₦airaland Forum

When I read about the "floating of the naira" by the CBN yesterday, I asked this same question in my mind.

Can somebody give us an answer? Has the Nigerian government been threatened out of the Chinese deal by the USA?

I'm about to give you an unusual suggestion on how to handle those pests.

I've noticed that grasshoppers, caterpillars etc love attacking green. By green, I mean that vegetable we Nigerians call "green".

My advice is for you to plant green at a corner of your farm/garden far from your ugu, ewedu etc. That way, the pests go there to feast on their favorite green leaving your other vegetables alone. This also makes it easy for you to apply Sniper there without poisoning your other vegetables.

I paid the N1,600 for the business permit moments ago. I took an okada N50 from the bank to the local government secretariat to collect my receipt. When I got there, a woman said I should return tomorrow because the man who's supposed to issue me the receipt was not around. That meant spending another N50 back to my shop. N100 wasted. Though the woman promised to visit my shop to do some shopping. Amen! Lol.

I'll be paying off my taxes little by little. Two gone. Two to go.

As for the village container, I'm yet to find a buyer. The guy who offered to buy it N65,000 before I roofed it is still offering me the same N65,000 after roofing.

Me: Ah ah! I roofed it with N23,500 o! How can you still be saying N65,000 na?

Him: I know you've suffered setting up the container. But you know that if someone buys a car and wants to sell it, the value drops.

Me: Stop talking like that. It's annoying. How can you compare a landed property to a car? Nawa o!

Him: Ok! Look for another buyer then. But if you change your mind, just call me.

Call wetin? He must think I'm desperate to sell because I told him I want to use the money I'll realise from the deal to buy a second-hand okada. N65,000 ni N65,000 ko. Instead of selling the container to him for that poor price, I'd rather dash it to that Aunty that gave me the two-months ultimatum. Lol.

The search for a buyer continues. Alternatively, I could start a business there that's non-dependent on light as I'm not ready to pay my village-NEPA N10,000. Besides, I've been selling the dvd, Nigerian movies, phone chargers and memory cards since I moved them to my Agbani shop. I even charged my neighbour N20 (twenty naira) to hire my tester/screwdriver yesterday. He didn't want to buy it for N50 (fifty naira). At least him N20 don help me drink two cold purewater. Lol.

My people, help me with suggestions. What business can I do in my village container that won't depend on light? Forget provisions and drinks business. It's already too rampant in the village. Or should I start selling my specially-cooked ginger and garlic beans there? Lol.

That reminds me. Can you all imagine that I bought a painter of beans N1,000 (ONE THOUSAND NAIRA) on Saturday? From N750 to N850 to N1,000. Nawa o! I just hope this recent "floating of the naira" by the CBN doesn't make it N2,000 when next I'm visiting the market.

Aha! I bought ginger, garlic and crayfish from my Eke Agbani mama yesterday. I told her how well the ugu she sold to me is doing and how I don't know how to go about selling it.

Mama: Are you not using it to cook?

Me: Mama, I don't cook soup o!

Mama: Only Indomie? Children of nowadays!

Me: (laughing)

Mama: Bring it. Let me help you sell it. It's just that you won't know how to harvest it.

Me: You told me before na. You said I should leave the first stalks the ugu grew and cut the other stalks, right?

Mama: Ehen! You remember! Those first stalks are what will produce the ugu pods.

Me: Mama thank you.

I'll take it to her as soon as I can.

I'm sure Bill Gates will gladly forego all those countries you listed and buy Nigeria instead. Lol.

I like the way you presented your argument and I see this post making it to the front page. I would definitely love to see intelligent debate on this issue.

That said, I agree with the point and concern you raised. Cases of debit of customer's account due to ATM errors are rampant. Worst still, ratification of the errors take too long or never.

I came here thinking there was some threat of butterflies going extinct. How do you expect to see butterflies in your polluted cities that lack green?

I see butterflies everyday. That's because I live in the village.

But I don tire for their pikin (caterpillars) wey dey chop my vegetables. Lol.

This information is really helpful.

I didn't know my favourite spices, ginger and garlic, can be used to make pesticides. Wow!

Thanks organicfoods.

Ogbongenet, you seem to have allowed the comments of readers to derail your thread. I came here expecting to read detailed step by step information (with pictures) on growing pawpaw as you promised in the title but you've gone straight to selling seedlings. Please come back on track sir.

We, your learners, dey wait for you. Lol.

Honeychild, thanks. It's an honour to be your first.

IgweRoss, I know a place at Enugu road here (near my shop) where they buy palm kernels from villagers. I used to sell ours to them years back when my paternal grandma was still alive. They're still in the business.

VickyChuk, you're too funny. No be small Keeping Up With John. Lol.

Rayblings, I think you're talking about Agbani road that's at Gariki or Enugu town. I'm at Enugu road at Agbani. Hope you're no longer a fast and furious driver so that you won't end up like Paul Walker o! Lol.

Sniper is very dangerous and poisonous to humans. Even my friend who works with Saro Africa, the company producing it, fears Sniper because he knows how lethal it is. Lol.

Happy new month everyone. Is it just me or did May end too quickly? Nawa o!

This week has been my worst week since I started this my journey. I made a bad financial move last week. Usually, I make sure I have at least N5,000 (five thousand naira) savings to fall back on in case of no sales. But last week, I bought goods with my last penny. Not knowing that I would be so broke this week. I haven't sold even one item. Sighs. I hope things change (not APC's type of change o! Lol) today or tomorrow.

Talking about change, I finally brought my dvds, electricals and phone accessories to my Agbani shop. I displayed them in the showcase yesterday. I'll soon paste the Nollywood posters.

Guess what else happened yesterday. My cousin's cage trap caught this ENWE (MONKEY). I wanted to take a picture of it in the cage but it was too dark. When I rushed out this morning to take the picture, they said it had died this early morning. My cousin immediately roasted it and we downloaded it into our stomachs. Lol. Monkey meat actually tastes good o! Though it has more bone than meat. I know the people of Awka won't be happy that I'm talking about eating their sacred animal. Sorry o! Lol.

ehinome4hushM:
Nice one dearly beloved. Pls can you help a sister find out the cost of palm oil in Enugu,I need some supplies here in Lagos. Thanks

A 20litres gallon of palm oil costs from N5,500 to N6,000 at Agbani at the moment. It used to be about N4,500 before Buhari's change changed everything. Lol.

aghaibiam:
Your thread is so lovely and enchanting. Its an inspiration for so many.Your days of humble beginnings will soon be over. How are your vegetables doing?

Thank you.
I hope so.
AMEN!!!

As for my vegetables, the curry, water-leaf and egusi are doing well. The ugu is excellent. The green is still under attack. I had to buy an insect powder N100 (one hundred naira) yesterday. I applied it on the farm this morning after weeding. I hope it works because the rains seem to have long washed off the dongoyaro.

As you can see from the pictures, the egusi, cucumber and corn are beginning to fruit. Thank God. Though my cousin's mother has warned me that monkeys will attack the corns.

This is actually a good time for me to take advantage of the tomato scarcity and plant tomatoes o! Lol. But I'm afraid of doing it and inviting that wicked tuta absoluta tomato-pest to my farm.

Wow! I used this exercise book in my nursery and primary school days.

It's so tragic that Emmanuel Ifeajuna's gold, the first-ever that a Nigerian won for Nigeria, has been erased and forgotten because of his involvement in Nigeria's first coup and his support for Biafra soon afterwards.

Please read more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jul/13/commonwealth-games-emmanuel-ifeajuna-nigeria?CMP=share_btn_tw

I regret to announce that my village container is now up for sale.

I've decided to sell it after what happened yesterday. As soon as I got home from Agbani, my little cousin approached me. He said that Aunty (one of the members of the family that gave me the space to site my container) gave him an ultimatum on the container. I thanked him for giving me the unbelievable breaking news.

I bathed, warmed the beans I'd cooked in the morning, downloaded it with garri as usual and then walked to the Aunty's compound to confirm what my little cousin told me.

Me: Aunty good evening o!

Aunty: Ehen, I'm giving you two months to start your business or else I'll remove your container and give the space to another person.

Me: Aunty why are you talking like this?

Aunty: I've told you o! Two months!!

Me: Aunty wait let me explain something to you. The money I'm using to do business is money I borrowed from my friend. My father didn't give me one kobo. When I started, the economy was not yet this bad. Now, I'm struggling to run my Agbani business and this one here. The business I want to do here needs light. Our village-NEPA said I must pay N10,000 before I connect light to the container. Even my cousin that I wanted to help me manage the business is sick.

Aunty: (acting concerned) What is even wrong with him?

Me: Diabetes.

Aunty: What I'm saying is, people are interested in renting that space. Even the woman behind you there paid me N20,000 for her space. In fact, next year I'll tell her to leave or pay me N30,000 if she wants to continue there.

Me: Ah ah Aunty! How can you compare me to that madam? Her space is much bigger than mine. Besides, I just roofed my container few weeks ago. If I wasn't interested in doing business there, will I roof it? Remember that it's when I brought my container there that all these people suddenly knew that that place is a nice site for business o!

Aunty: No! Our original plan was to build shops there.

Me: Hmmm...

Aunty: Next year, we might tell everybody there to leave so we can build shops.

At this point, I quickly thanked her, ended the talk and went home. I felt so angry. I knew she was indirectly trying to tell me that I'm going to pay rent next year. I instantly regretted accepting their rent-free gift. I regretted not insisting on paying this year's rent when I still had the money. The worst part of it is that when I gave my little cousin an update of my discussion with her, he told me how she'd confronted him PUBLICLY complaining that afterall we're not paying her for the space. How can my so-called extended family member treat me like a stranger? I made up my mind to sell the container to avoid any future wahala.

I've made calls this morning and put word out that the container is for sale. I hope to sell it for at least N90,000 (ninety thousand naira) or N110,000 (one hundred and ten thousand naira) at best. The buyer can then approach the Aunty to discuss the rent he'll pay her.

I'm sure my father will say "I told you so" if he hears the story. On Monday, he advised me to sell it. His reasons were:
1) For me to avoid quarrelling with our village people when they start owing me debts.
2) That as a business-starter, it won't be easy for me to handle two shops at the same time.

By the way, did I tell you people that I sold a record-breaking TEN ITEMS on the 17th? I didn't make much profit from them but I was so happy that most of the items were old stock. Lol. That 17th was the same day that my father came to my shop for the first time. Is it a coincidence or what? He briefly prayed for God to bless my business and for God to give me more connections through the shop.

Me: AMEN!!! Thank you sir.

evolg:
My experience with them wasn't as crazy as urs tho. After my Nysc, i stayed back in Porthacourt really hoping to get a good job n settle down...so one of diz days of job-hunting...I stumbled on diz wall advert dt says "Can you work in NNPC? Call 080******* #200,000 per month" Trust me, I was a bit skeptical abt it bt a part of me cudnt jst ignore d 6 digits figure n considering d fact dt i was new to d job hunting market...I immediately cald d number, it was a guy, he told me to send my name,e-mail and location to his phone right away...again i felt a little uneasy abt d fact dt i av to send my house address to som1 i dnt even knw...den a part of me reminded me if truly i needed dt "oyel money". So i sent d details to him...#2 weeks after# I was invited for an interview with "NNPC" at a stipulated address. I immediately took my white shirt and black trousers to d drycleaner, Ironed and well starched. On d day of interview, got up as early as 5am in order to beat traffic, tuk ma bath...by 6:10am i was out of d house so i can get to d venue b4 9am which ws wen d interview will commence. Traffic dt day ws crazy, i felt lyk i cud use dt my "GTA cheat-Rocketman" to get to d interview venue as fast as possible. To cut d long story short, i got to d stipulated address, i saw old men, old women, young men who were on suit n tie jst lyk me, it ws a mixed multitude. I cudnt rightly place wot it lukd lyk, a church crusade? Agbero meeting? Community elders' council? I was confused den i quickly walked towards one of d guys on suit n asked him if he was also here for d NNPC interview, he sed no o. His was GTB. i was shocked to my bones. At dt time, i knew somtin ws wrong...I told d guy, i was leaving, e persuaded me to wait so we can see wot diz ppl were up to...dt ws d annoying part; succumbing to his persuasion. To cut d long story short, it ws after 5hours of dia fruitless rant dt i realised i've been tricked to come for a GNLD seminar. I just "jejely" carried myself and somnolently went back to my house embittered.

My brother, this your story made me laugh so hard. Lol. You'll make a good writer and people will gladly pay to read your humour.

So many funny comments here. Lol.

If you want to make money IN NIGERIA through blogging forget all those talking about adsense, mb and all those nonsense.

You also need to forget about free blogging like yourname..com or yourname.. Nobody takes free bloggers seriously anymore.

So here's what to do:
1) Pay for a simple and memorable .com domain name
2) Post unique and useful posts. Don't just copy and paste from Linda Ikeji or Nairaland. Lol.
3) Promote your blog
4) Find advertisers and sponsors.
5) Be patient. Get ready to wait for up to six months or even one year before the money starts coming.
6) Tell me thank you. Lol.

Hmmm... I like the way you've outlined your mission, vision and logistics. Well done sir.

Please try to keep us updated on your progress and challenges here with words and pictures.

Where exactly is Amasiri though? I no trust Google abeg. Lol.

Do you work for Palmchat? Tell them that their annoying method of forcing their application on users of Tecno and itel phones is not working. Lol.

This story here, however, is a very nice advertisement strategy. Well done!

Keep marketing it till Nigerians embrace it. It won't be easy though. You need to do adverts and also push it online via jumia, konga, yudala etc. With perseverance, it could become as popular as Poundo Yam.

People with common sense have been drumming this message into the ears of the federal government for years now.

Legalizing and regulating the so-called illegal refineries is the real deregulation that this country needs.

The security people came to my shop with their demand notice this afternoon. I come remember all the owe wey I still dey owe. Lol.

Enugu State business premises N2,000
(paid 4/4/2016)

Nkanu West LGA business permit N1,500
(payment pending)

ESWAMA sanitation N2,500
(payment pending)

Security N1,800
(payment pending)

Wahala dey o! I've paid only one out of four so far. I wasn't around when ESWAMA came with their demand notice that's why they wrote the former owner and occupant's name instead.

I hear the authorities (state, local, ESWAMA and security) will start storming each shop from August to separate the sheep who've paid their fees from the stubborn goats who've refused to pay. Lol.

God help us to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to give to business what belongs to business. Surviving in this N145 per litre regime no easy at all. Sighs.

My brother, I'll give you my sincere advice from personal experience. I presently sell ladies' wears at Agbani in Enugu.

Okirika business makes sense. But it depends on your location (i.e. where you intend to sell). Another thing is, do you know how to select good clothes? Do you want to sell male, female or both?

I won't advise you to buy in bale because you'll find the good, the bad and the ugly inside. Lol. It's better you select them one by one at different markets. If you go to Katangowa in Lagos, for instance, you'll get both first grade and second grade o.k. at very affordable prices.

Call or whatsapp me if you need more info abeg.

Lol. You're so funny.

Try ugu, green and water-leaf farming. It grows and is ready for sale in two months at most. You can start it with as little as N30,000 (thirty thousand naira).

You can buy four pods of ugu for N500 (five hundred naira) each. Each pod contains at least twenty seeds. Pay your worker N10,000 to weed and cultivate the land. Then pay children maybe N200 (two hundred naira) per person to weed it for you every week.

You'll need fertilizer or manure (goat or fowl faeces and kitchen waste) so that your vegetables'll grow fast. You'll also need dongoyaro leaves to act as a natural pesticide against caterpillars and other pests that will attack your vegetables. You won't need to water them this rainy season.

I'm talking out of my own experience. I began my vegetable farm February this year. Though mine cost me much less because I did all the labour by myself.

I wish you success. Remember me in paradise o! Lol

MathsChic, if I dash you N1million now, won't you collect? Lol.

sagtav, do your dreams or nightmares always happen in real life?

If so, Nigeria is doomed because your nightmare and the signs of things happening now show that another war is fast approaching.

You people, come and see what I just killed inside my house o! A small scorpion! And a small mouse (or is that a baby squirrel?) with a furry tail.

I saw something on the sitting-room wall. I was about to dismiss it as the usual harmless wall-gecko. Thank God I flashed my rechargeable lamp and saw it was a scorpion instead. I got a broom and struck it down. Then I walked around to check if I'll find another one. That's when I saw this small mouse crawling on the wall of the passage. I struck it down too.

This house feels like National Geographic Channel this night. I hope the brothers and sisters of these animals I killed won't come for vengeance while I'm sleeping. Lol. God forbid!

I'll take necessary precaution tomorrow. I'll make sure I sprinkle Sniper all over this house in the morning before I leave for Agbani. I'll also buy aki-inu (bitter kola?) and throw it around the house to repel snakes.

The carpenter finished the work around 2pm yesterday. I was at my Agbani shop and had to call my little cousin who was supervising the work. My little cousin said he did a nice job.

About thirty minutes later, the carpenter came to meet me at Agbani to collect his remaining payment (N2,000). I pleaded with him to wait till Monday. He pleaded with me to give him the little I had. So I gave him N1,000. That means I've spent N22,500 on this roofing so far. Plus the N1,000 I'm still owing him. Making it N23,500 in total. Nawa o!

I was so broke yesterday, that I had to choose between buying a carton of noodles and a painter of beans. Of course, I chose my beloved beans (N750). Then bought ginger (N100) and garlic (N100) from my dear ugu Mama.

When my cousin and I got home around 7pm, it was already too dark to take pictures of the roofed village container. I was satisfied with the carpenter's job until my little cousin explained that the carpenter ran out of zinc sheets and had to use a few old zinc sheets to complete the roofing. He took me back to the container to show it to me.

My little cousin was the one who went to source for the old zinc sheets. He was the man of the match yesterday. Lol. I think the little man deserves a second chance. He did well.

Though I'm still contemplating if I should be patient till August (so as to raise more money to complete the wiring and inside shelves) or if I should rent it out.

Good morning everyone, I have good news.

Our thread has almost reached 10,000 views without front page. That no be the good news o! Lol.

My uncle (my real uncle. Lol), based in the US, sent me N10,000 (ten thousand naira) earlier this week. I did something for him and he sent it to reward me. Uncle thank you for thanking me with cash. Lol.

So I called the carpenter who did my Agbani roofing to come to my village yesterday. He came and we calculated the cost of roofing the village container. The zinc, wood, nails and workmanship totalled N21,850. I gave him N20,000.

He bought the materials and came to my Agbani shop to collect N1,500 (one thousand five hundred naira) for transporting it down to my village.

I'm waiting for him to come and start work this morning. I'll upload pictures as soon as we're done.

Guess who came visiting yesterday. No! Not another Nairalander. Lol. He's a special guest of honour, a V.I.P and my brother from another mother. Yes! The one and only friend who lent me money.

He came with his wife to Enugu yesterday. They were originally coming for the traditional marriage ceremony of his colleague at Ugwu Obe near Agbani. Of course, they can't come to Enugu without visiting me. So they'd planned to pay me a surprise visit after attending the occasion but their surprise was ruined when they realised that they've never been to Agbani before and had to call me for to ask for directions. Lol.

Yesterday was also his birthday. So I was so happy to be hosting my friend on his special day. I showed them my shop, my new room and then we went to my village. They've seen my village container, my vegetables, my father and this his big house. Lol. My father also came home yesterday for a very big burial of a very rich man's mother. It's been so much fun.

They were supposed to leave today but my friend's wife insists they spend their honeymoon here in Amurri. She says what they've spent so far at her husband's village and at their home in Lagos respectively are family-moon and yard-moon. Lol. Funny her.

She also gave me a suggestion few hours ago when I was showing them the goods I'd already bought for the village container.

Her: You can sell these things in Agbani o!
Me: But there's no space there na
Her: You can just buy a small plastic basket, put these goods inside and drop it on top of your showcase. It won't take space.
Me: Hmmm... It's true o!
My friend: Do you have a small tv?
Me: Yes. It's in the village container.
Her: He doesn't even need a tv for now.
My friend: What about if customers want to test the dvds?
Her: Ok. Just construct a small place to hang it at the top of that Agbani shop.
Me: Or I can even keep it in my Agbani room and take customers there if they want to test the cd or dvds.

Hmmm... I'm still considering this her suggestion o! Especially as the village business is still yet to take off. What do you people think?