Today is a noticeable day and a turning point on the security nexus of Nigeria. Yes, after Southwest Nigeria passed a vote of no confidence on the Nigerian Police by establishing Amotekun ( “one that looks like a leopard,”), the Southeast has established their own version, Ebube Agu (“magnificent and glorious aura of strength and power to defend and protect one’s territory”). I have not used the relational translation but the axiomatic meaning in ancestral Igbo.

Igbos speak via animals but the English translation must not connote the animals. For example “the man acts like a fox” when translated to Igbo should be “the man acts like a tortoise” because what fox is to English, tortoise is to ancient Igbo. So, if you look for the Igbo name for fox – a cunning character- in the translation, you would be mistaken.

Agu is a symbol of strength and has magnificence in Igbo. When a man kills a tiger, he is saluted and initiated to touch the Ikoro, which produces the most recognizable “sound” in Igbo tradition, only heard during emergencies. .

With Ebube Agu, the Southeast has essentially said: Nigerian Police, we have no confidence in you! The Federal Government of Nigeria should be concerned because Nigeria is dissolving daily!

I pity Mr. Buhari whose tenure these things are happening. I wish I could speak with him because history will not be kind to him! He has failed his nation.

Governors of the South-East states have resolved to maintain a joint security outfit for the code named Ebube Agu (Wonderful Tiger).

The governors made the resolution in a communique during the first south-east security summit held in Owerri on Sunday.

The communique was presented by Dave Umahi, Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Conference and Ebonyi governor.

The governor’s conference said the joint security outfit would have its headquarters in Enugu to coordinate the vigilance groups in the zone.

[…]

They also resolved to set up a committee comprising security personnel, government officials and other relevant stakeholders to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the joint security platform.

[] They also banned open grazing and urged the security agencies to enforce the ban in the states.

Source: NAN

Comments from LinkedIn Feeds

Comment: Prof. Ndubuisi Ekekwe, well done! You did well with the analysis but I could not stop myself laughing out loud when you said you want to speak to Baba Buhari, this will be a total waste of time, energy, and resources! It is dead on arrival. He has gone down with history on his great and vital achievements…. I am so sorry Prof, na wasted effort… Hold your peace for next person that will seek you… No vex oooo

My Response: I want to be on record to have told him how bad things are. I personally think no one tells him what is happening. I do not want him in 4 years to say ” I was not aware”.

In the early 1960s, Norway wrote that Nigeria was an emerging nation with an extremely pragmatic agricultural program which must be watched, as it could become  a leading powerhouse in global markets. Despite the vagaries of civil war which paused the effervescence, Nigeria began to rise again. The Naira was stronger than the US dollars and airlines were putting travel visas on Nigerian passports with no requirements to visit any embassy.

Men flew from Lagos to watch Liverpool and then reconnected to the United States for the Yankees. Tuskegee University alone had hundreds of Nigerian students on scholarship, paid by the Nigeria people. Because the nation had better promises, well ahead of what America offered then, most returned home.

Factories, companies, etc, were opening up – and civil engineering rose to its pinnacle. Everywhere was a construction site! From Bata to PAN to Michelin, to anything you could imagine, Nigeria was rising to the mountaintop.

Then, we froze and began a descent. In this video, the world saw us as a place for opportunity, not a place looking for liberation. And they came. How can we return back to the beginning where things are MADE IN Nigeria?

On February 1 2020, Lagos State Government (LASG) , riding on the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law of 2018, re-enacted the ban of motorcycles, tricycles and others from operating in most parts of Lagos State (the State). While the initiative was termed by LASG as a move to secure the property and lives of people within the State, the ban however led to the fall of major technology companies such as GoKada, Opay, Max.ng etc. who were deepening the capacities of their motorcycle ride-hailing businesses.

Recall that earlier in May 2019, GoKada which was founded by Fahim Saleh, had raised about US$5.3 million in a series A funding round led by Rise Capital. According to the CEO, as captured by TechCrunch, Gokada intended to use the financing to increase its fleet and ride volume. Opay on the other hand, in August 2018, had benefited from a series A and series B funding of US$50 million and US$120 million respectively. According to Opay’s CEO, Zhou Yahui, as captured by Techpoint, Opay’s rides had tripled and the company made over US$10 million in daily revenues after putting the Series A fund to good use.

Similarly, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced the re-enactment of the ban of cryptocurrency trading in Nigeria using the official banking system. This move was indeed targeted at start-ups involved in cryptocurrency. CBN in a circular dated 7 February 2021, reiterated that CBN circular of February 5, 2021 did not place any new restrictions on cryptocurrencies but rather all banks in Nigeria had been earlier forbidden from using, holding, trading and/or transacting in cryptocurrencies, through a circular dated 12 January 2018.

In a recent move by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in a circular dated 8 April 2021, SEC noted that all capital market operators (CMOs) involved with online trading platforms that give Nigerians the opportunity to invest in foreign traded equities, should desist and put an end to it. Citing the provisions of Sections 67-70 of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA), 2007 and Rules 414 and 415 of the SEC Rules and Regulations, SEC noted that only foreign securities listed on any Exchange registered in Nigeria may be issued, sold or offered for sale or subscription to the Nigerian public. Again, this move was targeted at the likes of Bamboo, Trove, Chaka etc. It should be noted that Bamboo had raised about US$150,000 in funding since commencing business in 2019 as documented by Crunchbase.

Worthy of mention is the fact that CBN in a recent move, banned all Fintechs and third-party partners from accessing the BVN validation service. This was aptly put in Paystack’s communication to its customers which said “We’ve recently been made aware of a regulatory directive from the primary custodian of Nigeria’s BVN service to all their partners to suspend the provision of the BVN validation service to their third-party partners. In light of this news, we’re hereby informing you that the BVN Resolve service will be temporarily unavailable starting at midnight, April 8”. Given the onerous nature of the KYC requirements for financial institutions, this suggests that Fintechs may be unable to fulfil the KYC requirements imposed on them by the regulators.

The way forward for Fintechs and other techs:

In the light of the recent turn of events occasioned by the regulators in Nigeria, one could clearly see that the biggest challenge to Fintechs and other technology companies in Nigeria is not necessarily access to finance but regulations. While there seems to be a perfect product-market fit for the services churned out by techs, product-regulation fit appears to be largely non-existent. Consequently, the following are recommended:

1. Increased need for regulatory modelling and forecasting: An examination of the moves made by regulatory authorities reveal that they rely on existing laws and regulations to squash the activities of these tech companies. Seeing that laws already in place cannot be wished away, it is therefore pertinent that techs, as part of their market research efforts, invest in understanding the existing laws that may disrupt their activities, and take steps ahead of the regulatory authorities to ensure that they are better able to withstand any re-enactment or regulatory blow. The result of these would be a “What-if analysis” with respect to the technology regulatory universe in Nigeria.
2. Increased need for ‘co-opetition’ amongst tech companies: As described by Harvard Business Review (HBR) in its article titled “the rules of co-opetition”, HBR noted that co-opetition is simply the mix of competition and cooperation. Hence, co-opetition is the act of cooperating or collaborating with a competitor to achieve a common goal. For techs, particularly Fintechs, more than ever before, they need to come together in a common front, to engage the regulators either through legal means or roundtable discussions, in a bid to resolve the issues that may be fuelling the activities of the regulators which are eroding their businesses.
3. Increased need for lobbying and presence of political heavy-weights on their Boards: A clinical look at the outcomes of the recent regulatory quagmire suggests that these may be the result of lobbying by various interest groups whose businesses are being challenged by Fintechs. Thus, it is important that Fintechs respond appropriately by employing the services of political lobbyists who would be able to influence political and regulatory decisions in their favor. This technique has been historically employed in business and proven to be very effective especially in climes like Nigeria. The appointment of political heavy-weights to their Boards would give them leverage to influence the lawmakers to update old laws, and enact new laws that would favor their course.

There are several arguments that suggest that regulation stiffens innovation. As this gradually appears to be the case in Nigeria, there is now a heightened need for Fintechs to approach things differently. Paul Tudor Jones noted that we must adapt, evolve, compete, or die. I expect that these few recommendations put forward would enable the Fintechs to adapt, evolve, and compete but not die.