₦airaland Forum

@Werepeleri & maninmood, stop the e-bickering pls. Let's move on, and share ideas and experience.

I heard the story too, but was told it was Ahmadu Bello, premier of northern region.

The current regime has Okonjo Iweala, a Harvard-trained development economist as its economic engine room with Sanusi Lamido manning the monetary policy as CBN boss. Well, I don't need to discuss this much as a lot of debates are on on their performances, which I will not like to spark here again.

While those guys formulate, we have the likes of Professor Pat Utomi(Nigeria's most vocal economic commentator today), Mr Bismarck Rewane and few others doing the policy appraisal and critiquing from the sidelines.

Gotta stop here, but all in all, it's been a long journey and I believe economics has come of age in Nigeria.

Chamber, we will discuss that. Let me finish runnin through our economic history.

Then came the IBB regime. IBB regime brought vivacity to economic discourses in Nigeria. Economic debates became a street thing and moved from class rooms. The man assembled arguably Nigeria's most intimidating array of economic team, spearheaded then by Yale-trained Economist, Olu Falae, Dr Chu Okongwu and Dr Kalu Idika Kalu, with the likes of Professor Sam Aluko firing from the sidelines. They prescribed SAP for Nigeria, and it generated serious economic debates in intellectual circles. Although the general sentiment is that SAP destroyed our economy, the regime left in its wake more awareness about Nigerian economy.

The subsequent regime of Abacha was nothing to write home about economy-wise, except that a hitherto well respected economic voice, Sam Aluko, soiled his image by being the economic adviser to that government.

Obasanjo also assembled a commendable array of high flying economists like Charles Soludo, Okonjo Iweala, Ibrahim Ayagi etc as his economic think tank and by my estimation did a good job. Some people will debate this.

Then we had the oil boom of the 1970's that consolidated Nigeria's position on global economic map. There were too much funds to play with. Funds was being thrown everywhere. There was also the well-conceived but poorly implemeted Udoji reforms also in mid(or late) 70's, where civil servants salaries were upped. Unfortunately, either the govt then did not get input of economists or mis-advised, these actions hit Nigerian economy badly shortly after, raising price levels, amongst other effects.

It also brought widespread corruption and with a President Shagari that was not exactly willed enough,the tumour taht brought Nigerian economy on its knees began to metastasize in that period.

Although, during the period we had fine economists in Professors Pius Okigbo and Ojetunji Aboyade, there was little they can do to rescue the situation.

During the 1983-85 military interregnum by Buhari/Idi Agbon, Bretton woods institutions of IMF & WB had become more interested in Nigeria. There was a heated debate on devaluation at the period, but the then hardlined regime rejected the prescription. I don't know the economic brains behind this regime but I know the regime had issues with global capital.

The Nigerian Nigerian economy of the 60's was agrarian and principally driven by exports of agric products likeCocoa, Rubber, Groundnut etc, that not only provided employment but also provided source of revenue for, thankfully, the good governments of those days, who were able to do wonders with such funds establishing universities like Ife, Nsukka, Zaria and Benin. The system of government then, at least until 1967, was decentralized with each regional economy on its own, with little spill to other regions, even though it's the same country.

In the military eras of late 60's to early 70's, the economy was more or less passive. In fact the CBN governors then hardly did much, very passive position it was. Even Adamu Ciroma -yes, that same NPLF man today- was fetched from being MD of a newspaper to become CBN governor. Chief Obafemi Awolowo was made Finance minister and I'm still struggling to know what qualified him for that job. Although his vision and wisdom was not in doubt, but being a lawyer, journalist and politician, not with Finance/Economics background, I don't know why him. So these appointments of the 70's tells a lot about how our economy was managed then.

Let me also discuss some outstanding Nigerian economists.

In the United States, economists are well respected. The President doesn't play with Economists. There are some people whose business is just thinking for the government on how to manage economic situations and effect of policy options on the whole economy. Politics and economics are interwoven in that clime, unlike here. When contesting for presidency, your economic policy proposals are brought under close scrutiny. Ordinary folks on the street discuss economic manifestoes of presidential candidates and base their choice on it. Tax policies., amongst others, are usually central. The likes of Milton Friedman, one of the greatest economists of this century, was used by successive American presidents until he died recently.

But in this part of the world, we ahve not advanced to that extent. Nobody cares about the economic blueprint of any presidential candidate, since we know it's all lies, it doesn't go beyond the documnet it's written on. Coupled with widespread economic illiteracy, things like those don't bother us.

Well, I will discuss some personalities that have dominated Nigerian economic policy discourses in the last few decades, in my next post.

POLICY Your economics knowledge will be useful in policy prescriptions, analysis, formulation and implemention. This is a wide area. CBN, DMO and many other bodies -regulatory and industrial - stripped to persons are group of economics. This is the area I personally like. The good thing about this line is that it is more practical-based than theory.

ACADEMICS You can remain in academics and call shots. You can go ahead to become a Prof. You can contribute to economic discourses and debates, update yourself with latest in the field. This path is very interesting but unfortunately difficult in Nigeria because a number of factors conspire that affect the stuff of Nigerian academic economists. I am sorry to say, only a few of Nigerian economics lecturers are versed beyond the old theories in the text books. Compared with the stuff of academic economists from especially US, our lecturers still have a lot to do.

FINANCE: Because this, alongside banking, is the most financially rewarding route for an Econs grad in Nigeria, vast majority of them find themselves here. I am also here. Many decide to write porfessional exams like ICAN, ACCA, CFA etc and become Accountants and Finance analysts. A good % of Finance top guys in Nigeria read Economics, including the current Accountant General of Nigeria, and in fact, David Dafinone, the Nigerian accounting legend that entered Guinness Book of World Records as having all family being Chartered Accountants and Economics as academic qualification. Although I'm not sure of this, I think even the man regarded as the Doyen of Accounting Profession in Nigeria(first Nigerian Chartered Accountant), Akintola Williams read Economics. Here, unlike other areas, your economics knowledge plays second fiddle and how well grounded you remain in economics depends on your personal efforts and passion.

Let me chip in some things on career prospects of an Economics graduate.

The greatest advantage you have if you read Economics for your first degree is marketability and versatility.
This stands it high ahead of other Social Sciences and management disciplines.
Many job adverts extend their requirements net to cover Economics, sometimes even when not directly related to Economics. So this means, with other factors like your class of degree and self-development, you stand high chance of getting job.

As an economics grad, you can tread a career path in the following areas:
Banking: You stand a high chance of getting bank job if you read Economics, even far ahead of someone that read Banking. This is because banking profession goes beyond banking industry knowledge to include the knowledge of teh workings of teh whole macro economy. This is why an economist stands a better chance of faring better in banking profession than a professional banker. My childhood dream was to become a banker(my mentor then was Dr. Femi Adekanye, CEO of the now defunct Commerce Bank), so when completing my UME form, I chose Banking, but my brother, then a banking officer in an investment bank now a GM in that now enlarged bank, advised met to choose Economics instead of banking as Economics subsumes Banking plus other things. I reluctantly effected the change in my form and settled for a school where Economics was offered. That's one of the Top 3 decisions I have ever taken in my life as Economicsoffered me a wider choice when I graduated. Although, along the line in university I lost interest in banking, but thankfully I wasn't studying banking, I was studying what was more than banking.

It is also noteworthy that before the boom in banking industry in mid-2000's when banking jobs became an all-discipline affair, when Science and Engineering grads who were better in taking aptitude tests, but whose line had very little to absorb, swarmed into the banking industry and outmuscled the Econs & related grads for the jobs, Nigerian banking industry was dominated by Economists and economics graduates. Most of the men that ruled Nigeria's banking industry in the 70s to 90s have economics background. So banking is traditionally one of the most attractive career destinations for Econs grad.

chamber2:
Economics, to me, is a social science which is concerned with how households, businesses and governments make decision in terms of allocation of its scarce resources in the face of competing alternatives.

In the case of the individual, he/she has to decide whether to use all current income on consumption, savings or both. The choice he/she ultimately makes depends on the opportunity cost of each action. He therefore needs to rank his choices based on his preferences or priorities.

The business organisation on the other hand, has to decide whether to invest current income in new businesses, retain the income or inject it into current business portfolio. In a business that is listed in the stock market they have to also decide whether to distribute current earnings to shareholders in the form of dividend. Again, the decision to do any of the above is dependent on the goals of the firm and the opportunity cost of each action.

The govt is faced with the danger of increasing allocations to a particular sector. For instance, will the govt increase allocations to health, education, utilities etc? All depends on the overall economic targets of the govt. The issues raised in this regard are mainly normative, it depends entirely on people's value judgment. An economists with strong interest in health care may want the govt to increase allocations to health why one with interest in education may advocate increased funding for education. That becomes a policy dilemma. The govt therefore will need to have a thread-off on each.

Economics is also concerned with issues of production, consumption and distribution. Income distribution, inequality and economic development are also areas of concern to economics and economists.

Main issues of interest in economics include interest rate, inflation, unemployment, exchange rate etc. These are mainly macro issues. At the micro levels you have issues like consumption, production, distribution etc.

People argue that there is virtually the economics of everything. The economists have found themselves in such trivial issues like sex, gambling,morality, marriage and all what have you.

Even though the study of economics was revolutionalised by the publication of Adam Smith in 1776 titled the wealth of nations, economics have advanced beyond what Adam Smith and other classical economist wrote. John Maynard Keynes, the father of modern macro economics brought a lot in the field of economics in his publication in the 1930s after the great depression.

Recent developments in economics include the Transaction Cost Theory by Oliver Williamson, Trade theory by Paul Krugman and a host of others.

Economics is an interesting and exciting subject. It gives the individual a wide spectrum of information and skill in policy analysis, formulation and implementation. A graduate/student of economics is expected to understand and interpret current economic events and possibly proffer solutions.However, economics can also be a dreadful subject, especially in the area of mathematical modeling, econometrics and maybe macroeconomics. It therefore requires handwork and discipline.

Let me also add that an economics is expected to communicate in simple, clear and understandable language free from technical jargon while presenting or advising a non professional gathering. So, he is not expected to speak like Chris Okotie, Hon. Patrick and the likes. He is also expected to be skilled in mathematics, statistics and computer science. This is because most of the work of the economist revolves around model building.

It's not easy to remember most things having left the field for quite sometime now. However, the little above can kick-start the discussions.

Good one, respected colleague.

Although I'm first an Accountant today before Economist(?), Economics still remains my first love.

Iku baba yeye. Oba tin pe Oba ranse

Still expecting

Woods + carpentary = 320k
Aluminium(labour & transportation inclusive) = 630k
Total cost of roofing = 950k

Cost is 3.6m to date. Note also that this is Kwara, not Lagos. But the major difference between this and Lagos will be cost of land and labour. Others will remain the same, almost everywhere.

Like I mentioned from start, just start, you will be surprised at how you're progressing.

more

Most recent pics - 3 weeks ago. Covered with aluminium

More - before covering with roof.

These are pics before covering with aluminium:

The second pic is view from front, not back pls.

Views from side and abck respectively:

We did some tinkering to the front, against plan.

Views before roofing commences.

Note the big space still left to the side in the compound. I plan to use that for trees, car port, build a small family mosque, sports side(my house must have Table Tennis - that's my sport!)

With this being my first project, I am quite naive on building/personal project, but probably because of my purse, I didn't even consider using a contractor in teh first place. It's my architect supervising it, for a fee, of course. I jsyt send money, say 1m and he will tell me beforehand where he expects that to take the project to, and on exhausting the money, will account for how he spent it, but most times, it doesn't get to where he told me it will get it to, giving all forms of excuses like price increase, introducing new style etc. And with all my Lagos wahala, having time to investigate/verify his calims is the last thing I have on my mind. So I just shakara him that the cost is getting too high and send another.

Whole project(at lintel stage)

Another view:

The main building in progress, some months ago:

The BQ, up to lintel. I have suspended that one and faced main building:
2 different views:

Now the pics:

At start - at the back is the BQ, front is foundation of main building. I had a quarrel with my architect/supervisor on this. I queried him for starting with the BQ first and told him to suspend it. Although he told me he also personally felt we should have started from main building, but my old man directed him to do otherwise.

NL1960:
@Jarus. Sorry for my asking. Why would you want to share your country home with shops?. Will you be able to control the type of people that will rent the shops or those that will patronize what they are selling?. What if somebody rents one of the shops and turn it into a drinking joint?. Hope you know that all sorts of characters come into a drinking joint. To me that is not safe or quiet enough for a house that is a country home.

No, not for rent. Just a small shop for anybody(maybe my old woman) to sell soft drinks.

werepeLeri:
Building a house in Abuja - a four room duplex - with BQ

Cost of land - 8m.

Spent so far. 23m.

Purpose- Elegance and taste all combined in a modest 4 room duplex in a serviced estate. Hmmm -

Jarus- means, the cost of land in Abuja will build two of yours in Kwara. Please take me to Kwara.

That's why it's FCT! When I become a big boy like you, I will do Abuja too. lol
Anyway, the Lagos project is in teh offing too.

Lessons:

1, Just start, don't procrastinate. I almost regret procrastinating for too long before starting. I remember asking on this section of NL in 2009 about what it costs to build a house. I however gained something useful from one of the responses as it was through this section that I got a link to a website that did a fine analysis of how 2.5m can do a house, which fired me up, even though I got to realize it can't.

2, You are most likely to spend above your budget, if not due to anything, because of changing prices of building materials. In addition to that, a factor that swelled up my own cost is changing taste. I kept tinkering with the original plan and idea almost at every stage. My plan was, with 3.5m max, I will finish the whole house to painting and finishing, but today I have spent 3.6m and it's just around 60% completed. From the look of things, by the time I finish(painting plus finishing), I may have spent 6m. To bring it to my final desired shape (interlocking compound, mosque, car port, shop, fencing etc), I don't see myself spending less than 8m. From initial plan of 2.5m to 8m! That's how it is! But never be discouraged, just start, even if with 500k!

3, You can hardly escape being short-changed, no matter the level of supervision, and it is worse if you're sending money from Lagos like me. I learnt some bags of cement disappeared unaccounted for from my site. I also suspect most of the prices being told me are inflated. I may have lost close to 500k on these things, but they played their game so well, and I'm also not somebody that finds faults, especially when I don't have concrete evidence. So I just do some shouting on phone and leave them.

Building A House - My Experience

I have decided to open this thread to share my experience on my current project in Kwara, perhaps all of us, both home owners and prospective landlords, can learn one or two things and exchange ideas.

Project: A 3-bedroom flat, plus 2 room+parlour BQs. Later, by God's grace, to build mosque in the compound and shops adjoining the fence.
Location & Purpose: Kwara state; to serve as my countryhome, and follow family tradition of building first house in our village.
Size: 2 1/4 plots.
Initial plan: To do a modest 3 bedroom flat with no more than 2.5 -3m! But I find myself, most times on advice of parent and supervisor(an architect), tinkering with the initial plan many times, including BQs, reshaping  the plan and costs flying up!

In subsequent posts, I will share pictures of the different stages, costs and share key lessons I realized.