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Finance experts
have stated that with the long awaited passage into law of the bill
setting up the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMC), Nigerian
banks need to move with the times in achieving the goal of
institutionalising best practices in corporate governance, which they
say must be pursued from all possible angles.

The role of
corporate governance in management of banks is again the subject of
much debate, as a few banks have already started declaring victory over
the lapses in their corporate governance and risk management, major
factors which brought the industry down last year. Earlier this week,
John Aboh, GMD/CEO, Oceanic Bank, said that the bank had effectively
addressed the corporate governance and risk management deficiencies
that led to the Central Bank’s intervention on August 14, 2009.
According to him, the bank had since achieved stability, growing
customer confidence as well as a return to profitability as of March
31, 2010.

‘The worst is over’

“I am delighted to
report that the worst is over and what we need to do now is to
collaborate on adopting an effective recapitalization plan that will
give the bank a strong competitive edge in the Nigerian banking sector
and beyond,” he said, noting that it may be too early to declare such
victories. Finance experts have stated that caution be implemented at
this stage as “in reality, it is quite early to say all the issues have
been addressed because the banks can’t prove it, though, it is
theoretically possible,” said Mr Aboh. Eelco Fiole, Associate Partner,
Ciuci Consulting, a management consulting firm that focuses on
providing business improvement solutions to clients said
“Fundamentally, for an institution to ensure quality corporate
governance, the promoters of the institution must view corporate
governance as a priority. By doing so, necessary attention is paid to
issues which could ultimately define the company’s existence.”

Mr. Aboh said the
bank’s management, with the support of its board, had come up with a
recapitalisation plan that includes a combination of several options:
bad loan recoveries, provision write backs from restructured credits,
and sale of none performing loans to the recently established Asset
Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON). Oyinkan Adewale, Executive
Director/Chief Financial Officer, Oceanic Bank, said as of June 2010,
customer deposits had grown in excess of N600 billion, an indication of
the acceptance of the brand in the sector and that the bank had hit
about N98 billion in loan recoveries while sustaining a profit run rate
of approximately N2 billion monthly. She added that the bank’s books
now bear a true picture and fair picture of its state following
rigorous analysis of the past records.

Holding managers accountable

“The nature of
accountability of the managers to the stakeholders is a key factor in
determining the quality of governance,” she said. “Banks must ensure
that corporate governance codes, which clearly spell out guidelines for
decision making, reporting and compliance, as well as, the
responsibilities and limits of executives, offices and employees are
developed,” she said. “Strict adherence to such codes, which must be
developed in line with regulatory requirements and international best
practices, will ensure that the organisation operates within the
confines of globally acceptable governance standards. Agents with the
highest responsibility for ensuring corporate governance within banks
remain the executive management and the board of directors.”

Following the reconsolidation exercise in 2005, the Central Bank set
out to establish a corporate governance code to serve as a frame-work
for banks to build their governance systems on. This was done with the
objective of mitigating the challenges that came with having bigger
banks with greater liabilities, improving public confidence in the
banking sector and safeguarding shareholder funds. Consequently,
experts say the issue remains how to ensure that banks adhere to best
practices in corporate governance in order to safeguard the investments
of shareholders and enhance the value creation process.

Shareholders
Association of Nigeria, Onitsha zone, has assured customers of the
eight rescued banks in the country of adequate protection of their
interest in the plans by the Central Bank of Nigeria to sell the banks.

Goodluck Akporie,
chairman of the zone, advised the customers to go about their normal
banking businesses and transactions with their various banks as plans
are underway to inject more funds into the bank in order to make them
more viable. He said the CBN has no power to sell the ailing banks, but
noted that it has power to see to the welfare of the banks in order for
them not to go under. “I want to appeal to customers of the ailing
banks that are afraid and going for panic withdrawal. They should not
be afraid as no bank would be sold. We are only going to inject more
funds. No sales at all. They shouldn’t be afraid. They should do their
normal banking businesses and transactions with their various banks,”
he said.

Recapitalization it is

He said at the last
meeting the central bank held with the shareholders, the regulator said
it was not going to sell the banks. “Our position has always remained
the same,” he said. “The CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido said it clearly
that the apex bank is not selling any bank. That has been our argument
and they don’t have power to sell and they cannot sell but they have
the power to see to the welfare and ensure that banks do not go under.
So the position right now is that the bank would go to the market and
go for recapitalization, and the recapitalization is going to be by
shareholders, Nigeria public, some core investors and the Asset
Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) because they are likely to buy or
shore up all the debts that the affected banks are owing. I thanked the
CBN governor for that step he took because he could as well nationalize
the banks,” he said.

Mr. Akporie also disclosed that the CBN is not presiding over the
selection of those that are bidding for the acquisition of the ailing
banks, adding that the bidders apply directly to the banks and not
through the CBN just as he said that the board of the various banks
would in conjunction with shareholders participate in the final bidding
process of the banks. He however called on some of the shareholders
that have gone to court to challenge the management of CBN over the
removal of the alleged ailing banks chief executives to withdraw their
suits from the court, adding that the CBN should be commended for being
courageous enough to remove the former executives of the banks who were
indicted for financial misappropriation that led to the present
challenges currently facing the banks.

The aim of listing
the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigeria’s oil
behemoth, on the Nigerian Stock Exchange may just be a matter of time.
Timothy Okon, group general manager corporate planning and control at
the NNPC, said a major plank of the ongoing business transformation of
the entity is for Nigerians to be given equity stake in order to make
it a more efficient and accountable business enterprise.

Speaking at the
July Breakfast Meeting of the Nigerian-South African Chamber of
Commerce held yesterday in Lagos, he said the company’s strategy is to
be a major player along the power and gas value chain. He however said
it would require the appropriate legislation to strip it of its current
regulatory function and transform into a truly competitive oil, gas and
power company. “NNPC wants to attract investment capital,” he said. “We
have a 10 year scheme and we think that the second phase will be
consolidating businesses in terms of performance management which we
are currently doing so that by mid 2011, most of the technical process
and structures would have been in place.” He said the Petroleum
Industry Bill (PIB), one of the critical legislation that would be
required would have been passed by then.

National content

He said under the
PIB and National Content policy of government, NNPC’s role would be
that of compliance with the national content provisions. “So we expect
to see those structural changes where the regulatory functions will
reside with the regulators and ours will just be a purely commercial
role.” He however faulted the provision of the PIB which stipulates
that the national oil company will become a limited liability accompany
only of the government chooses, making it optional for government to
fully relinquish control. “This is probably the only place in the world
where government retains that option two years after.” The national
content policy involves the value added to or created in the Nigerian
economy by a systematic development of capacity and capabilities
through the deliberate utilization of Nigerians and Nigerian companies
in order executing contracts in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Mr.
Okon, who is also the director of transformation, said as part of the
transformation process, it was embarking on stabilizing and improving
the governance system. “We need to improve governance so that
transformation parties can come in. There is need to reinforce
commercial focus and reduce political patronage. You know at the board
level, the board members have fiduciary responsibility under the
Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA). Doing this will lead to
improved governance,” he said.

Growing business

According to him,
the company was focusing on upstream and midstream. “We are growing
businesses in gas and power,” he said. “We are growing retail
businesses. We have about 300 affiliate stations being rebranded. NNPC
is also seeking to do a lot of the importation of petroleum products.”
He added that its subsidiary, the National Petroleum Development
Company with responsibility for petroleum exploration and production
now refines 61 barrels per day compared to 40 barrels per day before
the transformation process began.

“Production at Kaduna refinery has stabilized,” he said. “We are
trying to attain some measure of profitability. By end of July we
should have a retail system with an independent structure as we prepare
for unbundling.” He said the company was streamlining its expenses in
line with its new business focus. “We are trying to guide a process to
try and instil commercial discipline. Whereas in the past budget was
about spending money without minding whether it was profitably spent or
not. So we are focused on ensuring NNPC profitability, refineries as
profit centres, and enhancing NNPC retail business, international
supply and trade business, focusing on gas and power and driving
management performance across the corporation.”

‘There is a tide in
the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in
miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat, and we must take the
current when it serves, or lose our ventures.’

Who can forget
Brutus’ stirring words to Cassius urging an attack on Marcus Antonius
and Octavian’s forces in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar? Centuries
later, the passion infused in his speech still lights a spark in
perceptive hearts to grab opportunities before they flee away to
eternal regret.

I think such an
opportunity beckons to corporate communicators. Whether they recognize
that history is offering them an invitation card to move from the
tactical to the strategic is another matter entirely. Frankly, I think
they have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to redefine their role in the
hierarchy of corporate relevance. A perfect analogy would be with IT
professionals around the Y2K bug panic who leveraged a need for their
skills to rise on the pole of corporate value. Suddenly, these guys –
they were mostly male – who were seen as just geeks tinkering away in
poorly lit air-conditioned rooms came to be accorded the respect of
critical business infrastructure engineers.

Last year, I heard
the most scalding comment ever made by a CEO on his company’s
communications team. He said that they were ‘harmless data gatherers
and speech writers. I only employ them because they know the press
people.’ How insulting and unfair. When I asked him if he had ever
given them the opportunity to be anything more, he asked aloud ‘why
should I?’ I left his office in a daze. Yet I wonder how much of this
erroneous impression had been fostered by his communications people.

In spite of his
dismissal, I persist in the belief that his words reflect a deep-seated
frustration at the inability of that department to measure up to his
expectations of what it ought to be doing to support the business goals
of the company.

This week, Lamido
Sanusi, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, echoed some of those
views at 19th Financial Market Dealers’ Association (FMDA) Conference
in Abuja. Speaking of the performance of the Central Bank’s corporate
communications department, the governor recognized that ‘communication
is a big problem and it is something we are working on. A lot of what
we have said here should be something you click on the Central Bank
website and find easily. So what we are trying to do is to source a
communications adviser. I think what has happened is that a lot of
corporate communications at the Central Bank has been dedicated to
dealing with the press. . . Two hours after press conferences, I have
to check to see if the communiqué is out because somebody who is
supposed to do it automatically needs to be alerted before he goes and
puts it up.’ A case in point would be waiting for the CBN’s web
administrator to put up a transcript of the governor’s speech given at
the Professor Sylvester Monye Foundation on July 9, 2010 two weeks
after the event.

In this networked
age, when news travels across the world at the blinking speed and
virality of a 140-character tweet, the importance of a rapid response
corporate communications function has never been more urgent. No
organization, and that includes listed companies, regulatory agencies,
government departments, private companies and non-profits, can afford
to move at different pace in the on- and offline worlds.

In fact, to regard
the web as the ‘far and away’ and the 3-dimensional real world as the
‘here and now’ is as archaic as relics in the National Museum. The
Great Cyber Divide no longer exists. In responding to customers,
dealing with stakeholders, updating investors, communicating in a
crisis and reaching employees it is an own goal not to synchronize the
two acts.

Speaking of
web-lag, First Bank, which has been in the news lately over the
resignation of three executive directors on a single day, July 16th,
provided further evidence of the frustration described by Lamido Sanusi
at the CBN. For the full weekend after the departure of the executives,
First Bank did not put up the release on the Media Section of its
website at
http://www.firstbanknigeria.com/MediaCentre/PressRoom/tabid/371/Default.aspx
till July 19th.

I have cited the
cases of web usage, not because the speed of updating an organization’s
website makes a communications professional of great value in itself.
That would be too simplistic. Rather I used the web to illustrate that
if on a simple matter, and it really is a basic issue as logging in to
a content management system (CMS) and updating information, they are
found wanting, then they still have a long way to go. I cannot recall a
time when the fates of organizations depended more on the competence of
their communications officers. They will have no one else to blame if
they do not rise to the challenge.

The writer is the managing director of a full service investor relations firm based in Lagos, Nigeria.

The MB&F HM4 thunderbolt is simply not an ordinary watch.
It’s considered more as a horological machine, and goes for a price tag of
$158,000 (N23.7 million), enough money to buy eight new sedan cars.

The exclusive time piece represents an intriguing mixture of
high grade materials, precision engineering, and outlandishly macho design.
Taking three years to craft, the HM4 (Horological Machine No 4), finally
unveiled on 7 July, might be described as the perfect pilot’s or driver’s
watch.

Design

The watch is pure artistic in creation, and with its
groundbreaking and radically designed body, does not follow rules of
traditional wristwatch making. It has highly polished surfaces of titanium and
sapphire, also with seductive curves, and rigid forms with articulated arms. It
has a side order shaped in form of a bullet. It comes in dimensions of 54mm wide
x 52mm long x 24mm high. Its body is fully endowed with grade five titanium and
sapphire-five sapphire crystals. There are 50 jewels and 311 components in the
engine, and a black hand-stitched calfskin strap with a titanium and white gold
clasp

The HM4 is built around a completely complex and meticulous
engine. It has dual dials, with one for the time and the other a powerful
indicator.

It comes with a sapphire glass top and bottom, making the
mechanism visible and reveals as much of the oscillating wheel and validating
the “kinetic” in MB&F’s “kinetic art,” with its distinctive streamlined
cock which supports the balance. The metal case sections are milled from solid
blocks of high-tech grade five titanium.

Structure

On the left pod is the amount of fuel in the tanks or power
reserve indicator, clearly indicated by a skeleton hand echoing MB&F’s
battle-axe motif. On the right, hours and minutes are displayed by bold,
arrow-tipped Super-LumiNova filled hands. Each of the two aviation
instrument-styled dials is directly controlled by its own crown, one to wind
and re-fuel the tanks, the other to set the time, which provides direct and
instantaneous feedback of the action performed.

Engine

It’s got a three-dimensional horological engine and comes with
manual winding with two mainspring barrels in parallel. It has a power reserve
of 72 hours and balance frequency of 21,600bph/3Hz. Ensconced within the watch
is over 300 parts composing a transcendental engine.

The Kia Sportage is
a compact Sports Utility Vehicle which stole the hearts of many auto
lovers when it was first released in 2005. Still waxing stronger, its
latest model, the 2010 Kia Sportage, has been re-defined with lots of
improvement features like fuel economy, better styling, and enhanced
driving. With the 2010 Kia Sportage, handling is secure and a smooth
ride is guaranteed and generally well accepted.

Design

The Kia Sportage is
endowed with a unique, modern and attractive body. Its curvaceous
outlook gives it a strong visual presence. The car comes in different
models of the base LX or EX trim, along with optional all-wheel drive.
Standard features on all LX models include 16-inch wheels,
multi-reflector headlamps, roof rails, front and rear towing hooks, and
a front-end skid plate. Upgrading to the EX model includes a power
sunroof, fog lights, and heated side mirrors, while the Sport Package,
available on LX V-6 models, comes with fog lights, a leather steering
wheel and shift knob, a rear spoiler, rear cargo cover, standard cruise
control, and 17-inch alloy wheels. The new SUV comes with gas-filled
shock absorbers built at the rear, and has stabilizer bars at both
ends. It comes with new grille design, new headlights and fog lights,
and new alloy wheels.

Interior

Inside, the Kia
Sportage is very attractive with a comfortable and roomy interior, for
extreme comfort for passengers. The car offers an interior that easily
seats five adults (driver inclusive), with reasonable seating comfort
for all. The seats come in options of leather and cloth. The centre
console and dash board have a sleek and highly functional look. It
comprises a Bose Stereo, while USB jacks and MP3 playback capabilities
have been made a standard. It also comes with power seating and dual
temperature controls.

Under The Hood

The new 2010 Kia
Sportage is built with two separate engines. The first comes with a
fuel-efficient 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine with Continuously
Variable Valve Timing (CVVT) technology and a respectable 140
horsepower; while the second engine is built with a 2.7-litre V-6
engine with 173 horsepower. Transmission options include a five-speed
manual transmission or a four-speed automatic transmission. The
automatic transmission is responsive enough with either engine.
All-wheel drive is an option. Five-speed manual gearbox is standard in
the four-cylinder Kia Sportage LX, and a four-speed automatic comes
optional, while V-6 models come with standard automatic transmission.

Safety

Standard safety
features include dual front, side, and curtain airbags; anti-lock
brakes; traction and stability control; and tire pressure monitors. A
total of six standard airbags, including front-and side-impact airbags
for driver and passenger, and side curtain airbags for front-and
rear-seat occupants are in the car. It has all-disc antilock brakes,
traction control, and a standard electronic stability system.

Price

The Kia Sportage has an average price of $16,695 (N2. 5 million) to $24,371 (N3. 6 million).

Was
the decision by the central bank (CBN) to meet with stakeholders of the
banks it rescued last year a climb down by the regulator? Ever since
the apex bank’s dramatic intervention, August last year, in support of
about eight banks that according to it were in dire financial straits,
there has been considerable pushback from shareholders of the affected
banks against the CBN. Having identified massive erosion of capital,
and poor governance amongst others as a major problem with these
institutions, the apex bank was right to take action promptly to
forestall any risks that these banks might pose to the entire banking
system, including through the appointment of interim management teams
to steer the banks in the right direction.

It was obliged too
to consider mitigants to possible second round effects of its actions,
up to putting in place guarantees for all interbank transactions.

This way the
monetary authorities ensured that the resulting loss of market
confidence from its intervention did not lead to a situation in which
its best efforts in support of the industry was stymied by a turning
off of the taps that control lending between the banks, or result in
the pricing of higher risk premia into all transactions with the
concerned banks. Once the banks were out of intensive care, however, it
became harder to argue the CBN’s corner in respect of its conception of
the way forward. There were costs to be borne, no doubt, and the
central bank had put a prince’s ransom on the table. Bad management had
been punished through their ouster, and the subsequent prosecutions in
court. A number of shareholders had lost their shirts. But to the
extent that we all favour market solutions to the most difficult of
national choices, talk about proceeding with the garage sale of these
banks in spite of their shareholders apparent discomfort was always
uncomfortable.

Of course, there
were doubts as to how easily the central bank could have sold these
institutions. How was it going to square the “welcome mat” laid out for
foreign interest in these institutions with the plethora of court cases
by shareholders whose gruntlement had been sorely affected by the CBN’s
seeming high-handedness in proposing solutions to their investment
without consulting them?

The central bank
thus confronted a major governance challenge in the way of its plans
for sanitising the financial services sector. It only just addressed
this dimension of its work, when it appeared to secure the buy-in of
concerned shareholders last week. Sadly, this governance deficit is a
national one, cutting across every sector of the economy. At a forum
last week, discussion turned on the mechanisms by which the country
came to be saddled with the excess crude account (ECA). And I heard
folk contend that “we” had agreed to this device in order to protect
the country’s fiscal space from the volatility of oil prices in the
international markets. As noble as this goal sounded, it was inevitable
that the question.

“Who were the ‘we’
who reached this agreement?” should be posed. Evidently, neither the
Nigerian people, nor their representatives were part of this process.
Because if “we” were, it would have been slightly more difficult to
raid the ECA with the impunity with which it has been attended in the
last one year. Alas, at this talkfest, there was this fancy
representative of the World Bank (or was it the IMF’s) poverty
reduction department who was persuaded that the signing of a memorandum
of understanding between the Obasanjo administration and her principals
on the working of the ECA was evidence of “our” having agreed to this
concept. The biggest difficulty with our attempts at democratic rule,
and one which most western country counterparts of our governments
inexplicably ignore, is not just that massive rigging and related
malfeasances weigh heavily on the extent to which the eventual office
holders may lay claim to represent any section of the electorate. It is
that the strategic decisions proper to the board (the people’s
representatives – “the legislatures”) of corporate Nigeria are
regularly taken by management (members of the federal executive council
that is).