₦airaland Forum

In need of a supplier who can deliver the following items to a site in Ondo town: cement, sharp sand and granite.

Please provide unit costs (per bag, ton) of the above items so we can discuss.

Moving slightly away from the topic, my mind goes to the issue of how the youth want an end to the Era of recycled politicians and believe they can make a change somehow.

Truth is that while the notion is admirable, it is a recipe for disaster giving the status quo using this thread as an example. A larger percentage of those commenting seem not to understand the role of ministers. Someone actually put a succinct list of the roles & responsibilities of a finance minister. It's actually a lot more than that.

If we think that a minister is just a figure head, then it's okay to pick an agronomist and make him minister of health after all he has a permanent secretary he can boss around to get the job done.

It is true we all can't know everything but we can do well to know something about everything.

Educational, political and socio-economic enlightenment are the tools the youth of this country need to oust out our aging politicians.

@OP

1. You need to learn how to manage upwards. You really should read the 48 laws of power, you won't regret it as suggested by someone.

2. Don't assume things like this don't happen at multinationals. In a large firm, sometimes the reporting line can be complex and you may report to more than one boss. There are issues where the big bosses are trying to outshine each other, politicking and looking for pawns who would take their sides and then you find yourself in between more drama than you could ever imagine.

3. Your boss was actually right when he said something about starting your own company. Truth is so long as it's paid employment, it's quite common to experience such once in a while.

If a man who has no relatives or whose relatives has severed all ties with, is imprisoned for 5years and then released. What does society actually expect him to fall back on?

Do our prison systems empower prisoners with vocational skills? Are there opportunities for learning new academic certificates? Is there a system where released prisoners are provided with social support (one-time or over a limited time frame)?

These are issues that beg answers...

“
‘Ah, you know, the chichidodo is a bird. The chichidodo hates excrement with all its soul. But the chichidodo only feeds on maggots, and you know the maggots grow best inside the lavatory. This is the chichidodo.’
— Ayi Kwei Armah, The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born (1968) (Oxford: Heinemann, 1969), 45.

So now you can understand why he refers to some politicians as economic chichidodos...

Softly, softly catch monkey

It's actually 'Slowly, slowly catchee monkey.' It comes from the days of British colonialism when many far eastern countries were under British rule. Soldiers posted there used to try to catch monkeys to keep as pets and despite all their efforts were not very successful. Many natives spoke 'Pidgin English' which was a simplified form of English. They showed the soldiers how to do it by demonstrating a simple but effective method. This was to place a basket containing fruit in a clearing in the jungle where the monkeys lived. The basket would have a narrow opening and be tied to the ground. Monkeys would come along and stick their arms inside the basket to get at the fruit. The opening was just wide enough to allow for this but as the fruit was grasped the fist was too big to get out of the basket. The monkeys were so greedy that even when soldiers approached they would not release the fruit and thus be easily caught. Naturally this took patience on the part of the captor who would have to wait quietly until the monkey was snared. Thus the slow approach proved to be more effective hence the phrase.

This is now used to describe that a slow and patient approach to a problem with careful thought is often better than rushing in.

OPEN TO: All Interested Candidates

POSITION: Temporary TB Research Assistants (27 positions)
OPENING DATE: June 05th, 2015
CLOSING DATE: June 19th, 2015
WORK HOURS: 8:30am to 4:30pm daily(Monday to Friday)
DURATION: Two (2) weeks.
RENUMERATION: Payment will be made weekly to all selected RAs as in line with our terms of engagement.
Ref: CDC/IHVN-002

BASIC FUNCTIONS OF THE POSITION:

The RAs are to undergo a three day training and practicum after which they are to be stationed in a given health care facility in Ogun State for the entire duration of the study. RAs are expected to:

Work in assigned facilities to interview selected facility staff using well-structured questionnaires.
Conduct chart abstraction in line with the assessment guidelines
Track clients identified during the abstraction to other facilities.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS:
NOTE: All applicants MUST address each selection criterion detailed below with specific and comprehensive information supporting each criterion or the application will not be considered.

Fresh graduates/NYSC members in biological sciences, medical sciences or related fields.
Knowledge of TBHIV program and research work will be an added advantage.
Good computer skills.
Must be based and familiar with the respective Local Government Council within Ogun State.
Must be willing to work in assigned facilities.
Good communication skills.
Prior experience in Research interview.

SELECTION PROCESS
Only shortlisted applicants will be invited for a written and oral interview.

HOW TO APPLY
Interested applicants for this position MUST submit the following:

A type-written application letter specifically applying for this position. Please state the reference number and job title on the application letter and send to: careers@ihvnigeria.org .
Any other documentation (e.g., essays, certificates, awards, copies of degrees earned) that addresses the qualification requirements of the position as listed above should also be submitted along with the application letter to the email above.

As some have said earlier, fiscal federalism and diversification of the economy are all fantastic ideas to implement, it will all fail because nothing has been done about the root cause which is institutionalized corruption.

The system must be one that rewards hard work and innovation and should also reward corruption with jail time and steep fines and not bargaining.

In the period of dwindling resources, we need to cut cost of governance. There is no reason to pay for domestic servants, drivers, gardeners, foreign medical trips etc. No reason to give lawmakers constituency allowances, what for? We already have 3 tiers of government and several MDAs in between them to develop infrastructures so what are constituency allowances for. Lawmakers should get a life. No one gets a job in Nigeria, gets salary and then gets paid to sit at work separately (sitting allowance).

Make GMB hire me make I use vexation cut costs madly. All the savings can be channeled to infrastructure...roads, health care, education and security.

This happens more often than not.

When dealing with hiv patients, I think one of the more important questions is whether or not they have disclosed their status to anyone else as part of counseling.

If the client says, I have not told my spouse then the health care worker is not in a position to disclose the information except with the approval of the client.

anonimi:
I would rather say that bears semblance to our reality of N18,000 minimum wage for workers of the SAME government, what do you think

Lmao....I'm not sure anybody working as a full-time government employee earns 18,000NGN but I may be wrong on this.

I am saying this because there is no way (basic salary + allowances) - (Tax + Other deductions) = NGN 18,000 except casual workers (for example cleaners employed directly by some government hospitals and paid from hospital earnings and not directly from government payroll).

But on a more serious note, I would be very happy to see the following done over the next few years:
1. Cut down the size of the presidential fleet. Only the president and VP should have the privilege of a private jet. Every other person should use commercial flights. Ban on chartered flights with government funds.
2. The president take a voluntary salary cut
3. Cut down of 'flamboyant' allowances received by members of the national assembly. The basic salary is still reasonable
4. Cut down of unnecessary expenditure - starting from the tens of millions spent on silverware at the villa and billions spent on food; and same across MDAs. Government officials should stop behaving like colonialists in their own country. The government should not pay for domestic staff, drivers and gardeners---if you need them, then you should be ready to pay from your own purse.
5. Scrap SURE-P
6. Maintain austerity measures even if oil prices rise
7. Channel funds generated from massive cut backs into
a - Education: Free & compulsory primary and secondary education policy over the next 5 years with provision of free lunch for students in public schools; massive investment in infrastructure (to accommodate the increase admission numbers after compulsory education is enforced) especially at primary and secondary levels
b - Infrastructure: Development of a effective interstate railway system initially targeted at transport of freight; repair of the 30,000+ km of Federal high way
c - Healthcare: Community health insurance schemes that would guarantee free health for Nigerians (this is the most effective and sustainable way to fund healthcare especially primary and secondary health care. Within the health system, government finance should only be used for capital projects - building and equipping world class tertiary centres of excellence).

I am not a lawyer but the act establishing the RFAMC is very clear on the roles and responsibilities of the commission.

6d of the 1989 Act states that the commission shall have power to 'determine the remuneration appropriate to the holders of the offices as specified in Parts A and B of the First Schedule to this Act.

FIRST SCHEDULE
[Section 6 (1) (d)]

PART A

Offices

President, the Vice-President, Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice of the Supreme Court, President of the Court of Appeal, Justice of the Court of Appeal, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Judge of the Federal High Court, Judge of the Federal High Court in the Federal Capital Territory, Grand Kadi and Kadi of the Sharai Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, President and Judge of the Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Inspector-General of Police, the Auditor-General of the Federation and the Chairman and members of the following executive bodies, namely, the Code of Conduct Bureau, the Federal Civil Service Commission, the National Electoral Commission, the Federal Judicial Service Commission, the National Population Commission, the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, the Nigeria Police Council and the Public Complaints Commission.

PART B

Offices

Governor, Chief Judge of a State and Judge of the High Court of a State, Grand Kadi and Kadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal of a State, President and Judge of the Customary Court of Appeal of a State, the Auditor-General of a State, Auditor-General of the Local Government Councils of a State and Chairmen and members of the following bodies, that is to say, the State Civil Service Commission, the State Judicial Service Commission and the State Local Government Service Commission.

Would it not be possible to argue that since the original act establishing the formation of the commission does not empower it to determine salaries and remuneration of senators and federal representatives, it would be a contravention to the original Act to ask the commission to do so without an amendment to the original act.

This could pave way for a review of the Act. A realistic salary scale should be established for all political appointees with allowances that bear semblance to our current financial reality.

Thanks again guys for your input. Will supervise the jobs personally from now on rather than rely on others. Will get these errors fixed.

Thanks a lot bro for your advise. Will do as advised. That corner is one angle of a pentagonal room. Will get a carpenter to use wood to properly align that angle and then fill with concrete mix.

Feel better...as you make it sound better than I thought it was.

So I am building this 4 bedroom bungalow and had an older family friend do the supervision since I am never around.

The foundation has been raised and now, it's time to do the filling with laterite. I am home cos I can take a few days off -- elections.

I went to the site and snapped the attached pictures. The job has been done poorly in some areas. Is it okay to go ahead with the laterite filling or correct these issues. I am concerned these could pose future issues.

Meanwhile the rods at the corner in one of the pictures should have iron rod reinforcement but it hasn't been done till now. Is this going to be a problem as I always see this done during the blinding of the foundation.

A lot of interesting posts...

1. An HIV Test cannot be done without you giving a go-ahead, so the doctor was wrong and a lot of health workers do it without telling patients. Lawsuit.

2. In the recently released integrated national guidelines, what is encouraged is the opt-out form of provider initiated testing and counseling. What this means is that a health care worker will offer HIV testing and counseling routinely; you should be informed before the test is carried out. Sadly, some thick heads don't understand that routine is not mandatory. Not refusing indicates that you have assented to the test but you do have a right to refuse even for a pregnant woman. It is then left for the hospital to counsel you further on why you should know your status. I'm not sure about the anti-discriminatory bill that was approved by Senate as regards whether hospitals can refuse their service to people who refuse PITC--- haven't read the policy.

3. Voluntary testing and counseling just means you walk into a facility and request for the hiv test. The reason PITC was introduced was so that more people could know their status as against just waiting for people to request for the test - passive versus active case finding.

4. As someone as pointed out earlier, you need to run the test using 3 kits in line with the national serial algorithm but my experience is that many private hospitals only use the first kit. I won't get into the rationale behind the use of 3 kits here.

Advice is this: Walk into a general hospital, I can provide you with choices if you tell me what state you are in- and request for the test.

Having HIV is not the worst that could happen. The medications are available and are free.

Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Employer: Gede Foundation/Institute of Human Virology Nigeria Work
SCHEDULED WORK TIMES: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM (with 1 hour lunch break)
Immediate Supervisor/Reports To: Dr. Cynthia Ticao Type of Appointment: Temporary (less than one year)

Summary: Gede Foundation (The Foundation) is engaged in partnership with the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) from November 2014 to December 2015 to conduct a prevalence study of common mental disorders (CMDs) in a sample of 1,200 people living with HIV/AIDS in the FCT.
The Interviewer will be trained on the use of WHO's Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) tool and will be part of the research team to collect data on depression, alcohol abuse disorder abuse, and suicidality.

Minimum Qualifications:

Education/Experience
• BS degree in any health related field/discipline or psychology is preferable
• At least one year work experience with a recognized research institution/project
• Familiarity with prevalence study research tools on HIV/AIDS, mental health, or related topics 2) Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
• Excellent leadership, organizational, and communication skills in English
• Additional communication skills in any Nigerian language
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and assist with situations that may require discretion
• Demonstrate understanding of the complexity of issues related to HIV/AIDS and mental health
• Excellent time management skills
• Ability to carry out complex assignments under challenging field conditions
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
• Excellent leadership, organizational, and communication skills in English
• Additional communication skills in any Nigerian language
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and assist with situations that may require discretion
• Demonstrate understanding of the complexity of issues related to HIV/AIDS and mental health
• Excellent time management skills
• Ability to carry out complex assignments under challenging field conditions
Essential Functions
• The Interviewer will be responsible for:
1. Explaining the purpose and nature of the study to respondents joining the study
2. Ensuring that respondents stay motivated throughout the interview
3. Answering respondents' questions and concerns
4. Obtaining informed consent for participation in the study

How to Apply:
Applicants should submit (using Microsoft Word format), (i) their detailed cv, and, (ii) a one page cover letter which answers the following – What are the most common problems faced by Interviewers when administering a lengthy (40 minutes or more) questionnaire to respondents in either rural and/or urban setting? From your own experience, how can these problems be overcome?
Submit application letter and curriculum vitae to: careers@ihvnigeria.org
Closing date for applications: March 9, 2015
Interview period for short listed applicants: March 18-20, 2015 .

Coldplay007:
Not pegylated interferon (effective too but cure rate is low and must be combined with an antiviral)...
The name is Vlekirax pak.. Very expensive, patient needs 2 tabs a day for months and cost of 12 weeks course is 83000 dollars...

My dear, I know that...Pegylated interferon 2-alfa is combined with ribavirin usually.

Coldplay007:
Well hepatitis C now has a cure! Very expensive though... A lot of Europeans can't afford it...
Those drugs are to be used while being monitored by a Gastroenterologist.. Developing Resistance is very common especially with Lamivudine..

Yeah, you are quite right. Pegylated interferon is a weekly injection that used to cost about NGN40,000 per shot a few years back. Don't know the current price. Knew a few patients that were on it.

Not sure lamivudine is prescribed as monotherapy for hepatitis B though...but its availability OTC for hepatitis could pose public health challenges since we have a generalized epidemic of HIV in Nigeria.

While hepatitis B & C are quite difficult to eliminate from the body, there are a number of drugs out there that are used for treatment.

For HIV/HBV co-infected persons, tenofovir and lamivudine are HIV drugs that also have activity against hepatitis B and remain the best combination for co-infected persons. There are other drugs useful for hepatitis B ...

Pegylated interferon, ribavirin etc are useful for Hepatitis C infection.

Very sad indeed...rejection/failure is only part of life...

[quote author=Heartie01 post=30697034][/quote]Thanks for sharing your story heartie01. @marriage, that will come sooner than you expect.

Dear Mr Reuben Abati,

As one poster had previously mentioned before now, why not show support for the present administration by celebrating the successes of the present administration rather than waste precious time digging out 'claims' against the people's general

The people are tired of the status quo - a Nigeria where “Over 70% of what are called corruption (cases), even by EFCC (Economic and Financial Crimes Commission) and other anti-corruption agencies, is not corruption, but common stealing,”

Don't you think Nigeria deserves a leader who has the boldness to grab the bull of corruption by the horn? While none of the presidential candidates is blameless, better is he who will defeat the Goliath called corruption than he who stands and observes while billions of pension money was stolen with the perpetrator offered the choice of 2years imprisonment or a fine of 750,000naira.

Nigeria needs to move forward and we need the right captain to steer the ship.

bigrovar:
Change your engine mount. (aka engine seat by nigerian mechanics)

This problem has been resolved. The solution was to change the 4 wires that insert into the spark plugs - dat entire connection was changed and problem disappeared. Engine mount was not replaced.

Still trying to figure out the significance of this story. The woman had a still birth and the baby appeared to have been abnormal.

The doctor who diagnosed achondroplasia also noted that the disorder was autosomal recessive which is like saying 'hot oil is cold'...

That aside, I think it's important to accept your child regardless of any physical/genetic defects. To do otherwise would be plain irresponsible...

We would like to hear from folks who have been on ARVS and now have a high CD4 count to encourage others.

HIV is no longer the killer it used to be.

@GenBuhari This thread was created with one purpose...bringing those living with or affected by HIV together so they can learn from each other.

When people like me read your posts, I get pretty upset for several reasons. If you believe HIV is a hoax, all well and good but advising people to stop taking meds? That's just plain wickedness.

This is how my elder brother chose a Murano over a so called 'kia or hyundai'. The car eventually turned his life to 'living in bondage' despite the fact that he bought NS-1 from US for his gear box.

While it remains very obvious that the Lexus has a better build, has SUV capabilities and all the 'gizmos', it remains a TOKUNBO not NEW.

I drive a kia Rio 2014 LX (base edition) which I got for 2.3m a few months ago. The demerits so far include the fact that it has 'Absolutely No' airbags and for some reason (Siena would explain the physics behind this), it could drift a little if you overtake a much larger vehicle (truck) at very high speeds. Having said this,

1. Would I prefer my kia over my VW Jetta 2006? No because if the VW was a babe, I would have married her

2. Would I make the decision to buy a kia again if I had to? Yes. There is unimaginable peace driving a new car (heck, my mechanics call me to say 'oga, we no dey c u again o' and I love it when they do that.) If you want peace for 4years, go for a new car regardless of brand.

For kia, I would say buy a base cerato instead of the Rio (EX).

Okay, so I have used my Kia since July and so far, its been a major relief. My old mechanics still call me regularly to "greet me" as their customer no dey visit their shop again. Choi, new moto gud abeg.

Truth is that we all know that a 2010 honda accord for example is a more superior car than lets say a 2014 kia rio, but tokunbo is what it is. They are never problem free and its only a question of when the problems would begin.

Summary, if you want to look like a big man on the road, buy the latest tokunbo but if you want your money to bring you peace of mind, go for a new car.

Joy83:
Graduate Doctors earn little bit above 20k/month... May be more higher when the most fortunate one gets job in oil coy.

Entry level physician pay depends on where you are working. Federal owned hospitals pay house officers a bit higher than state owned hospitals but this is not always true as there are a few exceptions to this rule.

A few years ago, take home was in the range of 184k for house officers at a federal hospital. Dont have a clue what the pay is like now.

For doctors reading this or med students, your pay depends on where you work - that's the best way to summarise it.

sultaan:
How does a failed oil pressure switch destroy an engine and why do you need to replace engine and trans?

Why are you buying dead reliable Toyota?

It seems like a scam by all the so called dealers and mechanics to peddle dead cars

With respect to the need to change d engile and the tranny, I was trying to cut the long story shot.

Well, the tranny developed this problem of not changing from the 1st gear until the RPM was closer to 4000. Changed gear oil frequently but was advised that the solution would be to replace the gear.

As for the engine, it was serviced by a mechanic who apparently didn't tighten the drain plug well enough. Anyway, my wife who uses the car was driving along the Lagos Ibadan Expressway when the engine knocked. It had to be towed to Ibadan and I decided to have both engine and tranny replaced.

This was months after the vibration problem started. Anyway, with a replacement engine and tranny, I expected the problem to hav disappeared. But it seemed to come back like a week after the engine and tranny were replaced.

Dear NL motor enthusiasts,

I have this 1997 Toyota camry, automatic tranny. In the last few months, it developed one problem. The car vibrates while idling and the gear is in 'Drive' mode. As soon as the gear is shifted into 'Neutral' or 'Park', the vibration/rough idling disappears totally.

Anyway, a few months later, a failed oil pressure switch plus leaking oil destroyed the engine. Both the engine and gearbox were replaced. Sadly, a few days of driving the car and the same problems returned.

What could be wrong here? Any ideas would be helpful. My friend's Honda Accord 2008 developed exactly the same problem and the mechanic was thinking it could be as a result of a bad gear mount plus his lower control arm bushing.

Anyway, any ideas would be appreciated.

lanrexdo: Is it still available?

No