South Africa seizes another $5.7m Nigeria’s arms deal

south African authorities have seized another US
$5.7 million arms money from Nigeria, just three
weeks after the $9.3 million cash transported by
two Nigerians and an Israeli for arms purchase,
South Africa-based City Express reported Monday.
As with the first deal, South Africa’s Asset Forfeiture
Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority seized the
$5.7 million (about N952 million) for allegedly being
the proceeds of illegal transactions, the paper said.
The news came more than two weeks after two
Nigerians and an Israeli national were arrested in
South Africa after they attempted to smuggle US
$9.3 million apparently meant for buying arms for
the Nigerian intelligence service.
The men landed at Lanseria International Airport,
Johannesburg, on September 5 in a private jet from
Abuja with the money stashed in three suitcases.
At the time, the South Africa Revenue Service,
SARS, said customs officers became suspicious
when the passengers’ luggage were unloaded and
put through the scanners.
The National Prosecuting Authority, NPA, in South
Africa said there was an invoice for helicopters and
armaments intended to be used in Nigeria.
Two black plastic suitcases, filled with 90 blocks
each containing US$100,000 in notes, with
combination locks, were seized, as well as two
pieces of hand luggage also containing US currency,
according to City Press.
The Israeli national, Eyal Mesika, had the
combination to open the locks.
Under South African laws, a person entering or
leaving the country is expected to carry cash not
exceeding US$2,300, or the equivalent in foreign
currency notes.
The South African newspaper, City Press, said
documents in its possession show that the first
consignment was personally signed off by the
National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, who
issued the end-user certificate for the transaction.
An entire “shopping list” was supplied with the
certificate, which included everything from
helicopters to unmanned aircraft, rockets and
ammunition, it said.
The latest transaction, according to the paper, was
between Cerberus Risk Solutions, an arms broker in
Cape Town, and Societe D’Equipments
Internationaux, said to be a Nigerian company
based in Abuja.
The paper said the deal fell apart after Cerberus
which had earlier received from Nigeria R60 million
(N1.02 billion) in its account at Standard Bank, tried
to repay the money as it it could not resolve its
registration formalities with the South African
authorities.
“Cerberus was previously registered as a broker
with the National Conventional Arms Control
Committee (NCACC), but the registration expired in
May this year,” City Press said.
“The marketing and contracting permits also
expired at the same time. The company has since
applied for re-registration, but the application lay in
the NCACC’s mailbox for more than two months.
“Sources told Rapport that Cerberus apparently
tried to pay the money back to the Nigerian
company, after which the bank became suspicious,”
the paper reported.
The paper added that while the NPA’s Asset
Forfeiture Unit subsequently obtained a court order
in the South Gauteng High Court to seize the money,
the NPA spokesperson Nathi Mncube, said there
were no indications the two transactions were
related.
“However, both are now the subject of a criminal
investigation and all possible information and
connections are being investigated,” Mr. Mncube
was quoted as saying.

P-Square Unveils Their Own Brand of Beer in Congo • Photos

That’s huge! Africa’s favourite singing duo P-
Square, took to social media to reveal their latest
business venture…beer! The pair have signed up
with a beer manufacturing company in Congo, to
create and sell beer, branded with their name.
Congrats to them! See more photos…

How to Do Business Like a Genius

Who is the smartest person you know? An
average IQ is 100 points, while someone who is a
genius has an IQ of 140 points or more.
Of course we can't all be prodigies (actually, the
IQ score is debatable as a measure of
intelligence), but you can take a cue from Albert
Einstein or Bill Gates by incorporating the
characteristics and habits of highly intelligent
people in your approach to business.
Here are four..
1. Be persistent. Don't let failure define
you. After all, Thomas Edison had to
get through more than 1,000
prototypes for the light bulb before he
made one that worked.
2. Be goal-oriented. Setting a high bar
for yourself and sharing your goals
with others -- whether they are
friends or colleagues -- can make
you more likely to accomplish them.
3. Read more. People who read for 15
minutes a day can be exposed to
more than 1 millon words a year.
4. Be curious. Smart people are always
asking questions, making inferences
and thinking critically about the world
around them.
For more on intelligence, and the bad habits of
smart people, check out the video above.

NINA ZIPKIN
ENTREPRENEUR STAFF
STAFF REPORTER. FREQUENTLY
COVERS MEDIA, TECH, STARTUPS,
CULTURE AND WORKPLACE TRENDS.

Nine attributes of highly effective collaborators

Whether you’re working in a large company
navigating a matrix organization or running a
small business, in charge of collaborating with
your entire ecosystem (customers, vendors,
employees, etc.), how you collaborate can make
or break your success. A key foundational
element of effective collaboration is building trust,
and these nine attributes are essential to
becoming that trusted collaborator everyone
loves to work with.
 NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
1. Be transparent. There is a difference
between telling the truth and being
transparent. Transparency is about telling the
truth before you’re asked and divulging all the
important information along the way.
Transparency builds trust because people will
never feel as though you’re keeping
something from them.
2. Say what you are going to do and follow
through. No one wants to collaborate with
someone who drops the ball, even if it just
happens on occasion. Good collaborators are
effective at judging how long it will take them
to get something done and then manage their
schedule to deliver on time. They can be
taken at their word and be counted on and
because of that, people love working with
them.
3. Allow for a little give and take. Collaboration
isn’t about getting what you want all the time
and everyone else collaborating for your
benefit. A question great collaborators ask
themselves is, "What am I contributing to this
relationship and how am I supporting the
greater good?" People will be more likely to
collaborate to help you if you collaborate
when they need help as well.
4. Listen to understand, not to respond.
People like to be heard, and know their ideas
and thoughts are being taken into
consideration. In fact, that’s a key element of
collaboration. If you want to be regarded as an
effective collaborator, you need to ensure
you’re listening (truly listening) to those you
collaborate with and making changes when it
makes sense based on their feedback.
5. Stick to your guns. Great leaders and great
collaborators are passionate about their work
and know what a successful outcome looks
like. They also frequently have high standards
and morals that they stick to. Both of these
attributes make them exciting to work with.
When it comes to what you know needs to be
done, or what your moral compass is telling
you, make sure you don’t compromise and
take the easy way out. Stick to your guns and
do what you know is right, and you’ll earn
much respect along the way.
6. Know which battles to fight. Life isn’t about
being right 100% of the time, and effective
collaborators know this and because of that,
will let go in areas where they could ‘take it or
leave it’. Just because you prefer A over B,
doesn’t mean you should always fight for A.
Look for areas where other people are super
passionate and compromise when possible.
7. Be authentic. People expect you to be real,
but it’s worth repeating. In order to be an
effective collaborator, you have to know who
you are, what you stand for, and how your
talents, beliefs, values, etc. will benefit the
challenge at hand. Others will appreciate your
feedback, and trust that you’ll always give
honest feedback.
8. Be kind. There’s a lot to be done; we get it.
However, it’s important to remind yourself that
there is a way to get things done without
making enemies along the way. People work
harder, smarter, faster when they like who
they are working with so if you want to drive
optimum efficiency and effectiveness, be kind
to those you want to (and need to) collaborate
with.
And finally...
9. Step up. Collaboration isn’t about doing the
bare minimum, but occasionally going above
and beyond in unexpected ways. When people
know you’ll step up when needed,
collaboration is much easier.

Sallah tragedy: Boko Haram kills 70

The Sallah started on a sour note for three
villages in Adamawa State, as Boko Haram
attacked and killed about 70 residents in
Michika Local Government Area in a
renewed attack.
The Islamic insurgent group also destroyed
their houses and farmlands.
Among the villages attacked is Kuborshosho,
the village of former governor of the state
and Minister Youths Development, Mr. Boni
Haruna, who lost close relations, one of
whom was a 99-year-old man, who was
slaughtered by the dreaded group.
The other villages they attacked are Kubi,
Garta and others, were still under attack as
at the time of filing this report.
Saturday Sun authoritatively gathered that
many houses were razed, including the
family house of former Governor Haruna.
According to report, four of the former
minister’s uncles, aged aunties, nieces and
their siblings narrowly escaped death by the
whiskers as good Nigerians evacuated them
from the war-torn zones of Michika and its
environs to Yola, the state capital.
According to sources, the villages were
attacked on Thursday night through Friday,
and the insurgents went further to attack
those who escaped to the mountains.
As at time of filling this reports,
sympathisers, who had gathered at the
residence of the minister, condemned the
attack and appealed to the Federal
Government to expedite action towards
stopping the evil activities of the Islamic
sect.
Farmlands ready for harvest were destroyed,
while shops and warehouses belonging to the
residents, were burgled and precious items
carted away be the insurgents.