₦airaland Forum

berem: If am not igbo then you are ijaw!

Na wen u turn male? Choi!

Na wa o

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[quote author=baby_di_oku]Nigerians are pathetic.[/quote]You sound really pissed......

2015 is still 2yrs from now, i think it's still early to start talking about that right now. You're not even sure if jonathan will contest....... Politics has taken over our everyday life.

Carefully following thread

Where is that practical chic :-XWhere is that practical chic

Mthewww!

Una rily mean dis tin o.... U guyz av totally 4goten bev? Atleast if melvin win make she follow am for back nah. Make una dey drop sumtin 4 her nah.

Kslib: No,we just dey waste our time but at thesame time wishing that hopefully it does work..
We have nothing to loose in trying cos atleast when Melvin wins we can beat our hands on our chest and ssay "Yes,we helped someone achieve his dreams",If he doesnt win,we will still beat our hands on our chest and say "Yes,we tried our best"..
..
##Team##Melvin cant see the Future but one thing #Team##Melvin has, is Positive Energy,Optimism and the Confidence to never give up no matter what,and thats why we are called
##Team##Melvin###..
..
.
All izz well!

I didn't mean it that way that u guyz are wasting your time. Goodluck to both mel nd bev.

Are u guys sure dis una aav thingy dey work so.

Are u guys sure dis una aav thingy dey so.

safarigirl: You guys should stop this NL campaign and go to facebook and twitter and start your aggressive campaigining there

You need to visit Team tanzania's facebook page and see how south africans are bashing WA there just so TZ can vote Angelo...conveniently forgetting how we voted Nando over Elikem and the fact that SA has never voted out of their region.

Make una no dey here dey yarn opata with all these Ghanaians wey hope no even dey Elikem side then SA will just block us.

Go to facebbok and search Tanzanian bba the chase pages and start una own aggressive campaign cos we have no defense there

You're so passionate bout this bba thingy... Take am easy o

i

GH KWAME: @miss_3v3 @chrisKwaku, Y'all see what I dey blabb about? It will countinue throught the Week, as for me it is a Weekly Routine for me, Hey after all it is their Home Base, I only take solace to the Fact that Peeps out there casting their votes do not rely on a few fanatic fans to cast their Vote. **Relaxing knowing The Tailor is Giving People Sleepless night Ready to Pounce on him**

Just because of some few elikem haters u dey generalize? U sound so annoying i swear.

Those open gutters is a turn off despite the smoothness of the road. Who build roads with deep open gutters in 2013? this is not 1950 #Hiss

GH PATRIOT: Una no go kee me for hÉre oo...plz wtz the meaning?

Sorry don't be angry

Mariarocks: Let me just say this. I'm not one to look at somebody's comment and reign down insults on them for dropping their idea. I don't agree with a lot of people on this thread sometimes and most of the time, I refrain to counter their opinions and even if I do reply them, I DO NOT REPLY WITH INSULTS. But for someone to look at my comment and decide to reign down insults on me for dishing out my idea.....i swear to you I find it very unbelievable....like it's beyond my comprehension. I'm a reasonable person, I respect people's opinions but I SWEAR if you come and reply my comments with insults, I WILL NOT HESITATE TO REIGN DOWN INSULTS ON YOU! I would sincerely cover you with insults you have never heard of. There are some reasonable people that have countered my opinion REASONABLY! But two people have succeeded in pushing me. Me I don't hold grudges. When I insult you, I move on. If anyone remembers, I gave @safarigirl her fair share of insults and after that I kept on talking like everything was normal. So please to avoid all this nonsense....people, I am begging you now, do not reply me with insults.

Pele ma binu

Permutations and combinations...... We get plenty profs boku 4 here o

lekpalicious: Elikem will save himself and replace with bimp or Angelo. If Angelo is up i think it"ll be best we save feza so that angelo and oneil go home.

We? Na nairaland votes go save her?

fork adict: (1)The amaka & Fork addict are 2 different individuals. We need not act or respond to issues the same way. Get it?
(2) So Melvin is the PERFECT guy. I have no words for you.

FYI,I do nt hate Melvin. I hate his game or lack of. Deal with it

I said most pple think is perfect, i was refering to his biased fans so how does that refer to me saying his perfect? Y u dey twist evrytin....... I tire 4 u o.

fork adict: I gave 2 similar instances and asked for a reason why you guys' reaction on here was different for both instances. If anything, I expected you to either ignore the post or give a sensible and credible explanation why you sentimental lot acted differently in both cases.

But what do we have? The sensible you calling my post funny and childish. SMH.

I thot I told you earlier that my GF doesn not have a teeth fetish? How many times do I have to repeat myself? You got a leaking brain or sumthn? Geeeeeeeeez!

Take a cue frm the amaka who also doesn't follow the bandwagon in trashing bev. Buh doesn't rant like
u do, u sound like a bossman..... Truth be told most pple here sees melvin as that perfect guy and ur hatred towards him is way too much which makes u knw diff. Frm the seeminghly biased one's. Pls tone it down or just ignore. (i like both melvin and bev.)

The west African state’s prospects are threatened by Islamist insurgency, corruption and divisive politics

Twenty years ago few Nigerians had heard of instant noodles. “People thought we were trying to get them to eat worms,” says Deepak Singhal, managing director of Dufil Prima Foods, the first company to manufacture the cheap snack locally, in 1996. Today, noodles are a $600m-a-year business in Nigeria and are among the country’s most popular foods. Children eat them for breakfast, roadside vendors serve them with fried eggs or sardines and after a long day at work an adult can tuck into Dufil’s 210g Hungry Man pack, the largest block of instant noodles produced commercially anywhere in the world.
The company, which has a 70 per cent share of the local market, estimates that one in two Nigerians have tasted its Indomie brand of noodles and that up to 15m people eat them regularly. In 2012 alone, Dufil sold 1.6bn packets of noodles for between 35 naira ($0.22) and 95 naira ($0.59). That is more than was consumed in any country outside Asia bar the US, Brazil and Russia.


Dufil’s success is a prime example of why investors are becoming increasingly excited about Nigeria, especially with regards to consumer goods. Not only has it demonstrated that it is possible to overcome the many challenges of manufacturing in the west African country but also how to take advantage of fast-changing demographics.
Already by far the most populous country on the continent, with close to 170m people, Nigeria continues to grow at an astonishing rate. According to the UN’s latest forecast, by mid-century there will be more Nigerians – 440m – than Americans, and by 2100 the west African state could be the second most populous country on earth. The economy is also expanding quickly, and should grow at 7 per cent this year, as it has done for most of the past decade.
“This is a difficult place to do business, no doubt about it, and you need someone to hold your hand,” says Mr Singhal in his office in Lagos, the commercial capital. “But demographically you cannot go wrong: a huge population and the second-biggest economy in Africa.”
It is not only noodle manufacturers that have thrived. Makers of everything from beer to chocolate milk and cement have seen sales soar in recent years, and forced investors who have long shunned Nigeria to take note. With the global recession cutting returns in the developed world and in big emerging economies such as China and Brazil, fund managers have poured money into the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The All Share Index as a whole is up more than 70 per cent over the past year but consumer stocks have surged even more. The share prices of the local arms of Nestlé and Unilever have doubled, while Cadbury Nigeria is up nearly 300 per cent. Local listed companies have not missed out; Dangote Sugar, owned by Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, has tripled in price.

“There’s a lot more interest in Nigeria now from frontier specialists and emerging market funds,” says Graham Stock, chief strategist at Insparo Asset Management, which focuses on Africa and the Middle East. “[There are] not many places in the world that are growing at 7 per cent and can be reasonably expected to maintain that for some years.”
That, of course, is assuming all goes well. Nigeria still has many challenges and risks. An Islamist insurgency in the north has claimed thousands of lives and hit the economy there. Corruption remains endemic, and the politics divisive and poisonous. Industrial-scale oil theft is preventing the government making rainy day savings, leaving it exposed to a drop in the price of crude. While the infrastructure is slowly improving, it is still poor and a big impediment to business.
Yet as Dufil has shown, most of these problems are not insurmountable, given the size of the market. Dufil, a joint venture between Salim Group, the Indonesian conglomerate that owns the Indomie brand, and Tolaram Group of Singapore, struggled in its early years. Sani Abacha, the military dictator, was in power and the economy was stagnant. The flip side was that there was no competition for noodles or much else. When there was return to civilian rule in 1999, Dufil’s fortunes shifted. Since 2003, its revenues have increased at an average rate of almost 30 per cent a year. One reason is the heavy marketing focus. The company’s advertisements appear on buses and buildings around the country. Mothers with young children are a particular target market. One of Dufil’s popular catchlines reads: “No mama be like you, no noodles be like Indomie”.
The baby boom has been a significant factor in the company’s success. During its 17 years of noodle production in Nigeria, the population has grown by more than 50m, equivalent to the entire population of South Africa, the continent’s biggest economy. The typical Nigerian woman gives birth to five or six children, which is higher than the average fertility rate in sub-Saharan Africa as a whole and more than three times that in the developed world.
Although the market is going to get much bigger, Mr Singhal reckons that the company’s revenues will slow to between eight and 10 per cent growth in the next few years as the sector becomes more crowded. From being the only instant noodle maker in the country, Dufil now has 16 competitors, including Mr Dangote, who launched his own brand of the snack a few years ago. The competition is good news for a country that has historically been unfriendly to manufacturers.
Nigeria’s emergence as an oil producer around the time of independence in 1960 mirrored a decline in the country’s agriculture sector and its infrastructure. Once the world’s biggest exporter of palm oil, which along with wheat flour is a crucial ingredient in noodles, Nigeria is now a minnow in global terms. Even though local output is now increasing, Dufil could buy the two biggest palm oil producers in the country and it would still have to import more.
The ports are congested and the road network dilapidated, increasing transport costs. The power shortage is chronic. Bangladesh, which has a similar-size population and less than half the gross domestic product of Nigeria, produces almost twice the amount of electricity per capita.
To get around the problem, Dufil generates its own power at each of its three noodles factories, as well as its palm oil refinery and packaging plant. About 2.5 per cent of the sales price of every pack of noodles is spent on electricity – three times more than at a noodle factory in Indonesia. Yet the size of Nigeria’s market means that local manufacturing is still worthwhile.
“We have done it, Unilever and Nestlé have done it,” says Mr Singhal. “If you want to encash, you have to produce locally. Otherwise you’re just a container business.”
The population explosion may be good for business but it brings challenges for the government, which has to keep a lot more people happy. If rising income is the measure of contentment, then its policies need improving. Despite the growing economy, Nigeria’s poverty rate declined marginally from 64 per cent to 63 per cent between 2004 and 2010, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Dufil’s own research backs this up. Mr Singhal says that while the banking and telecoms sectors have created “a bit of middle-class growth”, poverty levels remain high.
The youthful population – about 44 per cent are under 15 – is cited by economists as one reason why Nigeria, and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, could enjoy competitive advantages over the rest of the world in the coming decades. But this will be an asset only if there are jobs to fill. In Nigeria, the official unemployment rate is 24 per cent and rising. Among those aged 15 to 24, it is 37 per cent, a statistic that worries people such as Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the finance minister. “We need to grow our GDP at 8 to 10 per cent in order to solve the unemployment problem facing us in the country,” she said last month.
The paucity of prospects for young people has been cited as a contributing reason for the insurgency by Boko Haram in northern Nigeria in a campaign that has claimed close to 4,000 lives over the past four years. The overall economic impact has so far been limited because the oilfields and most businesses are based in the south. But consumer goods companies have suffered. Dufil’s sales have declined in the north over the past year because markets in some areas are open for only a few days a week owing to the violence.
The kidnapping and subsequent murder of 10 foreign workers by Ansaru, another Islamist group, has also forced companies to rewrite their security policies. Dufil’s 60-odd expatriate workers, mainly from India, Indonesia and Singapore, are barred from going to northeast Nigeria, where the government has declared a state of emergency.
Nigeria’s macroeconomic performance last year was “broadly positive”, the International Monetary Fund said. But the economy remains vulnerable to oil price shocks. Crude production has slipped to about 2m barrels per day, compared with 2.5m b/d predicted in the budget. The shortfall is partly due to the theft of more than 150,000 b/d, and has forced the government to dip into its oil savings account, which in May stood at $6bn, down from $9bn at the start of the year.
The other main threat to the economy is political. The presidential election is scheduled for 2015 but name-calling and scheming are well under way. Despite the relative fiscal stability and efforts to reform the power sector, critics of Goodluck Jonathan, the president, complain that he is a weak and ineffective leader who has allowed the country to drift. Many people in northern Nigeria also believe he should be disqualified from running under the informal arrangement that the presidency should rotate between the mostly Muslim north and Christian south.
Efforts to oppose Mr Jonathan are growing. The Congress for Progressive Change and the Action Congress of Nigeria, the main opposition parties, have formed an alliance with two other parties this year. Perhaps even more worrying for Mr Jonathan, who is from the minority Ijaw ethnic group in the Niger delta, is the discord within the ruling People’s Democratic party, which may splinter ahead of the presidential election, analysts say.
Bismarck Rewane, managing director of Financial Derivatives, a Lagos consultancy, feels that the country is entering a period of heightened political risk. “It has got to the point where the big ethnic groups in Nigeria would rather decide together who runs the country than let it be in the hands of some that they believe are mediocre.”
Mr Singhal, though, appears to be unconcerned. As he points out, no matter what happens, Nigerians still have to eat.
Electricity: Jonathan pledges to fix power disconnect
In Nigeria, a generator is not just purchased as a back-up for when mains electricity cuts out. It is often the primary source of power. Supply from the grid is so weak and erratic that many large companies don’t even bother connecting.
In May, the total amount of electricity generated in the country fell to 3,520MW. South Africa, Nigeria’s rival for the continent’s largest economy, produces more than 40,000MW, and has only a third of Nigeria’s population. The disparity is even more puzzling in view of Nigeria’s position as Africa’s largest oil producer with vast reserves of gas that can power plants.
The chronic power shortage is a fact of life for ordinary Nigerians. It also adds greatly to the cost of business and is a significant disincentive for companies looking to invest. Successive governments have promised to tackle the problem, spending billions of dollars to little effect. Goodluck Jonathan, the president, has gone further, staking his legacy on improving the electricity supply through a large privatisation effort. Though the results may only be seen in a year or two, the process is well under way.
His government has pushed ahead with the $2.5bn sell-off of 15 state-owned generation and distribution companies, which are all underperforming. In April, the winning consortiums, which include local and foreign companies, paid 25 per cent of the sale or concession price, and should take ownership of the assets later this year.
A further 10 new gas-fired power plants, with a potential capacity of 5,000MW, are being sold. Last month, the government launched a roadshow for investors interested in acquiring majority stakes in the plants, which are part of the National Integrated Power Project initiated by Olusegun Obasanjo, former president, in 2004.
More than $15bn has been spent on the plants but only six are complete – a record that points both to corruption in the public sector and the strength of the vested interests opposed to reform. Source: Financial Times

Dannyxy: guy u wn't understand..if she wants to beef someone,let her beef with the person,and stop making annoying side comments

she's a veteran on dis thread u av no choice buh accept her comments. Jst chill pls

Mariarocks: I said her reply did not make any sense to me.

Ok

Mariarocks: I didn't call her stuupid. I said she CHOSE TO BE STUUPID WITH HER REPLY! My goodness. Please read shiiiittt well before you answer me.

Did u read the post she was responding to? You should read well too.

Mariarocks: HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!! Have you forgotten what you posted or I didn't see well? Na my fault your post no make sense at all? No be you wey choose to be STEWPID with your reply. Please better walk away before its too late for you.....because if you think this is me tryna piss you off...haha, well........it isn't

Do you have to call her stupid? So whatz the difference btw you two?

stillwater: This article is just right on time!

I really could care less if these celebrities gave back to society, I'm more interested those thieves we have as politicians in government. However no truer words have been spoken than this 'It's a good thing to enjoy your money especially after working so hard to earn them but there is certainly what is called simplicity. But just as Coco Chanel opined "Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance."'

Got shivers down my spine after reading that.
If simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance, then most of our celebs are at the opposite end of the spectrum of elegance. I believe they also know majority of ratchet Nigerians are impressed by their abject display of crassness that is why this stupidity continues. I dance to their music alright and I'm happy for Nigerian music, but 'money miss road' syndrome has got to stop. Ranging from Psquare and their brother, Davido (omo baba olowo but you give money miss roads a run for their money), Wizkid, Dbanj, Iyanya, Don Jazzy, Kcee and razz bloggers who just have an innate ability in pure crassness and hyping total rubbish. Very disgusting trend!

For the record

Posing with five to ten cars is crass (the wives/over bleached mistresses are not exempt from this).
Posing with bundles of dollars is beyond idi.ot.ic.
Baptizing yourself in gold chains (only you?) is plain insanity.
Still sagging your jeans in 2013 is crude and barbaric. Grow up!

Our society is designed in such way that people respect you when you show off, whether your wealth is ill-gotten or not. It's really very shameful.

It is opined that extravagance is the luxury of the rich; penury is the luxury of the poor. This statement is apt in the lives of several Nigerian artistes who tend to show off their 'wealth' in a bid to constantly remain on the public eye for as long as possible. It has also been said that all decent people live beyond their incomes nowadays, and those who aren't respectable live beyond other people. A few gifted individuals manage to do both.

It is a good thing obviously to enjoy the works of your hand, however with moderation. Recently, the media, blogs, websites, etc. have been eroded with stories, articles, news centered on some activities of some artistes, though in different dimensions. We had D'banj 'suit of money'; Wizkid purchasing a new Porsche; Don Jazzy feeling cool with the most expensive wine ever; OJB having kidney issues, etc.

It's a good thing to enjoy your money especially after working so hard to earn them but there is certainly what is called simplicity. But just as Coco Chanel opined "Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance."

International superstar, entertainer and Oliver Twist crooner, Dapo Oyebanjo popularly known as D'banj is never far away from making huge statements and breaking new grounds in terms of how he appears. He is a disciple of the popular saying that "you are addressed the way you are dressed". He takes particular interest in how he looks and this obviously was an important factor in his decision to dress expensively.

In a recent newspaper interview, he confirmed he wears the same wristwatch as American rapper Jay-Z, valued at $50,000. D'banj has continued to rise in stardom despite his split from erstwhile partner and friend, Don Jazzy. He has continued to command huge sums of money in endorsements, appearances and performances thus still making him the highest earning Nigerian artiste of all time. D'banj is by no mean standard a classy entertainer, always on point, dapper and smoking hot! His sense of fashion in the Nigeria entertainment industry is almost second to none and doesn't disappoint.

His much talked about DKM concert held recently at the Eko Hotel & Suites was the perfect avenue to show the world his latest fashion sense. He showed off his much talked about "Suit of Money". It was designed by the famous Okunoren Twins. It was made of actual $100 bills and cost a whopping $25,000. You can convert that on your own!

It was entirely sewn by hand in London but was then taken to Italy for the specialised Milanese buttonholes to be done at the same factory used by Tom Ford. His new song titled, "Blame it on the Money", featuring Snoop Lion and fellow Good Music act Big Sean goes further to emphasise his wealth where he states he is unapologetic for being rich.

In the words of a world renowned economist, John Maynard Keynes "There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency. The process engages all the hidden forces of economic law on the side of destruction, and does it in a manner which no single person in a million can diagnose." D'banj has simply debased the American dollar. He should have used the Naira instead but must have felt that the Naira won't project his image well.

The thinking is that, it's not proper to debase a currency the way Eja Nla did with the dollar notes, even with a Nigerian Naira. Agreed, he can spend his money the way he wants, he worked hard for it, but by being simple and modest, the dressing will be well appreciated.

The world most powerful president, Barack Obama, in all his presidential elegance would never ridicule the dollar note the way D'banj did. D'banj should be more objective, do good music, and leave all the idle propaganda for the less successful artistes in the industry. Nice suit, anyway!

Wizkid is a talented young artiste and he is the golden boy of the music industry alongside Davido. He recently crashed his N15million Porsche Panamera and within two weeks, replaced the car with another Porsche Panamera. He said he had no means of transportation except with cabs and of course, it is his money and he can do as he wished. No doubt about that but he should show modesty and simplicity. He is still very young and has a very bright future ahead of him. He should use this golden opportunity he has right now to invest in profitable business to secure his future. He probably won't sing for life and will have to fall back on something for survival. A miser grows rich by seeming poor; an extravagant man grows poor by seeming rich.

It's no longer news that the most expensive champagne 'Goût de Diamants' in the entire universe was created by a Nigerian, a luxury designer, Alexander Amosu. It's worth a whopping N248m. Commenting on the design, Alexander Amosu said, "The bottle already has a distinctive look with its natural design; all I had to do is bring it to the next level of ultimate luxury." The Goût de Diamants (Taste of Diamonds) everyday bottles are hand-finished by a single craftsman with over 40 years' experience. The Bottles for each of the four vintages come with a hand-applied pure pewter engraved label set with a brilliant cut Swarovski Crystal (The Rosé crystal is appropriately pink and the Brut, blue). It was designed to create a masterpiece for private wealthy clients. Maybe, Don Jazzy has been a 'coded' client over the years.

Mr Amosu hand crafted the packaging from 18ct solid white gold weighing approximately 48gsm of solid gold centered by a single flawless deep cut white diamond weighing 19cts. The label is also handmade in 18ct solid gold and weighs approximately 36gsm, handcrafted and engraved with the client's name. The question on most people's lips is whether the wine will wash away years of sins of the drinker. Will the drinker ever thirst again?

There are millions of hungry children out there in the wilderness looking for succour. With the grace of God who has made these artistes very successful, should learn to plough back to the society that made them. Sponsoring indigent students in schools; empowering the youths will go a very long way to eradicate the poverty in Nigeria. The amount spent on these luxuries is more than enough to cater for so many helpless children. It could be recalled that the social media was eroded with the calls for OJB kidney transplant. Fans were shocked at the nonchalant attitude of music stars that were expected to rise up in unison and help raise cash. Some did after so much pressure from fans while a host of them didn't. This is not to say OJB didn't plan for himself. He had spent so much on treating himself while his musical career suffered.

If it were to buy the latest cars, clothes, travel around the world, party heavily, they wouldn't hesitate to spend money, but to assist a fellow in need always takes time. There is the need for our stars to have a change of mind and always be willing to help people genuinely. Yes, they are making the money now, are they planning for the dry seasons? Many people believe that the life of a famous musician is all champagne, Lear jets and a steady flow of royalty payments to pay for it all.

This is certainly true for some, but there are also those who have reached the upper echelons of mega stardom, only to lose it all in the blink of an eye. Some managed their money badly. Some lost everything to the managers and promoters who were supposed to be looking after their affairs. And some spent all their money on lavish mansions, expensive cars and various addictions. They can learn from the world's richest men who dedicate a percentage of their wealth to the needy. They aren't getting poorer. Source: Allafrica.com

nkwako: Ok fill me in if it's not omase den what is it

Aturo ta bi elubo ni e. Respond 2 that ghanaman

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