₦airaland Forum

naijaboy99:
Hopefully our brothers living in Canada or even America can join the topic. I am not discouraging anyone from traveling out. I just think "majority" of Nigerians don't actually believe in Nigeria even if they are financially capable. We always think low of ourselves. That is one of the major problem hindering us from development

Instead of all these envy for Nigerians abroad I see in this forum, I'll rather you appreciate them. You guys try all the time to convince yourself that you are better off in Nigeria then that's fantastic.

By the way, Nigerians in diaspora sent $5.16b to Nigeria in the first 3 months of 2022 from their less than $30 savings from menial jobs as you said. Without Nigerian abroad remittances, naira would have hit 1k per dollar now. Read the news below and appreciate your brothers abroad

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/08/nigerias-diaspora-remittances-rise-20-3-to-5-16bn-in-q122/

ednut1:
no one cares what u think. They are over worked in Nigeria earning 50k naira monthly, they dont mind being overworked abroad. We are not whites. We know una type. No means to japa but want consolation lol

Exactly my brother.
I thought this travel section is for people abroad and those who intend to travel. I remember when I had no interest in leaving Naija, I didn't step into travel section for once. I only started coming into travel section when I now wanted to travel.
How can someone who thinks abroad is bad have all the time in the world to frequent the travel section and be posting about abroad he or she is not interested in? They think we are fools.

He is only representing him cos it is an African country. If na UK or other developed countries, Buhari will never have skipped it no matter the condition

SergeantTitus:
Is it really boring there?

Do you go weeks without talking to anybody?

Is it true that white man no send anybody papa. Everybody dey mind him own business?

I heard seeing a woman/man to be in a relationship with na rocket science.

Is it true that someone you talked to this morning and conversed well might pretend he doesn't know you when he sees you in the evening.

You and your next door neighbor might not talk for weeks ?

I was told they put up fake smiles there alot.

Is it true that there are countless tales of people dying in their homes for several weeks and nobody will even know.

You miss Nigeria and the lagos vibe once in a while don't you? Sometimes you just wish you could return back.

Being bored is a function of where you live. An Edo man who finds himself in Sokoto will likely be bored.
For me, I haven't been bored in Canada one bit. In fact, my social life drastically improved in Canada. You can't be bored when you have Nigerian churches packed with Nigerians of all tribes willing to mingle with each other.
This summer alone, I have attended uncountable number of events from barbecues to sports activities to organized Nigerian picnics etc.
I come back home with 24/7 light and wifi, I watch all Nigerian and international comedy skits on YouTube, that one alone can keep you laughing and busy the whole day.
Nigerians who are bored are likely ones who live in areas without large Nigerian community or those ones who don't want to relate with fellow Nigerians.

[quote author=whizqueen post=116118891][/quote]Building wealth is hard everywhere. If it was easy, Nigeria will not be the poverty capital of the world. Anybody who is comfortable on government benefits is not serious at all. It is still better to make $2m and pay 50% in taxes than to make $25k and pay no taxes at all. Besides corporation pay low taxes. I run a business in Canada and I pay low taxes compared to people who work under a company. People who build wealth anywhere in the world are those who are financially smart and can leverage on the system. There are a lot of naija tech professionals in Canada that can never touch a full time job but will rather incorporate a business and work as a contractor cos that's how to make more money. You need to be smart to build wealth anywhere in the world

High cost of living is in every country. You can't compare the cost of living in Lagos and Abuja to living in Osogbo or Auchi. Toronto, London, New York, Tokyo etc are big cities and will have higher cost of living. Someone like me will not live in those cities if offered free house sef due to other reasons.

Boredom is a function of where you live. If you live in places with large naija community, you can't be bored. I attend a Nigerian church and there are always naija events almost every weekend during the summer. I have never been bored in Canada

Cold is something you can get used to, the same way people get used to heat, blackout and mosquitoes.The first year is always tough but after then your body adjusts. Besides, during cold weather, you dress for the weather, no big deal.

I met a naija software developer yesterday who was recruited from Lagos and his worked permit processed. I was surprised as I didn't know this was even possible. People are getting professional jobs steady. But then people need to be realistic. You can't be bank manager in Nigeria and expect them to give you bank manager job in Canada, the question is what do you know about the Canadian banking system? If dem give u Canadian bank,you fit manage am?The 2 countries operate a different banking models. This is also true for some other professions. However, IT gurus are slotting into the job market very easily cos they are in demand and IT is IT everywhere in the world, it does not require big certificates just your skills.

Canada is not heaven and not the best country in the world but it is sure one of the best. This is a country of just 38m people but have the 10th largest economy in the world, can you beat that? Come on, give them some credit abeg. If Nigeria with our 200m people was half as good as Canada, we would have been among the top 10 economies in the world and people won't be this crazy to migrate.

Munamoqel:
am just curious ! If UM citizens are complaining of the inflation why would a Nigeria on Budget jump into it even spending several millions to go meet this cost !

There are lots of reasons.

Whatever the UK is suffering now is temporary. If there is anything we have learned from the past, it is the fact that the white man has ability to meet their challenges and solve their problems.
The unprecedented inflationary problems as a result of energy crisis will make them even more resilient in the future. I'm sure policy planners in the UK are thinking deep right now.
Now, compare it to Nigeria and African countries that lack the capability to solve even the most basic and simple problems. There have been double digits inflation for years in Nigeria but nobody cares cos we are used to suffering and smiling.
The thinking of most Nigerians still rushing there will likely be that things will stabilize in the next 1 or 2 years and I don't blame them especially considering that Nigeria's problems might be unsolvable.

Originality007:
This people are just taking us for granted .

imagine a Governour caught taking bride in the front of the whole world, somebody that suppose to b in Jail now, some people are planning to make him A Vice president. And u think this country can ever move forward?

I'm surprised you of all people think that these guys give a shit about moving the country forward.
Make no mistake, like Buhari, Tinubu and Atiku are not there for anything other than fulfilling their personal ambitions. Nigeria can go to hell for all they care.
Tinubu is courting gandollar cos of the 1 billion kano vote he is eyeing. You know Nigeria electoral power lies with illiterates so smart Tinubu knows exactly what he is doing.

The writer should not insult Nigerians by putting them in that category. He should go and count how many Nigerians are in those camps.
Nigerians I know who manage to travel out work hard to make money, no laziness or looking for free money.
There is currently labor shortage in America and some companies have increased their minimum wage and added a sign on bonus to attract workers yet some people don't want to take advantage of that.
Except you are an illegal immigrant, this shouldn't apply to you.

Gorgeous345:
Good day kind hearted people,
Please I need PHD scholarship in Canada. I have a second class upper(bsc) and a distinction(masters) in computer science.
Please anybody willing to guide me.I will be very grateful.
God bless you.

Guy, are you sure you are ready for a PhD?
Evaluate yourself again and be sure you can do it, e get why.
My humble advice

Putin doing what he does best. He didn't use poisoning tactics this time around

I told someone immediately after the New York attack that Femi and Lai would use it as a justification for Nigeria insecurity.

Buhari is more than 80 years ago. He does not care about the future. He has settled his children and relatives. Unfortunately majority of people in Nigeria are not seeing the big picture. Goodluck to the next president.

israelmao:
This is first time Buhari used his reasoning faculty to the fullest and adequately well,Buhari knows the volumes of aids flowing from Britian and US he wouldn't like to line up with few league of nations which are partially in support of Russia and rejecting the recent call by US for solidarity of African nations against Russia.

Buhari is more worried about his British medical care than the success of the Ajaokuta revamp. He has to compensate people who holds the key to his life . Do you want him to receive a wrong injection by mistake when he goes for medical treatment next 2 months? Buhari is smart ooo

I hate hearing this particular words from Buhari "face justice".
I ask, how many bandits, fulani terrorists, boko haram etc have faced justice in the last 7 years?
Buhari is a big time idiot.

gretop86:
I hope this happens but the data online shows Canada real estate has never budged since 2008 even when there was a huge slump in housing prices in the USA. And this has really pushed people into the FOMO. Imagine you didn't get your house 2yrs ago, by now you'd be more eager to lay your hands on something because of what you saw and knew 2years ago.



Well current increase does not have any major impact yet. Home owners will only see a $15CAD increase for every $100K CAD. I really wish they could speed up building permit approvals and also drive housing densification. NIMBYSM is also a major issue.

You are right. However this is the first of rate increases expected this year so we could be back to pre pandemic rates by Q1 next year.

The knowledge that rates are going up will drive down demand a bit. When I entered the market, the forecast then was that rates will remain at the bottom for at least 4 years as the economy tries to rebound from the pandemic. Since the situation has changed, buyers would start factoring that reality too.

Whatever the case, the current craze is unprecedented and unsustainable and people will get hurt at some point.

gretop86:
My people in the house living in Ontario to be specific. I've been doing my research on the real estate market and what I've seen so far has not been encouraging. I see houses listed for $1m CAD that costs about 50% less in the US. Is the Canadian real estate a bubble or there are some strong fundamentals driving these crazy prices other than supply way lesser than demand?. I still can't wrap my head around a house selling for $150,000 - $250,000 CAD above asking price. Wetin dey sele gan gan? Abeg make una open my eyes to what I'm not seeing from the data readily available. Is there any plan to fix this issue? Cos if it continues this way, I might just use this country as a means to change my passport and get the hell out to a country that is much reasonable.

Housing markets in California and New York is as crazy as Ontario and British Columbia so it depends on where you are looking at in the States or Canada. Alberta, Manitoba and Atlantic Canada is not as crazy as Ontario and BC. But I get your point, the nonsense happening in the housing market in those areas is unsustainable.

I entered the market at the earlier stage of the market distortion. You can't believe that I'm already making a $200k cad profit in just 2 years, this is crazy. I have thought about taking my profit to go and buy a reasonable house in Alberta since I'm working from home but my love for Ontario is pulling me back

But I think people should exercise patience, a market correction is coming soon. The indices that drove the market into an unprecedented distortion won't last forever.
During the pandemic when life was almost shut down, savings increased as people spending dropped. All of a sudden, people had extra cash and with rock bottom interest rates, cost of mortgages became very low and affordable. People were now comfortable engaging in bidding wars as an extra 200k added little monthly payments to their mortgages. For the first time, the share of variable rates exceeded that of fixed rates as people tried to capitalize on the record low interest rate. I got variable of 1.2% and I banked that rates will remain low for at least 4 years. This created FOMO (Fear of missing out) as demand over stripped supply by far, adding maximum pressure to the market. Then you have the Chinese in particular who are flocking to Canada in record numbers adding more pressure to the market. I lost my first bidding war to a Chinese in the earlier stages who put 250k above asking while I put 50k above asking. Those Chinese are rich oooo.
But the good thing for buyers is that the market correction will happen soon. All those people who entered the market as a result of FOMO will start exiting the market as interest rate rise very fast. We are expecting a 3 time rate rise this year alone. Many people didn't expect rate rises to happen soon plus an increase in inflation as they took more than they can handle. They are now going to start seeing the effect of those 800k houses on their mortgages and either they start defaulting or they sell it fast. So more houses will come into the market increasing supply and with reduced demand, we will start having a balanced market and houses will now have their true values instead of these inflated values we have now.

boundachuks:
very expensive mistake

Very stupid mistake. Imagine a nuclear armed country firing a missile to another nuclear armed country. If the missile was heading to the US, the US would have assumed it was a nuclear attack and fired it's own nuclear weapons back immediately. This is why not everyone should have nuclear weapons, it is too risky.

I won't be surprised. There is a system some state governors are using now in their states. Every month they pay some people some percentage of their salary and leave the rest of the workers. I think Rochas started it and most governors copied it

You could get your salary this month and will not get next month. You can't accuse the government of owing salaries because at every point in time, he has paid some workers. With this, workers can't mobilize cos not all are being owed.

A lot of civil servants no longer know their salaries cos it varies every time. Unfortunately organized labour is dead so no one to fight for the workers. Right now, most civil servants now pray to be included in the salary list every month cos it is not a given.

Taking loans again won't work

Removing subsides so that investment would build it, without government needing to take loans, or anything to build the refineries...same way it workd for GSM....would do the trick.

We are already loaned up. Our usual bankers are fed up with us.

And anyway, you did not read my quote......we are getting into big budget deficits paying subsides. It's the reality. and we have to face it. We are getting to the point where states won't get money from the government.

Yes, subsidy has to go. YES...prices would be high. BUT...we would gert refineries, and the value of the naira would improve, plus we would have more money for other things.



And it's sad, and I don't like it, but what else can we do.

Good e'en.

"Taking loans again won't work"
This is why I said the loans used on railways would have served better on building brand new refineries in the last 7 years.

It is not realistic to remove subsidy at this point. With crushing high inflation, high unemployment rate and no electricity, Nigerians will be decimated. There would be unprecedented increase in crime, rituals and the country will at some point become ungovernable.

It is either we keep paying the subsidy for now and waiting for Dangote to start refining before we remove it or we take more loans and build refineries like I stated earlier.

To suggest removing subsidies now and have petrol sell as high as N500 in a country where people are still earning as low as 20k a month is not just heartless but criminal.
Is it a crime to be a Nigerian?
I rest my case.

backbencher:
For the record, here is why I oppose subsidies....and have done so for the last ten years.

Why are oil subsidies bad economics?


Every year, the Nigerian government runs huge budget deficits that could have been avoided if money budgeted for oil subsidies was allocated to other critical projects.

Subsidies should be used to spur investment in activities that raise the productive capacities of an economy (such as education, health, entrepreneurship, and infrastructure). They should be targeted at strategic sectors of the economy. They should not be used to finance non-durable consumption items like petrol.

Oil subsidies are inequitable, as they transfer the national wealth to those who own several cars and add little or no value to the national economy.

In lieu of subsidies, the government should invest massively in public transportation and boost the transport allowances of public-sector workers.

Removing fuel subsidies would also be good for the environment and safety on Nigerian roads. When motorists pay the full economic price for petrol, they will drive less, emit less pollution and reduce the incidence of road accidents.

There should be a clear communication to Nigerians that the removal of fuel subsidies favours the poor, and eliminates one of the several perks that the Nigerian elites undeservedly enjoy.

SAUCE:Fuel subsidies in Nigeria: they’re bad for the economy, but the lifeblood of politicians

I am no government symphatizer, and a lot of people don't like me on this site because I support removing subsides. I have supported removing subsides for ten years, and it is wrong to think I support APC because of my stance, especially since APC hasn't removed subsides


MODIFIED

Two reasons why I support subsidy removal. When in 2012, government tried to remove subsidy, that was when I was introduced to the concept of landing costs and so forth. Add the comments of NOI, SLS and the government 'propaganda' against subsidy that made sense for the first time, and then I woke up , started reading, and started asking questions as to why we should support subsidies.


MODIFED 2

Taking loans won't help much. Remove subsidy and the investment for refineries would come in, and government would save money. But no, we are keeping subsides and about to go into debt for 3 trillion naira doing so..

I am also in support of removing subsidy like you. However, the difference is that I'm proposing a workable and less painful way to achieve it that will be a win win for the people and government but you seem not to be interested in that option. That is why I'm wondering on whose side you are. Read my initial replies to you again.

backbencher:
.

To be frank, politics aside, we need railways.



If we remove subsides, we can have refineries without government spending a dime, on the other hand. Even with higher prices for fuel.

I didn't say we don't need railways. I said there are more important things to railway at the moment.
It is difficult to remove subsidy in a situation where there are no local refining capacity. Nigerians will suffer big time before things get better.

This is why I suggested that the govt borrow money, build the refineries, remove subsidy after completion and sell it to the private sector. This is common sense. It will make an instant impact without Nigerians having to suffer much. We can use the money saved on subsidies to start building trains. It's all about priorities and timing. If this has been done in the last 7 years, we wouldn't be in this situation.

Are you sure you are not an indirect government apologist? I'm beginning to suspect you.

backbencher:
The problem is

1.Money that could be used for refineries is being spent on subsiding fuel.

2.Subsides are bad for another reason...they cause budget deficits...which lead to more debt. Especially when subsidy costs rise.

What I'm saying is the money they borrowed for railways would have been used for refineries instead. You can't compare the trickle down effect refining would have done to Nigeria to passengers trains.

Management is all about getting your priorities right and channeling your focus to things that would produce better outcomes.

We should borrow money to fund projects that are critical. I'm not saying trains are bad but there are more critical aspects that would produce better results than passenger trains

backbencher:
That's because in order to get a refinery at home, subsidy on PMS has to go first.

Same problem his predecessor had. Signed an agreement to build 3 refineries with the chinese, which were not built because subsidy was not removed completely.

If subsidy does not go, the refineries cannot operate profitably. Had we removed subsidy in 2012 or 2015 or 1993 we would have had refineries galore.

But everytime subsidy removal has been suggested, people come on the street and cry poverty. People threaten to come on the street and cry poverty. So, subsides remain, and investors keep out.

At the end, someone had to take an unpopular but good decision, but no...

What Buhari should have done in the last 7 years is instead of building railways that affects only 1% of the population, he should have built refineries instead. After building brand new refineries, he remove subsidies and sell the refineries to the private sector.

Investors will rush to buy new refineries after subsidy is removed. It would have saved time and solved a lot of problems today. Instead he was chasing vanity projects that wouldn't make much difference.

ValCon888:
Of course, no one doubts De Gea's quality.
But if you're making many saves per game, it means your defenders aren't making enough blocks and tackles.

Your defenders are not preventing goal-scoring situations.

The statistics only points to one thing: Man United has one of the worst defence in the Premier League.

It starts from the midfield. The midfield is rubbish, all of them from Pogba to Matic. They can't keep the ball, they can't cover grounds, they can't tackle. At the end of the day, the defense is badly exposed and they are not top class either.
If at the end of this season, utd don't sell all their midfielders and buy solid guys, I'll know they are not serious.

Of what use is Buhari to Nigeria sef?
Tomorrow, Nigerians will expect the white man to respect Nigeria. A president will be comfortable taking medical treatment in another man's country without shame. Too bad.

festacman:
President Putin should note that it is a FATHERLY Russia rather
than a BULLY Russia that will make neighboring countries not to look in the direction of NATO. Bullying and threats will only breed suspicion and contempt among neighbors. Imposing puppets as Presidents will only make the general populace of those countries resent Russia. President Putin made Russia's neighbors enemies rather than friends.

Although this war against Ukraine has sent a "get yourself armed" message to other countries, the only way forward now is for President Putin to clean the slate and gather his diplomatic experts to develop a new approach to relating to neighbors.

If anything, all the members of defunct Soviet Union should be more comfortable and assured in dealing with RUSSIA as a big brother than dealing with EU, USA or NATO.

Exactly my brother. That is what Putin fans do want to understand.

In reality, if your own brother prefers to relate with an outsider than you or prefers to go and live with an outsider when you are there, then the fault is yours. There is definitely something you are doing that makes your brother uncomfortable around you. Putin should use this opportunity to evaluate his strategy on his relationship with his neighbors if he has sense.

ademola721gmai:
I think Putin problem and fear is NATO and not the EU. They know both are American puppets .

See no nation in this whole world will attack Russia. We are talking about a country with the largest nuclear arsenal in the world. So I don't know where Putin is getting this fear from. His nuclear weapons alone has guaranteed Russia can never be attacked by NATO or US

Putin wants to be equal to America but unfortunately for him, he does not recognize that America and the west status in the world was not obtained by their military or nuclear weapons but by their shared value of open democracy, freedom and rule of law. This is why far majority of people of the world migrate to the west and take up their citizenship. They have built societies that are attractive to people. We are talking of societies where individuals can take the government to court and win them. Who born you as a Russian or Chinese to take the Russian or Chinese government to court or even criticize them openly. If you contemplate it,you will disappear.

If Putin had spent the last 22 years he has been in power building an open democratic society like the west instead of trying to be a "strong man", there would be no need for these countries to look west cos they would have been very comfortable with Russia.

seunny4lif:
Oh
I thought they said sport and politics are different.
When Arabs don’t want to play football with Israeli, same people said no sport and politics together.
When UN imposed sanctions on NK, sports was not politics.
NATO bombardment of Libya and Iraq?

Bros, let's be realistic here. If Ukraine has fired a missile into Russia or sponsored a terror attack on Russia and Russia invades like this, I don't think Ukraine will get this sympathy.

Russia annexed their territory Crimea, sponsored rebels in eastern Ukraine. As if that was not enough, he recognized the breakaway states, he didn't stopped there ooo, he invaded Ukraine just because Ukraine wants to be close to the west. Is it by force to align with somebody? Will you be happy if America or China forces Nigeria at gun point to align with them or get invaded and bombarded like Ukraine?

Putin needs to learn that in 21st century, alliance is not by force. Any country can choose their alliance. If Putin wants to keep Ukraine in its sphere of influence, then the logical thing to do was to befriend Ukraine, help them with cheap money, build their infrastructure etc and make Ukraine feel at home with them instead he wants to use intimidation and force.

Putin has damaged Russia beyond repair because of his stupidity. Very soon, the number of countries Russian citizens will be able to go will be the same with North Korea cos Putin has been trying so hard in the past 22 years to make Russia be like North Korea

Kingcalls:
I hope America knows the can never invade any nation again after this

Wouldn't that be great? No nation ever invades another nation ever again. Any country contemplating invading another nation should learn from Putin's arrogance.

Russia and Belarus should create their own sports and tournaments and be playing against each other

Lol.

Nigerians no dey disappoint. Always looking for an opportunity to game the system. They should not spoil things for other Nigerians. Later they will start shouting racism