Category: Business Day

BIC, one of the leaders in stationery, lighters, and shavers, has reaffirmed its commitment to education in Nigeria by spotlighting the vital role of teachers at the Let There Be Teachers Conference in Lagos.

The landmark event, which set a new Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of teachers, provided a platform for dialogue on strengthening education and celebrated teachers as key drivers of national development.

With education at the core of its sustainability agenda and in alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, Quality Education, BIC has pledged to improve learning conditions and enhance access to quality education for millions of children worldwide.

This is in line with BIC’s commitment to improving learning conditions for 250 million students by 2025. In Nigeria, the company aims to achieve that through a holistic approach to education starting with equipping classrooms with the necessary writing tools for academic performance, creating inspirational learning environments, unleashing creativity outside of the classroom, all the way to supporting students as they transition from the academic to the professional world and integrate into the workforce.

Speaking at the conference, Anthony Amahwe, General Manager of BIC Nigeria, said: ‘The belief that education is the backbone of societal progress and development is rooted in BIC’s DNA.

‘This is a key driver for us to continue to support millions of students and teachers and play a key role in raising a generation capable of building sustainable and productive societies. Now, more than ever, we must strengthen education, not just as a path to employment, but as a foundation for self-expression, creativity, and deep understanding of our environment.’

The conference also drew attention from government representatives. Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, OFR, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SSAP-SDGs), stressed the need to address systemic education challenges and emphasized that teachers must be at the centre of reform efforts.

Keynote sessions and panel discussions reflected the urgency of strengthening Nigeria’s education system, with themes ranging from building a sustainable nation one classroom at a time to empowering teachers for quality education and repositioning the teaching profession for national development.

Experts and stakeholders explored ways to enhance teachers’ status, integrate technology and innovation into learning, reform education policies, and promote strong leadership for transformation in the sector.

The event reinforced BIC’s global initiative, Writing Our Future, Together, which inspires millions of students across more than 180 countries to take action for a sustainable future.

In Nigeria, this mission continues to shape classrooms and empower educators-affirming BIC’s belief that every teacher trained today is an investment in tomorrow’s nation.

BIC Nigeria is committed to enhancing learning conditions for students and investing in teacher.

Over the years, the company has partnered with foundations, organisations, and government agencies to elevate learning environments, led teacher training workshops and events, supported local education initiatives, and introduced creative learning programs.

With the retirement on Tuesday of Yakubu Mahmood as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the stage is set for the appointment of his successor. Will political consideration trump love for the country?

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, was excessively excited the other day and decided to tell President Bola Ahmed Tinubu a pleasant story that gladdens the hearts of kings. He related a certain vision of welcoming more defecting governors into the ruling party’s fold soon. But is there nothing more important than defection?

Beyond the selection of Mahmood’s successor

‘Soldier come, soldier go, the barracks remains’ is a time-tested aphorism that has continued to be relevant today. Those who come on a stage and behave as if they have come to stay indefinitely discover that they are working against nature. After all, it is said that there is a time and season for everything under the sun.

On Tuesday, October 7, Yakubu Mahmood exited the power stool as the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after serving two terms of 10 years consecutively.

Listening to the high command of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday singing ‘Till we meet again.’ as they saw off their retired boss from the office, it was more than emotional. But the way they chanted the song sounded more like a dirge than praise. If the rendition was meant to show camaraderie or to convey a ‘we will miss you’ message, the choice of a song popularly sung at wake-keeps and during interment was terribly misplaced! But that’s a story for another day.

The focus today is on who succeeds Yakubu Mahmood on a substantive note, not in an acting capacity. Many Nigerians are eagerly looking forward to hearing the name of the individual.

Many Nigerians speak in tandem that the new INEC chairman must be a person of impeccable character and unquestionable integrity; that he or she must be non-partisan and must not be affiliated with any political party, whether past or present; that the individual must be an expert in elections or a related field; and above all that he/she must be courageous and independent-minded to withstand political pressures and undue interference.

It must be stated straightaway that the problem with the retired Mahmood was not about competency. It was about the things he chose to do or not do, even though they mattered a lot. It is about the things he closed his eyes to. It is about his inability to insist that the right things be done under his watch without minding whose ox was gored. It was his being too malleable and his decision to yield to political manipulations that were his undoing.

He may have exhibited competency, but the outgoing INEC chairman did not acquit himself creditably in the estimation of many Nigerians.

His decision to hang in there as the INEC chairman until his tenure expired despite the deluge of calls for his resignation easily showed a character that conveyed impunity and insensitivity.

One man who strongly believes that Mahmood is worthy of many stripes by the way he handled the national assignment given to him is Peter Ameh, national secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP).

Ameh said that Mahmood’s leadership was characterised by high-handedness, disregard for opposition parties, and a failure to uphold transparency in the electoral process.

‘Under Professor Mahmood’s tenure, the opposition suffered. He was not accommodating when it came to opposition or multi-party democracy; all he wanted was to crush it. The high-handedness was much.

‘When you talk about INEC, the commission’s primary duty is to conduct elections. During Mahmood’s tenure, there was corruption and mismanagement. Legitimacy was bastardised,’ he said.

According to him, ‘The conduct of the 2023 general elections left a bitter taste in everybody’s mouth; that is what he will be remembered for.’

It is not altogether negative about Mahmood. Apart from leaving behind a legacy tainted with a welter of allegations and finger-pointing for wrongdoing, Mahmood introduced the automation of the nation’s electoral process. The introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal was proof that the willingness to do the right thing was there. Although those technologies were interfered with by desperate political actors, he deserves commendation for the conceptualisation in the first place.

With the expiration of Mahmood’s tenure on Tuesday, the seat is now vacant. All eyes are on the President, who, by virtue of the powers conferred on him by the Constitution, is the appointing authority. The Council of State plays an advisory role. It advises the President on that critical appointment. But it is the prerogative of the President to accept the advice or not. The Senate of the National Assembly plays an important role in the appointment, too.

Many Nigerians have asked the Senate to put the interest of the country first before that of their party by critically looking at the suitability of the individual sent to them by the President. The Senate has been urged to discard the ‘take a bow and go’ method of screening that features on the floor of the chamber. Whatever the Senate does with the screening will either make or mar Nigeria’s future. It will either inspire hope and confidence in Nigerians or further alienate them from taking part in the electoral process.

Some governors and former ministers on Tuesday in Abuja asked the Federal Government to reform the INEC ahead of the 2027 general election to restore public confidence in Nigeria’s democracy and strengthen electoral credibility.

They spoke at a panel discussion hosted by the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, with the theme ‘Innovation in Electoral Technology 2015-2025: Gains, Gaps, and the Road Ahead’, in Abuja.

The call was made at the launch of the Athena Election Observatory, an initiative designed to monitor and document electoral reforms, innovations and governance trends in Nigeria and across Africa.

Those who made the call included Anambra State Governor Chukwuma Soludo; Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal; former Minister of Interior Rauf Aregbesola; and National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Minister of Aviation Osita Chidoka, who is also the Chancellor of the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership.

Even Soludo, who appears to have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the APC to leave Anambra alone for him in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state while he will reciprocate by ‘handing over the state to the President’ in 2027, seems unsure about what the INEC is capable of doing in any election; hence, his call on the Federal Government to fix the Commission before 2027.

Today, there are twelve national commissioners of the INEC. While four of them are due for retirement in February 2026, the rest are retiring in 2027.

The call for less politics in choosing a substantive INEC chairman has become deafening. Nigerians have urged those responsible for that selection to make the overriding interest of the country a priority.

Whereas Prof. Abdullahi Abdu Zuru was appointed on September 15, 2021, he will retire on September 14, 2026; Prof. Kunle Cornelius Ajayi, appointed on October 25, 2021, will retire on October 25, 2026; Baba Bila was appointed on September 15, 2021, and will retire on September 15, 2026; and Prof. Sani Muhammad Adam, who was appointed on September 15, 2021, will retire on September 15, 2026.

Moreover, Prof. Rhoda Habor Gumus, Mohammed Haruna, Sam Olugbadebo Olumekun, Kenneth Ukeagu, May Agbamuche-Mbu, Prof. Sunday Nwambam Aja, Abdulrazaq Tukur Yusuf, and Modibbo Alkali were appointed on February 22, 2022; they will retire on February 22, 2027.

Haruna and Agbamuche-Mbu are two-term national commissioners before the latter became the acting INEC chairman on Tuesday. Ukeagu is a career staff member who rose from the rank of director to become national commissioner.

Nigerians are waiting with bated breath to hear the person on whose shoulders will rest the burden of superintending over the 2027 general election.

Akpabio and the vision of ‘captive’ governors

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, last Tuesday put on his binoculars to see more opposition governors getting ready to join the All Progressive Congress (APC). He was simply excited, and, in his hubris, he wasted no time in telling and assuring President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that more governors from opposition parties were already preparing to empty themselves into the ruling party.

He made the remark in Owerri thus: ‘Mr President, with what you have done in the last two years, get ready to receive more governors from the opposition parties. As I speak, there are several governors in Nigeria today who are ready to be received by you.’

Such talks have become common among the high echelon of the APC, particularly those who want to impress the President. Whenever they have nothing to say to please Aso Rock, they mouth opposition and how they have seen in their vision an army of defectors heading towards the APC.

What does it profit a country to have all the states under one political party, yet there is no good governance going on in them? What matters to Nigerians is that all the states, irrespective of their party affiliation, are applying the principles of democracy and the governors keep to the social contract with the people. So, it is infantile for the Senate President to clink glasses in anticipation of more opposition governors allegedly planning to empty themselves into the APC. It was equally childish of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, to boast that his party would take over Abia State in 2027. The question to ask is, is the current government in Abia living up to expectations in terms of good governance? The answer is crystal clear, except for those who delight in politics of mischief – see nothing, hear nothing, and, of course, commend nothing.

The overemphasis on defections by some principal actors in the ruling party has also put pressure on the INEC, further eroding the commission’s credibility in the eyes of Nigerians.

If you are calling on state governors to dump their parties and join the APC, it simply means that you are telling them that no matter what they do as state governors to please their people by way of good governance, the decision of the voters to reciprocate through a massive vote cast may not count, as there would be a resistance using some untoward means to invalidate the voice of the people through the ballot box.

Is anybody creating an impression that the great re-engineering work going on in Enugu and Abia States, for instance, by Governors Peter Mbah and Alex Otti, respectively, is not enough to convince their people to re-elect them on their individual platforms unless they move over to the APC?

It is conversations of this nature that have made the appointment of a more credible INEC chairman very imperative. For instance, with a competent and credible INEC chairman, there would be less fear of likely electoral fraud. There would be a high level of renewed trust in the electoral process, and that would enhance citizen participation, and there would be less pressure on state governors to want to dump their parties for the ruling party in the hope that their re-election is sacrosanct.

What is the point of calling everybody to join the ruling party? The game would become uninteresting if everybody were to be in one team. Today, people compete in different sports, and spectators gather to see different teams slug it out in the field of play. What makes such competition exciting is that two opposing teams are involved. Who would waste his/her time to go watch just one team facing one side and moving a ball in one direction without any resistance? Nobody will buy a ticket to go watch such an infantile display. Politics is exciting when different parties are involved. But it would seem that many politicians of today do not appreciate the true meaning of ‘the more, the merrier’. Akpabio and others must ‘live and let live’, please!

Sam Onukwue, chairman of the Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) is also a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS). He discusses the current state of Nigerian capital market, critical role of licensed stockbrokers, and what must be done to deepen investor participation in a challenging economic environment, writes Iheanyi Nwachukwu. Excerpts

How would you describe the current state of Nigeria’s capital market?

The Nigerian capital market is gradually recovering from past shocks and is showing signs of greater resilience. We’ve seen improvements in investor confidence, stronger regulatory oversight, and the adoption of advanced technologies. The ongoing effort by the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) to reduce the settlement cycle to T+2 settlement and subsequently to T+1 will further impact positively on the market. These are positive indicators. However, challenges remain. Inflation continues to erode returns, foreign exchange volatility affects investor sentiment, and retail participation is still relatively low. While the market is more stable than in previous years, there is still significant room for deeper market penetration, improved investor education, and stronger protection mechanisms.

What recent developments have been most encouraging?

Several developments are worth highlighting. First, the transition to a T+2 settlement cycle aligns Nigeria with global best practices, boosting our credibility among international investors. The adoption of digital onboarding and fintech integration has also made the market more accessible, especially for younger and tech-savvy Nigerians. Moreover, we’re seeing a rise in tech-driven brokerage platforms that provide real-time trading and investment tracking. Importantly, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has improved regulatory transparency, which is critical for building long-term investor trust.

Why do you think retail investor participation remains low despite these improvements?

The main issue is the persistent trust gap. Many Nigerians are still skeptical of the market, partly due to past experiences during market downturns and the prevalence of fraudulent schemes at that time. The market has since moved from that era though. There’s also a general lack of financial education. A large segment of the population don’t understand how the capital market works, or how to invest safely and sustainably. We believe this can be changed through increased awareness, better investor education, and by promoting the value of working with licensed stockbrokers.

What role do stockbrokers play in protecting investors from risk?

Stockbrokers are the first line of defense for investors. As licensed professionals regulated by the SEC, we help clients make informed decisions. Our responsibility is not just to execute trades but to provide advisory services, perform due diligence, assess risk, and ensure regulatory compliance. We guide investors away from speculative ventures, Ponzi schemes, and misleading financial advice. In essence, a stockbroker’s role is both protective and educational. We act in the best interest of our clients.

In the digital age, many investors use apps directly. Do traditional stockbrokers still matter?

Absolutely. Technology enhances access, but it cannot replace expertise. Investment apps may allow users to buy and sell, but they rarely provide personalized advice tailored to the investor’s financial goals, risk appetite, or long-term strategy. Licensed stockbrokers are trained to offer sound financial advice, interpret market trends, and recommend diversified portfolios. Given the increasing number of online scams and misinformation, the role of regulated, professional intermediaries is more crucial than ever.

How would you advise a first time investor?

Start with a licensed stockbroker who is regulated by the SEC and licensed by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX). Learn the fundamentals of investing, understand the risks and the potential returns. Focus on diversification, avoid emotional trading, and stay away from get-rich-quick schemes. Think long-term. The capital market rewards patience and consistency. And always verify investment opportunities through official channels. A credible stockbroker will guide you through this process. What government policies would help deepen investor participation in the capital market?

We recommend several interventions. First, tax incentives for listed companies that pay consistent dividends could attract more retail and institutional investors. We strongly recommend that Government should reconsider its stance on Capital Gains Tax on as it affects capital market transactions. Government should also promote financial literacy at all levels, starting from schools and include capital market education in national curricula. Equally important is macroeconomic stability. A stable foreign exchange regime, lower inflation, and consistent policy implementation will significantly enhance investor confidence, both local and foreign.

How can the government make investing more appealing to the average Nigerian?

Government can issue more retail-targeted savings bonds or tax-free instruments tied to the capital market. Additionally, digitizing privatization programs through the NGX will allow ordinary Nigerians to own shares in government enterprises. This will drive inclusion and increase the sense of ownership in national assets. When people see tangible value in equity participation, especially if simplified and digitised, they are more likely to invest.

Is ASHON working with regulators to implement these reforms?

Yes, ASHON maintains a collaborative relationship with key regulators such as the SEC, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), and the CSCS. We have regular engagements and consultations aimed at improving investor protection, boosting investor confidence and encouraging innovation. We also advocate for the introduction of user-friendly investment platforms and support policy shifts that promote a transparent, inclusive, and growth-oriented market.

How is ASHON as a Trade Group helping its members remain competitive in a rapidly evolving market?

We provide regular training, workshops, and digital literacy sessions to ensure our members are up to date with the latest trends and compliance requirements. Many of our member firms are embracing fintech innovations like robo-advisory tools, AI-powered analytics, and mobile trading apps. Our goal is to transform stockbrokers from traditional intermediaries into technology-driven financial advisors who can serve both retail and institutional clients effectively.

What needs to be done to regain the confidence of foreign investors?

Foreign investors prioritise stability, liquidity, policy consistency and sanctity of contract. Government must ensure a more predictable foreign exchange regime and address concerns around capital repatriation. A transparent market driven approach to privatisation will enthrone sound corporate governance in privatised entities and make our market more attractive to foreign investors.

What is your message to Nigerian investors-especially in this period of economic uncertainty?

Now more than ever, Nigerians need to take control of their financial future. The capital market offers an avenue for wealth creation, passive income, and financial independence. But success comes from informed and patient investing. My message is simple: work with licensed stockbrokers, avoid shortcuts, diversify your investments, and stay informed. The Nigerian capital market is growing, and you deserve to grow with it. By promoting professionalism, transparency, and innovation, ASHON and its members will continue to play a central role in building a more inclusive and investor-friendly capital market.

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday, pardoned Mamman Vatsa, who was sentenced to death over a treason charge in 1986, under the regime of former President Ibrahim Babangida.

Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the President on information and strategy, in a statement, said Vatsa has received a posthumous pardon from President Tinubu.

Vatsa, a poet, was among the 17 people who received presidential pardons following the endorsement of the National Council of State, which met in Abuja on Thursday.

President Tinubu also granted a posthumous pardon to Herbert Macaulay, a Nigerian nationalist and co-founder, along with Nnamdi Azikiwe, of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC).

Macaulay was the party’s first President, which played a pivotal role in Nigeria’s struggle for independence.

He was however, believed to be unjustly convicted in 1913, by the British colonialists and banned from public office.

Macaulay died in 1946, but the stigma of being an ex-convict was not exorcised from his records until now.

President Tinubu also pardoned four former convicts, including former House of Representatives member, Farouk Lawan, Anastasia Nwaobia, Hussaini Umar and Ayinla Alanamu.

The statement said they were pardoned to enable them to integrate into society, having demonstrated sufficient remorse.

Nweke Chibueze, serving a life sentence for cocaine, was pardoned, along with Nwogu Peters, who had served 12 out of his 17-year sentence for fraud.

The President also extended the clemency to the Ogoni Nine, Ken Saro Wiwa, Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel and John Kpuine were formally pardoned on Thursday, and whose pardon was ratified by the National Council of State,

At the same time, the President awarded national honours to the Ogoni Four- Albert Badey, Edward Kobani, Samuel Orage, and Theophilus Orage.

In exercising his constitutional power of mercy, President Tinubu granted clemency to 82 inmates and reduced the prison terms of 65 others. He gave a reprieve for seven inmates on the death row by commuting their sentences to life imprisonment.

President Tinubu acted on the recommendations of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy (PACPM). The committee has 12 members, with the Attorney General and Justice Minister, Lateef Fagbemi, as chairman.

The other members are Akinlolu Olujinmi, Alkasum Abba; Nike Ijaiya; Augustine Utsaha; and the Secretary, Onwusoro Maduka, a former Permanent Secretary. The institutional representatives on the Committee are: the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs; representatives of the Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Correctional Service, National Human Rights Commission, Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

The committee’s final report was presented to the Council of State on Thursday in Abuja, as required by the constitution.

The report noted, ‘A total of 175 inmates were interviewed, and 62 applications were received on behalf of 119 inmates considered by the committee, making it a total of 294.

‘One hundred and sixty of the inmates interviewed were male, while 15 were female. Eighty-two inmates were recommended for clemency; two (2) for pardon; sixty-five (65) inmates for reduction of their terms of imprisonment, and seven (7) inmates on death row for commutation to life imprisonment.

‘Also, fifteen (15) ex-convicts were recommended for Presidential Pardon, eleven (11) of them are deceased (including Ogoni 9). The Ogoni four (4) were also recommended for the Post-Humous National Honours Award.

‘On the whole, a total of one hundred and seventy-five (175) beneficiaries are recommended.”

The committee had acted on the following criteria: old age (60 years and above); ill health likely to terminate in death; young persons (16 years and below); long-term convicts who have served prison terms of 10 years or more with a good record; and convicts serving three years or more

‘Those who have been in Custodial centres, learnt sustainable vocational trades capable of keeping them away from crime; those who are adjudged remorseful; those who Correctional Officers recommended for exemplary behaviour and Nigerian prisoners deported from other countries.’

George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, inaugurated the Presidential Advisory Committee on Prerogative of Mercy (PACPM) on January 15, 2025, as a significant step towards promoting justice, rehabilitation, and human rights in Nigeria.

In furtherance of its vision to raise tax compliant citizens and propagate tax education among the younger generation, the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KW-IRS) in collaboration with the Kwara State Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development, on Wednesday concluded the semi-final stage of the 2025 Tax Club Quiz Competition where six schools emerged as finalists.

The semi-final stage of the competition held via online Computer Based Test (CBT) involving twelve schools that sat for the test from the comfort of their respective schools, with appropriate back-end monitoring provided by KW-IRS Tax Club Advocacy Committee alongside

Aina, B.E and Alaya, A.I. representatives of the Commissioner, Ministry of Education and Human Capital Development. Head, Corporate Affairs, KW-IRS, said the finalists are St. Anthony’s Secondary School, Ilorin; Roemichs International Schools, Ilorin; Ansar Ud Deen College, Offa; Ansarul Islam Grammar School, Ijomu Oro; Shepherd School, Lafiagi; and Government Secondary School, Lafiagi.

‘The six schools will contest for the grand prize of N2.5 million at the final stage of the competition which will hold in Ilorin on 6th November, 2025,’ she explained.

The National Council of State has approved the nomination of Joash Amupitan, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN, from the North-Central as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Bayo Onanuga, Presidential Spokesman, on Thursday, said President Bola Tinubu presented Amupitan as the nominee to fill the vacant position, following Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s exit. Yakubu served from 2015 till October 2025.

President Tinubu told the council that Amupitan is the first person from Kogi, North-Central state, nominated to occupy the position and is apolitical.

Council members unanimously supported the nomination, with Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo describing Amupitan as a man of integrity.

In compliance with the constitution, President Tinubu will now send Amupitan’s name to the Senate for screening.

Amupitan, 58, from Ayetoro Gbede, Ijumu LGA in Kogi State, is a Professor of Law at the University of Jos, Plateau. He is also an alumnus of the university.

He specialises in Company Law, Law of Evidence, Corporate Governance and Privatisation Law. He became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in September 2014.

According to Onanuga, Amupitan was born on April 25, 1967.

He noted that Amupitan, had after completing primary and secondary education, attended Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, from 1982 to 1984, and the University of Jos from 1984 to 1987. He was called to the bar in 1988. He earned an LLM at UNIJOS in 1993 and a PhD in 2007, amid an academic career that began in 1989, following his National Youth Service at the Bauchi State Publishing Corporation in Bauchi from 1988 to 1989.

Currently, he serves as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) at the University of Jos, a position he holds in conjunction with being the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Joseph Ayo Babalola University in Osun State.

Among the academic positions he has held at UNIJOS are: Chairman of the Committee of Deans and Directors (2012-2014); Dean of the Faculty of Law (2008-2014); and Head of Public Law (2006-2008). Outside of academics, Amupitan serves as a board member of Integrated Dairies Limited in Vom, a member of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Governing Council, and a member of the Council of Legal Education (2008-2014), among other roles. He was a board member of Riss Oil Limited, Abuja(1996-2004).

Amupitan is the author of many books on law, such as Corporate Governance: Models and Principles(2008); Documentary Evidence in Nigeria (2008); Evidence Law: Theory and Practice in Nigeria(2013), Principles of Company Law(2013) and an Introduction to the Law of Trust in Nigeria (2014).

He is married and has four children.

Two freshly minted Computer Science graduates from the Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa, are on course to redefine how everyday Nigerians interact with the stock market.

In their early 20s, Elijah Asaolu and Joel Olawanle are building a bridge between technology and finance. Their innovation promises to simplify the often-complex world of investing on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).

Their interest was sparked earlier this year after a sudden surge of buzz around the stock market on social media. In July alone, the NGX All-Share Index jumped by an impressive 16.6 percent, while retail participation soared to N516.5 billion, a record high for a single month.

‘There’s been a lot of buzz this year, especially on Twitter, with people sharing stories of massive returns,’ Joel recalled. ‘Since we’ve always followed the U.S. stock market, it naturally piqued our interest.’

The turning point, however, came when Kolawole Asaolu, Elijah’s older brother, shared an idea that would eventually shape their project. He suggested building a platform that would make Nigerian stock and forex data more accessible to the public.

As software engineers, they swung into action. They decided to apply their coding skills to a problem many Nigerians face: accessibility and transparency of market data.

That idea became NGNMarket.com, an online data aggregator designed to make it easier for retail investors, analysts, and curious newcomers to interact with Nigerian stock and forex data in real time.

Breaking down barriers to market access

Elijah explained the inspiration behind the platform, tying it to a recurring issue within the NGX ecosystem: limited access to timely, clear information.

‘The main motivation,’ he said, ‘is to make Nigerian forex and stock data easier to process. A lot of Nigerians today would rather invest in U.S. stocks or crypto because they don’t really understand the structure of the Nigerian stock market.’

That sentiment is supported by data. According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as of 2024, fewer than five percent of Nigerian adults invest in stocks, a stark contrast to the 62 percent participation rate in the United States and projected 35 percent in South Africa.

While the NGX has recorded impressive growth and visibility in 2025, the gulf between curiosity and actual participation remains wide. The biggest obstacle is information.

A recent Cowrywise report observed that older Nigerians once viewed stocks as ‘an exclusive club,’ but younger people crave immediacy, ‘real-time information about Nigerian stocks, not yesterday’s news.’

Filling the information gap with technology

NGN Market addresses that gap. The platform refreshes data every 20 minutes, offering users a simplified interface that breaks down market movements in a digestible way. It also includes unique features such as a ranking of all listed companies by market capitalization, alongside a daily summary of trading activity, features rarely available in one place. ‘Our main goal,’ Joel said, ‘is to make it easier for people to understand the Nigerian stock and forex markets and, eventually, to make it easier for them to start investing.’

Beyond data aggregation, the platform reflects a broader mission: to demystify the stock market for Nigeria’s digital generation, turning curiosity into confidence and participation.

From pet project to platform with potential

What started as a pet project between two friends has quickly gathered momentum.

‘Honestly, when Joel and I decided to build this, we weren’t expecting much, maybe ten people saying, ‘Oh, this is nice,” Elijah admitted with a laugh.

But what happened next surprised them.

‘When we announced the platform, the traction was incredible,’ Elijah said. ‘Hundreds of people commented, saying things like, ‘Wow, this is long overdue.’ Many even shared how difficult it was to get accurate data before, and how our site made things easier.’

In the first week alone, NGN Market recorded over 7,000 page views, with users spending an average of six minutes per visit, a strong signal of deep engagement for a brand-new platform.

Now, the duo is thinking bigger. Plans are already underway to introduce a ‘Smart Tracker’ feature that will allow users to monitor specific stocks and receive alerts on market changes, further enhancing the investing experience.

Redefining the future of retail investing

As Nigeria’s capital market continues its digital transformation, Joel and Elijah’s innovation represents more than just a tech success story. It signals a shift in how a new generation of Nigerians wants to invest, informed, empowered, and in real time.

Their journey, from university hostels in Okitipupa to the fast-moving world of fintech, underscores a growing truth. Seasoned traders or big institutions may not lead the next frontier of Nigeria’s stock market revolution, but it will be driven by the curiosity and creativity of young minds determined to make finance more inclusive.

And with platforms like NGN Market, that future is close.

Bastion Health announces the successful conclusion of its annual Provider Forum, held in Lagos on September 25. This key event reaffirms Bastion Health’s commitment to building strong partnerships with its healthcare provider network while advancing service delivery for customers nationwide.

Themed ‘Beyond Coverage: Building Trust and Value Together’, this year’s forum was integral to the continued interaction between the company, enrollees and providers nationwide. The event provided a vital platform for insightful presentations, feedback, a robust panel discussion on transformative initiatives, and how best to work together to serve enrollees better. The participants were delighted with the opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas with a listening Bastion management team. Among many topics deliberated upon was the high inflationary macro environment with its attendant impact on cost of care.

Generally, participants from Bastion’s provider network were committed to improving the quality of care even in these challenging times.

‘Trust is built brick by brick through honesty, consistency, transparency and respect: trust between patient and provider, trust between insurer and provider and between all stakeholders towards a shared goal’, said Naomi Aduku, Managing Director of Bastion Health Limited. ‘This forum highlights our unwavering dedication to enhancing healthcare experiences of our customers nationwide and building lasting relationships with our valued partners, our provider network.’

‘Trust is a two-way street. When providers create doubt in the minds of enrollees, compliance with medical guidance is undermined. It is therefore essential to set aside bias and reinforce to patients that their HMOs are fully committed to acting in their best interests’, said Dr. Sylvanus Jatto, Head Medical Consultant at Stanbic IBTC.

‘In driving innovation, collaboration and the delivery of exceptional healthcare solutions are non-negotiable. Collaboration is the key, and we need one another to make this work. At Bastion Health, we remain firmly committed to our mission of making quality healthcare both accessible and affordable,’ said Dr. Akinkunmi Ilori, Group Head, Medical Operations at Bastion Health Limited.

‘This meeting has given us the opportunity to meet and remind ourselves that our patients or enrollees are top priority, we must continue to give good customer service to them, if we want to retain them’ said Raymond Peters, Head, Billings Team at Blue Cross Hospital.

Bastion Health remains committed to its mission of making good healthcare more accessible and affordable to Nigerians through a strong but close collaboration with providers who are tasked with ensuring the best possible outcomes for its enrollees.

L-R: Dr. Sylvanus Jatto: Head, Medical Consultant, Stanbic IBTC, Dr. Olamide Oluwasanmi: Group Head, Patient Experience, R-Jolad Hospital, Dr. Kunle Megbuwawon: CEO/CPO, Orange Health Medical Dr. Damilola Agboyinu: Head, Wellness, Bastion Health Limited

About Bastion Health Limited

Bastion Health is one of the fastest-growing HMOs in Nigeria, delivering flexible and innovative health insurance solutions that guarantee quality healthcare experiences. With a vision of transforming healthcare in Africa, Bastion Health consistently brings greater convenience and value to enrollees across the country and beyond. We have carefully designed healthcare plans that serve corporate organizations, SMEs, families, individuals including seniors; ensuring that everyone can access healthcare that truly meets their needs.

In today’s startup world, the loudest stories are often those of massive funding rounds, yet the quiet truth behind most business failures is a neglected customer. Founders celebrate capital injections and valuation milestones, but rarely do they celebrate the conversations that truly build a company: those with their users.

I’ve watched this pattern repeat itself across continents, from Silicon Valley’s venture-backed experiments to Australia’s thriving innovation hubs, where technical founders build impressive products, but not always meaningful businesses. This growing gap between building for the customer and building with the customer inspired my new book, Sales Start with the Customer.

The book is not a conventional manual. It’s a story-driven reflection on what really makes businesses grow: people, processes, and technology, in that order. It invites technical founders, especially those without a business background, to rethink how they approach product-market fit and growth. Because the truth is simple: no process or technology can save a business that doesn’t start with empathy for the people it serves.

The real problem with modern entrepreneurship

We live in an era where speed is glorified and ‘disruption’ is a badge of honour. But in that rush, too many entrepreneurs have become detached from the everyday realities of their customers. When a founder is more focused on investor decks than user feedback, the company begins to drift, not from lack of funding, but from lack of listening.

The irony is that the most successful global companies, from Amazon to Flutterwave, are not built on groundbreaking technology alone. They are built on a relentless obsession with solving the customer’s problem better than anyone else. Funding can amplify that effort, but it cannot replace it.

In Sales Start with the Customer, the story follows two entrepreneurs as they navigate the complexities of turning an idea into a living business. Their journey shows what every founder eventually learns: that ‘sales’ is not merely a transaction; it’s the art of understanding human behaviour, designing around it, and earning trust.

Beyond products: Building value systems

At the heart of every sustainable business are three intertwined elements: people, processes, and technology. Yet in many startups, this hierarchy is reversed, technology leads, processes follow, and people come last.

That order may deliver a minimum viable product, but it rarely produces a minimum viable business. A founder’s real job is to build systems that empower people, employees, partners, and customers to create value consistently. Processes must simplify, not suffocate. Technology must serve, not overshadow.

As one reader, Umashankar Shivanand of the Forbes Technology Council, aptly noted, the book’s ideas are ‘a valuable resource for both novice and experienced professionals aiming to adopt a customer-centric approach.’ That validation reinforces a universal truth: businesses fail not from lack of innovation, but from losing sight of the humans they innovate for.

Why founders must slow down to scale up

The pace of modern entrepreneurship can be intoxicating, but speed without direction leads nowhere. I often tell founders: growth is not about how fast you can build; it’s about how well you can listen.

A founder who listens builds products that last. A founder who listens builds a team that stays. A founder who listens builds customers who return. And in that sense, listening, not funding, not marketing, not virality, becomes the most underrated business strategy of all.

To scale sustainably, founders must slow down long enough to understand what their customers are truly trying to achieve. Not what they say they want, but what their actions reveal. This shift from ‘what works for the business’ to ‘what works for the customer’ transforms not just sales outcomes but also company culture.

Relearning what business really means

Sales Start with the Customer is an invitation to relearn the fundamentals of entrepreneurship. It challenges founders to stop chasing validation and start building value. Because when you design every process, hire every person, and deploy every technology with the customer in mind, success becomes inevitable.

This philosophy isn’t sentimental; it’s strategic. In a world where technology changes daily, customer empathy is the only durable competitive advantage. Capital may open doors, but only customers keep them open.

So, as the startup world continues to celebrate funding rounds, valuations, and exits, it’s time we celebrate something more enduring, founders who build from the inside out, with empathy, clarity, and a deep commitment to the people who make their business possible.

Because in the end, every sale starts and survives with the customer.

Olam Agri, a foremost player in Nigeria’s agribusiness sector, has concluded the second edition of its Back-to-School Scholarship Programme, a significant initiative that has provided financial aid to a total of 65 students from staff families and host communities in Ilorin and Kaduna.

This initiative is part of Olam Agri’s Seeds for the Future (SFTF) initiative, which is committed to ensuring a secure and sustainable future for local populations. The programme reflects Olam Agri’s deep commitment to education, employee welfare, and community development, easing the financial burden of schooling while investing in Nigeria’s next generation of leaders.

Amit Agarwal, Business Head for Olam Agri’s Integrated Feed and Protein, in a statement, emphasised the company’s dedication to education, ‘At Olam Agri, we see education as the cornerstone of national progress. This initiative is a tangible way of empowering young people to achieve their full potential while supporting families in our workforce and communities. We are delighted to see this initiative grow and have a positive impact on so many lives.’

Monica Bissala, a high school student from Kaduna and one of the scholarship recipients, shared her heartfelt gratitude. ‘I am so happy and thankful to Olam Agri for this scholarship. It will help my parents buy new books and school supplies. This support motivates me to study even harder and achieve my dreams.’ She said in the statement. Her story is just one of the many lives positively impacted by this initiative. The programme also received heartfelt appreciation from beneficiaries within the Olam Agri staff. Alamezie Chimankpa, a staff member and a parent of a scholar in Ilorin, remarked, ‘Olam Agri has always been a family, and this scholarship proves their commitment to our well-being. This gesture has brought immense relief to my family, and I am deeply grateful for their support.’

Community leaders also praised the company’s efforts. Joseph Sauri Garba, the Kogunan Gbagyi of Chikun Local Government Area, a community leader from Kaduna, noted, ‘This programme shows that Olam Agri is not just a company in our community, but a true partner. By helping our children get a good education, they are building a stronger and more prosperous future for all of us. We are thankful for their continued partnership.’ His words reflect the widespread community support for this initiative.

The Back-to-Scholarship Programme reflects Olam Agri’s vision that true business success is inseparable from social impact. By investing in the education of young people, the company not only supports families today but also helps build a skilled, resilient generation that will shape a brighter and more prosperous future for Nigeria.