₦airaland Forum

Newly elected President of the Trade Union Congress, Quadri Olaleye, on Sunday said the union would issue an ultimatum for an industrial action if the Federal Government continued to delay the implementation of new N30, 000 minimum wage.

In an exclusive interview with our correspondent, Olaleye said that TUC had begun mobilising workers ahead of an industrial action, accusing government of showing no serious commitment to the implementation of the minimum wage.

Representatives of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council on the technical committee set up to negotiate consequential adjustments arising from the new minimum wage, had disagreed with the government proposal of 9.5% salary increase for employees on Grade Levels 07 to 14 and 5% for those on Grade Levels 15 to 17.

The council said it would not shift position on its demand for 30% increase for officers on grade levels 7 to 14 and 25% increase for grade levels 15 to 17.

Olaleye said, “We have made presentation to the Federal Government on this issue but it seems the government is not ready to yield to the expectation of Nigerian workers. We are supporting the JNPSNC on this issue. Implementation of the new minimum wage of N30, 000 should have been done a long time ago since President Muhammadu Buhari signed it on April 18, 2019, but government is dragging the matter needlessly. With the way things are, it seems the government is not interested in its implementation.

“We are going to issue an ultimatum to the FG soon. We want the negotiation to resume before going ahead. However, if there is no solution to the problem of implementation in the next two weeks, we will issue the ultimatum. We have started mobilising our members already.”

He added, “The position of the NJNC to call on workers to go on strike is supported by the TUC. But we want to give the government an opportunity to do something about it before taking action over the non-implementation of the new minimum wage. We reject government proposal of 9.5% salary raise for employees on Grade Levels 07 to 14 and 5% for those on Grade Levels 15 to 17. We have come down from about 66% raise but we cannot agree on what government is pushing to us. Government should expect our action any time if nothing is done.”

Olaleye said that TUC would support the call for strike by organised labour after the stalemate in the negotiation between JNPSNC and government representatives.


SOURCE: https://punchng.com/minimum-wage-tuc-warns-of-imminent-strike/

Solar Foods says its protein powder is “completely” disconnected from agriculture. But its currently low production yield of 1 kg per day raises red flags. Solar Foods doesn't use agriculture feedstocks in its products, so it “can make food in space or in the desert or the Arctic.”

A Finnish tech startup has managed to produce food mainly out of electricity and air, and is now looking to enter the market by 2021. Solar Foods, based out of the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and the Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT), is still in its pilot stages of production, currently producing one kilogram of protein-rich edible powder (“Solein”) per day.

According to CEO Pasi Vainikka, one kilogram of Solein can feed seven to ten people their full day’s worth of protein. Solar Foods hopes this will someday serve as a carbon neutral vegan alternative to meat and soy, both of which are land- and resource-intensive to produce. Vannika says Solein is “completely” disconnected from agriculture: The soil microbes used only require collection from natural land once. From there they are grown in the lab, and the inorganic nutrients they use are obtained from mineral deposits that don’t require the use of fertile land.

Other meat alternatives on or nearing the market, such as the plant-based Impossible Burger or lab-grown meat at Memphis Meats, aim to reduce the global burden of farming—estimated to take up nearly half of the planet’s land surface, and the source of approximately 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the US. These products still rely upon agricultural inputs, however, be it plants or cells from living animals, which consume grass.

“It’s not good enough to change the energy system actually, we also need to change how and what we eat,” Pasi Vainikka, CEO of Solar Foods, told me over the phone. “If you want to…reduce climate impact, you would need to disconnect from land use and this is what we can now do with this technology. We don’t use any agriculture feedstocks in our products, so we can make food in space or in the desert or the Arctic.”

Solar Foods is currently conducting a feasibility study for the European Space Agency, which approached the company in early 2018 about crafting technology to produce its protein-dense powder inside Mars-bound spacecrafts. Solar Foods is a part of the ESA’s Business Incubation Programme, which provides grant money and access to ESA staff and networks.

To produce the powder, Solar Foods first creates hydrogen through electrolysis (splitting water cells in a bioreactor using electricity). It then adds the hydrogen to carbon dioxide, as well as nutrients such as potassium, sodium, and phosphorus, and feeds this into microbes derived from soil. The entire process results in cells that Vainikka estimates are 50 percent protein, 25 percent carbohydrates, and 5 to 10 percent fat.

According to Vainikka, the powder could be consumed in three ways: as a protein supplement to existing foods, such as breads or drinks; as an ingredient in plant-based meat alternatives, such as veggie burgers; or as a sustainable source of amino acids needed to create lab-grown meat products. In terms of cost, Vainikka is looking at pricing the powder from 7 to 10 euros ($8-$11) per kilo, which he hopes will be competitive with other plant- and animal-based proteins already on the market.

Vainikka admits the team has a long way to go, in part due to scalability issues and safety regulations it must adhere to before being able to introduce a brand new food to the market.

Solar Foods’ currently low production yield raises red flags for food expert Peter Tyedmers, a professor in the School for Resource and Environmental Studies at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia. He sees the project as impossible to scale to a level that will compete with our current agricultural system, and its prices still too high to address global food insecurity.

“These products are never going to meet demands of the most impoverished,” Tyedmers said over the phone. “The people who need food are the ones who can least afford food, and this will never be the least expensive food. This is a technological marvel, perhaps, but it’s not a food system,” he said.

There’s also the question of demand: if edible powder made from air and electricity does reach the market, will consumers even want to eat it? Mainstream acceptance of meat and dairy alternatives such as the Impossible Burger has increased over the past few years, but newer and more technologically complex food products such as lab-grown meat still draw criticism for being generally unappealing, despite their potential as an eco-friendly alternative.

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, professor in the Rowe School of Business at Dalhousie says innovation in the food space is difficult, because consumers are typically wary of new products until “a food trend becomes mainstream.”

“It’s very hard to make a go at it when margins are so low and you really have to rely on high volume and intensive distribution channels, which aren’t necessarily available early on,” he said over the phone.

But Charlebois notes that Solar Foods is the first startup he’s seen of its kind to even approach the market, and remains optimistic for the calorie-dense powder.

“2018 was a bit of a watershed year for plant-based dieting,” he said. “It’s certainly been normalized, and that can help any new company looking at the food market, as to whether or not they can actually sell a product at a premium that can serve the environment better.”

SOURCE: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/43zdag/this-startup-is-making-food-mostly-out-of-air-and-electricity

1. In chess, every move has a purpose. Life obviously cannot be lived with this much unceasing calculation, nor should we want to live that way, but there are times we must align our actions with a predetermined strategy, instead of bumbling through it.

2. Play for the advantage. If you already have it, maintain it. If you don’t have it, seize it.

3. Everyone’s playing. Sometimes it’s a friendly, often it is more serious. Problem is, not everyone knows they’re playing – even after they've made a move.

4. Seize the initiative. If you wait around for someone else to make a decision for you, they will… and you probably won’t like how it turns out.

5. Learn to spot patterns. There are often clearly defined lines of success that work well. Learn to see these when they repeat, and take advantage of them.

6. Don’t get stuck on the formula. A little bit of creativity and lateral thinking can often take you to new heights.

7. Ignore what your opponent is trying to do at your own peril. We often get so absorbed in our own games and machinations that we ignore what is going on around us. Be aware of threats and alert to opportunities.

8. Simplify!

9. If you only play patzers, you never really improve – take on a few tough challenges, and even if you lose, try to learn something new.

10. Cut your losses. Sometimes you are going to lose material. Try to minimise losses and move on.

11. Play the board, not the player. Don’t target your responses at people, target what they say and do. There is a difference!

12. Sometimes you get stuck in a position known in chess as zugzwang: where whichever move you make is a bad one. This is just the way it goes sometimes, in chess and in life.

13. There is nothing more satisfying than a discovered attack: Pretending to do one thing, while attacking somewhere else. Learn to play and live less obviously and on more levels. This makes you less predictable and more interesting.

14. Be prepared to sacrifice material for position. Sometimes even the greatest material sacrifice can result in a winning position later on.

15. If you spend all of your time chasing lowly pawns, you may be on the receiving end of an opponent who cares less about small victories and more about winning the war.

16. A threat is best met with a move that improves your own position. Don’t get trapped into mindlessly trading moves and material in anger. Sometimes the solution is more gentle and cerebral.

17. You don’t have to be a devious swindler to win… you just have to be better!

18. We all blunder from time to time. This does not mean we should give up and run away. Often when you’re sure there is no way out after a bad mistake, you will be given a lifeline.

19. When someone makes a move you cannot understand, don’t read more into it than you need to. Sometimes people just make silly moves – that’s all there is to it.

20. Have a Plan B. And a Plan C. If none of those work, you’re probably doomed.

21. Play for the middle. Don’t hold back too much, and don’t push through too early. Your opportunity will come.

22. How you start a game determines how you will finish it. Play wisely!

23. If an opening appears, seize it immediately.

24. Don’t get pinned down. Where something more cherished cannot be brought into play because it is stuck behind something trivial, make every effort to get it into the game – as soon as possible.

25. In the end game, attack the King by focussing your attention on his escape squares: When you are in the final stretch, and about to win, anticipate what could go wrong and plan accordingly.

26. Be flexible. It seldom goes the way you planned – adjust and continue.

27. If you are feeling boxed-in, free things up.

28. Where possible, trade inferior material and positions for better ones.

29. The little guys on your side matter. Look after them!

30. Accumulate small advantages.

31. There are no foregone conclusions in life or in chess.

32. Ignore meaningless threats. Anticipate and deal with dangerous ones swiftly.

33. Never rest on your laurels. Keep thinking, looking for new opportunities and trying to generate new ideas.

34. Don’t be overly impressed with lofty words or titles. The only thing worse than being overly diffident towards those who outrank you, is being dismissive of those inferior to you.

35. Keep calm and move slowly.

36. Replace wishful thinking with action.

37. If you lose, do so graciously and try to learn at least one important lesson.

38. Sometimes a draw is as good as a win. But a draw is always better than a loss!

39. Keep your options open and always have an escape route.

40. Surprise and impress people with unconventional moves, but not with dumb ones. Creativity always has a purpose – doing something wild and crazy just for the sake of it may be fun at the time, but ultimately has no value. Break the rules – but only if it serves a good purpose.

41. Appraise your position honestly. If it is bad, do something about it – if it is good, make it even better.

42. Don’t get swept up by distractions.

43. Narrow down your choices. And then decide. Take your time, but settle on one plan of action… and then do it!

44. Sometimes you have to sacrifice in order to achieve a break-through.

45. Always consider the whole board when deciding on a move: decisions made with too narrow a focus are often bad.

46. Connect your pieces cleverly. Collaboration and cooperation are the keys to success.

47. Look beyond the obvious.

48. Enjoy yourself!

49. Deep and meaningful is always better than superficially pretty.

50. If all else fails… fake it!

Don’t forget to look me up on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SeanHCole

SOURCE: https://seanhamptoncole./2013/03/26/living-strategically-50-lessons-chess-teaches-you-about-life/

You can always, always spot a chess player from players of other sports. They are the ones who will be better prepared to deal with the world, more intelligent and will have more knowledge not just about the game, but also about most other things in general. Why? Because chess is more than just a game. It’s the best way to learn what life is all about, and these 20 statements have summed up quite a few life-lessons that chess can teach us.

Check through and decide if you agree?

1. Every chess player senses beauty when he succeeds in creating a situation which contradicts expectations, and successfully masters the situation.

2. In life (as in chess), forethought wins!

3. Chess first of all teaches you to be objective.

4. Art and chess are closely related; both are forms in which the self finds beauty and expression.

5. Always protect your king!

6. No one ever won a chess match by making only forward moves.

7. You have to learn the rules of the game, and then you have to play better than everyone else.

8. If you are not big enough to lose, you are not big enough to win!

9. All that matters on a chess board is a good move.

10. Attackers may sometimes regret bad moves, but it is much worse to forever regret an opportunity you allowed to pass you by.

11. Life is a game board and time is your opponent. If you procrastinate, you will lose the game. You must make a move, to be victorious.

12. Often, you have to lose hundreds of games before becoming a good player.

13. If a player believes in miracles, he can sometimes perform them!

14. You must never let your opponent see your pieces and figure out your strategy.

15. Win with grace, lose with dignity!

16. The game changes with every move you make.

17. Strategy without patience can be caustic; patience without strategy can be anaemic. Having both strategy and patience is a rare gift.

18. There are times a well-placed pawn is more powerful than a king!

19. We learn little from victory, much from defeat.

20. At the end of the game, the king and pawn go back in the same box!

SOURCE (abridged): https://www.storypick.com/chess-life-lessons/

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE
Because you don’t know what it means to hustle … until you meet a Nigerian-American.

At an Onyejekwe family get-together, you can’t throw a stone without hitting someone with a master’s degree. Doctors, lawyers, engineers, professors — every family member is highly educated and professionally successful, and many have a lucrative side gig to boot. Parents and grandparents share stories of whose kid just won an academic honor, achieved an athletic title or performed in the school play. Aunts, uncles and cousins celebrate one another’s job promotions or the new nonprofit one of them just started. To the Ohio-based Onyejekwes, this level of achievement is normal. They’re Nigerian-American — it’s just what they do.

Today, 29% of Nigerian-Americans over the age of 25 hold a graduate degree, compared to 11% of the overall U.S. population, according to the Migrations Policy Institute. Among Nigerian-American professionals, 45% work in education services, the 2016 American Community Survey found, and many are professors at top universities. Nigerians are entering the medical field in the U.S. at an increased rate, leaving their home country to work in American hospitals, where they can earn more and work in better facilities. A growing number of Nigerian-Americans are becoming entrepreneurs and CEOs, building tech companies in the U.S. to help people back home.

It hasn’t been easy — the racist stereotypes are far from gone. Last year, President Donald Trump reportedly said in an Oval Office discussion that Nigerians would never go back to “their huts” once they saw America. But overt racism hasn’t stopped Nigerian-Americans from creating jobs, treating patients, teaching students and contributing to local communities in their new home, all while confidently emerging as one of the country’s most succesful immigrant communities, with a median household income of $62,351, compared to $57,617 nationally, as of 2015.

NIGERIAN-AMERICANS ARE BEGINNING TO MAKE A MARK IN SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT AND THE CULINARY ARTS
“I think Nigerian-Americans offer a unique, flashy style and flavor that people like,” says Chukwuemeka Onyejekwe, who goes by his rap name Mekka Don. He points to Nigerian cuisine like jollof rice that’s gaining popularity in the U.S. But more importantly, Mekka says, Nigerians bring a “connectivity and understanding of Africa” to the U.S. “Many [Americans] get their understanding of ’the motherland’ through our experiences and stories,” he adds.

The Nigerian-American journey is still relatively new compared with that of other major immigrant communities that grew in the U.S. in the 20th century. The Nigerian-American population stood at 376,000 in 2015, according to the Rockefeller Foundation–Aspen Institute. That was roughly the strength of the Indian-American community back in 1980, before it emerged as a leading light in fields ranging from economics to technology. But Nigerian-Americans are already beginning to make a dent in the national consciousness. In the case of forensic pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, he’s helping fix hits to the brain.

The 49-year-old Omalu was the first to discover and publish on chronic traumatic encephalopathy in American football players (Will Smith played him in the 2015 film Concussion). ImeIme A. Umana, the first Black woman elected president of the Harvard Law Review last year, is Nigerian-American. In 2016, Nigerian-born Pearlena Igbokwe became president of Universal Television, making her the first woman of African descent to head a major U.S. TV studio. And the community has expanded rapidly, up from just 25,000 people in 1980.

A FOCUS ON EDUCATION
Traditionally, education has been at the heart of the community’s success. But success isn’t so easily defined within the culture anymore. Nigerian-Americans are beginning to make a mark in sports, entertainment and the culinary arts too — like Nigerian chef Tunde Wey in New Orleans, who recently made headlines for using food to highlight racial wealth inequality in America.

It was education that brought an early wave of Nigerians to the U.S. in the 1970s. After the war against Biafra separatists in the ’60s, the Nigerian government sponsored scholarships for students to pursue higher education abroad. English-speaking Nigerian students excelled at universities in the U.S. and U.K., often finding opportunities to continue their education or begin their professional career in their host country. That emphasis on education has since filtered through to their children’s generation.

Dr. Jacqueline Nwando Olayiwola was born in Columbus, Ohio, to such Nigerian immigrant parents. Her mother is a retired engineer, now a professor at Walden University; her father is a retired professor, now a strategist at a consulting firm focused on governance in Africa. “Education was always a major priority for my parents because it was their ticket out of Nigeria,” Olayiwola says. Her parents used their network of academics to get Olayiwola thinking about a career in medicine from a young age — by 11, she was going to summits for minorities interested in health care. Olayiwola was constantly busy as a kid doing homework and sports and participating in National Honor Society and biomedical research programs, but it was the norm, she says; her Nigerian roots meant it was expected of her.

Today, Olayiwola is a family physician, the chief clinical transformation officer of RubiconMD, a leading health tech company, associate clinical professor at University of California, San Francisco, instructor in family medicine at Columbia University, and an author. Her new book, Papaya Head, detailing her experience as a first-generation Nigerian-American, will be published later this year. Olayiwola’s siblings are equally successful – her older brother, Okey Onyejekwe, is also a physician, her younger brother, Mekka Don, is a lawyer turned rapper, and her sister, Sylvia Ify Onyejekwe, Esq, is the managing partner of her own New Jersey law firm. But Olayiwola feels she needs to do more. She doesn’t want America’s gain to be Nigeria’s permanent loss.

NOT FORGETTING THEIR ROOTS
Olayiwola and her brother, Okey, stay active in the Nigerian-American community. In 1998, they co-founded the Student Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas, which organizes at least two medical mission trips to Nigeria each year. Between 2000 and 2004, the siblings often flew the nearly 8,000 miles to Nigeria to perform screenings for preventable diseases. They took blood pressure, advised patients on diabetes and obesity prevention, and provided prenatal counseling in rural areas.

“I feel a tremendous sense of wanting to go back [to Nigeria] and help,” says Olayiwola.

It’s a sentiment shared by many in the Nigerian-American community. But it’s easier said than done for some of America’s most qualified professionals to leave world-class facilities and a comfortable life to return permanently to a nation that, while Africa’s largest economy, remains mired in political instability and corruption.

In the 1970s and ’80s, some foreign-educated Nigerian graduates returned home, but found political and economic instability in a postwar country. In 1966, the country’s military overthrew the regime of independent Nigeria’s first prime minister, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. It was the first of a series of military coups — again, later, in 1966, then in 1975, 1976, 1983, 1985 and 1993 — that were to deny the country even a semblance of democracy until 1999.

“My parents were expected to study in the U.S. or U.K. and then go back to Nigeria,” says Dr. Nnenna Kalu Makanjuola, who grew up in Nigeria and now lives in Atlanta. Her parents did return, but with few jobs available in the economic decline of the 1980s, many Nigerians did not. Within a few years of their return, Makanjuola’s parents too decided it was best to build their lives elsewhere.

Makanjuola, who has a pharmacy degree, works in public health and is the founder and editor in chief of Radiant Health Magazine, came to the U.S. when her father won a Diversity Immigrant Visa in 1995 — a program Trump wants to dismantle. Makanjuola’s father moved the family to Texas so his children could have access to better universities. Makanjuola intended to one day pursue her career in Nigeria as her parents had, but it’s too hard to leave the U.S., she says: “Many Nigerians intend to go back, but it’s impractical because there’s more opportunity here.”

WANTING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
As an undergraduate student in Nigeria, Jacob Olupona, now a professor of African religious traditions at Harvard Divinity School, was a well-known activist in his community. He considered a career in politics, but a mentor changed his mind. The mentor told Olupona: “Don’t go into politics because you’re too honest and don’t join the military because you’re too smart.” So Olupona headed to Boston University instead, to study the history of religions — a subject he had always found fascinating as the son of a priest. Like Olayiwola, the importance of education was instilled in him from a young age but so too was the importance of spreading knowledge. “When you educate one person, you educate the whole community,” Olupona says. That belief is what translated into his career as a teacher.

Olupona stresses that Nigerians have also achieved a lot in their country of origin. Moving to the U.S. isn’t the only route to success, he says. Still, he believes the many academic opportunities in the U.S. have benefited Nigerians. “There’s something about America and education that we need to celebrate,” he says.

Marry those American opportunities with an upbringing that emphasizes education, a drive to serve the U.S. while not forgetting their roots, and a growing penchant for success, and you have a unique cocktail that is the Nigerian-American community today. Anyone from the Nigerian diaspora will tell you their parents gave them three career choices: doctor, lawyer or engineer. For a younger generation of Nigerian-Americans, that’s still true, but many are adding a second career, or even a third, to that trajectory.

Anie Akpe works full time as vice president of mortgages at Municipal Credit Union in New York City, but she’s also the founder of Innov8tiv magazine, African Women in Technology (an education and mentorship program) and an app called NetWorq that connects professionals. Raised in the southern port city of Calabar, she had the Nigerian hustle baked into her upbringing. “There was no such thing as ‘can’t’ in our household,” she says. Akpe’s banking career fulfilled her parent’s expectations, but she wanted to do more. Four and a half years ago, she launched Innov8tiv to highlight success stories back home in Nigeria and throughout the African continent. Through her magazine and through African Women in Technology, which offers networking events, mentorship opportunities and internships, Akpe is helping propel women into careers like hers. “Africa is male-dominated in most sectors,” she says. “If I can show young women there are ways to do things within our culture that allow them to grow, then I’ve been successful.”

Like Akpe, rapper Mekka Don took a traditional career route at first. He got a law degree from New York University and worked at a top-10 law firm, but he had always wanted to pursue music. At 25, Mekka, who is the younger brother of Jacqueline Olayiwola, and Sylvia and Okey Onyejekwe, decided to take the plunge.

Fellow attorneys ridiculed him, asking incredulously: “Who leaves a law career to become a rapper?” But his family was understanding — part of a shift in attitudes that Mekka says he increasingly sees in his parents’ generation of Nigerian-Americans. “My parents see how lucrative music can be,” he says, adding, “They also get excited when they see me on TV.”

The lawyer turned rapper has been featured on MTV and VH1, has a licensing agreement with ESPN to play his music during college football broadcasts and just released a new single, “Nip and Tuck.” He still has that law degree to fall back on and it comes in handy in his current career too. “I never need anyone to read contracts for me, so I save a ton on lawyer fees,” Mekka says.

A HUNGER FOR SUCCESS
The community’s drive to succeed sounds exhausting at times, particularly if you never feel you’ve reached the finish line. Omalu, the forensic pathologist, was recently in the news again after his independent autopsy of Sacramento youth Stephon Clark showed that the 22-year-old was repeatedly shot in the back by police officers, which conflicted with the Sacramento Police report.

But if you ask Omalu about his success, he’s quick to correct. “I’m not successful,” Omalu says, adding that he won’t consider himself so until he can “wake up one day, do absolutely nothing and there will be no consequences.” Part of Omalu’s humility is faith-based: “I was given a talent to serve,” he says. Omalu has eight degrees, has made life-changing medical discoveries and has been portrayed by a famous actor on screen, but he doesn’t revel in his accomplishments.

And what about Nigerians who come to the U.S. and don’t succeed? Wey, the activist chef, says there’s a lot of pressure to fit a certain mold when you’re Nigerian. Choosing the right career is only one part of that. “You have to be heterosexual, you have to have children, you have to have all of those degrees,” he says of the cultural expectations he was raised with. “It limits the possibilities of what Nigerians can be.”

While others agree it can be stressful at times, they say the high career bar isn’t a burden to them. “I don’t know anything else,” says Olayiwola about being raised to value education and success. Akpe feels the same. “You’re not thinking it’s hard, it’s just something you do,” she says.

THE SKY IS THE LIMIT
Now that doctor, lawyer and engineer are no longer the only acceptable career options within the community, the path to professional achievement is rife with more possibilities than ever before. Sports, entertainment, music, the culinary arts — there are few fields Nigerian-Americans aren’t already influencing. And the negative stereotypes? Hold onto them at your own peril.


SOURCE (abridged/sectioned): https://www.ozy.com/fast-forward/the-most-successful-ethnic-group-in-the-us-may-surprise-you/86885

10 yet-to-be identified Nigerians detained in a prison in Noida, Uttar Pradesh in India have escaped from jail. Reports, according to India’s Business Standard, said the Nigerians who were detained by Gautam Buddh Nagar police broke jail on Thursday 11th July 2019. However, some of them have been recaptured.

Additional Director General of Police of Meerut zone, said “Some inmates escaped due to negligence of guard and some of them were later caught.Action being taken against staff whoever is responsible for it.”

The Uttar Pradesh police on Wednesday detained as many as 60 foreigners who were reportedly living in India without valid travel documents or suspected to be involved in criminal activities.

They were arrested in the course of “Operation Clean 10”, meant to catch foreign nationals living in the national capital region.

SOURCE: https://theworldnews.net/ng-news/just-in-10-nigerians-escape-from-india-jail

Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has spent the sum of N22.5m to purchase nomination and expression of interest forms of the All Progressives Congress ahead of the governorship primary which holds August 29, 2019. Investigations by The PUNCH showed that the sum is almost equivalent to the three-year salary and allowances of a governor which is N23.3m.

According to the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission, a governor’s basic salary is N185, 308.75 while he is entitled to a hardship allowance of N92, 654.37 and a consistency allowance of N370, 617.50 bringing the total monthly package to N648, 580.62 or N7.7m a year. The total salary and allowances earned by a governor in three years is N23.3m.

Incidentally, Kogi State is reported to be the most affected in the country as regards unpaid salaries and pensions. The National Union of Local Government Employees had also named Kogi as the biggest defaulter of unpaid salaries and pensions while the Nigeria Labour Congress claims the state owes between eight to 38 months of unpaid salaries and pensions, a claim the state government has denied.

The high cost of nomination and expression of interest forms by the two main parties in the country, the – APC and the Peoples Democratic Party – has been a source of controversy in recent time. The APC had pegged the price of its Presidential forms at N45m last year. President Muhammadu Buhari, who lamented the high cost of the forms, claimed that a group, Nigeria Consolidation Ambassadors Network, bought them for him. The PDP’s Presidential forms, however, were much lower than those of the APC.

APC governors who bought the forms at N22.5m last year include: Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State; his Katsina State counterpart, Bello Masari; Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje; and Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State.

Others include: Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State; his Niger State counterpart, San Bello; Jigawa State Governor, Mohammed Badaru; and Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State and Jibrilla Bindow of Adamawa State who both failed to get re-elected

Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), had lamented the high cost of forms, insisting that it was immoral and illegal. Falana said political parties should try to generate funds by ensuring that all members paid monthly dues.

He added, “It is illegal and prohibitive to collect nomination forms. When you do that, you are excluding people from participating in the democratic process. In 2003, INEC attempted to collect money for nomination forms. The late Chief Gani Fawehinmi led us to court and the court held that it was illegal and unconstitutional to collect nomination forms, after we had dragged not former than seven to eight state governments to court over money for nomination forms for LG elections.

“The TMG may wish to put these cases together for people to know their rights. By the way, what is a nomination form? A sheet of paper! What is embarrassing for some of us is that President Muhammadu Buhari complained that he was asked to pay N27m in 2015 for his own nomination form and had to take a loan to raise the money. Now that Buhari is the President of Nigeria and leader of the ruling party (APC), what has happened? I think TMG will also want to take this up, especially the legality of nomination forms so that you can open the democratic space for people to contest and participate in the electoral process.”

SOURCE: https://punchng.com/yahaya-bello-spends-three-year-salary-on-purchase-of-apc-gov-form/

Peak Milk’s latest business move in Niger State has reopened discussion regarding the Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) settlements for Fulani Herdsmen which was proposed by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Acquisition of hectares of land by the dairy company in the Northern State renewed the debate that there’s enough room for Fulani Herdsmen to rear their cattle in the Northern region rather than seeking portion of hectares in the Southern and Western States.

The Federal Government had proposed the RUGA scheme as a solution to the constant clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in the South-East due to the destruction of farmlands and killing of cows. However, the move was widely rejected in regions outside the North.

The cattle rearers were informed to purchase land and operate as a business entity in the form of ‘ranch’ rather than being awarded land acquired by the Federal Government. This renewed the debate as to the economic value the resettlement will add to Nigeria’s economy.

While the RUGA scheme has been suspended by the President Buhari led-administration, the dust, however, hasn’t settled. The planned acquisition of 1,000-hectares of land by the subsidiary of Friesland Campina revived the discuss, with some people suggesting that Peak Milk has shown how the Fulani herdsmen should operate. The development also suggests that there’s unused land of about 45,000 hectares for the RUGA scheme in Niger State alone.

Peak Milk has approached the govt of Niger state to invest in a 1,000-hectare reserve for milking. Niger state is twice the size of the entire South-East and has 45,000 hectares for RUGA. Animal farmers will be contracted to supply cow milk to Peak's Abuja factory for processing. pic.twitter.com/NDBQDI7Ijb — ᴏᴍᴀsᴏʀᴏ ᴀʟɪ ᴏᴠɪᴇ™☤ (@ovieali) July 7, 2019

Just want people to understand that there's no need to move RUGA to the South East when Niger has all the land. Nigeria should learn to preserve the beef after slaughter,then move it by train to other regions with a little add-on price. — ᴏᴍᴀsᴏʀᴏ ᴀʟɪ ᴏᴠɪᴇ™☤ (@ovieali) July 7, 2019

Though the tweet generated counter-argument among his followers, it was agreed that the land mass in the North is enough to serve the Fulani Herdsmen.

I agree, served in Minna, Niger state is like a country of its own small trip from Minna to Bida was like a journey of a million miles. So much unused land mass — UncleRume (@RumeKhan) July 8, 2019

The initiative is laudable. Just as you said, SE has no land mass for RUGA, Sambisa forest alone is bigger than 3 States of the SE. Do cow rearing where the lands exist and sell to us just like onions, tomatoes, carrots, beans etc. — Greatful to God (@OzoNnamdi) July 7, 2019

The northern part of Nigeria has the potential to supply the whole world with Cow meat, milk, hides & skin etc. If things are done properly the nation would soon be depending on the north for a lot of agricultural products. — seun kazim (@dr_ojigwe007) July 7, 2019

I think people need to be properly educated about what RUGA is all about…majority were misinformed by the opposition playing politics — Kolawole Ayinla (@Kola230) July 7, 2019

They should move it to Niger. Atleast we will be known for something � — Marshmellow�� (@Rookayerh) July 7, 2019

I choose to keep quiet over this. Peak milk is already investing in Niger state. Is this not one of the positives of RUGA? Well what do I know? If I talk now they will say I am Pro-Buhari. I am pro-development And anti-backward ness — Uyiharry (@Uyiharry3) July 8, 2019

good..keep RUGA in the North. The South will also focus on our strength. This is better. let each region develop as it sees fit. Don't force anything on the other region. — Byolar (@Panthera38) July 8, 2019

Good idea, only if the Govt would allow private investors to buy into the RUGA stuffs then citizens confidence can be guaranteed in the Process… But when it's Govt, so many insinuation, interest and perception will come to the fore — Nwachukwu emeka mych (@Emekamych) July 8, 2019

SOURCE: https://nairametrics.com/2019/07/08/peak-milk-shows-ruga-isnt-needed-in-southern-and-western-nigeria/

An Alabama woman mistakenly shot her husband in the head while aiming for someone else in a road-rage attack, police said.

Erica Cole got into the road-rage altercation on Highway 69 in Dodge City at about 6:45 on Saturday, according to several local reports. The incident continued to a nearby house, where Cole opened fire and mistakenly hit her husband, Nicholas Cole, authorities said.

He’s recovering at a nearby hospital in stable condition. Erica Cole was arrested and hit with attempted murder, assault and reckless endangerment charges, police said.

Police are investigating the shooting.

SOURCE: https://nypost.com/2019/07/08/alabama-woman-mistakenly-shot-husband-in-road-rage-attack/

The Osun State Police Command, on Tuesday 9th July 2019, said one of the suspected abductors of Prof. Olayinka Adegbehingbe, an orthopaedic surgeon at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, had been arrested.

Adegbehingbe, who was returning to Ile-Ife from Lagos on Sunday, May 5, 2019, was abducted by suspected Fulani herdsmen on the Ife-Ibadan Expressway and was released a day later after the payment of N5.45m ransom.

Parading the suspect, Usman Ladan, from Sokoto State, at the command’s headquarters in Osogbo, the state Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Ige, said Adegbehingbe actually identified the man as one of those who abducted him. Ige said another of the alleged abductors was arrested while wandering aimlessly in Ikire, while two other suspects were arrested in the Iwo area for other crimes.

The suspects are Samaila Gede from Katsina State; Kemu Rejuli from Niger Republic; and Jubril Mohammed from Katsina State, who were said to have been apprehended with assorted charms.

SOURCE: https://www.ladunliadinews.com/2019/07/police-arrest-suspected-abductor-of-oau.html

(A). WHO IS MICHAEL QUINN?
On February 15, 2015, members of the Irish music scene gathered in Dublin to pay their last respects to Michael Quinn, a long-time music impresario. Quinn was a well-known and colourful character. He partied and hob-knobbed with the who’s who in music, from the American band ‘The Supremes’ to the Irish folk band ‘The Dubliners’, until his death. Yet, it wasn’t the music stars who really attracted attention at the funeral; it was the large number of Nigerians in attendance, along with a Nigerian TV crew, that turned the heads of those gathered to say their farewells to Quinn.

Nigeria has, of course, seen its fair share of larger-than-life characters, but Michael Quinn deserves an honourable mention on any list. His rock-n-roll heritage led to a career in business, commodities, project management, and involvement in some of Nigeria’s most ambitious – and controversial – infrastructure deals of the past 30 years.

Quinn may be best known in Nigeria for being the co-founder of P&ID, involved in a gas flaring project that collapsed following the Nigerian government’s failure to uphold the terms of the agreement. This has led to Nigeria’s most difficult overseas investor challenge in its history: namely, the world’s largest arbitration award of over $9.5 billion.

What’s not really understood by most Nigerians is the full story on Michael Quinn – and his business partner, Brendan Cahill – and their business adventures here in Nigeria. BWN set out to investigate their business exploits, spanning Nigeria, Ireland, the British Virgin Islands, Cyprus and the United Kingdom, among others.

(B). WHERE IT ALL BEGAN: ‘THE BUTANISATION’ PROJECT
BWN has established that Quinn and Cahill ran an international consulting company called Industrial Consultants (ICIL). They got their first real start in Nigeria having won a contract from NNPC to establish Africa’s first-ever gas pressure vessel manufacturing facility – including installation at nine sites across Nigeria – known as the “Butanisation Project.”

In the early 1990’s, NNPC wanted to capture the Butane gas produced throughout the country at the oil refineries. Their plan was to install 1,000 tonne high pressure vessels at 9 sites across Nigeria with a total of 48 individual vessels to store this Butane.

At the time, the NNPC envisaged that international vessel manufacturers in the West (Europe, US) would tender for and export completed vessels into Nigeria. However, Quinn and Cahill had other ideas. They wanted to build the vessels in Nigeria. But they faced steep challenges in doing so, including the challenge of identifying qualified workers (welders and engineers) with the necessary skills.

To overcome this challenge, they pursued a technology transfer partnership with Babcock Robey, a long-established UK company, to consider setting up a factory, bringing in world-class welders and manufacturing the vessels in Nigeria whilst training up an entire cadre of Nigerian welders and engineers. This was not ordinary welding – an explosion at such a vessel would be devastating.

The technology transfer arrangement with Babcock Robey agreed that after completion of the project the factory and equipment would remain operative in Nigeria. As a direct result of that technology transfer, there are now a number of indigenous manufacturers in Nigeria, not only of pressure vessels, but of many other associated products used across the entire oil and gas industry. This industry as a whole is now worth billions of dollars to the Nigerian economy.

This technology transfer strategy would later become a signature strategy of the Quinn and Cahill approach to doing business in Nigeria.

(C). COMBATTING HIV/AIDS
Not all of Cahill and Quinn’s projects were as commercially successful as the Butanization project, though. An entrepreneurial project to support HIV/AIDS testing in Nigeria collapsed in the early 2000s, after disagreements between the various commercial partners – including Quinn and Cahill – and the Nigerian government. Why did the project collapse, and what was the involvement of Quinn and Cahill?

In the late 90s and early 2000s, sub-Sahara African governments were facing a staggering rise in the numbers of citizens suffering from HIV/AIDS. The lack of basic healthcare infrastructure, access to medicines, testing stigma and limited financial resources only made the plight worse.

In 2006, the Nigerian Health Ministry agreed to support a $15 million partnership with a local Nigerian company, Allied Consultants International (ACI) working with Trinity Biotech of Ireland to supply and create a facility that would locally-manufacture HIV testing kits. The Nigerian government would be a Joint Venture (JV) partner. Locally the company was known as Trinitron.

The initiative got off to a rough start due to the government’s failure to deliver the necessary funds and resources needed to start, and so ACI sought outside assistance. They went to Michael Quinn and Brendan Cahill and asked for their help. (BWN has established that Quinn and Cahill were not involved at the start of the project – they were simply called in to help when things began to go wrong). Quinn and Cahill arranged for new financing, and brought in new management. In return, Quinn and Cahill through ICIL became a shareholder in ACI. The new arrangement worked. Test kits were delivered from Ireland – over 4 million of them. And in May 2008 the manufacturing facility at Sheda was completed, and the first kits were rolled out for government licensing approval.

Notwithstanding this, the Nigerian government failed to purchase the test kits. This led in-part to the collapse of the project and the ultimate closure of the facility in Sheda, by the government.

BWN tracked down Gerry Nash, the project manager of the Sheda facility brought in by Quinn and Cahill, to understand why some in Nigeria claim this project was a sham or a fraud: He said: “The Trinitron project was an extraordinary success and supported Nigerians access to essential tests to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS. We delivered over 4 million test kits that were vital to stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS. The Sheda facility was in full operation and producing locally made kits. There will be those in the Western media who will say this project was a failure; however, that’s ridiculous as the only failure was the Nigerian government’s inability to continue funding the project.”

(D). PORT EXPANSION
Quinn and Cahill also had a hand in expanding the infrastructure of the ports of Lagos and Calabar. It resulted in them gaining a better understanding of the infrastructure and needs of cities like Lagos and Calabar. Their work in both communities saw the construction of improved industrial facilities that allowed for the increased import and export of goods and services.

(E). SUPPORTING NIGERIA'S MILITARY
Quinn and Cahill also found a niche in helping repair and rebuild ageing Nigerian military equipment. They worked on several such contracts since 2000.

In 2001, through their company Marshpearl, Quinn and Cahill won a contract to repair and upgrade 36 Scorpion tanks. Overall, the project was a resounding success, and delivered the tanks upgraded as required. Such military hardware upgrades were to be needed in the coming years, in particular in the fight against Boko Haram.

However, not all contracts with the Nigerian military were as successful as the Scorpion tank project. In 2010, Industrial Consultants partnered with a company called North Wales Military Aviation Services (NWMAS) and won a $5m contract to repair the ejector seats in six Alpha jets for the Nigerian Air Force, specifically for an Air Force unit called Aeronautical Engineering & Technical Services (AETS).

NWMAS had completed the first milestone of the project when the Nigerian AETS unit terminated its agreement with NWMAS and refused to pay for work that had been previously completed. Again, because the contract was well-structured and relied on milestones for payments, it should have been straightforward.

The two sides could not agree, though. This dispute ended up before a Nigerian arbitration panel, which awarded Quinn and Cahill $2.3 million because of the Nigerian decision to end the contract early and not pay for work completed.

(F). PRIVATE SECTOR PROJECTS
Quinn and Cahill didn’t just work for the government, but also for the private sector where they worked with some of the big names in the international oil industry.

For instance, their operation was involved in numerous feasibility studies in relation to high value projects (especially complex cable and fibre optics networks) subsequently undertaken by large private companies such as Shell – the Cawthorne Channel Gas Gathering Project and the Forcados Gas Gathering Project, to name but two. In relation to all of these studies – valued in aggregate in the hundreds of millions of dollars – the recommendations made by Quinn and Cahill were taken up and the specialist facilities proposed were successfully constructed.

(G). USE OF OFFSHORE COMPANIES AND SECTION 54
Investigation also revealed a pattern by Quinn and Cahill to use offshore tax havens like the British Virgin Islands (BVI) and Cyprus to establish their businesses that operated in Nigeria. We wanted to look into why the two men used this tactic repeatedly and if it has any relevance for the current dispute with P&ID, which is also based in the British Virgin Islands.

According to experts, businesses use these tax havens because they help to lower tax bills, they offer sound legal structures for businesses, and they allow the identities of the ownership to remain confidential. These are all general reasons why BVI companies are popular with international businesspeople. Some claim these mirrored entities lead to confusion and are meant to intentionally mislead, especially during legal and arbitration disputes.

In the legal dispute on NWMAS, rumours abound that NWMAS Nigeria Ltd was established without NWMAS UK’s knowledge and the subsequent arbitration was not made aware to the UK entity. We looked into this claim, because it is a serious allegation.

According to discussions with contacts who know details of the NWMAS case, these allegations are false, and in fact, the NWMAS UK was named as Claimant in the dispute.

(H). CONCLUSION
Why does this all matter – Irish entrepreneurs making deals in everything from medicine kits, to tanks, to ports? It matters because Nigeria’s government currently owes $9.5 billion in judgment debt to P&ID, which is the company founded by Quinn and Cahill.

Some senior officials of the Nigerian government have claimed that P&ID is a “fake” company. It is clear from BWN investigation that similar arguments were levelled against other Quinn and Cahill adventures, such as NWMAS, in the past, and were subsequently found to be untrue.

Our investigation around Quinn and Cahill has shown these two men as having a long-track record here in Nigeria. Yes, they’ve set up multiple tax haven companies. Yes, they’ve had their fair share of disputes and arbitration awards against Nigeria. Yes, they have had some projects succeed and others fail. They are entrepreneurs and risk-takers, that is clear. Nigeria is a tough place to do business, and it needs such people to invest and show good faith. Without such investors, Nigeria would be in trouble, because investors who are heavily risk-averse do not want to come here. What the country needs is genuine entrepreneurs.

There is clearly some criticism about Quinn & Cahill that stands up: the projects that did not succeed could have been better handled. But to claim that these were “scams” or “frauds” is obviously untrue: there are real buildings, and machines, and facilities that show the contracts were real, and the work done was real. There is literally concrete evidence of this.

So, efforts by some people to characterise P&ID and its founders, Quinn and Cahill, as frauds, clearly fall short, unless those making such claims can produce real evidence. In any case, attacking previous projects that have served their purpose does not have any relevance to the current P&ID dispute.

The fact of the matter remains that until recently, no one had alleged fraud or misdeeds in the P&ID case. To date, not once during any of the legal proceedings either in the UK or US – where they are active currently – or even during the Nigerian legal proceedings, were these issues or claims raised by the Nigerian government. This shows that some sections of the media are simply falling for the spin; the government itself does not even believe the rumours sufficiently to raise them in court.

The most important single fact on the P&ID case is that, by failing to follow-through on the P&ID agreement, the expert Tribunal found that the Nigerian government was at fault and is now faced with the grim consequences of potentially paying for one of the largest arbitration awards in history – currently standing at over $9 billion!

And there is no evidence yet that the government is ready to enter into negotiations to find an amicable solution to the issue.

SOURCE (abridged): https://businesspost.ng/2019/07/09/meet-two-men-that-got-9bn-court-judgment-against-nigeria/amp/

The Kwik app comes with an integrated geolocation system and offers an efficient transportation service for small packages (up to 25kg) or documents. Launched on 26th June 2019 on both Apple Appstore and Google Play by the French start-up Africa Delivery Technologies, the Kwik app aspires to quickly become the Number #1 of last-mile delivery services in Nigeria.

According to Romain POIROT-LELLIG Founder & CEO of Africa Delivery Technologies (ADT), developer of the Kwik app “Kwik aims to become the first platform for last-mile delivery in urban areas in Nigeria before extending its scope to neighbouring countries. We’re targeting 100,000 deliveries per day in three cities before 2021”,

Kwik connects independent delivery partners, either owners and/or drivers of a vehicle, with customers who need reliable, affordable and flexible delivery solutions. The Kwik app comes with an integrated geolocation system and offers an efficient transportation service for small packages (up to 25kg) or documents, following the same model as Go-Jek, Uber or Taxify.

Kwik’s value proposition is simple and straightforward: to ensure the fast, reliable and efficient delivery of a package or envelope in Lagos, Nigeria’s business capital. Currently, Kwik’s competitors offer a service that takes 12 hours and costs between 2,000 and 3,000 nairas (4-8 euros) per delivery from Lagos to Lagos. Kwik promises to offer a service of higher added value within 2 hours and for a third of the price, with an integrated geolocation and proof of delivery system that offers the highest degree of security available on the market.

The service offered by the company is available through the Kwik app or via a web browser. The couriers are geo-located in real-time. The payment can either take place beforehand by credit card via the Nigerian fintech Paga’s system (12 million users) or in cash.

Kwik focuses particularly on B2B clients and allows them to create tour deliveries on the fly, set up recurring delivers; manage users, and so on. Additional insurance services are currently under development.

SOURCE: https://businessday.ng/technology/article/french-start-up-kwik-eyes-last-mile-delivery-in-nigerian-urban-areas/

Recently, ten (10) patients at the National Eye Centre, Kaduna lost their eye sight following administration of Avastin 100mg injection, an injection actually meant for cancer treatment. This decision has now been found wanting by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

The said Avastin injection according to NAFDAC, was registered in Nigeria for metastatic colorectal cancer, metastatic breast cancer, advanced metastatic or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer, advanced and/ or metastatic renal cell cancer, ovarian cancer and cervical cancer.

“Therefore, the use of Avastin injection at the National Eye Center was an off-label use,” said NAFDAC in a statement sent to BusinessDay, “that is, it is not indicated on the label by the manufacturer or approved for treatment of eye ailments by NAFDAC.”

The statement further noted that Avastin 100mg injection manufactured by F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Kaiseraugst 4303 Switzerland is registered by NAFDAC with NAFDAC Registration Number A6-0123. Avastin 400mg injection manufactured by F. Hoffman-La Roche, Mannheim, Germany is also registered with NAFDAC Registration Number A6-0101. However, the product, as evidenced by the usage in Kaduna, appears to be wrongfully administered on patients, for purposes other than what it is labelled for.

The NAFDAC statement follows an investigation after a report of the incident was made, and circulated in the media. According to NAFDAC, a team was constituted to investigate the situation, and members of the team met with the Management of the National Eye Centre, Kaduna. One packet of Avastin injection in stock at the hospital was taken for laboratory analysis to ascertain the quality of the product, and the report of analysis revealed that the Avastin injection conforms to quality specifications.

The Avastin 100mg injection was administered on the ten (10) patients at National Eye Centre, Kaduna, for treatment of severe retina or macular pathologies, according to NAFDAC’s investigation. However, all of ten known patients who received this injection reportedly became totally blind the same day they received injections.

NAFDAC reiterated that Health care providers are implored to ensure that Avastin injection is used as indicated by the company and as registered by the Agency unless there is a future scientific review of the indication for the product.

SOURCE: https://businessday.ng/health/article/nafdac-indicts-national-eye-centre-over-wrongful-injection-that-cost-10-patients-their-eyesight/

Tuesday, July 9, 2019 has now been fixed as the new date for the listing of about 3.758 billion ordinary shares of Airtel Africa Plc on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) at a unit price of N363.

The exercise was earlier scheduled for Friday, July 5, 2019, but was postponed at the last minute as a result of the company’s inability to meet pre-listing requirements, including getting the authorization of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

However, it seems the third largest telecommunications firm in Nigeria behind MTN Nigeria and Globacom has obtained the necessary things needed for the listing. A statement issued by the NSE on Sunday said the exercise will now take place tomorrow and the company would be expected to ‘paint the market red.’

“The Exchange is aware of various media reports stating that the postponed Airtel Africa listing on NSE is scheduled for Monday, July 8. Please be informed that the official date for the listing is Tuesday, July 9,” the statement by the NSE yesterday disclosed.

Business Post reports that on Tuesday, Airtel Africa would be doing a cross-border secondary listing of a total of 3,758,151,504 ordinary shares. On June 28, 2019, the company listed its shares on the trading floor of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) at 80 pence, approximately N363 per unit.


SOURCE: https://businesspost.ng/2019/07/08/airtel-africa-to-list-3-758bn-shares-on-nse-tuesday/amp/

To celebrate International Women’s Day, TechCabal launched its Tech Women Lagos, celebrating women who are making an impact in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem.

The business of tech continues to be redefined by innovators in a wide array of professional fields. Some are developers, with extensive backgrounds in programming. However, many of the people growing tech-enabled businesses, have little to no work or academic experience in the field.

From art and law, management to finance, the non-techies below, have all discovered a way to use their unique expertise to create value for customers through technology.

SANDRA OYEWOLE - Partner & Head, General Practice Group, Olajide Oyewole LLP
Complex, ever-changing laws and regulations that guide the use of technology, require someone knowledgeable to help navigate the legalese. Sandra Oyewole, a lawyer with more than 25 years of experience, is a Partner at Olajide Oyewole LLP, where she heads the intellectual property, technology and telecommunications areas for the firm.

Technology’s impact on all sectors has made it imperative for her to consider digital technology when advising clients, citing the evolution of music distribution for redirecting her focus to technology, “The crash of the CD and the rise of digital distribution of music was a trigger for me in terms of technology.”

For women considering a career in technology, Sandra offers her two favourite quotes, “Rome was not built in a day.” and “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

LOLA KASSIM - General Manager, West Africa, Uber
Good management is vital to the success of any company, inside or outside of tech. Lola Kassim, has found a space within one of the world’s top tech companies, leading the Uber West Africa team, overseeing operations, marketing, communications, legal and policy for the organization in two countries.

Before Uber, Lola worked with McKinsey & Company and the Liberian government but was drawn to the world of technology because it has “the power to
impact lives and enhance how we live day-to-day.”

“Don’t feel that you need to have a tech-heavy background to succeed in the industry. Learn about things you’re interested in and explore your passions. You can’t predict now where your experiences will lead you to along the way. So dive in, and make the most of all opportunities to grow,” she advises.

MOHINI UFELI - Media Manager, Paystack
Mohini Ufeli’s superpower is multimedia storytelling. As Media Manager for Paystack, she leads media efforts for the rapidly growing, Lagos-based, fintech company crafting stories that create an emotional connection between the brand and its customers. Before Paystack, Mohini held a similar position with Andela, another tech company.

Mohini “fell into Nigeria’s tech scene by serendipity”, after a photo shoot with Andela developers led to her employment there as Media Manager. “Own your voice. You have value and perspective to add to the conversation,” she says.

LEXI NOVITSKE - Principal Investment Officer, Singularity Investments
When tech companies require investment, they look towards venture capitalists and other financial funnels that help fund flow. Lexi Novitske is the Principal Investment Officer at Singularity Investments, a firm that has invested in several African tech startups including Paystack, Flutterwave, mPharma, and Asoko Insight.

According to Lexi, she is “investing in and partnering with African entrepreneurs that will change the world. Strong talent driving new tech models in Africa would generate the continent’s next wave of economic growth.”

Lexi arrived in Nigeria in 2012 and managed investments at Nigerian private equity firm Verod Capital Management. Before Verod, she worked at New York-based Sandler O’Neill Asset Management. Lexi points out that risk aversion, a trait that is identified with women, make female-backed businesses solid investments.

TEMIE GIWA-TUBOSUN - CEO, LifeBank
Coming up with life-saving services is one half of Temie Giwa-Tubosun’s job. Management is the other. The Founder and CEO run LifeBank, a company that leverages technology to improve access to medical products in Africa, and says she looked towards technology when she decided to improve access to life-saving blood and oxygen resources after a traumatic experience.

Having worked at different management roles in the health sector, including stints at the United Nations and the Lagos State Government, her knowledge of the health sector was a key differentiating factor for starting her company. She already knew the market and had the right relationships. When asked for her thoughts on women in technology, she responds, “We are just getting started.”

DAMILOLA MARCUS - Art Director, Dá Design Studio
Damilola Marcus and her Dá Design Studio team make things look good. Working in the space where aesthetics and tech intersect, they create the visual branding technology companies need for products and collateral. “Design and technology have ‘problem-solving’ in common,” says Damilola, who holds her passion and knowledge of design as a strength.

“Chase excellence,” she recommends. “It is extremely important to find a niche and own it. The easiest way to do this is to do what you love and learn it hard.”

ANIKE LAWAL - CEO, Mamalette
Not being a techie did not stop Anike Lawal, CEO, and Founder of Mamalette, from finding a tech-enabled solution to a social problem. After having her child, Anike’s interest in building a community of mothers led her to explore connecting via technology.

The Mamalette web-based platform delivers information about health services in local communities and provides support for expecting mothers, as well as infant care. Although she worked in business development and has a master’s degree in law and accounting, Anike decided to learn the basics of coding and graphic design when she started her business. Currently, she provides strategic and operational direction for Mamalette, while also managing programs and activities.

On getting more women to consider using tech to build products they need, My pet peeve is seeing men building and developing tech platforms for women or mothers, that could have been built by us.”

SOLAPE HAMMOND - Co-Founder, Impact Hub Lagos
Developing tech products or services is one thing, developing a model that sustains the business is another. Impact Hub Lagos is part of a global network that provides the support and community emerging entrepreneurs need while growing their businesses.

Solape Hammond, CEO, and Co-Founder of the co-working and innovation space, has a background in management consulting, strategy and social entrepreneurship. “I worked for one of the world’s largest technology consulting firms and saw firsthand how technology transforms businesses. This led to a determination to do the same for startups. To help new businesses solve problems in new innovative ways and scale fast.”

At Impact Hub Lagos, Solape works with entrepreneurs to accelerate their businesses and contribute to ecosystem initiatives such as hackathons, innovation roundtables, and studies. She encourages women seeking a career in technology to be bold, “There’s never been a better time.”

ELOHO GIHAN-MBELU - Managing Director and CEO, Endeavor Nigeria
Eloho Omame Gihan-Mbelu is a former investment banker and private equity investor. As Managing Director and CEO of Endeavor Nigeria, she supports startups by mentoring high-impact entrepreneurs leading tech ventures. Meeting founders like Sim Shagaya of Konga and Tayo Oviosu of Paga, “who were building pioneering tech companies in Nigeria and were determined to succeed against all odds” helped her understand the value of mentorship for founders early in their journey. Under her leadership, Endeavour supports tech companies like BitPesa, Cars45, and Paga.
“Don’t wait until you have all the answers or even know all the questions, to build an effective network,” she recommends for those considering a tech career.

TOSIN DADA-FANIRO - Head, Startups (Lagos Innovates) LSETF
Government participation in infrastructure innovation is an important part of impacting communities. Tosin Dada-Faniro gets to do this as Head of Startups for Lagos Innovates, a set of programs, initiated by the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), aimed at making it easier to build a successful tech startup in Lagos. With a strong background in finance and project management, Tosin finds that she is “in a unique position to make a difference” through technology. “Women deserve a seat at the table. We have worked hard, continue to work hard and we should not be afraid to put ourselves out there.” Tosin says.

The Tech Women Lagos portrait series profiles 50 women in the Lagos tech ecosystem, from different backgrounds and at different stages of their careers.

The website which launched on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2019, displays the stories of the women in the series in portraits and prose. Theirs are stories of audacity and women daring in a male-dominated industry. Visit www.techwomenlagos.com for more. #shewhodares

SOURCE: https://startupng.com.ng/meet-10-powerful-tech-women-doing-big-things-in-nigeria-without-a-background-in-coding/

The argument still remains, what are you doing to make the issues you face disappear? Well, these women are giving all they can and doing all it takes to create solutions to the issues they face in fun and innovative ways.

So, grab your popcorn and get ready to be amazed by these discoveries I’ve made on 5 Apps built by Nigerian Women:

1. CRADLE COUNT
According to UNICEF, a woman’s chance of dying from pregnancy and childbirth in Nigeria is 1 in 13. Many women in the rural communities still rely on traditional birth attendants, and Cradle Count is a free app on a social mission to help solve that problem.

Developed by Kesandu Nwokolo, this pregnancy app is a packaging of everyday tips that pregnant women can use. From the way she lies down to the way she eats and what she eats and how she exercises herself, the things she does, things to steer clear from all packaged in one App to enable her go on the journey to the cradle, in a safe manner. It even informs when it’s close to due date. You can download the app on Google Play.

2. YORUBA WATCH FACES
Built by Moyinoluwa Adeyemi. Yoruba Watch Faces is a collection of Watch faces, it was built using a popular Nigerian dialect called The Yoruba language. It is the first ever watch face that tells time in Yoruba. Talk about innovation. This invention has the potential to increase the interest of prospective foreign visitors in Nigeria by showcasing our rich culture.

It’s currently available for download on Google Play store on devices running on Android 4.4+ or Kindle Fire.

3. TRESS APP
Hair, hair and more hair. Serving you the best of hairstyles inspirations from across the globe for the black woman. Tress App was created by a trio of “hairtrepreneurs”; Esther Olatunde, Priscilla Hazel and Cassandra Sarfo(Ghana). Every information you’ll need to get your next hair glam look can be found on Tress. They recently made it into the much coveted Y Combinator Fellowship. I can say categorically that lots of great things are coming for Tress. You can download the app on Google Play Store.

4. DICTIONARY IN SLACK
You know that moment, when everyone is chatting on Slack and someone drops the big word. How do you keep calm, especially when you know hesitating may make you look like you don’t know your onions. Well, Omolara Adejuwon has solved that problem by creating the Slack Dictionary. Learn more about it here.

5. KHALED BOT
Made to deliver Major Keys to you team. In the midst of discussing important work stuff a word or two of inspiration could help charge up the environment for success and that’s exactly what the Khaled Bot does. Created Ire Aderinokun, Khaled Bot impersonates DJ Khaled on your Slack Team. Learn more about this amazing app at khaledbot.com.

There are more apps out there but one thing is for sure we need to get the word out on others just like these that scream innovation and the will to make things better.

Know any more apps? Kindly drop names in comment section below.

SOURCE: https://blog.devcenter.co/5-amazing-apps-built-by-nigerian-women-60bc16e6c0e7

This article is part of the World Economic Forum on Africa

Over 100 years ago, Napoleon reportedly said of China: “Let her sleep, for when she wakes she will shake the world.” In light of China’s rapid economic growth in the 21st century, the French general’s view seems justified. Although it still has deep developmental gaps, China has made rapid progress to become the world’s second largest economy as well as the world’s workshop – filling every corner of the globe with an amazing range of products.

A striking fact that is often overlooked in this transformation is that, in attaining this new status, China had to overcome an ugly reputation as the origin of substandard manufactured products. A decade ago, Made in China was to many people a signature of dubious quality. Fast-forward to today and it means pretty much the opposite. There can’t be many people today who will argue that China has not woken up.

Half the world away, in West Africa, there is a country not very dissimilar to China. Demographically, China’s population represents approximately one-fifth of the world’s population. Similarly, Nigeria is sometimes referred to as Africa’s China, because with a population of over 180 million, Nigeria’s population alone accounts for almost one-sixth of Africa’s population of 1.2 billion. Nigeria, like China, also suffers deep developmental challenges, with over 62% of the population living in poverty.

THE RISE OF NIGERIA'S YAHOO BOYS
An important demographic for Nigeria is young people, who represent a huge chunk of the population, with over 40% of Nigerians under the age of 14. These young Nigerians have borne the brunt of the country’s economic and development woes, with youth unemployment estimated at 45% by the National Bureau of Statistics. Some Nigerian youths have responded to this economic pressure by resorting to crime, and particularly the sort of crime that has given the country a bad reputation globally: cybercrime.

Unlike China, which has largely shrugged off the reputation of being the producer of substandard goods, Nigeria has gained a reputation for being the haven of online fraudsters, or what are known colloquially as Yahoo boys. However, the same technology that enables cybercrime in Nigeria is also the very tool that can transform the lives of millions of young people in the country. What erring youth need to know is that if they’re tech-savvy enough to defraud, then they’re smart enough to build a business online, or even develop apps.

A NEW DIGITAL FUTURE
Gbenga Sesan: I am no stranger to how technology changes lives, having positively changed my own career path thanks to an opportunity to learn how to use computers, and rare (at the time) access to the internet, which exposed me to career options no teacher could have suggested. This new knowledge empowered me to improve my life and build a social enterprise that is now connecting other young people to digital opportunities. Through the Paradigm Initiative, I tell them they can use technology to improve their chances in life, without any ill motives.

The evidence suggests they are listening. One young man, One Martins, has created an app that helps young people stay away from age-inappropriate online content. Through a voice recognition algorithm, it can detect the age of online visitors and shield vulnerable age groups. Then there’s Brenda, whose app, MobiCheck, allows patients to access medical information in real time. They’re not alone: there are many other stories of young people from underserved communities in Nigeria, whose lives have been transformed by a mastery of ICT tools.

"I believe that, like China over a hundred years ago, there is greatness lying dormant in the lives of millions of Nigerians. They just need digital technology to come and unlock it."

Gbenga Sesan is one among the 100 Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurs that attended the Solutions Summit, the first event in almost a decade to convene so many exceptional change-makers of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship from around the world. Hosted in partnership with the Motsepe Foundation in Durban, South Africa on 1-3 May just ahead of the World Economic Forum on Africa 2017, the programme looked at proven models for social impact to accelerate change across countries and sectors.

SOURCE: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/04/nigeria-internet-scam-digital-social-entprepreneurs/

Airtel Nigeria was unable to attract up to 300 institutional investors, a minimum pre-listing requirement it needed in order to become listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The telecom company was only able to attract 130 institutional and high net worth investors as shareholders.

Despite the inability to meet the requirement, the NSE granted it a waiver to meet that requirement once its shares are officially listed on the Nigerian bourse. Earlier today during a pre-listing media interactive session at the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Airtel Nigeria disclosed that it would be listing 39, 227,968 ordinary shares of 60 cents at N363 per share, preparatory to the main listing session on the NSE tomorrow. The total value of the listing is N1,354,208,995,952.

In the meantime, Airtel Shareholders in London can now trade their Shares on the NSE. The NSE’s Head of Trading Business, Jude Chiemeka, stated this today during the media briefing.

More details shortly…

SOURCE: https://nairametrics.com/2019/07/04/airtel-fails-to-meet-get-minimum-number-of-shareholders-required-for-nse-listing/

Nigerian artist, Toyin Odutola, is now the third highest paid Nigerian artist, after her drawing, ‘Compound Leaf‘ was sold for £471,000 (N215 million) at the Sotheby. According to reports, Odutola’s groundbreaking sales have surpassed sales made by artists like Njideka Akunyili-Crosby, and the legendary Ben Enwonwu.

Art as a coping mechanism: For Odutola, art serves as her coping mechanism since she moved from Nigeria to America as a child. The shock from her transition resulted in her questioning her identity. She began drawing to escape from her thoughts which further transformed into an “investigative, learning activity” for her.

Speaking with Vogue about how art helped her escape, she said, “I was obsessed. Capturing everything I saw and being fascinated with the incredibly simple task of looking at something and transmitting it onto paper. It’s immediate magic.”

Odutola creates multimedia drawings on various surfaces, investigating formulaic representations and how such images can be unreliable, systemic and socially-coded.

Exhibitions: Odutola has participated in so many exhibitions at various institutions, such as The Drawing Center, New York (2018—19); Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2017—18); Brooklyn Museum, New York (2016). She also exhibited at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (2015); Studio Museum Harlem, New York (2015, 2012); Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield (2013); and Menil Collection, Houston, (2012).

Her collections: Her permanent collections include Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Birmingham Museum of Art, Baltimore Museum of Art and New Orleans Museum of Art. Odutola’s collections have also been displayed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Princeton University Art Museum, Spencer Museum of Art, Honolulu Museum of Art, and the National Museum of African Art (Smithsonian).

SOURCE: https://nairametrics.com/2019/07/03/nigerian-artist-toyin-odutola-sells-artwork-for-n215m/

Every now and then we hear financial experts like me (just joking) advise people to invest money regularly and not spend all the time. In most cases, experts will advice that you invest more and save less if you are to attain financial freedom. But should one really invest all the time? Will the world come to an end if I do not invest? I do believe investing is good for everyone, however there are certain times when investing should just be kept aside.

1. WHEN YOU CANNOT AFFORD THREE SQUARE MEALS
We have often read of people making several sacrifices in life just to attain an investment goal. Some sleep in their car, sell their houses, forfeit their jobs etc. However, you hardly hear anyone saying they went on a hunger strike just to attain an investment goal. It is certainly fool hardy when you have to starve yourself just because you want to put that extra money you would have used in eating a decent meal in an investment that is yet to yield a dime.

2. WHEN YOU HAVE A HEALTH PROBLEM
It certainly doesn’t make any sense investing cash you would otherwise use to cater for yourself when you are sick or have a major health setback. Your health is certainly not an opportunity cost to an investment no matter how viable. You want to be healthy enough to execute your dreams and not end up with deteriorating health and yet see the investment remain a dream. Health is Wealth.

3. WHEN SOMEONE DEAR TO YOU IS IN NEED
There are times when we have people dear to us who have needs that (in all fairness) supersede our personal goals. It could be that they have a health challenge or even a financial need to avoid bankruptcy.

How does one explain sacrificing a sick wife or child in a bid to pursue an investment goal no matter how viable?

4. WHEN YOU HAVEN'T PAID YOUR CHILDREN'S SCHOOL FEES
Imagine telling your child “Daddy can’t pay your school fees because he has to buy some stocks?” It makes no sense sacrificing your children’s education for an investment goal. They are mutually exclusive investments and shouldn’t even be thought of as substitutes.

The most important investment is the education and welfare of your kids no matter what.

5. WHEN YOU HAVE A DEBT TO PAY
How many times do we see debtors giving us excuses to repay their debts despite seeing them making significant investments in other areas. You have someone owing you money and telling you he does not have the cash to pay now, yet they end up buying new assets. The same attitude is sometimes seen in companies amassing huge debts in the claim that they are investing.

Whilst it is okay to borrow to invest if the returns are higher than interest rates, it makes no sense investing when you have debts to repay.

6. WHEN YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO PAY YOUR BILLS
It is strange when I hear a lot of people with huge bills boast about their investment achievements. How do you claim to be an investor and yet you are unable to pay your electricity bills, water bills, phone bills etc. Does it make sense owing a supplier for months even though you end up spending money investing in new businesses or assets?

Investments should wait until you have cleared your bills and not the other way round. It is part of being financially prudent.

7. WHEN YOU HAVEN'T SAVED FOR THE RAINY DAY
Life always presents us with ups and downs. It is inevitable that one day we will face a sudden financial challenge. It could be to bury a loved one, to celebrate a loved one, to cater for an urgent financial need etc. Sometimes when this urgency shows up we are not financially prepared and may not be able to liquidate our investments quickly enough to meet such challenges.

It is therefore important to stash away some part of our cash or return on investment in a fund specially designated for rainy days.

8. WHEN THE STOCK MARKET IS BULLISH
After the stock market crash of 2008/2009 I learnt a bitter lesson in investing: DO NOT INVEST WHEN THE MARKET IS BULLISH.

A Bullish market is basically when the market indices are constantly up indicating an upswing in the price of equities. Whilst not totally bad for the stock market to have price appreciation, the problem however is that bullish markets always create a band wagon effect that ostensibly creates artificial price valuations. Equities become too expensive and quality stocks with great prices become scarce. It is often better to wait on the sidelines at times like that, rather than buy expensive stocks.

9. WHEN MONEY MARKET INTEREST RATES ARE LOW
In Nigeria, investing in the money market can be an unfair proposition when interest rates are just too low and below inflation. For most of 2011 and 2012 treasury bills and government bonds had double digit above inflation yields which were favourable for investments. However, when the rates, especially fixed deposits are below 8%per annum investing in such products present negative yields.

When interest rates are low, alternative higher yielding assets can be explored. It is however important to weigh the risk as well. If the risk in investing in alternative markets are too high for you, then just stick to safer money market instruments no matter the yield.

SOURCE: https://nairametrics.com/2019/07/03/ask-ugometrics-when-should-i-not-invest/

For the first time in weeks, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed positive in two straight trading sessions last Thursday and Friday, guiding the market to a 0.39% weekly gain. This week, the market will be welcoming a new entrant, Airtel Africa, and there are expectations that the company should bring along the goodies its rival, MTN Nigeria, brought to the market when it listed on May 16, 2019.

For analysts at Meristem Research, investors should monitor these four stocks because they could fetch ool yields at the end of the day. In their weekly recommendation, they said investors should consider having shares of Access Bank, Zenith Bank, Dangote Cement and CAP.

The reason for this is that Access Bank, which currently trades at N6.50k, could rise to 10.20k to yield 56.92% gain. For Zenith Bank, they said it could rise by 40.30% to N27.78k from N19.80k, while Dangote Cement could appreciate by 23.97% to N228.11k from N184, with CAP growing by 39.93% to N38.48k from N27.50k.

As Business Post always advises, investors should observe due diligence before putting their hard earned money into any investment.

SOURCE: https://businesspost.ng/2019/07/01/see-why-you-should-eye-on-these-four-stocks/amp/

According to a The Cable, Bolaji Sule, deputy vice-chancellor, management services of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), has accused herdsmen of raiding farms within the university while threatening staff and students with weapons. Speaking at a meeting with some security agencies in Kwara, Sule said the university had met its commitment towards the herdsmen but the issue of insecurity within its premises has continued.

He said the herdsmen posed serious threats to the university farms, dam site, hostels, academic environment and staff residence. Sule accused some herdsmen of stealing farm products and building materials. The DVC said the university authorities would not fail to take legal action against herdsmen and farmers trespassing on its land. Sule said the institution had plans to use its land but could not do so due to security challenges, urging security personnel to be proactive.

Kameeludeen Azeez, an official of the faculty of agriculture, expressed worry over the “illegal activities of herdsmen” in the university in spite of efforts to appease them.

“It is rather so pathetic that the university has spent so much money on relocating the herders, given them all they requested and we are still encountering this,” he said.

He said the security agencies had been mandated to arrest trespassers in the university and to curb the threat, which some “unruly herdsmen posed to the institution”.

Yunus Alade-Saliu, a representative of the Department of State Services (DSS), assured the university of maximum security of staff and students in the area.

Alade-Saliu said illegal farming in the campus would no longer be treated with kid gloves.

SOURCE: https://www.gist mania.com/talk/topic,393019.0.html

The excise duty and situation in the country, which has affected the brewery sector in Nigeria, further had negative effect on International Breweries, plunging the brewery firm into another loss in the first quarter of 2019. The company, which released its results to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) today, recorded a 78.04% year-on-year loss in Q1 2019 despite the 35.17% year-on-year growth in the revenue generated in the period under review.

A brief analysis of the results by Business Post showed that in Q1 2019, International Breweries closed with a loss after tax of N3.99 billion, higher than the loss after tax of N2.24 billion in Q1 2018. Also, loss before tax in the period under review was N5.09 bn against previous loss before tax of N2.56 bn.

During the period under consideration, the company raked N35.10 bn as revenue, higher than N25.97 bn generated in same period of 2018. The company further said cost of sales gulped N22.61 bn in Q1 2019, more than N15.86 bn in Q1 2018, while admin expenses went up to N4.70 bn from N4.10 bn, with finance cost taking the sum of N5.09 bn in Q1 2019, in contrast to N3.60 bn in Q1 2018.

In addition, marketing and promotion expenses took N7.66 bn from the purse of the company in the period under review compared with N4.68 bn spent for same purpose in Q1 2018. In the unaudited interim financial statements, International Breweries said its gross profit in the first three months of this year was N12.49 bn against N10.11 bn in the first three months of last year. Under other income, the company recorded N2.93 million compared with N15.41 million a year earlier, while the finance income was about N511,000, higher than about N308,000 in Q1 2018.

Business Post reports that last year, International Breweries commissioned a new factory in Sagamu, Ogun State. The plant was built to ensure the company boosts its earnings and returns to profitability.

International Breweries, a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABInBev), a multinational drink and brewing holdings company based in Leuven, Belgium, faces stiff competition in Nigeria with other leading brewing companies like Nigerian Breweries, Guinness Nigeria and others.

SOURCE: https://businesspost.ng/2019/07/02/international-breweries-woes-deepen-declares-n4bn-loss/amp/

Trading in the shares of Conoil Plc and 10 other companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has been suspended. The firms were sanctioned on Tuesday 2nd July by the NSE, which prohibited the exchange of their equities on the platform for failing to adhere to rules of the stock market.

A statement issued on Tuesday by the Head of Listings Regulation Department at the NSE, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, gave the names of the other companies as FTN Cocoa Processors Plc, Goldlink Insurance Plc, Guinea Insurance Plc and Lasaco Assurance Plc. Others are Niger Insurance Plc, R.T. Briscoe (Nigeria) Plc, Resort Savings & Loans Plc, Royal Exchange Plc, Standard Alliance Insurance Plc and Universal Insurance Plc.

Mr Iwenekhai explained in the statement that the suspended firms specifically failed to submit their financial statements as required by the listing rules.

“Dealing members are hereby notified that pursuant to Rule 3.1, Rules for Filing of Accounts and Treatment of Default Filing, Rulebook of The Exchange, which provides that; ‘If an Issuer fails to file the relevant accounts by the expiration of the cure period, the exchange will: (a) send to the issuer a second Filing Deficiency Notification within two business days after the end of the cure period; (b) suspend trading in the issuer’s securities; and (c) notify the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the market within 24 hours of the suspension.”

“The shares of the 11 under listed companies have been suspended from trading via the facilities of the exchange, effective today, Tuesday, July 2, 2019,” the statement said.

It added that, “In accordance with the rules set forth above, the suspension of the above listed companies will only be lifted upon the submission of the relevant accounts and provided the exchange is satisfied that the accounts comply with all applicable rules of the exchange.”

SOURCE: https://businesspost.ng/2019/07/02/nse-suspends-conoil-10-others/amp/

Most of us dream of winning the lottery, even if we don't actually buy a ticket. That shiny new car, a huge mansion with a swimming pool, luxury holidays and simply never having to worry about money again!

But according to a Harvard professor, winning to lottery won't actually make you happy. Dr. Sanjiv Chopra, a professor of medicine, claims research shows a $20million lottery won't give you the life you dreamt of, saying that most winners go back to their original level of happiness in just a year.

However he claims there are four things in life that will make you happy in the long term, and the odds are much better.
Money might not be the answer to all your problems (Image: Getty)

Speaking during a talk earlier this year , he said: "Winning a $20 million lottery ticket won’t make you happier. Research has shown that after one year, lottery winners go back to their baseline. Some are even less happy. A few probably spent their money on a big mansion or a fancy car. Maybe they spent it all on gambling. But even so, at the end of three months, it’s just a house, it’s just a nice car. You get used to it."

He then listed the four things which he says can make a difference.

1. FORGIVENESS
Sanjiv claims that the ability to forgive frees you from burdens of hate and other unhealthy emotions. He says these can have a big negative impact on your happiness. There is also research which suggests letting go of negative feelings can lower the risk of heart attack and help anxiety and depression.

2. GIVING
He believes getting involved in charities and donating money to good causes is one of the most fulfilling things people can do, and it can therefore improve happiness.

3. GRATITUDE
During the talk, Sanjiv said: "There’s a wonderful anonymous quote that goes, 'If you don’t know the language of gratitude, you’ll never be on speaking terms with happiness. Taking time to think about what you’re grateful for makes you more aware of the positive things in your life.

He claims this will "make you less biased by the fewer negative things in your life".

4. FAMILY AND FRIENDS
Sanjiv believes that our friends and family are the key to our happiness. He says: "Choose your friends wisely and celebrate everything small and good with them."

SOURCE (abridged): https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/four-simple-things-you-can-16505596

A hookah or shisha is a water pipe that allows a person to smoke tobacco, often combining it with sweet flavors, such as apple, chocolate, coconut, licorice, or watermelon. People have used hookahs for centuries in ancient Persia and India. Today, people often smoke a hookah as a group, at home or in cafes or lounges. Other names for a hookah include water pipe, narghile, or shisha, the latter being a word that can also refer to the flavored tobacco.

Some people have misconceptions that hookah smoking is not harmful to their health or not as dangerous as other smoking types. In this article, we look at the health risks associated with hookah smoking.

HEALTH RISKS OF HOOKAH SMOKING
A hookah exposes a person to tobacco smoke. A hookah has several universal components, including a water bowl, metal body, a head with holes in the bottom, and a flexible hose with a mouthpiece. The device works by burning charcoal that will then burn a tobacco mixture, as well as heat up the water. The smoke the charcoal generates helps move the tobacco through the water and hose and up to the mouthpiece.

Using a hookah exposes a person to tobacco smoke, which contains harmful components, such as carbon monoxide. The water in the hookah does not filter out these components. Even if a person does not smoke directly from the hookah, they can still inhale secondhand smoke if they are nearby.

Some of the potential health effects of hookah smoke include:

-- Complications of lung function, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchitis.
-- Increased risk of heart conditions, such as heart disease and heart attack.
-- Increased risk of cancer, especially lung, throat, and mouth cancer.
-- Premature skin aging, since smoking tobacco can decrease the amount of oxygen that reaches the skin.
-- Increased risk of infectious diseases, such as mononucleosis and oral herpes.
-- People may also increase their risk of respiratory infections if they share the hookah mouthpiece with others.

HOOKAH VS. CIGARETTES
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking tobacco through a hookah has "many of the same health risks as cigarette smoking." For example, the tobacco smoke still delivers nicotine, a highly addictive substance. Hookah smoke also requires charcoal to be burnt, which interacts with tobacco, creating fumes that can be just as toxic as cigarette smoke.

People who use a hookah may be exposed to the toxins in the smoke longer than if they smoked cigarettes. According to the CDC, a person puffs on a cigarette an average of 20 times, but they may take 200 puffs during an hour-long hookah session.

Also, smoking a hookah delivers more than 2.5 times the amount the nicotine as cigarette smoke, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, quoting research lead by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. This volume of nicotine has the potential to be highly addictive.

ELECTRIC HEAT HOOKAHS
Manufacturers have released newer versions of hookahs that use electric heat instead of charcoal. The makers call these e-charcoal heat sources and often market them as a safer alternative to traditional charcoal hookahs. The CDC say that experts have very little knowledge about the health risks of electronic tobacco products at this stage. However, the University of Cincinnati report early research that a team of its chemists is doing to look at the components of smoke generated by e-charcoal. The researchers say they have found that e-charcoal smoke kills 80 percent of sample lung cells 24 hours after exposure.

This risk is more significant than the higher-toxin charcoal the team tested, which kills 25 percent of lung cells. The lower-toxin charcoal was found to kill 10 percent of sample lung cells. As a result, the researchers conclude that e-charcoal hookah options could potentially be more dangerous than their charcoal counterparts.

More published scientific research is now needed to confirm these early results.

HOOKAH MYTHS
A common hookah myth is that smoking using one is not addictive. Some hookah bars sell non-tobacco products, which they may advertise as having no harmful effects. This is a myth, as the smoke still contains carbon monoxide, a harmful compound, and other toxins.

Other myths about hookah smoking include:
-- Hookah smoking is not addictive. Hookah smoke contains nicotine, a highly addictive compound.
-- water in hookah smoke filters harmful ingredients. The water in hookah smoke does not filter out any harmful chemicals.
-- Cigarettes "burn" the lungs because they use heat, and hookah smoke is cooler, so it does not burn. Smoke from a hookah can still damage the heart and lungs, even after cooling down.

TAKEAWAY
While some people believe hookah smoking is a safer and more social alternative to smoking tobacco, it does not offer health benefits and poses several significant health risks. Hookah smoking also puts other people at risk of inhaling secondhand smoke. So, to reduce the risks of damaging the lungs and other organs, it is best for people to avoid smoking tobacco products, including by using a hookah.

SOURCE: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322982.php

From one market in Zamfara to another in Anambra, you would spot him with a computer tablet, pacing from one store to the other attending to petty traders who want to grow their businesses but do not have the funds. At 31, Uzoma Nwagba is driving “Africa’s largest social enterprise programme”. He is the chief operating officer (COO) of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), one of the components of the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) under the office of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Implemented by the Bank of Industry, GEEP comprises FarmerMoni, MarketMoni and TraderMoni products. For Nwagba, who coordinates 4000 agents across the country, it is all about using technology to deliver measurable impact in financial inclusion and to make lives of the common man better.

ABA-BORN FIRST-CLASS GRADUATE
Nwagba was born on September 7, 1987, in Aba, Abia state, from where he hails. He attended Kings College, Lagos and holds a first-class degree in electrical engineering from Howard University and an MBA from Harvard, both in the US. While at Howard, he served as the student government president.

He worked as a senior associate at African Capital Alliance, an equity firm, and as a product manager at Microsoft. He also worked with Goldman Sachs in New York Redmond. He was recently selected as a 2019 Desmond Tutu Fellow by the African Leadership Institute for his impact in public service.

OBSESSED WITH TECHNOLOGY AND DATA
Leveraging his experience in finance and technology, Nwagba believes traders and artisans, who are financially marginalised, can get access to corporate financial services.

“I use the app, make the calls, monitor the systems, just to get a feel. Our GEEP agents are equipped with a proprietary application that enables full registration and capture of 48 data points, information on the market, nature of traders, pictures of traders and their trade points, GPS coordinates of the trade points, farm plot mapping, association membership and 43 other data points that enable credit assessment,” he told TheCable.

“Data on every captured beneficiary is first duplicated via facial recognition technology and BVN validation, then delivered to Bank of Industry real time to enable verification, appraisals and credit assessment.”

‘I WANT TO HELP OTHERS GROW THEIR BUSINESSES’
The engineer-turned public servant said he has been lucky enough to have several opportunities that accelerated his life; hence, it is only right he helps others too.

“These are the things that motivate me personally. The idea that we can build something from scratch, deliver real measurable impact in financial inclusion at such an enormous scale, and in the process give back to the society that has raised us,” he said.

He said MarketMoni targets small businesses with soft loans from N50,000 to N100,000, while FarmerMoni targets local smallholder farmers with loans starting at N250,000 and a buy-off guarantee on their produce. TraderMoni having the widest reach of the three GEEP initiatives, due to the target demography, has given loans starting at N10,000.

“Of the over two million beneficiaries of the GEEP, the vast majority of these micro-enterprises are petty traders, merchants, enterprising youth, and agricultural workers in over 1600 clusters and markets across all 36 states of Nigeria, and the federal capital territory,” Nwagba said.

MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE TRADERS
On his experience moving across the country and dealing with market women and artisans, he said: “The experiences are beautiful. I recall one time in Bauchi where a group of staunch Muslim traders gathered in a circle with their Imam and were praying for me, an Igbo Christian, and of course praying for the government. These are priceless moments. I have gotten a well-rounded view of this country to see that the things that unite us are stronger than those that divide us. We all want better lives and the dignity that comes with economic empowerment.”

Some of his challenges running the project come from enumerating millions of people, managing 4,000 agents nationwide and lots of technological tools and systems. But the most daunting one comes from the wrong narratives that the initiatives are political.

“I have never seen a PVC on this job. We have never given loans based on political affiliation. We have no idea who is APC or PDP or XYZ. It does not matter, and it will never matter. When that lady in Anambra who started with 10,000 (TraderMoni) is now on her 50,000 loan (MarketMoni), there is nothing you will tell her about party. I am glad that season is behind us and our work continues,” he said.

THE TASK AHEAD
Nwagba said the task ahead of him is to create an enabling environment for more small businesses and reduce poverty among the people lower on the economic ladder.

“I would like to use GEEP to give a new meaning to possibility: for government projects, for digital finance, for credit, for impact, for applied tech and innovation, for what young people can do when given a real leadership chance. This happens to be one platform but there are several more where we can achieve results of similar scale and magnitude,” he said.

“In Nigeria, our biggest social challenge is poverty. I am a strong believer that the most effective way to fight poverty is to accelerate enterprise. At some point, this could all be private sector and industry-driven; but until then, we must be deliberate about achieving what you call “fiscal cushions” on the way there, and do it at all levels – even the poor, otherwise the country will implode before our very eyes.”

SOURCE: https://www.thecable.ng/profile-nwagba-31-year-old-first-class-graduate-driving-impact-with-tradermoni

After a long wait, the board of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc on Friday released the financial statements of the company for the year ended March 31, 2019. In the results briefly analysed by Business Post, the flour miller, which has struggled in recent times due to the Apapa traffic gridlock in Lagos, suffered a 98% decline in its profit after tax in the period under review.

The PAT, which stood at N4.4 billion in the 2018 fiscal year, went down to N68.4 million in the 2019 financial year. This was as the profit before tax (PBT) depreciated by 88 percent to N607.8 million from N4.9 billion achieved a year ago. However, the revenue generated by Honeywell Flour, which also struggles for market share with Dangote Flour and others, improved by 4 percent in 2019 to N74.4 billion from N71.5 billion in 2018.

According to the firm, the cost of sales during the year increased to N62.9 billion from N55.4 billion, while the selling and distribution expenses rose to N6.1 billion from N2.1 billion, with the administrative expenses jumping to N2.3 billion from N2.1 billion. In the year, the company said it netted a gross profit of N11.5 billion compared with N16.1 billion of the previous year, while the other income appreciated to N751.5 million from N202.2 million.

It further said finance cost gulped N3.3 billion against N4.6 billion of the previous financial year. An analysis of its balance sheet showed that the total assets of the company rose to N137.5 billion from N124.8 billion, while the total liabilities increased to N80.8 billion from N68.4 billion, with the shareholders’ fund rising to N56.7 billion from N56.4 billion.

SOURCE: https://businesspost.ng/2019/06/29/honeywell-flours-profit-falls-to-n68m-from-n4-4bn/

Business Post has learned that Airtel Africa, the continent’s subsidiary of Indian company, Bharti Airtel, will list its shares on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday, July 5, 2019.

On Friday, June 28, 2019, the telecommunications company made its trading debut on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) after raising $750 million through its initial public offering (IPO). However, at the close of trading Friday 28th June, shares of the firm, which opened at 80 pence per share, settled at 67 pence a share, losing 16 percent of its value.

It was gathered by Business Post that when the shares of the company are admitted on the NSE next week, they would be sold at N363 each and should boost the market capitalisation by up to N1.4 trillion. In an exchange filing on Friday, Bharti Airtel said it would offer Nigerian investors meaningful allocations after receiving subscriptions from investors from Asia, Europe, Middle East and others.

The company said it expects to have a free float in excess of 25 percent, as certain of the pre-IPO investors’ holdings will also constitute free float. Commenting on the exercise, CEO of Airtel Africa Plc, Raghunath Mandava, stated that, “We are now the first telecom company to simultaneously list on the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange and Nigerian Stock Exchange through an IPO.

“We welcome our new investors and look forward to continuing to execute our strategy and deliver the growth opportunities across our markets in voice, data and mobile money.” Mandava further said, “This is an exciting time for us. We are very pleased with the success of the initial public offering and welcome our new shareholders. The strength of our network and continued growth and evolution of the African telecoms sector has fuelled the demand for our shares.

“We have a strong track record operating in a fast-growing region. The markets we operate in have powerful and promising underlying macroeconomic and demographic trends, and we believe we are best placed to capitalise on this opportunity. We are delighted to give a broader range of investors access to the benefits of our in-depth knowledge of the markets we operate in. We have a clear strategy to continue growing and look forward to delivering it.”

Chairman of the firm, Sunil Bharti Mittal, noted that, “The strong support we have received from institutional investors demonstrates the attractive investment proposition Airtel Africa offers the market. Since first investing in Africa almost nine years ago, we have leveraged our expertise in emerging markets to deliver on a clearly defined strategy to build Airtel Africa into a market-leading mobile service provider, increasingly expanding beyond voice into data services and Airtel Money.

“The board would like to thank those involved in the process and looks forward to supporting the management team as they execute on the strategy. With the recent equity investments into the business by globally recognised long-term investors, we believe that Airtel Africa is in a strong position to build its own capital market profile, allowing others to join us in a real business success story,” he added.

In February 2018, Bharti Airtel announced its intention to consider an IPO for the Africa business, using the net proceeds from the issue of new shares for the reduction of $4 billion net debt. Airtel Africa has presence in 14 African countries, with 100 million customers across West Africa, East Africa and Central Africa, with Nigeria alone accounting for 36 percent of its total revenue.

The company provides telecommunications and mobile money services on the continent and serves a large and fast-growing addressable market, with attractive mobile data and mobile money growth prospects as non-voice revenue remains lower than other geographies.

Last month, its rival in Africa, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, listed its shares on the NSE at N90 each and rose to nearly N160 per unit before plunging to N129.05k as at 28th June.

SOURCE: https://businesspost.ng/2019/06/29/airtel-africa-to-boost-nse-market-cap-by-n1-4trn/

The nation’s power grid recorded its eighth total collapse this year on Sunday 30th June 2019, plunging consumers across the country into blackout for some hours. The government-owned Transmission Company of Nigeria, which manages the grid, blamed electricity distribution companies for the system failure, which it said occurred at 9.10 am.

Total generation stood at 3,825 megawatts as of 6.00 am on Sunday, compared to 3,260.9MW on Saturday, the data obtained from the Nigeria Electricity System Operator, an arm of the TCN, showed. The grid suffered four total collapses in January and one each in February, April and May, according to the system operator.

Enugu Electricity Distribution Plc had announced on its Twitter handle on Sunday afternoon that “the present loss of supply in the entire South-East is as a result of a system collapse which occurred at 09.21 am of today, 30th June, 2019.”

“This is as a result of a fire outbreak on Benin 330KV transmission line reactor. As a result of this unfortunate development, there is zero supply to all customers in our franchise areas as all our injection substations are affected,” it added.

Another Disco, Kaduna Electricity Distribution Plc, also informed its customers about the system failure from the national grid.

“We are currently experiencing a system collapse from the national grid, hence the power outage in our franchise states. Normal supply to our customers will resume as soon as the national grid is back up and stable,” it said on Twitter.

The TCN, in a statement made available to our correspondent around 6.28 pm, said the national grid experienced a system collapse today at 9.10 am due to high voltage following a massive drop of load by the electricity distribution companies. It said the high voltage also caused a fire incident in the 75MX reactor in the Benin Substation, Sapele Road in Benin City, Edo State.

“The massive load drop led to high voltage in the system, which shattered the lightning arrester in close proximity to the 75MX reactor in Benin Substation. The shattered lightning arrester porcelain hit the reactor bushing, causing a further explosion on the reactor and resulting in a fire outbreak.”

The TCN said the restoration of the grid commenced immediately and as of 1.30pm, bulk power supply to most parts of the nation had been restored. The company said it had commenced the movement of another reactor to Benin City to replace the burnt reactor and ensure voltage stability in the city as well as prevent a re-occurrence.

It said, “Management would also ensure a review of the entire protection and earthing system nationwide. This is done in addition to the overall upgrading of the system through the TREP programme being financed by multi-lateral donors. The installation of three reactors on the Ikot-Ekpene-Ugwuaji–Jos line has reached an advance stage. It is expected that once these three reactors are installed and inaugurated, the grid would be further stabilised. TCN management wishes to assure Nigerians that it is doing everything possible to modernise, upgrade and stabilise the national grid.”

Meanwhile, the TCN has said it may expel some Discos from the market as a result of their inability to provide their security cover. Last week, the Market Operator, an arm of the TCN, ordered the suspension of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company and Eko Electricity Distribution Company from the MO-administered markets for failing to renew their security cover.

According to the TCN, security cover when so required of an amount established by Market Operator to serve as a form of guarantee of payment for all amounts due from the participant to the MO. The Managing Director, TCN, Mr Usman Mohammed, in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Sunday, said Enugu Disco was given a disconnection notice while Ikeja and Eko Discos only got a notice of suspension from the market.

He said if they don’t make good within a certain period of time, the next thing that will happen is that they will be expelled, and when they are expelled, it means that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission will be notified that those people are incapable of meeting their responsibilities in the market, so NERC should invoke its business continuity regulation to ensure that they are replaced.

“We did not disconnect Eko and Ikeja Discos because the gravity of their offence did not warrant that. But in Enugu, we disconnected some lines. When they (Enugu Disco) make good, they will be restored to the market. But if they don’t, they will go to the next level, which is expulsion.”

SOURCE: https://punchng.com/power-grid-suffers-total-collapse-tcn-may-expel-discos/

Twelve people have died in a ‘very serious’ outbreak of a rare bacterial infection that has spread in Essex. There have been 32 reported cases of the disease, called invasive Group A streptococcus (iGAS), the NHS Mid Essex Clinical Commissioning Group said. The bacteria can be found in the throat and on the skin – and people may carry it without displaying any symptoms.

It can live in throats and on hands for long enough to allow easy spread between people through sneezing, kissing and skin contact. Public Health England called it a ‘local incident’, but warned it was a ‘high risk’ of further fatalities from the ‘ongoing outbreak’. The outbreak started in Braintree and has since spread to the Chelmsford and Maldon areas, but a timeline has been given.

In a report, the clinical commissioning group said the ‘sometimes life-threatening GAS disease may occur when bacteria get into parts of the body where bacteria usually are not found, such as the blood, muscle, or the lungs’. It said that ‘most of the patients affected are elderly and had been receiving care for chronic wounds, in the community, either in their own homes and some in care homes’. An incident management team has been established to ‘control the incident and closely monitor the situation’.

Rachel Hearn, director of nursing and quality, Mid Essex Clinical Commissioning Group, said: ‘Our thoughts are with the families of those patients who have died.

‘The NHS in Essex is working closely with Public Health England and other partners to manage this local incident, and extra infection control measures have been put in place to prevent the infection spreading in the area. It can live in throats and on hands for long enough to allow easy spread between people through sneezing, kissing and touching

‘The risk of contracting iGAS is very low for the vast majority of people and treatment with antibiotics is very effective if started early. We will continue to work with our partners in Public Health England to investigate how this outbreak occurred and take every possible step to ensure our local community is protected.’

Dr Jorg Hoffman, deputy director of health protection for PHE East of England told the BBC: ‘This is still an ongoing outbreak. Unfortunately we have so far not been able to fully contain the situation. Obviously we are hoping that the efforts of our colleagues in the NHS and provider organisations are now bearing some fruit and we will be able to contain the situation and prevent further cases from happening. I cannot deny that there is still an ongoing risk until we can declare that this outbreak is over.’

WHAT IS STREP A?
Group A Streptococcus, abbreviated as GAS, is a bacteria found in the throat and on the skin. Infections caused by it tend to be mild illnesses such as ‘strep throat’, which will cause soreness, or a skin condition such as impetigo which starts with red sores or blisters. It can survive in throats and on hands for long enough to allow easy spread between people through sneezing, kissing and skin contact, and many carriers will have no symptoms.

On rare occasions, bacteria can cause other severe and even life-threatening diseases such as the invasive group A streptococcal disease. This can occur when bacteria get into parts of the body where bacteria are not usually found, such as the blood, muscle, or the lungs. It can happen if the bacteria get past a person’s defences, such as through an open wound or when a person’s immune system is depleted.

Most people who come into contact with the bacteria remain well and symptom-free. Healthy people can get invasive group A streptococcal disease from a relative or a member of their household but it is very rare. Early signs and symptoms of invasive group A streptococcal disease include high fever, severe muscle aches, localised muscle tenderness and redness at the site of a wound.

A Public Health England report of May this year said the median age of patients with group A streptococcal disease this season is 57. It said the number of invasive group A streptococcal disease is lower than last season. It cautions that clinicians should ‘continue to be mindful of potential increases in invasive disease and maintain a high index of suspicion in relevant patients’ as early recognition can be lifesaving.

SOURCE: https://metro.co.uk/2019/06/25/twelve-dead-essex-deadly-infection-passed-kissing-touching-10069999/