General News
Making the Most of London 2012

My last assignment as a sports journalist was at the 2006 National Sports Festival (NSF) in Abeokuta and Ijebu Ode, Ogun State – the same year Germany hosted FIFA’s World Cup Finals. Six years is a pretty long time, and I was wondering how the London Games would go by without me putting a word.
But times have also changed. I moved from being a sports reporter to a technology writer, after a spell as Communications’ Consultant with one of the nation’s brightest firms in Lagos. But what do the Games of the XXX Olympiad hold in stock for humanity? Are Nigerians really in the mix for a better outing? What new technological innovations are we likely to experience with the London 2012 Games?
For starts, the London 2012 Games would be the most viewed programme on television in the history of humanity. Olympic officials estimate an incredible four billion people across the world would atleast watch one sports of the games through the 17 days of this summer.
That would double the figures of Beijing, China in 2008 where it was recorded that 1.3 billion Chinese (alone) watched the closing events. Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), noted then that it was the most watched event in human history.
“We had more broadcast coverage to more people, in more places than ever,” said Rogge during his closing news conference in the Chinese capital. Now, South Sudan would be added as a nation of people who watched the games this summer.
Each games come with its own peculiarity: broadcast innovations, marketing breakthroughs and entertainment values. The London 2012 Games are already awash with what it would bequeath mankind. Costs are mind-bugging as governments of host cities go all out to secure financing for the Games.
A BBC cost overview of the London 2012 Games shows why poor countries would never afford to host the Olympics. “On 15 March 2007 the government announced the budget for the Games had risen from £2.4 billion to £9.35 billion, although it said the cost of the Games would be £5.3 billion.”
So how did that work out? “New venues cost £3.1 billion – these include the Olympic Park at Stratford and the athletes’ village. £1.7 billion spent on regeneration and infrastructure. £600m spent on extra security – the government of David Cameron is already crossed with the private security firm contracted to provide security for the Games. The UK government had to call in over 3, 500 soldiers to help provide additional security.
“The government set aside £2.7 billion in a contingency fund in case costs rise further. The Olympics will have to pay an £840m tax bill. £390m will be spent on other costs, such as the Paralympics and community sport.
“Income: The government will provide £6 billion, with other funds coming from London council tax payers and the National Lottery. Further income will come from International Olympic
Committee TV and marketing deals (£560m); sponsorship and official suppliers (£450m); ticket revenues (£300m); licensing (£60m) and London Development Agency (£250m).
Other revenue sources for the Games will include: “9.6 million tickets for sale – 8 million for the Olympics and 1.6 million for the Paralympics.”
It shows the details LOCs take in planning and running the Games.
When Nigeria failed in its bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games to Canada, I remember asking a colleague how we would have succeeded in hosting the Commonwealth Games, seeing that we made a mess of the 2003 All Africa Games in Abuja.
For the Beijing Games, one of America’s TV network, the National Broadcast Corporation (NBC), paid $894 million for the exclusive broadcast rights to the United States and it succeeded in generating more than $1 billion in advertising revenue.
The same cannot be said of Nigeria or any other African country – perhaps South Africa being an exception.
London 2012 would also present the most diverse mix of media coverage than at any other Olympics.
The internet will be awash with Olympic contents, especially on social media platforms like twitter, google+, facebook or youtube.
Viewers are expected to plant themselves through either of these platforms to follow the Olympic trends.
For the Nigerian viewer, it is still light years behind the technological age.
The irregular public electricity supply is nolonger news worthy for media outlets.
The promised Eldorado after the landing of two submarine fibres has not delivered the much hyped broadband freedom.
Download speed is still not faster than a snail crawl.
Watching internet TV is laborious and tasks the eyes and brain.
Transmission on the local terrestrial TV networks would not give accurate account, as most events won’t be broadcast live. Viewers would be limited to DTH options for the full Olympic experience.
But even then, I gloss over what would excite the Nigerian viewer to budget for extra fuel cost just to power his generator set to view any of the events?
The Nigerian contingent to the Games didn’t provide any gold medal excitements.
The qualification of the men’s basketball team was as exciting as it come – no medal prospect.
Perhaps one sport Nigerians might think of watching could be in the men canoeing where the Anglo-Nigeria Johny Adeyemi, 23, competes having eliminated the Beijing 2008 bronze medalist to get listed for London 2012.
Akinyemi’s feat over the much rated Benjamin Boukpeti, in canoe slalom, men’s kayak (K1) early this year makes him the most exciting individual Nigerian to watch-out.
Traditionally, track and field used to be a favourite medals prospect for Nigeria, but not anymore with several elite athletics defecting to European countries where there are better remunerations and affection for the athlete.
Last Friday, Benedict Efe, a Lagos based sports journalist was bemoaning the absence of the Nigerian football teams having watched Brazil made a mince-meat of the Cameroonian Lionesses.
But you can be sure that after London 2012, the government would go back to the drawing board for a better performance at the next Olympics!
General News
Afreximbank to Fund African Energy Bank with $19bn

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said that the Afreximbank would invest $19 billion to fund the African Energy Bank.
He said the $19 billion would go a long way toward tackling and overcoming energy poverty, driving economic growth, and improving the lives of millions of people.
The minister disclosed this while speaking at the opening ceremony of the Nigerian Pavilion, hosted by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), at the ongoing Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas, U.S with the theme “Africa’s Energy Renaissance: Leveraging Innovation and Natural Gas for Sustainable Development.”
He said that by pooling resources, African countries can invest in large-scale energy projects.
Also, the minister stressed the need for Africa to develop cohesive policies tailored to its unique circumstances, warning that fragmented approaches would be ineffective in addressing the escalating energy deficit.
“This conference is not a jamboree. It is a platform for Nigeria, and by extension, Africa — to showcase its vast potential,” Lokpobiri said.
He underscored the importance of regional collaboration, highlighting the Africa Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) as a strategic entity established to devise shared solutions for the continent’s energy challenges.
According to him, the prevailing global discourse on energy transition is largely influenced by geopolitical considerations.
In response to this challenge, he announced that APPO is in the process of establishing the African Energy Bank to bridge funding gaps and ultimately free the continent from energy poverty.
During a meeting with his Ghanaian counterpart, Lokpobiri advised Ghana to draw lessons from Nigeria’s past experiences in the energy sector, particularly in avoiding early missteps.
In his address, Ghana’s Minister of Energy and Green Transition, Mr John Abdullahi, acknowledged Nigeria’s leading role in the region.
He stated that while Ghana is a relatively new player in the oil and gas sector, it is eager to learn from Nigeria’s experiences and reforms, especially in the areas of local content development and climate policy.
“We will continue to consult Nigeria as we build a successful oil and gas industry. The collaboration between both countries remains strong. For his part, PETAN Chairman Wole Ogunsanya emphasised the significance of Nigeria’s presence at OTC.
He said: “This year’s event, under the Nigerian Pavilion, is set to highlight Africa’s growing role in the global energy sector.
“OTC 2025 promises to bring together top-tier industry leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders at the world’s largest energy event.”
General News
NIPOST Suspends Cash Transactions Nationwide

Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) has declared July 1, 2025, as the deadline for phasing out cash transactions across all its offices nationwide.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Monday by Frank Alao, director of Corporate Communications,NIPOST.
The move is part of a broader reform initiative aimed at transforming NIPOST into a more innovative, efficient, and digitally driven organisation.
The management explained that the reforms are aligned with global best practices and tailored to meet the demands of Nigeria’s rapidly evolving digital economy, as well as the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Alao stated, “We are assuring Nigerians of a revitalised NIPOST that delivers superior service and embraces the future.
“A major highlight of the reform package is the transition to a fully cashless system. Beginning July 1, 2025, all post office counters nationwide will no longer accept cash payments for their services. Customers will be required to use approved electronic channels for all transactions.
“This is a crucial step in our modernization journey, one that ensures safer, faster, and more transparent service delivery.”
General News
FG Faults AfDB’s Adesina on Nigeria’s GDP Per Capita Figures

The Presidency has faulted claim of Akinwumi Adesina, president, African Development Bank (AfDB), on the current Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita figures versus the level it was in 1960 when Nigeria attained independence.

Akinwumi Adesina, president, African Development Bank
The outgoing AfDB President had in a recent viral statement claimed that Nigerians are worse off today than in 1960 when Nigeria’s GDP per capita was $1847..
The AfDB President claimed that in contrast to the level of the GDP per capita at Nigeria independence, the country’s current GDP stands at $824 today, a reflection of the current rampant poverty and low human development in the country.
But in a rebuttal of the claim, the presidency, in a statement by Bayo Onanuga, the spokesperson to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu accused the AfDB President of failure to carry out proper research and speaking like a politician in his assertions.
“Adesina spoke like a politician, in the mould of Peter Obi and did not do due diligence before making his unverifiable statement,” the presidency said while faulting the claim of the AfDB President.
While countering the claim of Adesina, the presidency noted in the statement that available data indicated that Nigeria’s GDP was $4.2 billion in 1960, and per capita income for a population of 44.9 million was $93, not even one hundred dollars.
“Our country’s GDP did not rise remarkably until the 1970s, when crude earnings ballooned. In 1970, our GDP rose to $12.55 billion. In 1975, it was $27.7 billion, $64.2 billion in 1980, and $164 billion in 1981. Up until 1980, per capita income did not exceed $880. It rose to $2187 in 1981 and dropped to $1844 in 1982. In 2014, after rebasing, it reached an all-time high of $3,200.
“These facts raise questions about the source of Dr Adesina’s figures,” Onanuga said.
However, the presidency also faulted the AfDB President, a former Nigerian Minister of Agriculture of making inferences on the state of poverty or human development in Nigeria solely based on the GPD per capita numbers. .
“Dr Adesina should know that GDP per capita is not the only criterion used to determine whether people live better lives now than in the past. Indeed, it is a poor tool for assessing living standards.
“Its primary usefulness is in giving us the metrics to compare economic output in a country or between countries.
“GDP masks many activities in a country’s economy. It neither discloses wealth distribution or income inequality nor accounts for the informal economy, which experts have said is enormous. It does not account for subsistence farming or income transfer from one family member to another,” the presidency said.
The Presidency also noted that GDP per capita is not reflective of the fact that Nigerians in 2025 have better access to healthcare, education, and transportation, such as rail and air transport, than in 1960.
“This premise alone suggests why Dr Adesina should not have arrived at his conclusion.
“Compared with 1960, Nigeria today has more primary, secondary, and tertiary schools.
“We have more road networks and more medical facilities, private and public. We have phenomenal access to telephones.
“At Independence, we had 18,724 operational phone lines for a population of about 45 million. Over 200 million Nigerians now enjoy near-universal access to mobile phones and digital services, indicating we are better off today than 65 years ago.”
Furthermore, the presidency noted that Nigerian policymakers know that whatever GDP figure NBS publishes may not capture our economy’s full depth and breadth as it usually excludes the greater part of the informal economy, which some pundits have said may even be more significant than the formal economy.
“This underscores why Dr. Adesina should have considered all aspects of our economy before concluding.”
“When Vodacom, a telecommunications company, considered entering the Nigerian market in 1999 or 2000, its consultants, using the available GDP metrics, advised against it.
“They believed that Nigerians were too poor to afford GSM services. However, MTN and other companies that entered the market later proved them wrong, demonstrating that GDP figures alone do not provide a complete picture of a country’s economic potential or the living standards of its people.
“MTN and other adventurers came later, and they laughed all the way to the bank. More than 20 years later, they are still laughing despite some setbacks in 2023 and 2024. In its first-quarter results this year, MTN declared revenue of N1 trillion and an increase of 8.2 percent in subscriptions, which took the number of its voice and data users to 84 million. Does this MTN experience correlate with a country worse off than in 1960, when we had analogue telephones and the number of lines was fewer than 20,000?
“No objective observer can claim that Nigeria has not made progress since 1960. Today, as we await the NBS’s recalibration of our GDP, we can comfortably say without contradiction that it is at least 50 times, if not 100 times, more than it was at Independence.”
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