GTBank hits 38.1% cost-to-income ratio, CIR [in its simplest form, it means using N38.1 to make every N100], declaring full year 2017 profit before tax of N200 billion. Zenith Bank had a CIR of 52.7%. There are three key ways you can improve CIR: reduce cost or increase income or do both simultaneously.  As all the banks report, I expect the average to come down to 59%. Generally, Nigerian banks are improving CIR as they deploy technologies, enjoying the productivity gains. This trend is expected to continue.

“GTBank has continued to report the best financial ratios in the industry as revealed by its return on equity (ROE) of 35.4 per cent and cost to income ratio of 38.1per cent evidencing the efficient management of assets and operational efficiency.

“Overall, the bank has enshrined its position as a clear leader in the industry.

Walk from CBN HQ to the Cadastral Zone in Abuja, you would notice that most banks had closed their branches and deployed ATMs. They have since stopped printing bank statements, charging for the SMS alerts. Generally, customers get better deals. The N4 you pay for SMS alert is a better deal than going to a bank to check payment receipt.

As they publish their reports, I am seeing great numbers – efficiency is improving. This is a big lesson: when TSA was being implemented, many said the banking sector would shrink. What I am noticing is that when government took its cash, they restructured and today most banks are leaner, and more efficient. The TSA was a blessing as in the quest to reduce cost, the banks adopted technology which improved productivity. The losers are Nigerian workers who lost jobs.

With the changes made, do not expect many fintechs to do well in the Nigerian banking sector. The banks are indeed premium startups now striking partnerships with Facebook, Mastercard and other global entities one would have expected fintechs to lead. They can thank TSA for the acceleration of that redesign.

This is the expected natural trajectory as the ICT utilities take over the lands. Once Facebook perfects the integration with MasterCard on Messenger, it would do same on Instagram and WhatsApp. Then, it would be opened to any financial institution that wants. MasterCard is a natural payment aggregator, agnostic of banking institutions. Facebook would be the platform while MasterCard would act as the “interface institution”[payment processing] and banks the hosts [the accounts]. The implication is that over time few would bother to notice the hosts, focusing more on the platforms [once you have set up an account and put your bank details, there is no need to even remember the bank again as the transactions would happen on Facebook while MasterCard handles the underneath processing with the banks].

The banks are doing what they have to do: with Facebook Corp, there is no other alternative – you either fall in line or you go extinct. This is going to be the future of banking in Nigeria. No one goes to a bank in China; most go to WeChat to do banking. Facebook has a plan for that in Nigeria. The plan is now under execution.

Survival drives innovation. Our banks are innovating, from UBA to Wema, from Diamond Bank to FCMB; we are seeing real market-driven competition. And today, most can operate without any government money. That is how a great economy emerges.

We graduate and we want opportunities.  We need jobs to support families. They had invested in our education. But as you do that, remember two phases of any career: a season for the accumulation of capabilities and the one for the monetization of capabilities. A good job pays good wage, from employer. But a GREAT job assures good wage from you. That distinction is very important and understanding that will give you job security, in Nigeria.

If 500 Nigerian graduates enter banking in a year, by 5^th year, only about 300 would remain. By 15^th year, less than 70 from that set would still be in banking. And without oil & gas, and telecoms sectors expanding, most of those banking professionals cannot find second decent jobs in Nigeria. Our economy is really small to absorb them.

There is an implication: most go through career paralysis in mid-age, struggling to make enough money that they made at the onset of their careers. You can avoid that trap by investing early in your career. A job that does not allow you to develop YOU may not be a good one. You would make money but if they cut you, you could be miserable mid-age. And because less than 7% survive to the top, the best is to leave the vacations, second cars, etc and invest early in your career. A Master’s degree could secure your career. An ICAN makes you durable. Find the enabler in your profession.

I had known that PhD is the best job security because the unemployment rate is 0.6% globally. Add engineering, it is less than 0.1% [there is no PhD engineer from an accredited school that wants a job that cannot get one]. My message is build capabilities and by grace lock that future.

In business, everyone comes with his capabilities and competitive advantages, as we juggle for opportunities in markets. Some come with endorsed business cards. Some come with their degrees. Some come with celebrated family names. Some carry iconic brand names. You must find your own and use it. When I was starting, I needed to break-in into the heart of Nigeria. Yes, the people who make decisions.

I knew I had capabilities in my firm but I did not have the network to connect with decision makers. So, I developed a plan. I was over-educated and Nigeria likes that. For three months, I offered and spoke in many institutions for FREE under capacity building [he came from U.S. and was offering free courses]. Interestingly, if there is no money involved, you can organize one within days.  Just like that, I made friends and connected with leaders. I sold my education before them. You possibly have something else.

Do not be depressed that your friend had a networked uncle that introduced him. I want you to use what you have NOW to kickstart that open door. Your background must not hold you back if you believe you have something. Pursue excellence and weed your mind the poison that you have no privileges because you came from no-name family.

The progress of tomorrow is only made possible by the capabilities of today. If you develop a habit of respecting people despite your skills, Nigeria would reward you irrespective of lack of big parents or uncles. People would discover you. And once people like you, opportunities would open. But where you want to insult people on the way, you have lost your call.

Visit Nnewi and see men who did not even enter secondary school as MD/CEOs of big factories.  Have you asked yourself which Ivy League school founders of Chisco, Young Shall Grow, etc attended? But they have the most advanced transport logistics in Nigeria with decades of success. The same happens in Kano with merchants trading from Mali to Sudan. Visit Osogbo, the same story. It is latent but our nation has opportunities.

This month, the modern Igbo language is 40 years. In 1978, renowned Igbo scholars like Prof F.C. Ogbalu called the first Igbo Convention. They laid the foundation for Igbo Izugbe (the General Igbo). Over the years, they simplified the writing of Igbo. With Tony Ubesie and others, they built on previous efforts, transforming the elements from A B Gb to A B Ch in Igbo alphabets.  I enjoyed Ubesie’s classics like “Isi akwu dara nala” and “Ukwa ruo oge ya”.

As a village boy that came to Owerri (Imo State Nigeria) for university education, I used to camp to listen to these legends during the Ahiajoku lecture, then most important academic gathering of Igbo scholars. Prof Chinua Achebe had edited Okike – the journal of creative writing. Reading Okike as a university student was liberating. These men did a lot of work, and there was intellectual rivalry on the harmonization of Igbo language. The scholars continued working until late 1980 when they ratified many things [it never stops, Igbo continues to advance]. Where they could not agree or find a decent local equivalent, they igbonized, spelling English word with Igbo characters.

Achebe was always supremely iconic in Ahiajoku. Ogbalu was eminent. You learn about Pita Nwanna – the author of Omenuko [the man that builds during scarcity]. Omenuko was one of the earliest works on Igbo that chronicled trading, documenting what frameworks which legends like Nnanna Kalu used to build empires in Aba and other cities. Mazi Kalu was the Aliko Dangote of his time, controlling most sectors in eastern Nigeria and beyond.

Achebe spoke last time in Ahiajoku on Jan 23 2009. I was in Owerri from America. Few weeks later, I returned to give FUTO’s 15^TH Public Lecture of the University.

I know they say those things [language, culture, tradition] do not matter – we just have to learn apps and computers. Yes, education is no more the liberation of the mind, but going to school just to find jobs. Sure, computers are good. But context matters. I am hoping they put Ahiajoku on TV. It is good for the mind because the quality is peerless.