The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Service

  • ‘Why service delivery in pension plan is crucial in Africa’

    Service delivery in pension plan will drive growth in the African pension industry, strategy development and implementation expert, Muibat Ijaiya has said.

    Ijaiya who is a partner with Strategy Management Partners, spoke on service delivery in pension plans at a pension forum in Abuja.

    She said customer experience has  direct impact on growth, noting that in a connected digital world, it pays to get the customer experience right.

    According to her, there is need to design a service delivery model and in doing this, it is essential to consider a desired customer experience for  pension participants at each point of interaction.

    She stressed that this include a true combination of a blue-print and best practice, where the administrative and operational essentials linked to the needs of the participants is showcased.

    She said: “Ideas on communications tools and concepts, can be adopted to realise the participants’ best understanding of pensions and control of their financial wellbeing. This would be key components, essential information blocks and new ways of participant’s involvement.

    “On service delivery, a set of integrated activities, processes, procedure, teams and systems among others should be combined to provide services to customers. It is much broader than customer service; which is a component of it. It is also not a one-size fit all.”

    She noted that in designing a service delivery model with customer experience at its heart, the experience must reflect the brand promise consistently.

    “We must develop strong understanding of the different segments of current and potential participants; their needs, limitations, challenges and desired outcomes. Define a service delivery model and structure the interactions. Be clear about the customer experience to be delivered at each stage of pathway, how and by whom.

    “Delivery location should be defined by participants’ needs and not that of the provider. Their role should not be passive. Use appropriate tools & forums to continuously engage, gather feedback and co-create experience solutions that delight.

    “Identify and address the root causes of problems that have high potential to undermine customer experience. Service boundaries will evolve. Periodically review and align the structure, operations, systems, teams and processes that are critical for delivering on the customer experience,” she added.

  • ‘Rotary committed to selfless service’

    ‘Rotary committed to selfless service’

    Members of Rotary International, District 9110, comprising Lagos and Ogun states, friends and well-wishers across the country converged on Lagos to identify with Rotarian Idowu Afelogun, on his emergence as the 12th President of Rotary Club of Omole Golden at a colourful investiture ceremony held in his honour recently.

    Apart from being the President of Rotary Club of Omole, Rotarian Afelogun is also the captain of Presidents of the over 83 Rotary Clubs covering both Lagos and Ogun states and will pilot the affairs of the clubs for the 2015/2016 Rotary Year.

    He succeeded Rotarian Chris Alabi. He was installed at a colourful ceremony held at the Anchor Event Centre, Lagos.

    Shortly after he was handed over the mantle of leadership of the club by the immediate past president, Afelogun praised his predecessor for a job well done in the 2013/2014 Rotary Year. He pledged to consolidate his achievement in the New Year.

    He said his predecessor recorded some invaluable achievements during his tenure. Noting that Rotary Club Omole Golden will continue to give thanks to Almighty God each Rotary year for his kindness, grace and protection for every member, he said rendering services to humanity and alleviating the suffering of the downtrodden in the society will form the crux of proposed projects during his tenure.

    He said: “I will inspire and motivate members of the club to collectively and individually maximise their potential in mitigating the plight of the downtrodden.

    “Members of Rotary Club Omole-Golden have always been alleviating the suffering of the less-privileged persons. All projects and programmes to be executed in this Rotary year will be primarily for humanitarian and selfless services to enable the club to continue in its quest to enhance the living condition of the people.”

    Afelogun solicited maximum support and encouragement of all members of the club He urged interested philanthropic organisations and individuals to partner with the club to enable it to fulfil its objectives.

    He also appealed to other Nigerians to emulate the giving spirit of Rotary Club as a way of complementing the efforts of the government in making life meaningful for all citizens.

    He pledged that his tenure will be transparency and accountable to enable him and his team to move the club to an enviable height.

    While handing over to the new President, the immediate past President, Mr. Alabi, noted that Rotary Club is not only an avenue to socialise, but also an opportunity to serve others.

    He said the enormous support given to him by members of the club during his tenure was the foundation of the laudable achievements the club was able to attain during his reign. He, therefore, urged members to also give such maximum support to the new team.

    He also advised the new President to have good relationship, accountability and transparency as his fundamental focus to enable him to achieve success.

    The chairman on the occasion, Group Treasurer, Heritage Bank Limited, Mr Abidemi Oluwagbemiga Sonoiki, urged the Rotarians to continue the pursuit of the ideals of the club which centres on “rendering services to humanity” in diverse ways and aiding the peaceful co-existence all over the world.

    He said Rotary Club had been championing a great course and as history beckons at each time, saying the club will always be remembered for its great impact on the lives of the less-privileged people in the society.

    He urged all Rotarians to continue to improve on the means through which people could contribute to the service of humanity in terms of talent, treasure, time and thinking. No one is indispensable, everybody has something to offer.

    The District Governor, Bolaji Olugbenga Onabadejo, praised members of Omole-Golden Club for their great contributions towards advancing the public good. He described the club as the best in his district.

    He, therefore, urged the members to continue building on the legacies of Rotary Clubs the world over and always embark on projects that would be beneficial to the less-privileged persons.

    Dignitaries that attended the event included a member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors and Chairman/Editor-in-Chief, Gaskia Media Limited, Mr Dare Babarinsa, among others.

     

  • ‘Notice of Appeal without address for service is defective’

    ‘Notice of Appeal without address for service is defective’

    Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha and PDP (Appellants) as Petitioners, filed their petition  challenging the return of Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha (1st Respondent) by the Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC) (2nd Respondent) as the person duly elected as Governor of Imo State. All Progressive Congress (APC) (37th Respondent), sponsored the candidature of Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha (1st Respondent) at the said election contested inter alia by Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha (1st Appellant) on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    At the close of the pleadings, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha and PDP (Petitioners) through their counsel submitted a letter dated 22nd June, 2015 to the secretary of the Tribunal hearing their petition requesting the issuance of pre-hearing notice on all the parties in the petition. There was a Hearing Notice for pre-hearing session, signed by the Tribunal Secretary that was not addressed to anybody in particular.

    The Respondents in the petition and this appeal filed their Answers to the Questions contained in the pre-hearing Information. The Petitioners had on 3rd July, 2015 paid N300.00 as filing fee for their letter dated 22nd June, 2015 but received by the Tribunal Secretary on 23rd June, 2015. It was this payment that prompted the 1st and 37th Respondents to bring a motion filed on 6th July, 2015 praying the Tribunal below for inter alia an Order dismissing the petition as having been abandoned.

    Upon hearing the application, the Tribunal partly granted same by dismissing the petition on the ground that the Petitioners had abandoned their petition for not filing, within time, the application, under paragraph 18(1) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended, for the petition to be set down for pre-hearing session.

    On the issue of abuse of the process of Court, the Tribunal below dismissed same, holding that there was no abuse of the Court’s process.

    Against this decision, the petitioners as the appellants lodged an appeal to the Court of Appeal. The 1st and 37th Respondents also filed a notice of cross-appeal. In their brief of argument, the 1st and 37th respondents raised, as preliminary objection, to the notice of appeal.

    It was submitted for the 1st and 37th respondents that the failure of the appellants to put the named 3rd-36th respondents on notice and serve the appeal processes on them robs the court of the jurisdiction to entertain the suit. For the appellants it was submitted that since the names of the 3rd-36th respondents are clearly reflected on the face of the notice of appeal as respondents to the appeal there has been sufficient compliance with Order 6 Rule 2(1) of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2011.

    It was held that Order 2 Rule 3 of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2011 is very clear and unambiguous. It provides that where under the Rules, any notice or other process is required to have an address for service endorsed on it; it shall not be deemed to have been properly filed unless such address has been endorsed on it. It was also stated that there is no ambiguity about the purport of Order 6 Rule 9 which is that “where in any proceeding in the Court below a party has given an address for service; Notice of Appeal from any decision made under such proceeding may be served on such party at such address for address.” That in the instant case, not all of the 3rd-36th respondents gave their addresses for service at the trial Tribunal. Only six (6) of them did in their replies to the Petition thus service could not be effected on others. It was stated that it can be held that Order 6 Rule 9 of the Court of Appeal Rules, 2011 has watered down the effect or consequence of Order 2 Rule 3 as regards the six respondents who gave their address for service. However, same cannot be said of the other Respondents. It was stated that the purport, of Order 2 Rule 3 is audi alteram partem and the fair hearing provisions of Section 36 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended therefore, it is not a privilege, but a right of the respondent, that he must be given an opportunity to be heard on the appeal. He is therefore accordingly entitled to be served the Notice of appeal.

    The Court held that from the reading of order 6 Rule 2(1) together with Order 2 Rules 3 it is clear beyond doubt that the notice of appeal which does not have endorsed on it the address for service of the notice of appeal on the each of the 3rd-36th respondents is fundamentally defective. That it was stated that in a long line of cases from NGELIZANA v. HINDI (1965) NNLR 12, ENEBI v. YACHIM (1965) NNLR 26 to KALIEL v. ALIERO (1999) 4 NWLR (Pt. 597); (1999) LPELR-6591(CA) that the provisions of the Rules requiring a plaintiff, petitioner or appellant to provide address for service of an originating process or any other process on the defendant or respondent have always been construed to be mandatory and the effect of non-compliance therewith is that the process “shall not be deemed not to have been filed” and therefore liable to be struck out as an incompetent process. See also MARIAM OBIMONURE v. OJUMOOLA ERINOSHO & ANOR. (1996) 1 All NLR 250; SCOTT-EMUAKPOR v. UKAVBE (1975) 12 SC 31; (1975) LPELR-3024(SC) ODITA v. OKWUDINMA (1969) 1 All NLR 228 A 31-232, SKEN CONSULT LTD v. UKEY (1981) 1 SC 6.

    It was held that in the instant case the notice of appeal does not have endorsed thereon address for service of each of the 3rd – 36th respondents. That the filing of the notice of appeal in flagrant disobedience of Order 2 Rule 3 and Order 6 Rule 2(1) and same was struck out.

    It was stated that ordinarily, the striking out of the appeal should have been the convenient point to end this decision. However, the Appeal Court is not the final court, but an intermediate court in this matter. In the circumstance it became pertinent to consider the merits of the appeal.

    The core issues in the Appellants’ Brief, in the Court’s view are:

    1. Whether the letter to the Tribunal Secretary dated 22nd June, 2015 which was received by the said Secretary on the 23rd June, 2015 and on which said letter the Tribunal Secretary acted to promptly on 23rd June, 2015. Issued Hearing Notice for the Pre-Hearing Session was not sufficient under paragraph 18(1) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended?
    2. Whether the 1st & 37th Respondents, having taken steps in the Pre-Hearing Session by filing Answers to the Questions contained in the Pre-Hearing Information Sheet, are not stopped, by operation of paragraph 53 (2) of the said First Schedule of the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended, from raising the objection resulting in the dismissal of the petition.

    Appellant’s counsel relying on ABUBAKAR v. NASAMU (No. 2) (2012) 17 NWLR (Pt. 1330) 523 and MGBA v. P.D.P. (2013) 523 and UGBA v. PDP (2013) All FWLR (Pt. 686) 540 at 548 submitted that Paragraphs 18(1) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended, was sufficiently complied with once the Petitioner issues a letter to the Tribunal Secretary urging the latter to issue Hearing Notice for Pre-Hearing Session. Counsel further submitted that between the Petitioner and the Tribunal the preliminary steps taken by the Petitioner to nudge the Secretary to issue Hearing Notice for the commencement of the Pre-Hearing Session are purely administrative.

    On the other hand, the 1st and 37th respondents vehemently posit that such steps, as the application of the Petitioner to the Tribunal Secretary to kick start the Hearing Notice for the Pre-Hearing Session, are not administrative but purely judicial and the petitioner must pay the filing fee for the process by which he applies to the Tribunal Secretary to issue Hearing Notice for the Pre-Hearing Session.

    The Court held that there is nothing in Paragraph 18(1) of the First Schedule vesting any adjudicative or quasi-judicial powers on the Tribunal Secretary when he is presented an application by the Petitioner for the Issuance of Hearing Notice for Pre-Hearing Session. The function is purely administrative. That the duty imposed by Paragraph 18 (1) of the First Schedule on the Secretary, when nudged by the Petitioner to issue Hearing Notice at the close of the pleadings for Pre-Hearing Session, is merely to issue the notices.

    That Paragraph 18(1) of the First Schedule provides no special mode by which a petitioner “shall apply for the issuance of Pre-Hearing Notice as in Form TF 008” to the Secretary of the Tribunal. In absence of any special mode in Paragraphs 18(1) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act, 2010 as amended, the Petitioner’s letter to the Tribunal Secretary to issue Pre-Hearing Notice will suffice. Relying on ABUBAKAR v. NASAMU (supra) the Court resolved in favour of the appellants that they complied with Paragraph 18(1) of the 1st schedule to the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended.

    The appellants’ counsel, relying on the Supreme Court decision in SA’EED v. YAKOWA (Supra) and Paragraph 53(2) of the said 1st Schedule submits that even if there was non-compliance by the Petitioners/Appellants with Paragraph 18(1) of the 1st Schedule the 1st and 37th Respondents could not be heard to ask for dismissal of the petition since they had waived their right to do so by their participatory activities, and that if they did ask the Tribunal below was enjoined to refuse the application by the operation of Paragraph 53(2) of the 1st Schedule.

    In response, it is submitted for the 1st & 37th Respondents that the 1st & 37th Respondents only became aware of the fact that the Petitioners\Appellants did not pay for the filing of their application to the Tribunal Secretary to issue Hearing Notice for the Pre-hearing session until 5th July, 2015.

    It was held that the Records show that the Tribunal Secretary issued Hearing Notice for the Pre-Hearing Session on 23rd June, 2015. The filing fee was paid for this process. That the 1st & 37th Respondents took fresh steps to file, on 26th June, 2015, their answers to the Questions contained in the Pre-Hearing Information Sheet. That by their active participatory activities the 1st & 37th Respondents cannot say that they suffered any prejudice or embarrassment. That the purpose of Pre-Hearing Notice has thus being achieved. See SA’EED v. YAKOWA (supra) at page 1686, IPINLAIYE II v. OLUKOTUN (1996) 6 SCNJ 74 at 88; (1996) LPELR-1532(SC) (1996) 6 NWLR (Pt 453) 143; AKHIWU v. PRINCIPAL LOTTERIES OFFICER MIDWEST (1972) 1 All NLR (Pt. 1) 229 at 238; (1972) LPELR-333(SC) OKWECHIME v. PHILIP IGBINADOLOR (1964) NMLR 132.

    It was held that reading paragraphs 18(1) and 53(2) of the 1st Schedule of the Electoral Act, 2010 together makes it clear that failure to formally apply for notice of Pre-hearing session to issue is merely procedural. And being procedural the party who has the right to timeously question its non-compliance can waive strict compliance therewith. See ADAMS v. UMAR (2009) 5 NWLR (Pt. 1133) 41. The issue was accordingly, resolved in favour of the appellants.

    It was concluded that the decision on the merits in the appeal would have been one setting aside, in its entirety, the decision appealed, if not for the earlier striking out of the appeal for being incompetent.

    The cross-appeal

    The issue in the cross-appeal is:

    “Whether the trial Tribunal ought to have pronounced a decision, one way or the order, on the Cross-Appellants’ prayer contending that the Petition was an abuse of court process and in consequence hold that the petition was liable or not liable for dismissal in their Ruling delivered on 22nd July, 2015.”

    The Court stated that it is trite that a competent ground of appeal must arise from the judgment being challenged. In SARAKI v. KOTOYE (1992) 11-12 SCNJ 26; (1992) NWLR (Pt. 264) 156; (1992) LPELR-3016(SC)  EJOWHOMY  v. EDOH-ETER LTD (1986) 5 NWLR (Pt. 39) 1; AQUA LTD v. ONDO STATE SPORTS COUNCIL (1988) 4 NWLR (Pt. 91) 622; (1988) LPELR-527(SC).

    From the above principles it was found, that the complaint that the trial Tribunal omitted to consider and decide the issue of abuse of court process is most frivolous and vexatious. That the Tribunal did extensively consider the issue of abuse of court process, and came to the conclusion that the issue of abuse of court process raised by the 1st& 37th Respondents was clearly unfounded. The issue was dismissed, and there is no appeal against that decision. That the effect of a decision of court not appealed against is that the said decision is deemed accepted and remains forever binding on the parties. See AKERE v. GOVERNOR, OYO STATE (2012) 50.2 NSCQR 345 at 394; (2012) LPELR-7806(SC) See ALAKIJA v. ABDULAI (1998) 8 NWLR (Pt. 552) 1 at 16-17; (1998) LPELR-404(SC) IKEM v. EZIANYA (2002) 4 NWLR (Pt. 757) 245 at 261; SPLINTERS (NIG) LTD v. OASIS FINANCE LTD (2013) 18 NWLR (Pt. 1385) 188 at 213; (2013) LPELR-20691(CA).

    Consequently, therefore, the cross-appeal, premised on the incompetent sole ground of appeal from which a sole issue for determination has been formulated being incompetent was struck out.

    On the whole both the Appeal and the Cross-Appeal were dismissed.

    Edited by LawPavilion

    LawPavilion Citation: (2015) LPELR-25645(CA)

     

     

     

  • Expert seeks customer service education in schools

    Renowned customer service expert, Shep Hyken, has advocated the inclusion of customer service subjects into secondary and tertiary education curricula to give pupils added advantage in the labour market.

    He said this at a customer service conference, themed: ‘The Customer Amazement Revolution Masterclass’ organised last week by The Workplace Centre (TWPC), at the Lagos Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    Hyken, who was the guest speaker at the occasion, said employers were more likely to consider children with customer service or hospitality-related experience for internships and volunteer positions.

    He said: “Here is what I know; that the kids, who work in retails, restaurants, hotels and other positions in the hospitality industry tend to be considered for jobs more than those with general experience  because they are assumed to understand the hospitality-mentality, which is basically about customer service.”

    The customer service guru said he was disappointed to find out, through a minor survey he conducted by declaring a position vacant for fresh college graduates in his organisation, that none of the candidates considered had ever undergone a customer service training.

    Hyken announced plans to donate training licenses to schools, which will allow graduating pupils to undergo eight-hour customer service training and get certificates for their efforts on completion.  He said the number of licenses would  match numbers bought by companies to train their workers.

    He advised teachers to teach customer service in schools by treating their pupils like customers.

    Hyken said: “Teachers should treat their students as if they are customers to a certain degree, because they are children and can be wrong sometimes. Every high school should have a course in customer service to teach kids how to manage the people experience they are going to have. Make them think, ‘How can I be so good that people would depend on me and trust me?’”

    The keynote address was delivered by President, Westminster College, Missouri, United States (US), Dr Benjamin Akande, who spoke on “Making Your Customer a Walking Advertisement”.

    He advised participants to take note of potentials in young ones.

     

  • FRCN DG tasks staff on service delivery

    The Director General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Mr. Ladan Salihu, has directed the staff of the corporation to imbibe the spirit of quality service delivery in line with the focus of the President Buhari’s administration.

    He urged the directors in the establishment to ensure prompt execution of cases requiring their attention to reduce the bottlenecks that have impeded quality service delivery.

    Mr Salihu, who gave the directive at the 2015 FRCN SERVICOM conference held in Owerri with the theme “Quality Service Delivery and Corporate Reputation”, maintained that the directive became necessary in view of the nation’s current challenge which he said “requires effective and unbroken dissemination of information.”

    According to him,”our country is now in a new information age and it is incumbent upon us to serve as a veritable link between the leaders and the led through quality service delivery because the people are thirsty of information and we should keep them duly informed on the issues of democracy and the rule of law”.

    The FRCN boss also charged media professionals “to always separate myth from truth and rumours from clear information and black from white.”

  • Job creation beyond lip service

    Speaking at the 11th Benson Idahosa University convocation in July, former president Olusegun Obasanjo advised that the nation has to reverse the trend of unemployment by “empowering the youth with skills and taking them off the yoke of the unemployed.”

    Interestingly, it was exactly a week after President Muhammadu Buhari was quoted as saying: “We will no longer allow our markets to be flooded with things we can produce ourselves. We must believe in our system. Whenever you need my intervention at anytime, please come to me.” President Buhari was speaking to the Permanent Secretary, Abdulkadir Musa, and senior officials of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. Also, Buhari said with its focus on job creation, his government was ready to do whatever it considers necessary to boost domestic manufacturing and industrialisation.  Buhari said: “So, we will shun all anti-development policies, and make the climate more suitable for entrepreneurs. We will create the environment for them to thrive. Generating employment was one of our key campaign promises and we will keep that promise”.

    While there seems to be a consensus on the need to teach Entrepreneurship in the formal schools as one of the strategies to create employment, little is done to practically and effectively achieve this. While there seems to be more emphasis and energy on the ‘hardware’ of infrastructure needs by entrepreneurial endeavour, the actual ‘software’ that will make more Nigerians willingly (my emphasis on ‘actual willingness’) embrace entrepreneurship with their heart and soul seems to remain unaddressed –  or is, at best, not yielding noticeable result.

    Consequently, I suggest the following steps must be urgently implemented: Firstly, public office holders must identify with fledgling business owners/entrepreneurs in their constituencies and tacitly endorse made-in-Nigeria service/product through visits to the entrepreneurs’ business premises. This will serve as a form of motivation to these entrepreneurs grabbling with a lot of discouraging factors and help stimulate patronage for such businesses as people will love to patronise such businesses on the strength of such endorsements. In turn, business owners will work hard not to lower quality of service in order to live up to such endorsements. I commend and recommend to other political leaders, the personal example set by the current governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, who has personally attended the launch of a few startups like a new school recently set up in Lekki and a hotel on the mainland. He should keep it up and extend such visits to other sectors like the printer in Shomolu, the fish farmer in Epe, the Cane village in Mende etc.

    Secondly, most Nigerian formal educational institutions are presently teaching entrepreneurship without a comprehensive business opportunity handbook that adequately compiles the thousands of local and international business opportunities like it is done in most nations that have successfully got more of their citizens to start and run their own businesses. The scope of entrepreneurial education for most Nigerian undergraduates  is restricted to the knowledge of the few popular business ideas commonly executed in Nigeria and most of them are not even aware that there is a Nigerian-published comprehensive business opportunity handbook that contains thousands of business ideas, summary of how to execute each idea, contacts of credible local and international funding sources, sample business plans and business plan templates, marketing tips and so much more valuable practical business information. Consequently, most undergraduates are not sufficiently exposed to the limitless benefit of a business opportunity handbook. To reverse this trend, schools should take a cue from what’s being done in Covenant University, Ota, which has integrated entrepreneurship education into its academic programme and gone an extra length to provide its students access to the mobile app of a popular business opportunity handbook. The uniqueness is that this mobile application is regularly updated with new business ideas, funding sources, business contacts etc. at no extra cost even after leaving the university.  Such a laudable programme and initiative should be extended to all schools all over the federation.

    Thirdly, the media has a critical role in giving enough exposure to Nigerian entrepreneurs to serve as motivation for aspiring entrepreneurs. Most Nigerian media houses, especially those in the online, print and electronic categories are guilty of a discouraging practice of having the same advert cost regime for large corporate organisations and small/ medium scale business owners and startups. Perhaps, by no fault of the media organisations, the cost of acquiring media leverage by Nigerian startups for their goods and services is presently to the disadvantage of such category of Nigerian entrepreneurs’ potential marketing gains and brand penetration. The ultimate loser is the society in terms of job creation and the media itself, which in the long run may lose patronage from struggling entrepreneurs who eventually turn out successful.

    To address this concern, media organisations should provide special advertising price packages for the Nigerian small or medium business owners either through individual or trade group mutual partnership arrangement or outright discount incentives.  Influential organisations like National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Nigerian Guild of Editors(NGE), Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON),Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ) and Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria(NPAN) can facilitate such partnerships. Furthermore, the media should do more to extol the merits of self-employment and the small firm as a vehicle for self-fulfillment, economic rejuvenation and employment generation.

    Finally, the small and medium enterprise economy relates to the large corporations and public sector sub-economies in a variety of ways. The real economic implications of the present Forex squeeze and tactical banning of 40 imported items by the Federal Government are yet to be fully understood even by most stakeholders and the government. The general theoretical assumption that these policies will automatically benefit the Nigerian entrepreneur as it is expected that more indigenous made-in-Nigeria products will be patronised will prove to be unrealistic unless the new government chooses to act differently.   The immediate beneficiaries of this policy are the smugglers and corrupt customs/immigration officers because the demand for such imported products will result in their scarcity and fuel increase in such commodities’ prices which will in turn serve as incentives to the smugglers. Within a week of this policy, the unofficial price of forex in the parallel market has spiralled out of control, further increasing the pressure on the depreciating naira. Also, within a week, the price of frozen chicken (one of the 40 items removed from the import list) has surged from N750 per kilogram to N1100 per kilogram, an equivalent of approximately 50 per cent increase.

    Yet these are the same imported poultry products, not those supplied by the Nigerian poultry farmer-entrepreneur. Except the government moves in immediately, this policy will not translate into economic benefits for the Nigerian entrepreneur. Government should immediately meet with the large corporations, wholesale importers, mega superstores and trade associations to track the sourcing of these ‘banned’ items by the big players, address their genuine fears and give incentives to large corporations that will genuinely abide by this policy by patronising local producers and suppliers of these items. The media should also help to report progress made in this regard. No doubt, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will need to investigate and possibly prosecute corporate players that may want to support smuggling or sabotage this policy.

     

    • Vaughan is the host of Biz Lifelines on Lagos-based Inspiration FM and Radio Continental.

  • Self-serving vs. selfless service

    When they took power, the soldiers, matched out on a straight path towards their vision of a good society, but the mission became more elusive, the closer they came towards it – Robin Luckman.

    The Action Group at its Executive and Parliamentary Council of July 1953 attended by Bode Thomas,  SLA Akintola, Rotimi Williams, Obafemi  Awolowo, Anthony Enahoro and others agreed  that the ‘extreme confederalist eight-point demand of the north be accepted in order to guarantee the independence of the regions and allow the north to discover secession doesn’t pay’. Enahoro and Okodudu had argued against confederal arrangement.  Awo, a federalist who however toed his party line reasoned that the problem of the country was not regionalism but the interference of the centre in the affairs of the regions. That became a self-fulfilling prophesy in 1962 when Ahmadu Bello, who according to Trevor Richard, at the height of his power presented a gift of a horse to Zik and the Holy Koran to Tafawa Balewa declaring, he has like his great grandfather, divided the country among his trusted children, coerced the duo to remove one leg of the tripod that had held our nation together. This was done through an illegal declaration of state of emergency in the West and imposition of SLA Akintola who had been disciplined by his leaders as Premier without election. He also had the backing of the centre when he went on to declare himself premier against the wishes of the majority of his people in 1965. Rioting and violence quickly followed.

    That was the excuse an ill-equipped albeit patriotic Nigerian military politicians who saw themselves as custodians of our constitution that was under attack needed to intervene ostensibly to save Nigeria from self-serving politicians who had betrayed the spirit of our constitution. Without requisite educational training, the needed compass in the management of society, the soldiers tried to navigate an unfamiliar terrain. As Luckman observed above, their disastrous outing in January and July 1966 were missions in self-destruction.  From 1967 to 1970, they plunged the nation into a civil war. The achievements credited to the military under Gowon like the Lagos second bridge, the Onitsha Bridge, expansion of net work of roads were all conceived before independence in 1960.

    The bungling soldiers, burning with patriotic fervour once again descended upon themselves in 1975. This time around, ill-informed and ill equipped Murtala  Muhammed and Olusegun Obasanjo destroyed our universities and the bureaucracy, the two institutions that sustain society.  And tragically, instead of looking at 1962 when the rain started beating us, we simply replaced the parliamentary system inherited from the British with American Presidential system ignoring the fact that our problem was not the constitution but the men who would operate it. Obasanjo, playing god has since publicly admitted supporting the presidential bid of Shehu Shagari whose ambition was to be a senator in 1979. By 1983, Shagari smoked away while Akinloye and NPN wheelers and dealers once again brought the nation to it’s knees through profligate consumption.

    Babangida, Gusau and Abacha, as ex-President Shagari has since revealed, carried out the coup against his government and only brought in Buhari because of his integrity. But Buhari took responsibility for the crudity of his ill-informed military junta’s retroactive laws that resulted in the murder of some Nigerian drug pushers and the obnoxious Decree Four that led to the imprisonment of Tunde Thompson and Nduka Irabor of Guardian newspapers for reporting and publishing the truth that they claimed embarrassed government. And without understanding the forces at play in our society, the junta went all out for politicians without making a distinction between governors who used state funds to build universities for their youths, governors who expended state resources to build new houses and marry new wives, and those governors who took foreign loan which never got to Nigeria but kept in banks in Europe. As it was in 1966 and 1975, they waged war against their superiors.

    But once again in the night of many knives, Buhari was deposed by those who put him in power. He was clamped into prison for three and half years. From prison, he had an opportunity to watch, obviously in disbelief as members of his junta now at the helm of affairs released jailed journalists, appointed others senior advisers and ministers. He watched as those who only yesterday supported his rejection of Nigeria membership of OIC, the IMF loan and its conditionalities  declared ‘there was no alternative to SAP’ (Structural Adjustment Programme) which later resulted in ill-advised privatization and the sharing of the nation’s wealth among soldiers and their fronts. He watched in pain as Babangida and Abacha took the nation through a fraudulent 13 years of ‘transition without end’. And he has since 1999 observed from close quarters how PDP pillaged our land like a conquered territory.

    Motivated more by a desire to serve, he contested the presidential election as the candidate of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) in 2003. He was defeated by President Olusegun Obasanjo.  He didn’t have money to buy justice. Before the end of 2007, nearly all politicians who rode on his back to power had deserted him for PDP. Again in 2007, he was outfoxed. Frustrated, he abandoned ANPP and in 2010 formed CPC, according to him “as a solution to the debilitating ethical and ideological conflicts in the former party.” In 2011, the over 12million votes he garnered without money and a national platform but just on account of his integrity was not enough to match Jonathan’s over 22million votes. And realizing elections are never won on the basis of righteousness, he joined forces with ACN, ANPP, a faction of APGA and a faction of PDP, groups he would have ordinarily dined with using a long spoon. He secured an historic victory by defeating incumbent ex-President Jonathan in four of the country’s six geopolitical zones on March 29.

    To paraphrase Joanna Baillie, a 19th century British poet, ‘there is always a survivor in the destruction of a noble line’. Buhari seems to have been specially prepared for the task ahead. By an irony of fate, Buhari once confessed that but for Ahmadu Bello who in the cause of his selfless service to his people picked him up from the village without any connection, he would never have had the advantage of joining the military. Fate beckons on him today to see where our nation derailed in 1962. He is adequately equipped for the onerous task. Joking during his recent visit to Prime Minister Cameron of Britain about those the junta he headed jailed unjustly 30 years ago, he had made reference to his own unjust incarceration.  He has been betrayed by his military colleagues. He has equally been betrayed by politicians. He has been a military governor, a minister of petroleum and a Head of State. Unlike 1984, he today has a deeper knowledge of Nigeria and her diverse cultures. He is conscious of the baleful legacies of the Hausa Fulani, Igbo and Yoruba parasitic elites who were only out to serve selves rather than provide services to the people. He can attach weight to the advice coming from Obasanjo, Danjuma, Babangida and others who have been beneficiaries of an aberration we call a federation. Nigeria is the only federation in the world where the centre gets involved in education, health, agriculture, and decides how local councils manage the affairs of their remote communities.

    Of course Nigerians that voted for Buhari have faith in his ability to ensure those who stole the country blind through fraudulent fuel subsidy deals, crude oil theft, and fraudulent privatization and monetisation policies return their loot. But the major challenge lies in the political will to tamper with the structure that supports and sustains self service as against selfless service as we once had it. As Edmund Burke, in a manner of speaking says, we cannot climb the palm tree from the top. Unfortunately that exactly is what Nigerian politicians and their young multi-billionaires’ fronts have been doing. If the current system where politicians without character in Abuja decide who from Daura secures admission into the military school in Zaria was in place during the first Republic, President Buhari  by his own admission would have remained a herdsman in Daura and the cause of history would have been different.

  • Nokia Care: Is that customer service?

    Every business needs to deliver excellent customer service regularly. This is important, particularly in a business where the customer can vote with his wallet. If my wallet gives me voting right, and I do not like the service at a restaurant, I would leave. If I have a lousy experience ordering online from a   company, I would switch loyalty. If a service station treats you like a pawn, what would you do?

    Having had several bad customer service experiences, I decided to dig into the subject so I would know if I am on the right side or wrong side. You know that customer service is the deal you get before, during and after you have purchased and used a phone, gas cooker or ATM.

    A good customer service should provide an experience that meets your “expectations”. It should “satisfy you”. However, a bad customer service can generate complaints. Like this one.

    I am not the only one. You have attachment to Smartphones. Therefore, the thought of not having a phone for four days, for me, is unfathomable. What if there is a need to reach me urgently? What if there is a place I need to go, a call I need to make and a work I need to do.

    Anyway, I left my phone at the service station for one day. It was a new phone. Why would it, in the name of Bill Gates’ Microsoft, trip off? Why would it freeze? Why would it not perform at the optimum level?

    To seek redress, (warranty coverage is my assurance), I visited one of the Nokia Care service stations in Lagos. The first shock I got was that the phone would be in custody for four days. The centre would not give me a “loan phone” to use while the phone is undergoing software upgrade. I disagreed. I attracted the attention of one of the manager, a South African. He calmly handed me over to an engineer. In 30 minutes, the engineer upgraded the software of the Microsoft Lumia 640 XL. Still, the phone failed to perform at the optimum level.

    Besides, two very important features, “Cortana and Quiet Hours” that came preloaded with the phone were missing. Using the phone to activate the features, a dialogue box asked me to buy them with my debit card. I disagreed. Going back and forth over this issue, I visited Nokia Care six times. Care had vanished. Where was the former engineer who upgraded the software? “He is busy”. Could I speak with the South African? “He’s gone out”. Speechless, I looked at the ceiling. What would I do? Wait.

    I waited. I watched. I discovered that the employees at Nokia Care service station lack universal skills every support member needs to improve interactions with customers. I noticed skill gap such as a lack of attentiveness, time management, willingness to learn and the ability to handle surprises.

    Gregory Ciotti in 15 Customer Service Skills that Every Employee Needs said the willingness to offer these skills shows the customer three important things: “You care about getting it right. You are willing to keep going until you get it right. The customer is the one who determines what right is”.

    I would get it right. I would keep going. I would determine what is right. In my contemplation, two South Africans and a Nigerian walked in. There was an air of importance around them. I was on my feet all the while. The Nigerian accosted me. I shared my experience. He apologised. He fixed the phone. I checked to ensure it was “right”. It was right. We exchanged numbers. We shook hands. We parted ways. The customer wins. However, if customer service is done “right,” every business can win too.

  • A lioness roars in service

    A lioness roars in service

    Mrs Idowu Omolola Anobili has been installed as the District Governor of Lions Club 404B-1 at the Knot Events Centre, Yaba, Lagos. She promised to lead an exciting year full of landmarks.

    She adopted ‘Lifestyle of Service’ as her theme for the year.

    At the event, there was a fund raiser of N60million to build an eye centre in Badagry, Lagos.

    Also,there were awards for members. A Platinum Lifetime Award was given to Lady Taiwo Ade Ojo, wife of the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elizade Motors Limited Chief Michael Ade Ojo.

  • ‘Poor telecoms service quality unacceptable’

    ‘Poor telecoms service quality unacceptable’

    The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Dr. Eugene Juwah has said the poor telecoms service quality operators are offering subscribers is unacceptable to the Commission, adding that the regulator will continue to do the needful to achieve the highest degree of service quality in the country.

    Juwah, who spoke at the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) forum at the University of Lagos, Akoka said, he was worried by the development, adding that the Commission had summoned several meetings with the operators to express customers’ dissatisfaction with a view to improving the situation.

    Represented by the Director, Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo, he, however, said there are challenges which must first be addressed before service quality would be improved.

    Those challenges include but are not limited to inadequate power supply, multiple taxation and regulations, vandalism of telecom infrastructure, right of way (RoW) challenges, and infrastructure deficit among others.

    “Only the elimination of some or all of these will provide the critical success factors in finally eradicating quality of service challenges,” Juwah said, adding that the regulator is not complacent over the issue.

    During the public hearing held by the National Assembly in 2008, power was considered to have contributed more than 40 per cent to service quality challenges.

    Telecoms depend on power to run 24/7. Just as individuals in Nigeria generate their power, so has telcos being generating much of the power it utilises.

    The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has put the estimated cost of running two generators in each of the over 25,000 base transmission stations (BTS) in at about N5 billion monthly. ATCON says while service provider spends 80 per cent operating expenditure (OPEX) on power generation, in Malawi, it is just some five per cent. This captures the explanation as the service providers would have been in a position to channel more resources to tackling the issues of service quality.

    Juwah said : “We have a very nagging issue of regulations and taxes awaiting the telecom operators at different levels of government. Some of these regulations are made outside of the purview of the telecom regulator. There are states and local governments where telecom infrastructure is seen as fertile ground for improving internally generated revenue as these infrastructures must be available to make services possible. In some areas, state governments, local governments, or even some federal government agencies have had to force a close down of base stations with the implication of disconnecting many localities from the network thereby adding to the challenge”

    On RoW, he lamented that governments at various levels, individuals or communities, prevent the service providers from installing equipment without which there will not be good quality of services.

    “Some of us may not be aware. But the truth is that for almost five years, the Federal Capital Territory Administration  stopped issuance of permits to telecom service providers to BTS on account of fear of defacing the city. Yet, residents would expect services to be of high quality,” he lamented.

    Vandalism of equipment has become common where criminals vandalise expensive transmission lines laid with fibre optics or where road constructions or similar situation results in cutting off transmission cables with multiple negative effects on service quality.