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Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso Exploring Coalition for Nigeria 2023 Presidential Election

By
Ndubuisi Ekekwe
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2

It is official: Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso are exploring a potential coalition which will make their two parties – Labour Party and New Nigeria People Party (NNPP) – come together. Apart from Buhari and maybe two other people in the North, Kwankwaso has unrivaled electoral value. When he moves, political battalion follows: “It is true we are in talks with Peter Obi and a committee is working to look into how to form a merger between us. Friends and family are being up and doing talking about the merger arrangement,” Mr Kwankwaso.

If this happens, this will become an offensive playbook, not just defensive. The implication will be that NorthWest opens up for the duo. They already have the largest geopolitical zone in Nigeria – the YOUTH.

A real merger is not possible due to  timing; it is too late to dissolve or form a new party now for the 2023 elections. But they can have a coalition where the two parties decide on who to vote for in each contest.

If INEC keeps this game free and fair, Nigeria can have a great 2023. APC is strategizing. PDP is doing the same thing. NNPP/LP combo are possibly coming together. May the best vision win for Nigeria!

(Meanwhile, Obi and Tinubu have selected, respectively, Doyin Okupe and Kabiru Masari as vice presidential placeholders. PDP, we believe, has actually made the final decision on Delta State’s governor, Okowa)

The presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, on Saturday, said his party is discussing with the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on the possibility of forming a coalition for next year’s general election.

“It is true we are in talks with Peter Obi and a committee is working to look into how to form a merger between us.

“Friends and family are being up and doing talking about the merger arrangement,” Mr Kwankwaso added.

The merger is important because as you can see both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) did not pick their running mates from the South-east, Mr Kwankwaso said.

Mr Kwankwaso’s NNPP has a large following in the north of the country, particularly the north-west while Mr Obi recently defected from the PDP and joined the Labour Party. He has endeared himself to large youth following in the south of the country.

Tesla, SpaceX and Musk Sued for $258 Billion by A Dogecoin Investor

By
Samuel Nwite
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0

As the cryptocurrency market takes further pounding, resulting in heavy losses that have seen its capitalization dwindle from $3 trillion to $1 trillion, investors caught in the turmoil are regretting betting their money on the asset. Seeking reprieve, one is taking a legal step against Elon Musk, SpaceX and Tesla for fraudulently promoting Dogecoin.

Keith Johnson is suing Musk and his companies for $258 billion over claims they are part of a racketeering scheme to back the cryptocurrency Dogecoin. Musk had last year, touted Dogecoin, repeatedly referencing the coin on Twitter, shooting its price up as investors poured their money into it.

Dogecoin rose nearly to $0.74, and Musk referred to himself as the Dogefather. Now, the crypto market downturn has erased the gains and calmed the frenzy. Dogecoin has dropped 67% this year to about $0.5, and investors who were motivated by Musk’s tweets to buy the coin are looking for something to hold on to.

The lawsuit claims Musk and co. constituted an illegal racketeering enterprise to inflate Dogecoin’s price, and defrauded Johnson and others through their “Dogecoin Crypto Pyramid Scheme.”

“Defendants falsely and deceptively claim that Dogecoin is a legitimate investment when it has no value at all,” Johnson said in his complaint, filed Thursday in federal court in Manhattan.

“Since Defendant Musk and his corporations SpaceX and Tesla, Inc began purchasing, developing, promoting, supporting and operating Dogecoin in 2019, Plaintiff and the class have lost approximately $86 billion in this Crypto Pyramid Scheme,” the complaint added.

The case is Johnson v. Musk, 22-cv-05037, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).

Johnson, seeking to represent a class of people who have lost money trading in Dogecoin since April 2019, is asking for triple damages of $86 billion, in addition to triple damages of $172 billion, as well as an order blocking Musk and the companies from promoting Dogecoin, and declaring that Dogecoin trading constitutes gambling under US and New York law. The plaintiff alleges that the said amount is how much that has been lost by Dogecoin investors since Musk first started tweeting about it.

Crypto investors have watched billions of dollars of their investment evaporate as mass selloff triggered by the market’s accelerating downturn plummets assets. The lawsuit is believed to signal desperation by investors to hold on to something as consolation, even if it means scapegoating someone.

High Resignation of Top Tech Talent Hits Nigerian Banks

By
Ojukwu Emmanuel
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0

Most banks in Nigeria have witnessed a high level exit of tech talents, which has seen the digital banking services, USSD, and money transfers come under severe strain in recent times.

Sources disclosed that most of these experienced tech talents, most especially the ones in the area of software engineering are either leaving the industry or leaving the country. In a meeting held by bank CEOs, Sterling bank Chief Executive, Abubakar Suleiman referred to the exit of these tech talents as a “great resignation”.

It is so obvious that the traditional lenders in Nigeria are facing stiff competition for top tech talents from technology start-ups attracting increased funding from investors who are offering them better working conditions in and outside the country.

These foreign companies often pay in foreign currencies. Looking at how devalued the naira has become, these tech talents do not hesitate to leave their previous positions for better offers.

Due to the inability of these banks to fill in vacant positions to replace these tech talents, they have witnessed a high level of frustration in efficiently running their digital banking business.

Earlier this month, customers stormed a bank to make complaints about the challenges they are facing with transaction issues. These complaints were centered majorly on network problems.

Experts have disclosed that the high exit of tech talents from these banks is a huge problem, because holding on to them has become a problem due to mobility and options available to developers today.

It might interest you to know that the tech economy globally, is low with barriers for entry, which has forced a lot of Nigerians, even those at entry-level with marketable skills to leave the country, with the U.K, U.S, or Canada as their preferred destinations.

These tech talents leaving their position, have done so based on the realities of the market. Most of them do not only want competitive pay, but they also want to work in saner climes which they feel will be more convenient for them.

In a bid to curb the exit of top tech talents from Nigerian banks, the chartered institute of bankers of Nigeria disclosed that to cover up for these vacant positions, they will drive the process of training more skills in the area where there are deficits. They further disclosed their plans to fund training for new tech-focused staffers to replace those who have left.

There have been some revelations by a few bankers who have disclosed that banks are terrible places to work, as they are known to undervalue tech talents which is why they continue to lose them.

Amidst all these, one thing banks need to understand is that the market for tech talents has changed, hence the need to be less rigid. Most of these tech start-ups within and outside the country offer very high wages to these tech talents, meanwhile, banks continue to offer them something less.

Nigerian Banks should come to the understanding that these tech talents are currently in high demand with very juicy offers being offered to them. Therefore, in order for these Nigerian banks to retain top tech talents, they need to increase their wages to avoid losing them. A workplace cannot attract top talents when they do not offer competitive wages.

Revlon Goes Bankrupt, As Demand Influencers Reshape Cosmetics Sector

By
Ndubuisi Ekekwe
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3

Revlon, the 90-year-old cosmetics giant, has filed for bankruptcy. This is not because women are not buying makeup and beauty products. Rather,  they have moved on from Revlon. How? The best way to sell makeup right now is to showcase people who applied or are applying makeup in live shows. 

Revlon’s sales lagged over the years and in 2021 fell 22% from its 2017 levels. Shares have fallen more than 80% since the beginning of the year.

With that construct, extremely social media native brands with largely no heritage but in partnerships with influencers and celebrity have become the new category-kings. If you want to look like that queen on TV, buy this makeup. There is no need to waste time checking the Revlon catalog or visiting its website. 

Social media has commoditized the brand and distorted the distribution model. One guy in China sells tens of millions of dollars worth of makeup yearly via TikTok making his channel one of the largest “shops” for makeup in China. He even put more efforts. Kim Kardashian built a $1 billion beauty brand when she sold 20% stake to Coty for $200 million. Her marketing & growth model was powered by social media. 

People, the empires of the future will be controlled by those who influence and control demand, and not those at the supply side. With tens of millions of social media followers, Kim influenced many and built that empire without a single factory, sales team, or warehouse; only her social media handles as other core domains were outsourced. Companies like Revlon got disintermediated in the mix; “if you want to win in the 21st century digital economy, you must control or influence demand, not supply.”

This is the video on the Airbnb piece: If you want to win in the 21st century digital economy, you must control or influence demand, not supply. In the industrial age economy, power went to gatekeepers of supply. Today, the empire builders are those that control demand. This is possible because digital supply is unbounded and unconstrained, making it largely not a factor. Digital utilities like Google, Facebook, and Airbnb which control demand become the new gatekeepers.

Comment on FB

Comment: Yes, Prof. Ndubuisi Ekekwe Social Media Influencers are a major driver of sales in the era. Rihanna is literally sitting on gold with her Fenty brand as she’s one big influencer on Social Media. I guess Revlon was too slow to adapt. Those that can sell value will always be more successful than those that produce value and can’t sell it.

Comment #2 : Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe, my opinion is that Covid’s nose-mask policy was disruptive and plunged the make-up industry into bankruptcy. What’s your thoughts about this perspective?

My Response: Not correct in my opinion. Li Jiaqi, the king of lipstick in China, who sells on live stream does US$1 billion worth sales in some days. He sells more lipsticks on his channel than the entire revenue of Revlon.

Honeywell Group Partners With Lagos State Government To Support Development In Tech Ecosystem

By
Ojukwu Emmanuel
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0

Honeywell Group has partnered with the Lagos state government to support the growth of tech ecosystems. The partnership is executed through a talent development program under ‘Lagos Innovates’, a training program created to ease the process of building successful start-ups in Lagos state.

The program is aimed at providing the necessary tools to young innovative tech-preneurs, to enable them to build successful start-ups within the state. One core objective of the program is to assist the very best tech start-ups and founders in Lagos state who already have the basic requirements to acquire the relevant skills needed to compete in today’s global marketplace.

Speaking about the partnership, the Head of Corporate Services, Honeywell group, Tomi Otudeko stated that it has always been the mission of the company to create long-term value for Nigerians and they feel happy to see them thrive.

In her words;

Creating long-term value for Nigeria and its people has always been at the heart of Honeywell Group’s mission. We are invested in impacting our communities, and the tech ecosystem in Lagos is filled with ideas that can revolutionize how we think and operate as a society.

We also understand that these young minds need support in accessing the tools and the people required to grow their ideas. It is our duty to support them in any way that we can.

We are excited to meet these new faces of technology and to partner with Lagos State and Lagos Innovates in easing the path to success.”

It is very commendable to see that tech start-ups not only in Lagos, but in Nigeria, have been receiving the needed support from not just the government alone, but also support from private companies. It is important to note that start-ups are the driving force of economies across the globe.

They have been estimated to hire an average of 3x more employees than other economic sectors. It is pleasing to know that tech-preneurs have been receiving great support from the Lagos state government. The Lagos state government via the Lagos state employment trust fund has been actively investing in the tech start-up ecosystem over the years through the Lagos innovate program.

No wonder the state has been called the “Silicon Valley” of Africa, because the growth of the tech ecosystem is growing at a very fast rate due to the constant support the sector has been receiving. Most of these tech start-ups have innovative ideas not only to make profit but to also transform the nation’s economy.

Unfortunately, some of them are faced with different constraints to actualize their dreams. One major problem these start-ups are faced with, is knowing where and how to source funds. Truth is, to fully develop a tech start-up vision, money is very essential.

In today’s digital era, technology has significantly shaped and influenced economies and businesses in ways a lot of us could not imagine. With the recent development in the Nigerian tech start-up ecosystem, it is crystal clear that massive support from private companies and the government will immensely benefit both start-ups and the Nigerian economy.

Nigerian tech start-ups are no doubt creating value for the society, including supporting one of the government’s core agenda of job creation, which they are playing an active role in reducing the number of unemployed youths in the country.

Today, Singapore has become a technology powerhouse because of its supportive government. The country’s government policy is to combine business-friendly policies with heavy investment in the tech sector.

In India, the government came up with several innovations to support tech start-ups, and to foster a culture of innovation. The government has also ensured that there are policy initiatives geared toward helping start-ups to raise funds for growth and expansion.

It is therefore pertinent for the Nigerian government to take a cue from these countries aforementioned, and replicate the same in the country. Doing it will no doubt improve the nation’s economy and also move the country from an undeveloped state to a developing or developed one.

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