General News
Corporate Blackmailers as Tinubu’s Enemies
By Aliyu Gaya
Corporate blackmail is fast becoming the fancy of some netizens, corporate bodies, individuals, especially fly-by-night persons who target the rich and their businesses for diverse reasons. It’s not restricted to Nigeria, though.
The likes of Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Leo Stan Ekeh, Segun Agbaje, Tony Elumelu, and corporates like GTCO (Guaranty Trust Holding Company), Zenith Bank, Zinox, Globacom, among others, have at one time or another faced a blizzard of blackmail. The blackmailers’ intents are multifarious: to make easy money (ransom), damage the reputation of their target, ruin an enterprise, or inflict emotional trauma on their victims.
In the past few years, several multinationals have left the country. On paper, some of the multinationals claim forex crunch, rising cost of doing business and in some cases, their inability to remit their profits out of the country to service loans in their home countries or elsewhere as reasons for exiting Nigeria, Africa’s largest market for all products and services.
But those who ever cared to investigate the cause of the unprecedented exodus of these multinationals would easily point to blackmail as the chief reason for the mass exit of these mega corporates as well as a major reason why other foreign investors were frustrated from investing in Nigeria. The Nigerian bureaucracy can blackmail you out of business by denying you all necessary niceties, documents and requirements that would enable you set forth or grow your enterprise.
How about this? In September 2023, when President Bola Tinubu attended the G20 Summit in India, one of his first assignments was a meeting with Mr. Prakash Hinduja, Chairman and CEO of the Hinduja Group of companies, a conglomerate with a total asset portfolio exceeding $100 billion. The Indian billionaire lauded Tinubu and pledged to invest in Nigeria only because of his confidence in the Nigerian president. But he did not fail to remind President Tinubu how he was frustrated years back when he attempted to invest in Nigeria.
His exact words: ”I have had paperwork stalled in Nigerian bureaucracy for over one year, especially in FCT. But I knew that you would be purpose-driven in this endeavour and God will help you to turn Nigeria’s rich promise into rich reality for all of its citizens.”
Any discerning mind would notice the rebirth of hope in an investor who had been frustrated out of Nigeria by Abuja bureaucracy. In case you don’t get it, Mr Hinduja was referring to another type of common blackmail in Nigeria. “If you don’t see us, you won’t get the support you need.” Plain bribery and corruption which runs in the civil service.
In the United States, a country with unapologetic capitalist culture, blackmail is considered a serious crime under federal law and every state law. Culprits can be jailed and/or punished with huge fines in some cases. The same applies in Europe and Asia where the blackmailer is neither spared nor pampered.
Nigeria has a panoply of laws including the Cybercrime Act to deal with corporate blackmailers. However, the laws are made weak because, in some cases, the legal processes are convoluted and drag leisurely, making the suspects exploit loopholes within the system to dodge conviction. The blackmailers are like the cunning fox. They know that reputational damage is a high risk for their victim; hence, they often drag the case in a court of law to keep it perpetually on the front burner of public discourse in the media.
But truth be told, these blackmailers are the real enemies of Nigeria and President Tinubu. For while Tinubu is making genuine efforts to woo investors to Nigeria, blackmailers are busy rubbishing existing investors and especially indigenous investors. If we don’t treat our indigenous investors well, how do we expect a foreigner to invest in our economy? This is the paradox and the real reason Tinubu should come hard on corporate blackmailers.
A few instances of corporate blackmail and embarrassment. Nigeria’s highly successful business honcho, Mike Adenuga, had his office brusquely raided in 2006 by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The raid and ‘arrest’ of Adenuga were widely exposed in the media. At the end, it turned out that Adenuga had nothing sleazy in his closet that the accusers could use to nail him in the court of law. But he was sufficiently terrified and blackmailed such that he had to go on temporary exile from Nigeria to Ghana to the UK.
Another Nigerian business success story, Aliko Dangote, has been in and out of blackmail, sometimes from competitors, career blackmailers who want a chunk of his money, or even public institutions who, rather than help his business empire to thrive and keep thriving, prefer to bring him down. The most recent of such serial blackmail is the running campaign to discredit his $20 billion refinery. First, they claimed it was non-existent, and that failed. They switched to, it can never take off, which also failed. They tried the fib that the refinery was producing low-quality products; this also failed. Then, there was that disingenuous yarn that he had no approval, no licence for the project, yet the same Federal Government acquired 7.5% of an unlicensed company shares with public fund? This, again, failed to fly. There were many more, but they all crashed, as does every lie.
Then, there was the failed but long-drawn corporate blackmail against Leo Stan Ekeh, the listless and gifted founder of the Zinox Group, a global conglomerate spanning ICT, e-commerce, real estate, pharmaceuticals, entertainment, and more. His case is such that pools tears in the eyes. A case of a fry threatening to swallow a barracuda. Several studies have identified envy, money (ransom), extreme competitiveness, desire to tarnish a reputation, a knack to hurt an enterprise and inflict emotional pain on the business owners as some of the drivers of corporate blackmail. In some cases, it may just be one of the factors named above. But in the case of Ekeh, it’s a combination of envy, extortion, and reputational damage.
The case of Ekeh is one that tasks your state of sanity. It got me thinking about how much premium Nigerians, nay Africans, place on their brightest and best, especially those who by sheer dint of hard work, tenacity, and courage to dare the odds, burrowed their way from the lowest nadir of their enterprise to the zenith of it.
Nigerian entrepreneurs like Ekeh and many others across the country built their businesses from scratch. They deserve praise for their industry and deserve to be protected from blackmail hawks. The various but failed attempts to link Ekeh and any of the companies associated with his name to unhealthy corporate governance smacks of desperation and a primitive show of disrespect for a man whose collateral is integrity. Any African who plays big in the Africa ICT marketplace knows that without integrity, you cannot have as much as a handshake with over 31 global brands like Microsoft, Apple, HP, Samsung, IBM, Cisco, Starlink, among others. Zinox Group does.
Every Nigerian government at national and sub-national level claims they are wooing foreign investors. But they forget that how Nigeria treats her indigenous investors will influence how foreign investors perceive the Nigerian market. You cannot expose your home-grown investors to the vagaries of blackmail and treachery and expect foreign investors to trust you. This is the task before Tinubu. He must cleanse the corporate ecosystem of both systemic and individual blackmailers.
Gaya, a Public Policy Analyst, writes from Kano
General News
Fiona Ahimie Launches LEADHER Mentorship Session to Inspire the Next Generation of Female Leaders
As part of activities leading up to her investiture as the 14th President of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) and the first female President in the Institute’s history, Dr. Fiona Ahmed Ahimie, Managing Director of First Securities Brokers Limited, hosted the inaugural LeadHER Mentorship Session last week.
The session, themed “Leading with Purpose, Breaking Barriers, Building Legacy,” brought together emerging female professionals and aspiring leaders from across various industries for an engaging afternoon of mentorship, learning, and empowerment.
The LeadHER Mentorship Session was designed to provide participants with practical insights into leadership, career advancement, personal development, and navigating challenges in the traditionally male-dominated sectors.
Through candid conversations and shared experiences, attendees gained valuable perspectives on building successful careers while creating lasting impact within their organizations and communities.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Ahimie noted that leadership is not merely about achieving personal success but about creating pathways for others to thrive.
“Throughout my professional journey, I have benefited from the guidance, support, and encouragement of remarkable mentors. The LeadHER Mentorship Session is an opportunity to pay that forward by equipping and inspiring the next generation of women to pursue excellence, embrace leadership opportunities, and break barriers with confidence,” she said.
The mentorship session forms part of a broader commitment to advancing female participation and leadership within Nigeria’s financial services industry and the wider corporate ecosystem. It also reflects Dr. Ahimie’s longstanding dedication to talent development, professional excellence, and inclusive leadership.
The event provided a platform for meaningful dialogue, networking, and knowledge sharing.
Dr. Ahimie’s investiture as President of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers marks a historic milestone for the Institute and the Nigerian capital market, underscoring the growing role of women in shaping the future of the financial services industry.
Ventures Platform and the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art (YSMA), Pan-Atlantic University, are pleased to announce Haneefah Adam as the winner of the inaugural Ventures Platform–YSMA Futures Art Award, a pioneering public art commission established to support artistic innovation and future-focused cultural expression in Nigeria.
L-R: Kola Aina, Founding Partner, Ventures Platform; Dotun Olowoporokun, Managing Partner, Ventures Platform; Haneefah Adam, Artist and winner of the Futures Art Award; and Jess Castellote, Director, Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, Pan-Atlantic University during the Presentation of the Ventures Platform-YSMA Futures Art Award at Ventures Platform’s 10th Anniversary Dinner in Lagos on June 19, 2026.
The announcement was made during the 10th Anniversary Dinner of Ventures Platform in Lagos, where Haneefah was formally recognized following a competitive national selection process that attracted submissions from artists and art collectives across Nigeria.
As the winner of the Award, Haneefah will be commissioned to create a 12-foot public sculpture titled Bloom in Unexpected Places, which will be permanently installed within the YSMA and Pan-Atlantic University environment.
Selected through a rigorous jury process involving leading artists, curators, scholars, and cultural professionals, the proposal distinguished itself through its originality, conceptual strength, artistic ambition, and thoughtful engagement with the Award’s central theme: Reimagine the future and build into form through art.
The work explores themes of growth, resilience, innovation, and possibility, inviting audiences to reflect on how creativity and human ingenuity can flourish in unexpected circumstances and environments. Through its scale and public presence, the installation is intended to spark conversations about the future while enriching the cultural landscape of the University and the wider community.
The Award represents a landmark moment in Haneefah Adam’s artistic journey. While she has earned recognition for her innovative and socially engaged practice, this commission marks her first institutional award, her first major public art commission, and the largest public artwork of her career to date.
Speaking on behalf of YSMA, Museum Director, Jess Castellote described the Award as an important investment in both artists and public culture.
“At YSMA, we believe museums have a responsibility not only to preserve cultural heritage but also to support the creation of new cultural futures. Haneefah’s proposal impressed the Jury with its clarity, imagination, and relevance to contemporary conversations about innovation and possibility.
“We are delighted to support the realization of this ambitious work and to welcome it into the Museum’s growing public art programme.
“The Ventures Platform–YSMA Futures Art Award demonstrates what is possible when cultural institutions and private-sector partners work together to invest in creativity and public engagement.”
For Ventures Platform, the Award forms part of its broader vision of supporting the systems, ideas, and people shaping Africa’s future.
According to Kola Aina, Founder and General Partner of Ventures Platform: “As we celebrate ten years of backing visionary founders across Africa, we wanted to create something that reflects our belief that innovation is not confined to technology or business alone.
“The future is also imagined through culture, creativity, and the stories we tell about ourselves. This Award represents an investment in imagination itself.
“Haneefah’s proposal captures that spirit beautifully, and we are excited to see it come to life as a public artwork that inspires curiosity, reflection, and optimism.”
The Award is one component of a broader three-year collaboration between Ventures Platform and YSMA, which also includes entrepreneurship-focused masterclasses, guest lectures, and student engagement initiatives within the Pan-Atlantic University ecosystem.
Supporting the long-term legacy of the programme is Atsur Technologies Ltd, the exclusive Provenance Infrastructure and Physical-Digital Documentation Partner for the Ventures Platform–YSMA Futures Art Award. Through this partnership, every commissioned artwork produced under the Award will be professionally digitized, authenticated, and recorded using Artsur’s provenance and collection management technology, ensuring robust documentation of the artist’s creative process, the artwork’s history, and its enduring place within Nigeria’s cultural record. This partnership reflects a shared commitment to strengthening transparency, documentation standards, and the long-term preservation of contemporary African artistic production using innovative technologies.
Commenting on her selection, Haneefah Adam expressed gratitude for the opportunity and excitement about the journey ahead.
“I am deeply honoured to be the inaugural recipient of the Ventures Platform–YSMA Futures Art Award. To have my work selected from among so many strong submissions is both humbling and encouraging. Bloom in Unexpected Places is rooted in the belief that creativity, hope, and transformation can emerge even in the most unlikely circumstances. I look forward to working with YSMA and Ventures Platform to bring this vision into the public realm and create a work that invites people to think differently about the future.”
Beyond the commissioning of a single artwork, the Ventures Platform–YSMA Futures Art Award seeks to establish a new model for collaboration between the cultural and innovation sectors. By positioning artists as active participants in conversations about technology, entrepreneurship, and societal transformation, the Award expands the ways in which the future can be imagined, questioned, and made visible.
As work begins on Bloom in Unexpected Places, the project signals a bold commitment by both Ventures Platform and YSMA to nurturing creative talent, supporting public art, and fostering interdisciplinary approaches to shaping the future.
Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), official industry body and advocacy group for major telecommunications providers in Nigeria, has backed the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) directive requiring banks and fintechs to host payment transaction data locally.
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagosat the weekend.
His position follows a recent CBN directive mandating that banks, fintechs, and other payment service providers store payment transaction data generated in Nigeria on local servers from January 1, 2027.
The directive forms part of measures aimed at strengthening oversight of the country’s rapidly growing digital payments ecosystem.
Adebayo said data sovereignty required countries to take responsibility for their entire data value chain.
According to him, this covers data collection, management, storage, and integrity assurance.
“We cannot continue to outsource that to other jurisdictions.
“The more we host our data locally, the better for us,” he said.
Adebayo said local hosting would enable Nigeria to manage data end-to-end and guarantee the integrity of critical information.
He noted that hosting payment data outside the country increased communication requirements, latency, and retrieval costs.
“For every transaction involving data hosted outside our shores, communication has to take place from your location to the host and back.
“It increases latency and also increases the cost of data retrieval,” he said.
The ALTON chairman described the directive as an important first step toward achieving national data sovereignty.
He also dismissed concerns about infrastructure readiness, saying Nigeria already had significant data center capacity.
According to him, several Nigerian-owned facilities currently host data for organisations operating from other jurisdictions.
“I’m happy to say that we have a lot of data centres owned and managed by Nigerians that are hosting data from other jurisdictions.
“If people overseas can host their data here, why can’t we host our own data here?” he queried.
Adebayo argued that local hosting would reduce dependence on foreign infrastructure while improving national control over data security.
He said concerns about security and reliability should not justify continued reliance on foreign hosting providers.
“No one can protect your house better than yourself.
“You have more at stake in terms of security and safety than somebody else hosting your data,” he said.
The telecom industry leader also highlighted the cost implications of local hosting.
He said organisations that host data locally would pay in local currency rather than foreign currency.
According to him, this would help reduce exposure to exchange rate pressures and lower long-term operating costs.
Adebayo said Nigeria currently had about six Tier III data centres, with additional facilities under development.
He, however, stressed that capacity was more important than the number of facilities.
“It’s not just about the numbers; it’s about the capacity of what they can host.
“So far, we can,” he said.
He urged stakeholders to accelerate efforts toward domestic data hosting and management.
“The earlier we begin to domesticate our data hosting and data management, the better for us,” Adebayo added.
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