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Your social media footprint can deny you business, budding exporters told

By
Henry Williams
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Newly registered exporters in the Port Harcourt zone have been warned to be mindful of the kind of things they say and the friends they keep on social media as such could cost them dearly.

Speaking in Port Harcourt recently, Ofon Udofia, an expert in export business and the executive secretary, Institute of Export Operations Management, said some persons have been denied visas to enter some countries because of what they said on Facebook and other social platforms.

He told the budding exporters that their social media footprint is liable to investigation during application for visa for business trips.

Udofia, who spoke during training for new exporters in Port Harcourt organised by the Nigerian Export Promotions Council (NEPC), urged them to be in touch with the world and make their companies present on the internet.

He reminded the new exporters that their social media records could deny them visa and customers in some parts of the world, saying, “Cut a clear identity and be consistent.”

Adeosun launches foundation to raise $10m yearly for indigenous charities

By
Henry Williams
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Nigeria’s former minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun, has launched the DashMe Foundation to creatively raise $10 million yearly and awareness for indigenous charities that provide direct care to orphans, vulnerable children, disadvantaged youth, and victims of domestic abuse.

The foundation, during the launch which was chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, committed itself to raise $10 million for local charities within the first year of operations.

The Vice President, in his remarks, recalled that as a minister, Adeosun prioritized the Federal Government’s Social Investment Program (SIP), and hence he is not surprised that she has decided to use her talent and influence to establish an organization that raises funds and provides for indigenous grassroots charities.

He expressed how important it is to reach the grassroots, to reach Nigerians, which forms the idea of funding local charities.

Policy uncertainty, over-regulation top CEOs’ concerns for Africa growth

By
Henry Williams
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While CEOs in other parts of the world recognized COVID-19 as the top threat to their business growth in 2021, CEOs in Africa say the pandemic and other health crises are the least of their worries.

CEOs in the world’s second-largest continent are more concerned about the threat from the perennial challenges of policy and tax uncertainty, over-regulation, and the fast-evolving reality of cyber risk, according to the findings of PwC’s 24th Annual Global CEO Survey released last Thursday.

The proportion of CEOs in Africa extremely concerned about the top 10 threat that did not include COVID-19 was significantly higher than the global average, not just in this year’s survey, but in previous years. Compared with the global average of 34 percent (28% in 2020), 49 percent of CEOs in Africa, up from the 43 percent reported last year, were very concerned.

This likely means that the ease of doing business in Africa has not made much progress as the PwC report shows it is increasingly difficult for CEOs in Africa to successfully run their businesses.

Nigeria’s high political risk puts energy sector on life-support

By
Henry Williams
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From kidnappings and jihadist rebellion by Boko Haram to homicide by notorious “unknown gunmen,” the growing rate of insecurities and increasing political risk under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is causing more uncertainties in Nigeria’s energy sector, the economic heartbeat plagued with teething challenges.

An active oil and gas sector draws investments and acts as an economic enabler, creating jobs and improving the standard of living, but when oil exploration declines due to a lack of investment, economic growth is stymied.

While most investors agree good governance is the ultimate secret to securing Nigeria’s corporate existence, the country’s present political risk appears to be worsening, a situation marring the country’s investment climate similar to oil-producing countries such as Libya and Mozambique.

In Nigeria, analysts say the suspension of Twitter in Africa’s most populous country, two days after the social media platform deleted a tweet from President Muhammadu Buhari’s account for violating its rules, is not among a million and one respectable ways a government can react.

Nigeria’s increasing political risk is also coming at a time there is mounting global advocacy aimed at halting all-new Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) for fossil fuels, especially oil and gas, a scenario that may create serious hurdles for new fields development as over $150 billion worth of projects risk getting stranded in Nigeria.

Nigeria outshines peers as largest real estate investment by country

By
Henry Williams
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An analysis of institutional acquisitions and disposals in real estate investissement valued at $1.8 billion across Africa in le passé two decades reveals that Nigeria has the largest real estate investissements by country.

The country has, within this period, attracted $523 million investissement into the sector, ranking ahead of Mozambique and Mauritius that were ranked second and third with $268 million and $256 million investment, respectively.

What this means is that opportunities abound in the Nigerian real estate market and savvy investors are not glossing over that. The country is almost a green field for investors. The size/value of real estate opportunity in the country is estimated at $56 billion.

This is, however, understandable in a country of 200 million population where housing demand-supply gap is well over 20 million while annual housing output is between 50,000 and 100,000 units. Homeownership level in the country, according to experts, is a little above 20 percent.

The investment analysis looks further at the value of investments by cities and reveals that Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, tops the list with $523 million, followed by Accra, the Ghanaian capital, with $230 million while Maputo in Mozambique comes third with $201 million investment.

Bismarck Rewane, CEO, Financial Derivative Company (FDC), who provided this information in his June Breakfast Conference in Lagos, also hinted that in terms of market segment and value, retail was most preferred, attracting $687 million investment and offering 8.6-10 percent yield.

Situation In South-East, Not As Bad – Peter Obi Tells US Embassy Delegates

By
Angel Gimalo
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The Vice Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in the last elections, Mr. Peter Obi, yesterday received six high-ranking members of the USA consulate in Nigeria in his Onitsha residence.

The team has continued to visit him routinely in Lagos or Onitsha to exchange ideas with him on events around the world, especially Africa.

It was a fruitful discussion on world economies and the need to improve education and health care delivery in Africa, as the critical components of economic development.

They see him as best-placed for such an interaction going by what he did as the Governor of Anambra State.

The discussion was gradually narrowed to Nigeria and the South-East. Obi insisted that Nigeria remained a great country that is temporarily set back by cumulative effects of bad leadership. “When we get the effective leadership we desire, the dynamics will change,” Obi assured them, while calling on them to encourage equity and justice in Nigeria as possibly as they can.

On the situation in the South-East, Obi said it was actually wrong to narrow it to the South-East as the entire country is troubled.

He also said: “The situation in the South-East is not as bad as it is portrayed. I can tell you that the actual cause of the crises are the leaders of this country, including myself. If the leaders have done well for the country, nobody will be agitating. We have so many youths that do not know where the next meal will come from. The solution will be by the leaders- all of us- reviving the economy, increasing support to education and promulgation of policies that will lift our people out of poverty.

The team was led by the Head of Economic and Political team of the USA embassy, Mr. Brandon Hudspeth.

Swiss Reject Law To Help Meet Paris Carbon Emissions Goal

By
Angel Gimalo
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Swiss voters rejected a trio of environmental proposals on Sunday, including a new law intended to help the country meet its goal for cutting carbon emissions under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

A new CO2 law was narrowly rejected, with 51.6% of voters opposing it in a nationwide referendum conducted under the country’s system of direct democracy.

The result was a defeat for the Swiss government which supported the new law that included measures such as increasing a surcharge on car fuel and imposing a levy on flight tickets.

The rejection meant it would now be “very difficult” for Switzerland to reach its 2030 goal of cutting carbon emissions to half of their 1990 levels and to be become net neutral on emissions by 2050, Environment Minister Simonetta Sommaruga said.

“Today’s no is not a no to climate protection, it is a no to the law on which we have voted,” Sommaruga told a news conference.

“Debates in the last few weeks have shown that many people want to strengthen the climate protection but not with this law,” she said.

The government would now seek to extend uncontroversial measures like a duty for fuel importers to invest in climate protection projects, and attempt to forge a new consensus with the population on climate policies, she added.

Also rejected was a proposal which would have made Switzerland only the second country in the world to ban artificial pesticides outright, and another proposal to reduce their use by redirecting subsidies to farmers who no longer used the chemicals.

Supporters had argued that pesticides were linked to health risks, while opponents had claimed a ban on pesticides would have led to more expensive food, job losses for the Swiss food processing industry, and greater dependence on imports.

Antoinette Gilson, one of the authors of the artificial pesticides initiative, said the results did not mean the Swiss were unconcerned about the environment, but were more worried about immediate problems at present.

“People find it very hard to think about problems in the future, and don’t see the urgency of these problems,” she said. “When they are having a difficult time during the COVID-19 pandemic they are thinking about immediate concerns more.”

Fugitive Chilean Colonel Arrested In Argentina

By
Angel Gimalo
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Police in Argentina have arrested a retired Chilean army colonel in Buenos Aires after he fled neighboring Chile, where he was convicted of human rights violations committed during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, Chilean authorities and local media reported.

Walter Klug Rivera was convicted in the disappearance and murder of 23 workers in 1973, shortly after Pinochet took power in a coup that resulted in the ouster and death of sitting president Salvador Allende.

“Walter Klug Rivera was apprehended outside the … hotel where he was staying, which he intended to leave in the next few hours in order to continue evading justice,” Chile’s police said on Twitter.

More than 3,000 people died or disappeared in political violence during Pinochet’s military regime from 1973 to 1990. The secret service and the army also tortured and drove into exile thousands of dissidents and leftists, truth commissions and police investigations have shown.

Klug will be detained in Buenos Aires until Monday, when he must appear before federal judge Julián Ercolini, who will initiate the process to extradite him to Chile, Argentine media reported.

U.S. President Biden, Canada’s Prime Minister Trudeau Discuss Border Restrictions

By
Angel Gimalo
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sunday he has spoken with U.S. President Joe Biden about how to lift pandemic-related border restrictions between the two countries but made clear no breakthrough has been achieved.

U.S. and Canadian business leaders have voiced increasing concern about the ban on non-essential travel in light of COVID-19 that was first imposed in March 2020 and renewed on a monthly basis since then.

The border measures do not affect trade flows.

The border restrictions have choked off tourism between the two countries.

Canadian businesses, especially airlines and those that depend on tourism, have been lobbying the Liberal government to relax the restrictions.

Eriksen Unlikely To Play Football Again, Cardiologist Says

By
Emenike Agu
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Christian Eriksen is lucky to be alive but unlikely to play again after suffering an apparent cardiac arrest at the Euro 2020 tournament, according to a sports cardiologist.

In dramatic scenes in Copenhagen, the 29-year-old midfielder dropped to the ground at the Parken Stadium soon before half-time in Denmark’s match against Finland.

He was treated on the pitch before being taken to hospital.

The first-round match was suspended with players from both sides in clear distress before resuming some two hours later after Eriksen was said to be in a stable condition.

Finland won 1-0.

Professor Sanjay Sharma, professor of sports cardiology at London’s St George’s University, said football bodies and medical practitioners were likely to be “very strict” about allowing Eriksen to play again.

Sharma, who worked with Eriksen at Tottenham Spurs, said: “Clearly something went terribly wrong. But they managed to get him back. The question is what happened? And why did it happen?”

“This guy had normal tests all the way up to 2019. So, how do you explain this cardiac arrest?” asked Sharma.

Sharma, who chairs the FA’s expert cardiac consensus group, said there were multiple reasons a cardiac arrest could have happened, such as high temperatures or an unidentified condition.

But he said reports after the match that Eriksen who is now with Italian side Inter Milan was awake in hospital were “a very good sign.”

“I’m very pleased. The fact he’s stable and awake, his outlook is going to be very good.

“I don’t know whether he’ll ever play football again. Without putting it too bluntly, he died today, albeit for a few minutes, but he did die. And would the medical professional allow him to die again? The answer is no.”

He added: “The good news is he will live, the bad news is he was coming to the end of his career. So, would he play another professional football game? That I can’t say. In the UK, he wouldn’t play. We’d be very strict about it.”

Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand struggled to hold back the tears during his post-match press conference.

He revealed his side had the choice of finishing the Group B opener on the night or returning on Sunday.

“It was more unmanageable to have to restart tomorrow (Sunday). It was more unmanageable than going back out now and getting it all put behind us,” he said.

“I could not be more proud of this team, who take good care of each other.

“There are players in there who are completely finished emotionally. Players who on another day could not play this match. They are supporting each other. It was a traumatic experience.”

After Eriksen collapsed, his team-mates formed a shield around the 29-year-old while he received treatment and fans from both sets of countries chanted the name of the midfielder.

The football world has united to send messages of support to Eriksen and his family.

Sabrina Kvist Jensen, with whom Eriksen has two children, was consoled on the sideline by other Denmark players and team officials while the midfielder received treatment.

England, who get their Euro 2020 campaign under way Sunday against Croatia, had been due to hold a press conference on Saturday evening with captain Harry Kane alongside manager Gareth Southgate.

But the Football Association confirmed the media briefing had been cancelled.

Kane, who spent eight seasons with Eriksen at Tottenham, writing on Twitter: “Chris. I’m sending all my love to you and your family. Stay strong, mate.”

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge tweeted: “Encouraging news about Christian Eriksen, we are all thinking about him and his family.

“

Well done to the medical team and (English referee) Anthony Taylor for their calm and swift action. W.”

Later in the evening, the Dane’s Inter Milan team-mate Romelu Lukaku dedicated his first goal in Belgium’s 3-0 win over Russia to Eriksen by saying into the pitchside cameras: “Chris, I love you.”

He later told beIN SPORTS: “It was difficult to play because my mind was with my team-mate. I hope he is healthy and I dedicate this performance to him. I cried a lot because I was scared, obviously.”

Meanwhile, the BBC has apologised following complaints that it continued to broadcast while Eriksen received emergency treatment.

“We apologise to anyone who was upset by the images broadcast,” the broadcaster said in a statement.

“In-stadium coverage is controlled by UEFA as the host broadcaster, and as soon as the match was suspended, we took our coverage off air as quickly as possible.”

Former Tottenham striker Gary Lineker, who anchored the BBC’s studio coverage of the match, said: “In 25 years of doing this job, that was the most difficult, distressing and emotional broadcast I’ve ever been involved with.”

Lineker thanked his colleagues Alex Scott, Cesc Fabregas and Micah Richards, who were with him for their “professionalism, warmth and empathy.”

Of the host broadcaster’s coverage, Lineker said: “They should have stayed on a wide of the stadium. Apologies.”

Former Tottenham player and manager Glenn Hoddle, who suffered a cardiac arrest while working at the BT Sport studios in 2018, tweeted: “Thank God Christian is ok. And to those who did the CPR, it’s simple, you saved his life as I know so well.”

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