I recently came across a quote from the Isa Upanishad, Hindu Scripture. It simply reads: “who sees all beings in his own self and his own self in all beings, loses all fear”. I found it confusing and contradictory but on a deeper consideration of the quote, I realised that most of the problems we…
Author: Ken Etete
Ken Etete is the Group CEO of Century Group of Companies, which is one of Nigeria's emerging indigenous industrial groups operating across various sectors and actively involved in value and job creation. Under His sterling leadership the company has grown tremendously. His career spans over fifteen years, with a wealth of experience in diverse sectors of the Nigerian economy including more than ten years’ experience in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Ken holds a First degree in Accounting and Business studies from the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. An MBA in Oil and Gas from the CWC institute, London, and he is an alumnus of the prestigious Harvard Business School.
Oil and gas: The stimulant for wider national development
Nigeria’s oil and gas sector is, and has been for many years, a glaring paradox. The reasons for this are well known. We are the ‘12th largest producer of petroleum in the world and the 8th largest exporter, and have the 10th largest proven reserves’. Yet, we import the majority of our petroleum products. We have…
New Models in Emerging Markets
Almost a decade ago, the prospect of emerging markets burnt brightly; predictions were made about how certain countries would effortlessly gain entrance into the league of developed economies. However, after the melt down, the brightness dimmed and the apparent cracks that had been shielded from informed view began to show. In what seemed like a…
Creating a Nigerian Skills Base for Future Growth
No one can deny that the private sector plays a key role in a nation’s economic growth. This has been spectacularly demonstrated in China in the last two decades where an improved environment for business productive activities led to massive economic growth through increased jobs, more investment and innovation, increased goods and services. This is…
The problem with the cabal – Part 2
During the run-up to the 2012 Republican primaries in the United States, Rick Perry described a group of businessmen as ‘vulture capitalists’. His choice of words is quite apt. How else can you describe companies whose philosophy is purely about the bottom-line? How best can you describe companies that see people as mere tools to…
The problem with the cabal – Part 1
Unemployment in our country is at an all-time high and, as with any society, the associated danger confronting us is that a lack of jobs tends to come with a negative multiplier effect, often resulting in a state of insecurity. The undeniable fact is that idle minds become factories for nefarious acts. Apparently, that is…
The Vantage Point
We live in a time of incredible change. Borders are dissolving and bringing continents into a single community. These changes have inherent threats, as well as opportunities. Countries are realizing that the Comparative Advantage argument does not hold water anymore. There is an emergence of a new vantage point, which is called the Knowledge Economy….
‘’Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one’’ Malcolm Forbes
Andrew Nachison once said that “The real disruptors of the next decade won’t be companies, but people – creative entrepreneurs, opportunists who are transforming the global economy; professionals scattered around the globe, connecting and working from anywhere to build businesses and solve problems everywhere’’.
Not All Gold Glitters
It is often said that not all that glitters is gold, but truly not all gold glitters. The real genius of a parent is not the one who spots success in an obedient child, but the one who finds something redemptive in the seeming stubborn child and nurtures him or her to a place of…
Will your high walls protect you and your family?
Everywhere in Lagos, amidst lack of infrastructural maintenance, posh suburbs are springing up by the day. The real estate market in Nigeria and Lagos in particular, is booming. Some don’t even allow the erratic nature of PHCN to deter them; these estates boast of independent power generation. Many of these so called estates are actually…