Emmanuel Thomas l Saturday, September 09, 2017
IKEJA,,Lagos, Nigeria – Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON today took a swipe on ownership of media houses who have reneged on their responsibility to pay salaries, stressing that the practice has jeopardised standards of the media profession.
Managing Director of AMCON,Mr. Ahmed Kuru who was speaking at a parley on “Deepening Financial Inclusion: Role of Financial Journalists and Banks’ Communications Managers, put together by the Centre for Financial Journalism said the Journalists should be among some of the highest paid professionals because of the importance of the media in nation building.
In developed countries, he explained, journalists are well paid and well respected unlike in Nigeria where we have a situation where media houses owe salaries. This development he explained makes it Herculean for the journalist, especially the financial journalist to meet up with what is expected of him in the society, describing the development as absurd.
“In developed countries, journalists are well paid and well respected but what do we have in Nigeria – we have a situation where media houses owe salaries, which jeopardizes the standards of media profession.
“So the society expect a lot from the Financial Journalist that is grappling with all sorts of challenges including simple things like the basic inability to receive his salary at the end of the month. That is absurd to say the least”, he said.
Speaking through Senior Management Staff of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mr. Prisca Ndu, he called on communication managers and the creative industry to continually come up with market penetration initiatives and programmes that would create the desired public awareness and interests regarding Financial Inclusion and that that the Financial Journalist must also leverage on the information emanating from the financial houses to engage the public on the benefits and why they need to key into the scheme.
He called on Deposit Money Banks or those who serve them as Communications Managers to see, appreciate and work with Financial Journalists as partners in progress.
See full text below.
A PAPER PRESENTED BY MR. AHMED KURU, MANAGING DIRECTOR/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ASSET MANAGEMENT CORPORATION OF NIGERIA (AMCON) AT CENTRE FOR FINANCIAL JOURNALISM (CFJ NIGERIA) FINANCIAL JOURNALISTS’ AND BANKS’ COMMUNICATIONS MANAGERS’ PARLEY ON SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 9, 2017 AT IBIS HOTEL, TOYIN STREET, IKEJA, LAGOS
The Board of Center for Financial Journalism
The Chief Executive Officer of CFJ, Mr. Ray Echebiri
The Moderator, Mr. Olufemi Awoyemi
Invited Guests and Participants
Gentlemen of the Press
Ladies and gentlemen.
Let me on behalf of the leadership of the Centre for Financial Journalism welcome everyone to this event. I commend your efforts for attending because it is not easy to gather here on a Saturday after a hectic week in the mega city of Lagos. Your presence speaks volume.
For us at Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), we believe that forums like this should be encouraged and supported because our country needs all the financial wisdom in the world to enable us steer the economy of Nigeria to the very top where it belongs. We are also convinced that there is no better vehicle to deliver this message to the doorstep of every Nigerian that the media, which is the fourth estate of the realm; mirror of the society and the voice of the voiceless.
“Deepening Financial Inclusion: Role of Financial Journalists and Banks’ Communications Managers,” which is the theme for this parley is apt. It is apt because latest reports from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Nigeria has exited its worst economic recession in more than two decades, notching up growth of 0.55 per cent in the second quarter of 2017. According to NBS, Nigeria slipped into recession for the first time in more than two decades in August 2016. In the second quarter of 2017, the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 0.55% (year-on-year) in real terms, indicating the emergence of the economy from recession after five consecutive quarters of contraction since Q1 2016 – meaning that all hands must be on deck to make sure the economy does not slip again. Ensuring Financial Inclusion is one of the many ways we all need to embrace to enable us build a vibrant economy.
Without going into word-by-word definition of terms, allow me for the purpose of this gathering to anchor our understanding of Financial Inclusion on the interpretation of the World Bank Group. According to the global body, Financial Inclusion means the ability of individuals and businesses to have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs – transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance that are delivered in a responsible and sustainable way.
As financial journalists and communications managers in banks, we know that access to a transaction account is a first step toward broader financial inclusion since it allows people to store money, and send and receive payments. A transaction account can also serve as a gateway to other financial services, which is why ensuring that people worldwide can have access to a transaction account is the focus of the World Bank Group’s Universal Financial Access 2020 initiative.
This is because financial access facilitates day-to-day living, and helps families and businesses plan for everything from long-term goals to unexpected emergencies. As account holders, people are more likely to use other financial services, such as credit and insurance, to start and expand businesses, invest in education or health, manage risk, and weather financial shocks, which can improve the overall quality of their lives.
Here in Nigeria, we are all aware that the leadership of the CBN, the Bankers Committee and your good selves – (the media) have been working very hard to drive home the message for Financial Inclusion. I am aware that Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria have all sorts of programmes that enable them reach the unbanked across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria. From available data from the WBG, there is need for all stakeholders to double their efforts because millions of people in Nigeria are still financially excluded and across the world the figure is in billions.
While we can actually say that there has been progress toward financial inclusion, Nigeria and the world still grapple with significant challenge:
An estimated 2 billion adults worldwide do not have a basic bank account. Globally, 59 per cent of adults without an account cite a lack of enough money as a key reason, which implies that financial services are not yet affordable or designed to fit low income users. Other barriers to account-opening include distance from a financial service provider, lack of necessary documentation papers, lack of trust in financial service providers, and religion.
More than 200 million formal and informal micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in emerging economies (such as Nigeria) lack adequate financing to thrive and grow. MSMEs cite a lack of collateral and credit history, and business informality as main reasons for not having an account.
Some groups are more financially excluded than others: Women, rural poor, and other remote or hard-to-reach populations, as well as informal micro and small firms are most affected. For example, the gender gap in developing countries is estimated at 9 percentage points: 59 per cent of men reported having an account in 2014, while only 50 per cent of women did.
The forcibly displaced populations present one of the most pressing financial inclusion challenges as almost 80 per cent in adults in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States are outside the formal financial system. A good local example is our Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as a result of insurgence among other forms of disasters.
We can go on and on. But the issue from the highlight above points to the very fact that Financial Inclusion has become a priority for policymakers, regulators and development agencies globally. If we must align with the rest of the world, it must also be a priority for us as Nigerians (and like I pointed earlier, we are already aware but we need to deepen it). That for me is where Financial Journalists and Banks’ Communications Managers must lead the pack in creating the awareness for Financial Inclusion and sustaining same.
In that sense, and going with the maxim that “…you cannot give what you do not have…” it means that the ideal Financial Journalist must have full grasp of Financial Inclusion in its entirety to be able to explain it to the public. Therefore media houses and media owners must as a matter of priority send their financial reporters on training and retraining programmes to equip them to do deliver on their jobs.
For me, I think that Journalists should be among some of the highest paid professionals because of the importance of the media in nation building. In developed countries, journalists are well paid and well respected but what do we have in Nigeria – we have a situation where media houses owe salaries, which jeopardizes the standards of media profession. So the society expect a lot from the Financial Journalist that is grappling with all sorts of challenges including simple things like the basic inability to receive his salary at the end of the month. That is absurd to say the least.
On the other hand, Deposit Money Banks or those who serve them as Communications Managers must see, appreciate and work with Financial Journalists as partners in progress, which is why I commend the CFJ for this initiative because it creates the environment for both parties to rub minds on the way forward not just as it concerns Financial Inclusion but other areas of mutual interest.
To deepen Financial Inclusion therefore, it is my submission that it is in the place of the Communications Managers and their creative agencies to continually come up with market penetration initiatives and programmes that would create the desired public awareness and interests regarding Financial Inclusion, while the Financial Journalist leverages the information emanating from the financial houses to engage the public on the benefits and why they need to key into the scheme.
I thank you for listening.
God bless you all.
Ahmed Kuru
MD/CEO, AMCON
