Feature/OPED
Reflecting on a Catholic Priest’s 30 years Of Liberal Thoughts
By Jerome-Mario Utomi
Taken objectively, Rev. Fr. Victor Ibude, from Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria, is a Catholic Priest ordained about 30 years ago precisely in the year 1993, who in the first instance went to the seminary with no ambition of becoming a priest but only went in thanksgiving to God for aiding him score distinction in his examination as conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC).
He was, however, through divine arrangement and natural order of things, ordained a Priest of the Catholic Church on the aforementioned date.
Essentially, by his ordination which was administered by His Lordship, Most Rev. (Dr) Anthony Gbuji, Bishop of Issele-Uku Diocese (as he then was), Fr. Victor, like other Rev. Fathers in the catholic faith, became a Priest, a Prophet and a King, laced with the capacity to perform every spiritual, human and other responsibility associated with the position/office.
Beyond these statutory responsibilities, a peep into his 30-year existential journey in Priesthood reveals something new and different. He is not only embodied with a spiritual relationship with God, which of course is a prerequisite demand for the vocation but principally exudes a liberal thought system that positively defines his views and approach to issues.
The above unique attributes daily manifest through exceptional intellectual achievements among other documented feats. recently came to the fore during a media parley with him, as part of a programme lined up to mark his 30th Priestly ordination cum book presentation slated for Sunday, December 10, 2023, in Alisimie village, Ika South Local Government Area of Delta state.
Aside from revealing that he has authored over fifty (50) books on different topical issues, with plans underway to hit 100 books at a record time, Fr. Ibude, who was a Professor of Philosophy, used to his credit, the opportunity provided by the interview to highlight on critical human and developmental issues as well as addressing some unsettled religious doctrinal commentaries.
Beginning with insight into his choice of priesthood as against other fields of endeavours, Fr. Ibude explained that his going to the seminary was a result of an event that occurred during his West African Examination Council WAEC examination.
He said in part; when I had my first WAEC, I did not pass all my papers. Then, I went to Lagos where I showed my results to my siblings. I was enrolled to attend a lesson. While attending the lesson, I was still active in church. My elder brother, Edward reported me to my elder sisters, telling them I was too ‘churcheous’ and not focusing on my studies.
So, there was a conference over the matter and during the discussion, I told them that my result was already known to me. So, I mentioned that I would score distinctions in the forthcoming examination. My brother decided to make a bet with me that if I should score any distinction, he would give me twenty naira (N20). At the end of the day, when the result was released and I had distinctions, my brother wrote me a letter telling me that God wrote the examination for me. Then since God wrote the examination for me, I decided to go and thank him by going to the Seminary.
Asked if he believes in reincarnation, which happens to be one of the doctrines that the Catholic Church frowns at, he answered this way;, as a Catholic and a Christian, I was going with the waves that the church does not believe in reincarnation. However, I wrote my first work on reincarnation when I was in secondary school class five. The title was The Wonders of Reincarnation. Now, I learnt from my parents. My father was not a Catholic. He belonged to Cherubim and Seraphim. They taught me and my siblings how each of us was incarnate of somebody who was gone. The stories were so clear to me and that was how I started getting interested in the fact that these people were giving us facts that you can see.
So, why are we having doubts about this? Eventually, when I entered seminary, I decided to give myself into understanding of the philosophy of reincarnation. I started researching on it. Eventually, my final thesis in philosophy was on reincarnation. Then what was my conclusion?
My conclusion was that there exists reincarnation. That was where the issue is. How did I come to that conclusion knowing that the church does not believe in reincarnation? Luckily for me, because of my test, I came across the work of Saint Paul in 1st Thessalonians 5 v 23, where St. Paul talked about the tripartite nature of man.
All the while, we talked about the dual nature of man. Man is soul and body. We don’t talk about the third part of man which is the spirit. So, when I came across this version of St. Paul of man being three and not two, the whole mystery of reincarnation became so clear. Reincarnation happens in reality not because of the soul but because of the spirit.
So, as we speak, my position on it is still the same.
As for the church’s position, it is still not clear about the whole idea because the church essentially is the people in it. And the people in it are the theologians. Theologians are the people studying it. So, it is a work in progress. We’re still studying, we’re still doing our research and we’re still writing on it. He stressed.
From doctrinal commentary to evaluation of his 30years sojourn on earth as a Priest, again, he captured it this way; well, the journey has been a serious one. There was a time I had a serious challenge. At that time, some issues were provoking me. One, as a priest, I found out that the word Father was no longer a name but a demand. People make demands of you. I was not sure I could carry the load of the challenge of people’s demands. That was one.
The second one was discovering that ordination does not make you a saint automatically. I thought passion dies with ordination. That was when I decided I wanted to go to the monastery. And I went to the monastery. I was in the monastery for about a week because I was studying their spirituality. After that, I decided I was going to live a monastic life. I asked for permission but the bishop refused. That was how I didn’t go to the monastery, he concluded.
Asked about his position on the proliferation and commercialization of churches, the Man of God, declared that he has no problem with such development. Quoting John Cardinal Onaikan, when he was asked about the issue of church proliferation, he came out with the notion that it would have been worse if there were no churches. That was his position and if you look at it, these churches are still relevant. Take as an illustration; if people are left on their own without churches, they tend to be worse off. The church has succeeded in making us better.
Continuing, he added the commercialisation of churches on its part has an advantage too. We the Catholics, without this Commercialization of churches, don’t think we would have been challenged to be evangelical and charismatic. They have their relevance. Look at Europe and America where the churches are not as challenged as we are here, you could see that the churches there are dying. So, it is to our advantage.
While noting that the church is doing something but not doing enough to curb the moral decadence in society, the Catholic cleric insisted that the church in itself accommodates culture. ‘It is called inculturation. And for some time now, I’ve been doing what is called inculturation mass where i incorporate tradition into the mass. I’ve been having it in many of the parishes because the church made provision for this. It’s just that we Africans don’t seem to be open to these things. We the blacks don’t seem to appreciate what we have’.
Asked to explain why he reportedly threw up controversy in his Seminary days with his assertion that catholic priests marry, he answered, saying; Yes, I was trying to throw up a controversy. In my class 6 in the seminary, I was having difficulties with the system. Like I said, I was into music. So, my life was a social life. They were already telling me that I was too social and that it was not the life of a priest.
But I was not giving it up because that was what I liked. So, it was clear to me that those in charge were not comfortable with it. And the only thing they could do was to send me away but how they were going to send me away, I didn’t know. So, when the examination came, they asked me the question and I said it was a way of them telling me to go. I was not even afraid of going in the first place. So, that was why I did that.
Asked what kept him going as a Priest despite the challenges in the past thirty years, Fr. Victor has this to say, listen to him; Well, I would say it’s my prayer life. I have a very rigorous prayer life. I have a basic prayer system. Like every day, I spend one hour in church. It’s a practice I learnt in secondary school and I kept doing it.
On his active involvement in active charity, the Priest succulently explained as follows; well, growing up. Like in primary school, I used to follow the African Culture where your siblings and relations usually eat together. When we cook rice, it’s always a special day. Each time they come, my siblings will expect me to share my food with my age mates. It makes me uncomfortable because why will I be sharing my food? Why don’t they have their own? At that moment, I was challenged. Charity was difficult for me but from that background, I was forced to give up what is mine.
From that moment also, I started learning. I had to learn on time because it was becoming an issue. From there, I started learning how to give out to the poor. I started giving to the extent that when it was time for my first WAEC that was one of the reasons why I didn’t pass my first WAEC. The money I was given for Agric practical, as I was on my way to pay it, I met a beggar. I took the money and gave the beggar. So, that has been the background.
Asked to advise public officeholders and Nigerians as a whole, he called on all to seek the face of God.
‘For a long time now, I have something I call my NGO. The NGO aims to help solve matters that are within my reach. If I am driving along the road and I see that there is something on the road, I will stop and remove it. I have been preaching it and have also been living with it. Do something for somebody. Charity is our African philosophy. It’s just that we have lost it. And if everybody is good to the other, everybody will be comfortable. Nobody will be stealing. People are stealing because we are not appreciative of what we have’.
On his proposed University and retreat centre, Father explained that he started thinking about having a retreat centre where people can go to rest, to be on their own because Agbor doesn’t have that. So, that was how the whole thing started.
‘After that, I realized also that there is a lot of knowledge that has not been encapsulated in this part of the world. We have so much to offer. Also, we don’t have anywhere to go for a holiday here. If I’m thinking of going on holiday, I’m always thinking of leaving the vicinity. But why am I going out? It’s because I can hardly find places to go around here. So, this is the idea behind it,’ he concluded.
By Shmuel Ja’Mba Abm
In a report filed by The Business Standard on August 8, 2026, India, the current BRICS chair, opposes a proposal for a common currency to counter the US dollar.
The Indian Commerce Minister, Piyush Goyal, told reporters in Jaipur, Rajasthan, northwestern India, after a two-day BRICS trade and industry meeting, that India was not in favour of a BRICS currency. He added that India did not support the introduction of any such BRICS currency scheme.
It is good these things are showing signs at this early stage of attempts by BRICS member countries to crystallise a research finding published by a British economist at Goldman Sachs, Jim O’Neil, in 2001.
None of the leaders and country members of BRICS ever conceived on record the formation of such an economic or political bloc until the research publication, which spurred leaders of the mentioned countries to marshal resources and begin a dialogue of formalisation.
The current membership that started involuntarily with just Brazil, Russia, India, and China as a concept published by a research economist, that later included South Africa, now has 10 members – Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia.
Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam are designated partner countries that participate in framework meetings without full voting rights.
Originally, the publication by Jim O’Neil wasn’t intended or proposed as a vehicle for the political grouping that has drawn the attention of the rest of the world, as mentioned members took a step further from the appraisal or assessment paper to coalesce into a political force overflowing its original boundaries today.
For the above reasons, the initial step of early contacts was to take advantage of things in common in member countries for the stimulation of economic growth and global prosperity. At that stage, suspicions were managed, and plans didn’t consider historical political differences and disagreements as grounds for suspicion or discontinuation of cooperation.
Of course, China and India had trust issues over decades of border disputes. And in the early stages of heightened escalations of the Russian-Ukrainian relationship when India offered to mediate and broker for ceasefire and eventual peace, Russia wasn’t sceptical but took steps to host the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
But at the back of the mind of the Russian-Indian relationship, history was revealing about betrayals, especially after what the country endured in assassinations of leading members of the Indian National Congress, that killed Indira Gandhi and swept her son, Rajiv Gandhi, and thereafter ravaged the family dynasty with threats of violence.
These paved the way for the emergence of the Bharatiya Janata Party, a Hindu nationalist party, and its leader, Narendra Modi. The BJP is not directly responsible for the intimidation and violent campaign against the INC, a close former Soviet-era ally of Russia, but a beneficiary. There are grounds to suspect a frosty relationship with Russia, although concealed in diplomatic niceties and global market dynamics of cross-border business and trade.
India turned into the redistribution hub of Russian discounted grains and oil supplies as a third country, after sanctions were imposed on Russia in what Russia described as demilitarisation and denazification special operations in Ukraine.
India is considered by Western powers as a democracy. It was once a British colony, gaining independence on August 15, 1947. It is also a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. On a normal day, it doesn’t add or take away anything. But under these circumstances, these are serious factors to consider in arriving at a decision.
Be it as it may, China and Russia have found their way out in world trade, bypassing SWIFT. China operates the Cross-border Inter-bank Payment System, whilst Russia is running the System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS). India has IMPS and NEFT. In principle, these payment systems bypass SWIFT and the US dollar, nonetheless.
As the world waits to hear India back its dissenting views with supporting facts, world trade will never remain the same again.
Shmuel Ja’Mba Abm has extensive scholarly publications that establish him as a leading academic expert in regional geopolitical dynamics and diplomatic relations in Africa. Author of e-monographs on geopolitics, ethnic conflicts, and political philosophy.
Feature/OPED
What Dangote’s Reported $40bn Private-Placement Valuation Could Mean for Nigerian Investors, NGX
Dangote Petroleum Refinery could become an unusually large part of Nigeria’s stock market if its eventual IPO valuation is close to the roughly $40 billion implied by a recent private placement.
EBC Financial Group (EBC) highlights that this would value the refinery at about N54.63 trillion, using the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market rate of N1,365.6856 per USD on August 7. Against the N158.513 trillion value of companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on the same date, adding the refinery at that value would produce a market worth about N213.14 trillion, with Dangote Refinery accounting for 25.6%.
This scenario assumes the full $40 billion equity value is reflected in NGX market capitalisation and other listed company values remain unchanged. At that size, movements in the company could become highly visible across the Nigerian equity market, although its actual influence on NGX indices may depend on the shares available for public trading and the relevant index rules.
David Precious, Senior Market Analyst at EBC Financial Group, said: “If Dangote Refinery entered the Nigerian Exchange at close to a $40 billion valuation, it could account for roughly one-quarter of the resulting NGX market value. If that valuation is difficult to support, few shares are available for public trading, or investors need to reduce other Nigerian holdings to participate, the effects could extend across Nigeria’s equity market, including existing NGX-listed companies and their shareholders.”
A Private Transaction Can Indicate Value, but Public Investors Need Financial Evidence
Based on the private transaction, $40 billion provides an indication of Dangote Refinery’s value, but it does not establish the eventual IPO price. Details published on August 4 said a $2.5 billion private placement for a 6% stake implied a valuation of roughly $40 billion. The proposed initial public offering (IPO) was reported to target about $5 billion, while the eventual IPO valuation and percentage offered to the public were not disclosed. This is important as a private transaction may produce a different valuation from the price a broad group of public investors is prepared to accept.
For context, public equity market values cited alongside the transaction were about $12 billion for Türkiye’s Tupras and $16 billion for US-listed HF Sinclair. The Dangote figure is about 3.3 times Tupras and 2.5 times HF Sinclair. They are not direct comparisons because profitability, debt, operations and growth plans differ. The gap nevertheless increases the need for audited earnings, cash flow, debt and investment plans that explain what supports the higher valuation.
The reported $5 billion fundraising target is equivalent to about N6.83 trillion at the August 7 exchange rate, or approximately 4.3% of the N158.513 trillion existing NGX market value. Proposed $5 billion raise. If new Nigerian or foreign money funds the offer, the pool of capital invested in Nigerian equities could expand. If investors sell current holdings to participate, capital could instead move away from other listed companies.
Publicly Tradable Shares and New Investment Could Shape the Wider Market Impact
NGX rules show why total company value does not tell investors how much stock they can actually trade. Main Board companies can qualify through either 20% public ownership held by at least 300 shareholders or publicly tradable shares worth at least N20 billion. The Premium Board value alternative is N40 billion. Holdings controlled by promoters, directors and close relatives, government, or strategic investors owning at least 5% are excluded from qualifying public shares.
This means a company worth tens of trillions of naira could still have a much smaller amount of stock available for regular trading if ownership remains concentrated. The key issue is therefore how much of Dangote Refinery becomes accessible to public investors and how widely those shares are held.
Regional investment could also affect the outcome. Details published on 4 August indicated engagement involving South Africa, Kenya, Egypt, Ghana and Rwanda, including possible Kenyan participation of up to $500 million, although no allocations were confirmed. The Johannesburg Stock Exchange separately said Dangote Group had shown strong intent to pursue a South African listing after Nigeria. Regional participation in the Nigerian offer could bring new capital directly into Nigerian equities. A later South African listing could broaden access but would not itself increase money raised through the Nigerian IPO.
Pension funds face the same question of capital allocation. The National Pension Commission (PenCom) waived the usual existence, profitability and dividend requirements so Pension Fund Administrators can consider the IPO, while retaining internal investment policies, risk-management requirements and duties to contributors and retirees. PenCom Circular on Dangote Refiner. PenCom states that the dispensation is exceptional, one-off and specific to this proposed IPO.
Pension funds held N5.907 trillion in domestic ordinary shares at the end of June, compared with the offer’s approximately N6.83 trillion equivalent. This does not imply pension funds would finance the offer. It shows why managers must consider exposure to one company and whether participation requires reducing other investments.
Precious added, “Dangote being listed could become a turning point for Nigeria’s equity market if it brings wider public ownership and additional African capital. Investors still need clear evidence supporting the valuation, clarity on how much of the company they can trade and an explanation of where the money raised will go. Those answers will determine whether the listing expands the Nigerian equity market or concentrates more investment around one company.”
An approved prospectus should clarify the valuation, shares offered, public ownership and use of proceeds. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said on June 23 that no IPO application had then been filed or approved and ordered unauthorised pre-marketing to stop. Details published on 4 August later said an IPO application had been submitted, with regulatory approval expected in the following weeks. Until final terms are disclosed, the test for Nigeria is whether the listing combines a supportable valuation with broad public ownership and genuinely additional investment.
Feature/OPED
Moving the Stablecoin Conversation From Hype to Utility in Africa’s Next Payments Evolution
By Rajat Mishra
For much of the past decade, discussions around stablecoins have been dominated by cryptocurrency speculation. Increasingly, however, stablecoins are emerging as practical financial infrastructure for moving money across borders, managing liquidity and improving payment efficiency.
The real opportunity lies not in choosing between traditional finance and digital assets, but in building an integrated financial ecosystem where both work together to improve efficiency, broaden financial access and deepen economic connectivity across the continent.
Despite significant advances in financial inclusion and digital payments, moving money across African borders remains far more difficult than it should be. Businesses continue to face challenges when making cross-border payments. Fragmented payment networks, multiple intermediaries, and lengthy settlement processes increase costs and create operational inefficiencies.
Remittance providers, the specialised financial services that millions rely on to send money home, face many of the same structural challenges. These providers play a critical role across the continent. In fact, 19 of Africa’s 54 countries receive remittance inflows equivalent to at least 4% of their GDP. Yet Africa remains the world’s most expensive region to send money to.
These challenges are not a reflection of remittance providers themselves, but of the fragmented banking and settlement infrastructure underpinning international money movement. Financial institutions must often manage liquidity across multiple disconnected currency markets while relying on complex correspondent banking networks and clearing systems. The result is higher costs, slower settlements, and capital that remains unnecessarily locked up.
One of the most immediate opportunities for stablecoins lies in improving cross-border settlement. Consider a Kenyan business importing goods from South Africa. Under traditional settlement models, payments often pass through multiple correspondent banking relationships, involve several foreign exchange conversions, and can take days before funds reach the intended recipient.
Stablecoin-enabled settlement rails have the potential to reduce much of this friction by enabling value to move more efficiently between financial institutions across markets. The result can be shorter settlement times, greater transparency and improved predictability for businesses operating across borders.
The benefits extend well beyond businesses. For millions of Africans working abroad, remittances remain a financial lifeline, helping families pay school fees, healthcare costs and daily living expenses. Yet sending money home often involves navigating a complex chain of money transfer operators, correspondent banks, and local payout partners, with each additional layer introducing costs and delays.
Stablecoins can help streamline the backend movement of funds between institutional participants, reducing settlement costs and improving efficiency across the value chain.
For end users, the advantage is simplicity. Recipients do not need to interact with, or even understand stablecoins directly. They continue to receive money through familiar, trusted channels, whether a local bank account or mobile money wallet, only faster and at a lower cost.
Beyond payments, stablecoins also address one of the less visible but most significant challenges in cross-border finance: liquidity management. Financial institutions operating across multiple markets must constantly ensure they have sufficient funds in the right currency, in the right jurisdiction and at the right time. Today, this often requires pre-funding accounts across multiple countries, a costly practice that traps large amounts of capital and limits financial flexibility.
Stablecoins introduce a new model for moving value across borders in near real time, enabling institutions to manage liquidity dynamically as demand arises. This can reduce the need for large pre-funded balances, improve treasury efficiency and free up capital that can be deployed more productively. Ultimately, these efficiencies can translate into faster settlements, lower costs, and better services for businesses and consumers alike.
However, the true value of stablecoins will not come from isolated blockchain networks operating independently of existing financial systems. Their long-term impact will depend on how effectively they integrate with banks, mobile money platforms, payment service providers and existing payment infrastructure. Interoperability will be critical to ensuring payment flows move seamlessly between systems, markets and currencies. The goal should be to strengthen and modernise today’s payment ecosystem, not replace it.
From experiment to infrastructure: what global moves are telling us
Some of the clearest signals that stablecoins are moving from experimentation to infrastructure are coming from card networks. Mastercard’s reported agreement to acquire BVNK, valued at up to $1.8 billion, points to a strategic investment in the settlement layer connecting stablecoin rails with traditional banking and reflects growing institutional confidence in stablecoin-enabled cross-border payments.
Visa’s expansion of stablecoin-backed cards through Stripe’s Bridge to more than 100 countries reflects a complementary strategy. Rather than acquiring infrastructure outright, Visa is leveraging its existing global network as the final distribution layer for stablecoin-funded payments.
The inclusion of African markets is particularly significant. It signals growing confidence that stablecoin-backed payment instruments can operate alongside, and in some cases complement, the mobile money ecosystems that already dominate wallet-based payments across much of the continent.
Taken together, these developments point to a broader shift. Card payment networks are moving from observing the stablecoin conversation to investing directly in the infrastructure that underpins it. For Africa, the implication is not that stablecoins will replace existing payment rails, but that success will increasingly belong to institutions capable of orchestrating multiple settlement rails – cards, bank transfers, mobile money and stablecoins- within a unified, interoperable ecosystem. Local market expertise, regulatory relationships and last-mile distribution will remain decisive competitive advantages.
Building for scale through trust and regulation
But despite their potential, stablecoins cannot operate outside the boundaries of regulated financial systems. Their long-term viability across Africa depends on clear regulatory frameworks, robust compliance standards and trusted infrastructure that supports transparency, risk management and consumer protection.
We are already seeing this evolution. In markets such as South Africa, institutions facilitating cross-border settlements must navigate increasingly sophisticated regulatory requirements, including approvals for certain offshore crypto-related activities. Globally, initiatives such as the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) and expanded Travel Rule obligations are raising expectations around reporting, tax transparency and compliance.
These developments reinforce a simple reality: stablecoin infrastructure does not reduce compliance obligations. It raises the bar for governance, transparency and institutional risk management. The objective is not to bypass regulation, but to build interoperable payment systems that can innovate confidently within it.
From the edges to the plumbing
The stablecoin conversation is steadily moving beyond speculation and towards practical implementation. What once sat at the edges of the payments debate is becoming part of the plumbing of cross-border finance rather than a parallel system to it.
The question is no longer whether stablecoins have a role to play in payments. The question is where they deliver the greatest value. In Africa, that value is increasingly clear: faster settlement, improved liquidity efficiency and more connected cross-border commerce. The winners will not be those that replace existing financial systems, but those that successfully connect stablecoin rails with the banks, mobile money networks and payment providers that already power the continent’s economy.
For pan-African payment networks such as Onafriq, the priority is ensuring that emerging technologies complement the financial infrastructure businesses and consumers already trust, rather than introducing new layers of complexity.
The opportunity lies in connecting stablecoin settlement with banks, mobile money networks and payment providers, ensuring the benefits of this new infrastructure deliver tangible outcomes for African businesses and consumers.
Rajat Mishra is the CPO for Network Product & Deputy Group CPIO at Onafriq
