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Awwal Garba AD: A Major Player in the Global Business Sector with Investments across Vast Terrains

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“It is not in the pursuit of happiness that we find fulfillment, it is in the happiness of pursuit.” Denis Waitley
Taking a cue from Waitley, it is safe to say since the soul is the power and core of who one is, fulfillment is therefore the feeling of being happy and satisfied with one’s life because of interesting, useful, or important things embarked upon.

Alhaji Awwal Garba is a major player in the global oil and gas sector whose sense of fulfillment is succinctly summed up in the above analogy, as his life for a long time, has been dedicated to meaningful and oftentimes sacrificial commitments to his fatherland as well as to the lives of his countrymen.

With particular interest in Nigeria, Alhaji Garba has been discovering untapped resources within the oil sector upon which he has over the years, successfully built his chain of business interests, under the Magma Group, thereby immensely contributing to the economic growth and development of Nigeria.

With a humble mien, a virtue instilled by his upbringing, Alhaji Garba is a highly self-motivated person with an unbridled and a fervent desire to change the oil and gas sector narratives in ways that will benefit indigenous players and the Nigerian youths.

His words; “I was motivated into the sector by the desire to make a change, especially in the upstream sector of the industry where it is believed that only the oyibos (foreigners) hold sway therein.

“Of course, also in that direction would be the desire to contribute one’s quota to the national economy, in terms of creating jobs, which of course would help in giving the youths a sense of worth and direction.”

Early Years

Born into a family of affluence, Alhaji Garba may well be said to have grown up being fed with a silver spoon. His late father, a traditional title holder ‘Talban Kano’; a king maker, was also an astute businessman, with wide spread interests in commodity trading, exports and imports. It may not be out of place to say that Alhaji Garba cut his entrepreneurial teeth under the tutelage of his father.

However, with strict and disciplined parents, adherence to what is right was the only rule, and this helped in shaping his character and personality, which he himself admits was the greatest gift he received as a child.

“I thought my parents were being hard on us as children, but I have come to appreciate all those moments later in life. It actually made us humble, yet strong. This was the best gift I received as a child because it helped in shaping my character.”

The desire to discover himself spurred him to break away from the comfort and sureties that being under the umbrella of his father provided.

According to him, “I can say that I was born into privilege, but that did not stop me from finding my own niche. The most difficult thing was finding a balance by breaking away from my father’s umbrella in order to find myself. I call it the period of soul searching. It took time to find what makes me tick, and since then, it has become a passion to reach out to greater heights. More importantly, I have worked hard to create and maintain it. And I am still working hard.”

Education

Alhaji Garba had his early education in Kano, Nigeria and spent his early years in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. A Nigerian and British trained Economist of a rare kind, Alhaji Garba attended the Bayero University Kano, Nigeria and the City University, London, United Kingdom, tucking two degrees in his kitty from these institutions.

A Member of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Business Management UK, Alhaji Garba also acquired a Master’s Degree in Business Economics in the UK. He has in practice been a major player in the oil and gas sector of the global business environment, with particular focus in Nigeria, since gaining his Master’s degree.

Entrepreneurship Drive

Awwal Garba is a man with very strong instincts which, interfaced with his realities have enabled him make life-changing decisions. One of the difficulties he had was deciding whether to go into private or public service. Looking back at the years of successful business entrepreneurship, his instincts to go for the former paid off handsomely, although from hindsight, it is clear to see that should he have chosen the latter, he still would have been profoundly successful.

A global oil and gas business mogul, Garba is an entrepreneur with an innate ability to sniff out business opportunities where many cannot; a rare disposition which has enabled him to excel in countless ventures and investments, especially within the oil and gas sector.

Garba’s major areas of focus cut across sectors like, Telecommunications, Power, Finance, Management Consulting, Marine, Oil and gas Exploration and Production (OEP), oil refinery and real estate development, among others. He is a consummate professional with strong interpersonal and effective communication skills, integrity, tenacity and strength of character.

Awwal Garba’s core area of specialization in the oil and gas field is Exploration, with eight assets so far. He is building a 100 thousand barrel refinery in Akwa Ibom State at the moment, on a hundred hectare land, close to Exxon Mobil, while also negotiating with 3 marginal oilfields from oil mill 370 with Exxon Mobil.

“In the gas area of the sector, we have made proposals with respect to the Brass LNG, into which my partners and I are ready to commit $1bn. This would cut the issue of oil importation and also provide 300,000 jobs for skilled and unskilled workers in Akwa Ibom.”

Alhaji Garba’s companies include Magma Petroleum Investment Limited; Magma Exploration Production Limited, which is working on a JVU with Total Upstream, and also working with MPDC. His other companies include Magma Agro-Allied Limited; Magma Logistics Limited; Magma Gas and Power Spectrum Limited; Magma Pipe and Coating Limited, Rhone Petroleum Limited and H. Oil Limited, among others, all of which are aiding the economy of the country in terms of investment.

“We have Magma Exploration which is working on a JVU with Total Upstream, and also working with MPDC. We have Magma Gas and Power Spectrum working on acquiring the Brass LNG. It is a $1bn project, and already the funds are available.
“We have H-Oil Limited which has assets in Angola as well as South Sudan and Liberia, with offices in Paris and headquarters in Madrid, Spain. Magma Logistics works with the Department of Petroleum Resources. We also have Magma Petroleum Investment in the downstream sector with our downstream partners, having facility in Amsterdam and distributing finished products all over the world.”

With this wide spectrum of business concerns, there are bound to be challenges. These however, are usually viewed by the astute businessman in the context of growth opportunities.

” The challenge of prospecting for and then drilling of oil is something we enjoy doing. On the exploration side especially, we want to expand and never get tired, that is why we are on the brink of acquiring more assets. We love the challenge. To get in there, prospect and drill the oil is something we just enjoy doing.

“Today, what kills the exploration business is greed. Many want to have everything and there’s no way you could do that when it comes to exploration. We engage partners from all over the world and our logic is that ‘half bread is better than none’. We can give out an asset with 5% interest, an asset with 2%, it does not matter. What matters is that when you multiply the 2% x 10, you get 20%. This is our logic.”

Humble Mien

It is not really commonplace to find the virtue of humility in the lives of many of the affluent. The life of Awwal Garba is a marked exception because it is the way he was brought up. Whether it was his father or friends of his father, who included the MKO Abiola’s, the Maitama’s and the Babangida’s, they all pointed to the importance of the virtue and instilled that in him. He also admits that life itself also taught him about humility.

“Life has taught me to be absolutely humble. Life has taught me to be analytical as well as critical with myself in my everyday dealings. My heart will never deceive me into thinking I am anything different or special. Ego is a recipe for failure in life.

“I mean all you have to do is to look around you. The seven-year-old selling sachet water or Moi-Moi on the streets of Lagos in the early morning rush hour could have been you. He, also given your opportunity, could perform as good or even better. There are always two sides of a coin.”

Patriotic Fervor, Leadership and Game Changer

Alhaji Awwal Garba is a de-tribalised Nigerian who sees his country as his constituency. Through his investments, he has been building bridges.

A unique vehicle with which he is stoking the embers of patriotism is ‘Game Changer’, a media established to ensure that the Muhammadu Buhari administration continues to change the whole game; from Agriculture, Corruption to Healthcare and very importantly, to unite Nigerians and give them a sense of belonging.

He uses Ghana as a yardstick in buttressing the importance of patriotism. “You will be shocked to realise the level of their patriotism. A taxi driver always has the Ghanaian flag in his cab as with every household, like it was in America perhaps before the Trump era when American schools taught American history, the need to be patriotic and love for country. So patriotism is very important. Game Changer is here to bring awareness about patriotism.”

His friends call him the preacher and this is not just based on his knowledge and adherence to the tenets postulated by the Quran, but because he never stops preaching the gospel of unity among Nigerians, believing in the oneness of the country as a pathway to wealth creation in a more sustainable way, strength and endless possibilities. No wonder his house is always like a beehive or a Mecca of some kind.

Garba sees leadership as the ability to see beyond tomorrow and to commit to that vision totally, when those around you follow you with absolute commitment even when they do not see what you see.

“Those who do not remember history are certainly bound to be consumed by it. It has happened in many countries before. The Asian tigers, from Singapore to Malaysia, Thailand to China, they have all gone through what we are going through. Mao Zedong closed up China for 50 years before opening up. America’s democracy took over 200 years to get to where they are now. Ours is only 50+ and with such multi ethnic groups, patience is the key.”

Philanthropy and Titles

Awwal Garba is a man with a heart of gold, compassionate, kind and in tune with his people. He believes in creating high-points in his life each day and one of those is the opportunity to make someone happy.

“There are just countless moments with that, but what you can do is to create one every day. Most importantly, put a smile on someone’s face and the picture stays with you permanently.”

It is not surprising then that he has been honored with the prestigious traditional titles of ‘Galadima Talban’, and ‘Talban Dan Hausa Daura’.

Family

Alhaji Awwal Garba maintains a closely knit family even as a very busy person, understanding the importance of family. Despite his busy schedule, which has shrunken some social activities, he still finds time to spend with his family.

“The pressure of work increased with growth, so whatever time I can squeeze out now for personal issues, I spend it with my family. We take the children to game parks when they are on holidays and try to have a feel of their minds by coming down to their level and appreciating them. My biggest fear is not being able to meet up with the expectations of my family and my loved ones.”

Even though Awwal Garba a fulfilled man, he believes in breaking new grounds as long as life permits him.

“I feel fulfilled in life, all the time. Yet, life itself is like sweet nectar from the most beautiful thorny fruit bearing tree. Once you taste it, you cannot but go back for another bite. I am always setting new goals to conquer.”

As Eleanor Roosevelt aptly puts it, “Happiness is not a goal. It’s a by-product of a life well lived.”

It is from that standpoint that Alhaji Awwal Garba says,” I believe in what life has dished out my way and believe me when I say if I have to do it all over again, I would not change a thing.”

Indeed, there must be some unique feeling that comes with blazing trails and impacting lives.

Society

KFC Reacts As FAAN Shuts Lagos Airport Branch Over Discrimination Against Son Of Ex-Ogun Governor.

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The Management of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has reacted to the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)’s move to shut down its branch at the Muritala Muhammed Airport, violating laws protecting the rights of people with special needs.

The action was confirmed through a statement released on Thursday by FAAN’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Obiageli Orah.

 

The official statement, titled ‘FAAN shuts down KFC outlet at MMIA,’ highlighted that the closure was in response to the outlet’s breach of the Lagos State law on People with Special Needs, specifically referencing Part C, Section 55 of the General Provisions on Discrimination.

 

Responding to the development, KFC posted on its official X account that it opposes bias and discrimination, stressing that the incident did not reflect its standards.

 

The organisation disclosed that it had embarked on efforts to address the situation and urgently implemented sensitivity training for all its employees.

 

The statement read, “KFC is unwavering in our stance against bias or discrimination in any form, with inclusivity and respect as non-negotiable pillars of our values.

 

“However, this recent incident has underscored the pressing need for immediate action. We have embarked on efforts to address the situation and extend apologies and deeply regret the frustration and distress experienced by our guest.

 

“In response, we are urgently implementing sensitivity training for all our employees. This incident is not reflective of our standards, and we will act swiftly to rectify it.

 

“We are actively exploring solutions to equip our team members and establishments better to ensure that every guest feels genuinely welcomed and that we deliver empathetic customer service that proactively addresses the diverse

needs of each guest.”

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Society

Sunday Igboho, Gani Adams on warpath over assassination allegation…..

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Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, alias Sunday Igboho; and the Chief of Staff to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Mr Tayo Ayinde, have both threatened to drag the Aare Ona Kakanfo, Iba Gani Adams, to court for allegedly accusing them of plotting an assassination.

Igboho and Ayinde, in separate pre-action letters by their lawyers, demanded that Adams should retract the said assassination claim against them or they would drag him to court.

But when contacted by The PUNCH, Adams declined comments on the matter, saying: “No comment on that. No comment.”

In a March 20, 2024 pre-action letter, Ayinde’s lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), demanded that Adams should retract the allegation “without any need on my client’s part to press you further on the subject.”

Olumide-Fusika said the pre-action letter was informed by the content of a press release issued by Igboho, titled: “I did not take part in killing Chief Bola Ige…”

According to Olumide-Fusika, Igboho said the press release was in reaction to some allegations against him in a viral voice note made by Adams.

Olumide-Fusika said, “In the press release, Chief Sunday Adeyemo claimed to be reacting to ‘issues raised by the voice notes going around on social media released by Aare Gani Adams,’ which ‘attacked his character’.”

The lawyer said his client’s name was mentioned in Igboho’s press release, a situation that had made many people from within and outside Nigeria to inundate him with phone calls, prompting him to go and listen to the said voice note.

According to Olumide-Fusika, the 10th paragraph of Igboho’s press release suggested that Adams claimed that Ayinde hired Igboho to assassinate him (Adams).

According to Olumide-Fusika, Adams, in a viral voice note, was allegedly heard saying in Yoruba language: “I would send you a letter signed and sent by these people to Tinubu, imploring him to stop wasting time and give them the go-ahead to eliminate me (Adams). The letter was signed by them and sent to Tinubu’s Bourdillon address, and it was received there. Those are the characters in the circle of this thoughtless fellow; he covets their association. My enemy’s friend is my enemy. He (Igboho) says we should combine forces to liberate our people, but he is in bed with enemies of our cause.

“So, be careful associating with Igboho. Just last night, he was with Tayo Ayinde, the Lagos State Governor’s Chief of Staff. He was heavily paid. You know that I have an extensive intelligence network as Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland. Until about 2:45am, he was with Tayo Ayinde, the Lagos State Governor’s Chief of Staff, who Tinubu also uses in Lagos to coordinate the execution of his evil machinations. He has been doing work of that nature for Tinubu since his days in the SSS.

“He resigned from the SSS, Ibadan to concentrate fully on such work for Tinubu, who compensated him with the office of Chief of Staff to the Lagos State Governor. It was at his hotel somewhere in Ikeja, Lagos, that Igboho visited him to collect money for logistics to confront me. Igboho left lbadan at about midnight to attend this meeting which ended at about 2:45am.

“Tayo Ayinde gave N45m in cash to Igboho for the operation, thus shortchanging Igboho to the tune of N5m out of the N50m purse provided by Tinubu. The discovery of this has brewed disenchantment in their midst.”

In the pre-action letter written on Ayinde’s behalf, Olumide-Fusika described the alleged claims by Adams as injurious to the person of his client, asking the Aare Ona Kakanfo to retract the same.

The lawyer said, “You will agree with me that the imputations in the above are as serious and damaging, as those who have listened to the ‘voice notes’ have represented it to my client by their telephone calls and visits. It includes that my client is complicit in a conspiracy to murder you (Adams), and is in fact the coordinator of the phantom operation.

“Given your own experience in life, I am sure you will appreciate how painful it is to be unjustly accused, as you have done in this instance against my client.”

The lawyer added, “My instructions are, therefore, to respectfully demand that you retract the false and wicked allegation, either through another voice note to go round the same social media, or by a press release referencing and recanting the allegation.

“I do believe that this gentlemanly request will be voluntarily heeded by you without any on my client’s part to press you further on the subject.”

On his part, Igboho in a letter by his lawyer, J.A. Sanusi, dated March 18, 2024, addressed to Adams, stated that he had been inundated with several calls “over the unfortunate lies peddled by you (Adams) against him (our client).”

The lawyer, on behalf of Igboho, said the people of Nigeria world over wished to confirm the veracity of the said “malicious interview or phone calls you (Adams) had with a person unknown that has become subject of public embarrassment and caused serious odium against the person of our client.”

The letter, which asked Adams to retract the allegations, also demanded the sum of N500m in compensation.

It partly read, “You (Adams) are aware that there is an audio clip which is presently going viral on all new media platforms where you have alleged the following against our client (Sunday Igboho) viz:

“That our client is an assassin who used to work for His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“That our client is rumoured to be one of the persons that assassinated the late Chief Bola Ige, SAN, together with one Fryo.

“That our client was involved in a series of murder cases but escaped prosecution as a result of his political connection.

“That our client received the sum of Forty-Five Million Naira (N45,000,000.00) sometime in 2022 to carry out some dirty works for His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR; and

“That our client swindled Nigerians in diaspora for a fake self-determination agenda of the Yoruba race.”

Sanusi said Igboho wished to inform Adams “that the malicious lies against our client only exist in the figment of your imagination as our client is a law-abiding citizen, whose only offence at the time was to protect the interest of the Yoruba race, a responsibility which you were ordinarily saddled to discharge but failed to so do.”

He stressed that the false outburst had not only caused embarrassment but also economic losses to Igboho.

He stated further, “It is in the light of the above that we call on you to forthwith retract all the negative comments (highly defamatory too) made against the person of our client which has just been released to the social media, including YouTube platform.”

The lawyer said Igboho would be seeking redress in the court should Adams fail to meet his demands.

 

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Society

Olayemi Cardoso Trudges On

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It was unprecedented, and never before seen, the way the naira to the dollar exchange rate galloped out of control. There was close to a 300% fall in the value of the naira against the dollar. From as low as 450 naira to the dollar, we witnessed an astronomical climb to about 1900 naira to the dollar. It defied all economic theories and indices, as the CBN huffed and puffed to anchor the psuedo-fall of the naira. The dollar remained bullish and defied all the laws known to the nation’s financial regulators, including the ‘laws of gravity’ within those 8 months spell. Ten months after, the dollar that was rearing towards a rate of 2,000 naira to the dollar, has now plummeted to about 1,362 naira to a dollar at the parallel market. The dollar-rate run has finally come to a halt, but not without some very drastic measures put in place by the apex bank.

It was more than evident that the exchange rate was not determined by market forces. The per-second shift in rate was egged on by speculators who had made the naira a commodity, and were making a kill off of the buying and selling of the naira and dollar. They were enabled by online exchange platforms, especially Binance and other cryptocurrency channels. The CBN had to clampdown on these agents. Notably, Binance executives were interrogated by the CBN along with the NSA’s office over fraudulent activities enabled by their platform, that saw to the manipulation of the naira-dollar exchange rate. Binance had just recently been fined over 4 billion dollars for financial impropriety in the US, and it remains to be seen whether the CBN will take such measures, including their demand for the names of subscribers that have been used as proxies for the sponsorship of terrorism.

The partners in crime to the cryptocurrency exchange platforms have been the BDCs. They also arbitrarily switched exchange rates along the lines of the rates quoted by the online platforms. The CBN along with the EFCC had to crackdown on some of the manipulative BDC operators across the country. More than 4000 BDCs had their licenses revoked. Some due to irregularities, and some for fraudulent activities. The CBN has in addition, released new guidelines for the operations of the BDCs, including an increase in the capital requirements to bolster the regulation of the BDC operations in the country. Other measures taken includes the decision to allow International Oil Companies repatriate only 50% of their proceeds abroad. There’s also the enforcement of the Net Open Position of commercial banks, as it was seen that the banks were holding far too much foreign exchange than they are supposed to. The aforementioned efforts have in turn made the naira bullish in its climb up the exchange rate capsule, regaining some of its lost glory. The CBN’s understanding with IMOs is also making available an estimated 20 billion dollars into the Nigerian Market from diaspora remittances. Even the Almighty NNPC is today channeling its earnings to the CBN, which is also boosting our FX reserves and building on transparency.

 

2024 is seeing a lot of positives from the CBN’s tough stances and decisions. It has been able to clear FX backlogs of about 7 billion dollars which will no doubt boost investors’ confidence. Its recent offer of 500 billion naira at the OMO auction was over-subscribed, selling N1.053 trillion, with 79% of the total bids (530 million dollars), coming from foreign investors. This is quite impressive and is a sign that foreign investments are queueing into the country. The CBN has also been able to sustain increases in our foreign reserves, thereby sustaining the availability of forex in the exchange market. As the nation’s daily crude output increases, it will also help improve on our forex inflow, along with other FPIs.

A lot of Nigerians insist that Nigeria does not have a money problem but a spending problem. Just recently, there was a lot of buzz around a seminar hosted for State commissioners of finance at a Hilton hotel in the UK. Those kinds of events and other foreign travels that become jamborees, eats up quite an amount of foreign exchange, and if you put the figures together from all government ministries and agencies, it could be nothing short of a few billion dollars per annum. As a measure to that kind of waste, Mr. President issued a directive to the SGF’s office, banning all foreign trips by all government officials, except with the express approval of the Presidency. This move certainly looks like a Cardoso advisory. It would be a waste of effort and policy if the CBN is struggling to rake in foreign exchange, meanwhile government officials are draining the purse on trips that should be avoided in times of austerity like this. During the campaigns, Mr. President told us about the trust he reposes in the Headmaster, Mr Cardoso. From what we have seen so far with the Headmaster, the naira is ‘headed’ for more gains in no time!

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