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Arrangements to establish a national research data bank in
Nigeria have reached an advanced stage, Olumuyiwa Olomade, Head, North Central
Zone of the National Centre for Technological Management (NACETEM) told the
press in his Abuja office last Thursday. The aim is that, when the data bank is
fully operational, manufacturers and industrialists will no longer depend on
imported research results to improve their production process, even as it will
make them less dependent technologically.

Mr Olomade added that there was yet to be an appropriate linkage
between researchers and the industries and as such, some industrialists still
import research products that are available in Nigeria because they have little
information about them.

“There are so many problems the industrial sector is facing, and
it has always been that the research needs of the industrial sector are taken
outside the country,” he said.

“One will like to argue that the reason is that our industrial
sector is dominated by multinationals (and) most of their research are
conducted in their parent countries but what about the small and medium scale
enterprises that are largely indigenous? Who solves their problems?” He added
that, “if the database is in place, an industrialist has a technology-related
problem, it will tell if there is work already done or presently going on in
that area.”

Private sector clearing
house

Mr Olomade said the agency will also “establish data bank on
research output” and with that they can tell how many researchers are working
on a particular research activity, where they are and what results they have.
“We should be like a clearing house to the private sector. If you have a
problem in your manufacturing processes, instead of taking these things abroad,
there should be an agency as custody of information data base that will tell
you what is on ground.”

Underscoring the importance of a research output database, he
said, “Presently, we have technology transfer offices in most of our
universities and polytechnics, everywhere that research is conducted. What that
is supposed to do is that once you are conducting a research and you have an
output that can be patented, you approach the technology transfer office in
your institution who will guide you on what to do, but we do not want to end
there.

“There must be a platform where you can log into and see at a
glance sector by sector, research that is going on and the results that are
presently available and who to contact. That is what the data bank will do. We
need to know how many researchers we have, how many qualified scientists and
engineers we have in Nigeria, what are their qualifications and their research
areas.

“Even students can use it to source for supervisors. What that one will also
do is that once we have the figures, we can now know areas in which we are very
deficient, like in biotechnology, we can now know, having conducted the census,
the number of biotechnologists in Nigeria and the areas of specialization. That
can now assist us in what is called manpower planning. Nobody can say now: ‘We
are deficient in this place, we are buoyant in this area’, but this databank
will help us. If a research is ongoing, we send progress reports on that. That
databank will make such information available to the whole world.”

Consumers are in for tougher times as the federal government
appears bent on going ahead with its plan to hike the Value Added Tax (VAT)
rate a notch further.

During the 122nd meeting of the Joint Tax Board (JTB) held in
Abuja recently, Ifueko Omoigu-Okauru, the executive chairman, Federal Inland
Revenue Service (FIRS), was non-committal about the exact date the proposed
increment would take effect, though she did not deny that there was such a plan
in the pipeline. Mrs. Omoigu-Okauru disclosed that the federal government is
still consulting to know the best time and mode to act on the issue.

When the issue was first mooted, following the amendment to the
VAT Act in 2007 empowering government to adjust the rate to about 10 percent,
the argument was that the prevailing rate then was not only the lowest in
Africa, but the five percent has remained unchanged since VAT collection
started in 1993.

The government’s argument was that allowing the rate to remain
at that level would not only distort trade, but would also discourage
competition within the region, considering Nigeria’s position as a formidable
member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Though the decision was reversed at the inception of former
President Umaru Yar’Adua administration following public outcry against the
hike, the plan to review the VAT rate back to at least 10 percent is said to be
in line with the policy directives of the ECOWAS Commission for member-states:
harmonise their low VAT regimes and close the gap within the range of 10 and 20
percent.

Manufacturers are still
groaning

A recent report by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria
(MAN) indicated that manufacturing companies are compelled to spend a huge chunk
of their operational cost on the provision of fuel to run alternative power
generating systems, since the source of public power supply has remained
unreliable.

According to the report, some of these companies have been
compelled to close down, while millions of their workers have been sent to the
over-crowded labour market. The few companies that have managed to stay in
operation are producing at such high costs that the prices of the final
products off the shelf are grossly unaffordable by the average consumer.

But government’s argument in support of the latest attempt at
raising the VAT has been that revenue earned would provide a veritable source
of financing a number of activities and services, as it is the practice in most
developing and developed countries of the world.

To divert attention from the argument that an increment in the
VAT rate would fuel high cost of goods and services, government has disclosed
that proceeds would be used to fund part of the N1.5 trillion required to
sponsor the police reform agenda, aimed at strengthening the nation’s security
system.

Mrs. Omoigu-Okauru said the plan to hike the VAT rate is not
only part of government’s effort to help boost revenue profile, but also a
strategic attempt to create an environment that would be conducive for
businesses.

Like VAT, like other
taxes

The hike in VAT is coming at a time when other taxes are being
increased in the land.

With the recent proposal by the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency
(FERMA) for the reintroduction of fuel tax to the petroleum products pricing
template, consumers’ woes are likely to multiply, as they would be paying more
for fuel at the pump in the near future.

Besides, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC),
the regulatory authority in the nation’s power sector, last Thursday, gave
indications of an impending upward review of electricity tariffs under the
multi-year tariff order (MYTO), which came into effect since 2008.

The review, according to Imamudeen Talba, NERC Sole Administrator,
expected to be implemented in the next couple of months, would feature
adjustment in the 2010 tariff level of N8.50 per kilowatt hour (kwh) of
electricity.

The Toyota Land Cruiser SUV has transformed over the years from
its rugged all weather off-roader identities into a vehicle that connotes an
all luxurious presence. For a vehicle which rolled out its first set in 1951,
it has gone through lots of improvement in designs and technology.

The 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser stands as a good exhibit, showing
how advanced and matured the vehicle has grown and evolved into. The vehicle
now stands as a rare breed among other SUVs, with an undisputable blend of
rugged capabilities and comfortable driving.

The 2010 land cruiser, no doubt, stands as an ideal choice.

Design

The 2010 Toyota land cruiser has a slightly bigger size,
compared to other SUVs. It comes with dimensions of 194.9 inch length, 77.6
inch width, and 74 inch height.

The full size luxury SUV has a sleek image, with vibrant colours
like grey, red, gold, green, blue, white, and black. The car has got style and
class. It has big bulgy front lights and back lights, and steps on a standard
18-inch alloy wheels.

The inside of the vehicle can be classified as heaven, with its
fully comforting characteristics. The eight passenger seat car has a third row
which is mainly for kids, due to its cramped nature and low seats; neither do
they fall flat or removable. High-quality materials make up the interior, with
proper trims and finish. Accessories like telescopic steering wheels, driver
memory functions, leather upholstery, quad-zone automatic climate control, and
power heated front seats contribute to its classy design. It comes packed with
great entertainment features like JBL audio system with Six-CD changer and 14
speakers, Bluetooth streaming audio and auxiliary audio/USB port, and USB jack
for MP3 and iPod connectivity.

Engine Power

The 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser is a vehicle driven by a powerful
engine. It comes with a 5.7-litre V8 engine that produces up to 281 horsepower
and 401 Ib-ft of Torque. The full time 4WD (four wheel drive) has high and low
range gearing system which fully supports and enhances its off-road
capabilities.

The engine integrates with a six-speed automatic transmission.

Safety

A lot of standard safety features have been installed and built
into the 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser. Some of these include antilock disc brake
(with brake assist and multi-terrain programming), full length side curtain air
bags, and active front head restraints. Others are front and second row side
airbags, driver and front passenger knee air bags, and stability control.

Price

The 2010 Toyota Land Cruiser stands for a price of $ 65,970 (N9,
895,500).

Arrangements to establish a national research data bank in
Nigeria have reached an advanced stage, Olumuyiwa Olomade, Head, North Central
Zone of the National Centre for Technological Management (NACETEM) told the
press in his Abuja office last Thursday. The aim is that, when the data bank is
fully operational, manufacturers and industrialists will no longer depend on
imported research results to improve their production process, even as it will
make them less dependent technologically.

Mr Olomade added that there was yet to be an appropriate linkage
between researchers and the industries and as such, some industrialists still
import research products that are available in Nigeria because they have little
information about them.

“There are so many problems the industrial sector is facing, and
it has always been that the research needs of the industrial sector are taken
outside the country,” he said.

“One will like to argue that the reason is that our industrial
sector is dominated by multinationals (and) most of their research are
conducted in their parent countries but what about the small and medium scale
enterprises that are largely indigenous? Who solves their problems?” He added
that, “if the database is in place, an industrialist has a technology-related
problem, it will tell if there is work already done or presently going on in
that area.”

Private sector clearing
house

Mr Olomade said the agency will also “establish data bank on
research output” and with that they can tell how many researchers are working
on a particular research activity, where they are and what results they have.
“We should be like a clearing house to the private sector. If you have a
problem in your manufacturing processes, instead of taking these things abroad,
there should be an agency as custody of information data base that will tell
you what is on ground.”

Underscoring the importance of a research output database, he
said, “Presently, we have technology transfer offices in most of our
universities and polytechnics, everywhere that research is conducted. What that
is supposed to do is that once you are conducting a research and you have an
output that can be patented, you approach the technology transfer office in
your institution who will guide you on what to do, but we do not want to end
there.

“There must be a platform where you can log into and see at a
glance sector by sector, research that is going on and the results that are
presently available and who to contact. That is what the data bank will do. We
need to know how many researchers we have, how many qualified scientists and
engineers we have in Nigeria, what are their qualifications and their research
areas.

“Even students can use it to source for supervisors. What that one will also
do is that once we have the figures, we can now know areas in which we are very
deficient, like in biotechnology, we can now know, having conducted the census,
the number of biotechnologists in Nigeria and the areas of specialization. That
can now assist us in what is called manpower planning. Nobody can say now: ‘We
are deficient in this place, we are buoyant in this area’, but this databank
will help us. If a research is ongoing, we send progress reports on that. That
databank will make such information available to the whole world.”

Consumers are in for tougher times as the federal government
appears bent on going ahead with its plan to hike the Value Added Tax (VAT)
rate a notch further.

During the 122nd meeting of the Joint Tax Board (JTB) held in
Abuja recently, Ifueko Omoigu-Okauru, the executive chairman, Federal Inland
Revenue Service (FIRS), was non-committal about the exact date the proposed
increment would take effect, though she did not deny that there was such a plan
in the pipeline. Mrs. Omoigu-Okauru disclosed that the federal government is
still consulting to know the best time and mode to act on the issue.

When the issue was first mooted, following the amendment to the
VAT Act in 2007 empowering government to adjust the rate to about 10 percent,
the argument was that the prevailing rate then was not only the lowest in
Africa, but the five percent has remained unchanged since VAT collection
started in 1993.

The government’s argument was that allowing the rate to remain
at that level would not only distort trade, but would also discourage
competition within the region, considering Nigeria’s position as a formidable
member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Though the decision was reversed at the inception of former
President Umaru Yar’Adua administration following public outcry against the
hike, the plan to review the VAT rate back to at least 10 percent is said to be
in line with the policy directives of the ECOWAS Commission for member-states:
harmonise their low VAT regimes and close the gap within the range of 10 and 20
percent.

Manufacturers are still
groaning

A recent report by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria
(MAN) indicated that manufacturing companies are compelled to spend a huge chunk
of their operational cost on the provision of fuel to run alternative power
generating systems, since the source of public power supply has remained
unreliable.

According to the report, some of these companies have been
compelled to close down, while millions of their workers have been sent to the
over-crowded labour market. The few companies that have managed to stay in
operation are producing at such high costs that the prices of the final
products off the shelf are grossly unaffordable by the average consumer.

But government’s argument in support of the latest attempt at
raising the VAT has been that revenue earned would provide a veritable source
of financing a number of activities and services, as it is the practice in most
developing and developed countries of the world.

To divert attention from the argument that an increment in the
VAT rate would fuel high cost of goods and services, government has disclosed
that proceeds would be used to fund part of the N1.5 trillion required to
sponsor the police reform agenda, aimed at strengthening the nation’s security
system.

Mrs. Omoigu-Okauru said the plan to hike the VAT rate is not
only part of government’s effort to help boost revenue profile, but also a
strategic attempt to create an environment that would be conducive for
businesses.

Like VAT, like other
taxes

The hike in VAT is coming at a time when other taxes are being
increased in the land.

With the recent proposal by the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency
(FERMA) for the reintroduction of fuel tax to the petroleum products pricing
template, consumers’ woes are likely to multiply, as they would be paying more
for fuel at the pump in the near future.

Besides, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC),
the regulatory authority in the nation’s power sector, last Thursday, gave
indications of an impending upward review of electricity tariffs under the
multi-year tariff order (MYTO), which came into effect since 2008.

The review, according to Imamudeen Talba, NERC Sole Administrator,
expected to be implemented in the next couple of months, would feature
adjustment in the 2010 tariff level of N8.50 per kilowatt hour (kwh) of
electricity.

Gas supply to key
power plants in the country currently stands at about one billion
standard cubic feet, according to Diezani Alison-Madueke, the Minister
of Petroleum Resources, who described the volume as the highest all
time capacity.

Mrs. Alison-Madueke
told members of the Senate and House of Representatives Joint
Committees on Gas Resources at the weekend that her ministry was
committed to ensuring regular electricity supply nationwide, adding
that with gas supply at the highest level, the traditional power plants
would not have any problem generating electricity for the people.

Though she said her
immediate concern was how to sustain this level of gas supply through
the repair and maintenance of the nation’s gas infrastructure, she
added that the short term plan was to stabilise power supply in the
country to such a level that would enable consumers plan their
businesses with some level of predictability.

Apart from ongoing
short term projects designed to facilitate the injection of about 325
million standard cubic feet per day to the national gas production
level by the end of 2010, she said the federal government was exploring
other means of boosting gas supply in the country.

On the
implementation of the National Gas Master Plan, Mrs. Alison-Madueke
said it would be moved into the operations stage where it would create
a basis for sustained growth in the sector.

Osita Izunaso, the
chairman of the Senate Committee on Gas Resources, said that the Joint
Committee’s decision to invite the minister was to enable them share
her views which will ensure that the executive and legislative arms of
government do not work at cross-purposes, as well as put the gas sector
on the right footing.

Igo Aguma, the
chairman of the House Committee on Gas Resources, said the Joint
Committee felt that it needed to be updated on critical issues in the
sector such as the level of the implementation of the Gas Master Plan
and the current state of Brass and Olokola Liquefied Natural Gas
projects.

The lawmakers also sought to know the state of the finances of the
Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) in Bonny Island, Rivers State,
and lodgment of revenues realised from the export of the commodity as
well as the profit realised from government’s investment in the project.

The
Nigerian Industrial Relations Association has urged Nigerian banks to
avail themselves of emerging opportunities in the industry by looking
beyond retail banking.

The
association, a member of the International Industrial Relations
Association, said banks can participate actively in the vast emerging
housing market while veering into lucrative investment banking market
and prime debt financing.

Shola
Fajana, a professor and head of the department of Industrial Relations
and Personnel Management, University of Lagos, and Secretary-Treasurer/
Contact Person of the Nigerian Industrial Relations Association said
this in Lagos on Friday at a roundtable discussion centred on
‘Industrial relations in the banking sector’.

Mr.
Fajana, while acknowledging the rapid expansion of banking system
through multiple branches, said banks need to expand their business
horizon.

“Banks
have not been able to take advantage of the booming housing
construction market, and they also have poor debt management skills.
They have not explored global prime debt markets- housing equity,
securitised debt, credit cards, housing mortgage, prime lending, and
foreign assets portfolio management among others.

“Banks
have also not explored opportunities in wholesale banking with huge
markets in re- insurance, pension fund management, commodity trading,
and collaterised debts, among others” he said.

Mr.
Fajana said major areas of concern in the banking system are issues
surrounding employment, the equitability of wages, health suitability
of working hours, the improvising of the current trends in training,
addressing employer- conflict orientation, employer union orientation,
social dialogue, the issue of staff outsourcing in relation with core
business strategies, among others.

Foundation of the crisis

Sunday
Salako, the acting National President, Association of Senior Staff of
Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions, in his address, said the
problems of Nigerian banks are self inflicted and did not just happen
unconsciously.

Mr.
Salako said during the bank failures of the 1990s, many banks crashed,
leading to the invasion of the sector by ‘cowboys’ who took advantage
of the crisis to take over some of the then ailing institutions. “They
came with new ideas, strategies and practices that were very alien to
the system and with their zeal, vigour and support from regulators;
they set foundation for new banking culture and norm. Their focus was
aggressive deposit mobilisation using our poor and in most cases
innocent ladies as baits”.

Mr.
Salako said prior to this period, everyone who worked in the bank was a
permanent staff. “There was no casual contract or outsourced staff. The
career path was well defined and periodic training was one of the
meters for career advancement”.

“With
so much money at the disposal of our banks, it was not long before all
relevant authorities compromised and with impressive balance sheets
being cooked up, the shareholders also went gaga, leaving the entire
banking system at the mercy of these super brats. At this point, the
foundation of was laid for an imminent crisis” he said.

According
to him, this crisis, which might be prolonged, is bound to hit economic
activities beyond what was previously anticipated, adding that from all
indications recovery will be slow. “In all, the crisis has affected the
economy quickly and strongly through channels like credit crunch and
drop in foreign direct investments,” Mr. Salako said.

The
Nigerian banking industry was greatly hit by financial crisis last year
when 10 of the 24 banks failed the central bank’s special audit last
year. The central bank thereafter injected over N600 billion to save
the banks from imminent distress, after it relieved about eight
managing directors of their jobs.

However, at the last Monetary Policy Committee Meeting held earlier
in the month, the central bank noted that however fragile, the domestic
financial markets have recovered remarkably faster than expected, and
urged greater efforts in accelerating the reforms in the different
segments of the financial system to promote financial sector stability
which is critical to economic growth.

The Nigeria stock
market took a downward trend this week, in contrast to last week, where
the market somewhat rebounded. The major fall in the market this week
came on Friday, consistent with the lull in the markets all over the
world. World markets dropped sharply on Thursday as sentiment continued
to be hit by concerns about the Greece’s debt crisis and figures
showing an unexpected increase in US jobless claims last week. The
worries left most of the world’s leading indexes now trading below
where they started 2010.

The market’s losses
intensified in light of the recorded declines in international and
regional stock markets during the week, mainly, due to latest
developments in Greece’s debt crisis.

Market activities

By the end of the
week, the NSE AS Index closed at 26,784.90 points, down by 3.49 per
cent from the previous week closing, whereas the market capitalisation
registered a 3.44 per cent weekly loss after closing at N6.52 trillion.
Accordingly, the market’s year-to-date gains were reduced as a result
of last week’s incurred losses, as the NSE AS index’s increase from the
beginning of the year reached 28.61 per cent, while market
capitalisation’s gains became 30.58 per cent.

Apart from the fall
in major markets, profit reaping activities that took place on most of
the trading sessions led to a reduction market capitalisation. Selling
pressures increased in the week, and the indices couldn’t sustain the
positive momentum gathered during the previous weeks as profit taking
dragged the indices to negative territory. Low liquidity stock seemed
to take the forefront in equity value contributions during the week,
while Blue chip shares took the back seat making modest contributions
towards turnover. Equity value slipped by 37.53 per cent when compared
with previous week’s position. As it is, most investors seemed to have
kept to the sidelines during week. Trading volume remained light,
signalling a lack of strong conviction behind the market’s moves.

In the meantime,
the sluggish sentiment may persist as a result of continued control of
cautiousness on the course of trading. Thus the indices will continue
to remain volatile during the coming week. However, investors should
closely monitor the market and capitalise on the bargain hunting
opportunities that exist in the market. In effect, the pullbacks should
be embraced as buying opportunities.

Most active sector

The Banking
sub-sector remain the most active (measured in terms of traded volume)
as it recorded 795.48 million shares valued at N7.96 billion exchanged
in 17,368 deals while the Hotel and Tourism sub-sector was second with
traded volume of 204.05 million shares valued at N731.79 million in 56
deals.

Gainers and losers

The market breadth,
indicating the overall health of the market, was negative on NSE market
in the just concluded week, with 82 shares declining as compared to 16
that advanced. A total of 41 shares remained unchanged.

Corporate actions and results

During the week,
FCMB Plc released its full year trading result on the floor of NSE. The
bank recorded gross earnings of N35.79 billion representing a decrease
of 50.77 per cent from previous year’s trading result. The company also
posted a Profit After Tax of N564.00 million. The Directors proposed
dividend of N0.05kobo per share.

NIGERIAN BREWERIES
released its first quarter (Q1) result on the floor of NSE in the past
week. The company declared a turnover of N40.574 billion representing
an increase of 0.42 per cent from previous year’s trading result. The
company also posted a Profit After Tax of N6.46 billion. The Directors
proposed a dividend of N1.15 kobo.

MULTIVERSE Plc and
FTNCOCOA Plc also released their full year trading result on the floor
of NSE. The Directors of MULTIVERSE Plc proposed a dividend of
N0.01kobo per share, while the Directors of FTNCOCOA Plc proposed a
dividend of 3.5kobo per share.

Furthermore,
AIRSERVICE Plc, GTASSURE Plc and BERGER PAINTS Plc released their full
year trading result on the floor of NSE in the just concluded week. The
Directors of AIRSERVICE Plc proposed a dividend of N0.10 kobo per
share, while the Directors of GTASSURE Plc proposed a dividend of N0.04
kobo per share, and the Directors of BERGER PAINTS Plc proposed a
dividend of N0.50 kobo per share.

Market outlook

The week has
witnessed considerable weakness in purchase activities. Investors are
still cautious about being long at current levels due to value issues.
However, investors’ toast for blue-chip stocks (whose prices have
bottomed out) will make us may see recovery in the coming week.

I only just got
back from a formal training session, where I’d gone to be instructed on
‘strategy,’ and its chances of success in the new, more turbulent work
environment. One confession, which I did not make at the various
sessions that made up the training experience, but which nonetheless is
important to understanding the perspectives here, is that on questions
of strategy, I am completely contrarian.

Thus, it mattered a
lot that the training was facilitated by firm believers in the utility
of thinking strategically as a distinctive business competence. And
that the larger numbers of the class were acolytes already of this
world view. Ignore for the moment, the plethora of buzzwords, and the
facility with which business books’ titles and the names of American
authors rolled of the tongues of participants, and the main argument
was simple.

There was consensus
on what strategy as a course of study is all about. So, it mattered
nought whether it is described in the traditional military sense as
“the process of, or skill in, planning and conducting a military
campaign” or along one of the derivations that business has come to
accept, including as “a long-term plan for future success or
development.”

The point is that
most discussants at the training facility assumed a simple “cause and
effect” relationship. To think strategically, it turns out, all that
needs to happen is for top management to get the “numbers right.” From
there, the firm is better positioned to put in place a measurement
system (preferably through the “balanced scorecard,”) commence
measurement of the resources deployed, and presto – it’s almost like
“magic!”

My concerns are no
less simple. Whereas for a military-type campaign, the decision
parameters are mostly given: troop numbers; equipment type, equipment
quantity; the spatio-temporal strength of supply lines; terrain
support; etc. We cannot say the same, any longer, of contemporary
business conditions. All you need do to understand what students of
chaos theory call the “non-linear feedback systems” challenge is try to
itemise the range of effects in our interconnected world to which a
single cause can lead.

Framed differently,
what does the believer in the benefits of traditional “strategic
planning” make of the following episodes, and their unintended
consequences? The July 4 2004 consolidation in the Nigerian financial
services industry, and how it re-shaped the industry in the country;
the September 11, 2001 coordinated suicide attacks by al-Qaeda upon the
United States, and their effect on the just-in-time production
revolution in developed economies; or the demise of the “central
planning regimes” after the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Doubtless, the
possibility of infinite variations of cause should force us to take a
more critical look at the standard estimation techniques behind most
attempts at formulating strategy.

What follows from
these? Does the death of strategy eliminate the need to plan? Now, I
think not! In planning, the proper tension is between linearity and
non-linearity.

In a world in which
the multiplicity of links and interdependencies ensure that effects are
not proportional to their causes, or in which even businesses have come
to realise that a team working together might often achieve results by
far superior to the results from the combined effect of each working
individually, the balance of activity rapidly flits between choice and
chance.

In effect, what
remains for the manager is his/her operational control over the
near-term. Within this context, the main questions that planners must
address is what the costs would be to them, if the decisions they make
turn out wrong. Ideally, in the absence of serious downside risks,
planners can proceed down as many turns in the road as catch their
fancies. Unfortunately, since the cost of failure is often potentially
very large, planners do well to avoid certain policies even if the
probability of success is better than 50-50. In this case, the cost of
failure is a major constraint.

If we, then, narrow our plan effort in the knowledge that “the
spontaneous self-organisation of economic agents leads to unpredictable
and emergent outcomes”, then four plan parameters remain open to us:
keeping the decision-making process simple; avoiding conservative
orientations; keeping costs down; and a readiness to embrace new
products/technologies.

Nigeria’s richest man, billionaire Aliko Dangote, on Monday denied media reports that he was considering buying a 16 percent stake in English Premier League soccer club Arsenal.

Britain’s Sunday Times newspaper and other media reported that Dangote had registered his interest in buying a stake being sold by Nina Bracewell-Smith, the club’s fourth biggest investor.

“I am a longstanding supporter of Arsenal Football Club and have been involved in conversations around investment in the past,” Dangote said in a statement.

“However, I can say categorically at this time that I have no intention of investing in the club and will not be acquiring a stake. I wish Arsenal Football Club the best for the future and will continue to follow the team as a fan.”

REUTERS