The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) has disbursed N208 billion as total allocation for 2019 tertiary institutions’ fund.
Prof. Suleiman Bogoro, the Executive Secretary, TETFund, made this known at the annual meeting of TETFund beneficiary institutions on Thursday in Abuja, NAN reports.
Bogoro said that universities got N826, 684, 392.00, polytechnics got the sum of N566, 701, 842. 00 and Colleges of Education received N542, 226, 346.00 each.
He said that 18 institutions drawn from six geopolitical zones in the country were to receive special high impact interventions.
Bogoro also explained that the 18 institutions that were critically selected in line with the provided guidelines, received N5 billion for the intervention.
He said that six universities would receive N3 billion each, six polytechnics N1 billion each and N1 billion each would go to six Colleges of Education.
TETFund boss said that the Fund had ensured that the beneficiary institutions, who are recipients of the education tax utilise them judiciously.
According to him, the agency is monitoring projects and programmes approved for them by Board of Trustees.
”The Fund had undergone some internal restructuring and realignment for better and efficient service delivery,” he said.
Bogoro said a total of 55 Colleges of Education have benefited from micro teaching laboratory, construction and furnishing.
TETFund boss added that the sum of N19, 977, 522, 916.59 had successfully been disbursed between January and June 2019 for physical infrastructure and library interventions.
He pointed out that the issue of stranded scholars abroad, which caused the nation and the fund embarrassment had been revisited promptly.
Bogoro, however, said that appropriate steps have been undertaken by the Fund to eliminate the lapses that led to the situation.
Meanwhile, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC) commended TETFund in the role played in ensuring the development of the country, especially as it concerns physical infrastructure in tertiary institutions.
Rasheed, however, said that the rising number of tertiary institutions was a challenge, which reduces interventions to the institutions.
He added that in 2019, the country has the largest number of intervention of the institution as more institutions were created.
According to him, Nigeria needs more universities, polytechnics and Colleges of Education but TETFund also needs to be protected so that the volume of intervention can be protected.
”The rising number of institutions is a challenge. Nigeria needs more institutions of tertiary education to provide more access to quality education.
”However, TETFund is also worry that with many institutions, the value of its intervention is minimised,” he said.
Rasheed, therefore, called on administrators of the various institutions to efficiently and successfully administer the funds while also urging them to be proactive in the processing of the fund.
He also called on Chief Executives of the institutions to engage other officials in their various institutions on utilisation of the fund.
It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari approved N161 billion for varsities, others as 2018 Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) intervention budget for 2019 intervention activities in accordance with the provisions of TETFund Act 2011.
Each public university in Nigeria got an allocation of N785,832,700; Polytechnic gets N536,703,502; and College of Education will get N510,084,900.
PIC. 1. MEN OF THE 115 TASK FORCE THAT RECAPTURED MUBI FROM INSURGENTS
AT THEIR BASE IN MUBI, ADAMAWA STATE ON MONDAY (8/12/14)
6172/8/12/14/YMU/AIN/NAN
The National Human Rights Commission has said it is investigating allegations of human rights violations against soldiers involved in the counter-insurgency campaign in the North-East.
The commission vowed that soldiers found guilty would not go unpunished.
PIC. 1. MEN OF THE 115 TASK FORCE THAT RECAPTURED MUBI FROM INSURGENTS AT THEIR BASE IN MUBI, ADAMAWA STATE ON MONDAY (8/12/14) 6172/8/12/14/YMU/AIN/NAN
A statement on Thursday quoted the Executive Secretary, NHRC, Mr Anthony Ojukwu, to have said this in Damaturu, Yobe State, on Wednesday at the opening of a two-day training in human rights protection for soldiers involved in the fight against Boko Haram terrorists.
The NHRC organised the training in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Ojukwu was represented by the Assistant Director, Investigation and Monitoring, NHRC, Iheme Richmond.
He explained that the training was “aimed at brainstorming with the military on civilian protection,” in the ongoing counter-insurgency war in the North-East.
“This training is aimed at improving the knowledge of the military on human rights, humanitarian principles and civilian protection in the course of counter-insurgency operations.
“There have been allegations of human rights violation against the military in the course of their operations, ranging from extrajudicial killings, prolonged detention without trial, torture and sexual exploitation, among others.
“So we are partnering the UNHCR to ensure the integration of human rights standards and humanitarian considerations in the military operations in order to reduce the incidents.
“The allegations are being investigated and perpetrators would be held accountable,” Ojukwu said.
According to the statement, “more than 50 frontline military (personnel) and police officers attended the training.”
Indigenous rapper, Picazo wrote a heartfelt farewell to the YBNL family on twitter as he exits the record label.
“Thanks for the surpport,platform, I appreciate u endlessly,I thank you deeply.#YBNL has been a beautiful part of my journey and I hope you believe me when is say i’ll.never take for granted the blessings you brought me.🙏❤️❤️Baddo!!!
#newchapter
#PFM.He said
The talented rapper started expressing his passion for hiphop at a very young age.He has countless clips of freestyles and covers which he displays on his social which aided his rise to the lime light
His most popular freestyle video got him sign to YBNL record label.This was Chinko Ekun’s “Able God” freestyle.The freestyle went viral and caught the attention of YBNL CEO Olamide and the rest became an history.
Picazo is energetic, talented and lyrically endowed with his unique style of music and amazing vocal abilities.
Picazo Rhap is from the western part of Nigeria and grew up in Lagos Mainland. He is currently 22 years of age.He is studying Mass Communication at Lagos State University.
Kanye West says he’s many things, but crazy is not one of them.
The American rapper opened up about his bipolar disorder, which he called his “superpower,” to Forbes in a cover story published online Tuesday.
“ ‘Crazy’ is a word that’s not gonna be used loosely in the future,” the 42-year-old predicted to Forbes. “Understand that this is actually a condition that people can end up in, be born into, driven into and go in and out.”
West has previously been open about his mental health. In 2016, the rapper canceled the rest of his Saint Pablo tour to spend a week in a Los Angeles hospital due to exhaustion
The music icon has also spoken about his bipolar diagnosis, saying he views it as something that makes him more authentic.
“When you ramp up, it expresses your personality more,” he told David Letterman on “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction” in May. “You can become almost more adolescent in your expression. This is my specific experience that I’ve had over the past two years, because I’ve only been diagnosed for two years now.”
West told Forbes “being in service to Christ” has helped him overcome his obstacles.
West added many so-called “crazy” people still found success.
“And there’s a lot of people that have been called that ‘C’ word that have ended up on this cover,” he said.
Women with bigger waists relative to their hips are at more risk of heart attacks than men of a similar “apple shape”, research from the George Institute for Global Health says.
The study showed waist-to-hip ratio to be a better heart attack predictor than general obesity – 18% stronger than body mass index in women and 6% in men.
The report found a high BMI was linked to heart disease risk in both sexes.
The researchers interviewed nearly 500,000 UK adults aged 40 to 69.
The research has been published in the Journal of the American Heart Association and used the UK Biobank resource.
Dr Sanne Peters, the report’s lead author, from the institute, which is at the University of Oxford, said: “Our findings support the notion that having proportionally more fat around the abdomen (a characteristic of the apple shape) appears to be more hazardous than more visceral fat, which is generally stored around the hips (the pear shape).”
She said that “looking at how fat tissue is distributed in the body – especially in women – can give us more insight into the risk of heart attack than measures of general obesity”.
Dr Peters added: “Understanding the role sex differences in body fat distribution play in future health problems could lead to sex-specific public health interventions that could address the global obesity epidemic more effectively.”
The report said that body composition and fat distribution differed markedly between the sexes, with women having a predominance of fat mass and subcutaneous fat and men having lean mass and visceral fat.
It added: “Our study has several strengths, including the prospective design, large sample size, and direct measurement of general and central adiposity on all participants.
“However, the UK Biobank is a largely white population, and further analyses are needed to determine the generalisability to other populations.”
Heart attack symptoms
chest pain – a sensation of pressure, tightness or squeezing in the centre of your chest
pain in other parts of the body – it can feel as if the pain is travelling from your chest to your arms (usually the left arm is affected, but it can affect both arms), jaw, neck, back and abdomen
feeling lightheaded or dizzy
sweating
shortness of breath
feeling or being sick
overwhelming sense of anxiety (similar to having a panic attack)
coughing or wheezing
Although the chest pain is often severe, some people may feel only minor pain, similar to indigestion. In some cases, there may not be any chest pain at all, especially in women, the elderly and people with diabetes.
Ashleigh Doggett, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Considering the large amount of UK participants, this is a very interesting study which highlights that obesity remains a risk factor for heart attacks in both men and women.
“Interestingly, it suggests that those of us who are ‘apple’ as opposed to ‘pear’ shape, especially women, may be at higher risk of a heart attack.
“We know from previous BHF research that women are often misdiagnosed initially when having a heart attack so how we store fat and our body shape may be an important factor for medical staff to consider when making a diagnosis.
“The study highlights the need for similar research amongst more diverse populations, and for further research into sex differences which could lead the way in treating patients on an individualised basis.”
Nigerian artiste, Reekado banks was left dumbfounded on Tuesday after an unidentified lady called to accused the singer on a live TV show.
The lady who called in while Reekado Banks was a guest on the Popcentral entertainment show accused the singer of ignoring her calls and messages after sleeping with her.
Banks who sat down with his hands stretched out on the couch couldn’t believe what he heard as he said to himself, “What the hell is going on”.
The call was then cut short as the presenters were not ready to give room for such allegation.
Few hours later, Instablog Naija posted the video with the caption: ”The awkward moment a girl embarrassed ReekadoBanks during a live program. 📹: POPCENTRAL TV”.
However, Reekado Banks replied one hour later, he said: “This na PRANK on tv oh Instablog werey wahala”.
Stones in the bladder are hard little masses made up of minerals from your urine. Sometimes, they don’t cause any symptoms and pass out of your body on their own. In such situation, you may never even know you had one.
However, more often, they cause pain or other problems when you pee. Urine is about 95 per cent water with the other five per cent containing minerals such as salt, and waste products, such as protein. When the urine is concentrated, often due to lack of water or dehydration or not being able to completely empty the bladder, the colour of urine can vary from dark amber to brown depending. If a man is unable to completely empty his bladder, this may be due to an enlarged prostate, bladder problems or a urinary tract infection.
Stones can form in the bladder. Experts say they are much more common in men past the age of 50 but are much less common than kidney stones.
Sometimes referred to as urinary tract stones or bladder calculi, they primarily affect men, as 95 per cent of all bladder stones cases are found in men.
According to chairman of Urology and Robotics Surgery, Lenox Hill Hospital, Dr. David Samadi, bladder stones are hard masses of minerals in your bladder.
He said: “The bladder’s job is to collect urine that comes down from the kidneys. As the bladder fill up throughout the day, you will get the urge to empty its contents.
“Generally, the bladder will be completely emptied but there can be certain health issues preventing that from happening. Any urine left in the bladder after urination can develop stones from minerals that crystallise in the concentrated urine.
“Bladder stones are not often heard of as they are not nearly as common as kidney stones. They usually don’t cause complications as they are normally fairly small and can get discharged in the urine. But if the stones become trapped in the neck of the bladder with residue in the urine accumulating, they can grow large enough to cause symptoms.
“It develops when urine in your bladder becomes concentrated, causing minerals in your urine to crystallise. Concentrated, stagnant urine is often the result of not being able to completely empty your bladder. Small bladder stones sometimes pass on their own, but you may need to have others removed by your doctor. Left untreated, bladder stones can cause infections and other complications.”
The expert said stones forming in the bladder when the bladder is not emptied completely could be due to nerve damage that impairs a patient’s ability to urinate, recurrent urinary tract infections or an enlarged prostate.
“The resulting stones may or may not be associated with symptoms, including blood in urine, pain with urination, weakened urinary stream, or abdominal pain,” he said, adding: “Small stones can pass on their own, especially with increased water consumption, but left unattended, they may grow large enough to block the flow of urine, leading to infection or pain.”
Bladder stones can be removed in a variety of manners, from open surgery to minimally invasive endoscopic procedures,” according to Benjamin Breyer, Associate Professor of Urology and Epidemiology.
Prevalence
An expert at the Urologist unit, Department of Surgery, Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (FETHA), Dr. Charles Odoemene, said giant urinary bladder stones are still a rarity in modern urological practice, causing enormous morbidity when presentation is late.
He said bladder stones account for 44.4 per cent of urinary tract calculi in Nigeria. Incidentally, in the western world, bladder stones account for five per cent of urinary tract stones and 1.5 per cent of urologic hospital admissions.
“The higher proportion of lower urinary tract stone in the developing world has been attributed to increased incidence of urinary tract infections and infestations. Bladder stones are commoner in men than in women with an incidence of 95 per cent,” he said.
Causes
The bladder’s job is to collect urine from the kidneys until you need to pass it out. Once you do, your bladder should be empty. But some health issues can prevent that from happening, and you end up with urine left in your bladder. Then, some of the substances in the urine start to stick together and form crystals until they form a bladder stone.
Bladder stones generally begin when your bladder doesn’t empty completely. In most cases, an underlying condition affects your bladder’s ability to empty completely.
The most common conditions that cause bladder stones include:
Prostate gland enlargement: An enlarged prostate or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) can cause bladder stones in men. As the prostate enlarges, it can compress the urethra and interrupt urine flow, causing urine to remain in your bladder.
Damaged nerves (neurogenic bladder): Normally, nerves carry messages from your brain to your bladder muscles, directing your bladder muscles to tighten or release. If these nerves are damaged from a stroke, spinal cord injury or other health problem your bladder may not empty completely.
Inflammation: Bladder stones can develop if your bladder becomes inflamed. Urinary tract infections and radiation therapy to your pelvic area can both cause bladder inflammation.
Medical devices: Occasionally, bladder catheters slender tubes inserted through the urethra to help urine drain from your bladder can cause bladder stones. So can objects that accidentally migrate to your bladder, such as a contraceptive device or stent. Mineral crystals, which later become stones, tend to form on the surface of these devices.
Kidney stones: Stones that form in your kidneys are not the same as bladder stones. They develop in different ways and often for different reasons. But small kidney stones occasionally travel down the ureters into your bladder and, if not expelled, can grow into bladder stones.
Breyer said: “The primary cause of bladder stones is not completely emptying the bladder of urine. This is when urine will form crystals. Other causes can be some infections or an underlying condition affecting the bladder’s ability to hold, store or eliminate urine.
“Prostate gland enlargement in men or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common cause of bladder stones in men. When the prostate is enlarged, this can obstruct the flow of urine, preventing a complete elimination or emptying of the bladder.”
Signs and symptoms
According to Breyer, the signs or symptoms of bladder stones can vary from severe abdominal pain to blood in the urine. Sometimes there may be no signs of them whatsoever as small bladder stones can pass unnoticed without treatment.
He said: “However, if a stone is irritating the walls of the bladder or is blocking the flow of urine, the symptoms can include: lower abdominal pain. In men, pain or discomfort in the penis or testicles, burning sensation when urinating, frequent urination, difficulty urinating or an interruption of the urine flow and blood in the urine, painful urination and cloudy or abnormally dark-coloured urine.
“Some people with bladder stones have no problems even when their stones are large. But if a stone irritates the bladder wall or blocks the flow of urine, signs and symptoms can develop.”
Tests and diagnosis
Breyer said to diagnosis bladder stones, “the following procedures may be done: A physical exam. Urinalysis a urine sample will be taken to examine for microscopic amounts of blood, bacteria, and crystallised minerals. This can also help determine if a urinary tract infection is the cause of the bladder stones.”
Reaching a diagnosis of bladder stones may involve:
A physical exam: Your doctor will likely feel your lower abdomen to see if your bladder is enlarged (distended) and, in some cases, perform a rectal exam to determine whether your prostate is enlarged. You should also discuss any urinary signs or symptoms that you’re having.
Analysis of your urine (urinalysis): A sample of your urine may be collected and examined for microscopic amounts of blood, bacteria and crystallised minerals. A urinalysis also helps determine whether you have a urinary tract infection, which can cause or be the result of bladder stones.
Spiral computerised tomography (CT) scan: A conventional CT scan combines multiple x-rays with computer technology to create cross-sectional images of your body. A spiral CT speeds up this process, scanning more quickly and with greater definition of internal structures. Spiral CTs can detect even very small stones and are considered one of the most sensitive tests for identifying all types of bladder stones.
Ultrasound: An ultrasound, which bounces sound waves off organs and structures in your body to create pictures, can help your doctor detect bladder stones.
X-ray: An X-ray of your kidneys, ureters and bladder helps your doctor determine whether stones are present in your urinary system. But some types of stones aren’t visible on conventional X-rays.
Special imaging of your urinary tract (intravenous pyelogram): An intravenous pyelogram is a test that uses a contrast material to highlight organs in your urinary tract. The material is injected into a vein in your arm and flows into your kidneys, ureters and bladder, outlining each of these organs. X-ray pictures are taken at specific time points during the procedure to check for stones. Spiral CT scans are generally done instead of an intravenous pyelogram.
Treatments
Generally, bladder stones should be removed. If the stone is small, your doctor may recommend that you drink a lot of water each day to help the stone pass. However, because bladder stones are often caused by the inability to empty the bladder completely, spontaneous passage of the stones is unlikely. Almost all cases require removal of the stones.
Bladder stones are often removed during a procedure called a cystolitholapaxy (sis-toe-lih-THOL-uh-pak-see). A small tube with a camera at the end (cystoscope) is inserted through your urethra and into your bladder to view the stone. Your doctor then uses a laser, ultrasound or mechanical device to break the stone into small pieces and flushes the pieces from your bladder.
Before the procedure, you will likely have anesthesia that numbs the lower part of your body (regional anesthesia) or that makes you unconscious and unable to feel pain (general anesthesia). Complications from a cystolitholapaxy aren’t common, but urinary tract infections, fever, a tear in your bladder or bleeding can occur. Your doctor may give you antibiotics before the procedure to reduce the risk of infections.
About a month after the cystolitholapaxy, your doctor would likely check to make sure no stone fragments remains in your bladder.
Occasionally, bladder stones that are large or too hard to break up are removed through open surgery. In these cases, your doctor makes an incision in your bladder and directly removes the stones. Any underlying condition causing the stones, such as an enlarged prostate, may be corrected at the same time.
“Most likely, bladder stones will need to be removed, which can be done with a procedure called a cystolitholapaxy. This procedure will help break up stones into pieces small enough to pass in the urine. If a stone is too large or hard to break up, then they can be removed surgically,” says Breyer.
Prevention
An expert said drinking plenty of fluids, especially if you are at risk of stones forming, is best. “If you have an infection or feel like your bladder is not completely empty, try urinating 10 to 20 seconds after you urinate the first time. This is called double voiding.
If diet is related to stones, follow directions on how to eat, get medical help at the first signs of urinary problems,” he said.
Some studies have shown that men with enlarged prostates might empty their bladders more completely if they sit when they urinate.
Lifestyle and home remedies
Bladder stones usually result from an underlying condition that’s hard to prevent, but you can decrease your chance of developing them by following these tips:
Ask about unusual urinary symptoms: Early diagnosis and treatment of an enlarged prostate or another urological condition may reduce your risk of developing bladder stones.
Drink plenty of fluids: Drinking more fluids, especially water, may help prevent bladder stones because fluids dilute the concentration of minerals in your bladder. How much water you should drink depends on your age, size, health and level of activity. Ask your doctor what’s an appropriate amount of fluid for you.
Complications
Bladder stones that are not removed, including those that don’t cause symptoms, can lead to complications, such as chronic bladder dysfunction. Left untreated, bladder stones can cause long-term urinary problems, such as pain or frequent urination. Bladder stones can also lodge in the opening where urine exits the bladder into the urethra and block the passage of urine from your body.
Bladder stones may cause recurring bacterial infections in your urinary tract.
A Dublin concert being headlined by controversial musician, Naira Marley, was shut down by Irish police officers in the early hours of Sunday.
According to an Irish news website, Dublin Live, the incident occurred at Lost Lane just off Grafton Street before Naira Marley took to the stage to perform.
Following the gang violence, Dublin Live reports that the scene has since been closed off to the public.
It was also reported that a number of weapons were seized and the Irish police have also arrested a man in his 20s in connection with the incident.
An eyewitness , Samuel Naija said the Irish police arrived on the scene and “drove everyone out” before shutting the show down.
Samuel said: “An African artist ‘Naira Marley’ was headlining a show at Lost Lane yesterday with some other upcoming acts.
“We came for the event which started around 10:30pm.
“People were waiting for the artist to perform when all of a sudden gardai came to the venue, drove everyone out and shut it down.
“Afterwards Garda came in tens and filled everywhere. Everyone was still surprised and curious as to what was going on because no gang attacked or anything.”
“They [the crowd] filled the street around the venue confused as to where to go and some [were] angry at the organisers asking for refund.”
Reacting to the incident, the police spokesperson said they are “Investigating an incident where a large number of male youths congregated outside a premises on Adam Court, Dublin 2 at approximately 1am on 7 July 2019.
Eyo Bassey Francis is the CEO of the fastest developing Internet company in Nigeria – PayPorte Global Systems. Eyo loves to study. He is an alumnus of the prestigious MIT and a London Business School graduate. He also took some courses at Harvard. His career started right after his graduation from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH). He did his major in Pure and Applied Physics but always wanted to work in IT sector.
Eyo Bassey in an interview with EFFECTS,talked about why people think he is a yahoo guy, his BBNaija ordeal, the comeback of Payporte after going solo in 18 months in business and why he redesigned the online website from the scratch,and how he made his money, among other things.
People see you as a genius in hi-tech, who influenced you growing up?
My mum. My mother influenced me growing up because I lost my dad when I was 11 years old. I’m the first son. She’s a very prayerful woman, she’s a teacher. I saw how my mother gave all she had to raise us as kids. Every time I go through life even when I was in school, if something was going to go wrong, I will remember my mother. With the whole challenges I had faced in business, it’s always my mother I run back to. She’s just the greatest force behind me apart from God.
Was she into business too?
She wasn’t into business. But like I said before, my mum made me have the first capital for my business by taking her property to the bank to get me a loan for business. She wasn’t into business. She was a civil servant, she’s retired now. She got married to a businessman after the demise of my dad. I guess she understood the dynamics about business through him. That really helped her to guide me.
How much did you get to have Payporte started?
It is N15 million. My mum was able to stake that. That was a huge take off capital. What is interesting in this entire story and this money is that if the money had been given to Dangote who is known as successful, it’s different. But to give your money to your son who was barely three years out of university, he has only worked two years of his life and he’s venturing into business. This is the only house you have; you did not give it to a friend, or give it to a bank. That means a lot. I don’t know what my mother was thinking of. That was the only house she’s got as a government worker and all of us were living there.
Then what inspired you into fashion business?
First of all, from a business point of view, when we started Payporte, I saw that I can change the prices of fashion products as I like. That was interesting to me but I could not change other prices. By the time I was going to change the Samsung phone, Samsung suppliers, and manufacturers and there’s something called standard retail price, so how much can you trade it. If I buy a television of LG to come and resell, the difference between me and other market players might be one thousand naira, there’s not much gain because they are always standard products. But with fashion, when I get to LA, Manchester, China, and I work with the designers and come back to Nigeria, maybe I put an extra strap on the dress, extra strap probably means 10,000 naira difference and I can come back next week and change the price. Nobody is coming to regulate the price, at the end of the day; I made more resources from fashion. I was also able to connect with much people with fashion. People watch Big Brother, they like Big Brother, they never wanted to miss the parties on Friday nights because they were looking forward to what they were going to wear. So, we were able to connect with Nigerians more on fashion. Why do you take selfie? It’s probably because of what you are putting on and you are cool with yourself. All of these influenced us to go into fashion, and of course, I also like fashion. Analyzing it both from the business perspective and even personally, it was just okay for us to go into fashion. There’s a whole lot we can do with fashion. Self-confidence emanates largely from how you see yourself and how you feel about yourself. In line with our promise to provide the best quality fashion and lifestyle products to our customers, we have so partnered with top fashion brands in the world for trendy and urban fashion for the style forward young men and women.
What was it you told your mum that enabled her risk her only house to get you started in business?
Let it be known that if your friends and family cannot buy into your vision, nobody would. It is very hard. I think that before I would go to an investor or anyone to give me money, I would first of all secure an appointment but if I can’t convince my mother about my dream, it would be very hard to convince any other person. If you cannot convince your friends and family to support your business, it is hard. Look at Facebook, from school they were friends, Google, they were friends. Your question, what did I do to convince my mum? It started from asking her for the dining table in the house. ‘Mum, can you give me your dining table as my office?’ I asked her. I would wake up in the morning and dressed as if I’m going to work and I’d go sit on the dining table. I was consistent. Of course, I would always tell her about technology, how technology rules the world, I tell mummy, just consider me as a prodigal son that the money you are giving to me I would blow it away as a prodigal son. While I gave her a nice speech concerning my business and she saw the passion and consistency, when I had the first and second staff they joined me on the dining table to work. The other side of it, when the bank gave me this money, I wasn’t able to pay. The bank started chasing me. I’m saying this, because of friends and families that are supporting their loved ones right now. It got to a point, the account officer in the bank was a lady and was a friend to my wife. When the bank was coming to chase, she would call me on the phone to say “don’t run, stay in your office. But they are coming. Stay in your office and tell them the truth.” I kept telling her, you know they can’t take my mother’s house, you know they can’t take my mother’s house and my mother would grab the phone and tell the lady to do whatever she could do. It was not as if the time the bank gave me the money, I doubled the money and pay bank. I was consistent in the course of all these, and then our first technological product was now sold at the brim of it. That bank today has given me loans over three billion naira but they were chasing me at that time (laughs) I will forever be grateful to the bank.
What was your first line of business after school that made you what you are today?
It has always been technology. We build technology for government to generate revenue; for state government. Our first clientele was Abia State government. They really supported us. After that, we built different technologies for different governments, private schools and all of that. What really helped us was the best product we had called College Pro. This is a software that they use to run schools. When we built this software, we told ourselves that we would build College Pro and sell to 40 schools at the sum of one million naira each. We targeted N40 million. Once the schools buy it they own it forever. At the end of the day we were able to send to five schools, which was five million naira, not even the money but having referrals. You can imagine having N5 million then in 2008. The biggest and toughest questions to answer as a startup when you get to somewhere is, what have you done, who is using it? It can be so deflating.
What has life taught you as a person?
The most challenging period of my life has been the last 18 months. I’m writing a book on it. The title of the book is called the Art of Staying Focused. Payporte has a whole lot of challenges in the last 18 months and one has to be very rugged, determined and also learn how to stay focused. Life will always throw you everything. What I have learnt in life is the art of staying focused. You have to learn to stay focused. The art of staying focused is, you quickly identify what is about to distract you no matter how beautiful and how nice it is. That is what has helped us in this whole comeback in 18 months. Also, watch the cycle of friends and people you have, that’s where the whole distraction starts. Friends, they come in different shades. You have to choose them wisely. People, no matter who they are, will always disappoint you. So, my initial shock was, disappointment of people but I have also discovered that people would disappoint you, and accommodate that as part of life. Be in the right circle. The ultimate one is that you have to trust God.
In fact, some people think I’m a Yahoo boy, some people think, like you said, that I’m a “money miss road,” some people think I’m being diabolical in getting money, some people think I have one godfather, or that maybe I’m laundering money for one politician. The last 18 months has answered those questions. I’m not around to filter what people think about me, but the truth of the matter is that every fund we have, we actually worked for it. Some people don’t understand that money grows, people don’t understand that for you to get to the next level, you need preparation for it. Next level might mean some one or two steps back. We sponsored Big Brother (for the record) for three years. People have never seen Big Brother the way they saw Big Brother until when payporte picked up Big Brother ownership. It was an exciting period and we were very deliberate about it. We asked for Big Brother Nigeria. We sponsored the last Big Brother Africa where we had the whole world in stock, after that show, we said we want Big Brother Nigeria. It took two years of planning before it happened. People don’t know we did that for three years. We would also do something in that level but it would be fashion-biased. Why do people want to go to New York Fashion Week? All the designers in the world, Gucci, Dior, all of them want to be in Nigeria. Why don’t we have the next Gala in Nigeria where people would dress and all that? So Payporte is going to do that in Nigeria.
Is that your next vision?
I can assure you by the grace of God within now and next year, there will be a statement of convergence of all the top big designers known globally here. These top designers have begun to use African prints. We need to showcase what we have here.
The highly anticipated movie, Rant Queen, which is expected to hit cinemas across Nigeria on July 11 featured some prominent Nollywood actors
The notables among them that feature in the movie include Jide Kosoko, Tana Adelana, Daniel K. Daniel and others.
The producer of the movie is Moyin Olutayo with Edak Williams as the executive producer. Rant Queens tells the story of a meddling mother who clashes with her controversial blogger daughter in a series of rants. While trying to get her married, she ends up becoming a competition to her.
Directed by the prolific filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen popularly known as DGuv’nor, the movie is catching in on the advent and spread of the usage of social media to advance different causes.
As part of the line up events for the premiere, the private screening of the movie is set to take place at Terra Kulture on July 12, 2019, by 4pm.
Speaking on the movie, the executive producer Edak Willie said, “It feels so good to have produced this movie. It has always been a dream to do something exceptional. Having to do this and see it come to materialisation is a great thing. We saw the contemporary issues going around and how social media is the rave of our time. We have seen how it is affecting people both positively and negatively and Rant Queens leverages on how you can use your voice positively to make an impact.
Producer Moyinoluwa Olutayo also said, “It’s a great opportunity to have produced this movie. The social has the power to either make or mar you and we saw that this is a global issue that needs to be addressed. How you use the social media especially in the entertainment industry matters, so we decided to make this movie. Social media gives you a voice. The question now is, the voice that it gives to you, how do you use it,” he said.
