₦airaland Forum

dancewith:
This is a shameful and backward policy. Zenith, Skye & UBA are some of the pride of Nigerain Banking. The built a dynasty from nothing. When Crystal bank floundered, it was Elumelu who ressurrected it through Standard Trust which became the envy of all. the man at Skyke is one of the best brains around Nigeria today. Ovia's zenith is perharps the zenith of Nigeria banking. We can only wish Nigeria is managed as half as Ovia runs Zenith

So we boot them out. The country is the looser in the end

So they should be CEO/MD for life?
The banks are trusted with public funds under the auspices of the CBN. That we have individuals with overwhelming shares in banks is bad enough, but such institutions should not be under the lifelong management of any individual, no matter how smart he is.
If they want a permanent position, then can get it outside of the banking sector.

naijaking1:
For many years now, we have been crying for Nigerians to invest their money at home and not hide it abroad, and possibly die with it like Mobutu. So, people responded by establishing different companies, such as banks. Now a banking messiah comes along and wants to "sanitze" the banking system, by abolishing family owned banks, restricting tenures, and firing too many people from the banks. Bankng is just like other professions, law, accountng, medicine; can you magne a law banning experienced lawyers from practicing just because they have been 10 years at the helm? Or chief medical directors of big hospitals being forced to quit because it's 10 years? It's all politcs for Sanusi, but it shouldn't.

If one follows your logic, then why regulate the banking industry at all?
The CBN has not barred anyone from have substantial shares in a bank for life, rather it has said you cannot be a CEO for life!
The banking sector is not a free market that you can enter and depart at will. You have to be authorized by the CBN to receive public funds. People deposit with banks because the CBN 'vouches' for those banks, and consequently your deposits are insured by the NDIC. Thus the CBN have the right to dictate terms for running said institutions.
There might be no tenure restrictions for lawyers, but there are definitely restriction for judges. Any positoin that involves the trust of the public, should be well policed so that said trust not be abused.
The likes of Ovia can continue to have major stake in their banks, but unless you prove they are the only people that can successful lead such banks, they have no reason to be live CEO/MDs.

ud4u:
There is no justification about what Sanusi has done to the Banking Sector and the economy at large.

Instead of the public show and unnecessary up-roars that has landed this economy into mess, why didn't they give them ultimatum to make up, of course they would have sold all their fraudulently accumulated properties to redeem or bail themselves instead of this public show that ended up affecting the whole sectors of the economy.

Look at how many people that have been sacked not only from banking sector alone, but from all works of life. At the end of the day the people you are claiming to fight for becomes the bad end receiver. And when it turns around to become unfavourable to the people, then the intension is not for the benefit of the masses but for a purpose best known to you.
I tell you Sanusi has done this country more harm than good.

so he should have given an ultimatum to the executives that were falsifying accounts?
to what end - so that they can have time to embezzle more and/or get rid of the evidence (and possibly Sanusi)?
People like you misinform others by making it seem like the CBN shutdown the banks, while the truth is quite the opposite. The CBN has injected funds into the banks to save them from failing.
What they did was sack the fraudulent CEOs. So please let us know if a fraudulent officer should be allowed to keep his job?

BTW to blame the unemployment in the Nigeria banking sector, or economy as a whole, on the sacking of a few CEOs is just plain disingenuous.

Its a good move and will help us get rid of this our 'I go die for office' mentality. It was a similar move that saved us from the 'permanent' secretary malaise.

In addition to the vocabulary software, you can look for books/list on root words, prefix and suffix. Knowing components parts of words an help you with making an well educated guess in the exam. Funny as it may sound, watching foreign programs and reading articles on websites like CNN and BBC can also help develop your vocabulary, as a lot of the words can be found used in context (which helps with remembering its meaning)

bawomolo:
i just don't see the colts making it to the super bowl. should be a fun game though.

so you think the Jets will beat us in Indy? remember this is the colts and not the Chicago bears

JeSoul:
        at all the games this weekend.

  Not suprised at the Cowboys, but SD? Ravens barely putting up a fight?

I hope the omen is better for next week. Saints are now my adopted team but seeing my choices have been dropping out, I better go with the Colts

Yes!!!!!!! come to papa!  and dont worry, your luck will change with us
Miami, here we come!

Fhemmmy:
I am sure you can get something online.
Try google, try the Honda.com and you  could even call their toll free number.
Good luck

If you yet to get anything by the time i am doing my next courier to Nigeria, wont mind to help u get one sent to you for free.

cant seem to find a copy online. do you have a copy (either hard or soft)?

For learning new words, there use to be a nice software that would let you match words to meanings (or other way round). The nice thing about it was adaptive in that it kept a database of your success on particular words and repeated more often those that you got wrong.

Not sure if the program or something similar is available, else I dont think its too difficult to write such a program if needed.

AFC Championship: New York Jets @ Indianapolis Colts (3:00pm ET on Sunday, January 24)


NFC Championship: Minnesota Vikings @ New Orleans Saints (6:40pm ET on Sunday, January 24)


Super Bowl XLIV: ?

Jets 17-14 Chargers 

I said it, the Jets matched  up well with the Chargers, and are on their way to Indy. The Chargers put up a stiff run defence but were eventually worn down, succumbing to a 53yd TD run by Greene.
It was quite shocking to see Nate Kaeding (considered one of the best kickers) missing 3 kicks.

Next is for Manning and the boys to save Polian's and Caldwell's behinds by beating the Jets. It will not be a laughing matter if we lose to a team that we let into the playoffs. Hopefully, the Jets defense will be a bit tired after all the traveling and blitzing.

Vikings @ Saints should be a classic.

The computer GRE quantitative and verbal sections are adaptive. Each question in the database has a 'difficulty' level defined by the percentage of students that have gotten it right. The exams aims to start with a median question and work you to a point where you are saturated by getting about 50% (e.g. alternate right/wrong) of questions at a particular difficulty level. Your final score is then based on the percentile/difficulty level of the questions you got right (with a scaled penalty associated for not finishing). The initial 10-15 questions is for 'ball parking', which is done across the different type of questions to detect biases. The weight of the questions (i.e. change in percentile) reduces as the exam progresses. After the first 15 questions, your final score is bounded within a quarter percentile. You want to spend as much time as possible at the beginning and try to get as many questions as you can right. Getting questions wrong at the end wont have as much as a detrimental effect as missing ones earlier.

Beyond the raw score, schools are more interested in the associated percentiles, which reflects how well you do compared to others. An engineering applicant will want to be in the top 90% percentile for the quantitative section. Thus you will want to put in the effort to try and perfect your performance in the Quant and Analytic sections. A simple error in quant could damage your percentile heavily. While the concepts covered are basic, do not under estimate the quants section.

For the verbal sections, most people (excluding those preparing a year ahead) will find out that trying to learn new words will be a low gain process. Better to put your effort into techniques for other sections, like in reading comprehension, which offer better returns. The key to doing well  on the reading comprehension is to learn 'active reading'- a technique that will serve you well in grad school. You need to learn to read a passage once and imbibe most of the information in the passage. You need to read a passage while constantly asking yourself the commonly associated questions like the purpose and style of the author. Reading comprehension is a place where you can do well on difficult questions.

For practice, I would advice getting the ETS test booklets, preferably the big book. It is the only book with true GRE question (and possible repetition). You want to make sure you are only missing questions above a certain difficulty level.

Cowboys 3-34 Vikings; and its game over! The cowboys were never in the game.
Until the entire cowboys' franchise (jerry jones, management, team and fans) admit their shortcomings, they will never be a genuine SB contender. After beating the eagles twice, they start dreaming of the SB
Imagine going into the playoffs with a kicker, who was cut by the dallas themselves in 2006, and was cut by the shitskins this season after he missed a game winning 23yd FG 
Outside of De'Marcus Ware, almost every other position needs improvement. They are just a bunch of good, not great, players, and have only Ware as a big game playmaker.

BTW where is my 'All that na yans my friend, you want to put your money were your mouth is' pal, OgidiBoy?

Cowboys 3-17 Minnesota at half time

Cowboys are up against it in Minnesota
- Romo has fumbled 3x (lost 2x) under pressure from the Viking's pass rush (3 sacks, 6 hits).
- Flozell Adams is out injured (replaced by doug free), meaning more problems dealing with jared Allen & co. Dallas O-Line getting over run
- Suisham has reminded the Cowboys why they cut him before, by missing a 48yd FG

Bears DE Gaines, Adams, dies at the age of 26. May his soul rest in peace.

Looking for the Honda Accord 2003-2007 Service Manual,and possibly the electrical troubleshooting manual as well

If Sanusi is covering up for any bank, worst case, when his tenure ends, someone else will come and liquidate those as well, but we have to start from somewhere.

Final Score: Ravens 3 - 20 Colts.
Colts got it easy against the Ravens, but it was still obvious that they were rusty. They didnt really get going offensively till late in the 1st half.

Now to wait for the winner of the Jets v Chargers. Not sure which I prefer.

Ravens 3 - 17 Colts at the half.

Colts offense started off slow and rusty (even got a delay of game  ), but have been lucky that the Ravens offense werent productive. Jim Caldwell (nee Belichick  ) showed that he is more aggressive than Dungy by going for it on 4th & 4  , and letting Manning run one more play with 9s left on the clock. Hopefully, Manning can shred that weak secondary in the second half.

Now they have the Raven where they want them by being 2 TDs up. no more running game, and flacco will have to throw, which means Freeney and Mathis can go after him 

This one is over, saints progress to the NFC championship.

Next are my one-and-done ponies

e be like say we go reach 200 pts today!

Cardinals 7-14 Saints with 7min left in the 1st qtr

and Arizona start off with a TD on the first play!

Saint have brought back Deuce McAllister for the playoffs! will be good if they win and he gets a ring.

@2good
I would have to agree with yalesam, in that funding should be a priority when deciding which offer to accept. Funding is often limited for MS programs, and has been further limited under the economic crunch. Its nice, and often advantageous, to get a degree from a top school, but I dont think it is nice enough for you to be wallowing in debt after the program. If you have a personal or external source of funding for your program, then you should accept the offer from the best school available, otherwise, I would advice you to select from among those offering funding opportunities.

Do not enroll in a program without a sound financial plan e.g. going simply on the wishful thinking that you will hustle and find your way once you get there. I am privy to cases of Nigerian students who have had to abandon their programs on financial grounds. In the US, you are expected to be enrolled full-time to maintain your F-1 student visa status. If you cannot pay your tuition, most school will refuse you enrollment and you will have violated your immigrant status, and (depending on how much of a stickler your DSO is) might be in trouble with the INS. Normally you are not expected to work off campus to fund your program, but some schools help you work around it by granting you a CPT which permits you to work part-time off campus in a position that is 'related' to your field of study. The usefulness of the CPT will depend on the employment opportunities available around your school, your ability to cope with the workload, and the financial cost of your enrollment.

So how long before liverpool goes belly up? They will soon be relegated on financial grounds!
They should sell off their big players like torress and mascherano, and try to weather the storm in a lower profile mode.

The best approach for tenderizing meat is to marinate it in a solution that contains a mild acid like from lime or lemon, s it adds additional flavor to the meat. The acid helps to unwind the complex protein chains

OgidiBoy:
Do I smell a chicken in the room ?

chicken ke? d one u chop for xmas + new year neva belleful u?
Call me chicken, call be ijebu, but I do not put money into high risk, low profit ventures, and forget about goading me into acting otherwise.
To invest money (no matter how little) into a high risk venture that you have no influence on is financial stupidity IMO.

Vikings will beat the Cowboys!!!, and I dont have to bet any cash on it to say so

OgidiBoy:
All that na yans my friend, you want to put your money were your mouth is ?

bet on top game wey I no fit influence? that is not worth the 50% risk associated with it.

bawomolo:
[flash=400,400]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXHgfYytxC8&hl=en_US&fs=1&"[/flash]

sheds tears of joy as a bears fan.

That is just messed up. I dont understand some fans acting like if its more than a game. I doubt even the player or club owners cried like that. Dem no go give am money if dem win, so why im wan come quench cos dem lose?

As for me I get a portfolio of teams I dey support, if my current pick loses, i simply move on to the next active team in the portfolio, and as a Colts fan, one can imagine how often I have to move on to the next team in the post season

SEFAGO:
Yeah but the problem with the STEM program is that you need to first find a job before you can actually use the first year of your OPT-12 months and then apply for an extension- additional 17months. Getting a job in the US with a masters degree and a Nigerian undergraduate degree is not easy from what I have seen in this economy (I expect someone to bring an example of their friend who got a job under such a scenario- but exceptions do not overthrow a law). However, in Europe- Amsterdam/London specifically, it is very possible for someone with an engineering degree to apply and get a job and process his work visa.

You do not need a job offer to obtain your initial OPT, but need to be employed to get the extension. In fact you can make use of part of it while in school (if for any reason the option of a CPT is unavailable). Comparing notes between people I know in the US and the UK,  US ones seem to be finding jobs more easily than those in the UK, with most in the UK coming back to naija. I doubt the Netherlands job market is any better. Still, job availability is often subjective, as most people I know in the US went to some of the top schools in their fields.

Furthermore, H1-B has a quota and so its not really guaranteed that he would be given the H1-B after he completes his degree and obtains a job. Yes he can file for the H1-B twice, by using the OPT if for the first time he is placed in the backlog and then filing a second time though.

You need an employer to file an H1B for you, and one would expect that to be while you are still on OPT with same company. Someone with a MS degree will have the opportunity to get one under the 20K advanced degree or 65k general quota. Last year there were 163k applicants for the total 85K slots. That gives a more than 50% chance of success on average, and a much higher value if you have an advanced degree.

Why I am skeptical about commenting on the job opportunities in America, is because I am not totally unfamiliar with how engineering hiring works. If it was for other fields such as banking/consulting I could be more vocal. Like its now harder for international students to get jobs in such industries now because of a bad economy than previously. So my skepticism about jobs in other sectors most especially the technology sector.

I am sure the job market pinch extends into engineering jobs as well, but I expect things to be much better 2yrs in the future. You cannot use the current state of affairs as the baseline, as there is an economical slump.

SEFAGO:
TU Delft is a good school and quite better in reputation than any of the schools you applied to except for UT Austin. Now considering job prospects- TU Delft is in Holland- Royal Dutch shell is a dutch company, put two and two together- yes, TU Delft is probably the number one choice for recruiting engineers in Shell, and BP and such. As for America, I dont know about the opportunities for getting a Job- what I heard was very very hard to get a job compared to any other place. You would also have to apply for a work visa and stuff which is hard in America. If you get a scholarship at TU Delft, you should definitely consider it.

If you study a STEM program (of which Petroleum Engr is one) in the US, you are entitled to an Optional practical training of 29 months on your F1 status, during which you can work for a US employer. Before the end of this period you will have to apply for an H1B status working permit or permanent residence. Getting the job itself would would depend on the state of the economy, your qualifications and your job targets. I expect the job market to be more favorable in 2yrs time.

Getting a degree on a scholarship should be preferable to getting it on your own bill. The one thing I would worry about if going to TU Delft is the language barrier, as I am terrible with languages.  http://www.delta.tudelft.nl/en/archive/article/-hit-me-with-your-english-stick/20107

OgidiBoy:
See this one fear dey catch you to make prediction abeg just say cowboys.

fear wetin? no be d same cowboys wey just win their first playoff game in 13 years? I don make my predictions before say na Vikings go win.
The cowboys have a great pass rush that could give any QB fits. The vikings can counter and neutralize Ware + Spencer by letting AP run (and hope he doesnt fumble).
The cowboys have a liability in Flozell Adams and his false starts on the road. He will be up against Jared Allen and the 48 sack viking pass defense. Romo will be under a lot of pressure.
Playing at home, the crowd noise favors the vikes, and if it becomes a shootout, Favre should have the edge over Romo. The Vikes are not the eagles, and beating the eagles 2x will not transform the Cowboys to the best team in the NFC.