Archive for nigeriang

Customers apprehensive over data update deadline

Customers apprehensive over data update deadline

Bank customers are
apprehensive about the deadline for update of customers’ data, which
expired on December 31, 2010. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
recently directed banks to carry out an update on customer profile in
furtherance of its know-your-customer requirement. According to the
directive, customers that fail to comply will no longer have access to
their bank accounts.

A visit to some
banks in Lagos last week saw a lot of customers rushing to beat the
deadline. While many customers complained about the poor enlightenment
by the banks and the CBN, others called for an extension of the
deadline to enable more people comply with the directive. They
complained about the failure of the banks to notify them on time.

Poor enlightenment

A bank customer,
Ibrahim Buba, in Kaduna expressed disgust at the manner the regulator
was going about it. “How can they just expect us to comply within this
period? I only just got to know about it two weeks ago and I did not
take it serious thinking it was one of these scam notices,” Mr Buba
said.

He said he was surprised to get to his bank on Thursday only to see a huge crowd of customers who wanted to update their data.

“There ought to be
enlightenment campaign by the CBN to sensitise people on the need to do
this. In any case, what is the need for the rush? This thing ought to
be stretched over a long period instead of this current exercise that
is causing a lot of inconveniences to people.”

Another customer,
who declined to give his name, said he has no new information to supply
as previous data was still relevant. “But I went to my bank and they
told me I need to bring my drivers’ license, international passport or
utility bill and a new passport photograph,” he said.

First Bank had on
December 24 2010 sent email messages to customers informing them of the
CBN directive. “The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently directed all
Banks to have their entire customer’s data updated before December 31,
2010. In line with this, please visit any FirstBank branch nearest to
you, collect an update form, fill and submit to the Customer Service
Officer,” the message read. The bank advised customers to attach a
recent passport photograph and a photocopy of identification (National
ID, Driver’s license or International Passport to the form).

When this reporter
visited the Abibu Oki branch of First Bank on Thursday afternoon, a
number of already submitted forms were cited while others made effort
to complete theirs. A staff of the branch who did not want to be named
said so far, the response has been poor as not many customers are aware
of the directive.

“Even as a banker,
I only just updated my data with my bank today. The Central Bank may
have to extend this deadline to enable more people comply,” he said.

Compliance has been high

Efforts to speak to
Mohammed Abdullahi, the CBN spokesperson was not successful but a CBN
official who did not want his name mentioned because he was not
authorised to speak on the matter, said compliance has been high. “A
lot of people have been complying with the KYC (know-your-customer)
directive, from initial reports we have been receiving.”

He, however, said
the CBN is yet to take a decision on whether it will extend the
deadline. “We have not taken a decision yet on whether we will extend
the deadline. Until we get the full compliance report from all the
financial institutions, then we will decide whether to extend or not.”
According to him, the central bank has conducted a lot of enlightenment
campaigns to sensitise Nigerians on the exercise. “Campaigns have been
going on especially among the interagency on money laundering
comprising the EFCC (Economic and financial Crimes commission), United
Nations office on Drugs and Crimes and the CBN.

The Central Bank in October 2009 released a revised manual on anti-money laundering/Counter Terrorism Financing.”

According to the regulator, there are doubts about the veracity or
adequacy of previously obtained customer identification data, hence the
need for bank customers’ data update.

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End of the year bonanza

End of the year bonanza

The Federation
Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) last Friday held an emergency
meeting in Abuja to disburse the sum of $1 billion (about N150 billion)
from the Excess Crude Account to the three tiers of government.

The meeting, coming
barely two weeks since it met last, lasted for less than half an hour,
and largely secretive, as the chief press secretary, Ministry of
Finance, Usman Nakorji, declared it was not for press coverage.

“Please don’t put me into trouble,” Mr. Nakorji pleaded.

“The meeting was
not meant for press coverage. It was an emergency, that is why they
said they did want the press to cover it,” he told anxious journalists,
who were interested to find out details about what informed the meeting
less than 24 hours to the end of the year.

It was, however,
gathered that President Goodluck Jonathan may have given approval for
the disbursement of the money following pressures from the state
governors as a trade off for their pledge to support his bid to secure
the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential ticket during its
forthcoming primaries scheduled for January 11.

Yawaba Lawan-Wabi,
the minister of state for finance, who presided over the meeting, which
lasted between 11:11 and 11:39 a.m., told reporters that the committee
got the presidential approval to meet and share the money among the
three tiers of government.

Presidential approval

“We are here now
because we got approval from the president to share $1 billion from the
Excess Crude Account (ECA) among the three tiers of government. We are
doing this because the ECA is a financing item of the 2010 budget of
both the federal and state governments,” Mrs. Lawan-Wabi said.

Against the
background of insinuations that the timing of the disbursement of the
money suggests it is politically-motivated, the minister justified the
decision, saying the three tiers of government needed to share the
money considering the recent approval by the National Assembly to
extend the 2010 budget year for capital projects to March 2011.

Details of the
disbursement indicate that the Federal Government would take $458.316
million, or 52.68 percent; 36 states, $232.464 million, or 26.72
percent; while $179.220 million, or 20.60 percent would go to the Local
Governments Councils, and $130 million, or 13 percent, would go to the
nine oil producing states as oil derivation revenue.

The immediate past
Accountant General of the Federation, Ibrahim Dankwambo, had during the
last FAAC meeting, announced that the balance of revenue in the
dollar-denominated ECA was about $1.9 billion.

With the latest
disbursement, it was learnt that the ECA, which had a balance of over
$20.01 billion as at July 2009, has now been depleted to about $3
million, excluding the $1 billion set aside for the proposed Sovereign
Wealth Fund (SWF).

Chairman,
Commissioners of Finance Forum, Rebo Usman, told journalists that the
emergency meeting became necessary to enable the committee give effect
to the presidential approval on the strength of the recommendation of
the National Economic Council (NEC) for the disbursement to the three
tiers of government for ongoing special projects in their domains.

“There is no way we
(FAAC) could have brought out money from the excess crude account
without the meeting of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee. We
had to convene the emergency meeting to take care of that decision by
the NEC,” Mr. Usman said.

Denying that the
disbursement was a new year bonanza for the states, he said the ECA is
savings for the states and Federal Government to fall back on whenever
they believe there is a need to fund some ongoing special projects,
pointing out that he is not worried that the account has gone down to
about $3 million, as government is planning to create the Sovereign
Wealth Fund for infrastructure development and immediate national needs.

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PERSONAL FINANCE: Financial mistakes to avoid in 2011

PERSONAL FINANCE: Financial mistakes to avoid in 2011

Below, we have
identified some of the more common financial mistakes that lead to
economic hardship so that you can try to avoid them in 2011.

Not having a financial plan

Apart from maybe
winning the lottery, or inheriting a fortune, financial success doesn’t
just happen. Most people live from day to day adopting a “spend as you
go” lifestyle with no clear plan in place to save for specific future
events or protect their families from unforeseen circumstances. Are
there big financial decisions you need to make, like buying a house or
a car, paying your children’s school fees? If you don’t plan for such
events, you might not have the outcome you envisaged.

The adage “if you
fail to plan, you plan to fail” highlights the importance of having a
clearly defined plan or achievable goal in place that you can work
towards. You can’t just sit back and expect things to fall into place.
It’s your money; if you are not proactive about your finances, nobody
will do it for you. Even though you can’t predict the future, you can
be better prepared for it if you plan ahead.

Borrowing on behalf of someone else

A good friend asks
you to help them get a loan from their bank. You then accede to the
offer and borrow in your name on their behalf and sign off on the
dotted line. Your friend may have very good intentions at the time of
borrowing but if they should run into financial difficulty and fail to
pay you back, you are liable to pay the loan back in full.

If your friend or
relation couldn’t get a loan through a bank or other lender, there may
have been a good reason for the decline. Be very careful in considering
such a request if you are approached.

Not paying back money you owe

One of the worse
mistakes you can ever make is not paying back money that you owe. This
might be a large financial loan or a small personal loan from a
relative or friend. Ideally, you should not get into the habit of
borrowing but worse still is getting into the habit of not paying it
back on time or even at all. Eventually, it all comes back to haunt you
as no one will want to lend you money, even if it is just to tide you
over a difficult patch.

Don’t invest in what you don’t understand

What works for one
person may not work for another as each person’s risk profile, goals,
and circumstances, differ. In 2008, many people heard about the
possibility of borrowing to buy the latest “hot” stocks; many
un-informed investors jumped on the bandwagon without really
understanding margin investing and were left in debt.

Putting your money
in investment vehicles that you do not understand or getting involved
in some of those “get-rich-quick” scams can have devastating
consequences. Invest only in what you understand and try to make
financial decisions based on adequate research and advice from
experienced and tested professionals.

Ignoring the stock market

Even if you were
one of the thousands of people that got burnt during the stock market
crash, it is a big mistake is to ignore it completely. With some blue
chip stocks still selling at considerable discounts, it is an ideal
time to invest. If you have been scared away from the markets, at least
consider buying into a mutual fund. This way, your portfolio would be
more diversified than buying individual stocks and this reduces your
risk.

Be careful not to speculate; consider your risk appetite, your time horizon, and your goals before investing.

Not having adequate insurance

Most Nigerians are
under-insured. Imagine the number of people who do not have even third
party insurance in respect of their cars! Not having adequate insurance
in place can have devastating effect on your finances should you hit an
expensive car when you are at fault. The bill could run into hundreds
of thousands of naira. Yet, the simple payment of the annual premium
could help one avoid this.

Accidents do
happen. Nobody wants to be left paying expensive hospital bills or
witnessing a family unable to make ends meet because of the untimely
death of its primary breadwinner. Make sure your health insurance is up
to date and that you have adequate life insurance particularly if you
are the bread-winner of a young family.

Borrowing to buy a car that you can’t afford

Thousands of new
cars are sold each year, but very few buyers can actually afford to pay
cash for them. Remember that by borrowing money to buy a car, you are
paying interest on an asset that starts to lose value from the moment
you leave the car showroom. Of course, many people have no choice but
to take out a loan to buy a car. Some vehicles are very expensive to
buy, insure, fuel and maintain. If you need to buy a car and must
borrow to do so, consider buying one that is fuel-efficient and with
reasonable maintenance costs.

Likewise, avoid
buying a house that you can barely afford. It is great to have masses
of space but naturally, a large house requires significant expense in
terms of maintenance and utilities. Instead, identify a property that
is less than what the bank says you can afford. That way, your payments
will be manageable and you can continue to build your savings and
financial security.

Living above your means

Yes, of course
there is a thrill in getting behind the driver’s seat of your brand new
car and inhaling the new car smell, but living beyond your means can
put you into a precarious financial position. Trying to have someone
else’s lifestyle is a big mistake.

Many young people
believe they should be able to move straight into a perfect apartment
in a nice area with all the latest gadgets. This is a lifestyle that
you build up to and strive to achieve usually through the dint of
several years of hard work and savings.

Keeping up with the
Jones, or with your own parents who have been working and earning for
several years, is one of the most damaging things you can do for your
future financial security.

Putting money above everything else

While most people
don’t do enough towards achieving financial success, there are others
whose priorities have become so warped that money takes the first
position in their lives. Remember that money is simply a tool, a means
to an end, and should never be considered the end in itself.

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A litany of failed promises

A litany of failed promises

The reform process in the petroleum industry appears to have stagnated, as the draft Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), conceived to establish a fresh legal, regulatory, monitoring and commercial framework for the industry to repeal the outdated Petroleum Act of 1969, is still awaiting National Assembly approval. The proposed law is expected to usher in a revised fiscal sys-tem in the industry, with the introduction of Company Income Tax (CIT) payment regime for all operators, as well as a Nigerian Hydrocarbon Tax (NHT) to replace the current Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) arrangement.

On the one hand, the multi-national oil companies, under the aegis of the Oil Producers’ Trade Section (OPTS) of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce, have continued to criticise the fiscal terms in the law as capable of stalling investments. The aggregate impact of the multiple taxes proposed in the PIB through increased royal-ties and taxes as well as removal of incentives to operators, the OPTS argues, will create un-certainties capable of adversely affecting industry capacity to invest in new exploration and production projects. They also query the demand for their compliance with the provisions of the Nigerian Con-tent Act, which was initiated to give legal teeth to government’s aspiration to ensure that about 70 percent of the nation’s oil and gas operations are domiciled in-country, to guarantee that indigenous Nigerian service companies are accorded exclusive considerations in the award of contracts and services on land and swamp operating areas of the nation’s oil and gas industry.

Besides, the companies also contest the requirement for mandatory relinquishment of 50 percent of Oil Prospecting Licences (OPLs) and Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) after five years of the expiration of the initial exploration period leading to commercial discovery, and have mobilised every resource at their disposal to instigate a review. On the other hand, government is saying that the proposed law would guarantee more revenue to the country, while more opportunities would be guaranteed for Nigerian firms to participate in the development of the industry. The NNPC claims government may be losing about $55.4 million (about N825.46 bilion) monthly as a result of the continued delay in passing the PIB by the National Assembly, while the petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, said government anticipates an average of $18 billion (about N2.7 trillion) as savings from its total annual budget for the nation’s oil and gas industry if the Nigerian Content Law works. The strategic aspirations in the upstream sector of the industry included increasing the country’s daily oil production capacity from an average of 2.3 million barrels to about 4.5mil-lion barrels, and national crude oil reserve from 33 billion to 40 billion barrels by the end of the year. Though the industry, in re-cent times, has witnessed improvements in oil production activities consequent upon the positive impact of the amnesty programme for Niger Delta militant groups, the capacity is hardly near set targets by government.

Limited progress downstream

In the downstream sector of the petroleum industry, government’s plan was to effectively end the importation of petroleum products for domestic consumption over the next decade as well as ensure that Nigeria becomes a key player in the competitive world of inter-national trading in petroleum products worldwide. Though the ability of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) man-aged to keep the supply of petrol to consumers at the retail price of N65 per litre, even in the face of unstable fundamentals at the international oil market, indications are that this appears threatened, as marketers have already demanded a review of the pricing template to reflect the current market realities and ensure adequate cost recovery.

Denial of extractive industry validation

Perhaps, the biggest failure by government in the energy sector appears to have been the country’s failure to get the validation by the EITI Board as Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) com-pliant nation last October. Out of the eight ‘Candidate countries’ whose applications were pending before the validation committee of the inter-national transparency body, only Ghana and Mongolia were confirmed, while Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, and Kyrgyzstan, were given various schedules till next April to remedy their status. The implication was that de-spite being one of the foremost countries to sign up to the EITI principles, Nigeria was not doing enough to promote transparency, accountability, and openness in the management of her extractive industries.

Failed Power road map

Last August, the Federal Government launched the Power Sector Road Map with the objective of raising the country’s electricity generation capacity to at least 5,500 mega watts (MW) by last December. Under the action plan, about 2,278 MW was to come from Federal Government-owned gas -fired power plants; about 1,230MW from the refurbished existing hydro power stations; about 350MW from the National Integrated Power Projects; and about 1,520MW from Independent Power Producers (IPPs). Adequate gas supply, which has always been cited as reason for failure of key power plants to function, was not going to be a problem, as government had given assurance of ad-equate stock at about one billion standard cubic feet per day (BSCF/D), apart from about 325 million SCFD from ongoing short term projects.

However, rather than improve, the level of electricity supply has continued to de-cline, with current generation capacity hovering at around 3,000MW as at last December, with no significant milestones in progress in the roadmap. Besides, the power sector re-form scheduled to end by the end of the year with the privatisation of the 18 successor companies from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) only recently reached the stage of invitation of expression of interests (EOIs) by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) from prospective core investors in 11 electricity distribution and six transmission companies.

Prostrate Steel sector

Earlier in the year, government had given indication that technical audit of the Ajaokuta Steel Company (ASC) and its affiliate, the National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO), would facilitate the process to restore operations in the two companies before the end of the year. That appears far- fetched as the year rolled by. The situation in the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) in Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State, appears no different, as the plant’s production is still below installed capacity. The House of Representatives committee on privatisation and commercialisation had earlier in the year asked the management of the controversial core investors, UC Rusal, to immediately refund the sum of $120 million for breaching of the February 2007 Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) with the Federal Government for failure to ensure the complete turn around and modernisation of the plant, including the dredging of the Imo River Channel, within three months.

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Asset Corporation takes off with first tranche of bond

Asset Corporation takes off with first tranche of bond

The stage is set for the revitalisation
of the Nigerian economy with the issuance of bond certificates by the
Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to 21 banks.

This took place in Lagos last Friday
and signaled the transfer of non performing loans (NPLs) to the asset
company and the issuance of zero coupon bond worth N1.036 trillion to
the banks.

Aliyu Belgore, AMCON chairman, said the
bond has the guarantee of the federal government and the full support
of the executive and legislature.

“We are making history today where many
have failed or not even dared to try. AMCON will help in shoring
confidence in our banking system, reinvigorate the capital market, and
guarantee the soundness of the financial system and Nigeria’s sovereign
credit rating,” Mr. Belgore said.

The bond, which is coming with a yield
of 10.125 percent, is due in 2013. The bond was issued to the eligible
financial institutions for AMCON to acquire the eligible banks assets
comprising almost all the NPLs in the nine intervened banks as well as
margin related NPLs from the non intervened banks.

Swap with tradable bonds

Mofoluke Dosumu, executive director,
finance and operations, said the initial consideration bonds were the
first instruments rolled out to absorb the non performing loans in the
banking system.

“Within the first quarter of 2011, we
will be swapping these with another set of tradable bonds. We will be
issuing more bonds as we buy up more non performing loans, which is up
to N3 trillion in total,” Mrs. Dosunmu said in a telephone interview.

At a parley with bank executives on
December 16, she said that the essence of the intervention is to buy
the non performing loans and to cater for their capital adequacy. She
added that the liquidity of the bonds will be enhanced as it will not
only be held by banks but also fund managers, pension fund
administrators, insurance companies, trustees, and custodians.

On the valuation method, she said the
non performing loans secured without underlying collateral will be
bought at five percent of the principal sum.

“For the listed shares, it will be
valued on a 60 days average on the NSE trading platform counting back
from November 15 with a 60 percent premium on the price,” Mrs. Dosunmu
further said.

She said unlisted assets will not be taken in the first tranche of bonds to be issued.

Giant stride

Director general of the Securities and
Exchange Commission, Arunma Oteh, said the transfer of the NPLs from
the books of the banks will have positive impact on the Nigerian
capital market.

“I look forward to when the bonds will
be tradable. It is a giant stride in addressing the challenges we have
faced over the last two years. The capital market is truly an enabler
of our economy. If we have relied on oil all these years, it is time to
leverage on capital market to build businesses and boost
entrepreneurship skills of Nigerians,” Mrs. Oteh said.

The event was attended by chief
executives officers of 10 banks namely Oceanic Bank, GT Bank, Afribank,
Intercontinental, Spring, Zenith, First Bank, UBA, Union Bank, and
Ecobank. All the other banks were represented apart from Citi, Standard
Chartered, and Stanbic IBTC.

The board members of each bank has
individual and collective responsibilities for the accuracy of the
information provided, especially as regards the valuation of the assets
handed over to AMCON. AMCON will manage these assets and sell off at a
later date to recoup its investment.

In the AMCON law, which is yet to be
made public, the asset company can take over assets of bank debtors
which are not charged as collateral while banks or customers found to
have made false representation on valuation can attract a jail term of
three years or fine of N5 million.

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What’s On

What’s On

Crown Troupe: Presents Bode Osanyin’s ‘Omo Odo’ directed by Segun Adefila – Terra
Kulture, Tiamiyu Savage Street, Victoria Island, Lagos. 3pm and 6pm.
Today

The Contest: Dance production by the National Troupe of Nigeria – National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos. Today.

ANA Lagos: Association reads in honour of late Adolphus Amasiatu – Aina Onabolu
Gallery, National Theatre, Lagos. 3pm. January 8.

Green Summary: Exhibition by nine artists- Centre for Contemporary Arts, McEwen Street, Yaba, Lagos. Till January 21.

Please send details of art events 10 days in advance by SMS (07034086014) or email: culture@234next.com

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‘Bring back the Book’: An Open Letter to the President

‘Bring back the Book’: An Open Letter to the President

I was really
excited when I got a nomination to attend an interactive session with
you. I felt it was a wonderful idea that you were spearheading a
project, to get young Nigerians reading again. To the best of my
knowledge, it is the first time a sitting president will make an effort
to interact with young people at their level. I wasn’t sure what to
expect but made a mental note to be there anyway. Registration was
slated for 12pm but since I have a very annoying habit of showing up
early when I have appointments, I made it to EKO hotel around 10.30am.

Fortunately for me, the campaign had two sessions, the morning session
for the children and the one I was nominated for which was to start by
2.30pm or thereabouts. I made my way into the hall and sat quietly.
Soon enough, You and our very own Wole Soyinka, took your seats. After
acknowledging special guests in the hall, the programme kicked off in
earnest. You read from Chinua Achebe’s ‘Chike and the River’, while
Soyinka read from his book, ‘Ake: The Years of Childhood’.

Wrong crowd

I became
uncomfortable when I noticed the caliber of students present in the
hall: Atlantic Hall, Corona School etc. Using socio-economic
classification as a parameter, most of the schools there were of the
A-B category, with maybe a few C class representatives and in my head
I’m thinking, splendid idea, wrong crowd! The children seated in that
hall most likely had enough books to make a bookseller jealous, they
could compete with their mates around the world academically and
usually travel abroad for summer.

They need very little motivation to
read. Their parents are enlightened captains of industries and would
ensure their wards get the best education money can buy. They really
don’t have any hurdles to cross. Their parents already have their wills
written out, have a robust life insurance policy to take care of
happenstance and will be buried in Vaults and Gardens when they die.

The children who
need to hear the message are students of schools like Oke-Ira Grammar
School or JSS Nyanya where you’ll find 2000 students in JSS 2 alone
with half the class sitting on the floor. After school, they don’t kick
off their boots and watch cable TV, no! Their parents are hustlers;
plantain sellers, fabric merchants, petty traders, pure water hawkers,
you name it. When they get back from school, it’s time to work. They
pick up a tray of plantain or go to the shop to help the family keep
their head above water. They are the ones that need the hope your Bring
Back the Book campaign message brings because reading is the farthest
thing on their minds; the struggle for survival saps whatever energy is
left after a hard day at school where the class teacher would rather
sell buns and tasty-time than do her job. They are the ones that drop
out after JSS 3 due to lack of funds. A message like yours will help
them hope for a better tomorrow and strive to overcome the challenges
you overcame to be where you are today.

Wrong place

I also wondered why
a campaign about books and students took place in a 5 star hotel? It
would have been perfect if you interacted with the students in their
natural habitat-the classroom. Feel the heat they have to endure when
the sun beats the zinc roof above their heads, after which a stroll to
the school library, if there is any, will show you just how much work
there is ahead of us in terms of the quality of instruction being given
and basic infrastructure development in these schools.

The interactive
session with youths was a whole lot more fun than the morning session.
From Dbanj, Mo’Cheddah to Psquare, the performances were tight. I loved
the use of ICT to link other zones within the country and also give
them a chance to be part of the event even though poor audio output
marred the effort for the most part. The integration of music and
dance, which is an effective touch-point for young people, was a good
strategy. Joe Trippi, renowned to be one of the most sought-after
political strategists in the world, was at the event. His presence
helped register at the back of my mind that indeed, this was beyond
interaction, it was part of your campaign strategy to get us on your
side; you didn’t hide what you were trying to do and I thank you for
your sincerity.

Wrong speaker

TY Bello gave a
speech; and a young lady, Nana, can’t remember her last name now, spoke
on behalf of the North. Though she made sense to some extent, I did
notice one thing though: she spoke with a distinct American accent. My
conclusion: she didn’t school in Nigeria, so she probably wouldn’t
understand sitting at home for six months while the government and ASUU
try to resolve their differences, outdated libraries still stocked with
books my father read while he studied at the same university,
disgruntled lecturers who take out their frustration on you, standing
throughout a three-hour lecture with the lecturers using a public
address system to harass your eardrums and reading from the same lesson
note he’s been using for the past eight years. She might identify with
it, but it is only him that wears the shoes that knows where it
pinches. Toyosi Akerele gave a good account of herself, she spoke
fearlessly, and had me cracking up when she said ‘Why should an
85-year-old be so bent on determining a future he will not be a part
of…’ or something like that.

After your address
at the beginning of the event, I waited throughout the event for the
interaction to take place, sadly, it didn’t. Thinking strictly from a
business perspective, you lost a vital moment to sell your brand to a
captive audience. Talking about you as a brand, I ask: what is your
USP? Why should I vote for you and not every other candidate out there
promising Eldorado? The aim of the event is to generate goodwill for
you among the youths, but you see, you’ll need a whole lot more than
goodwill for the coming election because we are tired. Tired of the
lies, the failed promises, the corruption, the ineptitude, the
sycophancy, the grab-all-you-can-while-you-can mentality of people we
have trusted to lead us; and we want change! You are going to have to
convince a very powerful segment of the Nigerian population who have
become aware of the power of their vote and have vowed to make it count
come 2011, that you are the one for the job.

Wrong books

In the goodie bag
I got at the event were two books written by authors I have never met
with storylines I struggle hard to relate to. One was about the FBI and
the other revolved around 4 U.S Navy SEALS. All I could think of was
how much money Farafina or Cassava republic or Dada Books would have
made if you had chosen instead to give everyone in that hall copies of
book published by them.

Some suggestions

By virtue of the
job that I do, I have had to travel within Nigeria extensively and have
visited secondary schools in at least 30 out of the 36 states in the
country. One of such schools was a community school in Gidan Mai Akuya,
somewhere in Lafia. It was built and managed by locals. Out of
curiosity, I visited their library and found about 20 books in a school
populated by over a thousand students; SS3 students received lectures
in Hausa even though they were preparing for WAEC. It is no surprise
that WAEC failure rate is so high.

These are the kind of schools that
will benefit most from your project. Since plans are already underway
to distribute books worth billions of naira to schools, what mechanisms
have you put in place to ensure the books get to the end users? I ask
this lest we have the problem that plagues fertilizer distribution in
the country, where the product are hoarded from the farmers and later
sold at purportedly ‘subsidised’ rates.

I’ll suggest 2 approaches:

1. Code the books,
either by states, or geo-political zones or schools. That way, it will
be easy to track if the books end up in the market or someone’s
bookshop.

2. An independent
back-checking firm should conduct an audit and evaluation of
distribution by visiting school libraries and bookshops across the
nation, either systemically or randomly. That will help measure the
effectiveness of the BBtB campaign.

I honestly believe
that young people should drive the agenda for this country. We know the
future we want to see and where we want to go, allow us help you help
us get there. That’s what friends do.

Yours,

Naomi Lucas

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Sixteen were called, eight came

Sixteen were called, eight came

The fifth edition
of the Celebrity Reads Africa project and the biggest so far, took
place on December 18 at Terra Kulture in Lagos. This special edition
was meant to be a reading as well as career mentoring programme, as
students from select schools in Lagos were expected to be at the event.

Former FCT
Minister Nasir El Rufa; journalist and presidential aspirant, Dele
Momodu; hip-hop artist, Illbliss; RnB singer, Goldie; quirky TV host,
Denrele Edun; photographer, Kelechi Amadi-Obi; and comedian, Owen Gee,
were some of the celebs billed for the event.

However, of the 16
celebrities expected at the event, only eight of them showed up. These
were: artists Illbliss and Goldie; Denrele Edun; actress, Bhaira
Mcwizu; Beat FM radio presenter, Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi; TV presenter,
Seun Chukwuemeka; lecturer and author, Tosin Otitoju; and RnB singer,
Femi Adeyinka.

There were
students from Ace College, Ikorodu, and children from the Love On The
Streets project (LOTS), most of whom were of nursery and primary school
age.

Tosin Otitoju, a
lecturer in Engineering and Mathematics at the University of Lagos and
an author, opened the show by reading from her collection of poems,
‘Comrade’.

“I assume that in order to write, you have to read a lot,” Otitoju began.

“Reading can be an
integral part of being interesting. It helps you think. I am a lady,
and I don’t think a guy would have a chance with me if he didn’t read,”
she added humorously for the benefit of the teens in the audience.

Sex education

A spokesperson for
the initiative, Leaders with New Dimension (LEND), also chipped in some
vital information for the benefit of the teens. He read a piece about a
lad who was stunned by the news that his girlfriend was pregnant.

He asked the teens
how much they knew about their bodies. He disclosed that he works with
adolescents and that figures about the infection rate of sexually
transmitted diseases are alarming.

“Young people
should be responsible in what they do,” he advised and urged the
celebrities to talk to the students about adolescence, since they have
passed through it.

The closest anyone
came to talking about this issue was the remarkable poem recitation by
Dolapo Ogunwale. According to the poet, the poem ‘Breaking Chains’,
means letting go and not holding on to past hurts.

Bhaira Mcwizu gave
an interesting read from Asha Tyson’s ‘How I Retired At 26′. Bhaira,
who said her fondness for reading was shaped by her dotting mother,
also added that reading helped to expand her horizon. She advised the
children to make the most of their youth.

Seun Chukwuemeka,
before reading ‘Hadassah’, a work of Christian fiction by Tommy Tenney,
told the audience that the death of the reading culture is a global
phenomenon and not peculiar to Nigeria alone.

“Reading is
important. It transports you. I implore you. Start [small] and always
make sure you have a dictionary by your side,” she suggested.

Artiste Femi
Adeyinka, who is signed on to Kennis Music, told the students, “If I do
not read I cannot write my songs. I would not know certain words. I
probably could not sign a record deal and I could end up signing a bad
contract without knowing it.

“You read not just because you are in school, but because it’s an important part of life,” he added.

Singer, Goldie,
who bizarrely kept her dark glasses on even while she read, rendered an
excerpt from ‘The 50th Law’, a book by rapper, 50 Cent and writer,
Robert Greene.

“The greatest fear people have is of being themselves,” said the singer.

She went on to
name four people who stood out, by being themselves. She referred to
Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, and the originator of the social network
Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, who were regarded as nerds at school. There
was also talk show host, Oprah Winfrey, and pop singer, Lady Gaga.

“Yes, you are in school. You wear uniforms, but you have to stand out for yourself,” Goldie told the students.

Radio presenter,
Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi, read a humorous narrative about a lady in her
30s who is looking for a husband. She said that as a student, though,
she loved to read novels. She often got bored reading her school books
but realised that sometimes there was a price of discipline to pay for
the gains of success.

Illbliss read a proper book

Rapper Illbliss,
who came in with a huge hard cover copy of Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall
Apart’ which he read from, admitted that the recent proliferation of
computer gadgets has a way of taking one away from books. He said that
at age 11 his father made him read ‘Things Fall Apart’ and summarise
it, to familiarise him with his roots. “Ensure that you read about your
history,” he said.

Denrele came in
dressed in his usual punk ensemble. He read from some random book after
revealing that he had misplaced the book ‘Dancing the Dream’ by Michael
Jackson, which he had intended to read from. Perhaps, Denrele forgot
that he already read from the same Jackson book at an earlier edition
of Celebrity Reads Africa.

Speaking about the
project, Bede Okoro, the founder and coordinator of Celebrity Reads
Africa, said the project has enabled them to form good relationships
with some schools and charity organisations in Lagos.

“2011 will see the launching of Celebrity Reads in the UK and Ghana,” he revealed.

They also intend to start a radio and television version of the project.

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How Lamido Sanusi jazzed up Calabar Carnival

How Lamido Sanusi jazzed up Calabar Carnival

This year’s Calabar
Festival climaxed on Monday, December 27 with the colourful annual
carnival, perhaps now the most famous in Nigeria. Having had the
equally spectacular children carnival and cultural parade the previous
day, it was the turn of the senior bands to dazzle spectators with
their floats, costumes and dances.

And they didn’t
disappoint. The five bands; Bayside, Masta Blasta, Seagull, Freedom and
Passion4, gave people who either sat or stood along the 12-kilometre
carnival route enough entertainment to last them till the next edition.
Thousands of people stayed to watch the procession, supposedly Africa’s
largest street party, from the start point at Millennium Park till it
terminated at dawn on Tuesday at the U. J Esuene stadium.

Governor of Cross
River State, Liyel Imoke, in the company of his wife, Bauchi State
counterpart, Isa Yuguda and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria,
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi amongst others flagged off the procession almost
two hours behind schedule. He later explained what caused the delay.

“The official start
time is 2pm and yesterday (Sunday) the carnival bands had problems
because of the rain. Their floats had been damaged so the heavy rain of
the night before delayed the start of the carnival. The reason the
carnival starts at 2pm is because people trek for 12 kilometres. When
they start in the hot sun, by the time they get to the end of the
carnival they are exhausted. The bands themselves prefer the evening
carnival because it is less stressful on the human body, that’s one. A
night event, especially at the stadium, showcases much better than a
day event. The colours, the lights and so on present a much more
beautiful picture to the audience.” There was, however, no stopping the
bands once the train set off. Apart from entertaining with their
dances, music and costumes, they also gave different interpretations to the theme, ‘Our Strength and Resilience: The Bedrock of our Future’.

The bands

Bayside, the first
band off the block chose to focus on ‘Pillars of our strength’. The
band which adopted a lion as its symbol showcased the agricultural,
forest, wildlife, mineral and tourism resources of Nigeria in its five
sections.

Masta Blasta chose
to play up ‘One nation, one destination’ and highlighted Nigeria’s pre
and post independence periods. The band led by Gershom Bassey also
incorporated unity into its presentations, depicting the Yoruba, Hausa
and Igbo, Nigeria’s majority groups. Masta Blasta also made a case for
conservation, dressing its king like the endangered drill monkeys found
in the state and its queen like the Euphaedra Ferruginea (Queen of the
forest), a rare specie of butterflies also resident in the state.

Though its float
wasn’t really impressive, Passion4 celebrated the Black person, family
and personalities including the Madiba, Nelson Mandela, Marcus Garvey,
Leopold Sedar Senghor and Okot P’Bitek amongst others. Seagull Band
reiterated the unity in Nigeria’s diversity, recalling Nigeria’s past,
present and tomorrow in music and costumes and other props.

The Nigerian Army,
Navy, Civil Defence and First Bank, sponsors of the carnival also
participated in the parade. While the Army Band made people dance with
its lively music, First Bank wowed many with its big and small
elephants. The bank also had a giant float decorated in its blue and
white colours.

Beyond banking

Kano prince,
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, showed his other side during the carnival. Those
who think running the nation’s Central Bank and quarrelling with
members of the National Assembly is all the slim banker is about, are
mistaken. He also loves his culture. Sanusi facilitated the Durbar held
as part of the carnival. 23 beautifully costumed horses and riders from
Kano, Sanusi’s home state, featured in the street party.

“It took us two
days to bring the horses here from Kano,” disclosed the Shamakin (head
of servants) to Sanusi who didn’t give his name. “I feel very happy
participating in this carnival because it is an opportunity to show our
culture and see other cultures. It’s good to show people in the south
our culture but also good to see theirs because it facilitates
interaction. Culture will unite us because we will understand each
other’s culture,” he added.

Salihu Ahmad,
another of the horsemen, described his participation as a “lovely
experience.” The rider who was at the carnival last year disclosed that
the costume of each horse costs N25, 000 while a full grown horse costs
N110, 000. Ahmad added that Sanusi also rides horses and performs in
Durbars when he wishes.

It wasn’t only
Sanusi’s men that participated in the Durbar, first held last year,
however. Three of his sons, Adams, Imam and Sanusi Junior,
distinguished from the rest by their white turbans, also joined in the
colourful, happy procession. The youngest of the three brothers
reportedly kicked against being put in a bus to be taken home after the
parade, preferring instead to continue riding with the men when the
parade ended.

Mama Bakassi’s show

The leader of the
Seagull Band, Florence Ita-Giwa loves razzmatazz and has never failed
to add colour to the carnival. Mama Bakassi, as the former senator is
called, usually brings Nollywood stars to join her band and she did so
again this year. Musician, actor and winner of Big Brother Africa-the
All Stars edition, Uti Nwachukwu and comedian, Nkem Owoh, better known
as Osuofia, joined her train. Ita-Giwa’s party which also included
artists Kalu Ikeagu and Emeka Ezeocha was hailed continuously while the
parade lasted.

Passion4 rules

Though some people
had hoped that Passion4 Band, three times winner of the carnival would
not emerge tops again this year, the band eventually carried the day.
But why wouldn’t it? All the beautiful ladies in Calabar seem to be its
members. Attired in green, with some clad in skimpy shorts and tops,
the ladies probably won the judges over with their winsome smiles and
somewhat erotic dances. The band won N10m for its efforts while
Ita-Giwa’s Seagull, despite the Nollywood stars, came second. Masta
Blasta, which float was equally not very impressive came third. Both
got five and three million naira respectively.

Seagull however made up in the junior category, emerging the band of
the year and going home with one million naira. Masta Blasta was second
and Passion4 third. The bands were judged on their ability to interpret
the theme, best carnival spirit, best float and costumes.

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Nollywood and the new cinema

Nollywood and the new cinema

Nollywood is at
the threshold of a paradigm shift which may have started in 2010. Just
as 1992 is credited with the birth of Nollywood with ‘Living In
Bondage’, a modest cache of offerings on the big screen (The Figurine,
Inale, Ije, and Anchor Baby) may have started the rebirth of Nollywood.
But as to the nature of this change, it is still morning yet on
creation day.

Time will tell
whether the change is an ecdysis of the snake merely shedding its skin
or a mutation that goes down to the genes. If it is the former, there
may be nothing to cheer except the fact of the different platform –
cinema – that the movies are coming out on. But if it is the latter,
there will be lots to cheer, because it means we will be seeing changes
in the very characteristics that define (and malign) Nollywood. What
are these characteristics?

Low budgets

Budget and
gestation period are top on the list of Nollywood’s defining
parameters. Nollywood movies are low budget movies. With two million
naira, a producer can cobble together a flick. Also, the gestation
period from pre-production to marketing can be of the order of few
weeks. Somehow, the questions of budget and gestation period are
inter-connected, like an engine head and its trailer.

Low budget means
that the script cannot be properly researched or a good scriptwriter
hired. Many a time, some hare-brained storyteller is engaged and gifted
character actors are invited to listen to the story and ad-lib their
parts. Casting, set making, props and the shooting proper, all suffer
from this paucity of funding.

In contrast,
‘Inale’, one of the new films whose release signposts the new era,
reportedly cost $2.8 million (N300m) to produce. By Hollywood
standards, this figure is chicken change but in Nollywood, it is a
king’s ransom. The difference is visible in the quality of the film, to
confirm our Nigerian saying that “better soup, na money kill am.”

As for duration,
‘Ije’ took 18 months for shooting alone, with locations in Jos and the
US. This contrasts with the fortnight average duration of a shoot for
Nollywood movies.

Craft

Another parameter
to be used in evaluating how much of Nollywood is to be found in the
new cinema is in the craft. I use craft here as an omnibus word that
encompasses directing, acting, the storyline, and its treatment. As far
as acting goes, Nollywood’s best can hold the candle to the best in the
world. What is lacking is the directorial capacity to lift their game.

In many star roles
of the quartet under review, it is the self-same Nollywood actors that
put up stellar performances. Whether one is talking about ‘The
Figurine’ (Ramsey Noah, Kunle Afolayan, Omoni Oboli, etc) or ‘Ije’
(Genevieve Nnaji, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde), the story is the same. One
can, therefore, posit that the problem with Nollywood is not in the
actors but the acting (excuse the pun). This is true, especially of the
A-list actors.

Storylines

As for the
storylines, those of our normative quartet are no different from the
regular Nollywood fare. Nollywood has countless stories of mysterious
jinxes to rival ‘The Figurine’. It has done too many epics to make
‘Inale’ special just on that score. What is missing from the Nollywood
equivalents is treatment that is suspenseful and filmic. Kunle
Afolayan’s ‘The Figurine’ allows you to conjecture what is happening
with the serial prosperity followed by serial tragedies as happened in
the film.

Up until the end,
the attribution of the mystery to the figurine remains debatable. The
scientific minded would say they are mere coincidences. If the film is
watched in the downtown cinema of our growing up days which had more
rowdy audiences, you could picture the hot arguments that will erupt
between teenage friends on their way out as the lights come on. That is
the purpose of art: engendering debate.

Also the false
ending or twist in the tale of ‘Anchor Baby’ is totally unpredictable
from the beginning, unlike in Nollywood where any eight-year-old
aficionado will tell you what is to happen by merely seeing Patience
Ozokwor, Kanayo Kanayo, or Jim Iyke’s character.

Being too
loquacious, as if one were using an audio medium, has been the bane of
Nollywood. In the quartet under review, one could see glimpses of how
it should be done without the need to preach too much.

Directing

In directing, our
quartet is many notches above Nollywood standard. This is
notwithstanding the limited experience of Lonzo Nzekwe (‘Anchor Baby’).
Only in ‘Inale’ could one see a bit of the corruptive influence of
Nollywood in the perfunctorily executed wrestling scenes.

Also, the
dialogues and romantic scene featuring Odeh (Hakeem Kae Kazim) and
Inale (Caroline Chikezie) before the wrestling seem to kill the
suspense and make the outcome of the contest predictable – more like
working towards the answer. The director, Jeta Amata, cannot be excused
his playful treatment of the wrestling scenes on account of the film
being a musical. His approach seems to be that of merely dramatising
the story being told by Cameron Prozman’s character to his
granddaughter. This is faulty.

In ‘Titanic’,
which uses the same technique of flashback, the film takes a life of
its own and sucks the audience so much into the “now” as to forget it
is only a flashback. Notwithstanding this minor flaw, ‘Inale’ still
blazes a quality trail in its genre with the fragrance of Bongos
Ikwue’s songwriting prowess redolent throughout it.

Across borders

With the exception
of ‘The Figurine’, the other members of the quartet all benefited from
cross border collaborations in set design, location, cast, crew and
post-production. If they are that good, it stands to reason that
collaboration is the way to go. There has to be a trans-Atlantic
handshake for Nollywood to up its game. Nollywood collabos have been
too fixated on merely showing that an Oyinbo face or London street was
captured. The budgets obviously could not carry quality actors in the
collaborating countries.

As for the
Ghanaian actors in Nollywood, they cannot uplift any standards because
they don’t have any higher or better film culture to draw from. Those
of them that have broken into Nollywood’s A-list have no choice but to
conform to Nollywood. Inale’s casting of Hakeem Kae Kazim and Caroline
Chikezie in lead roles was a well-executed move that surely rubbed off
on the musical’s overall rating. Though Nigerians by birth, both had
made their marks in advanced film cultures and were known faces
internationally. ‘Anchor Baby’ also had Terri Oliver. Nollywood’s
casting directors must in future cast their nets wide enough to
incorporate off-shore, top-rated actors to enhance the universal
acceptance of their stories and movies.

In this, maybe
they could borrow a leaf from national football where being
foreign-based has its benefits; but film has no laws against the
nationality of the players you can use.

Offshore, onshore

However, off-shore
collaboration in acting roles should not be confused with feeding our
inferiority complex. It is not necessarily because our A-list actors
are not good enough. Neither is it about having a white face or
American accent. Film is a worldwide medium and these off-shore actors
bring cross-cultural credibility to the story.

But apart from
shopping off-shore, there is a slew of talents waiting to be challenged
in the nascent Nigerian theatre and Nigerian non-Nollywood
constituencies, including Kannywood, the Northern movie market.
Nollywood and the Nigerian stage have had only limited symbiosis.
Nothing prevents the new cinema from going a-fishing in the stage pond.
Dede Mabiaku gave a good account of himself in ‘Inale’.

Before the ink on
this piece could dry, two other big screen flicks with Nigerian, nay
Nollywood, inputs hit the cinemas. ‘Between Kings And Queens’ was made
by ex-Nollywood practitioner, Joy Dickson, and stars Jim Iyke while
‘Champion of our Time’ comes with a full cast of Nollywood stars
including Joke Silva, Segun Arinze, Ejike Asiegbu, etc. Given our zest
for following trends, one should expect a hurricane in Nigerian cinema
films in 2011. It remains to be seen whether Nollywood is merely
re-inventing itself or a totally different movement is being born.

Tighten your seat belts everybody!

Mike Ekunno is a staff of the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB).

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