₦airaland Forum

Sorry to bust your bubble but the school in question is not exactly a top notch school! This is my own opinion. This said, I still say kudos for the achievement however more respect if he can repeat the same feat at a place like MIT et al

About time! They should have thought of this option as "a way out" instead wasting millions on irrelevant litigation

@ last poster, you don't need to break into investment banking, you can still do investment banking in telecomms, they have a treasury dept, they engage in proprietary transactions, engage in M and A deals, debt structuring and origination, portfolio management, financial disintermediation, the list is endless.

Do your homework very well and you will be amazed at the vast opportunities inherent in your current sector of work.

I am amazed that this kind of question is coming from someone with four years work experience and CFA level 3 candidate

I think we as an entity need to re-appraise our thought process. I read some of the comments here and laugh.

Money is not everything. We need to understand this. It a lack of this fundamental truth that compels our leaders both present and those of tomorrow to rob our great country with reckless abandon.

This said, the comparison used herein cannot "hold water" because, I can tell you that someone who earns 300k per month in Nigeria on a white collar job will save more that his counterpart who earns twice the equivalent in foreign currency on monthly basis "ceteris parribus".

Let's add some flesh to my assertion herein. Say you earn 2,000 USD pre tax and the home based fellow earns same (assuming an exchange rate of 150 naira to the dollar) the home based fellow can still afford to live comfortably and still save at least 100k per month whilst this will be very hard for the foreign based. I have been on both sides of the divide with first hand experience so I know what I am talking about!


No doubt there are Nigerians out there who make good money (to the glory of God I fall in this range) but the generalization here is hasty because it does not paint a true picture for those in the "dark".

This said, why don't we think of becoming "employers of labour" instead of falling in line "like machines in an assembly plant". It is amazing that in the organized private sector (apart from banks) indians, chinese and lebanese are the highest employers of labour in Nigeria. Yet the so called blue collar job that we can't do here in Nigeria is what a lot would gladly engage in abroad.

God bless Nigeria!

With reference to your example, I think it is only fair for the bank to ask for a full amount if the employee leaves on his own volition before the expiration of the two years. This should cover any loses that might accrue as a result of the sudden exit.

Also, asking for a prorated amount if the employee's contract is terminated for non performance within the two year
period sounds fair. At least the employee in question has been given the benefit of the doubt and didn't live up to expectations. Bear in mind also that interest will only start to accrue if the outstanding amount is not paid within an agreed time frame and at applicable rates.

This is my last post on this matter!

Just for the record, I won't even allow myself to be drawn along the lines of a debate with you. I think that I am way past that.

This said, I will still ask you again, under which conditions will a contract be terminated? Isn't it when the terms and conditions however agreed by both parties are not kept to.

In this case, if the bank employs you, spends millions on training and acquisition of skills and set out performance indicators agreed but not met by the employee, is the employer not obliged to review the contract and possibly terminate it?

More so, under which conditions does "downsizing" occur? We seem to use words loosely in the wrong context. Downsizing occurs if the firm in question can no longer fund its operational cost structure from revenue generated. It is a marco thing and not tied to the employee so the contract in this case will not be tenable if the employee lost his job through a downsizing exercise. In fact, such persons are expected to be paid a severance package determined by number of years in service and whether they have any outstanding loans e.g car, mortgage loan etc.

Finally, do you think that such institutions don't have a legal team that have looked at the implication of such contracts before including it in their offer letters.

We always want to eat out cake and have it. Put yourself in the shoes of the employer and maybe you won't have a skewed and biased opinion of the subject matter. At least, no one has forced to sign or accept such at "gunpoint" so if you are not comfortable with it, give others a chance!

There is no point over emphasizing the "bolded part" you only seem to be contradicting your self.

Now let me ask you under which circumstance is an employee's appointment terminated or sacked? It is either the employee has not met accepted key performance indicators or is involved in some kind or fraud or activity that contradicts the agreed contract signed with the employer. It is very rare for an employer to spend millions on training their staff only for their offer to be terminated or sacked without any tangible reason! It does not make any economic sense.

Further more, I am sure that the KPIs stated will be clearly spelt out for the employee in simple terms. It is now left for the employee to work towards achieving them. These firms are not charity organizations. They have an obligation to their shareholders or else they cease to become a "going concern"

First and foremost the topic is misleading. The contract states that if the person leaves before the expiration of the two year tenure or disengaged for non performance.

I quite understand the rage amongst Nigerians but I can't blame the people that have put such a clause in the employment. Nigerians are known for their high aptitude for "free lunch".

In this same Nigeria, a start up private equity firm recruited some new in takes and sent them abroad for six months training only for majority of them to come back and use their newly acquired skills to bargain for better offers from competitors leaving the promoters of start up PE firm in a limbo. Now tell me if you are the employer in this case, what would you do?

I don't blame some of the employers that have come up with such draconian measures because there is a reason for it. I mean why would I as an employer train you for six months with the expectation that there would be a return on investment via job performance only for such employees to move on leaving with the transferable skills acquired at the expense of the employer whilst saddling them with a huge training cost?

For them saying that employers don't have this kind of contract abroad....yes they don't because, employees have not given them any reason to!

@ the poster, where were you before you decided to embark on the MBA journey? What informed your decision to opt for the environmental management alternative? Where did you do your internship? Do you have relevant work experience and in which country?

These are some of the questions that you need to provide sincere answers to. I don't mean to be brash but apparently,anybody can get a foreign degree now and even MBA for that matter.

I don't know the school that you attended but the MBA is a business course and intended to invoke a thought process in you. Ideally, you are not meant to embark ona job search after the MBA because the one or two experience is meant to enable you have a global view of contemporary business issues. Let me de-construct this and break it down into simple component parts. You have indicated that yoour qualification is embedded with an environmental management option. In Africa right now environmental management and sustainability has become an issue of concern. In Nigeria, it is gaining prominence by the day-floods, drought, desertification, oil spillage and pollution. Whilst a lot will sit back complain, blame the government and also vent their pent up frustrations on domains like this, others have seen and are tapping into the vast business opportunities herein.

We have Nigerians abroad with arrany of degrees in environmental management and the likes doing deand end 9-5 jobs whilst back home our government and organized private sector is spending millions on the services of environmental consultants from abroad-how ironic!

For those championing the stay abroad and look for work option, bear in mind that before any international student for be considered for any job, the recruiter is expected to have exhausted the list of british and EU citizens that could take such before international students are considered.

May God open our eyes of understanding!

First and foremost......this looks like a "photoshoot" and not holidays pics. Holiday pics by my own definition are random, usually in non discrete clothes and mostly taken by celebrity photographers or "paparazzis".

Nice shots though but I think she would have made more "mark", if she had created her own distinct brand instead of trying to be a "Rihanna" wannabe

Just my two cents!

There is a debate going on currently at Harvard Business School on the economic value of education and the benefits of the alternatives forgone herein. Education is good no doubt even to Phd level but does ot make one a better individual?

I think the answer to that is obvious because you cannot "kick it" if you don't have it in you Phd or not. One irony to the mad rush to acquire an education instead of knowledge is that the economy and world at large is controlled by people that have not really placed an undue emphasis on the above herein. This is the obvious around us. Dangote, Aig, Elumelu, Branson, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs etc don't have Phds yet they are kicking it.

I think we all need to embark on an intense soul searching to really understand what our calling is. It is only through this that we can reach our peak performance and full potential. For some, not getting an education and starting a business might be it for others it might involve getting an education even up to Phd level, for some, a secondary school qualification will just suffice etc. We don't all need to jump on the bandwagon of acquiring a "Phd" because it is now the fad just as the MBA was previously.


There is a difference between having an education and being educated!

I appreciate the effort at providing tangible responses to the questions asked herein. However, a lot of the people asking questions seem to have what I will call a "Hand me all the answers mentality"

This kind of mentality is not appropriate and ultimately does more harm than good. For the poster, investment banking and private equity are similar yet different in some aspects. Use the google search engine to do some research instead of waiting for ready made answers! If after you have done your research, you still have some grey areas that require further clarification, you can throw it open on domains such as this for further deliberation.

As for the internship, it is usually part of the school curriculum here in the West. I am also aware that most private universities in Nigeria have something along the lines of an internship for their students which still requires a little bit structure. Either way, you can still arrange privately to have an internship in unpaid capacity with a handful of the firms in Lagos. However, this might not translate in an automatic job offer upon completion. All the best!

I don't know why people would have five kids in this age and era. Five girls and they are still looking for boy?

Husband is a welder and wife a tailor with five kids that they can't cater for properly and yet they are still looking for "boy"

It is not as if there is a inheritance that the couple have to bestow on their children

May God open our eyes of understanding!

I don't think you can learn to be an entrepreneur within the four walls of a school. Unless you want to waste your funds or you are just doing it for some form of psychological satisfaction.

You need to learn this from the school of hard knocks, make mistakes, learn from them and move on.

It would be a big irony if you come back and start competing for the few jobs on offer after the completion of your program with your other contemporaries that have studied other business and management related course!

Why not channel the funds meant for the program towards a more productive venture like financing a business plan or idea?

My two cents!

If funding is not an issue, I would suggest that you take the job. Gain experience and consider a masters later along the line. At that point you will be able to articulate what your post graduate academic needs will be. In my own view, if you go for the M.Sc now, you will still come back to contend for the same entry level jobs with your home schooled contemporaries and age might not be in your favour as companies keep reducing the age limit for new hires

Also Uni of Portsmouth is not a top notch school by any standard. They are not even top twenty in the UK regional ranking. If funding is not an issue why not go for the best like Oxford, Cambridge, LSE etc? I always tell people that if they want to study abroad, they should always aim for the best that is on offer. It might cost a little bit more but trust me, that extra is an investment that will repay many times over!

@ poster, sorry I have been compelled to edit some of my original posts. All of a sudden, I have tranches of scam mails in my box asking me to invest in one funny deal or the other. If you need any more info you can send me a PM.

All of the best!

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@ bookface, You are quite on point with the inflation rate 'thingy' but holding pay constant for 15 years and discounting over a 23 year time-line is over the board. In actual sense, income is more likely to increase same also for inflation.

@ yemmy_ma, different strokes for different folks! I don't think it is appropriate to discourage the poster. What we need to is provide unbiased information so that the poster will make an informed decision. No doubt, Nigeria is a TOUGH place to live and do business but one ironic question I keep asking is how come we have Americans, Chinese, Indians and other foreignn n nationalities doing business in our supposedly harsh business environ and yet they are raking in big bucks?

let me outline some names for you to back up my claim

De-United Foods trading under Multipro makers of the popular indomie noodles is owned by Indians. Chivita owned by Indians. WAMPCO is owned by Chinese. Oriental and Marcopolo owned by the Chinese. Stallion group owned by the popular Vaswani brothers. Park and shop - Indians, chocolate Royale- Lebanese, Mega Plaza- Isreali. I can go on and go

Back to yemmy_ma's question. No doubt, there are people that earn 160k USD but just a tiny fraction as I can tell you that most fall within the 25-40k USD range and when you consider taxes and other auxiliary expenses, you will discover that this above referenced amount is nothing to write home about.

I have mates in Nigeria that earn just half of this amount in Nigeria equivalent and relatively they are faring better than their contemporaries abroad.

Let's even add some figures to this claim. Let's assume a fixed tax rate of 40 percent on 160k (i.e 64k), there 96 k left. If the person in question has a car there are lease payments, insurance etc, if kids are in school there is tuition and other administrative expenses. We have not even talked about mortgage! Right now. If you want to buy a house now, you need at least 30 percent equity contribution for a typical 3 bedroom detached house of 250k which translates into about 75k bearing in mind that mortgage in my own opinion is a form of economic bondage!

Now compare this to another fellow in Nigeria that may earns 15m P.A. If such is prudent he can build his own house in a cosy area within three four years depending on preference without the hassles of a mortgage and still afford to have a little set aside for some entrepreneurial business whilst also raising a family without hassles!

A lot of us don't look beyond the big picture and understand that the details also matter. We all assume that America is a bed of roses because we have been brainwashed by the media to think so whilst presenting africa as a disease ravaged continent.

@ the poster, have a back up plan, increase the frequency of your visits to Nigeria as I am doing presently, make a lot of friends with all and sundry don't have a condescending view about any body and be prepared to drop the american accent trust me it will do you a lot of good! (I got the opportunity to acquire some choice plots of land around Lekki axis through the taxi man that picks me up from the airport anytime I am in the country can you imagine!) Also, be careful as there are a lot of scam artists around. Try to have a structure on ground before you relocate finally and remember to pray and have faith. Nigeria is a country plagued with insecurity, economic, tribal and religious strife but also filled with vast opportunities. It all depends on how you want to see the cup- half empty or half full!

I think I will stop ranting at this point and best of luck!

Yeah! Get over it and move on! You don't see your new mentor Kanye West still basking in the euphoria of his past hits like Stronger, Heartless, Jesus Walks, Hey mama,Runaway, Niggaz in Paris and recently Mercy! He is constantly re-inventing himself and moving on!

Success is not a 100 meter dash but a marathon. We are still waiting for the internationally acclaimed single that you want to release! I am guessing that it is not "Oyato"

@ layifioren, No doubt, LASTMA officials are perhaps not the best in terms of their ability to conduct their activities in a professional and civilized manner!

More so, let me make this clear, if she had stayed in her lane and the official jumped in front of her vehicle, the story would be different! However she was driving against traffic! What if she had caused an accident resulting in the death of other motorists on the highway?

If you go through my all posts herein, you will see that I have not in anyway exonerated the LASTMA officials from any wrong doing. I just feel that it is wrong for "Yinka that cannot hurt a fly " to engage in such reckless driving without some after thought!

Yes, others might do it and get away with it but that is not a guarantee for me, you or any other person for that matter to engage in the same act! Two wrongs cannot make a right!

Let me make this clear, I don't know any of the two parties from adam but even if Yinka were my wife and the mother of my children, I would still recommend full reprimand and 100 percent punitive measure for the traffic offense!

@ Aj, violent, bookface et.al, why avail the poster with undue attention?
I will suggest that his thread be ignored whilst attention and positive energy is channeled towards others herein that genuinely need them.

By doing this, his original post will become less relevant, get lost in the pile of similar posts and eventually fall through the cracks!

"Most Ridiculed And Rubbished Professions In Nigeria" indeed!

"Yinka cannot hurt a fly" Yeah right and I am from Mars! Spare me the rhetorics! But she can drive against busy traffic in a one way lane endangering the lives of other motorists in the process!

I am highly disappointed in the comments herein! Makes me wonder how people process information. No wonder we cannot move forward as a country. Anytime, I am in the country and stuck in traffic, I always feel the urge to prove that I am a "Lagosian by doing the needful" but I am equally reminded that such acts of irresponsible display could put others and myself in harm's way!

Why would a civilized mother of three children drive against traffic in the first place?

She should face the FULL wrath of the law without compromise!

To all the Yinka Johnson apologists championing her cause, would you still sing the same song if the victim was a relative, friend, husband, wife or colleague? We don't have regard for human life at all. So because it is a LASTMA official it does not matter!

May God help us all!

We seem to have thrown away our sense of moral decency! There is no correlation between the law and the incident at hand! Why did she drive against traffic in the first place? Agreed there is a lot of gridlock along the Lekki Ajah axis but trust me life would be pretty much easier for a lot of the road users if people just obey the traffic rules without jumping from one lane to another or driving in the opposite direction on a one way lane!

If we read the full story she absconded and drove into an estate around Ikota and it took the intervention of the police authorities before she was caught!

If she is sure that she didn't commit the offense why did she run in the first place and somebody here is posting that she is the mother of a two month old baby! What about the official that lost his life? Is he not also father to some children and somebody's husband?

She should face the FULL wrath of the law and be laid off from her job to serve as a deterrent to others!

Integrity is doing what is right because it is right and not because it is expedient!Can she try this kind of road stunt in the West? The answer of course is NO!

I think that we are all missing the point. Nobody is saying that the poster should not follow his dreams and passion. We are simply saying that he should create a realistic balance between his passion and following the crowd. Believe me, I am talking from experience.

No doubt, what he wants to do is quite good but the truth is- this pursuing one's passion comes with a lot of sacrifices and my extant interaction with a lot indicate that they are not ready to tow the path of sacrifice but would prefer a short cut which is what most Nigerian youth want (apologies for generalizing)

Take a look at the late Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and even music moguls like Kanye West and Jay Z. They all paid for in full and sacrificed a lot to follow their passion which of course is yielding results for them. We all see the glory and not the pain.


Certain questions are put forward- thus if there is no scholarship, will he still embark on the course of study in Germany? If the highly anticipated job offer does not see the light of the day, will he still be able to be of service to humanity?

Realistically, there are people who don't work or have affiliations with any of the donor firms yet they command more respect and influence than the whole of the agencies combined. I just hope I am making some sense here!

@ poster, Hopefully, the decisions you take might or might not pan out depending on the prevailing circumstances on ground. One common mistake we all make is to apply generalizing assumptions to our individual and respective scenarios. Issues should be treated on a case by case basis and not as we address them here.

Additionally,I have noticed your outright rejection of certain opinions and immediate praise and overriding acceptance for others and this suggests to me that you seem to have your mind made and only require further conviction to back up your desired thought of action.

3 years in O and G is still entry level in my view and switching to developmental studies is a 360 degree career change that could spell suicide for you if not properly planned and risks mitigated against. A few questions for you- how many languages do you speak?, how many published papers have you written?,how many seminars and workshops have you attended re the course you want to pursue? If your answer to the above set of questions is NO, then you might end up being just a 'foot soldier' or a number in UN/EU if eventually your expectation pans out or worse still unemployed at the end of the program.

Another question is would you have embarked on this course of study if there was no scholarship incentive tied to it? Would have spent your own funds?
If no then you need to have a rethink!

More so, is there an "assured guarantee" that you will get your desired job once you are done or have you based your assurance on some random career assessment poll quoting figures that cannot be validated?

I might sound harsh, but I have the best of all intentions and don't want you to go along with this mentality of "group think" wherein there is harmonious acceptance to your plans without critically considering the downsides. As one poster rightly mentioned, being an adult and also broke at the same time is not a funny thing at all. You will be amazed how quickly you will deplete your savings if there is no source to replace them.

What if you don't get the UN/EU job? What are your plans after this? If you cannot provide sincere answers to the questions above then I will suggest that you stick to your job for now till you are able do. Success is not all about making money or impact, Success first and foremost is about passion. The other factors will automatically align once your have laid a strong foundation for your self!

Ironically, life in its entirety is a 'zero sum game' so your exit from the O and G upstream sector will surely create space for another person to fulfill their life long ambition of making "Oyel" money as a lot on this domain refer to it!

All the best!

I think it is harsh to ask for the 'balls' of the husband on a plate without considering some things. Also, I empathize with the poster, I understand that it is not easy to carry a baby for nine months but there are certain things I wish to draw our attention to.

Marriage as a contract is divided into stages. More so, at each stage we need to have the required emotional quotient to pull through each stage. Let me break this down into simple English. There is a belief that once the couple has tied the knot the next thing is to fill the house with children which is a good idea. However a lot don't bother to check if they have the EQ to proceed to the baby making stage. For men, the transition is a lot slower than most think whilst it is much faster in women. We men are like babies and love it when we are pampered so there will be some friction if there a shift in attention to another 'baby' even if the baby is a product of the man's loins!

I intend to settle down soon and spent a weekend with a relative the last time I visited Nigeria. I was overwhelmed by the amount of energy spent on the kids from answering questions to running round the house with them and I am beginning to ask myself if I want to start having kids immediately after marriage. No doubt, I want to have kids with my future partner but do I have the EQ to do so immediately after marriage, am I ready for the sudden shift of attention once the baby is in the whole equation? These are vital questions we tend to overlook!

For the poster,I have some questions
Did you used to pamper your husband silly before the pregnancy and suddenly shifted attention to the baby in you? If yes he is probably sulking as I said MEN are nothing but BIG BABIES!

Try and have a heart to heart talk with him and I am sure you will be able to sort things out. Don't listen to some of the extreme suggestions posted herein. Marriage is for better for worst and I wish you both the best!

!

I am quite impressed with your efforts till date. I just spoke to a friend who works with WB in DC and she said that application for internships at WB which is done on a yearly basis has closed, so you might have to wait till the window of opportunity pans in again(typically they will start receiving applications for 2013 interns around September or November this year)

You might also want to consider AfDB as I am aware that they do take a lot of interns that work out their HO in Tunisia. However, I don't know much about their internal processes.

You could also add a few seminal foundations with presence in Africa to list like Diageo foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, Ford foundation just to mention a few. One strong point that you might wish to add to your cover letter is your willingness to undertake the internship offer even in unpaid capacity. This will demonstrate passion on your part and could be the punchline required.
Yet again, I will recommend that internet as a good source of information for your quest!

All the best!

@ Ajanlekoko, VERY FUNNY!
@ Nitrogen, the excuses are real but there is more corruption in the so called abroad than we have in Nigeria.

The LIBOR saga, money laundering issue with HSBC and other stuff is a good testimony to this. The light issue will soon be a thing of the past and would have been long before now ( as far back as 2001-2002) if Nigerians had supported the initial privatization exercise. If you are following the exercise closely you will see that a group of people at the helm of affairs at NEPA are just delaying the whole exercise for their selfish reasons. How do you explain over 30 billion missing from a closed pension scheme managed by the union guys?

Finally going abroad to study is just 'a means to an end and not an end in its self'

I am with Ajanlekoko on this one all the way. A lot of people herein first class or not don't have a clue what to do after university and I also think that this going abroad thingy has been over-flogged such that it has no relevance again. No doubt, I am a good by product of a ivy school in the US and I am greatly reaping the benefits but the truth is recently, I have been doing a lot of transactions in Nigeria that are of immerse benefit to me so I won't agree with anybody who feels that there is nothing Nigeria has to offer. Nestle global the parent coy that controls Nestle Nig plc makes over 65 percent of their PAT from sub saharan Africa same also for Diageo. I was in Nigeria sometime around July and was amazed at the kind of big ticket deals that some of my mates without the so called foreign degrees are structuring. One just got a contract to build a mini estate of approx 75 housing units for a 2nd tier up stream O and G coy around Lekki axis. Trust me, I quickly jumped in on the deal and entered into a partnership with him.
More so, he got the job on merit without any connection what so ever.

I think that a lot on this domain who champion the 'go abroad and your life will not remain the same' cause suffer from a 'complex'. This same complex is what makes Phd holders in the so called abroad engage in menial jobs when they can be treated as demigods back home whilst contributing to the growth of our moribund educational system. People need to come back home and see what is happening.

For the poster, I salute the fact that you finished with a first but I have serious doubt about your ability to deliver as you have indicated via your post written in SMS/TEXT language. I will also add this, send me a PM and I could hook you up to commence a GT role with one of the best brokeage firms in Nigeria but bear this in mind- you must be able to create a link between theory and practice for the job to be yours!

The WB, IFC, AfDB and other developmental fin. institutions offer internship programs to qualified candidates on an on going basis and recruit without bias.

You don't need to know somebody or have any connection before you can apply, just bear in mind that you will be going against some of the best brains available. Not just people with distinction or stellar grades but people that can speak three to five foreign languages just to mention a few.

So thinking that a distinction at both graduate and post graduate level will make you the best candidate is far from it. Don't get me wrong, I think that it is good that you have these stellar grades but don't allow it get into your head and think that the WB slot will automatically come as a result of this. Another thing they consider is your number of published articles hence I ask this have you written any articles that has been published any recently? If no, now is a good time to start. Try and get a slot with your faculty editorial.

What about your MSc dissertation? Is it of relevance to the overall intent of the organizations you want to intern with? These are the kind of prerequisites that they will look out for. You will be surprised that they don't lay much emphasis on your grades per say. Additionally, have you attended any of their seminars or workshops lately? In a nut shell, you must be able to demonstrate an all encompassing understanding of the organization and what they engage in. For example what is the core intent of WB vs. AfDB vs. IFC and how do they operate in country specific locations? Which sectors are a top priority for them? etc.

The google search engine will be a good place to commence your quest! All the best!