Category: CEO

Managing Director, Jaiz Bank Plc, Mr. Hassan Usman is an economic and finance expert. As he retires from the bank, he takes a look at the bank he’s guided for six years, the alternative finance industry and the economy. In this interview with Deputy Group Business Editor, Taofik Salako, Usman underscores the importance of economic productivity, public finance management and ethics in building sustainable growth

How will you describe the first decade of actual Islamic banking?

I will say it’s sweet and sour. At the beginning it was tough. When we started, the bank awareness was very low because the foundation was just being laid. Some segment of the populace misconstrued the concept. Those were challenges from the public side. On the regulatory side, we had a bank that was new to the system; everything has to be evolving gradually. Thankfully, the system has made significant progress and the alternative banking system is becoming more commonplace. There are more players now and governments have also adopted some of the non-interest banking products for its developmental projects; such as Sukuk.

What’s the prospect of Islamic finance in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa?

The prospect is enormous. People instinctively can discern and know what’s beneficial to them, same for a nation. It’s clear that there is value-added in patronising Islamic finance. First, Islamic finance has to do more with the real sector, it has to do with providing goods and services, its thrust is to tie finance to economic activities in order to avoid a sort of overheating the system or generating transactions that do not add discernible values to the economy. So, you will see more corporates, more individuals and especially more governments in Africa going toward Islamic finance; such as adopting Sukuk for financing major projects because of its significant value for that. On the retails and commercial side, you will see more individuals who are driven by either ethical requirements or the obvious benefits or a combination of both being attracted to non-interest financing generally.  All said, the financial system will also be able to benefit from a financing alternative that shares risks between the financier and the beneficiary.

How can governments explore the alternative finance to develop major infrastructures?

Just as we have experimented with the Sukuk for development of roads, the same instrument can be used in developing other major infrastructures in the health sector, housing sector and others. It depends on the priorities of the government at a time, such instrument can be leveraged on to raise funds domestically and internationally, including raising foreign currency denominated capital to fund major projects. The peculiar advantage of the Sukuk is that it’s tied specifically to the project and ensures the delivery of the project. Sukuk improves the level of transparency in project handling because the Sukuk structure has other governance requirements that mandate relevant committees of experts to ensure that the funding is utilised appropriately.

Despite the progress in the alternative financing industry, what are those challenges still need to be addressed to accelerate the growth of the industry?

I think on the regulatory side what is remaining is to ensure that we have all the complementary financial infrastructures to bring about level playing field between the conventional and non-interest financing systems. Although we have the Sukuk; but it’s more of a long-term instrument, the shortest is seven years, so there is no short-term instruments that define the market and also support the liquidity management activities of non-interest banks. Given that the number of non-interest banks is still limited, that support is especially urgently needed to help manage the liquidity of these institutions to make them more stable and operate more efficiently than we have now when it comes to liquidity management. The other challenge is that of continuous engagement and awareness creation; to let the public know that non-interest financing is non discriminatory and it is available for all to do their businesses and make profit.

What are the quick-wins that you think can help stimulate the economy as it is now?

When you look at the economy, there is a challenge with the level of productivity generally and that’s an area we need to focus more and see how we improve productivity. In agriculture for instance, we need to see how to improve productivity through better management of extension services, research and sourcing of better quality seeds. Agriculture accounts for larger chunk of activities of the populace as it provides means of livelihood for the people. If we can improve; let’s say by 50 per cent, the productivity of the farmers that will lead to some 20 per cent growth in our Gross Domestic Products (GDP). Similarly, we need to increase intervention in the area of skill acquisition to get majority of our youths to have some skills that make them independent and able to create value for themselves without necessarily relying on white-collar employments. These skills can also be in the areas of basic computing and technologies that are highly sought for both locally and internationally. This can be done through a sort of financial supports and incentives for those that engage in these types of skills to increase the number of people they are training. This will unleash a lot of value-creating talents around the nation. Importantly, one area you can definitely extract more value is in the area of management of public finance, that’s an area we’ve not been able to address for quite a while, to be able to increase contributions to the common purse and to improve the efficiency of the public finance system.

As the market is expanding, what are the competitive advantages that can sustain Jaiz Bank as industry leader?

One thing is clear, that we are genuinely committed to this course of Islamic finance. We are committed to deepening the financial system in order to provide financial inclusion to as many Nigerians as possible and beyond, to the Sub-Saharan African markets. These are our aspirations. And you can see our trajectory in our figures. From 2015, this bank has been growing at an average of about 30 per cent and that’s not just one-off, we are talking of a period of some seven years; we’ve been growing at that speed, our profitability has been growing at an average of about 40 per cent. So, year on-year we’ve seen significant growth in our operations, significant improvements in the various offerings we are making, more customers’ base-very many major developmental transactions that will support our customers and the bank, we have our landmarks in many corners of the federation. So, the leadership  position that we occupy is difficult to be challenged but we cannot afford to rest on our oars, we know that more and more people are coming on board to do similar thing as we are doing and competition is not only from the non-interest bank, but the mainstream banks are part of the competitor too. We are not losing sight of that fact; that there are so many people who care less about the type of finance; they just want to see that they get a financial transaction that makes senses and has economic benefit that’s equal or better than what they already have. They also want to diversify their portfolios, that’s why they are looking at more than one types of financing. So we are aware that our competition is diverse and varied. We won’t sleep on our successes; we will continue to aggressively develop the franchise which is already a very strong brand across Nigeria.

Read Also: World Bank: Nigeria’s economic growth to slow down next year

How appropriate is your balance sheet to your growth aspiration?

At the last annual general meeting of the bank we got approval from the shareholders to increase the capital of the bank by way of equities and series of Sukuk offerings that we expect to be having as the need arises and at appropriate market timing. We expect to do that in order to further provide stronger base for the bank such that it can do bigger transactions and also explore emerging opportunities in the Nigerian financial system and the economy in general.  You will see us coming to the market between now and next year to raise more capital for the bank in order to pursue the aspiration of the institution to be the real leader in sub-Saharan Africa.

Part of the strategic reasons for increasing our capital generally is to ensure that we grow significantly the Nigerian business to a level that enables us to look at other markets in the region. The immediate focus is Nigeria, the biggest economy in Africa but we also have our eyes on the other markets in the ECOWAS region, we are studying those ones.

What does the recent approval to change to holding company structure represent for the bank in specific terms?

You will recall that at the onset, the incorporation of the special purpose vehicle to raise capital for the formation of the bank was at a time when the official regulation was universal banking. It has always been our aspiration to provide complementary non-interest financial services to our public. The reform that limited commercial banks from engaging in other aspects of financing such as insurance, capital market and others constrained us from our initial purpose but we did not forget the root. We have always been looking for the opportune time to go back to the root and implement our initial strategy. Now, shareholders agree this is the time to do so and that’s why they gave the board and management the mandate to pursue change in structure to holding company structure where we can have other complementary financial institutions within the group.

If you follow the history of Jaiz, you will know that there is Jaiz Takaful, which is owned by Jaiz Foundation. Jaiz Takaful was incorporated some six years ago to complement what Jaiz Bank is doing. That alternative insurance business has been operating successfully but it now requires moving to the next level and the coming of the holding company structure will allow for more capital to be provided for Jaiz Takaful to be able to explore more opportunities in the sub-sector. Similarly, we are looking at the fintech area to support the bank and also to provide opportunity for investments in very dynamic and growing sectors. These are the two areas we are looking at in the immediate period but we are also looking at capital market institutions that will be able to complement commercial banking activities that we do today.

Looking back, how will you describe your legacy at the bank?

It’s sometime very difficult to say these are the things you will be leaving behind because it is not really a legacy until you left and the institution is maintaining those traits you left behind. But one thing that I would love is for the institution to continue to be seen as maintaining very strong ethical undertone, we should continue to be known as a bank that is ethical in its operations, that is always trying to live by the principles of the banking system it adopted by avoiding interest in all ramifications and dealing in wholesome transactions that help the society. I would love to see the bank maintaining utmost transparency and very high ethical conduct. You know that in our society, to keep your head above the water of corruption and under-the-table dealing is a very tough exercise, but that is what Jaiz Bank has tried to do over the years, that is the legacy that we will like to be maintained because that’s what will continuously define the institution and make it sustainably successful. The other area is to continue to emphasise the welfare aspect of the organisation in such inclusive approach that gets to the bottom of the pyramid and also, so extensive beyond salaries to also financing opportunities that make sense to them and the bank in a win-win partnership that benefits all of us. Once we hold on to these, we will continue to have a healthy organisation that is growing consistently and doing good for the society.

In the event of major changes on the board or management, how strong is the corporate governance system to keep the bank on growth track?

A tree makes no forest. The managing director, for instance, is only one of hundreds of officers of the bank. He is privileged to be in that position to provide leadership and leadership is a combination of so many processes and people and it is not rested on a particular person. What has helped us as an organisation is the institutionalisation of our ethical values and operations across the staff cadres from senior management to middle management to the other cadres such that everyone understands that this is a bank of ethical standing driven by divine rules. So, the absence of one or two persons will not change the fundamentals. We have also codified all these values and ensure that people are reminded about these from time to time. The process itself is such that you have the check and balances from the board, the regulator and for us we also have the Committee of Experts or Shariah Advisors that also oversee what we do and ensure that we live with the standards that define the type of business we are into.

The family of Laolu Martins, one of the co-founders of Bukka Hut, a leading fast-food chain in Nigeria, has announced his death.

A statement by the family on Wednesday said the quintessential banker with over 21 years of experience in investment banking, corporate banking, stockbroking, asset management and pension fund management, died in the evening of Tuesday, September 27, 2022.

“We hereby solicit the support and understanding of everyone as the family grieves the loss of our beloved Laolu in our privacy.

Read Also: Woman dies in crash chasing husband, alleged side chick

“Our kind request is that you support the family – wife, children, aged mother and father and his siblings with your prayers at this difficult time.

“Further announcements will be made by the family,” the statement reads.

Martins started his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1999.

He joined Investment Banking & Trust Company Plc now Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc where he served in the Financial Control and Trade Finance/Foreign Operations units of the Bank before being seconded to Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Ltd where at various times he was Financial Controller, Head Asset Management and lastly Head Stockbroking.

He later resigned in 2005 to join Shell Nig. CPFA Ltd, the Fund Manager of the Shell Companies in Nigeria Pensions Scheme where he was Head, Investments up till 2008 when he resigned to join Nigeria International Security Limited, NISL, an independent financial services firm specialising in investments within the Nigerian space.

The founder of Nigerian clothing brand, P-Clothing, Amb Akolo Ibuaka, has expressed readiness to dominate the African clothing space with his famous clothing brand and unique style.

He said in a recent interview: “We have really come a long way in promoting African culture by producing outfits related to African culture. And this time around we look forward to going beyond showcasing more creativity of African dressing, both in Africa and abroad.”

“P-Clothing” has been one of the fast-rising fashion companies dominating the fashion landscape in Nigeria with its own fashion style being worn by so many celebrities in the entertainment industry.

The founder, Ibuaka is a entrepreneur and fashionista who has been in the fashion industry for years.

He has won multiple awards for his efforts in empowering youths.

Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI, Dr. Chinyere Almona , is a woman of many parts. A recipient of 50 Women in Management Africa (WIMA) Award, she is also listed among the 50 Inspiring Nigerian Women. An MBA (Corporate Social Responsibility) holder from Nottingham Business School, United Kingdom, Almona is a chartered accountant and member, Certified Coaches Federation, Canada. In this interview with Assistant Editor OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE, she speaks on the economy, policy direction, insecurity, high cost of diesel, among others.

There seems to be too many problems with our economy. What is the way out?

No doubt, Nigeria is going through a turbulent time economically because it has not been well governed over the years. For us at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) as an advocacy body, we are engaging the government on some of these issues. We are clear in our mind that the way forward for Nigeria is to ensure that the export earnings and the government revenue are well-diversified.Today, we can  safely say that the economy is a little bit diversified as we are looking towards  agriculture, the creative industry, but oil still contributes over 50 per cent of government revenue and it is not good for any economy.

Most of our export earnings come from oil  and it is a big challenge to the nation; so we need to find ways to ensure that other sectors attract export earnings and that the government would ensure that they find better ways of collecting revenue, including those  from the non-oil sector.Taxation is a good area, but the way we are managing it is not appropriate.

If we can enhance the agricultural sector, we can earn revenue from export of agric products. The challenge for us is to increase our productive sector in manufacturing to avoid over reliance on importation and also endeavour to consume what we produce.

Unfortunately, the manufacturing sector is also challenged because the cost of production is so high, making locally produced goods less competitive. Even if we try to export, nobody will buy it because of the high cost. If we can improve this sector, then we can begin to export and the export revenue will come from other areas.

The value of the naira has fallen to all- time low, how can the CBN turn the tide?

The Naira has been devalued systemically by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over time, but apart from the devaluation, it has also depreciated significantly by the forces of demands and supply.

We just talked about the export earnings not being what it is supposed to be, so we should bridge the gap. The CBN needs to do something about the supply side, but unfortunately, they keep having policies that try to deal with the demand side.

If we have the right policies that would encourage exporting our rich products different from oil, it will encourage foreign investors and, consequently, bring in forex. There are other policies that are not well-thought out before coming up with them such as the repatriation of accrued forex for businesses. That is one policy the CBN needs to look into because it is discouraging businesses. An investor wants to be assured of the safety of his cash, but can people say that with the security situation in the country an investor is safe?

It is important for us to have those policies that protect investments and boost our production capacity so that we can earn foreign revenue.The idea is that anything that will increase demand for goods and services should be pursued vigorously, for once we do that, it will help to boost the strength of the Naira.

How do we get out of the high inflationary situation in the country?

The high inflation is painful because it is is a result of high fuel and food prices as well as the foreign exchange problem we have just described. We need to think of how we ensure that prices are brought low.

Prices can only be brought low, if we can engage in activities that will increase our productive sector. Before now, a person could have a good meal in a day with N500. You can even top it with a bottle of soft drink. But he can’t do that anymore, as the prices of food and service increase. The common man is finding it more difficult to procure and eat good food.

We must get to the point where we can help reduce the cost of some of these items so that a common man can buy them. Now the Naira is so devalued that if you go to the market with N20,000, you can hardly see what you have bought. Sometimes people will go to the market and will think they lost money because you can’t actually see what you have bought because our Naira has been weakened. So, if the CBN can deal with strengthening the Naira and government can put in place policies that will aid the ease of doing business, our production capacity will actually be better off.

What strategies can manufacturers deploy in countering the high cost of doing business as many of them are going under?

For instance, the high cost of diesel is one challenge that is affecting manufacturers.  One way to deal with it is to get an alternative to diesel. The price of diesel is so high at N800 per litre. It’s in our best interest to think of alternative energy sources such as renewable energy, solar. Solar may be capital expensive today, but in the long run it’s cheaper; so we need alternative sources of power. Manufacturers should come together. At LCCI, we can partner the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) to raise a strong advocacy to the government because if they can do something to improve the power sector, things will get better.

Unfortunately, there can be no fresh investment in the power sector; as a business, it is not conducive. You need to have an environment that will make business conducive so that you will have investors in your power sector. If they invest, it will be easy for everybody and they can recoup their investment, if they have policies that can help them recoup overtime, it would be better.That is where the challenge is; that nobody wants to invest because they say if I bring in my money first, I can’t take it out. Secondly, I am not even sure if I set up a power station, it will be vandalised because security problem here is a big matter. So, an investor is not comfortable. The government needs to create an environment for businesses to strive.

Do you subscribe to the removal of fuel subsidies? If so, why?

As a chamber and advocacy group, we fully subscribe to it. Let’s examine this fuel subsidy issue. Truth is: If you remove fuel subsidy, the product may be expensive initially, but in the long run, it’s for our good as we are borrowing at double digits to subsidise it. If we are borrowing for consumption, it simply means we are selling our future generation to slavery. Unfortunately, anytime we get to the point where we want to remove fuel subsidy, the government will change her mind.

For as long as the government continues to change its mind on subsidy removal, it gets increasingly difficult to make that decision. We would have got over it if, for instance, in the last 20 years that decision was taken. Now oil prices are increasing daily and we are borrowing more to subsidise fuel importation and as long as we continue like this. We are sabotaging the nation.The more you borrow and it can’t be put into the productive sector, education, health  and you can’t use it to improve manufacturing, it doesn’t make good economic sense.

The fuel subsidy is not helping the common man; it’s actually the rich people that are benefiting from it because they are the ones who have big cars so they are subsidised fully.

The common people commute in buses; in fact, the fraction of fuel they use is nothing compared to the wealthy so when the government subsidises, they are actually doing it for the rich, but it’s difficult for them to see, especially because of the initial hardship associated with it.

The borrowed money we use to subsidise weakens our Naira. We are, therefore, killing ourselves. That’s the point.

If we look at the report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), it says we are spending over 90 per cent of our revenue to service our debt. Who does that?  We are digging our grave as we go along and we say subsidy is for the common man.  All that we are saying at the chamber is that you need to remove fuel subsidy. So, it’s not that we want to remove it with one blow, but gradually. In fact, somebody said on the television, that he if you removed fuel subsidy, one Naira a day, it wouldn’t make that significant change because hardly will the public feel it.

If the government is borrowing for infrastructure upgrade, it would be tolerable because it would help the productive sector rather than to pay subsidy

Will it not be better for the government to encourage modular refineries, so we don’t always have issues with fuel pricing?

We had a seminar recently on modular refineries and one of the participants from the private sector said he had done it with huge success. We wonder why the government is shying away from doing it and prefer to grapple with the way they have done things.

What we hear every day is that of pipeline vandalism, oil theft, bunkering, but these are done by human beings. Unfortunately, the government has not garnered the required political will to deal with the problem. They have not come out to deal with the problem squarely and stand by their decision. Stake- holders are also mindful of the fact that the government is saying something while the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) is saying a different thing. It’s like confusion everywhere.

The truth is hidden somewhere; so, we don’t know and we, as an advocacy body, are pressuring the government to make the right decision.

 The cost of insecurity is hiting hard on the economy. What is the way out?

I believe that we need to improve surveillance on our infrastructure, so that we will be available with real-time information. In the developed climes when you think about security, they get real-time information even before, during and after the criminals may have executed their plan. We don’t have indices that we can use as red flags. We don’t have that level of improvement in our infrastructure.

For instance, look at the Abuja-Kaduna train attack by terrorists and the response of the government. If we had proper surveillance provided by CCTV, we should see when and how it happened and, possibly, the people behind it. When it happened, people whose relatives were in the train, made calls because nobody was sure of anything until we heard some people died in the attack.

The second area the government needs to do something urgently about is curbing youth unemployment. The NBS report stated that youth employment is about 42.5 per cent, which is high for a country where it is stated that above 50 per cent of its population is made up by the youth. We also have another set of youths that is not doing what they are trained to do; that is called underemployment and the record shows that it is about 21 per cent. If you add these two percentages, it would amount to between 60 and 70 per cent.

These numbers call for urgent action because if these youths are allowed on the streets, the nation will be in great danger. An idle hand, they say, is the devil’s workshop. Look at what is happening, most of them have found kidnapping-for-ransom lucrative because they hear that a ‘particular big man’, was kidnapped and he paid N50 million. Since they are not fully engaged, they will try their hands on kidnapping because it looks like the quickest way to make money in Nigeria now.

As it stands, our security problem is increasing because rather than dealing with the source, we are only trying to deal with the symptoms.

It is important for us to help our youths to be gainfully employed. Again, if we have a good investment climate, foreign investment will come in.They will set up factories and take the youth out of the streets.

In addition, if we pay the needed attention to agriculture, we would be able to positively engage some of these youths and when bandits or Boko Haram insurgents come for them, they won’t find them. There is the issue of unknown gun men. Where did they get guns from because there is a statistics that about six million guns are in the hands of non-state actors? Civilians and should not have guns. So, if you have six million guns in the hands of this kind of people, where we are so pressurised by everything that’s going on, the guns will be so easy for the unemployed youth, particularly if it can bring good money.

  The last time the Border was closed, security and agriculture were cited, how successful was it?

I think they are two sides to every coin. In some ways it was helpful for the agricultural sector such as in poultry, the local poultry farmers were able to increase local production because nobody was bringing in those things from outside the country. The challenge however, is that of porous borders , officially the borders were  closed but things were still  coming in. We need to have a more balanced perspective because closing the border completely doesn’t quite help us as well because some things that we need to input into our production and manufacturing process are difficult to bring in.

The President, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), Mr. Rotimi Edu, believes insurance firms should not be allowed to die. In this interview with Omobola Tolu-Kusimo, he implores the government to intervene and support ailing underwriting firms, as it did to problematic banks.

The National Insurance Commission three weeks ago cancelled the licence   of two insurance firms, Niger Insurance Plc and Standard Alliance Insurance Plc. What is your take on this?

I do not think there is much about the cancellation, but what I feel and have being agitating is that cancellation usually has a run on the insurance industry. I said it when we had a meeting with the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, that when banks are failing, the government comes to their rescue. I have also discussed this with the Commissioner for Insurance that we should seek a way to penetrate the government. A company like Niger Insurance should not be allowed to die. A company like Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) is also struggling, the only thing that is saving that company is that it has a lot of investments. but these investments are not easily convertible to cash. So, if at the end of the day, the government comes in and save these companies, appoints technocrats and professionals to reshape them very well, it is better than withdrawing their licences. This is because most of the companies are composite, they sell life policies, which are long-term investments.

How are you addressing insurance penetration that has remained very low?

If you go back and check my thrust of office as the President of the NCRIB, which is brokers’ centricism, it is the way of deepening insurance penetration.What I have seen is that we come and talk, yet, we do not put action on the talks. I micro it to brokers, but people are talking about the entire market. We need to do a lot of penetration. People would be surprised that I took my members in Lagos, for a walk from our secretariat to the Third Mainland Bridge. That day, my company did 2,500 hand bills and distributed 1,800. Following that, I also tried to use sport as a means of deepening penetration. We have to think outside the box, not just coming all the time talking to ourselves, saying the same thing over and over again. When we went to attend the last British Insurance Broker’s Association (BIBA) conference, John Major came to address the brokers, the former United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron also addressed the conference.  Their coming was a diversion from the usual form of professionals talking to themselves. We should create a diversion to be able to penetrate.

In another three weeks, we are going to put about 2,800 students in the arena of the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club to mentor  on insurance. This is because they will grow and be in one company or the other. This is what I call deepening penetration. To deepen penetration, we need to look out for non-professionals. Since I took office and we started visitation, there are three major people that we have found in any company handling insurance. They are the accountants, managing directors and administrators. So, we have spoken to the Institute of Chartered Accountants, architects, because of buildings and they have asked us to come and talk to them during their annual conference.We would not stop there; we would also meet many other professional bodies. I started with the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry. I have the vision that we should take ourselves beyond our shore. We need to think openly. We should distinct ourselves and use our vision to achieve our mission. Few weeks back, the civil service had the civil service week, I called some companies and told them, let us collaborate and we took the shine of the day. What we did was to present the best civil servant with a vehicle and that became the order of the day. We are also planning to bombard the Lagos State Secretariat to educate the people on insurance. When we leave the Secretariat, we would move to Allen Junction to also educate the people. You never can say, somebody going out that morning may be looking for where to buy insurance and the event would provide the opportunity.

But people have apathy to insurance mainly because of claims default by some insurance companies?

When we finished the walk on the Third Mainland Bridge, I then said the next place we want to go is Alaba area. Somebody called me and said no, that if we go there, we would be stoned, because insurance has failed them. I then told the Executive Secretary of the NCRIB to write to the executives of Alaba Market to have a meeting with them, so that we can right the wrong. The problem they had arose from the insurance companies that the licences were cancelled. They had already gone there to collect money, arranged insurance and at the end did not pay claims. I am also experiencing that with the Head of Service on their group life which I handled. Last year, when I was to institute the policy, we had to force some insurance companies to pay, or else they would not be on the account again. The Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Sunday Thomas, tried his best, but the Head of Service insisted they must pay. At the end of the day, we were able to recover a lot of outstanding claims. I think the industry chieftains need to take another look at their actions. With due respect, I do not see any reason anybody would collect premium and would not be able to pay. This game is a law of large numbers. You see everybody in a jeep and in a gigantic office, yet what we opened our shop for we do not do which is not right.

Some companies that pay claims also don’t settle within weeks. How do you react to this?

Each company tries to acclaim and exhibit their claims payment, which is good, but we are still not there. By now, we should be able to settle claims within three weeks, unless it is a stale paying claim that has not been adjusted. I would not put the whole blame on the insurance industry. For instance, in the group life, sometime it takes months before some clients report their claims. Aside that, after reporting, it still takes them months to substantiate. Some because of traditional and religious belief would not want to report. The industry is really trying in that area because no matter how long it takes, they still try to accommodate such claim. This is why I will not push the whole blame on the industry. What could have caused the delay? It is lack of education and awareness, which we also have to take care of. It is a gap for us to educate the public, institutions, private and public sector about insurance and let them know what to do in processing their claims and in instituting their policies. I keep saying it that people should go through registered insurance brokers.This is because when they do that, they would have people who would work for them to ensure they get their claims.

What is your view on NAICOM’s Market Development agenda?

NAICOM’s Market Development agenda is all about pushing insurance to be accepted in all parts of the country. On our part as brokers, we are planning to create businesses in the northern part of Nigeria. We are looking at three or four broking firms coming together to open up an office there, take the businesses and share the commission. Same thing, the few underwriters there should lead the businesses. The problem we have is acceptance, which we must first address. I was invited for a road show in Abuja recently and we went to the major motor parks and other places to canvass insurance. I always tell my members that these things cost a lot of money, but if we do not invest, we cannot reap. In the past, I have spoken to some managing directors of insurance firms, that they should give to a broker that is doing well a car and attach a marketer to help them monitor businesses for them. We really have a problem and the only way out is to keep on engaging.

How are operators deploying Information Technology to drive insurance business?

We have 774 local governments and almost all underwriters and brokers are in Lagos. I think information technology would help us a lot. At the BIBA conference,  I  spoke with two companies to see if we could get an information technology platform that would work for us in rural areas, so that we can increase awareness and penetration and work is in progress on this. I hope the underwriters are doing same for, at the end of the day, if we are not careful with the sales of our products in these areas, we would be in serious trouble. My suggestion is that we should continue to engage. NAICOM is also trying to register some vendors, because they think we are not doing enough. They also feel it is their responsibility to ensure that insurance get to the nook and cranny. We are advocating that the vendors should be put under the brokers, because if they mis-sell, it would reverse the industry’s success.

There are complaints of fake brokers. What are you doing about this?

I have done something which is novel and would help the industry. For every broker, we have a seal. The vision I have for creating that seal, not everybody still can see it, until we start using it. We have the seal in the legal profession. As a lawyer, I have my seal which goes into every document I issue. We are at the state of writing to institutions about the seal and also getting the Ministry of Justice to accept it. Such that if you tender any document and that seal is not there, it would not be acceptable in the law court. It may be a long walk, but I’m trying to fast-track and shorten it.

There have been some incidence of collapse building in Lagos State especially. How are you collaborating with the state on safety?

The Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA) is working seriously with the Lagos State Government on safety issues as it relates to insurance. When the issue of collapsed building became rampant, I wrote to the Lagos State Government, not because I want to have the business, but to ensure insurance help in mitigating risks associated with the menace. Today, the NIA and the agencies of Lagos State have put a road block to ensure that you present insurance before commencing any construction.

What about fake motor insurance menace?

We have also engaged Lagos State Government to ensure that every citizen that goes into transport business has insurance.

What is your take way from the just-concluded conference of African Insurance Organisation (AIO) in Kenya?

The conference was very rich in substance and delivery. The entire ambience of the College of Insurance edifice, which was the venue of the conference was also great. In fact, when we got here, we were surprised to see such an edifice and we, operators, felt challenged considering what we have here as our college of insurance. But the truth remains that the progress made there is an industry thing. The entire insurance industry came out to support the edifice which we should all emulate in Nigeria. Sometimes, underwriters and brokers in Nigeria shy away from things like this unlike in Kenyan insurance industry where they have a lot of collaboration. We have learnt quite a lot of things that we have to emulate here.

He has his eyes set on a specific target – revamping and setting on a high pedestal a conglomerate that once bestrode the country like a colossus. His aspirations may not be faulted. Back then, the firm – Odu’a Investment Company Limited resonated amongst Nigerians and beyond the country’s shores like other multinational conglomerates. Its Chairman, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, explained that training and retraining are key to rebranding the conglomerate. He prides that the ball has been set rolling for a fresh breathe of life into the companies, especially having successful won a marginal oil field licence recently. Ashiru shared this and other issues about the economy in this interview with Group Business Editor SIMEON EBULU.

Can you give an overview of the economy and how you plan to navigate through as a company?

There is a global economic challenge, but people will still navigate and get things done properly. The COVID-19 epidemic, look at what happened and look at how some people became billionaires. Some people sat down, thought out of the box on how to make the best out of it and what did they do, they started logistics and they became billionaires overnight. I remember Odua was a conglomerate that was actually competing with the likes of the UAC of this world, but what happened? It was bad management at the end of the day. What I am trying to say is that economic challenges will not make us die. Just like if there is fire here today, we must look for a way of getting out of this place. So that is my vision and my point is that I do not think anything is difficult. It is just making the best out of it. The parameter of challenges of the economy and what we have done so far, we made about 150 per cent progress and do not forget that all of us assumed office on the seventh of in May 2020. I do not believe in the economic challenge or whatever it is, its there but people did navigate through it and it is just like when you have accident and people come out of it. It is how you get out of it is key. You cannot sit down and say there is a problem with the economy and say there is no way. I do not want to sit with GDP here, figures, parameters and so on, but the point is that three things we have been able to achieve. I mean what our forefathers were unable to do, we were able to get our oil license and the marginal fields and we paid for it fully. We have 42.86 per cent and it is called Beta marginal field and by God’s grace and God on our side, we get our license and we have started seeing people who are willing to partner with technical partners and from what we have seen Chevron was on that plate, we should be able to do a minimum of between 4000 and 5000 barrels per day and there is gas there too. Also, Premier hotel is as good as sorted out. We are doing a joint venture with a company which I don’t want to name now. We are having the final meetings today and we are going to sign off. They are spending over N10 billion to turn Premier hotel to another five star hotel and that is what we are looking out for. We have started talking to some people, this is a gold mine we are sitting on. Remember when Clinton came to Nigeria, he said Nigeria had no problem. He said our wealth is here tapping the floor and when I was in government, I used to tell people that Nigeria has no business being an import dependent economy. We are blessed with a lot of natural resources. Why should we take food out of this country raw and bring it back processed? Normally, when you go to the market, it is the seller that will determine the price of goods, but now the buyers are the ones dictating the price. Odua is a gold mine in the sense that we can bring resources we can bring so many things and with the caliber of people we have here we can do so many things.

Are you going to run with the old gamut of the process you met on ground?

Let me tell you, the old gamut that we met on ground, you will be surprised that they are useful and it is a system and let me tell you that an average Nigerian, when he goes to London, he follows the rules or regulations there. I have traveled with so many Nigerians and we all follow the queue, but once we land in Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos, you will be wondering if this is not the same person that was obedient in London. One of the things I am going to focus on is training. We will spend a lot of money on training our people and those people you call old gamut, we can blend them. If you give people right education, right training, they will understand and we cannot do things the same way and expect results. The only change in life is change. So, what I am saying is that I personally will not encourage that old people should be sent packing. We started it last two years and those people we know cannot fit into the system will be given opportunities to prove themselves and if they cannot, we will tell them to go and we would introduce new hands. When you give the people the right kind of training they will perform. We have this orientation in this country that when you take up a new position you hav to sack everybody; but no, because the people you are sacking maybe some of the best brains you can have. Odua had over 40 per cent  of Lafarge; we had permanent sites of two directors and the Chairman of Lafarge today is a director and representative of Odua, but what happened, they sold those shares and where are they today. We also had Odua telecoms and we spent N10 billion. I have been put to be the chairman of that committee to look into it and I spoke to those Lebanese and said we would deal with them to say that they are dealing with governments of six states. We told them that we would arrest them if they do not do things the right way so they have started coming back now to do the right thing. Once you do not compromise yourself, you can talk to them in a nice way and they know that we mean business so the point is that are by God’s grace our next four years, we are going to change so many things and we will go to individual subsidiaries giving one day notice. It will be difficult for you to do emergency turnaround and the reason why I am giving notice is because I want to meet you in the office.

Do you have any strategic investments in agriculture over the duration of your tenure? Is this an area where we should be expecting more deliberate announcements to be made?

My focus even as a commissioner was agriculture that would lead to industrialisation, we must be able to grow. I will tell you this, the first ethanol factory in Nigeria, I happen to be one of the people that commissioned it and there is a farm in Ososa, which was producing over 250 tonnes per day and they were rotting away and immediately they started that those guys about 500 tonnes per day and the farm started smiling to the bank and it created jobs for 15,000 farmers. So, I told SwagCo to take advantage of the opportunities and because there are so many rich men in this country as they die, their businesses die with them. Our focus is that we want Swagco to go back to what Chief Awolowo and co did to achieve it and that is strategy. Now we have given them seed money and we do not need to have 100 per cent of Swagco. They can bring in investors and there are so many private equity firms that are ready to invest and they are working on that. Now to what the governor said, we will go to each state and look at areas where they have comparative and competitive advantage when it comes to agricultural products. Dairy farming he was talking about be rest assured that by next week or week after they are going to Akure to go and look at it.  Swagco is doing very well in Ogun State in terms of cassava, I think they are also doing well in Oyo State and in Osun State, they mine gold there and we are going to partner with them towards mining. We are going to take advantage of the commission and ensure that we do the agriculture we are talking about and focus on that, but you cannot achieve a lot in agriculture if you do not have access to infrastructure. Now that we have those tips, we will encourage them to do the rural roads where those rural dwellers will be able to bring in those goods and we are trying to see if they can get some funds from the CBN anchor borrowers programme, which is cheap funds; I know that they are talking with some banks to get some funds. In that area of agriculture, you need to invest more, we need to get proper infrastructure in place. So, those are the things we are going to focus on and I am happy that our governors are now supporting. All those are farmlands, if we put proper infrastructure, good roads and a proper security infrastructure in place for the Amotekun Corps, they are going to tell them to help the farmers so that our people from those areas would not be kidnapped. Information Technology (IT), it is the way to go in this world and we are looking at all strategic places and Odua has invested so much in IT infrastructure-wise. We are going to put that there but one thing is that despite the fact that we want to encourage the youths in technology, we do not want to encourage them to be involved in online fraud. So what we are trying to do is to use their brilliance instead of using it to defraud, but use it to create opportunities for youths. Some people are very smart and very active so that is one area we are focusing on.

You are planning to create new businesses. Are you also thinking of revamping the existing ones?

You see people get it wrong because some of these companies does not belong to Odua anymore because of some issues, and don’t forget that they have gone to the bank to borrow money and banks have acquired them, for example, the Epe Plywood Factory, one of the generals when they sold it to themselves, the guy just took it and took over, but you see we have a God that never fails and by the time he bought it, he has invested in all sorts of things. He did not register the company so the company was still in Odua’s name. it was just easy and we were able to get it back, we are looking for people that are going to invest and I have spoken to about two different people and for us to revamp anything now and like someone was asking about government and businesses, you see the government has no business in business. What they need to do is create the environment, so they have given us that power to be able to do so many things and they thought it was a joke. When we started this marginal field thing, they gave us a bill of $6 million to pay, but you will not believe it that the people that partnered with us, they call them to discourage the Southwest to take all the marginal fields maybe they thought if we have it, we would be dealing with them, so the people that got it are from the Southsouth, so we are not the only ones now. We have 48 per cent; we are not the only ones. What I am saying about all the companies and revamping them, we are going to revamp them if it is worthwhile and if it is not, we sell them off, because there is no point in investing so much money when you can divert and the Group Director of investment is doing very well.

What will you like to be remembered for in the next four years?

I want to be remembered and with my Board members, that our names be written in platinum and not in gold. To say when Bimbo Ashiru was the Chairman, we started producing crude oil and Odua has created that environment whereby agriculture has  led to industrialisation, Odua has created a high tech hub for our youths and all the states in the Southwest. We also want people to say that while we were there, this is the amount of jobs we created and these are the things we have left and by the time I leave, I pray that this Airport Hotel would have started a joint venture and Premier Hotel by God’s grace in the next few months we would have signed off and we will see the notice that we are closing down the place to renovate and revamp, so those are the things, focus and when Baba Awolowo and co before they died, they were the ones that did Western House, the cocoa house and all the Odua assets, somebody had the vision and they did it. General Gowon when he was Head of State, he built the national theatre, so people can do it; it is just for you to have the focus, be committed and have the vision and we will achieve and you can be rest assured that when I am leaving, I want people to say when I was Chairman, Odua’s profits improved drastically and the shareholders were getting billions of naira and not millions. I want people to say I distributed N1 billion which all the six states benefited from. Those are the things I want to be remembered for.

The CEO of J & C Ltd. Chris Kpalobi, a fashion, management and consultancy firm, spoke on his business inspiration and philosophy. Excerpts:

Tell us a bit about you:

My name is Chris Kpalobi. I was born on October 27^th. I attended secondary school at Kings College, Lagos, and I majored in Biology at the University of Abuja. I am the founder of Datastacks and Joik and Chog (J&C). Joik and Chog is a company that offers services in fashion, while Datastacks offers services in tech, and management consultancy. The Joik and Chog specializes in urban clothing, we brand outfits for corporate clients like banks, beverage companies, schools, and individuals who need customized clothing.

I am proficient in SQL – Structured Query Language, HTML – Hyper Text Markup Language, CSS – Cascading Styling Sheet. I have also taken several courses on Management Proficiency, General Management and Strategy; Strategic Planning and Implementation at the International School of Management; Project Management; Health, Safety and Environment. I also conduct training at the International School of Management in Basic and Intermediate Excel and Health Safety and Environment.

Tell us about your fashion brand, Joik &Chog :

Joik is a portmanteau of my father’s first and middle names, and Chog is a portmanteau of my first and middle name. When I was a teenager, my father registered a company called Joik Enterprises Limited. I was inspired by his business acumen, so I am honouring his legacy through my own business name. J&C is an urban fashion brand that specializes in casual outfits like jacks, shirts, joggers, sweatshirts. Our watchword is quality and customer satisfaction. We get the best international suppliers who furnish us with the choicest quality fabrics. We also source locally based on need. We are detailed in our production processes, in terms of sewing and finishing. Our designs are also unmatched. We work with the best designers to translate our client’s idea for their wear into a perfection they never imagined.

What’s your vision for Joik & Chog and Datastacks?

I want J&C to be an international brand that provides solutions to businesses. I want the company to be present on all continents of the world and be headquartered in the U.S and Canada. I want Datastacks to be truly global due to the evolving nature of our world. The goal is for J&C and Datastacks to be a household name that serves a global clientele.

 Tell me more about your inspiration for business.

My father was my first inspiration for business. Then in school, I facilitated business conferences as a Director of Exchange for my Local Committee at AIESEC Abuja, an international exchange organization run by students. At AIESEC, I aided the exchange of the highest number of students from Brazil, China, Japan to work with companies and on AIESEC projects on health awareness in Nigeria.

How did you venture into tech?

In primary school, my teachers used to say I had the ‘brain’ of a computer because I excelled at science subjects. After my secondary school, I attended computer training programmes, and I emerged as the best student at the institute. While in university, I realized that technology was the future. I consulted the experts at NIIT on the most challenging tech course. They told me it was Oracle and I decided to take it. I took the course simultaneously with my undergraduate studies and I eventually became a certified Oracle associate in 2015, and an oracle certified professional in 2018.

I saw that data is the foundation of any tech application because data must be stored through technology. This helped me understand the architecture and infrastructure of the internet. I began to look at the need for businesses to be visible online. I began to think of ways to enhance business operations. My motivation for business was technology-focused, using technology to facilitate business effectiveness.

How would you describe yourself?

I am very resourceful and resilient. I love challenges. With research, I can get anything done. I went the extra mile and in fact, received the Extra mile Award at United Bank for Africa (UBA) in 2018. I am also a risk taker.

What has been your business lesson in business?

My biggest business lesson is to document and sign business contracts regardless of the relationship you have with the person.

What work experience do you have?

I am the founder of Datastacks. It’s a tech brand that specializes in data-based applications, building websites, and providing management consultancy. We help scale businesses where they are lagging.

I also worked at United Bank for Africa as a Virtual Banking Card Specialist. I was a technical support for virtual banking products like internet banking, mobile banking. I also handled POS settlements and Charge Back, merchant reconciliation and settlement. Before I left the bank, I rose to the position of a management information system administrator (MIS).

In 2015, I joined the Waste Management Society of Nigeria (WAMASON) as a Business Development Officer. WAMASON is an NGO that promotes professional waste management practices in Nigeria. I developed, managed, implemented and marketed their strategy for membership development.

Do you have any volunteering experience?

Yes, I do. I started volunteering from my days at the University of Abuja where I joined AIESEC. Currently, I am the Director, Digital Marketing & Communications at the International Climate Change Development Initiative. I am also the Director of Volunteer Engagement at the International Initiative for The Advancement of SDGs in Africa.

 What is your relationship status?

I am single.

Businesses, banks and other financial institutions, as well as government agencies spend $450 million to store or host data offshore yearly. However, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Unitellas International Limited, the sole distributor for United States-based Zadara edge cloud in sub-Sahara Africa, Mr. Smith Osemeke, says Unitellas and other indigenous and international ICT companies are in partnership to significantly reduce the humongous spend to store sensitive data in public cloud outside Nigeria. He speaks on this and other industry-related issues in this interview with Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA. Excerpts:

Terrorism and other shades of criminality have become Nigeria’s biggest headache. How can Nigeria leverage Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to combat the scourge?

Terrorism overshadows every aspect of economic, social, cultural, and political life. It brings instability and disrupts peace and coexistence. It is bad for business and economic development thus, causing it to be one of Nigeria’s biggest challenges. Examples of these criminal activities in Nigeria can be seen in the Boko Haram group, the train bomb that happened on Abuja-Kaduna route, the killings occurring in Borno, e.t.c. According to the World Bank, ICT consists of the hardware, software, networks, and media for the collection, storage, processing, transmission and presentation of information (voice, data, text, images), as well as related services. The use of ICT tools has helped many countries tackle terrorism and other criminal problems, and can also help Nigeria as a nation reduce criminal activities. Some of these tools and how they can tackle these insecurity activities include surveillance, whereby with ICT, a surveillance system can be set up by security agencies for Nigeria as a whole to keep close watch on the activities of persons, groups, organisations and institutions suspected of engaging in illegal activities or capable   of causing a breach of security; Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras, surveillance cameras, social network analysis, biometric surveillance, satellite imagery etc, or low technology such as postal interception can be applied to track activities of persons or groups of interest. There is also the area of intelligence gathering where ICT tools such as the Internet, mobile telephony system, social media networks and the media can be deployed to help security agencies keep tab and records of illegal activities of suspected groups and organisations.

Globally, cloud computing is playing crucial role in migrating business processes online particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. But its adoption in Nigeria is still rather slow. Why is this so?

Cloud computing is the on-demand access to shared Information Technology (IT) resources and applications over the Internet which makes it possible for businesses to access applications and services online without the associated hassle and costs of owning and managing the hardware. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of cloud computing to migrate business processes online increased. As a result, employees could work from home across the world. Cloud computing has received good reviews and huge acceptance in developed countries, backed by the respective governments, but its adoption in developing countries like Nigeria has remained comparatively low due to a lot of factors such as reluctance and resistance to the adoption of new technologies by most businesses and IT staff who are afraid cloud computing will take over their jobs. There is also the lack of awareness and detailed information on cloud computing and its availability locally; lack of technical skills to deploy cloud computing services; myth that cloud computing is expensive.

Other factors include poor quality Internet services, fear of Cyber-attacks if business moves to the cloud, reluctance and resistance towards having IT infrastructure hosted and managed by third parties, privacy and insecurity concerns as result of late regulations on cloud service providers; the need for the establishment of more Data Centers across the country.

Most Nigerian businesses patronise foreign cloud computing firms. How much is Nigeria losing by storing or hosting its data offshore?

Globally, the amount spent on public cloud as at 2021 was forecasted to have reached $323.3 billion, causing a 23.1 per cent increase from the $270 billion reached in 2020.

Storage of data on international public clouds such as AWS, Azure and Google Cloud has caused a lot of revenue to be lost in Nigeria, including $100 million capital yearly expenditure spent by organisations in Nigeria to store sensitive data in the public cloud outside Nigeria. According to the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), the country loses up to N60 billion worth of foreign exchange to other countries every year as payments for web hosting services. Many local cloud service providers have urged the Federal Government to enforce local policy on cloud computing to save costs and boost the economy because Nigeria loses $450 million yearly to the adoption and usage of foreign cloud computing services such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others which Nigerian banks, financial institutions and relevant agencies subscribe to on a regular basis.

What other benefits will Nigerians and businesses derive from hosting their cloud services locally?

Provision of local access to world-class cloud technology aligns with the strategy of digitally transforming Nigeria. If cloud services are hosted locally, computing power and storage will be closer to the source of data generation and the people who use the data to make data driven decisions, enabling real-time applications by reducing the amount of latency associated with processing and analysing data. It will also ensure data sovereignty, which refers to the rights of countries to regulate the sharing of data that’s generated within their boundaries with entities in other nations. When critical data of businesses and citizens of Nigeria etc. are stored locally, the risk of leaks or access by foreign agents or foreign nation will be eliminated thus promoting greater confidence in local technology and a boom in domestic Tech Ecosystems and economic growth for Nigeria. It will also reduce cost – CapEx spent on purchasing cloud services can be reduced when local cloud service provider are patronised.There’ll be no need for currency exchange and loss of funds during FX if companies patronise local cloud services, as such funds spent on conversion rates can be greatly reduced since most local cloud service providers offer the option of paying for services in naira. There will also be reduced bandwidth cost. Latency is the time it takes a device to send data to the cloud, have the data processed and analysed, and sent back to the device of origin. Internet bandwidth can eat up the cost of accessing and maintaining cloud-based service(s). There will be significant savings in Internet bandwidth because edge computing devices are capable of processing and analysing the data, only transmitting important and post-processed data to the cloud. The farther away we are from the cloud, the more it costs to access the services it supports. These costs can be avoided by hosting data locally, curbing the high bandwidth costs paid by Nigeria enterprises due to its close proximity as opposed to public cloud service where customers have to pay huge amount of money for their businesses to be hosted due to the distance of the foreign nation from Nigeria. There is also the benefit of enhanced data security because data has to move less distance since it’s processed locally, providing fewer opportunities for hackers to intercept the data as it travels through networks, thus lowering possibility that data can be intercepted as it moves through the internet. Enterprises can take advantage of the cost, flexibility and scalability of the cloud since local data centres provide the unique ability to control, localise and secure physical access to data. They’ll also have access to multiple cloud onramps and connectivity options as data centres and cloud technology provide a platform for effective disaster recovery, cloud migrations and hybrid services.

What is Unitellas International Limited and other indigenous ICT companies doing to ensure Nigeria derives these benefits?

To change the narrative of sensitive data being stored outside the country’s borders and ensure domestication of sensitive data thus bring about data insecurity, Unitellas and other indigenous ICT companies have entered into partnerships with both local and international companies to provide cloud services to Nigeria as a nation and its citizens locally, as well as manage their IT infrastructures properly. These partnerships are targeted at empowering all service providers in Nigeria with Zadara Edge Cloud infrastructure as a Service to meet international standards with regards to cloud computing infrastructure, service, pricing and security. Zadara is a United States-based global cloud computing infrastructure provider.

What does the Unitellas, Zadara partnership entail?

The partnership means that West African customers, especially Nigeria have at their disposal a fully-managed IT infrastructure-on-demand, which can flexibly scale their solutions as business needs change, simplifying potentially complex IT deployments so that they can focus on their core business. The partnership is targeted at empowering all service providers in Nigeria to meet international standards with regard to cloud computing infrastructure, service, pricing and security thus enabling government agencies and local service providers to store and protect sensitive data. Furthermore, it will empower Nigerians to meet up with international Managed Service Providers (MSPs) standards with Zadara data storage solution. This partnership would provide local service providers with Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Enterprise-Storage-as-a-Service model, which eliminate huge capital expenditure (CapEX) with minimum operational expenditure (OpEX). By subscribing to Zadara Data Storage services with Compute Capability, local service providers and MSPs can offer data storage and compute services with the latest data protection mechanism, competing effectively with renowned public cloud providers in infrastructure, security, pricing, management and service.

Nigeria recently issued 5G licences to MTN Nigeria and Mafab Communications.Do you think the country has maximised the use of 3G and 4G?

Nigeria has a very large population. During  the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, there was an increase in the use of the mobile Internet for personal and businesses. As a result of this, the coverage gap of the 3G and 4G is unable to cater to each and every one of its citizens in Nigeria, especially the ones at the rural areas, thus bringing about the introduction of the 5G network into Nigeria. Lack of ICT skills is a barrier to effective Internet use especially in its uptake and effective use.

What should Nigerians expect from the deployment of the latest 5G technology?

With3G, smartphones see download speeds of up to around 2Mbps (megabits per second). By comparison, 4G is around 3 to 5Mbps; roughly the speed that many home computers receive via cable modem or DSL. 5G’s peak download speed is up to 20,480 Mbps, a huge leap from any generation previously. With a higher network generation comes higher capacity, meaning it can support a greater number of users at any given time. It will also allow for higher data rates, so that multimedia applications such as video calling or YouTube clips work more smoothly. With a 3G tower, about 100 people can share the signal and get fast, reliable service. From this latest development, Nigerians should expect the capabilities of the network to be so much faster than in previous generations and the 5G network can, therefore, connect more objects than ever before, including things like connected vehicles, connected homes and smart cities, while the speed and reliability of 5G will mean that a new era of e-healthcare becomes possible.

There has been a lot of complaints over poor quality of voice and data services. What do you think is the problem?

The main reason for the cause of poor quality of voice and data services faced by Nigerians is ‘data price war’ among telecoms operators. In a bid to make this voice and data services available to subscribers, the telecom operators cut down data prices drastically, making it impossible for the best services, as in order to do that they will need to increase their data prices. The relative scarcity of mobile broadband spectrum has forced operators to reframe 900MHz spectrum to offer mobile broadband services over 3G, rather than waiting for new spectrum auctions to build LTE networks. Cost of running base stations is also high, which translates to higher billing costs of services.

What must be done to improve service delivery?

For Nigeria to improve its service delivery, it must empower local ICT companies e.g. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to provide uninterrupted and quality services.There is also the need to improve on digital infrastructure development in Nigeria via adoption of services such as Data Storage and Management, Cloud Services, Data Backup Services, Help Desk IT Services, Network Security, IT Consulting, Social Media Consulting, as well as bring about increased socio-economic education reform and research development. Innovation in the ICT entrepreneurship ecosystem and digital skills development will also go a long way to improve service delivery.