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  • An award as honour for Niger Deltans

    An award as honour for Niger Deltans

    • By Ray Umukoro

    The 2023 New Telegraph newspaper awards drew a huge cast of outliers and top flyers in both the public and private sector. The awards spectrum was wide, covering critical sectors of the socio-economic and political ecosystems. But by far, the most outstanding award of the night was the 2023 Most Innovative Government Agency of the Year Award hauled home by the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP).

    It was a fitting reward and recognition epaulet for the unrelenting innovations brought to the programme by retired Major-General Barry Tariye Ndiomu, its Interim Administrator. And this is not to diminish other awards and awardees, a rich cast of stellar performers including Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Peter Mbah of Enugu, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi, Nasir Idris of Kebbi, Douye Diri of Bayelsa and Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe. Some human rights activists and lawyers, business people, chief executives of top-of-the-crest organisations and some corporates made the prestigious ensemble of awardees.

    In spite of this lush cast of awardees, the PAP award as the most innovative government agency sticks up a halo of peculiarity both in essence and excellence. If anything, it indexes the objectivity and thoroughness of the newspaper’s award. And to be honoured in the area of innovative management is a clear testament to the creative thinking and profound managerial fecundity brought to bear on the Programme by Ndiomu, a retired military officer who has continued to exhibit a rare mastery of his brief at the programme.

    Appointed in September 2022 by President Muhammadu Buhari as Interim Administrator of the PAP, Ndiomu moved fast to restore the dignity and relevance of the programme which over the years appeared to have become a victim of the malaise and administrative miasma that has tainted the nation’s public service. Ndiomu’s appointment was not an accident or a mere happenstance in the life of a nation. President Buhari who openly showed his predilection to upping the nation’s productive capacity in petroleum products while still working at diversifying the economy was keen on ending the streak of leadership instability at PAP and the stench of fiscal malfeasance that dogged the programme resulting in high turnover of chief executive officers, six chief executives from 2009 to 2022. While some of the past administrators were caught up in a web of allegations of corruption leading to their dismissal, others got the boot on the ground of ineffective leadership typified by ceaseless agitations by pockets and camps of ex-agitators whose plight the programme was conceived to address.

    Buhari had therefore demanded for a true Niger Deltan with a track record of integrity, experience and cultured administrative pedigree. The lot fell on Ndiomu whose track record at the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group, (ECOMOG), when Nigeria won global acclaim for the stellar performance of the Nigerian military in peace-keeping in the West African region lent him to the job of leading the PAP. The programme needed a reformer and zero-compromise leader and Buhari found one in Ndiomu, a former Garrison Commander, Nigerian Army Headquarters (NA-AHQ); Chief of Training and Operations, (CTOP), Army Headquarters; a lawyer; a policy strategist forged in the foundry of the revered National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS); and a man upskilled at the Harvard Kennedy School in the United States and the Germany-based George C. Marshall Centre for European Security Studies.

    All of this sculpted Ndiomu into a disciplined military officer of the highest ethical values. And ever since September 2022, the reformer has wrought terrific reforms within the PAP hierarchy such that the old order of multiple enrolment by some ex-agitators, multiple payments into accounts with same Bank Verification Number (BVN), among other fiscal abuses verging on corruption had been reduced significantly.

    Ndiomu inherited a dubious accounting structure which left many holes for manipulation. To end or curtail the financial haemorrhage, he effected the audit of a deeply flawed payment system that turned the monthly payment of stipends to a bazaar. Some of the statistics were scary. A good 513 persons were found to be linked to multiple accounts. This means that thousands of accounts where the monthly stipends were paid into were ghost accounts used to siphon money by a syndicate made up of both insiders and outsiders.

    The audit also revealed that aside personnel fraud, contracts with vendors were brazenly inflated or fraudulently manipulated to cream huge cash out of the system. Through Ndiomu’s diligence and insistence on the adoption of global best practices in contracting, such contracts were renegotiated and re-evaluated at cheaper costs.

    It should be emphasized that Ndiomu’s tool box of innovative leadership has transformed ex-agitators from monthly stipend-receivers to entrepreneurs with the launch of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (Beneficiaries) Cooperative Society Limited (PAPCOSOL). The novel scheme, entirely the brainchild of Ndiomu, has empowered business-oriented ex-agitators in the region.

    At the launch, he described the initiative as a “novel alternative economic development scheme designed to create a more viable means of livelihood for ex-agitators with socio-economic development of their communities and the Niger Delta region in general as an intended consequence.” It is for such and many more that the award finds both essence and relevance.

    Prince Ita Henshaw, Technical Assistant to the Interim Administrator who received the award on half of the programme, described it as a testimony in recognition of the worthy efforts of the Ndiomu-led management team.

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    Obviously, Ndiomu arrived at PAP with a mind-set of development and human capital empowerment. He resisted the temptation to walk the old patchy path strewn with booby-traps and landmines that cut short the stay of his predecessors. He has to dig deep into his strategy wellspring of experience and courage to lead. He applied this to his medium and long-term goals of transforming the Niger Delta ex-agitators to entrepreneurs and creators of wealth. The award is therefore a clear indication that light is never hidden under a bushel. It is not always that the media goes all hairs down to celebrate the people. But modern journalism has been structured in such a manner that at all times, it must wheel humanity to the path of development.

    The award is from a development-minded newspaper to a development-focused agency. It’s a win not just for PAP but for the people of the Niger Delta region. A true testimony that most eloquently illustrates the passion, verve and empathy that drive the Ndiomu leadership, a leadership that is deep in innovation and versed in the rudiments of collective engagement as a major tool for achieving and sustaining peace in conflict situations.

    Henshaw puts it most succinctly: “This award is dedicated to all registered beneficiaries under the programme and it will no doubt encourage us as a team to be more proactive to do more to improve the socio-economic well-being of the ex-agitators and to sustain the existing peace in the region”.

    The cooperative scheme is just one among a plethora of other innovative policies and it has revved out of the block as a success story just like the resuscitated aviation programme which has trained scores of pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers. Add to that, the PAP scholarship scheme for both students in local and overseas universities. In the 21st century when degree certificates are being de-emphasized for skills and capacity to adapt to modern ICT paradigms, Ndiomu has shifted focus to non-formal education programs in skills acquisition, technical/vocational training as well as ICT trainings. This is the sense in which it is easy to see Ndiomu’s contribution in the fulfilment of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the Niger Delta region.

    There is no glory without pain. PAP won the award because an Ndiomu rolled up his sleeves to sweat and swot. The glory belongs to PAP but the real winners are the people of the Niger Delta region.

    • Umukoro, a development specialist, writes from Lagos.

  • CEO gets top under-35 award

    CEO gets top under-35 award

    CEO/Lead consultant of media and communication agency, Penzaarville Africa, Olufemi Oguntamu has been recognised  as one of the top 35 under 35 marketing communication professionals in Nigeria.

     This was announced at Brandcom Awards which held at the Civic Centre on  Victoria Island, Lagos.

    Organised by Brand Communicator, a leading brand, and marketing publication in Africa, the top 35 Under-35 Marketing and Communications Professionals award aims to acknowledge fast-rising, young, creative, game-changing, and innovative marketing and communication professionals that are not above 35 years and have been outstanding.

    The awardees were selected after a rigorous review process by a panel of assessors made up of seasoned players in this industry. The panel  evaluated the over 23,000 entries received based on nominees’ impact on brands and portfolios and the level of those who made the nominations.

    Convener of the awards, Joshua Ajayi said: “The integrated marketing communications industry is wide and fast growing. It is a statement of fact that the wheel of this industry is being turned by the army of relentless young and versatile people. These people are rarely recognised or celebrated for their contributions. It was since last year we decided that we as a platform will change this, hence the 35 under 35.”

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    Oguntamu has continued to reinvent himself and led his firm  to become one of the most formidable agencies in the digital creative landscape for top, discerning brands in Africa. He and  his team have worked with credible brands such as Microsoft, Google, Bolt, YouTube, Red Bull to increase penetration within the Nigerian market and exceed industry benchmark.

    Commenting on the award, Oguntamu, said: “I am humbled and glad to be recognised as one of top marketing communication professional in Nigeria. For me, winning this award is a testament to the great work of committed people, spurred by a vision to build an oasis in Africa where creatives can actively contribute to the digital ecosystem. We are determined to achieve more and consolidate our leading position in the media and comms industry by pursuing innovative strategies for promoting talents and value for our clientele in the digital and technology industry.  “

    He  is a 2020 ECOWAS Youth Ambassador and a recipient of several other accolades such as 2021 40 under 40 CEO Nigeria and Marketing Edge’s Outstanding Young Media Brand Entrepreneur of the year 2021.

  • Award showcases acts of unconditional love

    Award showcases acts of unconditional love

    • By Halimah Balogun

    In a celebration of courage, resilience and exceptional accomplishments, Indomie Instant Noodles Nigeria has hosted another edition of its annual Heroes Awards, where the bravest and most valiant of young and teenage Nigerians received national recognition and acclaim for heroic display of humanity.

     This year, three exceptional children emerged as recipients in their categories: Social Bravery, Physical Bravery and Intellectual Bravery.

     Helen Emmanuel from Ikot Usong, who stood up and fought for a 13-year-old girl that was molested and impregnated by her father in Akwa Ibom State was rewarded as the Social Bravery winner, Happiness Bassey from Ikot Usong, Akwa Ibom State became the Physical Bravery winner for stopping her mother from selling her younger brother, and  Ferdinand Maumo, a differently-abled child with spastic cerebral palsy, who demonstrated an exceptional understanding of Chess through pattern recognition from Makoko, Lagos State, emerged as the Intellectual Bravery winner.

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      They were picked by a distinguished panel of judges from an initial shortlist comprising 14 children for this year’s edition of the event. They got N1 million each for their heroism.

     Helen, 14, said their recognition by Dufil Prima Foods Limited was an encouragement to always go the extra mile for others as they never knew their acts of bravery would someday be rewarded.

     Group Corporate Communications and Event Manager, Dufil Prima Foods Ltd, Mr. Tope Ashiwaju, during the presentation of the awards in Lagos, said it was targeted at identifying and rewarding children whose heroic acts touched lives but were often ignored due to their age.

  • DAAF memorial merit award for best health reporters instituted

    DAAF memorial merit award for best health reporters instituted

    The annual Dr AbdulAziz Anako Fache (DAAF) Memorial Merit Awards for the best reporters in both print and electronic media have been instituted in Abuja. Entries for the two categories of awards ,which carry a monetary prize of N250,000 for each beneficiary,  will take effect from March 2024 while the award ceremony will hold in September next year. The Fache family instituted the annual merit awards to immortalise its illustrious son and seasoned medical practitioner who died tragically of cardiac arrest on 22nd September, 2022 at the age of 53. Immediate older brother of the deceased and retired Director of Public Affairs (NAFDAC), Dr Abubakar Jimoh, announced the memorial merit awards at a lecture and award ceremony organised by Association of  Nigeria  Health Journalists  (ANHEJ) to honour him after 30 years of meritorious service at NAFDAC.

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     Dr Jimoh said the annual merit award was instituted in honour of Dr Fache to promote hard-work, dedication, diligence, and excellence in health reporting in Nigeria. His words “Dr Fache was a multi-talented scholar, seasoned medical doctor, lawyer and author of literary works. This award will help to reduce pain, shock and irreparable loss of the rare gem. A concerned friend of Fache family, Hajiya Memunah Aliyu, former Executive Director of Aso Savings and Loans Limited, has donated N500,000 to this cause and the awards fund will continue to increase as more donors have made pledges.”

     President of ANHEJ, Mr Joseph Kadiri commended the worthy efforts of the Fache family and urged other well-meaning Nigerians to emulate this kind gesture.

  • Mouktar gets  Nigeria-France Sports Award in Paris

    Mouktar gets  Nigeria-France Sports Award in Paris

    The Chairman, Federal Capital Territory Football Association (FCTFA)  Abba Adam Mouktar continues to enjoy rave review both within and outside Nigeria  and was  one of award recipients  at the Nigeria-France Sports Award and Gala held in Paris yesterday.

    Mouktar developmental strides has made football purists to pick  FCTFA as among the working FA in Nigeria and organizers of the award disclosed he was picked on merit because of his commitment to the development of sports in Nigeria.

    The organisers of the award said  Mouktar  was  cleverly chosen for his giant strides  since he took over the reins of  FCTFA.

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    “As a sport administrator and investor, we appreciate your commitment to the development of sport in Nigeria ; where you have invested so much. In this regard, the organisers of the Nigeria – France Sports award and Gala with the support of the Nigerian embassy Paris, will like to present the prestigious Award Of Excellence For Football Development to you. “

    Nigeria – France Sports award and gala is organised by OJB MEDIA NETWORK, a registered company in Paris, France.

  • Waiting for the real award

    Waiting for the real award

    By every standard, they should have been awarded the national honours for contributing to the lyrics of the country’s national anthem.

    Unfortunately, the names of five of the contributors,  P. O. Aderibigbe, John A. Ilechukwu, Dr. Sota Omoigui, Dame Eme tim Akpan and Professor B.A. Ogunnaike have always been missing from the list to date, while the composer of the music, Late Benedict P. Odiase, who was director of the police band was awarded in his lifetime. Professor Ogunnaike who I had interviewed years ago on the lines he contributed to the national anthem and Mr Illechukwu have since passed died.

    Not only have the composers not been honoured, but they did not even get the prizes they were promised for responding to the call for entries into a competition organized by the Federal Ministry of Information to replace the Nigerian national anthem in 1978 according to Dr Omoigui.

    While those who should have recommended the composers of the lyrics for their well-deserved national awards might not have known the full details of how the anthem was composed, one would have expected that the error of their not being properly acknowledged would have been corrected when the necessary clarification was made.

    It’s bad enough that an essential historical fact like the names of the composers of the national anthem was not known by the relevant authorities, but to continue not to  honour them properly is unpardonable.

    While hoping that the composers will someday be honoured before those of them still alive pass on, it is commendable that the National Orientation Agency (NOA) has announced plans to honour them with the Citizenship and Patriots Award along with some other national heroes, including the late designer of the Nigerian national flag, the late Pa Taiwo Micheal Akinkunmi as part efforts to promote civic education in the country.

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    For whatever it is worth, the award by the NOA is a better late than never acknowledgement of the composers of the lyrics by the government. It should be a prelude to the real national award for those still alive.

    For Nigerians who play any significant historical role, like composing the national anthem, the least the government can do is to honour them as patriots to encourage others to continue to contribute their quota to the development of the country in whichever way they can do when called upon to do so.

    I thank Dr Omoigui for acknowledging journalists whose publications have kept alive the history and story of our national anthem including Alex Marshall, a reporter with The Independent, a newspaper in the U.K, C’tiana Bibish Elad of Afrifamu, Los Angeles, California, myself and Dr ‘Deyemi Akande, an Art and Architectural History Lecturer at the University of Lagos.

    Nigerians and the world deserve to know the true history and story of the national anthem. We would continue to call on the government to do the right thing by honouring the composers, whether alive or dead.

    Beyond the honour for the composers, the message of the anthem should lost on the citizens and our leaders as Omoigui stated in the response to the award by NOA and whatever we can do to salvage the situation in the country should be done urgently so that the labours of our heroes past shall not be in vain.

    “When I wrote my words for the anthem, it was my dream for the country to move forward and take its place among the world’s great nations.  Our leaders have failed us. They have failed to serve the fatherland with love and strength and faith. They have failed to create one nation bound in freedom, peace and unity. They have failed to be guided by God, and are unable to teach our youth in love and honesty to grow as they neither have love nor do they have honesty. They live corruptly and have failed to live just and true.”

  • Award body holds 4th edition

    Prestige Anchor International will hold its fourth Prestige Anchor Leadership, Empowerment and Capacity building (PALEC) awards and Leadership Conference at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile- Ife, on Friday 17th  and Saturday 18th,  next month.

    According to a statement by the programme convener, Adebayo Nathaniel, the award will celebrate individuals and firms that have helped solve youth-related problems.

    “PALEC award is committed to recognising and rewarding students, individuals, firms, who have helped in one way or the other to solve societal problems faced by our vibrant and talented youths of today and empower them by building their skills and capacity,” the statement stated.

    Adebayo added that the award is to encourage youths to be actively involved in community development: “The award is imperative to serve as an encouragement for upcoming youths to rise and take charge of the community in a bid to cause a paradigm shift and social change. The conference is set to preach leadership and panel discussions to set student leaders in focus and build their capacity.”

    According to him, the conference with the theme: ‘The Maverick’, would begin with essay competition on the first day, while the following day, which is the grand finale, would feature activities such as talent hunt and entrepreneur empowerment/exhibition, among others.

    It will be recalled that the previous editions of the event, which  held in Minna, Niger State, Abuja, and Benin respectively, brought together over 2000 young and vibrant leaders with over 175 young leaders, firms, individuals, and activists presented with awards.

  • Agency gets award

    A leading marketing and advertising agency, Street Toolz, has won West Africa’s Best World-Class Marketing Communication Agency of the Year by the Institute of Brand Management of Nigeria.

    The event, which held at the Lagos Sheraton Lagos Hotel and Suites, Ikeja, rewarded firms that have been applying branding and brand management best practices to the analysis, planning, implementation and control of policies to achieve corporate objectives.

    Wali of Bornu and Managing Director Kain Energy Limited Alhaji Zanna Zakaria, commended the institute for its consistency in recognising brands and businesses that are innovative, adding that the award is conferred on firms, brands and individuals that have touched lives.

    Street Toolz Managing Director Jerry Ochei praised the award, noting his agency’s penchant to leverage storytelling to create innovative and compelling marketing content for its clients. He said: “Storytelling is a core element of human relations dating back to pre-civilization and cutting across different traditions and generations. At Street Toolz, we take brand storytelling beyond words, helping them speak to the target audiences that matter the most, in the most culturally relevant manner.”

    Other awardees of the night include Great Nigeria Insurance (Insurance Brand of The Year), Life Worth HMO (HMO Brand of The Year), Pemjolad Paints (Paint Brand of The Year), Work Bay (Property/Facility Management Brand of The Year), Keystone Bank (Bank Brand of The Year) and Miss Bimbo (Soap/Detergent Brand of The Year).

    Lat year, Street Toolz was inducted by the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN). Since then, the agency has been creating strategies that are unique to brands, and providing innovative solutions across the digital and traditional media landscape.

    Street Toolz opened in 2012. Its clients include the British Council, World Bank, Amnesty International, Leadway Assurance, Indomie Noodles, Grand Cereal Limited, UAC Foods, Leadway Pensure, Germaine Autos, Propertymart, and Sandtex Paints.

     

  • Chi wins Top 50 brands award

    CHI Limited has again been recognised among the foremost brands at the Top 50 Brands Nigeria Awards as Nigeria’s leading manufacturer of fruit juices, dairy products and snacks.

    At the heart of the recognition are innovative products, like Chivita and Hollandia, which are benchmarks and definitive standards in their categories.

    By identifying needs and meeting them, adopting innovative approach to consumer trends, delivering on their value proposition and effectively communicating same to the consumer, Chivita and Hollandia have become household names in Nigeria.

    The Chief Executive Office of Top 50 Brands Nigeria, Taiwo Oluboyede, noted that the top brands for this year are fast-growing in value and have succeeded in delivering their promise to the consumers.

    The company chief said the brands adopted a winning habit of delivering something special by often doing ordinary things in extraordinary ways.

    He added: “Chivita and Hollandia, from the stable of CHI Limited, are two brands that have stood out in their categories for their conscious effort to build equity by offering healthy products with superior value and insightful consumer engagements that shape how consumers experience the brands.”

     

  • CSCS wins award

    The Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc has won the award for its Outstanding Contribution to the Capital Markets in Nigeria.

    The award organisers, London-based Capital Finance International (CFI.co), a print journal and online resource reporting on business, economics and finance, the CSCS, having fulfilled all the CFI.co’s award selection requirements, and based on the initial nomination and voting by CFI.co readers, contributors, subscribers, visitors all over the world to their website, was shortlisted. The awards judging panel, also, having gone through the rigorous exercise, reviewed and declared CSCS as the winner of the prestigious award of Outstanding Contribution to the Capital Markets in Nigeria 2018.

    CSCS Managing Director, Mr. Haruna Jalo -Waziri said the award was a confirmation and testimony of the company’s consistent hard work, investment in technology and customer focus.

    “The award is a call to service to continue to deliver excellent services to all the markets we serve. This achievement is shaped by the strength of the foundations we have set. It is as a result of consistent hard work, investment in technology and being customer focused. The foundation of any great organisation such as ours is deeply rooted in technology and sterling services. For us at CSCS, customer service is not a department or unit, it is an attitude,” Jalo-Waziri said.

    He said the company began this year by setting a three-year strategic plan-2018 to 2020, focusing on five strategic pillars of enhanced technology, process optimisation, customer satisfaction, partnership through strategic alliances, and revenue growth.

    “Staying focused on these strategic pillars has started yielding enviable results and more to come,” Jalo-Waziri said.

    According to CFI.co judging panel, CSCS continues to respond efficiently and faithfully to the needs of the securities and commodities market and has a proud record of providing sterling services to the capital markets in Nigeria.

    The panel also noted that CSCS looks to the best international models when planning its business, but insists on incorporating in its plan, features that respond to the specific needs of the Nigerian market.

    “CSCS takes its corporate governance responsibilities very seriously and constantly seeks out ways to improve. CSCS, a most innovative company, is very keen to harness technological developments in support of the services it offers. This is a very well-financed and managed firm that is moving from strength-to-strength,” the panel stated.

    Every year, CFI.co seeks out individuals and organisations that contribute significantly to the convergence of economies and truly add value to all stakeholders.