Interview
Thursday, 25 April 2013 12:56
‘We Are Carving a Niche for Ourselves’
She knew she had to hit the ground running and very fast too. And so far, she has successfully done just that. When Adedoja Allen was appointed the managing director and chief operating officer, Orpheus Communications Limited, operators of City 105.1 FM, a radio station based in Lagos, she was convinced that all eyes were on her and that she needed to prove her mettle as a capable and reliable boss. Armed with her credentials as a financial consultant, having schooled at The Aston Business School, Birmingham, UK where she obtained her Master’s degree in Business and its IT Applications, she has taken up her task with all the determination to succeed. One year down the line as the CEO, Allen is carving a niche for herself as a role model and placing her station on a pedestal of repute. In this interview with Stella Sawyerr, senior assistant editor, she expresses her desire to succeed against all odds among others. Excerpts: What is it like coming on board as the managing director, MD, of a radio station? My mission is to reposition the radio station that had a problem with generating sales revenue. Although I am not a broadcaster, I don’t know how to broadcast but I know how to grow a business. Every business is surviving as a result of the strategies that are employed. I came in and tried to diagnose what was wrong and looked at what needed to be removed and what is needed to…
Monday, 22 April 2013 11:27
The President’s Men Are Dividing the South-south – Governor Uduaghan
There are speculations that many of the governors have sympathy for the APC and even among the South-south governors, maybe about two are really supporting the President’s second term bid. How do you react to this? First, let me state that the aspiration for 2015 is not yet being discussed. Even just yesterday (last Tuesday), the President made an appeal that people should let him concentrate on delivering on his promises of transformation. But, on a general note, I think it is very unfortunate if some people who are even close to the President want to divide the South-south. And I think by coming out with such accusation, they try to divide the South-south. It is not possible that it is only two governors in the South-south out of the six that are supporting Mr. President. Who are they indicting – the governors or the President? The President, on a general note, has support from the South-south, which is his own home. There are some people, unfortunately some are around him, who instead of bringing people close to him, encouraging people to support Mr. President, all they want to do is to push people away from Mr. President. It is not the person that goes to the Villa every day that is necessarily supporting the President. This was how they made all sorts of allegations before the last (PDP) primary election, and of course the result of the primary showed that there was unanimous support for the…
Tuesday, 09 April 2013 13:17
‘Women Are Better Managers’ - Titi Abubakar
Tucked in a quiet, choice area of Gwarimpa, Abuja, in the capital city of Nigeria, and home to the headquarters of the Women Trafficking and Child Labour Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF), is an imposing storey building of two annexes. There, Titi Abubakar, wife of Atiku Abubakar, former vice president, VP, holds sway as the founder of WOTCLEF, an organisation devoted to fighting the cause of trafficked and abused women and children. She started the organisation when her husband was still in office as VP. But she said she had always nursed the idea even before her husband’s emergence as VP. And even after her husband left office, she has remained true to the dream. Right on the dot of the appointed time, a regal, brisk and charming Abubakar was waiting for the TELL team in her spacious and comfortable, first floor office. There she talked to the TELL duo of Anayochukwu Agbo, senior associate editor, and Yinka Omage, senior assistant editor, about why she started WOTCLEF, and has since remained steadfast to the dream six years after her husband left office as well as the need for the country to further empower women among others. Excerpts: What inspired you to establish WOTCLEF? I applied for a course in Hotel and Catering Management in Rome. I was saw so many black Nigerian girls in skimpy clothes on my way to school. So, as a mother, I was very inquisitive. I wanted to know why this was so. What were these children…
Tuesday, 26 March 2013 12:54
‘We Can Rule the World of Fashion’– Joan Okorodudu
For Joan Okorodudu, chief operating officer, International Business Consortium Limited, IBCL, and founder, Nigeria Next Super Model, fashion business in Nigeria is a child’s play compared to what operates in other climes. Although she agrees that the country and stakeholders in the fashion business have what it takes to rake in millions into the economy just like what operates in the oil industry and tourism, she points out that a lot still needs to be done for the business of fashion to take its pride of place. As a young lady, Okorodudu ruled the fashion world when she represented Kaduna State at a national beauty contest, eventually emerging first runner-up. She later went into modelling, first in Boston, United States, US, where she studied Political Science, and later in Nigeria, where she established her own modelling agency. Thereafter Okorodudu founded Nigeria’s Next Super Models and has raised the stakes for the modelling business as her models are the most sought after locally and internationally. Her models often come tops at different fashion shows, a trend that has placed her as a fashion personality of repute. Through her shows, she had been able to give out six cars as prizes to deserving models. Aside from her involvement in modelling, she also designs local fabrics, mainly shirts, which she sells outside the shore of Nigeria. In this interview with Stella Sawyerr, senior assistant editor, and Eunice Nze-Peters, staff writer, she says, amongst other things, that the Nigerian fashion industry is still evolving.…
Tuesday, 12 March 2013 15:41
Students Are Developed to Become Change Agents – Olufunbi Falayi
Students Are Developed to Become Change Agents – Olufunbi Falayi What could make a fresh graduate of Computer Science and Economics develop so much interest in empowering the younger generation and becoming an advocate of entrepreneurship? Could it be passion, a sense of duty or even a chosen vocation? Well, whatever it is, Olufunbi Falayi, a young graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile-Ife, Osun State, social entrepreneur cum Commonwealth-trained youth empowerment ambassador, has made a mark in the lives of the first set of Project 4 students with a programme he designed to empower Nigerian youths. He also initiated Mentoring through Career Guidance, a platform which provides an avenue for selected positive mentors with high flying career profiles in different academic fields; to educate and guide students at the Senior Secondary 3 level on the right career path. The initiative has since its inception benefitted over 700 students. Falayi discussed the future of Project 4 Club with Eunice Nze-Peters, staff writer. Excerpts: What is Project 4 Club all about? Project 4 Club is an intervention project targeted at public senior secondary school students to help correct the defect our education system has exposed them to. The project engages and invests in capacity building of these students by leveraging on four key elements: mentoring, career guidance/vocational skill acquisition, leadership development, and basic project management. We equip them with leadership capabilities, human capacity and entrepreneurship skills; therefore, preparing them as change agents, future leaders, potential business owners…
Tuesday, 05 March 2013 15:25
Why Local Councils Are Struggling - Micah Jibah, chairman, Abuja Municipality Council
"Why Local Councils are Struggling" Micah Jibah, chairman, Abuja Municipality Council, AMAC, explains to Nicholas Uwerunonye and Samuel Torlumun the complexities of running the country’s local governments as he looks forward to the March 16 council polls How have you been coping with the pressure of running a municipality like AMAC? As I always say, this is not my first time in politics. I started from the grassroots as a councillor in Garki ward under AMAC. Indeed, I was a councillor for eight years before I became the executive chairman of AMAC. What would you say has been your biggest challenge? The biggest challenge I can say so far is the financial aspect. I want to tell you that in the year 2011, I was in South Africa. That same year I went to Kenya and I had the opportunity to visit Malaysia in 2012. I saw a lot of things in these countries mentioned. The kind of projects city councils (local councils) of South Africa embark upon can be compared to what a state does in Nigeria. You will be surprised to know that the city council of South Africa is handling heavy construction projects. Roads, bridges and others are being handled by the city council. You can’t see dirt in South Africa. The same thing is applicable to Kenya. When I saw all these things, I said if God gives me the wisdom I would replicate the same in AMAC. In fact, from…
Tuesday, 05 February 2013 15:40
‘Centenary Project Will Attract Investments to Nigeria’ - Arunma Oteh
Arunma Oteh, director-general, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, and spokesperson of the Nigerian Centenary Project, has a tough task ahead of her. Oteh and her team will have to be at their best to justify the need to celebrate Nigeria at 100 in 2014, a project already generating widespread criticism. This is because most Nigerians believe the country has nothing to celebrate, but she insists that the project to be funded by the private sector will afford the country the opportunity to showcase its investment potential to the world, and in the process attract investments worth $15 billion. She was emphatic that the project will generate no fewer than 15,000 jobs, directly and indirectly, and boost tourism development, break the persisting national stereotype of an uncultured, unsafe and corrupt mindset. Oteh speaks with Abiola Odutola, reporter. Excerpts: What is the Nigeria Centenary Project all about? On January 1, 1914, the Northern and Southern Protectorates of Nigeria were formally amalgamated into one country, establishing modern-day Nigeria. January 1, 2014, marks 100 years of our union as a nation. There are not many nations privileged with such longevity. Notwithstanding our struggle and challenges, this is an epoch deserving of celebration by the citizens and government of Nigeria. As the world grapples with the challenges of globalisation, technology and the economy, the centenary offers a unique opportunity to focus global attention on Nigeria, its history, peoples, achievements and aspiration for the next century. Nigeria is a beautiful mosaic with a…
Monday, 21 January 2013 11:59
Anyaoku Is the Best Gift Nigeria Gave the World – Prof. Adefuye
Published in
Interview
The ovation that intermittently punctuated the citation reading of Adebowale Ibidapo Adefuye, Nigeria’s ambassador to the United States, US, on December 14, at the University of Lagos auditorium shortly before he presented a paper at the event meant to mark the 50th anniversary of the institution, was not just an acknowledgement of his rich résumé but a welcome song to a man who once taught at the university. Adefuye was a lecturer in the Department of History before he switched over to the diplomatic world in the late 1980s from where he has had a steady rise culminating in his latest appointment as Nigeria’s ambassador to the US in 2010. Adefuye’s paper titled, UNILAG At 50: From Excellence to Distinction — A Roadmap, while noting the progress recorded by the university since its inception, challenged the authorities to take it to a higher level. Shortly after the lecture, Anthony Akaeze, assistant editor and Arukaino Umukoro, staff writer, engaged the professor in an interview where he recalled his early days as a diplomat. He spoke passionately about Emeka Anyaoku, the former secretary-general of the Commonwealth who turns 80 this January and his contributions in raising the profile of the body among other issues. Excerpts: You were a lecturer at the University of Lagos, UNILAG, before you left to join the diplomatic corp. And then many years after, you returned as an ambassador to deliver a lecture on the 50th anniversary of the university. How does it feel? Well,…
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 14:00
"Traditional Rulers Need Constitutional Protection"
‘Traditional Rulers Need Constitutional Protection’ Before he ascended the throne of his forbears 22 years ago, he was a banker between 1979 and 1990, rising to the position of manager (credit) in the defunct Savannah Bank of Nigeria where he was in charge of scrutinising proposals of customers for loans and other credit facilities. And by his coronation on July 5, 1990, Oba Rauf Olayiwola Olawale Adedeji, as the 15th Akinrun of Ikirun, equally recorded a historic first, being the first educated Akinrun. After his graduation in 1971 from the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile Ife, (where he studied physics), he taught at Akinorun Grammar School, his alma mater in Ikirun. The respected monarch also obtained a postgraduate diploma in technology from the University of Ibadan, after which he bagged a Master in Business Administration, MBA, from the University of Lagos, UNILAG, in 1978. A devout Muslim, Oba Adedeji has piloted the affairs of the ancient town with dignity and dexterity, now reflecting in the tranquility and transformation Ikirun has witnessed in the last 22 years. Not surprisingly, accolades and recognitions have poured in torrents for his leadership acumen. Applauding his exemplariness, the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, Osun State chapter, recently recognised him as an “Icon of Hope and Community Development of Our Time.” Earlier in the year, the principled monarch was also conferred with a national honour of Member of the Federal Republic, MFR, by President Goodluck Jonathan, besides being named as one of the “100…
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London is a city of shops and shopkeepers. People come to London for different reasons. ...
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