Busayo Akanro – Light does not shine in light

First City

In our opinion, The CBN postponement by one year for banks to converge their year end may offer a respite both for the banking sector directly and also the capital market as the sector constitutes above 60% of the market capitalization of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
While the banks may heave a sigh of relief, stakeholders, especially Nigeria’s foreign partners and investors may worry about the credibility of CBN or question the decision-making process of the industry regulator, as policy somersaults have been the bane of the country both in the past and in the present times.
It can be hoped that Nigerian banks will put on their thinking caps to utilize this window of time extension to ensure an orderly convergence without doing damage to the banking sector and the economy as a whole.  We also hope that regulatory authorities and managers of the Nigerian project will be more consultative and engaging with industry operators and stakeholders in making major policy decisions that impact on the economy. (more…)

“And God made the two great lights; he greater light to RULE the day and the lesser light to RULE the night and he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth and to RULE over the day and over the night, the light from the darkness and God saw that it was good”…Gen 1:16-18

I read this passage a few weeks ago and a new light dawned on me. I realised that God counts as good any situation where light rules. That is to say, in any situation where darkness reigns, God sees it as bad.

God created light to rule. When we receive light from God, what we receive is illumination in our Spirit concerning specific things. That illumination or light is called Revelation. Revelation will always dominate over the ordinary. He who sees will rule those who don’t.

The reason why people go to sleep at night is that the prevalent light has given in to darkness. People who cannot see cannot work. The interesting thing is that God created a light as well to rule the night. Whether it is day or night, the light rules the earth. Most people are experiencing night in their lives. (more…)

Two days ago, I crossed another milestone on my career path. Those who have heard me or read me know that I keep on going about consulting this…consulting that…Anyway, I was able to move up my game from HR/Business consulting to Leadership/Organisational Development consulting. How did that happen?

Well…I don’t know if I’ve mentioned in any of my posts that sometime earlier this year, I met one of my mentors in the area of finance and organisational development. I went for a seminar, saw him standing afar off and approached him. I guessed this was my moment of connection and I seized it with fear and excitement. Interestingly, he had been school mates with my father in the University and they had even been members of the same fellowship while there in the university….bla bla bla

Anyway, he had done so well through the years in the area of production and manufacturing and had become an Icon of business in Nigeria. He sits on the boards of several multinational organisations. So, back to my story. I met him by force that day and of course collected his contact. I afterwards had one reason or another to correspond with him and as luck will have it, he also had reason to contact me especially in relation to my father. (more…)

I walked out of my office on thursday last week just as my boss walked out of his.

“Busayo, you are coming along abi?” he asked. “Where are we going?” I answered, looking bewildered

“To ife.” he responded. “When?” I asked, my face lightening up. “On saturday” he replied.

“Most definitely” I responded.

That was the dialogue that set me on a return journey to my alma mater. I graduated from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in Dec. 2005 after 7 long years of studying a course that originally should have taken 5 years. I don’t want to go into the details of how it took so long but suffice it to say that I didn’t have any extra semesters. It just took them 7 years to be able to decide whether or not 1998/99 set could graduate. Anyway, that’s all past now and I’ve left the school. (more…)

Nigeria has been described as Africa’s faster growing insurance market with 18.0 percent growth rate, while Angola is leading with 35.0 percent nominal growth rate. This statistics was disclosed today in a presentation prepared by Afrinvest West Africa titled “Nigerian Insurance Market- Capital Market Perspective” at the ongoing Insurance Future Summit in Abuja Nigeria.
Others are Kenya recording 23.0 percent growth rate, South Africa with 17.0 percent growth trailing behind Nigeria. While Egypt, Algeria and Namibia recorded 13.0 percent, 12.0 percent and 4.0 percent respectively. The average is said to be 14.8.
Meanwhile the paper observed that in Nigeria, the Insurance Sector is still the slowest financial services sector. (more…)

The Nigerian Stock Exchange on Thursday placed full suspension on the shares of Cadbury Nigeria Plc, following the decision of the Investment and Securities Tribunal to uphold the indictment of the company by the Securities and Exchange Commission over financial misstatement.

The Deputy Director-General, NSE, Mr. Lance Elakama, disclosed on the floor of the Exchange that the ruling of the IST was binding on the Exchange since it was the court of competent jurisdiction on investment matters.

The company had been indicted over an account misstatement to the tune of N5bn. (more…)

 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth….Gen 1:1

I was reading my Bible from the beginning a few days ago and would love to share a few things with my readers. Gen 1:2 – And the earth was without form and void and the Spirit of God moved upon the waters.

All that is needed for the creation of an idea always exists around us. The Bible says the earth was without form and void. The idea we desire to create is around us though it has no form. The Spirit of God moved upon the waters…We need the Holy Spirit to help us put form and substance to that idea. The Holy Spirit is the one who can help us form our ideas.

Gen 1:3,4 – And God said, Let there be light……

-Illumination is the first step to the creation of an idea. It’s only God who gives positive illumination concerning ideas. To create an idea, you must see it first. If you don’t receive illumination, your creation may not be good… and God saw the light that it was good (vs.4) (more…)

Answer “True” or “False” to each of these questions as a proof of your leadership qualities.

QUESTIONS:

1. Always delegate to the subordinate who has experience with similar tasks.

2. The person you delegate to should have as much information about the task as possible.

3. Controls should be built into (more…)

One of the major problems I’ve had in my years of development and growth is the lack of self-discipline. I couldn’t bring myself to be disciplined to stop bad habits; I couldn’t bring myself to continue good habits even after I have sworn to do so. I got tired of giving my life to Christ over and over again for many years. I learnt that self-control which is close to self-discipline is a fruit of the Spirit but I couldn’t bring myself to exercise the restraint that came with self-control on my life. I got very frustrated and annoyed at myself. Many times, I was so ashamed of my limitations that I wished myself dead. I’d travel hoping to get involved in an accident that would claim my life, but I’d arrive safely at my destination. In fact, I’ve never been involved till date and would not be involved in a fatal accident of any sort by God’s grace.

Without an iota of doubt, I knew deeply within me that the only way I can etch my footprints in the sands of time is if I exercised self-discipline on myself in the areas that the common chooses to be a slave to his situation and circumstance.

Great leaders always have self-discipline-without exceptions. Unfortunately, our society seeks instant gratification rather than self-discipline. We want instant breakfast, fast food, movies on demand, and quick cash from ATMs. But success doesn’t come instantly. Neither does the ability to lead. As General Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “There are no victories at bargain prices.” (more…)

 “Train a child in the the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

 ”..if you spend just one hour on the same activity everyday, in five years, you will become an expert at it…Joel Osteen (U.S. preacher)

Tiger Woods was just 18 months old when his father began giving him golf lessons, painstakingly talking him through the discipline and routine of putting (getting the golf ball into the hole) one of the game’s trickiest and most difficult skills to master. On June16 this year, Tiger Woods won the US Open, in a thrilling 19-hole play-off. He did it while undergoing intense pain in his kniee folowing an earlier surgery. No one knew the extent of the pain he endured in the tournament until it emerged that following the resulting damage to the knee; he would have to undergo reconstructive surgery and miss the rest of the season.

In similar fashion, the Williams sisters, became tennis icons, often appearing on both sides of the net in some of the most prestigiuous tournaments. But their story actually began before they were born. They were conceirved to play tennis as early as four-year-olds, had started practiviing for sic hours every day.

Warren Buffet opened his first savings account in a bank at the age of six with a $20 gift from his father. Over the next five years, he grew it to $120 and made his first investment at 11, buying three stocks for $114. Today, he is the world’s richest person, with a net worth of over $64 billion. Now over 70 years, he has been dealing in stocks and investments in the last six decades! (more…)