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Tag: globally

  • ‘Nigeria has huge role to play globally’

    Andrew Skipper heads the Africa practice of Hogan Lovells, a global law firm with offices in more than 45 countries. In this role, Skipper’s practice in Industry Sectors, Consumer, and Life Sciences and Healthcare makes him yearn to see Nigeria get it right with the health sector. He tells OYEYEMI GBENGA-MUSTAPHA how.

    How does Hogan Lovells assist industries navigate the healthcare system for optimum performance?

    Every player in the global health industry has to deal with an exceedingly complex regulatory landscape. What’s more, the landscape is constantly changing. We know how overwhelming it can be trying to effectively navigate today’s regulatory environment and capitalise on opportunities. We have an in-depth understanding of the relationship between governments and the global healthcare marketplace, so, we provide legal solutions aligned with business strategies.

    We are uniquely positioned to serve providers and suppliers of healthcare services and products and other players in the sector. We work with them as regulatory lawyers, and also as their strategic advisers, lobbyists, litigators, and dealmakers. From start-ups to multinational enterprises, our clients come from every part of the healthcare sector of the worldwide economy.

    What makes you so effective?

    One thing that makes us so effective is that our team includes an exceptionally high number of lawyers who are former senior government legal officials. This means we have insider insights into personalities and decision-making processes at regulatory agencies so that we can better persuade them to take a certain view or course of action.

    We also collaborate across our firm to provide seamless cross-border regulatory counseling and representation. The broad array of organisations we represent in the health care sector, and our ability to meet all of their regulatory and other legal needs make us your one-stop resource for anticipating and responding to health care legal issues.

    How do you influence healthcare delivery landscapes?

    Businesses and their challenges don’t stop for oceans or disappear at national borders. Neither does Hogan Lovells. Our team of 500 life sciences and healthcare lawyers is around the world but operates as if everyone is working from the same office — providing a seamless experience everywhere you do business.

    And no matter the challenge — from creation to commercialisation of a life-saving therapy, regulatory compliance to an international patent dispute, the formation of a strategic alliance to a complex, global merger — we’ve been there before and we understand how to prepare people for what happens next, helping them to anticipate risks and address future issues before they arise.

    Hogan Lovells has been doing business in Africa for years. Why do you not have a Nigerian office?

    We can’t do without Nigeria. This is, because, the standard of professionalism of Nigerian law firms is one of the highest in the world and we partner with the firms to deliver the best possible solutions to our clients. So, we are focused on developing our business in Africa and Nigeria as we explore partnerships and collaborations with local law firms to achieve this. Our office in South Africa provides us with a platform for doing business across Africa and whilst we recognise that the legal market is constantly changing, and are not ruling anything out, our current strategy is to focus on key markets such as Nigeria not through opening new offices, but through building deeper and stronger relationships with local firms. We believe this is the best approach to growth.

    With your years of experience working in Nigeria, how do you perceive the health sector in this country?

    The health sector in Nigeria, and across Africa is quite nascent. Hogan Lovells is considered a leading firm in providing legal services to healthcare providers; and our clientele, span major pharmaceutical companies, most medical devices companies and many government organisations, so we are well experienced in the sector.

    Why is the sector inefficient?

    The challenges within the sector are reflective of the challenges in the larger society. The massive deficit in terms of manpower and health equipment is one of such challenges, and also the lack of hospital facilities and trained personnel. Hopefully, this will be addressed in the near future.

    How?

    First, the infrastructural deficit has to be addressed, as well as a reward system for healthcare workers. As with some countries, the health sector has to be well funded. Public private partnerships are needed here and Nigeria can adopt one of the strategies that have worked well for other countries.

    How can technology help the growth of the health sector?

    Technology is relevant to every facet of business and life, particularly in Africa, where there is huge potential for its use. Drone technology is used in East Africa to deliver medicines to regions that have impassable roads, and some IT professionals have developed a software to aid in the administration and staffing of hospitals. So technology is very important to healthcare and Africa presents vast opportunities for the use of technology.

    How does your firm assist with capital investments in the healthcare system?

    We play an advisory role and support private sector investment into the health sector. There is increased private equity interest in investing in areas like health care clinics, cancer clinics and pharmacies where profit can be made and services rendered; but to have a solid structure and framework, the public sector needs to be involved. This is where public private partnerships are encouraged with the public sector providing adequate training for healthcare professionals.

    How can the government ensure that public-private partnerships work and deliver on their set goals?

    The misconception about private-public-partnerships (PPPs) is that the private sector puts in more money and the public benefit from it, more like a social investment initiative and this has deterred the private sector who tend to be profit and margin oriented in their thinking. So for this partnership to work, there has to be a regulatory framework and clear cut rules as it applies to the collaboration. Also funds can be sourced externally in terms of direct foreign investments, but the right structures have to be put in place to attract investors. Again, a vibrant and structured public private partnership system is the basis for this.

    Brain drain among healthcare professionals is an incessant trend in Nigeria. How can this be curbed?

    This boils down to the lack of confidence in the healthcare system. In the last 10 years, six out of 10 African presidents have died in foreign hospitals, this goes a long way to explain the lack of confidence in the system. The brain drain can be directly attributed to good remuneration, financial and social security, and solid infrastructure that the healthcare system abroad offers so if these are in place here, then professionals will either return or, like 60 percent of the African medical professionals under 25, will go abroad to be trained but return to serve in their country.

    How long has Hogan Lovells been in Nigeria and what are your future projections for the next five to 10 years?

    We have been working in Africa for 40 years and we have been working in Nigeria in partnership with local law firms. We want to be regarded as the firm that understands, operates, invests in and respects Africa. We intend to continue our work in Nigeria in partnership with independent law firms, building local capacity and knowledge sharing.

     

    We are committed to developing capacity and growing partnerships whether it is with government, Private-Public-Partnerships (PPPs) or local firms. As an international firm we have clients who operate internationally and 80 percent of our top clients have a presence in Africa, therefore we are here not just for our work but to contribute our bit to recreating and retelling the beautiful story that is Africa.

     

  • Wanted: bigger law firms that can compete globally

    Wanted: bigger law firms that can compete globally

    Many ‘big’ Nigerian law firms cannot compete globally because they are small when compared to their counterparts abroad, according to a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Mr Osaro Eghobamien.

    To him, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and other regulators should come up with a policy that will encourage law firms to merge to have bigger firms.

    Eghobamien, the Managing Partner of Perchstone & Graeys, said more should be done to enable lawyers play globally.

    He spoke with reporters after his firm announced the elevation of two senior associates to partners.

    On how Nigerian firms can compete for the biggest briefs globally, the SAN said: “If we don’t have the regulator forcing us to merge  and create bigger firms that are prepared for the type of work that will come in, in five year’s time we’ll have small, mushroom firms that are not in a position to deliver the services.

    “When you look at our GDP, and you look at it against the size and level of law firms, it’s nothing compared to South Africa’s. Despite our GDP, firms in South Africa are far more structured and have far more lawyers than you can imagine. Even in Kenya.”

    Eghobamien said some prefer to use foreign law firms, which in turn pay Nigerians lawyers peanuts to append their seals as if they did the job.

    On the way forward, he suggested: “There might have to be some kind of forced mergers. The steps being taken by the regulator to prepare the law firms for the future is still questionable. What are we doing to prepare ourselves for those huge briefs?

    “For instance, when the mergers of banks were done, they could not find any law firms that could provide the services for the mergers and acquisitions. And that’s why you see a lot of the documentation being slightly weak, because we’re not sufficiently schooled.”

    Eghobamien said the problem lies with not having well structured firms that can handle the biggest jobs which are often taken abroad.

    “We have brilliant lawyers who can compete with the best anywhere in the world, but in terms of structure going forward, I fear that if we don’t do something drastic, we’re going to have fewer and fewer lawyers who are specialised, and who can provide the service that is required in a dynamic economy,” he said.

    Eghomabamien believes there was the need for continuous legal education on global best practices especially as legal practice has become globalised.

    “We’re a global village and there needs to be continuous legal education so lawyers can meet the needs of clients. What we do at Perchstone and Graeys is to put ourselves in a position where we can deliver services to our clients, and those services are equivalent to what they are accustomed to receiving anywhere else in the world.

    “That means we need to work as hard as our counterparts abroad in the absence of infrastructure. They have the entire infrastructure, but we don’t. The challenges of legal practice in Nigeria include the absence of soft and hard infrastructure.

    “Of course, integrity continues to be a major issue in the practice of law. I don’t think some of us understand the oath we took on the day we were called to practice,” Eghobamien said.

    The new partners are Elisabeth Ekpenyong and Ugo Obi. A senior associate, Ifedayo Iroche, was named the Head of Chambers and Practice Development (Lagos).

    All the lawyers in the firm got a 40 per cent pay rise, while support staff got a 25 per cent raise.

    Addressing them, Eghobamien said: “Your smile is your logo. Your personality is your business card. And how you leave clients feeling after you have had an encounter with them is your trademark. We want to be a world class firm. We want you to join us in achieving this journey.”

    Ekpenyong has over 15 years’ cumulative experience in legal and financial advisory services. She obtained her law degree from the University of Abuja and holds a Masters  in Banking and Finance Law from the Queen Mary, University of London.

    Obi heads the firm’s Information Communications and Technology Group. Called to Bar in 2004, he obtained his Bachelor of Laws, LL.B with Second Class (Upper Division) in 2003 from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and holds a Masters Degree in Oil & Gas Law from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.

    Iroche, called to in 2008, is the firm’s team lead, Corporate Commercial and Company Secretarial Groups. She holds a masters in Law from the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

  • NIMASA DG: how African ports can compete globally

    NIMASA DG: how African ports can compete globally

    The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and

    Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside, has listed conditions that will change ports on the African continent to be globally competitive.

    The conditions, according to Peterside, are investment in world class infrastructure, strengthen Regulatory Frameworks, enhance institutional cooperation, implementation of one-stop portals like the national single window and adequate Investment in human capital.

    Peterside spoke while delivering a paper on the Significance of Maritime Regulations and Competitiveness of African Ports at the conference on Port Development, which took place in Accra, Ghana.

    The conference was organised by International Quality and Productivity Centre in conjunction with Ghana Ports and habour Authority.

    In his words “African Ports have fallen far behind our global peers on key performance indicators. Cargo spends nearly three weeks on average in Sub-Saharan African ports, compared to less than a week in large ports in Europe, Latin America and Asia. We are below the global average on three key productivity measures of ports: gross moves per hour, berth moves per hour and man-hours per move”.

    He noted that for Port operations on the African continent to experience appreciable improvement, Agencies in the port community must work together to implement integrated and sustainable solutions to the identified challenges.

    The NIMASA DG restated the agency’s commitment to strengthening the capacity of Ports in Nigeria and enable competitiveness on the African continent via the effective implementation of the Merchant Shipping Act, NIMASA and the Cabotage Act by ensuring that regulating the maritime sector with the use of these instruments does not hinder efficiency and negatively affect business operations in the Ports.

    He said NIMASA has upgraded its surveillance system to 24 hours and can consequently monitor all vessels in the Nigerian Maritime Domain at all times. He also disclosed that the integration of the Agency’s system with the Nigerian Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS) was part of efforts to forge partnership with key industry stakeholders to enhance efficiency in the Nigerian maritime sector.

    “Security is essential for seafarers, ships and port facilities; the Federal Government recently approved a $186 million Integrated Waterways Surveillance and maritime security initiative which is to be run jointly with Nigerian navy and Marine Police and the Army with the sole objective of operationally eliminating piracy and criminality on our waterways,” he said.

  • ‘Better regulations’ll boost feeding globally, says WBG report

    Improving agriculture regulations in low and middle income countries could help to boost feeding of the world’s population, and improve farmers’ livelihoods, a World Bank Group report has said.

    The World Bank Group’s Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) 2017 report says many countries are home to strong, commercially-oriented agriculture.

    It said more needed to be done, for example, by lowering transactions’ costs for farmers and firms engaged in domestic trade and exports, by improving water permit systems for irrigation and providing better conditions for microfinance institutions.

    Smart regulations that ensure safety and quality control while avoiding burdensome and inefficient requirements, are highlighted in the report as good practices that governments may wish to consider as part of their reform efforts.

    “Sustainable, inclusive investments in the agriculture and food sectors help create jobs – on farms, in markets, cities, towns and villages and throughout the farm-to-table food production and supply chains – which, alongside improved access to affordable and balanced, diverse diets, are key to fighting extreme poverty and for boosting shared prosperity,” said Preeti Ahuja, Practice Manager, World Bank Food and Agriculture Global Practice.

    “Governments have a key role to play in supporting economically, socially and environmentally responsible policies and practices that help smallholders while removing burdensome processes that add to food costs and discourage agribusinesses from entering the market.”

    The latest EBA report, the third in an annual series, presents data on legal barriers for farmers, entrepreneurs and businesses operating in agriculture in 62 countries and across the topics of land, seed, fertiliser, machinery, water, livestock, finance, markets, transport, and information and communication technology (ICT). The 2017 edition also expands its survey of laws and regulations that impact environmental sustainability and gender. Globally, comparable data helps countries know where they stand, compare their performance with that of their neighbors, and identify areas for improvement that are critical to building a thriving agribusiness sector.

    For example, obtaining export documents for agricultural produce takes on average 6 days in Sub-Saharan African countries, compared with only 2.3 days in the Middle East and North Africa region. Such delays not only increase business costs, but also increase food waste and make it more likely that shipments will be rejected upon arrival due to spoilage or low quality.

    Securing permission to sell and use new tractors can also be very time-consuming:  it takes 270 days and costs about 604 percent of income per capita to complete this process in South Asia, versus 21 days and seven percent of income per capita in East Asia and the Pacific.

    Drawn-out processes reduce the incentives for agricultural machinery manufacturers and suppliers to develop or import new and updated tractors that could otherwise help to modernize agricultural processes and improve productivity.

    “Government regulations affect agricultural development through several dimension, including agricultural inputs such as seed, fertiliser, land and water, as well as small-scale and remote farmers’ access to financial services,” said Programme Manager, World Bank. Vice Presidency for Development Economics, Federica Saliola, said: “Boosting agribusinesses requires public policies and regulations that foster growth in the agriculture and food sectors, improve the functioning of markets, and enable agribusinesses and food entrepreneurs to better meet the growing demand for food.”

  • ‘Two billion adults without bank accounts globally’

    ‘Two billion adults without bank accounts globally’

    Although the World Bank is pleased with the growing number of adults gradually finding their way into the banking system, about two billion are yet to have access to bank accounts, the World Bank Group President, Jim Yong Kim, has said.

    Kim, who quoted from a New Report packaged by Global Findex – the world’s most comprehensive gauge of progress on financial inclusion, released at the bank’s headquarters in Washington DC, yesterday, said between 2011 and this year, 700 million people became account holders at banks and other financial institutions.

    He said the devlopment reduced the number of “unbanked” individuals by 20 per cent to two billion adults.

    Kim said the bank is keen on promoting acces to financial inclusion as it would help in reducing poverty.

    “Access to financial services can serve as a bridge out of poverty. We have set a hugely ambitious goal of attainng universal financial access by 2020, and now we have evidence that we’re making major progress. The payoff will be millions of people lifted out of poverty,” he said.

    According to Kim, part of the success story of the Findex report commissioned in 2011, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, is that within the four years of its work, the percentage of adults with bank account increased from 51 per cent to 62 per cent, a trend driven by a 13 percentage point rise in account ownership in developing countries and the role of technology.

    He said mobile money accounts in sub-Saharan Africa are helping to rapidly expand and scale up access to financial services, adding that along with these gains, data also indicated big opportunities for boosting financial inclusion among women and the poor.

    The finding, Kim pointed out, has also shown that having an account that allows adults to store money and make and receive electronic payments, is critical to ending global poverty. He added   that broader access to, and participation in, the financial system can boost job creation, increase investments in education and directly help poor people manage risk and absorb financial shocks.

    In line with the report’s finding, Kim observed that there is still more work to be done to expand financial inclusion among women and the poorest households.

    “More than half of adults in the poorest 40 per cent of households in developing countries are still without accounts in 2014,” he said, lamenting that the gender gap in account ownership is not significantly narrowing.

    He said in 2011, 47 per cent of women and 54 per cent of men had an account,while last year, 58 per cent of women had an account, compared to 65 per cent of men. Regionally, Kim noted that the gender gap is largest in South Asia, where 37 per cent of women have an account compared to 55 per cent of men, representing an 18 percent point gap.

    The United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, said the report should serve as a guide “among those of us passionate about advancing access to financial services for the poor, to see what is working, what isn’t, and how we can focus our efforts most effectively to reach the goal of universal financial inclusion.”

    The Global Findex report covered over 140 countries with studies on how adults save, borrow, make payments and manage risks

  • ‘Nigeria’s printing industry competes globally’

    ‘Nigeria’s printing industry competes globally’

    Academy Press Plc, one of the foremost printing firms in Nigeria, is set to raise the bar in the printing sub-sector with its latest innovative technology, reports Toba Agboola

    From the face value, one is tempted to come along with the argument that the Nigeria printers do not have the capacity and capability to meet the demands of the book publishers in terms of print price, quality and delivery schedules. This argument cannot be totally true because it’s like one that’s trying to cover the entire sky with one’s palm. This is because the Nigerian printing firm is facing up to its responsibilities.

    For instance, Academy Press Plc, which will celebrate 50 years of its existence this year, is set to expand and improve its capacity. The company which recently acquired and installed for operations, new equipment worth over N1.5 billion has over the years followed the trend of retooling and modernising their facilities.

    It is on record that book publishers still print at least 90 per cent of their books in Malaysia, Dubai and India and pay almost 100 per cent of the contract value in advance, but when they decide to give the leftovers to Nigerian printers at publishers’ price, they pay when they are able after months of delivery.

    According to the Managing Director, Academy Press Plc, Mr. Gbenga Ladipo, the company has not deviated from the original objective of setting up the company, which is to fill the vacuum of a large printing establishment in the country.

    Speaking at the Customer’s Forum, held at the company’s premises, Ilupeju Lagos, Ladipo said both the printers and the publishers are discussing with the government on the way forward.

    His words: “For us at Academy Press, we are concerned about the challenges and difficulties that are being experienced by partners and print buyers alike in the industry which are creating economic, financial and social instability for us and tend to threaten the survival of the business of members of this country.

    “A key material such as paper completely depends on importation. So is ink, plates, chemicals, spare and so on. In the era of huge naira devaluation, this has become a big challenge on our cost of production and invariably the cost of our customers.”

    Pressed further, he said: “The only thing that has changed is the size because we have expanded over the years and, of course, we have also improved on the technology. The objectives have not changed because we set out to actually fill the vacuum of a large scale printing establishment in the country and bridge the importation of printed materials. That was the main objective which we still stick to because the printed materials are still being imported largely. The industry is also expanding, so we continue to expand to catch up with that and it involves change in technology because customers are ever demanding the best in terms of modern day production.

    “AP is a combination of foreign and Nigeria entrepreneurs. Up till now, foreign investors are still being asked to come and invest in Nigeria. Fifty years ago, Nigeria was looking for foreign investors to come to Nigeria and it took one American coming to Nigeria to look for opportunities and he was the one that brought others, including the Nigeria partners and other foreign partners from the United Kingdom and Canada to establish Academic Press.

    “They studied the situation and they noted that there were no standard printing press in Nigeria and that formed their area of interest. They saw a vacuum that needed to be filled because the major book publishers; Longman, University Press, Oxford, Macmillan were not producing in Nigeria. None of the books that are being used in the school system are being produced here, they are done abroad. These gentlemen, being aware of the way things were done overseas, took the burden of importation from the book publishers but regrettably the book publishers are still doing a large portion of their jobs outside. I said regrettably because it is not on the account of inadequate capacity but other fundamental factors.”

    He said Nigerian printers have the capacity to do what their foreign printers are doing, adding that is because they use the same equipment and materials.

    “We also have trained hands that are as efficient as they are. When you have the facilities to produce the same kind and the customers or relevant bodies, for one reason or the other, are not just willing to give you the opportunity, how will you improve or show your capacity? That is why most printing outfits find it difficult to pay their staff, even if you are able to pay them you are not able to pay them well. They begin to take people on part-time basis, so the job is not guaranteed. When I have a job, I will call you and when I don’t have, you stay at home and manage because that is the only way we can survive. If you don’t do that, how are you going to pay people when you are not having jobs? So it is a very difficult situation,” he said.

    He is also optimistic that when Nigerian printing industry is developed, the paper industry, printing raw materials like ink, films, plates and other inputs shall receive adequate attractions from both foreign and local investors that would be very much eager to invest in this living and fertile industry thus bringing down book production cost . With these, many unpublished authors of well-researched and deserved books could now be encouraged due to low production cost of books to go to the press. This will also facilitate the availability of good books in the hands of teachers, students and various libraries through various books distribution channels like the bookshops.

  • ‘Patience, strength needed to win war on terror’

    ‘Patience, strength needed to win war on terror’

    •Nigerian releases book to mark 9/11

    For the war on terror to be won globally, patience, strength and resolve are germane, author of a book on terrorism, Abayomi Mumuni has said.

    Mumuni has completed plans to distribute 300 copies of his book, entitled “Global Terrorism and Its Effects on Humanity” for free in the United States to commemorate 13th anniversary of 9/11 attacks.

    Mumuni, a politician and businessman, in an interview with reporters, said the matters raised in the book would not only help in the fight against terrorism, but provide a long-lasting solution to the scourge.

    The former governorship candidate under the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in Lagos State during the 2011 general elections, said: “The US and its allies will win the war only if they fight it in the right way – with the same sort of patience, strength, and resolve that helped win the Cold War and with policies designed to provide alternative hopes and dreams to potential enemies. The war on terror will end with the collapse of the violent ideology that caused it.”

    He also spoke on why the Federal Government should dialogue with Boko Haram.

    He said: “It is becoming obvious that without negotiation, not much can be achieved by authorities in their fight against terrorism. So far, the only option I have identified as alternative to negotiation is military strike, and by which authorities will end up being accused of one crime or the other. Take Nigeria government’s efforts to destroy Boko Haram for instance. Out of eagerness to strike the terrorist group, collateral damages touched many civilians to the extent that the civil rights organisations accused the Nigerian government of a massacre in Bama village. Violence begets violence. In the new up-coming book, Demand by Terror, I am coming out with the conclusion that any response to a terrorist’s demands should not ignore negotiation. Negotiation has achieved more than military strikes, especially in hostage taking situations.”

    He described terrorism as a man-made epidemic.

    “There is no doubt that terrorism, a man inflicted malignant epidemic, is ravaging humanity at an alarming rate. This week (September 11) marks 13th anniversary of the US bombings. I believe the best way to show support in the fight against terrorism, which is still the biggest threat to America, is to come up with an intellectual work of this nature, and roll out, free copies to the States.

    “There have been different discussions, debates and issues bothering on global terrorism in the 21st century world, none has been able to present an overview of its origin, types, justification, flight or fight and its effects on humanity as captured in this book. That is why I have divided it into about seven chapters for everybody, irrespective of nationality, race or creed to understand,” he said.

    Printed in by Friesens Corporation in Canada  and published by WSGF PTY, South Africa, and Media-Connect, an Advert-Consultant firm in New-York, the book comprises seven chapters and shows the sociological, psychological, physical, political, and economical toll of the war on terrorism on America and its lasting impact on humanity and human rights.