justwise:


Check moneyfex..605, Ace money ..600

As per CBN's new policy, naira remittance is a dying breed. All aboard the cold hard $ remittance train.

RalphJean:


First term: Mr A scored A* in Economics while Mr B scored B*

Second term: Mr A scored A* in Economics Again, but Mr B scored an F9.

Third Term: Mr A scored A* yet again, while Mr B scored C-

Mr B now goes gaga in joyful exultation and Doxologies, claiming that his F9 to C- ‘improvement’ meant that Mr A is falling down?

Ahdongerrit.

See lets not use that analogy for Nigeria.

You are right to note that the improvement isn't at par with its stance at beginning of the year.

My take is lets view from another perspective considering that Naira was going to the dustbin at 700-1000 to £1.

What CBN has done is target the month of excess forex inflow into the country and use fiscal policy to force a readjustment of the currency. Hopefully by 2021 fluctuations should be within reasonable range.

Don't forget that this is the first in a very long time when the spread between buy and sell is negative (reversed).

I'm beginning to respect the CBN governor. He might have his issues but it seems for once the govt is getting its act together.

In case you don't know, the new finance act should be signed into law by year end while CAC is going fully digital. I'm not saying they deserve a pat on the back but it seems sense is gradually coming to the fore.

Mamatukwas:


This would be lovely oh but my Abokifx is still showing much higher rates. Am I checking the wrong place

Check the BDC rates not parallel market (these ones will adjust on Monday).

RalphJean:



I ain’t no economist, but the bolded sounds like voodoo economics to me.

The powerful currencies of the world ARE NOT FALLING against the naira. It’s the Naira that is regaining from its woeful performance.

Voodoo economics:
At the beginning of this year, £1 = NGN 450
Today, it’s 565.

As per your enonometrics, if it ends the year at 500, it’s a Win for the naira.
But that’s not true, it will be a lost for the naira, year-on-year.


Like I said, I’m not an economist but (IN MY OPINION), this your analogy get K-Leg

I'm actually over excited because of the heat its having on some acquaintances.

In real sense folks had hoarded forex to create artificial scarcity putting pressure on our foreign reserves while their accomplises were shorting naira.

The reversal of remittances back to cold cash was unexpected and so to avoid making significant losses there is serious or should I say massive dumping of forex.

If Naira goes below 500 to £1 that will be suicidal for many hoarders. Christmas will really be a two-pronged fork.

Let's sha celebrate little little wins. No be everyday good news dey comot from that country.

Permit me house this evening to modify this old time song just for the moment.

Falling down, down, down,
Falling down, down, down,
All the powerful currencies of the world (£ and $) are falling down,
Me as I dey here I dey smile,
I dey thank God everyday,
All the powerful currencies of the world are falling down.

I have just checked abokifx (BDC rate) this evening and it is 565 buy and 530 (100 Naira drop in 24 hours) sell for £1. It is now cheaper to buy forex than to sell it.

500 loading as long as spending restrictions are not lifted from our Naira cards.

It seems adversity will finally reset the brain of this government.

Back to my hymnal......be still for the power of the Lord is moving across Nigeria!

Dear Sirs/Ma,

The recent CBN's fantastic policy on foreign remittance that has led in recent days to a significant and ongoing improvement in our treasured Naira kicks off today.

The policy entails that recipients back in Nigeria can receive the money in the currency it was sent - mostly dollars I would presume.

To enable members of this great family keep up to date with practices back home and take advantage of banks and international money transfer companies offering the best services, kindly update us with your experiences in real-time.

Please be kind enough to tell us of banks back in Nigeria and the location (branch or LGA or State depending on how evasive you want to be) not agreeing to such policies or forcing recipients to take Naira or asking for impossible documents and also IMTCs deceiving senders from here in the UK that recipients will receive forex when they will be sending Naira. Your real-time info will be necessary in guiding subsequent senders.

As at this morning I have tested 5 platforms - Ria, Western Union, moneyfex, radiantlife and Moneygram. Both Ria and Moneygram have the end cash in usd. Lets see how the others align asap. I shouldn't be filling in bank details of recipients. It should be just like old Western Union.

Welcome to better days!

davide470:
Care to elaborate, boss?

..and thank you for the write-up.

Ah, let's not shame anyone today. I still believe said company will get it right. I remember calling up my lawyers to find out the cost implication of setting up such a service and when I saw the CBN capitalisation base of something in the realm of 100 Million Naira for even basic services, I jump and pass.

My major grouse with them was that there was no one I could pick up the phone and call and abuse and shout and threaten when we couldn't access our funds. They didn't even have a physical address considering that their office address is a work space! Our major issue centred around cash inflow to a business account. Their system shut off access when our balance hit 5+ M few hours after the account was opened. It means if my business blows tomorrow and someone makes a payment of 100 M, they would collapse. Today I now know why companies ask for your share certificate for your company and gives you contract based on that - capacity. There is a reason it is called Mobil Producing Nigeria UNLIMITED. Only the main street banks can handle business transactions for now. These willy-willy fintech banks should focus on susu and onidara.

Lexusgs430:
Chukwaka16 - Would you deem Alat, a fintech bank? Would you bank with Alat?.....

Yes. I would say Alat is a fintech bank - they incorporate financial services with technology (https://www.quora.com/Is-PayPal-a-fintech-company). I WOULD NEVER BANK WITH THEM for the foreseeable future. Today I bank with the Main Street banks in Nigeria. I have an account officer for all my businesses and my lawyers can call her private number anytime of the day to complain. That's what makes banking quite seamless for businesses. If e no be main street banks, pls avoid them. These willy-willy fintech banks seem to have a low threshold/tolerance for what makes for suspicious transactions because of CBN's hawkish and micromanaging stance.

marylandcakes:


Two years ago I opened a bakery in Lagos with all mod cons. I just sold it all at a big loss couple of months ago. The economy of Nigeria is too harsh. It makes some people result to unethical means to survive. From what I found out I know I can never eat bread from any Nigerian bakery because of all the poisonous and banned chemicals that they use to enhance their profits. It’s only God that can save that country. In my eyes it’s finished.

Sorry about that. It is also ironic because during the lockdown period in Nigeria, bakery owners made astronomical profits. Any lessons from your bakery journey? Have you discussed your investments and findings with a thriving bakery owner and a financial analyst (street savvy)?

LoL. You guys/ladies are very funny.

Yeah, let’s get this right – first, business is a risk. That’s fact.

Second, let’s not get too sentimental so that we can be objective. Nigeria never banned car imports, she banned importation of cars through the land borders. Cars still came in through Lagos but now the right rates had to be paid. That threw many businesses who were cheating the system off track.

It has also become imperative to highlight what erico2k2 earlier alluded to. Most Nigerians need to learn how to do business.

For instance, I’m not God and do not know the future, however, when I invoice customers, I ensure that my costing can accommodate FX fluctuations as well as inflation. That’s in Nigeria. The UK is simpler – cost and VAT.

Take business A which installs and runs solar inverters for SMEs. We own all the installations (panels, batteries, chargers etc.) and are only paid a fixed amount for a length of time – usually 3-4 years (renewable). When coming up with monthly costs, we ensured that our capital, labour, admin & profit costs where all lumped together and multiplied by inflation over the contract duration. Another thing we incorporated was to ensure that by month 18, we were cash flow positive (CPI benchmarked). That was our safe way of hedging losses. We have had hiccups along the way but overall, we are cool.

Nobody says you should package cars as sachet water. What we are suggesting is know your business environment and don’t be afraid to cost goods and services appropriately. Why should the ban of cars import through land borders bother your oga if he was legally importing the right age of cars through Lagos port and paying the right dues?

How do you bill customers for hair without understanding FX fluctuations, FX availability and even customs/fines/levies. I moved capital from the UK to invest in Nigeria and my worst-case scenario planning is 1000 Naira/£1. I have 2 dependant fees to pay here in the UK and Nigeria supplies their fees. I can’t afford that here in the UK.

Fish farming – LoL. Permit me to quote from the Bible. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him.

I also have a large catfish farm and it cost me millions monthly feeding them. Just within 2 weeks, 2mm fish feed (Blue Crown) has jumped from 6500 Naira to 7800 Naira to 8400 Naira per bag (15kg). That’s a huge differential on a monthly basis. I did not start the journey without considering all these. They form part of my planning. What’s the range I can survive and that’s what determines my stocking. I will start producing my feeds next year God willing (to cut down on feed cost). However, the current farmer-herder conflict means that raw materials (groundnut, corn, soyabeans, garri etc.) may be expensive. I have to start thinking and calculating the cost-benefit for their bulk purchase early next year versus other months of the year and continuing jejely with Olam fish feeds.

I am not speaking theoretically as opined by Ace2013. Yeah, I have a PhD but that’s even in CS. Today, my spare time is spent understanding how the majority of Nigerians think and looking at how to extract something from them by offering them value (meeting some needs). In fact, my greatest barrier to being an entrepreneur has been my education. I’m not an armchair investor. We dey ground dey find money.

I do not invest for people. Even me dey find startup with potential to put money inside. Just take time to understand what need you want to meet, learn thoroughly about it, get dirty and carefully invest in a diversified way to hedge losses. Take losses as learning curves and build momentum from them. At least I now know that my business accounts won’t EVER be open with fintech banks in Nigeria – that was a 1 million Naira lesson. If it isn’t main street banks, forget it.

wallg123:


There’s a saying “If dog bite you once that dog dey craze, but if you allow that same dog bite you again, na u dey craze”......

We all know how hard we work in this country (Uk/Europe/US) before we can get enough funds to think of investing back home in Nigeria.
Before you can even think of investing in Nigeria as a migrant, you must have settled all your bills in here the UK..
So if say for instance someone on minimum wage manage to save 5M Naira to invest in Nigeria and next thing you hear government want demolish or land sellers done change the agreements, would you still be advising people to invest again in the same failed endeavour?..

You are right that a lot of Nigerians in the diaspora have lost money. You know even me had some of my funds (6.4M Naira) trapped by one of these fintech banks all in the name of money laundering and anti-money laundering check. Up till now, I have only been repaid 5.4M Naira. In fact, I have 'dashed' them the balance. That's the cost of doing business in Nigeria. The implication of that delay meant that a new business initiative that was to be started as early as September was only started 1 week ago. That's life. That's business.

With regards to investments, we have to be VERY CAREFUL. If you have 5 million Naira to invest in land, then save an additional 1.5 million Naira to employ STANDARD lawyers and land experts to investigate and carry out due diligence on your land to see if that land is genuine or not. Second, ask questions and put everything in an agreement - that's enforceable. If I have an agreement with an estate that extra costs won't be required, they must be willing to sign that agreement so that it's enforceable tomorrow. Use qualified experts - they are expensive but get the job done. Also, pursue C/O for any land. This is Nigeria. Invest in securing that land so that tomorrow when the government wants to demolish or take over that land, your C/O offers you SECURITY of adequate refunds compared to just ordinary agreement (deed of transfer etc.) and land survey.

SMEs and cottage industries are what will mitigate poverty in Nigeria. There are hundreds of millions of poor people in Nigeria who need means of livelihood. Your FDI and investments back home is what they need to earn a living. The more the FDI the more the growth. Will there be lost investments, yes - hedge them.

I thank you all for the posts and counter posts - all insults are indeed welcome.

The essence of my post was/is to stimulate a discussion/engagement around the issue of investing in Nigeria and not returning to Nigeria - there's a wide difference between both.

As you continue to ruminate over investing in business opportunities in Nigeria, please be reminded that Nigeria's growth and development will largely depend on the growth of cottage industries. While the government in Nigeria has indeed continued to display lack of capacity to initiate enabling policies that can stimulate growth especially in security, electricity and road construction, we can't ignore other noble strides by this government (revised finance act, ease of company registration and tax clearance certificate filings).

Don't be afraid to lose money in investing back in Nigeria - learn from such process and be very prepared next time. I have lost money and gained money. That's business. I learn, plan and invest while hedging my risks - I adopt diversified portfolio investment methods. I create jobs and feed families - that's value addition back in Nigeria. That FDI is important because other businesses also benefit from me - accounting, auditing, lawyers etc.

Elon Musk today sends astronauts to the ISS but we fail to recognise that he had failed multiple times prior to that. We learn from failures and do better in our next attempt. This is no motivation but truth.

As I conclude, I'm reminded of this provocative statement - why tiptoe through life only to arrive safely at death.

Nation building as a process entails engagement especially in the form of debates and intellectual exchanges.

Assuming that having prejudiced opinions on issues that centre on national development is freedom of speech is simply mendacious at the least.

What has promoted democracy across the nations and continued to sustain good governance has been the preservation of platforms that necessitate for continuous engagement. Think Westminster.

Personal opinions around issues like euthanasia or sexuality which have no direct relationship with historical development and growth can be respected without even having the need for justification, however to stimulate and precipitate radical transformation in Nigeria, we must be able to demand from citizens reasons for their decisions on germane issues.

It is not enough to come on this platform and state that investments in Nigeria is a risk considering that such statements have the tendency to influence borderline potential investors. You have got to come with reasons and be ready to engage constructively with others who may hold contrary views.

It is only in such engagements that enlightenment can be achieved and learning can take place. Our kids are watching and would ask us serious questions tomorrow. Their ability to be critical thinkers would be better shaped by how much of such they can learn from us.

Lastly, there is a pathetic story I saw on SM recently. Mcedopikin a popular comedian in Benin posted that during the last #EndSARS riots, no bookshop was looted. That speaks to how knowledge acquisition has been pushed to the rear among youths. A lesson from this is that we must ensure that our support for respecting personal opinions isn't on the basis of insufficient knowledge.

marylandcakes:


You will end up fighting to justify your ownership, any investment in Nigeria at the moment is full of stress it’s not worth it.

Sincerely, you are entitled to your opinions but objectively speaking what makes you think that investments in Nigeria at the moment aren't worth it?

If you want sure and safe investments with minimal risks then try the money market funds (MMF) with their low RoI. If you want higher returns then you have to take risks. The problem with investing in Nigeria aside the government's own contribution centres on lack of preparedness on the part of the investor to understand both the political and technical and social and economic implications of society on such investments. It isn't just about putting in money. You've got work to do. You've got to identify the right persons, train them, equip them and empower them and monitor them.

It isn't uncommon for folks to think IT businesses will thrive in Nigeria when they fail to realise that there is low internet penetration among users and low IT knowledge among Nigerians. Imagine someone targeting investing in electric vehicles (EV) chargers in Nigeria because the government is championing renewables while failing to see that the government is very much invested in crude oil for the foreseeable future and folks lack the financial capital to sustain such businesses. As a matter of fact, our inverter batteries have been trapped at the Lagos port for over 4 months now while still incurring costs from financing that project. We aren't sad because we have diversified into other sources to hedge that risk. We know how the system works so we ensure we diversify to derisk risky aspects of our business.

Nigeria has an enormous amount of human capital and wealth domiciled within the country. However, one must be savvy enough to understand social strata, herd thinking and also familiar with the economic reality to really turn profit.

Isn't it strange that mama akara will prefer to collect loan of 30K Naira from LAPO at 10% every 30 days (translating to 120% per annum) than the bank around the corner because of the high barrier to accessing such credit from them (even cheaper at 15% per annum) and also because the banks are blind to the availability of capital that exists outside of TB's, oil coys, Dangote and corporate workers.

Why have all major brands in Nigeria started adopting the sachet method of packaging their products from toothpaste to milk to bournvita to drinks to detergent etc.? Isn't it funny that Emeka will prefer buying 2 satchet toothpaste weekly at 50 Naira each (100 Naira) compared to 1 big tube toothpaste for 300 Naira that can last 5 weeks. If you don't understand this way of thinking, you will be investing in products and services that are way above the reach of the average Nigerians and they are over 120 million.

Why do all mobile networks in Nigeria have options of purchasing recharge cards even as low 100 Naira? Why didn't MTN maintain their stance that per second billing was impossible?

There is a thinking of the peasants (apologies to James Scott of The Moral Economy of the Peasant) and understanding this is key to doing business in Nigeria. Indomie understands this and they have remained in the business. The satchet water guys understand this and have remained in business.

Government policies yes can cause issues especially with recapitulations and poor thinking, but 200 million people must feed at least twice daily - that's your market!

akanniade10:
Newly Wedded!!! What did you guys use to prove your marriage (genuine and subsisting) apart from marriage certificate. Tier 4 and Tier 4 dependant application

There's a difference between spousal visa and PBS dependant visa.

Guidelines from the UK are usually very explicit. This is from page 107 of the guidelines for students taken from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/points-based-system-student-route

If the Student and the dependant partner are married or in a civil partnership acceptable forms of evidence include:
- a valid document providing record of the marriage or civil partnership such as a marriage or civil partnership certificate.
- a valid overseas registration document for a same-sex relationship which is entitled to be treated as a civil partnership under the Civil Partnership Act of
2004.

If the Student and the person applying as a dependant partner are not married or in a civil partnership, they can demonstrate a genuine and subsisting relationship by
providing evidence they have lived together for 2 years. This can include if the Student and the person applying as a dependant partner are not married or in a civil
partnership, they can demonstrate a genuine and subsisting relationship by providing evidence they have lived together for 2 years. This can include
• bank statements, council tax, or utility bills
• residential mortgage statements or tenancy agreements
• official correspondence or documents that link the Student and their partner and show they are living at the same address.

This is not an exhaustive list and other documents can be used to demonstrate that a relationship is genuine and subsisting.

Be careful not to add unnecessary docs that end up raising suspicion and doubts and showing desperation. They can smell it from afar. It's better they request for more. Give them what their guideline says - marriage certificate if legally married or provide the proofs requested if in a civil relationship and goodluck with your application.

LagosismyHome:


What I can think about is maybe at the start of the covid. A lot of white took off and took time off. While Bame felt it more money to their pocket and either were taking more shifts in the frontline or been forced by their supervisors to take these shift even without adequate PPE

Ah, that would make sense. Of course the white folks have all the support they can need while most BAME staff have to battle with No Recourse to Public Fund. Unfortunately, we have also had very high death rates among the BAME group too.

LagosismyHome:


I agree because my husband and I have had this discussion before. .... apart from one job he worked in east london. Majority of his other work and during training it is majority white ethnic group that he has observed works in the NHS

I'm suspecting Labour being behind this narrative since they are migrant friendly. Yes, the bulk of low level staff in the key worker sectors MAY have a disproportionately higher level of BAME staff but overall na 'oyinbo' still get their country.

Yakeeboy:
I can’t take a Nigeria girl abroad that won’t bear my name lol

Well, different strokes for different folks. There are numerous advantages when your spouse bears a different last name from you here in the UK and if you are a business person. You both are distinct individuals to any client thus creating that professional outlook.

As the marriage certificate don show say A & B are now H&W and you both have and continue to have 'koinonia' along with the usual newspaper change and affidavit, the usual admonition is to let her be - use it to your advantage.

Lexusgs430:



Keyworkers in the UK, are majorly from the BAME sector of the society........

If people would naturally be affected, it would be from the BAME sector........


What is saving African countries are - :

- Poverty
- Visa restrictions

I'm having a hard time knowing why this narrative is being pushed around in the UK. The site below shows that BME make up less than 11% on average of the total key workers across the UK across the key worker areas.

Site - https://www.health.org.uk/chart/black-and-minority-ethnic-workers-make-up-a-disproportionately-large-share-of-key-worker

The ONS also shows that white ethnic group still makes over 80% of the UK's population which would mean majority status across most of the workforce in most occupations excluding those that majorly serve minority ethnic groups.

ONS - https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/ethnicity/articles/ethnicityandnationalidentityinenglandandwales/2012-12-11

Is there a reason why this narrative of BAME making up the bulk of NHS key workers is being pushed around? Even the NHS site has white ethnic group making almost 80% of its workforce (excluding care and GPs in training - the 'trust jobs')

Site - https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/workforce-and-business/workforce-diversity/nhs-workforce/latest

Still on the UK's descent to nothingness

So for those who have been popping champagne and shouting hurray at Oxford/AstraZeneca's so-called covid-19 trial putting the efficiency of their "concotion" at 90%, well the truth is gradually coming out (see link below - free if you mobile phones).

https://www.ft.com/content/4583fbf8-b47c-4e78-8253-22efcfa4903a

As an academic, one thing the UK is showing me daily is that it is becoming a mediocre country with so much emphasis on baloney (Hancock, BoJo and Gove).

While approval from the USFDA is most likely (since threshold is 50%), we may want to exercise caution and see the long term effects of these cocktails so we don't end up with strange sicknesses in the long-run.

We await more disclosures shortly from their publication.

Caveat: The UK still offers enormous opportunities for young Nigerians as its gradual decline will first need to assume institutional status before it can begin to generate crisis.

Oggg:


Pr stunt and propaganda as per Buhari’s aide? Or Osibanjo’s payroll?
A little click would have saved you from making such an unfounded and frivolous comment whilst trying so hard to sound intelligent.
There is a dedicated thread on nairaland with Nigerians real life experiences and real reviews which can be found here.... good, bad and ugly...

https://www.nairaland.com/1969461/cost-nigeria-international-passport/37

Abeg shift!

No need for personal attacks - slow your roll.

My sibling just got his 2.5 wks ago and it cost 60k Naira and yes it was in Lagos.

Experiences differ abi no be the same Naija we dey see different optics about #EndSARS?

This is Naija and not UK or SA or US or the other OECD countries.

Oggg:

The new enhanced E passport 32 pages valid 5 years is 25k
64 pages valid 5 years is 35k
64 pages valid 10 years is 70k
Anything asides this is entering the official’s passport.
If you are applying in Nigeria, U dnt need any immigration officer to help you, pay online, print ur receipts and forms online and go with all ur documents to their office.
Any documentary requirements tht will be asked are specifically stated on the portal below.

https://immigration.gov.ng/standard-passport/

Pls stop falling into scam.
Check the thread below for more advice
https://www.nairaland.com/1969461/cost-nigeria-international-passport/163

Praise the Lord!

LoL. Try getting a replacement at some obscure place outside of Abj/Lag like Warri, Benin, Kogi etc and lets see how it goes.

Nigeria will get better but not with PR stunt and propaganda. When there is a public portal that shows the throughput of each station (data capture, processing and collection time) like McDonald's and public review where applicants can submit verified reviews then we can start talking.

wallg123:


My brother this one no be standard business practice ..lol

LoL.

Thats because Nigeria is not a standard country.

When a country will decide to increase import duty for cars to 35% and does not have the capacity to meet local needs cheaply or the capacity to defend its borders against smugglers and now realises that it wants to increase imports of cars to generate more income and so needs to reduce import duty to 5%, then you realise the country no balance.

Na fingertip person dey hold Naija matter - no be by airforce.

wallg123:


I beg to disagree Oga...
The only way you’ll be breaking even while doing business in Nigeria is either by stealing from your staffs (paying them low wages) or not paying the correct taxes to the government....The government will frustrate business small business owners with unending levies and bribes.
I’ll still advice investing even in Elsewhere (Uk or one of theses European holiday destinations)

Let's leave the RoI - experiences differ.

Let's focus on your reasons.

Taxes/levies - I have been in biz since 2017 and I recently got my latest TCC (expiring next month). I've never paid taxes in Nigeria because I ensure turnover in any of my businesses is below threshold. There is tax evasion (criminal) and tax avoidance (use brilliant accountants).

Staff salaries - owner's business and no one stops staff from leaving.

Govt issues/bribes/rogering - Just make it formal and send hamper/gifts regularly to the officers in charge and deduct it as part of your CSR. Discuss it with your accountant.

Govt policies - increase your network. People are still getting forex for cheap.

Tobexin:
you only brought out augment to support your unfounded claims. What do you mean that accommodation is not essentials? Are those what you listed normal? Leaving under the bridge or squatting? Does that make sense to you. Education is an essential phenomenon and it all varies on what one believes.

I thought long about responding and I was able to convince myself in the affirmative.

My advice is this - whenever Nigeria is in a sentence, kindly assume that all existing laws and principles are non-applicable. That way, you won't be shocked by what you see or hear. Secondly, believe whatever strange tale you hear about that country until convinced beyond all reasonable doubt.

Maslow's law does not apply in qualifying what are essential needs in Nigeria - it is the over 170million Nigerians who earn less than 60K Naira monthly that do.

Education is no longer an essential need in Nigeria considering that first class graduates (and 2.1) are now the targeted class of graduates to employ as TEACHERS (to earn minimum wage).

With regards to what makes sense about Nigeria..., it is well!

marylandcakes:


Nigeria is the worst place to invest at the moment. The government is unstable and the economy is volatile.

Have you ever wondered why despite all the problems MTN has had with Nigeria, them still dey here?

Can you point out the reason why China still dey give us loan and why you see them buying over all available land in Ogun State?

When you target essential needs, even government go become your friend. How government policy summersault wan take affect MTN or Indomie or Cocacola or Oil companies?

Plan your business to ensure that the woman who sells akara or that low level civil servant needs your product and you are game.

Lastly the RoI Nigeria gives is blood money. It will I repeat compensate for inflation (15%), devaluation for forex purposes (25%) and still hand you some profit. Just plan extra to accommodate initial stress from increase in your inputs and logistics and "rogering" and you will be fine.

Leave Abuja politicians alone with big big grammar and actions, street is where the game is.

Tobexin:
but those things are still essentials.....

If by those things you mean rent and school fees then NO, they are not essentials.

For Nigeria, the definition may reside around the existence of alternatives.

Are there alternatives for rent/accommodation - yes (sharing, squatting, under bridge, office etc.). Ditto for fees - go to a cheaper university or sec school etc.

Again, another way is to gauge the repercussion of not having or doing or acquiring something in Nigeria to know if it's essential. Are there repercussions for not having an accommodation - No (who cares). Are there for not having an education - No (even our president is UNEDUCATED).

Conversely, do you have alternatives for clothes, food (onions, tomatoes, rice, meat/fish/egg), transport, recharge cards, etc - NO.

Are there repercussions for not wearing clothes or eating - YES. One would be first be mad, then die.

Unfortunately this same logic drives spending by Nigerians. This is why recharge cards accounted for 70% of a households spending on a monthly basis. Yes, Nigerian households were spending on average 450 billion Naira monthly on recharge cards.

Tobexin:
you are not absolutely correct.... some price of things won’t be affected. House rents remain the same, school fee remains the same. Last March I sent £1000 to my young ones for school fee which come out to be N500,000 while last week I sent the same £1000 which comes out to be N610,000 the school fee didn’t change meaning they have more extra money to spend.

School fees and rents won't just go up since they are not consumables and have no 'input' or factor of production per say. Already, school fees for private schools are high up there same with rents. Their increases when they happen are usually around 10-20%.

But foodstuffs, clothes, transport are subject to everyday exchange rate and suffer from adverse effects to associated factors of production.

wallg123:


You are very correct..The more devalued the Naira gets, the more expensive things become in that country ... ...Personally I’ll invest in the UK rather than Nigeria....

Unfortunately Nigeria is still the best market to invest especially in finance, logistics and agriculture. These are the major businesses that can guarantee you over 60% annually which is enough to compensate for inflation, devaluation and still give you some handsome profit. The only downside is risk but as na Naija, we go dey alright.

Here in the UK with BoE interest rate at 0.1% we are looking at negative interest rate next year (possibly) with low interest hovering around 1-3% annually.

The issue with furnished or unfurnished aside cost and ease of moving also lies with hygiene especially for furnishings (chairs, beds) that one will lay on and ...

I no talk say oyinbo dirty o, it's just that some people may just want to feel comfortable with things that they have bodily contact with. If furnishings are new, thats priceless otherwise you may want to visit and see the general hygiene culture of current occupants (if possible). You don't want your kids getting strange sicknesses.

In my former work place, a colleague moved into an apartment where the former occupants had cats/dogs. Shortly after moving in, she had strange body reactions only to do deep cleaning and come and see fur/hair (inside the chairs, underneath beds, deep inside the carpets etc.).

Of course, someone can argue about hotels and guest houses and all - there's a reason why hotels have ratings and people leave comments and hygiene depts rank them.

flinton:
Hello I tried an experiment this afternoon and here are my findings(wetin boredom dey cause )

Note, I'm 12days old in the UK

Title of experiment : Currency conversion
Aim : To convert naira to pounds via cryptocurrency exchange
Procedure:
Monzo account was opened on Saturday (online) I'm still in isolation. Debit card arrived this morning and got activated

Nigeria verified binance account was funded with 15k, since it was an experiment the account was funded trice with 5k each transaction in order to meet the minimum transaction requirements

Btc was purchased with ₦ and exchanged for £

Withdrawal from my binance wallet to Monzo account
Total of £21.81 was received

Major transaction costs
To fund 5k, 150 naira charge, I did that 3 times
(Minimum 150naira max 18million)
Withdrawal charge £1.5

That is it!
Do you think it's worth it?
Started out with 15k, got £21.81
What do you think?

You want to avoid moving money from Nigeria to the UK via the financial sector - its a loss.

Adopt a double edge method
Use binance/crypto pairs to move £ to Naira and then do the normal exchange of selling Naira to folks here who need Naira for £.

Ensure you offer something close to black market rate and the differential between binance rate and what you sell to folks here is your profit.

So you may want to start with selling Naira to folks here to get £ then using binance to move the £ to Naira. The difference is your profit.

You may want to have a wider platform and structure your 'business' so you can also assist folks who are in Europe and want Naira for €.

Its all about trying but 3 Naira on 10k transaction is 30K Naira and month endings can net you that 5 folds.

In all TRUST matters.

Dear All,

Please does anyone here have any idea on how to get UKZN to verify my certificate (PhD) for WES?

Humbly expectant.

boyka1:
Long time indeed.

I am not here to brag or to chase clout but to educate some myopic Nigerians who thinks we are all suffering in the UK.

Cheers!

Sincerely bro, I'm happy for you. One thing I've always loved about the abroad is that there is opportunity for empowerment especially for young and abled bodied people. Your age mates back home are mostly unemployed, underemployed, roaming the streets as urchins and omo-ita, acting as thugs and agberos to politicians their mate, surviving on handouts from parents/guardians, dead from SARS or some accident or other avoidable circumstances or just frustrated about life - depression, drugs etc.

Pls don't feel anger towards the folks back home who talk about poverty in the UK and all. They are talking from the place of ignorance. Yes, there is poverty in the UK and there is more to life but one must start somewhere. They haven't even started life. You are talking of PG studies abroad and talking about completed projects back home - they can't even itemise anything of value they have done.

Folks back home need all the love and support they can get. Too much time spent in deprivation and suffering and oppression and poverty has formatted them and naturally, most Nigerians don't know how to genuinely celebrate someone else's success.

They need help and support and love. I wish you the best of life and more successes.

Tinyemeka:


Na porting tins.

Most Nigerian nurses I know personally who've recently moved to practice in the UK are just marking time to port over to the US. Or are waiting to accumulate sufficient CRS scores to move to Canada.

A fresh BSN graduate in the UK NHS starts on Band 5 (usually). £25,900 - 30,600.

Meanwhile see what Glassdoor says a Registered nurse in Alberta Health services earns...

P.S. I stand to be corrected o and would welcome any comment with factual counter opinion. Na browse I browse am. I'm not even a nurse.

Agreed that the salary may be miserable. In fact, I'm at loss for a better word. However, on the flip side, some folks may just be ok with that salary considering other benefits they derive from the UK.

For some perhaps the proximity to home and the relative abundance of Nigerians here in the UK (per sq m of developed land) with the constant owambe parties and jolly rice may be appealing enough reasons.

For others it may be the natural attachment between Nigerians and the UK considering they were our colonial masters. I grew up wanting nothing more than to visit the UK. I needed to see Great Britain and then visit England and then port over to London

When you cost these values and add them to the salary, you begin to see that they earn more here in the UK than perhaps in Canada. Salary isn't the only income to consider, there's also the emotional cost!