Business

Hon. Ugo Nwaokoro, Nigerian Born Deputy Mayor of Newark is ‘NAIJA STANDARD Man of the Year 2016’

Published

8 years ago

January 3, 2017

*PERSONS OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS: Dr Osato Osemwengie, Nigerian born America’s Expert in NASA Deep Space Robotics, Dr Bennet Ifeakandu Omalu, Nigerian-American leading Physician/Neuropathologist & Dr Oluyinka Olutoye, foremost Paediatrics Surgeon in Texas

*PLUS: Their Inspiring Success stories, Honors and Other Accomplishments

THEY ARE ALL NIGERIAN BORN with a dual nationality of United States of America. In their various chosen professions and capacities have all brought glory to Africa’s most populous nation. They are all men of proven substance, towering integrity, highly respected all over America, other parts of the world for their ingenious and unparalleled cerebral intelligence. They are all achievers in their own rights, without a single strand of scandal either at work or outside their profession. In a difficult, most compelling analysis, the Editorial Board of NAIJA STANDARD Newspapercomprising of all Editors and Directors unanimously adjudged Honorable Ugo Nwaokoro,wave-making Nigerian born Deputy Mayor of Newark in New Jersey asNAIJA STANDARD Newspaper Man of the Year 2016 Winner.

http://nigeriastandardnewspaper.com/ng/nigerian-born-ugo-nwaokoro-shines-as-deputy-mayor-in-city-of-newark-provide-immigrants-assistance-lead-in-international-relations-diaspora-affairs-plus-how-mayor-ras-baraka-creates-office-for/

Ugo, a soft-spoken thinker, humble with utmost dedication to the good service of humanity with clear-directional lead by Mayor Ras Baraka has ensured that Newark is home to more than 280,000 residents and a large international immigrant community. This is a major state in the whole of America where legal Africans from various nations, in their different languages who naturalized as African-Americans lawfully co-exist peacefully without any strife, arguments or violence.

Office of the Mayor in City of Newark situated along 920 Broad Street, especially the International Relations and Diaspora Affairs’ office has daily become a beehive of activities, as Ugo leads the transformation ideology in New Jersey which has made these various tribes to live together by way of one-big-family.

Ugo’s positively-impacting economic policies have cohesively brought the people of different colors, ethnic backgrounds and religious varieties together. Today, he is seeing in America as the invincible hand behind these lofty accomplishments.

PERSONS OF THE YEAR AWARD WINNERS

In the ‘Persons of the Year Award’ category, three Nigerian-Americans stand out in the Diaspora, they are: Dr Osato Osemwengie, Nigerian born America’s Expert in NASA Deep Space Robotics, Dr Bennet Omalu, Nigerian-American leading Physician/Neuropathologist & Dr Oluyinka Olutoye, foremost Paediatrics Surgeon in Texas.

Dr Osato Osemwengie, the brain behind America’s drone creativity working in The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) at Space Electromechanics Inc, having studied Unmanned Aircraft Systems The Ohio State University, University of Cincinnati, University of New York and Regis University remains one of the shining lights that ever came out of Nigeria.

He is originally from Edo state is really making Nigeria proud, flying high the flag of Africa’s most populous black nation here in United States of America. He is an embodiment of excellence in the academic circle of highest repute, spent his working life in academia.

http://nigeriastandardnewspaper.com/ng/outstanding-nigerian-man-bags-6th-masters-degree-in-america-set-for-4th-phd-build-drones-for-us-army-set-for-7th-masters-degree-i-was-in-the-state-of-ohio-on-monday-december-12th/

Osemwengie, a focused and detribalized Nigerian believes education is the strongest weapon to fight ignorance and fought poverty. Having accomplished so much in the education sector in America, he had bagged six Masters degree in various disciplines and pursuing his fourth PhD at the University of Texas, Dallas.

He is a Nigerian who builds drones for the United States Army, bags his 6th Masters degree, set for his 7th Masters pursuing his 4th PhD. Excitedly, he shared his photos with the following caption: “6 master degrees, not bad. I was in the State of Ohio on Monday December 12th, 2016 for my Masters of Business Administration (MBA) graduation. This is my 6th master degree and will begin work on my 7th master degree in January 2017, and my 4th Ph.D. degree at University of Texas at Dallas in September of 2017. You know the proverb, ‘All work and no play makes jack a dull boy’ well, for me, all work and my play is acquiring graduate degrees. Learning is relaxing and takes my mind of my job projects.”

Dr Bennet Omalu, a foremost forensic pathologist who identified and named a brain disease directly related to high impact sports called the National Football League’s Play Smart, while deriding Play Safe initiative a sham, is a highly successful, cerebral Nigerian-American Physician who discovered and named Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive, irreversible, degenerative disease in people – mostly athletes — who have had a severe blow or repeated blows to the head. In a remarkable lecture at Westminster College’s two -day Hancock Symposium last year, he once reportedly said: “Nothing will change since itssymptoms can appear as many as 40 years after the damage was done.”

http://nigeriastandardnewspaper.com/ng/us-football-leagues-100million-play-smart-play-safe-initiative-a-sham-dr-bennet-omalu-nigerian-born-american-physician-neuropathologist-tells-westminster-college-symposium-attendees/

Omalu earlier portrayed by actor Will Smith in the 2015 movie Concussion told the audience how the NFL “professionally ostracized” him and tried to discredit him when he discovered and announced CTE.

Emphatically, he states that “Based on what we now know, children under the age of 18 should not be allowed to play football, hockey, box, wrestle or participate in other contact sports because such body contact can literally rattle the youths’ brains “that are like floating balloons inside their skulls.”

Omalu, a member of the Igbo (or Ibo) tribe, is the Chief Medical Examiner of San Joaquin County, CA, serves as a Clinical Professor and Associate Physician Diplomate at the University of California-Davis Medical Center, Department of Medical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine.

Dr Oluyinka Olutoye, is a Nigerian born American Paediatrics Surgeon in Texas, who hadFellowship in Pediatric Surgery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the university of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia.

Olutoye worked in conjunction with Dr. Darrell Cass, his surgeon partner when they performed an operation on a pregnant woman that had tumour and successfully removed her 23 weeks old baby, extract the tumour, and returned the baby back into the mother’s womb; while the baby developed and was finally given birth to at 36 weeks as a normal child without any Cesarian section.

http://nigeriastandardnewspaper.com/ng/we-performed-historic-feat-in-modern-medicine-on-tumour-infested-pregnant-mothers-womb-dr-oluyinka-olutoye-nigerian-surgeon-in-texas-had-fellowship-in-pediatric-surgery-at-childre/
Dr. Olutoye whose praise will continue to be on the lips of people for a long time to come had been trending on the social media across the world. This news about the Nigerian surgeon became viral sensation after the information about a baby that was born twice was shared.

Olutoye and Cass, carried out an operation on a baby at 23 weeks. The baby was removed from her mother’s womb when they discovered she was suffering from a tumour known as sacrococcygeal teratoma. The operation was successfully carried out and the baby was returned back. Amazingly, the baby healed and continued to grow until she was born again at 36 weeks. This is a remarkable feat in modern medicine. It is exciting to know that a Nigerian surgeon was part of this setup. Lynlee Hope was given a chance to be born normal because of the surgeons who tried their best possible. Olutoye happens to be the co-director of the Texas children’s fetal center and fetal surgery team member.

This well praised doctor received his medical degree in 1988 from the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. He proceeded to Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond where he got his PhD in anatomy in 1996.

It was at the medical college of Virginia hospitals that he completed his residency in general surgery. His fellowship was done in pediatric surgery at the children’s hospital of Philadelphia and the university of Pennsylvania school of medicine in Philadelphia. As a member of the international fetal medicine and surgery society, Olutoye is also a member of the surgical section of the American academy of pediatrics and American college of surgeons. As a Nigerian, he has come a long way when it comes to medicine. Without doubt, this humble Nigerian surgeon has brought glory to Nigeria.

Bank

Fidelity Bank Supports Improved Maternal Health in Lagos

Published

5 hours ago

January 9, 2025

Sahara Weekly

Fidelity Bank Supports Improved Maternal Health in Lagos

Leading Financial Institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, has donated maternity kits to 30 pregnant women at Mushin Primary Health Centre (PHC), Lagos.

The donation, organized by the Great Minds Inductees Class, was made possible through the Fidelity Helping Hands Program (FHHP), a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative by Fidelity Bank Plc aimed at promoting staff involvement in community development.

Through the FHHP, staff across the bank’s business locations identify projects that benefit their immediate community and gather funds to implement them. The bank’s management then matches this contribution with an equivalent amount and allocates it for the chosen projects.

Speaking at the handing over ceremony, the Divisional Head, Brand and Communications Division, Fidelity Bank Plc, Dr Meksley Nwagboh, noted that, “The project was borne out of the need to support pregnant women by providing them with essential materials for a safe delivery.”

Nwagboh noted that, “Maternal mortality remains a significant public health challenge in Nigeria, with the country accounting for a substantial proportion of global maternal deaths. In fact, a 2023 United Nations report indicate that nearly 28.5% of global maternal deaths occur in Nigeria. This is an alarming statistic and as a bank given to improving the welfare of our host communities, we deemed it fit to support initiatives to address this challenge in the Mushin community with this donation.”

Appreciating the bank’s gesture, the Medical and Health Officer for Mushin Local Government Area, Dr. Kayode Odufuwa, noted that, “This intervention by Fidelity Bank will help reduce maternal mortality and encourage more women from less-privileged backgrounds to register for antenatal care.”

“On behalf of the Chairman of Mushin LGA, Mr. Emmanuel Bamgboye, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude to Fidelity Bank for extending its donation of maternity kits to pregnant women at this center. We appeal for continued collaboration with the Bank to further strengthen healthcare services within the area,” he stated.

On her part, the Apex Nurse and Deputy Director of Nursing Services in Mushin LGA, Mrs. Bolanle Odunlami, poured encomiums on Fidelity Bank for their generosity while noting that, “The donation is a much-needed relief for many mothers who are unable to afford essential delivery kits. Fidelity Bank has truly shown empathy by coming to the aid of our patients, and for that, we are extremely grateful,”.

One of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Mary Olusanya, expressed her heartfelt appreciation for the bank’s support. “I appreciate Fidelity Bank for helping us. Many pregnant women cannot afford these kits, but this donation ensures that we can have safe deliveries and better healthcare,” she said.

Ranked as one of the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank is a full-fledged customer commercial bank with over 8.3 million customers serviced across its 251 business offices in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, as well as on digital banking channels. The bank has won multiple local and international awards, including the Export Finance Bank of the Year at the 2023 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards, the Best Payment Solution Provider Nigeria 2023, and Best SME Bank Nigeria 2022 by the Global Banking and Finance Awards; Best Bank for SMEs in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2023; and Best Domestic Private Bank in Nigeria by the Euromoney Global Private Banking Awards 2023.

Business

EXPANDING FOOTPRINT – NIGERIA’S FIRSTBANK SETS SIGHTS ON ETHIOPIA, ANGOLA, CAMEROON

Published

7 hours ago

January 9, 2025

Sahara Weekly

EXPANDING FOOTPRINT – NIGERIA’S FIRSTBANK SETS SIGHTS ON ETHIOPIA, ANGOLA, CAMEROON

Building on its long-standing presence in sub-Saharan Africa, First Bank of Nigeria Limited is gearing up for its next growth phase as financial systems across the continent open up to new opportunities.

More than a decade after an acquisition spree that boosted its footprint in sub-Saharan Africa, First Bank of Nigeria Limited is looking to expand into several other countries, including Ethiopia, Angola and Cameroon.

“There are a number of large economies with large banking pools that are of interest to us because their financial markets are opening up,” Deputy Managing Director, Ini Ebong told The Africa Report in December on the sidelines of the Africa Financial Industry Summit (AFIS).

“So, you look at countries like Ethiopia and Angola. In francophone West Africa, we want to expand our presence in places like Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon. The market opportunity is there, and we seek to continue to exploit it,” said Ebong.

Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country, is poised to partially open its banking sector to foreign banks following a vote by lawmakers in December. The new banking law, passed by a majority in parliament, allows foreign banks to open subsidiaries in Ethiopia. Foreign firms will only be allowed to own 49% of shares, according to the Ethiopian news magazine Addis Standard.

Speaking during a panel session at AFIS, Ethiopia’s central bank governor Mamo Mihretu said the country had been working on the legislation that would finally open the banking sector to foreign competition over the past one year.

After the ratification of the legislation by the parliament, the largest economy in East Africa is “open for business” for any banks looking to come into the country, according to Mihretu.

Previously the executive director in charge of treasury and international banking before his appointment in June 2024, Ebong said that there are growing opportunities in markets across the continent with the expansion of financial systems similar to “what we saw in the early 2000s in some of the larger African markets”. “We believe it is an opportune time to take part in the phase of growth that we see,” said Ebong.

‘Strong franchise’

FirstBank, which has been operating in Nigeria for 130 years, began establishing subsidiaries in other African markets in 2011, when it acquired Banque International de Credit, one of the leading banks in Democratic Republic of Congo.

In November 2013, it snapped up the subsidiaries of International Commercial Bank Financial Group Holdings AG (ICBFGH) in The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Guinea. It went ahead to purchase ICB Senegal the following year, completing its acquisition of West African assets and operations of ICBFGH.

FirstBank also has a subsidiary in the United Kingdom with branches in London and Paris, France, as well as a representative office in Beijing, China. Its parent company FBNHoldings saw its pretax profit for the first nine months of 2024 soar to N610.86bn ($395m) from N267.88bn in the corresponding period a year earlier.

Fitch Ratings said in July last year that FirstBank, Nigeria’s third-largest lender, represented 10.7% of banking system assets at the end of 2023. “Its strong franchise supports a stable funding profile and low funding costs. Revenue diversification is significant, with non-interest income typically exceeding 40% of operating income,” it said.

Culled from The Africa Report

Business

ABRIDGED PROFILE OF CHINEDU NSOFOR (CEO, WORKWIS GROUP)

Published

2 days ago

January 7, 2025

Sahara Weekly

ABRIDGED PROFILE OF CHINEDU NSOFOR (CEO, WORKWIS GROUP)

Chinedu Nsofor is a Professional Social Worker, a Seasoned Technocrat, an International Development Expert, a Change Agent, a Media Guru/Wikipedian, and a Versatile Project Management Expert with a passion for developing and implementing programs and initiatives that touch lives and impact different segments of society, focusing on bringing about massive change, especially in Africa.

He holds an M.Sc. in Social Work, specializing in Industrial Social Welfare from the Ladoke Akintola University of Science and Technology, Ogbomosho, Oyo State, and a B.Sc. in Social Work from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

As a Media Guru/Wikipedian, he is the Founder/CEO of WORKWIS Media Ltd., a leading and reputable media outfit in Nigeria and Africa.

As an International Development Expert, he is currently the Country Director of Rapid Heal Nigeria, a leading wound and skincare treatment company with its global headquarters in Malaysia. Prior to assuming this role, he served as the Country Programs Director (Nigeria) and Africa Director of Asia Pacific Sports International, a reputable sports business and management firm headquartered in Malaysia, with branches in Singapore and other Asian countries.

As a versatile Project Management Expert, Chinedu has coordinated over 50 impactful programs at national, regional, and state levels in Nigeria, touching the lives of over 50,000 Nigerians. Some of these include:

Coordinator of the IMOFINTECH Program for 5,000 Imo youths, organized by the Imo State Government in partnership with Iwuanyanwu Foundation (October–December 2019).

Program Coordinator of safety training for ambulance drivers in Southeast Nigeria during COVID-19 (2021).

Coordinator of the Central Bank of Nigeria-Southeast Entrepreneurship Development Centre’s Program, Owerri Study Centre (2018).

Program Coordinator of the maiden edition of the Inter-secondary School Debate Competition for all secondary schools in Abuja (2018), organized by the Federal Road Safety Corps in partnership with Iwuanyanwu National Ambulance Foundation.

Coordinator of the 2017 Accident-Free Ember Month Program of the Federal Road Safety Corps (Owerri Safety Command) and Iwuanyanwu National Ambulance Foundation.

Program Coordinator of the Imo State and Ebonyi State Free Automobile Training Program, organized by Innoson Kiara Academy in partnership with Iwuanyanwu Foundation and the governments of Imo and Ebonyi States (2021).

Coordinator of the Free Physiotherapy Treatment Intervention Program for arthritis, neck pain, back pain, and waist pain patients in Ikeduru LGA, Imo State (December 3–4, 2021).

Co-coordinator of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management Program, Abuja Study Centre (April–December 2015).

Co-coordinator of the 20-day NAPSAS/National Power Training Institute Program in Abuja (May 2015).

Co-coordinator of the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN)/SURE-P TVET training for graduate engineers in Lagos (February–March 2015).

Coordinator of the second edition of the seven-day “Work While in School Conference” at UNN, attended by about 3,000 students, organized by the Work While in School Foundation in partnership with the Institute of African Studies, UNN.

Project Coordinator of the Global Impact Show organized by Great Minds International and powered by the Faculty of Social Sciences, UNN (2012).

As a student leader/Igwe of the Faculty of Social Sciences, UNN, he organized the Faculty’s New Yam Festival in 2010, an event attended by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Special Duties and other national dignitaries.

Coordinator of the first “Work While in School Conference” at UNN (2011) for over 4,000 third-year students, organized by the Work While in School Foundation in collaboration with the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Development Research, UNN. This program is recorded as the largest student entrepreneurship conference in the history of UNN.

Coordinator of the seven-day African Education and ICT Conference, organized by WORKWIS Foundation and the Institute of African Studies, UNN (March 2010). The conference secured a renewal of the ₦5 million annual scholarship grant from the Dr. Sam Onyishi Foundation and attracted a ₦50 million donation to the university. Over 5,000 UNN students from seven faculties were trained in various skills.

Chinedu Nsofor is a man of integrity and deep spirituality, with a steadfast commitment to excellence in all his operations. His words are his bond, and his contributions consistently bring positive transformation to society.