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THE VOICE NIGERIA: FIRSTBANK IMPRINTS IN ENTERTAINMENT, YOUTHS DEVELOPMENT

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By Israel Bolaji-Gbadamosi

One of the key metrics that well defines a truly 21st century brand beyond profit making is its ability to connect with customers and stakeholders as a complete enabler, touching on vital aspects of their lives, creating exciting memories and enabling them to access more enjoyable and convenient lifestyle, in shopping, studying, working, traveling, family living, entertainment and aspirations.

Its ability to also give back to the community through tangible corporate social investment programs that significantly translate to improved living and not just mere formality and publicity stunts is also pertinent.

First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is giving a good account of itself in this regard not only as a truly financial powerhouse but also as a life enabler, helping Nigerians live better and achieve their dreams.

In retrospect, banking, decades ago, was essentially about providing financial services and products to merely aid customers’ financial transactions. However, the smart ones are indeed changing the game. Not only is the envelope being pushed to ensure that the unbanked are banked through financial inclusion offers even to the remotest villages, FirstBank has taken banking to another level. Backed by superior technology firepower and capacity, it is assisting not only adults but also Nigerian youths to live better and fulfil their dreams.

The Nigerian nation and the most populous black nation of the world indeed has a youths bulge as observed by many experts with a growing army of young and vibrant people below 25 years of age constituting over 60% of its 200million population! While an unrelenting rate of unemployment, weak economy, soaring inflation and despair appear to dominate the national mentality, many youths are finding solace in entertainment, breaking the ceiling with their creative ingenuity, shunning out award winning hits and in fact making global headlines in music and other entertainment offshoots like movies, comedy skits and contemporary dance.

Nigeria’s 29 year old singer, Damini Ogulu popularly called Burna Boy in March shocked the world winning the world’s most coveted Grammy Award in the Best World Music category during the 63rd annual edition in Los Angeles Atlanta while another 30 year old Nigerian artiste, Ayo Balogun aka Wizkid was also a co-winner in the Best Music Video category for Beyonce’s Brown Skin Girl. These young Nigerian global music icons were raised and honed their skills in the suburbs of Nigeria through home grown competitions and platforms.

Music reality shows have also unveiled and nurtured music and entertainment talents like Timi Dakolo, Iyanya, Praise, Omawumi and other A-list musicians in Nigeria. This is why FirstBank’s intervention and sponsorship of a music and youths talents harnessing platform like The Voice Nigeria is strategic and instructive, and quite capable of helping to harness and nurture music and entertainment talents into celebrated musicians, make global stars of Nigerian youths, and truly help them achieve their dreams. Obviously, Firstbank has been a prominent force visibly empowering talents and the nation, and without the much-needed lifeline, many young talents would be taking to crime or other vices.

For over 127 years, the premier bank has been at the forefront of nation building; supporting through resourceful partnerships to build the Nigerian creative industry value chain which contributed 2.3 per cent (N239 billion) to Nigeria’s GDP in 2016 (NBS).

The bank’s support for the Voice Nigeria is also a demonstration of its commitment to contributing to the projected revenue of US$86m by 2021 from the Nigeria’s music industry aimed at promoting a diversified economy in line with the Federal Government’s diversification policy.

The bank assured that it has given voice to Nigerians for the past 127 years, and will continue to give voice to Nigerians by creating employment, economic empowerment in the country through its products, services and initiatives and it remains committed to strengthening the creative industry which is fast growing into a multibillion-dollar business, with potential to be a leading contributor to Nigeria’s GDP in the near future.

In fact, FirstBank has the network; reach and digital capability to enable the Voice. With its agent banking network across the nooks and crannies in country, it is helping in the search for the talent that will become a true inspiration to all.

True to the name, the Voice Nigeria has lived up to its promise, as it offers exciting and relaxing entertainment to families, music lovers, and other entertainment loving Nigerians who look forward to fresh seasons and episode of the well-crafted music program.

Now in its season 3, the Reality TV show has been a masterpiece in the last six episodes of the current season as viewers are serenaded by several awesome performances and display of raw talents on the show’s blind auditions which ended on Saturday, May 1. The episode ended with raging emotions, exhilarating sensations and blistering anticipation as the four judges – Falz The Bad Guy, Waje, Yemi Alade and Dare Art Alade had one final opportunity to forge their winning team.

So far, the coaches, hosts, producers and amazing talents have been a great delight to watch. They have been awesome with their good-natured banters, hilarious drama, top-notch fashion, electrifying opening performances, talent courting speeches, and chair turning and bell thumping spectacle. The optics is exciting! The expectation on the show has been so intense; you could cut with a butter knife. The coaches’ approach at winning talents over to their team has been fun and a fine blend.

There were no holds barred, as the judges were very warm, animated, upbeat, inspiring and full of energy. They were definitely not a team of avuncular examiners waiting to pass judgments. They brought much gusto and effect to the big stage! While Falz threw up his magical comic card severally, Dare maintained the cool dude posture while Yemi and Waje both brought on the alluring feminine appeal with Waje sometimes speaking in Igbo to convince a talent. In all, they fared well, each getting a fair share of talents to mentor and their combination depicted a perfect combo.

The talents on their part have not disappointed viewers. They came in different shades across both genders, with varying voice textures, mix and pitches – smooth, silky, velvet, shrill, husky, coarse or simply rough. And to the best of their abilities, they did justice to many songs, including some classic tunes and old hits. The creative fusion of multiple genres of music by some smart talents who beautifully delivered unique blend of music made good impressions which won the judges hearts. The awful looks on the faces of those who the judges would simply not behold, having failed to captivate their attention with the voice. The uncontrollable joy of those who got the bell ring and standing ovation and the incredible looks on their loved ones who came to show support. Not forgetting the jazzy presence and reassurances from the co-hosts including Toke Makinwa and Nancy Ikime which also complimented the soothing potpourri.

Interestingly, FirstBank made some smart moves on the show, with the bold inscription of “This is the moment you have been waiting for, Time to put You First”, clearly displayed at the entry of the contestant for the stage performance. This reinforces the bank’s thrust as an inspiration to motivate the talents and youths at large to excellence. It has also promised viewers mouth-watering prizes just by watching the show regularly and following updates on FirstBank verified social media handles.

Now that the Blind auditions stage has come to an end, it is game on! The next phase of the show is the highly anticipated Knockout Stage which starts on May 8. In this stage, the coaches will select the most outstanding talents to proceed to the battles. In this stage, there is so much to come and fans will certainly not be ready for all that is in store.

More than ever, the show’s fans are hopeful that the knockout stage will even be more entertaining but that will certainly not be a challenge with the dexterity of the handlers so far.

With all that has been seen so far, it is difficult to believe that this is only the beginning; it is certain that there is so much more to come.

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Illegal Cosmetics: NAFDAC shuts down N50 million worth counterfeit cosmetics operation in Lagos 

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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has closed an illegal cosmetics manufacturing facility at Benue Plaza, Trade Fair Complex, Lagos State, in a significant enforcement operation targeting counterfeit products.

 

In a post shared by NAFDAC on X (formerly Twitter), the agency revealed that its officers uncovered large quantities of unregistered chemicals, expired products, and packaging materials intended for the production of fake cosmetics.

 

Over 1,200 cartons of counterfeit goods were seized from the location. Expired cosmetics were reportedly being revalidated for sale, raising serious concerns about consumer safety.

 

 

The agency also confiscated equipment used in the illicit manufacturing process, such as mini-mixing containers, unlabelled chemicals, batch coding materials, and thinners.

 

These materials were transported to NAFDAC’s office for further investigation. The agency estimates the street value of the confiscated goods at approximately N50 million.

 

 

NAFDAC has reiterated its commitment to protecting public health by clamping down on illegal and unregulated products in the Nigerian market. In a statement, the agency urged consumers to exercise caution when purchasing cosmetics, particularly from unverified sources, and to report any suspicious products to NAFDAC for further action.

 

This operation underscores NAFDAC’s ongoing efforts to combat the production and distribution of counterfeit goods, which pose significant risks to public health and safety.

 

 

The agency has emphasized that such enforcement actions are part of a broader strategy to ensure that only regulated and certified products reach consumers, safeguarding the integrity of Nigeria’s cosmetics market.

 

 

What to Know

 

 

In a related development, about 5 months ago NAFDAC sealed several unregistered bakeries and water-packaging companies operating without the agency’s approval in Plateau State.

 

According to Mr. Shaba Mohammed, Director of NAFDAC’s North Central Zone, the closure followed inspections that revealed substandard Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) in the water-packaging firms. As a result, these companies were shut down to prevent the circulation of potentially unsafe products.

 

 

In addition to this, numerous patent medicine stores were sealed for selling expired and unregistered medical products. The raid, part of NAFDAC’s routine inspections in local government areas such as Dengi, Wase, Yelwa Shendam, and Namu, was aimed at enforcing compliance with safety standards and protecting public health.

 

Mr. Mohammed emphasized that NAFDAC remains committed to ensuring only certified and safe products are available to Nigerian consumers.

 

He urged the public to be vigilant, choosing only NAFDAC-registered goods, and to report any suspicious or expired products.

 

 

He also reiterated that businesses found violating the agency’s regulations would face appropriate sanctions, while advising aspiring entrepreneurs to seek guidance on product registration to avoid penalties.

 

 

 

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Yahaya Bello visited EFCC headquarters, officials didn’t interrogate him- Media team

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The Media team of the former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello has insisted that he was at the facility of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

 

Earlier, the team said the ex-governor honoured the invitation after consultation with his legal team and political associates.

 

 

Reacting, the anti-graft agency’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale denied that the former governor was in its custody, adding that Bello remains wanted.

 

But Bello’s team, in another statement by its Director, Ohiare Michael, said Bello was at the EFCC office alongside his successor, Usman Ododo.

 

 

He added that the EFCC did not, however, interrogate him and told him he could leave.

 

 

Michael said, “Earlier today, we reported the voluntary visit of former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission office to honour the Commission’s invitation.

 

 

In the statement, we reiterated the former Governor’s great respect for the rule of law and constituted authority and stressed that all the while, he only sought the enforcement of his fundamental rights in order to ensure due process.

 

 

The EFCC did not, however, interrogate him as officials told him he could leave. We don’t know what this means yet. As we write, Yahaya Bello has left the EFCC office. He was accompanied there by the Governor of Kogi State, Ahmed Usman Ododo.

 

“Recall that the case has been before a competent court of jurisdiction, and Alhaji Yahaya Bello had been duly represented by his legal team at every hearing. The former Governor decided to honour the invitation to clear his name as he has nothing to hide and nothing to fear.”

 

 

 

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What exactly is Yemi Cardoso doing at the CBN – Toni Kan

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On September 22, 2024 Yemi Cardoso will mark one year in office as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria at a time of unprecedented economic headwinds. What will his scorecard look like?

A while back, I was discussing with a few friends and as is the case where one or two or more Nigerians are gathered, the discussion segued naturally to the economy. It was school fees season and three of us have children schooling abroad.

At some point, one of my friends blurted out. “Naira is now N1,580 to the dollar. What exactly is Cardoso doing at the CBN?”

This particular friend holds an MBA from a foreign university and runs two businesses in Nigeria so I was quite surprised when he reduced the functions of the CBN governor to just managing the value of the naira.

But it was not surprising. Speak to ten Nigerians and they will express almost the same sentiments. What is Cardoso doing if he can’t manage the foreign exchange rate?

The question is a valid one but also a bit reductionist because the job of a CBN governor extends beyond foreign exchange management, to include formulation and implementation of monetary policy, ensuring financial stability, reserve management, banking regulations, setting interest rates and more.

So, reducing the job description of the CBN governor to just one item in a long shopping list would be akin to a man who spends his time brushing one single tooth out of 32.

Why is foreign exchange management so important to Nigerians? Well, the short answer is that it makes news and impacts us in a lot of ways – school fees, medical care, travel, cost of goods, etc.

The naira has been making serious news since Cardoso assumed the mantle at CBN. According to the most recent World Bank’s biannual publication, Nigerian Development Update, of December 2023, the naira “depreciated against the US dollar by approximately 41% in the official market and by about 30% in the parallel market” between June and December 2023.

This was in the wake of the liberalization of the foreign exchange market or (managed) floating of the naira because the CBN is still intervening to reduce the pressure on the naira. Why was the naira floated? It was to ensure that the naira finds its true value, checkmate round tripping and remove speculative arbitrage. The ultimate aim is to achieve parity through a positive contraction in the gulf between the official and parallel market rates. But this cannot be achieved overnight.

Yemi Cardoso admitted as much when he appeared before the House of Reps in February 2024. Acknowledging that foreign exchange management is a key part of his remit, he also noted that ““the genuine issue impacting the exchange rate is the simultaneous decrease in the supply of, and increase in the demand for, dollars. It also seems that the task of stabilising the exchange rate, while an official mandate of the CBN, would necessitate efforts beyond the apex bank itself.”

This is because boosting the value of the naira against the dollar depends on more than just the CBN defending the naira. There are other factors; oil prices in the international commodity market, a productive economy, growth in exports both oil and non-oil products, increase in foreign reserves and dollar availability which often receives a boost from diaspora remittances, a reduction in the demand for dollars and containment of inflation.

The CBN is working to make these happen and Cardoso hit the ground running by taking quick key decisions; mandated banks to adhere to Net Open Position (NOP) limits to discourage hedging and prevent excessive holding of foreign currency assets. He also ensured that backlogs of unpaid forex obligations were cleared.

But the fact remains that for an economy to grow and the local currency gain strength there must be a convergence of both monetary and fiscal policies? Monetary policy is not a silver bullet.

We saw some movement recently on the fiscal front. The first domestic dollar denominated bond was oversubscribed by 180%. Planned to raise $500 million, the bond secured $900 million in commitments.

While the oversubscription surprised analysts and underlined investors’ confidence not just in the ongoing economic reforms but Nigeria’s economic stability and growth prospects there are concerns that the bond should have been targeted more at diaspora remittances instead of domestic dollar deposits as it put demand pressure on the dollar in local supply and the CBN may have to cough up about $200m in 5 years with interest rates of 9% per annum for bond holders.

While the jury is still out on the bond’s final impact on the economy, the fact remains that seamless fiscal and monetary synergy is required to get us out of the doldrums.

Prior to this, the CBN under Cardoso had recorded an all-time high $553m diaspora remittance inflow in July 2024 up by 130% compared to 2023. That significant uptick was thanks to the CBN’s decision to grant access to new and eligible international money transfer operators (IMTOs) to trade on the official foreign exchange (FX) window, implementing a willing buyer-willing seller model, and enabling timely access to naira liquidity for IMTOs thereby enhancing liquidity in Nigeria’s FX market.

There have been other monetary, credit and foreign exchange policy initiatives introduced by Cardoso which are yielding positive results.

The Monetary Policy Rate was raised to 26.75% in July 2024, the 4th time in seven months. The increase which impacts the cost of borrowing while encouraging savings is to moderate inflation while ensuring price stability. While analysts have argued that it could stifle productive activity, the increase in the MPR appears to be having a salutary effect on month on month inflation with inflation dropping by 1.25% compared to July according to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

To address the expressed concerns the CBN has lifted import restrictions on 43 goods with the aim of achieving stability and fostering growth because cheaper imported inputs will lead to local production which will in turn boost employment as closed factories re-open and consumers will benefit from more affordable imported retail products.

The restrictions which had been in place for about eight years was ostensibly to conserve forex and encourage local production as importers were barred from using forex sourced from the official market to import the goods. But the reverse seemed to be the case as the imports continued with importers sourcing their forex from the parallel market thereby “exerting additional demand pressure on the parallel market, widening the gap with the official rate and permanently segmenting the market.”

To reduce demand pressure in the foreign exchange market and promote price discovery, the CBN re-introduced the retail Dutch Auction System (rDAS). The Dutch auction mechanism is not new having been applied previously in 1987, 1990 and from 2002 – 2006. The system is helping sanitise the foreign exchange market by allowing for an objective evaluation of forex demand and supply ensuring that demand is for end users. Predicated on the volume of forex available for sale, rDAS, by giving forward guidance, promotes forex stability.

On August 6, 2024 $1.18bn bids were received from 32 banks with total bids of $876.26bn from 26 banks qualifying while $313.69 from six banks were disqualified for various reasons ranging from late submission, wrong template to unverifiable forms. In the pursuit of transparency, all the bids have been published on the CBN website. The effect of the return of rDAS was felt immediately with an appreciation in value.

Aside sale to banks through rDAS, the CBN is also ensuring forex availability to registered and qualified Bureaux de Change operators.

Another key initiative was the announcement that the CBN would no longer indulge the FG’s Ways and Means appetite until the previous loans, put at N18.16 trillion which is 40% higher than total money in circulation as at 2023 are repaid. Cardoso said the bank will insist on following the rules which states that the CBN cannot advance the federal government more than 5% of revenue earned in the previous year. Bold and fraught with political implications, it is meant to reduce currency in circulation and so moderate inflationary pressure.

Cardoso’s attempt to moderate government spending and fiscal dominance has already received political push back with the National Assembly approving an increase of that threshold from 5 to 10% of annual revenue.

In terms of its regulatory functions as banker to the banks, the CBN is focused on ensuring the financial stability of Nigerian banks. It is strengthening the banking system through the upward review of the minimum capital requirements, increase in the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and ring fencing of the banking system through the Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund (UBTF) Pool Account.

According to the recapitalisation guideline issued on March 28, 2024, commercial banks with international authorization are now required to have a new minimum capital of N500bn which the CBN says will “enhance their resilience, solvency and capacity to continue to support the growth of the Nigerian economy.” While the targets differ based on the bank’s licence, the recapitalisation exercise is supposed to take place over 24 months and conclude on March 31, 2026. At the time of writing, share raise offers by Fidelity, Access and Guaranty Trust have been oversubscribed.

The increase of the CRR to 27.5% will help ensure that Nigerian banks are cash positive while reducing the amount of cash in circulation thereby helping achieve the CBN’s inflation moderation agenda.

The Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund (UBTF) Pool Account will warehouse “unclaimed balances in eligible accounts” helping to protect the banking system by limiting incidents of fraud to which dormant accounts are susceptible.

Finally to ensure that the policy initiatives are communicated and understood, the CBN is encouraging transparency with a return to full disclosure in the form of regular publications of reports and data. According to the CBN this is to reaffirm its “commitment to fostering transparency and accountability in the Nigerian economy.” It will also complement the data available from other sources like the NBS thus providing Nigerians a better view of the economy.

But is it working and is any one taking notice? To return again to the question we posed at the beginning; what will Cardoso’s scorecard look like?

While the naira’s battle against the dollar will dominate discourse, his adoption of proactive forex policies, regulatory initiatives and a robust  inflation-targeting framework indicate that Cardoso has shown himself as a CBN governor capable of coming up with and translating strategic initiatives into actionable outcomes.

One year into his tenure, the CBN’s target inflation rate of 21.4% has not been achieved and the naira is still on the back foot relative to the dollar, but time may well be on his side but not so for impatient Nigerians eager to see quick wins.

 

Toni Kan, is a PR expert and financial analyst.

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