The Nation Newspaper

Category: Business

  • Nigerian FLP distributors emerge top world distributors

    Nigerian FLP distributors emerge top world distributors

    Forever Living Products, Nigeria/Benin Republic, as an FLP country, just back from the company’s International Super Rally, held in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, has been making waves for its achievements during the event. Company’s managing director, Mr. Cornelius Tay, spoke on the exceptional performance of Nigeria/Benin at this year’s global gathering of nearly 8,000 FLP independent distributors from more than 150 countries.

    What happened in Phoenix, Arizona, USA during the 2012 Super Rally was simply incredible. It was Nigeria’s moment of glory, because at the time when our nation was not making any headlines at the London Olympics, with no medals for our participation, Nigeria was recording huge success stories before an international audience of multi level marketers.”
    This revelation was made at a gathering of distributors of Forever Living Products from 155 countries around the world. Nigeria was therefore recognised for her impressive performance in the field of multi-level marketing. He adds that: “The 125 – Nigeria-strong contingent that represented the country was grateful for the performance of the country. Contrary to what was happening at the Olympics, Nigeria was the toast of all the nations present in Phoenix, Arizona. This was made possible, because Nigeria came out with some of the best levels of performance in FLP World. First, Nigeria was ranked Number One in the world on Total Sales Increase over a period of 12 months, calculated from 2011-2012.”
     This is a special ranking used to determine the company with the most impressive growth in sales to date. “Last year, Nigeria was No. 2. But this year, Nigeria had taken the 1st position as the most productive company in FLP globally. Another achievement was that in global sales in 2011. Among all the FLP countries across all continents, within the topmost five, Nigeria emerged 4th worldwide. USA/Canada was 5th, Germany/Austria/Switzerland was 3rd, and Japan was 2nd. .The 1st position went to Brazil. This was a remarkable achievement because in 2011, at a similar event in Washington DC, Nigeria was ranked No. 11. So, for us to come from the eleventh position to 4th is a spectacular achievement within a year.
     This was an accomplishment that brought a lot of pride and good feelings from all the African nations. To see an African country challenge all the big names, all the big countries in the Americas, Europe and Asia in the Forever World brought Nigeria huge respect and was seen as an indication of how successful FLP operations have been managed in Nigeria in the past one year. Yet, another achievement was that Nigeria took home the award for “FLP Company with Good Standing” in terms of overall management and operational efficiency. This award is reserved for FLP countries that had exhibited prudent management and integrity on an annual basis.
     Another accomplishment of note is that among the world’s top 12 distributorships, Nigeria produced three. These Nigerian distributors now sit in the Eagle Summit, the highest group of distributors who meet annually to advice on the future direction of the global company.
    This year, the Eagle Summit met in Bryce Canyon for five days and Nigeria was well represented. This accomplishment shows clearly that Nigerians have mastered the discipline of multi-level marketing and that they are very good at it.
  • The other side of Sanusi’s coins

    The other side of Sanusi’s coins

    The planned conversion of some paper denominations of the naira into coins continues to generate mixed reactions. Bukola Afolabi reports on enduring attitudes towards coins, and how the Central Bank’s action will impact the nation’s economy.

      Reactions keep pouring in on the planned conversion of lower naira denominations into coins. Recently, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, sparked controversy with the announcement that effective from 2013, the current paper notes for N5, N10 and N20 denominations will be converted to coins.
    He hinged the move on reasons such as high cost of producing polymer notes, as well as the need to reduce inflation. “We need to spend less on the production of our currency; much money is being spent on the current notes. That is why we came up with this initiative to curb inflation. Producing the new note and the coins would save the country about N7billion,” Sanusi said.
    The CBN is not alone in this line of thought. Gboyega Sanni, a banker with a first generation bank, is confident that the introduction of the new coins will not only help to stabilise the economy, but will also reduce the cost of producing paper notes.
    As a banker, he says coins are an important part of business transactions. On many occasions, he explained, customers make deposits that require coins to balance transactions for the day. The reintroduction of coins would therefore make work easier for bankers.
    For him, there is no reason why Nigerians should be disgruntled over the usage of coins, since there are some items that should be sold in coins. He cites the example of sachet water, which price was increased by 100 per cent following the fuel price hike last January. “The price of sachet water was increased from N5 to N10, but if we use coins in our economy, perhaps it would have been N6.50k,” he said.
    Sanni also expects that the reform would help reduce cases of dirty notes in circulation. “You know we don’t handle our notes well, but with coins we will have fewer dirty notes in circulation. Things like sugar, groundnuts and sweets should be paid for in coins. It is because there is no coin that is why things are expensive. When you buy something, you should be able to collect your change to the last kobo,” he said.
    But many are unhappy with the stand of the apex bank, warning that the new policy would spell doom for the nation’s already comatose economy. Economists and policy analysts are quick to recall that a similar attempt few years ago by the immediate past CBN Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, ended as a failed policy because coins, though still legal tender, are hardly ever accepted for any form of transaction in Nigeria.
    Equally worrisome is the fact that while banks pay out coins to the public in some instances, deposits of same are not accepted by them. A top management staff of one bank told The Nation on Sunday that at the introduction of coins during the Soludo era, the public would enthusiastically pay in the coins in the banking hall.
    But the same CBN which rolled out the metallic denominations soon issued a directive that banks should not receive coins as deposit from customers, but could pay them with it. “It did not produce any meaningful result as Nigerians adamantly refused to accept coins,” the banker said.
    Another banker source, who pleaded for anonymity, however, disputes the CBN governor’s position that the introduction of coins is a way of checkmating inflation. For him, Sanusi has not done his calculations well. Rather than changing to coins again, he feels more should first be done to address the other factors affecting inflation. Unless this is done, the N40billion expected to be spent on the exercise could end up as a waste of the limited public funds.
    But backing the apex bank is Dr. Ayo Teriba, a renowned economist, who believes that the conversion is long overdue. He takes an even more radical position – arguing that even the N100 note should be converted to coins.
    “As a matter of fact, I am of the view that even N100 should be in coins. Coins should be used to purchase goods and other things like newspapers. This move is long overdue and should be welcomed by Nigerians. I am sure as time goes on, Nigerians will get used to it and prices of commodities will start coming down,” he says.
    For his part, Nuru Abdulahi, who is self-employed, fears that the introduction of coins would lead to inflation. He particularly expects transport fares to rise. He argues that unlike three decades ago when coins had appreciable value, the same cannot be said of present times. “Nigerians are no longer used to going about with coins. How do you expect traders, most especially market women who sell foodstuff everyday to carry coins? It would be too heavy for them,” he said.
    Though Sanusi has insisted that the CBN would press ahead with its plans, Abdullahi, like many other Nigerians, has vowed that he would never accept the new coins when they are pushed into the market. “Even if the National Assembly approves the introduction, I’m never ever going to use it, nor touch it. I cannot imagine coins jingling in my pockets,” he said.
    Indeed, the resistance to coins by many is a sign of the times and a reflection of the parlous state of the economy. Risikat Bello, a septuagenarian living in Itire, a suburb of Lagos State, recounts that in her days as a timber trader, business was conducted even in coins, and they had great value. Such coins denomination came in 1/2, 1, 3 and 6pence, 1 and 2 shillings. The 1 and 2 penny coins were bronze and had hole, and they all had big purchasing power.
    Solomon Osakwe, an economist, blames devaluation for the rejection of coins. Though he reckons with the efforts of the CBN in trying to mop up excess liquidity, price stability has become a challenge for the economy which is affecting the acceptance of coins.
    He disclosed that in 1982, $1 exchanged for 79 kobo, thus making the use of coins valuable. Osakwe reasons that since the nation’s monetary policy is driven by debt and a volatile foreign exchange market, and its fiscal policy shaped by budget deficit and high recurrent expenditure, the place of coins in this dispensation may have been eroded.
    Sola Oni, managing director and chief executive, Sofunix Investment Communications, sides with those who think the key issue in the coins saga is purchasing power. He says that at a time one kobo could buy a useful commodity, but the reverse was now the case.
    He counsels government to focus on developing the productive sector of the economy rather than playing to the gallery with the introduction of coins, which he fears could lead to further devaluation of the naira in the long run. This is because, based on the Nigerian factor, prices of goods and services respond to the highest denomination. “It is not the quantum of naira that matters, but what it can purchase,” Oni says.
    In an interesting dimension to debate, even clergymen are wary of the effect of a new currency regime. They fear that coins would have a negative impact on the level of contributions made by members of their churches.
    “What it means is that pastors will now be counting more coins. If one hundred members contribute N20 coins each during church service that means you will have N2, 000 in coins. How long are you going to count that?  You can imagine how heavy it will be. Some pastors will no longer want to collect N20 or N50 from their members. What will happen is that members will be forced to contribute nothing less than N100 and above because pastors will no longer value N50,” a pastor of a pentecostal church, who wants his identity protected told The Nation on Sunday.
    Yet, another pastor reasoned that the trend could discourage some worshippers who may not be keen on coming to church except they have up to N100 to contribute as offering, because when coins are dropped in the offering basket, the sound would be heard and it may be embarrassing to them.
    “The smaller notes would eventually become useless because people would no longer value them. Some people would start thinking that if they don’t have up to N100, they cannot go to church because others would look down on them. You cannot give somebody N50 and the person would appreciate it. What CBN is trying to do is to make N100 note the lowest denomination which is not good,” he said.
    Osakwe says the solution is for government to focus on monetary policy that is discretionary. The solution to the problem of coin rejection lies in government’s will – if the executive and legislative arm of the government can be discretionary, then the past feelings over coin usage can be assuaged, he assured. He adds that if the nominal devaluation of naira is driving up prices, the real devaluation will stabilise the excess liquidity. Such thinking may be right considering that in the 80s, Israel and Argentina were faced with similar problems, but their focus was in stabilising price through infrastructural development, reduction of real interest rate and cutting the boisterous recurrent expenditure as well as creating a well structured tax system.
    President and Chairman of Council, National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN), Chief Lugard Aimiuwu, urges the CBN to sensitise Nigerians on the need for them to accept the new coins. “Maybe Nigerians should be encouraged to support a culture of having coin boxes all over the place where people can pay for things in coins. For instance, the dual carriage rail system they say they are doing from Lagos to Ibadan; if they ask the passengers to pay with coins, this will support the culture of coin usage,” he suggests.
    For now, all bets are off as to whether the CBN under Sanusi can get Nigerians to return to an age when the use of coins was a normal part of everyday business transactions – and not the subject of a full-blown national controversy.
  • Changing face of Nigerian Currency

    Changing face of Nigerian Currency

    The West African Currency Board was responsible for issuing currency notes in Nigeria from 1912 to 1959. Prior to the establishment of the West African Currency Board, Nigeria had used various forms of money including cowries and manilas.
     On July 1st, 1959 the Central Bank of Nigeria issued the Nigerian currency notes and coins and the West African Currency Board notes and coins were withdrawn. It was not until 1st July, 1962  however, that legal tender status was withdrawn from West African Currency Board. In 1963, Nigeria became a Republic, and this eventually led to the changing of the banknotes in 1965 to reflect the country’s new status. The notes were again changed in 1968 following the misuse of the country’s currency notes, during the civil war
     In 1973, Nigeria adopted a truly national currency in decimal form instead of the pounds, to replace the imperial system which she inherited from the British colonial administration. The pounds and shillings were changed to Naira (N) and kobo (k), and four denominations of notes were issued as follows: 50 kobo; N1; N5 and N10. In response to rapid economic growth made possible by the oil boom, N20, and N50 note denominations were added in 1977 and 1991 respectively. Considering cost effectiveness and expansion of economic activities, higher denomination notes were issued. These are 100 Naira(1999), 200 Naira note (2000). 500 Naira was released in April, 2001 while the 1000 Naira note was released in October 2005.
     On February 28th 2007, as part of the economic reforms, N50, N20, N10 and N5 banknotes and  N1 and 50K coins, were reissued in new designs. While a new denomination N2 coin was introduced.
    Coins: N2, N1, 50 Kobo.
    Withdrawn Earlier: 1959, 1965, 1968,1973, 1977, 1979, 1984, 1991, 2007
  • ‘You don’t have to be a professional to do any business’

    ‘You don’t have to be a professional to do any business’

    Fidelis Ayebae is Managing Director of Fidson Health Care. The professional banker and native of Agenebode in Edo state  discusses the challenges of growing of Fidson, one of Nigeria’s leading pharmaceutical companies, in this interview with Bukola Afolabi. He also proffers solutions to some of the problems in the industry.

    How did it begin for you?
    Fidson started 17years ago when I wanted to do something that would  add value to the society. Somebody introduced pharmaceutical products to me, I did my investigation and it turned out to be right.
    You were coming from the banking sector. How easy was it for you to have crossed to pharmaceutical sector?
    From the days of my youth, I had always wanted to be an entrepreneur because where I grew up at Lawanson, there were very few businessmen. In fact, there were just three of them and all of them owned television. As a young man, the question I was asking myself was what differentiated these three gentlemen   form the rest including my father who was a tenant. I discovered that they were entrepreneurs. Right then, I decided that if that is what it takes to own a television, a car, a house of my own, that is what I am going to do.  I made the decision as a young man; it was not as if I had any real idea. I dreamt it then and it came to pass.
    How did you come about the name Fidson?
     Fidson is from my name. It means Fidelis, Daughters and Sons.
    When did the breakthrough come?
     In 1991, I made that leap of fate because I knew I was ready. If you had read some of my stories before, then you would find one of the most traumatic times that it is perpetually starring at me in the face anytime I reminiscence about my growing up. When my father retired from work then at the Nigerian Wire and Steel company, he came back home and we saw a package with him. We were wondering what he put in the package. I thought he was to be happy that he was retiring but he was sad. When we opened the package, it was a wall clock. He said that was all he got for working for over 30 years.
     Even the entitlement he should have got had been used to offset his loan. The old man was extremely sad. That singular picture remained vividly in my mind and I said to myself I will never put myself in this kind of situation. When the time came to live my dreams, that picture came back. God has a way of arranging things. There is a time and season for everything. When that season came, God reminded me about some of those things.  At that time then, I was about 32 years old. I took the risk because I did not have many things to lose. It is either I succeed or fail. To God be the glory, I succeeded.
    You are not a pharmacist. How did you bring professionals together to run the company?
    A: Anything that is worth doing is worth doing well. You don’t have to be a professional to do any business. What you need is the spirit of entrepreneurship. Once you make up your mind on a business to do, you then carry out what is needed to be successful. When I was going to go into pharmaceuticals, the first thing I asked myself is how do I lay a foundation for this edifice. Some of the things I learned I needed to do were to incorporate a company. In doing that, I needed to have clear feasibility study, to know that what I want to do is affordable and have the skills to manage it. The other was finding right partners I would run the business with, those who will take care of the technical aspect while I take care of the administrative aspect. Two of my first three staff were pharmacists. That made the difference.
    Specifically, on the health sector, when you look at India, there is way that ensures that drugs produce in India are used in Indian hospitals. Don’t you think that government should specifically instruct our hospitals to use drugs produced locally?
    I have been an advocate of if Nigeria must survive as a nation; we must first develop the spirit of patriotism. Our country is being rigged. It is only this country that our money is being used to procure drugs for the use of Nigerians. Rather than buying from Nigeria companies, we buy from Indians and Chinese. Everywhere else, in the world, under procure regulation, there is a rule that says certain percentage must be purchased from local manufacturers. For pharmaceutical industries, if you go to some of our teaching hospitals, Federal Medical centers, General hospitals, even for essential drugs what you find are imported drugs. Shouldn’t there be a law that says for essential drugs, only local manufacturers should supply them? During the Pre-colonial times, we were rigged by our colonial masters. Post colonial era, we are still being rigged by these people. Every country in the world is looking for countries to export their products to so that they can earn foreign currencies. We can’t even sell locally, so how do we export. If we can’t export, shouldn’t we patronize locally so that we can sustain our industries. A country that does not produce anything can’t survive.
     Pharmaceutical companies have an association, what is the association doing to call the attention of the authority to this anomaly?
    That association presented facts and figures asking for duties concession. We did input how to patronize local manufacturers.  Nobody attended to it. They would rather do what they want to do for selfish interest. Several times, we have engaged government on things that will help the industry. The DG with Mrs. Evelyn Oputa of BOI has been discussing the N200billion pharmaceutical funds for the past 2years, but it hasn’t seen the light of the day. I get a minimum of 500 applications a week but I can’t employ one person. We say the economy is growing but not the pharmaceutical sector. Other sectors are growing
    How have you been surviving?
    When you have something to do, in the face of challenges you must find a way of surviving. I am running this company on behalf of the people. So I must come out with ways that will make the company survive. I bought my first house at the age of 23 for N3, 500 and bought my first car at the age of 20. I got married at the age of 23 but today things are different. If a vibrant youth finds nothing to do, nature will create jobs for them in crime and that is what is happening. There are fundamental things that are happening with the society, which must first be addressed. If there is no political will from government to back business, there will not be industries in 20 or 30 years time.
    What is your share of the Nigerian market?
    It is difficult to say because Nigeria is a country without statistics. If you are talking of turnovers, we can see that. Among the quoted companies, we are number two in terms of pharmaceuticals. In terms of market share, we are number one in so many products.
     Fidson has been known to be neck deep in social responsibility. Given the scenario that you have painted, how has the economic instability affected the social responsibility of the company?
    We can only do a token we are doing now, but we can’t afford to stop doing it because it serves as palliatives for a frustrated society. We will keep doing our best to use resources available to us, to help society. I count myself as one of the privileged in the society and unless we give back, we are not living according to the dictate of our religions.
    Where do you see Fidson in the next 5years?
    Fidson will continue to be at the top of the pharmaceutical industry. It will have a WHO certified factory and have qualified products that are exportable.
    How do you relax?
    In the morning I exercise in one way or the other, I find ways to relax.
    Your wife?
     She is Olufunke Ayeabe. She is a director in the company. We started this place together though she is also doing her business.
  • Teaming lessons from johannesburg

    Teaming lessons from johannesburg

    The end was finally here.  Ten strangers stood up to leave, but not before exchanging hugs, business cards and some homemade jam.  As last words of appreciation and revelation filled the room, some of these compatriots were shaken by strong currents of emotion that washed over them.  They were happy to be returning to their normal lives, yet sad because somewhere deep inside they wondered if they would ever see each other again.  They had come to know, support, learn from and laugh, bond and have fun with each other, over the past four days.  At that moment, these ten strangers, if they had desired it, could easily and successfully have taken on the world as a collective.
    This was the scene at the end of my four-day Insights Discovery Licensed Practitioner Accreditation Program in Johannesburg. I was struck by the fact that there was more sharing, caring, support, learning and authenticity in those four days than I have had in some of the corporate teams that I have spent years with. In less than a week, we had established more intellectual and emotional connections than most teams see in years.  There were no “rights” or “wrongs”; no good or bad; no winners or losers – only individual differences that flavored the learning experience with richness that benefitted everyone. It is this experience with my nine South African colleagues that inspired me to dedicate this week’s article to the concept of “Winning Teams”.
    A team can be described as a group of people coming together to achieve a common objective. Every team is a group but not every group is a team. The challenge in many organizations is the illusion that they have teams, when what they really have are groups of people who never truly evolve into teams, much less transform into “Winning Teams”.  My definition of a winning team is, “A defined set of individuals, with complementary behaviors, executing interdependent tasks in a deliberate manner, unified by their commitment to common objectives and achieving a heightened state of collective performance that is superior to the sum of their individual results.”
    I recognize that this is a fully loaded definition that requires some “unpacking”. So, let me break it down.
    1. A team is a defined set of individuals.  There must be a high degree of distinction between those who are part of the team and those who are not. It is essential to know who matters and who does not.  Imagine a competitive football game in which members of both teams wore the same jersey and wore masks to hide their faces. How would a player know who to pass the ball to and who to support? A team must have borders that allow it to define and sustain its identity.
    2. Members of a team exhibit complementary behaviors. They act in ways that complement each other and their actions when taken together form a complete and balanced whole. In a team, members supply each other’s needs and make up for what is lacking in one another. In order to accomplish this, there must be a high degree of self and interpersonal awareness that leads to mutual respect and valuing.
    3. Members of a team execute interdependent tasks. There is a high degree of mutual dependence that exists between the tasks to be accomplished in team settings.  Consequently, teamwork is essential for teams to deliver great results.  There must be a high degree of responsibility and accountability between team members because of the high degree of interdependence. No single task on its own can accomplish the desired objectives.
    4. Members of a team work in a deliberate manner.  Team members carefully and thoughtfully weigh their actions and consider the impact those actions have on team members and team results. They execute their responsibilities within the team in a purposeful, premeditated and voluntary manner.  They are fully engaged and fully plugged into what needs to be done to accomplish the team’s goals.
    5. Members of a team are unified by common goals. This is what transforms a collection of people into a team. Without common purpose, there is no alignment, focus, accountability or integrity within the group.  When members do not buy into the collective vision, the energy and resources of the group which could have been applied to create synergies and leverage are, instead, dissipated i.e. is wasted or squandered.  Commonality of goals implies that there are no hidden agendas.
    6. Team results must be superior to the sum of individual parts. At the heart of teamwork is the belief that individuals are able to achieve higher levels of performance and outputs when they cooperate, than when they don’t.  Teams give members the opportunity to focus and specialize in what they know how to do best. A winning team is a team that is able to deliver results that exceed what its members can achieve working alone.
    Is your team a winning team or are you just pretending to be one?
  • God first, indication of revival

    God first, indication of revival

    When revival comes, God takes His rightful place in our lives. That place is the first place. His presence becomes a home. We honour Him as the first. We see Him as the Alpha. The first book of the Bible, Genesis, begins with “In the beginning, God …” (Genesis 1: 1). Here, we see God, the alpha in manifestation. We see Him as the beginning of all things. The Word and the Spirit share the same attribute with God, the Father. To have God somewhere aside from the first place is idolatry. He does not manage even the second place.  Revival is loving and putting God in the first place. It is also about loving Him with our all. Moses told the children of Israel,
    “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!  You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6: 4-5).
    Whenever God is relegated to the second place, things begin to go wrong in virtually every area of our lives and ministry. We begin to run after men and trust in the arm of flesh – instead of God. The grace, the money and the things we need are held back. We know that God is a jealous God who demands total and unflinching commitment to Him.  Revival therefore is the only process that brings God back to the first place. Your wife or husband or children do not and should not occupy the first place. The first place belongs to Him that gave you the family. The blessing we receive should neither take the first place from the giver of the blessing Himself. We should understand that the blessing would cease the moment the giver is relegated to the second place. The secret of durable blessing is to have the first place permanently conceded to God. Revival rearranges our priorities and corrects every spiritual flaw in our lives. It brings God to the first place and keeps Him permanently there. At that point, God takes the first from everything we have. God told the Israelites,
    “Sanctify unto me all the FIRSTBORN, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine” (Exodus 13: 2 KJV).
    Samson was the first male that opened his mother’s womb. God took and used him to do great exploit against the Philistines. Samuel also came into this picture because as soon as he was weaned, Hannah, his mother, promptly handed the lad over to God. John the Baptist was the male that opened Elizabeth’s womb and he became the repairer of the bridge, the forerunner of the Lord. Christ himself was the first male that opened the womb of Mary. This ordinance of giving the first to the Lord is not limited to man, as God also demanded the first of the fruit of the ground. Moses said,
    “Of the FIRST of your ground meal you shall give to the LORD a heave offering throughout your generations” (Numbers 15: 21).
    This command subsists as long as the earth remains. It is a generational ordinance.
    When we collect our salaries, the tenth, which is God’s, is not only to be paid but has to be paid first. When the businessman or woman makes his or her profit, God is the first thought. In his or her projections, God gets the first place. Before any important decision is made in any area of human endeavour, God is the first to be contacted for counsel. May the Spirit of God bring all of us to this point.
    The widow of zarephath
    The encounter between Elijah the prophet and widow of Zarephath underscores the point I am stressing on honouring God with our first.  Ahab, one of the kings in Israel with his wife Jezebel, led the entire nation into sin. They worshipped Baalim and sacrificed to him. Elijah faced this great challenge and decreed that there would be no rain in the land for three and half years (see 1 Kings 17). This famine affected everyone and even Elijah. God sent him to the Brook Cherith where a ravenous bird brought him bread and meat in the morning and evening. It wasn’t long when the brook dried and God told Elijah to proceed to Zarephath where he would meet a woman He had prepared to sustain him. As soon as he entered the town, Elijah saw the woman who was returning from where she had gone to fetch two sticks to fry the last meal for herself and her son. Elijah told the woman, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” As the woman made her way to bring the water, Elijah quickly added, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” The woman replied Elijah,
    “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die”(1 Kings 17:12).
    This widow was faced with a great challenge with her son. They were left with their last meal that they hoped to eat and die. God had a plan unknown to the woman and her son. At this decisive point, God, using His servant the prophet, demanded to be served first. Hear Elijah, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it FIRST, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.”  Imagine God’s demand! The powder left was so meagre that the woman picked two sticks to fry it and God still demanded, in that situation, to be served first. As his children, God is calling us today to give Him the first place in everything we do and in every situation we find ourselves. The things that God demand from us may be highly challenging and difficult for us to obey. We can be rest assured however that when we do, He would release His own miracle, which is far and far bigger than anything we have given.
    You can reach the Bishop Olaleye for prayer and counseling through adeewumi@yahoo.com OR Call 0806 285 6991

  • Outrage over bombings of telecom masts

    •Otunba Mike Adenuga
    •CEO MTN Nigeria, Brett Goschan

    The bombing of the base stations has re-opened debate on the security of their facilities of some telecom firms in some states in the North. In this report, AKINOLA AJIBADE examines the economic implications of the disaster to operators and subscribers.

     

    BEFORE last week’s bombings of their masts in some states in the North, it was evident that telecom firms have operational problems, such as infras-tructural gap, poor power supply, huge costs, bad network and poor security system. The bombings have compounded these problems.

    Though the Ministry of Communications and Technology, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and operators in the nation’s Information and Technology Communication (ICT) have taken some proactive steps to address the problems, they still need to do more.

    Each time concerted efforts are made to proffer solutions to salient problems in the industry, fresh ones crop up.

    Amid these challenges, the unexpected happened last week. The Islamic sect, Boko Haram, bombed some base stations in some states in the North. According to reports, about 30 Transreceiver Base Stations (TBS) were destroyed in the coordinated attacks. The base stations in Bauchi, Yobe Gombe, Borno and Kano states, are owned by MTN, Airtel, Glo, Visafone, Helios Tower and HIS Nigeria.

    Expectedly, the incident, did not go down well with stakeholders in the industry.

    The President, Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria(ALTON), Lanre Ajayi, told The Nation that the bombing of the base stations has devastated many stakeholders in the information and technology(IT) value chain, stating that the development is going to have serious implications on both the subscribers and the affected telecos.

    He said the issue would impact negatively on the affected firms, as well as the communities that housed the base stations.

    “The bombing of the base stations will have untold effects on the affected telecom service providers and the communities in particular. The host communities would be denied access to telecom services. Their businesses would be affected, implying that they would lose a lot of money. The firms are not only going to lose huge revenues, but would spend a lot of money to build new base stations in those areas,” he said.

    Ajayi said it is difficult to put a figure to the 30 base stations destroyed by the Islamic sect, arguing that the cost is huge. He said base stations are of different qualities, adding that the value of a base station is determined by the type of infrastructure deployed in it. He said base stations carry different features or components, depending on what the telecom companies want to achieve.

    Also, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Teldom Group, Emmanuel Ekuwem, said the destruction of the base stations comes with attendant cost implications. Ekuwem said the communities where the base stations are sited, and the telecom companies are going to record losses.

    He said the bombers unknowingly, would share moral and economic losses because the development would deny them access to communicate to their loved ones and their sponsors in those areas.

    “The activities of the Islamic sect would be affected because they would be having impaired access to telecom services in the states where they bombed the base stations. On the flip side are traders, market women, artisans and students, among others that would be affected by the development. No, doubt, the issue is going to have multiplier effects on business activities. For telecom operators, it would be pretty difficult for them to access data on time until the new base stations are installed.

    “There are economic and physical implications to the destruction of the base stations. The economic aspect has to do with the services being rendered by the telecom companies, and the attendant benefits to business owners in the affected states. Whether the quality of the telecom services is lower or higher in those areas before the bombing took place, it is immaterial. The businesses would suffer. The physical cost has to do with the power, hardware, software and the depreciation of the naira. When the telecom companies installed the mast few years ago, the value of naira was higher than what it is today.”

    Ekuwem said telecom operators spend huge sums of money to acquire software and hardware components used for transmitting data across the airwaves, on generating alternative power, among others. This, he said, translate to billions of naira in cost to the firms.

    The former President of ATCON said only the contractors that supervised the construction of the base stations can provide the cost of building a base station.

    A stakeholder, Gbenga Adebayo, said the extent of damage on ICT infrastructures is great to the economy, adding that the attacks will affect the flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the nation’s telecommunication sector. He said such investors would see Nigeria as unsafe for their businesses. He said the development is a major setback for stakeholders, adding that investors would begin to see the country as unstable for business activities. He said subscribers in the affected areas and nearby areas would be affected by the development because they would not be able to have access to quality services henceforth.

    He said when the flow of local and foreign investment into the nation’s telecom industry is impaired, it would affect the growth of the operators, adding that some of the telecom towers destroyed were hub sites that connect to other base stations. He noted that the impact in terms of service disruption will spill over to other states in the region.

    Analysts argued that the major telecom operators affected by the development would spend huge amount of money to provide new base stations. This reasoning stemmed from the fact that a new base station on the average, costs about N40 million, translating to about N1.2billion for the 30 base stations. This is aside the cost of keeping the base stations running every month. They said N673,000 would be needed to maintain a base station monthly, while N8million would be spent yearly.

    This amount when multiplied by the 22,000 base stations across the country, translates to N175 billion annually for the operators.

    Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Airtel Nigeria Plc, Rajan Swaroop corroborated these assertions recently in Lagos. Speaking during the firm’s stakeholders’ forum, Swaroop said a lot of money is being spent on running base stations.

    He said 54 per cent of Nigerians are covered by the national grid, while 46 per cent are not. He observed that poor power supply has affected the operations of the telecom companies because they spend a lot of money in buying diesel for generators.

    Of note is the fact that telecom operators are extending services to rural areas where there is little or no access to power. This implies that the telecom service providers would spend more in those areas before they can provide good services to their subscribers.

    More worrisome is the lack of effective laws protecting telecom facilities from vandalisation. This has been a major problem as various stakeholders at different fora, have called for the enactment of laws that would guide and secure the facilities of the telecom operators in the country.

    At a recent forum in Lagos, the ex-Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ernest Ndukwe, lamented the lack of prerequisite laws for the protection of telecom facilities in Nigeria. The forum ended with the call on the Federal Government to declare telecoms facilities as critical national security infrastructure, pending the time necessary laws would be enacted for the protection of ICT facilities.

  • Funding software development Nigeria

    Mrs Mobola Johnson

    The Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs Mobola Johnson, has expressed the intention of her ministry to get venture capital funding for Nigeria’s budding software industry. Not a bad idea. Applied in the right dose, it should give the industry the much needed lift. But government itself must lead in funding a future and a purpose for the local software industry.

    I had discussed this over two years in ‘Funding software development Nigeria’ http://www.computerworldnigeria.com/articles/2008/08/2

    9/funding-software-development-nigeria. I hope it gets a refreshing reading in the light of the present circumstance. My attention was drawn to this same piece by one of my avid readers in the industry. He has spent over two decades of his life in what he calls the Nigerian software aspiration.Funding start-ups and ICT micro schemes are still a challenge here. Small players in Nigeria’s technology business sector will readily tell you that it is easier for the proverbial camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a struggling software company to get loans for its ‘knowledge’ enterprise.

    It does not appear that the consolidation in the banking sector has changed the perception of managers in the financial industry that software is a viable market item. Neither is there a change in the general belief among money managers that the only viable venture is in commodity trading, oil and gas, and the like.

    Investment in the knowledge industry is still considered high risk. Ironically, the banking sector virtually depends on technology to deliver its services and maintain a competitive edge. All the 24 banks in Nigeria are high consumers of computer hardware. Nearly 50 percent of software solutions by vendors are consumed by the banks. Outside the oil and gas industry, it is the banks that sustain the relevancy of software vendors.

    But the snag is that these software applications are foreign based, or almost. Only a limited list of local applications has crossed the acceptance threshold. And these success stories only help to intensify the aloofness of the banking industry to growing the indigenous software industry. If banks bet on the local practitioners, the indigenous knowledge industry is bound to grow.

    The fact that the financial industry has come to appreciate the place of technology in their operations ought to soften the path for local drivers in the software sector. But this is not the case, implying that banks need good education on how and why the indigenous software industry could also be a thriving sector like the foreign ones that feed their technology needs currently.

    Banks need to be made to understand that software entrepreneurship, though a long-distance relay, is a genre of business that could boost their financial profiles ultimately.

    Unlike commodity import or export, investment in software development is a marathon. It would entail growing an idea from incubation through series of laboratory tests before it finally becomes a product fit to enter the marketing stage where dividends may come or not.

    This long term process obligatorily requires government intervention. By their nature and given the Nigerian environment, banks inherently shy away from anything long-term. Not even the re-capitalization processes would alter that mindset, making it exigent for government to directly get involved in funding software research and development.

    The goal should be well defined as a national policy thrust. Funding private software entrepreneurship by government should come under the general framework of building a national knowledge capacity and sufficiency in technology able to move the country from an IT consuming to an IT producing nation.

    Under this framework, the role of the National IT Development Agency (NITDA) would be more defined as a rallying ground to bring government, banks, knowledge researchers and the budding IT entrepreneurs together.

    As it is, NITDA remains government’s strongest statement that it has intention to build the IT industry, notwithstanding its current state that underscores the disillusionment in the sector, the agency remains the only viable alternative through which government can intervene rightly in the sector to fund it.

    Banks alone cannot lift the indigenous industry; it would take a combination of factors, with government playing the most critical role to pave the way in taking risk to build the very green knowledge sector. Government must show commitment that it can take the risk on software research and be patient enough to wait for positive results. The financial houses and venture capitalists would not lead the way; they would only follow. It is government that has responsibility to stake public money on a venture that can alter the future of the country for good, not the banks.

  • Govt unfolds plans for local ICT manufacturers

    The Federal Government has unfolded strategies to support local manufacturers of computers among other information and communication technology (ICT) devices. Part of the strategies include revisiting the issue of waivers for local assemblers of ICT products, and ensuring that local products are well patronised.

    Speaking after her visits to some of the local manufacturers of computers in Lagos recently, the Minister of Communications, Mrs Omobola Johnson said the decision to support local manufacturers of ICT devices was borne out of the need to improve the economy. Johnson said access to computers in Nigeria is lower, adding that many people would access the products when manufacturers produce them at cheaper rates.

    She said the government has been making efforts to promote computer ownership while at the same time developing broadband infrastructure.

    She said it would be futile to develop broadband infrastructure when many Nigerians do not have access to computers, tablets among other devices. She said her visits to the local ICT manufacturers was informed by the need to intimate them of the government’s plans and the roles they are expected to play to improve the economy.

    She said: “Ïf we build broadband infrastructure and people don’t have computers, tablets, and whatever to access it, it is going to be a waste of time. The next thing we are trying to drive is that as we build the infrastructure, we need to make sure we all have the devices. And in doing this, we could create genuine demand for locally-made PCs.

    “What we are saying is that there is a huge market for PCs in Nigeria but the participation of Nigerians in meeting the demands of the market is very low. It will be good if we can open up the market for Nigerian companies. So, what we are trying to do is to create captive markets for our local computer makers and the first captive markets we are trying to create are students in tertiary institutions. The reason for this is because we believe that these are people who desperately want to have computers but they may not be able to afford them.”

    In his response, the Chairman, Zinox Group, Chief Leo Stan Ekeh, said if Nigeria could create demand for two million computers in a year, this could create a minimum of 250,000 jobs in the first year and the multiplier effect in the subsequent years shall be double the first year.

    He said: “These computers (hardware) shall create a huge market for the software and ICT solution market which will employ millions of Nigerians within five years of this intervention.“

  • Firm marks 50th edition

    Digital Jewels is marking the 50th edition of its monthly Information Value Chain (IVC) Breakfast forum in Lagos this week. The company specialises in Information Security, Information Assurance, Project Management, e-Business and Knowledge Capacity Development.

    In a statement, the firm said the event would play host to information and communication technology (ICT) professionals from various sectors of the economy.

    It said: “The company has successfully hosted 49 editions of the monthly Information Value Chain (IVC) Breakfast Forum. The 50th edition is expected to host key players in the industry, as well as showcasing the achievements that have been recorded since the inception of the breakfast forum.”

    Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Adedoyin Odunfa, said the event would be a reference point in the industry.

    “We have a major achievement to unveil as part of the 50th edition of the IVC celebration, which is planned to have some of our previous guest speakers in attendance,” she said.

    According to her, the firm is committed to the growth of the ICT industry by providing the platform through which experienced professionals are invited to share knowledge while at the same time providing opportunities for executives to network.

    She said past editions have helped the executives to keep abreast of issues in the industry, adding that each edition has featured a carefully selected mix of consultants, practitioners and industry leaders to foster growth.

    “Over the past four years, the information value chain forum has had special guests including captain of industries, senior executives and chief executive officers from key sectors of the economy including banking, manufacturing, oil and gas, government agencies and institutions, multinationals, Information and Communication Technology amongst others,“ she added.