₦airaland Forum

To city dwellers, this may mean nothing or depict lack of sense. Those who however reside in some of those communities know the value of this Gift.

Goats are prolific. Very. I heard once of an organisation in Yobe who in their bid to ensure children go to school empowered families with goats. The idea is that the kid, offspring of the goat are sold and the earning used to pay for school fees for these children. They don't have to do much to feed the goats. Household waste will suffice.

In some of those communities, the fee is 2,300 per term and their are parents who due to lack of this will never send their children to school.

Let's see the big picture. Those children have a better shot at being on nairaland tomorrow because they have a goat today.

Go children. Make us proud. One of them has the solution Fashola has failed to provide. Quote me.

Your case fits aptly to this saying -

If you fight, you may win; but if you do not fight, you have lost.

People are naturally scared of anyone who can document his or her thought on paper. I had a case similar to this while I was a student. Not to bore you with details, I simply wrote to the bank and got someone to deliver it at the head office. I made a threat that I will get a lawyer to take up my case and also tell my story to the press.

It was like magic. Less than 48 hours after, it was my phone ringing. The caller was from the head office apologising. I even threatened that I wanted the apology in print.

Never sigh like the average Nigerian - I don't want wahala! That you are in Nigeria in to first place means you are in wahala.

Thanks for sharing. I love you. I love your gut. I ove Seun too; plus Lalastica!

Job? That's the least of your worry. It will come.

Thanks for this validation. These two names came up repeatedly from conversations with friends in Lagos.

Thanks. Does IIHT have some online presence?

Hey folks, I need help with the above.

I need recommendation on a digital marketing course or training. Lagos is preferred. I have some basic knowledge that is deep but still think there is more out there. I want something intensive.

I will appreciate weekend classes and Lagos is my preference. Help a brother.

Thanks in anticipation.

P.S I hear there is a principality here call Lala that I should beckon on. Lala, this is me calling you. Lala. Lala, do this for me biko.

No condition truly is permanent.

To think a day will come when Zenith Bank will be 'pleading' for new customers with an opening fee of N1,000 was laughable in 2005-7. Pretty arrogant lots they were then. While there is nothing wrong with defining your standards, you however should do it with respect. In those days, it was the gateman that will assess you and question your reason for coming to the bank and then turn you back.

ujuvals:
I would like to congratulate Zenith Bank on the impressive strides it has made in online presence and social media this year. It is mind blowing that from less than 100,000 followers at the start of the year, Zenith now has over 2 million followers on Facebook and Twitter alone. There is also a plethora of cutting edge online communication and great social media content marketing surrounding your product offerings that makes me say kudos to your communications / advertising agency for an excellent showing in 2016. Whoever they are l must say they are doing a fine job of positioning your bank as a warmer, friendlier, and more retail focused bank with the #1000 campaign and it is great to know Zenith is open for business with the little guy.

However, despite all the great things I see online, your physical branches and the staff therein leave much to be desired when it comes to customer service. Some of the staff even sitting at the customer service desk have an air of hostility and are distant instead of welcoming. A warm smile or even any kind of smile would be a great resource for the service desk attendees to keep in their toolkit.

No matter the strides your team makes on social media adverts, it won't translate to much unless the staff in the banking halls have their own campaign to welcome the converts you create online.

May I advice that you do some serious reorientation internally before you ask us to come and bank with you. A friend of mine was told in a very hostile manner that you need a minimum of 10k to open an account at one of your branches last week, when he told the customer service officer that we were being sold a different message online. The rude lady simple said that is just a communication campaign and if he is not ready to open an account he should allow her attend to other people. Guess what he didn't open the account. Zenith Bank, please get your act together

Prof., thanks for taking the pain to engage with Nigerians on this subject. Your gesture is rare and appreciated especially given one's knowledge of how academics never want their ideas and opinions to be subjected to scrutiny.

Adesegunfat:
Let me thank all OAU medical students and graduates who have called me over this matter.

I have taken the pain of extracting the results of Aror directly from the database - using screenprint so that everyone can see the evidences. She uploaded only 7 subjects, and her overall average is 75.2%.

If she has further issues, she is free to contact the University's Admissions office.

For others to judge if the attached documents are true or not, I encourage people to take a good look at her JAMB result print out - It reflects the same 7 subjects only, same calculation, and the same weighted average of 75.2%. Aror should please upload that document again for others to see.

I wish her well.

mcversatile:
Nice choice op!

Thanks.

Baba, any idea of where I can check in Lagos?

Any one here with this vehicle type specification.
An automatic transmission and in very good shape.
I live in Lagos and will send my mechanic to check and approve. And I need this urgently.

Toyota Rav 4, 2000 model. Please not 1999 or 2001 or any other model.

You can call me on 08077571215.

Your vision is what will happen when you run your organisation properly. For example if you are a footballer and you lay well. You envision that you will win the match.

The mission you have is how you will win that match. For example you intend to use the 4 -2 -2 formation and score two goals in every half.

For purpose, I'll think you are talking about your thematic areas here. Sounds more like what area you want to work. E.g If it is a laundry business, your themes will be what kind of things do you want to wash - cloths, undies, rugs etc. The specificity is what your purpose is.

cr80vity:
Pls hw can I write d vision, mission and purpose of my organization...wat s d diffrens btw d three nd can anyone gv an example of each plsss cux they look d same to me...

The queues still exist at most filling station and except you have a fat wallet or a driver to ignore the queue and continue to pay N160-N500/litre then you may not need the services I am about to mention. And yes, two weeks ago fuel was N500/litre in Kaduna as the black market sold N2000 for a 4 litre keg.

1. Sell Information: If you are young and have a lot of time on your hands, and maybe even stay around a filling station, then therein lies an opportunity. Simple take note of the ongoings there, especially when the tankers bring fuel. While people are waiting on the queue hoping fuel will come, mark out your potential clients. Approach them telling them you stay around and can call them once a fuel tanker is around and about to offload. I'll likely pay for this information especially if I can be guaranteed a spot on the first 50 cars on the queue. If you get N500 from 5 car owners for this tip, that's N2500 for making just the right call.

2. Stand in the Queue for Car Owners: Option 2 works if you are a students and you can dress properly and speak properly. Since the scarcity started, I have only waited on the queue for a single day and after waiting three hours and I was like No. 60 on the queue, I was told they have stopped selling. That was the last time I queued. The hours mean much to me and of course to several people. I wished there was a young man I could leave my car in his car or even a lady. How would I be sure I am dealing with someone safe. Maybe if you show me your students ID card, tell me you can drive, have me speak with your mum or dad on the phone and then hand over the phone to me. I'll leave you with my car and will certainly be willing to pay N1000 and once it is almost my turn on the queue, you call me and I rush down to take over from there. I am a high risk taker and so I may be able to try this. Of course, maybe not in Lasgidi o! What is likely going to happen after a first time is that you'll get referrals to some other contacts from the network of the first car owner. You'll need to be smart here and use your gut feeling when thinking of who to approach. You can even ask them to let the car owner in front or behind you monitor you while you are on the queue for them.

3. Emergency Car Wash: Another business idea is to wash the car of people on the queue. This is easy to locate, just look at the cars and see the dirty one, the only reason that person is not at the car wash may be because he or she is hoping to get fuel first. It is also worth trying. For N500/car, you won't be surprised that other car owners will ask you to come over when you are done.

4. Sell funnels: This is already all over the place and the best place to sell is at the filling station. So I bought one for N500 in traffic and it is so convenient to use.

If you are a student or job seeker and you intend to execute any of the ideas above, take it a step further and try interacting with the car owner. He or she may just be your potential employer or have a link but ensure you have skills and the capacity so that you do not permanently shut the door. And again, remember to ask them to call you when next to need to buy fuel! That way, you'll be one of the few Nigerians that will be grateful for that the fuel crisis continues to linger! Who say's you are a bad Nigeria? You are just asking *in Platform's voice* What is in your hands!

Best wishes.

Thanks for putting this thoughts together. The fluidity is a clear indication that your mind is fertile and sound. It will be good to see corps members who go to serve in other states also put same together. I like how you carefully unpacked the false impression that people have hitherto had of Calabar girls. What I also did not fail to notice was the fact that you purposefully moved around the state enough to know the people and the custom there.

I'll wish a corps member who served in Ekiti to also look into what I think should be a past glory of Ekiti - the claim that every household in the state has a professor.

Quick question though - Do you know if female circumcision is still a norm in Cross River, especially in the rural communities you have visited.

Weldone.

Bekwarra:
I served this nation in Cross River state for the mandatory one-year NYSC programme. I passed out on July 2nd 2015 (CR/14B). I served in Bekwarra Local Government Area; two schools located in Akpakpa and later Afrike 1. Being someone that loves travelling and seeing places, I moved around the state and was able to visit 15 of the state's 18 LGAs so I can say I know some things about the state. These are 10 of my observations in the state of The People's Paradise.

1. The people are warm and friendly
Cross Riverians are a warm and friendly people. They are accommodating and drawn to visitors. They are always ready to help you if they see that you are a new face there. This was evident from when we got to the NYSC camp at Obubra. They are always very ready to help and they feel easily drawn to visitors. Someone like me who's always slow and cautious when making friend was able to make a handful of friends in a short period of time. I've been to a few places in Nigeria but the people of Cross River are some of the most friendly.

2. They Are Great Cooks

I once told a friend over phone while still in Cross River that "bro if your life depends on food and you want to marry solely for food, please get a Cross River chick". That Cross River women are good cooks is an understatement. Their girls and women are experts in cooking. Cooking for them comes with ease. They have these tasty and delicious soups gosh they are fantastic. Back in Lagos we are all used to Calabar kitchens and we respect their soups but I'm telling you there is more to their delicacies than Calabar soups. Back in Bekwarra I enjoyed tasty soups like Oturukpa, Akum, groundnut soup and Beniseed soup. It was also in Ogoja that I ate plantain porridge; unripe plantain cooked with palm oil, bitter leaf, crayfish and dry fish. What a delicacy. Whenever you visit Cross River, make sure you eat their local meals. I'll recommend beniseed with akpu. Their akpu is strong and hard jeez; more like something you can use to deworm by stoning the worms inside you to death. I nicknamed one girl fufu pounder due to her dexterity in handling the pestle. Bekwarra people cant do without eating akpu in a day.

3. It's A Largely Rural State

The state is a largely rural state in all ramifications. Apart from Calabar and a few other towns like Ogoja, Ikom and to a lesser extent Akampka and Obudu, Cross River state is largely rural. There's not much on ground in terms of infrastructure, development and economic activities. The government should do more in terms of infrastructure. They should stop concentrating on Calabar and allow development to spread especially to the northern part of the state. For example I don't have verifiable data but I can say that from my observations, Ikeja LG has more banks than the whole state. Successive governments seem to be concentrating development in Calabar which is an impressive and beautiful city already. No hustling in the state, if you are not a farmer then you are a civil servant. There are few economic activities. Even in Calabar, the peeps move to neighbouring states and towns especially PH to hustle. You don't hustle in Calabar, you spend. The city is expensive yet few economic activities happening there afford the people little opportunity to hustle unlike other big cities in Nigeria. For example Calabar is still sleeping by 6am, few people and cars on the road by that time unlike Lagos which is awake and on its feet already by 4am. I once told one of the teachers in my school that you can be caught in traffic in Lagos by 5am and he turned me to a liar. To him it's strange.

4. There's More To The State Than Calabar

So many people see Cross River and Calabar as the same. I used to feel the same until I went there. The state is one of the most diverse in Nigeria with over 33 languages being spoken there. Most people back in Lagos that called me during my service year or chatted with me usually told me "guy I hear say u dey serve for Calabar". I'll only shake my head and smile thinking that "these people don't know I'll spend between 5-6hrs going to Calabar from here". There are other people with culture and languages different from that of the Efik people. There are Bekwarra, Afrike, Ogoja, Yala, Boki, Obubra, Obudu people to mention a few. For example Bekwarra and Afrike people are in the same local government but they have similar but different languages..

5. Agriculture Is A Way of Life
Many outsiders who have never been to the state before see it as a riverine state whose major source of life is fishing. Many people see Cross River as this state of fishermen who love carnivals and festivals. Except the coastal parts of Cross River South and Central, other parts of the state are largely agrarian. They are mostly farmers. They take agriculture seriously and they never joke with it both males and females. Cross Riverian kids are introduced to agriculture at a very early stage. They go to the farm with their parents. If their men are not on the farm making heaps or clearing the bush, they'll be on the palm tree tapping or in the bush hunting. Their women are not left out; they are either planting cassava, peeling cassava and making garri, making palm oil (well refined) or back home preparing akpu and soup. These industrious people love agriculture a lot and this is responsible for cheap food. Food is so cheap and with a little amount, you can eat to your satisfaction with the exception of Calabar obviously. They have food and farm products in abundance and at cheap prices. One of the things I cherish most about them is that they are hard workers. I respect them a lot.
The government still needs to help them a lot in the area of improved seeds, fertilizers, mechanized farming (almost non-existent) and to stem the scourge of Fulani herdsmen (I witnessed a lot of confrontations between the villagers and the nomads)

6. Backward Educationally
This is a general problem in Nigeria. Education in this country is a joke but some states are still better than others. I can't vouch for any northern state but in the context of southern states, education in Cross River still has some catching up to do. I can't say for South East and South South states but placing Cross River state beside South Western states, there is a very big gulf. Education is not really taken serious us here and the government also is not really helping matters in this regard. Their children and parents don't take education serious and the few who do are not encouraged by the government. Majority of schools in the rural parts depend on corp members for staff strength. The quality of education is low and examination malpractice is rampant and encouraged. I can recollect my VP once telling the students to learn how to write fast when note is being dictated because during their external exam nobody will slow down for them when answers are being dictated. The bitter truth is, the state still have a long way to go in terms of education.

7. Calabar Girls Are Not The Real Deal
Whenever you mention Cross River, Calabar comes to mind and merely hearing Calabar, two things come to mind; their soups and girls. Many people do have the erroneous belief that Cali girls are so beautiful, exotic and refined more than any other in the state. Although, Cali girls are more popular and more exposed but when it comes to beauty, I'll unequivocally give it to Ogoja girls especially those of Igoli and Ishibori. They are beautiful in the pure and real sense of it. They are ravishing, homely and naturally beautiful. Worthy of note are also some Bekwarra girls (not many), Ikom, Boki, Obudu and Obubra girls.

8. They Love Burial Ceremonies
This is one of the highlights of many villages. Burial is only second to Christmas. Burial ceremonies are big occasions. Naming and wedding ceremonies are more of rarity but burial ceremonies are the big deal. The whole place is always agog with preparations and they spend a lot on it. They don't like burying their dead outside their villages so they don't mind bringing them in from other parts of the country where they died. Their burials last for weeks or more at times. Although I didn't witness any naming ceremony and only witnessed a single wedding ceremony, I witness lots of burial ceremonies which not only for old people. A 30-year old man's burial will see food being cooked and guests been fed.

9. They Have The Best Palm Wine
One of the things that made me enjoy my stay in Cross River is palm wine. Cross River especially the northern part is a land of palm wine. If you've been there before, you can't but attest to the fact that they have superb palm wine. I'll say it's the best in Nigeria. I had many drunken days there. My students spoilt me with it, my VP being a tapper too was also culpable. They have two varieties; the up one and the down one. The up one is fresher, richer and definitely costlier. It is the one that's tapped from the top of the palm tree. The down one is cheaper but greatly more intoxicating. You get drunk easily while drinking it. It's gotten from palm trees that have already been cut down. You can get the best palm wine in places like Afrike (Bekwarra), Mbube (Ogoja), Okpoma (Yala) and Obudu. They have it in abundance and it is cheap.

10. They love to enjoy themselves. No matter how poor this people are, they still find time to enjoy themselves. They love dancing to a fault and not only that, they are expert dancers. Gosh these people can dance. The way they wiggle their bodies is something else even the small ones among them. They love their ceremonies and most especially new yam festival. The Calabar Carnival is a shining crown on all their festivals. There are lots of other festivals and events to witness in Cross River. Sundays are always bubbling even the most rural villages. People go out to drink, see friends, hold meetings and unwind. In short they love to unwind and enjoy themselves. Their Christianity does not stop them from drinking and making merry.

Other notable observations are that they are generally Christian mostly Catholics and Assemblies of God members, it is a very big state, only Oyo state is bigger in southern Nigeria, there are some parts where you'll have a foot in Nigeria and the other in Cameroun (there are some parts in Lagos state where you won't know whether you are in Lagos or Ogun state, the same is applicable in Cross River), life is serene and generally peaceful, no hold ups, no shouting and cursing and the hustle and bustle of city life, if you've never seen a witch in real life go to some parts of Bekwarra like Ebegang and Anyikang, nature is at its best here with nice scenery.
These are my observations of about a year that I spent in the state. My stay their was enjoyable and fulfilling, a few disappointments and a lot of memorable moments. I'll love to visit the state again. I may be wrong in some of my observations but those are the things I observed as a CrossKopa who served in Bekwarra and was able to visit 15 out of 18LGs. Your views are welcome from both indigenes and non-indigenes.

On GrandPopo we stand!
What do you think about their bar beach kind of sand and the wonder those guys manage to do there?

world1:
Our Spray tube irrigation system is now available in 200m.

Kenyans and red; thanks to the Masai tribe! Buhari nonetheless has a very presidential mien.