₦airaland Forum

Arguably Nigeria's youngest political candidate, Comrade Odunayo Michael Agbabiaka of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) in a recent interview with newsmen has promised to eradicate poverty among women in his constituency- Obafemi Owode. The 25 years old politician who only recently completed his compulsory National Youth Service, wished all Nigerian Youths, Women, Men, and Children, particularly indigents and residents of Ogun State a happy new year.


The Comrade who obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree in Local Government Administration from Obafemi Awolowo University, stated that the 2019 general elections is important in the lives of his people, as it presents an opportunity for them to choose between prosperity and poverty in the new year. In his words, "I have been trained in Citizen and Leadership from the Ogun State Ministry of Community of Development and Co-operatives under the leadership of our able Commissioner for Community Development, Hon. Gbenga Adenmosun, I have relationships with the local women in my community, all they all want is empowerment to do business and freedom from not having money to cater for their families." Com. Agbabiaka further added, "If elected as Honourable, I will ensure that first, widows, women and men can put food on their own tables without stress and we can now start looking into sponsoring bills that will enhance Co-operative Trading among Women, especially." The candidate who is also the former NYSC SDG Obafemi Owode President, also promised to look into the welfare and empowerment of Youth Corps Members in his constituency. He's aspiring to be a member of the Ogun State House of Assembly, representing Obafemi Owode Constituency. When asked his opinion on the governorship race, the young politician expressed confidence that Ademola Ogunbanjo, who is the candidate of the ANN, will win the election.

Ademola Ogunbanjo comes from a long line of Ijebu Aristocracy of Odo Botu, Ijebu-Igbo. He was born on a stormy Friday night in Ibadan on the 12th of July, 1974 to the family of Mr. Isaac Aderounmu and Felicia Oluwakemi Ogunbanjo. As a result of the restriction of movement during the Agbekoya war, Ademola was born at home, and taken to the hospital the next morning.

Mr. Isaac Aderounmu Ogunbanjo was a military man who fought on the side of the British Army in Burma during World War II. He went on to become the Secretary General of Ex-Service men, South-West region, an active member of the Action Group Party, and close associate of Chief Obafemi Awolowo. This could be traced as what may have later influenced Ademola’s passion for social development and matters of the State.

As a child, Ademola attended Adeko Memorial Nursery & Primary School, Ijebu-Igbo and Army Children’s School, Yaba. During his time in Lagos, Ademola was exposed to a significant level of physical abuse while under the care of a relative. This resulted in him absconding from home, and for a three month period, he worked as a bus conductor while becoming acquainted with the idiosyncrasies of the streets of Lagos. He was eventually found by a neighbor and sent back to his relative, returning to Ijebu shortly after. He then completed his primary education at St. Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Obada, Ijebu-Igbo, where he was appointed Head Boy.

Ademola attended Abusi Odumare Academy, Ijebu-Igbo for his secondary school education. As a student, he worked part time at the LAT Sawmill to enable him pay for his books, school uniforms and other expenses. This resulted in Ademola developing a strong work ethic, sense of responsibility and drive to succeed at a relatively young age. As his school shared the same campus with the Ogun State University (now Olabisi Onabanjo University), Ademola was exposed to and admired the sophistication of the university students he saw on campus, an experience that has shaped his sense of style since.

As a true son of Ijebuland, his first language was Yoruba. He however learnt his impeccable command of the English language by diligently watching Western programs on television, studying the dictionary, and perhaps through his paternal genes, as his father, Mr. Isaac Aderounmu Ogunbanjo was also known as English Oguns; a nickname derived from his flawless command of the language. Ademola would often seize the opportunity to practice and perfect all he had learnt, whenever he visited Lagos on holiday.

He briefly attended Delta State University, Abraka for less than a semester, and later moved to the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, where he graduated with a B.Sc. in Urban and Regional Planning. While an undergraduate, Ademola’s hard working nature came into play once again as he took up a job as a Taxi driver to earn money for his upkeep, in a bid to help augment the efforts of his older siblings who were paying his fees. From his savings, he eventually ventured into entrepreneurship by founding The Closet, a clothing retail store in Bodija, Ibadan which exists to this day.
Ademola is a scholar of the Said Business School, University of Oxford and HEC Business School, Paris where he studied Consulting and Coaching for Change. He trained as a consultant at Oxford Management Consulting, UK, and is a member of the Institute of Management Consultants, and a SEC-certified Market Analyst, with an Executive Masters Certificate in Project Management from the PM College, London.
After a brief stint with MTN Nigeria in Lagos, Ademola moved to Ibadan where he joined the National Bank of Nigeria as a Bulk Cash Teller, he rose quickly through the ranks and had been appointed Regional Retail Manager, South West by the time he left the organization in 2005.

He returned to Lagos in April 2005 to join Vmobile Nigeria’s (now known as Airtel Nigeria Limited) Corporate & SME Segments team.
Ademola would go on to join Ocean and Oil Holdings in March 2007 as Manager, Energy Investments. He later co-pioneered the startup of a new subsidiary, Avaizon Consulting Limited, a Strategy, Execution Management and Business Performance Coaching firm he headed as Chief Executive Officer from 2010 to 2013, having previously served as Vice President, Strategy and Execution Management for two years. As a strategy consultant of repute, Ademola has enjoyed a varied and successful career across organizations and industries including Banking, Telecommunications and Oil & Gas, with clients within and outside Nigeria.​
Ademola has provided free knowledge resource to NGOs like The Fate Foundation, Incubator Africa, Designing Futures, The Oando Foundation, and Fela Durotoye's AddVantage Series. He is the Vice Chairman of the Lagos State Vocational and Technical Education Board’s Industry Advisory Team.

As an advocate of the Social Entrepreneurship concept for poverty eradication and economic development, Ademola has worked with the First Bank of Nigeria Plc. and Professor Muhammad Yunus to bring thought leadership in micro-financing as a poverty eradication tool to Nigeria.

He currently serves as an Executive Council member and GM, Business Support Group at an indigenous $2 billion E&P company, with its head office in Lagos, Nigeria.

Ademola is a loving father of three- two daughters and a son, and a believer of the Christian faith.

More than in previous years, there is a need to truly pay attention to the business ideas that you have, and to pursue them. If capital is the problem, then there’s no problem because very few successful business people had the capital with which they started, and have now become big. If you have really ‘checked your wallet’ and found that what you have is not enough to launch you, then these 5 tips for raising business capital are for you:

1. Sales of unused asset
Most times, the funds needed are around us- in assets we no longer use or do not really need at the time. It is wise to free up capital by obtaining liquidity from those items.
The best way to sell unused assets is through auctions. By selling at auctions, you never have to worry about selling too cheap, you could even sell the item at a price that exceeds the negotiated selling price, due to the competition among buyers. More so, you could sell the property in its exact condition if you want, without contingencies.


2. Partnerships
Partnerships are a great way to fund your start-up idea. It arises when two or more people co-own a business and share in the profits and losses of the business.. In a partnership, each person contributes something to the business -- such as ideas, money, property, or some combination of these. Management rights, profit share, and personal liability will vary depending on which of the three modern partnership forms the business takes: general partnership, limited partnership, or limited liability partnership (LLP). Below are basic summaries of the main types of business partnerships.

General Partnerships where partners share equal rights and responsibilities in connection with management of the business, and any individual partner can bind the entire group to a legal obligation.

Limited Partnerships which allows each partner to restrict his or her personal liability to the amount of his or her business investment.
Limited liability partnerships (LLP) retain the tax advantages of the general partnership form, but offer some personal liability protection to the participants. Individual partners in a limited liability partnership are not personally responsible for the wrongful acts of other partners, or for the debts or obligations of the business.

It is usually best to start to source partnerships from family and friends. As a general rule, even if you will eventually get professional investors for the business, they will expect that you already have commitments from this source to show your credibility. If your friends and family don’t believe in you, don’t expect outsiders to jump in.

Another alternative is to find people who believe in your idea and are ready to work with you, with their devices or equipment, for free on the business, till you begin to make enough to pay them. This usually frees up the burden of the cost of paying employees and buying equipment at start-up.


3. Loans from financial institutions
In general, this won’t happen for a new startup unless you have a good credit history or existing assets that you are willing to put at risk for collateral. In Nigeria, you could find micro-finance banks that would loan you but come from time to time to collect the little profits you make or some banks that will give you the loan, however, many fear the high interest rates.


4. Savings from other streams of income
These days, over 90 percent of startups are self-funded (also called bootstrapping). It may take a bit longer to save some money before you start and grow organically, but the advantage is that you don’t have to give up any equity or control. Your business is yours alone. You can see that all of these options require work and commitment on your part, so there is no magic or free money. Every funding decision is a complex tradeoff between near-term and longer-term costs and paybacks, as well as overall ownership and control. With the many options available, there is no excuse for not living your dream, rather than dreaming about living. If you have other sources of income, like other businesses or even a job, you could spend income from those sources on investing on your business idea.


5. Angel Investors
Most cities have groups of local high-net-worth individuals interested in supporting startups, and willing to syndicate amounts up to a million naira for qualified startups; they are called Angel Investors. Use online platforms such as www.angel.co/Nigeria/investors to find them, and local networking to find ones that relate to your industry and passion.


This article is by 3A Auction House

3A Auction House is the leading Auction House in Nigeria, specializing in the efficient disposal of a range of residential and commercial properties, vehicles and other possessions on behalf of both private individuals and corporate bodies. We provide exciting buying opportunities and an unsurpassed property exit strategy that can help sellers move properties faster and at greater profit.

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A: Board Commuter buses
If you board a commuter bus, you risk a brawl with the bus conductor over change, or sitting next to a passenger suffering from intense body odor. Either way, it is almost guaranteed your getting to work feeling 'less fresh' than when you left home.

B: Ask for a lift
Free is better than cheap; until your ride decides to disappoint you with an, "I am not going in that direction today".

C: Government Buses
Do you like the queue you join every time if you are in this category? You will agree that you can't get anywhere in a hurry if you have to wait for these buses.

D: Taxis
They tell you that they are your drivers, but with the way they charge, you would probably prefer to drive THEM for a change. Regular customers can relate to this.

Are you in any of these categories?

THEN YOU NEED A CAR!

Don't conclude that a car is expensive just yet. Attend our auction on Saturday, 8th of April, 2017 at The Haven Event Centre, Arch Bishop Cathedral, Fajuyi Way, (LASUTH), GRA, Ikeja. See our flier for more details or visit www.3aauctions.com

Be nice, spread the word!

A: Board Commuter buses
If you board a commuter bus, you risk a brawl with the bus conductor over change, or sitting next to a passenger suffering from intense body odor. Either way, it is almost guaranteed your getting to work feeling 'less fresh' than when you left home.

B: Ask for a lift
Free is better than cheap; until your ride decides to disappoint you with an, "I am not going in that direction today".

C: Government Buses
Do you like the queue you join every time if you are in this category? You will agree that you can't get anywhere in a hurry if you have to wait for these buses.

D: Taxis
They tell you that they are your drivers, but with the way they charge, you would probably prefer to drive THEM for a change. Regular customers can relate to this.

Are you in any of these categories?

THEN YOU NEED A CAR!

Don't conclude that a car is expensive just yet. Attend our auction on Saturday, 8th of April, 2017 at The Haven Event Centre, Arch Bishop Cathedral, Fajuyi Way, (LASUTH), GRA, Ikeja. See our flier for more details or visit www.3aauctions.com

Be nice, spread the word!

Selling this car is pretty simple. Please call me on 080 2181 2181. I have ready buyers

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We started as a corrupt nation now we are here… Now we are where?

There are various opinions as to where we are as a country concerning the issue of corruption.

Whether or not the no-longer-new Federal Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari is really fighting, and winning the war against corruption. While some are of the opinion that he has merely been witch-hunting political enemies and members of the opposition party, many others believe that he is sincere about his will to fight corruption. Quite embarrassingly, British Prime Minister, David Cameron thinks we are still a “fantastically corrupt” nation. Everyone’s opinion is majorly informed by their perception of the actions and body language of the government and maybe, the people of Nigeria concerning the subject.

When Nigerians came out en-masse to vote for President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 general elections, many of us did so with the consciousness that he was inheriting a fantastically corrupt nation, and that it not cheap to fight it. Corruption is one beast that has grown to become a member of the Nigeria family. I will give the president some credit for his efforts so far, trying to “kill corruption before it kills Nigeria”. He has made some good attempts in his one year as president. He is also doing well with the fight against the Boko Haram insurgents up north, and . . . . That is the much that is visible for now. Oh! Except if you want to include his foreign trips, which we hear will bring us great benefits in the long run. We sincerely pray it does.

What I don’t understand is where we are going with these whole anti-corruption fights. Nigerians have not forgotten former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s fights during his tenure where many notable but found-to-be-corrupt Nigerians were arrested and prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). The move at that time brought criticisms from some quarters, and applause from some others, just as it is doing now. However, at the end what did we get? Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Infact in my opinion, we experienced something similar to what was recorded in the bible about a demon that was cast out of a person, but when it returned, it returned with seven more deadly demons. The massive looting that took place under the former President Goodluck Jonathan administration confirms this.

I know president Muhammadu Buhari needs and want to be trusted by Nigerians. His media aides do not ever forget to remind Nigerians that the President has good intentions for the country. But on what basis should we give him more trust? In my opinion, he is already enjoying enough goodwill and trust from the people. Otherwise, many of the moves he has made in the recent time would have led to something we should leave to imagination. As far as it is visible for all to see, and even smell, if president Muhammadu Buhari continues this way, his fights will only result to something close to chasing a few money bags to cough what they have swallowed, and nothing more than that.
To fight corruption successfully, President Buhari has to begin to create a genuine collaborative intention. He has to first see, and then convince Nigerians that the fight against corruption is not his own fight, but our collective fight. He should do more than saying. His body language has to be in synchronization. For a government that is serious about fighting corruption, by now, pupils and students should be singing, “corruption is bad…corruption is bad, I will never be found to be corrupt…” on their assembly grounds in schools. The governing political party should have had meetings to include all their members representing the people at all arms and levels of government to support the fight and stop the opposition from sabotaging their efforts as a party. Many enough Nigerians are tired of this corruption thing. These many, are the majority that the President needs to win the war against corruption. There are many more individuals ready to give up their life savings and trek anywhere to fight corruption than there were during his campaigns and election.

President Muhammadu Buhari has to begin to make very intentional moves. We are tired of hearing about how our President has good intentions. A good intention is different from being intentional. We didn’t vote for him because of his good intentions. Our laws should be strengthened. Make a few scape goats from within and outside his party. Making scape goats from his own party and allies is the body language Nigerians need to see, to know that he is really serious about the fight. We do not need a long-roded prophet with full beards, dancing and speaking gibberish to know that we have highly corrupt individuals in the governing party as well. By so doing, we would have seen him removing his shirt to fight, and then the rest of us will pick up weapons to join him.

If the president doesn’t take more calculated steps, this fight will not be different from the abracadabra which we have seen before- it will get us amazed and excited for a short while, after which it will leave us worse than we were before. Like the American musician, Drake, who sang that “we started from the bottom now we’re here…we started from the bottom now the whole team here (on top)”, Nigerians want to be able to say in the next three years from now when this tenure would have ended that: “we started as a corrupt nation, but now we are flourishing and growing-the whole nation”.

God bless Nigeria!

Gideon J. Okuazun

#TheJayeNetworks with #theGIDEONeffect