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Abdulhameed: Global Recognition for Passionate Agribusiness Technocrat

By Cletus Adole
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way”. —John Maxwell
The recent announcement that Mr Aliyu Abdulhameed, MD/CEO of the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL PLC), is a winner of the prestigious Global Award of the CEO Today Magazine for 2021 will not surprise anyone familiar with the contributions which the man and the organization he leads are have made to the transformation of Nigerian agriculture and agribusiness over the past five years.

Mr Aliyu Abdulhameed, MD/CEO, NIRSAL PLC
As a result of the dynamic and innovative leadership of NIRSAL PLC under Abdulhameed’s watch, the young institution which was barely a blip on the radar five years ago has become a robust and respected presence with solid and measurable accomplishments making real impact at various levels of the agro-economy.
According to CEO Today, Abdulhameed, a highly experienced agricultural economist with over 30 years hands-on experience in agricultural value chains and markets in sub-Sahara Africa is deserving of recognition on account of the innovations and accomplishments that NIRSAL PLC has notched up under his leadership.
The evidence of the impact he is making is unimpeachable, starting from NIRSAL PLC’s core mandate of making agriculture more attractive to banks and encouraging more investment in the sector.
Among NIRSAL’s achievements under Abdulhameed’s watch is the facilitation of over $550 million to various actors across Agricultural Value Chains for mechanization activities, input distribution, and the production, processing, trading and marketing of agricultural commodities.
Related to this, commercial banks have pledged to provide an additional $500 million to fund agriculture in the short to medium-term based on their faith in NIRSAL PLC’s Credit Risk Guarantee (CRG) and structured Agro Geo-Cooperatives®.
It is an indication that financiers are growing more and more confident in lending to agriculture. This claim is supported by the remarkable growth in the rate of bank lending to agriculture, from 1.4% pre-NIRSAL to 4.8 per cent as of Q3 2020.
The CEO Today Magazine Award has been won by a select group of outstanding achievers on different continents over the years. It recognizes “strong and innovative leadership among the most inspiring CEOs and business leaders” across the world.
The highly regarded platform honours the most-respected companies and their C-Level executives who lead the way for others on a global stage.
According to the magazine, the 2021 awards are special because the CEOs selected, delivered despite the Coronavirus pandemic.
The 2021 award winners come from the academia, tech, e-commerce, public administration and more from several countries including the UAE, Germany, USA, Sweden, Bulgaria and China. The include:
Dr Abdullatif Al Shamsi, President and CEO of the Higher Colleges of Technology, the largest higher institution in the United Arab Emirates with 23,000 students across 16 campuses;
Michael Lampel, CEO and Founder of Qooper Media, an accomplished investor and business development expert based in south west Germany;
Philip Weiser, CEO of AnyDesk, an innovative remote solutions company in Germany which has witnessed impressive growth while disrupting the remote software solutions industry since the pandemic
As those who know him can attest, Abdulhameed is the kind of leader who is comfortable at all points of the leadership spectrum.
He is both a visionary passionate both about the big issues at the critical junction of agriculture and agribusiness as well as a hands-on technocrat who likes to immerse himself in the nitty-gritty details of small scale farming.
This passion shines through whether he is on the podium at a conference, marshaling his troops in the office to reach targets or on a field trip to inspect an agricultural project supported by NIRSAL PLC.
Always bustling with energy and big ideas, he is always focused on one priority whether he is discussing the latest technologies and techniques in global agriculture or the best methods to organize the millions of poor farmers for higher productivity: better results.
The award for innovative leadership is therefore well deserved because, at NIRSAL PLC, Abdulhameed is showcasing skills and experience spanning across a wide range of areas including, agricultural value chain development, agricultural value chain finance, research and innovation, extension services, agribusiness development, product marketing, strategy, project management as well as agricultural policy analysis and advocacy.
The passionate agribusiness manager and thought leader is fond of saying that NIRSAL PLC has “innovation in its DNA”. This is clear from the raft of innovations he is leading in the organization such as the creation of NIRSAL Agro Geo-Cooperative® (AGC) scheme, an ambitious, paradigmatic plan targeted at revolutionizing agricultural production and productivity in the country.
The scheme is structuring farmers and aggregating their farmlands into contiguous stretches of 250 hectares each and link them with training, inputs, mechanization, financing and produce buyers.
AGC will build on the increasing benefits of NIRSAL initiatives that are making a real difference in creating opportunities for farmers. So far, through NIRSAL’s facilitation, more than 370,000 direct jobs have been created and an estimated 1.8 million indirect jobs in the pre-upstream, upstream, midstream and downstream segments of the agricultural value chain, specifically in the areas of mechanization, input supply, primary production and processing.
Other innovations being progressed under Abdulhameed’s watch include the creation and mapping of Agricultural Commodity Ecological Areas (ACEAs); the development of the Mapping to Markets (M2M) strategy; the development of innovative index-based agricultural insurance products; the introduction of comprehensive field monitoring by remote sensing satellite systems and granular validation by UAS platforms; and the development of the Secured Agricultural Commodity Transport & Storage Corridor (SATS-C) model to address logistical inefficiencies in the agricultural value chain in Nigeria.
This is not the first significant recognition of NIRSAL under Abdulhameed’s leadership. The institution also won the Outstanding Development Finance Institution Award of the Annual BusinessDay Banks’ And Other Financial institutions (BAFI) Awards back to back in 2018 and 2019. BAFI recognizes and celebrates outstanding performance in Nigeria’s financial services industry including those that have brought revolutionary benefits to the sector.
The CEO Today award confirms the potent blend of quality and passion that defines this remarkable man and leader.
Perhaps more important, it is a credit to the unique institution he leads and the great difference that he, along with his hardworking team are making in the executive suites of the financial sector and fields of Nigeria’s agriculture and agribusiness.
*Cletus Adole is a policy analyst based in Abuja.
News
Abbas Jega, Ex-AMCON ED, Testifies, Says Arik Never Cooperated With AMCON

A former Executive Director at Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Abbas Muhammed Jega, has shed light on the financial dealings between Arik Air and Union Bank, revealing that the airline’s debt to AMCON was over N100 billion as of 2015 and remained unpaid.
Testifying as the third prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Ahmed Kuru, former AMCON MD/CEO, and four others, Jega disclosed that AMCON acquired Arik’s loans from Union Bank and Keystone Bank, but not Zenith Bank, which was purchased after his exit.
According to Jega, AMCON discovered in a London meeting that Union Bank had sold them a guarantee rather than a loan, which was meant to cover foreign lenders in case Arik defaulted.
“We invited Arik to resolve the issue with Union Bank, but the arrangement disclosed by me never existed,” Jega said.
Jega attributed Arik’s inability to repay to over-trading, which led to their inability to service existing debts. He revealed that AMCON attempted to restructure Arik’s debt and even offered additional loan facilities to help the airline with working capital problems.
However, Arik failed to meet repayment obligations, prompting AMCON to propose two solutions: a debt equity swap and management control. Both options were rejected or delayed by Arik.
Under cross-examination, Jega confirmed that Kamilu Omokide and Captain Roy Ilegbodu played no role in the loan purchase or London meeting.
The matter has been adjourned to June 30, July 1, and July 2, 2025, for further cross-examination.
The case involves alleged financial misappropriation amounting to N76 billion and $31.5 million, with Ahmed Kuru, Kamilu Omokide, Captain Roy Ilegbodu, Union Bank Ltd, and Super Bravo Ltd as defendants, presided over by Justice Mojisola Dada.
News
Minister of Information to Chair GOCOP Book Launch in Abuja

Alhaji Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation is to chair the public presentation of the book Nigeria Media Renaissance: GOCOP Perspective on Online Publishing, a publication of Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP). The event is scheduled for 110am on Tuesday June 17, 2025 at the Continental Hotel, Abuja.
President of GOCOP, Maureen Chigbo, who confirmed this development said the book presentation will be graced by eminent personalities from all walks of life, including government officials, captains of industry, media practitioners and other professionals, representatives of international organisations, directors of non-governmental organisations.
Alhaji Idris was sworn in as Minister of Information and National Orientation on August 21, 2023, following his appointment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. With over three decades of experience in broadcasting, newspapering, public relations, and advertising, Idris has brought a wealth of expertise to the role.
His academic background includes degrees in English Studies from Uthman Danfodio University, Sokoto, and Bayero University, Kano. As an entrepreneur, he established notable media outlets such as Blueprint, WE FM radio station, and Rapid Television in Abuja.
He is a prominent figure in professional associations such as National Institute of Public Relations, African Public Relations Association, Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria, and Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria.
As the founder of Bifocal Communications, a leading public relations and communications consultancy, Idris has served both local and transnational corporations.
Beyond his professional endeavours, Idris is committed to social responsibility through the Mohammed Idris Malagi (MIM) Foundation, which has positively impacted many lives. As a reward for his contributions to the development of his immediate environment and beyond, The Etsu Nupe conferred “Kaakaki Nupe” on him.
A press statement by the GOCOP Publicity Secretary, Ogbuefi Remmy Nweke, quoted the GOCOP president as saying that the proceeds of the book will be used to fund the N2.3 billion GOCOP MEDIA CENTRE, a multi-purpose resource centre comprising a secretariat, a 21st Century library and event halls, among others.
Nweke further noted that the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) was established to promote professionalism in online publishing, ensuring its members uphold the fundamental principles of journalism.
Comprising seasoned editors and senior journalists with distinguished career in print and electronic media, GOCOP’s membership has traversed the online publishing, recognizing its pivotal role in shaping the future of journalism globally. With 120 corporate publishers as members, GOCOP continues to uphold the highest standards of online journalism.
News
ARCON to Crackdown on AI-Generated Fake Ads

Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has issued a stern warning to marketers, content creators, and social media influencers amid an alarming rise in fraudulent, AI-generated advertisements circulating across digital platforms.
Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, director-general, ARCON, during a press briefing at its Lagos headquarters, decried the “porous” state of Nigeria’s online ad ecosystem and pledged to prosecute offenders to the fullest extent of the law.
Dr. Fadolapo opened the media parley by highlighting how easily unscrupulous operators deploy artificial intelligence tools to produce convincing—but entirely fabricated—advertisements.
“Our social media space has become so porous that people now freely post fake adverts, some of which claim outrageous and bogus benefits,” he remarked.
According to the Director-General, these deceptive campaigns often promise “miraculous cures” or “guaranteed returns” without any credible data or verifiable sources to back them.
Among the most alarming examples cited was an herbal remedy advertisement alleging to cure over 200 ailments—ranging from HIV to cancer—through a single “miracle” concoction.
“Imagine an advert claiming that a single herbal drug could cure HIV, cancer, and more than 200 other diseases,” Dr. Fadolapo said.
ARCON’s DG emphasized that such misleading advertisements not only jeopardize public health—by luring vulnerable individuals into purchasing untested or harmful products—but also undermine consumer confidence in legitimate businesses operating within advertising guidelines.
Dr. Fadolapo pointed to the regulatory vacuum that allows bad actors to exploit the anonymity of social media.
Unlike traditional broadcast or print media—where advertisements must pass through editorial or legal vetting—online platforms can be manipulated with minimal oversight.
Creating an ad using AI-powered design and voice generators, he warned, takes only minutes, making it difficult for regulators to identify the original perpetrators.
“The CBEX case is a painful reminder of what can happen when digital platforms are left unchecked,” Dr. Fadolapo said, explaining that the scheme purportedly defrauded unsuspecting Nigerians of nearly $2 trillion through slick, unregulated social media promotions.
He described how the CBEX promoters used AI-generated video testimonials, falsified financial statements, and cloned websites to entice victims with promises of triple-digit returns on cryptocurrency trades.
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