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  • Feature- FirstBank DecemberIssavybe: Top 11 Events To Rock Your December

    Feature- FirstBank DecemberIssavybe: Top 11 Events To Rock Your December

    by Bolaji Israel

    Whenever the conversation is on financial inclusion in Nigeria, FirstBank leads the pack. With over 150,000 banking agents, a full digital banking centre and other innovative solutions, the nation’s premier bank is surely doing a great job connecting Nigerians with access to convenient banking products and services.

    But that’s not all. FirstBank is also enabling Nigerians to have the best of the yuletide and holiday season year in year out. The bank is aiding its customers to create exciting memories and enjoy fun time with family and friends through their participation in glamorous musical shows, comedy, dance, drama and other entertainment from A-list superstars and performers.

    This is being coordinated via the FirstBank DecemberIssavybe initiative as it bankrolls top entertainment events for maximum pleasure throughout the month of December.

     

    To enjoy the premium concerts, stage plays, fashion and food events; lucky customers and followers of the Bank’s social media pages – Facebook: First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Instagram: @firstbanknigeria should look out for posts on how to participate in the ticket giveaways.

    Here are top 11 events that FirstBank is powering to rock your December.

    BURNA BOY LAGOS CONCERT

    Nigerian Grammy Award winning superstar, Burna Boy will at the Eko Convention Centre on Monday December 27 lead other top singers to thrill music fans with many monster hit songs like Kilometre, Questions, Ye, Want It All and others.

    DAVIDO 10TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY CONCERT

    Davido aka OBO will on Friday December 24, shut Lagos down at his 10th-year anniversary concert at the glamorous Eko Convention Centre. David has been in the news for his extreme generosity which has got his fans loving up on him. The show will feature many other superstars.

     

    MAMMA MIA, THE SMASH HIT MUSICAL

    A 65 member (All Nigerian) cast and crew licensed adaptation of the global show live in Lagos showing between December 29, 2021 and Jan 2, 2022. It’s a show for the whole family; not just as the Only jukebox musical in Lagos this Christmas; it’s absolutely THE most “Ridiculously enjoyable” show to watch this holiday.

    An adaptation of the original musical created in 1998 by British theatre producer Judith Cramer, who engaged British playwright, Catherine Johnson, to write a story woven around the multiple hit songs of Swedish pop group ABBA, composed by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. The original story was carefully and skillfully adapted with a Nigerian nuance by seasoned theatre director Najite Dede. The Nigerian production is woven with shades of cultural colours, which are visible not just in the language and gesture but also in the costume, choreography and characteristics, while the original soundtracks remains the same, this production infuses Abba’s music with local drums and percussions to deliver a distinctive Nigerian edition, resulting in an ecstatic euphoria from the Audience!

    A TRUE CHRISTMAS STORY BY LIVE THEATRE

    Live Theatre Lagos presents a musical stage play titled ‘A True Christmas Story’ which is an adaptation of the popular nativity story. This musical speculates how Joseph met Mary and the events leading to the birth of Jesus situating the story in our contemporary African milieu. The romantic comedy explores the themes of love, commitment, devotion and communality. Christmas is a globally enjoyed holiday that traverses religion, gender and age, and the play, A True Christmas Story captures the essence of the holiday which is love and sharing. This free-to-attend play provides fun for the audience and empowerment for the Cast and Crew.

    #ATXS would feature brilliant thespians like Hafiz Oyetoro (Saka), Akah Nnani, NeduWazobiaFM. This epic theatre is interspersed with dance and spectacular music renditions ranging from Ballet to Soul, Acapella, Fuji, High Life, Funk, Galala, Shaku-Shaku and Hip-Hop. It held between 16th and 18th December, 2021.

     

    AFRICA FASHION WEEK

    Africa Fashion Week Initiative of Nigeria is a catwalk, exhibition and learning platform designed for the promotion of fresh and emerging designers. Africa Fashion Week Nigeria aims to revive the decline of local textile industries in Nigeria by the opening of the Adire Oodua Textile Hub in Ile-Ife, Osun State Nigeria.

    The Adire Hub which was opened in March 2021, facilitates the production of natural dyes, locally sourced materials, old ancient methods, new technology to create Adire pieces. The Hub provides training to low-income women and youth in Ile-Ife and its environs. The Hub enables us to promote circular economies – from farm to fabric to fashion, to financing SMEs.

     

    CULTURATI 2021 – THE AFRICA ENTERTAINMENT FESTIVAL

    CULTURATI, is a high-status fusion of cultural event, exhibition and award brand – cleverly tailored toward recognizing the tireless contributions of art luminaries in different creative endeavours. The 2021 edition held on 3 December at the Balmoral Centre, Federal Palace Hotel.

     

    FIRST VIOLA – BLACK TIE CHRISTMAS

    The Black Tie Christmas Concert is a charitable event convened to raise funds for the music education of the underprivileged children in orphanages that are of primary and secondary school age. The event was held on 19th December at the Agip Recital Hall, Muson Centre, Lagos.

    THELIVESPOT X-FESTIVAL XPERIENCE

    TheLivespot X-Festival is a multi-day hybrid convergence of everything X-traordinary, X-citing and X-clusive, that celebrates urban pop culture. We’re bringing a dynamic X-perience that is fully compliant with the current pandemic era we live in and targeted at a diverse audience with each concert day tailor-made to suit each group of attendees.

     

    The festival includes a string of hybrid events (physical & virtual) that feature headline acts performing live, pristine sound, world-class lighting, immersive experiences, exotic cuisine and much more. It is designed to meet and exceed the entertainment cravings of Nigerians especially during DettyDecember

     

    MAINLAND LAUGHS

    In a very crowded entertainment market, Mainland laffs offers a refreshing approach to family entertainment. With this second edition, ML is establishing its number 1 position as the only comedy show in the country that is safe for parents and their wards. Tagged Family Comedy Show, it enables the entire family will enjoy an evening of fun, laughter and entertainment with a variety of children virtuoso and comedic performances, stage plays, comic interludes and much more…. Mainland laffs is a vision of the Trevent Company, and it is one of the fastest growing family entertainment events in Nigeria. The event took place on 5 December at D’Podium International Event Centre, off Adeniyi Jones, Lagos

     

    FUJI OPERA 

    Fuji: A Opera explores the music genre and its sub-culture through archive footage, costume, memorabilia, and imagery. Fuji music takes centre stage at the maiden edition of Fuji: A Opera, which kicks off on Monday at the Alliance Francaise de Lagos/The Mike Adenuga Centre, Ikoyi, Lagos. Pioneering Fuji founders such as General Ayinla Kollington, K1 De Ultimate, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshall, and other icons add colour at the commencement of the week-long event.

     

    KOFFI THE GURU, I STAND CORRECTED (ISC)

    I Stand to Be Corrected is a stand-up comedy special targeted at the urban audience. Koffi Idowu-Nuel does a solo routine on subjects that relate on family, love, politics, education etc. The event held on the 11th of December at The Terra Kulture in Victoria Island.

     

  • Feature- Odua Investment Company Limited is open to Investors willing to Share Ownership – GMD, Adewaji Raji

    Feature- Odua Investment Company Limited is open to Investors willing to Share Ownership – GMD, Adewaji Raji

    Mr. Adewale Raji is the 8th Group Managing Director/CEO of Odu’a Investment Company Limited. He was first appointed into the position for a term of five years on the 1st of June 2014 and later got his appointment renewed for a second tenure in June 2019 following performance evaluation by Top Tier (Big-4) Advisory Services and ratification by Shareholders.

     

    An Entrepreneurial and Strategy driven Leader/ Chief Executive, with over three (3) decades of leading industry expertise. Accomplished professional with multinational experience in FMCG end-to-end Supply Chain, with proficiency in Materials Management, Planning, Procurement, Logistics & Distribution and Route-to-Market Channel Development & Deployment.

    Mr. Raji has a Track record of exceeding set targets, growing bottom line while spearheading operational improvements to drive business profitability and costs optimization. He is highly successful in implementing business process improvements, change management, developing people and commercializing all aspects of a business, excelled in dynamic & demanding environments while remaining pragmatic and focused on value, people and results.

    Recently, Odua Investment Company Limited celebrated her 45th anniversary, and he gave us an insight into the organization and how it aims to continually be the economic powerhouse of the South-Western region of Nigeria. Excerpts-

    Q: Congratulations, Sir, on the 45th anniversary of the Odua Investment Company Limited (OICL), earlier in the year during the annual general meeting, the conglomerate revealed that it had won the Bita Oil and Gas marginal field. Have you paid your signature bonus for the field and also, have you secured enough investment to develop the field so far?

    AR: The Bita marginal field was awarded to us and another partner by the Department of Petroleum Resources. We have 48.76 percent and the other partner has 51.24 percent. The entire bid amounts have been paid relating to us and we have also paid the signature bonus. The asset as it stands now; we and our partner have jointly incorporated a new Special Purpose Vehicle, called Bita Exploration and Production Limited. It is this field we are now using to discuss with Chevron which through what is called a farm-in agreement, will hand over that asset to us. There are indications at this point that we may not need much investment, just about $20m to go for the first oil. But the estimate that we have is that the total investment might require between $120m to $150m. Our strategy, having paid up the signature bonus is that we will sit down and listen to people who offer financial and technical participation on the basis that they can also take equity in the whole project.

     

    So that is our strategy, where those who have the technical capability and the financial muscle will come in and will negotiate. They take equity; bring in the funds and the technical know-how to be able to produce oil from the field. Much of the funding is going to come from equity participation. As it is now, we and our partners are joint 100 percent owners.

    Q: The company has revealed the numerous sectors it is expanding its investment activities into. There is insurance, oil and gas, real estate, hospitality, there are talks of fintech among others. These businesses are technical businesses that also take time to yield returns up to the capital invested. A key strategy listed is through joint ventures. Are you not spreading yourselves too thin and will you have enough oversight to be able to determine the results generated in these businesses?

    AR: Calling us a conglomerate is because we are playing in multiple sectors but from the strategy we have unveiled, Sweat Revive Create (SRC 2025), you will see that we have tried to limit ourselves to eight sectors, and you will see that we are already playing in some of them. Some are new like e-commerce, logistics etc. They are new in the sense that we know they are relevant for the present and the future, and we must look for means to participate in them, other than the sectors that we have traditionally been. Agriculture is one sector that we have been in, but we need to go deeper. We should not just be quoting the money we made from agriculture, we should also be quoting the jobs that we have created, the raw materials we are providing for industries, and we should be talking about the internally generated revenue that comes from that business.

    The whole idea about using strategic partnerships is that it allows you to have a larger footprint and also means that for us, we are gaining specific expertise in those areas. In other areas, we talk about “revive.” Until the Nigerian Wire and Cable Limited in Ibadan went down, at the beginning we were 60 percent shareholders, but it failed because of governance issues and others. The truth today is that there is still a very high demand for cables in Nigeria today. So under the revive strategy, if we get the right partner with technical capability, we will want to enter into cable again. But we must enter on the basis that we have a partner that is already attested nationally or globally to be a leader in that sector, and that is what will lead to leverage because we know the market is there. We know our shortcomings in terms of being operators of the business, because of that we have to make sure that in entering a partnership, we have taken care of the technical management and the financing. We will build capability in terms of the investment framework and the investment guidelines. That is the reason why we decided in the group head-office to move into a lean non-operating business. Our main expertise will be in the core areas of investment.

    Our capability will not be built in operations but in relationship management, alliance formation, partnership creation, and joint ventures setup. We will make sure we have top-notch people who can do project appraisals, and make sure that requirements in terms of return on investment, internal run rate, return on assets are all top notch and you are doing benchmark comparison in the industry. Because your benchmarks are what make the business. In addition, we need to also make sure we can galvanise the funds as this business requires long-term, medium-term patient capital. We should be able to use our balance sheet which is over N150bn to leverage money to do investments. As an expert once told us, why don’t you own one percent of MTN? One percent of N3tn is N30bn, so if you have that, you can own one percent of MTN. If you generate long-term patient capital, then you are capable of taking advantage of those opportunities. And frankly, the companies that thrive in Odu’a, were found on this basis like in Lafarge, and what we had in Guinness before we sold off. It was such that our forbearers not only used Ikeja Industrial Estate as land that they gave Guinness to operate, they also added money to take equity. I have seen a record of 40 million units of Guinness shares, and today we have zero. Those are the things that we need to build afresh.

    Q: The Sweat, Revive and Create 2025 plan of the board says the board anticipates that the business will expand revenue by more than 500 percent in five years. That’s a Compound annual growth rate of about 45 percent annually. That’s quite ambitious for joint venture projects. How do you want to achieve that with this wide portfolio? Are you going to be taking on leverage, and what are the risk management mechanisms if you are going to be growing that fast?

    AR: There are very tough risk mechanism methods and risk appraisals that have been put in place and it continues to evolve. Quite clearly, we want to be sure it is not just making money, but its money that is actually impacting the people. Governance is very strong as there are two independent non-executive directors on the board, who are not nominees of any shareholder, and we are allowing them to play their roles. Besides, accomplished professionals are the ones that our shareholders also nominated. All these have been put in place and we are stretching ourselves by making sure that the different entities we have chosen as consultants are top-notch global firms. Recently, we appointed PwC Nigeria as our external auditor, KPMG Nigeria is handling our strategy and tax. We have also Deloitte handling the governance side like whistleblowing, conflict of interest. So we are holding ourselves to the highest standards of building things and the reason is not far-fetched, it is just the beginning. We have to achieve it which is tough, and we also have to sustain it which is even tougher. But we have to lay the foundation of both at the same time and make sure that it is completely irreversible and make sure that with governance, it has to be stronger.

    Q: Is there a plan to raise funding in the capital market in the future, and is the board eyeing a potential listing on the Nigerian Exchange Limited, or will it be staying private for quite some time?

    AR: Remember we are a group and if we are owned by the six state governments of the southwest, the likelihood that an investor will be comfortable to be a shareholder will be slim. He will believe it is an unequal investment. So the company we call Odu’a Investment is not likely going to share ownership, but the entities within the company like the Lagos Airport Hotel that will be 80 years by next year will in the future, be a global destination for conferencing, banqueting, entertainment and leisure. How is that going to happen without the money and the expertise? So you find out that the hotel for us today and in our hospitality business as a whole, what we are looking forward to is a situation where it is this area we will allow investors come share ownership with us. It is at a prime location. Potentially, if you have a proper partner, you can actually spring on half the size of this land up to a 250 to 300-bedroom single-block global hospitality destination.

    In addition, you still have half of the land still available for other development. That is the approach we intend to use. So in the future, a Lagos Airport Hotel is not there, maybe it will become a Marriot Airport Hotel, a Sheraton Airport Hotel, but in the process, with the partner bringing his funds, and we will make this asset available for development, then the benefit you then have is that at that point we do not mind if we are a 20 percent or 30 percent shareholder, but the investor has the opportunity to come in and have a majority stake. So what we see in the future is that we have a Sheraton, 4 Seasons Airport hotel, that is now owned by that partner and OICL where we have diluted ownership. When it moves from a N2bn/annum revenue hotel to a N10bn revenue hotel. In that, if you’re 25 percent, you will have N2.5bn accrue to you compared to when you are 100 percent of a N2bn business. So that is the vision that we have and that’s how we plan to sell stakes in our businesses.

    Q: So those are the structures you are putting in place to make sure that if something like COVID-19 happens again, it won’t really have that much of an impact?

    AR: Well, yes. What is fundamental is that when you do things like that and you have investments across, yes you are balancing your portfolio, even though the pandemic will still have the same impact that it had. But if you see businesses that thrived during the pandemic, you will marvel. We are privileged to be shareholders in Nigerite, I mean it was unbelievable. Because courtesy of COVID-19, even the competition that was imported, did not come into the country while the market was craving for supply.

  • Feature- 5 ways to get your house dinner-party ready

    Feature- 5 ways to get your house dinner-party ready

    If you’re having friends over for drinks or a dinner party, try some of these tips to get your home ready before guests arrive.

    Tidy up fast

    If guests are simply popping in for drinks or having a quick meal, don’t worry about tidying up every nook and cranny. Just make sure the main areas that they’ll see and be moving around in, like the sitting room, kitchen and bathrooms for example, are clean and neat. Declutter living spaces like the sitting room. Bookshelves are often the messy-looking clutter culprits, housing all kinds of knick-knacks and photos which somehow found their way to be among the books. Next, turn your attention to any other shelves, windowsills or table tops that need a quick clear out, so that the room feels clean and comfortable.

    A time hack if you’ve had little, to no advance notice that guests are unexpectedly about to arrive, is to do a quick whip-around and tidy up by popping anything you don’t want on show into a laundry basket that you can hide in the cupboard. It may not be the most elegant solution, but it’s a fast one!

    Sparkly clean

    You may not have noticed the accumulation of kids’ fingerprints on the walls, pet stains on the carpet and stubborn grimy marks in the oven. Now that you’re looking at your house through a guest’s eyes, the need to freshen things up suddenly takes top priority. Start off by making sure the area outside your front door is tidy and clean. Next, dust off all hanging lights, like pendants and chandeliers, and wipe light switches clean. In the kitchen, stack groceries neatly inside cupboards and wipe your oven interior down, just in case guests decide to come through to the kitchen to offer a helping hand.

    If you really can’t afford any time to do these chores, be thankful that you live in the digital age. Save yourself major stress by hiring an efficient, trustworthy cleaner from SweepSouth Connect to get the house sparkly clean, or help with time-intensive things like windows, cabinets, the fridge and oven.

    Decor hacks

    Try these quick decorating tips to create a dinner-party feel fast:

    Your entrance area: Set the mood for guests as they walk in by placing a scented candle close to your front door. If you have a console table, turn it into the star of the show with a quick, but stunning display of different-sized glass vases filled with flowers. For a party feel, lay a row of sparkly fairy lights on top for instant night-time glitz.

    Sitting room: Dress up your home with faux fur cushions and sumptuous fabric throws over backs of couches. Next, find a corner where you can create a statement, and put a cake stand on top of a small table, adorned with tea-light candles and dainty flowers.

    Gorgeous little touches

    Try these style ideas for instant effect:

    • Style your table in a flash. Raid your garden for some green foliage, slip it into napkin rings with crisp white serviettes, and put a name-place card on top – easy!
    • Crafty? Place flowers on your table that you’ve given a light spray of craft glue to, then dip these into glitter.
    • Tie sprigs of greenery to the backs of chairs with a pretty ribbon.

    Time for treats

    • Easy entertaining tips for added glamour:
    • Welcome hungry guests by readying a plate of little snacks on a console table as they arrive.
    • Serve your drinks from a silver or golden tray for a smart, glamorous touch. Tie coloured ribbons to the bottom of Champagne flutes – it will help guests keep track of their glasses.
    • Who doesn’t love an easy-to-create cheeseboard? Laying out the ingredients is simple and you can buy them ahead to store in the fridge for days. Wow guests with a variety of at least three different cheeses. A safe choice would be a rich blue cheese, a hard cheese (like an aged Gouda) and a creamy Brie or Camembert. Where there’s space on the board, pop in crackers, grapes, and nuts, and you have a cheeseboard that’s all-out fantastic.

    Remember that a warm welcome and loving atmosphere will trump all else. Regardless of how prepared you are, or how much you have to offer guests, just put on a great playlist to set the mood, then relax and relish the evening.

  • Feature- Honeywell Flour Mills & Flour Mills Of Nigeria Set To Boost Nigeria’s Food Production With ₦80b Merger

    Feature- Honeywell Flour Mills & Flour Mills Of Nigeria Set To Boost Nigeria’s Food Production With ₦80b Merger

    Yesterday, Honeywell Group Limited (HGL) and Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc (FMN) announced the signing of an agreement that will see them combine FMN and Honeywell Flour Mills Plc. The agreement was stated to be valued at ₦80 billion is subject to regulatory approval and will see Honeywell Group Limited transfer a 71.69% stake in Honeywell Flour Mills Plc to Flour Mills of Nigeria.

    By joining forces, both companies will continue in their effort to boost Nigeria’s food production capacity but at a much higher level. Despite having so much arable land, Nigeria’s food production capacity remains insufficient to cater to its growing population of over 200 million people. The majority of this population growth is happening in urban areas. In 2020, Nigeria’s urban population was 52%. This section of the country’s population has grown steadily over the last 50 years from 18.2 to 52%.

    This rising urban population also means an expansion in the volume of middle-income families, which implies a growing need for food that is easy to prepare. Experts predict that the market for ready-made meals will only continue to grow with the population. However, much of this is tied to an improvement in infrastructure and food production capacity.

    Speaking about the transaction, Obafemi Otudeko, Managing Director of Honeywell Group Limited, said, “Today’s announcement is in line with the evolution of Honeywell Group and our vision of creating value that transcends generations. For over two decades, we have supported Honeywell Flour Mills to build a strong business with a production capacity of 835,000 metric tonnes of food per annum. Following the transaction, Honeywell Group will be strongly positioned to consolidate and expand its investment activities, including as a partner of choice for investors in key growth sectors.”

    Nigeria is ranked 131st out of 190 economies according to the World Bank’s 2020 ease of doing business report. Even though Nigeria’s place in the rankings has improved in recent years, there is still a long way to go. Companies continue to face various challenges, ranging from poor infrastructure, inadequate power supply, a struggling agricultural value chain, increased cost of production, and so on.

    All these challenges indicate the need for greater investment in the food manufacturing sector. This combination will help increase Nigeria’s food production capacity and eventually lead to more revenue from exporting finished goods, both of which will significantly impact the country’s GDP and make it more attractive to investors.

    In the statement, Omoboyede Olusanya, CEO of Flour Mills of Nigeria, said, “The proposed transaction is aligned with our vision not only to be an industry leader but a national champion for Nigeria. We believe that this will create an opportunity to combine the unique talents of two robust businesses. As a result, we will have a better-rounded and more comprehensive skill set available to us as a combined diversified food business, thus enabling us to better serve our consumers, customers, and other stakeholders, whilst providing employees with access to broader opportunities.”

    To further spotlight the potential impact of this transaction on the economy, it is worth noting that food manufacturing is one of the most prolific job-creating sub-sectors in Nigeria. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the food processing sub-sector has created at least half of all manufacturing jobs in Nigeria.

    Flour Mills of Nigeria is the country’s largest flour miller, with a capacity of over 8,000 metric tons per day. The company introduced pasta production to Nigeria in 1999 and has expanded its production capacity from 40,000 metric tonnes to over 350,000 metric tonnes.

    Combine this with Honeywell Flour Mills Plc’s production capacity, and this creates a new manufacturing champion in Nigeria. Just last year, Honeywell’s two-year-old pasta production factory in Sagamu delivered 138,600 metric tonnes of pasta and generated over ₦19.08 billion in revenue. Its Apapa and Ikeja plants also generated a combined ₦90.51 billion.

    The scale of the proposed combined entity provides greater opportunities for the 17,000 direct and indirect employees and will potentially create many more jobs.

    Honeywell Group intends to continue its journey of refining and growing its investment portfolio. This will see it consolidate in sectors where it currently operates, such as real estate, energy, financial services, and infrastructure. It also intends to announce more strategic initiatives in the coming months.

     

  • Feature: Convergence of Igbo Visual and Igbo Musical Arts to create Igbo Digital Arts

    Feature: Convergence of Igbo Visual and Igbo Musical Arts to create Igbo Digital Arts

    …The Chuma Anagbado and Gerald Eze example

    By Olutayo Irantiola

    Across the world, all aspects of culture have ways of fusing into one. The musical instrument are works of arts; the lyrics are another form of art and the eventual storage of music is also an art itself. The evolution of the storage of music has continued to change in recent times. Children born in the last 20 years, who do not know the turntable might not appreciate the joy of carrying compact discs (CDs) around.

    Recently, I was glad to see two young Nigerians who are on a journey of revolutionizing the Igbo culture through the convergence of visual and musical arts into digital arts. Anagbado, a multi-talented artist and designer whose work cuts across traditional, digital, and emerging creative mediums. He has continually reimagined functional ways of using both material and non-material aspects of Igbo existence in designing new structures and narratives to build a sense of identity and community.

    With his experience across the world, Anagbado cut his teeth in the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) space in Nigeria and Sierra Leone. The Visual artist believes that Igbo culture chose him from the word go and he cannot but always be at the forefront of promoting the culture through his various artistic expressions.

    On the musical side is Gerald Eze, a lecturer of music at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka brings thought-provoking themes into his music to address various societal issues from family values to feminism, governance amongst others. Eze also believes that there is no higher artistic responsibility higher than enhancing the indigenous Igbo music which is within his experience. He is passionate about the culture and music of the Igbo in a tone marked with activism.

    Eze can play not less than 16 Igbo different instruments and he also teaches his students. For him, “the only way to engage my students is by playing the instrument. Today, every instrument has gone beyond rituals and masquerades that it was used for generations ago.”

    Both Anagbado and Eze, that met about 6 months ago, have fused their artistry, energy, and mastery into the creation of digital musical arts with various Igbo instruments. At a demonstration, Eze was playing the Oja flute of Igbo and at the same time, Anagbado’s laptop was synchronizing the songs with the digital image of the flute.

    For Anagbado, his artistry on both paper and e-format is seamlessly coupled with his understanding of NFT (Non-Fungible Token) Technology. This has helped him to create and prove ownership, validity, and scarcity in unique digital assets and this is what he aims to use in preserving the works.

    The two Igbo Creative artists have put together their strengths and they are willing to preserve the culture for posterity. They are willing to extend the frontiers of the culture and take it to another height with the use of digital arts.

    It is time for creatives across Africa to take a cue from Chuma Anagbado and Gerald Eze by collaborating in a way that will extend the frontiers of cultural knowledge and aesthetics.

    Culled from www.peodavies.com

     

  • Feature- The Unintimidated Career Woman despite Prevalent Male Chauvinism: A Review of Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis of Life

    Feature- The Unintimidated Career Woman despite Prevalent Male Chauvinism: A Review of Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis of Life

    Title: Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis of Life

    Author: Deaconness Joan Olatoyosi Ayo, OON

    Publisher: Kraft Books Limited

    Year of Publication: 2021

    Pagination: 374

    Reviewer: Pastor Olamitayo Irantiola

    The life of a woman is usually filled with many details and they are abundantly endowed with words. However, not many of them are willing to painstakingly document every part of their lives and bless the world with memories and lessons that transcend generations.

    Deaconess Joan Olatoyosi Ayo, an octogenarian, registered her life in the annals of autobiographers in Nigeria and the world at large with her book titled, Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis. As a graduate of English from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and a Master’s degree from the University of Ibadan, she has her ways with words and in-depth descriptive skills that set her apart as a writer.

    In the book, the Saki-born Princess gave a detailed account of her hometown, Saki, her parentage with comprehensive information amongst others. This is one of the attributes of someone who is interested in history and also has a great pedigree. She further introduced us to her developmental years and relationship with siblings and the schools which she attended and all these was part of all that culminated into achievements and various successes in career and life.

    Another very detailed part of the book was the analytical stories of her Baptist origin and heritage. This helped her to be poise, eloquent and hardworking. This background with the highest level of morality continued as a teacher till she moved on to the Federal Civil Service. She role steadily and eventually broke the glass ceiling as the first female Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission. She did not just excel in the role but she was able to refine the appointment, the promotion, and the disciplinary processes.

    Mama worked under both military and democratic governments. In fact, she was privileged to work with three democratically-elected Presidents of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. From her own view as an insider, she revealed some shocking truth on how the military government exchanged crude oil with consumables from Brazil in a lopsided trade by barter because there was no proper mechanism to measure the amount of crude oil given in exchange for the consumables. She also made reference to the various “sharp practices” both physical and spiritual which are practiced in the civil service.

    As a woman of high repute, she mentioned her role towards the creation of Oke-Ogun State, a part of today’s Oyo State, but another dissident group within the zone thwarted her effort. Also worthy of note are her roles in the building of monuments such as the building of Aso Rock Villa Chapel and the National Ecumenical Centre amongst others.

    She did not leave out her religious life in the book. As mentioned earlier, she is a Baptist from birth to date. In the book, she wrote about her Baptist heritage, her church-planting efforts, her knowledge of MMU, WMU, and the Convention in sessions, etc. She advocated that technocrats should champion and lead projects in the Baptist other than Pastors so that the denomination can advance at a faster pace.

    The book also contains her Christian sojourn and relationship with churches such as First Baptist Church, Broad Street, Lagos; Yaba Baptist Church, Lagos; Good News Baptist Church, Surulere; Ikoyi Baptist Church, Lagos; New Estate Baptist Church, Surulere; Akoka Baptist Church and her involvement with First Baptist Church, Garki Abuja. At some point, she had to play a motherly role resolving a brewing crisis of a group of Pastors called “Stand up for Jesus”. This issue nearly shook the foundation of the Nigerian Baptist Convention.

    The well-travelled administrator, who had lived on four continents out of seven, is an amazing and prayerful mother of five. One needs special tutelage to have an understanding of how she was able to manage her home coupled with her service to God and the nation; as a young woman, I am still brooding on how she was able to play all these roles. She is a man in woman figure and her achievement is a pointer to the adage that “there is nothing a man can do that a woman cannot do”.

    It is good to note that Saki-Princesses are making remarkable feats in the annals of our national history. The late Prof (Dns) Felicia Adebola Adeyoyin, who wrote the wordings of the National Anthem is equally a Princess from Saki.

  • Feature: Quick wins for Charles Soludo wins 100 days

    Feature: Quick wins for Charles Soludo wins 100 days

    by Ayo Akinfe

    10 things I expect Charles Soludo to do within the first 100 days of him being sworn-in

    [1] Host a meeting of the South East Governors Forum in Akwa. At this summit, I want to see him sell the others the idea of floating a finance house called Ogbunigwe Bank. It will hand out loans to small businesses across Igboland with a maximum interest rate of 5%

    [2] Sign a deal with Innoson Motors under which every government vehicle in the state will be bought from the company. It should be a criminal offense for any Anambra public official or traditional ruler to buy a vehicle from another manufacturer.

    [3] He should get all the five southeast governors to pledge to purchase all their vehicles from Innoson Motors as part of a plan to support the company and enable its expansion. If Nigeria is to compete on the global stage, we need a company that can stand toe-to-toe with the big boys

    [4] Announce that he will be making Nnewi the home to the world’s largest car engine factory. Anambra State government should hold a 15% stake in a holding company which will be created between Innoson and international automobile companies like Nissan, Peugeot, Volkswagen, Renault, Toyota etc. It will aim to manufacture at least 1m engines and gearboxes a year

    [5] Float a pan-Igbo holding company called Isiagu Enterprises in conjunction with the other southeast governors and the private sector. Created to drive investment, each of the five state governments of the southeast will hold a 25% stake in it, with international partners and the private sector owning the rest

    [6] Set himself the target of building at least five extra River Niger crossings. Isiagu Enterprises will commit to building five crossings across the River Niger, with at least three of them being rail links

    [7] Isiagu Enterprises will also commit to dredging the River Niger up to Onitsha with the aim of building the world’s largest inland port. It will be Africa’s largest cargo port

    [8] Isiagu Enterprises will lease land in states like Taraba, Niger, Borno and Kaduna with the aim of growing cash crops to fuel its industries. Ambitious targets will be set for agricultural output with the aim of quadrupling the production of cash crops like palm oil, yam, cassava, maize, kolanuts, cashews, etc. Nigeria must grow every raw material it uses in its food processing business

    [9] Isiagu Enterprises will also undertake to dredge Ikot-Abasi and Calabar ports so they can take big ships like Apapa. Rail links will then be constructed linking them with the rest of the country. No law in Nigeria prevents a regional company from investing in another geopolitical zone

    [10] Isiagu Enterprises will introduce the world’s most humane corporate social responsibility contract that will fund education and infrastructure development in the host communities where it operates. For instance, if it is sourcing leather from Dapchi in Yobe State for its shoe processing factory, Isiagu Enterprises will fund the construction of a primary school there. The idea behind this is to kill this widely-held notion that Ndigbo are just out to grab, grab, grab.

    Ayo is a London-based journalist who has worked as a magazine and newspaper editor for the last 31 years. He was the founding editor of Nigerian Watch, the UK-based paper for the Nigerian community in the UK.  

    He is the current president of Ondo Union UK, the chair of Uncelebrated Nigerian Awards UK and was the chairman of the Nigerian Centenary Awards UK organising committee. He was recently appointed as the Chairman of the Central Association of Nigerians in the UK

    He is also the author of two books on Nigeria. Fuelling the Delta Fires is an expose which reveals the depth of the challenges in the Niger Delta, while Black Ladder is a narrative about the life of a Nigerian immigrant in the UK. In addition, Ayo is a columnist for several publishing houses in both Nigeria and the UK.

    Ayo has a history degree from the University of Ibadan and I did my post-graduate studies in journalism at the University of Westminster.

     

  • Vedic Lifecare Hospital received MDCN Practicing License for Expatriate Doctors

    Vedic Lifecare Hospital received MDCN Practicing License for Expatriate Doctors

    On 29th October 2021, Vedic Lifecare Hospital, Lekki Phase 1 was sealed by the Health Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA). This was due to the fact that three (3) of our expatriate Medical personnel, were unable to produce their certificate of registration with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN). It is important to point out that we have over 17 doctors in our team all of whom are duly qualified and licensed to practice in Nigeria. The expatriate personnel themselves are all highly qualified with over 20 to 30 years of experience internationally and all their documents had been endorsed by the Medical authorities in India/elsewhere. Their applications to the MDCN had been submitted before now and, all requirements complied with and were also vetted and endorsed by the Government of India through the Indian High Commission Nigeria.

    Unfortunately, due to reasons beyond our control, there was some delay in the issuance and procurement of their license by the MDCN. Since our closure, however, we have worked closely with the MDCN and are pleased to report that, with their help and support, as well as that of the Indian High Commission, we have successfully completed the registration of these three expatriate  Medical personnel and their practising licenses have now been issued.

    Vedic Lifecare Hospital is committed to the highest standards of professionalism and ethics and would never jeopardise the health and well-being of any of our patients by engaging unqualified personnel. We have a strong relationship with the MDCN, HEFAMAA and the Lagos State Ministry of Health and have worked very closely with them in the past, most recently being during the COVID 19 pandemic where we served as one of the Government certified isolation and treatment centres.

    We have learnt the lessons which the recent developments have offered and have received the admonition of the Ministry of Health and  HEFAMAA in good faith. We apologise to the public and assure every Nigerian of our commitment to improved service delivery and healthcare to all our patients. We would never compromise on our values or engage in, consent to or participate in any scheme that compromises the health and safety of our patients regardless of the limitations and circumstances.

    As the expatriate personnel concerned have now received their licenses from the MDCN, we are working with HEFAMAA to ensure that our premises is reopened as quickly as possible.

    We would like to thank the Honourable Commissioner for Health, Lagos State, officers of the MDCN, HEFAMAA and the Lagos State Ministry of Health for the tremendous support they have provided to us at this time. We are particularly grateful also to the Indian High Commission to Nigeria. Finally, we would like to convey our deepest gratitude to our esteemed patients for their continued confidence in the quality of our service.

    We are confident that our hospital will be reopened soon, and we will update the public on the developments in that regard.

     

    SIGNED

    MANAGEMENT

  • Feature: The need for National Building Regulation Act 2021

    Feature: The need for National Building Regulation Act 2021

    By Ayo Akinfe

    In the wake of the latest tragedy in Ikoyi, it is time for the National Assembly to pass the Nigerian Building Regulation Act 2021.

    [1] Given that there are 200m Nigerians with about 50% of them being 18 and over, we should have a 20-year plan to build 40m housing units over the next 20 years. Of this 40 million units, the federal government will build at least 5m housing units in Abuja and Lagos each

    [2] A Federal Housing Regulatory Agency will be established to monitor compliance with strict building regulations. With an office in each state, this agency will have the power to order the demolition of any building it considers unsafe

    [3] All 36 state and the 774 local governments must build houses as a matter of law. Each state must subsequently have its own housing regulatory agency

    [4] Each state must build at least 10,000 housing units a year

    [5] At least 50% of all these houses in each state must be social accommodation for letting

    [6] State and local governments will be allowed to run housing corporations

    [7] State and local governments will also be allowed to enter into public-private partnerships with private companies

    [8] Private companies who build in excess of 1,000 units annually will get a one-year tax break

    [9] Nigeria’s Federal Mortgage Bank will offer 25-year single digit loans to buyers

    [10] State and local governments who build more than 50,000 housing units a year will get a federal grant

  • Feature- Telecoms@20: NCC Lists Next Frontiers for Industry Growth

    Feature- Telecoms@20: NCC Lists Next Frontiers for Industry Growth

    …As NCC, Danbatta, others receive awards 

    As stakeholders in Nigeria commemorate 20 years of the telecoms revolution in Nigeria, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has clearly identified key initiatives being implemented to consolidate the growth and gains of the telecom sector.

    Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, listed the digital frontiers while delivering a paper titled: ‘Telecommunications in Nigeria: The Next Frontier’ at the 20th anniversary of the telecommunications revolution in Nigeria organised recently by Compact Communications Limited, at the Muson Centre, Lagos.

    At the event, the Commission received a recognition award “in appreciation of its institutional support to the growth and development of telecoms in Nigeria”. The EVC of NCC also received a separate award “in appreciation of his immense contribution to the growth and sustenance of telecoms development in Nigeria.”

    Represented at the forum by NCC’s Director, Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, Danbatta said in the last 20 years, the sector has witnessed significant growth in subscribers, internet usage, investment, innovation, contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and multiplier effects of the growth in other sectors of the economy.

    Danbatta stated that in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, NCC is driving new frontiers aimed at ensuring consistent growth of the nation’s digital economy sphere.

    According to him, as a foremost telecommunications regulatory agency and consistent with NCC mandate as stipulated in the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, and other guiding legislations, the NCC has been at the forefront of leveraging latest technologies and accelerating broadband infrastructure deployment to put Nigeria on the global map of the digital economy experience.

    In this regard, he said NCC was working to ensure increased broadband penetration in line with Federal Government’s targets as contained in the Nigerian National Broadband Pan (NNBP), 2020-2025. The NNBP was launched by President Muhammadu Buhari in March 2020.

    Danbatta explained that the NNBP has a target to achieve 70 percent broadband penetration among 90 percent of the country’s population. The Plan also seeks to achieve broadband speeds of 15Mbp and 25Mbps in rural and urban areas respectively over the next five years.

    “The Commission is also driving various initiatives aimed at facilitating the deployment of Fifth Generation (5G) Mobile Technology in Nigeria.

    Prof. Danbatta emphasized that a robust broadband infrastructure will play a key role in fast-tracking the effective deployment of 5G technology and facilitate availability of services associated with 5G technology.

    “Already, the Commission is set to auction some spectrum slots in 3.5GHz band and we have confirmed 97 per cent readiness for 5G deployment in this regard. This is in line with the marching order given to us by Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), following approval by the Federal Executive Council to proceed on our 5G Deployment Plan. The Information Memorandum (IM) for the auction had earlier been shared with stakeholders and we are set to auction the 5G spectrum before the end of the year,” he said.

    The NCC Chief Executive also said one of the initiatives being emplaced by the Commission to enhance the attainment of the next frontier for telecom development in Nigeria and the nation’s economic growth, is the ongoing review of licensing structure in the sector. This is to align the telecoms licensing process with the wide range of technological advances, the convergence of technologies and services shaping global telecoms space.

    Danbatta said the Commission has also finalized the review of its Spectrum Trading Guidelines (STG). The STG, according to the EVC, allows spectrum resources in-country to be traded on the Secondary Market through Transfer, Sharing, or Leasing (TSL) once the stipulated regulatory conditions have been complied with.

    Danbatta declared that NNBP 2020-2025 requires that these Guidelines be reviewed to ensure that un-utilised spectrum is fairly traded to facilitate rollout by other operators among others. The Guidelines will, therefore, facilitate the country’s yearning for ubiquitous broadband access in line with the economic agenda of the Federal Government.

    As vehicles for the implementation of the NNBP, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (2020-2030), and other similar digital economy policies, Danbatta said the NCC has unveiled its Strategic Management Plan (SMP) 2020-2024 and the Strategic Vision Plan (SVP), 2021-2025, which will ultimately drive the next frontier of growth in the telecoms sector. He said the two strategic plans embody critical areas on which the Commission intends to focus toward driving the implementation of the digital economy agenda of the government.

    He stated that the two regulatory documents (the SMP and SVP) encapsulate the totality of regulatory and policy initiatives, designed to re-invent and transform the telecom ecosystem, within the context of regulation, to a greater height. He added that this, to the Commission, is the next frontier for the sector. “While emerging technologies are disruptive by nature, Nigeria cannot afford to lag behind digitally and this explains Commission’s engagement with developmental regulations for the industry and we are irrevocably committed to this,” he said.

    Other individuals bestowed with recognition awards at the event include former President Olusegun Obasanjo; and the former EVC/CEO of NCC, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, both for pioneering the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) revolution of 2001. The Zenith Bank also received an award for being at the forefront of leveraging technology for powering financial services delivery. Among the journalists who received awards is a veteran ICT journalist/Publisher, E-World News, Aaron Ukodie.

  • Feature: Boosting SMEs Growth Through FirstSME Account

    Feature: Boosting SMEs Growth Through FirstSME Account

    by Amaka Ifeakandu

    First Bank of Nigeria Limited created FirstSME Account to add to its SME product family in support of small and medium scale business owners by sustaining and expanding their business. This article looks at what the facility offers and how SME owners can key in to boost their businesses.

    There is no doubt that Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) are essential for rapid and sustained economic growth and development of any nation, including Nigeria, Africa and other growing countries of the world. First Bank of Nigeria Limited, the nation’s most valuable bank brand, has over the years shown commitment towards the success and growth of SMEs business in Nigeria.

    The bank has severally introduced different customised products to provide solution that would grow SMEs in the country. Given that SMEs industry is the backbone of the economic development and the major contributor to employment  opportunities and export growth, First Bank is committed to ensuring  the sector  sustains business growth by providing all the necessary financial support needed to grow their businesses and Nigeria economy at large.

    Although the SME sector is awash with various industries and business, FirstBank is always at the forefront of packaging products and service that suit their various businesses. The bank, which has been in existence for over 127 years, has been a pillar of support to businesses in Nigeria and always develop the right products to provide flexible and dependable services that would help SMEs achieve the expected growth profile in all areas of their business lines.

     

    FirstSME Account 

    The FirstBank’s leading SME Initiative – FirstSME account – was specifically created on August 2020, to support SMEs towards the sustenance and expansion of their businesses.

    The FirstSME account, which comes in two variants – FirstSME Classic and First SME Deluxe – is offered to SMEs irrespective of industry and a tailor-made current account with a clear value proposition aimed at harnessing the huge opportunities available in the SME sector in Nigeria.

    The product also exposes SMEs to a wide range of services that are essential for their continued growth and playing their roles in contributing to national development.

    Apart from supporting SMEs, FirstSME account is also available to all non-individual entities like Limited Liability Companies, Public sector institutions, Enterprises/Sole proprietorships, Partnerships & Associations, Religious Bodies, Traders NGOs.

    Benefits to customers

    FirstSME account has been beneficial to a lot of companies, especially SMEs, in terms enhancing the capacity to sustain growth. The major benefits of these accounts include; access to Temporary OverDrafts (TODs) and other facilities subject to meeting Risk Adjustment Capital (RAC) of each product; immediate enrollment on all digital platform; free access to FirstBank SME events; free access to extensive business promotional and networking opportunities on the SMEConnect portal; access to a wide range of discounted and promotional offers and access to SMEConnect.

    Other opportunities

    Other available opportunities for operating   FirstSME account is its connection to   SMEConnect initiative of FirstBank which is a platform through which SMEs access the bank’s unique description   that will equip them with the essential tools required for the growth of their business.

    The SMEConnect portal is also designed to help SMEs identify various gaps affecting the growth of their business. Beyond financial support, SMEConnect offers strategic advisory services, business seminars periodic updates as well as information that will guide you in growing your business.

     

    Importance of SMEConnect

    SMEConnect is created to bring under one umbrella relevant resources, products and services aimed at helping SMEs in Nigeria. FirstBank has tailored -made products targeted at the specific needs of SMEs in Nigeria. These loan products have been designed for financing the activities of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) under the U-First Scheme

    The leading financial institution also provides Business Advisory and Support services and business-oriented credit access, customer/market, financing structure, access/availability of raw materials sales/cash flow  projections, marketing/distribution/logistics  and business strategic plan.

    The platform provides other features including the SME Connect blog, business categories, e-newsletter, special offer and upcoming events and programme.

    Accessibility/criteria for opening account 

    The FirstSME classic account is specifically designed to support small scale enterprises to   grow and scale up their business with a minimum opening and operating balance of N50,000 and turnover limit caps at N100 mIllion with annual maintenance charge on the excess at 0.50k/mile.

    The account also attracts Zero/mile annual maintenance charge subject to minimum operating balance and turnover limit.

    But on the other hand, the FirstSME Deluxe account expects holders to have minimum opening and operating balance of N500,000 and N1 million respectively with zero annual maintenance charge subject to minimum operating balance and with no turnover limit caps.

    FirstSME Connect’s scope of coverage

    FirstBank’s SMEConnect services cover small/medium scale manufacturing firms, merchants (both suppliers, distributors), professional firms including law, consulting, audit, agricultural, Churches, Mosques and NGOs whose annual debit turnover is between N5 million and N500 million.

    SMEs and FirstBank’s FirstSMEs account

    The FirstBank’s FirstSME account is unique when compared with other SMEs accounts operating  in the  nation’s banking industry and the  bank is passionate about helping SMEs to grow on all fronts

     Another thing that makes the product stands out from products of other banks  is that FirstSME customers get to enjoy services such as; zero account maintenance charge, access to webinar/training, various credit facilities, workplace resources, access to SMEConnect portal and directory and It is specially made for MSMEs and SMEs.

    SMEs’ importance  to FirstBank 

     Across the globe and Nigeria in particular, SMEs are known to be responsible for the majority of new jobs created and they are crucial to Nigeria’s success in the global economy, in so many ways namely: For government, SMEs, contribute to wealth creation and generate tax revenues; in business, SMEs represent an important source of innovation and in the society, they are an important source of employment.

    Furthermore, SMEs drive consumption because they operate in every sector of the economy, and they have extensive local knowledge of resources, supply patterns and purchasing trends. In the same vein, the sector constitutes an important source of local supply and service provisions to larger corporations and makes a significant contribution to the revenue profile of most financial institutions.  The SME sector stimulates growth and development within the economy.

    NBS data

    Available data from Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that SMEs in Nigeria have contributed about 48 per cent of the national GDP in the last five years, account for 96 per cent of business and 84 per cent employment. With about 1.7 million people , the sector accounted for about 50 per cent of the industrial jobs. In other word, SMEs is one of the sectors that cannot be ignored in any given country

    These also imply that First Bank of Nigeria Limited understands what it takes to turn around the nation’s economy, knowing fully well that supporting the SMEs will bring multiple effects on individuals, society and economy in general.

    The bank also has deeper understanding that providing support, loans facilities and training to SMEs through SMEConnect would not only help their business to thrive, but increase employment opportunities, reduce high rate of crime, open doors for more investments in the country and bring return on investment and increase  individual’s  ability to save.

    Impacts beneficiaries/economy 

    The FirstBank FirstSME account will go a long way to reducing cost of operating corporate account which frees up funds for the beneficiaries to grow their businesses faster. The resultant effect on the economy is the increased growth of SMEs.

    Challenges of SMEs

    Without any iota of doubt, the SMEs in the country is faced  with different challenges ranging from poor capital structure, high cost of production, limited access to long term funds, poor business continuity/succession plan, weak value chain: supply, distribution, logistics, poor managerial and technical skills to lack of access to international market.

     The FirstBank’s FirstSME account has  provided an answer to some of the SMEs challenges by its readiness and commitment to  providing  the Nigerian SMEs with the  necessary support needed to grow their various businesses

    In all, for any SMEs company  to move its business to the next level- both locally and internationally-, such business owner needs to open FirstSME account to avail him/herself of all the advantages provided by First Bank of Nigeria through its SMEConnect.

    Operating FirstSME account is one step away from any form of distress, as all the  training opportunities from SMEconnect and credit facilities embedded in the account  will help to revive the company and place it on the path of growth.

  • Feature: Writing Allows Me to Express Myself and Inspire Others – Ever Obi

    Feature: Writing Allows Me to Express Myself and Inspire Others – Ever Obi

    The author of Men Don’t Die, Ever Obi is an expert in risk management and a prolific writer whose enthusiasm for art and culture through writing has enabled him to share some thought-provoking stories about Africa and man’s struggles against the unfairness of life. Beyond his professional life as the Managing Director of one of Nigeria’s leading consumer lending firms, Zedvance Finance Limited, he uses writing to express himself on societal concerns. Obi, in this interview spoke about his journey into writing and his latest book, Some Angels Don’t See God.

    Excerpt:

    When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

    Probably at the age of ten. Growing up, I began reading some of my mother’s old books: The Mayor of Casterbridge, The Jero plays, Things Fall Apart; books by Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, that generation of writers. But I never wanted to be a writer, I never thought that I could be one until my sister introduced me to the works of Adaeze Atuegwu (The Adventures of Nnanna, Tears, Fate, Chalet 9 and The Bina Serie). Because Atuegwu was quite young then, her works made me realise that young people could write too. I began to write into my imaginations.

    How long does it take you to write a book?

    It is tough to say, there is nothing hard and fast. Now, because I have always held a day job, as a financial risk manager and then as a business executive in a leading financial institution – day jobs that are extremely demanding – I just learn patience. I write at my pace, whenever I can make out time. It took me four years to write Men Don’t Die and my new book took six years of my natural life. Writing teaches patience.

    What is your work schedule like when you’re writing?

    Work schedule is always going to be work schedule. Here, you have two things fighting over you. First, it’s your day job that pays the bills. Because you are being paid for it, you need to be good at it, be a good professional. On the other hand, its writing and literature, where your heart lies; something you know that you cannot live without doing. If something holds that sort of importance in your life, you have to make out time for it, even when it does not hold any solid promise of financial stability. You just need to always strike that balance.

    Every writer is different, and sometimes we have certain rituals or quirks that help us write. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?

    I write literary fiction, which means that I am essentially writing about life. I get my ideas from my experiences and experiences of others, and sometimes, stories just come to you, totally from the boundlessness of your imagination. I write about life and because we are all students of life, it is easy to get these ideas. Turning them into a book is what makes you an artist, trying to colour life experiences with beautiful words and metaphors.

    When did you write your first book and how old were you?

    My first published work was Men Don’t Die; I wrote it between 2010 and 2014. It eventually got published in 2019. But when I was a boy, discovering myself and literature, I wrote a lot, some of them were ridiculous scribblings. I can still remember all the titles that I gave them, plays and novels. The first full-length novel manuscript that I ever wrote was one that I titled Touching the Leopard’s Tail. I ended up misplacing it, just like every other thing I wrote back then.

    What do you like to do when you’re not writing?

    When I am not writing or getting overwhelmed by life, I am reading a book or watching Mixed Martial Arts. It is surprising that watching prizefighters pummel one another helps me relax.

    What does your family think of your writing?

    My family has always known me to be like this, right from when I turned my mother into a human dictionary; I was paying too much attention to words, right from when I started scribbling stories. They have always been supportive and are always asking about the next project I am working on. I am blessed to have them in my corner, to have people who have, over all these years, tolerated all my idiosyncrasies.

    What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

    That writing isn’t a hobby. It is intense and it is huge work on its own. It is not like playing football or watching TV, not one of those things you occupy your leisure time with because you want to have fun. Writing requires dedication and patience. People misunderstand this; they think you are having fun when you are writing. You are actually working. The physical and mental efforts that go into writing form an investment that needs to be respected. I feel that because a lot of people don’t understand this, they don’t respect these efforts; that is why they don’t expect writers to make money from their art.

    Your debut novel “Men Don’t Die” is a melancholic story about death and spiritualism; money and love. What inspired the story?

    Life. My life and the lives of other people. It is a story born out of the need to reiterate that life actually owes us nothing. It does not matter what you think you deserve. Life deals us whatever card it wants; we just need to keep going and keep doing our best. And it was also a way for me to raise more questions about spiritualism and the notions we hold about the afterlife.

    Can you tell us about your new book “Some Angels Don’t See God”? What’s the story about?

    The book is about so many things. But in the most basic form of it, I would say it is about incest and the ramifications of it in the lives of some of the main characters. I will leave it at that, allow people purchase their copies.

    Where can we find your books?

    My books can be found in major book stores across the country. You can also get them online or on Amazon. Google does the magic. Just go on Google and get all the options available.

    Do you have any suggestions to help aspiring writers? If yes, what are they?

    Read, read to learn. It is easier when you know the kind of writer you want to be; that means you know the kind of books you should be reading. Then write. You cannot be a writer without actually writing. Write and be patient. It is the patience that keeps you going when it does not make sense to continue.

    Do you hear from your readers much? What kind of things do they say?

    Yes, yes, I do hear from my readers. The world is increasingly getting smaller and smaller; anybody can connect with you on social media, with questions or criticisms about your work. When you write fiction, you are creating your own world. And when you publish, you are inviting people into this world. That means that you should expect it all, praises and criticisms; some of them constructive, others shockingly ridiculous. But it is part of the process of becoming an artist, accepting that your work is going to be received by different people in different ways.

    As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

    I wanted to be many things. There was a time when I wanted to be an engineer, and time when I wanted to be a medical doctor. Despite the fact that I had started writing at a young age, always knew I wanted to be a writer, but I was a science student. You know back in the day when those lazy guidance counsellors see that you are a little brilliant, they just mark you for science. I wanted to be so many things, but most importantly, in the midst of all that confusion, one thing never changed. I always knew that I also wanted to be a writer.

    Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?

    It doesn’t really matter to me. If your story leads you down that path where you need to write multiple books to do justice to the demands it has on your heart, why not? It depends on how the story has come, on what you are trying to say. Whether you say it in one book or in three books, it does not matter.

    If you could tell your younger writing-self anything, what would it be?

    Write more. Be more selfish about chasing your goals. Immerse yourself in literature and maximize all the fulfilment it holds.

    What does literary success look like to you?

    The undeniable truth is that creatives enjoy getting paid for their works. There is that financial angle to it, selling enough books, your works opening other doors and creating a solid economic place for you. But most importantly, having copies of your book in the hands of people who do justice to literature by reading books well, getting the story and connecting with you to discuss how the book speaks to them, brings an indescribable feeling. It is just amazing. That is the feeling of success.

  • Feature: How FirstBank Employees are Making a Difference in their Immediate Environments Through the SPARK Initiative

    Feature: How FirstBank Employees are Making a Difference in their Immediate Environments Through the SPARK Initiative

    Every other day, social media brings us a picture or video of a dilapidated school somewhere in Nigeria or shares images of a distraught widow, a struggling roadside trader or street hawker or some other hapless victims of the extremely harsh realities of living in Nigeria. Immediately, as if on cue or automated, viewers launch into stinging attacks of government, public officials, the privileged class, and even Nigeria itself. The attacking mob wastes no time in calling for the government’s head or the heads of public officials with responsibilities in the jurisdiction or sector where the unfortunate sights surfaced from.

    The online mob seems unconcerned that while its eyes and ears, aided and locked in by the binoculars and headsets of social media, are completely focused on distressing situations it may not be able to help other than rant about, countless situations that it can help are calling for attention in its immediate neighbourhood every single day. Focusing on things so far away while ignoring or pretending not to see the things in one’s immediate vicinity is a human tendency that is well recognized. Journalists even have a term for a similar or related behaviour among their own. “Afghanistanism” is the tendency of the media to focus on news and happenings in remote places and other parts of the world to the exclusion or neglect of covering happenings and problems in the local environment of the media. It is like the psychological or emotional equivalent of the eye defect medical practitioners refer to as hyperopia or farsightedness. Sufferers can see objects that are far away but have difficulty focusing on objects that are up close.

    By focusing on faraway objects people do not have to offer to give a helping hand but can offer their finger to point at others and their tongue to criticize and pontificate. Everyone can criticize and pontificate online or become an “e-warrior”, like Nigerians like to call it, fighting government and whoever and whatever in society they are unhappy with from the comfort and safety of their bedroom and behind their keyboard. It is the easiest of things to do but not the noblest or kindest. It is a well-trodden path but should never be confused with taking the high road in reaching out with compassion to people around whose lives and circumstances could do with some kindness.

    Taking the high road rather than practising Afghanistanism or psychological hyperopia is the approach adopted by First Bank of Nigeria Limited, the premier bank in West Africa with its impact woven into the fabric of society. This approach has played an important role in sustaining FirstBank’s development-oriented services for over 127 years as the region’s foremost financial inclusion services provider. It has been a driving motivation for how the bank operates. FirstBank always considers the impact of all its operations and actions on customers and other stakeholders, including the environment, to ensure it is making a net positive difference in the end. And this orientation has attracted the bank people who share a similar outlook – whether as employees, partners, or other stakeholders. They look forward every year to an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the bank and make a net positive difference in their own immediate environments. These men and women do not pretend that they can solve or intervene in all the challenging situations confronting people in their immediate environments but they do not refrain whenever they can lend a helping hand and make a difference.

    Through an Employee Giving and Volunteering programme employees of FirstBank find a ready platform to fully identify with the compassionate disposition of the bank, which further has a number of initiatives that enable employees to give expression to this identification. The Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness (SPARK) Initiative is but one such initiative. Aimed at expanding and deepening FirstBank’s involvement within the communities of its various stakeholders, SPARK seeks to do so by integrating and institutionalising random acts of kindness in society. Among employees, SPARK has inspired and encouraged kindness and empathy as well as consideration for others. It has also contributed to employee bonding and teamwork, which have been critical to enhancing work performance.

    This year’s implementation of the SPARK Initiative has seen employees under the banner of their various departments make choices regarding the specific nature of intervention they would want to undertake and the specific group of people or institutions within their immediate communities that they would want to extend the milk of human kindness to. Employees and their departments could choose any one of the four areas that constitute FirstBank’s corporate responsibility and sustainability (CR&S) pillars: Education, entrepreneurship, health and welfare, and environment. Under education, they have had a choice to make between support for infrastructural facilities in schools, such as the renovation of dilapidated buildings, painting of school buildings, and provision of laptops and desktops; or donation of items such as classroom chairs and tables, books, and stationaries; or provision of scholarships for best students, feeding of school students per day or week, funding of a school initiative such as JETS club, bootcamp, space club, etc. If employees and their departments were interested in supporting entrepreneurship, then they had the chance to empower through entrepreneurship programmes of their choosing such as sponsoring youth and women to acquire skills like fashion designing, baking, hair styling, make-up artistry, electrical repairs, event decoration and planning, catering, etc., or enabling entrepreneurs with tools and equipment to work or supporting SMEs and start-ups.

    Where the health and welfare area was their preferred area of intervention, employees and their departments could choose from: donations to orphanages (selected from an approved list of orphanages); support to a good cause, for example lending a helping hand to the Down Syndrome Foundation; support to widows; support to people with health-related issues; and off-setting medical bills. And if employees and their departments were to decide to go for the environment, then they could choose from: support to environmental issues, such as support to Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) initiatives; donation of garbage cans to a community; partnership with a recycling firm to recycle waste; support to LAWMA such as donating cleaning tools (brooms, dustbin parkers), etc.

    While several departments in FirstBank did things worth showcasing so the good citizens of Nigeria (individual and corporate) can emulate, this piece has just enough space to accommodate the activities of only three departments: Human Capital Management and Development (HCMD), Compliance, and Marketing and Corporate Communications (M&CC) departments. The employees in these departments seemed involved in efforts to outdo each other in acts of kindness, which made more sense and would leave a real difference on the ground as against criticising and pontificating online on faraway issues.

    The Human Capital Management and Development department decided that reaching out to one of the most vulnerable groups in Nigeria – underprivileged widows and their underfed children – was the best way they could stay true to the “Human” in their name. And employees in the department moved beyond their Marina location to the nearest environment where some of the most vulnerable widows are to be found to go show kindness. The Makoko community situated in Lagos Mainland and which CNN once described in a report as “Nigeria’s floating slum” was overwhelmed to receive the august visitors from HCMD bearing so much foodstuff to benefit their widows and children. What they did not realize was the overwhelming sense of gratitude felt by their benefactors for the opportunity to be able to give back.

    Tagged “Feed a Widow Initiative”, the undertaking was HCMD employees’ way of putting a smile back on the faces of widows in impoverished communities and they got more than they could ever have imagined. Their hosts received them with the broadest of smiles and said goodbye to them with the grandest of gratitude, and they left with very broad smiles on their own faces. The jury is still out on who between the hosts and their guests ended up with the broadest of smiles on the day. And given the “fierce contest” to outdo the other in smiling, one is again forced to wonder why people labelled e-warriors would choose to forfeit this kind of real joy for the joyless world they have locked themselves in by clinging on to Afghanistanism and psychological hyperopia.

    Not so for employees in the Compliance department. Not to be outdone and, in fact, as though going up the hierarchy of human needs, Compliance employees decided that they would focus on the education need of their beneficiary community. HCMD had done an excellent job of providing the basic “stomach infrastructure” without which it would be difficult, if not impossible, to get any of the beneficiaries interested in any talk about more sublime matters like education and mental development. So, employees of Compliance department, in order to encourage pupils to continue their pursuit of education, procured Mathematics and English Language textbooks for 617 pupils who would be in senior secondary (SS) 1 and 2 classes of Gbara Community Secondary School in Jakande, Ajah in the next academic session. The visit to the school and book donation were undertaken when the pupils were in the third term preceding the new academic session.

    The gesture was Compliance employees’ own way of giving back in such a manner as to relieve the pupils of this public school, particularly those from indigent homes, and their parents or guardians of the financial burden involved in providing textbooks for the two core subjects. It was also, in an uncanny way, an attempt by the employees to ensure the pupils were in full compliance with the requirements for taking on the two most important subjects in the secondary school curriculum, putting the pupils at a vantage position to excel in these two essential subjects. There were other benefits of the engagement that the employees noted. They observed that their presence in the school inspired the children, giving them “hope that a better life was within reach and could be achieved.” The employees thus expressed optimism that the engagement boosted the children’s interest in succeeding in life through the pursuit of education.

    For employees of the Marketing and Corporate Communications department (M&CC), entrepreneurship was the area they decided to focus on, to make a difference in their own immediate environment. Every day they came to their office on Broad Street or the bank’s head office in Marina, they passed by a number of roadside traders around the various office buildings in the locations. They observed that some of these traders were exposed to the elements or having difficulties in their business and struggling to make ends meet, and decided that they would do something about it. And true to their word, they did something about it that made so much difference in the businesses and circumstances of the traders. They provided the traders the following: branded umbrella to offer shade from both sun and rain, improving the conditions under which they operated and their quality of life; branded chairs and tables to accommodate more customers in their corner as well as grants to boost their business capital.

    Anyone who has met with employees in the corporate communications department of any major bank in Nigeria would readily admit that these professionals have among them some of the most skillful digital marketers around. So, it is not for lack of skills to be e-warriors that M&CC employees chose to extend the milk of human kindness flowing in them to roadside traders around their office rather than practise Afghanistanism. They could have chosen to concentrate all their time and resources on attacking the government online and blaming public officials for all the challenges in the economy and the spate of insecurity all over the nation and whatever else would make M&CC employees true champions of Afghanistanism and psychological hyperopia. But would that make any difference to a lot of the roadside traders around them and lessen their burden? So, M&CC employees chose the road less travelled but one that could deliver the desired impact, and it did.

    There are so many lessons to draw and feelings to take away from the examples demonstrated by employees of these three departments in Nigeria’s foremost lender. Besides committing their time and resources to their chosen humanitarian initiatives using the platform of the SPARK Initiative that places FirstBank at the forefront of the social impact space through employee advocacy, the employees have shown that they have the milk of human kindness flowing through their veins. They have demonstrated that they would rather consider how they could extend kindness to people around them and make a difference than pretend not to see the situations affecting those around them while playing Afghanistanism and psychological hyperopia online.

    For the rest of us who are not FirstBank employees, the message could not be clearer: The next time we feel like we must share on social media distressing images to provoke government-bashing or we feel constrained to make stinging comments on such images that are shared to criticize Nigeria, we should first pause and look around us. We should look to see if we can identify situations where we, not the government of Nigeria, can make a difference. Then we should take our fingers off the keyboard and go out there or make that call that will make a difference in some other person’s life and circumstances. We should be like FirstBank and its employees. We should follow their example of trying to outdo themselves in showing kindness to others. We should start where we are with what we have, to make a difference right now – yes, this very minute and not some future time.