forgiveness: Meet the Boss: Tunji Olowolafe, chairman, GZ Industries
by Dinfin Mulupi on '28 March 2014' Tunji Olowolafe, chairman, GZ Industries (Nigeria)
GZI chairman Dr Tunji Olowolafe GZI chairman Dr Tunji Olowolafe Meet the Boss is a How we made it in Africa interview series in which we pose the same 10 questions to business leaders across the continent.
Dr Tunji Olowolafe is the chairman of GZ Industries (GZI), West Africa’s only aluminium can manufacturer. The Nigerian company manufacturers 1.2bn cans annually for sale to Guinness, Coca-Cola, Heineken and SABMiller. Olowolafe quit medical practice to venture into private equity.
Oh, you are simply da bomb!! Gimme five, jare! I was searching for this company on the internet last night, and I kept thinking it was GYZ Cans not realising it was some other name. No wonder I drew a blank on it! May God increase the wisdom He has deposited in your life!
Ilovemystate: Global Infrastructure Partners is not the owner of Adebayo Ogunlesi and they are not the owner gatewick airport,The airport is owned and operated by Gatwick Airport Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ivy Holdco Limited, Ivy Holdco is, in turn, owned by a consortium of companies, which has changed over time.
GIP is an independent infrastructure fund manager that combines deep industry expertise with industrial best practice operational management. Our current equity fund, Global Infrastructure Partners III, makes equity investments in high quality infrastructure assets in the energy, transport and water/waste sectors where we possess deep experience and strong relationships.
GIP manages over $40 billion for its investors. Additionally, the companies in GIP's portfolio have combined annual revenues greater than $5 billion and employ approximately 21,000 people.
You are very funny. Your research is incomplete. Who owns Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP)? Who is the founder of the firm? And who has been managing and running it? And where were you in 2006 when that same firm bought over Gatwick Airport, in what was dubbed "a landmark deal?" Do you even know the relationship between Ivy holdco and GIP?
Nobody denies the fact that GIP does not have additional shareholders. Heck, managing other people's funds is what they do for a living, in the same way a bank manages the funds of its customers, in order to make a profit. In early 2016, GIP sold London City Airport, their first acquisition which they had bought for an estimated £750million in 2006 from Dermot Desmond, the Irish financier, to Canadian pension fund investors for an estimated £2 billion, more than doubling the initial investment by the firm and its partners. https://www.ft.com/content/2d675756-dbe6-11e5-a72f-1e7744c66818?mhq5j=e1
Adebayo "Bayo" O. Ogunlesi, JD (born December 20, 1953) is a Nigerian-born lawyer and investment banker. Ogunlesi is currently Chairman and Managing Partner at the private equity firm, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). Ogunlesi was the former head of Global Investment Banking at Credit Suisse First Boston, before being promoted to Chief Client Officer and Executive Vice Chairman.
In July 2006, Ogunlesi started the private equity firm, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a joint venture whose initial investors included Credit Suisse and General Electric. He currently serves as Chairman and Managing Partner. Ogunlesi is from Makun, Sagamu, Ogun State in Nigeria. He is the son of Theophilus O. Ogunlesi, the first Nigerian professor of medicine at University of Ibadan. His family is of Yoruba origin.
In 2006, GIP bought London City Airport. In 2009, GIP acquired the majority in London Gatwick Airport in a deal worth £1.455 billion. The Nigerian press has given him the nickname, "The Man Who Bought Gatwick Airport."GIP also owns Edinburgh Airport, which they bought in 2012.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adebayo_Ogunlesi
Despite his long sojourn in Europe and America, Ogunlesi still manages to stay abreast of developments in Africa. He has helped champion the African economic renaissance and in 2009 was appointed non-executive chairman of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), a financial institution set up to revamp Africa’s critical infrastructure and invest in key sectors of the continent’s economy.
AFC, which was patterned after the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, was a lead investor in the $240 million Main One submarine fibre optic cable that will expand telecommunications capacity in West Africa. AFC also led Africa’s participation in the $750 million syndicated lending facility to develop the landmark Ghanaian Jubilee Oil Field, one of West Africa’s largest deepwater offshore developments in over a decade.
In Nigeria, Ogunlesi is spearheading the corporation’s attempt to address the country’s epileptic power supply. In January 2011 it hosted a power sector roundtable to examine the key issues, identify the constraints and proffer practical solutions to the challenges facing Independent Power Plants (IPPs) in the country. http://venturesafrica.com/the-man-who-bought-gatwick-airport/
Global Infrastructure Partners, founded in 2006, now manages about $40 billion in assets ranging from ports and pipelines to London’s Gatwick Airport, a liquefied petroleum gas storage facility in Visakhapatnam, India, and a vast wind farm in the North Sea. Over 10 years, GIP has expanded its roster of backers to include some of the world’s biggest sovereign funds and a slate of U.S. pensions. The firm operates three funds. GIP I raised $5.7 billion in 2008. GIP II closed in 2012 with $8.3 billion. In January it announced its latest and largest pool, a $15.8 billion fund, the largest-ever dedicated to infrastructure.
Mai Atafo was born in Ile-Ife, Osun State. He spent his early life in Lagos, attended the University Staff School Benin, then the Federal Government College, Ido-Ani, Ondo State. Mai Atafo later earned a master's degree from the City University UK in Information System and Technology.
LEOVOLUTION: "Okay, but what "crime" did you commit that got you institutionalised?"
The above was the question you echoed/Seconded...whatever.
Now tell me. Does "what crime did you commit" and "what were those charges?" Mean the same thing?? No tell me.
And to why I was bothered; The brother was sharing a heartwarming story of triumph against all odds, but it appeared like all you were after was his alleged Shortcoming. Which of course is a sign of the Pharisee syndrome.
Nb: I refrained from using colorful word on because I noticed I noticed you did likewise.
NOW LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKE, SND BE GUIDED NEXT TIME.
You are daft! You are the one that really needs to be guided! Go back and read my post again! Where did you see those words - "Okay, but what "crime" did you commit that got you institutionalised?
What were the charges, is an perfectly valid question! No matter how innocent a person is, once he is arrested and taken to the police station or asked to be remanded in custody, he has a valid right to ask 'what are the charges' he is either being accused of, or what are the charges on which he is being remanded. Ask any lawyer!!
The brother was sharing a story - yes! And if he is sharing a story, he must share it in full! People are not so gullible as to believe half-truths, anymore. What led the man to prison still remains unanswered. Even if the charges were false, he still has a duty to come clean about it!
Ilovemystate: James Ibori owns 30% shares Oando oil and gas Wale tinubu- Oando oil James Ibori Owns 30% share in Oando oil and Gas
Point of correction. Oando was started by 3 guys: Jubril Wale Tinubu, Omamofe Boyo and Jite Okokloko. Their start up was called Ocean and Oil holdings and it was very successful from inception. They were engaged in bulk trading of petroleum products cargo for several years and also owned a number of vessels.
When govt decided to sell the old Unipetrol, Wale and his team made an audacious bid for it, and bought it with a loan from a consortium of banks. Unipetrol was then renamed Oando. The boys also bought the downstream arm of Agip and merged it with their business.There was no Ibori input at that time.
Ibori only bought a few shares many years later, when Oando listed some of their shares for sale on the floor of the exchange, as they were trying to raise additional funds for expansion. Even at that, he still remains a minority shareholder, and these boys can pay him off at anytime in order to reclaim their shares. He did not help them set up Oando, in any shape, manner or form. Heck, he was not even there when the boys put it together from scratch! Understand?
In 1994, Wale Tinubu decided to venture into the oil and gas business leading to his co-founding of Ocean and Oil Limited with Omamofe Boyo and Onajite Okoloko.
The trio bought their first vessel, MT Carolina, in the mid-90s to supply diesel to off-shore companies from the Port-Harcourt Refinery and within the space of seven years, the fleet had grown to seven ships. In 2000, when the government wanted to sell its controlling stake in the defunct Unipetrol Plc, a downstream oil marketing company, they bid for it.
With the help of its foreign technical partners, Compagnia Espanola De Petroleos (CEPSA), the second-largest oil group in Spain, Ocean and Oil Services successfully paid for the shares and took over the company.
On December 2001, they made a purchase of Italian Agip Petrol’s 60 percent stake in Agip Nigeria Plc, for $74 million, a purchase that was objected by shareholders. Wale and his team later branded the company Oando Plc.
His significant contribution made Oando the first African company to be enlisted on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of more than three billion South African rand in 2005. The same year, Oando Energy Services was incorporated.
Through his leadership, Gaslink, a subsidiary of Oando Plc, successfully phased and executed the construction of about 100km of natural gas pipeline distribution network from the Nigerian Gas Company city gate in Ikeja, to cover the Greater Lagos Area including Ikeja, Apapa, and their environs.http://www.marketingedge.com.ng/2016/11/20/wale-tinubu-when-vision-inspires/
In fact, some sources say that Ibori only owns 443 shares of Oando, and not the 30% he was claimed to have held.
The Group Chief Executive, Oando Plc, Mr Wale Tinubu, on Friday said the company would publish names of shareholders on its web site to ensure sustainable corporate governance.
Tinubu said this in Lagos at a meeting with the stockbrokers at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to explain its stance on former Gov. James Ibori’s alleged ownership of 30 per cent in the company. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the company’s innovation was against the backdrop of the British prosecutor’s recent accusation that the convicted former governor used Oando to launder money.
He said that Ibori owned only 443 shares in Oando Plc and not 30 per cent as alleged by UK Southwark Crown Court on Sept.16.
“Investors with stolen funds should not think of investing in Oando Plc because they will be exposed,” Tinubu said.
LEOVOLUTION: Before you start jumping up and down looking for people that that share your ignoramus view, read the post again, and look up the word ' INCARCERATION'
I thought women were the ones who concludes things this way without proper investigation
And before you start jumping up and down looking for people that share your myopic view, please look for the meaning of the word 'arrest.' No man stroll into prison and becomes an inmate there, of his own free will. Before a man can be incarcerated, he must have been arrested, based on certain charges. What were those charges? That is the question. Nobody is labelling him as guilty. All we are asking is what was the reason why he was incarcerated? And why does that question bother you so much?
Dr. Olamide Orekunrin is a medical doctor, a trained helicopter pilot, and the healthcare entrepreneur & founder of Flying Doctors Nigeria, West Africa’s first Air Ambulance Service. She's dedicated to bringing trauma care to the most remote parts of Western Africa and her company, an air ambulance service based in Lagos, is doing just that.
Her meteoric rise in the field of medical studies took her to Japan, after she had won the MEXT Japanese Government Scholarship. There, she conducted clinical research in the field of regenerative medicine, at the Jikei University Hospital. However, the catalyst for a major life and career decision came when her sister became very, very ill on holiday whilst staying with relatives in Nigeria. The local hospital was unable to manage her sickle cell anemia condition.
After she lost her younger sister tragically on that visit to Nigeria, due to the lack of a medical air ambulance service to transport her to a hospital, Ola Orekunrin was motivated to set up the service. Ola graduated as a medical doctor from the University Of York in the UK, and is a member of the American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine.
Ola currently resides in Lagos, Nigeria where she is considered a national expert of disaster medicine and pre-hospital care. Her company has been featured on various local TV and radio stations as well as the BBC and CNN. http://www.lionessesofafrica.com/lioness-ola-orekunrin/
Here are some of her views:
Flying Doctors is an indigenous air ambulance in Nigeria and West Africa. We have been in operation for about 10 years. Where I was coming from in the United Kingdom, everybody was using private jets and helicopters to transfer patients and I thought this would be the best thing to bring to Nigeria.
But after few years I realised that, in this market, expecting a patient to pay up to $10,000 or more for a transfer between cities was not feasible. What we did was to bring down the price. We forged a partnership with a number of commercial airlines we now have a way of placing all the life-support equipment inside a commercial aircraft, thereby reducing the price from $20,000 to as low as N200,000 for air ambulance transfer.It is just a small closed-up cabin, the curtain would be around the patient so nobody knows the patient’s identity, while the rest of the passengers sit in their seats.
We are the only air ambulance service that specialised in doing this, and I realised that, in Nigeria and most of West Africa, the affordability is quite low for the private jet model. That is how we designed this to fit into any commercial airline. Maiduguri to Lagos, Benin to Lagos, Kaduna to Abuja are journeys that patients need to make every day for treatment. It has really changed the lives of a lot of people that would have not been able to seek the best care for them without the use of our service.
What is the nature of the staff you employ? We have critical care doctors, nurses and paramedic doctors, among others. Some patients that we transfer are unable to breathe on their own so they need to breathe with a ventilation machine and the role of this machine is like taking the place of the lungs, which is like a life-support machine.
"Sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s smallest number of motorized vehicles but the highest rate of road traffic fatalities, with Nigeria and South Africa leading the pack.
Trauma has become a silent epidemic in Africa, an epidemic that will only spread as the economy grows. More and more Africans are buying cars and working in heavy and dangerous industries. At the same time, infrastructure is poor, safety laws lax, and cars badly maintained." http://www.lionessesofafrica.com/lioness-ola-orekunrin/
Orekunrin's company Flying Doctors Nigeria (FDN), is a Medical Emergency Service that specializes in air ambulances, medevac, medico-logistics services, remote site medical solutions services, medical infrastructural development and medical training services. The doctors on her team, are not just doctors; they have received training in Aviation medicine. They also have years of experience in both acute medicine and the aviation industry,”
A few years ago, Dr. Ola Orekunrin shared her experience on an encounter she had, while on a road trip within Nigeria.
Africa’s Trauma Epidemic | By OLA OREKUNRIN OCT. 17, 2013
LAGOS — It was dusk and I was on my way home from Abeokuta, a vibrant city in southwest Nigeria. My driver had switched off the car’s air-conditioning so I could open the windows and feel the breeze. He was weaving between potholes in the road when suddenly, the scene ahead changed.
A large truck had pulled out carelessly onto the road, knocking a car straight into the median.
That stretch of road is notoriously dangerous, not just because of traffic accidents but also because of armed robbers. It’s for that reason that I suppressed my natural instinct to stop and help.
I was filled with guilt as we passed the wrecked car, because I knew that if the young man at the wheel had been badly injured, there was only a small chance that he would get the emergency treatment he needed.
I knew this because I am a trauma doctor and the founder of West Africa’s first indigenous air ambulance service. Nigeria, a country of more than 170 million people, has no organized trauma response system and no formal training for paramedics. Injured people are often taken to the hospital in a car or minibus or draped across the motorcycle of a good Samaritan, sometimes several hours after the accident has occurred.
Even if the patient does reach a local hospital, it may not have the skilled staff or equipment needed. (There are only a few that do, and there are huge distances between them.) Most of those who are seriously injured probably bleed to death.
So I couldn’t help it when, a few moments later, I said “Stop the car, please.”
I grabbed one of our emergency response bags from my trunk and walked back. I tried to concentrate on the types of injuries the driver might have rather than how unsafe it was walking on that stretch of road, particularly in the evening. Was he bleeding? Was he conscious?
The crash scene had quickly attracted some of the people who typically gather around accidents in Nigeria. Bystanders were pulling the driver out of the car. Before long they were joined by a barefoot “prophet” in a white robe. No Nigerian accident scene is complete without a prophet who commands everyone to stand by while he loudly predicts that the patient will stop bleeding. The patient is often drained of blood by the time the prophecy is complete....
The World Bank predicts that in the next two years, road accidents could be the biggest killer of African children between 5 and 15. By 2030, according to the Global Burden of Disease study, road accidents will be the fifth leading cause of death in the developing world, ahead of malaria, tuberculosis and H.I.V.
If you add to these numbers the injuries caused by violent crime and communal conflict, then you have all the ingredients for a public health emergency.
And yet, trauma receives only a tiny fraction of the attention and money given to these three infectious diseases. Every health care conference I attend focuses on vaccines, treatment and training to combat the infamous “triple epidemic.”
Over the last decade, billions of dollars have poured into Africa with the laudable aim of defeating these killer diseases. But that most basic killer, injury, remains neglected...
A pill would do very little for someone on a rural road in Nigeria with a head injury and a collapsed lung.
We need to put in place systems to provide lifesaving care for accident victims. They need to be moved to a fully equipped hospital — one with X-ray machines, CT scanners, a burn unit — within the space of 45 minutes. We need at least 10 of these proper hospitals. We need to improve our roads, and we need a high-quality ambulance system to drive on them. And we need paramedic schools — like the one my company is helping to open, the first of its kind in Nigeria.
Some countries in other parts of the world have come up with proactive solutions. In Israel, a group called United Hatzalah helps volunteer emergency workers get quickly to accident sites, by “ambucycle” or on foot, if necessary. But Africa’s challenge will require an African response — and international support.
On the road that night, I quickly assessed that the young man needed urgent medical attention. I gave him oxygen and inserted a makeshift airway. I noted that he probably had internal bleeding and did my best to stem whatever external bleeding I could detect.
A passing taxi then transported him to the nearest hospital. He had a fighting chance. But too many injured Nigerians, forgotten on the side of the road, do not. It’s time the global public-health community paid attention to Africa’s urgent need for emergency medical care.
Dr. Ola Orekunrin is a medical doctor, a well-qualified helicopter pilot, and the healthcare entrepreneur & founder of Flying Doctors Nigeria, West Africa’s first Air Ambulance Service. She's dedicated to bringing trauma care to the most remote parts of Western Africa and her company, an air ambulance service based in Lagos, is doing just that.
Her meteoric rise in the field of medical studies took her to Japan as a result of her being awarded the MEXT Japanese Government Scholarship. There, she conducted clinic research in the field of regenerative medicine at the Jikei University Hospital. However, the catalyst for a major life and career decision came when her sister became very, very ill on holiday whilst staying with relatives in Nigeria. The local hospital was unable to manage her sickle cell anemia condition.
After she lost her younger sister tragically on that visit to Nigeria, due to the lack of a medical air ambulance service to transport her to a hospital, Ola Orekunrin was motivated to set up the service. Ola graduated as a medical doctor from the University Of York in the UK, and is a member of the American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine.
Ola currently resides in Lagos, Nigeria where she is considered a national expert of disaster medicine and pre-hospital care. Her company has been featured on various local TV and radio stations as well as the BBC and CNN. http://www.lionessesofafrica.com/lioness-ola-orekunrin/
Here are some of her views:
Flying Doctors is an indigenous air ambulance in Nigeria and West Africa. We have been in operation for about 10 years. Where I was coming from in the United Kingdom, everybody was using private jets and helicopters to transfer patients and I thought this would be the best thing to bring to Nigeria.
But after few years I realised that, in this market, expecting a patient to pay up to $10,000 or more for a transfer between cities was not feasible. What we did was to bring down the price. We forged a partnership with a number of commercial airlines we now have a way of placing all the life-support equipment inside a commercial aircraft, thereby reducing the price from $20,000 to as low as N200,000 for air ambulance transfer.It is just a small closed-up cabin, the curtain would be around the patient so nobody knows the patient’s identity, while the rest of the passengers sit in their seats.
We are the only air ambulance service that specialised in doing this, and I realised that, in Nigeria and most of West Africa, the affordability is quite low for the private jet model. That is how we designed this to fit into any commercial airline. Maiduguri to Lagos, Benin to Lagos, Kaduna to Abuja are journeys that patients need to make every day for treatment. It has really changed the lives of a lot of people that would have not been able to seek the best care for them without the use of our service.
What is the nature of the staff you employ? We have critical care doctors, nurses and paramedic doctors, among others. Some patients that we transfer are unable to breathe on their own so they need to breathe with a ventilation machine and the role of this machine is like taking the place of the lungs, which is like a life-support machine.
"Sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s smallest number of motorized vehicles but the highest rate of road traffic fatalities, with Nigeria and South Africa leading the pack.
Trauma has become a silent epidemic in Africa, an epidemic that will only spread as the economy grows. More and more Africans are buying cars and working in heavy and dangerous industries. At the same time, infrastructure is poor, safety laws lax, and cars badly maintained." http://www.lionessesofafrica.com/lioness-ola-orekunrin/
dainformant: Gwamnishu, an ex-prisoner has been involved in a wide range of community works since he was released from Ogwashi-Uku prison in Delta state after he was found innocent in a charge that was wrongly leveled against him.
dainformant: The CEO of Behind Bars Initiative, Prince Gwamnishu Harrison has got himself trending online after sharing his story from grass to grace to mark his birthday as he becomes a year older today. The young man revealed that six years ago (in 2011) and other subsequent years , he spent his birthday in Kirikiri prison in Lagos but now he is in Washington D.C in the US to mark his special day.
Read what he shared below on Facebook
STORY OF THE PRISON BOY.
2011 - I celebrated my birthday in Kirikiri Prison with so much hope that I will be home next birthday.
2012 - I celebrated with 3,500 young men whose dreams have been tied down by mass incarceration.
2013 - Same Kirikiri (A.K.A) Ajamgbadi last bus-stop became my home. It became my everything. With no hope of leaving Prison, I blend with the system and the system became my hope.
2014 - The powerful force of Justice took me away from Kirikiri Prison to another Country sharing border with Delta State. I was welcomed to Ogwashi Uku Prison (A. K.A) AYOKO CITY with a Slogan "COUNTRY NO PAPA NO MAMA"
The Slogan means so much (Alumni can testify). Ayoko welcomed me.
2015 - The Prison gate couldn't hold me anymore. At about 11:45am, The Judge declared "Harrison Gwamnishu you are hereby Discharged". Aka Chukwu diya......."He the lord has set free, is free indeed"
Friends, supporters, partners, please join me and say thank you to JEHOVAH THE PRISON BREAKER. Join me to appreciate God who kept me to see another year today. It is my Birthday. A special Happy Birthday to me...
Due to the poor state of infrastructure in the country, a lot of goods and services are still moved by road. And road haulage is fraught with delays and attendant risks. But a company known as Transport Services Limited (TSL) is slowly changing all that, by providing supply chain options and haulage services, to multinationals and others in the industrial sector.
TSL is divided into 3 units: The 1st one is TSL Transport Limited, which offers road transportation with its fleet of 642 trucks, including petroleum product tankers and flat bed trailers. The 2nd one is TSL Logistics Limited which covers Terminals Development and Operations. This division controls 3 petroleum product storage terminals, including 2 aviation terminals in Nigeria with a combined storage capacity of 55 million litres. The 3rd division is TSL Marine Limited which handles Shipping and Marine transportation of Petroleum Products, as well as the provision of support and service vessels for down, mid and upstream operations.
The company board is headed by 3 young men: Deji Wright, Wale Fatoki and Jide Tinubu. They are bright, articulate young professionals with a flair for delivering results, in the logistics sector.
Transport Services Limited (TSL) commenced petroleum road haulage on the 5th June, 2002 and has redefined the Nigerian downstream Oil and Gas sector.
• Current fleet size of over 600 complete trucks (tanker trailers and flatbeds) with over 50% brand new.
• The only private company to own 5 specialized aircraft re-fuelers.
• Amongst the top 3 logistics companies in Nigeria based on volumes moved, and revenue.
• Pioneered the Grade ‘A’ system of asset classification in the downstream oil and gas sector, by providing clients with high quality/brand new assets for product distribution.
• Introduced the Smith System drivers’ training program into the haulage industry, as one of the company’s several safety initiatives.
“TSL shall carry out its business activities in a safe and efficient manner to prevent accidents, injuries and occupational illness”. Our goal is to attain and sustain the highest Health, Safety, Security and Environmental protection standards in line with international best practices.”
One company that is set to make waves with its marine fleet, when it comes to water transportation is Sea Coaches Ferry Services Limited. The Managing Director of Seacoach Ferries, Mr Olusegun Jaji is coming into the country as a major player, having been a leading player in Sierra-Leone, where it has operated for the past six years.
The company started operations with 10 boats in 2015 within Lagos, but it intends to deploy more over the next few years. These boats ply the following routes on a daily basis: Ikorodu to CMS and Ikorodu to Victoria Island, Lekki and CMS to Apapa. In Lagos, over 2 million people are said to commute by ferry, every month. However, the industry has the potential to transport 6 million people monthly.
Nigeria has an extensive coastline all along the southern part of the country. In states like Lagos which have extensive inland waterways, lagoons and rivers, water transportation is being explored as a safe affordable mass transit option. It has been said that almost 60 percent of the nation’s 8,600 km of waterways remained unused.
Jaji said: “Part of our medium term plan is to inject about 50 boats over the next two years; we are starting with nine or ten and would increase our fleet to 20 by December, and another 20 by the following year.
‘’We are bringing coaches with comfortable seats, and adequate leg room and television. Each boat comes with twin 2500cc engine in line with global practices, and the guarantee is that even if one of the engine packs up, the second can take you safely to your destination. This is complemented with big panoramic windows that ensure a good view of the lagoon.”
Jaji said each voyage is accompanied by three crew led by the captain and two sea men. While one seaman stands in front to have a good view of any floating object and guide the captain against it, the other stands at the rear to monitor the engines.
He said though water transportation is capital intensive, the company has what it takes to extend its services nationwide.
“We intend to operate water transportation services across the country. We can service any route because the terrain in Nigeria is calmer than Sierra-Leone where we had to contend with navigating the ocean,” Jaji said. http://thenationonlineng.net/waterways-not-developed-says-niwa/
patrick89: you beginning to sound like a broken record. we all know that you're ugly, but must you carry the placard? Your miserable life can not have further meaning for it was stunted by heaped insults from your mother.
Here's their address : Suite1, D'Rovan, Wallan hotel, Ring road, Ibadan
Also check their website out - [url]itelewears.com[/url]
Those guys are so organised. Lots of potentials and real quality, unlike some cursed mofos always looking for quick cash-ins on fake products. Awon oloriburuku somebody.
patrick89: your mother started cursing right from your conceiving. till your birthday, eben while she pushed you miserable low life, she pronounced orie obaje ,omo ale on your head. curse is a necessary ingredients Yoruba raise their kids with. that is why you are ugly, and miserable.
Ehn, thanks for letting us know the source of your problem. I knew it was more spiritual than physical. You just admitted that your own mother placed a curse on you right from when you were conceived. What a pity. And you have just told everyone here that you are a "miserable low life, bastar'd, with a cursed head or chi." How sad. You also confessed that "curse is a necessary ingredients...." that was used to raise you. It is okay. We understand. Ndo. Finally, thanks for letting us know that you are 'ugly, and miserable.' It was something I had suspected all along. Otherwise, why would you enter this thread and start throwing tantrums? Are you sure you will not visit a dibia to help you revoke the curse??
patrick89: taa shie EBA puoo see you and jealous. how on earth can I be jealous of ugly things? you guys are naturally ugly....
Mechie onu you fake toad! Dem send you? E be like say the 'jazz wey dem cook for you, still dey worry your body. If you do not exchange words with someone in a day, your market will not sell. Abeg, swerve commot.... ekwensu!
kn23h: Brother, you say you dey go wedding this weekend....If na your wedding and you don't invite us, I go vex o. Ta ni o fe jollof rice?
Guy, how can I get married and you will not get invitation? Haba! Na my cousin dey marry next weekend, o! And all hands are on deck. He is marrying one gorgeous Ijesha babe like dat! Cloth don set, na only shoe remain!
neoOduduwa: You should also check out Itele shoes by two young dudes from Ibadan. Their products beat whatever shiit potopoto Aba jews produce hands down. Although they model some of them after the likes Louboutin, Timberland but they have their own brand and their packaging is dope af. Unlike Aba cannibals who store theirs in dirty sacks.
The thoughts of having Oduduwa republic fvcking gives me goose bumps. Yorùbás stand out!
Eh weay!!Ibadan here I come, o! Abeg, na which side dem place dey? Bodija or Mokola or Challenge? Dem get branch for Lagos?
In the telecoms sector, her achievements are discussed with bated breath. This is because Funke Opeke the Founder and CEO of Main One Cable has built an enviable legacy of performance and efficiency in that sector, by setting up a world class telecoms infrastructure company. Her admirers call her - "the hottest woman in telecoms." The smart, articulate daughter of the late Professor Lawrence Kayode Opeke, former Director of the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), is not someone who gives up easily, when she wants to achieve a goal.
Opeke returned to Nigeria in 2005 as the Chief Technical Officer (CTO) at MTN Nigeria Communications (MTN), after spending twenty years of her career in the United States. On her departure from MTN, she was invited to advise Transcorp on the acquisition of NITEL. She was then asked to serve as interim Chief Operating Officer at NITEL, the former govt-owned telecoms enterprise.
Upon leaving NITEL, she set up Main One. Her company has deployed world class telecommunications infrastructure, including an international submarine cable, terrestrial fiber, microwave metro and inter-city networks which guarantees you reliable connections via multiple points of presence (POPs) in 8 countries across West Africa from Lagos to Lome, Accra and beyond. Her firm also provides wholesale Internet services to major telecom operators, ISPs, government agencies, large enterprises, and educational institutions in West Africa.
Main One also launched a $25 million data center in Nigeria last year, known as the MDX-I Lekki Data Center in Lagos. It is a Tier III certified facility housing IT equipment, along with all of the necessary power distribution, cooling, cabling, fire suppression and physical security systems. The world class facility sits next to MainOne’s cable landing station facility, with access to the 1.92 Tbps international subsea cable, a world-class IP NGN network, and extensive terrestrial fiber networks, to all the major network operators and Internet Service providers. http://rdmdev.com/mainone/devsite/services/datacenters/
The idea of running a 7,000-kilometer undersea high capacity cable submarine from Portugal to Lagos, Nigeria seemed unachieveable, too ambitious and maybe utterly ridiculous, but Funke Opeke had a vision and she was willing to give her all to make it happen.
In 2005, after moving back to Nigeria to take on the role of Chief Technology Officer of MTN Nigeria, Funke Opeke noticed the low internet connectivity in Nigeria and decided to do something about it. In 2008, she started MainOne, West Africa’s leading communications services, and network solutions provider. https://techpoint.ng/2017/05/05/things-didnt-know-funke-opeke/
Everywhere she looks in Nigeria, Funke Opeke notices missed opportunities. But the founder and CEO of Main One Cable Company also sees ways to address them.
When the 54-year-old returned to Nigeria in 2005, after 20 years and a successful telecoms career in the US, she was shocked by the low level of internet connectivity in her country of birth. "While the developed world was fully connected, here in Nigeria the average young person didn't know what the internet was," she remembers.
One reason was that most of the online communication in Africa's most populous country ran through satellite networks. There was no stable physical connection to the internet.
The trained electrical engineer realised that the core infrastructure for the internet needed to be fixed. At first, she tried to do this by joining the Nigerian public telecoms company, NITEL. When that didn't work out, she decided to fix it herself.
"We can't leave an entire generation of young people without proper access to the internet," she says.
In 2008, Funke Opeke started Main One Cable Company, which proceeded to lay a 7,000km fibre optic cable across the bottom of the ocean, from Portugal to Nigeria. The project required $240m to be raised.
It was an adventure, but one she isn't necessarily sure she would embark upon again. Still, she pulled it off, and the result caused nothing short of a cyber-revolution in what is now Africa's biggest economy.
Since its launch in 2010, the Main One Cable Company has become the provider to the providers, the broadband connection without which they couldn't exist. Internet banking in Nigeria has taken a giant leap forward because of the possibilities broadband offered, and local e-commerce has blossomed with the emergence of mail order companies like Konga and Jumia, online booking agency hotels.ng, discount site DealDey, and the introduction last year of the Uber app in Lagos.
When Google comes to Nigeria, it is Funke Opeke they talk to, and when the University of Lagos is thinking about a broadband network on campus, it is Main One with whom they partner. In 2012, she received the CNBC All Africa Businesswoman of the Year award.
Fola Adeola is the chairman of Main One Cable Company. He got involved with Opeke's start-up after a promise he made out of guilt, but he hasn't regretted it. "Main One was the most memorable experience in my career," says the celebrated businessman who established GTBank, one of Nigeria's most respected and fastest growing banks.
Long before the Main One adventure, Adeola had asked Opeke to come and lead the privatisation process of NITEL. She left her high-profile job as chief technical officer for MTN Nigeria, a telecoms company, a position for which she had returned to her home country in 2005. Opeke figured she could turn around the dysfunctional government institution for the good of the community.
In a country already rife with graft, NITEL had a reputation for being one of the most corrupt public services, or, as Adeola diplomatically puts it: "A place where self-interest overruled the company's interest." Because of that, it didn't take long before the former banker concluded the project wasn't working for him, and stepped back.
However, he felt guilty about leaving Opeke behind. "I called her into my office and said: 'Funke, the moment this job is not fulfilling for you any more, if there is anything you want me to help you with, you know where to find me,'" Adeola says.
deomelo: TOP NIGERIAN FASHION DESIGNERS THAT MAKE KILLER DESIGNS 1. DURO OLOWU
Duro Olowu is no doubt one of the top Nigerian clothing designers and among Africa’s finest. His fashion line, Duro Olowo has been featured in numerous fashion runways and featured in a number of fashion events. His work has evolved and has become an inspiration for African designers and fashionistas. https://i0.wp.com/reedfashionmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/15tmag-duro-slide-5QOR-blog427.jpg
Wow!! Is this the same Duro Olowu that designed dresses for Michelle Obama when she was first lady of the United States??!
AFRICA STYLE NOW: MICHELLE OBAMA ROCKS DURO OLOWU ON THE OPRAH SHOW The First Lady Michelle Obama made an appearance this past Monday on the Oprah Winfrey Show dressed in one of her favorite African designers, Duro Olowu. Duro Olowu who we have featured on Ladybrillemag.com is a London based Nigerian designer. The attorney turned designer also showed his collection for the first time this past season at New York Fashion Week. http://ladybrillemag.com/africa-style-now-michelle-obama-rocks-duro-olowu-on-the-oprah-show/
deomelo: Is there not a difference between MOU to make spare parts and actually manufacturing fighter jets.?
E be like say this one no attend even elementary school sef..
I wonder, o!I no know say you sef see am! Look at the way he has been shouting 'fighter jets' all over this thread, and Gwagoon like a demented toad. Please someone should tell him that Innoson was given an MOU (not even a contract, sef) to produce spare parts for fighter jets, and was NOT told to manufacture fighter jets for the Air Force, o! Chai! For all we know, the spare parts may just be light bulbs, sef and nothing major....
Politics › Re: Yorubas Are The Most Industrious,Richest & Educated Tribe in Nigeria & Africa by laudate: 3:09pm On Jul 17, 2017
Gimme five, jare! I was searching for this company on the internet last night, and I kept thinking it was GYZ Cans not realising it was some other name. No wonder I drew a blank on it! 
May God increase the wisdom He has deposited in your life!
And who has been managing and running it? And where were you in 2006 when that same firm bought over Gatwick Airport, in what was dubbed "a landmark deal?" 
Which Aba? Do they know the meaning of good quality in that place?? 
