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OPINION: Bank shares and bank Tzars [Monday Lines 2]
Published
8 months agoon
By
Editor
By Lasisi Olagunju
Some 15 years ago, millions of poor Nigerians were conned into borrowing to buy bank shares. I was one of them. I had no one to pull my ears and tell me that I needed to be educated first before seeking to hoe that farm of thorns. Records still say I am a shareholder of some banks, including First Bank. But that is where it ends. It has been sweat without sweet – which is why I amuse myself showing stupid interest in intrigues among big men who run big banks. One current case is about First Bank board where a civil war is ongoing. Some members are demanding an Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders – and I am supposed to be part of that ‘general meeting’. A friend who understands boardroom politics told me that the demand for that extraordinary meeting waved an extraordinary red flag at whoever it is targeted at.
Imperial Rome experienced Julius Caesar and turned his surname, Caesar, to the title for their emperors. The world copied them. The Germans say Caesar is Kaiser; the Greek say it is Kaisar; to Russians and other Slavic people, Caesar is Tsar. All the variants mean ‘Emperor’ and that is what bank boards and their chairmen are in Nigeria. No bank in 2025 should be anyone’s piggy bank with a Tzar or Tzars pointing and taking. That is what boards exist to prevent, to protect the interest of shareholders. This has, however, repeatedly turned out a textbook joke – a lie. If it were not a joke, I would have written here that a divided board is a threat to shareholders’ interest – and to the company. I will say that the division in the board of First Bank should get stakeholders curious. Why are they fighting? Some board members are crying wolf because there is actually a wolf – a lone wolf rumbling the jungle. But, if I were one of those crying directors, I would first reassess my own palms and wipe off whatever dirt is there so that my cries would enjoy respect. Equity loves cleanliness. You cannot come to equity with unclean hands.
MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: OPINION: Fulani, Hausa And Yoruba Truths [Monday Lines]
First Bank has a yet-to-be-concluded Rights Issue. All of us, poor shareholders, were invited to participate in that gamble of investment. Hundreds of thousands took the offer and paid. They have not heard the final answer from those who hold the yam and the knife. Now, suddenly, there are talks about a Private Placement, and it is very contentious. My books and my dictionary are my business administration teachers. They tell me that Private Placement means “sale of stocks directly to a private investor rather than as part of a public offering.” So, I join those who are asking: Who is the private investor for the private placement and why that person? I ask because I hold some shares of First Bank and they were bought with money from the brow. Besides, in the context of what we are discussing, how does this Private Placement collocate with the recent Rights Issue by the same company? I am obviously too illiterate to understand the ways of big men.
Metaphors and proverbs give soft landings to bad falls. I love telling the story of this special creature called chameleon. We all know how ‘very big’ the chameleon is. The Yoruba asked the chameleon why it walks so carefully, gingerly; it answers that it walks carefully because it is afraid that the ground may cave in under its weight. If I were the chairman of First Bank, Mr. Femi Otedola, I would walk the boardroom floors of that bank like that creature. As I did that, I would not do what the chairman before me did that fired him. I would strictly use the rules to get all debtors to pay their debts; I would get depositors’ funds kept safe from those who are addicted to paddy paddy schemes and loans – without stepping on rules. I would do all those and would tinker with whatever is in my style that is rippling the waters. I would seek to get everyone back to my back so that at the end of my tenure, I would leave a safer, more firmly replanted, retooled, and recapitalized bank. I would take every step in strict adherence to the rules of corporate governance. I would tell myself that a coach that pulls out every smoky wood in his fire won’t cook a victory.
MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: OPINION: ‘An Enemy Of The People’ [Monday Lines]
Every day, everywhere, I meet several people with sentimental attachments to First Bank. Unlike me, they have no shares there but they insist “it is ours.” They say it is a legacy bank; they say it is too much ours, and too strategic to succumb to self-inflicted injuries. I agree with them. This thing is like a Premier League football team. When the club is governed well, the players will play well, the team wins and no one counts the cost of unnecessary injuries. There is wisdom in seeking peace with, and engaging, those opposed to your ways. The chairman is not the board; the rules say he is not. And he must not seek to be what he should not be. If I sat on that chair, I wouldn’t be seen fighting too many wars at the same time.
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A Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, in the department of surgery, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Uyo, Prof Eyo Ekpe has warned cigarettes smokers and patients with diabetes to take adequate of their chest in order not to fall a victim of cardiac arrest .
He said that these health conditions trigger certain types of abnormal heartbeats called arrhythmias responsible for sudden cardiac arrest.
Professor Ekpe gave the warning on Wednesday while delivering the 117th Inaugural Lecturer of the University of Uyo, titled “My Chest! My Chest!! My Chest!!!: Relieving Chest Pain, Preventing Death and Restoring Health”
He disclosed that many Nigerians have died for ignoring cardiac arrest triggers, preventing them, or seeking late medical attention to chest related ailments.
READ ALSO:Tobacco Kills 1.3 Million Non-smokers Yearly — WHO
“Chest pain should not be ignored. Symptom of chest pain that is reported early would afford the clinician the opportunity to obtain adequate medical history from the person, medically examine the person thoroughly, optimally conduct the necessary laboratory tests to unravel the cause, and apply an evidence based treatment modality to relieve the chest pain, prevent death and restore heath.
“People should guard their heart diligently to prevent heart attack. Cigarette should not be smoked, high blood pressure should be prevented or controlled, diabetes mellitus should be prevented or controlled, and high blood cholesterol and lipoprotein should be prevented or controlled. A culture of regular physical exercise must be intentionally domesticated.
“People should guard their heart diligently to prevent cardiac arrest. Causes and triggers of arrhythmias should be prevented by preventing stress, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, coronary artery disease and electrolyte disorders, and avoiding cigarette smoking and alcohol abuse,” he stated.
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Ekpe said medical consultation for chest problems should be with qualified medical doctors to avoid misdiagnosis, wrong treatment and complications, adding that regular medical checks and timely reports of symptoms of ailments must be prioritised.
“Safe-driving habit and road safety must be taken as a serious business. Seat restrained-belt should be used by all occupants of moving vehicles.
“Bicycles, motorcycles and tricycles should not ply traffic-congested roads. All victims of chest pain and chest injuries must be attended to by qualified medical doctors in a timely manner,” he advised.
News
FirstBank’s Digital Banking Channels Suffers Downtime
Published
2 hours agoon
September 4, 2025By
Editor
FirstBank has suffered a temporary disruption to its major digital banking channels, which will prevent some customers from completing transactions.
In a notice issued on Thursday, the bank said the downtime is affecting services on FirstMobile, FirstOnline, and its *894# USSD platforms.
“Please be informed that we are currently experiencing some downtime affecting transactions to other banks on FirstMobile, FirstOnline, and USSD platforms. Customers may therefore experience delayed or declined transactions,” the circular read.
READ ALSO:Sterling Bank Unveils First 30 Beneficiaries Of N2bn Scholarship
The bank apologised for the inconvenience and assured customers that its technical team, working with partner service providers, is making every effort to restore full services as quickly as possible.
The disruption occurred less than two months after FirstBank introduced facial biometric authentication on its FirstMobile app, designed to enhance the customer experience and security.
News
JUST IN: Tinubu Begins 10-day Vacation, Departs Abuja For Europe
Published
3 hours agoon
September 4, 2025By
Editor
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday commenced a 10-day vacation as part of his 2025 annual leave, the Presidency announced.
According to a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President will spend the 10-working-day vacation between France and the United Kingdom, after which he will return to Nigeria.
READ ALSO:Tinubu Orders Mandatory Health Insurance Across Ministries, Agencies
Onanuga said, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart Abuja today, September 4, to commence a working vacation in Europe, as part of his 2025 annual leave.
“The vacation will last 10 working days.
“President Tinubu will spend the period between France and the UK and then return to the country.”
Details later…
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