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It is so hard doing business here. The entry barriers to entrepreneurs who are not into trading are so high.

The requirement to
pay two-three years rent in advance; to spend an equivalent amount
renovating the high cost premises; to buy a generator, fuel and service
it; to secure and pay for your own source of water; to hire staff
simply to manage those services: plumbing, electrical,
air-conditioning, generator. All of this before you can focus on your
business and customers. It is too much!

A long established
and successful community for whom business is also hard, but not as
tough, is the Lebanese community. They have their own model of doing
business in Nigeria – the Lebo model – as it is fondly called, and it
supposedly works. It is profitable. Their set up and operating costs
are kept low. Members of the community are employed and engaged in the
success of the venture – be it food and beverages, hospitality,
manufacturing, construction and other sectors.

What is it that
makes Lebanese-owned ventures more sustainable? What do they know or do
that helps them weather the harsh business climate, after all they face
the same economic and HR issues.

They have similar
pressures to support extended family, to provide jobs and contacts, to
visit home during festivals and holidays.

Findings from anecdotal research are that, in general:

* The Lebanese set up businesses as their livelihood, not as business investment or future institutions

* Their businesses
are family businesses. There is an expectation of family members and
children to be loyal and to do their duty by serving in the business
and securing the livelihood of the larger family

*They are
integrated into their communities in whichever country they are settled
in. Their children go to local schools and the Lebanese school is open
to others

*They are religious and participate with Nigerians in the rituals of the two major faiths

*As individuals, they do not put on airs and graces, or ‘big-manism’ no matter how wealthy they are

*They rarely get bigger than their businesses or seek to be celebrities in their own right

*They get their
hands dirty in their businesses, so no aspect goes unnoticed by the
boss, and the staff know this. They are not too big to clear restaurant
tables, for example

* As contractors,
they expect to give and receive favours and yet, crucially, they
generally deliver the goods, though sometimes at minimum standard

*They are skilled at relationship management and make loyal and useful friends in business and politics

*They produce and
sell what they know well, and from competitive sources that they can
control, like other Lebanese businesses here or in Beirut.

The elements of
their model have principles that, when compared to our own businesses,
make it glaringly clear why they are able to sustain a business for
years rather than be serial entrepreneurs.

The Naija model

The Lebanese keep
it simple. Everyone reports to the head of the family, who has the
responsibility and ultimate authority. We make it complicated; delegate
responsibility but not authority. Some staff report to the owner, not
to their boss.

Their family
members contribute time, expertise, money, and most importantly,
loyalty. Our family members tax our time, expertise, money, and most
devastatingly, our trust.

They don’t over-spec even for a luxurious look. We make it grand. Compete with the best worldwide.

They seek volume, and the large medium-low end of the market. We seek exclusivity and the top end of the market.

They don’t
over-promise, except through exuberance. We promise the moon, and
expect our customer to understand that we tried very hard to get off
the earth.

They manage the
business themselves. We own it, get others to manage it, but make the
day-to-day decisions. The owner only brings in business. He does not DO
the business.

They have a back
office and someone whose only job is to handle money before passing it
on to the accountant. We leave our staff to handle cash as it comes in
without check and balances. When we are tired of money going missing,
we get an accountant and leave him/her to both approve AND make
payments!!

Both they and we
personally sign all cheques. Very important!!! But it does not leave
room for the business to grow exponentially – just to remain small and
profitable.

They bring in
relatives to manage branches. We employ strangers as a favour to
friends, family, and to the big wo/men who send CVs to us.

If a family member
disappoints, they discipline them, forgive them and try again, or
select another family member. We swear never to employ another family
member. It is better for strangers to cheat us! I know this is a very
broad generalisation. Actually, some Lebanese businesses do not fall
within this mould and many Nigerian businesses do make us proud. Yet,
there are clear and diametrical differences in how the two communities
approach business, especially where family members are involved.

There is a lot that
we can do as business owners to ease our lives; to manage our
businesses more cost-efficiently with greater benefit to our
communities; to motivate our staff to be more responsible; and to make
our decisions less sentimental, and less influenced by international
branding and personal status. We are the ones who will benefit. What
are we waiting for?

There are
indications that members of the House of Representatives have agreed to
a proposal by President Goodluck Jonathan to cut down the crude oil
benchmark in the 2010 Budget from $67 to $57 per barrel.

Mr Jonathan had
requested the lawmakers to scale down the benchmark to $57 per barrel,
which was the original proposal made in the 2010 Appropriation Bill
forwarded to them by late President Umaru Yar’Adua last November.

The request
followed the outcome of series of meeting the president had with the
leadership of the National Assembly. Both parties also agreed that the
executive arm should send in budget amendment bill to reflect the areas
they agreed upon.

The president was
said to have expressed dissatisfaction with the increases made by the
federal lawmakers which brought the total budget figure to N4.9
trillion with very little revenue to finance it and asked that it
should be reduced by 40 percent. At an executive session which lasted
for about 90 minutes, the lawmakers reportedly agreed to Mr Jonathan’s
proposals after an exhaustive discussion on the issue. The lawmaker had
dissolved into the executive session to discuss the media reports on
their demand for increase in their allowances.

A source at the
meeting said the Appropriation Committee chairman, Ayo Adeseun informed
members that it was expecting the adjustment budget between Tuesday
evening and Wednesday morning and appealed that effort should be made
to approve it immediately.

It was learnt that
the lawmakers resolved that there should be reduction in the revenue
that would come non oil sector during the fiscal year.

Adjust the budget

Ita Enang, chairman
of the rules and business, confirmed that the House and the Senate
agreed with the Presidency to adjust the budget.

He said the budget amendment bill will be given accelerated
treatment whenever it comes. Mr Enang also said that the issue of the
consolidation of salary of the National Assembly staff as well as the
pending number of bills in the House was also discussed at the session.
According to him, the House delegation, which will meet with the Senate
on the issues would be led by its leader, Tunde Akogun and will include
Henry Dickson and himself.

The Federal Government yesterday justified its decision to increase electricity tariff in the country.

This is coming even
as President Goodluck Jonathan has directed that the reform agenda in
the power sector should commence immediately.

The Nigerian
Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) said last week that the price
of electricity would be raised from the present N8.50k per kilowatt
hour (KWH) next year in line with the schedule in the multi-year tariff
order (MYTO).

Though critics have
queried the plan, considering that the level of electricity generation
and distribution is poor, Nuhu Wya, the minister of state for Power,
told journalists yesterday at a workshop on rural energy supply in
Abuja, that establishing a regime of appropriate pricing for
electricity by the government is one of the ways to remove the barriers
to attracting investors to the nation’s power sector.

“The federal
government is dismantling all barriers that would stop us from running
the power sector as efficiently and as robustly as possible, providing
the enabling environment for everybody to participate,” he said.
“Consumers have to be ready to pay for services rendered. If
electricity is generated for N10, one cannot sell for N6 per kilowatt
hour. If one does, the operator would not be empowered to maintain the
system. The cost of the power we use is far cheaper than the cost of
production.

“I will say that
Nigerians should roll their sleeves and prepare to pay for the
electricity that would energize our economy and make us richer people
and better people. That is why we must review the tariff to reflect the
actual cost of generating and distributing electricity,” he added.

Though the level of
electricity supply may not be as high as would be expected, Mr. Wya
said there is need for the industry to start charging the right price
from the little that it is generating for the consumers. The minister
also argued that when consumers pay the right price for electricity, it
would serve as an incentive for the operators, including the gas
producers and others providing other sources of power, to be attracted
to come in and invest in the sector as well as provide prompt and more
efficient services.

Prospective investors

He hinted that the
ministry has already commenced discussions with some state governments,
particularly those in the Niger Delta region on the prospect of
investing in the nation’s power sector.

The minister
disclosed that steps have been taken to give effect to the presidential
directive on reforms, adding that the review of the price of
electricity in the country is one of the actions aimed at removing the
obstacles to investment in the sector.

“There are so many international investors that want to come and
develop the sector, but because of the unfavourable situation that they
find, they have been discouraged,” he said.

Goodluck Jonathan
on Tuesday promised to facilitate the establishment of solid mineral
industries in each of the six geopolitical zones, to diversify the
national economy. He made the pledge in Gusau, Zamfara State, when he
commissioned a multimillion mineral processing plant established by the
Zamfara State government and a private investor.

President Jonathan,
who said the component units of the federation should strive to provide
alternative revenue sources for the growth of the national economy,
added that our country has a greater potential in agriculture and solid
minerals than oil and gas, and that this had not been tapped for speedy
economic growth.

“We will partner
with states and foreign investors with genuine commitment to develop
our solid mineral potential for economic growth,” he said He also said
the Zamfara government would benefit from the national Consolidated
Mineral Development Fund for its initiative to set a pace for mineral
development.

The president,
however, urged the foreign partners to respect international standards
and cautioned the residents of the plant environment to be mindful of
eventual hazards.

The state governor,
Mahmud Shinkafi, said more than N4 billion was spent on the mineral
processing plant. The project was expected to generate revenue and
create jobs for the people, he said.

The president, as
part of a one-day visit to Zamfara State, also paid a courtesy call on
the Emir of Gusau, Kabir Danbaba, and commissioned a school for
children with special needs, as well as a girls’ focal primary school.

Zamfara chief

Mr Jonathan was
conferred with the traditional title of ‘Dan Iyan Zamfara’ as he
concluded the one-day official visit to Zamfara.

The Chairman of the
State Council of Chiefs, Attahiru Anka, said the council conferred the
title on the president in appreciation of his visit.

“The Zamfara State
Council of Chiefs conferred on Your Excellency, President Goodluck
Jonathan, the title of Dan Iyan Zamfara, to commemorate your visit to
the state and your love for the development of Nigeria,” he said.

Mr Anka said the
gesture was also intended to close regional barriers in mutual
understanding and corporation among ethnic nationalities in the country.

Mr Jonathan and his
entourage were later seen off by Mahmud Shinkafi, the governor of
Zamfara; Patrick Yakowa, the governor of Kaduna State; and other top
government officials at the Gusau airstrip.

The Sultan of
Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III; the Emir of Birnin-Gwari, Zubairu Jibrin
and the Emir of Argungu, Muhammadu Mera, were among the traditional
rulers who attended the occasion.

Mr Jonathan was accompanied on the trip by the National Security
Adviser, Aliyu Gusau, and the governors of Sokoto and Kebbi States,
Aliyu Wamakko and Saidu Dakingari, among other top federal and state
officials.

The solution to kidnapping seems to
have eluded security agencies in Benin as another medical doctor, Osaro
Osifo, was on Monday night kidnapped by unknown gunmen at his residence
along Nekpen-nekpen Street, Benin City.

The kidnapped doctor is attached to the Dentistry department of the Central Hospital, Benin City.

Reports have it that the family has been contacted and a million naira ransom demanded.

However, members of the Edo State
chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) are warming up to
embark on a strike if the doctor is not released by today.

State chairman of NMA, Osahon
Enabulele, who confirmed the kidnapping, said the family members are
looking for the ransom fee, as the kidnappers have threatened to kill
their victim if the ransom was not paid as at last night.

“We will stop out-patient services and
only attend to patients already admitted and emergency cases, until our
colleague is released alive unconditionally,” he said.

Meanwhile, residents of Clifford Eweka
Street of Airport Road in Benin City, woke up last week Thursday to
discover a decomposing body of a young man believed to be in his late
twenties in an uncompleted building along the street.

The residents, who still live in fear
following several attacks by unidentified gun men around its environs,
said their attention was drawn to the corpse by some youths in the area
who play football behind the uncompleted building.

Killed youth

The victim, according to a youth in the
area, was seriously battered by those who murdered him. The source said
the death of the young man must be connected with the recent clashes
between two rival cult groups (Eyee confraternity and Blackaxe) in
Benin City who were fightihg for supremacy.

Residents in the area said they no
longer sleep with two eyes closed, owing to several gunshots that are
fired at night. The state police public relations officer, Peter Ogboi,
said the command was yet to be informed about the incident and promised
to contact the nearest police station for adequate investigations.

“We call on residents in the area to always alert the police
whenever they notice any strange movement in their area,” Mr. Ogboi
said.

Hell was almost let
loose at Otu-Jeremi, headquarters of Ughelli South local government
area of Delta State, on Tuesday, as irate youth from the community
challenged the state governor, Emmanuel Uduaghan, and his deputy, Amos
Utuama, at the venue of the commissioning of the town’s road project.
The youth, numbering about 50, had patiently waited for the governor
and his entourage for some hours at the entrance of the town, before
storming the venue immediately the governor and his entourage arrived
in the town to commission the 4.6 kilometres stretch of road in the
community.

Trouble started
when the governor was about to make his speech, minutes after the
opening speech by the commissioner for Works, George Ugboma, who had
told the community that the road project was executed with a total sum
of N205 million, and was for the economic and social wellbeing of the
people. The youth, who had earlier vowed to stop the commissioning,
immediately swung into action, interrupting the speech of the governor.
All attempts to calm them down proved abortive, until the governor
asked them to come forward and make their demand, which he could not
meet immediately.

The youths got
angrier when the governor asked the state chairman of the Christian
Association of Nigeria (CAN), Goddowell Awomakpa, to pray for
deliverance for some of the leaders of the youth, who were then made to
kneel down in the full glare of the community. This act, and the
statements from the governor that the era of ‘area’ was gone in Delta
State, was too much for the youth to accept and they refused to keep
quiet or leave the presence of the governor, even in the full presence
of security personnel.

When it was
apparent that the youth were not ready to yield ground to the
embarrassment of the deputy governor, who was the chief host and hails
from the community, the governor left the area immediately.

Allegation of deceit

However, some of
the youth who spoke with our correspondent, said the roads being
commissioned by the governor was built by Shell Petroleum Development
Company (SPDC), including the two bridges commissioned yesterday. Some
of the youth also accused the governor and his deputy of deceiving the
people with commissioning of the projects, saying most of them were
executed by the immediate past governor of the state, James Ibori.

Efforts to reach the deputy governor’s spokesman has so far failed,
though some of his aides said they were preparing a statement for the
media later. The governor has earlier commissioned a bridge and some
stretch of road at Okhan, with many others lined up, as part of his
third year anniversary celebration in office.

The Ondo State
governor, Olusegun Mimiko, has foreclosed the possibility of the
opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party defeating the Labour Party in the
state in next year’s election.

His comments came barely 72 hours after the ex-president, Olusegun Obasanjo-led South West rally in Ondo State capital, Akure.

The governor, who
spoke at Igbokoda, the headquarters of Ilaje Local Government area when
about 10,000 members of PDP, AC, ANPP and other parties decamped to
Labour Party, said the mood at the Igbokoda rally was clearly different
from the crowd in Akure, which showed signs of being a rented one.

“The show by the
rented crowd has once more shown that Labour Party is waxing stronger
by the day in Ondo State. It is a case of a dead dog and a living
tiger. What threat can a dead dog pose to a ferocious living tiger?
Absolutely nothing!

“When PDP was alive
in Ondo State, Labour Party defeated it silly; not to talk of now that
they are already in the grave,” he said.

He assured the
people that the Ondo State University of Science and Technology
(OSUSTECH) will take off in due course, as the position of the Vice
Chancellor and other Principal Officers would soon be advertised.

Mr. Mimiko, who
also promised to complete all inherited projects and initiate new ones,
said the resuscitation of moribund industries in the riverine areas is
the priority of his administration to tackle youth unemployment.

“Now that Ondo
State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC) has been
strenghtened through the passage and signing into law of its
Appropriation Bill, you will soon begin to see them in action. As a
matter of fact, the rate of development will be more rapid than
expected,” he said.

Meanwhile, a
pressure group known as Progressive Coalition (PC) in Ondo State
yesterday announced its decision to fuse into the ruling Labour
Party(LP), which they described as a progressive party.

Coalition of progressives

The group, at a
news conference in Akure, said it decided to move into the ruling party
in order to make Labour Party more formidable during the 2011 general
elections.

Its chairman, Niran
Jogbodo, who addressed reporters, said membership of the group cuts
across the five political parties in the state, adding that they had
resolved to work harmoniously with the ruling LP to spread dividends of
democracy to the grassroots.

The group, which
came into existence during the struggle to reclaim the gubernatorial
mandate of the LP candidate and incumbent governor, Mr. Mimiko, added
that progressives have decided to work with the present administration
in the state because of its giant strides.

“For these and many
other reasons, all progressives across all parties except the PDP, have
fused with the LP. The official ceremony and rally will take place next
Thursday and it will serve as the official burial ceremony of the PDP
in this state,” Mr. Jogbodo said.

“Sustaining the
current developmental efforts and to join hands to block conservative
politicians from taking over this state again. Ondo is a progressive
state, and conservatism has always been bad news for us.”

The group also
condemned the statement credited to Mr. Obasanjo that the PDP would
capture Ondo State in 2011, saying such statement was malicious and
inciting.

“We will not allow
an intruder to disturb our peace. We are not animals to be captured,
neither are we criminals nor do we intend to be prisoners of war,” Mr.
Jogbodo said.

“He should go back to his Ota farm to capture grasshoppers and
rabbits, and not civilised people of Ondo State. We must tell him that
this state is peopled with men of integrity, and not those who play god
on other human beings.”

The Ekiti chapter of the People’s
Democratic Party said on Tuesday that it would appeal the minority
judgment of the state election petition tribunal governorship re-run
election in the state.

The majority judgment, which was read
by the chairman of the tribunal, Hamma Barka, declared that the
petitioner failed to prove and establish the allegations of
malpractice, corruption, and non-compliance with the Electoral Act
pleaded in his petition. But the minority judgment, read by Abiodun
Adebara, nullified Governor Segun Oni’s election on grounds of
irregularities and declared the Action Congress governorship candidate,
Kayode Fayemi, as the winner of the election.

The party’s chairman in the state, Bola
Olu-Ojo, told a news conference in Ado-Ekiti that “the major plan of
our appeal will be based on minority judgment which was not in our
favour.”

While noting that the party was yet to
receive a copy of the minority judgment, Mr. Olu-Ojo said it would
refrain from “disparaging” any government agencies on the tribunal’s
split judgment. Adding that sentiments do not win court cases, the PDP
chairman observed that the party would present hard facts to prove its
case at the tribunal.

The chairman of Gudu Local Government
Area of Sokoto State, Yusuf Kurdula, says his administration has taken
measures to contain the influx of Nigeriens into the country.

He said this in Balle, headquarters of
the council, when he received a team of the state’s chapter of the
Nigeria Union of Journalists, which was on a monitoring tour of
projects. Mr. Kurdula said though the council shares borders with the
neighbouring Niger Republic, it has taken proactive measures to
forestall breach of peace due to the influx.

He said the people had been sensitised on the need to promptly
report all suspicious persons and their movements to security agents.
“They are also being sensitised on the need to live peacefully with
each other. Nobody should take the laws into his hands,” he said.

The Nigeria Academy of Science (NAS) on Tuesday,
called on journalists to get more active in popularizing science
reporting, as this will influence policy decisions that will improve
social and economic development of the nation.

Science reporting, which covers health, medicine,
environment, technology, agriculture, is under-reported in Nigeria,
owing to insufficient information on the part of the journalists as
well as scientists and the society at large, the Academy believes. At a
meeting announcing the onset of a new prize called the NAS-Pfizer
Science Award for journalists, Oye Ibidapo-Obe, the president of the
Academy (which is a body of foremost Nigerian scientists, including
experts in various fields of science, engineering and medicine), told a
group of journalists that it is not enough to report science
superficially. “You, as journalists, need to go the extra mile of
explaining issues of scientific significance to the public. The
scientists cannot go out there, but you are what they rely on for
information, so you need to live up to your calling.”

The prize

According to him, the new prize, which will be given
at the end of each year for the best science report, is designed to
encourage and improve the media’s knowledge in communicating science
topics to the public. Sponsored by Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals
through the Academy, it also aims to strengthen the media’s coverage of
scientific issues particularly those relevant to policy decisions.

“The Nigerian Academy of Science seeks to establish
science reporting prizes for both electronic and print media. This will
be administered by a panel of judges at the end of each year,” Mr
Ibidapo-Obe said. To this end, he says there will be a couple of
training sessions for journalists on science reporting, in order to
enhance their capacity to win the prize.

Akin Jimoh, a science and public health media trainer said the
importance of science reporting cannot be overemphasized, as effective
reporting has the potential of driving important policy decisions. “As
journalists, we ought to do investigative science reporting. There are
issues everywhere that we are not looking at. For example, we have the
budget issues; we can write about what effect the science budget can
have. We have the Abalaka HIV issues which no one is looking at now.
There are lots of issues. We just need to be better trained and
sensitive to science issues.”