In the Grandiose Parlor…

In 2009, Nigeria ranked 120 in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index. Between then and now, the nation’s ranking has depreciated by 5 points! At #125, Nigeria ranks 13th behind Mauritius (1), South Africa (2), Botswana (3), Namibia (4), Rwanda (5), Zambia (6), Ghana (7), Kenya (8), Ethiopia (9), Seychelles (10), Uganda (11) and Swaziland (12). Continue reading…

Governance is a service oriented venture; it’s all about service delivery; the more efficient the delivery models are the better for the people and the government.

However, as far as I know, there haven’t been any conscionable efforts to assess service delivery models for efficiency. Yet, Nigerian state administrators dream of private partnership projects (PPP), foreign investors coming in with wads of cash, and ‘leap-frogging’ their respective domains into modern enclaves of commerce and technology of global standard.

How naïve! Continue reading…

To show how little ‘tourism’ is understood in Nigeria, I once saw the website of one of the western states list a cenotaph as a tourist attraction in the state. To the undiscerning reader, there is probably nothing wrong with that statement — if the structure in reference was a pedestrian-accessible grand masterpiece sitting a well manicured landscape.

But this is not the case: The structure stood derelict, overgrown by weeds, at the intersection of three major roads! Continue reading…

Growing up in Nigeria, Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu spent his after-school hours raising poultry and cattle. After high school, as he participated in youth and citizens’ associations helping farmers, Ikegwuonu quickly became aware that the rural community had little access to information about farming practices and environmental issues.

Today, Nnaemeka is multi-award-winning activist/entrepreneur: he developed a sustainable community owned and managed radio through which farmers can share knowledge with each other. Continue reading…

Nigeria is campaigning for a new image and a new reputation in an effort to attract some much needed investment. BBC Reporter Henry Bonsu follows the many steps of this charm offensive.

The business temperature here in Lagos is at boiling point, but like every major business destination there are challenges. Lets find out how businessmen and women in Lagos are adapting.

The media has been in a frenzy following the Sanusi-led CBN blitzkrieg on Nigerian banking sector:

Five chief executives got axed, and wanted by the anti-fraud unit, EFCC. And more to come.

Names of dozen of loan defaulters published, and several arrested by EFCC operatives. As I write one of the five sacked CEO is still on wanted list; his whereabouts unknown.

Sanusi Lamido (the new CBN boss) came in and wanted to clean house, no qualms, by all means the banking sector is overdue for some action. It was some five years ago that Nigerians saw some last — in the name of bank consolidation. While several bankers lost their jobs then, this time around, things are a bit different, the almighty EFCC has been called in to shake things up. And so far, it has not disappointed.

Continue reading…