Category: Business Day

History, as the philosopher George Santayana once reminded us, condemns those who fail to learn from it to repeat its errors. One lesson that echoes across centuries and continents is this – when governments underestimate, neglect, or patronize their youth, the consequences are often destabilizing. The student uprisings in Paris in 1968, the Arab Spring a decade ago, and more recently the youth-led revolts in Kenya, Nepal, and Madagascar all bear testimony to this fact. Youthful energy, when stifled, does not disappear; it accumulates and eventually erupts.

Nigeria is not exempt from this truth. In fact, Nigeria may be its most striking embodiment. With two-thirds of its population under the age of 30, the fate of this nation is inseparable from the dreams and frustrations of its youth. Which is why President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Independence Day broadcast on the occasion of Nigeria’s 65th anniversary struck such a resonant note. In that broadcast, the president described Nigeria’s youth as the nation’s ‘greatest assets’ and promised: ‘Our administration, through policies and funding, will continue to give you wings to fly sky-high.’ For once, the language from the presidency matched the aspirations of the nation’s restless demographic. He urged them to dream big, innovate, and conquer new territories in technology, science, arts, and sports. The rhetoric was inspiring. Yet, Nigerians have heard such words before. The challenge is not in articulation but in execution. Now, let’s recall the weight of history. The story of Nigeria’s youth is also the story of Nigeria itself. The independence struggle of the 1940s and 1950s was spearheaded by young leaders – Macaulay, Azikiwe, Awolowo, Balewa, and others were men in their thirties and forties. The energy of youth was the driving force of decolonization. In the 1990s, the fight against military dictatorship again found its backbone among student movements, campus unions, and young pro-democracy activists. The June 12 struggle, led by coalitions that included youth organizations, kept the flame of democracy alive.

Globally, too, youth have shaped transitions. Nelson Mandela often acknowledged the role of young militants in sustaining the anti-apartheid fight. Barack Obama’s historic ‘Yes We Can’ campaign was youth-powered. Ghana’s independence was carried on the shoulders of Kwame Nkrumah’s Youth Movement. History is unambiguous: ignore youth at your peril, empower them and the nation thrives.

And now banging unceasingly and menacingly on the door of our subconscious is the cautionary tale of Madagascar. This is why the ongoing turmoil in Madagascar should be more than a passing headline for Nigeria; it should be a red warning signal. In Antananarivo today, disillusioned youths have taken over streets, protesting unemployment, corruption, and political exclusion. What began as scattered demonstrations has grown into organized defiance, threatening to topple governance structures.

The parallels with Nigeria are unsettling. High unemployment, exclusion from decision-making, rising cost of living, and disillusionment with promises of reform are common denominators. The difference is scale. Nigeria is larger, more complex, and its youth far more interconnected through social media. If Madagascar can descend into upheaval, Nigeria must recognize that the same volcano simmers beneath its own surface.

Now, let’s turn to President Tinubu’s haerat-warming pledge and words backed with initiatives. To dismiss Tinubu’s promises as mere rhetoric would, however, be unfair. His administration has launched a suite of youth-focused programmes that, if faithfully implemented, could mark a turning point. Let’s walk through them.

NELFUND Education Loans: With over 510,000 beneficiaries, this scheme addresses the crippling financial barrier to tertiary education. Paulo Freire, the Brazilian philosopher of education, argued that true freedom begins with access to learning. NELFUND represents an attempt to democratize opportunity.

CreditCorp Loans (?30 billion disbursed): Youth-led businesses often die at conception due to lack of capital. Affordable credit breathes life into entrepreneurial dreams.

YouthCred for NYSC Members: By extending credit to Corps members, the government turns the service year from a dead-end ritual into a springboard for innovation.

iDICE Initiative: The Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises connects Nigeria’s comparative advantage in arts and technology with global opportunities. In an era where Afrobeats and Nollywood dominate global markets, this is a policy aligned with reality.

Presidential CNG Initiative (Pi-CNG): Distributing 2,000 clean-energy tricycles empowers youth while promoting sustainability. This is an attempt to fuse employment with ecological responsibility.

Youth Agro-Entrepreneurship Programme (YEIDEP): Agriculture remains a sleeping giant. By modernizing youth participation, YEIDEP could transform rural underemployment into agribusiness prosperity.

Labour Employment and Empowerment Programme (LEEP): With its focus on vocational training and mass employment, LEEP has potential to absorb thousands into productive industries. Yo! Health Initiative: Structured on six pillars – mental health, drug abuse prevention, communicable and non-communicable diseases, reproductive health, and insurance – this is perhaps the most holistic attempt at youth welfare. Health is wealth, and without it, no wings can fly.

Taken together, these initiatives reveal intentionality. Unlike past governments, Tinubu is not blind to the urgency of youth empowerment. He is laying down the runway for the wings he has promised. Yet, Nigerians are realists and the risk of empty programmes delivered with rhetorical relish would be better imagined than described. They have seen initiatives launch with fanfare only to die in silence. For every NELFUND, there is a defunct YOUWIN. For every iDICE, there is an abandoned IT village. The graveyard of Nigerian policy is filled with beautiful designs that never became reality.

The pitfalls to avoid are clear – elite capture (If youth funds are hijacked by politicians and their cronies, trust will collapse); bureaucratic bottlenecks (Complicated applications discourage real beneficiaries); tokenism (Isolated projects without scale do not address systemic unemployment); exclusion (Programmes designed without youth input risk irrelevance). Durkheim’s sociology warns that a society that fails to integrate its youth risks anomie-a state of normlessness that breeds instability. From the philosophical standpoint, reflecting on the youth as vanguard, Frantz Fanon, in The Wretched of the Earth, insisted that it is the youth who serve as the revolutionary vanguard in colonized societies. Nigeria’s youth may not be fighting colonizers, but they are resisting internal structures of exploitation, corruption, and exclusion. They are the ‘not yet’ of Nigerian history – the potential that could lift the country into prosperity. But potential unrealized becomes peril. A generation denied its place becomes a generation that destabilizes. This is why Tinubu’s metaphor of wings is so apt, but incomplete. Wings without skies, wings without flight paths, wings without pilots, these are dangerous illusions. For promises to have weight, they must become reality.

One of the most sobering lessons of the 21st century is that when a nation neglects its youth, it risks igniting a firestorm of restiveness that no power can easily contain. Across Africa-and indeed the Global South-youth movements have emerged as the vanguard of resistance, catalyzing seismic political shifts. The Nigerian leadership cannot afford to ignore these warning signals, for they point to what happens when promises remain unfulfilled. Nigeria already tasted this bitter medicine during the #EndSARS protests of 2020, where millions of young Nigerians poured into the streets to demand an end to police brutality and systemic neglect. Four years later, in 2024, another wave-the #EndBadGovernance protest-surfaced, powered by the same restless demographic whose frustration had deepened under economic hardship, unemployment, and insecurity. These movements underscore a truth: youth energy, if unchanneled, mutates into explosive dissent.

Across the continent, Kenya’s Gen Z protest of 2024 presented another vivid case. Initially triggered by punitive tax hikes, the demonstrations quickly morphed into a larger indictment of governance failures. Young Kenyans deployed digital tools-TikTok, Twitter (X), Instagram-to mobilize, amplify their voices, and shame the establishment. In a sense, Kenya’s protest became Africa’s masterclass in how a digitally native generation can leverage technology to challenge entrenched systems. The lesson for Nigeria is clear: this generation has new weapons, and silence or dismissal is no longer an option. The current Madagascar turmoil provides perhaps the most pressing warning. What began as grievances over food insecurity and unemployment has spiraled into sustained youth-led unrest. In Antananarivo, protesters chant about ‘a future stolen’ and ‘dreams deferred.’ The symbolism is striking: a young generation, weary of waiting, has decided to claim its destiny directly. For Nigeria, the images from Madagascar should serve as an unignorable alarm bell-because the triggers are uncannily similar: economic stagnation, corruption, and dashed expectations.

Beyond Africa, the story repeats. In Nepal, September 2025 witnessed a Gen Z-driven revolution sparked by Abiskar Raut’s fiery speech, galvanizing thousands of young people to rise against systemic exclusion. The resonance of this uprising across borders is instructive: youth discontent is not contained by geography. It is a generational phenomenon, powered by shared tools (social media), shared conditions (inequality, unemployment), and shared aspirations (dignity, opportunity, voice). Taken together, these cases demonstrate a sociological constant: youth restiveness thrives in the gap between rhetoric and reality. Leaders often laud young people as ‘the future,’ but when such words are not matched with concrete opportunities, they morph into bitter reminders of betrayal.

Tinubu’s Independence Day metaphor of giving Nigerian youths ‘wings to fly’ therefore bears both promise and peril. If his administration sustains its youth-centered initiatives-education loans, credit access, health interventions, clean energy empowerment, and digital enterprise investments-Nigeria may avoid the tinderbox scenario playing out elsewhere. If not, the same demographic being celebrated as ‘greatest assets’ could become the most formidable opposition.

History has shown that no government can indefinitely suppress a restless youth bulge. In the long run, demographics always win. Africa is the youngest continent in the world, with Nigeria at its epicenter. Harnessing this demographic dividend requires foresight, sincerity, and delivery-not just rhetoric. Tinubu has the right words. What remains is the right action, lest Nigeria joins the growing catalogue of nations learning too late that ignoring youth restiveness is a gamble no leadership survives unscathed.

More importantly, it makes little sense to fall an easy prey to the resilience fallacy. Nigerians are often described as resilient, enduring hardship with stoic calm. Yet, resilience is not infinite. Stretch patience too far, and it snaps. The Madagascar turmoil shows the next stage of what happens when governments mistake patience for passivity. Nigeria must learn before it is too late. This is not to overlook skepticism and the burden of proof. There are skeptics, who dismiss Tinubu’s programmes as propaganda, arguing that they are more photo-op than policy. Their skepticism is not without basis. Nigeria’s history of unfulfilled promises invites doubt. President Tinubu therefore carries a burden of proof. He must demonstrate that his initiatives are not designed for applause but for impact. He must prove that his government is not repeating history’s mistakes but rewriting the script. Surely, the Tinubu administration deserves commendation for rolling out such youth-targeted initiatives such as NELFUND, CreditCorp, YouthCred, iDICE, Pi-CNG, YEIDEP, LEEP, and Yo! Health. As it is said in Igbo proverbial parlance, ‘E too dike na nke o mere, o mekwaa ?z?’ (When one gets commended for achieving a great feat, they strive to achieve more). These are significant steps in the right direction. But they must not end as headlines. They must become lived realities for millions of Nigerian youths. Execution, transparency, inclusivity, and accountability must be the watchwords. Youth must not only be beneficiaries but also co-creators of policy.

Let’s conclude on the imperative of transiting from winging the youth to charting the flight paths.

History will not judge Tinubu by the melody of his promises but by the symphony of his delivery. Inspiring words are valuable, but tangible transformation is indispensable. Nigeria’s youth have been promised wings. It is now time to provide flight paths. The choice before Tinubu is stark: either to be remembered as another leader of unfulfilled promises or as the president, who turned rhetoric into renewal, promises into programmes, and wings into soaring realities. The turmoil in Madagascar stands as a vivid warning. Nigeria must not wait for its own eruption. A stitch in time saves nine. If President Tinubu stays the course, deepens implementation, and shields these initiatives from corruption and elite capture, then history may record him as the leader who gave Nigerian youth not just wings, but also the skies.

Asiwaju, the Jagaban! You have all it takes to make things happen. As the Igbo would ask: ‘? b? nwa Mgbeke amagh? isi akp?, ka ? b? ag?ba ad?gh? nk??’ Loosely translated, ‘Is it that Mgbeke lacks the expertise of a barber or that the razor is not sharp?’ President Tinubu, as the proverbial Mgbeke, has the expertise of a legendary barber armed with the full complements of a sharp clippers! Let the scooping motion begin in earnest.

The longlist for Quramo Writers Prize (QPW) 2025, a manuscript prose fiction writing contest and critical creative component of the nine-year-old Quramo Festival of Words (QFest), has been unveiled after a month-long rigorous judging process by a three-man jury that comprises of Aduke Gomez, jury head, with Wase Aguele-Konu and Anote Ajeluorou as members. The longlist of five outstanding manuscripts from which a further shortlist has emerged are: ‘Black Bird’ by Chioma Jane Okeagu; ‘Kaku’ by Esther Eniola Oyeleye, ‘Moon Child’ Abiola Junaid, ‘Son of the Harem’ by Harry Onyeogo and ‘What Breaks, What Binds’ by Hubaidat Oyinkansola Ishola. The longlist was derived from 34 manuscripts submitted for the prize this year.

A cash prize of one million naira will be awarded to the winning manuscript plus a publishing deal. Dear Zimi by Chizeterem Chijoke won two years ago and was published last year. It earned Quramo Publishers a shortlist position in the USD$20,000 worth CANEX Book Factory Prize for Publishing in Africa 2025, won by South Africa’s Karavan Press for In Silence My Heart Speaks, by Thobeka Yose. ‘Black Bird’, ‘Moon Child’s and ‘What Breaks, What Binds’ are the shortlisted manuscripts for QWP 2025! The winner will be awarded the ?1,000,000 cash prize plus publishing deal. Apart from the prize, QFest 2025 has revealed the books and the writers that will feature in this year’s festival. They include: Hubris: A Brief Political History of the Nigerian Army by Dr. Akintunde Akinwumi; My Name Is Okoro by Sam Omatseye, chairman, editorial board, The Nation Newspaper; Across the Gulf and Shadows and Ashes by Dul Johnson, a professor at University of Jos. The books dwell on the infamous 30-month Nigerian Civil War from 1967 to 1970. Interestingly, the books constitute the nucleus of this year’s Quramo Festival of Words (QFest) 2025. For Gbemi Shasore, festival convener, it is about time to heal historical pains from the war, so that the country could move on in its march to a glorious future. According to her, ‘It is great when we talk about stories that tie to the Nigerian Civil War. Don’t forget, our name is Quramo Festival of Words. Very many things happen with words. Words provoke, words heal, words challenge, words nurture, words archive, words do a lot of things. As a publisher, as a filmmaker, I am thrown into words, flowery, unsavoury, humorous words, and so we thought about the civil war. We are not coming to it from an accusatory point of view. We are coming from the position that a lot has been written about the civil war, either to purge, to heal; either to come to terms, loads of fiction books, non-fiction books, entries into journals, gazettes in government documents; things have been written, words have been written about the civil war. ‘One thing is for sure; I lived the end part of the war as a child, and I think I was about seven or eight, because I remember I was trying to get a grip of my trainer bike, learning how to ride without trainer wheels when the war ended, when we heard the war had ended, and I know that it is not a place that Nigeria ever wants to go back to. So, let’s sit down in a very lovely environment where we have respect for one another and we are mindful of one another, our various interpretations of what we have heard and our various experiences and talk about it. ‘It is no longer the elephant in the room that nobody can talk about. We do not want to go back there. If you look at how we have public holidays for June 12 and even Independence Day on October 1, we should be able to have a day that we can apologize to one another, whether we did it or not. Apologize for the pain that the country went through, that our brethren went through, that we went through, and apologize and move on, because whether we like it or not, we are together, and the things that unite us are far better and more than what can divide us. Look at Ukraine and Russia; they were once a part of one another, but look at how they’re going at each other. If we all go three ways, maybe more ways, we would be more of a threat divided, in my own opinion, and so we will never get back there.’ Other personalities and books of the festival include: Mazi Nwonwu and his How to Make a Space Masquerade and Dele Sijuade’s Orisa will be in conversation for the speculative fiction panel. Also, Ndidi Chiazor-Enenmor’s See Morocco See Spain, Silva Nze Ifedigbo’s My Mind Is No Longer Here and Samuel Monye’s Give Us this Day, Henry Akubuiro’s Mighty Mite and Golden Jewel will feature in the children’s session, among others. Also, Moonbeam: An Anthology of Short Stories by Nigeria’s Foremost Culture Journalists (published by Narrative Landscape Press) will be unveiled at QFest 2025, with some of the contributors like Sam Omatseye, Adeniyi Kunu, Okechukwu Uwaezuoke, Terh Agbedeh and Henry Akubuiro featuring, and moderated by the editor Anote Ajeluorou. They will speak on ‘The Place of Anthologies/Collection of Short Stories in a Literary Ecosystem’. This anthology, the first by 15 culture journalists united in their singular passion for culture reporting such as Jahman Anikulapo, Toni Kan, Molara Wood, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, Nehru Odeh, Evelyn Osagie (rest her soul), Sumaila Isa Umaisha, Greg Nwakunor and Akeem Lasisi, has been hailed as a bold cultural shift and boundary-defining.

Lagos came alive on October 1, Nigeria’s Independence Anniversary, as the continent’s biggest boxing spectacle – ‘Chaos in the Ring’ – lit up the Mobolaji Johnson Arena in grand style.

The historic Independence Day boxing night, organised by Balmoral Group Promotions in partnership with Amir Khan’s AK Promotions, delivered world-class action and positioned Nigeria as a rising hub for elite boxing.

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu led a star-studded list of dignitaries that included Shehu Dikko, Chairman of the National Sports Commission; Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy; and Bukola Olopade, Director-General of the NSC, among others.

In the main event, American cruiserweight Brandon Glanton delivered a stunning sixth-round knockout of 2012 Olympian Marcus Browne, sealing victory in one of the night’s most gripping contests.

There was also a homecoming moment for Nigerian-born British boxer and former Commonwealth champion Dan Azeez, who thrilled fans with a fourth-round TKO win over Sulaimon Adeosun in his first-ever fight on Nigerian soil.

Speaking after the event, Dr. Ezekiel Adamu, CEO of Balmoral Group Promotions, hailed the success and hinted at even bigger plans – including the staging of a major heavyweight title fight in Lagos.

‘Nigeria is the home of heavyweights. I know they say Queensbury is the home of heavyweights, but really, Nigeria is the true home,’ said an elated Adamu.

‘Think about it – we’ve got Moses Itauma, David Adeleye, Lawrence Okolie. Anthony Joshua is Nigerian, and Deontay Wilder has Nigerian roots. The list goes on. You’ve just seen what Taiwo Agbaje has achieved. It shows we have another champion ready to rise, and we are going to make it happen.’

Adamu challenged Nigerian-bred heavyweights to headline a historic fight on home soil and confirmed that Balmoral’s next show will hold on December 19, with the fight card to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

Stakeholders hailed ‘Chaos in the Ring’ as a defining moment for Nigerian sport, showcasing the country’s expanding reputation beyond football.

Bukola Olopade, DG of the NSC, said the event reflected Nigeria’s excellence on the global stage:

‘This symbolises the excellence that Nigeria is known for. We had attendance from different continents, and tonight proves we are more than a football nation. This year alone, we have hosted international events in athletics, karate, arm wrestling, and more, and it has been magnificent.’

The night drew an illustrious audience, including Minister of State for Finance Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, Lagos State Sports Commission DG Lekan Fatodun, SSA to the President on Grassroots Sports Chief Adeboyega Adeyinka Anthony, veteran journalist Chief Dele Momodu, and Nigerian football legend Victor Ikpeba.

Adding further glamour, music superstars Naira Marley, D’banj, and other top artistes lit up the arena with electrifying performances, making the Independence Day spectacle a seamless fusion of world-class boxing and entertainment.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that from November 3rd, settlement of fixed income securities will migrate to the CBN. By December 1st, the Bank itself will run the trading platform. It is noted that secondary fixed income market platform is currently operated by FMDQ Group with the CBN as the largest shareholder (about 15% stake) seating at the leadership of it’s board over the last decade.

No doubt, the Central bank wanting more control of Government bonds are legitimate as they are the mainstay of monetary policy. They shape interest rates, liquidity, and confidence as the CBN want complete visibility of who is buying, who is selling, and where the money is flowing to. In my considered view this objective can be seamlessly achieved by a simple interoperability between FMDQ and CBN’s platforms. For market transparency and stakeholders’ confidence, it is advised that the investing public deserve more information on the shortcomings of the FMDQ fixed income trading and settlement system (if any) and provide clearer details on need for the planned takeover of the operation of fixed income market in Nigeria.

Again, a regulator that also becomes an operator can be likened to case of being the referee and player in a football setting. It is a known fact that investors prize independence and clarity. Once the CBN starts looking like an exchange and a settlement house, confidence will definitely take a hit. Moreover, the timing of this policy is also concerning because migrating an entire market in a matter of weeks is operationally risky at any rate. One system bug, one failed reconciliation, the market could freeze, liquidity could vanish and yields could spike leading to an avoidable confidence crisis.

Further, Government bonds are capital market instruments hence, they are under the purview of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulation because they are listed and supervised by the SEC. Allowing the CBN operate both the trading and the post-trade functions in our financial system undermines the statutory authority of the capital market regulator. We look to see SEC’s response in the weeks ahead. Whilst the CBN is interested in control, and policy leverage, the market is propelled by trust, predictability, and rules that everyone respects. If participants feel the rules can change by fiat, they will demand a risk premium. That means higher yields for the government and more expensive borrowing for everyone else. In fact, if this process is not reversed or managed seamlessly, it has the potential of scaring away portfolio investors from the Nigerian market with profound implication on investor confidence with downside implications on key macroeconomic indicators.

Nigeria spent the last decade building an independent and vibrant market infrastructure. Thus, this latest move by the CBN risks dragging us back to the illiquidity, shallow and undiversified reality that characterized the system in pre-2014 era when the fixed income market was fully operated by the CBN. The ideal path is cooperation by strengthening oversight of FMDQ (stricter governance) and interoperability between FMDQ and the CBN platforms. Investors (local and foreign) yearn for financial markets that they can trust, that they can predict, that everyone respects the rules, and not a controlled /ordered market.

Technology is transforming the customer experience by reinventing every interaction or touchpoint between your brand and customers. Prospective customers might hear about your company from a friend, visit your website, or see social media posts.

In other words, it’s no longer enough for companies to have only offline interactions with their customers. Today’s customers have access to brands through various digital channels, which means they can easily compare one brand with another. These changes in customer behaviour have forced companies to find new ways to encourage customer loyalty.

What is a brand touchpoint?

A brand touchpoint is a way for brands to connect with customers. It could be a product you’re trying to sell, an advertisement, a TV commercial, or even a tweet. The goal of any touchpoint is to make it easy for people to learn about your product or service and potentially become customers.

Brand touchpoints are also valuable because they provide insight into your customer base and how people engage with your brand. By understanding your customer’s experience at each touchpoint, you can determine where to focus your marketing efforts to build trust and increase sales.

What is brand identity?

A brand identity is a collection of visual and verbal symbols you can use to build and maintain trust in your business. It can include logos, colours, fonts, slogans, and more. It impacts how consumers perceive you as a company. Setting a consistent brand identity across all touchpoints, online and offline, is essential.

Another essential part of creating a solid brand identity is ensuring that every touch point offers something unique and valuable for customers. If you use multiple channels to sell products or services, it’s crucial to prioritise the ones where customers spend the most time and money.

What is a customer journey map?

A customer journey map represents a customer journey from the first point of interaction with your brand to conversion. It shows all the brand touchpoints that lead to a conversion and helps you guide your marketing efforts.

A customer journey map can include critical events such as first contact, landing page visit, checkout process, and post-purchase actions. Another benefit of mapping customer journeys is that it helps you understand where visitors bounce between pages and how to optimise your website for conversions.

Finally, customer journey mapping helps you understand who your customers are, where they come from, and what they need to make a purchase. It allows you to provide them with the right content at the right time while ensuring they have a positive experience throughout their whole journey. By doing so, you will be able to drive more conversions and increase your revenue.

Brand touchpoints and the customer experience

The goal of every business is to create a memorable and authentic customer experience. It means tailoring everything from the design of your website to the way you interact with customers when at your store. It helps you develop strong emotional connections and improve customer relationships.

Brand touchpoints must all be consistent and convey the same message to customers. They are vital because they influence how customers engage with your business and impact their satisfaction with your brand.

For example, suppose a company’s phone call center is slow or unreliable. In that case, it could result in bad customer experiences and low satisfaction scores, and a company can lose some of its customers. Therefore, brand touchpoints are an essential part of any organization’s strategy.

How brand touchpoints impact customer loyalty

Brand touchpoints, whether an email or a social media post, can be subtle or to the point, but they impact loyalty in one way: they can increase or decrease trust. Customers who see an ad for your product or service might get a warm, fuzzy feeling of desire. However, if they afterward read a negative review about your product or service, it can discourage them from making a purchase.

Businesses need to keep in touch with customers and provide them with engaging experiences. According to one source, 88 percent of consumers say that an experience a company offers is equally crucial as the company’s products or services, while 69 percent of customers also expect a connected customer experience when they engage with a company.

By regularly engaging with your customers through various brand touchpoints, you can build a loyal following that will continue to support you long after their first purchase of your product or service.

Four tips for defining your brand’s touchpoint strategy

The first step to creating a successful touchpoint strategy is to define your brand’s identity. You can do this by developing an overarching theme that all of your brand touchpoints and marketing campaigns can align to. It is also essential to determine which of your existing products and services will be the focal point of your new brand vision.

Once you have defined your brand’s identity and vision, it is time to define your brand touchpoints. The touchpoint strategy aims to create pathways for customers to interact with your brand in the most natural and meaningful ways possible.

There are several essential things to keep in mind when designing your brand’s touchpoint strategy:

Make sure customer touchpoints are easy to find and easy to understand

Keep them consistent so that customers can recognise your brand identity

Make sure they look nice and feel welcoming

Personalise touchpoints for each customer, if possible, as 82% of customers have a more positive view of a brand after engaging with personalized content.

Last line

Brand touchpoints help build customer loyalty by providing a consistent brand experience throughout the customer journey. A positive brand experience will motivate your customers to purchase from your company again.

A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed against Senate President Godswill Akpabio, over the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/654/2025, was filed by Ovavu Illiyasu and nine others, challenging the legality of the six-month suspension imposed on the senator for alleged misconduct. The plaintiffs argued that the suspension denied the people of Kogi Central adequate representation in the Senate and sought her immediate reinstatement.

In a judgment delivered on Friday, Justice James Omotosho held that the plaintiffs lacked locus standi, the legal right to challenge the Senate’s decision and consequently dismissed the case for lack of merit.

The Pan-African Business Forum (PABF) has urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to suspend its ongoing investigation into Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan KC, warning that the process risks damaging the court’s credibility and fairness.

In a petition delivered in The Hague to Ambassador Päivi Kaukoranta, President of the ICC Assembly of States Parties, Ladislas Prosper Agbesi, PABF Chairman said the organisation had ‘profound concerns’ about the impartiality of the inquiry. Khan, who became ICC prosecutor in 2021, has been on leave since late last year following sexual misconduct allegations. His deputies are currently leading the Office of the Prosecutor while the external investigation continues.

The forum alleged that the process lacks transparency, citing whistle-blower claims that members of the ICC Bureau – which oversees parts of the court’s administration – may have been compromised. It accused a Ugandan diplomat of ‘intense lobbying for succession,’ including inappropriate contact with the complainant at the centre of the allegations. According to PABF, recordings in its possession suggest the diplomat had already taken a stance against Khan before the inquiry began. ‘These developments risk undermining not only the integrity of the Court but also wider confidence in multilateral institutions at a time of global instability,’ the group said.

PABF called for the suspension of the investigation to allow independent verification of its claims. It demanded that the inquiry determine whether the complainants or any individuals linked to the case had direct or indirect contact with ICC Bureau members, and whether the Court’s leadership had been influenced by lobbying. The petition also flagged issues of ‘improper disclosure, disparaging commentary, sanctions and intimidation,’ which it said required urgent attention.

While reaffirming its support for the ICC’s mission, the PABF warned that the Court’s credibility ‘is now under strain’ and urged decisive steps to ‘restore confidence and safeguard the Court’s integrity.’

At least two persons have been confirmed dead while others sustained various degrees of injuries following a fatal road crashed when a truck had head collision with another car in the Maiduguri Metropolis, the Borno State capital on Friday evening, eyewitness sources said.

The incident occurred at about 7:45pm at the Commissioner of Police junction traffic light in Maiduguri on Friday night.

According to eyewitnesses accounts, the accident involved a truck and Mazda car alongside with a tricycle (Keke Napep), claiming the lives of two persons instantly and unspecified numbers were taken to the hospital for treatment.

Shettima Dogo, an eyewitness said, ‘I have always wanted to write on the issue of these heavy truck drivers, especially the government owned truck drivers.

‘The recent killings by heavy trucks are getting out of hand, the public have been so patient about it. Especially at the Police Commissioner traffic light junction, they don’t wait for the red light whenever it comes on.

‘The traffic officials, BOTMA and other policemen at the junction are busy collecting money from Keke Napep riders and drivers of saloon cars who followed the heavy trucks in violating the traffic rules and leaving the heavy duty trucks to go free.

‘I believe this accident this evening will bring a lot of changes otherwise one day people will protest and things may get out of hand,’ Dogo warned.

Abba Saleh, another resident also added: ‘I witnessed a terrible accident in Damboa road junction yesterday and wondered how a fatal accident will happen in a busy junction that has a traffic light. The level of our impatience and traffic offence in this town is unbecoming.’

The residents has urged Governor Babagana Zulum to checkmate the notorious activities of police and BOTMA personnel in the area to forestall future occurrences.

Efforts to obtain official comments from Kenneth Daso, the State Police Public Relations Officer, proved abortive as at the time of filing this report.

Nigeria is hard already. And let’s be sincere, the ever-rising cost of data is making it even harder. We live in a time when the Internet has become even more popular than it ever was, and we must always stay informed about global happenings.

According to the Global Broadband Pricing League Table 2024 compiled by Cable.co.uk, Nigeria ranked 51st globally for Africa with an average monthly broadband cost of $21.89.

Despite this, we can run out of data as a result of too many data-draining apps running at once.

You load 5GB today, and before you know it, everything is gone. But the good news is that there are simple hacks to stretch your data and make it last longer.

You don’t need to stop enjoying your phone; you just need to use it smarter. Here are five hacks that can help you save data.

Turn Off Auto-Play for Videos

Social media apps like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and even Twitter automatically play videos as you scroll through them. This eats up data quickly without you realising it. Go to the settings of each app and switch off auto-play or set it to ‘Wi-Fi only.’

That way, videos won’t load unless you choose to watch them. This small change can save hundreds of megabytes every day, especially if you spend a lot of time online. You control what you watch, not the app.

Use Data Saver Mode

Both Android and iPhone have built-in data saver options. When enabled, this setting automatically reduces data usage by blocking heavy background processes and lowering the image or video quality.

For example, Google Chrome has a ‘Lite Mode’ that compresses web pages before loading. It may sound small, but every MB saved counts. Activate data saver mode whenever you are browsing or streaming on mobile data.

Download Instead of Streaming

Streaming music, movies, or even lectures eats data quickly. A smart hack is to download when you have Wi-Fi, then watch or listen offline later. Most platforms, such as YouTube, Spotify, and Netflix, allow offline downloads.

The same applies to documents, e-books, or podcasts. Additionally, it prevents the repeated streaming of the same content, as you now have it downloaded and saved on your phone.

Monitor Your Data Usage Regularly

One reason people run out of data quickly is that they don’t track where it goes. Both Android and iPhone have features that show which apps consume the most data. Check weekly and identify the culprits.

You may be surprised that a single app, such as Instagram or YouTube, is consuming half your data bundle. Once you know, you can set limits, reduce usage, or switch to Wi-Fi for heavy browsing.

Disable Background App Data

Many apps run in the background even when you’re not using them. They check for updates, send notifications, or sync data. This drains your data silently. On Android or iPhone, go to ‘Data Usage’ or ‘Background App Refresh’ in settings and switch it off for non-essential apps. Leave it on only for apps you truly need, like email or WhatsApp.

Major roads in Jos and Bukuru were closed to traffic Saturday morning as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu arrived in Plateau State for the burial of Nana Lydia Yilwada, mother of Nentawe Yilwada, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Joyce Lohya Ramnap, commissioner of Information and Communication in Plateau State, had earlier announced traffic diversions starting from 7 am on October 4, to ensure smooth movement of the presidential entourage and maintain public safety during the high-profile visit.

Affected routes included the Mararaban Jama’a-Bukuru expressway, Dadin-Kowa through Old Airport to Plateau Hospital roundabout, and Hillstation roundabout to COCIN Headquarters/Central Bank road. Commuters were advised to use alternative routes to avoid delays.

A heavy security presence was observed across the Jos metropolis, with personnel from various security agencies stationed at strategic points to control movement and prevent any disruptions during the presidential visit.

The burial event, attended by top political and traditional leaders, drew significant attention as residents lined nearby streets to catch a glimpse of the president and other dignitaries.

Ramnap appealed for public understanding, stating the measures were temporary and aimed at preserving public peace and security during the solemn occasion.

The presidency had earlier said President Bola Tinubu will, in continuation of his tour of states, on Saturday, visit Jos, Plateau State, where he will meet a cross-section of religious leaders.

Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, said the President, while in the Plateau State capital, will also attend the funeral prayers in honour of Nana Lydia Yilwatda Goshwe, mother of the APC National Chairman, Nantewe Yilwatda.

The President’s meeting with Church Leaders across the North is expected to take place at the headquarters of the Church of Christ in Nigeria, COCIN, in Jos.

Onanuga said that President Tinubu will return to Lagos on the same day after the visit.