AHANONU KINGSLEY BLOG

Beneficiaries of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship Programme have generated about $52 million revenue and created 12,000 jobs within the last two years. This was the highlight of the 2018 edition of the TEF Entrepreneurship Forum with the theme, ‘Empowering African Entrepreneurs’ held in Lagos.  According to the Chief Executive Officer, Parminder Vir, 1460 entrepreneurs across Africa were selected this year, adding that the Foundation has so far made a direct investment of $20 million in the development of young African entrepreneurs, in addition to funds devoted to mentorship and infrastructure.  Vir stated: “In the last 18 months to two years, TEF entrepreneurs across the continent have generated $52 million income and created over 12,000 jobs. ^2 percent of the businesses developed are fully operational while 29 percent are partially operational.  “The Foundation started off with 24 percent female entrepreneurs but this year 41 percent of the ...

Travelling out of the Garden City of Portharcourt is a journey of comfort and relaxation, as one starts off from the city centre. That sense of assurance continues at least, till after Elele. But making an entrance into the border town of Umuagwo, the connector of the federal road to Imo state, the sense of assurance dissipates, as the story of the road turns horrendous. That section of the road is like a forgotten section, the entirety of the border axis to the leading of the Imo State Polytechnic is in grave shamble. The road, beyond potholes, is yanked off, gullied and miry. Indeed that section is cut off; and this situation has been left unattended to for donkey years. This strongly betrays the shame of our nation. On the 20th of October, while plying this nauseous route, I saw two trucks strewn on the ground, lying flat. They fell because of the deplorable nature of the road. Causing gridlock and inconvenience. And more are liable to fall, going by the double tragedy of t...

Hauwau Liman, the young aid worker just recently executed by the dreaded Boko Haram, has paid the supreme price and made the highest and noblest sacrifice for charity. She died in the line of her duty for the International Committee for the Red Cross. She died providing succour to the many disheartened and displaced citizens of the northeastern state of Borno, who have been ravaged by throes of incessant terror attacks they are visited with. Hauwau braced the challenges of terror and insecurity to carry out her humanitarian works, and the death she underwent is a prove of how hers was such a risky venture driven by passion and zeal for humanity. May Hauwau's gruesome death not deter the many lively spirits committed to making the world a better place and who are constantly exposed to life-threatening situations.  May her death not quench the fire of service, aid and charity. May Hauwau Liman's death bring an end to terrorism, in which she was consumed. May this young s...

I learnt with disenchantment the rancour that seems to be generated within the South-east leadership of the People's Democratic Party, PDP over Mr Peter Obi's nomination as the running mate to Atiku Abubakar. the allusion credited to  Gov Dave Umahi, who's the chairman of the South-east Governors Forum that they were not consulted before the choice was made is a loud echo of distraction just so out of the way. For goodness sake why should the reason of not been consulted constitute a ground to bicker? For all I understand about consultation and consulting, it is a simply voluntary thing solely reserved for the consulting body. It's always been the case that when an aspirant emerges through the herculean task of securing a party's ticket to become its candidate, the honour is done on him to take home the decision and relaxably choose who becomes his running mate, that person he's comfortable to work with.  So we see how it is the prerogative of the flag bea...

Sources of Influence There are many sources of influence. New crave, new desires spur a likeness that consumes the mind and wants to suggest it to a rethink. Anything that the mind likea, anything that the individual likes could influence him. Therefore the sources of influence could be eany of these, but not restricted to them. 1. Friends or colleagues. These are the strongest elements of influence. Friends and colleagues embody the key factors of influence. These are people we see and interact with more often, we share thoughts together; and the tendency is that somehow we are affected by their views and lifestyles. 2. Role models. These sets fancy us. They consume our emotions because they are people we look up to and in some ways, want to be like they are. They strike our interests and strongly would manipulate our thinking into theirs for the reason that by so doing we are becoming like them. 3. Political figures. They shape policies and programmes of government. They c...

PEERSHIP My own is my peer, the person I share a certain level with. That person, who for either this reason or that shares a commonality with me; reasons which could be as classmates, colleagues, associates or contemporaries. Whatever that brings us together and makes us willing to share views and correlate is reasonable enough to make us peers. People, with time and close contact/association, develop relationship that improves gradually just as the closeness lingers with time. Peers, also like influence is an element defined by Time & Contact. But in peers is influence very remarkably expressed. Influence & Peer Most times, we see the connection between influence and peer. The association that peership brings creates an appropriate avenue for influence to play out. People often do things that people of their level, their peers do. It's a heavy likelihood that one wonders whether this is a craziness. Peers as their closeness suggests have this comfort, this cool...

Anything or anybody that has that power, whether subtle or overt, to cause you to have a swing, to change your conduct and mindset has an influence on you. It takes your influence just a matter of time and acquiescence for it to transform your worldview and thinking in such a manner that you begin to imagine whether it was such a powerful force that coerced you all along.  But what we must not fail to realise is that influence comes with such a power and control.  The power of influence, as against the character of physical coercion, is conferred by the two factors of time and contact.        1.TIME Time, again and again, has been proven to be the most potent force in the world. Slow a race, insofar it is steady, with time  will win. Its assurance and power of winning is from TIME.  A day, long and bothersome, which seems not to end, eventually would give way to the darkness of the night. This assurance too is a value of TIME. The child to...

Today, the 6th of October, the People's Democratic Party, PDP would be having their national convention. This convention, seen as the summit of the ongoing primaries to elect party candidates for the 2019 general elections, would provide the party the opportunity to elect their presidential flagbearer. The national convention and the process to get its presidential candidate would be holding in Portharcourt, the Garden city and Rivers state capital. The choice of Rivers state as convention ground had been enmeshed in somehow swirling controversies that prodded Gov Wike into threatening to unleash fire and brimstone, which similarly had been quelled with the eventual consent of the NWC to the venue. Among the top contenders out of the almost 17 persons jostling for this top job, three stand to have been weighty and therefore seen to be the ones to make the convention worth its battle and exciting.  These are former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former speaker of the lo...

According to Vanguardngr, the All Progressives Congress, APC, has disbanded the Ahmed Gulak-led Committee for the party’s governorship primaries in Imo State.   National Chairman of APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole disclosed this to State House correspondents after meeting behind closed doors with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He also said results being paraded as the result of the Imo governorship primaries was fake, adding that the party has disbanded the Committee that was sent to the state to conduct the primaries and will set up another one immediately so that the process would be completed before the end of the week.