₦airaland Forum

I think people are missing the whole aspect of language in education. The official language of a country determines the language in which it's citizens are taught.
In Kenya, the official languages are Swahili and English.
In China, it is Chinese.
In Japan, Japanese.
In Italy, Italian.
In France, French.
In UK, English.
In North Korea, Korean.
In Nigeria, the official language is English.
In South Africa, they have 11 official languages - Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Sotho, SiSwati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu.
So for most countries, it is not really a preference but a choice that has been made decades ago based on the fact that majority of the original inhabitants belong to one ethnic group (except of course in most of Africa in which countries were created by foreigners).

In Nigeria, none of the major languages listed as Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba can be imposed on the whole country as an official language because of the numerous ethnic groups and languages. The major languages are usually used for teaching at the state or regional levels in primary schools.

martineverest:
u spoke my mind...modern Nigerian youth are really suffering from low self esteem

Kenyans and other east Africa nations prefer Swahili to English.

I served in Ibadan,most of the students were comfortable learning maths in yoruba

You can get all the information on this site:

http://www.dmo.gov.ng/fgn-bonds#fgn-bonds-faqs

GODAKPAN:
How do I get this bond, wouldn't mind 10yrs

https://www.nairaland.com/4461269/theresa-mays-search-wife-nigeria

Theresa May’s search for wife in Nigeria
By Paul Onomuakpokpo
19 April 2018 | 3:43 am

It is either that British Prime Minister Theresa May is on the verge of divorcing her husband or she is a lesbian even though she is married to a man, Philip.
In either case, the PM might be considering taking a wife from Nigeria or any other Commonwealth country that her ancestors presided over its expropriation and ruination.

Obviously, May is ruing her mistake of ever getting married to a man. She would have preferred to be a lesbian-husband with a wife. Or why is she rhapsodising about the glories of homosexuality?

If May does not hanker after lesbianism, then she should be charged with duplicity directed at sexually perverting millions of other people while she is enjoying being married to a man.

We could see May’s duplicity in her proselytising zeal for same-sex marriage while at the same time professing how much she has enjoyed the benefits of the marriages of others.

In an interview with a journalist, May described her not having her own children as “very sad.” But she added that the devastation of her childlessness had been assuaged by the consciousness that she was surrounded by nieces and nephews.

If May is so enamoured of same-sex marriage, why does she feel frustrated that she has no children of her own? And if the parents of her nieces and nephews were homosexuals would they have had those children who now comfort her?

Again, we glean May’s humbug from claiming to be a Christian whose pains of childlessness are eased by her Christian faith. Yet, this renegade daughter of a vicar does not adhere to her Christian injunctions that do not permit same-sex marriage.

Apparently, the kind of bible that May reads and on which she builds her Christian faith does not have these: Romans1: 26-28, Mark 10: 6-9 and 1Timothy 1: 8-11.

And if she reads only the Old Testament, these are equally not in her bible: Genesis2: 24, Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13.

May has been married for almost 40 years. As a young lady, she did not see the need to marry a woman.

It is now that she is in her sixties that she is preaching the virtues of same-sex marriage.

She seized the opportunity of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Westminster to hector countries that were previously under her ancestors’ colonial tyranny on the need for them to make laws to encourage same-sex marriage.

She cautioned them that former British colonial subjects should not continue with the mistake of their previous masters who made laws that were against same-sex marriage.

Of course, May is not the first Western leader to have made this proposal. In fact, there is a scramble for Africa in the 21st century that is not limited to the economic provenance.

The scramble is in the realm of sexual disruption. There is a hot race by Western leaders to see who would be the first to make former colonised subjects to accept same-sex marriage.

Indeed, it has been cited that the refusal of former President Goodluck Jonathan to legitimise same-sex marriage was a major reason the Western powers mustered all their resources to ensure his loss of the 2015 presidential election.

The then United States President Barack Obama became the rallying point for the campaign for the sexual travestisation of Nigerians.

Now that Obama has left office, he now has sufficient time to groom his two daughters on how to maintain their marital homes as lesbian-wives or lesbian-husbands.

Obama failed in his project because Nigeria at that time had a president and a National Assembly that were protective of their cultural heritage. It was the same case in Kenya where Obama also took his campaign.

The challenge for Nigeria and other Commonwealth countries is whether they still have leaders who would resist this pressure.

But here we must be alert to the danger posed by African leaders who are irresistibly seduced by power. They want to stay as long as possible. They want to violate their national constitutions in order to be president for life.

In this case, we must not rule out the possibility of African leaders trading off their pristine sexual ethos in order for Western powers to sustain them in office.

After all, lazy African leaders who are submerged by the saccharine privileges of office and who are bereft of the grand ideas about governance look up to the West to carry their burden of development .

So if this aid is now tied to the acceptance of same-sex-marriage, would African leaders have the courage to resist?

In the long run, it is the citizens and not their leaders who would determine the sexual tone of their societies. This is because no matter how much aid the West gives to African countries, it is not meant to develop them.

There is always a pound of flesh that must be prised from the aid recipient. African leaders must be made to consider home-grown solutions to their own problems.

The Western countries that they run to have their own problems. But they do not run to African leaders to fix them.

Now, same-sex aficionados would be deluded with the notion that they have got a veritable bulwark in May. Nigerians who have not been able to secure the British visa would now think that they have got an opportunity.

They would now recount their persecution at the hands of the state authorities because of their sexual difference, hoping that May would throw the gates of Britain open for them.

It thus becomes necessary for the Nigerian government to strengthen its laws on same-sex marriage.

They should not repudiate them because they are part of the legacies of the Jonathan era that is often disparaged as one of the darkest epochs in the nation’s life.

But the homosexuals who have been frenziedly canvassing their sexual right since the exit of Jonathan have the option of quietly engaging in their sexual perversions.

They do not need a law for them to be homosexuals unless they are bent on demonstrating their sodomistic prowess in the public square.

In that case, they have to wait until their British cheer leaders succeed in torpedoing the laws against same-sex-marriage in Nigeria.

By making a case for the perpetuation of our pristine sexual ethos, we have not embarked on a voyage of racial essentialism.

Again, we are not oblivious of the warning of Frantz Fanon that a people’s quest for freedom, in our case, economic freedom, must not be beholden to fossilised cultural practices. For, as he tells us,

“ … it is to the zone of occult instability where the people dwell that we must come.” But while globalisation alerts the wise to the necessity of replicating at home good values from the rest of the world, we must insist on retaining those aspects of our culture that define our essence.

One of such aspects is our sexual beliefs. Yes, formerly colonised nations still trail behind Western countries that have for centuries succeeded in establishing institutions that conduce to their cohesion and the protection of their citizens’ dignity.

Yet, in terms of cultural values and the tolerance that seek to preserve the humane race and forbid gleefully taunting perceived or real enemies with the ease with which one could access a nuclear button, they have so much to learn from us.

Forget about the unrelieved jeremiad of Africa being riven by corruption. For them to be saved from the catastrophe of the loss of the moral vision through which their ancestors built their countries, they must come down from their high horse and accept Africans as their teachers

So, if May wants a wife from Nigeria with the support of its government, she would definitely be disappointed.

Nor would she find succour in the United States which was a bastion of same-sex marriage advocacy in the Obama era.

Now, she is not likely to be a welcome guest of President Donald Trump.

But she could find a wife in France, Germany, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Denmark and other such countries that have embraced the prospect of extinction by endorsing same-sex marriage.

Source - http://guardian.ng/opinion/theresa-mays-search-for-wife-in-nigeria/

wink2015:
Theresa May this news will interest you.

You spoke during the 2018 Commonwealth Summit that African Countries should be democratic in their approach to gay rights issue.

We African do not need Gay, Lesbian, and the rest of the homosexuals in our land.

African countries need the western power to invest in infrastructures in Africa such as Electricity, good Roads, jobs, and food for the masses.

Gay issue is alien to our society from what can be seen in the photos where two defaulters were shamefully paraded uncladed on the public street.

Start by opening an account with a stockbroker, then check the dates for the next bid here -
http://www.dmo.gov.ng/fgn-bonds/savings-bond

emma1983:
Pls how do one begin.

I thought as much. Most likely it will be quoted on the Premium Board and the price won't be less than Dangote Cement at 245 Naira or might go as high as Seplat at 765 Naira.

spenca:
300-500 i presume.

Kolping:
What will be MTN's likely share price when it's IPO comes to the stock exchange?

http://guardian.ng/technology/mtn-group-meets-fg-others-over-nigerian-ipo/

http://guardian.ng/technology/mtn-picks-chapel-hill-rmb-others-for-planned-ipo/

What will be MTN's likely share price when it's IPO comes to the stock exchange?

http://guardian.ng/technology/mtn-group-meets-fg-others-over-nigerian-ipo/

http://guardian.ng/technology/mtn-picks-chapel-hill-rmb-others-for-planned-ipo/

FGN Savings Bond (9-13 April 2018) - 2 year tenor - 10.75%
FGN Savings Bond (9-13 April 2018) - 3 year tenor - 11.75%
FGN Bond (25 April 2018) - 5 year tenor - 12.75%
FGN Bond (25 April 2018) - 7 year tenor - 13.53%
FGN Bond (25 April 2018) - 10 year tenor - 13.98%

yinka2011:
Result of todays Bonds Market Auction from easykobo


link is here - https://www.easykobo.com/News.aspx?id=19999

@mercifull
Smart woman for investing. I hope you were able to confirm your purchase.

mercifull:
Hello.Hello . please has anyone invested in this using investment -one financial services? How can one know if the bond was bought?is there a certificate or any document that shows the investment ?I invested in the January FGNSB. I've sent mails to customer care over 2 weeks ago,no reply.

Seems the party is over. The rates are declining rapidly.

dejiotus:
Stanbic secondary market rates for today
85 days is 9.2
148days is 10
232 days is 10.55.

Tony56 is spot on. The banks are taking advantage of their customers because of the prevailing bearish TB market. Despite the historical recent low rates last week in the primary market, the rates are still better than what the banks are offering now.

Dino Melaye has a lot of stored fat in his body to survive a few days. The last time I checked, millions of Nigerians haven't eaten or drank water since yesterday. The likely reason he is not eating or drinking is his fear of being poisoned.

Preferably FGN Savings Bond

http://www.dmo.gov.ng/fgn-bonds/savings-bond

rationalmind:
Investors might start shifting focus to FD. The often thick line between FDs and TBs is fast becoming thin

Anthony Joshua is born to an Irish-Nigerian father, Robert and a Nigerian mother and spent some of his early years in Nigeria. His dad's mother was Irish. Since he has a Irish grandmother he can also claim Irish citizenship under the 'granny rule.

Theresa May’s search for wife in Nigeria
By Paul Onomuakpokpo
19 April 2018 | 3:43 am

It is either that British Prime Minister Theresa May is on the verge of divorcing her husband or she is a lesbian even though she is married to a man, Philip.
In either case, the PM might be considering taking a wife from Nigeria or any other Commonwealth country that her ancestors presided over its expropriation and ruination.

Obviously, May is ruing her mistake of ever getting married to a man. She would have preferred to be a lesbian-husband with a wife. Or why is she rhapsodising about the glories of homosexuality?

If May does not hanker after lesbianism, then she should be charged with duplicity directed at sexually perverting millions of other people while she is enjoying being married to a man.

We could see May’s duplicity in her proselytising zeal for same-sex marriage while at the same time professing how much she has enjoyed the benefits of the marriages of others.

In an interview with a journalist, May described her not having her own children as “very sad.” But she added that the devastation of her childlessness had been assuaged by the consciousness that she was surrounded by nieces and nephews.

If May is so enamoured of same-sex marriage, why does she feel frustrated that she has no children of her own? And if the parents of her nieces and nephews were homosexuals would they have had those children who now comfort her?

Again, we glean May’s humbug from claiming to be a Christian whose pains of childlessness are eased by her Christian faith. Yet, this renegade daughter of a vicar does not adhere to her Christian injunctions that do not permit same-sex marriage.

Apparently, the kind of bible that May reads and on which she builds her Christian faith does not have these: Romans1: 26-28, Mark 10: 6-9 and 1Timothy 1: 8-11.

And if she reads only the Old Testament, these are equally not in her bible: Genesis2: 24, Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13.

May has been married for almost 40 years. As a young lady, she did not see the need to marry a woman.

It is now that she is in her sixties that she is preaching the virtues of same-sex marriage.

She seized the opportunity of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Westminster to hector countries that were previously under her ancestors’ colonial tyranny on the need for them to make laws to encourage same-sex marriage.

She cautioned them that former British colonial subjects should not continue with the mistake of their previous masters who made laws that were against same-sex marriage.

Of course, May is not the first Western leader to have made this proposal. In fact, there is a scramble for Africa in the 21st century that is not limited to the economic provenance.

The scramble is in the realm of sexual disruption. There is a hot race by Western leaders to see who would be the first to make former colonised subjects to accept same-sex marriage.

Indeed, it has been cited that the refusal of former President Goodluck Jonathan to legitimise same-sex marriage was a major reason the Western powers mustered all their resources to ensure his loss of the 2015 presidential election.

The then United States President Barack Obama became the rallying point for the campaign for the sexual travestisation of Nigerians.

Now that Obama has left office, he now has sufficient time to groom his two daughters on how to maintain their marital homes as lesbian-wives or lesbian-husbands.

Obama failed in his project because Nigeria at that time had a president and a National Assembly that were protective of their cultural heritage. It was the same case in Kenya where Obama also took his campaign.

The challenge for Nigeria and other Commonwealth countries is whether they still have leaders who would resist this pressure.

But here we must be alert to the danger posed by African leaders who are irresistibly seduced by power. They want to stay as long as possible. They want to violate their national constitutions in order to be president for life.

In this case, we must not rule out the possibility of African leaders trading off their pristine sexual ethos in order for Western powers to sustain them in office.

After all, lazy African leaders who are submerged by the saccharine privileges of office and who are bereft of the grand ideas about governance look up to the West to carry their burden of development .

So if this aid is now tied to the acceptance of same-sex-marriage, would African leaders have the courage to resist?

In the long run, it is the citizens and not their leaders who would determine the sexual tone of their societies. This is because no matter how much aid the West gives to African countries, it is not meant to develop them.

There is always a pound of flesh that must be prised from the aid recipient. African leaders must be made to consider home-grown solutions to their own problems.

The Western countries that they run to have their own problems. But they do not run to African leaders to fix them.

Now, same-sex aficionados would be deluded with the notion that they have got a veritable bulwark in May. Nigerians who have not been able to secure the British visa would now think that they have got an opportunity.

They would now recount their persecution at the hands of the state authorities because of their sexual difference, hoping that May would throw the gates of Britain open for them.

It thus becomes necessary for the Nigerian government to strengthen its laws on same-sex marriage.

They should not repudiate them because they are part of the legacies of the Jonathan era that is often disparaged as one of the darkest epochs in the nation’s life.

But the homosexuals who have been frenziedly canvassing their sexual right since the exit of Jonathan have the option of quietly engaging in their sexual perversions.

They do not need a law for them to be homosexuals unless they are bent on demonstrating their sodomistic prowess in the public square.

In that case, they have to wait until their British cheer leaders succeed in torpedoing the laws against same-sex-marriage in Nigeria.

By making a case for the perpetuation of our pristine sexual ethos, we have not embarked on a voyage of racial essentialism.

Again, we are not oblivious of the warning of Frantz Fanon that a people’s quest for freedom, in our case, economic freedom, must not be beholden to fossilised cultural practices. For, as he tells us,

“ … it is to the zone of occult instability where the people dwell that we must come.” But while globalisation alerts the wise to the necessity of replicating at home good values from the rest of the world, we must insist on retaining those aspects of our culture that define our essence.

One of such aspects is our sexual beliefs. Yes, formerly colonised nations still trail behind Western countries that have for centuries succeeded in establishing institutions that conduce to their cohesion and the protection of their citizens’ dignity.

Yet, in terms of cultural values and the tolerance that seek to preserve the humane race and forbid gleefully taunting perceived or real enemies with the ease with which one could access a nuclear button, they have so much to learn from us.

Forget about the unrelieved jeremiad of Africa being riven by corruption. For them to be saved from the catastrophe of the loss of the moral vision through which their ancestors built their countries, they must come down from their high horse and accept Africans as their teachers

So, if May wants a wife from Nigeria with the support of its government, she would definitely be disappointed.

Nor would she find succour in the United States which was a bastion of same-sex marriage advocacy in the Obama era.

Now, she is not likely to be a welcome guest of President Donald Trump.

But she could find a wife in France, Germany, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Denmark and other such countries that have embraced the prospect of extinction by endorsing same-sex marriage.

Source - http://guardian.ng/opinion/theresa-mays-search-for-wife-in-nigeria/

Just thought I should provide this information for those applying for non-immigrant visas.

"The United States is an open society. Unlike many other countries, the United States does not impose internal controls on most visitors, such as registration with local authorities. Our immigration law requires consular officers to view every visa applicant as an intending immigrant until the applicant proves otherwise. In order to enjoy the privilege of unencumbered travel in the United States, you have a responsibility to prove you are going to return abroad before a visitor or student visa is issued.

Section 214(b) is part of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). It states:
Every alien shall be presumed to be an immigrant until he establishes to the satisfaction of the consular officer, at the time of application for admission, that he is entitled to a nonimmigrant status..."

See - http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ng/ng-gen-faq.asp#

She wants to obtain a sexually transmitted degree (STD) from OAU.

She wants to obtain a sexually transmitted degree (STD) from OAU.

Thank you.

nwabobo:
Modernisation and Political Disintegration: Nigeria and the Ibos

Paul Anber

The Journal of Modern African Studies

Vol. 5, No. 2 (Sep., 1967), pp. 163-179

@nwabob
Could you give me the title and author of the book where you got the page/image from?

nwabobo:
Someone has been beating you consistently since records became available and you term that catch up?

The Igbos caught up with and overtook the Yorubas way back in the 1930s. The statistics is all out there for everyone to see.

Note that her mother is German.

kinah:
She is a graduate of Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) &Technical University Munich (TUM), Germany, where received a BSc. Hons in Bioinformatics.



and u posted that her father is not involve. did she school in Germany by miracles?

With the sale of 9mobile to Teleology, 2 out of the 4 mobile operators are now 100% Nigerian companies. The other being Globacom. Airtel will be a company to watch, especially with it pulling out of some other African countries.

It seems my instincts were right when I said last year on another thread that Teleology might end up buying 9mobile. For those looking for information on the faces behind Teleology, see my previous post below:

Re: Airtel, Smile, Glo Make Final Five To Buy 9mobile by Kolping: 3:52pm On Dec 13, 2017
I wonder why no one is talking about Teleology Holdings Limited. I see it as the dark horse in this race.

Teleology is a special purpose vehicle led by a former chief executive of MTN Nigeria, Mr. Adrian Wood, and Ericsson; Africa Capital Alliance (ACA), a leading pan-African investment firm based in Lagos; and The Carlyle Group, a U.S.-based multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation.

Note that Africa Capital Alliance was co-founded by the present Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okey Enelamah who was the former CEO. ACA Partners include Chief Ernest Shonekan (founder), Pascal Dozie (founder), Dick Kramer (founder and chairman), Cyril Odu (CEO), Afolabi Oladele, Sam Oniovosa, Paul Kokoricha and Kofi Kwakwa.
(Modify) (Quote) (Report) (Share)

@luluz4u I sent you an email message

luluz4u:
yes please. sorry I had been busy

Hello All,

Does anyone know how to invest in the Nigerian Eurobonds?

Teleology Holdings set to take over 9Mobile

Teleology Holdings set to take over 9Mobile

1956 Dengramite - Professor A.O.E. Animalu, Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of Nigeria and former Research Scientist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Animalu

9Mobile Bids: And Then There Were Two
Connecting Africa, 1/22/2018

The battle to become the new majority shareholder in Nigerian mobile operator 9Mobile has been narrowed down to just two bidders now that the deadline for financial bids has passed, according to local reports.

Until last Monday, five interested parties were still believed to be in the running, but according to a report by The Cable, only service provider Smile Telecoms -- which already offers communications services in Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda -- and Teleology Holdings, a business led by a former CEO of MTN Nigeria, Adrian Wood, who is working on the bid with Ericsson, submitted bids by the deadline. (See 9Mobile Ownership Decision Still in Balance.)

Airtel, already the country's third largest mobile operator, apparently withdrew from the process, citing uncertainty about some of the processes, while neither Globacom (the second largest mobile operator) nor Helios Investment Partners did not a derailed financial offer.

According to the report in The Cable, Teleology bid more than US$500 million, while Smile bid about $300 million. The bids are being considered by Barclays Africa, which will make a recommendation to the 9Mobile board. If that recommendation is accepted, the winning bidder then becomes the subject of a number of regulatory checks and clearances.

9Mobile, formerly Etisalat Nigeria, is currently the number four mobile operator in Nigeria with about 17 million customers and a market share of about 12%. (See Etisalat Nigeria to Become 9Mobile.)

— The staff, Connecting Africa

InternetGenius:
What is this one talking self?

@InternetGenius - This is what I am talking about.

9Mobile Bids: And Then There Were Two
Connecting Africa, 1/22/2018

The battle to become the new majority shareholder in Nigerian mobile operator 9Mobile has been narrowed down to just two bidders now that the deadline for financial bids has passed, according to local reports.

Until last Monday, five interested parties were still believed to be in the running, but according to a report by The Cable, only service provider Smile Telecoms -- which already offers communications services in Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda -- and Teleology Holdings, a business led by a former CEO of MTN Nigeria, Adrian Wood, who is working on the bid with Ericsson, submitted bids by the deadline. (See 9Mobile Ownership Decision Still in Balance.)

Airtel, already the country's third largest mobile operator, apparently withdrew from the process, citing uncertainty about some of the processes, while neither Globacom (the second largest mobile operator) nor Helios Investment Partners did not a derailed financial offer.

According to the report in The Cable, Teleology bid more than US$500 million, while Smile bid about $300 million. The bids are being considered by Barclays Africa, which will make a recommendation to the 9Mobile board. If that recommendation is accepted, the winning bidder then becomes the subject of a number of regulatory checks and clearances.

9Mobile, formerly Etisalat Nigeria, is currently the number four mobile operator in Nigeria with about 17 million customers and a market share of about 12%. (See Etisalat Nigeria to Become 9Mobile.)

— The staff, Connecting Africa

Airtel pulls out of 9mobile bid as Glo, Helios fail to name price
January 19, 2018

https://www.thecable.ng/exclusive-airtel-pulls-9mobile-bid-glo-helios-fail-name-price

Airtel Nigeria did not submit a final bid for 9mobile despite being on the shortlist of five, TheCable can report.

Also, although Globacom and Helios Investment Partners LLP submitted bids, they did not make any financial offer for the troubled telco.

TheCable understands that Teleology Holdings Limited submitted a bid in excess of $500 million while Smile Telecoms Holdings quoted close to $300 million.

Effectively, only two companies made financial offers by the January 16 deadline.

Airtel’s U-turn came as a surprise to industry experts who had expected the company to push all the way through in order to become the largest operator in the country.

It would automatically have grown from being number three to number one by increasing its numbers to 52 million for voice and 33.5 million for internet if it emerged the preferred bidder.

‘HIDDEN THINGS’

TheCable learnt that Airtel decided to pull out because “many things are not too plain with the entire process”.

“Airtel believes too many things are hidden about the health of 9mobile, and that it is too risky for anyone to buy the company. Things became compounded with the court case by Spectrum Wireless. Remember the Strive Masiyiwa case over the ownership of Econet which hurt the company for a long time,” an insider in the deal told TheCable.

Spectrum Wireless, a shareholder of Emerging Markets Telecommunications Service (EMTS) — which owns the 9mobile licence — went to court against United Capital Trustees Limited — representatives of the debtors — in order to stop the constitution of an interim board for 9mobile after the take-over in July 2017.

Although it lost the case then, the federal high court later nullified the ex parte order, and United Securities has now gone on appeal.

Airtel, which started out as Econet Wireless in 2001, went through a litany of boardroom crises as a result of litigation by Masiyiwa.

DEBT OVERHANG

In July 2017, 9mobile, then known as Etisalat Nigeria, was taken over by banks following a N541 billion debt overhang.

Mubadala Group, the major investor from the United Arab Emirates, pulled out of Nigeria’s fourth largest mobile operator as a result of the debt owed to a consortium of 13 banks.

The telco was then put on sale, with Barclays Africa acting as transaction advisers.

The shortlisted companies are: Teleology Holdings Limited, promoted by Adrian Wood, the pioneer CEO of MTN Nigeria; Smile Telecoms Holdings, a telco operating in Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Congo DR and South Africa; and Helios Investment Partners LLP, an investment company.

Others are Bharti Airtel, an Indian telco that owns Airtel Nigeria, and Globacom, the Nigerian company owned by Mike Adenuga Jnr.

The telecom regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), is expected to play a key role in the final decision of the interim board.

Airtel pulls out of 9mobile bid as Glo, Helios fail to name price
January 19, 2018

https://www.thecable.ng/exclusive-airtel-pulls-9mobile-bid-glo-helios-fail-name-price

Airtel Nigeria did not submit a final bid for 9mobile despite being on the shortlist of five, TheCable can report.

Also, although Globacom and Helios Investment Partners LLP submitted bids, they did not make any financial offer for the troubled telco.

TheCable understands that Teleology Holdings Limited submitted a bid in excess of $500 million while Smile Telecoms Holdings quoted close to $300 million.

Effectively, only two companies made financial offers by the January 16 deadline.

Airtel’s U-turn came as a surprise to industry experts who had expected the company to push all the way through in order to become the largest operator in the country.

It would automatically have grown from being number three to number one by increasing its numbers to 52 million for voice and 33.5 million for internet if it emerged the preferred bidder.

‘HIDDEN THINGS’

TheCable learnt that Airtel decided to pull out because “many things are not too plain with the entire process”.

“Airtel believes too many things are hidden about the health of 9mobile, and that it is too risky for anyone to buy the company. Things became compounded with the court case by Spectrum Wireless. Remember the Strive Masiyiwa case over the ownership of Econet which hurt the company for a long time,” an insider in the deal told TheCable.

Spectrum Wireless, a shareholder of Emerging Markets Telecommunications Service (EMTS) — which owns the 9mobile licence — went to court against United Capital Trustees Limited — representatives of the debtors — in order to stop the constitution of an interim board for 9mobile after the take-over in July 2017.

Although it lost the case then, the federal high court later nullified the ex parte order, and United Securities has now gone on appeal.

Airtel, which started out as Econet Wireless in 2001, went through a litany of boardroom crises as a result of litigation by Masiyiwa.

DEBT OVERHANG

In July 2017, 9mobile, then known as Etisalat Nigeria, was taken over by banks following a N541 billion debt overhang.

Mubadala Group, the major investor from the United Arab Emirates, pulled out of Nigeria’s fourth largest mobile operator as a result of the debt owed to a consortium of 13 banks.

The telco was then put on sale, with Barclays Africa acting as transaction advisers.

The shortlisted companies are: Teleology Holdings Limited, promoted by Adrian Wood, the pioneer CEO of MTN Nigeria; Smile Telecoms Holdings, a telco operating in Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Congo DR and South Africa; and Helios Investment Partners LLP, an investment company.

Others are Bharti Airtel, an Indian telco that owns Airtel Nigeria, and Globacom, the Nigerian company owned by Mike Adenuga Jnr.

The telecom regulator, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), is expected to play a key role in the final decision of the interim board.

What is cattle colony?
By Luke Onyekakeyah
16 January 2018 | 3:55 am

https://guardian.ng/opinion/what-is-cattle-colony/

At a time when Nigerians are aggrieved with apprehension that the worsening massacres of innocent farmers in parts of the country by suspected Fulani herdsmen may be getting out of control, the Federal Government may be stoking more fire by proposing to establish what it calls cattle colonies in different parts of the country.

Cattle colony is not a strategy for grazing cattle but a centre for cattle and beef product sales. Besides, there is only one cattle colony in the whole world found in Pakistan. It is therefore, worrisome what the Federal Government intends to achieve by establishing cattle colonies across Nigeria.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh had disclosed in Abuja at a stakeholders meeting that the Federal Government is putting everything in place to establish cattle colonies that would solve the continued herdsmen/farmers conflict in parts of the country.

According to him, the cattle colony project will start immediately following the offer of five hectares of land by 16 states in the country, adding that President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to help the ministry with money for the project.

While Ogbeh did not disclose the 16 states that have donated hectares of land for the project, he said facilities will be provided to take care of the herdsmen and their cattle, which they (herdsmen) have said if water and grass were provided, they would not be moving with their cattle.

Certainly, what Ogbeh is describing is ranching, which he is confusing with cattle colony. Whereas, a ranch is an area of land with facilities and structures set up for raising grazing livestock such as cattle, for meat or wool, cattle colony is totally different both in terms of purpose and structure

According to Wikipedia, “Cattle colony is one of the neighbourhoods of Bin Qasim Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. This neighbourhood of Karachi is the centre of cattle and meat trade in Karachi. The cattle colony is the dairy products shopping and supply centre of Karachi. There are also many abattoirs and meat warehouses located in the cattle colony.”

It is very clear from the foregoing that cattle colony is entirely a Pakistani idea for its local cattle and beef market economy.

The cattle colony is one and exists only in the neighbourhood of Bin Qasim Town in Karachi. It is not in any other place in the entire Pakistan or elsewhere in the world. No other country in Africa, Asia, Europe, Americas or Australia has cattle colony. Thus, there is only one cattle colony in the world. Talking about cattle colonies in Nigeria, as Ogbeh is contemplating, is a misnomer.

Moreover, since cattle colony is essentially devoted to the sale of cattle and beef products, it is, therefore, not one of the modern methods for raising cattle or other livestock. At best, it is an innovation for efficient cattle sales along with its beef products.

Nigeria’s problem with cattle borders on grazing and watering of the animals. This is best done in a ranch, as in other parts of the world. Ignoring ranching, which is the globally accepted modern method of cattle farming and instead presenting cattle colony suggests something is fishy.

It is baffling that the minister is introducing something that is alien to the world of cattle/livestock industry. Ranching remains the modern and most widely used method of raising cattle. To avoid confusing Nigerians, it is appropriate to understand what cattle colonies are as against cattle ranching.

Cattle colony is like a shopping complex where cattle and meat trade are carried out. The colony has nothing to do with rearing/grazing cattle and other livestock. It is out of place for the minister to be talking of establishing facilities to take care of the herdsmen and their cattle in a cattle colony. This can only be done in a ranch. Any herdsman or cattle in a cattle colony is there for trading and slaughtering of the cattle and not for grazing.

The string of abattoirs and warehouses that are established in Pakistan’s cattle colony show that it is entirely a market for beef cattle. Could the minister now see that the cattle colony is a place for slaughtering the animals and not for grazing? Can we call a spade a spade and save this country from avoidable crisis?

If the Pakistanis who introduced cattle colony in their cattle economy established just one colony, why then is the minister talking about establishing cattle colonies all over Nigeria? And, if no other country has adopted the concept of cattle colony, why is Nigeria toying with it? Why are our leaders so obdurate and unwilling to do the right thing in the national interest?

The insinuation that the cattle colonies proposal is intended to be used to Islamize Nigeria is gaining traction. Consequently, some governors in the Middle Belt and Southern Nigeria have rejected the idea. Where do we go from here?

It is not that Nigeria is among the largest cattle/beef producers in the world. Nigeria is nowhere to be found among the world’s largest beef producers.

Available information shows that the United States is the leading world beef producer (20%), followed by Brazil (15.4%), European Union (13%), China (11.4%) and India (7%). Out of the 53 largest beef producers ranked in the world, only two African countries are included namely South Africa at 13th position producing 1.44% of world beef and Gabon at the 53rd position with negligible per cent.

In all of these countries, ranching is the accepted method of cattle farming. My study shows that Gabon has most of its cattle in ranches. Countries like New Zealand, whose livestock population is more than the human population, have their livestock in ranches. The argument that the Fulani’s traditional nomadic lifestyle has to continue cannot survive the test of time in the 21st Century as humanity passes into post modernisation digital economy.

There has to be a deliberate attempt to get the herdsmen to adopt ranching in this modern era. There are few indigenous cultures around the world that are still stuck in the primitive wandering lifestyle. The Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania that rear livestock in semi nomadic fashion are even being tamed to be sedentary.

The Tanzania and Kenya governments have instituted programmes to encourage the Maasai to abandon their traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle. While it may not be easy to change them, a concerted effort in that direction will definitely bring change. Nigerian authorities should do likewise except there is something else.