The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Private

  • ‘Tight monetary policy’ll kill private sector’

    ‘Tight monetary policy’ll kill private sector’

    Stakeholders have raised the alarm over the tight monetary policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), warning that it will have a negative impact on the private sector and the economy.

    They said this will slow down stock market recovery.

    Reacting to the recent decision of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the apex bank to retain Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 12 per cent, the President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Mr Goddie Ibru, said the decision was ill-advised.

    Ibru, who spoke with The Nation, said the MPR has remained unchanged for seven consecutive times since October 2011.

    “Based on the prospects for a sustained slowdown in economic growth and the likely increase in unemployment as businesses suffer, there is a strong case for monetary easing to liberalise credit conditions and boost economic activities. While we recognise the inflationary risk and the threat to exchange rate stability, we also believe that stimulating the economy at this time is crucial. The impact of structural factors in the Nigerian inflation phenomenon should also be acknowledged and addressed through appropriate fiscal policy channels. The effects of these factors on the supply side of the economy are profound. We submit that the monetary policy tools – MPR, Liquidity Ratio and the cash reserve requirements should be appropriately adjusted to create the conditions that would stimulate ‘growth, boost economic activities and create jobs.

    “Lending rates have risen beyond the reach of many corporate and small businesses. Both prime and maximum lending rates have risen from 16.28 per cent and 23.13 per cent in March 2012 to 16.37 per cent and 24.67 per cent at the end of September, according to the CBN figures.

    The retail lending rate is about 30 per cent.This will not only jeopardise the financial inclusion policy of the CBN but would jeopardise the prospects of a job creating growth. If the current trend persists, government may have to embark on another round of intervention programmes to channel lending to critical sectors of the economy,” Ibru said.

    LCCI Director-General, Mr Muda Yusuf, said: “The reality of the economic and business conditions is a cause for concern. Escalating unemployment crisis, profit margins are declining, consumer demand is weak, prohibitive interest rate, decelerating economic growth and high mortality rate of small businesses.

    “These conditions call for policy choices that would stimuate economy, even at the risk of inflation. Boosting economic activities would increase output and invariably moderate inflation.”

    He said the continuation of a tight monetary regime would have persistent high interest rate, deepen the unemployment crisis while the recovery of the real economy will remain sluggish.

    “Also, capacity of enterprises to create jobs would continue to be inhibited. Stock market recovery would continue to be slow,” he said.

     

     

     

  • I have no private jet yet, says Sam Adeyemi

    I have no private jet yet, says Sam Adeyemi

    THE senior pastor of Daystar Christian Centre Lagos, Pastor Sam Adeyemi, has refuted media reports linking him with ownership of a private jet.

    He said it is completely false and untrue that he owns a private jet.

    Adeyemi described the reports as mere rumours without any iota of truth.

    Speaking with reporters yesterday during the annual Excellence in Leadership (ELC) conference of the church, the host of the popular Success power radio show said: “I do not own a private yet.”

    He added: “It is a rumour that has been there for sometimes, especially in the junk media.

    “It is becoming a source of concern now that reputable magazines and newspapers are saying the same thing.

    “I take it as a prayer and say amen but I won’t say more than that.”

    He called for evolution of the Nigerian dream to get the nation out of the wood.

    Until such a dream becomes a national identity, he said Nigeria will move nowhere.

    He explained: “The whole of America has a clear vision, which they call the American dream.

    “The question is: what is the Nigerian dream? It is when you define that dream that an average Nigerian knows how to fit in.

    “Nigeria has no dream or clear-cut vision of what Nigeria will become in the future.

    “There is none. Without that vision, we are not going anywhere.

    “We need a vision, a Nigerian dream that all of us must tap into. Just tarring roads is not enough. We need a composite picture of the future of Nigeria.”

     

  • Why I guard my private life jealously—Rita Dominic

    Why I guard my private life jealously—Rita Dominic

    With twelve years in the industry on her record, beautiful actress Rita Dominic is still very much on top of her game as far as Nollywood is concerned. Known for her glam over the years, it was like a bolt from the blue when she played a drug addict in Shattered, the movie that won her Best Actress on the continent. She repeated the same feat in her first-ever co-produced film, The Meeting, which premiered recently. In this interview with MERCY MICHAEL, the actress reveals her decision to delve into film production. She also talks about growing up and dealing with controversies.

     

    WOULD you say The Meeting is the role you have been waiting for?

    This and more maybe because Shattered was a lead role, The Meeting is not a lead role. However, The Meeting is completely different. I have never played a fifty-year-old. I have never played a cantankerous Clara Ikemba. With Shattered, the character was young so I could relate to the youthfulness but they are all different and unique in their own way. That is why I said this and many more.

    Last year I did a lot of challenging roles; the film that won me the Best Actress at the African Movie Academy Award was a Kenyan film. Before I shot that film I had never been challenged like that in my career. I played a drug addict. I played a woman who had been sexually abused. I also played someone who had mental retardation. I had to learn how to speak a little bit of Swahili, I had to learn how to talk like an educated Kenyan, not a Nigerian. That was very challenging.

    After that I shot a film titled Streets of Calabar. I don’t think I should be talking about the character because I think they are still hiding what it is I played for now. The character I played too was very challenging. And then there is The Meeting, where I played a fifty-year- old. That really challenged me. Over the last two years, I have been staying away and concentrating on my career because I needed to take it to a certain level.

    Don’t you find it condescending that you played a minor role after so many leads?

    What matters to me is the story. My first nomination at the AMAA was as Best Supporting Actress for the film White Waters. I attended the event. I was happy I was nominated. I enjoyed the show even though I didn’t win. I mean it went to a veteran, Joke Silva, who of course should have won it from the same film. I don’t like forcing myself to play a role I don’t fit into. It’s like forcing me to play the role Linda Ejiofor played in my film, the Ejira character who is in her early 20s. I don’t look like someone in their early 20s, so why will I force myself to play that?

    Having spent twelve years in the movie industry, what informed your decision to go into production?

    I just felt it was time. I wanted to do something for the industry as well. I wanted to give something back to an industry which has done so much for me. In The Meeting, you will see that I did not play the lead role. We had Linda Ejiofor and Femi Jacobs play the lead. These are two upcoming, talented acts who needed to be encouraged. Of course, after acting for so many years in the industry, you want to try other aspects of filmmaking. I knew I always wanted to try production and I felt last year was the right time.

    So how easy was it being a producer and an actor at the same time in the same movie?

    It was very difficult being an actor in the same film that you produced for the first time and playing a complex character at that. To be honest, I didn’t want to do it. I had an argument with my business partner. I told her I couldn’t do it because it’s my first time. How do I play a Clara Ikemba that is so complex and at the same time concentrate on producing this film of such a quality? However, I sat down and I thought to myself, maybe I should just take on this character, see what I can do with Clara Ikemba and that was it.

    As a first time producer, what would you say was your greatest challenge?

    Playing Clara Ikemba I would say was the most challenging for me. Clara Ikemba, the woman is cantankerous. She’s not somebody you can mess around with. She’s a very complex character, a strange person, especially for me, even though I feel every human being living in Nigeria or Africa must have had an encounter with a Clara Ikemba. She was just a difficult person really and having to play that role and at the same time concentrating on executing a quality project, it was just so difficult doing that.

    Having acted and produced, are you considering going into directing?

    (Laughs) Never say never. Who knows?

    Twelve years down the line, what has been your staying power?

    I keep reminding myself that I don’t know everything. I never get comfortable. I keep learning. I have never said to myself I know how to act everything, I know how to do everything so I’m not going to learn. I learn every day. The moment I start telling myself I know everything about acting and filmmaking, I think that will be the beginning of my downfall.

    Coming from parents who are medical practitioners, how easy was it convincing your parents that you wanted to study theatre?

    Funny enough, I had all the encouragement I needed when I was a kid. I have done this since I was five. There was never any objection. I still remember my mother buying me books, getting me prepared for all the variety shows for the weekend. When I come back from school, I do my home work after which we start preparing for the variety shows for the weekend.

    Is it true that you are a Princess?

    Am I? I don’t know ooo.

    What was life like growing up?

    It was fun growing up. I am the last child. My elder ones were not born here, they were all born and brought up partly in the UK. I was the only one born here and raised here. I grew up with my cousins. A lot of my cousins were leaving with us. So I grew up with them. It was a fun childhood. I was just a normal kid.

    After many years of acting, you still come across as being an introvert. Why is that?

    Are you serious? That’s just me. The Rita you see in movies is different. That is acting. This is me.

    Recalling the scenario at the last AMAA awards where you walked away from the paparazzi, is it right to say you are shy or just a snob?

    I’m a very shy person. People don’t believe it because I’m an actor. Actors are the most shy people in the world because we get to hide behind characters. We are comfortable playing those characters we hide behind. When it is time for us to be ourselves, we are usually shy. I told a friend that I have different personalities. When I’m on the red carpet, I have to wear a certain personality.

    So it wasn’t a case of trying to avoid the media?

    No, I wasn’t avoiding the press. I had a chaperon who was pulling me. Even my manager was upset with her for not letting me grant the press audience. However, she didn’t do that on purpose. She didn’t actually know. She’s new in the industry.

    Are you surprised that after over a decade in the industry, the only award that gave you the continental honour came from Kenya?

    I am not surprised. Because of how thorough AMAA is with the screening and the criteria, I always felt when you do a good film you will be recognised for it, whether in Nigeria, Kenya or elsewhere. I put in a lot of work in that film because I love the character, I love the story. It could have still easily been a Nigerian story. It doesn’t have to do with being a Kenyan film. I just felt that at that point in time maybe that was the first of the films that I had done in recent time that I have come out that AMAA saw and they felt it was time to award me for that.

    You were quoted as saying that you never believed you could still be relevant in the new Nollywood. How true is that?

    I don’t actually remember that interview, but it’s actually true. I really never believed I would still be relevant in this industry. I mean you have a lot of beautiful and upcoming talents, so what makes people like me and my colleagues special? There is nothing special about us. It is the grace of God. You are here today interviewing me, I have The Meeting coming out, there is Shattered out there. It’s the grace of God. You have people like Linda Ejiofor who are very talented. Tonto Dikeh is very talented. Mercy Johnson is very talented, but I am still relevant.

    When you started out, did you plan for it to be a short stay?

    I didn’t plan for it to be a short stay. I just wanted to keep doing my job as an actor and leave the rest to God. As each year passes by I find myself getting bigger and more relevant. To be honest, it is God because there are still some actors and actresses who are much more talented than I am that are not relevant anymore. So why am I relevant? It’s not that I’m more talented than they are. It is just God.

    You had an outlandish 37th birthday recently. How do you balance that with your kind of person?

    I didn’t o. It was a surprise. I was on set shooting Lion of 76, Izu Ojukwu’s film, in Ibadan. It was not my idea. The cast put it together for me on set.

    And it turned out big?

    Was it big? It was just the cast and crew members. We didn’t invite people. Maybe what you saw was photo effect.

    How did you feel about it?

    I cried. Ibinabo was on the same set with me, and another girl who is a Zimbabwean, an up and coming actress. She’s a film producer as well. They put together the surprise party with the help of the executive producer. I didn’t even know what was going on. They just took me into one hall because I was just dressed up for us to go and have dinner from set. Next thing they took me into one hall, the cast, crew members were there. It was just so touching. Ibadan is such a quiet town. They went out of their way to organise a party for me even with the little resources they could find in Ibadan. I felt touched.

    Does being the Best Actress on the continent put you under pressure?

    Yes, it does because I’m constantly looking to do a film better than Shattered, the film which won me the award.

    If you were to put any other film on that pedestal, what film will that be?

    I would say my film, The Meeting. I would say Streets of Calabar produced, directed by Charles Anagolo, former BBC and CNN reporter, shot with some actors from the UK in Calabar and London. I would say Lion of 76, an Izu Ojukwu production. I acted alongside Ramsey Nouah and Chidi Mokeme. We were in Ibadan filming for about five months. So these are all the projects I’ve done.

    Apart from the recent birthday surprise, what is the biggest surprise you’ve had in recent time?

    I can’t remember. To be honest I think I’ve had a lot that I can’t even place a finger on one right now. No one just comes to mind.

    What’s the best birthday gift you’ve had?

    That is personal. Just leave it (laughs).

    What is style to you?

    Comfort! I love to be comfortable first. I feel when you are comfortable with what you are wearing the confidence will come from the inside. You are not comfortable and you are pulling up, you won’t be confident. First and foremost, it is all about comfort.

    Tell us about your beauty regime.

    I work out a lot and I go to the spa. I love the spa, the scrubs and body treatment. And I remove toxins from my system regularly. When you sweat you remove toxins. And I drink a lot of water. That is really it.

    As a celebrity you’ve had your fair share of controversies. How have you been able to handle controversies?

    I guard my private life jealously. At the end of the day, I already lived my life for my fans so the little I can guard, I guard it jealously. I just try to keep my life private.

    When will you be altar bound?

    Very soon. You will get the invite.

    Are you having difficulty finding the right man?

    Just leave it at that. I’m not answering you.

  • Banks’ credit to private sector falls by N39b

    Banks’ credit to private sector falls by N39b

    Money and credit statistics obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that credit to the private sector fell by N39.4billion.

    Also, money supply dropped from N6.402trillion in the same period to N6.243trillion, representing 0.27 per cent, or equivalent of N154billion.

    Analysts attributed the fall in money supply to the decision of the CBN to mop up money in circulation through the sale of Treasury Bills (TBs). They said the apex bank has long-term objectives to reduce liquidity in the economy and further tame inflation.

    They said the decision of CBN to peg the Standing Lending Deposit (SLD) at 14 per cent will help in increasing lendind to the economy, adding that sectors which have hitherto suffered lending would be able to access funds for growth.

    A former CBN’s Director of Research, Titus Okuronmu, said the increase in banks’ lending to the private sector signals a good development for the economy. He said many private sector operators were denied access to credit, following the discovery of huge toxic assets in the industry in 2009.

    He said anytime the financial position of private sector operators is galvanised by way of providing them with operational funds, the economy gets better.

    He advised banks to increase lending to the private sector, arguing that this is the only way to put the economy back on track.

    The former apex bank chief said globally, the private sector determines where the pendulum that drives the economy swing, adding that Nigeria must not be an exception.

    According to him, more investment opportunities will be created when companies have enough money to finance their operations.

    “Private sector remains the engine of growth in any economy. When the sector is provided with enough funds, the operators will be able to invest, re-invest, create employment opportunities, and stimulate economic growth. If the trend continues, we hope to see a better and improved economy,” he added.

    In a related development, the Managing Director, Bgl Securities Limited, Mr Sunday Adebola, said the private sector is the barometer of the economy, adding that when the private sector is well funded, the economy will be buoyant.

    He said illiquidity starved the economy of certain benefits, noting that activities become dull when operators do not have enough capital to play with.

  • Private jets as status symbol

    Private jets as status symbol

    THE irony is poignant with sharp dramatic effects. There are about 150 private jets in Nigeria while all the domestic airlines in the land operate with less than 50 functional jets. A Nigerian ‘big man’ who is not known to run any business conglomerate owns no fewer than three jets while some airlines can barely boast of four airworthy craft. That is the current narrative of Nigeria: a very rich, and very poor country.

    This stark reality is exposed by a recent report from the aviation industry which shows that Nigeria is in contest with China as two of the fastest growing private jet markets in the world. It says that private jet ownership in Nigeria grew astronomically by 650 per cent from 20 jets in 2007 to 150 in 2012. This suggests that in the last five years, rich Nigerians have acquired about 130 private jets totalling about N1.18 trillion. A new jet sells for between $40 million and $50 million. It is also said that the new owners of these jets are preponderantly, top politicians, oil moguls and big business men. Major new generation church leaders too are not left out.

    Remarkably, the identities of the Nigerian owners of these jets are shrouded as the machines are often purchased by proxy through foreign firms based usually in North America. The offshore firms in turn, lease the craft through Nigerian companies. Moreover, most of them come with foreign registration particulars. Notably, there are more orders from Nigeria with delivery dates running into 2013 and even 2014.

    There is nothing wrong with people acquiring private jets or any property for that matter. Nigeria is supposedly a capitalist system. The constitution provides for the right to own property under the law. Therefore, the sharp rise in the number of private jets in the country is not by itself, a condemnable act. In fact, it may well signify a positive and salutary upswing in the economy.

    But on the contrary, facts indicate otherwise. Nearly all human development indices show a downward trend in the quality of life of the average Nigerian and poverty index is still in the range of 70 per cent. More crucially, with Nigeria rated among the most corrupt countries of the world, we wager that this streaming in of private jets can only be the reward of unbridled corruption. Unlike in other parts of the world, say China, which is the second largest economy in the world and which can boast of thousands of thriving conglomerates, business moguls and entrepreneurs that can afford private jets, Nigeria is still largely an impoverished country with an import-dependent mono-economy.

    Unlike in Nigeria where majority of the jet owners are top politicians, this class of people would be hard put to give account should they be found flying in private jets in places like China and the United States. And if by chance a U.S. top politician can justify his ownership of a private jet, he would have the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) to contend with, in which case he would pay numbing taxes.

    Ironically, we wager again, that it may well be the little tax paid by the little people that may have been converted into private jets for the Nigerian jet-set top politicians. There is also the issue of ostentatious lifestyles of the Nigerian rich. While a Chinese or Indian rich would build a factory first, his Nigerian counterpart would opt for a brand new private jet.

    As Nigeria’s ‘new rich’ take to the sky, we must not fail to remind that the country’s national carrier was run aground many years ago; that aviation infrastructure is currently in dereliction and passengers are exposed to all manner of danger. Need we recount the state of Nigeria’s power sector, refineries, schools, hospitals and roads? It is otiose to note that those glistening metal birds competing for space in Nigeria’s substandard airports is no sign of a burgeoning economy.

    On the other hand, it is a recipe for social upheaval when basic amenities are in regression and the ruling class basks in obscene ostentation. The auguries are ominous.