3 Life Truths Nigerians Need To Accept

By Badr Jafar Over 70,000 individuals from around the world are about to converge on Dubai to participate in COP28. In the lead-up, the UAE’s COP28 Presidency has made no secret of its ambition to make this the most inclusive and consequential COP ever. While much of that effort has elevated historically underrepresented communities, and rightly so, a lesser-known determination of the COP28 Presidency is about transforming how the COP process engages with the private sector. From 1-2 December this year, COP28 will feature the biggest gathering of business and philanthropy devoted to solving climate change in history, at the

By Jerome-Mario Utomi There exists a time-honoured notion among management experts that for every given task, there is always a strategy to achieve the desired results. In planning, you may have more than one strategy which could be labelled as ‘Plan-A’ and ‘Plan-B’ or even more. Chiedu Ebie, Chairman of the newly constituted Governing Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, recently demonstrated the understanding that NDDC as an interventionist agency is not left out in clarion formulation of strategies needed for getting hold of stakeholders and converting their support to a springboard for the right vision that will set

By Michael Owhoko, PhD Any Nigerian with a rational and open mind knows that the complexity of governance in Nigeria today is rooted in the country’s political system, which by any stretch of imagination and logic, is unsuitable for a heterogenous society like Nigeria with over 250 ethnic groups that is characterized by incompatible cultures, varied history, background and interests. These ethnic groups were hitherto independent nations that ceded their sovereignty to the Nigerian state under federalism, a political system that took cognizance of their peculiarities and agreed upon by the country’s founding fathers. But ever since this system was

By Walter Duru, Ph.D It was Albert Einstein who once said that “setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means.” That sentiment expressed by Einstein is the primary essence behind the theory of transformational leadership, which requires passion, charisma, and the ability to motivate others. Transformational leaders are usually very authentic, emotionally intelligent, great listeners, results-focused, visionary, and self-aware. In just 100 days at the helm of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote has ushered in a new era of transformational leadership, leaving an indelible mark on the organization. Her eventual confirmation

By Adedapo Adesanya The activities of oil pipeline vandals and oil theft cost Nigeria a loss of $2.75 billion in 2019, Partner for Petroleum & Energy Sector Prosperity Initiative (P-PESPI) has claimed. This was explained by the group’s Chairman, Mr Charles Ibiang, who noted in a statement on Sunday that criminal damage on the nation’s oil asset was affecting the nation’s revenue inflow. According to him, industry information from NEITI, NNPC, NEC Adhoc Committee on Prevention/Control of Crude Theft and other sources revealed that Nigeria in 2019 recorded a loss of 22.64 million barrels of crude oil valued at $1.35

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has threatened to sanction and possibly withdraw the authorised dealership licences of banks and International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) still paying remittances in Naira. In order to encourage the Nigerians living abroad to send money home, which will, in turn, improve the supply of foreign currencies in the nation’s foreign exchange (FX) market, the CBN directed commercial banks and IMTOs to pay remittances to beneficiaries in Dollars or currencies of the senders’ country. The apex bank also introduced a reward system for diaspora remittance, which is called Naira4Dollar. Through this initiative,

By Adedapo Adesanya Despite recording two price gainers, the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed lower by 0.50 per cent on Wednesday on the back of a decline in the share price of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc. The stock depreciated by N1.17 or 7.4 per cent at the midweek session to close at N15.83 per unit as against the previous day’s N17.00 per unit. CSCS Plc overpowered the gains printed by the duo of Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP) Plc and Food Concepts Plc at the unlisted securities market yesterday. NDEP Plc gained N5 or 2.6 per

By Kester Kenn Klomegah CHETRA is a Russian company that sells industrial equipment and spare parts under the brand CHETRA produced by the Promtractor plant, as well as supplies spare parts and components from the company. It uses a unique technique in the construction of production sites, seaports, development of natural resources and pipelines in 30 countries and in all climatic zones. The goal is to provide its partners and customers with modern high-performance equipment for successful projects, even in areas with complex climatic and geological backgrounds. More than 3,000 units of equipment under the brand CHETRA are now in

By Ebireri Henry Ovie Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has reiterated his administration’s determination to support the education of brilliant students in the state. Mr Bello made this disclosure when he received the best graduating student at the 2015 Call to Bar examination of the Nigerian Law School (NLS), Ms Fatima Bombom Sani, her relatives and Barrister Natasha Akpoti at the Government House. The Governor lamented a situation where academic excellence has not been given the requisite reward in Nigeria. He then gave the young lawyer scholarship to the tune of $93,000 for her effort at the law school.

By Dipo Olowookere The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has disclosed that farming and rural non-farm-based activities still have untapped potential to generate employment opportunities for Africa’s rising youth population. At a high level forum tagged ‘Harnessing Skills for Rural Transformation and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals’ held at the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, the agency said Africa has the youngest population and the fastest growing population in the world, predicted to double by 2050, pointing out that this has a major impact on the employment market. Although 10 to 12 million young people join the labour

Customer-focused telecommunications company, 9mobile, has said that its Iska Weather (forecast) service launched recently in partnership with weather forecasting portal, Ignitia, has gained impressive traction among the target users over the short period since its introduction. The telecom firm said users have commended the innovative service because of the positive impact it has had on their businesses. A user, Jibrin Yakubu Gama – a Kano-based businessman, in his testimonial said, “I use the weather forecast for trading. It helps me know how to schedule my plans for the day.” Another subscriber, Nazif Umar, lauded the service in these words, “I

By Dipo Olowookere Leading retail solutions and services company providing business intelligence (BI) to the retail sector, banks, museums, airports and casinos, and serving more than 400 retailers in over 38 countries, Sàvant Data System (SDS), is unveiling its subscription-based platform for business intelligence at the 36th GITEX Technology Week, being held between October 16 and October 20 at Dubai World Trade Centre. Founded in the year 2000, SDS helps organizations to develop new insights into making their business more efficient and successful. The company is a pioneer in focusing entirely on optimizing the shopper experience. Its analytics software and