The Rise of the Nigerian Billionaires

After overtaking its nearest rival South Africa as the dominant financial superpower in Africa, Nigeria can now also boast the highest number of billionaires on the continent. In an article published by the online business magazine Ventures Africa, the collective wealth of native Nigerians on the rich list totalled more than twice that of South Africa’s wealthiest citizens, standing at almost $80 billion.

The Biggest Economy in Africa

The Nigerian dominance of the Ventures Africa rich list should not really come as too much of a surprise. Earlier in 2014, the nation superseded South Africa as the biggest economy on the continent of Africa. This new-found economic strength has been attributed to a number of factors, including strong performances from the nation’s telecommunications and manufacturing industries. Another major contributor to the Nigerian economy is its wildly successful film industry. Nicknamed Nollywood, Nigeria produces an average of fifty films every week, a total only bettered by the Bollywood film industry in India. Nollywood is now one of the biggest employers in Nigeria.

Ventures Africa is an online business magazine which regularly champions the growing economic power of African nations, in addition to exploring the continent’s new lifestyle choices. The 2014 rich list is the perfect example of how many of Africa’s wealthiest nations are now emerging as major players on the global financial stage. As expected, it is Nigeria and South Africa who have contributed the most entries on the rich list, with Egypt also performing well. However, the real story is just how far Nigeria is ahead of its nearest rivals.

Nigeria Dominates the African Rich List

The Ventures Africa rich list notes that there are a total of 55 billionaires in Africa. Of that grand total, an amazing 23 reside in Nigeria. This compares to eight in both South Africa and Egypt. The net worth of the billionaires on the rich list stands at a staggering $162 billion. This total is $19 billion more than that managed by the first Ventures Africa list from 2013. The 2014 addition has seen five new billionaires join the list. Tellingly, of that five, four are from Nigeria.

Topping the rich list is Aliko Dangote, the Nigerian-born owner of the Dangote Group. His net worth is estimated to exceed $25 billion, an increase of $5 billion from the results of the 2013 list. Dangote also ranked in the top 25 of the Forbes global rich list for 2014. The Dangote Group was founded in 1977 and is now the dominant force in the Nigerian sugar industry. The organisation also trades in other commodities such as flour and cement and has become the largest industrial company in Nigeria.

Second on the Ventures Africa list, although still a long way distant of Dangote in terms of total net worth, is Mike Adenuga. With a personal fortune of $8 billion, Nigerian Adenuga is the owner of the telecommunications giant Globacom, the second-largest company of its type in Nigeria. The tycoon also has interests in the Equatorial Trust Bank.

The World’s Wealthiest Female

 

One of the most interesting entries on the Ventures Africa list is Folorunsho Alakija. Ranked at number four, Alakija is the first female entry. Not only is she the wealthiest woman in Africa, Alakija also usurped American television legend Oprah Winfrey as the richest female on the planet. Born in Nigeria, Folorunsho Alakija began her rise to financial prominence in the fashion industry, founding the Rose of Sharon House of Fashion, a household name in West Africa. In later years, Alakija also gained success in the powerful Nigerian oil industry, founding the company Famfa Limited.

The Ventures Africa list of the continent’s richest people was compiled from various sources such as financial reports, stock market holdings and shareholding structures. Traditionally, wealth and capitalism have not always been openly discussed in most African societies. The fact that such a list now exists is perhaps indicative of the growing financial confidence of African nations such as Nigeria and South Africa. Nigeria in particular has expanded substantially in terms of economic wealth over recent years and is now firmly established as Africa’s most powerful financial nation.

Nigeria Shines in Fight Against Ebola

In October 2014, Nigeria was officially declared free of the Ebola virus. A potential unmitigated disaster was averted by a winning combination of rigorous quarantine enforcement, meticulous disinfecting and generous government funding. The containment of such a dangerously virulent virus by Nigeria should stand as an example to the rest of the African continent and indeed the world.

The outbreak of Ebola in Nigeria began in July, when a Liberian man flew into Lagos Airport against medical advice. The man, named Patrick Sawyer, had just returned from attending the funeral of his sister, who had died from the disease. Sawyer had already been violently ill at his departure airport and once again during the flight. Once in Lagos, he was escorted to a private hospital but it took three days before the cause of his illness was officially diagnosed as Ebola. During this time, nine medical staff who had been treating Sawyer became infected with the virus. Of those nine, four eventually died. Sawyer himself died two days after Ebola was diagnosed.

A Swift Response

In a city as densely populated as Lagos, home to over twenty-one million people, an Ebola outbreak is the stuff of nightmares. The world could have witnessed a human disaster of cataclysmic proportions. However, a swift public health campaign averted what could have been a terrible event.

To begin with, health officials diligently tracked down every person who had been in contact with Patrick Sawyer and who therefore may have contracted the disease themselves. In such a heavily-populated city as Lagos, where many buildings are densely crowded and do not even have numbers on the outside, this was certainly no easy task. However, containment is absolutely crucial in tackling every outbreak of Ebola, so no effort was spared by officials in tracking down contacts of not only Sawyer, but also those of the medical team who subsequently became victims of the virus.

The detective work involved in tracking down all potential contacts of Ebola carriers is absolutely immense. It is estimated that the number of contacts in the Nigerian outbreak numbered almost 900. This total was not just confined to Lagos either, with some people tracked down to locations such as Port Harcourt and Enugu. The dedicated tracing team checked the health of over 18,000 people, with raised temperature being one of the main indicators of possible infection. Many people tried to flee the tracing team but they were all diligently tracked down and their premises thoroughly disinfected.

An Efficient Public Health Campaign

The thoroughly efficient public health campaign was run from a central emergency operations unit. Many of the staff at the centre had spent time working on the effort to eradicate polio, so were highly experienced in this type of public health campaign. In an innovative move, existing GPS systems used in the fight against polio were utilised to track down contacts who were possibly infected with Ebola. The emergency centre also worked closely with the teaching hospital at Lagos University, which boasts a world-class virology lab. This ensured that results from various tests and diagnoses could be turned around at a rapid rate, usually within twenty-four hours.

In addition to the health experts at the central emergency centre and within the dedicated tracking teams, many other people went to great effort to help contain the deadly Ebola virus. The Nigerian government were very generous with the funding of the operation, while stars of the huge Nigerian Nollywood film industry appeared on numerous television broadcasts and on social media to keep people informed and reassured.

A Fine Example

In a country like Nigeria, where cities such as Lagos are so densely populated, an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus has the potential to cause an unimaginable death toll. In total, the 2014 Nigerian outbreak resulted in the deaths of just seven people, with a further twelve becoming ill. This relatively small number is a testament to the super-efficient manner in which the public health campaign was run and the huge effort and dedication demonstrated by everybody involved. The way in which Nigeria handled such a potential disaster will hopefully inspire other countries across Africa and the rest of the world to do the same should the unfortunate need arise.

Buhari’s APC Takes Power in Nigeria

Nigerian elections in April to determine state governor posts further highlighted the dominance of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the country. It inflicted another defeat on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who suffered a loss in March’s Presidential elections. These results bring about a new era for Nigeria, which ended military rule in 1999.

Before this year’s set of elections, the PDP had dominated the Nigerian political scene for 16 years. However, the APC took the majority of votes in both the Presidential and state governor polls. The leader of the APC, Muhammadu Buhari, was officially inaugurated as president in May.

State governor domination

The northern part of the country was dominated in the election by a string of victories by the APC. Some of the key areas in this region, including Kaduna and Katsina, fell out of PDP rule for the first time in their history. Overall the outgoing ruling party took just eight states, with the majority of these in the South East of Nigeria. They did, however, retain control of Rivers State, which is central to the country’s oil production.

Throughout the results, the APC made some major gains, which have helped to elevate the party to ruling status. The PDP is now more of a regional party, with a significantly lessened role in influencing national policies. This has broken down its powerful hold on the Nigerian political scene.

The APC has a good spread of votes across the northern states, as well as taking control of Lagos, which is the commercial centre of the country. The APC victory in Lagos will mean that for the first time since democracy came to the country in 1999, this important region will be controlled by the presidential party. There may be some concerns amongst those currently in control of the APC regarding their failure to win votes in any of the five oil producing states.

State governors have extremely powerful status in Nigeria and oversee control of correspondingly large budgets. This is particularly true of the oil producing zones, where annual budgets can be higher than some of the countries that neighbour Nigeria.

Change across Africa

This result may not just be significant for Nigeria. It could make a difference across the whole of the continent, as other countries battle against dominant political parties that have been in power for generations.

It is estimated that around 20 percent of people in Africa are Nigerian, so they can have an extremely influential presence across the continent. With the electorate in the country relishing the idea that they have removed the incumbent party simply through voting, this could be an example that others in neighbouring regions want to follow. They have seen that one country can make a difference and that their individual votes can have a significant impact on the political makeup of their own area.

The Nigerian elections of 2015 were carried out peacefully, with well monitored polls and the transfer of power was carried out without anyone contesting the result. This could help to quell concerns that changing leaders will impact negatively on the structure of a country.

The PDP had been in control of Nigeria for 16 years. However, a new wave of voters in the country believed that now was the time for things to change. The election results mark a significant new beginning for this African country. It will enable democracy to continue maturing and for the country to grow economically, while at the same time trying to battle the hold that militant groups have on certain regions.

Kola Aluko’s talks about creating a catalyst for african growth through a focus on infrastructure

Kola Aluko, CEO of Atlantic Energy, Interview by MerlinAyala

When discussing his charity work, Nigerian businessman Kola Aluko expressed his investment belief: that funds should always be put to work with a commercial, market-viable approach in mind. His words ring truer than ever these days, as the reports on Nigeria’s second quarter national revenue start to pour in.

Several experts from the continent and international economic analysts have expressed a call for attracting more offshore investment and this is where Kola Aluko’s advice comes into play. The main driver of economic growth in the country has always been crude oil production and this holds true in this most recent report. There are, additionally, some industries that are relatively new on the scene, such as telecommunications, which are providing a good deal of welcome, yet unexpected growth.

Investment is clearly needed to further boost these brand new strong economic domains but, as Kola Aluko stressed in his inaugural interviews with the occasion of his charity launch, funds pumped into developments without the proper thought behind them are useless and will eventually dry up. What is really needed to underpin a healthy, thriving economy is something akin to what Mr. Kola Aluko was talking about: strengthening the infrastructure or those industries on which other fields depend on.

It has not been a bad year, not even close to one, especially considering the fact that the ripples of the economic crash from 2009 are still felt worldwide. Still, concerns are growing about the fact that, while it is still demonstrating stable growth across the board, the rate is development is not as fast as expected. International and regional opinion seems to be that commercial viability on an international level, the kind of economic strategy Kola Aluko has been a keen promoter of, should be one of the top priorities for the government and individual businesses going forwards.

There is also a view that is gaining more and more followers which says that the past success were not driven by an inclusive growth program which would take a measured and comprehensive view of the main picture. A dominant industry is fine as long as it is backed by a solid structure of interlinking structures and Kola Aluko’s favourite asset class, the so-called human capital.

To conclude, if the problems identified so far with the Nigerian society’s approach to economic growth are to be properly addressed, then they should be addressed with a business-minded strategy that, as Mr. Kola Aluko advocates, will have the final result of creating a stable, self-sufficient economic climate.

Female Scientists Flourish in Nigeria

Scientists are required across the world to carry out research and make developments that will lead to better health care provision for everyone. In Nigeria the number of female scientists is relatively high compared to other countries with similar average incomes. Facilities may not always be ideal, but even with the difficulties they face, they are still able to carry out significant discoveries.

Difficulties in Nigeria

Research work requires long and committed hours of study whichever part of the world you’re based in. However, in Nigeria it can be particularly tough for scientists of all genders and backgrounds. There is a lack of sufficient funding to finance the necessary research and scientists and students have to cope without some of the facilities that those in western universities would take for granted.

For instance, there are frequent power cuts and many students don’t have any access to the Internet or even a working computer. Often scientists will put their own money into their research; otherwise they would not be able to complete their studies.

Dominance of women

Despite the problems that they face, female scientists are doing particularly well in Nigeria. When you look at the total number of academics in the country, females only account for around 14%. However, they make up about 25% of all the professors studying science and technology. This figure is comparable with the number in the USA, which shows that female scientists are performing well and are in line with more developed nations.

Even those at the top of their field still face daily struggles to carry out their important work. This commitment does pay dividends in the end and some of the key scientists in Nigeria are renowned throughout the world for the quality of their research.

In February 2015, three of the leading Nigerian female scientists were presented with a prestigious award during the American Association for Advancement of Science conference. The five women came from Nigeria, Sudan and Vietnam and included four physicians and a mathematician. The group featured women who have made formidable progress in their fields, even in the face of adversity.

Rabia Salihu Sai’id has a post at Bayero University, where she is deputy dean of student affairs. Her research is looking for ways that deforestation in the country can be reduced. She also works with young girls across the northern regions to encourage them back into education.

Mojisola Usikalu works as a senior physics lecturer within Covenant University. She is currently researching the effects on our health of radiation and speaks to other young women about the benefits of studying physics.

Mojisola Oluwyemisi Adeniyi is based at the country’s University of Ibadon. She heads up the physics department’s atmospheric physics and meteorological research team. She has worked to assess the optimal planting times for staple crops.

Fighting the struggles

This band of female scientists manages to improvise and use equipment in different ways in order to meet their needs. For example, at her university Adeniyi has to use her own laptop to conduct regional climate modelling which is essential for her research. She is looking at how the Nigerian climate in the future will impact on the way in which they grow their food. In more developed countries there would be an entire room of computers, but she has fitted her own laptop with eight processing cores, as well as using climate modelling software that she copied while attending a conference.

Aid for female scientists

There is a global push to encourage more women within French and English speaking countries in Africa to take up and remain in research posts. In March of this year, nine grants were provided to researchers in these regions as part of a scheme to boost the percentage of women in scientific fields. The TDR grants were given out to a range of researchers ranging from those fresh out of university to research managers in senior positions.

The grantees included one in Nigeria, as well as scientists in Kenya, Guinea, Uganda, Malawi, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Mali and Ethiopia. Dr Jacqueline Azumi Badaki was awarded the finances to fund her study into the factors that promote and hinder those women from different socio-cultural backgrounds from progressing as scientists. It intends to analyse what challenges and barriers there are, both professionally and culturally, for women who want a career in the research industry. The study will also build up a strategy that can be implemented to reduce the numbers of women leaving scientific posts.

This small, but determined, group of female scientists is showing the next generation that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. They have proved that there are no barriers and that with a positive attitude they can achieve anything that they want.

Africa’s Largest Carnival Rocks Nigeria

The city of Port Harcourt in the Rivers State of Nigeria once again celebrated its annual carnival this December. CARNIRIV is Nigeria’s longest-standing carnival and is the largest festivity of its type in the whole of Africa. The 2014 edition of the arts and culture festival was held between December 12th and December 20th and featured a diverse range of attractions and activities.

One of the centrepieces of the week-long festivities was the International Heritage Parade. This hugely colourful procession wound its way through more than eight miles of the city’s streets, with thousands of revellers on hand to cheer on proceedings. A mix of African culture and Caribbean influences, participants in the parade celebrate their national identity by dressing in colourful costumes and engaging in exciting dances and masquerade displays. This year’s Heritage Parade included floats from both Malaysia and South Africa to give the event a truly international flavour. Amongst the many spectators were a number of local dignitaries, including the Governor of Rivers State, who acted as the main host of the proceedings and the Rivers State Commissioner for Information.

Beauty Queen is Crowned

This year’s festival saw the very first Miss CARNIRIV beauty contest held, with the winner being Stephaine Chinda. The pageant was held at the Presidential Hotel in Port Harcourt, with contestants representing each of the 23 local governments which make up Rivers State. The triumphant Miss Chinda was presented with a brand new Hyundai Grand car and a foreign scholarship. The scholarship is part of the Rivers State government’s initiative to promote foreign studies and scholarship. Miss CARNIRIV was crowned on December 12th and was on hand for the rest of the festival to lend a hand with various other events.

Amongst the plethora of other events and activities taking place during CARNIRIV 2014 were a number of music concerts. These included the Black African Music Festival, the World Peace Concert and Reggae 360. The Reggae 360 show saw a number of popular artists take to the main stage, such as Ras Kimono and Majek Fashek. The headline act who brought Reggae 360, and indeed CARNIRIV itself, to a stirring conclusion was Port Harcourt native Timaya. Home-town hero Timaya, who has released a number of highly popular albums in Nigeria, wowed the crowd with an exceptionally well-received performance.

One People One Love

Add in even more exciting events, such as Dance of the Fireflies, Praise Jam, HOSH Jam and the International Aquatic Fiesta, and it is easy to see why CARNIRIV is regarded as one of the premier arts and culture festivals in the whole of Africa. Each year the people of Port Harcourt are given the opportunity to celebrate their own culture, in addition to that of other states from across Nigeria. The tagline for the 2014 festivities, One People One Love Edition, was certainly an apt name for this most friendly and colourful of events, which showed the city of Port Harcourt at its very best.

Nigerian Recycling Company Wins 2014 Sustainability Award

Climate change has been a much-discussed topic around the world for a number of years now. In recent times, it seems there has been a concerted effort by the majority of nations to lessen the negative impact made on the planet’s natural resources. Recycling is now an everyday part of life for many citizens around the globe. There are many hi-tech innovations in place in terms of recycling solutions. However, it is often the simplest ideas which turn out to be the most successful.

The city of Lagos in Nigeria has never been traditionally thought of as a major recycler. Indeed, until recently the city was undergoing problems in other related areas too, namely in the collection of household waste. It has been estimated that, of all of the cumulated household waste in Lagos, only 40% is ever collected. The remainder is left to pile up in the streets.

An Innovative Solution to the Problem of Waste

The solution to this major problem has been refreshingly simple and, so far, exceedingly successful. Recycling company Wecyclers gives families living in the low-income communities of Lagos the opportunity of earning from their household waste collections. The company sends out a fleet of cargo bicycles into the communities to collect waste, which is then sent for recycling. By using a points-based system, Lagos households can exchange their household waste, such as plastic bottles, plastic bags and food cans, for various consumer goods. The use of bicycles to collect the waste also ensures that the air is not further polluted by vehicle exhaust fumes.

After sorting through the collections, Wecyclers then sell the waste on to companies who recycle it into various products such as bin bags, mattresses and pillows. Up to October 2014, over 5,000 households in Lagos had signed up to the Wecyclers collection program. The undoubted success has led to plans to expand the scheme to other cities in Nigeria.

Rewarded for Efforts in Sustainability

On November 10th 2014, Wecyclers were rewarded for their efforts when they were named as the winners of the Sustainia Award. Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, Sustainia is a consultancy which champions sustainability around the world. Chaired by film legend Arnold Schwarzenegger, the 2014 Sustainia Awards celebrated ten innovative sustainable solutions employed in nations across the globe. However, after learning of the simple but effective solution employed by Wecyclers to the very real problems of waste management in Lagos, the committee were unanimous in choosing the Nigerian company as their main award winner.

With their innovative waste collection scheme in Lagos, Wecyclers have shown that sustainability solutions do not necessarily have to be hi-tech to prove successful. By involving the local community in the scheme. Wecyclers have also given a sense of purpose to the poorer citizens of the city, in addition to offering them the chance of earning from their efforts. It is a winning situation for all concerned and a much-needed boost for the environment.