The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigerian news

  • 1619: A family reunion long overdue

    Much of the world recently commemorated the 400th anniversary of the importation of over 20 enslaved Africans to the English North American colony of Virginia. This sad event is being observed as if it was the start of the transatlantic slave trade in North America. As with most historical events that officialdom inserts into popular lore the claim that this event launched the slave trade soil is wholly inaccurate. Spanish conquistadors brought with them to Florida in the 1560s a complement of Africans as human pack animals, more than a half century before the forlorn enslaved Angolans were auctioned in Virginia’s Jamestown. I guess the English speakers of North America and the United Kingdom believe that they must be considered the authors of everything that is important, no matter how contemptuous that ting might be. Even while purporting to attack racial prejudice they cannot help but reveal their brand of supremacism.

    Here, I must tender an admission before proceeding further. I write this piece somewhat reluctantly; I had convinced myself not to broach this subject. Yet, in reading much of what was being broadcasted for public consumption about this commemoration, I noticed something vital was missing. There was little human content in the discussion of what is perhaps the most protracted evil in the annals of human history. This great misery was being treated as a historical abstraction, as something that happened too far in the past to really belong to our consciousness of the present.

    The subtle theme underlying the commemoration has been that today’s world, because it eschews legalized slavery, is morally superior to that of the past. To a certain degree, this assertion is unassailable. We have moved away from much of the past’s barbarity. However, we must also acknowledge that we and the world we occupy are children of that past. Even after four centuries, the evil then wrought has not yet run its course.

    It is unfortunate but true that the effects of any good we do are constricted in space and time. The good we perform barely survives the day. While the evil that man performs outlives him. It erects strong monuments difficult to overthrow.

    We cannot separate ourselves from the past by deeming ourselves morally superior to it. To think such folly is to entice ourselves toward new and additional evils; few things are more dangerous than the self-righteous man who sees good in his every thought and action, no matter how devious or cruel. For instance, how could one of the most notorious slave vessels of the 16th century be christened Saint John the Baptist? These peopled were blind to the horrid incongruity of naming their barge of degradation after the herald of the Messiah who, incidentally, came to earth to set man free. John baptized with water to wash away people’s sin. These men sinned by baptizing Africans into abject misery. Yet, the times baptized the hypocrites into immense wealth and power such that they not only lived their own heaven on earth, bit that they would be able to steer their ship to heaven in the afterlife as well. Few slavers went to their death beds with regret or remorse in dread of the awful thing they had done. They felt accumulation of wealth signaled the manifold blessings of their Creator. That their wealth was stained with the blood and tears of others seemed not to matter. They regarded God as a merchant and heaven as a location where plots were for sale to the highest bidders. In this as in many other regards, we are children of the lies of the past and no its truths.

    Enough about the slaver! He did as he wished and thus has received his reward. The more compelling account is to find out what became of the enslaved who was forced to suffer what he must. I am of this stock; thus, I shall speak for him as a means of speaking for myself.

    I was taken from this continent but I know not the exact locale of my forced departure. I know not the date or season in which my trip begin except to surmise it must have been a sad occasion. One would think the date for such a momentous trip would have been registered in the family album. Herein, lies a problem. I know not the name of the family from which I came. Had they a family album, I know not what became of it.

    Forget the album, I don’t even know what happened to my family. Fared they well without me? Did they lament? Who comforted my crying mother? Who explained things to my puzzled my father? Did they parent another child to take my place? Were they also taken? Perhaps they came to the plantation just down the road or in adjacent county. I don’t know the answers and I will never know them. Slavery and time have erased those things that normally connect a person to a special place and unique people.

    I was stripped of my native clothes and all outward signs of human dignity. In the process of the slavers taking these things from me, I discovered I did not need them to be who I am. They wrenched my heritage from me. Yet, I did not sink. I created another heritage from the scraps of food and chards of wood I was allowed. The enslaver’s greater physical power and penchant for unspeakable brutality may have dictated what labors I performed at his violent behest. But he could not dictate who I was. I defined myself regardless of the shackles on my leg and arms.

    Every time he whipped me, my skin broke as did my spirit but only for a moment. The pain was such that no human can long suffer it without pleading for the deluge of blows to end. When the sense of death is imminent, thoughts focus solely on survival and you will surrender to say what the enslaver wants you to say when you are suffering under the duress of the whip. The forced confession they beat out of you is by its nature a false thing but it still damages your sense of self that they would made you say that which you don’t want to say. You feel as if you lost a bit of yourself, as if a piece of our soul was cast upon a cruel wind. However the next hour, the next day, the next week, the next something, your spirit and mind repair themselves unto defiance. You think once more of freedom.

    Slavery has done many things to me. Some I will not tell because ugliness makes them unspeakable. However, slavery has taught me a valuable lesson. The rich and powerful can amass fortunes and arsenals but no human can own my soul, no matter how lowly I might be. Thus, every lash of the slaver brought me closer to an inner freedom than no mortal hand can steal.

    My freedom was preordained by the very dynamics of the evil system set against me. My task thus is not to seek vengeance or retribution; the architects of this evil system surely met a much higher form of justice than I could render. My greatest task is to keep in constant recall the harsh sensation of being on the victim’s end of the cruel lash even when I am no longer subject to the lash. I remember its sting not in anger but as the call of justice and compassion.

    Let me always remember this thing so that I am never tempted to subject another person or people to what happened to me. My enslaver gave me an unintended gift, a sense and love of humanity he will never know or understand because this thing I hold is born of long suffering.

    This brings us to what Martin Luther King sought when he spoke of integration. For him, integration was not just some mechanistic legalism where members of different races could frequent the same diner or hold the same jobs. Integration was not simply for black people to enter mainstream society with no questions asked other than can we attend the same movie theatre. Something is materially off kilter with a society that enslaves millions of people for centuries then, for good measure, places them for another 100 years under a system of racial oppression that served as the blueprint of apartheid.

    King believed that the formerly enslaved black American was not to join society, seeking merely to act like whites in black face. Blacks had something precious to add to soften the ways of a hate-filled, herrenvolk society. We had our memories of the lash and what it was to be oppressed for no legitimate reason. America had grown to be the most powerful nation but it lacked the soul and humility required to temper and restrain that great power so that it would be placed to the best use. Black people were to inject into American society the higher morality born of the lowly slave, according to King.

    For a time, this seemed to happen. Black America was the most anti-war, socially progressive segment of society. We raised our voice against injustice at home and afar. Then something happened. As black leaders were allowed into the mainstream power structure, they forget the lessons of the lash. During the past few decades, black leaders have become indistinguishable from rest of the power structure in their passion for war and dismantling weaker nations populated by dark-skinned people.

    They have surrendered high principle for the scent of power amidst personal advancement. Money and influence have afflicted them with amnesia regarding their own history. No longer fearing the lash, they now rejoice in setting it against others. Unless this group of leaders change heart, King and those like him have died in vain.

    For them King is nothing but a nice poster to view in fake reverence when ordinary people are watching but to quickly ignore when in the gatherings of power. These black American leaders protest against racism at home only because such demonstrations profit their individual ambitions for higher office. However, they remain silent to the imbalances of American foreign policy regarding black people in Africa and the Caribbean. They care nothing for black people abroad because those blacks cannot vote for them. This reveals their concern for black Americans is not one of love but of utility, much the same way one is concerned about the fidelity of the hammer he wields while trying to drive a stubborn nail. Once the job is performed, one does not give the hammer a better home. It is merely returned to its original place. Once they cast their votes, black Americans are similarly handled.

    In large part because of the venality of our leaders, black Americans have lost ground the past two decades. Black elected officials have gained more prominence but the average black family has lost wealth over the same time span. These two facts appear inconsistent but they are of the same accord. Consumed by their pursuit of personal riches and glory, black politicians can countenance the doing of any evil that profits them, even if that evil befalls their own brethren. Fine watches and jewelry now rest where gruesome manacles once were. Yet these purported leaders are more slavish than their ancestors ever were. Unlike their ancestors, they did this to themselves. They forfeited their souls for a title, for membership in an exclusive club, and for a chance to appear on CNN. They have little right to celebrate 1619; today, they function more like the children of the enslaver than the children of the enslaved.

    Because of their abdication of duty, black America no longer restrains the martial impulses of their nation. America has become more warlike, endangering itself and much of the planet in the process. With armed troops stationed in over 100 countries, it currently is fighting several wars and seeing to start new ones on at least two different continents. King and his ilk would have railed against such wanton bellicosity. Today’s black leadership revels in it, lending their voices to the lust for war.

    This is why a black president could be persuaded by his hectoring, self-absorbed secretary of state to war against Libya although that African nation presented no threat. When towns inhabited mostly by peaceful black Libyans were decimated by the terrorists they supported, neither that black president nor any other black leader raised an eyebrow. Instead, they turned the blind eye. They abetted the transformation of a once stable nation into a modern day slave market of black Africans yet have not lifted a finger to correct this wrong they committed. They fail even to acknowledge this travesty. They dare feign sober commemoration of slavery 400 year ago when they are the engineers of African slavery in the here and now. Currently two black senators are campaigning for their party’s presidential nomination. Not one of them has the courage to speak against the machines of war. Even if they win the contest, they have lost something greater.

    Enough with these black enslavers. I save my last and better thoughts for my ancestors. I write to them through time under the assumption they have learned how to read and are not prohibited from doing so where they now reside.

    “They robbed me of your name and the name of your people in hope that I might forget you. Their game failed. I remember you every day and thank you for having the resilience to survive the long ordeal; without your fortitude, I do not exist.  Any shame you felt at being enslaved and forced to suffer untold suffering is misplaced. I, along with millions, wear you proudly.

    I often imagine us sitting at kitchen table or under a tree. So many things I have to ask you; but first I would simply ask your name that I may address you with the respect that you have earned. You would recount how you were taken from home. I could hopefully comfort you by letting you know that they very idea of you was what led me to return to Africa of my own volition. Together, we form an unbroken chain that has come full circle. In fact, we have broken what tried to break us.

    This would be quite a family reunion! But it will have to wait awhile; there are things I have yet to achieve in this life before I deserve such a sitting with you.

    If I could somehow amass and lay at your feet all the riches of the world to compensate for the depravations suffered, it would not begin to repay what I owe you. You likely would gently chastise me and not accept such a gift anyway because you know the pursuit of great riches is often the producer of even greater evils. Indeed, the debt I owe you is not to forget. I remember you for it gives me the courage to stand for that which is right and good no matter how widely disdained. I stand away from that which is wrong no matter how powerful or popular it might be.

    From you, I have learned the world can try to intimidate me with hate and the rage of hate yet I have the innate capacity to remain unmoved by the onslaught. The love of my people and all that is good in humanity is powerful indeed. Hate and evil may win the battle even for what seems to be the longest time. But, ah, if we hold true to what is best in us, we have won the war from its very outset despite the hardships that may follow.”

    To me, this is how to commemorate those who were enslaved. We do so not by some sterile official pronouncement quickly made, then more quickly shelved but as a living memory that nourishes and guides us come what may.

     08060340825 (sms only)                 

  • Ebonyi offers amnesty to ghost workers to refund illegal funds

    The Ebonyi State Government is offering amnesty to ghost workers discovered during series of verification in the state, negotiation opportunities to refund money they illegally collected as salaries.

    The offer according to Mr. Emmanuel Uzor, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, will last from August 30 to September 10.

    “We are giving the amnesty to all ghost workers within the stipulated period to surrender and negotiate the repayment of all illegally collected funds to the state and Local Government Areas (LGA),” Uzor said.

    He said that those who embraced the offer would not face prosecution but those who declined the amnesty opportunities would face the law and all monies they took from government would be recovered from them.

    Read Also: ‘Detection of ghost workers has not yielded reduction in our wage bill’

    “The state government is happy to announce that it has made significant progress as the verification has saved it and the LGA about N60 million for one month.

    “This exercise will be regular until all ghost workers or workers who benefit from illegal, multiple payments are flushed, to ensure more employment opportunities for our brothers and sisters.

    “We have procured the services of financial institutions with bias in Information Communication Technology (ICT) to deploy Bank Verification Number (BVN) in tracking and prosecuting ghost workers.”

  • Ministers take charge

    Ordinarily, one does not need to tell President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministers who were sworn in on August 21 that time is of the essence; and that they should hit the ground running. In normal climes, the ministers ought to have known that and, in fact, been in firm control of their respective ministries by now. But ours is not a clime where time is of the essence. Otherwise, it would not have taken President Buhari six months (from the date he was worn in) to form his cabinet in his first tenure, despite the fact that his predecessor conceded defeat even as election results were yet to be concluded in 2015. So, for the president to have inaugurated his cabinet in August, this time around, three months after he was sworn in, and in spite of the fact that his reelection is still the subject of litigation, we can say some progress has been made. But that does not make it right; indeed if the truth must be told; it is still not good enough. It therefore should not be the benchmark.

    For an election cycle of four-year duration, three months is too much to sacrifice either  shopping for the right candidates or trying to put round pegs in round holes. This is much more so in a country where there is a gross deficit of everything that can make for progress; a country with unspeakable and incredible decay of infrastructure. Virtually all sectors of the economy are in need of rehabilitation. However, all that is now history. The point that we can now be emphasising is for the ministers to realise that they do not have time to waste.

    While some of the people who made it into the president’s cabinet in the first term were dropped, some others were retained. Of the latter, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, the erstwhile Minister of Power, Works and Housing, stands out. Fashola stands out because he was undoubtedly the ‘super minister’ in that cabinet. Each of the three ministries he was overseeing was more than enough to chew. Yet, he was given the onerous responsibility of overseeing the affairs in the three key ministries. At the time President Buhari made the appointment in 2015, I was one of those who commended it and saw it as testimony to what Fashola can do.

    May be like President Buhari, I commended his appointment then because of his antecedents as Governor of Lagos State, a position he left shortly before he was made minister. Fashola, as governor, was a workaholic. He left indelible marks in Lagos, in virtually all the sectors where he was made minister – power, works and housing. But, with hindsight, I have since discovered that, as my people say ‘aponle ni fourman (foreman), ko seni to le se ise eniyan merin’ (there is nothing like four-man (foreman), because no single man can do the work of four men). Fashola did try to make impact in those ministries, but then it would not have been as much as he would have made if he was saddled with less, like his present portfolio. Apart from the human element, he also had to contend with all kinds of challenges, from an uncooperative National Assembly, to powerful interests in the power sector who still wanted to do business in line with the decadent old order.

    That Fashola would return to Buhari’s cabinet was not in doubt. What I knew was that he would not be saddled with as much as he was in the first tenure. The only disappointment and error of judgment on my part was that I had thought he would return to the power ministry, to complete the good works he was doing there. Nonetheless, it is heartwarming that President Buhari too has realised the need to lessen Fashola’s burden by giving the power ministry to someone else. It is needless being a Jack of all trades, master of none. With Fashola now in the works and housing ministry, it should be easier for him to leave indelible marks in the works and housing sectors, the same way he did as governor. Mercifully, he does not have a hostile National Assembly to work with this time around.

    Without doubt, Fashola has a lot to do, especially with many federal roads in terribly bad shape. It is heartwarming that work has resumed on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway after the lull occasioned both by lack of cooperation from the last National Assembly, and paucity of funds. Several other roads are also begging for attention all over the country. They have to be fixed. We have got to a stage in our lives when we have to start thinking about whether the government can continue to maintain these roads or we should start paying tolls to use some of them so that the money can be ploughed back into maintaining the roads. The Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has to be rejuvenated for efficiency. The way things are, it does not seem it has the capacity to oversee all the federal roads, not to talk of keep pace with the maintenance required by them. It is suspect as well whether the agency is sufficiently funded.

    With regard to housing, the works and housing minister has to look for models that the middle income earners at least, can afford. The rich have the wherewithal to own houses anywhere under the sun or in outer planet; so, the minister should concentrate more on those at the lower rungs so they too can have a taste of democratic dividend. They are the ones that take the pains to vote, so, they should be compensated with some of these good things of life.

    Perhaps the minister that all eyes would be on is the new power minister, Saleh Mamman. Although he has a minister of state in the person of Godwin Jedi-Agba to assist him, the two of them would soon discover that they have a yeoman’s task on their hands. As a matter of fact, I do not envy them at all. Theirs is a sector that has known so much corruption that it is even difficult to know how much it had gulped, especially in the eight years of the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency. Various sums, in billions of dollars, have been bandied. Perhaps we would get to know the exact amount Nigeria had spent to procure darkness after the probe panel promised by the government would have finished its assignment.

    Suffice it to say that Mamman, a former assistant director in the Federal Ministry of Works, already has his job cut out for him. He has to move at the speed of light to satisfy Nigerians who have been power-hungry in the past decades. Without doubt, Fashola has made some progress, particularly in ensuring that customers are billed only for what they consume; some of the measures he undertook has also facilitated the issuance of prepaid meters to more electricity consumers, a thing the electric distribution companies (DisCos) do not want because of the easy money that they make through estimated or ‘crazy billing’. While Mamman is to consolidate on some of these gains, he also has to do something about the 2,000 MW of electricity that is said to be wasted because the DisCos cannot absorb it. He has to do more in the area of transmission because even now, the about 6,000 MW that is being generated on the average cannot be transmitted due to weak transmission lines that have outlived their lifespan. Mamman has asked Nigerians to pray for him to succeed. He needs it.

    No amount of space dedicated to power is too much. Power is central to virtually everything we do, whether on the domestic or industrial level. We need power to run our electrical gadgets – blenders, sound systems, television sets, fans and air conditioners, among others. We also need power to make the machines in our industries hum so they could produce some of the basic things we need to make life comfortable. In short, we cannot industrialise or develop without power supply. The lack of this largely explains our perpetual underdevelopment all these years; it is part of the reasons we have remained a potentially great nation since independence. If power is this pivotal to our existence, then successive administrations that neglected this sector for years until things went this awry owe Nigerians explanations. Unfortunately, ours is not a country where public officials are made to account for their stewardship. Even now that the government is planning to investigate why we are still in darkness despite the humongous amounts of money we have pumped into the power sector, some people are crying foul before the commencement of the investigation. Anyway, one can only hope the Buhari government would do this investigation diligently, sans any form of witch-hunting. The people deserve to know what went wrong and where the billions of dollars went into.

    I congratulate the 43 ministers. I have only started with two ministries today, with a view to returning to some of the others sometime in the near future. The point must be made though that President Buhari does not have to wait till eternity before removing any minister that wants to constitute a cog in the wheel of his government’s progress. They should be given specific targets and these should be evaluated periodically with a view to keeping the ministers on their toes. Unlike he did in his first term, when he retained almost all the ministers to the end, things should be different this time. There is no third term for him; because even if he prays for it, God will not grant the request. This is his last opportunity to prove wrong cynics who believe Nigerians have entered ‘one chance’ bus by reelecting him. He should use the opportunity wisely.

  • Bike hailing companies battle for market share

    Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf, Ambrose Emeka Hilary and Ibrahim Al-Amin write on the proliferation of motorcycle transit ventures operating in selected cities across the country, most of who have been scrambling for market share riding on the back of technology innovation among other freebees

    To say that a huge industry has been built around road transportation, especially using motorcycles is stating the obvious. The bourgeoning trade in motorcycle transit ventures has literally changed the game as far as bike riding is concerned.

    From Gokada, Maxokada, ORide, and a host of others, their major preoccupation is to take prospective riders to their destination. Gokada, which is arguably the forerunner among the motorcycle companies, was co-founded in 2018 by Fahim Saleh, a Bangladeshi entrepreneur who previously founded and exited Pathao, a motorcycle, bicycle and car transportation company.

    Modus operandi

    The startup differs from other ride-hail ventures in that it doesn’t split fare revenue with drivers. Gokada charges drivers a flat-fee of N3,000 Nigerian a day (around $8) to work on their platform. The company is looking to generate a larger share of its revenue from building a commercial network around its rider community.

    “We don’t do anything with the fares. We want to create an Amazon Prime-type membership…and ecosystem around the driver where we’re going to provide them more and more services, such as motorcycle insurance, maintenance, personal life-insurance and micro-finance loans,” Saleh said.

    “We’re trying to provide a network of great services for our drivers that makes them stick with us, and not necessarily see a reason to switch to other platforms,” said Saleh.

    Competition among those platforms is heating up, as global players enter Africa’s motorcycle taxi market and local startups raise VC and expand to new countries.

    In Nigeria, Gokada faces a competitor in local startup MAX.ng, which offers mobile-based passenger and logistics delivery services.

    Overall, Africa’s motorcycle taxi market is becoming a significant sub-sector in the continent’s e-transport startup landscape. Two-wheel transit startups are vying to digitize a share of Africa’s boda boda and okada markets (the name for motorcycle taxis in East and West Africa) — representing a collective revenue pool of $4 billion and expected to double to $9 billion by 2021, according to a TechSci study.

    The appeal to passengers is the lower cost of motorbike transit compared to buses or cabs ($1.85 is Gokada’s average fare) and the ability of two-wheelers to cut through the heavy congestion in cities such as Lagos and Nairobi.

    Gokada, which partially shut down operations to restrategise after their CEO faced ‘operational’ hurdles during a ride, from Wednesday, August 14th, 2019 to Monday, August 26th, has relaunched.

    According to the firm, since that time, it has upskilled existing and newly engaged drivers called GPilots in advanced knowledge of defensive driving behaviours for enhanced safety, GPS navigation, and optimised customer service delivery.

    The firm said it had introduced new motorcycles and better-equipped drivers who had been extensively trained in safe driving standards, GPS navigation, and customer service.

    It said in addition to upgrading the skills of its personnel, the brand had also overhauled its entire motorbike fleet and acquired first-of-its-kind TVS motorbikes and fitted its drivers with Bluetooth enabled helmets allowing for more seamless communication and navigation experience.

    The Founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Gokada, Fahim Saleh, said the firm had always prided itself on setting the standard in the market for safety and service.

    He said, “Hairnets, DOT-certified helmets, extensive training – these are all reasons safety on our bikes has been so consistent and how we were able to convince many to give this new-age bike taxi a shot.

    “As we scale up, what we have now would be the template for what all our future pilots will follow. We took the risk to pause for a moment and improve on that template in order to provide our customers with exceptional service at scale.”

    Co-Chief Executive Officer of the firm, Ayodeji Adewunmi, stated Gokada 2.0 was all about unflinching commitment to customers.

    He said the firm believed that it was better to suspend its operations for two weeks so it could retool and revamp for unmatched service delivery and exceptional experience.

    “As part of this relaunch, we have also made several upgrades to the management team. I am truly excited about Gokada 2.0,” Adewunmi said.

    Gokada’s Director of Government Relations, Kayode Adegbola, said the firm was excited to continue setting the standard in the industry by exceeding all of the regulatory requirements in Nigeria.

    He said the firm was also happy to partner government organisations such as the Lagos State Government to help move residents in a faster, more comfortable, safer and responsible means.

    Enter ORide

    A new on-demand motorbike hailing service launched in Nigeria in May this year, ORide service can be accessed in the OPay app currently on Android and iOS. Launching first in Lagos, and has since expanded to cities like Ibadan.

    They wooed passengers with up to 90% discounts on fares during the promo, which lasted till end of July.

    Driven by technology, the ORide service is accessible via the OPay app – a super app that’s available on Android and iOS, with features that cater to a range of lifestyle demands including food order and delivery, utility bills payment, cash access and more.

    Iniabasi Akpan, Country Manager at Opay says “About 25-30% of the Nigerian adult population are uneducated, poor, and have little or no access to financial services. As a business, we exist to remove the barriers to financial services and access to a better quality of life for the underprivileged and the financially excluded.

    There are also several other social benefits of ORide which includes the potential to create more than 100,000 tax paying jobs, easing the movement of people and goods, and boosting commerce and entrepreneurship.”

    A huge emphasis has been placed on driver training and safety. Several steps have been taken to ensure this.

    Ridwan Olalere, Director of Product says “All ORide motorbike riders have been trained by safety professionals – our first training resulted in a 50% pass rate. We have then taken steps to hold a monthly class for the riders.

    Both riders and passengers who take ORide are covered by comprehensive insurance and will also have access to 24hrs customer support service. In addition, Riders have access to healthcare.

    Customers can download the Opay app now on iOS and Android or from the ORide website and for this July, pay only N200 for every trip they take that’s less than N2000.

    According to OPAY rider, who identified himself as Mr. Kusimo Femi, who spoke with The Nation he is proud to identify with this rare Chinese company who gave meaning and value to his life after being buffeted by unemployment and poverty stricken conditions.

    Femi added that this company was able since inception on June 2019 to have absorbed over one thousand riders, which excludes office workers comprising men and women both in warehouse and corporate headquarters.

    The bikes come with an inbuilt tracker, which the company uses to track all their bikes in Lagos State and their locations at any given period. The riders are given targets daily and when a rider meets up the target, such is rewarded handsomely with  the sum of N600.00 as motivation, as for startup and mode of  remittance, the first two months, the rider remits the sum of N1,500.00 daily, then after the third month, the rider is mandated to remit N3,000.00 daily, one great incentive here in this business is that in your first five trips ,the rider is given N200.00 anywhere you go in Lagos, besides that OPAY takes full responsibility of all riders in respect to health issue. They had a well-organised system that has all inclusive welfare and health packages, should any rider falls sick. With your phone and personal identification embellished in it, you can take treatments and the company pays, while on treatment, the rider’s account stops reading or counting rather till he is recuperated quite unlike the societal higher purchase stuff where a rider is stripped off his bike on failure to pay as stipulated in their contractual paper and forfeiture of the previous money remitted.

    But, this company does business in a very orderly manner, except in rare cases where a rider exhibits lack of seriousness, decorum and lackadaisical behaviour of non-compliance with the existent punctuated stipulations agreed by the two parties, they demand for the money owned them and retrieve their properties within your possession.

    He further added that OPAY is not just a company but a god sent mechanism to salvage the unemployed from the angry grips of poverty, shackles of retardation and further save for meaningful ventures for riders, this company had provided employments for more than two thousand Nigerians in their multifaceted departments ,to say the least, all the staff in the offices are fed thrice daily, while riders are given discounted price on food but they pay for themselves, for example, riders pay N500 worth of food for just N200, yet the foods are rich and nice and equally affordable, he emphatically says anyone that says anything against OPAY is simply wicked and ungrateful ,because the company is just too good he asserts.

    When our reporter contacted the corporate headquarters at Ikeja, none of the Chinese supervisors were ready to divulge any iota of information, regarding their modus operandi, hence its basically online dealings with them and their riders. Indeed, the environment was a beehive of customers streaming with heads of people who are either staff, or riders or new intakes authenticating their engagements.

    One striking thing that aroused my curiosity and sheer admiration was the way business is conducted here, with over two or three hundred persons manning computers and administering services with all calibers of people, irrespective of gender or nationality, even the Chinese who are bent on visitors complying with their laid down company policy and official protocol, asserts an anonymous rider at the Ikeja office , who also complemented all the information given to the reporter with a nod in affirmation by Femi.                    

    Maxokada

    Maxokada is one of the big players in Lagos State market scrambling for share in the bike market. In an interview with one of the administrative officers at the Surulere office, who identified himself as Mr. Ikechukwu, he asserts that the modus operandi of this bike business remains almost the same with their counterparts’ requirements, except for one or few additions.

    He stated that the would-be rider is exposed to driving test in the company and thereafter, the rider is asked to present his rider’s card from the local council, two guarantors’ forms are issued to him for his guarantors information as contained in the form, recent passports of both the rider and his two sureties, and on completion of the official documentation, the company gives him the maxokada  power-bike , one customised handset, helmets and jacket with MAXOKADA boldly inscribed on it for identification purpose.

    In a similar development, another rider who chose not to disclose his identity spoke extensively on this business. He said the reason he chose Maxokada is because their bikes and tricycle known in local parlance as (keke) are very strong compared with other operators. The only conspicuous difference, he noted, was in the area of welfare and health packages. Specifically, for a prospective rider on receipt of your bike, he is expected to remit the sum of N4000,to the account that the company opened for remittance purpose as contained in their contractual agreement, and consequently, defaulters are exposed to some punitive measures like fines or revoking of the contracts in a situation where his debt has accumulated for some time.

    Besides, the source revealed that all the bikes come with tracker to enable the company know where any particular rider is at any point in time, while the phone given to riders are essentially for contacting the riders on the latest development as the case may be.

    However, the rider repairs his bike in case of any dent or accident, quite unlike what is obtainable at OPAY. No form of bonus is attached as motivation to biker and one is disposed to ply any route in Lagos. Basically, it is online service prone and prices are determined by distance, while the rider has a navigation platform in his phone that serves as compass to any destination he goes while the office uses the tracker in the bike to monitor the biker and the rider.

    The company is a Nigerian-based and owned by two friends on the ground of partnership, they have two offices at the interim, one in Lekki, while the test and other complaints are handled at Surulere, where they have their warehouse and workshop.

    When asked on the total take home of riders daily, he said some make up to N10,000.00 depending on one’s capability, but the least person can go home with N6000 after remittance, again on the issue of their employment status, he averred that over one thousand personnel have been gainfully employed in both offices and that includes the riders too, and they had plans of hiring more hands as the business progresses.

    Indeed the scrambling for Lagos share of the market is a one herculean task but in all, the business is primarily designed to cushion the unemployment saga and create jobs for the teeming youths to reduce and alleviate poverty and attendant vices in the socio-political milieu.

  • Nigeria, China volume of trade hits 55% in five years

    The partnership between the Nigerian and Chinese government has blossomed over the years as the volume of trade between both countries has hit 55% on both sides.

    Confirming this development in a chat with our correspondent at the weekend, the National President, Made in China Goods Association of Nigeria, Adigun Samuel said, “Most infrastructural facilities such as refinery building, railway line and roads construction are done by the Chinese companies in Nigeria. The Nigeria students as we know enjoy quality time and academic experience in china.”

    Expatiating, he said, “In view of the good relationship Nigeria has had with China, we are using this medium to appeal to the Chinese embassy to grant visa request to traders who wish to attend the China Import and Export trade fair in Guangzou from 15th October to 5th November 2019. This will further build confidence in the relationship between the two countries and expose our traders to new Chinese goods, products and technology.”

  • Chinese firm to float fibre cement plant in Nigeria

    A Chinese building materials company Sinoria FABCOM, has announced plans to float a fiber cement board manufacturing factory in Abuja.

    Deputy General Manager of Sinoria FABCOM, Mr. Jackie Dai Hui made this known to journalists in Abuja.

    He also noted that a few years from now many companies in China will find it cheaper to set up factories in the country, because of its huge market potentials which can also become the base for servicing the rest of the African markets.

    According to him, “Nigeria has all it takes, the raw materials are there and skilled manpower is on the rise, it is only a question of time and I believe this would be very soon, our company Sinoria FABCOM want to be part of the industrial growth and development of Nigeria and that is why we are reinvesting our profit in the new factory rather than taking it back to China.”

    Sinoria FABCOM is part of the Chinese global giant, CNBM, a Fortune 500 company rated number one globally in the manufacture of building materials, already has an industrial complex in Kuje Abuja where it set up four years ago for the manufacturing of stone coated roofing sheet.

    Jacke Dai Hui said that Sinoria FABCOM wants “to use its building materials expertise to help Nigeria solve the problem of its housing need by providing quality but affordable building materials to the Nigerian housing sector.”

  • LASG to invest in infrastructural development

    The Lagos State Government has announced plans to invest massively on critical infrastructural facilities to make Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the State and indeed the country at large competitive at the global market.

    The Governor, Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo Olu at the Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) 3rd edition of business roundtable in Lagos, said his administration is willing and ready to invest heavily in critical infrastructure that would accelerate economic growth of the country’s economy, while also empowering the private sector and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) who are real engines of economic growth.

    Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the Commissioner of Commerce and Industry, Lagos, Mrs. Lola Akande, said the theme of the event tagged, ‘Impact of technology on micro, small and medium businesses in Nigeria’ provides stakeholders the unique opportunity to address one of the major strategies germane to the success of any aspiring and growing business.

    He reiterated its support for the organised private sector and MSMEs in the provision of critical infrastructure such as power, water, inter modal transportation, waste management among many other initiatives.

    “All these are geared towards making life more convenient for our people and enhancing the productive capacities of our entrepreneurs,” he said.

    The Chairman, NASME, Lagos State Chapter, Solomon Aderoju, said based on the fact that MSMEs are the game changers for economic growth and development in any country, it is therefore critical to discuss the impact, importance and role played by technology on MSMEs.

    In his remarks, the former Managing Director, Ntel, Ernest Akinola, said the current impact of technology on the MSME sector is exponential, adding that technology is displacing the traditional business in Nigeria.

  • Experts warn of looming global financial crisis induced by cybercrime

    Global financial crisis induced by cybercrimes is imminent unless this is checked, president, Fintech Association of Nigeria President, Dr. Segun Aina, has predicted.

    Aina who also doubles as the Chairman, Global Banking Education Standards Board, warned that most regulators and operators might not be prepared for the financial downturn.

    He stated this at the 2019 Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) Lagos State Branch, Bankers & Stakeholders nite in Lagos, stressing that governments of different countries might also not be able to provide bailouts to banks like they did previously in 2008.

    According to him, banks’ losses to fraud in Nigeria jumped to N15.15bn in 2018, an increase of 539 per cent compared to N2.37bn in 2017, maintaining that internet & technology based sources of fraud accounted for 59 per cent of fraud cases and 43 per cent of actual loss.

    Citing the NDIC report that cybercrime will cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021, he said, this rose upward from $3 trillion in 2015. “Global spending on security awareness training for employees is predicted to reach $10 billion by 2027, up from around $1 billion in 2014. Training employees how to recognise and defend against cyber-attacks is the most under spent sector of the cyber security industry.”

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    He noted that the UN E-Government Survey 2018 showed Denmark coming first place while Nigeria ranked 143 out of the193 member countries surveyed.

    Earlier, the president and Chairman of Council, CIBN, Uche Olowu, said the golden era of digital banking has gained so much significance that according to the 2018 report from Global Market Insight, the Digital Banking Market would cross the $9 trillion mark by 2024.

    “As we all may already know, the Central Bank of Nigeria as part of its National Financial Inclusion Strategy aims to significantly increase financial inclusion rates from 58.4 per cent recorded in 2016 to 80 per cent in 2020. Banks who choose to operate under the current banking model would hinder the advancement of this policy. On the other hand, banks who choose to stay ahead of the curve can leverage on digital banking to further facilitate the efforts of the apex bank.”

  • The Apostolic Church Agege area celebrates at 25

    Activities marking the silver jubilee of The Apostolic Church Nigeria Agege area have begun.

    The theme of the convention, which holds from August 26-September 6, is The glorious majesty of His Kingdom.

    Addressing reporters last week, Agege Area Superintendent, Pastor Felix Olotu, said the church has come a long since its establishment in 1990.

    According to him: “TACN Agege has risen to the challenge and continues to address the challenge of today. God has kept us and we are grateful for our giant strides.”

    He said the church will dedicate the next 25 years to massive youth empowerment with a view to sustaining its future.

    Read Also: Churches in Nigeria losing focus, says Bishop Wale Oke

    “We are involved in mentoring and scholarship to study in the universities. We have invested in gospel music too and run a football academy that we believe will provide players for clubs in the nearest future.

    “The area has mapped out a plan to develop our youths in strong foundation built on sound spiritual knowledge and life skills, which are the primary tools for success in life, thereby equipping them with skills that will make them employers rather than employees.”

    He debunked the notion that the church is an assembly of old people, saying youths feature prominently in the agenda and activities of the church.

    He said the activities have commenced with daily revival that runs till September 6 when the convention proper kicks off.

    Some of the other activities lined up include health seminar, concert, spiritual enrichment and marriage seminar.

  • Engaging the gateways to financial dominion!

    Welcome to September! I believe we must have taken hold of keys to operating in the supernatural through diverse encounters with the Word and testimonies all through the month of August 2019. My prayer is that, the impact of these encounters will be for a lifetime, in the name of Jesus! This week, we shall focus on: Engaging the Gateways to Financial Dominion!

    According to scriptures, we understand that we are only empowered for financial dominion on the platform of the covenant. This covenant is the covenant of seedtime and harvest, which means giving and receiving (Genesis 8:20-22; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7; Philippians 4:15, 19). No one who despises the law of giving in the Kingdom ever prospers because the scriptures cannot be broken. It is also important to understand that our seed is not a financial donation but a spiritual transaction that commits God’s integrity to establish His covenant of blessings. For instance, when Abraham laid Isaac on the altar of sacrifice, it answered in heaven and God swore a generational blessing on him. Also, when Noah reared an altar of sacrifice, God smelt a sweet savour in heaven and changed the story of man on the earth.

    Furthermore, Solomon reared an altar of sacrifice and God appeared to him in the night, giving him an open cheque to demand whatsoever he desired (Genesis 8:20-22, 22:15-18; 1 Kings 3:3-13). We must, therefore, be excited as we give our seeds including giving to the needy because it is a spiritual transaction that empowers our change of story on the earth. Remember, the Bible says, He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again (Proverbs 19:17; see also Psalm 41:1).

    We must also note that the covenant is as reliable as the day and night. That means God’s covenant is as enduring as His covenant of the day and night. This is why when we walk in the light of the covenant; we command supernatural supplies without sweat (Psalm 89:34; Jeremiah 33:20-26). The terms of the covenant are non-negotiable, as they are God’s instructions from scriptures.

    The quality of a man’s life is a function of how he aligns with the instructions of scriptures and every high flyer in the Kingdom is an addicted follower of instructions. We must understand that it is obeying God’s commandments (instructions) that put us in command of His blessings (Deuteronomy 28:1-13; Psalm 112:1-3; 2 Corinthians 13:8).

    However, it is important to know why God blesses so we can commit Him to the continuous flow of blessings in our lives (Luke 12:15-21).

    Why, Then, Does God Bless Us?

    We understand from scriptures that God blesses us primarily so that we can be a blessing to our world (Genesis 12:1-3). God will not bless anyone beyond his commitment to being a blessing. That means it is our capacity to be a blessing that determines the level of blessings God entrusts on our lives.

    This is why:

    • God will not bless anyone beyond his commitment to the promotion of His Kingdom: God blesses us so we can bless or promote the cause of His Kingdom on the earth. As it is written, Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem (Zechariah 1:17; see also Haggai 2:3, 6-9). For instance, the fortune that Israel encountered in Egypt was for the purpose of building the temple in the wilderness. As they used their resources to build the tabernacle, God began to multiply their gold supernaturally (Exodus 36:6-7, 35:4, 16, 22). God will entrust His silver and gold to individuals who are genuinely committed to building His house. Therefore, taking advantage of every Kingdom promotion opportunity is for our continuous change of levels and a Kingdom-first mentality is what sustains our financial fortune (1 kings 8:17-18; Haggai 1:4-11).
    • God will not bless anyone beyond his commitment to blessing the needy around him: It is written, He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse (Proverbs 28:27; see also Galatians 6:10). For instance, Job engaged in ministering to the needy, God kept expanding and enlarging his coast (Job 29:11-17).
    • God will not bless any man beyond his commitment to giving towards the well-being of mankind: Jesus said, For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me…(Matthew 25:35-40; see also Genesis 22:17-18; 1 Timothy 6:17).
    • God will not bless anyone beyond his commitment to impact the nations with his fortune: It is written, For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee (Deuteronomy 15:6; see also 28:1-2, 12; 2 Corinthians 9:8). We must recognise that not everyone on the street is a person; some are a thousand in one person and others are ten thousand in one person. Yet, some are nations while others are strong nations. Saul was a thousand in one while David was ten thousand in one. Concerning David, the people said, …but now thou art worth ten thousand of us: therefore now it is better that thou succour us out of the city (2 Samuel 18:3; see also Isaiah 60:22).

    In conclusion, we cannot command financial dominion except we align with the purpose for which it is offered. Hence, when we miss the purpose of Kingdom prosperity, God stops the blessing from flowing to us (Haggai 1:4-5, 9-10). However, we must apply discretion in our financial stewardship (Psalm 112:5). Thus, this can only be possible when you have accepted Jesus as our Lord and personal Saviour.

    Are you born again? If you are not, this is an opportunity to do so. Simply say the following prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Today, I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me! Now, I know I am born again!

    For further reading, please get my books: Understanding Financial Prosperity, Breaking Financial Hardship, Winning the War against Poverty, Hidden Covenants of Blessing and Covenant Wealth. I invite you to fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, the covenant home of Winners.

    We have four services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:50 a.m., 9:40 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. respectively. I know this teaching has blessed you. Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria, or call 01-4548070, 01-4548280, or E-mail: feedback@lfcww.org, Facebook: David Oyedepo Ministries International, Twitter: @DavidOyedepoMin.