Ifeanyi Chukwudi

Leaving the Tarmac tells the story of Access Bank; the visionary leadership that birthed the bank we know today and the hurdles on the way to building a sustainable banking business. Aig-Imoukhuede spotted an opportunity in 2000: the Nigerian economy was up for a big boost— one that will lead a major consolidation in the banking industry. Aig was determined to not be left behind at the tarmac as this wind of change came. With his very good friend and partner, Herbert Wigwe, they made a bold move to buy a weak and trouble-laden Access Bank. Their decision was unpopular as a lot people thought they were crazy. In this book, he makes an account of how they proved the world wrong; that two young professionals without godfathers could run a bank the right way in Nigeria and make it to the top in the banking sector. They were faced with daunting challenges along the way, chief of which was the Soludo challenge. As Governor of CBN, Soludo lifted the minimum capital of banks from N2 billion to...

Paul Collier examines the dire situation of the world’s poorest one billion; the countries at the bottom of the global economic system. These countries have not just remained poor over the years, but have actually failed to grow.  He devotes more attention to Africa; positing that the face of global poverty has shifted with China, India and some other countries having surged ahead. (It is quite nice to have watched China announce its victory over absolute poverty just recently, having lifted over 100 million people out of extreme poverty in the last eight years). The question would remain “why have some countries made progress while others have refused to grow?” Collier identifies four development traps that constitute impediments to growth in the bottom-billion countries.  The first is the conflict trap: countries in the bottom billion are constantly threatened with violence, coups and civil wars - all of which are detrimental to economic development. Second is the natural re...

It is hard to describe in one word, what the past two years have been like, serving as President of FECA Nsukka. It’s been a whole lot of things: demanding, stretchy, and lesson-filled. There were high and low moments, travel experiences, friendships built, goals achieved and shortfalls also. Two years is such a long time and isn’t such a long time all the same. Depends on where you’re looking from. Leadership in FECA, especially in Enugu Zone, isn’t glamorous. There are no perks or special privileges. As President, you are called “Papae” but that is where it ends. A common aphorism one would most likely hear on a handover day is “In FECA, you will spend and be spent.” This is a true saying. FECA leadership places a demand on everything you have to give; your time, energy, money, and so on. FECA would have to be your priority for those two years. You will come to understand that you’ve been called to service, in every sense of the word. You know, when people are told that in God’s hous...

About six million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. This horrific experience was a big blow to the Jewish nation, but has served as an anchor for the growth and sophistication of the Israeli military and intelligence system.  The Holocaust and continued hostility by surrounding Arab nations creates a sense among Israeli leaders that the Jewish people would always be under threat of annihilation, and just as in the Holocaust, no one could be trusted to come to their rescue.  The state of Israel would go on to prove to themselves and to the world that never again would Jews go through such slaughter, and that Jewish blood would never again come cheap. The nation’s highly effective military and intelligence network is proof today.  Israel’s intelligence community (the Mossad, Shin Bet and the IDF) is arguably the world’s most sophisticated. A saying of the Talmud has evolved into a sort of Intelligence creed: “If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first”....

This is the beginning of a new tradition, one which I hope to stay true to. Birthday celebrations have never been a thing. I’d never even had a birthday cake up until last year (Thanks to FECAites for the surprise).  I usually wake up to text messages from my mother; she would rain blessings on me. She could never forget October 13th, actually. It was three solid days of labour for her. She was billed for delivery through C-section, but her husband’s family said “No, we don’t do that in this family. You must give birth like the Hebrew women”.  Although, she is Igbo and not Hebrew. Funny, right?  Three days down with no approval from the family for an operation, the doctors gave up and life was slipping out of her. I miraculously came through on that 13th morning without an operation. A certain nurse who was not on the morning shift that day just decided to come in so early that morning. She saw this black woman still there after three days and decided to give one last try...