BusinessDay 03 Apr 2018

usinessday market monitor 

Bitcoin 

Everdon Bureau De Change 

Commodities 

Brent Oil 

$69.94 

Cocoa 

US $2,555.00 

NSE 

Biggest Gainer Biggest Loser 

Nestle 

Wapco 

N1380 2.96pc N45.3 -2.37pc 

41,504.51 

2,446,559.01 +0.96pc 

Powered by 

$-N 

£-N 

€-N 

BUY SELL 

360.00 363.00 

502.00 511.00 

437.00 447.00 

FOREIGN EXCHANGE TREASURY BILLS 

Market Spot $/N 3M 6M 

I&E FX Window 360.20 -0.01 -0.47 

CBN Official Rate 305.65 14.64 14.83 

FMDQ Close 

5 Years 

0.03% 

13.62% 

FGN BONDS 

10 Years 

-0.03% 

13.75% 

20 Years 

0.17% 

13.54% 

NEWS YOU CAN TRUST I **TUESDAY 03 APRIL 2018 I VOL. 15, NO 24 I N300 @ g 

Nigeria’s game 

designers fight for 

their cut on mobile 

RACHEL SAVAGE, FT 

Travelling across Lagos is 

like tackling an obstacle 

course, one packed with 

corrupt police officers, gaping 

potholes and badly driven, 

banana-yellow “danfo” buses 

— not to mention the traffic jams 

that appear from nowhere in the 

middle of the day. 

So it comes as little surprise 

that there are now video games 

imitating life in Nigeria’s sweltering 

mega city. 

In Gidi Run, moustachioed 

traffic cop Musa sticks out his 

hand for a 20 naira ($0.06) bribe. 

A danfo bus crashes through 

the roadblock and there is an ensuing 

chase through the crowded 

streets of Lagos. 

The Android mobile phone 

game belongs to the “endless 

runner” genre made globally 

popular by US game Temple Run, 

where the character keeps sprinting 

until he or she fails to turn a 

corner or clear an obstacle. 

Gamsole, the creator of Gidi 

Continues on page 38 

Inside 

You are running a failed government, Obasanjo tells Buhari 

Again, former President 

Olusegun Obasanjo 

on Monday criticised 

and lambasted the All 

Progressives Congress (APC) 

Nigerian Stock Exchange taps 

EFCC for Milost investigation 

The market regulations 

unit of the Nigerian 

Stock Exchange (NSE) 

is putting finishing 

touches to an on-going 

investigation that would see 

anti-graft agency, the Economic 

and Financial Crimes Commission 

(EFCC), go after Milost 

Global, Inc and other market 

operators found guilty of any 

wrongdoing or aiding an alleged 

share pump and dump activity 

and Federal Government being 

led by President Muhammadu 

Buhari for bringing hardship on 

Nigerians and running ineffective 

economic policies which 

has crippled businesses, causing 

economic woes in the country. 

He categorically tagged the 

As parties issue conflicting statements 

Milost NY address is Business Centre 

in Nigeria. 

A pump and dump scheme 

is the fraudulent practice of 

encouraging investors to buy 

shares in a company in order to 

inflate the price artificially, and 

then sell one’s own shares while 

the price is high. 

BusinessDay learnt that the 

All Progressives Congress and 

Buhari-led Federal Government 

a failure and warned Nigerians 

not to re-elect a failed government 

that always gives one 

excuse or another for its failure 

to meet up with Nigerians’ 

expectations, saying it will be 

Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) 

has commenced an investigation 

into Milost following confusing 

statements issued by parties at 

the centre of the announced 

transactions. 

Informed sources told BusinessDay 

that NSE forced Unity 

Bank to make a statement last 

... says President’s incompetence responsible for economic woes 

... Senate moves against Buhari veto with 41 amendments to Electoral Act 

RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta & 

OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja 

Winnie Mandela, 

South African 

freedom icon, 

dies at 81 P. 4 

IHEANYI NWACHUKWU & 

LOLADE AKINMURELE 

foolhardy to reinforce failure by 

re-electing the All Progressives 

Congress and President Buhari 

in 2019. 

It will be recalled that the new 

outburst from Obasanjo is com- 


Thursday where the latter said 

that contrary to claims made by 

Milost, it did not lie on the facts 

presented to the investing public 

over a purported $1 billion 

financing deal. 

While the coast is yet to be 

cleared for Unity Bank, the Ni- 


L-R: Mobola Johnson, 

former minister 

of information 

and communication 

technology (ICT); 

Lynda Saint-Nwafor, 

chief enterprise 

business officer 

(CEBO), MTN 

Enterprise Business 

Unit; Onyinye 

Ikenna-Emeka, 

general manager, 

marketing, enterprise 

business unit, 

MTN, and Elochukwu 

Umeh, CEO, 

Terragon Group, 

at a stakeholder 

gathering for the 

enhanced version 

of MTN Mobile advertising 

in Lagos.

Tuesday 03 April 2018 

2 BUSINESS DAY


BUSINESS DAY 

3

4 BUSINESS DAY 

C002D5556 


NEWS 

Winnie Mandela, South African 

freedom icon, dies at 81 

DAVID IBEMERE 

Winnie Madikizela- 

Mandela‚ a stalwart 

in the fight 

against apartheid 

in South Africa‚ 

has died at the age of 81 after a 

battle with kidney infection which 

became severe since January. 

While her hallowed place in the 

pantheon of South Africa’s liberators 

is unquestionable, and one of 

Africa’s most revered daughter, 

it was however tainted by scandal 

over corruption, kidnapping, 

murder and the implosion of her 

marriage to Nelson Mandela. 

In a statement issued by the 

family, confirming her death at 

Netcare Milpark Hospital‚ Johannesburg‚ 

South Africa, she was said 

to have died surrounded by her 

family and loved ones. 

A report by the South African 

Broadcasting Corporation said she 

had been in admission at the hospital 

over the weekend, complaining 

of the flu after she attended a 

church service on Friday while also 

undergoing treatment for diabetes 

and major surgeries. 

Born in Bizana in the Eastern 

Cape, South Africa in 1936‚ she later 

moved to Johannesburg to study 

social work, where she eventually 

met lawyer and anti-apartheid ac- 

Nigerian Stock Exchange... 

Continued from page 1 

gerian bourse has commenced 

investigation into the likes of Japaul 

oil servicing company and Resort 

Savings, both of which are listed 

and have dealings with Milost, 

as announced by the purported 

Private Equity firm. 

Culpable parties will face steep 

regulatory sanctions, according to 

an inside source. 

“None of the parties in the 

transaction chain is left out of 

the wide sweeping investigation 

that would involve the EFCC,” the 

source added. 

Barely a year ago, the EFCC 

activated its partnership on market 

surveillance with the NSE to put an 

end to increased infractions in the 

capital market. 

This was in furtherance to the 

Memorandum of Understanding 

(MoU) signed between both 

parties in 2013 towards tackling 

market infractions and abuse. 

Amid investigations, Milost 

continues to claim that its Equity 

Subscription Agreement (MESA) 

is not for pump and dump. 

The MESA instrument, according 

to Milost, is aimed at funding 

“undervalued publicly quoted 

companies all around the world 

and is a hybrid of debt and equity.” 

“In any investigation you don’t 

go with a closed, mind. It will definitely 

be a thorough one,” another 

source close to the NSE council 

members said. 

US-based Milost has made the 

rounds in the past month over a 

number of high profile announcements 

to invest some $3 billion in 

Nigerian companies, a strategy that 

has put retail investors on the receiving 

end of movement in stock 

tivist Nelson Mandela in 1957 and 

they were married a year later. 

However‚ her marriage to 

Mandela was short-lived‚ after 

Mandela was arrested in 1963 and 

sentenced to life imprisonment 

for treason. Mandela was eventually 

released in 1990. 

During Mandela’s time in prison‚ 

Winne was not spared the 

reach of the apartheid forces. She 

was placed under house arrest and 

at one time banished to Brandfort‚ 

a town in the Free State. 

According to the statement of 

her death by the family, “Winne 

kept the memory of her imprisoned 

husband Nelson Mandela 

alive during his years on Robben 

Island and helped give the struggle 

for justice in South Africa one its 

most recognisable faces, dedicating 

most of her adult life to the 

cause of the people which gave her 

the name Mother of the Nation.” 

But for Madikizela-Mandela, the 

end of apartheid marked the start of 

a string of legal and political troubles 

that, accompanied by tales of her 

glamorous living, kept her in the 

spotlight for all the wrong reasons. 

As evidence emerged in the dying 

years of apartheid of the brutality of 

her Soweto enforcers, the “Mandela 

United Football Club” (MUFC), her 

nickname switched from “Mother of 

the Nation” to “Mugger”. 

Blamed for the killing of activist 

prices of the firms in the news. 

The private equity firm threatened 

to file a $500 million (N180 

billion) lawsuit against BusinessDay 

and two of its journalists, for publishing 

what it called false information. 

Leading up to Milost’s threat to 

file a lawsuit against BusinessDay, 

the latter published two separate 

articles on the private equity firm 

and its planned investments in a 

number of Nigerian companies. 

The first of these articles was 

published March 12 and titled “The 

Math doesn’t add up with Milost” 

with the second being “Milost sued 

in New York for fraud, violating US 

securities exchange law.” 

Milost did not fault the court 

Stompie Seipei, who was found 

near her Soweto home with his 

throat cut, she was convicted in 

1991 of kidnapping and assaulting 

the 14-year-old because he was 

suspected of being an informer. 

Her six-year jail term was reduced 

on appeal to a fine. 

Her marriage to Mandela began 

to flounder a few years after his 

release. 

A letter she purportedly wrote to 

her young lover found its way into 

the newspapers. 

In his book Odyssey to Freedom‚ 

veteran advocate George Bizos 

described how Mandela would 

not attend legal consultations Bizos 

had with Madikizela-Mandela during 

the Seipei trial. 

“He drew the line at attending 

our consultations‚ primarily because 

these meetings were also attended 

by the young lawyer … her lover during 

the latter part of Nelson’s imprisonment 

and after he was released‚” 

Bizos wrote in his book. 

The couple divorced in 1996‚ 37 

years after their marriage. 

After the first democratic election 

in 1994‚ Madikizela-Mandela 

became an MP and was appointed 

deputy minister of arts and culture. 

She was fired by Mandela after an 

unauthorised trip to Ghana. 

She had been an MP ever since‚ 

despite limited appearances in 

Parliament in the past few years. 

L-R: Emmanuel Emefienim, executive director, institutional banking, Sterling Bank; Ibikunle Amosun, governor, 

Ogun State; Abubakar Suleiman, managing director/CEO, Sterling Bank, and Rasaq Aboyeji, regional business 

executive, Sterling Bank, during the Ogun State Investment Summit in Abeokuta. 

document which showed it was 

facing six different charges bothering 

on fraud at the New York 

Southern District Court. 

Up until the time of filing this report, 

no such lawsuit has been filed 

against BusinessDay by Milost. 

Another source close to the 

development said the NSE will this 

week tell investors the direction of 

its investigation. 

The investigation will not exclude 

stock broking firms, said another 

insider source close to the brokerdealers 

regulation department. 

“The sanctions will be massive 

and the investigation will cut across 

even those that had anything with 

Milost before now. It is just that the 

In 2016‚ she was conferred an 

Order of Luthuli in Silver during the 

National Orders Awards ceremony 

for her excellent contribution to the 

fight for the liberation of the people 

of South Africa. 

As news of Winnie Madikizela- 

Mandela’s death spread on Monday 

afternoon, South Africans inundated 

social media with tributes 

to the political stalwart with many 

describing her as the true hero 

after Nelson for her role on ending 

apartheid. 

“We will never forget your role 

in changing our future we are 

forever grateful to you” a South 

African @Jonson wrote on his twitter 

handle. 

@akaworldwide added RIP in 

peace Mama South Africa. 

“You were strong when we 

couldn’t be. You were a rage that 

sometimes burned too brightly 

and you showed us how to be 

brave and be our fearsome best. 

Lion, Warrior, Mother,” said @ 

Sisonkemsimang. 

Others felt she has not been 

properly respected for her efforts 

in ending apartheid in the country, 

“She sacrificed her family, raising 

her children, her health, her marriage, 

her career, her education, her 

community ... only to be shunned 

we will NEVER forget you Mama. 

Our true liberator,” @VusiThembekwayo 

wrote. 

exchange does not give awards, but 

BusinessDay efforts in the whole 

process deserve an award,” our 

source added. 

BusinessDay investigations 

show that Milost Global Inc, office 

address stated on its website as 48 

Wall Street, 11th Floor New York, 

NY 10005 USA, is a virtual office 

or Business Centre owned by the 

Rockefeller Group. 

According to information from 

the Rockefeller Group website 

“Enjoy the benefits of a prominent 

business address, without the 

expense of a physical office space. 

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com 

Oilnears $70 on 

lower US rig count, 

geopolitical tension 

DIPO OLADEHINDE 

Oil rose towards $70 a barrel 

on Monday, boosted by a 

fall in drilling activity in the 

United States and the risk of an intensifying 

global trade war sparked 

by President Donald Trump. 

U.S. drillers cut seven oil rigs in 

the week to March 29, bringing the 

total down to 797, the first decline 

in three weeks. The rig count is 

closely watched as an indicator of 

future U.S. oil output. 

Prices also found support amid 

prospects of a harder U.S. line 

against Iran following recent criticism 

by Trump who threatened 

to pull out of a 2015 international 

nuclear deal with Tehran under 

which Iranian oil exports have 

risen. 

Luqman Agboola head of energy 

and infrastructure at Sofidam 

Capital Ltd said the implication of 

the lower rig counts is reduction 

in supply which will increase the 

demand for oil and higher oil price 

although it’s not sustainable. 

Agboola added, “Irrespective 

of what caused the decrease in 

rig count the market will react, 

however what is driving the oil 

price which is not visible is the Iran 

nuclear deal.” 

“By next month, the US is expected 

to revalidate the deal but 

Trump has vowed not to revalidate 

and is currently consulting with the 

European superpowers majority of 

which are the highest consumer of 

Iran’s oil.” 

Trump has given the European 

signatories a May 12 time limit to 

“fix the terrible flaws” of the deal. If 

the U.S. were to pull out of the deal 

and re-impose economic sanctions 

on Iran it could impact the 

oil output of one of OPEC’s largest 

members. 

Abayomi Fawehinmi an energy 

expert says all the current scenarios 

will lead to a short run increase 

in oil prices. 

Oil has risen from a multi-year 

low near $27 in January 2016, 

helped by production cuts led by 

the Organization of the Petroleum 

Exporting Countries (OPEC) and 

Russia, which started in 2017 and 

is due to run until the end of 2018. 

The revival in prices has helped 

to support a surge in U.S. drilling, 

which has boosted U.S. production 

to a record 10.43 million barrels per 

day (bpd), taking it past top global 

exporter Saudi Arabia. 

Russian oil output rose in 

March despite the output deal, 

to 10.97 million bpd from 10.95 

million bpd in February, Russian 

Energy Ministry data showed, 

putting Russia ahead of the United 

States as the world’s biggest crude 

producer. 

Also potentially weighing on 

markets were rising trade tensions 

between the United States 

and China. 

“The current US and china 

trade war will cause distortion if 

it persists for a long period of time 

which will overtime lead to reduction 

in oil price,” Agboola said. 

“If America continues with its 

imposition of tariff; Chinese output 

will reduce which will reduce 

the demand for energy,” Agboola 

Continues on page 38

Tuesday 03 April 2018 C002D5556 BUSINESS DAY 

5


6 BUSINESS DAY


7


8 BUSINESS DAY


9



C002D5556 

COMMENT 

No celebration until Leah Sharibu comes home 

comment is free 

Send 800word comments to comment@businessdayonline.com 

MAZI SAM OHUABUNWA OFR 

sam@starteamconsult.com 

I 

was feeling low last week and began 

wandering what was weighing 

me down. Yes my mother Madam 

Mathilda Nwannediya Ohuabunwa 

who recently finished her race 

on earth will be laid to rest this week’s 

Friday - 6th of April 2018 in my home 

town- Arochukwu in Abia state. So it was 

natural to feel that was my problem. But 

I shook that thinking away because since 

our mother got called back to the Lord, my 

siblings and I had maintained an attitude 

of gratitude. After what our mother went 

through to raise twelve children (7 boys 

from her womb and five other children 

from the womb of her mate) and lived to 

the ripe age of 90, we felt God had done so 

well for her and for us. And having come 

to that conclusion, we have remained 

upbeat as we prepared for her interment. 

Later, it dawned on me that my mood 

was caused by the pain that I have had 

in my heart even before we heard of the 

dramatic release of the girls abducted by 

Boko Haram from the Science & Technical 

Secondary School in Dapchi, Yobe . 

Actually the pain started on February 19, 

when the men of Boko Haram marched 

unchallenged to abduct our school girls 

the same way they abducted the Chibok 

girls in 2014. One would have expected 

that my pain would ease with the news of 

the release of 104 or 105 or 106 of the girls 

(as the total number has kept changing 

from 110 to 112 to 113). But to be true, 

the way the release happened with Boko 

Haram insurgents marching unhindered 

as heroes into the town to drop the girls 

as they took them out, created doubts 

in my mind and certainly in the minds 

of several other Nigerians. Was this a 

stage-managed abduction and release? 

One Nigerian called it Nollywood movie 

and was asking when Part 2 would be 

released. Though I also found it difficult 

to believe that this was stage managed, I 

could not erase that sneaky feeling from 

my mind. 

Then when the news came that, 5 of 

the girls had died (by trauma?) and one 

girl was kept back because she refused 

to deny her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, 

my pain turned into anger. As I was trying 

to manage all these emotions telling 

myself that I should be happy that 104 

girls had regained their freedom, I became 

really distressed when the minister 

of information & culture, my friend Lai 

Mohammed began to explain what happened. 

The government negotiated with 

the insurgents using back door channels. 

They reminded the insurgents that 

they had agreed with the federal government 

that while negotiations were going 

on, they would not kidnap anybody. 

Then it became a ‘moral burden’ for the 

insurgents and so they changed their 

minds so that they could maintain their 

‘integrity’ as morally upright group and 

decided to release the girls unconditionally. 

Then the military was cleared from 

the way to allow the insurgents march 

triumphantly into Dapchi, addressed 

the waiting crowd, dropped the girls 

all in hijab carrying decent luggages 

as if they were returning from holidays 

abroad and went back to their base as if 

nothing had happened.The girls looked 

neat and well looked after and many 

seemed happy. Then the next day it was 

announced that Nigeria had entered 

into a truce with the insurgents. When 

actually did the truce start? All these 

cock’n’bull stories actually increased 

my pain. What really is going on here? 

Are we still dealing with terrorists or a 

band of freedom fighters? This government 

is certainly not telling us all that we 

need to know. I presume that we now 

know where the Boko Haram people 

As a Christian, I really worry that 

this government can easily give 

me up because of my religious 

beliefs. I really worry. And that 

is why I cannot celebrate the 

return of the released girls until 

Leah Sharibu returns home. 

are located. Is it still in the Sambisa Forest? 

What then do we need the new airplanes 

for? The defeated & degraded Boko Haram 

insurgents calling the shots? Beyond using 

backhand channels to negotiate with Boko 

Haram they also are certainly involved in 

backhand deals. 

As I pray for the safe return of Leah to 

her parents, I am really troubled by many 

unanswered questions. The first is, what 

was the religious affiliations of the 111 girls 

before they were abducted. We hear that 

Leah was kept back because she refused 

to convert to Islam? The second question is 

how many of the girls who were Christians 

were compelled to convert to Islam for fear 

of their lives? The truth is that only less 

than 5% of those with Christian names will 

refuse to deny their fate when faced with 

an AK 47 or a threat to slit their throats. 

The narrative has been as if Leah was the 

only Christian in the midst of the 113 girls. 

This may not be so. The third question is, 

what was the religious affiliations of the five 

students who died by trauma? Is there any 

possibility that this trauma had anything 

to do the religious persuasions of the girls! 

The fourth question is, were the bodies of 

the five killed by ‘trauma’ released to the 

federal government? Was an autopsy done 

to determine the cause of death? The fifth 

is, what are the names of the dead girls and 

what are the names of their parents? May 

be I missed all that out, so kindly permit my 

ignorance for asking. 

Actually the pain in my heart is accentuated 

by another troubling question 

that has refused to go. Could this be the 

real reason of the existence of the Boko 

Haram group? I recollect that when they 

started out, their focus was on churches. 

They bombed churches from the northeast 

to the north central, getting to Abuja. 

It was after they found that there were no 

more churches within their reach that 

they turned to other subjects including 

mosques. They hate ‘the book’. Is it the 

book used by the people called the ‘people 

of the book’? Could it be that was all they 

set out to achieve? Abduct the girls, get 

them converted to Islam and returned 

to school? These are just nagging questions 

and my fertile mind may just be 

running riot. 

My mind refused to shake off this 

feeling and this questioning, more so 

when I listened to the explanations of 

the federal government and its various 

spokespersons. Fortunately, I am not the 

only one asking questions. Mr Nathaniel 

Sharibu, a police officer from Hong in 

Adamawa whose family lives in Dapchi 

and the father of Leah asked why the 

federal government could not negotiate 

the release of their daughter even if she 

was the only Christian in the group. The 

question is much more germane when we 

note according to Lai, that the girls were 

released without preconditions. Refusing 

to release a captive based on her religious 

faith in my reasoning is a precondition for 

God’s sake. So the captives were released 

with at least one precondition: If you 

are a Muslim or you accept to convert 

to Islam, then you are free to go home, if 

not you would be held back. And my real 

pain is that our government accepted this 

precondition and came out to look us on 

the face and sell us a spin. 

If the lives of Christians were as 

important as those of Muslims, then our 

government nominated and approved 

negotiators should not have accepted 

the precondition. It should have been all 

or none. Give us back all our girls or we 

take them back. The apparent weakness 

shown by the government in this so-called 

negotiation is outstandingly baffling. As a 

Christian, I really worry that this government 

can easily give me up because of my 

religious beliefs. I really worry. And that is 

why I cannot celebrate the return of the 

released girls until Leah Sharibu returns 

home. Injury to one is injury to all 

Actually I should really be busy writing 

or reading tributes to my mother- Nne 

Muru Oha, but my humanity and abiding 

sense of Justice will not let me do just that. 

I therefore decided to also write this tribute 

to Leah Sharibu who is on my mind as 

we celebrate Easter- the sacrificial death 

and resurrection of Jesus Christ which 

granted mankind opportunity to reconcile 

with God and have life abundant on 

earth and eternal life in the world to come. 

Leah is a true child of God who knows that 

that we should not fear those who only 

kill the flesh, rather we should fear God 

who will kill both flesh and soul. Leah 

has proven that what Daniel, Meshack 

Shadrack, and Abednego did especially 

during the reign of the wicked Assyrian 

King Nebuchadenezar where they refused 

to deny their faith, preferring rather 

to be eaten by lions or consumed by fire 

is reproducible today .As God delivered 

them because of their faith, so will He 

deliver our lovely daughter of Zion, Leah 

and bring her home hale & healthy. 

With this out of my mind, maybe I can 

be allowed to wish my mother farewell. 

Since she died in Christ, we trust that we 

shall meet her someday at the feet of Jesus, 

where neither Boko Haram nor militant 

Fulani herdsmen will find a space. 

Send reactions to: 

comment@businessdayonline.com 

STRATEGY & POLICY 

Bill Gates’ epistle to Nigeria 

MA JOHNSON 

Johnson is a marine project management 

consultant and Chartered Engineer. He is 

a Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineering, 

Science and Technology, UK. 

It is Noah Webster’s thinking that 

in selecting men for office, the 

electorate should let principle be 

their guide. He advises that regard 

should not be given to the particular 

sector denomination of candidates, 

but we must look to their character. 

Interestingly, the scriptures direct that 

rulers would be men and women who 

rule in the fear of God. Though, morality 

and religion are not imperatives for 

political office holders, those elected or 

appointed must be men and women 

of truth. 

It is no secret that throughout the 

world, poverty is pervasive, robbing 

most families the freedom to pursue 

their dreams. Anyone who has walked 

through the valley of the shadow of 

poverty will know that the poor in any 

society needs to be taken care of, but the 

question is how? Is there no way the 

poor could be helped to help themselves 

because as human beings, we 

were all created to flourish? According 

to Bill Gates, “people without roads, 

ports and factories can’t flourish.” He 

submits further that “roads, ports and 

factories without skilled workers to 

build and manage them can’t sustain 

an economy.” 

Despite numerous development 

programs, one wonders why some 

countries in sub-Saharan Africa are 

mired in poverty and volatility. But 

how can a people flourish in the midst 

of chronic poverty? Sub-Saharan 

Africa lags behind as nearly half of all 

the children (51 percent) are living in 

extreme poverty conditions. 

A nation that is faced with economic 

crisis leaving many of its people 

without enough foods to eat, clothes 

to wear, and shelters to accommodate 

them requires urgent economic revival. 

Most people in sub-Saharan Africa 

are vulnerable, and this has attracted a 

growing movement of philanthropists 

around the world to the reality of poverty 

in the sub-region. Bill Gates and 

his wife, Melinda are pouring massive 

resources into poverty-stricken areas 

of the world. Bill Gates’ Foundation 

has committed over “US$ 1.6 billion 

in Nigeria” 

For Bill Gates so love Nigeria that 

he freely gave a piece of advice to an 

expanded National Economic Council 

that in order “to anchor the economy 

over the long term, investments in infrastructure 

and competitiveness must go 

hand in hand with investment in people.” 

He also, admonished our leaders to develop 

the nation’s human capital in areas 

of health and education. 

Gates’ epistle was hinged on the 

premise that “Nigeria will thrive when 

every Nigerian is able to thrive.” For 

policy makers who think that Nigeria 

has human resources, it is time to reappraise 

the quality of human resources 

the country has been parading for many 

years. It is no news that more than 70 

percent of Nigerians are poor. And that 

10.5 million children of school age are 

out of schools hawking cheap goods on 

major streets of the country. Many parents 

are indigent because they are being 

owed salaries and pensions, amongst 

other reasons. This is not surprising as a 

recently released data from the Nigerian 

Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that only 

5 states-Lagos, Ogun, Delta, Rivers and 

Kano- can generate sufficient Internally 

Generated Revenue (IGR) to take care 

of their expenditures without federal 

government allocation. The remaining 

31 states are not economically viable. 

This ugly picture of the performance 

of states in terms of IGR is worrisome. 

How federal and state governments will 

provide quality education including adequate 

primary, secondary, and tertiary 

healthcare facilities for almost 190 million 

people remains a puzzle. 

Health is wealth, they say. For many 

years, malaria, meningitis, yellow fever, 

Lassa fever have wreaked havoc on the 

poor who don’t have access to primary 

health care facilities. Child mortality 

rate is 201 per 1000 live births, meaning 

that one in every five Nigerian children 

will not reach the age of 5, according to 

the World Health Organization (WHO). 

This should be of grave concern to those 

in government. 

When much is not going on in the 

academic environment, there is always 

an exodus of skilled manpower to developed 

nations. The reverse movement of 

skilled manpower is popularly referred 

to as “brain drain,” or reverse transfer 

of technology. There is already “brain 

drain” in the country as there is a reverse 

movement of our skilled human capital 

from Nigeria to developed nations 

all over the world. Due to frustration, 

skilled Nigerians seek greener pastures 

outside the shores of Nigeria. With brain 

drain, building indigenous technological 

capability in Nigeria remains an illusion. 

What about unskilled Nigerians 

who are migrating? Most of them end up 

being sold into slavery in Libya. A pity, 

you may say. 

Providing infrastructure without 

investing significantly in the people 

that will design, produce, operate and 

maintain the basic physical and organizational 

structures and facilities does 

not make any strategic sense. In order to 

score cheap political points, politicians 

prefer to provide infrastructure as it will 

show the electorate that huge sums of 

money borrowed by the federal and 

states governments have been “wisely” 

invested. But money invested in providing 

education and health to the people 

will not be appreciated easily until one 

either goes to hospitals or educational 

institutions. 

The Nigerian experience regarding 

human capital reminds this writer 

about Fredrick H Harbison’s philosophy 

in his book titled “Human 

Resources is the Wealth of Nation,” 

that: “Human resources not capital, 

not income, not materials constitute 

the ultimate basis for the wealth of nations. 

Capital and natural resources are 

passive factors while human beings are 

active agents who accumulate wealth, 

exploit material resources, build social, 

economic and political organizations 

and carry forward national development. 

Clearly, a nation that is unable 

to develop the skills and knowledge of 

its people and utilize them effectively 

in the national economy will be unable 

to develop.”So, Nigeria needs to invest 

in the welfare and well-being of its 190 

million people to enable them flourish. 

May I, though belatedly, seize this rare 

privilege and grace to wish all esteemed 

readers of my column “Happy Easter.” 


comment@businessdayonline.


COMMENT 

RAFIQ RAJI 

“Dr Raji is chief economist at Macroafricaintel. 

He was previously an 

Africa Economist at Standard Chartered 

Bank, London, UK. (Twitter: @ 

DrRafiqRaji)” 

They are beginning 

to come out of the 

shadows now. I do not 

suppose anyone is a 

tad surprised Bukola 

Saraki is running for president. 

Mr Saraki, who heads the Nigerian 

Senate, did not exactly 

hide his ambition hitherto. And 

clearly, he has proved to be quite 

a formidable politician. (Nothing 

beats a few troubles to test 

the mettle of a man.) Former 

vice-president Atiku Abubakar 

has thrown his hat into the ring 

as well. Unsurprisingly, Muhammadu 

Buhari, the Nigerian 

president, has suddenly found 

his wings. For a man popular (or 

unpopular) for, amongst other 

things, his deliberative style, you 

might wonder about the irony, 

of course. But lately, there has 

been a spring in the steps of the 

The election season is on 

ailing former army general. He 

still would not say whether he is 

running for re-election; officially, 

at least. I suppose he reckons we 

already figured that out from his 

fabled body language. What I do 

know is that if you want a Fulani 

man to do something for sure, 

tell him not to. So the “bad belle” 

former army generals should 

probably think of another way. 

One hopes the president did 

learn a lesson or two from his recent 

trip to Lagos, though. If he is 

going to do a campaign event in 

that city in the future, he had better 

ensure his helicopters are in 

sharp condition. That way, those 

of us on land and him in the air 

would both be at peace. Otherwise, 

even Lagos kingmaker Bola 

Tinubu’s political magic would 

not suffice to sway votes in his 

favour. Still, the trip was a huge 

political success for Mr Buhari. 

Because if his intention was to 

make up for the humiliation Mr 

Tinubu felt hitherto, he likely 

succeeded. (Mr Buhari did not 

appoint Mr Tinubu’s preferred 

candidates into his cabinet.) 

Lucky man that he is, though, 

Mr Tinubu’s star still shone on 

the back of the appointments. 

Whenever vice-president Yemi 

Osinbajo is praised for his diligence, 

for instance, the man at 

And irrespective of how 

Mr Tinubu has been able 

to continue wielding 

power in the southwestern 

parts of Nigeria, even 

as he does not occupy 

any office of state, if he 

desires to maintain his 

influence, he would do 

well to put his ears to the 

ground before deciding 

on which horse to bet on 

“Bourdillon” is also given some 

credit. So, although Mr Buhari’s 

visit to Lagos in the week past was 

an official state visit, the first in 

almost two decades for that matter, 

it is no secret that the likely real 

reason why he finally visited Lagos 

was to pay his respects to the man 

he needs to win re-election. 

Change as the wind blows 

Still, I would not rest easy if 

I were Mr Buhari. And if I were 

Mr Tinubu, I would watch the 

wind. No one can say for sure in 

which direction it would blow, you 

C002D5556 

comment is free 

Send 800word comments to comment@businessdayonline.com 

see. And irrespective of how Mr 

Tinubu has been able to continue 

wielding power in the southwestern 

parts of Nigeria, even as 

he does not occupy any office of 

state, if he desires to maintain his 

influence, he would do well to put 

his ears to the ground before deciding 

on which horse to bet on. 

It is not a secret that there is currently 

not as much support for Mr 

Buhari in those parts as there was 

three years ago. We also know, 

judging from the recent statement 

credited to a northern elders’ 

group, which incidentally was 

read by a very sound former civil 

servant from the north, who also 

happens to be Mr Saraki’s chief of 

staff, that the northern elite would 

prefer a candidate from the north 

other than Mr Buhari. That way, 

power could potentially remain in 

the north for another eight years 

instead of four. Of course, the 

elderly northerners’ accusations 

against the man is mostly drivel. I 

remember thinking aloud when I 

first happened on the news: what 

else do they want? The whole 

country? The security establishment 

is firmly in the hands of 

northerners. Almost all the positions 

that really matter in this 

country are currently occupied 

by northerners. Quite frankly, it 

is unfair to accuse Mr Buhari of 

BUSINESS DAY 

11 

not helping the cause of the north. 

Ironically, these truths are also an 

indictment of the president. 

MPC welcome party 

And yes, the newly constituted 

monetary policy committee 

of the Central Bank of Nigeria 

(CBN) would finally be meeting 

this week (3-4 April), the first 

time this year. Some prominent 

economists desire that it should 

cut the policy rate; currently 14 

percent. I would not be too quick 

to heed their advice, however. 

Not yet. Thus far, the CBN’s tight 

monetary policy has been quite 

successful in moderating inflation 

expectations. And even as the 

annual consumer inflation rate 

– 14.3 percent in February from 

about 18 percent the same time 

last year – is expected to continue 

trending downwards, it might be 

best to wait till it is in the single 

digits – probably by July – before 

attempting a rate cut. 


comment@businessdayonline.com 

BOLAJI ODUMADE 

Odumade is of Features Unit, Lagos 

Stare Ministry of Information & Strategy, 

Alausa, Ikeja 

Lagos forensic centre and the wheel of justice 

Everyday society undergoes 

different transformation. 

Nature has 

either endowed or 

placed demand on human beings 

to procreate. As humanity 

progresses in growth, internal 

and external influences play 

a major role in the character 

formation of people. 

Development in most societies 

have come of age with 

so much security challenges 

where men cleverly maneuver 

their way out of criminal acts 

to evade justice. In countries 

like Nigeria, many have been 

convicted of offences they 

knew nothing about while 

real criminals walk free, and 

sometimes tall. In an attempt 

to consolidate their acts, criminals 

initiate and fund security 

support group to exploit the 

weakness of the system, with 

the intention of taking undue 

advantage of its deficiencies. 

Historically, various approaches 

have been deployed 

towards fishing out criminals 

in different climes. In contemporary 

time, the search 

for error free, time tested and 

objective based crime investigation 

led to the discovery 

of Forensic Science as an application 

of broad range of 

sciences to answer questions 

of interest to a legal system. 

Whether in relation to a crime 

or a civil action, forensic science 

utilizes natural broad 

range of sub-sciences that 

exploit natural techniques to 

get relevant criminal and legal 

evidence to ensure justice is 

not subverted. 

Forensic DNA analysis as 

developed by sir Alec Jeffery 

was first used in 1985 to determine 

the person responsible 

for a murder of a 15-year old 

girl, Lynda Mann who was 

raped to death in Narborough, 

Leicestershire, a small 

English town. Semen sample 

obtained from the victim was 

eventually used by Jeffery to 

establish a strong case against 

the criminal. In Nigeria, effective 

investigation of crime 

has always been a complicated 

issue. Till date, high profile 

murder cases involving high 

ranking personalities such as 

Pa Alfred Rewane, Chief Bola 

Ige, Engineer Funsho Williams 

and many others remain 

unresolved largely due to the 

burden of proof. 

It is in order to ensure that 

perpetrators of evil are identified 

and appropriately punished 

that the Lagos state 

government established a first 

State owned Forensic centre. 

The centre, driven by world 

class technology in forensic 

inquest, is expected to bring 

perpetrators of crime to book 

while ensuring quick justice. 

The facility is capable of resolving 

all forms of crimes, 

paternity issues and others 

through modern technique of 

investigation which is now the 

trend across the world. It has 

the capacity to provide police, 

prosecutors, legal representatives 

and observers with crime 

scene processing; serological 

screening for blood and semen; 

DNA analysis of bone, teeth, 

hair, maternal and paternal 

DNA analysis. Other services 

include expert witness and case 

handling service; maternal and 

paternal ancestry DNA analysis; 

cold case file review and mass 

disaster human identification. 

The Lagos DNA centre, which 

conforms to international 

standard is the first of its kind 

in the country and the decision 

to allow members of the public, 

other states and neighbouring 

countries to have access to the 

use of the forensic centre in 

order to meet their DNA needs, 

makes it more profound. Fighting 

crime in a cosmopolitan 

state like Lagos is herculean if 

one factors in the huge population 

and their background, the 

defects in our judicial system 

and the attendant lack of scientific 

methods to apprehend 

criminals. With the forensic 

centre now in place, the fight 

against crime in Lagos has, no 

doubt, received a boost, and 

perpetrators of heinous crimes 

such as rape, assassination, 

armed robbery etc can easily 

be apprehended and brought to 

book even years after committing 

the crime. 

This is possible because the 

forensic laboratory will employ 

the use of DNA fingerprinting- a 

test to identify and evaluate the 

genetic information-called 

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) 

in a person’s cells. This test 

would be conducted on suspects, 

criminals and results 

kept in a data base for future 

reference and analysis. The 

fact that DNA is contained in 

almost every cell makes it easy 

for any tiny part of a person’s 

body such as the hair, body 

fluid, tiny drop of blood etc to 

be used to identify them. 

Being the first of its kind and 

the only one in the country, 

the laboratory will no doubt 

generate additional income 

into the coffers of the state 

government as other states; security 

agencies as well as other 

countries will have opportunity 

to access the services to 

be rendered. Specifically, the 

opportunity granted neighbouring 

countries to access 

the facility makes it a sort of 

medical tourism center which 

will generate foreign exchange 

that government can utilize to 

maintain the laboratory and 

further develop infrastructures 

and facilities in the health 

sector. 

The establishment of the 

centre is a demonstration of 

the Lagos State government’s 

commitment to fighting crime 

and oiling the wheel of justice 

in the state. Presently, the centre 

is focusing on DNA analysis 

to support the justice sector in 

diverse areas. The centre, is 

no doubt, a remarkable feat, 

especially now that the issue of 

crime in Nigeria has assumed 

a dimension that a modern and 

robust strategy will have to be 

put in place to ensure a drastic 

reduction. 

Today, our prisons are full 

of innocent inmates while dangerous 

criminals walk about 

freely due to lack of conclusive 

evidence. With increased occurrence 

of criminal activities 

impinging on the security of 

Lagosians, and the preponderance 

of cases of rape, assault, 

kidnapping and arson, and 

even murder, there is no better 

news than that of the establishment 

of the centre. 

However, while the forensic 

laboratory has many benefits 

as it has been clearly highlighted 

above, care must be 

taken to guide against errors 

and invasion of privacy. Also, 

the data bases in the computer 

must be secured to prevent 

hackers from exploiting the 

information. It is, therefore, 

important that personnel at 

the centre embrace Global Best 

Practices in the sector I order to 

ensure that the goals behind its 

establishment are not only met 

but actually surpassed. 


comment@businessdayonline.com

12 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556 Tuesday 03 April 2018 

EDITORIAL 

PUBLISHER/CEO 

Frank Aigbogun 

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 

Prof. Onwuchekwa Jemie 

EDITOR 

Anthony Osae-Brown 

DEPUTY EDITORS 

John Osadolor, Abuja 

Bill Okonedo 

NEWS EDITOR 

Patrick Atuanya 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 

SALES AND MARKETING 

Kola Garuba 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS 

Fabian Akagha 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DIGITAL SERVICES 

Oghenevwoke Ighure 

ADVERT MANAGER 

Adeola Ajewole 

MANAGER, SYSTEMS & CONTROL 

Emeka Ifeanyi 

HEAD OF SALES, CONFERENCES 

Rerhe Idonije 

SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER 

Patrick Ijegbai 

CIRCULATION MANAGER 

John Okpaire 

GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North) 

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan 

GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (South) 

Ignatius Chukwu 

HEAD, HUMAN RESOURCES 

Adeola Obisesan 

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD 

Dick Kramer - Chairman 

Imo Itsueli 

Mohammed Hayatudeen 

Albert Alos 

Funke Osibodu 

Afolabi Oladele 

Dayo Lawuyi 

Vincent Maduka 

Wole Obayomi 

Maneesh Garg 

Keith Richards 

Opeyemi Agbaje 

Amina Oyagbola 

Bolanle Onagoruwa 

Fola Laoye 

Chuka Mordi 

Sim Shagaya 

Mezuo Nwuneli 

Emeka Emuwa 

Charles Anudu 

Tunji Adegbesan 

Eyo Ekpo 

Subsidy on petrol isn’t working 

The Nigeria Bureau of 

Statistic’s Premium 

Motor Spirit (petrol) 

price watch for January 

2018 showed 

that on the average, Nigerians 

paid N190.9 per litre for the 

product as against the N145 

government-regulated price 

and for which the government 

and the country as a whole is 

sustaining huge losses in subsidy 

payments. While some 

consumers in states like Osun, 

Abia and Benue paid as high as 

N228.89, N227.5 and N223.33 

per litre respectively for the 

product in January, others 

such as Zamfara, Gombe and 

Kogi states were lucky to pay 

far lower prices of N159.12, 

N157.73 and N152.83 respectively 

for the product. 

The reality therefore is that 

while the federal government 

claims to peg the price of fuel 

at N145, aside some parts of 

Lagos and Abuja, fuel sells far 

above the approved price in 

virtually all parts of the country 

making nonsense of the supposed 

subsidy. 

Meanwhile, the federal government 

has been struggling 

to explain the current subsidy 

regime without actually calling 

it subsidy. In December 2017 

when the fresh round of fuel 

scarcity began, the Group Managing 

Director of the Nigerian 

National Petroleum Corporation 

(NNPC) admitted that the landing 

cost of petrol at N171 per litre 

is now above the pump price of 

petrol at N145 per litre, which 

simply means that government 

is effectively having to pick up the 

difference in cost of importation 

of N26 per litre. 

First, it was Vice President 

Yemi Osinbajo, who in December 

tried to explain away the new 

“subsidy” regime by claiming 

that it was a cost borne by the 

NNPC and not the Federal Government. 

This left Nigerians wondering 

if the NNPC is now owned 

by a foreign government or the 

government had already sold its 

stakes in the corporation. Current 

records show NNPC is 100 

percent owned by the Nigerian 

Government which also means 

that if it runs into a loss, it is the 

government that bears the brunt. 

The Minister of Finance, Kemi 

Adeosun is the latest government 

official that has attempted to 

dodge the word ‘subsidy.’ Speaking 

to the media, after the federal 

executive council meeting on 31 

January, she told the media that 

‘technically’ speaking, the federal 

government was not paying 

subsidies. However, like the Vice 

President, she also admitted that 

the price differential or ‘subsidy’ 

is appearing on NNPC books as 

‘under-recovery.’ 

However, she was kind 

enough to explain that this ‘under-recovery’ 

represents money 

that should have come to the 

federation account and shared 

among the federal government 

and states. So non-technically 

speaking, Adeosun was saying 

that subsidy is now a first line 

charge on NNPC revenues. It is 

being spent but not appropriated. 

It would not be found in the 

government’s budget at the state 

and federal level but on NNPC 

books. Interestingly, the NNPC 

books are not audited by any 

external audit firm, so basically 

it is what the NNPC gives as subsidy 

figures that the country will 

accept as subsidy figures. 

Already, a peep into NNPC’s 

books gives some idea of how 

much this new subsidy is costing 

the country. The November 

2017 monthly report of the NNPC 

shows the three refineries incurred 

a loss of N11.14 billion in 

November 2017. Since July 2017, 

when crude oil prices started rising 

steeply, the cumulative losses 

incurred by the three refineries 

stand at N36 billion. This is 

expected to get higher as crude 

oil prices have even risen higher 

since then. The losses from the 

refineries make up about half 

of NNPC’s N76 billion cumulative 

operating loss incurred as 

at November 2017. The NNPC 

is bleeding primarily because 

of under recoveries from selling 

petrol below the landing cost. 

But besides losses made from 

refineries operations due to subsidy, 

the country is also engaged 

in a form of dollar subsidy. Crude 

for domestic consumption is 

given to NNPC at the official exchange 

rate of N304 to the US$, 

which is lower than the investors 

and exporters window average 

exchange rate of N360 to the US$ 

used for commercial transactions 

in the country. 

Using this I&E market determined 

rate, the naira equivalent 

of the dollar subsidy incurred 

in October 2017 alone stands 

at N30 billion. Basically, the 

country is incurring both a naira 

and dollar subsidy on petroleum 

products running into several 

billions of naira monthly which 

is not being appropriated because 

it is being absorbed by 

the NNPC and the Central Bank 

of Nigeria in terms of naira and 

dollar subsidies. Yet, Nigerians 

across board are not enjoying 

the subsidy as they can’t buy fuel 

at the approved price. 

A normal and rational government 

will just cut its losses, 

end the subsidy and allow market 

forces dictate price, but not 

so in Nigeria, and especially, 

not a year preceding elections. 

Perhaps, that is why we keep 

going round in circles without 

making much progress in the 

country. 

ENQUIRIES 

NEWS ROOM 

08022238495 

08034009034 

} Lagos 

08033160837 Abuja 

ADVERTISING 

01-2799110 

08116759801 

08082496194 

SUBSCRIPTIONS 

01-2799101 

07032496069 

07054563299 

www.businessdayonline.com 

The Brook, 

6 Point Road, GRA, Apapa, 

Lagos, Nigeria. 

01-2799100 

LEGAL ADVISERS 

The Law Union 

MISSION 

STATEMENT 

To be a diversified 

provider of superior 

business, financial and 

management intelligence 

across platforms accessible 

to our customers 

anywhere in the world. 

OUR CORE VALUES 

BusinessDay avidly thrives on the mainstay of our core values of being The Fourth Estate, Credible, Independent, 

Entrepreneurial and Purpose-Driven. 

• The Fourth Estate: We take pride in being guarantors of liberal economic thought 

• Credible: We believe in the principle of being objective, fair and fact-based 

• Independent: Our quest for liberal economic thought means that we are independent of private and public interests. 

• Entrepreneurial: We constantly search for new opportunities, maintaining the highest ethical standards in all we do 

• Purpose-Driven: We are committed to assembling a team of highly talented and motivated people that share 

our vision, while treating them with respect and fairness. 

www.businessdayonline.com


13

14 

BUSINESS DAY 

COMPANIES 

& MARKETS 

Company news analysis and insight 

C002D5556 


GTBank’s CIR hits all-time 

low of 38.12% on cost 

containment 

Pg. 15 

Transcorp navigates headwind, returns 

to profit on improved gas supply 

...Posts N80.26bn revenue in 2017 

...Shareholders to get N813m in dividend 

Stories by BALA AUGIE 

Transnational Corporation 

of Nigeria 

(Transcorp) 

Plc, the country’s 

conglomerate, 

has navigated the storm of 

an economic recession from 

which the nation is emerging 

as it returned to the path of 

profitability. 

The leading diversified 

conglomerate with interest 

in Agriculture, Oil and Gas, 

Power and Hospitality felt 

the pinch of a sudden drop in 

oil price, severe dollar shortages 

and the devaluation of 

the naira in 2016. 

The firm also grappled 

with dearth of gas, which 

was caused by incessant attacks 

on oil facilities by the 

Niger Delta militant group 

as the firm suspended plans 

to build one of the nation’s 

power plants. 

The year 2016 was horrendous 

for Transcorp and 

other companies operating 

in the country. 

Improvement in gas 

supply underpins 2017 financial 

performance 

An improvement in 

crude oil price to $60 from 

record low, relative peace 

in the Niger Delta region 

that underpinned gas sup- 

ply, and increased dollar 

supply help Transcorp revert 

to the path of profitability 

in 2017 

The country’s gross domestic 

product expanded for 

three consecutive quarters 

last year after 1.60 percent 

contraction in 2016, with 

year on year growth of 1.90 

percent in the last quarter 

of 2017. 

The gradual economic 

recovery showed face in the 

numbers of Transcorp as it 

posted a profit after tax of 

N10.67 billion in December 

2017, from a loss position 

of N1.12 billion recorded in 

2016, a period of economic 

lethargy. 

A significant reduction 

in foreign exchange loss 

on financing activities and 

improved gas supply are 

the major drivers of profit 

margins and revenues. 

Sales spiked by 35.10 

percent to N80.28 billion in 

December 2017 from N59.42 

billion as at December 2016; 

driven by a 50.84 percent increase 

in energy sent out to 

N42.90 billion in the period 

under review. 

Energy sent out make up 

53.44 percent of total revenue 

as the conglomerate’s 

meticulously orchestrated 

plant maintenance programe 

resulted in increased 

capacity. 

Transcorp’s exposure 

to the vagaries of exchange 

rate movement waned as 

foreign exchange loss on 

borrowing dipped by 75.66 


the period under review 

from N18.70 billion the 

previous year. 

The devaluation of the 

naira in mid-2016 by the 

central bank balloon the 

dollar denominated debt in 

the books of firms. 

Transcorp has a time 

interest coverage of 1.89, 

which means its ability to 

meet interest expense, is not 

in doubt. Finance costs fell 

by 48.84 percent to N13.34 

billion in the period under 

review from N26.64 billion 

the previous year. 

The profit reported in the 

year was largely as a result 

of increase in power generation 

by Transcorp Power 

Ltd resulting from improved 

gas supply and increased 

generation capacity. Available 

capacity increased from 

505MW to 701MW during 

the year, according to Adim 

Jibunoh, President/CEO of 

Transcorp. 

“Capacity increase was 

achieved through carefully 

planned maintenance program 

for our power generation 

assets and tactical engagement 

with stakeholders. 

Also, our hospitality business 

remains resilient, posting 

stronger year-on-year 

performance,” said Jibunoh. 

Transcorp is able to 

manage direct costs attributable 

to projects as 

gross profit spiked by 20.75 


December 2017 as against 

N30.16 billion as at December 

2016. 

Earnings before interest 

and tax (EBIT) otherwise 

known as operating profit 

increased by 20.43 percent 

to N26.03 billion in the period 

under review as 20.71 

billion as at December 

2016. 

Return on equity (ROE) 

increased to 11.07 percent 

in December 2017, from a 

negative figure of 1.29 percent 

the previous year. In 

other words, the Nigerian 

conglomerate has utilized 

the resources of shareholders 

in generating higher 

profit. 

Transcorp has declared 

a final dividend of N0.02 on 

every 0.5 shares held, which 

translates into a absolute 

figure of N813 million. 

Incorporated on November 

16, 2004 and quoted 

on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, 

Transcorp has a 

shareholder base of about 

300,000 investors, the largest 

of which is Heirs Holdings 

Limited, a pan-African proprietary 

investment company. 

The company’s share 

price closed at N1.85 as of 

close of trading at Friday, 

valuing it at N75.18 billion. 

Directors of 4 banks pocketed N3.02bn in executive compensation for 2017 

Directors of four 

commercial 

banks operating 

in Nigeria pocketed 

about N3.02 billion in 

executive compensation 

and retirement benefits in 

2017, the annual report of 

the lenders show. 

This is a 34.82 percent 

increase from N2.24 billion 

executive at the top echelon 

of banks got in compensation 

as at December 2016. 

The four banks are Zenith 

Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust 

Bank (GTBank) Plc, Access 

Bank Plc, and United Bank 

for Africa (UBA) Plc. 

Zenith Bank’s total salaries 

and bonus to executive 

and non executive directors 

increased by 40 percent to 

N1.47 billion in December 

2017 from N1.05 billion as 

at December 2016. 

A breakdown of the figures 

shows executive compensation 

increased by 91.81 

percent to N773 million in 

December 2017 as against 

N403 million the previous 

year. Fees and commission 

income was up by 8.48 percent 

to N678 million in the 

period under review. 

Access Bank’s board ex- 

penses grew by 27.66 percent 

to N671.33 million in December 

2017 as against N526.10 

million as at December 2016. 

GTBank, the largest lender 

in Africa’s most populous 

nation paid directors 879.29 

million in December 2017 

from N669.79 million as at 

December 2016. 

UBA paid directors’ fees 

declined by 17.50 percent to 

N33 million in the period 

under review from N40 million 

the previous year. 

Executive compensation 

or executive pay is composed 

of the financial compensation 

and other nonfinancial 

rewards received 

by an executive from their 

firm for their service to the 

organization.

Tuesday 03 April 2018 BUSINESS DAY 15 

COMPANIES & MARKETS 

GTBank’s CIR hits all-time low of 38.12% on cost containment 

BALA AUGIE 

Guaranty Trust 

Bank (GT- 

Bank) Plc has 

achieved a rear 

feat in the Nigerian 

banking industry. 

The lender’s cost to income 

ratio (CIR) has hit an 

all-time low of 38.10 percent 

in 2017, from 43.53 percent 


Operational efficiency 

in banking is commonly 

highlighted by cost/income 

ratios – that is, the ratio of 

total operating costs (excluding 

bad and doubtful debt 

charges) to total income (the 

sum of net interest and noninterest 

income). 

It is the only lender in 

Africa’s most populous nation 

that has consistently 

contained cost over the last 

five years while clutching on 

to the position as the most 

efficient. This also means 

it has be able to use fewer 

hours, lower costs than peers. 

Efficiency is when a bank 

turns input into output while 

utilizing the resources of 

shareholders to bolster revenue. 

GTBank attributes rigorous 

efficiency to distinctive 

cost containment model 

without hurting continuous 

investment in its people, 

technology, infrastructure 

and digitalization. 

According to the lender’s 

annual report for 2017, Operating 

expenses (OPEX) 

growth moderates to 8.5 

percent, which is well below 

the Nigerian double digit 

inflation rate of 15.4 percent 

in December 2017. 

“Cost structure of other 

funding sources helped 

complement gains recorded 

on Opex with resultant moderate 

growth in overall cost 

of funds by 36 bps to 3.2 

percent in FY 2017 from 2.8 

percent in FY 2016,” said the 

bank in its 2017 consolidated 

financial statement. 

GTBank’s superior 

cost/income ratio provides 

it with a competitive advantage 

over other players. 

As pressures on efficiencies 

continue, other banks in 

Nigeria must move beyond 

tactical cost reduction if 

they want to catch the market 

leader. 

GTBank ended 2017 financial 

year with double 

digit growth at the top line 

and bottom line, as margins 

continue to improve. 

Profit before tax rose 

by 21 percent to N200.24 

billion in December 2017 

from N165.13 billion the 

previous year. Profit after 

tax followed the same 

growth trajectory as it grew 

by 29 percent to N170.47 

billion in the period under 

review from N132.28 billion 


The strong growth in 

profit was driven largely by 

effective balance sheet management; 

with impressive 

returns from earning assets, 

complemented by growth 

in Fees and Commission 

income which was strong 

enough to offset the moderate 

growth in Cost of Funds 

& Operating Expenses.

16 

BUSINESS DAY 

C002D5556 

Tuesday 03 April 2018


C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

17 

Insight Publicis CEO leads global brands 

on how to engage African consumer 

Stories by Daniel Obi 

Media Business Editor 

In a book The Villager: How 

Africans consume brands, to 

be launched mid this month, 

Feyi Olubodun, the CEO of 

Insight Publicis Nigeria takes 

a deep look into the character of African 

consumer and shared some 

insights that, especially international 

brands must deploy to win in 

the continent. 

Justifying using Nigeria as a mirror 

or proxy to the understanding 

of African consumer, Feyi strongly 

believes that Africa with a population 

of about 1.216 billion out of 

which Nigeria accounts for about 

180 million has a tremendous opportunity 

for business. 

In the 147-page book which articulates 

framework on how to market 

to Africans - who have their own 

unique character and behaviours 

- Feyi who has witnessed some 

brands failing in the African marketplace, 

linked marketing gaffes 

often committed by brands to lack 

of understanding of the African 

people and their cultures. 

He specifically said that “such 

marketing decisions by brands are 

often informed or misinformed by 

the belief that the African consumer 

market, especially in countries 

like Nigeria, is not sophisticated. 

This is very easy conclusion to 

arrive at, especially since it is assumed 

that ‘sophistication’ means 

‘Westernisation’ 

According to him in the book, 

because African consumer market 

Campari Nigeria, recognises, rewards trade partners 

Saturday 24th of March 2018, 

is a date that major distributors 

of the Campari brand 

will continue to remember 

with so much delight as they converged 

on Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja 

venue of the 2018 Campari Nigeria 

Trade Partners Award. 

The event was hosted by Brian 

Munro Limited, the sole distributor 

of Campari in Nigeria. The highlight 

of this year’s event was to recognize, 

celebrate and honour distinguished 

trade partners of Campari in Nigeria 

as top-rated entertainers took turns 

to serenade everyone seated. 

Speaking to the trade partners, 

the Marketing Manager, 

is perceived as not sophisticated, 

especially in the face of poor infrastructure, 

high rural level and 

Western low literacy level, “little 

effort is put into understanding 

the market and engaging profitably 

within it” 

He believes that even with globalisation, 

culture underpins consumption 

patterns in Africa. 

The other extreme decision by 

the brands is just to adapt global 

marketing approaches on the assumption 

that they will work. In the 

end, there are more ‘misses’ than 

‘hits’, as certain things don’t apply 

to Africans, he said. 

In the book just published in 

Brian Munro Limited, Nkechi 

Nwachukwu, in her statement said 

“The award is an opportunity for 

us to celebrate our trade partners 

who have been loyal with our brand 

and did exceptional performance 

despite the tough economic situation 

witnessed last year. We are 

very delighted to celebrate their 

success and achievement.” 

Over twenty-five major distributors 

received awards for their outstanding 

trade efforts and loyalty. 

Notably amongst the winners are 

Amadi Theresa Nnedia of Verchi 

Stores, Ndubisi Dennis Onyeananu 

of Uzems Aba and Chogozie Anagwu 

of Chigotex Royal Link limited 

who aside the trophies presented 

to them also went home with huge 

cash prizes. 

In his reaction, the star prize 

winner Chogozie Anagwu of Chigotex 

Royal Link limited stated that 

“this recognition from a worthy and 

reliable partner like Brian Munro 

makes me feel on top of the world. 

Over the years, they have consistently 

inspired and provided the 

South Africa, Feyi demystified Africa 

and showed that the market 

is quite ‘sophisticated’ albeit not 

‘Westernised’. He provided lenses 

to understanding the second most 

populous continent with its population 

expected to hit 5.3 billion in 

the next 30 years out of the World’s 

expected 9.7 billion in 2050. 

He believes that those openminded 

lenses of looking and 

understanding the character of 

African consumer, through Nigeria, 

will enable those international 

brands that are still hesitant about 

Africa and which has therefore limited 

their growth strategies, to take 

positions now. 

remarkable support required for a 

stronger partnership.” 

Rilwan Shofunde, the brand 

manager Campari Nigeria, added 

that “Our strong belief in fostering 

a fortified partnership with our 

major distributors is a continuous 

journey that we are committed to. 

The tone of the event was set by 

R&B crooner, Kola Soul, who did 

not only led everyone to give an 

inspiring rendition of the National 

anthem but also mounted the 

podium thereafter to demonstrate 

his mastery of music. The comedy 

duo of Tee-A and MC Abbey anchored 

the evening as they spiced 

it up with exhilarating comic relief. 

However, leading the roll call of 

stellar music performances is the 

iconic singer and brand ambassador 

for Campari, Tu Baba was 

joined on stage by Rude Boy of 

the P-Square fame during his live 

performance. Entertaining music 

performances were also provided 

by Salt of the Earth band while DJ 

Cypha was on hand to play pulsating 

songs at different intervals. 

Book: Marketer reveals strategies 

to unleash creative mind 

…Floats iD8 Academy 

The President of the Experiential 

Marketers Association 

of Nigeria, Kehinde 

Salami, recently launched 

a marketing communications book 

entitled: ‘To Every Man A Brain: How 

To Discover and Unleash The Power 

of Your Creative Mind’ in Lagos. 

The launch was graced by the 

Crème de crème of Nigeria’s IMC 

industry and had in attendance 

personalities like Kayode Oluwasona, 

President of the Advertising 

Practitioners Association of Nigeria 

(AAAN), George Thorpe, founding 

chairman of MediaReach OMD who 

reviewed the book, Kola Oyeyemi of 

MTN, Abiodun Oshiniobosi, Managing 

Director, Abelinis, among others. 

In his address at the event, Kehinde 

who is also the Managing Director 

of Nigeria’s foremost experiential 

agency, Ideas House said that Nigeria 

is a country with tremendous 

potential that gives everyone a blank 

sheet of paper to write their personal 

dreams and vision but regretted that 

very few take good advantage of that. 

He said: “It’s worrisome that despite 

the opportunities that abound, 

many of us still find ourselves in 

limbo with no clear direction. We 

patronize the goods, services and 

technology breakthrough of the 

West shamelessly wearing the badge 

of the astute consumption economy 

with pride. Besides entertainment 

and a few other flashes here and 

there, our nation can best be termed 

as a doers’ economy. This scenario 

for any serious government should 

raise an imminent red flag as doing 

will always be inferior to thinking. 

If we all agree on this simple logical 

fact, then we need to change our 

perspective. 

“Has anyone stopped to think 

why the continent of Africa which 

boasts of 17% of the world’s population 

(1.3bn inhabitants), is responsible 

for less than 1% of global patents? 

Has anyone considered the 

possibility of Oyo State, Lagos State 

or any other state for that matter deliberately 

championing Ideation via 

the selling of knowledge as a main 

export crop?” he asked. 

Halogen firm advocates collaborative 

efforts on national security 

Halogen Security Company 

Limited, the foremost 

security risk solutions 

provider in Nigeria has 

advocated for a collaborative effort 

between the government and the 

citizens of Nigeria. This core belief 

of the security solutions outfit, was 

reiterated at the just concluded Securex 

West Africa 2018 Conference 

recently in Lagos. 

The onus, says Halogen, is to 

combine resources by the government 

and the private sector to proffer 

a long lasting solution to tackle 

security challenges confronting the 

nation. 

Securex West Africa conference 

is an annual event that provides a 

platform for security professionals 

at the regional and international 

space to network, exhibit latest 

technology and services in their 

field; display state of the art product 

solutions and discuss security 

issues. 

Adebayo Abegunde, Director 

Virtual Security, Halogen Security 

Company during his keynote address 

at this year’s conference stated 

that, “All over the world, technology 

has visible impact in government 

and on citizens especially in developed 

economies. Cyber security 

challenges and threats are conscious 

vices that loom in today’s post –digital 

age and tackling them should be 

highly prioritized.” 

Promasidor Nigeria celebrates 254 employees 

Promasidor Nigeria Limited, 

maker of Cowbell Milk, Top 

Tea, Onga and other products, 

has honoured 254 of 

its employees who have put in several 

years in its service. The award 

ceremony, which was held in Lagos, 

brought together the company’s employees, 

relatives and distributors 

from different parts of the country. 

Managing Director of Promasidor 

Nigeria Limited, Anders Einarsson 

told the audience that the 

awardees were honoured for their 

commitment, hard work and loyalty 

to the organisation. He said 

the celebrated employees, who he 

urged others to emulate, had grown 

through the rank and become pillars 

of Promasidor’s growth as a result 

of their exceptional work ethics and 

positive attitude. 

He stated: “For us at Promasidor 

Nigeria, the Long Service Award is 

not just a tradition. It is an opportunity 

to celebrate and honour our 

employees for their dedication, hard 

work, commitment and loyalty to 

the company. Most of them joined 

the company at an entry level but 

grew to the positions of regional 

sales managers. Such promotions 

do not come without measurable 

performances and hard work.



C002D5556 

SO&U ignites discussion on bonding, 

discipline with 2018 Mother’s Day Ad 

Daniel Obi 

Today, Mother’s 

Day, usually celebrated 

internationally 

in March 

or May in some 

countries is marked in honour 

of motherhood and the 

influence of mothers in the 

society. This celebration and 

its essence resonate deeply 

in Africa where there is profound 

bond and deep affection 

between mother and 

child. 

Over the years, the Mother’s 

Day celebration has become 

what some families, 

especially mothers with well 

brought- up and grown- up 

children look up for. Some of 

these children buy expensive 

gifts and send money to their 

mothers to honour them. 

Brands also celebrate 

women by taking up spaces 

in the traditional and online 

media to send out goodwill 

messages to mothers whose 

crucial roles in the family are 

seen as critical to society’s 

orderliness. 

This year, however, leading 

advertising agency, 

SO&U with a deeper thinking, 

keyed into the Mother’s 

Day celebration in a unique 

way. The agency, led by 

Udeme Ufot, took global 

audience, especially Africans 

and beyond on a memorable 

lane by creating campaign 

messages that rekindled 

some of the characteristics 

of bonds between mothers 

and children. 

The campaigns reawakened 

memories in a fun way, 

re-counting when growing 

up often meant clambering 

over neighbourhood walls, 

ducking through backyards 

and, every now and then, 

engaging mum in a cat and 

mouse game that mum often 

won. 

Each Advert in the campaign 

humorously profiled 

the common tools used during 

these corrective episodes 

between mother and child in 

a way that resonated across 

Nigeria and beyond. 

One of the campaigns 

played up the memory of a 

‘knock’ usually received by a 

child from the mother when 

he misbehaves. Other campaigns 

by SO&U reminded 

audience how the mother 

uses Slippers, sticks and 

brooms to tap the child. In 

the Western World, these 

disciplinary tools and actions 

would amount to child 

abuse, but in Africa they were 

successful tools for correction 

which never diminished 

the bond between child and 

mother. The society was better 

for it. 

The SO&U’s Mother’s Day 

campaign was insightful, engaging 

and loaded with tons 

of nostalgia-inducing wittiness. 

The response was overwhelmingly 

positive with 

over two million impressions 

on twitter and shares across 

local and international social 

media platforms. 

Most respondents reminisced 

over their own experiences 

while many contributed 

suggestions toward 

extending the campaign. The 

campaign assisted to give 

the 2018 Mothers’ Day an 

excitement that will linger for 

a long time. 

Another significant underlying 

message from the 

Advert is that SO& U is deploying 

it to call back the society 

from moral decadence 

and indiscipline which has 

reached intolerable level. 

Instead of pointing accusing 

fingers and playing the 

blame game of who is responsible 

for low moral values, 

SO&U is reminding everyone, 

especially the youth 

of the discipline through 

knocks, sticks, slippers and 

brooms they received and 

therefore they should adhere 

to such instructions. 

This is not the first time 

SO&U, a wellknown name 

in Nigerian advertising circle 

is creating some interesting 

campaigns. The agency is 

also behind some of Nigeria’s 

most celebrated campaigns 

over the years including 

Udeme my friend Ad for 

Guinness. Currently, its portfolio 

of clients includes Glo, 

Access Bank, Unilever, Diageo 

and Indomie Noodles. 

A worthy celebration 

As fathers, the parental 

role of mothers in a family 

is really daunting. For 

36 weeks, a mother carries 

the pregnancy with sometimes 

emotions, pain and 

discomfort. Delivery is with 

divine intervention. Whether 

exaggerated or not, Unicef 

last year said every single 

day, Nigeria loses about 145 

women of childbearing age. 

It is therefore worth celebrating 

those women that survive 

this process. 

From breast milk to other 

needs, to see the child grow 

well and develop rightly, 

the mother’s maximum attention 

is required. By their 

nature, the mothers naturally 

show extreme love for 

their children, provide food, 

wash clothes and show unconditional 

affection to the 

family. Therefore, Mother’s 

Day is a day to reciprocate 

the affection to the mother 

who largely weans the child. 

Though experts say weaning 

doesn’t necessarily signal 

the end of the intimate bond 

created through nursing. It 

just means nourishing and 

nurturing him in different 

ways. 

The mothers are really 

moulders of society from 

the initial development and 

discipline of the child. 

Origin of Mother’s Day 

Historically, the celebration 

started mid-19th century, 

led by a woman activist, 

Ann Jarvis to create women 

peace group against war. 

Later, her daughter Anna 

Jarvis continued her mother’s 

peace course. Following 

this, other activists led 

“Mother’s Day for Peace” 

anti-war observance on June 

2, 1872. 

Wikipedia says the modern 

celebration of Mother’s 

Day was first celebrated in 

May 10, 1908, when Anna 

Jarvis held a service in honour 

of her mother at St Andrew’s 

Methodist Church 

in West Virginia. “The next 

year the day was reported to 

be widely celebrated in New 

York” and it took off from 

there” 

From the onset, the 

introduction of television 

to Nigeria in 

1959 was basically 

for political and education 

reasons. But shortly after 

establishing this audio-visual 

medium of communication 

in Nigeria, government, corporate 

bodies and individuals 

realized the potentials and 

opportunities that television 

presents. 

In time, TV became a 

powerful tool for information, 

education and entertainment. 

It became a medium 

for the government to create 

awareness on national integration 

and cultural promotion, 

corporate bodies on 

the other hand, saw TV as a 

medium through which they 

could promote and market 

their products and services 

and many parents, saw television 

as a means of learning 

and acquiring skills for selfdevelopment. 

But in 1996 the Nigerian 

Communications Commission 

(NCC) licenced 38 internet 

service providers to 

sell internet services in Nigeria, 

many ICT exponents, 

thought that this would be the 

new technology to dethrone 

Can Internet replace TV in Nigeria? 

Kayode Adeoya cannot stream movies on programme opportunities, opportunity to watch over 95 

their mobile phone, tablet or the movie streaming companies 

are still a few steps cannot buy data that will last 

channels. Unfortunately, $7 

television as a medium of laptop without the internet 

influence. True, the internet and having internet requires behind on this. 

for a month if you decide to 

is undoubtedly a powerful that you have data. Thus, no Even with the introduction download and watch movies 

medium of communication. internet, no viewing. 

of Netflix and Showmax to the through the mobile providers 

But its power and influence Having a Netflix account Nigerian and African markets, in Nigeria. 

do not in any way replace or does not stop more Americans 

from watching tradi- 

neglected. This is because of traditional TV is that it 

traditional TV has not been Another unique aspect 

reduce the influence of television 

as a broadcast medium. tional TV or even pay-TV. traditional cable TV has the has the ability to show live 

This speculation is not The reasons behind these are potential to showcase more sports. The 2018 World Cup 

peculiar to Nigeria alone. because television viewing is content. For example, pay is around the corner and I 

When the internet launched addictive and besides being TV companies like DStv has bet that the Movie streamers 

in America, many in the industry 

thought that television variety of channels to choose from and with as low as $17, these live matches. But pay 

addictive, TV gives viewers’ over 200 channels to choose of this world will not stream 

viewing experience had finally 

come to an end especially viewing experience and live Compact package and get the cast all 64 live matches. 

from and with the large screen a DStv subscriber can get a TV companies will broad- 

with the introduction of Netflix 

and other internet based 

population figure and the 

An analysis of Nigeria’s 

movie streaming services. 

number of people who have 

Reports confirm that in 

embraced the internet in Nigeria 

is a clear indication that 

the United States of America 

in the fourth quarter of 2017, 

traditional television viewing 

Netflix had well over 54.75 

cannot be replaced by the 

million subscribers. Still, 

internet. Currently, Nigeria 

more and more people are 

has a population of 170 million 

and internet penetration 

turning to the internet for 

their television content. Despite 

the immense impact of 

which is the highest in Africa. 

in Nigeria is well close to 50%, 

Netflix in America and other 

Yet so many more Nigerians 

parts of the globe, it is pertinent 

to note that subscribers 

internet especially in 

do not have access to the 

rural 

locations. 

Reports also have it that 

the population of Africa as a 

continent is 1.216 billion and 

only 216 million are internet 

users. This figure is poor but 

the reality of it is that many 

more Africans still prefer their 

traditional and pay-TV, as 

the streaming TV is still not 

pocket-friendly. 

Again, a comparative 

analyses of Nigeria, the US 

and Europe indicates that 

internet TV would deliver its 

content seamlessly without 

hiccups but in Nigeria and 

Africa as a whole this may 

not be the case because the 

mobile companies still have 

some ways to go to achieve 

reliable connectivity, making 

it frustrating to stream 

or even download a movie 

effortlessly. Many here in 

Nigeria keep their options 

open, alternating between a 

streaming service or pay TV. 

No doubt, the internet 

has come to stay but television 

cannot be phased out 

anytime soon.


C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

BD SPECIAL REPORT 

19 

The big deal about African 

Continental Free Trade Area 

President Muhammadu Buhari’s recent refusal to sign the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) generated a lot of controversies. 

While the private sector and the labour unions backed the president, liberal-minded economists and analysts felt that it was an opportunity 

missed. Should Nigeria still go ahead and sign this free trade deal, or should it ignore it? What are even the key elements of this free 

trade deal? Who benefits and who loses from it? This report examines these burning questions and more, and provides answers to them. 

ODINAKA ANUDU 

Forty-four African leaders 

emerged from Kigali on 

March 21 animated. It 

was a momentous day in 

Africa’s history. They were 

in Kigali to ink three documents that 

would make or mar the continent: 

African Continental Free Trade Area 

(AfCFTA), the Kigali Declaration and 

the Free Movement Protocol. 

Not all of them signed the Af- 

CFTA, but all wanted Africa to trade 

more with each other. 

South Africa’s new president 

Cyril Ramaphosa penned the Kigali 

Declaration but wanted more time 

to ratify the two others. He, however, 

pledged commitment to signing 

the trade deal after consulting with 

relevant local stakeholders. 

“South Africa is committed to the 

establishment of the African Continental 

Free Trade Area (AfCFTA),” 

Ramaphosa said in his address. 

“Tell my daughter and my son 

that their father was there on the 

day our continent signed the African 

Free Trade Area in Kigali,” he 

continued. 

“Tell them that Paul Kagame, 

Amadou Issoufou, Emmerson 

Mnangagwa and Moussa Faki Mahamat 

were there too. 

“Tell them their father was proud 

on the day African borders were removed; 

tell them they live in a proud, 

vibrant and prosperous continent, 

because you, their uncles and aunts 

were vanguard pan-Africanists who 

brought down the walls left by colonialists, 

maintained by imperialists. 

“Tell them, if their grandparents 

fought for their political independence, 

you achieved their economic 

freedom. 

“Tell them to be proud and free, 

tell them to live where they wish, 

from Lagos to Addis, Durban to 

Cassablanca, unhindered. 

“Tell them that Kigali isn’t their 

home, but only their place of origin; 

Africa is! Tell them their father 

would have wished them to speak 

Igbo and Wolof and Kiswahili and 

Amharic and Zulu. Tell them he 

would have wished them to know 

how to cook Jolof, pap /fufu/ugali, 

and Thieboudienne,” Ramaphosa 

said in obvious excitement. 

Like Ramaphosa, Tanzania’s 

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa 

ratified the Declaration but not the 

two others. 

Morocco’s Prime Minister Saadeddine 

Othmani signed the free 

trade deal but not the other two. 

President Muhammadu Buhari 

Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta signed the 

three. Ghana’s President Nana Akufo 

Addo said ‘yes’ to the three. Most of 

the heads of small African countries, 

including Niger, Rwanda, Chad, Senegal, 

Sudan, and Equitorial Guinea, 

among others, signed the three. 

“This is a great day for our continent,” 

Donald Kaberuka, former 

president of the African Development 

Bank, said. 

“And for any country to have reservation 

or fears is a disappointment. 

The way this agreement has been 

negotiated and written contains 

segments to ensure that whoever 

has issues, those can be addressed,” 

Kaberuka said. 

He could, understandably, be 

referring to Nigeria, which opted out 

of the three agreements at the eleventh 

hour. Like Kaberuka, Olusegun 

Obasanjo did not spare Nigeria and 

its handlers. 

“I am surprised that any African 

leader at this point in time will be 

talking about either not understanding 

or not very important to be here 

to support what we are signing. I see 

that as criminal.” 

Nigeria’s last-minute absence 

At the 18th Ordinary Session of 

the Assembly of Heads of State and 

Government of the African Union 

held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 

January 2012, African heads of state 

agreed to kick-start the free trade 

treaty in 2017. On the home front, 

preliminary work was done by the 

Ministry of Industry, Trade and 

Investment during the administration 

of former President Goodluck 

Jonathan. 

Olusegun Aganda, then industry, 

And for any country 

to have reservation 

or fears is a disappointment. 

The way 

this agreement has 

been negotiated 

and written contains 

segments to ensure 

that whoever has 

issues, those can be 

addressed 

trade and investment minister, mobilised 

the private sector, preparing 

them for the treaty. 

BusinessDay published stories 

relating to this free trade deal in 

2014 when the Ministry of Industry, 

Trade and Investment embarked on 

sensitisation programmes for the 

private sector, including exporters 

and manufacturers. Several sensitisation 

and training sessions were 

held in Lagos and Abuja. 

Full-blow negotiations were 

launched by the African Union 

Heads of States and Government 

in June, 2015, while the agreement 

was drafted in late 2017. In early 

March 2018, the negotiating forum—including 

Chiedu Osakwe, 

DG of the Nigerian Office for Trade 

Negotiations—met for the tenth 

time to finalise outstanding matters 

and conclude legal scrubbing in 

preparation for the signature of the 

agreement on March 21, 2018. 

Nigeria had no problem with the 

deal as Osakwe, Okechukwu Enalamah, 

industry, trade and investment 

minister, and Geoffrey Onyeama, 

foreign affairs minister, were all 

convinced that AfCFTA was a good 

deal for Nigeria, and they advised 

President Muhammadu Buhari to 

ratify it. 

Buhari then agreed to sign at 

least two out of the three treaties, 

notably the AfCFTA and the Kigali 

Declaration. 

The federal cabinet had, one 

week before, approved the deal, 

saying that it would boost the Nigeria’s 

export, spur growth, boost job 

creation, eliminate barriers against 

locally made products and provide 

a dispute settlement mechanism for 

stopping the hostile and discriminatory 

treatment directed against 

the country’s natural and corporate 

business persons in other African 

countries. 

Few days to D-day, however, 

Buhari backtracked on the opposition 

of the Organised Private Sector 

(OPS) who said they were not consulted. 

The private sector said some 

of the clauses in the AfCFTA could 

annihilate the Nigerian economy if 

left un-discussed. 

Key elements of AfCFTA 

The AfCFTA is easily the largest 

trade agreement since the World 

Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1994. 

It is a flagship project of Africa’s 

Agenda 2063, targeted at creating a 

single market for Africa’s 1.2 billion 

people and exposing each country 

to a $3.4 trillion opportunity. 

It is meant to create a single

20 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556 



Okechukwu Enalamah 

market for goods and services on 

the continent, including a customs 

union with free movement of capital 

and persons as the focus. 

The AfCFTA is expected to raise 

Africa’s nominal GDP to $6.7 trillion 

by 2030 if all the countries sign up. 

The treaty will liberalise 90 percent 

of products manufactured in 

Africa, meaning that a country can 

only protect 10 percent of its local 

industries. 

Countries are expected to develop 

and submit schedules of 

concessions for trade in goods. 

This implies that they will submit the 

particular 90 per cent of products 

that are to be liberalised and the 

excluded products that are to be 

exempted from liberalisation. These 

are goods considered ‘sensitive’ by 

each country. 

Negotiators are currently developing 

product-specific rules of 

origin. The rules of origin determine 

where a product was made. Products 

or goods from outside the continent 

will attract the requisite tariffs according 

to country-specific laws and 

customs specifications. 

The General Agreement on Tariffs 

and Trade (GATT) Article XXIV 

says that tariffs will be eliminated 

based only on goods originating in 

the customs territories making up 

the free trade areas. Rules of origin 

are essential for easy identification 

of goods and are like passports for 

products to enter a free trade area 

and circulate without duties or tariffs. 

GATT is a guide to international 

trade and represents an agreement 

between many countries on trade in 

goods and services. 

African countries have an average 

tariff of 6.1 percent, which 

means that businesses face higher 

tariffs when they export within Africa 

than when they export outside 

it. The AfCFTA will progressively 

eliminate tariffs on intra-African 

trade, making it easier for African 

businesses to trade within the 

continent and cater to and benefit 

from the growing African market. 

There will be mutual recognition 

of standards, licensing and certification 

of service suppliers. This will 

help businesses and individuals to 

satisfy the regulatory requirements 

of operating in each other’s markets. 

Nigeria, like other African countries, 

will lose part of its revenue 

coming through customs duties. A 

research done by the United Nations 

Conference on Trade and Development 

(UNCTAD) shows that African 

countries will lose $4.1 billion from 

elimination of all tariffs. However, 

the free trade deal will create an overall 

annual welfare gain of $16.1bn in 

the long run. 

It must be pointed out that the 

AfCFTA document signed at Kigali 

is not yet in force in any country because 

what was signed was the first 

legal instrument required for this 

process. Another round of negotiations 

will soon begin and they will 

deal with Protocols on Trade in 

Goods, Trade in Services, Intellectual 

Property Rights, Investment and 

Competition. 

A total of 22 ratifications are 

required to establish a free trade in 

Africa and only two documents have 

been signed so far—the AfCFTA and 

the Free Movement Protocol, and 

not all countries have signed up. 

At the conclusion of AfCFTA 

negotiations within 18 months, 

agreement will be signed and shall 

enter into force after ratification by 

22 member states. 

According to Gerhard Erasmus, 

Trade Law Centre associate, Regional 

Economic Communities will 

not disappear. This means that Economic 

Community of West African 

States, Community of Sahel Saharan 

States, East African Community, and 

Arab Maghreb Union, among others, 

will still remain. 

The AfCFTA will have its own 

Geoffrey Onyeama 

institutions. They are the Assembly 

of Heads of State and Government, 

the Council of African Ministers 

responsible for Trade, the Committee 

of Senior Trade Officials and the 

Secretariat. 

It must also be pointed out that 

the treaty is not only about trade 

in goods but also trade in services. 

What this means, in a nutshell, is 

that there will also be liberalisation 

of services in the long run, in a way 

that a Nigerian lawyer can offer 

legal services to someone in Libya 

without facing restrictions imposed 

by local laws. 

One of the elements of the Af- 

CFTA is the intellectual property 

and rights, which is a non-tangible 

property resulting from creativity. 

The Intellectual Property Rights 

is one of the 22 documents that will 

be negotiated and agreed by African 

countries. This is expected to generate 

some controversies as African 

countries are seen as not respecting 

patents and copyrights. 

More so, the AfCFTA has made 

provision for the establishment of 

an African Business Council, which 

will serve as a continental platform 

for aggregating and articulating 

the views of the private sector in 

the continental policy formulation 

processes. 

However, this council will play 

an advisory role and will comprise 

major regional trade associations, 

including manufacturing and 

small and medium scale enterprises 

(SMEs) groups and women entrepreneurship 

organisations. 

A provision has also been made 

for an African Trade Forum, which 

will discuss and cross-fertilise ideas 

on the progress and challenges encountered 

in the continental market 

integration. 

According to the African Union 

Foundation, flexibility shall be accorded 

to member states with special 

trade needs, specificities and 

circumstances. 

The AfCFTA equally accords 

special and differential treatment to 

flexibilities in transitional periods for 

liberalisation, and exemptions. 

Similarly, the trade deal will 

establish and administer a dispute 

settlement mechanism, which will 

handle technical matters and ensure 

protection of sovereignty and good 

neighbourliness of member states. 

There is a special recognition 

of women in the whole process. A 

mechanism is being put in place 

to address women’s specific challenges 

in order to facilitate equality 

and their active participation in domestic, 

regional and international 

trade. In general, the agreement 

has ambitious long-term goals of 

deepening integration among AU 

member states. 

According to UNCTAD, the main 

objectives of the CFTA are the facilitation, 

harmonisation and better 

coordination of trade regimes as well 

When compared with intra-regional 

trade in other continents – 67 percent 

in Europe, 58 percent in Asia and 48 

percent in North America – intra-African 

trade is quite low 

as the elimination of challenges associated 

with multiple and overlapping 

trade agreements across the 

continent. 

Arguments for AfCFTA 

Proponents of the African free 

trade treaty say that it will lower trade 

costs and allow Nigerian and African 

consumers to have access a large 

variety of products at lower prices. 

They say trade liberalisation will 

help Nigerian manufacturers to 

access imported raw materials and 

intermediate goods at lower costs, 

which will lower production costs 

and enable them to compete better. 

They point out that it will allow local 

firms to access a large continental 

market and gain from economies 

of scale, adding that it will increase 

intra-African trade, which is scratching 

15 percent. 

Opeyemi Agbaje, chief executive 

officer of RTC Advisory Services 

Limited, explains that the AfCFTA is a 

big economic imperative, which will 

expand intra-African trade beyond 

traditional trade partners of Europe, 

Asia and America. 

“It is apositive development 

for us and this is a time for the real 

work of ensuring deepening of 

intra-African trade. There is a significanceneed 

to increase trade.” 

Agbaje notes that it will increase 

dynamic, informal and flexible intra- 

Africa trade, empowering the majority 

of African business and traders 

still largely informal. 

“Nigeria and other African countries 

will see to greater increase 

in integration of financial sectors 

activities, wherein banks in Libya, 

Cameroon, Morroco will see more 

expansion and integration in various 

countries. 

“Also, there will be increase in 

transportation infrastructure, and 

inter-connecting African countries 

by rail and road infrastructure 

todeepen intra-African Trade and 

other forms of trade facilitation. 

“Moreso, visa on the point of entry 

will be facilitated and continental 

protocols and immigration issues 

would be enhanced onthe heels of 

this development. It is a harvest of 

benefits,” Agbaje says. 

Rafiq Raji, chief economist at 

Macroafricaintel, explains that a 

market of more than 1.2 billion 

people with a combined GDP of over 

$2.2 trillion is a far stronger bulwark 

against limiting external trade forces 

than the tiny ones that inevitably 

get overwhelmed in negotiations 

with humongous countries such as 

America, Britain and China. 

“When compared with intraregional 

trade in other continents 

– 67 percent in Europe, 58 percent 

in Asia and 48 percent in North 

America – intra-African trade is quite 

low,” Raji says. 

Quoting the Cairo-based African 

Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), 

Raji says intra-African trade grew by 

eight percent in the first nine months 

of 2017; with Guinea, Ethiopia, 

Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, 

and Sierra Leone in the lead. He 

states that this was better than the 

marginal 0.6 percent growth to 

$156.94 billion recorded in 2016,. 

Mathew Ibeabuchi, chief executive 

officer of MD Services Limited, 

a manufacturing and services firm, 

says the free trade deal will eliminate 

Continues on page 21


C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 


21 

The big deal about African Continental Free Trade Area 


challenges associated with multiple 

and overlapping trade agreement 

across the continent while opening 

up more opportunities for Nigerian 

SMEs to expand operations. 

“It will enable us to be more 

effective and allocate resources efficiently. 

In other words, a free trade 

treaty will simply wake us from deep 

slumber,” Ibeabuchi said. 

“We have been too complacent, 

protectionist and lax whenever issues 

about free trade are raised. 

“I do not know why we are afraid 

to compete on the continent, when 

we are the most populous and has 

the biggest economy. 

“For goodness sake, we are in the 

first 11 in manufacturing in the continent. 

Apart from South Africa, and 

maybe Egypt, Kenya and Ethiopia, 

we are next. “We must understand 

that we are competing within Africa. 

So, all we need to do is to negotiate 

grey areas and move on. 

“It will also have a positive impact 

on services. Services constitute 50 

to 52 percent of Nigeria’s gross domestic 

product, so we will benefit 

much more. Like you have in the 

European Union (EU), big countries 

like Germany and France benefitted 

from integration, immensely. This 

is exactly the way it is. It is even 

the small countries that should be 

afraid,” he explains. 

He adds that it will stimulate 

cooperation in technology and innovation 

as well as in infrastructure. 

Tilewa Adebajo, an economist, 

believes the trade deal will open a 

door of progress for Nigeria. 

“We are the largest economy 

in Africa and when something like 

this is happening, we have to take 

the leadership role,” Adebajo told 

Channels TV. 

“The total value of trade within 

Africa is about 1.7 trillion. If we get 

into this agreement, we are going to 

create a trading zone worth about 

$3.5 trillion with a population of 

about 1.2 billion which is highly 

competitive than that of the European 

Union.” 

Akinwumi Adesina, president 

of the African Development Bank 

and Nigeria’s former agriculture 

minister, believes that it will stimulate 

intra-African trade by up to 

$35 billion per year, creating a 52 

percent increase in trade by 2022, 

and a vital $10 billion decrease in 

imports from outside Africa. 

“This is Africa’s time and Africa 

can no longer be ignored. Africa’s 

food and agriculture market will 

hit $1 trillion by 2030. Household 

consumption will hit $2.5 trillion, 

with business-to-business expenditure 

at $3.5 trillion by 2025. 

There’s no doubt, Africa is where 

to invest,” Adesina says. 

The African Union says it will 

reduce vulnerability of countries to 

external trade shocks by reducing 

the trade balance deficits of African 

Countries. Nigeria suffered shocks 

from oil price crash from the second 

half of 2014, reaching its peak 

in 2016. This led to severe foreign 

exchange scarcity and inability of 

Chiedu Osakwe 

Frank Udemba Jacobs 

manufacturing companies to have 

access to inputs and spare parts 

needed at factories. 

Arguments against AfCFTA 

Call them protectionists or conservatives, 

opponents of the AfCFTA 

believe that Nigeria is not yet ripe 

for it, arguing that signing it is tantamount 

to signing away the country’s 

future. 

Leading this group is the Manufacturers 

Association of Nigeria 

(MAN), which says that inability of 

the free trade proponent to provide 

answers to raging questions makes 

the deal bad at the moment. 

“What would be the impact of 

AfCFTA on the nation’s tax structure, 

government revenue and the welfare 

of over 180million Nigerians? What 

will be the impact of AfCFTA on the 

political-economic, industrialisation 

and development framework 

of Nigeria?” MAN asks. 

“What would be the fiscal and 

monetary implications of AfCFTA on 

Nigeria? What are the justifications 

for agreeing to the proposed movement 

of 90 percent of tariff lines to 

zero duty? 

“What would become of nontariff 

charges, incentives, waivers 

and exemptions currently operational 

in Nigeria? What will be the 

fiscal implications of AfCFTA on 

the income of Governments and 

Regional Economic Communities? 

How will non-tariff charges viz-a-viz 

non-African countries be treated 

under the AfCFTA regime? 

“What is the agreed time frame 

for the gradual but progressive 

movement of 90 percent of tariff 

line to zero percent duty? Which 

product lines have been agreed for 

liberalisation, to be on exclusion and 

sensitive lists?” 

Frank Udemba Jacobs, president 

of MAN, says absence of plausible 

answers to these vital questions left 

the association with no option than 

to call on the Federal Government 

to be cautious of making binding 

commitments on AfCFTA. 

Jacobs says Nigerian manufacturers 

are afraid of the treaty because 

of the tough environment in which 

they operate, caused by high cost 

of energy, poor infrastructure and 

multiple taxes. He says the sector 

cannot currently compete effectively 

in a free trade situation effectively in 

The major fear 

of manufacturers, 

therefore, is 

that Europe will 

smuggle products 

to Morocco. 

Such unfair and 

dirty trade practices 

are rife on 

the continent, 

opponents of free 

trade say 

its present state. 

He recommends that government 

set in motion a process that 

will enable all stakeholders on the 

international trade value chain in 

Nigeria to quickly review the text 

of the draft AfCFTA agreement and 

come up with comments on areas 

that are not in the best interest of the 

Nigerian economy and sectors. 

He urges the government to consider 

tariff lines rates along the line of 

efficiency, sectoral and sub-sectoral 

preferences that would be most beneficial 

to Nigerian businesses under 

the AfCFTA dispensation. 

One of the major fears of MAN is 

the moves being made by Morocco, 

a North African country, which 

has already signed the Economic 

Partnership Agreement (EPA) with 

Europe. The EPA is a free trade deal 

proposed by the European Union 

to West Africa, which allows Europe 

to liberalise export from West Africa 

and vice versa after a given period. 

MAN has vehemently opposed 

the EPA, saying that it is a trade 

treaty between two unequal groups. 

MAN believes Europe is targeting 

to flood Nigeria with its products, 

and subsequently destroy the local 

manufacturing sector. 

Already, Morocco is applying to 

join the Economic Community of 

West African States (ECOWAS) despite 

being located in North Africa. 

This, to MAN, is suspicious and a 

ploy to force EPA on Nigeria. 

The major fear of manufacturers, 

therefore, is that Europe will smuggle 

products to Morocco via AfCFTA and 

the products will be branded ‘Moroccan’. 

Such unfair and dirty trade 

practices are rife on the continent, 

opponents of free trade say. 

Muda Yusuf, director-general of 

the Lagos Chamber of Commerce 

and Industry (LCCI), says the Af- 

CFTA is a good dream, especially in 

the light of the numerous benefits 

of a larger market. Yusuf, however, 

points out that a liberal trade regime 

within the continent poses a major 

risk to the Nigeria manufacturing 

sector. 

“The Nigerian Industrial sector is 

highly vulnerable because of its weak 

competitiveness. Manufacturing in 

Nigeria is burdened by profound 

infrastructure challenges and high 

cost of fund, which put tremendous 

pressure on their production and 

operating cost. 

He says Nigeria’s industrialisation 

strategy rooted in import substitution 

does not position the manufacturing 

sector for competition in 

the regional, continental or global 

market place. 

“The sector does not have an 

outward-looking or export-oriented 

disposition. Therefore, exposing the 

Nigerian industrial sector to international 

competition may be the undoing 

of the sector. This poses a major 

dilemma for our trade policy. While 

economic integration is desirable 

because of the attraction of larger 

market, we need to worry about the 

implications for our weak industrial 

sector.” 

Yusuf says the way forward is to 

strengthen the competitiveness of 

the Nigerian industrial sector, stating

22 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556 



that only then can the country get 

value from being part of a continental 

free trade agreement. 

“Besides, some African countries 

already have trade treaties with 

countries outside the continent. This 

means that products from outside 

of the continent may penetrate the 

entire continent under a CFTA regime. 

These are some of the issues 

that may have informed the current 

equivocation on the signing of the 

Africa CFTA by Nigeria. 

“The summary is that trade can 

only be beneficial if we are in a good 

competitive position to be part of it. 

We need to review our industrialisation 

strategy from the disproportionate 

dependence or protectionism 

to a policy choice of focusing on 

building the capacity of the manufacturing 

sector for competitiveness. 

This is what can create an enduring 

industrial sector in Nigeria. This 

is also in tandem with the Nigeria 

Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), 

which underlines the significance 

of resource-based industrialisation 

strategy. This is a model that stresses 

local value addition, robust linkages 

and competitiveness.” 

Labour unions are also in pooposition 

of the free trade deal. Ayuba 

Wabba, president of Nigeria Labour 

Congress (NLC), says at a time countries, 

including the United States 

(U.S), are resorting to protectionism 

in defence of their local businesses 

and job protection, the country is 

trying to fling its doors, windows and 

roof tops open. 

“This will spell the death knell 

of the Nigerian economy. The Af- 

CFTA, rather than unite Africa, will 

only divide it the more. Rather than 

enrich Africa, it will only pauperise 

it the more. 

“Nigeria is not only an importer 

nation, but also an economy with 

weak infrastructural base, which 

increases the cost of the products 

produced in Nigeria,” Didi Adodo, 

general secretary, United Labour 

Congress (ULC), a faction of the 

NLC, says. 

“If signed, the AfCFTA will only 

encourage industrialised countries 

to use other African nations to push 

their products to the Nigerian market, 

thereby killing locally produced 

goods. We reject it in its entirety.” 

In his article in several newspapers, 

Henry Boyo, an economist, says even 

if all the safeguards proposed by MAN 

and other groups are put in place, it will 

still be unsafe for Nigeria to sign. 

“Nigeria’s economy will continue 

to be uncompetitive and falter until 

lower single digit inflation rates and 

cost of funds prevail. Invariably, 

lower cost, import substitutes will 

continue to flood our markets and 

keep operations well below full capacity, 

in local factories,” Boyo says. 

Social reasons 

Opponents of the free trade deal 

say the free movement of persons, 

which is among the Protocols to 

be ratified, could worsen Nigeria’s 

security risks. Nigeria is already 

pummelled by Boko Haram, herdsmen 

and all forms of crimes, and 

allowing free movement of persons 

could open doors to African—based 

terrorist groups and also worsen 

smuggling. 

South Africa vs Nigeria 

It is important to note that South 

Africa is yet to sign the free trade 

deal, though it is committed to it. 

Ayuba Wabba 

We believe that 

Nigeria should sign 

the AfCFTA but 

must renegotiate 

the percentage of 

local products that 

will be protected. 

We believe that 10 

percent is insignificant, 

considering 

the sensitivity of 

some industries 

such as pharmaceuticals 

to national 

security 

Like Nigeria, South Africa is aware 

that many Africans are seeking ways 

of illegally entering the country at 

every slight opportunity. Similarly, 

goods and services are falling head 

over heels to enter Africa’s second 

biggest economy. 

Ramaphosa is careful not to sign 

the treaty without inputs from all 

major stakeholders in his country. 

To sign or not to sign? 

To determine whether Nigeria 

needs to sign or not, let us look at the 

European Union (EU) as a model. 

A once disaggregated Europe came 

together in Maastricht, Netherlands, 

on November 1, 1993, to form a 

formidable free trade union made 

up of 28 countries with a GDP of 

$18.4 trillion, making it the second 

largest economy in the world after 

the United States. 

A study published in July of 2014 

by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, a German 

foundation, showed that German 

real GDP jacked up at an average 

of €37 billion per year since 1993, 

translating into a yearly income rise 

of €450 per person. Danish citizens’ 

yearly income rose by €500 over that 

same period. One study showed 

that over ten years (1993-2003), the 

single market swelled the EU’s GDP 

by €877 billion (£588 billion). This 

represented €5,700 [£3,819] of extra 

income per household. 

Free trade and removal of nontariff 

barriers have cut costs and 

prices for European consumers, 

which is why they are looking for 

new markets everywhere. Many 

firms have achieved economies of 

scale. More than 52 percent of UK 

exports are linked to the EU. Trade 

within the EU has increased 30 per 

cent since 1993, and 

inward investment from outside 

the EU rose from €23 billion (£15.4 

billion] in 1992 to €159 billion [ 

£106.5 billion) in 2005. 

Despite Brexit moves by the UK, 

studies show that up to 10 percent of 

all employment opportunities in that 

country are directly linked to the EU. 

Checks show that EU member 

states own the estimated second 

largest net wealth in the world after 

the United States. They own 25 percent 

($72 trillion) of world’s wealth 

as of 2016 against United States’ 33 

percent. Twenty-seven out of 28 

EU countries have a very high Human 

Development Index, which is 

rated by performances in education, 

health and income, according to 

Muda Yusuf 

the United Nations Development 

Programme. The euro is today the 

second largest reserve currency as 

well as the second most traded currency 

in the world after the United 

States dollar. On the flipside, the 

recent poor economic situation in 

Greece and other EU countries hit 

big countries like Germany hard 

and almost dragged them into debts. 

There are issues like loss of sovereignty 

of member countries as well 

as sharp practices. 

However, economic benefits of 

integration far outweigh its downsides 

as seen in the EU’s case. It is 

true that European countries had 

had strong manufacturing and trade 

sectors before the EU was formed, 

which placed members at an advantage 

to trade with each other. 

This is different from Africa, where 

member countries’ manufacturing 

sectors and economy are relatively 

much weaker. However, the question 

is, how many African countries 

really have stronger manufacturing 

and trading sectors than Nigeria? 

The number is less than 10, which 

means Nigeria can still fare better 

than many African economies. Nigeria, 

like France, Spain and Denmark, 

stands a better chance than Malawi, 

Central African Republic, Cameroon 

and at least 42 other countries on the 

continent in trade competitiveness. 

Also, MAN and other private 

sector organisations have raised 

questions regarding the operations 

of the AfCFTA. However, these 

questions are already factored into 

the 20 remaining discussions that 

will commence in earnest. Nigeria’s 

president acted on the premise that 

these questions were not catered for 

at all, but some of the assumptions 

and fears had earlier been considered 

by the AU. 

The truth is that whether Nigeria 

signs the AfCFTA or not, these 

African products will definitely find 

their way into the country either by 

hook or by crook, being the largest 

market on the continent. Smuggling 

is already a gargantuan challenge for 

Nigeria and refusal to sign AfCFTA 

will only more than quadruple it. 

We believe that Nigeria should 

sign the AfCFTA but must renegotiate 

the percentage of local products 

that will be protected. We believe 

that 10 percent is insignificant, 

considering the sensitivity of some 

industries such as pharmaceuticals 

to national security. We also believe 

that rules of origin must be clearly 

negotiated and spelt out to checkmate 

sharp practices that may emanate 

from outside the free trade area. 

Nevertheless, the argument 

should not be limited to trade and 

manufacturing, but must be extended 

to the services sector. Many 

banks, insurance firms, shipping 

companies, lawyers, doctors, educational 

institutions, writers and teachers 

will find new opportunities with 

AfCFTA in place, which will have a 

positive impact on employment and 

standard of living. 

It is a shame that the private sector 

was not carried along throughout 

the negotiation period. This should 

not be encouraged as even the AU 

considers the private sector an integral 

part of its trade policies. 

BusinessDay believes that signing 

AfCFTA is a no-brainer as it will bring 

bigger gains for Nigeria if properly 

negotiated. 

Nigeria cannot continue on its 

protectionism for long as the wind 

of globalisation is blowing from all 

corners. What is needed now is a 

set of incentives from government 

targeted at cutting production costs 

and enabling Nigerian manufacturers 

to compete better.


BUSINESS DAY 23 

EDUCATION 

Weekly insight on current and future trends in education Primary/Secondary Higher Human Capital 

At three or six years, when is a 

child ready for school? 

STEPHEN ONYEKWELU 

‘ 

My wife wanted 

our son to start 

school at two 

years old, but I 

refused, due to 

pressure, I gave in after 26 months. 

I think it depends on the growth of 

each child, but I will like them to 

start at age three’ Femi Babajide, a 

father of three children, who lives 

on Lagos Mainland said. 

With the rising number of working-class 

young couples, school 

going age is reducing rapidly. Some 

working-class mothers send their 

babies off to daycare three to four 

months after birth, that is, at the 

expiration of their maternity leave. 

The daycare and pre-nursery 

(sometimes nursery inclusive) were 

not regarded as part of the formal 

school system in Nigeria. This is 

changing though because these 

foundational years have been found 

to be critical in the formation of a 

child. 

Experts say, when deciding the 

right age at which to send your child 

to school, older rather than younger 

may be the best option. 

Legally in Nigeria, the official 

school going age is six years like it 

obtains in most western countries, 

nursery schools not being part of Nigeria’s 

formal education system and 

what is allowed is the daycare which 

should be conducted either in the 

mothers tongue or future education 

language ( not compulsory ). 

Around Europe, the age of compulsory 

education varies from three 

years in Hungary to four years in 

Northern Ireland, Luxembourg, 

Switzerland and five years in Cyprus, 

Malta, England, Scotland, Wales, 

Greece, Netherlands, Latvia, Poland. 

Others are six years in Austria, 

Belgium, Croatia, and Czech Republic, 

Denmark, Germany, Iceland, 

Republic of Ireland, Italy, Liechten- 

stein, Norway, Portugal, Romania, 

Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey and 

seven years in Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, 

Lithuania, Serbia, and Sweden. 

Knowing if your child is ready 

to start school in September can 

be particularly difficult for parents 

whose children’s birthdays fall after 

Christmas. 

Worrying about whether your 

child is too young to start, or whether 

they will be bored if you wait an additional 

year, are common concerns. 

“I’ve been on both sides of the 

fence. My first child started school 

less than three months after her 

fourth birthday. She was tall, mature, 

confident, and capable and 

she settled into school very well” 

Ngozi Onoh-Okwuagwu, mother 

of four children at the Broadway 

Junior Academy, Dillion, Kirikiri 

Town said. “She had no difficulties 

throughout and her teachers 

often commented that it was hard 

to believe she was the youngest in 

her class. Do I regret my decision? 

Absolutely.” 

“She has had to grow up faster 

than I’d have liked and while at 

the time I could not visualise my 

little four-year-old as a teenager, sure 

enough the day came and all the peer 

pressure and challenges associated 

with secondary school came to her 

way sooner than I felt they should 

have” Onoh-Okwuagwu said. 

Onoh-Okwuagwu’s third child was 

already five when he started school. 

He has a different personality to his 

sister but the driving force in this case 

was his peer age group. 

“There seems to have been a 

move towards a later starting age at 

my children’s school and I factored 

that in. Do I regret waiting an extra 

year? Not a bit.” 

Helen Kelly, principal at Holly 

Park Boys’ School in Blackrock, Co 

Dublin, says indications of a child’s 

readiness for school include “a level 

of independence and an ability to 

do things for himself — to dress 

himself, for example, and to do 

simple jobs.” 

Kings College Alumni donate N15m waste management facility to alma mater 

KELECHI EWUZIE 

In demonstration of its belief in a 

multi-pronged effort to encourage 

hands-on involvement by 

past students with their alma 

mater, Kings College Class of 1988 

has handed over a 15 million naira 

worth of redesigned and refurbished 

waste management facility to the 

school. 

The project undertaken and funded 

by the 1988 set in commemoration 

of their 30th anniversary’s 

graduation from Kings College Lagos 

is the first step in the many programmes 

lined up to give the school 

the support it deserves. 

Emeka Oragwu, a member of the 

Class of 1988 Organising Committee 

said the overriding sentiment about 

the donation was that the anniversary 

provided a suitable opportunity 

for the year group to express its gratitude 

to the school. 

According to him, “Our successes 

in life are thanks to the solid intellectual 

and social foundation we 

received at Kings College, “We also 

learnt that debts are always repaid 

what better way to express our 

A group of Rainbow College students, during creative arts tuition, Surulere, 

Lagos. 

thanks than by giving something 

back to the school”. 

Mohammed Shaibu, member 

Organising Committee for the Class 

of 1988’s anniversary celebration 

while explaining the rational of the 

waste management facility said they 

notice the shortcomings of the current 

school’s waste disposal system, 

designed for a far smaller school 

population. 

“The increase in numbers of student 

population, as is the case with 

the demand on public services generally 

in Nigeria, is largely beyond the 

control of the school body. Unsurprisingly, 

the school has struggled to accommodate 

the additional pressure 

on facilities and resources”, he said. 

Prompted by the scale and urgency 

of the situation, the Class of 

1988 decided to not only develop a 

solution for the waste management 

challenge, one that would not only 

remove the health hazard but would 

also leave a lasting, practical legacy. 

Shaibu said the project will among 

other things facilitate efficient collection 

and removal of waste; implementation 

of an operational system 

for daily waste management across 

the site. 

To him, the project will also ensure 

the development of a waste classification 

system, promoting ecological 

and environmental awareness; 

and the development of a waste 

management awareness training 

programme, to embed a new culture 

of waste management on the Kings 

College site. 

“We didn’t merely wish to bequeath 

the physical infrastructure 

to the school; we wanted to put in 

place the makings of a new culture, 

one that encouraged the long-term 

sustainability of the project.” 

New Waste Management Facility donated to King’s College, Lagos 

Nigeria seeks local, 

foreign organisations’ 

funding for tertiary 

education 

IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, Benin 

Adamu Adamu, the Minister 

of Education has called for 

more partnerships with local 

and international organisations 

to enhance proper funding 

and innovation in entrepreneurship 

for tertiary institutions, particularly 

universities. 

Adamu, made the call in a paper 

titled, “Restructuring the Nigeria Tertiary 

Education System to Address the 

21st Century Funding Challenges”, delivered 

at the 2nd Founder’s day of the 

Edo University Iyamho, Etsako West 

local government area of Edo state. 

The minister who was represented 

by Jacob Ehiorobo, Deputy Vice- 

Chancellor, Administration, University 

of Benin commended the university’s 

management for becoming 3rd 

best university in Nigeria. 

He however, called on Tertiary 

Education Trust Fund (Tetfund) to 

contribute to the developmental 

project of the university. 

Shaibu A. Ibrahim, National President 

of Political Science Association 

of Nigeria and chairman Kogi State 

Local Government Service Commission 

presented a paper Titled “Political 

Engineering and the Dynamics of 

Change: the Nigeria Experience” 

, emphasised the importance of 

engineering in developing Nigerian 

economy. 

In his remark, Edo state governor, 

Godwin Obaseki represented by his 

deputy, Philip Shaibu, commended 

the management of the institution 

for the effective expenditures of the 

resources. 

Obaseki, who also commended the 

school for the feats recorded within 

the few yet as in existence, assured 

of more support to the management 

of the university just as he advised the 

students to be of good behavior. 

Earlier, the Acting Vice-Chancellor, 

Emmanuel Aluyor, said the University 

is the first and only Medical Training 

institutions in Nigeria with an 

Anatomage Table which has just been 

commissioned. 

Aluyor, explained that Anatomage 

Table is the most technologically advanced 

anatomy visualisation system 

in the world for anatomy education 

which has been adopted by many of 

the world’s leading medical schools. 

He also disclosed that the University 

is one of four Medical Training 

institutions in Nigeria with power 

laboratory system for teaching Physiology 

and Pharmacology adding that 

the clinical skills laboratory when 

fully operational, will compete with 

other leading medical schools in the 

continent. 

The Vice-Chancellor, who said the 

institution played premium on staff 

development, posited that academic 

staff has been sponsored to local and 

international conferences and workshops 

as well as engaging in organizing 

training workshops for academic 

staff, pad agony, research and other 

related issues.

C002D5556 



EDUCATION 

higher 

OYIN EGBEYEMI 

Intimacy connotes a 

strong and deep connection. 

These days 

when we hear this 

word, we often think 

about a physical bond with 

one another. However, it goes 

beyond just a physical sentiment 

because the underlying 

factor is a psychological 

sentiment that taps into the 

very root of our emotions. 

Hence, it is difficult to describe 

intimacy as simply a 

physical feeling. 

Is Intimacy becoming diluted? 

Taking a look at relationships, 

we would observe that 

people attest to intimacy being 

a key factor in maintaining 

a bond with their partner. 

Some even break off their 

relationships for the reason 

of “not feeling close” to the 

other person; and if you 

ask them what exactly they 

mean, they may not be able 

to describe it accurately. This 

is because it is an intangible 

sensation. 

To get a better understanding 

of this, we could 

look from the perspective 

of the relationship between 

a parent and a child or 

amongst members of a family 

or even people in any loving 

situation: the dynamics 

of intimacy may be observed 

through the closeness of 

the relationships expressed 

through the depth of communication 

and dynamics 

of interactions between the 

people involved. Some call 

this chemistry. 

It is important to emphasise 

that it takes an understanding 

of our own emotions 

to connect with those 

of other human beings on an 

intimate level. However, in 

order to understand or even 

“feel” this feeling, the question 

lies in whether or not we 

have enough self-awareness 

or can even accept the way 

we feel as what we should. 

Otherwise, we may find ourselves 

in denial. 

It is equally important 

to have a good understanding 

of the other parties 

involved in the relationship 

in order to build 

a bond. In reality though, 

it is very unlikely to fully 

understand a person, and 

it takes spending a lot time 

with that person to get a 

full grasp of who they are, 

where their emotions lie 

and how to connect with 

them. For this reason, it 

is easier to observe this in 

families because they are 

more often within close 

physical vicinity and in 

more frequent communication 

with each other 

than they are with other 

people (in an ideal situation). 

We may get carried away 

and assume that establishing 

intimacy is a default 

setting for most people. 

However, it is surprising 

how disconnected some 

of us are, even within our 

families and with our children. 

Culturally, it is not 

rare to find some gaps in the 

dynamics of a family, most 

especially between fathers 

and their children. 

What people might not re- 

alise is that the behaviour of 

some adults today is indicative 

of the level of intimacy 

they experienced in their 

childhood. Observing traits 

such as hostility, distance, 

abusiveness, depression 

or even violent tendencies 

demonstrate the lack of the 

expression of love and affection 

through intimate relationships 

in their lives (unless 

the person in question 

has other psychological or 

behavioural issues). On the 

other hand, those who are 

exposed to a healthy level of 

intimacy in their childhood 

are more likely to be affectionate 

and are at more ease 

with expressing themselves. 

Another perspective to 

take into consideration is 

the way we live today. Since 

the 1970s when Motorola 

introduced one of the first 

cellular phones, we have 

found many other ways to 

allow the interference of 

digitisation dictate the way 

we communicate and build 

relationships; from emails 

to texting to video messaging 

to social media (and the list 

goes on). 

It is actually not surprising 

to hear that people have 

veered away from the traditional 

methods of establishing 

intimate connections 

with each other (basically, 

by speaking and interacting 

in person) and are now 

complacent with building 

relationships through the 

screens of their media devices. 

In fact, some people 

believe that they can replace 

physical interaction with 

digital communication. 

Oyin Egbeyemi is an 

executive administrator at The 

Foreshore School, Ikoyi, Lagos. 

Social innovation and entrepreneurship: 

Drivers of Africa’s Breakthrough 

NGOZIKA ONUZO 

Lagos Business School 

in collaboration with 

Ford Foundation 

commenced the first 

round of the Nonprofit Leadership 

and Management Programme 

(Certificate course) 

in February 2018. As part of 

the Programme, a team of 

MBA students and members 

of the Sustainability Centre of 

Lagos Business School visited 

Ashesi University in Ghana to 

explore how the University 

has been able to successfully 

engage students in social entrepreneurship 

and design 

thinking – important components 

of innovation. 

One thing that stood out is 

that despite the busy schedule 

due to the project-based 

teaching and learning methodologies 

used at Ashesi 

University, students are quite 

receptive to the introduction 

of social entrepreneurship 

and design thinking. They put 

their hands to work in designing 

projects that have often 

grown into social enterprises 

that outlive their academic 

term of four years. This is a 

call for Nigeria and other African 

countries to take a cue 

on what Ashesi is doing right 

in this area, and how we can 

transform the current challenges 

in the country into opportunities 

that create wealth 

using our blooming, youthful 

human resources. 

Most African economies 

are encountering a youth 

bulge – where the larger percentage 

of a population is 

between the age of 15 and 

29, which is a common and 

important demographic phenomenon 

in many developing 

countries. The youth bulge, 

which seems like a huge challenge 

presents a huge opportunity 

for the future prosperity 

of millions of Africans in developing 

economies. Sadly, 

most African countries lack 

basic amenities and infrastructure 

such as education, 

healthcare, technology, access 

to funding, etc. – tools 

that turn prevalent challenges 

on the continent into 

opportunities. 

In many African educational 

institutions, where 

youthful energy should be 

harnessed and skillfully 

wrought, the ‘garbage ingarbage 

out’ system of teaching 

and learning are still reinforced. 

Students are taught 

science, technology, arts, 

and social sciences topics 

that were relevant fifty years 

or more ago, thus creating 

knowledge that does not 

evolve with the times. 

Thankfully, Ashesi University 

and a few other institutions 

have recognised the 

limitations of higher education 

on the continent, and 

are revolutionising teaching 

and learning in their university 

communities. In Ashesi 

University, the garbage-ingarbage-out 

system of teaching 

and learning has been replaced 

with creative and critical 

thinking in classrooms. 

The core curriculum focuses 

on interdisciplinary 

courses aimed towards producing 

well rounded graduates 

with the ability and skills 

to tackle challenges on the African 

continent. For instance, 

the Bachelor of Engineering 

course in the University focuses 

not only on engineering 

but also on other critical skills 

like design thinking and entrepreneurship. 

Additionally, 

all students are required to 

take a course in programming 

regardless of their core course 

of study, equipping them with 

a globally demanded skill. 

Still, the social innovation 

and entrepreneurship focus 

of the university’s core curriculum 

makes Ashesi University 

stand out. Its Foundation 

in Design and Entrepreneurship 

(FDE) programme 

features student-led business 

simulations; a problem festival 

– where problems are 

dissected to their root cause 

without thinking about solutions; 

as well as small grants 

to support student community 

service projects. 

The program has been 

successful in producing several 

innovative projects that 

have grown to become social 

enterprises - solving problems 

while creating wealth. 

One example of this is Tech- 

Era, a technology education 

company that equips teachers 

and students with skills 

to effectively use technology 

to improve efficiency in 

daily learning activities. The 

company emanated from 

a project done during the 

design and entrepreneurship 

course, and is running 

as a full-service company by 

the same students, who will 

continue to run the company 

when they graduate. 

Bringing this to the individual 

level, a more personal 

approach to social innovation 

and entrepreneurship 

is Personal Social Responsibility 

(PSR), through which 

projects and solutions to 

problems are often birthed. 

Personal Social Responsibility 

describes how individuals 

can act in the best interest 

of themselves and others 

by taking responsibility to 

solve problems when they 

identify them. Personal Social 

Responsibility, social 

innovation and entrepreneurship 

are fundamental to 

creating social and economic 

balance, hence should be 

embedded into educational 

systems and cascaded down 

into social and cultural conversations. 

Like Ashesi University, 

Lagos Business School (LBS) 

is also thinking ahead and 

looking in the direction of 

social innovation and entrepreneurship. 

The School 

has introduced Personal 

Social Responsibility into its 

programmes and is seeking 

the best way to effectively 

engage students in this area. 

LBS recently visited Ashesi 

University on an exploratory 

trip to learn best practices 

Ashesi uses in embedding 

these components into its curriculum, 

and hopes that such 

PSR, social innovation and 

entrepreneurship projects 

will form part of the learning 

and development process as 

students work towards piloting 

their ideas to drive social 

and economic change. 

Ngozika Onuzo is a staff at 

Lagos Business School Sustainability 

Centre. 

Conference to equip 21st 

Century African man 

STEPHEN ONYEKWELU 

Men, like women 

need support 

systems as they 

go about their 

daily activities of being human 

and earning a living, only 

few programmes have been 

targeted at men to facilitate 

the hustle through life. 

To bridge this gap, the 

Yetunde Bernard Company 

set up to help individuals 

and business owners craft 

and refine their messaging 

and project for maximum 

influence and impact globally 

is organising its first City 

Centre Conference for Men 

in Africa. 

At the core of every man is 

the desire to live a great life. 

The danger often is to let this 

desire get buried under the 

many hollow masculine stereotypes, 

which are out there 

in the world. It is important 

that this desire for greatness 

does not get crushed by the 

difficulty, disappointment, 

injustice, pain, failure, loss 

and regret that are a natural 

part of being human. 

This is why an inaugural 

edition of the Recall Conference 

for Men has been slated 

for April 28, 2018 at The Balmoral 

Convention Centre, 

Federal Palace Hotel Victoria 

Island, Lagos. 

Recall Conference for Men 

is designed and presented by 

City-Centre conference for the 

urbane man aged 20-45 years 

convened by The Yetunde 

Bernard Company, a personal 

brand development agency in 

Ikoyi, Lagos. 

It is a day live conference 

targeted at providing the African 

man living in today’s 

urbane, competitive and demanding 

society with insights 

and practical tools to enable 

him meet his evolving world 

with intention, clarity and a 

deep sense of tenacity. 

The inaugural theme, ‘The 

21st Century Man: The Hustle 

Is Real’ will explore a world 

currently embroiled in an 

equality dispute, this conference 

focuses on Purpose and 

Passion, the place of identity 

in finding freedom and peace, 

proffering practical steps to 

create a more balanced and 

fulfilling life for Men. 

RCM 2018 brings organisations 

and delegates from 

around Africa to interact with 

thought leaders and learn 

how to leverage on the status 

of the African man to create 

productivity platforms on all 

fronts. 

According to Olakunle 

Soriyan, thought revolutionist, 

knowledge owner, mastermind, 

and the principal 

transformation strategist at 

the Olakunle Soriyan Company 

and the lead strategist 

of the Recall Conference for 

Men, “The Recall Conference 

for Men is an invasion of the 

norm. It is designed specifically 

to serve as a resource 

point for men. 

Men have become the endangered 

species not because 

they have more challenges, 

but because they don’t speak 

about these challenges. This 

conference is to serve as a 

platform where men can converge 

and connect, sharing 

thoughts and ideas.”


BDTECH 

In association with 

BUSINESS DAY 

25 

Cyber criminals leverage encrypted 

network communication - Cisco 

JUMOKE AKIYODE LAWANSON 

There has been a significant 

increase in the volume 

of malicious binaries leveraging 

some encrypted 

network communication, 

as attackers embrace encryption to 

conceal their command and control 

activities, the recently released Cisco 

cyber-security report reveals. 

After surveying 3,600 chief information 

officers (CIOs), globally and 

accessing about a third of the world’s 

internet data, Cisco found that 50 

percent of global web traffic is encrypted, 

and so attackers are using 

this to penetrate companies. 

As, a result, Cisco has called on 

businesses to adopt more developed 

security measures and to take a comprehensive 

approach across people, 

process, technology and policy to 

protect their businesses from hackers 

and cyber criminals. 

Discussing details of the report 

with select journalists at the Cisco 

head office in Lagos, Tomi Amao, 

cyber security systems engineer at 

Cisco identified the evolution of ransomware 

as one of the most significant 

threat developments in 2017. 

For 2018, Amao said; ‘the report 

suggests that this year will see unprecedented 

levels of sophistication 

and impact, as cyber criminals will 

become more adept at evasion.’ 

Compared to 38 percent encryption 

in November 2016, Cisco found 

50 percent encryption in October 

2017 – a 12 percent increase. According 

to the report, the year on 

Matrix rolls out wide range of pre-owned iPhones for sale 

Matrix certified pre-owned, 

pioneer of trade-in services 

in the Nigerian mobile industry 

has rolled out a wide 

range of pre-owned iPhones for sale at affordable 

prices, providing access to highend 

devices for millions of Nigerians who 

have previously been hampered by the 

considerably high cost of purchasing the 

brand-new models. 

Among the pre-owned devices that 

have already gone on sale across the 

country from Monday March 26th 2018, 

L-R: Olakunle Oloruntimehin, General Manager, Cisco Nigeria and English 

West Africa; Tomi Amao, Cisco Systems Engineer, Security, Nigeria and English 

West Africa; and Abdelaziz Saidu, Systems Engineering Lead, Cisco West 

Africa,sharing highlights on Cisco’s 2018 Annual Cybersecurity Report in Lagos 

on 28, March 2018. 

year increase in encryption – which 

is meant to enhance security has led 

to an increase in its use to conceal 

command-and-control activity, stating 

that almost 50 percent of security 

risks in organisations stem from having 

multiple security vendors and 

products. 

Speaking at the event, Olakunle 

Oloruntimilehin, General Manager 

of Cisco Nigeria, explained the need 

for businesses and enterprises to 

adopt advanced methods of cybersecurity. 

‘Security is getting more complex 

and the scope of breaches is expanding. 

Several companies are hit by cyber 

breaches and attacks every year 

causing losses in millions of naira 

and stealing highly classified information. 

It is therefore imperative 

that any organization that desires to 

stay safe and minimize risk or loss 

address cybersecurity at the top, 

with executive leadership setting the 

tone and engender a ‘security-firstalways-and-everywhere’ 

culture that 

flows throughout the organisation.’ 

The Cisco 2018 Security Capabilities 

Benchmark Study reveals that 94 

percent of companies in the Middle 

East and Africa suffered a breach in 

the past year and that 34 percent of 

breaches in resulted in more than 

half of systems being impacted. The 

study also indicated that nearly a 

quarter of organisations in the region 

manage more than 21 vendors and 

cite lack of security personnel as one 

of the biggest obstacles to security. 

are a range of Apple devices including 

iPhone 7+, iPhone 7, iPhone 6s+, iPhone 

6s, iPhone 6+ and iPhone 6, among others. 

The company also announced that 

the devices are available for purchase nationwide 

on its website, matrixpreowned. 

com and onsite at the Matrix store in computer 

village, Ikeja. 

The devices, which come with complimentary 

accessories and one-year 

warranty, are also available for purchase 

in select partner stores. Among the partner 

stores where the devices can be purchased 

are MTN, Yudala, 9Mobile, Konga, 

Harmony Real Plus Ltd at Ikeja City Mall, 

XRight and DAX. 

According to Dimeji Matesun, chief 

executive officer, Matrix Certified Pre- 

Owned, the company is in the forefront of 

expanding access to Nigerians and boosting 

the pace of smartphone penetration in 

the country. 

‘Today, many Nigerians can now afford 

to own an iPhone, courtesy of Matrix. 

This would probably be significantly more 

Corroborating the importance 

of robust cybersecurity practices, 

Amao said; ‘Cisco researchers observed 

a two-fold increase in malicious 

web traffic volume in roughly 

over 12-months. This alone demonstrates 

that cyber adversaries continue 

to learn and evolve. The time to 

raise the bar in cybersecurity is now. 

That is why at Cisco we take pride in 

being able to educate and provide 

businesses with the solutions and 

best practices required for effective 

cybersecurity. 

Our threat researchers have a 

reputation for timely, accurate and 

innovative work, and our network of 

talented teams are devoted to driving 

impactful outcomes for our customers,’ 

Amao said. 

Now in its eleventh year, the Cisco 

2018 Annual Cybersecurity Report 

offers security industry data, analysis 

and insights about attacker behavior 

over the past year. The report highlights 

findings and insights derived 

from threat intelligence and cybersecurity 

trends observed over the past 

12-18 months and provides recommendations 

designed to help organisations 

and users defend against 

attacks 

Cisco says it has an integrated and 

comprehensive portfolio of security 

technologies to provide advanced 

threat protection. Its technologies 

include next generation firewalls, 

intrusion prevention systems (IPS), 

secure access systems, security analytics, 

and malware defense; which 

work together to deliver effective 

network security and incident response. 

difficult if they had to put up the huge 

sums required to buy a new device. Matrix 

pre-owned devices are secure, genuine, 

affordable and come with one-year 

warranty with full technical and customer 

service support. 

‘Smartphone penetration in Nigeria is 

also bound to grow exponentially as a result 

of the value we are bringing on board. 

Through these quality pre-owned devices, 

millions of Nigerians caught in the feature 

phone segment will find a cost-effective 

way to upgrade to smartphones and this 

Some Uber features 

you didn’t know 

Use these Uber features to 

become an expert rider 

Multiple destinations 

Whether you’re heading out for 

a weekend away and want to 

grab your friend en route to the 

airport, or going home after dinner and 

need to drop off the party on the way, 

it’s easier than ever to pick up and drop 

off your friends while on a trip. Uber has 

introduced a feature that makes it easy 

for you to add multiple stops along your 

route, which means you no longer have 

to edit your destinations while on a trip. 

To access the feature, choose your 

adventure, tap the “+” next to the “Where 

To” destination box to add a stop(s) at 

any point before or during your trips. 

You can also add, change or remove 

the destination from the on trip screen 

accessible on the app. 

In-app support - access to 24/7 support 

all over the world. 

Did you know you can get a prompt 

response to your queries at the tip of 

your fingers? You have access to global 

network of support centres to provide 

24/7 support all over the world. 

Whether you are having a technical 

issue, you were charged an incorrect 

fee or left something in a vehicle, your 

issue can get resolved in the in-app help 

section, which can be accessed within 

your Uber app by tapping the menu icon 

(three bars) in the top left-hand corner of 

your app. You can then proceed to navigate 

and tap on the “help” icon, scroll 

down and report the issue at hand. 

Compliments - Make someone’s day 

at the tap of a button! 

You now have the opportunity to 

thank and recognise your drivers for the 

things they do to make your experience 

more memorable and fun. When you 

leave a compliment/say, for your driver 

expertly navigating winding city streets, 

or for simply striking up a great conversation/notification 

will show up on the 

driver’s home screen to let them know. 

in turn will have a positive multiplier effect 

on their lives and the digital economy 

as a whole,’ Matesun said. 

Matrix is also offering access to the 

pre-owned devices for Nigerians in all 

parts of the country, with negligible delivery 

costs expected to be borne by the 

customer. Further boosting the appeal 

of the Matrix pre-owned devices is the 

one-year warranty with full technical and 

customer service support on offer. The 

warranty period can also be extended at a 

cost, based on the customer’s preference.

26 

BUSINESS DAY 

BDTECH 

E-mail: jumoke.akiyode@businessdayonline.com 

Technology website to promote Nigerian 

content, targets youth segment 

JUMOKE AKIYODE LAWANSON 

In a bid to promote 

spoken words and 

indigenous content, 

Askifa.ng, a website 

created to promote 

technology cultures and 

socials has launched in 

Nigeria. 

This is as the website is 

targeting 60 to 70percent 

of the country’s population, 

consisting of the 

youths. 

This development is 

coming at a time when 

there is absence of websites 

that solely promote 

content and spoken words. 

Experts say this is a 

step in the right direction 

with efforts to consciously 

simplify technology terms 

and jargons through poetry 

and spoken words for 

the average man to understand. 

Speaking during the 

debut of the website and a 

maiden edition of spoken 

words hangout in Lagos, 

Charles Edosomwan, chief 

executive officer, Askifa. 

ng told BusinessDay that 

there is currently no Nigerian 

platform that does 

as much as four or five 

To realise its objective 

of capturing 

the international 

software markets 

in Europe and the USA, 

management of Precise 

Financial Systems [PFS] 

has engaged the services 

of Gartner Consulting as 

its global advisor, which 

would lead the company 

to fulfill its globalisation 

schema. 

The engagement which 

would be for two years empowers 

Gartner to review 

PFS software solutions including 

its flagship Clirec 

and iTeller in order to recognise 

the possible international 

markets where the 

products would be most 

needed and advise on appropriate 

market approach. 

A statement signed by 

Yele Okeremi, MD/CEO of 

PFS informed that as “global 

advisor to PFS”, Gartner 

would guide PFS on the 

strategy for effective globalisation 

as well as engage 

in “some hand-holding to 

ensure we get into some 

specific international mar- 

L-R: Mike Ogbalu; Divisional Chief Executive Officer, VERVE Intl, Tolu Agiri; Group Human Resources 

Officer, Interswitch Ltd, Agboola Sunday; President China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) 

ALUMNI (Nigeria Chapter), Thelma Opara; Head, Business Development, Sales and Marketing, CEIB 

(Africa) and Mitchell Elegbe; Group Managing Director, Interswitch Ltd., during the courtesy visit of the 

Nigeria Chapter of the CEIBS to Interswitch Ltd. In Lagos. 

million users, adding that 

the new website will address 

this gap and deliver 

content as easy as possible 

in a simple and relatable 

manner. 

‘The difference between 

a Nigerian platform 

and an international platform 

is the fact that when 

you read through, you discover 

that technology gets 

more complicated. There 

are a whole lot of technical 

jargons that comes in 

between the story. 

‘We are now looking 

at a way to simplify content 

as much as possible 

and make them more relatable. 

This is one of the 

reasons we are starting 

this platform. 

‘We have organised a 

monthly spoken words 

hangout to complement 

this. Spoken word is also 

one of the industries within 

Nigeria that is much neglected 

but it has a lot of 

potential. During the last 

Grammy award, there was 

a section for spoken word 

artist but we really do not 

infuse all of these into our 

everyday life and this is 

Indigenous software company engages global advisor to capture international markets 

kets. Gartner will do this for 

two years.” 

Okeremi added that 

Gartner would provide a 

fact-based consulting service 

for PFS to boost its 

business performance. According 

to him, Gartner’s 

expertise would help the 

international businesses to 

make the right decisions 

about adopting PFS software 

and align their IT initiatives 

with business objectives 

as well as connect 

with industry peers and 

best practices. 

Explaining how Gartner 

works, Okeremi said 

that Gartner has invested 

in research processes and 

proprietary methodologies 

that enable the firm 

to cut through information 

“overload, decipher multiple 

viewpoints and develop 

insights” that allow 

their clients to perceive the 

business landscape more 

clearly. 

“Gartner will give us the 

information we need, in the 

context necessary to make 

both large-scale and everyday 

decisions with confidence”, 

Okeremi said. 

Joseph banks, account 

manager, Africa, emerging 

and midsize technology 

providers at Gartner 

said, “As Precise embraces 

international markets, our 

research process embodies 

a way of thinking that 

turns complex information 

into insight, which Precise 

can use for its business 

advantage. Our underlying 

methodologies are a tested 

set of research practices, 

procedures and rules used 

to collect and analyse information. 

This is what Precise 

stands to benefit as we 

the reason why we want 

to deliver technology in a 

very subtle way and that’s 

what a platform like Spoken 

word stands for,” Edosomwan 

said. 

He assured that bringing 

poetry and spoken 

word to explain technology 

is a whole lot more fun 

and better. 

He further explained 

that ‘People can relate 

with all you are saying in 

technology without making 

it complicated. We are 

hoping to keep engaging 

the youths, industries in 

Nigeria and all other sections 

in Nigeria.’ 

The CEO said the website 

will be launched in 

Ghana, Rwanda and Kenya 

in six months. 

‘We realised that 

google has become an 

oracle and everyone uses 

it. But we want to have a 

technology platform that 

knows and communicates 

everything technology 

and that is the reason we 

have set up Askifa.ng. 60 

to 70 percent of Nigeria’s 

population fall under the 

youth segment and that is 

the segment we are targeting,’ 

Edosomwan said. 

work together to achieve 

the globalisation objective 

it has set”. 

With an unparalleled 

number of analysts worldwide, 

Gartner is able to 

study every aspect of technology, 

from silicon to services 

to management. Its 

size and scope combined 

with rigorous research 

processes make it a global 

leader in technology-related 

research and advice. 

Precise Financial Systems 

is a Nigerian software 

house with CMMI certified 

processes to develop 

and implement national 

and international projects. 

PFS currently have operations 

in 36 countries and 

had recently launched its 

mobile and remote capture 

cheque truncation 

solutions as new additions 

to its solution offerings of 

revenue collection system, 

multichannel automated 

payment system, thrift and 

loan solution for the cooperative 

societies and core 

accounting application 

among others. 


Inlaks 

commences 

second season 

of its ATM 

academy 

…Guarantees job 

opportunities for 

successful trainees 

Jumoke Akiyode- Lawanson 

In addressing unemployment 

and lack of adequate capacity 

and skills in Nigeria, Inlaks, a 

leading Information Technology 

(IT) systems integrator has announced 

the commencement 

of the second season of its ATM 

academy. 

The ATM academy is a corporate 

social responsibility (CSR) 

initiative of Inlaks, aimed at training 

Nigerian youths on automated 

teller machine (ATM) support services, 

technical support services, 

backend operations, customer 

service operations, spare parts 

and software installation. 

Explaining the rationale behind 

the establishment of Inlaks 

ATM Academy, Femi Adeoti, MD/ 

CEO Africa operations at Inlaks, 

said the company set out to address 

the increasing rate of unemployment 

and lack of the right skill 

set among the youths. 

‘The Inlaks ATM academy 

which is currently in its second 

season received over 500 applications 

from candidates within 

a two- week period in February 

during the call for entries stage. 

After the assessment stages, 30 

students were shortlisted to go 

into the three months’ academy 

that will include two months’ 

practical field experience,’ Adeoti 

explained. 

Tope Dare, director, infrastructure 

business unit, Inlaks, 

said the company decided to train 

people who were unemployed 

to fill the growing need to service 

and maintain their ATM install 

base which has grown to over 

5000 machines across Nigeria. 

The total ATM installed base is expected 

to top 6,000 before the end 

of 2018 and Inlaks is building and 

developing its workforce to meet 

its present and anticipated talent 

need. 

The academy is open to Ordinary 

National Diploma (OND) 

holders of engineering and physics 

from recognised higher institutions 

of learning in Nigeria. The 

fundamental of ATM technology 

will be treated during the classroom 

training session while field 

knowledge will be acquired during 

the real life practical session 

on field with customers. The successful 

trainees from the academy 

will be guaranteed job opportunities 

in various units in the company 

at the end of the academy. 

Over the years, Inlaks has partnered 

with leading original equipment 

manufacturers (OEMs) to 

provide world class information 

technology solutions and has 

built a reputation as the foremost 

ICT and infrastructure solutions 

provider, helping customers effectively 

seize new market and 

service opportunities.


27 

BUSINESS DAY 

Energy Report 

C002D5556 

Oil & Gas Power Renewables Environment 

NPA, NIMASA frustrating oil marketers on ease of importing fuel 

OLUSOLA BELLO 

Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu 

The Federal Government 

efforts at 

reducing the cost 

of importing fuel 

and allowing private 

sector participation in 

bringing the product into the 

country thereby mitigating 

against fuel scarcity is being 

frustrated by the Nigerian 

Port Authority and Nigerian 

Maritime Administration and 

Safety Agency (NIMASA), it 

has been alleged. 

Oil marketers, who made 

the allegation, explained that 

this is because the two agencies 

have decided to disobey 

a Presidential directive which 

asked them to reverse the 

U.S. Dollar denominated port 

charges to Naira fees. 

A letter written on January 

17, 2018 directing the two 

agencies on the matter and 

sited by an earlier report by 

BuasinessDay stated that approval 

has been granted for the 

U.S dollar denominated fees 

to be reversed to Naira for oil 

importers by the presidency. 

The letter which was signed 

by Abba Kyari, chief of staff at 

the Presidency stated, “kindly 

note that Mr. President has approved 

that NPA and NIMASA 

charges, relating to petroleum 

products importation currently 

paid in U.S dollars under the 

PPPRA price template should 

henceforth be paid in Naira. 

The letter was sent to Emmanuel 

Ibe Kachikwu , minister 

of state for petroleum and 

copied the Group Managing 

Director of the NNPC and 

executive secretary of the 

PPPPRA . 

The PPPRA which was 

Rotimi Amaechi 

said to have notified the oil 

companies of the presidential 

approval told them to get 

back to it in case they have 

any difficulty with the two 

agencies. 

The two agencies it was 

learnt have refused to carry 

out the directive stating that 

their parent ministry which is 

the Ministry of Transport has 

not told them to do so. 

The Petroleum Product 

Pricing Regulatory Agency 

(PPPRA ) which notified the 

oil companies of the presidential 

approval had told 

the companies to get back to 

it in case they encountered 

any challenges with the two 

agencies. 

“This is to bring to the 

attentions of oil importers of 

the presidential approval that 

NPA and NIMASA charges 

relating to petroleum products 

import under the PPPRA 

, pricing Template should 

henceforth be paid in Naira, 

as against the current practice 

of paying in U.S Dollars,” a 

source from PPPRA stated. 

This was fall out of a report 

the presidential committee 

on petroleum products supply 

and distribution, primarily 

set up to address recent 

petroleum product scarcity, 

especially Premium Motor 

Spirit or petrol in the country. 

Several attempt to find out 

what PPPRA is doing where 

not successful as phone calls 

to some of its officials did 

not go through. While Isichei 

Osamgbi who is the spokes 

persons for MIMASA sent a 

text that he would get back to 

me but he never did. It was the 

same situation with Abdullahi 

Goge, the general manager, 

Communication, NPA. 

Local content, solution to 

unemployment in Nigeria 

The adoption and implementation 

Local 

Content policies in 

key sectors of the Nigerian 

economy will address 

the high unemployment rate 

in Nigeria, Simbi Wabote, the 

executive secretary, Nigerian 

Content Development and 

Monitoring Board (NCDMB), 

has said. 

He made this assertion in 

Port Harcourt, Rivers State 

at an event organized by the 

Institute of Directors (IoD), 

Nigeria, where he made a 

presentation as the Guest 

Speaker. 

In his presentation titled, 

“Addressing Unemployment: 

Local Content Option”, 

Wabote regretted that 

for many years, until lately, 

Nigeria had regarded crude 

oil as a commodity, instead 

of a resource - a situation 

which resulted in the loss of 

all in-country value adding 

activities and opportunity to 

capture the full benefits of 

the derivatives of crude oil. 

He noted that the enactment 

of Local Content Law in the 

oil and gas industryand its 

implementation has become 

a game changer, helping 

Nigeria to claw back work, 

services and spend which 

used to leave the country to 

other parts of the world. He 

reiterated that the essence of 

local content policy is “domiciliation 

and domestication”. 

Stating that the oil and 

gas sector is not a huge employer 

of labour, compared 

to Agriculture, the Executive 

Secretary commended the 

current emphasis on Agriculture 

and diversification 

by the Federal Government 

of President Muhammad 

Buhari. He also lauded the 

Federal Government’s reinforcement 

of the Local 

Content Policy through the 

issuance of Executive Order 

5, designed to boost local 

content practice in other 

critical sectors of the economy. 

He argued that with the 

huge unemployment figure 

of about 16 million from the 

Bureau of Statistics(NBS), 

a staggering number equal 

to the total population of 

three West African countries 

of Sierra Leone, Togo and 

Liberia, Nigeria needs to extend 

Local Content practice 

to other critical sectors like 

Agriculture, ICT, Construction, 

Power and Manufacturing 

in order to tackle the 

scourge of unemployment 

in the country. Wabote alsoargued 

that for Nigeria to 

derive full benefits from Agriculture, 

it must look at the 

various derivatives across 

Agricultural supply chain as 

to create jobs and boost the 

economy. He cautioned, “we 

must not repeat the mistake 

of ‘commodity trading’ with 

agriculture”. 

NNPC boss to declare open Nigerian pavilion at OTC 

Maikanti Baru, 

group managing 

director of 

the Nigerian 

National Petroleum Corporation 

NNPC will formally 

declare open the Nigerian 

Pavilion at Reliant Centre 

on Monday 30th of April, 

during this year’s Offshore 

Technology Conference and 

Exhibition taking place in 

Houston Texas, United States 

of America. 

This would be followed on 

Power generation situation last week 

Source: Power Advisary Team 

Tuesday with discussions on 

important and topical issues 

impacting Nigerian local 

industry by seasoned oil and 

gas administrators, legislators 

and policy makers. 

About 2,500 professionals 

and industry leaders from 

Nigeria and beyond her shore 

will attend this year’s event. 

The event which is being 

coordinated by Petroleum 

Technology Association of 

Nigeria (PETAN) will provide 

a unique platform for close 

interactions with leading 

international oil majors and 

Nigerian oil service companies, 

indigenous oil companies, 

industry executives, 

government policy makers 

and political leaders, to 

share ideas on improving the 

Nigerian oil industry. 

According to Ranti Omole, 

the association’s Publicity 

Secretary in a statement said 

that the event which is the 

premier gathering of professionals 

and opinion leaders 

in the global oil and gas industry, 

will provides excellent 

opportunities for positive 

portrayal and promotion of 

the great potentials of Nigeria 

and the Nigerian oil and gas 

industry 

PETAN member companies 

and many other indigenous 

oil service companies 

will be part of a robust 

contingent, to showcase 

the dynamism and potentials 

of Nigeria’s Petroleum 

Industry. 

Olusola Bello, Team lead, Analysts: Kelechi Ewuzie, Isaac Anyaogu, Graphics: Joel Samson. Email: energyreport@businessdayonline.com, Tel: +234-8023020011; +234-7037817378; +234-8036534708



C002D5556 

Energy Report 

Lack of sovereign guarantees threaten longer 

term investments in Nigeria’s oil/gas sector 


Absence of Sovereign 

guarantees 

by the 

Federal Government 

has 

been identified as the major 

reason investors shy 

away from investing longer 

term in Nigeria’s oil and gas 

industry. 

Industry stakeholders in 

the oil and gas sector observe 

that most successful 

financing of critical infrastructure 

especially in the 

oil and gas sector must be 

backed up by full government 

guarantee for it to be 

sustaining. 

Tariye Gbadegesin, 

Head Heavy Ind. & Telcoms, 

African Finance 

Corporation said duration 

of licensing is one of the 

challenges investors have 

in Nigeria in financing long 

term projects. 

Gbadegesin in her presentation 

at the centre for 

petroleum information 

Energy Finance Group programme 

in Lagos observes 

that it is practically impossible 

to finance an Independent 

Power Project in 

Nigeria for 15 years. 

According to her, “The 

longer the licensing or 

contracting framework for 

projects in Nigeria, the 

more ultimately limiting 

the finances”. 

Presenting a paper titled 

AFC and long-tenured finance 

deals: The difference 

made, Gbadegesin said 

a lot of AFC investment 

is actually in oil and gas, 

power sector. 

“We supported several 

divestment projects, several 

power privatisation 

projects, but we major in 

the oil and gas sector”, she 

said. 

She advocated for key 

developmental sectors in 

Nigeria to come together 

even from a private perspective 

to argue about the 

need for a longer licensing 

regime as being their first 

step towards attracting long 

term partners. 

To her in treating sole 

risk owners, it is important 

to point out that the pricing, 

financing and management 

there was actually a lot of 

value that collaboration 

along the way to execution 

of the projects. 

Afolabi Oladele, Director, 

African Capital Alliance 

opines that despite the challenges 

in the Nigerian oil 

and gas industry, opportunities 

exist to back indigenous 

players focused on a 

rich set of upstream assets. 

In his presentation titled 

Recovery in oil prices presents 

positive outlook, Oladele 

however said Nigeria 

continues to present a rich 

set of lower-risk upstream 

assets each with 20 to 250 

million barrels recoverable. 

Victor Eromosele, CEO, 

M E Consulting Limited in 

his paper on Energy industry 

changes and financing 

evolution opines that not 

only has Nigeria’s external 

reserves crossed $46bn – 

highest level in 4.5 years 

– investors are back, but 

to a more cost-conscious 

industry. 

Eromosele said the good 

side of the oil and gas industry 

downturn, is that creativity 

is back on the cards with 

‘unusual’ parties now sitting 

round the financing table to 

map out financing strategies 

that can work. 

Discussing on the approach 

for Finance solution 

matrix, he listed credit 

quality as often a function 

of the stage of the project. 

According to him, “Lower 

and medium risk tends 

to be more bankable; Exploration 

and appraisal 

attract sponsor loan and 

equity; Development attracts 

private placement 

and convertible bonds and 

DFIs (like EBRD) have appetite 

from exploration to 

production”.


C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

29 

In association with 

Rising manufacturing PMI signposts 

opportunities for investors in industrial space 

CHUKA UROKO 

The rise in the 

manufacturing 

sector’s purchasing 

managers index 

(PMI) to 56.7 

percent in March, up from 

53.3 percent in February 

2018, sends strong signal to 

investors that opportunities 

exist in industrial space 

supply as manufacturers are 

expanding production and 

needing more factories and 

warehouses. 

Nigeria’s PMI is an indicator 

of the economic health 

of the manufacturing sector 

based on new orders, 

inventory levels, production, 

supplier deliveries and 

employment. In the last 2 

to 3 quarters, the PMI has 

shown a steady and rising 

trend. In the last 12 months, 

it has risen by almost 10 basis 

points from 47.7 percent in 

March 2017 to 56.7 percent 

in March 2018 

This may not be surprising 

as, according to Tayo 

Odunsi, CEO, Northcourt 

Real Estate, as manufacturing 

has enjoyed significant 

private and government 

intervention and patronage 

since the decision by 

the federal government to 

diversify from being a monoeconomy 

was reached at the 

turn of the recession. 

Northcourt in a 2018 real 

estate outlook notes that with 

international firms preferring 

to build their own factories 

and warehousing to 

specification, the demand 

for commercially available 

industrial space remained 

mostly from local firms, 

adding that more demand 

is expected over the next 

12 – 18 months as industrial 

space requests was high in 

Q4 2017 due to increased 

economic activity occasioned 

by relatively easier 

access to foreign exchange. 

“Demand for consumer 

goods is also growing as 

purchasing power improves. 

The recovery of oil prices 

and the consequent growth 

in demand for allied services 

has also fuelled the need for 

warehouse space”, Odunsi 

posited, adding, “Ikeja with 

its access to major nodes 

in Lagos currently ranks 

the most active market for 

industrial space as areas 

originally used for manufacturing 

are being converted 

to warehousing use”. 

For investors wishing to 

push money to this segment 

of the real estate market, the 

next most demanded area 

for space is the Isolo Industrial 

area where mostly 

smaller spaces are leased. 

Private firms with many 

employees are increasingly 

converting warehouses to 

office use to avoid the cost 

of conventional office space. 

Some investors are already 

taking position as a 

consortium of industrialists 

has so far made investments 

in excess of $150 million 

towards the development 

of four factories in the Lekki 

free trade zone. These 

include TG Arla, Palm Oil 

Refinery, Kellogg’s and Insignia 

Technology Prints. 

Odunsi recalls that Kellogg’s 

10,000 metric tons per 

year cereal factory was commissioned 

on December 

1, 2017. AB InBev outlined 

plans for a new brewery 

to cost an estimated $250 

million, its largest portfolio 

investment outside South 

Africa and also plans to 

list on the Nigerian Stock 

Exchange. 

Though this segment is 

struggling at the moment, 

close market watchers see 

hope in the immediate 

to the short term. But not 

without threats which the 

International Real Estate 

Partners (IREP) in its recent 

report listed as foreign 

exchange, import policies, 

poor electricity supply and 

inadequate transportation. 

In spite these, the report 

anticipates that as more 

facilities seek alternatives 

to help improve production, 

this in turn should boost 

the demand and supply of 

warehouse rentals which, 

denominated in Naira per 

square foot, have remained 

stable. 

Erjeuwa Gbadebo, the 

company’s CEO, added, 

“as the retail and industrial 

markets are closely linked, 

we expect that the anticipated 

growth in retail will cause 

a corresponding increase in 

industrial real estate”. 

Infrastructure is a major 

growth driver and the improvement 

in the manufacturing 

sector was boosted 

significantly by the improvement 

in infrastructure 

development at both state 

and federal government 

levels. 

2017 saw the revitalization, 

commencement and 

continuation of a few infrastructure 

projects. Odunsi 

pointed out that many of 

these projects are critical 

not only to opening up new 

real estate hot spots, but 

also driving key economic 

investments in the country 

as a whole. 

The Federal Government 

partnered with the Nigeria 

Liquefied Natural Gas 

(NLNG) and Julius Berger 

to resume works on the 

34km Bonny – Bodo road 

construction. The ₦120.6 

billion project would be 

a landmark achievement 

seeing that it had been in 

the coolers for about 40 

years. Both parties would 

be sharing the construction 

costs 50-50. 

Lagos state completed 

the Ajah and the Abule- 

Egba bridges in less than 

two years. At 620 metres and 

1.3 kilometres long respectively, 

both projects were 

partly funded by a ₦85.1billion 

series 2 bond issuance. 

The 1,100 kilometre 

Standard Gauge Rail 

(SGR) will go a long way 

in increasing the current 

national capacity of 15,000 

metric tonnes per year. The 

Federal Government again 

signed up the China Civil 

Engineering Construction 

Company (CCECC () to build 

the four-dam, $5.79 billion 

Mambilla hydroelectric 

power project expected to 

take 72 months to complete. 

Other pipeline infrastructure 

projects expected 

to have far reaching impact 

on the economy and standard 

of living include the 35 

kilometre Apapa-Oshodi Expressway 

reconstruction and 

the Lagos-Ibadan standard 

rail project. 

Infrastructure 

Maintenance 

With 

TUNDE OBILEYE 

Weather conditions as 

consideration in FM 

The weather condition 

of an area generally has 

direct effect on activities 

as well as human behavior 

and most times, finance. 

Taking into account the 

climate means careful planning 

is inevitable if facilities 

managers are to ensure their 

tasks are well executed with 

little or no hitches. We cannot 

change the weather but 

we can control what we do 

and that’s when good planning 

comes into play. 

Facilities managers are 

responsible for ensuring 

that facilities under their 

care are in a good state at all 

times regardless of changes 

in their circumstances, the 

economy, or weather. 

As the planet warms, other 

forms of extreme weather, 

including heat waves, heavy 

downpours, and floods, are 

also expected to increase in 

frequency and intensity. 

Extreme weather can cost 

facilities managers a hefty 

sum. In the US, Hurricane 

Sandy alone inflicted $33 

billion in property damage. 

As a result, property managers 

and building owners are 

waking up, having realized 

that factoring climate change 

mitigation and adaptation 

into new construction and 

renovation projects is no 

longer “nice to have,” but an 

operational imperative. 

When taking up a facility, 

the weather changes 

associated with that location 

should be considered. 

For instance, we have two 

main climate seasons in 

Nigeria—dry season and wet 

season—and the harmattan 

period which forms part of 

the dry season, accompanied 

by heavy form of dust 

and extreme dryness. Not 

planning well enough can 

lead to avoidable extra cost 

and hassles between clients 

and facilities managers. 

The dry season is usually 

associated with heat, 

low rainfall and sometimes 

extreme dust. Things to consider 

are: 

1. Ensure the air conditioning 

systems are fully 

serviced- this happens to be 

one of the most important as 

people tend to need a cooler 

environment to survive this 

season 

2.Ensure the cleaning 

personnel are on point with 

their cleaning task; that 

every spot is wiped in the 

morning and before close of 

the day. Accumulated dust is 

worse to take off. 

3.Ensure plumbing systems 

are checked in readiness 

for the rainy season. 

4.Roofs should also be 

checked for holes to avoid 

water leakages during the 

wet season. 

5. Paint work and renovation 

can be done. It is easier 

to carry out renovations during 

the dry season as there is 

no form of disruption. 

The raining season is usually 

associated with heavy 

rainfall, cold, mud and at 

extreme times, flood. Things 

to consider are: 

1. Purchase of more 

cleaning products due to 

the rain and the mess it can 

cause. People get to bring in 

their muddy shoes into the 

building leading to dirty foot 

marks on the flooring. The 

cleaning team will likely use 

more floor cleaning products 

at times; and the cost 

should have been factored 

into the budget. 

2.Unclog gutters: Flooding 

is a high risk associated 

with the rainy season and 

this is usually fostered by 

lack of a proper drainage 

system or clogged gutters. 

Before the rain season starts 

with full force, inspect the 

gutters to make sure they 

can drain properly and that 

they do not cause water to 

back up. Also ensure they are 

constantly cleaned. 

3.Fumigation: This is really 

important as insects 

including mosquitoes breed 

well during this season. 

Obileye is a UK-trained lawyer and CEO, 

Great Heights Property and Facilities 

Management Limited 

Email: 

Tundeobileye@greatheightslimited.com



Opportunities, benefits of investing 

in post recession real estate market 

Stories by CHUKA UROKO 

The Nigerian economy 

is in gradual recovery 

after recession, but 

not with real estate. 

The market is still 

slowing and so, offers opportunity 

for investors who are 

ready to visit the market and are 

ready to make investment in the 

expectation that the market will 

always turn the corner. 

Savvy investors understand 

that real opportunities are to be 

found in slow and early stage 

of recovering markets which is 

why, at the moment, there is an 

increase in investors specifically 

looking for ‘discounted properties’. 

Fine and Country, one 

of Nigeria’s leading property 

marketing and leasing agents, 

reveals that such properties 

could be found in the prime 

residential market in Ikoyi and 

Victoria Island where many sellers 

are getting more realistic. 

The company says there are 

benefits of buying discounted 

prime properties, especially for 

their capital growth. Appreciation 

tends to happen faster and 

at a higher margin in prime 

real estate, especially when one 

buys at a discount. 

Buying during a recovery 

economy essentially guarantees 

good capital growth if done 

right. An investor could buy as 

an owner occupier, therefore 

having a great asset and collateral 

if needed in future. 

Alternatively, he could invest 

as a buy-to-let investor. Many 

multinational corporations 

Despite its imperfections Land Use Act has some good sides, experts insist 

Despite the imperfections 

that define the provisions 

and operations of the Land 

Use Act, some built environment 

experts insist that the Act has its 

good sides that have helped to 

ease land administration. 

Land Use Act was enacted 40 

years ago as an alternative to the 

native land tenure system which 

inhibited effective use of land for 

real estate, agricultural, industrial 

and infrastructure development. 

It is an Act that vests all land 

compromised in the territory of 

each state (except land vested 

in the federal government or its 

and top executives who make 

up the bulk of tenants in this 

space continue to require good 

quality rental properties but 

their budgets have largely been 

adjusted downwards. 

So, by buying at a discount, 

the investor can attract them 

with a good market related rental 

value unlike those investors 

who over capitalised and have a 

tough time adjusting to reality. 

It is therefore advised that buyers 

always do the mathematics 

to see that the numbers stack 

up and there’s a real discount 

and upside. 

At a time like this, buyers 

should also look out for motivated 

sellers who want to move 

their property stock because of 

high-interest rates, high stock 

levels and slow sales. Returns 

on such investment are always 

astonishing. 

There are also opportunities 

for buying off investors 

who bought at the early stage 

of an off-plan project and who 

may no longer be in a position 

to complete due to change in 

financial or other personal circumstances. 

Alternatively, if investment 

has already be made and the 

investor has holding power and 

perhaps an ability to buy more, 

this might be the time to ask his 

broker for more opportunities. 

Instances of such purchases 

abound. 

Recently, 4000 square metres 

property in a choice location 

in Ikoyi worth almost N1.2 billion 

was sold for approximately 

35 percent of the value. It was 

sold within 24 hours. It was an 

incredible opportunity offered 

by an extremely motivated seller 

with many issues to grapple 

with. 

Real estate is always seen as 

a safe hedge and store of value 

against inflation and so for investors 

with mid to long term 

funds, investing in real estate 

is a great bet and a good protection 

against inflation. With 

the equities and bond market 

going through a bullish season, 

and inflation still at double 

digit although slowing, long 

term funds are better invested 

in real estate which is fairly illiquid 

but generally offers solid 

and less volatile appreciation 

along with good cash flow if it’s 

a rental property. Land banking 

is known to deliver superior 

returns especially if within a 

serviced and gated residential 

scheme. 

agencies) solely in the governor 

of the state who would hold such 

land in trust for the people and 

would henceforth be responsible 

for allocation of land in all urban 

areas to individuals resident in the 

state and to organisations for residential, 

agricultural, commercial 

and other purposes 

Section 26 of the Act states that 

any transaction in land which purports 

to confer on, or vest in any 

persons, any right or interest over 

land other than as stated in the 

Act, shall be ‘null and void. 

MKO Balogun, GMD/CEO at 

Global Property & Facilities International 

Limited, points out that 

in Part V, ’ the Act empowers the 

governor to revoke rights of occupancy 

for reasons of overriding 

public interest such as alienation 

of the land by the occupier without 

due approval, requirement of 

the land by federal, state or local 

government for public purposes. 

Quoting Samod Biobaku in 

his writing on Private Property of 

January 30, 2017, Balogun notes 

that one of the biggest problems 

around the Act is the process of 

acquiring the Certificate of Occupancy 

(C of O) from the state 

governor, pointing out that, as a 

result of the sensitivity of the document, 

it has given birth to highlevel 

corruption in the ministry 

that processes the C of O; in other 

words, the process has suffered 

political and social abuses over 

the years. 

Chudi Ubosi, an Principal 

Partner at Ubosi Eleh+ Co, takes it 

beyond this, referring to the World 

Bank’s Ease of Doing Business 

2017, which says that, as a result of 

the provisions of the Act, property 

registration in Nigeria takes an 

average of 77 days to achieve as 

against 59.7 days in sub-Saharan 

Africa and 22.4 days in high income 

Organization for Economic 

Cooperation and Development 

(OECD) countries. 

“Registering properties in sub- 

Saharan Africa in general and 

Nigeria in particular is evidently 

tough as demonstrated by the 

report”, he said, adding, “at an 

average of 10.10 percent, Nigeria is 

among sub-Saharan Africa countries 

with the highest cost of registration 

as a percentage of property 

value; the average in sub-Saharan 

Africa is 8.00 percent and 4.20 

percent in the OECD countries”. 

These notwithstanding, Balogun 

insist the Act has some 

advantages that have aided land 

development. He listed some 

of the advantages as increased 

opportunity for land ownership 

by more people, leading to rapid 

urbanisation of the country; opportunity 

for foreign investment in 

real estate; open land transaction 

and development for the good of 

the people. 

From a different but related 

perspective, Olufemi Babalola, 

Vice Chairman, Gravitas Investment 

Limited, says there is nothing 

wrong with the Act, but its 

operators, insisting that the call for 

its abrogation is baseless. 

Events Diary 

Oak Homes goes 

to London, holds 

road-show 

In the next four days, Diaspora 

Nigerians will be hosting Oak 

Homes, a foremost real estate 

firm playing at the luxury end of the 

property market in Nigeria, which will 

be showcasing its luxury offerings at a 

road-show in London. 

This, according to the officials 

of the company, will be providing 

Nigerians resident in the Queen’s city 

the opportunity to own homes in the 

highbrow Ikoyi and Victory Island 

areas of Lagos without the cost and 

stress of coming home to do all the 

transactions. 

“Whatever comfort these our 

brothers and sisters are enjoying 

outside the country, they still need to 

have presence at home. But there has 

always been this challenge of trust. 

Many of them have had their fingers 

burnt by uncles, aunties, brothers or 

sisters who have collected money for 

them to either build or buy houses for 

them but never did”, noted Olukayode 

Olusanya, the Oak Homes CEO. 

“What we are planning to do is 

to bridge that trust gap because, as a 

company, we have all it takes to do 

that. We have track record; we have 

done it before; we have history of 

delivering on promise and, again, 

you can put a face to our offerings”, 

Olusanya assured. 

He explained that what they offered 

was not only luxury but quality 

products that were affordable, pointing 

out that “luxury is not managed, 

but expressed, and given the segment 

of the market in which we play, you 

cannot risk a short cut because the 

clients/buyers are well informed, well 

travelled and definitely have a minimum 

expectation of luxury living”. 

Expected at the London roadshow 

will be an array of breathtaking 

visuals of luxury apartments 

under the company’s portfolio and a 

line-up of activities. It also anticipates 

top-class Nigerian artists and comedians 

one of whom will be anchoring 

the event. 

Apart from showcasing its luxury 

offerings, the company will also be 

using the London event to build followership 

and grow its clientele-base 

which, ultimately, would increase its 

share of the market. 

BKG Real Estate 

Expo up in June 

A 

real estate expo is up and 

coming in by the middle of 

this year and it will be organized 

by BKG Exhibitions Limited. It 

is a building and construction event 

that will be holding on June 26-28, 

2018 at the EKO Hotel & Suites, 

Victoria Island, Lagos Nigeria. 

The organizers assure that the 

event will bring together professionals, 

investors, building and 

construction companies, real estate 

firms, land surveyors, among others 

to the three-day event. 

According to them, the event will 

feature lots of exciting programmes, 

from exhibition to conference, 

workshops and seminars, and 

will provide both the participants 

and the visitors with a wonderful 

platform to both exhibit and meet 

industries and companies in the 

real estate sector respectively.


C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

31 

FEATURE 

Reducing mother/child mortality 

– the MTNF-Cross River way 

As corporates engage in initiatives to give back to their immediate operating environment, MTN Foundation, in 

collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and the Cross River State government, has taken its YellowHeart 

Initiative geared towards reducing mother/child mortality rate in Nigeria to Cross River State. 

Mike Abang writes that the step in reducing death of women during pregnancy and other health-related issues 

through panel discussion was rounded off by ‘Walk for Life’ road show at the popular Millennium Park through 

Whatt Market in Calabar to sensitise pregnant women on the need to attend antenatal and not resort to self-help. 

We are here to 

reduce the statistics 

that have 

it that Nigeria 

is the second 

country with the highest number 

of mother/child mortality rate in 

the world. 

This was the statement of 

Nonny Ugboma, executive secretary 

of MTN Foundation (MTNF), 

as she welcomes the gathering 

of mothers, pregnant women, 

nursing mothers and state health 

officials and government officials 

present as the Foundation takes 

its MTNF YellowHeart Initiative 

child/mother care to Cross River 

State. 

Worldwide, nearly 6.6 million 

under-five children die yearly, 

translating to about 18,000 

under-five deaths every day. 

About 50 percent of under-five 

child deaths occur in only five 

countries of the world - India, 

Nigeria, Democratic Republic of 

the Congo, Pakistan, and China. 

Two of these countries, India 

and Nigeria, account for more 

than one-third of global underfive 

mortality, contributing 22 

percent and 13 percent, respectively. 

Furthermore, sub-Saharan 

Africa (SSA) and Southern Asia 

countries are witnessing an increase 

in under-five mortality 

despite a drop from 32 percent 

in 1990 to 18 percent in 2012 in 

the rest of the world. SSA records 

the highest rates of under-five 

child mortality in the world, 98 

deaths per 1,000 live births. This 

figure is 15 times the average for 

developed countries. 

These 2016 statistics are according 

to a study by Aniekan 

Jumbo Etokidem and Ofonime 

Johnson, Department of Community 

Medicine, University of 

Calabar, Cross River State, and 

Department of Community Medicine, 

University of Uyo, Akwa 

Ibom State, respectively. 

“Apart from this being the 

Foundation’ Corporate Social 

Responsibility (CSR) initiative, 

the goal of the Foundation is to 

reduce these statistics to the barest 

minimum, and this has led the 

Foundation to renovate health 

centres and facilities across the 

A panel of discussion at the MTNF YellowHeart Initiative in Calabar, the Cross River State capital. 

state,” she said while telling the 

gathering why MTNF was in the 

state at this point in time. 

Declaring the awareness campaign 

open, Governor Ben Ayade 

of Cross River State pledged his 

administration’s support to the 

YellowHeart initiative in order 

to improve the health of the 

state, especially maternal/child 

healthcare programme aimed at 

reducing the high rate of mortality 

in the state. 

Ayade, who was represented 

by the secretary to the state 

government, Tina Banku Agbor, 

expressed appreciation to MTNF 

for the initiative and the many 

projects being carried out by 

it in the state, especially in the 

health sector as well as partnering 

the state to improve the lives of 

women and children, saying the 

state was indeed glad to partner 

the Foundation. 

According to the governor, 

when he assumed office he saw 

the maternal/child mortality 

indices in the state discouraging, 

and he quickly swung into 

action to help reduce the rate, 

as well as ensure the state has 

efficient, qualitative, affordable 

and accessible health services by 

appointing a young and dynamic 

Since pregnancy 

is not a disease 

neither is it bad, 

it therefore 

bleeds my heart 

when you see a 

pregnant woman 

dies 

commissioner for health. 

However, on her part, Inyang 

Asibong, the state commissioner 

for health, said MTNF was partnering 

the state “to make sure no 

woman dies during child birth, 

as the state remains the least in 

mother/child mortality rate in 

Nigeria,” and used the opportunity 

to invite the gathering to participate 

on “Walk for Life,” which 

took place on Saturday, March 17. 

She told the gathering that 

the Governor’s drive pushed her 

ministry to establish the CRS Primary 

Health Care Development 

Agency with the appointment of 

Betta Edu as the director–general, 

to help strengthen the state’s primary 

health system. 

To Asibong, there is a reduction 

in the maternal and child 

mortality rate from 1,500 to 576 

in Cross River, which is about the 

national average. 

She disclosed that in a survey 

conducted by UNICEF, Cross 

River had the highest child survival 

indices in Nigeria, which 

was immediately followed by the 

conferment of National Child 

Survival Ambassador on Linda 

Ayade by the UNICEF. 

“Coincidentally, we are also 

the only state in the South-South 

region that won the bidding rights 

by the MTN Foundation Support 

Project for the renovation of the 

Postnatal Ward of General Hospital, 

Calabar. This shows that the 

state is actively contributing to 

significantly reducing the maternal 

mortality indices in Nigeria. 

“Nonetheless, we cannot succeed 

in this fight alone without the 

support of well-meaning private 

and non-profit sector players 

such as MTN Foundation,” she 

said. 

Meanwhile, on hand to give 

credence to the event was the wife 

of the governor, Linda Ayade, who 

said she was glad to be part of the 

Foundation Yellow Heart Forum. 

She therefore commended 

them for giving back to the communities, 

particularly in the area 

of health, adding that many families 

were enjoying the facilities 

provided by the Foundation at the 

General Hospital, Calabar, which 

include the donation of a Yellow 

Doctor Mobile Clinic, donation 

and furnishing of a Haemodialysis 

Centre and the renovation of 

the Postnatal Ward, congratulating 

MTNF for being a responsible 

organisation. 

Nonetheless, she lamented the 

situation where many children 

die from preventable causes related 

to pregnancy on daily basis in 

Nigeria, and therefore expressed 

appreciation to the Foundation 

for contributing towards the 

health of women and children 

in Nigeria and Cross River State 

in particular, while encouraging 

them to do even more. 

“The private medical practitioners 

in Cross River State take care 

of 70 percent of the population, 

and 30 percent go to government 

hospital. Since pregnancy is not a 

disease neither is it bad, it therefore 

bleeds my heart when you 

see a pregnant woman dies. From 

the state medical record in the 

Cross River State Teaching Hospital, 

only 30 percent of pregnant 

women register for antenatal care 

facilities in the state,” according 

to a private medical practitioner 

who was part of the panel of discussion. 

This is the trend the MTNF 

sets out to change, hence it presence 

in the state at this point in 

time, Dennis Okoro, director, 

MTNF stated, noting that “MTN 

sees CSR as a good thing and 

has therefore created a separate 

board dedicated to monitor 

the activities of the Foundation 

launched in 2007.” 

The event was graced by members 

of the State House of Assembly, 

State Executive Council, 

management and staff of MTNF, 

stakeholders in the health sector, 

women groups, royal fathers, 

among others.

32 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556 Tuesday 03 April 2018 

Harvard 

Business 

Review 

Tips 

& 

Talking Points 

TALKING POINTS 

Disloyal Consumers 

71%: About 71% of consumers say that 

companies’ loyalty programs don’t make 

them loyal at all, according to research 

from Kantar Retail. 

+ 

Sharing Health Data 

88%: According to data from Accenture, 

about 88% of consumers are willing to 

share data from their wearable devices 

with health care professionals like doctors 

and nurses. 

+ 

Not Satisfied With Performance 

Reviews 

66%: The Corporate Executive Board did 

a survey of Fortune 1,000 companies and 

found that 66% of employees were dissatisfied 

with the performance reviews 

they got at work. 

+ 

Liberal Boost 

5-6%: Researchers from the London 

Business School and the Georgia Institute 

of Technology found that American 

states that implemented socially liberal 

policies — like approval of gay marriage 

or marijuana use — increased innovation 

output by 5-6%. 

+ 

Almost Universal Ban on Supervisor-Employee 

Relationships 

99%: In a Society of Human Resources 

Management survey of professional HR 

executives at companies with policies on 

workplace relationships, 99% said that 

their companies banned supervisors 

from dating employees. 

Create positive workplace policies, not punitive ones 

Too many workplace policies emphasize 

what employees shouldn’t do. But overly paternal 

and punitive rules don’t communicate 

that you have confidence in your people and 

trust them to behave as adults. When drafting 

personnel policies, focus on conveying 

the company’s positive expectations of its 

employees. In your policy about when the 

workday starts, for example, state that you 

expect employees to show up on time — 

don’t go into detail about what “tardy” and 

“absent” mean. If your organization has a 

dress code, keep it as simple as you can — “Dress 

appropriately,” perhaps — and leave managers to 

provide more guidance to those who need it. And a 

code of conduct doesn’t have to get complicated — a 

good starting point is “Everyone is expected to act in 

the best interest of the organization and their fellow 

employees.” Stress to your employees what you want 

them to aspire to, not what will happen if they fail. 

(Adapted from “The High Price of Overly Prescriptive 

HR Policies,” by Sue Bingham.) 

When no one highlights 

your contributions, 

o it yourself 

It’s no fun to toil away at a job 

where you feel taken for granted. 

But don’t sit around waiting for 

people to notice your or your 

team’s good work. Find ways to 

highlight your contributions. 

For example, ask your boss if 

you can talk about your team’s 

responsibilities in an all-staff 

meeting. Tell the other departments 

what your team does, 

what its goals are, and how it’s 

striving to do better. You can also 

tout your accomplishments in 

smaller meetings or in one-onones 

with your boss. While you 

should be generous with praise 

for your team members, it’s OK 

to be honest about your personal 

achievements: “I accomplished 

X and Y, and I am grateful for 

the support that I had.” When 

you appreciate and acknowledge 

your colleagues’ work, they’ll 

usually return the favor. 

(Adapted from “What to Do 

When You Don’t Feel Valued 

at Work,” by Rebecca Knight.) 

If you’re 0verqualified for a job you 

want, explain why you want it 

It might seem easy 

to get a job for 

which you have all 

the right credentials, 

but many managers 

hesitate to hire someone 

who seems too 

good for the role. So 

go out of your way to 

counter any assumptions 

the hiring manager 

may have. 

— For example, they might 

think that you’ll be too expensive, 

so you could say up 

front, “I’m open to talking 

about salary and willing to 

work within the pay range 

for this position.” 

— The manager could also be 

worried that you won’t stay 

in the position long. Address 

this concern by expressing 

your excitement about the 

company and pointing out 

your previous long-term 

experiences as examples of 

your commitment and loyalty. 

— And some hiring managers 

may worry that you have 

a flaw that isn’t obvious (why 

else would you take a job 

beneath you?). Assuage their 

fear by asking a reference 

— such as a former boss or 

someone already in the company 

— to vouch for you and 

your qualifications. 

(Adapted from “How to Apply 

for a Job You’re Overqualified 

For,” by Rebecca Knight.) 

c 

When your boss is being passiveaggressive, 

confront them respectfully 

Having a passive-aggressive 

boss can be 

frustrating. Whether 

they’re limiting access 

to information you need 

or giving you the cold 

shoulder when you disappoint 

them, it’s hard 

to address the negative 

behavior without triggering 

repercussions. 

Approach your manager 

from a place of respect, 

and resist the urge to 

be passive-aggressive in 

return. Raise your concerns 

in a nonjudgmental, 

matter-of-fact way. 

For example, you might 

say, “I’ve noticed in our 

last several meetings 

that you’ve made sarcastic 

comments about 

my work. I can’t tell if 

you’re just being funny, 

or if you actually have concerns 

about the quality of 

my work. I’d love to hear 

any ideas you have on how 

I could improve.” Give your 

manager the benefit of the 

doubt, and don’t make the 

conversation about your 

hurt feelings. It may feel unjust 

that you have to manage 

a senior person’s immature 

behavior, but the improvement 

in your relationship 

just might be worth it. 

(Adapted from “How to Deal 

with a Passive-Aggressive 

Boss,” by Ron Carucci.) 

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

Freelancers, stop underpricing your work 

The dangers of overpricing your 

work are obvious: You can lose 

the deal and scare clients away. 

But charging low prices can signal 

low quality, making clients 

hesitant to work with you. To 

be sure you aren’t underselling 

yourself, develop a network of 

trusted peers who can provide 

honest information about going 

rates. Once you have a sense 

of what your price should be, 

practice saying it out loud. 

Quoting a fee to a client can be 

nerve-racking, especially if it’s a 

rate increase, but rehearsing it 

will make you more confident. 

Then test the market demand 

for your new rate and adjust 

accordingly. Increase your price 

steadily and incrementally until 

you feel you’re earning what you 

deserve. If you start asking for 

a rate that clients resist, consider 

freezing or reducing your rate until 

you’ve built up other income streams or 

increased your reputation. Asking for 

what you deserve gets you not only more 

money but also more respect. 

(Adapted from “Why You Should Charge 

Clients More Than You Think You’re 

Worth,” by Dorie Clark.)


BUSINESS DAY 

THE BIG HEART DIGEST 

In association with Delta State Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Developement Agency (DEMSMA) 

33 

Delta in search of 50 passionate youths to train 

on modern Akwa-ocha techniques 

…Akwa-ocha will be put in a fashion runway soon – DEMSMA boss 

MERCY ENOCH, Asaba 

Search has begun to find 

youths with passion to 

acquire training and skills 

on modern technique of 

Akwa-ocha weaving in 

Delta State as the state governor, 

Ifeanyi Okowa, has approved that 

50 youths be trained and empowered 

this year in the empowerment 

scheme which kicked off last year. 

Governor Okowa-led administration 

is seen to be passionate 

about raising a generation of entrepreneurs 

who would help to create 

jobs and wealth to build the state’s 

economy beyond oil. Hence, Akwa-ocha 

weaving is seen as one of 

the areas the governor pays priority 

attention that he has determined 

to make younger generation to be 

interested in the age-long vocation 

that was formerly associated with 

elderly women. He is said to want 

the state to raise a generation of 

young designers in Akwa-ocha 

which now also comes in colour 

(Akwa-oma). 

Last year, a total of 60 beneficiaries 

were trained on the 

art of weaving Akwa-ocha with 

a modern equipment and this 

included about seven youths. The 

beneficiaries were also empowered 

with start-up packs, thereby 

launching to the level where they 

now weave the cloth within days 

rather than weeks or months as 

it used to be with the former and 

local equipment 

The executive secretary of 

the Delta State Micro, Small and 

Medium Enterprises Development 

Agency (DEMSMA), Shimite 

Bello, during an interview with The 

Big Heart Digest, revealed: “The 

governor has just recommended 

that we train 50 youths in akwaocha 

weaving, especially akwaoma 

because the women are very happy 

with the equipment and they are 

selling their products too.” 

She said “a lot of people like the 

fact that they have the option of the 

coloured akwaocha. They are making 

all kinds of designs, especially 

those single mufflers. The governor 

has recommended that he doesn’t 

want only old people trained. He 

wants us to find 50 young people 

that are willing to go into akwaocha 

in the incoming set”. I think it’s a 

good testimony, Bello exclaimed. 

What would be the criteria for 

choosing the beneficiaries? The 

DEMSMA boss explained thus, “It 

would still be a matter of interest 

like what we did in shoe making 

and leather-works. Those who are 

interested in learning how to make 

the cloth, they would learn to be 

straight with the equipment, not 

the other type they’ve been using.” 

Already, efforts are on ground 

to ensure the beneficiaries do not 

lack patronage as well as market for 

their products. “We’ve been getting 

some orders in this office and have 

been sending them to the women 

(the pioneer beneficiaries) so that 

they can do their business, So, 

when we get orders we do likewise 

for the incoming set. 

She said the beneficiaries 

would be having their old customers 

and would as well get customers 

from the agency. She therefore 

Typical Akwa-ocha attire 

expressed hope that akwaocha 

would be put in a fashion runway 

very soon. “So, it would be really 

lovely to see young people assure 

of us what they can do”, she added. 

Testimonial from Stella Achuzia, 

a 300 level student of Delta State 

University and a beneficiary of the 

Akwaocha pilot scheme: 

“I’m from Ubulu-Uku. Akwaocha 

group is actually an association. 

Generally, they (the 

elderly women) created a group 

and called it Akwa-ocha Women 

Group, meaning group of white 

fabric. I only have to come and 

join. We are younger, so they had 

to introduce us to the group. 

We’ve just graduated from our 

training in modern technique of 

akwaocha weaving having spent 

a month and an additional four 

days to learn the skills and the 

techniques here at Issele-Uku 

centre. The training began August 

this year (2017). 

We were grouped three groups. 

In my own group, we were thirty. 

Within three weeks, we were able to 

make all colours of the fabrics with 

different designs. I’m really happy 

with the outcome. The technology 

is okay. The older technique 

we used was stressful but they 

(government) made things easier 

for us with this modern technique”. 

Achuzia, a mass communication 

student, who hails from Ubulu- 

Uku, said she was introduced into 

akwaocha weaving by her mother 

who is also a member of Akwaocha 

Women Group. 

She said she has been seeing 

herself through the university using 

the proceeds she makes from the 

production of akwaocha though 

she produces on part time basis. 

She heard of the empowerment 

programme run by the state 

government and decided to take 

advantage of the opportunity to 

migrate to the modern technique 

and improve on her knowledge in 

the production of the fabric.” 

Her motivation: 

She spoke on what motivated 

her to embark on the training 

eventhough an undergraduate 

in mass communication. “It’s 

not about going to school. It’s 

about having something else I 

could depend on in case of any 

eventuality. “When we go out 

there, we see different kinds offabrics. 

These days, young people, 

especially Ghanians make 

bags and shoes that go along with 

clothes they are putting on. So, I 

really liked it and felt that there 

are other designs we could create 

with this fabric. It is something 

I like and I enjoy doing and I’m 

happy I underwent the training”, 

Achuzia exclaimed.. 

Her target: 

“I could create designs. Media 

is a place of communication, 

therefore, I intend to communicate 

my culture to different kinds 

of people by creating different 

designs of the fabric. That way, 

the akwaocha weaving would be 

transmitted to the future generations 

of our youths 

When I graduate from the 

university, I would rather contribute 

to the society by being 

self-employed and employing 

others and reduce unemployment 

in the society. My dream is 

to establish my own enterprise. 

“I’ll not make only wrappers but 

different styles of clothes that 

all kinds of people including 

the youths would like. I have 

the dream to establish my own 

enterprise and create my own 

designs, making sure akwaocha 

textile is being promoted.” 

Coping with the elderly 

women during the training: 

“It’s quite challenging because 

we the youths, there are 

some things we would want to 

let them know but they would 

tell us, ‘Keep quiet. We know 

before you’. And you know, they 

are still the elders. They’ve been 

there before us and we have to 

obey. I learnt a lot from them. It’s 

quite interesting. When you make 

mistakes, they correct you as 

mothers. The only difficulty there 

is that - for instance you bring 

up a new design and they would 

say no. But they are our mothers, 

they teach us some certain things. 

There were some things I didn’t 

know but when I got here, I was 

able to learn them.” 

Advice to the incoming 

youths: 

They should learn more. Its 

really a nice thing. They should 

keep their heads down and learn 

it well, and at the end, they would 

be glad they were part of the whole 

thing. They should be respectful to 

the women. They should be calm, 

welcome them and feel free with 

them and they would enjoy staying 

with them. 

Editorial coordinator’s corner: 

Understanding Delta’s 2018 fiscal direction: 

Sectoral Allocations 

IGNATIUS CHUKWU 

Roads 

N49.3Bn 

Education 

N18.7Bn 

Health 

N6.6Bn 

Agric 

N1.7Bn 

Job Creation N1.2Bn 

Contributory Health N1.2Bn 

Environment N2.2Bn 

Capital Dev Territory N3Bn 

General Administration N1.5Bn 

Oil Mineral Devt Areas N28Bn 

Governments put out 

budget figures so citizens 

can monitor and 

assess government’s 

performance. The problem is 

most persons sit in their groups 

and condemn or praise governors 

from few projects they see. 

They hardly relate the projects 

to the budgetary provisions 

or volume of money realized 

with a budget year. Below are 

the sectoral provisions for Delta 

State in 2018. It is now left to the 

citizens to find out of the various 

allocations are being released 

and if the budget was meeting 

up with monthly income expectations 

in the first place. 

Hear Dr Okowa: Mr Speaker, 

Honourable Members, I will 

now briefly touch on some sectoral 

highlights of the proposals 

for capital projects as contained 

in the 2018 budget estimates. 

Job Creation Scheme 

59. In the 2018 fiscal 

year, we shall consolidate 

on the successes of the job 

creation programmes. A 

significant percentage of 

our funding, going forward, 

will come from SEEFOR. 

While the programme implementation 

will be intensified 

and strengthened, attention 

will be given to the 

monitoring and mentorship 

of already established 

businesses to ensure their 

lasting success. 

The sum of N1.2bn is provided 

to sustain the Scheme in 

the 2018 fiscal year. 

Road Infrastructure: 

In line with our growth aspirations, 

the sum of N49.3b 

is earmarked in the proposed 

2018 budget to sustain the current 

momentum in road infrastructure 

(including drains). 

Agriculture: 

61. My statement on the day 

of my inauguration as Governor 

remains relevant today as 

we pursue economic diversification 

of our economy. On 

that day I said: “The need to 

diversify our economy and reduce 

undue dependence on the 

proceeds from oil has become 

quite urgent, and this is one 

agenda that this administration 

shall give great attention to... We 

are committed to the building 

and consolidation of a state 

in which there shall be more 

employment opportunities, 

a flourishing agriculture and 

agribusiness sector.” 

Approximately N1.66bn is 

provided in the budget in the 

2018 fiscal year for the Ministry 

of Agriculture. 

Education 

Delta State has 1,021 primary 

and 469 secondary schools 

with 443,813 pupils and 332,760 

students respectively. 

As indicated earlier, several 

of these schools have been 

renovated, furnished and new 

ones built. Between SUBEB 

and Ministry of Basic Education, 

Government has so far 

spent in excess of N16bn in this 

respect. 

In the 2018 fiscal year, the 

sum N18.7bn is allocated to the 

education sub-sector for capital 

projects. 

Health 

Our guiding philosophy for 

this sector is the establishment 

of a qualitative, affordable and 

accessible health care delivery 

system in the State. Hence we 

are focussing on infrastructural 

development of our hospitals 

and primary health care centres, 

as well as the procurement 

of drugs and cutting edge medical 

equipment in major health 

care facilities across the three 

Senatorial Districts. 

The sum of N6.6bn has been 

earmarked for the health subsector.


34 BUSINESS DAY


35

36 

BUSINESS DAY 

C002D5556 

Tuesday 03 April 2018


Jonathan’s aide realises list of alleged looters 

of over N228bn in Buhari’s cabinet, APC 

KEHINDE AKINTOLA & OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, 

The dust raised over 

the Federal Government’s 

release 

of alleged looters 

list is yet to settle, 

as Reno Omokri, former 

presidential aide, has released 

a counter-looters list. 

In a statement on Monday, 

Omokri, an aide to former 

President Goodluck 

Jonathan, faulted the list released 

by information minister 

Lai Mohammed, which 

had members of the People’s 

Democratic Party (PDP). 

He faulted the Buhari 

administration for failing to 

include names of members 

of the governing All Progressives 

Congress (APC) accused 

of corruption. 

In the statement entitled 

“The Real Looters List That 

Buhari and Lai Mohammed 

Do Not Want You To Know 

About,” the former presi- 

Imo guber aspirant promises sustainable, 

inclusive development 

An aspirant to the 

Imo State governorship 

seat in the 2019 

elections, Chidi 

Okoro, says he possesses a 

superior blueprint and strategy 

that will deliver sustainable, 

inclusive and diversified 

development in the state. 

Okoro, who officially declares 

his intention to vie for 

the governorship ticket of the 

All Progressives Grand Alliance 

(APGA) at the party’s 

state office, Egbu Road, Owerri 

today, said, “Imo State 

is due for a turnaround and 

there are few people who are 

better prepared for the job 

than himself.” 

In an interview with BusinessDay 

ahead of his official 

declaration, Okoro said we 

built an alternative reality for 

Imo State it was time for Imo 

to arise to its true potential, 

promising to bring about 

a complete turnaround in 

various sectors of the state 

including healthcare, education, 

security, job creation, 

public utilities, hospitality, 

agriculture, among others. 

“Imo is a wonderful state, 

one of the best placed states 

in Nigeria; we can play to that 

potential. We have high intellects; 

we are very close to 

major industrial-commercial 

cities. Imo is one-hour flight 

away from Lagos and Abuja. 

We have very good literacy 

rate. We have good penetration 

of telecom/internet services, 

meaning that we can 

play technology to our full 

advantage,” he said. 

“Our plan is to lay the 

foundation for people in 

Diaspora and at home to 

dent’s spokesperson named 

10 members of the APC the 

minister should have added 

to the list. 

Omokri accused the APC 

members of collectively looting 

over $2 billion. 

He named the minister 

of transportation, Rotimi 

Amaechi; minister of solid 

minerals, Kayode Fayemi; 

chairman, Senate Committee 

on Appropriation, Danjuma 

Goje; immediate past 

secretary to the government 

of the federation (SGF), Babachir 

Lawal, as those omitted 

by the information minister. 

The counter list came 

barely 12 hours Lai Mohammed 

released list of alleged 

looters under the Goodluck 

Jonathan’s regime. 

According to the minister, 

over N300 billion, $7 million 

and £5.5 million were 

siphoned from the Nigeria’s 

treasury. Mohammed in a 

statement issued in Lagos, affirmed 

that list of the alleged 

treasury looters’ was based 

on verifiable facts. 

However, Omokri, who 

dismissed the two lists containing 

the names of ‘alleged 

looters’ under Jonathan’s 

administration, threatened 

to release more names of ‘alleged 

looters’ flocking with 

the present administration. 

Omokri said: “After he 

was ridiculed by civil society, 

the opposition and the international 

community, Mr. Lai 

Mohammed hurriedly put 

out a statement tagging his 

list a ‘teaser.’ 

“When that lie refused to 

fly, the notorious fibber, Lai 

Mohammed, released yet 

another list Sunday, April 1, 

2018. 

“Coincidentally, April 1 

is April Fools day and it was 

befitting that Lai released his 

list on that day because only 

a fool will believe the list he 

put together. 

really get Imo to arise to its 

true potential. Our plans are 

firm, they are very simple, 

they are time-bound, and 

we put numbers to these 

plans, meaning that we can 

be held accountable. So, 

as we get into this race, we 

have well-informed plans 

with deliverables and timelines 

that Imo people can 

touch and feel. 

“Let us work to enable 

Imo arise to its true potential. 

Imo will truly arise 

when we create 500,000 

jobs over four years through 

manufacturing clusters, 

investments in hospitality 

and entertainment, sports, 

medical city, urban renewal 

projects, ICT innovation 

hub, and so on. I am ready, 

let me do the work to lift 

Imo to greatness!” he said. 

“His list did not contain 

even one member of the 

APC. If the list proves anything, 

it is that President Buhari, 

Lai Mohammed and 

their APC are not fighting 

corruption. Instead, they are 

fighting corruption. 

“I have taken the pains 

to produce a ‘teaser’ looters 

list of APC members who are 

collectively alleged to have 

looted over $2 billion (when 

you convert the dollar value 

of what they allegedly looted 

at the time they allegedly 

looted it). 

“I challenge President Buhari 

and Lai Mohammed to 

explain why these men did 

not feature on their list and 

why they continue to remain 

in this APC government 

where they wield immense 

powers and influence, even 

over the Economic and Financial 

Crimes Commission 

that is meant to prosecute 

them. 

L-R: Ismaila Zakari, president, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN); Olusegun Obasanjo, former president of 

Nigeria; Atilade Bolarinwa, chairman, ICAN Abeokuta and District, and John Evbodaghe, registrar/ CEO, ICAN, during a courtesy 

call on former President Obasanjo in Abeokuta, yesterday. 

CHUKS OLUIGBO 

... declares for governorship today 

Chieftaincy honours: Obaseki celebrates 

with Kachikwu family 

Atiku condoles victims of Maiduguri attack 

Expectations as Ogundimu takes over as CEO at NMRC 

CHUKA UROKO 

Among stakeholders 

in the housing and 

mortgage sectors of 

the Nigerian economy, 

expectations are high as 

Kehinde Ogundimu assumes 

position as the new managing 

director/CEO of the Nigerian 

Mortgage Refinance Company 

(NMRC). 

Ogundimu, a finance 

professional, is taking over 

from Charles Inyangete, who 

retired from the company 

as pioneer CEO. He is bringing 

to the company a wealth 

of experience garnered from 

years of hands-on-the-plough 

at both local and international 

firms. 

With a Bachelor of Science 

(BSc) degree in Electrical Engineering 

from the University 

of Ibadan and a Masters 

in Business Administration 

(MBA) from the University of 

Lagos, Ogundimu is coming 

C002D5556 

Governor of Edo 

State, Godwin 

Obaseki, has congratulated 

the 

Kachikwu family over the 

conferment of Ochiligwe of 

Onicha-Ugbo and Ezinne 

Oligbo on Josephine Ada 

Kachikwu, describing the 

honours as well deserved. 

Speaking at the conferment 

ceremony of the 

chieftaincy titles, in Issele- 

Uku, Delta State, Obaseki 

said that Ada Kachikwu, 

who is the stepmother of 

the minister of state for 

petroleum resources, had 

over the years contributed 

to her immediate community 

and exhibited exemplary 

qualities that marked 

her out for the titles. 

According to Obaseki, 

“the double titles show that 

she has a unique personality. 

This is not forgetting 

that her husband, late Justice 

Francis Okafor Kachikwu 

was a prominent Jurist 

in the defunct Bendel State 

and Nigeria, and they both 

impacted and touched 

lives.” 

The governor said 

Mrs Kachikwu provided 

support to her husband 

throughout his successful 

Former Vice President 

and chieftain of 

PDP, Atiku Abubakar, 

has received 

with shock reports of deaths 

of several persons with 

scores injured following yet 

another attack on Maiduguri 

by insurgents. 

The former Vice President 

said he was concerned 

by the senseless attacks on 

innocent citizens even after 

reports that government 

had opened window of talks 

on the prospects of a ceasefire 

with Boko Haram. 

Atiku said the continued 

violence, especially in 

with over 20 years working experience 

in financial services 

(secondary mortgage and 

diversified banking), energy 

and public accounting. 

NMRC, which was 

launched in 2014 as a secondary 

mortgage institution, 

regards itself as a private sector-driven 

company with the 

public purpose of developing 

the primary and secondary 

mortgage markets by raising 

long term funds from the domestic 

capital market as well 

as foreign markets for providing 

accessible and affordable 

housing in Nigeria. 

Its mission is to break 

down barriers to home ownership 

by providing liquidity, 

affordability, accessibility and 

stability to the housing market 

in Nigeria, and this is where 

the expectation from the new 

CEO is chiefly embedded, 

having worked in similar organisations 

with results. 

A statement by NMRC 

BUSINESS DAY 

37 

NEWS 

career and even when her 

husband died, she continued 

to champion the cause 

of her community. “This 

tells of her character and 

commendable personality. 

We are happy to be here to 

celebrate her,” he said. 

Governor of Delta State, 

Ifeanyi Okowa, eulogised 

Kachikwu’s outstanding 

life of service to humanity, 

noting that she was a mother 

to all. “We are happy 

with her, as her service to 

her community has earned 

her double chieftaincy titles 

by two communities 

here in Delta State. It is 

wonderful to have this kind 

of honour.” 

Minister of state for 

petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu 

said Ada Kachikwu was 

a wonderful, committed, 

dedicated woman, who 

though married his father 

at the age of 18, was adept 

at managing home chores 

and many other maternal 

responsibilities of her stepchildren. 

He said her determination 

saw her achieve her 

dreams of being a midwife, 

lawyer and later a politician, 

which she used to 

positively touch lives. 

and around Maiduguri, was 

mind numbing. 

While acknowledging 

the role of the military in 

averting even more deaths 

from the attack, the former 

Vice President stressed that 

intelligence gathering and 

sharing by all security agencies 

was of the essence if we 

must stem the attacks with 

all its attendant loss to lives 

and property. 

He expressed his condolences 

to the families and 

friends of the bereaved even 

as he prayed for quick recovery 

of those who sustained 

injuries during the attack. 

reveals that Ogundimu, who 

started out at PriceWaterhouseCoopers 

and subsequently 

worked in various 

capacities at Chevron Nigeria 

and in the Washington DC at 

Pepco Energy Services, also 

had a stint at Freddie Mac, 

Fannie Mae and finally at 

Capital One Bank, where he 

was the head of debt, Derivatives 

and Securitisation before 

joining NMRC. 

The experience he garnered 

at Freddie Mac and 

Fannie Mae, particularly, 

makes him a fit-to-size chief 

executive for NMRC whose 

mandate is to promote wider 

spread of home ownership 

with the belief that the inequality 

created by the lack of 

affordable housing in Nigeria 

places a moral obligation on 

all housing stakeholders to 

use every tool at their disposal 

to find solution to providing 

access to sustainable affordable 

housing finance.


C002D5556 


NEWS 

Nigeria’s game designers fight for their cut... 


Run, is one of a small but growing 

number of video game design 

companies based in Lagos. 

Most of the games are for use on 

smartphones and many also have 

a Nigerian twist. 

ChopUp, another local developer, 

has made 30 such games in 

the past six years. 

Monkey Post is a typical football 

game, except the play happens in 

the streets, as is the case for millions 

of people across the developing 

world, instead of a stadium. 

Jagun: Clash of Kingdoms is 

inspired by the classic arcade game 

Space Invaders, but the player defends 

the fictional, medieval empire 

of Jagunlabi in Nigeria’s Yoruba 

region from marauding intruders. 

ChopUp has also made games 

based on the deadly Ebola epidemic 

that swept across west Africa 

in 2014-15 and the Boko Haram 

jihadist insurgency plaguing Nigeria’s 

north-east. 

Revenues from the domestic 

video games industry are expected 

to rise by an average annual rate of 

16 per cent for the next four years, according 

to PwC, the consulting firm. 

The community around it is 

growing too. Gamers event Lagos 

Comic Con attracted a reported 

5,000 people last year. However, if 

those growth rates are met, Nigeria’s 

gaming industry will still be worth 

just $85.6m in annual turnover 

by 2021. That is smaller than the 

gaming market in Kenya, whose 

population is around a quarter of 

Nigeria’s, and a drop in the ocean of 

the $116bn global industry. 

Mobile phone apps are expected 

to grow as a proportion of the market, 

outpacing the expansion in console 

and PC-based games. However, 

local developers have to compete 

with global smash hits like US game 

Candy Crush Saga, for users that 

rarely make in-app purchases. 

For developers such as Ali Akdogan, 

designing distinctly Nigerian 

output is a strategy for 

standing out at home and abroad. 

Akdogan’s combat game Throne 

of Gods allows users to fight as 

African deities such as Akonadi, a 

Ghanaian goddess of justice, and 

Shango, the Yoruba god of thunder. 

You are running a failed government... 


ing barely three months from 

when the former president wrote 

a letter to President Muhammadu 

Buhari on his political style of 

governance which he alleged gave 

room for nepotism, bad economic 

policy, insecurity in Northeast 

and generally, incompetent governance. 

Speaking in Abeokuta, Ogun 

state capital during a consultation 

visit of New Nigeria 2019 Group 

led by Chima Anyaso, Convener 

and Moses Siasia, Co-Convener, 

Obasanjo advised Nigerians to join 

hands and do away with bad government 

and governance by the 

ruling All Progressives Congress, 

adding that people should not 

also accept the apology tendered 

by People’s Democratic Party, and 

that neither APC nor PDP could 

get Nigeria and Nigerians out of the 

current problems. 

He said, “But this time, for us to 

make it, we need all hands on deck. 

You see, I have publicly said and 

I mean it, that as a party, neither 

PDP nor APC can get us there as 

they have been. Never mind about 

reforms and apology and all that. 

“And yet we have to get there. 

Although it gained positive 

reviews, the game failed to gain 

traction in the crowded Google 

Play app store. 

Akdogan plans to re-release it 

and is convinced Nigerian developers 

should remain distinctive. 

“Starting up [we] need identity,” he 

says. “Without that, we’re just like 

everyone else.” Zubair Abubakar, 

the co-founder of ChopUp, agrees. 

“There are millions of games out 

there that already have, for lack of 

a better word, English storylines 

or American storylines,” he says. 

“We believe the world hasn’t experienced 

gaming from an African 

perspective.” 

ChopUp’s games are inspired by 

everyday experiences that resonate 

across Africa, says Abubakar. 

Its most successful release remains 

its first, Danfo, a 2D game 

for older models of mobile phones, 

which involves driving a bus 

around Lagos. 

Similar buses serve cities across 

the continent, from Kenya’s “matatus” 

to Ghana’s “tro-tros”. 

“They might not be coloured 

yellow, but it’s the same experience 

— the same angry bus driver and 

the very funny conductor trying to 

get passengers and make a living,” 

L-R: James Ibori, former governor, Delta State; Godwin Obaseki, governor, Edo State; Ibe Kachikwu, minister 

of state, petroleum resources, his wife, Betty Kachikwu, during the conferment of chieftaincy title on Josephine 

Ada Kachikwu, in Issele-Uku, Delta State. 

I asked one of the foundation 

members of PDP, the PDP when we 

started, was it a grassroots party? 

He said it was an elitist party. Really, 

we have never had the so-called 

grassroots party. Even NEPU which 

we could say is the nearest was not 

grassroots enough. And I believe 

strongly that we must have a strong 

popular grassroots movement to 

bring about the change, sustainability 

and stability that we need in 

our democracy and development. 

“I am happy to meet with you, 

but don’t take anything for granted. 

There will be a lot of work that 

we have to do. What those I call 

power addicts would want to do 

is to divide you based on gender, 

age, tribe, religion and region. You 

have one commonality - interest 

of Nigeria. And it doesn’t matter 

where you come from. We had 

that interest. 

“The truth is this: when you 

have an ineffective and incompetent 

government, we are all victims. 

And don’t let anybody deceive you. 

Those of you who are in business, 

your business could have been 

better today if we have a competent 

and effective and performing 

government. As I said, stop giving 

excuses; we met challenges. If 

says Abubakar. 

Yet not all Nigerian developers 

believe in creating games that 

resonate specifically with their 

fellow citizens. 

“People play games because 

they just want to have fun, not 

because they want to know where 

it’s from,” says Abiola Olaniran, 

Gamsole’s chief executive. 

He argues that Japanese games, 

for example, are recognisable as 

such because of the style of their art 

work, not because of their themes. 

“I wouldn’t want to develop content 

that’s specifically for Nigerians 

alone without a reason — maybe 

there is a partnership, a brand is 

trying to reach an audience,” says 

Olaniran. 

After representing Nigeria in a 

Microsoft technology competition 

while he was a student, Olaniran 

started designing games for the 

US company’s Windows mobile 

phone platform. 

With few developers bothering 

to make games for Microsoft, Gamsole’s 

titles notched up 10m downloads 

from all over the world before 

the platform was shut down last year. 

Since then, Olaniran has targeted 

other customers. Gamsole has 

designed a financial literacy game, 

working with a Nigerian bank. 

It has also formed a partnership 

there are no challenges, then we 

wouldn’t need you to come. The 

first lesson I learnt in my military 

training is never reinforce failure. 

What we have now is failure. Let 

failure be failure. And if you do not 

see what you should see, you will 

then be a victim of what you don’t 

like because it’s only when you see 

what you should see and you do 

what you should do that you put 

away what you do not like. And if 

you don’t see what you should see 

and you don’t do what you should 

do, you will be a victim of what you 

don’t like.” 

He however advised the youth’s 

national movement - New Nigeria 

2019 backed by Nigerian 

Young Professionals Forum whose 

membership cuts across all tribes, 

religions, gender in Nigeria and 

abroad, not to throw away the baby 

with bathing water as some members 

of both political parties still 

have integrity and can still help the 

ideology and movement succeed. 

“But let us bring together all 

these movements because we are 

pursuing the same thing. If we 

allow ourselves to be taken piecemeal, 

it is finished. Now if we are 

together... Yes, I said you cannot 

take PDP as it is and APC as it is; but 

they are not all made of evil people. 

“There are good people. I said 

with MTN, which operates across 

24 countries in Africa and the 

Middle East. 

Gidi Run was launched with 

MTN in Nigeria in 2016 and is 

now played by 100,000 paying 

subscribers. 

Striking deals with telecoms 

companies across Africa is a proven 

distribution strategy. 

Mobile phone users pay a subscription 

fee to obtain unlimited 

usage of a selection of games. But 

these distribution networks come 

at a price for designers. Gaming 

companies say that they are unable 

to negotiate better than a 40 

per cent share of revenue from the 

tie-up. 

“[Telecoms companies] have 

most of the power,” says Olaniran. 

Many Nigerian developers do not 

have a marketing budget large 

enough to make their game stand 

out from the hundreds uploaded 

on the Google Play and Apple app 

stores every day. 

However, the number of people 

in sub-Saharan Africa using mobile 

phones is forecast to hit half a billion 

by 2020, according to GSMA, 

the trade organisation for the global 

telecoms industry. For Nigeria’s 

nascent gaming studios, forging 

partnerships with telecoms groups 

may be the only game in town. 

PDP is leprous hand, APC is leprous 

hand, but there are some 

clean fingers in them. So, let’s 

take those clean fingers in them 

and graft the clean fingers in our 

own. That is the way to go and if 

we go that way, we will get there, 

we will move together, and we will 

move fast and we will move far,” 

he advised. 

Meanwhile the Senate has 

insisted that it will hold firm to 

41 proposed amendments in its 

determination to amend the 2010 

Electoral Act as it commences, 

vigorously, the process of overriding 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari’s veto. 

BusinessDay gathered that out 

of the 41 new clauses in the new 

bill, 32 of them sought to amend 

existing sections in the principal 

act, six new substitutions as well 

as three insertions of new sections. 

The new bill retained the upward 

review of maximum election 

expenses to be incurred by 

a presidential candidate from N1 

billion to N5 billion, representing 

an increase of 400 percent. 

The new bill passed First Reading 

at the Senate last Tuesday, and 

is being sponsored by Suleiman 

Nazif, Chairman, Senate Committee 

on Independent National 

Electoral Commission (INEC). 

Oil nears $70 on... 


concluded. 

China is showing the United 

States that it will make good on its 

trade threats; the Chinese government 

said that tariffs on about $3 

billion worth of US imports are 

going into effect Monday, hitting 

128 products ranging from pork, 

meat and fruit to steel pipes. 

It’s the latest move in escalating 

tensions between the world’s two 

largest economies, which some 

experts fear could turn into a global 

trade war. 

Beijing says the new sanctions on 

128 US products, which it first proposed 

10 days ago, are in response to 

President Trump’s tariffs on imports 

of steel and aluminium from China 

and some other countries. 

But Trump also has more measures 

in the works aimed specifically 

at China. He has announced 

plans to slap tariffs on about $50 

billion worth of Chinese goods 

following an investigation by his 

administration into the theft of 

intellectual property from US 

companies. 

The administration has said 

those tariffs will punish the Chinese 

aerospace, technology and 

machinery industries, but it hasn’t 

announced which specific products 

will be hit. 

The IMF, along with a long line 

of economists has warned that protectionism 

poses a grave risk to the 

global economy. Meanwhile, the 

Trump administration exempted a 

series of parties from the previously 

announced steel and aluminium 

tariffs, including the EU, Argentina, 

Australia, Brazil, South Korea, 

Mexico and Canada. 

OPEC and 10 members outside 

the cartel, including Russia, have 

been holding back crude production 

by 1.8 million barrels a day 

since the start of last year, as part 

of an effort to rein a global supply 

glut and boost prices. 

The price of Brent crude, Nigeria’s 

benchmark grade, fell 0.14 per 

cent to $69.92 per barrel Monday, 

according to Bloomberg data; although 

still less than its 2018 high 

of $71.28 reached on January 25. 

Recall that President Muhammadu 

Buhari had on March 

13, 2018, declined assent to the 

amendment of the Act. 

In separate letters to the Senate 

President Bukola Saraki and 

Speaker of the House of Representatives, 

Yakubu Dogara, the 

President said he was withholding 

assent to the amendment of the 

Electoral Act because the amendment 

to the sequence of the election 

in Section 25 of the Principal 

Act may infringe on the constitutionally 

guaranteed discretion of 

INEC to organise, undertake and 

supervise all elections provided in 

Section 16(a) of the 1999 constitution 

(as amended). 

He also stated that the amendment 

to Section 138 of the Principal 

Act to delete two crucial grounds 

upon which an election may be 

challenged by candidates unduly 

limits the right of candidates to 

a free and fair electoral review 

process. 

The President explained that 

giving assent to the Bill would 

make the National Assembly 

appear as if it was legislating 

for the states on local government 

issues. 

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com


L-R: Bobby Moroe, acting South African High Commissioner to Nigeria; Calvin Phume, economic counsellor, South African High 

Commission; Toyin Cameron, public affairs manager, SASOL Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited; Ebun Sonaiya, director, 

Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Commerce; Kikelomo longe, principal, Capital Alliance Nigeria Limited; Femi Edun, senior 

advisor to minister of industry, trade and investment; Darkey Africa, consul-general of South Africa to Nigeria; Zanele Sanni, chief 

director of trade invest africa at the department of trade and investment, South Africa; Oscar Mdluli, country manager, SASOL 

Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited; Ajibola Olomola, partner, KPMG Professional Services, and Iyke Ejimofor, executive 

secretary, Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Commerce, at the NSACC Breakfast Forum sponsored by SASOL Chemicals in Lagos. 

Looters list incomplete without Buhari, Osinbajo, 

Tinubu, Fashola others - Fani-Kayode 

A 

former 

OWEDE AGBAJILEKE 

minister 

of aviation, Femi 

Fani-Kayode, 

says the recent 

looters list released 

by the Federal Government 

is incomplete without 

the names of President 

Muhammadu Buhari, Vice 

President Yemi Osinbajo and 

APC chieftain, Bola Tinubu. 

The PDP stalwart, who 

served as director of media 

and publicity of the Jonathan 

Campaign Organisation, also 

accused minister of works 

power and housing, Babatunde 

Fashola; information 

minister, Lai Mohammed; 

minister of solid minerals, 

Kayode Fayemi; interior minister, 

Abdulrahman Dambazau, 

as looters of the nation’s 

treasury. 

Others, according to a 

statement by Fani-Kayode, 

include chairman, Senate 

Committee on Agriculture, 

Abdullahi Adamu; former 

Smartphone prices drop over 50% in Nigeria 

MICHEAL ANI 

Data from an annual 

mobile report 

by Jumia, one of 

Nigeria’s biggest e- 

commerce sellers, show that 

prices of smartphones sold 

on its marketplace platform 

dropped by more than 50 percent 

to around $100 in the last 

three years. 

The lower prices have predictably 

been a boon for sales, 

as Jumia says its smartphone 

sales increased by 70 percent 

in 2017. Despite the fall in prices 

though, $100 smartphones 

remain out of reach for some 

Nigerians as it comes to double 

to current monthly minimum 

wage. 

Jumia attributes the fall in 

prices to the “Africa-specific 

strategy” of Asian brands, 

which produce and sell cheaper 

smartphones in Africa’s 

largest market. 

At the turn of the decade, 

Secretary to the Government 

of the Federation, Babachir 

Lawal; group managing director, 

NNPC, Maikanti Baru; 

chairman of the defunct 

Presidential Task Team on 

Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed 

Maina; chief of army 

staff, Tukur Burutai, as well 

as APC governors and other 

key members of the Buhari 

administration and the governing 

APC. 

Fani-Kayode, who was accused 

of stealing over N800 

million, was reacting to the 

fresh looters list by Lai Mohammed 

at the weekend. 

In the statement signed 

by him on Monday, Fani- 

Kayode insisted that he had 

not been convicted by any 

court of law, and labelled the 

allegations as “nonsensical 

and utterly shameful,” while 

calling President Buhari’s 

government ‘weak.’ 

“I wish to make it abundantly 

clear that this is nonsensical 

and utterly shameful, 

and I hereby reiterate the 

Asian production of smartphones 

first started with 

knock-off versions of wellknown 

brands, but, over time, 

some Asian brands have since 

evolved to become more distinctive 

and sophisticated 

while being priced at much 

lower price points than top 

brands like Apple and Samsung. 

As a result, these more 

affordable brands have become 

more appealing to Nigeria’s 

middle-class buyers. 

The most successful with 

this strategy is China’s Transsion 

Holdings, which holds 

popular brands including 

Tecno, Infinix - among the top 

sellers on Jumia and Itel. 

The company has long focused 

on an Africa-first strategy 

with its products, and it 

is now reaping the rewards 

across the continent. Last year, 

Transsion’s brands combined 

for a 32 percent share of smartphone 

shipments in Nigeria - 

up from 25 percent in 2016. In 

fact that I am totally innocent 

of any wrongdoing. 

“I did not receive and 

neither was I ever given one 

kobo by any government official, 

government agency 

or government parastatal 

during President Goodluck 

Jonathan’s tenure. 

“The money that I received 

was given to me by 

the Director of Finance of the 

Jonathan Campaign Organisation, 

Esther Nenadi Usman, 

before the election in 

2015, and it was specifically 

for the conduct of the Presidential 

election,” he said. 

The former minister also 

accused Vice President Yemi 

Osinbajo as the brain behind 

the prosecution of key opposition 

members by the Economic 

and Financial Crimes 

Commission (EFCC). 

He argued that the publication 

of the list by the Federal 

Government violated 

the 1999 Constitution, which 

presumes an accused person 

innocent until proven guilty. 

comparison, despite still being 

the market leader, Samsung’s 

share dipped to 34 percent. 

Nigeria remains Africa’s 

largest mobile market, with 

about 162 million subscribers 

and a penetration rate of 84 

percent. 

The number of internet 

users fell in 2017 as consumers 

responded to a poor economic 

climate, adopted other 

OTT channels for voice and 

data services, and as regulatory 

measures continued to 

oblige operators to disconnect 

unregistered SIM cards. 

Despite these setbacks, 

four key growth drivers enhanced 

the adoption of 

smartphones in Nigeria and 

Africa: First, the multiplicity of 

affordable smartphones and 

a growing market for secondhand 

devices played a major 

role in driving the country’s 

e-commerce sector, which is 

estimated to be worth $13 billion 

by 2018. 

The statement added: “It 

is common knowledge that 

the Buhari campaign in 2015 

was funded by moneys that 

can be traced directly to the 

state governments of Rivers 

state, Lagos state, Kano state, 

Ogun state and a number 

of other key APC states yet 

not one of those involved or 

that governed any of those 

states at the time have been 

questioned, arrested or prosecuted 

by the EFCC or the 

Federal Government. 

“It is also common knowledge 

that President Buhari 

himself was offered and received 

several benefits and received 

money from the office 

of the former National Security 

Advisor, Colonel Sambo Dasuki, 

yet nothing has been done 

about this. 

“From the foregoing it is 

clear that the Buhari administration’s 

so-called war against 

corruption is selective and 

punitive and it is nothing but 

a vicious media trial and politically-motivated 

witch hunt. 

Trading turnover on I&E FX 

window rises 16.90% 

Edo IDPs upbeat over inmates’ feat in 2018 JAMB results 


The authorities of 

Ohogua Internally 

Displaced Persons 

(IDPs) are upbeat 

following the superlative 

performance of studentinmates 

of the camp in the 

recently released Unified 

Tertiary Matriculation Examination 

(UTME) by the 

Joint Admission and Matriculation 

Board (JAMB). 

Solomon Folunsho, 

general overseer of International 

Christian Mission 

Centre and operator of the 

camp, told newsmen in 

Benin City that 59 out of 

the 63 students who wrote 

the matriculation examinations 

scored above 200, 

while the remaining students 

scored 198, 197 and 

180, respectively. 

Folunsho said some of 

the students scored between 

288 and 298, saying 

C002D5556 

DIPO OLADEHINDE 

A 

turnover of $1.3 billion 

was recorded 

on the Investors’ 

& Exporters’ FX 

window for the week ended 

March 23, 2018, data from 

the FMDQ OTC Securities 

Exchange (FMDQ), show. 

For the week-ended 

March 23, 2018, trading activity 

in the Spot FX market 

between the Deposit 

Money Bank’s and their clients 

stood at $1,348.12 million 

(average daily turnover 

of $269.62m), representing 

16.90 percent decrease 

from the $1,622.29 million 

(average daily turnover of 

$324.46m), recorded the 

previous week-ended March 

16, 2018. 

Still within the week, 

a review of trading activity 

in the Spot FX market 

amongst banks revealed a 

28.31 percent decrease, as 

a total turnover of $209.88 

million (average daily turnover 

of $41.98m) was recorded, 

against the $292.77m 

(average daily turnover of 

$58.55m) reported the previous 

week-ended March 16, 

2018. 

The I&E FX Window, 

the total value of trades recorded 

for the week-ended 

March 23, 2018 stood at 

$0.96 billion. This represents 

a decrease of 36.42 percent 

($0.55bn) when compared 

to the $1.51 billion traded 

in the previous week, bringing 

the total value traded at 

the Window year-to-date 

to $13.92 billion, data from 

FMDQ revealed. 

Also, the CBN official 

rate fell by N0.05 to close 

at N305.865/$ as at March 

23, 2018, indicating a 0.02 

per cent appreciation when 

compared to N305.70/$ recorded 

the previous weekended 

March 23, 2018. 

In the Bureau de Change 

(BDC) market, still at the 

most of them chose University 

of Benin (UNIBEN) 

as first choice and medicine 

as first course. 

He said that male students 

scored the highest 

mark of 298 and 297 than 

their female counterparts, 

saying the inmates 

were students of the IDPs 

primary and secondary 

schools located within the 

camp. 

“For me, l want to thank 

God, and the children for 

their seriousness and hard 

work. They really want to 

succeed and they are doing 

their best. 

“I am very happy and 

want to thank everyone 

who had contributed to 

their success, volunteer and 

employed teachers who 

taught them. I am really 

very happy. I also thank the 

government for giving us 

the enabling environment 

for this to happen,” he said. 

BUSINESS DAY 

39 

NEWS 

end of reporting week, the 

exchange rate, remained 

unchanged to close at $/ 

N363.00 

For the reporting weekended 

March 29, 2018, the 

Naira depreciated at the I&E 

FX Window, losing N0.14 as 

the rate opened the week 

at N360.10/$, and closed 

at N360.20/$, resulting in a 

spread of N2.80/$ between 

the BDC market rate and 

I&E FX Window rate. 

On the other hand, the 

spread between the BDC 

market rate and the CBN 

official exchange rate fell by 

N0.o5 to close at N57.35/$, 

indicating a 0.09 percent decrease 

from the N57.30/$ recorded 

in the previous week. 

In the OTC FX Futures 

market, the 21st OTC FX 

Futures contract, NGUS 

MAR 28 2018, with notional 

amount $437.52 million, 

matured and settled on 

Wednesday, March 28, 2018. 

This maturity brings the total 

value of matured OTC FX 

Futures contracts on FMDQ, 

since its inception (June 

2016) to circa $8.46 billion 

The CBN introduced a 

new contract, NGUS MAR 

27 2019 for $1.00 billion at 

$/N361.96, to replace the 

matured contract and refreshed 

its quotes on the 

existing 1- to 11-month 

contracts 

During the reporting 

week, $58.24 million worth 

of OTC FX Futures contracts 

were traded in twenty 

(20) deals, compared to 

the previous week’s total of 

$96.89 million traded in ten 

(10) deals 

More petrodollars mean 

the Central Bank of Nigeria 

(CBN) has seen improved 

dollar flows, while the introduction 

of a marketdetermined 

window called 

the Investors’ and Exporters’ 

window in April 2017 

has meant autonomous inflows 

are up and running. 

He also disclosed that 

more than 200 students of 

the schools enrolled for this 

year West African Senior 

School Certificate Examination 

(WASSCE) and the National 

Examinations Council 

(NECO). 

While urging other students 

in the secondary 

school to emulate their colleagues 

who had secured 

admission into various 

tertiary institutions across 

the country to study various 

academic discipline, he 

however appealed to government 

at all levels, well 

meaning Nigerians and corporate 

organisations to invest 

in the education of the 

inmates, as part of their corporate 

social responsibility. 

Folunsho, while thanking 

the speaker of the House 

of Representatives, Yakubu 

Dogara, for the assistance 

so far to the camp, however, 

solicited for more.


BUSINESS DAY 

A1


A2 BUSINESS DAY


BUSINESS DAY 

A3

A4 

NEWS 

BUSINESS DAY 

C002D5556 

Oil may flow again in Ogoni 

– Belemaoil CEO 

IGNATIUS CHUKWU & DAVID EJIOHUO 

The possibility that oil 

could flow again in 

Ogoni area of Rivers 

State is becoming obvious. 

This is despite several 

threats by the Movement for 

the Survival of the Ogoni People 

(MOSOP). An oil explorer 

said the level of interactions 

with various layers of the Ogoni 

people could lead to return of 

oil operations soon. 

Oil exploration and other related 

activities were suspended 

in Ogoni for nearly two decades 

following the death of late Ken 

Saro Wiwa, an environmental 

activist, and several others. For 

this reason, oil-prospecting 

business became a taboo for 

both the Federal Government 

and the multi-national oil prospecting 

companies. 

Now, a new ray of hope 

was raised during the week 

when the Founder/President 

of Belemaoil, an indigenous 

oil prospecting company, 

Jack-Rich Tein, spoke with 

BusinessDay at the Port Harcourt 

International Airport, 

Omagwa. 

According to Jack-Rich, the 

possibilities that oil prospecting 

and drilling activities in 

Ogoni are becoming realizable 

and obvious, and disclosed 

that the level of interactions 

with the people, chiefs and 

the youths of the Ogoni that 

oil prospecting activities could 

resume very soon. 

He said: “I believe by the 

grace of God, very soon oil will 

flow in Ogoni again”. Apart from 

the interactions with the people, 

the founder of the indigenous 

oil prospecting company 

said indigenous oil companies 

were receiving great assistance 

and encouragement from the 

presidency. He said: “The 

current president is there to 

checkmate the over bearing 

antics of the multi-nationals 

and is supporting the indigenous 

companies”. 

According to him, no permission 

had been given to his 

company to go into the Ogoni 

land but he said he was optimistic 

because of the success 

and good relationship he had 

had with the people of Ogoni. 

He said support from the 

presidency could make it possible 

to go in there and drill. 

Answering questions on 

the possibilities of indigenous 

entrepreneurs emerging in 

the obvious challenges in the 

oil industry, the Belemaoil 

boss equally expressed optimism 

but added that they 

needed skills, partnership 

and to remain resolute. 

Edo secures 4 convictions on noise pollution, plans 

structures for sustainable recreational parks 

Edo State commissioner 

for environment 

and sustainability, 

Reginald Okun, says 

the state government has secured 

the conviction of four 

persons for noise pollution. 

Okun, who disclosed this 

during an interview with journalists 

in Benin City, Edo State 

capital, said, “The state government 

is clamping down 

on persons who violate laws 

on noise pollution in the state. 

We have secured four convictions, 

with more persons to be 

charged to court soon.” 

It is regrettable that people 

disregard laws on noise pollution, 

noting, “This government 

will not tolerate any behaviour 

that disregards law and order, 

or people being laws unto 

themselves,” Okun said. 

According to Okun, “There 

was a petition where someone 

alleged that his children find 

it difficult to sleep at night because 

of the noise in his neighbourhood, 

only for the children 

to go to school to sleep 

during the day. It is sad how 

people set up external speakers 

and live bands outdoor, 

which disturb entire neighbourhoods.” 

Explaining how the practice 

is common with some 

religious centres, relaxation 

spots, nightclubs and bars, he 

said, “They do all these without 

considering its adverse 

effect on the immediate environment. 

The standard practice 

for use of speakers in such 

places, is that they set-up some 

form of soundproof system to 

restrict the sound.” 

The commissioner said 

government had already set 

up a mechanism to warn 

people and sensitise them on 

the existence of the rules and 

would not treat lightly those 

who break the law, “The state 

government will not relent 

in warning people to desist 

from such practice, as we will 

continue to serve notices to 

such persons. Aside prosecution, 

we are focusing more efforts 

on sensitisation as the 

government takes the issue of 

noise pollution very seriously. 

People with external speakers 

should remove such and endeavour 

to do the right thing.” 

On the use of siren, the 

commissioner said, “The state 

government is working with 

the Police Command in the 

state. We are making effort 

to get the Commissioner of 

Police to get people to understand 

the proper use of siren, 

which is in emergency cases. 

We are also reaching out to the 

hospital management board 

to ensure when ambulances 

should use sirens.” 


COSON leadership crisis deepens as Edo 

members pledge loyalty, support to Okoroji 


Leadership crisis rocking 

the Copyright Society 

of Nigeria (CO- 

SON), deepens further 

as the Edo State chapter of the 

senior members of the union 

have affirmed their loyalty and 

support to the Tony Okorojiled 

governing board of the 

body. 

The senior members, who 

made the disclosure at a press 

conference in Benin City on 

Monday, however disowned 

the appointment of the Efe 

Omorogbe-led executives. 

Some of the senior members 

of the organisation in the 

state that attended the press 

conference are Omo Osula, 

the Arala of Benin, Joseph Osayomore, 

Roland Igbinigie, 

aka Akabaman, Raphael Ehis 

Oboh, aka Oligbese 4sale, 

Tony Okate, Fabomo Edoloyi, 

among others. 

Omo Osula, who addressed 

the press conference, 

advised the said Omorogbe to 

stop parading himself as the 

chairman of the union. 

The elders, who also threatened 

to drag the said Omorogbe 

before the palace of the Oba 

of Benin, urged him to desist 

from being used as an instrument 

of destabilisation. 

When contacted on phone, 

Efe Omorogbe said the mem- 

bers were merely expressing 

their opinion. 

According to Osula, “We 

are embarrassed by your behaviour 

and hereby denounce 

your unwholesome activities 

targeted at destroying the unsurpassed 

respect associated 

with COSON. 

“You are shocked that despite 

our clear democratic 

choice of Tony Okoroji as 

COSON chairman at the 

said enlarged general meeting 

chaired by our very own 

internationally respected 

music icon, Professor (Sir), 

Victor Uwaifo, you have mischievously 

and fraudulently 

continued to parade yourself 

as chairman of COSON. Your 

behaviour is contrary to the 

norms and culture of the great 

people of Edo state. 

“We warn that if you continue 

to allow yourself to be 

used to destabilise COSON, 

an organisation which we are 

very proud of and which is catering 

for our needs, we may 

have no choice but to drag you 

before the Oba of Benin, His 

Royal Majesty, Oba Ewuare 

11, so that you can be called to 

order with appropriate sanctions 

imposed on you for the 

show of shame and the conduct 

that negates the value, 

norms and culture of our great 

people and the creative community 

in general,” he said.


BUSINESS DAY 

A5


A6 BUSINESS DAY


BUSINESS DAY 

A7


A8 BUSINESS DAY


BUSINESS DAY 

Cowry Weekly Financial Markets Review & Outlook 

A9 

ECONOMY: FY 2017 Internally Generated Revenue of 

Nigerian States Rises Y-o-Y by N100 billion… 

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its 2017 report tagged “Internally 

Generated Revenue At State Level” made available on Friday, March 23, 2018, 

revealed that Nigerian states’ internally generated revenue (IGR) for full year 2017, 

rose year on year (y-o-y) by 12.03% to N931.23 billion from N831.19 billion in 2016. 

Of the thirty-six states, nine states grew their IGR by more than 50% in the year 

under review: Ebonyi (117.88%), Sokoto (98.40%), Jigawa (88.11%), Borno (86.24%), 

Nasarawa (81.45%), Gombe (79.24%), Ekiti (66.08%), Bayelsa (58.42%) and Enugu 

(54.82%) to N5.1 billion, N9 billion, N6.7 billion, N4.9 billion, N6.2 billion, N5.3 

billion, N4.9 billion, N12.5 billion and N22 billion respectively. The drive behind 

the increase in IGR was partly due to the cut on allocations to states by the Federal 

Government. Net Federal Accounts Allocation to states dropped y-o-y by 32.76% to 

N1.19 trillion in 2016 from N1.77 trillion in 2015 amid declines in crude oil prices 

and production which threw the economy into recession in 2016. On the flip side, 

states such as Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Osun and Anambra recorded declines in IGR 

by 49.65% to N4.37 billion, 31.43% to N15.96 billion, 26.99% to N6.49 billion and 

25.37% to N17.37 billion respectively in 2017. Further analysis of the report showed 

that only four states generated IGR above N50 billion: Lagos state generated the 

highest revenue with an IGR of N333.97 billion, while Rivers, Ogun and Delta states 

generated N89.48 billion, N74.84 billion and N51.89 billion respectively. However, 

Yobe, Kebbi, Ekiti, Ebonyi, Gombe and Taraba generated the least revenue with 

IGRs of N3.60 billion, N4.40 billion, N4.97 billion, N5.10 billion, N5.27 billion and 

N5.76 billion respectively. Inspite of the y-o-y increase in IGR and net Federal 

Accounts Allocation to the states by 12.03% and 46.22% respectively, the states’ 

average total debt to gross revenue still remained high at 168% in 2017. Gross IGR 

of the states was N2.67 trillion, while their net Federal Accounts Allocation stood 

at N1.74 trillion in 2017. The states’ total debt was N4.50 trillion in the year under 

review, comprising of N1.24 trillion external debt (using CBN official rate - N305.00) 

and N3.25 trillion domestic debt. Total external debt in US dollars was USD4.08 

FOREX MARKET: Naira Depreciates against USD on 

13.47% W-o-W Drop in Transactions at I&E FXW 

In the week under review, the local currency depreciated week-on-week (w-o-w) 

against the U.S. dollar at the Investors & Exporters Forex Window (I&E FXW) by 

0.06% to close at N360.20 amid 13.47% week on week decrease to USD0.95 billion in 

transactions at the I&E FXW. Elsewhere, the Naira/USD rate remained unchanged at 

the interbank foreign exchange market, the parallel (‘black’) market and the Bureau 

De Change segments at N330.00/USD, N362.00/USD and N360/USD respectively 

as Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continued its weekly interventions of USD210 

million into the foreign exchange market; of which USD100 million was allocated 

to Wholesale (SMIS), USD55 million was allocated to Small and Medium Scale 

Enterprises and USD55 million was sold for invisibles. Meanwhile, most dated 

forward contracts at the interbank over-the-counter (OTC) segment depreciated – 

1 month, 2 months, 3 months and 6 months contracts rose by 0.12%, 0.14%, 0.13% 

and 0.27% to close N364.02/USD, N368.10/USD, N372.27/USD and N387.08/USD 

respectively; however, spot rate fell by 0.02% to close at N305.65. This week, we expect 

MONEY MARKET: NITTY Rises for Most Maturities 

despite N177 billion Redeemed T-Bills… 

In the week under review, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) redeemed treasury 

bills worth N177.31 billion. This was in line with its debt management strategy 

to reduce the ratio of domestic debt portfolio to 60% and increase the external 

debt to 40%. Hence, NIBOR for overnight tenor bucket fell to 7.6% (from 27.10%). 

However, NIBOR for 1 month, 3 months and 6 months tenor buckets rose w-o-w 

to 14.85% (from 14.10%), 16.01% (from 15.69%) and 17.99% (from 17.33%) 

respectively. Elsewhere, NITTY rose for all maturities tracked on sustained sell 

pressure: yields on the 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months maturities 

rose to 13.40% (from 12.35%), 14.43% (from 14.27%), 14.97% (from 14.91%) 

and 15.01% (from 14.99%) respectively. This week, treasury bills worth N528.90 

billion will mature via both primary and secondary market while N647 billion 

BOND MARKET: FGN Bond Prices Depreciate in Value 

Across All Maturities Tracked… 

In the week under review , FGN bonds traded at the over-the-counter (OTC) 

segment fell across all maturities tracked. The 20-year, 10% FGN JULY 2030 debt, 

the 10-year 16.39% FGN JAN 2022 debt, the 7-year 16.00% FGN JUN 2019 debt 

and the 5-year, 14.50% FGN JUL 2021 debt depreciated in value by N0.57, N0.19, 

N0.41 and N0.70 respectively; their corresponding yields rose to 13.65% (from 

13.54%), 13.62% (from 13.57%), 13.92% (from 13.59%) and 13.89% (from 13.62%) 

respectively. Meanwhile, FGN Eurobonds traded on the London Stock Exchange 

appreciated in value for most maturities tracked – the 10-year, 6.75% JAN 28, 

2021 and the 10-year, 6.38% JUL 12, 2023 increased in value by N0.63 and N0.57 

respectively; their corresponding yields fell to 4.78% (from 5.03%), and 5.28% 

(from 5.31%) respectively; while the 5-year, 5.13% JUL 12, 2018 depreciated in 

value by N0.01 and its corresponding yield rose to 4.71% (from 4.69%). At the 

OTC market, we anticipate bargain hunting with resultant price increase amid 

expectation of boost in liquidity 

million which largely constituted Lagos state debt of USD1.47 million (35.91%) and 

Kaduna, Edo and Cross River states contributing USD0.24 million (5.84%), USD0.23 

million (5.69%) and USD0.17 million (4.11%) respectively. Total debt to gross income 

ratio of thirteen states exceeded 200% at the end of 2017: Osun (990.97%), Ekiti 

(461.75%), Cross River (425.20%), Plateau (325.48%), Bauchi (245.00%), Zamfara 

(233.63%), Oyo (235.57%), Adamawa (225.62%), Edo (224.06%), Imo (222.28%), Kogi 

(220.93%), Nasarawa (218.84%) and Kaduna (202.36%). However, only Anambra 

state (49.09%) had it debt to revenue ratio under 50% threshold. We opine that high 

debt to gross revenue ratios of the states would further increase their debt servicing 

costs which in turn would burden future generated income of the affected states 

going forward given that most of the borrowed fund would have gone into recurrent 

expenses such as payment of salaries. Elsewhere, foreign exchange transactions at 

the Investors’ and Exporters’ FX Window (I&E FXW) increased month-on-month 

(m-o-m) by 9.78% to USD4.49 billion in March 2018 from USD4.09 in February 

2018. The increased transaction value led to an appreciation in the monthly average 

value of the Naira against the U.S. dollars at all the market segments; Naira/USD 

appreciated at the parallel market, Bureau de change and I&E FXW market segments 

by 0.18%, 0.08% and 0.03% to close at N362.20, N359.90 and N360.25 respectively. 

stability in exchange rate as businsses close for the Easter public holidays, thus 

reducing demand pressure in the market segement. Also, we anticipate diaspora 

remittances to help boost dollar availability. 

disbursed in the just concluded week by FAAC should also boost liquidity; 

hence, we expect moderation in interbank lending rates amid expected ease in 

financial system liquidity. 

EQUITIES MARKET: The Local Bourse Rebounds by 8 Bps 

on Consumer Goods Stocks… 

In the just concluded week, the Nigerian Stock Market rebounded by 0.08% amid 

bargain hunting activity, especially on heavyweights in the consumer goods space. 

This was in spite of the fact that most sectored guages closed in the red territory. The 

twin market performance measures, NSE ASI and market capitalisation closed higher 

at 41,505.51 points and N14.99 trillion respectively. The only index that closed in the 

green territory, NSE Consumer Goods, rose by 1.73% to close at 978.14; however, 

NSE Banking, NSE Insurance, NSE Oil/Gas and NSE Industrial Indexes fell by 

3.09%, 1.18%, 3.75% and 3.98% to close at 520.57 points, 151.09 points, 346.91 points 

and 2,192.12 points respectively. Elsewhere, Naira votes and transacted volumes 

decreased w-o-w by 42.45% and 33.83% to N16.65 billion and 1.54 billion shares 

respectively. On the sidelines of trading activities, Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc (FY 

Dec 31, 2017) recorded a 20.44% increase in revenue to N204.42 billion as well as a 

175.86% increase in profit after tax to N39.68 billion. The company also proposed a 

cash dividend per share of N1.25 which translated to a dividend yield of 5.73% based 

on Friday’s closing share price of N21.80. This week, we expect bullish activity in 

the market as investors re-position to take advantage of the lower prices amid good 

corporate results released in the just concluded week. 

POLITICS: Buhari Overrules NEC on Tenure Elongation 

for Oyegun-Led NWC… 

The President, Muhammadu Buhari during the fifth National Executive 

Council (NEC) meeting of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Abuja on Tuesday, 

March 20, 2018, declared the one-year tenure extension granted by the party’s 

NEC on February 27, 2018, to its National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun 

and other members of its National Working Committee (NWC) at the state level 

illegal. He faulted the earlier decision of NEC on the basis that it breached relevant 

sections of the party’s constitution, as well as the constitution of the Federal 

Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). The president, who chose to defer to the 

party’s constitutional provisions for electing members of its NWC, insisted that fresh 

elections were to be conducted immediately the tenure of the current executives 

elapses. He further advised members of the NWC wishing to retain positions to 

resign and re-contest in line with the party’s constitution. The party consequently 

set up a committee to consider the President’s position while maintaining status 

quo. Corroborating the President’s opinion, the National Leader of party, Asiwaju 

Bola Tinubu, mentioned that illegal elongations would mean that all subsequent 

party actions, nomination of candidates for elective offices inclusive, might be 

legally questionable. We opine that, the principles of democracy and the rule of 

law should always take precedence in the political process and must be imbibed 

by politicians, the custodians of democracy, in order to engender institutional 

building. Elsewhere, on Wednesday, March 28, 2018, the Senate finally passed the 

harmonized version of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB). The PIGB 

seeks to, among other things, enhance regulatory oversight and transparency in the 

petroleum sector by unbundle the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and 

merging its subsidiaries such as the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) 

and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) into one entity. 

Disclaimer 

This report is produced by the Research Desk of Cowry Asset Management 

Limited (COWRY) as a guideline for Clients that intend to invest in 

securities on the basis of their own investment decision without relying 

completely on the information contained herein. The opinion contained 

herein is for information purposes only and does not constitute any offer 

or solicitation to enter into any trading transaction. While care has been 

taken in preparing this document, no responsibility or liability whatsoever 

is accepted by any member of COWRY for errors, omission of facts, and any 

direct or consequential loss arising from the use of this report or its contents. 

Cowry Weekly Stock Recommendations As At Friday 30 March 2018 

Cowry Asset Management Limited (Member of the Nigeria Stock Exchange) 

Plot 1319 Karimu Kotun, Victoria Island Lagos Tel: +234-1-2715008-9; +234-1-2716614-5 www.cowryasset.com


A10 BUSINESS DAY


FT FINANCIAL TIMES 

C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

A11 

World Business Newspaper 

Trump threatens Nafta 

in immigration spat 

with Mexico 

US president renews attack on Monday morning by 

demanding action on southern border 

SAM FLEMING 

Mark Zuckerberg 

hits back at Tim 

Cook over criticism 

Donald Trump claimed he is 

prepared to halt the North 

American Free Trade Agreement 

if Mexico fails to help secure 

its border with the US in an angry 

escalation of his year-long fight with 

his southern neighbour. 

In a series of tweets on Sunday, 

the president accused the Mexican 

government of doing little or nothing 

to stop the flow of people from 

other Latin American countries over 

their southern border and then on 

into the US. 

“They must stop the big drug and 

people flows, or I will stop their cash 

cow, NAFTA,” he wrote, repeating 

his desire to erect a wall along the 

boundary between the two countries. 

Mr Trump also suggested he was 

no longer willing to support an agreement 

with US Democrats to secure 

the status of individuals brought 

illegally into the country as children 

— the so-called Dreamers — as he 

called on lawmakers to push through 

tough new laws to harden America’s 

border. 

Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened 

to pull out of Nafta, which covers 

a quarter of the global economy. 

The US, Canada and Mexico have 

been engaged in the painstaking 

process of renegotiating the agreement 

since last August, even as the 

US president vows to pursue hardline 

trade policies aimed at protecting 

sections of American manufacturing. 

The president opted to temporarily 

exclude allies including Canada, 

Mexico and the EU from his steel and 

aluminium tariffs last month. 

Mr Trump renewed his Twitter 

attack on Monday morning, writing 

that it was incumbent on the Mexican 

government to stop “caravans” of 

immigrants passing through Mexico 

trying to reach the US border from 

other Latin American countries. 

The Monday attacks echoed the 

main focus Mr Trump’s Easter ire, 

which targeted Mexico’s handling of 

Summit offer adds to the erratic nature of Washington’s stance on Moscow 

migration issues and drug trafficking. 

He accused the country of laughing at 

America’s “dumb immigration laws” 

and suggested any deal on Nafta 

would hinge on Mexico’s ability to 

clamp down on flows of people over 

its borders. 

He also complained that US border 

patrol agents were not able to 

do their jobs properly, and declared 

that a deal over the Deferred Action 

for Childhood Arrivals programme 

was no longer on the table. “NO 

MORE DACA DEAL!” the president 

declared. He renewed that attack on 

Monday as well, calling on Congress 

to “immediately pass Border Legislation 

. . . to stop the massive inflow of 

Drugs and People”. 

The Obama-era Daca policy protected 

some individuals who had entered 

the country illegally as children 

from deportation, but the Trump 

administration decided to cancel it 

last year. The White House had aimed 

to end it in early March, but the move 

has been stalled by battles in the 

federal courts. 

Mr Trump’s hardline tone on immigration 

issues is motivating for his 

core supporters as the Republicans 

prepare for midterm elections later 

this year. But polling from Quinnipiac 

University in February suggested 80 

per cent of the electorate wants to allow 

undocumented children brought 

to the US to remain and eventually 

apply for citizenship. 

The president had previously said 

he was open to a compromise on 

Daca, before then attacking Democrats 

for failing to strike a deal in 

Congress. Mr Trump on Sunday said 

the situation with the US-Mexico 

border was “getting more dangerous”, 

claiming that “caravans” of people 

were coming. 

Asked on his way to an Easter service 

in Florida about his Daca tweet, 

Mr Trump renewed his claim that the 

Democrats had scuppered hopes of 

a deal. “Mexico has got to help us at 

the border. If they’re not going to help 

us at the border, it’s a very sad thing.” 

Trump invited Putin to White House during Skripal storm 

KATHRIN HILLE AND 

KATRINA MANSON 

Page A12 

President Donald Trump invited 

his Russian counterpart, Vladimir 

Putin, to a summit meeting 

at the White House at the height 

of a storm over Moscow’s alleged 

involvement in a nerve agent attack 

in Britain, the Kremlin revealed on 

Monday. 

That Mr Trump was willing to 

afford Mr Putin such an honour just 

days before the US expelled 60 Russian 

diplomats in solidarity with the 

UK over the poisonings in Salisbury, 

is another sign of the Trump administration’s 

bewilderingly inconsistent 

stance towards Russia. 

“When our presidents talked on 

the phone [on March 20], Trump 

proposed to conduct the first meeting 

in Washington, in the White House,” 

Yuri Ushakov, Mr Putin’s foreign 

policy adviser, told Russian media. 

Mr Ushakov called Mr Trump’s 

invitation “a pretty interesting and 

positive idea”. 

The White House confirmed the 

report but played down its significance. 

“As the president himself confirmed 

on March 20, hours after his 

last call with President Putin, the two 

Continues on page A12 

Swiss bankers’ hopes for EU access dashed by Brexit 

Technical talks on cross-border business have become ‘very political’ 

Swiss bankers’ hopes of securing 

improved access to EU markets 

have been dashed by Britain’s 

plans to quit the bloc, the head of 

Switzerland’s banking association 

has said. 

Herbert Scheidt, said Brexit had 

politicised technical talks about 

encouraging business across the 

Swiss-EU border. “It makes it harder 

to improve market access at the 

speed we had hoped before Brexit,” 

the chairman of the Swiss Bankers 

Association told the Financial Times. 

Despite being surrounded by EU 

countries, Switzerland has repeatedly 

chosen not to join the bloc. Instead, 

economic and other relationships are 

governed by more than 120 bilateral 

contracts agreed over decades. 

Brussels fears any concessions 

given now to Switzerland could 

set a precedent for the Brexit talks, 

bankers in Zurich believe. “The EU 

cannot grant Switzerland something 

while still negotiating with the UK,” 

Brussels plans crackdown on ‘fake news’ in social media 

Cambridge Analytica scandal heightens concerns about European elections 

Brussels is preparing to crack 

down on social media companies 

who have been accused 

of spreading “fake news”, issuing a 

stark warning that scandals such as 

the Facebook data leak threaten to 

“subvert our democratic systems”. 

The European Commission fears 

that next year’s elections to the European 

Parliament are vulnerable 

to mass eurosceptic online “disinformation”. 

Its concern sharpened 

after a whistleblower alleged that 

Cambridge Analytica gathered 

personal information from up to 

50m Facebook users and used it to 

target voters in the US presidential 

election. Cambridge Analytica has 

denied using Facebook data in its 

modelling. 

Julian King, European commissioner 

for security, is demanding 

a “clear game plan” for how social 

Sunni Saudi Arabia 

courts an ally in 

Iraq’s Shia 

Arriving for an Easter church service in Bethesda-by-the-Sea, Florida, with first lady Melania Trump, Donald Trump said 

Mexico ‘has got to help us at the border’ © AP 

RALPH ATKINS AND 

LAURA NOONAN 

MEHREEN KHAN AND MICHAEL PEEL 

Page A13 

said one. 

Mr Scheidt said: “What has 

changed is the overall political environment. 

Brussels is currently very 

Brexit-centred, people have little time 

for topics related to Swiss banking.” 

Switzerland is the world’s largest 

manager of cross-border wealth, but 

its bankers’ direct access to potential 

clients in EU markets is restricted — 

although larger banks especially can 

circumvent the constraints by having 

units located in EU countries. 

A longstanding ambition of the 

affluent Alpine state had been to improve 

access via a financial services 

agreement, but that goal was quietly 

dropped from Switzerland’s negotiating 

objectives earlier this year. 

Before agreeing new market access 

deals, Brussels wants Switzerland 

to reorganise its EU relationships 

around an “institutional framework” 

agreement by which Swiss rules 

would change automatically in line 

with EU changes, and disputes would 

be resolved via mechanisms involving 

the EU judges. 

Such plans are controversial in 

media companies can operate during 

sensitive election periods — starting 

with European Parliament polls in 

May 2019. 

A letter from Sir Julian to Mariya 

Gabriel, commissioner for the digital 

economy, calls for more transparency 

on the internal algorithms that internet 

platforms use to promote stories, 

limits on the “harvesting” of personal 

information for political purposes, 

and disclosure by tech companies of 

who funds “sponsored content” on 

their websites. 

Sir Julian proposes a “more binding 

approach” than self-regulation, including 

“clearly and carefully defined 

performance indicators”. 

His proposals have backing from 

the other commissioners who are 

drawing up the EU’s first policy on how 

to fight “online disinformation” to be 

published later this month. 

The Cambridge Analytica revelations 

have turbo-charged the debate, 

Switzerland, however, where voters 

reject the jurisdiction of “foreign 

judges”. 

To increase the pressure on Bern, 

the EU last December dealt a blow to 

the Swiss stock exchange by announcing 

it would allow European and Swiss 

equities traders access to each others’ 

markets for just 12 months, leaving 

unclear what would happen after that. 

Bern denounced that move by Brussels 

as “unacceptable” discrimination. 

“It was a very short term decision,” 

Mr Scheidt said. “We have heard 

that it was because negotiations on 

an institutional framework had not 

moved forward — but that was never 

mentioned when we were in Brussels 

in late October, shortly before the 

decision.” 

Another potential flashpoint is 

access for Switzerland’s alternative 

investment fund managers. Fund 

managers had hoped the Swiss regulatory 

regime would be declared 

“equivalent” to the EU’s Alternative 

Investment Fund Managers Directive, 

which would allow Swiss-based asset 

managers to sell directly into the EU. 

with EU officials pushing for stronger 

guidance on how platforms should 

behave to safeguard democracy. 

The “psychometric targeting activities” 

such as those of Cambridge 

Analytica, a data analysis company, 

are just a “preview of the profoundly 

disturbing effects such disinformation 

could have on the functioning of 

liberal democracies”, Sir Julian wrote 

in the letter dated March 19. 

“It is clear that the cyber-security 

threat we are facing is changing from 

one primarily targeting systems to 

one that is also increasingly about 

deploying cyber means to manipulate 

behaviour, deepen societal divides, 

subvert our democratic systems and 

raise questions about our democratic 

institutions,” the letter adds. 

Brussels’ warning comes as a number 

of EU member states are drawing 

up “anti-fake news laws” amid a host of 

allegations over Russian interference 

in European elections in the past year.

A12 BUSINESS DAY 

C002D5556 Tuesday 03 April 2018 

FT 

Trump invited Putin to 

White House during.... 

NATIONAL 

Anti-apartheid leader Winnie Madikizela-Mandela dies aged 81 

Ex-wife of Nelson Mandela kept South African movement alive during his imprisonment 

JOSEPH COTTERILL 

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, 

the former wife of 

Nelson Mandela who 

helped keep South Africa’s antiapartheid 

movement alive while 

her husband spent 27 years in 

prison, has died at the age of 81. 

Continued from page A11 

had discussed a bilateral meeting in 

the ‘not-too-distant future’ at a number 

of potential venues, including the 

White House,” said Sarah Sanders, 

the press secretary. 

Such an invitation would mark 

the closest Mr Putin has come to a 

proper summit with Mr Trump, a 

goal the Kremlin has been pursuing 

since before Mr Trump’s inauguration 

in January last year. It has proved 

elusive, not least because of the 

intense political backlash in the US 

over Russian interference in the 2016 

presidential election. 

Mr Trump telephoned Mr Putin 

two days after he won another term 

in presidential elections, congratulating 

him on his victory even though 

he was reportedly urged not to do so 

by his aides. 

The offer of a White House summit 

was made just as the British 

government was pressing its allies 

to kick out Russian officials over the 

nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal, 

a former Russian double agent, and 

his daughter. 

“This is a classic unforced diplomatic 

error by Trump,” said Andrew 

Weiss, former Russia director at the 

National Security Council under Bill 

Clinton, adding that the Kremlin’s 

revelation of the White House invitation 

opened up apparent cracks in 

western unity. 

“The Kremlin is all too happy to 

exploit any openings that let it plant 

wedges between the UK and other 

western countries that have registered 

their anger over the Skripal 

attack.” 

Mr Weiss said the revelation from 

the Kremlin showed continued lack 

of discipline inside the White House 

and left observers with even less faith 

in Mr Trump ever agreeing with his 

national security team on “a more 

tough-minded approach” on Russia. 

Kremlin officials started discussing 

options for a first meeting 

between the two presidents almost 

immediately after Mr Trump’s election 

victory, screening potential 

locations in a number of European 

countries seen as sufficiently neutral 

to make the meeting comfortable 

and politically acceptable to both 

sides. 

Some of Mr Putin’s aides hoped 

that if the two men established a 

positive personal relationship early 

on, they could improve the bilateral 

ties that have been deteriorating for 

several years. 

But the snowballing investigations 

into alleged Russian meddling 

in the US election and mounting 

public distrust of Russia, in addition 

to Mr Trump’s seemingly erratic 

foreign policy agenda, quickly destroyed 

Moscow’s hopes for an early 

meeting. Instead, the two presidents 

met only on the sidelines of the G20 

summit in Hamburg last summer. 

Her family said Ms Madikizela-Mandela 

died early on Monday 

morning at the Netcare Milpark 

Hospital in Johannesburg. 

“Mrs Madikizela-Mandela 

was one of the greatest icons of 

the struggle against apartheid,” 

the family said in the statement. 

“She fought valiantly against the 

apartheid state and sacrificed 

her life for the freedom of the 

country.” 

Despite Mrs Madikizela-Mandela’s 

role as one of the leaders 

of South Africa’s liberation 

movement, as white rule crumbled 

and Mr Mandela rose to 

become the first post-apartheid 

president, “Mama Winnie” also 

emerged as one of the most 

complicated and enigmatic politicians 

of South Africa’s young 

democracy. 

Her militancy and associations 

with violence earned her 

many enemies in Mr Mandela’s 

own African National Congress, 

Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook’s advertising and data-led business model allowed the service to reach more people 

Mark Zuckerberg hits back at Tim Cook over criticism 

Facebook founder calls Apple chief’s comments on data failure ‘extremely glib’ 

MATTHEW GARRAHAN 

Mark Zuckerberg has hit back 

at Tim Cook’s veiled criticism 

of Facebook’s data policies, 

saying the suggestion that his company 

did not care about its users was 

“extremely glib” and “not at all aligned 

with the truth”. 

The Apple chief executive took a 

swipe at the Facebook founder last 

week in the aftermath of the Cambridge 

Analytica scandal, when asked what he 

would do if he were in the Mr Zuckerberg’s 

position. 

Mr Cook drew a distinction between 

Apple and Facebook, saying: “I 

wouldn’t be in this situation.” 

The iPhone maker was deliberately 

leaving money on the table by refusing 

to use data to target advertising to its 

hundreds of millions of customers, he 

told MSNBC. “We care about the user 

experience and we’re not going to traffic 

in your personal life.” 

But in an interview with Vox, Mr 

Zuckerberg defended Facebook’s advertising 

and data-led business model. 

“The reality here is that if you want 

to build a service that helps connect 

everyone in the world, then there are a 

lot of people who can’t afford to pay,” he 

said. “Having an advertising-supported 

model is the only rational model that 

can support building this service to 

reach people.” 

“If you want to build a service which 

is not just serving rich people, then you 

need to have something that people 

can afford,” he added. 

Mr Zuckerberg acknowledged that 

Facebook’s ambition of connecting the 

world had changed following the global 

“rise of isolationism and nationalism”. 

“I think it’s clear that just helping 

people connect by itself isn’t always 

positive,” he said. “A much bigger part 

of the focus for me now is making sure 

that as we’re connecting people, we 

are helping to build bonds and bring 

people closer together, rather than just 

focused on the mechanics of the connection 

and the infrastructure.” 

Facebook also had “a big responsibility” 

to “help support high-quality 

journalism”, he said, pointing to the 

importance of subscriptions as a key 

revenue for news organisations. “There 

are certainly a lot of things that we can 

do on Facebook to help people, to 

help these news organisations, drive 

subscriptions.” 

Mr Zuckerberg raised the prospect 

of a third party body ruling on disputes 

about content published on the platform. 

“Over the long term, what I’d 

really like to get to is an independent 

appeal,” he said. “You can imagine 

some sort of structure, almost like a 

UK banks sell asset-backed securities at fastest rate in years 

NICHOLAS MEGAW 

UK banks are selling assetbacked 

securities at the fastest 

rate in years, with activity 

set to increase further as the withdrawal 

of a Bank of England support 

programme forces lenders to find 

alternative sources of funding. 

Banks and building societies that 

had been eligible for the BoE’s Term 

Funding Scheme issued €4.4bn 

worth of securitised products — 

where assets such as mortgages or 

consumer credit are packaged together 

and sold like bonds — in the 

first quarter of 2018, compared with 

zero in the same period last year, 

according to data from JPMorgan. 

The TFS, introduced to encourage 

banks to continue lending after 

the Brexit vote, allowed them to 

borrow at the central bank’s base 

rate, reducing the need for them to 

Supreme Court, that is made up of 

independent folks who don’t work for 

Facebook, who ultimately make the 

final judgment call on what should be 

acceptable speech in a community that 

reflects the social norms and values of 

people all around the world.” 

Facebook continues to weather the 

fallout from the Cambridge Analytica 

scandal, when it was revealed that the 

UK data analytics company had accessed 

the personal information of 50m 

Facebook users. 

The political outcry has not abated 

and regulators on both sides of the 

Atlantic are exploring tighter restrictions 

on social networks. Brussels is 

preparing to crack down on social 

media companies, issuing a stark warning 

that scandals such as the Facebook 

data leak threaten to “subvert our 

democratic systems”. 

Julian King, European commissioner 

for security, is demanding a 

“clear game plan” for how social media 

companies operate during sensitive 

election periods, starting with European 

Parliament polls in May 2019. 

A letter from Sir Julian to Mariya 

Gabriel, commissioner for the digital 

economy, called for more transparency 

on the algorithms that tech companies 

use to promote news stories, as well as 

limits on the “harvesting” of personal 

information for political purposes. 

raise funds elsewhere. The scheme 

ended at the end of February. 

Santander in March completed 

the largest dollar-denominated 

mortgage-backed security issue by 

any UK company since 2012, while 

Lloyds sold more than £500m worth 

of notes linked to a credit card portfolio, 

helping bring total issuance 

over the first three months of the 

year to its highest level since the 

first quarter of 2016. 

and her national reputation was 

dimmed in the decades following 

their divorce in 1996. 

In 2003, she was convicted 

of fraud and theft but, like an 

earlier charge of kidnapping, 

the conviction was lessened on 

appeal and she was given a suspended 

sentence. 

Ukrainian bank files 

$3bn claim against PwC 

for audit breaches 

PrivatBank asks Cypriot court to rule if auditor 

should have spotted decade-long fraud 

ROMAN OLEARCHYK 

PrivatBank, Ukraine’s largest 

commercial lender, has filed a 

$3bn legal claim against PwC 

saying that “serious and extensive 

breaches” at the auditing group allowed 

alleged accounting abuses 

that forced the state to nationalise 

the bank. 

The bold Ukrainian attempt to 

secure significant damages from 

PwC in a Cyprus court marks the 

latest reputational blow to the “Big 

Four” accountancy firms that has 

prompted regulators to intensify 

scrutiny through probes and hefty 

fines. 

Petr Krumphanzl, PrivatBank’s 

chairman, said in a statement on 

Monday that PwC “failed absolutely 

to identify the ongoing operation of 

the huge fraud within the bank over 

many years which resulted in virtually 

the entire corporate loan book 

of the bank being non-performing 

and without any or any adequate 

security”. 

“It will now be for the Cyprus 

court to determine the claims being 

brought by PrivatBank against PwC 

in due course,” he added. 

PrivatBank, which was previously 

owned by two Ukrainian oligarchs, 

said it had filed the legal proceedings 

on Friday in a Nicosia court 

against two PwC group affiliates, one 

registered in Ukraine and another 

in Cyprus. 

PrivatBank, which was nationalised 

in late 2016, cited a December 

High Court of London order freezing 

more than $2.5bn of “worldwide” assets 

belonging to the bank’s former 

oligarch owners Igor Kolomoisky 

and Gennady Bogolyubov. 

It described the claims against 

PwC as “the next significant step 

being taken . . . to seek to recover substantial 

compensation for the huge 

losses it has suffered, the burden of 

which thus far has fallen in large part 

on the state of Ukraine.” 

Ukraine’s central bank revealed 

in January that an investigation 

by corporate consultancy Kroll 

had found that PrivatBank was 

“subjected to a large scale and 

co-ordinated fraud over at least a 

10-year period . . . which resulted in 

a loss of at least $5.5bn” before the 

state stepped in. 

There was no immediate response 

from PwC, Mr Kolomoisky or 

Mr Bogolyubov. All have in previous 

comments denied wrongdoing in 

relation to the financial woes that 

occurred at PrivatBank. In July last 

year, Ukraine’s central bank pulled 

PwC’s domestic bank auditing rights, 

citing its alleged shortcomings in 

identifying the alleged fraud.


FT 

Sunni Saudi Arabia courts an ally in Iraq’s Shia 

Can the kingdom and its reconstruction aid overcome distrust between Islamic sects? 

ERIKA SOLOMON 

ANALYSIS 

C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

A13 

Beneath the golden dome 

of the Imam Ali shrine 

spreads the ramshackle 

expanse of Najaf, the Iraqi 

holy city for Shia Muslims, 

who flock to it in their thousands. 

Arab visitors bow as they pass 

the shrine, Iranians sitting beneath 

it recite lilting chants and Pakistani 

worshippers rhythmically beat their 

chests. 

With little in the way of wealth 

or resources, Najaf might seem an 

unlikely place for anyone but Shia 

pilgrims to seek out. Yet the city, 

160km south of Baghdad, has an 

unusual new suitor — the oil-rich 

power on the other side of Islam’s 

sectarian divide, Saudi Arabia. The 

Sunni Gulf kingdom’s courting of 

Iraq’s Shia clerical elite over the past 

year could mark a transformational 

shift in Riyadh’s regional strategy. 

For decades, Saudi Arabia and 

its Shia rival Iran have exploited the 

centuries-old schism between Islam’s 

Shia and Sunni sects to serve their 

modern-day power struggles. Now, 

Saudi officials are discreetly shuttling 

messages to Najaf’s leading Shia 

clerics, who, although wary of being 

drawn into a proxy struggle, want to 

hear Riyadh out. Last year foreign 

minister Adel al-Jubeir made the first 

visit to Iraq by a senior Saudi official 

since 1990. Iraqi leaders have hinted 

that Crown Prince Mohammed bin 

Salman could also visit the country 

soon, with some saying he would 

include Najaf on any itinerary. But the 

Saudi foreign ministry was forced on 

Saturday to issue a statement saying 

that no such trip was planned, after a 

protest in Baghdad at the end of last 

week against such a visit. 

The stakes of this tentative rapprochement 

are high. At its best, 

Riyadh’s efforts to find Shia allies 

against Iran could defuse sectarianism 

that has sewn a bloody trail 

of conflict across the region. At its 

worst, the push could turn Iraq into 

yet another stage for Iranian-Saudi 

rivalries, played out most recently in 

Kuwait. Opportunities to re-engage 

crumbled after the 2003 US invasion 

— with the long-repressed Shia 

majority suddenly empowered and 

facing hostility from Sunni factions, 

many leaders turned to Tehran. 

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards bolstered 

Iraq’s hardline Shia militias. 

Meanwhile, Iraqis accused Gulf 

states, particularly Saudi Arabia, 

of tolerating if not funding Sunni 

jihadi groups like al-Qaeda and more 

recently Isis that were fuelling civil 

war in their country. 

Saudi re-engagement with Iraq 

has long been encouraged by western 

powers, particularly the US. 

Those efforts were bolstered last 

year by visits by two influential Iraqi 

Shia leaders, Muqtada al-Sadr, a 

popular cleric and political leader, 

and Haider al-Abadi, prime minister. 

Now Prince Mohammed appears 

to have embraced this strategy as a 

way to challenge Iran’s expanding 

regional influence, while he embarks 

on a radical overhaul of his own 

country’s economy. 

“Saudi Arabia has realised that it 

cannot do without coexisting with, 

or tolerating Shiism,” says Diya al- 

Assadi, an Iraqi parliamentarian 

close to Mr Sadr. “Now, the Saudis 

want to tell people that they are not 

against Shiism, but they are against 

Shiism influenced by Iran.” 

The approach chimes with some 

Fans cheer the Iraq football team during their match against Saudi Arabia in Basra, their 

first game inside the country since the 1980s. Despite losing 4-1, the Saudi king promised 

to build a 100,000-capacity stadium in the Iraqi capital © AFP 

Yemen, Syria and Lebanon. 

“It may be calm in Iraq now . . . but 

the struggle between these two 

forces is reaching a climax, and I 

don’t see either side ready for dialogue,” 

says the Iraqi Shia politician 

Ali al-Adib. “This is a region pregnant 

with surprises.” 

Iraq and its Gulf Arab neighbours 

have been estranged since the 

1991 Gulf war, triggered by former 

ruler Saddam Hussein invading 

year war against Isis, but ending 

the decade-long cycle of sectarian 

violence that preceded it. 

“Our hope is that these Arab 

countries hurry up and enter the 

market,” says Ahmed al-Kinani, a Shia 

politician who heads parliament’s 

economic committee and who was 

formerly aligned with pro-Iran parties. 

“Iraq is an important part of the 

Arab world, and Iraq should return to 

the Arab embrace.” 

The Saudi charm offensive contrasts 

starkly with Prince Mohammed’s 

earlier attempts at countering 

Iran. Its air war against Shia Houthi 

rebels in Yemen has left thousands 

dead and created a quagmire from 

which there is no easy exit. A brazen 

move last year to hold its Sunni ally, 

Lebanese prime minister Saad al- 

Hariri, in Riyadh and force him to 

resign in a bid to push the Iranianbacked 

Hizbollah group out of government 

backfired. 

Yet in Iraq, where Iran’s powerful 

presence constrains Riyadh’s ambitions, 

Saudi leaders could get it right. 

“Riyadh is laying the groundwork 

for patient, long-term engagement, 

doing the hard work of rebuilding 

ties, relationships and even its public 

image,” says Elizabeth Dickinson, 

a Gulf analyst for the International 

Crisis Group. “We see real potential 

for Saudi engagement with Iraq to 

forge a new model in how to whittle 

back Iranian influence in the region.” 

Najaf is a natural target. Its leading 

clerics wield huge influence over Iraq, 

and the Shia world more broadly. A 

major coup for Riyadh would be developing 

a relationship with Najaf’s 

Grand Ayatollah. Few clerics are as 

influential as the elderly, hermitic 

Ali al-Sistani. In 2014, with a single 

fatwa (religious decree), he sent tens 

of thousands of Iraqi men to join 

paramilitary groups fighting Isis after 

it seized over a third of the country. 

Mr Sistani’s office, itself critical 

of Iranian intervention, is still wary 

of Saudi overtures, local officials say, 

but has maintained back-channel 

communications. In Najaf and across 

Iraq, Riyadh is appealing to a shared 

Arab identity — something Iraq does 

not have with Iran’s Persian majority. 

In February, the Saudi Arabia 

football team played Iraq in the 

southern city of Basra, their first 

game inside the country since the 

1980s, a match attended by 60,000 

fans. Despite losing 4-1, the Saudi 

king promised to build a 100,000-capacity 

stadium in Baghdad. 

The kingdom has also sent delegations 

of businessmen and jour- 

The Iraqi Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr meets Crown Prince Mohammed 

bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last year © Reuters 

Shia worried by Iran’s increasingly 

powerful role in the country. Najaf 

clerics have long been leery of Iranian 

interventionism. Some Shia 

politicians, riding a wave of Iraqi 

nationalism after defeating Isis, 

are playing up their shared identity 

with the Gulf Arab states as part of 

their bid to gain support for Iraq’s 

estimated $88bn reconstruction 

effort. They see development as key 

not only to rebuilding after a threenalists, 

many of whom had not visited 

the country in decades, fuelling 

nostalgia for an era before wars tore 

Iraq apart. Adham Fakher, an Iraqi 

economist, says some delegates 

wept as Iraqi officials greeted them. 

“I was really surprised,” he recalls. 

“These two communities were genuinely 

very excited to meet.” 

But that excitement has cooled as 

Saudi visitors begin to grapple with 

the daunting scale of Iraq’s corruption 

problems and devastated infrastructure. 

A member of one delegation 

sent a note to the Iraqi National 

Business Council, Mr Fakher said, 

detailing concerns over security 

and Iraq’s banking system, which 

critics say is outdated, corrupt, and 

reluctant to fund investment. 

Investment is what Baghdad 

wants most. So far, Iraq has gained 

new direct flights with Riyadh and 

the signing of 18 memoranda of 

understanding for oil and gas projects, 

but little direct investment. At a 

recent reconstruction conference in 

Kuwait, Gulf states offered little aid 

— the $3.5bn pledged came mostly 

in loans and credit facilities. 

“We thought money was going to 

come pouring in,” one Iraqi banker 

says. “After the conference, we felt a 

lot of it was talk.” 

But in Basra, Iraq’s oil and economic 

hub, the head of the local 

investment authority, Ali Jassib, 

remains optimistic: “Even if it’s all 

talk — it doesn’t matter. It’s still an 

attempt at a new start and refreshed 

relations.” The opening of a consulate 

in Basra is a sign Riyadh aims 

to support Saudi investors, he says, 

pointing to talks between Sabic, the 

Saudi chemical company, and Shell 

to invest in its $11bn petrochemical 

project. Meanwhile, Basra’s investment 

authority aims to attract Gulf 

money for railway and agricultural 

projects. 

Thaer Abdel-Zahra, one of the 

owners of Basra’s popular Times 

Square Mall, says he has noticed a rise 

in interest from Gulf investors. His 

partners recently met representatives 

of Kuwait’s Alshaya group, a major 

franchise owner, with brands like 

H&M, McDonald’s and Starbucks. 

“God willing, within a few months 

you’ll see a Starbucks downstairs,” 

he says. 

His concern is that Iranian-backed 

parties controlling administrative offices 

may try to strangle Saudi investors’ 

bids for land and licences, via red 

tape. “There is a long way and a short 

way to get these,” he says. “They will 

push the Saudis the long way.” 

Businessmen say US officials 

are facilitating a lot of the activity 

to counter Tehran’s influence. Iran, 

Iraq’s second largest trading partner, 

exported $12bn worth of goods in 

the past year according to Iranian 

state media. 

US involvement worries some 

proponents of Saudi rapprochement, 

like Sadr supporters — many 

of whom once fought US forces. 

They argue that alongside belligerent 

anti-Iran rhetoric coming from 

Washington, it could push Riyadh to 

over play its hand. “We really don’t 

want Iraq to end up as the rubbish bin 

of a regional Iranian-American-Saudi 

dispute,” says Salah al-Obaidi, a Najaf 

cleric and relative of Mr Sadr. 

Diplomats say Iran has stayed on 

the sidelines, trying to assess whether 

there is any benefit, to it, from a Gulf 

presence in Iraq. Tehran’s attempt to 

unify several Shia political blocs to 

reinforce its position in the country 

ahead of Iraq’s May parliamentary 

elections, fell apart within days. “That 

incident shows us [not to] believe 

people who say Iran controls everything,” 

says one western diplomat. 

“The big card they play is — look, we 

will always be there for you.”


NEWS 

Ogoni women group worried over delay in clean up 

A 

group of women 

IGNATIUS CHUKWU 

in Ogoni who 

took journalists 

round oil 

spills in their 

area said the people had 

grown weary of waiting for 

the clean up and many were 

now living in exile. 

Speaking during a media 

tour of polluted sites 

in Ogoni communities of 

Gokana Local Government 

Area organised by 

Lokikia Women Development 

Centre, with support 

from Mama Cash, a Dutch 

international development 

agency, some members of 

oil impacted Ogoni communities 

lamented over 

devastating spills. 

The women said in spite 

of the grave dangers faced 

by the communities as a result 

of oil pollution caused 

by many factors including 

Shell operations, no serious 

steps have been taken so far 

by the government and the 

oil company to clean up the 

environment and restore it 

Terragon raises $5m to scale data, marketing 

technology platform for Africa 

JUMOKE AKIYODE- LAWANSON 

Africa’s data analytics 

markets received 

a boost with a $5 

million investment 

in Nigerian-based Terragon 

Group, Africa’s leading mobile 

marketing company said 

on Thursday as it closed a $5 

million funding round led by 

Africa-focused TLcom Capital. 

The company said the 

funding would be used to develop 

further its proprietary 

marketing technology that 

connects online and offline 

mobile channels to provide 

African brands and SMEs with 

more customer reach, engagement 

and conversions with 

self-service access. 

Terragon is pioneering the 

platform with Africa’s largest 

telco - MTN Nigeria. The 

Adrenaline platform from Terragon 

offers unprecedented 

and offline mobile channels 

providing the reach and targeting 

to deliver on their marketing 

objectives. 

Ido Sum, partner at TLcom 

who is joining Terragon’s 

Board, said: “We have 

followed Terragon closely for 

a while, seeing it developing 

into a world class marketing 

technology company targeting 

the unique African opportunity. 

“Over recent years we led 

investments into Upstream 

(exited to Actis), as well as NYC 

based Persado and Cubiq 

who are among the leaders 

in the MarTech space in the 

US, and we are convinced 

that Terragon’s deep market 

understanding and platform 

quality can allow Africa’s top 

brands as well as SMEs to finally 

reach, acquire and serve 

African consumers at scale like 

never before.” 

Corruption tops list of challenges facing energy industry in Nigeria, Africa 


Corruption has been 

identified as the biggest 

challenge that 

power professionals 

in Nigeria and the rest of Africa 

face in their industries, according 

to recent African Utility 

Week industry survey. 

Aside the issue of corruption, 

skills gap, access to finance, 

regulation and policy 

clarity, red tape and economic 

slowdown were also perceived 

as hindrances. 

The survey result was the 

submissions of respondents 

from Nigeria, South Africa, 

Kenya, among other countries 

who scored corruption 49 percent 

while scoring the other 

issues from 36 percent to 28 

… says Goi people were now in exile 

to habitable standard. They 

said community members 

still depended on polluted 

water and air for survival. 

Mene Victoria Ada Kobani 

who hails from Goi, but 

resides in Bodo as a result of 

oil spillages that made Goi 

inhabitable, said in spite of 

complaints by community 

members, Shell refused to 

clean up Goi community. 

She said; “We have been 

calling for clean up, they 

have been talking about 

clean up, but nothing is going 

on, not even in Bodo 

where a UK court had ordered 

Shell to clean up 

polluted sites. We do not 

know if they are cleaning 

up or cleaning down. It is all 

noise”, the Goi community 

women leader said. 

She disclosed that pollutions 

forced them to desert 

their community. “We have 

left this place because pollution 

made it unsafe to live 

in. Women will toil and toil 

until they are tired of toiling 

because land is no longer 

reach and engagement channels 

for the African mobile 

customer with associated data 

and intelligence as is available 

on mobile web. 

Elo Umeh, CEO of Terragon, 

said, “The new investment 

will enable the Lagosheadquartered 

company hire 

the best available talents to 

drive business development 

efforts across industry verticals 

and solve unique mobile challenges 

to unlock significant 

value for African businesses.” 

With African businesses in 

various industries struggling 

to reach and engage customers 

in the face of limited internet 

access and low literacy 

levels, Terragon is helping clients 

including FCMB and FB- 

NQuest in financial services 

and Unilever and Samsung 

in the consumer goods space, 

connect with new and existing 

consumers across online 

percent. 

Nicolette Pombo-van Zyl, 

editor of the energy trade journal, 

ESI Africa, observes that 

corruption is still perceived as 

a major obstacle and this goes 

along with respondents’ strong 

call for government commitment 

and transparency. 

“It will take concerted 

leadership from all levels of 

government to rid the continent 

of this deeply entrenched 

challenge. The skills gap is also 

pinned as a high concern, putting 

development at risk – the 

loss of engineers, technicians 

and managers who are now 

retired or close to retirement 

age is a real factor; perhaps 

reviving apprenticeships along 

with attractive offers would 

make inroads to solving this 

fertile. They suffer miscarriages; 

many children are 

not normal; we suffer too 

much and we do not even 

know how to explain the 

situation to our children. 

We have remained fugitives 

in other communities; we 

have continued to appeal 

to government to assist us 

in making the community 

habitable again.” 

For a chief, Eric Dooh, a 

young royal father in Goi, 

the community has been 

deserted because of oil 

pollution. Failure to clean 

up the environment has 

remained a source of punishment 

to the people of 

Goi. Social and economic 

activities which have been 

disjointed are yet to be restored 

as a result of failure 

to clean up the mess. Our 

people are suffering as a 

result of shell pollution; we 

no longer go for fishing because 

if we enter the river, 

we come out with rashes all 

over the body. Children still 

play in the water exposing 

risk,” Pombo- van Zyl says. 

Skills in finance, engineering/technical, 

people 

management and leadership 

all scored high (29%-33%) in 

a question on what power 

professionals perceived to 

present the biggest skills deficit 

in their companies. 

Asked what the most 

promising source of generation 

is for Africa, Solar 

PV scored more than 54 percent 

among the respondents 

while nuclear was second 

with 11 percent. 

“The reason could be that 

rooftop PV, when measured 

against the other technologies, 

is easy to execute as 

a project and photovoltaic 

modules are becoming very 

affordable,” she says. 

them to danger”. 

In k-Dere, Gokana LGA, 

a woman leader, Grace 

Naamon, said Shell and the 

government had not done 

enough in Ogoni but were 

interested in oil exploration 

without cleaning up their 

mess. “Instead of clean up, 

they are still secretly dumping 

toxic waste on the community 

of K-Dere.” Shell 

had denied dumping any 

toxic waste in the area and 

explained the true nature of 

the dump. 

She went on: “In addition, 

they came in to lay 

pipelines in the community. 

Women found it as show 

of disrespect; we staged a 

peaceful demonstration; 

we demanded EIA for the 

project; the local contractor 

who is from the community 

poisoned some of 

the women diabolically for 

protesting against the destruction 

of the community. 

Fishing and gathering of sea 

foods and periwinkles have 

become difficult.” 

C002D5556 


Ambode opens up Alimosho with network of 21 roads 

JOSHUA BASSEY 

It was all excitement for 

residents of Ipaja, Aiyetoro, 

Peak Thomas and 

other sub-urban communities 

in Alimosho area 

of Lagos State, Monday, as 

Governor Akinwunimi Ambode 

opened up the areas 

with network of 21 roads and 

two bridges amounting to 

27.4 kilometres in all. 

The development is seen 

impacting the lives of the 

residents who can now access 

their once cut off homes 

with ease. The new road network 

is also seen raising the 

value of available properties 

in the areas and possibly attract 

more people to look in 

that direction for new accommodation. 

Alimosho is the biggest, 

by population, of the 20 local 

government areas of Lagos 

State, and plays critical role 

in the political calculations 

of the state. 

The two bridges commissioned 

are Ikola Road Bridge 

about 7.2 km and the Aiyetoro 

Road Bridge (1.2km), 

which links the boundary 

communities of Aiyetoro 

with Ogun State. 

Some of the 19 roads are 

Ogunseye Road (from Ajasa/ 

Command to Ikola Road); 

Oko Filling Road (from AIT 

to Ilo River) and Osenatu 

Ilo road (from Ibari Road to 

Ilo River). Others include 

Amikanle Road (from AIT to 

Ogunseye Road); Aina Aladi 

road (from AIT to Ilo River) 

and Aiyetoro Road (from 

New Market/Ishefun Road 

intersection to Ilo River). 

The construction of 

the roads and bridges, 

handled by Visible Construction 

Company, was 

flagged-off in March 2017. 

Speaking at the commissioning, 

Governor 

Ambode said it was imperative 

to open up suburban 

communities to 

decongest the urban centres, 

reduce traffic congestion 

and create better 

life for the people. 

“Alimosho has been a 

loyal constituency since 

Asiwaju’s administration. 

So, in return, we are giving 

you the dividends of democracy 

with these roads, 

so that we can connect you 

to the rest of Lagos.


BUSINESS DAY 

A15



STRATEGYBRIEFING 

IDEAS THAT POWER HIGH PERFORMANCE 

The error that slays the mighty 

How many companies 

have lost their competitive 

advantage already as 

a result? 

In December 2004, the 

$1.75 billion acquisition 

of IBM’s personal computer 

division by, 20-yearold 

Chinese PC company 

Lenovo made headlines 

around the world. A relative 

upstart in the business, 

founded with $25,000 of 

seed capital from the Chinese 

Academy of Sciences, 

Lenovo acquired the IBM 

division that invented the 

PC in 1981.That was a major 

shift in the PC industry. 

When asked about the 

Lenovo-IBM PC division 

merger, Michael Dell of 

Dell Computers categorically 

stated that it won’t 

work. “When was the last 

time you saw a successful 

acquisition or merger in 

the computer industry?” 

Mr Dell quired. On March 

29, 2018, Dell market capitalisation 

stood at $14.59 

billion while that of Lenovo 

is $48.18 billion. 

That sounds like how 

Blockbuster responded 

when Netflix took off. According 

to reports, early 

public statements by Blockbuster 

dismissed the notion 

that its customers 

would benefit from an 

online rental business. In 

May 2002, a spokesperson 

addressed the online rental 

market: “Obviously, we pay 

attention to any way people 

are getting home entertainment. 

We always look 

at all those things. We have 

not seen a business model 

that’s financially viable 

long-term in this arena. 

Online rental services are 

‘serving a niche market.’” 

Three months later, clarifying 

that Blockbuster did not 

intend to launch an online 

business to compete with 

Netflix, a spokesperson announced, 

“We don’t believe 

there is enough of a demand 

for mail order—it’s not a 

sustainable business model.” 

Furthermore, the 2002 annual 

report made only a cursory 

mention of the threat posed 

by online rental websites, 

with no mention at all in 

the “Risks” according to Pete 

Barlas. Today Netflix market 

capitalisation is in excess of 

$100 billion, Blockbuster is 

bankrupt! 

But that’s not something 

new. Henry Ford years ago 

presumed that consumers 

would continue to want 

black autos in the face of 

evidence that they were 

becoming more interested 

in color. IBM doggedly pursued 

PC hardware while 

Intel usurped the micropro- 

cessor market and Microsoft 

dominated the software for 

PC operating system. Jim 

Balsillie, Research in Motion 

ex executive who were 

the makers of the Black- 

Berry suggested that iPhone 

wouldn’t make it very far. 

There are now over 700 million 

iPhone users in the 

world currently according 

to an estimate from BMO 

Capital Markets analyst Tim 

Long. At its peak in September 

2013, there were 85 million 

BlackBerry subscribers 

worldwide. However, 

BlackBerry has since lost 

its dominant position in the 

market; the same numbers 

had fallen to 23 million in 

March 2016. 

Why do executives deny 

the obvious? Well, Because 

it is often easier, “safer,” and 

more profitable in the short 

run, and more comfortable 

than confronting a problem, 

a poor decision made by a 

superior executive, a difficult 

personnel decision, or 

a failing strategy. Of course 

denial can sometimes lead 

to remarkable achievements 

against all odds, particularly 

for entrepreneurs nurturing 

start-ups but it can be destructive 

and very expensive 

in other cases. 

I think denial is endemic 

to management. But why 

does it happen in the first 

instance? First ii is normal 

for human beings to deny 

what they are afraid of or 

don’t understand. It is much 

associated with the survival 

instinct in human beings. 

According to Neuroscience, 

once we solved a particular 

problem in a particular 

way several times, the brain 

stops looking for new ways 

of solving the problem. The 

same applies to organisations. 

But then denial is just 

one part of the problem; not 

understanding your capabilities 

and resources is even 

a bigger issue. 

What does this mean to 

an organization in working 

out its strategy? What 

should you do when a shift 

takes place in your industry? 

History is a great teacher 

and we can choose to be its 

student. Whatever that was 

written afore time was written 

for our learning, that we 

through the comfort and 

insights they provide can 

make premium decisions. 

The lessons from all the 

cases highlighted above can 

be summarized as follows: 

(1) denial is an endemic 

problem that must be dealt 

with right now, (2) facts 

have to be confronted and 

analysed not avoided, (3) an 

organisational environment 

where truth can be spoken 

to the leaders can be a strategic 

asset, (4) leadership 

behaviors such as listening 

are essential, (5) behaviors 

designed to optimize the 

short-term may themselves 

be symptoms of denial, (6) 

words matter; when words 

are used to hide facts, denial 

may be near, (7) while every 

move by the competition 

may not be a threat, each 

one must be considered with 

an open mind to see chances 

of threat short term and long 

term and (8) it is better to be 

unconventional and right 

than it is to be conventional 

and possibly wrong, as in the 

old saying among information 

technology managers 

that “nobody ever got fired 

for buying IBM.” 

Brian Reuben(@brianoreuben) is an advisor on 

strategy and leadership. He regularly conducts 

keynote presentations and senior executive 

workshops with companies around the world on 

strategy and leadership. He heads BusinessDay 

Training 

Was this article helpful? Share your thoughts with 

us on Facebook @bdtraininglive or email us on 

trainings@businessdayonline.com 

This Page Is Open For Sponsorship, for details call 07039092902.

BUSINESS DAY 

NEWS YOU CAN TRUST I TUESDAY 04 APRIL 2018 

C002D5556 

Insight 

Dangote Cement remains quality, but stretched 

We increase 

our Dangote 

Cement TP 

by 20% to 

NGN257 

(from NGN214) as we now 

include sea-based clinker exports 

to West African countries 

from 2019 and increase our 

long-term growth rate to 9% 

(from 6%), incorporating our 

SSA economist’s revised 2019 

Nigeria GDP growth forecast 

of 3%. On the back of this, we 

upgrade our rating to HOLD 

(from Sell) as our TP now implies 

downside of 3%. We think 

Dangote is a quality name to 

hold in Sub-Saharan Africa 

(SSA) cement, supported by 

strong margins, a healthy balance 

sheet, pan-Africa exposure 

and the pick-up in growth 

in Nigeria (the largest cement 

market in SSA). Despite this, 

we think the valuation is full, 

trading on 16.4x 2018 P/E, a 

17% premium to peers, on our 

estimates. 

A good set of numbers 

DangCem released good 

FY17 results, in line with our 

estimates. In dollar terms, 

Nigeria EBITDA/t increased 

36% YoY to $85/t, from $59/t, 

supported by stronger cement 

prices and a lower cash cost 

per tonne. Group margins 

were up an encouraging 636 

bpts, although the Pan-Africa 

EBITDA margin came in below 

our estimate of 18%, at 

15%, owing to currency devaluation 

in Ethiopia, start-up 

costs in Congo and significant 

losses in Tanzania in 4Q17. We 

expect a c. 10% price increase 

in Ethiopia to c. $90/t to offset 

this devaluation and believe 

that once gas is provided for 

the Tanzanian plant (expected 

in May), the average margin 

in Pan-Africa will be in the 

low 20%s. Positively, Nigerian 

cement exports by road more 

than doubled to 0.7mnt and 

DangCem is still on track to 

begin clinker shipment to 

other West African countries 

by year-end. This, in addition 

to strong cement growth, 

should support margins as 

fixed costs per tonne fall on 

higher utilisation, due to the 

export of c. 2-3mnt of clinker 

in 2019. 

Expecting a stronger 2018 

Management has guided 

for strong growth of 7-10% in 

the Nigerian cement market, 

in line with our 9% estimated 

market growth – supported by 

government contractors resuming 

work and an increase 

in individual demand. According 

to management, demand 

in the Nigerian market picked 

up strongly from February 

2018 and has continued into 

March. We think 2018 will be 

a good year for the Nigerian 

cement market boosted by 

stronger prices and growth, in 

line with management’s guidance 

to keep cement prices 

flat in the medium term. In 

Nigeria, the company’s longterm 

strategy is to be the sole 

supplier of clinker to West 

African countries beginning 

from 4Q18. For Pan-Africa, 

Senegal, Cameroon and Ethiopia 

remain strong markets 

and we believe resolving the 

significant losses ($2.5mn a 

month) in Tanzania will be 

the biggest upside. DangCem 

plans to raise a local bond 

of NGN50bn (NGN300bn 

approved by SEC) for refinancing, 

and a eurobond for 

expansionary capex subject to 

approval by the board. 

Upgrading to a HOLD 

We upgrade DangCem 

to HOLD on the back of a 

positive growth outlook for 

the company. Our TP implies 

3% downside but our FY18E 

dividend yield of 5% implies 

a total return of 2%. The main 

upside risk to our estimates include 

a stronger contribution 

to margins from Pan-Africa 

and a stronger cement price 

than our estimates. Potential 

downside risks are a decline 

in Nigerian cement prices and 

continued poor operations in 

Tanzania, Congo and Ghana. 

Dangote is trading at a 2018 

P/E and EV/EBITDA of 16.4% 

and 10.9% a 17% and 15% 

premium to frontier peers, on 

our estimates. 

Valuation summary 

Tax reversals...but this 

could have been avoided 

In its FY17 results DangCem 

reversed the tax benefits 

(NGN44bn) taken in 2016 on 

some production lines. These 

are still awaiting approval to be 

granted initial pioneer status. 

The pioneer status extension 

on other production lines, 

also awaiting approval, were 

not reversed (NGN24bn). We 

The historical tax benefits inflated 2016 

earnings and we would have preferred 

a more conservative approach 

in accounting for this. That said, we 

are confident that the approvals will 

ultimately be granted given the extent 

of DangCem’s investment in Nigeria. 

We believe the delay was due to the 

change in government 

believe that the tax benefits 

derived from both the extension 

of pioneer status and 

initial pioneer status should 

have remained outside the 

group’s results until approval 

is granted. The historical tax 

benefits inflated 2016 earnings 

and we would have preferred 

a more conservative approach 

in accounting for this. That 

said, we are confident that 

the approvals will ultimately 

be granted given the extent 

of DangCem’s investment in 

Nigeria. We believe the delay 

was due to the change in government. 

Changes to estimates 

We increase our TP by 20% 

to NGN257 given: 1) the inclusion 

of sea-based clinker exports 

from 2019; 2) our higher 

terminal growth rate of 9% 

(from 6%); 3) a lower cash 

cost per tonne in the Nigerian 

business; and 4) a 22% drop 

in DangCem’s net debt. This 

increases our five-year CAGR 

EPS by 7% from an average of 

NGN24.5 from NGN23.0. 

Given our more positive 

view on the outlook for the Nigerian 

cement market and as 

such stronger growth in DangCem 

we upgrade DangCem 

to a HOLD rating (from Sell). 

Dangote’s current 2018E 

P/E of 16.4x is at a 17% premium 

to the frontier market peer 

average of 14.0x. On 2018E EV/ 

EBITDA, DangCem is trading 

at 10.9x, a 15% premium to 

frontier peers. 

We value Dangote on an 

SoTP approach. We use a fiveyear 

DCF model for its Nigerian 

operations and 2019E EV/ 

EBITDA multiples of 9x and 7x 

for its SSA and South African 

operations, respectively. 

Source: Company data, 

Renaissance Capital estimates 

Potential upside risks to 

our TP include: 1) a stronger 

contribution to margins and 

EV from operations outside 

Nigeria; 2) volumes in Nigeria 

outperforming our estimates; 

and 3) stronger cement prices 

in Nigeria than our estimates. 

Potential downside risks are: 

1) a decline in Nigerian cement 

prices; 2) continued 

operational difficulties in Tanzania, 

Congo and Ghana; and 

3) weaker cement volume 

growth in the Nigerian market. 

Disclosures appendix 

Analysts certification 

This research report has 

been prepared by the research 

analyst(s), whose name(s) 

appear(s) on the front page of 

this document, to provide back- 

ground information about the 

issuer or issuers (collectively, 

the “Issuer”) and the securities 

and markets that are the subject 

matter of this report. Each research 

analyst hereby certifies 

that with respect to the Issuer 

and such securities and markets, 

this document has been 

produced independently of 

the Issuer and all the views expressed 

in this document accurately 

reflect his or her personal 

views about the Issuer and any 

and all of such securities and 

markets. Each research analyst 

and/or persons connected 

with any research analyst may 

have interacted with sales and 

trading personnel, or similar, 

for the purpose of gathering, 

synthesizing and interpreting 

market information. If the date 

of this report is not current, the 

views and contents may not 

reflect the research analysts’ 

current thinking. 

Each research analyst also 

certifies that no part of his or 

her compensation was, or will 

be, directly or indirectly related 

to the specific ratings, 

forecasts, estimates, opinions 

or views in this research report. 

Research analysts’ compensation 

is determined based upon 

activities and services intended 

to benefit the investor clients 

of Renaissance Securities (Cyprus) 

Limited and any of its 

affiliates (“Renaissance Capital”). 

Like all of Renaissance 

Capital’s employees, research 

analysts receive compensation 

that is impacted by overall Renaissance 

Capital profitability, 

which includes revenues from 

other business units within 

Renaissance Capital. 

Important issuer disclosures 

Important issuer disclosures 

outline currently known 

conflicts of interest that may 

unknowingly bias or affect the 

objectivity of the analyst(s) with 

respect to an issuer that is the 

subject matter of this report. 

Disclosure(s) apply to Renaissance 

Securities (Cyprus) Limited 

or any of its direct or indirect 

subsidiaries or affiliates (which 

are individually or collectively 

referred to as “Renaissance 

Capital”) with respect to any 

issuer or the issuer’s securities. 

Investment ratings 

Investment ratings may be 

determined by the following 

standard ranges: Buy (expected 

total return of 15% or more); 

Hold (expected total return 

of 0-15%); and Sell (expected 

negative total return). Standard 

ranges do not always apply to 

emerging markets securities and 

ratings may be assigned on the 

basis of the research analyst’s 

knowledge of the securities. 

Investment ratings are a 

function of the research analyst’s 

expectation of total return 

on equity (forecast price 

appreciation and dividend yield 

within the next 12 months, 

unless stated otherwise in the 

report). Investment ratings are 

determined at the time of initiation 

of coverage of an issuer of 

equity securities or a change in 

target price of any of the issuer’s 

equity securities. At other times, 

the expected total returns may 

fall outside of the range used 

at the time of setting a rating 

because of price movement 

and/or volatility. Such interim 

deviations will be permitted 

but will be subject to review by 

Renaissance Capital’s Research 

Management. 

Where the relevant issuer 

has a significant material event 

with further information pending 

or to be announced, it may 

be necessary to temporarily 

place the investment rating Under 

Review. This does not revise 

the previously published rating, 

but indicates that the analyst is 

actively reviewing the investment 

rating or waiting for sufficient 

information to re-evaluate 

the analyst’s expectation of total 

return on equity. 

Where coverage of the 

relevant issuer is due to be 

maintained by a new analyst, on 

a temporary basis the relevant 

issuer will be rated as Coverage 

in Transition. Previously published 

investment ratings should 

not be relied upon as they may 

not reflect the new analysts’ 

current expectations of total 

return. While rated as Coverage 

in Transition, Renaissance 

Capital may not always be able 

to keep you informed of events 

or provide background information 

relating to the issuer. 

If issuing of research is restricted 

due to legal, regulatory 

or contractual obligations publishing 

investment ratings will be 

Restricted. Previously published 

investment ratings should not 

be relied upon as they may 

no longer reflect the analysts’ 

current expectations of total 

return. While restricted, the 

analyst may not always be able 

to keep you informed of events 

or provide background information 

relating to the issuer. 

Where Renaissance Capital 

has neither reviewed nor 

revised its investment ratings 

on the relevant issuer for a 

period of 180 calendar days, 

coverage shall be discontinued. 


has not provided coverage of 

an issuer for a period of 365 

calendar days, coverage shall be 

discontinued. 


has not expressed a commitment 

to provide continuous 

coverage and/or an expectation 

of total return, to keep you 

informed, analysts may prepare 

reports covering significant 

events or background information 

without an investment rating 

(Not Covered). 

Your decision to buy or sell 

a security should be based upon 

your personal investment objectives 

and should be made only 

after evaluating the security’s 

expected performance and risk. 

Renaissance Capital reserves 

the right to update or amend its 

investment ratings in any way and 

at any time it determines. 

Source: Renaissance Capital 

Published by BusinessDAY Media Ltd., The Brook, 6 Point Road, GRA, Apapa, Lagos. Ghana Office: Business Day Ghana Ltd; ABC Junction, near Guinness Ghana Limited, Achimota – Accra, Ghana. 

Tel: +233243226596: email: mail@businessdayonline.com Advert Hotline: 08116759801, 08082496194. Subscriptions 01-2950687, 07045792677. Newsroom: 08169609331 

Editor: Anthony Osae-Brown. All correspondence to BusinessDAY Media Ltd., Box 1002, Festac Lagos. ISSN 1595 - 8590.

BusinessDay 03 Apr 2018

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?