Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, continued its downward spiral on the Global Competitive Index (GCI) as the country fell seven places to 127th position this year, from the 120th position it was last year.
The development was largely attributed to what the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 2014-2015, which was made available exclusively to THISDAY by WEF, described as the country’s weakened public finances as a result of lower oil exports.
But commenting on the GCR, the Chief Executive Officer, National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria (NCCN), Mr. Chika Mordi, who spoke to THISDAY, faulted the rankings, pointing out that the report, which referred to Nigeria as Africa’s largest economy, used the old GDP figures in its calculations. This, according to him, worsened the nation’s position.
Continuing, the GCR pointed out that institutions in Nigeria remained weak with a ranking of 129 out of 144. Other factors that led to the country’s drop in the GCR were insufficiently protected property rights, high corruption, and undue influence.
In addition, it stated that the deterioration in national security in Nigeria, which was also ranked 139 out of 144, remained dire.
“Nigeria must continue to upgrade its infrastructure (134th) as well as improve its health and primary education (143rd). Furthermore, the country is not harnessing the latest technologies for productivity enhancements, as demonstrated by its low rates of ICT penetration,” it stated.
However, on the upside, the report noted that Nigeria benefits from its relatively large market size (33rd out of 144), which bears the potential for significant economies of scale; a relatively efficient labour market (40th out of 144) driven by its flexibility (20th out of 144).
Furthermore, the GCR also acknowledged the country’s solid financial market (67th out of 144), following its gradual recovery from the 2009 crisis.
“However, poor availability and affordability of finance in general and the difficulties in obtaining loans in particular (137th) remain an important bottleneck to economic growth.
“Ahead of the 2015 election cycle, it will thus be critical to keep the ongoing reform momentum to diversify the economy and increase the country’s long-term competitiveness,” it added.
Overall, Switzerland emerged top on the ranking for the sixth consecutive year, and was closely followed by Singapore, USA, Finland and Germany in that order.
However, in Africa, Mauritius which was ranked 39th in the GCI reaffirmed its position as the continent’s most competitive economy.
But South Africa, Africa’s second largest economy, also dropped to 56th on the index. South Africa, according to the report, is now the third most competitive BRICS economy after China (28th) and Russia (53rd).
African economies enjoyed mixed success in their attempts to become more competitive, according to the GCR.
Other countries ranked on the index were Lesotho (107th), Cape Verde (114th), Botswana (74th), Namibia (88th), Zambia (96th), Ghana (111th), Senegal (112th) and Swaziland (123rd).
Among the oil-exporting economies, Gabon was the highest-ranked economy (106th) followed by Cameroun (116th), Nigeria, Angola (140th) and Chad (143rd).
Among Africa’s low-income economies, the most improved was Ethiopia, which recorded the biggest leap, rising nine places to 118th.
The report stated that despite years of bold monetary policy, global economic growth remained at risk as several countries struggled to implement growth-boosting structural reforms.
Commenting on Nigeria’s ranking, Mordi said the reasons adduced for the deteriorating rankings were Boko Haram and weaker institutions, an assertion he argued was “profoundly rebutted by our Ebola containment relative to countries ranked at par or better than us”.
“Poorer public finance, again a jaundiced opinion, as our public finances are stronger with lower deficit financing, fiscal restraint, a stable currency and single digit inflation, in contrast with Ghana whose currency is in free fall and debt has skyrocketed.
“Yet Ghana has an improved score on the same parameter; and weak health and primary education where we ranked the second worst in the world. Do you truly believe that?,” he asked.
Although he acknowledged that a high GCI ranking was good to have, he said it remains an opinion.
Mordi insisted that the most important opinion was that of the investment community and the reality of the country’s position.
He explained: “In this year’s World Street Journal survey of multinational CEOs, Nigeria ranked first as an emerging market investment destination. Investors vote with their wallet and Nigeria’s FDI remains the highest in Africa.
“Finally, the WEF GCI is a lagging indicator and does not reflect the actions taken this year. We expect an improvement and better allignment with reality in subsequent years as the NCCN, which came into full operations nine months ago has taken fundamental steps and put building blocks in place to improve our competitiveness.
“The most significant of these steps is a brain trust of 56 of the brightest minds and practitioners in Nigeria. They commenced work in April and include leading businessmen, CEOs of large corporates, CEOs and partners of the top multinational consulting firms, leading academics and regulators.”
The GCR’s rankings are based on the GCI, which was introduced by WEF in 2004.
Competitiveness includes the set of institutions, policies and factors that determine the level of productivity of a country. GCI scores are calculated by drawing together country-level data in 12 categories – the “pillars of competitiveness” – to create a comprehensive picture of a country’s economic performance.
The 12 pillars are: institutions; infrastructure; macroeconomic environment; health; primary education, higher education and training; goods market efficiency; labour market efficiency; financial market development; technological readiness; market size; business sophistication; and innovation.
This Day
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Nigeria's richest woman Folorunsho Alakija insists success can be achieved without formal education
Alakija, who is worth $2.6 billion by FORBES estimates, reportedly made the disclosure on Thursday, while addressing students at the University of Lagos during a ceremony to mark the 2014 UN International Youths Day.
“So I am 63 and I am not yet done. So what is your excuse? I never went to a University and I am proud to say so because I don’t think I have done too badly,” she said during the motivational talk.
The Nigerian businesswoman explained to the students that while a University degree is important and can significantly improve one’s prospects in life, hard work and persistence were the most crucial tools for success.
“You do not have to have a university education to be able to make it so count yourselves privileged to have that education as part of the feather in your cap,” Alakija said.
Alakija pursued secretarial studies and fashion design as a young woman in London, and then returned to Nigeria to work as a secretary in a Merchant bank. She subsequently founded Supreme Stitches, a tailoring outfit that catered to upscale clientele including Nigeria’s fashionable former first lady Maryam Babangida. In 1993, she acquired an oil prospecting license which granted her a lucrative block in Nigeria’s coastal waters. Her company, Famfa Oil, now holds a 60% stake in the oil field. She is also the founder of The Rose of Sharon Foundation, which provides support to orphans and widows.
Forbes
Related story: Video - Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote expanding cement business
How Nigerian students created Nigeria's biggest online-job search site Jobberman
Three students had time on their hands in the summer of 2009 when their university lecturers in Nigeria went on strike.
Instead of slacking off, Ayodeji Adewunmi, Olalekan Olude and Opeyemi Awoyemi started an online job search company.
Five years later their start-up, Jobberman, has got a multi-million dollar valuation, employs 125 people, and is still growing.
While Nigeria is Africa's largest economy it still has massive unemployment problems, in particular among young people who are also more likely to be connected to the internet.
Jobberman has become the single largest job placement website in sub-Saharan Africa, helping over 35,000 people find jobs within the last two years.
The number of companies using the site to find employees has grown from about 40 in 2009 to some 35,000 today.
Carrying between 500 and 1,000 jobs on the site every day, the founders estimate that there are about 1,000 active users searching for a job at any given time.
"The growth has been tremendous, it's at rocket speed. One of the biggest challenges has been to keep up with the volume of work," says Olalekan.
Overcoming fraud fears
However, there have been other challenges along the way.
"In the beginning a lot of people did not trust an internet-based business because at that time a lot of people were using the internet to perpetuate fraud here in Nigeria," he says.
But as other online businesses thrived and became trusted, so Jobberman thrived. Companies would dip their toe in the water with one or two postings and then when they trusted the site they would come back.
In 2012 some of Jobberman's clients wanted to use the site to find workers in Ghana and so the company took its first work outside Nigeria.
Two years later it says it is now the biggest online job site in Ghana as well as Nigeria.
The company is now expanding its reach to Kenya with a partner called Brighter Monday. The partnership also gives it a footprint in Uganda and Tanzania.
Some people find a job through the site without actually applying for one.
Amarachi Apakama uploaded her details and was approached by a company to take the position of executive assistant at a mobile phone content company.
"That really changed my life," she says. "It was a morale booster. It helped my confidence - the fact that my interests and my experience put together such a good fit that I didn't have to apply for the job."
Multiplier effect
"It is incredibly fulfilling helping people to become economically empowered by getting job placements via Jobberman," founder Ayodeji Adewunmi says.
"One company recruited more than 80% of their employees through the site. Another time, a director was able to hire a former colleague in the United States to come and work for his company here in Lagos. All amazing stories."
Olalekan Olude adds: "If you put food on the table by virtue of getting a job for someone, that person also fends for a mother, or a brother and you create a multiplier effect within that household.
"And anytime we get to hear of such stories, we are very, very happy. It motivates us, it makes us look forward into the future and try and get more people to get more jobs."
BBC
Related story: Nigeria's answer to amazon.com
Instead of slacking off, Ayodeji Adewunmi, Olalekan Olude and Opeyemi Awoyemi started an online job search company.
Five years later their start-up, Jobberman, has got a multi-million dollar valuation, employs 125 people, and is still growing.
While Nigeria is Africa's largest economy it still has massive unemployment problems, in particular among young people who are also more likely to be connected to the internet.
Jobberman has become the single largest job placement website in sub-Saharan Africa, helping over 35,000 people find jobs within the last two years.
The number of companies using the site to find employees has grown from about 40 in 2009 to some 35,000 today.
Carrying between 500 and 1,000 jobs on the site every day, the founders estimate that there are about 1,000 active users searching for a job at any given time.
"The growth has been tremendous, it's at rocket speed. One of the biggest challenges has been to keep up with the volume of work," says Olalekan.
Overcoming fraud fears
However, there have been other challenges along the way.
"In the beginning a lot of people did not trust an internet-based business because at that time a lot of people were using the internet to perpetuate fraud here in Nigeria," he says.
But as other online businesses thrived and became trusted, so Jobberman thrived. Companies would dip their toe in the water with one or two postings and then when they trusted the site they would come back.
In 2012 some of Jobberman's clients wanted to use the site to find workers in Ghana and so the company took its first work outside Nigeria.
Two years later it says it is now the biggest online job site in Ghana as well as Nigeria.
The company is now expanding its reach to Kenya with a partner called Brighter Monday. The partnership also gives it a footprint in Uganda and Tanzania.
Some people find a job through the site without actually applying for one.
Amarachi Apakama uploaded her details and was approached by a company to take the position of executive assistant at a mobile phone content company.
"That really changed my life," she says. "It was a morale booster. It helped my confidence - the fact that my interests and my experience put together such a good fit that I didn't have to apply for the job."
Multiplier effect
"It is incredibly fulfilling helping people to become economically empowered by getting job placements via Jobberman," founder Ayodeji Adewunmi says.
"One company recruited more than 80% of their employees through the site. Another time, a director was able to hire a former colleague in the United States to come and work for his company here in Lagos. All amazing stories."
Olalekan Olude adds: "If you put food on the table by virtue of getting a job for someone, that person also fends for a mother, or a brother and you create a multiplier effect within that household.
"And anytime we get to hear of such stories, we are very, very happy. It motivates us, it makes us look forward into the future and try and get more people to get more jobs."
BBC
Related story: Nigeria's answer to amazon.com
Boko Haram seize town in Borno, Nigeria
Nigeria's militant Islamist group Boko Haram has seized the key north-eastern town of Bama after fierce fighting with government forces, residents say.
Thousands of civilians have fled the town, along with soldiers, they added.
The military has not yet officially commented on the claim that it has lost control of Bama, the second biggest town in Borno state.
Last month, Boko Haram said it had established an Islamic state in areas it controls in north-eastern Nigeria.
If confirmed, the capture of Bama would be an extremely significant development and would raise concerns that Boko Haram's next target will be Maiduguri, the state capital about 70km (45 miles) away, says BBC Hausa service editor Mansur Liman in the capital, Abuja.
It would be the biggest town under Boko Haram control.
Residents told BBC Hausa that Boko Haram captured Bama after heavy fighting on Sunday and Monday.
The military had initially repelled Boko Haram's assault, but the group returned with reinforcements to seize the town, the residents said.
The militants, who travelled in armoured trucks, first took control of the military barracks, they added.
Soldiers and residents fled on foot, many of them walking all the way to Maiduguri, residents told the BBC.
Several security sources said Boko Haram had over-run much of Bama and there were heavy casualties on both sides, Reuters news agency reports.
About 70 militants had been killed, the Associated Press quoted security sources as saying.
On Monday, the military said on its Twitter account that the air force had been used to "repel and dislodge" Boko Haram from Bama.
The most recent census, in 2006, showed the town had a population of about 270,000.
An overnight curfew has been imposed in Maiduguri to prevent "infiltration" by militants, it added.
Boko Haram's five-year insurgency has intensified in recent months despite the deployment of thousands of extra troops to the worst-affected areas.
In April, the militants captured more than 200 girls from a boarding school in the town of Chibok, also in Borno state.
Countries such as China, France, the UK and US have sent military assistance to help find the girls but they have not yet been rescued.
BBC
Related stories: Nigerian government rejects Boko Harams 'caliphate' claim
Boko Haram claim to have established an 'Islamic state' in Northern Nigeria
Thousands of civilians have fled the town, along with soldiers, they added.
The military has not yet officially commented on the claim that it has lost control of Bama, the second biggest town in Borno state.
Last month, Boko Haram said it had established an Islamic state in areas it controls in north-eastern Nigeria.
If confirmed, the capture of Bama would be an extremely significant development and would raise concerns that Boko Haram's next target will be Maiduguri, the state capital about 70km (45 miles) away, says BBC Hausa service editor Mansur Liman in the capital, Abuja.
It would be the biggest town under Boko Haram control.
Residents told BBC Hausa that Boko Haram captured Bama after heavy fighting on Sunday and Monday.
The military had initially repelled Boko Haram's assault, but the group returned with reinforcements to seize the town, the residents said.
The militants, who travelled in armoured trucks, first took control of the military barracks, they added.
Soldiers and residents fled on foot, many of them walking all the way to Maiduguri, residents told the BBC.
Several security sources said Boko Haram had over-run much of Bama and there were heavy casualties on both sides, Reuters news agency reports.
About 70 militants had been killed, the Associated Press quoted security sources as saying.
On Monday, the military said on its Twitter account that the air force had been used to "repel and dislodge" Boko Haram from Bama.
The most recent census, in 2006, showed the town had a population of about 270,000.
An overnight curfew has been imposed in Maiduguri to prevent "infiltration" by militants, it added.
Boko Haram's five-year insurgency has intensified in recent months despite the deployment of thousands of extra troops to the worst-affected areas.
In April, the militants captured more than 200 girls from a boarding school in the town of Chibok, also in Borno state.
Countries such as China, France, the UK and US have sent military assistance to help find the girls but they have not yet been rescued.
BBC
Related stories: Nigerian government rejects Boko Harams 'caliphate' claim
Boko Haram claim to have established an 'Islamic state' in Northern Nigeria
Friday, August 29, 2014
Nigerians outraged at new government issued electronic ID cards branded with Master Card
Nigerians expressed shock and fury Thursday at how the Nigerian Government, through the National Identity Management Commission, NIMC, would surrender a symbol of national sovereignty and pride to a foreign commercial organisation by not only sharing the biometrics of 170 million Nigerian to the firm but by also allowing the firm to boldly engrave its insignia on the IDs.
Many Nigerians raised the alarm over the implications of the agreement in an age that has seen intense data surveillance by the National Security Agency of the United States of America, Mastercard’s home country.
One commentator said allowing MasterCard’s emblem on the Nigerian National ID Card could only compare to the trans-Atlantic slave trade abolished in the nineteenth century. “The new ID card with a MasterCard logo does not represent an identity of a Nigerian.
It simply represents a stamped ownership of a Nigerian by an American company,” said Shehu Sani of the Civil Rights Congress. “It is reminiscent of the logo pasted on the bodies of African slaves transported across the Atlantic.” At the launching Thursday, the Nigerian Identity Management Commission said the cards, designed to also allow handlers effect payments and other financial transactions, will be issued to 13 million Nigerians.
At the completion of the pilot phase of the program, 100 million cards would have been issued, the commission said, describing the move as the “broadest financial inclusion program in Africa”. The cards will be issued to Nigerians, 16 years and older, and are expected to serve as voting cards in the 2019 elections.
President Jonathan, who flagged off the rollout, praised the outcome of a partnership between NIMC, MasterCard and Access Bank. “The card is not only a means of certifying your identity, but also a personal database repository and payment card, all in your pocket,” Mr. Jonathan said.
Under the partnership, the NIMC is the project leader, MasterCard provides payments technology, while Unified Payment Services Limited is payments processor. Cryptovision is the Public Key Infrastructure and Trust Services Provider, and the pilot issuing bank is Access Bank Plc.
The Identity Management Commission said it was working with other government agencies to harmonize all identity databases including the Driver’s License, Voter Registration, Health Insurance, Tax, SIM and the National Pension Commission into a single, shared services platform.
For a National ID card project jinxed for decades due to corruption and mismanagement, Nigerians welcomed what seemed like a breakthrough this time, several years after the first attempt at a national Identity Card project ended in fiasco.
But the optimism waned after it became clear Thursday the new ID cards, a key instrument recognised by the federal constitution, will not only bear the Coat of Arms and the Nigerian colours of green white green, but also the logo of MasterCard, a profit-driven private entity. “Nigeria’s colours and coat of arms is what should be there.
It is not an opportunity for advert for promoting companies,” said Eze Onyekpere, Lead Director Centre for Social Justice. “As far as we are concerned it cannot stand. It is not worth it if that’s what they have done.” Beyond national pride, many Nigerians spoke of the dire economic and security implications for Nigeria. “Clearly, there are National Security implication,” said Nasir El-Rufai, a former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. “All these data go to the American payment platform.” Mr. El-Rufai recalled that Malaysia was the first country to implement a general multipurpose ID card and that the country did so with its own resources and technology to protect its citizens.
Economically, analysts say, the deal also hands over all adult Nigerians as direct and compulsory customers of MasterCard. The US-based firm appeared so elated at the outcome of the contract that by Thursday, it hired a media consultant, African Media Agency, to publicise the landmark deal all over the world. MasterCard could not be reached immediately for comments.
Details of the partnership between the NIMC and MasterCard were unclear as of Friday. A former senior government official, well briefed about the process, said the Nigerian government may have adopted the Public Private Partnership model for the project, with MasterCard underwriting part of the cost of the deal.
Still, the former official, who asked not to be named, said it was unbelievable that Nigeria could not insist on fully funding such a project at any cost, considering its strategic importance to its sovereignty.
“It’s so scandalous that there are countries you present this to and they will be confused,” the official said. “I have never seen this done anywhere in the world.”
The Nigerian Identity Management Commission, NIMC, refused to comment on the concerns.
When contacted by PREMIUM TIMES late Thursday, a spokesperson dismissed the concern raised by our reporter.
“What is wrong with that (displaying MasterCard’s logo on the IDs)?” asked Ben Alofoje, the Assistant Director/Head Research and Strategy, who is the designated media person for the project.
A PREMIUM TIMES reader, Ola Onanugaola, said of the project, “Good idea but bad implementation. Why do we have to brand the e-ID card? Are these people aware of the huge economic and security implications of the branding. “Any country population database/information is too vital to be attached to any non-governmental organisation.”
Premium Times
Related story: Electronic ID cards launched in Nigeria
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