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  • Things can be better, says Oshiomhole

    Former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole yesterday joined the race for All Progressives Congress (APC) national chairman, with a message to party members that he would not be anybody’s poodle.

    Things can be better, Oshiomhole said.

    The former Labour leader, who announced his plan in Abuja, said he was not reluctantly contesting the position because anybody wanted him to do that but he felt that he could add value to the party and to deepening democracy.

    The former Labour leader praised the efforts put into building the party by the founding chairman, Chief Bisi Akande, as well as the current national chairman, Chief John Odigie- Oyegun, saying history will speak positively about them and their contribution to democracy.

    Oshiomhole said: “I want to assure the leaders of the party that I am clear as to what my responsibilities will be, if elected the national chairman of the party. I want to be of help. I want to be of use to those who need it. But I am not capable of being used.

    “There is so much suspicion in our political space. People fight over things they are not even sure what the details are. They are fueled and sustained by suspicion. The way to remove suspicion is to put on the table what is on the table and leave it under the table there until it comes to the top of the table. I want to assure you that I believe that with a new leadership of the APC, and with our president, there will be time to engage in all those contestations.

    “I want to say that what leaders say in gathering like this and the what they do while in office can be explained by the gap that exists between the thought of  the leader or speaker and what the speech writer thinks he should say..

    “My task here today is very simple and that is to announce formally my intention to contest, by the special grace of God, the office of the national chairman of the governing party in Nigeria today, the All Progressives Congress. I thought it is important that I make this formal announcement even though this is just one of those public secrets.

    “Somehow, my candidate has been discussed both in the print and electronic media, in beer parlors and business houses. I guess in every gathering of men and women who are concerned about our democracy, my possible candidature had become an issue for conversation. This is because of the way this whole project has evolved.

    “This is not to suggest that I am a reluctant candidate because I am not. I am going for it because I think I can add values. I think, as President Obama said, you don’t seek changes because things are bad. You do so because anything you do can just be better. Whoever and however we can make things better, I think it is worth the while.

    “It is on that basis that I offer myself to contest the office of the national chairman of our great party.

    “I want to appreciate the efforts and laudable struggle that was invested in this party by the founding leaders of the party. I acknowledge the solid foundation that was laid by the first interim chairman of this party, Chief Bisi Akande and his team who worked tirelessly against all obstacle, including those deliberately placed on our ways by the former government who did everything possible to ensure that the historic merger did not succeed.

    “For the first time in the history of our country, four and half political parties came together to form party to contest election at all levels, including the Presidential election and by the grace of God and the Nigerian people, my party won the election.

    “I  want to also appreciate the efforts of the  current leadership under the leadership of Chief John Odigie Oyegun. I want to place on record my gratitude for the leadership he has provided. No matter what anybody wants to say, he chaired the party to victory in the 2015 election and history will record that for him along side other laudable things he has done to keep our party afloat until this time.

    “Having acknowledge that we have a sitting chairman, why am I seeking to contest the same office? I am seeking to contest the same office based on the principle that in a digital world, every thing and anything can get better.

    “I am contesting not because I think there is a leadership failure. I am contesting because as it is written in our constitution, democracy work better, when from time to time, new blood, new ideas and new people hungry to make a difference  are given the opportunity to build on the foundation that those in office has laid.

    “Our party was registered on the 13th July, 2013 and we have moved on and made substantial progress since then. The progressives in the APC was not chosen as a mere name. It was consciously chosen to have a party that is different from the other political parties especially the PDP.

    “It was founded on the basis of social democracy as a party that is committed to deepening democracy, driven by its members and committed to providing the platform for a style of government that is pro people. It seek to depart from the old order to a new order. That is why our motto was consciously chosen as Change.

    “Having committed ourselves to building a party, there are a couple of things that I believe we must continue to pay attention to as members of the APC.”

    He said as a party, the APC tried to build a data base of members which was unfortunately destroyed by the Jonathan administration through the agents of government in November 2014.

    He said his task was not to lament the destruction of the data centre, because even though they destroyed the membership data, they failed to destroy the will and determination of the Nigerian people and the leaders of the APC to chase the Jonathan government out of office.

    According to him, the challenge of the new leadership of the APC is to rebuild a credible membership register and sustain the tradition of continuously registering members into the fold of the party and integrating them into the party.

    “Politics is not just about election. It is about ensuring that those elected keep faith with the promise that we made as a party to the electorate and I believe that we must create a platform for party members to interrogate and interact with those they have elected. This includes creating a platform for those elected on the platform of our party to engage the party leadership on what he is doing with the mandate.

    “We have a duty as a political party to remind those elected on our party platform to keep faith with our party manifesto, the ideology that binds us together and encourage the culture and tradition of healthy debate and even contestation in case of policy choices and options.

    “In this country and elsewhere, people talk about party supremacy. I believe that the fact that we submit ourselves as members of a political party means that we have agreed subject to our rules to do business in a manner agreed to by all. But we cannot speak of party supremacy when party organs are not functioning.

    “For the purpose of clarity, I want to say that if, by the grace of God, using the leaders of our party  to elect me as the next chairman of the party, people must be able to distinguish between my views on issues and the position of the party.

    He said further that when people are called for a meeting and things are agreed upon, every member of the party should be able to obey such a decision because they are the views of the party agreed upon by all.

    “When we talk about dividends of democracy, we talk as if dictators don’t have dividends. Dictators can build bridges. The third mainland bridge was not built by politicians, but the thing that distinguishes the two is that in the affairs of men, to do the right thing is important and who is involved in the decision of what is right is much more important.

    “It is that sense of inclusiveness and participation that makes democracy separate from dictatorship. Therefore, if elected, I will like to be able to encourage every member and leaders of the party  to imbibe the spirit of debate, contestation and all the choices available to us because there is always more than one way to get things done. So that whatever is done, there is a sense of collective ownership. If we sustain this culture of debate, then issues of party supremacy will not be a contestation and nobody will then issue himself as being above the party.

    Imo state Governor Rochas Okorocha said: “Oshiomole’s coming in as national chairman of APC is bad news to other political parties. Adams Oshiomole is a dogged fighter ,a man who can face challenges and i have no doubt that you will strengthen APC when elected.

    “Today, our party is going through some challenges and I must commend those who helped fight for this party even before this time, they have done well but the fight ahead, the challenges ahead are greater and we need great men like Adams Oshiomole t do this job.  For me particularly, Adams will strengthen APC in soiuth south and south east.

    “Buhari is not just a president,Buhari is a leader. All why we are supporting Adams Oshiomole, is to see that strong party chairman that will be behind him.

    At he ceremony were Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki, his Deputy Phillip Shuaibu, Edo State APC Chairman Anslem Ojezia, National Vice Chairman, Southsouth  APC Hilliard Eta, former Bayelsa State Governor Timiprieye Silva,  Edo State House Speaker Kabiru Adjoto, Senate Deputy Whip Francis Alimikhena, Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters Senator Ita Enang, Senator Magnus Abe, John Apkanuduedehe, Hon. James Faleke, NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, former Edo State Deputy Governor Lucky Imasuen, NDDCManaging Director Nsima Ekere, Senator Domingo Obende, former Minister of Labour Emeka Wogu, Chief Great Ogboru, Parry Iriase, Gen. Lawrence Onoja, Senator Ovie Ojo-Agege, Saidu Njidah, Eseme Eyibo, Bassey Essien, Bello Kumo, Louis Odion, Briamoh Abbas, Ortega Emehor, Cairo Ojuogoh, Senator Uche Ekwenife, Ostia Okechukwu, Prof. Julius Ihonvhare, Comrade Issa Aremu, Hon, Uchena Ekwe, Comrade Frank Kokori, Hon. Johnson Oghuma, Pius Etokhana, Hon, Gabriel Kolawole, Chief Francis Inegbenekhi, Usman Shagadi, Senator Abba Aji, Senator Jonathan Zwingina and Senator Abubakar Gada.

  • Shape of things to come

    Shape of things to come

    The real estate sector has severally been touted as one with huge potential to contribute to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). But with the economy in recession, stakeholders are of divergent views on what prospects the sector holds this year? MUYIWA LUCAS reports.

    Kayode Oyedele, an estate Mmanager, was shocked after going through the content of a correspondence he received from tenants in some estates he manages in Lagos and Abuja. After a meeting with representatives of the tenants last November, it was clear that a hard decision had to be taken.

    The tenants unanimously laid down their cards in clear terms before Oyedele: “Reduce your rent or we vacate your estate,” they said emphatically.

    Faced with this stark reality, Oyedele had no choice but to convince the property owners to take a 30 per cent cut in rent if they desired to still have the buildings occupied. He is concerned that the trend last year, which saw rents frozen while some tenants asked for reduction, needs to be carefully handled this year to curb a recurrence. Besides, he is sad that the situation, which led to many tenants defaulting in rent payments last year, may continue this year. Many houses remain vacant for very long time, especially in high rental areas of Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki, as well as Abuja.

    This is why opinions are strongly divided on the outlook of this year in the real estate sector. While some built environment specialists do not see the light at the end of the tunnel yet, others are cautiously optimistic about the prospects the sector holds in the current fiscal year.

    However, the major thing going for the sector is the fact that the need for real estate across strata remains extremely strong; hence, opportunities will, continue to exist. Although the challenging times may pose difficulties for operators, yet they present opportunities for innovations which will ultimately benefit the sector.

    The Head, Property Management, SFS Capital Limited, Victoria Island, Lagos, Mr. Bolarinwa Odeyingbo, said the expectations for the property market this year will be dwarfed by the same problem of investors’ confidence experienced in the sector last year. “The biggest challenges in 2016 were investors’ confidence – local and international. It does not look like there will be increased confidence in 2017. If that remains, we will most likely witness an economy that will remain stagnated as in 2016 and may possibly perform worse,” Odeyingbo warned.

    He regretted that the property market recently suffered an unprecedented glut as thousands of properties across the country remain unsold, abandoned and uncompleted. The problems, he said, could be traced to the era of cumulative bad governance, endemic corruption, disruption in the oil industry, and the absence of any revolutionary economic blueprint. This is why mass homelessness is now a common feature in all metropolitan areas, and infrastructure problems continue to escalate.

    “This year  may even pose a worse outlook in that regard.  Although, it is believed that since a large chunk of allocation has been given to the Power, Works and Housing and Urban Development sector in the budget, this quantum of money, in real terms, amounts to little when you factor in inflation and devaluation of the naira. I foresee a situation where a lot of the dollar denominated commercial rents for the new ‘A’ Class developments will be further reduced by as much as 30 to 40 per cent as tenants with ability to pay for such will further shrink,” he said.

    Stakeholders in the industry, however, warned that efforts must be made to ensure that the real estate market does not crash further on the heels of the theory that Real Estate in the country is an industry built on price fixing and fraud.

    Likely hot properties

    Odeyingbo is optimistic that the retail sector will most likely drive the sector, including the mass medium income category on the Mainland part of Lagos State. He observed that areas such as Yaba and its environs, Surulere, Maryland, Magodo Phase 2 (Shangisha/ Ketu Ikosi axis), Gbagada, and some other central areas on the Lagos mainland, will experience a boost. In Abuja, Phase 3, comprising Galadimawa, Kabusa, Lokogoma down to Apo resettlement will experience a boost. Another segment with a glimmer of hope is the development of the malls, though may be at reduced rate and possibly undertaken in phases.

    Greater investment opportunities

    The rise in Nigeria’s middle class has been over-hyped in recent years; but it is still a genuine phenomenon that is generating huge commercial and political opportunities. It has been estimated that the Nigerian middle class has tripled in size over the past 14 years – and the boom is gathering speed. This is one reason why the country is one of the biggest economies in Africa, accounting for about half of sub-Saharan Africa’s population and GDP.

    These factors will ensure that Nigeria remains a strong haven for housing investment. A researcher on housing provision and the economy, Mr. Mayowa Sodipo, cautioned that there was a study that concluded that earlier estimates of the middle class were much exaggerated. He, however, said  there is still dramatic growth in the bracket from about 4.6 million households in 2000 to almost 15 million households today if the middle class and lower-middle-class categories are both included.  He, therefore, said, it was assumed that over the next 15 years, the growth will continue to gain momentum, and a further 25 million households will become middle class and lower-middle-class households.

    Also Nigeria is by far the biggest source of the new middle class in Africa, with a forecast that by 2030, there will be 12 million middle-class households in Nigeria alone. Sodipo said it was given that the medium income Real Estate investment would fare better.

    Prospect of rent-to-own scheme

    Stakeholders are optimistic that the Rent-To-Own schemes will do well this year, considering that the scheme has come to bridge the gap between the lack of supply and the demand for affordable housing.

    For instance, Natanel Folrens, whose forte is in the rent-to-own scheme, has started identifying existing properties or landowners willing to pledge their property title deeds to a trust created and managed by UBA Trustees Limited and Union Trustees Limited. The company has already launched the scheme in several estates in Lagos and expected to step up its game this year as it enters the second phase of the scheme. The rent-to-own did fairly well toward the Second half of last year, even as the Lagos State government stepped up its involvement in the scheme, as we saw a lot of subscribers, and it is likely to do better this year.

    Cost of building material

    The high cost of building materials in real estate construction for large/multiple buildings is one of the 15 major factors responsible for project delays and cost escalation in Nigeria as noted by a study of the Nigerian Construction Industry.

    The survey revealed price fluctuation of building materials as the most severe cause of project cost escalation, which is attributed to the limitation in exchange rate which in turn affects construction material prices and general price level. This is not likely to change this year, especially if the local currency continues to freely fall against other international currencies.

     Between Abuja and Lagos markets

    In order to fully harness the opportunities prevalent in these markets, it is better to classify them into segments. Odeyingbo explained that if focusing on the residential segment in the two cities, there is a need for classification, using price and location as parameters. This has given rise to different market categories: Upper Market (N100m above); Middle–Upper Market (N50m-100m); Middle Market (N20m-50m); Low–Middle Market (N5m-20m) and Low Market (N5m below).

    Majority of the upper market and middle market–upper, in Lagos falls within the island axis. Nevertheless, the mainland axis also possesses some strong contenders that easily price well in the upper and middle – upper markets. In Abuja, majority of the upper market and middle markets are Maitama, Asokoro, Jabi and a few other areas – while other areas such as Lugbe, Phase 3, Lokogoma, Galadimawa, Kabusa and Apo areas can be tagged within the middle upper market.

    Odeyingbo explained that in Lagos, a property bought for N35 million on the Island will earn N2.2 million averagely on rent, translating to about 6.8 per cent yield annually, while a property bought in Phase 3, Abuja for N10 million can earn N800,000 on rent, which is about eight per cent its annual yield.

    He, therefore, said from these illustrations, the Abuja market guaranteed better earnings on property annually, and also gives better appreciative value.

    But one common denominator among stakeholders is that the present glut will remain, especially in places such as the Lagos Island (Ikoyi, V.I and Lekki axis) and Abuja; even after the recession begins to clear out.

  • Yemi Osindero moves on to greater things

    YEMI Osindero lives his life in confidence bestowed upon him by his guardian angel. The experienced businessman seems to possess a keen and uncommon ability to sniff mishap miles away which enables him to move on before trouble hits. As the chief operating officer of Virgin Nigeria, Dr Osindero alerted the company’s CEO, Richard Cliffon that the beleaguered airline operator teetered on the brink of collapse, only for his warnings to go unheeded.

    Undaunted, and while the ovation rang loudest, Dr Osindero jumped ship from Virgin Nigeria before it hit an economic iceberg and sank in the sea of global financial crisis. The luck that had followed him throughout his career did not desert him as he once again found himself thrust into a key role as a director in Standard Chartered Bank Private Equity with primary responsibility for the West African markets.

    Feelers indicate that Dr Osindero has left Standard Chartered and struck out on his own. Having already equipped himself with a First Class degree in Engineering, enviable experience from Goldman Sachs and inestimable knowledge of investment finance, as well as valuable insights from his time at Virgin Nigeria and Standard Chartered, Dr Osindero is expected to make a success of his new venture.

  • When things fell apart

    When things fell apart

    The Rivers State imbroglio just revealed one of the ailments of the Nigerian mind: a compulsive amnesia. We sometimes act as though the past is either too heavy with sorrow or casts us in bad light, so we forget. Or it is so light we lose sense of how to make it into a weight of glory. The media, just like our political elite, are culprits of the mnemonic sin. The media reports and comments suffered from a scant well of historical backgrounding. Our politicians ape the trend. In the end, we act as a people without a past.  Socrates knew this and so devised a system of recall that is now called the Socratic Method in philosophical studies. Socrates says our senses deceive us and that we know more than we think we know.

    The bloodshed and intimidation a week ago rekindle the need to study history. The media have simply reported it as an Amaechi-Wike standoff, as though the story began either last year or in the run-up to the last elections into the local and national legislatures.

    A brief history may help rejig our anaemic memory. After the Obasanjo years, the militants soaked the diaries of the region in blood and near anarchy. The new governors of the region as well as the late President Umaru Yar’adua set out to tackle the enveloping nightmare. Governor Timipre Sylva initiated the amnesty programme that led to the dropping of arms, especially in Bayelsa and Delta states. The Rivers State dimension was different.

    Before Amaechi became governor, Rivers State, especially the capital Port Harcourt, crawled with fear and blood. Amaechi disdained amnesty and would not reconcile with them. He confronted them. He basked in the support of the centre.

    Just as Yar’adua backed the amnesty deal, he put the nation’s military resources behind Amaechi. Port Harcourt hummed with hoodlums. Sudden bursts of gunfire, melee on the main arteries, yelps for help, bodies lying on roadsides became part of the narrative of the once-lauded Garden City.

    Innocents walked the streets and commuted with doubtful hope of a peaceful journey. I visited the city a few times then in 2007 and was amazed to see citizens trek with grave brows and upraised hands. I asked why, and I was told it was to show they had no arms. Two bare hands, raised up, protested innocence.

    One of the ghoulish familiars of the times was a place ominously called “the evil forest.” It was the lair of the militants. There they built and stored armoury, hatched plots of unrest, also lived in unspeakable opulence. They farted violence and fattened on it. Foreigners fled the city from the commonplaces of harassment and abduction and the rapine of their businesses.

    Commerce stagnated, jobs depleted, governance was stultified and gangsters reigned. Eventually, the lords of the murderous rings were flushed out of reckoning. The evil forest became a historical relic. It was a triumph of federal-state cooperation. For about six years, Rivers State grew steadily back to its halcyon past. Rotimi Amaechi was a PDP chieftain and even became the head of the Governors Forum without controversy.

    Things fell apart between Amaechi and Goodluck Jonathan. The reasons were in the public space. Mama Peace, in her lack of grace, foregrounded a drama about a hovel of crime and bandits that Amaechi levelled. It was in Okrika. I propounded a question in Jonathan’s meeting with editors in Lagos. He responded cavalierly. In his usual dodgy style, he spoke as though he knew and didn’t know of the incident.

    But since then, the President and the Rivers State Governor did not enjoy any cordiality. Amaechi claimed later that it was because of pecuniary pressures from Mama Peace, the first primitive first lady in our history. We saw the fight in other incarnations. Over oil wells with Bayelsa State, the neglect of Rivers State projects from the centre, etc. Some have accused Amaechi of lack of tact. He had a confrontational style.

    But the problem lay in the conventional wisdom that because Amaechi hails from the President’s region, he should bow to his will, willy-nilly. He also had a face-off with the judiciary. NJC, in a nepotistic way, bent its rules to favour the party and government of the centre.

    Amaechi would not remain in the party with the President. He joined the APC after the New PDP morphed and grew out of the PDP. That, historians will note, as the beginning of Jonathan’s fall. Some of Amaechi’s kinsmen would not forgive him for humiliating their son. He might have sinned. He might have been inept. He might have been sly and vicious. He was their son. You have to serve your sentiment even if it is inscrutably stupid. That was how the violence of Rivers State moved from rhetoric and emotional fracture to blood and death. His victory over the Governors Forum machinations by Jonathan and his PDP kingpins scarred the landscape further.

    The first sign that the matter was bound to violence was with the appointment of Mbu Mbu as police commissioner. In a recent interview, the former CP said he had not met Jonathan or first lady and Amaechi prejudged him and that led to strains in relations. He must think he was speaking to fools. If he did not know them, did that account for his wanton acts of irresponsibility, his contempt for the rule of law? We were all witnesses to these. If Amaechi prejudged him, was that excuse to prove Amaechi right? President Obama, in response to not bombing Syria after a threat, has said, “bombing because you promised to bomb is not a good reason to bomb.” Decency reveals character.

    Not long after, the hoodlums paraded the streets of Port Harcourt in an extravagant display of brawn, arms and intimidation. They were backed by the federal might. The army and police with which Amaechi flushed them out had new masters. Amaechi was now bait. Since then violence gradually took over the city and state. It festooned in the 2015 elections where brawn took over law. The Supreme Court gave judicial armoury to bloodletting by privileging technicality over realism in law in Wike verdict. Go thou now; kill and maim and destroy, implied the verdict. It was fulfilled in the recent polls.

    The Buhari administration did not learn from this history. The Bayelsa poll was a signal. Violence determined who won. The President also said he was not going to be involved. No one wants the President to be partisan. But if violence succeeded in crippling and determining the outcome of the proceedings, the blame lies with the commander-in-chief. We know that some soldiers and police see elections in cynical terms to compromise peace in lieu of filthy bribes. The same discipline that has made the Boko Haram fight succeed should apply to elections. Bad security eggs, bad elections.

    It is damnable enough that Amaechi and Wike have to see it as their fights for supremacy. It is more damnable that the security infrastructure made this possible. If the centre was able to paralyse any privatisation of security infrastructure, Amaechi and Wike would have looked on as the citizens cast their votes without fear. The signs leading to the polls were clear. Soldiers killed, APC chairman beheaded. Violence begets violence. The umpire – part INEC, part Federal Government – failed and gave in to anarchy. If Amaechi brought peace because of federal-state cooperation, peace failed this time because of lack of it.

    This shows that we do not understand the value of history. We have become a historical society. Our students no longer study history at every level. Our media and political leaders don’t either. A novel, A History of Violence by Paul Wagner, also adapted into film, tells how ignorance of the past wrecked a family. What is even worse is the absence of what philosophers like Hegel and Nietzsche have called “historical consciousness.”  Apart from history as discipline, some United States universities now study historical consciousness as a course. It interrogates how societies interpret major events and incidents to shape attitudes to similar contemporary affairs. In Nigeria, for instance, our interpretation of Biafran uproar today will be probed by such a study.

    We are not there yet. Hence the Rivers imbroglio seems intractable.

  • ‘I love to do things that are difficult’

    ‘I love to do things that are difficult’

    Reverend Funke Abiodun is an engineer married to an engineer. Over the years she has contributed to the technical sector and served on the Lagos State Technical and vocational board. In addition, the energetic woman is passionate about humanitarian work as well as women and integrity in whatever area they find themselves. In this interview with YETUNDE OLADEINDE she talks about the things she does, her plans for the womenfolk and more.

    Why did you go into engineering?

    I studied engineering in India and Dubai. My major area is in the drilling of borehole. I started first in Dubai, then I worked with Julius Berger for a while and then my husband said that he doesn’t want me to work under anybody. Then I started a company that focused is on engineering and that business I adopted from my husband. So I used that business to work with UBA, I worked with First Bank as a consultant , Union bank , Gurara Holdings and Nexim Bank in Abuja.

    There is an estate called Gwarimpa Estate in Abuja, that place is a very difficult place to drill borehole. As a borehole engineer, I drilled more than forty boreholes in Gwarimpa. I did more than 80 in Abuja and in Lagos I worked on all First bank branches, old and existing branches. I thank God, HE has been proving himself. When it comes to engineering, God gave me the inspiration to draw plans in a unique way. Just tell me what you want and the owner would marvel and appreciate God in me.

    I was exposed again through Lagos state Technical and vocational center. God has been helping us with the children that we are training both in Agidingbi, technical college here. We have five technical colleges in Lagos. This includes Epe, Ikotun, Adurosoba, Ikorodu and Agindigbi. We oversee all the affairs of the colleges and make sure that our students get the best. People were not informed about technical colleges in the past, they taught it was only for dullards but that is changing now.  During our time, we did a lot of awareness and spoke to parents and there was a lot of turn around. You can see that all the technical colleges are being renovated and equipments are being bought for them.

    In the past, we didn’t have many women in technical areas, would you say this is changing?

    Yes, it is really changing. I believe that we have lots of ladies making a difference. In Agindigbi we have lady welders, about six of them and they are really good, there are also ladies in mechanical engineering. When I was young I loved to do what men do, that is what prompted me to go and do the borehole thing. Now, we have lot of women doing very well.

    Can we say it was easy for you because your husband is also into engineering?

    No!  It wasn’t like that. I think it was in me personally. Some people called me Margaret Thatcher when I was young.  I loved to do things that were difficult. I loved to do things that men do. I always see myself as a man because I am the first born of my family.  I was told that my father lost a boy before me but I do not know how that works but I believe that there is nothing impossible for a woman to do. I have some people that I am mentoring and this makes me happy. In fact about 8 people came to me from Landmark University and I don’t know how they got my contact but they said that they have searched for me and wanted me to mentor them.

    How do you juggle this with family life?

    It’s been easy because I have a husband that is very supportive. We tried to do things together but it got to a stage where he said you have to go this way and I that way and they meet at a point. Communication matters and we do not leave that out.

    Why are you passionate about women and integrity?

    I have a passion for women and I love women of Integrity anywhere I go. I have always wanted a woman to be confidence and it is that confidence that makes my husband allow me to represent him as a speaker and as an evangelist. Women of Integrity (WOI) is a program that the lord led me to start in London some years back.

    Then I brought some women together and gave them the confidence required to make a difference in their lives, family and the society at large. It is all about Charity, the need to give out as well as look inwards, to see if there is anyone in our midst who needs assistance in whatever way. This way you would know how to empower them as well as use the word of God to back them, giving them the relevant advise as well as teaching them how to fish. I discovered that there is need to reach out to women and empower them on how best to contribute to the society as well as handle the family. It is not wise to watch films from morning to night, when there are so many other useful things that you can do with your time. A lot of things come with prayers and you have to take a bold step.

    That bold step is what we are talking about, instead of being a liability to their husbands. It is not good for women to sit at home and be asking their husbands for everything. You need to look at yourself and ask what if God created you as a man, what you would do. The answer for me would be that I would feed my wife and children. Likewise, you can support your husband, where we are today, I told him about having a penthouse and he was like what if the money finished but I encouraged him.

    As women, we need to encourage our husbands. Our husbands are so flexible like babies. When you give them full support, you would see them doing greater things but if you do not do this, you see them falling easily. So I went all the way to encourage women that they can do it.

    Talking about integrity, the economy is in a state with retrenchments and corruption everywhere. What advice do you have for Nigerian women?

    I want to advise Nigerian women that they should be prayerful. Here I want to crave the indulgence of men by saying that women are more powerful than men, I believe that prayers can do all things. However with prayers, you cannot sit down and relax. Instead you need to add passion and hard work to make it. I want to encourage our women that after prayers, you seat yourself down to meditate and God would lift you.

    When you hear the voice of the lord, you would not seek wrong counsel. The voice of God would not let you look at somebody else’s cloth because you do not know what is going on underground. Live your own life, don’t live a fake life. A lot of the problems we have are that a lot of our women live a fake life. Although there is a portion that says that you fake it to make it, there are some areas that you can do this. For instance, you can pretend to be big when you know that something big is coming up for you but when you do this in some areas where you need assistance, and then you would fail. All we need to do is to be prayerful and focused. Most of us are not focused; we are looking at today and not thinking about tomorrow.

    You are also part of Inner wheel?

    If you have a spirit of giving then you belong to Inner wheel. When we got married my husband and I had a covenant to be giving   to the less privileged. Every time we had the opportunity to give to the poor we were happy and our spirit would lift. We continue until one day when we would see some people coming to drop things and I asked who they were and they told me they were Inner Wheel members. It got to a stage and a friend encouraged us to join Inner Wheel and Rotary, since we had the spirit of giving. That was how we joined and I have spent about 22 years. I have been president more than six times, secretary and now I am at the district level. Next year I want to drop this because I want to charter a club in Iju. I have been to the International rallies more than 7 times.

    How did you get into the Ministry?

    I thank the lord for the directive. It is due to my husband’s involvement with the powerful hand of God with the search and confirmation that HE really wants him to work for God. So, I had to go along with him.

    Immediately after the calling, God did something wonderful in my life. At that point, I was actually abroad on ministration and I was called by the Fashola Administration. They made me a member of the Governing board of the Technical and Vocational education body. Ever since then, I have been involved with the state government. We are just nine on the board and I never lobbied for it. We have a lot of people lobbying for things like this but I believe that it was God working as usual. HE says follow me and everything is going to fall in place. I appreciate God for that and I need to give the testimony openly.

    What is the name of the Ministry?

    The name of the ministry is the Beloved church. Initially, it was called the First Beloved Church Ministry International and that was what was registered abroad in the UK. The church started about 6 years ago. First it started as Saturday worship about 8 years ago. It was like a ministry, then at the Women’s development center, Agege. Then my husband thought it was going to be a partial thing.

    What was it like at that point?

    It was so nice because we could see the hand of God. But he was a minister to the prophets and most of the pastors he was mentoring got the touch of God. It got to a stage where God told him to start the Sunday service but because he had his own job, he didn’t want to take it up initially. My husband is an electronic electrical engineer while I am a civil engineer. At the same time, I have certificates on procurement. It was so easy when we started the Sunday service and since then, God has been so faithful to us.

    What are some of the achievements recorded?

    A lot! I can’t count God’s glory. If you look back at what has happened, naming them one by one, you would be amazed. God has been so good to us. My husband’s story is like the biblical Noah, who God told to go and build the ark. I know what he has suffered for the calling and I have also suffered for it. I did an operation five times and I nearly died. But I am alive and ready to evangelise for Christ.

  • 15 things you need to know about TSA

    I have been worried. No, it is not about the weather. It is not about the fortunes of my team, Arsenal. It is about TSA. It is about what this acronym portends to so many brands in the country. I do not care about the name your call your brand.

    The present dispensation will affect your brand for good or bad. Do you want to know why? If the economy melts, it melts everything that is dependent on it, particularly the manufacturing and service areas. However, I digress.

    Before now, we have been living on good luck. Everybody just got lucky. Tompolo got lucky at NIMASA. Diezani got lucky with petrol-dollar. Aunty Ngozi got lucky coordinating the economy. Well, not any more. The drumbeat has changed. My mother had warned me not to depend on good luck but to work hard and earn my “pay.”

    With the advent of PMB, the concept of good luck is dead. PMB has cleaned the slate. He came to the party not with champagne and caviar, but with carrot, stick and a short acronym, TSA. Suddenly, everybody is talking at once. Some brands have even sponsored researchers to unveil the concept of TSA.

     What is TSA? Why are the banks afraid of TSA? Who is pushing it? Is it Buhari-nomics? Unfortunately, you will not get answers to these questions here. What you will get are 15 things you need to know about the Treasury Single Account or TSA. If you are not satisfied, refer to the manufacturer.

     

    Here we go:

    • TSA will promote transparency and facilitate compliance with sections 80 and 162 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
    • With TSA, all receipts due to government or its agencies will be paid into TSA resident in Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
    • Since TSA is a unified structure of government bank accounts, it enables consolidation and optimal utilisation of government’s cash resources.
    • TSA provides a consolidated view of government’s cash position always.
    • The CBN, SEC, CAC and NPA, NCC as well as FAAN and NCAA, NIMASA, NDIC, NSC, NNPC, FIRS, NCS, MMSD, DPR and other government agencies will implement TSA.
    • When linked to TSA, the accounting system will be configured to allow the agencies access to funds based on their approved budgetary provisions.
    • The implementation of TSA brings transparency, efficiently and accountability.
    • TSA is part of the public financial management reforms under pillar three of the National Strategy for Public Service Reforms towards vision 20:2020.
    • TSA addresses impediments to effective and efficient cash management.
    • TSA ends problems of fragmented banking, which affected government’s ability to undertake efficient cash planning and management as required by the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
    • Wth TSA, government can track its expenditure in a timely manner.
    • TSA makes it possible for flexible operations, contrary to past regime where officers must get to their desks before effecting transactions.
    • SA enables online real time transactions, meaning payment can be made from any point in the world.
    • TSA instills fiscal discipline and prudence as over 1,000 dormant or idle accounts will remain shut.
    • With TSA, the average monthly overdrafts with the CBN fell from the overdrawn amount of N102 billion in December 2011 to N4.461 billion credit in September 2012 with 93 MDAs out of over 400.

  • ‘Represent Christians in all things’

    The Bishop Theologian of The Anglican Communion and Rector of Crowther Graduate Theological Seminary, Rev. Dapo Asaju, has charged Christians to continue to beam the light of Jesus in different strata of national life.

    Asaju gave this charge at the 2014 Adult Harvest of The African Church Cathedral Salem Ebute-Metta, Lagos penultimate Sunday.

    Tagged Harvest of Uncommon Lifting, the service attracted government officials, captains of industry and community leaders.

    Exemplary Christians who have contributed to the kingdom also received awards.

    Among the awardees were The Head of Service, Lagos State, Mrs. Josephine Wiilliams; Managing Director, Daddu Construction Company, Surulere, Sir David Dawodu and Vice Chairman Twelve Brethren  Society, Bro Muyiwa Odumose, among others.

    Speaking as the guest preacher, Asaju said the prevalence of confusion, poverty, corruption, injustices and insecurity offer an opportunity for Christians to show the light of God and influence their communities.

    He said: “The whole of God’s creature are waiting for the light of Jesus that drives away darkness. It is only the children of God that can bring solution to the problem of societies.”

    He noted that Christians of all ages have risen up to bring about good education, health care facilities, good roads, portable water and all forms of economic empowerment programmes in modern civilisation.

    Asaju argued that the church cannot remain indifferent to the needs and aspirations of the world, stating: “The time of harvest for God’s children will soon come as we sow in tears for a better and safer world for all of us to live in and our children, we will reap in joy here in this world and in eternity.”

    He stressed that Christians must be faithful and content with the little that the Lord has given to them and avoid the short-cut syndrome that has done more harms than good to the nation.

    The Hon. vice Lay President, Lagos Mainland Diocese of the church, Chief Babatunde Odufuwa, said that the harvest celebration of the church was to appreciate the goodness of God in their homes, family, church and bring their fruits and material gift in recognition of His goodness.

    Odufuwa, who is also the Chancellor of Southwestern University, appealed to government to invest more in developing young minds that would be veritable catalysts for development.

    In her response to the award, the Head of Service, Lagos State, Mrs. Josephine Williams, said that it will propel her to do more for the kingdom.

  • Top things to do after you get engaged

    Top things to do after you get engaged

    He popped the question, you’re over the moon. Adetorera Idowu shares top 10 things to do right after he proposes.

    Spread the good news

    This is the first task; telling your parents about it, then your friends and relatives. Because no one likes to be the last to know, you have to pick up the phone to call them all one by one to share the exciting news. You do not want to let your family hear about it through an update on social media. Set aside time and money to make the call, starting from you nuclear family, of course.

     

    Insure your ring

    Some people don’t see the need for this, but if something happens to your ring, you are going to wish you had it insured. Your ring is a treasured item and although nothing can replace it’s sentimental value and you may not get the exact same type if it gets lost, but at least you can get your (or his) money back. So make a call to your insurance broker to find the right type of insurance cover for your ring.

     

    Sign up for marriage classes

    It’s important to still keep sight of the big picture (the marriage) and think beyond the wedding which is just a day. Marriage classes are usually organised by the local churches and are sometimes mandatory. Attending these classes gives the couple insight into the new institution they are entering.

     

    Have an idea of the date

    Before you announce to the world that you are finally engaged, make sure you have an idea of when the wedding will be. After “congratulations” and “let me see your ring,” here’s the first thing people will ask: “When’s the wedding?” It’ll save you a lot of headache if the two of you come up with a vague-yet-specific answer, like “Early Next Year” it will save you a lot of stress having an answer for them.

     

    Create a wedding blog

    It is also a good idea to set up a wedding website or blog to keep everyone up to date on your upcoming wedding. One the site, you can share your ‘how we met’, “how he proposed” and also post photos, write your “how we met” story, have a guestbook and interact with so many people. It will answer all the questions that people may want to ask.

     

    Start saving

    If you haven’t done so already, start saving with your significant other. Even if you might not know exactly how much your wedding will cost, it’s a pretty good bet that it will be expensive. The sooner you start saving, the smaller the amount per month you need to save. You can then make a wedding budget out of the money already saved. This is particularly helpful if your parents don’t have much to contribute to your wedding or you want to be able to afford some things yourself. Remember that even a simple, small wedding costs money (and sometimes a lot more money than you would ever imagine). A wedding savings account is an easy way to keep cash accumulating for the big day, so you don’t have to rely solely on your parents and contributions from friends.

     

    Star drawing up your guests’ list

    Ask your parents (and his) for their ideal guests’ lists. Before you start putting a number on how many guests you want, it’s time to ask both your parents about whom they’d most want to invite. Be sure to tell them this is just a preliminary list and things might change. After you have their “dream” lists, you can add and edit and trim. With this, you will have an idea of how many people may attend your wedding.

  • The sign of things to come

    The sign of things to come

    The release, last week, of Nigeria’s growth rates under the rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) revealed that growth is two percentage points lower. An analysis showed that telecom is a maturing and slower-growing sector. The growth sectors are manufacturing – particularly food, cement and textile – and real estate. Banks are expected to be major gainers during the spendings for 2015 elections. COLLINS NWEZE reports.

    The actual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate for 2013 was last week brought down to 5.49 per cent from an estimated 7.41 per cent.

    The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its latest GDP data, said the economic growth for 2012 was revised down to 4.21 per cent, from an estimated 6.5 per cent. Nigeria overtook South Africa as Africa’s largest economy in April, after a rebasing calculation almost doubled its gross domestic product to more than $500 billion.

    Chief Economist, Renaissance Capital (RenCap) Charles Robertson said in an emailed report that the downward growth revision, which was expected, is in part the result of better measurement of previously understated but fast-growing sectors, such as telecoms.

    Roberson said a moderate improvement in growth in 2014 to 5.7 per cent is expected, partly due to a boost from higher election-related fiscal spending, including potential wage hikes for civil servants. Some sectors that are likely to gain from a looser fiscal policy include trade, financial services and telecoms.

    Also, preliminary oil output numbers for the first half of the year suggest a slowdown in the decline of the oil and gas sector, which is positive for growth. “We expect growth to moderate in 2015, particularly in the second half of 2015 – as the largesse that typically surrounds elections dissipates. However, this time around, we expect any fiscal stimulus related to elections to be much more moderate than that of 2010/2011,” he said.

     

    Telecoms maturing

    He explained in the report titled: “Nigeria’s GDP: Bigger but slower Manufacturing is the growth engine” that under the new series, telecoms accounts for nine per cent of GDP and grew by 4.7 per cent in 2013. “The rebased growth numbers confirm that telecoms’ rapid growth is in the past and the sector has matured. The decline of oil and gas partly explains the lower growth, particularly in 2013 when the sector contracted by a sizeable 13 per cent and shaved 1.5 percentage points off total growth,” he said.

     

    Manufacturing sector

    On the manufacturing sector, Robertson said the sector  is a much bigger, faster-growing sector under the new series, with nine per cent of GDP as against four per cent previously. In 2013, it recorded substantial growth of 22 per cent as against 14 per cent in 2012, comprising one-third of total growth.

    Food, beverage and tobacco producers account for half of the manufacturing sector. The sub-sector’s growth accelerated to 12 per cent in 2013, against seven per cent in 2012.

    “We believe Nigeria’s large population of upwardly mobile consumers, particularly in the south-west, coupled with investments in power, implies the strong growth of manufacturers, including food producers and breweries, is sustainable,” he said.

     

    The cement market

    Several of the smaller manufacturing sub-sectors are growing even faster than food producers. Cement, which only comprises per cent of GDP, grew by a sizeable 39 per cent in 2013, up from a strong 14 per cent in 2012. This is consistent with a fast-growing construction sector 14.2 per cent in 2013, against 9.4 per cent in 2012 and real estate sector 12 per cent against 5.6 per cent.

    Nigeria’s cement stocks give exposure to strong expansion in the building material itself, as well as the construction, real estate and infrastructure sectors. Upside for finance given lower penetration, lower rates outlook. The trade and real estate sectors trumped agriculture and financial services in 2013, to become among the top three growth drivers, together with manufacturing. The decline in agriculture’s growth contribution in 2013 was partly due to the third quarter 2012 floods.

     

    Oil and gas sector decline

    The report said the oil and gas sector’s GDP share – 11 per cent – is more or less the same as it was under the previous series. Since the sector has been contracting since 2012, its GDP share has dropped by four percentage points under the rebased series, from 15 per cent of GDP in 2011.

    “The oil and gas sector contracted by an alarming 13 per cent in 2013 after a decline of five per cent in 2012. The decline in recent years of oil and gas’s importance as an economic sector is largely attributed to industrial-scale oil theft,” it said.

    It said that preliminary oil output data suggest that the rate of decline in the oil and gas sector has slowed in first half of this year. Output was at 2.15Mb/d in June, according to a Bloomberg survey of OPEC producers.

    However, output remains volatile and there has been little in the way of reforms to suggest that there will be a material increase in output over the medium term. The passage of the long-delayed Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which we believe is not going to happen before the February 2015 elections, is seen by experts as a potential positive trigger for improved production.

    Head of Research, Standard Chartered, Razia Khan said the low weights given to rapidly growing sectors such as telecoms and financial services in previous GDP measures most likely mean that activity in these sectors is understated.

    She said the non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill and uncertainty over future fiscal terms mean that conditions will remain difficult for the oil sector. “Delays in the passage of the 2014 budget are an additional source of uncertainty,” she said.

    Khan explained that under Nigerian law, at least 50 per cent of the recurrent budget expenditure allocated in the previous fiscal year can be used for spending in the new year, without requiring a new budget to be passed. Also, should last year’s spending levels be maintained, this should be enough to see Nigeria through the first six months of this year.

    “With elections approaching in February 2015, few stand to benefit from a postponement of capital expenditure plans. Officially, the 2014 budget aims to reduce the budget deficit to 1.9 per cent of GDP (from 2.17 per cent in 2013). Our higher estimates reflect our doubts over whether the oil output levels assumed in the budget, of 2.39mn barrels per day, can be sustained.

    Augmentation of revenue, using windfall oil savings from the Excess Crude Account (ECA), is likely to be required. Ahead of an election, there is always a risk of further fiscal deterioration if spending plans are increased,” she said.

    Khan said revenue shocks arising from constrained oil output will cause the mix of recurrent to capital expenditure to fall short of plans in the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) which aims to create more room for investment spending.

    Managing Director, CRC Credit Bureau, Babatunde Popoola said the rebasing has finally laid to rest, the controversy over the actual size and ranking of our economy.

    He said that from the rebased GDP, it makes sense to set out the fundamental implications of the new reality.  “Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa with a GDP of US$510 billion. Our per capita income has moved up to $2,688, which still places us on 121st position. The per capita income position is an indication of an economy with low productivity,” he said.

    Popoola said the rebasing of the GDP has also provided Nigeria with the impetus and the stimulant to see herself as a big economy. “Hopefully, it also should be able to further improve the attraction of foreign directive investment provided we are able to put together the other important factors especially appropriate policy and conducive investment climate,” he said.

    The CRC boss said Nigeria is a country blessed not only with huge human resources but also with natural resources. Nigeria is the largest producer of crude oil in Africa and also has the seventh largest crude oil export in the world with a daily production capacity of over 2.5 million barrels per day.

    “We are the 28th largest gas producer in the world and may be the second fastest growing gas producer in the world. But as an oil dependent economy, substantial revenues of government are derived from oil and gas which also account for over 90 per cent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. Apart from oil and gas, Nigeria has thirty-four other unexploited mineral resources,” he said.

    Continuing, he said: “With democracy and the pursuit of a free enterprise economy, we have given impetus to free ownership of means of production and equal opportunities to all who may wish to embark on their own private initiatives.

    “The size of the economy through its newly calculated GDP, the growth of the GDP over the last decade and the nature of our youthful demographic all provide a beautiful outlook for Nigeria.”

     

     

  • ‘I do things at the right time’

    ‘I do things at the right time’

    Emmanuel Olele, 500-Level Petroleum and Gas Engineering, is popular at the Delta State University (DELSU) because of his dancing skill. Nicknamed Masi, the dancer surprised his colleagues when he won the Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarship Award for Best Academic Student. He also got scholarships from the Delta State Government and an oil company. He told PHILIP OKORODUDU (500-Level Electrical, Electronics and Computer Engineering) how he achieved the feat.

    When did you start dancing?

    I started when I was 10 years old. I saw it as ability but some of my family members believed it is hereditary.

    When people said it is hereditary, do they mean that your parents are dancers?

    Yes. Every member of my family is a good dancer. The talent runs in our blood.

    How did you meet members of your crew?

    I met all of them on campus. They are students of DELSU. We are like minds that have a passion for dancing. So, we came together and formed a group.

    Does your group perform outside the campus?

    We are not limited to Delta State alone. We do go for shows in neighbouring states and universities, places like in Benin and Port Harcourt. We have also performed in states in the eastern part of the country.

    It surprises everyone that a dancer can also be a recipient of the Vice Chancellor’s scholarship. How did you achieve it?

    Well, I worked towards it. Without being proud, I think my brilliance put me in such position. I won the Delta State University Scholarship Scheme, which is otherwise known as VC Scholarship Award, in April 2010. I am proud of the achievement because many people would have thought that being a dancer; somebody like me should be seen as an unserious student.

    How do you combine dancing with your academic work?

    I must say that it was not an easy thing because both activities can never be mixed. But then, I believe that God gives me the grace to strike a balance between the two. Let me say I the basic thing I needed to do the two activities without one affecting the other is time management. I set limits, which means that I do what ought to be done at the right time.

    Tell us about DELSU Idols?

    It is not different from the idols programme being done everywhere. The idea is all about gathering students with the desire and passion for singing to compete in a musical reality show on campus irrespective of what they are studying. Basically, we have one audition, three evictions and one grand finale. The audition is an avenue to give those that bought the forms a chance to show their talents, after which we ensure that the best among them qualify to the grand finale.

    People would have thought your academic performance would be affected by being involved yourself in many extracurricular activities. How did you manage it?

    As I have said, it has to do with time management. I let the school pass through me just as I am passing through the school but I don’t allow the social aspect of my life to affect my studies. Education is a must for me.

    Who is your role model?

    It is my father, Mr Richard Ilobah Olele. He has always encouraged me to become a successful person in life.

    How did you come to be known as Masi?

    Masi is the name I use for my social activities and other activities that are not in line with academics. The nickname was given to me during my stay in Zaria, Kaduna State.