₦airaland Forum

22)Foolish but some times useful

I dare say that by far a larger population of Nigerians enjoy being associated with the wealthy and classy. I have observed through the years that folks who spend money beyond the average value of a relative item are admired. The part of this observation that I am drawn to is the 'stickiness' of the memory that such copious display of wealth has on the (average Nigerian)observer.

So in as much as I am not a fan of big ticket spending above the nominal value of an item, I however fully understand the impact that this has on observers. I don't think I am alone in this observation. Because of this, some haggle in private but spend silly when fickle minded observers are around who then go on to help them blow their trumpets.

I have seen some folks who I know their not-too-rich backround purchase items at some 600% of their real value from specialized shops when with people. I have also seen how the observers have gone ahead to create folklores out of the events. I have watched girls get starry eyed and all mushy about the spender with the narration of such tales.

My reason for bringing this up is 2 pronged.
1) If you've been spending big in public, you should realise that you've long since created a value perception of yourself that you can leverage
2) If you've not, you might do well to try it once in a while (that's to a select loud mouthed group) and leverage the over rated perception of you at a later date

For the second person, (I know say im go pain u well, well to spend like that)what you could do is to link it up with something you really like. For example, if love good exquisite food and tasty lounges. It shouldn't hurt you much if you go to 5 star restaurant with friends and feast on a meal that is no larger than your fist.
It might hurt, but if well managed, it could yield a 100 fold. I mean let's face it, you won't be thinking of going to Adenuga with a deal worth just a million naira would you?

Another name for this is called 'PRODUCT PLACEMENT'

See you soon

blink182: When ,you invite people, you are suppose to house them, this only goes to show the level of mismanagement.

I am not taking any position on right or wrong here, but I'd like to ask some questions

1)When Tinubu was 'invited' to the US by the democratic party, who housed him? The US, himself or Lagos state?
2) When Nigerian officials such as Sanusi go to the UK et al to receive awards, who cater for them? Nigeria or Foreign governments?
3) When folks are invited from far flung places by the national assembly or EFCC, who provides for their logistics? Person or state?

4) When GEJ is invited to a country, who takes care of his logistics? the 'inviter' state or 'invitee' state?


Just musing

shymexx: The protests show the Chinese are still nationalists and they're down for the cause. China will annihilate Japan and the only thing USA would do, is just stand by and watch like it did when Russia was annihilating Georgia...

We can't be so sure about this. If i remember my history correctly, Japanese share some suicidal traits with Arab muslims. They actually have suicidal rituals to mantain their honor -sepuku and were into suicidal bombing using their aircrafts as misiles during wars -kamikaze. Plus they are technologically advanced, not having bridges and scrapers that fall off the skies.

I doubt that China can annihilate them even with china's huge population without it leading to the fracture and demise of china along ancient clusters.

China is weary of this, and will not strike

abrakhigbe: nice one.what are the chances for small scale investors in this new power sectors.

The chances are definitely limitless. Locating the exact opportunities is what would need a lot of thinking.

If you have graduate caliber management cadre friends in PHCN, you could ensure that you're always around them for insights

PhysicsQED: Are you serious? I'm probably younger than you.

"Only 51" in that context doesn't mean 51 is actually young. It means 51 is too young for him to have such a wrinkly forehead. Sanusi is more than twice my age but the lines on his forehead are more like what you'd see on a man four times my age.

The underlying message is: Dude ur extremely brilliant

Billyonaire: Just like many other Nigerians, I have always believed in working hard to raise my seed Capitals, but of recent, I have decided that its necessary to venture into greater risks of the investment worlds by accepting credit facilities from the banks. I do have requirement to secure loan facilities, but I wanna know which banks in Nigeria offer;
- the least interest rate
- the longest moratorium and
- the longest duration of repayments.

Thanks for anticipated responses.

Billy, it might be a good idea for you to outsource this to one of the economists (with some high profile clout) on NL to do some research on this for you. I recommend Jarus .

Cheers

@Op

tricky question.

I think they compliment each other sha

^^^^^^Dunno of any particular research on this.

However, in a clime like Nigeria, it would make sense that short people should tend to be very assertive so that they are not overlooked/under rated

For pretty ladies, there could also be some corelationship to some 'relaxed' attitude universally. This is easily explainable. Guys tend to go out of their ways to help them out. I particularly remember one damn pretty Nigerian girl in the UK. She was employed in an admin position without a visa. Her boss was willing to take the risk of a fine, simply because she was just soooooooooo out of this world

This freedom of expression thing is very tricky.

-I personally don't feel that any religion should be protected from it.
-But then again, I wonder why p#rn is restricted? I mean, this should also be a freedom of expression. Or why one shouldn't be allowed to walk around n.ude in public? this too is also a kind of freedom of expression.

-now to the really weird one, why is it legally incestious for a brother and sister to get married? I mean, if two same sex people can get married, why can't they?
-Should I go crazy with my thinking, and talk about parents and their mature children?

-I mean, where should the line be drawn?
-What is good, and what is evil?
-Who defines this, and for who?
-Why should someone else's belief affect me?

WHAT SHOULD WE ACCEPT, AND WHAT SHOULDNT WE? Who determines this, is it violence? Then, everyman to his weapons. I guess this is why wars will never end

PhysicsQED: I doubt anyone can find a picture of a 50 year old black man from anywhere in the world whose forehead is that wrinkled. You'd probably have to find someone in their 70s or 80s at least.

In Nigeria, many of have 2 ages. The first is official, the other is the real one. So just place him between 55 to 65, and you might be correct

Your age range

dtanigwe: A Nigerian man wouldn't stay with a black American because her bloodline has been "tainted".

And just to set the record straight. There are a group of people within the igbo tribe that have what is referred to as osu caste system. The Osu's were former slaves or forbidden ones a long, long time ago. Even with modernity, some igbo families entrenched in old customs would frown at their kids marrying from the osu caste. Not neccesarily because they hate them, but because their fellow villages might use this to yab their familly.

I've however never heard of this being applied by the Igbos on foreign nationals

PhysicsQED: [img]https://www.nairaland.com/attachments/821750_Sanusi-Lamido-Sanusi_jpgd7f4b1946fe00e56d3dcc41ebe7744dd[/img]

Why is this man's forehead so wrinkly? He's only 51.

Every time I come across a picture of his overly wrinkled forehead I cringe a little .

you know what I'm thinking. Experience

@megainvest

thanks for your contribution

bisco5: Nice post.

Thanks

@dtanigwe
Sorry about your situation. If you've effectively narrated your story, then this guy fooled you.

There is something about 'class' that gets blurred during inter-national dating and marriages. Someone from the 'right' background in Nigeria wont stoop so low to doing something like that to you. They'd rather pay for such marriages. But it would be difficult for u over there to be able to properly categorize your man's background. If you had close Nigerian friends (that is those born and bred in Nigeria), they probably would have alerted you after relating with the guy.

There are two things that you coud do: 1) Bolt from the union, 2) Evaluate your position with the guy.

The 1st is self explanatory. For the 2nd, u cld discreetly seek to find out the status of his relationship back in Nigeria. If it's only a young girlfriend (25 years and less) without a child for him, then there is still some hope. If it's a wife, a girlfriend in her early 30's or someone with a child for him, then your chances are slim or none existent.

After evaluation, if u feel there is some hope, then your next step could be to establish the kind of women that he likes. If it's not your type, then it's not your type.

Also, very important to Nigerians is family and religious ties/bonding. This is one of the things that keep our divorce rates low. If his family is not a 'hungry', 'underclassed' family this should keep him in check. His long-time local parish both in Nigeria and US (if one of those that frown at divorce) would also help keep him in check.

God bless

[quote author=Mynd_44]^^
Another confused fellow[/quote]wow!! Ur obviously a troll, or one of those mental dwarfs that feel that theirs is the only opinion that must make sense.

@op

move to another location i.e state or country. Without you around, she would soon get over you naturally. It works like magic

21)Brand Association
The reason folks want to get associated with Tony and his likes as narrated in the earlier post is because of something called brand association. Brand association is the same trick that many companies use in their strategy design. For example, georgio armani has been able to build a powerful brand name. So what they've now gone on to do is to build another brand called armani exchange. Many folks want to be associated with the bigger brand, so they buy into the armani exchnage line. A kind of aspirational buying, believing that somehow the brand (what it stands for) will rub off on them.

The trick is to position your brand carefully. Now, imagine you're in your early 50's sitting behind a solid oak desk as the MD of a multimillion dollar company. 2 chaps from your childhood past walk into your office looking for business. You knew yourselves from far away, but where never really friends.

The 1st did spend lots of money, always drinking in beer parlours and having street pr.ostitutes, touts and agberos hanging around him. The second like Tony also spent lots of money too, but you saw him doing this when you hung out in Hilton. Back then, he was also the talk of town with his latest cars that no other person had. Girls were over him, but it was daughters of ministers, governors, senators and top models.

I bet you would feel more prone to striking a deal with the 2nd than the 1st.


Next, If you're a 'stupid' spender, I'll give u an example on how to enjoy spending your money while building a brand that you can leverage later

20) Subtle Brands that we fall for
Ever been in a situation where u meet a girl or guy, and think to yourself: "not bad"? You soon find out that he or she is maybe a Adenuga's daughter, or an international model etc., then your "not bad" quickly turns to "so cute". You may even then suddenly feel a new found strong attraction for that person.

In your years in secondary school and universitiy, there probably were some folks that lived larger than life as you knew it. Many years later, even if you've become much richer, you would notice that if you meet these guys you might still have a high regard for them. I'll give an example.

Tony's dad was a permanent secretary in one of the oil rich states. His dad spent money on his kids recklessly. Tony was therefore very popular amongst his age mates. When he went to university, he was the 2nd person to use a power bike there. He always wore his crash helmet around. Everyone wanted to know who he was, including his lecturer who once told him to take his helmet off. You can imagine the excitement, when folks knew who the guy behind the mask was. Girls all over him for free, 'big boys' wanting to be his friend etc.

Some 20 years later, Tony is still reaping from the branding/popularity he had from his younger days. He can comfortably walk into an office even now, and folks that saw him from afar back then want to get aquainted with him. Imagine the contracts that he gets from politicians, civil servants, Oil companies etc all because of his branded past

Una must comment on this topic o

We need to promote our brand

Ummmmhhh....
Interesting perspectives, especially on the 'assumed' manipulation of world events towards a convergence by 'powers' bent on establishing a pre-defined goal.
I am a christian, so it's easy for me to belive this. ...but wait a minute, let's do a little thinking using some analogies


There are many ways to create a movie or write a book
-You can first start with the end in mind, then gradually work the characters and events towards this end
-You can start by creating characters, with no destination in mind, get lost in the minds and events of your created world, and maybe finally somehow manage to get to the end as events unfold logically.

Conclusion: Are we in a script?, if we are, who is the author? Is it God or some cult groups; or is it a combination of us, God and cult groups?

Now, to the next thinking
Apart from the ability to break down issues into small intelligent bits, there is something that you would notice about 'top' analysts
-They observe the dots
-They then create a compelling story linking the dots
-Based on their observation of the dots and the story line that they have taken, they make predictions/postulate models
-People are captivated by the narrative

Conclusion: All these story/analysis about the New World Order is a great and compelling story to christian nations. We are likely to swallow it hook, line and sinker. But what if it is just that, a compelling story that manipulators use to call us to action. So for example, some of us feel justified that all should have rights to own guns in order to protect our individualism, damn dem socialists. Weapons companies offf course would support this and cash in.

Why have I brought these up? Simple.
So that we be on our guards, and understand how some of these analysis are arrived at,or how they can be twisted, but which at the end appeal to our senses

-There is no doubt that the thesis, anti-thesis, synthesis model is well grounded. However, it is not a new discovery, it has always been. Simply because of the timeless nature of humans resistance to change. So let's take away the eureka that comes with suddenly stumbling on something that lends credence to our world view. We need to be careful in our information 'synthesis'.

Conclusion: Deeper than the thesis/anti-thesis theory is the human nature, and its resistance to change. Perhaps, just perhaps this tool, can be swung dangerously in both ways. In order words, while some 'powers' can create conditions that compel change towards a pre-determined goal, some other 'powers' can also create spell binding narratives that compels us to resist change so that we can keep on patronizing them

AjanleKoko: Won't you even let the industry start first?

Lol.

I wasn't an admirer of Ghadafi. But during the raid on Libya, I watched with disgust as the 'civilized' and higly structured western press gloated over the death of Ghadafi. I couldn't believe my eyes and ears. His dead and mutilated body shown on tv and newspapers all in an attempt to riducule him. The western world stooped sooooooo low.

I hated the motives behind US and UK involvement in the invasion of Libya. I was particularly piqued that these western nations took no care of the guns that would be proliferated accross Africa after the war, neither did they bother that black African's would be a major target of the rebels,...to be r.aped and killed as spoils of war and racial hatred.

Now, I wonder what would be going through the minds of Ghadaffi's family members as they look at the pictures of the US ambassador lying in the streets like those of their father and brother. Precipitated off course by mighty vengeful and arrogant nations

So sad....

A reminder to me the writer: continue writing about branding, then move on to web thinking (c) versus linear thinking in navigating success;
show me the money;

Nextworldnx: The length is not irrelevant, trust me some of us here have gained alot. infact, because of its length, i have learnt things which are missing in my day to day business activities.
@OP, please go at your pace and length, trust me you are saving a life!

Thanks dude. I have done my own share of searching for the science behind economic well being (I'm still searching). I've seen loads of short narratives that dont add up. But thankfully, I held on and kept on searching everything. Thankfully, I'm now in a better place than I was before.

Truely its because of folks like u that I write these things. They don't swarm in like vultures, but somewhere deep down in me, I feel happy knowing that someday, some seekers will search for this kind of information and find it clearly exposed.

And when they're staurated and burdened by such knowledge and many more that they pick along the way, maybe, just maybe they might also end up sharing my pain of trying to express these toughts to people in as simple a language as possible, .......trust me it's tough when u give people that are clearly in need of it milk at no cost, and you watch them spit it out.

3) But wait a minute.....
If you're following this thread, you might do well to read some of my earlier posts (I'll post links to the specific ones later). The reason being that some of my threads give tips on how to caliberate your mind etc. The 'thinking pattern' is actually the engine beneath the bonnet that ensures that you are flexible and succesful in positioning yourself.

Otherwise, following my advice in a strait jacket way might be prescriptive and almost undoable. What do I mean? [**wow, it's really tough trying to put these things into words in a limited space**]

Let's try ...
-You would agree with me that it would be tough for someone who presently has no job to start planning some 1 to 2 years in advance for a job. This would take 'faith' that's bigger that Olumo rock
- But you would also agree with me that the same job seeker might end up sitting at home for more that 2 years without a job even without planning
-The job seeker could make grandiose plan to position herself for the power sector job, and at the end of the day, this would not materialize, or she gets into another caareer path.

Are you getting my picture?
[i'll continue trying to explain later .....................

19)Branding, differentiation and acceptance
I guess we know what branding is all about. In lay man's lingua, it is simply differentiating yourself to an extent that an image or sound evokes a thought.

So, if you see a yellow box in the middle of a park in Nigeria, you might immediately think MTN. If you see a jerry curled haired young boy with suit, u immediately think church. There is a science behind branding which space wil not allow me to expatiate on.

One thing is for sure, if you are able to brand/differentiate yourself, you would be conspicous. A badly managed brand/differentiation could lead to you being rejected. The challenge is actually acheiving a positive brand.

You can then leverage this brand to create value

MsDarkSkin: lol my disbelief has NOTHING to do with the "white man" but everything to do with common sense. God designed our bodies to be among the most magnificent and unpredictable on the planet.
There are things that our bodies do that we cannot explain but in place of "not knowing" we don't have to automatically claim it is the result of some demonic force! lol.
i have always had my eyes open during these episodes and NOT ONCE have i seen or experienced strange visions of ghosts and demons lol.
i was just a woman/girl trapped and unable to move for a few seconds.

Chineke!!!!
I bind all seductive snake spirits that seek to pump testeromone through the male vein in jesus name

2buff: There are many explanations to it.
Those who are attacked, don't need some scientist to tell them that "it's all in their head" or some sciency way of saying "we don't know what the heck you're talking about so here sit down and take some random pills". Not all instances are demonic, and not all instances are "normal".
You have to understand, this is a state where you are essentially sharing consciousness with 2 different realms simultaneously, so it makes sense that that is the time to to see some interesting things.
The last one I had was one where I was sleeping on my belly (sleep deprived morning). It happened.
I was like "oh no, not this.well guess I gotta wait it out". I heard familiar music playing from one of my devices on my bed.
that was okay...but then I was hearing some things laughing in small voices at a distant corner of the room away from my line of sight.
Seemed like they were trying to mock me. My spirit wasn't having none of that.
it jerked up and looked at them and told them to "shut up!". They did. spirit then entered body again, and I was back in control of my physical body.
Ofcourse, there was no music playing from that device when I came to.

Kai this boy!!
Spirits dey talk to u well, well sha. last time it was God, now some 'others', ....mmmh

Maybe u have a gift . Just saying

5) Reading skills, Speed reading and crunching 5 books in 3 days

If you're branching into a new line of study, lets say from science to business, you would soon discover that this could put you at a disadvantage in class.
You'd need to develop fast reading skills. You could become an expert in this in about 2 weeks. Try getting Ton Buzan's book on "Speed reading", it might prove extremely useful both in your university life and personal reading life.

This how you can utilize reading skills/speed reading in your academics
So, lets say you're giving an assignment with a 3 day deadline that requires you to read at least 5 books (each with some 500 pages).

-I would start by reading the assignment questions to understand the goal, and key words/ideas to look out for in my research
-I'll go to the library and pick up the 5 books and lay them side by side.
-I'll then start a process of 'scanning' the pages of each book. When scanning, your goal is to grasp the general thrust of the book and not full comprehension. With this, you should be a ble to finish each book in about 30 minutes.
-In total, I shoul'd be through with 5 books in about 2 hrs. I could then go out for cofee or flirt with a girl to step down, maybe 1 to 2 hrss

-While scanning, I'd have taken note of some chapters that satisfy my assignment
-I'll read the assignment question again
- then scan the books the second time. But this time much slower, especially in the important chapters
-This should take about 3 to 4 hours.
-I'll then attempt to spend some poor quality time (about (1 to 2hrs) on my assignment sketching an answer and also clicking on NairaLand

- having successfully spent a full day in the library, I'd then pack up my books and seek out a girl that I can escort home. U never can tell where this could lead to. Completion of the assignment might have to wait till day 2

@van bonattel
U mean that this particular demon also bequeaths the village's native priest with the most gorgeous damsel!!!!

............mmmmmhhhh