₦airaland Forum

its a blessing for the contractors, 419s, praise singers and others.

Its not surprising, he s a typical Nigerian, like the others
Like most criminal , never own up to his responsibility, blame others for travails

Yes oooooo, $1b through tourism!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Every man dream dreams, but the must dangerous dreamer is the one that dream with his eyes open

Salisu is superb in his analyses of northern scene

Northern Nigeria has now graduated, after undergoing training and apprenticeship with their southern colleagues in ransome and kidnapping, they are now test running their skill to local adaptation. With 70% of northerners living below the poverty line, Emirs , politicians and government officials are the main target; poor people can breath a sigh of relief for now. By the time Almajiris and wannabe boko haram finally join the free for all party, even Columbia ( world headquarter of Kidnappers Incorporated) would better than Nigeria

@poster
is seun a political issue, if you have nothing better to post take a dive

Becomrich
Why would the Yoruba wants to join Benin republic?

Why would any major tribe want to join core north: north east and west. The core north has nothing to offer, except for abundant over supply of Almajiris with no technical skill and religious zealot , ever ready to kill at the slightest provocation. The core north is a burden on Nigeria since Independence, and its unlikely to change soon.Despite continuous year of rulership, they have nothing to show for it.  According  to CBN and world bank report more than 80% of core north inhabitant live below the poverty level. Why would any tribe be devaluing their quality and joining with them?

Sanusi should seriously consider giving prostitutes a bail out fund, to save the industry, just like the bank

"Fear driven prognosis!
I actually think there won't be a war. We can agree to share the oil revenue. That is the only thing that can cause a war. Besides everyone loses in war. Nigerians are too spoilt these days to experience a Somalia like situation.

A situation where Nigerians sit around a table and amicably split the country will not exit, unless they are forced. The only compelling force is war.

CBN in conjunction with world bank report that more than 70% of northerners live below the poverty line. The north east and north west are filled with Almajiris who lack any worthy technical skill, and religious zealot who are ever ready to kill at the slightest provocation. They are parasite contributing next to nothing to the national coffer. This is a time bomb for war.

If Nigeria is to be split, why would the south south agree to share their oil with anybody?

The fact;
we are stuck together until the oil finish, the alternative is war

IF you hold a free and fair referendum regarding our coperate existence, the result would look like this:

South west - yes
South east - yes
South South - yes

north central - probably yes
north west - ? (no)
north east - ? (no)

the parasitic north east and north west would be too scared to vote yes, because they have nothing except Almajiris and genocidal religious zealot who destroyed and kill in the name of God

Big Question
If the majority would like to opt out of the union , why are we together?

Answer: Oil and War
Presently, the people benefiting most from the oil, don't own the oil. Their objective is to dry up the oil well, before abandoning the union. The people of South South would be left with no oil and a terrible environmental disaster. Oil is keeping the country together, when it dry up, the country will automaticall breaks up. the three major tribe hate each other, there is no common ground.

Secondly, there is no way Nigeria would break up without a war, the international community are doing everything they can to prevent it. f war should break out, it would destabilise the entire sub Sahara Africa and beyond, with over 50 milion Nigerians becoming refugee. This would have a domino effect on other west African countries resulting into all west Africa civil war. This would stretch the UN to a breaking point.

beside a sleeping president, there is a awake and alert first lady

hmmm
we shall see how the drama play out

[size=15pt](ON) GOING CONCERNS: [/size]Uncle T agony uncle


Tolu Ogunlesi

September 21, 2009 11:55AMT
  print  email   

Dear Uncle T,I am struggling with feelings of resentment. This morning at breakfast my 5-year-old son asked his daddy "Daddy where were you when your mates were taking loans?" Which were my thoughts exactly!!!!!!!!! As usual my husband laughed dismissively (eve-rything is a joke to him) and tried to explain to the boy that all those who took loans are now paying heavily for it.

But only last week I overheard him lamenting to a friend on the phone that his biggest regret in life was not partaking of the loan bonanza "while stocks lasted".How do I make him admit to my son and me that he was both wrong and foolish?
Resentful Rita

Dear Resentful Rita, I don't blame you. If I were you I'd be resentful as well. God knows. What you should do is this: Let your son handle the matter.Every day, teach him a proverb that deals with "stubbornness" and let him unleash it on Daddy, a new one every morning. No one can resist the wisdom of a child.Your husband will break down under the pressure and post a written confession on the refridgerator. Watch that space! Uncle T

Dear Uncle T, Ever since I started following the coverage of the banking crisis on 234next.com I have been gripped by fear. Two years ago I took a loan of N200,000 to arrange my wedding. Unfortunately things came up afterwards (like my wife giving birth to triplets) and I have been unable to repay the loan.My questions are thus:
1. Will CBN consider this loan a bad debt? Am I in danger of being paraded by Madam Waziri? Am I being irrational? (My friends have said I am)
2. If YES to the above, what can I do?PS. In case you'd like to know, I did not drop any collateral for the loan. It was a youth corper who attended to me that day. He said he was the one assigned to issuing loans that day; all his bosses had gone to London to commission a new branch of their bank.
Worried Wale

Dear Worried Wale, There are two possible scenarios:
Scenario 1: Aunty Farida is dealing with billionaires at the moment. She has already promised that she will move to the millionaires soon. If she doesn't get tired, or distracted by yet another band of thieving politicians, she will move to the thousanaires next.If that happens, you're in freshly cooked peppersoup. The anger that the Nigerian Law reserves for Small Men is a geometric progression on the anger reserved for Big Men.

Big Men, when arrested, will be allowed to sleep in a DPO's air-conditioned office, and offered Mr. Biggs food.And they will be taken to court in Peugeot 406.Small Men on the other hand, will be chained to one another and conveyed to court in Black Marias. The Rule for Small Men is this: Go Directly to Jail. Do Not Pass by your Lawyer's Office. Do Not Even Think of Getting a Court Injunction.
Scenario 2:The EFCC will offer an Amnesty Package to all "fiscal militants" owing our banks money.

The Amnesty will entail something like this: All fiscal militants will be expected to surrender their arms and ammunition (in this case the Sweet Mouths / Signatures / "Business Proposals" with which they obtained the loans.They will all be carried in buses to Aso Rock to shake repentant hands with the President's, and their faces will be beamed to the world at 9pm on the NTA.To avoid the fate in Scenario 1, you need to do one of two things: Either you liquidate your loan as soon as possible, or you increase your indebtedness from a measly 200,000 (Poor Man's Loan aka Wahala Loan) to 200,000,000 (Big Man's Loan aka No Wahala Loan).IN NIGERIA IT IS BETTER TO OWE 1,000,000 THAN TO OWE 1,000. YOU WILL BE TREATED MORE RESPECTFULLY. Woe unto the Man Whose Debt is Negligible. To increase your debt portfolio as recommended, get your loan document (if you have any) and add three zeroes to the original sum.
Uncle T

Dear Uncle T, I applied for a 400 million naira loan last year to expand my "oil and gas" business. The oil I was referring to was groundnut oil, and the gas was cooking gas ("cylinder", but I think the bank automatically assumed it was crude oil and liquefied natural gas.I therefore got the loan, no questions asked.

Do you think I was being dishonest by not giving full information to the bank?Remorseful Rahman Dear RR, Unfortunately, this column only answers questions sent by fully-certified human beings. If what you're telling me is true - that you got that much money THAT easily - you must be a creature with the tongue of an Emeritus Wizard. I dey fear you my broda!!! PS. If symptoms of remorse persist after one week please consult a qualified shaman.Terrified (Uncle) T

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Opinion/Editorial/5461711-182/(ON)_GOING_CONCERNS:_Uncle_T_agony.csp

[size=15pt]Coca-Cola closes concentrate factory [/size]
By Ayodamola Owoseye

In spite of the abundance of fruits like citrus, pineapple, mango and tomato for juice processing in the country, makers of fruit juice still depend on the importation of concentrates for their manufacturing processes.

Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, one of the largest drink making companies, with the only concentrate supply plant in the country, has decided to shut down its factory located in Sango Otta, Ogun state and relocate it offshore.

Consequently, the company, like others, will now depend on the importation of concentrates from Swaziland for its operations.

Harsh operating environment
Coca-Cola blames the unfriendly manufacturing environment in the country for the decision. In a statement on Friday, the company explained that the Otta factory which was commissioned to manufacture concentrates for all Coca-Cola bottlers in the sub-region, had made little profits because of the high manufacturing costs.

The company said this rendered products from the country non-competitive for export to other Coca-Cola bottlers in the neighbouring West and Central African countries.

The company added that the development made the plant’s operations unsustainable in the light of the current global economic realities since it had been producing for the Nigerian market alone.



Manufacturers react

Bashir Borodo, the President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) told NEXT in a telephone interview that it was sad that Coca-Cola is planning to relocate the only concentrate factory due to the unfriendly business environment in the country.

“It is sad and we will keep hearing such bad news if the government does not act fast in restoring the power sector. Instead of companies to be moving in they are moving out .This will definitely affect the work force because more people will be losing their jobs as the companies move out,” he said.

Mr Borodo noted that the prevailing environment is not suitable for manufacturing as this affects production costs, which in turn hampers effective competition with goods from other world markets.

In the last nine years, he said, “about 820 companies have closed shops with most of them relocating to the neighboring countries. Some of those remaining in the country have also diversified most of their production unit to those countries making the nation more of a consumer nation than a manufacturing one.”

Mr. Borodo argued that the Coca-Cola case is pathetic, as relocating the concentrate factory out of the country will mean the company going back to importing the item for its drinks, especially as Nigeria is one of the biggest markets for Coca-Cola in Africa.


Effort to revive the drink company
The beverage manufacturing sub-sector had depended on the importation of fruit juices and wines sold in the Nigerian market until 2002, when former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s government placed a ban on it.

Apart from that, the government also lowered the tariff on concentrate to five per cent, to encourage local manufacturers take advantage of the highly lucrative industry to enhance the production of juice and wines in the country and discourage importation.

Most beverage manufacturers currently in operation started during this period, but with the bulk of the concentrates imported from the U.S., the Netherlands and other foreign countries.

A report from the U.S. department of agriculture shows that Nigeria is a huge market for U.S. exporters of fruit concentrates and despite 60 per cent growth in the industry in the last five years, use of concentrate increased from 1.5 million kilogrammes in 2002, to about 30 million kg in 2007.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Money/Business/5461511-146/story.csp

so what
People in government are official criminals while MEND are unofficial criminals

I also predict his church would continue to grow in strength as more gullible Nigerians donate in pain, while the primate smile to the bank

their best potential is boko haram.
Every almajiri on arewa street is a potential boko haram of the future

I m sure he wont be miss

We have better things to do rather than follow your landlock arewa republic with over populated almajiris and poverty ridden religious zealots, who contributed nothing to Nigeria except violence in the name of God

Rubbish, the guy predicted nothing.
Only the ignorant live his life based on prediction

it would never stop

[size=19pt]Why Finland stopped aid to Nigeria[/size], by envoy
From Oghogho Obayuwana, Abuja

BY the reckoning of Finland, Nigeria ought to have become a leading world economy offering other nations assistance rather than receiving from them.

It is for this reason that Finland said it had stopped assistance to Nigeria. The Scandinavian country, which was among the first nations to establish diplomatic relations with Nigeria in 1963, stopped its technical co-operation programme with Nigeria in the 1970s because according to its ambassador to Nigeria, Anneli Vuorinen, it was then thought that Nigeria would soar to great heights of economic development where early projection had correctly placed her.

But unfortunately, the projections for Nigeria have remained unfulfilled. "Up till the 1970s, we had a bilateral development programme with Nigeria. Not after that. We stopped in the 1970s because you (Nigeria) got richer and became not a country that Finland considered anymore to be in need of bilateral assistance because you were becoming in principle a rich country, which you are if the wealth will be divided more equally, which is the question, and is another problem," the envoy added.

By implication, Nigeria is now largely Finland's political and trade partner, instead of being a bilateral development partner.

In an exclusive interview with The Guardian, Ambassador Vuorinen also disclosed that there were no plans to add anymore countries to those already on Finland's list of nations to enjoy assistance from bilateral agreements. The eight already listed countries, mostly in Africa, are in the eastern and southern African regions. The Finish Mission in Nigeria oversees West African countries that include Ghana, Senegal, Benin and Liberia.

However, in order that Nigeria will not completely lose out of development assistance on account of being shut out of the bilateral agreement programme, the Finish envoy said her country would now explore the possibility of working through regional projects like those within the ambience of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS.) Although still in its planning stage, it is expected to bring in substantial funds to the sub-region.

The envoy said: "Then we are also looking at increased Finish attention and interest in West Africa, as regards Finish development money, we are planning at the moment to start regional activities covering several West African countries so there can be direct assistance in the areas of reforestation, environmental issues, conflict prevention, so that will mean that Nigeria will most likely be part of that."

"What I am striving for is for Nigeria here to also get so-called seed money, to get into ongoing projects that are already started and implemented by other actors and where we could add few elements with Finish expertise. Some of the sectors are health, electoral reforms, capacity-building, this will hopefully provide us, I hope next year, the possibility of also having small but concrete new activities in Nigeria," she added.

The current trade volume between the two countries by the close of last year was in the region of 100 million euros. Of this, Finish export into Nigeria accounts for 67.5 million euros while Nigeria manages a paltry 0.15 million euros export to Helsinki, leaving the balance of trade in the favour of the former. The bulk of what comes into Nigeria consists of machinery and sundry equipment, including telecommunications.

Finland first signed a trade agreement with Nigeria in 2005 for the promotion and protection of investments, which for the avoidance of double taxation is, however, still in the pipeline.

Vuorinen noted: "We are still active in Nigeria through several channels, one of which is the fact that as a member of the EU (European Union), aid is shared in line with the EU's development programmes. So, partners' money comes here but we are not giving it earmarked. We give our share which is then divided up but we are here as all the EU countries.

The same thing goes about the UN. We are a very active supporter of the UN. But we give all our money un-earmarked so that it is very difficult to say how much of the money that goes to the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) or UNICEF (United Nations Children and Educational Fund) goes to Nigeria, but part of it goes to Nigeria. Similarly, with the World Bank, we give a lot of development money to the World Bank, which is very active in Nigeria."

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/news/article04//indexn2_html?pdate=180909&ptitle=Why Finland stopped aid to Nigeria, by envoy

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Its not surprising that the police were unaware of Ribadu's visit, the only thing they are aware of is bribe

Even if Ribadu visited Onovo in his house, he wont recognise him

yes, kanye west is a jackass

Opinion and Analysis

I doubt that Sanusi Lamido will be successful in ridding the financial sector of the crooks that call the shots. My pessimism stems from the experiences of other reformist crusaders that have tried and ultimately failed to change the status quo in this dystopian conundrum called Nigeria. His job will be made harder by his colleagues at the central bank. They understand how the system works and may not be committed to his disruptive agenda.

Sanusi’s dalliance with the EFCC might reap short term dividends but anybody who understands the workings of Mrs Waziri’s EFCC knows that the agency is simply using this God sent opportunity to con Nigerians into believing that it is serious about the anti-corruption war. We must also consider the legal angle. Senior lawyers have told me that it is difficult to prosecute debtors when there is no evidence of fraud in the loan disbursement process. This explains why hardcore debtors such as Ike Okolo’s Aquitane Oil and Gas have ignored the EFCC and opted to hire legal heavyweights to defend them. In spite of the EFCC’s public relations blitz, other notable debtors such as the imperious Peter Odili have also headed to court.

The CBN “name and shame” tactic is yielding some results. The composition of the debtors list shows that there is a serious problem with Corporate Nigeria. Some of our most respected business leaders showed up on this list. I’m surprised that Alhaji Aliko Dangote and other respected Nigerian businessmen could brazenly decide to connive with these banks to short-change small investors and depositors. What if the banks had collapsed? The banks didn’t help matters with their dubious interest charges, They basically gave these millionaire debtors a good reason to stall.

Dayo Coker,
Policy Analyst,
dayocoker.wordpress .com
dayo.coker@. ,


____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________

Ndi Okereke Onyiuke and Musa Al-Faiki

Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke is an amazing creature, a corpulent buffoon who somehow clawed her way to the zenith of Broad Street while earning a dubious professorship. . It is hard to understand how she kept her job after she publicly claimed that CNN and the Internet caused the stock market crash. While the NSE is a privately-owned organization, it is now clear that Okereke-Onyiuke has no business at the helm. For years, she has allowed the Exchange to be controlled by compromised acolytes and highly-placed insiders.

The case of Mallam Musa Al-Faiki is a cautionary tale. The former SEC DG was hopelessly out of depth during his five year tenure and did little to stop the widespread abuse in the market. Part of Mallam Al-Faiki’s problems was that he owed his position to Madam Onyiuke’s friendship with President Obasanjo. The vacillating SEC DG clearly did not want to offend his benefactor and when SEC staffers like Charles Udora, leaked their critical views to the press, he was always quick to issue a quick retraction.


The Talented Peter Ololo

Two years ago, one of Okereke’s aides told me about Peter Ololo, whom he simply called “Falcon”. The aide was starry-eyed as he described the powers of this mythical “Falcon”, who could effortlessly double the price of First Bank stock within a month. Today, Peter Ololo is in EFCC custody. He owes 88 billion.

Like every smart businessman, he filled his firm’s board with power brokers such as Senator Tunde Ogbeha and Senator S.A Otegbola. Unfortunately, the indolent Nigerian press has not really scratched the tip of Ololo’s schemes. In addition to Falcon Securities, the disgraced accountant also controlled two active publicly listed companies, DEAP Capital Management and Trust and DVCF Oil and Gas Fund.

These companies were empty shells whose complex schemes were powered by insider trading and exploitative business models. If Mrs Waziri’s EFCC is serious about sanitizing the sector, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to question the chief executives of these two “fund management” firms.

Fit and Proper Person Test

Nigerian regulators must adopt a system of screening bank executive directors to ascertain that they are of sound mind and body. Private investigators should be hired to pry into their backgrounds and their educational and analytical skills must be evaluated by an impartial panel. People should not be appointed to highly sensitive positions because of ethnic politics and tenure. I believe that such as test would have shown that Mrs Ibru, Mr Akingbola and Mr Ebong were not suited to the task of managing their respective financial institutions.


The Case for a Financial Services Authority

Perhaps the CBN, NDIC, SEC and other agencies should seriously consider the idea of establishing a Financial Services Authority to supervise the financial sector. The head of this agency must be chosen through a transparent recruitment process that has nothing to do with ethnicity, religion and other petty considerations. If the head hunters conclude that no Nigerian is suitably qualified, the government should consider foreigners for the post.

During the stock market bubble, a shocking thing happened. Pyramid schemes, commonly known as “wonder banks” sprouted in droves and earned the patronage of even highly educated bank managers who allowed greed to cloud their judgement. While they were eventually closed down, the SEC and the CBN has still not resolved the matter. An effective FSA could have nipped this development in the bud.


Vanguard and the Northern Agenda.

Unbelievable! !! In what must be a contender for this year’s most stupid argument, Vanguard has backed its campaign against Sanusi with an article it published in March detailing a supposed plan by “anti-consolidation” forces to take over five Nigerian banks. I don’t understand why the Nigerian public is taking this rag sheet seriously when Sam Amuka-Pemu’s “tissue paper” newspaper does not even qualify to be called a tabloid.


Let’s look at the timeline. Vanguard published the article on March 23, 2009. At the time the article was published, those five banks were already heavily indebted to their peers at the inter-bank market and there were already concerns over their financial health. In fact, Dayo Coker was already on the trail of Erastus Akingbola and had released his findings to the press.

Their chief executives must have suspected that Sanusi would be a tough cookie and quickly dispatched their PR strategists under the aegis of ACAMB to plant the story. Of course, Vanguard’s moronic journalists played along and concocted this baseless story to distract the new governor. The article was meant to preempt Sanusi and force him into making a compromise but he refused to buckle under pressure. The Nigerian public does not understand that Vanguard newspaper is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the corporate malfeasance that pervaded the Nigerian banking sector. For years, the “newspaper” made a killing from the Vanguard Bankers Awards where a table for eight went for a whopping five million naira.

From a logical standpoint, this “northern agenda” argument holds no water. As the CBN Governor has pointed out in newspaper interviews, some Nigerian banks are controlled by nominees who are hidden behind legal documents. One does not have to be a chief executive to actually control a bank. It is possible that there could be individuals from the North that have designs on the banking sector but it makes no sense to speculate that a Northern “movement” is keen on hijacking the banking sector. And if Sanusi is a Fulani supremacist as his detractors have argued, then it is likely that non-Fulani Northerners are unlikely to support this purported plan.




Dayo Coker,
Policy Analyst,
dayocoker.wordpress .com
dayo.coker@. ,

cont:


Deconstructing the Fallen Five.


Erastus Akingbola

Some staffers of Intercontinental Bank have accused me of bias, claiming that I have personal scores to settle with Dr Erastus Akingbola. This is untrue. I have always believed that Erastus Akingbola was a crook and I owed the Nigerian public a duty to expose him. It is now clear that he was an exceptionally talented huckster who used his avuncular mien to shamelessly manipulate the public.

He frittered away the bank’s money on questionable “CSR” schemes designed to influence politicians and lay the groundwork for a future political career. In the week before the August 14 temblor, he instituted a 50 million naira scholarship scheme for Katsina natives in a clear attempt to lobby the president through Ibrahim Shema, the governor of the president’s home state. Akingbola also instituted a similar scheme in his home state, Ondo, where he was rewarded with the chancellorship of the state-owned university in a clear case of quid pro quo. As part of his national “save me from Sanusi” tour, Dr Akingbola finally ended up in Sokoto where his attempts to lobby an unsmiling Sultan fell flat.

He didn’t show up for the historic August 14 meeting. Three days later, he had vanished into thin air. Nobody can underestimate the danger still posed by the highly influential Akingbola, who has been in the industry for thirty years. His case is not just an error in judgement. In any serious country, he would be the subject of an international manhunt.

Cecilia Ibru

Long before the stock market correction and the rapid fall in global oil prices, Cecilia Ibru had inexplicably shackled Oceanic Bank to a bilateral 175 million dollar five year loan from Merrill Lynch. This transaction was packaged by Osaze Osifo, a financial consultant and business partner of Andrew Alli, a CBN debtor who is currently at the helm of the controversial African Financial Corporation. A former chief executive of Oando, Osifo had made a killing in Nigeria’s GSM licence auction before joining the Oando triumvirate of Jite Okoloko, Wale Tinubu and Mofe Boyo.

The Slick Osifo had cultivated a friendship with Oboden Ibru, Mrs Ibru’s son and heir apparent, who doubled as the bank’s executive director and chief executive of Oceanic Capital. Osifo, Alli and four other principals needed additional capital for their investment boutique and through Oboden, Osifo’s company Travant Capital Partners was selected as the financial consultants for the transaction.

Oceanic Bank mismanaged this loan. In addition to heavily betting on real estate and petroleum marketing, the bank lent vast sums to the Delta State Government and other firms with ties to the powerful James Ibori. The bank also perfected numerous ways of diverting money through imaginary companies. One of such transactions involved lending millions of dollars to Meggitto Clothing for the purpose of exporting fabrics. This money vanished into thin air. We now know that there were other shady transactions such as the incomprehensible 19 billion naira loan extended to Nigeria’s most famous nanny,

Insiders say that the dim-witted Cecilia Ibru was hopelessly out of her depth at the helm of the bank. Surrounded by lackeys and relatives, she signed documents without reading them and gave loans based on her personal judgement. She relished being a mother figure and even though her staffers have kind words to say about her, they acknowledge that there was too much laxity with respect to management issues.

When Oceanic Bank started having problems, Mrs Ibru embarked on a number of questionable projects to raise money for her bank. These included an unethical 400 million dollar football reality program and a shady raffle in partnership with the Suru Group. It is a pity that the United Nations Global Compact did not do a thorough investigation before they named her to its committee on corporate governance.


Barth Ebong

Only a powerful witchdoctor could have known that Union Bank was in trouble. Long criticised for its horrendous customer service and aversion to technology, its chief executive was neither ostentatious nor publicity-hungry. As the oldest bank chief, he had a measure of gravitas which turned out to be a mask for incompetence.

With the benefit of hindsight, one should have guessed something was wrong with the big, strong and reliable bank when last year, in response to a campaign to force its chief executive to resign, the board moved its AGM to Maidugri, effectively disenfranchising the bulk of the bank’s shareholders.

Union Bank also stunned analysts when it agreed to underwrite half of Afribank’s overpriced public offer. Now it turns out that the dour Ebong also gambled heavily on high risk sectors. It is now clear that years of mismanagement had turned the bank into a corporate cadaver. So far, Union bank’s loan recovery efforts have yielded little fruit when compared to Intercontinental, Oceanic and Afribank. The authorities must also investigate how the trio of Nike Akande, Jite Okoloko and Festus Odumegwu ended up on the bank’s board of directors.

Sebastian Adigwe

Many analysts believe that Afribank’s current problems stem from its long standing relationship with African Petroleum. The bank was also heavily involved in financing Femi Otedola’s takeover of the petroleum marketing company and the huge debt added to its woes. Adigwe, who represented Afribank on AP's board worked with Osa Osunde, an alleged front for Lucky Igbinedion to ensure that Femi Otedola's successfully acquired a majority stake in the oil marketing company.

It appears the real power was wielded by Osa Osunde who is widely rumoured to be a front for former Edo state governor, Lucky Igbinedion. Osunde eventually became the Vice-Chairman of AP and Chairman of Afribank. Apparently, the effete Adigwe was a figurehead who pandered to the whims and caprices of the bank’s powerful backers. A few weeks to the CBN action, Afribank took out paid advertisements congratulating Ogbueshi Uche Luke Okpuno on the completion of his imposing Abuja office. However, Ogbueshi Okpuno shockingly made an appearance on the CBN's list. How interesting.


Okey Nwosu

FinBank raised more than 100 billion from its public offer and invested heavily in the oil and gas sector. The bank clearly had no long term strategy and one wonders if Mr Nwosu believed that oil prices would hit 400 dollars. A week before he was sacked, the suave Okey Nwosu approved a loan to Jevcon Oil and Gas. It was widely celebrated as a testimony of the bank’s devotion to indigenous operators in the maritime business. Amazingly, Jevcon shows up in the CBN list of debtors. Dr Onyung, Jevcon’s chief executive, has not issued any public statement to counter the CBN’s claims.

What was Mr Nwosu smoking?

Dayo Coker,
Policy Analyst,
dayocoker.wordpress .com
dayo.coker@. ,

cont:

Greed and Recklessness.

As the money rolled in, the banks immediately went on a spending spree. South African brand consultants were paid huge sums to design new logos, Indians got millions for software and overpaid managers were poached from rival banks. In little time, the banking tsars became delusional and started a turf war. They commissioned ostentatious offices and hired buxom bimbos to reinforce their marketing departments. These “happiness” officers were given huge allowances for miniskirts, contraceptives and expensive baubles.

The battle assumed a personal dimension as nouveau riche bankers fought for prime real estate in Ikoyi and Victoria Garden City. Others rented Banana Island flats and joined expensive boat clubs where they flaunted their expensive curios. The gnomish Jim Ovia took over an entire street in highbrow Victoria Island where he built an imposing edifice and commissioned a flashy ATM galleria. His amazing architects delivered The Civic Centre, a ship-inspired building that came to define his expensive taste. He became a trusted confidante to Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola, Nigeria’s richest men. Aig Imoukhuede, one half of the now infamous United Alliance, built a fortress complete with angry mobile policemen. Jeremiah Omoyeni, the banker cum politician, got a 450 million naira housing allowance for his short stay at the helm of the crisis-ridden Wema Bank.

Anthony Elumelu, Cecilia Ibru, Jim Ovia and Tayo Aderinokun commissioned private jets to take them around the world while Akingbola curiously started an FM radio station and announced that he would treat himself to a Rolls Royce on his 60th birthday. Prince Nduka Obaigbena, This Day’s flamboyant chairman became the cheerleader- in-chief as banks picked up the tabs for visiting global dignitaries at the newspaper’s exquisite “town hall meetings.” Vanguard raked in billions from its annual Bankers’ Awards.

Foreign praise singers also realized that there was money to be made and set off a craze for dubious awards. African Business, Business Initiative Directions, The Banker and EMEA Finance came calling, dishing out awards in exchange for cash. Renaissance Capital, led by the mercurial Stephen Jennings staked its claim and exchanged ratings for securities contracts.

As oil prices continued to spike, savvy local entrepreneurs became potential oil and gas traders. They drew up grandiose business plans and convinced bank chiefs to advance huge loans for the purchase of tank farms and refined crude. The bankers obliged and shared the “upfront” interest. “Oil and Gas” became the most important phrase in the lexicon of the Nigerian banker.

Some of the oil traders were not satisfied with their bulging bank accounts. Since real estate is the Nigerian’s true barometer of wealth, they went back to the bankers and drew up plans for an African Dubai. The bankers obliged and doled out more cash. Deals were sealed in posh country clubs as huge loans were given with utter disregard of risk management processes.

Foreign credit lines and unnecessary forays into the capital market meant there was just too much money to spend. Banks soon decided to have a taste of the apple and incorporated subsidiaries to market “luxury estates”. Lekki, Ikoyi and Abuja became the new Hamptons. Even foreigners began to complain about the skyrocketing prices of Nigerian real estate. “Expatriate Only” signs soon became de rigueur.


The Early Signs.

When the subprime mortgage crisis ballooned into a full scale economic meltdown, the foreign bankers knew they had to run. After all, the global banking system was on the brink of collapse. Indy Mac had disappeared and fabled Wall Street institutions such as Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers had imploded.

The Nigerian banks had no chief economists and were blissfully ignorant of the implications of the crisis. Akingbola, Okereke-Onyiuke and Soludo all publicly declared that the country’s financial system was isolated from the rest of the world. Most Nigerians continued to buy stocks not knowing that Peter Ololo and his fellow stockbrokers were using cheap money to prop up the stock market. This made it easier for foreign operators to exit the market at a premium. Firms such as Actis, the private equity fund, dumped its shares in UAC for 50 naira. By the time, the stock market went into a tailspin, it was too late.

Dayo Coker,
Policy Analyst,
dayocoker.wordpress .com
dayo.coker@. ,

[size=20pt]UNDERSTANDING NIGERIA’S BANKING SECTOR PART 1[/size]


The Soludo Era.

After the banking consolidation exercise reduced the number of Nigerian banks to 25, Professor Charles Soludo became a national hero. He was hailed as a practical genius who translated abstruse economic phenomena into reality, a man who easily vanquished the stodgy and connected grey eminences that had tried to resist his reformist agenda.

As the masses sang his praises, the canny bank chiefs who had succeeded in saving their institutions knew that they had to embrace him in order to protect their empires. To seduce him, they levied themselves 2 million naira each and hosted him a superlative 50 million naira “dinner”. He was initiated into the luxury life.

Soludo, the hyper-intelligent economist soon morphed into a dapper dresser who wore Savile Row suits and expensive Rolex watches. He became very close to a privileged group of bankers who became the de facto rulers of Nigeria’s financial sector. The tough talking regulator lost his sense of impartiality.

The Stock Market Boom.

General Olusegun Obasanjo’s decision to work with Bretton Woods economists combined with soaring oil prices to draw foreign investors to the Nigerian financial sector. In addition to hedge fund managers who invested a small fraction of their portfolios in the growing market, ordinary Nigerians joined the fray when they realized that banking sector reforms had transformed the stock market into a veritable cash machine.

Growing investor confidence quickly led to a sharp rise in stocks and attracted the hoi polloi. Small investors rushed to the stock market in droves and sank their money in “high growth stocks”. The snake oil bankers quickly read the situation and drew up plans to further increase their capital base.

In order to achieve abnormal returns, they enlisted the support of stockbrokers who brazenly manipulated stock prices with the tacit support of the leadership of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nigerian Stock Exchange. A rash of public offers soon followed, leading to an exponential increase in stock market indices. Some states even compelled civil servants to buy shares, forcibly deducting the value from their salaries.

Clergymen told their congregations about the “miraculous wonders” of the stock market. As the unsophisticated “sheep” emptied their nest eggs into the Nigerian Stock Exchange, the bankers and their sidekicks got richer. Mid-level managers earned millions in bonuses as reward for ensnaring ignorant investors. The stock market became part of the national conversation. And there was no stopping the bubble as the new financial elite was born.

Dayo Coker,
Policy Analyst,
dayocoker.wordpress .com
dayo.coker@. ,