THE GREEN PRESIDENT

In Honour Of President Barack Obama

Of all the towering achievements of my brother in office as the 44th President of the United States of America, President Barack Obama stands taller than a giant with his indelible imprints in raising the bar on renewable energy in America, particularly his administration's investment in large scale Solar PV installation and raising energy efficiency standards. This shows the president as a man with caring heart who understands that earth, our precious earth needs to be conserved in order for the coming generations to enjoy from it and take a cue on conservation from us. It confirmed Obama as a green president.

Yes, President Barack Obama has achieved a lot since he assumed office in 2009. A man unlike no other, his vision for America took the distressed nation out of recession and unjust war and planted her on a firm foothold. I cannot fully recount what God has achieved through this extra ordinary man but what delights me most as an environmentalist is his stand on CLIMATE CHANGE. My President, with his executive power, stood up for conserving the planet and invested his faith in the redeeming quality of Nature. This will make his name ring resonantly through the ages,  remembered by generations to come as the President who loved Earth.

As he returns back to the States from a trip back home to Africa, I join my brothers at Zeus Energy Limited to wish the President and his entire entourage safe trip and join a billion other Africans to say God Bless Obama. 
Be green.

Wale Owoeye Esq.
www.zeusenergylimited.com 

#TEEP 2015-AFRICAPITALISM SEED SOWN IN NIGERIA

I am very happy and positively excited to share the good news of Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Program (TEEP) which became concluded this last weekend with a boot camp for all the 1000 participants at Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State. The program, which began 12 weeks ago featuring intensive business coaching online, culminated in the boot camp that had among its elite guests the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Prof Yemi Osibajo (SAN) and others who came to inspire African entrepreneurs.

Oh, you haven’t heard about TEEP? My bad. TEEP is simply Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Program organised by the Nigerian billionaire philanthropist, Tony O. Elemulu,CON  to further his economic theoretical model for Africa’s prosperity aptly titled ‘Africapitalism’. It was conceived and nurtured by his foundation to sponsor 1000 African entrepreneurs on the path of success and excellence through critical mentoring and provision of $10, 000 USD as seed fund for each of the entrepreneur. My genius brother, Olakunle, applied for the program on behalf of Zeus Energy Limited and fortunately became enlisted with the inaugural class of 1000 Entrepreneurs pooled from all over Africa.

Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Program (TEEP) 2015 edition was fantastic and classic. It was also historic being the first pan African venture to focus on entrepreneurs using an intensive business mentoring platform specially created for the program. This platform, which was both interactive and user friendly, allowed cross pollination of business ideas and became a strong reference point for business owners and even business savvy individuals. The few times I peeped into the program online forum, I was awed by the set up and the immense possibilities I never believed existed in Africa. You just have to give it to Tony O. Elumelu, CON for his vision and courage in bridging gaps and building virile and viable African entrepreneurs that can affect their generation and beyond.

At Covenant University, Ota where the boot camp held, it was an exciting and surreal feeling for me to see young (and old) African men and women gather together for the first time ever in economic unity, for Africa. The business innovations I heard left me speechless-from Agriculture to waste management to fashion to bespoke internet services to renewable energy e.t.c. I imagined how the forefathers of African unity like Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jnr, Obafemi Awolowo, Olufunmilayo Ransome Kuti, Fela Anikulapo Kuti and many others would feel in their graves. In heaven, they sure must all stand in giving a tall ovation to Tony O. Elumelu, CON for his vision for motherland, Africa. It was the dream of 500 years coming to pass. As a Negritudian, I was lost for words on Sunday to see the participants return to their home countries, waving happily to us at the Cafeteria as the airport shuttle left the campus, fulfilled and renewed to make Africa prosper-simply because a man had the courage to dream and execute his dream. May God bless The Tony Elumelu Foundation for giving Africa a reason to smile.

I look forward to seeing this program continued as the progenitor hoped, so that others with great business ideas in Nigeria, Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Togo, Cape Verde, Congo and all other African countries can again experience this sublime gesture and extend the frontiers of Africapitalism.

Kindly join me in spreading the word all over the world.

 #AFRICA ARISING#TEEP2015#AFRICAPITALISM#TEEP1000

LONG LIVE TONY O. ELUMELU,

LONG LIVE NIGERIA

LONG LIVE AFRICA

See you there next year.

Wale Owoeye Esq.

www.zeusenergylimited.com   

The Trouble With Tokunbo Electronics Products

The Other Side Of  Tokunbo Electronics

My post today will shed light on an issue that is common to Nigerian landscape- the importation and selling of second hand electronic products, otherwise called 'Tokunbo' products. These products are very popular with Nigerian consumers as you would find them gathered around their merchants, picking items like pressing irons, blenders, micro wave ovens, televisions, sound systems, e.t.c at very affordable prices. 

Nigerian customers patronize these second hand products for a number of reasons. First, they are cheap compared to other established brands like Sony, Samsung, LG, Thermocool whose brand new products tend to be on the high side for Nigerians. For a fact, it is the 'comfortable' Nigerian consumer that can afford to go to an electronic store to buy a product direct from the stall. Even to encourage sales, some corporate workers are encouraged to pay by installment by these electronic stores. In the absence of better option, Nigerian consumers will resort to the second best-tokunbo products.

Another reason for this trend among Nigerians is the seeming reliability of these imported products. You would find an average 'tokunbo' product lasting better than even the brand new 'China' product. The durability and affordability of 'tokunbo' products make them very appealing to Nigerian consumers but there is a bad side to this popular trend which as an energy efficiency expert I am concerned about.

The bad side is that majority of tokunbo products sold in Nigeria and all over Africa are 'electronic waste' of European and America countries, useless in their countries of origin for their inefficiency and obsolescence. Many of these outdated products are not with energy efficiency standards that normalizes their consumption of electricity. Most of the tokunbo products are energy guzzlers that results in high electricity tariffs for their users, burdening the already over-stressed energy  supply in the nation.

It is my hope that the Federal Government would do something to reduce the importation of these second hand products into the country. They constitute a great challenge to the economy and pose great risk to the nation's drive to achieving sustainable energy. So next time you decide to buy a tokunbo electronic product, think twice about it.

Take care.

Wale Owoeye Esq.
www.zeusenergylimited.com