₦airaland Forum

^^^They come from investment banks.

queensmith: Even with a 1st Class degree in Physics from Oxford University and parents that own a clothing factory in tottenham hale. 76k starting salary is far fetched.

Funny enough, there was a Nigerian investment banker with a Physics degree from Oxford that was part of the graduate program at the IB I worked in (I'm not a banker myself, I worked in Finance). I don't know if he got a 1st class though, or if his parents owned a clothing factory in Tottenham Hale . And of course I have no idea how much he was paid.

queensmith: Even with a 1st Class degree in Physics from Oxford University and parents that own a clothing factory in tottenham hale. 76k starting salary is far fetched.

£76k starting salary is indeed far fetched and rare. However, note that the examples given about that pay have mentioned salary + bonus. Even then it is not common, but it does happen.

Lady Dee: My dear, i tire ooo..

Even Englishman (upper class) wey get correct connection, dem pikin no go start on 70k salary FRESH from University...

30k salary is considered high for a fresh graduate and more than decent considering how their payscale will increase on gaining more experience and attaining further skills on the job....

Lady Dee: Im not saying it doesnt happen, what im saying is you must be pretty extra ordinary in the Brits eyes to achieve such a payscale at Graduate level...
RedBrick University among the TOP 5 at least
1st Class and Other Exceptional/distinguished Achievements made at Univesity and even College/A-level stage
Family background (yes i said it), Your family background must be pretty decent by that i mean you came from a Middle class family... This particular point is magnified in particular if you want to be a 'somebody' in the British Law Sector....

The bolded part of the first post gives the impression that you don't think it happens.

Lady Dee: My dear, i tire ooo..

Even Englishman (upper class) wey get correct connection, dem pikin no go start on 70k salary FRESH from University...

30k salary is considered high for a fresh graduate and more than decent considering how their payscale will increase on gaining more experience and attaining further skills on the job....

Without trying to defend anyone here, it is a fact that there are certain companies (mainly investment banks) where a graduate can earn £70k (salary + bonus) FRESH from university.

Obviously, it is not common and there will be a lot of people who have never heard it happen. It doesn't mean it's not happening. It's quite hard to verify because people generally keep their pay details a closely guarded secret, but these things come out through industry salary surveys and also speaking to recruiters.

Lady Dee: Not sure Ive seen anyone talk sense here...
People are throwing large fictional salaries regarding pay in the UK..
Why do Nigerians enjoy deceiving themselves?

When the average Englishman is on an average of £30K per annum,

Nigerians are just something else...

You're partly correct in the sense that the average salary in the U.K. is less than £30k.

However, the salaries that guys have been quoting are graduate salaries in the investment banking and oil & gas industries. These are quite exclusive industries that select only the very best graduates. Only about 30%-40% of people in the U.K. go to university and a much smaller % went to the very best universities. The fact that the average salary is less than £30k does not mean there aren't Nigerians in the U.K. earning way above the average.

You won't find too many people that went to very good universities still earning that kind of money. Those that do have either been unlucky, or have deliberately chosen that path to have a better work/life balance.

I think some people have completely missed the point of this thread.

I haven't done any meaningful research, but I would guess that a majority of Nigerians in the U.K. are still struggling. For the bulk of them it's either they haven't got the best education or they are not yet legally settled, and so they can't compete with the talent on the ground.

However, the thread is really just trying to say there is another side to the Nigerians in diaspora story. I personally know a lot of Nigerians that are well placed professionally. Admittedly, a lot of them are from middle class families. There are some though who are just exceptionally talented and driven and didn't necessarily come from wealthy backgrounds.

In my career, I've worked for one of the big 4 accountancy firms and also an American investment bank (I regretted that one). While there, just by looking on the firm's intranet, I came across a good number of Nigerians (and other Africans), both in our London offices and across the pond in the U.S.

The value to be derived from a thread like this is the encouragement that there are real life success stories abroad, but more importantly, as Zechy09 has tried to do with his advice about networking, to show people some practical and realistic actions they can take to achieve that success.

There is no value in coming here to tell lies. If you're a Nigerian living in the U.K., you're obviously not going to find the success stories we're talking about in Peckham. It's like saying there are successful people in Lagos and someone accuses you of lying because of the endemic poverty in Ajegunle.

HiiiPower: And where's the company going to deduct that pay from?
Most of you have no idea about what you're talking about.

I believe most of you kids!

Hahaha. Cheap shot.

Anyway, I work here in the U.K. and I had to recruit someone as part of my team. The remuneration negotiations we had were completely independent of the one-off fee we paid to the recruitment agency. The fee to the agency was relatively small at approx £3.5k. We spend far more than that annually on his training, airfare and hotel bills while on business, and definitely don't need to reclaim £3.5k from his salary.

HiiiPower: Permanent jobs = long term contract.
But they still leech off your pay.
You can't compare that with a graduate job,
nor a job you get directly from the company.

Apples and oranges here, mate..
But I have no problems with temp jobs,
just telling the OP to keep searching,
while doing what he has got now.

It's not apples and oranges mate. You can get a permanent job directly from a company OR through a recruitment agency!

Recruitment agencies in the UK tend to receive a one-off fee from the employer for placing a permanent employee.

HiiiPower: Recruitment agents means temp jobs.
You need to keep upgrading yourself,
and look for permanent jobs.

Recruitment agencies contact people for both temporary and permanent jobs.

4llerbuntu: Quite clearly you are missing the point @op.

The MAJORITY of people who leave this shores like u do not have sponsors, do not have placement in the upscale schools and have no werewithal to live well.

The point pple try to make is YOU & VERY SMALL GROUP OF COLLEAGUES are a distinct minority. I daresay even if you stayed in nigeria, u would have a massive advantage.

Do u have any idea the number of pple who emigrate yearly to that same uk, scotland etc? Do a head count of the "successful“ and do a ratio to the "unsuccessful“ ! Take a conservative estimate of 2 thousand a year.


Dude 95% of y'all shld not be there! Like someone said, keep encouraging/consoling yourself!

And thank your stars you are lucky

Like someone once said, over 99.9% of statistics are made up on the spot.

I believe the poster has raised a valid post. The post is not about claiming that all or even a majority of Nigerians in the U.K. are doing well. Ultimately, when people come to a forum like this, they should relay their personal experiences or those of their friends and acquaintances.

It is then up to the readers on nairaland to weigh the number of positive and negative stories, compare it to their own personal circumstance and determine what the likely prospects are for themselves. Let both the positive and negative stories of Nigerians in diaspora flow freely, readers who bother to read comprehensively can then make an informed decision.

From my own personal experience over the past 15 years, those Nigerians I know who obtained a good education from reputable institutions and who entered the country legally have tended to do well. That has reduced somewhat due to the economic downturn, but the prospects are still there. Those that entered illegally or overstayed and/or obtained poorly rated courses from poorly rated universities have not done so well and might as well have gone back to Naija.

Sisi_Kill: Bet you thought I wasn't gonna come back, eh?

Women Increasingly Paying Alimony

Manimony: What Divorce Costs Famous Women

Alimony: Women Increasingly Paying Alimony To Their Ex Husbands

Huh! Like this is my first discussion with a woman. The last word is a woman's birth right. No woman in her right mind let's it go.

Here's my last word. Men got burned and started insisting on prenups. Women have also now got burned and are increasingly insisting on prenups. Google THAT assertion.

I'M OUT!

Sisi_Kill: Lmao @ Tgirl

@ OP
Google Maddonna and Guy Richie and read all about their divorce wahala! She didn't make him sign a prenup, after the divorce he got a huge payout. Same deal with Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillipe. Then there is also Roseanne (From the Roseanne show) she went as far as firing her lawyers for even suggesting her gold digging husband Arnold sigh a prenup (I'm telling you, this guy might as well have had GOLD DIGGERY IS MY SPECIALTY tattoted in GOLD on his forehead, that's how obvious he was. When they divorced a couple or so years later, Dude walked away with a cool $90 million. Did I mention he was a lowly writer for some 3rd rate sitcoms when they got married?

From my observation, women who are considerable wealthier than their spouse don't shove the prenup thingy down the men's throat (they are always like I love him, I trust him, whatever I have is his blah blah blahhttps://l.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/mesg/emoticons7/29.gif). It's the men who make a big brouhaha about the whole thing. . . "oh my money, money, She wonno take my hard earned money ooooh! Egba mi!!" Gimme a break!!!

From your 3 sample observation??

Nairaland!

Courts award alimony/divorce settlements even where the spouse in question had no input into the creation of the wealth. For example, some countries include inherited assets in divorce settlements.

It's an unfair system, skewed towards the spouse with fewer assets, or fewer asset generating capabilities. Many lawyers are advising their wealthy clients NOT to get married!

BTW, regarding Andy Murray. He hasn't won a grand slam, but he has certainly been winning tournaments. 23 in total, (2 in 2012), with career prize money of about $21m. I wouldn't exactly say that "whatever (his parents) brought to his life is pointless in terms of winning tournaments".

I'M OUT!

kulyie: I know david in person,hes a spoilt kid,yes,he talks anyhow,yes,hes fond of boasting,yes,hes aggressive and short tempered,yes,but there is no smoke without fire,d cab man must have said or done somtin to spark up dat aggression in him.u guys have just heard d cab mans side of d story without hearing davids own.yes i know david is very immature,promiscous and arrogant but in cases or situations like dis,nobody will say he did somtin wrong when narrating his own side of d story,he will only say d good side of d matter until theres a story dat counters his own and yorubas will say an elder who listens to ne side of d story without hearing d oda side is a useless and wicked elder.let david say his own side before i make my conclusions,for now i reserve my comment

While it is true that we should always listen to both sides of the story, the taxi driver DID indicate that he did something that potentially sparked the anger. He tried to help the girl escape by driving off with her.

binger: In as much as it is a good gesture,it is not advisable in Nigeria.Safety is not assured and you might be gunned downed by your political rivals.Thats how they killed Tafawa Balewa.He went alone to fuel his car at a petrol station in 1996.He even stood in the queue,and suddenly ,gunmen came along and shot him dead.Its just not possible here.

Huh!!! Let's not re-write history here. Tafawa Balewa was abducted by coup plotting soldiers from his home in the dead of the night. Also, I assume you mean 1966 and not 1996.

Most women value financial stability, nothing really wrong with that. Unfortunately, "financial stability" for some really just means a loaded guy. That's where the issue is. This financial stability thing will carry on being the disguise with which SOME women dismiss financially responsible, but not loaded, guys.

Let each person go after what they want and live with the consequences. It takes maturity, and sometimes trial and error for many to realise that a good character is the most important thing.

ekt_bear: Does NL count as social media?

Hmm...are internet forums in general "social media?"

I think the key is whether it's interactive or not. I don't really know so much about the technical definitions, but in the context of this issue (where a legislator feels the public are being overly critical of their leaders on social media sites), I would definitely include Nairaland.

Serious gravy train going on here. There are more officials than athletes. Funniest one is the Canoe with one athlete and three officials.

Na wa o!

@braveheart2012, I like x 1000.

Na wa o!

Why the venom at the poster? Especially since the poster ended by saying it's not so bad.

Anyway, I'm a big fan of small/medium sized enterprises as they form the backbone of many economies. Many of them also grow to become significant having started from humble beginnings. Even though he may have a good job, the potential for the business to grow certainly makes it worthwile.

The only misgivings I would have would be if the selling of chin chin somehow affected the professional environment in the office. From management's perspective, I would probably insist that the selling only happened at lunchtime, or before/after office hours in order to keep things professional especially where external clients may visit.

In the last year or so, I've really started to hate weaves. I don't think having a weave as an alternative hairstlye is bad in itself (my wife mainly wears hers natural or in braids, but does go for the occassional weave).

Although many races wear weaves, my personal opinion is that one particular race now has an unhealthy obsession with weaves. One incident really brought it home for me. There was a U.K. newspaper article about a single mother with 2 kids who was having her benefits reduced, had trouble finding a reasonable job, and couldn't even afford proper school shoes for those kids.

There was a picture of her with her kids and their school shoes did indeed look tattered. However, the main thing I noticed was that her weave was on point. Thinking about how much that hair, including the fixing, must have cost, I lost all sympathy for her situation.

Apart from her, now when I look at pictures of social events, practically all the girls are sporting a weave, with a majority of the weaves looking similar. Someone talked about variety, I don't see too much variety in the way the weaves are worn by our dear sisters.

I think it's ironic that in the race with the most potential for hairstyle variety, many girls have just turned into clones of one another.

Last but not least, SOME WEAVES JUST LOOK NASTY!!!

When people say you should lower your standards, perhaps what they really mean is that you should be more open minded and allow potential relationships to develop organically.

Character is the most important thing to look out for in the man you want. With a good character comes the knowledge that he needs to be a responsible and productive member of society. In practically all such instances, a man like that is able to take care of his family.

It's actually a valid question. Although the poster has used marriage as a reference point, if you look at it in general, you'll find that the life expectancy of men is lower than women in almost all the countries in the world.

I don't know if research has ever been able to properly explain it.

Acts 4:12 tells us that "there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved".

The truth is that the name of Jesus is the most powerful thing you can put on any poster, billboard etc. I've always imagined seeing posters with the most prominent words being JESUS, written in bold large letters.

Unfortunately, a lot of unnecessary work goes into the branding and marketing of ministries. The real brand is Jesus, and his brand has already been established, all we need to do is spread that brand.

I leave you all with this quote:

"Some continue to make Jesus famous, while some use Jesus to become famous".

Sagamite: I rarely fight online. I educate online.

I give them the education they missed out on because of the collapse of Nigerian education system that has made their ability to reason go into cerebral wastege.

I teach them that facts, reasoning and logic is very critical when making a public comment or assertion. And if they are not capable of those skills, they should simply shut up.

I have to admit, your style of educating them entertains me constantly. Nothing do u.

Sagamite: You are soooo civilised.

I am waiting ...........with daggers drawn in both hands.

Lol! All the online fighting stresses me out. Me, I like peace of mind.

Billyonaire: No she did not launder, she benefited from a criminal enterprise, Ibori should have faced firing squad, and not a plea bargain.

I can't understand why you would say she did not launder. The case has been decided in court.

Genuinely, out of curiousity, please explain to me why you don't think she laundered money.

She has been found guilty of contravening the money laundering regulations. If she just benefitted from a criminal enterprise, she would still have been guilty under the proceeds of crime act.

I believe she laundered money and will await credible information you have to the contrary.

Billyonaire: Granted the Delta States Citizen were ripped off by the great thief called Ibori, sorry Deltans. But What constitutes money laundering ? Lets go by the books, was she laundering money ? She wasnt. She was benefiting from a criminal empire in exchange for generous s.3.x she offered. She wasnt an accomplice. Highest the justice system could do is fine her and empty her account.

Presumably you know more about the details of the case and the applicable laws than the actual judge that sentenced her.

Lol @ all the defensiveness.

A happy father's day all round.

ogbeche77: Yes Barton is a serial criminal, we all know that, he even comes from a family with loads of criminal record huge enough to sink a ship... But it does not change the fact that all offense has to be treated relatively and as they come.. When Ben Tatcher almost broke a dude (name I can't remember now) sometimes in 2008 he got only 5 matches, that injury almost ended the dude career, he's currently not playing in any 1st tier league now, I'm not making a case for Barton I just want those FA guys to be consistent with there hammer and stop practicing selective judgement

I guess we've addressed the comparison to Suarez's racist charge then.

I vaguely remember the Ben Thatcher incident, but just looked it up BBC for the details. It was in 2006, he was suspended for 6 games and fined 6 weeks wages by his own club. The F.A. too suspended him for 8 games, with a further 15 game ban suspended for 2 years. [I've watched the incident again and I actually think he should have faced a more severe punishment + a criminal charge. Maybe what saved him were his apologies].

I'm not an advocate for the English F.A., but surely we can ensure accusations against them are credible. Perhaps there's another example that shows the inconsistency you speak about. It's always worthy of discussion.

ogbeche77: These FA dudes are something else, an offense(Racism) committed by Suarez which happens to be a cancer eating up the game of football year in year out only attracted a mere 8 match ban.... Why should Barton get more than 5? There sense of judgement should be questioned

While I fully support the attempts to stamp out racism, these two charges should not be compared. Joey Barton is a persistent offender.

In addition, if you look at the breakdown of the 12 match ban, there's an automatic 4 match ban due to his second red card of the season. AFTER the red card, he then went ahead to commit two other offences which brought about the additional charges. So you're looking at an average of a 4 match ban per charge as well as the automatic 4 match ban for his second red card of the season.