Abia’s best secondary school, TEDA, enriches offerings and curriculum ahead of a new session

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Award-winning TEDA School at Eke-Owerri, Obingwa in Abia State has introduced more practical courses and equipment to boost the curriculum for students as it prepares for the 2022/2023 academic session.

“In addition to our well-equipped Cultural and Creative Arts Studio (CCA), TEDA has introduced music classes powered by Kharismates Music Academy, Nigeria, where students are taught how to sing and play different musical instruments such as violin, cello, saxophone, keyboard, guitar and more”, said Dr Godson Dinneya, founder and proprietor.

TEDA has also introduced and equipped an Information and Communication Technology workshop to add to the six workshops it has for technical subjects. It now offers Phone and Computer Maintenance (PCM) classes “designed to empower the students in ICT-based entrepreneurship and self-reliance after secondary school.”

Five well-equipped workshops offer practical experience in automotive technology, woodwork, metalwork, electrical and electronics, and more.

TEDA also offers Early Science Education for its junior school students. It offers JSS1-3 students “the opportunity to discover their true potential early” by exposing them to Basic Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Economics and Further Mathematics. Dinneya asserts that “this is in line with international standard and to groom them to rule their world at an early age.”[/vc_column_text][vc_gallery interval=”5″ images=”2159,2158,2156,2155,2157,2161,2160,2153,2154,2152″ img_size=”medium”][vc_column_text]The Total Education Development Academy (TEDA) emerged Best School in Junior Science in the International Olympiad Competition in 2019/2020. Its students placed first, third, fourth, fifth and seventh out of the best ten.

TEDA also won overall first and third position in junior sciences and Best Girl in Junior Sciences (Queen of the Junior Sciences).

The Abia State Ministry of Education named TEDA the best government-approved Junior Secondary School for 2020/2021 and the second position among Government-approved Senior Secondary Schools in the state.

Significantly, TEDA was the best overall school in the Senior School Certificate examination by WAEC in 2020 for producing the best aggregate result.

Over 800 students are enrolled with full boarding at TEDA. It has since the pandemic and the economic crunch welcomed many students from overseas whose parents send them to Nigeria for acculturation without fear of losing standards.

TEDA School is one of Abia State and South East’s leading secondary schools. Its founder lamented the absence of an enabling environment for first-rate performance in public schools in the country.

Dr Godson Dinneya, an economist and educationist, noted that the environmental issues concern the state of facilities and remuneration for instructors. Dinneya’s Total Education Development Academy (TEDA) contributes to solving the problem by ensuring an enabling environment conducive to all players in the system and offering scholarships to four categories of students.

TEDA offers fee rebates for academic brilliance, staff children, children of Christian ministers regardless of denomination, widows’ children and the third sibling in a row.

Dinneya said 12 per cent of the school’s population are in one form of scholarship or the other. Those on Academic Excellence pay only 50% of the fees same as staff children. A pastor’s child qualifies for 25 per cent rebate, a third sibling gets a 20 per cent rebate while children of widows also get 20 per cent rebates on the fees.

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SON grants MANCAP certification to Micronutrient Laboratories

Quality standards regulator, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), has granted the Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme (MANCAP) certification to Cognito® Instant Micronutrient Powder (Cognito® MNP) produced by Micronutrient Laboratories Limited (MLL).

SON MANCAP certification follows a thorough factory inspection and the laboratory analysis of product samples that prove conformity “to the requirements of NIS 1059:2019 and other relevant standards”.
Tersoo I Orngudwen, Director of Product Certification Department, signed for SON Director General the notice conveying the approval to Dr Kenny Acholonu, the Chief Innovation Officer of Micronutrient Laboratories Limited.
Cognito® MNP is a well-formulated single-serve blend of 15 essential micronutrients (10 vitamins and five minerals). It is a free-flowing powder that is conveniently packed in 1gram affordable sachets to improve the nutritional content of most staple foods.
Users add Cognito® MNP to semi-solid foods and porridges at the point of eating and at a temperature conducive to feeding the child. A sachet of Cognito® MNP is sufficient to provide 100% recommended nutrient intake (RNI) for infants and young children within the age range of six months to 59 months.

Research has shown that most complementary staples for children six months to 59 months (6months to 5 years) have little nutritional value and do not provide adequate micronutrients to meet their daily recommended intake.
Users add Cognito® MNP to complementary food for children after the first six months of exclusive breastfeeding. The addition of vitamins and minerals to enrich the nutrient content of food is one of the intervention strategies adopted by the Federal government to tackle malnutrition.
UNICEF states that Nigeria has the second-highest burden of stunted children globally, with a national prevalence rate of 32 per cent of children under five. An estimated two million children in Nigeria suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), but the country reaches only two out of every ten children affected with treatment.

Micronutrient Laboratories Limited launched its own brand of MNP called Cognito® MNP at the 44th annual AGM and scientific conference of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST) in 2020. Cognito® MNP is a product and brand designed to meet a pressing need of tackling infant malnutrition in Nigeria.
Cognito® MNP has witnessed rapid growth on the back of acceptance by institutional buyers, notably the Federal Ministry of Health and other MDAs at federal and state government levels.

Cognito Micronutrient Powder fortifies foods for infants to fight malnutrition

Micronutrient Laboratories Limited brought into the market on Wednesday 14 October 2020 its Cognito Micronutrient Powder to fight the threat of infant malnutrition in Nigeria.

Cognito MNP has witnessed rapid growth on the back of acceptance by institutional buyers, notably the Federal Ministry of Health and other MDAs at federal and state government levels.

Micronutrient Laboratories Limited stated that Cognito MNP would enhance the nutritional value of food served to children from six months to five years with the addition of Cognito.

Cognito MNP is a product and brand designed to meet a pressing need.

UNICEF states that Nigeria has the second-highest burden of stunted children globally, with a national prevalence rate of 32 per cent of children under five. An estimated 2 million children in Nigeria suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), but the country reaches only two out of every ten children affected with treatment.

Besides, UNICEF, WHO and the World Bank Group identified three malnutrition categories. They are stunting, wasting and overweight.

The organisations’ Joint Child Malnutrition Estimates, 2020 reports that 144 million children under-5 are stunted (too short for their age), 47 million are wasted (too thin for their height), and 38 million children under 5 are overweight.

Dr Kenny Acholonu is the Chief Innovation Officer, Micronutrient Laboratories Limited. He averred that Cognito MNP is a readily available micronutrient powder for optimising the nutritive value of local foods for all malnourished children including those in challenging settings such as conflict areas, IDPs, and poverty-chains.

Acholonu said the micronutrient formulation directly responds to the challenge thrown by international agencies bothered with the high incidence of infant mortality traceable to food deficiencies and the lack of local capacity.

Rotary International and UNICEF threw the challenge of local production of micronutrient powder in Nigeria in 2009. Before and since then, Nigeria has imported MNP. They approached me based on a recommendation by BASF, the world leader in chemicals. My team and I took up the challenge. We produced Micronutrient powder to global standards.”

Dr Acholonu asserted, Cognito will assist Nigeria to tackle the problem of micronutrient deficiency. It will be useful in tackling the challenge of food lacking in vital nutrients that many of our deprived citizens eat and serve their children.”

Rachael Amadasun, Technical Manager, said Micronutrient Laboratories formulated their product according to the Federal Government’s prescription. She noted that “Cognito® MNP is a single-serve blend of 15 essential micronutrients (10 vitamins and five minerals). It is a 1gram powder used to improve the nutritional content of most staple foods. Users add Cognito to semi-solid foods and porridges after cooking and at a temperature conducive to feeding the child. A sachet of Cognito® MNP is sufficient to provide 100% RNI for children within the age range (6months to 59 months).

Home fortification of food is one of the federal government’s intervention strategies to prevent micronutrient deficiencies in children under5 years.

Cognito MNP has NAFDAC certification.

Pursue innovation and build brands to grow Sierra Leone’s economy, Nwakanma advises at Salone CEOs Meet

Sierra Leone’s business, government, and economy leaders should walk confidently into 2022 and pursue innovation to drive economic growth, Nigerian communication expert Chido Nwakanma counselled on Thursday 2 December 2021 at the Salone CEO’s Meet powered by La Fete Communications.

Nwakanma urged the leaders in the private and public sectors to build on the strengths of Sierra Leone and tap the opportunities in historical presentation, education, tourism, the extractive industry, and the environment.

Participants at the forum, leaders across sectors, agreed on the imperatives of innovation and entrepreneurship and exploring the country’s opportunities more closely.

Noting Sierra Leone’s relatively compact population and environmental serenity, Nwakanma submitted that the country has yet to leverage the history of Fourah Bay College as the first university-level institution in Africa.  He noted, “Africa longs for higher education. They go to institutions with history and tradition. What is holding back Fourah Bay College, Africa’s first higher education institution in modern times?”

Nwakanma is the president of the Nigerian chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) and a former president of the Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria. He also teaches as an Adjunct Faculty of the School of Media & Communication, Pan Atlantic University in Lagos, Nigeria.

Nwakanma asserted that Sierra Leone should market its rich environmental and tourist potentials as neighbouring Ghana and the Gambia do.

On tourism and the environment, Nwakanma shared his experience from 1 December 2021. “I took shots from my room at the Sierra Bay Hotel & Residence and sent them to friends back in Nigeria and across the world. Immediate response? “Wonderful. I love this. How much would it cost a family? Another person responded with the observation, “Is the water that blue? There is still hope for our environment.’

The speaker submitted, “I recommend that Sierra Leone should build on its strengths and the opportunities to craft and execute a value proposition around education, conferencing, environment, and tourism. Position and attract the conference market to the serenity of Sierra Leone. When they come, expose them to tourist facilities. Build superior educational institutions to serve West and Central Africa on the back of Fourah Bay College as the first university in Africa”.

Significantly, Mr Nwakanma harped on the imperative of innovation and entrepreneurship as needed ingredients for success in 2022. He noted that most experts agree that the Sierra Leone economy would witness “strong real GDP growth of 4.8% in 2022, well above the Sub-Saharan Africa average of 3.7%”.

He said it was up to leaders and entrepreneurs to make this happen and even exceed the expectations. “The critical question for entrepreneurs today in Sierra Leone and the rest of West Africa is one of vision. What can you see? Put another way, what can you envision even if it is not visible now?”

Nwakanma noted the many positives of the Sierra Leone Finance Act 2021 that offered tax reductions and incentives such as tax holidays to investors who build manufacturing facilities outside Freetown or go into tourism and small scale businesses. However, he added, “A plethora of other taxes, tolls and bills weigh heavily on businesses. They deny entrepreneurs the benefits of their enterprise. The approach is short-sighted. It creates room for tax avoidance and defaults, leading to under-the-table deals that deprive the government of revenue”.

Nwakanma asserted that innovation, the entrepreneurial art of seeking and developing new vistas, is the challenge before Sierra Leone and its leaders and the rest of Africa.

He affirmed, “Economists and global strategists say Sierra Leone should have a smoother ride in 2022 than in the last two years. The economic fundamentals should be good. That means the internal market will also get better and open. There are also opportunities in the larger West African and African market.”

He urged Sierra Leone and its business leaders to carve niches. Nwakanma added, “Once you have taken a position, you need to communicate the essence of your company and its offerings professionally. Engage internal communication teams. Or invite external counsel such as La Fete Communications Ltd. In this Information Age, communication is a critical imperative for business success. The matter is Darwinian: define yourself or be defined by sundry outsiders”.

La Fete Communications organised the Salone CEOs Meet 2021 following the first one in 2019. COVID19 aborted the event in 2020.

CEO Maraya Mushka Conteh said the Salone CEO’s Meet is a platform for exploring ideas and strategies for the country’s development.

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The launch on 8 April 2021 of The Making of the Nigerian Flagship: A Story
of The Guardian is significant in several respects. One of them is literature
and documentation of the evolution of the Nigerian media.

Just two weeks ago, I taught a class of persons who learnt via Zoom at the
Nestle/LBS programme on Advancing Nutrition, Health and
Environmental Awareness through the Media. One of the participants
asked a critical question. Why do Nigerian scholars often cite foreign
examples rather than local ones?
The answer is a lack of documentation. I told him there was no concise
history of our major media organisations such as The Daily Times, Nigerian
Tribune, The Punch, amongst the oldest. Nor of Radio Nigeria (FRCN) and
the 80s print media giants such as National Concord, Vanguard, Satellite
and The Guardian.
I was glad to ask him to look out for the launch on 7 April of work on The
Guardian. The authors shifted the launch by a day to accommodate
changes in the Presidency.
The challenge of documentation and citation was the most significant
hurdle in teaching Nigerian Media History over four semesters. We often
cite Fred Omu’s Press and Politics in Nigeria and Dayo Duyile’s Makers of
Nigerian Press. I sent out questionnaires to Managing Directors of the
major titles. Only a few responded after three years.
Richard Ikiebe, Lanre Idowu, and Aremo Olusegun Osoba have recently
added arrows to the quiver.

Richard contributed a two-volume book of first-hand accounts by certain
players in Nigerian Media Leaders: Voices Beyond the Newsroom, as well
as Kolade’s Canons with a book devoted to broadcasting, Then, a book
with Taiwo Obe, titled future tense: The Travails of Next and Nigerian
Journalism in the Digital Age.
Lanre Idowu added Uneven Steps: The Story of The Nigerian Guild of
Editors and Voices from Within, essays in honour of Sam Amuka. Osoba
offered a biographical account that included the Daily Times.

Broadcasting has benefited from broad-stroke studies. They include the
essay by Liwhu Betiang (2013), Global Drums and Local Masquerades:
Fifty Years of Television Broadcasting in Nigeria: 1959-2009 and books
such as Folarin, B. (2000). Foundation of broadcasting: A handbook for
Nigerian students, and Lasode, O. (1994). Television broadcasting: The
Nigerian experience, 1959-1992.
The Making of the Nigerian Flagship: A Story of The Guardian represents a
significant plank to document Nigerian media history. It will be essential
reading for students and scholars of the Nigerian media.
Kudos to Aaron Ukodie and O’Seun Ogunseitan for the work on the story of
The Guardian. I shall dig into it for a review on Culture Shelf.
Happy birthday to Aaron as he celebrates today.
Aaron and O’Seun have rendered an excellent service to journalism and
scholarship. At first glance, the book reminds me of Gay Talese’s (1969
The Kingdom and the Power: Behind the Scenes at The New York
Times: The Institution That Influences the World. This work offers a
broader scope.
Thank you to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, whose presence added heft
and glamour to the event. Prof Osinbajo is a media scholar. His book, Yemi
Osinbajo (1991), Nigerian Media Law, builds on the eponymous Taslim
Elias book.

It was a satisfying day yesterday.

The presence of Prof Osinbajo negated the absence of six governors who
had all promised to come. Maybe the date change affected them, but.

Conversation starter on IMC in Nigeria

Ikem Okuhu (2019), Pitch: Debunking Marketing’s Strongest Myths.
Lagos: Brandish Media. ISBN: 978-978-975-704-6

Pitch: Debunking Marketing’s Strongest Myths entered the market in the
best traditions of marketing communications. The decibel has been loud
and intense, as has been the effort to reach consumers and make them
at least buyers and probably readers of the book. The author of Pitch
demonstrates that you can achieve high levels of awareness and reach
for books in Nigeria bypassing the traditional book distribution channels.
Or almost.
Those building brands deploying public relations with modern platforms
such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter are following the paths of old
masters such as Anita Roddick and her The Bodyshop line that predated
the Internet. The idea was to tell stories around the brand through
various activations including events. The media then reported it.
Since its formal presentation in Lagos, Pitch has grabbed the Facebook
platform and gets a mention every week. It does this deploying Walter
Fischer’s Narrative Paradigm Theory. Narrative Paradigm states that all
meaningful communication is in the form of storytelling. Communication
happens between the narrator and the listener in the form of a story.
Ikem Okuhu has consistently shared a series of stories around Pitch,
from Lagos to Enugu with promises of adding Abuja and other towns.
Friends have shared similar stories of donating the books to university
libraries, mass communication and marketing departments.
Consequently, engaged professionals in integrated marketing
communications in Nigeria have heard of the book. They should, as it
addresses issues within their purview and professional competence.
Pitch is a journalist’s look at various issues in marketing communications
that he feels do not serve the best interests of stakeholders, from

consumers to brand owners and media platforms. He calls them
“marketing’s strongest myths”. Okuhu makes bold assertions and strong
claims.
A central assertion and thesis of the book comes early in the preface.
Okuhu states, “There are far too many things that have been taken for
granted in marketing. Perhaps out of respect for the ‘icons’ of the
industry that laid the foundation for the cultivation of the ideas or merely
because many people find it hard to interrogate certain issues, we have
carried on with a lot that don’t just work. The consequence has been
dire-wasteful marketing spend”.
In 12 chapters across 178 pages, Pitch discusses the marketing role of
the CEO; the “death of advertising”; the significance of mindshare versus
market share; line extensions; and the growing role of technology and
artificial intelligence in marketing. It also treats the role or non-
contribution of innovation, pricing, globalisation and corporate social
responsibility. It examines the matter of nation branding and what it
takes to brand successful nation brands.
An icon of advertising, Mr Lolu Akinwunmi, offers a strong endorsement.
Akinwunmi in the Foreword pats the author on the back with a “well
done”. He observes, “Dwelling mainly on some of the things marketers
hold very dearly and consider sacrosanct, the author offers some new
and potentially controversial perspectives into some of marketing
communication industry’s strongly held views.”
There is much learning in Pitch, particularly for persons coming to
marketing communications anew and students of the discipline. The
material on CEO Types and their impact on the business is very
informative. It draws on the western templates against which Okuhu rails
but offers deep insights into character traits and metrics. He ends it with
a useful guide to CEO positioning and branding.
Chapter 11 on “Every nation is not a brand” illuminates the challenges of
branding Nigeria and some of the reasons why previous efforts failed. It
contains material on the indices for national competitiveness and
comparison of branding efforts by countries such as India. Usually there
is a congruence of the internal and the external with communications
being the culmination of various other efforts.
Pitch offers many mini-cases and narratives of successes and failures in
the marketplace. Narratives include Hero lager beer, Star and its many

line extensions, Guinness Stout, Origin beer, Thermocool, Access Bank
etc. The account of the fate of Heineken Magnum is particularly
instructive as it makes the case for the place of culture in communication
and marketing. The stories however come across as the impressions
and opinions of the author. They would read better, as both journalism
and marketing literature, if there is a balance featuring interactions and
interviews with the brand custodians to explain why and how they took
the decisions they made with actual data on market share and
competition. A revised edition should take care of this.
The controversies will centre around his assertions in chapter three on
mind share versus market share. He mentions the battle of Coca Cola
versus Big Cola, Gala versus Rite Bite and the war of the beer and
detergent brands. In this segment, the author falls into the trap of the
use of unverifiable data of which he accused the industry. He allots
market share of Coca Cola 51%, Pepsi, 41%, Big Cola 4% and Bigi, 1%.
The author credits this data to “Market Intelligence”. The book could do
with better statistics from identifiable and reliable sources.
Line extensions remain controversial in marketing since Ries and Trout
(1972). The chapter on line extensions is hard-hitting. It is a surprise that
since the book hit the market, none of the brands skewered has offered
a rebuttal or an explanation of what happened, why and the learnings.
The chapter raises a significant issue in marketing. Marketing
professionals distinguish between brand extensions, line extensions and
licensed merchandise. According to Mathew Healy (2010), in What is
Branding? brand extensions function vertically; custodians use the same
brand in a new category where the brand’s meaning still makes sense to
customers. Line extensions tend to be horizontal and geared to higher or
lower segments within the same category. Licensed merchandise
applies the brand to an item that may be unrelated to the original brand.
The author of Pitch assumes that the reader is familiar with the pillars of
marketing and its myths and does not bother to explain them for context
before busting them. Marketing revolves around these pillars: attracting
new clients; retaining and growing relationships for the brand and
company; increasing name recognition and awareness; and creating
targeted effective communications using all the tools including
advertising, public relations, trade promotion, sponsorships and social
media as well as community involvement.

What are the myths that Pitch then busts? The reader must infer that
they include the primacy of advertising using traditional media; the role
of line extensions; the link between pricing, brand value and customer
acceptance; the role of innovation; the role and limitations of branding,
the place and importance of globalisation and the routes to market.
The assertion that “advertising is dead” should generate a lively debate.
Much advertising features online and social media platforms. So how is
it dead? Is it advertising that died or there is a change in the platforms
for delivering it so much so as to leave the traditional ones lost?
Pitch is a must-have for professionals as well as students in the related
fields of marketing, mass communication and cognate disciplines such
as sociology, economics and psychology. It has started a conversation
that invites the active engagement of the IMC field. How well the industry
responds to the issues the book raises would also be an index of its
health and capacity for intellectual engagement. The nation awaits and
watches.

A Primer on contemporary marriage and family life

Francis Ewherido (2019), Life Lessons from Mudipapa. Lagos: Laddertop Ltd/
Mace Associates Limited. ISBN: 978-978-8033-45-5. 256pp


Is jealousy a lousy and utterly negative emotion that rubs off all
concerned in the wrong way? Could jealousy be a decisive factor in a
relationship? Could it be an indicator of something worthwhile?
The word has negative associations.  The Cambridge Dictionary defines
it as “a feeling of unhappiness and anger because someone has
something or someone that you want”. Synonyms are envy,
enviousness, covetousness, desire and resentment.
In Life Lessons from Mudipapa, Francis Ewherido urges a more
nuanced appreciation of jealousy as a positive if not a virtue when
applied in the right proportions. “Jealousy is like any other genuine
feeling we have for what belongs to us. Done in moderation, it is okay;
but taken to the extreme, it gets you into trouble. Everybody who cares
for his/her spouse harbours some degree of jealousy.”
He adds: “Many people use the words envy and jealousy
interchangeably, but it was not always so. Hitherto, jealousy was seen
as protecting what is yours, while envy was the act of desiring what
belonged to another. Jealousy is of God. What do you think the first and
second of the ten commandants are all about? God is trying to protect
his people. He is telling us he does not want to share us with the devil.
He wants no competition for our love for Him.”
Life Lessons from Mudipapa is an ambitious project aimed at
transferring the teaching notes of a marriage counsellor and platform
speaker into a compelling narrative that entertains, informs and instructs.
Ewherido chooses the novel format as a vehicle for this task. The
skeletal frame is the story of Chief Mudiaga Orien.
Mudiaga Orien becomes Mudipapa because of one of his daughters in
her infancy. She blurted out as little children do in her search for clarity
and meaning, “You say your name is Mudi, but mummy says you are
papa. So, you are Mudipapa,”
Life Lessons from Mudipapa centres on marriage and family life. It
covers the life choice of Mudiaga against a vocation in the priesthood
following an assessment of his strengths and weaknesses, his search
for a life partner and the journey of matrimony and building a family. We

follow his quest for a partner and the failures, his successful union with
EseOghene, his wife, and their efforts at raising their family, starting a
business, his unfruitful endeavours as a business owner and the lucky
break of paid employment with a big multinational.
He grows in his job, rising to Finance Director. The challenge of caring
for their young children forces EseOghene to set up a creche which
became very successful. Mudipapa buys land in Agbara Estate enough
to house their house and a big school. They face the tough decision of
selling their creche and moving over to Agbara where they set up the
Orien International School. It became an even more significant success
and a legacy. We follow Mudipapa until retirement after successfully
training his children to acquire first degrees in Nigeria and postgraduate
qualifications abroad.
The book treats courtship, marriage, family, and parenting. It also
tackles business start-up, planning for retirement and life in retirement,
as the cover and blurb promise. It does more.
“Imaginative literature primarily pleases rather than teaches”, Mortimer J
Adler and Charles Van Doren asserted five decades ago in their classic
“How To Read A Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading. The
great achievement of Life Lessons from Mudipapa is combining
imaginative literature with didacticism. It is usually a tall order to do so,
and the strain shows in passages of the book where the teaching notes
of Mudipapa dominates the story and takes the reader to sessions on
various lessons in marriage and family. The author pulled it through.

Career choices and how not to raise children

Kingsley Obom-Egbulem (2018), When Fishes Climb Trees. Lagos:
ParentingNow. ISBN 978-978-968-905-7. 158pp


When Fishes Climb Trees is in the genre of motivation/Christian
literature that has held sway for four decades. Originally from America,
the research on motivation runs through a vast swathe of subjects and
themes. Kingsley Obom-Egbulem in this book draws on two decades of
experience as a Teens Pastor. His book primarily addresses the needs
of these young people at the critical period of becoming or unbecoming.
Teens are in the nether region: they are no longer children, but it would
take a few more years to qualify as adults. Obom-Egbulem treats the
matter of careers and the paths to them, the influences that determine
career choices, when to start, and how to go about the pursuit. The
message is in line with one of two sub-titles of the book as “A guide to
helping children discover purpose.” The other sub-title addresses
parents: “The price for moving our kids out of their comfort zones in
pursuit of courses, careers and a life they are not wired for!”
Simi the songstress, recording artist and performer, provides a
persuasive testimonial in the Foreword. She states, “Don’t attempt to
dream for your children. Let them soar. The mind is a beautiful thing,
and it’s different for everyone. God doesn’t ask a son to share a mind
with his father. Your job is to raise them well and train them with good
values and inspire them to develop great character. But let them be their
person. Advice them, but be there for them even if they decide to go a
different career path from what you would prefer. It’s their life. Let them
live it.”
Simi was in the Teens Church Kingsley Obom-Egbulem pastors at
Daystar Christian Centre, Oregun. She chose music against all the odds
and succeeded. She imbibed the messaging of her pastor on the right of
each person to determine her life choices.
Obom-Egbulem makes bold assertions in pursuit of his thesis. He
postulates that for successful careers, it is critical to commence early. He
suggests age ten as a take-off point. The factors of time and age have a
gravitational pull that counts in the inverse as people age. “Talent
discovered late doesn’t mature with time. Rather, it is challenged by

upcoming young talents with time, those against whom it might be
almost impossible to compete.”
Across 21 chapters, When Fishes Climb Trees delves deeply into the
subject of future choice. It cites many cases from the experience of the
author as well as in literature, local and international. It discusses the
harmful effects of wrongful decisions on the development of personality.
The damage is more hurtful and longer-lasting when parents impose the
choices.
Boxes at the end of each chapter contain nuggets that summarise the
point as well as re-emphasise it. Sample, For Mom/Dad: “Be careful
about this term ‘stubborn child’. It is often used inappropriately and
irresponsibly. A child trying to connect talents with purpose is often
mistaken for a stormy petrel or enfant terrible. Be ready to accept what
makes your child proud and happy, even if it doesn’t make you happy at
the moment.”
Use of talents is one of the critical lessons in the New Testament based
on the teachings of Jesus Christ. When Fishes Climb Trees harps on the
management of skills as one of the essential duties of childminders.
Parents and those who stand in loco-parentis, teachers, should major on
talent identification, nurturing and management. They should do so
without preconceptions and pushing personal preferences.
When Fishes Climb Trees would serve as essential reading for the
family. It is the kind of book that parents and children would read chapter
by chapter, then sit down to analyse and discuss in the sitting room to
unearth choices and points of view.
https://www.pressreader.com › nigeria › business-day-nigeria

Expert guidance in managing the human capital of the firm

Chris Enuke (2017), The Practice of Human Resource Management
with Examples from Nigeria
. Ibadan: Feathers and Ink. ISBN: 978-978-53624-7. 670pages


With its positive approach to human resource management, this tome
belongs on the bookshelf of C-suite executives in MSMEs as well as the
more prominent and smaller players. It is a comprehensive handbook on
best practises in the management of the most critical asset of any
organisation. It draws on a quarter-century and counting of practice in a
global exemplar in managing the human capital, the behemoth Unilever,
with practical examples backing every subject.
While most firms agree that people are a crucial asset, the management
of that asset is often sub-optimal. Chris Enuke, a veteran of HRM in
Unilever and consultant to local and international organisations,
commences this dissertation with the case for clear-headed policies and
structures in talent management. “Of all the factors of production, it is
only men who can think and answer back. Because man can be
temperamental, exhibiting good and bad moods, we need specialists to
manage them. There should be a system in place to accomplish this;
there should be a Human Resource Policy, well-articulated, and in
writing and well-known to all key performers in the enterprise.”
People management is critical to organisational success. The Practice of
Human Resource Management with Examples from Nigeria makes the
case and systematically outlines the how and why of managing this vital
function. Practical examples in the best pedagogical traditions fill the
book. However, the reader will search in vain for management theories
and influences on HRM. Missing are classical management theory,
classical organisation theory, systems theory, the behavioural school,
TQM, excellence studies. There is no exegesis on Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs, Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene Theory, or McClelland’s three
needs theory.
The Practice of Human Resource Management with Examples from
Nigeria shows how to do things in talent management with sample
forms, tables, queries, letters, and policy documents. It then explains
why with an exposition of the theories and history.

It covers the employment cycle, from entry into employment, recruitment,
engagement, firing or retirement and exit from work. Chapter Four x-rays
“The legal basis of employment, and Nigerian Labour Laws”. It is a must-
read for owner-managers and those who sign the cheques or supervise
the entire workforce. It educates on the seven laws central to managing
employer-employee relations. They are the Labour Decree No 21 of
1974 and subsequent amendments to it; Factory’s Decree (as amended)
1987; and the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1987. Others include The
Trade Union Act No 31 of 1973, Wages Board and Industrial Councils
Act of 1973, Trade Disputes Decree No 7 of 1976 and Trade Disputes
(Essential Services) Decree No 23 of 1976 and subsequent
amendments.
The Practice of Human Resource Management with Examples from
Nigeria covers the core issues in HRM. They include training and
workforce development, performance appraisal principles and policies,
and employment maintenance issues such as welfare, medical, health,
uniforms, and protective clothing. Other areas include wages and salary
administration, job analysis and job evaluation, human resource records
and management of the human resource function.
What determines the structure of your organisation? Is it structured
along with the functions or the roles senior executives played in its
formation? Company organisation and structure, grievance and
discipline, industrial relations and relations with trade unions, collective
bargaining, strikes, and negotiations also feature.
Appendices containing practical examples and templates take up more
than half of the book. They ought to be incorporated into the relevant
departments as the term appendix may make unsuspecting readers fail
to pay attention to the rich trove of material herein. The absence of
theories of human resource management is a minus from the appeal of
the book. Well-grounded theories provide a sound handle for the
practices espoused here.
Many students will treasure this book. They include those seeking
chartered status with the CIPM, as well as in MBA and similar
programmes where HRM features. It is luxurious, practical, global, yet
local.

The many-sided stories of Nigeria around Dick Kramer

Ifueko M. Omoigui-Okauru(ed) (2014), Making Change Happen:
Partnering to Build Nigeria.
Lagos: Andersen Alumni and
Storyteller Services. 466pages. ISBN: 978-978-941-318-8
By Chido Nwakanma, School of Media and Communication, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos

People. Principles. Practices. These are the sum of the contributions of
80 persons around the attributes and personality of Richard (Dick)
Kramer who gave 40 years out of his current 85 years in service to
Nigeria and who left for his final retirement only in July 2019. Friends
and associates held many a send forth party to honour the American
who loved Nigeria with passion and positivity. This book is a true
testament guaranteed to serve as a beacon to many people down the
line.
On the surface, this book of many stories is primarily a collection of
tributes to Dick Kramer. Deeper exploration shows more. Making
Change Happen: Partnering to Build Nigeria is both a many-sided mirror
as well as a compass for the vessel MV Nigeria with some of its most
accomplished holding the oars.
Dick Kramer started and grew the Nigerian office of the global
accountancy and consulting firm Arthur Andersen in 1978 and retired in

  1. He finally left Nigeria in 2019. His footprints are traceable to the
    Harvard Business School Alumni Association of Nigeria (HBSAN), the
    Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce, and the Lagos Business
    School/Pan Atlantic University. Include the Enabling Environment
    Forum, the precursor to the Nigerian Economic Summit Group,
    American Business Council and Vision 2010.
    He spent post-Andersen days building Nigeria’s largest private equity
    firm African Capital Alliance. Making Change Happen has the first-
    person account of Dick and Wanda Kramer.
    It also has a Who’s Who of Nigerians, 80 persons, who were either
    alumni of Arthur Andersen, African Capital Alliance or worked with Dick
    Kramer on his many community projects. Community service was a
    guiding philosophy for the Kramers. He states, “Fundamental for a family
    is a strong commitment to leaving our community better than we found it.

Hence, personal and family values are aligned with community service
and, ultimately, nation-building.”
Contributors include Chief Ernest Shonekan, Mr Adams Oshiomhole,
Prof Albert Alos and Atedo Peterside. Readers will share the thoughts
and experiences of Amina Oyagbola, Frank Aigbogun, Afolabi Oladele,
Mohammed Hayatudeen, Frank Jnr Nweke, Seyi Bickersteth, Pascal
Dozie, Juan Manuel Elegido and Bode Agusto. There are also Dayo
Lawuyi, Akin Laguda, Omobola Johnson, Charles Anudu and Emeka
Emuwa. Add Juliet Anammah, Keith Richards, Kelvin Balogun, and Ladi
Jadesinmi. Then Koyinsola Ajayi, Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, Kunle
Elebute, Mansur Ahmed, Mazi Udochukwu Uwakaneme, Princeton
Lyman and Tani Fafunwa.
People, principles, practices and family. Kramer believed in people and
brought out the best in those he came across. Education was a priority
and accounted for much of his interventions. He practised what he
believed: the correct values as the basis for all actions, individual,
corporate and communal. Principle-based leadership is critical to making
the right decisions and effecting desired changes in Nigeria. Family,
finally, is the bedrock. Everything revolves around the family.
Making Change Happens lends itself to analysis using various
theoretical lenses. Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory explains the
influence of Kramer after whom many of the narrators modelled their
behaviours. The book shares many stories in the line of Walter Fischer’s
Narrative Paradigm. Editorial intervention is apparent in the themes, but
each story stands apart, and collectively they form a mosaic of exciting
perspectives.
Seek and read the colloquium on Nigeria featuring 80 of its leaders in
Making Change Happen. The publishers ask buyers to email them at
info@storytellerservices.com or call +234 8091114809.