₦airaland Forum

diordaves:
THE PROBLEM OF PERFECTLY CUT AND STRAIGHT WOOD IN NIGERIA.

I lifted the first attached photo from Spyder's Remodeling Hall Project: https://www.nairaland.com/5921575/remodelling-reconstruction-town-hall-pictures/3

Looking at the wood network and the snake like nature of most of the woods, I just ask myself and you all here that supply wood, why is it near impossible to get perfectly cut to size and straight wood in Nigeria? What is the issue?

Is it lack of investment, lack of skilled woodworkers, the Nigerian factor of any way na way or we are just blind as a country to perfection and detail.

Why can't the Association of Nigeria Sawmillers up and down the country self regulation as done in the western world to proscribe industrial standard of wood cutting and sawmilling? I don't want to mention the government. This is a case of self regulation by the Sawmillers Association.

I have had a look online at the investment profile for a sawmill. As from 5 million Naira, one can set up a modern sawmill that can cut perfect wood. I think the Sawmillers Association can do better. It is not impossible to produce perfectly cut straight woods. I think it's the Nigerian factor.

Any how, any how. All go na go.

People don't take pride in their work anymore.

Most businesses/artisans don't invest in themselves.

The kind of jagajaga work people do these days will make someone shed tears..

My family sent me a picture recently and I was looking at one of the kitchen stools my grand mother used in the 70s. Built with care, all lines perfect. The chair was built by a village carpenter (not a premium service).

But compared to what my sister just built for her kitchen recently, jagajaga, wood not straight, not properly aligned.. it looks very embarrassing.

It is a sad thing, everyone will blame blame the government for this and that but I ask them, do you remit your business profit to the government as well?

I don't think there's any association in Nigeria that enforces standard not even the Nigerian medical association or Nigeria bar association.. frankly, I don't even know they had sawmillers association. Most of this bodies just collect collect dues that's all. No pride in their trade.. very shameful indeed!

InvertedHammer:
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I don't know about Lagos but in PH when I had issues with them,I threatened to go to war with them--we die once. I promised them heavy casualties on both sides. One thing was certain--they don't want to die. By the way, that was a phone conversation.

I made contacts with their Vice Chairman, paid him off and had him keep his boys at bay. At a point I had to grease the palms of their igwe and cabinet . But in all, I spent about 40% of the original amount demanded. Being a gentleman could be a vice sometimes in Nigeria.
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Brethren, if you have any omonile issue, @bolded, is the cheapest way to resolve it.

Just like every other living thing, there's a way to get your way.. in the animal kingdom, be at peace with mother elephant and she will give you a pass to their community.. remember a queen bee?

Same thing with human, if you could locate the king of boys or any of their high chiefs things will be easier for you but the trouble there is, lots of time those folks are very scarce to be found.

I have done same like InvertedHammer did and I paid wayyyy less than his boys were demanding.. I was able to locate the king of boys and it happened he traveled to squander his money , I drove from different country, a journey of round trip 1hr 45 mins.
I told him Chief, I am trying to be like you when I grow up but your boys won't let me,, gave him the run down,, and the address of the build..
My omonile payment was his restaurant tab and a ticket to watch a live football match.
Folks thought I came in for a fight, but in business you gotta know when to fight and when to negotiate..

So try and locate the king of boys if you can, and it could be very hard and sometimes they might not want to listen to you. If you are not from that area, go with someone that is from that area, it will make your life easier..


Cheers!

spyder880:
A lot of things has changed about this house, see the finish.........

Oga Spyder880, this house just dey sweet my Belle very clean and elegant.

I am a bit terrified about asking the cost at this stage?

Beautiful indeed..

The owner of this property does have a good taste indeed and offcourse Mr.Spyder880 delivering a masterclass as usual.

Let's see if Arsenal will use that money to sign Thierry Henry or Bergkamp

abuiltech:
Pls what can we do to hold everyone accountable, and ensured that neither the buyer nor the seller was shortchanged, at times shit and unforeseen things happen in business world, but it shouldn't amount to fraud, I hope we should all do something as a forum,
This is not right, you can't defraud someone and still replying that person with smiley emoji, this is wickedness,

We have lot of intellectual here who can help, in any form whether in cash, advice, kind or legal means just to get justice for the victims, if we all build the trust here, we will all benefit, anybody can be the victim tmrw

Lots of this issues can be avoided with proper communication.

I have written about this here many times.. when anyone is doing a project, a transaction.. try to keep the other party in the loop.. if you are having any difficulty.. say the person that was supposed to supply cement for the job skipped town and the contractor is trying hard to reach the person while sourcing another avenue... the contractor should inform the client right away of the issue.. don't be surprised sometimes the client can step up and make some phone calls.. or at least they know the state of the affairs on site..

The contractor shouldn't switch off their phone, ignore phone calls then when the client blows up, tell them ehm ehm.. this and. that, at that time, it sounds unbelievable if though that might be true.

Also, the client, don't be afraid to ask questions, don't let the contractor or supplier push you to make a decision that doesn't suite you.. ask questions, make sure your all the parties involved have an understanding of what is expected from both parties..

Don't assume the client will pay you 100k on Friday and the balance after the job is done.. get that in writing.. make sure the client knows that.. basically the two parties should have a discussion on how they will handle affairs on site.. and make sure they parties understands the timeliness for the job.

Oga contractor, Mr supplier, you know you don't have time for this job , why did you promise the client the job will be done in one week when you know that's not true??
Why would you take money to supply a product that you know you don't have? And don't have a sure plug for source? Why would you use the money paid for a job to take care of your own problems then do the client turn turn while you run around and steal or source materials to finish the job for a client?

Mr. Supplier, you know a client paid for 12 pieces of "A".. why supply 10 pieces to him??

Most times it boils down to 2 things

1. Communication
2. Honesty.

Again, I can't stress this enough, Mr. Client be proactive on your site, ask questions and ask questions again and make sure you understand, do your research.

I once shared a story where a client asked a contractor to knack a better 4 bedroom bungalow for him.. that was the brief. The contractor knacked the bungalow for him according to his own taste ( I assume).. client saw the house, didn't like it.. it doesn't have this it doesn't have that, this was supposed to here, that was supposed to there..

Contractor hin must refund him his money, he built nonsense for him..

My question was, mr.what was your brief? I told him to build a better 4 bedroom bungalow.. and I asked how many rooms did you find there, he said 4 bedroom. Why are you puffing and huffing then? The contractor delivered the brief..

So ask questions, be part of the process, make sure what you asked to be done is what is being done, ask for video updates. Mr. Contractor, before you get creative on a client's project that deviates from the brief, make sure you relay to the client your concern or suggestion.

I once contracted someone to do something for me, at a point in the project, the contractor got creative and went off brief.. what did I do, I asked him to knock it down on his own account and redo what I asked him to do.. yep, and zero fùck was given.. not to sound like a hard head but I was really passed off.. I know what I want to be done, I told you what you need to do, and gave you my money. Why change my plans for me??

Just to remind us again to always hustle legitimately..

I am not privy to the the borehole situation here and I didn't go back to read the whole back and forth but one thing I want to remind us is for us to be careful when dealing with anyone, whatever you do in life, be honest, don't feel you are a "fast guy" or a "sharp guy" and can do a shiťty job for someone to take their money or refuse to pay a contractor when you are supposed to pay them.

Be careful out there, like I keep telling people and we all laugh at it.. people pull their shirt, risky their lives to fight over N100 change from a conductor or bike man etc.. what can't they do when you swindle them the amount of money I see here ??

Like the igbos will say, "nke ima nke a, ima nke ozo ?" ( not sure how to translate this to make sure it doesn't lose its meaning.. but the closest I could come to is, " no one knows everything, you think you know this, but do you don't know the other one.. apologies for my sorry translation - maybe someone with better translation can share).

I was very appalled by one of the screenshot someone shared here, (although not related to the borehole issue).. where the person sent them a smily face when they were begging for their money.. as in mocking them..

Now, maybe I am taking this things personal, because I knew how I started in life, hawked ice water, fish, ground nut, cloths etx.. even when I moved west, I have worked as a mechanic, worked in a farm, in a restaurant etc.. I have done back breaking jobs, I have been shoved, kicked, spit on punched etc.. just to make this money and you gon take it from me? Like swindle me?? Nah nah.. we dye here I have gone far and wide to draw debt and you are paying my expenses.. go hide in Sao Paolo, nicosia, Istanbul thinking you tough.. I will meet you there, Turin, Holland, Ijebu ode, you name it.. I will be there in person. Man pass man no be boasting.. while I was after my money and expenses.. some people don't mind setting your house on fire when you swindle them, or take the person out of the game..

The broken spirit, a broken man/woman , a broken hearted can do undoables.. they could go to extent people don't think is possible... so be careful out there.. money have been here before we came to this world, it will be here after we are gone.. again, never underestimate the willpower of a broken hearted!

As long as we hustle legit, one day one day, we will secure the bag!.

Cheers!!

Balogun bus stop

Are they appointing these judges based on merit or based on religious affliation?

Giant of Africa

They should have used their real age.. the club for use this money to pay them instead of using it to pay fines.

mamaafrik:
is diving not an offense in race

No, it's not.

Although I was never a Chelsea fan but I admired Mourinho while he was at Chelsea ( his first time around).

Mourinho is from the Era that players feared the coach, used threat of being traded to a different team, benching, threat of being loaned out to get players loyalty. Players then feared the coaches.. remember the time Mata and Mourinho had loggerhead at Manutd, Mourinho brought him on in a game as a substitute and substituted him after few minutes - just to show him who is the boss.. benched Pogba, Martial when they had issues

Now, the time have changed, coaches now fear the players , some teams informally seek input from their star players on which coach they should hire.. some star players do have so many demands and for the most part the coach and the teams gives them what they want. Also most star players are younger in their 20s and are from entitled generation- and are somewhat fearless, think the world supposed to bend over for them

This is one of the reasons Mourinho is always struggling with his locker rooms , his locker room in Inter was on a bandaid, got into loggerhead right away at Real, shouting match at Chelsea( 2nd time around), another shouting match and loggerhead at Manutd and Tottenham..

I believe Mourinho doesn't have it him anymore to be the Mourinho back in 2004 - 2007. His antics, theatrics, formations, style of play are no longer admired, players are fearless, little thing they are on Twitter, no wonder they are banning Twitter left and right , his packing the bus style is now frowned upon.. I mean these players make so much money this days to be packing the bus.. let them earn their money.

Roma? Let's see what happens.

Everyone on the building site is an "Engineer ".

When people don't hire professionals, or when so called professionals cut corners, this is what happens

rastaLivity:
@bolded, please stick to things you know and can prove.

Did you watch Italy vs Austria?

Italy vs Spain?

I don't have to prove anything.. my comment was my opinion... you can have your opinion as well.

ecolime:
Sad Spain lost Their keeper was rock solid. They were the better side tonight.

Italy fall my hands today. They've been outstanding since the beginning of the tournament but very poor today.

Congrats anyway. Wish them victory in the final.

Though I can't stand Spain.. I just don't like their style of play and their being over dramatic when they touch them..

But on the other hand, Italy was cruising until they met Austria..

Austria was like, we all will die here today
Italy was shocked by the Austrian tactics.. they were worried the whole game... a game that folks thought it was a walk in the park, turned out to be Italy hanging on the edge of their seat.

They relaxed abit when there were 2-0 up but when Austria pulled one back, they were back trembling and have not recovered from the shock from that game hence today's abysmal performance.

I am going for England tho if they can make it past Denmark.. I think they will because karma will come and bite them in the ašs.. remember there first goal against Czech republic shouldn't have beena corner kick.. that was a goal kick but was wrongly awarded as corner kick and Denmark scored..

I believe if England get pass Denmark, they will beat Italy... England have fast strikers .. Italy have old guards at the back..

PrinceOfLagos:
All the southern state should do the same and let Buhari do his worst.

Although I strongly believe that cattle farmers should have a ranch where they raise their livestock since this is a private business and not a community business.

But it is Not by passing a bill..

The main issue is, can they enforce this law??

InvertedHammer:
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Does this look like it belongs to LKQ pick-a-part?

cc Egunmogaji2, AngelicBeing

/

Chairman, who on mic give you ?

I hope someone doesn't deny this report for the 1millionth time.

The rate of recanting statements is very high...
Even minister of information Lai Mohammed, presidency, everyone..

To add salt to injury.. the journalism is almost dead... no investigation whatsoever.. everyone just wants the headline..

By the way, I disown this statement..

omanzo02:
Dude, where I am, anything made by hand is 4 times costly than machine produced, that's the hard reality, mechanical finished product are standard while manual labour product are regarded as special product.

I understand your point of view but you need to account for the tradesmen performing does job where you are "compa" to our tradesmen in Nigeria.

I am sure where you are people take pride in their work, are meticulous, working with precision aimed at delivering a durable and professional product...

Our 9ja people will just do the job jaga jaga... then when you complain they get angry.. turn to emotional blackmail.. ehn ehn because you are a big man now you think I will be here slaving for you... or they say oga na so they dem do am... or complains that the work is too difficult or worse yet abandon the work half way through.

Some of our tradesmen lack the patience and the skill to do their jobs effectively.

They should build a road from Lagos to Malaga, Spain

Following up on the conversation above.. lot of times we have doors in the kitchen, door in the parlor in our Nigerian build as a form of security or deterrent to small children or visitors.

Like no body wants to let all their visitors see their kitchen.. they might be "frenemies " .. you don't want people to see certain things in the house.. or privacy etc.

But outside Nigeria people adjust to it in the sense that everyone knows to stay in their own lane even if you visit someone. No matter if the house is open concept, even if you see orange juice in plain sight, you need to ask the homeowner before going to take it...

I remember I use to live in a one bedroom house way back when here in 9ja.. your friends will just show up to your house.. (remember 1 bedroom face me I slap you so everything is in plain sight).

They say, o boy how far nah.. wetin dey inside this fridge sef (opens fridge ) sees something they like and they are eating already..

Or picks up my TV remote and changes the station that I am watching.. and I am thinking.. I think this is my house

Again, open concept is not for everyone, not everyone will be comfortable in it.. I remember my grandma doesn't like to stay in the city long because she doesn't like the set up and the lifestyle... she likes the village lifestyle...get your firewood, cook, go to that compound chit chat come back etc... very laid back lifestyle..

For me, In my house here in Nigeria I have two living rooms.. I don't keep that many friends and I don't invite that many people to my house and I do send invites very rarely and almost never if my kids are in the house at the time. But when the visitors show up.. they stay in the ante room and toilet is right there.. the other parlor is open concept but no visitors allowed , not even extended family members make it that far in my house..


So every one is different, do what works best for you

twinskenny:
Open kitchen yah or nay?

Yah yah yah..

Someone wrote in a comment if it will work in our Nigeria context? I think when someone have open concept kitchen, you need to readjust to it..

Remember some of us that were able to spend Easter breaks or the long vacation in the village with our grandparents... don't you like the firewood cooking? I know I do , I love the firewood cooking like no tomorrow even to this day... it seems firewood gives the food a unique taste.. or maybe my taste bud is confusing me ... but I do enjoy firewood cooking.

But when we all go back to town, do we use firewood? NO. Why?? We readjust.

Same as living in a flat or living in a bungalow.. you readjust.

Living in an estate or building your house where there's no estate rules.. you could raise a cow in your backyard and oh well... who cares ...

So it's all about adjustment..

For me it is a yes yes and yes.. even in Nigeria setting.. I think it will work.. when I grow up, I have already penciled down the design of choice my house and in it is an open concept kitchen.

Think about this, do you know how many Nigerians that live in the U.S?? ( I used U.S because open concept is more popular in the U.S - in my experience). How are they coping?? Even apartments in the U.S are open concept and Nigerians, Africans are enjoying it..

I will enjoy open concept the same way I enjoy it in the U.S.

n3xt:
It’s not every architect that can interpret what they draw.

Funny but sadly it is true.
Some just copy and paste... not every site "engineer " can interpret them either..

KolaShangOne:
I bought a FULL 16mm rod for 8,000 naira in Ibadan.

Kudos to the seller, I have not seen 16mm that full before in these parts.

8k for 16mm

Na wah, last I checked (sometimes early last year) it was 4200 or so.

I should have stocked up, by now I for don blow

But seriously though, things are getting wayyy out of hand now.

Waste of money

mugnmuffin:
First, I want to apologize for the statement insinuating that Catholic Christians are less Christian compared to Pentecostals. That was not meant to be a generalization. The reason why faith is my principal concern is because, as a Christian, there are certain ethics and codes of conduct a person adopts and practices that guide their actions and decisions. It is the crux of the matter for me.

Many of the comments are asking for elaboration especially with regards to other aspects besides spirituality. Some of the red flags in terms of his attitude and behavior that give me cause for concern are how he relates with ladies; I found that he cheated on me a couple of times. Some of my friends who are married assure me that it is nothing to worry about because “men will always be men”. However, I feel like overlooking that means ‘settling’. Also, he tends to act like we’re competing for career success. I’m a banker and he works with a company and is well paid. From comments he makes when I make attempts to pursue growth, like take courses or attend conferences to network, his response shows that he thinks it’s a waste of time and resources. I don’t always expect him to give me financial support, even if encouragement. But he feels I should be content with my current status. It scares me that he may staunch my progress after marriage.
I’m no saint myself, but I know marriage is a lifetime affair and just because I didn’t look before I leaped into the relationship doesn’t mean I shouldn’t at this point try to make amends.

Ok, just sit down.. take a deep breathe!!


Pray

Think this through

Have a 2 way communication with him, remember to keep an open mind.. ask him what his plans are for you people's future.. then take it from their .. remember keep an open mind.. tell him you are not competing with him, not trying to , just looking out for the family and you peoples kids and your future.. again , KEEP AN OPEN MIND .. let him talk and see his side of the story..

Marriage is all about communication, understanding, compromise, working together..

There's no competition in marriage..

Have a heart to heart talk with your darling and you will be fine..

mugnmuffin:
Dear Nairalanders,
I have an issue that has been on my mind for weeks now. My fiancé and I have been dating for over three years. I love him and he loves me too. We are physically attracted to each other. We’re both catholic but since I graduated, during my service year I gave my life to Christ, got saved and left the Catholic Church. So I’ve been a Pentecostal Christian since then. He on the other hand is still catholic. I subtly try to nudge him to consider getting saved, i.e acknowledging Christ as lord and savior and becoming born again but he is content with his laidback Christian life.

Earlier this year, he asked to meet my parents and I let him. My parents like him especially because my younger sis is married and they have been waiting for me too. They’re glad I’ve someone. However, after the introduction,I regret it. I’m now certain that he’s not the one. I think about my spiritual life and how lukewarm he is about the things of God, I think about kids and how we’ll raise the, with such differing views about God and I’m discouraged. I feel like I’m settling because he checks all the boxes on the checklist of physical attributes. Another mistake I made is, I didn’t pray about this decision and that worries me because anything that involves him,I just act with pausing to ask God, but I always ask God about other aspects of my life. So it’s like my associating with him is a minus for my spiritual life and that’s a huge cause for concern.

At this point, I want to tell my parents I am not convinced it’s him but I’m afraid of the disappointment this will cause. *sigh* I’ll appreciate your thoughts, comments, criticisms...

Are you concerned because he is not a religious fanatic? Not a holier than thou brother??

This is one of my gripe with my pentecostal brothers and sisters that sees anyone not attending their church as an unbeliever.

Frankly, on a personal level, I do not like this churchy churchy people... I love God with all my heart and I am lifelong catholic by the way but people that do churchy churchy have disappointed me especially the pastors.. people always say ehn ehn... touch not my anointed..bla bla bla and they are just misbehaving..

I know so many of these guys on a personal level and they do have lots of skeleton in their closet..

Funny enough some guys we all might look and judge saying they are from the streets.. these are the guys that will give you the shirt off their backs.. but do you see that brother or sister that carries the holy book close to their chest... PLEASE DO NOT LET YOUR GUARD DOWN WHEN YOU SEE THEM.. BE VERY CAREFUL!!

When them holier than thou are tricking you, you might not believe it, it might not seem real until it is too late.

Have you been turned down for a job just because you are not a member of a certain church? I have.. the oga said I was an unbeliever.. but check this out, after my fortune have turned he came to partner with me on a deal and I am like.. ehn ehn am I not an unbeliever again??

I worked for a brother that carries his church so dearly in his mind.. I needed a job so for peace to reign I just show up at his church for fellowship (against my will ) .. I needed the job so I had to just show up.. it became unbearable when he always say ehn ehn.. I didn't see you at the fellowship today, you were sitting at the back etc.. what does fellowship have to do with my ability to perform my job??
So ask yourself, do you want your guy to pretend to be "saved" just to please you (wolf in sheep clothing) or do you want him to be a good man and do things genuinely from his heart?

So , my advice.. keep an open mind.. pray about it and don't let the difference in church denomination affect your life..

I am more concerned about people's action, how they practice Christianity, their attitudes towards others and their general conduct than which church they go to, how many times they go to fellowship in a week, how many hours they pray, how much Bible verses they have memorized.. I want to see the individual practicing what they breach not just talk talk talk...

Again I beg you, don't let this churches confuse you.. at the end of the day all of us will give an individual account to our maker. From your write up.. I didn't pick out any red flags.. not like he was abusive, lazy, disrespectful to others and to you, don't love you and your family.. it boils down to he is not carrying religion in his head like afro.


Let me not see you at cross over night still looking for husband use your head my dear.. I am begging you please!! I can tell you some stories about some of these pastors.. you won't even believe me even if I back it up with video evidence.. you might think I edited the video. Focus on how your guy is conducting himself, how he relates to people, does he have plans for future etc..

Let me tell you a bit about myself.. I might have made sense in write up here (at least I pray I did).. but I am not churchy churchy either.. I am a lifelong catholic, do not belong to any church group and some, infact many Sundays I am not able to go to church.. since covid 19 peaked last year February until today, I probably being to church once or twice.. I don't even remember.. but that doesn't take anything away from my love of God.. it didn't change who I am, It didn't change how I relate to my family, employees and employers ans associates.. I still treat people with dignity and respect just like Christ would love us to do.


Cheers!!