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Entrepreneurship starts with a strategic business idea

By NNAMDINWOKOLO.
02 October 2015   |   12:31 am
Expressor International Group is an indigenous organization that is into diverse aspects of business endeavours founded about twenty five years ago by a group of discerning professionals.
Okechukwu-Okaro

Okechukwu Okaro

Expressor International Group is an indigenous organization that is into diverse aspects of business endeavours founded about twenty five years ago by a group of discerning professionals. Their activities include Immigration, educational and Visa consultancy services, Advertising, Finance, Travels and Leisures. The firm has made its mark as a reliable and competent organization that offer Visa support services for clients wishing to travel abroad for business, study, tourist or work programmes, by raising genuine letters of invitation and other relevant documentation. We appeal visa denials, banns, cancelation and others with the relevant authorities abroad. Prince Okaro, Nigeria’s foremost Immigration and Visa Consultant, spoke on the focus of a CEO in this interview with NNAMDINWOKOLO.

WHAT is the new Canadian express entry visa all about?
It’s a new programme introduced by the Canadian government to give opportunity to migrants from Africa and other places to live and work in Canada. It comes in three classes (a) Canadian experience (b) federal skilled worker and (c) federal trade class. The Canadian experience is meant for people living in Canada but are not documented. The federal skilled worker (white collar) is for graduates with cognate experience who had sat for IELTS and obtained a particular point, while the federal trade class (blue collar) is for non-graduates who have a particular vocation that suits occupational programme of the (CIC) Citizens Immigration Canada.

All these programmes are tied to points grid, in other words, there’s a particular point you need to get to be qualified for the programme. They assign points according to your adaptability, cognate experience, education and a lot of other variables. It is a simple process and any interested person can contact Expressor International for assessment and confirmation for eligibility with due diligence. We can always programme you successfully as core professionals.

What is the effect of the new Foreign Exchange policy to your operations?
The Policy is adversely affecting our operations because as you know, we represent a lot of schools in Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, Asia and the USA. The bureaucracy in obtaining form A or M respectively from the CBN is stressful and time taking, so the policy is hindering our operations and most times our clients resort to the parallel market to obtain foreign exchange. It’s affecting us adversely in terms of school fees payment, etc. But above all, I think the policy will bring positive effects to the economy because if you look at what has happened over the years, the economy was bastardised due to corruption.

So, even though it affects us and our clients adversely, I believe it is one of the best things to happen in Nigeria. For example, you cannot go to Europe, Canada or the US and operate a Naira account like it is done in Nigeria where people operate dollar or euro domiciled account. I believe that the CBN will streamline everything for the good of our economy. The benefit of the single treasury account is that the government would be able to know their consolidated revenue and expenditure at any point in time. What is important is for the CBN to roll out stable technological facilities that will anchor this new retail banking for their clients as the CBN is not structured for retail banking, instead it is the bankers bank and bank of last resort.

What’s your take on the migrant crisis in Europe?
It’s a very unfortunate development. It started about 3 month ago and over four hundred died along the Italian island of Lampadoza. These migrants are very desperate and people capitalize on their desperation to move them in makeshift sea crafts which is condemnable. Most of the migrants come from troubled areas of the world like Eritrea, Iraq, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Syria and even Nigeria here etc. The European Union saw what’s happening and they know that if it is not nipped in the bud, it will evolve into a tragedy of unmitigated proportion and serious economic turmoil, that’s why most countries are taking some of the migrants. It’s basically a result of poverty, famine and war etc. it is a terrible crisis and if nothing is done it will affect everybody.

What is the concept behind the Country yellow pages?
It is quite unfortunate that there’s no comprehensive directory or yellow page that can direct you on where to get certain goods or services in Nigeria. That is why we partnered principally with the publishers to produce the Country yellow pages. The beauty of this publication is that everything is current and we update it regularly, we do our best to capture every business across the 36 states of the federation and Abuja. Most people think that funding is the major ingredient for entrepreneurship forgetting that entrepreneurship starts with a strategic business idea that will generate a good business case. The Country Yellow Pages is a great idea because if you want to do anything, you would know your target realm and how to access them with coordinated strategies to realize optimal result.

Do you represent any country as their Visa Collection Centre?
We have about two or three countries that have no representation in Nigeria that we are talking to, to make us their Visa collection centre in Nigeria. A lot of people don’t know that when you get some Visa, you are entitled to travel to 120 destinations Visa free. For example, in Antigua and Barbadua if you make an investment of 500 thousand dollars, they will give you a resident permit. Even in America, there’s a kind of investment you’ll make and you’ll be entitled to resident permit (green card). In Canada, if you invest and have staff strength of ten, your staff and your family will be entitled to permanent residency, so also is applicable to many countries that operate investment and entrepreneurship visa programme.

As a stakeholder in Anambra politics, what’s your assessment of the government?
As far as I’m concerned I’ve always loved my state and it is out of this love that I wanted to represent my people at the senate but because of the health challenge I had, I jettisoned the idea last year. I have had a slot at the governorship election of Anambra state but lost out in the primaries. I don’t know if we are cursed in Anambra or are we the cause. When my friend Ngige came on board, he broke the Chain of godfatherism in the state. Peter Obi for example, I cannot assess him because he is neither here nor there. I say this because of the way he dumped his late mentor, Chief Ikemba Ojukwu. Everybody was happy when Obiano came because of his private sector background but if the feelers I’m getting from the state is anything to go by, I don’t think he is doing very well, even though Anambra state is one of the healthiest states in Nigeria.

What’s your assessment of the 100 days of the new government?
I’ve always told people that president Buhari is a man of impeccable character in all spheres of human endeavour. I know him personally and I believe he’ll sanitize the system and put Nigeria on the right track to economic development. I know that there are things the last administration put in place but because Jonathan is a weak leader, people were not being held accountable but the moment PMB came on board, he provided leadership and things started working. For example, the power situation has improved and the international community has increased confidence on us. As far as I’m concerned, he knows what to do as he has a vision to sanitize the polity. The president knows what he is doing; he’s just taking his time. Buhari may be slow but the good aspect of him is that he cannot go back, in the words of Abraham Lincoln.

In a couple of days, you will be celebrating 58 years, how do you feel?
I feel very excited and happy that Nigeria is heading towards the Promised Land. We’ve left Egypt and we’ll get to the Promised Land. I feel good that in a short time we’ll see a new Nigeria where discipline, equity and fair play will be the order of the of the day. I feel good that I went through a health challenge and I’m back on my feet. I feel good about a lot of things; I feel good that all my kids are excelling in their different spheres of endevour. I feel good that my mother, brothers and sisters, friends and admirers appreciate me tremendously. I feel good that I will be leaving for a very long vacation to the United Kingdom and some European countries shortly.

Your proposed Ghana, Cameroun and Liberian Outfits
We have strong plans to open Outfits in Ghana, Cameroun and Liberia over time and some West African sub regions at the instance of some of our overseas principals, in order to beef up their students’ intake from the West African sub regions in view of the fact that we represent them as Corporate Referral Students’ Agencies. An environmental business feasibility project on this programme has been completed and we are structuring the requisite variables to enable a successful takeoff in scheduled phases.

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