BusinessDay 06 April 2018

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NEWS YOU CAN TRUST I **FRIDAY 06 APRIL 2018 I VOL. 15, NO 27 I N300 @ g 

9Mobile sale: NCC chairman’s letter 

to CBN causes unease about motive 

No cause for alarm, awaiting $450m from Teleology – Danbatta 

Says Teleology remains preferred bidder 

JUMOKE AKIYODE-LAWANSON & 

ENDURANCE OKAFOR 

A 

letter sent by Olabiyi 

Durojaiye, chairman 

of the Nigerian 

Communications 

Commission (NCC) 

board to the Central Bank of 

Nigeria (CBN) listing “technical 

expertise” and “at least 3 years 

operational history” as new criteria 

for ownership, of 9 mobile 

is causing unease in the telecommunications 

sector as analysts 

warn against any political interference 

that may torpedo the 

almost concluded sale. 

Following the CBN/NCC intervention 

on the Etisalat debt 

saga, a Board was appointed 

with CBN Deputy Governor 

Joseph Nnanna as Chairman 

and other members being Seyi 

Bickersteth and Ken Igbokwe. 

Barclays Africa was then appointed 

to manage the sale process 

since June 2017 and the firm 

reports to the Board of 9Mobile 

(former Etisalat) overseen by the 

CBN and NCC. 

After a rigorous process which 

included an initial shortlist 

based on technical criteria and 

then a shortlist based on financial 

bids, Teleology a firm led 

by Adrian Wood was declared 

as the preferred bidder, having 

submitted a bid of $500 million, 

Continues on page 4 

CHINWE AGBEZE 

ERGP focus labs 

achieve 80% success 

in 3 weeks – Osinbajo 

CYNTHIA EGBOBOH, Abuja 

Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President 

of Nigeria on Thursday 

declared that the Economic 

Recovery and Growth 

Plan (ERGP) focus labs has 

achieved an 80 percent success 

Continues on page 38 

Efforts to resettle Libya returnees fade 

as many nurse ambition to go back 

... Turn to crime as way of survival 

Inside 

BD INVESTIGATIVE SERIES 

Intelligent, 

Inspiring, P. 02 

Industrious, 

IBIDUNNI IGHODALO 

The state government had 

pledged to place the returnees 

on stipends of N20, 000 monthly 

for three months, train them in 

various skill acquisition programmes 

and sponsor those 

interested in pursuing higher 

education. 

Some of the 

returnees who spoke with 

BusinessDay on Wednesday 

(last week) after they were 

ejected from the Motel Plaza in 

Benin where they (returnees) 

were sheltered say they are 

heading back to where they 

Efforts by the Edo state 

government to resettle 

Libya returnees and 

curb the problem of illegal 

migration in the state may 

not be having 

the desired effect 

as most of the returnees 

are still nursing the ambition of 

returning to Libya en- route to 

Europe. 

This is as many of the returnees 

complained that the support 

promised them by the state gov- 

L-R: Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum; Audu Ogbeh, minister of agriculture and rural development; 

Babatunde Fashola, minister of power, works and housing; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Okechukwu Elenamah, 

minister of industry, trade and investment; Kayode Fayemi, minister of solid minerals development, and Udoma 

Udo Udoma, minister of budget and national planning, at the ERGP Focus Mid-Lab Syndication in Abuja, yesterday. 

ernment is not being fulfilled. 

Continues on page 38

2 

BUSINESS DAY 

C002D5556 

Friday 06 April 2018

Friday 06 April 2018 C002D5556 BUSINESS DAY 

3

4 BUSINESS DAY 

C002D5556 

Friday 06 April 2018 

NEWS 

Lassa fever hits 20 states with 142 

deaths, 400 confirmed cases 

… NCDC confirms first case, fatality in Abia 

... Two health workers affected with one death in a week 

ANTHONIA OBOKOH 

Lassa fever has continued 

to spread in 

Nigeria with 400 confirmed 

cases and 142 

deaths in 20 states, 

according to latest figures released 

yesterday by the Nigeria 

Centre for Disease Control 

(NCDC). 

According to the agency, following 

the increasing number of 

Lassa fever cases in the reporting 

week 14, six new confirmed 

cases were recorded from five 

States while two new healthcare 

workers were affected with one 

death and twenty-five health 

care workers have been affected 

since the onset of the outbreak 

in eight states. 

“From 1st January to 1st April 

2018, a total of 1706 suspected 

cases and 142 deaths have been 

reported actively in Edo, Ondo, 

Bauchi, Nasarawa, Ebonyi, 

Anambra, Benue, Kogi, Imo, 

Plateau, Lagos, Taraba, Delta, 

Osun, Rivers, FCT, Gombe, Ekiti, 

Kaduna and Abia makig twenty 

states at least one confirmed 

case across 57 Local Government 

Areas,” says the report. 

“This year 81 per cent of all 

confirmed cases are from Edo 

(42%) Ondo (23%) and Ebonyi 

(16%) states.” 

Lassa fever is an acute viral 

haemorrhagic illness, transmitted 

to humans through contact 

with food or household items 

contaminated by infected rodents. 

Person-to-person transmission 

can also occur, particularly 

in hospital environment in 

the absence of adequate infection 

control measures. 

The agency further stated 

that since the onset of the 2018, 

4,274 contacts have been identified 

from 20 states and of these, 

662 (15.0 per cent) are currently 

being followed up, 3,605 (84.8 

per cent) have completed 21 

days follow up while 7(0.2 per 

cent) were lost in follow up. 27 

(40 per cent) of the 67 contacts 

have tested positive in five states 

(Edo-12, Ondo- seven, Ebonyithree, 

Kogi -3 and Bauchi -one). 

“World Health Organisation 

(WHO) and NCDC have scaled 

up response at national and 

state levels,” it added. 

9Mobile sale: NCC chairman’s letter to... 

Continued from page 1 

significantly more than the $300 

million submitted by Smile Communications, 

which was in turn 

announced as the reserve bidder. 

Teleology was then asked to 

make a non-refundable deposit 

of $50 million within 21 days from 

the announcement. This payment 

was made and acknowledged by 

United Capital Trustees in a letter 

dated 21st March 2018. The payment 

was made two days earlier 

than the deadline, and failure to 

make this payment would have 

meant that Smile, the reserve 

bidder, would have been invited 

to replace Teleology. 

Teleology and United Capital 

Trustees signed the Share 

Purchase Agreement (SPA) and 

Loan Purchase Agreement (LPA) 

on 21st March 2018. The CBN 

and NCC were present at the ceremony, 

our sources say. 

However, BusinessDay learnt 

from sources watching the sale 

process that the letter from the 

Chairman of NCC’s board suggests 

or implies that; “NCC will 

only approve the transaction if 

the company has telecom infrastructure 

on the ground - in other 

words, if the company is an existing 

operator.” 

As a result, issues were raised 

suggesting that the regulator may 

be sneakily trying to disqualify 

Teleology and unethically bring 

Smile in as the preferred bidder 

through a back door. This is especially 

as no such criteria were 

included in the start of the bidding 

process until this time. 

According to BusinessDay 

sources, “NCC and CBN were 

constantly updated on the whole 

process and had the opportunity 

to raise any objections if any. No 

such objection was raised by the 

NCC at any time.” 

Nigeria’s telecommunications 

sector remains mired in recession 

with the ICT sector contracting 

by -1.5 percent in Q4, 2017, up 

from the -4.5 percent contraction 

recorded in Q3, 2017, according to 

the most recent National Bureau 

of Statistics (NBS), data. 

Total number of active mobile 

phone subscribers fell by 

5.3 percent in the past year from 

155.113 million in January 2017, 

to 142 million active subscribers 

in January 2018, according to the 

most recent NCC data. 

Analysts tell BusinessDay that 

the NCC Chairman’s letter is like 

trying to create a new goal post at 

the end of a match, and is similar 

to how Nigeria procrastinated 

with the NITEL sale until it had 

lost most of its value, by the time 

it was sold. 

“Why change the rules in the 

middle of the game, that is inappropriate,” 

Bismarck Rewane, 

CEO of Fianancial Derivatives told 

BusinessDay on phone. 

“It will erode the country’s 

credibility and ability to attract foreign 

direct investments (FDI) as 

such will increase the stereotype 

of the bad reputation the country 

already has.” 

Foreign Direct Investments 

into Nigeria slumped to a fouryear 

low of $981 million in 2017. 

The first decline in FDI since 

BusinessDay started compiling 

data in 2013. 

By comparison, Egypt attracted 

$8.7 billion in the fiscal year ended 

June 2017, while South Africa 

attracted $3.2 billion, according 

to data from the United Nations 

Conference on Trade and Development 

(UNCTAD). 

Kenya attracted $394 million 

in 2016, according to most recent 

data by UNCTAD, while Ghana 

attracted $4.19 billion of FDI in 

2017, according to data by the 

Bank of Ghana. 

The NCC on its part told BusinessDay 

that the regulators are 

still expecting Teleology’s $450 

million balance of its committed 

bid (due in 3 months) in-order to 

finalise the sale process. 

Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive 

Vice Chairman of the 

NCC told BusinessDay yesterday 

that there was no cause for 

alarm, as the Commission has 

been involved in the 9mobile sale 

L-R: Ikenna Ikeme, general manager, regulatory affairs, MTN Nigeria; Ladi Barnabas Banka, wife of the deputy governor, 

Kaduna State; Danladi Mohammed, director, MTN Foundation, and Cecilia Musa, representing Jema’a Local 

Government Area, Kaduna, during the launch of the MTN Foundation, Yellow heart Initiative in Kaduna, yesterday. 

process from the onset, and has 

clearly identified Teleology as the 

preferred bidder. 

“Teleology emerged as preferred 

bidder and paid the $50 

million non-refundable deposit 

which was a condition for the process 

and that was not contested. 

However, Smile Communications 

was named reserve bidder, so it is 

only in the event that Teleology 

fails to pay the balance of $450 

million in the next three months, 

that is when the offer will go to 

the reserve bidder,” Danbatta told 

BusinessDay. 

When asked if the commission 

is in anyway inclined to favoring 

Smile Communications to allow 

for some sort of consolidation, 

since the company has technical 

infrastructure and expertise 

on ground and more than three 

years operational history in Nigeria, 

which meets up with the new 

criteria stated in the Board Chairman’s 

letter to the CBN, Danbatta 

said the decision for consolidation 

is not up to the NCC. 

“Consolidation in the industry 

will come from the operators 

themselves. The NCC will not 

stand in the way of the operators 

if they want to consolidate. We will 

wait, and if it happens then we will 

comment on it,” Danbatta said. 

Olusola Teniola, President, Association 

of Telecommunications 

Operators of Nigeria (ATCON) 

told BusinessDay in a telephone 

interview that the process cannot 

be concluded until the full payment 

of Teleology’s bid commitment 

has been received. 

“The purchase has to be in full 

before we can start talking about 

any transfer of shares, and the 

regulatory approval for license can 

only be done after payment. That 

is how it is done everywhere in the 

world. A company cannot just be 

handed over to another company 

for takeover after only a deposit 

has been paid. Teleology needs 

to balance its initial payment and 

also re-assure the NCC that they 

can turn around 9mobile. 

A regulator would always want 

to ensure that the Telco is in 

capable hands and that the new 

owners will not run down the 

company,” Teniola said. 

Sources however tell BusinessDay 

that the final leg in the 

process is for the NCC as the telecom 

Industry Regulator to give a 

formal approval to the transfer of 

United Capital Trustees interest 

to Teleology. Teleology is then to 

make payment of its committed 

sum within 90 days and take over 

running 9Mobile. 

“This new criteria of “technical 

expertise” and “at least 3 years 

operational history” is strange and 

probably an illegal, unethical and 

dis-ingenious way to disqualify 

Teleology and bring Smile in as 

the preferred bidder through a 

back door. No such criteria was 

included in the bid process until 

this time,” an insider with knowledge 

of the transaction, speaking 

to BusinessDay anonymously 

because of the sensitivity of the 

matter said. 

Sources say the CBN Governor 

and NCC EVC were constantly 

abreast of the 9mobilebid process 

with the CBN presenting updates 

to the Board of the NCC. 

The NCC was also represented 

at critical events in the 9mobile 

sale process including the stage of 

presentation of technical bids and 

the final bids held on 4 Dec 2017. 

The NCC was present at the 

signing of the SPA between Teleology 

and United Capital Trustees 

and no objection was raised 

throughout the process by the 

NCC.


5

6 

BUSINESS DAY 

C002D5556 

Friday 06 April 2018


7

8 BUSINESS DAY C002D5556 

NEWS 

$1bn ECA withdrawal: Commence action against 

President Buhari, PDP tasks N/Assembly 

OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja 

People’s Democratic 

Party (PDP) 

has called on the 

National Assembly 

to commence 

appropriate constitutional 

legislative actions against 

President Muhammadu Buhari 

for gross misconduct in 

unilaterally approving the 

release of $1 billion from the 

national coffers without legislative 

approval. 

The main opposition 

party also urged Nigerians 

to reject and resist the 

withdrawal, alleging that 

it was meant to finance 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari’s interests in the 

All Progressives Congress’ 

(APC) forthcoming national 

convention and 2019 campaign. 

Recall that President Buhari 

had on Wednesday given 

approval for the release 

of $1 billion from the Excess 

Crude Account (ECA) to 

fight rising spate of insecurity 

across the country. 

But in a statement by the 

PDP national publicity secretary, 

Kola Ologbondiyan, 

on Thursday, the party said 

its investigation revealed 

that the Presidency wilfully 

sidestepped the National 

Assembly so as to avoid 

legislative scrutiny and accountability 

and pave way 

for the diverting of the fund 

for selfish purposes. 

“It is a notorious fact 

that the Presidency and the 

APC have been plotting to 

loot this $1 billion from our 

heavily depleted ECA since 

last year, using the guise of 

fight against insurgency. 

“This is the same Buhari 

administration that 

has been boasting of having 

technically defeated the 

insurgents. This is also an 

administration that is not 

known to have exhausted 

subsisting budgetary allocations 

for defence. 

“Nigerians are thoroughly 

disappointed that 

President Buhari; the same 

African Union (AU) ‘anticorruption 

champion,’ who 

swore to be above board 

and to protect the constitution 

and our laws, will allow 

himself to fall for the temptation 

of resorting to ways 

and means, which are totally 

at variance with the laws and 

all democratic tenets,” the 

statement read. 

The party urged the National 

Assembly to scrutinise 

the constitution and 

other statute books for the 

purposes of strengthening 

the laws guiding the application 

of funds in the country. 

Stolen artefacts: Oba of Benin, Obaseki to build 

world-class museum to fast-track recovery 

Governor of Edo 

State, Godwin 

Obaseki, says the 

state government 

is working with the Benin 

Monarch, Oba Ewuare II, 

to build a world-class Royal 

Museum to hold stolen artefacts 

being recovered by 

the Benin Kingdom. 

Obaseki said this when 

he hosted Nicholas Thomas, 

a professor at Cambridge 

University, and Annie 

Coombes, a professor 

at the University of London, 

both experts in Benin 

History, to a dinner, at the 

Government House in Benin 

City. 

According to Obaseki, 

the state plans to work 

with the monarch to build 

the museum in the Oba’s 

Palace in Benin City, and 

counter the arguments of 

art collectors who are still 

in possession of stolen 

artefacts from the Benin 

Kingdom and have maintained 

that the safety of the 

artefacts is not guaranteed 

if they are returned to the 

ancient Kingdom. 

“The decision to establish 

a world-class museum 

at the Oba’s Palace, one 

of the safest places in the 

world, will encourage curators 

across Europe and in 

other parts of the world, to 

be confident and support 

the advocacy for the safe 

return of stolen artefacts of 

Benin Kingdom,” he said. 

He expressed appreciation 

to the visitors for their 

advocacy for the safe return 

of artefacts of the Benin 

Kingdom looted during 

the 1897 invasion. 

He said, “We hope your 

experience in Benin City 

will encourage you to sustain 

the advocacy for the 

return of our stolen artefacts. 

When the artefacts 

are returned, they will assist 

generations yet unborn 

to understand who they 

are, as a people and how 

they have dominated this 

environment in the past.” 

In his remarks, Prof. 

Nicholas Thomas, said his 

experience in Benin City 

was exciting as the visit 

gave him the opportunity 

to see first-hand, the place 

where the historic stolen 

artefacts are fashioned in 

Igun Street. 

Prof Thomas said, “True 

knowledge about artworks 

is not in University museums 

but lies in the makers, 

creators, communities 

where these works are created.” 

He noted that the advocacy 

for the safe return 

of the stolen artefacts of 

the Benin Kingdom would 

be sustained until the artworks 

are safely returned. 


Nigeria loses $10bn yearly from gas flaring 

DAVID IBEMERE & ANGEL JAMES 

Nigeria loses approximately 

$10 billion of 

revenue through gas 

flaring, due to its inability 

to capture and to commercialise 

flared gas in the 

country, according to Justice 

Derefaka, programme manager, 

National Gas Flare Commercialisation 

Programme 

(NGFCP), Federal Ministry of 

Petroleum Resources. 

Derefaka said if flare gas 

was properly exploited, it had 

the potential to create 300,000 

jobs, produce 600,000 MT of 

LPG per year and generate 2.5 

GW of power from new and 

existing IPPs, as approximately 

700mmscf/d is flared at 178 

flare sites in Nigeria. 

Speaking at a Nigerian 

Norwegian Chamber of Commerce 

(NNCC) Q1 2018 Business 

Roundtable Seminar 

recently, in Lagos, with the 

theme “The Monetisation of 

Gas: Perspectives and Opportunities 

in the Nigerian Gas 

Industry,” Derefaka said, “Nigeria 

currently utilises almost 

700mmscf/d of gas for power 

production, which could be 

doubled by capturing and 

commercialising flare gas.” 

About $3.5 billion worth 

of inward investments is required 

to achieve the country’s 

flare gas commercialisation 

targets by 2020, he said. 

“Flare Gas (Prevention of 

Waste and Pollution) Regulation 

2018” is being finalised 

and will be issued shortly to 

underpin the implementation 

of the NGFCP, as gas flare reduction 

is a priority in the suite 

of Federal Government programmes 

for improving the 

environmental, health, social, 

economic and security problems 

in the Niger Delta region.” 

He however noted that 

the solution must not only 

benefit Niger Delta communities 

and positively contribute 

to the Nigerian economy, 

it must also present a bankable 

market opportunity for 

investors and lenders alike. 

In a similar vein, Ian 

Brown-Peterside, managing 

director, Midstream, Seven 

Energy, stressed for the productive 

utilisation of the nation’s 

gas reserves as it was 

critical to Nigeria’s future. 

A robust and viable Gasto-Power 

sector in Nigeria is 

critical to Nigeria’s future economic 

growth, constant power 

supply will lead to growth 

across all sectors,” he said. 

“The lack of capacity in 

power generation, compared 

to other countries, makes it 

very difficult to attract new 

investment and retain existing 

investment in the broader 

economy, noting that just 

25 percent of Nigeria’s circa 

12,000 megawatt of installed 

generation capacity reaches 

the end user.


BUSINESS DAY 

9


10 BUSINESS DAY


BUSINESS DAY 

11


NEWS 

Ogun produce processors partner FIIRO on provision of processing machines 

RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta 

As part of measures 

to add value to all 

agricultural produce 

that serves as 

raw materials and 

production inputs for all manufacturing 

activities in Ogun 

State and beyond, a group of 

business owners and produce 

processors operating in the 

state have approached Federal 

Institute of Industrial Research 

(FIIRO) on the fabrication of 

local machines for processing 

of farm produce. 

The business owners, 

farmers, miners and produce 

processors under the aegis of 

PDP demands full disclosure 

on Buhari’s UK trip 


People’s Democratic 

Party (PDP) has demanded 

that the Presidency 

immediately 

make public all issues relating 

to the private visit of President 

Muhammadu Buhari to the 

United Kingdom. 

The party, which queried 

the Presidency for always 

shrouding issues around 

the President in secrecy, demanded 

a full disclosure on 

the scope, purpose, direct destination, 

duration as well as 

the cost and source of funding 

for the trip. The PDP, in a statement 

by its national publicity 

secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, 

on Wednesday, said President 

Buhari was not a private 

citizen and cannot embark on 

private trips, wrapped in secrecy, 

since his upkeep draws directly 

from national resources 

and taxpayers’ money. 

The main opposition party 

said its concern stemmed from 

media reports of the president’s 

annual vacation to the United 

Kingdom scheduled to commence 

from April 9. 

But the opposition spokes- 

FBN Holdings explains delay in filing 

of 2017 audited statements 

FBN Holdings plc on 

Wednesday attributed 

delay in filing of 

its Audited Financial 

Statements (AFS) for the year 

ended December 31, 2017, on 

March 31 to peculiarity of the 

company’s holding structure. 

The organisation said in 

a statement issued by Seye 

Kosoko, the Company Secretary 

to the Nigerian Stock 

Exchange (NSE), obtained 

by the News Agency of Nigeria 

in Lagos. Kosoko said that 

the reason for the delay was 

purely due to the peculiarity 

of FBNH’s Group structure. 

“FBN Holdings wishes to 

inform its stakeholders that 

the company was not able to 

file its AFS for the year ended 

December 31, 2017 on 

March 31, 2018 as required 

under the rules of the Nigeria 

Stock Exchange.’’ 

Kosoko said that FBNH 

Ogun State Chambers of Commerce, 

Industry, Mines and 

Agriculture, consider possible 

partnership with FIIRO, having 

observed that due processing 

of produce offers effective 

preservation and adds needed 

value and improves on market 

value of agricultural produce. 

Speaking at a press conference 

held in Abeokuta by 

OGUNCCIMA to herald the 

forthcoming 9th Gateway 

Trade Fair that holds between 

April 25 and May 7, Adesola 

Adebutu, OGUNCCIMA president, 

declared that the Trade 

Fair which would be centred 

on agricultural production, 

processing and packaging is 

person explained that while 

the party has nothing against 

Mr. President embarking on 

any trip, he insisted that there 

must be full disclosures to Nigerians 

because the citizens 

deserve to know the purpose 

of the visit and the cost on 

the nation. According to him, 

while the visit has a departure 

date, it has no date of arrival. 

“We know that Mr. President 

is billed to attend the 

Commonwealth Heads 

of Government Meeting 

(CHOGM) scheduled to take 

place between April 16 and 20, 

but Nigerians are wondering 

why he is taking off to an undisclosed 

destination in London 

two clear weeks ahead. 

“We ask: Is President Buhari 

and his handlers hiding anything 

from Nigerians so much 

so that they cannot disclose 

the reason and duration of the 

so-called private visit? 

“Today, our economy is 

haemorrhaging and the citizens 

are languishing because 

of the continued lack of accountability 

and total incompetence 

of the Buhari-led administration,” 

the statement 

read. 

had subsidiary companies 

operating in the banking and 

insurance sectors as well as 

the capital market, all with a 

common financial year end 

of December 31, alongside 

the holding company. 

“Each of these subsidiaries 

needs to audit its financial 

statements and obtain 

the approval of its respective 

regulator prior to submission 

to FBNH for consolidation. 

Thereafter, FBNH is also required 

to obtain the approval 

of its primary regulator before 

submission and filing with 

the exchange,” he added. 

The quoted companies 

are required to file their 

quarterly and annual accounts 

within 30 days and 

90 days respectively after 

the end of the quarter and 

end of year respectively in 

accordance with the listing 

rules of the NSE. 

poised to create synergy between 

local and foreign markets 

with a view to adding value 

to harvested farm produce. 

Adebutu noted, in a bid 

to add value and improve on 

market value of agricultural 

produce harvested, OGUNC- 

CIMA would meet management 

of Federal Institute of 

Industrial Research soon for 

effectively fruitful discussion 

and agreement on the provision 

of locally fabricated machines 

for all the Trade Association’s 

members. 

She said, “We’ve had series 

of meetings with development 

partners, we have had 

with Central Bank of Nigeria, 

Banks of Agriculture and Industry, 

and I can tell you that 

the meetings are yielding 

fruitful results already. Where 

we have challenge now, is in 

the area of processing and 

packaging of farm produce 

which will add both quality 

and market value to them. 

“We are already in talks 

with the Federal Institute of Industrial 

Research (FIIRO), Oshodi, 

next week, we are signing 

MoU with the FIIRO so that we 

can fabricate machines for our 

members that are in processing 

and packaging of produce 

at a cheaper price since the 

cost of all the processing and 

packaging exercises we do 

and machines we use are very 

much expensive.” 

Also, Bimbo Ashiru, commissioner 

for commerce 

and industry, submitted 

that increased manufacturing 

activities in the State had 

increased demands for farm 

produce such as cassava, 

cereals, cocoa and cashew 

nuts, sesame seeds, among 

others, as the economic development 

now offers opportunities 

for not farmers, 

processors of produce, both 

also the labour that work in 

such organisations. 

Ashiru, who was represented 

by Kayode Ogunti, 

Director of Commerce, said, 


“Number of industries that 

are using cassava and other 

production inputs that are derived 

from farm produce are 

increasing day-by-day, now 

we are getting cassava from 

other neighbouring states our 

feed our industries after we 

have exhausted our own. 

“This is a big challenge to 

our farmers to form Co-operative 

societies in order for 

them to access more grants, 

loans and other support from 

development agency and seek 

intervention of government 

in some areas so that there 

will be massive production of 

more agricultural produce for 

industrial use.”


BUSINESS DAY 

13



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 

Why is Adebayo Shittu still a minister? 

Sometime last 

month, Minister 

of Communication, 

Adebayo 

Shittu and his 

media aide, Victor Oluwadamilare 

got engaged in 

a dirty public fight where it 

was revealed that the minister 

has failed to pay his 

aides for about 28 months 

– being the duration they 

had been working with him 

– while living in opulence. 

But the interesting part of 

the spat was the allegation 

by the aide that within a 

space of 29 months in office, 

Mr Shittu has acquired 

12 luxury houses in Abuja, 

Lagos and Ibadan and just 

bought a brand new N93 

million printing press. Mr 

Oluwadamilare also alleged 

that the Shittu bought 

over 25 luxury vehicles for 

himself, his family members, 

concubines, and cronies, 

despite having eight 

official vehicles attached 

to his office, sponsored no 

fewer than 22 members 

of his family and cronies, 

including under-aged children, 

on Muslim pilgrimages 

in Saudi Arabia, and 

has utilised his position to 

embark on endless travels 

where he rakes in millions of 

naira in travel expenses and 

estacodes. 

No doubt these are weighty 

allegations which should not 

be swept under the carpet 

but thoroughly investigated 

by the government and anticorruption 

agencies. But 

the government and anticorruption 

agencies, so far, 

have been conspicuously 

silent over the allegations. 

It follows a well-established 

pattern by the Buhari administration 

to shout to high 

heavens over alleged corrupt 

acts of the opposition 

but maintain loud silence 

over alleged corrupt act by 

its personnel. The rationale 

is to say and do nothing and 

allow the allegation fizzle out 

with time like others before 

it. Where that is not possible, 

the president himself, 

quickly and without investigation, 

absolves officials of 

his government accused of 

corruption. We remember 

the grass-cutting former 

Secretary to the Government 

of the Federation who was indicted 

for corruption by the 

Senate but was absolved by 

the president. It was a thoroughly 

embarrassed president 

that was finally forced 

to suspend and later remove 

Lawal when the case against 

him became all too glaring 

and indefensible. 

We recall how the president 

has treated corruption 

allegations against the key 

members of his kitchen cabinet 

such as General Tukur 

Burutai, Chief of Army Staff, 

who was accused of having 

offshore investments, particularly 

in Dubai way above 

his legitimate earnings; General 

Abdulrahman Dambazau, 

Minister of Interior and 

former Chief of Army Staff, 

accused of having investments 

in real estate in the 

US worth more than $3 million 

and Abba Kyari, Chief of 

Staff to the President accused 

of demanding and taking a 

bribe of N500 million naira 

from a telecommunications 

company to mitigate the fine 

imposed on it by the federal 

government. 

We also recall how the 

Presidential panel set up to 

probe arms procurement 

between 2007 and 2015, and 

whose reports were being 

used to prosecute past military 

chiefs was hurriedly disbanded 

the moment it began 

moves to investigate the tenure 

of the Present National 

Security Adviser, Babagana 

Monguno as Chief of Defence 

Intelligence between July 

2009 and September 2011. 

The curious reason given by 

the government for its dissolution 

was that it has outlived 

its usefulness. 

This selective application 

of anti-corruption laws will 

only serve to politicise the anti-corruption 

war and present 

it as a persecution of political 

opponents. This can be seen 

with the derision that greeted 

the federal government’s 

publication of a list of looters 

of our commonwealth. 

The allegations against 

Mr Shittu must not be swept 

under the carpet. We demand 

that the anti-corruption 

agencies, particularly 

the Economic and Financial 

Crimes Commission, 

EFCC, conduct a thorough 

investigation into all the allegations 

levelled against Mr 

Shittu. A government that is 

concerned about its image 

will not even allow Mr Shittu 

remain in office while the 

allegations against him are 

being investigated. 

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Amina Oyagbola 

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Fola Laoye 

Chuka Mordi 

Sim Shagaya 

Mezuo Nwuneli 

Emeka Emuwa 

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Tunji Adegbesan 

Eyo Ekpo 

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C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

COMMENT 

A review of the meter asset provider regulations 

15 

OLUBUNMI ABAYOMI-OLUKUNLE 

Abayomi-Olukunle is partner, private 

equity, venture capital & emerging 

companies at Balogun Harold 

The Nigerian Electricity 

Regulatory Commission 

(NERC) recently issued 

the Meter Asset Provider 

Regulations 2018 (The 

MAP Regulation). The key objectives 

of the regulations are to encourage 

the development of independent 

and competitive metering services 

in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry 

(NESI) and to attract private 

investment in the provision of metering 

services in the NESI. The MAP 

regulation is significant because 

it effectively unbundles Nigeria’s 

electricity distribution sector, by 

re-allocating the responsibility for 

providing metering services, effectively 

creating a new class of market 

participants, - Meter Asset Providers 

-. When considered within the context 

of the liquidity problems which 

Electricity Distribution Companies 

(DisCos) have traditionally alluded 

to as the reason for the slow pace 

of metering customers within their 

coverage area, it would appear that 

the MAP regulation has effectively 

shifted the financial cum liquidity 

challenge as relates to the provision 

of metering services from DisCos to, 

hopefully, less-leveraged entities. 

Other things been equal, the implementation 

of the MAP regulations 

should free-up the balance sheet 

of DisCos and allow for add-on investments 

in critical infrastructure. 

By way of statutory mandate within 

the MAP regulation, DisCos must 

now engage MAPs in order to 

achieve the metering targets set by 

law. For the electricity consumer 

in Nigeria, the MAP regulation 

means that they will now be able 

to get electricity meters within 10 

days of payment. Consumers need 

not wait endlessly for free meters 

anymore and may choose to pay 

upfront in full or pay in instalments 

through programmed deductions 

from payments made for electricity 

consumption. 

We expect that the Metering 

Service Providers (MSPs) i.e. the 

existing licensed meter manufacturers, 

importers, installers and 

vendors will take advantage of the 

opportunity that the MAP Regulation 

creates to expand their service 

offering and refine corporate strategy. 

The existing MSPs are betterpositioned 

to take advantage of 

the opportunities which the MAP 

regulations provide because they 

can easily leverage their existing 

networks and knowledge of the 

metering business for value and 

scale, a factor, which could be a 

differentiation advantage in raising 

expansion financing. Accordingly, 

we expect to see an uptick, 

in strategic investments and in 

debt financing, especially, private 

debt financing, facing the metering 

sub-sector, in the short term and 

increasing private equity investment 

across the value chain of the 

metering business in the long term. 

Prohibition of self-dealing 

The MAP regulation contains 

catch-all provisioning which prohibits 

DisCos from self-dealing. 

Accordingly, DisCos and their 

core investors, including their 

subsidiaries, affiliates, directors 

and their relatives are prohibited 

from setting up, owning shares or 

holding directorships and senior 

For the electricity consumer 

in Nigeria, the 

MAP regulation means 

that they will now be 

able to get electricity 

meters within 10 days of 

payment. 

management positions in the MAP. 

This provisioning demonstrates a 

good understanding of some of the 

most significant systemic challenges 

within the NESI. Self-dealings of this 

nature are very prevalent and often 

lead to conflict-scenarios which typically 

trigger larger inefficiency and 

political issues. It is useful to note 

that the self-dealing prohibition is 

absolute and does not admit of any 

disclosure exceptions. 

Guided procurement 

Although, the standard practice 

has been for DisCos to conduct bidding 

processes for procuring meter 

assets, DisCos are now subject to 

even higher procurement standards, 

with respect to the procurement of 

metering services, pursuant to the 

MAP Regulation. For instance, the 

MAP regulation places an obligation 

on DisCos to conduct an open and 

competitive bidding process. Expressions 

of Interest must be published 

in two Nigerian newspapers and on 

a DisCo’s website. In addition, Dis- 

Cos are now required to complete 

procurement processes for metering 

services within strict timelines. 

Specifically, Discos are now required 

to complete a guided procurement 

process for the engagement of the 

first cohort of MAPs, within 4 months 

from April 3, 2018. To ensure compliance 

with statutory requirements, 

procurement processes for metering 

services are now also subject to top- 

level review by tender auditors who 

will be engaged by the NERC to audit 

all meter service procurements. 

It is instructive to note the statutory/guided 

procurement process 

preserved in the MAP regulation, 

effectively, provides bidders with 

the additional leverage to challenge 

or call into question the openness 

or transparency of procurement 

process for metering services to 

question in court. 

Payment assurance for MAPs 

The MAP regulations place a 

mandatory obligation on DisCos 

to provide payment security within 

30 days of executing an MSA with a 

MAP. The MAP regulation suggests 

a number of payment security options 

which DisCos and MAPs may 

consider, including the provision by 

a DisCo of an irrevocable direct pay 

letter of credit. The payment assurance 

provisioning is thoughtful and 

critical, against the background of 

the liquidity issues experienced in 

the NESI and the multiple financial 

obligations that Discos are increasingly 

committed to. For sure, Discos 

will have to be creative in complying 

with this requirement in view 

of existing financing and security 

arrangements. Although, the MAP 

regulation also places an obligation 

on DisCos to ring fence payments 

for metering services by customers to 

a dedicated account, even this option 

will present its own peculiar, albeit 

surmountable finance--obligation’ 

challenges for Discos. It is useful to 

note that the MAP regulation places 

a separate regulatory obligation on 

DisCos to pay MAPs periodically in 

line with the MSA. This provisioning 

widens the scope of liability that Dis- 

Cos are exposed to, in relation to metering 

services as they may now also 

be held liable, other than for contractual 

breach and in additional to the 

standard contractual remedies. It is 

further useful to note that by statutory 

mandate, MAPs have a statutory right 

to be paid in full in respect of metering 

services provided and are deemed to 

be the owners of meter assets until 

they have been paid in full. MAPs are 

also entitled to fully recover the cost 

of meter assets, defined as the cost of 

the meter, meter accessories and all 

associated costs, including financing 

costs and a return on investment. 

Contract regulation 

The MAP regulation adopts a 

framework that ensures that commercial 

expectations are managed 

and contractual obligations are 

enforceable between the MAPs and 

DisCos. The MAP Regulation lays the 

basic groundwork for the contractual 

arrangements between MAPs and 

DisCos. At the very minimum, MPAs 

and DisCos must execute a Metering 

Service Agreement (MSA) and 

a Service Level Agreement (SLA). 

Although, no standard form agreements 

are provided in the MAP Regulation, 

the MAP Regulation specifies 

certain clauses that must be in an 

MSA. It is instructive to note that the 

current statutory requirements are 

minimal and basic. The applicable 

MSA for instance, is significantly 

more complex in terms of provisioning 

required to secure efficient 

scoping and allocation of risk and 

resources. A number of country and 

industry-specific issues will further 

complicate an MSA. Accordingly, 

operational MSAs (and SLAs) will 

require careful thought and an 

original approach. 

Note: the rest of this article 

continues in the online edition of 

Business Day @https://businessdayonline.com/ 

Send reactions to: 

comment@businessdayonline. 

CALISTA OZELE 

Ozele is of the Lagos State Ministry 

of Information and Strategy, 

Combating Lassa fever’s resurgence 

The new wave of cases of fresh 

outbreak of Lassa fever in the 

country should give everyone 

something to really worry about. 

A latest report has it that the Federal 

Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja has 

recorded a fresh case of Lassa fever, 

bringing the number of confirmed cases 

to three within three months. One of 

the two victims of the confirmed cases 

earlier recorded at Bwari Area Council 

of the FCT died in January. Similarly, 

in Ekiti State, three persons have been 

reportedly killed in a fresh outbreak of 

Lassa fever in the state. The Commissioner 

for Health, Dr. Olurotimi Ojo, who 

disclosed this revealed that five out of the 

eight suspected cases in the state tested 

negative while one was uncertain and 

the last one pending. 

Lassa fever, a hemorrhagic viral 

infection is named after Lassa, a village 

in Bornu State, Nigeria, on the South of 

Lake Chad where the disease was first 

discovered in 1969 after two missionary 

nurses lost their lives. Lassa fever 

manifests like other so-called common 

ailments such as malaria and typhoid 

fever. The onset is gradual which makes 

early diagnosis difficult leading to fatal 

consequences. It is estimated that 10 percent 

of almost 500, 000 people infected 

with Lassa fever lose their lives and 

approximately 15 percent of hospitalized 

patients die. The disease is more 

severe in pregnancy particularly in the 

third trimester, and foetal loss occurs in 

greater than 80 percent of cases. 

It is caused by a species of rodents 

called the Natal multimammate rat, 

the common African rat, or the African 

soft-furred rat. The Lassa virus is transmitted 

when the droppings, that is the 

urine or faeces of the rat- the natural 

reservoir for the virus- comes in contact 

with foodstuffs or in the process of 

the rat accessing grain stores, either in 

silos or in residences. The rodents live 

in houses with humans and deposit 

excreta on floors, tables, beds and food. 

Consequently the virus is transmitted 

to humans through cuts and scratches, 

or inhaled via dust particles in the air. 

In some regions these rodents are also 

consumed as food. Secondary transmission 

of the virus between humans 

occurs through direct contact with infected 

blood or bodily secretions. This 

occurs mainly between individuals 

caring for sick patients although anyone 

who comes into close contact with 

a person carrying the virus is at risk of 

infection. Nosocomial transmission, 

that is the transmission that occurs as 

a result of treatment in a hospital and 

outbreaks in healthcare facilities in 

endemic areas represent a significant 

burden on the healthcare system. 

In the early stages, Lassa fever is 

often misdiagnosed as common cold, 

typhoid or malaria, and as a result 

many patients fail to receive appropriate 

medical treatment. Making a correct diagnosis 

of Lassa fever is made difficult by 

the wide spectrum of clinical effects that 

manifest, ranging from asymptomatic to 

multi-organ system failure and death. 

The onset of the illness is typically mild, 

with no specific symptoms that would 

distinguish it from other febrile illnesses. 

In 80% of cases, the disease is without 

symptoms but in the remaining 20%, 

it takes a complicated course. It has an 

incubation period of six to 21 days after 

which an acute illness develops. 

Early signs include fever, headache 

and general body weakness, followed by a 

sore throat, nausea, vomiting, abdominal 

pain and diarrhea in some cases. After 4 

to 7 days, many patients will start to feel 

better, but a small minority will present 

with multi-organ involvement. It can 

affect the gastro intestinal tract causing 

nausea, vomiting and stooling of blood 

as well as difficulty in swallowing; cardiovascular 

system symptoms include 

hypertension or hypotension as well as 

abnormal high heart rate and shock. In 

the respiratory tract, the victim experiences 

chest pains, cough and difficulty in 

breathing. The virus also causes difficulty 

in hearing, meningitis and seizures. Death 

from Lassa fever most commonly occurs 

10 to 14 days after symptom onset. Nonspecific 

symptoms are facial swelling, and 

muscle fatigue, as well as conjunctivitis 

and mucosal bleeding. And one of the 

hallmarks of Lassa virus infection is the 

absence of functional antibodies during 

acute infection. 

So far, there is no specific treatment 

for Lassa fever, being a viral infection, but 

sufferers must constantly have access to 

balanced diet, antibiotics and vitamin 

supplements to boost their immune 

systems to prevent secondary infections. 

While providing care for people with 

Lassa fever, further transmission of the 

disease through person-to-person contact 

or other routes may be avoided by 

taking preventative precautions against 

contact with secretions from infected 

persons called, ‘VHG isolation precautions,’ 

or barrier nursing methods. The 

precautions include wearing protective 

clothing such as masks, gowns, gloves 

and goggles; using infection control 

measures such as the sterilization of 

equipment. It is vital to isolate infected 

people from contact with unprotected 

persons until the disease has run its 

course. 

There is need to mobilize human 

and material resources to trace the 

extent of the disease and follow up on 

potential contacts in order to identify 

and test suspected cases early. All tiers 

of governments must ensure continuous 

sensitization of citizenry, ensuring 

homes, markets, offices, motor parks 

and other public places are regularly 

fumigated. Everyone must come to term 

with the need to maintain adequate 

hygiene and environmental sanitation at 

all times. The prevention and control of 

disease remains a shared responsibility. 

Therefore, we must all shun all acts that 

could complicate the situation. 

More importantly, individual efforts 

in challenging this scourge, is sacrosanct 

to achieve lasting solution to the deadly 

virus. Everyone must realize that keeping 

an entire community safe from such 

rampant disease only resonates from 

our desire to endlessly pursue personal 

and communal healthy attitude. Thus, it 

is important to keep away from rats and 

report any case of persistent fever to the 

nearest public health facility. The public 

is also advised to shun ingestion of foods 

and drinks infected by the saliva, urine 

and faeces of infected rats as well as 

catching and preparing infected rats as 

food. They should also avoid inhaling 

small particles in the air contaminated 

with infected rat urine or droppings. 

Getting directly in contact with an 

ailing person’s blood or body fluids, 

through mucous membranes, like eyes, 

nose or mouth should also be avoided. 

Above all, we all need to embrace 

faultless personal and environmental 

hygiene. It is quite imperative that all 

stakeholders put up a common front 

against the spread of this disease, before 

it becomes another major plague. God 

bless Nigeria 


comment@businessdayonline.com



COMMENT 

More often than not, it 

might seem that the easiest 

way out of troubles 

or unfavourable situations 

in our personal or 

professional lives is to point an accusing 

finger to someone else. Interestingly, 

team members, colleagues, managers 

and leaders are not left out in this “profession” 

of blaming others. Sadly, the blame 

game has succeeded in causing failures 

in the government arena, businesses 

and in organizations. This is because; a 

lot of people have been wired wrongly 

to first and foremost point an accusing 

finger to someone when things go wrong, 

without even seeking for solutions. We 

are not responsibility oriented. The bad 

news is that allowing the blame game to 

blossom in any organization is not only 

destructive, but might end up giving us 

more than we bargained for. 

Let‘s ponder on the scenario below: 

Imagine someone ignoring a little 

fire that he sighted in another department 

and that little fire could have been 

quenched easily even with minimal effort. 

But because that particular person 

felt neither him nor his department 

would take the blame for the fire breakout, 

he did not raise any alarm until the 

fire engulfed the entire building. 

When management started making 

OLUJOBI AKANNI 

Akanni is a Lagos-based capital 

market analyst. 

Anyone who thinks the crisis 

rocking Oando Nigeria Plc 

is over deludes himself. 

Last week, some groups of 

shareholders consisting of the Trusted 

Shareholders Association of Nigeria 

(TSAN), Proactive Shareholders Association 

of Nigeria (PROSAN) and the 

Oando Shareholders Solidarity Group 

(OSSG), marched from Eagle Square 

in Abuja to the National Assembly 

Complex, demanding the removal of 

the Group Chief Executive of Oando 

Plc, Mr. Wale Tinubu from office. 

The shareholders complained 

that it would be impossible to achieve 

an objective forensic audit of the 

financials of Oando with Tinubu still 

overseeing the affairs of the company. 

The shareholders, in their hundreds, 

chanted various slogans and carried 

different placards decrying what they 

called the poor handling of the Oando 

crisis by the present management of 

the Securities and Exchange Commission 

(SEC). 

PROSAN National Coordinator, 

Mr. Taiwo Oderinde, accused 

the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi 

Adeosun and the Acting Director- 

General of SEC, Dr Abdul Zubair, of 

shielding the management of Oando 

from scrutiny. The situation, he said, 

is dangerous for the Nigerian capital 

market as it has continued to erode 

investors’ confidence in the market. 

Oderinde, who also submitted a 

petition on behalf of the protesting 

shareholders to the House Committee 

on Capital Market and other 

Institutions, said the malfeasance in 

‘UJU ONWUZULIKE 

WITH 

Uju Onwuzulike is Nigeria’s leading authority on Systems 

Thinking and Strategic Management. He was a Steve 

Haines trained strategy and systems thinking expert and 

a former global partner of Haines Centre for Strategic 

Management, California, USA. He is the founder and Chief 

Results Officer of MCL – a strategy and outstanding performance 

specialist firm. He can be reached on 09091142093 

or uju.onwuzulike@mclgroup.net. 

investigation as to what caused the fire, 

surprisingly, the same person that saw 

the fire first and did not act immediately 

started blaming the other department for 

being the cause of the inferno. 

It is quite obvious that the fire could 

have been put out, but someone who I 

call - the Chief Blame Officer (someone 

who has mastered the art of blame game) 

on seeing someone or something to be 

blamed would simply hide his or her 

solution. All because, he or she would be 

happy seeing someone else blamed – for 

an act he or she could have solved. 

Now the question everyone needs 

to answer is: who then suffers after the 

building has been engulfed by fire? Definitely, 

the organization will suffer, the 

Chief Blame Officer will suffer, and the 

other people in the department where 

the fire started from will also suffer – so 

in the end everyone suffers. 

Take away for all of us: At the end of 

the day both the players of the blame 

game and all the fans are defeated. 

The truth is nowhere in the world has 

the blame game done the organization 

any good except harm. Great organizations 

have moved away from focusing on 

who is right or wrong (that is the blame 

game mentality) to focusing on how do 

I contribute to making the organization 

succeed? Here the emphasis is for the 

Oando, Adeosun and the raging storm 

Oando and the attempt by Adeosun 

to shield the company leaves a sour 

taste in the mouth. 

“The management of Oando Nigeria 

Plc led by Wale Tinubu should 

step aside until the forensic audit is 

released to the public so as to pave 

way for an unhindered forensic audit,” 

Oderinde had said. 

The Oando storm gathered momentum 

late last year after several 

months of petitions and allegations 

of financial mismanagement and 

insider trading, culminating in the 

suspension of the shares of the company 

on the Nigerian Stock Exchange 

(NSE) and the Johannesburg Stock 

Exchange (JSE) on October 19, 2017. 

The Nigerian capital market regulator 

also ordered a forensic audit of 

Oando in view of several allegations 

of untoward practices levelled against 

the management. 

In its preliminary findings, SEC 

said it established cases in which 

Oando Plc allegedly declared dividends 

from unrealised profits and 

released false financial statements to 

the public. The commission also said 

that it discovered that the oil firm’s 

2014 Rights Issue Circular “contained 

misleading information.” 

In a letter dated October 17 and 

signed by Braimoh Anastasia, Head 

of Legal department of SEC, the 

regulator also claimed that the oil 

company’s disposal of Oando Exploration 

Production Limited (OEPL) 

to Green Park Management Limited 

was done in contravention of the 

Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 

2007 because the regulatory body was 

organization to win and not individuals. 

Organizations should not be seen as law 

courts and the rule of the game should not 

be about winning a law suit and punishing 

someone who has been blamed, but 

ensuring that we help one another achieve 

the goals of the organization. Everyone has 

100% responsibility in making sure that 

organization achieves its vision. 

If there is any virus to fight against in organizations, 

it should be the “Blame Game 

Virus”- where people are not taking responsibility 

of growing their organizations. 

The reality is that no organization (with the 

current rate of business uncertainties) can 

attain its rightful position if this unwanted 

virus is not dealt with. Surprisingly, the 

leaders, executives and their collective 

workforce are affected by this debilitating 

virus, and guess what; organizations are at 

the receiving ends. Any organization that 

encourages this blame game will end up 

stifling creativity, innovation and productivity 

- the three key ingredients for growth. 

Unbelievably, someone in a team 

might have a solution to something or 

might have an idea of how best to resolve 

an issue, but simply because he/she was 

not informed. 

In 2013, following the structuring 

of the OEPL transaction in a way SEC 

said contravened the ISA 2007, Oando 

recorded a profit of about N6 billion 

that erased a loss of N4.68 billion which 

made the company declare a profit of 

N1.4 billion for the same financial year. 

SEC said since the transaction was done 

in contravention of ISA 2007, Oando Plc 

restated its 2013 and 2014 audited accounts 

which contained “…material false 

and misleading information contrary to 

section 60(2) of the ISA 2007.” 

The SEC letter also revealed that the 

2014 Rights Issue Circular of the company 

contained information on the profit 

reported by the company in 2013 arising 

from the sale of the OEPL, which the 

commission considered “false and misleading”. 

This action, it said, amounted to 

a violation as contained in sections 85, 86 

and 87 of the ISA 2007. 

Similarly, the commission noted 

that the corporate governance return 

submitted by the company in December 

2016 showed that the remuneration 

of the Group CEO, Mr. Wale 

Tinubu, and his deputy were approved 

by the board while the GCEO approved 

the remuneration of other executive directors, 

a clear violation of part B 14.3 of 

the SEC Corporate Governance Code. 

SEC also said that its preliminary 

findings revealed that the last audit 

of the Oando was done by KPMG 

in 2012, a development it also said 

contravened the SEC regulations. The 

commission’s letter also said that the 

firm paid dividends to its registrar in 

piecemeal, also a clear violation of the 

SEC regulations, even as independent 

comment is free 

Send 800word comments to comment@businessdayonline.com 

Are ‘chief blame officers’ growing by 

day in your organization? 

Great organizations have 

moved away from focusing 

on who is right or wrong 

(that is the blame game 

mentality) to focusing on 

how do I contribute to 

making the organization 

succeed? 

not made the team head might decide 

to do nothing in achieving the desired 

result. In a situation where by that particular 

team’s project did not go well, that 

same person may be the first to shift the 

blame to someone else or will decide to 

proffer solutions when the damage has 

been done already – probably to “shine” 

or appear superior to others. Organizations 

suffer a great deal whenever people 

have developed the mindset of shifting 

the blame to someone else when they 

ought to have helped. Instead of creating 

blames, we should help one another to 

create value for the organization. 

The era we are now in the business 

world is not that of who is wrong or right, 

who is to be blamed or not, but the era of 

helping the weak in your organization to 

achieve better results. The truth is that 

some are weak in some areas and strong 

in other areas. The idea is to complement 

one another for the betterment of the 

organization that pays our salaries. 

Points to ponder: 

•Do we achieve any positive results 

when we shift or heap blame on people? 

Instead we create resentment, conflicts, 

strife, enmity, disloyalty – and all these 

will hit the bottom-line unfavourably. 

Remember the idea of fighting oneself. 

•What do we want to achieve by 

blaming people in the workplace? Is it 

to preserve our ego or help to grow the 

organization? 

•Before you blame someone, always 

ask yourself, have I done all I can to help 

out in this situation? 

Final note: 

Whether we like it or not, the blame 

game will end up destroying us and our 

businesses. Even if the blame is justified 

– taking action is better at least for the 

sake of your organization. Organizations 

auditors reported the going concern 

status of the company in 2016. 

Further checks by SEC, as detailed 

in its letter, also revealed that certain 

persons classified as ‘insiders’ within 

the provision of section 315 of ISA, 

2007, and were in possession of confidential 

price sensitive information not 

generally available to the public, had 

between January and October 2015 

traded on Oando shares prior to the 

release of the company’s 2014 financial 

statement, in which the company 

reported a loss of N183 billion. 

In 2013 and 2014, SEC revealed, 

Oando also declared dividends from 

unrealised profits even as certain Related 

Party Transactions were not conducted 

at arm’s length basis, all in violation of the 

SEC rules and regulations. 

The commission said the findings 

were weighty and required further 

investigation by an independent team 

of auditors. 

It is however unfortunate that almost 

six months after the preliminary 

findings, SEC has exhibited a lackadaisical 

attitude towards ensuring an 

objective closure of the Oando matter. 

This poor handling has further aggravated 

Oando’s exasperated investors, 

who have decided to take to the streets 

to express their grievances. 

The shareholders believe that 

Zubair’s SEC has become a puppet in 

the hands of the Minister of Finance 

Kemi Adeosun. 

“We believe the Minister (of Finance) 

is clearly working to protect 

her friends in Oando Plc from the 

impending embarrassment that findings 

from the forensic audit may cause 

were not founded to act as a law court 

in discovering who is right or not in the 

blame game, but were founded to deliver 

results to all shareholders. When we take 

responsibility for our actions and help the 

organization to win, everybody wins. Our 

focus should not be for individuals to win 

first, because, when an individual wins, 

an organization might not succeed. The 

reason for the individual winning might 

be to satisfy his/her ego or selfishness. 

From today onwards, let our goal be to 

move from “creating blames” to having 

“together we win” mindset. Like Carl Jung 

said, “No one wins the blame game”, and 

I also add that “No one should let an organization 

lose the winning game”- then 

again this is possible when we all take 

ownership and full responsibility and quit 

looking at who to be blamed. 

Oh, back to the “Chief Blame Officers”, 

no matter how they perfect their act, they 

will never win the game – as long as their 

organization is losing. 

So, let us stop looking for someone to 

blame in our organization when things 

are going wrong - there are two things we 

can do: take ownership and fix it or show 

concern for solutions. And as CEOs and 

managers, getting your people to the point 

of beginning to do these two things - to me 

is the surest path to sustainable progress. 

If you are earnestly tired of your 

people’s inconsistent performance and 

unending blame game – that destroys 

your organization’s growth and you want 

to have people who will take ownership of 

the results, then you may need to consider 

the “From Chief Blame Officer to Chief 

Performance Officer’s Program”. 

To your success, 


comment@businessdayonline.com 

them,” Oderinde said. 

Referring to the suspension of the 

former Director-General of SEC, Dr. 

Munir Gwarzo as a grand ploy to pave 

way for the said protection bid, he said, 

“We also fear that the suspension of 

the director-general is a clear attempt 

to frustrate the forensic audit.’’ 

Similarly, the chairman, Trusted 

Shareholders Association, Alhaji Mukhtar 

Mukhtar, said the group was convinced 

that SEC, under the acting DG, Dr. Abdul 

Zubair is only buying time by footdragging 

on the forensic audit. 

He expressed anger that while 

shareholders of the company are dying 

without getting returns from their 

investments, the company’s management 

members are acquiring new expensive 

automobiles and private jets. 

“Many of our members have become 

victims of hypertension watching 

their investments tumble without 

any hope to salvage same in sight,” 

Mukhtar said. 

He stated that the global practice 

is that when forensic audit is being 

carried out on a company, the management 

of the company will forced 

to step-aside to give room for thorough 

investigation without any interference. 

Gwarzo himself had accused Adeosun 

of removing him from office for 

failing to stop the Oando probe. 

Note: the rest of this article continues 

in the online edition of Business 

Day @https://businessdayonline. 

com/ 


comment@businessdayonline.com


BUSINESS DAY 

17


18 BUSINESS DAY


BUSINESS DAY 

19




C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

21 

World Health Day 2018: Universal health 

coverage for Nigeria still a mirage 

ANTHONIA OBOKOH 

Ahead of the World 

Health Day on April 

7, health experts say 

accountability, financial 

and political 

issues are threats to effective 

application of Nigeria’s Universal 

Health Coverage, a scheme 

targeted at providing full and 

equal access to healthcare to 

people and communities in various 

parts of the country. 

The World Health Organisation 

(WHO) ranked Nigeria 

187 out of 191 countries in its 

ranking of the world’s health 

systems, this shows Nigeria has 

a lot to do in improving its health 

system and making healthcare 

affordable and accessible to the 

millions of its citizens. 

Experts are calling attention 

on the need to address the country’s 

goal of achieving universal 

health coverage as part of efforts 

to mark the 2018 World Health 

Day, with the theme “Universal 

health coverage: everyone, everywhere. 

Health for All”. 

Chibuzo Opara, Co-CEO 

DrugStoc Nigeria, said approaching 

the issues of universal healthcare 

is about elaborating equitable 

and affordable healthcare 

at the end of the day, adding that 

there should be an agreement 

and a commitment between 

citizens and decision makers on 

where the country places universal 

healthcare among other 

important priorities. 

“In order to create a catalytic 

process within the system, 

we need to focus on tackling 

the issue of financial access to 

healthcare, holding individuals 

and entities accountable and 

measuring the impact of interventions 

and activities in the 

healthcare sector. Infrastructure 

challenges are still a key issue 

and the need to sensitise and 

make people aware of the inherent 

advantages in a healthy 

population, especially now that 

we are still a young aged country,” 

said Opara 


(WHO) says the Universal 

Health Coverage is a political 

choice for countries themselves 

to make. A study released recently 

by WHO showed that 85 

percent of the funding gap to 

achieve universal health coverage 

could be met by countries 

themselves, although up to 32 

of the poorest countries will 

require development assistance 

Analysts in the healthcare 

sector also said that for universal 

health coverage of Nigerians to 

be possible, there is an urgent 

need for the government to include 

cancer treatment under 

the NHIS operation, so that 

more people will be able to afford 

the treatment and also go 

for screening. 

They further say that government 

needs to encourage activities 

through non-governmental 

agency to promote advocacy, 

national policy on training of 

personnel for clinical and nationwide 

screening program in 

order to enhance early detection, 

control the upward trends 

and reduce the mortality rate of 

Non- communicable diseases. 

Most public hospitals are 

ill-equipped to handle disease 

outbreaks while private hospitals 

are expensive for the largely 

poor mass of Nigerians. 

According to Tedros Adhanom 

Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, 

the world needs 

a strong and broad coalition 

to drive health impact; I will 

continue to highlight universal 

health coverage at G7 and G20 

meetings, at regional summits 

and at the United Nations General 

Assembly. 

“Universal health coverage is 

ultimately a political choice. It is 

the responsibility of every country 

and national government to 

pursue it. I personally commit 

to spearheading the advocacy 

required to secure the political 

support of global, regional, and 

national leaders 

“We need to do more to enable 

your advocacy and activism 

efforts, to support of universal 

health coverage and to increase 

access to essential medicines 

and health commodities” said 

Ghebreyesus. 

Health experts say for Nigeria 

to achieve universal health 

coverage to deliver substantial 

health, economic and political 

benefits across populations, 

healthcare provision should be 

considered as human right and 

no one should be denied access 

to healthcare due to financial 

reasons, gender reasons, issues 

related to geographical barriers 

or any other issues which might 

create a barrier to healthcare 

access. 

“Today, Nigeria is yet to find 

solutions to most of the health 

challenges in the country, like 

incessant outbreaks of Lassa 

fever, high maternal and child 

deaths, poor primary health 

facilities, lack of functioning 

cancer machines, malnutrition, 

poor health emergency 

responses and many others. 

This is happening because the 

Nigerian governments, both at 

federal and state levels, do not 

place priority to healthcare,” 

said Runcie Chidebe, executive 

director of Project Pink Blue. 

Universal health care, (also 

referred to as universal health 

coverage, universal coverage, 

and universal care or socialised 

health care) usually refers to a 

health care system that provides 

health care and financial protection 

to all citizens of a particular 

country. It is organised around 

providing a specified package 

of benefits to all members of 

a society with the end goal of 

providing financial risk protection, 

improved access to health 

services, and improved health 

outcomes. Universal health care 

is not one-size-fits-all and does 

not imply coverage for all people 

for everything. Universal health 

care can be determined by three 

critical dimensions: who is covered, 

what services are covered, 

and how much of the cost is 

covered. It is described by the 

World Health Organisation as 

a situation where citizens can 

access health services without 

incurring financial hardship 

KEMI AJUMOBI 

With wired reports 

WHO donates motorcycles to DSNO in Kwara 

SIKIRAT SHEHU, ILORIN 

Olaitan Adefila, the Permanent 

Secretary of the 

Kwara State Ministry of 

Health has described mobility 

as one of the strongest empowerment 

that could be given to officials 

in charge of surveillance. 

Adefila stated this during the 

presentation of motorcycles to 

Disease Surveillance and Notification 

Officials (DSNO) by 

WHO at the ministry secretariat, 

Fate Road, Ilorin. 

The state government according 

to him was very committed 

to the well-being of people 

through the provision of basic 

social amenities like affordable 

healthcare delivery, describing 

the gesture as timely. 

The Permanent Secretary 

who commended the World 

Health Organisation (WHO) 

for distributing motorcycles to 

Disease Surveillance and Notification 

Officials in the state 

and its efforts at ensuring that 

Kwara remains a disease-free 

state, said: “We are a state that 

is eager to develop and only a 

healthy people can be productive 

and contribute to the development. 

So, we are committed 

to the well-being and health of 

our people and we will continue 

to do that”. 

While describing the gesture 

GHIT fund launches next phase, bringing entire investment to $123mn 

The Global Health Innovative 

Technology (GHIT) 

Fund recently announced 

a total of 1.6 billion yen (US$15.5 

million) and 10 partnerships to 

support product development of 

new lifesaving drugs, vaccines 

and diagnostics for malaria, 

tuberculosis and neglected 

tropical diseases such as Chagas 

disease, schistosomiasis and 

leishmaniasis. 

The declaration was made 

known as GHIT prepares to 

enter its second five-year investment 

cycle as they are committed 

to steadily invest in hopeful 

worldwide partnerships at each 

stage of product advancement. 

Reports show that since it 

was launched in 2013, GHIT 

has invested approximately 13.2 

billion yen (US$123 million) in 

74 global product development 

partnerships that leverage Japanese 

science and capabilities in 

pharmaceutical research and 

development. 

According to BT Slingsby, 

the CEO of GHIT, “We are immensely 

proud of the robust 

portfolio of potential lifesaving 

products we have created with 

our network of partners in Japan 

and around the world). Adding 

that “This highlights that our 

business model, as a catalyst 

and investor of product development, 

is working, but the true 

measure of success is getting 

effective, affordable, tools into 

the hands of every single person 

who needs them. Now is when 

the really important work starts, 

as timely, Adefila noted 

with delight that Kwara 

was able to tackle diseases 

like laser-fever due to its 

proactiveness and timely 

and we’re ready for it.” 


(WHO) states that there are 

an estimated 50,000 to 90,000 

new cases of visceral leishmaniasis. 

Over 90 percent of all VL 

cases are found in seven countries 

in South Asia, Africa and 

Latin America: Brazil, Ethiopia, 

India, Kenya, Somalia, South 

Sudan and Sudan. 

A budget of approximately 

88 million yen (US$0.8 million) 

will be invested by GHIT 

for a new partnership that will 

bring together Japan’s Nagasaki 

University (NEKKEN), National 

Institute of Advanced Industrial 

Science and Technology (AIST), 

and High Energy Accelerator 

Research Organization (KEK) 

with the United Kingdom’s 

London School of Hygiene and 

Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). 

GHIT’s new investment of 

approximately 88 million yen 

(US$0.8 million) includes a 

partnership between Japan’s 

responses of surveillance 

officials at the grassroots. 

He advised the people of 

the state to always contact 

the nearest hospital any 

Nagasaki University Institute 

of Tropical Medicine (NUITM), 

Pennsylvania State University 

(PSU) and Antigen Discovery, 

Inc (ADI)., both of the United 

States, to develop a vaccine candidate 

that is designed to block 

the malaria parasite from using 

the human body’s immune system 

to power its invasion of red 

blood cells. 

Human malaria cases rose 

in 2016 to 200 million, and the 

Plasmodium falciparum form 

of the disease continues to kill 

more than 400,000 people every 

year. Most of those killed are 

children under 5 years old in 

sub-Saharan Africa. While antimalaria 

drugs, bed nets, indoor 

spraying and other interventions 

have produced progress 

against malaria, a highly effective 

vaccine could be a gamechanger 

for malaria eradication 

in the future. 

GHIT will continue to invest 

in the development of a new 

time they notice the 

symptoms of sickness, 

as early response is the 

key. 

In his submission, 

Katibi Mustapha, the 

state coordinator of 

W.H.O, described surveillance 

as a key factor 

in the disease control, 

pointed out that the gesture 

was to ensure that 

DSNO makes appropriate 

and quick responses 

to nip diseases before it 

progresses. 

He explained further 

that the gesture 

was to complement the 

state government efforts 

medicine to combat tuberculosis. 

While the common 

form is treatable, infectious 

disease experts worry that a 

growing number of infections 

with multidrug-resistant and 

extensively drug-resistant 

strains of tuberculosis could 

lead to a major global health 

crisis. 

The first of its kind in Japan, 

the GHIT Fund is an 

international public-private 

partnership between the Government 

of Japan, multiple 

pharmaceutical companies, 

the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 

the Wellcome Trust, 

and the United Nations Development 

Programme (UNDP). 

The GHIT Fund invests and 

manages a portfolio of development 

partnerships aimed 

at neglected diseases, such as 

HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis 

and neglected tropical 

diseases that afflict the world’s 

poorest people. 

in detecting diseases 

as early as possible so 

that necessary medical 

treatment would be 

applied before the situation 

gets worse. 

The coordinator 

urged the beneficiaries 

to use the motorcycles 

for the intended purpose 

in the interest of 

the people at the grassroots. 

Abdullahi Yakub who 

is from Kaiama Local 

Government received 

the state coordinator 

award for the best performing 

DSNO of the 

year. 

HBL TEAM 

KEMI AJUMOBI, Editor - kemi@businessdayonline.com 

ANTHONIA OBOKOH, ANI MICHAEL, Reporters I David Ogar, Graphics

22 

Scene of an accident 

involving 

a commercial 

Coaster Bus 

at Ilasamaja 

Bus Stop, 

Apapa/Oshodi 

Expressway in 

Lagos. 

BUSINESS DAY 

CITYFile 

Oyo constitutes taskforce 

against kidnapping 

AKINREMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan 

Following the spate of kidnapping 

in Oke-Ogun area of Oyo 

State, the government has set 

up a taskforce to tackle the 

menace and other related insecurity 

challenges. 

Toye Arulogun, the state commissioner 

for Information, Culture and Tourism, 

the decision to constitute the task force 

derived from various meetings with famers, 

herdsmen, traditional rulers, security 

agencies and other stakeholders. 

According to Arulogun, the state governor, 

Abiola Ajimobi approved the setting 

up of the taskforce to, among other things 

check the activities of kidnappers and 

mediate in the crisis between herdsmen 

and farmers in Oke-Ogun area of the state. 

Armed bandits attack church, cart away cash 

Suspected armed robbers attacked 

the New Ona Iwa Mimo Onimajemu 

Cherubim and Seraphim 

Church, Angwan Kwaso, Tunga- 

Maje community in Zuba, Abuja, and carted 

away money and phones of members. 

The leader of the church, Oladejo John, 

told newsmen that the culprits carted 

away money and phones and created 

fears in the people of the community with 

gunshot in Abuja. 

It was gathered that the bandits were 

four in number and wore military camouflage. 

The culprits attacked the church 

around 2:00am and initially abducted 

three women, who were participating 

in the church’s vigil. The leader of the 

church, however, said he picked a bottle 

and threw it towards the direction of the 

bandits as they had abducted the three 

women from the church. 

John said upon breaking, the bottle 

made a gun-like sound and made the 

bandits to shoot back and disappeared, 

leaving the women behind without abducting 

them. 

“I came back, took a bottle of soft drink 

around the church premises, then threw 

it in the direction of the bandits, it hit a 

rock and sounded like a gunshot. They 

fired back at my direction and ran away, 

leaving the three women behind,’’ he said. 

Komolafe Bose, an eye witness, said 

the culprits came into the church and 

ordered everyone to lie flat on the floor 

and asked for the pastor. 

Bose said that John stood up and identified 

himself as the pastor, adding that 

they searched everyone, took our phones, 

money and other valuables in the church. 

According to her, they asked the pastor 

“where is your gun”, and he (pastor) asked 

them to introduce themselves first, then 

one of them used a stick and hit him on 

his body. 

Arulogun said that the government 

has mandated security agencies in the 

state to beef up security and improve 

on their intelligence gathering and this 

was already yielding positive results, 

as some suspected kidnappers have 

been arrested. 

He said that the increase in surveillance 

by the security agencies has doused 

the tension in Oke-Ogun. He said that the 

government was determined to protect 

that the lives and properties of residents 

of the state. 

“Our administration is known for 

peace, safety and security. This is evident 

in the 4-Star rating as a well qualified state 

to help foreign and domestic investors 

given by the Nigerian Investment Promotion 

Commission (NIPC). 

“It is based on the peaceful cum secured 

environment that new businesses 

are springing up with a renaissance of 

the night economy. We cannot allow 

anything to disrupt the peace in the state 

and that is the reason the governor set up 

the taskforce to address the issue of Oke 

Ogun in addition to the existing security 

apparatus. 

“The security agencies in Oyo State are 

living up to expectation and we should all 

join hands with them to ensure that security 

is not breached in the state. We should 

commend them for their improved intelligence 

as well as pro-activeness to ensure 

that the state is not turned to crisis torn 

state. On our part, government will not 

renege to provide adequate security for 

its people and support all the security 

agencies to perform their duties well,” 

Arulogun added. 

“The other one attacked and beat him, 

asking where he kept his money and 

phone. After robbing us, they took four 

women away including pastor’s wife, 

they took me with my daughter, when 

getting outside the church, they asked 

me to go back. 

“My daughter was taken away, on 

their way inside the bush, they told one 

of the women to go back, and then left 

with the remaining three. They told our 

pastor to pay N5 million for the women 

to be released. He followed them behind, 

on his way, he saw that the woman had 

been released.’’ 

Akinlami Aduragbemi, a resident in 

the area, called on the Federal Government 

to release securities to the area, as 

they need it in the community. 

Aduragbem further urged the government 

to act now and fast about it, adding 

that they might not be able to sleep without 

proper security. 

Police parade armed robbery 

suspects, cultists in C’River 

MIKE ABANG, Calabar 


The police in Cross River have paraded 

16 armed robbery suspects, 27 cultists 

and 16 murder suspects, among others. 

Parading the suspects before newsmen 

at the Diamond Hill police headquarters, 

Mohammed Inuawa, the Commissioner of 

Police (CP) said the command would stop 

at nothing in reducing the level of crime in 

the state. 

Inuawa said the success of the command 

in crime prevention and control, showed 

that 78 suspects were arrested for various 

offences while exhibits recovered from them 

included three locally made guns, four locally 

made pistols, one revolver, one jack knife, 

21 rounds of live cartridges among others. 

The police chief said that the command 

would continue to solicit the support of traditional 

Institutions, religious leaders, youths, 

community leaders, judiciary and the political 

class to join hands with the police to fight 

the upsurge in the state. 

Flood: Authority urges residents 

to evacuate drains in Kebbi 

Kebbi State Urban Development Authority 

(KUDA) has urged residents 

in the 21 local government areas of 

the state to evacuate their drains to avoid 

flooding during the rainy season. 

The general manager of the authority, 

Shekara, gave the advice in Birnin-Kebbi. 

He said the authority would embark on the 

collection of refuse and evacuation of drains 

in the state. 

“As part of the measures to avert flooding 

we experienced during the rainy season last 

year, we urge residents to complement the 

state government’s efforts by evacuating the 

drains around their premises. 

“We will embark on the massive evacuation 

of drains in all the major towns and 

flood-prone areas to avoid the recurrence 

of flooding experienced in 2017,” he said. 

Shekara said that the authority would hire 

more trucks to complement its fleet to facilitate 

the work. The manager, however, warned 

residents against erecting illegal structures 

on the various drainage systems in the state. 

“We will not hesitate to deal decisively 

with defaulters as we have been sensitising 

them on the dangers of building structures 

on the drains,” he said. 

Killings: Party wants Zamfara 

to restore order 

National Rescue Movement (NRM) has 

urged the Zamfara State government 

to restore order and halt further killings 

in the state. 

The secretary of the group in the state, 

Bello Galadi made the call while briefing 

newsmen on Wednesday in Gusau. 

Galadi expressed concern over the manner 

people were being killed in the state and 

accused the state government of not doing 

enough to end the killings and protect residents. 

He said that the party had suspended its 

activities in order mourn with the families of 

victims of the recent attacks in Anka Emirate. 

The scribe said there was need for government 

to identify the root causes of the killings 

and take necessary measures to end it. He 

also blamed the Federal Government for not 

taking proactive measures toward protecting 

lives in the state. 

Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara recently 

directed security agents to shoot and 

kill anyone caught carrying firearms in the 

state after the killing of 30 persons in Bawan 

Daji village. NAN


BUSINESS 

DAY 

23 

COMPANIES 

& MARKETS 

Company news analysis and insight 

MPC retains lending rate at 14% 

Pg. 24 

Dangote Sugar’s margins improve 

on gradual economic recovery 

BALA AUGIE 

An improving economy 

has generally meant expanding 

profit margins 

for Dangote Sugar Plc in 

recent times. 

Nigeria’s top sugar producer, 

owned by Africa’s richest man, Aliko 

Dangote, recorded the strongest 

margin expansion by any Nigerian 

manufacturer. 

Margins expansion means a firm 

is efficient in translating top line 

impressive (sales) performance into 

bottom line growth (profit). 

Gross profit margins (GPM) 

increased to 26.87 percent in December 

2017 from 15.98 percent the 

previous year. 

This means Dangote Sugar has 

more money left over, after paying 

for production, to cover operations, 

expansion, debt repayment, and 

many other business expenses. 

Net margin, a measure of 

efficiency more than double to 

19.18 percent in December 2017 

from 8.12 percent as at December 

2016. This means the producer 

sweetener has utilized each naira 

collected in sales in generating 

higher profit. 

It is generally accepted that there 

are relationship between economic 

growth and margins recorded by 

companies. 

In the case of Nigeria, the relaxation 

of the foreign exchange 

restrictions by the apex bank and 

the subsequent introduction of the 

Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) window 

made it easy for manufacturer 

to have access to dollars needed to 

import raw materials. 

Oradian set to fast-track CBN’s 80% financial inclusion target 

Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson 

Oradian, a financial inclusion 

company, is set to 

build its community of 

visionary microfinance 

institutions, microfinance banks 

and cooperative Societies in West 

Africa. 

Through Oradian’s toolset, which 

includes its cloud-based core banking 

system (CBS) Instafin, financial 

institutions are enabled to grow 

and reach more clients with digital 

financial services. 

The company’s mission to boost 

financial inclusion by delivering 

the tools financial institutions need 

to reach more clients in rural communities 

supports Nigeria’s goal to 

“As companies begin to recover, 

we’re seeing an increase in what 

they buy from us, “Confectioneries, 

bakeries and beverage companies 

have increased their demand,” said 

Abdullahi Sule MD/ CEO of Dangote 

Sugar Refinery, in an interview with 

Bloomberg. 

The gross domestic product of 

Africa’s largest oil producer expanded 

for three straight quarters last year after 

a 1.6 percent contraction in 2016, 

with year-on-year growth reaching 

1.9 percent in the final three months 

of 2017. 

Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ 

Index (PMI) for March closed 

at 56.7 index points as business 

activities in the country continued 

to grow, according to a recent report 

…deploys cloud tech for digital rural banking 

reach 80 percent financial inclusion 

by 2020 as stated by the Central Bank 

of Nigeria (CBN). 

According to Onyeka Adibeli, 

co-founder and head of implementation, 

Oradian, “the companys’ 

cloud-based CBS enables financial 

institutions to go digital. Paired with 

guidance and support from our 

in-market teams, we are enabling 

the successful digital transformation 

and implementation of global 

best practice for our community of 

financial institutions”. 

To accelerate financial inclusion 

in Nigeria and to share best practice 

for going digital with cloud technology, 

Oradian will host a dinner event 

in Lagos as part of the Africa Banking 

and Finance Conference on April 

10 2018. 

The event is designed to bring 

leaders of financial institutions, 

regulatory groups, financial inclusion 

experts, the Central Bank 

and fintech providers together to 

build strategic partnerships that 

will boost financial inclusion in 

Nigeria and West Africa at large. 

Oradian says that the event will 

connect the private sector, public 

sector and financial services 

regulators. 

“Strategic partnerships within 

the digital ecosystem are proving to 

be the most effective way to enable 

our customers to provide better 

service to their end-clients,” Antonio 

Separovic, the chief executive officer 

and co-founder of Oradian said. 

Oradian is demonstrating the 

value of strategic public-private 

partnerships in Southeast Asia with 

the Asian Development Bank (ADB) 

by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). 

Dangote Sugar Refinery sales 

spiked by 19.78 percent to N204.42 

billion from N169.72 billion as at 

December 2017; driven by price 

increases across key products. 

However, sales volumes continued 

to be beleaguered by continued 

disruptions at the Apapa refinery, 

as well as constrained consumer 

spending. 

Analysts expect an increase in 

sales volume in 2018 on the back of 

completion of road construction at 

Apapa, and the company’s backward 

integration programme. 

“Management has guided sales 

volume increase of 20-25% and 15- 

20% growth in profits in 2018, which 

we view as a key positive,” said analysts 

at CSL 

Dangote Sugar’s profit after tax 

surged by 175.95 percent to N39.78 

billion in December 2017 from 

N14.39 billion the previous year. 

Cost of sales increased by 3.95 

percent to N149.16 billion as at December 

2017; which is lower than 

14.33 percent December inflation 

figure. 

“Dangote Sugar has also focused 

on reducing costs by switching over 

to natural gas from fuel oil, which 

should further boost profitability,” 

said analysts at CSL. 

Analysts are upbeat that the 

country’s rising population that crave 

for consumption will help support 

revenue and earnings growth at 

Dangote Sugar. 

and Cantilan Bank, one of the top rural 

banks in the Philippines. Backed 

by a $150,000 ADB grant, Cantilan 

Bank will use Oradian’s toolset to 

demonstrate how cloud technology 

can unlock financial opportunities 

by providing access to financial services 

for hard-to-reach individuals 

in rural areas. 

Oradian disclosed that its toolset, 

including Instafin, delivers three 

key business benefits to financial 

institutions: improved efficiency 

with digital processes and operations, 

informed decision-making 

with real-time data and reporting, 

and growth without incremental 

cost. Oradian provides access to its 

toolset using a subscription model, 

eliminating financial barriers that 

prevent financial institutions from 

accessing leading technology. 

Non passage of 2018 

budget fuels MPR 

retention at 14% 

Some financial experts have 

attributed the retention of 

the Monetary Policy Ratio 

(MPR) at 14 per cent by the 

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to nonpassage 

of the 2018 budget. 

The experts, who spoke in Lagos 

on Wednesday after the first MPC 

meeting for the year, noted that the 

absence of a fiscal policy direction in 

the economy was inevitable for the 

CBN to decide otherwise. 

The MPC rose from its first meeting 

in 2018, retaining the benchmark 

interest rate at 14 per cent, the Cash 

Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 22.5 per cent 

and the liquidity ratio at 30 per cent. 

Also, the Asymmetric window 

was left at +200 and -500 basis points 

around the MPR. 

Sheriffdeen Tella, a Senior Economist 

at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, 

Ago-Iwoye, Ogun said holding 

the MPR at 14 per cent was in the 

right direction, considering the nonpassage 

of the 2018 budget. 

Tella said that the build up to the 

general elections demands huge 

spending by politicians, adding that 

the CBN was careful not to allow excess 

liquidity in the economy to erode 

the gains of controlling inflation. 

According to him, the apex bank 

need to watch the political behaviour 

and spending of politicians between 

now and June, before contemplating 

any easing on the MPR as the nation’s 

fiscal policy is still shrouded in 

uncertainties. 

The financial expert argued that 

the CBN had not foreclosed the 

notion of easing the MPR, adding 

that an early passage of the budget 

and improved key fundamentals of 

the economy, a rate cut should be 

considered. 

Tella, however, explained that the 

economy was yearning for a rate cut 

to stimulate its productive sector, and 

allow for the expansion of Small and 

Medium Enterprises (SMEs). 

Similarly, Aminu Gwadabe, the 

President, Association of Bureaux 

Des Change Operators of Nigeria 

(ABCON), said that rate retention 

was a momentary response to the 

political and security challenges in 

the nation’s political economy. 

Gwadabe said that the apex bank 

was very cautious in its decision, 

considering the uncertainties in the 

nations’ fiscal policy arising from the 

non-passage of the 2018 budget. 

The ABCON chief, however, noted 

that a rate cut would bring the needed 

stimulus in the economy in order to 

revive the fortunes of the manufacturing 

sector. 

The financial expert urged the 

CBN to urgently tackle the challenges 

of prevailing exchange rates in the 

market in order to sustain the gains 

recorded at the foreign exchange 

market. 

The CBN had retained the benchmark 

interest rate at 14 per cent 

alongside other monetary policy rates 

since July 2016, citing inflationary 

pressure and a fragile post-recession 

economy.

24 

BUSINESS DAY 

COMPANIES & MARKETS 

C002D5556 


MPC retains lending rate at 14% 

The Monetary Policy 

Committee (MPC) 

has once again 

retained the Monetary 

Policy Rate at 

14 per cent due to persistent 

uncertain economic conditions 

and high inflation. 

The Central Bank of Nigeria 

(CBN) Governor, Godwin 

Emefiele said this while briefing 

newsmen on the outcome 

of the first MPC meeting for 

2018 in Abuja on Wednesday. 

He said the MPC members 

unanimously voted to retain 

the existing MPR and other 

monetary indices. 

This means that the Cash 

Reserve Ratio still remains 22.5 

per cent, Liquidity Ratio, 30 per 

cent, the Asymmetric corridor 

is at +200 and -500 basis points 

around the MPR. 

“The Committee was of the 

view that further tightening 

would strengthen the impact 

of monetary policy on inflation 

with complimentary effects 

on capital flows and exchange 

rate stability. 

“Nevertheless, it could potentially 

dampen the positive 

outlook for growth and financial 

stability. 

“The committee was also of 

the view that loosening would 

strengthen the outlook for 

growth by stimulating aggregate 

demand through reduced 

cost of borrowing. 

“However, this may lead to 

rise in consumer prices, generating 

exchange rate pressures 

on the currency in the process. 

“The committee also believes 

that loosening will 

worsen the current foreign 

reserve account balance due to 

increase in importation. 

“On the argument to hold, 

the committee believes that 

key variables have continued 

to evolve in line with the present 

stance of macroeconomic 

policy and should be allowed 

more time to fully manifest,’’ 

he said. 

Emefiele said the committee 

observed with satisfaction, 

the continued rise in the external 

reserves but urged the 

CBN not to relent in building 

buffers against future price 

downturns. 

“The committee noted the 

relative stability in the foreign 

exchange market. It observed 

with satisfaction the high level 

of activity at the exporters 

and importers window of the 

market. 

“The window continues to 

attract more investors boosting 

foreign exchange supply. 

Consequently, total foreign 

exchange inflow through the 

CBN increased by 73 per cent 

in Feb. 2018 compared to the 

previous month. 

“Total outflow also increased 

in Feb. 2018, by 15.69 

per cent as a result of higher 

payment for invisibles, interbank 

transactions as well as 

joint venture cash calls payment,’’ 

he said. 

Interest rate retention: NSE All-Share drops further by 0.26% 

The Nigerian Stock 

Exchange (NSE) 

All-Share Index on 

Wednesday maintained 

downward slide, dropping 

further by 0.26 per cent, 

just as the Monetary Policy 

Committee (MPC) retained 

interest rate at 14 per cent. 

The index shed 105.78 

points or 0.26 per cent to close 

at 40,749.86 against 40,855.64 

achieved on Tuesday. 

Similarly, the market capitalisation, 

which opened at 

N14.758 trillion, lost N18 billion 

to close at N14.740 trillion. 

The Central Bank of Nigeria 

(CBN) MPC members unanimously, 

at the first meeting for 

the year, decided to hold the 

Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) 

at 14 per cent. 

Some financial experts had 

expected reduction in benchmark 

interest rate, while some 

expressed optimism that the 

rate would be retained to further 

monitor inflation rate. 

Market watchers attributed 

the downward trend to investors’ 

concern about trade dispute 

between U.S and China, 

which could create uncertainty 

for frontier market. 

A breakdown of the price 

movement table indicated 

that Mobil Oil recorded the 

highest loss for the day, shedding 

N2 to close at N183 per 

share. 

Dangote Flour trailed with a 

loss of N1.45 to close at N13.75, 

while Ecobank Transnational 

Incorporated declined by 65k 

to close at N16.35 per share. 

Flour Mills depreciated by 

50k to close at N38.80, while 

NASCON decreased by 50k to 

close at N21 per share. 

On the other hand, Forte Oil 

led the gainers’ table during the 

day, gaining N1.10 to close at 

N41.90 per share. 

Stanbic IBTC followed with 

a gain of N1 to close at N49, 

while Guaranty Trust Bank 

gained 90k to close at N44.30 

per share. 

Lafarge Africa increased 

by 55k to close at N44, while 

Access Bank also added 55k to 

close at N11.80 per share. 

Business Event 

L-R: Aberuagba Olufemi, assistant director, Science and Technology Department, Lagos State 

Ministry of Education; Ayodeji Adewale, head of channel marketing, PZ Cussons; Anaekwe Aishat, 

brand manager, Ibiyeye Adebayo, director, science and technology department, Lagos State 

Ministry of Education, and Olatunji Fisayo, activation manager- Lagos, PZ Cussons, at the first 

stage examination of 5th edition of PZ Cussons chemistry challenge in Lagos. 

L-R: Kayode Ariyo, executive director, business development and COO, Global Accelerex; Tunde 

Ogungbade, managing director, Global Accelerex; Uzoma Nwagba, COO, GEEP, BoI; Niyi Ajao, 

executive director, business development, NIBSS; and Stanley Peters, director and chief technology 

officer, Global Accelerex at the 3rd Edition of PoS Innovation Summit, recently held in Lagos. 

WECO, CISCO advocate seamless businessto-business 

digitization, connectivity 

In today’s world, businesses 

are looking for new and 

smart ways to connect 

people, processes, data, 

and things with advanced 

intelligence, security, and 

network. This was the focus of 

a workshop organised by Weco 

Systems International in collaboration 

with Cisco Systems 

in Lagos recently. 

The training was tagged 

“Deliver outstanding business 

outcome with Cisco 

Meraki and Core Refresh’ It 

had heads of information 

technology and other IT experts 

from financial institutions, 

telecommunications, 

oil and gas and other service 

providers in attendance. 

Speaking at the workshop, 

Solution Architect, Network 

and Security, Weco Systems 

Limited, Ethelbert Ezeaputa, 

disclosed that, ‘Meraki: Also 

known as “a network that 

simply works” is a complete 

solution for wireless, security, 

switching and routing infrastructure, 

WAN acceleration 

and MDM (mobile device 

management) for clients that 

are moving their applications 

and services to the cloud” 

Ezeaputa added that, The 

Cisco Meraki can manage devices 

across multiple sites from 

a single dashboard, monitor 

and control users, applications, 

and devices in real 

time, scale from small sites to 

million-user deployments, no 

controller hardware or management 

software to install 

and maintain complete, highperformance 

feature set and 

support is included. 

The workshop also explored 

how organizations can 

accelerate innovation, through 

the adoption of the Intuitive 

Network –Cisco Core refresh. 

According to the Senior Support 

and Deployment Engineer, 

Weco Systems, Hussein 

Adeiye,; ‘Cisco’s intent based 

network is delivered by “Digi- 

tal Network Architecture”. The 

DNA is an open, extensible 

software driven architecture 

for digital business bringing 

together virtualization, automation, 

analytics, cloud and 

programmability. It strays 

from the traditional networking 

that always require continuous 

attention to a network 

that simply understands what 

the organization needs and 

makes it happen. 

The Systems Engineer, International 

Sales, Cisco Systems, 

Funmi Coker, submitted 

that, The DNA takes away the 

operational complexity challenge 

of traditional network 

environment as customers 

spend three times more on 

OpEX compared to the network 

itself because the network 

implementation is done 

in a manual and laborious 

box-by-box approach. The 

DNA will automate operations 

such as IP address settings and 

VLAN configuration. 

L-R Banjo Olajide; Anatoly Sidrov, regional commercial manager, Africa, Omnicomm; Abdul 

Bamgbopa, MD/CEO, Sattrak Services Limited; Akudo Ogbonna, head, product and market 

development , Sattrak Services Limited, and Alex Molochkov, senior specialist, technology 

support group, Omnicomm, at the Omnicomm/ Sattrak business breakfast workshop in Lagos 

yesterday. 

Pic by Pius Okeosisi 

Bimbo Ashiru, Commissioner for Commerce and Industry presenting C of O to Victor Ayodele 

Ojumu, one of the beneficiaries of Ogun State Home Owners Chapter Programme in Abeokuta , 

Ogun State recently

Friday 06 April 2018 C002D5556 BUSINESS DAY 25 

FINTECH 

News Products Review Technology Review Personality Review Company Review 

COMPANY REVIEW 

Non-financial institutions to scramble for fintech’s future 

Stories by FRANK ELEANYA 

Fintech may belong 

to players in financial 

services today, 

but all that could 

change in a few 

years. The space is opening 

up to new competitors that are 

not core financial institutions, 

rather posses more sophisticated 

technology and seemingly 

endless financial power. 

Google, WhatsApp, Opera, 

Uber, Samsung, Apple and 

most recently Adobe, in recent 

times have unveiled plans to 

participate in different ways in 

the burgeoning global fintech 

market. 

A number of them have also 

identified Africa as their frontier 

should they eventually roll 

out their products in the space. 

Fintech, which stands for 

financial technology, in ordinary 

terms refers to technologies 

used and applied in the financial 

services sector, chiefly 

used by financial institutions 

themselves on the back-end 

of their businesses. If we are 

to go by that definition fintech 

will be the exclusive item of 

banks, microfinance banks 

and other institutions that 

along this line. 

However, fintech is being 

used to define technologies 

that are disrupting traditional 

financial services, including 

mobile payments, money 

transfers, loans, fundraising, 

and asset management. This 

definition is the reason for 

start-ups such as Paystack, 

Paga, Flutterwave, Cowry- 

Wise, Riby Finance, Paylater, 

Aella Credit and many others. 

It is also the reason nonfinancial 

industry players like 

mobile operators in countries 

such as Kenya has been able to 

participate in fintech. M-pesa, 

which is arguably the most 

popular fintech product in Africa, 

was created by a mobile 

phone operator, Vodacom. 

While the history of fintech 

is replete with banks’ efforts to 

transform services to customers 

using new technologies, 

it is the start-ups that are 

responsible for the popularity 

fintech has gained so far. 

Fintech start-ups directly 

compete with banks in most 

areas of the financial sector 

to sell financial services 

and solutions to customers. 

And given that the number 

of people not accessing bank 

services for various reasons 

keeps increasing, the fintech 

start-ups have been able to 

find a ready-made market 

eager to embrace their offerings 

that are largely built 

for convenience, simplicity, 

COMPANY REVIEW 

speed and efficiency. A lot of 

them are succeeding where 

banks are not. 

In contrast, many of the 

start-ups are also being 

bought up or taking over by 

ambitious banks which are 

responding aggressively to the 

threat. The banks in Nigeria 

are some of the highest inves- 

tors in fintech services. 

Nonetheless, many experts 

agree that fintech is still in its 

early days. 

The entrants of non-financial 

services players like 

Google, Uber, Adobe, Opera, 

WhatsApp, Samsung brings a 

new twist that will give banks 

and fintech startups a run for 

their innovation and money. 

To start with, one of the 

major advantage banks have 

had so far over the start-ups is 

ready-made funding. The startups 

have to rely on a network 

of investors and in some cases 

family and friends to survive. 

The new players are much 

more sophisticated financially. 

Companies like Google and 

Samsung sit on the table of the 

most valuable companies in 

the world. Their financial powers 

are enormous, so is their 

technology innovation stash. 

The entrance of these big 

players could lead to mergers 

of three or more fintech startups, 

or acquisitions. 

TECHNOLOGY REVIEW 

Credit start-ups top fintechs in Nigeria with most mobile app downloads 

Start-ups that offer 

small loans to 

customers have the 

highest number of 

mobile app downloads on 

Google Play Store, according 

to a study of twentythree 

fintech companies 

in Nigeria conducted by 

BusinessDay. 

The study which focused 

exclusively on the Google 

Play Store because of its 

wider reach, showed that 

Branch International’s mobile 

app and Paylater has 

over million downloads 

and five hundred thousand 

downloads respectively. 

Branch is a San Francisco 

based company with 

services in countries like 

Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria. 

The company’s mobile 

application eliminates the 

challenges of accessing 

loans by using data on users 

phone to create a credit 

score. 

Paylater on the other 

hand is Nigerian-based 

fintech firm that provides 

short-term loans to help 

cover unexpected expenses 

or urgent cash needs. 

QuickCheck (100,000+), 

another loan service firm 

and Remitano (100,000+), a 

payment startup completes 

the top three fintechs with 

the highest downloads. See 

table: 

NEWS 

Nigeria tech start-ups to meet SBC 

team, investors at Fast Track event 

Startupbootcamp Africa 

has announced it will 

host the second edition 

of its accelerator 

programme, Fast Track, in 

Lagos, on 7 April 2018, aimed 

at helping tech businesses in 

Nigeria grow and scale. 

In a statement sent to BusinessDay, 

Startupbootcamp 

Africa (SBC) said it is building 

on the success of its inaugural 

2017 Cape Town tech venture 

accelerator programme 

that brought Nigerian startup 

MOBicure and their flagship 

application UMOMi into the 

limelight. 

“Fast Track events are a 

rare opportunity for start-ups 

across the globe to present 

their businesses to an elite 

group of mentors comprising 

industry experts, corporate 

executives and investors,” 

Philip Kiracofe and Zachariah 

George, co-founders of 

Startupbootcamp Africa said 

in a joint statement. “Through 

more than two hours of personal, 

dedicated one-on-one 

feedback from mentors and 

subject-matter experts, startups 

will be able to engage with 

the Startupbootcamp global 

community and will also be 

able to meet with industry 

executives and exposed to 

worldwide opportunities.” 

The company also disclosed 

that it is partnering 

with Old Mutual Personal 

Finance to organise this year’s 

Fast Track.



Policy Investments Market Insight Influencers 

INSIGHT 

Why Nigeria is a promising market for minigrid investments 

ISAAC ANYAOGU 

Participants at the 

REA/ RMI Global 

Minigrid Design 

Charette focused 

on reducing 

minigrid development costs 

for off grid Electrification 

held in Lagos on March 

9 highlighted key reasons 

why Nigeria is a promising 

market and a good test case 

for developing a profitable 

minigrid business model 

that scales. 

With over 180million 

people, Nigeria has the largest 

population in Africa and 

about 85million of these are 

without access to power. An 

ineffectual national grid ensures 

that less about 6,000MW 

can be moved across the grid 

however, the country struggles 

to generate between 4000MW 

and 5000MW of power on a 

given day. 

A GDP of over $400billion, 

Africa’s highest, ensures 

that significant economic 

activity occurs even in rural 

communities. Many of the 

rural folks subsist on subsistence 

farming and trading 

activities. This guarantees an 

ability to pay for solutions 

that are designed to fit their 

income levels. 

The range of community 

and economic structures 

in Nigeria is very broad, 

ranging from nomadic to 

agricultural to large cities 

near and far from the grid, 

presenting both challenges 

and opportunities. 

Currently, Nigeria generates 

over 14GW of power 

by small petrol and diesel 

generators used for residential 

and commercial 

applications. Experts say the 

country spends $14billion 

annually on off-grid power 

from small generators alone. 

This is a huge market for 

mini grids. 

There are 85million people 

underserved or not connected 

to the grid, which is 

an enormous investment 

opportunities. The market 

is large – installing 1,000 

minigrids each year for the 

next 10 years would only 

serve 20% of current off-grid 

population, experts say. 

Policy-wise, Nigeria has 

made significant strides towards 

increased adoption of 

renewable energy. The 2016 

minigrid policy allows for 

operators to deplore 1MW 

solutions after obtaining a license, 

allowing them to also 

charge market based tariff 

to meet the cost of installing 

solar infrastructure. 

But recent moves to 

charge import duties on solar 

may yet rubbish this goal 

unless quick action is taken 

to rescind the tactless move. 

Barriers 

There are four categories of 

barriers to profitable and 

scalable minigrid business 

models emphasised at the 

Minigrid Design Charette. 

Cost is high 

Overall the cost of service is 

determined by both upfront 

and on-going cost, and can 

be measured by calculating 

the overall levelised cost 

of electricity (LCOE). Upfront 

cost includes hardware, 

project development, 

and construction. Ongoing 

cost includes O&M, fuel, 

customer engagement and 

system losses. While policy 

and finance also affect cost. 

Capacity utilisation is poor 

Cost of service increases 

further for minigrids with 

poor utilisation, including 

systems that are oversized 

with slow customer acquisition 

and high peak loads in 

the evening. 

Financing is expensive or 

unavailable 

Increased access to finance 

is required for scaling successful 

business models, but 

current rates are high and 

increase further with foreign 

exchange risk. 

Policy is unpredictable or 

unsupportive 

Key considerations include 

tariff setting, licensing, taxes, 

import duties and delays, 

subsidies and grid extension 

INVESTMENT 

South Africa signs $4.7 bln of 

delayed renewable energy deals 

South Africa signed 

long-delayed renewable 

energy 

contracts worth 

$4.7 billion with independent 

power producers on 

Wednesday, in the first major 

investment deal under 

President Cyril Ramaphosa 

according to a report by 

Reuters. 

The signing of power 

purchase agreements for 

the 27 mostly solar and wind 

projects was held up for 

over two years under ousted 

president Jacob Zuma, who 

favoured a plan to build 

additional nuclear power 

plants. 

It was also the subject 

of a last-minute legal chal- 

lenge by the NUMSA labour 

union and Transform RSA 

lobby group, but a court 

rejected their application 

for an urgent interdict last 

week. 

The signing represents 

a victory for Ramaphosa, 

who has promised to unlock 

investment and kick-start 

economic growth since replacing 

scandal-plagued 

Zuma in February. 

“This will bring muchneeded 

policy and regulatory 

certainty and maintain 

South Africa’s position as an 

energy investment destination 

of choice,” the energy 

ministry said in a statement. 

Ramaphosa, a wealthy 

businessman, has priori- 

tised revamping the economy 

and turning around 

struggling state-owned 

enterprises like utility Eskom, 

which will purchase 

power from independent 

producers as part of the 

deals agreed on Wednesday. 

Opponents of the renewable 

contracts argued that 

Eskom could not afford the 

additional financial burden 

and that they would lead to 

job losses in the coal sector. 

South Africa relies on 

coal-fired plants for more 

than 80 percent of its electricity 

generation, while renewables 

contribute around 

7 percent. 

Transform RSA, which 

opposed Zuma’s removal as 

head of state, said it would 

continue to fight the renewable 

deals and had appealed 

last week’s court ruling dismissing 

its application for 

an interdict. 

“Eskom simply does not 

have the liquidity, cashflow 

and strong balance sheet 

to support this hideous 

gamble on the fiscus and 

state electricity supplier,” 

Transform RSA president 

Adil Nchabeleng said. 

Blue Carmel Energy opens solar assembly 

plant, training center in Kaduna 

ISAAC ANYAOGU 

Blue Carmel Energy, 

one of the largest 

solar energy operators 

in the country 

on April 4, opened a new 

solar assembly and renewable 

energy training center 

in Kaduna. 

“So, for a start, we just 

discovered that there is a lot 

of use for solar LED lighting 

solutions across the country 

and these LED solutions are 

badly engineered. They are 

mostly awarded by government 

through its agencies, 

and these products are not 

properly designed and engineered 

and the resultant 

effect is massive failure,” Sulaiman 

told Offgrid Nigeria. 

Beyond just assembling 

solar products, the company 

plans to go into battery 

recycling. “The amount of 

batteries that we import into 

this country on a daily basis 

is scary and I don’t know 

if you’ve ever imagined or 

thought about what happens 

to these batteries when 

they are dead. There is a lot 

of potential environmental 

hazards that are waiting. 

“We are probably consuming 

not less than a couple 

of thousands of batteries 

on a daily basis. So, if 

we don’t begin to look at 

proper battery disposal and 

recycling process, and the 

recycling does not only have 

to ensure that the (used) 

batteries are properly discarded, 

it also ensures that 

the total quantity of batteries 

that continues to come in (to 

the country) is reduced because 

we are recycling some 

of the ones that are already in 

the system. 

Sulaiman also said solar 

PV (Photovoltaic) production 

is also in the works. “I do not 

see that we can quickly compete 

with the world price of 

solar panels especially given 

the fact that the Chinese have 

done everything to crash the 

prices to make sure that they 

dominate that industry. But 

we mustn’t wait, I think it 

won’t be a bad idea if we are 

able to do something like at 

least get used to the technology 

and perhaps someday we 

may find the resources that 

will put us in a competitive 

position. 

On the training aspect, 

the company says it will focus 

more on hands on field 

practical experience, and is 

in talks with the European 

Energy Center and the Arizona 

State University, on a 

possible affiliation. 

“We are working hand-inhand 

with the GIZ and we are 

also working with Winrock, 

USAID. So, as much as possible 

we have a number of 

companies already lined up, 

ready to partner with us in 

terms of support and equipment 

like General Electric, 

ABB and quite a number 

of other standard original 

equipment manufacturers 

(OEMs),” said Sulaiman. 

Isaac Anyaogu, Email: isaac.anyaogu@businessdayonline.com, 07037817378, Graphics: Joel Samson


BUSINESS DAY 

MoneyInsight 

C002D5556 

27 

Personal Finance: Investing Retirement Taxes Credit Cards Home Buying Small Business Shopping Financing 

SureRemit moves to address 

token utility with mobile app 

FRANK ELEANYA 

In a bid to allay fears of 

its community over its 

initial coin offering success, 

SureRemit, a non-cash 

remittance platform, has 

unveiled the first version of 

its mobile application. 

In a LinkedIn post signed 

by Olaluwa Samuel-Biyi a 

director of SureRemit - majority-owned 

by Nigerianbased 

fintech holding company, 

GreenHouse Capital, 

described its RMT token 

is the “grandest attempt to 

marry cryptocurrency with 

the real world.” 

SureRemit’s ambition is 

to enable as least a third of 

the population of the world 

to be able to use its token to 

make purchases on a daily 

basis. 

“We are not under the illusion 

that this will an easy 

experiment,” Samuel-Biyi 

noted, “There is good reason 

that a lot of structured 

companies are not accepting 

cryptocurrencies as payment 

(exclusively).” 

The cryptocurrency 

world has recently experienced 

some severe downturns 

following increasing 

regulatory clampdowns 

across the world. The result 

has been that most digital 

currencies are trading below 

market expectations 

as investors dump them to 

ACE awards 2018 to celebrate creative MSMEs 

In 2016, the unhealthy 

reliance of Nigeria on 

importation came to the 

fore during the economic 

recession, leading to the 

emergence of initiatives 

such as the “Buy Naija to 

grow the Naira”. However, 

various sectors of the economy 

are realising that for 

Nigeria to diversify and become 

an export driven nation, 

more attention needs 

to be given to MSMEs. 

This year, the second 

edition of the annual African 

Creative Exhibition 

and Awards (termed ACE 

Awards) hosted by Bellafricana, 

which holds this 

month in Lagos, will bring 

together the best creative 

minds in the fields of Art 

and Craft, Fashion, Manufacturing, 

Beauty, Food 

Produce and so much more. 

Micro, small and medium-size 

businesses nationwide 

produce a great deal 

of outstanding products, 

yet these creative business 

owners aren’t encouraged 

to innovate and create 

more. The ACE awards 

hopes to provide this encouragement, 

by recognising 

outstanding MSMEs in 

different areas of business. 

Bukky Asehinde, managing 

director at Bellafricana 

says “Everyone likes a pat 

on the back when they have 

done something good. Our 

mission for the ACE Awards 

is to give these Creative 

Businesses a platform to 

protect capital. Many countries 

have also announced 

bans on initial coin offering 

projects and labelled most 

of them as fraud schemes. 

Samuel-Biyi alludes to 

these fears in the market 

in his post and points out 

that ability to manage the 

SureRemit’s economics in 

the short term will be a test 

for the future viability of the 

project. 

“However, if the industry 

is to survive and thrive a lot 

of players have to take the 

bold step,” he said. 

To use the SureRemit 

app, users will require the 

RMT token. Once a user 

sign-up, a Stellar wallet is 

created for the account. 

The wallet (public) address 

can be accessed on the 

‘Wallet’ page, and users can 

move their RMT from external 

sources or exchanges to 

that wallet. 

“The critical next step 

and the big picture is to 

ensure that ordinary people 

who do not already have the 

RMT or any other cryptocurrency 

can also use the 

app,” Samuel-Biyi noted. 

The process will require 

that SureRemit creates a 

method for seamless acquisition 

of RMT using traditional 

debit/credit cards, 

via bank accounts or even 

via cash outlets globally. The 

company is still working on 

this process and assures that 

it is making good progress. 

Simplicity for the com- 

receive the recognition they 

have long deserved” 

ACE awards 2018 is 

themed “Creativity and 

Innovation in Nation Building” 

and is scheduled to 

hold on Saturday, April 28, 

2018 by 9:00am at D-Venue, 

Water Corporation Drive, 

Off Ligali Ayorinde, Oniru, 

Lagos, Nigeria. 

The event is expected 

to attract over 6,000 attendees, 

70 exhibitors, 15 

Awardees and 8 Speakers. 

Organisers say it has 

been endorsed by the Lagos 

State Government, 

Ministry of Tourism, Arts 

and Culture, the Nigerian 

Export Promotion Council 

(NEPC), Nigerian-British 

Chamber of Commerce 

(NBCC), Nigerian-American 

Chamber of Commerce 

(NACC), Lagos Chamber of 

Commerce and Industry 

(LCCI), Nigeria-Britain 

Association and will offer 

pany is when every users are 

able to acquire the RMT using 

the mobile app. The app 

has already been stripped 

of the complications users 

usually experienced with 

international money transfer 

services. 

The mobile app will first 

be released to a few testers 

before it goes public. 

Some of the features on 

the first version include 

Send Airtime and Send Digital 

Vouchers options. Testers 

can purchase airtime 

for their mobile phones and 

send real digital vouchers 

at a $20 maximum. The 

test closes at 500 to 1,000 

transactions to enable the 

company implement two 

weeks. 

participants a unique opportunity 

to showcase their 

talents and to have their 

work judged by consumers 

and experts. 

This Annual African 

Creative Exhibition and 

Awards (ACE Awards) aims 

to laud the creative works 

of Nigerians (and other 

Africans) and is certainly 

one of the strongest tools 

in awakening creative, innovative 

and entrepreneurship 

drive in young 

people in Nigeria and indeed 

Africa. 

The awards, which is an 

initiative of Bellafricana, 

is a platform with a focus 

on Afrocentric Made-in- 

Nigeria Non-oil products 

development, where customers 

and suppliers engage 

and transact to bridge 

the buyer-seller gap and 

create a wider outreach for 

Nigerian products locally 

& globally. 

Access Bank partners PayAttitude, Unified 

Payments to launch digital product 

CHINWE AGBEZE 

Access Bank Plc. has 

partnered with two 

payment firms - 

PayAttitude and Unified 

Payments - to unveil an 

innovative solution called 

PayAttitude Digital. 

The solution enables 

Access Bank account 

holders to securely use 

their phone number for 

transactions at Automatic 

Teller Machines, 

Web and Point of Sale 

terminals. 

PayAttitude Digital, a 

smart, trendy and convenient 

mobile app also 

allows Access bank merchants 

and customers 

to receive payments using 

their mobile phone 

numbers across different 

e-payment channels. 

“This is a leading-edge 

payment solution that 

will ensure Access Bank 

customers enjoy unique 

and convenient banking 

services. Customers can 

send and receive cash, 

initiate third party payments, 

pay physical and 

online merchants and so 

much more,” said Herbert 

Wigwe, GMD/CEO, 

Access Bank Plc. 

Wigwe reiterated the 

bank’s commitment to 

simplifying the lives of its 

teeming customers. 

“Our customers are 

our priority and their 

convenience remains 

our focus. This is evident 

through the number 

of innovative solutions 

that we make available to 

them,” he said. 

Speaking at the launch, 

Agada Apochi, managing 

director, Unified Payments 

and founder of 

PayAttitude, said he is 

happy to have worked 

with PayAttitude and Access 

Bank to launch a 

premium solution that is 

the first of its kind anywhere 

in the world. 

‘‘All payment technology 

in the world today 

requires that you enter 

your PIN in an environment 

which is not personal 

to you,’’ Apochi 

said. “We needed to raise 

the standard and we have 

raised the bar beyond 

what is obtainable globally 

because your PIN to 

us should only be entered 

in your own personal 

environment and that is 

what we have done.’’ 

In her remark, Titilayo 

Olubiyi, country manager, 

PayAttitude said 

with PayAttitude Digital, 

customers will be able to 

take control of all their 

transactions. 

‘‘With PayAttitude 

Digital, no visit to bank 

branch is required to 

be enabled. It is all selfservice 

from customer’s 

device,’’ Olubiyi said. 

‘‘Likewise, it guarantees 

higher security level 

as PIN will no longer 

be entered on the POS, 

ATM or Web but now on 

the personal device of 

customers.” 

Olubiyi said that Access 

Bank account holders 

can now do transactions 

securely by themselves 

or through family, 

friends and staff by using 

their mobile phones as 

payment remote control 

to authorise the transactions 

from wherever the 

account holder may be 

anywhere in the world. 

‘‘All these and more 

are made possible by the 

digital innovation of Pay- 

Attitude which has been 

granted the patent for the 

technology. It leverages 

the ubiquity of phone 

number and handheld 

devices,’’ she added. 

Some of the benefits 

Access bank customers 

stand to enjoy include; 

request for a payment 

and transfer, ATM Withdrawal, 

POS payments 

and collection of membership 

dues, tithes and 

offerings. 

The bank urged individuals 

and businesses 

to register themselves as 

agents, and begin to pay 

cash, and receive deposits 

using their personal 

devices anywhere. 

Victor Etuokwu, executive 

director, Access 

Bank Plc., said, ‘‘this is 

a simple and effective 

product. The proof of the 

pudding is in the eating. 

The product would speak 

for itself.’’

28 

BUSINESS DAY Friday 06 April 2018 

Harvard 

Business 

Review 

ManagementDigest 

How perfectionists can get out of their own way 

Like any extreme 

trait, perfectionism 

can be a doubleedged 

sword. Having 

high standards 

and being hardworking can 

help someone stand out in a 

crowded field, and to an extent, 

being very conscientious 

can help avoid errors. 

But if you’re struggling to 

let go of some of your perfectionistic 

tendencies, or managing 

someone who is, it can be 

helpful to remember the ways 

perfectionists can self-sabotage 

in the workplace. I’ll discuss 

five below. You’ll notice a 

general theme: losing sight of 

the big picture. 

HOW PERFECTIONISTS 

GET IN THEIR OWN WAY. 

— STRUGGLING TO MAKE 

DECISIONS OR TAKE AC- 

TION.Perfectionists are motivated 

to make the absolute 

best choice, even when doing 

so isn’t strictly necessary. This 

can lead to decision paralysis. 

For example, Bob wants to 

buy a tool that will accelerate 

his work, but he’s determined 

to find an option that has received 

no negative reviews. 

He’s driven to do this, even 

though logically he knows that 

even great products usually 

get some negative feedback, 

and the specific negative comments 

he reads aren’t particularly 

relevant to how he plans 

to mainly use the tool. But because 

of his self-imposed criteria, 

it takes him several weeks 

to choose what to purchase. As 

a result, he misses out on the 

benefits of the tool, and the 

people on his team see him as 

indecisive and disorganized. 

— Worrying excessively 

about unrecoverable costs. 

Since perfectionists tend to 

ruminate over even tiny mistakes, 

they’re strongly motivated 

to attempt to recover 

money that’s already gone. For 

example, Andrea signs up to 

a service with a monthly fee 

but doesn’t use it. She stays 

subscribed and resolves to get 

“double value” from the service 

going forward in order to 

emotionally recover the money 

she’s lost. Marcus spends 

10 minutes on the phone trying 

to resolve a customer service 

issue with an agent who 

clearly doesn’t have the power 

to correct the problem. He 

doesn’t want to give up, so he 

then stays on the phone for 

another 20 minutes. 

— AVOIDING CHAL- 

LENGES TO AVOID FAILURE. 

Perfectionists want to feel absolutely 

ready before taking 

on challenges. This can lead 

to them holding back when 

it comes to advancement or 

leadership roles. For example, 

Art thinks: “Before I speak at 

a conference, I need to take a 

public speaking course” when 

that’s not really necessary 

and not something he’ll realistically 

do anytime soon. He 

misses a great opportunity. 

— APPLYING THEIR HIGH 

STANDARDS TO OTHERS. 

For the most part, perfectionists 

tend to apply their extremely 

rigorous standards 

to only themselves. However, 

there can be some bleedthrough 

where the perfectionist 

expects others to conform 

to their standards. This especially 

applies to group projects 

where the end result will reflect 

on the perfectionist. Ranjay 

alienated his colleagues 

when he suggested a bunch 

of last-minute tweaks to a presentation 

they were preparing; 

the changes weren’t that 

major, but the team was exhausted 

and wanted to head 

home. It felt to them like he 

was piling on. Nitpicking at 

colleagues or being too demanding 

can harm relationships 

and sometimes lead to 

the social exclusion of the perfectionist 

because they can be 

emotionally hard work to deal 

with. 

— RUMINATING ABOUT 

WEAKNESSES, MISTAKES, 

AND FAILURES. One reason 

perfectionists are so strongly 

motivated to avoid small 

mistakes is because making 

them triggers their tendency 

to ruminate negatively. Andrea 

ruminates over the subscription 

service she doesn’t 

use; Ranjay can’t let go of 

how sloppy that presentation 

looked. Rumination can involve 

negatively-toned overthinking 

about situations that 

have already occurred (in 

contrast to anxious overthinking 

of situations that might occur). 

It intensifies emotional 

pain to the point that it’s out of 

proportion to the situation. It 

causes irritability and feelings 

of depression, and can disrupt 

the person’s performance and 

relationships. 

WHAT PERFECTIONISTS 

CAN DO TO CHANGE 

— LEARN FROM SUCCESS- 

ES. The idea of learning from 

your mistakes is likely to feel 

like confrontation to a perfectionist, 

and to trigger negative 

rumination. An alternative is to 

learn from your successes. By 

reflecting on the pathways that 

led to your successes, you’ll be 

able to see that you achieved 

a meaningful end despite not 

doing everything flawlessly 

or being 100% assured of success 

in advance. Through this 

process, you’ll be able to understand 

how you can benefit 

from taking a “ready, fire, aim 

approach,”where you simply 

tweak your processes and decisions 

based on experience 

rather than from exhaustive research 

and deliberation. 

You can also identify nonperfect, 

but successful, role 

models and colleagues; how 

are they able to be effective 

without succumbing to perfectionism? 

Observe what they do 

and learn from it. 

— DEVELOP RULES OF 

THUMB TO ENABLE FASTER 

DECISION MAKING AND 

ACTION TAKING. Heuristics, 

or rules of thumb, are aimed 

at producing good decisions 

most but not all of the time. 

They help balance the benefits 

of faster decision making 

against any incremental gains 

you might get from delaying 

action and continued thinking. 

For example, a useful rule 

of thumb might be that when 

selecting a hotel to host a work 

event, you’ll define 5 criteria 

and pick a hotel that meets at 

least 4 of these 5. 

Heuristics are a great method 

of prioritizing for perfectionists. 

My personal rule of 

thumb is “Do jobs worth $100+ 

before The Healthy Mind Toolkit 

and The Anxiety Toolkit.) 

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


Hotels 

BUSINESS DAY 

29 

The Envoy Hotel opens to make a 

difference in Abuja hotel market 

OBINNA EMELIKE 

Top BusinessDay Partner Hotels 

Four Point Hotels 

(Oniru Chiefatancy 

Estate,Lekki) 

On March 23, 

2018, the Nigerian 

hospitality 

industry, 

particularly 

the Abuja hotel market, 

welcomed a new entrant in 

the bourgeoning hospitality 

market. However, the 

welcome was resounding 

because of the uniqueness 

of the new entrant. 

From the name, The Envoy 

Hotel By Mantis, the 

service and product offerings, 

and management, the 

new hotel stands out from 

the rest, hence the high net 

worth target audience. 

Of course, the setting 

says it all. The hotel is located 

at #305, Diplomatic 

Drive, Abuja and is the only 

hospitality outfit on that 

reserved location, which 

hosts several diplomatic 

missions and international 

organizations. 

The Envoy Hotel is born 

out of the need to create a 

business environment that 

is closer to home for the diplomatic 

community and expatriates, 

hence the owner 

decided on a name that best 

describes the location and 

purpose of the property, 

as well as, also recognising 

the hard work and journey 

travelled through the ages 

on the “SILK ROAD” in connecting 

the world. 

Hence, for the owner, 

and the would-be guests, 

‘The Envoy’ is the most befitting 

name. 

Probably, that was the 

reason Architect Yakubu 

Yinusa, chairman of the 

opening ceremony of the 

hotel, noted after cutting 

the opening tape that The 

Envoy Hotel was a dream 

come true, especially for being 

the first to be built on the 

highly secured and reserved 

Diplomatic Drive in Abuja. 

Architect Yakubu Yinusa cutting the opening tape that opened the doors of Envoy Hotel to guests. 

“I feel honoured and 

privileged to commission 

The Envoy Hotel. What we 

are commissioning today 

can be referred to a simple 

dream that translated 

to reality. This is only 

achievable with passion, 

courage and commitment 

of the founder”, the architect 

said. 

On offer in the hotel 

are: 59 tastefully furnished 

rooms including 50 luxury 

suites, 4 diplomatic suites, 4 

VIP suites and one presidential 

suite. Besides, the room 

offerings feature inter-leading 

family and paraplegic 

friendly suites. Furthermore, 

all rooms are equipped with 

state of the art media and 

IPTV services along with 

modern, luxury living and 

bedding facilities fit for the 

VIP Guest. 

Other world class facilities 

include; a gym, fibreoptic 

Wi-Fi throughout the 

hotel, complementary underground 

parking and valet 

services, 18-hour in-room 

dining and 24-hour concierge, 

travel and transfer 

services. 

The hotel also offer a 

swimming pool, children 

friendly (baby sitting on request), 

36-seater restaurant 

with continental cuisine 

serving breakfast, lunch and 

dinner, pool bar, lounge bar, 

terrace bar and lounge on 

every floor. 

The hotel, which has all 

the trappings of a 5-star 

hotel, also offers 24-hour 

security to complement 

Diplomatic Drive’s highly 

coordinated security and 

safety for its international 

guests and countries. 

Another reason to visit 

The Envoy Hotel is because 

it is managed by Mantis 

Group, an independent 

hospitality company from 

South-Africa with both track 

records of excellence in 

hotel management and continental 

spread. 

Earlier in his speech at 

the opening ceremony, In 

his opening address, Bitrus 

Kwaje, a retired Major General 

who doubles as the 

founder and chairman of 

The Envoy Hotel said, ‘’Our 

aim is to develop a safe, serene 

and exclusive place for 

the diplomatic community, 

their guests and high net 

worth individuals.” 

To ensure the hotel meets 

the standards of its high 

profile guests, the retired 

army major general said 

while developing the hotel, 

the management focused 

on ensuring international 

best practices and standards 

as far as the hotel industry 

was concerned because its 

anticipated clientele. 

According to him, The 

Envoy Hotel wants to distinguish 

itself in the hospitality, 

while focusing on security, 

comfort and excellent inhouse 

service delivery. 

Also speaking at the 

opening ceremony, Keletso 

Nxumalo, general manager 

of the hotel noted that The 

Envoy Hotel has all it takes 

to host high profile personalities 

across the world 

from diplomatic, business 

moguls, celebrities and corporate 

CEOs. 

Assuring on the pedigree 

of Mantis to deliver 

world class service and 

management at the hotel, 

the general manager said, 

“Mantis has international 

reputation with presence 

in every continent. We are 

not new in Nigeria because 

we manage some hospitality 

outfits in Lagos. But 

The Envoy is the first hotel 

we are managing here in 

Abuja, and we have what it 

takes to run the hootel to a 

global standard”. 

Aside the cutting of the 

cake by the chairman of the 

ceremony, another highlight 

of the event was the 

lighting of fireworks that 

sparked complimentary 

shoot-outs by the guests and 

dignitaries, which included; 

Jehosephat Vidinyu, Alfonso 

Alvaro from Angolan Embassy, 

Ambassador Pule 

Mphothwe of Botswana, 

Abubakar Kani, Fatima Kwaji, 

wife of the chairman, 

Mike Ozokhome, human 

right activist and lawyer, 

among others. 

The Wheatbaker 

#4 Onitolo(Lawrence Road), 

Ikoyi, Lagos. 

Tel: 01 277 3560 

InterContinental Lagos 

Plot 52, Kofo Abayomi St, 

Lagos 

Tel: 01 236 6666 

Best Western Hotel 

Hotels 12, Allen Avenue 

C/O Funmi (Front Office Manager) 

Protea Hotel (V/Island) 

Off Ajose Adeogun Street, V/ 

Island 

Radisson Blu Anchorage 

Hotel 

1A,Ozumba Mbadiwe,Victoria 

Island. 

Transcorp Hilton Abuja 

1 Aguiyi Ironsi Street Maitama, 

Abuja 

Tel: +234-708-060-3000 

Hawthorn Suites by 

Wyndham Abuja 

1 Uke St, Garki, Abuja. 

Tel: +234 9 4603900, +234 

805 7522500 

Renaissance Lagos Ikeja 

Hotel 

#38/40 Isaac John St, Ikeja 

GRA100271, Ikeja 

Tel: +234-908-780 5555 

Protea Hotel (GRA Ikeja) 

GRA Ikeja



C002D5556 

At home with Kadara Enyeasi 

OBINNA EMELIKE 

In the Nigerian seemingly 

‘conservative’ society where 

nudity is seen as a taboo, a 

few visual artists have gone 

out of their ways to capture 

the unspoken visuals. 

The youthful Kadara Enyeasi is 

among the few who have drawn 

the society’s attention to what is 

beneath the cloth through his works. 

While some artists reveal more of 

the female body, Kadara chose the 

male body in a provocative way that 

most people will never imagine. 

In the early days of his artistic 

career, the self-taught photographer 

took the Nigerian art scene by 

storm with the unveiling of some 

thought-provoking nude portraits 

of himself before engaging models 

as his subjects. The development, 

which drew more critics and few 

commendations testified to his guts, 

inspired him to dare more and later 

won him popularity in less than five 

years of practice. 

“My work centres on the black 

male nude specifically. In a highly 

religious and traditional country like 

Nigeria, the male figure is seen as a 

taboo, and its exploration in art is 

minimal. My work challenges that”, 

he explains. 

But despite the critics back 

home, Kadara enjoyed the most 

commendations from the exhibition 

of his self-portraits with Nataal 

at Red Hook Labs. “People seem to 

appreciate my works better when 

they travel outside the country”, the 

artist says. 

For his love for photography, 

Kadara, a graduate of Architecture 

from the University of Lagos, abandoned 

his profession to follow his 

Kadara Enyeasi 

passion. Aside photography, he is a 

multidisciplinary artist whose creativity 

ingenuity cuts across various 

fields; sculpture, fashion, and digital 

art. His versatility and guts make 

him an upcoming artist to watch in 

the Nigerian art circle. 

On the rationale for self-portraits, 

Kadara says, “I use self-portraits 

to see myself. It was all about 

understanding myself”. But he later 

decided to use models as his subject 

on discovering that he was either 

honest or telling lies with his pose. 

With models, he says, “I try to reveal 

the reality of my subject’s mood 

behind the lens”. 

Trailing his works is a fantastic 

endeavor. From 2010-2014 he 

created works he tagged ‘Human 

Encounters’ due to his focus then. 

Lately, his interests have gone 

beyond photography to travelling, 

fashion, social documentary work, 

looking at architecture from a cultural 

perspective among others. 

“I have been working on collage. 

I enjoy juxtaposing images, colours 

and text. And I continue to take 

fashion commissions with brands in 

Nigeria and Ghana. Fashion comes 

easily to me because I like form, 

silhouette, line and perspective”. 

In his less than a decade practice, 

Enyeasi has many exhibitions and 

collaborations to his credit. His feats 

include; the Africa Centre in London, 

Bozar Festival in Brussels, La Triennale 

expo in Milan, Odessa/Batumi 

Photo days in Ukraine and A White 

Space in Lagos. The artist was also 

a 2017 participant in the Arthouse 

Foundation residency programme. 

Trailing his journey to artistic 

stardom, Kadara recalls his encounter 

with photography when he was 

13 years, photographing his sister 

(who then was an aspiring model) 

to practice. 

“I starting by taking my sisters 

photographs with a 2MP Nikon 

camera, and later moved on to take 

my family members, myself and the 

public much later”. 

Kadara is truly progressive in his 

career. At present, he is learning the 

rope a curator at the African Artists’ 

Foundation, he hopes to show his 

collages at Foam 3H in Amsterdam 

in May, a collaborative exhibition 

between AAF and Foam, alongside 

Bob Muchiri Njenga and Osborne 

Macharia. Besides taking up painting, 

he is also working on a book. 

Zee Entertainment unveils all-year round programme 

Zee World, the world’s 

first Bollywood English 

dubbed channel in Africa, 

has unveiled its line-up of 

programmes for the year to keep 

viewers even more glued to their 

television screens. 

Speaking at a content upfront in 

Lagos, Harish Goyal, CEO, Zee TV 

Africa and Indian Ocean Islands, 

said: “We are really excited about 

the wide acceptance and appreciation 

of our programmes here in 

Nigeria and we keep improving our 

content to keep our viewers happy.” 

“This year, we would like to assure 

our viewers of world class 

entertainment in line with Zee 

entertainment’s global offering. 

We have a line-up of exciting new 

programmes across all channels to 

bring you the best of Bollywood,” he 

added. 

The ZEE general entertainment 

channels, which have a huge 

following in Nigeria, showcased 

exciting series, shows and movies 

planned for Bollywood lovers 

across its major channels – the 

popular Zee World, Zee Bollymovies, 

Zee Bollynova and Zee Cinema. 

This year’s programming on Zee 

World features the much-anticipated 

return of Twist of Fate - everybody’s 

favourite TV drama, back 

with its second season, continuing 

the cliffhanger that left viewers 

guessing as to what happened to 

the fun-loving rock star Abhi and 

the ever determined, strong-willed 

Pragya. Will they finally get the 

love they deserve or will Abhi’s evil 

sister Aliya get what she wants and 

remove Pragya for good? 2018 also 

sees the return of another popular 

series - King of Hearts season 2, as 

well as new series- Bride with Benefits, 

Begusarai, Amma and Iron 

Lady. 

A number of blockbuster movies 

will also premiere on Zee Bolly- 

Movies later this year, including the 

2017 crime thriller, MOM, starring 

the Bollywood legend Sridevi, who 

sets out to avenge her step-daughter 

after the justice system failed to 

convict her attackers. With the help 

of a shady detective, she takes the 

law into her own hands. Other movies 

on the channel will feature A-list 

actors like Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay 

Kumar, Priyanka Chopra, Amitabh 

Bachchan and many more. 

To cater to a variety of interests, 

Zee BollyNova offers a wide range 

of entertainment with food shows 

by celebrity chefs Sanjeev Kapoor 

and Ripu Raman Handa. Reality 

shows such asLook love what you 

made me do, for the romance lovers 

and Fear Files, for those who enjoy 

a good scare, not to forget muchloved 

series like Saloni, Destiny and 

The Vow coming in May 2018. 

Zee Cinema provides great 

content for the Bollywood movie 

buffs, acquiring not only recent 

hits, but also in-production titles 

with a strong ensemble cast. The 

channel’s archives feature the best 

content in the industry from varied 

genres, including action, comedy, 

romance, family entertainers, etc. 

matching the entertainment needs 

of audiences across geographies, 

tastes, preferences, cultural and 

age demographics. The film collection 

boasts over 4200 movie titles 

with leading Bollywood superstars 

like Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, 

Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, 

Deepika Padukone and many other 

A-listers featured. Zee Cinema has 

something to please everyone. 

For those who love the Indian 

Bollywood culture, BollyTunes on 

Zee World will showcase the latest 

and the hottest Indian pop music 

to make viewers jump out of their 

seats and dance. 

“Experience the fun of Bollywood 

through the biggest music 

videos from various genres. We pick 

the best Bollywood songs seen on 

screen to satisfy your soul. It’s spectacular, 

it’s dazzling, it’s BollyTunes.” 

CEO, Harish Goyal enthused. 

Zee World airs on DStv Channel 

166, GOtvChannel 25; Zee BollyNova 

on Kwese TV Channel 150 and 

Zee BollyMovies on DStv channel 

114, GOtv Channel 12 and Kwese 

TV channel 155.


C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

31 

Film Review – BOUND 

Cast: Rita Dominic, Eyinna Nwigwe, Joyce Kalu 

Director: Frank Rajah Arase 

Producer: Lilian Afelgba, Chukwueluka Umeh 

Casting 1hr 30mins 

Genre: Romantic Drama 

Ratings : 

It was such a pleasure 

seeing Rita Dominic 

in a new movie as 

the lead actor. I am 

always happy and 

excited when I see either 

Rita Dominic or Genevie 

Nnaji, because I kind of 

trust their works and movies, 

they don’t get to take on 

a lot of roles, so when they 

do, they actually make sure 

that they kill it and in this 

movie Rita totally did. Well 

it’s not because I am their 

greatest fan, but because 

they are just good at what 

they do, hence people flock 

to the cinema to go see a 

movie, once they are mentioned 

as one of the cast, 

same thing will happen 

here. For me one thing is 

certain and paramount, its 

having a perfect storyline, 

if you must add humor to 

it, do not leave out the essence 

of the movie, which 

is the main reason people 

want to go to the cinemas 

to watch out for, they totally 

worn my heart with 

this storyline. There was a 

strong connection between 

the role chosen and Rita, 

you could feel the tears 

and sorrow in her eyes, that 

were constantly red and in 

pain, it looked so real. 

The producers had a 

well thought out stories, 

although we had seen several 

kinds of movies like 

this about young matured 

single ladies, this one had a 

whole new twist and side to 

it. They added some spiritual 

sides to it, which most 

Nigerians really do not 

want to dive into. The good 

side of the movie was that it 

ended so well for me, I really 

would have felt bitter and 

crushed if she didn’t marry 

her old longtime boyfriend, 

but anyway that’s me feeling 

really bias here. Lilian 

Afelgba was the producer 

of the movie and it was directed 

by Frank Raja Arase. 

The lead actors were Rita 

Dominic and Eyinna Nwigwe. 

The movie was shot in 

Enugu and Lagos, and it totally 

reminded me of how 

beautiful the city of Enugu 

was, there weren’t so many 

locations, but the few were 

idle and looked perfect. 

The costumes and make up 

were perfect and each cast 

were a perfect fit for their 

designated roles. I was 

slightly confused towards 

the end; did they kind of 

mix the traditional means 

and Christianity together? 

That was the only scene I 

didn’t quite get there, but 

even at that I totally enjoyed 

the movie. The movie 

was a romantic drama. 

Bound as the title depicts, 

was quite clear, Chineye 

as she was called in the 

movie “Rita” was bound by 

some cosmic mysterious 

power, holding her down 

from marrying her longtime 

boyfriend on earth. 

The movie started on a very 

happy mode, she hadn’t 

being home for 3 years now, 

for fear of being attacked to 

go and settle down by family 

and relatives, but she 

summoned courage and 

went on the journey to go 

see her mum and find answers 

to some mysterious 

dreams she has being having 

for some time now. The 

dreams looked so real that 

at times she woke up and 

held herself from believing 

it wasn’t in this life. Chinenye 

was 35 and had dated 

her boyfriend Elochukwu 

for 5 years now and he had 

proposed 3 times, but she 

turned it down, for fear of 

being married or taking on 

a life time commitment. 

The honest truth was 

that she truly loved him, 

but just couldn’t explain 

why she couldn’t say yes 

to his proposal, little did 

she know that she was possessed 

by some evil powers, 

which held her captive 

and didn’t want her 

to marry anyone on earth. 

Elochukwu was a very 

fine and handsome gentle 

man, who was willing to 

wait no matter how long or 

even the circumstances, he 

loved her so much and was 

willing to work with her on 

this journey till she said 

yes I do. You would need 

to watch the movie to see if 

his wait paid off at the end. 

It was a beautiful and well 

thought out story. 

To my verdict I would 

say it was nice seeing “Rita 

Dominic” in this movie after 

a while, Chinenye also 

known as “Rita Dominic” 

has got this Midas touch 

and a lot of people believe 

that once she is in a movie, 

then the movie must be 

absolutely nice, this movie 

was no exception to that. 

The movie deserves an 

8/10. Why because they 

had a good storyline, cast 

location, costumes, cinematography 

and top-notch 

production. Most people 

could connect with this 

because over here in this 

side of the world, once a 

young girl isn’t married by 

her “30’s”, then she must be 

under a spell, which isn’t 

always true. So for the romantic 

and drama movie 

fan lovers, then this is a 

movie you have to watch 

and relax, I will recommend 

this movie a 100%. 

Feel free to review any 

movie of your choice in 

not more than 200 words, 

please send us a mail to 

linda@businessdayonline. 

com and stand a chance to 

win a free movie ticket. 

Linda Ochugbua 

@lindaochugbua 

Business Etiquette 

with Janet Adetu 

Dining around the world 

Over the years 

during my 

trainings I see 

that every time 

the topic the 

topic dining comes up a 

lot of professionals tend to 

almost instantly disregard it. 

There is an assumption that 

it is frivolous or not so important 

afterall it is all about 

eating, or so they think. Interestingly 

the art of dining 

has major significance in 

building leaders, nurturing 

C- suite Executives, polishing 

professionals and providing 

good conduct skills 

for individuals and youths. 

The art of dining is highly 

influenced by culture, as it 

is encampassed with varying 

types of food, delicacies, 

eating styles, manners 

at the table to methods of 

socialization and business 

progress. Dining in or out 

itself is considered a less 

formal environment for both 

social and business interactions. 

It is less rigid, more accommodating 

for conversation, 

laughter and building 

relationships. The dinner 

table allows for discussions 

to take different turns and 

dimensions. Dining around 

the world also teaches new 

ways of doing things and 

exploring varying cultures 

as and customs. Yes it is no 

surprise that many deals 

are sealed and closed over 

dining due to the comfort 

that the atmosphere tends to 

provide. Ultimately the success 

of a dining experience 

locally or internationally is 

accomplished once you are 

able to establish positive 

connectivity, trust credibility 

and honesty. 

Dining also leaves room 

for adventure when it comes 

to trying new meals or varying 

food types from other 

continents. You either like 

it or you do not, you either 

accept or reject, or you either 

develop an open mind 

or a closed one, the choice 

is yours. Generally dining 

is a skill just as important 

to learning conversation, 

greeting, listening or leadership 

skills. 

Reasons for Embracing 

Dining Skills 

* To aid confidence while 

dining 

* To apply appropriate 

conduct personally and professionally 

* To master certain leadership 

skills embedded in 

dining 

* To establish credibility, 

trust and integrity 

* To show respect for 

other cultures and dining 

traditions 

* To understand cultural 

intelligence regarding dining 

in certain areas 

* To aid the choice of food 

in unfamiliar places 

Learning the tricks of the 

trade of dining cuts across 

numerous areas of personal 

development from 

i. Receiving the invitation 

ii. What to wear 

iii. Acceptable manners 

at the table 

iv. Table Taboos 

v. Tools of the table 

vi. What to say what not 

to say 

vii. Picking your food 

viii. Making merry at the 

table 

Today dining out has become 

a phenomenal trend 

not just for special festival or 

celebratory seasons. Numerous 

business meals involve 

both lunch and dinner dates. 

Celebrations are taking place 

over small and large crowd 

dinner gatherings. Lot of 

income is being spent socializing 

over a meal. Once again 

the art of dining spands 

across healthy eating to over 

eating, to numerous courses 

within a course. 

Dining & Your Reputation 

Wherever you find yourself 

dining locally or around the 

world many judgements are 

made over dining and your 

behavior at the table. The 

many times go unnoticed 

by many individuals and 

professionals and to a large 

extent they are heavily taken 

for granted. You are always 

being judges everywhere you 

go. Sitting at the table locally 

and internationally says a lot 

about you and your character 

and your personality. 

Instantly we can see 

* Your level of exposure 

* How travelled you are 

* Your level of kindness, 

politeness and courtesy 

* Your level of confidence 

and self esteem 

* Your sense of fine detail 

and grooming graces 

* Your threshold for empathy 

and open -mindedness 

* Your business focused 

mind 

* What your priority is 

business or pleasure 

* Your decision making 

ability 

* You ability to mix and 

mingle 

* Lots more… 

Test Yourself 

My Intellectual Etiquette 

Dining Challenge 

1. In what country should 

you not flip your whole fish? 

2. In what country is it 

rude not to make eye contact 

while toasting? 


OK to burb after a meal as a 

thank you gesture? 


considered rude to thank 

your host for inviting you? 


rude to toast the elderly? 

6. In what country can 

you drink soup from a bowl 

with your hands? 

7. In what country can 

you slurp your noodles? 

8. In what country is asking 

for ketchup considered 

rude? 

9. Where can you through 

crumbs and rubbish on the 

floor in a bar? 


OK to start breakfast with a 

business meeting? 

11. In what country is tipping 

non existent? 

12. In what country is 

tipping completely not expected? 

13. In what country is 

eating with your hands acceptable 

at the dinner table? 

14. In what country are 

chopsticks metal? 

15. In what country 

can you use both a spoon 

and your hand to eat the 

same delicacy? 

Please send your answers 

to janet.adetu@gmail.com 

Goodluck



FEATURE 

Empowering the Nigerian women, the INTELS’ example 

Integrated Logistics Limited (INTELS) established a women empowerment scheme known as the Women Empowerment 

Programme Scheme Synergy (WEPSS) in 2013 as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative. The programme, 

held once every six months, came with the vision of empowering 5,000 community women over a 20-year period 

through training in fashion design and tailoring. In this report, some of the beneficiaries of the programme shared 

their experiences and how the scheme has impacted their lives. Writes AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE 

A 

19-year-old Glory 

Aberepikima has just 

been accepted into 

the Women Empowerment 

Programme 

Scheme Synergy (WEPSS) at Onne, 

Rivers State. A native of Okirika, 

Glory has been unable to further 

her education since the completion 

of her West African Senior 

School Certificate Examination 

(WASSCE). 

Aberepikima being the third 

of seven children and with her 

father gone, the family has barely 

sustained itself with the meager 

earnings from her mother’s petty 

trading. However, things began to 

change for the family when WEPSS 

was introduced into their lives. 

This is because Aberepikima’s 

two elder sisters were also beneficiaries 

of WEPSS. An initiative of 

INTELS Nigeria Limited, WEPSS 

began in 2013, with the vision 

of empowering 5,000 community 

women over a 20-year period 

through training in fashion design 

and tailoring. 

“My eldest sister first enrolled 

for the programme in 2016. She 

is the only university graduate in 

the family but she was unable to 

get a job after graduation. Luckily 

for her, she did so well during 

the training programme and at 

the completion; she was given a 

sewing machine. With that, she 

rented a shop, which has enabled 

her to be taking care of herself,” 

Aberepikima said. 

A year after, her second eldest 

sister also enrolled for the WEPSS 

programme and was shortlisted. 

She too completed the programme 

successfully but did not win a sewing 

machine. But, with the skills 

she has acquired, she was able to 

work for another tailor and hopes 

to further her education with her 

earnings. 

“I am the third person in my 

family to undergo this training and 

it means a lot to me that I scaled 

through the selection process,” 

she stated. 

Aberepikima was one of the 

125 young women out of 700 applicants 

who were chosen for the 

WEPSS training this year. Many 

people like her come from similar 

backgrounds; financially handicapped, 

yet with big dreams hoping 

for a stroke of luck that would 

change their fortunes. 

One can imagine Aberepikima’s 

happiness when she got the call 

that she had been shortlisted for 

the written test. “When I saw the 

number of persons who came to 

write the test, I was worried. My 

confidence grew though when I 

A trainee at the INTELS’ women empowerment training centre. 

was called back for the interview. 

My mother and sisters really encouraged 

me to put in my best. 

My mother in particular was really 

excited for me. I not only want to 

acquire the tailoring skill but I also 

want to win a sewing machine,” 

she said. 

According to her, it was very 

important that she succeeds in 

both the training and winning the 

sewing machine in order for her to 

become self-employed and to also 

earn enough money that would enable 

her return to school.” 

Imenifa Pepple was another 

young lady who found herself at 

home because she was unable to 

proceed further than her secondary 

school education. With a retiree 

father and petty trader mother, 

Pepple had to start fending for 

herself to support her family. 

Within the one year she spent at 

home, she tried her hands in minor 

teaching job and poultry farming. 

Unfortunately for her, most of the 

savings she invested into poultry 

farming was lost after the chickens 

were hit with a deadly disease. 

So, when she got the news about 

WEPSS training, Pepple jumped 

at the chance. After all, she was at 

home, doing nothing. 

“I completed my secondary 

school education over a year ago. 

I could not go any further because 

the funds were simply not there. 

Instead of sitting idly at home, I 

did some minor jobs and tried 

several businesses. When I discovered 

teaching was not for me, 

I went into poultry farming. Unfortunately, 

it did not turn out well. 

Last month, a friend suggested I go 

for WEPSS training and I jumped 

at the opportunity,” she narrated. 

Narrating further, she said: “I 

got a call from a WEPSS staff and 

later received a text invitation for 

the test. On the day of the test, we 

gathered at the gate, before being 

called into the canteen batch by 

batch for the test. We were then 

told we would get feedback for 

the next stage. I went back home 

that day. The following day, I was 

informed that I had passed the 

test. I felt lucky to be called for the 

second test because some ladies 

were unsuccessful. 

She however, said that the 

admission for the training was 

offered her after the one-on-one 

interview with the directors of the 

centre. “Right now, I just want to 

go through the training before I 

make up my mind about my career 

path. Although, I would still like 

to further my education, I might 

The training is so 

competitive that 

you have women 

who are skilled 

tailors actually 

applying for this 

training because 

they want to win a 

sewing machine 

switch over to tailoring and fashion 

design if the training goes well. 

The uppermost thing is to acquire 

skills that would be useful to me in 

the long run.” 

It was Pepple’s and Aberepikima’s 

first day at the WEPSS 

Centre and like the other successful 

applicants, they were excited. 

Being the first day, the girls were 

taken through an orientation process 

which entails filling personal 

data and bank information; blood 

pressure tests; getting WEPSS 

identity card; selection of lockers; 

introduction to the trainers and 

getting sewing machines; sewing 

aprons and name tags. 

The blood pressure test ensures 

that trainees are fit for the training 

because trainees found to have 

high blood pressure are monitored 

by WEPSS staff just to make sure 

they take good care of their health. 

Abhina Ajamni, head of the 

Centre, who cautioned the girls 

not to direct their focus on the 

sewing machine prize, stressed 

that acquiring the skill is much 

more important. 

“The training is so competitive 

that you have women who are 

skilled tailors actually applying 

for this training because they want 

to win a sewing machine. That is 

why there is a declaration form 

where you must state if you have 

had prior tailoring experience 

because an experienced tailor can 

certainly not be assessed with the 

same standard used for a learner 

and anyone who declares false 

information may lose her spot,” 

she warned. 

Ajamni, who said that not everyone 

can win a sewing machine, 

pointed out that the prize was only 

for the top 10 or 15 best girls, who 

must score over 80 percent. 

“To also make learning more 

conducive, bank accounts were 

opened for each trainee and a 

stipend paid into it monthly. This 

stipend takes care of their feeding 

during the training,” she said. 

Other information required 

to be declared by the trainees 

include, enrollment into another 

academic or training programmes 

and pregnant or not. Ajamni explained 

that declaring your enrolment 

in other academic pursuits 

will enable the centre determine if 

trainees are able to commit themselves 

to classes for the four-month 

duration of the training. 

To ensure trainees were not 

motivated by the monthly stipend 

to apply for the programme, they 

were informed that missing five 

classes would disqualify them 

from going any further. 

Ajamni added that there had 

been cases in the past where some 

pregnant women enrolled for the 

training and failed to disclose 

their condition. She said: “In the 

event that there is a complication 

with the pregnancy, some of 

these women have blamed it on 

the WEPSS. To avoid all that, we 

always encourage them to disclose 

pregnancy. Once we are aware of 

pregnant trainees, they are moved 

from the production to the support 

department. 

Also, some come from as far 

as Port Harcourt to undergo this 

training and the Centre provides 

two 66-seater buses to assist with 

the daily commute to Onne. This 

also ensures that they are seated 

and ready for classes which begin 

by 8.30am. 

“Two buses leave every day 

from the WEPSS centre to pick 

the girls. One is stationed at Onne 

junction for those who live at 

Port Harcourt while another is 

stationed at Ogubolo. The Port 

Harcourt bus usually takes off at 

6.30am, while the Ogubolo bus 

takes off at 6.45am for the WEPSS 

centre,” Dorcas Ekong, WEPSS 

head of Human Resources and 

Administration, said. 

According to her, “The classes 

start at 8.30am and continue 

uninterrupted till 12pm when 

they break for one hour and then 

resume at 1pm. In between lectures, 

the trainees are allowed a 

five-minute stretching exercise 

and this usually take place at 10am 

and 3pm. Classes close for the day 

at 4pm after which the trainees are 

allowed a feedback session with 

the project manager.


C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

33 

BUSINESS SOUTH-SOUTH 

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF SOUTH-SOUTH / SOUTH-EAST 

Exporters advocate for inclusive non-oil export 

participation by Nigeria 

…foremost seafood exporter says huge opportunities beckon 

BEN EGUZOZIE, Port Harcourt 

Last weekend, some exporters 

of mainly non-oil 

products, promoters of 

the trade and those who 

are already at different 

levels of entering into 

the international trade, gathered at a 

breakfast meeting at Landmark Hotels, 

Port Harcourt, to brainstorm on 

issues from huge opportunities that 

beckon in export business, as well as 

challenges in the export ecosystem 

of Nigeria. 

A special focus in the morning 

event, put together by the Institute 

of Export Operations and Management 

(IEOM) Nigeria, was on seafood 

export – where Princewill Utchay, has 

made huge success in seafood export 

for more than 25 years – relived his 

experience in the business. His PAAB 

Seafoods International brand, with 

experience in trawling, aqua culture, 

processing and marketing of various 

seafood products for 28 years, has 

carefully played well in the European 

seafood market, and is currently succeeding 

in the highly strict US seafoods 

market, where the Food and 

Drug Administration (FDA) strictly 

scrutinizes such products. 

BEN EGUZOZIE, Port Harcourt 

The Executive Chairman of the 

Rivers State Internal Revenue 

Service (RIRS), ThankGod 

Adoage Norteh has said the 

business community led by the organized 

private sector (OPS) is crucial to 

achieving the objective of the new online 

digital tax management systems, 

the Rivers State Tax Management 

Information System (RIVTAMIS) and 

the Rivers State Tax Identification 

Number (RIVTIN). 

The RIRS boss gave this indication 

while making a presentation 

at the 2018 first quarterly members 

forum of the Port Harcourt Chamber 

of Commerce held at the PHCCIMA 

secretariat in Port Harcourt. 

He said the private sector, as one of 

the major employers of labour, and has 

significant expertise and resource at its 

disposal to enhance the process, stands 

to benefit from a better functioning 

public financial management systems. 

Adoage Norteh said the OPS can 

also help to plug the capacity gap 

through greater collaboration with the 

Rivers state internal revenue service. 

According to him, the new tax reform 

packages will enhance business 

profile, eliminate multiple taxation, 

facilitate the tax payment process, 

enhance self-service and improve the 

revenue of the state; adding that it will 

also help identify formal and informal 

businesses across the state and help 

the state to utilize the detailed profile 

to plan for development. 

The RIRS Executive Chairman 

noted that with the digital platforms, 

Utchay, who was keynote speaker 

at the Port Harcourt maiden breakfast 

meeting, spoke brilliantly seafoods 

export business – and a yawning 

need for Nigerians to pool themselves 

together – and engage in the trade, 

where huge profits; but that it requires 

perfection, strictness, extreme hygiene 

and all-through ice-cold from 

trawling (at ocean) until delivery at 

FDA’s certification laboratory, before 

grocery shops take their deliveries. 

He also spoke on huge opportunities 

that abound in export business; 

stressing that most Nigerians in 

the small and medium businesses 

should seriously consider going into 

export trade, as it portends the next 

economic stay for Nigeria. 

Utchay, who is the newly inaugurated 

president of Institute of 

Export Operations and Management 

(IEOM), informed the participants 

that up to N500 billion has been 

made available by the Nigerian Export-Import 

Bank (NEXIM) to assist 

exporters undertake credible non-oil 

export business. 

Ofon Udofia, the executive secretary 

and chief executive officer of 

IEOM announced earlier that the 

export breakfast meeting would be a 

quarterly event. 

The following persons were 

tax payment can be carried out anywhere; 

disclosing further that from 

1 April, 2018, every business outlet 

is required to obtain its RIVTIN for 

payment of taxes, levies and fines to 

the Rivers State Government; adding 

that all banks in the state have been 

mobilized to generate RIVTIN for 

those who want to make payment to 

the state government. 

He said the tax payer has a duty to 

reciprocate the tax friendliness of the State 

Government. 

The Special Adviser to the State Government 

on ICT, Asawo Ibifuro, who also 

is the Managing Director/ CEO of Cinfores 

Limited, lead organization in charge of 

developing the RIVTAMIS initiative, explained 

that RIVTAMIS is an automated 

tax process that enhances the ease of doing 

business and paying taxes. 

inducted as fellows of the IEOM: 

Charles Akhigbe, the Managing 

Director/ CEO of AMES Edo Inland 

Dry Port, with operational facility in 

Benin-City; Innocent Akuvue, chairman 

of GGI Group Limited; Arthur 

Jarvis Archibong, chancellor of Arthur 

Jarvis University, first indigenous 

private university in Cross River State. 

Others are: Anitie Ekpenyong, 

chairman and managing director of 

Grandtrade Technical Ltd, a registered 

exporter with Nigerian Export 

Promotions Council, and has established 

an export hub; Mike Elechi, 

chairman of Vintage Farms Ltd; Solomon 

Ezinwoke, a seasoned banker 

Business community led by OPS crucial to achieving 

RIVTAMIS-RIVTIN initiative – Adoage Norteh 

According to him, RIVTAMIS cut out 

the troubles of physically visiting the tax office 

for every tax-related matter. “You now 

have your tax office in the comfort of your 

desk or your mobile device.” he explained. 

In his remark, the state coordinator of 

FIRS in charge of Rivers and Edo states, 

Joel Onowapo, represented by Jonathan 

Ona, spoke on the Voluntary Assets and 

Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS); 

saying that VAIDS, which was established 

on 1 July 2017, is not a separate 

tax, but part of company’s income tax 

processes. 

President of Port Harcourt Chamber 

of Commerce and Industry (PHCCIMA), 

Emi Membere-Otaji, said the business 

community is delighted by the RIVTA- 

MIS innovations, especially in the area 

of eliminating multiple taxation and 

unfriendly tax administration. 

and currently head, Credit Support 

department, UBA; Floretta Rogers- 

Halliday, the managing director/ 

CEO Menage Limited, a leading provider 

of catering and facility management 

services; Emi Membere-Otaji, 

president, Port Harcourt Chamber 

of Commerce and Industry (PHC- 

CIMA); Jenny Shitta-Bey, medical 

doctor, with a thriving agric business; 

Godfrey Ohuabunwa, MD/CEO of 

Multimesh Communications media 

group; Daniel Okeke, MD/CEO of 

Swiss Spirit Hotel & Suites Danag Ltd, 

and Julian Osuji, Vice Chancellor of 

Arthur Jarvis University, Akpabuyo, 

Cross River State. 

ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo 

As Nigeria navigates its way out 

of the economic recession, a 

university don has advocated 

increased funding for agriculture 

to sustain economic growth 

and ensure less dependence on oil 

revenue. 

Edet Joshua Udoh, a professor of 

agricultural economics at the University 

of Uyo in his inaugural lecture noted 

that increased budgetary allocation to 

agriculture would guarantee economic 

growth as well as cooperative agriculture 

as a means of wealth creation and 

poverty alleviation. 

Delivering the lecture on the topic 

“Ants Bearing the Burden of Elephants: 

The paradox” the Udoh described ants 

as a metaphor in the guise of farmers 

who bear the burden of majority lazy 

members of the society but remain 

resilient surviving recession in the 

economy. 

Using socio-economic variables, he 

enumerated activities of peasant farmers 

who produce enough food to feed 

lazy giants, he also commended “market 

driven input supply programmes” 

as well as increase in budgetary allocation 

for Agriculture as means to 

keep the “ants” alive so that the burden 

from the “Elephants” would not weigh 

them down. 

Udoh who is the chairman technical 

committee on agriculture and food 

sufficiency in Akwa Ibom observed 

that though food crisis in Nigeria 

dates back from 1905, it may escalate 

Multi-million Naira 

cinema berths in Edo 

…uplifts hospitality, entertainment 

offering 

IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, Benin 

A 

multi-million Naira 

cinema to boost hospitality 

and entertainment 

industry has been commissioned 

in Uromi community, the administrative 

headquarter of Esan 

North- East local government 

area of Edo State. 

The cinema named Citadel 

Cinema is within the premises of 

Citadel de Continental Hotel and 

Suites, Uromi. 

The cinema under the 

PATJEDA group of companies 

is the first of its kind in Edo 

Central and Edo North senatorial 

districts as well as second to 

Kada cinema to be established in 

the state. 

Michael Egbadon, Strategy 

Partner to PATJEDA group of 

companies, in his addres, said 

the company’s interest in hospitality 

dated back to 2006, when 

the management first acquired 

acres of land as a potential development 

site for citadel hotel. 

“The idea is to bring tourism 

to our community. You will 

agree with me that nightlife 

is often considered an urban 

indicator and is important to 

any city. On the other hand, the 

night economy that is club, pubs 

and discos. We want Uromi as 

our own Lagos, Berlin, Hamburg, 

Paris, New York among others, 

where you relax, enjoy after a 

long day at work. 

Don advocates increased funding for 

agriculture to sustain economic growth 

in 2025 as Nigeria is confronted with 

problem of food importation such as 

rice, chicken, palm oil warned that 

“there will be supply deficit except 

peasant farmers neglected by government 

are supported through incentive 

programmes.” 

He identified many factors restricting 

farmers to include price fluctuation, 

climate change, land allocation; 

adding that unless “these issues were 

addressed Nigeria will continue to 

grapple with the burden of food insufficiency.” 

The inaugural lecturer applauded 

Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa 

Ibom State for “agriculture action 

plans especially private/public sector 

partnership in agriculture, taking 

farming as a business and agriculture 

revolution implementation strategy.’’ 

Earlier in his opening remarks, 

the vice chancellor of University of 

Uyo, Enefiok Essien, a professor, 

highlighted the significance of inaugural 

lectures saying they provide an 

opportunity for scholars to showcase 

what they did in research work to 

justify their academic mantle. 

Essien maintained that the inaugural 

lecture is necessary in the 

University community as its separates 

“men” from “boys” in the academic 

environment and reminded other 

professors who have not presented 

their inaugural lectures to take their 

turn while commending Edet Udoh 

for the choice of his topic “Ants Bearing 

the Burden of Elephants: The 

paradox” as he concluded that life is 

full of paradox.



C002D5556 

Live @ The Stock Exchange 

Dangote Cement, ETI, Eterna reroute market northwards 

…Seplat settles with Crestar on $20.5m escrow money 

Stories by 

Iheanyi Nwachukwu 

Nigerian stock 

market on 

Thursday 

ended a twoday 

losing 

streak as Dangote Cement 

Plc led the basket of 21 equities 

that gained as against 

22 losers. 

The Nigerian Stock Exchange 

(NSE) All Share 

Index (ASI) increased by 

0.31percent at the close of 

trading at 2:30 pm Nigerian 

time, while the market’s 

Year-to-Date (Ytd) return 

stood at 6.88percent. 

The All Share Index 

closed at 40,875.69 points 

as against the preceding 

day close of 40,749.86 

points while Market Capitalisation 

closed at N14.766 

trillion as against preceding 

day close of N14.720 trillion; 

the value of Nigeria’s 

listed stocks appreciated 

by about N46billion. The 

volume of stocks traded 

increased by 23.47percent, 

from 401.41million 

to 495.64million, while the 

total value of stocks traded 

increased by 13.35percent, 

from N6.77billion to 

N7.67billion in 4,614 deals. 

The Financial Services 

sector led the activity chart 

with 434.8million shares 

exchanged for N5.74 billion; 

followed by Consumer 

Goods with 23.8million 

shares traded for N1.596 

billion. UBA Plc, Fidelity 

Bank Plc, GTBank Plc, Access 

Bank Plc, and FBN 

Holdings Plc were actively 

traded stocks on the bourse 

yesterday. 

Dangote Cement Plc 

rose from N251 to N255, up 

by N4 or 1.59percent; ETI 

Plc advanced from N16.35 

to N17, up by 65kobo or 

3.98percent; while Eterna 

Plc rose from N6.01 to 

N6.29, up by 28kobo or 

4.66percent. 

On the laggards table, 

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer 

Nigeria Plc dipped 

most from N34.85 to 

N31.5, down by N3.35 or 

9.61percent; followed by 

International Breweries 

Plc which dipped from 

N54.4 to N51.7, down by 

N2.7 or 4.96percent; and 

Julius Berger Nigeria Plc 

declined from N25.9 to 

N24.7, down by N1.2 or 

4.63percent. 

Seplat Petroleum Development 

Company Plc 

(Seplat) told the investing 

public that a settlement 

has been reached between 

its wholly owned subsidiary 

Newton Energy Limited 

(Newton) and Crestar 

Natural Resources Limited 

(Crestar). 

The settlement relates to 

proceedings in the English 

High Court, details of which 

were announced by Seplat 

on January 27, 2017, in connection 

with the deposit of 

$20.5 million currently held 

in an escrow account (the 

Escrow Monies). The litigation 

has now been substantially 

settled between the 

parties. 

Under the terms of the 

settlement, the Escrow 

Monies will be split as follows: 

$10million to Seplat 

and $10.5 million to Crestar. 

A provision equal to the 

share of Escrow Monies due 

to Crestar was already provided 

for in Seplat’s audited 

2017 annual accounts. 

FCMB partners Etihad, secures unbeatable 

travel fares for its customers 

Customers of First 

City Monument 

Bank Limited 

(FCMB) who plans 

to travel abroad for personal 

or business purposes at very 

affordable fares now have an 

opportunity to do so. 

This is because, the bank 

and Etihad Airways have 

launched a partnership that 

offers discounted; highly affordable 

and convenient 

travel packages, including 

flight tickets, to existing and 

potential customers who fly 

on Etihad Airlines to any part 

of the world. 

To benefit from the package, 

all an existing customer 

of FCMB needs do is to visit 

a dedicated website www. 

FCMB.com/premium-travel-offers, 

log in to complete 

a form and submit. But for 

a non-customer, all that’s 

needed to open an account is 

to log in to https://onlineaccount.fcmb.com/start 

before 

the booking form, using any 

of the devices to complete 

the process. 

The discounted fares 

come with various benefits in 

the bank’s financial products 

and services stable to enhance 

the travel experience 

of customers. These include 

Personal Travel Allowance 

(PTA) and Business Travel 

Allowance (BTA) services, 

complimentary platinum 

cards and priority passes, 

complimentary lounge access 

at departure in Lagos, 

among other benefits. 

There is also the USA Immigrations 

clearance at Abu 

Dhabi for travelers going to 

the United States and a dedicated 

service for customers 

who intend to travel to the 

Holy land in Mecca for Hajji 

and Umrah. 

In a welcome address, 

the Managing Director, 

First City Monument Bank 

(FCMB), Adam Nuru commended 

Etihad Airways for 

the quality of service it offers 

its customers, noting that 

the brand within a few years 

of its establishment, has 

achieved a very robust international 

image with a high 

level of global acceptability 

within the aviation circles. 

Nuru said, “I thank the 

representatives of Etihad 

Airways Group. We do not 

take our partnership with 

you for granted. We take it 

seriously knowing that it will 

surely strengthen our course 

and increase the range of 

valuable products we can offer 

our loyal customers”. 

In his own contribution 

at the launch, the Executive 

Director, Retail Banking of 

FCMB, Olu Akanmu, said it 

is a value-added offering designed 

to deliver high quality 

of service and satisfaction for 

customers. 

According to him, ‘’what 

FCMB has done with Etihad 

Airways gives advantage to 

our existing customers and 

prospects who may wish to 

open account(s) with FCMB. 

We recognise several business 

travels our customers 

do. A good number of them 

may be preparing for summer 

holidays. Some of our 

customers will also want to 

fulfil their pilgrimage obligations 

in the coming weeks. 

Those traveling for medicals 

and even for academic purpose 

or seminars abroad can 

benefit. FCMB is partnering 

with Etihad to offer convenient 

and discounted travel 

fares to customers. This is 

one of the many reasons to 

patronize FCMB”. 

FCMB has also made financial 

products available 

in order to provide a seamless 

and easy travel experience 

with its international 

debit and credit cards with 

increased spending limit of 

foreign currencies. The bank, 

which is aware of some challenges 

encountered by 

travelers in obtaining personal 

travelling and basic 

travelling allowances, has 

made it a very easy process. 

To obtain the PTA/BTA, all 

a customer needs to do is to 

walk into any FCMB branch 

or outlet with the requisite 

international passport with 

visa and ticket booked with 

Etihad. While commenting 

on the partnership, the 

General Manager, Africa 

of Etihad Airways, George 

Mawadri, said, ‘’it is a privilege 

to partner FCMB and 

we are indeed happy. Etihad 

is a young airline, though we 

have grown within the short 

period of time.


BUSINESS DAY 

35

36 

BUSINESS DAY 

C002D5556 


IMPACT INVESTING 

In Association With 

The state of Impact Investing in Nigeria (1) 

Innocent Unah 

& Uju Ikedionu 

Nigeria has joined the 

rest of the world to 

grow keen interest towards 

the increase 

and effectiveness of 

impact investing globally. The impact 

investing landscape is growing in Nigeria, 

leading the way for other countries 

in West Africa as the region saw 

28 active impact investors in 2015. 

This growth is fuelled by a variety 

of sources of capital, mostly available 

in the manufacturing and services 

sectors, which could be tapped for 

impact investing. Even though the 

impact investing sector in Nigeria 

outperforms that of other countries in 

West Africa, it still remains low relative 

to the size of the global market. 

Who are the Impact Investors 

in Nigeria 

28 active impact investors have 

been identified to be in Nigeria. These 

consist of eight Development Finance 

Institutions (DFIs) and 20 non-DFI 

investors. The non-DFIs include fund 

managers with 17 investors, institutional 

investors with one investor, 

and foundations with two investors). 

Some the Institutions which play in 

the impact investing space in Nigeria 

include Shell Foundation, FMO, 

Tony Elumelu Foundation, the IFC, 

Proparco, Alitheia, Aspire Nigeria, 

Dorteo Partners, Sahel Capital Fund, 

among others. 

What is the level impact investing 

capital in Nigeria? 

According to the GIIN in its publication 

entitled “The Landscape 

for Impact Investing In West Africa: 

Understanding the current Status, 

trends, opportunities, and challenges”, 

about 1.9 billion U.S dollars have 

been deployed by 8 DFI-type impact 

investors across 92 direct investments 

in Nigeria since 2005, while 2 billion 

U.S dollars was deployed to 53 indirect 

investments through funds and 

intermediaries in 2015. 

Similarly, 79 million U.S dollars 

have been deployed by 12 out of the 

20 non-DFI investors across 89 direct 

investments, and 2 million U.S dollars 

deployed to one indirect investment 

in the country. 

The GIIN says that these investments 

have come almost exclusively 

from the DFIs with a focus on commercial 

banks, impact fund managers, 

and private equity funds, reflecting 

DFI attempts to both support 

impact investing and build shallow 

commercial banking and private 

equity markets. 

Where do the Nigerian impact 

investors come from? 

According to the GIIN, most impact 

investors operating in Nigeria are 

headquartered outside the country, 

while most funding for impact investors 

originates from foreign sources. 

The majority of identified DFIs involved 

in Nigeria are headquartered 

in the U.S. and Europe. While the precise 

breakdown of funding for many 

investors is sensitive information, 

interviews indicated that non-DFI 

investors rely almost exclusively on 

a combination of these DFIs, family 

foundations, and high-net-worth 

individuals (HNWIs) from outside 

the country. 

Even though Nigeria’s huge market 

(considering its population of 

close to 200 million people) holds 

opportunity for additional and the 

existing impact investors (DFIs and 

non- DFIs alike) to cover more sectors 

and secure more deals, only about 

eight out of the 28 impact investors 

have local existence in the country. 

These impact investors include the 

IFC, Proparco, AFDB, Alitheia, Aspire 

Nigeria, Dorteo Partners, Sahel 

Capital Fund and Tony Elumelu 

Foundation. 

This development can be attributed 

to the high obsolete infrastructure, 

corruption, incompetent public 

services, in addition to high living 

and business operating costs in the 

country. Nigeria ranks 148th out of 

180 countries in 2017 Corruption 

Perception Index (CPI), a figure lower 

than the average in the sub-Saharan 

African region. It is also poorly ranked 

in the ease of doing business index for 

2018, given that it occupies 145 out of 

190 countries in the index. 

What are the challenges that impact 

investors face in the country? 

There are many challenges faced 

by impact investors in Nigeria, but 

analysts say that the greatest is the 

struggle encountered in obtaining 

sustainable investments that meet 

economic, social and environmental 

aims of the investors. 

The second challenge is inability 

of potential impact investors to find 

impact areas and funds in line with 

investors’ risk and return prospects 

have hindered performance in impact 

investing sector. 

The third challenge has to do with 

location. It is often difficult for impact 

investors headquartered outside the 

country to maintain a local presence 

due to the high living and operation 

cost in the country. This makes it 

challenging for investors to keep up 

to date with developments in sectors 

or regions of interest to them.


37


C002D5556 


NEWS 

ERGP focus labs achieved 80% success in... 


rate in 3 weeks. 

According to the report from 

the ministry of budget and national 

planning, the Vice President 

expressed satisfaction at the 

progress of the ERGP focus lab at 

his visit to the Mid-Lab Syndication 

meeting in Abuja stating 

that he was impressed with the 

organization of the labs and the 

commitment of all participants 

towards achieving the overall goal 

of the exercise. 

The focus labs were launched 

by the federal government as one 

of the several initiatives to fast track 

the attainment of economic growth 

in sectors such as Agriculture and 

transportation, Power and gas, 

Manufacturing and processing. 

To underscore his observation 

during the gallery walk of the labs, 

Osinbajo said the leader of the 

Malaysian consultants working 

with the ERGP Implementation 

Team on the labs hinted him that 

going by his experience in other 

parts of the world. 

“We have made remarkable 

progress and working together we 

can achieve so much,” he added. 

During the launch of the Labs 

on March 13, 2018 by President 

Muhammadu Buhari, it was indicated 

that the labs would be 

targeting an initial $25 billion in investments 

from the private sector. 

The initial labs which are targeting 

investments in the Agriculture 

and Transportation, Manufacturing 

and Processing and 

Power and Gas sectors, are billed 

to round up on April 26, 2018. 

According to Osinbajo, though 

regulatory processes are necessary 

in order to protect institutions 

and streamline activities, government 

appreciates the fact that it 

is necessary to limit bureaucratic 

tendencies so that they do not 

get in the way of progress; which 

was why government decided to 

embark on the labs to address 

challenges that could stand in the 

way of investments. 

Udoma Udo Udoma, Minister 

of Budget and National Planning, 

commended the participants for 

their dedication and resilience 

noting that it was no mean feat 

for owners and operators of businesses 

to leave their duty posts for 

six weeks of engagement. 

“The progress we have witnessed 

during the gallery walk in 

the various labs reflects the enormous 

amount of work you have put 

in the past three weeks,” he said. 

Reiterating the essence of the 

labs, Udoma said they were set up 

mainly to identify and unlock investments 

from the private sector 

by resolving complex inter agency 

problems that act as barriers to 

private sector investments. 

“By bringing you, the investors 

and heads of critical agencies of 

government, into a confined environment, 

government is offering 

you a platform to finalize your 

business decisions in the fastest 

possible manner”. 

Udoma said “data from the 

three labs show that in the past 

three weeks, we are on course to 

meeting our target of $25 billion 

investment commitment. So far, 

we have identified 59 projects 

that are four and five star. There 

are several other projects rated 

one to three star. We will continue 

to work with these categories of 

investors to improve the ratings of 

their projects to a five star project.” 

Udoma further explained that 

regarding the Power and Gas Lab, 

progress has been made on issues 

of issuance of Licenses/Permits 

in the area of Customs and Excise 

duties; in funding/potential 

partnership and other syndication 

issues; while in the Agriculture 

and Transport Lab, progress is 

being made to develop a market 

driven out-grower scheme that 

will benefit medium-size farms 


The Minister was optimistic 

that given the number of projects 

that are likely to be ready for 

approval by the end of the lab 

process, the aim of resolving interagency 

bottlenecks, which is one 

of the cardinal objectives of the 

labs, would have been achieved. 

When consummated, the 

projects are capable of creating 

570,600 jobs. 

He also indicated that the 

Central Working Committee of 

the Labs, comprising the six sector 

ministers together with the 

Ministers of Budget and National 

Planning, Finance, Justice, the 

Central Bank Governor and heads 

of various agencies, is scheduled 

to meet to consider and resolve 

some of the challenges already 

identified during the labs. 

Efforts to resettle Libya returnees fade as many... 


had come from. 

‘‘I used to deal in Plantains. I 

buy in bulk from villages and sell 

in cities. I can get goods on credit 

because I don’t owe,’’ said one of 

the returnees who identified himself 

as Babatunde. 

‘‘Within two months, I will raise 

enough money to return to Libya 

and from there, I will go where I want 

to go. I cannot stay in this country 

because if I do, I won’t live long.’’ 

Babatunde, who left his wife 

and children under the care of his 

mother-in-law before setting out 

for Libya, says the state government 

is making it easy for returnees 

to go back to Libya by not keeping 

their (government) promise to 

make their (returnees) lives better. 

‘‘They brought us down to Benin 

City on the pretence that the 

governor has a special package for 

us only to chase us out of the hotel. 

Which help do they now have for 

us?’’ he asked. 

‘‘We are not even sure they (government) 

will pay us the N20, 000 

because those that returned long 

before us haven’t received theirs. 

This is what will make most of us 

to go back,’’ he said. 

Favour, one of the returnees, 

who was a painter before he left 

Nigeria for Libya four years ago, 

said no one can stop him from going 

back to Libya. 

‘‘If I decide to go back tomorrow, 

even the government cannot 

stop me. Instead of turning to 

armed robbery, it’s better for me 

to go back to Libya because this 

country is not friendly,’’ said Favour, 

who is the only child of his parents. 

‘‘I’m not a baby on that Libyan 

route. Libya is better than this 

country. I only suffered after I was 

arrested. In Libya, I earn between 

400-500 dinars daily, which is 

equivalent to N40, 000 or N50, 000 

in Nigerian currency. It won’t take 

me more than a month to ‘gather’ 

money and travel again.’’ 

The International Organization 

for Migration (IOM) flew 13,000 

migrants from Libya back to their 

countries of origin last year under 

a voluntary repatriation program. 

Libya is the main departure 

point for migrants attempting to 

reach Europe by sea. 

More than 600,000 migrants 

have crossed the central Mediterranean 

to Italy over the past four years 

as people smugglers took advantage 

of a security vacuum in Libya. 

‘‘I was on the Mediterranean 

Sea, less than an hour to Italy 

when I was captured by the Libyan 

government and jailed in an underground 

prison,’’ said Paul, a 

24 year old who sold his tailoring 

machine shortly after apprenticeship 

to travel to Libya in April 2016. 

Paul expressed deep regrets on 

returning to Nigeria adding that he 

would migrate back to Libya once 

he lays his hands on cash. 

‘‘I suffered in that prison but 

I would have regained my freedom 

someday and continued my 

journey to Europe if I wasn’t so 

unfortunate to be deported back 

to Nigeria. I will go back to Libya 

and this time, my twin brother said 

he will join. The journey won’t be 

as tough as the first time because 

I am now experienced,’’ Paul said. 

BusinessDay on the spot assessment 

at the Benin Motel Plaza 

where the returnees were sheltered 

revealed that they (returnees) were 

received by the officials of the State 

task force on human trafficking 

and illegal migration around 6pm 

on Thursday, March 29, 2018 at the 

Moat conference hall of the Plaza. 

They (returnees) were fed, profiled 

and medical tests conducted 

after which they were instructed 

to vacate the Plaza before noon on 

Saturday, March 31, 2018. 

‘‘They (task force officials) gave 

us a flier on Thursday (last week), 

and told us to reach them through 

the numbers on the flier. We have 

been calling those numbers for two 

days now but it’s not even connecting,’’ 

complained Edna Godwin, a 

mother of three who was deported 

alongside her husband. 

The unintended consequences 

of driving the returnees into 

oblivion without counselling and 

training is that the crime rate in 

the state is likely to increase and 

findings by BusinessDay showed 

that some returnees have already 

taken to crime. 

Steve, a 27-year old two-time 

Libya deportee who was caught robbing 

said he did so out of frustration. 

“I travelled to Libya in 2015 but 

I did not have money to the cross 

over to Europe. So, while working 

to save up the money, I was 

imprisoned and later deported 

in December, 2017,’’ said Steve, 

who was a truck driver before his 

departure to Libya. 

‘‘I travelled again to Libya in 

January, 2018 because I had nothing 

doing but I ended up in the deportation 

camp and was brought back to 

L-R: Biodun Adedipe, chief consultant, B. Adedipe Associates Limited; Olufemi Awoyemi, CEO, Proshare; 

Nduneche Ezurike, convener/researcher, and Akindele Semowo, managing director, Kindell Limited, at a public 

presentation of the research on Employee Engagement and Enterprise Innovation in the era of the Millennials 

with theme ‘Do We Then Kill the Millennials’, by Nduneche Ezurike, at CIBN House in Lagos, yesterday. 

Nigeria in March 22, 2018. When we 

were driven out of the motel, I had 

no place to stay. I went to rob so I 

could rent a room but I was caught. 

My friends bailed me out and now I 

owe them (friends) N50, 000.’’ 

Another returnee who retailed 

female clothing in New Benin 

before his trip to Libya said most 

of them (returnees) took to crime 

as a way of survival. 

‘‘When I was still at the Plaza, a 

man dropped off a lady at the motel 

but on getting to Sapele road, his 

car was snatched. It’s one of us that 

did that due to hunger,’’ he said. 

‘‘When they received us in Lagos, 

they told us that our governor 

and the Oba of Benin wanted to see 

us and deliver a special package to 

us but we did not see anyone and 

they said we should go. Where did 

they expect us to go to?’’ 

While it’s been reported that the 

state government has paid stipends 

to four batches out the 26 batches 

of returnees as at Thursday March 

29, 2018, an inside source at the 

state task force against human trafficking 

told BusinessDay that only 

one batch had been paid. 

‘‘We paid only one batch because 

we don’t have enough funds 

to pay all of them (returnees). What 

we do now is to lodge them for 

two days and after that, they can 

find their way,’’ the source said on 

Thursday (last week). 

Reacting to the returnees’ plans 

to go back to Libya, Cruose Osagie, 

chief press secretary to the Edo state 

governor, said the government cannot 

bear the entire burden on the 

returnees on their shoulders. 

‘‘If I tell you that our plans are 

to take over the lives of the people 

(returnees) and begin to run it for 

them just because they travelled 

to Libya, I would be lying because 

they (returnees) are still responsible 

for their lives,’’ Osagie said. 

‘‘Just because they (returnees) 

travelled to Libya does not mean 

that they are government’s property, 

but be that as it may, the 

government is committed and is 

giving out the little support it can 

to resettle those people (returnees). 

Solomon Okoduwa, senior special 

assistant to Edo state governor 

on human trafficking and illegal 

migration told BusinessDay that the 

state has received a total of 3,155 returnees 

since October, 2017 and 530 

of them had undergone vocational 

training while 550 had been paid. 

‘‘We have trained 530 returnees 

in bead making, cosmetology, 

soap making and fashion designing 

between December, 2017 and 

March 2018. When we have a sizeable 

number of them (returnees) 

who are interested in a particular 

training, we contact the resource 

persons to train them,’’ he said. 

‘‘We are processing the funds of 

those who are yet to receive their 

stipend. There are no funds now 

but no funds does not mean that 

we won’t pay them when the funds 

are available.’’ 

Recently, it was reported that 

the Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II 

has placed some returnees from 

Libya on three months salaries. 

When asked the number of 

returnees, the criteria for the selection 

and when payment would 

commence, Okoduwa said, ‘‘Some 

of the returnees we trained in skill 

acquisition requested for funds 

but when we told them there were 

no funds for them at that moment, 

they became agitated and went to 

Oba’s palace. So, the Oba placed 76 

of them on salary. 

‘‘The Oba’s word is a decree; 

it does not take time because the 

Oba is not like the government. 

The Oba has the capacity to pay 

the returnees that same day. They 

will receive the payment as soon 

as their information is finalised.’’ 

While pleading for the returnees 

to be patient with the government, 

Okoduwa also solicited for assistance. 

‘‘We will not dispute the fact that 

some of the returnees have taken to 

crime but we are not encouraging 

crime. Whoever is caught would face 

the full wrath of law,’’ Okoduwa said. 

‘‘We call on well-meaning people 

in the state, religious bodies 

and the business communities 

to support the course of the Edo 

state government because the job 

is enormous and we have other 

things to take care of.’’ 

•See full feature story on BD 

SUNDAY, April 8.


C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

39 

Sports 

Super Falcons primed for good outing against France 

Stories by 

Anthony Nlebem 

Nigeria’s Senior 

Women 

National 

Team, Super 

Falcons, have 

settled down in the city Le 

Mans, west of France after 

arriving on Wednesday 

evening. 

Head Coach Thomas 

Dennerby, who had been 

in France three days before 

the contingent landed, 

welcomed the players and 

officials to the Mercure Le 

Mans Centre hotel in company 

of his assistant, Jorgen 

Petersson. 

All 18 players, including 

Holland-based Sophia 

Omotola Omidiji, a late 

call-up, had a light work out 

at the Le Clos Fleuri ground 

at 10am and later followed 

with a tougher session in 

the evening at the Le Mans 

Stadium, also known as the 

Stade MMArena. 

An interesting game is at 

hand on Friday, with Nigeria 

a mix of veterans and upcoming 

stars, while France, 

who finished in fourth place 

at the FIFA World Cup finals 

in Germany seven years ago, 

also boast a number of new 

prospects. 

Nigeria’s Falcons have 

won eight of the 10 editions 

of the Women Africa Cup 

of Nations staged to date, 

and have represented Africa 

at all editions of the FIFA 

Women’s World Cup since 

the first competition was 

held in China 27 years ago. 

While Skipper Rita 

Chikwelu, Josephine Chuk- 

Dr. Mohammed Sanusi on 

Thursday, the State Football 

Associations are expected to 

nominate persons of good 

character and exemplary 

behaviour for these positions. 

It is advised that one 

of these two persons should 

be a female, and names of the 

individuals should reach the 

Nigeria Football Federation 

on or before Monday, 16th 

April 2018. 

The statement read, inter 

alia: “The individuals must 

also possess other qualificawunonye, 

Faith Ikidi, Ugo 

Njoku, Osinachi Ohale, 

Ngozi Okobi, Francis Ordega 

and Desire Oparanozie 

have been everywhere and 

seen it all, goalkeepers Onyinyechukwu 

Okeke and 

Chiamaka Nnadozie, as 

well as Glory Ogbonna and 

Anam Imo are starry –eyed 

and looking to notch senior 

caps. 

The match comes just 

days after the Super Eagles 

concluded the first phase of 

their 2018 FIFA World Cup 

actual build –up with useful 

encounters against Poland 

in Wroclaw and Serbia in 

London, and the U20 boys 

concluded a two –match 

tour of the Arab Republic 

of Egypt. 

Kick -off time at the 

Stade MMArena on Friday 

is 9pm. 

Lagos marathon gets 

N500m sponsorship boost 

Foremost Real Estate 

company, Revolution 

Plus Property Development 

Company has 

joined the Access Bank Lagos 

City Marathon train as the official 

Real Estate Partner. 

Project Consultant Access 

Bank Lagos City Marathon 

Bukola Olopade recently disclosed 

that the company has 

signed a five-year deal which 

will run from the 2019 edition 

to 2023 edition worth N100 

million per annum. 

“We at Access Bank Lagos 

City Marathon are delighted 

to welcome RevolutionPlus 

into the Access Bank Lagos 

City Marathon family. The 

company shares our vision 

and goal, which is to be a global 

leader in marathon and road 

races. RevolutionPlus, already 

a leader in Nigeria, dream of 

being a global brand in the real 

estate and property development 

business so associating 

with Access Bank Lagos City 

Marathon is apt” 

Bamidele Onalaja the 

Managing Director RevolutionPlus 

Property Development 

Company said the company 

is delighted to join the 

marathon family. 

“ The phenomenal growth 

of Access Bank Lagos City Marathon 

within a short period 

is one of the reasons why we 

decided to partner with them. 

To have your course certified 

by AIMS, get an IAAF Bronze 

Label and have over a 100,000 

starter at the third edition 

of your marathon including 

many foreign and local elites is 

not a small feat, very few mara- 

thons in the world that have 

this, Access Bank Lagos City 

Marathon is a global brand 

and we want to identify with” 

Onalaja said Revolution- 

Plus aimed at solving the housing 

deficit in Nigeria through 

affordable home and the company 

has become as one of the 

big players in the real estate 

sector despite just existing for 

four years. “ Our story is similar 

to the Access Bank Lagos 

City Marathon story which 

becomes a force to reckon 

with in three years, we are also 

a force to be reckoned with in 

Nigeria after four years’’. 

Olopade assured that the 

management of Access Bank 

Lagos City Marathon would 

formally introduce RevolutionPlus 

to the media later in 

April. 

NFF requests State FAs to 

appoint integrity officers 

The Nigeria Football 

Federation (NFF), 

in line with the implementation 

of its 

National Integrity Initiative 

Guidelines has requested 

that each of the Football 

Associations of the 36 States 

and Federal Capital Territory 

nominate two individuals as 

State Integrity Officer and Assistant 

State Integrity Officer 

respectively. 

In a statement signed 

by the General Secretary of 

Nigeria Football Federation, 

tions which include being 

a graduate; they must not 

currently hold any office in 

the State FA; they must be 

computer –literate; they must 

be able to conduct trainings 

using Microsoft Power Point 

Application; they must be able 

to write very good reports; 

they must be resident in the 

State; they must also produce 

verifiable source of living; they 

must be of good character and 

integrity; they must produce 

a security report from the 

State Police Command clearing 

him/her of any criminal 

indictment and; must not be 

more than 45 years old. 

“The Nigeria Football 

Federation will do due diligence 

on recommended 

applicants and approve if 

convinced all criteria have 

been met,” the statement 

read, while also warning that 

the names of the preferred 

candidates should be sent 

on the letter –headed paper 

of the State FA to the National 

Integrity Officer, Dr. Christian 

Emeruwa. 

Obanikoro calls for coordinated 

grassroots football development 

Former Nigeria’s High 

Commissioner in 

Ghana, Senator Musiliu 

Obanikoro, says a 

well-coordinated grassroots 

football programme will boost 

the development of the sport 


He spoke at the flag off 

of the Real Madrid Football 

Coaching Clinic for boys and 

girls at Campos Square Mini- 

Stadium on Lagos Island. 

No fewer than 200 young 

footballers of ages 11 and 17 

are attending the clinic which 

will run from April 4 to April 

14. The clinic will afford he 

kids opportunity to be part of 

Real Madrid training development. 

“The football clinic started 

from a drawing board and it 

took a lot of efforts to get to 

this point. This type of project 

is for the good of the country. 

“There is a gradual process 

to bring back the old-time 

football culture where our 

leagues were strong in the 

time of Austin Okocha and 

Peter Rufai. 

“It will only take time, but 

eventually, it is going to happen. 

I have more confidence 

now in the development of 

football in Nigeria because 

programme like this will bring 

out the best.


Human trafficking: Edo, NIS 

partner to curb menace 

Governor of Edo State, 

Godwin Obaseki, 

has strengthened 

ties with the Nigerian 

Immigration Service 

(NIS) to reiterates the state’s 

commitment to curbing the 

menace of human trafficking 

and illegal migration. 

The governor disclosed 

this when he received the 

new comptroller of NIS, Edo 

State Command, Kayode Eniolohunda, 

and other senior 

officials of the service, at the 

Government House, Benin 

City, the state capital. 

Obaseki said his administration 

was determined to 

curb human trafficking and 

illegal migration, and would 

be counting on the support 

of the service, particularly in 

the areas of investigation and 

prosecution. 

He said, “With the feelers 

we have received so far, 

we are confident that human 

trafficking will be reduced by 

Obasanjo backs ICAN on accountability index 

RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta 

Former President 

Olusegun Obasanjo 

has expressed support 

for accountability index 

established by the Institute 

of Chartered Accountants 

of Nigeria (ICAN), saying every 

man and woman of goodwill 

must be accountable for his/ 

her action and inaction if Nigeria 

must move forward. 

Obasanjo, who received 

Isma’la Zakari, president, 

ICAN, at the Olusegun Obasanjo 

Presidential Library 

(OOPL) recently, said it was 

high time Nigerians went 

against impunity, saying emphasis 

must always be paid on 

leadership, governance, development, 

value and culture. 

He said, “We don’t even 

look at ourselves and that is the 

unfortunate thing. We should 

look at ourselves and say yes, 

where did we go wrong, and 

have the humility to say wherat 

least 50 percent before the 

end of this year. 

“We are encouraged by the 

support received from the European 

Union and have agreed 

to have a conference in the state 

before June this year, where we 

will reveal all the steps taken 

to deal with human trafficking 

and illegal migration.” 

He said he had directed 

the local governments to secure 

office spaces for officers 

of the service to enable them 

integrate properly into the 

state’s security architecture. 

The governor said he 

would continue to work with 

the service to secure visas and 

other necessary documents 

for foreign investors coming 

into the state for business. 

Earlier, the Edo NIS 

comptroller, Eniolohunda 

expressed the command’s 

support for the governor’s 

policies, far-reaching reforms 

as well as the fight against illegal 

migration. 

ever we have gone wrong; we 

are ready to make amends. 

“We go on with impunity 

upon impunity as if we have 

created ourselves and we have 

created the country. My prayer 

is that those who try to run this 

country aground with impunity, 

we leave them in the hands 

of God and God in His infinite 

mercies knows what to do. 

“We cannot go on with impunity 

and think that it will all 

be well. So, your idea about 

accountability index must be 

welcome by all men and women 

of goodwill in this country. 

“If you can do it, it will serve a 

very useful purpose. But I must 

also warn you: if you are succeeding 

in that, if you will do it 

conscientiously, neutrally and 

it will have the acceptance internationally, 

you will incur the 

displeasure of the authorities in 

Nigeria. Because you will step 

on toes and once you start stepping 

on toes, you know what 

that means.” 

INEC, others to hold confab on use of technology in elections 

INNOCENT ODOH, Abuja 

Independent National 

Electoral Commission 

(INEC), Electoral 

Management Bodies 

(EMBs) from member 

countries of the Economic 

Community of West African 

States (ECOWAS) and the 

South African Development 

Community (SADC) will 

gather in Abuja for a threeday 

international conference 

on the use of technology 

for election, starting 

Monday, April 9. 

This was disclosed in 

a statement issued by the 

chief press secretary to the 

INEC chairman, Rotimi 

Oyekanmi, on Thursday. 

The theme of the conference 

is “Opportunities and 

Challenges in the Use of 

Technology in Election: 

Lessons from West and 

Southern Africa.” 

The statement said participants 

would deliberate 

on several issues associated 

with the choice and deployment 

of ICT in elections, 

with a view to deepening 

collaboration among EMBs 

and strengthening the credibility 

of electoral processes 

in the ECOWAS and SADC 

regions. 

The conference, the first 

of its kind to be held in Nigeria, 

is being organized 

by the Independent National 

Electoral Commission 

(INEC) and the ECO- 

WAS Network of Electoral 

Commissions (ECONEC), 

in collaboration with the 

Electoral Commissions Forum 

of the SADC and with 

technical support from the 

European Centre for Electoral 

Support (ECES). The 

conference is funded by the 

L-R: Chidi Amuta, keynote speaker; Okey Akpa, MD, SKG Pharma, and Pat Iloba, general manager, sales and marketing, SKG 

Pharma, during the annual trade partners conference in Lagos, yesterday. 

Pic by Olawale Amoo 

NDDC trains 23,000 youths but many sell their starter packs 

IGNATIUS CHUKWU 

Niger Delta Development 

Commission 

(NDDC) 

says it has so 

far trained over 

23,000 youths and equipped 

them, but regrets that many 

sell off their starter packs and 

come back to the unemployment 

market. 

This is as 23 Industrial Development 

Centres (IDCs) 

owned by the Small and Medium 

Enterprises Development 

Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) 

around Nigeria are said to 

have since shut down. 

Now, the NDDC wants to 

convert four IDCs in the Niger 

Delta region into skills acquisition 

centres. This is as the 

Commission has concluded 

plans with Pitman University 

on youth development. 

The NDDC managing director, 

Nsima Ekere, said experience 

had shown that there 

was need to develop a special 

kind of programme that would 

lead to sustainable livelihood 

for the youths. “We had trained 

European Union Support 

for Democratic Governance 

in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) project, 

managed by ECES, the 

statement said. 

Chairman of the Independent 

Electoral and 

23,000 people over the years 

and they were given starter 

packs. Unfortunately, some 

of them sold the starter packs 

and returned to the ranks of 

the unemployed,” he said. 

The NDDC CEO said one 

of the ways the Commission 

was tackling the problem 

was through the establishment 

of enterprise hubs, 

for which it was partnering 

with the SMEDAN. 

He observed that SMED- 

AN had 23 IDCs nationwide 

and four of the centres were 

located in the Niger Delta. 

He however regretted that 

all the centres had since 

closed down. 

Ekere stated that NDDC 

recently signed an agreement 

with SMEDAN to convert the 

IDCs to enterprise hubs and 

innovation centres because 

the region was blessed with 

the best of brains. He added: 

“The idea is that we will start 

with one of the IDC’s in Uyo, 

Akwa Ibom State, but ultimately, 

our intension is to see 

that all the IDCs owned by 

SMEDAN in the Niger Delta 

Crack in fuel nozzles causes Delta Airline’s incident - AIB 

Accident Investigation 

Bureau (AIB) 

has revealed that 

the Delta Airline’s 

engine fire incident that occurred 

February 13, 2018, 

was caused by a crack in one 

of the fuel nozzles of the aircraft. 

Akin Olateru, commissioner 

of AIB, on Wednesday 

told journalists that the aircraft 

that was involved in the 

incident was now in America 

for further investigations. 

Olateru explained that 

the cause of the incident was 

a contained engine fire, and 

the engine had to go back to 

the shop to do some analysis 

and checks to find out what 

really caused the problem. 

“We nominated our National 

Transportation Safety 

Board (NTSB) to be part of 

the investigations. The re- 

C002D5556 

region are revamped and revitalised.” 

The NDDC has thus assured 

officials of Ritman University, 

Ikot Ekpene, Akwa 

Ibom State, of partnership in 

setting up a youth development 

centre in the university. 

The NDDC CEO gave 

the assurance when the 

founder of the university, a 

senator, Ibok Essien, and the 

Vice Chancellor, Celestine 

Ntuen, paid him a courtesy 

visit in his office at the commission’s 

headquarters in 

Port Harcourt. 

Ekere noted that the vision 

of the university, with 

respect to developing the capacity 

of students to be selfstarters, 

tallied with that of 

the NDDC, stating that it was 

important that young people 

were given quality education 

that would prepare them to 

be self-employed. 

He said: “We must be 

concerned about the quality 

of education that we are giving 

to our youths in the Niger 

Delta. This is a region that is 

beset with a lot of difficul- 

port just came back last week 

and we found out that there 

was a crack in one of the fuel 

nozzles, which caused the 

engine fire. We are working 

hard on the investigation and 

will be concluded very soon,” 

he said. 

Few weeks ago, AIB released 

a preliminary report 

on Delta that revealed a 

picture of the interior of the 

combustion chamber showing 

corrosion in the turbine 

section. 

Recalled that on February 

13, 2018, at about 2251hrs, 

a schedule flight DAL55, 

an Airbus A330-223 aircraft 

with registration N858NW 

belonging to Delta Airlines 

Inc., departed Lagos, Nigeria, 

for Atlanta, United States of 

America with 221 passengers 

and 13 crew on board made 

an air return few minutes 

after take-off following a fire 

warning on one of the en- 

BUSINESS DAY 

A1 

NEWS 

… as SMEDAN’s 23 industrial development centres shut down 

Boundaries Commission 

(IEBC) of Kenya, Wafula 

Chebukati, will deliver the 

conference’s only keynote 

address on “Electoral Trust 

and Integrity: Is Technology 

an Enabler or a Barrier?” at 

the opening session, while 

seven other sessions and 

separate group discussions, 

spread evenly across the entire 

duration of the meeting 

would follow. 

Senior election technology 

experts from various international 

organisations are also 

attending, bringing the participation 

of EMBs to 35 countries 

and roughly 100 participants, 

the statement said. 

IFEOMA OKEKE 

ties and challenges. Youth 

restiveness is very common 

in the region and unemployment 

has reached alarming 

proportions.” 

Ekere said that the plan for 

a youth development centre 

was the kind of contribution 

that would teach the young 

ones how to be entrepreneurs 

and employers of labour. According 

to him, “it keys into the 

vision of the current board and 

management of the NDDC.” 

The NDDC boss stressed 

the need to prepare the youths 

to face the new world and be 

competitive with graduates 

from all over the world. 

“We are collaborating with 

a Silicon Valley-based organization 

called the Digital 

Learning Network and they 

are coming with partners like 

Microsoft. The idea is to replace 

the hardcopy textbooks 

that we have in primary and 

secondary schools, convert 

them into digital formats,” 

Ekere said, pointing out that 

the project would revolutionize 

education and learning in 

the entire Niger-Delta Region. 

gines. 

The Bureau also announced 

the inauguration of 

a specially constituted committee 

on the effectiveness of 

120 safety recommendations 

made by it from inception. 

The commissioner said 

the safety recommendations 

were as critical as the 

investigation itself, as it was 

the lever used to effect safety 

changes and improvements 

in the aviation industry. 

“AIB, during investigations, 

identifies a lot of hazards 

that sometimes may not 

be related to the particular 

occurrence under investigation 

but work with the operators 

to resolve them. It 

is noteworthy to state that 

safety recommendations/ 

safety alerts can be made 

at any stage of the accident 

investigation and we do not 

have to wait until final report 

is released.

A2 

NEWS 

BUSINESS DAY 

C002D5556 

Why we are yet to sign ECOWAS EPA - Buhari 

TONY AILEMEN, Abuja 

The EU-sponsored EPA guarantee a better future tries cannot compete with 

and Monetary Union cover 

investments, goods and He noted that more highly technologically driv- 

for the youth. 

the more efficient and 

President Muhammadu 

Buhari 

on Thursday cooperation, ostensibly to ans fall into the age cate- 

have to protect our indus- 

services and development than 60 percent of Nigerien 

industries in Europe. We 

listed the need to help West African countries 

integrate better into to inherit a stable and said. 

gory of youths and deserve tries and our youths,’’ he 

protect Nigeria’s 

businesses from unhealthy global trading system and prosperous country they In his remarks, Karlsen 

competition, pressures fast tract growth for the could be proud of, adding 

that the government tinue to support President 

said the EU would con- 

and closure, for the country’s 

reluctance to sign But President told would work assiduously Buhari’s administration in 

region. 

the Economic Partnership the EU delegation that to prevent waste and the the key priorities it listed: 

Agreement (EPA) among “the insistence on probity, 

transparency and ac- 

corrupt Nigerians. 

fight against corruption. 

depletion of resources by security, economy and the 

the countries making up 

the Economic Community 

of West African States and private sectors is to agreement will expose the designed to accommodate 

countability in the public The “signing of the He said the EPA was 

(ECOWAS). 

secure the future of the industries and small businesses 

to external presmies 

that would find it dif- 

and protect some econo- 

President Buhari told country for all Nigerians, 

the head of delegation especially the youths” sures and competitions, ficult to compete, saying, 

of the European Union Receiving a Letter of which could lead to closures 

and job losses. will be a signature on the 

“We are hopeful that there 

Thursday that Nigeria Credence from the head 

had been reluctant to sign of delegation of the EU to “We are not enthusiastic agreement.” 

the EPA among ECOWAS Nigeria, Iversen Karlsen, at about signing the EPA because 

of our largely youth- 

received Letters of Cre- 

President Buhari also 

countries because of the the State House, President 

need to protect the economy, 

especially the indusistration 

would continu- 

struggling to provide jobs dor of Italy, Stefano Ponte- 

Buhari said his adminful 

population. We are still dence from the ambassatries 

and small businesses ally promote the culture for them, and we want our silli, and the ambassador of 

that currently provide jobs of honesty and integrity youths to be kept busy. Spain, Marcelino Cabanas 

for majority Nigerians. in service, which would “Presently, our indus- Ansorena. 

Environmentalists urge more investment 

in renewable energy resources 

IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, Benin 

En vironmental 

Rights Action/ 

Friends of the Earth 

Nigeria (ERA/ 

FOEN) has called on Shell 

Petroleum Development 

Company (SPDC) and other 

multi-national oil firms to 

redirect their investment in 

the prospect for fossil fuels 

to that of renewable energy. 

Godwin Uyi Ojo, executive 

director, ERA/FOEN, 

who made the call at a press 

briefing titled, “Climate 

Change Court Case Against 

Shell,” in Benin City on 

Wednesday, said the several 

billions of dollars being lost 

to gas flaring occasioned by 

fossil fuel would had been 

enough to develop renewable 

sources of energy. 

Prospecting for oil in 

the Lake Chad Basin by 

the Federal Government is 

a misplaced priority, Ojo 

said, but however urged the 

government to provide a 

budget line for the development 

and implementation 

of energy transition from 

fossil fuel to renewable energy 

in line with the Paris 

Agreement. 

He explained that state 

like California in the Unit- 


ed States of America, cities 

in Germany were already 

budgeting colossal amount 

to renewable energy to address 

the resultant effects of 

fossil fuels. 

He further called on the 

Nigerian government to 

unconditionally fulfil its 

pledge to reduce gas flaring 

by 20 percent. 

“For Shell, they are contributing 

very little significantly 

to climate change, 

therefore they should return 

to the drawing board, 

de-invest the billions of dollars 

they are using to prospect 

for oil, including the 

Nigerian government looking 

for oil in the Chad Basin, 

which is a misplaced priority. 

Nigeria is 80 percent depended 

on oil and it is not 

thinking of energy transition 

in concrete terms. 

“Shell and other oil companies 

are wasting over billions 

of dollars that would 

have been used for development 

and de-invested to renewable 

energy. The gas that 

is being wasted in Nigeria is 

enough to power the whole 

of sub-Saharan Africa but is 

being destroyed on daily basis. 

This is why we are calling 

on Shell to invest in renewable 

energy,” he said. 

L-R: Francesca Uriri, head communications, West Africa, Uber; Margaret Banasko, country marketing lead, Uber; Bankole 

Wellington (Banky W), Uber brand ambassador, and Lola Kassim, general manager, West Africa, Uber, at the official unveiling of 

Banky W as Uber brand ambassador in Lagos. 

Pic by Olawale Amoo 

Sanity in bank lending is imperative in Nigerian banking system 

HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE 

The near total disrespect 

for the basic 

rules of credit in Nigeria 

has made it imperative 

for a return sanity in 

lending among banking and 

financial institutions operating 


This was said by Segun 

Ajibola, president, Chartered 

Institute of Bankers of Nigeria 

(CIBN), in one of his two 

books presented to the public 

on Wednesday in Lagos. 

The titles of the books: ‘Lending 

and the Nigerian Banks 

– A Practitioner’s Experience’ 

and ‘The Structure of Nigeria’s 

Economy (1960-2017).’ 

“For sanity to return to 

bank lending in Nigeria, 

thanks though to recent regulatory 

stance, we must return 

to the basics. I have captured 

the major deviations 

between what it is and what 

it ought to be in this book. My 

Some 183 workers, 

who retired from Lagos 

State public service 

in March 2018, 

have received over N1 billion 

pension entitlements 

under the Contributory 

Pension Scheme (CPS). 

Akintola Benson Oke, 

the state commissioner for 

establishments, training 

and pensions, at the presentation 

of retirement bond 

certificates to the retirees, 

said a total of 8,731 retirees 

had been paid over N35 bilfindings 

show clearly near a 

total disrespect for the basic 

rules of credit in our clime,” 

Ajibola said. 

The first book provides 

insights into real life situations, 

as a guide for banking 

and finance regulators 

and operators, lecturers and 

students of banking and finance 

and allied subjects, 

shareholders, depositors and 

other stakeholders in banks, 

public servants and others 

engaged in the subject matter 

of money management in 

the economy, he said. 

The second book, according 

to Ajibola, results from his 

several years of handling this 

subject both in the academic 

and professional arena, but 

without adequate materials 

for reference purposes. 

“It is my considered opinion 

that, be you an engineer, 

a medical doctor, fine artist 

or lawyer, you need to understand 

the structure of the 

economy in which you operate 

and where your vocation, 

career or business situates 

within the whole spectrum. 

“My recommendation, 

therefore, is that this subject, 

structure of Nigeria’s economy, 

should be a must-do 

course for all undergraduate 

students in our universities 

and polytechnics,” he said. 

Olasubomi Balogun, 

founder, FCMB/chairman 

of the book launch, recommended 

the two books to the 

banking industry, academia 

and other stakeholders. 

Represented by Ladi Balogun, 

group chief executive 

of FCMB Group, he said, “I 

see the books as critical reading 

tool for anybody both in 

banking and academic field. 

Giving a little description of 

the author, Balogun said, “He 

is not only extremely intelligent 

and competent but very 

diligent, very hard working. 

He is a man of service.” 

183 Lagos retirees receive N1bn pension entitlements 

Firms partner to launch DubaiLagos workshop to support entrepreneurs, investors 

IFEOMA OKEKE 

Smart Zones UAE has 

collaborated with 

Damac Properties to 

launch DubaiLagos 

Workshop to encourage entrepreneurs 

and property investors 

on business setup and 

property investment opportunities 

in Dubai, UAE. 

Smart Zones UAE, which 

helps individuals get a proper 

and easy company registration 

in Dubai, UAE, and DAMAC 

Properties, which delivers 

luxury residential, commercial 

and leisure properties across 

the region, will concluded arrangements 

to hold the workshop 

on April 15, in Lagos. 

In terms of economy, 

Dubai is one of the most progressive 

cities on the planet. 

The Brookings Institution, a 

think-tank located in Washington 

DC, released a report 

that detailed the top cities in 

terms of leading economic 

JOSHUA BASSEY 

growth for their respective nations 

— Dubai came in at fifth 

in 2014, a large improvement 

on its previous rank of 18. 

This drastic improvement 

was largely credited to the 4.7 

annual increases in employment. 

While the national increase 

in gross domestic product per 

capita was 1.6 percent, Dubai 

achieved an impressive 4.5 

percent increase. These figures 

make it unsurprising to 

see how many investors are 

considering setting up a business 

or registering a company 

within Dubai. 

To further entice offshore 

company registration 

in Dubai, several free zones 

have been established to provide 

investor with lower costs 

through unique economic 

regulations and benefits. 

These economic hubs were 

introduced by the government 

to draw new investment and 

stimulate the economy. 

lion since the current administration 

came into office 

in May 2015. 

He said notwithstanding 

the huge pension obligations 

of the state, the 

administration had been 

consistent in payment of 

pension entitlements. 

Folashade Onanuga, 

director-general of the state 

pension commission, advised 

the retirees to take 

informed decision about 

the choice of either programmed 

withdrawal or life 

annuity option for receipt of 

terminal entitlement. 

Setting up a free zone company 

allows investors operate 

within one of the most rapidly 

growing economies in the 

world, and there are nearly 

limitless investment opportunities 

available with the local 

economy and markets experiencing 

massive growth. 

With the Expo 2020 approaching 

and with many 

mega projects in the pipeline, 

Dubai continues to be an attractive 

option for real estate 

investors. With seemingly 

limitless potential, Dubai has 

overtaken cities like London 

as the most preferred property 

investment location for 2017. 

“If you have taken the decision 

to invest in Dubai real 

estate, your next step is to 

decide the type of property 

you want to buy. Depending 

on your budget, you can look 

into purchasing from various 

property types available, 

such as apartments, villas, 

townhouses and land.”


FT FINANCIAL TIMES 

C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

A3 

World Business Newspaper 

Dimon warns investors 

on risk of ‘drastic 

action’ by Federal 

JPMorgan Chase chief highlights chance of faster 

interest rate rises to tame inflation 

ALISTAIR GRAY AND 

ROBIN WIGGLESWORTH 

Jamie Dimon, the chief executive 

of JPMorgan Chase, has warned 

investors of the risk that the Federal 

Reserve and other central banks 

will be forced to take “drastic action” 

to stave off inflation. 

“Many people underestimate the 

possibility of higher inflation and 

wages, which means they might be 

underestimating the chance that 

the Federal Reserve may have to 

raise rates faster than we all think,” 

he wrote in an annual letter to 

shareholders. 

“We have to deal with the possibility 

that, at one point, the Federal 

Reserve and other central banks 

may have to take more drastic action 

than they currently anticipate.” 

The remarks from the head of the 

biggest US bank by assets highlight 

how fears about resurgent inflation 

continue to stalk Wall Street — even 

though many investors remain 

sceptical. 

Fed funds futures suggest that 

few investors expect the US central 

bank to raise rates by more than 

the three times policymakers have 

indicated this year. Longer-term 

market measures also indicate that 

investors expect inflation and bond 

yields to remain subdued for years 

to come. 

Still, bond markets have suffered 

a reversal in recent months on concerns 

that inflation will gather pace 

and a full-blown resurgence could 

prove painful for financial markets. 

In his letter, Mr Dimon highlighted 

ways in which the financial 

system was more resilient than it 

was in the run-up to the last crisis. 

Issuance marks breakthrough for the African country as it confronts poverty 

DANIEL AKINMADE EMEJULU 

Nigeria is joining a silent 

revolution. Only three 

countries have issued a 

sovereign green bond — Poland, 

France and Fiji — and now Nigeria 

is the most recent member of the 

movement. 

As an oil-producing giant, the 

country has long been in search of 

a trump card against falling crude 

prices. In December, the government 

issued a N10.69bn ($29m) 

green bond to fund local solar 

and forestry projects. The fully 

subscribed bond’s tenor is five 

years, and investors will receive 

a 13.48 per cent annual coupon, 

creating high expectations for the 

environmental projects linked to 

the government’s use of proceeds 

from the bond. 

Facebook says up 

to 87m users hit by 

data scandal 

Page A4 

Banks had “far more” capital to sustain 

losses, he said, while standards 

of mortgage underwriting were 

“pristine”. 

But he also pointed to new sources 

of potential instability, including 

the rise of passively managed index 

funds and “dramatically smaller” 

market making by primary dealers. 

He was particularly cautious 

about the Fed’s unwinding of quantitative 

easing. “QE has never been 

done on this scale,” he said. “We cannot 

possibly know all of the effects of 

its reversal.” 

Like its rivals, JPMorgan is benefiting 

from an end to the era of 

ultra-cheap money. Higher interest 

rates allow banks to charge borrowers 

more. 

Analysts are forecasting doubledigit 

year-on-year percentage rises 

in first-quarter profits from several 

of the biggest banks, including 

JPMorgan, which kicks off earnings 

season next week. 

Too rapid a rise in rates, however, 

could leave the sector caught out if 

deposit and other funding costs rise 

more quickly than the loans can 

reprice. 

Mr Dimon’s remarks about interest 

rates came in a 46-page missive 

that touched on subjects ranging 

from the state of US infrastructure 

— described as a “disaster” — to immigration 

policy, which was “tearing 

apart our body politic and damaging 

our economy”. 

As well as public policy and 

the macroeconomy, the JPMorgan 

chief also sounded off on business 

management. Internal management 

meetings came in for particular 

criticism. They were often a “a giant 

waste of time”, he said. 

Nigeria joins regional race on green bonds 

Given the strong market uptake, 

the green bond movement 

is inspiring a race on the African 

continent. Last July, the City of 

Cape Town issued a R1bn ($84m) 

green bond for which investors 

offered R4bn — within two hours. 

Kenya is also paying attention 

and positioning to do the same. 

“We are setting up a framework for 

issuing a green bond in the fiscal 

year 2018-19,” said Geoffrey Mwau, 

director-general of the Kenyan 

treasury. 

Ahead of national elections in 

2019, the Nigerian government 

considered 2018 as perfect timing 

for doubling down on its first green 

bond issue. 

During the Lagos Social Media 

Week last month, Ahmad Salihijo, 

a technical assistant to the Nige- 

Continues on page A4 

Emmanuel Macron sets out overhaul of French parliament 

Plans to reduce seats, use more PR and simplify procedure put in train 

ANNE-SYLVAINE CHASSANY 

AND DAVID KEOHANE 

President Emmanuel Macron’s 

government has outlined plans 

to overhaul France’s parliament, 

including an aim to cut the number of 

seats by 30 per cent in a bid to reinvigorate 

the country’s politics. 

Edouard Philippe, prime minister, 

said the government would also push 

through legislation designed to speed 

up lawmaking, simplify parliamentary 

procedure and shorten debate time. 

The reform, which should be 

passed next year, would also give 

smaller parties better representation 

in the lower house of parliament 

through the partial use of proportional 

representation as soon as 2022, when 

the next legislative elections are due 

to take place. 

“Those bills will contribute to the 

profound renewal of our political and 

parliamentary life,” Mr Philippe said 

India bond turbulence sharpens debate over foreign buyers 

Modi government has addressed recent pressure on debt, but more may be needed 

SIMON MUNDY 

In late March, officials from India’s 

finance ministry held a closeddoor 

meeting with the banks that 

help sell the government’s debt. 

The backdrop for the meeting 

was an unusually ugly period for 

the market, with the yield on 10-year 

government bonds rising more than 

a percentage point since August 

— an alarming sign for Narendra 

Modi’s administration, which must 

rely heavily on debt financing to 

fund ambitious development goals. 

Days later, the government announced 

an overhaul of its bond 

issuance policy, prompting the biggest 

one-day drop in 10-year yields 

in more than two years to 7.33 per 

cent — still well above the trough of 

6.41 per cent reached last July. 

Typically, the government frontloads 

its annual borrowing, with 

about 60 per cent of bond issuance 

in the first half of the April-March 

The correct way to 

talk about market 

corrections 

Page A5 

Jamie Dimon: ‘Many people underestimate the possibility of higher inflation and wages’ © Bloomberg 

on Wednesday. 

Overhauling parliament was one 

of Mr Macron’s signature proposals 

during his presidential campaign, and 

the changes outlined on Wednesday 

are in line with pledges that he made 

to cut the number of MPs by one-third. 

They follow a bill last year intended to 

tighten control over MPs’ expenses, 

after Republican presidential hopeful 

François Fillon was engulfed in a 

scandal over allegations that he had 

fictitiously employed his wife for years 

as a parliamentary aide. 

The proposals follow weeks of contentious 

consultations in the Elysée 

Palace and within the prime minister’s 

office, with parliamentarians opposing 

the measures. The fiercest critics have 

included Gerard Larcher, president of 

the Senate, the upper house, which is 

controlled by the opposition rightwing 

party Les Republicains. 

But over the past few weeks, the 

government has made small conces- 

fiscal year. This year, however, that 

proportion will be just 48 per cent, 

the government said, reinvigorating 

the bond market by triggering 

expectations of a short-term squeeze 

in supply. 

A further boost to sentiment 

came this week when the central 

bank extended the period over 

which banks must book provisions 

against their recent bond trading 

losses, freeing up funds for further 

investment. 

But many in the Mumbai market 

warn that these measures can bring 

only limited relief, arguing that the 

recent surge in the government’s 

borrowing costs reflects an unhealthily 

shallow pool of domestic 

bond buyers. This problem can 

be best addressed, they argue, by 

opening the market further to foreign 

investors — a move that some 

speculate could happen as soon as 

this month. 

The sovereign debt market is of 

sions to win over the Senate and avoid 

resorting to a referendum to pass 

the constitutional changes. Notably, 

mayors of towns with fewer than 9,000 

inhabitants will be allowed to seek reelection 

as many times as they want. 

The overhaul means that the number 

of seats would be reduced from 

577 to 404 in the National Assembly, 

the lower house, and from 348 to 243 

in the Senate. 

The period of voting on the annual 

budget would be shortened from 70 

days to 50 days, the prime minister 

said. Elected officials would be banned 

from running for office more than 

three times, with the exception of mayors 

of small towns, he added. 

Proportional representation would 

also be allowed for 15 per cent of the 

seats in the National Assembly, a longrunning 

demand from smaller parties. 

They have had a difficult time winning 

local elections because of France’s 

two-round election system. 

critical importance to India’s economic 

policy, as the government pursues 

ambitious investment plans aimed 

at keeping the economic growth rate 

above 7 per cent, and at pushing per 

capita annual income well beyond its 

current level of below $2,000. 

The bond market slump of recent 

months was the worst since the infamous 

“taper tantrum” of 2013, when 

foreign investors pulled money from 

India and other vulnerable emerging 

markets. 

In contrast, foreign appetite for 

Indian bonds has been strong over 

the past year. Although they turned 

net sellers last month, foreign investors 

pumped a net $18.3bn into Indian 

debt — including the relatively 

small corporate bond market — in 

the financial year ending in March. 

That compared with net sales of 

$1.1bn in the previous financial year, 

when markets were jolted by the 

government’s disruptive “demonetisation” 

of high-value banknotes.

A4 BUSINESS DAY 

C002D5556 Friday 06 April 2018 

FT 

Nigeria joins regional race 

on green bonds.... 

NATIONAL 

Who will lead car industry in time of big changes? 

Next generation of executives may be different breed to established stars of today 

PETER CAMPBELL 

Who should sit in the driving seat 

of the world’s carmakers? 

The question of who will lead 

their businesses into the future is coming 

to a head for several of the world’s largest 

groups, just as motor manufacturing faces 

an era of intense change with the need to 

embrace new business models and invest 

Continued from page A3 

rian minister of the environment, 

said the government planned to 

issue an additional N150bn in 

green bonds, potentially to finance 

climate-related work for women 

and non-state actors in Nigeria. 

The green bond issuance marks 

a breakthrough for Nigeria, contributing 

towards the commitments 

it made under the Paris 

climate change agreement, while 

also confronting poverty and triggers 

of insecurity. 

Muhammad Mamman-Daura, 

an investment banker at Chapel 

Hill Denham, the financial adviser 

for the green bond issue, said the 

proceeds would be used to provide 

green electricity to rural communities 

that had been in darkness, 

energise education and support a 

government afforestation initiative. 

DNV GL of Norway, a global 

verification and sustainability 

group, reviewed the green credentials 

of each initiative before 

endorsing the use of bond proceeds 

for these projects, which 

come under Nigeria’s ministries 

of power and environment. 

Listed on both the Nigerian 

stock exchange and FMDQ, an 

over-the-counter exchange, the 

first $10m tranche of the green 

bond programme received a GB1 

(excellent) rating from Moody’s. 

The London-based Climate 

Bonds Initiative also granted certification, 

confirming its alignment 

with the 2-degree global warming 

limit in the Paris Agreement. 

Nigeria’s issuance was the first of 

four sovereign green bonds to be 

granted the CBI’s best practice 

distinction, lending confidence 

to banks, institutional and retail 

investors who took up the bond. 

Christiana Figueres, the UN 

climate czar who was instrumental 

to the success of the Paris Agreement, 

has convened Mission 

2020, an initiative calling for $1tn 

of investment in green bonds, a 

more than 10-fold increase from 

current levels. 

Governments in Morocco, Sweden 

and Belgium are joining the 

queue to answer the call. Since the 

first wave of green bonds, issued 

by the European Investment Bank 

and World Bank in 2007, entities 

such as Apple, Toyota and the 

New York Metropolitan Transport 

Authority have raised more than 

$80bn from green bonds. 

As Nigeria’s federal government 

promises forthcoming tranches of 

issuance to help meet this $1tn 

target, its state governments and 

private sector are also now jockeying 

to get on board. 

in new technologies while keeping the old 

engine running. 

“We are facing a generational change,” 

said Ralf Landmann, a senior headhunter 

at Spencer Stuart. 

New leaders will have to steer cumbersome 

and oil tanker-like businesses 

through a ferociously competitive and 

deeply cyclical industry, as well as bridging 

the culture chasm between engineers and 

the increasing number of technologists in 

their ranks. 

Fiat Chrysler (FCA), the Renault- 

Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, Mercedes- 

Benz-owner Daimler, Volvo Cars, Jaguar 

Land Rover and Toyota are all due or likely 

to need to consider succession in the next 

few years, whether from contracts expiring 

or legally enforced age restrictions at their 

companies. 

The first of these is Fiat, which will 

name a successor to long-time chief Sergio 

Marchionne this year. 

The challenge for FCA is exacerbated 

by the “rock star” status of Mr Marchionne, 

whose tenure and impact means he has 

become the virtual embodiment of the 

company. 

The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance 

faces a similar conundrum when 

Mark Zuckerberg at a Facebook conference last year. He will appear before two separate hearings at the House and 

Senate next week © AP 

Facebook says up to 87m users hit by data scandal 

Zuckerberg proclaims he is the right person to lead social network through crisis 

HANNAH KUCHLER AND 

BARNEY JOPSON 

Facebook dramatically increased 

its estimate of the 

number of users whose data 

may have been obtained by Cambridge 

Analytica, as Mark Zuckerberg 

proclaimed that he was the right 

person to lead the social network 

through the crisis. 

The company said on Wednesday 

it believes that up to 87m Facebook 

users may have had their information 

“improperly shared” with Cambridge 

Analytica, a data analytics 

firm that worked for Donald Trump’s 

presidential campaign. The majority 

of affected users were in the US, but 

more than 1m were in the UK. 

Mr Zuckerberg, Facebook chairman 

and chief executive, confirmed 

he would testify before a US congressional 

committee investigating online 

privacy, and followed up later in 

the day with a rare news conference 

at which he took responsibility for 

the Cambridge Analytica situation. 

“I’m not looking to throw anyone 

else under the bus for the mistakes 

we’ve made here,” he said, adding 

that he believes that it will take a 

“multiyear effort” to resolve issues 

including privacy and fake news on 

the social network. 

Mr Zuckerberg said he was not 

aware of any board conversations 

about whether he should step down 

as Facebook’s chairman. One institutional 

investor has called for him 

to relinquish the role. 

Asked if he was the right person 

to serve as chief executive, he said, 

“Yes. I think life is about learning 

from mistakes and figuring out what 

you need to do to move forward.” 

Facebook also said in a blog post 

that the majority of its users had 

probably had their public profiles 

scraped for information such as 

names and email addresses. It said 

it had shut down the tool that made 

that possible. 

Mr Zuckerberg said that if users 

had any information public at “some 

point over the last several years, 

someone has probably accessed 

your public info in this way”. 

He added that he had seen no 

“meaningful” decline in Facebook 

use or advertising. The company’s 

stock rose 3 per cent to $155.10 in 

after-hours trading on Wednesday. 

The New York Times and The 

Observer reported last month that 

Cambridge Analytica had obtained 

data from 50m people who were in 

the networks of the 270,000 users of 

a survey app run by a Cambridge 

professor. 

Cambridge Analytica said it licensed 

data for 30m people from the 

professor’s research company GSR 

and had a contract saying it must be 

obtained legally. 

The revelations about a bigger 

data leak raised the political stakes 

for Mr Zuckerberg, who is scheduled 

to appear before the House energy 

and commerce committee on April 

11 to answer questions about user 

privacy, the data leak and the discovery 

of Russian election meddling on 

the social network. 

Facebook on Wednesday evening 

confirmed that Mr Zuckerberg 

would also testify at the Senate judiciary 

committee and commerce 

committee on April 10. He had previously 

said he was willing to testify but 

only if he was the right person from 

the company to attend the hearings. 

Also on Wednesday, Facebook 

updated its terms of service and data 

policy for the first time in three years, 

in a bid to clarify what it does with 

user data it harvests. 

The social network is addressing 

how it shares personal data with 

other apps it owns: Instagram, the 

photo-sharing service, and messaging 

apps Facebook Messenger and 

WhatsApp. The new policies also include 

more information on the data 

it can see on people’s devices, how it 

can use faces and names to promote 

a page a user liked to their friends 

and how it uses artificial intelligence 

to scan for abuse on the platform. 

Rob Sherman, deputy chief privacy 

officer at Facebook, said the 

changes are designed to bring more 

clarity on the choices people have 

but they do not give users any more 

choices. “We have an ongoing effort 

to provide people with information 

about how their data are being used,” 

he said. 

Mike Schroepfer, chief technology 

officer, outlined the many ways 

Facebook is restricting third party 

app developers’ access to data, including 

a more thorough review of 

apps that want to use a Facebook 

login and restricting information 

available about events, groups and 

pages. 

The UK and EU parliaments have 

also called on Mr Zuckerberg to 

answer questions in person. Politicians 

are considering whether more 

robust regulation of social media 

platforms is needed, while regulators 

are investigating whether Facebook 

has broken any existing rules. 

Facebook said it would send Mr 

Schroepfer or Chris Cox, chief product 

officer, to appear before the UK 

parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media 

and Sport Committee. Damian Collins, 

the committee’s chair, said he 

would reissue the invitation, asking 

Mr Zuckerberg to give evidence by 

video link. 

it comes to finding a successor to Carlos 

Ghosn. 

Mr Ghosn, who even has cartoon strips 

named after him in Japan, has already 

stepped back from the role as chief executive 

of Nissan but remains boss of Renault, 

while chairman of all three carmakers as 

well as chief executive and chairman of the 

global Alliance, which itself is increasingly 

trying to act as a single business. 

Supreme court rules 

Brazil’s Lula must 

serve jail sentence 

Decision to incarcerate former president 

throws open October election 

JOE LEAHY AND 

ANDRES SCHIPANI 

Brazil’s supreme court has 

ruled that former president 

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva 

should face jail in a historic decision 

that is set to further divide 

Latin America’s largest country before 

national elections in October. 

A majority of the supreme 

court’s 11 judges late on Wednesday 

rejected a request from the 

leftist political leader to remain 

free while he appeals against a 

corruption conviction. 

Social media exploded with 

expressions for and against the expresident. 

“Lula, thief, your place 

is in prison,” one detractor wrote 

on Twitter. 

“Nelson Mandela, Gandhi and 

Lula, three leaders, one fact in 

common, they were all persecuted 

for defending the people,” countered 

supporters of Mr Lula da 

Silva’s Workers’ Party, or PT. 

The impending jailing of the 

former president marks a dramatic 

fall for the firebrand populist from 

São Paulo’s industrial São Bernardo 

do Campo municipality, who rose 

from poverty to become the country’s 

first working-class president. 

It also threatens to throw open 

what are expected to be Brazil’s 

most unpredictable elections in its 

history, with the former president 

leading early polling with 36 per 

cent support, double his nearest 

contender. 

During his eight years in power 

ending in 2010, the former metalworker 

was credited with raising 

millions out of poverty in one of 

the world’s most unequal countries 

through social benefits and 

wage rises. 

But the economy soured under 

his handpicked successor, Dilma 

Rousseff, with Brazil suffering its 

worst recession in 2015 and 2016. 

She was impeached and removed 

from office in August 2016. 

Meanwhile, prosecutors began 

what has become the country’s 

biggest corruption case, the Lava 

Jato or Car Wash investigation 

centred on bribery and kickback 

schemes at state-owned oil company 

Petrobras. 

The former president was found 

guilty and sentenced to more than 

12 years jail for accepting a beachside 

apartment and other favours 

from construction companies in 

exchange for helping them win 

contracts at Petrobras.


COMPANIES & MARKETS 

@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED 

The correct way to talk 

about market corrections 

Technical levels and chart patterns predicting prices are questionable concepts 

FINANCIAL TIMES 

C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

A5 

MILES JOHNSON 

Those tasked with analysing 

and commenting on markets 

must often try to pin a 

meaningful narrative on the daily 

gyrations of financial assets when 

quite possibly there was none at all. 

Because of this tension between the 

need for a narrative and the frequent 

absence of important new information, 

the language used to describe 

market swings can risk a lurch into 

the imprecise or exaggerated. 

In recent weeks, following a fall 

in the value of US stocks, we have 

seen the reappearance of a classic 

of market commentary linguistic 

contortion: the “correction”. 

A correction is commonly defined 

as when a market falls 10 

per cent or more from its peak. 

On occasions, the term “official” 

is attached to a correction to note 

when the market has finally fallen 

precisely 10 per cent or more, as 

opposed to 9.5 per cent or 8.2 per 

cent. Why the seemingly arbitrary 

10 per cent is taken as the level for 

a correction, or what recognised 

body exists to make this “official”, 

is never explained. 

Another confusing aspect to the 

correction is why is a 10 per cent 

DAVID SHEPPARD 

In the past 14 days Saudi Arabia, 

the world’s largest oil exporter, 

has faced a barrage of missiles 

aimed at its capital city, an attack on 

a supertanker hauling 2m barrels of 

crude, and a second missile launch 

aimed at oil storage tanks on its Red 

Sea coast. 

Oil prices, normally a reasonable 

barometer of geopolitical risk in the 

Middle East, have responded to these 

attacks from Houthi rebels in Yemen 

by falling 3 per cent over the same 

time period. 

Oil traders, distracted for now 

by a brewing trade war between the 

US and China, are at risk of growing 

complacent. But it is unlikely they 

will be able to discount Saudi Arabia’s 

conflict in Yemen much longer. 

Since Riyadh entered Yemen’s 

war in 2015 the oil market has 

changed dramatically. At the time, 

crude markets were awash with 

excess supplies created by the US 

shale industry and Opec’s post-2014 

decision to pump full blast. 

That allowed the loss of supplies 

from Yemen — which were above 

400,000 barrels a day in the early 

years of this decade — to be readily 

discounted, even as they slowed to 

less than 10 per cent of that level. 

The fighting, largely confined 

to the Arabian peninsula’s poorest 

country, was seen as of limited risk 

to the wider oil market, whatever 

the humanitarian catastrophe that 

unfolded. 

But the oil industry is in a very 

different place today. Opec is back to 

managing supplies through output 

curbs and the market is significantly 

tighter than it was three years ago 

as demand has grown strongly. 

fall in a market suddenly renders 

the new price correct? Was it wrong 

before and now it is right? Over what 

timeframe should we judge this? 

Amazon shares are down more than 

12 per cent from their peak. Over six 

months they are still up 43 per cent. 

Those who choose to use correction 

as a meaningful construction 

are implicitly accepting a number 

of questionable and unproven concepts 

that are subtly embedded 

within the word. The idea that a 10 

per cent drop is more meaningful 

than, say, an 8 per cent drop accepts 

the idea of “technical levels” and a 

belief that chart patterns can predict 

prices accurately. 

Many argue this is little more than 

financial sophistry (just ask bitcoin 

chart followers who used its “parabolic” 

chart pattern to extrapolate a 

value of $100k a coin by the end of 

2018). If someone is simply trying 

to describe a large drop in price over 

a period of time, the terms “fall”, or 

more precisely “fall X”, are surely 

better alternatives. 

No one is likely to stop making 

reference to market corrections any 

time soon but we would all benefit 

by being more correct about understanding 

exactly what we are trying 

to say when we use it. 

Oil traders will find Middle East 

power struggle harder to ignore 

Rising tension within the region is threatening to disrupt crude supplies 

Any disruption to oil supplies now 

would be felt much more keenly, 

even as US shale production breaks 

new records. 

The Houthi attacks over the past 

two weeks also suggest an increased 

willingness to wage a concerted effort 

targeting the economic lifeblood 

of the kingdom, a move Riyadh is 

unlikely to take lightly. 

While the recent attempts to 

hit Saudi oil shipments or energy 

infrastructure have been thwarted, 

with the kingdom’s oil minister, 

Khalid al-Falih, describing them as 

“a desperate attempt” that would 

fail to disrupt oil supplies, analysts 

are increasingly unnerved. 

With the rebels widely seen as 

enjoying backing from Iran, Saudi 

Arabia’s fellow Opec member and 

regional rival, the potential for the oil 

market to be impacted by secondary 

effects from the conflict increases. 

Helima Croft, a former CIA analyst 

who heads RBC Capital Markets commodity 

strategy team, this week told 

S&P Platts it had become the “most 

dangerous confrontation for the oil 

market”, describing it as a potential 

“tripwire for a direct confrontation 

between Saudi Arabia and Iran”. 

Iran, which most military analysts 

believe must have supplied the ballistic 

missiles capable of reaching 

Riyadh — more than 500km from 

the Yemen border — is itself feeling 

greater pressure on its oil supplies 

as tension with Saudi Arabia have 

mounted. 

Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown 

Prince Mohammed Bin Salman has 

been in the US the past two weeks, 

lobbying not just for investment and 

partnerships as part of his economic 

transformation plans, but also for 

increased pressure on Iran. 

Brazilian assets rally as Lula’s presidential hopes dashed 

PAN KWAN YUK 

Brazilian stocks and bonds 

rallied on Thursday as investors 

welcomed a decision by 

the country’s supreme court to jail 

ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da 

Silva, all but ending the leftwing 

populist’s bid for another run for 

the office this fall. 

The Bovespa stock index 

jumped as much as 2.1 per cent 

on Thursday before sliding back to 

trade up 1.8 per cent at 85,884.55. 

Yield on Brazil’s dollar-denominated 

10-year bond, which moves 

inversely to price, fell 1.9 basis 

points to 4.836 per cent. 

Today’s move marks the Bovespa’s 

first gain this week. Latin 

America’s largest equities market 

has been trading sideways since 

hitting a record high of 88,317.83 in 

late February amid investor jitters 

over everything from US interest 

rate hikes to the US tech stock selloff 

and the ongoing trade tension 

between the US and China. 

The ruling late Wednesday by 

Brazil’s supreme court to make 

Mr Lula da Silva serve his prison 

sentence while he appeals a corruption 

conviction all but ends 

the 72-year old’s hopes of running 

in October’s presidential election. 

Mr Lula da Silva, a towering figure 

of Latin America’s political left, has 

been the frontrunner, leading most 

opinion polls by a wide margin. 

(See chart from Capital Economics 

below). 

While last night’s ruling blows 

the presidential race wide open, 

analysts say market-friendly candidates 

will still face headwinds in 

winning over a large swath of voters 

that remains deeply angry over the 

state of the country’s economy, endless 

corruption scandals and rising 

violent crime. 

For this reason, analysts at Capital 

Economics reckon any rally in the 

markets will be limited. 

“For a start, markets were already 

pricing in a low probability of Lula 

running in the election,” said Edward 

Glossop, Latin America economist at 

Capital Economics. “While yesterday’s 

ruling strengthens this view, 

it doesn’t radically alter it. More 

fundamentally, once the dust settles, 

markets are likely to focus on the fact 

that market friendly candidates still 

face an uphill struggle in the election 

race. As a result, prospects for muchneeded 

fiscal reform appear bleak.” 

AQR Capital launches first quantitative bond fund 

ROBIN WIGGLESWORTH 

AQR Capital Management is 

launching its first quantitative 

bond fund, highlighting 

how asset managers are scrambling 

to develop “systematic” strategies 

for the more idiosyncratic fixed 

income market. 

The $224bn asset management 

company, led by outspoken hedge 

fund manager Clifford Asness, 

said that its Core Plus Bond Fund 

“systematically implements fundamental 

drivers of returns such 

as value, momentum, carry and 

defensive themes” to try to beat 

its index. 

While AQR has invested in 

bonds for nearly two decades in its 

multi-strategy funds, this is the first 

time it has launched a standalone 

fixed income mutual fund. 

Investors cheer Sophos billings growth 

CAT RUTTER POOLEY AND 

CAMILLA HODGSON 

Shares in UK cyber security group 

Sophos rose almost 16 per cent 

on Thursday after the company 

said billings for the year to March 

would come in at the top end of its 

guidance. 

The Oxfordshire-based business 

said it expected growth in billings 

— a leading indicator of sales — for 

the full year to be about 20 per cent, 

and that it was on track to deliver its 

goal of $1bn of annual billings by 

March 2020. 

Sophos offers protection against 

“We have found that systematic 

strategies can be as successfully 

applied in fixed income as in equities, 

offering investors access to 

targeted sources of returns, many 

of which are altogether absent from 

traditional fixed income portfolios,” 

Jordan Brooks, a portfolio manager 

at AQR, said in a statement. 

There is a long history of computer-driven 

quant investing in equities 

and commodities, but the heterogenous 

bond market has historically 

been the preserve of traditional, active 

bond houses like Pimco or TCW, 

given the difficulty of automating 

trades in an opaque market that has 

long operated by phone. 

However, the market’s gradual 

“electronification” and rising appetite 

for passive exchange-traded 

funds that track bond indices - over 

$110bn has flowed into bond 

a wide range of cyber threats, from 

ransomware to hacking, to customers 

including Ford and the UK’s National 

Health Service in 150 countries 

worldwide. 

Along with other tech stocks, it 

has been volatile in recent months. 

Although the FTSE 250 group’s 

value has more than doubled over 

the past year, a slowdown in orders 

announced at its third-quarter results 

prompted shares to drop 18 per cent. 

While Thursday’s gain reverses 

some of that, Sophos shares are still 

down more than a quarter from their 

late-January high of 670p. 

The majority of Sophos sales are 

ETFs over the past year, lifting the 

industry overall assets under management 

to nearly $600bn - has 

sparked interest in developing systematic 

strategies in fixed income 

world as well. 

In December last year, Mr Asness 

argued that fixed income 

managers are in reality little better 

than their equity peers in beating 

their benchmarks, saying that 

their performance only looked 

good thanks to heavy exposure to 

corporate bonds that have done 

well in recent years. 

“Not only is there less alpha 

than people think, the whole premise 

for investing in fixed income is 

compromised on account of the 

average active manager’s passive 

overweight to credit as it non-trivially 

raises fixed income’s correlation 

to equities,” he wrote in a blog. 

to existing customers, but the company 

has steadily added customers 

and expanded its market share since 

its IPO in 2015, as worries about cyber 

security have grown. 

Martin O’Sullivan, an analyst at 

Shore Capital who has a buy recommendation 

on the company, said 

on Thursday that “recent volatility 

has given rise to better value in the 

shares”. 

“Sophos represents high growth 

in a low-growth world together with 

scarcity among European large-cap 

cyber security plays,” he added. 

Final results for the year are due 

on May 17.


A6 BUSINESS DAY 

C002D5556 

INTERVIEW 

‘We are raising the bar with 

our numerous initiatives’ 

AYODELE SUBAIR is the Chairman of Lagos Internal Revenue Service (LIRS). In this interview with BusinessDay analyst LOLADE AKINMURELE, 

Subair says the Lagos State Government, has initiated several tax reforms in the State, in order to meet up with the citizens demand. 

He stresses the need for strategic thinking, to ensure the realization of economic diversification away from crude oil. Excerpts... 

Since you assumed office, what 

has been the operational profile 

of LIRS? 

It has been a good experience so far. 

We have tried to improve our services 

and give good service delivery. 

What we have done is taking it further, trying to 

see, improve the collection process, assessment 

process. We have been trying to simplify the areas 

of filing of reports and trying to simplify the 

area of tax payment as well. We have also been 

retraining our staff to ensure that they acquire 

the best skills that are required for the job, in line 

with international best practices. And then, we 

have also initiated a lot of checks and balances 

and internal controls with a view to ensure that 

all loopholes and leakages are blocked, more 

particularly with the introduction of treasury 

single account. 

Lagos recently unveiled e-payment on the 

consumption tax. What is it all about? 

Yes, it is call the Electronic Revenue Assurance 

System (ERA). It has to do with the efficient 

way of recording transaction in the hospitality 

sector. And when I talk about hospitality, these 

comprise of hotels, restaurants, event centres, 

bars, nights clubs and so on. 

Basically, we are saying that when the people 

in the public go to any of these places for goods 

and services, or leasing or renting of space, they 

are charged with five per cent on their invoice. 

This five per cent, in most cases does not reflect 

in their books. But with ERA, there will be transparency, 

accountability because everything will 

be done electronically. 

This hospitality group serve as agents of the 

government for the purpose of remittance of five 

per cent consumption tax collected from customers 

through the LIRS new technology, ERA. 

We have stated that the commencement of 

the new system and the LIRS officers will be 

visiting hospitality places to install the software 

and train their staff on the use of the new device. 

This Electronic Revenue Assurance System 

is a software application/device that issues 

invoices and receipts to consumers bearing 

a unique code. The receipt will also contain 

detailing of the items and/or services ordered 

and an embedded automation of Consumption 

Tax remittance in real time. 

What is the level of compliance so far and 

why is this technology just coming now? 

Basically, most big organizations in some foreign 

countries have adopted this system and 

Lagos is no exemption. The system is ongoing 

in both developed and developing countries. 

Even here in Africa, many countries are using 

it. And Lagos state, being a leader, we want to 

improve on the efficiency of collecting taxes. So, 

we have decided to leverage on the technology 

approach. 

As for the level of compliances, we have 

gotten a good response. As you know, we just 

launched it, and we have also met and still 

meeting with the stakeholders. We are still 

educating them, giving them training, most 

especially the collecting agents, because some 

of these operators still serve as the collecting 

agents. 

How much revenue did you generate from 

consumption tax last year and what is your 

projection with this new technology? 

On a monthly basis, before the introduction of 

the technology, we generated between N200 

million to N300 million. 

With the introduction of ERA, Lagos state 

is expected to generate, internally, between 

N800m and N1b every month on Consumption 

Tax. And we still hope to increase it in the future. 

As you know taxation is one of the ways 

in which government is able to finance its 

activities. Funds are required to enable government 

to actualise its objective of provision 

of adequate infrastructure and services for the 

residents of the state at levels expected within 

a mega city. 

Is there any sort of benefit or incentives 

for the consumers, operators? 

Of course, there are lot of benefits on the side 

of consumers, administrator, property owners, 

and collecting agents. 

On the part of the collecting agents, it will 

ensure accountability, transparency and efficiency. 

For instance as a CEO, you can monitor 

the transaction anywhere you are. No matter, 

where you are, all you need to do is to open your 

system and view the transaction. 

On the side of the consumers, there is going 

to be a raffle draw every week, every month and 

annually. LIRS is determined to give back to 

loyal consumption taxpayers who request for 

their receipts generated from the ERA System 

for an opportunity to participate in a draw and 

win attractive prizes. Consumers and customers 

of hospitality places in Lagos State are to 

always demand for the ERA system receipts in 

the overall interest and benefit of all. 

Your entry ticket is the invoice that you are 

going use. Every receipt has a unique ID number. 

That ticket will get you an automatic entry 

for the raffle draw and Lagos state lottery board 

is the supervising agent. Also lot of prices such 

as motor car, travelling ticket both inside and 

outside the country will be won. 

As for the tax authority, of course it helps 

us to block the leakages. It will increase our 

revenue. The amount of time we spent in reconciliation 

will reduce. In order words, everything 

will be more efficient. So, we can view every 

transaction through our system. 

Can you shed light on the Voluntary Assets 

and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS)? 

VAIDS is a time limited opportunity and a tax 

amnesty program for all tax defaulters, introduced 

by the Federal Government. That is 

people in the past who have not declared their 

tax or under declaration. It has a period of nine 

years. This window is open for those defaulters 

to make amendment by approaching the tax authority 

and voluntarily declare their tax. When 

they do so within the stipulate time, they will 

not be penalized or persecuted but failure to do 

so within the time frame will attract sanctions. 

Now, a nine-month tax amnesty programme 

of the Federal Government, in conjunction with 

state tax authorities, ends on 31 March. 

VAIDS cuts across companies income tax, 

petroleum profit tax, personal income taxes, 

stamp duties, withholding tax, education tax, 

and any form of taxation that is previously under 

declared or not declared at all come within 

the body of it. 

There is what we call Project Lighthouse and 

it has to do with data mining. We are looking 

at several sources of information and trying 

to develop and bring out certain data on all 

taxpayers. For instance, the Nigerian Financial 

Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has information on all 

payments above N10 million. This means all the 

people that have had transactions in multitudes 

of N10 million are known. 

For Nigerians with assets and money 

abroad, the Automatic Exchange of Information 

(AEoI), to which Nigeria is signatory will make 

information on wealth available even without 

a formal request. Countries like UK, UAE, USA, 

France and Germany are all signatories to this. 

They are going to compile registers of Nigerians, 

who own properties and have big bank accounts 

in their jurisdictions. These will be handed 

over to the Federal Government for access to 

information on spending patterns and lifestyles. 

It is confidential information and part of 

agreement is that it is kept confidential and restricted 

to certain level of persons. But primarily, 

we are going to have access to information. 

Now, the access to information will enable 

us to ask questions. What was the source of income 

through which you acquired these assets? 

Were those sources taxed? If those sources were 

taxed, they will not be subjected to further taxes. 

If you are able to establish that you made all the 

money in Nigeria and transferred it abroad to 

buy assets, then, we are going to subject those 

amounts to taxation in Nigeria. 

Also, if you have huge balances in your accounts 

abroad, we are going to ask questions. 

What was the source? If the source was Nigeria 

or elsewhere, we are going to ask if it was taxed. 

Even if you earn income in abroad, as long as 

you are resident in Nigeria, you file your taxes 

here. And it also subject to Nigerian tax laws. 

That way, we are going to be able build up data 

on taxpayers with which we can profile them 

for the unpaid taxes. 

Talk about the new land tax, what is good 

about it? 

You see, about 86 people enter into Lagos every 

hour. These people will demand or are entitled 

to good infrastructure such as good roads, electricity 

among others. We need to provide good 

life for people by bridging the infrastructural 

gap. If everybody was paying income tax, lot of 

money will be put together. So, we have to look 

for ways of sourcing for money through property 

taxes. Look at Victoria Island and Ikoyi, they 

were residential areas, but everything has been 

converted to commercial without good tracking. 

All these we need to look into it. 

What is the extent of tax compliance, 

generally? 

Well the extent of tax compliance is still quite 

low. We have about 5 million tax payers registered 

with us. Lagos is supposed to have a 

population of 20 million. The state assumes its 

22 million and of this, we have an estimate of 

8 million minimum taxable persons. A taxable 

person is anybody who is engaged in economic 

activity. The level of compliance is quite high 

compared to many other states but we still 

have not reached where we want to be and 

this is largely because of the informal sector. 

The informal sector is the biggest problem for 

us. For example, in South Africa, you get your 

tax ID from when you were born as your birth 

certificate is being issued, you are also issued a 

tax ID and that is the tax ID you are going to use 

for life and by that, you are within radar and you 

are monitored. But in Nigeria, it’s not as easy as 

that. In the informal sector, we have people who 

are highly mobile in the sense that they change 

residence so often and many of them don’t 

probably have bank accounts. Over time and 

with everybody embracing it, it’s getting more 

and more popular to have bank accounts and 

payment cards which is also why the Governor 

of Lagos state, Akinwumi Ambode, has said that 

going forward; all payments coming to the state 

must be done electronically. And the positive 

side of that throws up more economic activities.


Due to a number 

of challenges 

such as lack 

of investment 

grade real estate 

stock, poor valuation standards, 

lack of market understanding 

and high interest 

rates that support higher returns, 

investment in Real Estate 

Investment Trust (REITs) 

market is still low, leading to 

its slow growth in Nigeria. 

With only three REITs 

as against South Africa’s 27, 

though this is huge challenge, 

Nigeria presents a 

huge investment opportunity 

in this market in the whole 

of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), 

analysts have noted. 

However, individual interests, 

inability of big real 

estate companies to push 

the market, which Gbenga 

Olaniyan, CEO, Estate Links, 

attributes to a cultural mindset 

that needs to be changed, 

are also contributing to the 

slow growth of the market. 

“These issues mean that 

the market remains relatively 

undeveloped. The three 

REITs in Nigeria together 

account for less than 0.5 

NEWS 

Lack of investment grade stock, market 

understanding slow REITs market growth 

… Nigeria’s only 3 REITs account for less than 0.5% of stock exchange 

CHUKA UROKO 

Budget: Senate queries N800m NIWA security vote 


Senate on Thursday 

queried the sum of 

N800 million requested 

for purchase of 

security equipment by the 

Nigeria Inland Waterways 

Authority (NIWA). 

The query was handed 

down to NIWA acting managing 

director, Danladi Ibrahim, 

when he appeared 

before the Senate Committee 

on Marine Transport to 

defend the Authority’s 2018 

budget at the National Assembly 

Complex, Abuja. 

The committee wondered 

why the Authority requested 

for N800 million in the 2018 

budget for purchase of security 

equipment, the same 

amount it received in 2017 

budget for the same purpose. 

It said out of the N800 

million, the Authority spent 

N790 million in 2017, which 

percent of the entire stock 

exchange, roughly a 10th of 

what would be typical in developed 

markets,” Thomas 

Mundy, director, Research 

and Strategy SSA at Jones 

Lang LaSale (JLL), notes. 

There have been attempts 

to grow this market 

as reflected in the modest 

N2 billion Skye Shelter Fund 

floated in 2007. Others are 

Union Homes and Sun Trust 

which followed with N12 billion 

and N20 billion offerings 

respectively. UAC Property 

Development Company’s 

(UPDC’s) 2013 offering of 

N30 billion which declined 

to market capitalisation of 

N26.7 billion in May 2017 is 

the largest and most successful 

offering so far. 

But because the market 

remains shallow, it is difficult 

for institutional capital to 

build a meaningful position. 

Mundy estimates Nigerian 

pension funds investment in 

REITs at less than 0.4 percent 

of their total assets under 

management, adding, “rather 

than diversifying through 

alternative asset classes, Nigeria’s 

bias towards conservative 

fixed income instruments 

is growing. 

“Compared to the Organisation 

for Economic Cooperation 

and Development 

(OECD) average of 51 percent, 

Nigeria has 85 percent 

of the country’s pension fund 

assets under management in 

fixed income instruments.” 

Unlike Nigeria, in the developed 

economies of the 

world, especially in the US 

where REITs started in 1960, 

the market has grown by almost 

150 percent, while the 

market capitalisation of non- 

US REITs has more than doubled. 

Oscar Onyema, CEO, 

Nigerian Stock Exchange 

(NSE), says the two fastestgrowing 

markets in the last 

five years are Australia and 

Japan, both of which have 

now overtaken France and 

the UK to be the second- and 

third-largest global REITs 

markets, respectively. 

Globally, there has been 

a significant increase in the 

market capitalisation, which 

an Ernest & Young report 

puts at approximately $1.7 

trillion, up from $734 billion 

in 2010. But in Africa, the 

market has not done so well, 

though not without encouraging 

story. 

Kachikwu confirms FG’s annual payment of N1.3trn 

‘under recovery’ on petroleum imports 

HARRISON EDEH, Abuja 

Minister of State 

for Petroleum 

Resources, Emmanuel 

Ibeh 

Kachikwu, said on Thursday 

that the Federal Government’s 

current annual payment 

of ‘under recovery’ on 

petroleum import stood at 

N1.3 trillion annually. 

Although the National 

Assembly has questioned 

the rationale behind the ‘under 

recovery’ payment while 

describing it as subsidy for 

petroleum sector, Kachikwu 

said the under payment 

is over 90 percent of the appropriated 

fund. 

Chairman of the committee, 

Ahmed Sani Yerima, 

observed that the Authority 

failed to provide details 

and specifications of how it 

planned to spend the money 

it requested for approval. 

Yerima said, “You said 

you want to do something; 

the same amount last year, 

the same amount this year. 

There are no details, no explanations, 

and no form of 

specification whatsoever. 

This is unacceptable.” 

A member of the committee, 

Mohammed Hassan, 

suggested that Ibrahim and 

his team be asked to go back 

and do the right thing. 

Another member of the 

committee, Chukwuka Utazi, 

frowned at the poor preparation 

of the budget document. 

Utazi said, “Budget preparation 

is a professional job. It 

was done by the Nigeria 

National Petroleum Corporation 

(NNPC) to ensure 

price stability in the market 

space, since the corporation 

was the sole importer of the 

product currently. 

Kachikwu gave the information 

on Thursday while 

fielding questions from 

newsmen on: “Workshop on 

harmonisation of Liquefied 

Petroleum Gas (LPG), regulatory 

requirements,” while 

stating that the Federal 

Government was discussing 

with the organised private 

sector in ensuring enough 

infrastructure to improve 

is a public document. Anybody 

who looks at what you 

have prepared will not know 

your intention. It is only 

what you have presented 

that will be considered, not 

your intention. If you don’t 

know how to do it you bring 

in consultants. If you go to 

other West African countries, 

things are done properly. 

When you come to Nigeria, 

things change. It is unacceptable.” 

Responding, Ibrahim 

told the committee that the 

security equipment was not 

meant for one place alone, 

adding that the 2017 approval 

was the first time the 

Authority was receiving fund 

for capital projects. 

Not satisfied with the explanation, 

Yerima ordered 

the Authority to furnish the 

committee with necessary 

details about every item in its 

budget at a subsequent day. 

gas availability. 

Kachikwu said as a 

means of addressing infrastructure 

gap, the government 

would soon launch an 

infrastructure rebirth map 

to attract more investments 

into both the upstream and 

downstream sectors. 

He said, “Government is 

hoping to launch an infrastructure 

rebirth map, which 

would open up tariff in 

terms of policy that will enable 

people go into investing 

into the critical infrastructure 

that we need to open 

up the upstream and down 

stream sector. 

C002D5556 

BUSINESS DAY 

A7

A8 

NEWS 

Lagosians groan as trucks lock down Mile 2 - Apapa road 

JOSHUA BASSEY 

BUSINESS DAY 

C002D5556 

The blockade of access 

roads in Lagos, 

Nigeria’s major commercial 

city, continues 

unabated as the Mile 

2 axis of Oshodi-Apapa Expressway 

was for a better part 

of Thursday, locked down. 

Motorists were seen diverting 

to various alternative 

routes (both legal and 

illegal) to the expressway, 

but the alternatives were 

not better, as several vehicles 

got trapped within 

the Jakande Estate, around 

Amuwo-Odofin and Mile 2. 

In their bid to escape the 

chaos, drivers were again 

seen making efforts to reconnect 

the expressway where 

the gridlock had stretched 

beyond Ijesha Bus Stop on 

the Mile 2-bound lane. 

The Lagos economy is 

said to be losing about N42 

billion monthly to gridlocks, 

compounded by poor road 

networks and over 2,000 petroleum 

tankers and container 

laden trucks entering the 

state daily and making their 

way to Apapa, where the nation’s 

ports are located. 

Efforts by the state government 

to address the traffic 

menace have yielded but 

little results, as major roads 

including Apapa-Oshodi, 

Western Avenue, Eko Bridge 

inward Ijora-Olopa and part 

of Lagos-Badagry Expressway 

remained blocked by 

thousands of articulated 

trucks. 

Igwe Achese, president, 

Nigeria Union of Petroleum 

and Natural Gas Workers 

(NUPENG), a body to which 

the tanker drivers are affiliated, 

says the traffic menace 

in Lagos will persist unless 

the Federal Government 

finds a workable alternative 

to the trucking of petroleum 

products. Some sections of 

the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway 

have been left in terrible 

state of disrepair for many 

years, with the federal authorities 

only making promises 

without concrete steps 

to fix the road. 

Recently, business owners 

under the aegis of Committee 

of Directors (COD) 

Ibru Complex, Ibafon, Apapa, 

made up mainly of tank 

farm owners operating at the 

Ibru Jetty, including Ibeto, 

Sahara Energy, African Terminals 

Eterna Total, Gulf 

Treasures Ascon, Leighton 

and Ibru Fisheries, Imad Oil 

and Gas, SPG, Capital Oil 

and Gas Blue Marine, pulled 

resources to fix the failed 

section of Apapa-Oshodi 

Expressway from Sunrise to 

Coconut Bus Stop, but that 

effort was frustrated by the 

continued parking of trucks 

on the road. 

Oscar Ibru, chairman of 

COD, Ibru Port Complex, 

had subsequently appealed 

to the Federal and the Lagos 

State governments to immediately 

take steps to rehabilitate 

the failed sections of the 

expressway and curtail the 

menace of the trucks. 

“The drivers and their 

motor boys use any available 

drains or space on these 

roads as toilets and places to 

wash and dump refuse. The 

nuisance value and its effects 

on the residents and commuters 

are obviously severe,” 

Ibru said. 

Achese, in an interview 

monitored on Silverbird Television 

on Thursday, regretted 

the resort to trucking petroleum 

products as against 

piping them to major depots 


He listed past hostilities in 

the Niger Delta region leading 

to the bombing of oil installations, 

ruptured pipelines and 

the collapse of the nation’s refineries, 

which now make Nigeria 

dependent on imported 

products, as issues that required 

urgent intervention by 

the government. 

According to Achese, to 

free the roads, the Federal 

Government must ensure 

that the pipeline and the rail 

option worked effectively, 

adding that the union would 

also be ready to partner Lagos 

state on the development 

of a parking lot for tankers. 

Lagos boosts transport system 

with EMV contactless card 

DANIEL OBI & HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE 

Over 500,000 daily commuters 

on the Lagos 

Bus Rapid Transit 

(BRT) system can now board 

buses using a contactless card 

payment system. It is an enhancement 

that makes the 

Lagos Connect card launched 

last November by Governor 

Akinwunmi Ambode usable 

on mass transit systems anywhere 

in the world. 

Powered by Lagos State, 

LAMATA, Primero Transport 

Limited and Sterling Bank plc, 

the enhanced electronic payment 

system was launched 

in partnership with leading 

global payment and technology 

companies – Mikroelektronica, 

MasterCard, E-Purse 

Systems, Monet Plus, NIBSS, 

Epay-plus and SecureID in 

Lagos. It allows commuters, 

who ride on BRT buses, to 

make payments via their Lagos 

Connect contactless cards 

powered by Farepay that have 

either been pre-loaded or 

linked to a funded bank account. 

Largest of its scale in Africa, 

the Europay MasterCard 

and Visa (EMV) compliant 

contactless payment system 

was designed to speed up 

commuting time by making 

payment easier and faster because 

it empowers commuters 

to just tap their cards on 

a console to board a BRT bus. 

It eliminates the high turnaround 

time associated with 

cash-based ticket purchases. 

The launch of the Lagos 

Connect EMV compliant 

contactless card puts Lagos 

ahead of some mega cities, 

including New York in terms 

of implementation. 

Abubakar Suleiman, managing 

director/CEO, Sterling 

Bank, said the bank was intent 

on achieving its primary 

role of financial intermediation 

through intervention in 

sectors that would create jobs 

and bring about economic 

growth for the country. 

He identified such sectors 

as health, education, agriculture, 

renewable energy and 

transport, adding that this 

explained the bank’s commitment 

to the transformation of 

the transport sector. 

Abubakar stated that the 

bank is proud to collaborate 

with Lagos State, LAMATA, 

Primero, E-Purse Systems 

and MasterCard to launch a 

multimodal contactless payment 

card for use on mass 

transit buses, ferries and 

trains in the Lagos metropolis. 

“This is another major 

step forward in enhancing 

the commuting experience 

and social well-being of more 

than 80 percent of Lagos 

residents who rely on public 

transport daily. 

Access Bank 

gets award for 

combating malaria 

JOSEPHINE OKOJIE 


Access Bank has won 

the innovation award 

for its role in combating 

malaria scourge in Africa 

by the GBCHealth’s Corporate 

Alliance on Malaria in 

Africa (CAMA) alongside 

the Private Sector Malaria 

Prevention Project (PSMP) 

at John Hopkins Centre for 

Communication, UK Aid and 

the National Malaria Control 

Programme of the Ghana 

Health Services. 

Access Bank won the 

award with its Malaria to 

Zero initiative, which leverages 

innovative financing 

technology and media tools 

to accelerate the impact of 

malaria behaviour change 

programmes reaching two 

million Nigerians in grassroots 

and underserved communities 

across Nigeria. 

The other awarded organisations 

are ExxonMobil, 

Aliko Dangote Foundation, 

TANA Netting and Hippo 

Valley Estates Limited, who 

also were awarded for their 

contributions to the sustainable 

progress on national 

and global malaria eradication 

goals. 

Reacting to the honour 

bestowed upon the bank, 

Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, 

head of sustainability.

WOMEN’S 

Friday 06 April 2018 BUSINESS DAY 

HUB 

Intelligent, 

Inspiring, 

Industrious, 

IBIDUNNI IGHODALO 

On celebrating 15 years of Elizabeth R, 

IVF, life’s lessons and more

EDITOR’S NOTE 

Leading Woman 



WOMEN’S HUB 

Welcome to the month of April. 

We hope you had an amazing 

Easter break 

Gracing our cover this week as our LEAD- 

ING WOMAN, is the stunning Ibidunni 

Ighodalo, the MD/CEO of Elizabeth R. 

Her 15 year journey of events management 

is worth reading. She shares on her 

foundation and how they are able to give 

hope to families challenged with having 

children. 

Find out what Omilola Oshikoya means 

on page 3 when she says “Follow God’s 

purpose and not yours”. 

There is so much about Black seed that 

we do not know. Abdul-rahman Monsurat 

Jumoke, the MD/CEO Azeemouhaa 

Enterprise lets us into this in our ENTRE- 

PRENEUR section. 

Who will settle Lola and Peter’s ‘beef’? 

Find out what this ‘beef’ is in our WORK- 

PLACE PALAVER section. 

Susan Hilburger’s brain cancer survivor 

story will make you appreciate life better. 

These and more we have for your reading 

pleasure this week. 

Enjoy! 

Intelligent, Inspiring, Industrious, IBIDUNNI IGHODALO, 

on celebrating 15 years of Elizabeth R, IVF, life’s lessons and more 

Elizabeth R was incorporated in 2003 as a public relations 

and events management company, with core expertise involving 

consulting, managing and coordinating a wide range 

of events. At the helm of affairs as MD/CEO is IBIDUNNI 

IGHODALO, who shares with KEMI AJUMOBI on the journey 

so far and future expectations. Excerpts 

Elizabeth R at 15, what are you grateful for? 

I am grateful for life, strength, grace and favour. I am grateful 

for the privilege, the mercy of God, the benefits, the lessons, the 

good and even sometimes the bad because without these things, 

this company will not be in existence. 

Your designs are always outstanding. What informs your 

choice of designs for any location? 

I usually access the personality, the desires and vision of my clients 

viz-a-viz the type of occasion, the expected guests and of course 

their budget. The location and environment is important to see if 

it can accommodate or work with what I have conceptualised. I 

read a lot, research a lot, go for courses to improve myself and see 

things that are new or cutting edge. I leave the rest to inspiration 

and my imagination and of course prayer and God truly helps me. 

When you compare event management today with when 

you started, what has changed? What can be done better? 

When I started, the industry was at its infancy and people were just 

beginning to realize the benefits and importance of leaving and organizing 

your event to a professional who can ensure seamlessness 

and take the pressure off you. At that time, there were only about 

three of us, prominent ones, leading the industry. Since then, the 

industry has grown and literarily thousands of people have come in 

specializing in various aspects such as food, drinks, desserts and so 

on. The number of event centres has also multiplied greatly and the 

industry has inspired a great entrepreneurial spirit and provided 

employment for thousands of people both skilled and unskilled. 

It is most gratifying and our government and nation should really 

be thankful for it. My prayer is that the industry becomes more 

professionalised, standardised and continue to grow. 

Ibidunni Ighodalo Foundation (IIF) 

The Ibidunni Ighodalo Foundation is a non-profit organisation 

created to raise awareness on issues pertaining to infertility and 

to provide grants for couples that require fertility treatments such 

as In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and Intrauterine Insemination. We 

partner with highly reputable fertility clinics in Nigeria and with 

other donors to provide couples with the financial and material 

support they require during the treatments. We also provide the 

necessary psychological and spiritual support they require to deal 

with the pressures they face along their journey to conception. 

To have every couple enjoy the gift of parenthood regardless of 

their financial or social status. The Ibidunni Ighodalo Foundation 

has set out to create the avenue to make this a reality by providing 

the spiritual, financial and psychological support couples require 

along their journey to parenthood. 

tion, their hearts are removed, repaired 

and replaced with new ones. Science has 

simply discovered some of the secret of God 

and anything that provides non diabolical 

healing can simply not be bad. 

Many have benefitted. We have a set of 

twins and a baby girl. In addition, quite a 

few people are pregnant and expecting. 

Even the mere fact that you can provide 

hope and opportunity for many who would 

never have had the chance is something else 

on its own. People who have never experienced 

something can never appreciate what 

others are going through. That is why Jesus 

came, suffered the pains and died so God 

Himself could experience it. 

enterprise. The challenge is government 

policy, government infrastructure and 

corruption in high places sometimes do 

not allow for a few level playing ground. 

However in Nigeria, there is no class system 

and no barriers that can limit someone who 

has aspiration and desires to work hard. You 

can rise from the pit of poverty to the high 

point of political leadership and the boardroom 

and no one will ask you who you are 

or where you are coming from. My prayer is 

that our government should get it right and 

Nigeria will become an outstanding place to 

do business and thrive. 

In what ways are you empowering 

women? 

I have quite a collection of my former staff, 

friends and associates who I have encouraged 

into going into various forms of business 

most of whom are doing extremely 

well. 

Growing up in comparison to where 

you are today? 

In truth, there were a lot of mixed experiences 

growing up. Sometimes, the memories 

were pleasant and others most challenging. 

I grew up in a polygamous family with 

3 mothers and a devoted aunt and I lived 

at various times with each of them. With 

each period having its own highs and lows, 

it however gave me a very practical and 

realistic perspective to life, toughened my 

character and made me very independent 

and self-reliant at an early age especially 

after the loss of my dad when I was just 16 

years old. It also helped me to understand 

people, see life from the perspective of 

others teaching me humility, patience, 

KEMI AJUMOBI 

kemi@businessdayonline.com 

Your foundation is giving hope to women who have challenges 

having children. How has this experience been so 

far? 

It has so far been an indescribable feeling when one is able to give 

hope and encouragement to many who are desperate and almost 

giving up. And even greater feeling, when success is achieved in 

conception and delivery. It is simply indescribable. 

There are misconceptions about IVF and myths that are not 

true. Kindly enlighten us on the hope IVF brings, sharing 

on beneficiaries. 

From my perspective, there is nothing wrong with IVF. It is just the 

knowledge that has been acquired by science to help the natural 

process of man. What is science? It is simply the discovery of what 

had hitherto been the mysteries and secrets of God. In Canaan 

of Galilee, Jesus turned water to wine; it was just an accelerated 

process of science because it is always water going through a plant 

that always becomes wine. The same thing with the sperm through 

the typical natural process makes its way to the ovaries/eggs. All 

IVF does is to make the process faster and more precise, some of it 

taking place outside of the body. Similarly, the days in open heart 

surgery, where human beings are placed in suspended anima- 

Bridal and evening wears from Elizabeth 

R 

It is just part of our plans as being a one 

stop event delivery enterprise, where under 

one roof; you can conceptualize your event 

through simple consulting. Under the same 

roof, you can be given options of world class 

event centres including our own Dorchester. 

Under the same roof, we have options of 

different event accessories and gifts, your 

options for breath-taking décor and option 

for event outfitting- evening dresses and 

wedding gowns. We really do not want our 

client to stress themselves about anything. 

Response has been phenomenal. 

What is the greatest lesson life has 

taught you? 

Life has taught me to be humble, kind, considerate 

and compassionate; this is the real 

essence and value of life, using whatever 

God has endowed you with to benefit others 

and bring joy to their lives. 

Is the Nigerian environment conducive 

for women to thrive in their businesses? 

What can you identify as the 

challenges? How can businesses be 

supported generally and for women 

specifically? 

Nigeria generally rewards and appreciates 

toughness and the benefit of hard work. I 

thank God that some of the pains have gone 

away; I am a much better person for all the 

experiences. God is indeed a wonderful 

God and has an incredible way of looking 

after his own and making all things good in 

his own time.

3 

BUSINESS DAY 

‘Follow God’s purpose 

and not yours’ 

OMILOLA OSHIKOYA 

On Saturday 17th of March, 

2018, we launched the 

French edition of The 

Richer Woman : La Femme 

La Plus Riche, in Abidjan, Côte 

d’Ivoire at a youth conference. All 

the books we took, both French 

and English were sold. I saw the 

hand of God first hand. My printer 

wasn’t able to deliver the books 

before I travelled due to circumstances 

beyond his control. We 

had a strict deadline. The book 

was translated in about 2 weeks 

(it should have been a month) 

and so I wasn’t sure if I was still 

going to launch the books and I 

therefore thought perhaps God 

just wanted me to minister at the 

youth conference. 

Thank God for my husband of 

great faith. He followed up with 

the printer to ensure he delivered 

the books that night. The dilemma 

we faced was that we weren’t sure 

we would find someone to carry 

the books (this wasn’t a popular 

route). The airline said they can’t 

carry books unaccompanied and 

also because people are very security 

conscious, we also weren’t 

sure anyone would want to carry 

them. Plus it’s kind of not the 

preferred option to ask people for 

help at the airport. Plus books are 

also heavy. We thought of sending 

by cargo but the books won’t have 

arrived till Monday. So my hubby 

carried the books in a hand luggage 

and went to the airport that 

morning. 

As he was walking, someone 

called him. It was someone we 

knew and they got talking. You 

won’t believe she was going to 

Côte d’Ivoire that morning and 

carried the books on my behalf. 

That angel in the form of a human 

being is @nikemajek.living. 

Like this could only have been 

God. God had gone ahead of us. 

It’s things like this that should 

remind me to just rest in God 

because #thericherwoman is His 

book and He would do what He 

has to do to ensure it gets to the 

people He wants to reach, impact 

and transform. 

Oh Gosh! If only I had more 

faith and asked Benosh to pack 

more books. We sold out and people 

were asking for more copies. I 

hope this encourages you to trust 

God and rest in Him. Ask Him 

where He is at work and where He 

wants you to join Him. There are 

books in Heaven that God wants 

to birth in the earth. Follow God’s 

purpose and not yours. 

On Sunday 18th of March, I 

went to the main church of Burning 

Bush Ministries for Sunday 

service. Hmmm I didn’t know 

God was taking me to one of 

the most influential churches in 

Abidjan. I kept asking God why 

He brought me there. I was blown 

away. The presence of God was so 

real. I missed praise and worship 

but even during offering, the move 

of the Spirit of God was real. I was 

wrecked. I couldn’t stop crying. 

I was expectant because first of 

all, I had seen a vision of burning 

ATUNYOTA ALLELUYA AKPOBOME (ALIBABA) 

Ace Comedian, Content Originator, Writer 

trees before I went to Abidjan and 

I didn’t know the name of the ministry 

is Burning Bush Missions. 

Also, the day before during lunch, 

Marya had told me some of the 

signs and wonders that occurred 

during the war which ended in 

2011. They were practically the 

only church that opened during 

the war. One day, rebels visited 

the church and tried to break in 

but couldn’t so they asked two 

ushers to kneel down. They put 

guns in their mouths and shot 

but the guns wouldn’t fire. They 

removed the guns and shot in 

the air and the guns fired. They 

put the guns back in the ushers 

mouths and shot again but the 

guns wouldn’t fire. They removed 

the guns again and shot in the air 

and the guns fired. At this point 

the rebels ran away. They shared 

even more amazing stories. There 

is power like in the book of Acts. 

Another profound thing is that 

they have an orphanage where 

they take care and educate hundreds 

of children especially children 

orphaned by the war. Marya 

and her family are true daughters 

and sons of God. I still don’t know 

why God took me there. I feel like 

He showed me His hidden treasure. 

There are still people who 

serve Him whole heartedly. Like 

Moses I met God at the Burning 

Bush Missions. 

The Richer Woman book is the 

true story of a young woman’s pursuit 

of wealth, taking her on a journey 

of career validation, personal 

identity, marital conflict, adultery 

and spiritual enlightenment, and 

leading her to the discovery of 

true wealth and purpose. The 

autobiographical debut is packed 

with wealth and life-coaching 

tips to help every woman live the 

Richer life: a truly well-rounded 

life that is successful, without the 

need to compromise on personal 

relationships in order to gain financial 

success. 


WOMEN’S HUB 

Susan Hilburger, 

brain cancer survivor 

My name is Susan Hilburger. 

I am 40 yearsold 

and a native of Buffalo, 

N.Y. This is my story of how I 

received a life altering diagnosis, 

made a drastic career change, 

and overcame all odds by surviving 

brain cancer and becoming a 

wife and mother. 

Prior to being diagnosed with 

brain cancer, I worked as a computer 

engineer for PepsiCo in New 

York City for 11 years. After leaving 

NYC, I moved to Las Vegas to work 

as a technical project manager for 

a large casino company. 

I always maintained a healthy 

lifestyle with good nutrition and 

exercise. My project manager 

position was stressful at times, 

but I accepted the stress as part 

of the job. 

On Super Bowl Sunday 2011, 

I had a grand mal seizure. My 

parents were visiting from out of 

town and immediately called 911 

for assistance. The paramedics 

arrived and transported me to 

the emergency room. The doctors 

did a CAT scan and found a brain 

tumour on the left parietal side of 

my brain. 

The medical diagnosis hit very 

close to home because my sister, 

a mother of three young children 

as well as my grandfather both 

passed away from a glioblastoma 

(GBM) brain tumour. After 

watching two people that I loved 

go through their battle, I was 

ready to face the challenge ahead. 

I knew the severity of the disease 

and the extensive medical treatment 

that it would require. 

At the emergency room, an 

ER doctor referred me to a highly 

regarded neurosurgeon, Dr. Kelly 

Schmidt. Two days later, Dr. 

Schmidt performed a craniotomy 

and removed a tumor on the left 

side of my brain. My tumor was 

approximately seven centimeters 

in diameter. I stayed in the hospital 

for five days after the surgery 

was performed and then began 

a rehabilitation program that 

lasted about two weeks. 

Shortly thereafter, I was referred 

to Dr. Anthony Nguyen, 

medical oncologist and Dr. 

Matthew Schwartz, radiation 

oncologist at Comprehensive 

Cancer Centers of Nevada 

(CCCN) for chemotherapy and 

radiation treatment. My doctors 

at CCCN sent my pathology 

reports to MD Anderson 

and UCLA Medical Center for 

further review. Upon receiving 

the results, it was determined 

I had a grade-4 glioblastoma 

tumor (GMB). Glioblastoma 

tumors spread quickly and are 

the most invasive type of brain 

tumor. Due to the severity of a 

GBM-4, we needed to act immediately 

to keep the tumour 

from spreading. 

I immediately started a 

chemotherapy plan, which 

consisted of Temodar and radiation 

treatments that lasted approximately 

six weeks. Temodar 

is used for combatting glioblastoma 

and is often paired with 

radiotherapy for optimal results. 

After radiation, I continued to 

use Temodar for approximately 

two years. 

In May 2013, my treatments 

ended and my cancer was in 

remission, but I continue to see 

my doctors at CCCN for periodic 

brain scans and follow-up 

appointments every three to six 

months. 

After experiencing such a 

life altering diagnosis, I quit my 

job and decided to focus on my 

two passions, yoga and nutrition. 

Currently, I teach yoga at 

various studios, corporations 

and gyms throughout Las Vegas. 

This includes The Caring Place, 

which provides no-cost services 

such as massage, yoga, reiki, 

healing bells, support groups 

and so much more that help 

empower and educate cancer 

survivors and their loved ones. I 

was a patient at the caring place 

when I was diagnosed, and one 

year later I was blessed to be 

able to teach yoga to other cancer 

survivors. I have been teaching 

there for the past five years. 

I am also very happy to say 

that after going through this 

battle, I met the love of my life 

and married my husband, Juan 

Carlos, in the fall of 2014. On 

September 13, 2015, I delivered 

a beautiful and healthy baby girl 

named Gianna. I call Gianna 

my miracle baby because after 

weeks of radiation and enduring 

years of chemotherapy treatments, 

I didn’t think having a 

baby was possible. I was a high 

risk patient, but my pregnancy 

went well and I didn’t have any 

complications. I taught yoga 

throughout my pregnancy up 

to two weeks before Gianna was 

born. She is now 8 months old! 

I am extremely grateful for the 

excellent care I received from my 

neurosurgeon, and oncologist, 

radiation oncologist and staff at 

CCCN. They were like family to 

me. They worked so hard to help 

me beat this disease!


ENTREPRENEUR 


WOMEN’S HUB 

Executive Musings 

‘90% of people who cross my path do not know about the use of Black seeds’ 

ABDUL-RAHMAN MONSURAT JUMOKE is the MD/CEO Azeemouhaa Enterprise, a company that deals with production and packaging of black seed and honey. Passionate about 

sharing the health benefits and importance of black seed/honey to the world, she lets KEMI AJUMOBI into details she believes will benefit humanity. Excerpts 

Early years 

Growing up, I felt the presence 

of true love and affection 

from both parents and 

siblings. I was taught how to be 

productive, independent, creative 

and contended with what I have. 

Like dad would say, “Growth is a 

must not a choice”. I’ve also learnt 

that kindness is like a baton in a 

relay race, once it is passed on, 

you’ve got to pass to another. These 

have helped modify me into what 

I am today. 

Why the choice of Black seed? 

Black seed has been in existence 

for ages, it’s surprising to know 

that most people are unaware of its 

properties and benefits. I choose 

black seed and honey to enlighten 

people with what I have learned 

from studying the miraculous 

products and to help create awareness 

of its benefits also to save lives. 

uses for different types of illness 

has been a bit stressful but it has 

not deterred me from continuously 

sharing the benefits to people. 

Women embracing entrepreneurship 

Based on my knowledge, if a woman 

can give proper balance between 

GOD, family and her desired 

choice of business, I will advise 

every woman out there to engage 

herself and be business minded. 

It’s ok to also contribute to the 

family upkeep, no matter how little. 

Are there misconceptions 

about black seed that you 

would like to correct? 

The only misconception I observed 

for now is that a lot of people expect 

immediate ‘miracle’. They tend to 

forget our body respond to herbs 

and drugs differently, Black seed is 

a natural healing seed that cure and 

prevent based on illness and body 

responsiveness. I would advise 

people using this product to take 

their time and be patient. 

Take us through your line up 

of products and what are you 

looking forward to do next? 

My line up products are Black 

seed, Black seed powder, BlackseedHoney. 

Honey and BlackseedHoney 

Bathing Soap. I look 

forward to exporting and creating a 

better understanding about how to 

use BlackseedHoney for different 

types of illness. 

Final words 

Thanks for giving me the opportunity 

to tell the world about blackseedhoney. 

IMAN ABDULMAJID 

Super Model, Style Icon 

A self-esteem issue doesn’t 

change whether you’re 

considered beautiful or not 

because it’s about what’s 

inside you. 

How long have you been in 

your line of business? Response 

so far 

I’ve been in my line of business 

for about 3years and turn up for my 

products has been encouraging. 

Thanks to GOD Almighty. 

Benefits of black seed and 

honey, what is it about black 

seed that people need to know? 

Black seed can be used for about 

101 different types of illness, such 

as irregular menstrual cycle, it 

boosts fertility, infection control, 

promotes heart health, treat 

coughs and asthma, it’s effective 

for eye diseases, improves vision, 

prevents diabetes, strengthens immune 

system, detoxifies the body, 

aids digestion, repairs prostate 

problems and aid weight loss to 

mention a few. 

Where do you source from? 

Do we have black seeds here 

in Nigeria? 

I source from Arab countries. No, 

we don’t have black seeds here in 

Nigeria. 

Is it an area you advice the government 

to look into? Can it be 

financially rewarding? 

I will advise the government to view 

the clinical reference of black seed 

and honey; it can be used in general 

hospitals aside the drugs given to 

patients. Yes, it can be financially 

rewarding for instance, any woman 

who wants to go into this business 

will see the benefits. 

How do you spread the news 

about your business? How do 

you grow your clientele? 

Word of mouth among others. 

People who buy from me go to 

tell others and the patronage has 

been amazing. This has helped to 

grow my clientele. I also ensure I 

maintain a good rapport with them, 

I continue to meet their demands 

and allow for continuous communication 

on use even after they 

have bought the product form me. 

Challenges 

I try as much as possible to fit in 

every aspect of my business. From 

my point of view, I believe 90% of 

those that cross my path do not 

have the knowledge about the 

uses and importance of Blackseed. 

Repeating its health benefits and 

I believe in glamour. I am in 

favour of a little vanity. I don’t 

rely on just my genes. Looking 

good is a commitment to 

yourself and to others. 

Don’t be afraid to walk 

away from things that are 

just not right for you. 

One thing my mother always 

instilled in me is to always 

know my worth. Don’t 

settle for less. She used 

to say to me ‘Iman, no is a 

complete sentence, learn 

to say no. You don’t have 

to explain it, you don’t have 

to say anything after it. It’s 

a complete sentence’. 

For me, diversity whether you 

think of it as race or gender, 

it’s not a trend, it’s a human 

movement, it’s a human feeling, 

it’s a human desire. 

As a young girl, I was much 

more preoccupied by my 

flaws. Everyone teased me 

because of my long, skinny 

neck. To hide my so-called 

deformity, I was wearing a 

turtleneck when I was 3! Yet 

my neck is probably my best 

asset. At the end of the day, 

what counts is the entire 

package.

BUSINESS DAY 

Workplace Palaver 


WOMEN’S HUB 

Who will settle Lola and Peter’s ‘beef’? 

KEMI AJUMOBI 

Lola Johnson and Peter 

Bankole are colleagues at 

work. When Lola resumed 

work, she kicked off on a high 

note, meeting her targets and easing 

off stress from her superiors. 

In less than four years, she had 

risen to the position of an Assistant 

Manager. She met Peter 

who had been on the level of a 

supervisor and just got promoted 

to become an Assistant Manager 

too. Yes he was happy about the 

promotion but he did not like the 

fact that Lola became an Assistant 

Manager before him, not to talk of 

being on the same level with him. 

Few of his colleagues were 

aware of the ‘beef’ but Lola paid 

no attention to it. For her, it was 

more about her work and delivery 

on expected duties. She had 

no time for hearsay or gossips. 

Interestingly, their bosses were 

not aware of their ‘beef’. Whenever 

they were both given tasks, 

they executed it well and as long 

as their bosses, (especially their 

immediate boss they reported 

to) were concerned, everything 

was ok. 

One day, their immediate boss 

gave both of them a task and insisted 

they carried it out together 

“Lola and Peter, I believe this will 

be done efficiently because I trust 

both of you and you have never 

failed me individually, so I know 

you won’t fail me collectively. I 

expect a positive outcome.” He 

told them and as they were about 

to leave his office he added “For 

the meeting with the client, I suggest 

you go together. When you 

arrive at work tomorrow, I will 

suggest you both go in one car. 

The Prado parked at the car park 

will be fine. Peter, tell Moshood 

to fill up the car’s tank today. 

Cheers!” They left his office and 

returned to their desks. 

The next morning, they came 

in their separate cars but when it 

was 11am, Moshood parked by 

the entrance. Both of them looked 

like CEOs. Coincidentally, Lola 

wore a black suit jacket, white 

shirt and red high-waist, pleated 

wide trousers and black shoes 

while Peter wore a black suit 

Jacket and trousers with a red tie 

and red pocket square. It looked 

like they planned the combo but 

they didn’t. 

They both entered the back 

seat, speaking professionally; 

they discussed who would say 

what and how the presentation 

would go. When they came to 

an agreement, the conversation 

ended and they had nothing more 

to say to each other. 

They arrived at the venue 10 

minutes early. They got in, made 

the presentation and delivered it 

excellently. The people they went 

to meet were so impressed that 

they sent a message to Lola and 

Peter’s boss even before they got 

back to work. 

By the time they got back and 

went into their boss’s office, he 

was all smiles “Even before you 

tell me how it went, I have been 

briefed already. I am so proud of 

both of you.” He said. They both 

took their time to explain how it 

all went and the good news was 

that they were given the deal. He 

appreciated them and encouraged 

them to keep up with their pace of 

excellent delivery while inspiring 

others. 

They left the office, returned 

back to their offices and 30 minutes 

later, there was a mail sent to 

the entire staff saying there would 

be an Easter mini party and everyone 

was encouraged to bring a 

gift for another person. 

The time was 5pm and it was 

on a Saturday. They all enjoyed 

seeing themselves in a relaxed 

atmosphere, the ladies looking 

beautiful and the men handsome. 

They chatted, ate, laughed and 

surely enjoyed each other’s company. 

Peter had a gift. Guess who 

it was for? It was for Lola! Yes! 

You read that right, his ‘rival’… 

he thought of a way to give her 

the gift without causing a scene. 

He worried she might embarrass 

him but he still went ahead. Coincidentally, 

her friend just left her 

side. “Uhm, excuse me Ma’am 

Lola, can I have some minutes?” 

Though amazed, she took a look 

at him and said “Are you sure I 

am the one you want to talk to?” 

she asked sarcastically and he responded 

“Well, if there is another 

lady in front of me in the stunning 

flowery gown and Black Marmont 

GG Block-Heel Sandals, perhaps I 

might have been confused but alas, 

you are the only one standing right 

in front of me with the description I 

just gave…I must be talking to you 

and not someone else” He said. 

She shook her head, managed to 

squeeze a simper and went with 

him. “I see you are quite aware of 

female items from your description” 

she teased and he said “My 

sister has same…I actually bought 

it for her. I guess it’s good to pay 

attention to details, I wouldn’t have 

swept you off your feet that quickly 

if I didn’t know with accuracy” he 

responded wittingly and she said 

“come down your high horse Peter, 

you only know that much” and they 

both laughed. 

When they got to a place, still at 

the venue, where he was comfortable 

to speak, he asked her to give 

her 1 minute. He ran to his car, got 

a box and presented it to her. She 

opened it and saw a red boxing 

glove. “Are we having a real ‘fight’ 

now?” she asked. She didn’t understand 

what it was for, so she continued 

“Peter, where is the ring and 

who is the referee?”. He laughed and 

said there is a zip on the glove, pull 

it down”. She pulled down the zip 

and brought out two invites for dinner 

for two at an exotic restaurant. 

“Now that the question I wanted to 

ask you is right in front of you, is it 

a NO or a Yes?” And she said “Yeah 

right, you want me to say NO so you 

can quickly grab the boxing glove 

and punch my face right?” “No!” 

He said and disclosed “I was actually 

prepared for the worst is the 

reason I put the invites in the glove 

so that if you feel so upset at my 

gesture, you can give me a punch” 

he said. “You are such a clown 

Peter. Anyway, see you next week 

Saturday as written on the invites” 

she retorted. “Please come without 

the glove, our insurance policy in 

the office as you know, doesn’t 

cover punches on the face” he said 

and they laughed so hard other colleagues 

wondered what was going 

on. By this time, Lola had dropped 

the glove in the bin and kept her 

own ticket in her purse. 

Yes they went for dinner and 

after then, they became best of 

friends at work. No ‘beefs’, no silent 

fights and they are doing just fine!. 

The Joke’s On Her 

The Key to Every Woman’s Heart 

A group of girlfriends go on vacation 

and see a five-story hotel with a sign 

that reads “for women only.” Since 

they are without their boyfriends, 

they decide to go in. 

The doorman, a very attractive guy, 

explains to them how it works. “We 

have 5 floors. Go up floor by floor, 

and once you find what you’re looking 

for, you can stay there. It’s easy 

to decide, since each floor has signs 

telling you what’s on that floor. The 

only rule is, once you leave a floor, 

you can’t return to it.” 

The women talk it over and decide 

to go for it. 

They start going up, and on the first 

floor the sign reads, “All the men 

here are horrible lovers, but they are 

kind and sensitive.” 

The friends laugh and without hesitation 

move on to the next floor. 

The sign on the second floor reads 

“All the men here are wonderful lovers, 

but they generally treat women 

badly.” 

This wasn’t going to do, so again they head 

for the stairs. 

The friends move up to the third floor 

where the sign reads “All the men here are 

great lovers and sensitive to the needs of 

women.” 

This was good but there are still two more 

floors so......... 

So on to the fourth floor, and this sign 

seems perfect. “All the men here have 

perfect builds; are sensitive and attentive 

to women; are perfect lovers; they are also 

single, rich and straight.” 

The women are really pleased, but they 

decide that they would rather see what the 

FIFTH floor has to offer before they settle. 

When they reach the fifth floor, there is 

only a sign that reads: “There are no men 

here. This floor was built only to prove that 

there is simply no way to please a woman.”. 

A Matter Of Punctuation... 

An English professor wrote the 

words, 

“Woman without her man is 

nothing” on the blac kboard 

The Car Accident... 

A woman and a man are 

involved in a car accident, 

Both of their cars are totally 

demolished but amazingly 

neither of them are hurt. 

After they crawl out of their 

cars, the woman says, “Wow, 

just look at our cars! There’s 

nothing left but fortunately 

we are not hurt. This must 

be a sign from God that we 

should meet and be really 

good friends.” 

The man thinking there 

might be a bright side to this, 

replied, “I agree with you 

completely.” 

The woman continued, “And 

look at this, here’s another 

and directed his students to 

punctuate it correctly. 

The men wrote: “Woman, 

without her man, is nothing.” 

miracle. My car is 

completely demolished 

but this bottle of wine 

didn’t break. Surely we 

must drink this wine 

and celebrate our good 

fortune.” 

Then she hands the 

bottle to the man. The 

man shakes his head in 

agreement, opens it and 

takes a few very large 

swigs from the bottle 

and then hands it back 

to the woman. 

The woman takes the 

bottle, immediately 

puts the cap back on, 

and hands it back to 

the man. The man asks, 

The women wrote: 

“Woman! Without her, 

man is nothing.” 

“Aren’t you having any?” 

The woman replies, “No. I think 

I’ll just wait for the police.”

BUSINESS DAY 

NEWS YOU CAN TRUST I FRIDAY 06 APRIL 2018 

C002D5556 

Opinion 

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and the meaning of history 

My esteemed readers, I 

missed you all! I am 

glad to be back after 

a long sabbatical. My 

opening salvo this 

Friday is on the passing of Mother 

of the New South Africa, Winnie 

Madikizela-Mandela. She passed 

away quietly in a South Africa hospital 

on Easter Monday, 2nd April, 

after a brief illness, age 81. 

She was born Nonzamo Winnifred 

Zanyiwe Madikizela on 26 

September 1936 in the village of 

Mbongweni in Pondoland, Eastern 

Cape in South Africa. The fourth 

of 8 children of Columbus and 

Gertrude Madikizela; both parents 

were teachers. Winnie was apparently 

a bright kid who showed 

early promise of leadership. She was 

head girl at her local high school. 

She later attended the famous Jan 

Hofmeyr School in Johannesburg, 

taking a degree in social work. She 

was nobody’s intellectual loafer, 

having subsequently taken another 

degree in International Relations at 

the University of the Witwatersrand. 

The Hofmeyr School was the 

brainchild of the liberal statesman 

and intellectual Jan Hendrik 

Hofmeyr who served under Prime 

Minister Jan Smuts as minister of 

finance and minister of education. 

Hofmeyr was a child prodigy who 

entered Oxford University as a Rhodes 

Scholar at the extraordinary age 

of 14; an all-rounder in mathematics, 

philosophy and jurisprudence. 

Hofmeyr was one of the great “ifs” 

of South African political history. If it 

was the liberals under him that had 

won the elections in 1948 instead of 

the National Party who instituted 

Apartheid under Daniel François 

Malan; and if he had not died so 

young, the entire course of South 

African history might have followed 

a different trajectory. 

Winnie Madikizela began her 

professional career at Barangwanath 

hospital in Soweto. As fate would 

have it, in 1957 she met a dashing 

young lawyer by the name of Nelson 

Rolihlahla Mandela who was 

in the process of walking out of his 

marriage of 10 years with Evelyn 

Mase. Nelson was driving past one 

day when he spotted a damsel of 

uncommon beauty and grace waiting 

by the roadside. He later inquired 

about her and got to know that she 

was Winnie Nonzamo Madikizela, 

a social worker. She was only 22. In 

her own words: “The next day I got 

a phone call. I would be picked up 

after work. Nelson, a fitness fanatic, 

was there in the car in gym attire. I 

was taken to the gym, to watch him 

sweat! That became the pattern of 

my life....” 

Nelson and Winnie were married 

on June 14, 1958. On the day of the 

wedding the bride’s father warned 

his daughter: “If your man is a wizard 

then you must become a witch.” 

The union was ill-starred from day 

one. As she was later to confess, she 

did not marry a man; she married a 

struggle. Within barely 20 months of 

their wedding, he was arrested and 

charged with high treason. He fled 

into exile in Botswana, Ethiopia, Algeria 

and Nigeria. Mandela received 

military training in Addis Ababa and 

Algiers; spending several months in 

Nigeria and Prime Minister Tafawa 

Balewa was the first African leader 

to secretly donate a substantial 

amount in aid of the ANC liberation 

struggle. 

Those strains in the early years 

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela 

of their marriage were to get worse 

during his 27 years of incarceration 

in Robben Island. Of this she says: 

“I had so little time to love him. 

And that love has survived all these 

years of separation … perhaps if I’d 

had time to know him better I might 

have found a lot of faults, but I only 

had time to love him and long for 

him all the time.” 

Convicted of treason in June 

1964, Mandela and 10 of his comrades 

were sentenced to life imprisonment 

in Robben Island. The 

Soweto students uprising of June 

16, 1976 and the massacre of more 

than 200 defenceless children drew 

universal condemnation from the 

world community of nations. The 

cold-blooded execution of Steve 

Biko, leader of the students Black 

Consciousness Movement by the 

security forces in September 1977 

pricked the conscience of civilized 

humanity. It was not before long 

that the international community 

accepted that economic sanctions 

were imperative if this evil regime 

were ever to be removed. 

Within South Africa itself, the 

Mass Democratic Movement was 

gathering momentum, bringing together 

labour unions, students, the 

churches and civil society. Among 

its moving spirits were Archbishop 

Desmond Tutu, Rev. Allan Boesak, 

Helen Joseph and Albertina Sisulu. 

Winnie Madikizela-Mandela made 

extraordinary sacrifices for the 

struggle, a fact that is not always 

fully acknowledged. The majority of 

African countries boycotted South 

African goods and banned transport 

or diplomatic links with the 

Apartheid regime. The charismatic 

Samora Machel of Mozambique 

was brought down in a mysterious 

plane crash within South African 

territory in October 1986. Ironically, 

Winnie flew to Maputo to be with 

Graça Machel and to comfort her 

on the death of her husband. They 

were friends. 

The shy country girl whose only 

ambition was to succeed as a social 

worker was soon caught up in the 

maelstrom of tempestuous upheavals. 

At a time when hope was dim; 

she was the symbol of honour and 

national defiance. On those rare 

moments when she was allowed 

to visit her husband in prison, she 

was the one who often brought back 

news of hope: “Nelson Mandela 

says the struggle is my life”. She was 

tortured, exiled, imprisoned, kept 

in solitary confined and subjected 

to all sorts of indignities. Her home 

was once set ablaze and she and her 

children were left at the mercy of the 

elements. Winnie Mandela could 

have compromised, but she chose 

the high moral ground of liberation; 

standing with the people in their 

hour of maximum peril. 

By the decade of the eighties, 

the years of struggle were beginning 

to take their toll. In the words 

of the noted South African political 

commentator Allister Sparks: “The 

essential qualities – her imperiousness, 

her wilfulness, the combative 

and survivalist spirit – that helped 

her get through the hard years also 

brought about her downfall.” 

As the regime was intensifying its 

infiltration of the townships in order 

to weaken and destroy the liberation 

Oppenheimers and other visionary 

industrialists prevailed on the 

government to begin dialogue 

with the ANC and other opposition 

groups. Chris Hani, Thabo Mbeki, 

Cyril Ramaphosa and other brilliant 

young minds were involved 

in these delicate secret talks. The 

negotiations finally culminated in 

the release of Nelson Mandela in 

February 1990. On that day of all 

days, 11 February 1990, the spectacle 

of him walking hand-in-hand 

with Winnie captivated the whole 

world. Unfortunately, as they got 

home that same day, as Mandela 

later revealed, Winnie showed him 

to the visitor’s bedroom. He described 

it as the loneliest day of his 

life. As it transpires, she already had 

something going with Dali Mpofu, a 

young lawyer half her age. 

Soon after when she was scheduled 

to fly to the United States on 

ANC-related business she requested 

to fly with her “lawyer” Mpofu. 

Nelson rejected the idea. She still 

flew off with him anyway. When her 

husband phoned her hotel room 

later, it was Mpofu that picked the 

call. Throughout his prison years, 

according to his confidante and 

lawyer George Bizos her husband 

had never expected Winnie to 

be celibate; only that she should 

be at least discrete. Instead, she 

continued to flaunt her lecherous, 

drunken escapades. It was the last 

straw. 

There were other problems. 

She scoffed at the idea of walking 

behind Nelson in the way the Duke 

of Edinburgh does behind Queen 

Elizabeth II. But those were not the 

only sore points. While sharing a 

platform in Germany, she openly 

contradicted her husband’s call 

on the people of kwaZulu to Natal 

throw their weapons into the sea. 

We have no guns. We have 

only stones, boxes of matches, 

and petrol. Together, hand 

in hand, with our boxes of 

matches and our necklaces, we 

shall liberate this country 

movement, she created the Winnie 

Mandela United Football Club to 

protect and to deal with infiltrators 

known as askaris. Her infamous 

speech at a town hall meeting in 

Munsieville was the turning-point: 

“We have no guns. We have only 

stones, boxes of matches, and petrol. 

Together, hand in hand, with our 

boxes of matches and our necklaces, 

we shall liberate this country.” It 

was in such an atmosphere that 

14-year old Stompie Moeketsi met 

his death in the hands of one of her 

bodyguards Jerry Richardson. The 

situation deteriorated to such a level 

that even the ANC high command 

had to issue a statement condemning 

her excesses. In the words of a 

British journalist: “This trajectory 

from political widow and defiant 

anti-apartheid activist to gangland 

leader appeared part-Shakespearean 

drama and part-political soap 

opera.” 

It was in this context that the 

She would not acknowledge or even 

respect the ANC hierarchy, which 

for Nelson, was sacred. 

The years of transition were to 

prove among the most difficult 

in the history of South Africa. The 

regime made a last-ditch effort to 

orchestrate inter-ethnic violence. 

There was humungous bloodshed. 

The April 1993 assassination of 

Chris Hani by Janusz Walus, a white 

right-wing Polish emigrant, nearly 

plunged South Africa into civil war. 

Madiba was wise enough to avoid 

the bait of those who were hellbent 

on orchestrating violence and 

bloodshed. Part of his greatness lies 

in this ability to keep a cool head at 

those crucial tipping points of history 

when one wrong move could 

have set off a chain of irreversible 

catastrophes. 

During their painfully open divorce 

trial in a Johannesburg courtroom, 

Mandela declared: “Ever 

since I came back from prison, not 

once has the defendant ever entered 

our bedroom while I was awake. 

The bedroom is where a man and 

woman discuss the most intimate 

details. There were so many things 

I wanted to discuss with her, but 

she is the type of person who fears 

confrontation. I was the loneliest 

man during the period I stayed with 

her. If the entire universe persuaded 

me to reconcile with the defendant I 

would not...I am determined to get 

rid of the marriage.” The decision to 

divorce Winnie in March 1996 must 

have been one of the most painful 

decisions he ever made. Despite 

marrying her doppelganger the 

delectable Graça Machel, it’s clear 

that, in life as in death, no one could 

ever take Winnie’s place in his heart. 

During the hearings of the post- 

Apartheid Truth and Reconciliation 

Commission headed by Archbishop 

Desmond Tutu, she turns up in 

a glistening white state-of-the-art 

Mercedes Benz, bodyguards in tow. 

It was a scene hardly calculated to 

earn her any sympathies. The Commission 

determined that she was 

“politically and morally accountable 

for the gross violations of human 

rights committed by the Mandela 

United Football Club.” 

I was privileged to have met the 

late pan-African icon at a dinner 

cocktail at the Transcorp Hilton 

sometimes in January 2014. I noticed 

she was rather frail and withdrawn. 

She had difficulty standing 

and preferred to sit most of the time. 

But as first impressions go, I was not 

particularly impressed. I met the 

grand dame of African song, her 

contemporary Miriam Makeba. We 

met in Dakar and we met again in 

Lagos. On both occasions she was 

warm and outgoing. Old age never 

took away her warmth, grace and 

sparkle. Winnie, on the other hand, 

struck me as one of astronomer 

Stephen Hawking’s black holes; a 

force-field of gravitational power 

that sucks in light and energy, giving 

nothing out. I went away dispirited. 

A national memorial service will 

be held on 11 April while she will be 

given a state burial on Saturday 14 

April. Despite her foibles, Clio, the 

goddess of history, will absolve her. 

Winnie Madikizela-Mendala was a 

symbol of courage in dark times; a 

champion of freedom and human 

dignity. She fought the good fight 

and it left its toll on her life and 

family. She will go down in history 

as one of the great African women 

of all times. 

THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS 

OBADIAH MAILAFIA 

Dr. Mailafia is a former Deputy Governor 

of the Central Bank of Nigeria, a development 

economist and public finance 

expert with a DPhil from Oxford 

obmailafia@gmail.com; 08036590990 

(text messages only) 

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BusinessDay 06 April 2018

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