General News
Courier Operations will be Better with Postal Commission – Oladapo
Siyanbola Oladapo is the secretary general, Association of Nigeria Courier Operators (Anco) and managing director/ chief executive officer, Bowill Errands Courier.
Before, Oladapo established Bowill Errands in 2007, he worked for so many companies including Thompson Barradell Oil Service company, where he rose to general manager.
He has worked in the the banking industry, where he spent over a decade. In this interview with nkechi david – iwuchukwu, he spoke of Bowill Errands and other issues in the courier industry.
On Anco
Association of Nigeria Courier Operators (Anco), is an association open to individuals and Corporate bodies who engage in courier business, with the condition that they must be licensed by the CRD. The association, protects the interest of all licensed courier operators, maintains standard and practices in the Nigeria Courier Industries, enhance, facilitate and ensure professional standards, practices and procedures in Nigeria and review same as the need arises. The association also ensure that ethical practices are maintained in the industry, as we complement and assist in the activities and roles of the CRD (as particularly directed) towards sanitizing and ensuring the application of professional ethics and standard practices in the Nigerian Courier Industry, ensure and encourage the provisions of good working environment for good courier delivery services and encourage synergy, merger and association of companies operation in the courier industry in the country. We will not start blowing our trumpet. I think we will leave it for the public to see what we have been able to achieve. For instance the incidence of dumping which you will not hear the way it was before. Again the CRD has been able to take us along in their training programmes and other matters affecting the industry. The department helped us to reach out to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and banks and other people that hitherto we didn’t have the opportunity of meeting. Now with the Courier Consultative Forum (CCF) which is a forum for stakeholders in the courier business, we have been able to express the problems we are facing whether with registrars, companies or anyone and they have come to see us as practitioners and respect us better unlike when you go as an individual. Again, we have been able to invite some stakeholders to our meetings. In 2008, we were able to meet with National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in our effort to sort out issues concerning trafficking in hard drugs. We have been able to let them see that our members will not do any unprofessional thing and even if any of our members have any problem, he can come to us and we have been able to assist our members very well. Again, don’t forget that we now have a functional website that you can access from anywhere. With this website you will know about us and get information. We also have a well organized secretariat with staff that carry out activities on our behalf. For those of us that have problems with the registrar, that is, those that are into bulk mailing, we have been able to see the registrars to let them know why they should be treated like partners in progress. Now, the incidence of dumping and sharp practices has reduced considerably. The two bodies NIACA and Anco also met with the postmaster general in 2008 to discuss industry issues, so we have been working closely with regulators.
Teething Problems
Number one on the list is erratic power supply, bad road network, multiple charges by government agencies, security, which does not allow for 24 hours service and of course finance. Again, there is another problem of understanding why people had to register with the association. Thirdly, initially people didn’t believe in people regulating them to tell them to do things in a good way. These were some the challenges we faced and after that we were able to overcome. People now have confidence in the association; more people are now joining the association. The CRD is supporting us so much .Again, other executive bodies have been able to see us as partners they can talk to against when there was no such body. Now they know there is a body recognized by the Federal Government and so these were what I considered as the teething problems but now things are better.
Postal Commission
I want to recall that when Lagos State government with the good intention of Raji Rasaki in trying to make things happen passed the coronal law that when somebody dies you won’t talk about it but other stakeholders kicked against it and the governor recalled it being a listening governor. At the national level, the process of legislation has to pass through various levels. Even with the postal bill, we made our input into the draft document when we saw the contents and discovered there were some aspects of it that we felt would be detrimental to our business. If the draft bill had been passed the way it was it would have affected our business which was not the intention of the government. I can assure you, from what we have seen on ground, the legislation will see the light of the day before the end of the year and when it does you will see that we are better off.
Government Effort to Help the Industry Grow
Government can do a lot to facilitate the growth of the courier industry in this country, but most importantly they should provide an enabling working environment to knock off all the teething problems which I mentioned earlier.
Local Government Harassment
We have been meeting with authorities concerned about this. Governor Fashola has brought a lot of finesse to administration in Lagos State and has tasked local government chairmen to ensure that in their various jurisdictions that things are done within the ambit of the law, as he leads by example. We see things getting better in that respect as we now see where to report. You can even visit the governor’s website and send anything to him and say this is where this is happening. You can be too sure he will listen to you. We also now have his commissioners’ phone numbers, local government chairmen and their phone numbers including those of Fashola’s aides for us to contact them any time and explain our problem. I think the way Lagos State government is going about it, things will get better this year. The problem with the local governments is that they all want to collect revenue but they shouldn’t do it the wrong way. What we are asking is for them to give us the list of what courier operators are expected to pay and we will look at it and advise our members accordingly. We are law abiding citizens. Discussions are still ongoing but I know we will get there. I am optimistic that things will get better this year as the forum we are trying to create will bring a better understanding between us and the local governments. This is necessary to avoid delay in the movement of goods and services as our business has to do with speed.
Impact of IT Revolution
Positive! It has reduced the time that we spend in doing things, reduced much paper work, boosted our revenue and assisted the industry in going beyond where we think we are going to.
Bowill Errands Courier
Bowill commenced operations in 2007. The Express courier service company, also offers inbound, outbound, haulage, pick up and domestic express cargo. One unique thing about the company is its defined goals. When I say defined goals, I mean that from the day the company commenced operations, we had set our targets and have been adding value to our services. In this industry, we all know the rules of the game and also know that there are some things we must not do no matter the situation. If within two years of operation we are successful, it is because we believe in what we have set out to do. We also beef up any department in the company that needs more hands even as we don’t play with training of personnel.
Training of Personnel
Training is very relevant in our system. Like I keep saying, there is no school for courier and the only thing we could do is that every body has to learn more as things move faster. The things you did two years ago may now need new processes. Like a doctor who graduated few years ago and feels he is a medical doctor, he needs to update his knowledge regularly. Every day there are new sicknesses and even old ones are resisting medication, there is need for the medical workers to face these challenges squarely. The same thing applies to courier. We are trying to collaborate with the Courier Regulatory Department (CRD) of Nipost, on training. Training of course is one of the mandatory prerequisites an operator must meet before his license will be renewed. Initially some operators were skeptical about training but after being part of the exercise, they are better informed about the new trends in the industry .so we have been able to achieve much in terms of training especially the new entrants who do not know much about courier.
International Trade Union Confederation, (ITUC-Africa), representing trade unions from countries in Africa, has called on Nigeria and other African governments to ensure that industrialisation translates into improved living standards for workers and ordinary citizens.
According to ITUC-Africa, economic growth must lift Nigerians and other Africans out of poverty rather than deepen inequality, frowning at Nigeria’s government plans to remove subsidy on electricity.
Delivering his opening remarks at the New Energy for Africa 11 Convening: African Workers’ Contributions to Energy Sovereignty, Green Industrialization, and a Common African for COP31, Akhator Joel Odigie, general secretary of ITUC-Africa, said, industrialisation remains central to Nigeria and Africa’s liberation and development agenda but warned that it would be meaningless if it failed to improve the welfare of the continent’s people.
He faulted the plans by the Nigerian government to remove so-called subsidy on electricity in 2027, arguing that it is aimed at satisfying the Bretton Woods institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, IMF, and the World Bank.
According to him, such removal would worsen the poverty rate in Nigeria and regress any marginal progress towards industrialisation. Subsidy removal will make electricity inaccessible to workers and the majority of the citizens.
He said, “As we speak now, Nigeria is talking of subsidy removal on electricity. The plan is not to satisfy or help Nigerians, but IMF, World Bank and other donor countries. The talk that subsidy is bad economics is a lie. All developed economies depended on public sector-driven electricity and not private sector.
“For us as Africans, industrialisation is central to our liberation and development. It is part of our aspiration to define our own identity and achieve shared prosperity through an industrialised Africa. Unfortunately, that vision has yet to be realised.
“We have also come to understand that lamenting our circumstances is not enough. Identifying the barriers to Africa’s development or pointing fingers at those who may be responsible does not move us forward. The more important question is: What next? What solutions can we pursue together?
“It is from that perspective that we confront the reality that more than 600 million Africans still lack access to electricity, while privatisation continues to deny many people affordable access to energy. This compels us to ask: What can we do differently?”
According to him, organised labour believes industrialisation can be achieved without worsening the climate crisis if governments, workers and development partners commit to energy justice.
Odigie noted that “When we speak about sustainable industrialisation, we are asking how Africa can industrialise without increasing environmental degradation or worsening the climate challenges our people already experience every day.
“We know this is possible. But it will require negotiation, compromise and genuine partnerships. It demands serious discussions on technology transfer, skills development and financing.”
He stressed that developing technical skills and mobilising investment for energy infrastructure are essential if Africa is to industrialise sustainably, saying “These are not impossible skills to acquire. With the right investment and commitment, Africa can build them. Equally important is access to finance and the resources needed to develop the infrastructure that will support sustainable industrialisation.
“An industrialised Africa has little meaning if it does not improve the lives of our people. Our vision is an Africa where prosperity is shared.
“We must reverse the growing phenomenon of the working poor. We must end the situation where women, children and older persons bear the greatest burden whenever governments attempt to balance national budgets.
“What does prosperity mean if ordinary people cannot enjoy a decent quality of life? A worker who returns home after a long day’s work should be able to switch on a fan during hot weather, watch television, listen to the news and spend meaningful time with family because electricity is available, reliable and affordable.
“If our people cannot enjoy these basic necessities, then what kind of prosperity are we really talking about?
“Energy justice means energy that is accessible, affordable and capable of improving people’s lives.”
Odigie also renewed ITUC-Africa’s campaign for stronger public participation in Africa’s energy sector, citing Finland as an example of how governments can ensure affordable electricity while working with private investors.
“Recently, we visited Finland, where we observed a successful model that combines public and private participation, with strong public leadership. Energy there is affordable. In fact, electricity costs less in Finland than it does here in Nairobi.
“Our hosts explained that this is possible because the state retains an important role in the energy sector, including the ability to influence pricing to ensure affordability for everyone.”
Ahead of the COP31 climate negotiations, he called for closer collaboration between organised labour and the African Group of Negotiators (AGN), saying trade unions are partners in governance rather than adversaries.
“Trade unions are not antagonistic to governments, even though we are sometimes misunderstood.
“Our responsibility is to strengthen accountability and help governments perform better because, from time to time, leaders can become too comfortable.”
Using a metaphor that drew applause from participants, Odigie likened the role of trade unions to keeping leaders “close to the fire.”
“Our responsibility is to keep the feet of our leaders close to the fire so that their heads do not become too cold. We want them to continue thinking clearly, making sound decisions and remaining connected to the realities faced by ordinary people.
“That is why we are not in opposition. We are not enemies.”
He said organised labour’s partnership with the AGN is intended to ensure African governments enter international climate negotiations with the full backing of workers across the continent.
Speaking, Dr Nana Amoah, chair of the African Group of Negotiators, AGN, said Africa’s energy transition presents both an urgent challenge and a historic opportunity, lamenting that “More than 600 million Africans still lack access to electricity, even though our continent possesses exceptional solar, wind, hydro and geothermal resources. Yet Africa continues to receive only a very small share of global clean-energy investment.”
Represented by Dr George Manful, AGN Senior Advisor, Amoah, said: “This imbalance must be corrected if the transition is to support Africa’s development rather than reproduce existing patterns of dependence, extraction and inequality.
“For the African Group of Negotiators, a just transition cannot be measured solely by installed megawatts, emissions reductions or new electricity connections. It must also be measured by the quality of jobs created, affordability of energy, protection of workers, participation of women and young people, development of local industries, and the capacity of African countries to retain value from their natural resources.
“Initiatives such as Mission 300 must therefore go beyond expanding access. They must strengthen public institutions, mobilise affordable and debt-sensitive finance, support local manufacturing and skills development, and guarantee that no worker, community or vulnerable group is left behind.
“Africa’s critical minerals must similarly become a foundation for green industrialisation—not another chapter of raw-material extraction. Our policies must promote local processing, technology transfer, decent work, environmental integrity and equitable participation in global value chains.”
Allen Onyema, vice chairman, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) and chairman, Air Peace, has warned that several domestic airlines could cease operations within the next 30 days unless the federal government urgently intervenes in the challenges confronting the aviation industry.
Allen Onyema
Onyema, gave the warning on Wednesday at the launch of the book, Pathways, Pilgrimage & Destiny: The Biography of Alhaji Muneer Bankole, held in Lagos.
He described the aviation industry as capital-intensive but less rewarding, warning that airlines are facing serious threats to their survival.
“Going into aviation is not a piece of cake. It is an industry that is not very rewarding. It is capital-intensive, yet less rewarding. Today, we are facing a phase that has existential threats. Except something drastic is done very quickly within the next 30 days, a lot of airlines might go extinct,” Onyema said.
The Air Peace chairman also cautioned aviation unions against their planned picketing of airlines over the non-remittance of the five per cent Ticket Sales Charge.
He warned that if any airline is picketed, other domestic carriers would suspend operations in solidarity.
“If they picket any airline, others will go because there’s no need for that. There is nowhere in the world that government agencies use unions to talk about issues of debt,” he said.
Onyema lamented the harsh operating environment for Nigerian airlines, noting that more than 50 airlines have shut down over the years.
“Everybody pities Nigerian airlines, yet nobody wants to do anything about their situation. Over 50 airlines have come and gone. The owners of these airlines succeeded in other businesses, yet they failed in airline business,” he said.
He stressed that airlines were not opposed to helping the government generate revenue but called for a more sustainable approach.
“The airlines are not against helping government generate revenue. But no airline in the world is taxed directly for revenue. The airlines indirectly provide revenue for government,” Onyema added.
General News
QNET Denies Links to Ignite, Backs Nigeria Immigration Service Crackdown on Alleged Fraud Syndicate
QNET has denied any association with Ignite following the arrest of 12 individuals by the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) over alleged fraudulent recruitment, irregular migration and other unlawful activities.
QNET
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the direct-selling company described reports referring to the suspects as belonging to a “QNET/IGNITE network” as inaccurate, stressing that Ignite is an entirely separate entity with no relationship to QNET.
The company stated that Ignite is neither part of QNET nor authorised to conduct any business or activities on its behalf.
QNET urged media organisations, commentators and members of the public to avoid linking the two organisations, warning that such reports could mislead the public and unfairly associate the company with alleged criminal activities beyond its control.
According to the company, it has fully cooperated with the Nigeria Immigration Service and will continue to provide any relevant information required as investigations progress.
It reaffirmed its commitment to supporting law enforcement agencies in identifying and prosecuting individuals who misuse the QNET name to facilitate fraudulent recruitment, human trafficking, irregular migration or other criminal acts.
The company also clarified the use of the term “Model Q,” explaining that law enforcement agencies increasingly use it to describe criminal schemes in which fraudsters exploit the names of legitimate direct-selling companies and established brands to lure victims with false promises of employment, overseas travel, migration opportunities or guaranteed income.
It stressed that “Model Q” does not refer to QNET’s legitimate business operations but rather to criminal activities carried out through the unauthorised use of recognised brand names.
QNET maintained that it does not offer employment opportunities, visas, overseas travel or guaranteed financial returns through its independent distributors.
It explained that its business model is based solely on the direct sale of wellness and lifestyle products.
The company warned that anyone soliciting money for jobs, migration, travel or guaranteed investment returns in QNET’s name is acting without its authorisation.
According to the statement, criminal groups have repeatedly impersonated the company’s brand to deceive unsuspecting members of the public.
QNET said it considers itself a victim of such brand impersonation and has been working with law enforcement agencies in Nigeria and other countries to share intelligence, support investigations and protect potential victims.
The company commended the Nigeria Immigration Service for what it described as an intelligence-led operation that resulted in the rescue of victims and efforts to dismantle transnational criminal networks.
It reaffirmed its readiness to continue collaborating with the Service and other relevant authorities to ensure that those exploiting its name for criminal purposes are brought to justice.
QNET also advised members of the public to verify any claims involving the company through its official communication channels and to report suspicious offers relating to employment, travel, migration or investment made in its name.
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