The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • ‘How MfBs can survive’

    What are the challenges of the micro finance bank?

    The first is overhead, however doing business in Nigeria is very difficult because there is no enabling society. What is this enabling environment,? First, it is power; for instance, we have being on generator since morning and you can’t run a bank without electricity. In a month we spend like N300, 000 on diesel, so all this things added up eat deep into our capital. This things affects all microfinance banks. Overhead, staff salary and at the initial stage they asked us to get a graduate. There is no way a unit microfinance bank can operate with graduates; all we need is two graduates that can coordinate the other workers.

    So when Lamido came in, he asked us to go on low key and it has being helping us for instance we have only five graduates and 30 foot soldiers. That is the way it being operated in Indonesia. Let’s say we employ a graduate for N40,000 a month, he won’t want to stoop so low to meet all this petty traders to be collecting N1000 a day daily contribution, he will want to be comparing himself with his counterparts in other commercials banks that being paid higher and are not being stressed. So we were asked to employ school cert holders who will take N20, 000 a month and will be happy to do the field work and appreciate the opportunity and it has also helped us to reduce our expenses.

    How many MfBs were there before the CBN intervention and how many do we have now?

    Before the intervention we had about 858 microfinance banks but now we have lesser than 300, because when CBN gave us the guidelines, most of the banks that had their license revoked found it very difficult to come back. We have to give kudos to Sanusi. He ensures that we meet once in three months to discus and I believe that by 2014, microfinance banks in Nigeria will be a role model to other countries around the world. We send periodical report that must get to them on or before the 14th of every month; there is a lot of control and stability for the remaining microfinance banks.

    How have you been coping with your primary objectives?

    Before the revocation of our licence, we do give loan of N5 to N10 million to people, but the later made us to realise that is not our primary objective, the primary objective of the microfinance bank is to borrow money out to those small scale marketers who are coming up to introduce banking to them, when Sanusi came on board, he said we can’t be operating like that, if you N1million to an individual or an organisation, they may default, and if they do, it may destabilise the organisation. But if you share that same N1million among 20 marketers, there is no way the 20 of them will default and they will appreciate it. So, microfinance banks are not meant for big players or companies. The CBN has said we should put all these local traders into different groups and that is why we have a loan called the group loan. Five of them can form an association, after forming the organisation, they can apply for loan, we check the minutes of their meetings and make sure they part payment every week and it has helping us.

    Since the restoration of your licence, what has been the impact of your bank on the economy?

    When we came back on board, we had a meeting and decided to start with the schools around Mushin. We learnt that most of the parents of the students in private schools pay their ward’s school fees late. So, we sat down most of the principals and told them to arrange a meeting with the those parents so that we can approach them and help them start a small scale business so that it benefit both the parent and the school. We also assisted those private schools to pay their staff salary once they are short of cash. We give them loan of about N400, 000 and we are sure that they are schools that can pay back.

    We also sponsor educational programmes. The last was the primary school quiz competition that we conduction here in Mushin and the winner carted home a term scholarship and a bicycle. We also sponsored the last festival that was held in Mushin.

    I had a meeting with the Babaloja of Mushin on how we can better the lives of the traders in Mushin and how we can improve their business. When our licence was returned, people lost the trust they had in us but after most of the offers and sponsorship, we have won their heart back.

     

     

    Do microfinance banks have a limited amount that they can gives as loan?

    Not really, what CBN said is that we should not give more than 5% of our capital as loan, if as a company you have N10million as your capital, it is not ideal to give out N5million, though there are businesses that you can bring and will you get good results. For instance when we can finance LPO of N5million, what we just do is that we got the company that the LPO is being given and asked them to issue the cheque in our favor. We have customers that have being with us for over three years, some started with N100, 000 and gone into millions so we can borrow them any amount because of their success rate.

    How do you do the monitoring?

    What we do is, the moment you get the loan, there is an accountant that is in constant contact with the customer and keeps tab of the daily sales. If it is in case of the LPO, we monitor the customer and immediately he gets the cheque, he pays straight into our account. The group loan is the method of getting our returns, this group loan deals with the uneducated traders, they are more coordinated than the educated and are scared of debt, so if a group of five gets a loan, they communicate among themselves and try to pay as soon as possible, because they won’t want to be embarrassed. So we enjoy giving out the group loan and it requires less monitoring. Since we returned in 2010, we have not recorded any defaulter. We have lot things we consider

    You said there are have different types of microfinance banks; can you shed light on that?

    We have the unit microfinance bank, which has a capital base of N20million and has only one branch, the state microfinance bank has a capital base of N100million while the national which has it’s all over the federation has a capital base of N2billion. Before the Sanusi intervention, a unit microfinance bank can have many branches, so CBN made us to understand that that is the major cause of problem, because by the get all the necessary infrastructure in place and pay your staff salary, it will definitely be difficult to serve our customers. So they with N20million you must own a Unit microfinance bank then can upgrade to a state microfinance and later become a national microfinance bank. In our own case we already have the capital base for a state microfinance bank, we applied to the CBN and hopeful, they will issue us the license for a state microfinance bank. After the issuance of the license we can then be able to open two other branches.

    Is it true that as a microfinance bank you are limited to certain locations?

    No, it’s just an advice, imagine a microfinance bank operating in Victoria Island, how can it survive? Except the director owns the property, if not the rent alone will cart away its capital. Next who are the target customers? Looking at VI, it is not a residential area for low income earners; it is a place for big organizations whereby the loan they need is even more than your capital. The same applies to areas like Balogun, Ereko, Idumota, so the most of the micro finance banks there had to shut down. A shop in Balogun is N1million naira and you must pay for five years, that is definitely going to affect the smooth running of the organization. Taking a look at the micro finance banks abroad, they serve as neighborhood banks where you can just dash in borrow money and leave. You don’t expect a textile merchant to enter a bank for N20, 000 loan, it is not possible that means they should know their objectives and manage their targets. So places like Ojuelegba, Oyingbo are still okay because you have still have some low income earners and artisans there, even Ikeja and Agege are still manageable.

    Sir you said you have applied to the CBN to become a state microfinance bank, do you intend to move into the capital market to make more profit?

    Yes, that is our target, some of our friends that know we are doing well are already advising us to go into that, so we are looking at 2015 so that we can get ourselves prepared because we need to give them a report, if you are to buy the shares a company you must first look at their report, statement of account financial report and know if there are doing well. So we are doing well, we were able to break even at May this and we started since 2010. All this will come out in our report this year, so buy 2015, we should be comfortable.

    As part of the CBN intervention, they said, every director of the microfinance banks must meet at least four times a year, which is for us to know the ability of the microfinance and see whether we can bring in more money. It has gone a long way to help because we meet at least once in every quarter. So that it will not be a one man show of just the manager and the director, for you to make any decision, you have to consult the board. Apart from that, we also have the credit committee and the audit committee of which a member of the board must be there. With his intervention any microfinance bank that is still existence is okay.

     

  • Chamber warns on return of congestion at ports

    The nation’s premier seaport in Lagos is said to be heading towards a return to the horrible old days when the entire port was overtaken by ships laden with containers begging to be off-loaded.

    This development, according to the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), is a fall-out of the government’s decision of replacing Cotecna (the Destination Inspection agent), with an apparently less capable inspection agent. Expressing deep concern over the worsening situation at the Lagos port, the LCCI said the replacement of the service provider was already creating serious capacity gaps in the cargo clearing process.

    According to a report by Hellenicshippingnews, the LCCI has equally expressed the fear that the regime change at the port would lead to what it described as “aggravation of corruption and extortion at the port as importers struggle to clear their cargo through the bottlenecks and risk of exacerbation of inflation, as goods are not quickly cleared from the port to meet relevant needs in the economy thus undermining the supply side of the economy.” Thus, agitated by the possible negative impacts of the change of guards at the port, the LCCI said that the Federal Ministry of Finance owed the nation and stakeholders an explanation for the decision. It noted that already, importers now grapple with the nightmare and inefficiency arising from long delays in scanning of containers, cargo clearing and related activities.

    A critical question stakeholders in the marine business ask is the underlying factors responsible for the decision to replace Cotecna with a new inspection agent. Yet anyone previously used to doing business at the Lagos port, considered to be the potential hub of marine trade in the west coast of Africa, will readily testify to the headache, if not heartache, hitherto experienced by importers at the port.

    Clearing a container used to take anything between two weeks and one month or even more. The presence of all manner of government agencies including the customs, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and tax officials created great disincentive for business with their multiplicity of charges and fees thereby making Nigerian ports less competitive with their peers in the West and Central African sub-regions.

     

     

     

     

    This cumbersome arrangement coupled with high demurrage charges, cost of servicing borrowed money by importers, disruption of production schedules for manufacturers whose imported raw materials were stuck at the port, and the attendant inability of suppliers to meet contractual deadlines took a heavy toll on the economy. Furthermore, this high cost of doing business at the ports was ultimately passed on to consumers by way of high prices. Meanwhile the ports were turned into one organised centre for corruption and chaos. It was in the face of this ugly situation that government intervened in 2006 by ordering all the sundry agencies out of the ports and brought in Cotecna as the Destination Inspection Agent. The government said at the time that it was committed to transforming the ways of doing business at the port with a view to bringing the time limit for clearing cargoes to 48 hours.

     

  • Global shares decline on Fed fear, German vote aftermath

    Global equities markets has declined as nagging uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s policy stance offset an election triumph for German leader Angela Merkel and upbeat euro zone and Chinese data.

    The euro dropped after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said euro zone interest rates will remain at current or lower levels for an extended period.

    “A combination of hearing lots of Fed presidents, and people from Capitol Hill talking will always put investors in a bad mood,” said Ron Florance, deputy chief investment officer at Wells Fargo Private Bank in Scottsdale, Arizona. “None of them are providing clarity. They are just providing more uncertainty and angst.”

    William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said on Monday that the timeline that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke articulated in June for scaling back the central bank’s stimulus measures is “still very much intact.”

    The Fed surprised financial markets last week by deciding to stick with its programme of buying Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities at a monthly pace of $85 billion, as it cited continued risks to the economy.

    Two other regional Fed presidents gave speeches on Monday. Richard Fisher, president of the Dallas Fed and a non-voter on policy this year, said last week’s unexpected decision on bond-buying hurt the central bank’s credibility.

    And Dennis Lockhart, president of the Atlanta Fed, warned that America risked “losing its economic mojo” unless lawmakers worked to reverse declines in labor productivity and new job creation.

    The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI ended down 49.71 points, or 0.32 per cent, at 15,401.38. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index .SPX finished down 8.07 points, or 0.47 percent, at 1,701.84. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC closed down 9.44 points, or 0.25 per cent, at 3,765.29.

    The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 fell 0.5 percent at 1,256.11 while MSCI’s index of world shares.MIWD00000PUS was down 0.3 per cent.

    World and European stock indexes hit a five-year high last week while the S&P 500 and Dow industrials hit record highs after the Fed kept policy unchanged.

    Despite the strong showing by Merkel’s conservatives in Germany’s general election on Sunday, the party appeared just short of the votes needed to rule on their own, while current coalition partner the Free Democrats suffered a humiliating exit from parliament.

    Stock markets also struggled after Friday’s comments by a top Fed policymaker who hinted the U.S. central bank may not wait too much longer to phase out its huge stimulus program.

    Adding to concerns was the approaching October 1 deadline for Congress to avoid a government shutdown as lawmakers negotiate ahead of the end of the fiscal year on Sunday.

    The New York Fed’s Dudley warned that fiscal uncertainties “loom very large” as Congress prepares to hash out a deal to avoid a government shutdown and raise the nation’s debt ceiling.

    The negative sentiment largely offset strong data from Europe. Markit’s September euro zone Flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index jumped to its highest since June 2011 and beat expectations as new orders hit their fastest pace in over two years.

    “We had some good news out of China and Europe and the elections in Germany are favorable for the euro zone, but focus remains on the Fed,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in New York.

    EURO FALLS

    The euro was down 0.2 percent at $1.3496 after Draghi’s comments offset Merkel’s win.

    But Nick Beecroft, chairman and senior market analyst for Saxo Bank capital markets, said Merkel’s election win was “a ringing endorsement” for efforts to preserve the euro.

    “The positive thing for the euro is that it is 99 percent certain we will have a grand coalition that will be able to change the (German) constitution if needed to allow euro bonds.

    “This won’t happen overnight but I expect it to gradually come onto the agenda,” he added.

    Commodity currencies were bid after a survey showed a promising pickup in Chinese export orders, another sign of stabilization in China, the world’s second-biggest economy.

    The preliminary HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index for China climbed to 51.2 in September, from August’s 50.1, with 10 out of 11 sub-indexes up in the month. Dealers had looked for a reading of around 50.9.

    The Australian dollar rose 0.5 percent to $0.9443. China alone takes around one-third of all Australia’s exports, chiefly commodities such as iron ore, the key raw material for steel.

    Shares in Shanghai .SSEC gained 1.3 percent and Taiwan’s main index .TWII rose 1 percent on the same data.

    BONDS FIRM

    U.S. Treasuries prices rose on Monday.

    The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was up 9/32, with the yield at 2.7008 percent.

    Europe’s bond markets were little changed after the German election, with German Bunds and most euro zone periphery debt faltering after a positive start.

    In other markets, Brent crude oil was down 1 percent at $108.10 a barrel, while U.S. crude was down 1.2 percent at $103.49.

  • ‘Piracy killing Bible production’

    ‘Piracy killing Bible production’

    What is your major challenge?

    It is piracy. Pirates are creating problems for our image. They pirate our bibles with our logos with the same content but poor quality. And people return some of these bibles to us, complaining. But when we look at them, we say sorry, these are pirated copies.

    The unsuspecting public does not know which one is pirated or not. We do not know what the government is doing about it. Our laws are not even helping us. When you go to court, a piracy case may take about six years before it is decided. We had a case in Abeokuta some years ago and at the end, what did the judge pronounce, the Bible was written by God. How will somebody say that? Some people wrote the Bible. But God gave them the inspiration.

    How are you tackling the problem?

    We are tackling it from all directions by partnering with various agencies that are relevant to handle such issues. We are also being careful of our pricing policies. We make it cheap such that an ordinary man can afford a Bible. There is no reason going for poor quality when you can get an original one for the same price. With that we have recorded some successes. We believe that God will give us more opportunities to hijack their containers. At a point, we did with the help of the Nigeria Customs Service and whether the person likes it or not, that will be a big loss to him.

    Do you have other challenges?

    The exchange rate of the naira is a big challenge. It is not steady. About five years ago, it was N124 to $1. Now it is N160-N162. These are added to the cost of production; yet we are not increasing the cost of our bibles. So, what do we do? Again, the purchasing power of the people is not what it used to be? We claim on the pages of newspapers that we have economic growth, but we do not have economic development. If the economic growth is not translating to development, the purchasing power of the people will be very low. People cannot even afford the basic essentials of life, such as good homes, food, jobs etc.

    We also have the problem of money. The BSN is not a profit-making organisation. Whether you like it or not, it is not easy for us, to raise such money from our churches. Some of our bibles are given out free. The ones that are sold are sold at heavily susbsidised prices and when you look at it from that dimension, how do we continue to survive as an organisation? We need more funds.

    Another challenge is human capital. We have some graduates who cannot take up employment immediately without being trained. There was a time we wanted a research officer. It took us two years to get a competent person. Those we interviewed could not do the job, so we could not employ them. It took two years before we were able to get one.

    At the moment, we trying to get a translation consultant. At a time we needed two, we got one who died in 2009. Since then, we have been looking for one, but we haven’t got. The consultant must have a PhD in Linguistics or Biblical Languages – Hebrew and Greek. If you have a PhD in Linguistics, it means we will train you for about five years in Biblical languages to be useful and vice versa. This takes time. As a result, we lack sufficient and competent manpower to handle some of these jobs. It is a big challenge to us and I want to tell you that we rely on our sister societies to help us in checking our translated books. Consultants from countries such as Cameroun help to go through the drafts.

    What about the environmental challenge?

    In the past, you can predict when you can import bibles. It took a maximum of two and half to three months to produce, 15 days to ship and three days to clear. One of our containers arrived on July 10 and we cleared it on August 15. That was a challenge. One, you are paying demurrage. The bibles are not being sold for profit. So, you can’t break even. The economic environment is hostile. You can’t clear your goods at the right time.

    You are investing in guest houses. Isn’t that a deviation from your core business?

    It is not. It depends on what you call business. Evangelism is business. It’s God’s business. The word business is relative.

    I mean investment.

    I know what you mean. We only have two guest houses that are really functional. The reason we invested in them is this: We started with the idea that we wanted our Board and National Executive Committee members’ meetings to be held in our guest houses to reduce the cost of lodging trustees and others in hotels – most of which are expensive because of the calibre of our people. Then we thought of a place that is not too expensive but acceptable to our people. That is why the cost of lodging in our guest houses is cheap compared to others of less standard.

    We are not really out to make profit. But rather to help our members and Christians who will not like to lodge in hotels. Do you know that there are Christians who will not like to lodge in hotels? So, we are providing a place where these people will have their spiritual retreats, and where Christians leaders will hold their workshops.

    We do not get money from what we are doing to carry out programmes. It is a way of supplementing what we are doing. The little money we get from the guest houses we plough into the system.

    What is your reaction to the problems caused by Boko Haram?

    It is an issue I do not really want to talk about? Not because I am afraid, because I have not really seen much development in nipping the problem in the bud. The question is, why do we have Boko Haram? You are a Christian, ask an educated moslem if he would want his child to die prematurely. Look at those being used by Boko Haram, they either those who are not able to make needs meet in the beginning, they now have hope somewhere, then somebody brainwashes them. We should go to the root of the matter.

     

     

    There are different reasons for Boko Haram. But I know they also said they want people to live moderately. That people should live according to the Koran. If so, let’s try it, maybe that would solve the problem. We must go back to God; live the right kind of life. Two, leaders must lead by example, not a life full of corruption. Corruption is endemic in Nigeria. By the way, we are only looking at Boko Haram, what about the things killing us as a nation? Our economy is dying; the political system is in disarray. The religious set up, I do not want to say they are not living up to their billings but we are crying wolf. What about killed by HIV/AIDS or common malaria? And those who stole pensions only for the pensioners to die later.

     

    What is comment on more churches, yet more vices?

    When we talk of churches, the first question I will ask is, what is a church? Church has its root in the Greek word kalio, which means the called out. Called from where? The Bible says called out from darkness to the marvelous light of our Lord. You are talking of churches really, how many do you really have that we can say are actually meeting up with biblical standards? We are looking buildings with godly names. I hope they also have godly content in terms of human beings. If you are talking of corruption, one question we should ask is, are saying that some of these factors are really worth their salt? Are they really not contributing to these things we are talking about? I don’t want to say churches alone. What of other religious groups? How many of their members have comprised their faith because of money? When you are talking of the churches, the questions are, who are their leaders? What is their values? If their values are based on the things of this world, how to enrich their purses, then you should expect that corruption will continue to be on the increase. So, when we talk of corruption, it is a reflection of who we are. None of the religions preaches that we should embezzle. If so, then why are we corrupt? So the problem is not with the number of churches but the people who are not leaving according to its teachings.

    What are your plans for BSN?

    One is human capital development. I want to see how our staff will be multi-skilled, how a strategic person holding a strategic position on leaving, we would not feel his impact. I want to have a leadership academy where staff will be trained on the job and on issues outside it. I don’t want to call it an MBA within the BSN. But its graduates will be good enough to compete with products of Oxford University.

    Besides, we have translated the Bible into just 22 languages out of 500 in Nigeria I 47 years. If you add the colonial era when foreign bibles societies were translating for us, then we should be talking of 145 years. This means we still have a long way to go. Therefore I plan to do eight translations in the next eight years.

    I also plan to give Braille bibles to the blind. One of them costs N77,000. And I want to reach 1,200 of them in the next five years. That will cost N92.5million.

    Also, in the next five years, we will distribute a minimum of three million bibles and read them. Thus, I will carry out life-impacting programmes that will ensure that people don’t just acquire them and dump them under their pillows, but also read them.

    What of the workers’ welfare?

    When you are talking of welfare, I want to believe that the first thing is to make my staff more competent. The leadership academy is part of it. Because whatever you learnt when you are going, you will not leave it behind. However, at BSN we believe in rewarding our staff for their input. But it has to be within the contest of what we can afford. So, we have fair, let me not say good, incentives for staff.

     

     

     

     

  • ‘I travelled by plane 24 years after joining Civil Service’

    ‘I travelled by plane 24 years after joining Civil Service’

    I was born on March 7, 1929. But I did not start primary school until after 10 years. I was 21 years old when I entered secondary school in 1950 after my primary education at Christ Church School, Ilaro, Ogun State in 1948. This was due to polygamy. My father, who is from Ibara, Ogun State, divorced my mother when I was about four years old and so my pupilage was at the village school and I was nutured by my paternal grandmother and my father’s elder brother.

    But I did not allow all that to stop me. I am very passionate about education. I wept bitterly when I could not enter Igbobi College due to late application. And I was then directed to St. Gregory’s College which I later attended. I was led there by the former Surveyor-General of Lagos State, Mr Olukunle Akinola, who was in form three, who then signed as my guardian. When I love something or someone, I write or compose something in honour of such.

     

    My creative inspiration

     

    My writings are inspired by events that challenge my political leaning or whatever I am passionate about. I started writing in my 20s and as long as I am alive, I would continue to write. In my younger days, I wrote commentaries/articles on diverse issues in the newspapers such as West African Pilot, The Nigerian Tribune, Daily Service, Daily Times. My first article was published in The Nigerian Tribune in the 60s.

    As a civil servant, I was not expected to be in politics or give opinion publicly, so I chose Adio Mosanya, which I came to be known within political and journalism circles, whereas in the Railways and labour, I was known as Jacob Adebayo Mosanya. Writing also helped me when I was into unionism.

    I am passionate about the late icon, Chief Obafemi Awolowo because of his contributions to the development of the country. And I have written several books in honour of him. My book, Post-Independence Political Evolution of Western Nigeria (The Obafemi Awolowo Factor) that was launched yesterday is meant to inspire this generation to emulate the good qualities of our past heroes. It is a combination of four of my books published in the 60s and 70s – Martyrdom of Chief Obafemi Awolowo (1963), The Faults of the Yorubas (1965); Awo! The Pacesetter (1965) and Arofo Oriki Obafemi Awolowo (1969). The fifth portion of the book contains newspapers, commentaries on him by me and from newspaper columnists, especially those of The Nation like Sam Omatseye, Steve Osuji, Idowu Akinlotan (Palladium), who wrote the foreword to my book, among others.

    My granddaughter, Desola Willie-Desanya, inspired me to put all my books together. She said she saw online that the Martyrdom of Chief Obafemi Awolowo was tagged “out of print”; it dawned on me that the generation for which I wrote the book are now old and others have followed. I thought it would make a good historical material for all; and through the help of Mr Babatunde Scott, formerly of The National Mirror and others, it became a reality after about three years.

     

    My political activism

     

    It is a shame that our youths are not concerned about goings on. Unlike our days, we were concerned, politically conscious and active. We were conscious of what the government, especially that of Awolowo, was doing and were in full support. I started to play politics in Action Group (AG) while in secondary school. I was inspired by my father. When I was in secondary school, he told me to emulate two people: Headmaster of St. Pauls Catholic School, Ebute Metta, J.F Odunjo and Awolowo. I knew Awolowo while growing up because he lived in our section of Ibara. He was very brilliant and bold. It is hard to find people who are straightforward. As I grew up, he did not dwindle.

    All my political activism and activities were in Mushin. I became Chairman of the Action Group (AG) Youth Association, Mushin (1963 to 66). When Awolowo travails came in 1962, the elders disappointed. It was us, youths that were running the party at our own expense. One of our greatest motivator then was the father of Senator Ganiyu Solomon. As a sympathiser with the AG, Lateef Jakande’s writings wre also very encouraging.

    The revolution that started from Mushin, known also as Operation Wet E, was part of our contributions. Because the revolutions do not start in one day: it started germinating until it comes to boiling point. Women were also part of the revolution. Two women stood out in the struggle. They are Awolowo’s wife, Chief (Mrs) HID and the late Habibat Asabi Mogaji. Mogaji is a very great icon; the greatest mother of the Action Group. But for this type of woman, Awolowo would not have come out of prison. She and the market women were the backbone of the party. During the time we were running AG Youth Wing, the market women stood by him and us: we were their children.

    Chief HID is a heroine in her own rights. She was his most trusted partner. When her husband was carried to Lekki, she followed the husband there. She supported us too, attending most of our activities whenever she was invited.

    Lamentation for the nation

     

    The situation of things in the country is lamentable. The country is not safe anymore. It became sadder and sadder watching the promises we expected when we were leaving secondary school being constantly dashed by those who call themselves politicians. As young grandaunts, then, the firmament was very bright, look at it now – hazy.

    In our days, there were lots of scholarships that many like Wole Soyinka and others benefited from; but there are no more scholarships. I feel for parents sending their children to school now. We have brilliant brains but none to sponsor them.

    Unemployment rate is terribly high. Then, Nigerian graduates abroad used to run back home because there was something to do at home. These days, there are not enough jobs for the graduates. It is becoming harder for a good boy/girl to get a good wife/husband due to the situation of things. In our time, buying a bike was seen as signing one’s death warrant but since it has become very hard to survive, people no longer care. Yet, they have taken away their livelihood without providing them with a substitute. There are no more government-owned industries; we are basically an importing-economy.

    Our naira has no more value. When I retired in 1987, I could not raise the only house I had into two or three storey-building because they did not pay my gratuity for over two years. By the time they did, they had rubbished Nigerian currency. The military boys spoilt the country. Granted there was corruption before, put the corruption then was child’s play compared to what we have now. I fear if it is not contained, it could degenerate to some tragic. If petroleum dries up, what are we going to use to replace it?

     

    My message

     

    We must have a re-think, but how do we do it? If I say prayers, then I am not sincere. True politics is being able to affect the citizenry, positively. Our leaders should emulate the examples of people like Awolowo who serve their countries selflessly and cared about the plight of the people. His book Paths to Nigeria Freedom is a must-read for those seeking to make a great country out of Nigeria. For one to love Nigeria, one must know it. Awolowo prepared himself for the greatness of Nigeria. In his time, he tried greatly to ensure that the masses are adequately catered for through his policies.

    There was a wrestling bout in the House of Representatives recently. Let us note and respect other people’s idiosyncrasies and culture. As I said, my book preaches oneness: finding the way forward together with a common purpose.

     

    Civil service years

     

    I started working as a civil servant in 1956 and put in 31 years in service. So, I understand the plights of those working as civil servants today. That civil servants are not being paid for three months is wickedness. How much do they earn? But it is not today it started. When I was in the Nigerian Railway Corporation, we were also not paid for three months. It was easy to cope. I was on Level 05 for 24 years and after retirng my pension is N19,000, which is not even up to the newspaper I buy in a month. But for my children who are helping, how would I have been able to cope? Many pensioners have no house. And yet people are constantly stealing the pension funds and nothing happens. What is more heartless? That is why many retirees die shortly after they retire.

    I started trade unionism in 1977. The first time I entered the plane was during a strike in 1980. This was 24 years after I joined the Civil Service. Writing also helped me when I was in unionism, especially during the 1977 and 1980 strikes. I was Station Master at Oshodi and we were struggling for 40 hours per week decreed by General Olusegun Obasanjo government. But the Railway management was using us to do 84 hours with no rest at weekend and did not change. This led to the strike. I was made Station’s Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee of Station Staff when it was obvious that our union leaders had sold out. By 1981/82, I won a Labour Scholarship to USSR.

  • Firm projects higher earnings

    AP. Moller-Maersk Group said it hopes to exceed its projected earnings for the year following good its performance in the second quarter.

    The company posted better-than-expected second-quarter profit, boosted by lower costs in its shipping unit. Second-quarter net profit was $856 million, higher than analysts’ projections of $545.79 million.

    Last year, the company’s net profit was $965 million and revenue was slightly lower than expected at $14.2 billion, down from $15.4 billion in the year earlier.

    The Chief Executive Officer, Nils Andersen, said: “We delivered a good operational result for the second quarter, thanks to improved performance in most of our businesses.

    “Maersk Line has made strong and consistent progress and is now an industry leader in terms of profitability. APM Terminals continue to deliver good results, and Maersk Drilling had its best quarter ever based on strong operational performance. Oil production was relatively low, but it has bottomed out now and will return to growth in the second half of the year.”

    He said the firm is considering the establishment of a fifth core business unit with a target of $0.5 billion by 2016, adding that increased profit was achieved across all businesses, except Maersk Oil and Damco as well as Maersk Tankers, which negatively impacted by impairments and provisions of $280 million related to Very Large Crude Carriers.

  • ‘Tears of 2006 have been washed away’

    ‘Tears of 2006 have been washed away’

    The 2006 edition of NAFEST was special in the sense that for the first time when NAFEST was ending, the next host was known. And this was because I had strategised, made budget provision which had been approved by the House of Assembly for our hosting in 2006. NCAC at that time had no stress, they didn’t need to woo any state government to host the festival.

    The budget was there and the Glory Land Cultural Centre was there too. No art council can boast of the facilities we have at Glory Land Cultural Centre. The only challenge we had then which we don’t have is the Artistes’Camp, which was over crowded because people were really enthusiastic about visiting Bayelsa. So, it was quite an awesome moment for us as we had prepared a float, which was an attraction we had also prepared to do a host component regatta with every local council in the state.

    Bringing three regatta boats, we had 24 boats and the arts council had two, totalling 26 boats regatta. Unfortunately, the festival was cancelled few minutes after it was opened. As at the opening, about 24 states had arrived with about four states on their way. Ogun state contingent was inWarri during the opening ceremony. So, it was quite painful because it was an exercise in futility, all efforts and preparation coming to nothing. The hosting of NAFEST 2013 by Bayelsa is a fall-out from the aborted 2006 edition.

    Members of the Culture Executive Council were concerned that they didn’t have the opportunity to enjoy Bayelsa, because that time the news of kidnapping, hostage taking common place. But they were shocked to find the opposite when they got to Bayelsa.

    So, people felt they needed to go back to Bayelsa to enjoy it. I am a fulfilled man because the tears of 2006 have been washed away. It was painful, a sad moment. I remember the debate we had in the Government House when the news of the plane crash reached us. Governor Goodluck Jonathan called Abuja, discussed with the authorities. And the compromise was that the festival should be opened so that people would not go back like that. It was done to honor the dead. It was quite understandable because the country had lost a crop of top military officers. But it was painful and since there was nothing we could do about it, we just have to live with it.

    You know money has been spent before the crash and for us to start to think of hosting the festival following year would be stressful in term of funding. It would not be fair on the state to go through all that. So it was good to allow time to heal the wounded of 2006. For us in the council, wiping away the tears of 2006 came in the sponsorship of the state troupe to Paris, France where we have performed at United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) headquarters in September 2006, the same.

    The Gloryland Cultural Centre is wearing a new look and its artistes and government that will enjoy it. I am happy that a proposal I made for the centre though didn’t concentrate at that time is seen causing to past. It has made the centre more than enough for the hosting of events like this. It will be an impetus for the government to host bigger events at the centre.

    With the disposition of the governor to culture, I believe the initial plan for the state to host Bayelsa Festival will now materialise.

    People can see how cultural events can stimulate great economic activities. For example, NAFEST cultural markets keep expanding by the day, from the centre’s premises to the judiciary complex. In fact, people are leaving the main markets to sell at the cultural centre.

    At the end of the day, the local economy will be better for it. With adequate planning and publicity future festivals will attract tremendous reception. I thank Governor Seriake Dickson for hosting the festival and we need a Bayelsa Festival and more of it in future.”

    Hosting NAFEST this year, Executive Director, Bayelsa Arts Council, Mr Ineye Johnny Dudafa, said it was a fulfillment.

    “From the day the idea was brought before the Governor, he bought the idea of hosting this year’s festival. And that simplified everything. I have attended several NAFEST since 1989, which gave me rich knowledge of experience this year given the reception and attendance. Everything I believe happens according to the will of God. My predecessor, Barclays Ayakoroma did all he could to ensure the state hosted NAFEST in 2006. But for the plane crash, it was put off. Since then we have always looked for opportunity to host the festival. It has always been my dream because the climax of council programme is NAFEST. The turn-out is okay, and I will now describe such attendance as low, it is successful. So far, we had 21 out of 36 states. I am sure every state would have loved to be here but there could be peculiar problem of release of funds. If the roll call of states had been 30, then it would have been better. However, we still worked with what we had.

    “The content of the festivals wide, we have competitive and non-competitive events, because of the number of states showing interest in competitive that has events affected the competitiveness of the events. And by extension, it affected the contents of the festival. However, there are rooms for improvement; adopt female wrestling to create room for gender equality. I am happy that the state is hosting NAFEST during my time in the council. Grateful to God and government because this has made another statement as far as Bayelsa’s image is concerned. Efforts should be made to encourage Governors to allow their states to participate in future editions. There is much to gain,” he said.

     

  • Banks threatened as AMCON begins levy collection

    Banks threatened as AMCON begins levy collection

    Banks may face hard times as the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) begins to collect the mandatory 0.5 per cent levy from them.

    The sinking fund levy is 0.5 per cent of banks’ total assets. It is in line with the regulatory requirement setting up the corporation. The fee was increased from 0.3 per cent to 0.5 per cent earlier in the year. The rate hike represents about three to four per cent increase in total operating costs.

    According to Renaissance Capital (RenCap), an investment and research firm, the levy’s collection may worsen the liquidity condition in the sector.

    Its Associate, Africa Equity International Sales, Akintola, Akinbamidele, said: “AMCON may be looking to collect its annual levies from the banks. To date, the banks have been providing for these, but the cash has not been collected. It now looks as if these funds could be removed from the banking system, placing additional pressure on more illiquid banks.”

    He said the liquidity crunch that saw the Nigeria Interbank Offered Rate (NIBOR) climbing to 60 per cent on September 18, was caused by the delayed impact of the increase in the Cash Reserve Requirement (CRR) for public sector deposits to 50 per cent. The policy was introduced August 7. The CRR is a portion of banks’ deposits kept with the CBN and was at 12 per cent before the present hike.

    “On our estimates, that raised the blended CRR for the average Nigerian bank to 17 per cent versus Kenyans at 5.25 per cent and Ghanaians at nine per cent,” he said.

    He said efficient and liquid banks, such as, GTBank could adapt and have good balance sheets, while the best in class liquid banks, with high Cash Adequacy Ratios (CAR) like Zenith, United Bank for Africa (UBA) may emerge net placers on the interbank market.

    Data obtained from the Financial Market Association of Nigeria (FMDA), showed that as a result of these restrictions, NIBOR call (overnight) tenor rose 3,225 basis points to 60 per cent on September 18. The rate was at 44 per cent on September 16, from 28 per cent the previous day. The NIBOR was at average of 14 per cent before the CRR hike took effect, FMDA said.

    Analysts at Afrinvest West Africa Plc, equally expressed concerns over both policies, saying there will be ‘unavoidable impact’ of the new 50 per cent CRR on majority of the banks going forward. The CRR policy, they said, implies significant increase in the banks’ cost of funds, a tensed pressure on the Net Income Margin (NIM) as a larger proportion of the deposits will now be held in CBN’s coffers as reserves.

    Afrinvest said the affected banks might have to sell down on investment securities to call back the 38 per cent, and also consequently, may re-navigate their deposits mobilisation strategies, re-price risk assets in line with their “cautious” lending strategy and adjust business models.

    Also to affect banks’ profitability is the implementation of the revised guide to bank charges. The CBN said bank customers will from 2016, begin to enjoy free Commission on Turnover (COT) on all their transactions. The policy took effect on April 1, has seen the COT gradually drop to N3 per mille this year. It will be N2 per mille in 2014; N1 per mille in 2015 and zero per cent per mille in 2016.

    Banks have also agreed to put a stop to all charges associated with the use of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). The agreement was the highpoint of a meeting between the Bankers Committee made up of Chief Executive Officers of Deposit Money Banks, directors and top officials of the CBN and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation. Before now, account holders had been made to pay a flat rate of N100 per withdrawal any time they used other banks’ ATMs.

    Managing Director, Afrinvest West Africa Plc, Ike Chioke said the banking industry is now confronted with the reality of declining fee incomes, mobile money and dollar denominated capital sourcing.

    He predicted that the era of “real banking” appears to be gradually re-emerging as traditional sources of high income/profitability continue to come under threat from increased competition and tighter regulation. He predicted that in the next five years, outlook on yields and fee income remains downwards, necessitating the need for banks to focus on lending to the real sector. Also, banks are expected to develop and grow the depth of their core retail banking businesses to retain and amplify cheap deposits.

     

  • Selling recharge cards, others, making fortune

    Selling recharge cards, others, making fortune

    Before Adeoye Adebayo, ChiefExecutive,God’s Time Adepet Enterprise started a phone call business, he had no accommodation. He was sleeping in a make shift with an Hausa night guard at Ajegunle Bus stop, Alapado, Lagos. It was traumatic. That was in 2009. Later,his entrepreneurial spirit led him to inspire others.

    He began business out of need. But he encountered several difficulties. He was determined not to end up among the growing number of unemployed young people.He looked for a way out.

    He started with N7000, bought an umbrella, a chair, table and Airtel branded phone. He sees an opportunity in the residents in the neighbourhood who have cell phones and for which they regularly buy recharge cards. He understands that they needed a supplier.

    He bought cards and started helping people to make calls. He soon started to win his customers and made some savings to launch himself in telephony business. Soon, he was able to make money to rent a room. He was proud of what he was doing. Along the line, people were making enquiries about chargers and batteries.

    He bought on request.He added other accessories to the business. From his savings, he got himself a shed at the bus stop and displayed his items for sale. The business grew and he got himself a container, but was left with nothing to stock it.

    A friend loaned him N50,000. He was to pay back the money with an interest of N7,000.He couldn’t tell people that he got the money with interest so he wouldn’t be discouraged from taking it. That was a big challenge. With a brave heart, nothing is impossible, he reasoned.

    He was able to repay the money with the interest six months after.

    Today, besides owning a big phone store, he has a barbing salon. He has employed four staff.

    Adebayo is one of the new generation of homegrown micro entrepreneurs serving the multi-naira phone market. When asked about the key to his success, he said: “Adaptability, confidence and courage.”

    So, it is not uncommon to see him encouraging, orientating and advising young entrepreneurs who want to start in business.

    Today, he is one of the successful entrepreneurs who inspires the youth who want to go into business and become financially independent.

    As more Nigerians own mobile phones, he told them, the demand for accessories such as chargers, earphones (wireless and wired), batteries, phone pouches, USB connectors and memory cards will be on the rise.

     

  • NOA seeks sanction for  abuse of national symbols

    The Director-General, National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mike Omeri, has  urged the National Assembly to expedite action on the Ordinance Act expected to proffer stiffer punishment for wrong users of Nigerian national symbols.

    The bill have scaled through First Reading at the floor of National Assembly.

    The Act, if signed into law, will also encourage all Nigerians to imbibe the culture of celebrating Nigerian uniqueness, identity and accomplishments.

    Omeri made this call at the a Patriots’ Assembly to commemorate the second Edition of the National Symbols Day in Abuja.

    He described Nigeria’s symbols as antidotes  for unity and peaceful coexistence.

    Last year, NOA set aside September 16 of every year, as the day for Nigeria to honour Nigerians National Symbols with a view to engraving the consciousness of their citizens’ correct features of their various national symbols and to engender love, acceptance and respect for those symbols.

    According to him, the day was set aside as a result of wide spread of misunderstanding and misrepresentation of our various National Symbols, gross disregard, disrespect, abuse and misuse of the symbols to create awareness and to demonstrate our love of country and nationalistic re-awaken spirit.

    He said: “We believe that the positive values embodied by our National symbols can naturally evoke certain attitudes and emotions toward our nation. We believe our National core values as enumerated in section 2, sub-section 23 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria are expressed in our National symbols and should further find practical expression in the manifestation of those values by Nigerians through the inspiration they draw from our National symbols,” he said.

    “The NOA is seeking the amendment of ordinance of the act to make wrong display of National symbols, defacing of other wrong treatment of our National symbols attract greater sanction.

    NOA boss revealed that the Nigerian National Flag was established by the flag and coat of Arms Ordinance act NO. 48 of September 16, 1960. The green-white-green was raised for the first time on October 1, 1960. The flag brings to mind memories of sacrifice thereby inspiring unity and innovation. Since assumption of office last year, we have embarked on a series of activities to promote these virtues.

    Omeri disclosed that Nigeria symbols includes: the National Flag, the coat of Arms, the National Anthem, the Naira, National identity card, Nigerian International Passport and National orders are symbols to unite people by creating visual and verbal and iconic representation of our heritage, values and goals.

    He further urged the Nigerians to focus their attention on Nigeria symbols as a way of bringing unity to the country adding that it is imperative to reverse the trend which has put a dent on a country’s nationalism.