FEATURES
President of Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC), Matthew Ashimolowo has urged the Federal Government to create short, medium and long term measures to address the chronic poverty in Nigeria.
He advised the Federal Government to adopt ‘Keynesian economics’ to boost production
The clergyman lamented that Nigerian business owners are constantly harassed by federal and state revenue collection agencies.
He urged the government to support business owners instead of empowering few rich men who cannot employ more than 100,000 people.
Ashimolowo shared his view during an interview with newsmen at the end of a six-day long Christ Compassion Crusade 2023 at the Igbogbo Stadium in Ikorodu, Lagos.
Speaking on palliatives, he argued that it is not the answer to the situation in the economy.
Ashimolowo said, “In the short-term, government should apply ‘Keynesian economics’, which argues that government should encourage industries to overproduce and then buy the excess, that way, there will be production, when government buys off the excesses and gives to the poor.
“In the medium term, the government should take away the power of over-empowering few very rich men that we keep celebrating as multi-billionaires meanwhile they cannot employ more than 100,000 people. Government should rather encourage small and medium enterprises, Nigerians are very entrepreneurial by nature, there is no house that does not have a shop in front of it, government calls them a setback but it is not a setback, those small shops should be empowered.
“In the long term, the government must encourage industries to come up. They say it is easy to do business in Nigeria, it is a lie, I have businesses in Nigeria, it is not easy to do business, if you are doing business in Nigeria, you are harassed by the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the local inland revenue service.
“Palliative is not the answer, I think palliative is short term, we don’t call our own palliative. The dictionary definition of palliative is something you give a man that is sick as temporary reprieve. Ours is not that, ours is to bless, we are here to touch people and show them compassion, we are not government.”
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has finalized the agreement to allocate $618 million to Nigeria through the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprise (i-DICE) initiative.
Mr Lamin Barrow, the Country Director-General for Nigeria at the AfDB, shared with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Marrakesh, Morocco, on Sunday that the Nigerian government is currently in the stages of hiring a fund manager for the project.
Nigeria launched a 618 million-dollar technology fund for young investors under the iDICE programme on March 14.
The fund, introduced by ex-Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, sought to assist investors grappling with fundraising challenges in Nigeria’s technology and creative sectors.
The AfDB plans to contribute $170 million, the Agence Francaise de Developpement is set to contribute $116 million, and the Islamic Development Bank will invest $70 million.
Barrow said the implementation of the project was staggered because of Nigeria’s government transition.
- “We were caught up by the transition of government and you have to allow the new government to settle in.
- “The steering committee, chaired by the vice-president with membership from the Ministries of Finance, Trade and Investments, Communication, Science and Technology, Information and Culture, met and received a briefing.
- “We are now at the point of disbursement and the team has assembled the necessary procurement work.
- “This has to do with the recruitment of the transaction adviser and the Expression of Interest for firms that want to manage the DICE funds,’’ he said.
Collaboration with the French Government
In addition, the project also got the French government’s approval, with a financial commitment of millions of dollars.
Recall that the French Minister, Catherine Colonnade, who visited Nigeria last week pledged support to the programme, noting that it can create 65,000 startups in the country.
Barrow, the Country Director-General for Nigeria at the AfDB, also agreed with the minister, saying there is a collaborative effort between the bank and the French government in investing in the project.
- “Last week, the French minister that visited Nigeria signed the agreement for the co-financing as DICE is being co-financed by the French Development Agency and the Islamic Development Bank. All the processes are now virtually completed.
- “The important thing is that the fund and the recruitment processes for a fund manager will soon occur.
- “The fund will be independently managed by the fund manager who will also contribute to the fund by supporting start-ups,’’ Barrow said.
[Nairametrics]
Spiritual Father and Chairman of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church Worldwide, Prophet Samuel Adefila Abidoye, has died.
Naija News reports that his death was confirmed by the Secretariat of the church headed by the Secretary-General, Special Apostle Ademola Odetundun.
The Secretariat disclosed that the Spiritual Father died Sunday morning at about 10:00 am at the age of 103 in his Ilorin home, the Kwara state capital.
Narrating how he died, Apostle Odetundun said that the late spiritual father had his breakfast, almost dressing up to prepare for service, when he said that he wanted to rest for a while.
“He passed on peacefully, thereafter”, he said, adding that burial arrangements would be announced later.
Baba Aladura, Dr. Prophet Samuel Adefila Abidoye was born on June 26 as a Prince at Omu Aran, Irepodun Local Government of Kwara State. His father was Odetundun Abegunde, who was Oba Olomu of Omu Aran, which was in Ilorin Province at the time. His mother’s name was Tinuade Tinuola, daughter of Niniola, a princess of Oponda in the present Isin Local Government of Kwara State.
He started schooling at N. A. Primary School, Omu Aran in May 1934. He lost his father on the Valentine’s day of 14th February 1938 which made the Lovers’ Day especially memorable to him personally. Around 1938, a Reverend Man of God, Senior Apostle Prophet Peter Oyinloye from Rore near Omu Aran, introduced Baba Samuel Abidoye to the Cherubim and Seraphim Church. Meanwhile, just as other converts in other folds, this new convert and others were made to memorize the catechism, which they had to recite before baptism. Thereafter, he was given the grace of seeing our Lord Jesus Christ in his dreams and in a trance in 1958.
Johnny Drille, the Nigerian singer, has detailed how he met Rima Tahini, his wife.
Born John Ighodaro, Drille tied the knot with Tahini, Mavin Record director of A&R and a senior associate of Kupanda Capital, on January 5, 2022.
In a recent interview, Drille revealed Tahini was not just his first girlfriend but also the first woman to hear him say ‘”I love you”.
“The first time I saw her was at one of my shows in 2018. She was sitting in the front row next to a white woman. At some point, I thought both of them were white. She is mixed race,” he said.
“So, when I was working on another show in Abuja, we got talking. We met in October and by January, I knew I was going to marry her. And I told her I was going to marry her.
“For me, it was deep conviction. A lot of people will not believe this but she was my first girlfriend. I never had a girlfriend before her. I married the first woman that I said ‘I love you’ to.”
Tahini shared a video earlier in the year to celebrate what appeared to be their first wedding anniversary.
“Exactly a year ago yesterday – the most beautiful day, and it’s been the most beautiful 1st year of marriage. I am filled with gratitude to God everyday and look forward to forever by his grace!” she wrote.
[TheCable]
Experts at the 2023 Africa Retail Congress harped on how retailers across Nigeria and Africa can leverage the rise of data analytics and big data to drive a better understanding of the industry, consumer and market in general.
During the panel discussion featuring industry giants from diverse niches such as e-commerce, banking, fintech, FMCG, etc, not only the importance of data was emphasized but also the kind of data and how to interpret them for better performance.
Bankers need the application of retail knowledge in their business
On his part, Olu Akanmu, the former CEO of Opay said not only retailers in the FMCG or e-commerce need the application of retail knowledge but bankers too.
He compared the retailing of goods and services to banking and its products.
He said bankers should deviate from the conventional approach they judge performance but instead look into individual customer data and how they transact with the bank.
- In his words, “If we take a retail mindset to look at the business of the branch and granulate it and pass it from the foundation. How many customers have we got in this branch? How many of them come in to do transactions every 30 days? …how much are you making per customer? You can begin to form that into the revenue you make on a monthly basis. What will be the incremental value in revenue if the customer uses more products or services of the bank?”
He opined that people who do their retail banking business this way are bound to be better retail bankers than the traditional way people do branch banking and further advised the alignment of data architecture to the retail business model.
Data whether big or small should be contextualised
Bayo Adekanbi, the CEO of Data Science Nigeria, deviated from the emphasis on big data and opined that there are tons of small data retailers can use to better understand their business.
He also said there are a lot of disjointed data that retailers cannot make sense of through contextualisation.
- He said, “There is so much that we have all over the place that we need to have a way of touching the data so that they can speak to themselves because data is only powerful when disparate, disjointed data are aligned together so that we find common patterns in margins and this is critical because people are not statistics, they are bundles of emotions and it is in aggregating data that we begin to segment people and outcomes”
Customers’ online experience should be seamless
On the strategies traditional brick and mortal businesses can use to make a seamless transition into the digital era, Jan Tucker said retailers should design the online store to be similar to the physical in look and feel.
That is the customer experience and journey should be similar to what obtains in the physical store.
The CEO of Konga, Nnamdi Ekeh said financial inclusion goes beyond connecting people to the financial system, but the bigger problem is “financial colonialism” with the prevalence of USD in the economy and payment difficulty being experienced by small businesses when trying to make international payments.
Other speakers at the event spoke on privacy and security of data and why retailers should ensure customers’ data is used for what it is stated for.
[Nairametrics]
Grammy-winning Nigerian singer, Ayodeji Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid, shone at this year’s British Photography Awards, BPA, held in London at the weekend.
The Starboy’s performance picture at Glastonbury Festival earlier this year won the Event Category Award at the 2023 British Photography Awards.
The iconic picture was taken by London-based freelance photographer and graphic designer Nick Haill.
Wizkid has now become the first Nigerian celebrity whose image won a British Photography Award.
The Recording Academy, organisers of the Grammy Awards, have postulated that there is no Afrobeats star or African artist who is “bigger” than Nigerian singer Damini Ogulu, aka Burna Boy.
The Academy made the assertion in a statement published on its website on Saturday, congratulating Burna Boy and other nominees for the newly created Best African Music Performance category at the 2024 Grammys.
The Grammys said Burna Boy is “firmly in his imperial era” havimg collaborated with “global stars such as Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber,” and also earned his first UK No. 1 album this year with “the classic hip-hop influenced I Told Them…, featuring appearances from 21 Savage, J. Cole, RZA, and GZA.”
The Academy said, “There’s not a bigger star in Afrobeats, or even the whole of Africa itself, than Burna Boy. He nabbed two consecutive Best Global Album GRAMMY nods for his albums Twice as Tall and African Giant, and he’s also collaborated with global stars such as Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber.”
DAILY POST reported that Burna Boy’s ‘City Boys’ was nominated in the maiden Best African Music Performance category at the 66th Grammys.
‘City Boys’ will contest the award with Davido and Musa Keys’ ‘Unavailable,’ Ayra Starr’s ‘Rush,’ Asake and Olamide’s ‘Amapiano, and Tyla’s ‘Water.’
Burna Boy also bagged nominations in three other categories; ‘Sitting On Top of the World’ featuring 21 Savage – Best Melodic Rap, ‘I Told Them’ – Best Global Music Album, and ‘Alone’ – Best Global Music Performance.
Award-winning Nollywood actor, Emeka Ike is in a state of mourning as his mother, Mrs. Comfort Ike has died.
The movie star announced the passing on of his mum via hia official Instagram page on Saturday, November 11, 2023.
Comfort at the at the time of her death was 90 years old. Emeka Ike who addressed her as his hero, said she touched lives and accomplished a lot as a preacher and Christian.
Sharing a black video, he wrote; “My hero is gone, RIP world Mother. We will hold on to the love you showed humanity”.
Former Big Brother Naija housemate Leo Dasilva, has tied the knot with his lover, Maryam Laushi.
The marriage traditionally took place on Saturday in Kaduna State.
Congratulatory messages have been pouring in from his colleagues and friends .
DAILY POST recalls that Leo and Maryam got engaged earlier this year.
Leo rose to fame after his appearance on season three of the reality show show in 2018.
Leo’s wedding comes at about the same time when another BBNaija star, Chizzy Francis, tied the knot with his lover in Anambra State.
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Former Big Brother Naija season 7 housemate, Chizzy Francis, has tied the knot with his lover.
The traditional wedding of the reality star took place on Saturday in Anambra State.
In a viral video on social media, Chizzy’s wife could be seen kneeling to offer him a drink as part of their tradition.
Chizzy, who is yet to announce the news, shared a picture of himself via his Instagram page.
He captioned it, “it is not how far, but how well”.
Some of his colleagues who congratulated him include Doyin, Groovy, Phyna, Amaka, Christy O, Allyson and Modella.
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The APC Support Groups have cautioned the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) leadership against using its membership for partisan political connections and personal gain.
The Director-General, Kailani Muhammed, issued this caution during a press conference in Abuja on Saturday.
Muhammed recounted that on November 8, the NLC initiated a protest that blocked access to the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, and the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, despite appeals to the NLC to postpone the industrial action.
He noted that the protest disrupted both human and traffic movements, causing a halt in airport activities for several hours.
“We advise the NLC leadership to refrain from using its membership for personal gains. It is not sound logic to antagonize the Federal Government simply because its candidate lost in the presidential election.
“The NLC’s association with Peter Obi, the LP Presidential candidate, both before and after the February Presidential election, and its alignment as a partisan political affiliate of the LP, is undeniable,” stated the group’s Director-General.
While acknowledging the right to engage in partisan politics under the guise of a labour union, Muhammed criticized the transfer of the alleged failure’s repercussions to the elected President of the Federal Republic, characterizing it as unacceptable and warranting condemnation.
“Nigerians are already feeling the impacts of the fuel subsidy removal in various ways. The NLC should not exacerbate the situation,” he emphasized.
Muhammed proposed that the best way to address the alleged attack on Joe Ajeoro, the NLC president, is through exhaustive engagement in a round table for an amicable solution rather than escalating tensions.
“This will ensure unity and development, with justice and fair play prevailing. The Confederation of APC Support Groups and other well-meaning Nigerians will stand up to defend against any unfounded allegations against the APC-led Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s government, both now and in the future. This is a safeguard to ensure that democracy thrives in Nigeria,” he concluded.