Wednesday, 14 April 2021

Armed forces college holds defence, security symposium

 



By Mohammed Tijjani



The Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) Jaji, on Wednesday began a three-day defence and security symposium aimed at identifying novel ways of combating emerging national security threats.



The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that theme of the symposium is,”Standardization and Interoperability of equipment in the Armed Forces of Nigeria”, and was organised for students of Senior Course 43.




In his opening speech, the Commander, Infantry Corps of the Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Osasogie  Uzamere, said the military has been undergoing tremendous transformation, to properly respond to all emerging national security threats.



Uzamere said that the focus of the symposium was a reflection of the ongoing transformation in the Armed forces and the repositioning of defence and security agencies to respond more effectively to security challenges.



He expressed the hope that discussions at the symposium would stimulate new ideas that would assist in repositioning the defence and security services for enhanced operational effectiveness.



He commended the college for being at the forefront of contributing towards solving contemporary security challenges, and preparing vibrant officers to the tasks ahead of them in the field.

Uzamere charged the students to prepare their minds on the challenges they would be facing in the field after the course.



Earlier, Commandant of the college, AVM  Ebenezer Alade explained that the symposium was aimed at generating ideas from the students and discussants that would assist the services in confronting extant and emerging security challenges.



Alade who was represented by his deputy, Rear Admiral Patrick Nwatu, noted that the persistent security challenges in the mould of banditry, insurgency and terrorism, require further review of the status quo, particularly in the area of standardization of equipment among the services.



The Commandant said that seasoned senior officers who were exposed and had vast experience, would serve as moderators and discussants.

Alade pointed out that the students are expected to undertake further research on the theme and present a report to the Chief of Defence Staff and Service Chiefs in June.(NAN)



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BUSINESS NEWS

Dangote Cement moves to end cement supply shortage, suspends export from its terminals

The surge in the demand for cement products has led to a supply gap of about 40%.

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Dangote powers cement plant in Tanzania with gas turbines, Dangote Cement Plc records 34.20% increase in 2020 Q3 revenues, Dangote Cement market capitalization increased by 28% to cross N3 trillion mark in November

Africa’s most diversified manufacturing conglomerate, Dangote Group has revealed that it has suspended exports from its commissioned export terminals.

The Group made this move in an effort to cut the country’s cement supply gap and keep cement prices low in Nigeria.

According to a news report by The Punch, the Group Executive Director, Strategy, Portfolio Development and Capital Projects, Devakumar Edwin made this revelation while speaking at a press briefing in Lagos this week.

READ: 10 fantastic things Aliko Dangote has done in the last 10 years

The Director explained that the surge in the demand for cement products has led to a supply gap of about 40% in the country’s cement market, and like every other player the Dangote Group is working actively to close out this gap.

The demand and consumption of cement in the nation currently outstrips supply, and this can be pegged on the growth in the country’s population, and the strong appetite for real estate investment and construction as investors consider them a good hedge against falling local currency.

In a bid to close down this gap, players in the industry have commenced measures aimed at expanding cement production infrastructure in the country.

READ: Dangote Cement appoints Guillaume Moyen as substantive Group Chief Financial Officer

What has been done so far to close down the supply gap?

Despite suspending exports from its recently commissioned export terminals, thereby foregoing dollar earnings, Dangote Cement has also reactivated its 4.5million mtpa capacity Gboko Plant which was closed 4 years ago.

While BUA Cement on the other hand signed a contract with Sinoma CBMI of China to build three additional production plants with an installed capacity of 3 million metric tonnes each.

These plants when completed in 2022, in addition to a 3rd cement line of 3 million mtpa in Sokoto which has been booked for commissioning in mid-2021, are expected to increase the total installed cement production capacity of the company from 8 million mtpa to 20 million mtpa.

READ: BUA explains why price of cement, sugar remains high

What you should know

  • In recent times, allegations have been made against the Cement company on the ground that it increased its ex-factory price. Devakumar Edwin revealed that these allegations are untrue as the company had not increased its ex-factory prices on its cement product since December 2019, despite the recent increase in production costs.
  • He explained further that over the past 15 months, DCP’s production costs had gone up significantly as about 50% of its costs were linked to the dollar.

Omokolade Ajayi is a graduate of Economics, and a certificate holder of the CFA Institute’s Investment Foundation Program. He is a business analyst, and equity market researcher, with wealth of experience as a retail investor. He is a business owner and a stern advocate of Financial literacy, who believes in the huge economic prospect of the Nigerian Payment channels and Fintech space.

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BILLIONAIRE WATCH

Bernie Madoff, mastermind of the historic $65bn investment fraud dies at 82

Bernie Madoff passed away today at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina.

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The man behind what has been described by many as the biggest fraud attempt in US history has passed away in government custody.

Bernie Madoff was the architect of the biggest Ponzi scheme attempt in the United States. He was a famous Wall Street fellow who at a certain time was the Chairman of Nasdaq and CEO/Founder of the Wall Street firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.

Bernie Madoff defrauded about 37,000 people in 136 countries over 4 decades according to US investigators. Included in his victim list are prominent Americans like movie director Stephen Spielberg and former New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon.

READ: Anti-virus creator, John David McAfee charged for U.S tax evasion

Bernie Madoff and the US Govt

Bernie Madoff was arrested on December 11, 2008, following tip-offs. He pleaded guilty to 11 federal crimes and admitted to operating the largest private Ponzi scheme in history. He was sentenced to 150 years in prison with restitution of $170bn.

Death 

Bernie Madoff passed away today at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina. His death was confirmed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Madoff died apparently from natural causes, the AP reported, citing an unidentified person familiar with the matter. He would have turned 83 on April 29.

What you should know 

  • Restitution is a payment made to compensate a victim for financial losses related to a crime.
  • Bernie Madoff’s family was badly affected by his fraud case. His older son Mark committed suicide according to CNBC.
  • JP Morgan Chase, the primary bank of Bernie Madoff was forced to pay $2.6bn to the US government in settlements.

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CORPORATE DEALS

DEAL: Shyft Power Solutions raises $3.1m Seed Round to push affordable energy

The funding round was led by the SoftBank Vision Fund’s Emerge Program and Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures with participation from other investors.

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SHYFT Power Solutions, which builds IoT and software to optimize distributed energy resource performance and operational efficiency in emerging markets, has announced an additional $3.1M in funding to bring its total seed round to $3.8M.

The funding round was led by the SoftBank Vision Fund’s Emerge Program and Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures with participation from other investors including Lofty Inc, Samurai Ventures, and Urban US Ventures.

SHYFT was founded by Stanford’s engineers to address the challenges in delivering and scaling clean, reliable, and affordable energy solutions in emerging markets that struggle with unreliable grids or energy access. SHYFT’s initial focus is in Nigeria, a country set to be the 3rd most populous after China and India, but were an unreliable grid has led to widespread dependence on generators, accounting for nearly 8x the capacity of the grid.

READ: Top 10 Nigerian tech companies and capital raised in 2020

SHYFT is pioneering the digitization of the energy landscape in emerging markets like Nigeria. Its asset management solution delivers an integrated approach that uses algorithms to monitor, automate, and optimize how assets, as well as grid connections, are utilized individually and as an integrated system, aggregating a plurality of data streams while doing so.

By increasing visibility and control, the system helps users to make informed decisions about which sources they use, how long they use a source, and when they switch sources. This enables operators to scale distributed systems in a cost-effective way, particularly in remote markets. It has resulted in operators improving RoI, reducing emissions, mitigating downtime, and reducing operational costs, in some cases by up to 57%.

SoftBank Vision Fund’s Emerge Program was established in 2019 to provide select startups with access to the tools, networks, and support to take their business to the next level. Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures is focused on finding, funding, and fostering high-potential startups which will contribute to creating a low carbon future.

READ: S&P 500 sets record highs on the back of tech stocks

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SHYFT plans to use this new funding round to double its team in West Africa over the next year with a focus on developing AI capabilities to use its data and algorithms for system optimization. The company will also look to build corporate partnerships and expand to additional African markets facing similar energy challenges.

SHYFT’s customers and strategic partners include some of the largest and fastest-growing alternative energy companies in Nigeria, including Daystar Power Solutions and Aspire Power Solutions. After passing critical IEC safety testing for their controllers, the company began ramping up sales across Nigeria over the past year with their customers. Today, they have over 2,000 kW of assets being managed by SHYFT technology and expect that to increase ten-fold by the end of 2021. Nearly every major bank in Nigeria has a branch using SHYFT technology, creating a path for SHYFT and its customers to deliver reliable power to the nearly 5,000 branches in the market.

What they are saying

Ademidun Edosomwan, Managing Director, Emerging Markets at Total Carbon Neutrality Ventures (TCNV), said: “Energy is an essential need for all, yet it is estimated that more than 3.5 billion people globally lack access to affordable and reliable electricity. SHYFT’s technology will play a critical role in a global movement to democratize the way people manage their power sources. They’ve developed data-driven software that enables homeowners and businesses in emerging markets to make smarter decisions on their energy use in order to cut costs and reduce emissions. We are delighted to support SHYFT’s momentum as Ugwem and the team continues to expand their impact and help build a better energy future for the world.”

Ugwem Eneyo, Co-Founder & CEO SHYFT said. “I founded SHYFT to build the technology that can enable and accelerate this transition, and ensure that on the path to reliable energy access, the use of cleaner solutions can mitigate carbon emissions as well. We are fortunate to have investors supporting us where their sector and global experience will be invaluable.”

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