₦airaland Forum

“He is 26 years old and has never worked anywhere. Yet, he acquired a 2019 model Porsche car worth N120million and a 2015 model Mercedes Benz car worth N75million,” Bashir further submitted.

And so what? Is this even an argument? Poverty stricken charge and bail lawyer with suffer head mentality. Must he work anywhere or is it only people that have 'worked' somewhere for 35 years until retirement that should be permitted to drive expensive cars?

Good. Most likely these Fulani kidnappers that have taken over Nigeria's highways.

God forbid that one encounters these dirty, wicked animals, but if with your wife or daughter, better to drive on (full throttle) and risk being shot/killed than to stop and allow your jewel(s) be kidnapped and debased by these northern bastards.

HBB1:
As much as I get your drift, I have to say those things or thing you listed alone can not make you successful-- and I understand success is relative ( might be thousands for some, millions for some, billions for others).

I am from a family of businessmen and I consider myself one too, (even though I have a salaried job that pays me millions a month).

Most business fail, like 90% will in the first 5 years and a significant portion of those that survive will still fail-- that's how arduous the path is.

If you are wired to be an 'Entrepreneur,' all well and good, if not all well and good.
The most important thing is investments!

If I invest in a start-up or buy property, I don't label myself with the Entrepreneur tag-- at least not yet. I am just making investments to increase my Cash flow.

Business owners can make investments that can make phenomenal yields, Salary earners can also make crazy investments.

Imagine if you invested 10,000 dollars in Microsoft 30 years ago?

My Girl is an Entrepreneur, and a crazy one, tech savvy, super uber smart, well educated and the most hardworking person (man or woman), I know.

She has however 'failed' in business more than once and it was due to some other factor than ingenuity (one of the other factors I listed).

Her Father says to this day that the online store she started failed when capital dried up!

...but she still loves what she does and its not because of money-- she has walked away from 3-5 million naira monthly salaries for what she believes in-- which she is quite good at.

It's not also about passion alone either, because she has reserves to fall back on if she fails in business-- no worries about food, housing...
It is easier to make good decisions when you don't have this pressures.

When you don't have money, you stop thinking long-term, you only think short-term and your business will suffer tremendously!

If you think money is not important, you might be thinking small businesses.

You realize that a certain Online store has not made a single naira in profit in 10 years, despite all the glam.
It also took Alibaba about that long before they broke even.

What do you do then when you don't have reserves or when it dries up?
The business will die!

That's why I believe Entrepreneurship requires certain skill sets.
Most Entrepreneurs you hear about-- the successful ones, and not the wannabes are not even money chasers per se... It's the deal, the contract, the product, the acquisition that gives them the kick, not the money.

Everyman should be honest with himself, not everybody can be an Entrepreneur, but everybody can and should have good investments.

If you are not one, pursue a corporate career, keep your eyes open for investment opportunities and when you see 'em don't miss 'em!

Lol.

My brother, if you know, you know. And' knowing' takes lots of open mindedness. Lots of false alarms. Lots of misleads. Lots of mistakes... The learning curve defined.

But at the end of the day, knowledge is everything.

And you can only know as much as your learning capacity allows for.

To each his own.

Peace.

djon78:
You summed it up. No value added, you ask how then can Nigeria progress? I Wonder

My brother I have given up on Nigeria long time ago.

Look at Singapore. It became arguably the most successful and prosperous society in the world today due to a strict and fanatical adherence to three cardinal tenets - Meritocracy, Pragmatism, and Honesty.

Forget pragmatism and honesty for now. Let Nigeria start with only meritocracy and EVERYTHING would change. I can bet my life and unborn children's lives on this. Meritocracy would transform Nigeria to a beast... Almost overnight. No sentiment for that one. If you better pass me, oya get the job/contract/etc and do it well for everyone.

As much as financial corruption is a big problem, the biggest problem in Nigeria is the general hatred for meritocracy. Merit is despised. Value is relegated... Across spheres, from public to private and non governmental. It's a joke. You will see one 'lucky' idiot prancing about forming big boy or big girl in one plum job that was gotten through Nepotism....without even knowing what the organisation's core mandate is. That's the story of every 'good' job in Nigeria.

If Nigeria places great value on VALUE (meritocracy), trust me, we will not be in this mess. Things would work, even with financial corruption. Even if you're a thief but you know what you're doing and you're exceptional at what you do, you will still perform well and get things going in spite of your thievery. For a start.

But Nigeria? One Oba would carry his olodo constituent and put in NCC. One Emir would put his empty headed apologist in NNPC or CBN... even in the private sector... Oil companies, banks, Big 4 auditing firms, FMCG companies, NGOs, etc. Everywhere! That 'slot' and connection culture is rife. Value added, zero.

That's why entrepreneurship is a thing. You have to know what you're doing to succeed. For every Dangote (who had a privileged background and headstart) there are uncountable rich kids who were given millions and billions to start business but failed...Who took over their parents successful businesses and failed!

You can't fake this shit. You have it or you don't. It's at the very core, a merit based activity.

That's what differentiates entrepreneurship from the polluted and vexatious salaried employment space in Nigeria which relies on 'grace and favour' to give bread to people who don't know their left from their right.

I'm angry sef talking about this, because I am exposed to lots of these kinds of over-entitled, pompous people who add ZERO VALUE to the system but enjoy decent salaries or make good money from corruption in their offices. I mean no disrespect to the struggling underemployed Nigerians striving everyday to earn a living. God will see everyone through, I pray.

But Nigeria? The country is dead and buried. Just hustle for yourself and family. So that you will be immune to the nonsense that is unfolding and will escalate pretty soon.

GoldPencil:
ingenuity. laptop. internet. focus. that's really all you need today. most people just want another person to do the thinking for them. I would have added temporary 9-5 to raise capital. but again, if you have the first four, you can raise the capital you need, albeit slowly. then pursue bigger fish. translate online wins to offline wins.

Even if you do the thinking for them, and give them step by step execution 'expo', most people would still not take action or follow through. Most of them are 'wantapreneurs' or even outright sceptics. When nothing else works and they see you balling, they will conclude se pe 'ma dalo hun, yahoo niowun se' (translation: no mind am, na yahoo e dey do)

My brother when a limiting mindset and pessimistic passivity/docility becomes a consuming habit, nothing in the world can help you.

HBB1:
Entrepreneur means risk taker...

Not everybody can and should be an Entrepreneur, as it demands certain skill-sets to ensure success.

It's like cooking a pot of soup, you can have all the ingredients and not have enough tomatoes or salt, and it is ruined.

You need the right product, capital, marketing, location, staff... You need creativity, tenacity, vision, balls...
I have seen businesses fail because of lack of just one of these.

A friend's business collapsed because she couldn't raise capital even after being interviewed on TV and all.
A relative's business also collapsed because his worker ran away with 50 million naira worth of goods-- that asides the bank loans he was servicing. He has run away to the US naw, and says for now he isn't doing business in Nigeria again.

Having said that, I believe everybody ( even salary earners) should have multiple sources of income-- just look around and exploit opportunities. Trade, build houses, buy land, farm, anything.

Not everybody has the skill-set to be an Entrepreneur.
If by doing small gigs, you think you are one, good for you and your ego!

In this age of the Internet, even the risk taking aspect of entrepreneurship is overrated, especially for beginners. Trust me, the most important resource needed in new-age entrepreneurship is not necessarily capital, but INITIATIVE... Ingenuity.

Here's a short definition of entrepreneur that captures its whole essence:

Someone who exercises initiative by organising a venture to take advantage of an opportunity...

Most people are dissuaded by the fear of expending money in order to start a venture. They would ask you, 'where will I see money to start the business', or they would say 'what if I lose all my savings in the course of pursuing this business'. This mindset is too limiting and very outdated.

Telecommunication and the internet is the most important development in the history of the world. It is the great equaliser. It has made it more possible and easier then ever to minimise financial risk and launch ventures with virtually a shoe-string budget and yet watch that venture grow exponentially into something that yields millions and billions.

It is possible to sell a product you don't own, or a service you can't provide yourself, to buyers you have never met, and yet make as much profit or even more than the actual producers of that product or service.
The brokerage and arbitrage opportunities are endless.

You can even market your own product or service to specific audiences at prices that are 1000% more than the prevailing market average, with a little tweak.

In doing all of this, it is possible to start these ventures without spending up to what it costs to buy a low budget Android phone, without worrying about fixed costs (inventory, office space etc.).

There's a lot out there, especially now that the Internet has removed physical barriers to the markets and so the possibilities are endless if you have keen vision, a sharp nose, a creative mind, and a willingness to take action over and over again. It doesn't matter if you have money or not, as long as you have access to the Internet.

Anyway, the road to salvation is a lonely, dark street and everyone must walk the walk alone and find their own way. Dem no dey tell person.

Omode yi. What do you know about love?

GoldPencil:
the difference is in the value of time. some entrepreneurs will not post what they earn here for security reasons, and to prevent ppl from asking bros'show us the way' before rushing to saturate the biz, but some can show you screenshots of what they earn in a month. to get that kind of pay, you would need to work a minimum of 15 to 25 years as a 9-5er to get that. Whereas the entrepreneur studied the biz for a year and used another year to get it started. he/she retires at 35, the 9-5er finally saves up 50 million at age 65. Time is the difference and the most valuable resource.

You're funny. How many 9-5ers in Nigeria will save up to 50 million at age 65 sef? Where dem wan see am after all the toil, expenses etc of maintaining their families and so forth? Maybe only 1% of the entire workforce with very good working conditions and a guaranteed fat gratuity.

On top all this one, imagine make Buhari just suddenly yamutu. Like play like play Osibanjo come turn C-in-C... These power mongers never learn from history.

Grupo:
I do think most professors in federal unis earn up to 6m a year. Emphasis on "year" not a month.

Oh I see. I thought the whole thing was about monthly earnings.

I think most professors in federal Unis now earn more than N6m a year. Its roughly N700k to N1m a month for them. Some earn slightly more.

Limitednow:


I smell PDP going back to power in 2023.

Left for me, since the South-West which has tested presidency has refused to back down for South-East, then the North should continue ruling till eternity, that way it will dawn on them why the entire South should unite.

Same sentiment here. The very idea of Yorubas positioning themselves to take over in 2023 is provocative. What nonsense. They will tell you that it's because they supported Buhari, that they know how to 'play politics', so that qualifies them to take over from Buhari.

I prefer the North to continue ruling than for the presidency to go to the South West at this time.

Grupo:
Don't mind them. They always know of someone who is earning 100m a month. But it is never them. Ask him for the name of the company, he will start running around.

I am not sure any company in Nigeria will pay entry level 6m a month. For goodness, that's the amount some professors take home in a year and they are already at the peak of their careers.

Which professor earns up to N6m in Nigeria? Maybe specialist consultants in dem UCH, but I'm not sure even them can earn up to that. How much does the average professor earn in a Federal University?

Reference:
Perhaps it is because folks in employment are usually the ones with so much time on their hands they bother the rest of society with unrealistic, 'out of touch with reality' nuances.

Take for instance the minimum wage issue. Despite consuming far more resources than its productivity, despite contributing in no small way to the destruction of the economy, civil servants xontinue to trouble the rest of Nigeria on the infamous minimum wage, a quest beyond the reality od the day that has resulted in addirional taxation that will hit entrepreneurs hard.

Perhaps if Nigeria was run like a business with the spirit of enterprise in it we will be more like the Trump led country, successful and more at peace.

Thank you very much for this.

My biggest problem with the Nigerian employment space is the massive disconnect between value and remuneration and lack of meritocracy, coupled with a very vexatious entitlement mentality. It runs across all sectors but is particularly evident in the civil service across all tiers of government.

Most of these deadwood contribute ZERO value. Even the so-called jobs they boast of, 99% of them got it through the back door (via annoying 'slots' of one influential person or the other), nepotism and corruption. They know nothing about anything, other than just looking for how to collect egunje allowances, cut corners and then later make noise about salary increment and hold the rest of the productive economy to ransom.

pocohantas:
Please, lets not act like most business people are comfortable. From my last job to the current, I have been in units that make me see lots of "entrepreneurs" books. Majority of them struggle to stay afloat.

How many businesses in Nigeria can rake in 150k in profit?

You are talking middle class 9-5, most 1-man businesses shouting entrepreneur are way below middle class.

Lots of our parents did businesses, how far? Isn't it what some of them saw that made them insist their kids must be educated?

Abeg. Tell this one to someone who hasn't seen both sides. My parents are business people and I know their struggles, not this eldorado you new-generation business men paint.

Since you're talking from your narrow perspective, have you ever bothered to find out how many employees in Nigeria earn up to N150k a month?

When evaluating this matter, you should compare 'like for like'. You don't compare a low level entrepreneur with a mid level manager earning a good salary, or even with an entry level guy working at a plum job like ExxonMobil. That's ridiculous. What's the percentile of graduates working at such jobs in comparison with the vast majority of hungry, underemployed employees slaving away for peanuts every month?

Now check the under 50 home owners across Nigeria's major cities. 90% of them are entrepreneurs. Thousands of average Igbo and Yoruba traders and hustlers own very nice middle class duplexes everywhere across Lagos, Abuja etc. How many 'average' employees can boast of same?

Apart from the tiny percentage of salary earners fortunate enough to have NLNG type of jobs with outrageous salaries, any average employee who owns a decent duplex or even bungalow in a decent part of Lagos or Abuja is likely a thief - benefitting from the corruption that is the only thing that they know how to do. He did not and cannot build/buy a house and live that kind of lifestyle from his legitimate salary.

Better face facts.

Devising your own means to earn a living isn't easy at all. You're not yet a (complete) man if you don't know how to make money on your own without depending on the safety/comfort zone of paid employment.

Worst of all these redundant civil servants who only know how to leech off the system without adding any value.

One more evidence to show that the primitive North and the enlightened South are not compatible. This forced Union between North and South is a grave injustice.

thundafire:
Dats good a lady who could not use her office to empower her people,she is a big shame and she can go nd rot in Kuje

All these Calabar people and to some extent Igbo people are 'good' at that. In a country like Nigeria already unsalvageably polluted with corruption and Nepotism, they would hold top positions and be forming needless due process and 'principle'. On the other hand, the average abokki or Yoruba person would use the opportunity to empower as many of their people as possible (employment, contracts, etc).

I've heard from close sources how useless the Oyo Ita woman was to her people... Nothing gained from her. Now she will face her woes and carry her cross alone.

As Nigeria don spoil finish, e no make sense to dey form Saint inside coven of witches.

This is the real Life After Death. His numerous reincarnations would consecutively rot in jail until Jesus comes.

Baba no go die unless si to ba da arugbo..

This is so sad to see. Painful to watch. Jeez.

alonzoiv:
So, what now happened? Because you sang/featured in Totori, you are now a star?

Don't be stupid, you this small rat. I don't blame you at all.

Sharaaap.

He is the new age Charlie Boy. What Charlie was to the Eighties, Mike is to the current social media era....albeit with less family background to boast of (but perhaps more liquidity).

If you know, you know.

Ore mi enu gbe.

Ehen. E don happen.

Walahi this news sweet me for belle. But the bastard should have died. I'm pained that he survived. Idiot.

You will leave the armed robbers and kidnappers you're mandated to tackle and be harassing imaginary yahoo boys. Very useless, smelly things. Hopeless country.

Nobodyperson:
Burna boy is the most overrated artist ever.
He's music is rubbish honestly

His music is not for you or your kind.

Hustle oh. So that you will be in a position to understand and appreciate his music.

Yoruba Muslims... According to Nairaland talkatives, hahaha.

These fools are probably working with their fellow fools in the EFCC who used them as cannon fodder in their extortion operations.

Maybe na serious sharing formula disagreement or some other 'from above' casting lead to this showdown.

Joke of a country.

dairykidd:
Things are about to get real ugly. Let the boys hustle the greedy white foreigners, una say NO ,give them better environment to meet up with world standard legit hustle, NO, now EFCC dey collabo with FBI dey trace boys with Google & facebook acct leakage the devil in them is only responding back.. They think those boys are stupid? Una dey thief for the top legit so that una go dey oppress, dictate and control our lives.. It's just a simple game of Who is a better thief

Round 1 just began

I don't support, encourage or believe in crime.
#Saynotocrime

We're coming to that very soon. Nigerians would learn how to embrace the lesser evil and let sleeping dogs lie. But they would learn this lesson too late, and at a very great cost.

Trust the incompetent Buhari government. They would soon 'ban' bitcoin, and dispatch their worthless SARS goons to go after anyone caught trading in bitcoin.

Vanity project. Is this the kind of 'achievement' that would make life easier for the average long-suffering Ebonyi person?

Nigerian politicians are only slightly worse than the buffoons they preside over. Jokers all round.