The Nation Newspaper

Tag: opportunities

  • Ideology, opportunities and diplomacy

    In  welcoming China’s  president to the British Parliament this week, the Speaker  spoke of a meeting of  two nations both ancient  and modern. In response the Chinese leader wondered at new opportunities for both nations in a collaborative world .In  the US the  Vice  President  Joe  Biden  in announcing his intention not to run for the presidency  of the US  was  escorted to the venue of the announcement by his wife   and  the President of the US who  did not utter  a word at  the event where the Vice President took the opportunity to enunciate the ideology of the Democratic Party for the 2016 US  presidential elections.  In  Russia, the  president told a think thank that the  US  is supporting  terrorism in Syria while at  home our lawyers created a conundrum over the trial of the senate president on  assets declaration there by tasking our separation of powers in a presidential system  of government in rather extravagant fashion. These  then  are the issues for consideration today  and  I think they are quite juicy for scrutiny  and analysis.

    Starting with China the visit of Chinese President Xi  Jinping to the UK  this  week  was bound to stir powerful historical   and political   memories  with ideological  antecedents. The  most powerful  dictatorship in the world was being hosted by the mother of Parliaments  and the world’s leading  constitutional  monarchy  and democracy. Surely  this was a meeting of ideological incompatibles in terms of either side’s perception of power, human rights and rule  of law. The  Communist Party of China led by President Xi  Jinping has a membership less than a million members yet it holds sway over the lives and security of one and a half billion Chinese people, the largest population of any nation in the world today. Whereas British  democracy runs on the well  known gruel  of one man, one vote majority  democracy. So  it is crystal clear that it is not democracy or ideology that has brought the successor of Mao and Deng to London but good old and new, ancient and modern  business  and  economic  opportunities, as  both the Speaker and the Chinese leader so rightly remarked in their speeches at the Mother of Parliaments this week in London. Already  it has been reported  that trade agreements worth  30  bn  pounds  are in the offing from the four day state  visit  of the Chinese president.

    The  announcement  by Vice  President Biden that he would not run for president  was obviously  closely monitored by the incumbent  and lame duck President  Barak  Obama for obvious reasons. The  first is to ensure that the president’s  preference for Hillary Clinton the Democratic Party’s front runner presidential candidate  is not derailed. The second  is to ensure governmental unity and focus  in the last  days of the Obama Administration.  That really must be why Obama himself followed or led his Vice  President to the event and  followed him out without a word at the ceremony. Yet Biden had his say even if he did not have his way  to  contest for America’s  highest office  for now or ever. He  said loudly that he would  not  contest but he would not be silent and Obama could hear that clearly as he was standing by his side policing him as it were on the occasion. Biden then took a swipe  at the tone of the Democratic Party  campaign  by stating that the Republican  Party was not an enemy but an opposition party and should be respected as such and not treated as an enemy. This  has  however  not prevented the hostile  legislative  witch  hunt of Hillary  Clinton on the Benghazi  matter  on which  she was reportedly grilled for 11  hours  this week. Biden   went on to say that consensus and compromise are not pejorative  words and have pragmatic use in US politics  and  diplomacy   as has been amply demonstrated under the Obama administration in which  he has played  his own part and would continue doing till the end.

    More  importantly he  said  the Democratic  Party must run the 2016 Presidential  election on the legacy of the outgoing Obama  presidency if it is to maintain its ideology of reducing the gap of income inequalities  between the rich and the poor in a US in which about a hundred families own the bulk of America’s  gargantuan wealth and earnings. To  me it was a good farewell  speech by the US Vice President to presidential ambition and a   good wake up warning to those in the presidential race as well as the Democratic Party on its core values, and  a  clear  message  not to take victory in  the  2016   presidential  race  for granted.

    In  Russia aside  from the fact that Syria’s  President Bashar Assad paid a visit to thank  Russia’s  President Vladmir  Putin for supporting him against the Syrians trying to oust him  from power,  the Russian president accused  the US of  supporting  terrorism which  of course  cannot  be true but which showed  that there is no love lost between the US and  Russia  at least  under their two incumbent presidents today. Indeed  it is a clear  sign that a serious personality clash  between the two leaders has overtaken the course of diplomacy and further  bilateral relations between the two  nations. Putin  accused  the Americans  of choosing who  to support amongst the rebels  fighting Assad and in the process  backing the wrong horses who Russia said are plain, raw  terrorists. Rather  than make the same mistake Putin said Russia would stick by Assad and in  the process  fight and   root out  ISIS which  he identified as a global threat  rather than a Syrian  problem. One  is yet to see how the US would  react to this  as the  US  is more interested in not losing any American lives in Syria than anything else and that is rather  strange  for a nation which had been concerned about spreading American values  and making the world safe for democracy. Obviously  on Syria the  Obama Administration is behaving like  the proverbial cat that would eat fish  from a pond without  getting its paws wet while the Russians have  evolved a heads on winner takes all approach  on the same  matter  and are enjoying its glamorous diplomatic  dividends and spoils of adventure which  the US of  course  thinks  is a misadventure that will soon backfire.

    At  home  the trial of the Senate president is being politicised  mostly  by  lawyers,  aided and abetted by the media. A  clear administrative issue  is being overblown by  all parties  to the trial. The tribunal  has taken a sensible decision  to await the decision of a higher court on its jurisdiction, an issue raised  by the Senate President’s lawyers earlier on. But  a debate is on, on who should have asked the tribunal  to stay proceedings between the prosecutors and the defendants as if that  too is an issue which I contend it is not. It  does not matter who kills a snake as long as it is killed. It  is simple  courtesy  for the tribunal not to jump  the gun  but to wait  for a decision of a higher court and not  embark  on an exercise  in futility if the higher court rules  one way  or the other. This is not even trite law  but common  sense but so many SANs  have been quoted on the matter saying contradictory things as if  a Ph.D  dissertation  is to evolve from  the debate which  I found  confusing and distracting from the focus on the case,  which  is an important litmus test  for the anti  corruption war  of this new Administration. Again, long live the Federal Republic  of Nigeria.

  • ‘Converting challenges to opportunities’

    ‘Converting challenges to opportunities’

    Irene Ochem studied Archaeology and History for first degree at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She also holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of London and a diploma in translation from the University of Trieste, Italy. After working in Europe for over two decades, she is back in Nigeria, helping female entrepreneurs as CEO of the African Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF). In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, she talks about investing in women and organising conferences across Africa and more.

    WHAT inspired you to work with women?

    It all started from my upbringing. I was raised by a widowed mother. She struggled to train us and see us through our education. Then, I’ve lived in different countries and continents, and in all the places where I’ve lived and travelled to, I have also observed the lack of recognition of women’s contribution to the economic development of the society. Then there are the obstacles most of these women have to go through. Maybe the situation is not very bad in the west, but in Africa it is.

    Also, across the world, it has become a global agenda that women must be empowered economically. It makes good economic sense because women have a natural instinct to do certain things. If you empower a woman, she tends to invest her earnings into the household, into the education of her children, and they go out to contribute to their communities, the nation and the African continent. So, why not give women the same opportunities men have?

    Women in Africa encounter a lot of challenges trying to start a business. Access to finance is one major problem, but having access to economic opportunities is where it starts. Then there are cultural obstacles. For example, in some communities, a woman cannot source for a loan without acquiring the signature of either her husband or a male figure, even though the person is not bringing anything into that business. In some societies, women don’t have rights to land, even in the Igbo community I come from.

    Then, across Africa, there is a lot of economic growth. Everybody is talking about Africa rising, Africa growing and Africa moving on. The Global Entrepreneurship Summit just ended in Nairobi and Barrack Obama identified some of the problems. There, it was general entrepreneurship that they were talking about but he identified the problem in Africa that women represented 50 per cent of the population but they do not have access to equal opportunities. There he put it aptly that if half of your team is not playing, then you have a problem. So Africa is rising, Africa is the new investment frontier because you have people coming from China, America, Europe and all over the world wanting to grab a piece from what’s happening in Africa. So, why can’t we Africans do it ourselves or why not empower our women? So these are part of the motivation for me. Haven seen all of this, I saw there was need to create awareness; there is need to make our government see the importance of economic empowerment. There is need to empower the African woman because she represents the potential for Africa’s socio-economic development.

    What are some of the things you learnt from your mother?

    My mother was widowed at a very tender age, and seeing how hard she had to work, juggling children and several jobs, in order to make sure we had food in the house, quality education. After finishing high school, I went to study at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I graduated, did my youth service, taught, worked for one year in Nigeria, before leaving for Europe. That inspiration was good and being her only daughter, she instilled in me that as a woman, you make the difference.

    Who are your targets?

    We are bringing together established, successful businesswomen, and, also, young, emerging and aspiring female businesswomen. We are bringing together policymakers, the government, non-governmental organisations, and also the academia. Being a pan-Africa event, we are trying to create a platform for networking and learning across borders, and also for potential business partnerships and mentorship.

    There will be a small fee to pay. But we have two very high-level training workshops for delegates. One will be on leadership and ethics, and will be presented by Leap Africa, and the facilitators are top-notch. Then the second one will be presented by the Business School Netherlands, and this is a school people go to get their MBA.

    This is one of the reasons why we are looking for sponsorships. Because if we are able to raise enough sponsorships, then we will be able to make the participation free for all young and emerging entrepreneurs. So, we are working very hard to ensure that happens.

    Apart from the pre-conference workshop, there will be an exhibition. So, companies and industries can come to showcase their products, services, technology. Being an entrepreneur event, the exhibition is not sector-specific. So, any product a woman can consume is welcome.

    Most of the businesses owned by women are SMEs. How do you intend to empower them?

    A lot of the businesses we are talking about are MSMEs. Many of the female businesswomen entrepreneurs are operating in that arena. We also want to bring focus on the challenges faced by women in the rural area. We are not leaving them behind. We are bringing the grassroots to this conference, and to help us do this, we are partnering with the Quintessential Businesswomen Association. They have members in every local government in the country and they are empowering women in the agricultural sector, teaching them how to do things and manufacture local products like honey. So, we are bringing some of these women to participate.

    One of the problems female entrepreneurs face is access to credit. How can this be solved?

    We have a section dedicated to access to finance. We have experts who will make presentations on the topic. One of them is our speaker from Tanzania, Mrs. Sabeta Mawenja, who is the Director-General of the first purpose-built bank to empower women entrepreneurs. She’s coming to present a case-study on how we can innovate in the banking sector, just like they have done in Tanzania. Maybe after the event, a bank can come up and decide to open a bank dedicated for women. They’ve done the same in Ethiopia.

    Then we will have a panel discussion with experts from the banking and business sectors. They will help us explore the problem and find solutions.

    Oby Ezekwesili will be making a presentation titled Securing the Future: The Imperative of Girl-Child Education. So, we have to educate the girl-child, keep her safe; that’s where it all starts. That’s why you have low ratio of women participating in entrepreneurship schemes. We have been able to engage, at very high level, relevant stakeholders like social entrepreneurs like Leap Africa, nongovernmental organisations, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs. So, our expectation is that, at the end of this conference, we would have created a more enhanced awareness and more informed approach to the challenges that women encounter in their businesses. Then we hope to be able to proffer solutions.

    What are some of the challenges encountered?

    Of course, I’m also an entrepreneur. There have been challenges with finance, finding a skilled workforce, and all the regular challenges. Putting up an initiative like this is far from simple, but when you are passionate about something, it appears seamless.

    What motivated you to start a business around conferences and events?

    I’ve a lot of experience with conferencing. My second university degree was as a translator. So, when I finished, instead of going to work as an interpreter, I went into conferencing. Why? The nearest opportunity was to work for the European Union, but I wasn’t an EU citizen at the time. So, I started organising conferences across Europe. From there, I joined UNIDO, where I worked for ten years. So, I’ve had to organise very high profile conferences. Then I worked in Cape Town, South Africa, as a research manager, before going to Ethiopia.

    My love for professional and international conferencing started in 1996 when I organised the 16th General Meeting of the European Grassland Federation (EGF 1996), September 15  19, in Grado, Italy. Not only was I employed to organise the conference, but it turned out that I was the only black head in the crowd during the event. Instead of being intimidated, I felt rather motivated to go on, and today I am glad I did.

    How many languages do you speak?

    I speak Igbo, English, Italian and French.

    You still look smart and fit. What is the secret?

    I eat healthy, do exercises, and practise yoga, essentially.That is what I do to unwind. Then I read a lot when I have the time.

    My family motivates me. I’m passionate about Africa. After working for decades in Europe, I realised that with all of our resources, Africa can be better. I’m one of those people who believe in Africa.

    What are some of your memorable moments in life?

    It’s connected to my family life. My marriage and the birth of my children.

    My husband is a retired scientist, Dr Alex Ochem.  We met in Nigeria while he was on holiday.

    If you had to advise female entrepreneurs, what would you tell them?

    They should stick in there. It’s not easy, but it’s worth trying. They shouldn’t give up.

  • ‘Access to economic opportunities bane of businesses’

    ‘Access to economic opportunities bane of businesses’

    Irene Ochem studied Archaeology and History for first degree at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She also holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of London and a diploma in translation from the University of Trieste, Italy. After working in Europe for over two decades, she is back in Nigeria helping female entrepreneurs as CEO of the African Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF). In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, she talks about investing in women, new opportunities available, organising conferences across Africa and more.

    What inspired you to work with women?

    It all started from my upbringing. I was raised by a widowed mother. She struggled to train us and see us through our education. Then, I’ve lived in different countries and continents, and in all the places where I’ve lived and travelled to, I have also observed the lack of recognition of women’s contribution to the economic development of the society. Then there are the obstacles most of these women have to go through. Maybe the situation is not very bad in the west, but in Africa it is.

    Also, across the world, it has become a global agenda that women must be empowered economically. It makes good economic sense because women have a natural instinct to do certain things. If you empower a woman, she tends to invest her earnings into the household, into the education of her children, and they go out to contribute to their communities, the nation and the African continent. So, why not give women the same opportunities men have?

    Women in Africa encounter a lot of challenges trying to start a business. Access to finance is one major problem, but having access to economic opportunities is where it starts. Then there are cultural obstacles. For example, in some communities, a woman cannot source for a loan without acquiring the signature of either her husband or a male figure, even though the person is not bringing anything into that business. In some societies, women don’t have rights to land, even in the Igbo community I come from.

    Then, across Africa, there is a lot of economic growth. Everybody is talking about Africa rising, Africa growing and Africa moving on. The Global Entrepreneurship Summit just ended in Nairobi and Barrack Obama identified some of the problems. There, it was general entrepreneurship that they were talking about but he identified the problem in Africa that women represented 50 per cent of the population but they do not have access to equal opportunities. There he put it aptly that if half of your team is not playing, then you have a problem. So Africa is rising, Africa is the new investment frontier because you have people coming from China, America, Europe and all over the world wanting to grab a piece from what’s happening in Africa. So, why can’t we Africans do it ourselves or why not empower our women? So these are part of the motivation for me. I saw there was need to create awareness; there is need to make our government see the importance of economic empowerment. There is need to empower the African woman because she represents the potential for Africa’s socio-economic development.

    What are some of the things you learnt from your mother?

    My mother was widowed at a very tender age, and seeing how hard she had to work, juggling children and several jobs, in order to make sure we had food in the house, quality education. After finishing high school, I went to study at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I graduated, did my youth service, taught, worked for one year in Nigeria, before leaving for Europe. That inspiration was good and being her only daughter, she instilled in me that as a woman, you make the difference.

    Who are your targets?

    We are bringing together established, successful businesswomen, and, also, young, emerging and aspiring female businesswomen. We are bringing together policymakers, the government, non-governmental organisations, and also the academia. Being a pan-Africa event, we are trying to create a platform for networking and learning across borders, and also for potential business partnerships and mentorship.

    There will be a small fee to pay. But we have two very high-level training workshops for delegates. One will be on leadership and ethics, and will be presented by Leap Africa, and the facilitators are top-notch. Then the second one will be presented by the Business School Netherlands, and this is a school people go to get their MBA.

    This is one of the reasons why we are looking for sponsorships. Because if we are able to raise enough sponsorships, then we will be able to make the participation free for all young and emerging entrepreneurs. So, we are working very hard to ensure that happens.

    Apart from the pre-conference workshop, there will be an exhibition. So, companies and industries can come to showcase their products, services, technology. Being an entrepreneur event, the exhibition is not sector-specific. So, any product a woman can consume is welcome.

    Most of the businesses owned by women are SMEs. How do you intend to empower them?

    A lot of the businesses we are talking about are MSMEs. Many of the female businesswomen entrepreneurs are operating in that arena. We also want to bring focus on the challenges faced by women in the rural area. We are not leaving them behind. We are bringing the grassroots to this conference, and to help us do this, we are partnering with the Quintessential Businesswomen Association. They have members in every local government in the country and they are empowering women in the agricultural sector, teaching them how to do things and manufacture local products like honey. So, we are bringing some of these women to participate.

    One of the problems female entrepreneurs face is access to credit. How can this be solved?

    We have a section dedicated to access to finance. We have experts who will make presentations on the topic. One of them is our speaker from Tanzania, Mrs. Sabeta Mawenja, who is the Director-General of the first purpose-built bank to empower women entrepreneurs. She’s coming to present a case-study on how we can innovate in the banking sector, just like they have done in Tanzania. Maybe after the event, a bank can come up and decide to open a bank dedicated for women. They’ve done the same in Ethiopia.

    Then we will have a panel discussion with experts from the banking and business sectors. They will help us explore the problem and find solutions.

    Oby Ezekwesili will be making a presentation titled Securing the Future: The Imperative of Girl-Child Education. So, we have to educate the girl-child, keep her safe; that’s where it all starts. That’s why you have low ratio of women participating in entrepreneurship schemes. We have been able to engage, at very high level, relevant stakeholders like social entrepreneurs like Leap Africa, nongovernmental organisations, the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs. So, our expectation is that, at the end of this conference, we would have created a more enhanced awareness and more informed approach to the challenges that women encounter in their businesses. Then we hope to be able to proffer solutions.

    What are some of the challenges encountered?

    Of course, I’m also an entrepreneur. There have been challenges with finance, finding a skilled workforce, and all the regular challenges. Putting up an initiative like this is far from simple, but when you are passionate about something, it appears seamless.

    What motivated you to start a business around conferences and events?

    I’ve a lot of experience with conferencing. My second university degree was as a translator. So, when I finished, instead of going to work as an interpreter, I went into conferencing. Why? The nearest opportunity was to work for the European Union, but I wasn’t an EU citizen at the time. So, I started organising conferences across Europe. From there, I joined UNIDO, where I worked for ten years. So, I’ve had to organise very high profile conferences. Then I worked in Cape Town, South Africa, as a research manager, before going to Ethiopia.

    My love for professional and international conferencing started in 1996 when I organised the 16th General Meeting of the European Grassland Federation (EGF 1996), September 15 – 19, in Grado, Italy. Not only was I employed to organise the conference, but it turned out that I was the only black head in the crowd during the event. Instead of being intimidated, I felt rather motivated to go on, and today I am glad I did.

    How many languages do you speak?

    I speak Igbo, English, Italian and French.

    You still look smart and fit. What is the secret?

    I eat healthy, do exercises, and practise yoga, essentially. That is what I do to unwind. Then I read a lot when I have the time.

    My family motivates me. I’m passionate about Africa. After working for decades in Europe, I realised that with all of our resources, Africa can be better. I’m one of those people who believe in Africa.

    What are some of your memorable moments in life?

    It’s connected to my family life. My marriage and the birth of my children.

    My husband is a retired scientist, Dr Alex Ochem.  We met in Nigeria while he was on holiday.

    If you had to advise female entrepreneurs, what would you tell them?

    They should stick in there. It’s not easy, but it’s worth trying. They shouldn’t give up.

  • ‘Nigeria is at the trigger of unleashing opportunities ’

    ‘Nigeria is at the trigger of unleashing opportunities ’

    Bar. ‘Lada Adeyemi, is a Harvard trained certified Business Negotiation Coach, prolific writer, lawyer and philanthropist.  In this interview with HANNAH OJO, The United Nations Peace Ambassador spoke on the state of the economy, unemployment, SMEs among other issues.

    You initially trained as a lawyer, how did get to become a Negotiation Specialist? 

    I started as a legal counsel working at the Idowu Sofola  Chambers in Lagos before I decided to carve a niche for myself as a negotiation professional.  After my Law school programme in Abuja, I proceeded to the Harvard Law School where I went to hone my skills in negotiations. I also bagged another certification law programme at the Harvard Law School where I also honed my skills in leadership and innovations. I was the sole sponsor of the Nigerian rebrand website.  The former Minister of Information, Prof Dora Akunyili was happy about my philanthropic gesture and showered some encomiums in the course of that project. I was the first and the youngest African to be awarded by the Africa Leadership magazine in 2012 with a leadership award in Negotiation.

    You are a Negotiation Specialist; this seems like a new concept in Nigeria, can you educate us further on what your expertise is about?

    Negotiation is a skill that we all use every day with our families, friends and colleagues because it is pervasive.  It is one of the means of ADRs-Alternative Dispute Resolutions that we have. You have Arbitration, Mediations and Negotiations. Fortunately, Negotiation is the only conflict resolution that does not require a third party.  So having more negotiation inclined professionals is a pathway to having more business opportunities.  It will lead to people building better relationships, so my skills as a negotiation specialist seeks to help organisations and government build and manage better relationships in order to increase profitability in their businesses.

    How do you impacted these skills on young professionals?

    In the course of eight years, I have been involved in training graduates and students from universities both in Nigeria and the Diaspora. Universities where  I have trained graduates on negotiation skills include University of Ilorin,  Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife , University of Lagos. In the Diaspora, I have trained at the Brigham Young University-Idaho in the United states. I have held different negotiation trainings in over 20 countries  across the world including Singapore,  Malayia, South Africa, Ghana, United States, United States to mention but a few.  At the last dispensation, I served in the capacity as a consultant  to the office of the president on job creation, a position which I stated I wanted to do on pro-bono basis. I felt that as a specialist in this field, I wanted to give back to my country and I told Josephine Washima, the then Senior Special Adviser to the former President Goodluck Jonathan on job creation that I would like to add my quota to the Federal Government as far as my field is concerned on pro bono basis which  I did to the best of my ability. I have initiated several organisations  to  mention just a few, the African USA international Business Network, the Trans-Atlantic Negotiation School of Business, e.t.c. Currently, I have consolidated my expertise with experts in diverse industries and we have established an organisation known as the First Empire group. This organisation is a consolidation of efforts of my humble self as well as my partners who are also experts in their fields.

    From your experience at the presidency, what would be your advice to the new government on job creation?

    My advice is this; equip youths with intellectual ability. You cannot put something on nothing and expects it to start. It is not enough to go to the university. There is a need for them to focus on themselves and be more employable. I believe the present government needs to look at creating opportunities for youths to change their mind set from being job seekers to job creators. Here is a country with diverse opportunities and resources but I believe very strongly that the government of the day should not only focus on creating job opportunities for Nigerians but should also focus on creating entrepreneurial opportunities for them as well.  For instance, the First Empire Group is looking at establishing an artisan academy to train artisans from plumbers, carpenters and fabricators on how they can use these skills to create jobs for themselves as well. For those who are already doing it or have the experience in it- we seek to help them understand the dynamics of doing well in those sectors. We have also established a negotiation academy to train graduates and young professionals on the science and the arts of negotiations. Most companies are now tired of litigations because it is time consuming and expensive. Companies are beginning to understand that they need to reduce cost and one of the ways they need to do that is to equip their work force on skills that they would need to do this.

    You must have heard severally that Nigerian graduates are not employable, how do you think the country can maximise the potentials of these unemployable graduates?

    I think very humbly that a lot has been said about the unemployment situation in the country. From the bureau of statistics to various occurrences that has happened in Nigeria in the past years—not too long ago we saw the immigration menace. I believe strongly that unemployment as far as I’m concerned should be ranked as one of the greatest problem in Nigeria today. When graduates and young people don’t have anything to do, the next thing they would think of is what they shouldn’t do that they would be doing. Take for instance the issue of Boko-Haram, we have been told and we have read that some of the people used for this menace are lured with N5, 000, some even with N2500 just to commit such terrible occurrence.  My humble submission to the government is that each state should establish a forum to invite all the unemployed youths in that state. They should invite them for  a career fair to understand the various fields which they studied and to run what I would call a clinical exercise. Some of these youths for example want to be self-employed. Government has a duty of creating an enabling environment for them. They should create job fairs where those who want to pursue entrepreneurship can be encouraged and those who want to pursue  careers with organisations can be guided at opportunities. Also, I think there is a need for a mass training and orientation on  youths. It is unfortunate that our educational system is not something to write home about currently. I feel that youths in the universities should have the orientation of being ready for the labour market. For example, most youths fail at the first instance of an interview. Some don’t even have faith in themselves not to talk of having faith in their own expertise or what they can put on the table. Right from the first stage, they are already goofing. Some lack confidence, some do not know what to say at the right time, some their mannerism are not something to write home about and these are things that add up to what an employer seeks after. As an organisation, we are ready to help the government in reducing unemployment across the federation and one of the ways we want to do this is to hold orientation programmes with the support of the government in each states of the federation.

    What is First Empire group about?

    It is a combination of various specialist: we focus on four major sectors which comprises tourism, agro business, oil and gas  as well as real estate.  Our unique selling point is using international best standards. That is using those strategies that has helped developed countries to build and further develop the African economy and of course with emphasis-the Nigerian economy. We do know that there are quite a lot of experts in these industries that we have mentioned that  for us,  we want to create opportunities for Nigerians in doing  businesses globally. In other words, helping businesses locally, operate  and sustain their businesses both locally and indeed globally.   So while we are celebrating businesses like KFC and Shell and the rest of them, we want to help Nigerian businesses earn that status globally by giving them the right techniques in doing these and giving them the ability to be masters in their various sector and endeavours. Pretty much, that is our unique selling point.  In the downstream sector, we are currently working on some estate in the Lagos Island and in Abuja. For tourism,  we  have actually institionalised the first dinosaur  animatronic  tin park in Africa which is called the Lekki Dinosaur Park that should be launched before the end of this year.

    Last year there was a rebasing of the economy, what is the big deal of being the largest economy in Africa when there is still so many poor people in the country?

    As much as I would try not to sound like a politician, I can tell you confidently that Nigeria is a time bomb about to explode. Indeed they were quite a lot of encomiums showered on the last government but I believe that Nigeria has  the  potentials   of doing  better. We may not be able to see the proceeds of the government of the day but from all indications which is within our reach based on international best standards, I believe Nigeria is at it is trigger. It is set to unleash opportunities not just for Nigerians but for Africans as a whole. The Foreign Direct Investors we have had in the last ten years, I tell you with every sense of humility cannot be compared with what we will have in the next five years.  This is because of the vantage positioning Nigeria has both in Africa and the world at large. Africa has the largest consumption and youth population in the world and Nigeria has the largest population in Africa. You cannot remove the Nigerian element from Africa’s progress and productivity and that for us I think is a golden opportunity.  The last government did not focus majorly on some of our strengths.  I believe that this new government would be dwelling on that from all indications.  From my candid view, Nigeria’s positioning globally from a financial stand point is going to be on an increase.  There may be some hitches but largely I believe we will not fall short of less of what we did before now. It can only get better.

    You mentioned organising trainings and an artisan academy but we have had many people doing that already, what unique prospects are you bringing to the table?

    When I had the opportunity to train all the chief magistrates and senior magistrates of Lagos about two years ago, before the training I said to myself what a chief magistrate would need to learn about negotiation. I mean these are people who adjudicate day by day. However, the encomiums I had from those trainings were overwhelming and for me it was a proof that indeed every professional both in the private and public sector require negotiation skills.  We are the only training and negotiation firm in Nigeria-I say that with every sense of boldness.  We have carved that niche for ourselves and we have realised based on the figures we have that negotiation skills is trite both for decision makers and mangers. For example, if somebody wants to sign a deal for another company overseas, there would be a need for some well thought out negotiations as well. The same is applicable to local companies that either want to buy over some other companies or might want to merge with some others or want to into go into other businesses. Being a product of the prestigious Harvard University, I have been able to understand the dynamics of how Americans negotiate. One of the things I have been able to do is to use what I was taught in Harvard and bring the African and Nigerian experience and create a blend of the two in my classes.

    From your experience with members of the civil service, how do you compare the Nigerian  civil service with others around the world?

    I don’t want to sound political but I will say that in the Nigerian civil service, I feel Lagos state is leading the vanguard in establishing a very formidable and efficient civil service society. I believe with the government of the day, what we have seen happen in Lagos will  affect the overall  civil servants  in the country. I can talk about  Lagos because I have been  able to interact mostly with civil servants in the state. I have trained chief  magistrates and some other directors  and some other arms of the civil service in Lagos.

    Do you think Nigeria has been able to leverage on the large number of SMEs in the country?

    The lifeline of any country’s economy is the middle class and the middle class comprises small and medium class entrepreneurs. What I feel has been the problem in Nigeria is that most businesses don’t survive the first five years. The reason for that is because most of the SMEs establish their businesses based on passion and not expertise. The way they focus on buying materials, they should equip themselves with intellectual abilities to function and do better as SMEs. I feel the government of the day should encourage SMEs more. There should be an encouragement start-ups for people  to innovate. One of the reasons why America succeeds is because Americans innovate.  I believe for Nigeria to reach an economic Eldorado, SMEs should not stop thinking and innovating.  The government of the day can also help by creating what we call innovation labs where those who have ideas can run tests on their innovations and not be scared of making mistakes. We should not  be scared of failures because it is a springboard to success. I believe we should even have double of the 17 million SMEs that we have right now because we have the land mass to manage it and we have the population to test those innovations and an economy that can further sustain it.

    With your experience with the MDGs, what is your take on the state of social entrepreneurship in Nigeria?

    Social entrepreneurship is for me one of the tools that can further enhance Nigeria’s economy because we have a humongous population in Nigeria. I think the challenge as far as social entrepreneurship is concerned is that some Nigerians are always looking at a win-lose opportunities. In order words, they go into engagement with a mind-set of ‘I don’t care if you lose; I am going to win at all cost’. That creates a spring of different reactions. I think there should be a mind-set change to further enhance social entrepreneurships.  A mind-set change where youths and entrepreneurs can begin to look at basic opportunities and business engagements from the stand point of a win-win  and not a win-lose. When win-win situations are better enhanced and encouraged, the economy will be better for it.

  • Oil and missed opportunities

    Some Nigerian intellectuals in particular and development scholars in general criticize the colonial education system as inadequate for the progress of the colonized. This criticism should be re-examined given the poor state of education in today’s Nigeria. Recall that colonial education produced the scientists, engineers, and administrators who produced war resources and effectively managed institutions and organizations in Biafra during the Biafra-Nigeria war.  Because many of those scientists and engineers and their equally brilliant counterparts in other parts of the country have retired from active work or passed on, the country cannot have them back. Nor does the current educational system possess the capacity to reproduce their type.

    An impressive number of academics educated in some of the best universities in Europe and America continued to produce the cream of bright and well-educated manpower in the country’s universities after the civil war. Successive crops of equally bright Nigerians sought higher education in foreign countries. Many returned home and took employment in the public and private sectors.  Many graduates of Nigeria’s primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions in colonial and immediate post-colonial periods often describe their educational experiences in awe.  The environments in which the three levels of education take place today are viewed with disgust by the same alumni who were awed by their educational experience.  What happened to the excellent and dedicated teachers, good physical infrastructure across the three layers of education, and graduates with functional skills inherited at independence?

    Cracks in Nigeria’s educational system had started by 1976 when the Obasanjo administration hurriedly implemented universal primary education. The resulting shortage of teachers led to recruitment of many unqualified teachers into the primary school system. Though the Shagari administration of 1979-83 is credited with founding an impressive number of unity schools and federal universities, the same administration badly managed the Nigerian economy. The resulting economic crisis left the educational sector under-funded and created the beginning of an economy unable to provide employment to the products of education. Since then, subsequent military and civilian administrations have neither created a strong economy nor have they been able to reverse the decay of the education sector. Hence decline in the quality of education which gradually started in 1976 and accelerated in the 1980s and 90s continues to the present day.

    A critic may argue, and rightly so, that some of the recipients of the high quality education of  the colonial times and immediate post-independence years held important positions in the country but did not put Nigeria on a better footing than they found it, their good education notwithstanding. Bad leadership at local, state and national levels continues to have a ‘backwash effect’ on management of public and private institutions.  Indigenous successors of colonial functionaries are supposed to build upon, improve, or change for the better, the institutions they inherited from erstwhile colonists. The failure of the Nigerian education system is another case of a lost opportunity.

    Another missed opportunity lies in the succession of military governments that ruled Nigeria for 25 years after the civil war. The military had the singular opportunity to shepherd Nigeria’s development without opposition. They operated a quantitatively small state apparatus of military councils made up of a few soldiers, advisers and members of cabinet. The small state apparatus saved or was supposed to save Nigeria a lot of the revenue derived from crude oil. Military governments, especially those that ruled the country from 1983-1998, conjure a bitter taste in the mouth whenever they are mentioned, some because of their authoritarianism, others because of their incompetence and corruption.

    Why should one blame a dictatorship for not shepherding national development while democracy has become the vogue in the global system?  Government shepherding of economic development is not new. Leaders of Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore used a government-directed approach to produce miracle economies and influenced the world to see governments that direct national development as developmental states. In the case of Nigeria, military dictatorship left the country worse than it found it and missed the opportunity of using Nigeria’s oil wealth to transform the society in a political milieu undistracted by opposition or concern for elections.

    Nigeria is now an electoral democracy. A developmental state can effectively operate in a democracy. But a National Assembly of 109 Senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives cost huge amounts of money in salaries and perquisites in an economy in which one natural resource is the primary source of national revenue.  Moreover, Nigerian legislators are identified as the highest paid in the world. Each legislator earns 116 times the country’s GDP/capita, so goes the claim.

    Debt-relief, another missed opportunity, was a source of fresh air to many Nigerians who follow national affairs. The forgivers of the debt relished the optimism that Nigeria had been re-kitted for a fresh and dependable start. The empirical situation has proven that to be false optimism. Data published by the World Bank in 2015 show that Nigeria’s external debt stood at 13.8 billion dollars in 2013.  The years 2012 and 2013 were good years for oil prices yet the government either borrowed or intended to borrow from external sources to fund the national budgets of those years.  It is difficult to explain this debt syndrome except to say that incompetence, corruption, waste, and haphazard governance at all levels of government consume the huge national revenue from oil.

    The average price of crude oil remained at over $100.00 in 2014 until it began a downward spiral in September of that year. The fall of oil prices in the last quarter of 2014 was unique. It was, perhaps, the first time conflict in the Middle East coupled with a meeting of OPEC did not put the world in a crisis mode for energy. The Middle East was and remains at the peak of violent conflicts, yet crude oil prices have not skyrocketed and major financial markets of the world have not experienced a shakedown. What might be the reason for this unusual equanimity in the world energy sector and financial market while the crude oil basket of the world burns?

    In a brief exchange during a debate on debt relief, I stated that Western countries would not fold their arms in a fatalistic response to the biting problem of high oil prices. That they, as problem-solvers and shapers of their future, would someday find substitutes for oil, solve the problem of dependence on foreign oil, and take oil-producing countries by surprise. That time has come only 10 years after that exchange.

    Advanced and some advancing countries have diversified their sources of energy. They produce and use electric cars, bio-fuels, refined coal, wind and solar power. ‘Hydraulic fracturing popularly known as fracking has made the extraction of energy cheaper’.  The top 10 users of alternative energy belong to the top 10 economies in the world. The United States, the giant of global oil consumption has increased its rate of production of crude oil and natural gas.  And more countries continue discover and produce crude oil.

    The fall in oil prices is therefore a warning to a country like Nigeria whose leaders squandered opportunities to take the country even to the threshold of economic development. The excess crude account which is supposed to be a buffer fund plunged to $2.45 billion in December 2014 in response to the fall in oil prices.  This means that the idea of saving part of the excess crude account for future generations is on shaky ground if nothing is done to diversify, broaden and deepen the economy. Consequently, building a robust economy is the greatest legacy one generation can leave for the other.

    • Ukaegbu, Professor of Sociology & National Development writes from USA
  • ICT skills vital for better opportunities, says New Horizons CEO

    ICT skills vital for better opportunities, says New Horizons CEO

    Managing Director New Horizons Nigeria Mr. Tim Akano has stressed the need for the acquisition of information communication technology (ICT) skills, arguing that such skills brightens the chances of a better future for the youths in the country.

    Akano, who spoke during the inauguration of a N50 million ICT Centre for the students of Adeleke University, Ede, Osun State, said the world started with agricultural revolution, then followed by industrial revolution, adding that in the 21st century, it is ICT that is ruling the world.

    He said: “For any person to make great impact, he/she must have ICT skills. Whether you are studying nursing, business administration, accounting, medicine, biology, law and others, you need ICT skills.”

    He said the company has extended globally recognised IT certifications which are sought after by employers across all sectors to almost all the private universities in the last 10 years training over 50,000 students nationwide.  He urged the students to avail themselves of the opportunity presented by the resource centre by taking serious their coursework and strive to get the certification.

    “We felt that Adeleke University should not be left behind because the internet has turned the world to a global village. You will compete for employment with people from China, India, USA, etc even as the job market is looking for people with the requisite skills irrespective of where they come from. You owe it a duty to put Nigeria on the global stage. With your IT and e-business certification you can be a millionaire as well as an employer,” he said.

    Akano informed the students that  world economy is being ruled by the IT industry. He said: “60 per cent of the richest people in the world and USA in particular are in the ICT industry such as the founder of Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Google, Twitter, and others who are billionaires. In the next 20 years, Nigeria’s crude oil will no longer become the major revenue earner. The services industry will depend on ICT for revenue and it is here you come in.”

    Its Vice Chancellor, Prof Oluwole Gideon Amusan, said it would enable every student irrespective of his or her discipline have minimum of four international skills certifications at 90 per cent subsidised rate, before graduation from the university. It will position them in global software development industry, e-banking, e-medical/telemedicine, e- government, e-legal administration, oil and gas as well as telecoms sector with attendant employment and self employment opportunities.

    He said:“It will provide skills that make our students more marketable and relevant to the demands of the job market. Today, ICT has made scholars to redefine literacy. Man will return to the Stone Age if ICT is removed from learning. Adeleke University deems it fit that all our students should have certifications in CCNA, Oracle, Java, Microsoft and other globally acclaimed IT and e-business professionals courses.”

    The school’s ICT Director/Head, Department of Computer Science Dr. Longe Olumide, thanked the governing council and management of the university as well as New Horizons, for the gesture. He said the ICT certifications will make the students digital natives, place the school at the top among the likes of Harvard University.  He urged the students to make use of the opportunity and entrench the young university among Nigeria’s leading institutions.

  • ‘How African businesses can create new opportunities’

    ‘How African businesses can create new opportunities’

    New opportunities await African businesses if they can align with global business development ideals,the Institute of Business Development (IBD), the leading global professional body for business development professionals, has said. And to underscore its resolve in helping African businesses position themselves to create new opportunities, the institute chose the theme; ‘Business Development in Africa: Emerging Issues for Strategic Actions’ for its ‘2014 Business Development Week’ slated to hold in Lagos, Nigeria, from November 12 to 14.

    “The summit will demonstrate in real terms how companies can align their core business with the global business development initiative to bring about poverty alleviation at the Base of the Pyramid. By utilising their resource capabilities, companies can improve the lives of people in our continent through increasing investment, creating jobs, increasing skills, and developing and providing goods, technologies and innovations,” the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), IBD, Paul Ikele, said, in a statement made available to The Nation.

    Ikele said as companies do so, they will be able to penetrate the marketplace. He added that: “Above and beyond marketplace expansion, aligning your business with the initiative will contribute positively to your company in several ways such as improved supply chain, improved corporate culture, staff retention and morale, increased license to operate, improved investor attractiveness, global corporate reputation, as well as make you become an employer of choice, among others.”

    The registrar noted that a commitment to do business with low-income communities provides the greatest contribution to regional prosperity and to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). He said the Institute chose to engage in the summit becausethe overwhelming characteristic of emerging markets is that they exist in a large majority of low income communities that have come to be defined as the Base of the Pyramid (BoP), which is those living on less than $1500 annually.

    “Four billion people make up the BoP and hold $5 trillion in purchasing power. Asia is home to the biggest BoP market with 2.86 billion people on an income of $3.47 trillion. That reflects 82 per cent of the region’s population and 42 per cent of the region’s purchasing power,” he explained.

    According to him, “The BoP concept champions new thinking and new ways of doing business in the world’s poor markets. While this high-level aspiration is not necessarily new, the current concept, also known as B24B (business-to-4-billion), was coined by influential business academics.

    “Africa is and conducts most of its international trade with emerging markets; this means that African companies should be well placed to broaden operations, supply and procurement to involve the Base of the Pyramid. To successfully engage with the BoP market place, new and innovative strategies will be required in order to respond to the unique obstacles and infrastructural development to position African business group to take a chunk from the global market considering our population.”

    Ikele announced that the summit has been endorsed by top business moguls, key government officials and the leading royal fathers in the African sub region. He said it will begin with a keynote address, which will be followed by a series of thought-provoking and engaging sessions covering topical issues on the theme. Each session will be launched with an address by a recognised industry leader, and conclude with a highly stimulating open forum discussion.

    He also disclosed that the summit is set to become an annual forum of knowledge sharing, showcasing, networking and initiating successful emerging market business ventures, which have a positive social impact and are aligned with the global business development ideals.

    Attendance is open to interested persons in the public and private sectors including business development professionals in Research and Development (R&D), top executives, project managers and all stakeholders in the business sphere.

  • Nigeria leads South Africa, others on retail opportunities, says RMB

    Nigeria leads South Africa, others on retail opportunities, says RMB

    Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) has said Nigeria is leading South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya and Democratic Republic of Congo in offering some of the best opportunities for retailers looking to invest in Africa.

    RMB, which is the investment banking unit of FirstRand Ltd said in a report yesterday population size and growth rates, gross domestic product per capita and urbanisation rates were some of the criteria used in compiling the list.

    “Those are probably the most favorable prospects for retail investors, but they aren’t the only markets available. In the next few years, you could see that changing as your income dynamics change,” Nema Ramkhelawan-Bhana, an Africa analyst at RMB told Bloomberg.

    With about 173 million people, Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation and has the continent’s biggest economy. McKinsey & Co. said in a July report that the West African nation could be one of the world’s top 20 economies by 2030 with a consumer base exceeding the current populations of France and Germany.

    Disposable income in Africa will probably grow at an average rate of 5.5 percent a year until 2030, the bank said in a report on investing in Africa. By then, the continent’s highest-performing cities will have a combined purchasing power of $1.3 trillion, compared with $750 billion currently, according to RMB.

    While population trends are a key driver of opportunities for retailers, large-scale urbanization pose risks in terms of social problems and unemployment, said Celeste Fauconnier, an Africa macro strategist for RMB.

    “The risk of urbanization is that your slum areas are dominant” within fast-growing cities, Fauconnier said. “Africa’s got the youngest population in the world, which is great for productivity, if they had jobs.”

    Meanwhile, FirstRand Ltd is setting aside $924 million for expansion across Africa as profit increases from regions outside its home market of South Africa.

  • Dubai Chamber’s study highlights Nigeria’s investment opportunities

    The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), have unveiled a study, which indicated that Nigeria is a strong destination for investments in telecoms and retail.

    It attributed this mainly to Nigeria’s large population estimated at  20 per cent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population. This is in addition to being a key market to multinationals.

    The study said Nigeria’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has exceeded US$6billion mainly in the energy sector owing to the investment in oil and gas.

    The study noted that the economy will remain robust, led by the oil and gas industry where growth is expected to continue until 2017. It also said non-oil growth would be robust, led by telecoms, trade and infrastructure.

    It, however, said it would not be sufficient for a sizeable improvement in living standard.

    The report, signed by the President and Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Chamber, Mr. Hamad Buamim, highlighted that the increase in economic reforms, rising fiscal spending and ties with fast growing economies in Asia were the main factors supporting the economy in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    The report shed more light on the economic and investment realities in Africa that will give business leaders and decision-makers from Africa an ideal platform to discuss business partnerships and opportunities.

    It emphasised that with the emergence of middle class in Sub-Saharan Africa, formal retail is starting to develop, offering “value” products aimed at lower income customers while infrastructure needs are enormous, with an estimated $100 billion a year required by the power sector alone.

    The study further informs that Africa holds 60 per cent of the world’s uncultivated arable land, but remains a net importer of several food products as well as processed foods. The study said encouraging growth in domestic production and reducing reliance on imports is a key goal to governments and investors.

    Buamim stressed that the study  was  aimed at introducing businesses in Dubai to investment opportunities available in the continent.

    Non-oil trade between Dubai and Nigeria accounted for almost $5.6billion last year. Imports accounted for around $1billion and exports and re-exports about $4.6billion.

    Nigeria ranks 47th on the list of Dubai trade partners.

  • Exploring opportunities in information science

    The University of Ibadan (UI) has admitted Master’s students for the Africa Regional Centre for Information Science (ARCIS) programme. The students were taken through an orientation last week, reports STANLEY IBEKU.

    They came from various disciplines – science, medicine, agriculture, engineering and others – but their mission is one: to acquire the requisite knowledge and skills in information science needed for the information age.

    This is the aim of the new Master’s students of the Africa Regional Centre for Information Science (ARCIS) at the University of Ibadan (UI).

    They were welcomed into the Centre last week at an orientation.

    The Director of the Centre, Dr Wole Olatokun, told them that their admission was a golden opportunity to improve their knowledge in Information Science.

    He described the Centre as a sea where people come with different types of container to take water. Some will come with bottles, Olatokun said, while some will take drums, depending on their need.

    The don admonished the students to use the opportunity to broaden their knowledge base, noting that the students are privileged to be admitted from thousands of candidates, who applied to the Centre. He revealed that one of the successful students had been applying to the Centre since 10 years ago.

    T56+he Centre’s immediate past Director, Prof Muta Tiamiyu, urged the students to take advantage of the rapid developments in the Information Technology world. He decried a situation in which young people fail to learn trends in technologies, saying young people must not be reluctant to acquire skills that would help their career. He said the course outline was thorough, adding that students needed to show seriousness towards their studies.

    President of the Africa Regional Centre for Information Science Students’ Association (ARCISSTA), Towo Adeyemi, enjoined the freshers to pay attention to instructions from both academic and non-academic staff.

    Other lecturers at the Centre took turns to advise and enlighten the students in the areas of registration, students’ welfare, examination and result computation. Also, the students were enlightened on the use of the library and the Information Technology laboratory.

    The event afforded the students the opportunity to ask questions affecting them especially on academics. But it was not all talks, as the students took the dance floor after the orientation. Also there were photo sessions.

    Other officials present at the event included the Acting Postgraduate Coordinator, Dr Funmilayo Omotayo, Results Officer, Dr Adeola Opesade, Registration/Welfare officials, Mrs Folake Longe and Dr Janet Adekanbi, and Examinations Officer, Ms Kemi Ogunsola.

    Some of the students spoke on why they chose to take their Master’s in information science.

    Believe Gbaruko said he had always wanted to be an engineer in Information Technology (IT) to make meaningful impact in the sector. According to him, he is interested in computer applications and he is hopeful that the degree would develop his abilities.

    Also, Oluwafemi Egbodofo, said he was fulfilled being admission into ARCIS, saying: “It is a place I am meant to be. I love computer and IT; I have always been engulfed in things related to them. I chose ARCIS because of the centre’s reputation in the training of information professionals. I have always wanted a discipline that would spur me to do great things and I believe ARCIS would meet my expectations.”

    Kunle Adekoya hopes to explore opportunities in information science and he is confident that his expectations would be met.

    ARCIS was established in November 1990 as a Master’s degree programme with the aims to give students a broad knowledge in the foundations of information science and technology. It seeks to equip graduates with relevant skills in the development and management of information systems.