He was a magician – he made tons of money for investors through dividends and share buyback. His total yearly compensation was excess of $20 million. This man believed that some of his staff could just be fine with minimum wage, but he deserved all the tonnage of digital benjamins that were hitting his bank account.
Then Coronavirus hit, unfortunately, and suddenly, this magician is asking for a bailout from the government. Yes, the man who had expected working mothers of three to support their lives on minimum wage, now thinks that the American people should save the company he leads! Interestingly, his wish is on track; the $2 trillion stimulus package makes it a near-certainty.
You see the irony?The company is on its own minimum now, but instead of him dealing with it the way minimum wage workers have been struggling-out over ages, this capitalist believes that the government must come and help the company.
Covid-19 is bad – no debate on that. But our world must not forget in a hurry what is happening with these overpaid human magicians who think they are special, and must be paid with all the cash truckloads in the company, even when their workers are on government food stamps.
It is painful that a man who is paid excess of $22 million does not have the talent to save his company, rain or sunshine. I get it – getting the government involved is part of his magical leverageable capabilities! Yet, that was a bailout – and I am hoping he bails out his minimum wage workers when sunshine returns, post Covid-19.
Just imagine if he had gone with $7 million, on peacetime, giving his comrades opportunities to rise further at better pay. But no way, the capitalist magicians cannot be traded below market value!
Why do we privatize success but quickly socialize (nationalize) problems when bad things happen? Of course, this is not to say that Covid-19 is not very unfortunate; I support bailouts to companies. Yet, the world needs to use this vehicle to bring common sense on compensations and the disparities between CEOs and low-level workers.
I believe in God, I believe there is God and I equally believe that despite all our knowledge and capacity for great inventions, there is a whole lot more about the universe that we don’t know and will never know.
So why do men carry the aura of God when we have so many limitations in a universe that existed before we were even aware of its existence?
Why is there so much evil and injustice in the world perpetrated by men and nations with superior advantage?
And so Coronavirus came to give us a little wake-up call.
A check at the Christian bible, in the book of Genesis 6 verse 5 and 6….it said something very interesting about the human nature:
5 – The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. 6 – So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart.
Imagine that the Creator of the universe himself was heartbroken at the sight of the terrible acts of men.
Coronavirus code named Covid-19 is currently ravaging the world. It is so bad that in a few weeks of spreading fast around the world, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has declared that the world is now in recession.
Economic activities around the world have come to a grinding halt, businesses have shut down completely, hundreds of thousands of jobs are being lost all around the world and there are countries currently witnessing a complete lock-down.
Can you imagine that? A little jog around town is now a crime in some countries. It is now a complete stay-at-home galore.
But there is something honorable and admirable about the nature of Covid-19. The kind of nature that would have delighted God to find in us, the kind of nature that would have made the planet Earth a great place to dwell for every living being.
It is the egalitarian nature of the virus.
The virus has displayed perfect fairness in its modus operandi.
It has no respect for gender, no respect for title or class, no respect for religious beliefs, no respect for colour of skin, no respect for class or hierarchy, the virus is not concerned with whether a country is classified as developed, developing or underdeveloped – it just deals with everyone and every country that come its way.
Suddenly, the might and power of the United States of America has been demystified by an invisible micro-organism. Within a period of 3 weeks, the number of infected has risen to more than 130,000 and more than 2,000 Americans have died from the virus. The excellent economic achievements of the ever boastful Donald Trump for more than 3 years were completely wiped out in a matter of days.
Now I see a slump on Trump’s shoulders whenever he is addressing the American people. Covid19 really trumped him.
Italy, having one of the best healthcare systems in the world has been especially beaten hard by the virus. More than 10,000 people have now died from the disease and are still counting.
Developed countries like Germany and the United Kingdom with excellent healthcare systems and role models for many countries of the world are currently in disarray over the unrelenting Covid-19 attacks. Thousands of Germans and Britons have contacted the virus and the figures keep rising every day.
The Prime Minister of the UK, Boris Johnson, has contacted the virus and Germany’s Minister for Finance of over 10 years, Mr Thomas Schaefer, has committed suicide due to worry over how to cope with the economic fallout from the coronavirus.
Coronavirus is causing pains across the world
This Covid-19 has no respect at all.
My country, Nigeria, is currently under the siege of the coronavirus like most countries of the world. Here too, the virus has been consistent with its egalitarian nature.
The Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, and some staff within the Presidency have tested positive to the virus. Nigerian state Governors are testing positive to the virus, top legislative figures have tested positive to the virus. Influential, wealthy and powerful figures are testing positive to the virus.
Even the Nigerian medical Doctors that the infected look up to for treatment in this pandemic are testing positive to the virus as unfolding at University College Hospital, Ibadan.
But the Nigerian case is much more peculiar.
The healthcare system is so horrible that Doctors went on strike in the middle of a pandemic. Billions of dollars that could have worked miracles in the healthcare sector were lavished and diverted to private pockets.
Now the people responsible for the rot in the healthcare sector look up to that sector for salvation.
Education has been grossly underfunded for decades and has led to the emergence of poorly educated and uneducated millions of Nigerians. That lack of informed education is the reason youths in Katsina burnt down a police station all because the police were trying to protect them from contacting the virus through religious congregations.
People are being asked to stay put at home till further notice amidst impending lock-down but there is no power supply to make staying at home tolerable. Billions of dollars invested in the power sector for decades were recklessly siphoned by greedy and evil minded people in positions of power.
Crude oil now sells like palm oil in the international market and it leaves much to wonder how the vultures in the Nigerian government used to feeding on sumptuous oil money will cope with the new unfavorable economic and financial reality.
Karma is here now. All facilitated by Covid-19.
The rich, powerful and unconcerned citizens of Nigeria will in one way or the other reap the harvest of what they have sown for decades. Even the innocent will partake somehow, unfortunately.
The number of infected people worldwide is now more than 700,000 while the number of deaths is over 33,000 from the coronavirus.
Hopefully, the world will discover a vaccine or a cure for the virus soon enough. That appears like the only way the world will get some respite from the coronavirus siege.
But for now, the lessons are ringing loud – that no matter how big or small we are, no matter how powerful or insignificant we are, no matter the stockpile of sophisticated weapons and scientific/technological knowledge accumulation, we are nothing compared to the force of nature.
In crisis like this, the seed of love we have sown through good governance and charity to one another is what can give us hope – nothing else will.
The world will learn that lesson well. Nigeria, especially, will learn that lesson forcefully.
While nobody seems to like the ordeal of social distancing, the introverts may be a better advantage of scaling this period, with smiles on their faces because the larger the space, the bolder the smile and the increased sense of control.
Coronavirus has caused more damage than anybody could imagine, and the effect has reached almost every nook and cranny of the world. Sparing no man the space to enjoy the once abundant freedom hence the quote by Chidiebere Moses Ogbodo, “FREEDOM IS PRICELESS”.
Well, let’s look into social distancing from a different perspective and which is: The robotics and the workforce. Social Distancing has been a part of some societies such as in the major cities of India, and some Muslim nations, where everybody is expected to mind their business, else stand the chance to be accused of intruding another person’s space, especially that of the ladies.
Now, it is no longer a thing for a particular society, but it will be practiced in almost all the nations of the world, as the new norm. Also In the workplace, schools, religious places, and even in the homes, but the major concern includes the possibility of it tampering with the workforce, workplace and work culture and more;
For instance:
Robots in the workplaces, replacing human
It will not be a surprising thing, to see that the idea of robots serving in the restaurants, loading and unloading in the warehouses, delivering packages from food and grocery stores, etc becoming the new norm. This will cause a huge breakdown in the number of jobs hence increasing the unemployment rate to a near uncontrollable rate. The solution may be yet unknown at the moment, because the industry will be left with a few creatives to thrive on. So, men need to think ahead while there is still time.
Threat to the Healthcare Industry
While we appreciate our healthcare professionals for standing tall during this period, it will be a good thing to consider the threat to freedom of existence this social distancing dilemma will cause.
Isaac Thani shared on Tekedia, “Within the next ten years, a country will make the implantation of biochips (microchips inside humans) on citizens mandatory to help during pandemic and security paralyses. The GPS-embedded biochip will collect blood samples, analyse them in-vivo, and send results to a central server. On the server, the government will know where people with, say, a coronavirus, are located, and will pick them up for further assistance. Most privacy-related activism will fade and health surveillance will scale globally”.
The question is, who doesn’t like his freedom, who wants to be monitored like robots and more questions to be answered. With this in mind, the future may be uninteresting and daring or I should say threatening!
Freedom is really priceless. Now you will agree with me.
Globalization is doomed
Freedom of association is at risk. Nations may from henceforth prefer to live within closed walls. Trump may not be totally wrong when he proposed and nearly finished building the American Wall. If a country is scared of importing viruses into her country, then who is talking about globalization. Who will be talking about one world, one people! divided we fall, and united we stand. There is also the possibility of increased racial misunderstandings, born of social distancing. Well I believe with hope we can still win this war.
Boost in Fintech, Cash Frowns
Bitcoin may not be a bad idea at all. Cashless transactions propelled by the Fintech professionals may not be a bad idea. We see the rate at which cash transactions are almost dying out, because nobody knows from whose pocket and what health condition is with the previous host of the dollar note. As much as it affects the banks and ATM operators/banks, it is also a good advantage to the other party, the Fintech
The adage said: The soup that is poison to one man, is a sweet medicine to another. Let’s welcome the new era. We have been surviving and thriving with changes, which is constant, so we will definitely outlive this new era. The innovative, and dynamic minds will smile more this time.
The Wailing Fate of Transportation Industry
The person who used the Uber ride before you may be Covid 19 positive, so what is the best way to avoid getting infected; maybe by boycotting traveling by both public transport and even the semi-private providers such as Uber and Ola etc, and fighting hard to buy yourself a private ride.
The transportation industry is really weeping at the moment, and we pray the pandemic goes out of air inadvertently, in its entirety..
Economy Cracks in the West and Mends in the East
In every war, there are a few sets of people who benefit more than they lose; record is breaking with the recent income by china in the supplies of healthcare resources across nations, while their GDP is reported to be nearing half of the Americans.
What is cracking in the west may be seen mending in the east. Economy will not die, but it will be shaken, and that should be considered an opportunity to gain new grounds to germinate better seeds of amazing growth. – Chidiebere Moses Ogbodo
The Future after Covid 19
The world should be expecting high growth in industries such as E-learning, Tele-Health, E-commerce, Remote Offices/Freelancing/Work from Home, but a bigger challenge goes to the entertainment industry, that mainly depend on the crowd gatherings, clubs, beach times, birthday parties and more!!. Something needs to be done and soon enough!
The world will heal, and Social Distancing should not be allowed to be the new norm. We need each other more, and close enough with warm hugs and kisses than ordinary high fives.
Notes: 1.No Webinar today but we have a video on Rocket Internet’s exit in Jumia as we continue this week’s discussion on entrepreneurship and innovation. This is a practical case. 2.We have a video How Do You Preserve Your Business After Covid-19 Black Swan? drawing from the iconic Sequoia Capital brief. In this video, Dr. Ndubuisi […]
President Buhari has spoken on Covid-19, and he dropped a market-shaking sample: three month repayment moratorium on all government loans. Pressure will now mount on private lenders like banks and fintechs.
Furthermore, I have directed that a three month repayment moratorium for all TraderMoni, MarketMoni and FarmerMoni loans be implemented with immediate effect.
I have also directed that a similar moratorium be given to all Federal Government funded loans issued by the Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture and the Nigeria Export Import Bank.
For on-lending facilities using capital from international and multilateral development partners, I have directed our development financial institutions to engage these development partners and negotiate concessions to ease the pains of the borrowers.
As I have noted in an exclusive video to Tekedia Mini-MBA participants, I expect many companies and even private debtors to invoke force majeure – “unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract” – to avoid lenders going after collateral where applicable. My recommendation to the Industrial Court is to develop a template immediately on how these matters could be resolved as there would be lawsuits. As I write, and as a former banker, I know that interests are running on most loans even though only limited commercial activities are happening in Nigeria.
So, if you think someone will pay those interests when his or her workers are at home, you will be surprised when things normalize.
Coronavirus will reshape ordinances in markets once we get over it. President Buhari’s speech shows the government is temporarily freezing interests to its debtors, making it a solid reference point for lawyers to argue in industrial courts for their clients. Most lawyers would argue that once the governors declared some businesses non-essential, forcing them to “close”, and being materially affected, beyond their controls, force majeure could apply and all interests on the loans for that period should be vacated.
For Tekedia Mini-MBA participants, a video would go live tomorrow on the Week 8 board on how to prepare to give your business a chance.
Comment #1: Interesting times with strategic measures to be designed and implemented. Thanks for the Insight. Truly like you rightly envisaged Prof. “Coronavirus will reshape ordinances in markets once we get over it”. Looking forward to how the Nigerian Finance Coys will adhere and adapt to the temporary directive by the President.
My Response: “Looking forward to how the Nigerian Finance Coys will adhere and adapt to the temporary directive by the President.” Boardrooms will be busy tomorrow because matching Nigeria’s govt on this moratorium could be challenging, and not adhering to it is simply calling for lawsuits from customers.
Comment #2: This is an interesting take on the President’s speech. Hopefully, the court will use the lawsuits that will result from this situation to set a precedent for matters such as this in Nigeria.
As for the ethics of the bank’s partial application of the freeze on interest accumulated on investments during holidays, I tend to think that the fault is partly that of low awareness on the part of the general public, partly a shortcoming on the part of regulatory/consumer protection agencies, and partly that of a general lack of will on the part of Nigerian lawyers to take on institutions. It would be hard to imagine that none of regulatory bodies or major lawyers know about this.
Lastly, I hope this Covid19 induced disruption, just like it is doing in other areas of our lives, will compel us to reexamine our banking and lending rules and reduce the opaque and shady practices and inequities.
Comment #3: Good insights Prof. When US slashed interest rates, I thought Nigeria will do the same or attempt to go near. But I think MPC maintained status quo. I don’t think there is also any measure on easing the burden of repayment of commercial loans that matches the Federal Government’s gesture. A lot of businesses may crash while rebooting. CBN and Bankers’ Committee need to troubleshoot now that these at-risk businesses are shutting down, hibernating or operating on safe-mode.
The U.S. Federal Reserve does two key things – works to keep the U.S. dollars stable (by reducing inflation) and maximize employment through interest rates. It has an edge – the currency is convertible with solid export market. But for CBN, we know maximizing employment is not one of the things it does practically. Without that, tracking ease on lending to say SMEs would never be a priority (MPC becomes muted). In all cases, what CBN does in Nigeria is determined by the price of crude oil as it has no non-oil-affecting tools to drive impactful visioning system in Nigeria.
