If you look at the financial data coming out of the home of Y’ello, you may not believe that MTN Nigeria is operating in Nigeria. Yes, despite the paralyses in Nigeria, MTN has found a way to keep capturing value. I mean, this company is now at its own level: no one comes close.

MTN has posted revenue of N385.3 billion for Q1 2021, representing a 17% increase from the N329.1 billion reported in Q1 2020. The biggest line is this: “Digital revenue grew by 101.0% and fintech revenue by 28.5% as customers continued to adopt more digital products and services, a trend accelerated by the pandemic. As of the end of March 2021, we had 449,100 registered MoMo agents and 4.6 million fintech customers.” Simply, MTN MoMo would have been one of the largest fintech companies in Nigeria if it was not within the MTN Group!

Tekedia CollegeBoost comes to the amazing University of Lagos. CollegeBoost, a university student version of Tekedia Mini-MBA, informally integrates into typical school programs, making it possible for students to master the mechanics of business, irrespective of their academic disciplines. We expect thousands of students to finish from it this year.

Tekedia CollegeBoost is an Advanced Diploma in Business Administration designed for students in colleges. It involves an 8-week program which could be broken into two semesters or taken in one semester, depending on the arrangement with the school or group of students. This course is only offered to a group of students.

First-class pursuing Onyekachi Ujebe and the master growth maker Eyitayo Adeleke are anchoring, and leading.

Student Union Governments across Africa and beyond, get in touch, and experience the quality of Tekedia Institute. Your schools have prepared you already, Tekedia will simply expand your horizons in market systems. Connect with Eyitayo for questions.

Learn more about Tekedia Institute here – school.tekedia.com

We are in the final week of Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 4 after 12 solid weeks. It has been a wonderful journey with all co-learners and faculty. Here are the programs for this final week.

Lectures on Growth and Taxation are already in the Board. Four Faculty members are leading the session:

• Managerial Accounting, Business Decision Making and Growth – Idris Ayinde, ACA, CFA, KPMG UK
• Tax Management for SMEs – Banji Adelaja ACA, Managing Consultant, Aradol Consulting
• Tax Treaties and Their Benefits – Emmanuel Eze, Manager, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)
• Regional Case: Tax Law and Compliance in Lagos State  – Abimbola Abdur-Rahman Lekki, Lagos Internal Revenue Service.

On Thursday, we move to Execution and Closure, and I will lead the sessions.

• Driving Profitable Growth, Marginal Cost, Scaling – Prof. Ndubuisi Ekekwe
• Stimulating New Markets Through Innovation and Perception Demand – Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe

Tekedia Live this week is scheduled thus:

• Tue, May 4 | 7pm – 8pm WAT | Winning in Markets – Ndubuisi Ekekwe
• Thur, May 6 | 7pm – 8pm WAT  | The Call to Business Execution – Ndubuisi Ekekwe
• Sat, May 8 | 7pm – 8.30pm WAT | It’s Graduation Day  –  Ndubuisi Ekekwe

Zoom links in the Board.

On Saturday, after the closure, certificates will become available. Thank you for joining us for this academic festival. The registration for the next edition is here.

This is becoming what no one had in mind. Yes, after reading the statement from Honeywell Group, you will pity Nigeria on this First Bank redesign. If the company is servicing its loans as agreed, why then is the high voltage searchlight?: “We have serviced all our credit facilities in line with the terms agreed with First Bank and at no point have any of these facilities been non-performing.”

Yet, if you read the full statement, you will understand what is wrong with Nigeria. Privileges everywhere!

Yes, I want to know, according to Nairametrics, how First Bank Holdings (FBH) recorded a total loan impairment of over N565 billion between 2016 and 2020. Note that number because the market cap of FBH is below N250 billion. Yet, in four years, it has that level of impairment.

The CBN believes the bank may have collapsed were it not for its regulatory forbearance, a financial term for softening some of the strict rules that banks must comply with if they are to avoid being taken over by the CBN. Emefiele in his briefing to the media revealed that the CBN had granted “regulatory forbearances to enable the bank work out its non-performing loans through provision for write off of at least N150b from its earning for four consecutive years.” According to data from Nairalytics, FBNH had recorded a total loan impairment of over N565 billion between 2016 and 2020. About N376.4 billion, more than half the total loans impaired, were provided for in 2016 and 2017 alone.

Another major reason why the CBN moved swiftly to sack the board and reinstate Adeduntan was its inability to control Oba Otudeko and since he did not accede to the demand of Emefiele there was no way he could be allowed to keep running the bank without a check like Adeduntan. According to Emefiele, he cannot allow a Shareholder who will not subject himself to regulatory control and authority to remain a director of the bank.

Magic? Yes, big boys are smiling while the minority shareholders continue to pray and fast for the moments to come. Who can save Nigeria from sinking? Yes, when you remember that most people hold the shares of FBH, and before the Central Bank of Nigeria in most parts of Nigeria, there was First Bank. FBN cleared cheques for other banks, serving as the banks’ bank. If First Bank does well, most families especially in South West Nigeria would have improved lives.

 Simply, if those impairments are not there, the Group could be worth at least twice its current value as investors would push it up. But here, we are circling on technicalities instead of regulators hitting bad people harder to send lessons.

The First Bank Saga Gets Messier As Honeywell Issues a Statement Denying Any Wrongdoing