Double wahala for Nigeria

At a time when Nigeria is grappling with fallen oil revenue, an innocuous revolutionary invention by one considered a bench-warmer on one of Europe’s biggest soccer teams, is about to compound the country’s woes and even other oil producing countries that did not plan for the rainy day.
Mathieu Flamini, a 31-year-old Frenchman who currently plays for Arsenal, secretly created a company that made a scientific breakthrough that could bring an end to the use of fossil fuels.
Flamini’s company, GF Biochemicals, announced Monday it had figured out how to mass-produce levulinic acid, an organic compound that can replace oil in all of its many forms.
In theory, GF Biochemicals’ discovery means an end to gasoline, biofuels and plastics as we know them. It also means Flamini’s company could be the first entrant in a brand new market worth upward of $30 billion.
Not bad for a guy who once jilted Arsenal for Italian giants, AC Milan back in 2008.
At the time, Flamini was the engine of Arsenal’s midfield, but left the club after failing to negotiate a new contract.
He signed with Milan, but failed to impress his new club and was relegated to the bench. With his newfound free time, the Frenchman focused on his non-soccer interests — one of which was the environment.
He soon met Pasquale Granata and the pair secretly started GF Biochemicals — GF stands for Granata-Flamini — with Flamini personally pumping millions into the new venture.
“For seven years, I haven’t mentioned it to anyone,” the Arsenal man told The Sun in a lengthy interview. “I was always close to nature and concerned about environmental issues, climate change and global warming. [Granata] was on the same wavelength. We were looking how we could make a contribution to the problem. After a while, we found out about levulinic acid. It’s a molecule identified by the US Department of Energy as one of the 12 molecules with the potential to replace petrol in all its forms.
“We financed the research by the Milan Polytechnic. After several months we came up with the technology of how to produce LA on an industrial scale, meaning cheaply and cost-effectively. We patented it.”
With patent in hand, GF Biochemicals started building chemical plants. The company now employs 400 people.
Flamini, however, didn’t tell the public, or his teammates, about his side career until Monday.
“My Milan teammates probably found out in our launch this week, and my Arsenal teammates will probably find out reading this,” he said. “I don’t think [Arsenal manager] Arsene Wenger knows. I never spoke to him about it. I wanted it to be all in place first, up and running and announce it when I was ready.”

Flamini returned to Arsenal in 2013 following his unsuccessful spell in Italy. He has made five appearances for Arsenal this season and scored two goals.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ex Philippines priest faces extradition to U.S. for sexual abuse

The Philippine government is preparing to extradite a defrocked Filipino Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing two boys in the U.S. in the 1990s, a justice department official said on Wednesday. Fernando Sayasaya, 53, was arrested in the city of Calamba in Laguna province, 48 km south of Manila, on Sunday, almost 20 years since he fled the U.S. and went into hiding in the Philippines. Chief State Counsel Ricardo Paras said the U.S. Department of Justice has sought Sayasaya’s extradition under a treaty with the Philippines, and the Court of Appeals had granted the request in 2012. “The apprehension of Fernando Sayasaya once again shows that the long arm of the law would reach all criminals,’’ Paras said. Sayasaya is accused of sexually molesting two brothers, both under 15 years old, in North Dakota in their home and in church in 1995 and 1998. He left the U.S. in December 1998, telling his superiors he wanted to spend Christmas in the Philippines. However, he d...
Read more

Ogwugwu Ezenebo: The enduring Oracle of Nimo

Image
As the contemporary African society struggles with the dilemma of choosing åbetween Western/Eastern religions and sticking to their native religion and practice, most people still shuttle between orthodox Christianity, in conformity with the trend, and consulting native deities when they seek relief from the vicissitudes of life yet, one cannot but shudder at how much influence rituals, customs and traditions as preserved by these various religions continue to rule over the affairs of men, most times independent of reason. One of such Oracles, Ogwugwu Ezenebo of Nimo in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State, continues to rule over the affairs of men even in this 21st century. Ogwugwu Ezenebo Festival is an annual event in memory of the ancestors and the oracle Ogwugwu Ezenebo in Nimo, Njikoka Local Government Area Anambra State. The event which is held in the Oracle’s Temple, runs for four Igbo market days. it starts on Nkwo, which is when the Orac...
Read more

Coca-Cola buys 40% stake in Chi Ltd

Image
Coca-Cola Company announced on Saturday that it has acquired a 40% stake in Nigeria’s largest juice maker, Chi Limited, known for its Chivita and Hollandia juice, dairy and yoghurt drinks. This investment in Nigeria is coke’s biggest overseas acquisition since 2012 and signals Coca Cola’s plan to expand across Africa by 2020 and redouble its effort to expand beyond soda as its soda sales is low. Coke bought the stake from Tropical General Investments Group (TGI Group), Chi’s parent company, the two companies said in a joint statement, though they did not disclose how much Coke paid for the stake. One industry source said Coca-Cola was paying a “triple-digit-million-dollar” amount for the stake. Other sources say Chi was valued at as much as $1bn. This deal did not come as a surprise to industry watchers as it was reported in 2014 that TGI group owned by a European family, was exploring options to sell its stake in Chi Limited for as much as $1 billion. It was also suggeste...
Read more