The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Regaining

  • Regaining Nigeria’s environmental treasures

    The theme of this year’s World Earth Day: Environmental and climate literacy, was a vital premise to advocate for protection of our environment with emphasis on climate literacy. Basically, environmental and climate literacy refer to knowledge, effects, benefits and importance of our planet’s surrounding and temperature.

    Interestingly, earth is the only planet in the cosmos where life is possible. So, it is very essential to maintain the natural endowments of the earth in order to enjoy life on it and not injure the environmental composition as humans are swiftly pushing for the increased rate at which greenhouse gases are emitted. We must not carelessly show attitudes that can tamper with natural balance of the earth, which supports life to stay healthy and alive in it.

    Earth day celebration has been a good programme, since it was first marked on April 22, 1970, which is now generally adopted for the purpose of making humans aware and appreciate the importance of the planet. It has grown in leaps and bounds from the United States and it is now being observed today in about 195 countries across the world. Obviously, it is being celebrated in Nigeria too, but how did we mark the day?

    In line with theme, there was a call for increased participation and efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change and global warming through environmental conservation, education and advocacy to encourage environmental sanitation.

    Nigeria in particular is faced with many environmental challenges, which was brought by increased industrialisation and burning of fossil fuel that releases greenhouse gases in to the atmosphere, which in turn depletes the ozone layer that prevents the sun’s ultra violet rays from reaching the earth. These gases have increased the earth’s temperature; this is the cause of global warming.

    Another big problem is the death of aquatic lives, which is caused by the mixture of rivers and waterways with industrial toxic materials. We experience global warming, because of increased industrialisation which came as a result of deforestation and destruction of vegetative zones that help carbon sequestration and mitigate the depletion of ozone layer.

    Today our surroundings are dirty and littered with non-biodegradable materials and solid waste are deposited in our communities, blocking drainages and water ways and giving rise to health and environmental hazards. Alas, we presently lack the technology to help convert these non-biodegradable materials to less harmful substances.

    However, our massive human capacity, knowledge, financial resources and political ill can remedy the present menace, if we collectively get down to work.

    Scientists say our planet is losing about 15 billion trees each year; that is about 56 acres of forest every minute. Nigeria, perhaps, has the highest rate of deforestation in the world, losing about 4,000 hectares annually, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). With demands for wood fuel, agricultural land and housing to cater for our ever increasing population, we plunder our forest. We bring the nation into disrepute, because we have not shown effort at getting rid of harmful waste in our country.

    Although, it is perceived as the duty of the government to enhance, maintain and enforce environmental laws. But, having noticed the non-performance of the government, individuals need to play roles in senstitising the public through campaigns and environmental advocacy.

    The government is expected to create terms of strategies, policies and enforcement to ensure that its citizens understand the urgent need to avert the impending danger; to grossly reduce the rate of logging, poaching, gas flaring and deforestation. There are worthy examples in some developed nations, Nigeria can and should take a cue.

    Nigeria’s vulnerability to environmental risk and lack of institutional capacity to respond to threats in a sustainable manner should serve as premise for an increased capacity, advocacy and funding towards environmental sensitisation and enforcement to save our nation from the impending peril ahead.

  • Remo Stars regaining confidence, says Mbaoma

    Remo Stars regaining confidence, says Mbaoma

    Victor Mbaoma believes Remo Stars are regaining their confidence after a difficult start to the season.

    The Sky Blue Stars welcome fellow relegation strugglers, Wikki Tourist to the Sagamu International Stadium in their next topflight encounter on Sunday.

    And Mbaoma is looking forward to building on the result of their last outing on their home ground when they face the Bauchi Elephants.

    “We aren’t looking down at our opponent but I can say here that we are gradually getting back the confidence needed to win games,” Mbaoma told Goal.

    “We may have struggled to record wins in the past but things have changed. We have now won some games and even picked up points on the road.

    “That’s a huge one for us. The biggest was the win against ABS in front of our home fans. That win has raised our confidence level, we shall be inspired by that win to go all out against Wikki Tourist on Sunday.

    “We are not in the good position on the league table and that means we can’t afford to make any mistake, neither should we in any way drop points.

    “We now have some real confidence going into matches with a positive mindset to pick up a win. So come Sunday,  we shall target a win and then take it up from there.”

  • Regaining Sagamu’s glory

    Regaining Sagamu’s glory

    Sagamu, a once-beautiful city, is fast relapsing into slum-like community. The smooth, sleekly administrative headquarters of Sagamu Local Government Area lacks roads and other amenities that enhance the well-being of the residents. ERNEST NWOKOLO reports that the government is working hard to fix the roads and other infrastructural facilities to make the city regain its lost glory.

    To some, it seems Sagamu, the administrative headquarters of Sagamu Local Government Area and the royal home of the Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Adeniyi Sonarinwo, may relapse into a slum-like if the roads and other facilities are not improved upon. What they didn’t take into account is the efforts being made by the Senator Ibikunle Amosun’s administration to regain the seemingly lost glory of Sagamu as a city. It is not the fault of the government as most of the problems people are complaining about are as a result of actions of the residents.

    For instance, nowhere cuts this gloomy picture better than the seedy and boisterous Sabo and its surrounding.

    Aside the congestion and filth, the area is routinely flooded whenever it rains as a result of poor drainage.

    The roads leading to it, such as the Ode-Lemo, GRA; Sabo-Oja cow sellers’ roads respectively and the adjoining ones have remained in bad shape.

    To worsen the situation, roadside traders and hawkers make the roads get narrower, even as the trend makes vehicular and human traffic more challenging. Noise pollution emanating from grinders and blaring speakers of music sellers are also troubling to first time visitors.

    The fly-over constructed at Sabo as well as the Oba Akarigbo Road by Senator Ibikunle Amosun is the first modern road construction in the area in recent decades. Unfortunately, they are also being defaced with bizarre graffiti, dirt, fluttering junk banners and posters by the residents. Underneath it and even with the dirt, it serves as shelter for both the sane and insane.

    Our correspondent sited four lunatics-three males and a female—who had turned portions of it as their homes even as few others were roaming the area unkempt and scavenging for food.

    With regard to the economy of the state, the Igbo, Edo, Ibibio and Ishan, among other ethnic groups are making tangible contributions; but it seems the Yoruba and the Hausa are about the most active and commercially-inclined ethnic groups in Sabo.

    The nearly-a-century-old Oba Akarigbo Market in Sabo, which was founded by hunter-farmers (Agbekoyas) lacks water and toilets despite its size, economic importance and strategic location.

    A resident, Mr Sunday Adebayo described the market as one bustling and commercial nerve centre of Sagamu with admixture of the good and the ugly.

    Adebayo, who sells electrical materials, said the only driving principle in Sabo seemed to be business of “buying and selling” as people pay less attention to orderliness and cleanliness.

    He said: “Once you can get a foothold to display your wares; whether such a place is on the road or atop sewage system is secondary.”

    The Asiwaju of the market, Alhaja Falilat Awolaja (Omo Apelogun), who spoke to our correspondent on behalf of the Iyaloja, Bintu Sonnubi, said basic facilities are conspicuously lacking in the market.

    The market boasts a borehole facility for water provision. Mrs Awolaja, who sells in the market, said the facility functioned only for six months before it packed up.

    She said the Ode-Lemo Road, which traversed through the market requires urgent reconstruction as it leads to other places like Emuren (Sagamu), Agbowa and Imota in Lagos.

    Sabo’s peace and long years of ethnic harmony were ruptured in July, 1999 as the area erupted in violence. The mayhem was between the Yoruba and the Hausa over cultural issues.

    The violence, believed to have been caused by a young Hausa lady who came out during the observance of rituals of the Yoruba Oro traditional festival in the area. But the crisis was eventually resolved and normalcy returned.

    In 2012, Sabo-Sagamu was also the theatre of incessant robbery attacks and cult violence. The situation compelled commercial banks and other businesses to close down for weeks.

    Chief Olumuyiwa Sonuga, a civil engineer and President of the Sagamu Development Association (SDA), said the Sagamu people aren’t “crying wolves” over roads in the town “as the condition of the roads get worse by the day due to lack of maintenance.”

    Sonuga, who praised Governor Amosun for making Akarigbo Road a dual carriage way and the fly-over at the Sabo area of the town, urged him to also pay attention to internal road network. He also praised him for combating robbery and other vices in Sagamu with the provision armoured personnel carriers (APC) and other operational vehicles to assist police and other security agencies in carrying out their jobs.

    There is a ray of hope that palliative measures would soon begin on the roads as the rainy season subsides. The Secretary to the Sagamu Local Government Area (SSLG), Mr Isiaka Salami has promised that facilities that will improve people’s well-being will be rehabilitated, even as he blamed the deplorable condition of the roads on the residents.

    He said: “We are the problems behind the condition of the roads. Residents keep dumping refuse on the drainage which blocks them. When it rains, the water forces itself into the roads and washes them away.

    “That is why you see gullies and craters here and there. Although there has been shortfall in money that accrues to the local government from the Federation Account, we will do some palliative measures when the rains subside.”

    The Commissioner for Physical and Urban Planning, Olugbenga Otenuga, said what obtains in Sabo and some areas of Sagamu is a reflection of the state itself.

    Otenuga said Ogun State is an ancient state and residents had built in ancient way without making provisions for today’s challenges, resulting from development, increased human activities on the environment and population surge.

    The commissioner noted that some of the challenges such as poor road network, flooding, lack of drainage facilities in some places and inadequate space being experienced can’t be corrected immediately by the state government. He said steps are being taken to stop people from compounding the problem by discouraging them from building structures haphazardly.

    Otenuga further explained that the state government has designed programmes meant to “up-grade slum-like areas,” build pathways, gutters and toilets to enhance sanitary conditions as well as encourage residents to give their buildings face-lift.

    Governor Amosun had promised that Sagamu would be broken into two or three local governments in the planned creation of local council development areas (LCDA).

    Senator Amosun also said splitting Sagamu would not only bring governance and development closer to the people, but will be a thing necessitated by its land mass, size and population.

    The governor also assured that the Sabo-Emuren-Ode Lemo Road would be constructed once the rainy season subsides while the state’s proposed light rail project will also begin and will pass through Sagamu.

    But how far this can change the face of Sabo and its environs would be a matter of conjecture if the people do not abide by the physical planning regulations or take decency and cleanliness of the environment as a way of life.

  • Diamond Bank: Regaining form

    Diamond Bank Plc recorded a well-rounded performance in 2012 as the bank rode on the back of improved assets quality and substantial growths in incomes and underlying businesses to replace its negative bottom-line with N27.5 billion profit. Audited report and accounts of Diamond Bank for the year ended December 31, 2012 underlined remarkable turnaround in the intrinsic profit-making capacity of the bank and its expanding market share. With 35 per cent increase in gross earnings, improved cost efficiency and better credit risk management further underpinned major recovery for the bottom-line, turning away from net loss of N13.7 billion in 2011 with net profit of N22.11 billion in 2012.

    Hitherto negative profitability indices turned positive, underlining the improvements in the underlying fundamentals of the bank. While relatively higher cost of funds slightly impinged margins, improved employee productivity and midline operating cost management boosted the overall profit outlook.

    The balance sheet of the bank improved in both quantitative and qualitative terms. Total balance sheet size grew by 48 per cent and crossed the N1 trillion mark to N1.2 trillion. This was primarily driven by 51 per cent increase in customers’ deposits, which nudged N910 billion. The bank surpassed the industry’s 5.0 per cent asset quality target ratio as its proportion of non-performing loans dropped by 32 per cent in spite of 43 per cent increase in gross loans and advances. The liquidity position of the bank remained steady just as the retention of net earnings nudged shareholders’ funds by 27 per cent to about N109 billion.

    However, the bank’s expansive growth outpaced capital base and slightly undermined the capital adequacy. The bank has recognized the imperative for additional capital to support its fast-paced business growth. Besides the retention of net earnings, the bank has secured shareholders’ approval to raise $750 million, about N117 billion, in new capital issues.

     

    Capital adequacy

    Diamond Bank’s group balance sheet rose from N796.23 billion in 2011 to N1.178 trillion in 2012. Fixed assets increased by 13.4 per cent from N39.663 billion to N44.980 billion while earnings assets rose by 50 per cent from N756.57 billion to N1.133 trillion. This further untied more funds for earnings growth. The proportion of fixed assets to equity funds improved from 46 per cent in 2011 to 41 per cent in 2012. Total customer deposit jumped from N603 billion to N910 billion, pushing the liabilities base up by 50 per cent from N710.3 billion to N1.07 trillion. Group paid up capital remained unchanged at N7.238 billion, but shareholders’ funds rose by 27 per cent from N85.98 billion to N108.9 billion.

    With the aggressive business growth in 2012 outpacing capital outlay, the underlying capital adequacy dropped marginally during the year. The proportion of equity funds to total assets slipped from about 11 per cent in 2011 to 9.2 per cent in 2012. Equity funds/loans and advances ratio stood at 18.6 per cent in 2012 as against 22.2 per cent in 2011.

     

    Assets quality

    Diamond Bank showed appreciable improvement in assets quality during the year with significant decline in non-performing loans as against appreciable increase in gross loans and advances. The bank’s non-performing loans/gross loans ratio of 4.4 per cent surpassed industry target of 5.0 per cent and represented remarkable improvement on 9.2 per cent recorded in 2011. Total loans and advances rose from N427.53 billion in 2011 to N611.88 billion in 2012. Conversely, non-performing loans dropped from N39.39 billion to N26.68 billion. Net loans and advances had stood at N585.2 billion as against N388.14 billion in previous year, representing an increase of 51 per cent. Possible threats from non-performing loans to the bank reduced considerably with classified loans/equity funds ratio of 24.5 per cent in 2012 compared with 45.8 per cent in 2012.

     

    Profitability

    Diamond Bank staged major turnaround in 2012, with both outward and underlying profit and loss measures showing impressive growths. As against average pre-tax loss of 17.5 per cent on every unit of business in 2011, the bank made average pre-tax profit of 19.8 per cent in 2012. This cumulated in replacement of pre-tax loss of N17.97 billion in 2011 with pre-tax profit of N27.5 billion in 2012.

    Gross earnings increased by a third to N138.85 billion in 2012 as against N102.72 billion in 2011. The top-line was driven largely by substantial growth in core banking operations. Interest income rose by 35 per cent from N83.36 billion to N112.35 billion. Fee and commission income rose by 37 per cent from N19.36 billion to N26.5 billion. With 84 per cent increase in interest expense from N12.50 billion to N23.03 billion, net interest income rose by 26 per cent to N89.32 billion as against N70.86 billion. This also reflected in lower net interest margin, which dropped from 85 per cent to about 80 per cent. Operating expenses moderated at N42.59 billion in 2012 as against N39.74 billion in 2011. Appreciable midline cost management further boosted the bottom-line and helped the bank to break away from recent losing streak with equally impressive profit in 2012. After taxes, net profit stood at N22.11 billion in 2012 in contrast with net loss of N13.72 billion in 2011.

    Further analysis showed basic earnings per share of N1.53 2012 compared with loss per share of 95 kobo in 2011. The bank however decided to retain net earnings to support its capital base. The underlying value creation for shareholders meanwhile was evident in returns on equity and assets. Return on total assets turned around from -2.3 per cent to 2.3 per cent while return on equity improved from -16 per cent to 20.3 per cent.

    Intrinsic profitability analysis showed a generally positive outlook. The proportion of operating expenses to gross revenue improved from 39 per cent in 2011 to 31 per cent in 2012. Non-interest income slightly improved contribution to the top-line at 19 per cent in 2012 as against 18.8 per cent in 2011. Average contribution of each employee to pre-tax profit improved from –N6.5 million to N8.3 million, just as average staff cost per employee trended upward from N6 million to N7.8 million. The proportion of staff costs to gross earnings however increased from 16 per cent in 2011 to 19 per cent in 2012.

     

    Liquidity

    The liquidity position of the bank emerged stronger with larger cash and bank balances coverage for total liabilities. The proportion of cash and bank balances to total liabilities improved from 20.6 per cent to 25.4 per cent. Loans and advances/total assets ratio was steadied 50 per cent in 2012 as against 49 per cent in 2011 while loans and advances/ total deposits ratio closed 2012 at 64.3 per cent compared with 64.4 per cent in 2011.

     

    Governance & structures

    Diamond Bank was incorporated as a private limited liability company in 1991. It transformed into a public limited liability company and listed its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in 2005.

     

    Analyst’s opinion

    Diamond Bank shows a commendable growth trajectory that reassures on the resilience of the bank’s growth strategy. With the decision to focus on core commercial banking, and as such divest from non-core banking businesses, the bank appears to be in better stead to consolidate profitability. While it needs to open up lending to strengthen profitability, its cautious risks assessment and aggressive business growth strategy would provide relative stability as it ventures out to explore greater risk-return potential. Additional capital would support the bank’s growth potential.