Accenture Sets Goal to Achieve Gender Balanced Workforce by 2025

Accenture Sets Goal to Achieve Gender Balanced Workforce by 2025

JAKARTA, Indonesia, June 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Accenture (NYSE: ACN) announced that it will achieve a gender-balanced workforce, with 50 percent women and 50 percent men, by 2025.

"We believe strongly that gender equality is essential for a high-performing, innovation-led organization," said Pierre Nanterme, Accenture's chairman and CEO. "Diversity makes our business stronger and more innovative and, most important, it makes the world better. With this new goal, we are sending an important message to our people and our clients that our future workforce is an equal workforce."

Currently, Accenture has 150,000 women, nearly 40 percent of its global workforce. Over the past several years the company has set milestones on the path to gender equality. These include:

Fincho: The Making of the First Nigerian Film in Colour By Sam Zebba

Fincho: The Making of the First Nigerian Film in Colour By Sam Zebba

Sam Zebba directing "Fincho" in Nigeria.

Many people have read about Sam Zebba's "Fincho", the first film shot in colour in Nigeria in 1955 and post production was done in the United States of America and it was released in 1957. But majority of Nigerians and others have little or no knowledge about the great filmmaker, Sam Zebba who passed away in Israel on February 27, 2016.

I have decided to publish this comprehensive documentary report on him, comprising his own memoir on how he made "Fincho"; an article on him before he passed on and a memorial tribute written by David (Dudi) Sebba published by www.esra-magazine.com.

What Sam Zebba documented on the circumstances of the events that occurred during the making of "Fincho" can be a fanstatic movie. And publishing it on a Nigerian website is important in recognition of the Nigerian cast and crew. They have made history and we must remember them in the history of Nigerian cinema.

Fincho- Adventure in Nigeria 1955:
Adventure in the interior of Nigeria

One night in 1954, at the home of my London relatives, Boria and Rena Behrman, Boria showed some 8mm color footage he had taken at their timber concession in Nigeria. The Behrman family had been in the timber business for several generations, still in the ‘old country’ (Latvia), and the Nigeria concession was a new extension of their UK firm, Finch & Company. What I saw there was formidable. Giant trees were being felled in the jungle and hundreds of bare-handed African workers were pulling the heavy trunks through the mud.
I realized that this could be a starting point for an extraordinary documentary and perhaps even more than that. For some time I had felt a strong desire to move from the short film, my medium hitherto, to full-length form. If I could find a human story to fit into the tree felling process, perhaps the chance of realizing this was here.
Boria generously said I could stay in one of the bungalows built for the white staff at the concession, and film whatever I wanted. Admittedly, it would be foolhardy to go script-less into the unknown, but therein lay the challenge. And so, toward the end of the Central African rainy season in 1955, equipped with a 16mm Arriflex camera, a portable sound recording device, and a reasonable amount of Kodachrome color film, I set out on a flight to Lagos, the capital of Nigeria at the time, and from there, mostly over unpaved and ill-maintained dirt roads, passing through two enormous clusters of mud huts, Ibadan and Benin City, to the Finch timber concession in the faraway Kingdom of the Olowo (Ruler) of Owo.

Nigerian Film Industry: Misplacing Priorities, Title Chasers and Under Achievers

The best filmmakers and achievers in Nollywood and Kannywood are not the ones contesting for temporary posts for bragging rights in the local guilds or international associations, but those who are busy making movies and making waves in local and international competitions and attracting international investments in the Nigerian film industry.

 From EbonyLife TV.

 From Screen Naija YouTube.

From a Nollywood location.

With all the brouhaha and hullabaloo over Nollywood and Kannywood and the appointments of Managing Directors of the Nigerian Film Corporation and title chasers of the guilds and associations, Nigeria does not have a single film treaty with any country in the world and no film market.

10 Biafran Igbos To Sue Lt.Gen. Buratai and 13 Other Nigerians in U.S Court

United States District Court Enters Order Authorizing Ten Biafran Plaintiffs To Sue Fourteen Nigerian Defendants For Complicity In Torture And Extrajudicial Killings Under Color Of Nigerian Law Stemming From Peaceful Biafran Protests Against Ethnic And Religious Oppression
   
WASHINGTON, June 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Statement of law firm Fein & DelValle PLLC:

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia entered an order on June 2, 2017  authorizing ten (10) Biafran Plaintiffs to sue fourteen Nigerian Defendants for complicity in the 2016 torture and extrajudicial killings under color of Nigerian law to retaliate for peaceful Biafran protests against ethnic or religious oppression.  The next step in the litigation is to serve the Torture Victims Protection Act and Alien Tort Claims Act Complaint on the Nigerian Defendants.

The Biafran Plaintiffs are seeking millions of dollars of damages to compensate for their grievous losses and suffering.  The case name is John Doe, et al v. Tukur Yusuf Buratai et al, United States District Court for the District of Columbia Civil Action No. 1:17-cv-01033.  It has been assigned to United States District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle, appointed by President William Jefferson Clinton.

Why is KPMG Paying Nigerian Staff Less Than Their Staff in South Africa and Overseas?

Are KPMG workers in Nigeria underpaid?

KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. KPMG started operations in Nigeria in 1978. KPMG is one of the biggest four auditing firms in the world. The acronym KPMG stands for Klynveld, Peat, Marwick and Goerdeler respectively.
KPMG is a professional service company and one of the Big Four auditors, along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

Employer: KPMG, LLP Average Salary Range by Job 

Tax Associate $48,222 - $79,418 56 salaries Associate Auditor $46,657 - $69,267 48 salaries Associate - Accounting or Auditing Firm $45,342 - $73,695 30 salaries Senior Auditor $52,526 - $91,321 26 salaries Management Consultant $55,479 - $139,632 Tax Manager $73,369 - $120,649 23
Auditor $45,825 - $77,971

KPMG Interns: Job Title KPMG Salary
Tax Intern - Hourly $25.56/hr
Advisory Intern - Hourly $26.40/hr
Advisory Intern $54,728
KPMG Tax Intern - Hourly $28.9

Currency: USD | Updated: 6 Jun 2017 | Individuals Reporting: 759 |

The salaries of the staff in Nigeria are below those in the KPMG offices in South Africa and overseas.

Below is Salary Structure of KPMG and how much they pay their Nigerian workers on Monthly and Annual Basis from a Nigerian website.

1. An intern working in KPMG is paid about N37,500 per month.

2. The company pays an analyst collects between N116,000 and 146,000 on monthly basis.

3. Senior analysts is paid between N2.17 million and 2.59 million on annual basis

4. Associates working at KPMG are also paid between N2.16 million and N2.35 million yearly.

5. Senior Associate with KPMG is paid around N5.57 million and N6.02 million on annual basis.

6. A Manager at KPMG collects between N12.6 million and N13.6 million per year.

7. A staff working as Audit Associate with this firm is paid between N144, 000 and N156,000 on monthly basis.

8. Audit Senior Associate collects between N241,000 and N258, 000 per month. while their annual total take home package ranges from N3.1 million to N3.32 million.

9. A Trainee IT Consultant with the firm is paid around N2.39 million and N2.62 million on annual basis.

10. Finally, KPMG salary for its Semi Senior Associate on annual basis ranges between N3.33 and N3.64 million.

Source: http://www.thistrend.com.ng/2017/06/kpmg-salary-structure-salary-payment-of.html?m=1

Towercos To Increase Market Growth of Mobile Towers in Nigeria and Other Sub-Sahara African Countries

Towercos to increase market growth of mobile towers in Sub-Sahara Africa, says Frost & Sullivan

Infrastructure sharing and outsourcing will lead to new growth opportunities

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, June 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remains one of the least connected regions in the world, with a mobile penetration of 82% compared to the 100% global average. In order to boost connectivity and increase network coverage, service providers will need to accelerate their investment in mobile towers, particularly in rural areas.

It is anticipated that growth will be driven by third-party tower companies (towercos), which will then lease capacity to mobile network operators (MNOs) as well as other providers of wireless communications services. MNOs are gradually becoming more open to selling off their infrastructure, or outsourcing its management to third-party providers, in order to focus on their core operations.
"Some MNO operators are concerned about losing strategic control and revenues when ownership of infrastructure is transfered to the towercos," said Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Lehlohonolo Mokenela. "To mitigate this, towercos should develop strong partnerships with MNOs in sale and leaseback deals, and invest in building a strong reputation and track record in infrastructure management."

Frost & Sullivan analysis titled "Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Telecom Infrastructure Market, Forecast to 2021" estimates that the market for tower services in the region was worth $991.7 million in 2016, and is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.8% over the period 2016-2021, to reach $1,508.4 million by 2021. The study provides an analysis of the telecoms tower industry in SSA, highlighting trends in some of the leading markets in the region; including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana and Tanzania.

Reno Omokri's Facts Versus Fiction: Who is Fooling Whom?

Reno Omokri's Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years, Chibok, 2015 and the Conspiracies is stranger than fiction.
Read it for the amusement. Finis.

Reno Omokri’s assumptions and half truths are nothing new and his spurious allegations have been subjects of political gossip among Nigerians who don't need any book on the brazenly corrupt and incompetent administration of former President Goodluck.Jonathan and the abduction of the Chibok school girls on the night of April 14-15, 2014.

Both Omokri and his intellectually challenged boss are still bitter losers who continue to live in denial of the terrible consequences of their bastardization of democracy in the maladministration of the Nigerian government from 2010 to 2015.
They can tell their lies to ignoramuses, but not to those who were insiders of the former national ruling party, People's Democratic Party (PDP).
I was contracted to launch and manage the Transform Nigeria Network social media campaign for the reelection of Mr. Goodluck Jonathan. So, I was an insider.

The ongoing prosecution of the corrupt public officials in his government with shocking discoveries of millions of dollars hidden in soakaway pits, hidden in abandoned houses, in coffins and buried in other strange places should be enough to show the bizzare things done by Jonathan and his partners in crime. How they looted the national treasury and shared the billions of dollars to rig gubernatorial elections in Ekiti state and Rivers state where they sponsored hired killers to murder many members and supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the bloodiest elections in the political history of Nigeria.

Then how can the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces be so clueless about intelligence reports on the abduction of the Chibok school girls? When they should have been rescued before the kidnappers’ trucks left Chibok?

Reno Omokri accused former President of the US, Barack Obama of masterminding the electoral defeat of Goodluck Jonathan, because of his refusal to support gay marriage in Nigeria. This is political nonsense. A very stupid lie.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan lost the 2015 presidential election, because of his corruption and incompetence. 

Has anyone of the indicted military service chiefs denied the gross misappropriations of the revenue allocations of the Nigerian Armed Forces to buy arms for the war against Boko Haram?

Lest we forget, 11 parents of the missing Chibok school girls died afterwards and about 6 of the girls have been reported dead. So, anyone calling their abduction a scam is evil and wicked.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan sacked General Owoye Andrew Azazi (rtd), the National Security Adviser after Azazi said the PDP was implicated in the operations of the Boko Haram. And after his dismissal, Azazi was killed on December 15, 2012, along with Governor Yakowa of Kaduna state in a naval helicopter crash in Okoroba Village of Bayelsa State.
Read some facts on Azazi and Boko Haram on https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owoye_Andrew_Azazi.

Only idiots and ignoramuses will applaud Omokri and his shameless Otuoke drunkard who even failed to develop his own home state of Bayelsa whilst his equally shameless wife had their ill gotten millions of dollars stashed away in banks.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, Author of The Victory of Muhammadu Buhari and the Nigerian Dream, an eye witness account of the 2015 presidential election in Nigeria, and other books.

June 12 and The Mandate of MKO Abiola

June 12 is unofficially MKO Abiola Day in Nigeria in memorial tribute to
Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, CFR (24 August 1937 – 7 July 1998), often referred to as M. K. O. Abiola.

He was a popular Nigerian Yoruba businessman, publisher, politician and aristocrat of the Yoruba Egba  clan.
He ran for the presidency in 1993, and is widely regarded as the presumed winner of the inconclusive election since no official final results were announced. He died in political detention in 1998, after being denied victory when the entire election results were dubiously annulled by the preceding military Head of State of Nigeria, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida because of alleged evidence that they were corrupt and unfair.

MKO Abiola casting his vote during the presidential election on June 12, 1993.

The ill-fated presidential elections were held in Nigeria on June 12, 1993, the first since the 1983 military coup. The result was a victory for Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) who defeated Bashir Tofa  of the National Republican Convention (NRC). The two political parties were formed by the military government.
However, the elections were later annulled by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, leading to a crisis that ended with late Gen.Sani Abacha heading a coup later in the year to take over power from Chief Ernest Adegunle Oladeinde Shonekan who was appointed as Interim President of Nigeria by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida on August 26, 1993.

Gen. Sani Abacha.

Generals Babangida and Abacha before the political fiasco in 1993.

The annulment caused widespread street protests and political riots against the military government with many protesters killed by the Nigerian police and Nigerian Army.

Stephanie Linus Commiserates With UNFPA On the Passing of Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin

Nollywood star and Goodwill Ambassador of UNFPA for West and Central Africa, Stephanie Linus signing the condolence register at the UNFPA Office in Lagos to mourn Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund.

(6 February 1949 – 4 June 2017).

Today, I remember a great man, a renowned global public health leader and a beloved father who passed on recently. Dr Babatunde Osotimehin, who until his death a few days ago was the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is someone whose contributions to reducing maternal mortality and promoting universal access to reproductive health always served as an inspiration to me. It’s sad that he is gone and I commiserate with his family and loved ones. He will always be remembered for his passionate and diligent service.

Rest In Peace.

Federal Republic of Nigeria to Issue Diaspora Bond

Federal Republic of Nigeria to Issue Diaspora Bond

  ABUJA, Nigeria, June 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federal Republic of Nigeria ("Nigeria") announced today the commencement of a global offering of its first Diaspora Bond.  Nigeria has filed a registration statement for the Bonds with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.  Application will be made for the Bonds to be admitted to the official list of the UK Listing Authority and to the London Stock Exchange plc (the "London Stock Exchange") for the bonds to be admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange's regulated market.

The bonds will be direct, general obligations of Nigeria, denominated in U.S. Dollars. The international Joint Lead Managers are Bank of America Merrill Lynch and The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited and the Nigerian Joint Lead Managers are First Bank of Nigeria Limited and United Bank for Africa Plc. There will be a series of investor meetings in the United Kingdom, the United States and Switzerland commencing on June 13, 2017. Pricing is expected to occur following the investor meetings, subject to market conditions.

Contact information:
Debt Management Office
The Presidency
Plot 447/448, Constitution Avenue
Central Business District
P.M.B. 532 Garki, Abuja – Nigeria
Tel: 234(0)8110000881-3
Email: enquiries@dmo.gov.ng