Hey bro, it starts with you.
Why not start something and lets celebrate you rather than discouraging people.

@UPnaija, u were soooo riteee, look as blessing finish deox,hmnnnnnn,i dont see isaac standing eunice at all oooo, d last 2 standing will be blessing and eunice and d winner is E cos she's got d profile of who d apprentice sld be (someone dat knows a little abt everytin) d girl is really hot only dat she's gat to be able 2 manage her attitude well.

I also felt BS was unfair in firing Deox rather than Blessing. However, if his action was based on the fact that Deox computing skill was questionable I cannot but totally agree with him. Blessing pointed this out twice in the board room. Firstly, she said Deox was too slow on the computer. Then later she alleged that Deox could not save from a computer to a flash or something. An apprentice in this day and age with questionable computer skill is a burden and a pain to any organisation I dare say. BTW, Blessing computer knowledge is also questionable. Great she could type 60 wpm but beyond that , ?

On a light note, one salient fact TAP potrays is that business is not always fair.

I find it very difficult how people can be drawn into accessing others basically by how they orate. That to me does not show strength. Empty Barrels they say make the most noise. During Task 15, Isaac's answer to Power Fist grabbing more targeted market was spot on. There was so much business sense in it. "Introduce a liquid form of power fist for the upper class market and that will motivate the low end customers since they see themselves drinking similar products in a powder form" Smartness. That point was well accepted by the Executives of Nutricima. I admire the way Eunice talk with confidence, but i think she doesn't really make business sense.

For those who underestimate the capabilities of Isaac and see a boardroom tussel between him and Eunice to be a "David and Goliath" battle, they should remember that "Goliath" is too big a target to miss if you think "David" is too small to conquer him. A word to the wise,

@ Black Prez, First it was the boardroom then, it was airtime and Eunice being served, now it’s how she orates? No doubt, Eunice has the gift of public speaking; which has clearly helped her in the competition. To say that she doesn’t make business sense is unfounded. I saw episode 15, Eunice clearly articulated her role on the team, presented the launch strategy, and answered the questions from the executives---and she made her points clearly.

Isaac’s response to the executives on the other hand was too long and boring, and he stuttered the entire time. Here’s EXACTLY what Isaac said in his response to the Nutricima Executives:

“Now, if you come up with a liquid form of it, run it concurrently with the powder form of it, okay, you are targeting those high-end guys with the liquid form, but then the guy down the street know that I’m also taking something equivalent to what that guy is taking, it makes him feel good it makes him feel taken care of and it it it adds ummm value to the brand, you know,  so we think there are more opportunities that you can can still, still grab more than what you grab’n now”. 

**Now WHAT kind of response was that?! He needs a tutorial on Oral Speaking 101 from Eunice and FAST!!

Here's what you wrote: Posted by: Black Prez 
"Introduce a liquid form of power fist for the upper class market and that will motivate the low end customers since they see themselves drinking similar products in a powder form"

Smartness?! This is far from what Isaac actually said; maybe he'd WISHED he had said that. So, why don’t you do us all a favor and provide real quotes from the episode instead making things up? By the way, did you ever calculate the airtime per contestant?

Come on, you’re clearly wasting your time trying to make a case for Isaac. Isaac is lucky to have made it this far; he simply has nothing on Eunice. If it comes down to a face-off between Eunice and Isaac, let’s face the inevitable. I arrest my case.

MForest:

quotes from the episode instead making things up? By the way, did you ever calculate the airtime per contestant?

who has done that?


I still think Isaac will win!

@poster
Am a great fan of the apprentice here in England and i want to know if theres anyway i can view the african version here in London. All replies will be well appreciated. Thanx

Well well well

For starters, concerning the airtime thingy from a very [b]subjective [/b]point of view I will admit that Eunice & Blessing have probably had more airtime than the odas.


@gatewayman, the issue of saving on a flash was quite complex. according to what I could glean from wat Blessing was saying it appears that the laptop hat they were using was running Windows Vista while the system in the office(or wherever they were going to print) was running Windows 95. Now that scenario creates a very unfair advantage to the other team. What if Blessing did not know how to do the configuration? That situation could have happened to anyone. How can anyone still be running Win95 in this day & age?

Now how many of us can really type 60 words per min? Most of us just hit the keyboard and make sure we get out the documents. If Blessing observed that Deox was slow and they were runnin out of time SHE should have demanded for the laptop and typed out the material and done the typing herself as PM BUT since she was playing for the BR she decided to leave him to it and se it against him.

Yes I agree with you that biznis is never fair.

Na wa o! Everyone is entitled to his/her opinion, we all have our favorites!  If you don’t know by now; I’m for Eunice all the way

@MForest, I agree with you, I don’t like it when people try to make a case for someone based on incorrect facts; that’s terrible and almost desperate.  Glad you pointed it out.

Well, let’s see what happens on Tuesday! I think Blessing is out next…

Interesting Stuff here.

Well, I quoted the import of what the gentleman said. We all have our way of expressing ourselves. I root for ISAAC. 

Open your eyes. Episode 14, the reward was a facial treatment for Eunice, nice dress for her as well and photo shots with graphic effects. Isaac, hahahaha, wearing some ordinary shirt, and a photo shot I wonder how memorable it would be him. Poor Boy. hahahaa. Episode 15, nail spa and massage??

Anyway, I believe Eunice has never hidden her respect for Isaac. All the time commending him. From previous episodes, it is clear Eunice would attact anybody she sees as the weakest link in her interviews. The only exception is the MAN ISAAC.
"If the frog comes out of the river to tell you the crocodile is dead, don't' argue with it"

@ Black Prez,

Before, you said Isaac made more business sense than Eunice and you were clearly exposed for having misquoted Isaac. Therefore your argument was unsubstantiated. Your only response was that you quoted the “import” of what he said? That doesn’t make sense, the bottom line is that a quote is a quote and you quoted wrong.

You’ve tried so hard to say negative things about Eunice, and now you’re drawing comparisons on their rewards?  Your arguments and case for Isaac are WEAK.

I applaud you for supporting Isaac; however, there are people that support Eunice and will continue to defend her whenever necessary. I’m glad that you noticed she did not hide her respect for Isaac, because she comes across as someone who will give respect to whom respect is due. What you see is exactly what I see and that’s a woman who is an objective business person, effective team player (and equally effective leader), and good orator!

@Up Niaja,
Why take this personal. I am expressing my opinion about what i see. You are entitiled to yours. But don't tell me I have tried so har d to say negative things about Eunice because to me, she has consistently shown negative attitude through out. Its funny you see her as a team player and objective. Did you watch when Nnamdi was fired? Do you say such a person is objective? Do you say she is a team player, ? You have not made any strong point about your pet.

Anyway, give me one instance where you have commended Isaac. Flash back to your previous postings. So please support what you believe in and stop attacking people who don't share your opinion.

UpNaija:

@ Black Prez,

Before, you said Isaac made more business sense than Eunice and you were clearly exposed for having misquoted Isaac. Therefore your argument was unsubstantiated. Your only response was that you quoted the “import” of what he said? That doesn’t make sense, the bottom line is that a quote is a quote and you quoted wrong.

You’ve tried so hard to say negative things about Eunice, and now you’re drawing comparisons on their rewards? Your arguments and case for Isaac are WEAK.

I applaud you for supporting Isaac; however, there are people that support Eunice and will continue to defend her whenever necessary. I’m glad that you noticed she did not hide her respect for Isaac, because she comes across as someone who will give respect to whom respect is due. What you see is exactly what I see and that’s a woman who is an objective business person, effective team player (and equally effective leader), and good orator!

@Black Prez

You are entitled to your opinion, but the logic to your arguments was flawed. I was simply pointing out the fact that you were wrong to state Eunice doesn’t make business sense based on your unsubstantiated facts.

Nnamdi deserved to get fired. Eunice was not only objective, but also a team player; especially since she trusted in Nnamdi’s experience on pricing the product. She clearly articulated her reason for the team’s failure which was incorrect pricing. To quickly educate you; profit maximization is based on pricing and output level (the task was based on profit maximization, whichever team made the highest profit wins). Nnamdi pushed the team to go with the wrong price; they could have priced the product higher and won the task. Since we both watched the episode, I’m sure you noticed how Nnamdi humiliated himself by losing his temper and the fact that Kathleen also pointed this out in the boardroom saying this is what he does best, man who wants an apprentice like that? This kind of character flaw has no place in the boardroom…

Unfortunately, I have not seen anything spectacular from Isaac worth posting. Who knows, maybe he will surprise me in the next episode.

But until then, the next time you want to draw a case on someone; use real facts to back it up. So, don’t take it personal, but rather learn from it.

Interesting!

dear all, we all know der's nobody dats perfect,wev all got one character or d other which might not go down well with others.

Eunice - She's got d brains,the book knowledge,the drive,competitiveness,exposure,, but in my opinion I just think she needs to work on her attitute cos she seems to be so ready to pounce on her opponent esp whenever der's a BR appearance,and also 4d guts of saying who sld or sldnt be fired(Nancy's case) it is totally wrong and D CEO just did as if he didnt hear dat,I blv if it was someoneelse dat made such a statement,d CEO wuld have pointed out blankly dat nobody has d rite/power to judge who sld or sldnt be fired and 4 dat singular act dat person culd be fired,even though he/she wasnt meant to be and it wuld ave been justified but that wasnt what happened, (She's got a high chance of becoming the Apprentice and if she eventually does,she'll make a very good one)

Isaac - Man of Integrity. He could win but i doubt if she coould stand up to Eunice if der's a BR fite and uve gat to fite 4ur life.Except he clearly wins d Task and the difference is very clear 4 all 2c.

Blessing - She's equally good and am proud of her,

d next task will tell us who 2 expect as d last 2 standing because its not going to be a team wok anymore,more of a prove urself thing now.

Lets just keep our fingers crossed,but if u ask me ,d winner is E

2nd runner up- Blessing

1st runer up- Issac.


End of story.

Shebi I talk am,

the hot seat is on watching stv thier giving their verdict looks like its the lady

blessing your fired - ceo

Blessing was really poor in the interviews.
She wasnt deep with her answers and appeared very ill-prepared.

when she was asked what she would want to be remembered by and her ultimate goal, she finished by saying she wanted to affect the lives of people positively and to make heaven. For an NGO or a church administration position, that answer would have sounded great but not to the ears of business Moguls who only think success(in financial terms).
She also always appeared flustered by questions she didnt expect and lost all composure.

If we are to be objective, then blessing actually had to be fired(and she was my favorite)

Isaac was not very confident and was too laid back(according to the interviewers).
Isaac is intelligent and disciplined but doesnt appear aggresive enough to thrive in a competitive business arena.

Finally, the CEO agreed that a little agressiveness is required(remember Nnamdi, anyone?)

Eunice? Hnmm, among all three candidates, she was the one that could clearly define her goals, aspirations and purpose.
Eunice is intelligent and also street smart. She expertly danced her way around every question that she had no clue about and thus sounded like she knew what she was talking about.

I would say that I was not surprised that her interviewer did not ,mention the fact that she, being an Economics graduate, did not knw a number of economic terms.

Awosika: Whats Median?

Eunice: Well, u gotta think youth*** bla bla bla *** english fonetics, etc.

Awosika: You don't seem to understand what am talking about. You read Economics, right? Its a common term in Economics.

Eunice: You mean I should explain what it means?
Yes , damn it.(this is me now and not the gentleman, Awosika)

Eunice: when we are marketing we gotta think profit and the youth**** bla bla, some more fonetics.
For crying out loud answer the question and if you , an Economics graduate don't know what we were thought in Secondary school, then ill be gum-smacked(me again)

She finally manouvers and uses her street-smartness to guess close to the meaning. But Awosika didnt mention that to CEO(there were other terms that she couldnt explain that the other interviewer asked her).

Her greatest asset is her communication and presentation skills. She would always appear as some one who knows it even if she doesnt have a clue.

Isaac on the other hand is full of ideas and intelligence but has a hard time expressing it.

Blessing is also sharp but I suspect her lack of exposure(compared to Eunice and Isaac), showed in the last two tasks.

Now the battle line is drawn. Isaac Vrs Eunice.

For me Isaac did better. Though he was relaxed, it rather showed confidence. Eunice beating around the bush exposed her lack of indept understanding of the field she claims to be an expert.

However, i think the choice will be the character trait the CEO is looking for in his apprentice. Does anyone know where the finals will be staged and how i could get ticket ?

EVERYONE got tripped up in their “area of expertise”; Blessing--defining pedia, encyclopedia, micropedia, and macropedia. Isaac---defining the difference between marketing and advertising, and living in an instant world. Eunice–defining backwardation, contangle, stagflation, and median. They ALL messed up LOL!!! These questions were clearly designed to see how the contestants handle pressure; recall terminology, and turn the situation around.

I was really impressed with how Eunice handled it. She clearly exhibited confidence and remained cool and collected. She was the only one that received strong recommendations from the executives as the best candidate for the job. Eunice is a sure bet to win!

well all the best for the finalist

Dear all at last our predictions are coming to an end.we have 2 ppl left.

Blessing - She was described as being a fighter,and somone dat can get out of any situation she finds herself,though according to d interviewers her answers had no depth and dey sed she was manipulative (i.e finding a way of manouvering round any questions being asked her) overall she was Ok and a good chance of becoming the apprentice.


Isaac - He was sed 2b very intelligent and coolheaded,one of dem sed he appeared ina shouting colour,(i.e he was dressed to be noticed) on d day of d interview,but a comment was made abt Isaac not bin agressive and dat he had a way of covering up what he doesnt seems to know with bluffing (it was sed 2b a strength for him because attimes u just have to find a way of coming out of a diff situation, overall he was Ok but der was a statement dat really got me thinking,one of dem sed he doesnt seem to know what his goal in life is and he doesnt seem like a man who can go all out to reach his goal

Eunice - She was d toast of all,everyone sed she was a highly intelligent girl and had a clear focus of her goals,very confident abt herself,she came prepared for d interview,and dat she was a very interesting interviewee cos she was d type dat culd put d interviewer on edge if d interviewer sef no stand well well,good oratory skills and presentation skills, her weeknesses was dat she was over-confident and den she sld develope listening skills(cos dis can sabi talk,dat she mit not wait to hear wht uve gat 2 say) Over all her strenghts were so much dat it completely covered for her weaknesses.

Blessing was eventually fired because it was obvious she wasnt very prepared and her answers werent indept. for me I think 4her not knowing d mission statement of BankPHB after abt 5 months within dis competition was a strong minus for her.

But what surprised me was dat Blessinga nd Eunice didnt hug or shake hands at all. I tut dey were gud pals,it was only Isaac dat gave Blessinga goodbye hug.

Only God knows d next dimension to this prog/task, but it is very positive dat Eunice will comeout as d winner. Dat is my Vote

blessing was kind of lucky with some questions she got (she should at least have remembered the lines: GOOD,  BETTER, Bank Phb under pressure )
She also shot herself by playing the MANIPULATION card the interviewer threw at her.

Isaac was the one who took his things rather calmly and looking into the eyes of the interviewer boosted his confidence.

It's not really a surprise if she can't define median or the other bla bla blas in an interview. How many of the ogas know these things offhand? E'one needs references

Eunice sabi talk well well

They say she's over-confident. Infact, she's over-confident that she 'll win.
I was quite disappointed in the fact that they couldn't respond directly to the questions asked, they were all dilly-dallying. This is inspite of the fact that BS emphasizes giving the answer to a question asked i n the BR.

ANyway, I still remain Isaac!

yes, i also think isaac as the last man standing thats if they don't play him out.eunice has a fine way of speaking but i don think THE APPRENTICE will just be one with gud communication skills.i must also confess that eunice has an edge based on her background/exposure/location.

my last word: may the best man win!

I did not watch it last Tuesday, I hope i watch the repeat today. Eunice is actually good and her good communication skill is an added advantage. Since Blessing is out, Isaac has to really work hard to beat Eunice. Any way, let the best win Period!

word let d best man win.but my dear if Isaac sld win Eunice,den am sure its by the skin of his teeth,cos d difference is going to be very marginal, am so sure of dat

Saturday Punch

Why I was evicted from Apprentice Africa – Blessing Njoku
By ‘Nonye Iwuagwu and Adeola Balogun

Published: Saturday, 14 Jun 2008



Blessing Njoku was among the 18 contestants that went in for the TV reality show, Apprentice Africa. She was even one of the outstanding participants in the show. But she was ejected last week, at a time many thought she would become the eventual winner of the show!

Blessing Njoku

Born 31 years ago in Imo State, Njoku came into the house with a keen and analytical business mind. But all that counted for nothing at the end of the day and she had to kiss the 200,000 dollars prize money goodbye.

As the 16th evictee, Spectacles asked her for the ‘magic’ behind her long stay on the show. But Njoku said it was no magic. Her motivation, she said, came from a strong desire to win.

“I felt it would not be a victory just for me but also for millions of incredibly talented young African professionals and entrepreneurs, who in spite of the many challenges posed by political and economic instability as well as inadequate infrastructure are keeping their heads high. I imagined the millions of young Africans with my kind of background counting on me to showcase the poise, confidence, intelligence and determination that characterise the typical African professional.”

Many believed Njoku was booted out because she said she was manipulative. But the Information and Library Science graduate of Imo State University said she was misunderstood.

“I need to correct this wrong impression,” she said. “I am not manipulative in the sense of being manipulative. I am persuasive, and this came across so well in all the tasks that I performed in the competition. That word was picked out of context.

“When I was asked by my interviewer to talk about what my negative qualities are, I said I am a perfectionist, but he was not buying into it. Instead, he referred to the form I completed when I applied to be on the show and cited a portion of it where we were asked what people who know us would consider to be our negative qualities. While completing the form, I asked my colleague and she said, ‘You are manipulative. You made me buy that blouse and up till now I have not worn it.’”

Njoku continued, “The truth, which is very evident, is that I am good at sales and marketing. While she called this attribute manipulative, I called it persuasive and she agreed with me. And I’m glad that this quality achieves a positive outcome for an organisation.”

When asked If her eviction was justifiable, Njoku said, “I believe in professionalism and respect for authority. Sometimes, there are no hard and fast rules about judging situations like this, and decisions could be subjective. Even though the CEO fired me, some other persons in the position of the CEO would have preferred to hire me.

“But I respect his decision. It does not change what my teaming supporters and I think about myself as a very competent leader.”

The last two contestants have a Master’s degree in Business Administration, but Blessing does not. Could that have contributed to Njoku’s eviction? She does not believe so.

She said, “At the time I applied to compete in the show, it was not specified that an MBA was a prerequisite for winning. So, using that as the direct or indirect reason for firing an otherwise outstanding performer would be like shifting the goal post after the goal has been scored or changing the rules of a game in the middle of it. I would rather choose to believe that other parameters were used, because that would be very unfair.”

Njoku had a feud with one of the contestants named Eunice, who became one of the last two. But Njoku chose to call it “a professional disagreement.” She said, “I had no feud with Eunice. At that point in the game, there was heightened tension and professional disagreements were not unexpected. But they were promptly and amicably settled without a third party interfering. Today, we are best of friends.”
Many housemates usually go intimate while on a reality show. But Njoku said she never had it in mind to get into relationship in the house. “I related well with all the male contestants on a professional level. I was too busy working on the task and focusing on the prize that I didn’t have time to look into their personal lifestyles. Moreover, it is out of character for me to meddle in the private affairs of my professional colleagues.

Now that her journey in Apprentice Africa has come to an end, what is next? Spectacles asked.

“I am getting ready to go back into the corporate world and contribute my quota in the area of staff development and leadership training

I have reserved my comments on the last episode of TAA because I missed the original airing and just watched the repeat yday & here goes. . .

It was a piss-poor performance by all of them! Damn! I was thoroughly disappointed. I'm going to speak generally & pick on a few specific points but without favouring any of dem. To think that 2 0f them are MBA holders (Eunice & Isaac) and couldnt answer some of the questions posed was appaling to say the least.

The way some of the questions were answered was totally frustrating. . . take Eunice's example - what is median? she didnt know. What is wrong with coming out to say u dont know or cant remember. Yes its very true that one can not/may not remember evrything one is taught/has read in skool but I believe that Median is one of those things that shld stick! Now her interviewer had to continually break it down for her and she still didnt get it & insisted on givin us her own "wrong" idea of the answer. Blessing's answer to the question where she sees herself in X years time was totally out of place and i would have kicked her ass out of the show at that instant! U applied for a contest to be someone's apprentice in a business setup, for the past weeks you have been carrying out business tasks and then u give an answer like I want to make heaven bla bla bla. . . she should have applied to a convent!
Isaac's dress sense leaves a lot to be desired.

As to what happens next week i frankly dont give a damn anymore! I am fed up with the show & I am going out to look for the DVDs of The Apprentice Trump & Sugar to watch beta thing!


Re: Blessing's interview


“I need to correct this wrong impression,” she said. “I am not manipulative in the sense of being manipulative. I am persuasive, and this came across so well in all the tasks that I performed in the competition. That word was picked out of context.

So if I say I'm a thief what does that mean? I am a thief I will steal your car but I will not steal a piece of meat! A thief is a thief whether he steals a Hummer or a tuber of yam!

well! well! well! didn't watch 4rm the begining but i did enjoy the last 2 episodes, especially the interview. to me blessing deserves to be fired, eunice good talker, me thinks should have been better to say i don't know or i can't remember, rather than talking nonsense making u look stupid. but alas! according to the interviewers its good to just talk jazz if u don't know. And for isaac cool guy laid back but i think he got some game up his sleeves. if i have to choose its ganna be eunice. don't ask me why.