₦airaland Forum

$20k/year is not an elite salary for a Nigerian engineering graduate fresh out of college? I'm not talking about senior staff or whatever

Katsumoto, I'd chose Nigeria over Ghana probably for the same reason McKinsey decided to open its office in Lagos rather than Ghana. . . simply because it has a much larger local market and man-power base.

I don't want to get too abstract. . . let me talk concretely for a second. I've not figured out yet what I want to do with my life, but one option I'm considering is to one day start a technology company based upon my own area of expertise. If Nigeria gets its act together and power supply becomes regular and internet access become cheaper and faster, I'd absolutely love to open an office in Nigeria someday.

Why? Simply because I can hire a Nigerian or African at a much lower cost than the equivalent American. Now, you'll probably say that Nigerian labor is pretty crappy or something. Be that as it may, if it costs me $100,000 a year (salary, healthcare, retirement plan, etc) to hire an American to fill role X in my company and I can pay a Nigerian $20k who'll even be only half as effective, why would't I be interested in investing in Nigeria?

And I think an annual salary of $20k/year is pretty elite in Nigeria, so I can attract some of the best brains the country has to offer.

@Idehn and @okada_man: It looks like my guess was right:


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/12/101205234308.htm

This blog post and its comments are also interesting: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2010/12/was-the-medieval-european-peasant-wealthier-than-an-african/

Hrm, 1500AD was a somewhat arbitrarily chosen date.

I sort of imagined that Europe would be far wealthier than Africa prior to that time (say in a GDP/capita sense, poverty rate sense, HDI sort of sense).

To be frank, I haven't read anything on the subject. . . my guess was based upon the technology they'd have had available that we didn't.

I didn't really mean to derail the thread on this subject, it was mostly a tangent.

I will google around a bit though to find out what the answer is.

@Idehn: I understand your POV, but am guessing that the lot of your average European was better than that of your average African in say 1500AD.

Eziachi is a really cool dude. Heh. I wish naija history had turned out a bit differently.

@lagcity: Just some article I read about people abusing bath salts to get high: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/us/17salts.html

The quote just jumped at me, so I decided to make it my signature.

[quote author=Ileke-IdI link=topic=715383.msg8740434#msg8740434 date=1311003453]I was? Oh gosh, my past is gaining up on me. I better stop [/quote]Hehe. I'm not judging you, I'm kind of a flirt too

on JULY 18, 2011 · in NEWS

By VINCENT UJUMADU
THE 200 pensioners of Anambra Broadcasting Service, ABS, have dragged the state government to the Public Complaints Commission, over outstanding gratuities and pensions.

In a statement, the senior citizens appealed to the commission to prevail on the government to pay them their outstanding gratuities and pension to reduce death among them.

In the SOS message addressed to Anambra State Commissioner in the commission, Chairman of the union, Mr. Dennis Nwadukwe, and secretary, Mr. Paul Obah, said their action followed the decision of the government to deduct N4 million from the monthly subvention of the organisation.

The pensioners said this has made it impossible for ABS to fully pay them and other workers.
They added that following non-payment of their gratuities, 26 of their members had died, while three were seriously bed-ridden.

The statement read: “We are surprised that Anambra State government cannot pay ABS pensioners after serving the government through thick and thin, since the organization moved from Enugu to Awka, in spite of gazette No 55 of 1976 which scheduled ABS for pension and gratuity, as well as the edict of ABS, Enugu in 1985.

“The situation in ABS has degenerated to a point that even the small monthly pension and staff salary have been slashed to two –thirds for the month of June, 2011.

“We understand that Anambra State government mandated ABS to generate N26 million monthly to fund the organization when the radio and television cannot be received outside Awka.

“Anambra State government has to pay us the arrears the way governments pay because there is no part of the globe where gratuity is paid piece meal.

“That is why Anambra State government settled pension and gratuity arrears of local government pensioners in two batches early in 2011 with a total sum exceeding N7 billion.”

They argued that only about N200 million was required to pay them which, according to them, is just about the amount used in constructing two kilometers of road.

At another forum, former Deputy National President of Radio Television, Theatre and Arts Workers Union, RATTAWU, Mr. Don Onyenji, said the situation in ABS was critical, adding that with the deduction of N4 million from the subvention of the organization, the workers’ morale had remained low.

He urged the state governor, Mr. Peter Obi, to intervene in the matter to boost the morale of the workers, adding that under the prevailing situation, the workers could not put in their best.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/07/pensioners-report-anambra-govt-to-complaint-commission/

Hehe.

Just like the US and the rest of the world used Islamic banking (or even non-interest banking) to bounce back from economic crisis, Nigeria should do the same. After all, non-interest banking is the goto tool for solving these weighty problems, right?

We all remember how the Great Depression was defeated in the 30s and 40s by non-interest banking, right? 

I dey laff o

This is a guy that Jarus would have us believe would be top 3 if the CBN position was zoned to the SW.

This is a guy Akanbi_edu believes is one of the most competent Nigerians in the country.

This is a guy Fstranger put in the same sentence as Krugman (Nobel prize winner).

All I can do is shake my head.

Smh @ this Sanusi dude.

Abeg, leave banking and go become Ayatollah of Kano or something.

We need serious people in charge of important positions like this, not jokers like this Sanusi

By Gbenga Ariyibi
ADO-EKITI— THE Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has said the introduction of Islamic banking into our financial system was “necessitated by the effect of global meltdown that castrated the Nigerian financial system and slowed down the growth of the economy.”

He, however, assured that Nigeria’s subscription to Islamic banking would revive the current downturn of the country’s economy.

Sanusi pledged to dialogue with the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, this week on the issue.



The CBN governor, who was delivering a paper entitled: “Youth empowerment as a tool for sustainable development at the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Permanent Orientation Camp, Ise Ekiti, weekend, for the Batch B corps members, regretted that a lot of Nigerians might have been misinformed of the motive/importance of Nigeria’s subscription to the non interest banking, adding that the move has no religious coloration.

In the speech delivered on his behalf by the Controller of the CBN, Ekiti State Branch, Mr Samuel Oladele Ogungbayi, the CBN governor said Islamic banking was just a product out of many that commercial banks operate.

His words: “The non-interest banking framework was necessitated by the effect of global meltdown that castrated the Nigeria financial system and slowed down the growth of the economy.

“Given the increasing number of requests from persons, banks and other financial institutions, the CBN has developed the guidelines for the regulation and supervision of institutions that intend to offer Islamic financial services
“Islamic banking is one of the models of non-interest banking that provides financial services similar to conventional financial institutions save that it operates in accordance with the principles and rules of profit and loss sharing and the prohibition of interest charges.

Sanusi further said some of the advanced countries like Britain and America operate Islamic banking, adding that other countries like Malaysia and Indonesia have already experienced rapid growth in Islamic banking by tapping from this huge fast growing industry.

To meet with CAN leadership
Sanusi assured that he was ready to meet with Christian leaders to educate them on Nigeria’s interest in investing in Islamic banking.

The apex bank boss, however, reeled out some of the bank’s interventions in empowering the youths and the average businessman in the country, some of which according to him, include Trust Fund Model, TFM; Interest Drawback Programme, IDP; Micro Policy Framework for Nigeria and Small and Medium enterprises Finance.

He charged corps members to be more pro-active and explore any of the opportunities offered by the CBN, saying they should not rely on salaried work.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/07/islamic-banking-necessitated-by-effect-of-global-meltdown-sanusi/

lagcity:
this Fayemi guy oozes intelligence when he speaks. I'm glad the SW governors are thinking right. I wonder if it has anything to do with the Awo cap they all like wearing I'm glad the Western Region is back. let's regain that momentum we had b4 bad belle ppl jailed our Awo.

Hehe

I prefer the floppy cap instead, but thinking about getting a couple Awo-style caps now

Top 3 in the SW.

I dey laff o

This field is not my area of expertise, but I would not be surprised if he is not even top 3 in Ekiti State, if pure merit is used

lagcity:
u see why no one wants to invest in yiboland? it is a sh1thole. even Igbos won't invest there. that's why they were begging for southern unity. Igbos are penny wise and dollar foolish. they would rather kidnap and bury their monarch at okija or buy the ozo title rather than fix their sh1thole. una see how the world's greatest whiners don carry begging bowl to Papa Jona . pathetic. next month, i'm going to be in Alpha beach in lasgidi, guess who's not gonna worry about huge gullies swallowing him up?

My brother, relax. No need to kick folk while they are down. Especially over natural disasters.

dayokanu:
ekt_bear,

If you had been in Akintolas shoes, What would you have done?

DK: I am no saint. Nor do I claim to be extremely farsighted. I probably would have done the same thing Akintola did. However, you do recognize that it was a complete disaster for Yorubaland, right?

I'm not absolving Awolowo of the blame btw. Both are responsible. But it seems to me that Akintola should get the lion's share of the blame for playing into the hands of the enemies of Yorubaland (North and East)

By Adimike George 4 hours 1 minute ago
Anambra State governor, Peter Obi
About seven school children have been reported dead, while several people were rendered homeless in Ojibwa Oedipus, a riverine community in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra state following a ravaging flood that washed away most of their homes.

The Nation gathered that the ravaging flood was as a result of the blockage of a major water channel in the community by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) while mounting the High Tension poles.

Narrating their ordeal to Newsmen in Onitsha at the weekend the Spokesperson of the community under the aegis of the Ogbaru Stakeholders’ Forum, Sir Peter Okala lamented that most houses in the area have been totally submerged in the flood which has been growing unabated.
According to him, the only solution to the menace of flooding is to reopen the water channel earlier blocked by the PHCN while erecting high tension poles.

The visibly troubled Okala, disclosed that in order to access their homes, residents had to construct make-shift wooden part ways, which he said has led to the death of about seven school children who slipped off and got drowned.

He said the residents have been having horrifying experiences as reptiles especially pythons have attacked some of the hapless victims, adding that the huge snakes even invade their poultry farms and devour their birds.

He said, “At night we can hardly sleep as we keep vigil to ensure that the snakes do not attack us while in bed. There was an incident when an elderly woman was nearly strangled by the snake if not for the help of neighbours who came to her rescue and killed the snake, it is that bad.”

http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news-update/12794-flood-kill-seven-kids-in-anambra.html

Katsumoto, I think you and I have had discussions on this in the past. Basically, I think electricity alone will solve most of the problems facing Nigeria. I'll may respond more thoroughly tonight.

@idehn: Hrm, I meant poor in a relative sense. Europe in 1500AD was probably still amongst the wealthiest places in the world, no? It was not poorer than Africa for example, right?

A very bold move. Kudos to Fayemi for taking this step. Hopefully he doesn't get pounded too much politically for this.

on JULY 18, 2011 · in NEWS
     
…over age falsification and certificate forgery

By Gbenga Ariyibi

ADO-EKITI – Governor  Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti has ordered the immediate sack of 5,000 workers from the state’s local government service.

Th etermination of appointments of the affected workers in the 16 local government areas cuts across the cadres.

Chief Aderemi Ajayi, the Chairman of the state’s local government service commission, while confirming the sack in Ado-Ekiti yesterday, said the names of the affected workers had been removed from the July 2011 salary vouchers.

Ajayi alleged that the affected workers gained employment into the service, using fake certificates and falsified birth certificates.

He explained that the list of the affected staff was compiled by a special verification committee set up by the governor to oversee the activities of the local government administration in the state.

He said: “Those affected were those that gained employment into the local government service using fake certificates and those that ought to have retired but refused to do so by continually falsifying their ages.

“The committee directed all the local governments in the state to display the names of the affected workers in their respective notice boards on July 15.

“Their names had been removed from the July 2011 salary vouchers. Those with genuine complaints are to forward such to the committee.

“Although I cannot tell you the exact  figure of the affected workers, I can tell you the sack cuts across all the 16 local governments in the state.”

The names of the affected workers were on Friday pasted on the notice boards of the various local government secretariats.

However, one of the affected staff members, who gave his name as Gabriel Aturu, described the sack as “anti people and anti democratic tenets being proclaimed by the state government.

“The allegations of fake academic certificates and falsification of age are not true but an effort by the government to justify the illegal and brazen sack.

‘”The sack is an attempt by the officials to fill the vacant posts with their cronies, and political associates at our expense.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/07/ekiti-sacks-5000-lg-workers/

koastar:
It is a good development to develop the SW region as a whole but I think Fayemi should focus on infrastructural development in Ekiti. The infrastructure in that state especially Ado-Ekiti which is the state capital is so so poor!

The point is that rail and improved transportation from Ekiti to Lagos would do far more for developing the state than pretty much anything the state government can do in even 100 years.

Improve transportation and allow people to live in Ekiti and work in Lagos and the state will be rapidly developed.

Improved transport to Lagos is pretty much one of the most important things the governors of the SW must do, if they really want Yorubaland to be developed. In my opinion (and evidently Fayemi's), at least.

Big Meat:
It is so simple, let each individual country take a proper stock of what they have and then channel their brains into developing political and economical ideologies that will suit their developmental goals.

I don't really disagree with this. . . but if the answer ends up being something very different from capitalism, then I doubt they came up with the best.

The USA, and largely the Western Europeans should not be the ones to dictate what kind of ideologies to adopt.

I sort of agree. I doubt the USA has ever been a poor, underdeveloped like Nigeria. Europe hasn't been poor for probably hundreds or thousands of years. However, countries like Singapore, China, Dubai, South Korea were poor 50-60 years ago but now are doing pretty well. They are what I'd use to argue in favor of capitalism, not really the US or Europe.

In my own opinion, capitalism, democracy, communism and all other fancy ideological words are just frauds.

Can you elaborate?

Thanks for the update, johnie.

logica:
Could it be your pops is still sour he wasn't inducted, or did he feel oppressed by a group of super-smart dudes taking all the chicks?

Hehe. My pops is a tall (6'4) very good looking dude. Even up to age 50, his stomach was washboard-flat. Regarding intelligence, he is roughly as smart as I am. In other words, smart as fvck. I haven't talked about this type of stuff with him before, but I am sure he had no issues pulling tail in his Ife days

Hehe. I also made the mistake of investing in the Nigerian banking sector in 2006-2007 or so. I bought Access Bank stock.

No doubt we should both be round up and shot

Sanusi is a fool, imo.

A country starving for investment like Nigeria, and he thinks it wise to scare away investors with statements like that?