The Nation Newspaper

Tag: money

‘Buhari’s reforms ’ll make money available for capital projects’

The Federal Government said yesterday that ongoing institutional reforms are aimed at make additional resources available for the implementation of capital projects for improved service delivery and transformation of the Nigerian economy.

The government also said it remained committed to the economic development of the country and was determined to hold people accountable and ensure that business activities in both the public and private sectors are carried out effectively and transparently in line with global best practices.

The Secretary to the National Planning Commission, Bassey Akpanyung, who disclosed this at a news conference to announce activities lined up for the 21st Nigeria Economic Summit, said some of the reforms include the adoption of a zero-based budgetary system with effect from the 2016 financial year.

Other reforms, according to him, include the introduction of the Treasury Single Account system, the restructuring of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation and blocking of financial leakages in the Federal MDAs, among others

He said this year’s economic summit had been designed to elicit deeper dialogue on how best to make tough choices, considering the present global economic realities which the government needs to deal with.

He said the continuous decline in oil prices, resulting in reduction in government revenues, insurgency in some parts of the country and rising unemployment rate, especially among the youth, has made it imperative for government to start thinking outside the box on a post-oil economy.

While announcing the 21st Nigerian Economic Summit will hold between October 13 and 15 in Abuja, Akpanyung said the summit had become “an annual dialogue event which is jointly organized by the National Planning Commission representing the public sector and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group representing the private sector.”

He said further: “It is the most enduring public private dialogue process that has been sustained over the past 21 years since it started in 1993. The NES has provided a credible and widely recognised platform for forging understanding and consensus on our national economic policy direction and economic growth strategies.

“Over the years, stakeholders in Nigeria and abroad have come to acknowledge the NES as the premier platform for policy dialogue in Nigeria. The NES has indeed become the largest and most prestigious annual economic forum for policy makers and the private sector, the academic and development partners and civil society organisations

“The summit has over the years contributed immensely to strengthening the relationship between the public and private sectors and the transformation of the Nigerian economy. It is also reassuring to note that the key outcome of the summit has helped in influencing policies since the inception of the summit arrangement.

“The theme of the summit this year is ‘Tough Choices: Achieving Competitiveness, Inclusive Growth and Sustainability’. This is consistent with the aspiration of the present administration’s change agenda and the medium term successor strategic plan 2016 to 2020 which focuses on fighting corruption, addressing unemployment, insecurity, institutional reforms, economic growth and development.

“Experience worldwide has shown that issues of unemployment, insecurity, corruption and inclusive growth cannot be tackled effectively without addressing the competitiveness of the economy.

“Indeed, the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015 indicated that Nigeria fell seven places to 127th out of 144 countries, largely on account of weakened public finances, as a result of lower oil export and prices, weak institution, corruption, dire security situation, weak infrastructure and high youth unemployment rate. We expect that the summit will come up with measureable outcomes on how best to achieve competitiveness and inclusive growth in a sustainable way”.

He further said: “One has observed that we are talking about issues of inclusiveness, competitiveness and sustainability. There is no way you can discuss these issues without looking at the policies that relate to making our economy competitive. To this, I will say at the summit, we will discuss everything, including the TSA. The essence is to open up discussion and then see the pros and cons and when the public sector meets the private, we jointly look at the pros and cons and advise better on what is there.

“We are also aware that there are various schools of thought. These issues need to be taken in the contest in which they are. We have to look at those policies and why they happened in the first place.”

September 19, 2015
Money ruins all of us
Money ruins many men. It impairs the moral fibre thus making the average human inhumane but that is because man often fails money. The Nigerian man in particular, fails money and so doing loses his right to lord over it and own it.

Money, like a wild mongrel needs to be tamed. It requires firmness, chariness, deliberate conservatism and modesty of a full man to tame it, own it and control it. But that is hardly the case; many a man is owned by his money. The Nigerian man, woman and society in particular, are owned by money; that is why contemporary Nigeria worships money.

Like fire, money becomes a bad master due to our incapacities at taming its flare and controlling it; consequently it consumes us. Money corrupts the brightest amongst us and renders the most promising man and woman worthless; it consumes all who would do anything and everything to acquire it, whatever the consequence.

Hence the domestication of yesterday’s ‘heroes’ and corruption of the shrewd – men and women by whose citizenship and wisdom we aspired to freedom and progress have being tamed, house-trained, like hunt dogs and pastoral cattle. Eventually, we suffer the transmutation of such established, self-acclaimed defenders of the people’s rights into despicable lapdogs, attack dogs and junkyard dogs of the ruling class.

Little wonder Sunday of Isabo, Abeokuta, Ogun State, ditched his noble job as foremost columnist and chairman of a national newspaper’s editorial board to become the attack dog and junkyard dog for President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. Many of his readers and fans bemoaned his ‘betrayal’ but from Sunday’s perspective, it is unarguably selfish of anyone to expect him to cling to the drudgery and emptiness of his former job and scorn a-chance-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of Nigeria’s high-society be it as errand boy or disposable ‘bingo.’

Who would have thought that the unrepentant critic of inept and oppressive ruling class would dump his pen and cape of honour to become an attack dog for the ruling class that erstwhile incited his vitriol? Today, Sunday is speaking from every side of his mouth; having patrolled Aso Rock corridors as the greyhound would the premises of its master, he has beaten a retreat at the ouster of his master to hibernate in safe haven abroad . It must have been lucrative being an errand dog.

In Sunday’s descent subsists the irony of a contrived metaphor; the former columnist’s desertion of his sanctimonious high ground and renunciation of his self-touted activism and crusade for justice, government accountability and morality aptly illustrates contemporary Nigeria’s self-love and enslavement to mammon.

An inordinate lust for money drives this generation to self-destruct. Having perverted the natural order that places man above money, the animate cowers to the inanimate; Nigeria submits to mammon, and science, technology, power, property and other bastions of materialism own and controls us. The consequences are rampant and discernible for all to see.

Our lust for money has put paid to that staunch historic adherence to a cultural value system that supposedly distinguishes the Nigerian in the larger comity of nations and universal citizenship. Gone are our touted values; incontestable code of personal and societal ethics that supposedly humanizes the average Nigerian and moulds him into a fuller and better breed of mankind than any other in Africa and across continental divides.

The current generation, the youth especially, manifests a dissonance with future bliss and progressive leadership anticipated of it. This generation is not only the most knavish but also the most effeminate of all generations; I will not bother over the shortcomings and atrocities we inherited from preceding generations lest I tow the oft beaten path and glamourize our claims to victimhood and base sentimentality. If the Nigeria we inherited is truly shorn of values and promises of a brighter tomorrow, must we aggravate the circumstances that foist upon us such hopelessness?

One of the most curious kinks of this generation is its sustenance and obeisance to the cult of the ruling class. Take the immediate past administration of former President Jonathan for instance; men and women that erstwhile professed to champion the people’s rights united to defend Jonathan’s honour and justify defiantly, the unceasing ineptitude and mindlessness of his administration.

They conveniently forgot that the administration’s insensitivity, clumsiness and gluttony cost Nigeria thousands of lives. Evidences of the government’s incompetence and tactlessness abound in its appointment of men and women unfit to run a roast corn kiosk to man the nation’s finance, aviation, health, defense, foreign affairs, education, works and housing ministries to mention a few. Inefficiency of such characters fostered corruption, violence and deaths across the country.

This anomaly incited harsh criticisms and disillusionment among the citizenry, however, as had always been the case, the leading critics took no part in the pursuit and actualization of majority will beyond lip service; nonetheless they proceeded with the most vulgar extravagances courting power and projecting it, irrespective of the nature of men and women that wielded it.

It is incontestable that many of such men, including the former president’s media attack dogs, attracted to themselves much that bespoke psychosis and common crime. Like the minority that paraded themselves as the former president’s apologists, they cackled like a coven of unbalanced enthusiasts that saw every illicit and sentimental act of bestiality as cause for political theatrics and hysterical spinning.

Renowned turncoats like Sunday of Isabo for instance, were very useful to the ruling class; wobbly in intellect and infinitely handicapped by greed, they repeatedly paraded themselves as pirates amenable to crimes and accessible to venal enterprise. These purchasable characters eventually shed their pretensions to heroism and honour to unite with the ruling class in its savage war against the citizenry.

We have fought many wars in Nigeria; wars for Biafra and Niger Delta, the ongoing war for and against the soul of the Northeast currently asphyxiating in the grip of terrorist sect, Boko Haram; these wars are ultimately triggered by our failures with money and its innumerable material vestiges. Yet these wars are never enough; every day, we embroil in fresh wars for self-actualization but the wars of the underdog, Nigeria’s impoverished lot, has a greater significance than all of the others.

This daily battle for the soul and survival of the struggling working class and barely existent middle class is merely an episode of the universal war that constitutes the true nature of humanity and history of the world—the war of good against evil, ruling class against working class, the haves against the have-nots.

These wars however, are lost on all fronts even before the masses march on to the battle field every day. This is a consequence of the knavery of men entrusted to serve as our moral sentinels, custodians of culture, value and hope for a brighter tomorrow. These men, contrary to their touted crusades in the interest of the citizenry, unconscionably mutate into more savage destroyers of hope and forms of life than the ruling class they were known to despise. But rather than call them out for the savages and murderers of hope that they have become, the Nigerian masses continually rationalize their betrayal arguing that they were only being smart. Perfidy and greed thus become noble enterprise in the Nigeria of our dreams.
- To be continued…
August 28, 2015
CBN warns against money laundering

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has sounded the alert on a new form of money laundering which must be checked now to save the country from international sanctions.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja at the 2nd Anti-Money Laundering/Combating Financial Terrorism Stakeholders Consultative Workshop organised by the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (ACAMS), the Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability of the (CBN), Dr Okwu Nnanna warned that to curb money laundering in Nigeria, virtual currencies must be regulated.

He described virtual currency as a type of unregulated, digital money, which is issued and usually controlled by its developers, and is used and accepted among members of a specific community.

Nnanna lamented that “virtual currency was dangerous because it was not a legal tender of any country hence it has a borderless nature without jurisdiction which makes it a channel for money laundering.”

Nnanna, who was represented by the Deputy Director in charge of the Financial Policy and Regulation Department of the CBN, Obot Akpan “Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has observed that virtual currency payment products and services (VCPPS) present opportunity for money laundering and other crime risk that must be identified and mitigated. Virtual currencies presents a wide range of issues and challenges that require financial authorities to consider and the challenges posed are unique and call for urgent regulator responses.”

Earlier, the former Chairman of the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu warned that terrorism and money laundering was contributing significantly to Nigeria’s problem.

Ribadu said his efforts at combating financial crimes during the Olusegun Obasanjo administration “almost changed the country but things changed after 2007. All that is wrong with Nigeria is dirty money, follow the dirty money, get the criminals and prosecute them.”

August 20, 2015
‘I DON’T DO GOSPEL FOR MONEY’

Gospel crooner and worshipper, Emmanuel Chukwudi, whose stage name is Bishop C Praize, spoke to JANE KOLADE about his passion for gospel music and his source of inspiration.

HOW was growing up like for you? It was tough because I lost my dad at a tender age, when I was eleven years old. My mum tried her best to give me a secondary education, and I eventually went out on the streets to fend for myself. So, I was unable to further my education until twelve years after I left secondary school, and it was a personal promise I made to myself. I studied Industrial Relations and Personnel Management at the Lagos State University (LASU). But my passion is still music. That is all I do, nothing else.

Where were you born?

Here in Lagos, somewhere in Bariga.

At what point in life did you realise that you wanted to pursue music as a career?

Music has always been a part of me. As a child, I would gather kids together to sing, whether in school, in church, or with friends, wherever. The choirmaster noticed that I loved to sing, and it has always been a part of me. Although I can’t say that anyone in my family was into music, I do know that my late father loved music. So as early as age five, I was already singing. Usually, as early as four a.m., we would start playing music, which is why there is hardly any song you play from back in the day that I am not familiar with. Some days we would go traditional, some days Don Williams and so on, I guess that is where the love comes from; so it is just a part of me.

If you were not doing music, what would you be doing?

I really can’t imagine what I would be doing if not music. I would probably be working in an office. I did try it but I was not fulfilled because I am a restless person, and prefer to work on the field. I once tried working at a financial institution as a clerk for nine months, but I could not stay. But I find joy in things that have to do with the gospel.

Are you completely satisfied with your career in music?

I am just praying that God will increase it, and make it bigger than at present. Especially as many musicians build their career in music and are happy, I can name names; the likes of Don Moen. They are millionaires. Although for me, music is not about the money, but about making impact. God is blessing their work. However, I believe that the most important thing is to find your niche, and God will bless it. I already know where I am going.

What genre of music do you play?

Gospel with different influences. It would be easier to define if it were secular music. Anyway, some would say Afro- rock, fuji, reggae, rap etc

Why gospel music?

That is what I have been created to do. That is settled in my spirit, because everything I have has come through my voice. I have not worked anywhere else, save for my brief stint with the bank, and everything has come through my voice; children, car, everything.

Have you ever done any other type of music (outside gospel)?

No.

Are you married?

I am married to a beautiful damsel.

Do you have kids?

I have some from my last marriage, and she passed on four years ago. And I remarried last year.

How do you relax?

I relax by playing music, and sometimes I watch movies, but mostly music. Whenever I am not engaged with performing and such, I can stay indoors the whole day with music. I don’t go clubbing and such. I tried it once, but it did not work. I discovered it was not my place.

Why? Why didn’t it work?

That’s not my place. I found that I could not stay there, and left immediately. It is not an environment I should find myself.

Not your place, in what way?

I felt out of place when I got there. What would I be doing there, singing praise worship? So I left. It just didn’t work for me.

How come you only do gospel music?

Somehow, I don’t feel inspired to write such songs. I believe that everything we do is from inspiration. I receive songs, and have well over thirty-five unrecorded songs, and fifteen demos, but as yet there is no non-gospel song among them. God gives them to me, and I record them on my phone, or any device, and later go back to develop them. But I am yet to receive a non gospel song.

That is not to say that I cannot write them, by virtue of my training as a singer, but as yet I have not been inspired to do so. I can easily sit down to compose a love song. But inspiration is not something I sit down to cook; I hear it, and know it is not my idea, and put it down. I have to be inspired to do them, most of my songs are by inspiration.

Maybe, someday, if God wants me to do that. That is not to say that I might not do that in the future if I am led. Neither am I saying that there is anything wrong with love songs. I might do one in the future, if God releases me to do that, and if it is not vulgar, or contrary to God’s word, why not? If only to encourage people to love each other, and be together. Maybe someday if I am inspired to do it, I will.

Do you have any form of formal musical training?

Funny enough, I didn’t even know when I said that, but I have never attended any formal music school to learn the art of music, apart from seminars, and training programmes on the job. Most of the knowledge I acquired has come naturally, apart from titbits picked up during rehearsals with veteran entertainers, and trainers, voice training, and exercise. So, maybe the training is inborn, but inspiration and practice sharpen the skill. So the training programmes I have attended have taught me a lot; stage craft, composition, how to deliver, how to carry the audience along, all that put together will bring out something in you.

You are known to be a very passionate musician, and an energetic performer. Where do the passion, drive, and energy come from? In the secular world, many performers need some substances to motivate themselves to perform; in your case, how do you do that?

I am by nature very restless, and can’t stand still. So that rubs off on my performance. I can’t imagine performing on one spot, some entertainers can, but I don’t have the grace for that. But temperament has a lot to do with that. Even in the pastoral world, for instance, pastors have their peculiar style. Pastor Adeboye can minister on a spot for two hours, but Bishop Mike Okonkwo can’t do that, neither can Pastor Oyakhilome.

So it really boils to temperament differences. And when I sing, I sing from my stomach, not from my head, which is why I love to carry the audience along, because I minister on two planes; God and the audience. Taking the people to God’s presence, and if you do it on your own, you won’t get there; whether in worship or praise. I am only the channel. And as a human being, the few times I am not energetic or depressed and not my usual energetic self, the audience notice, and do ask.

August 16, 2015
APC leader accuses Dickson of diverting N15bn flood money
- Allegation frivolous, fallacious –Dickson
A leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Chief Bodi Arerebo, yesterday challenged the state governor, Mr. Seriake Dickson, asking him to account for over N15bn he allegedly received from donors after the 2012 flood that devastated the state.

Arerebo, who is a kinsman of Dickson, recalled that after the flood disaster, philanthropic individuals and organisations, including international donors, gave billions of naira to the state for the resettlement of victims and rebuilding of structures.

He, however, expressed concern over the money, which he alleged must have been mismanaged, especially as Dickson had yet to tell the people how the flood fund was spent.

Arerebo, who while addressing newsmen in Yenagoa, insisted that there was nothing on ground to show that the money was used to rebuild damaged structures and resettle victims of the disaster.

He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the money Dickson got from generous Nigerians and other international donors.

Arerebo remembered that multi-billionaires, such as Aliko Dangote, Wale Adenuga and others were among persons who donated money to the state.

He said: “Since 1999, the PDP government has not provided good leadership for Bayelsa State. The case of current Governor, Seriake Dickson is the worst.

“Dickson has yet to tell Bayelsans how he spent the money for floods victims in the state. The state was ravaged by floods in 2013 and as a result, donations came from Nigerians and international donors to ameliorate the sufferings of the victims.

“But from the look of things, the governor ate all the money. We do not even see what he used all the money to do. He should come and tell Bayelsans how that money was spent. We are calling on Buhari to investigate the money Bayelsa got from international and local donors for the flood victims. Let him come and tell us how he spent the money.”

But reacting to the allegation, Special Adviser to the Governor on Political Matters, Mr. Fyneman Wilson, berated Arerebo, saying his allegation was frivolous and fallacious.

Wilson said: “We have a governor who is very careful in the management of resources. If such funds were sent, he would put it back to direct project execution for the purpose of the floods.

“You are aware that there was a flood management committee that was put in place in this state. They did a lot of remedial work. In Sagbama and many other places, the areas the water passed through to cause floods were blocked.

“The governor did not tamper with that money and such money did not come to this state. The Federal Government did not give such money to the state.”

Speaking further, Arerebo said that the APC was ready to sweep the Peoples PDP and Dickson out the Government House, adding that the PDP had failed the people.

He noted that the APC would provide the needed change for the people, asserting that the defeat of the PDP was imminent.

“By the next governorship election, APC will win in Bayelsa State. We will win because we have every machinery on ground for us to win,” he said.

He also said the leader of the party in the state and former Governor, Timipre Sylva, has promised not to join governorship race.

He said: “Our leader, Timipre Sylva, confided in some of us that he was not going to run. We know that the candidate we are going to field for the election will be a person of impeccable character.

“We know that by the time we present him to Bayelsans, they will appreciate and love him. By February 14, 2016, we will be in the Creek Haven (Bayelsa Government House).”

He said the gale of defections that had hit the PDP was an indication that the party was finished.
August 8, 2015
Bring Back Our Money
SIR: In my community, they say that when the big masquerade comes into the arena, the timid one scampers away. I say not so fast in the Nigerian context. The looters must return the money to the treasury. President Muhammadu Buhari from his motions seems bent on making the campaign on recovering Nigeria’s wealth his chief policy priority. It is a worthwhile venture looking at the drab picture of the country’s economy. The difficulty of the president’s task is that the spread of corruption is traditional and crosses all boundaries.

Suggestion by his administration to compartmentalize investigation to the past government, even that, is a mountainous endeavour. In a system where corruption is the way of running business, many hands are bound to be smeared, some inadvertently, perhaps. Though, it is no excuse to pocket stolen money in as much as the perpetrator is riding the bandwagon effect.

Nigerians are beginning to be reassured of what they believe to be the extent stream of abuse runs in politics. Judging from the number of politicians being interviewed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and how diverse their background, one can see that the deepness of malfeasance is catholic. News media is awash with stories of ex-governors, heads of agencies, former chief security officer and numerous other political office holders facing investigation by EFCC. This is just the beginning of the tornado because the list, so far, does not contain the names of notorious honchos.

There is enormous desire in the heart of many Nigerians to see these political exploiters stripped of the last kobo they stole and thrown away to rot in jail. The morbidity of their action put the country in a state of economic comatose. Flair of their nonchalance traumatized citizens with civility. They elevated politics to the highest chamber for losers to celebrate ineptitude.

Be that as it may, reason must be called to the table of judgement. These breed of politicians did not fall from the sky. They are the offspring of a decadent society. There is a political saying that a country gets the leadership it deserves. One is not lost to the political climate that metamorphosed to this undesirable condition. I believe that colonialism was not designed to pave way for Nigeria to succeed.

But to move forward, we must collectively work for. I attribute the welcome of change in the polity to the nation reaching a state of catharsis. The deplorable position of the system has not been enviable considering the frustration to the masses.

Sensibility is required to keep the momentum going. A situation where immense portion of the nation’s resources is diverted to chasing the looters of the treasury may shift the focus off course.

The president should go after corrupt politicians but plea bargain should not be off the table. A culprit who agrees to return his or her loot should be given minimum penalty. This idea is not about tendering justice with mercy but acceptance of culpability of society.
- Pius Okaneme,
Umuoji, Anambra State.
August 7, 2015
‘I almost abandoned my studies because of money’

Emmanuel Adewusi is a student of many firsts. He is the first and only son of his parents; he finished as best student in Accounting in secondary school. The Lagos Island-born student made another first abroad, finishing as Best Graduating Student at the Cyprus International University. He tells ABIOLA OLARINDE how he achieved the feat.

What is your education background like?

I attended Command Secondary School in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State in 2007 and I left the school as the best student in Accounting. Because of this, I enrolled for Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria programme in 2008. I was in ATS 3, which is close to becoming an Associate Accounting Technician (AAT), when I left Nigeria for Cyprus to pursue Bachelor’s degree. Now, I just graduated from the Department of International Relations at the Cyprus International University.

What informed your decision to leave Nigeria for Cyprus to study?

When I was in secondary school, I had wanted to study abroad. I needed a location that would develop my intellectual capabilities. I initially applied to study at a university in Canada but I was denied visa. So, I decided to change my direction to Cyprus. I prepared by reading about Cyprus and International Relations as a discipline. Then, I hooked up with an old secondary school mate, who was already in Cyprus. I believe it was a good opportunity to fulfill my dream of studying abroad. God planned it that way.

You emerged the best graduating student at the convocation of Cyprus International University. How did you achieve it?

I never thought being the best graduating student. I just came to study and have a first degree. But, my effort started yielding results; both lecturers and students recognised it. I was encouraged by their kind words. Every member of the university acknowledged my brilliance and calls me “best”. But, the feat comes with expectations and responsibilities. There are a lot of brilliant Nigerian students. One Ufot Ekong broke academic record in Japan recently when be solved a five-decade old mathematical equation; another Nigerian bagged his third First Class in Law from University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. I feel happy painting Nigeria in good light in Cyprus with my academic achievement.

What are the challenges you faced while studying?

What I saw as a challenge was leaving my parents in Nigeria to study in foreign land. But, my motivation was reinforced by the success of my pursuit. International Relations was a new discipline to me and I resumed late in the semester. I had to study minimum of six hours daily to catch up with my mates. At the end of the semester, my Grade Point Average (GPA) was 3.74, which was the lowest in my class. Recovering from that became another challenge for me. Though I caught up and became the best graduating student, but I never recovered from that experience. I learnt the first semester matters a lot in achieving academic excellence. Finance was another challenge I faced but I can’t explain how I survived it. I almost lost concentration on my studies. I started to think being the best in the class was not enough if one did not have money. My hours of reading reduced and laxity set in. I overcame this when I told my parents the truth about my well-being. My dad encouraged me and that geared me up.

There was a time the safety of Nigerian students was the topic in Cyprus. How were you able to cope?

It was not restricted to Nigerian students alone; it was actually about safety of all international students. But, Cyprus is one of the most peaceful countries in the world, because of its low population and presence of United Nations (UN) Peace-Keeping Forces. I think the concern was raised because of the late Gabriel Soriwei, a Nigerian who was killed by hit-and-run vehicle. The matter is still in court and it would be a breach of judicial protocol to comment on it. Gabriel was a victim of circumstance in my opinion, but Cyprus is a safe place to study and live.

What are your plans after school?

I am planning to specialise in Human Rights and International Law. I am also interested in International Security and Diplomacy. I will start my Master’s programme in September in International Relations but I will carefully select my specialisations.

What is your advice for students at home and in the diaspora

It is disheartening that Nigeria is portrayed as a bad country outside, because of our political, economic and educational challenges. But, students should not add to the problem. No matter where we are on earth, we must make positive impacts and make our country proud of us.

July 30, 2015
Money everywhere…

Each new day seems to dawn with revelations of sleaze and messy handling of the nation’s abundant resources , especially by the immediate past administration of President Goodluck Jonathan. Every department or agency that generates revenues seems to be roiled in mind-boggling corruption and a brazen thieving of public funds.

For example, in the past week, the media have been awash with the exchange between Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State and Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, immediate past Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy.

Oshiomhole, speaking on behalf of the National Economic Council (NEC) pointed out that Excess Crude Account (ECA) of the federation which warehouses extra-budgetary earnings from crude oil sales, was unilaterally broached by Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala who depleted it by a hefty $2.1 billion.

She put up a strong denial, first claiming she had no such powers and that only the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) could have authorised any such withdrawals. But when the FAAC members comprising the finance commissioners of the 36 states rebutted her claim, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala recanted, now taking shelter under her boss, President Jonathan.

“Payments made were used for the paying for petroleum subsidies for the Nigerian people and were approved by Mr. President… therefore, there is no question of mismanaging any resources here,” Mrs Okonjo-Iweala said through her spokesperson.

The foregoing dodgy narrative of the chief manager of former President Jonathan administration’s finances and economy is symptomatic of a blighted six years in Nigeria’s nationhood under a boisterous and unrepentant Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Not given to being sober and reflective, the flurry of sleaze breaking out like a plague from every government building would not deter the spokesman of the PDP. His insistence on his party, PDP taking the credit for the ‘bailout’ cash which the Muhammadu Buhari administration recently availed the states of the federation has only opened more cans of worms.

In rebutting the PDP’s claims that the ‘bailout’ cash was a product of its prudence, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has alleged that on the contrary, the cash came from the post-Jonathan era dividends paid by the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited last month. The APC surmised that dividends totalling about $4.8 billion had been paid by the NLNG to the Federal Government since 2004, for which there is no trace.

The APC noted further that its investigation revealed that another sum of $5.5 billion which the NLNG had paid the Federal Government just before the May 29 handover of government is nowhere to be traced.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) too seems to have leaked like a sieve, especially these past few years. According to report, the honey-pot of the nation is said to have earned about N8.1 trillion during the Jonathan years but merely N4.3 trillion was reportedly remitted into the treasury.

If most of these reports are true, what it means is that more than half of the nation’s resources are not accounted for and captured in the federation account. We therefore suggest that going forward, the Buhari administration must set up a system to follow the money to the last kobo. Every revenue-earning ministry, department and agency (MDA) must not only be compelled to remit every kobo to the treasury, they must also be mandated to produce and make public their statements of accounts.

May we also suggest that as a result of the sheer magnitude of the malfeasance of the past administration, a comprehensive review of the operations of the MDAs in the last six years should be carried out with a view to retrieving at least some of the misappropriated funds.

We believe that with a regime of accountability, Nigeria’s economy may not be in such dire straits as imagined.

‘If most of these reports are true, what it means is that more than half of the nation’s resources are not accounted for and captured in the federation account. We therefore suggest that going forward, the Buhari administration must set up a system to follow the money to the last kobo’

July 21, 2015
Skye Bank’s customers get N5m prize money

Three customers of Skye Bank Plc were lifted up as they won N1 million each at the bank’s ‘Reach for the Skye’ promotional draw which took place in Ibadan, Oyo State on Thursday. The lucky winners were selected in an electronic draw conducted in the presence of officials of the National Lottery Commission.

The winners are Damie Morrison of Garki Junction branch, Port Harcourt; Innocent Oguabi of Katako, Abuja Branch; and Donatus Okoro of Badagry branch.

In addition, four other customers won N250,000 each, while another 10 won N100,000 each in the transparent draws. The total prize money redeemed by the bank was N5 million.

Speaking on the ‘Reach for the Skye Millionaires promo, Skye Bank’s Head of Retail Banking Group, Nkolika Okoli, said the bank would continue to encourage the adoption of the savings culture by the members of the public.

According to her, the qualification criterion for the promo is for a customer to open a Skye Save Plus account with a minimum of N2000, with each additional N2000 increasing the customer’s chance to win the N1 million prize.

Okoli said the draws would hold every month and the bank’s customers would win N60 million in all before the promo is concluded. She therefore enjoined the members of the public to open a Skye Save Plus account with bank with a minimum balance of N2000 in order to benefit from the ongoing promotion.

The Area Manager, Oyo State, of the National Lottery Commission, Mr. Tayo Fasuhanmi, described the electronic draw conducted as open, transparent and clear, saying it conformed to the commission’s requirements of a credible draw. He advised members of the public to take advantage of the bank’s promotion to transform their businesses by opening accounts with it so as to be able to take part in future draws.

July 17, 2015
Managing events, making money

Events management is on the rise. With parties here and there, event managers are required to ensure things go well. The job potential in this social segment is huge, writes OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE.

Events’ management has assumed a new dimension. Unlike before, weddings, birthdays, political gatherings, funerals, conferences and anniversaries, among others, are now handled by experts. People often talk about how some events were so professionally handled that they become the talk of the town.

Such flawless, exciting parties are normally handled by those who have been trained and garnered experience.

Oftentimes people never get to see them because they work behind the scene, coordinating and ensuring that nothing is missed out, not even the minutest of details. The event management professionals also give advice to the celebrants, especially on matching budgets with invitees, on whether the numbers should be increased or reduced.

Event management involves all cadres of professionals with varied educational backgrounds such as engineers, caterers, artisans and lawyers, among others depending on the event. For instance in conferences and exhibitions, the event managers design and build the exhibition stands and lightings, put all the necessary electrical, mechanical and information technologies in place.

The event managers have regular and ad hoc members workers. The ad hoc staffers are hired for specific events and their jobs terminate after the event. Some schools run professional courses on event management but some acquire the knowledge by hands-on training. An event manager can be paid between N1 million and N10 million and more depending on the events and the personalities involved.

Event managers are needed in almost any kind of business – entertainment, finance, government, retail, fashion, sport, music, among others, so their day to day job can be filled with a huge range of exciting challenges and unique situations.

Events usually require many different teams to come together. It often includes several external suppliers. Successful events depend on the team with every member doing his/her job to standard with flexibility and commitment to good cross-team communication. If you love being part of a team and working with people to create something unique, events could well be the path for you.

Creative thinking

The event industry is all about exceeding the expectations of all parties involved in the events, and design is one of the key ways to impress. Event managers need to be real outside-the-box thinkers who have a dynamic approach to problem-solving. Design is essential to an event’s success, whether you have the creative spark that can give event guests a memorable experience, or the perfectionist’s streak that crafts brand awareness right down to the colour of name badges.

Strong leadership

An event management team needs strong leadership to be at its best – negotiations between clients, suppliers, company or venue staff requires flexibility, quick thinking, buckets of initiative and exceptional decision making. A particular ability to spot good compromises and know what is essential to the success of the event marks out an excellent event team leader. It takes a good event manager and leader to take on the challenge of directing a complicated event whilst managing the expectations of several different stakeholders.

Opportunities

Some event management companies have the trappings of royalty and take care of event from the conception period to actual delivery. In this business your efficiency is the perfect way to get an introduction to the industry and give you a head start in beginning a career.

Event management is a fast-paced, varied, and highly employable field. Even in times of economic recession, events remain invaluable to companies as a sure way to build brand reputation, drive consumer confidence and give people experiences to remember.

Managing Director of Pink and Blossom, Mrs. Nkechi Iheanacho, an Industrial Chemistry graduate, said she has always loved to organise things and started when her elder sister was about to get married. “My business actually took off as an off-shoot of my sister’s wedding. I not only took care of the catering of the traditional wedding but also the decorations and ancillary services including the white wedding. After the wedding people started making inquiries about the organiser of the event, it took quite a while to convince some of them that handled it. Those who believed encouraged me with jobs such as birthdays for their kids and spouses and end-off year parties.”

I didn’t look for start-up capital because my initial clients paid up-front, so l can say that l started with zero capital. My drive and love for putting things together kept me going. At the initial stage, I had no steady staff. I only used ad hoc staff but now as a full-fledged event management company l have at least 15 permanent staff. I engage ad hoc staff if l get several jobs at the same time or a very big job because sometimes I have as much as 30 people working on a project, she added.

I have never had any problem paying my staff, from nothing we have grown to picking up jobs of over a million naira and our balance sheet is good. When we get jobs that require for instance a marquee we outsource some of the engineering, electrical, plumbing jobs and concentrate on our core competence which is food and decoration she added.

On the skills needed she said there is a place for everybody. “This is one business that accommodates the graduates and highly skilled artisans who are barely literate. Everybody have a place but the most important thing is for each cadre to know its onions and stick to it. If everybody is a Ph.D holder, who will do the cleaning, decorations and other menial jobs involved? If for instance, you are handling a cross cultural wedding, you will need to spice it up with engaging somebody that can code-switch in the two languages. Event management is about innovation and competitiveness; you must try to please your clients against your competitors. The interesting part of this business is that it involves a lot of coordinates, a great employer of labour at short notice and pays the bills,” she said.

The Managing Director of Event Plus, Mrs. Evelyn George who studied Law but fell in love with event management, had a stint with an event management company for two years and left after acquiring some skills. “Though l took additional correspondence courses, it was only for effects to be a step higher in terms of the newest skill and technology. We have handled some high octane jobs running into millions of naira with great panache. I started the business with about N200,000, which I used to buy some special chairs and distinctive table wares for weddings and other colorful events, otherwise one can start it even with zero capital. The highest value in this business is your network of friends and associates and your core-competence. Sometimes a contract can be sub-contracted to you if your colleagues note what area you are good at, integrity is also key,” she said.

On her workforce, she said there are 10 core members of staff but makes use of ad hoc staff depending on the volume of job and skill needed for the job. She also confirmed that it is a business for everybody, stressing that no skill is wasted in the innovative business.

Rose and Pink Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Peter Eton said event management is an all season business that does not go out of fashion. He started his company some three years ago with his wife and they have not looked back ever since. He said they divided their business into segments and hired the best hands to coordinate it. While he takes care of doing the master of ceremony and decorations his wife takes care of food and drinks where she displays her natural culinary abilities in cooking food as she read hotel and catering management from the Polytechnic. He said they are able to take-up jobs from any part of the country as she is capable of cooking almost all the major food and delicacies of the major linguistic groups in the country.

“When l lost my job as a result of rationalisation where l had worked for over nine years, we came to the conclusion that the only way out for both of us was to run a business which did not require a fortune to start. We started with less than N100,000 from our savings, organising end of year parties for schools and birthdays for some children of the rich, chieftaincy programmes, promotions and even political campaign programmes, from there we built our clientele.

“Our events have colour to it because we have traditional dancers that we trained to sing and dance according to the dictates of the event. With benefits of hindsight there is no business we would have done with so much ease in addition to being financially rewarding.”

On whether a practitioner needs a professional qualification in events management to be successful, he said no, adding that the first demand is interest, ability to organise programmes successfully, dexterity in organisation and ability to deliver within a short period.

Eton said they bought their first van after doing their first five major jobs. He noted that one gets to a point in the business that he cannot do without heavy vehicles that can move equipment around and even a warehouse.

“Another important thing is to exhibit the highest level of integrity with your clients. When somebody entrust huge cash to you with the belief that you will deliver; you will have no choice but to deliver. Before you grow big enough to have your marquee or build your own event centre where you hold your events, you must be at home with good event places in your location. Sometimes your client can live you with the choice of finding a suitable place for a particular event,” he added.

Event management has gone beyond cooking but now depending on the level of the engagement, you go beyond that to meet up with the expectations of your client.

On the number of staff, he said he has 12 permanent staff but makes use of casual staff a lot in such areas as ushers, service hands, electricians and plumbers to ensure that no service is disrupted. We are never in lack of good hands; this is one business that when people see you setting up a stand you will readily have hundreds of applicants trying to get an opportunity to be part of it. One other good thing about this business is that it can accommodate as many event mangers as possible. Nigerians celebrate just about anything and if you have a good record and deliver on your promises you will never be in short supply of jobs, he said.

On how much somebody needs to start the business, he said depending on the entry point, one can start with any amount or even zero capital if clients trust you enough to give jobs and mobilisation fee.

On the stream of income, Eton said he is happy he chose the line of business as he can’t complain especially in the face of the harsh economic condition in the country.

July 6, 2015