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  • Key takes from Asiwaju’s 67th birthday colloquium

    Quite like previous editions, the 11th Bola Tinubu Colloquium marking the 67th birthday of that political giant, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was organised to another resounding success last week. The Bola Tinubu Colloquium has become a veritable platform for robust discussions and frank exchange of ideas. And this year, it again lived to its billing. The colloquium examined some of the problems confronting the country and made practical suggestions on how to confront them and on the way forward for the country, on the path to the Next Level if you like.

    With the theme “Next Level: Work for the People,” the event was attended by no fewer than 11 governors, APC National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole, top government functionaries, top traditional rulers, members of the diplomatic corps and captains of industries. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari at the colloquium, chaired the event held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

    Most of the discussions were people-centred and as such resonated well with the audience. For instance, the Managing Director, Transmission Company of Nigeria, U. G. Mohammed, spoke on propelling industrial growth through the power sector. According to him, the power sector privatisation in Nigeria was an ambitious venture embarked upon by the country but that the mistakes recorded thus far must be identified and corrected in order to properly move the sector forward.

    It was the celebrator himself, Asiwaju Tinubu, who enlivened the audience more when he mounted the rostrum for his remarks. Initially speaking extempore, he advised the Federal Government against increasing the Value Added Tax, saying such would only increase the burden of the people, reducing their purchasing power. He urged the government to widen the tax net and bring in more people to pay taxes even if they are his relatives. He also advised the government to revisit the privatisation of the power sector for accelerated development and job creation, and prevail on the distribution companies to drop estimated billings.

    Harping on the need to industrialise the country generally, Tinubu said: “We require serious and bold reforms to achieve this. What is happening to our gas pipelines? Whatever we have to invest now for our future is a task that must be done boldly. The PDP administration shared out generation, distribution and transmission to their friends and cronies without very deep and thoughtful research and evaluation.

    “It has now become pork chops. This privatisation must be revisited. Put experts together for a more constructive reform to improve generation, transmission and distribution by any means necessary. We cannot afford to be too legalistic about this. We should push to end the practice of billing people for electricity they never received. This practice is a vestige of the past that should not accompany us into the future.  A person should be charged accurately and only for the power that they use”.

    On a wholistic national infrastructural plan, he urged the government to continue to aggressively implement this, saying “we must commit ourselves to a national highway system linking our major cities and towns, our centres of commerce, with each other. This will save lives, spur commerce, cut costs and bring Nigerians closer together.”

    President Muhammadu Buhari administration, according to Tinubu, will, in its second term, dedicate itself to changing the very structure of our economy for the better. The single most important sector for the government’s focus is infrastructure, the most important of which is power, according to the former governor.

    Now, some have praised Asiwaju for his courage in giving a candid advice to the government produced by his party and whose emergence he played a leading role. What he did by offering truthful suggestion, however, is to complement the government in its determination to succeed and impact the lives of Nigerians positively. This attitude has characterised his politics over time.

    President Buhari was not physically present at the event but Vice President Osinbajo spoke his mind, describing Asiwaju as a visionary and talents-identifier. He said Asiwaju as Lagos Governor put together a pan-Nigeria cabinet that is yet to be rivalled in the country. President Buhari himself had been effusive in showering praises on Asiwaju a day before the colloquium. In his congratulatory message to the APC National Leader on his birthday, the president spoke about Asiwaju’s contributions to Nigeria and Lagos in the most profound manner. Buhari described Tinubu a strong pillar of Nigeria’s democracy and the father of modern Lagos.

    Thanking the Jagaban for his selflessness in serving his country and making life better for many, the President recalled some of Asiwaju’s sacrifices to include standing up against injustice in 1993 when the June 12 elections were annulled, which led to his going on political exile for many years, and a protracted legal battle with the Federal Government when funds for Lagos were withheld.

    Speaking in a statement by his Special Adviser, Media & Publicity Femi Adesina, “President Buhari affirms that Asiwaju’s uncompromising posture in the face of injustice and refusal to follow the path of least resistance for personal gains stand him out today as a rare breed and one of the cornerstones of Nigeria’s democracy, especially with his track record of persistence, consistency and effective leadership.

    “As the father of modern Lagos State, the President commends the visionary and inclusive leadership style that the Asiwaju provided for the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria for eight years, laying the foundation for a modern and technologically driven city, and ensuring that every successive leader in the state sticks with the master plan of a greater Lagos.”

    Osinbajo, in his remarks, commended Asiwaju for the role he played in reclaiming states lost by the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after the 2007 elections and for working towards the success of the All Progressives Congress in the just ended elections. He attributed this to the former Lagos governor’s political dexterity.

    ”We celebrate a man who has spent the last 30 years of his life in creative and catalytic public service. He is not a lawyer as many of us know, but there are few Nigerians who have provoked so many legal controversies and constitutional challenges resulting in several landmark judicial pronouncements, especially in the area of federalism and what today is loosely described as restructuring.

    “Many of us know that he is not an engineer, but a lot of his vision is what is responsible for what we see today in Lagos – the BRT, the Lekki Free Trade Zone, even the Eko Atlantic Project and, of course, the reform in the tax system of Lagos State. Today, Lagos, as we know, earns more revenue, more IGR, than 31 states of Nigeria put together. That began in 2001,” he said.

    On the Next Level campaign slogan, Osinbajo said: “As you know, the expression Next Level is our political campaign slogan in this last election.  And what we were saying was simply that there was a next phase to what our country has seen.

    Osinbajo said: “There are many who will say that there are many things that were promised in 2015 which have not yet been realized.  I think the best way of putting it is to say that our country, for the first time, is witnessing the type of leadership that is bound to lead us to where it is that we are proposed ourselves as a government.

    “In my view, the honest leadership, leadership with integrity of our president, President Muhammadu Buhari, is a very important component of getting anywhere at all in all of our development plans.  I said before at the last colloquium that Nigeria’s main problem is not the lack of ideas, it is not the lack of projects and programmes. It was most of the time, especially the leadership in the past, and corruption in particular, was the reason why we were finding it difficult to make progress”.

    As said earlier, it was another successful event. Other dignitaries present at the colloquium were Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, Vice President’s wife Dolapo, Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola and former APC Interim National Chairman Chief Bisi Akande.  Other governors in attendance were Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (Kano); Mohammed Abubakar (Bauchi); Simon Lalong (Plateau); Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo); Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo); Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara); Gboyega Oyetola (Osun) and Edo State Deputy Governor Phillip Shuaibu. Others included Ministers Musa Mohammed (FCT); Senator Chris Ngige (Labour & Employment); Okechukwu Enelama (Trade & Investment) and Lai Mohammed (Information & Culture).

    Also in attendance were Senate Leader Ahmed Lawan; former Sokoto State Governor Aliyu Wammako; Lagos State Governor-elect Babatunde Sanwo-Olu and his deputy Obafemi Hamzat; Senator Shehu Sani; former APC Deputy National Chairman, (South) Segun Oni; Voice of Nigeria Director-General Osita Okechukwu and Senator Smart Adeyemi. There were also former Akwa Ibom Governor Godswill Akpabio, former President of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN) Samaila Isa Funtua; Vanguard Publisher Sam Amuka-Pemu; Senator Khariat Gwadabe, Senator Gbenga Ashafa; former Lagos State Information and Strategy Commissioner Dele Alade and Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hamid Ali.

     

    • Rahman, former Editor, Thisday on Sunday, is Media Adviser to Asiwaju Tinubu

     

  • MainOne: technology key to growth

    MainOne: technology key to growth

    Increased technology adoption will create jobs, grow the bottomline for businesses, reduce corruption and lead to rapid economic transformation, the Chief Executive Officer, MainOne, Funke Opeke has said.

    According to her, a survey by the company showed that Nigeria is one of the world’s top three consumers of the internet, adding that more needed to be done to harness the potential of digital transformation.

    Speaking at MainOne’s flagship IT event, Nerds Unite, in Lagos with: Radical digital transformation as theme, she said aside connectivity to the internet, there was need to collaborate in the areas of increasing the rate of technology adoption, local data hosting and content distribution.

    Opeke said it was important to engage technology gurus in sharing ideas and finding new ways to improve the standard of living, adding that the conference was a platform designed to bring together professionals in the world of technology.

    “Technology is critical to the sustenance of the community. There is no way the economy will grow without technology. Therefore, there’s need for radical digital transformation,” she said.

    Other IT experts highlighted the importance of applying technology to every facet of life in line with digital transformation agenda of the Federal Government.

    The keynote speaker, Nnamdi Oranye, urged Nigerians to be passionate about the development of the country, adding that technology remained the only way to move the country forward.

    Oranye, who is the author of Disrupting Africa’ stated that a recent United Nations survey estimated that Nigeria would be the third largest country in the world by 2050.

    He said Nigeria could not afford to fail, adding that Africa is looking up to the country described as a developing because of its low industrial base.

    Oranye further stated that before the country could be developed, technology and innovation had to be used to identify new trends, provide incentives and develop new ideas. He added that people should take advantage of available tools to build a legacy for the coming generations.

    During a panel discussion which centred, on ‘Disruptive solutions for enterprise,’ Presales Customer Solutions Manager, SAP West Africa, Chibuzor Ezeasor, said technology could be used to engage customers and the workforce in an organisations.

     

    Ezeasor said SAP, through its CSR programme, would organise events and training around Africa for young entrepreneurs and developers. He said SAP would also build an application for entrepreneurs to build other applications.

    Also speaking, the Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft, Hakeem Adeniji-Adele, stressed the need for SMEs to adopt technology. “Enterprises are driven by customer experience and engagement and technology can be adopted to get adequate feedback and suggestions,” he said.

    Adeniji-Adele, who noted the interdependence of technology and innovation, also stated that there was no way an entrepreneur could innovate without using technology.

    He said 62 per cent of the revenue generate by Microsoft was from the innovation of CloudShare.

    On the other hand, Senior Government Manager at Avanti Communications, Srinath Logasubramanian, described innovation as critical to human existence, adding that the day innovation ends, is the day the world will come to an end. He noted that even big companies had to be on their toes in innovation in order not be pushed out of business by new firms and hinted that Avanti would be launching a satellite system in March to cover broadband services across sub-Saharan Africa.

  • ‘Honesty, hard work key to excellence’

    ‘Honesty, hard work key to excellence’

    The Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko in Ondo State, Prof Igbekele Ajibefun, has advised freshers to work hard to get good grades.

    To achieve their academic goals, the VC said the students needed to imbibe the culture of honesty and hard work.

    Ajibefun spoke last Wednesday at a two-day orientation organised by Students’ Affairs Division for freshers. The VC, represented by his deputy for Administration, Prof Olugbenga Ige, said: “I urge our students to imbibe the virtue of hard work, honesty and diligence, which are the only values that can help you realise your academic goals.”

    While congratulating the freshers on scaling the competitive admission procedure, the VC advised them to guard their admission jealously. Of the 17,747 applicants  who chose the university, Ajibefun said only 4,690 candidates met the school admission requirement. This figure, he said, represented 26.43 per cent of the overall applicants.

    He warned the students against vices and misconduct, including cultism, examination malpractice, intimidation and rape. Severe punishment, he said, awaited anyone who contravenes the school regulation, adding that culprits could lose their admission.

    The Dean of Students’ Affairs (DSA), Dr Bolanle Ogungbamila, said the school was committed to building lasting peace with members of its host community, urging the students to be peaceful in their dealings with their host.

    He said the unit would continue to partner with management in initiating welfare programmes to give students a sense of belonging and make their experience unforgettable. The dean thanked management for creating conducive environment for learning and extra-curricular activities to thrive on the campus.

    Also at the event were the Registrar, Mr Sunday Ayeerun; Dean of Postgraduate School, Prof C.A. Daramola; Mr Abayomi Babalola, Mr Abiola Akingbemisilu, and Mr Oye Agunbiade.

  • Education is key, pupils told

    Pupils have been advised to take education as a priority to succeed in life.

    The National Chairman of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), Olawale Oshun, gave the advice at his 67th birthday celebration, which his non-governmental organisation (NGO) Olawale Oshun Foundation, organised for him in collaboration with the Pen Society of Nigeria.

    Tagged: Oshun 17 reads, the event held at the National Library, Yaba, had pupils from schools within Lagos Mainland.

    Oshun said education was the bedrock of whatever the pupils aspire in life as it would enable them contribute to the development of the nation.

    He advised that the 21st Century has created a wider environment and made information easily accessible, therefore, the youth should take advantage of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) platform to boost their knowledge.

    “You have a wider environment now compared to our days. You have access to internet, Information Communication Technology all these at your doorsteps. It is left for you to explore these opportunities. They are to enhance your knowledge because irrespective of your career choices in life, education should be prioritised,” he said.

    Responding to questions from them on youth development Oshun said: “It is you that need to have the zeal to do something. You have to make yourselves available, then, the opportunities will definitely come by. If you want to serve the society, you have to be willing to sacrifice to serve other people well. You can start showing those capabilities in your early stage in your school environment.  At times, it might not be rosy seeing yourself placing other peoples’ needs before yours; that is just the spirit of sacrifice.”

    “You need to have confidence to discuss your ambition with your parents. Do not wait till they start asking you. Discuss it with your teachers and people you think can help you shape your understanding towards the path you have chosen. In all, your education is key and learn to be skilful. Remember, good education with a bad attitude is useless,” he warned.

    He noted that celebrating his birthday with them was a step he took seven years ago when he marked his 60th birthday. According to him, it was to encourage pupils on their education.

    The event also featured presentations of articles by pupils on ‘National Youth Development’.

    A member of the Pen Society, Mr Olarewaju Adelaja, said the organisation is a literary and art oriented gruop, interested in developing the reading culture among the youth.

  • Education key, says commander

    The Commander, 32 Artillery Brigade, Brig. Gen. Charles Ofoche, has advised parents of Command Day Secondary School, Owena Cantonment, to take the education of their wards seriously.

    Gen Ofoche spoke during the school’s inter-house sports competition at Owena Cantonment, Akure.

    The competition was among Fly Horse House representing the 1 Division in Kaduna, Tiger House representing 2 Division in Ibadan , Rhino House representing 2 Armoured Division in Jos and Palm House representing the 81 Division in Lagos.

    The pupils competed in march past and track events including: 100m junior boys and girls, 100m senior boys and girls, blind fold race boy, 200M boys and girls, 4x100m boys and girls, sack race, 400m boys and girls, parents race male and female, teachers race male and female, egg race and thread and needle race.

    Fly Horse House came first overall and in the march past. Tiger House came second and Rhino third. Gen Ofoche said: “Parents’ support will surely bring sound education for their children as sound education is the bed rock of life”.

  • Private sector key to economy growth —Obasanjo, Amosun

    Private sector key to economy growth —Obasanjo, Amosun

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, and Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun have stressed the importance of private sector to economic development of the country. They made the remark during the upgrade of Nigerian Breweries Plc brewery in Ota, Ogun State.

    Obasanjo who was represented by Chief Abraham Idowu Akanle described the private sector as the engine room of economic growth and called on other corporate organisations to follow the fruitful example of the company.

    On his part, Governor Amosun described the upgraded brewery as an enviable step capable of facilitating a self-dependent economy. Amosun commended NB for its backward integration and local sourcing of over 50% of its raw materials and 95% of its packaging material. According to the governor, “it will be in our collective interest for companies in Ogun State and even the entire country to source their materials locally. Backward integration and import substitution is the master key to a self-sustaining economy.”

    While welcoming guests, Chief Kola Jamodu, Chairman, Nigerian Breweries Plc, explained that the multi-billion Naira PET line which currently boasts the best technology in the HEINEKEN world was installed to deepen availability of the non-alcoholic product portfolio of the company.

    He added that the modern Water Treatment Plant was constructed to ensure the continued excellent quality of the company’s brands while the Waste Water Treatment Plant further contributes to the success of its sustainability agenda of “Brewing a Better World.”

    Nigerian Breweries Plc on Wednesday commissioned its upgraded brewery in Ota, Ogun State as part of its strategic plan to consolidate its leadership position in the industry. Part of the brewery infrastructure commissioned at the well-attended ceremony included a new PET line, a Water Treatment Plant and a Waste Water Treatment Plant, among twenty one others.

  • Forum lists rice as key to prosperity

    Forum lists rice as key to prosperity

    Participants  at a rountable on rice, which featured major producers, have said the crop is essential to the continued health, wealth and prosperity of Nigeria.

    This is contained in the communiqué issued at the end of the roundtable on the rice supply chain development held in Minna, Niger State capital.

    It was organised by Agribusiness Supplier Development Programme (ASDP).

    The meeting was convened by ASDP, which is being implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL.

    They stressed  the need to create a standard to reassure producers and consumers on the quality of Nigeria’s premium rice. The discussions also considered the essential roles rice research and access to new technologies play in improving the livelihoods of farm families.

    To address the challenges faced by commercial banks in lending to farmers, the forum called on the government and the private sector to sensitise farmers properly on available finances from the banks and other sources as well as use of inputs and good agricultural practices to boost productivity.

    It emphasised the  need to identify real farmers and verify their farm sizes and holdings using appropriate technologies. Farmers, the communique maintained, should be encouraged to always honour agreements and stop side selling to strengthen the relationship with the financial institutions and off takers.

    The forum advised that state governments’ interference in the anchor borrower scheme should be limited to facilitating loan recovery, and that there should be  social networking and cross guarantee to check loan default among beneficiaries.

    The participants urged that there  should be timely financial support to farmers and extension services, as finance is an essential ingredient for attaining self-sufficiency in rice production. The current procedure of lending to the farmers under the anchor borrower scheme,the  farmers said should be reviewed to make it more flexible.

    They urged the government to establish grazing ranches at appropriate locations for herdsmen to check the destruction of farmlands and farmers-herdsmen conflict.

  • ‘Discipline key to achieving goals’

    There must be continuous staff training to maintain high-level of discipline and professionalism for an organisation to attain its goals, Prof Josephat Ogbuagu, Provost of the Federal College of Education (Technology) in Umunze, Anambra State, has said.

    Opening a workshop for staff, Prof Ogbuagu said it was aimed at revitalising their activities to maintain discipline in their respective offices.

    Dr Peter Abdu, former Director Tertiary Education Commission, spoke on Discipline in civil service. He noted that the main objective of any organisation was to achieve its set goals. Civil service, he said, is an important organ of the government saddled with responsibility to implement government’s policies.

    “The core mandate of civil servants is to maintain high-level discipline in government and help public officers to achieve their programmes. To ensure orderliness and absence of chaos, irregularity and confusion in the behaviour of the civil servants, Public Service Rules (PSR) was enacted. It is essentially imperative for all officers in the service to know what the expectations are as well as the penalties when a rule has been violated,” he said.

    However, he urged the college workers to acquaint themselves with the disciplinary procedure and rules of public service to avoid acts that could attract penalty.

    Speaking on Procedure for addressing grievances in civil service, Mrs C.N. Odionyenfe explained that grievances may result from a feeling of an unfair disciplinary treatment meted out to a civil servant. She added that the power to exercise disciplinary control over all officers is vested in the Federal Civil Service Commission.

    She urged the workers to be diligence and rededicate themselves to the service of the college, noting that there would always be rewards for civil servants’ diligence.

  • LASU VC: education key to national growth

    LASU VC: education key to national growth

    LAGOS State University (LASU) Vice Chancellor Prof Olarenwaju Fagbohun has canvassed good education for youths and governance as panacea for national development.

    Fagbohun, who was guest speaker at the installation of Lanre Akintilo as president of Rotary Club of  Gbagada in Onikan, Lagos recently, noted that education could galvanise youths for development since ‘’they are the greatest assets of a nation’’. He said youths have enormous energy, do protest the present and have no fear about the future. He urged the youth to embrace education and use their abilities and training to tackle the challenges facing the country.

    Speaking on Education, youth and national development –redefining the future of Nigeria, Fagbohun said: “Education develops the personality of the individual and significance of his life to himself and to others. With the right education, our youth will be empowered to pierce the curtain of the future and give shape and usage to mysteries still in the womb of time. Getting governance right is the key to ensuring that our youth positioned to contribute to national development.’’

    The professor of Environmental Law said since the adults, who are leaders today, were yesterday’s youths, they had failed us, noting that the youths could not contribute meaningfully  to national development because they have been neglected by the leaders and this had  led to their frustration and despondence. He added: “I am convinced that the situation is not helpless and that, indeed, there is so much that we can do to bring about desired changes.’’

    Fagbohun called for good governance, adding that Nigeria’s problems were caused by bad administration over the years. Good governance, he said, translates to respect for rule of law, human rights, transparency, lack of corruption, effective institutions, conflict resolution mechanism, among others. ‘’When good governance is enthroned, it will bring together the cooperation of the public sector, the business community, civil society and organisations like Rotary,’’ he added.

    He said governance would assist the government to have in place frameworks for managing its problems and move the country forward. He called for strategic governance that would encourage policy experimentation and learning and push the ministries, departments and agencies to be inclusive, transparent and accountable.

  • Private sector participation in education is key’

    Private sector participation in education is key’

    Mr. Adolphus Abraham is the Group Head, Education of Sterling Bank Plc. In this interview with our reporter, Abraham highlights the various challenges in the education sector and what Sterling Bank is doing to remedy the situation

    How would you describe the state of education in Nigeria at the moment and what do you consider the major challenges facing the sector?

    To put it succinctly, I would say that the industry is decrepit and at the same time, emerging. Decrepit when you consider the challenges but emerging when you look at private participation and the volume of investment being made.

    One is dearth of Infrastructure! There are also the challenges of systemic decay of values, dearth of manpower, obsolete learning methodology, unnecessary bottlenecks for new entrants, misplaced priority on the part of industry players, lack of continuity and consistency of policy, weak regulation and control, extinction of skills training for players and weak financial system to adequately support the sector. Indeed, government should increase the budgetary allocation to the education sector to enable it attain the 26 per cent set by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

    Take budgetary allocation to education between 2010 till date for instance. In 2010, the budget was N234bn. It was 306bn in 2011 but in 2014 and 2015 it jumped to N493bn and N492bn respectively. These figures seem interesting but when you compare them to the budget size, you will be shocked to see that we contribute less to education on a yearly basis. In 2014, allocation to education accounted for 10 per cent of the total budget, while in 2015 it dropped to 6.2 per cent due to the disproportionate income in budget allocated to the sector.

    So where does the problem lie?

    Beyond government, there is a need for urgent intervention in the education sector by private sector operators because government cannot do it all alone. This is why we have decided as a bank to focus on the sector.  Sterling Bank’s intervention in the sector will help ameliorate some of the challenges.

    Over the years, youth unemployment has remained one of the daunting challenges in Nigeria. Recent statistics shows that over 25 million youths in the country are unemployed.  This abysmal statistic is linked to, among others, the issue of employability. Where jobs abound, the lack of competence to handle them arises. This problem can be attributed to the declining quality of education. This necessitated our foray into education as we too suffered the lack of employable graduates. We hope that not only do we contribute to reducing unemployment in white collar jobs but also to developing businesses for Nigerians.

    I would also urge that ‘capacity building’ be given conscious effort by concerned stake holders to develop themselves, imbibe the right attitude and paradigm shift in their value system. There is also the problem of service delivery which I should have mentioned earlier. Stake holders should be conscious of the manner with which they deliver service and the quality. Customers in this sphere are open to alternatives, both locally and internationally to satisfy their appetite for education. Consumers of educational facilities should also hold administrators accountable and demand quality.

    Recently your bank set up what it called ‘One Education’ desk or group as the case may be. Why did you venture into this business despite the enormous challenges?

    The involvement of Sterling Bank in the education sector is very strategic in the sense that our position is based on the outcome of various research conducted by the bank to determine the state of education in the country and areas that would require immediate intervention. There are two sides to education, the academic and the business sides. Most often, we concentrate on the academic side at the expense of the business. Our idea is to use the business orientation to drive the quality and delivery of academics. We have designed models to achieve this. It is not straitjacket. Every project has its own solution and this is driven by a thorough understanding of the problem or issue. Understanding the problem and adopting the appropriate solution is where we have strength as a bank.

    Let me say here that the federal and even state governments are doing their best to improve the sector. But government by its structure does not have the capacity to achieve the desired result. Don’t forget that government has a lot of other things to attend to. So it is our intention to introduce a unique model to support the various institutions including government to drive the quality and delivery of academics.

    What do you have to offer the sector?

    What we want to achieve for now is to make necessary impact by focusing on technology, content and personnel/ participants in the sector.

    It is worthy of note  that Sterling Bank is the first and only bank to publish two books on financial literacy for kids and teenagers which we distributed free to these set of children nationwide during the Global Financial Literacy Week two years ago. The second edition of the books was distributed to children during last year’s Financial Literacy Week and also this year nationwide. There is a need for institutions to promote financial literacy among students which would provide the foundation to understand the use and management of money ensure the child’s long-term financial security and equip them with  the ability to make informed and effective financial judgments.

    This is what we are doing at Sterling Bank. We take each group, either students or teachers and provide solutions that make their lives richer.

    Secondly, to help education providers manage cost and quality, we have built partnerships with technology providers for the sector. These partners are equipped to provide educational content, payment system, inventory management, security management etc. at lower costs than the schools are currently spending.

    Lastly, we have not left out the value chain. We are also determined to support publishers, bookshops, importers of educational materials, contractors, consultants to educational outfits to mention a few. Our package for the industry is holistic.

    What specifically have you been able to achieve so far?

    The One Education Group initiative is less than two years old. We have had to run a pilot to fully understand the business and the responsibility expected of us. So, in the few months of existence we can conveniently outline our achievements;

    They include: adoption of a public school for mentoring and infrastructural upgrade. We are going to be doing this annually. Every year, we will adopt a school. This year it was Ireti High School in Ikoyi and we have trained their teachers on financial literacy and a renovation of their Home Economics laboratory is ongoing.

    Second, we have established Financial Literacy Clubs in schools for free. Combined population of students is in excess of 10,000. We are signing on more schools this month as we build capacity of the trainers. Currently, all resources are sourced in-house.

    Third, we have deployed school management system and payment gateway for free to schools. We shall deploy more as we receive applications. The benefit of a web pay system cannot be overemphasised. They range from completeness and accountability of collections to proper documentation and quality service delivery in schools. It cost so much to deploy but we are giving it to schools for free!

    We have also partnered with one of our technical service providers to train over 1000 children during the last summer break on coding and computer skills. We are looking forward to owning a coding competition franchise.