The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Wigwe: Art X Lagos project lifting local talents

    By Collins Nweze

    The Group Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank Plc,  Herbert Wigwe has said that the ‘Art X Lagos’ project has helped in harnessing and grooming local talents needed to change the African narrative in a positive manner.

    The bank chief spoke during the West-Africa’s Premier International Art Fair ‘ART X Lagos’, with theme: “More Than An Art Fair”  supported by Access Bank Plc as a Gold Sponsor.

    Wigwe lauded the Founder Art X Lagos Ms. Tokini Peterside and stressed the importance, contribution & relevance of Art X to Africa.

    He said: “Art X Lagos is establishing itself as the Premier Art Fair in Africa and not only West-Africa, because it is making a difference, speaking to inclusiveness and speaking to the beauty of all parts of Africa.”

    He further stated that Art X Lagos shows us that as Africans, we can begin to harness the very best of talent on the continent so that we can begin to change the narrative of not just Nigeria, but of Africa. The whole world must begin to focus on our continent and the quality of skills that we have.

    It is widely believed that the African art history has played a significant role in shaping the culture and history of the world. The belief that Africa is the cradle of the history of mankind is virtually unshakeable.

    The origins of African art history lie long before recorded history, preserved in the obscurity of time. Rock Art is centuries old, while shell beads fashioned for a necklace have been recovered in a cave in the furthest reach of the southern peninsula of South Africa that are 75, 000 years old.

    A lot of African art has been acquired for curious means by travelers, traders and missionaries in the century before and left the continent. Colonialists most often did not give indigenous art the merit and attention it deserved and thereby African art history has not been preserved or documented.

    The ‘Art X Lagos’ was widely described as a love letter to Africa Art. The fair was inclusive,  it was as innovative, pristine, original, modern and African with it’s the numerous exhibitors, collectors, families, children, enthusiasts, students, professors & other guests from Nigeria and across the world.

    This 2019 fair that held at the Federal Palace Hotel from the  first to third November, was the most ambitious to date, with a larger and better gallery to receive a wide array of artists from the continent and diaspora.

    The Art sector largely, is one of Nigeria’s most undervalued & underutilized value-propositions, which could be highly marketable for our national image boost and exportable for our economic recovery & growth. Art X Lagos recognizes that Nigerians really do have talent, are highly skilled and have amazing stories to tell through Art, which is one of the reasons for birthing the fair, in order to inspire, promote, give opportunities and establish emerging artists to the end that their potentialities to contribute to national growth and development are boosted.

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    Spotlight was on Etinosa Yvonne, self-taught Documentary Photographer won the 2019 Access Bank ART X Prize of N1.5 million cash grant, a three-month residency at Gasworks, London, in 2020, and a solo presentation at ART X Lagos in 2020.

    According to Yvonne: “In 2018, I went for my first ever ART X Lagos fair, and I was really inspired by the kind of works I saw there. Fortunately this year, I got nominated for the Access Bank Art X prize, meeting the jury members was really amazing, It made me review my practice, they made me think there’s much that I can do than what I am doing now.

    The subject matter that I’m dealing with is very personal to me, I want people to see and feel everything I felt on my journey of documenting this project, I am looking at more immersive ways of putting together an exhibition that will stir up something in people.

    The relevance of the Access Bank Art X prize would be to give visibility to the artist, with the Access Bank Art X prize, I will be able to continue researching, continue traveling and interviewing survivors of terrorism and violent conflict in Nigeria.

    This will be an opportunity for me to immerse myself in the whole art experience and see how I can basically push my project forward.”

    Attendees and enthusiasts, from Adults, to teenagers, down to children could not contain the thrill of being at the fair and expressed their excitement. During interviews at the Access Bank Art X lounge, Art Connoisseur, Patrick Koshoni said; “I’m so happy, its all fantastic new work I’m seeing, and I’m titillated!” and IBK said; “Hi, I’m so inspired and happy, it feels like something else.”

     

  • BVN subscribers to hit 100m

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has pledged to increase the figures of bank customers enrolled on the Bank Verification Number (BVN) system from 38 million to 100million in the next five years.

    According to the CBN Update released yesterday, the apex bank said increase in BVN enrollment would address the constraint that poor identification has on the availability of credit to prospective banking customers, particularly, those in the informal sector.

     

     

    According to recent figures released by Nigeria Interbank Settlement Systems (NIBSS), over 38 million active banks accounts are currently linked with BVN and the CBN has pledged to increase the figures within the next five years through its proactive measures.

     

  • FBNQuest is Money Market Fund of the Year

    FBNQuest Asset Management has emerged winner of the Money Market Fund of the Year category at the recently concluded BusinessDay Banks & Other Financial Institution Awards (BAFI), which held in Lagos.

    The BAFI award ceremony, seeks to identify the contribution of financial institutions to the industry, across a number of areas including financial performance, sustainability and corporate governance.

    Managing Director, FBNQuest Asset Management,  Ike Onyia, said:  “In the past three years and based on our strong fundamental and quantitative research capabilities, our portfolio management team’s performance has remained consistent and our clients have benefited immensely from exposure to our solutions, including the FBN Money Market Fund”.

     

     

  • Reps debate CBN’s N1.3tr budget in camera

    By Victor Oluwasegun, Abuja

    Journalists were shut out by the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency, Hon. Victor Nwokolo on Wednesday as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) defended its N1.3 trillion budget proposal  for the 2020 fiscal year.

    Before the closed door budget presentation the  representaive of the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele’s representative, Mr. Adamu Edward Lametek, was allowed  to give a breakdown of the 2019 budget before going into the presentation of the N1.3 trillion in the 2020 budget estimates.

    No one knew the cause of the sudden change of mind by the chairman who had earlier called for coverage of the proceedings,.

    He ordered that all the management staff, journalists and other supporting staff should vacate the venue before delving into the budget defence.

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    On Thursday last week,  one of the concerned members of the House of Representatives, Rep. Gudaji Kazure had during a press briefing queried the N1.3 trillion proposed by the CBN which he described as outrageous and alarming.

    Kazaure spoke of the need for downward review of the proosed budget in the nation’s interest, and also expressed concern for CBN’s disregard for the House resolution over the implementation of the money deposit and withdrawal charges by banks, after the House advised that the policy should be suspended.

    His words: “In 2019, budget of the CBN was N420 billion, but the same CBN brought a budget of N1.3 trillion for 2020. What are they producing? Which revenue are they generating?”.

    The lawmaker vowed to persuade the House to ask his colleagues in the appropriation committee to bring down the  budget of the CBN to N300 million.

    He said  health, education and the federal government’s N-Power social intervention programme, should benefit from the balance of one trillion naira.

     

  • NBTE okays HND courses for College

    From Damisi Ojo, Akure

    The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has accredited two additional programmes for Millennium College of Health Technology, Aaye, Akure with effect from 2019/2020 academic session.

    The programmes are Higher National Diploma (HND) in Environmental Health Technology and HND in Health Information Management.

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    The accreditation followed the resources inspection carried out by the NBTE team in September r.

    With this, HND graduates of the institution will now take part in the one year mandatory NYSC programme.

    Governing Council Chairman, Mrs. Ogunbadenusi Caroline, described the new accreditation and the inclusion of HND graduates of the institution into the NYSC programme as another laudable feat by the college in recent times.

    She said: ‘’Millennium College of Health Technology, Aaye, Akure, is  making appreciable progress day by day in the area of training proficient health professionals. “

     

  • UNILAG, Canadian varsity train 30

    By Jane Chijioke

    About 30 entrepreneurs pitched their businesses to Nigerian and Canadian investors at the first Transnational Ventures Acceleration Programme (TVAP), organised by the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

    The programme which is in partnership with Carleton University, Canada featured a two-day intensive training for participants who were both students and non- students of the school.

    Initiated to scale up small businesses that have the potential of solving  problems, it also allowed  participants who are still at the business ideation phase to pitch their ideas.

    According to the Deputy Vice Chancellor, UNILAG, Prof Folashade  Ogunsola, the pitching would determine if their businesses  have potential in attracting investors.

    “If you have a product that people believe in, they would invest.  The question is, do they find a product or service that people need or was it something they liked.

    “So the pitching would determine who gets funding or not.  It may also mean that it is a good idea but has not developed to a certain level, so we are getting them there.

    So at the end of the day, many of them would know for a fact whether they are ready, whether they need to do more work and whether they have a fundable and scalable project.”

    She noted that next year, only those who are already into business would be allowed to participate.

    Ogunsola said the programme would help improve the youth and make them job creators, increase the university’s global visibility and also add to the knowledge  in the  faculty.

    The Director, Entrepreneurship and Skill Development  Centre  UNILAG,  Sunday Adebisi said the programme would provide transnational opportunities for Small and Medium Enterprise(SMEs)  to connect with their counterparts  in Canada and also enable investments in businesses in the country.

    The  Associate Prof, Carleton University, Canada, Prof Tony Bailetti  said he was impressed by the diversity of talents and creativity the students exhibited, stating  that the  country’s high human capital creates  opportunities for entrepreneurship development that would impact on the economy.

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    “The diverse opportunities here are incredible. But one challenge here is infrastructure. They do not have the infrastructure to support them but still we need to build their capacity and that is why we are here to give successful local businesses the opportunities to compete in the global market. We brought in nine companies and they are interested in working with Nigeria,” he said.

    A participant, Williams Anaka of Brain Logistics, said the programme had equipped him with more business knowledge. He hoped to get partnership to boost his business.

    Noting that the programme would be held annually, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe said the university was already in talks with the Bank of Industry and the Central Bank of Nigeria to support entrepreneurs running their programmes in the school with the necessary funds.

    He added that the school had already earmaked start up grants for students.

     

  • QC and the eyelashes girl

    Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

    I am sure many of us have seen the video of the Queen’s College pupil who had the effrontery to wear fake eyelashes and paint her nails to school.  The video has been shared on the social media – with people calling the girl and her mother unprintable names.

    Well, I think differently.  The matter could have been better handled.  First, let me talk about the video.  It saddens me that someone, or people, who are likely teachers or non-academic members of staff or even parents of pupils of the school – core stakeholders; the internal publics – could deem it okay to shoot a video of such disgrace on their phones and post it on the social media.  If the video was done to help with investigation afterwards, then it would have been good.  But that would not have been noble enough for the mobile videographers.  They had to, in the spirit of generosity that rules the social media share it to all their contacts on all their platforms for – clout?

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    Unfortunately, there is no video that shows us the first scene in the drama.  We only joined the movie when the slay teenager’s momager (as my class mates called her) was fighting a security man attached to the school for allegedly sending her daughter out for the offense.   All that needed to have been done was for the young lady to be disciplined according to the school’s rules and regulations.  In this case where the Momager resorted to assault, deal with it according to the law.  The school could have decided to call the police.  But for videographers to focus on publicising the matter – not minding that a minor was involved – was so inappropriate.

    In investigating this matter, I hope the Queen’s College authorities would seek to find out who among the school’s workers shared the videos on the social media.  A source at the scene noted that the incident generated such interest that even outsiders gathered to watch – invariably compromising security.  It may have been an outsider.  But if the school has CCTV coverage, it is time to look into it to determine what happened.  (If it does not, it is time to get security camera).

    The school also needs to establish a crisis management policy to avoid issues like this.  This should serve as a platform for re-training of workers on how to manage such problems should they arise.  If workers know how to better manage the crisis, the school would be better protected.

     

  • ‘Forensic science holds promise for crime fighting’

    By Omotayo Omitola

    Forensic science has come of age and will soon become an indispensable apparatus to the  crime investigation and detective intelligence gathering, Prof. Kalu Ogbureke of the University of Texas Health Science Centre, has said.

    He spoke at the first forensic conference last Wednesday at the Julius Berger Hall, University of Lagos (UNILAG).

    The conference was organised by the Society for Forensic and Analytical Scientists Nigeria(SFASN) and Nabraska Institute of Forensic Science, Lincoln USA in conjunction with the department of Cell Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Science of the University.

    Ogbureke highlighted that forensic science covers various fields such as Criminality, Forensic anthropology, Pathology, Biology Toxicology among others which security agents can use in curbing criminal activities.

    He added that forensic science will set the pace for a new, emerging society and national progress, praising President Muhammadu Buhari for signing Forensic Evidence Bill into law.

    Associate Professor, Idowu Taiwo said criminals were taking advantage of the fact that forensic analysis had not been implemented in crime investigations.

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    “Forensic analytical investigations have come a long way in proffering solutions to problems encountered in various categories of events from the past till now with a view that forensic analysis had created fora for crime and investigations.”

    Taiwo said forensic science analysis would help investigators unravel crimes,  adding that forensic genetics was crucial in crime detection.

    Dr. Matthias Okoye of Nebraska Institute of Forensic Sciences, Lincoln, USA also proffered solutions on crime scene investigations and how documentations should be done, as well as types of samples to be collected and critical issues of DNA samplings.

    Dr. Azeezat Alaafia, spoke about Forensic Entomology as an enabling property for  the identification of victims and unrecognisable casualties in crucial matters.

    The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin  Ogundipe, praised  the Department of Cell Biology and Genetics of the university for making the epoch-making  occasion a reality.

  • Old students donate N100m to alma mater in Ondo

    From Damisi Ojo,Akure

    Old Students Association of Acquinas College,Akure (ACAOSA) has spent about N100m on the development of the college.

    ACAOSA President  Justice Adesuyi-Olagbegi (retd) disclosed this while presenting some sports equipment to the school.

    The items were 20 pairs of ruuning vest and pants, 10 pairs of tights, 15 track suits, 15 pairs of soccer boots, 10 pairs of spike shoes and 15 pairs of hose.

    Olateru-Olagbegi noted that the philanthropic gesture of the association was borne out of its readiness to sustain and uplift the known standard of the college for qualitative  education.

    He added that it was obvious that the state government alone was incapable  of  funding and maintaining the set standard  considering the high wage bill of the government.

    According to him, the association has built 1,000-seater capacity hall, refurbished the school’s laboratories and renovated some dilapidated buildings of the school.

    The president, who stated that  the sport equipment cost N500,000, said that the equipment would boost  students’ morale to sport activities in the college.

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    Olateru-Olagbegi, therefore, urged the state government to return the college to its original owner,the Catholic Mission,so that the school would not rest on its oars of success.

    He said the association during its visit discovered that the school’s situation was disturbing, troublesome and unacceptable.

    The Chairman of ACAOSA Sports Committee, Prof Babatunde Asagba, said  Aquinas college had made a unique landmark in sports and academics nationwide.

    Asagba frowned at the present state of sports in the college , adding that it should return to the golden years of the past.

    He said: “One of the reasons for this fall is the taking over of the school by the government.

    “We know it can be nursed to stardom again and to encourage this comeback to limelight in sports, the ACAOSA has decided to start supplying these sporting equipment for the use of students.

    “More shall come as plans are on the way to help surpass previous records of our alma mater,” he said.

    The state Commissioner for Education, Femi Agagu who was represented by Mr, Olabanji Ogundele, thanked the association for the intervention, saying  the gesture was highly commendable.

    The school’s principal, Babasola Ayibiowu, noted that it was a rare privilege to be a student of the college, saying  the school was doing well in national competitions both in academics and sports.

     

  • WAEC perfects e-certificate platform

    By Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

    It is now possible for candidates to request for their West African Senior School Certificate online.

    The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Head of National Office, Mr. Olu Adenipekun, said candidates for the 2019 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) Second series held August/September would be the first to access the portal which would soon be unveiled.

    He said: “I wish to inform you that the Council in Nigeria has perfected its Electronic Certificate Management System, an online portal being deployed to enable private candidates request for their certificates online. Therefore, beginning with the WASSCE for Private Candidates, 2019-Second Series, the collection of certificates would be based on requests by candidates online via the Electronic Certificate Management System platform. Details of the simple procedures will be made available to the public shortly.”

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    Announcing the release of the WASSCE for private candidates 2019 Second Series, Adenipekun said only 35.10 per cent of the 94,884 candidates who took the Examination made credits in at least five subjects, including English and Mathematics.

    He said: “33,304 candidates representing 35.10 per cent obtained credits and above in minimum of five subjects including English Language and Mathematics; Out of which 16, 431 were male and 16, 873 were females representing 49.34% and 50.66% respectively.”

    The HNO also said 9,457 candidates ( 9.74%) caught  perpetrating examination malpractice were being investigated by the council; while  3,659 candidates (3.86%) whose results had errors were still being processed.