ADEREMI'S NOTEBOOK

— New Yorker has a long piece on Benazir Bhutto from 1993. Also check out the interactive timeline by NY times. Jemima Khan writes in the Telegraph about Benazir’s time as prime minister. #

EFCC chairman goes back to school (0)

Nuhu Ribadu, EFCC Chairman (André Clark Utvik/NA24)

It was always a question of when. Last thursday, Federal police head Mike Okiro said the EFCC chairman, will take a compulsory leave to enable him participate in the management course at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Study, Kuru.

Nothing wrong with sending Ribadu back to school. It is routine for high flyers to be redeployed into other roles. However, the timing is somewhat convenient. Since the begining of the year, the commission has been focused on gathering evidence to prosecute former states governors. In December, the commission arrested James Ibori, over allegations of corruption and money-laundering. The former governor of Delta state is considered a close ally of Nigerian president Umaru Yar’Adu.

Ribadu built the commission from nothing back in 2003, putting momentum and confidence back into fight against corruption. The EFCC is an institution and should not be dependent on one man. As Wole Soyinka noted this is not the issue at hand;

Ribadu’s removal is not an individual predicament. The situation here does not permit of the familiar cliche of any one individual being less than an institution or agency - no, that is not the issue! The issue is that an effective agency has been tampered with, unnecessarily, but with transparent motivations that constitute an assault on the corporate integrity of the nation. The trust of the nation has been abused - that is the issue

A new chairman needs to be appointed quickly. Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, the operations director would have been the obvious choice to lead the charge. I hear he is also going back to school.

— 101 Things You Need To Relocate To Nigeria by Godson Offoaro #

— A short story by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was featured in the FT over the weekend. (PDF). #

— Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala talks about the opportunities in Africa. #

Sound Sultan - Motherland (4)

powered by ODEO

I finally found this tune by Sound Sultan. Enjoy!

— Check out The two sides of Nigeria, a photoessay put together in the run-up to the elections. (2)

Transcorp Nigeria: Still optimistic (3)

When I posted about Transcorp earlier this year, I said May 2007 would be a crucial month for the company. The hype about Transcorp has come and gone.

Bernard Longe is on compulsory leave due to an investigation at First Bank of Nigeria over a loan granted to NITEL whilst he was CEO. The Transcorp Board said the process was initiated in compliance with a Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) directive about indicted/dismissed CEO of quoted companies.

Earlier this month, Tom Iseghohi was appointed CEO, no word on Bernard Longe. Transcorp has had 2 CEOs in the last 2 years. Good luck, Tom.

It seems Transcorp managed to secure 76% of NITEL despite varying reports suggesting it only owns 51%. Last month, it was reported that BT had quit as its technical partner. Transcorp released a press release stating that first stage of the agreement with BT had simply finished and was hoping to extend it.

The company also stated it was “pursuing opportunities to bring in potential strategic investors into NITEL and M-tel”. A week later, the Independent reported that Transcorp was close to sealing a $1.2 billion deal with Vodacom. The deal would probably give Vodacom control of M-tel and a 27% stake in NITEL.

With this deal on the table, I’m still optimistic. If this deal goes through, it will inject the much needed cash into indebted company whose IPO was not well received (compared to Dangote Sugar, despite the worldwide roadsow) and will bring in Vodacom, an able partner, who has been keen to enter the Nigerian mobile telecom market for some time.

— Purefoto.com by Yellow socks is “designed to capture and archive images of Nigerian Events online, with a focus on the booming creative fashion and entertainment industries”. #

Obasanjo’s 70th birthday (1)

Dare Obasanjo has posted some pictures from his Dad’s 70th Birthday, Nigeria’s outgoing President. Enjoy!
Found via Imnakoya.