₦airaland Forum

@pato405 sorry again. I mistook you for FavouredFellow in my rush to beat the dying battery. I think performance at interview could also be due to other reasons than not being good in one's field. State of mind and exposure also are factors. The two questions I myself failed at the interview were the simplest - the only short answer questions I was asked.
Q: Which State has the lowest population?
A: Lagos
Q: When did Nigeria become a Republic?
A: 1979.
Of course,  the entire panel burst out in laughter, and the VC looked so relieved to have caught me with those two "bullets." It was a moment of self-re-examination for me. I knew there were still a lot of things that are considered simple in which I was ignorant. Of course, I had no doubt I did well in the aggregate, considering the way they all listened to me answering the earlier more professional set of questions.
Another factor, especially as it relates to the question about population, was stress. Even as I did not know the state with lowest population, I knew it could not be Lagos. But the stress of the journey + seating long before I was called in added to my disorientation.
With a PhD in that your field, I do not doubt that you will get a job easily. There are, in fact, more opportunities for those in areas such as Microbiology, Biochemstry, Public Health and other related fields. These are areas that are emphasized by newly emerging institutions and grant-giving bodies.
The issue of ethnicity or favouritism does not come in in this instance. My teacher is Yoruba and in addition was from Ogun, while I am only Yoruba and not from Ogun. I know a lot of non-Yoruba academics in the University where I teach. This is not to discount the disgusting ethnic bias of many of our senior colleagues and peers, but I am telling you that there is a point where it won't work. See the example of ABU Zaria, as marginalized as the ethnic minority and the Southerners are in that place, the establishment can not help hiring them for academic positions for which they seem to be the only ones qualified. So, they dominate the teaching staff; it is in high-cadre administrative appointments such as VC etc that they are discriminated against.

@pato405, permit me to strongly disagree with you. If with a PhD, you still need a godfather or something of that sort to get a job, then I seriously doubt the quality of that PhD. You may take this for example: Immediately after my defence in 2009, I responded to an advert by UNAAB. Of course, the VC insisted on the minimum of PhD for all academic positions. You know what? (1)There were more number of positions to be filled than the number of applicants invited (i.e those with PhDs). (2) I know more than two applicants who were not successful in that interview not because the job was given to some other person, but because they simply flunked the questions. In fact, a former teacher of mine who also attended the interview predicted to me that he would not be employed, with the way he performed at the interview. Up till now some of the positions are not yet filled and the departments are still shopping hard for qualified hands. The position I was given (CONUASS 3 step2) was indeed a step higher than what I was told I would be given during the interview (3 Step 1); I suspect it was all in the bid to make it attractive to those of us who do not belong in the physical science and might not consider a career in a science and tech varsity exciting. I turned it down, as I said earlier.
In sum, I think it is better to strive to be good, if not exceptional, in your field first. You will literally be harassed with job offers after. I DO NOT THINK SO. I KNOW SO.

@pato405, sorry I meant to write LII, not LI please. Getting a job after PhD was not difficult for me. I had three letters about a month after my defence, but I chose a postdoc fellowship I got instead. I only came back to take a position after the six month-fellowship. Getting a job was for me as easy as it was difficult without a PhD. But the money too small sha.

I am presently an L1 in a FG university. My basic per annum is N897,501 while gross monthly pay before deductions is N141,389.25. After tax and pension deduction: N134,312.85. Present wage increase could change that a bit.

Please, kindly help me check this car's VIN:4T1BG12K5TU666546
Thanks.

Reliable Nairalanders,
The transmission of my car broke down. I guess it was a build up from an incident of a burst of one the hoses that runs the transmission fluid to the base of the radiator. Though I pulled up and invited my mechanic immediately I noticed it, the transmission was never the same again until it finally went kaput. Now, I invited an automatic gear mechanic here in Ibadan and gave him money to buy and fix another gear. So far, he has installed three, and they have all malfunctioned within 48 hours. His argument is that there is no way of knowing a good gear, and that everything depends on luck. I have since managed to get part of my money refunded.

Please, your suggestions and advise would be useful in taking my next decision.

@zizzo, I have mobilized my mechanic to get it. Thanks a lot.

@femmy2010, I am very grateful for your advice. I will set to work immediately.

Need a Tokunbo engine for my 1996 Camry V4. Please, include price and location. The nearer to Ibadan the better. Thanks.

I need a digital voice recorder at affordable price. It has to be a reliable brand with USB and considerable storage capacity (from 1G up). Call Kay on 08080729181 or mail grandeekay@yahoo.com

@Siena, I am grateful and proud of you. Will try to clean up the radiator at the car wash first. If the problem persists, I will look for a competent mechanic as you advised.

Dear Nlanders, just took delivery of 1996 camry. The car is good except that it is overheating. I am divided between those who say I should yank off the thermostat and those who think I should change the radiator altogether. A couple of people also feel I should just give the radiator a good wash. Wise ones, please help.

Even with the first speakers of English, language - with all its constituents - is not set in stone; it is renewed continuously by current usage. For example, what today is "broadcast", an electronic media term, began as an agric register, "gulag" used to be a Russian jail, while "diaspora" was only used for the scattered Jewish nation. These words have been today broadened to denote more than what they meant when they first evolved. All these show that lexicographers, i.e those who make dictionaries, depend on the users of the language, not the other way round. Now this is my point: if the term "jeep" actually evolved as a brand name, it has today become a generic auto type. Encarta is one of the world's most current encyclopedia and dictionary, and it defines "jeep" thus: "rough terrain vehicle: a vehicle developed by the military in World War II with four-wheel drive, for use on poor roads or open terrain."

Microsoft® Encarta® 2008. © 1993-2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

NLanders please, is there no way of doing legitmate costums papers for a 1994-96 camry or 1997 honda accord? I have had to suspend buying my car late last year since I could not afford a more recent one. These customs pests scare me like death.

750k and you have a deal. Cash, no cheque.

friendl,
Abi? This one wey you dey hide price details like say na thief you thief am.

Nlanders beware. This could be a fraud.

I have my fear about such nlanders too. Why hide the bloody price?

@Tadeus,
is it possible to get a full-optioned1995/95 honda accord bulldog or 1995 camry across through a legitimate means, with all the papers? I am apprehensive of the fact that those brands do not fall within the 10 yrs permitted. If it is possible send the cost implication and terms to aberubioke@yahoo.com. Thank you.

@emproh, I am equally confused. I would rather stay put with my old smoker than go through a humiliating face-off with them customs.

@honeyguy, can I have the VIN? aberubioke@yahoo.com, please.

@honeyguy, is it toks. Otherwise, no way.

O kare laye honeyboy. That was my fear. Your judgement confirmed it.

@chubbistone
Stricly Tokunbo, sir. Or do you have some good reasons why you would that I get a Naija-used intead? I will value your counsel.

@honeyguy,
You don't seem to want to post or send the detailed specifics and pics of the cars. Why?

700k please?

Sorry honeyguy. Just realized the Honda is 96. Send details.

@honeyguy, please post pictures and specifics of the 1997 Honda. I would like to see the VIN too. If you have reservations about posting, you may send the details to aberubioke@yahoo.com. Let me see what you have so we can negotiate.

In need of a tokunbo 1995/6 auto camry or honda bulldog. budget 650k - 700k. pls help with info and advice.

Please, I need an automatic Tokunboh 1995/96 Camry or Honda bulldog or 1997 volkswagen jetta. No pre-order please.
The budget is 650 - 700k. Please, kindly help or advice.