Business
“Change Should Be More Than Mere Slogan” – Julius Nwokolo
Julius Nwokolo, the CEO of Ultramoda Nigeria limited , a clothing company, in this interview gives an overview of the state of the nation, proffering solutions to thorny issues and explaining how he has managed to attain and maintain the high standard his company is noted for
Can you give us a brief history of your company?
We have been on this work for 16 years. I started it while I was a student. It was a hobby but it later took part of me and became etiquette, so to say. I resigned from lectureship in Europe, came back and embarked on it and since then, I’ve been on it, trying to sustain it. I’ve always dreamt to be a master of myself. From my course of study, I went through developmental studies, so I think that influenced me that I could also be an employer of labour. That’s a brief history of my company.
As an economist, can you take us through the gamut of the economy of this great country?
It’s been good that we have beautiful structures historically and every time we push this to the colonial masters. We have had all the years to restructure the economy but if we turn the pages, everything about us is beautifully written but implementation is always the issue. Implementation is part of the problem we basically have in Nigeria and this has to do with the government.
Proffering a solution to this problem, how can we go about it?
The government should restructure the situation. Nigeria is very rich. They should be employer of labour instead of having full loads of cash in bank accounts. Ordinary toilet roll industry costs less than N50m. They can tap into it. We have about 10 families that will feed under that directly. Ordinary wooden hanger is being imported from China. We have woods all over Nigeria; we can establish a furniture company. We can tap into establishing small scale businesses. We overlook things that could contribute to national economic development.
What is your take on efforts by the current administration?
Unfortunately, you can’t talk about them without mentioning the past administration; which was very weak and corrupt. And that is why Nigerians rushed into the acceptance of the slogan ‘Change’.
Basically, it’s like the ‘Change’ is just a slogan thing. I won’t be surprised if at the end of the regime there was no change, because the structure for change was not made. You cannot embark on a project without the foundation. Change isn’t just from pages of newspapers or on television. You have to have the right people to be there. I seriously doubt if there will be any change.
What is your take on the new ministers?
The ministerial nominees are a serious disappointment after the long wait. You can’t tell me that you can’t find the ‘Change’ in personalities in a country of over 200 million people. I wouldn’t want to take it personal but the truth is the nomination is like compensation. It is not about what they know. We are bringing the same people together. It is like compensation, maybe because they have been part and parcel of you. We have different vibrant Nigerians who are very capable but they were not nominated. We need someone who can give the radical change.
The nomination was based on compensation. They were nominated because they helped the President during election. If we want change, we need new people too. Even if they don’t perform well, history will acknowledge that, at least, you did it.
A lot of people believe Buhari is diverting his strength to fighting corruption, thereby neglecting economic policies. What is your take on that?
It takes me back to what I said earlier – lack of super structure. This is a distraction from focus. He has deviated. Fraud isn’t the function of the President; it is the work of the law enforcement agencies. It’s not an achievement. It’s a complete distraction. Instead of hearing that Niger Bridge has been completed, I’m hearing that Diezani [Alison-Madueke] is being held in London. What is my business with that? Does that contribute to my meal ticket, as an average Nigerian? What’s the accountability on the looted funds?
Basically, are you cautioning or advising Buhari?
Buhari is my president, I cannot caution him. My advice to him is to be focused. He should read the theory of change, he should establish the super structure for what a change is supposed to be and take it over from there and restructure all that has gone wrong. We are waiting on him because we need a real sense of change. The people who will make the change are in this country and they should be invited to do that. Not those that we already know; we want freshers. You don’t have to be a member of a party to bring a change. We are talking about Nigeria, not APC or PDP.
Let’s take a look at Lagos State. A lot of people think Governor Akinwunmi Ambode hasn’t really taken off. Whats your take on that?
Don’t forget he is an accountant by profession. He could be very good in his field. With that background, I’m not expecting much. Take a look at Allen Avenue and Opebi Road, even Ikeja, which is Lagos State headquarters. You can’t just drive around. From Opebi to Allen is just too bad. You can’t tell me government officials don’t pass through there. We are not thinking in Nigeria. They should also stop disturbing the movement of people all in the name of construction. They can do it on Sundays or even midnight. A lot of things had gone slow before Ambode took over, so it is going to take him some time.
Can you tell us what has been the secret of your success?
Consistency. No matter how it comes, I try to correct myself when I need to. That’s the magic so far. Practically, the way I talk about developing people. A lot of people have worked in and established themselves from this place. If I can do that, you can do that, it will be easy; it’s not all about the government. The other part of is humility, I don’t think there is anyone that will say I offended him or her, even as a customer. Financial challenge is the negative part of it but as much as it is, we’ve been trying to manage it.
What would you say makes you unique?
I try to source for uncommon things and then do achievable things. We have what everybody wants.
How have you been able to manage where you source your materials from?
My relationship with my supplier has been very cordial. Most of my current designers now have known me for long. We have known each other for more than 15 years. I’ve never been arrested for refusing to pay up; whenever we have debt, we manage it.
Do you have any plans to bequeath the business to any of your children?
Funny enough, my children have chosen academics. It doesn’t have to be my children. Someone working under me can take over. I know people who I’ve planted in and have seen them grow. People like appreciation. Many of them are far richer than I am but I’m happy that they passed through me. It gives me joy
How have you been able to maintain the brand?
It’s the same consistency. If you answer to a different name every time, something is wrong, it is not about branding.
NNPCL and Corruption’s Final Throes
By Pius Olasanmi
In the twilight of the Obasanjo administration, when Nigerians were still capable of being outraged, when Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of refineries was a buzzword that still held some mysticism to bamboozle citizens, during a conversation, a certain man said something profound. The man said, “As a businessman, if I were the owner of these refineries, knowing that they are three decades old, I would take the last money I have, hire bulldozers, raze them to the ground, and obtain loans to build new ones.”
When we pressed him further on why he would engage in such waste, he explained that repairing the refineries is the real waste. He explained that even if the TAM were honestly carried out, a thirty-year-old refinery would never compete favourably with a new one that would integrate contemporary technology. Operating at its best, such a refinery would never be comparatively more efficient. It is therefore pointless to have spent another one naira on the refineries at that point.
A few months later, I had a conversation with a then-lawmaker on an entirely different matter. I mentioned that the National Assembly has failed by not crafting legislation that would criminalise and punish public office holders who foist wrong decisions on the country. The logic: a public office holder need not steal to be punished, wrong decisions should attract penalties for an office holder who opts for the worst of all options when there are less injurious ones.
These established premises speak to the ongoing nauseating efforts at revisionism by those who wrecked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its previous iteration, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Notably, this campaign to rewrite history is traceable to Engineer Mele Kolo Kyari, the disgraced immediate past Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL and his hirelings. They have suffocated the news and the public opinion space with even more lies than they spun while in office.
The Saint Kyari campaign is anchored on convincing Nigerians that the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna Refineries were fully functional when he was booted out of office. So brazen is the campaign that one of its talking heads challenged the group chief executive officer (GCEO), Engr. Bayo Ojulari, to “inform Nigerians categorically what happened to the functioning refineries he inherited from his predecessor, Engr. Mele Kyari.” The effrontery.
We have not forgotten so soon the charade that followed the baffling claim that Nigeria has spent $2.8 billion on the repair of the refineries, while they are not churning out even a single litre of refined product among them. Saint Kyari and his goons played all manner of tricks, all of which embarrassed President Bola Tinubu, who had counted on ticking off the return to productivity of the refineries as part of his achievements, only to realise that he was deceived into celebrating phantoms. Tragic.
Lest we forget, 200 trucks were arranged as props in a well-directed video clip to celebrate the re-streaming of the Port Harcourt Refinery. The disappointment. Nigerians were to learn from several reports that the Port Harcourt refinery was not producing and was instead using old, stored petroleum products to load trucks. Worse still, the Kyari crew was passing off sanction-tainted Russian-sourced crude oil refined in Malta as locally refined products. More insult was piled on the assault on our collective sensibility with the lies that the Port Harcourt Refinery exported semi-finished products. Brazen.
Meanwhile, Kyari and his hirelings called those who pointed out or protested these glaring scams all manner of names. They hid behind industry technicalities and jargon to create the impression that those of us who knew Nigerians were being robbed did not understand what we were saying. The point remains that a $2.8 billion investment can potentially build a refinery with a capacity of around 100,000 barrels per day (bpd). Of course, the actual capacity of such a refinery will depend on various factors, including the complexity of the refinery, the technology used, and the location. That is the amount that Kyari’s regime at the NNPCL took and did not give Nigerians refined products.
Fast forward to Kyari’s sack and the appointment of Engineer Bayo Ojulari, who has demonstrated that things can indeed be done differently. Kyari’s exit was expectedly followed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) going after him and his associates. The extent of the theft is better understood against the backdrop of N80 billion being found in the bank account of one of his associates. They went on the run.
Perhaps because the EFCC was biding its time on securing international warrants for the arrests of these characters on the lam, they have become emboldened. They have decided to fight back and rewrite the story of their participation in the greatest fraud against Nigerians. Engineer Ojulari’s renewed mindset, which is entrenching a semblance of the transparency Nigerians demand, became their natural target. The demons that once roamed around the corporation came out with malevolence. They started spinning stories of corruption to tarnish the incumbent who refused to hide their crimes. The objective: bring Ojulari down. But alas, he is winning the war as it stands.
His innocence is proven, and it is glaring that those who want him out are mere charlatans who can no longer ply their corrupt wares because of the impact of the new reforms. Corruption in the NNPCL is in its final throes. The fake news being unleashed against the incumbent leadership is akin to corruption’s last kicks as reforms in the sector strangulate it and its practitioners. The reforms must take place in the NNPCL, whether the industry demons like it or not.
As a parting shot, Kyari and his associates would do well to prepare their defence. In addition to accounting for the $2.8 billion they laundered in the name of repairing the moribund refineries, they must also answer for the poor decision to fix that which is irretrievably broken. Awarding contracts for Turn Around Maintenance of 59-year-old refineries that a right-thinking person had suggested should be demolished almost twenty years ago, when they were only 30 years old, is criminal. Trying to deceive Nigerians that the fake repairs worked is treason.
Olasanmi is a public affairs analyst writing from Lagos.
GRANDIS 5STAR LUXURY APARTMENT & SUITES SET TO REDEFINE LIVING IN VICTORIA ISLAND
Set to Rise elegantly against the Lagos skyline, is the Grandis 5Star Luxury Apartment & Suites. According to Adejuwon Ademola, The General Manager of the Development company, it is more than just a residential building
“it’s a lifestyle statement. Standing 17 floors high in the heart of Victoria Island, this revolutionary masterpiece of modern architecture will offer a panoramic 360° view of Eko Atlantic, Victoria Island, and Ikoyi, transforming every apartment into an exclusive penthouse experience for the world’s most discerning elite.”
Developed by Dumarco Construction Limited, a globally acclaimed company with decades of delivering complex, high-value projects in the highly regulated petroleum, oil, and gas industries, Grandis 5Star brings unmatched international safety standards, uncompromising quality, and timeless elegance into Nigeria’s luxury property market.
> “When you live in Grandis, you’re not just buying a home—you’re investing in peace of mind, world-class safety, and an effortless luxury experience that will remain pristine for decades,” says Adejuwon A. Ademola, General Manager of Dumarco Construction Limited.
The Gold Standard in Safety and Quality
Dumarco’s roots in the oil and gas sector mean the company operates to some of the strictest safety protocols in the world. Every stage—from conceptualization, design, construction, to long-term maintenance—follows internationally accepted procedures and quality assurance measures. Cutting corners is simply not in Dumarco’s vocabulary.
> “In the oil and gas industry, there’s no room for compromise. We’ve brought that same discipline and zero-tolerance for mediocrity into property development,” says Ademola. “That’s why Grandis will be one of the safest and most enduring residential developments in Nigeria.”
To ensure transparency and prevent (project complacency), Dumarco deliberately separates the developer, contractor, and consultant roles, engaging only the most competent professionals in each respective field. Dumarco’s project team includes globally recognized contractors such as Julius Berger, Cappa & D’Alberto, and Elalan, Migliore Construczione & Tecniche (MC&T) and their partners VENCO IMTIAZ CONTRACTING COMPANY (VICC) based in Dubai, UAE, Business Contracting Limited, alongside leading consultants like Morgan Omanitan & Abe, LAMBERT, and James Cubitt.
Grandis – Investments, appreciation, returns and profitability
Our selection process for the location of the project alone was pains-taking and completely thorough scientific process. Top professional companies were employed to conduct a scientific data acquisition and analytical survey of the entire Victoria Island, Ikoyi, Lekki and Eko Atlantic before a project site is selected. Analyzing and acquiring areas developmental charts and trends, studying and gathering historical and present sale prices, rental charge and occupancy rates over a 50 year period from every individual street before the selection of the location of any of our developments especially true for the Grandis Project
He adds,
“Our clients and residents can be rest assured that the location of Grandis has been scientifically proven through all existing data to provide our clients with a 100% occupancy rate, highest developmental location, highest rental income and investment returns. ”
The Grandis Experience
Located minutes away from international corporate headquarters, embassies, and landmarks such as Eko Hotel, Radisson Blu, and the Radisson Red, Grandis offers unmatched convenience for professionals, diplomats, and high-net-worth individuals. Every residence is designed for both indulgence and efficiency, with high-grade finishes, smart-home systems, and private amenities that ensure seamless living.
From sunrise over the Atlantic to the glittering Lagos night skyline, residents will enjoy uninterrupted luxury, supported by discreet and highly trained staff, advanced security systems, and a design that prioritizes comfort and privacy.
> “We designed Grandis for people who want everything—security, elegance, convenience, and the assurance that their home will look as spectacular in 20 years as it does on day one,” Ademola notes.
A Legacy That Lasts
With its combination of visionary architecture, peerless safety, and meticulous maintenance planning, Grandis is built to remain iconic for generations. Thanks to Dumarco’s meticulous approach, the building’s service charges are expected to remain low while its value and appeal continue to appreciate over time.
In a market often marred by shortcuts and substandard practices, Mr Ademola says
Grandis stands as a beacon of what luxury living should be—safe, spectacular, and built to last.
“Grandis 5Star Luxury Apartment & Suites — Where safety meets sophistication, and every detail is designed for a life well-lived.”
He added
Website -www.dumarcoltd.com
Project website – www.26idowutaylor.com
Email [email protected]
Tel / WhatsApp +234 9077777883
GM – Adejuwon A. Ademola
celebrity radar - gossips
Nationwide Talent, One Broadcaster: Tinubu Picks Pedro, Bello, Din, Mohammed to Lead NTA
Tinubu Overhauls NTA Leadership: Media Powerhouse Rotimi Pedro Takes Helm as DG
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced a major shake-up at the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), appointing renowned media executive Rotimi Richard Pedro as the new Director-General in a move widely seen as a bold step toward modernising the state broadcaster.
Pedro, a Lagos native, brings nearly 30 years of expertise in broadcasting, sports rights, and marketing communications across Africa, the UK, and the Middle East. A trained entertainment and intellectual property lawyer, he also holds an MSc in Investment Management and Finance from City University Business School, London.
In 1995, Pedro founded Optima Sports Management International (OSMI), which rose to become one of Africa’s leading sports content providers—distributing premium events such as the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, FIFA World Cup, and CAF competitions to audiences in over 40 countries.
His career highlights include top roles at Bloomberg Television Africa and Rapid Blue Format, as well as advisory work for FIFA, UEFA, Fremantle Media, and the African Union of Broadcasters (AUB). At the AUB, he was instrumental in securing exclusive pan-African free-to-air media rights for all CAF competitions.
Alongside Pedro’s appointment, Tinubu named Karimah Bello from Katsina State as Executive Director of Marketing, Stella Din from Plateau State as Executive Director of News, and Sophia Issa Mohammed from Adamawa State as Managing Director of NTA Enterprises Limited.
Industry insiders credit Pedro with building commercially viable broadcast platforms, driving sponsorship growth, and delivering world-class content to African audiences. His appointment marks one of the most significant leadership changes at NTA in years—signalling the government’s intent to strengthen the broadcaster’s competitiveness in a fast-evolving media landscape.
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