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African Business Interests: When Hindenburg Research Took Neo Colonialism Too Far

Published

3 years ago

June 10, 2023

Eric

…Hindenburg Faces Tingo Group After Raising False Alarm Against Jumia, OPay, Adani Group, To Harm Their Operations

I have read with utter disgust but not with total disappointment how a supposed forensic financial research firm which goes by the name Hindenburg Research goes about tarnishing hard-earned images of rising business interest, especially those with African, Asian and Middle Eastern ownership.

It goes about acting like a colonial master, seeking to conquer and cower African businesses to subservience. Many companies on the continent have been victims of its character assassination and malicious damage for a reason one can hardly decipher. Not everyone is surprised that Tingo Group, one of Nigeria’s leading aggro-tech and fin-tech companies has come come under Hindenburg Research’s criticism that is not short of anything but poorly conducted hatchet job with a nefarious intention. The recent publication of Hindenburg against Tingo Group, where is alleged that the Nigerian-owned firm parades inaccurate accounting record is most disappointing and nauseating.

As a South African that has lived in Nigeria in the past seven years, I have not heard about anything that excites farmers more than the advent of Tingo Group.

Hindenburg Research claimed to have reached out to some persons in Nigeria and they were told there are no farming cooperatives in Nigeria and where one exists, they are less than 100. Really? In a country of 36 states where farming is arguably the largest provider of employment across the country’s various regions?

Hindenburg Research’s blackmail packaged in form of “investment research” should just have been ignored and not attract any response for what it is — fact twisting and outright falsehood.

One would have imagined that in the 21st century when the world knows better, Hindenburg would do itself the favour of not misleading people with malicious publications like it has done in the past just to thwart peoples efforts for its own advantages.

It still carries on with the hangover of the colonial mentality where it believes that nothing good can come out of Africa and anything with African or Asian signature, that will challenge the existing status quo of over-dependence in the West is a “fraud”.

It is really shocking and most appalling that frantic efforts being made by Tingo Group to mop of the agriculture value chain especially in Nigeria is being called out in a negative light in a desperate effort to to plummet its market strength. The age-long obnoxious notion that “as far as it’s black, it’s evil” has continued to becloud Hindenburg.

To tell you their track record of notoriety and deception, Hindenburg published a report alleging that Jumia Group, an e-commerce platform that operates in Africa and the Middle East was a “fraudulent scheme”, accusing it of inflated sales and customer numbers. On the account of this unfounded information which Jumia denied, its stock plummeted by 50% on the New York Stock Exchange.

That is not all, Adani Group, one of India’s largest multinational conglomerates lost $70 billion in market value after this same Hindenburg accused it of manipulating its stock price and falsifying its accounts.

Just in case Hindenburg needs to be tutored, Nigeria has a robust agricultural potentials which has not been fully harnessed over the decades and that is the gap Tingo Group through its Tingo Mobile has come to fill. There are dozens of farmers associations in Nigeria but the mother of them all is All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) which recently reached a multibillion Naira deal with Tingo on supply and storage of agro produce, particularly rice and wheat.

This deal is targeted at ensuring that farmers do not have a lot of produce that end up a waste in their homes due to lack of storage facility. The deal is to give them value for their efforts and ensure that the rhetoric about food security is not only heard but seen. Apart from targeting adequate supply to under-served regions, Tingo Group has also reached an advanced stage in discourse to supply foreign markets with Nigerian agro products. Where is the fraud Hindenburg is alleging in all these?

A short-sighted imaginary investment research firm like Hindenburg that goes about twisting facts achieved its nefarious aim when the shares of the Tingo Group dropped by 82.85 percent to close at $0.06 on Tuesday after its false claim against the company.

Who would want his country to suffer acute food shortage in the midst of plenty? The Russia-Ukraine war exposed how vulnerable Africa is to food insecurity and it is the same gap that the United States where Hindenburg operates from always exploits, masquerading as saviour of Africa while indeed it is not.

In January 2020, Hindenburg Research released a report about OPay, Opera’s financial services operating in Nigeria and Kenya. Hindenburg’s report suggested that Opera’s U.S.-listed stock was grossly overvalued.

Since the allegation, OPay has raised hundreds of millions of dollars in funding while also ramping up customers. The fact that Tingo Group is also working towards bridging the gap of financial inclusion leaves much to be desired about Hindenburg’s outburst. Does it benefit from the widening financial exclusion in Africa?

The accusation of financial inaccuracy again Tingo Group is nothing short of the figment of the imagination of Hindenburg and its sponsors. Africa has numerous problems which Tingo Group is making frantic efforts to bring solutions to. Hindenburg is comfortable with over-reliance of Africa in the western system which at the end of the day leave the continent exploited and cheated.

Hindenburg should focus on the problems bedevilling the West such as organised crimes, gun, drugs, internet fraud and more. Tingo Group is a brand of pride Africa is proud of and should be spared unnecessary vilification and targeted antagonism.

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Glo Wishes Christians Joyous Christmas, Urges More Compassion, Unity

Published

2 hours ago

December 23, 2025

Eric

Nigeria’s technology and telecommunications company, Globacom, has extended warm Christmas greetings to Christians nationwide and globally as they commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ.

Globacom, in a statement on Monday, described the Yuletide as a season of reflection, urging Christians to embody the teachings of Jesus; love, humility, obedience to God, and a steadfast commitment to the welfare of all humanity.

“The noble but lowly circumstances of the birth of Christ teach salient virtues including obedience to God, humility, love for mankind, and a fastidious commitment to the good of all. We urge Christians to commit to practicing these virtues, as followers of Christ,” the company stated.

Globacom also highlighted the responsibility to care for others, noting that Jesus’ act of feeding the multitude (as recorded in the Gospels) serves as a timeless reminder to share and support one another, especially in challenging times.

It called on Nigerians to carry the spirit of Christmas beyond the festive season by reflecting the love and peace that Christ’s birth represents.

The company reassured its customers of uninterrupted, high‑quality services throughout the holidays and encouraged them to leverage its innovative products and services to stay connected and share the season’s joy with family and friends.

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Superiority War: I’ve Exclusive Authority to Confer Titles Across Yorubaland, Says Alaafin

Published

1 day ago

December 22, 2025

Eric

The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, has stated that only the throne of Oyo has the authority to confer chieftaincy titles that carry the name “Yorubaland.”

The monarch made this declaration during the installation of Senator Abdul-Aziz Yari as Obaloyin of Yorubaland and Barrister Seyi Tinubu as Okanlomo of Yorubaland on Sunday at Aganju Forecourt, Aafin Oyo.

Oba Owoade emphasised that chieftaincy in Yoruba culture is not a matter of favour or decoration but a duty that comes with responsibility.

He explained that the Oyo throne has historically served as a central coordinating authority for the Yoruba people, a role recognised both during colonial administration and in post-independence governance.

The Alaafin highlighted that titles bearing the name “Yorubaland” are collective titles representing the Yoruba people as a whole, not individual towns or kingdoms, and must therefore be conferred by an authority whose reach spans the entire region.

He noted that colonial records, post-independence councils, scholarly works, and the Supreme Court of Nigeria have all affirmed this historical authority.

Oba Owoade described the newly installed titles as positions of trust requiring courage, loyalty, and service to the Yoruba people.

He added that such honours are meant to bind recipients more closely to Yorubaland and reinforce that authority, tradition, and respect for boundaries are central to sustaining Yoruba culture.

He urged the new titleholders to serve with humility and to ensure that their honours contribute to unity, dignity, and the collective good of Yorubaland.

He said: “We are gathered here today for a purpose that goes beyond celebration. We are here to witness history and to place responsibility where tradition has long placed it. Chieftaincy, in our culture, is not an act of favour. It is not decoration. It is duty, conferred only when history, authority, and responsibility align.

“From the earliest organisation of the Yoruba people, authority was never vague. Our forebears understood structure. This understanding gave Yorubaland stability long before modern governance arrived.

“The throne of Oyo emerged in that history as a coordinating authority, by responsibility. When colonial administration came, it did not invent this reality; it encountered it and recorded it. By 1914, Oyo Province had become the largest province in Southern Nigeria, covering 14,381 square miles. It was bounded in the north by Ilorin and Kontagora, in the east by Ondo and Ijebu, in the south by Ijebu and Abeokuta, and in the west by French Dahomey. This reflected recognised leadership over a wide and diverse space.

“This history explains why certain chieftaincy titles are different in nature. Titles that bear the name “Yorubaland” are not local titles. They are collective titles. They speak not for one town or one kingdom, but for the Yoruba people as a whole. Such titles must therefore proceed from an authority whose reach, by history and by law, extends across Yorubaland.

“Today, I do not speak to provoke debate. I speak to state order. Among the Yoruba, authority has never been a matter of assumption or convenience. It has always been a matter of history, structure, and law. Thrones were not created equal in function, even though all are sacred in dignity. From the earliest organization of Yorubaland, the Alaafin of Oyo occupied a central and coordinating authority – an authority that extended beyond the walls of Oyo and into the collective political life of the Yoruba people. This was not self-declared. It was recognised, enforced, and sustained across generations.

“Colonial records acknowledged it. Post-independence councils preserved it. Scholars documented it.

“And finally, the Supreme Court of Nigeria affirmed it. The law is clear. History is settled. Chieftaincy titles that bear the name Yorubaland – titles whose meaning, influence, and obligation are not confined to a single town or kingdom – fall under a singular, established authority. That authority is the throne of Oyo.”

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Why I Visited Nnamdi Kanu in Prison – Alex Otti

Published

2 days ago

December 21, 2025

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has explained the reasons behind his much talked about visit to the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, in Sokoto Correctional Centre.

Nnamdi Kanu was found guilty of all the seven count charges of terrorism brought against him by the Federal Government, and sentenced to life imprisonment, by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on November 20.

The governor also declared his intention to retire from partisan politics after serving as governor of the state.

Governor made these remarks in Umuahia while reacting to a viral video in which an individual berated him for visiting the IPOB leader in Sokoto Correctional Centre recently and alleged that the visit was aimed at positioning him (Otti) for either the presidential or vice presidential ticket. Otti however, denied having any presidential or vice presidential ambition after his governorship role.

According to him, he would not even contest for the senatorial position after serving as governor of Abia State.

Criticisms, he said, are part of democracy, adding that everyone is free to hold an opinion, even as he acknowledged that some criticisms, especially undue ones, are far from being the truth.

His words, “In the first place, that is the beauty of democracy. So, people should hold their opinions, and we respect people’s opinions. And that you hold a different opinion doesn’t mean you are right.

“One of the things he talked about was my ambition after being governor. And I had said it before, and I want to say it again, that by the time I’m done with governorship, I will retire.

“So, I don’t have presidential ambition, nor vice-presidential ambition. I also don’t have senatorial ambition. So, when I finish with the governorship, I’ll retire.

“I came for a mission. And when I deliver that mission, I will give way to younger people. So, he was talking of Igbo presidency. I don’t even understand what that means.

“So, I think if his thesis is based on that assumption, the assumption has collapsed, because he won’t see me on the ballot.

The Abia governor argued that it is important for a political office holder to know when to quit, especially when the politician has done what he is asked to do.

“When you have done what you have been asked to do, you clear, give way for other people. We’ve seen people here, after being governor who went to serve as Local Government Chairman. That’s not what we are. We are not cut out for those kinds of things.

Otti used the forum to explain why he visited Mazi Nnamdi Kanu at the Sokoto prison.

He said, “The second point is about Nnamdi Kanu. And I don’t want to put this matter in the public space so that it doesn’t jeopardise the discussions that I’m having.

“The truth about it is that exactly 24 months ago, I opened up discussions at the highest level on Nnamdi Kanu.

“And going to see him is the right thing to do, because he comes from my state. In fact, he comes from this local government (Umuahia North – the state capital).

“And there are always ways to solve a problem. I don’t believe that the way to solve a problem is to ignore it. And I had written extensively, even about Nnamdi Kanu and Operation Python Dance, I think in 2017 or 2018. And I condemned it.

“And I still condemn it. And some of the recordings that the gentleman put in his video, I cannot vouch for the veracity of that recording.”

Governor Otti maintained that he knows that when an issue has been approached from the legal point of view, there is also another window called the administrative point of view, stressing that, that is where he (the governor) is coming from.

“I’m not a lawyer. And if the judiciary says the man has been condemned to life imprisonment, that is the judiciary. Even that is not the end, because that’s the court of first instance. There is still an opportunity to appeal and then an opportunity to even go to the Supreme Court.

“But what we are trying to do is to intervene. I’m not a supporter of the disintegration of Nigeria.

“So, my position is that it would be insensitive of me to sit here and say one of our own who has been convicted should die when we have an opportunity to discuss, negotiate, and sue for peace. So, that is my position,” he said.