Naija Line-up according to Eurosport:

Enyeama
Echiejile Yobo Shittu Yusuf
Etuhu Uche
Obasi Mikel Odemwingie
Aiyegbeni

Amodu is a joke. We lost this game due to tactics more than anything else. Their coach made far superior decision to ours and it shows.

He left Martins, Odemwigwe off and then taking off Mikel. The guy has to be fired today.

This is the comment on Eurosport about bring in Kanu:

"NIGERIA SUB: Not sure I agree with this one - Kanu is on for Mikel. Well, that means Martins is injured but Kanu is barely a footballer these days and Mikel has been Nigeria's second-best player behind Edu. One thing - he IS capable of a moment of extreme magic."

And this is what they have on Guardian UK:

Nigeria substitution: Kanu on, Mikkel off. That's a strange one for a couple of reasons: Obafemi Martins has been left on the bench and Nigeria's most industrious midfielder has been taken off.

Dont you think we are focussing on the wrong thing? While the website designs have to be great, they have to be functional too.

You see some websites that look great but by the time you start browsing through the site, you discover that they are not functional at all

Orelesi was wonderful for that goal. His run was super.

We have been very unlucky in this competition. We played far better but for the poorest of finishes and harsh refereeing, we lost.

Abeg take am easy on Siasia o. the guy has tried. We need to remember that this was the same U-21 team that fumbled and wobbled through the qualifiers and they have greatly improved since Siasia took over about 2 or so months ago.

These guys are playing well overall. We had 56% of the possession. But our finishing is just awful. We have had more shots at goal. If we could convert a fraction of those, we can win.

@FBS, even if we had the penalties, there is no guarantee that we will score. These players are not efficient shooters

I dont understand, for that goal they conceded, were they the offside trap or what?

their finishing is very poor

Fellow Nairalanders,

I have been in the US for years now but contemplating returning to Nigeria. What is the rule regarding the NYSC? Will I have to do the NYSC if I am below age 30?

I have a problem with the report though. I searched all over the internet and did not find the report. We dont know anything about the criteria they used to analyze these banks.

I fear that they might just end up creating a disastrous bank run.

Fitch Ratings Agency recently released an analysis of Nigerian banks. You can read it here: http://www.naijalowa.com/fitchs-ratings-of-nigerian-banks/

I will take that over the report by The Africa Report.

Last week, Fitch, the ratings agency released a 12-page report on 12 of the 23 Nigerian banks.  Here are some of the main points:

1. Excesses that have been built up in the banks in recent years is likely to negatively impact their financial performance for years to come.

2. The economic crisis has taken its toll on the banks but the consolidation exercise of 2005/2006 places them in a better position to absorb ongoing risks.

3. Fitch believes the recent trend of slower credit growth is a positive development.

4. Rapid earnings growth since 2005 masked the increasing levels of risk in the system. Higher impairment charges are expected as the economy slows.

5. Fitch expects that Nigerian banks will need to manage their costs and overhead structures more closely going forward

6. The sector is characterised by weak efficiency ratios which have resulted from an underdeveloped economic infrastructure and because many banks lack operational scale.

You can read the report here http://www.naijalowa.com/fitchs-ratings-of-nigerian-banks/

Last week, Fitch released an analysis of the Nigerian Banking sector. Here is an excerpt. You can read the full report here: http://www.naijalowa.com/fitchs-ratings-of-nigerian-banks/

[center]Fitch Ratings-Johannesburg/London-10 June 2009: Fitch Ratings says in a report published today that the excesses which have been built up in Nigerian banks in recent years is likely to negatively impact the financial performance of the sector for the next couple of years. In addition, the economic effects of the global credit crisis have also taken their toll, but the sector is relatively well positioned to absorb ongoing risks because of significantly higher minimum capital requirements that followed the system-wide consolidation in 2005 and 2006.

Fitch notes that 2008 marked the end of a period of rapid expansion for the Nigerian banking sector as the global credit crisis and lower oil prices caused a rapid decline in the operating environment. However, the system-wide consolidation of 2005/2006 should place the sector in a better position to absorb the risks that arise from slower growth and deteriorating asset quality indicators. Fitch believes that the recent trend of slower credit growth is a positive development for the sector.

“Despite the challenging operating environment, Nigerian banks continued to report strong earnings growth in 2008 on the back of rapid credit and deposit growth and Fitch expects earnings growth will continue in 2009, albeit at a slower pace,” says Anthony Walker, a Senior Director in Fitch’s Financial Institutions group. However it remains to be seen as to how Nigerian banks will address their share lending exposures in their financial statements. The agency considers that significant impairment charges could arise if these exposures become non-performing or if the value of collateral continues to remain below minimum coverage ratios”.

Fitch believes that the trend of rapid earnings growth since 2005 has masked the increasing levels of risk in the system, and higher impairment charges are expected as Nigeria’s economy slows. The rapid credit growth, which was the fastest of any country covered by Fitch during 2007 and 2008, lead to Fitch’s Macro Prudential Indicator (MPI) increasing to ‘3′ from ‘2′ in May 2009, to the highest risk category. The MPI aims to identify the potential for systemic stress.

Lending in various forms backed by shares has emerged as an important risk consideration following the significant deterioration in Nigerian share prices since early 2008. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) estimates that the sector- wide exposure was between NGN800bn and NGN1,200bn as of end-2008, although estimates in the sector vary depending on the definitions utilised. However, for Fitch-rated banks, the exposures provided by management appear lower compared with the CBN’s estimates. At end-2008, the CBN allowed banks to reschedule these exposures, to prevent their classification as non-performing. The Fitch report shows that no agency-rated bank is expected to breach its minimum regulatory capital requirements, based on the agency’s calculations in a capital- sensitivity test for Fitch-rated banks and assuming a 50% provision for estimated exposures.

Given the present operating environment, Fitch expects that Nigerian banks will need to manage their costs and overhead structures more closely going forward. The sector is characterised by weak efficiency ratios which have resulted from an underdeveloped economic infrastructure and because many banks lack operational scale. This could lead to further market-driven consolidation during 2009 and 2010, as tightening liquidity, deteriorating asset quality and anticipated difficulties in raising new capital see certain banks being acquired by stronger institutions.

[/center]

Abeg you no go vex.
I just heard D'Banj's song, Anaconda. What does he mean by the Anaconda?

Linxon, you have a point. Java seems to be the cheapest 'cos it is free.

But choosing a programming language to use for software development is more about the functionalities needed. Java and programming languages on the .NET platform all have their areas of strength. So that is a much more important determining factor rather than the price.

candylips:

Buy books and learn for yourself .

I agree with candylips, learning for yourself is the easiest way. I will advice you to pick a programming language, think of a problem you want to solve, and implement what you are learning to solving that problem.
That is the easiest way to learn programming.

Kashif:

Did what you post work for you? Are you certified? I don't think what you are saying is in consonance with PMI's standards.

It worked for me. There is no PMI standard against such training. The PMI education requirement is that you have 35hrs of training. Your Bachelors degree counts towards that. And such training also counts towards it.

You can join ACM.org. It is like $150 and you have access to loads of classes for PMP, CaPM, MCSE etc through the membership.
These classes can be taken at your own pace. So you wont have to spend the hundreds of thousands of Naira preparing for the exams.

I have updated the document containing the list of Mutual Funds In Nigeria to include Lotus Capital and the new Afrinvest Equity Fund.
You can download it here: http://naijalowa.com/wp-content/uploads/Mutual_Funds_In_Nigeria.pdf
A copy is also attached below.

This document contains the list of all the known mutual funds in Nigeria. Please pass it around and share your thoughts and views on these mutual funds.
You can also download it here: http://naijalowa.com/wp-content/uploads/Mutual_Funds_In_Nigeria.pdf

Please can anyone recommend a stock broker for Nigerians abroad? A stock broker with online capabilities, good service and that has low minimum required.

Thanks

Here is a document providing some basic information on the mutual funds in Nigeria. You might find it helpful.