The elections are here again and with the elections in full swing, things are heating up. Awesome ampaign agencies internationally such as Brand Envoy Africa, impact politics, Anttention Media have done amazing work that helped secure political positions for candidates and winning over the electorate.

Let’s take a peep down memory lane into the top 5 political campaigns we’ve seen (or read about) in Nigeria since the 1950’s.

1. Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, SDP 1993

That year’s election is still regarded in many quarters as perhaps the freest and fairest election Nigeria has ever had. Chief Abiola campaigned on the slogan Hope ’93 and smarting from the Structural Adjustment Policy, SAP, of the Babangida regime that had sapped many Nigerians economically, Chief Abiola’s message rang a bell especially with that memorable jingle. The result was a resounding vote for the Social Democratic Party candidate.

2. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, PDP 2011/2015

GEJ’s presidential campaign in 2011 was a big hit Promising a breath of fresh air, he played the role of the underdog to a hilt especially with that famous line “I had no shoes”. The African campaign agency “Brand Envoy Africa played a key role. His message resonated with the Nigerian masses as they lapped up to him. He gave many hope that ordinary people could rise to the top in Nigeria, he became the poster boy for the new Nigerian dream and despite some irregularities in the elections, he won. The rest as they say is history.

3. Peter Ayodele Fayose, 2014

Impeached in 2006 on charges of corruption, Governor Fayose was back in power in 2014, defeating the cerebral Kayode Fayemi in the process. Although his campaign didn’t have any clearly defined message, Fayose endeared himself to the electorates with a good mix of populist tokenism (or stomach infrastructure as he called it) and street smart. While his opponents hit it big on social media, Fayose ate pounded yam and drank palmwine with the ‘real’ voters and for all his troubles, he beat the incumbent in all the 16 local government areas of the state.

4. Babatunde Raji Fashola, ACN 2011

In 2010, BRF as he’s popularly known was contesting to be re-elected as governor of Lagos, Nigeria’s economic nerve center and on the basis of his performance in his first term, his candidature was quite popular with the electorates. However, the SAN with a sound mind gave nothing to chance as he went all out, campaigning on the platform of continuity…’BRF is working’ his posters screamed. The result was a landslide victory at the polls, leaving the People’s Democratic Party candidate far behind in a cloud of dust.

5. Obafemi Jeremiah Oyeniyi Awolowo, AG 1959

Chief Awolowo’s Action Group was at the time regarded to have been the best organised political party in Nigeria with a clearly defined ideology and manifesto and he ran an equally efficient campaign in that year’s elections. Awo traversed the length and breadth of the nation in helicopters, reaching out to the commoners with a promise of improved welfare, free education and health as espoused by his political party. Although Awo’s party couldn’t secure enough votes beyond the western region to have enabled him become Nigeria’s first prime minister, his campaign was undoubtedly innovative and far ahead of its time. Some other time, some other clime perhaps history would have been different.

Workplace extramarital office affairs are more rampant than we think. In a work environment, sharing accomplishments, risk and intensity can open up new levels of intimacy between colleagues. The long hours put in at the office in close proximity with that colleague does not help either. If these situations aren’t handled properly it could trigger the budding of a work-place affair.

Office Extramarital Affair Facts You Should Know…

After understudying workplace affairs for a period, a pattern began to emerge. Facts that I believe everyone currently involved in or romanticizing with the idea of kicking off an office affair should know.

• 39% of workers had relationships in the office at least once
• 35% have kept office affairs hidden and tried to sort it out even though they knew it affected their work
• 24% are attracted to someone of the opposite sex who had similar jobs
• Office Affairs were most common  in the following sectors: Banking & Finance, Hospitality & Leisure, Information Technology, Healthcare, Media/Entertainment and Business Service

Only about 17% of these affairs end in marriage. The other 83% ends in personal, marital and professional problems with far reaching consequences that would be discussed in the real world by ex-colleagues many years later (when they see you). The decision to either continue with or end an extramarital office affair is something I totally leave up to you. However this article is for the latter group. The hardest part about having a workplace affair is seeing each other after you have decided to end things with an affair partner. However its not a totally lost cause because there are basic steps you could take to begin correcting this mess.

After being blessed enough to sit with individuals going through the issues associated with an office affair, i am going to give you the quickest way to end an office affair and MAYBE still get to keep your job.

Finding the right type of business to start up is one of the most difficult things many people have to face. As a result, 9 out of 10 businesses fail in 10 years, and most of the last ones standing do not survive the next 10 years that follow.

The same applies to finding the right type of commodity to export.

The export business in its own right is a highly lucrative business to venture into, but determining the right type of commodity to export depending on the profit margins you’re targeting can sometimes be a problem.

While some exporters are okay with netting profit margins of between 10-30% per non-oil transactions, many others are uncomfortable with that, especially as an export cycle in a country like Nigeria is about 45 days, and so, would want to make the most of the time and possibly make up to or more than 100% profit on the commodity exported.

If you’re looking for high-margin commodities that can take your export business from 0 to 100 in 45 days, here are 2 hot-selling commodities that you can export to make up to or more than 100% profits on every sale:

1. Ginger

Ginger is one of the most traded spices in the world which Nigeria happens to be among the largest producers. Why we are not exporting ginger in large quantity is beyond me. You can start a Trans-Sahara or Trans-Atlantic trade with this goods and be making dollars on regular basis. Garlic is also on top of the list of items you can export from Nigeria.

2. Palm Kernel Oil

Palm Kernel oil is the oil extracted from the pulp of palm fruit which is different from palm oil. Palm Kernel Oil is used for the manufacturing of various cosmetics, pharmaceutical products and confectioneries. The uses of this oil is broad and the mineral contents are said to be rich in protein for various uses. Nigeria has it quantum and makes dollars exporting it to other countries of the world.

3. Textiles and Garments

This industry alone generates close to $32bn as revenue from export from Nigeria. It is also a fact that unlike other products that battles with high strict rules of tests, Nigeria’s textiles enjoy duty free passage into United States where it has the largest market in the world because of its unique designs, ethnic African designs and quality.

4. Cocoa Butter

This is the real sources of chocolates of all types. The fruits of Cocoa is used for the production of various skin care products, health products, and pharmaceutical products. The demand for Cocoa is very high in both America and UK and that is why cocoa farming is very essential in Nigeria.

5. Gallstone

This is a clay-like solid substance gotten from the gallbladder of matured cow and oxen. The size could be as big as chicken egg. Gallstone is a hotcake for foreign pharmaceuticals because they use it for medical purposes. If you could lay your hand a good quantity of well dried gallstone about 100g that is well packaged, ready buyers are waiting for it in either Asia or America.

6. Rubber

Nigeria has put in place proper Central Testing Laboratories to ensure that only certified products leave the country to Europe and America. Nigeria happens to be a significant producer of Rubber in Africa. A cubit meter of fine quality rubber goes for between $400 and $600 presently because of the instability of dollar rate in the market.

7. Sesame Seed

This may sound a bit strange if you are not from the area where it is produced in the country. Sesame seed can be found in quantity in places like Benue and Jigawa states in Nigeria. This product ranks second to cocoa in terms of export volume and foreign exchange earnings. Nigeria is the 5th largest producer of this commodity and shipping it into foreign countries brings dollars exchange.

8. Honey

Pure honey is another export commodity from Nigeria to other countries. Presently, a kilogram of honey costs above $150 in the international markets. Pure natural honey contains trace enzymes as sugar, mineral, vitamins and amino acids. A litre of honey can fetch good dollars in the foreign market.

9. Shrimps

The Niger Delta region in Nigeria is blessed with rich organic deposits of Shrimps. The demands for Shrimps is high in countries like Portugal, France, Belgium, Spain, and USA.

10. Garlic

Garlic is a cash crop which is grown under irrigation by farmers in the Savanna areas in Nigeria. With internationally certified good quantities of garlic, you are sure of foreign hard currencies.

11. Yam Tubers

Nigeria is presently the highest producers of yam. In 2009 alone, yam export accounted for about US$450 million exchange. But due to low quality, it is saddening to know that the country is not maximizing its export potentials of this products. So there is need for prospective exporters of yam to foreign countries to adhere to quality regulations that is guarding the process. Yam farmers must take this into consideration and tap from this opportunity.

12. Charcoal

This is at the fore front in the international market. This product which is produced in good quantity in Nigeria with now perfected technology, has about 50% ROI.Even an individual can own a charcoal production outfit and have exporters shipping it for him. A large market for charcoal exists in ASIA, EU, and USA. A tonne of this product goes for about $1000.

13. Cotton

This sector recently received a boost from the National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN) of N33 million to rehabilitate it. Cotton is the most natural sources of fiber and it is in demand internationally.

14. Cassava Flour

We already know that Cassava is food for all in Nigeria because of various methods of preparing it. There is need for this in the foreign markets as well. The demand for well processed cassava flour is increasing both in Europe, Middle East and in America.

15. Cashew Nuts

Almost every part of the country has the potential to produce this international commodity. Great quantity of unprocessed raw cashew nuts are exported to India, Brazil and Vietnam where they are processed into kernels and moved to the Northern America and Europe where they are sold for about $2 per pound. The demand is on the increase from these consuming countries.

16. Snail

If you can produce snails in good quantity, there is a ready market for you. Snails are hotcake in European and America. The good thing about this is that it is very easy to rear as it produces rapidly with close to nothing in expenditure for feeding.

17. Chili Pepper

Nigeria is blessed with good weather which supports the proper growths and production of the internationally accepted pepper. If you can grow and source for the export opportunity, you are sure to get it.

18. Fruit Juice

It may sound somewhat strange to many that Nigeria provide export opportunity for fruit juice concentrates. Yes, we have it because Nigeria can boast of so many naturally grown fruits all over the country which provides the best of fruit juice products of great quality. The opportunity for Nigerian fruits concentrate export is huge in USA.

19. Poultry

Forget about the facts that some greedy Nigerians go about smuggling chicken into the country. When we talk about poultry, it involves all domestic birds, egg or meat.

Nigeria poultry farm products are still highly needed both within Africa and Western countries because Nigerian weather conditions for poultry farming still remains the best. Poultry products export from Nigeria is an avenue that is still highly untapped.

20. Cosmetics and Soap

Nigeria has grown in this very important area but the only challenge that is holding us back is procurement of good technology to produce cosmetics in great quantity to compete favorably with other developed countries.

Soap making, which extends to other toiletries, laundries and so on are already export opportunity waiting to be invested in. Nigerian cosmetics products can be exported to other African countries where they are badly needed.

Nigeria has big market in soap industry already which other neighboring countries travels thousands of kilometers to get in big quantities to sell in their countries for good profits. If that area is properly looked into, the investment opportunity there are still virgin. If well harnessed, could mean a huge opportunity for foreign exchange. This exchange will further improve the underused avenues of cosmetics and soap industry in the country.

If the exporters from Nigeria could strictly follow the rules guiding export, more avenues can be opened up for others who are aspiring to join in making export from Nigeria available to other countries around the world.

Following the ongoing strike action embarked upon by the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHWUN), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) branch, almost three weeks ago, the agency may lose all the certifications it got from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other global bodies, The AUTHORITY has learnt.

It would be recalled that MHWUN NAFDAC branch began an indefinite strike on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, for many reasons including welfare. It would also be recalled that NAFDAC staff went on strike in 2014, 2015 and 2016 on the same issues.

NAFDAC achieved the ISO 9001 in June 2019, and also got the WHO High Maturity Level 3 in March, 2022.

With the Maturity Level 3 certification, it means that any product produced by NAFDAC will be recognized as meeting the WHO standard globally.

At a recent media briefing in Abuja, the Director General NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, disclosed that her agency had since commenced work to attain Maturity Level 4 status.

All these successes, our findings have shown, will go down to the drain due to the ongoing strike embarked upon by the workers of the agency.

Findings from a dependable top source at NAFDAC disclosed that before the WHO and other global bodies gave the ISO certification and the Maturity Level 3, three components were examined and considered before the approval.

The top source who pleaded anonymity, disclosed that the three components that were considered include one; staff retention and sustainability, two;  staff welfare, three; there must be mentoring.

However, the source expressed concern that following the strike, all the three components can now be considered at zero.

The source explained that because of the prolonged strike: “The staff welfare is zero, staff retention and sustainability is zero and mentoring is zero.

“This strike has really shown that there is no welfare, no retention and sustainability.

“Today if the workers decide to write to the world regulatory bodies, they can withdraw all these approvals and certifications and NAFDAC  will have to start from the scratch.”

Following this development, a reliable source at the Federal Ministry of Health disclosed that the management of the ministry is not satisfied with the actions taken by Director General of the NAFDAC, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye,  to resolve the issues so that the workers can go back to work.

The source who pleaded not to be named because she is not authorized to talk on the matter said that the ministry is worried that instead of making efforts to resolve the strike, the NAFDAC Director General decided to travel abroad.

“NAFDAC is a very sensitive agency. Many things in the country including safety of foods and drugs will get bad within this period due to the strike.

“We are concerned that instead of her working day and night to resolve the issues, she decided to stay away. The last time we were looking for her, we were told that she is outside the country. Who is she expecting to go and resolve the issues for her?

“In fact, we are not happy with her. She is lucky that the current minister is a patient person if not that could have cause her that position. But who knows what may happen in the days ahead if she did not sit up,” the source said.

However, speaking with our correspondent on telephone, the Chairman of the MHWUN, NAFDAC branch, Anzuka Peters, said that the union tried to ensure that the strike is averted but that the management was not willing to resolve the issues.

Responding to a question on some of the issues under contention, Peters said: “One of the reasons why we are on strike is that we have promotion areas of five years including 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and now 2022.

“Secondly is the issue of salaries. NAFDAC workers currently have no salary scale. They migrated us from Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) to Research and Allied Salary Structure (CONRASS) which is alien to NAFDAC. NAFDAC  is not a research institute. “That makes many workers to loose over N100,000 to N200,000. Others N50,000 depending on one’s rank. The least some people lose is 30,000 naira. That problem has not been solved.

“The federal government said they are ready to implement our Consolidated NAFDAC salary structure but that there was no money.

“They therefore, advised us to go and look inward in our revenue whether we can get some allowances that will be in commensurate terms with the salary we are asking for.

“We sat and created regulatory allowance, hazard allowance which we increased from 10 per cent to 30 per cent and other allowances which we arrived at a conclusion and we all agreed. But the management seems not ready to implement any agreement.”

Responding on the possibility of losing the WHO certifications and the Maturity Level 3 due to the strike action, the NAFDAC Media Consultant, Sayo Akintola, said that the WHO Team that conducted the assessment using its  Global Benchmarking Tools that qualified NAFDAC for Maturity Level 3 commended the agency on the significant progress in the implementation of recommendations across the regulatory functions.

According to him: “Staff welfare was a key  WHO-GBT used in assessing NAFDAC. The ML3 rating for Nigeria is for medicines regulation and  vaccines.

“It’s impossible for the certification to be withdrawn over workers’ strike. Worker agitation for improved welfare is a global phenomenon.  It’s a legitimate demand and management of NAFDAC is on top of the situation as negotiations with the union leaders are ongoing and they are making progress.

“Staff welfare has been paramount on the heart of the DG and she’s doing everything humanly possible to enhance the welfare of her staff whom she always commends for the milestones she has been able to achieve in the agency.”