Nigeria is one of world’s worst business destinations — World Bank

Photo credit: The Times UK

Despite improving five steps on its ranking last year, Nigeria emerged one of the worst business destinations, the 2015 World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking has showed.

Nigeria ranked 170 among 189 economies covered in the 2015 edition, released on Thursday.

The improvement, which showed a 3.61 percent improvement from 43.72 percent points in 2014 to 47.33 percent points in 2015, reflected the country’s movement from the 175th position in 2014 to its current this year.

CBN’s forex ban’ll boost naira stability –Expert

 Simon Ejembi

| credits: lerablog.org

The decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria to deny importers of 41 items access to the nation’s foreign exchange markets through Deposit Money Banks is paying off and is in the right direction, a financial expert has said.

Two months after the controversial decision, the Chief Executive Officer, Enterprise Stockbrokers Plc, Mr. Rotimi Fakayejo, said the policy had helped to ensure some stability for the naira and led to an increase in the country’s foreign reserves.

He said, “To a great extent, since that policy was announced, we have seen the first stability in the value of the naira, and I think that is a very good point for everybody to see.

“Also, we have seen the foreign reserves increasing; I think we are back to $31bn now – for the reserves that were dipping to a low of N29bn.”

Alan Knott-Craig Jr: Wants To Be A HeroTel

 Alan Knott-Craig Jr in 2011, Johannesburg. Photo: Hetty Zantman/Getty Images

Alan Knott-Craig Jr is the former CEO of Mxit — once Africa’s largest social network — and now he wants to consolidate South Africa’s fragmented wireless Internet market in a new company and run it like a successful Silicon Valley startup, Quartz reports.

Instead of building a company from scratch, Knott-Craig Jr is enticing 200 small wireless Internet service providers across South Africa to join HeroTel—his new company launched Aug. 25. The goal is to bring together South Africa’s small and fragmented wireless Internet providers to build a single national wireless provider by April.

Air Peace, a wonderful piece of business

When friends of Barrister Allen Onyema few years ago introduced the idea of establishing a joint cargo airline business, he embraced the concept with zeal but the whole idea was short-lived. The reason one may probably say, was an act of God because we cannot choose our beginning without God’s approval. But later when God gave him the go ahead he opened the road for Onyema in a manner that will dignify him as he became the sole owner of his flying business. Like the conception of a human being, the coming of the airline was not known until its birth and a certificate was issued to that effect by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

After obtaining the Air Operators Certificate, (AOC) the airline was launched into the sky in October last year but as we report this quarter, Air Peace is flying in good health. The teething problems that normally associate with a baby’s growth appear to have parted ways with the carrier. For Air Peace, it has been a case of growing from strength to strength looking the image of a well nourished baby who everyone would want to identify with.

The owner, Allen Onyema, a master strategist gradually stepping into the ilk of Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Trumps, John Paul Getty and our own African leading multi-billionaire, Alhaji Aliko Dangote is however not leaving any stone unturned to ensure that the airline becomes the first in all areas of air transportation. The Chairman has since the birth of the airline chosen an elegant image for it through his commitment, decision and interest to adequately serve customers. He has indeed made Air Peace a wonderful piece of business.

Travelling on Air Peace is very rewarding; the in-flight services are second to none. You can imagine a life of peace; friendship and happiness offered by the airline while you are on board cruising at an altitude that your safety is fearlessly guaranteed. It is an airline of many firsts at its adolescent age, it is a carrier that thinks big for its numerous customers, it is also an entity that has goal, the goal of giving its customers peace and comfort. That is why once one is encapsulated in that ambience of relaxation a passenger needs fear no fall.

Air Peace is a different brand entirely. It came and met a very warped industry, where passengers were treated the way the airlines liked, where passengers could be delayed a whole day and the flight cancelled at the end of the day without a word of apology. People were being treated with impunity. So many air travellers have been victims of such treatment in the hands of some airlines in Nigeria but Air Peace has come with something different. The airline has in the last six months when it came into operation changed the face of the way air travelling is done in this country. Consequently, a lot of the older airlines are beginning to change for good in their relationship with customers as they are now trying to be courteous towards customers.

Nigerians are indeed beginning to see the difference; ask them, they will tell you the airline is a different ball game. For instance a regular flyer fond of Air Peace, said he has only one choice when it comes to travelling by air within the country and that choice is Air Peace. According to Bimbo Atekoja, “when you travel with Air Peace there are no hassles; in fact you feel almost the same experience when you travel abroad. I enjoy flying Air Peace for it’s very reliable.

Atekoja is just one of the numerous customers who are appreciating the airline for its unique services and who believe in it, as a potential flagship of the Nigerian carriers. And another thing that has marked the carrier out is the fact that at the command of its air planes are the most experienced pilots in the country. 

 

Barrister Allen Onyema

“We have the most experienced Captains in the industry. All our captains were the Chief Pilots in their former places of work, no exception except Dana and this is because Dana is not operating Boeing. If they were operating Boeing, may be we would have had their Chief Pilot. We decided to go for optimal strength and that is why a lot of people will tell you that when Air Peace lands you hardly know the plane had landed. The Captains drop our planes like feathers on the ground and passengers are talking about it,” Barrister Allen Onyema blew his horn in a recent interview

“I have seen a passenger, a woman in crutches expressing satisfaction with our services; saying that was the first time she experienced peace in the air and she was thanking God but when they said that this is the owner of Air Peace, she insisted she must have photograph with me and I obliged her. So, these are the things we are doing today and we have zero tolerance for unsafe practices.

“We don’t manage anything; our planes are being managed very well by the British. We have a British company, the BCT Aviation Maintenance Company. We brought them down to Nigeria at a huge cost to take charge of the daily maintenance of our planes. If they don’t sign any plane out, that plane does not take to the sky. In fact they give you hell when you want to utilise little things that could be managed on the plane; they will tell you they are grounding the plane, so we have a good maintenance partner in BCT.

With the above statement coming from Onyema there is really nothing to fear while making decision to travel with Air Peace. What has said is simple and this is it- The Company is not in the group of airlines that breach safety rules. The owner does not whitewash dark areas in order to be in the air for selfish gains.

PROANDLOG Begins Operations in Port Harcourt

…Offers services in terrorism, hostage taking control

Samuel Abiodun Fapounda

As part of efforts to control life threatening activities in the country, a new security outfit, Protection and Logistics Services Limited, (PROANDLOG) set up to provide services on anti-terrorism, kidnapping and hostage taking among others is now in operations in Port Harcourt, South-South of Nigeria.

The outfit parades highly trained personnel who had gone through rigorous selection and vetting processes for static guard role on a 12-24 hour rotation duty.