SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 1

EDITION 46 I 12, JUNE 2021

DEMOCRACY DAY SPECIAL EDITION

DEMOCRACY SPECIAL DEMOCRACY SPECIAL

YOUNG NIGERIANS ARE LOSING WHAT DOES DEMOCRACY MEAN TO YOU? THEIR VOICE IN A TAINTED DEMOCRACY

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng 2 SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 3

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng 4 Editorial 4 SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021

PUBLISHER/EDITOR IN CHIEF Frank Aigbogun Editor’s Note MANAGING DIRECTOR Ogho Okiti SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 EDITOR Tayo Fagbule

Dear weekender readers, DEPUTY EDITOR Lolade Akinmurele Welcome to the 46th edition of the BusinessDay Weekender which is EDITOR BUSINESSDAY SATURDAY usually strictly online but to celebrate Democracy Day, we have decided to Lehlé Balde do a special print edition. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS Fabian Akagha As the famous Greek Philosopher Aristotle put it: “Democracy arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all MANAGER, CONFERENCES & EVENTS respects; because men are equally free, they claim to be absolutely equal.” We Obiora Onyeaso have prepared for you a special section dedicated to Democracy Day which MANAGER, ADVERTS might help you confirm or re-assess your concept of Democracy: What does Ijeoma Ude democracy mean to you? Is it work in progress? What does the Twitter ban mean for the state of democracy in Nigeria? COPY SALES MANAGER Florence Kadiri Inside: Read our interview with the founder of Nigeria’s most affordable DIGITAL SALES MANAGER carrier, Babawande Afolabi to find out how the newest addition to Nigeria’s Linda Ochugbua aviation industry - Green Africa Airways - is disrupting the industry with the HEAD OF DIGITAL SERVICES lowest fares ever! Onyinyechi Eze HEAD, HUMAN RESOURCES On the other hand, have you ever wondered how Apple can charge two or Damilola Abifarin three times the price of its competitors for the same product or why Samsung DESIGN AND ART DIRECTION sales never slump even when cheaper and more effective offerings from Tolulope Ayo-Olubiyo. competitors are available in the market? Read our brands column to find out. CONTRIBUTORS Mercy Ayodele Are you young, employed but broke? Elvis Kachi Udy Osaro-Edobor Our personal finance section put together great tips on how to start the Feyisitan Ijimakinwa habit of saving as there is nothing worse than being employed and broke. Dr. Helen Zidon TELIAT SULE Titilade Oyemade This week’s book review: Manufacturing business owners would not want Imasuan Okungbowa Akanimo Ekong to miss our review of the book entitled Timeless Advice for Manufacturing FRANK ELEANYA Businesses by Adebola Adefila who comes from a family whose passion is Chris Akor Stacey Karuhanga manufacturing with a history of business ownership and who wrote a book Lolade akinmurele' ' to share his experience, the challenges he encountered and possible solutions ART X Lagos Anthony Nlebem for a manufacturing business! Asukwo Mike IFEOMA OKEKE In the news roundup, read about how: Nigeria loses billions to Twitter ban; Ijeoma Adesanya El Salvador becomes the first country to make bitcoin its legal tender; Telcos PHOTO CREDIT lost more subscribers in April despite NCC lifting SIM card ban; Nigerian Freepik, Google Images, Pexels drivers to ditch Uber and Bolt; Child labor on the rise for the first time since ENQUIRIES 2000; World bank upgrades Nigeria’s growth forecast to 1.8% in 2021; Lagos [email protected] is the second-least livable city in the world. [email protected] ADVERTS Our sports roundup focuses on the Glamour and high tension around the Ijeoma Ude 24 teams that are vying for the Euro 2020 glory. +2348033225506

PUBLISHED BY Also discover the 2018 amazing Monjiaola Artwork by BusinessDay Media Limited artist Moufouli Bello and the original Nigerian jollof rice The Brook, 6 Point Road, GRA, Apapa, Lagos, Nigeria. recipe! 01-2799100 www.businessday.ng Enjoy.BD LEGAL ADVISERS The Law Union

Lehlé Baldé is the Editor of BusinessDay Weekender email: [email protected] | social: @lehlelalumiere

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 5

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng 6 LAUGHTER IN THE MIRROR SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 FASHION 7

OP-ED: #TWITTERBAN: WHAT THE INDEFINITE BAN OF TWITTER IN NIGERIA COULD MEAN FOR THE FASHION INDUSTRY. ELVIS KACHI n the 3rd of June, media, Twitter especially, fashion industry, and how it Lagos Fashion Week, Arise the Nigerian has been a place very keen was important if we came in Fashion Week, GTBANK government to the growth of businesses. from the angle of production, Fashion Week, and a host via a series of Fashion creatives have over using technology especially of others, are relying on O these mainstream media tweets, passed messages that time, harnessed its power, because no one was doing it could only be translated as and built brands that are yet. We even planned to reach platforms to promote their genocidal. That day, a vast highly respectable on both out to a few foreign investors. shows, which will double majority of Nigerians took to local and international levels. Who’ll be interested now? as a means of revenue their social media platforms For photographers like Sola*, one of my friends creation. No well exhausted to express displeasure, grief, Samuel*, not having twitter narrates. “Take a look at the means of show promotions, and ultimately, fear for their means not having a very rate foreign investors are means no attendants. No lives and loved ones. This instrumental creative hub. withdrawing their stakes in attendants, means no sales. fear prompted them to Although there are places Nigeria,” he goes on to say, No sales, means no revenue report the tweets, pointing for fashion occupants like drawing attention to a piece generation, and that in turn out the number of ways it Pinterest and Instagram to he saw online. Besides how affects those who work could spike (tribal) hate, get on your creative juices, the ban has had a negative (for pay) to keep it moving which could progress to war each of these platforms have effect on the emotional forward – photographers, if not checked immediately. their uniquenesses. “Not working of those in the designers, models, PR having twitter is like rooting agencies, Marketers, show Arise Fashion Week. out my foundation. The In response to the report, platform is one of the places Twitter brought down the I first found my roots. It gave tweet of the current Nigerian me a sense of belonging, president, noting that there and it’s just really sad that was a violation in its Terms something I’ve held onto for and Conditions. In a bid to so long is being taken away bite back at the well carried from without my consent,” decision, the Nigerian Samuel* says. government took to their official twitter accounts to Lagos Fashion Week. announce the ban of the With over 186million daily platform in the country, active users, the possibilities even without going through of amassing a reasonable the legal, constitutional number of customer base processes. This wouldn’t on the platform is endless. be the first time a threat to Going by such populace and passing a social media ban activity, the possibility of has been made. During wealth creation in a country the #ENDSARS protest, that’s never necessarily Nigerian government supported your venture expressed its displeasure is heightened, with you, by moving the motion getting a real shot at a life to passing a social media of enjoyment. Imagine all bill, when young Nigerian of that, briskly taken away protesters took to social from you by a government media platforms to field trying to keep up with their displeasures and discomfort. legacy of dictatorship and Matching actions with tyranny, even after putting fashion industry means an words, Twitter was officially all that work to amass a den obvious state of financial banned in Nigeria, and it of loyal customers. This regression. The Nigerian became illegal to use. was the plight of Onome*, government can do so much a Calabar, Nigeria based fashion industry, it has had promoters, event managers, better in filling this dent. Lagos Fashion Week designer. “It took me years to a lot of negative impacts decorators, music artists, Everyone and everything is Nigeria is known to possess build that account. 12k of my on the nations’ financial etc. An evident lack in the relying on it. BD a teaming population of loyal customers would have gains. Foreign investors over 200million people, gone into smoke, thank God now doubt the successes of Elvis Kachi is a performance-driven Fashion, Culture and Lifestyle amongst whom are made of for how our tech brothers their ventures, and those Journalist, with years of demonstrated track records in positively young creatives – designers, and sisters found a way,” she with plans of investing, are impacting organizations through building and strengthening photographers, developers, said. retracting, watching from strategic communications, producing digital marketing contents, performing market research and managing projects. stylists, models, retail shop “I was having a conversation the sidelines how the whole A creative content writer, creator, illustrator, and an overall lover of owners, merchandisers, with a friend sometime situation progresses or artistic fashion; currently using his skills to further explore the creative thrift importers, etc. Like last week on this issue of regresses. space, and give a voice to a culture he believes in. every other industry, social sustainability in the Nigerian Fashion platforms like

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng 8 SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 9

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng 10 SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 11

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng 12 SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 13

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng 14 ART OF THE WEEK SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021

Moufouli Bello, Monjinsola, 2018 Image Courtesy of SMO Contemporary Art and ART X Lagos - West Africa’s Premier International Art Fair. Learn more at www.artxlagos.com

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 PROFILE 15

MEET AFOLABI, FOUNDER OF GREEN AFRICA, NIGERIA’S MOST AFFORDABLE CARRIER ENDURANCE OKAFOR

ith the bold message on its website, “Welcome to the future – you are one flight closer to your dreams and destinations”, Green Africa Airways, a new entrant to the Nigerian aviation sector, is disrupting the airline business Wwith low airfares that start from N16,500, the lowest in the country. The Lagos-based airline was founded by Babawande Afolabi, an American returnee that holds the record as the youngest airline owner in Africa’s largest economy. The Osun State-born entrepreneur is in his 30s. The company which is offering the cheapest airfare in Nigeria is coming into the market at a time when the prices of flight tickets have jumped to one of their highest levels.

Airlines in Nigeria have continued to increase the 2002-2017 said Afolabi was focused on bringing microloans cost carrier, has been able to stay profitable through many price of tickets because of the scarcity of dollar, depleting to Nigeria. Afolabi, according to the magazine, applied for decades. It even has an economic term named after it popu- fleet and the surge in demand for flights amid heightened an internship with Sponsors for Educational Opportunity larly called “the Southwest effect”. insecurity in Nigeria’s inter-state roads. (SEO), which places minority students with some of the na- Southwest started out with an idea to make air travel accessi- With plans to start its flights from 24 June 2021, Green Africa tion’s top companies. ble for all. While most carriers in the US focused on wealthy is offering a 70 percent slash in airfares compared to its peers “Of the more than 5,000 students who applied for internships travellers, it set out to disrupt the market by giving more peo- in the industry. The Lagos-based airline is commencing its through SEO, Afolabi is one of only 438 students to receive ple the opportunity to travel by air at a low cost. operations six years after the day was first established. an internship, working this summer for Morgan Stanley on Southwest Airlines focused on four main things: a low-cost Founded on 15 June 2015 by Afolabi, who serves as the chief Wall Street,” the article said. structure that stayed low due to fast growth, happy employ- executive officer, Green Africa describes itself as a low-cost The oldest of five children, Afolabi was raised to believe the ees who liked their jobs and translated that to customers, be- carrier as it targets the low-income segment of the Nigeri- world can be changed. ing future-minded, and differentiated. an economy that cannot afford the luxurious but expensive “My mother is an elementary school teacher, and my father Green Africa, just like Southwest, is coming into the Nigerian seats on the flights of other carriers. is a financial analyst on a very small scale,” said Afolabi. “They aviation sector with a low-cost structure with fares between Originally planned to start its operations in 2019, Green both instilled in me the knowledge that education can make N16,500 and N23,000, which is about a 50 to 70 percent slash Africa Airways has received the necessary operating licenc- things better. I must learn all I can and build my credentials in average fares charged by other airlines. Although, there es from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and is said to so the financial institutions in Nigeria will truly understand have been questions as to whether the prices will remain low. have placed an order for fifty A220-300s from Airbus while how this can help. Before people change the world, they have “I would not say the price they have started with will be per- it also committed to leasing an additional three A220-300s to change themselves.” manent, it is an introductory offer but you can be sure that if aircraft from leasing company, GTLK Europe. The leased air- Afolabi, whose internship was in investment banking, was you pick the first three airlines in the country with the lowest craft will allow Green Africa to meet its planned launch of one of only 48 sophomores granted an SEO internship in fare in two or three months, Green Africa would be one of commercial operations this June. the summer of 2008. The SEO Career Program most often them,” Olumide Ohunayo, a member of the Aviation Safety Read Also: Green Africa completes acceptance of 3 ATR 72- works with college juniors, placing them in seven categories Roundtable Initiative (ASRTI), said. 600s in preparation for deployment of internships ranging from accounting and corporate law to “They have started with a very low-cost aircraft, they are tak- Green Africa’s Board of directors consists of industry vet- global corporate finance leadership. ing a smaller market that fits the Nigerian market and if they erans including Afolabi’s former boss, Tom Horton, former “All of this will help when I return to Nigeria and speak to build on that and get good maintenance organizations, con- chairman and CEO of American Airlines (Afolabi was a financial institutions there about creating a microloan pro- tinue with the same fleet, get better deals with the manufac- summer associate at American Airlines in 2013); William gram,” Afolabi, whose own father had a business idea that turer of such aircraft, the maintenance and cost of operation Shaw, current CEO of Interjet; Virasb Vahidi, former CCO of died away because he could not secure a loan for as little as would go lower, their fares will not increase,” Ohunayo said. American Airlines; Wale Adeosun, founder and CEO of Ku- $200, said in 2008. Despite the similarity in low fares, differences such as fleet ramo Capital; and Gbenga Oyebode, founder and chairman According to Afolabi, his father’s business idea could not and routes make Green Africa different from Southwest. of Aluko & Oyebode. flourish because he had no money, no collateral and no con- Green Africa will use ATR72-600S jetliners, a turboprop, Before founding Green Africa Airways, Afolabi worked in nections to make it happen. while Southwest operates Boeing 737 jet planes. Turboprops the finance and airline industries. His experience includes “There are so many people like him. I hope microloans can are generally more fuel-efficient than jets whose fuel us- investment banking for financial institutions and emerging help. I hope they can be a lifeline for my people,” he said. market clients at Morgan Stanley, as well as corporate strate- Afolabi’s plans from his university days to help the most vul- gy at American Airlines. nerable segment of the Nigerian economy is coming to life The Political Science and Economics graduate of the Illinois today as he has been able to set up Teatime Capital, a venture Wesleyan University (2010), where he served as student body capital that is helping to invest in ultra-small businesses in president, is also the founder of Teatime Capital, a venture Nigeria. capital initiative focused on making micro-equity invest- The reason for Afolabi’s decision to establish a low-fare air- ments to ultra-small Nigerian businesses in often overlooked line is not far-fetched from his plan to provide products that regions of the country. can serve the low-income segment of the economy. “Giving people microloans means giving them a shot at life,” With the business model of Green Africa, Afolabi is trying to Afolabi said. “Small businesses give people the means to send attempt the ‘Southwest effect’ on air travel in Nigeria. Its first children to school, hopefully raising the literacy rates and flight is days away, yet the Lagos-based startup budget airline lowering crime. It provides a new foundation for society.” is edging closer to disrupting the Nigerian airspace forever. age is higher. BD Born in Ile-Ife, Afolabi who holds an MBA from Stanford It has announced its entrance with cheaper airfares for sev- Graduate School of Business (2014) plans to expand the en routes including Lagos to Abuja, a strategy that looks well low-fare service offered by Green Africa across the African suited to a large country where average incomes are low and continent after it kicks off in the most populous country in rising insecurity is increasingly discouraging road travel. the region. Green Africa’s strategy is not new, at least not on the global Having interned with Morgan Stanley on Wall Street, an scene. It has a similar playbook to the world’s largest low-cost article published in Illinois Wesleyan University Magazine, carrier, Southwest Airlines. Southwest, despite being a low-

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng 16 SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 17

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng 18 SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 19

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng 20 SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021

DemocracySpecialYOUNG NIGERI- Day ANS ARE LOSING THEIR VOICE IN A TAINTED DEMOCRACY LOLADE AKINMURELE

told some old friends from King’s College that I want- young Nigerians and there I got my answer. ed to protest the negative impact of the Twitter ban on small businesses at the Lekki Toll gate and needed com- Democracy is about freedom. Freedom of speech, expres- Ipany. We were going to take a simplistic view of how the sion, association etc, and is also about holding the govern- restriction was stifling the multitude of businesses that use ment accountable. When people are so afraid to speak for the Twitter as a means of constant communication with old and fear of being brutally silenced, what does it say about democ- new customers. It was unacceptable for the government to racy in such a country? act this way, not caring about the economic consequences. Of course, we shouldn’t define Nigeria’s democracy by the events of just one year. Our democracy has indeed grown I referenced data from Netblocks, an online service that pub- leaps and bounds since the military era, but it is now fast de- lishes estimates of the economic cost of internet disruptions teriorating. It is ironic that around the world. Netblocks had put the cost of the ban to Nigeria’s democracy is Nigeria at N90.7 million ($250,600) per hour. I gave several There’s been a global hit analogies to buttress how the cost was mainly shouldered by Globally, democracy actually took a hit in 2020. seemingly rescinding private businesses and not President Muhammadu Buhari The average regional scores in The Economist Intelligence under the watch of who ordered the ban because his ego was bruised by the mi- Unit’s Democracy Index worsened in every single region of croblogging platform’s treatment of his tweet. If these private the world in 2020 for the first time since 2010. Buhari who rode the businesses who had all been shut out of Twitter had a say, The average global score in 2020 fell to 5.37 (on a scale of coattails of a vibrant would the majority sign up to the ban? 0-10) from 5.44 in 2019, driven by regressions across all re- democracy to mount a gions, and especially large ones in Sub-Saharan Africa and My friends cut me short at this point. the Middle East and North Africa. sweeping defeat of an A decade ago the cause of a similar democratic recession was incumbent president, While they agreed we would be protesting for a good cause, disaffection with governments and a collapse of trust in in- they urged caution, citing the way the government had vio- stitutions following the global economic and financial crisis. the first time it had ever lently quashed protests against police brutality last year after By contrast, the 2020 worldwide democratic regression was happened in the country’s armed military men shot at peaceful protesters and killed largely the result of the measures taken by governments to history of democratic some of them. Drawing from that experience they urged address the public health emergency caused by the novel " me to say nothing. They didn’t have to remind me about coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, which has entailed the rule. the events of October 20, 2020. I had also not forgotten the suspension of the civil liberties of entire populations for shameful incident for which not a single person has been prolonged periods. Across the world in 2020, citizens ex- tried eight months after. I actually had something else up my perienced the biggest rollback of individual freedoms ever sleeves. I was carrying out a test of what democracy meant to undertaken by governments during peacetime (and perhaps

Nigeria’s democracy has regressed every year since 2015

5.0

4.8

4.6

4.4

4.2

4.0 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Source: The Economist Intelligence Unit Design: Aderemi Ayeni Businessday.ng @Businessdayng SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 21

even in wartime). The willing surrender of fundamental free- history of democratic rule. doms by millions of people was perhaps one of the most re- markable occurrences in an extraordinary year. His victory was the result of rife discontent among Nigerians The main policy response of governments to the pandemic, about the previous government. whether they were authoritarian or democratic, was to im- pose social distancing, quarantines and lockdown measures Buhari has however now become a threat to the same vibrant of greater or lesser severity and of longer or shorter duration. democracy that brought him into power whether it’s in the But the Nigerian govern- By the end of 2020, many Western countries were entering form of sanctioning the use of aggressive force against peace- their third lockdowns as cases of the coronavirus surged ful protesters or the recent Twitter ban for all Nigerians. His ment has continued to again as a result of the spread of new, more infectious strains. entire administration is tainted with violation of court or- detain them using the ex- Only one year before, when the Chinese authorities locked ders, arrest of journalists and other anti-democratic actions. down the city of Wuhan in Hubei province in central Chi- emption provided in Section na, the rest of the world looked on incredulously, and people There was the crack down on Omoyele Sowore, a journalist 35 (1)(c), that an individ- said that it could “never happen here”. and publisher of Sahara Reporters who tried to lead nation- Yet within months, countries around the world were follow- al protests against Buhari’s administration on the grounds ual can be detained “… ing the Chinese template of lockdowns, albeit without em- of rising insecurity and corruption, even as there is the case upon reasonable suspicion ploying the same repressive techniques as China to contain of the leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Ibrahim what had by then become a global pandemic. Political and El-Zakzaky and his wife Zeenat who on June 9 clocked 2000 of his having committed a cultural differences—and, in some cases, an initial belief days in illegal detention. criminal offense.” It doesn’t that the pandemic was a hoax—led some democracies to re- sist the policy of lockdowns. In the US in particular, a strong As far back as December 2016, a Federal High Court in Abu- matter if El-Zakzaky’s con- culture of anti-statism and commitment to individual rights ja had ordered El-Zakzaky and his wife released from deten- tinued detention is against resulted in high levels of popular resistance to the public tion, citing that the continued detention violates their rights " health measures taken by state authorities to contain the and is against Section 35(1) of the constitution which pro- the other provisions of the spread of the coronavirus. Yet these were differences mainly vided “every person shall be entitled to his personal liberty constitution. of degree rather than substance, and social distancing and and no person shall be deprived of such liberty…in accor- lockdowns became the standard approach to dealing with dance with a procedure by law.” the public health emergency across the developed world. In many emerging markets and poorer countries, lockdowns But the Nigerian government has continued to detain them tended to be shorter (but more coercive) and social distanc- using the exemption provided in Section 35 (1)(c), that an ing less restrictive, given the dependence of so many on the individual can be detained “…upon reasonable suspicion of informal economy and the state’s inability to provide a social his having committed a criminal offense.” It doesn’t matter if safety net for long, if at all. El-Zakzaky’s continued detention is against the other provi- Across the world the pandemic led governments to take sions of the constitution. away their citizens’ freedoms and suspend civil liberties. Freedom of movement was taken away as a result of border This is what Nigeria has become, civic rights are no longer closures, international travel bans, and restrictions on do- guaranteed. It is why Nigerians are now afraid to hold the mestic travel and the use of public transport. Governments government accountable through protests. Unfortunately, invoked emergency powers or imposed states of emergency; the pain of that forced silence is being borne by Nigerians dispensed with parliamentary oversight and checks and bal- whose misery is worsening. ances; introduced compulsory social distancing, lockdowns, curfews and mask wearing; confined people to their homes, In his six years as president, Nigerians have grown poorer except for limited activities; closed educational and cultural each year, with the economy failing to expand at a fast enough establishments; cancelled or postponed elections; prohibit- pace to provide opportunities for a bulging population. Jobs ed public protests; censured dissenting voices and curtailed are scarce and unemployment is the second highest globally freedom of expression; and used the full force of the law to at 33 percent in 2020. Nearly 14 million young people are out punish those who disobeyed. This list may sound dystopian, of work in Nigeria, which has one of the largest youth popu- yet this was the experience of most people in 2020. lation, with more than a third of its 200 million people aged The unprecedented suspension of individual freedoms, at 24 or under according to United Nations data. Unattractive least in countries where liberty prevailed before the pandem- government policies and a difficult business environment ic, accounts for the sharp democratic regression recorded in won’t let private capital come in droves to create jobs while the 2020 Democracy Index. Government restrictions on the few investors within the country are being suffocated to citizens’ civil liberties led to scoring downgrades for several death and the few jobs available are lost. The lack of jobs for Democracy Index questions for almost every country in the its teeming youth population is fanning insecurity and the world. worst may be yet to come for a country that is projected by the United Nations to be the third most populous nation in Nigeria’s democracy suffers under Buhari the world by 2050- with 400 million people, double of the Nigeria’s democracy index score declined to 4.10 in 2020 current population. from 4.12 in 2019. In 2015, when the Buhari government was first appointed, the score was 4.62 which means the country The defeaning silence of Nigerians amid the country’s eco- saw a 10 percent slump between 2015 and 2020. So Nigeria’s nomic realities should be an indictment on its democracy, deterioration did not start last year, it’s been on for the entire but it doesn’t seem to be, at least not yet.BD duration of the Buhari administration. It is ironic that Nigeria’s democracy is seemingly rescinding under the watch of Buhari who rode the coattails of a vibrant Lolade Akinmurele is the Deputy Editor at BusinessDay democracy to mount a sweeping defeat of an incumbent president, the first time it had ever happened in the country’s DemocracySpecial Day Businessday.ng @Businessdayng 22 SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 DemocracySpecial Day 28 YEARS OF DEMOCRACY: NON- STATE ACTORS DICTATE THE PACE IN NIGERIA ZEBULON AGOMUO t is 28 years ago today that the military junta un- On the day he made the historic change, Buhari had der the then General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida awarded the late business mogul cum politician a post- butchered the efforts of the Nigerian people for a safe humous national honour of GCFR (grand commander Ireturn to a democratic rule. of the federal republic). Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola contested June 12 remains a public holiday in Nigeria beginning for the presidency in 1993, but the election results were from June 12, 2019, but to be celebrated as democracy annulled by the junta because of allegations that they day, replacing May 29. were corrupt and unfair. In line with the new spirit, the Federal Government is Abiola was a personal friend of Babangida and he was expected to, on Saturday, June 12, 2021, mount the usual believed to have supported Babangida’s coming to pow- activities that characterise May 29 of every year. er. But beyond the celebrations, Nigerians are wondering if Abiola’s mandate in the June 12,1993 presidential elec- the country is really enjoying the fruit of the struggle to tion cut across all the nation’s geo-political zones and return to a civil rule. religious divide. They are also wondering if the country could have fol- That was probably the first time a Nigerian politician lowed a different trajectory if Abiola was allowed to pre- would enjoy such an overwhelming support. By the side over the nation’s affairs for 8 years. time of his death, he had become an unexpected symbol of democracy. Today, although there is a government in place in Abuja, it would seem that the levers of power are, unfortunate- The election was considered the freest and fairest in the ly, effectively in the hands of non-state actors. history of Nigeria. These non-state actors wield the most sophisticated Following the injustice meted out to him, after he died weapons that were supposed to be in government’s cus- in the General Sani Abacha gulag, June 12 was declared tody. as a public holiday upon the return of the country to civil rule in 1999. There should be a marked difference between a gov- ernment and criminals. For instance, the government However, May 29 of every year was marked as Democ- should control the most intimidating arms and am- racy Day, in recognition of the day of inauguration of munition in order to bring criminals under subjection. the first democratically elected government after the Long time ago, the government had the superior power exit of the military in 1999. to run criminals out of town.

The two holidays continued to exist side-by-side until But that appears not to be the case in Nigeria today. June 6, 2018, eight days after May 29, 2018 had been celebrated as Democracy Day, when President Muham- Unlike in the past when government’s security agents madu Buhari declared June 12 to be the new Democra- would ask ‘who is there’, then criminals would scamper; cy Day. today, the criminals now have the audacity to ask, ‘who is inside there’ and security agents will freeze in fear. To give effect to the pronouncement, the President gave This has happened just within 28 years after Nigeria -re his inaugural address for his second term on June 12, turned to civil rule. 2019. The spate of insecurity appears to have overwhelmed

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 23

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng 24 SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 DemocracySpecial Day

the government and its agencies. opment Commission (NDDC) in a matter of days, FG would hear from him. President Buhari in his interview on Arise Television Thursday noted that “The problem of the North East is To prove it was not an empty threat, the East-West Road very difficult.” was paralysed. Pronto, Abuja dispatched Godswill Ak- pabio, minister of Niger Delta ministry, to enter into In March this year, Major-General Bashir Magashi, agreement with him, telling him that his request/order minister of Defence, said “Nigeria is on the brink.” would be carried out by the end of the month. Today, although there is In May, Ahmed Lawan, Senate president, was quot- Today, a Sunday Igboho appears to be more relevant to a government in place in ed as saying that “Nigeria’s security agencies are over- many South Westerners than their governors. Many see Abuja, it would seem that whelmed” by the level of insecurity in the country. Igboho as the leader they know. the levers of power are, un- Fulani herdsmen, for instance, have proven that the As it stands today, Igboho has successfully created an fortunately, effectively in the government of the day has no power over them. They alternative society for many South Westerners that be- rape, kill, main and plunder, and they are bold to claim lieve in his philosophy, just like Nnamdi Kanu has sto- hands of non-state actors. responsibility, yet nothing happens. len the hearts of many Igbo people, home and abroad.

The bandits that operate in some states of the North Today, the voices of political leaders in the South East These non-state actors West have proven that they are a government of their have been drowned. They have lost followership. The wield the most sophisticated own. They take hostages of people and command the success of the sit-at-home order by Kanu has conveyed government and their agents to meet them in the forest a message that the people of South East have passed a weapons that were supposed for negotiation. vote of no confidence in their governors, as it were. "to be in government’s custo- Though Abuja has said it was not buying into payment By the same token, it would appear that the pan Igbo dy. of ransom, it is said to be dispatching emissaries to the socio-cultural group, Ohanaeze, has become a toothless forest for negotiations. Sheikh Abubakar Gumi has con- bulldog and an anachronistic group that has no power tinued to play this role. Not long ago; Gumi had some anymore to galvanise the people or speak on their be- photo-ups with kidnappers in a forest which went viral. half. Government saw nothing wrong with that. Evidence of the loss of confidence in the South East A columnist noted that “SB Morgen, a geo-political re- leaders is the inability of Ebube-Agu, the security ini- search consultancy based in Lagos, said recently that at tiative, to take off long after the South East Governors’ least $11 million (N5.5 billion at the current exchange Forum made a pronouncement establishing it. rate of N500 to $1) has been paid to kidnappers between January 2016 and March 2020, most of them negotiated Only a few days ago, Obi Umahi, a retired major-gen- by Gumi, and all of them in the North.” eral, tendered his resignation as chairman of the South East Security Committee. Aso Rock didn’t mobilise the security assets of the country to hunt down the bandits. The President never It seems that the people are still more comfortable with vowed to “teach them the lessons the U.S. taught al-Qa- Eastern Security Network (ESN) than the outfit estab- ida and Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.” lished by governors.

Boko Haram has since established its kingdom in some What Nigeria and Nigerians are witnessing is a dan- parts of the country where the Federal Government with gerous development. If the same level of destruction all the 21st Century technology has failed to overrun. that has been done in the country in the last 28 years is sustained for the next 28 years, the country would be For many years, Nigeria has a part of the country that the worst for it. BD has been in total control by Boko Haram. The name of Sambisa Forest alone sends jitters down the spines of Zebulon Agomuo is the Editor of BDsunday many security personnel.

A few days ago, with all the nation’s army and police, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) ordered Igbo to stay home for two days and that order was carried out to the letter. Soldiers and policemen only emptied themselves into deserted roads to watch the compliance, so to say.

The other day, Government Ekpemupolo (known as Tomplo), a former leader of Niger Delta agitators, is- sued an ultimatum to the Federal Government that if it did not reconstitute a board for the Niger Delta Devel- DemocracySpecial

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng Day SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 25 DemocracySpecial Day WHAT DOES DEMOCRACY MEAN TO YOU? IJEOMA ADESANYA

emocracy to me is equity, freedom and fairness. they are mostly driven by men. As a woman in Nigeria, democracy has even more significance. It is such an important word because When women lead, they focus on developmental goals that Dit stands for our ability to choose freely and fairly meet the needs of marginalized groups such as women, chil- who we want to be in positions of power, not only on a presi- dren and the elderly. Policies addressing issues such as moth- dential level, but across all levels of government. er and child-care mortality, child marriage, child labor, and girl child education are brought to the agenda setting table. In 1993, Nigeria held its first democratic elections outside of the military rule. Moshood Abiola was the clear winner of What does democracy mean to me? Democracy means free the elections but was detained as the Military took over. Nev- and fair elections for every citizen of Nigeria. It means ev- ertheless, looking at the role his wife played in pushing for ery gender has a right to run for office and win. It means that democracy is just as significant. Late Mrs. Kudirat Abiola was Nigerians are ready and have accepted the fact that women seen to have inspired new levels of activism in the pro-dem- are capable of holding political office and thriving. If there is ocratic movement. She was also actively involved in a twelve- still an atom of doubt then let’s look to Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, week strike against the military which was the longest strike Director General of the World Trade Organization. There is in African history by oil workers where she succeeded in iso- so much more where that came from.BD lating and weakening the government.

However, one cannot help but wonder why we have very few women in political positions across the country today? Why are women not chosen to lead? Why do we have very few women running for office? When women take up leadership Ijeoma Adesanya is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Kobikam positions, are their voices heard? Currently women make up Africa, a gender advisory and advocacy only 6.4% (7 females) of the senate with the highest number consultancy with a vision to promote of senatorial seats ever occupied by women at 8 out of 109. gender advancement in Africa. She is passionate about encouraging and This is a significantly low level of representation with a sig- equipping women with the tools for nificant impact. success on a business, professional and regulatory level. History tells of women who have held leadership positions in She started her career in General politics and thrived. Some of which include Ngozi-Okonjo Electric, where she covered over 11 countries across Sub-Saharan Iweala and Dora Akunyili. When we consider the fact that Africa focused on Financial Planning, Strategy and Commercial Finance. Her work experience cuts across various sectors women constitute half of the population, it brings to bare the including Power Infrastructure, Oil & Gas and Healthcare. She impact of their exclusion on policy and decision making in is passionate about advocating for policies that impact women the country. How biased and half-baked are our policies if

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng 26 SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 27 NIGERIA IS UNRAVELLING; BUT THIS TIME, WE’RE ON OUR OWN CHRIS AKOR

f, as all political scientists agree, the most distinctive char- ly new Chandler Good Governance Index ranks it 102 out of 104, making it the third-worst governed country in the acteristic of the state is the monopoly of the use of force, Similarly, the US and EU, which have always pushed for a world. Nigeria currently is like the state of nature where life then Nigeria has failed. It is buffeted by insecurity from democratic transfer of power through credible elections in is nasty, brutish, and short. Functionally or empirically, the all sides. The ragtag but deadly terrorist group, Boko Ha- Congo DR chose to maintain stability over promoting de- I Nigerian state has failed. It remains a state today only because ram (now routed and supplanted by the deadlier but well-or- mocracy by accepting the results of an obviously rigged elec- of juridical recognition. ganised Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP)) has tion in 2018. held sway in the northeast, effectively challenging the legit- Changing priorities imacy of the state. Across the entire northwest, bandits roam Going rogue Despite the worsening security and economic conditions, the states killing, terrorising, and kidnapping people unchal- The changing priority of the West and the Covid-19 lock- however, the government is more interested in regulating lenged. Marauding Fulani herdsmen have laid siege to the down encouraged the Nigerian government, which had al- and banning social media, outlawing protests and dissents, peoples across north-central Nigeria massacring them at will ways been flirting with authoritarianism all along, to go the shrinking the civic space, dismantling all democratic institu- even as the government conveniently looks away and threat- whole hog. Haven gotten away with the October 20, 2020 tions, and becoming an authoritarian government. ens the people being killed to give up their land or face more massacre of protesters at Lekki, it is now baring its fangs on killings. In other parts of the country, kidnapping for ransom the rest of society, desperately trying to put an end even to Luckily for it and unlike previous times, there has been a shift is the new normal. the appearances of freedoms and rights guaranteed by the or change in priorities by Western countries. Since the early constitution. Virtually all democratic institutions (from the 1990s, the West has forced through an era of democratisa- Even as the military is stretched thin and has shown courts to parliaments) have been upended and function only tion that saw the dismantling of many authoritarian systems clear signs of incompetence and incapacity to make a dent to affirm the wishes of the government. There are no pretenc- in Africa. They kept the pressure on Nigeria and other lag- in the insecurity in the country, a politically and emotionally es anymore. Rumours of martial law and suspension of the gard countries to ensure their fragile democracies work and insensitive president has been stocking the flames of disuni- constitution are everywhere. And like Turkey, Morocco, and that they respect human rights. However, recent events and ty by his appointments, policies, and uncouth utterances. For Mexico, the Nigerian government is using its huge popula- the internal politics of Western countries, which are being instance, while killings by Islamic terrorists, Fulani herds- tion (over 209 million) and the massive global immigration heavily influenced by a resurgence of far-right ideology, have men, and kidnappings have continued unchallenged, the catastrophe it could cause to blackmail the US, UK, and EU shifted their priorities to immigration, counterterrorism, and government has deployed disproportionate and lethal force into silence or inaction. Even with the country coming apart China. The Trump administration heralded this shift when in dealing with an irritating but otherwise peaceful group at the seams, the government’s control of oil resources will it jettisoned America’s long-held foreign policy goals of pro- of separatists in the southeast of the country. Since 2017, it still give it enough resources to continue to control the army moting democracy and human rights for his ‘America First has employed extrajudicial murders and assassinations in and play an outsized role in the coming bedlam. No wonder policy. Nowhere is this felt more than in relations with Mexi- trying to suppress the group – Independent People of Biafra despite fighting unwinnable wars on many fronts already, co where Trump got Mexico to guard its border with the US (IPOB). The unintended consequence was that the govern- Buhari is still threatening war on the Southeast for daring to and prevent the influx of Central Americans in exchange for ment turned the leader of the group – someone considered nurse separatist feelings. rude, tactless and a rabble-rouser – into a hero and the group America staying out of its business completely. has now taken up arms against the state, worsening the inse- Nigerians fighting for democracy and the respect of human Authoritarian systems took note and are exploiting this curity in the country. Even the relatively peaceful southwest rights have been accustomed to receiving strong support to the fullest. Turkey, for instance, has perfected the art of region is currently being racked by separatist agitations. and help from the US, UK, and EU. This time, however, no threatening the European Union with the release of hun- It is not just security alone. Virtually all socio-eco- such help is forthcoming. Priorities in these countries have dreds of thousands of Middle Eastern refugees it is harbour- nomic indices rank Nigeria as one of the worst-run coun- changed and they will prefer stability to the promotion of de- ing into the EU in the event of any disagreement. Of course, tries on earth. The economy has gone into recession a record mocracy or human rights. For the first time since the end of this sends the EU into hysteria. third time in six years. In 2018, the country overtook India the Cold War, we are on our own and must fight our battles as the World Poverty Capital with a record 87 million of its ourselves. BD citizens living in extreme poverty and six Nigerians slipping Last month, after Spain allowed Brahim Ghali, leader of the into extreme poverty every minute. The unemployment rate Polisario Front, which campaigns for the independence of is the second-highest globally at 33.3% with youth unem- Western Sahara, into the country to be treated for Covid-19, ployment at a record-breaking 54.40%. The country also has Morocco got angry and sent Spain a warning by allowing the highest number of out-of-school children in the world over 8000 African migrants to cross into the Spanish town at 13.2 million and has one of the worst maternal mortali- of Ceuta unimpeded. Spain and the EU went into panic, ty rates and health outcomes globally. The fragile state index sending soldiers to contain the situation. Ghali promptly left ranked Nigeria 12th with a score of 98.0 while the relative- Spain to placate Morocco. DemocracySpecial DayBusinessday.ng @Businessdayng 28 SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 DemocracySpecial DayJUNE 12: INCONSISTENT REGULATION IN NIGERIA STIFLING $8BN TELECOM MARKET FRANK ELEANYA

he telecommunication sector in Nigeria saw its big- President of the Association of Telecommunication Compa- gest growth in the months of April, May, and June of nies in Nigeria (ATCON). 2020 jumping to 18.10 percent from 9.71 percent Tin the previous quarter. It was a cherry of hope on In the new National Broadband Plan 2020-2025, the country the Democracy Day celebration of that year that despite the set ambitious goals to deliver data download speeds of about COVID-19 pandemic and recession the country was in, 25Mbps in urban areas and 10Mbpds in rural areas. The plan there was a path to recovery should the sector continue on also targets covering at least 90 percent of the population and that growth trajectory. a penetration rate of 70 percent by the end of the plan’s life- “We are using it to time. In recent times, the Minister of Communications and Fast forward to 2021, the sector operators are no longer cer- Digital Economy has clarified that the country is actually develop a mesh city and the tain about what the outlook for the second quarter of 2021 targeting the attainment of a 90 percent broadband rate in infrastructure that is required to would look like, having suffered a historic decline in the first terms of population and a 70 percent rate in terms of the to- quarter. The sector, a primary driver of Nigeria’s economy, tal landmass within the next two years (2023). power your businesses. Once we saw an era of double-digit growth reduced to single-digit. complete our fibre infrastructure The first-quarter growth tanked to 7.69 percent from the The latest figures released by the Nigeria Communications previous quarter where it recorded 17.64 percent. Commission (NCC) in June not only showed that the big we would have all our public four operators in the sector lost significantly in April, but the schools connected and all of our The damage to the sector was inflicted by a combination of broadband penetration in the country has also now declined public buildings and hospitals poorly thought and executed policies and macroeconomic to 40.66 percent from 41.18 percent in March. At 40.66 per- realities. Among them were the ban on SIM registration to cent, the sector has seen 4.36 percent erased from the 45.02 and the telcos would have an accelerate the National Identification Number (NIN) regis- percent penetration it recorded in December 2020. opportunity to reach the last tration exercise, recessive income per capita, and the growing number of people migrating to WhatsApp, Telegram, and A target of 90 percent would mean the country plans to add mile. It would mean cheaper other platforms that do not require SIM cards to stay con- about 49 percent broadband penetration to the current 41 and faster technology,” Babajide nected. percent in 2 years. It is a very tall order considering that Nige- " ria needed about 3 years to add about 24 percent penetration Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos The telecommunication market generates average revenue growing from 21.69 percent in 2017 to 45.02 percent in De- State said recently. of $8 billion annually according to Teniola Olushola, former cember 2020. Interestingly, it only needed 4 months to wipe

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 29

off 5 percentage points to take penetration down to 40.66 communities that have never seen internet connectivity. The percent in April 2021. It also means the country is now 50 commission also said it has come up with a programme to percent off its 90 percent broadband penetration target by connect these communities, however, it required collabora- 2023 as recently announced by the Minister of Communica- tion between it and the telecom operators. While insecurity tion and Digital Economy, Ali Isa Pantami. is likely to ensure the state of unconnectedness continues, the NCC had pledged to provide a subsidy of N65 billion While the appointment of Isa Pantami ignited many expec- counterpart funding. It is part of a larger plan to raise N265 tations of the possible turnaround of the sector, the result so billion which falls under the State Accelerated Broadband far has not lived up to those expectations. Initiative designed to address the infrastructural deficits in the telecommunications sector. The infrastructural compa- Some social projects have been executed by the minister’s ad- nies would raise the balance of the N200 billion. Operators ministration including the NCC’S Emergency Communica- say they are yet to receive the NCC pledge. tions Centre, Ado-Ekiti; the Digital Awareness Programme (DAP) for Secondary Schools, whose beneficiaries are Meth- A few operators who would not speak on the record said it odist Girls’ High School, Yaba, Lagos State, and Bishop Okoye would be impossible to commence any deployment without Girls’ Secondary School, Ukpor, Anambra State; as well as the the support of the government. It is perhaps why the Lagos School Knowledge Centre (SKC) at Ijaloke Grammer School, State government has embarked on an ambitious plan of Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, executed by the USPF. deploying about 3500km of fibre infrastructure around the state. The infrastructure is expected to bring connectivity to The Minister also flagged off the National Adopted Village mainly public hospitals, schools, and government offices. So In terms of development in for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA) initiative located at Jewel’s far only 1800km of fibre has been completed. network infrastructure, not Suit, Okoe Urejee, Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, which was execut- ed by the National Information Technology Development “We are using it to develop a mesh city and the infrastructure much has really changed ex- Agency (NITDA). that is required to power your businesses. Once we complete cept in January 2020 when our fibre infrastructure we would have all our public schools In terms of development in network infrastructure, not connected and all of our public buildings and hospitals and the Minister attempted to much has really changed except in January 2020 when the the telcos would have an opportunity to reach the last mile. get state Governors to agree Minister attempted to get state Governors to agree to re- It would mean cheaper and faster technology,” Babajide San- duce Right of Way fees for broadband fibre. That effort only wo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State said recently. to reduce Right of Way fees changed the mind of seven state Governors including Ekiti, While it is commendable, it is but a drop in the ocean of for broadband fibre. That Imo, Plateau, and Katsina. Kaduna and Anambra waived the what the country requires to ensure adequate connectivity effort only changed the mind fees while Kwara dropped the fees to N1. and give it a chance at 90 percent penetration. Researchers However, 29 states have stuck to their old charges. A few at FBN Quest said one way to achieve this is for state govern- of seven state Governors in- have managed to give concessions. For example, in 2020, ments to allow open access infrastructure rollout. cluding Ekiti, Imo, Plateau, MainOne said Ogun state gave them a charge waiver to de- and Katsina. Kaduna and ploy fibre cables across the state. As of April, the market share “We understand that Anambra state has waived right-of-way " by the technology of fixed wired internet - comprising fibre (RoW) fees for telecom operators. This is part of the state’s ef- Anambra waived the fees cables - was at 0.10 percent a position it has been for many forts to drive broadband expansion. The absence of a unified while Kwara dropped the years. RoW fee across states within the country continuously stalls the advancement of broadband fibre networks,” the research- fees to N1. “The high rates of the ROW adversely impact our business,” ers said. According to the NCC, the fibre requirements of the said Uche Nnakenyi, Divisional CEO, ipNX. “Fibre-To-The- country are around 120,000km. So far, less than 40,000km Home infrastructure is highly capital intensive hence with has been achieved, leaving a deficit of over 80,000km. Ex- the high rates of the ROW, the total cost of ownership of our perts say addressing insecurity would be the best place to infrastructure is increased, impeding the rate of expansion start, however, there needs to be consistency in the policy of the footprint of our infrastructure within and across cit- statements that give assurance of a direction to investors.BD ies and states. Additionally, this increases the cost of service delivery.”

Poor fibre infrastructure deployment is responsible for the cost of data in the country. Worldwide Mobile Mobile Data Pricing 2021 ranks Nigeria 43rd among countries with exor- bitant data charges. The report which surveyed 230 countries on the affordability of data, put Nigeria behind Sudan (fifth globally); Algeria (16th); Somalia (22nd); Ghana (27th); Lib- ya (30th); Tanzania 32nd; and Mauritius (33rd). Beyond right-of-way fees, operators are also lamenting the destruction of their equipment. In 2020, Airtel said over 1400 base stations had been vandalised because there was no adequate security for equipment. Criminal elements cut fi- bre cables meant for internet access, remove air conditioners, generators, and other equipment at these base stations. Insecurity in the various parts of the country also means that telcos’ investments are now restricted to few locations where these companies feel “Safest”. An official at ATCON told BusinessDay that telecom investors would not go to re- gions where they would potentially be killed. Telcos are also known to be relocating their workers from these regions back to Lagos where they are safe. This deepens the challenge of connectivity already existing in these hotspots. As of 2019, The NCC confirmed that Nigeria had about 200 Special Democracy Day Businessday.ng @Businessdayng 30 SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 DemocracySpecial Day PRESIDENT BUHARI’S IMPOSITION OF BANS AND EFFECTS ON NIGERIAN ECONOMY TELIAT SULE It is ironic that Nigeria’s democracy is he current administration led by President Mu- gion, especially perishable agricultural produce which is what hammadu Buhari was six years in office as of May most of the countries in the sub region produce and trade in. seemingly rescinding 29 2021. From inception to date, there have been a Nigeria’s export data with Africa shows N2.33 trillion worth under the watch of Tnumber of policies implemented by the President of goods were sold to African trading partners in 2018, out of Buhari who rode the Buhari which deserve to be appraised from the angle of the which N1.04 trillion was exported to ECOWAS while N1.29 cost-benefits analysis. One of these policies is the current trillion sold to other African countries. In 2019 when the ban coattails of a vibrant administration’s preference for the use of ban as a fiscal tool was imposed towards the end of the third quarter, Nigeria’s democracy to mount a to curtail the impact of certain economic activities seen not total export to Africa was N3.92 trillion, representing 68 per- to be beneficial to the nation. The latest of these bans is the cent increase over the previous year. sweeping defeat of an suspension of Twitter, a micro blogging platform for which incumbent president, the Nigerian government has come under serious criticisms Surprisingly, there was an increase of 115 percent in export across the world. to ECOWAS countries over the previous year in view of the first time it had ever the N2.24 trillion trade recorded, in 2019 as against N1.04 happened in the country’s In what the current administration termed the abuse of the trillion in 2018. Export to other African countries equally history of democratic ECOWAS charter, President Buhari’s administration closed surged by 30 percent to N2.24 trillion in 2019 compared to " the Nigerian borders in August 2019. Down the line, the FG N1.29 trillion in 2018. rule. imposed a ban on new SIM card registration; acting to pro- The honeymoon stopped there. In 2020 when the border tect government interest, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) closure was in full force, not only did Nigeria’s export to Af- banned banks in Nigeria from getting involved in cryto cur- rica fell by 39 percent to N2.37 trillion in 2020 compared to rency trading. the previous year, trade with ECOWAS countries plummet- ed. From N2.24 trillion export trade in 2019, export to ECI- The border closure affected trade in the West Africa sub re- WAS reduced to N620.98 billion in 2020, a sharp decline of

Nigeria’s import from ECOWAS and Rest of Africa (N’bn)

1000 900 889.98 800 700 571.49 600 392.34 500 400 300 215.79 162.57 200 74.69 94.55 20.87 100 0 2018 2019 2020 2021 Q1

Source: NBS Rest of Africa ECOWAS Design: Aderemi Ayeni

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 31

72 percent. And to confirm that the ban was the cause of the tions were 184.69 million and 126.08 million respectively as that the business environment is a sine qua non for invest- decline, export to other African countries rose by 4 percent of the end of 2020. ment attraction. to N1.75 trillion. Crypto currency came under the hammer of the Central What must be done? The first quarter 2021 export figures were disappointing in Bank of Nigeria (CBN) when it issued a directive to bank Since the border closure to Twitter ban, Nigeria’s socio-eco- the sense that Nigeria only exported N449.84 billion to the advising them from allowing their platforms as payment nomic indicators have not improved in such a way as to con- whole of Africa with N282.16 billion going to ECOWAS and and receiving channels. Before the CBN’s February directive clude government took the right decisions. For instance, the N167.67 billion going to the rest of Africa. to banks, Nigeria had accounted for about $566 million in border closure fuelled smuggling. Between October 2019 crypto transactions. Many Nigerian start-ups embraced bit- and February 2021, Nigerian Customs across the land bor- Traditionally, 80 percent of imports from Africa come from coin and crypto currency trading as ways to escape poverty ders seized 159,506 bags of rice from smugglers. In other the rest of Africa with 20 percent coming from ECOWAS. and high unemployment rates in the country. words, smuggling has not been eradicated. For instance, out of N467.04 billion worth of imports from There is no guaranty that the continuous use of ban as tool Africa in 2018, only 16 percent came from ECOWAS. In Unemployment has been worsened. In the last unemploy- will in anyway help Nigerian government and its people. 2019, it was 20 percent of imports from Africa that came ment rate released by Nigeria’s data agency, unemployment Therefore, government needs to address the root cause of from the West African sub region. The portion of import rate in Africa’s biggest nation rose to 33.3 percent with 23 the crisis at hand. Smuggling, which government wanted to from Africa that came from ECOWAS has since been de- million Nigerians out of jobs. stop, thrives because there is low productivity in the country. clining as it was 14 percent in 2020, and 11 percent in the Twitter ban came as the latest in the series of the imposition Nigerians are very hardworking people. What government first quarter of 2021. of ban in Nigeria. Applying its rule, Twitter deleted President needs to focus on is the promotion of the business environ- Muhammadu Buhari’s tweet which the body consider as ment. The rural roads need to be upgraded for farmers to The ban was also deployed as a tool in the registration of new promoting harassment, intimidation and violence. And what seamlessly transport their produce from farm gate to the Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card. With rising supposed to be a personal issue between the president and market. insecurity and fraudulent practices, the federal government, Twitter was escalated to a nation issue, leading to the imposi- “My brother went into tomato farming. At the end of the day, mandated the telecommunications regulatory body, to get tion of ban on twitter. he lost millions of naira. The loss occurs during the move- every Nigerian registered. The registration was meant to give ment of the produce from farm to market. So many tomatoes every Nigerian the National Identification Number (NIN), Quite a number of small and medium enterprises in got spoilt during transportation. If government can address and to have the data of all subscribers integrated for proper Nigeria connect with their customers on social media plat- how to preserve these agric produce, the nation will gain a monitoring. forms to advertise their products and services, through per- lot”, a stakeholder in agric value chain in north central Nige- son to person, or business to business. The ban on Twitter ria said. A ban was placed on registering new SIMs, a decision that will further worsen their fragility. This is so because a suc- The freedom of information is the right of the people, as did not go down well with the people. Notwithstanding, cessful business deal brokered by SMEs could enhance their through this, democratic governments are held accountable. the impact of the ban on new SIM card has been minimal survival, which won’t be possible during the period the ban It is surprising that a government that rode on social media because the telecommunications sector has maintained a lasts. to gain power should not be the one clamping down on same steady growth in the last few quarters. platforms now that it is in power. BD The ban is also inimical to how foreign investors see Nige- Telecoms sector grew by 9.71 percent in Q1, 2020; 18.10 in ria’s business environment. In some way, the business envi- Q1 2020; 17.36 percent in Q3 2020, and 17.64 percent in Q4 ronment has been made less safe with the rising insecurity. 2020, and that came to an average growth of 15.90 percent for Foreign investors noticed this, and the actions by Amazon to the entire 2020. In the first quarter of 2021, telecoms sector locate its headquarters in South Africa, and Twitter to site its grew by 7.69 percent. The total voice and internet subscrip- African headquarters in Ghana should be a warning signal Nigeria’s export from ECOWAS and Rest of Africa (N’bn)

2500 2250 2,240.03 2000 1,682.42 1,753.91 1750 1,290.52 1500 1,041.09 1250 1000 620.98 750 282.16 500 167.67 250 0 2018 2019 2020 2021 Q1

Source: NBS ECOWAS Rest of Africa Design: Aderemi Ayeni

Special DemocracyDay Businessday.ng @Businessdayng 32 UDY'S CORNER SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 A LONG ROAD TO NOWHERE... UDY OSARO-EDOBOR ll I did was ask the lady abductor for help but it approached. We were blindfolded and made to sit on the looked as if I had stirred up a hornet’s nest. It was bikes between the rider and another man. It was a long ride panic mode activated. I was asked to get up and sit out of the jungle. Afar away from the others. Tears poured down my After several hours, they stopped by a bush path, took off our cheeks like torrential rain as I pleaded for my life. blindfolds and threw us out of the bikes, then they sped off As I made my way to my new spot, I tripped over what into the dark. seemed like a lifeless body and I fell down, I was very weak It started raining and we had to walk a long distance before as I staggered to get to my feet but I fell on two ladies that sat we stumbled on a Vigilante group who listened to our story in my way, I uttered my apologies to them but I was shocked and offered us help. We were told that we were in Ekiti state. when my abductors charged at me with sticks, belts and any- Long story short, we were taken to the police station, then to thing they could lay their hands on. They almost beat the liv- the hospital and our families were contacted. ing day lights out of me, calling me unprintable names. The The ladies who earlier on wanted to chop my head off were ladies I stepped on were asked to join me where I was and I full of appreciation. They were happy that I “contaminated was warned not to make contact with anyone else. I was con- them” and rendered them unfit for the rituals. fused, what did touching anybody have to do with anything?. While I was in the jungle, it seemed like I had been held cap- The ladies had no physical strength to beat me up but what tive for just a few days but I was shocked when I realised that they couldn’t do with their hands, they did with their mouths. it had been well over two weeks. I even learnt that Abi had led They hurled insults at me for dragging them into my predic- the search party that was looking for me. ament. We had no clue why we were secluded from the other Abi! Abi! I haven’t thought about her since the night at people, but it didn’t look good at all. the party. I suddenly remembered her conversation with All this time, I had become a sticky mess with blood all over Makanaki. It might have been vague but I had heard enough my body...from between my thighs and all the beating I had to know that she set me up. received. Abi left Lagos and was never seen again. Makanaki was no We sat in the isolation spot for hours while the old man where to be found either. I am happy to be alive and that’s paced about, casting menacing glances at me, probably try- what really matters. I am one of the few that went through ing to figure out how to dissect my insides. I cringed as I the valley of the shadow of death and lived to tell story. thought about it. Did I learn my lesson? You bet!. In what could only be a miracle, the old man called for our Did I turn a new leaf? Definitely!. clothes to be brought to us. Apparently I was contaminated I said a prayer and my mom’s God came through for me. He because of my period. The ladies too were contaminated by gave me a second chance at life and I cannot afford to blow proxy because I touched them when I fell. The abductors that away. couldn’t touch or kill us because our “contamination” could I lived with the trauma of the abduction for a very long time cause problems for them. I couldn’t believe what I was hear- but the experience shaped my life. I used to think that I was ing. What they said was like music in my ears. This spelt free- on the path to fun and enjoyment, little did I know that I was dom for me and the girls. going on a long road to nowhere, I am grateful that I found Since our captors could not touch us, they had to arrange for my way back.BD motorcycles to take us out of the jungle. It was a long wait but I didn’t mind. The trouser that I had put on was over size, it Udy Osaro-Edobor is the Content Creator for SoTv (Supernatural Online TV) Nigeria. She is a movie/scriptwriter, wasn’t mine but I didn’t mind. I was soaked in my blood but editor, and proofreader. She has several stories to her credit I didn’t mind. My mind was set on the freedom that I was which she posts for free on her Ebook called Udy's Chapter. She about to get. I slipped in and out of consciousness but I tried is currently working on two short movies. Udy is also a wife, mother, and a "serial entrepreneur". to stay strong so that I could leave that place alive. [email protected] Finally, we heard the revving of engines as the motorcycles

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 CULINARY DELIGHTS’ 33 HOLISTIC LIVING IN LAGOS: HOW THE HOSPITALITY IN- DUSTRY IS CONTRIBUTING TO HOLISTIC LIVING ever; now that most people are staying home, there KARLA ABUA seems to be more emphasis on self-care and holistic living. ne of the undeniable changes the Covid19 pandemic brought about is the need people It is such a pure development to see that was met all around the world felt to make different with acceptance of course; there developed in peo- Olifestyle changes at different levels. ple a new need to make lifestyle changes because the hustle and bustle of life seemed to have taken a slower During that peculiar time; discussions around men- pace. tal health and related topics were stirred and became paramount over times. Businesses started to create Women started purchasing skin care kits as opposed content around topics relating to mental health; it to high heels for a night out, people started purchas- was a massive and obvious sweep across different in- ing comfy lounge wear as opposed to clothes meant dustries. for a night out on the town; this is an example of the shift that affected the way people around the world The world did not have only the pandemic to worry; had adjusted to “the new normal”. Businesses had to about at a certain point, May 2020 marked the be- make a pivot in the delivery of their products and ginning of world-wide protests against the killing of services to accommodate this change; they had to George Floyd coupled with the reports of rape here follow suit. in Nigeria. It was really a mouth full. For example, Rejuvenee Spa, Ikeja G.R.A modelled its Self care, holistic living and wellness started being lounge to be a look-alike of a living room of a home, packaged in content and businesses started to create there are restaurants modelled to look like a green products that could cater to “the new normal” and the house. The changes these businesses have made vary hospitality industry in Lagos is not exempt from the from industry to industry. new wave. It’s a welcome development especially in a part of the Spas, hotels, restaurants and most establishments in world that does not place so much emphasis on men- the hospitality industry have not missed the memo tal health..BD on how things have changed and how more than

BOOK REVIEW Timeless Advice for Manufacturing Businesses – A Review of Adebola Adefila’s Profit Book Title: Profit Author: Adebola Adefila Publisher: Cgnature Creativemedia Ltd Year of Publication: 2019 Number of Pages: 215 Category: Business TITILADE OYEMADE investment in the business. Each has positives and negatives, and each should be recorded in writing, in some cases a de- here is nothing new about the challenges manufac- tailed agreement. It’s true that readers are given tips on the ins turers face, especially in Nigeria’s uniquely tough and outs of running a manufacturing business in this book. business clime. Quite often, the issues include diffi- She points out that employees are your company’s No 1 Tculties with access to finance, power supply, raw ma- assets. Adefila has a lot of stories to support this fact in the terials, and skilled workers. But what is most mind-boggling, book. One of the most compelling, yet thoughtful stories is in Nigeria, is that government is constantly adding new reg- that of the sales rep with good marketing skills but bad re- ulations that could have negative implications on production porting skills. The book shows, above all else, that today’s suc- and make it harder to be profitable. cessful business leaders must be more “person-focused” and Manufacturers must ask the difficult question: Am I making be able to demonstrate empathy. By the end money? Am I incurring unnecessary costs? Why start a busi- Adefila talks to some successful people in the manufactur- of the book, ness and not make profit? All these questions and more are ing business in Nigeria and Ghana in the book and packs the only one conclu- sion tackled in Adebola Adefila’s book, Profit. work with wisdom and personal vulnerability. Adefila wants Adebola Adefila comes from a family that has a history of seems obvious: Those w h o younger manufacturers to learn and follow the lead of these take in Adefila’s advice will be ready and business ownership – their passion is manufacturing. Who successful entrepreneurs. better to explain the challenges and possible solutions for a in the know of the challenges in a manufacturing Of course, all businesses have competitors and most times, business and will be prepared to take action as needed or manufacturing business? an entrepreneur is thinking of how to attract customers. BD It’s clear from the very first pages that Adefila is an expert on How can you beat your competition, especially the giants? quite likely never go into the manufacturing business. the topic; however, the decision to write this book came from The suggestion by the author that you must learn to use tact her brother and her desire to see businesses thrive. in introducing new products into the market since too much Raised in a generational family business, Adebola worked oyemade is a business execute in a noise can be bad for your business is dicey. If so, how do new with family from a young age and had an intimate knowl- leading organisation and holds a customers get interested in their products? degree in Russian Language. She’s edge of the family enterprise as she grew up. One thread that the convener of the Hangoutwithtee She also adds: “There are things the government can do to Ladies Event and the publisher of runs through the book is her dealings with suppliers, ven- Hangoutwithtee magazine. She spends dors, customers, employees, government agencies and her make the operating environment conducive for businesses.” her weekends attending women Adefila laments a system that is not willing to help make the conferences, events and book readings. learnings along the way. She loves to have fun and to help other She explains loans and investments – the latter is not to be production of goods easier in the country. The challenges women have the same in their lives. confused as gifts when given by friends or family. Funds of the business keep on creeping up on the reader, though it Email: [email protected] Social: @tiipree gotten from other people could be gifts, loans or an equity doesn’t feel as if the author is trying to scare the reader.

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng 34 SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 SOCIAL MEDIA HANGOUT: FREEDOM OF INTERNET USE AND THE RIGHTS OF THE CITIZENS IFEOMA OKEKE t a time when the Nigerian government’s ban of to promote journalists. She assured that there will be more Omotoso and Kehinde were joined by Charles Kalu, Silver- Twitter and decision to prosecute those who con- innovations to the event each year, with or without sponsor- bird and Rhythm’s national head of news and current affairs tinue using the platform has continued to cause ship. as speakers for the event. uproar in the country, the 2nd edition of the an- A Speaking on the essence of the event, which continues to nual social media hangout this year focused on the theme “This event has come to stay as it celebrates the works that ‘Digital media: freedom of internet use and the rights of the journalists do across Nigeria. I am also a PR consultant, so draw several entertainers and society bigwigs to its fold, the citizens.’ since I’m also a media person, I called on my colleagues to convener said, “The aim is to bring under one umbrella the put this event together. I love to create a very good relation- producers, who are publishers of news and the consumers, No doubt the use of the internet has opened job opportuni- ship with people,” she said. who are the fans either as followers and readers and other ties for several Nigerian youths and given voice to the voice- stakeholders to co-exist. less at a time when technology is turning the world into a She hinted that there is still hope for traditional media plat- global village. forms only if they are able to look for innovative ways to “This initiative will enable all stakeholders to connect, net- merge social and traditional media to achieve results. work, share and have fun. More of this kind of interaction can CEO of Bodex media and convener of the event, Florence bring sanity to our youths by creating more awareness with a Bodex Hungbo, said the theme of this year’s Social Media “There is still hope for traditional media. What we need to do constant reminder of the benefit of using social strengths in Hangout came long before the twitter ban and she felt God is to have a road map that can enable us to co-exist. We need nation-building.”BD was using her to pass across a message through the theme. to find out what others do traditionally, and what others do digitally. They can be merged together and we will be able to Bodex said she observed that journalists are not treated well still sell our news without problems.” in Nigeria, adding that it was high time journalists started having their own voices and avenues where they can come The Lagos State Commissioner of Information and Strategy, together and talk so that people will hear them and respect Gbenga Omotoso and CityPeople group CEO, Seye Kehinde them. were the two speakers for the 2021 edition of the Social Me- dia hangout. Bodex assured that the social media hangout was a platform

Recipe JOLLOF RICE RECIPE Ingredients: Instructions 4 Cups Easy Cook Rice First blend the red bell peppers, tomatoes, scotch bonnet 3 Large/ 4 Medium Red Bell and 1 onion to a smooth paste and set aside Peppers (Tatashe) 1/2 Can of Plum Tomatoes/ Add the cooking oil into a large pot, place on the hob on 2 Medium Size Tomatoes medium heat, add half sliced onion 11/2 Scotch Bonnet (Ata This should take 15 to 20 minutes Rodo) 2 cups Beef or Chicken While that’s frying, wash your rice thoroughly to rid it of Stock starch and set aside. If you’re choosing to parboil your rice, 120g Tomato Paste parboil for 5-8 minutes with little water on low heat. The 2 Onions rice should still be very firm and not soft, wash with warm 100ml /6 Tablespoons water and set aside Cooking oil 2 Tablespoons Butter When oil floats to the top, add the chicken/ meat stock, 1 Tablespoon Minced cover and let it fry for a further 8-10 minutes Ginger 1/2 Teaspoon Curry powder Add the rice and Thyme 1/2 Teaspoon any seasoning Cover rice with a foil sheet and continue to cook for another of your choosing 10 minutes. Add chopped onions, tomatoes and butter if 3 Knorr Chicken cubes using, stir to combine and leave the rice to simmer away 2 Teaspoons White pepper until tender BD 3 Bay Leaves 1 Medium Size Tomato for Garnishing Salt to Taste 3 Bay Leaves

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021 SPORT 35 ANTHONY NLEBEM GLAMOUR, TENSION HEIGHTENS AS 24 TEAMS VIE FOR EURO 2020 GLORY ootball fans across the world can look forward to team, while Finland are the fairytale story of the group. Their major international football as the UEFA Euro 2020 match is scheduled earlier on Saturday at 5pm. Ftournament kicks off. The much talked about European continental tournament The Netherlands are the ‘big dogs’ of Group C, and they will will run from 11 June to 11 July 2021. be facing Ukraine on Sunday 13 June at 8pm. Earlier in the evening, Austria will meet with North Macedonia at 5pm. The Euro tournament begins with the group stage matches. This will be North Macedonia’s first major international tournament. Austria and Ukraine are set to battle for the The group A fixtures sees the clash between Turkey and Ita- group’s runner-up spot. ly on Friday 11 June at 8pm. Italy will be the team to watch 8pm, while Poland versus Slovakia will air at 5pm. Poland in Group A and Turkey will be their main threat, with the Group D features the tournament’s favourite, England, who boasts to have the world’s best number 9 in Robert Lewand- Eurasian team’s brilliant veteran, Burak Yilmaz, who recently will face Croatia on Sunday 13 June at 2pm. England will play owski. The Bayern Munich striker broke the Bundesliga’s re- fired Lille to a surprise Ligue 1 triumph. all of their matches at Wembley Stadium in London and look cord for the most goals in a season in 2020-21, hitting an un- to take full advantage of a squad which includes the likes of believable 41 goals in the league. Slovakia are the dark horses Harry Kane, Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford. in the group and looking to make an even bigger impression Wales and Switzerland are not to be underestimated either, World Cup runner-up, Croatia, will represent the Three Li- compared to 2016 when they reached the knockout phase on as they are scheduled to meet on Saturday 12 June at 2pm. ons’ biggest threat. their Euros debut. The Dragons famously got to the semi-finals of the last Eu- ropean Championship, while the Swiss are an efficient and Plucky Scotland are returning to tournament football for Every tournament needs a ‘group of death’ and the group F is experienced outfit that will win no style points but will be the first time since the 1998 World Cup, while the Czech Re- definitely it, with three heavyweights in the shape of Portu- extremely tough to beat. public will hope that West Ham United’s, Tomas Soucek, can gal (reigning Euro champions), France (reigning World Cup Belgium and their ‘Golden Generation’ of players will be the bring the great form he showed in the Premier League to the champions) and Germany (three-time Euro champions). centre of attention in Group B, but there are concerns for Euros. Scotland versus Czech Republic will air live on Mon- It’s fair to say that Hungary will have their work cut out to the Red Devils as Kevin De Bruyne is suffering a facial inju- day 14 June at 2pm. try and reach the knockout phase for the second successive ry and Eden Hazard has hardly played for Real Madrid this time. On Tuesday 15 June, Hungary will face Portugal at past season. Belgium is scheduled to face Russia on Saturday Group E’s powerhouse team is three-time Euro champions, 5pm, while later in the night, France will face Germany 12 June at 8pm. Denmark is a capable if somewhat limited Spain. On Monday 14 June, Spain will clash with Sweden at at 8pm BD

sition.

SPOTIFY CEO NOT “We can only make a judgement from outside. We watch every single Arsenal game and it is difficult to recognise GIVING UP ON the club that we used to play for. The US owners, led by Stan Kroenke, 73, who assumed full control in 2018, are very unpopular with large sec- BUYING ARSENAL tions of the club’s support. wedish billionaire and CEO of Spotify Daniel Ek Kroenke’s son, Josh, is a director at the club and a key is preparing to increase his Arsenal takeover bid The Frenchman, 44, told the ITV Football Show Pod- figure in day-to-day-operations. to more than £2billion following his unsuccess- cast: “In the last couple of years I believe that the club ful opening offer of £1.8bn last month. didn’t take the right direction. Ek says he has been an Arsenal fan since the age of eight S BD The billionaire had his £1.8bn proposal turned down “And I think it is time for change. If the change doesn’t by the American family last month after insisting they happen, I believe that Arsenal will be in a difficult po- ‘don’t need the money’.

But according to the Daily Mail, Ek will return with a second offer where he will put close to an extra £300m on the table.

The 38-year-old publicly spoke of his desire to take con- trol of his beloved side after fan protests aimed towards the Kroenke’s in April.

He subsequently teamed up with Invincibles Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp in his bid to become owner.

Kroenke Sports Entertainment have insisted they have no intention of letting the club go despite the fan fury, though it remains to be seen whether they will be temped by Ek’s incoming offer.

Gunners legend Vieira begged Kroenke to sell up last month as he declared that they are going nowhere.

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng 36 SATURDAY 12, JUNE 2021

the Court Order, the mentioned three clubs have sought to shield themselves from potential disciplinary consequences NO UEFA BAN related to this so-called ‘Super League’ project.” The European football governing body announced in May that it had launched a disciplinary investigation into the three clubs, after they refused to recant their support for the FOR SUPER breakaway competition. If found guilty of breaking UEFA’s rules the clubs could face a ban from European competition, including the Champions LEAGUE League, for two years. All three clubs qualified this season. But the court order has forced UEFA to back down.

Reports say UEFA has not given up hope of restarting its FOUNDERS investigation soon, which could still result in a Champions League ban for the trios, but that would require the legal and disciplinary processes to be concluded within a few months, which would appear to be a challenging timetable.

Lawyers have seen UEFA’s aggressive approach to the ESL founders as risky because on April 20, the Super League ob- tained an interim court order in Madrid, on the very eve of the Super League’s collapse.

The court banned UEFA and FIFA from making more threats or doing anything to intimidate the breakaway league or any of its participants.

UEFA appeared undeterred and continued to rebuke the rebels and launched its disciplinary process, regardless.

But it will take time for both the legal wrangle between UEFA and the clubs, as well as any subsequent disciplinary process to be resolved.

“In reliance on the Court Order, the mentioned three clubs have sought to shield themselves from potential disciplinary consequences related to this so-called ‘Super League’ project,” UEFA’s statement reads.

“UEFA understands why the disciplinary proceedings need- ed to be suspended for the time being, but remains confident in and will continue to defend its position in all the relevant jurisdictions.’

Due to their continued support of the European Super League, UEFA believe Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus have violated UEFA’s legal framework which sooner or later warrants disciplinary action. UEFA says:

“UEFA understands why the disciplinary proceedings needed to be suspended for the time being, but remains confident in and will continue to defend its position in all the relevant jurisdictions.”

The six Premier League clubs who had joined the ESL confirmed on Wednesday that their involvement in the breakaway league was wrong. In a joint statement released by the English FA, the teams accepted their fine of £22 million, which will be used to improve grassroots football in uropean football governing body, UEFA, have sus- the country. The statement read: pended legal disciplinary proceedings against Real Out of the original 12 founding members, Juventus, Real Madrid, Juventus and Barcelona for their involve- Madrid and Barcelona were the only remaining teams in the “The £22m is a “a gesture of goodwill” that will “go towards Ement in the breakaway European Super League. ESL. UEFA has previously threatened the trio with heavy the good of the game, including new investment in support sanctions, including a ban from UEFA Champions League if for fans, grassroots football and community programmes.” In a statement released by UEFA, the governing body decid- they persist with the idea of a European Super League. ed to suspend legal action against the trio on a temporary The clubs have also agreed that any similar action in the basis. The statement read: In their statement, UEFA also clarified that they are still future will warrant a 30-point deduction and a £25 million unhappy with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus’ Super fine. BD “UEFA takes note of the decision taken by the independent League project and could face action soon. The statement UEFA Appeals Body to temporarily suspend the disciplinary reads as follows: proceedings that had been opened against FC Barcelona, Ju- ventus FC and Real Madrid CF for a potential violation of “The decision of the independent UEFA Appeals Body has UEFA’s legal framework in connection with the so-called ‘Su- been taken without prejudice to the question about the en- per League’ project.” forceability of the Court Order in Switzerland. In reliance on

Businessday.ng @Businessdayng