought he was in control,<br />
little did he know that his<br />
boss and loving wife were<br />
lying to him.<br />
Movie director Nash<br />
Edgerton had a well<br />
thought out storyline and<br />
wanted to explain a few issues<br />
that were going on in<br />
Mexico, disclosing what<br />
transpired in the drug cartel<br />
and how bad kidnapping<br />
was. The writers Matthew<br />
Stone and Anthony<br />
Tambakis were quiet detailed<br />
thereby giving the<br />
movie a good twist. The<br />
blend of both worlds was<br />
really good, the addiction<br />
of the Nigerian accent,<br />
and “Yoruba words and<br />
prayers” in the movie made<br />
us really like it’s our movie.<br />
I enjoyed the chase back<br />
and forth, and his arranged<br />
kidnap on several occasion,<br />
which later turned<br />
out to be real.<br />
“Gringo” as the title entailed<br />
meant “foreigner”, it<br />
was a word used for Americans<br />
or anyone who wasn’t<br />
Mexican, Harold Soyinka<br />
a Nigerian American, was<br />
called to work for his old<br />
time classmate Richard.<br />
Richard owned a pharmaceutical<br />
company, who<br />
wanted to expand their<br />
product line, and needed<br />
to set up in Mexico, so he<br />
called on Harold to help<br />
him set up there. Little did<br />
Cast: David Oyelowo, Amanda Seyfried, Yul Vazquez,<br />
Diego Catano, Rodrigo Corea, Thandie Newton, Bashir<br />
Salahunddin, Carlos Corona, Joel Edgerton, Sharlto Copley,<br />
Harry Treadaway, Theo Taplitz & Charlize Theron<br />
Genre: Action, Adventure, Commedy & Drama<br />
Director: Nash Edgerton<br />
Ratings: R (for Violence, sexual content, language<br />
throughout)<br />
Written by: Matthew stone, Anthony Tambakis<br />
Runtime: 110 mins<br />
Studio: Amazon Studios and STX Entertainment<br />
Harold know that, Richard<br />
and his senior partner<br />
Elaine had other ulterior<br />
motives. They actually<br />
wanted to set up a company<br />
that would make illegal<br />
drugs, so they needed<br />
someone to help them run<br />
and manage it our side the<br />
shores of America. Harold<br />
worked so hard to make<br />
sure they were successful<br />
and at the tail end, Richard<br />
and Elaine wanted to<br />
kick Harold out. He got a<br />
hang of their little secret<br />
and decided to act fast. So<br />
he arranged his kidnap so<br />
he could ask for a ransom<br />
of $5m dollars, which they<br />
refused to pay, at a point<br />
they even wanted him<br />
dead, so that the insurance<br />
company could pay the<br />
company the life insurance<br />
policy originally set up for<br />
employees who died in the<br />
cause of work in a foreign<br />
land, Harold actually didn’t<br />
know of this policy. It was a<br />
very funny movie, but yet<br />
informative at the extent<br />
some companies could go<br />
to just have their way even<br />
at the detriment of their<br />
employees and to make<br />
profits.<br />
The highlight of this<br />
movie was when Harold<br />
found out he had being<br />
played all along and that<br />
his dearly beloved wife who<br />
had now made him bankrupt<br />
actually was sleeping<br />
with his boss, how painful<br />
could it get, in all he felt it<br />
would be better to take his<br />
own life as he had nothing<br />
to live, the twist at the end<br />
was really unpredictable.<br />
To my verdict, I would<br />
say an 7/10, I did enjoy the<br />
movie and the suspense<br />
that came along,I actually<br />
couldn’t tell the end, because<br />
I didn’t see the twist<br />
coming. Although there<br />
were not a lot of casts and<br />
scenes, I felt it was okay<br />
and was idle for the movie.<br />
A good blend between Nollywood<br />
and Hollywood<br />
and the movie gave me a<br />
very good laugh. A good<br />
recommendation for the<br />
comedy lovers, this will<br />
sure keep you entertained.<br />
Feel free to review any<br />
movie of your choice in<br />
not more than 200 words,<br />
please send us a mail to<br />
linda@businessdayonline.<br />
com and stand a chance to<br />
win a free movie ticket<br />
Linda Ochugbua<br />
@lindaochugbua<br />
Business Etiquette<br />
with Janet Adetu<br />
Your Facial expression<br />
“A tool for networking”<br />
Your power point is<br />
your face a major<br />
part of whether<br />
someone would<br />
like to associate<br />
with you or not. Imagine<br />
being at a networking event<br />
standing waiting for someone<br />
to say hello, no expression<br />
on your face that is warm or<br />
welcoming, no smile and no<br />
willingness to engage with<br />
others. By the close of the<br />
event you may have wasted<br />
your time, the essence of<br />
your attendance is defeated.<br />
Your facial expression at any<br />
networking event creates that<br />
perception which may indeed<br />
be reality.<br />
During a particular workshop<br />
I engaged the crowd<br />
with necessary steps to outclass<br />
competition and position<br />
themselves for leadership<br />
growth and success. I<br />
tend to occasionally look out<br />
for attentiveness and participation<br />
during my sessions.<br />
As the workshop continued<br />
I could not help but notice<br />
one of the ladies wearing a<br />
very stern and fierce look on<br />
her face. I interpreted her<br />
body language to mean “do<br />
not come near me” or “do<br />
not speak to me”. Amazingly<br />
during the question<br />
and answer session, this lady<br />
was one of the first to raise<br />
her hand to ask a question.<br />
To my surprise the first thing<br />
she asked was quite strange,<br />
her comment was as follows:<br />
“every time I attend events I<br />
notice that other women do<br />
not like greeting me why?”<br />
My response was a deep<br />
thought at first trying to make<br />
the most of her facial expression.<br />
I then asked her if she<br />
was aware of the message<br />
she was sending with her<br />
everyday discouraging look.<br />
Apparently as expected she<br />
was unaware of how she<br />
came across and the perception<br />
she was leaving in the<br />
minds of those who saw her.<br />
I then proceeded to ask her<br />
to relax her facial expression<br />
by calming her eyes, mouth<br />
and jaw. Instantly she appeared<br />
a different person. It<br />
was not rocket science her<br />
emotions were all let out in<br />
her one look. Simply this<br />
lady lacked that simple smile<br />
that changed her entire look<br />
once she wore it. Fast forward<br />
several years this lady is now<br />
a good time friend of mine;<br />
she eventually turns out to be<br />
a very warm hearted person<br />
full of life, full of fun, who<br />
actually loves cracking jokes.<br />
This is how easy it is to<br />
create the wrong impression<br />
of yourself in the minds of<br />
others. Your facial expression<br />
can add or sabotage<br />
your look of credibility, integrity,<br />
approachability and<br />
authority. Your facial expression<br />
is generally based on<br />
how you position your face<br />
for others to see. It is a form<br />
of saying so much without<br />
saying a single word. Your<br />
facial expressions are actions<br />
that speak louder than<br />
words. Your facial expression<br />
does not deceive others. The<br />
micro expressions you give<br />
off happen in a split second;<br />
many times before you blink<br />
or bat your eyelid. Your face<br />
simply attaches emotion to<br />
it that cannot go unnoticed.<br />
In an office setting you will<br />
need to leave all your worries,<br />
inhibitions, feelings,<br />
thoughts and issues behind<br />
or at home. and wear a stern<br />
authoritative in control look<br />
to be perceived the leader<br />
hidden in you.<br />
What does your face look<br />
like or on a regular basis?<br />
-Happy Sad Suspired<br />
Afraid<br />
- Excited Content Angry<br />
Disgusted<br />
The whole idea of a facial<br />
expressions is for the person<br />
reading the face to believe or<br />
even trust what you are saying.<br />
What affects your facial<br />
expression on a daily basis?<br />
Your EYES.<br />
How do you position your<br />
eyes when you speak as well<br />
as when you are being spoken<br />
to? Do you stare at someone<br />
or something while taking?<br />
Do you frown by raising<br />
or lowering your eyebrows to<br />
express your true thoughts?<br />
Are you one to constantly<br />
blink at everything almost in<br />
a habitual way.<br />
Your Mouth<br />
How often do you wear a<br />
smile?<br />
Do you need to be in the<br />
mood before you smile?<br />
Does your expression of<br />
anger include the tightening<br />
of your lips?<br />
Your JAWLINE<br />
Your jawline is impacted by<br />
your lips or mouth positioning<br />
we see this in some styles of<br />
smiling with the exaggerated<br />
jawline.<br />
How do you express disappointment?<br />
Do you lower the face,<br />
eyes, mouth and jawline too?<br />
It is quite easy to think that<br />
your facial expression may<br />
not mean anything, I have a<br />
few steps of mine to help you<br />
control your facial expression.<br />
Steps to controlling your<br />
facial expression.<br />
1. Be conscious of how you<br />
come across to other people.<br />
2. Determine what perception<br />
you want to leave in the minds<br />
of others.<br />
3. Study your normal facial<br />
expression or ask someone<br />
for their feedback.<br />
4. Relax your face all the time.<br />
5. Wear a smile, a genuine<br />
smile.<br />
6. Avoid frowning while<br />
speaking, listen and engaging<br />
with others.<br />
7. Look positive.<br />
8. Look honest, sincere and<br />
trustworthy.<br />
9. Look interesting.<br />
10. Look professional.<br />
11. Watch your gesture<br />
12. Reduce the look of fear<br />
or anxiety it takes away and<br />
sabotages your image.<br />
13. Remember that perception<br />
is reality<br />
14. You are as good as you<br />
look.<br />
15. Open up to build your<br />
acquaintances and relationships<br />
through positive expressions.<br />
16. You will look as good as<br />
you feel<br />
Goodluck<br />
Janet.adetu@gmail.com
28 BUSINESS DAY Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
Socially responsible business can only succeed if it becomes a movement<br />
RICHARD STRAUB<br />
Harvard<br />
Business<br />
Review<br />
What does it take<br />
to cause something<br />
big about<br />
a community to<br />
change, something<br />
that no one individually<br />
has much power over, even<br />
something as big as a prevailing<br />
mindset? We know what it<br />
takes: a social movement. And<br />
social movements aren’t only<br />
the domain of community organizers<br />
and college students.<br />
Business people can set them<br />
in motion, too, as we are seeing<br />
right now.<br />
Currently gaining force is a<br />
movement to focus for-profit<br />
enterprises more on the essential<br />
work of enriching societies,<br />
that is, benefiting not only those<br />
humans who are their owners as<br />
publicly traded companies but<br />
also those who work in them<br />
and who stand to benefit from<br />
more purpose-driven innovation.<br />
Like any social movement,<br />
this one has started with many<br />
people starting small fires. Look<br />
around and you will see them:<br />
— INDIVIDUAL CEOS AND<br />
THEIR BOARDS DELIBER-<br />
ATELY DECIDING TO TAKE A<br />
STAND.Note, for example, the<br />
spirited defense by Paul Polman<br />
of Unilever of his long-term,<br />
sustainable business philosophy<br />
in the wake of a takeover<br />
attempt. Note the far-reaching<br />
production changes Jean-Dominique<br />
Senard has made at Michelin<br />
to empower and engage<br />
workers. In China, look at the<br />
unique organization of entrepreneurial<br />
cells Zhang Ruimin<br />
has created at Haier, and in<br />
France look at Vinci Group’s<br />
success, under Xavier Huillard,<br />
with a radically decentralized<br />
model designed to foster entrepreneurial<br />
creativity in its three<br />
thousand constituent companies.<br />
See also Rick Goings’s<br />
commitment at Tupperware<br />
Brands to increasing women’s<br />
economic empowerment in<br />
emerging economies as well as<br />
mature ones.<br />
— NETWORKS AND COM-<br />
MUNITIES SPREADING NEW<br />
NORMS AND NEW FORMS OF<br />
CAPITALISM. From the Coalition<br />
for Inclusive Capitalism to<br />
ManagementDigest<br />
the Conscious Capitalism organization,<br />
groups are forming<br />
with a mission (in the words of<br />
the latter) to “inspire, educate<br />
and empower companies to<br />
elevate humanity through business.”<br />
Some are designing new<br />
governance forms for enterprises,<br />
such as B-corps and cooperatives.<br />
Note especially the<br />
brave, innovative management<br />
reflected in social enterprises<br />
such as the Sampark Foundation,<br />
where Vineet Nayar, former<br />
CEO of HCL Technologies,<br />
is on a mission to inspire kids in<br />
rural India to learn how to think<br />
and invent like frugal innovators.<br />
— MANAGEMENT THINK-<br />
ERS FRAMING THE GREATEST<br />
CHALLENGES OF OUR TIME<br />
AS HUMAN ONES. Witness the<br />
shift that is taking place in the<br />
global conversation about artificial<br />
intelligence and other advanced<br />
digital technologies. Increasingly<br />
there is an insistence<br />
that these powerful forces must<br />
leverage human creativity, not<br />
marginalize it. Smart machines<br />
can help us find answers more<br />
quickly, but cannot frame the<br />
questions to address. We must<br />
use these technologies to unleash<br />
human potential — undoubtedly<br />
the most underused<br />
resource on the planet — and<br />
bring greater purpose, meaning<br />
and values to work.<br />
All these sparks of activity<br />
are generating heat and light.<br />
But how can the many small<br />
flames be fanned into a blazing<br />
fire? One key is for all these firestarters<br />
to recognize that they<br />
are part of a bigger movement,<br />
not just individually acting on<br />
their own values but collectively<br />
working to change expectations<br />
and behaviors. Often this happens<br />
when people who would<br />
otherwise sit on the sidelines<br />
perceive a real threat in not acting,<br />
and are galvanized to join<br />
the movement.<br />
This is part of why Larry<br />
Fink’s open letter to CEOs, sent<br />
on his investment company<br />
BlackRock’s 30th anniversary,<br />
has generated such acclaim.<br />
In it, he points to the growing<br />
threat posed by activist investors<br />
who push for short-term<br />
share-boosting tactics without<br />
regard for firms’ long-term viability.<br />
Management teams<br />
set themselves up for these assaults,<br />
he claims, when they fail<br />
to articulate compelling longterm<br />
strategies — visions of the<br />
future informed by “a sense of<br />
purpose.” Purpose, moreover,<br />
means for him social purpose.<br />
‘The public expectations of<br />
your company have never been<br />
greater,” Fink writes. “Society<br />
is demanding that companies,<br />
both public and private, serve<br />
a social purpose. To prosper<br />
over time, every company must<br />
not only deliver financial performance<br />
but also show how it<br />
makes a positive contribution<br />
to society. Companies must<br />
benefit all of their stakeholders,<br />
including shareholders,<br />
employees, customers, and the<br />
communities in which they operate.”<br />
Of course, the ideas that<br />
corporations must earn their<br />
“license to operate” and serve<br />
stakeholders that go far beyond<br />
shareholders are not new.<br />
But, as Judy Samuelsen puts it,<br />
“When the head of BlackRock,<br />
the largest investor in the world,<br />
says that companies must produce<br />
not only profits, but contributions<br />
to society, it sends a<br />
powerful message.” It kindles<br />
new interest and fans existing<br />
flames.<br />
Management educators and<br />
researchers can add their own<br />
fuel to the fire, if they will step<br />
toward it. Lately our formal institutions<br />
of management education<br />
have been outstripped<br />
by thinkers outside the academy<br />
in terms of coming up with<br />
new frameworks and methods.<br />
Much of the welcome recent in-<br />
2017 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp. Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate<br />
novation in management practice<br />
has come from the fringes;<br />
new communities and groups<br />
developing approaches such as<br />
the agile (or Scrum) movement,<br />
design thinking, lean-startup<br />
methodologies and beyondbudgeting<br />
approaches, among<br />
others.<br />
But as Harvard’s Clay Christensen<br />
has noted, management<br />
thinking lacks a common language<br />
and foundational theories;<br />
it badly needs a durable<br />
base for researchers and practices<br />
to build on and progress<br />
forward. This can be the major<br />
contribution of universities,<br />
along with a broad commitment<br />
to teaching management<br />
as a liberal art, a way of thinking<br />
outlined by Peter Drucker. The<br />
core tension for management<br />
hasn’t changed since Drucker<br />
wrote his first books: to establish<br />
a systematic approach for<br />
achieving collective performance<br />
in organizations without<br />
killing the entrepreneurial, creative<br />
and community-creating<br />
human center. In recent years<br />
the balance between the two<br />
poles has increasingly tilted<br />
towards the technocratic and<br />
financial-logic-driven side.<br />
Is it possible for a social<br />
movement to achieve a different<br />
kind of capitalism, with a<br />
human face? No one has all the<br />
levers to change organizations<br />
and society over night. But collectively<br />
we have all we need<br />
to do this over time. The great<br />
management theorist and storyteller<br />
Charles Handy expressed<br />
this well in Vienna last fall, at<br />
his closing address to the 2017<br />
Global Peter Drucker Forum. He<br />
urged managers to be inspired<br />
by their enterprises’ power to<br />
make a difference. “Let us just<br />
spark small fires in the darkness,”<br />
he said, “until they spread<br />
and the world is alight.”<br />
(Richard Straub founded<br />
the nonprofit Peter Drucker<br />
Society Europe after a 32-year<br />
career at IBM. This article is<br />
one in a series related to the<br />
10th Global Peter Drucker<br />
Forum, with the theme “Management.<br />
The Human Dimension.”<br />
taking place in November<br />
<strong>2018</strong> in Vienna.)
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
C002D5556<br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
29<br />
BUSINESS SOUTH-SOUTH<br />
COMPLETE COVERAGE OF SOUTH-SOUTH / SOUTH-EAST<br />
$28trn global GDP: Don tasks Nigerian women<br />
entrepreneurs to play deep in global economy<br />
…but should begin from home<br />
BEN EGUZOZIE, Port Harcourt<br />
Steve Azaiki, a Nigerian<br />
professor, who serves in the<br />
Conflict and Crisis Management<br />
& International<br />
Relations at the Ukrainian<br />
Academy of Personnel Management<br />
and International Relations has called<br />
on particularly aspiring Nigerian<br />
women entrepreneurs, to prepare<br />
themselves to play deep in contributing<br />
to the global economy, estimated<br />
to hit $28 trillion in gross domestic<br />
product (GDP) by 2025.<br />
It is recalled that the World Economic<br />
Forum (WEF) annual meeting<br />
in Davos, Switzerland in January<br />
this year, observed that “women are<br />
poised to participate in economic<br />
activity,” and that empowering them<br />
to participate equally in the global<br />
economy could add $28 trillion in<br />
GDP growth by 2025.<br />
Azaiki, therefore, while speaking<br />
at the graduation of 20 women out of<br />
25 graduands from Quantum Business<br />
School and Entrepreneurial<br />
Centre, Port Harcourt, urged the upcoming<br />
women entrepreneurs to first<br />
begin their business trade in Nigeria.<br />
Azaiki, who is also a visiting scholar/fellow<br />
of the Institute of Petroleum<br />
Studies (IPS), University of Port Harcourt,<br />
said it was evident that Nigerian<br />
women were actually poised to play<br />
greater role in economic activity, going<br />
by the number of participants at<br />
the business-related trainings at QBS.<br />
The 20 women graduated from<br />
a six-week entrepreneurship development<br />
programme (EDP) of the<br />
Quantum Business School and Entrepreneurship<br />
Centre, Port Harcourt,<br />
Rivers State.<br />
He said going by the number of<br />
women (20 out of 25 graduands) in<br />
the intensive business training programme,<br />
shows that Nigerian women<br />
were actually poised to become<br />
owners of many future small and<br />
medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in<br />
the country.<br />
The professor and administrator,<br />
whose achievements cut across<br />
academics, environmentalism, consultancy<br />
and public service, spoke<br />
on the theme: “Igniting/ Equipping &<br />
Accelerating Global Entrepreneurs,”<br />
stating that it conveys a message of<br />
continuity.<br />
“The implication here is building<br />
in the present with the view of<br />
preparing for the future,” Azaiki said;<br />
adding that “the groundwork that<br />
you (the graduands) have laid (by<br />
attending a business school), is not<br />
only operationalized in the local and<br />
national settings, but also in regional<br />
and international environments.”<br />
He quickly reminded them that:<br />
“It is only when you can successfully<br />
transfer all the knowledge and<br />
skills that you have acquired (at the<br />
business school) to an inclusive<br />
worldwide milieu that you can truly<br />
be numbered as global entrepreneur.”<br />
He encouraged the ladies to “see<br />
your graduation day as just a pause<br />
in preparation for the challenges and<br />
exciting times ahead.”<br />
On how entrepreneurship can be<br />
an engine for economic growth in<br />
Nigeria, Azaiki, who had served as<br />
a lecturer, Department of Phytopathology,<br />
Faculty of Plant Protection,<br />
Ukaraine Agriculture Academy; state<br />
coordinator, National Directorate<br />
of Employment (NDE), Oyo State;<br />
commissioner for Agricultural and<br />
Natural Resources, Bayelsa State; state<br />
director, NDE, Rivers State; Secretary<br />
to Bayelsa State Government, said, if<br />
entrepreneurs work hard they would<br />
find themselves in a position to bring<br />
about positive economic change in<br />
Nigeria.<br />
Export group<br />
focuses on Nigeria<br />
export ecosystem<br />
…to proffer way forward on challenges<br />
to export trade<br />
BEN EGUZOZIE, Port Harcourt<br />
Foremost export outfit in<br />
the country, the Institute<br />
of Export Operations and<br />
Management (IEOM) Nigeria,<br />
is holding a maiden breakfast<br />
meeting tomorrow Saturday in<br />
Port Harcourt, where it would<br />
disseminate relevant information<br />
on Nigeria’s export<br />
ecosystem.<br />
The meeting which holds<br />
at Landmark Hotels, in the<br />
D-Line area of Port Harcourt,<br />
would draw participants from<br />
exporters in the country, and<br />
those willing to engage in export<br />
trade.<br />
According to Ofon Udofia,<br />
the executive secretary and<br />
chief executive of IEOM, “our<br />
focus is to disseminate relevant<br />
information on the export<br />
ecosystem of Nigeria.”<br />
He informed that the<br />
breakfast meeting would also<br />
critically analyze the various<br />
challenges faced by exporters,<br />
and proffer the way forward for<br />
them.<br />
All this would be expertly<br />
carried out by Princewill<br />
Utchay, an internationally<br />
acclaimed exporter and the<br />
Managing Director/ CEO of<br />
Prime group, Prime Seafoods<br />
International Limited.<br />
NEPC targets 200,000 Nigerian women<br />
entrepreneurs for Shetrade Initiative<br />
REGIS ANUKWUOJI, Enugu<br />
To support the diversification<br />
and growth of the<br />
nation’s economy, the<br />
Nigerian Export Promotions<br />
Council has promised to<br />
connect about 200,000 Nigerian<br />
women entrepreneurs to international<br />
market, through Shetrade<br />
Initiative, which was launched by<br />
the International trade center in<br />
Abuja in 2016.<br />
The chief executive officer<br />
of Nigerian Export Promotions<br />
Council (NEPC), Olusegun<br />
Awolowo, who stated the council’s<br />
intentions at a one-day regional<br />
stakeholders’ workshop<br />
on implementation of Shetrade<br />
Initiative in Enugu, said the time<br />
has come for Nigeria to move<br />
away from dependence on oil,<br />
to unlock other potentials, particularly<br />
the captive ability of the<br />
women who dominate the nonoil<br />
export sectors.<br />
Shetrade, he said, is a global<br />
initiative call-to-action aimed at<br />
connecting one million women<br />
entrepreneurs to global market<br />
by 2020.<br />
Awolowo, who was represented<br />
by Leticia Onu, the head<br />
of Women in Export division of<br />
NEPC, Abuja, explained that the<br />
workshop was to sensitize and<br />
educate women entrepreneurs<br />
from the South-East region, to key<br />
into the initiative.<br />
“We must join other countries<br />
by working together to boldly<br />
make women business enterprises<br />
a significant contributor<br />
to the country’s economy and<br />
revenue, he said.<br />
According to the NEPC chief<br />
executive, about 120 Nigerian<br />
women entrepreneurs have already<br />
been registered, but NEPC<br />
was expecting to take in at least<br />
200,000 women out of the one million<br />
women entrepreneurs to the<br />
international market before 2020.<br />
He lamented that many people<br />
were still not aware of the Shetrade<br />
Initiative; and that was the<br />
reason why NEPC was taking it<br />
regionally by trying to sensitize<br />
women before the end of 2020<br />
when the initiative will elapse.<br />
The director said that in the<br />
South East, they were doing both<br />
sensitization and mapping of<br />
women entrepreneurs because<br />
NEPC has an MoU with the International<br />
Trade Center (ITC)<br />
to map out 4,000 women entrepreneurs,<br />
which the ITC would<br />
like to know the challenges facing<br />
them, to enable them design<br />
intervention measures of capacity<br />
building that will help them build<br />
their businesses.<br />
The initiative, she said, was a<br />
wide range that calls on womenowned<br />
business to project their<br />
businesses on the platform.<br />
ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo<br />
Policy Alert, a Non-Government<br />
Organization (NGO)<br />
has urged beneficiaries of the<br />
Niger Delta Development Commission<br />
(NDDC) projects to engage<br />
with the agency in the selection of<br />
programmes that would reflect the<br />
needs of the people.<br />
The commission which was set<br />
up to address the development<br />
challenges in the oil producing<br />
Niger Delta region of the country,<br />
Akwa Ibom to become electricity hub for power tourism<br />
ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo<br />
Akwa Ibom State says it is set to<br />
become an electricity hub for<br />
power tourism in the country<br />
when the numerous energy<br />
projects being executed by the state<br />
government are completed.<br />
Meyen Etukudo, the managing<br />
director of Ibom Power Company, an<br />
electricity generating company, wholly<br />
owned by the state government, stated<br />
this in an address at the 25th monthly<br />
power sector meeting in Uyo, the state<br />
capital.<br />
Etukudo, who thanked the state<br />
government for investing in the power<br />
sector as part of a deliberate effort to<br />
facilitate its industrial development<br />
scheme, said, Akwa Ibom will become<br />
the first state to be “ringed on 132KV<br />
circuit when the proposed 132KV<br />
double circuit transmission lines from<br />
Ikot Abasi – Ekparakwa – Ikot Ekpene –<br />
Uyo are completed to join the existing<br />
132KV transmission line from Uyo –<br />
Eket – Ekim – Ikot Abasi.”<br />
According to him, the state is also<br />
hosting the “biggest 330KV Substation<br />
at Ikot Ekpene with 12 330KV circuits;”<br />
adding that the state government,<br />
in collaboration with the Transmission<br />
Company of Nigeria (TCN), is<br />
constructing the Ekim, 132/33KV, 2 x<br />
60MVA substation, while TCN has it in<br />
its future proposal to construct 132 KV<br />
double circuit (DC) transmission line<br />
(TC) from Eket, 132/33KV substation<br />
to Oron, with an associated 2 x 60MVA,<br />
132/33KV substation at Oron.<br />
NGO wants NDDC communities to participate in project selection for execution<br />
has come under severe criticism for<br />
alleged lack of transparency in the<br />
award of contracts and poor quality<br />
of jobs.<br />
Tijah Bolton Akpan, acting executive<br />
director of Policy Alert, who<br />
stated this during a forum for the<br />
commission’s benefitting communities<br />
and stakeholders’ dialogue,<br />
said, there was an urgent need for<br />
the citizens of the region to have<br />
a strong voice in the affairs of the<br />
commission, to enable them identify<br />
their priorities.<br />
Akpan, who criticized the NDDC<br />
for over-centralization of its affairs,<br />
said, it has made it difficult for people<br />
in the Niger Delta region to carry<br />
out any form of business transaction<br />
without having to travel to the head<br />
office in Port Harcourt.<br />
He noted that the development<br />
needs of the oil-bearing communities<br />
predate the commission. He<br />
called on the people to ask critical<br />
questions that would help in defining<br />
the new paradigm for the development<br />
of the region.
30 BUSINESS DAY<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
Live @ The Stock Exchange<br />
Top Gainers/Losers as at Thursday 22 <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong> <strong>2018</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ket Statistics as at Thursday 22 <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
GAINERS<br />
Company Opening Closing Change<br />
MOBIL N176.3 N184 7.7<br />
GLAXOSMITH N22.05 N24.3 2.25<br />
NB N126 N127.9 1.9<br />
CADBURY N12.65 N13.25 0.6<br />
PZ N22.4 N<strong>23</strong> 0.6<br />
LOSERS<br />
Company Opening Closing Change<br />
ACCESS N11.75 N11.1 -0.65<br />
DANGSUGAR N20.8 N20.5 -0.3<br />
AFRIPRUD N4.32 N4.12 -0.2<br />
HONYFLOUR N2.5 N2.38 -0.12<br />
CILEASING N2 N1.9 -0.1<br />
ASI (Points) 41,633.79<br />
DEALS (Numbers) 5,039.00<br />
VOLUME (Numbers) 542,347,061.00<br />
VALUE (N billion) 7.347<br />
MARKET CAP (N Trn 15.040<br />
Ecobank Transnational<br />
Incorporated<br />
Plc surprised<br />
investors with a<br />
record 362percent<br />
growth in its full year<br />
2017 profit before tax (PBT)<br />
which in naira terms stood at<br />
N88.309billion.<br />
Ecobank audited results<br />
for the full year ended December<br />
31, 2017 released at<br />
the Nigerian Stock Exchange<br />
(NSE) show gross earnings<br />
increased by 15percent<br />
to N763.6 billion. The pan<br />
African bank’s operating<br />
profit before impairment<br />
losses increased by 14percent<br />
to N214.3billion. The<br />
bank’s share price declined<br />
by 90kobo (4.77percent) to<br />
close Thursday at N17.95.<br />
Further details of the result<br />
show it total assets also<br />
increased by 10percent to<br />
N6.864trillion; loans and advances<br />
to customers rose by<br />
1percent to N2.863trillion;<br />
deposits from customers<br />
went up by 13percent to<br />
N4.652trillion; while total equity<br />
increased by 24percent<br />
to N664.7 billion.<br />
“Our 2017 financial performance<br />
was an encouraging<br />
improvement on 2016.<br />
Our customers showed their<br />
confidence in the firm’s value<br />
proposition by giving us<br />
more of their deposits, which<br />
grew by 13”, said Ade Ayeyemi,<br />
Group Chief Executive<br />
Officer, Ecobank.<br />
“Also, our actions to improve<br />
the firm’s efficiency<br />
were productive as will be<br />
our progressive moves to<br />
Ecobank throws surprises with<br />
362% pretax profit growth<br />
Stories by<br />
Iheanyi Nwachukwu<br />
right-size and simplify our<br />
businesses, which have<br />
been designed to allow<br />
us to serve our customers<br />
better and create more<br />
sustainable value generation.<br />
We have reduced our<br />
efficiency ratio to 61.8percent<br />
which evidences the<br />
effectiveness of these actions<br />
and we will continue<br />
to drive this ratio down”, Ayeyemi<br />
added.<br />
“2017 also marked 2 years<br />
into our 5-year ‘Roadmap to<br />
Leadership’ and digitisation<br />
strategy through which we<br />
have made real strides in fixing<br />
the foundations on which<br />
our businesses can grow.<br />
Among other things, we have<br />
reorganised our businesses,<br />
overhauled our risk management,<br />
improved our controls<br />
and systems, adopted technology<br />
to drive efficiency,<br />
and we are addressing capital<br />
allocation. In <strong>2018</strong> and<br />
beyond our focus will be on<br />
one thing: relentless execution.<br />
We will use all our resources<br />
to support our mission<br />
to serve our customers<br />
better, run our businesses<br />
more efficiently, and generate<br />
returns that meet and<br />
exceed the cost of equity,”<br />
Ecobank group CEO said.<br />
L-R: Bola Adeeko, head, Shared Services Division, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE);<br />
Charl Bruyns, group head of Investor Services & Financial Institutions, Transactional Products<br />
& Services, Standard Bank Group; Oscar N. Onyema, chief executive officer, NSE;<br />
Hasan Khan, group head of Transactional Products & Services, Standard Bank Group;<br />
Akeem Oyewale, chief executive, Stanbic IBTC Nominees Limited and Babatunde Majiyagbe,<br />
executive director, Stanbic IBTC Nominees Limited during a Closing Gong Ceremony at<br />
the Exchange Yesterday.<br />
Crusadersterling Pensions delights customers<br />
with superior investment returns<br />
The CrusaderSterling<br />
Pensions<br />
Retiree fund<br />
achieved total annual<br />
returns of 21.69percent<br />
as at December 31,<br />
2017. The highest for the<br />
year in the retiree segment<br />
of the market.<br />
The National Pension<br />
Commission (PENCOM)<br />
last December released<br />
the framework for the<br />
enhancement of the<br />
monthly pension payout<br />
to existing Retirees who<br />
chose Programmed Withdrawal<br />
(PW) offered by<br />
PFAs as against Annuity<br />
product offered by Insurance<br />
companies.The objective<br />
of the Framework<br />
is to provide modalities<br />
for the implementation<br />
of periodic pension enhancement<br />
for retirees on<br />
Programmed Withdrawal<br />
under the Contributory<br />
Pension Scheme (CPS)<br />
by utilizing the surpluses<br />
generated from Return on<br />
Investment (ROI).<br />
It is this fund management<br />
superlative performance<br />
that has given<br />
advantage to over 2,000<br />
retirees currently enjoying<br />
enhanced monthly pension<br />
payments under the<br />
CrusaderSterling Pension<br />
Management. Specifically,<br />
the CrusaderSterling Pensions<br />
RSA fund, had maintained<br />
a leading position<br />
over the last eight years.<br />
In 2017, the RSA Fund returned<br />
the industry highest<br />
at 19.82percent and a<br />
cumulative of 290.99percent<br />
from inception as at<br />
26th February, <strong>2018</strong>, giving<br />
it a clear leading edge<br />
over other Pension fund<br />
managers. Next in terms of<br />
performance are Premium<br />
Pension Fund with a return<br />
of 280.10percent and<br />
ARM Pension fund with<br />
a return of 279.7percent<br />
from inception.<br />
Globally, Returns on<br />
Investments are often<br />
benchmarked against inflation<br />
within an economy.<br />
The National Bureau of<br />
Statistics (NBS) says inflation<br />
rate, measured by<br />
the Consumer Price Index<br />
(CPI), has further dropped<br />
to 15.37 percent in December<br />
2017 from 15.90 per<br />
cent recorded in November<br />
of the same year.<br />
PENCOM investment<br />
regulations strictly prescribe<br />
asset classes that<br />
PFAs could invest, with the<br />
twin objective of achieving<br />
Safety & Security of<br />
Pension Funds. The onus<br />
of monitoring returns on<br />
investments resides more<br />
with the fund contributors<br />
than PENCOM, disappointedly,<br />
most contributors<br />
are passive and rarely<br />
follow up on performances<br />
of their PFAs & fund<br />
which is reflected through<br />
the fund prices.<br />
Access Bank Plc has<br />
released its audited<br />
results for the full<br />
year ended December<br />
31, 2017 which shows<br />
resilient growth in total income.The<br />
Group reasserted<br />
its capacity to deliver steady<br />
earnings despite a tighter operating<br />
environment.<br />
In the audited financial<br />
results released to the Nigerian<br />
Stock Exchange (NSE) on<br />
Wednesday, <strong>Mar</strong>ch 21, Access<br />
Bank Plc reported group<br />
earnings of N459.1billion,<br />
representing an increase of<br />
20 percent over N381.3 billion<br />
recorded in the same<br />
period in 2016.<br />
Growth in gross earnings<br />
was boosted by a 29 percent<br />
increase in interest income<br />
to N319.9 billion in 2017,<br />
from N247.2 billion in Full<br />
Year (FY) 2016 whilst net interest<br />
income grew by 17 percent<br />
from N163.452 billion<br />
in FY 2017, from N139.148<br />
Access Bank grows earnings by 20% to N459.1bn<br />
…proposes final dividend of 40 kobo<br />
billion in the comparative<br />
period of 2016. Similarly,<br />
Non-Interest Income grew<br />
4 percent to N139.1billion,<br />
in FY 2017 from N133.4 billion<br />
in 2016, leading to an<br />
11 percent increase in the<br />
Group’s operating income to<br />
N302.596 billion in FY 2017,<br />
from N272.605 billion in FY<br />
2016.<br />
The growth in the Group’s<br />
earnings is underlined by an<br />
expansion in its core business,<br />
on the back of an enhanced<br />
asset book.<br />
Loans and advances<br />
grew 11 percent to N2.064<br />
trillion in 2017, from N1.855<br />
trillion in December 2016.<br />
Total assets grew 18 percent<br />
to N4.102 trillion in December<br />
2017, from N3.484 trillion<br />
in the corresponding<br />
period in 2016.<br />
Additionally, the Group<br />
recorded an increase of 13<br />
percent in Shareholder returns<br />
of N515 billion in December<br />
2017, from N454<br />
billion in the corresponding<br />
period in 2016.<br />
Although the Group<br />
posted significant growth in<br />
earnings, the adverse lingering<br />
effects of the macro on<br />
asset quality in the industry<br />
led to the Bank taking prudent<br />
provisions in the course<br />
of the year, thereby dampening<br />
profitability, as Profit before<br />
tax declined 11 percent<br />
to N80.1 billion in FY 2017<br />
from N90.3 billion in FY 2016.<br />
Nonetheless, Access Bank’s<br />
fundamentals remain strong<br />
and the Group remains<br />
poised for sustainable growth<br />
in the coming periods.<br />
The Group proposes a<br />
final dividend of 40kobo per<br />
share to its shareholders,<br />
in addition to 25kobo interim<br />
dividend paid during<br />
the period, making a total<br />
of 65Kobo for the financial<br />
year. The dividend is subject<br />
to approval at the Annual<br />
General Meeting.<br />
“Our operating performance<br />
in 2017 was impacted<br />
by the residual effects<br />
of macro-economic<br />
conditions of 2016, characterised<br />
by slow economic<br />
expansion and adverse<br />
credit conditions, which resulted<br />
in making conservative<br />
provisions on our loan<br />
book. Despite the macro<br />
and regulatory headwinds,<br />
our underlying business<br />
remained strong as reflected<br />
in the gross earnings growth<br />
of 20 percent to N459 billion<br />
in 2017. We grew our<br />
loan book to position it for<br />
improved earnings, whilst<br />
driving deposit mobilization<br />
from targeted segments to<br />
diversify our funding base,”<br />
said Herbert Wigwe, Group<br />
Managing Director, Access<br />
Bank Plc while commenting<br />
on the results.<br />
According to Wigwe, the<br />
year 2017 was pivotal for<br />
the bank, as it concluded its<br />
2013-2017 corporate strategic<br />
plan. “Its successful implementation<br />
was hinged on<br />
discipline, hard work, and an<br />
unwavering commitment<br />
to our set objectives. I am<br />
particularly excited about<br />
the next phase of the Bank’s<br />
evolution centred on an integrated<br />
global franchise. The<br />
execution of the <strong>2018</strong>-2022<br />
strategy commences with<br />
focus on deepening our retail<br />
offerings, underpinned<br />
by strong digital and payment<br />
solutions. Throughout<br />
the next phase, we will continue<br />
to invest in technology<br />
as we establish a universal<br />
payments gateway with an<br />
ecosystem of local and international<br />
partnerships,” he<br />
added.<br />
Access Bank’s capital<br />
and liquidity levels of 22.5<br />
percent and 47.3 percent respectfully<br />
remained robust,<br />
well above the required regulatory<br />
minimum, providing<br />
a strong buffer against the<br />
macro challenges and room<br />
to expand its business.
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
31
21<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
32 BUSINESS DAY<br />
C002D5556<br />
BD<br />
<strong>Mar</strong>kets + Finance<br />
‘Providing proprietary research, commentary, analysis and financial news coverage unmatched in<br />
today’s market. Published weekly, <strong>Mar</strong>kets & Finance provides all the key intelligence you need.’<br />
Africa Prudential: Efficient investment<br />
management bolsters earnings<br />
BALA AUGIE<br />
Africa Prudential Plc<br />
in its audited financial<br />
statement for the<br />
full year 2017 recently<br />
released showed an<br />
impressive performance, as it<br />
was able to grow profitability and<br />
other key financial indicators despite<br />
operational challenges arising<br />
as a result of macroeconomic<br />
headwinds.<br />
The Company delivered an<br />
annualized Earnings Per Share<br />
of 86 Kobo and declared a Dividend<br />
of 40 Kobo per Share, while<br />
a dividend payment of forty (40)<br />
Kobo per Ordinary Share has been<br />
proposed.<br />
Brief Historical Background<br />
UBA Registrar Department<br />
was created in 1970, which is<br />
the phase 1a of the company’s<br />
history. While transactions were<br />
done manually, accounts/clients<br />
increased from 15 to 17 while the<br />
company had an asset book of<br />
over N1.40 billion with N63.40<br />
million gross earnings.<br />
UBA Registrar was incorporated<br />
in 2006, which is the phase<br />
1b of its history.<br />
From 2006-2012, the period of<br />
innovation and capacity building,<br />
accounts/clients increased from<br />
17 to 50 while gross earnings rose<br />
to N1.9billion and asset book rose<br />
to N14.1billion.<br />
The second phase (2013-2017),<br />
formed the bed rock of the major<br />
milestone in the history of Africa<br />
Prudential. In 2013, the company<br />
changed its name from United<br />
Bank for Africa (UBA) Registrar<br />
Limited to Africa Prudential Registrar<br />
Limited.<br />
In addition to that, the company’s<br />
client base in the period<br />
under consideration (2013-2017)<br />
increased from 50 to over 70 that<br />
it currently has today.<br />
Also, the company’s book assets<br />
increased to N18 billion while<br />
gross earnings increased to N3.30<br />
billion from the N1.90billion it<br />
had at the end of 2012.<br />
Africa Prudential Plc got listed<br />
precisely on January 11 2013;<br />
Source: Company Financials<br />
making it the first registrar outfit<br />
in Nigeria to achieve such feat.<br />
Shareholders base continued to<br />
garner momentum as total number<br />
of shareholders increased to<br />
over 280,000 today.<br />
In 2013, the company concluded<br />
the strategic acquisition<br />
of UAC Registrars Limited, a<br />
subsidiary of the conglomerate<br />
company, UAC Group.<br />
In 2017, the company got<br />
approval from shareholders to<br />
change its name from Africa Prudential<br />
Registrar Plc to now Africa<br />
Prudential Plc.<br />
Phase 3 (<strong>2018</strong>-2025) company<br />
tells investors and shareholders<br />
where it wants to be in the next<br />
4 years in terms of earnings and<br />
profit growth.<br />
Africa Prudential Plc has projected<br />
gross earnings of N10billion<br />
and it will kick start the<br />
Implementation of Strategic<br />
Business Segmentation.<br />
According to the company,<br />
there shall be total separation of<br />
registrar business and total separation<br />
of E-Solutions Business.<br />
The company is also planning<br />
an aggressive entrance into the<br />
African market.<br />
Gross earnings gets boost<br />
from diversified product base<br />
Gross earnings for the year<br />
ended December 2017 increased<br />
by 39.14 percent to N3.31 billion<br />
from N2.41 billion as at December<br />
2016.<br />
Over the last 4 years, Africa<br />
Prudential grew earnings by 15<br />
percent CAGR, leveraging on enhanced<br />
innovative offerings and<br />
efficient management of investment<br />
activities.<br />
Net interest income spiked by<br />
67.60 percent to N2.38 billion in<br />
December 2017 as against N1.42<br />
billion as at December 2016;<br />
driven largely by efficient man-<br />
agement of investment activities.<br />
Operational Expenses increased<br />
by 29.58 percent to N1.29<br />
billion in December 2017 from N1<br />
billion as at December 2016. This<br />
was largely due to technological<br />
advancement, business expansion,<br />
product development and<br />
other promotional activities.<br />
Africa Prudential’s profit before<br />
tax increased by 43.05 percent<br />
to N2.06 billion in the period<br />
under review from N1.44billion<br />
the previous year.<br />
Profit Before Tax also grew 17<br />
percent CAGR over the last 4 years<br />
representing a strong profitability<br />
standing.<br />
Profit after tax (PAT) spiked by<br />
68.25 percent to N1.71billion percent<br />
in the period under review,<br />
representing the highest profit in<br />
the 4-year period.<br />
“Despite the challenging operating<br />
environment in 2017, the<br />
company ended the year with<br />
an impressive performance. The<br />
company recorded a turnover of<br />
N3.36 billion—a growth of 38%<br />
over the previous fiscal financial<br />
year—and a Profit Before Tax of<br />
N2.06 billion which represent an<br />
increase of 43% over the previous<br />
year” said Peter Ashade, the<br />
Managing Director/CEO of Africa<br />
Prudential.<br />
“In 2017, we emphasized the<br />
need for diversification of our<br />
business portfolio to achieve long<br />
term sustainability and viability<br />
of our business which necessitated<br />
the change of name that was<br />
approved at the last Annual General<br />
Meeting. I am happy to report<br />
that the change of Name from<br />
Africa Prudential Registrars Plc<br />
to Africa Prudential Plc was duly<br />
completed in 2017 and we have<br />
commenced implementation of<br />
our diversification strategy” said<br />
Ashade.<br />
The Nigerian registrar has<br />
turned each naira of sales into<br />
higher profit as net margins increased<br />
to 51.12 percent in the<br />
period under review from 42.25<br />
percent the previous year.<br />
Return on Equity (ROE) increased<br />
to 30.21 percent in December<br />
2017 from 22.12 percent<br />
the previous year while return<br />
on assets (ROA) moved to 8.15<br />
percent in December 2017 from<br />
6.15 percent as at December 2016:<br />
In other words, the company has<br />
been able to utilize the resources<br />
of shareholders in generating<br />
higher profit.<br />
Earnings per share also increased<br />
to 85 Kobo in 2017 as a<br />
result of the strong profitability<br />
standing of the company.<br />
In spite of the economic recession<br />
in Nigeria, Africa Prudential’s<br />
total assets grew by 30.39<br />
percent to N21.93 billion in December<br />
2017 from N16.81 billion<br />
the previous year.<br />
The growth in total assets<br />
was driven by a 42.76 percent<br />
and 96.67 percent increase in<br />
financial assets available for sales<br />
and cash, and cash equivalent to<br />
N4.40 billion and N9.19 billion in<br />
the period under review.<br />
Total shareholders’ funds grew<br />
by 52.5 percent to N6.94 billion in<br />
December 2017 as against N4.55<br />
billion as at December 2016; driven<br />
by 29.44 percent increase in<br />
retained earnings to N3.77 billion.<br />
Total liability increased marginally<br />
by 1 percent CAGR over<br />
the last 4 years representing effective<br />
liability management.<br />
BD MARKETS + FINANCE (Business Team lead: PATRICK ATUANYA - Analysts: BALA AUGIE and LOLADE AKINMURELE)
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
C002D5556<br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
33<br />
INTERVIEW<br />
‘Most of the international relations today in terms<br />
of economic power is really about trade policy’<br />
<strong>BusinessDay</strong> had a telephone interview with CHIEDU OSAKWE, Director General of the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations, who also heads<br />
Nigerian negotiating team for the CFTA. This was shortly before he departed for Kigali for the botched agreement signing last Friday.<br />
Talk us through the<br />
CFTA, why is Nigeria<br />
spearheading this<br />
deal?<br />
We work on the basics on the mandate<br />
that was decided by President<br />
Buhari, the president wanted us to<br />
have an enlarged market opportunity<br />
for Nigerian producers of goods<br />
and services suppliers.<br />
Speaking about opportunities<br />
that are inherent in the Africa continental<br />
free trade agreement, the<br />
number one principle is the enlargement<br />
of the market beyond Nigeria<br />
of a 190 million people, beyond<br />
Ecowas of 390 million people into<br />
the larger Africa market which is<br />
approximately 1.2 billion African<br />
population at this time, but for<br />
more years down the road, this will<br />
double to about 4 billion by 2050<br />
accounting for 36 percent of African<br />
population. Therefore, never, ever<br />
underestimate the market power<br />
and the size of the market for growth<br />
and modernization.<br />
Number two is, many Nigeria<br />
businessmen and women are not<br />
being properly treated in many<br />
African countries, they are being<br />
harassed, and they suffer discrimination.<br />
The second directive from<br />
President Buhari is to make sure that<br />
the instrumentality of the African<br />
continental free trade area must<br />
stop the harassment of Nigerians<br />
who are engaged legitimately in<br />
business in other African countries.<br />
We were able to put that into the<br />
agreement that will be signed on the<br />
21st of <strong>Mar</strong>ch in Kigali on the basis of<br />
the rule of trade law that we have in<br />
the continent.<br />
Number three is, Nigerian businesses,<br />
a lot of them are doing well,<br />
but we need to expand and optimize<br />
their capacity businesses to connect<br />
to regional and global value chain.<br />
The bigger the size of businesses, the<br />
better for our producers, so one of the<br />
things that the CFTA does is to create<br />
a platform for the creation of value<br />
chains, bigger, better, stronger, more<br />
resilient and build a firm Nigerian<br />
economy.<br />
The next thing is, as you know<br />
Nigeria is currently the number one<br />
economy in the continent, by GDP,<br />
size of the market and 26th largest<br />
economy in the world, but we don’t<br />
have to think this on fixed terms.<br />
Number one position is a variable<br />
not a constant, so one of the things<br />
we want to do is to make sure that<br />
we use the African continental free<br />
trade area to consolidate and augment<br />
Nigeria’s position in Africa as<br />
Chiedu Osakwe<br />
the number economy, meaning that<br />
we are using the CFTA to ensure our<br />
competitiveness on the continent, to<br />
consolidate and augment our position<br />
as the number one economy<br />
and to improve on our ranking on<br />
the global economy.<br />
Couple of things that I need to<br />
mention, most of the international<br />
relations today in terms of economic<br />
power is really about trade policy, in<br />
other words there is a geo-political<br />
content to the African continental<br />
free trade area and if you look around<br />
the global economy whether in terms<br />
of trade and investment partnership<br />
or the Public Private Partnership, it<br />
is really about building correlation<br />
and partnership, using our individual<br />
power as an economy to leverage<br />
partnership and relationships. So<br />
there is a geo political concept which<br />
is also a major deliverable from the<br />
CFTA.<br />
I am very optimistic and confident<br />
about this, what we need to do<br />
that we have not done really well is to<br />
embark on national sensitization to<br />
improve the level of consciousness<br />
among Nigerians so they will know<br />
the level of opportunities that will<br />
emanate from the integration into the<br />
liberalized market for trade of goods<br />
and services in some of the African<br />
free trade area.<br />
There are also questions around<br />
protectionism, is there anything<br />
in the agreement that protects<br />
individual members?<br />
Protectionism is a bad idea economically,<br />
it undermines the economy. We<br />
need to be strategic as well tactical as<br />
to what are the differences in some<br />
areas. So back to your question,<br />
it is not about protection is about<br />
providing appropriate safeguards in<br />
strategic area of the Nigeria economy<br />
where we need industrial policy to be<br />
able to grow our domestic industries,<br />
strengthen our manufacturers and<br />
providers of goods and services.<br />
This is the right thing to do, other<br />
economies do it and we will do it, it<br />
is not about protectionism but about<br />
providing appropriate safeguard for<br />
our strategic industries and sector<br />
priorities so they can have space to<br />
strengthen themselves to be more<br />
competitive and to produce not just<br />
champions in Nigeria but produce<br />
champions in the entire Africa region<br />
and other continent.<br />
We have safeguards specifically in<br />
the protocols, and on the global use<br />
of safeguard will stop the external<br />
counterparts who are cheating by<br />
dumping and selling their products<br />
in the Nigeria economy below market<br />
price. So we have trade remedies in<br />
the agreement to deal with that.<br />
We also have specific process to<br />
safeguard infant industries; we have<br />
the balance of payment provision<br />
that will help our economic policy<br />
makers and implementing authorities<br />
to take restrictive measures to<br />
So we are hoping<br />
that the AFCFTA<br />
will have a radical<br />
increase in our economic<br />
growth prospects<br />
and provide<br />
that momentum<br />
that will provide job<br />
opportunities in<br />
Nigeria<br />
safeguard our external financial<br />
position and our balance of payment<br />
to ensure that they remain healthy,<br />
sustainable and predictable. So we<br />
have all these provisions.<br />
In addition, on the internal security<br />
basically under which our economic<br />
policy makers can do anything<br />
to safeguard the economy, we have a<br />
discrete settlement mechanism, the<br />
discrete settlement of the WTO on<br />
the basis on which we have a rule of<br />
trade law and the discrete settlement<br />
mechanism on which we can take all<br />
those who cheat Nigeria to court. We<br />
are confident that when we do on this<br />
basis we shall win.<br />
Can you also bring some insight<br />
into what the agreement holds<br />
in terms of integrating regional<br />
blocks?<br />
One of the decision surrounding the<br />
CFTA conception in 2012 is that the<br />
Africa continental free trade area<br />
will be constructed on the valuable<br />
experiences and the experiences of<br />
the regional economic communities<br />
and the blocks we have in Africa, so<br />
that we have COMESA, east Africa<br />
community, we have ECOWAS, central<br />
African area, and so on, we are<br />
building on them.<br />
Let me start with the implementation,<br />
after the adoption and signing<br />
of the Africa continental free trade<br />
area and we begin with the implementation<br />
process, there will be a<br />
transitional period in which we are<br />
trying to work things up. Remember<br />
that one of the biggest benefits of the<br />
Africa continental free trade area at<br />
the continental level will be to reverse<br />
the neo-colonial inheritance<br />
of fragmented market in the Africa<br />
continent, so it going to require us<br />
seeing our way forward and proceeding<br />
gently, because we have never<br />
had a better time on the continent<br />
till we reverse the colonial inheritance.<br />
This is the good time for unity;<br />
simply on the way of strengthening<br />
Africa, this is what I mean by unity<br />
to strengthen Africa to be able to<br />
deal with challenges of population<br />
pressures, the massive problems of<br />
unemployment in Nigeria. We will<br />
have in the next 3 years, 2 million<br />
people entering the labour market<br />
every year, going to Africa, the latest<br />
statistics from IMF is that 18 to 20<br />
million people will be entering the<br />
African labour market, 20 million<br />
is approximately the population of<br />
either Niger or Mali. We need to be<br />
ready to deal with the challenge of<br />
this continent in a very realistic way.<br />
Solutions with political audacity on<br />
the part of our leaders, East to West,<br />
North to South, this is my answer to<br />
that question.<br />
What possible improvement will<br />
the signing bring to our GDP?<br />
The AFCFTA will spur growth through<br />
the reduction of barriers to trade or<br />
terms to trade, and as a consequence<br />
expansion of job opportunities. The<br />
faster the growth together, the better,<br />
there is no magic wand to any problem<br />
facing the economy either individually<br />
or collectively as a continent<br />
but there is one thing we are certain<br />
about when we are able to accelerate<br />
growth and the quality of growth is<br />
high and this is complemented by<br />
good domestic purchases, then we<br />
will have increased opportunities for<br />
job creation and more people will be<br />
employed.<br />
So we are hoping that the AFCFTA<br />
will have a radical increase in our<br />
economic growth prospects and<br />
provide that momentum that will<br />
provide job opportunities in Nigeria.<br />
We don’t have number of expected<br />
projects yet but we are working on<br />
that after we make some of the specific<br />
proposals we have to make in the<br />
area of goods and services.
38 BUSINESS DAY<br />
C002D5556<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
NEWS<br />
Regulatory environment, funding undermines...<br />
Continued from page 1<br />
poor access to funding in the<br />
sector, experts and players say.<br />
The Ministry of Mines and Steel<br />
Development recently created<br />
the Investment Promotion and<br />
Mineral Trading (IPMT) department<br />
mandating pre-shipment<br />
inspection agents (PIAs) to have<br />
access to confidential and private<br />
trade agreements entered into by<br />
mineral exporters and their buyers.<br />
Key players believe this is a<br />
breach of the fundamental right<br />
to confidentiality and against the<br />
spirit of entrepreneurship.<br />
Major stakeholders say that the<br />
Ministry of Mines and Steel Development<br />
is slow to give approvals<br />
and make decisions, citing nonapproval<br />
of coal fields to interested<br />
investors as a case in hand.<br />
One steel firm located in Ogun<br />
State told <strong>BusinessDay</strong> that it applied<br />
to take over coal mines in<br />
Enugu State two years ago but is<br />
yet to make any headway till today,<br />
saying that the mines are still lying<br />
fallow in Enugu when they could<br />
have been put into better use.<br />
Players also cite the ministry’s<br />
inability to find an investor for<br />
Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited<br />
as evidence of sluggishness.<br />
The Federal Government<br />
launched a N30 billion mining<br />
fund last May and another N5<br />
billion in August managed by<br />
the Bank of Industry (BoI) for<br />
artisanal and small –scale miners,<br />
but players have not been able to<br />
access the funds due to the stringent<br />
conditions attached to them,<br />
which involve presenting liquidity<br />
assurances, players say.<br />
They accuse Ebonyi and Lagos<br />
of demanding more money from<br />
miners and hurting sand miners,<br />
thereby frustrating investments<br />
made over the years by the players.<br />
Business confidence to rise as Senate...<br />
Continued from page 1<br />
(MPC) of the Central Bank of<br />
Nigeria (CBN), even as it rejected<br />
a nominee.<br />
Those confirmed are: Adeola<br />
Adenikinju; Aliyu Sanusi and<br />
Robert Asogwa, while Asheikh<br />
Maidugu was rejected.<br />
This followed the presentation<br />
and consideration of the Committee<br />
on Banking, Insurance and<br />
other Financial Institutions, which<br />
screened the four nominees.<br />
Chairman of the committee,<br />
Rafiu Ibrahim (APC, Kwara State)<br />
noted that while Adenikinju, Sanusi<br />
and Asogwa showed enough<br />
knowledge and competence for<br />
the job, Maidugu was rejected on<br />
grounds of incompetence.<br />
The upper legislative chamber<br />
also confirmed the nomination<br />
of Aishah Ahmad and Edward<br />
Adamu as Deputy Governorship<br />
nominees of the apex bank.<br />
In his report, Ibrahim described<br />
the three confirmed nominees as<br />
“very resourceful, diligent, articulate,<br />
competent and would add the needed<br />
value in the operations of the MPC.”<br />
According to him, the three<br />
nominees possessed “vast knowledge<br />
that facilitate the attainment<br />
of the objectives of the price stability<br />
and the formulation of monetary<br />
and credit policies of the CBN”.<br />
The lawmaker said the trio<br />
displayed adequate knowledge of<br />
the operations of the CBN Act, 2007<br />
and the Banks and other Financial<br />
Institutions Act, 1990.<br />
L-R: Abdulkadir Mu’azu, permanent secretary, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development; Taiwo Lakanu, representing inspector general<br />
of Police; Abubakar Bawa Bwari, minister of state for mines and steel development; Kayode Fayemi, minister of mines and steel<br />
development, and Kelechi Madu, deputy commandant general, NCDC, at the commissioning of 50 operation vehicles for the Mines<br />
Surveillance Task Force and State Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee (MIREMCO) in Abuja, yesterday.<br />
The report revealed that Maidugu<br />
was rejected because he may<br />
not be able to carry out his duties<br />
independently as a member of<br />
MPC.<br />
The document disclosed that<br />
the nominee, who hails from Yobe<br />
State, has been a Director of Planning,<br />
Research and Statistics Department<br />
at the Federal Inland<br />
Revenue Service (FIRS), Abuja<br />
since 2015 till date.<br />
“The nominee was interviewed<br />
by the Committee and he responded<br />
to the questions asked by<br />
the Members but the Committee<br />
was dissatisfied with his response<br />
to the independence required for<br />
each Member of the MPC and<br />
concerned that a regular Civil Servant<br />
burdened with bureaucracy<br />
and red-tapism may not be independent<br />
in his judgment on each<br />
crucial decision of the MPC that<br />
affect directly the whole economy,”<br />
the committee submitted.<br />
In his remarks, Senate President<br />
Bukola Saraki, who presided over<br />
the session, urged the Executive<br />
to present another nominee to<br />
replace the rejected MPC nominee.<br />
He assured that the nominated<br />
CBN Board members would also<br />
be looked into next week.<br />
Speaking with <strong>BusinessDay</strong><br />
after plenary, Ibrahim explained<br />
that with the confirmation of the<br />
two CBN Deputy Governors and<br />
three MPC members, this brings<br />
to eight the members of the MPC.<br />
He said with the confirmation,<br />
“The proposed participation by<br />
state governments in the roadmap<br />
as investors whilst retaining the<br />
environmental regulatory function<br />
needs to be reviewed. Global best<br />
industry practice holds that no<br />
party should serve as operator and<br />
regulator simultaneously. Thus,<br />
we call for a review of the environmental<br />
regulatory framework as<br />
presently crafted in the Roadmap,”<br />
Babatunde Alatise, chairman of<br />
Mining and Solid Minerals Group<br />
of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce<br />
and Industry (LCCI), said<br />
in Lagos on Thursday.<br />
Alatise said the industry lacks<br />
bankable data, which is preventing<br />
investments, stating that presentation<br />
of the data by the Nigerian<br />
Geological Survey Agency (NGSA)<br />
in readily usable formats by exploration<br />
companies is a matter<br />
requiring urgent attention.<br />
Nigeria has 44 minerals but 38<br />
of them are in viable deposits in<br />
sustainable export quantity, including<br />
iron ore, tin, and tantalite.<br />
The sector contributes 0.4 percent<br />
to GDP.<br />
The country earned N69.2 billion<br />
from the solid minerals sector<br />
in 2015 and $9.733 million from<br />
the export of solid minerals the<br />
same year.<br />
Tony Nwakalor, CEO of Sound<br />
Core, a player in the mining sector,<br />
said as oil prices are close to<br />
$70 per barrel today, tantalite<br />
is $159 per kilo and Nasarawa,<br />
Kwara and Osun have it in minable<br />
quantity.<br />
“If you watch what is happening<br />
from outside as a foreigner,<br />
you won’t put your money in the<br />
sector. Local investors are ignored<br />
the country’s first Monetary Policy<br />
Committee meeting for the year,<br />
billed for April 3 to 4, will now hold.<br />
It would be recalled that on<br />
Tuesday last week, the Senate reversed<br />
itself over its resolution not<br />
to confirm members of the Monetary<br />
Policy Committee (MPC) of<br />
the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).<br />
It therefore mandated its Committee<br />
on Banking, Insurance and<br />
other Financial Institutions to immediately<br />
confirm the two CBN<br />
deputy governorship nominees<br />
and four members of the MPC to<br />
pave the way for the meeting.<br />
“It is great news that the National<br />
Assembly has finally confirmed the<br />
MPC members which will enable<br />
them to now meet and deliberate<br />
on monetary policy issues. Beyond<br />
their qualifications, the members<br />
must carry out their duties diligently<br />
and dispassionately ensuring that<br />
they put national interest first. They<br />
also need to consult widely with<br />
other key stakeholders and be proactive<br />
rather than reactive,” Taiwo<br />
Oyedele, head of tax and regulatory<br />
services, PWC, said.<br />
Responding to the confirmation,<br />
Ayodele Akinwunmi, head<br />
of research, FSDH Merchant Bank<br />
Limited said “I think the confirmation<br />
is positive for the Nigerian<br />
economy and the financial market.<br />
If you recall the non-confirmation<br />
of the nominees was one of the<br />
negative factors that FSDH Research<br />
identified in our monthly<br />
Economic and Financial <strong>Mar</strong>ket<br />
Report for the month of <strong>Mar</strong>ch<br />
tiled ‘Growth Prospect with Rising<br />
and there are lots of square pegs<br />
in round holes directing the policy<br />
framework,” Nwakalor said.<br />
Seun Olatunji, president, Association<br />
of Metal Exporters of<br />
Nigeria, said the policy guideline<br />
states that exporters of mineral<br />
commodities must beneficiate<br />
and/or process all mineral ores<br />
before it is eligible for inspection by<br />
the Federal Mines Officer (FMO) of<br />
the relevant state of origin.<br />
His concern is that the FMOs<br />
lack capacity to evaluate (assay,<br />
weight and seal) production volume<br />
especially in locations with<br />
high number of active mines and<br />
high production budget.<br />
“Nigeria prefers to provide<br />
funds to those that will return it<br />
three months after. They do not<br />
understand mining because the<br />
money can take up to five years,”<br />
said Oyewola Owou a geologist.<br />
Teleology details...<br />
Continued from page 4<br />
customers, empowerment to local<br />
communities, protection to the<br />
vulnerable and excellent rewards<br />
not only to our shareholders but<br />
to all stakeholders.”<br />
In its 10-point plan of action, that<br />
aggregates its mission and how it<br />
intends to run 9mobile, Teleology confirms<br />
its partnership with Safaricom,<br />
the largest network operator in East Africa<br />
and popularly known for the huge<br />
success of the Mpesa mobile money<br />
financial service system in Kenya.<br />
Teleology intends to double the<br />
9Mobile network with new 3G/4G<br />
specific cell sites as well as several<br />
thousands of kilometers of fiber<br />
optic cable across the country and<br />
also drive a special program of<br />
rural internet coverage, focusing<br />
on 4G with broadband access<br />
planned for all of Nigeria’s 774 Local<br />
Government Areas.<br />
Youth engagement and employment<br />
programs are also planned with<br />
all build contractors, distributors and<br />
consultants, Wood said, while investment<br />
in broadband internet access<br />
technologies which are completely<br />
new to Nigeria, are also planned.<br />
Very importantly, he added that<br />
the 9Mobile network will be optimised<br />
for high speed and high<br />
capacity data including imaging,<br />
video, games, music, IPTV and more.<br />
“Any 3-point plan or 3-dimension<br />
idea is naïve and completely<br />
missing the scope and complexity<br />
of the urgent Nigerian need to<br />
be brought into the 21st century<br />
broadband era,” Wood said.<br />
Teleology projects a 50 percent<br />
increase in direct employment in<br />
the new 9Mobile. There is also an<br />
active plan to introduce within the<br />
first year, several million 4G-capable<br />
premium quality smartphones, at<br />
affordable pricing.<br />
•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com<br />
Uncertainties,’ so this has reduced<br />
the uncertainties in the country.”<br />
The MPC has kept the key rate at<br />
a record high of 14 percent since July<br />
2016, trying to balance bringing down<br />
inflation and boosting an economy<br />
that exited recession last year.<br />
Back to back declines in portfolio<br />
inflows in 2015 and 2016<br />
contributed to the country’s first<br />
recession in 25 years and put pressure<br />
on the naira- which would<br />
go on to plunge over 50 percent<br />
against the dollar after a devaluation<br />
in June 2016.<br />
Nigeria’s inflation eased to<br />
14.33, year-on-year in February<br />
<strong>2018</strong>, making it the 13th consecutive<br />
disinflation (slowdown in the<br />
inflation rate though still positive)<br />
since January 2017.<br />
Meet the confirmed MPC<br />
members<br />
The MPC the highest policymaking<br />
committee of the CBN;<br />
consists of the governor of the bank<br />
as chairman, the four deputy governors<br />
of the bank, two members of<br />
the board of directors of the bank,<br />
three members appointed by the<br />
president, and two members appointed<br />
by the governor.<br />
Here are brief profiles of the<br />
confirmed nominees:<br />
Edward Adamu<br />
Adamu has several postgraduate<br />
professional certifications from<br />
the Institute of Credit Administration<br />
of Nigeria, Wharton School,<br />
USA, INSEAD France, Chicago<br />
Booth & IMD Switzerland.<br />
He is a member of several professional<br />
bodies, namely the Nigerian<br />
Institute of Quantity Surveyors;<br />
Project Management Institute,<br />
USA; International Knowledge<br />
Management Institute, USA; International<br />
Society for Performance<br />
Improvement, USA; and the Association<br />
of Project Managers, UK.<br />
Adamu was employed by the<br />
CBN in June 1992, between 1992<br />
and 2003; Adamu served in several<br />
offices of the Engineering Services<br />
Department of the CBN handling<br />
Project Conception, Evaluation,<br />
Contract Documentation, Cost<br />
Planning & Control, Project Implementation<br />
and Closure of several<br />
projects of the Bank, including the<br />
current CBN Head Office Abuja.<br />
He rose from the position of a<br />
Manager to an Assistant Director.<br />
In 2012, he was appointed Director<br />
of the Strategy Management Department<br />
responsible for the articulation<br />
of strategy to deliver the mandate<br />
of the bank, as director of strategy;<br />
he was a member of the Monetary<br />
Policy Implementation Committee<br />
and the Financial Services Regulatory<br />
Coordination Committee as well as<br />
an observer at the MPC.<br />
In 2016, Adamu was appointed<br />
Director, Human Resources Department<br />
in charge of developing the<br />
human capital assets of the bank.<br />
He is a member of several Board<br />
and Project Steering Committees<br />
of the Bank, including Budget; Staff<br />
Matters; Pension Fund Management;<br />
Establishment, Enterprise<br />
Learning, Assets Disposal and<br />
REAL SPARC Project.<br />
•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
C002D5556<br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
35<br />
Sports<br />
World Cup: Over 350,000 Fan-IDs requested in Russia<br />
...Russia, Argentina, Peru, Germany, Brazil and Egypt top list of ten countries with highest applications<br />
...25% applications received from female football fans<br />
Stories by<br />
Anthony Nlebem<br />
As the date for the<br />
biggest football<br />
fiesta on planet,<br />
the FIFA World<br />
Cup, date draws<br />
closer, the number of requested<br />
Fan-IDs, which are<br />
required along with tickets<br />
for attending matches of<br />
the <strong>2018</strong> FIFA World Cup<br />
in Russia, has exceeded the<br />
number of 350,000, a statement<br />
from Russian Ministry<br />
of Communications and<br />
Mass Media revealed on<br />
Wednesday, <strong>Mar</strong>ch 21st.<br />
According to the ministry,<br />
half of the requests<br />
for Fan-IDs were filed from<br />
abroad and the top ten countries,<br />
where the applications<br />
were submitted are Russia,<br />
the United States, China,<br />
Mexico, Colombia, Argentina,<br />
Peru, Germany, Brazil<br />
and Egypt.<br />
The prevailing age of<br />
people requesting Fan-<br />
NCF signs sponsorship<br />
deal with Eroton<br />
exploration<br />
...Eroton to brand new national teams’ Jerseys<br />
The Board of the Nigeria<br />
Cricket Federation<br />
(NCF) has<br />
made good on it’s<br />
promise to seek partnerships<br />
with the organized<br />
private sector for its activities,<br />
events and teams in<br />
<strong>2018</strong> and beyond. The NCF<br />
hereby announces a sponsorship<br />
agreement with<br />
one of Nigeria’s leading,<br />
indigenous oil companies<br />
– Eroton Exploration and<br />
Production Company Ltd.<br />
Under the terms of the<br />
sponsorship agreement,<br />
Eroton has acquired branding<br />
rights on the match and<br />
training kits and jerseys<br />
of the Nigerian Men and<br />
Women senior national<br />
cricket teams.<br />
“Our corporate strategy<br />
is leveraged on a very<br />
engaging operations and<br />
CSR platform that sees<br />
us play an active role in<br />
the transformation of the<br />
communities where we do<br />
business. There is a synergy<br />
in our corporate values<br />
and those of Cricket that<br />
gives us a confidence to<br />
enter into this partnership”<br />
– said Ebiaho Emafo,<br />
MD/CEO, Eroton E&P.<br />
“We kick-started the<br />
relationship with Eroton<br />
E&P in the last quarter<br />
of 2017 when Eroton was<br />
kind enough to sponsor<br />
the Nigeria Cricket<br />
Awards. We are always on<br />
the look-out for companies<br />
like Eroton who have<br />
a deep-rooted love for<br />
Nigeria and her people,<br />
especially the youth; companies<br />
with a penchant for<br />
striving for excellence in<br />
planning and execution<br />
under strict corporate governance<br />
guidelines.<br />
In exposing our young<br />
people to the sport, we<br />
also believe there is much<br />
more to give to them when<br />
they imbibe the values of<br />
cricket, citizenship and<br />
sportsmanship” – Uyi Akpata,<br />
Vice-President, NCF.<br />
The NCF and Eroton E&P<br />
look forward to a long and<br />
fruitful relationship that will<br />
start with the ICC Twenty20<br />
West Africa qualifiers that<br />
comes up from the 12th to<br />
22nd April <strong>2018</strong>. The Nigerian<br />
Men’s team will take<br />
to the TBS Oval, Lagos in<br />
their new jerseys proudly<br />
branded by Eroton Exploration<br />
and Production Co. Ltd.<br />
IDs is between 25 and 34,<br />
which accounts for 37% of<br />
applications, while nine<br />
percent of requests came<br />
from football fans under<br />
the age of 17, according to<br />
the ministry.<br />
About a quarter of applications<br />
(25%) for Fan-IDs<br />
issuance were received from<br />
female football fans, the ministry<br />
added.<br />
Russia came up for this<br />
FIFA World Cup with an<br />
innovation, which is the<br />
so-called Fan-ID and it is<br />
required for all ticketholders.<br />
This innovation was<br />
successfully tested during<br />
the 2017 FIFA Confederations<br />
Cup in Russia and<br />
earned high marks from<br />
the world’s governing football<br />
body.<br />
The Fan-ID plays an important<br />
security role during<br />
the major football tournament<br />
in Russia as it grants<br />
admittance to the stadiums<br />
and also serves as visa for<br />
foreign visitors to enter the<br />
country.<br />
A Fan-ID holder is allowed<br />
to enter the country<br />
without having a Russian<br />
visa and stay for the duration<br />
of the global football<br />
tournament. Fan-IDs are<br />
obligatory, in addition to<br />
purchased tickets, in order<br />
to attend matches of the<br />
<strong>2018</strong> World Cup tournament<br />
in Russia. They were<br />
available free of charge at<br />
designated areas located<br />
in all hosting cities across<br />
Russia as well as via e-mails<br />
and postal services during<br />
the 2017 FIFA Confederations<br />
Cup.<br />
According to FIFA’s statement<br />
earlier in <strong>Mar</strong>ch, over<br />
1.6 million tickets had been<br />
already allocated worldwide<br />
for the football championship<br />
in Russia.<br />
The FIFA announced last<br />
week on Monday that an<br />
aggregate sum of 1,303,616<br />
tickets had been allocated<br />
after both periods of Phase 1<br />
and the first period of Phase<br />
2 of ticket sales.<br />
The organization announced<br />
two days later that<br />
a total of 356,700 tickets for<br />
matches of the <strong>2018</strong> FIFA<br />
World Cup in Russia were<br />
sold in one day after the<br />
launch of the second period<br />
of Phase 2.<br />
Last October, the Russian<br />
Ministry of Communications<br />
and Mass Media announced<br />
the launch of a registration<br />
process for obtaining new<br />
Fan-IDs required for the <strong>2018</strong><br />
FIFA World Cup.<br />
Russia selected 11 host<br />
cities to be the venues for<br />
the matches of the <strong>2018</strong><br />
World Cup and they are<br />
Moscow, St. Petersburg,<br />
Sochi, Kazan, Saransk,<br />
Kaliningrad, Volgograd,<br />
Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny<br />
Novgorod, Yekaterinburg<br />
and Samara.<br />
The matches of the <strong>2018</strong><br />
World Cup will be held between<br />
June 14 and July 15 at<br />
12 stadiums located in the<br />
11 mentioned above cities<br />
across Russia. Two of the<br />
stadiums are located in the<br />
Russian capital.<br />
Arts Council launches 3 million friendly<br />
supporters’ drive for Super Eagles<br />
The National Council<br />
for Arts and Culture<br />
on Wednesday, <strong>Mar</strong>ch<br />
21, in Abuja publicly<br />
presented a drive to raise three<br />
million, culture –friendly football<br />
lovers to passionately support<br />
the Super Eagles during<br />
the matches of the <strong>2018</strong> FIFA<br />
World Cup finals taking place<br />
in Russia this summer.<br />
Director –General, National<br />
Council for Arts and<br />
Culture , Otunba Olusegun<br />
Runsewe (OON) affirmed that<br />
it was time that Nigeria used<br />
the tool of football and its abiding<br />
passion to promote and<br />
celebrate Nigeria’s rich culture<br />
internationally.<br />
“For far too long, we have<br />
under –employed the power<br />
of football and sports generally<br />
in promoting our culture,<br />
in promoting our arts, and in<br />
promoting our heroes. The<br />
Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, Director –General, National Council for Arts and<br />
Culture, (3rd right); Olusegun Odegbami, (2nd right), Rafiu Oladipo, President<br />
–General of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club (3rd left), Ademola Olajire, Director<br />
of Communications, NFF, (2nd left) and Kunle Adeniyi, Secretary General,<br />
Nigeria Football Supporters Club) at the launching held in Abuja on Wednesday.<br />
time to start doing this, and in<br />
a big way, is now.<br />
“Nobody will celebrate us<br />
for us; we have to do it ourselves.<br />
We must re- awaken<br />
the spirit of promoting and<br />
projecting our arts and cultural<br />
items in such a way that<br />
even domestic football will<br />
benefit. I have strong faith<br />
that we will raise even more<br />
than three million Nigerians<br />
who are ready to project our<br />
culture and wear the greenwhite-green<br />
anytime Nigeria is<br />
playing. We will also distribute<br />
miniature Nigerian flags to all<br />
these supporters. ”<br />
Chairman of the occasion,<br />
Chief Olusegun Odegbami<br />
(MON) lauded Runsewe for<br />
“opening a window to allow<br />
us to see that football is much<br />
more than playing a 90 –minute<br />
match,” adding that just<br />
like education, religion, politics<br />
and the economy, culture<br />
is one of the most potent instruments<br />
to dominate the<br />
world.<br />
“Our human capacity tells<br />
us that we can do it; our quality<br />
of population, given the<br />
number of Nigerians doing<br />
very well in different areas of<br />
endeavour globally, tells us<br />
that we can do it.<br />
“We need to start to have<br />
a full appreciation of who<br />
we are, and this concept has<br />
come at the right time with the<br />
FIFA World Cup – the biggest<br />
football showpiece in the universe<br />
– just by the corner. We<br />
need to take Nigeria’s arts and<br />
culture to the world the same<br />
way we are the second highest<br />
exporter of football talents to<br />
Europe after Brazil.”<br />
The 1980 Africa Cup of Nations<br />
winner recommended<br />
that in every hotel that the<br />
Super Eagles will stay during<br />
the FIFA World Cup in Russia,<br />
a stand should be allocated to<br />
conspicuously display Nigeria’s<br />
arts and cultural materials.<br />
Odegbami, Runsewe, Dr.<br />
Rafiu Oladipo (President –<br />
General of the Nigeria Football<br />
Supporters Club who was<br />
special guest of honour of the<br />
occasion), Ademola Olajire<br />
(Director of Communications,<br />
NFF) and Alhaji Rabo Kareem<br />
(President of Federation of<br />
Tourism Associations of Nigeria)<br />
later launched the cultural<br />
materials that would be<br />
used in supporting the Super<br />
Eagles at the World Cup and<br />
thereafter.<br />
Kwesé TV to<br />
broadcast<br />
international<br />
friendly<br />
matches<br />
Leading up to the<br />
<strong>2018</strong> FIFA World<br />
Cup Russia, Kwesé<br />
TV has released a<br />
schedule of international<br />
friendly matches to be aired<br />
on its Kwesé Sports channels<br />
from Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch.<br />
In the line-up are matches<br />
featuring fan-favourites<br />
including; Argentina, Brazil,<br />
England and Italy.<br />
Kwesé TV will kick-off its<br />
broadcast of the friendlies<br />
with the clash between Brazil<br />
and the <strong>2018</strong> FIFA World<br />
Cup host nation Russia.<br />
Brazil is the only nation<br />
to have played in all world<br />
cup tournaments since 1930<br />
and have won the tournament<br />
five times while Russia<br />
has had ten World Cup outings<br />
reaching fourth place<br />
in 1966 as the Soviet Union.<br />
The match is scheduled for<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch at 5pm and<br />
it will air live on Kwesé Free<br />
Sports, channel 285.<br />
Dele Alli of Tottenham<br />
Hotspur, Manchester<br />
United’s Jesse Lingard and<br />
<strong>Mar</strong>cus Rashford, Danny<br />
Welbeck and Jack Wilshere<br />
both of Arsenal are among<br />
players named in England’s<br />
squad to face the<br />
Netherlands and Italy in<br />
friendlies.<br />
Kwesé Sports 1, will<br />
bring the encounter between<br />
England and Netherlands<br />
live on Friday <strong>23</strong><br />
<strong>Mar</strong>ch at 8.45pm. And although<br />
England have not<br />
won the World Cup since<br />
1966, the frills and thrills<br />
that come with the English<br />
team makes this tie an exciting<br />
one as fans will be<br />
looking to see their favourite<br />
Premier League players.<br />
Barcelona forward Lionel<br />
Messi and Manchester<br />
City striker, Sergio Aguero<br />
have been named in the<br />
squad that will play against<br />
Italy on Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch.<br />
This match will air live on<br />
ESPN, Kwesé TV channel<br />
310 from 8.45pm.<br />
Other fixtures include;<br />
Northern Ireland v South<br />
Korea on Saturday 24 <strong>Mar</strong>ch<br />
at 3pm, Peru v Croatia<br />
on Monday 26 <strong>Mar</strong>ch at<br />
11.30pm and Denmark v<br />
Chile on Tuesday 27 <strong>Mar</strong>ch<br />
at 8.45pm.<br />
Kwesé Sports is Econet<br />
Media’s exclusive sports<br />
content platform available<br />
on the Kwesé TV network.<br />
It holds pay-TV rights for the<br />
<strong>2018</strong> FIFA World Cup Russia<br />
and it will broadcast all 64<br />
matches LIVE from 14 June<br />
to 15 July <strong>2018</strong>.
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
FT FINANCIAL TIMES<br />
C002D5556<br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
A1<br />
World Business Newspaper<br />
Jay Powell plays<br />
it safe in Federal<br />
Reserve debut<br />
New chair sticks to steady course as US central bank<br />
enters perilous political waters<br />
SAM FLEMING<br />
Equity sell-off gathers<br />
pace as trade war<br />
worries mount<br />
Showing all the deliberation of<br />
a trained lawyer, Jay Powell<br />
on Wednesday gave a cautious<br />
presentation following<br />
his first meeting as Federal<br />
Reserve chairman that avoided startling<br />
financial markets or setting off<br />
political bushfires.<br />
Even as he unveiled upgrades to<br />
the Fed’s growth and interest rate<br />
forecasts, the new chairman avoided<br />
suggestion that the US central bank<br />
wanted to clamp down aggressively<br />
on the economy. Instead, he played<br />
down the importance of the Fed’s<br />
higher median interest rate forecasts,<br />
stressing the uncertainties surrounding<br />
the outlook.<br />
“We are trying to take the middle<br />
ground,” Mr Powell said when asked<br />
about his rates strategy, insisting that<br />
future moves would continue to follow<br />
the gradual path set by his predecessor,<br />
Janet Yellen. “There is no sense in the<br />
data that we are on the cusp of an acceleration<br />
in inflation,” he said.<br />
<strong>Mar</strong>kets were left largely unmoved<br />
by the Fed decision and Mr Powell had<br />
every incentive to avoid excitement.<br />
This was, after all, the first time he has<br />
presided over a meeting of the Federal<br />
Open <strong>Mar</strong>ket Committee, and a<br />
market sell-off triggered by an unduly<br />
hawkish new chairman would be an<br />
inauspicious way to kick off his reign.<br />
The Fed is journeying into perilous<br />
political waters. While Mr Powell insisted<br />
the risk of White House hostility<br />
to higher rates did not cause him to lose<br />
any sleep, political blowback remains a<br />
hazard. The US central bank is set to lift<br />
rates at a quicker pace in part because<br />
of a huge, and in some analysts’ view<br />
ill-advised, fiscal stimulus being hurled<br />
by the Republican-led congress.<br />
That will potentially put the central<br />
Chief’s comments after Cambridge Analytica scandal meet mixed response<br />
It took five days for <strong>Mar</strong>k Zuckerberg,<br />
Facebook’s founder<br />
and chief executive, to publicly<br />
respond to reports that data<br />
from 50m users had been leaked<br />
to Cambridge Analytica, the data<br />
analytics company that worked for<br />
the Trump campaign.<br />
When he finally spoke, many believed<br />
his response was not enough<br />
to ease the political pressure on the<br />
social network. Mr Zuckerberg admitted<br />
making mistakes but he was<br />
seen as dispassionate, and did not<br />
say “sorry”. Critics felt he did not go<br />
far enough in his response.<br />
bank into opposition with politicians<br />
who have no desire to see the recovery<br />
reined in. “He played his cards close to<br />
his vest, which was the right move to<br />
make,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist<br />
at Grant Thornton. “He succeeded<br />
in not roiling the markets, but he also<br />
didn’t say a lot.”<br />
Mr Powell’s style provided a number<br />
of notable breaks from that of Ms<br />
Yellen. He was less detailed and informative<br />
in his analysis of the economy<br />
than the former chair, offering relatively<br />
brief responses on topics such<br />
as the neutral rate of interest in a press<br />
conference that lasted just 45 minutes.<br />
Mr Powell repeatedly went out of<br />
his way to play down the significance<br />
of Fed policymakers’ median rate forecasts<br />
in their Summary of Economic<br />
Projections (SEP). The only decision<br />
the Federal Open <strong>Mar</strong>ket Committee<br />
had made on Wednesday, he stressed,<br />
was to lift rates by a quarter point.<br />
Fed forecasts were simply a collection<br />
of individual views, he said, and<br />
the FOMC could easily change its mind<br />
about the economic prospects. The<br />
upshot, analysts say, is that investors<br />
may be forced to make do with foggier<br />
guidance as to where policy is headed<br />
— even though Mr Powell hinted that<br />
he may be willing to speak to the media<br />
at more regular press conferences.<br />
While it is too early to draw conclusions,<br />
this could also point to a<br />
chairman who places less emphasis on<br />
forecasts emanating from theoretical<br />
economic models and more on actual<br />
data and market movements.<br />
“The new chair played down the<br />
significance of the SEP median rate<br />
trajectory in a manner that was neither<br />
hawkish nor dovish, without providing<br />
any replacement guidance on<br />
the path beyond a reaffirmation of a<br />
‘gradual’ pace,” said Krishna Guha of<br />
Evercore ISI.<br />
Facebook’s Zuckerberg finally speaks<br />
but not everyone is satisfied<br />
HANNAH KUCHLER<br />
Page A3<br />
The 33-year-old laid out a sixstep<br />
plan to improve privacy protection<br />
for users, but he did not explain<br />
why Facebook had failed to do more<br />
when it was originally told about the<br />
leak in 2015.<br />
In an interview with CNN, Mr<br />
Zuckerberg also said that he regretted<br />
not telling affected users<br />
at the time.<br />
“It is the minimum, necessary<br />
thing at this particular moment<br />
but it does nothing to allay all the<br />
concerns,” said Brian Wieser, an<br />
analyst at Pivotal Research. “I think<br />
they will be hauled in front of politi-<br />
Continues on page A2<br />
Ethical concerns grow over Kimberley Process diamond charter<br />
The mining process insufficiently protects human rights, campaigners say<br />
There might seem to be a great<br />
distance between the diamond<br />
mines of Africa and the English<br />
county of Hertfordshire, but the<br />
connection between the two is on<br />
Harriet Kelsall’s mind. Customers<br />
are starting to ask Ms Kelsall, the<br />
owner of Bespoke Jewellery, to reassure<br />
them about the provenance of<br />
their gems.<br />
In early February, Ms Kelsall and<br />
four other jewellers agreed to consider<br />
sourcing the stones she puts<br />
into her clients’ pieces from a handful<br />
of identified mines in developing<br />
countries. That way she could tell<br />
her customers exactly where their<br />
diamonds came from.<br />
“What is it going to take for us to<br />
find a diamond that is traceable that’s<br />
not from the developed world?” asks<br />
Ms Kelsall, who sells from Hertfordshire,<br />
Cambridge and Primrose Hill<br />
in London. “There’s no mechanisms<br />
and nobody seems to be looking at<br />
this. The big companies need to lead<br />
the way on this but I don’t think they<br />
Forty African nations sign continental free trade deal<br />
Nigeria one of 11 countries that refused agreement, saying it would devastate economy<br />
More than 40 African governments<br />
signed a continentwide<br />
free trade agreement<br />
on Wednesday under which they<br />
committed to cut tariffs on 90 per cent<br />
of goods to bolster intra-African trade<br />
and boost growth.<br />
But Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy<br />
and most populous nation, was<br />
among 11 countries that refused to<br />
join the African Continental Free<br />
Trade Area (AfCFTA), underlining the<br />
challenges the initiative faces.<br />
Echoing many of the holdouts,<br />
Muhammadu Buhari, the Nigerian<br />
president, tweeted on Wednesday:<br />
“Our continental aspirations must<br />
complement our national interests”.<br />
In recent days the influential Nigeria<br />
Labour Congress has come out<br />
strongly against the plan, reportedly<br />
warning that it would devastate the<br />
Dimon pay day<br />
means a year’s<br />
wages for typical<br />
JPMorgan staff<br />
Jay Powell: ‘We are trying to take the middle ground’ © Bloomberg<br />
HENRY SANDERSON<br />
JOHN AGLIONBY<br />
Page A6<br />
really are.”<br />
Ms Kelsall’s complaint gets to<br />
the heart of a matter afflicting the<br />
diamond industry. Governments, industry<br />
and civil society groups established<br />
the Kimberley Process in 2003<br />
to address concerns that diamonds<br />
were being used to fund a series<br />
of brutal civil wars that erupted in<br />
Africa in the 1990s. However, jewellers<br />
and non-governmental organisations<br />
are becoming worried that<br />
even Kimberley Process-certified<br />
jewellery might still be linked to human<br />
rights abuses, corruption and<br />
the perpetuation of poverty. The<br />
credibility of the process is eroding.<br />
Dissatisfaction broke out into<br />
the open when the Canadian nongovernmental<br />
organisation Impact,<br />
which monitors the management of<br />
natural resources in Africa, pulled<br />
out of the Kimberley Process in<br />
December 2017. Impact, a founding<br />
member, said the process provided<br />
a false assurance to consumers and<br />
did not ensure a “clean, conflict-free<br />
and legal diamond supply chain”.<br />
“Consumers have been given a<br />
false confidence about where their<br />
country’s economy.<br />
The aim of the free trade area,<br />
which 44 nations signed up to, is to<br />
cut tariffs from their current average<br />
of 6.1 per cent to eventually zero and<br />
address myriad non-tariff barriers<br />
such as poor infrastructure and inefficient<br />
border posts. Twenty-seven<br />
countries also signed a separate<br />
agreement to allow the free movement<br />
of people across borders.<br />
Paul Kagame, the Rwandan president<br />
and chair of the African Union,<br />
described the AfCFTA as a “new<br />
chapter in African unity”.<br />
“The Africa we want is clearly visible<br />
on the horizon. And today, more<br />
than ever before, so too is the road<br />
we will travel together to get there,”<br />
he said on the eve of the signing<br />
ceremony at a summit in Kigali, the<br />
Rwandan capital. “As we trade more<br />
among ourselves, African firms will<br />
become bigger, more specialised, and<br />
diamonds come from,” said Joanne<br />
Lebert, Impact’s executive director.<br />
The Kimberley Process requires<br />
its 81 member countries to control<br />
the import and export of diamonds<br />
and include a certificate with shipments<br />
to certify the country of origin.<br />
But it defines a “conflict diamond”<br />
only as a gem that is used to fund<br />
rebel groups. That means it does not<br />
cover broader human rights abuses,<br />
cases of state violence against<br />
diamond miners or poor working<br />
conditions.<br />
As a result, the KP has endorsed<br />
exports of diamonds from Angola<br />
and Zimbabwe “despite their being<br />
mined under highly abusive conditions”,<br />
according to New York-based<br />
Human Rights Watch.<br />
“It’s a guarantee the diamonds<br />
are only free of a very narrow set of<br />
abuses,” says Michael Gibb, a campaign<br />
leader for conflict resources at<br />
NGO Global Witness, which left the<br />
KP in 2011. “If consumers think a<br />
Kimberley Process certificate means<br />
they are free of conflict financing or<br />
human rights abuses, they would<br />
be wrong.”<br />
more competitive internationally.”<br />
Free trade advocates argue that<br />
lower barriers to trade will make it<br />
easier for African countries to develop<br />
regional supply chains and export<br />
more finished goods rather than raw<br />
materials, as is the case at present.<br />
The UN’s economic commission on<br />
Africa forecasts that if the largest African<br />
economies joined the free trade<br />
area, intra-African trade would grow<br />
50 per cent in the following five years.<br />
Intra-African trade, which was<br />
about $170bn in 2017, accounts for<br />
about 15 per cent of the continent’s<br />
trade, according to the African Export-Import<br />
Bank (Afrexim). This<br />
compares with 67 per cent in the EU<br />
and 58 per cent in Asia. More than<br />
60 per cent of African exports to the<br />
EU are primary products while about<br />
70 per cent of goods imported to the<br />
continent from the EU are manufactured.
A2 BUSINESS DAY<br />
C002D5556<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
FT<br />
Facebook’s Zuckerberg<br />
finally speaks but not...<br />
NATIONAL<br />
Tap creative industries to boost Africa’s economic growth<br />
The continent has long been ripe with talent and cultural riches<br />
AUBREY HRUBY<br />
The African continent is home to<br />
approximately 1.3bn people and<br />
by the end of the century that<br />
number is expected to jump to 4.2bn.<br />
The continent will probably overtake<br />
Asia and be home to the world’s largest<br />
labour force as early as 2040.<br />
Not only is the continent’s unemployment<br />
rate well above the<br />
global average, but up to 70 per cent<br />
of employed Africans are trapped in<br />
Continued from page A1<br />
vulnerable, low paying jobs, with all<br />
too many living in outright poverty.<br />
To maintain stability and advance<br />
prosperity, African governments face<br />
the tremendously daunting challenge<br />
of tackling unemployment and creating<br />
millions of new jobs for a booming<br />
working age population.<br />
To do so, they will need to add nontraditional<br />
strategies to their national<br />
development plans.<br />
The creative and cultural industries<br />
are an increasingly important<br />
piece of the puzzle. These industries<br />
— design, fashion, film, television,<br />
radio, music and much more — have<br />
all too often been overlooked as legitimate<br />
avenues for jobs and gross<br />
domestic product. But that is starting<br />
to change. African governments<br />
should embrace and support the<br />
creative industries in their efforts to<br />
drive sustainable development and<br />
create jobs.<br />
Zambia, Nigeria, Uganda and others<br />
place a strong focus on agriculture<br />
in their latest development plans,<br />
while countries such as Ethiopia prioritise<br />
industrial growth. The creative<br />
industries should be an added layer<br />
in constructing more diverse and<br />
economically viable markets.<br />
Jobs in the creative and cultural<br />
economy have proved resilient to the<br />
economic shocks that consistently<br />
hurt core sectors in many African<br />
economies. In 2016, the Nigerian<br />
economy fell into recession, but while<br />
the oil sector struggled, the creative<br />
industries saw impressive growth.<br />
The music industry alone is expected<br />
to double present-day revenue<br />
by 2020 to approximately $86m. In<br />
Nigeria, Nollywood film production<br />
generated between $500m and $800m<br />
annually. The industry directly employs<br />
300,000 people and indirectly<br />
more than a million.<br />
Boko Haram releases girls<br />
with ominous warning<br />
Extremists tell residents of Nigerian town<br />
not to put their daughters in school<br />
cians and they will have to take it.<br />
And there will be more bad press.”<br />
Mr Wieser, who has a “sell” rating<br />
on Facebook, said there was<br />
evidence of systemic mismanagement<br />
at the social media company<br />
including violating political advertising<br />
laws, failing to take down<br />
illegal content and providing false<br />
metrics to advertisers — on top of<br />
the reported leak.<br />
“If this were one operational<br />
failure, you’d say, ‘Oh that happens<br />
to all of us’,” he said.<br />
Daniel Ives, head of technology<br />
research at GBH insights, was<br />
hopeful that Mr Zuckerberg’s move<br />
to break his silence would reassure<br />
users, advertisers and investors that<br />
the company was getting on top of<br />
the issue and beginning to put the<br />
“PR nightmare” behind them.<br />
How Facebook ‘likes’ can be<br />
weaponised for political gain<br />
“There is still more work to be<br />
done for Facebook to restore confidence<br />
and make sure regulatory<br />
crosshairs do not meddle with its<br />
business both in the beltway and<br />
EU, however we continue to be<br />
buyers on weakness in shares of<br />
Facebook as we believe a lot of this<br />
bad news is now priced into the<br />
name,” he said.<br />
Other analysts were pleased<br />
that the Facebook boss did not go<br />
further.<br />
Ben Schachter, an analyst at<br />
Macquarie, said Mr Zuckerberg<br />
allayed most of his fears that<br />
Facebook would “propose radical<br />
changes that would impact the<br />
business model”.<br />
“Our worry was that Facebook,<br />
at Zuckerberg’s direction, could<br />
take more radical actions than it has<br />
in the past to limit the use of audience<br />
segmenting, ad targeting, data<br />
sharing, and other privacy-related<br />
issues that could lower the monetisation<br />
of Facebook data,” he said.<br />
Facebook appeared to have<br />
made a PR shift. Earlier in the week,<br />
a Facebook spokesperson said the<br />
company was “outraged” that it was<br />
“deceived” by Cambridge Analytica.<br />
The UK data company had said in<br />
2015 that it had deleted the Facebook<br />
data it had obtained without<br />
users’ awareness, a position it<br />
maintained in the light of the most<br />
recent scandal.<br />
But on Wednesday, Mr Zuckerberg<br />
said Facebook took ownership<br />
of protecting its users’ data, adding<br />
that he was personally responsible<br />
for everything that happens on the<br />
social network. “I started Facebook,<br />
and at the end of the day I’m responsible<br />
for what happens on our<br />
platform,” he said.<br />
A rally in central Bratislava, Slovakia, last week, held to protest against corruption and to pay tribute to a murdered<br />
journalist © AFP<br />
Unrest hits central and eastern<br />
Europe as post-Soviet hopes fade<br />
Slovak protests part of growing anger in region over failure to deal with communist legacy<br />
JAMES SHOTTER<br />
Thirty years ago, <strong>Mar</strong>tin Korman<br />
joined the protests that<br />
ousted Czechoslovakia’s communist<br />
regime. Last week he was<br />
on the streets again among tens of<br />
thousands of Slovaks who rallied in<br />
outrage at the murder of an investigative<br />
journalist.<br />
“I was here in 1989, thinking we<br />
will change something. But there’s<br />
not been enough change,” he said in<br />
the wake of a protest that swamped<br />
Bratislava’s Slovak National Uprising<br />
Square.<br />
“I hope this change will be the<br />
final one. [The communists] have altered<br />
their faces and their behaviour,<br />
but they are still here.”<br />
The protests, which last week<br />
forced the resignation of Robert Fico,<br />
Slovakia’s prime minister, are the latest<br />
manifestation of the discontent<br />
that has flared in several central and<br />
eastern European states this winter.<br />
Last week, Lithuania saw its<br />
largest demonstrations since the financial<br />
crisis following the failed impeachment<br />
of an MP. A week earlier,<br />
thousands of Czechs protested over<br />
the appointment of a communistera<br />
police officer to a parliamentary<br />
committee on law enforcement. And<br />
in January, Romania notched up its<br />
third prime minister in a year after<br />
huge protests against legal changes<br />
that critics fear could stifle the pursuit<br />
of corruption.<br />
The demonstrations have varied<br />
in size, had different triggers and are<br />
not unprecedented in a region with<br />
a proud tradition of protest. But analysts<br />
say they reflect the fact that, for<br />
all the rapid growth of the past three<br />
decades, some of the hopes spawned<br />
by the fall of communism have not<br />
been fulfilled.<br />
“In 1989 we really believed that<br />
once our societies were ‘western’<br />
in a normative sense — once they<br />
were liberal, open-minded, and full<br />
of solidarity — they would be prosperous<br />
too,” says Michal Vasecka, a<br />
sociologist at Masaryk University in<br />
Brno. “Now we are becoming prosperous,<br />
but we are not western. This<br />
is the problem: the ideals are clashing<br />
too dramatically with reality.”<br />
In the years after the collapse<br />
of communism EU countries invested<br />
huge sums in central Europe’s<br />
economies and also sought to build<br />
institutions that would embed the<br />
rule of law in the former communist<br />
bloc. The consequent economic<br />
gains have been strong, But the<br />
institution-building has often been<br />
shallow.<br />
Some countries, such as Poland,<br />
have been relatively successful in<br />
avoiding problems with cronyism.<br />
But in others, such as Romania, Slovakia<br />
and Hungary, during the often<br />
chaotic transition from communism<br />
to capitalism an emerging class of<br />
oligarchs has taken a disproportionate<br />
share of the economic gains and<br />
is seen by many as beyond the law.<br />
“The political parties that were<br />
created were very weak, because<br />
they didn’t grow out of civil society,<br />
but were created from above,” says<br />
Jiri Pehe, director of the New York<br />
University in Prague.<br />
“At least in the Czech Republic,<br />
these weak parties presided over an<br />
unprecedented process of privatisation<br />
in which hundreds of billions of<br />
crowns changed hands. And as they<br />
were doing this [the parties] were<br />
themselves sort of privatised into the<br />
hands of the new economic actors<br />
they created. As a result, we have a<br />
lot of clientelism.”<br />
The Slovak protests are a response<br />
to this blurring of business<br />
and politics and the absence of the<br />
rule of law, says Mr Vasecka. “The<br />
oligarchs and other powerful people<br />
have so many chances to stop investigations,”<br />
he says. “If you asked me<br />
whether I trust the Slovak judiciary,<br />
the answer is no. Not at all. I would<br />
be scared to death if I ended up in<br />
court.”<br />
Similar concerns are echoed<br />
elsewhere in the region. “In Romania<br />
we have had a civil war for the<br />
last decade and a half over efforts<br />
to introduce the rule of law,” says<br />
Sorin Ionita from Expert Forum, a<br />
Bucharest think-tank. “The main<br />
explanatory factor of what has happened<br />
here for the last 15 years is the<br />
question of whether to continue on<br />
this path, or whether to rein in the<br />
prosecutors.”<br />
The region’s incomplete reckoning<br />
with the legacy of communism<br />
has also played a role. Last year in<br />
Poland, huge protests were sparked<br />
over judicial reform, which the<br />
government justified as a necessary<br />
purge of officials with links to the<br />
communist era. Mr Pehe says the<br />
recent demonstrations in the Czech<br />
Republic were a response to the provocative<br />
symbolism of appointing a<br />
former communist-era police officer<br />
to oversee the police.<br />
ASSOCIATED PRESS<br />
Boko Haram militants have returned<br />
most of the 110 girls abducted from<br />
their boarding school in Nigeria a<br />
month ago with an ominous warning.<br />
The fighters left the girls in the<br />
centre of Dapchi, a town in northeast<br />
Nigeria, at around 2am on<br />
Wednesday.<br />
Ba’ana Musa, a resident of Dapchi,<br />
said the extremists told them<br />
that “this is a warning to you all. We<br />
did it out of pity. And don’t ever put<br />
your daughters in school again.”<br />
Boko Haram means “western<br />
education is forbidden” in the Hausa<br />
language.<br />
Nigeria’s information minister<br />
said 76 of the 110 schoolgirls had<br />
been confirmed freed and indicated<br />
that the number would rise as the<br />
release was “ongoing”.<br />
“No ransoms were paid,” said<br />
Lai Mohammed, the minister, in a<br />
statement. The girls were released<br />
“through back-channel efforts and<br />
with the help of some friends of the<br />
country, and it was unconditional”.<br />
Family members were en route to<br />
the town on Wednesday.<br />
“When I get there we will do a<br />
headcount to see if all of them have<br />
been released,” said Bashir Manzo,<br />
whose 16-year-old daughter was<br />
among those kidnapped during the<br />
February 19 attack.<br />
Mr Manzo confirmed that his<br />
daughter was among those freed.<br />
“As I speak to you there is jubilation<br />
in Dapchi,” he said.<br />
The mass abduction and the<br />
government response brought back<br />
painful memories of the 2014 attack<br />
on a boarding school in Chibok.<br />
Boko Haram militants abducted<br />
276 girls, and about 100 of them have<br />
not been returned. Some girls were<br />
forced to marry their captors, and<br />
many had children fathered by the<br />
militants.<br />
Many residents in Dapchi ran<br />
away on Wednesday morning when<br />
they heard that Boko Haram vehicles<br />
were headed towards the town.<br />
“We fled but, from our hiding<br />
[place], we could see them and surprisingly,<br />
we saw our girls getting out<br />
of the vehicles,” said Umar Hassan.<br />
“They assembled the girls and talked<br />
to them for some few minutes and<br />
left without any confrontation,” said<br />
another resident, Kachallah Musa.<br />
Their release came a day after<br />
an Amnesty International report<br />
accused the Nigerian military of<br />
failing to heed several warnings of<br />
the imminent attack last month.<br />
The military has called the report an<br />
“outright falsehood”.
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
FINANCIAL TIMES<br />
COMPANIES & MARKETS<br />
@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED<br />
Equity sell-off gathers<br />
pace as trade war<br />
worries mount<br />
Treasuries rise sharply while early gains for sterling evaporate<br />
MICHAEL HUNTER, DAVE<br />
SHELLOCK AND<br />
ALICE WOODHOUSE<br />
What you need to know<br />
• S&P 500 down 1.7%, techs<br />
and industrials lead fallers<br />
• Trump to announce $50bn of tariffs<br />
on Chinese imports<br />
• European bourses soft after declines<br />
in much of Asia<br />
• <strong>Mar</strong>kets continue to digest Fed policy<br />
statement<br />
• Dollar mixed as Treasury yields fall<br />
sharply<br />
• Sterling fades despite UK rate expectations<br />
“President Trump’s trade barriers<br />
are causing concerns for the Fed, where<br />
policymakers believe [such measures]<br />
will put a brake on growth and the<br />
market seems to agree,” says Paul Flood,<br />
portfolio manager of the Newton Multi-<br />
Asset Income Fund.<br />
Hot topics<br />
Stock markets are under pressure as<br />
participants remain unsettled by the<br />
prospect of a deepening international<br />
trade dispute, with losses of over 1 per<br />
cent for major indices across the world.<br />
The Trump administration plans to<br />
impose new tariffs on $50bn in annual<br />
imports from China, targeting products<br />
such as robots and high-speed trains as<br />
it also ramps up efforts to block Chinese<br />
investment in strategic sectors, according<br />
to the White House.<br />
In New York, the S&P 500 is down<br />
1.3 per cent at 2,677 at midday, with the<br />
tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite 1.8 per<br />
cent lower and the Dow Jones Industrial<br />
Average off 1.6 per cent.<br />
The S&P’s decline puts it on course<br />
for its lowest close since February 13. .<br />
Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax — home to a<br />
number of leading German exporters<br />
When Heather Holland, a primary<br />
school teacher, went to<br />
collect her flu medicine at a<br />
local drugstore in Texas in January, she<br />
balked at the price. The pharmacist said<br />
she would have to pay $116 out of her<br />
own pocket, so she left empty-handed.<br />
Her husband returned to the pharmacy<br />
the next day to pay for the medicine,<br />
a generic version of Tamiflu,<br />
and Mrs Holland starting taking the<br />
drugs. But her condition continued to<br />
deteriorate. A few days later she died in<br />
hospital. She was 38.<br />
There is no way of knowing whether<br />
Mrs Holland, who was in otherwise<br />
good health, would have survived if<br />
she had taken the medicine sooner,<br />
although the delay cannot have helped.<br />
A Financial Times analysis of confidential<br />
and public pricing data has<br />
found that Mrs Holland should have<br />
paid much less for her flu medication.<br />
Her story captured the attention of a<br />
US public already outraged by the soaring<br />
cost of healthcare, and prompted<br />
many to ask the same question: how is<br />
it that a common flu drug — which is on<br />
the world’s list of essential medicines —<br />
can end up costing so much in America?<br />
— is down 2 per cent, while the FTSE<br />
100 in London is 1.4 per cent lower. The<br />
pan-European Stoxx 600 index is off 1.7<br />
per cent.<br />
In China, the CSI 300 index of Shenzhen<br />
and Shanghai stocks fell 1 per cent<br />
as the latest threats of trade curbs from<br />
the Trump administration were said to<br />
be designed to stop China from stealing<br />
the intellectual property of American<br />
businesses. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell<br />
1.1 per cent.<br />
Investors are also absorbing the implications<br />
of the latest policy meeting of<br />
the Federal Reserve.<br />
The dollar is mixed after the US central<br />
bank stuck by forecasts that it will lift<br />
interest rates by a total of three times in<br />
<strong>2018</strong>, while the pound is higher after two<br />
out of nine Bank of England policymakers<br />
voted for an immediate rate rise.<br />
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury<br />
is falling as investors buy into the debt,<br />
which enjoys haven appeal at times of<br />
international turbulence. It is down 8<br />
basis points at 2.83 per cent. That on<br />
the 2-year Treasury is 3bp lower at 2.28<br />
per cent.<br />
The Fed statement left the dollar<br />
looking exposed, and the index tracking<br />
it against a basket of rival fell to a<br />
10-session low on Thursday, before<br />
recovering to stand 0.2 per cent higher<br />
on the day. The euro is down 0.2 per cent<br />
at $1.<strong>23</strong>11 while the greenback is 0.4 per<br />
cent weaker versus the yen at ¥105.64.<br />
As expected, the US central bank<br />
lifted the target range for the federal<br />
funds rate by 25 basis points to 1.5-1.75<br />
per cent. Policymakers’ projections<br />
pointed to an extra rate increase in 2019<br />
and further tightening in 2020, and the<br />
Fed said inflation would accelerate.<br />
Nonetheless, talk that the central bank<br />
would signal a total of four rises for this<br />
year proved wrong.<br />
Death of Texas teacher highlights<br />
true cost of US drugs<br />
Flu victim should have paid much less for her medication, data show<br />
DAVID CROW<br />
The answer lies in part in the miserly<br />
health insurance policies now held by<br />
millions of Americans, but also in the<br />
way that access to drugs is managed<br />
by for-profit “middlemen” such as CVS<br />
Health’s Caremark, Express Scripts and<br />
UnitedHealth’s Optum.<br />
These middlemen, officially known<br />
as pharmacy benefit managers or PBMs,<br />
are unique to the private US healthcare<br />
system. Their business model involves<br />
amassing millions of patients from different<br />
health insurance plans, before<br />
using the combined heft to demand big<br />
discounts from drugmakers.<br />
Pharmaceutical companies that<br />
refuse to discount their medicines can<br />
find themselves frozen off the lists of<br />
drugs that PBMs are willing to pay for,<br />
which can have a chilling effect on their<br />
sales. More often than not they agree to<br />
the price cuts.<br />
But critics allege that PBMs have<br />
opaque business models that boost<br />
their profits while pushing up costs for<br />
patients.<br />
If Mrs Holland had not used her insurance<br />
card and instead paid outright<br />
herself, she would have been charged<br />
roughly $107 for 10 tablets of generic<br />
Tamiflu, according to several pharmacies<br />
contacted by the Financial Times.<br />
A decade after the financial crisis, the quality of the investment grade market is deteriorating<br />
ALEX SCAGGS<br />
Before Campbell Soup sold $5bn of<br />
debt this month to fund its purchase<br />
of US snack-food maker<br />
Snyder’s-Lance, its chief financial officer<br />
told analysts that the company’s<br />
prized investment-grade status was<br />
safe. But it is only just.<br />
The deal prompted rating agencies<br />
to downgrade Campbell to the tier<br />
above junk. While New Jersey-based<br />
Campbell is more indebted than most<br />
of its peers, the era of ultra-low interest<br />
rates has left it plenty of company in<br />
the riskiest segment of the investment<br />
grade market as corporate America’s<br />
borrowings have ballooned.<br />
The chunk of the market rated at<br />
triple B — the group of ratings just<br />
above junk — now accounts for 48 per<br />
cent of the investment-grade market,<br />
according to data from ICE BofAML<br />
Indices. What is more, these corporate<br />
borrowers have piled on debt. triple B-<br />
rated issuers were slightly below 3 times<br />
levered in 2017, according to Citigroup,<br />
up from just about 2.5 times in 2015.<br />
“There’s been an overall creditquality<br />
degradation taking place within<br />
the investment grade market,” said Jon<br />
Duensing, a senior portfolio manager<br />
C002D5556<br />
with Amundi Pioneer Asset Management.<br />
“And we have seen more willingness<br />
from investment-grade companies<br />
— particularly non-financials — to<br />
take more leverage on to their balance<br />
sheet.”<br />
With the US economy in its tenth<br />
year of expansion since the financial<br />
crisis, the danger is that indiscriminate<br />
buyers of the lower tiers of investmentgrade<br />
debt may not be compensated<br />
enough for the risks of rising leverage.<br />
Low interest rates have kept borrowing<br />
costs low and bond-purchase<br />
programmes of central banks have<br />
compressed risk premiums, or the<br />
extra yield offered over US government<br />
bonds, thereby cutting the cost to<br />
companies of issuing lower-rated debt.<br />
In the six months to the end of February,<br />
the spread between triple B-rated<br />
debt and benchmark Treasury yields<br />
was an average 48 basis points wider<br />
than the A-rated spread, according to<br />
data from Bloomberg Barclays indices.<br />
Over the past 15 years, the gap has averaged<br />
59 basis points.<br />
“You’ve got to believe in the credibility<br />
of the management team, and<br />
you also have to believe the music keeps<br />
playing. If the music stops and companies<br />
just levered up, well, that’s why<br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
Triple B risks lurking in the US credit market<br />
A3<br />
Donald Trump’s trade tariffs have seen the premium for buying physical aluminium in the US rise to its highest<br />
level in three years © FT montage; Getty Images; Bloomberg<br />
credit cycles reverse,” said Matt Brill, a<br />
portfolio manager with Invesco. “When<br />
the economy starts to slow and corporations<br />
are overlevered, that’s your<br />
biggest fear. That’s what a fixed-income<br />
investor is constantly protecting their<br />
portfolio against.”<br />
The M&A boom has been a contributor<br />
to the erosion in credit quality<br />
within investment grade. The sale this<br />
month by CVS Health of $40bn in bonds<br />
to pay for its acquisition of insurer<br />
Aetna, nabbed triple B and Baa2 ratings<br />
from S&P and Moody’s, respectively. It<br />
was the third-largest corporate bond<br />
sale in history, leaving the combined<br />
company with an adjusted debt to ebitda<br />
of 4.6 times, according to Moody’s.<br />
CVS insisted it would reduce its leverage<br />
to about 3.5 times in the first two<br />
years after the deal, echoing promises<br />
made by other companies that have<br />
increased the number of debt-funded<br />
M&A deals that earn investmentgrade<br />
ratings. Campbell, for example,<br />
promised to cut its leverage ratio below<br />
three times in roughly 3.5 years. And<br />
after Sherwin-Williams acquired paint<br />
manufacturer Valspar last year, funded<br />
by $6bn of triple B bonds, Moody’s<br />
forecast leverage will fall below 3 times<br />
from 4.5 times within two years.<br />
Sceptical Peruvians prepare for a new president<br />
<strong>Mar</strong>tín Vizcarra expected to be sworn in following resignation of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski<br />
GIDEON LONG<br />
<strong>Mar</strong>tín Vizcarra, Peru’s vicepresident,<br />
is likely to be<br />
sworn in on Friday as the<br />
leader of a nation in which his four<br />
immediate predecessors are either<br />
in jail, have served prison sentences,<br />
are under investigation for corruption<br />
or on the run from the law.<br />
The 55-year-old engineerturned-politician<br />
will take charge<br />
following the resignation of Pedro<br />
Pablo Kuczynski on Wednesday<br />
after a long fight with the opposition<br />
over his alleged involvement in the<br />
Odebrecht corruption scandal that<br />
has rocked Latin America.<br />
The resignation came after Mr<br />
Kuczynski’s opponents released secretly<br />
recorded videos that they said<br />
proved his government had tried to<br />
buy votes in the national congress<br />
to ensure he survived impeachment<br />
proceedings.<br />
His replacement faces daunting<br />
challenges. In just three weeks he<br />
will host the Summit of the Americas<br />
in Lima — one of the biggest<br />
gatherings of political leaders in<br />
the hemisphere. President Donald<br />
Trump of the US will attend and<br />
Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro has<br />
threatened to crash the party even<br />
though his invitation has been<br />
withdrawn.<br />
Corruption, as well as the Venezuelan<br />
meltdown, will be top of<br />
the agenda.<br />
Mr Kuczynski had been in office<br />
less than two years. A 79-year-old<br />
former Wall Street banker, he came<br />
to power promising to boost investment<br />
and stamp out corruption, but<br />
from the outset was hampered by<br />
his lack of support in congress.<br />
Just like Mr Kuczynski, Mr Vizcarra<br />
has a miserable minority in<br />
congress. His party holds just 15 of<br />
the 130 seats while the main opposition<br />
party, led by Keiko Fujimori,<br />
has 59. Ms Fujimori made life difficult<br />
for Mr Kuczynski during his 20<br />
months in government and nothing<br />
suggests she will be more lenient<br />
with Mr Vizcarra.<br />
“We believe Vizcarra is more<br />
likely to be a transition figure than<br />
to serve out the rest of the current<br />
term to 2021,” said Eileen Gavin, senior<br />
Latin America analyst at Verisk<br />
Maplecroft in London, describing<br />
Keiko’s opposition as “wilfully obstructive”.<br />
Some opposition politicians<br />
are already pushing for fresh<br />
elections, less than two years after<br />
Peruvians went to the polls.<br />
Mr Vizcarra will have to work<br />
with a deeply sceptical public, fed<br />
up with the failure of their politicians<br />
to deliver on their promises. In<br />
a poll conducted by LatinoBarométro,<br />
just 7.5 per cent of Peruvians had<br />
faith in their political parties and 91<br />
per cent felt that at least half of their<br />
politicians were corrupt.<br />
While the fact that Mr Vizcarra<br />
is a relative outsider in Lima could<br />
work to his advantage — he does<br />
not appear to be tainted by corruption<br />
scandals — it could also mean<br />
he will struggle to broker deals in<br />
Lima’s corridors of power.
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
A4 BUSINESS DAY
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
A5
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
A4 BUSINESS DAY<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
A5
A6 BUSINESS DAY<br />
C002D5556 Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
FT<br />
ANALYSIS<br />
Trump to slap tariffs on $50bn<br />
of imports from China<br />
White House ramps up efforts to block Chinese investment in strategic sectors<br />
Jamie Dimon was second only to Citigroup’s Mike Corbat © Bloomberg<br />
Dimon pay day means a year’s<br />
wages for typical JPMorgan staff<br />
JPMorgan chief received $28.3m last year, 364 times more than median worker<br />
BEN MCLANNAHA<br />
JPMorgan Chase chief executive<br />
Jamie Dimon earned as much in<br />
a day as the typical employee at<br />
his bank took home in the whole of<br />
last year, putting him near the top of<br />
an emerging league table of big bank<br />
CEO pay.<br />
In an annual proxy filing after<br />
the market close on Wednesday, the<br />
biggest US bank by assets said that its<br />
chairman and CEO was paid $28.3m<br />
last year, or 364 times the median<br />
employee, who received $77,799, including<br />
firm-paid benefits.<br />
Mr Dimon’s pay ratio of 364 times<br />
the median worker puts him second<br />
in the list for the big banks, according<br />
to Autonomous Research, behind<br />
Citigroup chief Mike Corbat, whose<br />
pay of $17.8m last year was 369 times<br />
the median worker. Charlie Scharf of<br />
Bank of New York Mellon, a protégé<br />
of Mr Dimon who arrived at BNY in<br />
the summer of last year, ranks third,<br />
with a $20m package 354 times the<br />
average worker.<br />
The median ratio for the listed US<br />
banks to have reported so far is 135<br />
US banks in ‘arms race’ for deposits as rates rise<br />
Big banks face online competition after offering rock-bottom yields to retail customers<br />
BEN MCLANNAHAN<br />
Some of the biggest brick-andmortar<br />
banks in the US are<br />
pouring resources into developing<br />
new online banking arms, as<br />
rising interest rates intensify an “arms<br />
race” for consumer deposits.<br />
Since the Federal Reserve embarked<br />
on its rate-hiking cycle in<br />
December 2015 the big US banks<br />
have passed on just a fraction of the<br />
increases to depositors, pumping<br />
up their profits by widening the gap<br />
between the yield on their assets and<br />
the cost of their funds.<br />
But the steady hikes from the<br />
Fed — Wednesday’s was the sixth<br />
increase at 0.25 per cent to a target<br />
rate of between 1.5 per cent and 1.75<br />
per cent — have sparked concerns<br />
among the banks about how much<br />
longer they will be able to offer rockbottom<br />
rates to retail depositors.<br />
In recent months average deposit<br />
rates tracked by the Federal Deposit<br />
Insurance Corporation have begun to<br />
creep higher, led by big online banks<br />
such as Ally Financial and Synchrony,<br />
times, according to Autonomous.<br />
JPMorgan declined to comment.<br />
The disclosures of pay multiples,<br />
mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act of<br />
2010, finally came into effect for all<br />
listed US companies this year. Critics<br />
say such figures are a crude metric,<br />
telling investors very little about the<br />
composition of a company’s workforce<br />
or the particular ways in which it has<br />
identified the “median” worker. But<br />
advocates say the tool is necessary as<br />
a way to restrain pay for top executives,<br />
which has consistently outpaced gains<br />
for lower-ranked workers.<br />
To arrive at a median pay number<br />
JPMorgan included its top 10 most<br />
populous countries, representing<br />
about 97 per cent of its 253,500 staff.<br />
The bank annualised the salary portion<br />
of pay for employees who were<br />
hired during 2017; but did not make<br />
any full-time equivalent adjustments<br />
to part-time, temporary and seasonal<br />
workers.<br />
Mr Dimon’s total award of $28.3m<br />
included perks such as personal use of<br />
corporate aircraft ($73,921), personal<br />
use of cars ($29,848) and the cost of<br />
“residential and related security”<br />
prompting branch-based banks to<br />
consider ways to respond.<br />
Citigroup said this month it hoped<br />
to launch a “national digital bank”<br />
within the next couple of years, while<br />
PNC chief Bill Demchak told analysts<br />
in December that the Pittsburghbased<br />
bank was planning a similar<br />
venture to “gather clients, grow<br />
deposits and augment what we’re<br />
doing on a national basis.”<br />
The banks have given no details<br />
about deposit pricing strategy, saying<br />
plans are at an early stage. But<br />
analysts said the pair could look to<br />
emulate new online ventures from<br />
Barclays and MUFG Union Bank,<br />
the San Francisco-based lender<br />
owned by Japan’s biggest bank, both<br />
of which are trying to lure savers<br />
with near top-of-the-market rates.<br />
Banks are in an “arms race” to<br />
boost rates, said Greg McBride,<br />
chief financial analyst at Bankrate.<br />
com, which surveys thousands of<br />
banks and credit unions across<br />
America.<br />
Jason Goldberg, analyst at Barclays,<br />
said that the lower overheads<br />
($48,259). But the bulk of his pay came<br />
in stock awards ($21.5m), bumped up<br />
after a year of record annual net income<br />
of $26.5bn, excluding the effects<br />
of the tax reform, on record revenues<br />
of $104bn.<br />
JPMorgan made a switch to using<br />
so-called performance share units as<br />
part of variable pay for top managers<br />
in 2016, in response to a challenge by<br />
investor groups at its annual meeting<br />
a year earlier. At the time, more than a<br />
billion votes — a record 38 per cent —<br />
were cast against the bank’s pay policy<br />
after ISS and Glass Lewis, the proxy<br />
advisory firms, called for stronger ties<br />
between pay and performance.<br />
Still, the bank’s new formulation<br />
has prompted some grumbling<br />
among shareholders, said Brian Foran,<br />
analyst at Autonomous. For Mr<br />
Dimon to get the maximum payout,<br />
he noted, JPMorgan needs to hit a 17<br />
per cent return on tangible common<br />
equity. But a near-maximum payout<br />
can be achieved as long as the bank<br />
is above 6 per cent and in the second<br />
quartile of its peer group, which includes<br />
several struggling European<br />
banks.<br />
associated with a branchless business<br />
would allow Citi and PNC, on<br />
paper, to offer more attractive rates to<br />
depositors. That could spur inflows,<br />
while helping to retain existing customers.<br />
“As rates back up, money gets<br />
less lazy,” he said. “Once rates really<br />
start to move, money tends to follow.”<br />
Since the US central bank began<br />
to raise rates big banks have offered<br />
better terms to institutional depositors<br />
but have not done the same for<br />
ordinary savers, who tend to have<br />
much smaller balances.<br />
Annual interest rates on instantaccess<br />
savings accounts at the top<br />
four US banks by deposits, for example<br />
— JPMorgan Chase, Bank<br />
of America, Wells Fargo and Citi —<br />
presently average less than four basis<br />
points, or four hundredths of one per<br />
cent, according to Informa data cited<br />
by Goldman Sachs.<br />
That compares with 1.5 per cent at<br />
<strong>Mar</strong>cus, Goldman’s online bank; 1.5<br />
per cent at Barclays; and 1.6 per cent<br />
at PurePoint Financial, the predominantly<br />
online business launched by<br />
MUFG Union just over a year ago.<br />
SHAWN DONNAN<br />
The Trump administration<br />
plans to impose new tariffs on<br />
$50bn in annual imports from<br />
China, targeting products such as robots<br />
and high-speed trains as it also<br />
ramps up efforts to block Chinese<br />
investment in strategic sectors.<br />
In what White House officials<br />
billed as a historic move against<br />
Chinese “economic aggression”,<br />
President Donald Trump on Thursday<br />
was set to order US officials to<br />
levy tariffs against China in response<br />
to a finding that Beijing has for decades<br />
pursued a strategy of unfairly<br />
acquiring US intellectual property.<br />
US officials said they would release<br />
a detailed list within 15 days<br />
Police release video of Uber fatal collision<br />
Footage seems to show car heading straight into woman walking bicycle across road<br />
TIM BRADSHAW<br />
Police investigating the collision<br />
between an autonomous<br />
Uber vehicle and a<br />
pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona,<br />
have released video footage of the<br />
incident, which appears to show<br />
the sensor-laden Volvo heading<br />
straight into a woman walking her<br />
bicycle across the road without<br />
braking or swerving.<br />
A second video of the car’s interior<br />
seems to show the Uber driver<br />
behind the wheel looking down<br />
rather than at the road until the<br />
moment of impact. A driver’s role<br />
in the vehicle during Uber’s testing<br />
in Arizona is to take control if the<br />
autonomous systems fail.<br />
In an interview this week,<br />
Tempe’s chief of police said after<br />
viewing the video that preliminary<br />
investigations suggested neither<br />
Uber’s autonomous systems nor<br />
the driver would have been able to<br />
avoid Sunday night’s collision, in<br />
which 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg<br />
was killed.<br />
However, some legal and technological<br />
experts said the footage<br />
suggested that there should have<br />
been time to stop if the technology<br />
was functioning properly or the<br />
driver was paying attention.<br />
The case is seen as setting a<br />
potential precedent in the fastdeveloping<br />
industry of self-driving<br />
cars. Ms Herzberg is believed to be<br />
the first pedestrian to be killed in<br />
a collision with an autonomous<br />
vehicle.<br />
Following the incident, Uber<br />
has suspended its testing across<br />
North America. Toyota has also<br />
paused its pilot project, but others<br />
in the industry, including Zoox and<br />
Drive.ai, have continued to test<br />
their self-driving cars on public<br />
roads this week.<br />
“It’s very clear it would have<br />
been difficult to avoid this collision<br />
in any kind of mode [autonomous<br />
or human driven] based on how<br />
she came from the shadows right<br />
into the roadway,” Tempe’s police<br />
chief Sylvia Moir told the San Francisco<br />
Chronicle in an interview on<br />
but planned to specifically target 10<br />
strategic sectors identified by Beijing<br />
as part of a “Made in China 2025”<br />
strategic plan pushed by Xi Jinping.<br />
Those sectors included robotics,<br />
aerospace, maritime and modern<br />
rail equipment as well as electric<br />
vehicles, and biopharma products.<br />
Likewise, Mr Trump on Thursday<br />
was set to order the US Treasury to<br />
come up with a plan to impose new<br />
restrictions on Chinese investment<br />
in areas like those within 60 days,<br />
officials said. Such a regime would<br />
be parallel to the Committee on<br />
Foreign Investment in the US, which<br />
now examines foreign investments<br />
for potential threats to US national<br />
security and has in recent years<br />
taking an increasingly dim view of<br />
Chinese acquisitions.<br />
Monday.<br />
“I suspect preliminarily it appears<br />
that Uber would likely not<br />
be at fault in this accident either.”<br />
A police spokesperson later<br />
said the interview had been mischaracterised,<br />
but did not dispute<br />
the accuracy of the chief’s reported<br />
comments.<br />
But Ryan Calo, a professor at<br />
the University of Washington’s<br />
law school, who writes regularly<br />
on robotics and cyber law, said in<br />
a tweet: “I watched the video of<br />
the driverless car collide with Ms<br />
Herzberg and I simply disagree<br />
that it absolves Uber.”<br />
Both Prof Calo and Bryant<br />
Walker Smith, assistant professor<br />
at the University of South Carolina’s<br />
law school and an expert on<br />
autonomous vehicles, said that<br />
the Uber vehicle’s array of sensors<br />
and camera equipment, which<br />
include a Lidar system that sends<br />
out laser pulses to “see” its surroundings,<br />
should have detected<br />
Ms Herzberg, given her position<br />
on the street.<br />
“Although this appalling video<br />
isn’t the full picture, it strongly suggests<br />
a failure by Uber’s automated<br />
driving system and a lack of due<br />
care by Uber’s driver, as well as by<br />
the victim,” he said.<br />
“The victim is obscured by<br />
darkness — but she is moving on<br />
an open road. Lidar and radar absolutely<br />
should have detected her<br />
and classified her as something<br />
other than a stationary object.”<br />
Uber said: “The video is disturbing<br />
and heartbreaking to watch,<br />
and our thoughts continue to be<br />
with Elaine’s loved ones. Our cars<br />
remain grounded, and we’re assisting<br />
local, state and federal authorities<br />
in any way we can.”<br />
Tempe police have said that any<br />
final judgment on liability would<br />
fall to the local county’s attorney.<br />
The Tempe police investigation<br />
is continuing. Federal agencies,<br />
including the National Highway<br />
Traffic Safety Administration and<br />
the National Transportation Safety<br />
Board, are also investigating the<br />
incident.
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong><br />
Daily Trust at 20: Aigbogun, others point<br />
way forward for journalism in Nigeria<br />
HARRISON EDEH, Abuja<br />
Publisher of <strong>BusinessDay</strong><br />
Media<br />
Limited, Frank<br />
Aigbogun, and<br />
other panel of discussants<br />
at the Media Trust<br />
Limited event commemorating<br />
its 20th anniversary, said<br />
journalism profession in Nigeria<br />
must constantly innovate<br />
and update in line with<br />
the requirements of modern<br />
trends in order to sustain the<br />
profession.<br />
Some of the requirements,<br />
the discussants pointed<br />
out while discussing the<br />
theme: ‘Journalism as Business:<br />
News, Views and Advertising,’<br />
yesterday in Abuja,<br />
were that there was an economic<br />
side of journalism that<br />
must be highlighted, noting<br />
that the profession was not<br />
just a social entrepreneurial<br />
job.<br />
According to Aigbogun,<br />
“One of the greatest disservice<br />
we could do to journal-<br />
Ibori launches appeal against UK corruption conviction<br />
Nigerian politician,<br />
James<br />
Ibori, who<br />
spent years<br />
in UK jails after pleading<br />
guilty to laundering<br />
a stolen fortune in Britain,<br />
launched an appeal<br />
against his conviction on<br />
Wednesday, alleging corruption<br />
in the ranks of<br />
British police.<br />
At stake are about 90<br />
million pounds ($130m)<br />
of Ibori’s assets, which<br />
have been frozen for<br />
years. The British authorities<br />
aim to confiscate<br />
them and return<br />
them to the Nigerian<br />
state, but if Ibori’s conviction<br />
were overturned<br />
he would regain control<br />
of them.<br />
As governor of oilproducing<br />
Delta State<br />
from 1999 to 2007, Ibori<br />
became one of Nigeria’s<br />
most powerful men and<br />
enjoyed a millionaire<br />
lifestyle, with properties<br />
and luxury cars in several<br />
countries. At the time<br />
of his arrest he was in the<br />
process of buying a $20<br />
million private jet.<br />
His conviction in<br />
2012, after he admitted<br />
10 counts of fraud<br />
and money-laundering,<br />
was a rare example of a<br />
big player in Nigerian<br />
politics being held to account<br />
for the corruption<br />
that has blighted Africa’s<br />
most populous nation.<br />
But Ibori’s lawyers allege<br />
that one of the British<br />
police officers who<br />
investigated him took<br />
bribes in 2007 from a private<br />
detective, hired by<br />
a British law firm working<br />
for Ibori, in return for<br />
ism is to present journalism<br />
as an orphan. That is to suggest<br />
that journalism could<br />
only be sustained with money<br />
being made elsewhere.<br />
“By way of the future, I<br />
take comfort in the recent<br />
reporting of the New York<br />
Times in the United States.<br />
At the end of December last<br />
year, the New York Times<br />
earned digital sales revenue<br />
of $1 billion. The share price<br />
of New York Times today is at<br />
11-year high.”<br />
Pointing the way forward,<br />
Aigbogun noted that the content<br />
of journalism and operations<br />
of the business were<br />
key, remarking also that people<br />
identify good journalism<br />
and pay for it.<br />
He suggested further by<br />
saying media businesses<br />
could prioritise strategically<br />
their premium content,<br />
while enjoining their target<br />
audience to pay for it as a way<br />
of sustaining their brand, and<br />
being in business.<br />
He said, “The last quarter<br />
of last year the New York<br />
Times added paid digital<br />
subscription of 157,000 people.<br />
By implication, the New<br />
York Times is gaining subscription<br />
of 50,000 paid subscription<br />
a month. What that<br />
tells me is that good journalism<br />
can pay for itself. There<br />
is absolutely no way of doing<br />
good journalism without<br />
thinking of the commercial<br />
imperatives.”<br />
Chris Anyanwu, proprietor<br />
of Hot Frequency Modulated<br />
station, and one the<br />
panellists, said, “Journalism<br />
is practised within an environment<br />
and we have to<br />
watch what the consumer<br />
is leaning and shifting towards,<br />
and the behavioural<br />
pattern of the masses which<br />
would enable the audience<br />
be served better.”<br />
On the constitutional role<br />
of the journalism profession,<br />
Anyanwu said, “You have to<br />
watch dog in line with what<br />
the demands of your audience<br />
are. If your audience are<br />
inside information about<br />
the police investigation.<br />
They also allege that<br />
British anti-corruption<br />
police who were supposed<br />
to investigate the<br />
alleged bribery instead<br />
covered it up to avoid<br />
scuppering Ibori’s trial<br />
and tarnishing the reputation<br />
of the police.<br />
All the people against<br />
whom allegations of corruption<br />
or bad faith have<br />
been made have denied<br />
them. The appeal hearing,<br />
being held before<br />
three judges at London’s<br />
Court of Appeal, is due to<br />
last three days.<br />
Ibori was released<br />
from jail in December<br />
2016 after serving half of<br />
his 13-year sentence, as<br />
is normal in Britain, and<br />
he returned to Nigeria in<br />
February 2017. He has<br />
going in a direction and you<br />
insist you are being on an<br />
outdated format, you are going<br />
to be stuck there.”<br />
“We must invest greatly<br />
in technology, data, to help<br />
us compete in line with the<br />
demands of the time,” Dapo<br />
Olorunyomi, managing director<br />
of Premium Times<br />
(online), said.<br />
Also in his submission,<br />
Manir Dan Ali, editor-inchief<br />
of the Media Trust Limited,<br />
said, “Our strategy is<br />
digital, but at the same time,<br />
we are mindful of where we<br />
are and are determined to<br />
serve that ecology according<br />
to their requirements. What<br />
we are doing is constantly secure<br />
the future, whether it is<br />
digital or print.”<br />
In his earlier remarks,<br />
Rabiu Garba, the director,<br />
Media Trust Limited, said<br />
the media outfit would keep<br />
ensuring that it sustained the<br />
professional ethics of the job<br />
however challenging the job<br />
was in the country.<br />
L-R: Olisa<br />
Agbakoba, cochairman,<br />
Nigeria Intervention<br />
Movement<br />
(NIM)/chairman<br />
of the occasion;<br />
Abdujhalii<br />
Tafawa Balewa,<br />
chairman of the<br />
occasion; Kayode<br />
Ajulo, former<br />
secretary Labour<br />
Party, and<br />
Olawale<br />
Okuniyi, direc-<br />
tor general,<br />
NIM, during the<br />
grand national<br />
Summit and<br />
official launch of<br />
Grand Political<br />
Coalition on the<br />
Future of Nigeria<br />
held in Abuja.<br />
Pic by Tunde<br />
Adeniyi<br />
re-emerged in public life<br />
there and been feted at<br />
various events.<br />
He was due to give evidence<br />
on Wednesday via<br />
video-link from Nigeria,<br />
and he appeared briefly<br />
on a screen in court,<br />
but the connection was<br />
lost and could not be<br />
restored. The court was<br />
told a power cut in Nigeria<br />
was the reason for the<br />
glitch.<br />
Despite being a major<br />
oil and gas producer, Nigeria<br />
has daily electricity<br />
cuts - a result of decades<br />
of corruption and mismanagement<br />
in the power<br />
sector.<br />
The judges instructed<br />
that a new attempt<br />
be made to establish a<br />
video-link to Ibori on<br />
Thursday.<br />
C002D5556<br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
Access Bank result shows earnings<br />
growth by 20% to N459.1bn<br />
HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE<br />
Access Bank plc has<br />
released its audited<br />
results for the fullyear<br />
ended December<br />
31, 2017, showing growth<br />
in total income.<br />
The Group reasserted its<br />
capacity to deliver steady earnings<br />
despite a tighter operating<br />
environment. In the audited<br />
financial results released to<br />
the Nigerian Stock Exchange<br />
(NSE) on <strong>Mar</strong>ch 21, the bank<br />
recorded a total income of<br />
N459.1 billion, representing<br />
an increase of 20 percent over<br />
N381.3 billion recorded in the<br />
same period in 2016.<br />
Growth in gross earnings<br />
was boosted by a 29 percent<br />
increase in interest income to<br />
N319.9 billion in 2017, from<br />
N247.2 billion in Full Year (FY)<br />
2016 whilst net interest income<br />
grew by 17 percent from<br />
N163,452 billion in FY 2017,<br />
from N139,148 billion in the<br />
comparative period of 2016.<br />
Similarly, Non-Interest<br />
Income grew 4 percent to<br />
N139.1billion, in FY 2017<br />
from N133.4 billion in 2016,<br />
leading to an 11 percent increase<br />
in the Group’s operating<br />
income to N302,596<br />
billion in FY 2017, from<br />
N272,605 billion in FY 2016.<br />
The growth in the Group’s<br />
earnings is underlined by an<br />
expansion in its core business,<br />
on the back of an enhanced<br />
asset book. Loans and<br />
advances grew 11 percent to<br />
N2,064 trillion in 2017, from<br />
N1,855 trillion in December<br />
2016. Total assets grew 18<br />
A7<br />
NEWS<br />
JBN gets awards for quality, best<br />
international engineering standards<br />
Julius Berger Nigeria plc,<br />
an engineering construction<br />
firm, has had<br />
a season of commendation<br />
and celebration of<br />
technical competence and<br />
best engineering quality and<br />
standards.<br />
Since the year began,<br />
from the Third Observers,<br />
where Priscilla Kuye is<br />
Board chairman, to the Nigerian<br />
Institute of Building<br />
(NIOB) and the Nigerian Institution<br />
of Estate Surveyors<br />
and Valuers (NIESV), it has<br />
been appreciation, recognition<br />
and commendation for<br />
Julius Berger Nigeria (JBN).<br />
The substance of the<br />
awards has revolved around<br />
the company’s widely acknowledged<br />
commitment<br />
to engineering construction<br />
integrity as well as for its<br />
delivery of quality and best<br />
international standards<br />
within contractual timelines<br />
in all its obligations to<br />
its clients.<br />
As a quoted company<br />
on the Nigerian Stock Exchange<br />
(NSE), the firm recently<br />
got a Commemorative<br />
Award. The award was<br />
given by the independent<br />
Third Observers, who obpercent<br />
to N4,102 trillion in<br />
December 2017, from N3,484<br />
trillion in the corresponding<br />
period in 2016.<br />
Additionally, the Group<br />
recorded an increase of 13<br />
percent in Shareholder returns<br />
of N515 billion in December<br />
2017, from N454 billion in the<br />
corresponding period in 2016.<br />
Although the Group<br />
posted significant growth in<br />
earnings, the adverse lingering<br />
effects of the macro on<br />
asset quality in the industry<br />
led to the bank taking prudent<br />
provisions in the course<br />
of the year, thereby dampening<br />
profitability, as Profit before<br />
tax declined 11 percent<br />
to N80.1 billion in FY 2017<br />
from N90.3 billion in FY 2016.<br />
Nonetheless, the bank’s fundamentals<br />
remain strong and<br />
the Group remains poised<br />
for sustainable growth in the<br />
coming periods.<br />
The Group proposes a final<br />
dividend of 40 Kobo per share<br />
to its shareholders, in addition<br />
to 25Kobo interim dividend<br />
paid during the period, making<br />
a total of 65 Kobo for the<br />
financial year. The dividend is<br />
subject to approval at the annual<br />
general meeting.<br />
Commenting on the results,<br />
Herbert Wigwe, group<br />
managing director, said, “Our<br />
operating performance in<br />
2017 was impacted by the<br />
residual effects of macroeconomic<br />
conditions of 2016,<br />
characterised by slow economic<br />
expansion and adverse<br />
credit conditions, which resulted<br />
in making conservative<br />
provisions on our loan book.<br />
served that the honour was<br />
to highlight JBN’s positive<br />
and consistent 20 years of<br />
dividend payments as a<br />
quoted company.<br />
Within the same week,<br />
the NIESV also presented<br />
the company with an Award<br />
of Excellence. The NIESV<br />
whose motto proudly speaks<br />
to “Honesty and Devotion”<br />
gave the award “in appreciation<br />
of their tremendous<br />
support towards the growth<br />
of the Institution.”<br />
It would be recalled that<br />
on December 12, 2017, the<br />
chief regulating body for<br />
the building construction<br />
industry, the Nigerian Institute<br />
of Building (NIOB),<br />
also presented to JBN’s<br />
Board and Management a<br />
Plaque of Appreciation.<br />
The Plaque of Appreciation<br />
award to JBN, according<br />
to the NIOB, was based on<br />
the “the commendable performances<br />
of Julius Berger<br />
in Health and Safety, Good<br />
Quality Construction, Projects<br />
delivery and Responsive<br />
deeds of Corporate Social<br />
Responsibility towards<br />
the growth and development<br />
of professional organisations<br />
in the Nigerian built<br />
Environment Industry.”
A8<br />
NEWS<br />
BUSINESS DAY<br />
C002D5556<br />
Establish worldview, repeal Land Use Act,<br />
scrape NNPC, Moghalu tells Nigeria<br />
HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE, ENDURANCE OKAFOR<br />
For Nigeria to move<br />
forward in terms of<br />
overcoming poverty<br />
and creating wealth,<br />
it needs to establish<br />
a clear worldview, institution,<br />
reduce economic complexity<br />
as well as focusing on science,<br />
technology and innovation as<br />
the driver of the economy.<br />
This was the submission of<br />
Kingsley Moghalu, 2019 presidential<br />
aspirant/former deputy<br />
governor of the Central<br />
Bank of Nigeria (CBN), who<br />
recommended the establishment<br />
and consistent application<br />
of a clear economic philosophy<br />
of entrepreneurial<br />
capitalism in the context of a<br />
developmental state, as the<br />
guiding framework for the Nigerian<br />
economy.<br />
According to Moghalu,<br />
having a worldview also matters<br />
for Nigeria because it<br />
will enable it to assess from<br />
a comparative and competitive<br />
standpoint the distance<br />
between West Africa’s biggest<br />
oil producer and other more<br />
successful countries.<br />
“A solid worldview can<br />
drive us to catch up with and<br />
possible overtake countries<br />
that, at our independence<br />
from colonial rule in 1960, had<br />
less economical or technological<br />
prospects than Nigeria<br />
but today are advanced industrial<br />
economics, countries<br />
such as Malaysia, Indonesia,<br />
Thailand and even South Korea<br />
fall into this bracket,” the<br />
presidential aspirant said.<br />
A look into Nigeria agriculture<br />
showed Kingsley Moghalu<br />
was right, palm oil, which<br />
used to be one of the nation’s<br />
major sources of foreign exchange<br />
in the early 1960s, is<br />
massively imported from Malaysia<br />
and Indonesia.<br />
Statistically, Nigeria currently<br />
has a global share of<br />
2.9 percent, with Indonesia<br />
leading by 33 million metric<br />
tonnes, Malaysia – 19.8 million<br />
metric tons, Thailand – 2<br />
million tons and Colombia<br />
-1.1 million metric tons.<br />
Moghalu also recommended<br />
the constitutional repeal<br />
of the Land Use Act that<br />
traps the wealth of Nigeria’s<br />
citizens in the hands choking<br />
grip of state bureaucracy,<br />
scraping the Nigerian National<br />
Petroleum Corporation<br />
(NNPC) and reforming it as a<br />
partially privatised company,<br />
deregulating the downstream<br />
petroleum sector, and avoid<br />
further foreign borrowing<br />
which has put the country<br />
back into debt trap that will<br />
weigh down the future generations<br />
of Nigeria.<br />
He said Nigeria revenue to<br />
debt service ratio is very high<br />
at about 66 percent, that is<br />
not sustainable, that implies<br />
that the total of that amount<br />
are used to service debt, and<br />
as such there is no room to<br />
finance developmental activi-<br />
Outstanding athletes in focus on Glo-sponsored African Voices<br />
Some of Africa’s outstanding<br />
athletes will<br />
this week on CNN<br />
African Voices share<br />
with viewers how their<br />
desire to excel fuels their<br />
passion to keep breaking<br />
new records in sports. The<br />
programme, which goes on<br />
air at 9.30am on Fridays, is<br />
sponsored by Globacom.<br />
The repeat editions<br />
come up at 3.30am and<br />
1.30pm on Saturday and<br />
at 11.30am and 6.30pm on<br />
Sunday. Further repeats will<br />
be broadcast at 10.30am on<br />
Monday and 4.30am on<br />
Tuesday.<br />
To bring the story of the<br />
‘No plan to sell Edo Broadcasting Service, The Observer’<br />
There is no plan to<br />
sell the state-owned<br />
radio and television<br />
station, Edo<br />
Broadcasting Service (EBS)<br />
and the Nigerian Observer<br />
Newspaper to an individual.<br />
This was disclosed yesterday<br />
by Crusoe Osagie,<br />
special adviser on media<br />
and communication strategy<br />
to Edo State governor,<br />
in response to the allegation<br />
by the Edo PDP that the<br />
governor was about selling<br />
the outfits to individuals.<br />
“The falsehood being<br />
peddled by the Edo State<br />
chapter of People’s Democratic<br />
Party (PDP) is a figdrive<br />
and unwavering dedication<br />
to passion that propel<br />
African athletes to overcome<br />
daunting obstacles<br />
home to viewers, the programme<br />
will feature three<br />
exceptional athletes.<br />
They include 28-yearold<br />
South African professional<br />
baseball player and<br />
second baseman for the<br />
Toronto Blue Jays in the<br />
Major League Baseball, Gift<br />
Ngoepe. The athlete will<br />
brief viewers about how he<br />
made history as the first African<br />
born player in the Major<br />
League and what drives<br />
his passion for the game.<br />
Moroccan adventurer,<br />
environmentalist and inment<br />
of their imagination.<br />
Understandably, the Edo<br />
PDP has all the time in the<br />
world to imagine the unimaginable.<br />
There is no plan,<br />
whether now or in the future<br />
to sell government enterprises<br />
to any individual,”<br />
he said.<br />
Speaking with the media<br />
in Benin City yesterday,<br />
he explained, “Recall that<br />
Governor Obaseki paid unscheduled<br />
visits to the two<br />
media houses last year and<br />
was appalled by what he<br />
saw at the media houses;<br />
outdated equipment and a<br />
disenchanted workforce.<br />
“The stories of the visits<br />
ties.<br />
“And even if the government<br />
is currently borrowing<br />
at a low interest rate, they never<br />
can tell what will happen in<br />
the nearest future,” he said.<br />
And as such, he urged the<br />
Nigerian government to look<br />
at alternative areas of generating<br />
revenue locally, other<br />
than sourcing from fund<br />
through borrowing.<br />
The government can ensure<br />
more people are encouraged<br />
to pay tax, not necessarily<br />
to increase the tax but to<br />
increase the people that are<br />
paying tax, of which the major<br />
challenge is the fact that the<br />
people do not have trust in the<br />
government, he said.<br />
He said Nigeria has failed<br />
to achieve high-quality economic<br />
growth because the<br />
country’s economy is managed<br />
mostly on an ad-hoc,<br />
reactive basis.<br />
“Nigeria’s citizens must<br />
now elect a new kind of leadership<br />
that offers something<br />
radically different by virtue<br />
of possessing the insights<br />
we have discussed here today,<br />
and having the political<br />
will to take the economic<br />
management of Nigeria in a<br />
new direction of soundness,<br />
quality and results,” he said<br />
while speaking on ‘Overcoming<br />
Poverty: The Secret of the<br />
Wealth of Nations’, at the <strong>2018</strong><br />
bullion lecture organised by<br />
Centre for Financial Journalism<br />
in Lagos.<br />
spirational speaker, Saad<br />
Abid, is the second guest on<br />
the programme. He is a successful<br />
surfer whose love for<br />
the outdoors has transited<br />
into a desire to protect the<br />
environment.<br />
Next is South African<br />
trail runner, Ryan Nicholas<br />
Sanders, who is widely<br />
known as “Hedgie”. He was<br />
the first competitor to win<br />
all the four desert races,<br />
each a 6/7 day, 250 kilometer<br />
self-supported footrace<br />
through the Atacama Desert<br />
in Chile, the Gobi Desert in<br />
China, the Sahara Desert in<br />
Egypt and lastly the Antartica<br />
in the South Pole.<br />
were widely reported in the<br />
media and the governor has<br />
vowed to reposition the media<br />
houses for optimal performance,<br />
and play a major<br />
role in the educational sector.<br />
“For emphasis, the Edo<br />
State government led by<br />
Godwin Obaseki is too sophisticated<br />
to indulge in acts<br />
that the Edo PDP members<br />
either went to jail for or are<br />
still visiting the offices of the<br />
anti-economic and financial<br />
crimes agencies, for.”<br />
He will not sell assets<br />
owned by the good and loving<br />
people of Edo State to<br />
any individual, he said categorically.<br />
Friday <strong>23</strong> <strong>Mar</strong>ch <strong>2018</strong>
BUSINESS DAY<br />
Fact Check<br />
NEWS YOU CAN TRUST I FRIDAY <strong>23</strong> MARCH <strong>2018</strong> C002D5556<br />
Is the United States of America<br />
without private primary schools?<br />
Nasir El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state on <strong>Mar</strong>ch 17 tweeted: “It’s striking to me that, United States of America,<br />
one of the most capitalist countries in the world, has no private primary schools. This makes us more determined<br />
to restore the quality of primary education in Kaduna. <strong>BusinessDay</strong> fact-checked this and found the statement is<br />
misleading.<br />
Early history of education<br />
in the USA was<br />
private<br />
In the infancy of the<br />
United States of<br />
America, schooling<br />
for young people,<br />
such as it was,<br />
was provided by small,<br />
private schools, not public<br />
schools. Education in<br />
colonial days was quite<br />
stratified. Boys learned<br />
core subjects such as<br />
reading and math. Girls<br />
learned the domestic<br />
arts. Only white children<br />
received an education<br />
until slavery was<br />
abolished. Very often<br />
teachers were wellintentioned<br />
men who<br />
themselves did not have<br />
much formal education.<br />
Yes, back then, most<br />
teachers were men.<br />
The first private<br />
schools were established<br />
by the religious missionaries<br />
of the Roman Catholic<br />
Church in Florida<br />
and Louisiana. By all accounts<br />
education in the<br />
north-eastern colonies<br />
was better organised in<br />
the 18th century than<br />
its counterpart in the<br />
southern states. Schools<br />
such as Boston Latin<br />
School were founded in<br />
order to teach the classical<br />
languages of Latin<br />
and Greek.<br />
In Manhattan, Collegiate<br />
School was established<br />
by the Dutch West<br />
India Company and the<br />
Classis of Amsterdam,<br />
the parent ecclesiastical<br />
body of the Dutch<br />
Reformed Church for<br />
the colonists of New Amsterdam.<br />
In Washington,<br />
DC, Georgetown Preparatory<br />
School was founded<br />
in 1789 by America’s<br />
first Catholic bishop,<br />
Prep is the nation’s<br />
oldest Jesuit school and<br />
the only Jesuit boarding<br />
school. In the early part<br />
of the 18th century English<br />
grammar schools<br />
taught more subjects as<br />
the need for a more educated<br />
populace grew.<br />
The latter part of the<br />
Source: Statista<br />
18th century saw the development<br />
of the genre<br />
known as the Academy.<br />
Visionaries such as William<br />
Penn guided the<br />
educational thinking of<br />
the time.<br />
In the 19th century a<br />
uniform, organised system<br />
of public education<br />
did not take shape until<br />
the 1840s. Leading the<br />
push for better education<br />
in the north-eastern<br />
colonies were leaders<br />
such as Horace Mann<br />
and Henry Barnard.<br />
They were the architects<br />
of the concept of public<br />
funding for schools at<br />
the local level, a model<br />
which still flourishes in<br />
the 21st century.<br />
No different back then<br />
than in the 21st century<br />
there were parents who<br />
wanted a better education<br />
for their children.<br />
And there were civicminded<br />
leaders who understood<br />
how a rigorous<br />
academic education was<br />
essential to ensuring<br />
the solid growth of the<br />
new nation. The Phillips<br />
family, for example,<br />
Essentially then, private<br />
education in the colonies<br />
came before public<br />
education. As public<br />
education took hold,<br />
private schools sprang up<br />
in order to fill a need not<br />
provided for in the public<br />
sector<br />
founded Exeter and Andover<br />
Academies with<br />
serious, high-minded<br />
purposes.<br />
The Deed of Gift<br />
which established Exeter<br />
states that the Academy<br />
should teach its<br />
students not only in the<br />
English and Latin grammar,<br />
writing, arithmetic,<br />
and those sciences<br />
wherein they are commonly<br />
taught, but more<br />
especially to teach them<br />
the great end and real<br />
business of living. Ando-<br />
ver’s 1778 Constitution<br />
charges the Academy<br />
to prepare “Youth from<br />
every quarter to understand<br />
that “goodness<br />
without knowledge is<br />
weak, yet knowledge<br />
without goodness is<br />
dangerous.”<br />
Into the 19th century<br />
philanthropists such as<br />
Stephen Girard (1750-<br />
1831) played a pivotal<br />
role in establishing private<br />
schools to educate<br />
children from poor families.<br />
The altruistic thread<br />
permeates the late 18th<br />
and 19th centuries as<br />
wealthy businessmen<br />
understood the social<br />
and economic implications<br />
of a good education<br />
for every quarter of<br />
society.<br />
Source: U.S Department of Education<br />
Milton Hershey<br />
(1857-1945) and Princess<br />
Bernice (1831-<br />
1884) came from quite<br />
different backgrounds<br />
but shared a common<br />
goal of educating young<br />
people at no cost to their<br />
families. The schools<br />
which they established<br />
are some of the grandest<br />
examples of educational<br />
philanthropy to<br />
be found anywhere in<br />
the world.<br />
Essentially then, private<br />
education in the<br />
colonies came before<br />
public education. As<br />
public education took<br />
hold, private schools<br />
sprang up in order to fill<br />
a need not provided for<br />
in the public sector. Parents<br />
who felt that they<br />
wanted more for their<br />
children had options<br />
even back in the early<br />
days of the nation. That<br />
concept of options has<br />
not changed in the 21st<br />
century. A parent who<br />
desires a particular type<br />
of education has a wide<br />
variety of options available<br />
to him. 80 percent<br />
of American children are<br />
educated in the public<br />
system. The other 20<br />
percent find what their<br />
parents are looking for<br />
in a private school.<br />
Given the high cost,<br />
children from richer<br />
families are far more<br />
likely to go to private<br />
school than children<br />
from poorer families.<br />
Only 6 percent of kids<br />
in households with incomes<br />
under $50,000<br />
attend private schools,<br />
compared with 26 percent<br />
of kids in households<br />
with incomes of<br />
$200,000 or more.<br />
Published by BusinessDAY Media Ltd., The Brook, 6 Point Road, GRA, Apapa, Lagos. Ghana Office: <strong>BusinessDay</strong> Ghana Ltd; ABC Junction, near Guinness Ghana Limited, Achimota – Accra, Ghana.<br />
Tel: +<strong>23</strong>3243226596: email: mail@businessdayonline.com Advert Hotline: 08116759801, 08082496194. Subscriptions 01-2950687, 07045792677. Newsroom: 08169609331<br />
Editor: Anthony Osae-Brown. All correspondence to BusinessDAY Media Ltd., Box 1002, Festac Lagos. ISSN 1595 - 8590.