The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Leading

  • ‘Kano leading anti-corruption war’

    Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, in this interview with Legal Editor JOHN AUSTIN UNACHUKWU, speaks on the administration of justice, law reforms, Kano’s multi-door courthouse and continuing legal education.

    Last year, Kano State partnered the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) during its Annual General Conference. You had a full session. You also made a return this year. Why?

    I do appreciate the work of the judiciary, for without it, democracy will not be complete. I think it is very important for us to note this and, therefore, strengthen the judiciary and other democratic institutions. The rule of law is a very important component of a vibrant democracy and good governance which we must abide by.

    Why have you shown such interest in lawyers’conferences?

    Lawyers contribute a lot to democracy by guiding the executive arm of government, making sure that human rights are respected, that governmental excesses are checkmated, and that individual liberties of citizens are secured and protected. All these form basic parts of good governance, and I am committed to ensure that the rule of law thrives in Kano State and that the judiciary functions optimally.

    So, what have you done to improve and strengthen judicial institutions in Kano State?

    As part of my contribution in building and strengthening the judicial institutions in Kano State, I make sure that lawyers from Kano State are assisted to grow; they all participate in conferences like this. I equally encourage them to take other Continuing Legal Education programmes to sharpen and enhance their capacity to perform within the industry.

    In addition, we hope to get a very good number of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) from Kano State. Some of our lawyers will go to the Bench, while some will remain in private law practice.  For now, we compete favourably in the federation; we have the highest population in the country and so, whatever profession you mention, we should strive to see that we are there in numbers and performance. That is the motivating factor behind my interest and participation in this conference. Kano State will not be left out in this effort at enhancing transition, transformation and sustainable institutions in the country.

    How do you feel being part of this year’s conference?

    The theme is apt, the timing is auspicious and I hope that the results and effects of the conference at the end of the day will be fantastic and advance our socio-economic and political development.

    The NBA has been advocating  the adoption of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 by all the states. What is Kano’s position?

    We don’t have any criminal justice law in Kano State but we set up a 16-member committee chaired by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice to look at the existing Criminal Procedure Code in the state and the new ACJA provisions with the hope that we will have a better Criminal Procedure Law combining both the old and new innovations to have the best law in the country. That is we have done. The committee has concluded its work. We now have a draft law in our hands, which has just been validated by stakeholders. The Bill is now before the state House of Assembly for passage into law.

    What is unique about the bill?

    In fact, other states in the northern parts of the country have started requesting for a copy because our law will be applicable, not only at the High Courts, but also in Sharia and Magistrates Courts. So, it is applicable to all the courts. You don’t have to carry different procedure laws in your bag as a lawyer practicing in the state. It is unique, very transparent and all the new innovations provided for under the new ACJA are properly covered in our draft bill, including the issue of speedy trial, transparent trial, and investigation by the police, to make sure that the incidence of torture is eliminated in the process of investigation

    Most modern commercial cities are strengthening Alternative Disputes Resolution (ADR) mechanism institutions to complement the courts in resolving commercial disputes. What is the position in Kano State?

    Kano State is one of the first states to establish a Multi-Door Courthouse. The purpose is to enhance and ensure alternative disputes resolution. That is their main mandate. Under our rules of courts, there is a provision which empowers judges to refer a case filed before him to the Multi-door Courthouse for settlement. He has the right to give that order and that house can attempt to settle the parties. If they succeed, they will just send their settlement terms to the court and the court will adopt same as a consent judgment instead of the long and tortuous way of litigation. Kano is one of the first states to embrace ADR after Lagos State. Apart from that Multi-door Courthouse, which is an establishment of law, we also have the Citizens Rights Department under the Kano State Ministry of Justice where ADR is being applied and people are coming in daily to resolve their disputes.

    How is the department doing?

    That department is doing very well and we have another plan. I gave approval to create the Office of the Public Defender (OPD) in the state because it will help the public not only in ADR, but in defending them in courts. State counsel cannot defend somebody in court, but if you have to create an agency to do this independent of the Ministry of Justice, it will help greatly in delivering justice to the people. You can see that we have done a lot along that side and even beyond that we have developed our institutions to the extent that we have improved the ease of doing business in the state. All those institutions that are responsible for the commercial activities of the state are being developed to the extent that there is no time wasted. There is optimum utilisation of all infrastructural and human resources to put the state on a fast lane in terms of the ease of doing  business. An example is the land issue which we have revolutionised.

    What do you mean by this?

    It doesn’t take time for anybody to get his or her Certificate of Occupancy (Cof O) to do his business in Kano. It doesn’t take time to get approval for your building plan. It doesn’t take time to process whatever you have to do with the government as far as business plans are concerned. Even the judiciary is doing its own, the anti-corruption agencies are doing their own. These are things that make people afraid to invest in any given place. You can see that we have scored high. We also give concessions to those who will like to invest in Kano. We give free land to those who would like to build industries, like those who produce solar energy, we gave them free land. We give compensation to those who work round the clock to see that things work well – those who produce electricity for Kano State. We have improved our markets. With high population density in Kano, we need extra markets. Therefore, we worked with private estate developers to build what we call Kano Economic City, in which they are spending over N65billion and work has started there along Zaria Road. Many people are being employed and they are working there to produce a complete economic city for the state. That is very important.

    How can the anti-corruption fight and the whistle-blowing policy be strengthened?

    The anti-corruption fight is the policy of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by President Muhammadu Buhari. Kano as of today is leading in the fight against corruption. We have succeeded in establishing a very strong anti-corruption institution in the state headed by a very senior personality. We have succeeded in building offices in all the Local Government Areas of the state so that you do not need to come to the city before you lay your complaints. In these offices, we have installed some communication equipment for easy communication with the headquarters of the anti-corruption office. Also, we have a synergy with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) through which we trained 50 people in anti-corruption fight, as well as with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), through which we trained 25. Our staff attend international conferences in anti-corruption because of the synergy we have with the anti-corruption agencies of the Federal Government. Some commissioners in the state lost their jobs because of corruption related practices. Some permanent secretaries lost their jobs because of corruption. So, you can see that we have done a lot in the area of anti-corruption crusade. Our anti-corruption agency is an independent body and it works closely with the Federal anti-corruption agencies. This is how far we have gone in order to make sure that the agencies are working.

    What would you say have been your major challenges and achievements in Kano State?

    Well, first of all I thank President Buhari for doing a lot to scale down the menace of Boko Haram insurgency. We have to thank him for that because we used to get a lion share of the calamity from Boko Haram, but now, I can say that we are free from that. We are working round the clock to address the challenges of cattle rustling in the state. I had to deal with it squarely. I also had to deal with the issue of kidnapping squarely. The issue of armed robbery in Kano, I had to also deal with it squarely.  Kano is now peaceful and investment is now coming into the state. That is a tremendous achievement.

    Another achievement is the in the area of infrastructure development, especially road infrastructure. Kano is a mega city and a mega city is not only a city with high population density, but a city where things are working. We have studied the transportation system of the state and we found out that a lot of traffic jam, snarls and ‘go slow’ are heavily experienced within the metropolitan Kano. So, I approved the redesigning of Kano Metropolitan City on which work is about to be completed and we have been getting reports from them. We have been using part of the recommendation to see how we can introduce more road infrastructure comparable to what is obtained in any civilised city in the world. And to that extent, we have built a number of flyovers, a number of interchanges that have greatly changed the face of metropolitan Kano of which we are very proud.

    What about the health sector?

    Health is very important. We have been able to introduce health infrastructure and health financing. So, apart from improving infrastructural facilities, building roads and bridges, we have built new health facilities and centres. We introduced the contributory health schem – health insurance scheme which has succeeded. I am happy to state that our civil servants don’t need to carry money to the hospitals again. That is an achievement. Also, in order to reduce health and medical tourism, we were able to develop two mega hospitals with high quality state-of-the-art equipment in synergy with some teaching hospitals who are bringing their own students to Kano. Many people who were going abroad for medical treatment now come to Kano instead and we are very happy for that. We also have what we call health trust fund where 10 per cent of our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) go to. One percent of Local Government IGR goes into that. So, we have funds which we spend in our hospital consumables.

    Another critical area we have done a lot is the area of education where we have benefited a lot from the counterpart funding of the Federal Government. We have built thousands of classroom blocks in order to reduce congestion in our secondary schools. We have provided them with high grade furniture to make teaching and learning easy for our students. Our student intake has improved greatly and now we are seeking to incorporate Koranic teaching into the modern system of education without destroying the curriculum of the Islamic education. We are doing this to reduce the menace of the Almajiris on the streets of Kano. These are some of the things we are proud of.

    How has your background assisted you to improve the quality of education in Kano?

    My next academic qualification after secondary school is the Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE), and then I went for Masters degree in Education and Psychology. Even my first degree was in science education and biology. So, you can see that I am familiar with what is happening in the education sector. In fact, education in Kano is no more business as usual. It is not every type of graduate that can now fit into the system. Like you know, the minimum qualification to teach even in primary school is the NCE Certificate. So, my concern is that education should be dominated by those who have certificate in education, which is why we undertook a survey in Kano State to see our teachers in the primary school which is the foundation.

    What was the result?

    We found that about 56 per cent of them were not qualified to teach. What we did, instead of relieving them of their job which would create a problem, was to discuss with the institutions of higher learning in the state to offer them certificate courses in education and we have succeeded in graduating about 2,000. In two months’ time we are going to graduate 25,000 of them. All of them will then be qualified and that is how we have decided to professionalise education in order to improve the quality of education in the state. We are also conscious of what happens when you have a lot of students in a classroom. They have to be decongested otherwise it negatively affects teaching and learning. It affects everything, including the concentration of the children. So, we succeeded in producing a new design especially in the cities. We have two blocks of classrooms because of the lack of space. Also, we train and retrain our teachers. We imported text books, note books. You know the feeding policy of the Federal Government, we also do our own feeding in Kano State. These are what we do to keep the children in school instead of wandering in the streets selling things in the city or in the rural areas. You can see that we have given education a lot of attention in state from our budget and we will continue to do that.

    2019 is an election year. What is your advice to politicians?

    What we should do as a developing country is to have political parties with ideology. Like the APC, when we started as a political party, it was an admixture of people from different groups – the good, the bad and the ugly. We actually started along that line, but now we have formed a government and the leader of our government is a person who is very honest, a person who is working very hard, who is committed to Nigeria, who loves Nigeria more than he loves himself, that is President Buhari. So, those who don’t actually belong to that line are falling out and that is good for the party.

    You can see that in the long run, the APC is going to be a party with very  progressive  ideology and only those  who think that they belong to that political  inclination will remain in the party and that  is  good for the party.  Those impurities who are not supposed to be there right from the beginning but were there because of convenience and now that they found out that the convenience is no longer there, they started to move out. I think that they have to gather in a party that has no coherent political ideology, let them be there. So, my advice to politicians is that you choose a party where you think your inclination belongs, otherwise we continue having a mixture and a political party cannot survive with a mixture. A political party will only survive when it is a  compound, that is when all the elements are  the same.

  • Showcasing leading insurance firms

    Showcasing leading insurance firms

    There is poor perception of the insurance sector by the public. Despite efforts made by practitioners to change the image of the industry, most Nigerians still don’t have confidence in the sector. Many people do not know the benefits of insurance or where the closest insurance company is located. In this Special Publication on the insurance sector, The Nation showcases some insurance firms that can be trusted based on their financial results, prompt claims payment, good customer service and tailor-made products suitable for corporate organisations, households and individuals. Omobola Tolu-Kusimo reports.

    Many Nigerians do not have confidence in insurance policies and the reason is not far-fetched. Once upon a time, insurers either failed to pay claims promptly or renege on their contract with their clients.

    For the corporate entities, aside from the issue of trust, the sector didn’t have enough skills and capacity to carry their risks. Hence, some resorted to seeking insurance cover outside the country, while others did not bother to insure their businesses or assets.

    True, the sector was faced with issues of trust among the populace. It also had the problems of low level of appreciation of insurance and infiltration by quacks. This led to apathy towards insurance. Out of the population of 180 million, only 1.5 million Nigerians have one form of insurance or the other. Of the few users of insurance, some still have the highest level of dissatisfaction with the providers of financial services. The overall result of low patronage is the sector’s low contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at less than 0.48 per cent.

    But the story has changed as insurance practitioners have been working hard to redeem the image of the sector. They now take claims payment serious, simplify the claims process for insured and pay promptly. They have also worked to improve their services and offer tailor-made products.

    Amid the hardship of recession in 2016, insurers helped restore businesses and protect families of insured Nigerians through payment of claims for losses worth N119.5 billion.

    This was shown in a report by the Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA) made available to reporters in Lagos.

    The amount was paid by 58 insurance companies that are members of the association. They comprise 15 specialist life insurance companies, 29 non-life insurance companies, 15 composite insurance companies and two reinsurance companies.

    A breakdown of the report shows that the 29 insurance companies offering non-life business paid N57.7 billion claims in the year under review, while the life business companies paid N61.87 billion.It also showed that the claims paid by the non-life companies increased from N54.65 billion in 2015 to N57.7 billion in 2016, representing an increase of 5.69 per cent while the claims for life companies increased from 50.5 per cent in 2015 to N61.8 billion in 2016, representing an increase of 15.84 per cent.

    Meanwhile, the non-life and life companies recorded about N315.97 billion insurance premium income in 2016.

    NIA Chairman, Eddie Efekoha stated in the report that the economy was confirmed to have slipped into recession for the first time in over two decades.

    According to him, this reflected economic shocks, inconsistent economic policies, and worsening security problems across the country, particularly the Northeast and renewed attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta regions.

    The year, he said, was very challenging for the sector as it battled with low patronage, fragmented payment from major schemes, including government, as the slide in crude oil price resulted in downturn in earnings.

    He said other factors that the sector contended with include high inflation rate culminating in increased expenses, unfavourable foreign exchange spell leading to high reinsurance premium paid and claims settled on relevant portfolios.

    The regulatory body, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), in another report, said the sector lost N90 billion worth of insurance policies between 2016 and third quarter of last year as a result of recession, but the insurers still paid claims to insured Nigerians.

    According to NAICOM, the sector recorded a Gross Written Premium of N325 billion in 2016, but the figure declined to N235 billion by the third quarter of last year.

    Commissioner for Insurance, Mohammed Kari said the sector’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which defines insurance penetration level, stands at 0.48 per cent.

     

     The leading insurance firms

    In a Summary Report on Insurance Companies 2016 Financial Result, NAICOM said the performance of insurance companies was analysed based on various indices to determine the ones that made impressive outing in the year under review.

    The Nation brings to you some of the companies with good performance, prompt claims payment, good customer service and tailor-made products suitable for corporate organisations, households and individuals.

    Leadway Assurance Co. Limited, AIICO Insurance Plc, NEM Insurance Plc, FBN Life Insurance Limited, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc (CHI), Wapic Insurance Plc, Law Union and Rock Insurance Plc, and Anchor Insurance Plc, impressed in their performance.

    In the report, the Life Business Statistics shows that the sector’s total Gross Premium Income (GPI) was N124.56 billion while gross claims paid stood at N67.2 billion.

    Leadway Assurance Company Limited led the pack with N31.58 billion, a GPI representing 25 per cent market share followed by AIICO Insurance with N22.17 billion representing 17.75 per cent.

    FBN Life also came in the top-performing companies with a N9.91 billion, representing 7.95 per cent.

    The statistics further shows that the Life companies paid huge claims. AIICO led the subsector with payment of N11.47 billion, FBN Life paid N2.06 billion and Wapic N0.66 billion

    The General Business Statistics shows that the GPI for the same period under review was N201.55 billion. Leadway Assurance had N21.54 billion, representing 10.69 per cent, NEM Insurance N10.62, representing 5.27 per cent, AIICO got N7.33 billion, representing 3.64 per cent, CHI had N5.71 billion, representing 2.83 per cent, Wapic had N5.21 billion, representing 2.59 per cent, Law Union had N3.96 representing 1.96 per cent and Anchor N1.96 billion, representing 0.97 per cent.

    The Non-Life companies also paid claims. Leadway paid N13.56 billion, AIICO Insurance N4.44 billion, NEM N4.13 billion, Consolidated Hallmark paid N1.76 billion, Law Union paid N1.45 billion and Wapic 0.07 billion.

     

    ‘Insured Nigerians should demand claims from insurers’

    The Executive Director, Leadway Assurance Co. Limited, Ms. Adetola Adegbayi, has urged insured Nigerians to demand their  claims from their insurers whenever an insured risk occurs.

    Adegbayi, who stated this during a chat,  noted that most Nigerians who purchased insurance policies were ignorant on when and how to make claims, adding that instead of going to their insurers to make claims, they bear the financial burden themselves.

    She said as a result of the fact that some insured don’t make claims, some overambitious  operators have cashed on this loopholes to rate-cut policies to unreasonable price, with the assumption that the insured will not demand for compensation.

    Because of the low rate they demand on their policies, she said, they, in most cases, outbid their competitors for businesses because their rates are lower and consumers always want to go for policies with lower rates.

    In the event of claims, she said, these overzealous underwriters do default, since the premium charged is not the actual value of the products.

    To this end, Adegbayi stressed that rate-cutting could be fought by Nigerians, if they begin to request for claims on their insurance policies, adding that when this happens, underwriters would sit up and charge the normal rates that could sustain them when claims arise.

    Explaining that an insurance company would be heavily sanctioned, if it defaulted in claims obligations, she charged Nigerians to report defaulting underwriting firms to law-enforcement agents, promising that necessary steps would be taken to pay claims to the aggrieved insured.

    She said policy prizing was becoming lower and the lower the policy, the riskier the business becomes, adding: “But for the mass market products, as the volume increases, the price reduces.’’

     

    Recipients of large insurance claims

    Insurance is an arrangement for protecting a person or entity from loss or risk. The aim is to restore the insured to his or her previous state only, not for profit or gain. The insurance contract should always be a contract of indemnity only and nothing more.

    According to the NIA 2016 Digest report, various insured organisations and individuals suffered losses in life and businesses, but were restored to their previous state.

    For instance, under the category of Motor Claims, AIICO Insurance paid Unity Bank/Ekiti Kete Mass Transit N17.72 million for five accidents, Dangote Cement Works-Ibese N4.15million for accident, Total Nigeria Plc N5.73million for Accident and Third Party Vehicle.

    AIICO also paid one Mr Asuquo N3.59 million for a Fire Incident, Animashaun Integrated Services N3.64 million for Accident, Christy Ndidiamaka N6.07 million for Theft, Rem-Bam Nigeria Limited N41.99 million for Accident and Theft.

    Julius Berger Nigeria Plc had an accidental damage and was paid N12.22 million by Law Union and Rock Insurance Plc. In addition, NEM Insurance Plc paid N21.80 million to Lanre Shittu Motors Nigeria Limited for Accident.

    Besides, NEM Insurance paid MP Infrastructure Limited N7.8 million for Accident, A.Y. Hussaini & Sons N6.17 million for Accident, Valentina Abuta N6.64 million for Theft, Isigwe Uzoagu N6.16 million for Accident and Ehido Nigeria Limited N5.23 million for Accident

    Under the individual life claims, FBN Life paid a family N18 million benefit for the death of one Mr. Mohammed.

    For the Group Life, FBN Life now FBNInsurance paid Prime Services FZE N4.16 million for death claims, Honeywell Flour Mills N11.43 million, Friesland Campina Wampco N10.51 million, Seplat Petroluem N4.034 million, Petroleum Technology Development Fund and Seplat Petroluem N4.27 million.

    Also under Fire Claims category, Law Union & Rock paid N4.04 million for Explosion, Harrow Park Mini Golf Course N4.5 million for Flood and Livesstock Feeds N4.84 million for Fire Incident.

     

  • ‘Youths capable of leading in 2019’

    ‘Youths capable of leading in 2019’

    A chieftain of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo State, Yusuf Kunle, has said youths should take over leadership in the state next year.

    He said they are capable of leading, considering their prowess and innovation. “Youths are in tune with what is happening around the world,” he said.

    Yusuf stressed the need for influential indigenes, who have excelled in the private sector, especially those in the diaspora, ýto get involved in politics of the state, noting that 2019 is the right time to make positive changes in Oyo.

    He said electing uninspiring and non-innovative leaders, who lacked new ideas that could take the state out of poverty and economy doldrums, would not help the state.

    He urged youths to put aside their differences and form a majority power bloc, saying they should not just come together, but should choose a think tank that would be responsible for drawing up policies, programmes, development maps, manifestos and others, thereby scaling through the barriers old people have set for them.

    Yusuf urged elders to use their experience to support youths in their quest to lead the state, saying they are the future of every developing society.

  • Why we’re leading in Southwest, by OSBC chief

    The management of Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC) has said its emergence  as one of the top three broadcast stations in the Southwest by Mediafact Report is a result of its investments in technology, quality content and the commitment of the state government.

    Its Chairman, Hon. Kola Akanji and Director-General, Prince Adesoji Fadehan, said the station remains top advertisers’ choice as a result of consistent investment by Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

    According to Akanji, the governor acquired modern equipment that have enhanced the station’s service delivery and reach.

    “The governor did not only invest in technical equipment but also approved and provided training, seminars and workshops for different categories of workers of the corporation. Without mincing words, the training has contributed to improved performance by the workers. With our state-of-the-art facilities and dedicated staff, advertisers request is attended to without any delay.

    “For your information, our corporation, OSBC remains the voice of the Southwest. It is no longer news that the independent report on media rating in Nigeria by media fact placed OSBC Radio 104.5F.M among the best three stations in  Southwest Nigeria which is our primary coverage area.’’

    Also, Fadehan said the relationship between OSBC and advertising agencies has remain cordial and has made it possible for the station to enjoy a reasonable share of the yearly advertising budget notwithstanding the media explosion being experienced in the media industry.

    He said the management and the state government have continued to upgrade the stations to compete favourably with others.

    “To whom much is given; much is expected. We on our part will not rest on our oars in ensuring that we reciprocate their kind gestures of the advertisers by continuously improving on the services we are rendering to you so as to sustain the mutual benefits derivable from our relationship,” he said.

    He however said advertising budget next year would shrink further but expressed optimism that OSBC would compete favourable for its own share of the ad money.

    He implored key players in advertising business to include OSBC channels in the advertising media planning. “We are optimistic that with your support we shall continue to remain in business,” he added.

  • How Glo turned leading the pack into an art

    How Glo turned leading the pack into an art

    Call it a big swoop or a bumper harvest of stars and you are right. Telecoms giant Globacom has raised the bar as the nation’s network of stars, with its endorsement of no fewer than 29  leading artistes as brand ambassadors, Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME reports.

    Globacom is huge in my industry and I see the evidence of the company’s commitment to improving the industry and the lives of its practitioners everywhere I turn. To be honest, it’s been a dream to have a working relationship with the Glo brand. An opportunity to turn this dream to reality came, and I took it.”

    That testimonial by Nigeria’s musical star, Wizkid (Ayodeji Balogun) confirms the strong belief among leading artistes in Glo’s massive support for the creative industry and why they found solace with the telecom giant.

    Wizkid, one of the biggest signings this year, was formerly with MTN. He jettisoned MTN and signed for Globacom. According to a statement he issued titled: Why I signed with Glo, Wizkid said Globacom is a brand he had admired for a very long time considering its strong persona and its very massive impact and image in the entertainment industry in Nigeria.

    He added that it’s an incredible blessing to be sought after by arguably Nigeria’s two most powerful brands at the same time. “My decision to go with Globacom this time is not an act of spite against MTN. I simply seized an opportunity to move from Yellow land to greener pastures. God bless,” he said.

    With these record breaking endorsements, Glo has stepped up its support for the arts and has thus attained the largest portfolio of brand ambassadors by any company in Nigeria. Interestingly, Glo’s massive support for the creative industry spanned themed concerts, reality TV competitions, events promotions and campus tours, which have over the years impacted the creative industry to becoming an economic hub for income generation.

    The new ambassadors are nine, while 20 have been with the company for some time. The ambassadors include  Sani Danja,   Sammie Okposo, Ego Ogbaro, Peter & Paul Okoye  (P-Square), Bright Okpocha (Basketmouth), Funke Akindele, Ini Edo, Ime Bishop Umoh, John Okafor (Mr Ibu), Helen Paul, Chiwetalu Agu and Wande Coal. Others are D’banj, Omawumi Megbele, Bezhiwa Idakula (Bez), Chinedu Okoli (Flavour), Jude Abaga (M.I), Damini Ogolu (Burna Boy), Bimbo Oloyede, Bovi Ugboma, Ayodeji Makun (AY), Patience Ozokwo (MamG), Odunlade Adekola, OC Ukeje, Reekado Banks, Korede Bello, Hadizah Blell (Di’ja) and Ayodeji Balogun (Wizkid).

    The mega deal is another major statement about Glo’s commitment to the growth of entertainment industry. Globacom has been consistent in supporting the   industry. Apart from supporting through endorsement deals, Globacom avails the industry of its massive infrastructure to facilitate distribution of practitioners’ works. It is estimated that mobile operator including Globacom has generated millions of Naira for artistes by helping them to sell their music as ringtones. Through this deal, Globacom is ploughing hundreds of millions of naira into the entertainment industry. No doubt, the network provider has been able to turn the lives of many entertainment stars around. It is such a deal as this that some up and coming stars need to blossom into mega stars.

    Bez, for instance, has metamorphosed into a huge star since he was signed up by Globacom several years ago. Glo is also developing different segments of the entertainment industry as the ambassadors are drawn from Nollywood, music, comedy and broadcasting.

    It has also launched a world-class online entertainment portal for the enjoyment of its teeming subscribers across the country which would also help to expose ambassadors to a larger audience.

  • Leading Nigeria aright

    Leading Nigeria aright

    It was exactly 16 years on May 29 when Nigeria returned to civil rule, after about another 16 long and tortuous years of military interregnum. On that day in 1999, I remember some of the events at the Eagle Square in Abuja, where Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was sworn in as president. I was on the editorial board of ThisDay then, and I remember how I celebrated the occasion alongside some colleagues at one of the elite restaurants in the Yinusa Street area of Ikeja in Lagos. I ate a bowl of ‘fufu’ and ‘edikaikong’ soup and assorted meat usually associated with that eatery and later ‘washed’ it down with some bottles of Stout. Those were my days in Egypt, though. I still vividly recollect some of these things because May 29, 1999 was a watershed in Nigeria’s history. I cannot say the same of any other May 29, whether in 2003, 2007 or even 2011, which only came and went like any other day.

    It was a great day in that Nigerians, including myself, had looked on to Chief Obasanjo with great expectations. The new president then did not disappoint, at least in terms of speeches. One thing I keep remembering was his promise to “lead the country aright”. Could Obasanjo be said to have done just that by May 29, 2007 when he stepped down, after serving the two terms permitted by the constitution, and with his third term ambition having hit the rocks?

    However, May 29, 1999 and May 29, 2015 are not exactly the same. Whereas the former was celebrated with pomp and pageantry (and understandably so because it was not easy sending the soldiers back to the barracks after they had tasted power), the latter was marked with pains in the hearts of millions of Nigerians who had dreamt big of what their lives and the country would be like 16 years after the country’s return to civil rule in 1999, only to find themselves in the unfortunate situation that bad governance has put the country in today; the fuel scarcity and all.

    But, what the events of the last 16 years, particularly those of the last six years or so taught us is that it is possible for this country or any country for that matter to go under, and all it takes is for people to be silent when they should be talking. Many of what we witnessed in the period we would have sworn could never have happened in Nigeria a few years back. Yet, before our eyes, many brazen illegalities were committed by the people in power. We saw how governors had been impeached without the requisite number of legislators. We saw how generals were told to help the ruling party fix election. We saw our economy raped by rapacious politicians. We saw how about 20 percent of our oil was daily carted away and the government looked on helplessly. We saw how militants and ethnic militias were empowered, first to do the work of our navy and then to cause mayhem to scuttle or rig election. We saw how public funds were spent in a carefree manner and stolen by roguish public servants. We saw how those who were alleged to have stolen subsidy funds as well as other thieves walked in and out of the inner recesses of the seat of power. It was in our full glare that an inspector-general of police attempted to prevent National Assembly members from entering the assembly complex.  Pray, what is the difference between Nigeria and some smaller African countries that we have always seen as backward, because all these are the features that make us call them backward? Indeed, what have we not seen?

    The lesson in all these is that Nigerians, as a people, must be vigilant. Most of these anomalies would not have occurred, or kept repeating themselves, if we had been vigilant enough. And this is irrespective of the political party in power. That eternal vigilance is even the more desirable now that President Muhammadu Buhari has taken over. I have pondered over his inaugural address which he read on May 29 and it seemed to me to address the core issues in the country today; from Boko Haram to armed robbery and kidnapping as well as corruption. It also touched on the vexed issue of youth unemployment, power and others.  The president even alluded to his being the president of all, which really intrigues me in the sense that it shows that he is learning fast. Once upon a time, it used to be ‘my people’ and ‘your people’. By and large, the president allayed fears about most of the frequently-asked questions about Buhari. Indeed, I had wanted to write on this topic even before the elections, but held back because I did not want it used against the then presidential hopeful. It is wise to first drive away the thief before telling the owner of the stolen property that he did not keep his property well enough. Now that the thieves (both in the literal and metaphorical sense) have been driven away, we can now tell President Buhari some home truths that would be useful for his administration and the country at large.

    The president has given a speech that shows he has a good grasp of the country’s challenges. But it is one thing to identify problems; it is another to solve them. I do not subscribe to this idea of ‘a problem defined is a problem half-solved’. If that is always the case, Nigeria would not be in a mess today because we have always had good analyses of our problems; that is to say we have always known what the problems are. Yet, we still have not been able to solve any of them. What this implies is that it takes more than mere identification of the problem to solve it. The will to solve the problem is crucial. It is this will that has been lacking over the years, and that is why we are where we are today; that is why countries that we were together on the backbenchers’ seat before have since abandoned us there. Indeed, it is in such countries that the expression ‘move the nation forward’ has meaning. It has become a cliché in Nigeria. Every government here says it, yet, we are only moving forward in reverse.

    The Buhari government sure has its job cut out for it. The Goodluck Jonathan administration has done so much damage and this explained why I told those in the then ruling party who had not even allowed Buhari to be sworn in before asking him to do magic, to shut up. Some readers mistook that for an alibi for the Buhari government not to perform. But the point was not about making excuses for the government but to say those asking him (Buhari) to perform know the havoc they had wreaked on the country’s economy and therefore lacked the moral right to ask the new president to perform. I stand by that viewpoint.

    All said, President Buhari must, as I said a few weeks ago, hit the ground running. Already, people are agitated; some are saying the government ought to have made certain appointments, fired some people and taken some decisions. They are complaining that the government seems too slow. I do not necessarily buy any of these. But that is in so far as slow and steady wins the race. Within the next few weeks, one expects that the policy thrust of the new government would be crystallising. Already, nine days are gone out of the four-year tenure. That is how time flies. So, President Buhari should know that the ball is now in his court. He has talked the talk; he should now walk the talk Nigerians want to start seeing signs that they at last have a leader who can truly lead the country aright. It is not necessarily by taking populist decisions but at least by beginning to lay the foundation of an enduring legacy that would wipe away the tears in their eyes all these years.

    GEJ on my mind

    I had expected that President Muhammadu Buhari would have made public the part of his predecessor’s (Dr Goodluck Jonathan) hand over note bequeathing his (Jonathan’s) generator to us as he had promised.  Since mum has been the word from the Buhari government on the matter more than one week after assuming office, I guess Dr Jonathan had reneged on that promise as usual. But I would not take it against him because it is impossible for him to ‘dash’ us what he himself would sorely need in his native Otuoke where he is spending his retirement. After all, even God did not tell us to love our neighbour more than ourselves. Rather, He admonished us to love our neighbour as ourselves.