LEADERSHIP Persons Of The Year 2015

For achieving the improbable – former President Goodluck Jonathan for conceding defeat in an election in which he was a contestant – a first for Nigeria; Professor Attahiru Jega, for his courage, doggedness and fairness even in the face of threats to his life in the conduct of the 2015 elections; and President Muhammadu Buhari, for making history by being the first opposition candidate to defeat a sitting president after three attempts – Jonathan, Jega and Buhari are LEADERSHIP PERSONS OF THE YEAR 2015.

It always seems improbable until it is done. We may now take for granted the watershed of the 2015 presidential election but who could have thought it would come to pass? It was far from being so before it was done. When Nigeria held her presidential poll on March 28, 2015 – the fifth since civilian rule was restored in 1999 – it had all the elements of a do-or-die affair. Providence and three key personalities –Jonathan, Jega and Buhari, turned the tide. They jointly, midwifed and protected the people’s mandate and the nation’s democracy from the pernicious machinations of contending interests. In choosing the LEADERSHIP Person of the Year, the Board of Editors could not separate the three central characters who defined 2015. We celebrate these icons of democracy for their role in the nation’s proper initiation to true democracy.

LEADERSHIP Persons of the year 2015
Goodluck Jonathan

Many will wonder how former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan qualified as our man of the year. It is not mere happenstance. In spite of our critical stance against his style of governance, it is difficult to ignore his resolve to quit in consonance with the people’s will desire for change. It was an act of courage; and it was the first of its kind in Nigeria. In this regard, the former president has set a very high standard for future leaders to follow.

By erring on the side of caution and putting the nation before self, after losing the March 28 presidential polls, Jonathan has secured his place in history and the pantheon of statesmen.

We are convinced that the world has not yet fully appreciated the significance this selfless sacrifice to the corporate existence of Nigeria. That may be the job for posterity. But, we are persuaded to accept that when all is said and done and regardless of his sometimes scandalous shortcomings, Jonathan get his full credit.

His famous phone call to Buhari in which he conceded defeat in spite of pressures to act otherwise, was a defining moment.

In a country – nay a continent – where election rigging is rampant and politicians stop at nothing to remain in power Jonathan is the first Nigerian and one of Africa’s very few presidents to willingly relinquish power through the ballot box.

“His action actually doused tensions and averted crisis in Nigeria. Not only Africa but the world has commended the president (Jonathan) for that because if he had disputed the elections, there would have been crisis in the country”, Buhari told visiting Nigerien president Issoufou Mahamadou.

His job performance record may have been a disaster; but his decision to yield to the will of the people was a masterstroke, a final act of self-redemption.

Born on November 20, 1957 in Ogbia, Bayelsa State, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, was at the helm as Nigeria’s president from 2010 to 2015. Good luck was never far from Jonathan. A former zoologist who became Nigeria’s vice-president in 2007 through fortuitous circumstances, Jonathan was the Governor of Bayelsa State from December 9, 2005 to May 28, 2007, and was sworn in as the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 29 May 2007.

He became president of Nigeria on May 6, 2010, after the unexpected death of Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua, under what the National Assembly described as a “doctrine of necessity.”

He went to Christian primary and secondary schools in the riverine area and later attended the University of Port Harcourt. He graduated with a B.Sc (Hons) in Zoology in 1981; M.Sc. in hydrobiology and fisheries biology (1985), and a Ph.D. in Zoology (1995). During his university education, he also taught at the Rivers State College of Education from 1983 until 1993. He then served as an assistant director at the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission, a now defunct government agency, from 1993 until 1998. Jonathan Goodluck’s political career began when he was involved with the nascent People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the late 1990s.

He was elected deputy governor of Bayelsa state in 1999 on a joint ticket with late Governor Dieyepreye Alamieyeseigha. He served in the position until year 2005, when he was elevated to the governorship after the incumbent was charged with corruption and impeached.

In 2007, he was selected to be the vice presidential running mate of the PDP’s presidential candidate, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. He and Yar’Adua were elected in April and were inaugurated in May of the same year.

On 29 May 2011, he was officially sworn in as the President of Federal Republic of Nigeria. Jonathan’s term as President of Nigeria ended on 29 May 2015, when he handed over to his successor, Muhammadu Buhari.

LEADERSHIP Persons of the year 2015
Attahiru Jega

Known for the courage of his conviction, transparency and competence, the immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Professor Attahiru Jega, warmed himself into the hearts of Nigerians as the major midwife of Nigeria’s epoch-making election that transited power to the opposition.

In the build-up to the 2015 general elections, Jega faced fierce criticism from both the opposition and the ruling party. But impartial observers broadly considered him as tough-minded and committed umpire.

Jega, inherited a compromised INEC in 2010. Appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan, it is to his credit that he stood firm in an election that would have changed the destiny of the country. Jega brought to INEC a tremendous goodwill garnered from his career as a principled academic. As a former President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the 1990s and politically leaning to the left of centre, Jega’s trajectory in the national discourse has always been people-oriented, closely associating with the labour movement.

His systematic approach in announcing the final result, gave President Jonathan and his camp enough room to concede defeat early enough. One major tool that was an advantage to the 2015 Nigerian Presidential election was the social media.

For the very first time in Nigeria’s political history, an opposition candidate won the presidential election and the final results was, in the main, accepted by Nigerians and international. In a way, it is no surprise that the social media was accurately reflecting a trend. In 2014, the social media added 10 million new users, which gives a total of 75 million internet users today in Nigeria. Nigerians who voted during the presidential election were about 30 million.

Under Jega’s watch INEC prepared for the general elections backed by international development partners committed to the deepening and strengthening of democracy. With the avalanche of institutional, technical and logistic support received, the Kebbi State-born politician had no room to contemplate failure and clearly gave a roadmap signposting a departure from the savage and ignoble past where irregularities and fraudulent activities were hallmarks of electoral competitions. Nigerians expressed optimism that an ideologue like Jega will make the difference and he did.

Admittedly, Jega agreed that he didn’t do it alone. But he emplaced a holistic strategic framework that delivered the result. INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) took a cue from him by imbibing his non-partisan stance. INEC constructively engaged politicians to see winning and losing as rational, moral and inevitable ends of political contestations.

Jega and his team implemented their mandate without fear or favour. He registered and reviewed voters list and embarked on delineation of constituencies before the polls. For the elections, the deployment of sensitive electoral materials, conduct and announcement of genuine results was impartially done, a feat thought impossible if previous experiences were anything to go by. Prof Jega subdued the flawed system and tamed the fraudulent political class and the military accomplices who had wanted to use insecurity as an excuse to scuttle the electoral process. His civil society organisations (CSOs) network also brought him closer to the critical mass of the people.

During his tenure, the INEC made remarkable input in the growth of Nigeria’s democracy, as both the general elections of 2011 and 2015 were adjudged credible by observers. He will be remembered for his introduction of the Permanent Voters Card (PVC) and the use of card readers for accreditation of voters during the last elections. Given his background, most experts believed Jega will would seek to declare an accurate result as quickly as possible, regardless of any political interference.

Professor Attahiru Muhammadu Jega was born on January 11, 1957. From 1963 to 1969, he attended Sabon-Gari/Town Primary School, Jega, where he obtained his Primary School Leaving Certificate; the West African School Certificate (WASC) and General Certificate of Education (GCE) O’ Level in 1974 at the Government Secondary School, Birnin-Kebbi. On leaving secondary school, he was admitted into Bayero University College, Kano (ABU, Zaria) for his Advanced Level Certificate studies; after which he proceeded for his undergraduate studies. He graduated in 1978 with a BSc (Hons) in Political Science.

In 1979, after the mandatory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme in the then Cross River State, he took up appointment with Bayero University, Kano (BUK). He thereafter proceeded to North-western University, Evanston, Illinois, USA, where he obtained his Masters (1981) and Doctorate (1985) degrees in Political Science – specializing in Political Economy. While at North-western, he also obtained a Certificate in African Studies.

Professor Jega’s rich academic career saw him serve at various times as Visiting Research Fellow, University of Stockholm, Sweden (Swedish Institute Fellowship), 1994; Visiting Research Fellow, St. Peter’s College, University of Oxford, 1996; Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Bayero University, Kano, 1995-1996; Acting Director, Centre for Research and Documentation (CRD), Kano, 1998; and Director, Centre for Democratic Research and Training, Mambayya House, BUK, 2000-2004. He attained the pinnacle of his career on September 6, 2004, with his appointment as Vice-Chancellor, Bayero University, Kano – a position he occupied until his appointment as the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in June 2010.

LEADERSHIP Persons of the year 2015
Muhammadu Buhari

From the depth of despair after his third failed attempt in 2011, a re-packaged President Muhammadu Buhari emerged candidate of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), igniting a ray of hope for change. Widely acclaimed for his integrity, his emergence sent jitters down the spine of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and electrified the political atmosphere.

Muhammadu Buhari, a former military leader had ruled Nigeria between 1983 and 1985. He conducted himself with grace, stoic calm and civility as he worked with other politicians to build a political platform that saw the merger of the – Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). He became an apostle of peace and got caught up in the maelstrom in the build-up to the elections when his convoy was attacked in Kaduna in July 2014, which bore all the hallmarks of a Boko Haram assassination attempt. He escaped by whiskers and promised to end the insurgency within months if elected.

A former military ruler, Buhari’s toughness can be gleaned from his role as General Officer Commanding (GOC) Third Armoured Division when, in 1983, when some Nigerian islands in the Lake Chad region were annexed by Chadian soldiers. He did not just beat them back, he was said to have given the invaders a bloody nose. That feat is still remembered in the North-East now besieged by insurgents. Today, as President and commander-in-chief, he has taken the fight to the militants by relocating the command and control centre to Maiduguri, the epicentre of the crisis. The result has been a remarkable decimation of the ranks of the militants.

His fight against corruption is also recording phenomenal successes as many former leaders top office holders and politicians are been being called to account.

At 73, Buhari, relying on his military experience, has proved not to be a quitter and it paid off with his victory and emergence as President at the fourth attempt. Many see in him the tenacity and the never-say-die spirit of United States of America’s 16th President, the iconoclastic Abraham Lincoln.

Born on December 17, 1942, in Daura, Katsina State, young Buhari attended Primary School in his native Daura and Mai’adua from 1948 – 1952, before proceeding to Katsina Middle School in 1953. He went to the Katsina Provincial Secondary School (now Government College, Katsina) from 1956 – 1961. On graduation from Secondary School in 1961, he chose a career in the military and enrolled in the Nigerian Military Training School, Kaduna in 1963.

In October of the same year, he was sent to the officers’ Cadet School, Aldershot in the United Kingdom and was thereafter commissioned Second Lieutenant in 1963 and posted to the 2nd Infantry Battalion, Abeokuta as Platoon Commander.

It was at the Abeokuta Garrison that the real traits of a great soldier were identified in the young man. From 1963 – 1964 he was sent for further training on the Platoon Commanders’ Course at the Nigerian Military College, Kaduna.

In 1965, he attended the Mechanical Transport Officers’ Course at the Army Mechanical Transport School in Borden, England and also was at the Defence Services’ Staff College, Wellington, India in 1973 and the United States Army War College from June 1979 to June 1980.

In August 1975, after General Murtala Mohammed took over power, he appointed Buhari as Governor of the North-Eastern State, to oversee social, economic and political improvements in the state.

In March 1976, the then Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo, appointed him as the Federal Commissioner (position now called Minister) for Petroleum and Natural Resources. When the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation was created in 1976, Buhari was also appointed its Chairman, a position he held until 1978.

On January 1, 1984, Buhari became Head of State after a successful military coup d’etat that overthrew civilian President Shehu Shagari on December 31, 1983.

Twenty months after, on August 27, 1985, Buhari himself was overthrown in a palace coup led by General Ibrahim Babangida.

Between 1995 and 1998, Buhari served as the Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF), a body created by the administration of General Sani Abacha, and funded from the revenue generated by the increase in pump price of petroleum products, to pursue development- oriented projects around the country.

Buhari contested the Presidential election as the candidate of the All Nigeria People’s Party in 2003 and lost to former president Olusegun Obasanjo.

Again, he contested under the ANPP banner in 2007 against the Late Umaru Musa Yar’adua of the PDP and lost.

In March 2010, Buhari left the ANPP and formed the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), on which platform he took another shot at the presidency but lost to incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

In 2015 when he won, he ran on the ticket of the All Progressive Congress (APC), a coalition of political forces.

LEADERSHIP Governor Of The Year 2015
Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo

The PDP is all but dead in northern Nigeria; but for him it would have been buried. For his unrelenting modernisation of Gombe State, his record of performance in maintaining peace, good governance and exemplary leadership, and for a feat of political engineering that has made him the last PDP governor standing in the entire north, Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo is the LEADERSHIP Governor of the Year 2015.

When change became the buzzword for political engineering and the tsunami swept through the landscape, not many gave Alhaji Dankwambo a chance. Part of the reason for his success at the polls has to do with how the former Accountant General of the federation impressively managed the lean resources accruable to the state from the federation account to make Gombe a model not only in the savannah but in the country as a whole.

Even though the PDP became extremely unpopular under a reckless and irresponsible leadership, Governor Dankwambo was an oasis. He has through exemplary leadership, prudent public financial management and determination proved that politics is not all about failed promises; his is not the usual political discourse, full of hypocrisy and make-believe.

In the last five years, he has turned the State to a huge construction site comprising over 35 international standard model schools in all the local government areas of the state; 116 asphalted roads within the Gombe metropolis and other township roads; expansion programme in the university sector with the purchase of equipment for the College of Medicine and Faculty of Pharmaceutical Science; multi-billion naira spent on hostels, classrooms, libraries and laboratories in the School of Remedial Studies at Kumo.

The Talban Gombe completed the construction of the 54km Kanawa-Kuri-Jorogutel road with some connecting access roads linking all the most agricultural fertile parts of the state and the federal government at a point was indebted to the state to the tune N6.2 billion refund.

With the backing of the Bank of Industry (BoI), he has been able to empower about 12,000 Gombe citizens to become net employers of labour after facilitating skills acquisition for 133 Cooperative Societies that is youths biased and with adequate gender balance.

Dankwambo has gone beyond micro and medium scale prognosis into full blown   industrialisation with the establishment of an industrial cluster cum enterprise zone for groundnut oil and rice millers at Bogo/Nasarawo Industrial Estate in Gombe. This, in spite of the shadow of terrorism plaguing the region. With 300 slots allocated to the two trade groups for production shades, the administration also provided three transformers at the site to ease power problems as part of its wealth creation policy.

The establishment of five more clusters are in the works, according to him, to accommodate the increasing number of small-scale industries from the BOI initiative. The establishment of a multi-billion naira Modern Commodity Depot and Exchange Centre in Gombe, the state capital, to promote Modern Commodity Trading, is in progress, with costs projected at well over N4 billion.

Quite recently, Governor Dankwambo unveiled 200 fuel efficient mini-brand taxi cabs; 1,100 Keke NAPEP tricycles, combined with 80 hummer buses for Gombe State Transport Service through the State Ministry of Finance as a more meaningful approach to alleviating the scourge of poverty among the populace rather than the negative approach to survival.

Beyond his reputation as an effective technocrat, the highly cerebral disciplinarian surrounded by brilliant, young and articulate civil servants has made remarkable stride in human capital development, provision of water and power generation, infrastructural development and good governance.

Incorruptible and stubbornly principled, the technocrat turned politician is using his second tenure to more vigorously pursue the principles of probity, transparency and accountability that promises to lay the foundation for the emergence of true heroes in the sedentary state, desperate in need of iconic figures and statesmen.

Talban Gombe, is an inspiration and a role model. Born on April 4, 1962 at Herwagana Ward in Gombe, he attended Central Primary School, Gombe and Government Secondary School Billiri in Gombe State. Armed with a Second Class Upper Division degree in Accounting from the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; a Master of Science Degree in Economics from the University of Lagos, Nigeria and a post-graduate diploma in Computer Science from Delta State University, Abraka, Dankwambo last year bagged a PhD at Igbinedion University. The Governor’s working career spanned both the private and public sectors. From Coopers and Lybrand International (Chartered Accountants), now PriceWaterHouseCoopers between 1985 and 1988, he joined the Central Bank of Nigeria in 1988 and worked there till 1999 when he was appointed the Accountant-General of Gombe State. He later that year got appointed as the nation’s Accountant General. A fellow and Associate of six professional bodies in finance-related field, Gov. Dankwambo is happily married to Hajiya Adama Ibrahim Dankwambo.

LEADERSHIP Politician Of The Year 2015
Hon Yakubu Dogara (Speaker, House of Representatives)

For coming from behind, galvanizing house members from differing political tendencies to win the speakership of the House of Representatives in a clean and transparent contest without the support of any of the party’s power centers, and for being politically adroit enough to win back the confidence of his party’s leadership after this has been accomplished to the extent of becoming the bridge and influencer of the rapprochement between the National Assembly and the presidency, Rt. Honourable Yakubu Dogara is LEADERSHIP Politician of the Year 2015.

Following a transparent election process in the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara emerged Speaker on June 9. The riveting story replete with intrigues that culminated in the epic leadership election was reflective of the political odyssey of how his immediate predecessor, Aminu Tambuwal.

The battle of wits began immediately after the election between him, on the one hand, and Hon Femi Gbajamiabila representing Surulere 1 Federal constituency, on the other. The National Working Committee of the APC had in a mock election chose Gbajabiamila as the party’s anointed candidate. Dogara, along with his group, denounced rejected the outcome of the mock election.

Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara

On the main election day on the floor of the House, Dogara polled 182 votes as against the 174 polled by his rival. Besides the intrigues which characterised the NASS leadership election, there were a number of things that worked for Dogara: his political sagacity, social relationship and detribalised mind-set worldview. He had indicated interest in the nation’s Number 4 job when APC said the office of the Speaker was zoned to the North East where he hailed from, but the party changed the rule mid-way and re-zoned it to the South West and jettisoned the North East, hence the beginning of strategic alliances and deals.

The speaker remained resolute and basked in the assurance by President Muhammadu Buhari that he would not interfere in the election into the leadership positions in the National Assembly. That was the magic that galvanised the spirit in Dogara’s camp and eventually led to his victory.

This is not the first time Dogara would be indicating interest in the number one seat in the House of Representatives. In 2011 he signalled his aspiration, but failed to achieve it. However, it must have been an eye-opener, which also provided for him ample time and experience on how to be a rebel with a cause, given the similarities in the plots of 2011 and 2015 leadership tussles in the House of Representatives.

Born December 26, 1967, Hon Dogara represents Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa-Balewa Federal constituency of Bauchi State in the National Assembly. This is his third coming having won the same seat in 2007 and 2011 elections.

His parents, Yakubu Ganawuri and Saratu Yakubu sent him to Gwarangah Primary School in the then Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of Bauchi State in 1976. When he finished in 1982, he proceeded to the Bauchi Teachers’ College for his secondary education, and obtained a Grade II Teachers’ Certificate in 1987. In 1988, he went on to the University of Jos, Plateau State, from where he obtained a Bachelor of Law (LLB Hons.) degree in 1992.

From 1992 to 1993, Dogara was a student at the Lagos campus of the Nigerian Law School and was called to the bar in 1993. He later obtained a Masters (LLM) in International Commercial Law at Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland.

Dogara also attended a course on Managing and Leading Strategic Change in 2006, the Oxford University Course on Negotiation in 2013, and a course on Leadership in Crisis at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2014.

Yakubu Dogara started his career as a teacher in April 1988, when he was employed at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Staff School in Bauchi. After his National Youth Service Programme in Akwa Ibom state in 1994, he went into private legal practice.

He was eventually appointed Special Assistant to the Minister of State of Transport, a position he occupied until 2006 when he joined politics fully and contested election into the House of Representatives to represent Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa-Balewa Federal Constituency, a contest he eventually won.

As a member of the House, he has sponsored many bills and undertaken several assignments.

Between 2007 and 2011, Dogara chaired two House committees, namely the House Committee on Customs and Excise, and the House Services Committee.

During this period, he was also a member of the House committees on Judiciary, Capital Markets and Institutions, Foreign Affairs, Rural Development and Power, among others.

During the 2011-2015 dispensation, he served as Chairman of the committee on House Services and Welfare, and as a member of Judiciary, Land Transport, Labour, Employment and Productivity, Steel Development, and Legislative Budget and Research committees.

Dogara is the first and only lawmaker to have chaired the House Services and Welfare Committee under two different assemblies and Speakers, Dimeji Bankole and Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

House activities and assignments:

Dogara has also served on panels and ad hoc committees such as: Chairman, Nigerian Customs Service Probe Panel, Chairman, Ad hoc Committee on Composition and Pigmentation of Cement in Nigeria; Chairman, House Ad hoc Committee on Disbursement of Public Funds by the Bank of Industry; Member, House Contract Scam Probe Panel; Member, Hijack of fishing vessels and Maritime Security Probe Panel; Member, House Ad hoc Committee on Crude Oil Theft; Member, House Ad hoc Committee on Constitutional Review Bills.

In 2010, Dogara sponsored the Corporate Manslaughter and the Data Protection Bills. These were followed by Federal Competition Commission Bill in 2011.

In 2013, he sponsored a bill for an act to amend section 143 of the Nigerian Constitution in order to make the process of removal of the President and the Vice President (on charges of misconduct) less ambiguous. In the same year, he also sponsored bills on Public Interest Disclosure, and Hire Purchase.

In the current dispensation, Dogara has sponsored five bills so far which include North East Development Commission Establishment Bill 2015, Subsidiary legislation bill 2015, Federal competition bill 2015, Data Protection bill 2015 and Hire Purchase bill 2015.

Motions sponsored

Dogara has sponsored many motions in his legislative career, some of which border on:

An alleged concession agreement between the Ministry of Finance and a technology firm which was signed in secrecy during the government transition period. The indiscriminate granting of waivers, exemptions and concessions by the Federal Government. The need for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to implement the cashless policy in phases based on the availability of the requisite infrastructure. Urgent need for both Houses of the National Assembly to activate their constitutional powers under section 58 (1) (5) of the 1999 Constitution in relation to bills over which the President has failed to exercise constitutional responsibilities and powers under section 58 (1) and (4) of the Constitution.

North East Initiatives

Dogara is an advocate for the reconstruction, rehabilitation and recovery of the North East region that is ravaged by years of insurgency.

He made history as the first Speaker ever to step down from his seat to sponsor a motion on the urgent need for the ‘Rehabilitation, reconstruction, recovery and development of the Northeast Zone of Nigeria.’ It was unprecedented in the history of the House of Representatives, that a sitting Speaker relinquished his position in order to lead debate on a motion.

He is the highest political office holder from the North East region and hails from Tafawa Balewa.

His legislative interests include tenancy, regulating monopolies, company law, and intellectual property. The LEADERSHIP Politician of the Year 2015 is married with two children.

LEADERSHIP Banker Of The Year 2015
Rasheed Adejare Olaoluwa (MD/CEO, Bank of Industry, BOI)

On his watch, the Bank of Industry (BOI) has become more creative and impactful in the delivery of its mandate to address the issues of poverty reduction and the phenomenon of rising youth unemployment with its attendant threat to political stability, social cohesion and economic growth of the nation.

Simple and unassuming, he leads a team that is not short of confidence and capability. It is to the credit of Olaoluwa that the BoI has adopted a person-centred and demand-driven approach towards promoting and developing competent and productive initiatives of the nation’s foremost development bank. Placing emphasis on prudent project selection and management, the bank, accordingly, supports quality projects with potential development impact.

The Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) scheme, for instance, initiated by Olaoluwa, is an on-lending scheme using the services of Microfinance Banks (MFBs) as vehicle for credit delivery to the under-served and under-banked micro-entrepreneurs strategically initiated for job and wealth creation focusing on the rural micro-enterprise operators with a view to extending financial inclusion to them.

An estimated minimum of 40,000 direct and 120,000 indirect jobs (totalling 160,000) are expected to be created at an average loan size of N250,000.00 per ultimate obligor, according to projection. In the past 18 months, BoI has signed different Memorada of Understanding to support certain sectors like rice, cassava and other agro-allied businesses to bolster government desire to diversify the economy.

Since his appointment on April 17, 2014, Olaoluwa has expanded the bank’s products to offer competitive interest rates, relatively long tenure and moratorium amongst other support incentives.

The appointment of Olaoluwa to foremost development finance institution, analysts said was influenced by a need to drive industrialisation in the Nigerian economy, particularly among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It was also to maintain increased integration of these smaller businesses into the mainstream economy as a creative solution to low employment figures in Nigeria, while increasing their contribution to the industrial sectors, which have historically recorded low participation rates.

Olaoluwa has concerned himself with re-tooling and re-engineering the hitherto reactive bank by introducing the new banking application, the RUBICON, which gives BoI the capacity to automate its processes – both operational and credit processes and the likes – as it is done in the private sector. Said he, “We are running with a private sector mindset but we are supporting customers with a developmental orientation.”

This is not unexpected from a man with over 26 years experience in the private sector. For him, the BOI represents a good opportunity, a very good platform, to be able to make a difference and an impact. Olaoluwa enthused: “I am honoured to be joining Bank of Industry at this dynamic time in our nation’s development, as we continue to progress in stature and relevance in the global economy.”

There is a traditional school of thought that believes that development bank, do not dwell much on profitability. But there is also a prevailing school of thought which believes that you can actually make an impact and still be profitable. The latter, Olaoluwa has been using to drive BoI. Under him, BoI has been making impact in an efficient manner that ensures that the bank also maximises its revenue and optimises expenses, and thereafter, make small margins to sustain its operations.

Our banker of the year has also returned BoI to profitability. As at the end of December, BoI shareholders’ fund was N162 billion. It has risen to N170 billion. The paid-up capital of the BOI is N142 billion and the authorised capital were about N250 billion out of which about N142 billion has been paid up.

A seasoned engineer, banker and chartered accountant, Olaoluwa was former Group CEO of UBA Capital Plc. He has had an illustrious working career that saw him through Arthur Andersen and in the banking industry, various senior roles in marketing and relationship management, treasury management, currency trading and investment banking, culminating in his appointment as the managing director/chief executive officer of the erstwhile Universal Trust Bank PLC.

At UBA, his stock has risen as he has served as Member of Board, Audit Committee, UBA PLC, Executive Director at the same bank between March 2008 and December 2012, as well as Chief Executive Officer of UBA International, a subsidiary of United Bank for Africa Plc and UBA West & Central Africa.

Olaoluwa is an Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. He holds a first class honours degree in Civil Engineering and an executive MBA degree from International Graduate School of Management (IESE), Spain. Olaoluwa replaced Evelyn Oputu whose eight years turbulent tenure ended on December 13, 2013.

LEADERSHIP Business Person Of The Year 2015
Oba Otudeko (Chairman, Honeywell Group)

For his relentless appetite for risk, his zeal to impact lives by creating jobs and transforming the business landscape with legacy projects and his philanthropy Oba Otudeko is LEADERSHIP Business Person of the Year 2015

Our Business Person of the Year 2015 has been a pacesetter for quite some time. Born Obafunke (but better known as Oba) Otudeko, the chairman of Honeywell Group has a larger-than-life image as a shrewd businessman and a risk-taker of no mean stature. His conglomerate’s operations stretch across oil and gas, flour milling, real estate and marine transportation. Another piece of his fortune is in the oceanfront Radisson Blu in Lagos, Nigeria.

He knew quite early what he wanted out of life and pursued the dream with tenacity of purpose. While he was growing up, the only thing that caught his fancy was business; he refused to be swayed by any other interest. The grace of God in his life has also united with his training and perception, endowing him with the Midas touch – success has always trailed all that he has ventured into. Having joined the business world at a very tender age, he is, today, considered as the 46th richest man in Africa, according to Forbes.

Oba Otudeko has impacted on the immediate community of Honeywell Group through wealth and value creation, in addition to a pool of highly motivated workforce. It is a fact today that many have tapped and benefited enormously from his huge financial and business experience.

A trained chartered banker, chartered corporate secretary and chartered accountant, the highly successful Nigerian investor and entrepreneur, whose domestic and foreign interests cut across diverse sectors of the economy, was, at various times, chairman, First Bank of Nigeria, FBN Bank (UK) Limited, Airtel Nigeria and Fan Milk of Nigeria Plc. He has also served on the boards of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Guinness Nigeria Plc, British American Tobacco Limited and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated headquartered in Lome, Togo.

In recognition of his many contributions to the economic and social development of Nigeria, and his consistent commitment to good causes and the Nigerian nation, his National Honour was again upgraded to Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) in November 2011, having previously been awarded Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) in November 2002 and Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) in December 2000.

He was the president and chairman of council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The ever-blunt philanthropist promotes his ideals of philanthropy and giving back to the society through the Footprints Occupational Training Centres initiative of the Oba Otudeko Foundation.

LEADERSHIP Public Officer Of The Year 2015
Boboye Oyeyemi (Corps Marshal/CEO, Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC)

For bringing practical, common sense solutions to road safety through speed limiters and more efficient use of ICT and for simplifying strengthening enforcement of traffic rules thereby saving scores of lives Boboye Oyeyemi is LEADERSHIP Public Service Person of the Year 2015

Born on Saturday, November 26, 1960, at Odo Ona Elewe in Ibadan, as the second of his parents’ eight children, Boboye Oyeyemi has waded through the drudgery of peasantry and established himself as a selfless public servant and accomplished administrator.

His parents, who originally hailed from Igbeseland in Odo Owa community of Eko Ero local government area of Kwara State, were clerics of the Christ Apostolic Church. They got transferred from town to town in the old Western Region as they pursued missionary work and livelihood.

After attending Baptist Primary School, Oyeyemi headed for Christ High School, Ibadan, for his secondary education. Between 1981 and 1986, he got both the National and Higher National Diploma in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from The Polytechnic, Ibadan.

It was not until the young prince from Odo Olu royal family in his hometown joined the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in 1988 that his fortunes started taking a positive shape. He also scrupulously adhered to his terms of engagement, provided leadership and cultivated the right attitude to work that marked him out for higher responsibilities.

His quest for higher attainments led him to acquire further education at the University of Lagos, between 1993 and 1995, where he bagged a Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) in Transport Management and a Master’s degree in Public Administration (MPA), in that order.

A pioneer officer of the FRSC, Boboye Oyeyemi is the first-ever official of the Commission to grow from the ranks to head the Commission since its establishment 27 years ago. He has brought about a seamless transition to the organisation he heads and innovations into the delivery of the mandate of highways’ safety for motorists and other road users, recommending works and infrastructures to eliminate or minimize accidents on the highways and educating motorists and members of the public on the importance of road discipline on the highways.

He has acquitted himself creditably since he put on the uniform in 1988. The illustrious career has seen him work as:

–          O/C comm. Corps Marshal’s Office, FRSC National Headquarters

– zonal commanding officer, RS2HQ Lagos

– area commander (plant & production), NULS Lagos Plant

– principal commander (plant & production), NULS Lagos Plant

–          zonal commanding officer, RS10HQ Sokoto

– deputy director, RSHQ Operations

– acting director, operations, RSHQ

– deputy director, operations, RSHQ

– director, MVA, RSHQ

– zonal commanding officer, RS3HQ Yola

– head/director of operations, RSHQ

– HOD, planning, research and statistics, RSHQ

– HOD, training, standardization and certification

– HOD, operations, RSHQ

– HOD, motor vehicle and administration, RSHQ

All these preceded his appointment as deputy corps marshal and now as corps marshal/CEO.

In the process he has been appreciated and rewarded with:

– Corps Marshal and Chief Executive Award

– Certified Distinguished Administrator Award, Institute of Corporate Administration

– American Medal of Honour, American Biographical Institute, USA

– Man of the Year Award, American Biographical Institute, USA

– Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR).

With the benefit of insight, Oyeyemi has brought practical solutions to the dangers on our roads since assuming office with the introduction of speed limiters in commercial vehicles and by arresting reckless official, trailer and lorry drivers on our roads. He has harmonised bio-metric data with the national hub, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), and found scientific mechanism for issuance of driver licences.

Mr Oyeyemi has, through various initiatives, achieved the following as head of the FRSC:

• International recognition of the National Driver’s Licence and reciprocity with several European countries, and many states in the U.S.
• ISO 9001: 2008 Quality Management System (QMS) certification of the FRSC
• Midwifed drafting of the first Nigeria Road Safety Strategy document (NRSS 2014 -2018)
• Declaration by the World Bank of the Federal Road Safety Corps as “the best example of a lead agency on road safety in Africa”
• Reduction in response time by FRSC personnel to crash scenes from about 40mins to less than 15mins
• Increase in the number of persons rescued alive from crash scenes between 2014 and 2015
• Road traffic crashes and fatalities trended down in 2015 in line with the 50% reduction target of the Accra Declaration and United Nations Decade of Action Declaration of 50% reduction by 2020.

Generally, Oyeyemi’s FRSC has gained wide international acceptance with 12 African countries requesting to be trained by its personnel. Our No. 1 public servant for 2015 has strengthened the various policies and programmes of the corps with a view to enhance staff productivity.

LEADERSHIP CEO Of The Year 2015
Simone Volpi (MD, INTELS Nigeria Limited )

The appointment of Simone Volpi, in 2010, as managing director was a turning point in the chequered history of INTELS. Volpi was young, energetic and forward-looking. Having pioneered a one-stop approach to logistics services for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, INTELS Nigeria Limited has become the leader in providing key support services to the country’s most important sector – oil and gas.

From relative obscurity, the name Integrated Logistics Services Limited (INTELS) has come to be associated with maritime as well as the nation’s economic mainstay, oil and gas. Orlean Invest Africa has 20,000 direct and 50,000 indirect employees through a “deliberate policy of employing the best crop of people of all creeds including handicapped persons”. The company has become an institution in its almost 40 years of incorporation in the country, having an excellent relationship with the Nigerian government and people.

Since it forayed into the nation’s economic circles, there has not been a time better than when Simone Volpi took charge as the managing director of INTELS. Sensing that logistics errors were robbing the country of billions of dollars on a daily basis, Volpi tapped into McKinsey’s standpoint that the cost of logistics in countries like Nigeria could be as much as 30 per cent of a project’s total cost. INTELS thus started a one-stop-shop concept to cover logistics in the oil and gas sector, using the advantage of the concessionaire of Onne port to provide logistical backstopping services across the board, including offices, housing and air tickets.

Orlean Invest Group, the parent company of INTELS, saw a window in the fact that every new company coming to invest in Nigeria is going to need housing for their employees and an office, after which they have to consider the supply of materials. It is a crucial part of their operations. Volpi, who was hired after his Master’s degree in Integrated Logistics at the Universita’ degli Studi di Genova, in 2002, was a sure round peg in a round hole.

Equipped with the requisite training, skills and mind-set, Volpi led INTELS to become a primary brand specializing in logistics created specifically to cater to the oil and gas industry. He engaged a team with the facilities and the resources to provide other logistical needs. The company strongly believes in a one-stop-shop concept that enables firms doing business in the oil and gas industry to concentrate on their core services while outsourcing peripheral activities to it.

INTELS has state-of-the-art office and residential accommodation facilities, besides catering and health services, in Onne. This has helped firms to quickly settle down to do the business that brought them to Nigeria in the first place. Wise companies have been able to take advantage of INTELS’ services; others still grapple with the common challenges of doing business in Nigeria.

After his early education in Italy, Simone Volpi attended Franklin College in Lugano, Switzerland, where he graduated with a BA in International Management in 1996. He later obtained a Master’s degree in Integrated Logistics before joining INTELS’ parent company, Orlean Invest Group. He was the company’s commercial coordinator in Angola for one year, before he was transferred to Nigeria, where he has remained and naturalised as a Nigerian. His mercurial understanding of the Gulf of Guinea served him in good stead to get to the pinnacle of his career in 2010 as the acting managing director of INTELS Nigeria Limited.

As MD of INTELS, Mr Volpi has been in the forefront of using the income from the oil and gas industry to invest heavily in the agricultural sector of the economy for the benefit of Nigeria. Apart from maritime, INTELS has been spearheading efforts to make Onne port a hub for the oil and gas industry.

INTELS under Volpi is interested in technology transfer and building of the requisite human capital to power the country’s economic activities. For him, this is to ensure that transferred knowledge and revenue ultimately remain in Nigeria.

INTELS is a Nigerian company that is 90% owned by Nigerians. About 90% to 95% of its workforce is Nigerian. This includes the management team. It has been organising the annual oil and gas forum which has become a rallying point for the key players in the oil and gas industry and beyond.

In terms of infrastructural development, INTELS under Volpi in 2013 completed and commissioned reclamation of 900 acres of land from water. Last year, it made another important investment for Onne oil and gas free zone called Phase 4B where a total of $3 billion was invested. Deep Offshore Services Nigeria Ltd was engaged to develop a further 3kilometres of jetties, and 3.5kilometres of differently engineered jetties, with dedicated areas for the fabrication of infrastructure for offshore modules, jackets, and so on. These investments are more than sufficient to send products out on barges and huge accruals for the federal treasury in shipping, oil and gas.

INTELS Nigeria Limited under Volpi’s leadership has become the clear leader in providing key support services to the country’s most important sector. The company   scaled through world-class rating audits in integrated management system (IMS) by getting an international certification, a feat that is unprecedented.

He also constructed and commissioned a 1km road with solar light for Rumuorianwo community in Rumuokwurushi town in Obio/Akpor LGA of Rivers State.

INTELS has supported over 190 companies presently operating in the oil and gas service support industry with investment valued at over USD6.0 billion and supporting livelihoods for over 204,000 persons (direct and indirect jobs for family members).

For these and many more, INTELS’ managing director Volpi, who naturalised as a Nigerian some four years ago, has won our hearts and is hereby proclaimed the LEADERSHIP Chief Executive Officer of the Year 2015.

LEADERSHIP Government Agency Of The Year 2015
CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria)

For its multiple interventions to galvanise the economy, stabilise it and stimulate growth and for initiating a borrowers’ programme to lift thousands of small farmers out of poverty and generate millions of jobs for unemployed Nigerians, Central Bank Of Nigeria is LEADERSHIP Government Agency of the Year 2015.

In view of its patriotic monetary policies, the Central Bank of Nigeria is our Government Agency of the Year 2015. The CBN has doggedly defended the naira by implementing country-specific and innovative policies that have helped to stabilise the exchange rate and conserve our reserves.

Pressures on Nigeria to devalue its naira to attract foreign investments have been at the centre of international economic relations for some time. In spite of the seeming prospects for industrialisation, the likely spin-off of the action may not be as palatable as presented. But the CBN took a patriotic stance by holding the country’s macro-economic policy on price and financial stability firm: it has continued to promote sustainable economic development in difficult circumstances throughout the year in consonance with the government’s official opposition to naira depreciation.

We are at home with the CBN’s policy of restricting foreign-exchange trading to stabilise the naira, despite a plunge in oil revenue, and rebuffing the odds placed by foreign investors, local businesses and some members of the Monetary Policy Committee who say the naira is overvalued, deterring capital inflows and hindering economic growth. Carrying out the trade-off between a fixed naira and other foreign currencies would have plunged the country into greater misery, depression and inflation.

A pro-people bankers’ bank, the CBN set aside N40 billion from the N220 billion Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund for farmers at a single-digit interest rate of 9 per cent, besides making available the concessionary loans granted to more than 30 states to offset salary arrears for their workers, while also initiating Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) to lift thousands of small farmers out of poverty and generate millions of jobs for unemployed Nigerians, improve local food production, and conserve scarce foreign reserves expended on food importation.

The need for reform led the CBN into launching, on February 14, 2014, a centralised biometric identification system for the banking industry tagged “Bank Verification Number” (BVN), to forestall identity theft and money laundering and fish out blacklisted customers. It was an idea whose time had come. Since its introduction, the BVN has been exposing official corruption, a major thrust of the new government.

A supporter of anti-corruption and transparency in governance, the CBN introduced the Treasury Single Account (TSA) through which N2.5trillion has been mopped up. Again, feelers from our Government Agency of the Year are that plans have been concluded to migrate to the accrual accounting model of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) by January 2016.

Under the accrual basis of accounting, expenses will be matched with the related revenues and/or reported when the expense occurs, not when the cash is paid. It will eliminate the mis-match and sharp practices where unbudgeted-for funds find their ways into private accounts from government agencies.

Among others, the CBN has also:

*monitored out-bound money transfer in partnership with WUMT; released commemorative N100 bank note and strengthened risk-based supervision mechanism of Nigerian banks to ensure overall health and banking system stability;

*abolished fees associated with limits on deposits and reconsider on-going practice in which all fees associated with limits on withdrawals accrue to banks alone;

*introduced a broad spectrum of financial instruments to boost specific enterprise areas in agriculture, manufacturing, health, and oil and gas;

*established a Secure Transaction and National Collateral Registry and a National Credit Scoring System that improved access to information on borrowers and assist lenders to make good credit decisions;

*built resilient financial infrastructure that serves the needs of the lower end of the market, especially those without collateral.

*licensed a new commercial bank in the economy.

For working on the side of the people, the CBN is our Government Agency of the Year 2015.

LEADERSHIP Product Of The Year 2015
Dangote Cement

For creating a brand that promotes the trust of all stakeholders, deepening retention value, trust and helping to create thousands of jobs across the continent as well as making dreams come through, Dangote Cement is LEADERSHIP Product of the Year 2015.

Dangote Cement Industries Plc is a fully integrated cement company that has projects and operations in Nigeria and 14 other African countries. Its current total production capacity in Nigeria from its three existing cement plants – Obajana (10.25MMTPA), Ibese (6.0MMTPA) and Gboko (4.0MMTPA) – 20.25MMTPA, tells the story of a company determined to make a difference.

The Obajana Cement Plant (OCP) located in Kogi State is reputed to be one of the single largest cement plants in the world with a combined capacity of 10.25MMTPA. A fourth line which adds 3.0MMTPA to the existing capacity will bring the total capacity of Obajana to 13.25MMTPA by 2015.

Dangote Cement is also the biggest quoted company in West Africa and the only Nigerian company on the Forbes Global 2000 Companies.

A super-brand built with the trust of all stakeholders in mind, Dangote Cement is made strong in Nigeria by its creation and retention of value. As an international brand, it takes justifiable pride in being put forward as a world-class Nigerian brand that demonstrates immense vitality in the pan-African cement marketplace. Dangote Cement is a brand that not only helps build homes, towns and cities; it helps build trust and ultimately enables better quality of lives. The name is an epitome of trust among all the stakeholders: engineers, builders, contractors, individual house owners, governments, investors, shareholders and the society at large. The brand has consistently lived up to this trust since its inception.

Dangote Cement’s positioning as “world-class cement at affordable cost” translates the Dangote Group’s vision: “To produce made-in-Africa cement”. This it does by deploying the latest technology to harness the abundant locally available mineral and manpower resources bringing them into reality in a way that depicts progress, cutting-edge technology and modernity. Dangote Cement is the engineer’s choice, the dealer’s delight and the shareholders’ pride – it reflects its promise of excellence in product quality and reliability in addition to its unparalleled customer care. Dangote Cement has been recognised as a super-brand for three consecutive years in Nigeria.

LEADERSHIP Company Of The Year 2015
Heritage Bank

For pioneering Nigeria’s first transparent debit card and the mobile POS system and establishing itself as a customer-centric bank driven by cutting edge technology, Heritage is LEADERSHIP’s Company of the Year 2015.

Dangote Cement Industries Plc is a fully integrated cement company that has projects and operations in Nigeria and 14 other African countries. Its current total production capacity in Nigeria from its three existing cement plants – Obajana (10.25MMTPA), Ibese (6.0MMTPA) and Gboko (4.0MMTPA) – 20.25MMTPA, tells the story of a company determined to make a difference.

The Obajana Cement Plant (OCP) located in Kogi State is reputed to be one of the single largest cement plants in the world with a combined capacity of 10.25MMTPA. A fourth line which adds 3.0MMTPA to the existing capacity will bring the total capacity of Obajana to 13.25MMTPA by 2015.

Dangote Cement is also the biggest quoted company in West Africa and the only Nigerian company on the Forbes Global 2000 Companies.

A super-brand built with the trust of all stakeholders in mind, Dangote Cement is made strong in Nigeria by its creation and retention of value. As an international brand, it takes justifiable pride in being put forward as a world-class Nigerian brand that demonstrates immense vitality in the pan-African cement marketplace. Dangote Cement is a brand that not only helps build homes, towns and cities; it helps build trust and ultimately enables better quality of lives. The name is an epitome of trust among all the stakeholders: engineers, builders, contractors, individual house owners, governments, investors, shareholders and the society at large. The brand has consistently lived up to this trust since its inception.

Dangote Cement’s positioning as “world-class cement at affordable cost” translates the Dangote Group’s vision: “To produce made-in-Africa cement”. This it does by deploying the latest technology to harness the abundant locally available mineral and manpower resources bringing them into reality in a way that depicts progress, cutting-edge technology and modernity. Dangote Cement is the engineer’s choice, the dealer’s delight and the shareholders’ pride – it reflects its promise of excellence in product quality and reliability in addition to its unparalleled customer care. Dangote Cement has been recognised as a super-brand for three consecutive years in Nigeria.

LEADERSHIP Bank Of The Year 2015
Access Bank

For embedding a growth strategy that has focused on mainstreaming sustainable business practices into its operations, striving to deliver sustainable economic growth that is profitable, environmentally responsible and socially relevant, Access Bank is LEADERSHIP Bank of the Year 2015.

Access Bank Plc by its strategic business modules, has proved that banking has gone beyond deposits and borrowing, grown from the financial intermediation role into a tool for growth. Access Bank Plc has been at the forefront of growing businesses in a sustainable way.

Access-Bank-Logo

Over the past 26 years, the bank has transformed from a nascent Nigerian Bank into a world class African financial institution. Today, Access Bank is one of the five largest banks in Nigeria in terms of assets, loans, deposits and branch network; a feat which has been achieved through strong long-term approach to client solutions – providing committed and innovative advice.

A full service commercial bank operating through a network of about 366 branches and service outlets located in major centres across Nigeria, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo and the United Kingdom, our Bank of the Year has been listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange since 1998. The Bank serves its various markets through four business segments: Personal, Business, Commercial and Corporate & Investment banking and has over 830,000 shareholders including several Nigerian and international institutional investors and has enjoyed what is arguably Africa’s most successful banking growth trajectory in the last 10 years ranking among Africa’s top 20 banks by total assets and capital in 2011.

As part of its continued growth strategy, Access Bank is focused on mainstreaming sustainable business practices into its operations. The Bank strives to deliver sustainable economic growth that is profitable, environmentally responsible and socially relevant.

LEADERSHIP ICT/TELECOM COMPANY Of The Year 2015
SystemSpecs

For providing innovative solutions to ease financial services such as end-to-end electronic processing and payment of salaries and pensions by private and public sector organisations in line with the National Payment System (NPS) Vision 2020 initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), SystemSpecs Is LEADERHSIP ICT/TELECOMS Company of the Year 2015.

Founded in 1991, SystemSpecs has since emerged as a leading provider of e-payment, financial and human capital software solutions for the Nigerian and African environment.

SystemSpecs owns Remita, the e-payment and e-collection software used for the implementation of payments into the Treasury Single Account. Its chairman is Dr Christopher Kolade, former chairman of the SURE-P and Nigeria’s former High Comissioner to the United Kingdom.

Through Remita, an innovative biometrics, payroll, pension and e-payment solutions it introduced into the nation’s financial market, it promotes end-to-end electronic processing and payment of salaries and pensions by private and public sector organisations in line with the National Payment System (NPS) Vision 2020 initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Very easy to use and extremely affordable, Remita is the IT solution that will help manage all aspects of salary and pension processing and make direct payment into staff and pensioners’ accounts in any commercial or micro-finance bank. It is a one-stop solution that would make it extremely easy for organisations to comply with the CBN directives on salary and pension processing and e-payment.

The e-payment solution reduces to the barest minimum all incidents of ghost workers, human errors in salary and pension computation, and delayed salary payment by providing automatic payslips to all employees as well as notifying beneficiaries as soon as their accounts are credited in the commercial or micro-finance banks.

Apart from the banks, all PFAs and PFCs are connected to the Remita platform. As organisations pay salaries, pension deductions are also remitted to PFAs and PFCs with the delivery of associated electronic schedules. The same thing applies to organisations who wish to use the system to remit their staff PAYE tax to all 36 states’ boards of Internal Revenue (SBIRs) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

For devising a home-grown ICT software solution to a problem as corrosive and endemic as corruption, SystemSpecs qualifies for the Board of Editors’ award of ICT/Telecom Company of the Year.

LEADERSHIP Brand Of The Year 2015
Zenith Bank

For consistent, solid and favourable ratings over the years by local as well as international financial rating agencies, for creating a world class brand helped by an unrelenting presence on international news platforms making it one of the most recognisable brands on the planet and for maintaining its role as a market leader in the banking sector, ZENITH Bank is LEADERSHIP Brand of the Year 2015.

Headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, Zenith Bank Plc has over 500 branches and business offices in prime commercial centres in all states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.

In March 2007, Zenith Bank was licensed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) of the United Kingdom to establish Zenith Bank (UK) Limited as the United Kingdom subsidiary of Zenith Bank Plc. Zenith Bank also has subsidiaries in Ghana, Zenith Bank (Ghana) Limited; Sierra Leone, Zenith Bank (Sierra Leone) Limited; Gambia, Zenith Bank (Gambia) Limited. The bank also has representative offices in South Africa and The People’s Republic of China. The Bank plans to take the Zenith brand to other African countries as well as the European and Asian markets.

Zenith Bank has consistently remained a strong brand, not only in the financial industry but the business world in general even beyond the shores of Nigeria.

This international brand image has been further deepened by its classic weekly advert on the Cable News Network (CNN), which established it as a top notch in banking marketing communication.

Zenith Bank has been recognised as one of the 30 outstanding global brands that are making sustainable impact on their operating environments in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

The bank currently has a shareholder base of about one million and is the biggest tier-1 bank in Nigeria.

Established in May 1990, it became a public limited company on June 17, 2004 and was listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange on October 21, 2004. The bank’s shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) following a listing of the $850 million worth of its shares at $6.80 each.

Over the years, Zenith Bank has consistently recorded good ratings from both the international (Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor’s) and local (Agusto & Co.) rating agencies. The ratings on Zenith Bank Plc are supported by its leading market position in all key performance indices (KPIs).

Where Zenith blazed the trail, other banks and financial institutions are now running to catch up with our brand of the year.

LEADERSHIP Young Persons Of The Year 2015
Chibok Girls

Last year they were the LEADERSHIP Young Persons of the Year; this year, they also made the list. For their symbolic role as an open wound in the nation’s fight against terrorism and in solidarity with the parents and families of the kidnapped 276 girls and the relentless spirit of the Bring Back Our Girls campaigners, the Board of Editors returned the Chibok Girls as LEADERSHIP Young Persons of the Year 2015.

It is still like yesterday when on the night of April 14, 2014, members of the Boko Haram sect attacked the Government Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State, and kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from their dormitory.

Their continued   detention   by   those   purveyors of evil continues to create outrage around the country and indeed the world.

The   anguish   of   their   parents   is   unimaginable   and we empathise with them.

Our hearts are always with those lovely girls who are suffering for taking their destiny in their own hands by going to school.

LEADERSHIP Artiste Of The Year 2015
Korede Bello

For his creative genius in raising the bar in the pop-gospel genre and attracting all-time high endorsements with his hit songs, Korede Bello is LEADERSHIP Artiste of the Year 2015.

Best known for his hit single “Godwin”, a semi-gospel and pop song which topped many music charts in Nigeria, Korede Bello of the Marvin Record label, is the choice of LEADERSHIP Board of Editors, as Artiste of the Year. GODWIN has become a household song in social circles and on the airwave. Its creative blending has attracted many endorsements and is unsurpassed in 2015.

Handsome, talented, young and versatile, Korede was born on February 29, 1996 in Lagos. Godwin crooner started performing at the age of 7 by the stage name African Prince. As a primary school pupil, he wrote his first song after forming a music group with a friend. He started music professionally by recording songs in the studio while in secondary school before he went on to release his first single “Forever”. He signed for Mavin on the eve of his 18th birthday on February 28, last year.

In his school days, he devoted a lot of time to social activities, including singing, dancing and dancing competitions. He has a large followership and loyal fan base who are nicknamed “Bellovers” in the social media. Korede has won 12 awards and one nomination since starting his eventful career. He signed a multi-million naira deal on July 1,2015 as a certified brand ambassador of the telecoms giant GLO and was privileged to perform at the inauguration dinner of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Our Artiste of the Year holds a National Diploma in Mass Communication at the Nigeria Institute of Journalism and he’s also an Associate Member of the Institute of Information Management.

LEADERSHIP Sports Person Of The Year 2015
Golden Eaglets

For a sterling performance that reinforced the Nigerian spirit of resilience and capacity to triumph against daunting odds and for rekindling the spirit of unity among Nigerians through sports, the Golden Eaglets Are LEADERSHIP Sports Persons of the Year 2015.

We recognise the indomitable team spirit, discipline and outstanding performance of the U-17 national soccer team, the world Golden Eaglets, for winning the global competition for the fifth time in Chile in November.

(R) of Mali and of Nigeria battle for the ball during the FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup 2015 final match between Mali and Nigeria at Estadio Sausalito on November 8, 2015 in Vina del Mar, Chile.

The Emmanuel Amunike-trained boys returned Nigeria to global soccer reckoning with their scintillating dribbles, effective defence network and mathematical goals. Victor Osimten set the record of scoring the highest goals in the competition’s history with his 10-goal haul in the just concluded edition.

The sweet victory of the Golden Eaglets profoundly confirmed Nigeria’s pre-eminence in FIFA cadet football level. Prior to the victory in Chile, the Eaglets had previously won the championship in China ‘85, Japan ‘93, Korea 2007 and United Arab Emirates 2013. The Eaglets are also the second team in the championship that won the title back-to- back, after Brazil.

The team’s triumph in Chile is significant in many respects. This is the first time that the Nigerian squad was not accused of falsifying the ages of the players. The competition’s organizers acknowledged that this is the most youthful team Nigeria has ever presented in the competition’s history.

At a time when older Nigerians are battling to out-do themselves in hate campaign and competition for primitive acquisition of wealth, these lads have brought honour to their fatherland without giving a hoot about places or circumstances of birth.

Their success in Chile attests to the can-do spirit in nation building. It ought to reinforce our quest for oneness. The Eaglets in Chile indeed became a metaphor for Nigeria: that the Nigerian spirit built on resilience and capacity for excellence will triumph over all odds and place the country where it rightfully belongs.

Throughout the competition, they continued to open the eyes of their compatriots back home to the fact that, in executing a national assignment, there is no room for divisions along any fault lines, religion or ethnicity.

The team’s sterling performance should serve as an elixir for team work, healthy inter-personal, multi-ethnic relationship and a template to develop a consistent winning formula in all spheres of our national life and living.

We hail our U-17 boys, the world champions and models for national re-birth!