The Nation Newspaper

Tag: employees

  • 10 things organisations, employees should stop doing

     “The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say “no” to almost everything.”  – Warren Buffet

    2015 was a year I spent learning a lot of golden principles about success and interestingly one of the best, if not the best lesson I learnt is the significance of a To STOP doing list. Tons of books, articles, white papers, info graphics, blogs, etc. have been written on what we should start doing, how to start doing them and the importance of creating To Do lists but hardly will you find a book or anyone talking about what we should stop doing – a subject I have come to regard as completely vital in the pursuit of outstanding success.

    In his bestselling book – How the Mighty has fallen; Author Jim Collins coined an interesting phrase “the undisciplined pursuit of more,” where the pursuit of greater success leads to loss of focus and diffused results and ultimately failure. The tendency for us to continue to pile up our plate with more things to do is the reason for so much mediocrity that we find in the world today. Even the word priority has evolved into priorities which in itself is an oxymoron. It’s like saying one wants to buy new antiques. You can’t buy new antiques just like you can’t have several priorities.

    The tendency to do more and more affects organisations and individuals alike. Even when companies know that an advantage has run its course, they will still continue to defend it to the bitter end simply because they are unable to confront their brutal realities and adapt to the changing environment.  This goes for individuals too. We keep doing something that is of no value simply because we do not want to experience uncomfortable feelings usually associated with letting go of what we have become comfortable with.

    So what are the signs that you are engaged in an undisciplined pursuit of more? And most importantly, what can individuals and organisations do to help them avoid this dangerous trap going forward?

    STOP DOING LIST FOR COMPANIES

    1. Endless Pointless Meetings:com carried out a study on 500 office workers in the UK to find out how many hours are spent in meetings, on average, and what percentage of these meetings are actually useful.The results show that the average office worker spends around 16 hours in meetings each week, and that around a quarter of this time is usually wasted. That’s four hours of pointless meetings every week.

    Over a year, this works out to more than 200 hours. Over a career, the total is even more alarming with the average worker sitting through around 9,000 hours of needless meetings – a full year and ten days!

     

    1. Annual Performance Reviews- Performance reviews should be done on a regular basis; preferably after each assignment. Having regular performance reviews and feedback sessions will implement a more fluid system, in which employees receive timely feedback from their managers on an on-going basis following every assignment. What really is the logic behind having employees wait till the end of each year to get feedback on their performance? I totally fail to see how this profits the employees and organisation alike. Imagine how many blows could have been avoided throughout the year, and on the reverse, worthy matters that should have gained more focus.

     

    1. Not Evaluating Managers’ Management Styles- It is not a myth that people join organisations but leave managers. It is unsafe for any organisation to live in blissful ignorance of how its managers manage its employees, especially where they’ve had no form of preparation or training for that position. The effect of managers’ relations with employees on employee retention and performance cannot be overemphasised and should not be overlooked.

     

    1. Hiring replacements as opposed to having an effective succession planning: If nothing else, at least consider the cost of replacing a wrong hire; management, administrative and legal costs, plus the indirect cost of stolen/damaged goods, equipment, employer reputation, etc. According to a survey conducted by Right Management Consultants, the replacement cost of a bad hire is 1 to 5 times the salary of the job in question. Every forward-looking organisation should have a comprehensive succession plan.

     STOP DOING LIST FOR EMPLOYEES

     

    1. Gossip: The president of ReputationManagement.com, Bill Fish says the biggest issue he has seen over the years that causes conflict at work is gossip. “I can’t even count the amount of times I’ve had to intervene with employees who are upset that someone is talking about them behind their back, or betrayed their confidence by sharing information that they should not have,” he says. “In reality, you are going to run into gossip situations whether it is the middle school girls’ volleyball team, or the finance team at a Fortune 500 company, but I’ve seen it destroy plenty of relationships and result in people leaving their job.”

     

    Gossiping at work is toxic and does not serve anyone well. Besides, it is quite logical that if you gossip about others, people would also gossip about you! If you can’t say something nice, then say nothing at all.

     

    1. Complaining: This is the second palm of gossiping, but this time, about your employer. One of the commonest and most persistent trends is employees complaining about their employers. Some employees complain so bitterly that their co-workers and even families develop resentments against the organisation. If you have an issue with how things are done or specific procedures and rules in your organisation, make a formal complaint about it, better still, have a face to face with your HR Manager or whoever is directly concerned. Co-authors of “Crucial Conversations,” Joseph Grenny and David Maxfield found in a recent study that 56% of employees refrain from addressing troublesome issues at work for more than a year. The authors note that while this might not appear to cause immediate conflict, such silence has a long-term effect that can build up and cause problems down the road.

     

    1. Making the workplace a relationship platform: This is one thing I have completely failed to understand. People get employed into an organisation and then make friends with colleagues to the extent that these relationships grow to become more important to them than the organisation itself. They would do anything to protect those relationships, even at the expense of the organisation.

     

    1. Not speaking up/giving feedback to your boss: It is not unusual to see employees who prefer to stay quiet and have others speak out on their behalf, especially in this part of the world. Employees should begin to consider speaking up for themselves, giving feedback to their line managers and holding them accountable for goals/tasks they are responsible for.

     

    1. Taking/Venting personal frustration and anger on others: Henceforth, make it a point of duty to leave your ‘home’ troubles at home. Even if you choose to carry it around, don’t carry it on your face, or in the words you speak to others. It is absolutely wrong to take out your frustrations on people who had nothing to do with the cause in the first place. It is a fast relationship killer. Bringing bad mood to the office can spread from one person to the other. At the end of the day, no one would have a productive day.

     

    1. Unrealistic expectations from your company: People join organisations and expect everything to be perfect. This really is a mindset that has to be changed. Organisations hire primarily because there are problems to be solved! People are hired to add value to their organisations, not to come live their dream lives and earn salaries on top of that. Unfortunately, the latter is often the expectation of most employees. Unrealistic expectations are placed on organisations while the employees’ end of employment contracts are often ignored. If everything in the organisation was perfect, why then were you hired?

     

    Now pause to reflect on this ‘To Stop Doing list’; what do you think would be the result if you cannot stop any of these? More importantly, also create your own “To Stop doing list”. What would be on your list?

    Share with us. Drop a comment on www.workforcegroup.com

    Bolaji Olagunju is the Lead Consultant/CEO of Workforce Group; a Management Consulting Firm that offers diverse services in the areas of Learning, Development & Research, HR and Business Consulting, People & Task Outsourcing and Recruitment Services.

     

  • Six Ibadan Poly students, two employees die in road accident

    Six Ibadan Poly students, two employees die in road accident

    A MOTOR accident which claimed the lives of six students and employees of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, yesterday threw the institution’s community and the Oyo State capital into mourning last night.

    The victims were among occupants in an 18-seater bus belonging to the Quantity Surveying Department of the institution, which somersaulted on the Ibadan-Oyo Expressway following a tyre burst.

    The accident, which occurred at about 6pm at Omotunde village, left four dead instantly. Two others died on the way to the hospital in Ibadan.

    Other occupants sustained varying degrees of injury.

    Those injured were taken to the General Hospital, Oyo.

    Three patrol vehicles of the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC) were deployed to the scene by the Sector Commander, Mr. Yusuff Salami.

    Salami said he could not ascertain the exact number of casualties.

    “We are still making compilation,” he said last night.

    The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the institution, Mr. Soladoye Adewole, said: “I just got the news not quite long. We’ve not been able to ascertain the casualty figure but we have actually recorded some deaths. Our Director of Medical Services and Registrar Mr Ezekiel Fehintola have gone to the scene. We have not been given full details of the incident.”

     

  • ‘Employers, workers join employees compensation scheme

    ‘Employers, workers join employees compensation scheme

    The Managing Director Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Umar Munir Abubakar has said about 33,900 employers and seven million employees have so far joined the Employees Compensation Scheme.

    Abubakar made this known at the NSITF-Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) Safe Workplace Intervention Project (SWIP) in Port Harcourt, the River State capital.

    He explained that the increment of employers on the scheme is because employers see  the scheme as a move by government to promote safety in the workplace and ensure that injured workers are not only treated but are rehabilitated.

    “This scheme does not only ensure the safety of workers but also promote efficiency and enhance productivity because workers now know that they can work without inhibition because they would be looked after in case of injury or death,’’ he said.

    Abubakar warned that any employer that fails to enrol its workers on the scheme would soon face prosecution.

    He said: “The legal department of the NSITF has been given marching order to prosecute every non-compliant employer. We will soon drag these recalcitrant employers to court for prosecution. We will ensure that every employer that has not will now pay from July 2011 to date because this payment is a product of the law and those who flout the law must be made to face the full wrath of the law. We have given enough grace to employers; we have cajoled them and explained why their employees must be covered under the Employees Compensation Scheme Act.”

    The NSITF boss also enjoined state governments to enrol their employees on the scheme and that it had been showing a good example by paying for its employees on the scheme.

    He said the fund was trying to revive artificial body parts manufacturing centres in Lagos and Enugu.

    “Our intention is to run these centres for about six months before implementing others. Our intention is to establish each centre in the six-geopolitical zones of the country. This is a provision that is contained in the Employees Compensation Act,” Abubakar said.

    The NSITF helmsman also said it had perfected plans to develop a checklist of requirements for claims to reduce the amount of time injured employees spend to process entitlements.

    NECA Director-General, Mr. Segun Oshinowo, called for the involvement of the Ministry of Labour and Employment in the audit of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) standards in workplace premises.

    He urged companies to place emphasises on occupational safety in their various work environment, saying: “There is no enough money that can be paid to an employee for a lost eye or a lost finger. So, for us in NECA, the focus must always be to ensure that the workplace is safe for every employee.”

  • Lagos pays employees over N100b pension rights

    Lagos pays employees over N100b pension rights

    • Prepares would-be retirees for retirement

    Lagos State government has funded its employees’ pension rights to over N100 billion.

    A breakdown of this figure shows that out of this amount, a total monthly pension contribution of N59.82 billion has been remitted and credited into active employees Retirement Savings Account (RSA) managed by 10 Pension Funds Administrators (PFAs) from April, 2007 till date.

    Between this period, a total number of 9, 014 retirees, accrued pension rights of N41.58 billion has been paid by the state government.

    The state government however took time to sensitise and prepare its would-be employees on retirement.

    Director-General, Lagos State Pension Board (LASPEB), Mrs. Folashade Onanuga who spoke at the Board’s 9th Pre-Retirement Seminar for Core Civil Servants, SUBEB, Parastatals and Local Government Employees due to retire between January to June 2016  in Lagos, said the seminar which holds bi-annually is intended to prepare employees who would be retiring soon for a life of financial independence.

    She also said the state is aware that many regular salaried employees are apprehensive of what the future holds for them when they are out of office, more so with the present harsh economic.

    She stressed that the government has resolved to prepare the minds of its retirees that retirement is inevitable and should be looked forward to. She noted that a retiree would be happy to retire if he is well informed of arrangement made by his or her employer for end of service benefits.

    She stated that as at the moment, the state does not owe any employee monthly contributions that will be remitted into their RSAs.

    She said: “Since the release of N11 billion by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in July 2015 for payment of accrued pension rights of pensioners who had been on the waiting list, they have been paying accrued pensions monthly.

    “Similarly, from August to October, 2015, accrued pension rights of N6.8 billion have been paid into the RSAs of 1, 754 retirees while we are ready to pay another set of N1.6 billion for November 2015.

    “The state is committed to ensuring that all accrued pension rights being employees’ entitlement for years spent in service before the commencement of the Contributory Pension Scheme like their entitlement under the Pay As You Go scheme, are credited into their RSAs.”

    Onanuga also said the payment of the accrued pension rights is critical to early processing of employees terminal benefits by their PFAs hence the state’s resolve to educate them on early documentation requirements.

    According to her, the state government’s accrued pension rights obligation is huge but it is determined to give employees comfort.

    “Our motto is ‘where there is a will, there is a way’. The government is aware that the funding rate as indicated in then law is extremely low and hence we continue to go the extra mile by ensuring that additional funds are provided to meet pensioner’s needs.

    “LASPEB will not rest on its oars until we get to the point where before a retiree exits, his accrued pension would have been credited into his or her RSA.”

    Also speaking on the occasion, Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Benson Akintola said the state government is also committed to ensuring that people who retire from service live a life of financial independence.

    He said the fact that the state government has paid accrued pension rights of over N41 billion speaks volume of the premium it pays on its ex-employees.

    “Furthermore, the state pays prompt attention to the obligatory regular monthly deductions of 7.5 per cent from the salary of each officer and corresponding 7.5 per cent by the state government and these contributions are remitted into individual RSA maintained by you with your appointed PFA. This trend will be sustained.

    “We know the liabilities are huge but our government remains committed to your welfare. This assurance is what I want you to take away for today’s meeting,” he added.

  • Experts seek safe working environment for employees

    The Managing Director of Novo Health Africa, Dr. Dorothy Jeff-Nnamani has called on decision makers in different organisation across industry sectors to create a workplace policy that is psychologically safe for its employees.

    Nnamani said this at the Executive symposium organised by Novo Health Africa in commemoration of the World Health Mental Day in Lagos.

    Tagged: ‘Saluntem Reditus: What your competitors don’t know?’ brought together captains of industries, health experts, insurance practitioners and civil society groups.

    According to her,  the people are the key factors and are very important in  the productivity cycle of any organisation, hence their mental wellbeing is imperative.

    While acknowledging the fact  that  organisations spend a lot of resources in training she however said giving priority to the mental health of the staff is an enabler to carry forward the goals and aspirations of the organisation.

    “It is not enough to pay employees within a work place good remuneration but effort should be made to tap into their mental wellbeing by creating a safe environment and a good working culture,” she said.

    Many organisations, she regretted, “Grow and make profit but forget the people. You have paid the person well, while not tap into the intangible asset of that person which is emotional and psychological wellbeing.”

    She stressed that all the innovations seen  around  today were made possible because people were thinking and are mentally stable to innovate.

    She cited an informal survey carried recently which states that many employee work into night in the office and some are almost given birth in the office because of the poor working conditions they go through to keep their jobs.

    Nnamani stressed that leaders in organisations need to rethink and look at their relationship with their workers and access whether they are mentally stable to carry the goal and aspiration of the organisation forward.

    Speaking on the stigma and lack of mental health awareness, especially in the work place, human capital expert and Managing Director of Customer Centricity, Uloma Umeano urged employers, recruiters and businesses to consider the mental health of employees and applicants when they list competency requirements.

    In her own assertion, Dr. Maymunah Kadiri, the CEO of Pinnacle Medicals cited the recent report by the World Health Organisation that the world is at the verge of a global stress  crisis which may peak by 2020.

    “Depression will be a number two killer disease in the world and by 2030, its going to be number one killer disease in the world.”

    Expatiating, she said: “We are creating a mental health apps which is going to be on the go so that users can access their stress level, anxiety level and how depressed they are at every given point in time.

    She also called for more support for the mental health bill which would help provide support, care, subsidise treatment and tackle stigmatisation of mentally ill patients.

  • Employees, retirees advised to engage PFAs

    Employees, retirees advised to engage PFAs

    Employees and retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) have been advised to always engage their pension fund operators on returns on  their contribution.

    The Managing Director, Premium Pension Ltd, Wilson Ideva, who gave the advice in Abuja, said this is important so that they could keep a tab on what is happening to their savings.

    Pension Fund Operators (PFAs) have been duly licensed to open Retirement Savings Account (RSA) for employees, invest and manage their pension funds.

    Ideva also urged employees and retirees to check and verify their monthly RSA statement sent to them by their PFAs.

    He noted that a lot of people don’t check their statements neither do they engage their PFAs on the returns earned from the pension investment.

    He said the CPS has gained public confidence in the past 10 years.

    He said: “There is no doubt that CPS has gained public confidence and acceptability. As at June 30 this year, 6.63 million employees from both the Public and Private Sectors have opened RSAs.

    “The Scheme has accumulated over five trillion naira worth of pension assets over the same period with a monthly inflow of about N30 billion and an average of 30 per cent annual growth rate.

    “The CPS has grown tremendously to the point that what we are looking at now are measures of the next level for the industry, which is harmonising best practices across African continent. The kind of measure that you are sure of, what you are going to meet when you retire.”

    He pointed out that the growth achieved by operators in the past 10 years has posed new challenges to pension operators.

    According to him, the challenges include profitable investment, service delivery and harmonisation of service delivery.

    He said operators are going to address these challenges as they learn from other countries in other to build a pension industry that will be an envy of other countries.

  • Seplat gets approval to distribute 10.13m shares to employees

    The council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has approved application by Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc to create a multi-million shares employee incentive scheme that will ensure periodic distribution of the equities of the oil and gas exploration and production company to employees. Seplat is listed on the NSE and the London Stock Exchange (LSE).

    With the approval, Seplat will finalise the process of establishment of an “Employee Long-Term Incentive Plan” under which more than 10.13 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each will be warehoused and distributed to pre-qualified employees of the oil company. The approved initial shares are currently valued at about N2.48 billion. Seplat opened this week at N244.69 per share.

    The “Employee Long-Term Incentive Plan” is the final phase of a two-part incentive scheme under which the six-year old company plans to reward directors and employees, especially those executives and directors that contributed to its hugely successful initial public offering (IPO).

    After a highly successful global IPO of $500 million, Seplat had made history mid April 2014 as the first upstream company to be listed on the NSE. It also simultaneously listed its shares on the LSE. The initial offer size of the IPO was expected to raise gross proceeds of approximately $500 million, equivalent to £300.9 million and N82.5 billion. It was however oversubscribed. It subsequently increased its capital base by about N5.78 billion with the absorption of the oversubscription from the IPO by adding 10.03 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to its shares. The company attributed the additional shares to oversubscription and allotment that resulted from the IPO.

    The Nation had earlier exclusively reported that Seplat Long Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) consists broadly of two components including share incentives related to the company’s successful global initial public offering and annual share bonus.

    Under the global IPO bonus scheme, the company would issue bonus shares to directors and senior management staff at nominal cost to the company.

    The company will issue ordinary shares to its executive directors and senior management as a reward for their contribution to achieving a successful global offer as stated in the prospectus dated April 9, 2014. A total of 7.75 million ordinary shares qualify as global offer bonus shares out of which 3.87 million shares vest immediately but will be held till 2015 and 3.873 million shares will vest after two years.

    Also, the company will also issue unspecified ordinary shares under its annual share incentive scheme.  The annual bonus scheme is a performance-related deferred annual bonus award by reference to performance against objective performance targets during the previous financial year.

    Also, as part of the global offer bonus, Seplat will issue shares to all non-executive directors who have served on its board for at least nine months as at the date of the global offer. Under this incentive, the non-executive directors are eligible to subscribe to ordinary shares of the company with an equivalent value of 200,000 pounds based on the United Kingdom’s global offer share price at the nominal value of the shares based on the global offer share price.

    According to the plan, the legal and beneficial ownership of the shares will vest in the non-executive directors from the subscription date, with a restriction on the sale of the shares, such that the directors cannot sell or encumber any of the shares until the first anniversary of the global offer at which point they may sell up to 50 per cent of the scheme shares while any of the remaining 50 per cent cannot be sold until after the second anniversary of the global offer.

    “It is the intention of Seplat to issue the LTIP shares at nominal cost to the company as part of the agreed employee incentive scheme in consideration of their services to the company over a period of time. The company will pay the cost of the shares at nominal price from its profit and allotment will be made from the company’s authorised share capital and will not be bought on the floor of the NSE,” according to the document notifying of the intention of the oil company to issue and list the shares.

    The shares would be issued from the unissued shares of Seplat at nominal price and allotted to the employees and trustees at nominal price too.

    Seplat had earlier informed the NSE of its intention to issue and list the shares. Seplat currently has 553.31 million ordinary shares listed on the NSE.

    Seplat had explained that the LTIP was approved and disclosed in the prospectus that was issued in April 2014 and the revision was made to the earlier approval in June 2014. The company stated that at its annual general meeting held in June 2014, shareholders approved the LTIP for the company’s staff.

    According to the company, the LTIP is intended to increase the employee productivity, morale and loyalty by focusing their performance more on long-term goals by tying employee performance to rewards.

    Seplat was founded in 2009 by Shebah Petroleum Development Company Limited and Platform Petroleum (Joint Ventures) Limited for the purpose of investing in Nigerian oil and gas opportunities. Maurel& Prom, a French independent oil company, subsequently acquired a 45 per cent equity interest in SEPLAT; this interest was later spun-off to form Maurel & Prom Nigeria S.A, which is now known as Maurel & Prom International.

     

    In July 2010, SEPLAT acquired a 45 per cent participating interest in, and was appointed operator of, a portfolio of three onshore producing oil mining leases-OMLs 4, 38 and 41, which are located in the Niger Delta. In June 2013, the company entered into an agreement for the acquisition of a 40 per cent participating interest in the Umuseti/Igbuku marginal field area located within OPL 283 in the Niger Delta.

     

     

     

     

  • Training for employees

    Workers recently employed at the former Adeyemi College of Education (now Adeyemi University of Education), Ondo, have undergone a one-day capacity building exercise.

    The programme, organised by the Directorate of Venture and Linkages, held at Obongawan lecture theatres of the Institution.

    In his address, the Director of Ventures and Linkages (DVL) Dr.Peter Akinbile, said the workshop was organised to integrate participants into the institution’s policy on staff development, to enhance optimal productivity.

    He added that the capacity building workshop was aimed at making the new entrant’s, conscious of their security within and outside the campus.  He thanked the Provost of the institution, Prof. Olukoya Ogen, for identifying with the programme and providing all the necessary financial support to ensure its success.

  • Accenture celebrates employees

    Accenture, a global technology management company and also in the area of outsourcing and consulting; has celebrated the performance of two of its ex – staff that have contributed  to the development of the company.

    Speaking at the appreciation ceremony held in Lagos, its Managing Director, Nigeria, Niyi Yusuf, said: “The former employees, Mr. Usen Udoh, a Senior Director and Mrs. Onyeche Tifase both ex – staff of the company have excelled as staff of the company. The event was to show appreciation for what they have done while they were there.  That they have reached a milestone in their careers, and have further advanced to become important personnel in the new organisations where they now work.”

    He said they have done very well to move Accenture forward in their various capacity adding that the successes recorded has paved the way for their advancement in their careers. “ Tifase has now risen to become the managing director and chief executive of Siemens, the first woman to reach such enviable position. Also, Udoh has moved to Dangote Group as the group chief human resource manager, a position which I know Udoh would excel.”

  • Coolworld employees donate building to orphanage

    As part of the Corporate Social Responsibility, staffers of Coolworld Electrical Retail Stores have presented a building block to Lagos-based orphanage, Heritage Homes.

    Under the banner of Inner Hearts, employees of the store which is a subsidiary of PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc pooled resources from their salary to erect the two room structure.

    The ceremony, which held at the Anthony, Lagos premises of the orphanage home was witnessed by officials and staff members of Coolworld and PZ Cussons who were warmly received by the General Manager of Heritage Homes, Mrs Olakitan Osuntokun.

    Just before the cutting of the ribbon to declare the building open, Corporate Affairs/ Admin Director, PZ Cussons Nig Plc Yomi Ifaturoti, acknowledged that a need for the building had been long overdue.

    “God has commanded us to look out for our neighbours and this is our own way of giving back to the society. We make this presentation on behalf of Inner Hearts made up of staff of Cool World,” Ifaturoti said.

    Also, Managing Director of the Stores Olugbenga Kolawole, said that the project which began in September last year, took about 10 months and cost N700, 000. According to him, “To task ourselves over a nine months period to continually give and establish something that would stand the test of time was a key driver for all of us. This would not be a one-off donation because we have decided to stand with Heritage Homes.”

    Kolawole who commended his staff hopes that the humanitarian gesture would inspire other Nigerians. Said he: “People should stop seeing CSR as a company driven initiative but from the hearts of people. Within any household company, if the staff members come together they can achieve a lot together. At first, the project looked huge but guess what? We are here today and are proud of what we have achieved today.”

    Responding to the gesture, Mrs Osuntokun, who was moved by the act of kindness from the donors was full of praise for them.

    “I feel very happy and not just myself but the whole management. When they first visited us, they realised our need and we are all witnesses of what is happening today.”

    Heritage Homes, Anthony which was founded by popular Lagos Christian leader, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo now caters for over 40 children between zero to three years. However, Osuntokun says that many more support like that of members of staff of Coolworld Retail Stores would ease the burden.

    Aside the cost challenge of running the home, she also made a strong appeal to Government on electricity supply.

    “We have challenges with PHCN and we have gone to them to help us with the exorbitant bills and nothing has been done so far. We hope that Government would be touched by the plights of these children and do something drastic.”