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Business Finance

Cees Harrington Harmon
Economy

Brain circulation a probable panacea

by thealvingreport
written by thealvingreport 10mins read

As opposed to brain drain, international migration researchers are increasingly noting a new phenomenon they call “brain circulation,” whereby talented people leave, settle down abroad, and then return to their home countries with their intellectual assets, and yet are not fully “lost” to either place.
As Richard Devane wrote in a study issued by the World Bank, China, India, and Israel enjoyed investment or technology booms from 2000 to 2010, which are linked by expatriate leadership in all three countries.
Recently, Dr. Akintoye Akindele, in a working paper themed: Beyond Remittances: Unlocking the True Value of the African Diaspora propounded just that. Nigeria’s economic breakthrough stands a good chance of happening from diaspora assets, not necessarily from the current annual remittances of $25 billion, which is projected to reach $35 billion over the next five years, but from knowledge and skills circulation. He pushed for Nigerians living abroad who have marinated the wealth of knowledge and skills of those developed countries to transfer the same to the homeland.
There can be no gainsaying the fact that Nigeria’s diaspora population is knowledge and skills endowed. For instance, more than 5400 Nigerian-trained professionals thrive in the British NHS. Nigeria has the third-highest number of foreign doctors working in the UK. The only certified cardio nephrologist is of Nigerian origin.
37 percent of Nigerian-Americans hold a bachelor’s degree and 17 percent hold a Master’s Degree. Nigerians account for less than 1 percent of the black population in the US, yet make up ~25 percent of all black students at Harvard business school.
95,000 Nigerian students are sent abroad annually.
On the flip side, $1 billion is spent annually on medical tourism in Nigeria. Doctor to patient ratio is 1:6000, far less than the World Health Organisation’s recommended 1:600. That is due to the poor availability of skilled personnel and poor health facilities. The number of practicing medical doctors in Nigeria is approximately 35,000.
Education-wise, about 10.5 million children in Nigeria are out of school; 40 percent of primary school teachers in Nigeria are not qualified.
The rate of education accessibility in Nigeria is 20.1 percent. Nigeria’s share of the global shortage of teachers is a staggering 12 percent.
Clearly, there is a huge knowledge and skills gap between the diaspora population and the homeland that should be narrowed in order to catch up with global development speed.
While Nigerians in the diaspora have flourished abroad, they have also tried to engage the homeland but have been met with some stiff challenges.
Many Nigerians in the diaspora are willing and able to provide support to key sectors such as education and health but do not know the channels to follow.  
According to Akindele, that is due to pertinent underlying issues including Trust, which is often an issue when dealing with diaspora contributions;  Civil and Political Unrest and Uncertainty that stoke fear of political and security situations across the country, often hampering the willingness of the diaspora to make long-term home-based investment and contribution decisions;  Poor Enabling Environment to foster growth, in which Nigerians abroad have often had difficulty planning and coordinating effect impact effort or direct investment without their physical presence as issues often arise around how they will monitor progress remotely and get true updates; Infrastructure, where economic and formal institutions are still In a questionable state;  and Lack of Understanding of Local Terrain & Policy.
While the above issues remain hard nuts to crack, Akindele extrapolated low-hanging fruits representing opportunities for immediate impact for Nigerians in diaspora willing to deepen inbound engagements. They include:
Skills Development & Knowledge Transfer, which can be achieved by training programs for software talent to drive developer count upwards, coordinated and structured exchange programs, facilitation of internship programs and placements for local talent, partnership with incubation hubs and mentorship programs on the continent, and remote work engagements with local SMEs in strategic roles and positions– knowledge spillovers.
Collaborative Research & Innovation by reduced investment costs from early entry, access to co-investors after commercialization, joint laboratories with joint grants establishing research institute, centers, and laboratories cross-border peer review and collaboration.
Also, Investments through Diaspora Direct Investment (DDI) in SMEs and startups, Diaspora funds and angel networks, Diaspora bonds, and joint venture partnerships with local investors and entrepreneurs.
Trade and Product Exchange by a partnership with local producers and service providers, Patronisation of made in Nigeria products, distribution partnerships, and structures for made in Africa products, as well as IP& Licensing support for global markets.
With Nigeria’s remittance per capita currently standing at $998, Akindele propounded that besides being sentimentally linked to the home country, 54 percent of Nigerians in the diaspora hold or are likely to hold managerial positions, while 61 percent have a first degree. He, therefore, projected that Nigerians are still likely to have the financial power in the future to make hefty remittances.
Currently, 55 percent of diaspora remittances to Nigeria are sent for family upkeep, 25 percent for charity, 11 percent goes to business investments, while 9 percent goes to building projects. That trend does not impact the local economy optimally.
One commentator said on average, over 70 percent of diaspora funds are drained by consumption. “Though this helps to address poverty, efforts should be made to raise the 30 percent available for investment much higher.
Annalee Saxenian, an economic geographer at U.C. Berkeley and author of ‘The New Argonauts’ notes, “Like the Greeks who sailed with Jason in search of the Golden Fleece, the new Argonauts are foreign-born, technically skilled entrepreneurs who travel back and forth between Silicon Valley and their home countries.”
Those are the very “Argonauts” that have been instrumental in the transformation of China, India, Taiwan, and Israel over the past few decades.
Diaspora Nigerians and the local talents are all the ingredients needed for Nigeria to become the next economic miracle, except for the lack of synergy.
Left to dawdled politicians to create the right environment that time may never come. That synergy and change can begin with just the next action-taker.

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Olumide Ohunayo
aviation

GROUND HANDLING RATES & NG EAGLES: STOP THE INTERFERENCE

by Olumide Ohunayo
written by Olumide Ohunayo 10mins read

The media has been awash with the concurrent orders to Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) from the House of Representatives committee on aviation, chaired by Hon. Nnolim Nnaji asked the regulator to suspend recently approved ground handling rates and the issuance of an Air Operating Certificate (AOC) to NG Eagle a new airline promoted by the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON). Not to be outdone, the Senate Committee chairman Senator Smart Adeyemi using his personal letterhead also hurriedly issued the same order suspending the issuance of AOC to the new airline.

The House of Representatives Committee on Aviation gave the directive in Abuja following a petition jointly addressed to the Chairman, Honourable Nnolim Nnaji by the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals, (ANAP) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN) branch of the National Union of Pensioners, (NUP), AMCON according to the petitioners has acquired Arik Air properties and decided to change the name to Nigeria Eagle Airline to evade payment of the monumental debts owed to all the aviation agencies. They, (Petitioners) further alleged that AMCON has changed the livery on Arik Air aircraft to Nigeria Eagle Airline which showed that it has fully acquired Arik Air assets but wanted to abdicate its liabilities through a name change. ANAP and NUP affirmed that they were petitioning the committee to restrict NCAA from issuing AOC to Nigeria Eagle Airline to avoid a repeat of what happened in the case of Bellview Airlines which transformed to First Nation Airways and the aviation agencies ended up losing billions of naira owed by the defunct Bellview Airlines.

On the order suspending the new ground handling rates, the house claimed the decision was based on complaints made to them by some airline operators and airlines operating into Nigeria, I was taken aback that the operators and airlines who run to the media to praise the NCAA to high heavens go behind to report them to the legislators rather than seek audience with the NCAA and relevant parties while a union who has no stake or membership in Arik airline has suddenly developed love and protection of publicly owned aviation bodies. It is a season of absurdities.

Yes, Arik owes staff and government agencies just like other troubled airlines that have shut down or are limping while appealing and accepting public funds. The House did not order the NCAA not to renew their AOC neither did ANAP send any petition in the public’s interest. The airlines owing aviation agencies should naturally not benefit from the covid largesse, yet Ibom Air that is not owing any agency was denied and debtor airlines benefitted during this period to support their operation. The Senate and House committees deliberately went to slumber here. Arik’s debts piled up before the intervention of AMCON, debts have not been added to that pile from the time AMCON came in up until now. There is no possibility under the sun that FAAN and other agencies will get all that money running into billions of naira because that money is not coming soon, the worst that can be done is to liquidate Arik.

Nigeria needs to get to the point where it’s possible to recover debts in all manner of cases. There’s been an increase in debt collection services, but they don’t seem to have any power unless of course, you are AMCON. The matters are for the courts, and I believe there are some resolved and unresolved court actions for AMCON to have repossessed those aircraft from Arik in the first place. If Arik, ANAP, or the House Committee wanted to petition, they should have done it at the newspaper publication stage of the Air Transport License application process, which is normal, and ICAO or any potential investors will not find anything wrong with a court order or action but not with political interference because National Assembly is not a court.

We need to protect that institution called NCAA, its oversight function and responsibilities must not be impeded. Tomorrow an airline may fail the process of issuance of AOC by the NCAA and the organization will run to the House committee to issue an order reversing it. Where does it leave our cherished safety accolades? However, debt collection is not in the purview of the NCAA, though they recently put a system in place, where operators get financial clearance certificates before a letter of request is received from them. This will mean that in the books of the NCAA and other agencies, NG Eagle has no debt or encumbrances. 

NG Eagles right is unfairly breached here, having complied with mandatory checks, and going through the rigorous four-stage procedure only to be denied or suspended at the fifth and final stage. The regulator is in gross violation of these rights and processes and should make amends

AMCON did well by setting up a company to manage its recovered assets from toxic loans and deals. Finance houses do the same, that’s where we get auctioned houses, cars, aircraft, etc. if not an outright purchase. What AMCON, a government agency is doing may be strange to many but not wrong. It’s proactive for a Nigerian entity to have a businesslike attitude and it needs to be applauded. They operate the planes and do not give orders that do not pay. If the law did not stop them, then they are good to go.

Three Boeing 737 aircraft meant to kick start the operations have been parked for about 18 months waiting for the coveted AOC but unfortunately enmeshed in the high wired political play while the industry and country is losing revenue and jobs that should have been created just because some people have their personal agenda coated as national agenda. It’s time to wake up and stop this drift. I also do not support the call by NUATE a union in the industry asking the Presidency to intervene. We will just compound issues now and in the future when such interventions are accepted. The body language of the Honourable Minister of aviation permeates the agency heads when handling aviation issues irrespective of their management position considering they all lack a supervising board that can protect them.

I want to commend Sen. Ibn Na’Allah for his bold and courageous apology to the industry and Nigerians on behalf of the Senate Committee on Aviation at the 50th AGM of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association Meeting in Abuja last month. He said the committee was misled on his directives to the NCAA to suspend the issuance of AOC to NG Eagle, stating very clearly that the Senate does not wish to interfere with the statutory functions of the NCAA. Instead of towing the same line, the House Committee hurriedly called for a closed setting, a clear departure from the norm where industry players are called to an open hearing. This is face-saving and meant to divert the huge outcry from industry players. The directive given to AMCON to draw a structured plan of paying Arik’s liability at that closed meeting is within their legislative rights but it’s not in their purview to suspend the issuance of AOC. It is critically related to safety, and they should not cross the LINE.

The AOC order from the House Committee is coming at the backdrop of a similar order to the NCAA asking them to suspend the implementation of the new ground handling tariff, which is coming 33 years after the last tariff approval, without asking questions or calling all parties to the table. The ground handler has called off the proposed strike which is noble and saves the industry from unnecessary distortions while negotiations are ongoing to resolve the impasse.

I also plead with the ground handlers to take the strike option off the table for now and enter dialogue with the airlines using the ICAO recommended procedure of Cost Recovery, Wider Consultation, Non-Discriminatory Pricing, and Corporate Integrity in negotiating with all parties. Also, due to the covid pandemic and its effect on aviation a discounted and gradual implementation of the new tariff will not be a bad idea for the ground handlers to consider.

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Bashorun J.K. Randle
Economy

UNITED IN GRIEF AGAIN

by Bashorun J.K. Randle
written by Bashorun J.K. Randle 10mins read

As is often the case, grief is the direct consequence of the failure of duty of care compounded by mendacity and incompetence.

Subversive neglect and/or outright negligence would escalate matters beyond toxic combination to fatal and irrevocable injury.

In a few days (7th November 2021) two King’s College families – namely our revered former Acting Principal (Headmaster) Mr. Feniobu Iroloye Ajumogobia and the Cerebral Professor Claude Ake will reflect on the profoundly clinical evidence of Justice Charles Archibong (Retd) (ex-St. Gregory’s College, Obalende).

“On 7th November 1996, a Boeing 727 aircraft, registration number 5N BBG with 144 passengers and crew onboard operating Flight 086, took off from Port Harcourt at 3.52 p.m. local time bound for Lagos.  The aircraft and flight services were those of Aviation Development Company Plc (ADC), a publicly quoted Nigerian company.

In the process of clearing the ADC aircraft for its descent into Lagos, an air traffic controller who controlled and separated air traffic set the ADC aircraft on a collision course with another aircraft.  That aircraft was a Triax Boeing 727 operating flight

TIX 185 which just departed from Lagos heading to Enugu.

The ADC aircraft plunged into the Lagoon at Ejirin, near Epe, killing all 144 passengers on board (including Mr. Ajumogobia and Professor Ake).”

After the crash, the Minister of Aviation ordered the grounding of all ADC aircraft and suspension of its operations.  He also ordered an investigation into the cause of the accident.”

That was twenty-five years ago but the grief, nightmare, shock, and mourning ensured remained fresh and galling.  If I remember rightly the Chief Investigator was Cudjoe Sagoe (ex-Igbobi College, Lagos and Imperial College, London).

By way of digression, Cudjoe died relatively young.  Matters were not helped by the fact when he returned to Nigeria with an MSc in Aeronautical Engineering, he joined the Nigerian Federal Aviation Authority (now known as Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria) only to find himself in the invidious situation whereby he (from Lagos State) had to report to a boss with inferior qualification but who was from a favored part of the nation.

Even more grievous was the case of Bestman, who was a classmate of Cudjoe.  His score in the final Bsc exam in Aeronautical Engineering was 100 percent.  The examiners could not believe what they had witnessed.  So they made him repeat the examination in the full glare of several professors.  He scored 100 percent again.  For the first time in the history of Imperial College, Bestman bypassed Msc and went directly to the Ph.D. course.  He finished it in record time.  Out of panic, he was sent off to British Aerospace in Bristol where he again astonished them with his brilliance.  It was the same story when he was sent off to Australia to lecture in rocket science.

Suddenly, he caught the fever of patriotism and returned to Nigeria. He ended up at the Rivers State Institute of Technology,  Port Harcourt.  He apparently perished in grief, frustration, and penury.  All things bright and beautiful, Nigeria devours or destroys them all !!

Back to the judgment delivered by Justice Charles Archibong on 10 November 2009 (thirteen years after the crash):

“…………………………in the circumstances that led to the crash of the ADC 727 5N BBG Flight 086, I found that the authorities (the agencies of government directly concerned) i.e. all the defendants bar the first defendant  (unnamed Mr.  X), failed severally in the discharge of their statutory duties, including the failure to release promptly the report of the panel appointed to investigate the causes of the crash.  The delay compounded the negligence that contributed to that tragic accident.  I found the failure by the Federal Ministry of Aviation and the Federal Government of Nigeria to release the panel’s report promptly after it had been completed to be negligent in the extreme and reckless, and it was irresponsible and they were culpable as a result.”

CNN’s incredibly versatile and energetic Richard Quest who combines his interest in aviation matters with stock exchange/corporate issues has been on the case.  Look out for the riveting expose:

“During that interval (thirteen years), the airline died.

Before this tragic crash, the company had been planning a major expansion program.  Deposits in United States dollars had been made on aircraft.  Negotiations by the Chairman of the Company, Captain Augustine  Okon with the aircraft leasing company in Florida, USA had to be abandoned once the crash occurred.  The leasing company refused to refund the deposit.  That formed the basis of court action in the United States.  Scheduled “D” checks for aircraft could not go ahead as planned  – no revenue.  Planned re-capitalization was aborted.  There were staff redundancies.  Leases and loans from various banks could not be serviced when they fell due.  There was a loss of cargo revenue as well.  Because aircraft could no longer be serviced due to the inability to continue the mandatory checks on aircraft, the company had to ground its aircraft long before the end of its economic life.  Insurance premiums skyrocketed due to assessed higher risks.  The company’s share price plummeted.  Losses, losses, losses.

Mr. Feniobu Iroloye Ajumogobia:

Feniobu Iroloye Ajumogobia was born Macaulay Frank Bestman, to Chief Amakiri Bestman and Madam Membereba Orubibi on 9th January 1914 in Abonnema. His father, also known as Ajumogobiaye Amakiri was the 1st son of Chief Bestman Ajumogobia Briggs from Kalabari Old Shipping, one of the 11 founding chiefs of Abonnema. His mother was a descendant of the Duweinala family who were amongst the founders of Kalabari.

He started school at Nyemoni Primary School, Abonnema in 1923 and went on to Government College Umuahia on 29th June 1930 where he completed his secondary education. It was here that he developed an interest in science, and as a student, he was appointed laboratory curator of the college. He left Government College in 1932 and went on to Yaba Higher College as a foundation student, where he studied Physics and Mathematics. It was at Yaba Higher College that he and some of his contemporaries such as Isaac Dagogo JohnBull (later Erekosima) and Horatio Briggs (later Tralapuye Oruwariye) first mooted the idea of adopting traditional family names. He changed his name to Feniobu Iroloye Ajumogobia in December 1950, a few months before his marriage to Florence Daisy Inetubo Wokoma, daughter of the late Rev. Canon A.M. Wokoma and Mrs. M.A. Wokoma.

On the completion of his studies at Higher College, he embarked upon what was to be a long and fulfilling career as a science teacher and educationist despite the strenuous efforts of his tutors to persuade him to do Medicine or Engineering, or one of the more prestigious and materially rewarding professions given his science background. He refused to be swayed, and often asserted that “Teaching is the poorest of trades, but the noblest of professions”. He was always proud to be referred to as a teacher. In his own words:

“I was sent from the Higher College, Yaba where I was pursuing the course for the Teachers Diploma (Physics & Mathematics) to Government College, Ibadan, in the last half of 1936, to learn to teach Mathematics under Mr. A.W.A. Spicer, a very effective teacher of the subject. I was posted to Edo College, Benin City in April 1937 to introduce science in the college, which had recently been established by the Nigerian Government. I was also to take charge of Mathematics in the college. Again, these experiences were most stimulating and rewarding.

I was transferred from Edo College to King’s College, Lagos in January 1939. I recall that I arrived in Lagos on 13th January 1939. I was at King’s College, Lagos from January 1939 to September 1944 and again from July 1949 to September 1957 making a total of fourteen years. From September 1944 to June 1949 I was on a Nigerian Government Scholarship in the United Kingdom to continue my study of Physics and Mathematics at degree level.

On arrival at King’s College Lagos, I was warmly received by my former science teacher, Mr. A.J. Carpenter, who had appointed me as the science laboratory curator at Government College, Umuahia. At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Mr. Carpenter was called to the colors.

During my 14 years at King’s College, Lagos I had the most rewarding experiences, not only in the teaching of science (including Mathematics) but also in other ways. I rose to be the Senior Science Master and was also in charge of mathematics at the college. It would be invidious to name only a few of the many young gentlemen who had the pleasure of teaching at King’s College, Lagos. Suffice it to say that many of them have been very successful and are flourishing in practically all fields of endeavor.

While I was at King’s College, I was approached by Miss W.W. Blackwell, the Principal of Queens College, Lagos (1931-1942) to teach science to selected girls of Queen’s College to enable them to have a background in general science. I undertook that assignment until I left Nigeria for Britain in September 1944.

I was truly proud to be a teacher or schoolmaster. It is also my very great pleasure to state that many of the students I taught are among my personal friends. This is the joy and reward of every successful schoolmaster”.

During his years of study in Britain from 1944 to 1949, he was associated with the Science Master’s Association (SMA). It wasKeen for his desire to form such an association in Nigeria to encourage the improvement of science teaching in Nigeria in Nigeria, h. He sent out invitations to selected teachers. The Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN) was thus born and he was elected its first president. and The first meeting was held in the Lecture Theatre of King’s College, Lagos in October 1957. The Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN) was born and he was elected its first president.

In September 1957, Mr. Ajumogobia was transferred from King’s College, Lagos to the Lagos Education Office as Chief Education Officer,. It was whilst he was there that where he implemented Government’s decision to establish the Federal Emergency Science School at Onikan, Lagos. Soon after this, in 1958A year later, he moved to the Nigeria Office as Education Adviser to the Nigerian Representative in London.

In February 1959, he was asked to return to Nigeria to take on the post of Adviser on Secondary Education in the Federal Ministry of Education and subsequently Adviser on Post-Secondary Education in the Federal Ministry of Education. During this period he was actively involved in the establishment of the University of Lagos and often reminisced about the citing of the university at its present location. At Nigeria’s independence on October 1st, 1960 he was appointed Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, the first Nigerian to hold the post. He retired voluntarily from the Federal Civil Service in June 1964 as Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, and joined the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1964.

As Programme Specialist in Paris, his duties included the development of educational programs and projects for the Africa Region. In 1965, UNESCO appointed him as their representative to the Economic Commission to Africa (ECA) and to the Ethiopian Government based in Addis Ababa. He was subsequently appointed UNESCO Chief of Mission to East and southeast Africa, covering Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland, and based in Dare-es-Salaam.

He spent much of his time traveling between his various missions from where he unfailingly sent individual postcards to his wife and children. Each member of his family also received a telegram on their birthdays, and even after his retirement, despite the advent of fax, telex, and e-mail, it was always a thrill to receive his telegrams, sometimes several weeks after the actual date!

Mr. Ajumogobia retired from UNESCO in 1974, he enjoyed a brief spell of research at his old college, King’s College, Cambridge, wherein in 1953 he had done postgraduate work in the History and Philosophy of Science. Upon his return to Nigeria, he settled in Port-Harcourt and was engaged by the Rivers State Government as Administrative Officer on Special Duties for 2 years after which he retired from active public service in 1977. In 1979, he was conferred with the National Award of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).

In retirement, he rekindled his interest and devotion to the Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN), which he had initiated as the Senior Science Master of King’s College, Lagos in 1957. On the occasion of the 24th Annual Conference in Akure, Ondo State in 1982, he was conferred with “Fellow of STAN” and was fondly referred to as the Father of STAN. He wrote the following words written barely 6 months before his passing; “…and I here assure that my personal interest in and close association with STAN will continue to the end of my mortal life by the grace of God.” On 18th February 1997, STAN conferred him with the posthumous award of Distinguished/Sustained Service to Science Education (DSSE).

As a father, he treated all his children with friendly dignity, and by personal example emphasized to them the values and importance of integrity and modesty. He was a thoughtful father and took an interest in all they did. His personality seemed to be shaped by what he would wish for them. At their birthday parties, he would personally organize the games. During family holidays he was involved in all activities. The last of these family holidays was in August 1995 when his wife, children, and some of his grandchildren spent a month-long eventful vacation in the United Kingdom. During this holiday, he took his family to see the 100th-anniversary performance of Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of being Ernest” a play, which he had seen and enjoyed as a student in London in the mid-1940s.
In his younger days, he was a keen cricketer and a good swimmer. His children grew up hearing mythical tales about his prowess as a swimmer. His two sons (one of whom was a medallist of the British Amateur Swimming Association) regarded themselves as fine swimmers and continually challenged their father to a race. This he always politely declined until one Sunday afternoon to their great excitement, he decided to demonstrate to them that he could indeed swim. The result of this event ensured that the deference that Soboma and Odein had for their father’s swimming ability was passed on to his grandchildren. Needless to say, thereafter, family swimming contests pointedly excluded him!

As a husband, he was most companionable, kind, and extremely courteous. In his wife’s words, “Feni was one of nature’s gentlemen. His life was one of quality and substance. He had a commendable, agreeable disposition, disciplined and devoted, consistent and committed. He was gentle but firm. I like to think of him as a good husband, a good father to my children, a man of integrity. He made my life richer in quality and experience. I am a better woman for having been married to him.”

He loved his nine grandchildren dearly and was happiest in their midst especially during the last holiday they spent with him in Port-Harcourt in October 1996. His trip to Lagos in November 1996 was especially to see and be with them…

Professor Claude Ake:

Claude Ake (18 February 1939 in Omoku – 7 November 1996) was a Nigerian political scientist from Omoku, in Rivers State, Nigeria. Ake (pronounced AH-kay) was considered “one of Africa’s foremost political philosophers.” He specialised in political economy, political theory, and development studies and is well known for his research on development and democracy in Africa. He was professor of political economy and dean of the University of Port Harcourt’s Faculty of Social Sciences for some years in the 1970s and 1980s after having taught at Columbia University, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1966. He held various academic positions at institutions around the world, including at Yale University (United States), University of Nairobi (Kenya), University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), and University of Port Harcourt (Nigeria). He was active in Nigerian politics, a critic of corruption and authoritarian rule in Africa. His permanent home was in Port Harcourt.

Before becoming a dean at Port Harcourt, he taught at universities in Canada, Kenya, and Tanzania. Afterward, he held a variety of posts, at the African Journal of Political Economy, on the Social Sciences Council of Nigeria, and elsewhere.

At Yale, he taught two political science courses—one, called State in Africa, which was for undergraduates and graduate students, and another for undergraduates, about aspects of development and the state in Africa. While teaching at Yale he lived in temporary quarters on the Yale campus.

He wrote in 1985, in an essay  on the African state: “Power is everything, and those who control the coercive resources use it freely to promote their interests.” George Bond, the director of the Institute of African Studies at Columbia University’s School of International Public Affairs, said: “He was one of the pre-eminent scholars on African politics and a scholar-activist concerned with the development of Africa. His concern was primarily with the average African and how to improve the nature of his conditions.”

David E. Apter of Yale said of Ake: “In the very short time he was here, he developed a following among the students, both graduate and undergraduate, which was truly extraordinary. There were graduate students who wept at his death. Everyone was really shocked. It was an amazing testimonial to the man.” Apter said that Ake had “crackling intelligence and an outspokenly severe view of African politics and nevertheless, underneath that, a quality of understanding which was remarkably subtle and complex. But he was able to communicate the complexity in a straightforward manner.” He added that Ake “was not only, in my view, the top African political scientist, but an extraordinarily courageous person. The Nigerian Government was often at odds with him, and nevertheless, they recognized his stature.”

As regards the crucial issue of grief, even the English got it wrong.  There is no such thing as “good grief” (even as an expression of being utterly perplexed).

Thankfully, the front page of the “Daily Trust” newspaper of October 27, 2021, has provided us with the proof of evidence by the witness-In-Chief.

“INCOMPETENT PEOPLE IN GOVERNMENT REASON FOR FAILURE –EL-RUFAI.”

“The Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has said there is governance failure because there are so many incompetent people in government.

He spoke yesterday at a plenary session of the Nigerian Economic Summit. 

“We need competent people in political and public service, but this is not the case in Nigeria, and things will not work.  Unless the best and brightest hands are in the political system, the outcome will be sub-optimal and terrible,” he said.

“I have seen a level of disconnect between the political and economic elite.  We discovered that those in the economic class just want to do their business, make their money, and live at Banana Island.  But however strong your business is, without a functional political system and competent public service, that business will collapse.”

The Chairman, Africa Initiative for Governance, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede called for synergy among both political and economic players.

“Therefore, if there is a failure in the system, it is a collective failure.  Nation-building is a very deliberate exercise, which involves great risks and sacrifices.  And that is the path that we must take.”

Meanwhile, Governor Simon Bako Lalong of Plateau State, at another panel session said the state remains a very suitable business and investment hub because the government has vigorously addressed some of the major security challenges by tackling their root causes.

Lalong, in a statement by his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Dr. Makut Simon, also advocated for a review of the revenue sharing formula and state police which must accommodate adequate funding, checks and balances, and a very strong mechanism against abuse.”

Perhaps I should add that in 1957, I was in the same dormitory [F9, Harman’s House] at King’s College, Lagos as Claude Ake who was in the Lower Sixth Form, while I was in Form One.  Our beds were next to each other.  Even then it was clear that he was destined for greatness.  He held very strong views about virtually every facet of life and beyond.

As for Mr. Ajumogobia who was both a science teacher and housemaster, he and his family lived in one of the flats above our dormitory.  He was Acting Principal (Headmaster) before joining the Ministry of Education from where he went off on international posting to Nairobi, Kenya.  He took his wife and four children with him.  That explains how his two boys – Soboma and Odein (former Minister of Foreign Affairs; and former Minister of Petroleum Resources) missed out on old boys of King’s College.

He also had two daughters Emi Renner (a medical doctor) and Nimi Akinkugbe (who is currently Nigeria’s Ambassador to Greece).

One of Professor Claude Ake’s most remarkable interventions was his disdain for military government.  He famously slugged off “Those who are in authority but not in power.  They lack the moral authority to change anything.”

In other countries, on an occasion such as this, the government would organize remembrance activities to commemorate two outstanding souls that perished due to incompetence and also ensure that the duty of care is never again compromised by recklessness.  Even after twenty-five years, the latest tragedy is the collapse of a twenty-one storey building within shouting distance of my office in Ikoyi, Lagos.  At the last count, ten souls had been pronounced dead with many more unaccounted for.

Permit me to conclude by commending the Ajumogobia family for the annual classical musical feast in honor of their patriarch.

Similarly, I must thank both Professor Adele Jinadu (ex-King’s College and Oxford University) and Professor Tunji Olaopa for their unrelenting efforts to keep the formidable intellectual legacy of Professor Claude Ake alive.

The last word belongs to the Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi who is like  Mr. Ajumogobia and Professor Ake is from Rivers State.  Frontpage of “ThisDay” newspaper of November 1, 2021:

“Don’t forget that what most Ministers like is this kind of situation, where contracts are expiring in their time.  I could have just renewed it (the INTELS Contract) and collected some of the contracts.”

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Sobowale Temiloluwa
Economy

The #ENDSARS BRAND; To Support or Fight, you Choose!!.

by Temi sobowale
written by Temi sobowale 10mins read

The last 1 year in Nigeria has been one of the longest in time past, it’s been a case of a Yoruba adage “ E diye ba lokun, Ara o rokun, Ara o to adiye”. Meaning the bird lands on the rope, the Bird is not comfortable, the Rope is also not comfortable, in business terms a loss/loss scenario as nobody wins.

I was opportune to have a strategy session and discussion a few days before   20/10/2020 with a top government functionary, discussing the best way to dowse the tension already being generated by the EDNSARS Issue, but unfortunately, things went out of hand on 20th and the mediation strategy proposed never saw the light of day.

I highlighted the need to understand who this group of youths are, their motivation, their temperament, and what they intend to achieve and based on this proposed solution.

For clarity I will go over the analytics of this segment, the ENDSARS generation is made up of 70% generation y ( ages 9-25) 23% of Millennials ages (25 and 40 years), and 7% Gen X ages(41-56 years old).

With these stats, you will know that the power range of this group falls between 18-30.

If anything you need to understand that this generation is a different one, driven by purpose or goal more than money or financial rewards, support each other regardless of social status, fight and protect the vulnerable amongst each other, hold temporary leaders accountable as any iota of doubt you lose your influence with them they easily the next “sense-making” individual who understands their values and is pursuing that purpose without any “personal interest” becomes the next “temporary leader” and why during the challenging times, they were asked to present a leader and they chorused “ we have no leaders”, meaning we are led by purpose and vision and anyone regardless of who you are, who can genuinely lead us towards our purpose takes the “ temporary leadership” seat until someone better comes along and we move to the next “ temporary leader”.

The Endsars brand movement Personality.

They can’t be lied to; they will dig your file out in 20 minutes and you will end your career before it even started, can’t be deceived as they are highly educated and can read between the lines, can’t be bought as they are not a self-centered generation, but a generation that is collaborative in nature looking to help others up.

Their mission is simple “they want a child of nobody to become somebody without knowing anybody” and this means let the competent do the job regardless of race, color, tribe, party, religious lines, or age.

The tag line above is very evident in the Start-up ecosystem in Nigeria today as many top tech talents and leaders of teams building Unicorn companies “were not born with silver spoons” and many don’t even know anybody, but are succeeding very well regardless of oppositions.

Looking closely at issues that the ENDSARS brand ran into, a lot of the time the issues are caused by the Millenia+ Gen x  members in the movement, looking to get a seat at the table of government or business but using the ENDSARS movement as the tool to get the attention. As soon as the “ personal agenda” of such individuals get noticed, their influence in relation to the movement gets deflated immediately by the group and all of a sudden their words and followership hold no bite again and they suddenly fizzled- out, no once, not twice not three times has this happened.

Unfortunately, the movement was against the brutality from Men of SARS, but the force approach used in dealing with the issue escalated if from fight against a single law enforcement agency to a fight against government and oppression, and since 20/10/2020, the government has been utilizing force and the more force applied the more rage It generates from the youth. The more force applied the more the #ENDSARS Brand gain more global recognition at the expense of the “ Brand Nigeria” gaining a not too good reputation globally. Like I said earlier no matter how we look at this, it is a loss/loss for us all, regardless of the side, you are on.

In time past the Government made individuals wealthy due to contracts and monopoly licenses and the beneficiary have no choice but obey the government’s orders even if the customers and users of their products are not happy. But that power has since reduced as the new generation makes wealth from technology Value creation, talent utilization via online platforms, and various ways globally with the government not having much control. The level of technology savviness is at par with global peers, thanks to the web access and various online training and this has been displayed times without number. From account getting locked to switching to Bitcoin in hours, from Ban on Twitter to VPN, and many more.

Truth is, the loyalty of this segment is first to the general purpose of growth and progress for all before other things, you will be shocked that  Gen Z has resigned their appointment in organizations siting the fact that their organization is Anti-ENDSARS, Many fathers are defending policies outside, whereas in their homes a major war is being fought as their children are at loggerheads with them on these issues and are ready to leave- home if that is what will drive home the message for the parents.

All this said what is the way forward, another Yoruba adage says” AGBA GBON, OMODE GBON, LAFI DA ILE –IFE, Meaning, it’s the wisdom of the elderly and the Wisdom of the youths that build a Town. But as it stands right now the Wisdom of the elderly is “cunning “ and the Strength and Wisdom of the youth becomes “rage” at every opportunity, either way, nobody wins.

2023 is around the corner and everyone wants to show relevance; The youth trying to show “strength” and the elderly trying to show “ Wisdom”, May I appeal to us to please not take “no corruption personality” as a leadership skill or competence, or being an “Aluta leader” as a leadership skill; Being an influential member of the ENDSARS MOVEMENT alone is also not enough competence for a great leadership choice!.  All I know is that is it easier to lead when there are enough resources to execute agendas, but when the resource is scarce, and things are bad the responsibility falls on the shoulder of leadership to use skill, competence, and all it has to make the best out of a terrible situation.

May I ask a rhetorical question above again? The ENDSARS BRAND; to support or fight, you choose

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sam-iwuajoku
The Editor's Pick

Sam Iwuajoku – extravagantly entrepreneurial

by Joseph Edgar
written by Joseph Edgar 10mins read

It was my friend and brother Femi Omotosho prominent Banker and serial investor who mentioned at the height of the pandemic that I should make a beeline towards this gentleman and see what he was putting on the ground.

Now you will ask why he was so intent on my meeting up and spending time with Mr. Iwuajoku. Simple. I am passionate about this economy and by extension this Country. I have left the space where we are still talking of ‘potentials’ at the positive side and of separation and all the calamitous rendering we hear at the extreme negative side.

You see, I want to tell very positive stories about this country. So, stories of people doing things on the economic side, which portends major confidence in the system especially taking investment risks on long gestation projects sit very perfectly on my good side.

Mr. Iwuajoku’s business model seats on a dual portal striding Aviation and Hospitality on the very broadside. In-between those two are a varied business exposure that continues to create jobs and redistribute wealth in such a powerful way that the keen observer cannot help but marvel.

So, I walk onto the massive site that houses the prestigious Legend Hotel and the Aviation hangar that is all under his Quits Group platform. The whole site is spacious and extremely neat, you can hardly believe that a major construction job is going on.

He is inspecting the west wing extension of his Legend hotel. He is building extra rooms in a hurried bid to expand to 231 rooms from the present 60 Room positioning. This new wing will come with an ultra-modern Convention Centre that will seat 2,000 people.

As we tour the giant facility, I take a closer look at this gentleman. He looks kind but comes across like an Ojukwu lookalike with his beards, but behind the seeming hard stares, you could see his kindness and softer disposition from his penetrating eyes. I know he will soon break the tension and in fact, he cannot wait for us to exchange as friends but first, he must first understand this young man with uncombed hair and his mission.

Let’s go to the other side he says. Get a reflector jacket he orders me. we move towards a huge dugout on the way, I count almost 10 private jets. He provides the service – parking and maintenance. He maintains aircraft for four major international concerns thereby saving Nigeria huge outflows in urgently needed forex.

He wants to build an underground warehouse at the dugout and put planes on the flattened surface. The huge earth-moving machines are working strenuously. Rain is his enemy but work he must.

How did you begin, I ask? He says it was the market meltdown that threw him this way. The depression of 2008 made him start asking himself what else can he do. He had cash but the outlets were thinning out. So this sector gave him a unique opening. He would edge his revenues by having his receivables in hard currency.

He leased the huge expanse of Land surrounding the Murtala Muhammed International Airport and coursed very arrogantly towards the Local Airport from the FAAN on a 40year renewable lease arrangement.

As we walk in-between Private Jets, proudly perched on his plot, I see a different kind of man. I ask him, who owns these beautiful birds, he smiles like a kind grandfather and says ‘bro leave am’.

Then we move towards his very beautiful office. From his desk, he watches over his birds with glee. He can see the beauties as they stand majestically on the tarmac. You can feel the bond between them as he talks to me and at the same time keeps an eye on them the way a Nanny will keep an eye on an errant ward.

So, what are your succession plans I ask? This project is huge, expansion alone is $35m you must surely be thinking of succession.

What drives the question is the handsome boy I saw when I first walked in. I had called and he had said, ‘ask for Ifeanyi, he will bring you to me’. Nobody seemed to know Ifeanyi as I wandered around the huge premises till I ran to this very handsome and tall young man with a name tag that said,’ Iwuajoku’. I said, ‘are you Ifeanyi? He said no. But what do you want, I can be of assistance.

He took me to Chairman and on the way, I asked who he was. He said, ‘Son’. I said are you working here and are you on a salary? He says yes and I said you are young and he said I am married.

His confidence, sure-footed manner, and exchange with ‘Chairman” made me push later with Uncle Sam on the succession plan.

He gently deflects but positions that ‘our kids are not as strong as we are’ he says generally. I agree with him. This leads us to his journey. From the age of 16, he had started learning and working. He was the surveyor in on the Dolphin reclamation amongst other jobs he had embarked on from teen. This had hardened him, making him as Tough as Nails. He was involved in the Ports, Snake Island, and all of that. Working with expatriates, learning and positioning, getting himself ready for this pivotal role he is currently playing.

As we speak, his phones are ringing none stop. The biggest players in the economy are calling. He is custodian to their precious birds and as such they must be on speed dial to him at all times.

Today there is an issue with the customs. He must resolve it. He is calming the caller, I recognize the name, I listen to the conversation. His reassuring gait, his calming disposition, and his confidence give the billionaire on the other side enough respite to say, ‘ok, Sam I hear you.

Me too, I hear you, Sam. This Country must continue to nurture people like Sam. People who will not wait for the challenges of life both man-made and otherwise to build fences and use them as a weak justification for a loss of faith in the system.

Where are you from? I fire. He says I am Nigerian. But if you ask me where are my parents from, I will say Imo but I was born in Badagry and as such my argument is clear, I am a Nigerian.

I smile. I just love this man. Over 250 Nigerians and expatriates under his payroll, a forex saving business, a forex generating business an ambitious expansion with a long gestation and turnaround time, and a business that plays very strategically in the economy and does not fly by night, how will you not just like Uncle Sam.

Patriot.

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Joseph Edgar
The Editor's Pick

Where are the Bank MD’s

by Joseph Edgar
written by Joseph Edgar 10mins read

It just dawned on me that I do not know the MD of GTB and that Kennedy Uzoaka who is the MD of UBA is all but invincible.

This seems to be the trend in the system as it looks like we have been saddled with a different class of MDs. A class I will want to call the Intern MD.

Who is the intern MD? The Intern MD is a long-suffering albeit very loyal and brilliant banker who has over the years shown very clearly a powerful skill set which really has nothing to do with his technical capacity but points at a very essential value- loyalty and willingness to serve

80% of our giant financial institutions can be said to be run by Intern MDs.

How did we get here? In political science, we were thought about manifest destiny. This is the unintended consequence of policy action.

So in trying to strengthen Corporate Governance in the system on the back of the distress that hit the system, authorities ended the situation where one man was Chairman and MD at the same time.

The position was divided and made for different people. The manifest destiny of this threw up the father/son combo or the Husband/wife combo and in some cases the sugar Daddy/girlfriend combo

The banks were firmly held by dynastic families and they ran the institutions with the verve and favor that comes with that drama

Then policy changed. Seeming democratization of the environment was thrown up and this brought the age of the owner-managed and mercurial bankers

It was in this era, the megastars emerged. Elumelu, Ovia, Akingbola, Ibru and the rest

They moved like pop stars. They had the vision, youth, energy, and passion to drive these institutions from mere backwater players to major international concerns.

Daily we could feel their movements. The increase in share capitalization was a joke to them as they raised the capital almost effortlessly driving the financial system into advanced markets.

Then another policy came. Tenure limits. And immediately the megastars had to leave the stage.

However the difference between these ones and the Balogun’s is that they were still on top of their games, they still had age on their side and the push to conquer was still flowing in their blood

So within 24hours, almost all of them named successors and the dawn of the Intern MD hit us.

Apart from Herbert at Access and maybe Ebenezer at Zenith the rest fall very perfectly into this mold.

So how does this work? The Intern MD sees his appointment solely as luck and his closeness to the source of power. Hence his actions and movements are a direct reflection of the whims of the source.

I even hear that some sources attend bankers committee meetings and come back to brief the Intern MD. So the Intern MD is still in a subservient and docile position

The immediate effects of this situation, are a dearth of vision since it’s not yours, more red tape, sluggish decision making, a dearth of innovative ideas, and a zombified management.

I was with a huge entrepreneur who is embarking on a $35m expansion project which would employ 250 workers and deepen engagements in a critical sector and his lament was palpable.

He was talking to a management team that didn’t seem to understand the transaction dynamics and as such couldn’t even relay very clearly his prayers to the source thereby almost killing the relationship.

This is the stark immediate consequence of this manifest policy that has thrown up the Intern MD.

One would want to ask what role the Board plays in this. Same you would say. All you have to do is take a cursory look at the Board composition of some of these Banks and you will find a complete village meeting, secondary School alumni, inlaws, and lovers.

There you see your answer. It’s not all that dark though as the system seems to be working especially if we are to believe the figures that are churned out as Profits regularly.

But it’s like driving a car with a misfiring plug, you will get to your destination but would it be a smooth ride?

I keep quiet.

Edgar Joseph
Editor in Chief
Thealvinreport.com

Ps go to Thealvinreport.com to see some of the best-written articles on the economy and business

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Magnus Onyibe
Economy

Nigerian Presidency, 2023: Where Are The Igbo Candidates?

by Magnus Onyibe
written by Magnus Onyibe 10mins read

In the People Democratic Party, PDP whose convention comes up 30-31st October which is a few days’ time, the front runners for the presidential tickets are already very well known.
Ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar who had faced- off with the incumbent president Mohammadu Buhari in the 2019 presidential contest with significant impact, is on top of the pecking order. This has been confirmed by Oyo state governor and secretary of the PDP convention committee, Seyi Makinde who revealed the identity of the other presidential candidates during a recent Channels television interview.
“…PDP has eminently qualified personalities that can lead this country successfully. Some have indicated interest, like former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, like Governor (Aminu) Tambuwal, like Governor Bala Mohammed.”
Curiously, former senate president, and ex Kwara state governor, Bukola Saraki who was a serious contender for the presidency in 1999 was not mentioned. Just as no Igbo man/woman whose region is supposed to present the next president in 2023 is featured in governor Makinde’s list of PDP presidential candidates that would slug it out in presidential primaries.
With respect to the ruling party, All Progressives Party, APC, the man with the appellation, National Leader, also known as both the Jagaban of Borgu and Asiwaju of Lagos, Bola Ahmed Tinubu who served as governor of Lagos 1999-2007 is clearly the leader of the pack.
So it is almost like an entitlement for the man also nicknamed the Lion Of Bourdilon to become the president of Nigeria in 2023. That is simply because he played a pivotal role in the emergence of President Buhari as president in 2015 via his ability to swing the very critical south-west or Yoruba votes in favor of a then-presidential candidate, Buhari. Since it is the nature of politicians to give and later demand a return on lOUs, it appears to me that it is now payback time between Buhari and Tinubu. To actualize the presumed presidential ambition of Tinubu, South West Agenda For Asiwaju, SWAGA, a well-oiled campaign organization that has been founded by Tinubu’s ardent supporters has been making waves.
The criticality of Tinubu’s role in making Buhari president is accentuated by the fact it happened after Buhari’s three previous failed attempts (in 2003, 2007, and 2011) to win the presidency.
As someone contended elsewhere, it would not be far-fetched for observers of Nigerian political developments to come to the conclusion that Tinubu has been waiting for seven years to gain a foothold in the presidency of Nigeria. That is after the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN that Tinubu leads, struck the deal with then-candidate Buhari’s, Congress for Progressive Change, CPC between 2013/14 to harness Yoruba votes for Buhari’s victory in 2015.
Considering that the Asiwaju had to give up his initial ambition to serve as Vice Presidential candidate to Buhari in 2015, which is owed to the fact that the concept of a Muslim president and Vice President is a sort of anathema in Nigeria, his burning ambition to succeed Buhari as president must have remained aglow.
But how the burning desire can be converted into reality is a lump currently lodged in the throats of both the Asiwaju who is yet to verbalize his apparently lifelong quest, and his political godson, Yemi Osinbajo, that is being coy about his interest in the plump job of being president of the republic.
Be that as it may, a presidential campaign organization, ostensibly without Osinbajo’s public endorsement known as ‘Osinbajo Support Movement’ (OSM) has
created a website as far back as May to chronicle the achievements of the Vice-President and public garner support for him. Without being told, the emergence of OSM is in pursuit of the cause of elevating the current Vice President to the next level-the presidency.
To consolidate the publicity that had been achieved with the website, in the course of president Buhari daughter’s high octane wedding ceremonies recently held in Kano, the streets of the ancient city were adorned with posters pitching Osinbajo for president and incumbent Kano state governor, Abdullahi Ganduje for vice president with the carefully crafted message:
“If power rotates to the South, Osinbajo is best placed to unite, heal and inspire our great nation. We also firmly believe that Ganduje’s antecedents as Governor of Kano make him the perfect Northern vice presidential candidate to Osinbajo; one who will advance and protect the interests of a Northern Nigeria plagued by poverty and insecurity.”
By and large, it can be stated without equivocation that the presidency of Nigeria in 2023 from the ruling party prism appears to be beaconing on the current Vice President, who is a prodigy of the Jagaban, Bola Tinubu.
Keeping in mind that it was Tinubu that conceded the role of Vice President to Osinbajo by virtue of the fact that he was his trusted ally, would he be willing to concede the presidency to him this time?
Osinbajo, who is a high-ranking Pentecostal pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and an astute legal scholar has been on the saddle as Vice President since 2015 and Tinubu his erstwhile boss has been on the sideline.
If the feelers in the political space are anything to go by, Osinbajo is not resisting the allure of change of nomenclature from Vice President to President-a natural progression that very few mortals can resist. But would his mentor, and if you like, an earthly master concede the presidency to him? That is the elephant in the room.
In my calculations, although Osinbajo may be able to garner the votes of a vast number of Christians nationwide by virtue of his being a member of the Redeem Church (believed to be the largest Pentecostal church denomination) he does not appear to possess what it takes to take on his former boss in political warfare and win in the main political battleground, south-west. It is perhaps why the Vice President has been demurring from advancing his purported presidential dream from the subliminal level to the realms of reality.
Even when the block votes in north-west are mobilized by Ganduje backed by Buhari for Osinbajo/Ganduje presidency, the nature of politics in Nigeria is that the block votes of the southwest are also required to secure the presidency which only Tinubu appears to have the capacity and ability to procure.
So, once again, the man often referred to as pastor/professor may have to predicate his presidential ambition on the will of God.
The third personality from Yoruba land that may be nursing presidential ambition in 2023 is the present Ekiti state governor, Kayode Fayemi who is also an ex-minister of solid minerals development.
As the chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF, he has chalked up some national influence enough to earn himself national name recognition. Again, like Osinbajo, he is one of Tinubu’s surrogates who honed his political skills in the days of NADECO-the Yoruba political pressure movement that is one of the forces that pushed for the exit of Sani Abacha as Nigeria’s military head of state(1994-8).
So, Fayemi’s reported ambition may also be in abeyance, which is in line with the wisdom to engage in dalliance with Tinubu political family as a political tactic, so as not to cross paths with the APC national leader, who is apparently believed to hold the ace in Yoruba politics.
Now, our country, Nigeria is anchored, metaphorically, on a tripod formed by Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo nationalities, with each representing one of the three legs on which Nigeria stands.
They jostle for the presidency by the Yoruba and Hausa/Fulani nationalities gleaned from mainstream and online media sources has been cataloged in the preceding paragraphs.
But shockingly, alarmingly, and embarrassingly absent in the milieu are activities or information about the potential presidential or even vice-presidential candidates of Igbo origin from the ruling or main opposition parties jostling for the presidency in 2023.
So, where are the Igbo candidates?
Yes, Kingsley Moghalu, ex Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN deputy governor, and presidential candidate of one of the small political parties in 2019 may be angling for the presidency again in 2023. But, for the obvious reasons of lack of nationwide political structures, and inability to raise the humongous financial resources which by some estimates can be as high as one hundred billion nairas required to execute a presidential campaign, Moghalu has zero chance. The underlying reason for that assertion is that he is not vying for the presidency on the platform of the ruling APC or main opposition, PDP whose affluent members-governors, legislators, and ministers could have provided the financial resources and political structures once a candidate is adopted by the party. Basically if becoming the president of Nigeria in 2023 is in Moghalu’s gaze, it would have done his political career greater good, if he had joined the ruling or main opposition parties.
The other Igbo politicians of notable national status weighty enough to contemplate contesting for the presidency of Nigeria are Orji Uzo Kalu, ex Abia state governor, currently a senator; Ken Nnamani and Anyim Pius Anyim, both of whom are former senate Presidents at different times. To further give him more heft, Pius Anyim also served as Secretary to the government of the Federation under Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency.
But the aforementioned Igbo politicians who were on track to entrench themselves politically at the national level, have recently been literarily ‘damaged’ and have thus become political liabilities via their indictments by the EFCC for financial malfeasance. That is the case with Orji Kalu who was jailed under curious circumstances for corruption. But he escaped a long jail term by the whiskers when he was soon after discharged and acquitted. Pius Anyim has also been recently grilled by the anti-corruption agency, EFCC for alleged involvement of a company where he has a beneficial interest in an aviation ministry contract.
Regarding, Ken Nnamani, he has been in the cold politically for nearly fifteen years since he was compelled by his political leader( Chimaroke Nnamani, then governor of his state, currently a senator ) from seeking re-election to the senate after he played a prominent role in scuttling president Obasanjo’s presumed third term agenda in 2007. That much was revealed in Nnamani’s recently published memoir.
In a piece titled: How To Become President Of Nigeria which l wrote and published on the back page of Thisday newspaper on Monday, September 20, 2021, and on numerous online newspapers, l had made a case that the Igbo nation may be suffering from a dearth of ‘presidential materials’.
ln, the piece, l listed elder statesman, Emmanuel lwuanyanwu, the
owner of defunct Champion newspaper and lwuanyanwu Babes-football club (socioeconomic endeavors which gave him national name recognition) as a potential presidential candidate of Igbo extraction. But he is currently past his prime in terms of age and political relevance.
Another Igbo personality that l had also beamed the light on is Peter Obi, who is the 2019 vice presidential candidate of the PDP and former governor of Anambra state. He too is currently under the yoke of the recently leaked Pandora papers(a catalog of illicit financial flows into a tax haven in Monaco) which has put him under the scrutiny of Nigerian anti-fraud agencies which are getting under his skin in a bid to ferret out information to determine if the former state governor breached the code of conduct rules in public service by not disclosing some of his wealth tucked away in secret foreign jurisdictions.
In my interactions with multiple members of the Igbo ethnic stock, l get the sense that they desire, as desperately as can be imagined, to be the tribe calling the shots in the presidency from2023.
This was affirmed by the president-general of Ohaneze Indigbo, the region sociocultural organization, George
Obiozor had passionately made a case for the Igbo presidency of Nigeria after president Buhari exits the Aso Rock villa in 2023. Here is how he put it: “We support the Igbo president with open arms. It is the most important thing that will happen to Igbos. Finally, it is our turn. And we are going to work it so hard,” Obiozor further made the following emphasis:
“We will talk to other parts of Nigeria to give us a chance. Because it is right, reasonable, deserving, and timely. It is wonderful to consider it done by this time. Igbo presidency is our agenda.”
Another Igbo elder statesman and former Anambra state governor (1992-3) Chukwuemeka Ezeife had also lent his voice to the call for the next president to be Igbo.
Said he ” power comes from God but we (Ndigbo) have been doing our homework, reaching out to our brothers from the Northern, Western, and South-South part of Nigeria to support us in 2023. Ordinary Nigerians from the other geopolitical zones want an Igbo to be the next President for equity, justice, and fair play”.
Although, there has been a deluge of rhetorical statements that can be likened to the roars of lions from Igbos at home and in the diaspora about 2023 being a watershed year for a member of their ethnic group to be the president of Nigeria on the premise of the fact that both the Yoruba and Hausa/Fulani nations have had their turns in the presidential power rotation arrangement introduced since 1999: in terms of the physical mobilization of Igbo voters and the actual preparation of Igbo candidates, there has not been any significant evidence to match the vigor displayed in the media. Rather the hoopla in the mainstream and social media without commensurate practical action on the ground makes the Igbo appear like whimpering kittens as far as the struggle for the presidency of Nigeria in 2023 is concerned.
The clearly un-Igbo tame and timid attitude has been in part attributed to the resistance being put up by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, separatist movement via their seat-at-home order in Igbo land; and their disruption of political activities in the South-East through other civil disobedience actions which are having crippling effects on the socio-economic and political activities in the region.
The political inactivity in Igbo land with respect to the presidency of Nigeria in 2023 is quite the opposite of the preparatory activities towards the forthcoming November 6, governorship election in which both president Buhari and NEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu have vowed must hold on schedule, despite the IPOB threat.
Somehow, the quartet of Andy Uba of APC, Val Ozigbo of PDP, Chukwuma Soludo of APGA, and Ifeanyi Uba of YPP representing the main political parties have been ramping up their campaigns.
Given the scenario above, and if the Igbos are really not politicking for the presidency like their Yoruba and Hausa/Fulani counterparts, (which is evident by the reality on the ground) the prospect of an Igbo presidency in 2023 that may already be in peril, can be given a shot-in-the-arm through a strategic partnership that would provide political structures and financial muscle.
That is what informed my proposal in the earlier referenced article: “How To Become The President Of Nigeria” that the Igbo should align with Atiku Abubakar as PDP presidential candidate in 2023 to achieve the dream of Igbo presidency in 2027.
My proposal is underscored by the belief that it would be unlikely that the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who has become a veteran in presidential contests since 2003 with enormous practical experience, would seek his re-election in 2027 if elected president in 2023 via an Igbo alliance and PDP support.
Unless, other northern contenders like Aminu Tambuwal or Bala Mohammed are willing to serve only one term and hand over to an Igbo Vice President, which is a highly unlikely scenario simply because of their relatively young age compared to the former Vice President who would be 75 years next month, Igbo quest for the presidency of Nigeria may remain a mirage.
In my view, a partnership with Atiku Abubakar as a pathway to Aso Rock Villa remains the most viable trajectory for an Igbo man/woman to become president of Nigeria in 2027 on the PDP platform. That is because, Atiku Abubakar is liberal, broad-minded, business savvy, and has links by marriage to all the three major ethnic groups-Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo in Nigeria. It implies that Atiku Abubakar’s presidency would likely be more inclusive than the nepotistic-a trademark of the current government in power that is fueling the current gale of separatism.
The point being made here is that under Atiku Abubakar’s watch as president, separatism would be consigned to the dustbin as inclusiveness becomes a major plank in government policy. With inclusiveness becoming a center point of public policy in Nigeria, secessionist tendencies would die a natural death in the manner that Niger delta militancy ceased after the late president Umaru Yar’adua took strategic steps to stabilize the volatile region via his offer of Amnesty to former militants after meeting some of their demands.
The existential reality in Nigeria’s current political equation is that the Igbos need help to actualize their quest for the presidency of Nigeria. As Atilla, the Hun advised, “choose your enemies wisely and your friends carefully.”
It should be obvious to the average Igbo that they can not ascend the throne in Aso Rock Villa by themself. And they must accept that their mastery of business can not overnight translate into the political savviness that is required for someone of Igbo extraction to become the number 1 citizen presiding over our country in Aso Rock Villa seat of power from 2023.
So an alliance with the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar whose political fortune has been built since the time that he first contested against former the late MKO Abiola in Social Democratic Party, SDP primaries held in 1992, remains the most viable political catapult that can propel the Igbo nation into Aso Rock Villa, after Alex Ekwueme’s partnership with Shehu Shagari for the presidency of Nigeria (1979-1983). It is disappointing that it is the last time the Igbo enjoyed worthy political significance in a country that they have indisputable ancestry.
Without adopting or resorting to the application of such cold calculations, the Igbo’s demand to have someone from their ethnic stock as number occupant in
Aso Rock Villa would very likely remain a mission impossible as the demand would continue to be elusive beyond 2023 and even 2027.
As a follow-up article to How To Become President Of Nigeria, l wrote another piece titled: “A Citizen’s Guide on How To Become President of Nigeria” also published on the back page of Thisday newspaper on October 22, 2021, and other mainstream newspapers, including Daily independence, Vanguard as well as online platforms, the following points were brought to the attention of readers:
“Although presidential power play is largely about popularity, it also significantly utilizes conspiracies and alliances as the oxygen and blood for positioning popular candidates for victory in presidential polls.”
In light of the above reality, which ethnic nationality or nationalities in the Nigerian Union is the Igbo building alliance or conspiring with, overtly or covertly? None in my opinion. But l stand to be corrected.
Now, I have read some news items indicating that some ethnic nationalities in the middle belt have been co-opted into the agitation for the Igbo presidency in 2023. The pertinent question is: does the north-central political zone hold significant votes compared to southwest or northwest that are the most prolific sources of votes in our present political configuration? Again, the response is a negative affirmation.
Even as the political link-ups being weaved like spider webs between the Yoruba and the Hausa/Fulani politicians as reflected by the subterranean alliances are being tagged conspiracy theories since they are yet to be acknowledged by the key actors, there are practically neither conspiracy theories nor alliances between the Igbos or any other major tribes for the presidency of Nigeria in 2023.
It is disappointing that while the eastern region is prevaricating or pussyfooting on the strategy to adopt in order to achieve her over 50 years aspiration for self-rule, or at least get critically involved in running the affairs of the only country that can call their own, the southwest and more appropriately, the Yoruba nation, leveraging the ruling party, APC platform is at the cusp of taking the slot of the south for the second time in the presidency rotation calculus which commenced with president Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999. And I get the uncanny sense that the APC is more oriented towards rotating the presidency to the southeast in 2023 than the PDP, as such it may end up specifically zoning the presidency to the Igbos even as the PDP by all intents and purposes are likely to throw it open. But the easterners may not be able to positively convert the opportunity if offered by the APC because their house has not been literarily put in order.
Perhaps, the Igbo nation would be jolted from its reverie if it is reminded of how one time Vice President of Nigeria, Alex Ekwueme of blessed memory suffered the negative effect of Igbo republicanism when multiple fellow Igbos contested against him and split the votes in the PDP primaries held in Jos, Plateau state in 1998.
Although the election of Goodluck Jonathan to serve as Vice President under Umaru Yar’adua’s presidency (2007-10) and his subsequent elevation to the position of president (2010-2015) in the aftermath of Yar’adua’s sudden death offered a window of opportunity for the Igbos to have a say in the country, 2023 represents an epoch for them to be on top of the pecking order in Aso Rock Villa. Beyond the feeling of accomplishment amongst the Igbos that may be elicited by an Igbo presidency, it is even being canvassed in some quarters that it would also moderate their separatist tendencies that have severely damaged the fabric of the unity of our beloved country in the manner that the concession of the presidency to the Yorubas in 1999 via the fielding of both Olusegun Obasanjo and Olu Falae as the presidential candidates of the two major political parties, healed the wound inflicted on the collective psyche of the Yoruba nation by the annulment of June 12, 1993, presidential election; presumably won by their son, MKO Abiola; the assassination of his delightful and heroic wife, Kudirat and his subsequent passage while in the custody of government in the course of his struggle to claim his presidential mandate.
In the likely event that the Igbos have forgotten.
It would interest them to know that of the five presidents that have led Nigeria -Shehu Shagari, Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Yar’adua Adua, Goodluck Jonathan, and Mohammadu Buhari currently in the saddle, only two have been from the south. Both of them- Obasanjo and Jonathan made it to the presidency directly or indirectly following the sudden death of their principals- either via assassination or natural causes.
In other words, they rode on the apron strings of northern Political leaders who got selected after a military putsch, as is the case with Murtala Muhamed and Obasanjo (1976-9) or got elected president via a general election following the death of an elected sitting president, which is what happened with the Umaru Yar’adua and Goodluck Jonathan presidency(2007-15).
It is also pertinent to bear in mind that Obasanjo did not get elected president in 1999 on the voting strength of the Yoruba nation. Rather, he became president despite being rejected by his Yoruba kith and kin that preferred his opponent, Olu Falae.
So he only became no 1 citizen through the political engineering reportedly driven by the duo of former military head of state Ibrahim Babangida and ex-chief of army staff, TY Danjuma. The pair of whom are leading members of the northern intelligentsia or the so-called Kaduna mafia.
It is the foregoing political developments that have informed my unique perspective that it would be more pragmatic for the Igbo nation to be fully conscious of the dynamics of politics in our country in order to be guided and thus be appreciative of the propriety of weaning itself off the utopian idea of winning the presidency without the type of strategic alliances espoused in my earlier proposition.
Allow me to indulge you by being a bit prescient as l reference an AriseTv interview with late northern political power broker and bridge builder, late Isa Funtua in January 2020 where he made a prediction that the Igbo can not be given the presidency on a platter of gold:
“They want to do things on their own and because they are Igbo, we should dash them the presidency?”
The straight-talking lsa Funtua further made the following declarative statement about the Igbos :
“Nobody will carry you like a newly born baby.
With due respect to the Igbo, they fail to understand that when the South-West chose to remain on their own as opposition, they did not go near (national) power”
With the benefit of hindsight, my candid advice to the Igbo nation is that it is time for them to collectively pull themselves out of their current state of lethargy and do their spadework if they truly want to be the ethnic nationality calling the shots in Aso Rock Villa in 2023.
Need l say more?
ONYIBE, an entrepreneur, public policy analyst, author, development strategist, an alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, Massachusetts, USA, and a former commissioner in Delta state government, sent this piece from Lagos.
The conversation continues on: www.magnum.ng

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robert opara
Economy

DIPLOMATIC DISCOURSE WITH ROBERT OPARA

by Robert Okpara
written by Robert Okpara 10mins read

The world’s nations have taken developmental strides a notch in ways that have gone beyond our usual pedestrian laid back “transfer technology” mantra of Africa’s sociopolitical class. While lots of African nations and leaders are presently assembled in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia lying through their teeth on ways to extract more funding commitments from the developed countries by presenting phantom development narratives that are absolutely nonexistent, the developed world has left African countries far behind in developing strategies to make life much more bearable and conducive to their citizens. Two decades into the 21st century and the science fiction dreams of the creators of The Jetsons are closer than ever to becoming a reality. With the likes of UBER and BOEING developing eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) flying taxis, it’s a definitive surety that by 2040, there will be about 430,000 such vehicles in operation around the world. This comes as delivery drones are also being increasingly developed and tested with the global market for these tipped to be worth about $5.6bn by 2028. One can only begin to estimate the unprecedented job opportunities coming from this innovation alone. 


African countries are miserably lagging behind in developing strategies for agricultural bumper harvests in any given period because we hardly get our priorities right. Most simple things like toothpicks are imported from foreign lands. There’s hardly investments in other agricultural equipment to send the teeming jobless youths and women to subsistence farming opportunity. Incidentally, these are the 2 most vital demographics that need these nonexistent job opportunities because of their implosion tendencies during a crisis. Listen to Buhari’s sermon on the mount in Riyadh on Tuesday in an attempt to hoodwink his hapless and gullible Mumu audience: “Nigeria’s population today exceeds 200 million people. Some 70% are under 35 years old. When we came into government in 2015, we’re quick to realize long-term peace and stability of our country is dependent on having inclusive and humane policies” Really Mr. President? Which definitive policies are you referring to now? He further added: “We introduced policies that supported investments in Agriculture and food processing. We provided loans and technical support to smallholder farmers through the Anchor Borrowers Program”. Maybe we should enquire about the present unemployment rate in Nigeria. Or can we also ask Mr. President the success rate of his policies in dealing with kidnappings and banditry in Nigeria? Or put it mildly, is the country safer now than in 2015?


While our president is acting Prince Charming to his Riyadh audience and other African countries are neck-deep into coup de’tats and killing sprees, to handle the demands of a future in the Flying Taxi module, in which drones and flying taxis (think large, multi-propeller the drones) share airspace over busy conurbations, proponents of this unique technologies are already ahead of the competition in planning how to build lots of mini-airports dubbed skyports. They reckon that these mini airports will be needed to enable air taxis at the exact spots where the passengers want to go. Prospective companies keen on these unique ventures are in the forefront of strategic mappings, having carried out more than 1,000 test flights of its eVTOL crafts. The companies are already processing their approval documentation from the US regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to begin commercial operations in 2024. These air taxis can carry four passengers, travel at up to 200 mph (322 km/pH), and has a range of more than 150 miles (241km). These crazy and strategic investors envisage offering their aerial ride-sharing service from locations near to where people live, work and want to go. They’re also working closely with cities to ensure their services connect to other modes of transit, co-locating skyports with train stations, airports, and other hubs.

However, whether and when these investors reach a point reminiscent of the unique project will depend on how the industry handles a number of key hurdles. These will include public acceptance, high-volume manufacturing, digital, power, and physical infrastructure investment, and the development of a highly-automated air traffic management system.
The main challenges here are regulatory hurdles and air traffic control systems. I can actually envisage the extreme human factor challenges in the regulation of air traffic routes and multiply by a million. It’s likely to start by establishing standard drones or air taxi routes. Rules will be set, kinks worked out, and standards applied universally to minimize incidents. From my investigations in the US from regulatory authority sources, the biggest barrier is that Flying taxis are yet to be given the authorization to fly commercially by the relevant authorities such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US or the UK’S Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). I also understand that these hugely rich companies from both sides of the Atlantic are ready to deal with these treating issues.

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Tope Fasua edited
Business & Finance

FOR GOD’S SAKE WHO NEEDS eNAIRA?!

by Tope Fasua
written by Tope Fasua 10mins read

After all, the Naira as is, is already quite digital, isn’t it? Nigeria does have one of the most sophisticated financial systems in the world – especially in terms of payment systems. This is probably necessitated by the fact that because of our low per capita income and the informal structure of the economy, so many Nigerians altogether have to make millions of small transfers daily, especially to dependants. In developed countries, this is not the case. A typical worker abroad has all the debits – for rent or mortgage, insurance, taxes, tenement, loans, and so on, set up such that they hit their account by month-end and they get by on what is left. Our economy – perhaps like many other African economies – is structurally different from what obtains in those places. Therefore, we saw quite a bit of innovation in our financial sector that may not be deemed particularly necessary elsewhere. Some of us economists criticize the fact that the financial sector in Nigeria is running ahead of everyone else. We call it financialization, as different from what we actually need; industrialization. We also see that quirk manifest in the yearly declaration of superlative profits by our banks, even in a year like 2020 when half the time businesses were shut, and in the face of expanding poverty in the land.

So, who needs an e-Naira?  Why is it necessary?  Is it going to solve the problem of inflation, and corruption, and unemployment, and everything that ails the economy? Will it lead to a revaluation of the Naira which seems to be in a death spiral?  Is the idea just a further ‘financialization’ of the economy?  Or is this not just another gimmick to embezzle funds at the CBN? All these and more are the questions that Nigerians are asking.

I think the e-Naira is very useful, timely, and perhaps one of the smartest things that our central bank has been able to pull off in a while, even though it will certainly not solve every problem that ails our economy. I will therefore attempt to break down some of its likely uses below, even though I must admit that the whole idea of such hyper-digital currency, is still nouvelle to everyone in the world. In other words, a number of central banks around the world are taking the initiative, and 90% of them are thinking in this direction, but certain mistakes will be made, lessons will be learned before the concept stabilizes. The future of currency is digital. And the future is here. Let’s look at the critical questions:

What is the e-Naira?

The e-Naira is a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Though the Naira was fairly digital before (as you can transfer value from your phone or laptop once you are connected to the internet, and via USSD without internet), this is a digital currency on fire! However, unlike other digital currencies (cryptocurrencies), the CBDC is backed by the sovereign – Nigeria – and is tied to the Naira (fiat currency).  If we need to compare it to a cryptocurrency, we can compare it to say USDT (a stable currency tied to the US Dollar, called Tether).

What is this idea of being backed by the Naira?

Well, this means that the e-Naira and the fiat Naira will not diverge in value. The two types of currency will be the same value at all times. Also, that the currency is backed by the government through the CBN is comfort, because people know that the CBN cannot default on its obligations. Investments with the central bank of a country are deemed to be the safest kind that anyone could undertake.  Ordinarily, cryptocurrencies have some issues. People die, and if no one knows the key (their pin), their money is lost forever. People save their keys on devices. Devices get stolen or corrupted and their money is gone if they have no backups anywhere. Meanwhile, people are scared of backing up their keys anywhere because if anyone gets access to it, they can be wiped out. All sorts of issues occur because the idea is still developing. We have even heard of situations where crypto exchanges have collapsed (like Quadriga in Canada), and those who left money on the table for the exchange to help manage, were wiped out. And with cryptocurrencies, there is no arbiter; no one to run to; no one to guarantee the transactions; no deposit insurance. Nothing. It’s usually a case of ‘who sent you?

Where did the idea come from?

Whereas the central banks will hardly mention this, it is my strong belief that this is a reaction by central banks to the idea of cryptocurrencies. What started circa 2006/7 as a crazy idea by some crazy folks who were rather miffed by how central banks especially in developed countries bailed out investment and commercial bankers who had used people’s deposits to gamble on arcane derivative products like Credit Default Swaps, Collateralized Debt Obligations and such like, had become a major issue, with a market valuation of more than $1 trillion. There are suddenly more than 8,000 cryptocurrencies around the world. It has become a swarm and no one knew which crazy bee among the lot could sting the system in the eye at any point in time. The proponents of cryptocurrencies actually started out with the radical idea of taking down what we know as the financial system today, for past infractions – including for arbitrarily printing currencies or hiking interest rates thereby devaluing the money in people’s pockets and accounts, in the name of monetary policy management. They call their plan ‘decentralized’ banking or finance (Defi), which means ‘down with Central Banks!’. The only thing they didn’t reckon with was that they will need the central banks, investment, and commercial banks to achieve this laudable feat.  But will the traditional banks and central banks allow them?  The central banks then got wise and decided to piggyback on their idea, to save themselves, the banking sector, and the government. Why? The day you take down central banks, you will have taken down every bank because there’ll be nobody to manage currencies or maintain sanity or fidelity in the system. Then how do governments get their taxes? In what currency? Anarchy is the endpoint.  This move by the central banks around the world is to prevent themselves from becoming so weakened and made vulnerable by the crypto warriors.

In the case of e-Naira particularly, Nigeria showed up as the second-highest trading nation in cryptocurrency as at April 2021, allegedly. We are talking of a country with barely $2,000 in per capita income, and the lowest in the world in terms of economic complexity. In other words, the most unsophisticated nation in the world in terms of what we produce. Could it be corruption and crime money driving this… in the main? Therefore, it was important for the CBN to have a response. If the CBN was sitting on its hands and whining, that is when we should be concerned.

Which problem will it solve?

For one, the future of everything is digital. The future of man himself is digital. The world has stopped talking of the internet of things, now it is the internet of EVERYTHING. If the future of currency is digital – and indeed these young Generation Z kids (born between the year 2000 and today), and raised by their smartphones only understand digital things – then Nigeria had better get on board and fast. So, the earlier we get on this new reality, the better. But which other problem can it solve? Inflation? Ehmmmm, long shot. But e-Naira can help. How? For one, the more successful e-Naira becomes, the less money the CBN will spend printing new money. This should reduce the CBN’s budget. However, if the e-Naira is successful, then the world will have a little more respect for our currency, and the Naira may appreciate it a bit. If the Naira appreciates, then inflation will slow down, because a considerable part of the inflation we suffer today is as a result of imported goods, and the adjustments that local producers are making, in the fear of further devaluation. You see, devaluation of currency does not only mean that imported goods will cost more. In fact, in our economy, locally-produced goods prices leap much higher. Visit any local store or the market and see what has happened to prices in the last one or two years! Nigerians are really struggling to survive.

So, e-Naira can help us in getting a firmer naira. And there is one other reason for that. If it is what they say it will be, then the e-Naira wallet is sitting in CBN’s books. This means that the e-Naira can, subject to limits, allow Naira to be more convertible. What does this mean? You see, about 35 years ago, when you travel to London, you don’t need to be chasing pounds and dollars around before you go. You just go. When you get to London you change some naira directly into pounds right at the airport, or you go to Oxford Street and make the change. Then we started losing it. They kept devaluing. And no one was sure what the value of the naira will be the next day, so people stopped accepting the naira. But since e-Naira is a central bank currency, sitting right on CBN systems, we should be able to convert eNaira to any other currency in a jiffy and get transactions cleared without the rigmarole of going to a commercial bank. This is a great advantage, isn’t it?  Surely the CBN will set limits. Equally, the CBN hopes to use this platform to ease the inflow of foreign currency into the country, by enabling Nigerians to sidestep the usually punitive charges taken by money transfer organizations. Companies like Western Union and Moneygram have always taken delight in slamming transactions heading to Nigeria with high fees. Now remittances could be easier… but you will get official rates. The black market for foreign currency will still exist, but this kind of reform could be the shock treatment that reduces the spread to something negligible.

Which other problem will it solve?

So, it’s really looking like if some Nigerians and their collaborators don’t spoil this with the usual waywardness, cynicism, lack of patriotism, predilection to defraud, or deception from high places, we may be on to something great with this e-Naira. We may be buying a new lease of life for the currency and the economy. Already, as the CBN stopped selling millions of US Dollars to thousands of BDCs every week, our foreign reserves have leaped by about $4 billion in just a couple of months. We are talking of $40 billion now. That’s great news. Even on the streets, the dollar frenzy has tapered. Smart Alecs have probably found other vocations. We knew they were just bragging and trying to tip this country over so that they can pick up the pieces. When last I checked, the Mallams will not buy dollars at more than N550, with prospects of further strengthening.

The Central Bank of Nigeria also hopes to use this eNaira for better monetary policy management. For every eNaira created, that is one Naira more in the direct control of the CBN. There will therefore be better oversight over Money Supply. The CBN – like their brother central banks around the world – believes that this is a great tool to reach out to citizens in periods of crisis by being able to make direct transfers to citizens where necessary. Of course, the Bank has to mind operational risks lest some smart guys begin to play games with their system.  Citizens must also continue to alert the CBN to wherever lapses may occur. I have also heard it said that this is like the CBN taking on the functions of commercial banks. Well, it is the sign of the times. It is the evolution of banking and finance. The banks are smart enough to see, that the central banks are only trying to save the entire traditional banking system as we know it from cataclysm.

I will urge Nigerians to be less cynical but more circumspect. Let us see if this initiative will deliver. Let us do away with all that negative view of the country. Truly, leaders have failed us. But we need not fail ourselves and enter into a spiral of grief. Nothing is bad about this country. Billions of people around the world would wish they had what we have all year round.  We have a country to save. And a currency too. Let’s get on with it.

So, yes. We do need an eNaira.

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minister-of-petroleum-in-nigeria
Economy

Nigeria Though An Attractive Destination For Business, Investors Must Read This

by Abdulrauf Aliyu
written by Abdulrauf Aliyu 10mins read

Nigeria is no doubt an attractive investment destination for multinational corporations seeking to do business in Africa. Yet, it remains a difficult market to do business in. My conversations with senior business executives, particularly those from big multinationals, often focused on the high cost and difficulty of doing business in Nigeria as one of the biggest disincentives for them to invest in the country.

In one illustration of these difficulties, consider that Nigeria currently ranks 131 out of 190 countries in the 2020 World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings, 100 places behind China, 93 places behind Rwanda, and just 1 place above the Niger Republic. The country’s ranking in paying taxes (159) and registering a property (183) is particularly bad.

The main reason for the poor performance is a complex and unpredictable regulatory landscape. Inconsistent policymaking and subjective interpretations of legislation on the ground are major obstacles to business. Moreover, regulations can change from state to state, just as they do in other large nations.

If entrepreneurs or multinational corporations want to succeed in Nigeria, they need to understand the country’s individual states and their business environments in a lot more detail. Most of them approach Nigeria as one market when they should be thinking of the different states as individual markets. After all, what works in Anambra or Kaduna state will not necessarily work in say Sokoto or Lagos state.

Nigeria is a large, fragmented, and heterogeneous market. Within the country, there are large – and often underestimated – regional differences in language, culture, talent, infrastructure, and wealth, all of which lead to wide variations in business landscapes.

Nigerian states can be compared to individual countries. For instance, Nigeria’s most populous state, Kano, has a population equal to that of Senegal or that of Liberia and Tunisia combined, while Nigeria’s most prosperous state, Lagos, has the 7th largest economy in Africa which is significantly bigger than that of the whole of Kenya, East Africa’s most dynamic country, with a nominal per capita income of more than $5,000, more than double the Nigerian average.

Cultural variations are important. Other than the well-documented differences in language and development, demographic differences are also significant. For instance, Southern Nigeria is older, with higher spending capabilities and a more skilled population, while Northern Nigeria is younger and relatively poor. North Nigerians prefer speaking Hausa, while South Nigerians prefer communicating in English or their respective native language. These cultural differences have a significant impact on multinationals’ talent and organizational decisions.

Nigeria’s federal structure also leaves certain key policy decisions to the states. Policies relating to infrastructure development, land and labour, healthcare, and transport fall under the purview of the states – as do most licensing and permitting.

This decentralized policymaking, as well as differing priorities among state governments – from city/urban management and rural development to improving infrastructure or attracting investment – have resulted in wide variations in the business landscape across the 36 states of Nigeria.

For instance, the 2018 World Bank Doing Business in Nigeria Survey compares business regulations and measures progress in four regulatory areas: starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registering property, and enforcing contracts. which map business environment conditions across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, reports that it takes an average of 44 days and 8 procedures in Kaduna to register a property thus making it the number one in Nigeria as against the likes of Lagos state with an average of 105 and 12 procedures or Sokoto state with an average of 85 days and 12 procedures, thus ranking them as number 16 and 30 respectively in Nigeria.

Similarly, the time it takes to enforce contracts varies. For instance, while it takes 307 days and a 25.2% claim value as cost in Kaduna state, In Sokoto state it takes  568 days with a 27.1% claim value as cost, while in Lagos state, it takes 447 days with a 42.0% claim value as the cost

I expect state(s) policy to become even more prominent in determining the overall investment potential of the country. This can be made possible if the country’s federal government encourages competitive federalism – an approach that will enable the 36 states to compete for investments based on their individual economic policies and ease of procedures. Similarly, the federal government should consider devolving power to state governments, thus, encouraging them to make their own economic policies.

Aside from understanding how Nigeria’s states differ, companies or investors must also create a well-thought-out plan for allocating resources across states. Most firms find it difficult to effectively compare markets and develop a structured prioritization process. Based on my experience of working with entrepreneurs or business executives doing in or seeking to start a business in Nigeria across different industries, I find that a simple yet powerful four-step framework can help them effectively prioritize markets in the country

Measure risk-adjusted opportunity

I recommend that entrepreneurs, senior business executives, or institutional investors first measure the risk-adjusted opportunity in each of Nigeria’s 36 states by analyzing leading indicators of the market’s size, growth, industry clusters, and stability. (Industry cluster metrics measure the size of the pool of potential customers for B2B or B2C companies, and market stability metrics measure institutional, business, and social stability.) Example indicators include size (population, for instance, or state gross domestic product), expected growth, industry clusters, and market stability (including factors from workplace injury rates to crime).

This first step would allow prospective investors or entrepreneurs to measure not only the potential in a market (size, growth, and industry clusters) but also the associated risk (market stability). This is important to get an assessment of the realistic potential of each state.

Measure operating environment

Entrepreneurs and investors should then measure the operating environment of each of the 36 states by analyzing indicators related to infrastructure, talent, finance, and the business and tax environment. The data for this exercise are publicly available on most state’s websites or the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics reports among several others. Example indicators include infrastructure (such as the number of major seaports or airports), access to talent (the number of people enrolled in higher education), access to finance, and the business and tax environment, and the ease of doing business.

The business and operating environment vary remarkably across states. Focusing on those that have a strong operating environment — for instance, high ease of doing business score (Kaduna) or well-developed infrastructure (FCT) — can help entrepreneurs or business executives lower the cost of doing business in the country.

Evaluate results

If we plot the risk-adjusted opportunity and operating environment of the different states on a graph, we would clearly see which states offer the highest return on investment and represent the greatest opportunity for business. It is advisable that business executives or investors focus on a state with the largest opportunity and the strongest operating environment so that they are able to increase the return on their investment.

Prioritize states

Entrepreneurs, business executives, or investors must also align their Nigerian focus and strategy to the outcome. They can do this by categorizing the states into four groups in order of priority.

The first group of states – those with high opportunity and a strong operating environment – are category 1 states where entrepreneurs or business executives should focus on enhancing performance. Most big businesses or multinationals already have a presence in these states and executives should undertake a strategic approach to improving operations and capturing opportunities in these high-performing states. I recommend examining areas of geographical expansion within the states and conducting internal reviews to identify areas of operational inefficiencies.

The second category of states – those with moderate opportunity and a good regulatory environment – are states in which entrepreneurs or business executives should consider expanding their presence. There are benefits in expanding to states that are geographically close to category 1 states, so I suggest a ‘hubbing strategy for expansion, i.e. executives should prioritize expanding to category 2 states that are relatively close to the high performing states to capitalize on cultural similarities and capture economies of scale.

The third category of states – those with moderate opportunity but a weak regulatory environment – are those where executives should monitor growth rates and explore potential as the state governments continue to improve the regulatory environment by implementing reform. Examining details of various policy initiatives aimed at attracting investment is critical for companies to determine the right time to enter these markets. Several central and eastern states fall into this category.

And finally, the fourth category – those with small risk-adjusted opportunities and a weak operating environment – are likely to be costly investment destinations for multinationals with low returns. Executives should de-prioritize these states.

Often considered a country of countries, Nigeria can be a difficult yet rewarding market for entrepreneurs, business executives, and institutional investors. Those that have a structured approach to prioritize Nigeria’s states can navigate the complex market effectively and make strategic decisions backed by quantitative insights. The approach presented here can enable entrepreneurs and business executives to prioritize those states that are business-friendly, thereby lowering their operating costs and helping them get the highest return on their investment. Adopting a state-wise approach is key to getting it right in Nigeria.

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