One Year After: Dangote and the stock market upward swing

Investors and other stakeholders could not have had a better yield than they are presently enjoying in the stock market, following the return to the full grip of the bulls on the market from the bearish era after a long spell of lull.
Many investors lost hope following the global financial meltdown which ravaged economies across the world in 2008, and Nigeria not immune, as the downturn wiped off almost 70 per cent of the value of the market. Since then, the market has been struggling to recover.
However, investors began to have hopes rekindled when the market began to bounce back. In the second half of 2012, the market recorded a record growth of 34.5 per cent. The market began the upward swing precisely after the President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Aliko Dangote, resumed office on June 19, 2012 after an interregnum.
Dangote, a former Vice President of the Exchange, had been elected the President. He had barely assumed office when his election became a subject of judicial dispute. He was however returned to the office after 22 months following the ruling of the Court of Appeal. His resumption, stakeholders claimed, opened a new vista in the life of the market which hitherto had been comatose.
Prior to his assumption of duties, the implementation of government policy on fuel subsidy in January of 2012 had stalled economic activities at the beginning of the first quarter, the result of which was felt in the capital market through the first half of the year.
However, there was more excitement in the second half of the year with steady growth across most sectors, and the inclusion of selected government bonds in the JP Morgan Government Bond Index-Emerging Markets (GBI-EM). Consequently, international institutional investors flocked to the bond market, while local institutional investor” appetite for equities was reawakened.
After a superlative growth of 74.7 per cent in 2007, the market dipped by 45.7 per cent in 2008, 33.7 per cent in 2009. It recovered by 18.9 per cent 2010 before falling again by 16.3 per cent in 2011. Towards the end of 2012, the market growth, measured by the NSE. All-Share Index (ASI) was already over 33 per cent. The President of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mr. Ariyo Olushekun, assured that there was no likelihood of any major negative development in the market that could reverse this performance and make the market to close negatively in the year.
Given the efforts of regulators aimed at repositioning the entire financial system and the capital market in particular, market analysts were optimistic that a positive growth would be recorded this year; however, they never expected the magnitude of growth that was about to manifest. In the beginning of 2012, analysts from three leading investment banking firms, FSDH Securities Limited, Meristem Securities Limited (MSL) and FBN Capital Limited, projected a growth of below 15 per cent for the year.
For instance, analysts at FSDH Securities Limited projected that the market would close at 13.3 per cent. Those at MSL envisaged 13.5 per cent while FBN Capital Limited projected a growth of 14 per cent. In projecting the robust outlook for 2012, analyst at MSL said their bullish sentiments were driven by expected performance of the financial service (majorly banks) sector of the market among others. Meanwhile, as at last week, the quantum leap in the performance of the market was beyond their expectation.
Most investors and other stakeholders are of the view that the business acumen, good leadership qualities and international contacts of the Exchange President combined have impacted positively on the stock market which grew by 77 per cent in capitalization within one year of his return to NSE.
In the last one year, capitalization of the NSE has soared by N5.202 trillion, while the Exchange,  All-Share Index rose by 76 per cent. Specifically, the market capitalization rose from N6.712 trillion to N11.914 trillion by the close of trading on Monday. In the same vein, the ASI grew from 21,028.39 to close at 37,085.11
Market analysts and operators said the leadership of Dangote has created harmony in the Council and good atmosphere for the management of the Exchange to implement strategies which have taken the market to the new levels.
Dangote had last year, promised to support the management and work with all council members to ensure restoration of investors confidence.
He, pledged that during his tenure as NSE president, he would be guided by five key elements: Transparency and improved governance of the market; improving the liquidity, turn-over and size of the market; enhancing market efficiency by ensuring clearer and updated rules, processes and procedures; provision of world-class infrastructure and technology for our market and massive capacity building and rapid skill enhancement of the staff of the stock exchange and investor education.
He promised not only to turn around the market but also to ensure it becomes the leading light in Africa.
The NSE President said: “We are one of the best in the sub-Sahara Africa. In fact we are number three in Africa but we are targeting to be number one and we will soon get there.”
Analysts said the NSE has made progress in achieving some of these milestones. The Exchange has improved disclosure and governance level in the market, introduced market making, retail bond trading and raised the level of investor education.
Commenting on the performance of the market under Dangote, the Chief Executive Officer of Lambert Trust and Investment Company Limited, Mr. David Adonri, said the NSE has undergone transformation from a mono-product capital market to that with multiple products offering.
“Dangote has successfully restored a firm order to affairs of the NSE within the past one year. The Board room crisis that he inherited from the previous Council has become a thing of the past. The NSE is once more poised to taking its rightful position in the process of capital formation for the Nigerian economy,” Adonri said.
Another broker and Chief Executive Officer of Investment Centre Limited, Mr. Ifeanyi Odunwa, said the market has done exceedingly well in terms of restoration of investor confidence, quantum positive leap in market indices and return of local investors back to the market in the past one year under.
“The market that defiled various corrective policies put in place since the meltdown years suddenly started responding positively on a sustained basis since his return as the NSE President. Dangote’s personifies investment, hardwork, integrity, resilience, humility, the Nigerian can-do spirit, goodwill, transparency, trust and confidence which are necessary ingredients that positively drive a stock market”, Odunwa said.
“It is not a surprise that his experience, charisma and global contacts were brought to bear on the market coupled with the professionalism and hard work of the NSE management led by Oscar Onyema that ensured the implementation of world-class policies and best practices which finally turned the market around”.
Chairman of Lagos State Pension Commission, Tunde Dabiri said he was not surprised at the exploits of Dangote’s leadership at the Exchange because of his ability, doggedness and antecedent. “I am not surprised at the extent of his success in the last one year at the Exchange.
He is a well-focused business man and he knows what he wants at any particular time”, Dabiri stated.“His presidency is beneficial and don’t forget that he has a stake and he has to make sure the system works and improves. I wish him all the best as he continues to be a major driver of manufacturing in Nigeria. We can only encourage him to do more.”

US hacks Chinese mobile phone messages: Snowden

HONG KONG  – The United States government hacks Chinese mobile phone companies to gather millions of text messages, former CIA agent Edward Snowden said in a report published in the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on Saturday.

The former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor has been hiding in Hong Kong since revealing a massive electronic spying programme by the US and was charged with espionage on Friday.

The latest claim comes after Snowden told the SCMP that network backbones in China and Hong Kong were targeted hundreds of times by the NSA.

“The NSA does all kinds of things like hack Chinese cell phone companies to steal all of your SMS data,” the former CIA technician said in the latest report published on the SCMP’s website late Saturday, which quoted the 30-year-old in an interview conducted on June 12.

Snowden “claims he has the evidence to prove it” the paper said, without elaborating or citing supporting documents.

Government data cited by the paper show that the Chinese exchanged almost 900 billion text messages in 2012, up 2.1 per cent from the year before.

The report did not spell out how the alleged hacking took place, but said Chinese cybersecurity experts have long been concerned about “backdoor” attacks using foreign-made components.

The report came shortly after the the ex-intelligence technician claimed Britain’s electronic eavesdropping agency had gained secret access to fibre-optic cables carrying global Internet traffic and telephone calls.

The Guardian said that Government Communications Headqaurters (GCHQ) had started processing vast amounts of personal information – including Facebook posts, emails, Internet histories and phonecalls — and is sharing it with its US partner the NSA.

The SCMP said that its Sunday edition would contain further revelations relating to hacking of a premier Chinese university and the hacking of the Hong Kong headquarters of Pacnet, which owns fibre optic submarine cables in the region.

Hong Kong officials remained tight-lipped on Saturday as to whether they will hold Snowden after Washington charged the former CIA contractor with espionage, theft and “conversion of government property”.

The SCMP also said that Snowden remained “safe” in Hong Kong and had not been detained by local police.

The city of 7 million people has maintained a degree of autonomy since its handover to Chinese control in 1997 and operates a different legal system.

The former British colony has a long-standing extradition treaty with the US, but Beijing, which has control over the city’s defence and foreign affairs, can veto any ruling. Legal experts have said that any attempt to extradite Snowden could last several years.

$32 BILLION JAPANESE GRANT Nigerian mining sector can benefit – Ekosin

That Nigeria is highly endowed with a large volume of solid minerals is no news.  However, the sector has not made significant contribution to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product owing to a variety of factors.  In this interview, Mr. Sunday Ekosin, who has been in the mining business for over 20 years, explains what is wrong with the sector; how to remedy the problems; and how Nigeria can benefit from the $32 billion Japanese African Development Fund

Excerpts:

You have been advocating for a Presidential Standing Committee on Mining to be set up. What does this mean to the Nigerian economy?

Like we have been advocating, mining is central to national development. When you talk about industrialization, economic growth, mining is central. It is a catalyst that affects other sectors of the economy. It is like a spiral that spreads to agriculture, telecommunication and to industrialization.

All sectors of the economy one way or the other is affected by mining.  But the unfortunate thing is that after decades of mining operations in Nigeria, the Nigerian mining industry is still at the scratching level, without mechanised operations.

The reason for this is not far-fetched. A country that is standing on one- legged economy basically, standing on mono- economy of oil and gas, there is no way it can survive under such situation. We must look at other sectors of the economy, if we must have a sustainable growth.

Unfortunately, the situation in Nigeria is such that attention is so much focused on oil and gas to the detriment of other sectors of the economy. But thank God that this government recently started to come up with good policies and advocacy for the sector. To a great extent, they seem to be making some impact.

Like we all know, before the discovery of oil, it has always been agriculture and mining.  And so, if you are taking agriculture, it must go together with mining. But without political will to pay attention and focus on the development of mining, the sector, for a long time to come, will be in the doldrums.

When you say mining is central, how do you mean?

Organic fertilizer, for example, is got from limestone, which is industrial mineral. So, you produce this from mining. If you talk about metallic minerals, the raw materials used in cell phones and televisions and other electronic gadgets are got from ore and niobium.

It is so central and you can’t talk about industrialization without looking at iron ore for road construction, fabrication of machines and machineries.  As it now, Nigeria is more or less a dumping ground, where all manners of imports come in, whereas, from mineral products, we could produce most of these things imported for consumption by industries in Nigeria.

You just returned from a summit in Japan for development of Africa. How can the Nigerian mining sector benefit from the Japanese grant?

I was in at theTokyo International Conference on African Development, TICAD. It is a programme that started in 1993 by the Japanese government. It was an initiative to forge a collaborative partnership between Japan and the people of the African continent.

It is a programme that comes up once every five years and this is the fifth edition and the twentieth year. The conference was well attended. We had about 51 governments from African nations represented and Presidents from Africa were about 10 physically present. The Vice President represented the Nigerian President and led the team that attended the TICAD conference.

The Japanese government is very interested in minerals from the Africa continent. They are looking at the continent as the nucleus that will sustain the world in terms of natural resources.  From their findings, they believe that Africa holds the key to raw material in the world, and, as such, two major countries were very prominent in their discussion with the Japanese government: South Africa because of the zirconium product they have and then the Congo because of cobalt.

The unfortunate part of it is that the Nigerian mineral products are not well known to the Japanese. And because they are not well known, the information available to them as investors is so skeletal.   Statistics by the Japanese government showed they identified that Africa accounts for 89 percent of the world total reserves of platinum, 60 percent of diamond, 53 percent of cobalt, 37 percent of zirconium and 35 percent of chrome.

When we look at the enthusiasm of the Japanese government, we found out that these people are not interested
in container- load or shipment of any raw material from Africa. About two of the companies that had discussions with us were more interested in large volumes that the capital outlay will be in the region of at least two million dollars.

I can tell you that among all the indigenous miners in Nigeria, none has that capacity. Even when we have the natural resources available, we do not have the financial capacity and infrastructural capacity, including the equipment to meet that demand.

We now see a very great gap between us, the Nigerian miners and the Japanese end-users. By and large, I came to a summation that that if we must move from the current level of scratching the earth to beat poverty, which we are currently doing, we must go to the next level of small scale and medium scale operation. We need a special intervention and this is where the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NEPC, comes in. The collaboration with the private sector is invaluable.

Since you have the raw materials buried in the ground and you have the market, why don’t you collaborate with Japanese investors by way of equity investment, so that you can make these raw materials available to them?

That is where the missing link comes in. The way you lay your bed, that is the way you will lie on it. Charity they say begins at home. When somebody has got resources and is unable to harness the resources and to produce a meaningful quantity that is visible to whoever the investor would be, nobody would believe him.

We must do something that will boost the confidence of foreign investors to bring in their money and technological knowhow to be able to add value and produce the quantity that will meet their requirement. That is why I said the NEPC must come in.

The NEPC is so critical. The Export Promotion Council of Ghana went to TICAD with 40 of their people, I mean the private sector and non-governmental agencies, took them there, paid everything on their behalf because they understand that the private sector is the driver of everything.

The government’s duty is to create a conducive environment, formulate the policy while the private sector drives the economy. In our own case, we (miners) were 10 percent of the people that went from Ghana, not minding that we are the largest population on the African continent.

We were four private operators that went from Nigeria with God knows how many that represented the Nigerian government in the TICAD. And this is where the missing link is and I ask some of the officials of the NEPC, why is it that you were not able to carry your exporters to this programme? They said the problem is that they are poorly funded.

NEPC should be properly funded to be able to promote and carry out its mandate of promoting exportable products of Nigerian origin to the international world.

Don’t the exporters have the capacity to attend such important summits on their own bill?

These are functions of information. These are also functions of  a conducive environment. Where these two are missing, there is nothing anybody can do. The information must be available to you and the agency to promote the exporters. They are mandated by law establishing NEPC to add value and fund the exporters.  If mining is to be properly developed in Nigeria for local consumption and for export, then the Federal Government must properly fund the NEPC.

What would you say made the Ghanaian delegation to TICAD different from that of Nigeria?

The issue of patriotism and nationality has been at the public domain over a period of years. When you say you are representing your country and you go to such an event and you are representing yourself instead of your country, to me, that is lack of patriotism and nationality.

The whole issue to me is very painful. But, I think that whoever it is, no matter how highly placed you are, for the fact that you come from a nation called Nigeria,  and you go out there with tax payers money, the number one thing in your mind should be the nation that brought you to that place.

You said that Nigerian mining products are not known to Japanese investors. Why?

The fact is that the products leave Nigeria without value added. Most of the time, they end up in China or India, where they will now do some upgrade. But Japanese, because of the advanced nature of the country, they want value added products.

They are so concerned about environmental factors and other effects that result from mining, which developing countries can condone, which they can’t condone. And because of their land mass, all they require is value- added products and the interesting thing in dealing with the Japanese is that, they are very straightforward and have human face unlike the Chinese and the Indians.

I have always made my position known that they – Chinese and Indians – are not investors. They are more like ravenous wolves. They are just ravaging our landscape. What they do is to cart away as much as possible the resources until the sector becomes sanitised.

That is why we are advocating to the President that he must of urgency and necessity set up a Presidential Standing Committee to drive and to harness the enormous wealth that we have in mining. The earlier this is done, the better. The eyes of the developed nations are on African nations for their raw materials requirement.  And if we miss it now, we have missed it forever. Our children will be the ones to pay for it and at the end of the day they will curse every one of us for not setting the standards that would enable them develop the God- given wealth in years to come.

There is a ministry of solid minerals. Why can’t the ministry make sure that those who are in the mining sector play according to internationally acceptable standards?

A situation whereby there is no synergy between the public and the private sector, what do you expect? A situation where major stakeholders are excluded from the scheme of things because they are vocal, because they are talking about things that need to be put right in order for the sector to be developed..

This why we say, possibly, the ministry that has been in existence since 1995 might have run out ideas and, if that is the case, the President needs to step in. And that is why he is the Commander-in-Chief. He has to step in as a commander and straighten out whatever is wrong in the sector and ensure that the sector contributes generously to the economic development of Nigeria.

The intervention of the President in the sports sector is very interesting because he passionately intervened and we are now seeing the dividends coming out.  In fact, we are not saying that the standing committee should be for the boys. It should be men and women, who are patriots; there should be no salary paid to them.

He should make the committee act decisively and correct the things that need to be corrected in the sector. What is needed is just the platform, forget about the money. With time, from the operations of the committee, money will come. $32 billion from Japan as a grant to African, 10 percent of that will take us far. If we have $3.1 billion in Nigeria and you give $1 billion to mining sector, I can tell you that Nigeria will be on the world map of mining. We will turn the entire economy of the nation around for the better.

N710,000 Fraud: Choir Director At Chris Oyakhilome’s Church To Face Charges

An Ogudu Magistrates’ Court in Lagos on Friday struck out an application for the withdrawal of a N710, 000 fraud charge against a Choir Director of the Christ Embassy Church, Lagos.

The police had on May 15 arraigned the director, Sunday Eboh, who allegedly defrauded another member of the church, David Egaifa, under false pretences of helping him to purchase a Toyota bus.
Chief Magistrate Omolade Awope struck out the application when Egaifa exhibited ignorance of implications of the withdrawal.
The complainant, who had earlier agreed with the accused to withdraw the suit, told court on Friday that he was not properly enlightened on the implications of withdrawing the case.
Mr. Egaife made this known after the prosecutor, Corporal Adekemi Adeniran, told him that he would not be able to bring back the case once withdrawn.
“Madam, it is during this section that I learnt I can’t come back for the same case after withdrawal, but I was told that l can re-arrest Eboh if he refuses to pay my money.
“My Lord, I don’t want withdrawal again. I withdraw my application,” Mr. Egaifa said.
The choir director, who lives at No. 11, Church St., Ketu, Lagos, is facing a two-count charge of false pretence and stealing.
He had pleaded not guilty on arraignment, and was granted bail in the sum of N200, 000 with two sureties in like sum.
The prosecutor said that he committed the offences in February, 2012 at 12:30 p.m., at the Christ Embassy Church, Ketu, Lagos.
“The accused told the complainant that his relatives are living in United Kingdom and that they frequently sent cars home for sale.
“The complainant was not totally convinced, so he asked the accused to deposit his B.Sc certificate and his NYSC discharge certificate, to be turned to him when he brings the bus. After collecting the money, the accused ran away until last week when he turned up to demand for the certificates,” Ms. Adeniran said.
She said that the offences contravened Sections 285 and 312 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
Section 285 prescribes three years imprisonment for stealing while Section 312 provides for 15 years imprisonment for obtaining by false pretences.

Shocking: Female lautech student killed; eyes, brains, private parts removed

Reports reaching DailyPost from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAUTECH, has it that a female student of the institution, identified as Seun was found dead around 10 pm on Friday with her brain, eyes and breasts removed. The hair on her private part was equally shaved too.
DailyPost gathered that the deceased’s mutilated body was found along Under-G Student Area of Ogbomosho, behind Jastok Guest house.

It was gathered that, the late 100 level student of Transport Management Department was declared missing by her friends and room mates after she was last seen four days ago.
However, following the discovery of her body, some of her close friends were forced to disclose that she left the hostel days ago for a party and hadn’t returned since then, leaving many to suggest that perhaps she was raped to death and eventually used for some rituals.
The deceased’s boyfriend has been arrested and handed over to the police as the prime suspect.
More details later.

Nigeria’s 4x100m men blow last chance

The 2013 Cross River/All Nigeria championships ended yesterday with the Nigerian men’s  4x100m falling short of the required performance that will launch them into the World Championships billed for August in Moscow, Russia.
It was one of the last opportunities they had to make the difference as they chased the 39.00 seconds cut off mark. The team struggled to find their rhythm and coupled with strong winds blowing from the direction of the finish line, it was always going to be a herculean task for the team to rise to the occasion. They finished at 39. 61 seconds, a far cry from the 39. 16 seconds they did at the Warri Relays.
In the other closing events of the day, Blessing Okabgare completed a treble when she took the women long jump and 200m. Okagbare who is the world leader in the 200m, finished 22.61 seconds. She was followed by Miriam Bassey of Cross River State who clocked 23. 17 seconds while Ghana’s Janet Amposah was third with 23.79.
In the men’s 200m, Elvis Ukale ran 21.16 seconds to clinch his first championships title. He denied Noah Akwu the opportunity to complete a 400m and 200m double. Akwu finished 21. 34 seconds, while Tamunotonye Briggs was third with 21.34 seconds.
Okagbare, who earlier in the month jumped a wind assisted 7.14m, raked up 6.68m while junior athlete Ese Brume jumped 6.42 just as Doris Chinazom Amadi came third with 6.31m
“It has been an exciting trial and hopefully we should be able to present a good team for the world championships in August. Our major concern now is how to raise funds so that we can have a training camp to prepare, most especially our relay teams,” said AFN president, Solomon Ogba.

Why I hate Nollywood – Tayo Elesin, British-Nigerian actress

Tayo Elesin is a British-Nigerian actress. She also prefers to be referred to as a “storyteller.”  Famous for her roles in some BBC TV productions including Casualty, Law and Order, Doctor, among others, Tayo has also acted in the critically acclaimed play by late Ola Rotimi ‘Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again’ produced last year by Lookman Sanusi. While in the country recently, she paid a courtesy visit to the Vanguard corporate office, where she spoke passionately about playing the role of younger Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala whenever a biographical film is done about her. She also disclosed  why she hate the name ‘Nollywood’; and how to reposition the Nigerian film industry, among other issues. Enjoy!
Tell  us how you came about the coinage, Brigerian?
It’s simple, I’m British and I’m Nigerian. I merged the two words and came up with “Brigerian.” I identify with the two countries.
Do you have any intention to work with Nollywood stars?
I don’t like the word, Nollywood. I really don’t like it.
Why?
There are several reasons. One of which is, when I think of the word, Nollywood, quite frankly, it reminds me of a mimicry, if you will, of Hollywood. Now, Hollywood is the home of the  American film industry. It’s actually a location in Los Angeles. I have found nowhere in Lagos or in Nigeria called Nollywood. Except if you are telling me it’s located in the Mushin or Ikorodu area of Lagos.  But I’m yet to see  such a place in Nigeria.

Tayo

That’s why I don’t agree with the word, Nollywood. Incidentally, the word, Nollywood was not actually created by a Nigerian, but by a newspaper publication back in the States which started to identify Nigerian films as Nollywood. But when you read through that article, it wasn’t used respectfully like Nollywood. Rather, it was used to describe the film industry in Nigeria in a mocking way.
But Nigerians took it up and turned it the other way. But for me, Nigeria is a big country with a flourishing film industry. It doesn’t need to mimic the word, Hollywood. Also, there are films from countries like Finland nobody calls such films Fin-wood, or British-wood referring to films from Britain. It’s called British films. What I want to see is a Nigerian film to be called a Nigerian film. There is no need for the mimicry at all. We don’t need it.
You have such an interesting body of work, both on stage and on screen. How do you combine the two genres conveniently?
I always tell everybody I’m a storyteller. That’s what got me into this career-storytelling. Storytelling in a different medium namely; radio, television, stage and musical. A storyteller is a storyteller no matter the medium you adopt to tell your story. A true mark of a storyteller is one that can actually do different things using different mediums.
One thing about screen acting is that it requires you not over-act as being natural because the camera picks up everything. But in stage acting, you can afford to go forward and backward. While voice-over is all about the voice because nobody can see you as it is peculiar to radio. But the mark or testament of any good actor is one’s ability to tell a story in whatever medium. I can do anything using any of the mediums.
But which do you feel more comfortable doing?
There is something about the stage because it’s live and you cannot afford to miss your lines. But for screen, they can cut, stop and edit. Everything is done in the editing room. To be honest, screen is not for the actor. It’s for the DOP, directors and editors, those people have fun because they cut and paste as they wish. But on stage, there is no cut and paste. You are either there or not, you know your lines or you don’t. You either tremble or you stand. There is something electrifying about that. And most good actors will tell you that there is something about the liveliness of the stage. But the thing about screen is that it pays your bills. Television and films in the UK pay a lot more money than stage. You can do a TV commercial and you significantly get a lot of money.
There is this film you acted in called “Moremi”. How challenging was the role you played in the film?
I played the role of Moremi herself, and I love the film. It was produced by Spectrecom Studios and had Joachim  Adenusi as the Executive producer. Actually, it was not a full-length film. I want to say something at this juncture; What really angered me about the Nigerian film industry is that Nigeria as a country is rich with stories. Why has nobody done a biographical movie about Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, for instance? Why is it that other people are taking our stories and telling them in the western world anyhow they deemed it fit? I don’t understand.
Moremi is a fantastic story. Outside the world, other people are appreciating our art. Why are our film makers not taking advantage of this global appreciation of our work of art?  I’m a bit worried because a lot of our film makers have not explored this opportunity to make great movies about their country.
You have volunteered to play a young version of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. What is the attraction?
What  attracts me about Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is her level of education, her poise and what she has actually achieved as a woman in the financial world. It is not easy for a woman anywhere in the world to occupy such a powerful position let alone, in an African country. It’s even ten times harder and the fact that she has maintained it and has also retained it even up till today is absolutely admirable. I think, if you look into her life, one will be surprised to come up with an interesting story about her upbringing.
Recall that Ngozi Okonjo Iweala attended Harvard University at a time, I’m sure it was not easy for a black person to be there. If Hollywood film makers could do a film about Abraham Lincoln and are also talking about doing a biographical film about Obama, why can’t Nigerian film makers do a biographical film about Ngozi Okonjo Iweala who is a major female figure in the African financial industry? I’m sure if I conduct an interview with her right now, there will be a story about her life that has not been unravelled. This is because I suspect she wouldn’t have gotten to where she is today overnight.
What would you say actually prepared you for what you are doing today?
I don’t know what actually prepared me for what I’m doing today. But I would say that ever since I was a child between the ages of 13 and 14 years, I knew I was a great communicator. And for me, it was either going to be between acting and studying Law. Actually, I was qualified for both professions but I have a strong passion for acting. I didn’t just wake up and say, I’m going to be an actress. I wanted to communicate to my audience, and I found out that acting is a good medium to communicate through the story telling device.
I wanted to tell the story of a prostitute, a Christian woman, the poor and the rich people. That’s what artistes do. We tell stories with the hope that such stories will entertain and morally instruct the people. That’s the main purpose of any work of art. I hope that all the work that I do will portray all these ingredients.
What was the first production that brought you to limelight?
It was a TV programme called “Casualty” by BBC.
I played the role of a Bully. I also acted in other BBC productions like “Doctor”, “The Journey of Alfred Small”. But “Law and Order was the production that made me. I have done all the stuff. I did Musical Theatre which involves singing, dancing and acting but I look forward to acting more than others. I’m still working to build up my career. I’m not an established household name yet,and that’s what I’m working towards achieving at the moment.
While in the UK, have you experienced any kind of racial discrimination?
Yes. It’s not easy for a person of colour living in the UK or USA to work at the highest level. Yes, racism is inevitable. However, like I always say, talent supersedes anything. It may2 take you a longer time but with talent combined with enough hard work and dedication, this is something that is beatable. I’m not held down by the fact that I am black. In fact, I know that I’m black and I don’t need anybody to tell me I am.
For me, I go to auditions and I look at myself the same way the white woman there will at herself. I apply for the same role. If they take me or they don’t take me, that’s not important, but I’m not scared ever applying for any role because of my colour. I don’t believe in judging somebody by the colour of his or her skin.

Tayo

Also, I don’t think I have had any bad experience so far. But dealing with the press can be an experience on its own. Obviously, there are times when people want to know more about your personal life and things like that . I try as much as possible to protect myself from such things. Yes, I’m a celebrity but it’s not everything about my life I would want to put in the public domain.
Would you want to star in Nollywood films?
I intend to tell good stories. I’m a story teller. If a good story comes from Nigeria, South Africa, Italy or from any part of the world, I will do it. The thing here is that a good story is a good story irrespective of wherever it’s emanating from. If a Nigerian film maker has an excellent story and it’s directed by a tested hand, why not? I will do it. But I don’t think I can answer the question; ‘do you intend to be part of Nollywood’ because of the fact that I don’t agree with the word, Nollywood.
What’s your assessment of films    from Nigeria?
I think Nigerian movies are getting better and better every day. This is an industry that is about 20 years old and it has recorded remarkable progress in the time frame. I think, with more training for actors, producers, directors and structure put in place, the industry has the ability to make more progress in future. For instance, we need agents and managers who will deal with contracts so that artistes don’t have to be bogged down by these things.
A producer and a director should not be having a meeting with me about my fees. They should be talking to my agent and manager. Over here, they talk to artistes directly. That’s not how it’s meant to happen. An actor is a creative person. What I want to deal with is the story and not discussing my fees. That’s left for my agent to handle. Also, there is need for structural things like casting directors.
The casting directors are people who cast the right actors to the right roles. For example, if they are looking for a 50-year old Igbo man, a casting director will go all out in the search for an Igbo man within the age bracket of 50 and 60 years and bring them in for audition and choose the right one from the lot. But, it’s not so. A director should be a director, a producer should be a producer while a casting director should be a casting director.

Okagbare: Nigeria is not doing much for me

Blessing Okagbare

Sprint star, Blessing Okagbare has declared that Nigeria owes her a lot following the countless accolades she has brought to the country at international events.
Okagbare is seen as a pampered athlete by many of her contemporaries and her outburst here at the Cross River/ All Nigeria Championships came as rude shock to athletes and observers alike.
 “Nigeria is not doing much for me. All I have been doing since becoming an international athlete has been by my personal effort.  “As the world championships is coming up, I am not expecting anything from the country,” said the athlete.

However, athletics officials reasoned that the Delta-born athlete had no reason to complain as she has been well taken care of, much to the envy of other Nigerian athletes.
“If Nigeria is not taking care of her, we have Nigerians who are taking care of her needs.
“She should have been more tactful with her comments. If not for the efforts of certain individuals who supported her, she wouldn’t be where she is today. There are many others who, if given the same opportunity, will even do better than she is doing,” said an athletics official at the U.J Esuene Stadium, venue of the championships which ended yesterday.
Okagbare is aiming to win her first gold medal at the world championships. Her only recognizable medal so far, is the bronze she won in the long jump at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
She failed to qualify for the final of the same event at last year’s Olympics. However, she has shown good running form this season.