The Trumpet Newspaper Issue 511 (January 29 - February 11 2020)

TheTrumpet 

Africans now have a voice... Founded in 1995 

V O L 26 N O 511 J A N U A R Y 29 - FEBRUARY 11 2020 

THIS 

SPACE IS 

FOR SALE 

Fraudster 

and drugdealer 

jailed 

Patients at a hospital in Monrovia, Liberia (Picture - Dominic Chavez, World Bank) 

Health 

for all 

The United Nations health. At least half of the world’s people living with HIV, gay men 

Programme on HIV/AIDS population cannot access essential and other men who have sex with 

(UNAIDS) is calling on health services. Every two minutes men, sex workers, people who 

governments to ensure that the a woman dies while giving birth. inject drugs, transgender people, 

right to health is realised by all by Among the people being left migrants, refugees and poor 

prioritising public investments in behind are women, adolescents, people. 

Continued on Page 3 

Dan Aiyegbusi 

Aself-confessed cyber fraudster 

and drug-dealer has been 

jailed for five-years. 

Following a proactive 

investigation by the Metropolitan 

Police’s Cyber Crime Unit (CCU), 23- 

year old Dan Aiyegbusi of Leicester, 

was sentenced at the Southwark 

Crown Court. 

He had admitted to never working 

a day in his life and colluded with 

organised hackers in the UK and 

internationally to launder stolen 

money 

Aiyegbusi had previously pleaded 

guilty to five separate counts of 

money laundering, totalling £41,150; 

possession with intent to supply Class 

A drugs (crack cocaine) and Class B 

drugs (cannabis). He was also 

sentenced for the crack cocaine and 

cannabis supply - both of these 

additional matters also having been 

investigated by the Met’s Cyber 

Crime Unit. 

He pleaded not guilty to three 

counts of money laundering totalling 

£2,167,410 and was subsequently 

found not guilty in relation to these 

other counts following a trial at 

Southwark Crown Court in December 

2019. 

During the trial, the court heard 

that prior to his arrest by the Met’s 

Cyber Crime Unit for the money 

laundering offences, Aiyegbusi had 

been stopped by officers from Essex 

Police in Colchester and found to be 

Continued on Page 2>

News 

Page2 TheTrumpet JANUARY 29 - FEBRUARY 11 2020 

Fraudster and drug-dealer jailed 

Continued from Page 1< 

in possession of 49 rocks of crack cocaine. 

When he was in custody and Met 

officers were investigating him for the 

cyber-crime offences, they were able to 

gain access to other mobile phones 

controlled by him, which contained 

evidence to illustrate his involvement in the 

county lines supply of class A drugs. 

he court further heard that in April 

2018, a Facebook account was identified in 

the name of ‘Muyiwa Oluwafemi’ - which 

was a pseudonym used by Aiyegbusi. 

The Facebook account was being used 

to advertise compromised online bank 

accounts, with the username and password 

often having been acquired through cyberdependent 

crime such as ‘phishing.’ Other 

Facebook postings from Aiyegbusi 

advertised the ‘cashing out’ of online 

banking fraud. The Facebook account was 

identified by the Cyber Defence Alliance 

(CDA) in 2018, who subsequently 

provided intelligence about the activity to 

the Cyber Crime Unit. 

Further investigation revealed that the 

Facebook account was opened in 2015 and 

contained requests for banks accounts or 

credit / debit cards for use in fraud. The 

Facebook profile contained photos of 

compromised online bank accounts being 

emptied of funds, plus videos of cash, 

expensive watches and cars. Aiyegbusi 

would use these posts to attract other 

individuals to provide use of their bank 

account to him, which he would use as 

‘mule’ accounts to receive and cash-out the 

proceeds of his online fraud operation. 

A covert operation was launched by the 

investigative team, under the name of 

Operation Katoko, with a variety of 

proactive investigative techniques being 

used to identify Aiyegbusi and gather 

evidence of the criminality that was taking 

place. This identified a number of posts 

where there were opportunities to identify 

victims of the frauds that Mr Aiyegbusi had 

either committed, or had been instrumental 

in requesting bank accounts to cash out 

frauds. A partnership approach was taken 

with a number of banks in the private sector 

that collaborated with the Met to provide 

assistance with its covert proactive 

response. These included TSB and 

Barclays. Between July 2017 and January 

2019, officers were able to identify nine 

victims. It is believed that the actual 

number of accounts and victims targeted by 

Aiyegbusi could have been far higher, with 

hundreds of potential victims across 

thecountry. 

By June 2019, the investigative team 

had gathered substantial evidence against 

Aiyegbusi, and on 26 June 2019 he was 

tracked to an address in Luton, where he 

was arrested. 

When officers searched the property 

and a vehicle, large amounts of cannabis as 

well as electronic devices, which contained 

incriminating evidence of Aiyegbusi’s 

crimes were recovered, in addition to a 

large number of black plastic tubes that also 

contained cannabis. Evidence recovered by 

the Met’s CCU indicated that Aiyegbusi 

Dan Aiyegbusi - 

In Designer 

clothes 

Dan Aiyegbusi in white Mercedes 

was involved in the organised supply of 

cannabis, which led to him pleading guilty 

to an indictment of possession with intent to 

supply class B drugs (cannabis). 

He was taken into custody and was 

charged later that date (26 June) with eight 

counts of money laundering, all of which 

related to monies obtained from cyberrelated 

fraud committed against members 

of the public who had online bank 

accounts, possession with intent to supply 

Class A drugs (cocaine from the Essex 

investigation) and possession with intent to 

supply class B drugs (cannabis). 

Detective Inspector Philip McInerney, from 

the Met’s Central Specialist Crime - Cyber 

Crime Unit, said: “Aiyegbusi didn’t have a 

care in the world as he stole people’s hardearned 

cash and then flaunted it all over 

social media to boost his ego and brag 

about it.” 

“Aiyegbusi admitted in court that he 

had never worked a day in his life, instead 

acquiring huge sums of money from 

innocent members of the public, through 

large-scale cyber-enabled fraud committed 

across the UK banking sector.” 

“I would like to thank our partners in 

the banking sector and the Cyber Defence 

Alliance for their support and assistance 

during this investigation.” 

One of Aiygebusi’s victims, who is 80- 

years old, said: “I was so pleased to hear the 

good news, as it has caused me and my 

husband a lot of stress and worry. 

“I would receive numerous telephone 

calls from someone purporting to be from a 

telephone company saying there is a fault. 

I’ve been too scared to answer the phone in 

case the same thing happens again.” 

A Barclays spokesperson said: “We 

continue to be committed to supporting law 

enforcement in its efforts to combat 

criminality and protect customers’ funds. 

“We worked with the Metropolitan Police 

Service during its investigation and 

welcome the outcome of the proceedings.” 

Cyber Defence Alliance CEO, Steve 

Wilson, said: “Op Katoko is an excellent 

example of industry and Law Enforcement 

working closely together to protect 

customers and target those individuals who 

commit organised cybercrime and money 

muling 

offences. 

“The Cyber Defence Alliance was able to 

coordinate the investigation from UK 

banking sector members and provide our 

partners in the Metropolitan Police with 

actionable intelligence to build a case 

leading to the arrest of a prolific criminal 

who believed he could act with complete 

impunity.” 

Ashley Hart, Head of Fraud at TSB 

Bank PLC, said: “We are proud of TSB’s 

close working relationship with the 

Metropolitan Police Service, which in this 

case has taken a determined criminal off the 

streets. TSB will always use every possible 

means to hunt down fraudsters that threaten 

our customers, and bring them to justice, as 

part of our Prevent, Protect, Pursue fraud 

strategy”.

News 

JANUARY 29 - FEBRUARY 11 2020 


Health should not be a privilege 

for the rich - the right to health 

belongs to everyone 

Page3 

Continued from Page 1< 

“The right to health is eluding the 

poor and people trying to lift 

themselves out of poverty are being 

crushed by the unacceptably high 

costs of health care. The richest 1% 

benefit from cutting-edge science 

while the poor struggle to get even 

basic health care,” said Winnie 

Byanyima, Executive Director of 

UNAIDS. 

Nearly 100 million people are 

pushed into extreme poverty (defined 

as living on US$ 1.90 or less a day) 

because they have to pay for health 

care, and more than 930 million 

people (around 12% of the world’s 

population) spend at least 10% of 

their household budgets on health 

care. In many countries, people are 

denied health care or receive poor 

quality health care because of 

unaffordable user fees. Stigma and 

discrimination denies poor and 

vulnerable people, especially women, 

their right to health. 

Every week, 6000 young women 

around the world become infected 

with HIV. In sub-Saharan Africa, four 

out of five new HIV infections among 

adolescents are among adolescent 

girls and AIDS-related illnesses are 

the biggest killer of women of 

reproductive age in the region. 

Despite significant progress in 

reducing AIDS-related deaths and 

new HIV infections, there were 1.7 

million new HIV infections in 2018 

and nearly 15 million people are still 

waiting to receive HIV treatment. 

“Publicly financed health care is 

the greatest equalizer in society,” said 

Ms Byanyima. “When health 

spending is cut or inadequate, it is 

poor people and people on the 

margins of society, especially women 

and girls, who lose their right to 

health first, and they have to bear the 

burden of caring for their families.” 

Delivering health care for all is a 

political choice that too many 

governments are not making. 

Thailand has reduced mortality rates 

for children under the age of five 

years to 9.1 per 1000 live births, while 

in the United States of America the 

rate is 6.3 per 1000 live births, even 

though Thailand’s gross domestic 

product per capita is about one tenth 

of that of the United States. 

Thailand’s progress has been 

achieved through a publicly financed 

health-care system that entitles every 

Health should 

not be a 

privilege for 

the rich 

Thai citizen essential health services 

at all life stages and leaves no one 

behind. 

South Africa had just 90 people on 

antiretroviral therapy in 2000, but in 

2019 had more than 5 million on HIV 

treatment. South Africa now has the 

largest HIV treatment programme in 

the world. Countries such as Canada, 

France, Kazakhstan and Portugal 

have strong publicly financed health 

systems, yet some other richer 

countries do not. 

Health investments in many 

countries remain very low compared 

to their gross domestic product. The 

United Nations Conference on Trade 

and Development estimates that 

developing countries lose between 

US$ 150 billion and US$ 500 billion 

every year owing to corporate tax 

avoidance and profit shifting by big 

companies. If this lost money were 

invested in health, health expenditure 

could triple in low-income countries 

and could double in lower-middleincome 

countries. The race to the 

bottom on corporate tax cheats denies 

developing countries of much needed 

revenue and robs ordinary people of 

vital health services. The countries of 

the Economic Community of West 

African States lose an estimated US$ 

9.6 billion each year to numerous tax 

incentives. 

“It is unacceptable that rich people 

and big companies are avoiding taxes 

and ordinary people are paying 

through their ill health,” said Ms 

Byanyima. “Big companies must pay 

their fair share of taxes, protect 

employee rights, provide equal pay 

for equal work and provide safe 

working conditions for all, especially 

women.” 

Debt is posing a serious threat to 

Africa’s economy, health and 

development, resulting in big cuts in 

social spending to ensure debt 

repayment. According to the 

International Monetary Fund, as of 

April 2019 half of low-income 

countries in Africa were either in debt 

distress or at a high risk of being so. 

Beyond low-income countries, in 

Zambia there was a 27% drop in 

health-care investments and an 

increase of debt servicing by 790% 

between 2015 and 2018. Similar 

trends were seen in Kenya, where 

debt servicing increased by 176% and 

health investments declined by 9% 

between 2015 and 2018. “There is an 

urgent need to manage debt in ways 

that protects people’s health. That 

means ensuring new financing 

focuses on social investments, debt 

repayments being halted for a period 

if needed to allow economic recovery 

and debt restructuring under a 

coordinated mechanism to protect 

spending on HIV, health and 

development,” said Ms Byanyima. 

A major factor of ill health is the 

denial of human rights. According to 

the World Bank, more than one 

billion women lack legal protection 

against domestic violence and close 

to 1.4 billion women lack legal 

protection against domestic economic 

violence. In at least 65 countries, a 

same-sex sexual relationship is a 

crime. In recent years in some 

countries, crackdowns and 

restrictions on lesbian, gay, bisexual, 

transgender and intersex people have 

increased. Sex work is a criminal 

offence in 98 countries. Forty-eight 

countries and territories still maintain 

some form of HIV-related restrictions 

on entry, stay and residence. A recent 

study of sex work policies in 27 

countries concluded that those that 

decriminalized some aspects of sex 

work have significantly lower HIV 

prevalence among sex workers. 

In 91 countries, adolescents 

require the consent of their parents to 

take an HIV test and in 77 countries 

they require the consent of their 

parents to access sexual and 

reproductive health services, creating 

barriers to protect young people from 

HIV infection. One of the 

consequences of this is that the HIV 

incidence rate among young women 

and girls in eastern and southern 

Africa is twice that of their male 

peers. 

“In the next decade, we can end 

AIDS as a public health threat and 

achieve universal health coverage. 

Governments must tax fairly, provide 

publicly funded quality health care, 

guarantee human rights and achieve 

gender equality for all - it is possible,” 

said Ms Byanyima. 

UNAIDS is participating in 

several events at the 2020 World 

Economic Forum Annual Meeting in 

Davos, Switzerland, to highlight the 

need for governments to fulfil their 

commitments to realize universal 

health coverage and ensure that no 

one is left behind.

Page4 



TheTrumpet Group 

Health 

Parents urged to protect 

children with the flu vaccine 

Tel: 020 8522 6600 

Field: 07956 385 604 

E-mail: 

info@the-trumpet.com 

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PUBLISHER / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: 

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Blogger, vlogger and mum, Chanel Ambrose and Tinuke Bernard of lifestyle blog – circusmums, 

share their experiences of the flu vaccine and urge other parents to vaccinate their children. 

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Visit www.nhs.uk/fluvaccine for 

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Business 


Deals worth billions signed at UK- 

Africa Investment Summit 


Page5 

As the United Kingdom (UK) 

seeks to boost trade in view of its 

imminent exit from the European 

Union, it has emphasised its aim to be 

Africa’s partner of choice for trade and 

investment. 

This stance was made during the UK- 

Africa Investment Summit hosted by 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson which took 

place in London. 

In the lead up to the Summit, £6.5 

billion of commercial deals were signed 

by British companies and Africa to 

deliver jobs, growth and investment 

across the UK and Africa, with further 

deals worth billions made during the 

Summit. 

They deals involved well-known 

British firms such as Matalan, who have 

announced a £25m investment into Egypt 

to launch 11 new shopping outlets; GSK 

who have committed a further £5m 

investment into Egypt; and Diageo who 

have announced a £167m investment into 

Kenya and East Africa to support the 

sustainability of breweries. 

International Development Secretary 

Alok Sharma said: ‘We have much to 

offer African nations - UK aid is tackling 

climate change and supporting women 

entrepreneurs, our tech and digital 

expertise is helping Africa grow new 

industries and the City of London is 

channelling billions of private investment 

into Africa, boosting jobs and growth. 

‘This Summit is a major step in 

unlocking the UK’s unique offer, 

becoming Africa’s investment partner of 

choice and benefiting people and 

businesses across the UK and Africa. 

International Trade Secretary Liz 

Truss said: ‘It’s great to see so many 

British firms paving the way in trading 

and investing in the region to drive 

growth, create jobs and boost vital 

infrastructure. 

A summary of the deals 

Deals between UK companies and their 

African partners include: 

· Aggreko signed an £80m contact 

extension for energy provision in Cote 

D’Ivoire 

· Airbus sold £80m of aircraft in Egypt 

· Anglo-Tunisian Oil and Gas invest 

£26m in Tunisian gas assets. 

· Aqua Africa win £26m export 

contract to supply solar powered 

water filtration systems in Ghana. 

· Baker Hughes £306m export and 

investment of deep-sea equipment 

and scholarships in Mozambique 

· BHM £80.3m work on the Tema- 

Aflao Road Project in Ghana. 

· Bombardier’s £3,180m construction 

and operation of 2 monorail lines in 

Cairo. 

· Contracta Construction UK win 

£120.5m export contract to upgrade 

Kumasi teaching hospital in Ghana. 

· Contracta Construction UK win £40m 

export contract to develop Kumasi 

airport in Ghana. 

· Diageo invest £167m to improved 

sustainability of breweries in Kenya 

& East Africa. 

· Globeleq invest £50m to help build of 

Malindi photovoltaic solar park in 

Kenya. 

· GSK invest £5m in Egypt to upgrade 

two production lines. 

· Kefi Minerals invest £224m in a new 

gold mine and to develop local 

infrastructure in Kenya. 

· Lagan Group win a £185 export 

contract for the construction of 

Kampala Industrial Business Park in 

Uganda. 

· Lloyds Register invest £0.76m to set 

up operations in Mozambique. 

· Low Energy Designs win an export 

contract to install street lighting for 

Oyo state in Nigeria. 

· Matalan invest £25m to open 13 new 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the UK-Africa Investment Summit 

outlets in Egypt. 

· Moy Park to export £12m of frozen 

chicken to Angola. 

· Nexus Green export £80m of solar 

powered water pumping systems for 

irrigation in Uganda. 

· NMS Infrastructure invest £222m in 

the construction of 6 hospitals in Côte 

D’Ivoire. 

· Rolls Royce purchase £50m of 

aircraft engines in Egypt. 

· Savannah invest £315m in the 

acquisition and investment of ingas 

assets in Nigeria. 

· Tex ATC install 5 Airport control 

room towers worth £2m in Nigeria. 

· Trilliant install £5m of Smart 

Metering to Abuja DisCo In Nigeria. 

· Tullow invest £1,200m in continued 

oil production in Kenya. 

· Tyllium and Ellipse win an export 

contract worth £60m to provide 250 

new beds for a general hospital in 

Koforidua in Ghana. 

· Unatrac win a £1.5m export contract 

to supply machinery for Ugandan 

roads. 

UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020 

UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020

Page6 TheTrumpet JANUARY 29 - FEBRUARY 11 2020

Business 



DFID is a key strategic partner of the 

African Development Ban 

Page7 

By Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina 

Excerpts of the Keynote Speech delivered by Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina at the UK-Africa Investment 

Summit, “Sustainable Infrastructure Forum” 

The DFID is a key strategic partner of 

the African Development Bank 

(AfDB.org). Since joining the African 

Development Bank in 1983, the DFID has 

been a lead supporter of the African 

Development Bank. It’s strong and consistent 

support for the African Development Fund 

has helped us to support the development of 

low-income States, especially the fragile 

States. 

And just think of the impact that our work 

has had on infrastructure alone in the past four 

years. The African Development Bank, 

through its operations, has helped to connect 

18 million people to electricity, 101 million 

people with access to improved transport and 

60 million people with access to improved 

water and sanitation. 

Without any doubt, DFID and the UK 

government’s investment in the African 

Development Bank pays off and delivers 

huge impacts in Africa. 

So I’d like to especially thank the UK 

Secretary for International Development, Mr 

Sharma, Nick Dyer and his colleagues at 

DFID for making the UK proud with its 

investments at the African Development 

Bank. Together we will do more for 

expanding infrastructure for Africa. 

There’s much talk about the infrastructure 

financing gap. But we should now be framing 

this differently as the infrastructure demand 

opportunity for financing. 

And the opportunities are many: from 

railways to ports, airports, water, sanitation, 

ICT and energy. 

That’s a $68-108 billion annual 

investment opportunity. 

Investors tapped early into information 

and communications technology 

infrastructure in Africa. Those investments 

became game changers for Africa. 

Just under two decades ago, Africa had 

fewer telephones than Manhattan in New 

York. Today, Africa has over 440 million cell 

phone subscribers. Returns on digital 

infrastructure are very high as the continent 

expands broadband infrastructure to boost 

connectivity and improve services. 

Take the case of energy. Unmet demand is 

for some 600 million people for electricity. 

Huge opportunities exist for investments in 

renewable energy, especially for hydropower, 

wind, solar, thermal and geothermal. 

But many of these opportunities can’t be 

realized unless we invest a lot more in project 

preparation to make projects bankable. The 

African Development Bank through its 

NEPAD infrastructure project preparation 

facility has helped to mobilize financing for 

$8.5 billion of infrastructure projects. That’s a 

leverage ratio of 1:525. 

We helped to establish Africa 50, an 

institution to support infrastructure project 

preparation and financing. It has raised over 

$860 million and will now be establishing a 

$1 billion third-party private fund to finance 

infrastructure investments by private sector 

on a commercial basis. 

The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa 

(SEFA) based at the Bank, has supported 

investments in excess of $800m in renewable 

energy. And I was delighted yesterday to 

announce the partnership of DFID with the 

African Development Bank for £80 million 

to further support project preparation for 

infrastructure. There’s definitely need for 

more resources for project preparation 

facilities in Africa. 

The largest share of infrastructure finance 

is done by governments. Some $37.5 billion 

annually. There’s a need to improve the 

efficiency of public financing for 

infrastructure through better, more efficient, 

and competitive procurement processes, 

quality design, timely execution and better 

maintenance culture. Equally important is the 

need to focus on quality infrastructure, and 

move beyond the least-cost projects, and 

focus more on life cycle costs for 


Many countries are borrowing to finance 

infrastructure. While such financing, 

especially if concessional, can help, greater 

focus should also be put on ensuring that 

governments attract the private sector into 

infrastructure financing. More focus is also 

needed to improve the policy, legal and 

regulatory environment to support greater 

private sector investments in infrastructure. 

With global climate change, and 

increasing frequency and intensity of extreme 

weather events, there’s an urgent need to 

climate proof infrastructure investments. The 

devastating cyclones in Mozambique, 

Malawi and Zimbabwe led to massive 

destruction of critical infrastructure. The same 

applies for coastal States, which are more 

vulnerable to coastal erosion and floods. 

Infrastructure investments must now be 

climate-resilient. 

Institutional investors hold a large pool of 

capital that needs to be mobilised and 

channelled into financing of infrastructure. 

Total assets under management alone by 

pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and 

the insurance sector in Africa is about $1.8 

trillion. Tapping just a fraction of this into 

infrastructure will go a long way to close the 

infrastructure financing gap. Many reforms 

are needed. One is to designate infrastructure 

as an asset class for institutional investors. 

Meeting their infrastructure allocation targets 

would require them to hire quality staff who 

understand infrastructure. 

Multilateral development banks like the 

African Development Bank and others should 

take early-stage investment risk in the project 

development phase. When cash-flow streams 

are stable, these brown-field projects can be 

rolled off to institutional investors. 

The African Development Bank launched 

African Development Bank 

President - Akinwumi Adesina 

a $1 billion synthetic securitization that it 

used to transfer risks on its private sector 

portfolio assets to the private sector, the first 

time this has been done by a multilateral 

development bank. The African Development 

Bank was able to free up $600 million for its 

balance sheet, which it is using towards 

renewable energy investments. 

We are currently exploring with the DFID 

the use of synthetic securitization for the 

sovereign portfolio of the African 

Development Bank. This will be used to 

transfer sovereign risk to the market, working 

with insurers and reinsurers in the UK. This 

could be a huge game changer for how 

governments can transfer their sovereign risks 

on infrastructure to the market. 

Because the bulk of infrastructure is 

financed through foreign loans, and the 

revenue streams are in local currency, it 

introduces high financial and forex risks to 

investors. Using swaps and hedging are 

effective, no doubt, but more can be achieved 

by focusing on local currency financing. This 

will also help with debt sustainability as the 

bulk of Africa’s external debt is on 


That’s why the African Development 

Bank launched the African Domestic Bond 

Fund to support the development of 

infrastructure debt markets in Africa. This 

helps in crowding in international investors 

and improving cross-border investments in 

Africa. The development of capital markets 

is also critical to create the liquidity and exits 

to encourage more investors into 

infrastructure in Africa. 

A critical constraint to investments in 

infrastructure is the high level of risks, 

ranging from project risks, financial risks, 

operational risks, and political risks. Derisking 

instruments such as partial risk and 

partial credit guarantees are quite effective in 

leveraging private sector investments. 

The African Development Bank used a 

partial risk guarantee to support the Lake 

Turkana wind power project in Kenya, the 

largest wind power generation project in 

Africa, which will produce 300 MW of 

electricity. The African Development Bank’s 

€20 million Partial Risk Guarantee essentially 

backstopped the government of Kenya’s 

obligations to developers against delays in the 

construction of transmission lines. 

The African Development Bank also has 

a Private Sector Credit Enhancement Facility, 

which it uses to reduce risks of financing 

private infrastructure projects in fragile states. 

And it works: so far with $500 million in 

credit guarantees, provided through the 

African Development Fund, it has leveraged 

$2.5 billion of financing into fragile States. 

And the default rate is zero. 

To attract even more infrastructure 

investments, two years ago, the African 

Development Bank launched the Africa 

Investment Forum, to advance bankable 

projects, secure financing and accelerating 

financial closure for projects. In 2019, at the 

fully transactional forum, investor interest 

was secured for projects worth $40.1 billion 

in less than 72 hours. The African 

Development Bank and its partners have 

formed a formidable financial alliance that 

pools together development finance 

institutions, commercial banks and insurers, 

with a co-guarantee platform to de-risk 

infrastructure projects at scale. 

There’s so much to do to help close the 

infrastructure financing gap in Africa. 

Progress is being made as Africa witnessed 

an increase in infrastructure financing to $100 

billion in 2018, an increase of 24% over 2017 

and 38% over 2015-2017 on average. 

As we develop and deploy innovative 

instruments for infrastructure, mobilize 

domestic resources, support governments to 

do the right things, and create more 

opportunities for greater private sector 

investments, we will fully meet Africa’s 

infrastructure financing demand. 

Together let’s do more to accelerate 

sustainable infrastructure investments in 

Africa.

eu_publication_the_trumpet_35x54.8_en.pdf 1 11/12/2019 16:07:45 


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JANUARY 29 - FEBRUARY 11 2020 TheTrumpet 

Page9


People 

Titus Odedun - The Doctor who’s 

never had a waiting list 

By Nana Ofori-Atta Oguntola 

One hears quite frequently of 

waiting lists in the United 

Kingdom’s National Health 

Service (NHS) - with patients having to 

wait for up to eighteen months to have 

their operation sometimes. Not for 

patients of Dr Titus Odedun. 

However, Dr Titus Odedun made a 

commitment early in his career when he 

worked with Keith Rolls who was Senior 

Lecturer to Sir Roy Calne at Cambridge 

University and New Market Hospitals. 

He kept this commitment through to 

working at Stoke Mandible Hospitals and 

subsequently at Ormskirk and Southport 

Hospitals as Consultant - and never kept 

a waiting list 

Dr Titus Odedun firmly believed 

patients should be seen promptly whether 

on NHS or as private patients. 

Dr Titus Odedun ensured his efficient 

Secretary - Debbe, typed all patients 

notes within forty-eight hours and 

personally despatched them to patients, 

their referring General Practitioners 

(GPs) or in Medicological cases - their 

solicitors or insurance companies. 

When surgery is indicated in hospitals 

where he held admitting privilege, his 

patients are promptly sent for and dealt 

with - without fuss or delay. 

In over 25 years of working within the 

NHS, Dr Titus Odedun has never once 

kept a waiting list. 

Titus Odedun stated that the topheavy 

administration is limiting the NHS, 

undoubtedly one of the top inventions 

Britain gave to the world. 

Odedun added, ‘When I was a 

medical student, there were less than 

55,000 managers. By the time I became a 

Consultant, there were over a million of 

them frustrating doctors and lowering 

morale. Too many Chiefs and not enough 

Indians.’ 

Titus Odedun 

I call this commitment. More of the 

likes of Dr Titus Odedun - and the NHS 

would be in a much better shape. 

For Titus Odedun, work conquers all 

By Nana Ofori-Atta Oguntola 

Irecently finished writing the 

autobiography of an eminent 

Gynaecologist. The title of his book 

is ‘Labore Omnia Vincit’ in Latin, which, 

in English means: ‘Work Conquers All’. 

Titus Odedun’s story is for me the 

very embodiment of that statement. Even 

more so in his case when he says ‘Ad 

astra, per aspera’, ‘To the stars through 

bolts and bars.’ 

At around 11 years old, Titus Odedun 

started working as a mechanic in Ibadan, 

Nigeria where his half-brother, wanting 

to avoid expensive boarding school fees 

handed him over to a friend fuelling his 

love for cars. 

Thankfully, his mother put money 

together and sent young Odedun to a 

decent boarding school where he excelled 

in all his subjects. 

Arriving in Europe at eighteen years 

of age with only Two Hundred Pounds, 

his desire for success drove him to start 

working whilst undertaking his medical 

studies. Initially in Malta, there was little 

in terms of part time work, so Titus 

Odedun worked during summer breaks 

Titus Odedun 

mostly as a steward in British restaurants 

and occasionally on board cruise ships 

around the Mediterranean. 

In later years, whilst doing the later 

part of his training in London, Titus 

Odedun took on cleaning jobs in office 

blocks in Baker Street and Harley Street 

in London. He recalled how he used to 

wake up at 5am to get to his cleaning 

duties before going to his classes. 

Ironically, Titus later bought those same 

office blocks he used to clean as a 

student. 

As a medical doctor, Titus Odedun 

would work as a locum doctor whilst 

working his normal NHS shifts. Going 

from his normal shifts to do additional 

work during any spare time he had - in an 

attempt to keep up mortgage payment on 

his growing property portfolio especially 

at a time when mortgage rates climbed up 

as high as 18%. As a locum doctor, Titus 

Odedun would take on work as a Junior 

Doctor even when he was a Consultant. 

He remembers how people thought he 

was strange taking on those 

appointments. 

His commitment to hard word, focus 

on his dreams and his discipline to put in 

the effort required, paid off as Titus 

Odedun became a property mogul and 

multi-millionaire, becoming part of the 

UK’s rich 1% and at one point paying 

over half a million in taxes. He came to 

own the building which housed the 

London Medical Centre and which 

accommodated over one hundred and 

fifty doctors, the very same building he 

used to wake up at dawn to clean. 

Titus’ story is one of inspiration that 

really nothing is impossible if one is 

focused and ready to put in the effort to 

bring their dreams to life. 

Added to this is the discipline to 

manage money earned wisely and go 

without some of things that are not really 

necessary for our well-being in the short 

term in order to build for long term gain. 

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Culture 



Page11 

Igba Ọdụ in Igboland 

By Uche Nworah / uchenworah@yahoo.com 

Traditionally Igbo women have 

always distinguished their social 

status through initiation into various 

societies in their communities. 

Iyom Society, otherwise known as Otu 

Ọdụ remains the most revered and coveted 

for women. Elephant tusk anklets known as 

Ọdụ are worn in both the legs and hands by 

members of the society as a distinguishing 

mark. This is in addition to an elaborate 

initiation ceremony involving great 

feasting, the type described in Chinua 

Achebe's Things Fall Apart. Once initiated, 

an Iyom is expected to live a life of 

philanthropy upholding and defending truth 

always. 

Members of Iyom Society are 

recognised and honoured, and are given 

privileged sitting positions at ceremonies 

and events. 

There are communities in Igboland that 

use brass anklets instead, the way some did 

in the olden days. However, the Ọdụ has 

survived till today while it appears that the 

brass ones have disappeared and are no 

longer preferred. 

In parts of Nri in Anambra State, 

comprising Enugwu-Ukwu, Agukwu - Nri, 

Nawfia, Enugwu - Agidi and the rest, ‘Igba 

Ọdụ ’ is still well celebrated as it is used to 

initiate a woman of means, wealth and 

virtue into the Iyom Society, or ‘Otu Ọdụ', 

a women only society just like the Ọzọ 

society for men. In Igbo societies where 

Iyom Society or 'Otu Ọdụ' is observed, it is 

the highest traditional society women can 

aspire to belong to due to the honour and 

prestige it bestows on members who are 

addressed by the title Iyom. 

While many argue that the Igbo society 

is essentially chauvinistic and patriarchal, 

the existence of the ancient Iyom Society 

shoots holes at such argument. 

From observations and interactions with 

members of the Iyom Society, it does not 

appear as if they are 'challenging' the men 

or are 'asserting' any rights or authority, the 

womenfolk and ndị Iyom just want to carry 

on with 'their thing'. Why not? Ndigbo say 

'Egbe bere, Ugo bere', 'Ndụ mmiri, Ndụ 

Azụ'. Nke onye chịrị, ya zelu'. 

• Chief Nworah is an Igbo culture 

aficionado. 

Pictorial descriptions: 

Monochrome Picture 

Undated picture of Igbo women wearing 

elephant tusk anklets signifying 

membership of Iyom society. It is not 

known whether these women are all wives 

of onye Ozo, a Chief, or a wealthy man in 

Opinion 

the society, or if they are just members of 

the Iyom society but married to different 

men. It will not be out of place to assume 

that they are all wives of one man as was 

the practice during the era the photo was 

taken. If that is the case, the head wife (isi 

nwanyi) should be the one seated, 

surrounded by other junior wives. Further 

interrogation of the picture compared to the 

more recent one of members of Iyom 

society attached with this write-up suggests 

that the women in this particular picture 

appear ‘less happy.’ Their demeanour 

portrays some kind of ‘seriousness.’ Could 

that be what was demanded or expected of 

them by the society at the time or should we 

mirror into their hearts and feelings through 

their facial expressions? This could be 

interpreted in different ways. Again, we 

observe from the picture, the slender nature 

and body frame of the women of that era, 

compared to the robust frames of the 

women in the more modern picture. 

Perhaps we can explain this away by the 

fact that civilisation and development have 

brought improvements in the standard of 

living and quality of life of our people. 

Colour Picture 

Picture taken on Saturday, 4th of 

January 2020 shows members of Enugwu- 

Ukwu Iyom society in the Igwe’s 

procession during the 2020 Igu-Aro 

Enugwu-Ukwu na Umunri at Obu Umunri 

Palace. The women are wearing elephant 

tusk anklets signifying membership of 

Iyom society. The picture will suggest that 

the women obviously live in a different, 

perhaps more happier glamorous time. 

Kobe Bryant and other stories 

BY REUBEN ABATI 

look so downcast. Everything 

okay? Cheer up, man. This one 

“You 

that you are looking as if a trailer 

just crushed your legs.” 

“I won’t deceive you. I am not happy at 

all. I am sad. Heart-broken.” 

“What happened? You lost a contract, or 

someone swindled you? Whatever it is, just 

cheer up. When there is life, there is hope.” 

“I just look around and I wonder why this 

world is the way it is.” 

“Don’t’ sound like that. The world has 

always been the way it is, and it will always 

be as it is, life without end.” 

“So is that why bad things should always 

happen?” 

“Good things happen too. Every day. Life 

is a terrible mixture of good and bad. Be 

philosophical my brother. Without philosophy, 

we would all be sad and depressed and waiting 

to die.” 

“So is that why Kobe Bryant should die in 

a helicopter crash, along with his 13-year old 

daughter, and seven others?” 

“Very sad. Tragic. In that helicopter crash, 

a dream died. The future was erased.” 

“He was just 41. He had to die at a time he 

should be enjoying his retirement. He had 

great hopes that his daughter would step into 

his shoes and become a great basketball 

athlete, the same way he too took over from 

his Dad, who was a basketball player. And just 

like that, the helicopter burst into flames 

putting an end to it all.” 

“I am not a basketball fan but from the 

little I have read in the news; he must have 

been one legend of a guy on the basketball 

court.” 

“You don’t know Kobe Bryant? What are 

you? An alien?” 

“Football is my game. I am a football 

person.” 

“Kobe was one of the greatest human 

beings that ever played basketball. He spent 

20 seasons with the LA Lakers and made 

history with his talent. He is in the class of 

Michael Jordan. Off the basketball court, he 

was a humanist. We have lost a gem and a 

hero. He was NBA champion for a record five 

times. Most Valuable Player. NBA scoring 

champion. Olympic Champion. O ye Hills of 

Calabasas! May whatever demons that live 

therein remain cursed.” 

“From what I read, it looked like the crash 

was caused by weather problem. I understand 

the weather was so foggy even the police 

grounded all their helicopters.” 

“Kobe always shuttled around in his 

helicopter to avoid busy traffic. That was not 

the first time he would use his helicopter.” 

“Accidents happen.” 

“I know. But this one should not have 

happened.” 

“There were other people in the 

helicopter.” 

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Opinion GAB 

Kobe Bryant and other stories 

Continued from Page 11< 

“I know. Their death is also tragic. John 

Altobelli, the coach of the Orange Coast 

College baseball team, his wife, Keri, their 

daughter Alyssa and Christina Mauser, a 

basketball coach at the Mamba Sports 

Academy.” 

“Take heart. His legacy will no doubt 

endure. The way people have been reporting 

the incident, I am beginning to show interest in 

basketball. You are not alone. I have seen 

many Nigerians who have expressed so much 

sadness.” 

“People are mourning all over the world, 

from the US to Italy to the Philippines.” 

“I hope someday Nigeria will produce 

such a great athlete too, in any of the sports, 

who will capture the public imagination and 

evoke empathy in life and in death, not 

because of where he or she comes from, but 

on account of the quality of his or her 

contributions and achievement.” 

“Do we value anything here? In a country 

where people are beheaded or killed in cold 

blood, and there is just no outrage? Isaac 

Promise, who distinguished himself 

representing Nigeria in U-20, and U-23 

football died the other day, nobody from the 

Nigeria Football Federation attended his 

funeral. A Christian leader in Adamawa was 

abducted by the Boko Haram. He was later 

beheaded. Did anybody consider that unusual? 

We don’t care enough. Human lives mean 

nothing in Nigeria not to talk of the lives of 

accomplished persons who inspire others to 

greatness” 

“By the way, I understand that one Prophet 

in Ghana has said that he can raise Kobe 

Bryant from the dead if 10% of his net worth 

is given to him.” 

“Please. I am not in the mood for that. Too 

many charlatans parading as prophets. I am 

talking about death, you are quoting an idiot.” 

“Talking about human lives, I have just 

read the story of the conviction of that lady 

who killed her husband in Abuja, because the 

man was seeing another woman.” 

“Maryam Sanda. That is another tragic 

story. I understand after the judge read out his 

ruling, and pronounced death by hanging, she 

ran out of the court.” 

“That was a tragic moment, with the judge 

reminding everyone in court that “Thou shall 

not kill. Whoever kills in cold blood shall die 

in cold blood.” 

“You know these days when I attend a 

wedding, my prayer for the couple is that may 

they find everlasting love in each other’s 

company. Too many cases of domestic 

violence these days. Husbands killing their 

wives. Wives killing their husbands. Where 

then is love?” 

“You know as I was going through the 

Maryam Sanda story, I saw another story, 

about how a 19-year old housewife in 

Malumfashi in Katsina also killed her husband 

yesterday. And somewhere in Abia State, one 

Mr. Kalu also shot his wife citing infidelity. 

Angry youths in the community captured the 

man and killed him.” 

“When we have this kind of incident, so 

much is affected. Families are thrown into 

grief. The children in the marriage become 

orphans. It is one tragedy after another. Take 

the case of one 29-year old lady in Umuahia. 

She caught her husband in bed with their 

housemaid. She was so enraged she poisoned 

herself and her two children. 

“What nonsense is that?” 

“It is called the Medea Complex” 

“Who is Medea?” 

“I don’t want to bore you with Greek 

mythology. But if you have the time, try and 

read the ancient Greek play, Medea by 

Euripides.” 

“Must you always quote a book? Look, I 

don’t have time for any ancient story. And I 

don’t need to read a book to know that there is 

depression in the land and that many couples 

are just tolerating each other. Why would a 

man shoot his wife? Why would a wife kill 

herself and her children because of a man? 

Because of infidelity? Well may be with the 

Maryam Sanda case, people will learn some 

lessons. You can’t just get angry and kill 

another person.” 

“But do you think she stands any chance 

of winning at the Appeal Court? She has two 

children. Who will look after her children?” 

“In this country, anything can happen. 

After that Supreme Court ruling on the Imo 

State Gubernatorial election, I concluded that 

anything can indeed happen in our courts. But 

talking seriously, a miracle may happen in the 

Maryam Sanda case. After all when one lady, 

Yewande, killed her husband in Ibadan in 

2016, she was sentenced to only seven years 

imprisonment. She was later granted State 

pardon by the State government. Today, she is 

free. She will marry another man and move 

on.” 

“The facts of the case may not be exactly 

the same. But murder is murder. Jealousy kills. 

Anger destroys. Hopefully, her lawyers will 

pursue the case all the way to the Supreme 

Court. Who knows?” 

“Supreme Court. That reminds me. Emeka 

Ihedioha who was removed as Governor of 

Imo State, is going back to the Supreme Court 

to ask for a review of that controversial 

judgement?” 

“I am aware of that. It is like giving the 

Supreme Court a second chance to correct its 

own mistakes. I hope their Lordships will find 

the courage to do the right thing. And I hope 

no ambulance lawyer will come up with the 

inane argument that the referee’s decision is 

final. Even in football these days, there is 

something called VAR. The Supreme Court 

needs to take a second look at the Imo case.” 

“Are you optimistic that the Supreme 

Court will reverse itself? I don’t see that 

happening. There must be an end to litigation.” 

“Still, justice must be done. Justice, not 

law.” 

“What if the Court insists that it has done 

justice?” 

Kobe and his daughter 

“And what if the Court reverses itself and 

returns Ihedioha as Governor?” 

“So that people like you can abuse their 

Lordships.” 

“Nobody will abuse them. Just answer my 

question, what if…?” 

“I don’t think we can comfortably 

comment on something that may or may not 

happen.” 

“Let us just assume” 

“I don’t know. I don’t know. But if that 

happens, I would like to see the reaction of all 

the members of the Peoples Democratic Party 

(PDP) in Imo State who immediately defected 

to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the 

moment Ihedioha was removed by court order 

and Senator Hope Uzodinma was installed as 

Governor.” 

“Those ones? They will simply abandon 

the APC and return to the PDP. They will do so 

with straight faces and justify their conduct.” 

“No ideology.” 

“There is nothing called ideology in 

Nigerian politics. There are only stomachs. 

And some stomachs are bigger than other 

stomachs.” 

“My belle oh... my stomach oh.” 

“Even the people are interested in their 

own stomachs too. That is why they sell their 

votes to the highest bidder.” 

“Our democracy is in trouble.” 

“You can say that again.” 

“Hen hen. How far with this their 

Operation Amotekun thing in the South West, 

now that the Federal Government says the 

security network as proposed is no longer 

illegal? Have you seen any of the Amotekun 

officials on the streets of the South West?” 

“I have seen pictures of Amotekun vehicles 

on social media. I have seen pictures of 

hunters wearing charms and amulets. I have 

also seen pictures of some pretty ladies 

wearing Amotekun fabric, each one of them 

with “come and do” eyes. I tell you, if those 

are the kind of ladies that will be recruited into 

the Amotekun squad, I may consider a change 

of vocation and join the Amotekun.” 

“Very good. I will be the first to let your 

wife know your plans. Whatever happens to 

you, you are on your own. Of all the things 

that have been said and written about 

Amotekun, the only thing that you are excited 

about is the images of women, who have 

nothing to do with the security outfit by the 

way, but who are just part of the dark humour 

that the Amotekun has generated on social 

media.” 

“We joke too much in this country. That is 

part of our problem. But did you see the T- 

shirts that some people have made with 

Amotekun labels, and which they are now 

selling online?” 

“That’s called enterprise. I have no 

problem with that. It is certainly better than 

what one Pastor is trying to do in Abuja.” 

“Which Pastor is that?” 

“I don’t know his name. I only know that 

he is now selling what he calls “miracle pants 

and bras” specially designed for single ladies 

who are looking for husbands. It is said that 

the miracle pants and bras will attract men. 

And you know some desperate girls will 

actually patronize the Pastor.” 

“These Pastors! Where in the Bible do you 

have miracle pants and bras? He is actually 

promoting promiscuity and pre-marital sex. 

Too many people hiding under religion to 

mislead people in this country.” 

“It is terrible. It is just like one Muslim 

group which has been quoted as saying 

Muslims in the South West should reject the 

Amotekun because it has Biblical origin.” 

“How? Amotekun is just a Yorba word for 

the Leopard. Amotekun also has symbolic 

meanings in Yoruba cosmogony as a totem.” 

“The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) is 

complaining that there is a reference to the 

leopard in the Bible. Specifically, Jeremiah 5:6 

which says “A leopard shall guard over their 

city.” The group claims that Amotekun is 

meant to be a Christian outfit that will parade 

pastors, bishops and archbishops alone.” 

“What is wrong with some people, 

though? Why do we have so many idle people 

in this country?” 

“It beats me.” 

“Please let me come and start going. I’ll 

need to take an Okada back to the office. I 

didn’t come with my car. I don’t like driving 

up and down during office hours. I left my car 

in the office.” 

“Okada? Have you not heard that the 

Lagos State Government has banned 

motorcycles and tricycles on the streets of 

Lagos?” 

“That won’t be until February 1. And in 

any case, it is not an outright ban; it is more 

like a restriction of movement. The State 

government merely wants to enforce an 

existing law. I only hope they will insist on 

certain regulations such as the use of helmets 

and ankle guards particularly by the 

motorcyclists and their passengers, and 

penalties for overloading.” 

“They should ban all motorcycles and 

tricycles. They are a nuisance. I detest them.” 

“And what jobs will you create to absorb 

the motorcyclists and tri-cyclists? You want to 

create an army of armed robbers and petty 

thieves? The poor should also be allowed to 

live. We only need to enforce the laws to save 

them from themselves.” 

“E-eee-hei-shun!!!” 

“What’s that? Did you just sneeze?” 

“What does it look like to you?” 

“Please come and be going before you 

come and give someone Corona Virus. Ha. 

Ha. Have you not been reading the public 

health advisory issued by the Nigeria Centre 

for Disease Control and the Federal Ministry 

of Health?” 

“There is no Corona Virus in Nigeria” 

“Who says? For your information, it is 

already in Ivory Coast. It is on its way. Please, 

I beg, don’t sneeze again anyhow. And don’t 

make the mistake of shaking my hand… 

Bye!”

GAB Awards 

Faces at GAB Awards 



Page13


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on a freelance basis. 

Products and Services 

We are introducing our portfolio of products, 

services, and events below on to the Trumpet 

Ambassadors Programme (TAP) in phases. 

Print Newspapers: The Trumpet Newspaper 

and Trumpet Ghana Newspaper. 

Website: www.TrumpetMediaGroup.com 

Email Newsletters: Trumpet Newsbreaker, 

Trumpet Kenya, Trumpet Nigeria, Trumpet 

Sierra Leone, Trumpet Gambia, Trumpet 

Ghana 

Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, 

Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google+ and WhatsApp. 

Events: GAB Awards and Trumpet Connect. 

The Opportunities 

Opportunities to earn revenue through 

Commissions are currently available by 

way of: 

Sale of Subscriptions to any (or both) of 

our Print Newspapers. 

With Annual Subscriptions starting from 

£60, we pay a 10% Commission. 

Distribution and Sales of bulk copies our 

Newspapers. 

We pay a 35% Commission - split between 

the Ambassador and the Sales Outlet. 

(Outlets will usually take between 15% 

and 25% depending on its type and your 

negotiating skills.) 

Ambassadors may choose to sell directly 

to their clientele or at events and keep the 

entire 35% Commission. 

Sale of Advertising Spaces in our Print 

Newspapers. 

With most Advert Spaces ranging from 

£80 to £4500 per edition, we pay a 15% 

Commission. You receive a Commission 

on all editions in the campaign in line 

with the Client’s payment - for example, if 

an advertiser books and pays for six 

editions, you get a Commission on all six 

editions. 

Sale of Banner Adverts on Website 

With Banner Adverts ranging between 

£50 and £200 per week, we pay a 15% 

Commission for the length of the 

Payments 

Commission Payments to Ambassadors 

are made by the 15th day of the month 

following payment of Clients - For 

example, Commission on Clients’ 

payments in January will be paid by 15th 

February. 

Distribution and Sales of bulk copies of 

Newspapers (4.3) are excluded from the 

payment arrangement above (7.1). 

An Ambassador buys and pays for bulk 

copies in advance at a discounted rate 

with the TAP Commission deducted upfront. 

For example, if an Ambassador 

orders bulk copies worth £100 in advance, 

the Ambassador only pays us £65 

(deducting the 35% Commission upfront). 

We operate a No-Returns policy on 

Newspaper Sales. 

Joining the Programme 

It currently costs £100 per annum to join 

the Trumpet Ambassadors Programme 

(TAP). 

Introductory Offer - Join the programme 

by 31 August 2018 and accumulate sales 

of at least £1000 across any or all of our 

products by 30 September 2018; and we 

will reward you with 100 TAP Points 

worth £100 - which you can spend on any 

of our opportunities (4.2) - (4.8). 

To join the programme, please request the 

Trumpet Ambassadors Programme Form 

and via email: info@the-trumpet.com



Page15 

We are recruiting: 

Independent Sales Consultants 

Trumpet Media Group - an 

international media 

organisation targeting Africa, 

Africans and Friends of Africa 

in the Diaspora and on the 

Continent was founded 24 

years ago - in 1995. 

Our growth has given rise to the need to engage the services 

of self-employed Independent Sales Consultants and 

organisations to sell some (or all) of our growing number of 

products and services on a Commission-only basis. 

The Opportunities 

Opportunities to earn revenue through Commissions are 

currently available by way of: 

· Sale of Subscriptions to our Print Newspapers. 

· Distribution and Sales of bulk copies our Newspapers. 

· Sale of Advertising Spaces in our Print Newspapers. 

· Sale of Banner Adverts on Website. 

· Sale of Banner Adverts, ‘Highlights’ and Mail-shots in Email 

Newsletters. 

· Sale of Advertising posts on our Social Media channels. 

· Sale of Sponsorship, Advertising, Exhibition spaces and 

Tickets for GAB Awards and other events. 

To apply, please email: info@the-trumpet.com

Sport 


Zuriel pays tribute to Bryant 

Education advocate 

and film maker - 

Zuriel Oduwole 

made a private visit to 

the Staples Center - 

home of the LA Lakers, 

in tribute to American 

professional basketball 

player - Kobe Bryant and 

his daughter Gigi, who 

both died with seven 

others in a helicopter 

crash in California. 

Zuriel herself also 

played High School 

Basketball, and totally 

understands the reason 

for the journey that 

ended sadly. 

Kobe had a project 

that supported education, 

especially girls’ 

education - being the 

father of four daughters. 

Zuriel is best known 

for her works on the 

advocacy for the 

education of girls in 

Africa. 

News 

Whistl and One World Express to offer 

tracked postal service from 220 countries 

Whistl and One World 

Express have joined 

forces to offer 

ecommerce importers into the 

UK: a tracked postal service - 

Insight, from 220 countries 

worldwide. 

Under the agreement, 

ecommerce importers will be 

able to print one label for an 

individual item in the country of 

origin and track it through the 

various transit stages, including 

customs clearance. When 

Whistl receive the item in the 

UK, it will be processed in the 

network and handed to Royal 

Mail for delivery to the end 

consumer. 

Established in 1998, the then 

One World Express Group 

(OWE) started as a UK-based 

cross-border express carrier. 

Today, it has become a datadriven 

IT platform currently 

managing 10.000+ tariffs on 

behalf of its clients to 

destinations worldwide. In 

2016, OWE started to extend its 

integration library, integrating 

with marketplaces like Amazon, 

Ebay and Lazada and also 

various eCommerce platforms 

such as Magento, allowing its 

customers to manage orders 

from all their sales channels 

using a one-stop-solution 

through their technology 

platform “Smarttrack”. 

Nick Wells, CEO of Whistl, 

said: “With the unprecedented 

expansion of the ecommerce 

industry globally and the rise of 

imports into the UK, consumers 

are looking for greater 

transparency on the delivery 

journey from country of origin 

to their home. Whistl is 

delighted that we will be 

working with One World 

Express to enable ecommerce 

importers from 220 countries to 

semi track every item they 

import into the UK before 

handover to Royal Mail via 

Insight.” 

GAB Awards winner - Atul 

Bhakta, CEO of One World 

Express Group, said: “By 

collaborating with the leading 

delivery management company 

in the UK, global customers 

who are importing into the UK, 

now have access to the experts 

who understand the importance 

of the customer experience from 

origin to handover to the 

consumer. We look forward to 

building our Insight relationship 

together.” 

Further information is 

available at: www.whistl.co.uk. 

Nick Wells - CEO of Whistl and Atul Bhakta - CEO of One World Express Group 

TheTrumpet is published in London fortnightly by Trumpet 

Tel: 020 8522 6600 Field: 07956 385 604 E-mail: info@the-trumpet.com (ISSN: 1477-3392)

The Trumpet Newspaper Issue 511 (January 29 - February 11 2020)

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